#and it's only when she starts to fuel the spiral herself does she gain a footing again (but that's obviously at other ppls expense and-

[welcometogrouchland]

Late night conversations with the bestie about slowly becoming an avatar of terror <3 part 2 of the spiral!Sasha au, this time featuring more Tim, more angst, and more knife hands (please click for quality (and look in the tags for Lore™)) image ID by @mag170

[ID: a five page digital comic of Sasha James and Tim Stoker from The Magnus Archives in a spiral!Sasha AU. The background is a dark purple and there's coloured iconograpy of various entities on the panels, specifically spirals, eyes, webs, and theatre masks. Tim is Malaysian with several round scars, short black hair, a lavender shirt and a green hooded vest, Sasha is Black with long curly brown hair, round glasses, a light blue longsleeve, and a purple skirt.

1: A full page drawing shows Sasha lying on her back on a dark blue couch with her hands folded on her stomach, Tim sits with his back against the armrest and his hands under his legs. Sasha says: "I don't know. Lately I've just been feeling like the rug is constantly getting pulled out from under me, what with Jon and... the incident with detective Tonner." Tim replies: "I feel you. Things have gone to hell lately. I'd like to knock out Elias's teeth as much as the next guy and, quite frankly, I wouldn't mind an apology from Jon for all the stalking but... *sigh* ...I don't know. At least we have each other." Sasha: "True. I just wish I could know what was going on, that I could get a straight answer out of Elias... that things weren't so uncertain... all the doubt and anxiety... it reminds me of the corridors."

2: The first two panels show Tim, looking to the side as he says: "I get it. After my brother... every face looked rubber to me. Everyone smiled too wide. I felt so alone." He turns his head to the side and continues: "Going through that... it changes you. And not for the better, no 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. But I'm here and so are you. Y'know, despite it all." The next panel shows Sasha from above, she's blushing and raising one hand and says: "Yeah..." This is followed by a close up of her raised hand shown against the ceiling, the panel is cut off by another showing the same hand with spirals on the knuckles and long pointed extensions on her fingers, the ceiling is replaced by a yellow and pink spiral and the panel is surrounded by pink spirals. A close up of Sasha's eyes shows her looking shocked.

3: Sasha shoots upright, staring at her hand and screaming. Her speech bubble has a faint multicoloured spiral in it. Tim turns around with a worried look and asks: "Sasha?" The next panel shows Sasha from the front, still staring at her hand. Tim has stood up, clutching one hand to his chest, and asks: "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Sasha looks behind her, surrounded by spirals and a wide, toothy grin, and replies: "Oh, um, I'm fine, just-". Tim looks her in the eye and cuts her off: "Bullshit."

4: Three panels are spread diagonally over the page, the other two corners are filled with text that fades out at the edges over a purple spirally background with a white hand with long pointed fingers. The text is from Sasha's statement in the spiral AU, the image in the top right corner is upside down. In the top left corner Tim continues: "Pretending you're fine when you're not is a classic Stoker move, and I don't intend to let you get away with it. You don't have to be 'fine' all the time, Sash. You know I'm here for you." Sasha looks away, above her are two pieces of text, one reads: I'm here for you. The other reads: Ha ha. She then turns back with her eyes closed and answers: "I know."

5: Five panels, first two close ups of their hands. Sasha reaches for Tim, her hand displays white phantom fingers that are long and pointed, around her arm are pink spirals. Tim's arm is surrounded by pink mannequin hands, between their hands are ellipsis. Sasha then firmly grabs Tim's hand. Their hands are surrounded by an orange wavy line and eyes, while an angry looking face with spiral eyes and a wide toothy mouth looks on from Sasha's side and a sad theatre mask with an X for an eye looks on from Tim's. The next two panels are close ups of Sasha and Tim respectively. Sasha is smiling and has a fond look as she says: "I'm here for you too." Tim blushes and smiles back, glancing sideways at Sasha. The final panel shows them silhouetted and looking at each other, Sasha on the couch, Tim against the armrest. End ID]

#the magnus archives #tma #sasha james #tim stoker #spiral! sasha #timsasha #can be interpreted as platonic or romantic i think? that's kind of what i was going for at least #i was barely able to hold myself back from making a sixth page because apparently im a masochist #it was just gonna be extra dialogue but i decided to just trust myself and my ability to communicate w my art #anyway yeah tim and sasha have a death grip on my psyche so of course the next comic had to be about them! #tim is still dealing w trauma in this au he's just not as bad as he was in season 3 in canon #I see tim as very people oriented? he's got his ingrained flaws and his scars BUT if he has support he deals w that better #and in regards to sasha i think (at the time of this comic) she's in an uncertain place? she doesn't know what's going on with jon or- #-not!daisy and elias won't give answers so she's feeling a bit paranoid and disoriented (which just fuels the spiral) #and it's only when she starts to fuel the spiral herself does she gain a footing again (but that's obviously at other ppls expense and- #-then WHOOPS it's a classic tma moral quandary) #((in regards to avatar stuff: i think Sasha gets very tempted by monsterhood (because having power after you've been repeatedly victimised- #-is something that's really hard to turn away) BUT i think that sasha ''all we have is our actions to say who we are'' james would try and- #-pull herself away from feeding on people like jon and daisy in s4. i don't think she'd leave the institute but she'd probably feel really- #-guilty about having a domain in season 5)) #also the knife hands panels: idk if they're just in Sasha's head? i think they're like. the spiral taunting her with what she's becoming #and only she can see it #OK TAG RANT OVER ENJOY CONTENT #page stretcher #long post

[asterekmess]

Did you ever watch Buffy? The first episode where Anya was introduced was titled "The Wish" and all I can think about is if Scott McCall had ever run into a pure Sidhe where they offered him a wish. Instead of, "I wish Buffy had never come to Sunnydale." It would be more, "I wish I was never bitten to become a werewolf." But just like all feaye tricks, the outcome is more, his Dad ended up with primary custody rather than his Mom and he was forced to leave BH. And then Stiles ended up more friends with Heather and others. And while Scott's life is worse, when he tracks down the others he finds all of theirs are greatly improved.

I think about it a lot and how Scott never really dealt with the consequences of any of his actions, everyone else did, and how an episode or mini-arc could have fixed a flaw in the show's design. I mean, we were already dealing with a lot of Celtic lore, why not someone from the Sidhe courts?

I have no idea why this took me so long to answer, so apologies for that. <3 I did watch buffy! I've seen all of it, and all of Angel as well. XD

I remember 'The Wish' episode, and whoooo boy it gave me chills. I loved how big the butterfly effect was, how something that seemed so small, something that Genuinely seemed to be the cause of a lot of problems in Sunnydale, ended up being so important to how things had progressed. Because, yeah, you would think Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a Good Thing, right? Sunnydale didn't have all of these insane issues before she arrived. It was quiet, and nothing big or scary ever happened. Her arrival matches perfectly with when everything started going absolutely nuts, so whatever selfish ideas Cordelia had, her thought that Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a good thing, makes sense. Except that, as she finds out, she's entirely wrong. Buffy's arrival was a lucky coincidence, or fate, whatever your taste leans toward. She showed up right as things started going nuts, and she kept it from going SO MUCH MORE NUTS.

Now, moving on to TW, it is a fascinating mix of being the Exact same situation, and the exact Opposite. I'll add a Read More, cus' holy god is this a lot of Rambling.

Because Scott wishing not to have been bitten...yeah, the bite Did improve things. But it improved things for him. He would absolutely regret making the wish, just like Cordelia did, because he would realize how many good things the bite had brought with it. BUT, conversely, he would have to realize how many good things the bite had brought for him, not for other people, and how their lives either wouldn't have been affect, or might've even Improved without him being bitten. Without the bite, Scott wouldn't have gotten on first line, period. His health issues made very clear in the five minutes he had them that any kind of stamina based sport was just out of the question for him. If he is unable to walk through the woods at a moderate pace without needing to grab his inhaler and stop against a tree, he just plain cannot play lacrosse for two or three hours of running at high speeds and working a bunch of muscles in his upper body. He likely wouldn't have gone out with Allison, because he would have no convenient way to get her attention. Furthermore, he wouldn't have the extra senses that both impressed her on the lacrosse field, and told him about her 'family dinner' the night of Lydia's party. (I've discussed this before, but... While it's true, Allison would have still brought him the dog; that dog would likely have attacked him, and his chances with her would have been shot in the foot when they both got in massive trouble and he likely had to go to the ER for stitches or something. Without Allison or first line, he wouldn't have started hanging out with the 'cool kids,' and quite frankly, wouldn't have had anyone to help him study for the classes he was struggling with. It's true that he also wouldn't have had werewolf things to worry about, or even a girlfriend to distract him from homework, so maybe that wouldn't have been such a huge issue, but still.

If we look at other people's lives and how They would have been affected by Scott not getting the bite...well, let's talk about that.

Stiles didn't get on first line because of Scott, or because of a werewolf bite. Or even because of the werewolf bullshittery occurring in town. He was put on first line because of his abilities, and even after being taken OFF first line for missing the game, he was put Right onto the field in the next game, chosen OVER other players who were perfectly viable options. Which means, he still would've ended up on first line. Allison wasn't interested in dating before she met Scott, and part of her draw to him was based on how 'different' he was. He knew things she didn't know how he could know, he had a weird ability to calm a furious, injured dog, and he had charisma that was ALSO gained from the bite, since being on first line made Scott Much more self-confident. If she didn't end up dating him, it's likely she wouldn't have dated at all. Which would mean no hiding from her parents, no strange conflicts of interest, AND, interestingly enough --depending on her involvement in the murders, etc that would still be occurring in town--no night in the school that would scare her bad enough to ask Kate for extra help and tip her headfirst into hunter training. AND, even if she DID still end up getting those lessons from Kate? There would be no bitterness to fuel her behavior at the end of season 1.

Allison was Traumatized after Kate showed her Derek on the grate. She was horrified, and didn't know what to do about it, and while we can ramble all we want about the morality of her not confronting her family (whom she's just discovered is willing to electrocute people) about it, the fact is that she pushed the thoughts aside to stop freaking out and went to that dance. Where she found out Scott was a werewolf, and was So fucking Betrayed that she was willing to help Kate catch him and Derek. No Scott, no betrayal, no willingness to help Kate recapture the miserable man who'd been chained up in a basement.

If we go back to that specific night, and try to unfold the events from there if Scott hadn't been bitten, things get a little complicated, but I'll take a few artistic liberties. Scott isn't bitten. Presumably, he just happens to get out of the woods in time, or he gets caught with Stiles by the sheriff, or doesn't go to the woods in the first place. These all change the possible outcomes of that night. If he hadn't gone in the first place, and Stiles went alone, would he have been bitten instead? Would Scott have been dragged into all of this anyway, but without the protection and boost of being a werewolf and cured of his asthma? If he weren't the one bitten, and he saw everything Stiles gained from it, would he still have such a hatred for the bite? Or would he want it, like Erica did, to cure him and make him powerful and cool? But, let's assume Stiles doesn't get bitten either. The second half of Laura's body still hasn't been found, and Stiles has no reason to fear running back into the preserve the next day, and no real punishment from his father as far as we can tell. So, does he go back to look again? If he did, he would run into Derek, because Derek would still be there after retrieving Laura's body himself. He would see Derek and still recognize him, and from there, things might spiral, still involving Stiles in the supernatural, and it's likely Stiles would try to involve Scott, and Again we get hit with "Would Scott want the bite, if he hadn't gotten forcibly bitten in the first place?" The answer is probably yes. He wanted to be cool, and popular, and on the lacrosse team. He wanted everything being a werewolf gave him. BUT if we're looking at this wish as similar to "The Wish," then no matter what, Scott won't be bitten. He'll be transported to a new world where it just never happened, and he'll be human, and forced to watch everyone around him be just plain different. Scott not being bitten would isolate him from Stiles, if Stiles got involved in the spn anyway. We SAW how Stiles cut off his other friends once the spn starting getting in the way. He and Harley? We have no clue how close they were. They were close enough for her to tease him about his crush on Lydia, for her to wander up comfortably to the locker and talk to them. And he cut her off as soon as the werewolf stuff hit. What if he cut Scott off? To protect him, if nothing else, like he did his own father. Once he realized the danger involved, I doubt he would be willing to put Scott in harm's way.

So, Scott would not only lose first line, lose his girlfriend, lose his popularity, lose his health and strength and heightened abilities, lose his 'importance' to the goings-on of Beacon Hills, but he would also lose Stiles, who seems to have been his only friend, unless he also had a relationship with Harley.

Okay, I've rambled enough about the what if's, so let's talk about the Reason why this wish would go so badly for Scott, in such a different way than it went for Cordelia. Cordelia, first off, wished that someone Else would not have/do something, rather than wishing for herself not to have done something. She watches how fucked up the world gets, and how much worse her life is without Buffy around to save the day. Scott wished for Himself not to have done something (even something passive, like 'get bitten') and would have to watch how fucked up his world gets, and how far behind he would fall. The other's lives might not necessarily get better, because Peter is still on the loose, and the hunters are still there, etc etc, but they would still Progress, while Scott would stay stagnant.

And WHY is that? Because Scott isn't important to the story. It DOESN'T start with him. That's the Whole Point of his character. He is supposed to be the 'everyman' who gets dragged into crazy shit and becomes integral to things that he wasn't ever meant to be a part of. The guy who wanders into becoming King or 'The Hero' that will save the world, even though he's just a small lad from a tiny town, whose highest prospects were "get on first line."

He was NEVER supposed to be Buffy, or if he was, it was done Very Badly.

But Beacon Hills WASN'T a quiet town before Scott was bitten; however much he might've said 'nothing ever happens in this town.' It was FULL of bullshittery and magic from the very beginning. There was the fire, and Paige, and the blinding of Deucalion, and the death of Alexander Argent, and the Nogitsune in the internment camp nearby. All of these things were around So much longer than Scott's bite, and they'd been affecting the world that whole time too. Because yes, in Buffy, the master was There before she was, but he was literally rendered inert by the situations he was in. And the things he'd done happened Centuries before, not six years. There is a difference. Sunnydale was Not Known for the insane number of weird deaths. Beacon Hills was. And aside from the Nogitsune, every single fucking thing that happened in Beacon Hills, was attuned to the Hale family in one way or another. Deucalion's blinding occurred during a meeting on Hale land, because Talia was known as a wise leader, etc, in the area and other wolves flocked to her. Deucalion biting Argent seems unrelated (if you even believe Deucalion did that, despite being a fucking pacifist before Gerard blinded him), but again, it occurs just a couple hours away from Beacon Hills, which is Hale Territory. The one who plays the Buffy role here? Who shows up at just the right time, and launches themself against an endless wave of evil, with slightly enhanced senses and a thorough need to do good and not back away from things that 'aren't they're problem'? The actual hero who is somehow tied to everything going on in ways even they don't understand? Was Derek. The guy who entirely unwittingly allowed Julia Baccari to survive, because he was trying to be merciful to his first love. Who entirely unwittingly was manipulated into giving up information that let a hunter kill his family. Who followed his sister back to town after six years of just trying to survive in New York, fell into a fucking tragedy, and decided to stop the bad guys anyway, even though he knew he didn't stand a fucking chance.

And as annoyed as some might get. The 'everyman' who stumbles onto the set and accidentally becomes integral to the saving of the world? The one whose ambitions are small and who expectations are smaller? Who is misunderstood, and has abilities that aren't recognized or appreciated, that doesn't really fit in, but tries their best anyway? The literal Angel to Derek's Buffy?

Is fucking Stiles. The son of the sheriff who just could not let it go when he discovered there was something funky going on. Who hung around on the edges, even though he wasn't really wanted, because he needed to help. Who ended up saving Derek's life over and over, and becoming so important as to be Derek's anchor? Who literally WENT DARKSIDE and HAD TO BE NEARLY KILLED, even though Derek didn't to kill him???

I know how it sounds, but JD SAID he took inspiration from Buffy. The issue is that his parallels are between DEREK AND STILES, and BUFFY AND ANGEL. Respectively.

Derek might act like the broody bad boy, but it is STILES' mentality that matches Angel's behavior, and it's Derek who matches Buffy.

I'm so fucking off track. Scott would be miserable if he ever managed to get a wish and used it to keep from having been bitten. And it would be sad. I would feel bad for him, had I watched something like that happen. Seeing him realize that most of the good things he had, he only got because of the bite. That Stiles would still be on first line, that Lydia and Jackson would still be the popular kids. That Allison wouldn't know he existed, or if she did would avoid him entirely. That Jackson would never have been turned into the kanima in the first place. That everyone else would move on and up in life, and he would still be standing at the bottom step. Because it wasn't his actual limitations that were holding him back, it was his refusal to accept them, to work with them, and to just plain stop Envying Everyone Around him, and start living his own fucking life instead of trying to steal other people's.

Scott wishes he were Cordelia, and I promise that would backfire too.

#personal #anti-Scott McCall #meta ramblings #go for it #this is way too long #but i had feelings #the more you guys made me talk about this #the more I want to write a Buffy fusion #or a tw rewrite with Scott not being bitten #or fucking Both #or both Combined #SOMETHING

[electricbluebutterflies]

Could you do an 'I didn't know I was pregnant prompt' where somehow Abby, who's a doctor and won't ever live it down, doesn't realize that she's pregnant until she's in labor. Possibly with it being conveniently when she's alone bar delinquents, and someone has to go track down Kane and inform him of what's going on.

Canon-divergent from early s3 ish. Also featuring Raven being awesome and Clarke trying not to have a breakdown, so hopefully I wrote those two darlings okay. Content warning for vague / non-graphic and questionably medically accurate descriptions of childbirth. PG13ish for that and also swear words. Also on ao3.

The thing about quiet is it doesn’t last. She should’ve knownbetter.

It’s been a year, maybe a little more than that. Time flowsdifferently here, but one of the kids – and Abby knows they are not that anymore,most of them are so much more capable than her, but in her mind they are stillso small – is pretty sure they saw a snowflake yesterday. So, bit more than ayear. And about a year since she broke down and let herself be reckless and…

All of this hits her in the worst way as she realizes whather body is doing. This pain is not cramps, but she can’t blame herself forgetting confused, it’s been a while since she’s had her normal cycle and-

Yeah. This is what she gets for ignoring her own body aswell as she does. Dammit.

The worst part is, Abby thinks as she paces across herworkspace because so help her she is not letting this nor anything else stopher, she justified everything. Her last implant had expired shortly after shewas widowed, and she’d passed on getting another one because she was on theedge of forty and had zero plans to ever let anyone else touch her and she didn’twant to waste resources like that, and she’d just… forgotten about that detaila year and a half later when she’d gone and taken a new lover anyways. With orwithout the implant, her cycles were always erratic and she stopped trying topredict that ages ago. Nausea got justified when she wasn’t the only person whoate bad meat (turns out mutant might’ve-descended-from-a-raccoon needs to be cookedlonger than that attempt was); a little weight gain because she iseating more, because that’s a possibility now. Said weight pooling in herabdomen is normal enough for a woman her age, right?

She justified everything, she was wrong, and now she is-

Fuck.

Okay, so right now pants are a mistake. They’re soakedthrough anyways, and somehow the idea of someone wandering in and seeing hernaked from the hips down is one of the less embarrassing details of this wholedisaster. Normal people have seven or eight months to process imminent parenthoodbefore it comes. She won’t even have that many hours. Supposedly births getquicker the more a person has had, and given her track record there…

Another wave of pain hits and she grabs the edge of the tablefor support. At least she’s having this crisis – she is trying to use everyword for it but what it is, and she will go through the guilt spiral later – inmedical. Ideal place for this nightmare. If she has to give birth on herown, as is looking more and more likely, at least she is doing so in a safeplace. That’s about the only thing going right here.

There is, after all, the small issue of her partner havingno damn clue about any of this.

Last she checked – and she tries not to hover, she is notthat kind of woman and their more recent trust in each other has eliminatedsome of her tendencies – Marcus is out on a hunting / scavenging daytrip. Whichmeans he may or may not be back before this is over. Either way, explaining howshe managed to be oblivious for close to nine months about something so significantis not going to be a good time and she is more than a little nervous about thatand-

Abby hears the door open behind her. Great. Now thenightmare is complete.

“Are you…” Raven, thank goodness, at least the intruder issomeone who occasionally has common sense. “Screw that, you’re not okay.”

“How willing are you to believe things right now?” Abbyasks, turning her head to look at her friend. Group bonding across generationsis rough, but she sees a different kind of potential in the younger woman thanmost people do. Like this one, if she doesn’t accidentally kill herself beforeshe turns thirty, has some serious untapped leadership potential. And moreimportantly right now, Raven is extremely well-connected and has a highertolerance for crazy than most people. So, again, ideal person.

“From you, pretty cooperative,” Raven shrugs. “What happenedslash who do I need to electrocute?”

“I somehow managed to ignore being pregnant and… it’scoming.” And saying it out loud sounds even more damning than realizing it herselfhalf an hour ago, dragging another person into this mess with her and puttingthat weight on someone who doesn’t need it. “Feel free to judge me.”

“Nah. Not sure what you need me to do but…”

“Get someone. Anyone. Nothing against you as a person but Ido not trust you to-“

Another contraction hits before Abby can sufficientlyexplain why she’d rather not have someone who interacts with technology betterthan people as her backup here. Great. If she factors in the number of timesthis has happened that she really did think were cramps, and how long it’s beensince closing her legs felt like a good idea… shit. Yeah no. There will be noexplaining this to her partner before it’s too late.

“What I’m hearing is radio your idiot and tell him to gethis ass back here as soon as humanly possible but do not tell him whybecause that’ll break him, grab the first person I can find who I’d trust tocatch something and send them in here to help you, and go through the storageroom and hope there’s still baby clothes in that one box I found some in lastmonth. Anything I’m missing?”

If Abby were more mobile, and/or felt less like her body wasabout to explode, she would hug Raven right now. “Yes. I… yes. Thank you.”

“And try to keep this on a need-to-know basis. Far as anyoneelse is concerned, you figured out you were incubating at a normal enough timebut you decided to keep quiet about it because you hate attention. That work?”

“I’m not sure that’s going to be believable when-“

“It’s believable if you’re a couple weeks before your duedate and you can pass that particular dramatic shitshow off as being more aboutthe timing.”

“I’m not sure if you’re an angel or an evil genius.”

“I’d like to think I’m both,” Raven laughs. “Now, if youthink you have enough time here for me to do that, I’m gonna go.”

Abby assesses herself quickly. Unless something somehow goeseven more wrong, she’s got at least half an hour here. “I’ll be alright.”

And again she is alone, she thinks as the door closes behindher. This is… not an absolute worst-case scenario, but pretty damn close. At best,she’s got a lot of explaining to do when it’s all over. At worst…

Describing this as an accident is a serious understatement. Therehas been no conversation about whether or not to have kids together. It neverseemed necessary. They’re older enough that the risk seemed so low, and therearen’t restrictions on that here, and she didn’t think…

She didn’t think. That’s what this all comes down to. A temporaryvacation from her normal instincts and look what that got her. No time tomentally prepare for a tiny vulnerable creature, no time to think about theimplications for her relationship, no time to even find out if her partnerwants this enough to stick around for it, no time to-

Getting closer. She is not attempting to measure herself butshe can feel the process. Timing-wise, she probably is a few weeks earlyhere, in that comfortable space where that won’t mean any problems for thelittle creature and a normal person’s biggest concern would be not being quitedone with their preparations. Whereas she has done no preparations, whatlittle of her fate isn’t in her own hands right now has been entrusted to atwenty-one-year-old who has even less of a baseline for this, and-

It’s all too much, and Abby starts crying. Most confusedemotional release she’s ever had, not sure if it’s stress or fear or pain oranticipation or probably all of those at once. Overload enough that the nextcontraction feels muted by comparison, overload enough to overlook how uncomfortablethis all is.

It’s just a little ironic that this started bent over atable and it may well end that way too, at the rate she’s going. That’ll be funny,in a couple months when any of this can be, maybe.

She hears the door open again and this time multiplefootsteps, this time she is too exhausted to even turn her head, this time-

“Mom? What the hell?”

Limited options, Abby reminds herself. Limited options ofpeople she would trust to be her backup here, and her own – possibly soon to beolder? – daughter is one of them.

“Clarke, I can-“

“Raven filled me in,” Clarke mutters, sounding so familiarlydisapproving. Abby’s always thought her daughter takes much more after her latehusband, but sometimes there are familiar flickers in there. “You basicallyneed me to catch it.”

“Basically, yes. There should be some towels in-“

“I know where things are. Learned my organization systemfrom you.”

“And I can grab stuff,” Raven adds. That would be the secondset of feet, the bright-red jacket Abby can see in her peripheral vision. “Iwould rather not see the nightmare fuel here but I can hold things or whatever.”

“Any luck with-“

Abby swears she can somehow hear Raven roll her eyes. “Wrongperson picked up, but we tried. The group at least knows something is goingdown here and hopefully I yelled enough to-“

The next pain is strong enough to blur Abby’s vision. “Nextone is it.” She’s amazed she can even talk clearly right now, but her presenceis not going away just because she’s in a crisis. She’s gotten through worse. Rarelybeen on this end of it, rarely felt so helpless, but she will not let anythingstop her. “Be ready.”

Around her, the girls attempt as much prep as they can. Abbydoes not know what they’re doing, does not think about it. There is only this. Thereis her, and the little creature that is about to exit her body, and her olderchild who is surprisingly calm about all of this, and another member of theirfamily who is at least trying to do the same, and a black hole where herpartner should be and-

She screams.

She lets it be a blur. She does not want to remember thesefew moments.

She knows one of the girls is hovering under her with alarge towel in hand, and the other one is yelling, and she doesn’t know whichis which and she doesn’t care. She knows that this is at least a familiar pain,and the first part is the worst, and the little creature – now officially hersecond child, she will let herself process that later – is slick andcooperative and how the child of two such stubborn people is so easy to dealwith in its first moments she does not know but-

“I have a little sister,” Clarke says somewhere in thebackground.

Abby wants to collapse. Wants to sleep for a very long time.She focuses on her body, on all the things she knows. There is still pain, waitingfor the afterbirth to come out. She suspects she’s torn but not as badly as itcould’ve been, and her breasts ache and at some point soon that too will beuseful, and-

She fades out. Exhaustion is a wonderful thing. She knowsher body will do what it needs to, and she trusts the girls enough, and… shecan’t do this anymore.

When she wakes up, she’s somehow been moved to the cot –which means someone else has seen her questionable condition, great, just whatshe doesn’t need – and she’s in a clean shirt and someone has placed cold clothbetween her legs to help the hurting and-

“You really didn’t know?”

She’s not awake enough for this shit.

Abby turns her head and yep, there is her partner (but howmuch longer can she call him that, she wonders) in a chair someone must’vebrought in, looking at her like he does not know where to start but he has alot of questions. It’s been a while since she’s had to interpret that look, andshe is concerned.

“I didn’t know,” she repeats. “You’ve known me since we werechildren, you know I can justify anything, I thought-“

“Alright.” And now for the scary-calm. That particularversion has evolved over the past year and a half or so, as Marcus has learned howto be more of a person, but she still knows it too well. He’s harder to readthis way, and more dangerous to those around him. “When I found out… I thought…”

“Do you really think I would’ve hidden this from you if I’dknown?”

“I had to ask.”

“I wouldn’t… I just went through hell,” she hisses. “Involuntarily.Again. And I wouldn’t have had to if I’d paid more attention to myself but youknow I don’t-“

“I believe you.”

She’s not sure she believes him right now, but she isstill too exhausted to move so that fight can wait a day or two. “Where is…” Shedoesn’t know the right word. My daughter? Ours? Which of those will hold longer?

“Raven’s looking after her. You needed to rest, and… I canlook after you here, Raven can keep the baby in her workshop except when sheneeds to feed.”

Abby rolls her eyes. Yeah, keep a newborn in the mostdangerous place in the settlement, great idea. On the other hand, Raven’sspace is at least warm. “And you’re…”

“Still processing,” Marcus finishes. “Someone tried to radious but we were a few miles out, and when we got back I didn’t have time tothink before someone shoved what looked like a bundle of towels in my arms and…”

“It is yours. If that was going to be your next question.”

“It wasn’t. But good to know.”

“I just… I ignored everything, and I…”

He reaches out for her hand, and even that feels like toomuch physical contact right now but it’s a nice gesture anyways. “I’m notblaming you.”

“Well that’s new,” she mutters. He’s been decent for a year,she should have more faith, but… “Are you going to stay?”

And now for the look of stunned horror, the wide eyes and haltedbreaths and for a moment she’s broken him. “Am I… how is that a question?!”

“You are aware how many bad choices I’ve made here…”

“You’ve always been a little impulsive,” he counters. “And stubborn.And usually right. And I don’t know why you think this kind of innocent mistakewould push me away.”

“It’s a screaming liability of a mistake?”

“It’s ours. And I want… if you want…”

“Yeah. You’ve never done this before. You do not realize thehell you’ve just volunteered for.”

“I’m with you. How bad could it be.”

He leans down and kisses her forehead, and the scratch ofhis beard is way too much, and… yeah. They’ll be okay.

#ebf talks to anons #kabby #ebf writes fic

[aspoonofsugar]

I was happy to discover you are in ATLA fandom too. Could you please share your thoughts on Azula? I like your analyses

Hello anon!

Thank you very much for the nice words and for this ask! I love Azula!

I think Azula’s character explores the idea of control:

In The Avatar State, she is shown training to master “lightening”. There, it is shown how losing control of even a small detail, like a lock of hair, is enough to make Azula angry.

It is not by chance that such a scene occurs in an episode focused on the Avatar State. As a matter of fact the Avatar State and the lightening can (partially) be compared when it comes to Aang and Zuko’s stories in book two. This book opens up with Aang trying to enter the Avatar State and with the lightening being introduced thanks to Azula’s character. What is more, both Aang and Zuko try to get a hold of the two different techniques throughout the season. Finally, both skills need for the user to “let go” of their feelings.

In particular, when it comes to the lightening, there are two different ways to interpret this:

Iroh: There is energy all around us. The energy is both Ying and Yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and, in the moment the positive and negative energy come pressing back together, you provide release and guidance...creating lightening. (...) Remember, once you separate the energy you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide.”

Iroh: “Lightening is a pure expression of fire-bending without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightening the cold blooded fire. It is precise precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind.”

On one hand Iroh’s description is interesting because it is as if creating lightening is a process of synthesis. You separate opposites and have them come back together, so that they can gain a new form. So it makes sense that, thematically, this new synthesis can happen only if the character overcomes their inner turmoil. This is also why Zuko is not able to learn the skill:

Iroh: “You will not be able to master lightening until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you.”

Zuko: “What turmoil!?”

Iroh: “Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away.”

In order to acquire it, he should let go of his shame, but he can’t do it. The fact that “shame” is what stops Zuko from making progress is interesting. As explained by Guru Pathick, thus, the fire chakra is the chakra of will and it is polluted by shame.

On the other hand the lightening is called cold-blooded firebending because it can be realized only by benders whose emotions are kept in check. I would argue that this is the reason why Azula is able to use this skill. It is not that she has reached a level of emotional maturity which lets her become a  “humble guide” to the energy. It is just that she constantly represses her feelings. This repression gives the idea that she is in perfect control, but this impression is a superficial one and it is proven wrong towards the end of the story.

In short, Zuko is not able to use lightening because of his explosive emotions, while Azula is able to because she restricts her feelings. Let’s highlight that this difference between the two siblings comes up again in a key episode aka The Beach:

Once again Zuko’s emotions are in full display. He is angry and nervous. He might not know why, but he is. Moreover he is finally able to express himself thanks to a confrontation with the other members of the group. Finally he does so while a giant fire erupts to highlight the catharsis of the moment. When it comes to Azula, she too opens up a little. In particular, she lets this slip:

Azula: I don't have sob stories like all of you. I could sit here and complain how our mom like Zuko more than me. But I don't really care. My own mother... thought I was a monster... She was right of course, but it still hurt.

Azula thinks that Ursa saw her as a monster. It is clear that the unsolved issues with her mother have left a sign on her. However, when she has the chance to truly let it all out, she does not. She changes the tone of the conversation and immediately leaves the topic. However, this does not mean that she is not troubled. If anything, her emotions keep burning behind a cold exterior, exactly like the fire, which burns under the ashes. Almost invisible, but still there.

About this, let’s consider two things.

1) In The Beach episode, Azula does something similar here:

Azula: “Come down to the beach with me. Come on! This place is depressing.”

Zuko starts talking about their past and their family, but Azula does not engage in the conversation and tells him to leave.

2) When Azula opens up, the others do not challenge her. They do not ask her what she meant nor they try to contradict what she said. This is different from what they have just done with each other. All in all, Zuko openly provokes Ty Lee and Ty Lee, Zuko and Azula all provoke May, until she shouts. Finally, all the girls keep asking Zuko who he is really angry with, until he is finally able to answer.

These two considerations can be linked to more general ideas.

a) Azula is a person who needs to always be in control. This has two consequences. The first is that she never lets herself be vulnerable. She is always on guard and closed up to others. The second is that she is like a fish out of water when there is nothing to control.

This is made clear in the episode The Beach:

Zuko: “Doing nothing is a waste of time. We are being sent a way in a force vacation. I feel like a child.”

In this episode, Azula and the others are given a break. However, Azula, just like Zuko, is not really able to take a break.

She is on an island and should relax, but the only way she manages to do so is by finding new enemies:

She must continually challenge herself and must change everything in a competition (and win it) in order not to face how empty she feels. This is why, in the end, her solution to the insecurities the beach re-awakens in her is to trash a party. She can’t fit in a group of pampered teenagers, so she ruins their evening. However, what Azula should really do is to try to understand why she does not fit.

The episode shows that Azula is ignorant when it comes to casual relationships:

Azula: “I am so used to people worshipping us”.

Ty Lee: “They should!”

Azula: “I know and I love it. But for once I just wanna see how people would react to us if they did not know who we were.”

She says so directly. She has been worshipped all her life. However, this means she does not know how people react to her outside of her role as a princess and a military leader.

The military aspect is especially interesting because, even if she does not disclose her identity as a royal, her attempts to bond are all centered around military topics:

Azula: “That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful, you could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battle ship, leaving thousands to drown at sea. Because... it's so sharp.”

Azula: “Together you and I will be... THE STRONGEST COUPLE IN THE WHOLE WORLD! We will dominate the Earth!”

Her life has been a long training session for war, so she does not really know anything else. This is obvious both in how she can’t talk about other things and in how she sees others not like people, but like enemies/rivals.

This is also why the vacation in Amber Island could have been very important if Azula had been able to properly capitalize on it. All in all, The Beach is the episode where Azula is shown the most vulnerable (not counting the finale where she has a complete break-down).

She tries to change her approach to go along with others:

Azula: “Well that sounds really shallow and stupid...Let’s try it!

She openly apologizes and shows her insecurities:

“Look...maybe I just said it because I was a little...jealous.”

However, all of this is not enough to change the trajectory of her arc. Why is that so? This has to do with another aspect of Azula’s controlling tendencies. As a matter of fact not only does she controls herself, but also others.

b) Azula is presented since the beginning as a highly manipulative character. Manipulation is at the root of all her major relationships:

Zuko:You lied to me!

Azula: Like I've never done that before.

She lies to Zuko to catch him and forces Ty Lee to join her through manipulation. Moreover most of her plans rely on manipulation and lies. However, if you try to control and manipulate others you are unable to build healthy relationships.

This is what happens to Azula. As stated above, nobody replies to Azula when she opens up. Zuko could have very easily told her Ursa loved them both. May and Ty Lee could have tried to comfort her somehow. However, nobody does. And nobody does because they are all scared of Azula. In her attempt to control everybody, Azula has negated herself the chance to have  a relationship among equals.

What is more, it is clear that it is impossible to fully control others. The Beach starts to show this through Azula’s attempts to flirt. Without her status as a princess, her peers do not behave like she wants. She might be able to hook up with a guy by rehearsing and applying a strategy. However, building a relationship is not a military operation. It is not something that can be done through control, but only through respect and trust.

Azula fails to do so and this is why she is left behind by others. She is left behind by Zuko who breaks free from their father. She is left behind by Mai and Ty Lee who choose healthier relationships over the one they have with her. After she loses them, Azula starts spiralling out of control and burns everything around her.

In short, I would say that Azula’s main flaw is “control”. She wants to control everyone, herself included. So in the end she is betrayed and left behind by people and she herself loses control:

Ursa: I think you're confused. All your life you've used fear to control people. Like your friends Mai and Ty Lee.

Azula:Well what choice do I have? Trust is for fools! Fear is the only reliable way. Even you fear me.

This is especially tragic because it is clear that Azula’s behaviour is her answer to an environment where a clear line was drawn between winners and losers. Azula has always been Ozai’s favourite, but Ozai has never loved her. He loves Azula’s talent, so Azula cultivates those qualities which make her accepted by her father. What is more, Ozai is not a character who values feelings or emotions, so Azula represses these aspects of herself.

In conclusion, I think Azula is a very tragic character and that her spiral was very well written and realistic. I also think that in the series itself she has shown the potential to change for the better, but this possibility has not been explored. I mean, if she had no guilt nor regrets about her behaviour, she would not have seen the hallucination of her mother calling her out.

These are more or less my major thoughts on Azula. There are probably many other things to add, but as far as my generic impressions of her go, this is what I have to say. Feel free to make more specific questions! I love her!

Thank you for the ask!

#atla #azula #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

[angelltheninth]

Nothing Left to Lose Analysis

Never even attempted a song analysis but here goes nothing! Let’s analyze the hell out of this!

[VARIAN]

Cassandra, you're angry, I get it. Believe me, I know what it's like, but you are making a mistake!

Alright, this beginning doesn’t really need explaining but I’ll do it anyways. Varian understands what Cass is going through, at least part of it. He’s felt anger, he let it consume him and in return he became a criminal who ultimately got jail time for his actions. As Cass’s friend he doesn’t want to see her make the same mistakes he made before.

The path of hate is a dangerous track

You take one step, and it's hard to turn back

It pulls you along, and though it seems wrong

It feels right

When Varian lost Quirin he felt anger and hate towards Rapunzel and the people of Corona, he wanted revenge and although he knew what he was doing was wrong he felt like there was no other choice. In “Ready As I’ll Ever Be” he even says “And I’ll stand up and fight, cause I know that I’m right”, in that moment he truly thought that his solution was the best course of action for him.

Don't you see

This path you're on leaves a permanent mark

It feels good at first, then it slowly turns dark

With each passing day, you're further astray from the light

Now for this “permanent mark” bit can be taken to ways. The first one is that Cass is walking down a path and the steps she takes down that path will never be erased. No matter where she goes next she’ll always be haunted by the path she once walked on. And that path, even though Cassandra felt good at first as seen in “Crossing the Line” has lead her deeper into darkness as she’s been following Zhan Tiri’s advice more and more. The second “permanent mark” is Cassandra’s hand. While we see that its covered by the armor of the Moonstone, its unlikely that its actually healed since that’s not what the Moonstone does. This will be an injury that Cassandra will carry her whole life, quite literally a permanent mark. Although the next set of lyrics follows the first interpretation.

Suddenly

You lose your way and lose the thread

Lose your cool and lose your head

Every loss is harder to excuse

As Cass goes further along that path she will lose the thread that lead her to the beginning of it, with no way back, lost in a maze of darkness and loneliness, something that we see at the very end of the song. She’s not thinking rationally anymore just fueled by anger and whatever Zhan Tiri whispers in her ear. She’s also been talking to no one but Zhan Tiri for several months, someone only she can see and hear, so from the perspective of someone looking that her it would seem like she’s lost her mind due to the Moonstone and months of isolation and loneliness. Even with everyone thinking she’s lost it she still making excuses that she thinks justify her actions but the more she makes those excuses the harder it is to justify the excuses themselves. Because she’s grasping at straws for excuses.

Then you'll see

You'll lose your faith and lose your soul

Till you lose complete control

And realize there's nothing left to lose

Nothing left to lose

This talks about Cassandra losing faith in her friends. Over the course of s2 we’ve seen how the fact that her advice was ignored and she was pushed aside affected her. That and the reveal about Gothel. Cassandra only has faith in herself, her power and Zhan Tiri because she “helped” her. But trusting Zhan Tiri is like trusting the Devil. In exchange for everything Cassandra gained she lost herself, she lost her family and her friends. And what’s left? An illusion of power and freedom created by Zhan Tiri.

Cass, trust me, becoming the villain isn't the answer!

Here Varian is once again referring to his downfall and becoming the villain in s1. But it didn’t get him anywhere even though he believed he can find the solution and successes by becoming the villain.

[CASSANDRA]

Is that what you think I am?

Now here, the main difference between Cassandra and Varian is that Varian admitted he was the villain in s1 and saw himself as such. Cassandra on the other hand doesn’t see herself as the villain at all. She doesn’t believe her actions are evil, and from her point of view they’re not, they’re justice no matter how twisted it is.

The path I'm on is a path paved in black

I'm taking that road and I'm not looking back

Each twist and each turn

Leads straight where I'm yearning to go

Cassandra choose her path, and even though its dark right now she believes that there is light at the end, her destiny, her reward. And even though this path isn’t straight and narrow, its complicated to navigate she doesn’t think she can get lost on it like Varian suggests. She belives she know her way around, that she has a map to lead her to her goal. That map is sadly Zhan Tiri. Not a very good map in my opinion. But Cassandra believes that by following Zhan Tiri she’ll get to the end of her path.

Yes, it's true, my path is dark

But I see where it ends

My rivals will fall as my power ascends

Despise me, that's fine

I'm taking what's mine even so

Here Cassandra once again acknowledges that her path is dark one, but she knows where the end is. At least she thinks that. Her rivals, Rapunzel mainly, will lose the power as Cassandra gains it. That’s what Zhan Tiri led her to believe, that Rapunzel has a piece of her power and that she has to take it back. Even though we know that the real goal was for Zhan Tiri to finally get her freedom. She doesn’t care if this makes Rapunzel and the other hate her she thinks its worth is if she can get what she wants. Furthermore I believe she’s expecting, hoping they hate her because she thinks it will somehow make things easier for her.

Not like you

You lost your nerve, you lost the game

But you and I, we're not the same

I'm not lost, this fate was mine to choose

Here Cassandra refers to Varian losing at the end of s1, something that she doesn’t think will happen to her. She sees herself as someone who has what it takes to win. She refuses to think that she’s lost on the path that she’s currently on, refuses to think that she can be lost because she believes that this is what she chose.

So I chose

To lose my doubts and lose my chains

Lose each weakness that remains

Now that I have nothing left to lose

Nothing left to lose

Cassandra doubted her abilities a lot in s2, her ability to server and protect Rapunzel, her ability to fulfil her duties. But now she doesn’t have those doubts and more and she doesn’t have her chains. The chains are her family and friends, but most of all Rapunzel, who is also her weakness. By no longer associating herself with Rapunzel, moving further away from Rapunzel’s own path she believes she’s found her freedom, and with that freedom she’s no longer bound to anyone and anything.

[VARIAN]

You have so much to hold onto

Varian is trying to convince her that even though she believes she has nothing and no one, her friends and family still believe in her, they’re not gone as Cass thinks they are.

[CASSANDRA]

I only want

My rightful dues!

Cassandra only wants her destiny right now, she doesn’t think about anything else because everything has been so twisted up by anger, rejection, loneliness and once again Zhan Tiri’s influence.

[VARIAN AND (CASSANDRA)]

Listen, please (Lose)

You've lost your grip

And lost your mind (I'm not gonna lose)

All's not lost, don't be so blind (I refuse)

Cut your losses, drop the IOUs (I refuse)

Varian like before believes that Cassandra lost her grip on reality and reason, that’s she spiraling further and further into madness. To an extent he’s correct because Cassandra isn’t in a right state of mind right now as I’ve previously explained. Cassandra however refuses to admit that what Varian is saying could be true. She doesn’t think she can lose. Varian also tries to tell her that she can go back, she can fix things, she just has to let go of her anger and resentment, she needs to see reason again. But she is also blinded by those feelings.

[VARIAN]

Ooh, choose!

Short and simple, Cassandra needs to choose to further walk down this path of darkness or she can return to the light.

[CASSANDRA]

I lose no tears and lose no sleep

What I want, I'll take and keep

Cassandra is convincing herself that what she’s doing doesn’t bother her, it doesn’t make her feel guilty or make her sad. But she’s also not allowing herself to feel those emotions. Yes, its true that Cassandra hasn’t cried once since this whole thing started, Cassandra isn’t the person to show emotion easily. At least not all emotions. The only ones she’s displayed so far are anger, hatred, and at times hesitation. Cassandra no doubt, has many repressed emotions but she can’t let herself feel any of them right now because if she does she could lose her resolve and everything she believes she’s gained.

[VARIAN]

It's time for you to choose!

Once again Varian asks Cass to consider stopping what she’s doing and turn back.

[CASSANDRA]

You can't stop

This although part of the next verse, is also Cassandra saying to Varian that he can’t change her mind.

[VARIAN AND CASSANDRA]

The turning of the screws

Cassandra’s plan is already set in motion, at this point she doesn’t think she can stop and doesn’t see the point in trying.

[CASSANDRA]

Now I have nothing left to lose

With distancing herself from everyone, and severing her connections to Rapunzel Cassandra has nothing left to lose. But she also realizes this means she really has nothing left anymore. Nothing and no one by her side. Now she’s completely alone. The way her voice breaking and the sad expression at the end suggest that she never really thought about it that way before, she never considered being completely alone, having no one there for her.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #cassandra #tangled cassandra #tts cassandra #cassandra's revenge #varian #tts varian #nothing left to lose #song analysis

[carnistcervine]

My Take on VaatuAvatar!Katara

Haha, totes borrowed this awesome as hell idea from @paragonrobits :'D

So here's my take on VaatuAvatar!Katara!

-Vaatu doesn't generally consider himself interested in mortal issues.

-Or generally interested in anything outside of the dark, twisting branches of his own realm.

-He's a recluse, only occasionally sought out by mortals looking commit some kind of atrocity.

-He's turned them all down, though. He doesn't care. He genuinely doesn't care enough about the mortal realm either way to indulge them.

-That's not to say that it doesn't frustrate him to no end that the others always assumed the worst about him.

-No, he doesn't want to rip the universe into pieces so you can reform it in your own image, fuck off.

-He's quite content nestled in his own little corner of the spirit world, watching the twisting, living, dying, undying, thorns and branches fractal and spiral into the endless dark.

-No, he's not depressed and complacent after being bullied by Raava for eons, fuck off.

-And no, he does not have ANGER ISSUES RAAVA, FU- stop it.

-All that being said, he can't help but be a little curious. He's been wondering what the human has done after fusing with Raava.

-Did she finally implement the perfect order she had always tried to achieve by bullying Vaatu?

-Well no, there are eras and peace and eras of chaos, but maybe she's learned that it's less to do with him personally and more to do with just the world working how it works. Or something. He doesn't care.

-Okay maybe he cares a little when she suddenly drops out of the world.

-Her energy seemingly having vanished without a trace.

-He gets a thought, why not try the whole Avatar thing for himself?

-Maybe show Raava a thing or two about how balance is kept. After all, she let the world crash and burn when she decided to go poof.

-He mulls it over for a while, the state of the world growing exponentially worse.

-It's only been a 100 years by the time he attaches himself to a human infant.

-100 years is barely anything and these morons have already wrought so much destruction on the world.

-Vaatu bonds to the spirit of the infant Katara when she is born into the world.

-Nothing spectacular happens, and no one suspects a thing.

-When infant Katara is alone, he appears to her. She's curious about the world she is newly experiencing. He is curious about the new life he has anchored himself to.

-He rants at her, not expecting sympathy or any kind of reply or acknowledgement. But just to complain and air out his own grievances.

-The tiny baby and soon toddler would just wordlessly grab his tendrils in her tiny and chubby hands and flail about, yanking as hard as she can.

-Normally, he'd be enraged by such disrespect, but he cannot find it in himself to feel any hatred towards his vessel.

-He assumes it's their shared connection.

-Yes, that must be it.

-When she starts to speak words, she calls him a shadow blanket. But mostly just blanket.

-Vaatu finds himself, endeared, by the nickname.

-Katara calls Vaatu "Blanket", Vaatu ends up calling Katara "Larva"

-After all, she's just as chubby and squishy.

-He grows fond of her, finding himself wanting to care for and protect her above all else.

-When she fears her dreams, he coils around her. Shielding her with his darkness.

-But still, for the other meat suits that parade around her, he cares not.

-They mean nothing to him.

-Not even the humans he learns to be of the same familial group as her.

-Vaatu finds that he doesn't quite understand families. Sure, he understands more-or-less the function of human and other animal groupings. It ensures survival.

-But why so close? What's the point to all this? What's the difference between these humans and some other humans?

-Vaatu comes to a conclusion that mortals are strange.

-Vaatu and Katara grow only closer as she grows up.

-When Katara first shows her bending ability he feels the same swell of pride that she does.

-And when there is no one to teach her, no one to share such a profound gift with, he feels something he does not recognize at the time but comes to understand later. He feels pain.

-So when she is forced to practice alone, he helps her. He tries, in his own way to help her understand the nature of water.

-How it flows and moves, and settles, and rises. The chaotic nature of the ocean, and the constant shifting balance of the tides.

-When Sokka messes with, teases, and is generally an older brother to Katara, Vaatu puffs up a bit. But Katara just rolls with it, she doesn't get mad, she plays along with him.

-Even when she does genuinely get angry with him, it's much too shallow and quickly forgiven for Vaatu to grasp onto. He doesn't understand. Why doesn't she throttle him?

-Her answer "Because he's my brother" doesn't get Vaatu any closer to a real understanding.

-Then, the black snow falls. Vaatu is prepared for the human woman, Kya to simply give up his Avatar to protect her own life.

-He did not see her sacrifice coming.

-Frankly, he's baffled by it. Why would she give herself up to protect another's life?

-He finds that he wants to know, even if he's not sure how to go about figuring it out.

-Slowly the years go on, he learns to better appreciate the human that Katara insists is called Sokka.

-To Vaatu though, he will always be Idiot Larva.

-Sometimes Katara comes to Vaatu for wisdom, and he'll ramble about the universe. Very often going off on wild tangents that always somehow lead back to his main point.

-He can tell that she's pretty lost in what he's saying, but she keeps asking him, so she must be getting something out of it.

-Even though Vaatu would never admit it, he has come to see Katara and Sokka as his own.

-There is no mercy to save this world if ANYTHING were to happen to either of them.

-No one and nothing short of Raava herself would be able to stop his destructive rage.

-Of course, Vaatu can also sense such a rage simmering within Katara. But she holds back.

-Vaatu figures that she doesn't want to unleash it upon those who were also the victims of what fuels her rage. But when the time comes for it, for her to hurt the Fire Nation, he really doesn't understand why she refuses to let loose.

-Of course, Aang/Raava wakes up eventually and comes face to face with Katara.

-While Aang and Katara have a cute first meeting moment, Raava and Vaatu have a Spiderman meme moment.

-Aang and Katara are absolutely oblivious to the two cats staring each other down energy that Raava and Vaatu radiate at one another.

-When Sokka kicks Aang out of the village, Vaatu pushes Katara to leave her village. As he feels no attachment to anyone other than Sokka and sees her getting a grasp on waterbending as much more important.

-Vaatu does not understand though, why she and Aang especially come back when Zuko attacks them.

-He REALLY doesn't understand why Aang allows himself to be taken if the village is spared.

-Poor Vaatu, for quite a bit of book one, he's just floundered by humans acting selflessly.

-However, when Aang finds Monk Gyatso's remains, he finally starts to understand the importance and true meaning of family. He also understands and even empathizes with the rage that Aang feels. He empowers Katara to walk through the raging windstorm(planting the seeds of he developing airbending) so that she may connect with him and ease his pain.

-He can't deny though, that it's strange for him to be the one trying to soothe Raava.

-He never realized that she could feel that way about anything.

-I don't exactly have everything planned out in my head, but I do know that book 1 would be Katara learning air and Aang learning water.

-Why? Because reverse elemental order for the win, and because parallels.

-I also know that I want Katara to figure out somehow that's she's also an Avatar sometime between The Blue Spirit, and The Northern Air temple.

-And like, have her figure it out, because she straight up starts airbending.

-Like, I love you Katara but you can be 'blivious sometimes.

-And also the fun/drama of WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME I WAS ALSO AN AVATAR?

-With Vaatu just bein like. Well, ya never asked.

-And then, there's also the fact that he has no idea what he's doing, but shhhhhh.

-Also Aang seeing Katara and her spirit talking to each other and getting sad and jealous and wheedling Raava into talking to him.

-Though for Raava, this is Serious(TM) and she doesn't want to play games, there's balance to re-establish.

-Even if Raava would prefer for Vaatu to go back to the little corner she bullied him into, as long as her ends are established, she's fine with leaving him to his own devices.

-Even though she starts out rather detached, she does warm up a lot towards the Gaang once Aang finally gets through to her.

-But literally everyone else still gets the 0* kelvin shoulder.

-The Waterbending Master is the first time that Katara goes into the Avatar state.

-And boy, is it a sight to see, her eyes glow an ominous red, she gains a black, shadowy aura, and Vaatu's voice overtakes her own.

-And well, Vaatu basically comes out to yell at Pakku and bully him into teaching Katara.

-And it works! Kinda.

-The Dark Avatar isn't given the same gravitas as the classic Avatar.

-And uh, well, they there are multiple attempts throughout the story to purge Vaatu from Katara's body. Seeing as her case is more widely seen as something akin to demonic possession(Even though it's literally the same deal as Aang, just with Vaatu instead of Raava and no past lives to back her up)

-For the siege, I'm thinking that Katara is the one to destroy and drive out Zhao's fleet with the power of the ocean spirit.

-And it takes Aang, coming and calming Katara down to bring her to her senses.

-They end up seeking out the Guru together, although their journeys in unlocking their chakras are separate.

-Over all through the story, Vaatu comes to understand love, empathy, and compassion through Katara. Through the Gaang, he learns to understand family and familial bonds.

-He learns that true families are not arbitrary groupings of humans, but groups that hold together through love and shared experiences.

-He's also secretly lonely and gets friends that he'll never admit he wanted.

-Also Raava learns to chill a bit, and be a bit nicer to him.

-That being said, both Raava and Vaatu are still spirits, so their understanding of humans and how the world works will always be flawed and tinted through the lens of them being eternal beings.

-They will never fully understand, but they understand enough.

Whelp that's all I got for now.

This is what happens when you let me over think your ideas. xDD

#ATLA #avatar #Katara #Vaatu #ATLA AU #Chaos Avatar Katara #Thanks again for letting me use this idea #This was really fun xDD #Feel free to yoink any of my brain spillage if it inspires you xDD #My Take

[overstimulatethis]

Ruined [Pharmercy fanfic]

Fandom: Overwatch

Pairing: Pharmercy

Rating: E

Summary:  The nanites running through Angela Ziegler's body have slowly suppressed the effects of her heat cycle to the point where she hasn't actually had one in years. That all changes when Fareeha Amari joins their unofficial organization.

Chapter: 1/1

So far, at least in Angela’s opinion, things had been going relatively well at the newly-but-not-officially-reformed Overwatch. The flirting that had always been tossed her way in the old days had calmed down significantly, as had Angela’s own reactions to them. Over the years, her nanites had slowly repressed her heat until it was practically nonexistent. This was (thankfully) accompanied by a dulled sensitivity to others’ pheromones.

There used to be a time when Angela would nearly crumble from an Alpha’s command at the right time of the month. It had been extremely frustrating to deal with, especially once she became a doctor—which happened relatively early in her life. She was grateful for the nanites’ work, really.

Now, everyone treated her more like a Beta; less teasing and outright flirting, no more Alphas suddenly becoming overprotective of her. She knew that agents like Winston, Lena, and Jack had always respected her, but it somehow felt as if she was respected more, now. They were more willing to let her be their field medic, with her new-and-improved Valkyrie suit (although that could have been due to the lack of other options for medical support at this stage of redevelopment). She felt stronger.

Then they received a new recruit that ruined everything.

Angela was always up early, before the sun most days. She started the morning coffee and would always drink at least two cups before heading back to the med bay. Looking through the various forms that littered her desk, she spotted a new file with a familiar name.

Angela opened the folder in shock, reading over the basic info on one Fareeha Amari. Jack had mentioned a possible new recruit, but he had neglected to mention that it was Ana Amari’s daughter joining them.

The last time Angela had seen Fareeha, the world had been so very different. Fareeha had barely been a teenager. Angela had been distracted by the glamour of the beginnings of Overwatch. Ana had been alive.

Angela shook her head at herself. Fareeha was a grown adult now—and a very well-accomplished one, if her file was true. She might not even remember Angela, for all she knew.

She wondered if Fareeha had grown to have that same gentle power that her Beta mother had emanated, once upon a time. Ana had always been charismatic, putting everyone at ease instantly. Maybe having another Amari around would be a good thing; if she was anything like her mother, maybe things wouldn’t implode, this time around.

Angela scolded herself. She remembered the bickering arguments the Amari women would get into. Fareeha was her own person, and Angela shouldn’t compare her to Ana. She couldn’t even imagine living under the weight of that shadow.

A few hours later, Angela was getting antsy—unusually so. Nothing had happened to disturb her routine for the day, but she couldn’t stop bouncing her leg or tapping her pen. She decided that she would put in an hour or so at the gym that night, after the majority of the crew had gone to sleep.

She stayed away from coffee for the next few hours, but she never felt any less anxious. In fact, it was becoming increasingly harder to concentrate on her research.

A knock on the med bay doors brought her out of her haze. Athena automatically opened the door for Jack, and a faint smell entered the bay from the hallway.

Angela slightly scrunched up her nose in delight. “Is someone cooking?”

Jack stopped on his way in, head cocking to the side. “No. No one’s cooking anything. Look, Amari Junior is here. She’s being shown around the place right now, but she’ll be over soon for your examination.”

Angela nodded, chewing on the end of her pen. “All right. I will be ready for her. Thank you.” She went back to her tablet, hearing the med bay doors open and shut again.

An hour later, Angela was about to give in, standing to go for a quick jog when Athena announced that “Captain Fareeha Amari” was at the door.

Angela nodded to herself, setting her things down and stepping around to the front of the desk. “Let her in, Athena.”

The bay doors opened, and Angela collapsed against her desk. The smell from earlier had returned, but overwhelmingly so. It felt as if every nerve in her body was tingling in pleasure.

It was desperately obvious to Angela that Fareeha Amari was no Beta. Honestly, she wasn’t even quite sure Fareeha was an Alpha—never in her life had Angela nearly come just from an Alpha’s presence.

It was still strange to realize what had just happened. Angela was… dazed, to say the least.

It was quite clearly Fareeha that had caused Angela’s all-day energy—Fareeha, the Alpha like no other, who had just sent Dr. Angela Ziegler spiraling into her first heat in six years.

She was still so far away, Angela realized. Her body was aching for Fareeha to come closer, but the soldier stood frozen in the doorway. Angela could see how tense her muscles were from her place against the desk; of course she had noticed the stench of Omega pheromones filling up the room. Was that why Jack had looked at her so strangely, before?

Angela didn’t even have the spare energy to shake her head at herself—she could only close her eyes, the rest of her focus put towards not throwing herself at the newest Overwatch recruit.

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” Fareeha said, voice only the smallest bit stilted. “Should I come back at another time?”

How does she have that much control? Angela knew that the majority of Alphas would not be able to resist the urge to abandon all logic and claim the Omega in front of them. Fareeha, however, flushed and tense, was being a complete gentleman.

Fick.

“No, I’m,”—Angela choked on the smell of Fareeha as soon as her mouth opened, chocolate and rocket fuel and salt and coffee and— “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” Her hands were gripping the edge of the desk so tightly, she wasn’t quite sure if the edge was cutting into her fingers. “Please, Athena, help C-Captain Amari reschedule for later today.”

“Yes, Dr. Ziegler.”

“I will see you tonight, Doctor,” Fareeha rushed out in one breath, before turning tightly on her heels and exiting the med bay. As soon as the doors closed behind her, Angela released the whimper she’d been fighting this whole time.

She was beyond wet. She had soaked through her underwear and pants, so much so that she could feel the slickness pooling between her crotch and the desk. Now alone, she couldn’t help but shift her hips a bit, grinding her clit against the hard surface.

Angela let out a low moan, clenching her thighs together. Before she put any more thought into it, she muttered for Athena to enter Do Not Disturb protocol and entered her bedroom.

Nothing was enough. She easily stretched to accompany four fingers, but Angela forced herself to stop after the sixth orgasm had done nothing to alleviate the effects of her heat.

“Athena,” she gasped, trembling on the bed with her fingers still inside of her, “emergency suppressants.”

“Yes, Dr. Ziegler.”

It took three and a half hours for Angela to stand again, the suppressants finally taking effect enough for her to regain control over her body.

She felt ridiculous. Now that her head was clearing up, she was realizing more and more just how much of an embarrassment she’d made of herself.

And poor Fareeha. No one should have to deal with such… unprofessional behavior—from their doctor, no less. How could she gain Fareeha’s trust after that scandal?

“Dr. Ziegler?”

“Yes, Athena?”

“It is almost time for your rescheduled appointment with Captain Amari. Are you feeling well enough to attend?”

Angela turned on the shower and took off what little clothing she still had on. “Yes, I believe so, Athena. Keep the appointment as scheduled. I’ll take the supplements before she arrives.” Hopefully, the normal pills in addition to the emergency dosage would keep her hormones balanced in the presence of her new patient.

It wasn’t until Fareeha walked into the med bay for the second time that day that Angela realized she hadn’t gotten the chance to actually look at her. She had definitely grown. Her black hair was held in the same style, cropped just at her broad shoulders. The udjat underneath her eye was both new and familiar, and Angela reminded herself to not compare Fareeha to her mother.

Indeed, the similarities stopped there, as Fareeha’s frame was much taller—stiffer and sturdier than Ana ever stood. Her entire energy was something unique. No wonder she’d had such a reaction earlier.

So far, so good, she encouraged herself as she gave a small smile and slowly met up with the captain. “I really do apologize for what happened earlier. I assure you, my behavior is never usually that out of line. It was completely unprofessional, and it will not happen again.”

There was only the faintest of blushes across Fareeha’s face as she sat down on the examining table. “It is no concern of mine, Doctor. I trust you.”

And for some reason, the openness with which the captain said the words that eased Angela’s greatest worry completely overcame the suppressants.

Angela couldn’t hold back the squeaky whimper this time, as Fareeha was now only three feet away instead of twenty and was so perfect—

Fareeha jumped to her feet, facing Angela with her back perfectly straight. She couldn’t hear either of their breathing; it was like waiting for the pin to drop. Angela’s entire body was tensed with the urge to wrap her legs around the captain’s hips and feel teeth against her neck.

She groaned at the thought, and Fareeha’s pupils blew wide open. Her left hand was clutching the cushion atop the examination table. Angela felt wetness start to slowly drip down her thighs as she imagined that grip in her hair, around her throat. Her underwear was surely ruined. She was ruined.

Her knees buckled underneath her. She couldn’t even fight it as Fareeha moved forward, grasping Angela’s forearms and keeping her from crashing to the floor. Everything was hazy, the smell of Fareeha clouding everything around her. Her face was now buried into Fareeha’s neck, and the soldier was impossibly still.

Angela couldn’t help the deep breath she took; she couldn’t really control anything her body was doing now. It started with her nose and ended with her mouth opening against Fareeha’s skin, trying to learn as much of the captain’s smell as she could.

The hands on her elbows tightened, and then Angela was biting Fareeha’s collar bone.

With a growl, Fareeha shoved Angela back against the med table, pinning their hips together and faces coming within centimeters of each other. Angela nearly came at the feeling of the Alpha’s bulge pressed to the front of her pants.

“What are you doing to me?” she gasped, and she couldn’t quite tell whether English or German had left her mouth.

She heard strained Arabic in reply, felt Fareeha’s sweet breath against her lips and the throbbing heat pressed against her. “I never do this with strangers,” she continued in English. “I’ve never wanted this so badly.” She kept her hands flat on the desk behind Angela.

“We can’t,” Angela nearly whispered, though she had no idea how or why. “I’m—I’m your doctor. We can’t do this.” Oh, yes. That was why.

Fareeha let out a growl so low it made Angela shiver, but—to the doctor’s amazement—she stepped back. She placed her hands gently on Angela’s shoulders and pushed her away. Angela felt a high-pitched whine leave her throat at the lack of contact. Her thighs pressed together, causing her to squirm.

“I am sorry,” Fareeha said without making eye contact. “You are right. I suggest that I wait outside the door while you… take some suppressants.” The way she paused made it clear that Angela was free to do whatever she needed to in order to lessen her heat, which made the doctor’s ears burn a bright red.

Nonetheless, she was right. Maybe a fresh dose—perhaps more than the normal amount? —would keep her heat calm enough to finish this examination, at least. She would have to work on a more long-term solution, but for now, she nodded. Fareeha left immediately and stiffly.

Angela’s entire body was on fire. She wanted nothing more than to slip a hand into her underwear, but if earlier was any indication, she would find no relief that way.

It wasn’t unheard of for an Alpha to have such strong pheromones that they would cause Omegas to spontaneously go into heat. But it had never happened to Angela before, and she honestly hadn’t expected it to. There was something about Fareeha that was stronger than her nanites in affecting her. That was terrifying.

She asked Athena for another dose of emergency suppressants. They at least seemed to kick in faster than they had earlier, so Angela had Athena call Fareeha in quickly.

They didn’t last long.

Angela’s hands wound themselves in Fareeha’s thick hair as she was slammed onto the examination table. The captain’s tongue against hers made her dizzy, and she couldn’t control the grinding of her hips against Fareeha’s bulge.

Fareeha pulled her mouth away from Angela’s, reach up to tug her head back by her hair. She trailed slick, open-mouthed kisses down Angela’s neck before saying, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

And it was that—that concern Fareeha still had even through her rut-clouded mind—which made Angela know she was 100% sure she wanted this.

“Bitte, fuck—fuck me, Fareeha,” she whimpered, her Omega taking over after years of dormancy.

The captain responded with a growl against her throat and the sound of zippers being undone. Angela was suddenly flipped, bent over the table with Fareeha’s cock against her ass. She let out a wanton groan at the feeling of her thick shaft gliding between her pussy lips. She could feel how far down her thighs her arousal had already spread.

Fareeha thrust half of her cock into her with one harsh thrust. Angela’s moan was almost a sob; it had been so long since she’d been filled, and even then, she’d never been filled like this. She could already feel Fareeha’s knot pressing at her entrance, before the captain drew her cock back out to the tip. Angela felt like she couldn’t breathe, but then she gasped in a deep breath as Fareeha slammed her thick cock back inside her, stretching her so deliciously.

The pace was furious after that. Fareeha’s thighs slapped against Angela’s ass with every thrust. Everything she said was exactly what Angela wanted to hear.

“You’re fucking beautiful, you know that? I love seeing you under me. You like having me take care of you, malak? Do I feel nice inside you? You’re going to be even more full soon.”

Angela moaned loudly, arching her back to try and take Fareeha deeper inside of her. “Please, please, liebe, Alpha, bitte.” She was almost incoherent, and she could feel drool starting to escape the corner of her mouth. Fareeha pressed her head down into the table as she fucked her, smacking her on the ass and forcing another groan out of her.

“That’s good, habibti. Come for me.”

Angela screamed as she came around Fareeha’s cock, clenching tightly around the shaft as the captain upped her pace once more, blindly rutting into the doctor’s pussy. She reached around Angela’s hips and pressed her thumb to the Omega’s clit, causing another orgasm to take Angela’s body.

By the fourth orgasm, Angela was desperate to be filled. Her pussy constantly clenched around Fareeha’s cock, trying to milk anything from it—but her Alpha was strong.

“My Alpha, liebe, bitte, fill me, knot me, I want—” she broke off into another sob as Fareeha grasped her hips and swiftly pushed her knot past Angela’s entrance. Suddenly, she could feel the captain’s warm come spurting deep inside her, making her see stars.

Angela went limp on the examination table, and Fareeha on top of her. The captain pressed feather-light kisses against the back of Angela’s neck. They both periodically let out low moans as more, smaller orgasms continued to happen.

Angela felt Fareeha’s hot breath on the back of her neck. “Doctor, I hope this isn’t too presumptuous of me, but could I treat you to dinner?”

Angela let out a bark of laughter, turning her head to meet Fareeha’s gaze over her shoulder. She studied the captain for a moment, her heart full. “My Alpha,” she whispered, testing it out with a non-heat-crazed mind.

Fareeha’s smile would have knocked her off her feet, had she been standing. It was a wide, brilliant grin that only made Angela want more.

Her hips were shifting before she fully realized what she was doing, and that grin dissolved into that delicious Alpha expression once more. Still knotted, Fareeha began thrusting shallowly into Angela’s full pussy, growling, “Mine.”

Angela whimpered and arched her neck. “Yes, please, yours Alpha.” When she felt the piercing pain and pleasure of Fareeha’s bite, she came again, lost in the pleasure she hadn’t even known she'd been craving.

#overwatch #pharmercy #pharmercy fic #fanfic #overwatch fanfic #abo #complete #oneshot #ruined

[melancholaes]

( jessica alexander. twenty two. cis female. she/her. ) in texas, GEMMA ACKER is known to most as GEM. they have been riding with the DIABLOS for THREE YEARS. they originally from EL PASO and the GROUPIE is known to be very IMPETUOUS & PUERILE but the other club members will tell you they are VIVACIOUS & THRIFTY. as the years go by, they’ve gained a lot of respect in the club and around town. they rarely ever drive a car but when they do GANGSTA by KEHLANI is usually heard blasting. ( ripped fishnets on pail skin, fixing lipstick while leaving sleezy motel rooms, dirty dollar bills rolled for drugs . )

BASIC INFORMATION

full name: gemma tiffany acker. nickname(s): gem age: twenty three date of birth: february seventeenth hometown: el paso current location: newton gender: cisfemale pronouns: she/her orientation: heteroflexible occupation: stripper

tw drugs/alcohol adiction mention.

growing up, gemma’s life was actually pretty easy and smooth sailing. she thought it was anyway, but it turns out that her father was involved in some crime that he kept fairly well hidden from his daughter and his wife. details about his crime life were never really found out, even after he was gunned down when gemma was only sixteen. it broke her mother and drove her to the bottle, whereas it brought gemma, at seventeen, to newton/stratford.

it didn’t take long for her to find work in rather…unconventional ways. she lied about her age and started using her body to get money, then once she was eighteen she started stripping at deseo, where she still currently works.

she is a pretty good dancer and a good sweet talker, mostly because she knows the more sickly sweet she is, the more willing the men are to open their wallets, which will get her drugs. and drugs? that’s her fuel. she is very much addicted to … a lot of dregs but mostly cocaine and sometimes oxy.  it’s definitely more likely to find gemma high (especially if she is at work, or afterwards) than sober.

two years ago, amongst the dances, drugs and after hours appointments, gemma wound up pregnant. she had no idea who the father could have been, and the pregnancy did not sober her up. she may have slowed down, but she did not stop. when the baby was born, a boy and surely addicted just as his mother is, gemma gave him up for adoption. well, she assumes he was put into the system, she just left the hospital.

she doesn’t talk about it, she doesn’t think about it. it’s only a downward spiral for her if she starts about it; how terrible of a mother she would have been, how messed up the baby probably is from her drugs… it’s just dark thoughts if she ever thinks about it so she prefers not to, ya feel?

she fell into the diablos not long after she started working at the club, having followed some of the girls there to the mc work, and she started as a groupie. it’s what she knows how to do best. she strips for deseo, groupie for diablos and does side jobs (aka hooker) for herself.

gemma will do …almost anything to get her next fix, and she is kind of trashy in a way, ya know?  a lot of inspo from wendy case (sons of anarchy) & krista from the town ( blake lively’s role).

UPDATE

nothing really, still an addict. still a hot ass mess. still making the worst choices.

#rideintro.

[myfandomrambles]

Aadora & Catra in She-Ra Season 3

Catra and Adora are pretty good examples of two ways abused children can continue to live one finding a new ability to attach and choosing to heal and one becoming so preoccupied with the injustice they completely fall apart. Their individual circumstances during and after the trauma set the ground for their reactions, however, the story does show an element of choice in rather you can start climbing upwards or spiral downwards. 

Adora:

Adora had a very strong upward trajectory in this season. One important factor is Adora finding healthy attachments with people who offered grounding connections, validated her emotions, and counteracted almost every negative cognitive distortions the abuse instilled in her. We see this pretty explicitly laid out in season 3 which was pretty powerful. 

Queen Angella protects her explicitly protecting her from her abuser who is a known gaslighter). Glimmer shows a great deal of healthy attachment. She has learned to read Adora better and offers her physical comfort to emotional distress, Bow also offers physical comfort even small gestures like putting his hand on her shoulder. This shows attunement from both her friends which means she has a next when she is struggling. Glimmer is protective of her friend too, telling off Shadow Weaver and willing to go to extremes to ensure that they can save her when she is captured. 

Glimmer also goes out of her way to support Adora, not just returning Adora’s support of Glimmer as a commander but explicitly supporting Adora’s emotional and psychological needs. Reminding bow that they are “ We are supporting her”. Glimmer and Bow also both help to counteract Adora’s self-blame, a particularly fun example is when Adora feels guilty for what happened in the Crimson Waste and then interrupts herself to comment on Huntara’s footprints she says “Exactly, it’s Huntara’s fault.” 

Adora also gains real strength. She is no longer seeking Shadow Weaver’s approval and can reject positive comments of manipulation from her mother with the negative ones. She learns to let go of the perfectionist and constant self-blame she dealt with telling Catra she is not responsible for what happened to the world nor is Catra’s suffering. 

Adora does make choices though, one big one is accepting the kindness. She can’t internalize it right off the bat but makes the choice to try her best. She also chooses to mak put her will to building up others, herself and the world instead of tearing it down. There is no choice in being abused and traumatized, but taking the pain into savings Eitheria and being kind to those who are kind to her.

Catra:

With Catra we see much of Adora’s story completely inverted. One key thing is her staying in the Horde through season 2 and into the start of season 3 she is still being exposed to abuse and is in the same lifestyle as before. If we look at Catra’s interactions with Shadow Weaver in season 2 we see how she was unable to fully disconnect from her mother and still deeply craved her love and approval. This makes her betrayal extremely painful, the rejection of Hordak breaks her down to the point she doesn’t believe she should care for others or that she is worthy of being cared for. She puts herself in the fuck it mindset telling off Hordak, she accepts her likely death with a cynism. 

In the Crimson Waste, we see a large degree of this fuck it attitudes. She expresses being over even her own previous ways of dealing with trauma. An example is her comment on how “I’ve done the whole threatening thing”. She does, however, use her natural talent for manipulation to control those within the Crimson Waste. This displays that she does not see her own skills and accomplishments, this is also reflected in Entrapta having data showing Catra is skilled. Catra’s actions in the crimson waste and the earlier scenes with Hordak shows a reckless disregard for her well being and impulsiveness. 

Catra and Scorpia's relationship is key for both of their plots this season. Catra returns Scorpia’s affections at least a bit and can put down her hypervigilance for a moment. During the party, Scorpia notices this commenting that she had never seen her smile before that. These interactions with Scorpia are one place where choice comes in with Catra. Catra often doesn’t show equal compassion back to her one real friend. To some degree, I think it took her a while to truly recognize the friendship, but she doesn’t choose to respect Scorpia. You can’t force yourself to believe you are loveable but she could choose to try and support Scorpia and not put her down for trying. Scorpia tries hard to tell offer the support Catra needs, saying thank you and returning the emotions even if it’s hard on a more consistent basis would have helped.

A full breakdown is triggered when Adora tells her that Shadow Weaver came to find her. This is powerful for her because it is another betrayal she feels from both of them, but it reinforces her inferiority complex, and it triggers her preoccupation with revenge. It sends her into a “burn it all to the fucking ground” mindset. It is essentially a suicide attempt and a murder attempt. You can see her physical posture and movements change. Her eyes change focus and her movements are more rigid. The actions she takes with the portal very much strikes me as thoughts like “everyone is going to leave me, I can never really be in charge, and everyone is going to hurt me” fueling her getting into the mindset of she can’t control anything so she will control her death and others. 

She, however, makes choices still, Catra is aware of the damage the portal will do but is willing to lie and possibly kill everyone to do this act of power. Her choice to lie to Hordak and attack Entrapta to get what she wants was also deeply manipulative. And lastly, she did not have to attack Adora to prevent her from fixing the damage Catra herself did. She would not accept responsibility but externalized her own personal mistakes on to other people, and transferred the riotous blame she had for Shadow Weaver to Adora, who was not responsible. 

Catra is responsible for what she did, I still find her to be a sympathetic and understandable character, it was wrong but the narrative supported her actions and they made sense (abuse makes hurt angry people). It is a story that is engaging to people and doesn't feel like she snapped in a way that goes against her character. It was a ballsy choice on the creator’s side to not follow the common redemption arc formula and it went against a lot of the fandom who seem too overwhelming ship Catradora. Honestly negative character development is fascinating and heartbreaking.

 This story also doesn’t bother me as much as normally making abuse survivors become villains because we also have Adora in this story. It becomes a story about a lot of different kinds of dysfunctional to abusive situations in the parent-child dynamics, I don’t think it supports the victims become abuser narratives. I see it closer to an Azula/Zuko or Gamora/nebula type situation. Though in contrast with Azula & Zuko the scapegoat became the person to perpetuate the violence.

However like with Azula Catra is fun to watch as a villain, she’s intimidating, the corrupted Catra design is just fantastic. On a just viewing pleasure level, it is well done, which in storytelling having a compelling and fun character is the most important part.

Their relationship:

Catra & Adora are mirrors of each other in many ways which makes their opposite development tracks narratively compelling. Another thing is Adora finally truly accepts she is not responsible for Catra and she let’s go of her longing for Catra to come with her and be a family again. She recognizes catra is aware of what she is doing, and is hurt that she was willing to hurt people to do it. Learning to no longer carry intense self-blame was also deeply key here. 

Catra’s externalization and blaming Adora for her pain becomes more intense, and her totally breakdown leads to the remaining compassionate ties breaking. The need to control Adora continues in this season. An interesting reflection of the relationship is the fantasy world built from the portal is Catra wanted to stay, not just the recklessness of being okay with people getting hurt but in that world, she and Adora had everything they had planned on before. Catra also looks truly afraid of Adora after the portal closes, something we really only saw while She-Ra was infected. 

This was a very important arc for both of their characters taking a huge step each of their single stories and struck a new paradigm before them. One way of framing this is also taking Catra from an antagonist to a full villain.

#fandom: #she ra #she-ra princess of power #she-ra #spop #type: #my post #text #character: #catra #glimmer #adora #bow #queen angella #Scorpia #Shadow Weaver #topic: #Character Study #relationships #meta #abuse and media #trauma and media #other: #child abuse #she ra meta #she ra spoilers #she ra season 3 #ship: #catra & adora #catradoa

[poisonquill]

                                       QUEEN OF THE QUILLS.                                         rita alvera skeeter. twenty five.                                               creative. silver tongued. resourceful.                                                 corrupt. cruel. vindictive. selfish.                                                  reporter. columnist. gossip icon.                                                        death eater collaborator.

                                                             too bad. so sad.

playlist pinterest 

soft betrayal, mom jeans and high heels, long nails tapping impatiently against paper, organized chaos, quietly humming while ruining yet another life ( piece by piece ), ancient typewriters, never getting your hands dirty ( but your hands are stained red, regardless ), the devil’s favorite weapon is a quill, coffee that burns your tongue, burying yourself in strangers, chasing stories, the sweet taste of destruction, heart shaped lollipops, sunkissed shoulders, blurred lines between right and wrong, dog eared pages, blowing bubbles, fake smiles, the color of dark oceans, running in high heels, slowly becoming an empty shell of a girl, sour ambition, ‘my heart will leave you blistered and stained’, roses tucked behind ears, revenge in a tea cup, backhanded compliments, writing and writing and writing until your heart bleeds, scribbled notes in margins, blood red lips..... and how you’re so afraid that you think it might just break you ( luckily, villains don’t break that easily ).

LINDSEY MORGAN? No, that’s actually RITA SKEETER from the MARAUDERS ERA. You know, the child of ADRIANNA VARGAS (NEE SKEETER) and DIEGO VARGAS? Only 25 years old, this SLYTHERIN alumni works as an REPORTER and is sided with THE NEUTRALS / HERSELF ONLY. SHE identifies as a CIS WOMAN and is a HALFBLOOD who is known to be VINDICTIVE, CRUEL, and CORRUPT but also SILVER TONGUED, CHARMING, and RESOURCEFUL. — &&. ( LIZ, GMT+2, SHE/HER, 22. )

BACK TO BASICS.

name: margarita alvera skeeter. born name: margarita vargas. occupation: journalist. nicknames: rita, ree.

+ creative, silver tongued, resourceful, charming and bright. - two faced, cruel, vindictive, selfish and scheming.

age: 25. date of birth: december 31. zodiac: capricorn. hometown: acapulco, mexico. current location: lives across the street from the ministry in an apartment she can most definitively not afford. gender: cis female. pronouns: she/her. orientation: bisexual. allegiance: herself only. but she collaborates with the death eaters frequently, as she will write anything that they want. spoken languages: spanish ( native language ), english ( fluently ), french ( sufficient ). moral alignment: neutral evil. - A neutral evil villain does whatever she can get away with. She is out for herself, pure and simple. She sheds no tears for those she kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience (x).

element: water. house: slytherin.

BACKGROUND & FAMILY.

so. margarita vargas was born as the youngest of five daughters. she grew up in the coastal city of acapulco, located in mexico, and her first few years were spent in absolute bliss. her father, a muggle man, was a famous - and later, infamous, televangelist. diego vargas was known all over mexico for his weekly broadcasted church service, and became very rich for it. what did he do with this wealth? well, for the most part, he spoiled his family rotten.

the vargas girls were the perfect daughters, as was expected of them. they grew up in the public eye, attending sermons, smiling pretty, posing for elaborately staged family portraits. and always, always saying the right things. like pretending that they were being sent off to a christian girl’s school every year, instead of attending illvermorny.

mr. vargas married adrianna vargas knowing full well that she was a witch, and intended to take full advantage of that. and adrianna was happy to make diego’s life easier, because she loved him. but more than anything, she loved him for his fame, his money, his success.

unfortunately for the vargas, everything came crumbling down when rita was eight. then, it became public knowledge that her father was heavily involved in financing and also collaborating with several corrupt political bodies which aimed to cause mayhem, destruction and terror within the country.

so the vargas fell from grace, and out of favor in the public eye. mr. vargas faced jail time, lost all of his sponsors, and suddenly didn’t seem so appealing to mrs vargas anymore. so adrianna packed up her bags, took her daughters, changed their names and moved to england. and so margarita vargas found herself with a new identity - rita skeeter.

after that, she would never see her father again. her mother never spoke of him ( like most things, in the skeeter household - problems were buried but never forgotten ), and refused to acknowledge his existence.

their new life was a sharp contrast to their past, which would come to seem like a blurry dream. while the vargas had bathed in luxury and money, the skeeters kinda struggled financially. her mother was fueled by fury - angry with a man that had humiliated her, taken advantage of her, left her with nothing. so she vowed to never be dependent on anyone else ever again. she found herself a job, and set up a new life for herself and her daughters, one that wasn’t focused on the saintly teachings of her ex-husband. instead, adrianna skeeter drilled into her daughters that success, power and glory was all that mattered. everything else, even family, comes second. you can only depend on yourself.

so, the skeeter girls became competitive. cut throat. dangerous. her sisters’ names can be read in the highest offices of britain, in politics, in the nicest corporate offices in london. but they also hardly ever speak to each other, anymore.

HOGWARTS YEARS.

she arrives at hogwarts ready to prove herself. show that she’s just as good as her sisters, if not better.

but she soon realizes that she falls painfully short — that she isn’t the brightest of the skeeter bunch, that she isn’t the most talented witch. hell, she doesn’t even place second.

so what does she do? she plays dumb. pretends that she’s just a pretty face. it’s just a fluke that she’s getting high grades - it’s not that she sits up all night studying. or that she manages to bribe and cheat her way into getting a time turner by her fourth year. she’s working herself into the ground, but refuses to let anyone know. it’s better, that way.

really though, pride isn’t the sin that will hang rita. she’s playing the long game, and comes to realize that no one doubts a pretty, senseless girl. so that is what she shall be.

she gets through hogwarts on dirty tricks and hard work, but makes it look effortless.

around hogwarts, she was known as quite the party girl, always looking to have a good time. maybe a little too good of a time, actually. her reputation always walked the line, on that one.

she acts drunker than she is, but is careful to always remain sharp. most people think of her as baby skeeter - fun, but harmless. for rita, secrets become a currency.

and so she moves through different social circles, shedding her personality like a snake sheds its skin, all to fit in with any crowd, any house. she loses herself somewhere along the way - at this point, rita doesn’t know who she is. but that’s just as well. rita skeeter has never let anyone in, and she never will.

a new name appears in the school paper around rita’s fourth year. bridget higgins writes the stories that are on everyone’s lips, but no one knows who she is. obviously it’s rita.

by her seventh year, rita manages to become an animagus, and a royal blue beetle begins its reign. miss higgins’ stories become more and more elaborate, more daring, more scandalous. by the end of her time at hogwarts, rita is already writing in blood, destroying lives through the flick of her quill.

AFTER HOGWARTS.

rita started interning at witch weekly during the summers after her fifth year at the school. she wrote short fluff pieces about fashion.

after graduating, rita started working as a columnist for witch weekly. she wrote a popular gossip column about popular famous witches and wizards, but also dipped her toes into the pool of wizard politics in britain.

eventually, she came to take on a second job at the daily prophet. she stretches herself too thin, but she makes it work. somehow.

at the daily prophet, she writes more political stories. zeroes in on the ministry. asks uncomfortable questions. shows up where she is definitively not allowed to be. she becomes a pain in the ass like no other, and writes exposés that become notorious for putting people in tight spots.

many at the ministry treat her like crap, like a bug that needs to be squashed. she realizes quickly that they have little respect for her, and she is quite happy to return the favor. if they treat her like she’s awful, she might as well be just that.

her stories aren’t entirely fabricated —- every story that she writes has a seed of truth in it. just enough to make it believable.

most of it is bullshit though, but to stir the pot, she every now and then drops something that is very accurate. sometimes she does it to help the order. sometimes she does it to help herself or the death eaters. but there is always a motive behind it.

eventually gets involved with the death eaters. didn’t actually mean to, but fucked with the wrong person at the ministry !!! now she’s under their thumb and it kinda sucks but she’s also not that mad about it because she gets some ~~~~carefully selected~~~ information in return. so she basically writes whatever the fuck the death eaters want her to write.

rita started out with the goal of doing good reporting, but realized quickly that those stories did not sell papers and gained little interest from the public. so she turns to sensationalism, doesn’t see the harm in spinning her stories a little further than necessary. which soon spiraled out of control.

RITA’S FUTURE ( 1998 and forward. )

rita skeeter goes missing in 1999 and is rumored to be laughing all the way to the bank because the biographies she wrote on harry potter, albus dumbledore and severus snape sold MILLIONS. new books by rita skeeter resurfaces every few years, but no one ever sees her again. conspiracy theorists are sure that she was murdered ( and her books are now penned by a ghost writer ), but others say that she’s off on an island somewhere.

THE TIME CLASH.

so ------ rita is pulled from her youth, straight into the future. it’s a bit of a shock, of course.

rita is a reporter first, everything else second. so what does she do? RESEARCH. looks around. tries her best to figure shit out. makes diligent notes of everything that has gone wrong, and everything that has gone right. she researches her future self. she researches everything her future self has written.

most of all, i think she adapts. to the muggle technology, mostly, but also to the new world order.

AS A PERSON.

holds a grudge like no other !!

other talents include backstabbing and lying!

lowkey mean. lol.

only does what serves her best : ~)

neutral evil thank u

never sleeps? runs on coffee and caffeine pills

has never done a selfless thing in her entire life

daddy issues 4 sure

super good at faking niceness!!! it’s a talent, really

most stubborn gal ever, try to change her mind

doesn’t actually realize that she’s the villain

always playing dirty

*sombra vc*: where’s the fun in playing fair?

has like three cents to her name at all times :/

always working a fucking angle and plays the long game.

loves attention!!!

cut throat, will drop u so fast !!!

very bi 

loves hearing her own voice!!!

but also very observant and can shut up if she knows that’s more beneficial to her !!

the type of person to take and take and take until u are left with absolutely nothing

10000% her parents’ daughter !!! takes after them both.

very determined!!!

doesn’t really believe in what voldemort is doing, but also isn’t personally invested enough to properly care.

trust issues!!

not so much motivated by money ( she’s broke ) as she is by fame. could have something to do with her past idk.

possibly the most selfish girl on the planet?

FAVORITE CHARACTER TROPES.

THE DARK CHICK - good at reading emotions, resolving fights and weaponizing her strengths — all the while keeping an eye on what she considers to be the bigger picture.

FEMME FATALE - ‘first she turns you on, then she turns on you.’

INTREPID REPORTER - a troublemaker sort of journalist.

THEN LET ME BE EVIL - any sense of good reporting and morals gets broken down by being treated like crap by presumptuous forces of good for too long. aka everyone telling her she’s shit.

CONSUMMATE LIAR - a liar so good you never want to play poker with them because you’d go home without your underwear and short next week’s paycheck.

BITCH IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING - wears a thousand masks to hide her true colors.

THE POWER OF ACTING - a character who acts her way through life.

NO FACE UNDER THE MASK - does the real rita skeeter even exist? who is she? can she remember her true personality? probably not.

THE EVIL PRINCE - a character that knows they’re meant for greatness, but there are a lot of other… less great characters in their way. if only these characters could be “persuaded” to move, then nothing would stand in their way to the throne. ;)

CHRONIC BACKSTABBING DISORDER - someone who constantly and successfully betrays their allegiances. switches sides as frequently as she switches clothes. what is loyalty?

AMBIGUOUSLY EVIL - it’s never quite made clear what side she is truly on? sike, she’s playing for both teams !!!

HEEL / FACE REVOLVING DOOR - morality is grey, and this character switches sides so often that in the long run, they end up… just not having one.

THE CORRUPTER - the metaphorical devil on your shoulder.

THE CON ARTIST - selling lies so outrageous they can’t possibly be true, but still getting away with it.

CHARACTER INFLUENCES.

SOMBRA ( overwatch ) - always got another dirty trick up her sleeve, kinda selfish, always infiltrating something, out there manipulating those in power hell yeah

KELLY KAPOOR ( the office )- the narcissism, the many layers, the gossip, the jealousy, the drama, the lies, ‘i don’t talk trash, i talk smack. they’re totally different’.

CONNOR WALSH ( htgawm ) - wow i can’t believe rita skeeter is connor walsh?? either way. so sly, bit of a slut, utterly shameless, lies a lot, doesn’t care too much about other people, very confident, bit over emotional at times. gets whatever the fuck they set their mind on. the ends justify the means, always.

MARGAERY TYRELL ( game of thrones ) - the cleverness, the manipulation, the scheming.

HERA ( the goddess ) - the vengeance, the viciousness, the jealousy.

DEBBIE EAGAN ( glow ) - lowkey thinks the world revolves around her. bit manipulative. really ambitious. kinda cut throat. ready to throw anyone under the bus to get places.

JESSICA HAMBY ( true blood ) - the strict religious upbringing, the rebellion, the occasional softness.

ALISON DILAURENTIS ( pretty little liars ) - the bitchiness, the cruelty, the constantly shifting personas, the lies.

CHANEL OBERLIN ( scream queens ) - really ruthless, can be quite mean, bit narcissistic.

LIRA ( to kill a kingdom ) - the siren!!!! singing (aka writing) people to their undoings!!!! with little to no remorse!!! hell yeah

LAUREL CASTILLO ( htgawm ) - a snake that is good at hiding under the radar, kind of shady, highly manipulative, bounces back and forth between allegiances.

JACKIE BURKHART ( thats 70s show ) - the STYLE!!!!!!!! the narcissism! the manipulation! the greed!

#quantum intro #murder tw #death tw #insect tw

[anokaiwritingblog]

Meet my Tsundere/Yandere OC

Hey there everyone.

I wasn’t really planning on doing this, but I thought I should at least “complete the set” after posting my “meet my yandere OC” on Echo. I briefly mention it but Echo’s love interest is a sort of Tsundere/Yandere hybrid and… well, let’s just met her already.

Meet Onyx Stone. She’s a hot headed and stubborn mess of a woman. She’s aloof, blunt, cocky, quick to anger, and can come off as rather bitchy at times. Unlike Echo though, what Onyx says doesn’t sound like honey. Her words are knives and stab like them too. Because of this, most people don’t like her or afraid of her. Yet despite how she acts on the surface, Onyx cares very deeply for other people. She can be surprisingly nice and friendly if given the chance though she’s very rough around the edges when showing that kindness (i.e. “It’s not like I’m worried about you or anything”). Onyx’s default personality when first meeting a person, she’s aloof yet polite in her mannerisms. But, Onyx is reflective of how a person treats her. If a person treats or meanly or cold, she treats them back the same way. If they’re kind and nice, she’ll treat them the exact same way in her own rough way. Onyx is also extremely protective of people she cares about… to the point that she doesn’t mind hurting herself and even possibly killing herself just to save people. Because she’s both hard head and hot head, Onyx pushes body to the breaking point and defies limitations.

Onyx talks rather arrogantly too yet she’s actually has low self esteem. Remember how she’s willing to hurt herself for others and her goals? Well, that’s because she can’t respect herself enough not to hurt herself. Onyx also has a bit of a sadistic side as well. When it comes to those she’s view as “evil”, abusers, and just plain jerks, she deeply enjoys hurting them. The punishment she gives are based on their actions but the minimum amount of injury she’ll give is a broken nose and the maximum amount is either dead or horrifying disfigurement. Oh yeah! Onyx can also be pretty motherly to those younger than her and she encourages girls to learn how to fight and defend themselves.

Onyx went through many personality changes as she grew up to the personality that you see above. As a child, she was naive and easy to bully. Once she met Echo, she became extremely dependant on him since he was the one who saved her from getting killed. Onyx also gain her cocky attitude since she believed that Echo will always chose her. But the one who had the biggest impact on her was Echo’s mother. Echo’s mother wasn’t only teaching Echo how to be a “proper yandere” but Onyx as well. Onyx took Echo’s mom word as law since she was scared of being separated or disappointing Echo. His mother saw this and used it to her advantage. With Echo being both the reward and punishment, she successfully trained Onyx to a more “traditional” yandere. Onyx was cold, brutal, and rather unfeeling to others but to Echo, she was sweet and kind… Just like Echo’s mother. Echo was hers and she belong to Echo. Everything was supposed to be perfect then… yet it wasn’t. Onyx’s possession towards Echo was hurting him while Echo’s obsession towards her was hurting her. Onyx was the first to start coming to this realization and came to a halting stop in confusion. This caused a chain of events which lead to Onyx and Echo having a fight moments before Echo was ultimately kidnapped. What was suppose to be Onyx taking control of her life, she found things spiraling out of control. Onyx couldn’t stop the fight and she couldn’t protect the one thing she loved the most.

You can say Echo’s mother had a success when it came to Onyx yet she created an emotionally unstable mess with low self esteem. With Echo gone and Onyx abandoned by everyone, she was just… lost. But being out there in the real world? Her eyes started to open. Onyx met other people, learn through others, and had new experiences. Slowly, she started to open up and want to get along with others. But she found this difficult to do since she isn’t used to expressing herself to other people besides Echo… hence her “tsundere” personality. It was a confusing time in her life for sure but she improved for the better and became her own person. But all her actions are still fueled for Echo in mind.

Her friends? Onyx only associated with them at first because is considered them as worthy people to be part of Echo’s counsel when he becomes ruler of the gods. Saving the universe? Onyx can’t live a peaceful life with Echo is the universe is in ruin! Her mission to save him? That’s always been her first goal. Yet… Onyx changed over time. She genuinely likes her friends now and she wants to save the universe for others. And to save Echo? Not for selfish reasons but just so that he’s safe and sound.

Now-a-days, Onyx is more tsundere than yandere. It’s been a long time since she seen Echo and she isn’t sure how to act around him anymore. Onyx is on a tightrope when it comes to Echo. She loves him but she doesn’t want to fall back into that pit she escaped from. For every affectionate actions, Onyx would over correct herself and backlash at Echo. There’s also the factors that she believes she’s dangerous to Echo and that she also wants to teach Echo to be a better version of himself; and she can’t do that if she indulges in every one of his whims. This is basically her “hot and cold” attitude a tsundere would do.  

Yandere actions Onyx would do:

Just like Echo, Onyx has nicknames for him like “my prince”. But she has several nicknames that exposes her real feels for him. On occasions she calls him: “my god”, “my sun”, and “my light”. On rare moments, she calls him: “my universe”, “my weakness”, and “my everything”

Onyx is a bit of a “gatekeeper” when it comes to others getting close to Echo… especially girls. She normally judges them first to see if they’re worthy enough to get to know him. If Onyx considers them as pure heart and good, she leaves them be and even encourages them if they want to pursue Echo. Afterall, if Echo doesn’t chose her, then she wants to make sure that the girl is someone SHE approves. But if it turns out that the girl (or guy) has evil intentions, Onyx is sure to “handle” them… not by killing them of course. But by crippling them.

The scar that Echo made on her chest is Onyx’s weak point. She was severely traumatized by it since she thought Echo legitimately hated her. It stressed her out to the point that the scar never healed and it would occasionally hurt if she thinks about Echo. BUT! Once she gets over the trauma the feeling the scar gives changes from pain to… an eroge spot. The thought that Echo marked her forever? Exciting…

When Onyx saved Echo, his mother actually wrote up a contract that says that Onyx literally owns Echo now. Kinda troubling for her and denies it but at the same time, if someone tries to take him away or hurt him, she would fall back on it and threaten the person.

Sometimes, if Onyx gets jealous, she would break something to ease her tension and control herself.

Onyx doesn’t do any “creeper actions” like most yanderes. This is instead replaced by “tsundere acts of affection”. But, when it comes to Echo’s “creeper actions”, she’s very much accepting of it and finds it flattering even. She would indulge Echo from time to time as well when it comes to them.

If Echo actually ever does end up with someone else, Onyx would happily accept that. She’ll finish her job in saving the universe before finally killing herself. Echo was her only reason for living. So once she’s sure that he’ll live a happy life, she’ll end herself to stop herself from hurting herself and him anymore.

Onyx spent centuries searching for Echo. She traveled through harsh conditions and did the dirtiest of work. There wasn’t a day she wasn’t thinking of him and she had nightmares of the day he got taken and have nightmares of Echo.

Onyx’s Yandere Snap moments:

Just like Echo, if Onyx is overwhelmed by emotions, she would run away in fear of hurting Echo or causing him to hate her.

If Onyx is feeling particularly like a mess and that everything is out of her control, instead of running, she sort of accepts “Echo will hate me”. She goes all in and does her best to get Echo to hate her and push him away. Actually, she’ll push everyone away since she doesn’t want to hurt Echo or her friends but at the same time, she doesn’t want to be hurt herself. If she already accepted that everyone hates her, then it wouldn’t hurt her if she speeds up the process.

Fun fact:

Echo mimic a lot from Onyx. Like Onyx’s yandere snap of running away, Onyx’s sadistic tendencies of hurting the abusers, the nicknames, the “balancing act” of trying to be normal and being yandere, and “mean” way of speaking.

Onyx is a more possessive type of yandere while Echo is a more obsessive type.

Onyx basically have two fuses since she has two “personality types”. She has a short fuse with a small burst for her tsundere side and a long fuse with a large burst for her yandere side.

#yandere oc #tsundere oc #female yandere #tsundere #my oc

[willow-salix]

Story Construction

Hi there, a few people have asked me to elaborate on the elements that actually make up a good story. We’ve covered how to do your actual plotting, and how to create believable characters, the seven basic plots and I’ve recently done a video on pacing, but the question I was asked was how to construct the body of the story, what does that actually entail. What elements are actually needed for a good story.

So today I’m going to elaborate on something I touched on in the guide to pacing, story formula.

First, lets assume that you have an actual idea for a story. As I said in my video on plotting, most people have an idea of how their story is going to start and end, but they aren’t too sure on the bits in between.

That’s ok, we can work with that.

First step is to identify which plot, or plots, your story fits into, because that will help us to find the sub formula for your story.

I’m not going to go into major details of all these plots because, as I said, I have done a whole video on these recently, but what I will do will be picking one to use as an example to show you how useful they can be. So, if you haven’t watched that video, go check that out.

First plot is Over coming the monster, just as it says, it’s a monster, either a physical monster, a big evil of some description or even something that represents a monster like a company or a political party. Think Beowulf or any number of Greek myths.

Rags to riches, again, clue is in the title. The main character will start off poor and down on their luck, maybe treated badly by everyone around them, and by the end of the story they will have made their fortune and live happily ever after. Think Aladdin or Dick Whittington.

The quest, where your main character has to track down an object or person that is needed to save the day. Think Treasure Island or Lord of the Rings.

Voyage and return, where our hero has to set out on an epic journey or suddenly finds themselves in an unknown land and has to find their way home again. Good examples of this are Alice in Wonderland and The Lion the witch and the wardrobe.

Rebirth is where our character will change over the course of the story, from a person that no one really likes, to someone that is worthy and good. Think A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast or the Grinch who stole Christmas.

Comedy, which includes romance, really doesn’t need an explanation nor examples.

And finally, tragedy, which is different from rebirth because there is no redemptive end for the character, something they cannot recover from. Think of Romeo and Juliet or a Picture of Dorian Gray.

Ok, so we now have our basic plots, for my example I’m going to use voyage and return and mix it up with a little comedy/romance as that’s what I live for.

Next, lets take a little more of an in-depth look at our basic story formula.

A story usually has three acts to it, the first which focuses on the main protagonists normal, everyday life.

We start with the hook, something in your first chapter that will grab your readers attention and keep it, they need to feel for your characters, to be drawn in by them and want to know what happens next.

This could be in the form of an event, known as the inciting incident, and this is basically the main reason that the story will happen, it’s the thing that kicks off the whole series of events that make up your story and lead to the climax.

This could be something dramatic, like a car accident that leaves your main character in need of help, physical and mental therapy or it could be the loss of someone close to the main character. It could be a robbery or even some kind of abuse that triggers a change in them that needs to be addressed.

This creates a goal for your protagonist, the thing they will be working towards for the rest of the story.

You will need to show all of this event in the first chapter or stretched over to two if it’s a particularly detailed and complicated event, though I wouldn’t recommend this unless you have had practice in this. Too much detail and drama in one go can be too much for your reader and rather than drawing them in, it will push them away. The idea is to show everything that is major in the event, and tease what will happen next by the end of the chapter.

Let’s start constructing our story as we go. Our main character, who I’m going to call John, has been out at a party with his best friend. John has been drinking, but his friend promises him that he has been good and only had one, he’s more than capable of driving. Unfortunately, that one had been topped up numerous times during the night and was, in reality, more like three or four.

They get in the car and head off home. Within a few minutes, John has drifted off, his head resting against the window. His friend, lest call him Carl, is feeling a bit tired too, and a little fuzzy from the drinks. Deciding that bed is what he needed, he chose to take the quickest route home, down a smaller back road.

While driving, his eyes slide shut and, without his knowledge the car slowly drifts into the wrong lane, right into the path of an oncoming car. Trees and verges on both sides of the road leave the other car with no where to go and BANG.

John wakes up in hospital four days later to find out that his best friend is dead and that he’s lost a leg from the knee down, crushed in the accident.

So now we have our hook, our back story and know the journey that our protagonist will likely have to go on, one where he learns to walk again and deal with the horror of the crash.

Next is the beginning of our second act and our 1st plot point.

This happens somewhere around a quarter of the way into your book, an event that forces the protagonist to face up to their problems in life and find a way to fix them.

The second act is all about a series of events, successes and failures, that escalate towards our 3rd and final act and the ending.

Our hero will be pursuing his goal and overcoming obstacles on the way.

So, lets continue working on our story.

So, we left John in his hospital bed, dealing with the reality of not being able to walk and losing his best friend all in the same moment. He’s understandably upset, traumatised and grieving, both for his friend and his lost limb.

He is let out of hospital in a wheelchair and has to move back in with his parents because he needs help with pretty much everything. He feels useless and sinks into depression.

He is offered counselling, forced to go to group therapy, but refuses to talk about it or face up to the reality of the situation. Slowly he gains some strength back and is booked in to have his first prosthetic leg fitted, even though he doesn’t want it, he sees no point in it.

Now we reach our midpoint, where your character will be in the middle of some kind of drama or at a massive low point int their lives. Something needs to happen in order to give them the kick up the arse they need to keep going, otherwise wed have a pretty rubbish book.

So, as I said, I’m mixing in a little romance here. So, lets picture the scene.

John is assigned a new therapist who fits him with his leg and then starts him on physio therapy. At first he is grumpy and short with her, not wanting to work, not wanting to try, feeling like he wasn’t worth the effort. But in time, he starts to open up and talk to her about the crash and how he is feeling, and they become closer. Both of them are attracted to each other but, when they finally get around to a kiss, they are interrupted and discovered by her boss.

They both get told off, told that it is not allowed, that his therapist will lose her job if it happens again and she is reassigned to another patient.

John, feeling like its all his fault, falls into a downward depressive spiral, feeling like he wasn’t good enough for her anyway, all his doubts about his worthiness and attractiveness now that he’s missing a leg comes back to haunt him.

So that’s the dramatic moment, our hero has been knocked back and it looks like he will fail, but of course, that’s not how this plot works. Now we need him to come back fighting.

John reaches his lowest point, he has no where to go but up. He decides to go it on his own, to work hard and get back to the man he was before the accident, to learn to walk again.

Now we enter the 3rd and last act, our climax the final battle, and then our resolution, a satisfying ending that our reader deserves.

The climactic sequence as we near the end of our book and where we will be putting all our plot points and plans into motion, everything we have been working towards is in this moment.

We see John working hard, taking his first faltering steps, and then gaining more strength. We see him working out in the therapy gym, gaining back some of the muscle he’d lost. We see him forcing himself to eat to fuel his body even though he didn’t have any appetite at first. We see him avoiding his old therapist at all costs, scheduling appointments when she would be busy or have finished for the night, he doesn’t want to see her, not yet. And finally, we see him walking on his own, being discharged from therapy.

And now, we need our satisfying resolution, where everything needs to be tied up in a neat little bow. All our plot points and story threads have to be gathered up and addressed.

So, we see his old therapist coming out of work one night, looking up to see John standing there, beside her car, unaided, without even a stick. She’s shocked, but happy to see him, feeling all kinds of emotions, pride that he did so well and continued, that all their work in the beginning wasn’t wasted.

She runs over to him, wanting to hug him, to hold him, to kiss him, but stops herself before she reaches him. It’s wrong, they aren’t allowed.

Smiling, john closes the distance between them, reaching out, wrapping his arms around her, he pulls her closer, his lips finding hers in the sweetest of kisses.

She pulls back, breaking the kiss, worried that someone might see them, and that’s when he reveals that he is no longer under the care of her facility, they are free to be together.

And there we have our basic plot and the structure to our story, we can see the way that it flows and ebbs, having highs and lows, taking the reader on the journey with them.

All that’s needed then is to fill in the details, to flesh out your story and to make it your own, make it special, make it unique to you.

I hope this has helped. I’m always happy to hear any ideas or requests you may have for videos or any questions, hit me up in the comments or on social media, I’m always happy to talk to people and help in any way that I can.

Until next time, blessed be and happy writing.

#willowsalixauthor #paranormalromance #witch #bookseries #books #vampires #writer #writingcommunity #writing time #writingtips #writing #witchlife #witchywoman #witches #witchcraft #how to write #how to make it #storytelling #short story #story

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What’s Happening In 'WandaVision'? Here Are The Most Likely Theories.

By the end of 2020, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had started to feel a bit…stale. Part of what makes the superhero genre so universally captivating is its capacity to go where other mediums can’t. But by the end of Avengers: Endgame, the MCU was closing the door on a chapter that, no matter how wildly successful, had followed a series of predictable patterns. While that doesn’t make watching Tony Stark save the world any less satisfying, it does make it less nerdy. And no matter how mainstream superheroes get, there’s always a part of the genre that deserves its place in the realm of the geek, where fan-fueled calculus thrives.

Now, with the explosion of new MCU series rolling out on Disney+ (at least four by the end of 2021), the superhero empire is reigniting fan theory fervor. When WandaVision dropped on January 15, the sitcom-turned-horror-show experiment heralded a bold new path for comic-book narratives. Turns out, superheroes can make for pretty hilarious sitcoms! But, most importantly, WandaVision—at least initially—seems intent on not spoon-feeding fans a story they’ve seen before. Which means, of course, that the fan theory machine is running hot.

WandaVision takes place after Endgame, and it stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as a delightfully well-matched Wanda Maximoff and Vision, basking in newlywed (?) bliss in the quaint 1950s-era suburb of Westview. They don’t exactly know how they got here, or what they’re doing in the 1950s. But they roll with it: befriending neighbors, hosting talent shows, nearly spoiling dinner with Vision’s boss, and trying not to wither under the critical eye of local Karen, Dottie (Emma Caulfied Ford). But increasingly, Vision gets the sense not all is right in this cookie-cutter suburb.

New episodes drop every Friday, and as the puzzle pieces come together, we’re gathering the best fan theories from around the internet. Here, we’ll try to make sense of what’s happening to Wanda—and why it matters for the next phase of Marvel stories.

Marvel Studios/Disney+

Theory #1: WandaVision is a spin on the comics arc House of M. (Confirmed.)

If you’ve spent any time digging around Marvel fan forums, you’ve probably already stumbled on this theory, and after episode 5 aired on February 5, it’s virtually confirmed.

Here’s the background: In 2005, Marvel Comics released a storyline called House of M, written by comics legend Brian Michael Bendis, in which an insane Scarlet Witch (aka Wanda Maximoff) has a mental breakdown and attempts to recreate the universe. You see, she’s lost her two children, Billy and Tommy (sound familiar?), as well as her grip on reality. The other Avengers and X-Men (in the comics, Wanda is a mutant) realize they must consider killing Wanda, because her reality-shaping powers pose an enormous threat to humanity if she cannot recover her sanity. (Again, we’re seeing hints of this in WandaVision.)

Hearing the news of her pending execution, Wanda manifests a new world, an almost-perfect utopia where her children are alive, her superhero teammates are happy, and mutants rule the world. But it’s a dangerous lie, and when Wanda realizes what she’s done, she decides the solution is to rid the world of mutants like her. (You might have seen a comic panel circulating of Wanda whispering, “No more mutants.” It’s very meme-able.) At that point, the majority of the mutant population lose their powers.

House of M

Brand: Marvel amazon.com

WandaVision can’t and won’t mirror House of M exactly because, at this point in the MCU, the X-Men and Avengers’ worlds have not yet collided. But it certainly seems that Wanda has created her own version of Westview out of grief. If you remember the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, you’ll recall that Wanda is forced to kill Vision while extracting an Infinity Stone from his forehead. He does not return to life in Endgame, and she tells Thanos, “You took everything from me.”

Given the revelations we witnessed during episodes 4 and 5, this all makes sense. When Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) is sent spiraling back into the “real” world, she whispers, “It’s all Wanda.” We know Wanda’s behind the “hex” surrounding Westview. What we don’t know is how much of it she’s controlling.

Theory #2: Wanda is the show’s villain.

By the end of episode 3, “Now In Color,” we’d watched Wanda “rewind” or “snap” her sitcom reality multiple times. It happens first when she watches a mysterious beekeeper rise from a manhole in episode 2, and again when Vision gets the sense not all is normal in Westview. Then, at the end of episode 3, Geraldine/Monica is banished from town after gently reminding Wanda that her twin brother, Pietro, died at the hands of Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. As episode 4 reveals, Wanda didn’t take kindly to this reminder and physically threw Geraldine out of the suburbs. After, she reminds Vision she has “everything under control.”

We now know that Wanda is perfectly aware of what’s going on, and she’s orchestrating most—if not all—of it. She knows there’s another world beyond Westview where her brother lived and died, and where Vision similarly lived and died. And she would prefer to stay in her sitcom world. Anything—or anyone—who seeks to threaten her fake reality is…well, removable.

Interestingly, in an interview with ELLE.com about WandaVision, Olsen mentioned, “With our show, you don’t know what the villain is, or if there is one at all.” It’s clear the S.W.O.R.D (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) team that’s set up camp outside of Westview think she’s that villain. Vision is starting to get that sense, too. But the pieces don’t add up.

Here’s why: Wanda is tortured by her own grief, by the mistakes she’s made since the Sokovia disaster in Age of Ultron. The likelihood that she’s blatantly disregarding human life for her own gain seems like a trap she wouldn’t allow herself to fall into again—not easily, anyway. (Remember that, in episode 5, Monica says, “I don’t believe this was a premeditated act of aggression.”) That said, Wanda’s desperate, and we all know what they say about desperate people. She might have allowed something supposedly harmless to become brutal by striking a deal with the wrong person.

That’s where we bring in Mephisto.

Chuck Zlotnick

Theory #3: The series’ big bad is Mephisto.

Now let’s get deep into the weeds. WandaVision has given us little to no clues as to its major antagonist this season—except for, of course, Wanda herself.

But it could also be Mephisto. His character has been around since the 1960s, and he’s based on the Mephistopheles of German legend. Basically, he’s a demon-like creature, oft confused for Satan, who can shape-shift and alter time. Once upon a time, he served Thanos, much like Ronan and other big bads. Perhaps he’s manipulating Wanda, but it seems more likely the two of them made a pact—a deal with the devil, if you will. Perhaps, in return for her own sitcom-verse where Vision is alive, Wanda agreed to enter Mephisto’s domain and become trapped under his rule.

Here’s why this theory holds so much weight: In episode 5, Wanda stresses multiple times that she doesn’t know “how any of this started in the first place.” When Vision confronts her, she seems horrified by his accusations, mystified that he thinks she’s capable of controlling everyone in Westview at all times. Sure, she could be bluffing. But there’s likely an element of truth to her defense. Perhaps something outside of her—maybe Mephisto?—is controlling her ability to control.

Theory #4: The Westview citizens know they’re being controlled. Maybe they can do something about it.

Regardless of who is pulling the strings, the Westview denizens have some inkling of strange goings-on about town.

In episode 4, we learn that these kind folks are being “portrayed” by real humans. Darcy Lewis (an astrophysicist you’ll recognize from the Thor films) and Jimmy Woo (a S.H.I.E.L.D.-turned-S.W.O.R.D. agent we met in Ant-Man and the Wasp) assemble a bulletin board covered with profiles of the characters and their real names: Norm is Abilash Tandon, Phil is Harold Proctor, Mr. Hart is Todd Davis, etc. These characters probably didn’t volunteer to perform imaginary lives in Wanda’s sitcom-verse, so they must be—to one degree or another—under her thumb.

But they’re somehow self-aware. In episode 5, Agnes asks Wanda if she wants to “take it from the top” after Vision refuses to accept her questionable babysitting skills. Later, Wanda doesn’t seem concerned about Agnes witnessing her and Vision using their powers—it’s as if hiding doesn’t matter anymore. And at Vision’s office, Norm and Vision intercept an email from Darcy about the “Maximoff anomaly.” Norm laughs it off: “It’s a joke. Can’t you tell? None of it is real.” Then, when Vision clears his mind, he reveals, “She’s in my head. None of it is my own. It hurts.”

We’re meant to assume that “she” is Wanda, of course. But does she know she’s hurting them? And is it possible the Westview residents know more than they’re revealing? Agnes, in particular, seems to have more information than she’s sharing, even if it frightens her.

Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

Theory #5: Billy and Tommy are the only children in Westview. That’s purposeful.

At the end of episode 3, Wanda gives birth to twins Billy and Tommy. In the comics, these cuties are Billy and Tommy Maximoff, aka Wiccan and Speed, who have superpowers similar to Wanda and Pietro’s—hex abilities and super-speed.

Billy and Tommy are stupendous characters in their own right, and they eventually become leaders of the Young Avengers, another popular franchise that Marvel might have plans to cinema-tize. But they also have complicated origins: They’re actually created from fragments of a demon’s soul, and that realization is part of what originally drives Wanda insane during House of M.

What’s most interesting about Wanda’s relationship with the twins in WandaVision is that she can’t seem to control them. She can’t make them stop crying as infants. She can’t stop their rapid age progression. And they seem to know more than she wants them to—like, for instance, that she “can fix anything,” as Tommy stresses after their puppy, Sparky, dies.

Wanda responds, “I am trying to tell you that there are rules in life. We can’t rush aging just because it’s convenient. And we can’t reverse death, no matter how sad it makes us. Some things are forever.”

But we know from episode 5 this isn’t true. Wanda resurrected Vision. S.W.O.R.D. has proof. She’s rushing through the decades. And the twins can rush their own aging, which seems to imply they’ve inherited their mother’s powers.

What this doesn’t explain is why there are no other children in Westview, something Vision points out during a heated argument with his wife. Did they disappear? What if Wanda can’t control children, as evidenced by her inability to control Billy and Tommy? What if, somehow, the Westview kids have already escaped Wanda’s reality? There are too many missing pieces to understand the implications of that possibility yet. But it sure seems likely.

Marvel Studios/Disney+

Theory #6: Monica Rambeau already has her superpowers. That’s why she’s uncomfortable with mentions of Captain Marvel.

By now, you know, of course, that Geraldine is not, in fact, “Geraldine.” She’s Monica Rambeau, and she disappeared during Thanos’s snap in Endgame.

If you haven’t already googled Monica’s name in a mad fervor, here’s what you need to know: She first appeared as a little girl in Captain Marvel. She was the super-cute daughter of Carol Danvers’s best friend Maria, remember? Lieutenant Trouble? Well, a few years have passed since then, and it would seem Maria went on to found S.W.O.R.D. Maria raised her daughter in the hallways and control rooms of the organization, and Monica went on to become a respected agent in her own right. But, as we learn in episode 4, Maria contracted cancer, and she died during the time Monica disappeared in the “snap.”

In the first moments of episode 4, Monica re-materializes after the Avengers reverse the snap, and she rejoins S.W.O.R.D. But she’s temporarily “grounded,” meaning she’s assigned to lowly earthly tasks. That leads her to the doorstep of Westview, and eventually to Wanda giving her the boot.

Then, in episode 5, she awakens on the S.W.O.R.D. base to discover her lab results are mysteriously blank. The medic requests another blood draw, and Monica refuses. No explanation is given.

If we had to guess, Monica is hiding her own superpowers. WandaVision has yet to reveal if this adult Monica has any abilities, but in the comics, she has skills similar to Danvers—photon blasts, flight, the works. Over the years, Monica has claimed multiple aliases, including Photon, Spectrum, Pulsar, and even—yes—Captain Marvel. An Easter egg in episode 4 reveals that Maria, in fact, used “Photon” as a nickname at S.W.O.R.D. And in episode 5, Monica requests Darcy’s team build a “10,000-pound fallout shelter comprised of lead for photons.” It’s doubtful that’s a throwaway reference. I’m willing to bet Monica is gearing up to unleash her powers.

So, why does she look so remiss when Jimmy mentions Captain Marvel during one of their briefings? We can’t know for sure. But we can assume it has something to do with ’90s-era Danvers leaving Earth to spend 23 years exploring Outer Space. Maybe Maria or Monica had plans to become Earth’s version of Captain Marvel after the real one seemingly jumped ship. It would make sense.

Marvel Studios/Disney+

Theory #7: Pietro’s return opens the doors to the X-Men universe.

If we know anything about the MCU, it’s that the creators aren’t afraid of ambitious storylines. Plus, more franchises = more $. And the X-Men franchise is a money-maker.

Disney owns the rights to X-Men, which is why you’ll see those films on your Disney+ queue. So it’s probably not absurd to assume the Avengers MCU and the X-Men universe will eventually collide on the silver screen, as they do in the comics. WandaVision could be what makes that happen.

By far the biggest reveal of episode 5 is Pietro Maximoff’s return to the screen. Wanda’s brother shows up at her doorstep, completely unexpected—and, apparently, not by her design—when the doorbell rings, she tells Vision, “I didn’t do that.” The door swings open, and there’s Pietro…except not the one from Age of Ultron. This is Evan Peters’ version of Pietro, who first appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

This is the first time the worlds of the X-Men films and the MCU films have collided. Does this mean WandaVision‘s Pietro is from a different reality? Is he aware of where he is and how he got there? Might the mutants finally become a part of the MCU? We’ve got more questions than answers right now. But I’d be shocked if this isn’t a precursor for an enormous crossover.

Theory #8: Agnes is really Agatha Harkness.

Here’s one that requires you to know a bit more comic lore. You first met Agnes (Kathryn Hahn), Wanda and Vision’s deliciously wry neighbor, in the WandaVision pilot. Sure, it’s possible she’s merely a quippy side-character, but I find that doubtful.

Several fans think she must be Agatha Harkness. In the comics universe, Harkness is an old (like, was-alive-before-the-sinking-of-Atlantis old) witch who escaped the Salem Witch Trials and went on to master mystical arts, later teaching them to a young Wanda Maximoff. In other points throughout the comics, she serves as Wanda’s antagonist, and she’s also the one who, after Wanda gives birth to twins Billy and Tommy, reveals to Wanda that the children are not, in fact, hers, but were born of more demonic origins. We don’t need to unpack all of that, but the point stands that Agatha has an important role in Wanda’s life—so it makes sense she’d appear in Wanda’s TV show.

Another interesting detail? In the comics, Agatha has a son named Nicholas Scratch. And the name of Agnes’s bunny in WandaVision? Señor Scratchy.

Marvel Studios

Theory #9: The “missing person” is Mephisto.

In all the excitement of episodes 4 and 5, it’s easy to forget that Monica and Jimmy first showed up in Westview because of a missing person case. But don’t let that detail escape you. It could be a huge clue.

The missing person they’re after—a male—is in the Witness Protection Program, and none of his known associates or relatives have even heard of him.

Bettany mentioned in an interview with the “Lights Camera Barstool” podcast that he works with a special mystery actor in WandaVision: “So many things get leaked, but there’s this thing that has been completely under wrap that happens. I work with this actor that I’ve always wanted to work with and we have fireworks together—the scenes are great and I think people are going to be really excited. I’ve always wanted to work with this guy and the scenes are pretty intense.”

Obviously this is an important character, and there’s a reason he hasn’t been revealed yet. Many fans think this mystery man is “Ralph,” the husband Agnes mentions frequently who has yet to appear onscreen. Others think Ralph might just be Mephisto.

Marvel Studios/Disney+

Theory #10: S.W.O.R.D. started all of this.

We know Mephisto is a solid guess for the show’s villain. But Marvel also loves to reveal how corrupt people in power are the bad guys more often than demigods and mad titans. So what if, like in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the real villain is someone we’ve already met?

We see in episode 5 that Wanda retrieved Vision’s corpse from a S.W.O.R.D lab. If you look closely, you can see he was in pieces, completely dismantled and likely being experimented with. It’s possible S.W.O.R.D itself was violating Vision’s will and attempting to recreate him, so Wanda stole his body and resurrected him in order to rescue him.

If that’s true, that means S.W.O.R.D. might have had a hand in Wanda’s creation of Westview. And Director Hayward might know more about it than we’ve been led to believe.

Theory #11: WandaVision will tie directly into Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. (Confirmed.)

This theory is less about if than how. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed WandaVision will tie into the film, and Olsen will star alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in March 2022’s The Multiverse of Madness. So, what does that mean? Well, the theory of Wanda creating her own alternate reality within the multiverse could be true. And if she shows up in the next Doctor Strange, someone must pull her out of the sitcom-verse—and it could be the Master of the Mystical Arts himself.

Theory #12: The folks in the WandaVision commercials are Wanda’s parents.

Let’s tackle those fascinating commercials, shall we? Each promises a different Marvel Easter egg, and already, fans are dissecting screenshots for clues.

All the “commercials” different couples advertise different products. The first is a Stark Industries toaster, the second is a Strücker watch, the third is “Hydra Soak,” a specialty bath product, and the fourth is a paper towel brand called “Lagos.” If you’re an avid MCU fan, you’ll of course know Stark Industries is Tony Stark’s company, and Strücker is the last name of Baron von Strücker, the Hydra leader who recruited Wanda and her brother Pietro before Age of Ultron and gave them their powers.

Why is this significant? As one fan pointed out, the ads seem to be revisiting Wanda’s trauma: A Stark Industries bomb killed her parents, and Strücker corrupted Wanda and her brother, recruiting them for Hydra. Lagos is a reference to the town in which she accidentally destroyed a building, killing a number of residents inside.

But who are the man and woman in the Stark Industries commercial? One Twitter user suggested they could be Wanda and Pietro’s deceased parents, alive again in her pseudo-reality. Does this mean she can bring others back to life, such as Vision himself, or perhaps even her brother Pietro? Or is she simply imagining all these ghosts of the dead?

Marvel Studios/Disney+

This story will be updated each week after new episodes of WandaVision drop.

Watch WandaVision on Disney+

Lauren Puckett Lauren Puckett is a writer and assistant for Hearst Magazines, where she covers culture and lifestyle.

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What’s Happening In 'WandaVision'? Here Are The Most Likely Theories.

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Umbrella Academy Recap 2x10

1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10

2x01 2x02 2x03 2x04 2x05 2x06 2x07 2x08 2x09

We’ve reached the final episode of Season 2.  Will the Hargreeves Siblings find a way back to their own time?  And can they find a way to help Harlan, who has somehow gained Vanya’s powers and has therefore become targeted by The Commission?

Before we get to address those questions, the episode gives us a flashback to 2006. It’s apparently right after Ben’s tragic death, and the surviving Hargreeves Siblings (minus Number 5, who is still trapped in the future) are gathering for his funeral.  Of course, Reginald, proving once again that he’s the worst, makes the Hargreeves Siblings feel as if it was their fault Ben died.  (Dude, if the students failed, then maybe that just means you failed as a teacher.)  After Reginald goes back inside with Grace and Pogo, Young Vanya tries to comfort her grieving siblings by telling them it wasn’t their fault.  Young Diego, being Diego, lashes out at her, telling her that she doesn’t deserve to have a say since she wasn’t on the mission.  Which, of course, sends Young Vanya running off in tears.  Young Allison and Young Luther both scold Young Diego for being a jerk, and before long, the three of them are fighting amongst themselves.  Young Klaus, however, slips away alone and uses his powers to summon Ben’s ghost.  Once Ben’s ghost appears, Young Klaus tells him that things have been pretty bad sine he died.  Ben then tells Young Klaus that he can’t stay long, as he was getting ready to walk into the light.  Young Klaus, however, scoffs and tells Ben not to worry about it, announcing that the bright light isn’t going anywhere, and he can go off into it whenever he wants.  Ben seems to accept this, and they walk off together.

Okay, probably a silly thing to focus on, but....if Ben is a ghost throughout most of the show’s events, shouldn’t he look the same as he did when he died?  Because in this flashback, Ben’s ghost looks younger than he did in previous episodes.  Can ghosts physically age?  Of course, this is probably just a nitpick.

Getting back to the current time, it turns out that, for some reason, Luther, Allison, Diego, Klaus and Vanya are all wanted by the FBI now.  It’s a bit confusing, really, but for some reason, they’re all suspected to have assisted Lee Harvey Oswald in assassinating President Kennedy.  Not entirely sure why, though.  Although it probably had been noted by the Feds that Vanya was brought in for questioning, and that the agents that had been interrogating her are all dead.  And Klaus, Allison and Diego had been seen entering the FBI building around that time.  Doesn’t really explain how Luther ended up as a suspect, though, but whatever.  The only one who seems to be in the clear is Number 5, but that’s because the Feds seem to think he’s an ordinary little boy who is being held hostage by the other Hargreeves Siblings.  Klaus suggests they hide out in Iceland for a bit, but Number 5 points out that hiding is pointless.  Because even if they can evade the FBI and the secret service, there’s no escaping The Commission.  But because the Hargreeves Siblings can’t seem to get along for more than five minutes, a fight erupts when Diego reveals he was recruited by The Commission himself.  Something that Number 5 finds laughable as he views Diego as an idiot.  Amidst the fighting, Vanya slips off to try and call Sissy.  But as she tries to call, she suddenly gets a telepathic message from Harlan.  It’s here that it’s revealed exactly how Harlan managed to obtain Vanya’s powers.  It seems that when Vanya saved Harlan from drowning a few episodes back, she somehow transferred a fragment of her superpower into him.  Which explains what those glowing lights were.  Not entirely sure how that works.  Can the other Hargreeves Siblings pass their unique abilities on to someone else, or is this something exclusive to Vanya?  Either way, I suppose we’ll just have to go with it.

In any event, Vanya informs her brothers and sister of her accidental connection with Harlan, stating she has to head back to the farmhouse in order to help the boy.  She asks them to come with her, as she’s scared and she wants to have her family with her.  Unfortunately, Diego states that their priorities lie elsewhere, and for once, Number 5 states he’s in agreement with Diego.  When Vanya sees that none of her siblings seem willing to help her with this, she turns to go off on her own.  But as she starts the car, Klaus suddenly appears in the passenger seat.  They briefly discuss Ben, who had finally crossed over last episode after helping Vanya overcome her guilt pertaining to the things she did when her powers were out of control.  Vanya then informs Klaus that Ben left her a message for him.  Ben had wanted Klaus to know that he wasn’t the reason why he’d stuck around for so long.  It had been because Ben had been too scared to cross over.  This news alleviates Klaus’ own feelings of guilt, as he’d long believed he’d been keeping Ben from his ticket to Heaven.  Klaus then announces he intends to stick by Vanya when she goes to help Harlan.  And then, one by one, the others all join Klaus and Vanya in the car as well.  Which is a bit of a surprising heal turn for most of them, but at least they’re finally acting like a family for once.  Which is really fortunate as it’s revealed to the audience that the last remaining Swede is following them.

By the time the Hargreeves Siblings make it to the farmhouse, it’s clear that Harlan is in desperate need of help.  Bolts of lightning are blasting out from the barn and the area around the farmhouse is covered with snow.  As they approach the barn, Sissy appears, aiming her riffle at them.  It’s clear that she’s scared for her son, and she confronts Vanya, demanding to know what she did to Harlan, and if she’d been lying to her the whole time.  Vanya is able to convince Sissy that she wasn’t lying, that she really hadn’t remembered who she was before but she does now.  She goes on to tell Sissy that, whatever she might have heard, they’re not monsters, they’re aren’t there to hurt anyone, and that they didn’t kill President Kennedy.  In the end, Sissy accepts what Vanya is telling her, and she allows them to enter the barn, where Harlan is in the middle of an obvious meltdown, with the powers he got from Vanya spiraling out of control.  As Vanya begins to attempt to calm Harlan down, Klaus spots The Handler and Lila appearing outside and he alerts the others.  Diego and Number 5 decide to go out to face them.  After a bit of back and forth, The Handler reveals that Number 5′s involvement in the death of The Commission’s board of directors has been found out.  (Though the fact that The Handler herself ordered him to do so has been covered up.)  Diego points out that she and Lila (who has also fallen for The Handler’s lies) are outnumbered.  The Handler, however, isn’t phased by this and reveals that they’re not alone. Every single temporal assassin on The Commission’s payroll is also there.  So Diego and Number 5 (as well as Luther, Allison and Klaus, who also came outside to watch) are forced to retreat.

Diego and Number 5 try to seek refuge from the wave of bullets behind a tractor.  Number 5 attempts to teleport them into the farmhouse for refuge, but he’s out of juice.  So Diego decides to cover him by using his own powers of controlling the trajectory of objects, stopping the bullets in midair and redirecting them towards a nearby fuel tanker.  Of course, that’s not nearly enough to stop the temporal assassins, who are continuing their charge.

Inside the barn, Vanya has almost managed to talk Harlan down, but the flying bullets from the horde of temporal assassins disrupts her efforts.  After checking to see if Sissy is okay, Vanya decides to head out to help her brothers and sisters, with Sissy going to check on Harlan, who landed nearby.  By the time Vanya steps outside, things are looking pretty bleak for the other Hargreeves Siblings.  But Vanya is able to effortlessly shove every one of the temporal assassins backwards, effectively stopping their assault.  So for a brief moment, it looks like things will be okay for the Hargreeves Siblings.  But then, out of nowhere, it’s revealed that Lila was able to construct a forcefield around herself and The Handler, which protected them from Vanya’s counterattack.  Lila then begins utilizing the same ability as Vanya. Which obviously stuns the Hargreeves Siblings.  Before they can recover from their shock, Lila fires off a shockwave that sends them all flying off in different directions.

The Handler, on the other hand, doesn’t seem shocked by this and instructs Lila to kill the Hargreeves Siblings.  Lila obediently enters the farmhouse, where Luther and Number 5 wound up.  She approaches them after Number 5 got himself buried under the collapsing brick fireplace.  Luther questions who she is, and Lila replies that she’s someone who wants to kill Number 5.  Luther states he finds this understandable, but since Number 5 is his brother, he’s obligated to protect him.  But when he tries to punch Lila, she’s able to physically stop his fist with her bare hand and effortlessly throws him through the wall.  So it looks like Lila has Luther’s power of super strength, too.  And during the next few minutes, it’s reveled Lila can also mimic Allison and Number 5′s powers as well.

As Lila and Number 5 continue to fight inside the farmhouse, Allison, Luther, Klaus and Vanya all gather to help Diego, who ended up getting pinned beneath the tractor.  After freeing Diego, they start to discuss Lila’s sudden display of powers.  Before long, they reach a shocking conclusion- Lila was one of the Miracle Babies that were born on October 1st 1989.  Specifically one of the 36 Miracle Babies that Reginald hadn’t managed to obtain.  And her superpower was the ability to mimic the powers of anyone near her.  Of course, this does present the problem of how they could bring her down, as anything they threw at her could be directed back at them.  Klaus, however, theorizes that she may be able to only mimic one person at a time.  Meaning that, if they team up and attack in unison, it might do to the trick.

Meanwhile, The Handler makes her way over to where Sissy and Harlan are hiding out.  The Handler punches Sissy out and makes her way over to Harlan, announcing she’s his new mother.  She begins to entice Harlan to come with her, claiming that she can offer him a place where he’ll be understood.

Elsewhere, Lila and Number 5 are still engaged in their battle.  Lila announces that she plans to make Number 5 pay for what he’s done, but Number 5 insists he has no idea what she’s talking about.  Until Lila mentions her birth parents’ names, Ronnie and Anita Gill.   Right away, Number 5 remembers the pair in question.  He agrees that they didn’t deserve to die, but stares it hadn’t been personal when he killed them.  It had just been another job he did as a temporal assassins.  However, he tells Lila that if she’s going to blame anyone, she should look to The Handler, who had accompanied him on the kill order, which is something that executives at The Commission never did.  Number 5 realizes the truth in that moment.  He tells Lila that The Handler must have issued a fake kill order for Ronnie and Anita Gill, with the sole intention of getting to Lila, knowing that Lila was one of the Miracle Babies born on that fateful October day.  At that moment, the other Hargreeves Siblings appear on the scene.  They back up Number 5, saying that his conclusion makes sense, and that The Handler must have stolen her the way Reginald had stolen all of them.  The only difference is that Reginald hadn’t murdered any of their parents.  Lila is visibly shaken by this revelation, and clearly isn’t willing to accept it.  Diego, however, persists at reaching out to her, telling her that The Handler only loves her for her powers, and the moment they stop being useful to her, she’ll view Lila as disposable.  But they can offer Lila the chance to be a part of a real family.  

For a moment, it looks as if Diego’s words are getting though to Lila.  But in the blink of an eye, The Handler appears out of nowhere and guns everyone down.  Lila confronts The Handler over what she’s just figured out.  The Handler doesn’t deny it and simply asks if they can move past it and be a family again.  In response, Lila asks The Handler if she actually does love her, and when she gets no answer, she makes a move to attack, only to get shot on the spot.

However, it seems that Number 5 is not dead yet.  When The Handler notices this, she steps over to him, announcing she’s pleased he could live long enough to see how everything played out.  She then lifts her gun to finish him off.  Before she could fire off the killing shot, the last remaining Swede shows up out of nowhere, shooting her in the back.  Because he’d realized that The Handler had been the one who was responsible for the death of his brothers, on account of her intentionally misleading them.  And with that, The Handler is dead. 

But then The Swede aims his gun at Number 5, with the intention of killing him as well.  At the last second, Number 5 remembers what 1963 Reginald had suggested in 2x06, about making small time jumps instead of big ones.  This inspires him to travel back in time to right before The Handler shot his siblings dead.  This enables him to wrestle the gun away from The Handler before she could kill the Hargreees Siblings and Lila.  She still gets shot dead by The Swede (hopefully for good this time!), but this time, Number 5 is in the position to have a proper faceoff with The Swede.  After a tense moment with the two facing each other, Number 5 drops The Handler’s gun.  This is able to convince The Swede to also back down, with the two of them agreeing that it was pointless to continue fighting and killing each other.  However, amidst the confusion, Lila makes a dive for The Handler’s time traveling briefcase.  Luther tries to stop her, but Diego blocks him, allowing Lila to get away.  Luther questions Diego as to why he stopped him, and Diego admits that he loves Lila.

Of course, things aren’t fully resolved yet.  And that’s proven when Sissy cries out for Vanya.  She has apparently regained consciousness and saw that Harlan’s powers are still flaring up.  Vanya quickly moves to Harlan’s side, comforting him.  She manages to take back the fragment of her powers, thereby freeing Harlan of the burden, much to Sissy’s relief.

In the aftermath, Herb and Dot, the two members of The Commission who had been helpful to the Hargreeves Siblings, appear at the farmhouse to help tie up all the loose ends.  They explain that The Commission is in the process of electing a new board of directors, but until then, Herb is the acting chairperson.  Herb admits he’s nervous about his new position of authority, but Number 5 assures him that he’ll do fine. However, there’s still the matter of how the Hargreeves Siblings will get back to their own time.  Herb suggests they use one of the time traveling briefcases that the dead temporal assassins had used. 

As for Sissy and Harlan, Sissy tells Vanya that they can’t go with her when she returns to her own time.  She explains that she’s worried about Harlan and the danger he might be put into if they travel into the future.  She’s also scared for Vanya, and how they might not be able to have a normal life where they wouldn’t be hunted down.  Vanya is upset by Sissy’s decision, but she accepts it.  She asks Sissy where she’ll go, and Sissy mentions she has friends in California.  Vanya encourages her to go live the full life she deserves.  With that, the two share a goodbye kiss.

As the episode comes to a close, we see Ray alone at home, where he finds a goodbye letter that Allison left him.  As Allison’s letter is read in a voiceover, we see a brief montage. Vanya and Diego seem to be getting along now.  Klaus gazes tenderly at Dave’s dogtags as Past Dave boards the bus to join the Marines.  The last remaining Swede is picked up by the bus filled with Klaus’ former cult, which Keechie now leads.  Luther tries to make a phone call to his former boss, Mr. Ruby, but is unable to reach him.  Because Mr. Ruby, who had been watching the news broadcasts of President Kennedy’s assassination, was driven to pick up a gun.  (In case you haven’t figured it out by now, Mr. Ruby is Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald while he was in police custody.)  And Sissy and Harlan drive off to New Mexico.  Though it seems that Harlan has retained some of Vanya’s powers, as he’s able to levitate his bird toy.  When the montage is complete, The Hargreeves Siblings gather around the briefcase and depart 1963 at last. (Though Klaus pauses to pick up a cowboy hat first.)  They reappear on April 2nd, 2019, the day after the original apocalypse.  Which indicates that that apocalypse has successfully been prevented.  What’s more, the Umbrella Academy mansion is still standing, despite the fact that it had previously been destroyed by an enraged Vanya.

Upon realizing that they succeeded, the Hargreeves Siblings all start to celebrate.  But as they make their way to celebrate with a drink, Diego notices that there’s a picture of Ben above the fireplace mantle.  Up until now, that had been a picture of Number 5.  At that moment, Reginald appears, alive and well, even though he’s supposed to be dead.  Reginald announces he knew they’d show up eventually.  He then reveals that this isn’t the Umbrella Academy mansion anymore.  It’s now the Sparrow Academy mansion.  As he makes this announcement, the silhouettes of five people and a glowing cube appear on the upstairs landing.  Seconds later, a sixth person appears.  The sixth person is revealed to be a living Ben, who makes it clear that he doesn’t recognize any of the Hargreeves Siblings.

And so ends the second season of Umbrella Academy.  And it’s anyone’s guess what will happen in season 3.

Closing thoughts/questions:

Okay.  So apparently, 1963 Reginald ended up selecting completely different individuals in this new timeline, completely bypassing Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Number 5 and Vanya this time around.  Kinda makes sense, since he must have concluded them to be failures because of his brief encounter with them in 1963.  But he still selected Ben for his warped experiment, since he hadn’t been made aware of his existence at that time.  Wonder what this new batch of siblings are like.  And what’s with the glowing cube?

Will we see Lila again?  Because I’m hoping she’ll reunite with Diego.  I really ship those two.  Yes, they’re both one of those Miracle Babies, but unlike Luther and Allison, they weren’t raised as brother and sister, so it’s not creepy.

Wonder what became of Harlan, considering he still maintained some of Vanya’s powers.  Granted he seems to have them under control now, but  I still wonder if anyone ever found out about them.  In a related story, I wonder if Vanya will end up getting in touch with Sissy.  (Sure, she’s probably an old woman by now, but I’d be surprised if Vanya didn’t try to check up on her.)

Likewise, I wonder if Allison will check up on Ray.  Particularly since it’s unclear if Claire even exists in this new timeline.

While it looks like Dave is still on the path that will ultimately lead to his death, I’ve seen there does seem to be a slight variation.  Originally, Dave was a soldier in the army when he fought and died in the Vietnam War.  But when he boards the bus to be shipped off, he’s addressed as a Marine, which is a completely different military branch.  Either this was a continuity error or his path was indeed altered and he won’t die at  A Shau Valley after all.

#umbrella acedmy #umbrella academy 2x10 #tua

[inyri]

Equivalent Exchange (a SWTOR story): Chapter 25- Kinship

Equivalent Exchange by inyri

Fandom: Star Wars: The Old Republic Characters: Female Imperial Agent (Cipher Nine)/Theron Shan Rating: E (this chapter: M) Summary: If one wishes to gain something, one must offer something of equal value. In spycraft, it’s easy. Applying it to a relationship is another matter entirely. F!Agent/Theron Shan. (Spoilers for Shadow of Revan and Knights of the Fallen Empire.)

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Kinship

Even with Nightshrike running at full engine and their plotted route hewing close to the precarious edge of the Deep Core, the trip from Odessen to Alderaan takes six days.

A little more than halfway there, Nine’s barely drafted a working operational plan. It took a full day to get things settled at the base (they’re even shorter-staffed, now, with Theron landed on Coruscant and her off on what might turn out to be a wild rakghoul chase, but Lana took over without complaint) and en route, despite combing over every image Theron sent from the Alderaan cameras, the only thing she’s thought of so far is ‘drive out to the complex and knock.’

That leaves two more days to come up with a better idea. She’ll manage something.

Probably.

It’s not exactly an emergency, of course. Doctor Lokin’s been there for the better part of a year with not so much as a word on the Holonet since she came out of carbonite- maybe he really does just want out of the game. She wouldn’t blame him. Well into his sixties at their first meeting on Taris though she would never have questioned his ability or his capacity to work, he’d have been forced out of active service by now were they still allegiant to the Empire. If-

Kaliyo calls back from the bridge, breaking her out of her reverie. “Hey. Time for shift change.”

“Is it?” It seems like she just sat down to read through files, but if her datapad’s settings are right then so is Kaliyo. “Hold on. I’ll be right there.”

“Wish we’d brought the Lady of Pain with us.” Kaliyo unfolds herself from the pilot’s chair as she steps through the door to the bridge. “She knows the old man too, and three in the rota’s always better. More sleep for me.”

“Lady of Sorrows. And that was just her Zakuulan cover, but you know that.” With a chuckle, she slips past her into the seat. “Firebrand.”

Middle fingers raised, reaching over Nine’s head to grab the half-full glass perched on the console, Kaliyo grumbles. “Whatever. Still can’t believe I spent six months trying to slice into their files and SCORPIO kept breaking my programs just to fuck with me.”

“Maybe she didn’t know it was you.”

“Oh, she knew. She told me so when I got to Odessen.” Her face scrunches, the tattooed lines down her forehead drawing together. “‘You should be thankful,’ she said. ‘My counterprogramming improved your skillset by a factor of seven.’ Threatened to scrap her shiny ass.”

Nine snorts. “How’d that go over?”

“Apparently I’m welcome to try. Throw in a few Killiks, Doctor Rakghoul, and Temple rolling her eyes and muttering and it’s just like the good old days, huh?”

“We had our moments.” It’s quiet on the bridge, stars whipping past the window so quickly they blur into long bright lines and curling spirals, the rest of the ship empty and silent and still. “SCORPIO’s helping with some codebreaking. We finally have enough samples of Zakuulan encryptions that she thinks she can replicate their key. She offered to come with us, actually, but I asked her to stay behind and keep working.”

“Oh. Well, good for her.” Kaliyo turns toward the doorway. “I’m going to sleep. Catch you in six.”

She nods; Kaliyo slips out quietly. The bridge now empty, she kicks her feet up on the console, settling back and reactivating her datapad. If she can get through all of Hylo’s requisition forms in the next two hours- hm. Maybe she should grab a mug of caf before she-

Her commpad chimes.

are you alone?

Theron’s ID, but an odd question: they just spoke at breakfast, and he knows perfectly well she’s shipboard where privacy’s relative. When they talked he used Nightshrike’s address, its signal more reliable than her pocket holo, and she’d transfer the call to her cabin if Kaliyo seemed likely to eavesdrop (which was basically always. The woman had ears like a hawkbat.).

More or less. She taps out her reply. Something up?

need to call you. encrypt your holo.

That’s… not good. Datapad shoved back into her pocket, she slams her fist down on the door lock controls; it slides shut behind her with a soft pneumatic hiss, latches clicking into place. What’s wrong?

NOW

She pulls her holo out, flips two switches- encryption first, then location masking to boot. It’ll mean perhaps a second’s delay in transmission time, as fast as the ship’s moving, but something’s got Theron spooked and she knows better than to second-guess his instincts. He’s barely been on Coruscant a day. How had his plans gone awry this fast?

She knew this was a bad idea.

When the holo starts ringing she lets it connect. The picture lags behind the sound but when the signal locks in Theron’s mid-sentence, words sharp as gunshots and his tone brimming with barely suppressed fury. It barely sounds like him- she doesn’t think she’s ever heard him this angry, not even on Rishi.

“-telling you she had nothing to do with this. Why would I lie?”

“A few years ago I would have believed you.” She can’t place the other voice- older, male, the accent a hodgepodge of standard Coruscanti, middle-class Alderaanian and the distinctive cadence of the Republic military- and the image still hasn’t come into focus. This must be Theron’s contact. But who is it? “But then you went AWOL in the middle of a war to play at this alliance of yours and break a regicide- a Void-damned Cipher, no less- out of prison. I think I have plenty of reason to question your motives.”

“I resigned,” Theron snaps, “as you’re well aware. I’m not AWOL. And I thought you’d want to help, given all the time you spent on Alderaan. Clearly I was wrong, but-”

Finally, the holoprojector activates. Theron must be holding his own device; she can’t see him at all, the camera pointed away from him at the other speaker, a tall, broad-shouldered man in middle age, his face a web of old scars over brown skin-

She didn’t know his voice, but she certainly knows him by sight: he was at the top of their high-value target list at headquarters, right beside Saresh.  

Jace Malcom, Supreme Commander of the Republic Military, stares flatly at her with his arms folded across his chest. “And here she is: the Ghost of the Empire. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Theron, what did you do?

***

Theron thought he’d run through every possible way that this could go.

Best case, obviously, he gets what he came for. He’s been watching Nine pace back and forth for weeks staring at photos of a dead-end canyon on Alderaan and in a spate of caf-flavored delirium he thinks he figured out a way around the problem. True, Jace  hasn’t been stationed on Alderaan for years, but the garrison’s still under his command- stars, the whole damn Republic army’s under his command- and he’s got a soft spot for the place. He even ordered the gorak again at dinner. To get the shield generator’s turrets down would be a matter of a few relocated artillery emplacements; the Alliance could manage the rest with help from the local resistance.

Worst case, he’d thought, Jace would refuse. He’d be out the cost of the fuel but he’d have a day to resupply (his shopping list was short but meant four or five different stops, including the one place on the planet that sold the fancy face cream Nine likes so much; he almost choked on a ration bar when he saw the price of the tiny little jar but he loves the smell of it, sweet almonds and roses, and he saw she was running low the other night while trying to find the toothpaste in her ‘fresher cabinet) before their meeting and his return trip. Besides that, it would be good to see his father again. Maybe they could still salvage something of what they’d been trying to build before this newest war.

But this? This was way worse than the worst case scenario.

All during dinner he couldn’t shake the feeling someone was watching him. Just his security detail, he kept telling himself. Too long on the run, Shan. You’re getting paranoid. It was an uneventful hour- all small talk in public, of course, but no laser dot on his forehead, and the food really was good.

But then, back at Jace’s apartment, Theron didn’t even get three sentences into his spiel (he’d rehearsed it half a dozen times for Tee-Seven, which pronounced itself duly convinced) before the old man was on his feet.

He’d thought Theron wanted to defect back to the Republic, for fuck’s sake.

It devolved quickly after that, hard words on both sides that they’d have thought better of in the sober hours of morning, until finally he turned and pointed out the window at the column of cold blue light slicing upward into the sky.

“You look at that every single day. How can you stand here and tell me with a straight face that fighting the Empire is still more important than fighting back against Zakuul?”    

“You dare- ” Jace takes a deep breath. “I see. Is that what your Alliance wants? For us to stop fighting the Empire?”

He sighs. “That’s not what I said. Two mobile cannons, Dad, and Alderaan’s free. We know our technique for the Fortresses is sound- it’s worked already on Belsavis, Hoth, Tatooine. You’ve seen it. It could work here, for that matter. But you won’t-”

“I saw what happened on Bothawui, too. The moment the Eternal Throne so much as suspects we acted against them, they will strike without mercy. It’s a risk we can’t afford.”

“But throwing your troops into a dead-end war against the Empire’s fine?” Theron turns away from the window in frustration. Nine was right. He should never have come here. “That’s what Arcann wants, and you all just keep playing his game.”

He turns quiet, then. Dangerously quiet. “That is it, isn’t it? Stop us fighting the Imps, or draw us into an attack that breaks our treaty with Zakuul- either way, the Empire benefits.” Jace looks at him, unblinking, head tilted to one side in a way that might just have been the scars on his neck pulled tight by tension. “Your Commander put you up to this.”

“Leave her out of it. The only thing she knows is that I’m on Coruscant. This was all my idea.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that.” He doesn’t, clearly, to judge by his tone.

Oh, Force, this was a huge mistake. That’s not a question; there’s no right answer to it, and no matter what he says he’s digging himself deeper into the morass of Jace’s paranoia.

(He never knew exactly why Satele left his father-  he’d never had a conversation with his mother more than ten minutes long that wasn’t about work- but he’d asked Master Zho that question once, and the answer he got made no sense.

She saw what your father would become, Zho had said, and in leaving, she sought to change that fate.

Was she right? he’d asked, sitting cross-legged on the cave floor.

What do you think, boy? Are our destinies malleable? Or by seeking to alter them, are we merely creating a new path to a fixed destination?  

He hadn’t understood it then. He thinks, now, maybe he understands.)

“Call your Commander,” Jace says abruptly. “Now.”

Theron blinks. “What? Why? Your answer’s no, I get it. I’ll just go.” Even as he says it, though, he clasps his hands behind his back, opening a channel via his implant and typing carefully onto his commpad in a way he hopes Jace can’t see. (are you alone?)

Her reply comes back at the same time Jace starts to speak again. “I’d like to hear what she has to say. War or not, you’re still my son- but if you’re here on behalf of Cipher Nine-” (More or less, she replies. Something up?) - “we’re going to have an issue.”

“How do you figure?” (need to call you. encrypt your holo.)

“You don’t work for the Republic any more, Theron. That can change. Just say the word and you’re back in the SIS, back fighting the good fight. But you know what the consequences are for an enemy agent-” he curls one massive hand into a fist and opens it again- “caught in our territory. Call her. I won’t ask again.” (What’s wrong?)

No. He wouldn’t dare-

He might. He really, actually might. Shit. He types one last message behind his back (NOW) before he pulls his portable holo from his jacket pocket, switches on the encryption before dialing in Nine’s frequency.

“I can’t promise she’ll even answer. But I’m telling you-”

The call connects.

***

She blinks twice before she manages to settle herself.

“I’m afraid I don’t use that particular name now.” Resisting the urge to cross her own arms, she settles for feet apart and hands interlaced at waist height. A neutral posture. “My current title is Commander of the Alliance Against the Eternal Throne, but I’ll settle for ‘Commander’ as well. Appropriate to equals, don’t you think?”

Malcom scowls. “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“I’m not laughing,” she says, “and I appear to have missed your original question. What, precisely, am I meant to be explaining?”

“Theron Shan works for you. True or false?”

“Technically speaking his involvement in the Alliance predates mine. But you already know that, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” The camera angle shifts- he must have set the holo down. “Do continue.”

Slipping into frame behind the other man, Theron shakes his head slightly; before he can speak, though, Malcom’s talking again. “And you sent him to Coruscant to try to manipulate me into acting against Zakuul.”

The ridiculousness of it would make her laugh if he didn’t look lethally serious. “Don’t be absurd. Commander. Your well-publicized opinions on working with Imperials- even former Imperials- notwithstanding, if I was desperate enough to come begging the Republic military for favors I have more appropriate liaisons than Theron. To be perfectly frank, I wasn’t aware he’d ever met you.”

Theron winces.

She’s missed something, clearly. In the split second that marks Jace Malcom’s inhaled breath she looks back and forth between him and Theron, trying to get a better sense of the dynamic of the room.

“Like I keep saying-” his tone is a warning but she doesn’t know why; damn it all, Theron- “she has nothing to do with why I’m here. She doesn’t know-”

“You weren’t aware he’d met me. I expected a better caliber of lie out of you, Cipher.” Malcom’s face contorts in anger, his right eye nearly closed under layers of heavy scarring. “Like you wouldn’t maintain dossiers on every one of your subordinates. You sent my own son to-”  

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

So that’s why he wouldn’t tell her anything about Coruscant.

***

Theron watches her eyes dart back and forth between him and Jace and can pinpoint the exact moment when she sees it- in his skin tone and the bow of his upper lip, the shape of his chin and of his eyes. (He looked for himself in his father’s face for the better part of a month, only half-believing him after that first awkward conversation. He looks more like his mother, he thinks, his height and his build and the way he moves, but still, it’s there.)

Nine’s mouth falls open, just for a second; she’s so much better at keeping a straight face than him but a bombshell like that-

“Your son,” she says, rolling the word around her tongue in the way that she does when she’s trying to buy herself a few seconds to think, “as I suspect you know, is very good at keeping secrets. Whatever it was that he asked you, which I gather had something to do with Alderaan, he did not do it with my knowledge or at my behest. Now, is he free to leave, or do we have a problem?”

I’m sorry, he signs at waist height as Jace stays fixed on her image.

She doesn’t reply. Her eyes soften a little, maybe, but that might be wishful thinking.

“That depends on him.” Jace turns toward him as Nine’s brows arch. “It was a serious offer, son.” (A low blow, that one. He can count on one hand the number of times he’s called him that, and he’d bet it won’t get any higher after tonight.) “Come back to the Republic. The SIS needs you.”

“I know where I’m needed.” He sidesteps away, moving closer to the holo. “It isn’t here.”

“Theron-”

He picks it up off the table. “This was obviously a mistake. Thank you again for dinner, but I think I’d better go.” Turning the device in his hand until the camera refocuses- mostly on him, but keeping Jace in the picture- he looks at her expressionless face, a picture of calm worthy of a Jedi except for the slightest, subtlest flare of her nostrils. “Ni- Commander. I’ll call you when I’m shipboard, okay?”

She shakes her head. “Maintain this connection until you’re at safe distance. That’s an order.”

“Understood.”

He’s already started toward the entryway when Jace calls out to him. “Theron, please. You can’t seriously tell me you’re choosing this… this-” he pauses. “Yes, you worked together once, but you know what she is. The head of your Alliance is a liar and a murderer and she will use you and spit you out. How much damage did she do to the Republic? How many of your friends died at her hand?”

“I know what she was-” her figure shifts from side to side in the palm of his hand as he speaks; she’s heard far worse than that before, he’s sure, and some of it was true, once- “better than most. But what she is now is the best hope this entire galaxy has at defeating Arcann, and I trust her with my life.”

Jace sighs, shoulders slouching forward, a break in his perfect posture. “Then Force help you, because I won’t. I just wish you’d come to me years ago. I know you were frustrated by the war, but leaving the way you did- I don’t understand it.”

“Do you remember, Dad,” he says, hand on the door panel as it slides open, “the last time we had dinner together?”

“You’d just come home from Yavin. I do remember.”

“You asked me whether there was anyone special waiting.” (He’d choked on a sip of whiskey. It wasn’t exactly a question he could answer, then.) He takes a step into the hallway, looking back over his shoulder. “There was. Waiting just wasn’t the right word.”

Long before he knew who his father was, Theron had heard recordings of his speeches. Jace’s had a long career, a successful career as measured by the calculus of war; there have been many battles won and lost, many speeches, victorious and otherwise. He expects to hear one now.

When he leaves the apartment, though, the only sounds that follow are his own footsteps, the hiss of a closing door, and the muffled angry thump of a bare fist striking hard against a wall.

Nine stays silent all the way through the long ride down the turbolift.

When he finally moves from the foyer into the street (past a woman he’d bet good credits is undercover SpecOps- she raises one hand discreetly to her ear as Theron approaches but doesn’t stir from her perch on a well-padded chair) he goes about a block down before ducking into a narrow gap between two buildings.

“So,” he says by way of opening, “um. Let me exp-"

She unclenches her hands, raising one finger in front of her in the universal gesture of shut up and let me speak, and he quiets as she starts to pace back and forth across the length of the bridge. Uh-oh. “Get back to your ship, then explain. This isn’t the right place for that kind of conversation. He still might send someone after you-” she can probably see a little ways behind him in the holo, judging by the way she’s craning her neck to look- “and- stars, just get to the spaceport. Get airborne, get clear, and call me back.”

“He’s not going to send someone after me. He-”

“You don’t know that. One hour, starting now. Go.”

The connection terminates.

He can’t exactly run all the way back to his ship; while this isn’t the fanciest neighborhood on Coruscant by any means, it’d still look pretty damn odd to be sprinting down the walkway at eleven o’clock at night. Instead, he snakes through the alleyways for another few blocks (just in case), snags a taxi in front of a still-bustling restaurant, and lets it carry him to the spaceport.

***

She keeps pacing.

Back and forth, back and forth, her anger builds with every passing minute. She’s not sure, really, what she thought his plan was, but- oh, Theron. You idiot.

It had probably sounded like a good idea. With a connection like that to leverage- his father, for stars’ sake, can’t imagine why he wouldn’t have mentioned that before; oh, yes, my mother, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order and my father, the Supreme Commander: he could have been the fucking Chancellor in another life instead of abandoned in a cave- it could easily have succeeded, whatever it was he’d meant to do, and he’d have come back to Odessen ever so pleased-

Void take the Republic. She’d hoped they’d only pretended to roll over and play dead when Arcann put his teeth to their throat, that maybe Saresh (definitely still in charge despite their current Chancellor’s claims otherwise) and Malcom had some sort of plan to lull Zakuul into complacency before they finally struck to kill. But no. They were still on their backs, flashing their soft bellies to the sky.

Cowards.

She keeps pacing.

***

He’s up above the atmospheric threshold and about to jump to hyperspace with six minutes to spare- Tython first, he thinks, to set a false trail; he’d been sure no one was following him at first but the passenger in the taxi behind his had looked awfully familiar when they both disembarked at the spaceport- when he looks down at his commpad and he’s got half a dozen messages waiting.

Not from her. They’re on his public Alliance account, to start with, not the private channel they set up between themselves, and the address isn’t familiar. He sits down to read them as the engine kicks on.

what the kriffing fuck did you do

seriously spyboy what did you DO

i am trying to SLEEP and I can hear her swearing all the way across the ship

(Only one person that could be. He marks the address as Kaliyo’s; for a moment he thought it might have been Teff’ith, but the spelling’s too good.)

ok now she’s swearing in Huttese and none of that is anatomically possible

<file attached: toldyoushesmad.wav>

After a quick scan and despite his better judgment, he opens the file and realizes three things in rapid succession: one, that Nine’s way better at languages than him; two, that she is well and truly furious; and three, that Kaliyo was right. None of that is anatomically possible.

***

With two minutes to go and her rage mostly vented, she’s tired of pacing and starting to get genuinely nervous when Theron finally calls back.

“Are you safe?” She slides back down into the pilot’s chair, suddenly exhausted.

She’s not sure what he was expecting her to say but that must not have been it; he rubs his eyes and looks at her as Tee-Seven chirps, unseen, in the background. “I’m fine. I promise. Also, before you say anything, I bought an entire sack of caf beans yesterday and I’m fully prepared to use it to bribe you with. I know you’re angry-”

“I’m not that angry.” (She got most of that out of her system over the last hour. Most of it.)

“So you didn’t threaten to-” he glances down at something- “okay, I don’t know that word, but something about my implants something something Huttese poetry?”

Wait. How did he- she blinks.

“You were keeping Kaliyo awake, apparently. She sent audio.”

She sighs. She ought to glue ‘liyo’s ears shut one of these days; it’d serve her right. “I’m not that angry. You’re sure you’re safe?”

“I’m sure. I’m diverting a little bit, and I might have had a tail to the spaceport, but I’m okay. Should I meet you on Alderaan? I know we won’t be ready to run on the shield generator, but I can come help with Lokin if you want.” He smiles, sheepish, and sinks lower into his own chair. “And I can explain properly.”

“I told you he might send someone after you. Did you really think he was going to let you just walk out of there? I half-expected to have to break you out of one of the black cells down underneath the Senate complex.”

“There aren’t any cells underneath the-” Theron starts to say, then wrinkles his forehead. “There totally are, aren’t there?”

“Yes. Military, not SIS. Plausible deniability, et cetera.”

“And you’ve probably broken people out of them before?”

She nods. “Twice, actually, and the escape route goes through the sewers so it’s particularly unpleasant.  I still would have come to get you, but I-” her neck’s gone sore from so much tension and she digs her knuckles into the muscles cording along either side of her spine. “Why didn’t you tell me, Theron?”

“I knew you’d think it was too much of a risk, but I was sure he’d-” ah, stars, he looks so sad, a flicker of raw grief passing over his face before it disappears into his usual wry half-smile. “I mean, you’d think you could ask your own father for a favor, right?”

One would think. One would think a great many things that turn out not to be true.

(She tries to picture them together, Satele Shan and Jace Malcom, for a moment; she’d always thought Theron’s father must have been another Jedi. Why else would Satele have been certain enough to commit him to a Jedi’s life from birth?

So self-righteous, Grand Master Shan. So calm, so controlled, always playing by the rules.

Such a hypocrite.

It makes her like her rather more, to be honest.)

“Come to Alderaan,” she says quietly. “You know the coordinates. But I want to hear the whole story.”

“You will.”

***

Two days later she settles Nightshrike into a clearing on the far edge of the ranch, just outside an electrified fence that she suspects was built more to keep things in than out. Theron’s a day away still, slingshotted around Tython to head back in their direction; she and Kaliyo spend a few hours prowling around the perimeter but the whole place is quiet, not a single rakghoul in sight.

She doesn’t like it.

The main gate’s latched but unsecured, swinging open once unfastened with a gentle push. She likes that even less.

“Come on.” She starts down the gravel path toward the low building in the far distance, beckoning to Kaliyo before she tosses her backup stealth device in her direction. “Something’s wrong. Watch my six.”

They flicker into invisibility together as Kaliyo draws her pistol and falls back into position. Further down the road there are more signs of life, feeding troughs (empty) and water troughs (full) and a smaller structure, full of-

Oh, stars.

A dozen cages line either side of the building, each holding a single rakghoul- still alive, all of them, but starved-looking and avidly sniffing at the air in their direction when they peer through the doorway.

Kaliyo wrinkles her nose. “They haven’t been fed in a week, I bet. That’s not like the old man at all.”

“Let’s keep going. If Lokin’s skipped out, we’ll have to figure out what to do with them-” please let him still be here; the creatures are pathetic, practically tame despite their hunger, and she really, really doesn’t want to have to shoot them but there are too many to transport safely- “but we still need to check the main complex.”

There are cameras in the trees, at least, when they close within a few hundred meters of the house, and three trip wires running at angles across the entryway; she disables them all and scans the intercom carefully before she presses the button.

No answer.

A minute later she’s got the locks cracked and the door swinging open and something’s charging at them in the dim light of the front room, panting, and she raises her blade and-

“Hey, Scritchy!” Kaliyo’s flat on her back, tackled by a remarkably happy-appearing rakghoul- she’d swear it’s smiling, assuming rakghouls actually smile. That is Scritchy, when she looks closer. Doctor Lokin must still be here. Sentiment aside, Scritchy was his gene stock, a necessity for most of his research. “I’m all out of womp rat bits, you stinky little shit. Get off.”

Scritchy does as he’s told, scampering off toward the back rooms of the building; she looks after the creature for a moment, then follows.

The back rooms are windowless, even darker than the front of the house with the lights out- a lab room, still and silent but for a few indicator lights flashing in the dark, a storage area and last, a bedroom, the air heavy and antiseptic-smelling.

She almost misses the shape on the floor beside the bed until she hears the shotgun cocking, both barrels pointed squarely at her belly.

“Don’t come any closer. I assure you,” Lokin says, voice barely a whisper, “I will shoot.”

“Five years, and that’s the sort of hello I get? And here I thought-” she squints down at him in the darkness until her eyes adjust, sheathing her knife, holding her hands up in a placating gesture; he looks-

Oh.

Oh. Kaliyo, drawn to the room by their voices and the sound of the gun, stops short in the doorway, one hand over her mouth. At her heels, the rakghoul whines.  

“Cipher.” He can barely hold the gun steady, and she reaches out to take it before it slips from his shaking hands. “Cipher. They told me you’d- they told me-”

“You know me better than that.” Crouching, she loops her arms beneath his even as he tries to push her away and he’s skin and bones beneath her hands. “I’m not so easy to kill. Come on. Let’s get you off the ground.”

Lokin shakes his head. “Use your eyes, my girl. If I could walk, do you think I’d be sitting down here?”

“I thought we’d start with moving you up to bed,” she says, lifting him, “and negotiate onward from there. Unless you’d rather stay on the floor.”

His laugh’s half-wheeze and half-howl. “Stubborn. Always stubborn.”

“Always.”

***

Up next: Chapter Twenty-Six: In The Blood. Hunting for a cure, an explanation owed, and two new leads.

#equivalent exchange #inyri writes #cipher nine/theron shan #nine #imperial agent #swtor fanfiction

[tanyaodebra]

You 2.8: “Fear and Loathing in Beverly Hills” – And Hunter Wept

I’m obsessed with this show and I am definitely going to keep watching, but COME ON. As a Passions fan, I’m truly down for anything – a monkey who’s a nurse, a witch who controls a town through a caldron, simultaneous pregnancies that are not twins, an evil doll that comes to life – select any flavor of soap opera madness and I will shovel it into my gaping TV-holes as long as it adheres to the tone of the show. But a drug episode? Really? This is tonal chaos. Anyway, we pick up right where we left off, with Delilah trapped in a glass case of emotional torture. David Fincher calls again and when Delilah lies in order to gain Joe’s trust, she says they’ll go on a date soon, a lie that cuts deep. Joe does indeed act as though he’s going to free her – he purchases plane tickets, says his goodbyes, and sets up Delilah in time-release handcuffs (which are real, because fetish people) so she can let herself out after he’s on a plane. And then we hit the first in a series of clichés – he sets a timer for sixteen hours so he is literally fighting against the clock. It’s a little much, and it telegraphs the idea that he’s going to fail.

Love is looking crazy-eyed in her lemon palace, and her team of enabling friends give her permission to do what she really wants, which is obviously to get Joe back. Dottie, egged on by her shaman, makes an unexpected appearance, and the two share a dysfunctional dinner. Love brings up the au pair, and Dottie hisses that she “did what she had to do.” Was Dottie involved in the murder, or just the cover-up? Love drunkenly storms out. When Love can’t handle her liquor, Dottie swoops in to take advantage of this moment of vulnerability.

We hit the second cliché when Forty and Joe are kidnapped. It felt so out of the blue that it totally took me out of the story. In fact, Joe even says that if this were a movie, he wouldn’t believe it. Things feel a little more planted in the world of the story once it becomes clear that Forty had planned it. Forty needs Joe’s help writing his screenplay and they will remain hotel room hostages of gun-toting Russians until they finish. I guess Joe is getting a taste of his own medicine, which hearkens back the first episode’s promise of karmic retribution. Forty’s back on the ‘booch, but this time he’s mixing it with Dexedrine. Not a great sign, because last time he was drinking kombucha he went hog-wild at Hendy’s. He spirals very quickly after Ellie’s honest notes and he jumps out the window into a dumpster, then absconds to a bar. Joe is obligated to follow him, and the clock keeps ticking. Joe finds Forty seated behind a sea of empty shot glasses, swimming in the blues. Apparently Forty is still texting Candace, which would lead a normal viewer to believe that she is alive and well. Lucky for you, I don’t trust anything or anyone, so I feel certain that Love is necro-texting from Candace’s phone. Fueled by tequila, Forty throws a drunken grenade into a nearby couple’s wedding reception by reenacting a watered-down Indecent Proposal – he kisses the bride in exchange for ten grand in cash. At his wits end, Joe attempts to leave the bar with or without Forty, but Forty grabs his arm and pens “8:52” in Sharpie. You see, that’s the time Joe started drinking the seltzer Forty dosed with four hits of acid. There it is, the third cliché. Literally anything is plausible now, which feels very, very cheap. Poor Joe has never taken LSD before, so he is about to have his ass handed to him. He is, to say the least, displeased. But then he bumps into Love – she “put two and two together,” aka stalked him or had him followed, and chose to have dinner in the same hotel where Joe and Forty were writing – when he starts tripping HARD.

Joe’s trip is a kaleidoscope of flashbacks about his childhood and imagined conversations with his mother. She provokes him, coddling his worst impulses. Forty uses the trip to get inside Beck’s head, which sends Joe spiraling. Forty narrowly escapes being choked to death by kneeing Joe in the balls during a roleplay gone wrong. Joe is freaking the fuck out, and rightfully so. Four hits of acid is a stupidly high dose for anyone, let alone a newbie. Forty allows him to use the safe word (I don’t know if this is a cliché, but it’s a really crazy plot coupon) to get moon juice (is this some LA thing I don’t know about, or is it a fictional Anavrin thing?) and snacks. Forty can’t come, because he’s conveniently peaking. Joe blacks out and finds himself standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom. Did he ever leave? There’s blood on his hands. He washes them, then all the blood disappears. Was it ever there? When he returns to the living room, Forty’s drinking moon juice among a gaggle of grocery bags. He confirms that Joe definitely left and brought this stuff back, but he doesn’t know how he got there or how long he was gone. Weird, since it seems like Joe would not go back to that room on his own. Dmitri (Adi Spektor), the Russian bodyguard, affirms that Joe came back with clean hands. Joe hears Love’s ringtone in Dmitri’s pocket, and he freaks out until Forty bribes Dmitri with cash for the phone. This phone call is a fishy dish. Love claims they can figure out whatever he’s running from together. Why does she know he’s running from something? Running implies guilt. After what Candace told her, why wouldn’t she want to stay far, far away? Joe says the magic words that Milo never would have said – they can take Forty with them on their escape tour. Maybe this is something James never would have agreed to? After another mommy-induced blood cry, Joe seeks solace in Forty, who has actually cracked his story. The beat board is organized and ready to go. The key was in figuring out who the real killer is, and it’s not Dr. Nicky. According to Forty, it can only be Beck’s unnamed ex-boyfriend, because he’s the one who truly loved her. Just as Joe is about to slash Forty’s throat, Forty reveals that he can empathize. His au pair didn’t kill herself – Forty killed her in a jealous rage. He claims to have blacked out, then awakened to see himself standing over her corpse. Their parents made it look like a suicide. So, Love’s weirdness around that story could have been the simple fact of lying about it. But the detail of Forty blacking out has me doubting… Maybe he didn’t kill her. But maybe he did. We’ll see. Either way, Joe is immensely comforted by this story and in turn, he comforts Forty. The two seem solidly bonded by this experience.

The next morning, Forty is MIA. Joe has exactly one hour and twenty minutes to resolve his situation with Delilah. The plan is to negotiate with Delilah so he can live happily ever after with Love. He makes it to the storage unit with seconds to spare. There’s just one problem – Delilah’s dead. Did Joe kill her? I mean, it would make sense. He’s the only one who knows where she is. Except she’s lying in an ocean of blood, and his clothes are totally clean. There is no way someone who is peaking on four hits of acid could have gotten it together to murder someone, then either change into an identical outfit or wash the one he had on. Not possible. And that both Forty and Joe killed someone in a blackout is weird – I’m willing to bet that either it’s true in both cases or false in both cases. But if Love’s detective has been following Joe this whole time, as I suspect, a garden of possibilities blooms. See You next time!  

#you netflix season2 episode8 recap