#and now travels the world making sure kid's safety laws are followed

[dcxdpdabbles]

I JUST SAW THESE POSTS OF DANNY BEING RAS AL GHUL CHILD LIKE THE FIRST THAT IS LIKE 25-30 YEARS OLDER THAN TALIA AND MAKE MY BRAIN WORKS FUCKING WIGGLE!?!?!??

anyway

Danny established the status quo and the disappeared for 20-60 years and the is summoned by Ra where he’s like “Dad you could’ve have called my personal phone you know that right?” And Ra’s like “YOU WENT OFF THE GRID FOR YEARS AND NEVER TOOD ME-!!??!? Now do you look different? Are you eating? What’s with comingoutthesummoningcirclefortheghostking? HMMM???”

“Ah- I knew I forgot something! Let me tell you all about it! I see you brought the whole fam and in laws let’s have dinner and discuss it- AWWWW THATS BABIES!!!” *Damian, Jason, Tim, and Dick being referred to as “babies”*

“Excuse me.” Danny then fucking tackles them in hugs and loves while dodging and/or holding their punches and kicks

"My maternal uncle is coming for a visit and likely evaluate my living arrangements.. We must be at our absolute best when he is here. " Damian announces one evening right as the family is finishing preparing for a night of crime fighting.

Everyone freezes from their respective stations, twisting around to stare at the young Robin in confusion. He doesn't notice; he is too busy making sure his katana is sharpened to perfection and balancing it on his fingertips.

"Baby Bat?" Dick calls, "What do you mean by that?"

Damian pauses in his prep work, approaching the eldest with a pretty impressive scowl. " Mother sent a messenger a few days ago about Uncle's plan audit. Should we fail it, I shall be removed into a different household."

"An audit? Removed?" Steph repeats, confused, but Damian has no idea why. He thought it was pretty apparent that Uncle Daniel would be scoring them, which would determine if Damian would be allowed to continue living within them. He has done so to all of Ra Al Ghul's offspring, and nothing his Grandfather has done has been able to stop him.

How could they think they would have more power than his grandfather?

"When shall Dusan be here?" Father asks, quickly switching on the home security. "What kind of attack should we expect?"

Damian scoffs, "Not the White Ghost. Uncle Dusan is on the other side of the world on a mission for Grandfather. No, Uncle Daniel will be the one conducting the suit. He is the eldest, after all."

Father's eyes narrow behind the white lenses of his masks. "I was unaware your mother had more siblings."

Damian considers the words, wondering how he could politely- at least he shames Alfred- remind his father that his grandfather has been around for hundreds of years. Staying at his peak through the usage of the Lazarus Pit, he has never been short of lovers.

And sometimes those lovers have given him children, many who aged and died naturally, as none has deemed worthy of the Lazarus. All except for one, the First Son, who has never needed the Pits but remained youthful and powerful on his own.

The perfect heir.

It's too bad he had abdicated long before Damian was even a thought.

"Grandfather has had many children, but Uncle Daniel is different. Special. He is the First Son."

"Capital letters," Todd cuts in, shaking his head. "It's never good when the League of Assiasans assigns capital letters. How strong is he?"

"He could easily best Grandfather and all under Grandfather's command," Damian replies, watching as the rest of the vigilantes grew uneasy by the information. It's good that they are wear of Uncle Daniel's power but they have nothing to fear of his wrath. "Uncle Daniel is a pacifist. He carries a protective core."

"A Al Ghul that a pacifist? I'll believe it when I see it." Drake droned as he was clipping on his utility belt. At once, Damian felt his body grew hot with rage. No matter what, it seemed Drake would always curse his family.

The way he says the family name drips with disrespect as if the other teen was saying a swear.

"My Uncle Daniel is a great man!" He shouts, gripping his sword so har his knuckles ache. Drake's face twists as if though he smelled something foul and the rage burning in Damian's chest spreads to his whole body.

He is just about to reach for his throwing knives when a familiar cold hand settles into his hair. "Aw thank you Little One. I love you too."

"Uncle Daniel!" Damian shouts excitably, forgetting the fool he was about to run his blades through. His uncle stands before him, the same darl night hair, warm blue eyes, and a crooked smile that had secretly comforted him in his youth.

"Where in the world did he come from!?" Damian hears one of Father's adopted brutes gasp but does not care to see who as his uncle quickly reels him in for a hug.

Hugging Uncle Daniel was like being wrapped in warm blankets in winter. He always ran rather cold, but it was lovely to be wrapped in his arms and surrounded by his protection.

It felt like nothing in the world could harm him from here.

"You seem well, Little One. Are you happy?" His uncle says. The delict of their native tongue is another comfort Damian can sink into.

"I am." He allows, snuggling his face against his stomach, as childish as it is. If only he could grow taller like his father.

"Wonderful. I'm so glad." His uncle then switches to English, ignoring all the weapons drawn and pointing at him from the Bats. Damian steps back to admire the man he wishes to grow into. "I'm terribly sorry for arriving so late, nephew. You must be tired. When is your bed time?"

"I do not have a bedtime." Damian scoffs. Uncle Daniel frowns, reaching into his chest to pull out a clipboard and a pen- he'll never get used to his uncle storing things within himself no matter how often he sees it. Damian is pretty sure he heard someone gag.

A soft click is heard as his uncle opens the pen and quickly scribbles something down. He is not tall enough to see what is written, but he can see clearly as day that his uncle selected the red ink of the muli-color pen he is using.

He only uses red when he is doing bad things. Damian breaks into a sweat. "What was that? Uncle what did you just write?"

"No bedtime. Tsk tsk." Uncle Daniel mutters, looking around the cave with disapproval. "No proper heating living space."

"Oh no! I do not live down here. This is merely the training grounds. We live upstairs" Damian quickly says, waving his hands frantically in the air as his uncle's unimpressed look. Curses, the auduit just began and already he got bad markings.

"Would you care for a tour? I shall not be going on patrol-"

"He forces you to fight crime? At your age?" Uncle barks, throwing a look of utter disgust at Father. It's the same one he gives Grandfather whenever the older man tries to raise child soldiers.

Even Damian had not been sent on any missions. His childhood had been intense training but nothing that was life-threatening.

"I volunteered to go!" He tries to defend Father, but his uncle only clicks his pen and scrambles more red ink on his paper.

Drat and Damian were actually enjoying living at the manor. He will likely have to say goodbye to it all and be moved to some house Uncle deemed more child-friendly.

"What is your diet here? Have you been taken to the doctor? Any form of therapy?" His uncle fires each question quickly, walking through Todd and Cain when they try to apprehend him without a glance.

His uncle is, and not to sound like the fools of his school, so cool.

#dcxdpdabbles #dc x dp crossover #The Audit #Damian's cool uncle Danny #In which Danny was reborn as Daniel Al Ghul four hundred and ten years ago as Ra's first born son #Then went all Ghost King on him #and now travels the world making sure kid's safety laws are followed #Sorry I know it's not what you were picturing but it's all I could think of.

[blossom-works]

Power Couple

Request (anon): Hiii!! How are you? Can I ask for a kylian request where both the reader and him go on Ridiculousness and it’s just all fluff and jokes, thanks anyway

Thank you for your request! I had to tweak your submission since I don't think Kylian would allow his s/o on a platform like that for privacy's sake. I do hope that I made you proud with this though!

---

About a month ago, you and the board of your hospital agreed that it would be best if you quit your job. Now, why would you quit a job you absolutley loved doing? The reason why both parties agreed to it is because while you were on maternity leave, someone found out you worked at the hospital and told the world. People started coming to (and sneaking in) the hospital just to snap a photo or a short video of you. Some even harrassed you. It got so bad that the safety of the staff, patients, and actual visitors came to the surface.

When you told Kylian about this, he was furious. He took it to his social media and posted a statement saying that he was disappointed with his "fans" behavior. Kylian also said that he would be taking the threats and harassment towards you to court. "I do not take the safety of myself or my family members lightly. All threats and harassment made towards my wife maliciously or jokingly, will be investigated by my legal team."

You cried for days after you left your job. You truly loved it and the kids there. Kylian even asked to take a day off practice to make sure you were okay. Since then, you have been distracting yourself by being a stay-at-home mom. You loved it. You love being able to take care of your child 24/7. In fact, you took pride in it. When Matthew was old enough, you and Kylian enrolled him in daycare. It would be good for him to socialize with babies his age and people who are not you or Kylian. You hated being home alone with no husband or kid to dote on. It was just you and that big ass house.

You brought this to Kylian and you both came up with a solution. Fayza, your mother-in-law, is working on a project for Inspired by KM and she could use your help. You immediately accepted Kylian's proposal and the next week, you were working alongside your mother-in-law. Your first day was pretty easy, just reviewing the project itself and adding your little details. The following days were more hands-on work. You even had to do a small interview with Fayza about the project.

To say that you were nervous was an understatement. You are grateful that Fayze was there to take the lead when you stumbled here and there. While in Bondy, you met the kids there and did so many fun activities with them. From cooking and baking to playing a game of football with them. At that time, the targeted demographic did not know that you were Kylian's wife, but now, people know that Kylian's wife is supporting her husband through his organization.

Now, you are confident when doing your interviews. You added a lot of value to the organization that you ended up being named "director". A position that sits just under Kylian. You even have your own secretary! French news media went wild about how much of a power couple the two of you are. When you were given the position of director, Kylian threw a huge party to celebrate. The more projects you push out in Inspired by KM, the more your face gets recognized. You transferred the knowledge you gathered while working at the hospital and inserted it into Kylian's organization.

You and your family traveled to France a few days ago because you and Kylian have to do an interview there to talk about the latest project of Inspired by KM. Kylian's parents will be at the family home so they can watch their almost one-year-old grandson.

The two of you agreed to stick to a neutral-colored wardrobe. Kylian is wearing a white button-down and black slacks with some loafers and as always, donning a HUBLOT watch. You chose to wear something a little more dressy. A back shirt and blazer with a pair of beige, velvet pants and nude heels. You tied your hair in a low bun and are wearing an Olivia Burton watch Kylian got you for your first anniversary. Quite the power couple look indeed.

(Bold dialect will be in French)

"Mrs. Mbappe, it's well known that you joined your husband's organization because you lost your job at a Spanish hospital. How was that like for you?"

Ah, a question you have heard and answered a dozen times before.

"It was hard. I loved my job but the board and I came to a mutual understanding and agreement. Both parties agreed that it was no longer about whether or not I should keep my job, but it was about the safety of the people who worked and were administered there."

The interviewer nods and writes down a couple of notes. He then asks Kylian how he felt about the situation. Kylian just said that he was angry for you and did what he could to protect you. He calls the incident a blessing in disguise because you have done so much for his organization, and it has made the two of you closer as a couple.

"You gave birth in the fall of last year, correct? Has motherhood clashed with your duties for Inspired by KM?"

"No, it hasn't. I'm thankful for my husband's resources that allow me to work with Inspired by KM. Motherhood has made me a more nurturing woman which helps with my job at KM."

Again, he nods and writes down some notes. The interview so far is a bit redundant. His questions have been questions you have answered before, just worded differently. It does not help that the interview is a live one (with a live audience), so you cannot make any signs that show your disinterest.

"So, the recent project Inspired by KM was actually partnered with UNICEF. Can you tell me how that happened, Mrs. Mbappe?"

Finally! A question about the project that was recently launched.

"Certainly! I have always admired the work that UNICEF does and our missions align. One is just more global than the other. I shared my desire to expand KM's reach to children all over the world with my husband and our board at KM. Everyone came to an agreement and I wrote a proposal partnership to the general director of UNICEF."

"Why did you agree to it Kylian? Other than it being because your wife wanted to."

"When my love first brought the idea up, it was just the two of us. She had already come up with the project's structure and it was all very detailed. It wasn't just something she came up with on a whim. My wife did her research because she truly wished to make the project a reality. She was very passionate. She was still passionate when she proposed the idea during a board meeting. My wife supports me by cheering for me in the stands when I'm playing, and she supports me by working for my organization. I agreed because I want to support her."

The audience watching clap for Kylian's response. They even hollar when you kiss Kylian's cheek in appreciation. You are so glad that you are wearing makeup that hides your blushing face (besides the actual blush used).

"I want to bring attention to this projection screen here." The interviewer motions to the object. The projection turns on and a video pops up. The play button is clicked and when the first frame comes on, you hide your face into Kylian's shoulder in embarrassment. He too hides his face in your hair in embarrassment.

What on earth is being displayed to make you and Kylian want to hide from the world? It is a video of you and Kylian carelessly dancing in the office building. To destress the two of you, Kylian put on some music and coerced you to dance with him. Neither of you realized that Wilfried recorded the moment.

In the video, neither of you cares to observe your surroundings. Heck, one part of the video shows Kylian trying to twerk to the beat of the music. The room fills with laughter and you and Kylian are trying your best to shrink yourselves. Oh God! This entire interview is being broadcast! - Live!

Thankfully, the video stops at one minute and the torture is over. Takes a couple of seconds for the laughter to die down which does not help with your embarrassment. You are pretty sure your blushing face is showing through your makeup, but you can only know when the videos and photos of today come out. You lift your head off of Kylian's shoulder and fan your face. Kylian is busy wiping the tears of laughter and pain away from the corner of his eye.

"Well, it seems like the two of you do a great job at supporting each other." The interviewer coughs out. "In all seriousness, it's great to see two busy people such as yourselves enjoying the small moments in life. It's relatable and I believe it brings a positive message to people that they should have fun when they can."

Your husband speaks up. "I agree. It's like with football. I have to be serious when I'm on the pitch but when I'm off, I can have some fun and enjoy life. Enjoy the life I have with my wife." Kylian reaches over and holds your hand in a tight grip. He brings the back of your hand to his mouth and plants a firm kiss on it. The star athlete is never big on PDA. He always finds a way to hold onto you though. It could be hand holding or putting his hand on your waist or the small of your back. The most PDA Kylian will do is a kiss on your head or a small peck on the lips.

For the remainder of the interview, Kylian never let go of your hand. The two of you had to stay an hour or two after the interview to do some fan service (mainly Kylian). Many of his fans came up to you and asked how Matthew was doing. It warms your heart to know that there are people who you do not know, who care about your small family. You tell them how Matthew is a wiggle worm and how he loves to eat squash. He hates tomatoes and is unsure about cucumbers. Bread and cheese though, Matthew would live off of it if he could (French genes amirte).

A little far from you, you think you hear someone asking Kylian if he can teach them how to twerk. Your husband persistently declines the request that was clearly made to poke fun at him. Gosh, that video is going to haunt him forever, huh? Mentally, Kylian sarcastically thanks his father. The day was eventful for the two of you. Over the course of a few months, you have learned how to see the blessings in the curse. You found a way to help children not just in your community, but to the children spread across the globe.

---

Hope my little newsletter isn't too cringy or pathetic

#x reader #fanfiction #football #kylian x reader #kylian mbappe #mbappe x reader #kylian mabppe x reader #kylian mbappé imagine #football imagine

[theprofessionalpromptmaker]

Would you mind creating some prompts that involve a circus? I don't have many specifics for exactly what I'd like besides it being fantasy, but the circus can be something on its own or it can even be a cover for something else. You can take this whichever direction you want! Feel free to get to this whenever you do. No rush and be sure to take care of yourself! 😘

(I am working through the backlog at the moment, so for anyone curious: REQUESTS ARE STILL CLOSED. But these are my requests from years ago, that I am finally answering now that life is marginally less bad.)

Person A was conceived and born in a pocket dimension that housed a circus, with a portal that leads to the outside world. The pocket dimension allows gravity to act differently, as well as other laws of physics to be bent or broken. Person A knew their parents ran away from their homes to join this circus and stay within the safety of it’s dimensional boundaries. But when Person A sneaks out with their friend, Person B, who joined the circus later and the two go to visit the real/full world, Person A finds their body can’t easily withstand being in that reality too long, as it puts great strain on them. Person B ends up having to carry them back, and Person A is forbidden from leaving again by their parents, which only makes Person A want to travel outside more. The ringleader and head of the circus, Person C, promises to help Person A find a way to cure their strange condition from existing entirely in the pocket dimension for their entire existence.

Person A was raised by a parent who always told Person A that they had no extended family, that their parent was an orphan, and their other parent had never been in the picture, and so it had always been just the two of them and no one else. But their parent always tell Person A about a circus that comes to the rescue of scared children when they wish really hard for it, and if Person A is ever scared and alone, they should pray for it to come to them. One day, their parent doesn’t come home for a few days and Person A starts to panic, and, in a moment of fear and desperation, they pray for the circus to come, like their parent always told them. A moment later, an airship painted in circus-like designs flies over their apartment and a ladder falls down to their window/balcony level and a stranger dressed in circus gear knocks until Person A lets them in. The stranger, Person B, recognizes Person A, saying they look just like their parent. When Person A explains their parent is missing, Person B promises to help them, and invites them up into the airship.

Person A always wanted to run away and join a circus, but was unable to find one near their area and none ever stopped within range of them. So when they stumble upon a great deal of money through inheritance/a stroke of luck/etc. They decide to create their own circus. But when struggling to find performers, they decide to not let their good fortune go to waste and summon a demon to help. Person B is a demon and amused to be given their strangest request yet - to help get a circus up and running.

Person A has dreamed of running away to the circus throughout their entire childhood and young adult years, and follow the path of a corporate job and financial security that their parents set up for them and pushed them along. But while in college they meet Person B, someone who can seemingly perform real miracles and magic, and the two grow close and, upon hearing Person A’s dream, Person B offers to help them. Person B is a demon who hangs around the college, granting wishes in exchange for the souls of mega rich college kids who are going into careers that they won’t need a soul for. But Person A’s wish is the first one they think might be fun for them as well. And, since they think Person A will want to keep their soul, decides to compromise and make Person A promise to pay them a soul a year for the success of their circus.

Person A is a being that drains the life force of everything around them over time, so is forced to move frequently or risk making the places they live in barren of all life (plant/animal/human/etc.) and even if they let themself live in the dead zone they created, people would become suspicious and come to slay them, as humans historically did to their kind. This also causes Person A to struggle to hold onto relationships due to not being able to be around others too long for risk of draining too much of their life force. One day, they meet the owner of a circus, Person B, who is impressed by Person A’s abilities that their supernatural heritage gives them, and offers Person A a spot in the circus - since it’s always moving town, Person A won’t have to worry about moving around rentals and overhauling their whole life every few years but can just travel with the circus.

#mod poss answers #Anonymous #plot list #plots and prompts #supernatural au #fantasy au #circus au #demon au #airship au #dimension au #college au #wish au #requests

[hesmiledlikeaweatherman]

The High School AU Part 1

These are headcanons to go along with Sorry, I Didn't Know I Had To Stay The Same

I used makowka's oc maker on Picrew for the profiles

The Sand Fam

Rasa: Age: 45 Occupation: Former Military (Lieutenant General), current Diplomat

Following the death of his wife, Rasa sought out help from his brother-in-law to care for his children, and after Yashamaru's death, turned to a former co-worker, Baki, to ensure their safety. Having lost her, after several runs of miscarriages, and left with three children, one of whom was in very poor health, he found himself unable to cope with the stress of keeping up a household and appearances, and threw himself into his work.

Rasa currently travels the world on missions that are, for the most part, classified. He rarely comes home, almost purely to keep up appearances now, and has a strained relationship with all three of his children.

Temari: Age: 17 (birthday August 23, will turn 18 after graduation) Occupation: Student, no specific thoughts on post-graduate career yet

As the oldest sibling, Temari takes it upon herself to take care of her brothers -- more than Baki would like her to, sometimes. She is hard-headed, dedicated, and has spent a lot of time learning what needs to be done to make sure their household works well. Potentially a side-effect of her changes in caregivers throughout early childhood, or maybe it's just a type-A personality.

Temari keeps good grades, loves participating in sports, and while she doesn't know exactly what she wants to do with her life, she knows she wants to do a Business Management degree when she enters college.

Kankuro: Age: 16 (birthday May 15, will turn 17 before entering his Senior Year) Occupation: Student, wants to follow his dreams of making puppets and dolls, but changes specifics frequently

Saying that Kankuro has middle-child syndrome is a bit of an understatement. Constantly overshadowed by his high achieving sister and sickly, high needs younger brother, he found himself diving into his hobbies and hyperfixations.

Unfortunately, due to his siblings' needs, his ADHD went unmedicated until Baki had him assessed at age 8, and later when he came out as trans there was a large push-back from Rasa as to what treatment he could and should be able to access. Luckily, largely thanks to Baki's help, Kankuro is starting to thrive.

Gaara: Age: 14 (birthday January 19) Occupation: Student, currently more focused on surviving than any future career plans

They were referred to as a 'difficult child' for their first few years, until receiving an autism diagnosis at three, which got them the early interventions they needed to be able to thrive alongside their siblings. And while they didn't exactly 'thrive' by societal standards, their quality of life went way up, and they started meeting missed milestones.

Now, they have a collection of plants (mainly cacti), a solid group of friends, and they are building up their communication repertoire by adding AAC devices, text-to-speech software, and some basic sign when it is desperately called for.

Baki: Age: 39 Occupation: Retired Military (General), current Bodyguard-Nanny-Tutor-Chef-Chauffer

Baki has always liked to live in the shadows -- always a few steps behind the spotlight. He only made it to General because of the potential Rasa saw in him, and found himself suddenly wishing for retirement after a particularly bad situation occurred.

But of course, he couldn't remain still -- and when he was approached by Rasa and offered a position, he found himself unable to refuse.

Now, he works as the primary caregiver to Rasa's children. Really, the only caregiver for them. And he has found, contrary to what he initially believed, that he loves these kids. He would do anything for them. And if that means sticking up to his employer for their well-being, so be it.

#naruto #hc #sand sibs #temari #kankuro #gaara #rasa #baki #sand fam #fanfic #hs au

[maguro13-2]

Secret Origin of the Gorgon Sisters

Shaula (Sakura) : Thanks for taking me out, Homura.

Homura Hayashi : No Problem, Sakura. That's why I decided to keep an eye on you. When it comes to protecting you, I'm sure that bad things won't happen to you.

Shaula (Sakura) : Arigatogo zaimasu, Hayashi-san!

Homura Hayashi : ! Look out! (Evades the attack with Shaula)

(SWISH!)

Homura Hayashi : Who goes there!?

[Tension : Silver vs. Shadow - Hideaki Kobayashi]

Maka Albarn : This time for good, I thought Tsugumi defeated you once, now I'm going to defeat you again!

Homura Hayashi : What does a kid with a Kanabo would have to do with killing Sakura. She's not the type of person you're looking for!

Maka Albarn : Step aside and I will let you go freely.

Homura Hayashi : You'll be sorry if I ever let you hurt Sakura.

Maka Albarn : You are in the way. Don't make me have to use this!

Homura Hayashi (in mind) : (scoffs) This is bad, I won't let this happen to Sakura! If she really thinks that she is Shaula, then me and my brothers are going to exposed and it'll be over for us!

Maka Albarn : Fine, if you won't handle Shaula Gorgon for me, then I will have to do this my way! So stand aside and let me kill her!

??? : Hold it, right there!

(Ashley appears landing on her broom)

Maka Albarn : Huh? Who are you? What does a witch like you doing here in a fight against them? This is my job and I need that Soul of hers.

Ashley : I am Ashley, Ashley the witch. I work for the Majo Detective force, and I'm here put a stop to you! (to Homura and Shaula) You two, find a place to get her to safety and get out of here! I've got a deal with this heroic f**ker!

Homura Hayashi : Okay! (The two runs off, leaving Ashley and Maka facing against each other)

Ashley : I won't hold back now! This time, you won't break the law!

Maka Albarn : Humph! Then we'll see about that!

(after the battle)

Maka Albarn : D...Darn it! After battling through all that trouble for a bunch of witches! Why would this one would be getting in the way of protecting them? I need the souls to bring power to humanity! (battlecries)

Ashley : Too slow! But that won't work on me! (Does her magic to slow her down) Hah! (Knocks down maka with some sense)

Maka Albarn : What? A witch can slow down time? Including me? How is she that strong? There's no way I would loose to a witch like you! You're wishing that I'm ever gonna forgive you for that!

Ashley : I said "I order you to STOP!" The hatred against witches like me is a hate crime, It's not your kind that wanted war and segregation between humans and witches, it's the reaper's kind that wants racism to end witchkind. I'm only trying to protect my people from being exterminated by the hands of the devil's son.

Maka Albarn : Don't be ridiculous! I defeat as many demons and witches as I want to! I defeat the villainous Medusa and the world will remember me as a hero!

Ashley : A hero you say. Well, let this that was kept hidden from the Men of Shinra's Influence. Medusa wasn't trying to help you to become a better hero, she was only playing you to destroy the Kusakakbe Legacy and therefore...You've been puppets to Shotaro the Dokeshi all along and he might knows something about the legacy. But first, we're going to travel you back in time to the 11th century.

Maka Albarn : What do you mean by that, Mrs. Ashley.

Ashley : One of your friends, Kimial Diehl. Sent me some information about the witch Medusa that you've been battling with. It turns out that the witch Medusa Gorgon and her sisters are not appeared what they used to be. To disccover what really caused your hatred against the witches. I'm gonna show you something to help. We're digging some evidence from our queen Maba and tell what happened in the 11th century. Follow me if you want the truth, I'll let you know something. (Magically teleports to the past)

~ THE TRUE ORIGIN OF THE GORGON WITCHES UNVEILS ~

#warioware #soul eater #soul eater not #ashley #maka albarn #shaula gorgon #nintendo #mystery #dark fantasy #crime #thriller

[marvelyningreen]

Aftershocks - From the Series Finale (a deleted scene)

Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3

[Summary: You’d traveled to Westview to rescue Peter. Getting locked away by some sinister witch might’ve delayed you a bit, but you’d escaped, and you weren’t going to be stopped again.

Warnings: mild language, references to injury / mind control / death

Notes: Peter Maximoff x reader. This was meant to be a flashback during Night 2, but it turned into way too long of a digression. So, here it is: presented as a deleted scene while I finish Night 3. It’s a bit sparse in the places where I would’ve just been summarizing the episode, but I figure you already know the details. Into Tomorrow is a continuation of the scene, more or less.

Tag list: @cowboyenorgy ]

After an indeterminate amount of time sneaking around Westview, trying to find your way back to the street where Vision lived, you’d finally done it. It might’ve taken days, or maybe it’d only been hours. It was so hard to tell here.

One minute it was spontaneously Halloween. The next, the entire layout of the town kept shifting around you until you were completely lost. But you’d made it.

As much as you’d wanted to go straight to find Peter, you knew you couldn’t do it on your own. You didn’t know how to counteract the witch’s powers. Vision seemed to know something, though. He was your best chance.

Unfortunately, his house seemed to be deserted. From your hiding place, you couldn’t see any lights on, or any signs of movement. Maybe he was at work? You’d waited this long already; you figured you might as well stay put until he came home.

And just as you’d decided on that course of action, the sound of breaking glass erupted from the neighbor’s house. The attic window shattered outward, and two people crashed through it, landing on the lawn.

One of them – a woman you hadn’t seen before – stuck a perfect three-point-landing more or less facing your direction. The second – a man – didn’t land nearly as gracefully, but still seemed unhurt. You couldn’t see his face, but you were certain it had to be Peter.

He stood, moving as though to cut off the woman’s escape route. He gestured for the woman to get up.

“I can do this all day, babe!” he called.

Scowling, the woman straightened up, dusting herself off and clearly getting ready for round two. The witch was nowhere in sight. Maybe you’d have a better chance of getting through to Peter if he was on his own. You scrambled out of hiding.

“Peter!” you shouted.

Confused, they both turned to look your way. You didn’t have a chance to say anything more before Peter sped over to you – and you just then noticed how weirdly slow he was moving. Instead of almost appearing to teleport, he was a visible blur that your gaze could follow as it approached you.

Peter stopped directly in front of you. He smiled.

“Hey again,” he said, and cheerfully threw you halfway down the block.

You landed hard, skidding another yard or so before coming to a stop. You thanked your lucky stars that you’d landed on somebody’s lawn, not on the pavement. When the hell had Peter gotten superhuman strength, anyway?

As you sat up, the woman ran to your side.

“Are you alright?” she asked, casting a wary glance back towards Peter, who was strolling casually towards you both.

“I’m okay,” you said. You were winded, and you could tell already that you’d added some new scrapes and bruises to your growing collection, but it didn’t seem like you’d been hurt.

“Captain Rambeau,” she introduced herself, offering a brisk handshake.

“You can call me Ace,” you said, “I’m… a friend.”

“Of his?” The captain raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“Yeah, well, he’s not exactly himself at the moment.”

Peter had stopped a ways away from you. You weren’t sure why he didn’t try to attack again.

“You called him ‘Peter,’” said Captain Rambeau. “Is that his real name?”

You nodded.

“Listen, ladies, if you wanted to make this a threesome, all you had to do was ask!” Peter called.

“And I’m guessing that’s not his real personality,” said the captain, catching sight of your disgusted expression.

“Not remotely,” you said.

The captain shrugged. “Well, guess we know what Agnes is into. The witch,” she explained. “The one who’s controlling him.”

“Why’s he just standing there?” you asked. You weren’t opposed to getting a second to breathe, but it was weird.

“I think he’s just supposed to stop us from getting to Wanda,” she said.

At that point, you hadn’t the faintest idea who Wanda was or how she was part of this whole mess, but you figured you could ask later. As you looked over at Captain Rambeau, you noticed her eyes glowing an unearthly blue. That was… unexpected.

“It’s that necklace,” she said. “That’s how Agnes is controlling him. If we can find some way to break it… But he’s too fast.”

Fast? Maybe by normal human standards, but he was moving at a crawl compared to his usual speed. Wait. That was it.

Your abilities didn’t work well in this world, but maybe they’d be more effective against something from your own world.

“Listen,” you said. “I think I can slow him down for you, if you think you can get that necklace. Act like you’re going to make a break for it, and when he tries to go past me, I’ll catch him.”

Captain Rambeau nodded, and took off down the street. Peter immediately gave chase.

Back home, Peter was far too fast for you to ever catch. But here, with him moving like he was running through quicksand? You might actually stand a chance.

You took a deep breath, reaching out. You felt a familiar resonance, and the sensation of something setting like a fishhook.

Peter slammed to a halt like he’d hit a brick wall. He paused for a moment, seemingly confused. He tried to run, but only managed a casual jog. It was working.

Then Peter turned back towards you, his expression something between furious and impressed. Your arm began to shake as you felt him struggling against you.

You really hoped this Captain Rambeau wasn’t going to leave you hanging.

“Well, looks like you’re good for something after all, huh, babe?” he said, strolling towards you.

“Peter would know,” you said, trying to keep his focus on you. “I don’t just break the laws of reality. I can enforce them, too.”

Peter sighed, shaking his head. “I really wish you weren’t complicating things so much. You could’ve just walked away, but-”

At that moment, Captain Rambeau dashed in, grabbing hold of the necklace and tearing it from Peter’s throat.

With a gasp, Peter’s smug expression shifted into a look of horrified panic. He looked at his hands like he was shocked he could move them. Then his gaze snapped back to you.

Your name – your real name – burst from his lips in a strangled cry. He rushed towards you, but stopped short, eyes widening as he took in the state of you.

“Oh, God… What did I-?”

“It’s okay, Peter,” you said. “I’m okay.”

You took his hands, and for a second you were worried that he was going to collapse.

Peter shook his head vehemently. “But you’re hurt!”

“Are you kidding?” you said. “Raven’s kicked my ass worse than this in training.”

Which was a lie, but at that point, you would’ve said just about anything to calm him down. It seemed to work, but only just.

“You’re here,” he said. His voice was quieter now. “You’re actually here.”

“Of course I’m here,” you said. “I came to bring you home.”

That wild look hadn’t left Peter’s eyes as they stared into yours. Gently, you took his face in your hands. At your touch, his eyes closed, and his head bowed just a little. You moved closer, pressing your forehead to his. He laid his hands on yours. His shaky breathing began to grow steadier.

Before either of you could say anything else, you were interrupted be the honking of a car horn.

Or rather, a funnel cake truck horn, to be exact. The driver – a bespectacled brunette – leaned her head out the window.

“As adorable as this is – and hi, by the way,” she called, “I think we’ve got bigger problems right now.”

Peter blinked rapidly, trying to pull himself together. He turned to Captain Rambeau.

“She’s right. Those kids are in danger. We have to do something. I’ll explain everything later,” he said, looking back at you, clearly distressed. “You’re already hurt. Just… stay safe until we get this under control, okay? Please.”

It killed you to think of letting Peter out of your sight after you’d only just gotten him back, but you nodded. You didn’t know what was going on or what kids were in danger, but you and Peter were X-Men. The safety of civilians always came first.

“It looks like they were headed downtown, Darcy,” Captain Rambeau called back to the driver. “Take Ace and follow us there, alright?”

With one last backward glance, Peter took off after Captain Rambeau.

As quickly as you were able, you climbed into the passenger side of the truck, smiling awkwardly at the driver as she put it back in gear and started off.

“Dr. Darcy Lewis,” she introduced herself, side-eying you. “Not the kind of doctor you clearly need, though. Sorry.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said. There was silence for a moment.

“So…” she said, “You and fake Pietro, huh?”

“His name is Peter,” you said, “But, yeah. I came to rescue him. We’re… not from around here.”

You were honestly too tired to explain more than that, but Dr. Lewis seemed to accept that explanation.

“Well, it’s not the first time I’ve met people who aren’t from around here.” She shrugged. “You ever heard of Thor? God of Thunder? He’s a friend of mine. Nice guy; great muscles.”

She said it so casually. Any other time, you would’ve thought this woman was nuts. But after time in Westview? Her claims didn’t sound that outlandish.

“Huh. Nice.” You nodded, impressed. Then, “This is gonna sound like a stupid question, but, uh… Who’s Wanda?”

Dr. Lewis gaped at you incredulously for a moment.

“Oh, boy…” she sighed.

Dr. Lewis gave you the rundown on the whole situation, and frankly? It was a lot. Parts of it – stuff about Avengers and Infinity Stones and snaps and blips – didn’t make any sense to you. But you did manage to grasp some of the more immediately relevant bits. Namely:

Wanda was immensely powerful. She had a twin brother named Pietro who – like your Peter – had superhuman speed, and who had died saving lives, leaving Wanda completely alone in the world.

Vision was apparently some sort of android, and also technically dead…?

But some real piece of work named Hayward had recreated a brainwashed zombie version of Vision and brought it to life using Wanda’s powers, and he was now trying to kill Wanda to cover up his crimes.

How the witch named Agnes and her kidnapping and mind-controlling Peter played into this, Dr. Lewis wasn’t entirely sure.

“Finally!” she said, apropos of nothing. “I swear, Wanda must’ve changed the whole layout of the town. The center is just up ahead.”

There was some sort of commotion overhead, and on the ground, too. Two young boys (probably the kids Peter had mentioned) stood in the street, facing down some military-looking types.

You and Dr. Lewis both shouted in alarm as one man pulled out a handgun and aimed it directly at the kids. From around the corner, Captain Rambeau and Peter ran in, and –

Shots rang out. You could only watch in horror as the man opened fire.

The strange blue blur that was Peter struggled to catch and redirect as many as he could, but it wasn’t enough. Two rounds tore through Captain Rambeau’s midsection, but…

You were still too far away to see exactly what happened, but Captain Rambeau seemed to glow, or phase out of sight for a second, and then she straightened up – unharmed. One of the boys raised his hand, evidently catching the single bullet that had gotten past Peter and the captain.

The man – Hayward, judging by the doctor’s lurid swearing – threw down his gun and hurried to climb back into his vehicle.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Dr. Lewis said under her breath. “Ace, hang onto something.”

“What are you- Oh, shit!”

You grabbed the door to brace yourself as Dr. Lewis gunned it down the street. Before Hayward could begin to make his escape, the funnel cake truck slammed into the side of his Humvee, pinning him inside.

Hayward turned, glaring daggers at Dr. Lewis.

“Have fun in prison,” she said cheerily.

You know what? You take it all back. Dr. Lewis was, in fact, kinda nuts. It was still a pretty badass move, though.

As steam began trickling from the truck’s busted radiator, Dr. Lewis unfastened her seatbelt.

“Well, looks like this thing’s not going anyplace, and neither is he,” she said, nodding at Hayward. “We might as well – I dunno – see if we can help or something.”

As you followed her lead, you heard Peter shouting: “How was that in any way ‘staying safe?’”

“Yeah, well, that’s what seatbelts are for,” Dr. Lewis called back. “And you’re welcome, by the way.”

Peter was there beside the truck as you stepped down out of it. You shifted your weight experimentally onto your injured leg, and let out a strangled yelp. Okay, bad idea. Peter immediately looped your arm around his shoulders and wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Lean on me, lean on me,” he said, “I got you.”

You fought the impulse to collapse against him completely. You’d spent… days? You didn’t know how long – scrambling and searching and breaking out of hospitals and hiding in hedges just to get back to him. You just wanted to hold him and sleep for at least a week.

But the whole business wasn’t over yet. As Peter helped you limp around the truck, you saw that there was another man standing by the kids and Captain Rambeau, talking to Dr. Lewis. He skin was an unnatural shade of red (was that face paint or something?), and he was wearing this strange caped costume. Catching sight of Peter, the man’s eyes narrowed.

“No, it’s okay,” said Dr. Lewis. “He’s cool. He’s with us now.”

The man didn’t seem convinced. His gaze shifted to you, and he tilted his head curiously.

“Ace?” he said.

You blinked. “Vision?”

The voice was the same. The eyes, too. You wouldn’t have recognized him otherwise. He was the only friendly face you’d seen in this place. You couldn’t help but smile at seeing him again. Still, you remembered what Dr. Lewis had said – you’re talking to a ghost.

“Do you two know each other?” asked Dr. Lewis.

“We met, briefly,” you said, “When I first got into town. I’m glad you’re alright.”

“So, the friend you were looking for…?” Vision inclined his head inquiringly towards Peter.

You nodded. Peter waved, letting out a stilted, rueful laugh.

“Your children…?” you asked, gesturing to the boys.

Vision put his arms around them both, a proud smile brightening his worried expression.

“My children,” he said, “And… up there is my wife.”

As one, the whole group looked up to the two women still locked in combat above you.

Captain Rambeau frowned. “Can’t we do something?”

“I tried,” said Vision, “But it seems that Wanda wants to finish this on her own terms, unaided.”

The others kept worried eyes on the proceedings, but Peter turned his attention back to you, helping you to sit down on a nearby bench. He knelt in front of you.

“Scale of one to ten,” he said, “How worried should I be?”

“One,” you said. “I’ll be fine. I don’t think anything’s broken, so I’m calling that a win.”

“Hmm, nope. Still worried. Less dire question – why is everybody calling you ‘Ace?’”

“The professor said not to tell anybody my real name,” you said. “There was no way of knowing what I was walking into. We didn’t think we should tell anyone too much.”

“Oh…” Peter’s mouth twisted into a guilty grimace. “I kinda told Monica everything when we were running over here.”

Red light flashed blindingly above you, drawing your attention upwards.

[The battle proceeds as in canon, ending with Agatha’s defeat.]

Wanda turned back to the others, smiling. The boys ran to hug her, and Vision was close behind. You were too far away to hear what was being said, but at Vision’s words, Wanda’s smile faded. Putting their arms around each other, the family walked a little ways down the street.

“What’s going on?” you asked.

Peter shook his head. A pained expression crossed Captain Rambeau’s face. She closed her eyes, turning away.

“This Vision was never real to begin with,” said Dr. Lewis, her tone oddly solemn. “I think he’s saying goodbye.”

At that, she, too, turned away. Whatever passed between Wanda, Vision, and their children – their farewell wasn’t for prying eyes to watch.

Peter seized your hand and leaned his forehead against your shoulder. You bowed your head over his, closing your eyes. After a moment, you felt something pass over you.

It was that same feeling of overwhelming grief that’d struck you when you first entered Westview, but you understood it now. If you had lost Peter – truly lost him, for good – you imagined that it’d feel something like that.

It only lasted a second, though. In its wake, everything felt brighter, colder.

When you looked up, you cast an uncertain glance back down the main street. There stood Wanda and her children.

Vision was nowhere to be seen.

Wanda pressed her hands to her mouth and slowly sank to her knees. The boys knelt beside her, crying openly, and she pulled them close.

Your heart broke to see them, and you turned away again. It felt wrong to intrude on their grief, even from a distance. Westview had changed. The town seemed faded and dull, somehow desaturated.

Peter had changed, too. His hair was silver again, instead of that strange dirty-blond shade, and his clothes were the same ones he’d been wearing when he was taken.

“You’re all yourself again,” you said.

Peter looked down at himself in surprise. His eyes widened, and he frantically felt his pockets before letting out a sigh of relief. Something about him looked too bright for your pale surroundings. Maybe it was the fact that neither of you belonged to that world, or maybe it was the fact that you were so damn glad to have him back.

Or it might’ve been that this was the first time you’d seen him smile since he was freed from the witch’s control. You leaned in and kissed him.

“God, I missed you,” he said.

Before he could say anything else, another conversation interrupted him.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Dr. Lewis was saying. “I was just trying to keep him from getting away.”

She and Captain Rambeau surveyed the dented Humvee in which Hayward was still trapped.

“Well, we’re gonna have to get him out of there somehow,” said the captain.

“Can’t you do some sorta…” Dr. Lewis extended her arms, wiggling her fingers in the direction of the vehicle, “Now?”

Captain Rambeau laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s how it works, Darcy.”

Suddenly, the former funnel cake truck lurched. With a strained metallic groan, it was dragged slowly back and away from the Humvee, leaving just enough space for someone to hypothetically get through and apprehend Hayward.

“What the-?”

Captain Rambeau turned to look back towards you and Peter, or rather, to the street behind you. You caught Peter’s eye just before turning to look yourself, and smiled. Of course.

Peter’s eyes widened again. “Dad?”

“Professor?” you exclaimed.

You might’ve expected Mr. Lehnsherr to come after Peter when he found out what’d happened, but you certainly didn’t expect to see him standing on the main street of Westview with Professor Xavier at his side. Peter stood up, but anything he might’ve said was cut off – once again – by Dr. Lewis.

“Hey, cheekbones!” she called out. “Nice one.”

Upon realizing that he was the one being addressed with that remark, Mr. Lehnsherr gave her a perplexed smile and lowered his arm. But his expression turned serious again at the sound of approaching sirens.

“It’s okay,” said Captain Rambeau. “Agent Woo is with is. I’ll talk to him.”

She and Dr. Lewis went to meet the approaching vehicles, while Mr. Lehnsherr and the professor moved quickly towards you.

“Are you two alright?” the professor asked.

“We’re fine,” you said.

“I’m fine,” Peter corrected. “You can barely walk.”

The professor’s brows furrowed in concern. “I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”

“I’m glad you did, though” you said frankly. “I wouldn’t wish this experience on anybody.”

Peter turned his attention to Mr. Lehnsherr, eyeing him with an expression that seemed a little incredulous, but pleased.

“So. you really came all the way from Genosha for me?” he said.

“I heard you’d been abducted to another reality; of course I came back. Something this ridiculous could only happen to you, Peter,” said Mr. Lehnsherr. Then his expression softened, “I’m glad you’re alright, son.”

“What happened here, exactly?” asked the professor, as he surveyed the street.

“Well, my perspective on events might be kinda limited, but you can see for yourself.”

You leaned towards the professor slightly, offering your thoughts. He touched your temple, and that odd dreamlike sensation washed over your mind as he sifted through your memories of Westview. You were glad you’d asked Dr. Lewis to explain things to you. Maybe the professor could glean more meaning from the story than you’d been able to.

When you opened your eyes, the professor looked pensive, and no less concerned.

“I think it’s high time we get the two of you home,” he said.

“Not that I want to distrust government agents,” said Mr. Lehnsherr, keeping a wary eye on Hayward’s arrest in progress, “But I’m inclined to agree with Charles.”

Peter frowned hesitantly. His gaze had drifted to Wanda and her sons.

“Just… give me one minute, alright?” he said. “There’s something I wanna say first.”

#peter maximoff x reader #peter maximoff #peter maximoff fanfiction #wandavision fanfic #those moments when you ask yourself ‘how do I keep this oc out of the way to preserve canon?’ #I also had to give you a nickname/code name to get around using the y/n placeholder XP #just shouting into the void

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Earth is A Deathwrold, “The Forest.”

Wrote a little something to start your day off or maybe finish it, who knows. Have a great day everyone :) 

“My family has lived in these mountains for more than three thousand years.”

“How can you be sure of that.”

“Because we have records going back two thousand years and then records of my family's tribe before that. For that reason, no one knows these mountains better than I do, and even then, I still don’t know everything there is to know. Every time I go out in the woods, I feel something new.” Krill glanced over at Sunny. If he could raise an eyebrow he would have.

OF all the places they could go on their weekend, and she had decided to go on a guided hike. This would be just like something Adam would do.

He thought of all the people he wouldn’t have to remind Sunny how dangerous Earth forests were with their trees, and animals, and poisonous plants, and, well, pretty much everything.

“Don’t give me that look, Krill. You know if Adam was here he would take us out to do the same thing, and you needed to quit moping anyway. He’s going to be back soon.”

Krill crossed his arms emphatically, “I am not moping.”

“You are too moping, and it’s honestly kind of pathetic. You get all cranky when Adam isn’t around.”

“That's because I worry about his health and safety.”

“He’s a grown man.”

“He's a man child.”

She sighed and turned back to look at their guide who was staring on in mild amusement. This human had dark tan skin, deep brown eyes and long dark hair pulled back from his face. He wore a green ranger’s uniform, but she knew for a fact he was off duty, “We’re ready.”

He smiled, and motioned them to follow him.

Krill held onto Sunny's shoulder as they followed the human into the woods.

“Aren't we going to take a trail?”

“You don’t need a trail when you have me.”

“I definitely think a trail would-.”

“Is your mind ever still?”

Sunny shoo her head, “No, never, not even a little bit.”

“Well try. I can’t show you anything if you don’t also listen.”

“Now that just makes no sense.”

Sunny huffed  and the ranger sighed, “There is more in these woods to hear that there is to see. The wind leaves the animals.” Then past over soggy earth and into a meadow filled with bright wildflowers. Krill was about to ask another question, but the ranger held up a hand despite not looking at him, “Shhh, just listen, to the silence.”

Krill turned to glower at Sunny, and she smirked at him, but he angrily did as told focusing away from his eyes and towards his ears. He could hear the wind in the trees, the distant chirp of birds, rustling in the underbrush, their feet as it moved over packed earth. In the silence there was also a strange rushing. A sort of white noise that you expect to find at the ocean but comes from deep within the mountains.

He watched their new human friend from the corner of his eye as it led them deeper into the mountains. For all sunny knew this creature was more interested in killing them and eating them.

How did she even know him?

With his usual paranoia, krill continued to watch as the green clad human lead them through patches of shadow, over rocks and through little mountain gullies. He used no trail, but it seemed as if all of his senses were alive, following something into the forest. He used his hands to trace over rough packed dirt  He scanned his eyes through the underbrush and lifted his head eyes closed allowing little gusts of air to sweep hair about his face.

He listened, and occasionally, krill thought he saw the human smelling at the air.

And as they went they were led deeper and deeper into the forest, krill had to admit that there was something peaceful about it, almost surreal, like being removed from one’s own head and being surrounded by the quiet.

A couple of times, he thought he saw the human smiling over his shoulder at him.

They had made it a good hour or two into the woods when they broke into a nearby clearing. Sunny was about to step out with him, but right at the edge of the treeline, she was stopped by the human, who had pulled back into the shadows.

Sunny blinked and looked around. Krill did as well.

The ranger shook his head.

Krill looked over Sunny’s shoulder, but in the clearing, he saw nothing, nothing except for a strangely geometric circle of wildflowers, in the middle of which there was nothing but a barren patch of dirt.

That was strange, there seemed to be nothing growing inside that circle.

“We go around.” he muttered 

“Why?”

“Because, we don’t want to trespass.”

“Trespass on what exactly?” Krill found himself whispering.

“Well, the fey, of course.” The human smiled at him, and he wasn’t entirely sure if the creature was pulling his leg or not.”

“What are the fey?”

The human smiled again slowly motioning him to follow as he led them around the open circle, “The fey or fairies, are a group of mystical creatures known to make mischief. Most of the time if you trespass on their land you forfeit your rights as human, and the laws of the fey world become absolute. If you take anything from a fey, you are immediately required to stay with them for the rest of eternity. There are many rules governing the world of the fey, so it is best just to avoid team.”

Krill snorted, “Ah yes…. fairies .”

“You laugh, but through all these years as a ranger, I have seen things I cannot explain.”

“Like what.”

“Like the time someone went missing in the forest. He was lost on a relatively well traveled hiking trail. We didn’t find him for over six months. The search party was called off after those first few weeks. Six months later I am hiking in an unrelated part of the forest forty miles away n the other side of a mountain, and I find this man’s decomposing corpse hanging from a forty-foot tall tree with impact wounds that looked like he had been dropped from a great height. There were no cliffs in the area, and it appeared as if the man had died three months earlier.”

Rill frowned. The math on that didn’t particularly add up.

“Then a year ago we went looking for a missing child. His parents turned around for five seconds and when they turned back he was gone. I found his body forty feet up a sheer cliff-face stuffed into a crevice five months later. He had been dead only two hours, and was wearing the same clothes he had been lost in.”

Sunny’s eyes widened and Krill snorted. 

He was expected to believe that?

The ranger waved at him, “Say what you will, but the forest is a dangerous and unusual place if you don’t know how to respect her.”

“Would you say you are superstitious then?”

“Very. Look, I can’t explain everything in the world, and I have no desire to do so. I see no harm in giving things the respect they deserve even if, later, it turns out I was wrong” 

The human was not particularly kidding about him being superstitious. More than a few times, he leads them around strange objects or formations. There was at one point, a time when they were heading towards another low gully in the middle of the woods, and all of a sudden their entire party grew very uneasy.

The woods seemed darker to Krill than they had before.

But he shook it off.

Sunny seemed to be behaving similarly.

But the ranger, he looked downright terrified, grabbed the two of them by the arm and pulled them away quick time setting them to a low jog in the opposite direction.

Sunny and Krill stared at him in confusion not entirely sure what to make of it.

“What was that all about.”

The human just shook his head, “We were not welcome?”

“From what.”

“Does it matter. When you are not welcome somewhere, you do not question it.”

“What are you worried about angering the wendigo.”

It was at that moment that Krill was pretty sure he had made a huge mistake, as the human grabbed him and had a hand pressed over his mouth in under a millisecond flat. Even sunny looked shocked, “We do not joke about those ind of things here.”

He let Krill go, and Krill stared on in confusion and mild terror.

“I come from a line of people who believe you can attract things to you based off the kind of energy you put off. Now I don’t know if it’s true or not, but joking about something’s existence is bound to piss it off enough to test its patience.” he took a deep breath and adjusted his shirt, ‘now there are a few other things it could have been. It could have been the den of a  mountain lion, or a bear. It could have been a subliminal sense of danger, an incorrect smell, or the way the rocks looked. Or it could simply have been us all getting paranoid at once, but whatever it is, I would rather be safe than sorry. Now come on, let’s take you back.”

Krill stayed quiet and tried not to joke more about the supernatural things. Apparently humans tended to take that sort of thing seriously. They heard more stories form the strange ranger, about finding people in places they shouldn't be, staircases in strange places, the sudden loss of time.

“There was one point, when I was doing some training out in the field. We were on top of a mountain, and I went off to go to the bathroom. It was so weird, after I was finished, it was like time seemed to slow down. I got starving, and I was looking around in the forest thinking I might be able to find something to eat. I was so hungry. It was all I could think about, and then suddenly I see one of the other rangers, sort of snaps me out of how hungry I was.” He shrugged, “I raise my hand to him and this guy looks terrified, he runs up to me, and he’s going off about where was I and what was I doing, what is going on we have been looking for you Of course, I am super confused and as what he’s on about, and this guy looks at me, and he’s all like you have been missing for three days.” 

Krill and sunny stared at him 

“I know, strange isn’t it. To me it almost seemed like hours. But it was three days and almost twenty miles over to the next mountain ridge. I don’t remember any of it.”

“Sounds like a dissociative fugue.” 

“Maybe, whatever i was it was strange.” Behind them, the sun was just beginning to fall and the undergrowth was heading towards a deep black. They could see the parking lot just ahead of them, and it was at that moment, a blood curling shriek echoed up from the trees at their back.

Sunny leaped nearly a foot.

Krill squealed 

The ranger jumped.

The scream came again.

It sounded like a woman’s voice in absolute gut wrenching agony. Like she was being eviscerated from the inside moving out.

The ranger turned back towards the trees his chin down his eyes up, “Get back to the car, but don’t run.”

“Don’t run! Don’t run.”

“Yes don’t run. It’s a mountain lion.”  he stared hard into the trees, “It is a mountain lion and if you run it will have no other choice than to chase you. They don’t like to attack from the front and running will trigger her hunting instincts. Walk backwards towards the car very slowly and do not take your eyes off the treeline.”

Off to his side, krill heard a sharp metallic snik and watched as Sunny’s spear suddenly appeared in hand.

Of course, she wasn’t worried.

But together they backed towards the truck and got in.

As their headlights turned on, the high beams broke over a body hunched up against the treeline.

Sunny cursed in Drev.

The ranger nodded, “See, mountain lion.”

Krill stared in paralyzed horror at the massive cat as it stalked back into the trees. “Going to have to call that in. She is way to close to the trails for comfort, someone is going to get hurt.”

As they were driving away, Krill glanced back towards he woods, and did a double take as he thought he saw a tall willowy figure standing at the edge of the treeline in almost the same spot as the mountain lion with glittering red eyes, but when he looked again it was gone.

He sat back in his seat eyes straight forward.

He had a greater appreciation for the woods now because, for some reason, on earth nature is connected to something strange an unexplainable, and whatever it is krill was not interested in finding out. 

#earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #HUMANS ARE WEIRD

[kucherovv]

Character Motivations on the DreamSMP

I know I’m an ARG Wilbur account, but analyzing the DreamSMP has always been super interesting to me, so I’m gonna take a crack at it. Here are, from my perspective, the motivations and interests of each plot-relevant character. (PS: analyzing the DreamSMP is just like analyzing the ARG, except a lot less frustrating because we actually know things.)

Tommy: His motivations have always, always, been his friends, most notably Wilbur. Throughout everything, he never left Wilbur’s side despite everything Wil did. He followed L’Manberg because it was Wilbur’s dream, not his. He allows himself to be thrown around a little bit (”When I said you’re never gonna be president..,” The pit) to keep his friendships/his friends safe. Now, his motivation isn’t keeping L’Manberg safe, it’s staying with Tubbo Another interesting view of Tommy’s motivations is his hero complex- He just wants to be seen as the hero, and does everything in his power to do that. Either way, I feel like his motivations are going to be severely tested in the coming days.

Tubbo: I think Tubbo’s motivations are really interesting because there’s two. It used to be Tommy- which makes sense because they’re best friends- but it’s slowly warped to be L’Manberg. I think this mostly changed when Wilbur and Tommy were exiled and Tubbo was left in the Schlatt administration, and he realized that he needs to fight for L’Manberg in order to keep Tommy safe. This then shifted further to just protection of L’Manberg, to the point that now he’s willing to exile Tommy from the country to keep it safe from Dream.

Wilbur: One thing: Power. Everything he’s done has been to get, or keep, power. The Revolution was to have power over Dream in the form of their own country. He tried to rig the election in his favor by preventing everyone else from running to keep power, and when he was exiled he fought for L’Manberg so he could be President again. Even in the end, he blew up L’Manberg because he realized it would never be his again. This is where the “When I said you’re never gonna be President, I meant it.” quote comes back- Wilbur would do everything in his power to keep power over L’Manberg and its citizens- no matter who, or what, he hurts.

Techno: These are some of the most simply motivations on the SMP. Techno wants anarchy. He hates governments and wants to end them all. He joined Wilbur and Tommy because he wanted to take down the government, and ultimately betrayed Tommy in an attempt to end L’Manberg’s government. His motivations might be shifting towards Philza, but I’m not sure.

Philza: I think it’s a bit too early to tell these but I have two ideas. First, safety. Phil wants safety for him, his kids, and his friends. He goes out of his way to rescue people (See: him travelling hundreds of blocks to rescue Ranboo from lava) and performs rash actions to protect people/keep his kids happy (killing Wilbur..?). Another potential motivation is just his kids. He killed Wilbur to keep Wil happy, and wants to bring Wilbur back to life. His whole thing with Ghostbur and with Techno fits into this. His friendship with Fundy kind of does, too. Again, it’s way too early and there’s too little RP with Phil involved to truly tell his motivations.

Dream: Every single war has been caused by Dream. He wants chaos and control. He was the one behind the revolution, the disc wars, and every betrayal of L’Manberg, He even caused the election drama by allowing Schlatt back on the server, and provoked fighting by giving Tommy and Techno gear. Dream wants to be the one who causes chaos, in order to give himself full control over everyone. This recent arc is gonna build on- and potentially destroy- this motivation, as Dream is probably going to lose all of the support of his friends, and Tommy has realized that Dream doesn’t care and just wants to fuck with him.

Sapnap: I would definitely say that at the moment Sapnap is an anarchist with no true side. He has dual citizenship in L’Manberg and the SMP, and, though he might be willing to do things for both of them, he just wants to cause problems and kill peoples pets. Sapnap is literally the cause for the first war when he burned down Ponk’s lemon tree- he literally just wants to cause problems.

George: There are few motivations for George. He just wants peace, honestly, but won’t do anything to stop wars, so he just leaves. At first, he was a loyal, right-hand man to Dream, but became disillusioned with that when he became Quackity’s running-mate, and just stopped caring about anything. He just wants to live peacefully in his cottagecore mushroom house, but he keeps being dragged into things. I think that George just doesn’t really enjoy RPing but they keep writing him in, lol, but I am going to say that his motivations are that he wants to live a quiet life.

Schlatt: He just wanted what he believed is best for Manberg. IMO, he was never really the villain, and was rightfully elected, but no one realized that until Wilbur did. He realized that Wilbur and Tommy were pretty much war criminals who tried to rig the election, so he exiled them because that was what was best for the people, and then gave Tubbo a job so that he didn’t have to worry about leaving. Even the taxes were to improve Manberg. His policies and laws were not always the best, but he was doing everything he could (in his mind) to improve Manberg.

Quackity: Wilbur said that Quackity just wants a kinder, more peaceful world, and that’s definitely true. I tried not to base too much of this on Wilbur’s perceptions but this one is 100% accurate. Quackity ran for President to create a kinder world, and ended up leaving Schlatt to join Tommy and Niki after Vilbur happened. I think Mexican L’Manberg might end up changing this one, but I’m not sure.

Fundy: He just wants a dad. Everything he’s done has been for this, pretty much. Obviously, he followed Wilbur into the Revolution when he was a kid, and then wanted to be like him so he ran for President. After Wilbur’s exile, Fundy saw Schlatt as a kind-of father figure, but still spied for Manberg. The explosion was a wake-up call that made Fundy realize how shitty his dad was, and how much Wil doesn’t care about him. Fundy is unwilling to form a relationship with Ghostbur, instead attempting to be adopted by Eret and getting closer to his Grandfather. He’s realized that Ghostbur does not really remember Fundy for who he was, just that he was Wilbur’s son and Ghostbur should care about him because of that, so Fundy seeks out other people to be his father figures.

Eret: They had a huge swap in their motivation like.. halfway through the story. For the first half, Eret wanted power- so she betrayed L’Manberg. Dream promised him kingship in exchange for the betrayal, and that was all Eret really wanted- until Dream took it away from him. At this point, Eret realized that she really misses her friends, which is when she joined them in Pogtopia. TBH- I don’t really like these motivations and I think Eret’s character would be stronger if they stuck to one side, and at some points I think it was just to be involved in the RP again, but it kind of makes sense I guess.

Niki: First, she cared about Wilbur, joining him in L’Manberg and wanting to stay in Pogtopia with them. However, when Vilbur started, she realized that what she really cares about is L’Manberg, not Wilbur. The big shift could’ve also been when she saw the flag being burned. Either way, she realized that L’Manberg means more to her than Wilbur. 

BadBoyHalo: Bad’s motivations are my favorite. He wants chaos, just like Dream, but he’s planning to do it from the inside. He wants the Badlands to ally with everyone, only to spark infighting and create wars. This is why Sam is always the one to help people- he wants to gain everyones trust so the Badlands can incite chaos. This is an incredible arc and I really hope they go through with it because- unlike Dream- its not expected that they’ll be villains. Also, the speech where Bad explained this was so scary, he’s a great actor and I want to see him and the rest of the Badlands in RPs more.

#dreamsmp #dream smp #this was SO FUN to write i think ill do more of these omg #badboyhalo #bbh #niki nihachu #nihachu #mcyt #minecraft youtube #eret #theeret #the_eret #fundy #fundylive #quackity #schlatt #jschlatt #george #georgenotfound #gogy #sapnap #dream #dreamwastaken #philza #ph1lza #philza minecraft #technoblade #techno #wilbur soot #tubbo_

[twinkluffy]

Hero society analysis (for the future)

Hi, after reading the chapter 300 of my hero academia manga I thought it was interesting to make a revision of what we know about how the hero society was built and its apparent downfall. So we are going to review 1) Vigilantes era, 2) quirk’s regulation and pro heroes, 3) the construction of the symbol of peace, 4) the destruction of the symbol of peace and 5) the future of hero society + me rambling about said future.

This is of course my reading of the events transpiring so far in the manga. I will try to keep spoilers at minimum, but there would be a few if you don’t read the manga.

1) Vigilantes era

With the manifestation of quirks, criminals with these newfound superpowers made use of it for evil-doing. Ordinary civilians with their own powers gathered to stop those criminals and bring order to society, that is how Vigilantes were born. All for one became a symbol of society unity in this period of time, making use of his own quirk he removed the quirk from those who didn’t want it and gave it to those who wanted to have superpowers. Obviously this wasn’t a selfless act on his part, he was gathering loyal followers for his goal and ruled Japan from the shadows.

At some point, one for all opposed to what all for one was doing, he saw through those “selfless action”, fought and passed his quirk to the second torchbearer.

The police force moved to prioritize leadership and to maintain the status quo, and decided to no use quirks as weapons.

2) Quirk’s regulation and pro heroes

The pro hero system started on Rhode Island in America under the "Rhode Island New State Statute". 189 Vigilantes were affected by this statute, with only 7 being accepted as official Heroes. Quirk usage has been restricted by the law, that is why groups as the meta liberation army were formed, they believed that the free use of their superhuman abilities should be a basic human right and not only a privilege for heroes.

Depending on their performance, pro heroes have the potential to receive government pay, along with fame and glory. This govt. pay, fame and glory is important, a lot of heroes aren’t into the heroic world because they think it is the best for the world, but mostly because it pays good.

3) The construction of the symbol of peace

At some point, quirkless Toshinori Yagi met the 7th OFA torchbearer: Nana Shimura, when the world was still in chaos with criminals rampaging through the streets and citizens had no one to believe.

Toshi wanted to create a new age of harmony, where this chaotic age of crime was left behind and everyone can have a future to laugh and live together. Toshinori wanted to be that pillar, this symbol of peace for everyone, for the civilians, for other heroes and even for the criminals, for them to see what is waiting if they make a wrong move.

Nana chose Toshinori as his successor, making him the 8th torchbearer of one for all. His body was already strong so he could use this power at it 100% and his training was to learn how to fight properly. Nana died in his fight against afo to make sure that Toshinori and Gran torino escaped safely. This caused a big impact on Toshinori, who thought about Nana as his own mother. Torino recommended him to travel to the united states and continue with his training there, while at the same time being safe of the threat that afo was for him as the eight torchbearer.

From here on onwards I don't think it is necessary to make a list of the heroic things Yagi did to be recognized as the symbol of peace, but we need to talk about what he almost unconsciously constructed as the symbol of peace in the civilians and his fellow heroes eyes. A hero that is always with a smile on his face, charismatic, devoted to the point that he didn’t have any personal time, selfless, indestructible, unwavering, always the winner no matter who he fought, no matter what happened all might’s would always be there to protect everyone. He took all the burden of Japan's safety on his shoulders, reducing the criminal activity to around the 5%.

(I don’t want to sound like Izuku Midoriya is ghost-writing this post, but damn if i don’t tear up thinking about Toshinori carrying that weight on his shoulders alone for so many years)

And this is the central problem of what is going on now in the bnhaverse, the archetype of the symbol of peace that all might create, those are such big shoes to fill and at this point no one can. He became an unreachable pillar, even other heroes acknowledge the pressure of being the #1 that they let all might carry alone, this pressure that he didn’t waver to carry even when he was badly injured.

Toshi in his effort to make a better world unconsciously make everyone dependable of him or what he constructed as the symbol of peace. His fight against AFO marks the beginning of the end of the hero society as we know, the slow collapse of the unreacheable pillar of the symbol of peace.

4) The destruction of the symbol of peace

This “destruction” of the symbol of peace isn’t something new, small blow after small blow villains has been working towards this one goal. As readers we could be expectators of this fall, villain after villain, of small actions becoming bolder. Small fries, solo workers and leagues, villains have been gathering, seeing the cracks on the pillar of Japan's best hero and trying their shot.

But after AFO imprisonment and all might’s career end, they have become even bolder. The hero society is weaker than ever, because All might was the biggest threat to the villains

The symbol of peace that all might carefully constructed can’t be imitated. Endeavor and the rest of the heroes couldn’t even start to fill the spot of All might legacy.

I’m not saying that heroes aren’t doing their best to prevent the fall of the status quo of society till this moment, i’m saying that civilians and even the press don’t let the heroes do their work. There is so much fear in the population and the villains know this, every villainous act helps them and makes the civilians lose their faith in the heroes.

We see this shortly after Endeavor takes the spot of the #1 and fight against that high gamma nomu:

a)The collective trauma of what happened to all might. The fight was recorded by the press, everyone saw the horrible face of the world's biggest criminal and the hero everyone loved ending his career to ensure their safety. Even when this was about Endeavor risking his life to save everyone, as the #1 should, they only can think about All might.

b) This second panel is the same as the previous one, we can see again the lost faith in the symbol of peace. Endeavor is risking his life to protect the city, probably in a way different from what all might approach to fighting villains was, but this also says a lot about this fourth point: there isn’t a sense of safety in the population. They saw their symbol of peace fall, why would be this former #2 any different?, this man who never could take the #1 spot from all might at his best.

And the last blow to the title of the symbol of peace took was Dabi exposing everything Endeavor did to his family in his desire to be the #1. Dude, the timing of all this was beautifully executed, it exposed and proved the reasons of the failing hero system that the league of villains preach about. This speech made everyone think about the dichotomy of “heroes and villains”, after this there isn’t just black and white, good and bad, there are grey areas mingling, there are heroes that in their personal life act as villains and the population is starting to see the flaws in the system.

5)The future of hero society (spoilers of chapter 300)

This fight against the league and MLA marks the end of hero society as we know it, first because it make clear to civilians that heroes aren’t invincible and that their safety isn’t guaranteed anymore and second it make other heroes that were safe behind the shadow of the symbol of peace, know that dark times are approaching and they jobs are riskier than ever.

We have to remember that being a hero is a job option for anyone with a quirk useful enough to combat, not everyone is doing this job because they have a hero heart. In this moment, with shit hitting the fan in the hero society, the good pay, fame and glory isn’t worth to being killed. Hence a lot of pro heros quitting the job, and also a lot of heroes died in the fight against the league; that’s causing a big impact in the structure of japan’s hero society.

The police can’t fight against quirks as well as heroes can (they don’t use quirks as weapons) and they are already busy trying to arrest the people who escaped from the different prisons, civilians are buying (hero) support items to protect themselves because a lot of hero agencies have closed.

Endeavor, who is supposed to be the #1 hero, is broken to the core after having a physical proof in the form of dabi of what his ambition caused. We have seen other characters showing a kind of support to Endeavor, seeing a change in him, but this isn’t going to be enough to gain the civilians approval.

On another topic, I think Vigilantes are going to appear again, of course they never disappeared, but in this moment the public image of them wouldn’t be that bad in civilians eyes. Of course the hero association is going to be against it.

The UA kids have gone through lots of things in their short time being students and having their provisional hero license, but we have also seen their hearts, every one of them being ready to put their life on the line if that is what it takes to save lives. This last fight was the hardest they had to face, they suffered the loss of a dear teacher (Kayama), watched their friends hurting/destroying their bodies fighting and having a first line seat to see the collapse of this hero society that they were so eager to partake in.

This can a) boost them to train harder to be a good hero or b) make them retire early and discard their dream. I personally think that of what we have seen of them, the first is the most logical option, but also they are kids and their parents make the legal decisions for them and after seeing how heroes are handling things, they couldn’t entrust their kids to UA anymore.

Talking about kids, the craziest one of the bunch, Izuku, said something in chapters prior that amazed me and made me love him even more. He said that Shigaraki's face looked like he needed to be saved. We don’t know if afo used someone else before in the way he is using shigaraki to gain power and become a “demon lord”, but if that was the case, you think that any of the previous torchbearers even thought about saving their destined rival?. This is what makes Izuku so different that even the first one for all user, all for one little brother, acknowledges his worth.

So at this point the question we can make ourselves is, what is gonna happen now? Personally and this absolutely my reading of the possible turns of events: i think the hero system is going to be re-constructed, which isn’t going to be easy, but those UA kids would make sure of it somehow. There isn’t going to be a next symbol of peace.

I know you guys are thinking that the next symbol of peace should be izuku, because he is the only one who can fight against shigaraki, has the same vision of heroics that all might and in chapter one we learn that he is narrating the history of how he became a great hero / the greatest hero(i know there are a lot of different translation to this), but looking at what i have writing so long, putting the pressure of japan’s safety in the shoulders of only one person is what dragged the hero society to this point and izuku is smart enough to know that too.

Sorry for this long ramble tho and any typos, when i get excited it's gets harder to translate the words to english my mind hahaha

PS: I feel like we are going to have a time skip after Izuku wakes up.

#boku no hero academia #my hero academy #mha #bnha #izuku midoriya #deku #all might #mha deku #toshinori yagi #endeavor #enji todoroki #todoroki shouto #katsuki bakugo #mha class 1a #pro heroes #aizawa shouta #kayama nemuri #dabi #league of villains #meta liberation army #long post #nana shimura #all for one #one for all #textpost #sorrry for my long ramble #i robbed izuku name for his notes

[josefavomjaaga]

A bit of a misunderstanding

Briefly (okay, not really) back to family trouble and that truely complicated almost-father-son-relationship between Napoleon and Eugène. In mid-February, as related earlier, Napoleon had had Josephine write to Eugène in order to repeat to him an order to evacuate Italy. This had wounded Eugène deeply as he – probably rightfully – saw this as distrust from Napoleon's side. Distrust in Eugène’s loyalty; apparently, Napoleon had felt the need to bring Josephine into this, in order to give Eugène sufficient motivation to remain in Napoleon’s camp.

And, as has also been said, Napoleon in truth had ample reason to question where Eugéne really stood in this struggle. From his private correspondence it becomes pretty clear that Eugène’s only hope for the empire to continue lay in Napoleon making peace, not in him winning. Eugène refused to go along with the plan to evacuate Italy (even if for good reasons), he had never completely given up his correspondence with the enemy (i.e., with his family in Bavaria), he continued to negotiate with Murat (in a way Napoleon could not directly oversee), and he had on several occasions even contacted his Austrian opponent Bellegarde, both on business (armistice) and in private matters: about his family.

The one thing Eugène truely worried about was the fate of his wife and children. He had four kids at the time (three daughters and one son), and Auguste was due to have her next child in mid-April. Eugène was mortified at the idea that Auguste might fall into the hands of enemy troops (or possibly of rioting Italians?) without him being able to come to her aid. (Maybe that’s his childhood memories resurfacing. He had grown up during a revolution, after all; he had lost a father on the scaffold.) In order to make sure nothing would happen to her, Eugène had contacted Bellegarde early on, and Bellegarde not only gave all sort of promises for Auguste’s safety and liberty, but even contacted his emperor. Who actually sent the following note:

Emperor Franz of Austria to the Vice Queen. Troyes, February 18, 1814:

Madam my cousin, Marshal Bellegarde having reported to me the determination of Your Imperial Highness to fix her stay momentarily at the castle of Monza, I pray her to be convinced that this general has perfectly fulfilled my intentions by anticipating all that can be pleasant to Your Imperial Highness. I have just ordered that a guard of honour be formed for your suite: your suite will in any case enjoy the most complete freedom, and I can only regret the reasons which force you, Madame, to a decision which would flatter me in all other respects. I beg you, Madame to accept the assurances of the very distinguished consideration with which I am, Madame my cousin, of Your Imperial Highness, the good cousin,

François.

This letter would reach Eugène and Auguste on March 2. On a sidenote: How all these good cousins and other relatives managed to write all these polite letters while having people fire at their recipients is beyond me. - Anyway, this is the letter Eugène asked Auguste to tell her father about in order to calm Max Joseph’s fluttering nerves.

It should also be pretty clear that this sort of amicable conversation between enemies was not what Napoleon had in mind when it came to defending the borders of his empire. And so, right after having sent off his own letter to Napoleon, defending himself about not evacuating Italy, Eugène received yet another missive from his imperial step-father.

Napoleon to Eugène. Château de Surville close to Montereau. February 19, 1814 My son, the vice queen must immediately go to Paris for her delivery; my intention being that under no circumstances she should remain in a country occupied by the enemy: therefore, make her leave immediately. [...]

This is when for Auguste and Eugène the proverbial shit really hit the fan. What could this be, other than Napoleon’s reaction to Eugène’s disobedience? Napoleon was basically taking Auguste hostage, in order to make sure Eugène would remain loyal to him!

On top of that, Auguste was already approaching the last five weeks of her pregancy, and as she had suffered of bad health after giving childbirth before, she had really not planned on travelling in her state, particularly not on winter roads. But that was not really what infuriated her. She had already been angry about Napoleon before, about the divorce, for him having stripped Eugène of his right to the crown of Italy, and especially for the reproaches regarding the evacuation of Italy. The way Auguste saw it, Eugène was always there, always Napoleon’s last resort, was always called in to clean up other people’s mess, and never did he get any reward for his efforts. In an earlier letter to Eugène she had already written:

I am appalled, my dear Eugène, and I am no longer surprised that the Emperor is abandoned. Is it possible to be more ungrateful than this man is? You who sacrifice everything for him, who have done wonders, to receive reproaches as a reward! No, my friend, I did not expect this last blow which crushes me, I feel all that you must feel at this moment, I am disgusted with this world and with men; it is clear, the family of the Emperor, and perhaps the Emperor himself, is jealous of you, they would like to see you make mistakes. The King of Naples will be forgiven his treason, but they will never forgive you for the reputation and esteem you enjoy. [...]

And now Napoleon ordered her to Paris. Under a pretext, obviously – after all, France was just as menaced by enemies as Italy! The Allied armies were closing in on Paris already. This really was too much!

Eugène’s own reply was still somewhat toned down, stating basically »Okay. I’ll tell her. She won’t like it. And I really don’t know what I have done to deserve this.« However, Auguste this time took to the plume as well.

Auguste to Napoleon. Milan, February 27, 1814.

Sire, Eugène has just communicated to me the order given to him by Your Majesty: it surprised me greatly, for I did not expect that after all the proofs of attachment Eugène never ceases to give you, you would also demand of him to risk the health and even the life of his wife and children, the only asset and consolation he has in this world. If he does not speak on this occasion, it is for me to do so. Without doubt I know his and my duties towards Your Majesty. We have demonstrated this to you often enough, and we have never failed to do so; our conduct is known to all; we do not resort to intrigue, and we have no other guides than honour and virtue. It is a sad fact that our reward has been nothing but sorrow and mortification, which we have borne in silence and with patience. Although we have done no harm to anyone, we have enemies, I cannot doubt it, who seek to harm us in your Majesty's mind; for, if you would open your heart, you would not treat us as you do.

What have I done to deserve such a harsh order of departure? When I got married, I never thought that things would come to this.

My father, the king, who loves me dearly, had offered to take me in when things were going so badly, so that I might be able to give birth in peace. But I refused, fearing that this step would cast doubt on Eugène's conduct, although his actions spoke for him, and I intended to go to France. I have since been ill, and the doctors told me that I would be risking a great deal if I made such a long journey at this time, being already in the eighth month of my pregnancy, and so I decided to retire to Monza, if Eugène was forced to leave Italy, believing that Your Majesty could not find it bad; but I see that you no longer take any interest in what may happen to me, which grieves me deeply.

In spite of this I will obey your orders, I will leave Milan if the enemies should come here; but my duty, my heart, makes it a law not to leave my husband, and, since you demand that I risk my health, I want at least to have the consolation of ending my days in the arms of the one who possesses all my tenderness and who makes all my happiness.

Whatever his fate will be, I will share it, and it will always be worthy of envy, since we will be able to say to each other that we have deserved a happier one, and that we will have a conscience without reproach.

In spite of the sorrows which Your Majesty is causing us, I shall never cease to rejoice in His happiness, and to wish for that of the Empress.

However, this time, they probably really did Napoleon an injustice. He, but also Josephine and Hortense had talked about Auguste coming to Paris for the birth of her child on several occasions before (apparently, all French ladies were convinced that life outside of Paris was unliveable). And Napoleon never made much words about personal matters. (This at least Eugène could have known – Eugène’s invitation to his own wedding had basically read: »Be here! Yesterday, if possible!«) Napoleon indeed answered Auguste very politely:

Napoleon to Auguste. Soissons, March 12, 1814.

My daughter, I received your letter; as I know the sensibility of your heart and vivacity of your mind, I am not surprised by the way in which you have been struck. I thought that, with your disposition, you would have a bad time in a war zone and among enemies, and that the best thing to do for your safety was to come to Paris. I did not tell you this earlier, because Paris was then in danger, and I saw nothing to gain by placing you in the midst of the alarms of Paris instead of those of Milan. But, as soon as the danger of Paris was over, I thought that this journey had all sorts of advantages for your state. Acknowledge your injustice, and it is your heart that I hold responsible for punishing you.

It was – who else - Eugène at the receiving end of the imperial wrath:

Napoleon to Eugène. Soissons, March 12, 1814. My son, I have received a letter from you and one from the vice queen, both of which are extravagant! You must be out of your mind. It is by reason of human dignity that I wished the vice queen to come to Paris to give birth, and I know she is too delicate to find herself in this state among the Austrians. At the request of Queen Hortense, I could have written to you earlier, but then Paris was threatened. From the time when that city is free, there would be nothing simpler today than to come and give birth in the midst of one's family and in the place where there is the least cause for concern. You must be mad to suppose that this has anything to do with politics. I never change my style or my tone, and I have written to you as I have always written to you. It is unfortunate for the century in which we live that your reply to the King of Bavaria has earned you the esteem of the whole of Europe; as for me, I have not paid you a compliment because you have only done your duty and that is a simple thing. However, you have already been rewarded for it, even in the opinion of the enemy, whose contempt for your neighbour is in the highest degree. I am writing you a letter in figures to let you know my intentions.

»What’s up with you two? You gone both totally bonkers now? All I said was: come to Paris!«

This was basically the last »family« interaction between Napoleon and Eugène. At least for quite some time. After Napoleon’s abdication, Eugène did try to contact Napoleon, before and after Josephine’s death. There are three letters from that time, none of which seem to have reached Elba. As for later communications, during the Hundred Days and on Saint Helena, I know there was some, but this seems to have been almost completely about financial issues, at least from Napoleon’s side.

#eugene beauharnais #eugene de beauharnais #auguste von bayern #napoleon #italy1814 #milan #Bellegarde #endofempire #is there life outside of Paris?

[vcg73]

Free Kurt - Past Kurt

I wrote one extra story for the Free Kurt, anti-proposal challenge, but it’s a little different. 😊

~*~*~*~*~

“What are you wearing?”

Kurt jumped at the sound of a young and judgmental voice speaking directly in his ear.

He was standing on a wide marble step within the hallowed halls of Dalton Academy, surrounded by dozens of friends, acquaintances, and strangers from the assorted western Ohio high schools that Blaine had brought here today to witness his proposal. A proposal that was currently proceeding from the step below his own, and which Kurt was feeling increasingly pressured to accept in spite of his own very real misgivings.

And while it was a very distracting scene, he had not noticed anyone sneaking up behind him. He turned his head slightly, attempting to pay attention to Blaine’s words while simultaneously taking a quick peripheral peek over his right shoulder.

Kurt nearly jumped out of his skin when the voice spoke again, this time right next to him on the left. “Wait, are we getting proposed to?”

Whipping his head to the left, Kurt frowned. Who was that? He didn’t see anyone.

Blaine faltered a little, apparently noticing his distraction. “Kurt?” he mumbled, hazel eyes darting about as his intended frowned and looked everywhere but at him. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t you hear that?” he asked.

“I’m very good looking in the future!” the voice observed, sounding pleased. “Tall too!  But that suit has got to go. Peacock blue brocade can be beautiful if used sparingly. Maybe a vest or a jacket against an all black suit. Though on second thought that might make it look like you were about to deal roulette in Vegas. But an entire suit?  And with a violet silk shirt to contrast? I know this is just a dream, otherwise I wouldn’t be watching myself, but what has happened to my fashion sense since I got old?”

The young voice was so utterly horrified that Kurt almost laughed in spite of the bizarre circumstance. For he recognized the speaker now. What was even stranger, he remembered now with a startling burst of clarity, that he had had this very dream when he was about 14 years old. Himself standing in what he had thought was a fairy tale palace, watching himself be proposed to by Prince Charming.

Had it not been a dream? For he did recall suddenly that it had occurred following a whack to the head brought about after one of the goon squad, who had already started targeting him in middle school, had aimed badly when shoving Kurt into a locker.  Kurt had told his dad that he’d been hit with a dodge ball during P.E.  His dad had skeptically bought it, not able to prove otherwise, but Kurt had been given a few days off of school that week, and he remembered being watched like a hawk the whole time.

He also remembered having a lot of strange half-remembered dreams that he had written off to concussion.

A little shiver went down his spine. Surely it was not possible that he had done some kind of astral time travel thing. Wasn’t that just a little too sci-fi for the real world?

And yet, he could not deny the voice that was apparently only in his own ears at this moment. For nobody else was reacting as if they heard a young teenager passing judgment on this whole affair.

“Actually, forget our fashion taste. What the hell is he wearing?”

Kurt bit down a smirk. He had forgotten how dramatically fond of italics he had been as a kid. But he focused, really focused for the first time, on that hideous banana yellow creation that Blaine had chosen, and had to give his alter ego a point on it. No doubt Blaine had wanted something that would force every eye onto him. It wasn’t like he had ever been able to stand not having 100% of the attention in any room turned his way.

Blinking, Kurt wondered where that harsh thought had come from. Sure, it was true, but shouldn’t his thoughts be focused toward how romantic this all was? Apparently listening to the point of view of his less inhibited younger self was sparking a little rebellion inside of him.

“He’s handsome, our boyfriend,” the young voice observed in a clinical tone that made his older self want to laugh. He remembered using it when deciding between two equally perfect outfits, trying to decide which would have more of a ‘wow’ factor. “But his fashion taste is terrible and I don’t like the hair. That slicked back Elvis retro thing is so 1995. It also makes him look like he’s pushing 30. Wait. Is he older than us? How old are we?  Are we 30?”

That age must seem ancient to a boy of 14, Kurt supposed. His conscience prickled at the remembrance of his own life plan having been to find someone and become husbands or domestic partners, depending on what the law dictated so far in the future, with him by 30. Before that, he had always expected to live a life of fashionable single fabulosity, with boyfriends by the dozen, while he conquered the career of his choice. It had not been until high school, developing his first bad crush on Finn Hudson, being swamped with insistent hormones, and being constantly surrounded by relationships, that he had started longing for a commitment. Not because he knew what to do with one then, but because he had hated being the only person who did not even have the prospect of a real relationship.

He knew better than that now. So why was he still so determined to do something he knew in his gut that he was not ready for? Even if their ‘teenage dream’ had been perfect, was he really willing to enter into a lifelong commitment before he even hit 20?

Apparently unaware of his thoughts, the voice of his young observer continued with relentless interest. “Oh, my god. Is that Rachel? Tell me you are not thinking of letting Rachel Berry be your attendant. She’s the most obnoxious girl in school!  And she’s dressed better than you! Maybe this is actually a nightmare. Oh, hey, there’s Dad. Hi, Dad!”

Kurt looked at his father, looking slightly confused a few steps below where he stood just behind Will Schuester. Burt looked around surreptitiously, as if he had heard the call, but knew it was not possible for it to be there.

“If he’s here at our proposal then he knows about us!” invisible Kurt said happily. “Did we come out to him, and he’s happy for us?”

The sound of a dreamy sigh made Kurt’s eyes unexpectedly prickle with tears. How well he remembered that feeling. That co-mingling of fear, dread, and hope that had gripped him every time he had considered biting the bullet, and telling his father that he was gay. Of course he would have thought he was dreaming all this, seeing his father in his every day attire in a place like this, while they were both surrounded by the glitter and formality of dozens of smiling peers. Friends were another thing that young Kurt had never been sure he would actually experience in real life.

“If this is a dream, does that mean Mom is here too?” the invisible speaker asked, this note of longing in his young voice going straight to Kurt’s heart. He had heard that question deep inside himself for so many years. The small childish part of him that had never entirely accepted that someone as wonderful, fun-loving, and tenderly understanding as his beautiful mother could just be snuffed out of his world after only eight short years.

“No,” he said softly. He knew suddenly that if his mother had been here, she never would have approved of this. She had held the safety and happiness of her only child as a sacred trust from the day he was born until her very last day on Earth. He had always been able to talk to her about anything, and this would have been no different.  Mom never would have allowed him to compromise his heart and his future for a dream that he already knew did not live up to reality. “I’m sorry.”

He had been speaking to past-Kurt and to his mother, but when he said the words, it caused Blaine to stop mid-sentence with a look of shock. “What do you mean, no.”

Kurt blinked. Suddenly he knew that while he had not meant those words for Blaine, a part of him had actually wanted to say them out loud ever since he walked in the building.

“Kurt, what are you doing?” Blaine said, his voice more annoyed now as Kurt brushed past him to walk down a few steps, looking around at the crowd and realizing for the first time how few of these people he actually knew. “You’re embarrassing me!  I don’t what you’re looking for, but it doesn’t matter. Can we just get on with this thing?”

Kurt turned to look at him, frowning at the irritated question.

“This thing?” he repeated, eyes narrowing. “You mean the thing where I’m missing my flight home so my ex-boyfriend who’s still in high school can ask me to agree to spend the rest of my life with him, even though we’ve only been casually back together as a couple for a couple of days? The thing where we’re both supposed to agree to love and be faithful to one another forever? That thing?”

Apparently he had not entirely lost his love of italics after all. His tone was biting, the reminder of his own youthful hopes and expectations making him feel angry and betrayed all over again.  

Instead of understanding, Blaine actually rolled his eyes. “Not that again. I told you, I thought we were over when that happened! And didn’t I promise I would never ever do it again? Isn’t that enough? Why can’t you just get over it?  It’s not like it meant anything, Kurt.”

That injured way he said Kurt’s voice, the way that usually deflated whatever outrage Kurt felt and caused him to guiltily give in, enraged him this time.

“No, Blaine. I can’t just get over it. Because we weren’t anywhere near over when it happened, and you know it. It’s called a long distance relationship, and what you did was horrible. Our being boyfriends meant everything to me. The fact that you could throw what we had away on a stranger after just a few weeks apart, because I couldn’t devote all of my attention to you while I was starting a new life in a different state? That meant something to me. It meant that I couldn’t trust you anymore. I don’t trust you, and I can’t forget that happened, so I guess I was wrong about being able to forgive it too. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. I don’t want to spend my whole life with a guy that I don’t believe will keep a vow to honor and cherish me.”

Blaine sputtered. “But, but I . . . what about all this?” He gestured frantically around them as if he could not conceive of such a scene not magically wiping away whatever doubts Kurt had.

“This is all very beautiful,” Kurt said, glancing around at the streamers, balloons, and startled faces that filled the room, “but it’s only a child’s dream. The real world isn’t a pretty song and a lot of smiling faces. It’s hard work, and compromise, and shared joys, and making sacrifices for each other’s happiness. That’s what a real commitment means, Blaine. It means being there for the people you love even when conditions are not ideal. Even when they’re so bad that you don’t know what to say or how to move forward, but you keep trying because you love them too much to ever want to cause that person pain. It means being your best self and making good times for the two of you even when the worst things are happening.”

“I don’t understand,” he admitted, flopping his hands helplessly. “Where is all this coming from?”

Kurt looked at his dad, who was dashing away tears from eyes that carried mingled pride, regret, and new understanding.

“I was reminded on the way here about how much my mom and dad loved each other, and how deeply committed they were to each other. Even when my mom was dying, they never stopped trying to make each other smile. They never would have cheated on each other, or tried to pressure each other into making a decision that they knew was wrong. And when it was just Dad and me, he did the same for me. He wanted me to always know that I had a safe space with him, a home where I could be myself and try to block out all the pain of the outside world. And I did the same for him, even when I was a little clumsy about trying to protect him.”

Burt nodded, his smile wry as he was clearly remembering some of of the awkward, uncomfortable, but always deeply loving moments they had shared together

“I want that again,” Kurt said, turning back to his would-be fiance. “It’s been a long time since I had a place where I know I can always be myself without having to hide half of the things that make me who I am. A place where I can feel safe because I always know that I’m loved and respected. A home where I can be with someone wants to make sure that I’m happy, just because knowing that makes him happy. Because I deserve that, Blaine.  And because I’ll do the same for the man that I’ll agree to spent my life with one day.”

“And I’m not that man?” he asked, sounding genuinely sad.

Kurt looked at him, smiled, and gently kissed his cheek. “No. I hope you will be that man for somebody one day, but we both know deep down that it can’t be me. Our relationship started right here in this hallway three years ago. It’s appropriate that it ends in the same place. Good luck, Blaine.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, Blaine reading the truth in Kurt’s steady gaze. “I’ll miss you. I’ll always love you, Kurt.”

“Goodbye. Dad, I’ll meet you out at the car.”

Holding his head high, Kurt walked down the steps and past the shocked crowd of onlookers.

“Thanks, Kurt,” he whispered, no longer able to sense his younger self, who had probably awakened from his dream at the same time his present self had ended the swirling nightmare of his unwanted proposal.

Pushing past the great double doors of Dalton Academy, Kurt smiled and stepped out into the sunlight, leaving the past behind him.

THE END

#Free Kurt #elledelajoie #Anti Klaine proposal challenge

[flowerboyyoonbin]

Forever and always | Mark Lee

Pairing: mark lee x female reader

Genre: a lot of angst, fluff; gang!AU; gang member!Mark, pregnant!reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: none really

Summary: a failed drug deal separates two lovers and leaves an unborn child fatherless

The sound of a ringing phone wakes you up. You'd initially decided to ignore it if it hadn’t been for the continuous calls following the first one. Letting out a long and exaggerated groan, you finally reach for the phone, looking at the caller id. It was Mark.

“Hello?” your voice was raspy and almost felt sore due to just have being awoken. 

“Mark, you okay?” you speak again as the other line remained silent. “Mar--” he cuts you off before you have the chance to speak again. “I’m outside your house,” and with that, he ends the call. 

You hastily get out of bed, walking towards your bedroom window to see a shadow figure moving towards your front porch. The figure looks up towards the window, Mark’s face coming into view. 

Taking the stairs down as fast as you could, almost tripping on your way down, you open the door for him. Mark immediately wraps you in his arms, closing the door behind him. The two of you just stood there for a while, his arms only tightening the grasp he had around you. 

“What happened?” you knew something was wrong. This wasn't normal behavior for your boyfriend who despised being too affectionate. Something had happened, something really bad, and it was starting to scare you.

“The deal went south; a shootout started and I guess some people nearby must have heard and called the cops. Most of the guys got caught from both sides, and I’m sure there’s gonna be a hit list on the rest of us soon,” your boyfriend finally answered your question after trying to find the right words just to end up with being straightforward with you instead of sugarcoating it. 

You were angry and upset. Not at Mark but the situation. This was supposed to be his last deal, Mark had finally managed to slowly cut all evidence to him being in the gang and their leader had been willing (after a lot of negotiations) to let Mark go, but with this newfound information you’d just received, you’re not too sure your peaceful life with Mark was gonna be as easy as you thought. 

“So you’re a fugitive from the police now?” you finally look up at him, your thoughts running lose and clouding your way of thinking a bit.

“Not the police. The gang we were dealing with thought we had called the cops, those idiots. They’re angry since their leader got caught and they,” he pauses, taking a deep breath in before he continues. 

“They saw my face. They know who I am and that puts me in danger, and if they find me here that’ll put you and our baby in danger as well and I can’t let that ever happen,” his hand slowly travels from your arms to your stomach, looking down at your growing belly. You and Mark were expecting a little girl in a few months' time. She was the reason why Mark finally decided to get his life together and start a normal, peaceful and legal life; he was tired and done running from the law.

You weren’t sure what was going to happen to Mark but whatever it was you knew you were gonna hate it, though it was inevitable. “What are you gonna do? What’s gonna happen to our family, to the life we planned?” you didn’t even realize the tears falling on your cheeks until Mark wiped them ever so gently away as if he was afraid to break you, his other hand still over your stomach as if to protect the baby.

Mark hesitated at your question. What was he supposed to do? He had a plan but just thinking about it broke his heart into a million pieces. It was the only way to keep your family save so he had to make the sacrifice, albeit you’d be paying it as well. He had wanted to spare you but the failed deal had ruined everything and it was costing you two your happiness. 

“I’ll have to leave. Not for forever though—no baby don’t cry,” he’d stop talking as soon as he saw the tears spill out of your eyes again, staining your cheeks. The picture of you crying, of you having to raise your daughter alone for an indefinite time. Having his daughter grow up without her father was the last thing he ever wanted but now he had no choice but to do exactly that and it broke him more than words could ever describe.

He held you tight, trying desperately to calm your shaking and screaming form. You were screaming and crying at this point, cursing him, the situation and even God. You were beyond furious, beyond upset. The two of you didn’t care if the neighbors heard, they could file noise complaints if they wanted to, you could care less at that moment. You felt like the world had stopped and for a second it felt like you had stopped breathing as well. You were praying to any god that was willing to listen to restart this day, to keep Mark from going to the deal. You knew it was impossible but you were desperate at this point. 

“You-can’t-leave-me,” you said through sobs. “Please,” you were breaking not only Mark’s heart but your own. You could feel the baby, it could feel your rage and you knew you needed to calm down for her sake. 

Mark was crying at this point, not being able to hold up his strong demeanor anymore he finally broke down crying. Resting his head on your belly he kept muttering apologies to both you and the baby. You slowly bring your hand to rest on his head, knitting your fingers through his hair to make him look at you. “Okay, you can leave, but I swear to God Lee if you aren’t back before her third birthday then I’ll start my own hit list and kill you myself,” you manage to dissolve some of the heavy tension though not a lot. You two stayed in that position for a few more minutes, Mark having lifted your shirt now to kiss your belly for the last time and you run your hand through his hair. 

The clock nearing three in the morning, you finally realize how long the two of you had been talking. His phone goes off, his gang-mate having found a way out of the country in safety meaning that this was goodbye. For now at least.

Holding your body as tight and close to his own he let the last couple of tears fall before wiping them away. As soon as he was to step out of the door his cold demeanor was going to be back on. He kissed you one last time, it was passionate, rushed, a tad bit aggressive but filled with emotion. The two of you were gonna be separated physically but the pair of you belonged together and you knew you’d find your way back to each other. Mark was certain that the pair of you were soulmates.

With one last bone-crushing hug, he finally took his first steps towards the door, never taking his eyes off of you. You let a final tear slip from the corner of your eye as you watch mark reach for the handle. He turns around towards you again, “I love you. Forever and always. And I promise to fix all of this and get back to you and our beautiful baby girl,” he took his first step out of the door. As he was about to close the door he heard you faintly whisper those three words back, adding a ‘forever and always’ as the two of you always did. He smiled to himself, already anticipating the day you two would meet again as he closes the door leaving you and your unborn baby behind.

3 years and 3 months later 

You were running around the house, preparing the last decorations before your parents would be arriving. It was your daughter’s third birthday and you had decided to invite your family over instead of celebrating it alone like you’d done the previous two years. 

You glanced over to the calendar you’d hung up near the door. You bought it the day Mark had left, though this was the third one you’d bought, and crossed out every single day off until now. You told Mark to be back before her third birthday. You didn’t know if you meant it or if he believed you did, but it was the closest to a date you had and therefore the only hope you had on seeing him anytime soon. 

It had been hard without him. When he left it felt like he took your being with you; you weren’t complete without him. It wasn’t until your daughter had been born before you snapped back to reality again; you had to stop pitying yourself and create a home where your daughter would never feel less loved than her peers. 

You were checking up on the food as you heard the doorbell. You stop at the couch checking to see if your daughter is where you left her. Ever since that night, you had been fearing that someday somebody would take away your daughter. You smile as you look at her, she was the product of you and Mark’s love. And oh did she resemble her father in every way possible. 

You walk towards the door slowly. Could it be him? Was he gonna keep his promise? All sorts of thoughts ran through your mind...only to be crushed when you open the door to reveal the mailman. He was holding a box that you had to sign for. You take it inside and answer your ringing phone. Your mom was calling. 

“Hey sweetie, I’m so sorry but we can’t make it today but we sent our gift in advance, did you get it?” Though you were disappointed you couldn’t blame your parents, they were getting older and lived all across the country. It looked like it was just gonna be the two of you for the third year in a row. 

You finish the phone call with your mom and turn towards your daughter giggling towards a toy who’d just made a funny sound. You’re about to walk into the kitchen again to turn off the stove as the door rings once again. Having lost all the mood to celebrate, you slouch towards the door. You sigh as you open the front door, just wanting to cuddle with your daughter in bed all day. 

As you open the door you came face to face with...

Nothing? 

You look around but there’s nothing around. Did kids still do doorbell pranks nowadays? You close the door rolling your eyes. You were definitely in a worse mood now. 

“Oh come on babe don’t be so upset,” you freeze. That voice, the one you’ve been yearning to hear for the past three years. You don’t dare turn around but at the same time, you can’t keep your body from turning. Were you hearing things? Were you finally reaching a breaking point? 

Slowly turning around while keeping your eyes close due to a fear of it all being a hallucination. You gather your courage and slowly start opening your eyes. You meet his eyes, and you swear you felt your broken heart heal itself at that moment. It felt like life had started again as if time had been frozen since that godforsaken night. 

The two of you just stare at each other, a dumb love-struck smile plastered on both of your faces. You open your mouth to speak but a sob breaks out instead and Mark has you in his arms within seconds. Holding you tight just like that night maybe even tighter. 

“You came back to me,” the words come out before another sob leaves your mouth. “You came back to us,” Mark kisses you, having thought about your lips on his for so long, he gets a nostalgic feeling making him smile through the kiss. It’s soft and gentle yet filled with so much emotion, expressing the unspoken words between you two. 

You break away from the kiss and walk towards your daughter, scooping her up in your arms. As you walk back towards Mark his eyes waters a bit seeing his daughter for the first time. She was more beautiful than he had ever imagined her to be. 

“Baby girl I want you to meet someone very special: meet your daddy. He’s gonna stay with you and protect you with mommy from now on,” you slowly hand her over to Mark who takes a step back due to the fear of actually holding her. You smile reassuringly at him, letting him know it’s okay and that everything would be fine from now on. 

Reluctantly he takes a few steps forward finally taking her into his arms. Being afraid of breaking her as if she was made out of porcelain he hugs her ever so gently but tightens it when she wraps her tiny arms around his neck, exclaiming with excitement his newfound title. 

Your words from a moment ago play through his head. He takes hold of you and kisses you again. 

“I promised to come back and love you two. Forever and always.”

#i'm baaaaack #nct imagines #nct 127 imagines #nct mafia au #nct #mark lee #neo culture technology #mark imagines #nct 127 #nct u #nct dream #nct u imagines #nct dream imagines #nct gang au #nct 127 mafia au #nct 127 gang au #nct u mafia au #nct u gang au #nct dream mafia au #nct dream gang au #nct angst #mark angst #nct 127 angst #nct u angst #nct dream angst

[hysterialevi]

His Name Was Isaac - Ch. 11

Fanfic summary: During a mission to avenge his mother’s death, Isaac hunts down the men responsible for her murder and kills them off one-by-one, only to discover that his last target is taking refuge among the Van der Linde gang. In an attempt to kill them, Isaac attacks the gang and unknowingly becomes enemies with his own father, who is in the process of fighting his own battle for redemption.

Point of view: third-person

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This story is also on AO3

THAT NIGHT

SOUTH OF RIGGS STATION

Sitting underneath the cool night sky, Arthur and Isaac huddled together around a warm campfire that they built mere minutes ago, cooking a rabbit over its crackling flames.

At the moment, Isaac was wrapped up in a blanket and resting against a boulder, lazily watching the rabbit cook as he slowly rotated the spit. Meanwhile, Arthur leaned back against a tree and gazed upwards, taking in the millions of stars dusting the sky as they flickered sporadically.

It was close to midnight now, as far as Arthur could tell. The two of them traveled for several hours after leaving Blackwater, and decided to take a break once they crossed the Upper Montana River.

Fortunately, Arthur hadn’t seen any other signs of the Pinkertons following his encounter with Agent Ross, and the Van der Lindes appeared to be nowhere either.

Right now, it was just the two of them at this camp. The wilderness around them was quiet with emptiness, and the only sounds that broke the silence were the chirping of crickets, and the distant howling of coyotes.

Everything was peaceful.

Despite their calm state however, Arthur couldn’t stop thinking about the deal Agent Ross proposed to him earlier. For some reason, that man’s words embedded themselves in Arthur’s brain like a nail in wood, and the outlaw found himself preoccupied with about a thousand different questions. None of which he had the answers to.

Every fiber in his being doubted that Ross was being sincere with his offer, and Arthur knew better than to blindly throw his trust around, but as a father who cared about nothing more than the safety of his own child, he couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, there was some truth to Edgar’s deal.

Surely, Agent Fordham would protest if Ross went back on his word. That young man made his moral standing rather clear during the bank robbery in Blackwater, and a small part of Arthur hoped he’d be able to sway his superior’s mind the same way he did when Dutch took that woman hostage.

Maybe then, Isaac would have a chance at starting a normal life. This world of outlaws was the last thing Arthur wanted for his son, and if there was any chance he could prevent Isaac from going down the same road he did as a boy, he’d take it in a heartbeat.

He just hoped Isaac wouldn’t fight against it.

“...Dad?” The boy said softly, bringing Arthur back to reality. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” He replied, picking up on the young man’s serious tone. Isaac seemed to be in a much more solemn state than before, and just by listening to the kid’s voice, Arthur could tell something was wrong. 

He guessed he wasn’t the only one with a lot on his mind.

“...I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Isaac finally answered.

Arthur gave him a puzzled look. “Sorry? For what?”

“For everything I’ve done.” He explained. “I’ve... been thinkin’ about it for a while, and I’m just now realizing how much damage I’ve caused over these past couple o’ weeks. Especially to you and your gang. I wanted to kill Shay so badly that I was willing to risk those who did nothing wrong to me. I put you in danger. I killed Cleet. I took you away from Dutch. And now, because of everything I did, it’s possible he’ll want to take revenge on us. I’ve caused so many issue due to my own greed, and... I didn’t even take a moment to think about it. I didn’t care.”

Isaac lowered his head in shame, unable to look Arthur in the eye. “I shoulda listened to you back there. I’m sorry, Dad.”

Arthur had to admit, he was a tad surprised at the sudden confession. He knew Isaac was no killer deep inside, but he didn’t realize how much these past few days had actually affected him. 

It was rather clear Isaac had been thinking about this for quite some time. His eyes carried a heavy sense of melancholy within them, and the longer Arthur examined the disheartened expression on his face, the more he could see the kid’s mind tearing itself apart.

“You got nothin’ to apologize for, Isaac.” Arthur replied sincerely. “I know the road’s been pretty bumpy lately, but it ain’t your fault. The truth is--” a short cough interrupted him, “--you... you actually helped me. Before we met, I used to spend my days thinkin’ about nothing except how all this was gonna end. Our gang was fallin’ apart, Dutch was dyin’ of his illness, and... well, there weren’t much I really cared for anymore.”

Isaac threw a confused look at him. “But... what about Dutch? I thought he was like a father to you.”

“He is,” Arthur corrected, “but no matter how close we was in the past, that man’s too dangerous to be around now. He’s like a stick of dynamite waitin’ to go off. That ain’t someone I want in my life. Or in yours. The reality is, you saved me from a heap of trouble I was always too stupid to put behind me. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Isaac fell silent at the response, evidently surprised by Arthur’s sentiment. He expected the man to be a little more reserved about everything that was happening, but contrary to his belief, the outlaw actually seemed to be content with this new path they were taking, regardless of how chaotic it may’ve been. 

“That’s good to hear.” Isaac replied, sounding genuinely relieved. “I just keep wondering if I did the right thing, y’know. Killin’ Shay.”

Arthur let out a sigh, struggling to get his thoughts in order. “Revenge is always a messy business, I’m afraid. There’s never an easy answer. I suppose... it really comes down to whether you think the sacrifice is worth it or not.” He paused, glancing at Isaac. “...Do you?”

The young man shrugged, his brow furrowed in uncertainty. “Well... I met you in the process. So I’d say so.”

Arthur chuckled warmly at that. “So it would seem.” He leaned forward, putting a reassuring hand on Isaac’s knee. “Try not to think too much about it, kiddo. We can’t change what’s done. We can only move on.” He gestured to the campfire. “Oh, also, you’re burnin’ the rabbit.”

Isaac cursed in realization and rushed to remove the charred animal from the spit, earning a laugh from the other man. “Shit...!”

Arthur rose to his feet and stretched his arms out, letting out a yawn. “Welp, I’m gon’ get some shut-eye. I’m thinking we can start heading for Wallace Station tomorrow. Make our way up north. Possibly even try to reach Canada.”

“You wanna go that far?” Isaac asked.

“Maybe. It’s the only way we’ll ever get them Pinkertons off our tail for good. We’d be outta their reach if we crossed the border. But I ain’t never actually been there... so we’ll see.”

Arthur took a seat in his tent. “Anyway, we can talk more about it tomorrow. For now, just focus on gettin’ some rest. These next few days are gonna be tough.”

Lying down on the ground, Arthur left Isaac to his own devices as the boy got in a last-minute meal, putting out the campfire now that he was done with it. The both of them were exhausted from traveling all day and constantly looking over their shoulders for Pinkertons, that the older man began to wonder if he should’ve asked John for help.

He didn’t know if Marston was still alive, or if he was even still in the country, but Arthur couldn’t deny that he missed that grumpy old bastard. He hadn’t seen him ever since the man fled Dutch’s gang eight years ago, and part of him wished that they could meet up again.

But... no. He couldn’t do that to John. That man had a possible wife and son to look out for now. The last thing he needed was Arthur bringing the law’s attention onto his doorstep, if it wasn’t already there. He got out of the Van der Lindes for a reason, and Arthur didn’t want to put his family at risk.

Arthur decided he would stay away from John for now. He and Isaac had been surviving well enough so far, and unless something disastrous were to occur, he thought it best if he left the man alone.

There was nothing more to be said between them, after all, and just like he told Isaac mere moments ago, there was no way he could change what happened in the past.

He could only move on from it.

~~~~~~~~~~

THE NEXT DAY

AN HOUR AFTER DAWN

Waking up to the smell of wet grass and freshly-poured rain, Arthur found himself lying in the middle of a crisp, chilly morning as a thick layer of fog spread across the land, obscuring everything in a fuzzy, white haze. 

He felt well rested -- or at least more rested than before -- and he couldn’t help but notice that this was the first night in a while where he didn’t suffer from some incessant nightmare. In fact, he couldn’t recall having any dreams at all.

Maybe that was a sign things were getting better.

Typically, Arthur would dream of those he had lost in the past. He’d see faces like Hosea, or Mary, or even Eliza, sometimes. They’d always talk to him as if they were still around, and Arthur would believe it. He’d have meaningful conversations with them in his head and laugh along with their jokes... only to wake up a few hours later and feel the cold sensation of reality sinking in once again.

He always wished he could go back to his dreams. They were far more comforting than the brutality of the real world, and usually, Arthur had nothing to look forward to upon waking up.

Now though, Arthur finally had something to care about outside of his dreams. He had the child he always wanted as a young man, and the chance to raise him right, despite their unusual situation.

He was going to do his best to be the father that Hosea was to him, and God willing, never become anything like Dutch. 

Lord knew Isaac deserved better than that.

Bringing himself to a sitting position, Arthur rolled his shoulders and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, still feeling a bit groggy. Things were quiet this morning, apart from the neighing of the horses, and it looked like their camp had been left undisturbed by any unwanted company.

When Arthur got a better look at the tent across from him however, he suddenly realized that the sleeping bag was empty, and Isaac was nowhere to be seen.

It didn’t take long for Arthur to bolt out of his tent.

“Isaac?” He called out, searching the small camp. It looked like Aldo was still hitched to his post in the same spot Isaac left him, so Arthur assumed the man didn’t leave.

At least, not voluntarily.

“Isaac!” Arthur exclaimed again, starting to grow worried. He suddenly noticed a note lying on a stump next to his tent. 

Arthur narrowed his eyes, hurriedly reading the scribbled text.

“We’re out of water. Went to the river to get some. Will be back soon.”

For a moment, the man was relieved at the news and let out a brief sigh, but instantly felt his fear spike once again when the unmistakable sound of a gunshot thundered somewhere in the distance.

Isaac was in trouble.

“Goddammit...!” Arthur cursed in panic, grabbing his guns before sprinting to his mount.

Throwing himself onto the Andalusian, the outlaw kicked his spurs into the horse’s sides and galloped in the direction of the gunshot, keeping his eyes peeled as he scanned the region for his son.

He didn’t hear anything else echoing through the fog at the moment, aside from a few muffled voices, but the weather made it so damned difficult to navigate through these fields, that Arthur almost had to rely on his hearing entirely.

Thankfully, he was somewhat familiar with the area and knew where the river was, leading him to make a direct beeline for the south. He only prayed Isaac was still there.

“Isaac!” Arthur shouted. “Goddammit, boy, where the hell are you...?!”

Whipping the reins even harder, Arthur practically soared across the land as he flicked his eyes around in trepidation, desperately searching for any sign of the young man.

He didn’t know where on Earth he was right now, and the only thing he could see was fog, but judging by the fact that he could make out the voices more clearly now, Arthur assumed he was getting closer. 

The outlaw hopped off his mount and decided to proceed on foot from there, not wanting to draw the attention of any enemies that could’ve been nearby.

“...Just tell me what I wanna know,” someone said from deep within the haze, “and this’ll all be over for you soon, princess. I promise.”

Arthur immediately recognized the conniving voice, causing his heart to pound in his chest. It was Micah. That meant Dutch had to be somewhere nearby.

“Lemme go, you sons-of-bitches...!” Isaac barked in a strained tone, clearly struggling against something.

Micah chuckled mockingly. “Afraid I can’t do that, cowboy. Not until you tell me where your pa is. I’m sure he and his sour face are sulkin’ around here somewhere.”

“Didn’t you hear me the first time?” The young man reiterated. “I said I don’t know!”

“Oh, I heard you, alright, but I don’t believe you. There ain’t no way you coulda made it this far on your own. Not without a little help to push you along. You’s a clever little lad, I’ll give you that. But even you couldn’t survive out here. I know you’re travelin’ with the old man, so tell me where he is...” Arthur heard the click of a pistol’s hammer, “...or I’ll find him myself.”

Still, Isaac didn’t budge.

“...My father was right about you.” He said plainly. “You ain’t nothin’ but a snake, Micah. A boot-lickin’ coward who could never look a real man in the eye. You betrayed Dutch, and we both know it. He’ll have your head if he ever--”

Micah slammed his gun into Isaac’s temple.

“You watch your goddamn mouth, boy! You don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about.” The man scoffed in amusement. “Seems to me like you’s just as delusional as your daddy. What a surprise.”

Micah glanced at Joe who was currently restraining Isaac with a gun to the head and signaled him to bring the kid back to camp, gesturing to their horses.

“Go on and bring Morgan junior here back to Dutch. I’m sure the boss is eager to have a word with him.”

“But what about Arthur?” Joe asked.

Micah waved a dismissive hand. “We’ll find the cranky old bastard some other time. Hell, if we’re lucky, he might even come to us. For now, let’s just see what we can get outta the boy.”

The other man sighed. “Fine. But I ain’t gonna--”

Startling all three of them, a bullet suddenly blasted its way into Joe’s skull and sent him collapsing into the river with a large splash, giving Isaac the opening he needed.

Unwrapping Joe’s arms from his neck, Isaac instantly broke free from his grasp and yanked out his hunting knife, cutting a deep gash into Micah’s left eye before tackling the man to the ground.

“You goddamned miserable wretch!” Micah hissed, blocking Isaac’s attacks. “I’m gonna kill you!”

Shoving the young man’s meager weight off of him, Micah headbutted Isaac and turned the tide of the fight, rolling around so that the other man was underneath him.

Before the boy even had a chance to react, Micah pressed his hands around Isaac’s throat and strangled him as best he could, shaking his grip with the amount of strength he was putting into it.

“You dunno how long I’ve been wantin’ to do this, cowpoke...!” Micah growled. “I shoulda killed you the first time I laid eyes on you.”

Pointlessly gasping for air, Isaac writhed in Micah’s iron hold and desperately tried to pry his arms off with a few punches to the face, but to no avail. The man only continued to squeeze Isaac’s neck and chuckled sadistically, reveling in the morbid sight beneath him.

Just as he was about to finish the boy off however, a third party suddenly barged into the scene, forcing Micah to bring his attention elsewhere.

“Get the hell off of him, you son-of-a-bitch!” Arthur roared, grabbing Micah by the shoulders before hurling him to the ground.

Isaac let out a deep gasp upon being released and hungrily drank the air around him, coughing violently as he tried to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Arthur pinned Micah to the dirt and slammed his knuckles into the man’s nose, practically burying his fist in his face.

“And there he is...!” Micah said with a bloody smile. “I knew you’d come crawlin’ outta your hole sooner or later.”

“You shut your mouth, Micah!” Arthur threatened through clenched teeth. “I’m sick of listenin’ to all your bluster!”

The other man laughed. “You don’t like what I have to say ‘cause you know it’s the truth...! You’re old news, Morgan. The gang’s got a new order. Dutch is finished with you, and he’s gonna nail you to a cross when he finds you.”

“Well, he ain’t gonna be any kinder to you,” Arthur countered. “You know what loyalty means to that man. If Dutch is gonna damn me for what I’ve done, then so be it. But you best believe you’re goin’ straight to Hell with me.”

Micah chuckled. “Then I hope the trip is worth it.”

Throwing a series of punches, Arthur continued to beat Micah to a pulp and stained the river’s water red with his blood, fully intending on killing the man until the ominous sound of someone cocking their gun reached his ears.

Arthur came to a halt and looked over his shoulder, spotting none other than Bill Williamson himself standing in the distance.

He paused, waiting for the man to say something.

“Williamson...” he warned, his voice dangerously rough, “if you’re gonna use that gun, you better make sure I’m goddamn dead.”

The other outlaw hesitated, loosely aiming his rifle at Arthur’s head.

“Arthur, I--”

 Just as he lifted his weapon however, Isaac whipped out his own, causing the four of them to come to a stalemate.

“Christ, Arthur...” Bill muttered in frustration. “You always was a pain to deal with.”

Isaac pulled the hammer down. “Yeah, well you better get the hell outta here now, or I’ll blow Micah’s brains out myself.”

“I... I can’t just return to Dutch empty-handed!” Bill exclaimed, glancing back and forth between Arthur and Isaac. “You know that man. How d’you think he’s gonna react when I come back with nothin’ but Joe’s corpse and a beaten-to-hell Micah?”

Arthur kept his grip on Micah’s collar, glaring Bill directly in the eye.

“...I don’t care.” He said slowly. 

The other man glowered at that. “No. I guess you never did.”

Not wanting to escalate things any further, Arthur finally decided enough was enough and threw Micah’s unconscious body to the ground, admittedly somewhat ashamed of losing himself like that in front of Isaac.

The last thing he wanted was for Isaac to see the side of him that Dutch created all those years ago, but the boy was safe for the moment, and that was all he cared about.

He just hoped the kid wouldn’t be afraid of him after this.

“Bill,” Arthur said as the outlaw began dragging Micah away, “when you get back to camp, you tell Dutch to leave us the hell alone. Otherwise, none of you will be walkin’ away next time.”

“Sure, Arthur.” Bill replied flatly, sounding a little hurt. “Whatever you say.”

Watching the two of them disappear into the fog, Arthur and Isaac stayed back as Joe’s body began floating downstream with the river’s current, bumping into the numerous rocks protruding from the water along the way.

It didn’t look like Dutch was with them at the time being, so Arthur figured it would be safe for now, but that didn’t mean he was letting his guard down anytime soon. 

Within just a couple of days, they had already run into both the Pinkertons and the Van der Lindes, exactly like Arthur feared.

They’d have to be even more discreet from here on out, and that was what brought Arthur to his next move.

He turned to Isaac, shaking his head at the young man.

“What the hell was you thinking?” Arthur scolded fiercely. “Runnin’ off on your own like that, not even botherin’ to wake me up.”

Isaac rubbed his neck in pain, still recovering from Micah’s attack.

“We were outta water, like I said. I just came to collect more.”

“Yeah, and you nearly got yourself killed in the process! You shoulda told me where you was going, or brought me along with you! What if--” Arthur was interrupted by a series of coughs, forcing him to calm down.

“...What if,” he continued, his tone much softer now, “I didn’t find you in time? How d’you think that would’ve gone?”

The young man sighed, drained of all his energy. “I... I know. I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to put you through that.”

Arthur let out a deep exhale, deciding to let it go for now.

“Well... just stay close to me from here on out. We got Pinkertons and Dutch’s gang hunting us down. I can’t afford to lose sight of you. Understand?”

Isaac nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. Then let’s get the hell outta here. Before anyone else shows up.”

Placing a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, Arthur quickly guided the boy back to his horse and away from the brutal scene, not wanting to stick around for a minute longer. A part of him felt somewhat bad for shouting at Isaac like that, especially after the kid just survived an ambush, but he couldn’t deny that he had been terrified for a minute there.

What if Isaac had been dead when he found him? What if he was too late? This encounter with Dutch’s men only made Arthur realize just how much danger they were truly in.

They had to get up north to the mountains in Ambarino, and fast. No one would dare follow them into those snowstorms -- well, no one except for Dutch -- and Arthur was willing to bet they’d be safer away from civilization.

He only wondered how much time they had before someone else cornered them.

“Dad?” Isaac said, looking at Arthur with concern. “Are you... doin’ okay? You’ve been coughin’ quite a bit lately.”

Arthur paused at the realization, suddenly aware of his newfound symptoms. With everything that was going on recently, he hadn’t even noticed how much more he had been coughing in the past few days, and he dreaded to think about what it could’ve meant.

After all, he had seen how Dutch was doing with his own illness, and it wasn’t as if Arthur had exactly been keeping his distance from the man. If he was starting to develop the same thing...

...well, that wasn’t something he even wanted to think about right now.

“I’m... fine, Isaac.” He brushed off, albeit not confidently. “Ain’t nothin’ to raise a fuss over.”

The boy wasn’t entirely reassured. “If you say so. Just... keep an eye on it, alright?”

Arthur climbed onto his horse and got comfortable in the saddle, waiting for Isaac to join him as the fog finally started to clear up.

“Don’t you worry. I will.”

#red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #isaac morgan #dutch van der linde #Micah Bell #Bill Williamson #rdr2 fanfic

[always-winter-baby]

feel free to add anything i missed, endgame haters.

This is a Wordpress post that I never posted about a Facebook post that I made last fall (2019) about how godawful Endgame was.

-------- I know I've been gone for a while and when I was here, I was writing about films I had watched. (Maybe I should start that.)

However, I am a HUGE fan of Marvel and their cinematic universe. I have the movies, the comics, the clothing, and far too much memorabilia to be considered a "casual" fan at this point. I've been reading comics for about twelve years and I started dedicating myself to the MCU around the end of Phase One.

That being said, it means everyone comes to me with their Marvel questions and everyone comes to me to see what I thought of each new film. And I don't give simple, "It was good. I really liked it," answers. I make complete strangers regret their own questions sometimes because I dive into the deep end immediately describing how they really pulled off the Mysterio "mind-bending" stuff fantastically, but how the story hinged really hard on Tony Stark when Peter in the comics stands on his own and Peter in the MCU should be able to as well.

I can give you speeches on the reason why Natasha's backstory would have been better established in The Winter Soldier than Age of Ultron or and how killing off Pietro in his first film did a disservice to Wanda's character, etc, etc. In the words of a person I passed by at work the other day, "I can talk the ears off a snake."

That's not the point of this post. That was just establishing that I am very dedicated and I Care deeply about these characters and this world.

That being said, when someone on Facebook not too long ago asked me to share my opinions on Avengers: Endgame, I asked him if he was really prepared for the novel I was going to spill on why I think that Endgame was a poorly written and directed film. He said his was. But his lack of any response to my novel was proof that he clearly was not.

However, for anyone else wondering, I copied that little book of a response and I'm posting it here. It's a little scrambled up (it was a facebook post so these things happen, okay?). I think it will still get the point across as to why I tell people that if I pulled the good parts of Endgame, I could make a really great thirty minute Avengers movie.

The post went as follows:

-Thor’s characterization was a three hour long fat joke. Thor had the most character growth out of anyone in Infinity War. His part was fantastic. Then they turned around and made everything about it completely idiotic. Thor has lived over a thousand years. He’s lost battles and lost countless, countless people before. Infinity War wasn’t the first time he made a mistake in battle that cost someone their life. He lost his entire family and almost all of friends and none of that turned him into lazy, sloppy, unshowered, fat Thor. I refuse to believe this time would magically break him. Character annihilation.

Banner has hated the Hulk for the entirety of Hulk’s existence. He’s talked about how exposed and vulnerable it makes him feel. He’s always been a quiet, shy, reclusive, and work-focused kind of guy. Now magically, he’s happy being Hulk 24/7, dabs, and takes selfies with kids? He’s hanging out in public as Hulk and drawing attention to himself? Sorry. Refuse to believe it. I know Professor Hulk is from the comics. It seems stupid and forced there too. I’m not of the opinion that just because something is found in comics that it’s necessarily a good thing. I’ve read plenty of bad comics as I’m sure any decent comic reader has.

-Tony isn’t awful. I actually think he’s done pretty well. No complaints.

-However, Pepper is awful. And it makes sense now that they’ve released the info that Gwyneth Paltrow just made up a lot of her own lines. She doesn’t know the character despite having played her for a decade. Pepper is always super cautious and she is constantly on Tony’s case about his heroic ventures, etc. Therefore, I find it incredibly hard to believe that she let him go without a fight after he “solved time travel.” I also find it absolutely impossible that she sits beside him as he’s dying and is peaceful enough to just tell Tony that he’s okay and he should rest. Per her character for the last decade, she should have been frantic. Of course it wouldn’t have been as sad and poetic an ending, but it would have been much more believable for the character.

-Clint. Meh. I can live with Clint, I think. I don’t love it or hate it. I am glad they reestablished his closeness with Natasha after AoU tried to erase it.

-Natasha. I actually like Natasha’s character in this one. Same as Tony, I think they wrote her without compromising her. Good for them. Even though I hate that they killed her off, I think that the final scene where she fights Clint is SO WELL DONE. (Except her father wasn’t named Ivan. Not even in the MCU. But whatever. Maybe Markus and McFeely know absolutely nothing about Russian names despite giving Natasha’s full name in CA:TWS. I’ll chalk it up to ignorance. Whatever.) HOWEVER, despite liking Natasha’s character and death scene, the death should not have happened. I don’t know if you’re a comic reader, but if you are, you know that the trip happens where you see the bad guy or a random person or whatever do a Bad Thing. Then later in the comic, when the Bad Thing comes into play again and there seems like absolutely no hope, the hero pulls out One Last Magic Trick. The hero manages to do what the previous person could not. And they Save the Day because they are the hero. And the hero is the one designed to give readers hope that we can overcome all odds, etc. It is literally the entire point of superhero stories to tell the stories that “realistic” books never could. We’ll come back to my complaint with Natasha’s death in a moment.

-Scott, Rhodey, Rocket, Carol were all fine. No complaints. But Okoye.

They made it out in promo that Okoye was going to have a much more significant part. She was barely in the thing. And I think it was a very missed opportunity. We saw T’Challa turn to dust. And we were told Shuri did (although, I would have paid much bigger money to see her alive and operating as The Black Panther. She’s assumed that mantle in the comics before so definitely not out of the realm of possibility.) I wanted them to show us what Wakanda would look like with half its population dusted and its ruler gone. Does M’Baku rule? What do Okoye and the Dora Milaje look like now without their King and who do they protect/defend? They had a great opportunity to show us how the world was faring after five years post-Snap, especially a place like Wakanda that rarely suffers any devastations due to their tech. Now without that protection, how are they handling the aftermath? Enormous missed opportunity.

-Steve. On my god. Where do I even start? Going into Endgame, Steve Rogers had the BEST story arc of anyone in the MCU. But here is where Marvel really shot themselves in the foot. They let the opinions of fans after Civil War severely alter their original plans for this film. (That’s a fact that’s been admitted by former Marvel employees. I didn’t make that up.). After Civil War came out, there were two strong opinions being voiced. 1) Fans who didn’t know the comics didn’t understand Sharon being there and didn’t like her quickly becoming Steve’s love interest. 2) Fans saw the always-present and ever-growing bond between Steve and Bucky and got bolder about their campaign that Steve and Bucky were a couple. Doesn’t matter if you’re for that or not. The fact of the matter is that the idea of them as a couple has A BIG FOLLOWING. I don’t think people were really pushing to see it become a real thing on screen or anything, but the execs at Marvel suddenly did this thing where they all quickly shouted “NO HOMO” really loudly and promptly dropped Bucky from as many scenes as possible. They admitted to creating distance between Steve and Bucky for this reason. And because Steve and Sharon didn’t get the reaction they wanted, they had Steve go back and get back with Peggy.

But let’s recap here and see if any of that makes sense for Steve Rogers.

—He and Bucky were “inseparable on both playground and battlefield.”

—He literally broke the law and went behind enemy lines against orders just in case he had even the slightest chance of finding and saving Bucky from a Hydra base. He didn’t even know if Bucky was still alive.

—He added Bucky to his elite team and they fought side by side until Bucky’s “death.” When Bucky “died,” Steve went from saying, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies” to saying, “I’m not going to stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured.”

—Years later, when he realized Bucky was still alive, he literally stopped mid-fight and dropped all defenses. Later in the same film (on the helicarrier), he refuses to even fight Bucky. He drops his shield and was going to very willingly let Bucky kill him rather than fight him.

— When the Accords become a thing, Steve defied his own friends and 117 countries to get Bucky to safety. And then continues defying them with Bucky at his side because he is determined that Bucky deserves due process and a lawyer and help, not imprisonment.

— He helps Bucky get somewhere safe to hide and recover and visits him there. (Russos said they even discussed showing that Steve and Bucky were in regular contact between CW and IW.)

—He fights the Battle of Wakanda with Bucky and then gets to see him disintegrate right in front of him. It’s built up to be a very big moment. Bucky collapses into nothingness and Steve sits there touching Bucky’s dust remnants and with tears in his eyes. “Oh, God.”

—Then, magically comes Endgame and Steve is in a support group for people lost in the Snap and he’s grieving over PEGGY??? HE NEVER EVEN WENT ON A DATE WITH PEGGY. NOT ONE DATE. He kissed her ONE TIME very briefly 75+ years ago! HOW CAN HE BE SO SURE THEY WERE SOULMATES?! This is just awful writing.

— Then when everyone is brought back through the portals, Steve doesn’t even look for Bucky to make sure he’s there. They fight far away from one another. They never acknowledge the other one. These men have literally looked at each other before thinking that would be the last face they ever saw and then at the Battle to End All Things, they don’t even glance around to see if the other is present.

— Steve literally barely says goodbye to Bucky. He fought and was willing to die for the man, but now he is in such a rush to get back to that one girl he kissed that one time that he forsakes the people he should care about. (Sebastian Stan says he questioned this to the Russos and was actually told to just imagine Steve and Bucky must have talked it over offscreen and Sebastian tried to fight it, but was shot down.)

— Steve jumps in a time machine and goes back to live with his supposed soulmate thus creating an alternate timeline.

I have a real problem with this. A man who has been selfless his entire life chose to go and be selfish for 75+ years instead of helping anyone. This man lives to fight injustices and we are supposed to forget that? In order to believe that he went back to a woman he didn’t know that well and who already had a husband/children. CA:TWS showed that she had lived a happy life. She told him she only regretted that he didn’t get to live his. She didn’t regret them not getting to spend theirs together. And he didn’t seem to either. He was actively moving forward with his life. Thus the reason for Sharon.

Anyway, his entire story arc which is based around him being partners with Bucky and him being selfless got absolutely destroyed when he went back in the time machine and just ran away from everything he had built.

Which seems more likely? That everything in the three Cap films and IW was wrong about his character? Or that Endgame just slapped a big “No Homo” sticker on the script and did whatever they could possibly do to make sure fans could not say that Steve and Bucky were a thing?

Furthermore, I have no problem with Sam becoming the next Cap. I have a big problem with them doing it if the reason was to further the sever the ties between Steve and Bucky.

-And the Russos said that Bucky couldn’t be Cap because his mind had been compromised and that he couldn’t be trusted with a weapon. Which means that Bucky’s whole recovery story was what? A lie? They established that Bucky was really a great guy and not a terrible terrorist. And they said Shuri fixed his mind. And we still can’t trust the guy with the shield?

So either Shuri failed dramatically even though we saw her talent and progress with him in Black Panther and IW, Bucky is now magically “too broken,” or the writers and directors are stupid.  Your call, I guess.

They literally foreshadowed Bucky!Cap in all three Cap films. Bucky handles the shield in ALL THREE FILMS. But now he can’t be trusted with a weapon? Now he’s dangerous? He literally fought the battle of Wakanda with knives and an assault rifle. The shield is a DEFENSE weapon. So this excuse is the flimsiest argument ever and says horrible things about putting trust/faith in people after they’ve been victims and recovered from trauma. Gross.

-At least they FINALLY got Scarlet Witch right. I’ve been waiting to see my favorite Avenger done right for years. No complaints here except it took them long enough.

-Let’s not even discuss how their time travel ideas and theories are a MESS. Plot holes everywhere. (Steve would have created a new time line by going back. Did he just magically put the aether back in Jane? Did he have to kick Red Skull’s ass again on Vormir because I can’t imagine he would just stand by idly. This stuff would take me too long to even add onto here.)

-But back to Natasha. If it’s a “soul for a soul,” then when Steve returned the soul stone, he should have gotten Natasha back. Apparently a lot of fans saw this plot hole because they asked the Russos about it and the response they seriously got was something to the idea of, “No, you can’t do that. It doesn’t work that way.” Which WHY NOT? (Apparently because of poor writing.)

-Also not bitter (yeah right) that Tony got this big deal send off and everyone forgot about Natasha half an hour after she died. Shouldn’t the big send off at the end have been for both of them?!?! Would that have been SO hard?!

-Should I even discuss the fact that for some stupid reason Steve goes back in time and the serum stops working? Why does he age? Thor establishes in AoU that he doesn’t think Steve is mortal. And Peggy says in CA:TFA that Steve’s cells regenerate at four times the rate of average human cells. So he should still be fairly young even if he went back to the 40s. He shouldn’t start to age like a regular human just because he time traveled. He didn’t travel back to before he got the serum. I literally said, “No,” angrily the second they showed the back of Steve when he was sitting on that bench at the end. The other people in the theater turned to look at me and I was already pissed as hell and the movie wasn’t even over yet.

-Nebula having to kill her last self just seemed sloppy and cliche. I wasn’t impressed. That character had been through hell.  She is the one who really turns the tides in in the Infinity Saga comics so for her to get such poor treatment in the film?  SHE should have been the one to kill Thanos.  I know what Thor said, but Nebula literally has a lifetime of torture to make up for and she would have gotten some small consolation in avenging the death of her sister. GUH.  THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY.  SHE DESERVED THIS.

-So we really just backtracked and retconned Gamora’s whole story like that, huh?  I’m sure James Gunn is thrilled. (I’m joking. I’d be annoyed to high heavens if I were him.) Gunn had literally written this character’s story arc and progression and the Russos and Markus/McFeely took over and then literally wrote the story equivalent of “and then they all died” with Gamora’s story.  Such a jerk move and I sincerely hope Gunn finds a way to make GotG Vol 3 work out really well despite this.

I’m sure there’s more I’m unhappy with, but you get my point. I had high hopes for this film and they did not deliver.

It’s been months and I am still so immensely disappointed in Endgame. I expected the people who had written such great films in the past to deliver with another great film and they did not.

It wasn’t a completely awful film though. I thought they did a really good job with Doctor Strange and Wanda (finally!). And I loved Steve lifting Mjölnir! Carol’s short hair made me hot and bothered.  So the film had a few perks. 

I have friends who liked the film until I started pointing out its flaws. Sorry, not sorry. I'm glad Marvel broke box office records, but I'm not going to lie to anyone and say it was with a great film.

They are ----- And look, I never posted it on my blog because the rant ends there mid sentence and was never completed, but I think it’s safe to say I’m not happy.  That great cinematic masterpiece is a mockery of good character arcs. Anyone is welcome to try, but I’m unlikely to change my mind.

ETA: Since writing this, I have found multiple things about Tony’s character that upset me too.

#marvel #avengers #endgame #personal #rant #social media #steve rogers #bucky barnes #thor odinson #natasha romanoff #tony stark #shuri