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ultraericthered · 4 months

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King Magnifico: Reimagining A Good Baddie Into Disney Villain Excellence.

I did not plan on doing another post about King Magnifico but dammit, the man just compells me. Since I recently drafted a revision treatment for the story of Wish, dubbed The Fully Fulfilled Edition, and it got me thinking more about Magnifico and the iteration of the character that I envisioned for my version of Disney's sentimental centennial tale. I've covered the troubles with the finalized official Disney character enough times already; I feel like the handling of his character and execution of his role as the story's villain was like a basketball wobbling along the rim before falling through the basket rather than a straight slam dunk. He's easily the most well-realized, enticing, entertaining, and developed character of the whole picture, the only one who comes close to being three-dimensional. But even he could've been better. If all the kinks were to have been ironed out in him, what might that actually end up looking like in practice?

Note that for this undertaking, I did not want to super drastically alter Magnifico's character to the point where he'd become completely divorced from what we got in the film and just be Magnifico in name only. I make just enough expansions, alterations, and fixes necessary to turn what I find good enough into what I'd consider truly great.

For starters, his tragic origin story being told to us upfront right out the gate helps to clear the air early into the picture, when we've not yet met King Magnifico but are given the background information of the man who became King Magnifico, wed Queen Amaya, and built the kingdom of Rosas. In my take on the backstory, the young would be-King Magnifico's family lived in a harbor town, working slavishly on what's implied to be export and trade. It's said that one day the young man, wanting his family to be happier and have more time for him, made a wish upon a totem for his family's burdens to be lifted. Well, that ended up being a vague wish that in a way did come true, as the town was soon attacked by a band of greedy marauders. In the storybook images the town would be shown going up in green flames as young Magnifico takes a boat to survival. Unfortunately, the boat ended up getting wrecked landing on a desert island, and the story would tell us that the youth lost everything he had in the wreck...even though he'd clearly be holding onto something in the accompanying picture. It is then said that Magnifico understood well the value and the danger a wish can hold, which inspired him to learn the arts of sorcery and magic that can extract a heart's deepest and most precious wish as a tangible substance held within a magic orb. Eventually he and the loyal wife he'd married built a great kingdom on that very island Magnifico had landed on, the kingdom of Rosas, where the citizens wishes are given, protected, and granted in the benign rule of Magnifico and Amaya, the "long lived" king and queen.

With that backstory and the reasons for why Magnifico founded Rosas and created the wish giving system established, the first in-universe look at the king we're given is in statues, in murals, in his face painted in various locations, even in the cookies Dahlia bakes. The face looks very kind, dignified, wisened, majestic, and above all gorgeously handsome. His presence is also subtly felt in what we'd be shown of the average Rosas citizens - some who are overly happy and enthused in a very cult-like manner and some who are only half-awake and half-heartedly trying to stay into it. This is heavily implicit as being a result of the system and society in Rosas, where the happier people are the ones who've had their wishes granted or have such good standing with the royals that they feel they're likely to have their wishes granted in the near future, while the lethargic ones are those who've given their wishes away, cannot remember what they even were to start with, and have been tirelessly waiting for when the time comes for Magnifico to grant them in a wish ceremony.

So then when we’re properly introduced to King Magnifico after all the build-up, it'd be immediately striking how the appearance of the man himself doesn't quite measure up to what we'd seen depicted in the kingdom's arts and crafts. We were told he's beloved by all, yet the man we meet here would come off very...Stephen Strange-ish. He'd be very smarmy, disgrunted, and patronizing towards Asha, visibly or verbally condescending to her and treating her like a silly, hapless child who he doesn’t believe will attain the apprenticeship. However, he is coming off of another interview that ended poorly, so we think maybe he's just in a mood and we shouldn't immediately assume too badly of him. If we hold onto hope for his better nature to win out, it seems to pay off when he appears to empathize with Asha after she's told him of her deceased father and all the ways in which he'd inspired her to dream big and to love Rosas; it's almost like the king sees some of his younger self in Asha, and through that, he recognizes that she could be a good fit for the job of working for him as his apprentice, someone he can shape into being more like him and following his ways. He'd do the "I too suffered great loss at a young age due to the selfish wishes and actions of greedy thieves and built Rosas as a place where that would not happen" thing like in the movie, but not only do we understand that more due to having been given the whole backstory, it'd also be more noticeable just how...calculated it feels. Like, Magnifico might as well say "I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Y'know, my late son, Beau..."., y'know those shows of pseudo-empathy that political leaders love to do.

Once Asha has the job and returns to the castle for her first day of apprenticeship, King Magnifico would show us that oh, this guy might actually be worse than we'd thought he was before. He's now in full Handsome Jack from Borderlands mode, acting more giddy and animated because he just loves his apprentice's first days where he can "dazzle them with all his splendor, and win over their love and devotion and appreciation for all his royal duties." And he just acts completely unkind and insensitive to Asha, making her do all sort of minor chores the way Lady Tremaine would do to Cinderella. He lets Asha into his sanctum of wishes, where he holds, throws, balances and caresses some of the various wishes in a way that seems unsettlingly possessive, much akin to how Mother Gothel stroked Rapunzel’s golden hair, and as he does he sings these words:

If happiness was a tangible thing, it would be you If you'd have told me the feeling you'd bring, I'd think it untrue And people search for a wonder like you all of their lives You still amaze me after all this time You pull me in like some kind of wind Mesmerized by the hold I'm in Leave you here, I don't wanna I wanna promise as one does I, I will protect you at all costs Keep you safe here in my arms I, I will protect you at all costs At all costs

Then the shoe drops. Magnifico reveals that he doesn't just collect these wishes to safeguard them and grant them in ceremonies: he uses the magical blessings cast upon the wishes as means of keeping his own magic powers charged every day, and it's also how he has sustained such slow aging and long living for himself and his wife. Yes, the royals feed off of the souls of their own subjects in order to keep their lifespan going, with the wishes extracted from the beautiful innermost part of those souls serving as convenient battery power for them. Unnerved as this makes poor Asha feel, the subject of a long life span naturally calls her almost 100 year old grandfather to mind, and she makes the dreaded "nepotism favor" request that the king consider granting Sabino’s wish at the ceremony. Magnifico, disappointed but not surprised, declines this request, rationalizing the wish could be too vague and might pose a threat to the kingdom. Asha then realizes Magnifico intends to never grant most of these wishes yet refuses to return the ungrantable wishes to their owners. She openly questions the king, telling him it's unreasonable of him to keep the most beautiful part of his subjects very selves from them if he truly has no inclination to grant them with his magic, and he should return those wishes to their owners so that they'll remember them and gain the drive to at least try to work towards fulfilling them themselves. Magnifico lashes out at her in fury ("I decide what everyone deserves!") and as consequence we get the ceremony where Magnifico pulls the spiteful fake-out with the wish granting just to shame and humiliate Asha, and let her know that her family's wishes will be kept by him forever, never to be granted. Also just barely noticable in the same scene would be that Magnifico reveals the wish of the person he grants it to and how it had been worded, but what he gives is notably a distorted alteration of the original wish. For all his high horsing about "be careful what you wish for, wishes worded too vaguely might go wrong when granted and that's too much of a danger risk", he himself exploits vaguely phrased wishes in order to twist them into something with benefits to the kingdom, his rule, and his image. For years, he's really only been using this system of wishes to make his own wishes come true, and has been routinely dishonest and hypocritical about it as he defrauds his people, committing theft by deception. What a self-obsessed bastard.

After Asha's made her wish to the stars and called Star down to Rosas, Magnifico and Amaya, having witnessed the wave of magic it brought, fear an unknown magic source that might threaten their kingdom and the hold they have on all the magic and wishes, but they find no answers in their books and scrolls to what this strange light might be. Magnifico starts acting furiously paranoid, remarking about how much he hates craven thieves and traitors. Due to how things went over with Asha, she is his primary suspect who he fears is now out to usurp his power and might not even be acting alone. As he starts to be overcome by desperation, Magnifico turns to his tome of forbidden dark magic and goes to unseal it. Fortunately for him, Amaya remains level-headed and is able to talk him out of it, to which he gives a very transparently half-hearted "thanks", followed by the "I am a handsome king" bit when Amaya tells him that, as they cannot baselessly accuse and arrest Asha for treason, they use the people’s love of him as their monarch to get them to reach the truth for them.

Of course, during the briefing with the public, people start asking how and why their wishes might now be in danger, which leads to questions about why Magnifico established the system the way that he did, which leads to deeper questioning such as why everything in Rosas is so tailored towards the king despite his role being to protect and provide for the people - like, why does the king need to have his handsome face plastered everywhere? When everyone feels the next wave of magic from Star’s evolution, it proves definitively what Magnifico told them: that this magic didn’t come from him, and that only creates a sense of disillusionment among the people. A furious Magnifico warns of a traitor within the kingdom conspiring to use this magic to steal all wishes and topple the monarchy, who must be found and punished, and then he shuts the doors back into his castle, frantically pacing about and looking to see if the magic came from somewhere within. Visibly aggitated, Amaya tries to soothe her petulant husband urging him to calm his mind and cheer himself up by gazing at his reflection in the mirrored walls. Which leads to....

"This Is The Thanks I Get" (Revised version)!

In between the second chorus and the bridge, Magnifico walks in front of the forbidden magic tome and vocalizes that in his years long reign, he has been far too soft on his people, spoiling them into becoming greedy, entitled ingrates who are all no better than thieves, so he needs to harden his heart and exercise more power “for their own good”, to tighten his grip over Rosas and preserve his power. So he unseals the book, opens it up, and gains power from its corruptive influence. And he made sure to do this when his wife wasn't around to stop him from doing so. This was his choice. He wanted this. In his desperation to not let his power over Rosas slip from him, he turned to what he knew as wrong primarily for the convenience of it enabling him to shed anything within himself that was restraining him before, and grant to him more destructive, awesome power to squash all dissent with. This is what takes him from "big jerk" to "true villain."

After being told by Simon that Asha was indeed responsible for Star's summoning and has been plotting against him, Magnifico goes to Asha's family's home and assaulted Sabino and Sakina with magic that’s holding them down when Asha and Star return. Declaring he must arrest the whole family for both high treason and harboring a criminal, Magnifico also takes time to relish some cruelty towards Asha, not only stepping on Sabino's already broken lute in front of her but bringing out Sakina’s wish and using his new dark power to shatter it in his grip, making Sakina reel in agony as the energy from her wish, a sacred part of her soul, gets absorbed into Magnifico’s black magic. Realizing how much power he can claims from wishes delights the vainglorious monarch, who says had he known this, he would've broken wishes ages ago! So now Magnifico has a singular goal: to absorb the magic of both Star and all of Rosas’ wishes in order to become an all-powerful tyrant, motivated purely by pride, spite, desire for retribution and control, and the power high he's on.

Forging his new dark magic scepter, Magnifico addresses the public once more, revealing the traitor to be Asha and Simon to be the one to sell her out under the promise of having his wish granted. But be careful what you wish for, Simon! Magnifico twists the wish once again ("to be one of Rosas' greatest knights"), this time using his new dark magic to bewitch and brainwash him into a magitech knight. He then puts out the reward of another wish granting ceremony for the wish of whichever of his subjects helps the knights capture Asha, with the added threat that the longer it takes for Asha to be captured, the more wishes he will break, which makes the masses errupt into carnage and division between the fearful but still adoring loyalists to the king, and those who see this is not right and want no part in it. To quell this disorder, Magnifico unleashes more magic, desecrating the area and putting lives at risk, prompting Amaya to suggest he reign himself in better. To her surprise, Magnifico points his staff at her, telling her to never again second-guess him or give him orders. So it's pretty clear by now that Magnifico is far gone, and this time the needless "looking for a way to save Magnifico from the thrall of the dark magic only to learn it can't be done" plot point is omitted, as this Amaya knows from the get-go that once you open the book and read from it once, your addiction to the power it grants is unbreakable.

At the climax of the story, King Magnifico ascends the castle’s tower, sucks the life out from every wish that has been released into the night sky through his sanctum's open ceiling, and absorbs it all, sending droves of people in the kingdom into agonizing pain, anguish and despair. With no wishes to charge himself with, he gleefully traps Star in his scepter to act as the new living magical battery for his power. He thanks Star and Asha for how they've challenged his rule, because if they hadn't, he'd not have learned how much more gratifying it was to take all that he wants rather than "pretend to care and lightly snack on the magic of those wishes only in desperate moments". Asha's attempts to stop him are easily overpowered, as he uses his dark magic to block out the sky so that the citizens never again may wish upon stars, then KO's his wife with a magic blast for her betrayal, then creates magical chains from out of the ground that bind all the citizens in place, and when the knights rush to stop their mad king, he not only chains them too, but unleashes waves of dark magic that set Rosas ablaze with green fire, madly declaring that he will oppress the disspirited masses forevermore: "No more hope, no more dreams, no escape, no chance to rise up, no one to tell any tales, and no one to challenge me ever again! And I would gladly much rather see my great kingdom burn and physically crumble to Rosas' soil than give up this awesome power I so majestically wield!"

What happens next...well, you all probably know that by now.

So that's Magnifico's progression as the villain in my revision of Wish, but there's one last tiny yet hugely significant touch I'd add to fully bring his character together. A little before the big climax, Amaya would make reference to the fact that sealing the forbidden black magic inside “that heirloom” was among the first fundamental cornerstones of Rosas, but Magnifico has now totally backtracked on that and betrayed his oath to his people and their wishes. Hearing the book called an "heirloom" and then looking back at the storybook images of Magnifico's origin story at the start of the film makes the two pieces click together. That tome of forbidden magic belonged to Magnifico's family, the marauders sought it out and opened it up, which is what actually set the town ablaze, Magnifico took it with him as he fled to the boat, and it was the only thing he had that survived the boat's wreckage onto the shores of what would become Rosas. Throughout the story, Magnifico would have lines expressing his disdain for "thieves", "traitors", "cowards", "ingrates", and "weaklings". ...But this did not really come from just his trauma with the thieves. It's because he felt as though he himself, as a youth, was all of those things. He was a thief who stole his family's book, he was a traitor for making that vague wish that brought the marauders there, he was a coward and an ingrate for fleeing and leaving his family to burn, and he was a weakling for lacking the power to stop any of that from occurring and get things under control. To us on the outside looking in, it's easy to see how irrational it is for Magnifico to blame himself like that and have such self-loathing for boyhood mistakes and things beyond his control that were not really his fault. But tragically, no one ever told him this, not even Amaya. So what drove Magnifico forward in life was a pathological need to change his self image, to become someone greater and more powerful than that thieving little coward, to assert himself as the height of perfection, someone who could be loved and who could love himself in turn. He needed to be a king, for back in the day, a king was considered the only flesh and blood mortal human on Earth close to or secondary in power to the divinity of God Himself, for they had "the divine right to rule", the mandate of Heaven. So not only could Magnifico be that, but his magical power, the extension of his life via the wishes, and the system for taking the secret hopes, dreams, and prayers of the commonfolk to protect and decide which among them to grant, could put him that much closer to being a god among men. That is the core of what King Magnifico wanted; to feel like he was God, so as to erase his own inner pain over the fallability of being human. He was for years perpetually feeding his own power and ego, and yet it was never going to be enough. And he became so enthralled in his own God-and-Savior Complex, in playing at being the highest power in all the land, that he became a greedy, immoral, disruptive and destabilizing individual who brings suffering to the lives and wishes of others, like he'd once been the victim of; he became the very threat to Rosas that he’d been so wary of. And so, he got rewarded as such a threat deserves.

Dammit, now I'm low-key pissed at Disney! Say the line, Peridot!

#Disney #Wish #disney villains #King Magnifico #analysis #fixer upper #what could have been #they wasted a perfectly good character

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uncontrolledfission · 5 months

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The Hubble Deep Field

Post #14 in Physics and Astronomy, 12/12/2023

A while ago, I was just scrolling for interesting parts of space and stumbled across the Pillars of Creation and the Hubble Deep Field. I was intrigued by both, mainly because of the intricate and breathtaking nature of the respective images, so you can find my post about the Pillars of Creation here; in this post, I'm going to be giving you pretty pictures and explaining the context behind it.

The Hubble Deep Field from 2004 is the deepest portrait we have yet of the observable Universe. It reveals some of the first galaxies to emerge from the ‘Dark Ages’; this is the time shortly after the Big Bang when the first stars began to heat our Universe.

The Hubble Telescope reached the limit of what’s possible to see in visible light. This is because light shifts so far along the spectrum for very distant objects that they’re gone from the spectrum altogether; this means we just can’t see it with telescopes.

One interesting way to interpret telescopes is to think of them as time machines. Yes, you read that correctly, time machines. Think about it: the speed of light is not infinite, so it takes an increasingly noticeable length of time to travel very large distances. This is where the definition of light-year comes from–the distance light travels when it has been travelling for a year. Since the way we see things is through light hitting our retina, when we look at objects in space far, far, away, we’re seeing the image of it in the past.

For ten days during Christmas season in 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope looked out thoughtfully over a large section of the sky. It gathered what light it could, building an image over time. What emerged next, the Hubble Deep Field, revealed many galaxies. You may be surprised to find out that the light from some of these galaxies took 10,000,000,000 years to reach us.

The full image shows over 3,000 galaxies of various shapes and sizes, and through the Deep Field, we’re plunging ourselves arm-deep back into time, where galaxies emerged from the Big Bang’s chaos.

In 2004 (which isn’t even that long ago!) we got images of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field—a precious image constituted from the work of numerous astronomers, revealing one of the deepest and most colourful depictions of our changing Universe.

The Ultra Deep Field contains around 10,000 galaxies, going as far back in time to get within a few hundred million years of the Big Bang.

The Hubble Telescope provided an ultraviolet-light dataset, that, when combined with infrared data from the James Webb Telescope, helped create such a beautiful image.

All images taken from Hubblesite and NASA!

#studyblr #stem #physics #astronomy #astrophysics #hubble telescope #hubble #hubble space telescope #james webb telescope #james webb #deep field #the hubble deep field #hubble deep field #astrophotography #astro posts

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thrashkink-coven · 4 months

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Last night I had a dream about Lord Lucifer. I was sitting beside him in his realm, which to me looks like a thorny, flowery field of rose bushes and laurel. I sat beside him as he poured us both some coffee and lost ourselves looking up into the stars.

Looking up into the massive expanse of night, I altogether became aware of how magnificently gargantuan space is, how every glowing spec is not only an alien planet or massive burning star but also galaxies and nebulae so many times larger than earth that we would not even occupy a pixel in the grand scale of the image. As I continued to look up I almost became sickened by it, nauseated by the mere scale of it. How the painting in the sky seemed to go on forever and ever, so incredibly massive that my own two eyes could not capture the entire image in my sight. Every time I looked another direction I became aware of how much more space there was, how little of it we have even considered. How of the roughly 10,000 stars visible to the naked eye, only a few hundred have been given proper names in the history of astronomy. And if every one of those stars looks down on us silently, are they as oblivious to us as we are of our blood cells and atoms? They are as many times bigger than I as I am to a spec of bacteria, even more so, a proton, a quark. In the scale of all of these things, what am I? How do I fit in the middle? What is the intelligence of humanity that allows us to understand how little we understand?

Then I looked back at Lucifer, in his radiant beauty and brilliance, and understood that he too is gargantuan. Though Venus is slightly smaller than Earth, she is still roughly 7521 miles across. She stands 178.34 million km away from us, it takes light around 4 minutes to reach Earth (depending). Then I thought about Jupiter, the Sun, the siblings of the sun, the siblings of our galaxy,

to them, even Lord Lucifer is small. In fact, I’ve no idea how small he really is. How tiny, and yet how massive. Our human minds just don’t do well imagining such scales. All understanding of size is lost here.

…and I again began to feel almost disgustingly small. Minuscule. Nothing. Hardly even nothing.

And yet…

Here we are, sitting beside each-other, taking to each other, sharing coffee and company. Seemingly, against all odds. In this universe so incomprehensibly massive that even light itself cannot overcome it, we still see light. We look up at the stars with such admiration that we wrote them poems and sang them songs, we wrote them love letters and told them our deepest secrets on lonely nights- and they witnessed every year, every atrocity and delight, every tear and sorrow, every smile and laugh. We are minuscule, less than tiny, less than lesser, and yet, we still pray and they still respond.

How wonderful is it then, that these giants still hear us, that they have kept us well on this vulnerable naked planet for all these centuries? How, in their massive gravities, they have protected us from objects and radiation that would destroy us in an instant.

They hear us and listen, perhaps for the exact same reason why we pray to them.

Perhaps we are Gods in high and low places conversing with each other to understand ourselves.

How am I so lucky to be born into such a volatile and monstrous cosmic thing, and still be cherished and cradled in my Mother Earth’s chest? How, in a universe so chaotic, do I know the tenderness of a God’s love?

I don’t know, but I’m pleased. This is a good place, a very very good place, more than I even understand.

Thank you Lucifer, and thank you to all those who surround him as well. Thank you for listening and thank you for existing.

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ilariyalavorowrites · 10 months

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Faded Hope (Part Three)

Imagine: Losing hope that you’ll ever find your way back to your soulmates after being tricked and being trapped in a pit you don’t have the power to escape from. Thinking about your life prior to this and remembering the good and bad times. Time passes by and the magic of the pit/alternative dimension plays tricks on your mind, trying to make you lose your sanity and grip with reality. (Soulmate AU - DC inspired by Arrow verse episode Haunted)

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Angst and Fluff, Soulmate AU

Pairings: Lucifer Morningstar x Reader x John Constantine

Reader gender: Female

Part: three of four

Author: Ilariya_Lavoro writes

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Tagged: @agathaharknessfan96

Your eyes widened, horrified by the terrifying demonic version of your lover towering over you. The mere sight of him sends a frightfully icy sensation rushing right to your core. His piercing yet soulless gaze wandered up and then down, taking in every inch of you that was not submerged with a smirk widening and playing upon his lips. It cruelly twisted that handsome face that you had come to love. If this had not been all a wrenched game, you might have dared to believe for a fraction of a second that this was your John come to take your home.

However your eyes did not deceive you, here he was, your lover’s demonic counterpart. The twisted mirror image standing amid your waking nightmare. In the past, he had haunted your doorway more times than you could count on a single hand.

Forcing his way into your shop one particular wet and windy Friday evening, many hours after your last customer. At first glance, you had mistaken him for your John stumbling through the threshold drunk like a skunk like he had a few times before after a case that would chill the blood of even the warmest of hearts.

However, once your gaze locked with his. The illusion quickly fell apart. It allowed you to truly see the truth of the matter. This entity was no mere man, he was a doppelganger. A true and nearly identical copy of your beloved. Yet there were more than a few small differences. His eyes were the deepest of red, blazing out at you with a heat fierce and overpowering for any mere mortal to take, forcing most to simply look away and flee out of a bone-chilling fear in peril for their life.

A truly evil force of nature born from the depths of hell. One most deadly with its sights squarely set upon you. You had escaped by the very skin of your teeth, only when you turn back, glancing over your shoulder to see if the fiend had given up the ghost did you witness the sight of your home set alight for good measure. It had been an altogether strange and terrifying encounter, there had been a possessive-driven tenderness mixed in oh-so-casual brutality as you made your escape.

You had expected him to return in the days that followed but he hadn’t. It was as if he simply vanished. He had been there one moment and then like a ghost in the night gone when blinked. That first encounter left an impression that could not be forgotten. No matter how hard you wished it so.

John had opened up after that night about the very nature and creation of the being in question. How he was composed of the least desirable aspects of his personality infused with demon ichor and the soul of well-known occultist. He never did relish the more wicked and intricate details but then again, you hadn’t pushed him any further. It was not the most ideal topic of conversation when all you wanted to do was fall into his arms.

It was an experience that you wholeheartedly wished never to revisit for a third or fourth time. Yet here you were yet again unwillingly in his presence. Or was this simply just another trick, an illusion brought on by this hellish dimension that you're presently imprisoned in?

At this point, you had no true grasp on whether up was down. So you had to face whatever might occur next. Gritting your teeth as you attempted to power through each trial thrown your way. With increasing difficulty, you keep afloat refusing to be dragged down into the depths. “Time is a construction in a place just like this. We have nothing, we are nothing” You shot back, swallowing all the spiteful words that had lingered on the very tip of your tongue. You would give this bastardised version no words to twist and weaponise for its mocked-up version of what it perceived as fun. For amusement and self-indulgent pleasure.

“Darling, be a good girl for Johnny. No holding back, I like to hear you scream” Its words were dripping in a vile sort of glee as it inched closer and closer. Taking in all the nuances of each of the varied facial expressions. No matter how subtle or how hard you tried to mask that most wondrous of scents he could taste it. It was mouth-watering, all that fear mixed in with a dash of hopelessness and longing. The spark remained it seemed. How curious humans truly were when they were facing down their maker, clinging to the very notion of salvation.

You were not the reward, just the bait for the target of all his wrath. This was just a pleasant accident. He was the man behind the curtain, orchestrating and pulling the many different strings to rip your soul from its comfortable housing. Oh no, this was too complicated for his tastes but Constantine would come running after you.

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“I am not as heartless as you believe Constantine” The Devil spoke, his tone even lacking that normal light joking nature of his. A seriousness had crept in, taking hold of him as he stared down the mortal man from his position in the doorway. He held his posture as stiff as board but there was unmistakable sorrow that lingered upon his face.

True grief that would mirror his own, if his mask were to crack any further. However, there was no time for that, for they were working against a clock that had been slowly counting down. Hours had already been lost that simply could not be clawed back. Shame and guilt encroached in, knowing full well that he had come sooner but Lucifer would not let those negative emotions find their foothold in his psyche.

There would be time for that later, after all this was over and put to bed. With you, out of the furnace and back in their collective arms. He watched as the working-class warlock set to work. Moving through the defiled room with a fine toothcomb, nothing was overlooked or ignored as the tiniest detail might hold the key to unlocking this mystery.

This room once tantalised his supernaturally sensitive senses. Warmly inviting him to cross its threshold and enjoy what might lie within. The change was so sudden but evoked an entirely different reaction. It rattled him deeply, as an acidic taste hung in the air poisoning all the once good, intoxicating flavour that tingled as it would flood his senses from the moment that he entered the apartment.

It burnt, scorning through the lining of his nostril and dancing viciously across the tastebuds on the surface of his tongue. It was wrong, setting off the wrong kind of impulses within. There was bitterness clinging on, displayed clearly upon his face as he puckered up his lips, wrinkled his nose and closed his eyes. Uncomfortable to simply be standing there surrounded by these vile vapers, these energies dripping in venom.

For a moment, it was as if he was right back in the chasms of hell. Sweatbeads began to gather as the seconds ticked by.

“Oi, Are you just going to stand there and get out of actually doing anything!” The rage fuelled tone of Constantine was enough to shake him from his mental anguish, dragging the Devil straight back to reality.

“This is old and archaic magic, I can taste the aftertaste in the very air. It’s clinging on, like a dense and bitter smog that refuses to dissipate” His tone was flatter than before, and there was methodical nature to his delivery as if he was piecing together a long-forgotten memory. One that had been haphazardly discarded in one of his many pursuits throughout his long stretching lifetime.

Preferring to focus solely on selfish pleasures and inwardly seeing his goals using that to drive him forward. The knowledge of this nature is hidden away in a dusty old archive of the depths of his mind. Lucifer had never considered truly forgetting, it has been a part of who he was in a different lifetime. No matter, how painfully and quickly that had ended, when he fell from the heavens above.

His past was forcing its way back into his life one way or another. However, this did not feel like the glory of heaven raining down almighty vengeance. There were no horns blown or a ringing in his ears as the cherubs sang accompanying the archangels as they descended to earth on their holiest of missions.

So if it was above then it was below. The realms that made up Hell were involved in one way or another. An awkward silence fell over the pair, as Constantine processed the information that had been freely given.

“You and I both have a laundry list of enemies, scorned lovers and embittered friends and acquaintances spread across the globes. She knew the risks but jumped headfirst into our lives” Lucifer carefully explained to the man standing mere feet away from his position.

“Hell is seeking retribution from us both, she is paying the heavy price. This ritual has been bastardized and twisted to fit its caster’s wishes. She became a means to an end.” He hated talking this bluntly about the one he loved.

“Her soul has been stolen, separated from her physical body. Cast in the pit but which one is a difficult question to answer” He continued as his keen eyes skip from one rune to the next that had been oh so crudely painted upon the walls with a foul-smelling concoction. A thick and gloopy substance that is still malleable enough to paint with. It had long since streaked down the walls, damaging the light-coloured coats of paint that lay beneath.

This was a hard pill to swallow for either the fallen angel or the damaged occultist but they would each bite the bullet. The more he listened, the more the cogs began to turn and churn, taking his mind back to a similar set of circumstances that had fallen at his feet.

Star City, Oliver Queen and the Case of Sara Lance after she had turned feral following her resurrection via the Lazarus Pit. A list of ingredients soon followed like ink from a quill, most if not all could be sourced from the shop downstairs.

“A Restoration Ritual” John spoke with conviction, his smile soon returned to his lips as confidence rose from within. He could do this, they could do it. Sure, the ritual itself would likely be tweaked to fit the situation that they found themselves in. It would not be perfect but it would work. They had to.

#demon john constantine #john constantine x reader #constantine x reader x lucifer #lucifer morningstar x reader #lucifer morningstar #john constantine #dc constantine #demon!john #angst heavy

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 9 months

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The Vitruvian Man is a famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist. It shows a man in two positions, with his arms and legs spread out, inside a circle and a square. The drawing is based on the writings of Vitruvius, an ancient Roman architect, who described the ideal proportions of the human body. Leonardo wanted to explore the relationship between man and nature, and how the human body reflects the harmony of the universe. He also used his own measurements and observations, as well as the works of other artists and scholars, to create his own version of the perfect human figure. The drawing is very detailed and precise, with notes and calculations in Leonardo’s characteristic mirror writing. It is considered one of the most iconic images of Western civilization, and a symbol of the Renaissance spirit of art and science. It's now kept in the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy, but it is rarely displayed to the public because of its fragility and sensitivity to light. It was loaned to the Louvre in 2019 for a special exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death.

[Courtesy of http://leonardodavinci.net]

* * * *

"What is needed is either a new understanding of God or a new understanding of Man: an understanding of God that does not insult the scientific mind while offering bread, not a stone, to the deepest hunger of the heart; or an understanding of Man that squarely faces the criminal weakness of our moral will while holding out to us the knowledge of how we can strive within ourselves to become the fully human being we are meant to be-both for ourselves and as instruments of a higher purpose. But this is not an either/or. The premise—or, rather, the proposal—of this book is that at the heart of the Christian religion there exists, and has always existed, just such a vision of both God and Man.

I call it “lost Christianity,” not because it is a matter of doctrines and concepts that may have been lost or forgotten; nor even a matter of methods of spiritual practice that may need to be recovered from ancient sources. It is all that, to be sure, but what is lost in the whole of our modern life, including our understanding of religion, is something even more fundamental, without which religious ideas and practices lose their meaning and all too easily become the instruments of ignorance, fear, and hatred.

What is lost is the experience of oneself, just oneself—myself, the personal being who is here, now, living, breathing, yearning for meaning, for goodness; just this person here, now, squarely confronting one’s own existential weaknesses and pretensions while yet aware, however tentatively, of a higher current of life and identity calling to us from within ourselves.

This presence to oneself is the missing element in the whole of the life of Man, the intermediate state of consciousness between what we are meant to be and what we actually are. It is, perhaps, the one bridge that can lead us from our inhuman past toward the human future."

-Lost Christiantiy

by Jacob Needleman

#Vitruvian Man #Leonardo da Vinci #quotes #Lost Christianity #Jacob Needleman #human #human being #philosophy #God and man

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space-pics · 2 years

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NASA’s Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet by James Webb Space Telescope

#spacepics #space #spacepics2

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chyirly · 11 months

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The Market Within Universes Pt.1

The Market was a place in between universes where turtles, and others, of all kind were able to interact. It was a place of wonder, of the unknown, of change.

That was easily seen as Mikey walked through The Market, buildings of all sizes looming over him as their occupants searched around for anything of interest.

The streets were filled to the brim with a flood of people looking around and mingling with each other. They were crowded together, some even on the shoulders of their much taller brothers and counterparts as they tried to head toward the next thing that caught their eyes.

Mikey could see a few versions of him and his brothers, others from Dimension 12, but none were his actual brothers. They were most likely waiting for him at the opening to their world.

After a bit of struggle, Mikey finally reached the entrance of a dark alleyway. He released a sigh.

As he continued onwards, humming to himself, a faint glow at the end of the alley caught his attention. Beckoning him to find out what lay past the darkness.

In front of Mikey was a small building, the neon sign on top reading ‘Mystic Haves’. Spilling from its windows and onto the grass and gravel road was an orange light. Mikey walked closer.

From the window, he could see an assortment of items, pottery, weapons, and tech. Each with a colorful shine coating them like a second skin.

He was unable to see a single living soul within the shop.

Further back he could see a desk, the source of the strange, orange, glow that had initially brought him here.

Entering the shop, despite its comfy design, felt claustrophobic at best. All available space was covered in items, some were put in display cases and hung on the wall and ceiling, the dolls looked as if their eyes were following his every move.

The turtle in front of him, although Mikey knew that they were a Michelangelo as well, looked like no other turtle he had seen before. With chin-length curly black hair pulled into a half-up ponytail, the rest framing his face. He wore a mute orange cloak held together at the chest by a gray clasp with a combined M and H engraved on it. The only thing visible from beneath the cloak was his arms, wrapped in black bandages, except for the tips of his fingers, revealing only faint cracks. One rested on his cheek. His skin was a dark green sprinkled with orange spots on his face that emitted a faint glow.

The other's eyes glowed orange, hypnotizing Mikey the longer he stared. Promising anything he wanted as long as he asked. Starting into the deepest part of his soul, as if it knew him better than he knew himself.

This would be the first meeting between Dimension 18 and the rest of the Market. But Mikey would be unaware till he once again caught up to his brothers, clutching a comic book titled, ‘Jupiter Jim And His Adventure Between Universes Alongside Captain Ryan’.

----------

So... new AU anyone? As you can probably tell this post takes place in The Market, whichis located between universes, where those that come can sell and buy items from other universes.

Universes can be described as the different ‘series’ that have come from the franchise, mirage, 87, 03, 07, 12, 14, 18, and others. In these universes are worlds, different versions based on its main universe, which are basically AU’s.

So if any creator wants to insert their own AU’s into The Market, there won't be a problem because literally any character they add will be considered from their own AU. So maybe expect some crossovers.

I might post this on AO3 as well, as a full text, no images, but considering that I chose this half comic half short story format for a reason, that probably won't happen. Future posts however will most likely be a full comic, because why not.

The two characters are both Mikey from Universes 12 and 18, which I might go into more detail on their worlds as I flush out what I have.

The design aren't finalized yet, so expect things to change in the next post.

I probably will continue to work on this along with another idea of mine, although there probably won’t be much content as I do stand-alone fanwork.

In other news, I will soon be posting an idea I have, in text format, for the DC universe, although I probably won't get too into the fanbase for a while.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #michelangelo hamato #rise mikey #2012 mikey #tmnt art #The market between universes au

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spaceexp · 2 years

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Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet In Special Briefing

The international NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has delivered the deepest, sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe so far. U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled the image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, during a White House event on Monday 11 July.

“Webb's First Deep Field is not only the first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope, it’s the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe, so far. This image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. It’s just a tiny sliver of the vast universe," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This mission was made possible by human ingenuity – the incredible NASA Webb team and our international partners at the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Webb is just the start of what we can accomplish in the future when we work together for the benefit of humanity."

The image – which focuses on a spot in the sky that, from the perspective of someone on the ground, is about the size of what would be covered by a grain of sand held at arm’s length – reveals thousands of galaxies, including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared.

“What an incredible honour for ESA and its international partners to reveal Webb’s first image from the White House,” says ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. “Only with teamwork, dedication, and the human drive to push boundaries and explore have we arrived at this historical moment of seeing the deepest view of the early Universe to date.”

Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image features the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, which is overflowing with detail.

“We are now even more excited for tomorrow’s release of further images and spectra from ESA-contributed instruments, which add another dimension to the Deep Field and the other stunning cosmic targets,” says ESA’s Director of Science, Günther Hasinger. “We are ready to begin our voyage back to early days of our Universe with this world-class observatory.”

“This is just a first glimpse of what Webb can do," says Macarena Garcia Marin, MIRI ESA Instrument Scientist. "While we are truly in awe today of Webb's first deep field, I can’t help but think of what images and science results are just around the corner in the many years to come!”

This image is among the telescope’s first-full colour images. The full suite will be released Tuesday 12 July, beginning at 16:30 CEST (a leadership address will be aired beforehand, at 15:45 CEST, and a media briefing will follow at 18:30 CEST). The full array of Webb’s first images and spectra, including downloadable files, will be made available here: https://esawebb.org/initiatives/webbs-first-images/

Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA has provided the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA has also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI, which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

#jwst

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shyvioletlife · 2 years

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I finally have a quiet moment so I wanted to write down my thoughts about Andera and Binx's relationship.

From the get-go I've deeply deeply appreciated Omar making Andhera ace - the fact that he didn't originally intend that for the character, that andhera was supposed to be the brooding romantic hero of a regency story all the way until omar opened his mouth, is just so intensely relatable. I love andhera's absolute inability to flirt, to grasp what someone would do to successfully seduce someone, the utter panic at thinking that someone has fallen in love with him and immediately running to bring that back to friendship because, respectfully, no. All of that is done with the mask up, trying to maintain the facade of alloness in a society that demands it.

Their relationship with binx has become something precious to me. It began with friendship, two people who happened to meet in the first episode and managed to bond through their complementary energies. Andhera is extremely awkward as they try to maintain the mask he believes is necessary to maintain his image, but is very genuine and straightforward in their attempts to make a connection, make friends, with the people they like. Where Andhera is a stuttering mess, Gwyn/Binx doesn't mince words and simply says whatever is on their mind, but in an equally socially awkward way of saying the quiet things loudly. She is also extremely straightforward and heartfelt in her intentions. It makes so much sense to me that two people earnestly seeking friendships in both word and action would fall in line with one another so easily.

From the start, they were both looking to one another a helping hand, for friendship, for companionship in a harsh and unforgiving world. You can see it in Gwyn asking andhera for help during the Hart Hunt. In andhera's shell pal letter that followed that cemented their friendship (My Dearest Gwyndolin, no you're not *MY* dearest anything. YOUR Dearest Gwyndolin) And then Binx revealed their true form during the battle for the crystal heart and Andhera *knew* who she was. Andhera, who had spent the entirety of the maze game pondering deeply about who was worthy of the heart, asking the hedge and the universe and magic at large for guidance only to find it in his hands. Had seen Binx in her true form, and decided to trust them and trust that whatever purpose they had for hiding herself was good, and handed over the crystal heart.

Within a day of that, he learns binx's truth at the tailor shop - the loss of their court, the purpose they have for being at the bloom - and their relationship blooms even further. Suddenly this is not just someone he wants to know and comes to trust, but is someone with a purpose and a vision worth protecting. Andhera’s oath is the truest form of companionship they can offer. Devotion to a mutual cause, one born of care and respect, and a promise to be there for binx in the hardest moments, the ones where you most desperately need someone to rely on. In many ways this is the deepest form of love I can conceive of. It promises an end to loneliness. For both of them.

When andhera offers everyone a place at his court, I can hear the threads of desire and regret of that desire in how binx responds by saying she cannot join another court when she is the last of her own, before extending the offer themself. It’s honestly a little earth shattering (actually very earth shattering lol) when andhera ends up accepting their invitation because it is one step yet closer. One more action to consciously intertwine their lives together. This moment is not one of voicing I love you’s and promises for a future together, but of making those unspoken words a reality.

Binx responds by doing everything they can to help andhera become the truest version of himself in turn - removing the shard and finally giving him full control over his life and magic. Full control, even, of their ability as a prince, as the future leader of the unseelie court. They can step into the new future they fought to make as equals who can lean on one another for support and understanding, for companionship in any and all forms it takes.

My dear Binx. That simple greeting speaks more than I can put into words. Andhera and binx have chosen to belong to one another in a way feels itself to be beyond romance, beyond the throes of passion or desire. Their relationship is a closeness that is explicitly ace, and feels to me to be explicitly aromantic as well. It is simply binx and andhera choosing one another time and time again.

#binx my beloved #andhera my beloved #acofaf #acofaf spoilers #a court of fey and flowers #binx choppley #andhera

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beautifuldreamlandwonderland · 2 years

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𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙱𝚢 𝙼𝚎 (𝙻 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝚡 𝙶𝙽! 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛)

Quick summary: You worked alongside with L on the Kira case since the very beginning, being one of L’s first friends he’s ever truly had. It was an understatement to say that you and him had a connection. Another understatement to say the two of you were attached to the other. He trusted you with everything. But yet...perhaps he trusted you a bit too much. That’s really saying something being the most intelligent detective in the world, and yet, a simple, but smart, person like you could gain his trust, and steal a part of him, and make him feel unimaginable pain when he realizes the truth about you.

But he had the same affect on you, didn’t he?

Reader Key: (Y/N) = Your Name (Y/E/C) = Your Eye Color (Y/H/C) = Your Hair Color

Warnings: Death, Angst, and mentions of abuse during childhood. If you’re uncomfortable with the subject of abuse, I recommend you don’t read this.

This imagine was inspired by the song Stand By Me by Ben E. King

L's clothes and dark hair were drenched as the rain poured down on him, but he didn't seem to care. He looked to be absorbed in his own universe, gazing above himself and feeling the water droplets on his skin as he drowned out all sounds around himself. You remained silent, watching as he stood there, unaware of your presence beneath the building, your sparkling yet dull (Y/E/C) eyes staring at him.

“Ryuzaki? What are you doing out here?” You called out to him, wiping your forehead of the tiny droplets of rain that dripped down from the ceiling. “It’s pouring out here. You’re gonna get yourself sick!”

L slowly turned his head in your direction, looking at you in the eyes, before he lifted a hand to his ear, indicating he couldn’t hear you. You called out again, “I said what are you doing out here!? You’re going to get sick!”

L simply stared at you for a few moments, giving off a smile, leaning forward more. He clearly still couldn’t hear you. You sighed before hesitantly walking into the rain, your feet splashing gently in the puddles on the ground before you reached him. You took a step in front of him, crossing your arms, rubbing them up in down in a pointless attempt to keep yourself warm in the chill of the rain and cool air.

“L,” you stated lowly, “What are you doing out here in these weather conditions? Again, you’ll get sick.”

“The bells are ringing more loudly today..” He muttered, making you scrunch your eyebrows in confusion.

“What do you mean?” You questioned, now standing beside him.

“Soon,” L said, turning his face slowly to you, your eyes locking together, “me and you will be going our separate ways, (Y/N)..”

All you could do in that moment was stare at him. You have been working on Light’s side the entire case. I mean, you had to repay him somehow after he saved you from your own father. Your father was an abusive man, and he murdered your mother in front of your eyes, and almost got away with it. But Light served him justice and killed him off by another inmate bashing his head in with a metal bar in prison, just like you asked.

But during that time, all you felt was anger and hate, even resentment to your mother for being weak and not protecting you from that man all those years, and she died a debilitated woman. All Light asked from you in return was that you helped him create a better world, and he promised you’d become the princess/prince/other ruler of the new world, other than him and Misa. You three would rule supreme and everyone would bow down at your feet, criminals and all evil begging for mercy and forgiveness.

During that time, you smiled at the image. You and your two best friends ruling the world, you three being absolutely unstoppable. So, he had you go along with the plan, and your role was simple and easy. Get closer and build a connection with Ryuzaki, mainly known as, L. That’s exactly what you did. You pretended to be on his side, just as Light and Misa did, yours having more significance, since you were the one who made the deepest connection, delivering Light every piece of information that L had told you.

Starting with calming chess matches, talking about all sorts of things, going out to shopping places, him not wanting any clothes or wanting to try anything on, him simply pointing out clothing he believed you’d look best in. Moving into slipping out at night after persuading him to take a short break from the case, going to candy shops, and even going into a small gas station, buying slushies of every flavor, drinking them until the two of you had a brain freeze.

One night, after buying three slushies each, blue raspberry, cherry, and coca cola, you went to the ceiling of the main base, looking out at the stars, as you realized you were already betraying your own mindset...

Your Flashback...

“..And that’s how I met Light in middle school.” You concluded your story, slurping on your blue raspberry slushie, swinging your feet from the edge of the rooftop, staring up at the stars, the moon being your only source of light for you and L.

“Hm..” L hummed, sitting in his usual position, running a hand in his hair. “It must be nice to have a friend for a long period of time like that.”

You nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, it is nice. Especially when they’re real and true. Sometimes that’s rare in this world.”

It was only solitude between the two of you for a few minutes, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. More of a calming and sweet silence. “Tell me (Y/N),” L began, “this might sound a bit personal, and I apologize in advance, you don’t need to answer of course..”

You turned your head in his direction, raising a brow, curious on what he wanted to ask. “Yes?”

“Have you ever been in love?” He asked point-blank.

You remained silent for a few moments, the sudden feeling of your heart beginning to beat quicker, the feelings of a stone plopping in your stomach releasing butterflies burst inside you. “I...I don’t think so.” Was all you could mutter.

“I get this...feeling, (Y/N)..” L mumbled, his face turning towards you, his dark eyes now soft, as he slowly slipped his hand in your direction, moving a strand of (Y/H/C) hair out of your face. “That I’ve never felt with anyone else before and I don’t know how to explain it..”

“L..I..” You whispered, as you realized your faces were a mere three inches apart, as your eyes flicked from his eyes to his lips, the feeling of wanting to press your lips against his clouded your brain.

L looked down to your lips before he blinked and pulled away. “What do you feel for me, (Y/N)?” He whispered, looking down at the distance from the roof to the ground, the sound of cars passing by every now and again.

“L..” You began, the sound of your heartbeat ringing in your ears, and right as you looked at him, he looked at you, you both not even realizing you were both leaning in, your eyes beginning to flutter.

You both pulled away quickly from the other as soon as the door to the main building swung open, revealing the two people to be Misa and Light. “(Y/N)! Ryuzaki! We’ve been looking for you guys for almost thirty minutes now! Where have you two been?” Misa exclaimed, rushing over to the two of you, grabbing you and hoisting you up.

She engulfed you in a tight hug, continuing to ramble. “We thought you two decided to run off and have a night out without us? How could you be so rude!” Misa slightly giggled, before pulling away, seeing Light walk towards you guys, standing next to L.

“We just wondered where the two of you snuck off to when we didn’t see you in the main headquarters.” Light explained, glancing at you with a we need to talk look.

You nodded slowly at Light, turning to L. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ryuzaki. Goodnight.”

You shoved your hands in the pockets of your jeans, walking away from the three into the building. As soon as the door shut behind you, you walked down the hall, and saw a nearby closet. You entered inside, it being filled with folders and computer cords, and you sat in the corner after shutting the door quietly behind you.

You stared at the floor, the feelings bursting out of you, sudden steams of tears coming down your cheeks, falling onto the palms of your hands. You let out small hiccups and sniffs, your throat suddenly becoming tight as your hands shook. “No..not now, not him, please..” You whimpered helplessly, as the feelings took a hold of your heart.

You loved him. You loved L. You’ve known that well in your mind for a little bit of time now, but at this moment, it seemed this was the time you had come to terms with it. You covered your face, your chest heaving with the sobs that released themselves, you, no matter how much you tried, you couldn’t control.

All the memories of it all, swarming back to you. Late night slushies, chess games with stupid conversations, sweet shop hang-out days, shopping days, and the say where you played Stand By Me by Ben E. King in the kitchen of your apartment, teaching L how to dance just for the heck of it. Which led to the first time of you seeing him smile, looking into your eyes.

The night he sat with you, holding your hand when you had a flashback of your father’s abuse. It was one of the worst panic attacks you had in your life, and he was the one who stayed with you, taking your hand, and fed you his sweets, telling you calming and reassuring things that made your heart melt that day.

All that suddenly hit you. Hit you hard. Later that night, Misa made tea for you, Light, and herself, and you all sat in your living room apartment, Light telling both you and Misa that in just a week, L would be dead. Hearing those words and Light’s entire plan, and how he simply smiled and laughed maniacally at it made you shudder. In the past, you had the same smirk he had, but now, it was just forced..

End Of Flashback...

After a small conversation in the rain, L and you made your way back inside headquarters, drying yourselves off with towels. You took a seat on the steps, drying your hair as L stood next to you. You sighed, leaning your head back, closing your eyes, and you heard him kneel down behind you. Suddenly, you felt his hands rub and squeeze your shoulders, making you jolt slightly and look up at him. “What are you doing?”

“Relax, I’m actually quite good at this.” He said, as gently squeezed your shoulders. “You’re stressed about something, I can tell..”

The stone dropped in your stomach once again.

“You’ve been tense all day long, and you look like you haven’t slept in a few days, and I’m quite worried for your well-being, (Y/N).” L said gently, as you stared in front of you, biting your lip to control the tears that formed in your eyes, knowing Light’s plan was already in motion.

“So, allow me to release some of this weight on your shoulders.” L spoke calmly and gently, making your heart beat quicker. To you, he sounded almost like an angel.

He began to hum the song you both declared as yours, Stand By Me, while giving you the massage. You closed your eyes, before slowly bringing your hand up to his that was on your shoulder, gently placing it on top of his. He stopped his humming and his movements. “Did I hurt you? My apologies.”

“No, you didn’t.” You said, tilting your head to see him behind you. “But L, there’s something I need to tell you..I-I need to tell you now.” Your voice cracked slightly, but you kept it together.

“Yes, (Y/N)?” L muttered as you fully turned to face him, his eyes never leaving yours.

“L, I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you this sooner..” You laughed slightly, refusing to meet his gaze. You knew if you did, you’d completely lose it. “But L, I lo-”

You were cut off by L’s finger on your lips, indicating for you to be quiet. Then, his finger was replaced by his lips. They gently pressed against yours, softly and it was long-awaited on both sides. You felt a tear slide down your cheek, as you cupped his cheeks, playing with the wet strands of his hair as he cradled the back of your neck.

After a bit, you both pulled away, looking into the other’s eyes. “The bells...” L whispered, “They’ve gotten louder...”

Small Time Skip...

“L-Light, please, I-” You pleaded to Light, grabbing the collar of his shirt, whispering as the panic grew in the room, everyone beginning to freak out, including L as Watari had suffered a heart attack while on the line with L.

Light looked at you with a scowl on his face, taking your hands off him. “(Y/N),” he began but his eyes moved to behind you, watching at L slowly fell from his chair.

You turned in the direction of his gaze, and like in slow motion, your vision was covered in red, as you watched as he almost reached the floor. You jumped forward, catching him in your arms. You two locked eyes one final time.

You looked in his eyes, as you took his hand in yours, tears brimming your eyes as you knew the truth all too well, and you knew he did as well. His eyes widened at the realization, his grip on your hand beginning to loosen. As his eyes began to close, a single tear fell from his eye, Light giving off his sadistic smirk behind you.

Just then, at that very moment, you knew L was gone. The final thoughts he had was the realization of your betrayal. The truth. It all hit him. Hit him hard. You were always one Kira’s side. And now, even when you held him, all the moments before, it was all according to Light’s plan. All of it and you followed him even when your heart beckoned you to not. And because of that, L died in your arms. All Light asked of you was for him to use you for his own sick plans.

While, all L asked of you, was to stand by him.

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