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hlizr50 · 3 years

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Willow

TW: Nightmare at the beginning is of Gwyn's SA. Nothing detailed, but definitely more than I've done in the past

After a week of cuddling together when they sleep, Azriel and Gwyn spend their first night apart. At least, that's what they try to do. Spoiler alert - it doesn't work.

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She was shaking.

Large, rough hands roamed over her skin. Unwelcome. Unyielding.

Pain.

A scream ripped past her throat.

God, it hurt. It was unimaginable – a searing burn that reached straight into her soul, shattering her into shards so small that surely she would be broken forever.

“Feels good, huh, little red? You’ll never forget me now, will you?”

Gwyn sat up with a shriek, panting, hands frantically pushing away the sheet and the lingering spiderwebs of that unwanted touch. Thin t-shirt cotton clung to her freckled skin, damp with sweat as the nightmares purged from her.

Sucking in deep, heaving breaths, she covered her face with her hands. Hot tears coursed from the corners of her eyes.

She’d had a full week completely unbothered by these demons. A full week, every night spent in the arms of Azriel Aphelah. She had never felt so safe, so at peace.

But now…

She reached to her nightstand and found her phone, raising it to her face to check the time.

2:23am.

“Fuck,” she whimpered, opening her messages and finding the goodnight texts they’d exchanged hours earlier. She froze there, thumbs poised to start typing.

She shouldn’t bother him. She could deal with it. She had plenty of times before. But…

But she wanted him. Gwyn wanted him to be here. With her. She wanted to curl up in his arms and feel his long fingers tracing lines up and down her back, soothing her until she was pieced back together. Teal eyes stared at the phone as she pondered the conversation they’d had when she dropped him off.

“It feels… wrong. After a week, this will be the first night we won’t spend together,” Azriel murmured, leaning in her rolled-down window.

“Aww, you think you’ll survive without me?” she teased, nose scrunching. He flicked it before grasping her nape and leaning in to brush lips over hers.

“If you need anything, Gwyn, you call me. You understand?”

“You worry too much, Azriel,” she scoffed, even as her heart squeezed at his tenderness.

“Promise me, Gwyn,” he demanded, fixing her with a pointed look that screamed ‘I don’t trust you with this’. She tilted her chin up, earning another light kiss.

“I promise, Az,” she whispered.

“Okay. Drive safe, sunshine. Text me when you get home.”

And even with that assurance, even though she had promised, Gwyn hesitated with her thumb hovering over his name, glowing in the night. She didn’t want to be a burden to him. Didn’t want to seem broken or needy.

You don’t have to deal with this alone. Let us be here for you. Let me.

Promise me, Gwyn.

She took a big gulp of air and tapped on his name before bringing the cellphone to her ear as the tone began to sound.

“Gwyn?” The deep, rich voice on the other end seemed to instantly sooth the aching wounds around her heart. Her breath sawed in and out, voice unable to form words. “Gwyn? Are you okay, sweetheart?” The tears began rolling again at the endearment. God, if he knew what one word could do to her. What would he think?

“Az. I… I’m sorry. I didn’t… want to wake you. But-“

“Don’t apologize, sunshine. Just tell me what’s going on. Was it a nightmare?”

“Uh huh.” Gwyn choked on the sob that slowly bubbled up.

“Do you need me, sweetheart? I can come over,” he offered.

“No.” Yes. “No, that’s okay. I just… can we just talk for a little bit?” Gwyn swung her legs over the edge of the bed and rose to her feet before padding out of her bedroom and into the kitchen.

“Of course. What did you do when you got home? Get all that laundry loaded?”

She couldn’t be more grateful for his ability to immediately settle her, to give her exactly what she needed. A quiet giggle escaped her lips as she opened the fridge and fished out her water pitcher.

“I don’t appreciate your insinuation about the amount of laundry I created over the week,” she grumbled, pouring some to help soothe her throat and her mind.

“You had a suitcase full of dirty clothes, Berdara. It is not an insinuation, it is a fact,” a throaty chuckle rumbled through the phone, along with something that sounded like rushing air.

“Are you outside? It sounds… windy?” she asked.

“Nah, I just opened my window. Needed a little fresh air.” Gwyn shrugged as she returned the pitcher to the refrigerator door, finding comfort as he continued to talk as if they were just having a normal, daytime conversation. As if she hadn’t just roused him from deep sleep because she was now somehow too weak to spend a night alone. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t do a single scrap of laundry. I threw my bag on the couch and then just started looking at emails, then got distracted by the pictures Nesta sent.”

She grinned to herself, remembering the texts she’d received from Azriel about them. How he adored her smile. How beautiful she was. There was a picture of her sitting between his legs, her head tilted back laughing. His crooked smile so serenely painted across his handsome face. He’d said it was his favorite. She was inclined to agree, although she was sure it was for a different reason.

“You still in bed?” he asked softly.

“No, I came out and poured a glass of water,” Gwyn replied. “So I’m just sitting on the couch sipping on that. Trying to calm my nerves. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back to sleep in a little bit. Maybe I’ll put on a movie or something.”

“You mean you’ll watch The Little Mermaid for the thousandth time?” he teased.

“Do not judge me! I like singing and I like shiny things, okay?”

“I know, I know. I would never truly judge your comfort movie,” he laughed, the sound a light piercing through the night. “Hey. Speaking of singing, why don’t you sing a song for me?”

“What?” Gwyn balked, eyes wide. As if he were asking her to her face.

“Sing for me, sweetheart. You’re always so joyful and carefree when you sing. Maybe it’ll help.”

“Hmmmm.” Gwyn chewed on her lower lip, pondering. He’d heard her sing before. Many times. But somehow this felt… different. But, much like the decision to call him, she didn’t give herself time to question it.

I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night Rough on the surface but you cut through like a knife And if it was an open-shut case I never would've known from that look on your face Lost in your current like a priceless wine The more that you say The less I know Wherever you stray I follow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans That's my man

Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind (oh) Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneaking in As if you were a mythical thing Like you were a trophy or a champion ring And there was one prize I'd cheat to win The more that you say The less I know Wherever you stray I follow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans That's my man You know that my train could take you home Anywhere else is hollow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans That's my man

A knock sounded at the door and she gasped, turning toward it.

“Az… someone just knocked on the door,” she murmured, heart racing with barely contained panic. The answer she heard didn’t come through the phone, though. She heard it from the other side of the threshold.

“It’s me, sunshine. Now open up and let me take care of you.”

~~~

It wasn’t so much the ringing, but the vibration against the wood of the nightstand that woke Azriel from his admittedly light sleep. He squinted, pale face and teal eyes meeting his bleary gaze. Gwyn was calling, at… 2:24 in the morning? Worry twisted in his stomach as he answered.

“Gwyn?” All he could hear were her jagged breaths on the other end. He had a feeling he knew why she was calling. “Gwyn? Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“Az. I… I’m sorry. I didn’t… want to wake you. But-“

Immediately Azriel was up and moving, tossing a hoodie over his head and stalking toward the door. “Don’t apologize, sunshine. Just tell me what’s going on. Was it a nightmare?”

“Uh huh.” Her voice sounded so strained. As if she was holding on by a thread. Grabbing his keys and wallet he slipped out of the apartment.

“Do you need me, sweetheart? I can come over,” he offered.

“No. No, that’s okay. I just… can we just talk for a little bit?” Azriel thought to pause for a little, but then thought better of it. He had decided that night he found her screaming in her bed that he would not let her suffer alone. And he would hold to that.

“Of course. What did you do when you got home? Get all that laundry loaded?” He tried to keep his tone light, act like they were just having a normal, everyday conversation. As if she hadn’t just called in the middle of the night on the verge of tears. He climbed into his car as quietly as he could. He knew Gwyn would likely protest if she knew he was heading her way when she’d already said he didn’t need to. She didn’t seem to notice when the car started and he began driving down the road, but he was sure she might hear something in the background.

“I don’t appreciate your insinuation about the amount of laundry I created over the week,” she grumbled. A chuckle bubbled up from his chest.

“You had a suitcase full of dirty clothes, Berdara. It is not an insinuation, it is a fact.”

“Are you outside? It sounds… windy?” she asked.

“Nah, I just opened my window. Needed a little fresh air.” Azriel paused for a moment, breathing a silent prayer of thanks that she seemed to accept the explanation. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t do a single scrap of laundry. I threw my bag on the couch and then just started looking at emails, then got distracted by the pictures Nesta sent.”

He had been far more enamored with them than he cared to admit. His chest tightened when he saw her bright smiles and crinkled eyes. And the picture where she was laughing in his arms? It was like gazing into heaven.

“You still in bed?” he asked softly.

“You mean you’ll watch The Little Mermaid for the thousandth time?” he teased. She’d always had a soft spot for the movie, and he knew the music helped lull her to sleep.

“Do not judge me! I like singing and I like shiny things, okay?”

“I know, I know. I would never truly judge your comfort movie,” he laughed. But he needed a way to keep her on the phone until he got to her place. Something that wouldn’t be suspicious. “Hey. Speaking of singing, why don’t you sing a song for me?”

“What?” Gwyn balked. He could imagine the pink staining her cheeks under wide, innocent eyes and couldn’t contain the grin that tilted his lips.

“Sing for me, sweetheart. You’re always so joyful and carefree when you sing. Maybe it’ll help.”

“Hmmmm.” She seemed to contemplate on the other, the silence stretching. Perhaps it was too much to ask.

But even as he had the thought her sweet voice began drifting through the phone. It was a song her didn’t immediately recognize, but it didn’t matter. The melody was pure magic, settling him as he pulled up to her building and dashed out of his car and up the stairs. And when he heard her take a breath he rapped his knuckles on her door.

“Az… someone just knocked on the door.” He heard her voice through the phone. Lowering it from his ear, he called gently from the hallway.

“It’s me, sunshine. Now open up and let me take care of you.”

He heard her gasp and lope to the door. The knob jiggled, as if she was struggling with it. Then the door swung open and there she was, teal eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.

“Az?” she whimpered.

In one step he gathered her in his arms, ushering them into her apartment and pressing the door closed behind them.

“What are you doing here?” Gwyn’s voice was muffled against his chest. He could feel her shuddering, tears soaking into his sweatshirt.

“Gwyn, sweetheart,” he pushed her back gently so her could lift her chin and look into those ocean-deep eyes. “I made a promise to myself that first night that I would not leave you to suffer through this alone. Never again.”

The dam seemed to break, and she launched herself against him, arms curled around his neck and face tucked against his neck. He pulled up at her thighs, carrying her back to her room as her legs wrapped around his waist and her body continued to tremble as she released those pent up emotions.

“Gwyn,” he murmured as he reached her bed. “I need you to let go. For just a second.” She unwound herself from him, and he found himself entranced by her flushed face. Wetness shimmered over her freckles and eyes swirled with emotion. Azriel’s mouth tipped up. “Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” she hiccupped. He lifted his hand and brushed his fingers over her cheekbone before cupping her jaw. Dipping his chin, he captured those full pink lips with his. It was a feeling he could ever get over, never get tired of. He pulled away and crawled over the mattress, sitting himself up against her pillows and spreading his arms to her.

“Come here, sunshine.”

His girlfriend practically leapt into the bed and curled up against him, seemingly trying to press herself as far into him as she could. He wrapped her in his arms, letting his hand stroke down her back and over her shoulder.

“I know I’m no Little Mermaid, but I hope this helps,” he offered, lips pressed to her hair.

“I didn’t realize how much… how much this week had changed things. I feel safe with you. And trying to sleep without you…” Gwyn’s voice trailed off, so he gave her an encouraging squeeze.

“I wasn’t sleeping that well either, if I’m being honest.” He sighed, glad to have her in his embrace again. He hadn’t wanted to leave her earlier, anyway. “What do you think we should do about it?”

Gwyn was quiet against him, and he might have thought she had fallen asleep if it weren’t for her fingers tracing patterns against his toned stomach. Azriel swallowed. He could be the vulnerable one, for her.

“I think… I would very much like it if I had you in my arms every night. If… if you think that might be something you want,” he offered. “I’m not saying you have to move in, but you could if you wanted. I know this is all moving really fast, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. But I also want to make sure you feel safe, to make sure you can sleep-“

“Azriel.” Her voice was soft and sure and he felt her fingers along his jaw. He looked down just in time for the redhead to press her lips against his. When she pulled away she brought up her other hand, cupping his cheeks. “I… it is fast. But I trust you. You make me feel safe and treasured. I would like to spend every night in your arms, too.”

Azriel grinned down at her, the woman who was just his friend little more than a week ago. But she had been stealing his heart, piece by piece, for some time. It had just taken him awhile to admit it. He tenderly brushed his mouth over her forehead.

“Let’s get some sleep, sweetheart. We can figure out the rest in the morning. Okay?” He reached out to grab the sheet and pulled it up over them as they settled into the mattress, Gwyn tucked snugly against him. He could feel the exhaustion weighing on both of them, their first night apart in over a week a clear failure. But was it truly a failure if it brought them back together? Back to this?

“Thank you, Azriel. For knowing how much I needed you. For taking care of me.” The sleep was heavy in her silky voice as she relaxed against him. He let his lips brush over her head one more time.

“You’re not alone, Gwyn. Never again. I’m here now, and I plan on taking care of you as long as you let me.” And he let his eyes close, lulled by the rhythm of her steady breathing – the assurance that she felt safe and was resting. That he was the reason for that. That they would never spend another night apart.

Tag List: @tealnymph-writes @trashforazriel @secretlovelybeauty @meher-sumedha @imsointobooks @positivewitch @tanvee1231 @imwritingthesewords @camreadsum @vikingmagic33 @shisingh @gwynrielsupremacist @sagureads @katiebellf @deedz-thrillerkilller16 @sv0430 @live-the-fangirl-life

#gwynriel #gwynriel fanfiction #gwynriel fanfic #gwyn x azriel #gwynriel supremacy #ao3 #ao3fic #azriel x gwyn #azwyn #gwyneth berdara #azriel shadowsinger

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in-tua-deep · 3 years

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Hufflepuff Five is so good! Are the Hargreeves lives as students as adventurous like the main crew from HP? What about the Ministry of Magic? Would they get involved if someone caught wind of the sibling’s powers that weren’t just magic?

Their lives are SO wack honestly like, they just vibe. They just are going through their magical youth being absolute feral children who don’t trust adults as far as they can throw them while trying to hide their weird funky powers and also ravenously going through magical feats like they’re going out of style

Luther is every sibling’s go-to practice partner because apparently durability extends to being like? Slightly magic resistant? Basically if you hit Luther with a spell it will only be like, maybe half power? So the siblings use him as a magical shield half the time and an experiment the other half and Luther just Suffers Through This until it all goes wrong and he ends up as a werewolf, oops

(But at least Ben is alive! Honestly the only reason Luther wasn’t straight up mauled to death was a combo of his durability, Ben’s proficiency in healing magic, and Ben managing to befriend the acromantulas)

(Luther eventually gets a sense of humor about this after long years of working on accepting himself and constantly threatens to bite his siblings or makes comments about them looking extra tasty when they irritate him)

Allison is a quidditch star, super popular and athletic as all hell. She probably ends up being the Slytherin team captain, honestly. Allison is all glamor and charisma and in her later years of hogwarts has an absolute blast. Allison is very much functional passing so she’s usually the front man to get the professors off their backs, but she also is the front man for a lot of the shit that the family sell for extra spending money. Five and Ben might make potions, but Allison rules the underground black market in slytherin with an iron fist (which gets them into shenanigans involving other kids who Owe Debts)

Diego is on the gryffindor quidditch team and so him and Allison are constantly at each other’s throats on the pitch (Allison sometimes rumors him during matches when she gets within earshot which makes all of the siblings yell at him but she maintains that he gets to use his stupid powers to score points so she should get to as well). Diego gets roped into everything because he’s super soft. He starts a lot of fights because he has vigilante genes so he serves a lot of detentions. His house tolerates him losing them points because the man is a wizard with a quaffle

(Diego and Allison actually practice a lot together, which their respective teams are like HMMMM over but they’re siblings and slytherin knows that Allison would never hesitate to knock Diego off his broom and wave cheerily as he falls to his death, and gryffindor is aware that Diego can, should, and must throw a ball directly at Allison’s dumb face if she gets too close to him because of the Cain Instinct)

(Honestly Allison and Diego do a LOT for interhouse unity, showing that you can still be ride or die for each other while also wanting greatly to kill each other uwu)

Ben is too independent for his own good, which is what gets him into trouble. He likes gardening, and he likes herbs, and sometimes he’s just GOTTA go into the forbidden forest on a full moon to gather these very specific ingredients, c’mon. He also just. Likes spending time in the forbidden forest. He’s Hagrid’s favorite student because he doesn’t bat an eye at all the weird magical creatures, bc homeboy got an eldritch horror in his navel. Ben makes friends with the acromantulas (who have a healthy respect for him after the Horror ate a few of them), patiently avoids the centaurs, and bribes the pixies into giving him their shed wings through liberal application of jam stolen from the Hogwarts kitchens.

You know what Allison is functional passing and Ben is distinguished passing, all their teachers assume that Ben is the most put together of them but they’re WRONG. They haven’t seen Ben at two in the morning yanking Vanya out of ben because if they don’t break into greenhouse four and help those poor fucking plants the first years are tending to they’re all going to DIE and that’s not fair??? ben is single handedly going to save all those poor plants (and all those first year’s grades)

Vanya is just VIBING, he ends up coming out as trans in fourth year and gets to be roommates with Ben which is pretty sweet. If only Ben didn’t drag him into shenanigans?? All the teachers are like “ah yes Vanya, such a quiet boy not like his siblings at all” but Vanya can will should and must climb onto the roof of the astronomy tower to play his violin because He Just Likes To Be Tall. Vanya once punched a snobby ravenclaw kid in the nose and then stared them down saying “the teachers will never believe you.”

Vanya steals Luther to practice his powers with in unused classrooms the most?? he’s durable. he’ll be fine if Vanya blasts him into a wall with his powers lol

Vanya’s solution to all their problems is “do you want me to blow it up with my powers?” or “do you want me to kill them for you?”

(All of the siblings now refuse to duel with Vanya except for Luther bc Vanya is RUTHLESS. He WILL murder his siblings (almost) given the chance. They’re all so lucky that Ben is so good at healing and carries extra vials of healing potions on his person otherwise Madame Pomfrey would be VERY CONCERNED)

Five and Klaus probably get into the most shenanigans? Klaus gets less and less afraid of ghosts the more he runs into nice ones like Fred Weasley. Fred also lovingly nurtures Klaus’s absolutely terrible sense of humor and encourages him to prank the whole school. Klaus knows ALL the secret passageways thanks to Fred, a previous owner of the Maurauder’s map, so he’s just like. Constantly in the walls. He once dropped out of the ceiling to get to transfiguration in time and nobody even commented on it because Klaus is just Like That.

(A few people see Klaus’s boney elbows and knobbley knees and thinks he’s a good target for bullying just because he’s a slytherin and interhouse awfulness absolutely it at an all time high so recently after the war. YEAH his siblings step in and put the fear of god into any bullies, but Klaus fights like a cornered raccoon.)

Five is just way too smart and curious for his own good. He likes to poke around, figure things out, and also make money. Five does people’s homework, charges them for potions or rune work, tutors, dismantles shit in the chamber of secrets, ALSO explores the secret passageways (and finds some that weren’t on the map), is lovingly bullied into Friendship Activities with his housemates, breaks into the other houses’s common rooms for funsies, and keeps getting fed by the house elves who found out he can ‘apparate’ like them (without a wand) and have apparently adopted him against his will

Five is the sibling who has his fingers in like. ALL the pies. and just constantly pops up and drags them into things. Five will be helping Klaus with potions homework then glance up and tell Diego he’s cashing in the favor he’s owed for carving runes into Diego’s knives and that Diego now gets to break into Douglas Eddington’s room to steal back Lana Delwich’s diary so that Five can trade it to Lana for her rare Solomon Babik chocolate frog card which Five can give to Barnaby Beeson in exchange for a Large Distraction of Five’s Choice and a sketchy book on ward breaking which Five needs so he can break into the headmaster’s office to get a confiscated dark magic book that has some information Five needs to alter a potion that he’s probably going to make Luther drink later

Five is the sibling who is like “Ugh, I thought I was trading for some nundu ingredients but now i have a Whole Baby Nundu in the basement :/”

Which, of course, Klaus wants to keep despite the poison breath.

“This is literally one of the most dangerous magical creatures, we are not keeping it.” Luther says, unimpressed. However, he definitely has it cradled in his arms and makes kissy faces at it when he thinks no one is looking. (Apparently baby toxic nundu breath only makes Luther sneeze, so there’s that?)

“If you guys are arrested for smuggling I am not bailing you out.” Is Allison’s only decree about the matter.

Honestly I wouldn’t be shocked if someone DID eventually find out about one of the siblings’ powers - however, they would come to entirely the wrong conclusion about them?? Because this is a world of MAGIC and so everything magical has to have a magical explanation, right???

Luther is durable as all fuck???? Uhhhhh maybe he has some like. Troll blood or giant blood something back in his family line, obviously not something he would ever want the world to know about bc of species-ism

Allison can make you do whatever you want with her words????? Maybe she’s part veela? With that charm appeal?

Five is doing. Wandless apparation?? I mean, that’s rare as FUCK but wandless magic is,,, grudgingly accepted though it’s usually only used for small or very familiar spells and not usually something as complex as apparation but OKAY just sit him down and forbid him from doing it anymore bc boy boutta be SPLICED or some shit

Klaus can. Klaus can talk to ghosts. Who are not full ghosts. Hmm. huh. Maybe it’s?? A family ability??? a super rare one? like being a metamorphagus? (What the fuck??????? what the FUCK???????)

Primarily the kids started off paranoid because they believed that their abilities indicated that they weren’t the same type of magic, and they didn’t want to be returned to their father, and then it progressed into “these abilities might make people scared of us (looking at you allison, with your imperius-ass abilites)” or “we can’t afford that kind of scrutiny or curiosity about our powers (they might find out luther is a werewolf or something idk)” and “if we are ‘desirable’ children with ‘rare abilities’ the government might try to split us up and adopt us into weird pureblood families or something OR might try to lock us up (like where would they even put Ben??)”

honestly if ben ever got found out he’d just deadpan “it’s a curse, hand me the black wormroot would you?” and be like “oh yeah it’s under control i just go vibe in the woods every so often and rip up a tree or something. I think the horror wants to be the whomping willow when it grows up actually, so just don’t get too close when i’m in the horror zone. if you can live with a murder tree on campus you can live with me on campus”

someone sees vanya fuck something up with his powers and is like ???? and Vanya is just like “accidental magic lol”

“aren’t you... a bit... old for accidental magic...”

“accidental. magic.”

#hogwarts au #they get into so many shenanigans op you have no idea #honestly they probably get a lot looser with publically using their powers #except for allison #she keeps a lock on that shit bc it's an azkaban sentence for using imperius babie #also yes vanya is trans in the hogwarts au now sorry i don't make the rules #congrats elliot page for coming out #i'll probably vary between my aus what is going on with vanya but hogwarts au vanya is trans #he shares a room with ben and gets dragged along to help ben break into greenhouses #five has put himself in charge of getting funds for their futures #because they might survive on the hogwarts orphan fund right now but what about AFTER diego #allison is going to become a famous quidditch player so she doesn't care #but the REST of them???#allison is a jock and you can pry that from my cold dead hands #they have less 'take down the government' school shenanigans #more 'magical school that can kill you' type things #and also whatever shady shit five has gotten into #the slytherins have given up keeping five out of their common room #someone: what have you got there?#ben with the horror out gesturing with a tentacle: a smoothie #luther about being a werewolf: i'm a MONSTER #five: and WHERE was this attitude when you ate my last jar of marshmallow fluff?#the siblings are all just. immune to bullshit now honestly #long post #far tua long #Anonymous

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looniecartooni · 3 years

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Sonic 06 Theory: What would have happened if Sonic met Mephiles?

Now now- I know Sonic 06 is a terribly flawed game that needed a lot more time put into it and the love plot between Sonic and Elise toned down or ripped from the script entirely. Everyone wants to hate on this game and compare every single Sonic game after negatively to it (hence why Sega may or may not be dumbing down/ rewriting the entire plot!!!). While I acknowledge it is flawed both in gameplay and story elements, I firmly believe if it was given the time it needed, it would have been perhaps one of the greatest Sonic games out there. I am a sucker for the lines and characters as well as many voice acting scenes and I don’t want to hear a negative opinion about it when I analyze. I haven’t gotten one yet, but I’m just putting it out there. Alright now onto the analysis.

In Sonic 06, Mephiles, who is a main antagonist to Shadow and a manipulator to Silver and Blaze, is never seen interacting with Sonic nor is ever mentioned in Sonic’s story (except when Knuckles points him out like “Whoa! Did you see that? That guy looked just like Shadow!” and well... you know). Its fairly odd and perhaps another mistake of the game we don’t see the speedy blue making a joke of how his faker now has a faker or there can only be one faker after spin balling straight for Mephiles’s head. Or perhaps there is a more interesting way this plot hole can be filled.

I’ve analyzed before that Mephiles is hateful towards humanity because it split him and Iblis from their original body of Solaris and sealed the both away (quite flawlessly meaning perhaps its been tested before) and is a reflection of Shadow in many ways (the shadow of Shadow). We know he wanted to kill Sonic so Elise can cry and free Iblis, but he originally didn’t plan to kill Sonic himself. He sent Silver and quite possibly would have sent Shadow to do the dirty deed before Silver found out the truth and Shadow kept refusing.

The question has rattled in a couple people’s heads-why didn’t Mephiles just kill Sonic sooner and just do it himself? Well, I have 2 possible explanations. One- Sonic and Elise needed to be closer together in order for her to cry and perhaps Silver was a ploy to bring them closer together which given how manipulative Mephiles is probably would be very likely. But I want to entertain explanation two... Sonic would ruin everything (obviously- he always triumphs- but hear me out)... by becoming his friend.

Now after enduring all these paragraphs you may be asking, “What?! Friends?! But Mephiles is evil! Sonic would never-!” and you might be right. Sonic would likely not fall into Mephiles’s manipulation trap and if he knew he was a mastermind behind things, would do anything to stop Mephiles’s plas before its too late. But Sonic is also a very understanding and kind individual. Whenever Shadow (of whom Mephiles reflects) was Sonic’s enemy, usually Sonic ends up being the supportive "voice of reason” to help him realize he’s either wrong or being manipulated by some odd force.

If Sonic understood why Mephiles was acting the way he did (which granted depends on how open-minded he is to accept his enemy as more than just an enemy by pre-establishing a friendship which I’ll get to) most likely he’d try to come up with a solution to where Elise was able to release Iblis and supposedly get Solaris not to want to destroy time. Now of course, in a situation like this, Mephiles would most likely be manipulating Sonic. But how would Sonic be able to actually convince Mephiles/Solaris not to destroy time and thereby making Mephiles avoid Sonic entirely until the end? By the power of friendship!

Mephiles looks like Shadow and is a target of Eggman’s along with Elise (because together they have the power of Solaris). And Mephiles would know that Eggman and Elise would crash to their deaths causing Iblis to be released in a way that makes Silver’s current timeline. These are the elements that could set up for an unlikely alliance.

Now perhaps a better theorist can pull apart my theory by mentioning that perhaps he wasn’t avoiding Sonic but Elise. Unfortunately, at this time I do not have enough dots connected or evidence to prove your theory true so until I make my own, I’ll leave it to you (just be sure to tag me in it. I’d like to see it and maybe put my own take on it).

The fact Sonic learns nothing about Mephiles except like one split second of him manipulating Blaze and Silver kind of makes me think just how much more easily the story would have come together. There are definatley flaws still (like very religious parents probably not liking how a guy named “Mephiles” was helped by Sonic) but the possibility still remains that Sonic could have changed the whole course of 06′s story by simply understanding what Mephiles was after and perhaps changing his world view. Now- that’s also partially manipulated by the fact that I like that kind of story where a hero sees that their enemy isn’t just simply a monster trying to kill everybody and I just see where Mephiles would get hatred for humanity. We’re supposed to see him kind of as this manipulative entity of pure darkness that wants destruction, But how would you feel if someone who used to honor you ran experiments and split you apart to see his dead wife then got sealed away for 10 years from your other half because of the future of what you’d become? Wait a minute... Mephiles said Shadow got sealed away in the future because people feared what he’d become/ was... Hmmmm...

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic 06 #mephiles the dark #sonic

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dreaming-of-assclass · 3 years

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A little art explanation time lol: aka my AssClass (re)designs???

This is party inspired by @/nagisushi and Fumiko, who have their own redesigns. Looking at theirs, I suddenly realized I have a few of my own that I never talked about haha.

But yeahhhhh. Let’s start with my baby, my daughter, my absolute comfort character...

Kanzaki:

I think I’ve spoken way too much already about how I characterize her lol. And it’s pretty different than canon but I like to think I’m saving her wasted potential 🥳 /j

Her canon appearance fits in well with her character and how it’s written in canon. She’s a classic good girl, very nice and sweet and polite. Literally Kanzaki doesn’t even have many defined flaws in canon smh.

Anyways, yeah. She has long pin-straight black hair, innocent doe-like chestnut eyes, pale skin, etc. Just supposed to adhere to Japanese beauty standards. Which is fine but...

Here’s a sample drawing of how I make Kanzaki look in my art. Don’t mind the expression haha, I was just practicing for fun.

Some points:

As you can see, I’ve made her hair a lot more voluminous than it is in canon. I think it’s much more fitting and makes sense, since it almost matches her 2nd year hairstyle

It also just?? Looks visually more pleasing?? Tbh. Her hair didn’t have any dimension in either the manga and anime, which I don’t blame. But I personally prefer it looking more similar to her previous 2nd year style

Her eyes aren’t as droopy and innocent-looking because no offense but fuck that. I just dislike Kanzaki acting and looking perfect and sweet, so that annoys me.

In my redesign hehe, I like to toy with different eye expressions. I think generally Kanzaki would act reserved and distant (esp in the beginning) so her eyes would reflect that kind of melancholy.

And afterwards as she grows into her own person, I love the idea of her having more of a ferocity to her gaze. Like she’ll stare down bullies with that look in her eyes all while having a sweet smile.

Overall I really would like to give her more of her 2nd year style. I think that whole aspect and storyline is what makes Kanzaki such a great and relatable character. To remove it in canon and keep her as the sweet popular pretty girl is such a disservice imo.

So when I draw her, I like to put her in some alternative styles and fashion. She’d probably tone it down a lot compared to 2nd year, but she’d still love dressing that way.

Because you know...contrary to popular belief, your interests don’t have to just be phases. They can be meaningful parts of life that you can choose to keep with you for as long as you want.

Video games are very important to Kanzaki. She has a passion for them. She wouldn’t just discard that time of her life where she gave up academics for them and rebelled to try and gain some agency in her life.

Ok I’m done now, I should stop before I get upset lol

Next is my other precious daughter, none other than our adorable resident vocaloid!!

Ritsu:

Tbh I don’t really have issues with Ritsu’s design itself, I just have one that I prefer. And there are some issues that are tied to the way that her character was handled...

Here is a drawing I made of Ritsu! Isn’t she so cute uwu?

Some points:

Canon tends to have a terrible habit of portraying her innocence in a weird borderline creepy way. Which I heavily dislike.

Ritsu being innocent?? Perfectly fine. But I portray it in more of an endearing way. Such as above with her wearing a cat headband lol.

Most of this is inspired by @/nagisushi who made a lovely redesign of Ritsu that I adored at first sight <3

Giving her a darker complexion? There’s no real reason for it other than why not. It looks so pretty, against the pastel tones that she has too.

Her super wavy hair?? I just LOVE that omg. She looks bright and bubbly.

Also notice that I gave her a huge goofy smile. That’s what I mean by innocent in an endearing and appropriate way.

You can’t see it too well in this pic since I gave her a basic outfit, but I’m really into the idea of Ritsu finding her own indivisible style

In contrast to canon, where she seems a bit generic and dresses in those terrible maid outfits hhhhhhhh

This all ties into the overall theme of her story, which is discovering herself and learning about humanity. Which means knowing who she is as a person now, since she’s not being controlled any longer.

(HMMMM both of my fav girls and they share this rather major theme in their story....Zaina are you ok?)

Anyways yeah to wrap this up before I start raging at 3am, let’s all just let Ritsu be a kid. Let her go through a million phases of styles, ranging from emo to VSCO to try and figure out what suits her. Let Koro and 3-E be super supportive in all this.

Let her be her own individual rather than just some plot tool to support the cast when it’s convenient.......

Ritsu being bubbly, charming, and goofy is everything. I love the idea of her being unintentionally wacky and 3-E just goes along with it.

That’s it for now because I realized I don’t have the right doodles/drawings for some of my other faves lmao. But there will be more~

#assclass #ansatsu kyoushitsu #assassination classsroom #post #yukiko kanzaki #ritsu #meta #man...I never realized until now how similar they are tbh #you can literally just sum up this post #as me demanding for agency to be given to to these female characters who were done dirty #💀🤧🤧🤧#head full many thoughts

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katsulia · 4 years

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Bokuto coming home after practise

Requests and matchups are open !

AN : First writing and English isn't my first language

- It was Friday night and Y/N was at Bokuto's to spend the weekend together. - She had just finished the gratin dauphinois and was about to put it in the oven just before he arrived - Seeing that she had some time left, Y/N went to take a quick shower. - Just as the water had just started to flow Bokuto entered the apartment shouting "I'm home! "and left his gym bag at the doorway - No answer and only a smell coming from the kitchen meaning Y/N still had to be there. - He expected to find her asleep on the couch, but the sound of water led him to the bathroom - Usually he would come home and shower and then go straight to eat dinner with Y/N. - But apparently that wasn't going to be the case tonight. - The bathroom door was unlocked and he didn't hesitate to come in - As he started to undress he went talking about his day as does when he comes back to Y/N - "Hey Y/N today Tsum-Tsum managed an incredible service but..." - But Y/N, eyes closed, was surprised to hear his voice - "Bokuto!!!! You scared me! Warn me next time! » - Without waiting for an invitation he opened the shower curtain and slid his head - "But I did when I got home and announced I was here and you didn't come to welcome me" - Quickly before he turns into an emo mode again, Y/N took him by the wrist so that he fits totally in the shower. - She turned to face him and pointed the shower-head at his skin - "Do you want to use the lemon body wash? I saw you bought a new one. » - "Yes! I wanted the same one as you! I really like the smell of your hair when you put your head on my shoulder and I wanted it to be anchored to me! But I'm not sure it's the same, I was in the men's department and there wasn't much choice." - His explanation made her burst out laughing and warmed her heart just thinking about the purity of the human being in front of her. - "It's normal Bokuto, I use shampoo on my hair, it's unlikely you'll find the same in the men's shower gel department" - His face demonstrated his incomprehension before he quickly regained his smile... - "Well I don't care now that you're here you can share your apple scent with me." - Y/N showed a small smile in front of Bokuto's innocence. - She took her own shower gel, although not with an apple scent, and put some in the palm of her hand before spreading it on the body of Bokuto. - Her hands, which looked ridiculously small on Bokuto's chest, began to foam the shower gel on contact with the water. - She delicately ran her fingers over his well-defined abs before moving up onto his arms - Bokuto softly hummed to the feeling it gave him and to all the attention he was receiving. - Y/N finally rinsed him with warm water - "Voilà! And now I assure you we share the same smell, and I'm not talking about your sweat, of course." - Without warning, he lifted her out of the shower with a single blow - He took one of the towels beside the sink and wrapped her in it like a child and then rubbed it frantically to dry her skin - " So sweet my baby! It makes me even hungrier just seeing you like that ... kind of looking like a chicken-cheese wrap hmmmm ... What are we eating tonight ? Hinata was talking about croque-monsieur today at practice..." - He was already lost in thought and salivating at the image of any plate - Y/N could only smile at the sight of Bokuto all excited like a little child

#Bokuto x reader #haikyuu x reader #Bokuto koutarou x reader #haikyuu writing #haikyuu imagines #Bokuto imagines

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justanothersyscourse · 3 years

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ngl the brain imaging that can “tell” if you have did high key terrifies me? like, what the hell would i do if it gave a negative result? the only explanation is my psychosis goes a lot deeper than i thought but at that point i feel like psychosis induced dissociation that creates alter-like symptoms is like... crazy or something. i have no idea. it terrifies me

Anon :( No. Don’t do that to yourself.

It is a slightly scary concept? Yes. Can/will it bring about some self-doubt? Absolutely. But what DOESN’T bring about self-doubt? All it takes for me is looking in the mirror to be like, HMMMM, is there any chance I’ve been faking this my whole life?

I made a post a few... weeks? I don’t know, time is meaningless. A few weeks ago about not being “hot” enough to be mentally ill-- EVERY. SINGLE. TIME I don’t like my body, I think I’m faking everything EVER because there’s no way I’m attractive enough. I’m not a “manic pixie”, therefore, I’m a huge fakie faker faking everything for the world.

Self-doubt is said to be good because it means you’re not faking. If you were faking, you’d know.

Seriously, don’t let it get to you. I’m going to lay down some straight facts-- first off, the chances of this technology ever being used in our lifetimes with any frequency is slim, and chances are, you’ll never be in one of those machines.

Second, it has a 74% success rate. It’s not perfect, and it can be wrong. It was wrong for 26% of those people. That’s a BIG number.

Third, I don’t think it’s been tested on OSDD yet. There are differences between DID/OSDD, and there could be BIGGER differences than we know-- some of those differences could be the reason for that 26%. Who knows. They don’t, yet, but because of that...

Last, AND ABSOLUTELY MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you, or anyone else with DID/OSDD “failed” the scan, I am never going to NOT believe you. You will never not be welcomed here and I will always treat you the exact same way.

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fangirlauthor · 4 years

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All Sold Out Chapter Two

It’s a little short and slow, sorry, still setting up for stuff.

Mako had spent the rest of yesterday with Bolin and Opal, filling them in on everything that had been going on in his life - which wasn’t much - and listening to tales of their travels and their more immediate plans for the future. Today, he was back at work. Since he had been assigned to selling Wu something from the more… expensive section in the catalogue yesterday, that meant getting on Prince Wu’s good side was his primary goal today. At least, that’s what his boss told him was the primary goal - there was some technique for selling things to rich people he was supposed to be participating in, something involving a mutual exchange; the company hosts the rich person, feeds the rich person, and drives the rich person places, and maybe the rich person will buy something and convince others to do so as well.

Unfortunately, convincing someone empathetically inclined to buy something when you had the social skills of a banished duck was difficult; as such, Mako was experiencing nerves of a degree that he hadn’t experienced for years. On the plus side, he had experienced them before, so he was able to push them to the side and ignore them.

It’s a business meeting disguised as a social interaction, Mako thought, trying to convince his frantic heartbeat that there was nothing to be panicking about. Well, besides the potential for rain - gray clouds were once again on the horizon, and this time they looked meaner than before. Besides, Mako hadn’t brought an umbrella, having thought the weather was going to be clear, and he didn’t want to wreck one of his two suits he had for huge business meetings. Not that he’d had any to wear the outfit to before now, but still. No need to wreck a perfectly good suit.

-----

The Prince was late. Mako had been expecting him to be here twenty minutes ago, barring any bad weather, but Prince Wu still hadn’t arrived, and neither had the rain.

Mako would have considered both fortunate occurrences - the absence of rain for certain - if Prince Wu’s lateness hadn’t meant that he had to stand outside a restaurant in a suit like an idiot.

Mako was contemplating contacting the Prince or his bodyguard - if he actually had one - to point out that he was late, when an overly fancy-looking car pulled up to the restaurant. Rolling his eyes, Mako adjusted his posture, ignored the flutter of nerves, and prepared for dinner with Prince Wu.

----

Mako took a seat at the table, located in the far back of the restaurant, lit with cozy, warm lighting, creating a homely effect when combined with the checkered tablecloth, cushioned seating, and dark wood tables. Prince Wu was already sitting down, looking like he had been walking through a hurricane. His hair was a mess, his tie wasn’t straight, and his suit looked like it had never been ironed in his life. The Prince had already apologized profusely for his appearance - he’d run into some difficulty getting ready, apparently - and he had apologized enough and with plentiful explanations that Mako knew the Prince wasn’t often looking nearly as disheveled as he did now.

Mako hadn’t had enough time to ask why the Prince was looking so disheveled, however; the waitress had been buzzing around them like a fly, and Prince Wu was perfectly content to chat with her for the amount of time it took Mako to order a calzone. Of course, that inspired Prince Wu to actually look at the menu for the first time since they had arrived at the restaurant; it was still another ten minutes before the Prince finally ordered his food.

Mako was quickly learning that the Prince, though he did try to be on time and not be a hassle, was, in fact, had a tendency to create large hassles and do things on his own time. It was, Mako thought, unfortunate that he spent the entire time apologizing for it, since it only delayed whatever it was he was apologizing for not doing.

It was a bit annoying, to be honest, but if the Prince was aware that Mako was annoyed, he didn’t let on.

“So, Mako,” said the Prince once he had finally ordered his food. “What do I need to know about you?”

Mako, confused, hesitated for a moment before asking, “What do you mean, what do you need to know about me?”

“I mean, I’ve spent more than five minutes with you and I know nothing about you!” said the Prince. “Do you have siblings? How long have you been working for Top Innovate? What’s your favorite item in their catalogue? Do you like chocolate? How old are you?”

Mako blinked in the face of Wu’s intense stare and rapid-fire questioning, managing to collect himself long enough to say, “Yes, five years, the mega coffee machine, yes, twenty-four.”

“Hmmmm,” Prince Wu said. “Interesting.”

Mako refrained from rolling his eyes as the Prince slurped up a twist of noodles from the bowl the waitress had set in front of him, choosing instead to ask, “And you? What are your answers to those questions? Except for the working for Top Innovate one, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Prince Wu nodded his head. “No, no, that fancy desk that folds, yes, 22.” When he was finished, the Prince beamed, nodded his head in confirmation, and continued to eat his noodles.

Mako nodded his head slightly and proceeded to eat the remaining slices of his pizza. Most of the information he had just learned was useless, but the Prince’s favorite item in the Top Innovate catalogue... that could be useful. So it happens, that it was at that moment that Mako had an idea – if he asked questions similar to the favorite catalogue item question, then his job might get a whole lot easier. He’d have to throw in some general personal questions as well, something to make it seem like he was simply curious. It wouldn’t be a big deal if Prince Wu discovered that Mako had been feigning curiosity, but Mako decided that playing the safe game was the prime choice at the moment.

So Mako forced himself to pay attention to the Prince’s chattering, to listen to his useless talk, and to ask him questions – some actually things he wanted to know, some not. Patience was key, here. Patience was key.

Masterpost Chapter 1

#mako #wu #prince wu #mako x wu #wu x mako #wuko #legend of korra #lok

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painted-starlight · 4 years

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The Young Iduna Model is the Moana Model With her Brown Skin Removed

Warning: Anti-Frozen, discussion of whitewashing, colorism

Note: Don’t pull that clownery saying “people get light over time uwu” bullshit on me. I’m a light skinned black woman and I say you’re full of colorist dog shit.

These characters were designed by a billion dollar corporation with thousands of artists. They promote/represent images of cultures and market them to wide audiences and they have a monopoly.

And by the way, humans can look like anything because genes are WEIRD. But you can’t convince me you have anything in common genetically with a cartoon character created by a huge corporation that poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the design.

Elephant in the Room Time

So...they basically put light skin on a Moana model for Young Iduna, didn’t they?

There are few reasons I can only speculate on this frankly, horrible decision, but I’m going to explain how I know this.

Here is the model of Moana. The resemblance to the Young Iduna model is especially noticeable with the hair texture, style, and facial proportions.

Here is “Child Iduna.” First trailer (brown skin), promotional image (light brown skin) #1 and #2 (pale skin)

What was everyone’s first response? “Hey, that’s Moana!”

Hell, what tipped me off what the fact that “Iduna” had almost identical hair texture to Moana and facial proportions. Like, adult Iduna doesn’t have wavy hair.

Her bangs are straight. In fact, you could argue they don’t even share the same hair color until the final promotional trailer with the pale skin version.

Also, the first and second image supposedly come from the exact same scene, however, the model’s skin color is different (don’t say it’s the light. It’s not.) suggesting that they rerendered the scene after making adjustments to the model.

So what I’m saying is that they used the older Moana model, shrunk it down, and then pasted pale skin on her while reducing her racialized features.

Yes, white passing Indigenous people exist. But it’s important to note that these characters were designed by PEOPLE in a CORPORATION. Every aspect of their design is scrutinized and they go through multiple iterations before the final product. That doesn’t happen with genetics. People look how they look by chance.

And yes, I know the whole subplot that was told and not shown about Iduna’s past through exposition-y ice sculptures. That is not the argument here.

I am asking why specifically did they use the Moana model for Young Iduna and removed her skin color. Why couldn’t they make an Iduna model from scratch?

Literally why??

(Below is speculation btw from my observations)

Theory: The Iduna Plot Was Last Minute

I think that the “Iduna is the girl who saved Agnarr” was last minute. It could even be possible that the girl was an entirely different person altogether. It seems really strange, considering how important this plot element is. But it’s the only explanation that actually makes sense and why this whole plot point was both reliant on exposition, telling things to the audience, and believing that putting light skin on a Moana model would, in any situation, be ok.

Either that or the writers were struggling to keep it in the movie because they wanted to bring both parents in instead of just Agnarr and didn’t bother giving Iduna a child model (but they sure gave Agnarr a unique one, hmmmm.....) until they got the go ahead.

Theory: They Didn’t Care (all the female characters are based on the same Rapunzel Model, so in the studios’ eyes it makes them interchangeable)

It’s also possible that they believed that since Moana was modeled from the Rapunzel model, and so were Elsa and Anna and Iduna, that it wouldn’t be a stretch to use the Moana model for young Iduna. Not caring about the implications.

Observations: Promotional Trailer Inconsistencies

One thing I think happened during production is that they changed the Moana model’s skin color for Iduna, but not how the light is reflected on it for the promotional materials.

They most likely used the information from the previous model (which was brown skinned) because they pretty much only changed a few facial/proportional features and pasted it into the Frozen 2 movie.

Seeing this, they kind of shrugged it off until they took a look at the continuity between young Iduna and her older self. She became light skinned and this looked like whitewashing (which it is).

So for the next round of promotional materials, they played around with making the Young Iduna model as light as possible without doing too much work. At least, until they decided just to erase the color information on the model altogether, start from scratch and give her very pale skin.

This is probably why the models vary so much in skin tone. Because it was done without a shit given, and since Iduna as a child wasn’t seen up close in the movie itself for long periods of time (other than in ice sculptures, and a blue tinted vision in “Show Yourself” which itself has both the brown skinned and light skinned models used interchangeably in the sequence, and a poor attempt to hide them under a color filter) that their trailers “didn’t count.” In fact, the reason I can even go this in depth is because of the wide availability of the promotional trailers.

Final Thoughts

For fucks sake, Disney. Stop using the Rapunzel model for every goddamn female character, especially GIRLS OF COLOR. Rapunzel is WHITE. No character of color should have a white base model, EVER.

(note, 5/12/2020: Many animation productions often use a simple base model for making background characters or ones with little screen time. I am not against this method in practice. However, white characters are often prioritized and it can be very obvious when changes to characters of color sharing the same model have consistently eurocentric features or little variation, such as characters like Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6 and Moana.

It is also important to note that it doesn’t seem like a simple base model was used, but Rapunzel’s actual finished model to create characters like Honey Lemon, Moana, etc. and make small changes rather than make a character model from scratch. Basically, the creators took a white finished model, made a few tweaks and used it for main characters of color. This practice robs them of their own unique models and prioritizes white base models.

Characters with main screentime status like Moana should have their own unique models. But it’s obvious that her model is basically Rapunzel’s finished design with a few tweaks. And this, in itself is a problem.)

This whole situation is just...how do they keep fucking up like this?

When Disney does this, what it conveys to me is that they are blatantly admitting that they are reusing the R//apunzel model and that they think that their audience will pretty much accept anything they do.

Moana’s model is supposed to be a girl of color. And it really irritated me that they decided to use the Rapunzel model, make a few changes, and then use this as the base for her design in the first place. It’s really obvious.

But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s still supposed to be Moana. Just using this character model and lightening her skin seems really disrespectful too?? Like they just pasted light skin on an Indigenous girl whose model is supposed to be brown?

#anti frozen #does this even count as tangled crit #nah

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mearcatsreturns · 4 years

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From Illusion to Reality, or Luka in ER’s Seasons 10-12

A couple days ago, I got a lovely anon who wanted me to talk about Luka’s journey from season 11 to 12. I may have gone overboard and expanded it. If you’re not interested in the whole, hella long post, I’ll summarize it in a couple pictures:

I’ll put it under a cut, because of how long it is, but I’d love comments and dialogue!

To talk about Luka’s trajectory from season 11 to season 12, I think it’s very important to consider season 10 Luka. His “coming back from the dead” served as a sort of topical soft reset on his character--at least to him. That is, while it undoubtedly deeply affected him and those around him and does seem to have led him to important realizations, it didn’t actually change his personality or his desires and loves.

Firstly, when Luka comes back from Africa, sick and with another woman, it’s still readily apparent that his love for Abby hasn’t gone anywhere. He might be able to deal with it better and not self-destruct to the same extent, but at least initially, what was Gillian (and later Sam, but that was more involved)? He’s the same Luka at work, too, though the outward trappings seem different. He still cares about caring for his patients, though he’s still in crisis mode. He has the same disregard for bureaucracy, though it’s about treating as many patients as quickly as he can to help the largest number of them instead of spending all his time with his patients, etc.

It’s so interesting, because for the first half of season 10, Luka is torn between wanting to go back to Africa--where he even said things seemed simpler--and moving forward, probably with Abby. He legit lights up around her and is looking out for her constantly, and the only reasons they didn’t get together then were fear, some small misunderstandings, and a misguided sense of propriety. Then you can see it happening again--Luka backs off from Abby because he seems to think she’s hung up on Carter and because she’s his student. It’s not as hopeless as before, so he doesn’t spiral out of control, but he legitimately does the same thing he did in season 9 on a smaller scale. Sam thinks Luka is hot, he’s good with Alex, so she makes a pass at him, and Luka passively goes along with her making a move. Sound familiar? Yeah. The biggest difference is that Luka has realized that he was deeply unhappy with non-monogamy, so even though he falls back into sleeping with Gillian pretty quickly (after he forgot about her visit, lmao), when Sam is willing to grant him the opportunity for even a little bit of commitment, he takes it.

Relatedly, Alex is a huge part of his journey in season 10 and 11. Or rather, Luka’s continuing longing for family and fatherhood. We’ve seen that from pretty much the beginning, and the only time it didn’t seem to be a huge driving force for him was with Abby. When he can’t have Abby and his love for her is thwarted, it’s like he looks for that kind of fulfillment from this idealized notion of family and being a dad again (see: Nicole, Sam). It’s not surprising to me that as Luka thinks Abby is unavailable and uninterested in him, he gets close to child...who has a single mother who thinks he’s good-looking.

It’s not a good fit. Abby describes hers and Carter’s relationship as doomed from the start, and you can easily talk about Luka and Sam the same way. I could do a more Doylist explanation, but there’s plenty of in-universe material to say this--they and their relationship are plagued by problems from the very beginning. They’re never on the same page, any of them--not Sam, Alex, or Luka. Luka has a hard time articulating what he really does want from them, probably because he doesn’t want to fully examine that for himself. After all, if he has a good woman who cares about him and child he can be a father figure to--though not a father--why would he not be happy? Sam seems to want stability and sex, and Alex...Alex wants a friend. So yes, while there are a lot of external issues that come up, the primary impediment to Luka’s happiness with Sam and Alex (and for them as well!) is internal.

As we go into season 11, we see, strangely enough, that Luka can’t be around Abby anymore while he’s with Sam. Like, @somekindofflowergirl and I were looking and thinking about it, and we’re not sure he’s capable of talking to Abby when Sam is around until season 12 (not for more than a few sentences about whatever case they’re working on, at any rate). He starts brushing her off more and more, culminating in him all but dismissing her in 11.02 (shockingly, right after he tells Sam he loves her. Almost like there’s a correlation there, hmmmm). Instead, he focuses on his friendship with Carter and his relationships with Sam and Alex.

As the season goes on, Luka gets more miserable. Carter gets caught up in his own issues, Kerry and Susan are too busy to be there for him, and he’s busy pushing Abby away. But the tension is creeping into his home life, too. Alex lets him know in no uncertain terms that he will never view him as a father. Sam at first drags her feet about moving in with Luka, and then it seems like they have maybe a month or two of living before it sours and never recovers. He just...flounders again. Not as severely or apparently as in season 9, but he’s clearly looking for something again by the end of season 11.

Luka and Sam are on the precipice of breaking up at the end of season 11, but they prolong it for a variety of reasons. On the surface, it’s for Alex’s sake. In reality, it’s because they both want things from their lives that they get all the trappings of together, even if neither of them is happy with it. I mean, it gets to the point where they can hardly talk at work or home, and Sam even says she doesn’t think they should be together. Then the situation with Steve, Alex’s birth father, blows up and worsens things, and Alex runs away.

When they’re in the middle of nowhere in this crisis, Luka and Sam actually have to confront how poorly their relationship is going. Well, Sam does, though Luka is still feeling that fear of not having anything left if he loses Sam and Alex completely. But Sam says it eventually--they’ve been pretending for a long time. The truth is out, even when Alex is back.

Luka, for all his many good qualities, does not handle life deviating from his plan or idea very well. He just straight up goes into denial (again, a recurring theme with him).

BUT he also does something very right. He lets Abby back in. In season 12, a year after he blows her off, she tentatively reaches out again, just wanting to know if he’s okay after a case. She fully expects him to brush her off again, and you can see the surprise, delight, and relief when he opens up to her. And it’s interesting, because he tells her that he doesn’t want to talk about it with Sam, and that’s probably why Sam is moving out.

Luka tries to talk to Sam in lockup, though he doesn’t offer any changes, which is fairly telling. And he says something even more telling: “I don’t want this to be one more thing I messed up.” He’s not so afraid of losing Sam herself or Alex, he just doesn’t want to have messed up at love (Abby) and family (his kids and even Danijela) again. He wants to be husband and dad because he remembers being happy in those roles, and even though Sam and Alex didn’t give him that, they gave him a lesser version of it. And since our Catholic boy loves rolling in that guilt and self-blame, he seems to think he should just take what he can get since he’s not worthy of more. When Sam and Alex can’t and won’t even give him crumbs anymore, he...I don’t know. He doesn’t really fall apart, because his heart isn’t really in it. It hasn’t been for a long time, if it ever was in more than a performative way (and Luka, for better or for worse, is not a fake-it-til-you-make-it kind of person).

Once again, though, Abby is there at a moment where he’s willing to be vulnerable. And he says something so honest about what he wants: to be seen (12.03, “if it were me...would anyone know who I am?”). Abby’s yes, combined with her just being there for him unasked, seems to immediately grant him peace in that regard. He is seen and he is cared for.

Luka never shows any signs of having feelings for Sam again, though he still looks out for her and Alex if they seem to be in trouble, but it’s no more than he’s done for friends and even strangers. In fact, they’re so back to friendly and professional by the next episode that it’s annoying and counter-productive when Eve tries scheduling them for different shifts.

Something else seems to have happened: Luka doesn’t rush off into an ill-advised romance or series of hookups. He isn’t pining, but he’s not frantically searching for family and fatherhood again, either. Given that each episode has them having a nice scene together that emphasizes their growing closeness and comfort together, it isn’t unreasonable to think that Abby is part of this. He isn’t pushing for more, but that’s not who he is with her, not after their first relationship. If friendship is all she can offer, that seems to be enough for him. In reality, it’s Abby being enough for him, but we’ll get to that later.

At that same time, one of Luka’s foils, Victor Clemente, arrives. Clemente exists narratively to be a catalyst for action in Luka’s life (which is why his role is such a mess once he’s accomplished that, but I digress) and it works like a charm. They butt heads from the start, and it’s the prospect of Clemente running the ER that goads Luka into applying for the position of chief. Kerry was right, it’s not his style at all, but also? A way for him to be everyone’s dad. (And yes, he’s better at it than Clemente would have been.) It gives him another marker of professional success, even if his personal life isn’t where he wanted it to be. As Luka’s foil, Clemente is also perceptive while Luka is oblivious. As such, he seems to see right through Luka and Abby to their connection, and he needles both, seemingly to get at Luka. It works, and as Abby says in 12.07 after their child patient dies, Abby ends up in the middle of it.

Then, at the end of The Human Shield, Abby goes to Luka. This time she isn’t reaching out to him and going to him to support him, but to justifiably yell at him for putting her in the middle of a conflict between him and Clemente. But more importantly, Abby went to him and told him how she felt. She was vulnerable with him. And that...that was something he’d rarely seen, and not in a long time. Finally, that having woken him up to hope once again, he did something he hadn’t done in a long time: he took action. And that was something he didn’t do much, mostly with Abby, and he starts exploring it more throughout season 12.

I’m not going to turn this into a Luby meta (though I could also do that if anyone wanted, ahahaha), but 12.07-12.10 is Luka stepping forward and making choices. For love of Abby. He doesn’t push her for more so much as very obviously hope for it and ask, in his way, if she’s as in as he is.

This extends to his professional life too! He (very sexily and pettily at the same time) takes charge of his new position and fires someone his first shift as chief. It was the right thing to do and he did it, but it wasn’t a passive reaction to something happening to him.

Then at the end of 12.10, Abby drops the bombshell that she’s pregnant. Once he recovers from the shock of that, he does seem to spring into action, but...reserved action? He isn’t as proactive as he’s been so far, but he is also scared out of his mind that he’s going to lose Abby. Here he is, seemingly with everything he’s wanted for YEARS within reach. Not just a family, but Abby. And not just Abby, but a baby with her. But he also has years of experience with Abby, and he knows her fears, and he doesn’t want to lose her by scaring her off or pushing her for something she doesn’t want or that would make her miserable.

So Luka lets Abby know what he wants but leaves it up to her, while also making one big mistake: he’s not clear about how much he loves her. He showed her with the compass, with gestures and moments, but he doesn’t seem to realize how much Abby needs the words. This is also typical Luka.

I love If Not Now (12.11) as part of his journey, because it’s when you finally see Luka realize, if he didn’t before, what matters most to him. He goes to Abby and tells her in no uncertain terms that it’s not about the baby, that he wants her no matter what. And that’s HUGE. Family and fatherhood have been a motivator for him for at least 4 or 5 of his 6 years on the show so far, so for him to say “yes, that would be nice, but Abby is the important one to me” represents a big shift. It gets swept over a bit in the subsequent and also life-changing news that she wants them to have the baby together and hasn’t had an abortion.

Most of the back half is solidifying what’s come before for Luka. We see him become more assertive professionally. He dotes on Abby and shows his commitment to her over and over, though it is interesting that in spite of how obviously in loved and devoted he (they, really) is, he doesn’t explicitly state it. I kind of think he’s worried that pushing for that, for everything that he wants, is asking too much of the universe. After all, he has the woman he loves and they’re having a baby together.

You also see his compassion, not just with the patients, but in how he breaks his and Abby’s news to Sam. I don’t know that it was better for him to have told her, but it was a kind impulse borne out of a desire to do the right thing, and she knew that.

Things get interesting again in Strange Bedfellows (12.18), when Luka tells Abby he’s thinking about going to Darfur to help Carter. We also find out Luka hasn’t told Carter about him and Abby or the baby. It seems a little odd of a choice for him, honestly. Not the keeping Abby and him and the baby a secret--I think that’s more compassion when he seems to have picked up on Carter and Kem maybe not doing so well and their continued mourning of Joshua--but the idea of going to Darfur. He’s new enough in his position as chief that it wouldn’t have been allowed, for starters, so I don’t think he’d have been able to go. And maybe that’s it--it was something he could do to help and make the world a better place for his baby (shoutout to @somekindofflowergirl again for this theory), and he wanted to try to go but probably knew he wouldn’t be able to. Also, he’s kind of an idiot sometimes, and one who sometimes loses track of the details when looking at the big picture. Which he did big time.

But Abby, as she often does, grounds him and lifts him up at the same time. She makes it clear that he can go, but that she wants him there and wants everything with him. And that’s it for Luka. He’s already made it so he could stay, but you can see the light of “oh, maybe I can have everything I’ve yearned for” go off. The next couple of episodes show them settling into their commitment even more.

Then the finale of season 12 comes (though I’m going to carry this through 13.02, as that feels like the real end of the season to me), and they’re clearly domestic and cute. For all Abby saying they don’t live together/hinting broadly for more clarification, they clearly have built a home together. I think Luka is trying to get her to realize she lives with him without saying it, which is a strategy, if not the best one. The second Abby voices her uncertainty, though, Besotted Idiot Luka jumps straight to saying they should get married, instead of, you know, telling Abby he loves her and wants to move forward with her.

I think his reaction is another example of him poorly handling...it’s not rejection, it’s just they’re coming to the same thing from different perspectives. They do affirm their love, and it’s clear they would have dealt with things had they not been interrupted by everything that ensued.

But interrupted they were. Abby’s abruption, Joe’s birth, Abby’s hysterectomy, Joe’s close call...what an interruption.Luka makes it so clear throughout that he’s there for Abby, that she’s his family. He obviously loves Joe and is devastated that he might be in danger and that they won’t be able to have a bigger family (though not as devastated as Abby, interestingly). That said, he renews his proposal to her and is CERTAIN of their love, even with the strain and uncertainty of Joe’s life.

Within a couple of years, he’s moved from trying so hard to look like he had everything together and trying to force it to having everything he’s wanted and more, even with the thorns and pain. It’s so much more than he could have hoped for, and he is more hopeful and settled.

#luka kovac #Luka Kovač #er #nbc er #luby #let's get meta #my apologies for typos and stuff #but I am tired #and full of love for Luka #the tl;dr is that it's a switch from the illusory and passive to reality and the more active/assertive #and it's absolutely intrinsically tied to him and Abby

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marriael · 4 years

Text

Tagged by @ultkyu

1. If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why? I relate a lot to cats. Sleeping in the sun all day is truly The Dream. Kind of being an asshole because you just want someone to give you attention.

2. What two anime characters or kpop idols are your type? Sugawaraaaaaaaa Koushi

I'm not going to say Park Jisung but know that's who it it and that's who I'm thinking of

3. Are there any writers or artists (art or music) that inspire you? If so, list 5.

Okaaaaaaaaaaaay. Dodie Clark. I think my voice is kinda breathy like hers so if she has so many fans I have some faith I can sound good.

Terry Pratchett. Haven't read a single book of his but everything about him is legendary so it doesn't even matter.

How could I forget the one and only Rick Riordan? Started a story about white straight demigods (who still had ADHD and dyslexia mind you) and expanded it into this whole epic world of actual diverse people. And no publisher could tell him no because by that point he was a literary giant!

Say what you will about the Eragon series but the author started the series when he was 15. Every single book is massive, the fantasy world is incredible. Aka I hope to achieve even 1/5 of what the Eragon series has in whatever I will write

Finally 😯😮😲 Bang Chan. This needs know explanation. If you know about him you know how amazing he is

4. If you could play any instrument, which would you play? Aaaaaaaah I'll go with piano because a lot of things you learn there is a lot of general music stuff and that would reeeally help me

5. If you could choose one anime to live in, which one would you choose and why? DAMN. Ok first of all 99% of anime takes place in Japan aka not anywhere near me 🤧 RWBY seems kinda dope anfd I'm hoping if I grew up in that world I'd survive

6. This is a bit of an old DeviantArt fic trend, but if you received an Android of your favourite character from any anime/show/etc., who would it be? Can I cheat because they’re twins? I obviously haven’t shut the hell up about Alphinaud and Alisaie Leveiller from FF14. If I had to choose one of them. Feck. I’m probably gonna go Alisaie, she’s just such a queen.

7. Is there anything you would like to do but haven't because your friends/family didn't want to do it with you? I don't think so... I'm not really the type to want to go somewhere or go do something weird in the street or anything. Some of my friends and family are more likely to do it first tbh

8. What's your favourite flower? Big fan of lilacs since I remember seeing a lot of them in my childhood city

9. What are some of your hobbies? I like to draw, write, read, dance, sing, watch anime, play video games.

10. If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island with nothing but the clothes on your back and a bag, what would you put in the bag? Hmmmm I guess some food and maybe some flint? I have no idea how to survive on an island so I have no idea what I'd need 😬

@kaptain-k-pop @ladyluck852 and @nanjaemin

1. When is the last time you can remember feeling totally at peace?

2. Do you think it’s possible to put on mascara with your mouth closed?

3. What are you looking forward to most?

4. Did you grow up where you live right now?

5. If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title would be?

6. When have you felt most proud of yourself?

7. Do frogs have ears?

8. If you could start a collection of one kind of item, what would it be?

9. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?

10. What is your favourite thing about your favourite person?

#tag game #i'm sorry alphinaud but your sister is fucking hilarious #was this the one where i was supposed to make up my own questions #i hope so #i'm not sure what's going on rn today is weird #question 3 literally did not ask but here i am oversharing :(#about me #i tried to be positive with these questions but with 2 and 7 i couldn't help it haha

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spiderman-homecomeme · 5 years

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For me I think a cute college au would be that peter and mj are in the same dorm like across the hall, and maybe they always do their laundry at the same time and she notices he’s washing blood and dirt out of his clothes always or something lol :)

Hello friend!! so sorry this one was late!! I had this written out a while ago but couldn’t come up with a proper way to end the dang thing, but i’ve got it!! I hope you like it!!

Here is some 1.8k of funny collegiate fluff and stuff!!

Michelle’s pretty sure— she’d say maybe about 40%— that certified Cute Boy Across the Hall™ Peter Parker is a serial killer.

That, or he’s Spider-Man, which seems more likely.

But she finds it hard to come up with any other explanation.

Sure, Peter Parker is one of the nicest people she’s ever encountered. Honestly, the guy didn’t have a mean bone in his body; the kind of person that apologizes to inanimate objects after running into them.

And yeah, he may be almost frustratingly considerate sometimes— once, he bought her a new laundry basket after some asshole stole it (which was weird by itself, the theft. Who even does that?)

Another time, he’d stayed up till, like, 3 AM, helping some poor soul figure out their advanced chemistry homework.

He’s always the first volunteer when someone needs help moving furniture or something like that (he’s also weirdly strong).

Why he’s not an RA absolutely baffles her.

No, she doesn’t come to the serial killer conclusion at first. He’s too nice.

Then again, they always start as charming, don’t they?

See, every Thursday night, when everyone’s out getting drunk and partying at All You Can Drink till the sun comes up, that’s when Michelle gets all her shit done. No one to bother her, no one to knock on her door and ask questions, nothing. It’s prime be-productive time. Mostly, she uses it to do laundry, finding some peace in the quiet room, reading as she listens to the mechanic hum of the machines.

Except, she’s not always alone on these nights.

Peter usually washes his stuff then, too, always coming in with a basket-load of dirty clothes held tightly to his chest, eyes wide, mouth in some kind of weird rushed demeanor. But, polite young man that he is, he always makes sure to greet her with a smile, making the generic, nice small talk that’s expected; what book she’s reading, and how was it, how her day was, how her classes are. She doesn’t mind it really. Normally, she’d inwardly roll her eyes at talking about the weather or other shit like that.

But…

She’d definitely make an exception in this case.

Plus, he was so soft and pure as a person. How could she ruin his spirit like that?

It also helps that he happens to be really easy on the eyes.

So what if she gets a little hot under the collar seeing him in something as simple as a white tee and gray sweatpants?

Despite how attractive she finds him, she figures it might not be the best idea to get involved with someone like him. Yeah, he’s cute, but again, he’s either a crime-fighting vigilante or a murderer.

She’s not sure though, her only real concrete evidence coming from the blood and mud stains that are splattered on some of his clothes. That’s a little concerning, but she doesn’t mention it the first few times.

It’s when it starts becoming a regular thing, that’s when she becomes intrigued. The red spots always seem to be on his clothes, but there’s never any sign of it on him; no scars, no bruises.

After some observations, she discovers that it’s usually the same few t-shirts and boxers, occasionally, it’s some red hoodie (which, funnily enough, you can still see blood on red). One time, when she’d come in a little after him at around two am, he was scrubbing something red and blue. He’d nearly jumped out of his skin, shoving what she thought was spandex into the hamper, piling clothes on top of it.

Another point for superhero.

Then there was the whole thing with his roommate, Ned. They’ve apparently been best buds since High School, which was pretty cool, she guessed. But the weird thing was, was that those two were always whispering, glancing around and behind their shoulders before continuing a conversation.

It was impossible to catch him after his last class of the day, Intro the Philosophy at 2:30 (what? She’s not a stalker, just observant. He’s the potential serial killer, here.) His footsteps are silent as he rushes down the hall to his dorm, disappearing into his room for hours at a time. He’d be off campus from then until midnight at the earliest, doing God knows what.

With all of that, it would only make sense that this 4.0 college sophomore was leading a double life as a ruthless murderer. What, with the blood and dirt staining his clothes, the hushed tones spoken with his roommate, and the disappearing act…

And again, maybe he’s Spider-Man.

Even with the suspicious activity, though, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of concern for the guy. If he wasn’t a criminal or a superhero, obviously something was going on outside of classes, and not just normal extracurriculars. It may not have been any of her business, and really, she’d be happy to just keep doing her thing of observing from the sidelines, but she couldn’t help but wonder, and she didn’t think she’d be completely satisfied until she got at least some semblance of an answer.

That’s what this Saturday night was for. To find out once and for all whether or not this kid was a homicidal maniac or a masked vigilante crime-fighter.

Her foot taps mindlessly, basket perched on her hip, she types in the four digit code. For a moment, she feels a little stuck, trying to figure out which hand to grab the handle with, struggling for a moment to get the door open.

Instead, she nearly falls forward when it pulls open, revealing the kind face of Mr. Killer himself, Peter Parker.

His eyes crinkle as a smile breaks across his face, and she feels the annoying butterflies fluttering in her stomach. “Hi, Michelle.”

Wow, the deviant.

“Sup, loser,” she remarks, a half smirk tugging at her lips as she moves past him, setting her hamper on top of one of the washers.

There’s a silence, and her eyes glance back to him, catching his dopey expression as he stares at her. He coughs, scratching the back of his neck, averting his gaze and busying himself with his dirty clothes.

They continue in a comfortable silence, spouting the occasional tidbit of small talk here and there. Honestly, if it weren’t for the same blood and dirt on the same t-shirt she might have forgotten that teensy little problem she had to investigate.

He seems to be trying to block her view from the shirt as he loads it into the washer, hastily chucking it into the chamber.

“You know, hydrogen peroxide’ll get that right out,” Michelle states matter-of-factly, not looking up from her own basket.

Peter freezes, head whipping toward her, eyes wide in a state of both shock and fear. “Huh?!”

“Hydrogen peroxide. The blood. On your shirt,” she replies, shrugging slightly as if it’s obvious. “Put it on there until it bubbles and then you scrub it out. Don’t just wash it.”

He stands ramrod straight, his face stricken with nerves, scrambling slightly, slamming the washing machine door closed in an instant. “What are you— What are you talking about?”

Michelle fights back an eyeroll. “Okay, I’m not dumb. And I’m not blind,” she folds her arms across her chest, fixing him with a skeptical glare. “How’d it happen?”

There’s a weird silence as he tries to respond, mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out. He clears his throat, eyes trying to focus on anything but her in the room. “I… uh—I fell… down… the… stairs. Yeah,” he lets out a sharp exhale, resting his hands on his hips, nodding slowly. “The stairs. I’m clumsy.”

“So,” Michelle muses. “You fell down the stairs…”

Peter nods again. “Clumsy ol’ me.”

“Every week?”

He sputters, an awkward hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck. “Well, it sounds weird when you— when you put it like that…”

“Uh-huh,” her tone is still skeptical, but she feels the slightest bit of humor bubbling up inside of her. She honestly doesn’t know where that whole killer thing came from, because honestly, this kid doesn’t seem like he’d be able to hurt a fly a be able to live with himself. So far, the whole superhero thing might be more likely. She might as well just ask, though, just to get under his skin. “So, are you like a serial killer or something?”

The ghostly shade of white his face turns is a little funny, but she doesn’t crack a smile. He blanches, immediately shaking his head as fast as he can. “Oh, God. No! No! I’m not!! I swear!”

“Hmmmm bit defensive?”

“No! Oh my God—” He covers his head in his hands, groaning. “It’s not that at all!”

“Then what is it?”

“…. Fight club?”

Honestly, she’s impressed that he’s trying this hard to hide whatever the hell it is that he’s hiding. But she doesn’t say anything, smiling quietly to herself as he fumbles with the rest of his clothes.

She doesn’t know if he’ll ever tell her; they aren’t close friends or anything.

She also doesn’t even know if he needs to.

Because she can see the red and blue peeking out from the bundle of clothes.

Is that thing even machine washable?

And she still doesn’t say anything.

“Hey, uh, I know this is kinda weird now, considering this conversation, but uh—” He breaks the silence, changing the subject not-so-smoothly, voice still tinted with nerves.

She perks up internally, careful to remain visibly impassive though, keeping her cool. “Hmm?”

“Do you uh— maybe wanna see a movie, or… grab dinner sometime?”

If she were being honest, Michelle’s never really been more excited about something in her life. But again, she can’t let that show, even as she tries to fight the way the corner of her lip twitches ever so slightly. “I don’t know,” she starts, shrugging slightly, her gaze just meeting his, eyes narrowing. “Do you promise not to murder me?”

The utter shock and horror on his face is enough to crack her stony exterior, and she snorts bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

But she figures she should maybe go easy on him, even if that little exasperated sigh he lets out is the teensiest bit endearing.

“I’m kidding,” she promises, unable to help herself.

He rolls his eyes playfully, though he still seems frazzled.

Suddenly finding herself feeling the slightest bit shy, she brings her gaze up to his. “I’d love to,” she finally answers, lips pressing together in a smile.

“Awesome,” he breathes out, eyes wide with quiet excitement. “Cool cool cool!”

It’s then that she steps closer to him, though still maintains a reasonable distance. “Besides,” she starts, eyeing him carefully, arms folded across her chest. “You can tell me all about this ‘fight club’ you’re in.”

#spideychelle #petermj #peter x michelle #peter parker #michelle jones #fic #fluff #college au #i tell you what fam #writing again is scary #but im glad to be back!!#more prompts are coming so sit tight!!#also my roommate and i have a weird sense of humor so i hope this is funny lmao

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emma-nation · 5 years

Text

Without You - Bloodbound AU (Chapter 8) *For You Sequel*

Summary: Gaius is back. While coming up with a plan to take him down, the gang must deal with some new life-changing events.

Genre: Angst/Adventure/Romance

Rating: T - Warning for violence and language

Tag List: @begging-for-kamilah, @lulu-the-cat, @ilovekamilahsayeed, @zoe6111, @kennaxval

Notes:

- English is my second language, please forgive me for any mistakes.

- Hope you enjoy it, your reviews and likes are always appreciated.

- Things have went as planned this week, so here’s a regular update for ya :)

- MxF Smut Scene Warning! As in Chapter 5, I added a warning, so if you’re not interested, you can just skip this part without affecting the understanding of the chapter.

Kamilah

“Kamilah,” the voice from the other side of the audio device said, “it’s not even midnight yet. This is your third drink.”

Kamilah rolled her eyes. Her brother didn’t know what she was going through. No one did. She was the one who was about to meet Gaius in only a few minutes, without any idea of how he was going to act.

She was also by herself. After going home, back from the Hamptons, she was willing to hear Lysimachus’ plan. For her surprise, there was no plan at all.

“After you meet him, Priya is doing her part and… we’ll trap him inside the sarcophagus again.”

“What do you mean?! That I’ve been risking myself for nothing?!” Kamilah angered inside her brother’s home office. “What about the book?” She wanted to know.

“It was all fake,” her brother told. “A bunch of crap some amateur witch wrote in the past. There’s no ritual.”

Kamilah closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

“So that’s the big plan? We put him back in the sarcophagus until someone, like that one in your living room, decides to betray us and set him free?”

“If that makes you feel any better, we can hide him somewhere safe, where only the two of us will know.”

Lysimachus secretly followed her to Gaius’ hideaway, listening and communicating with her through a high-technology equipment. He also gave her a powerful weapon to defend herself, in case things went wrong.

“I’m gonna need a lot of alcohol before meeting that son of a bitch,” she was sitting at a table in the Midnight Lounge, with her third drink in hands.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“I have to be,” she took one long sip, “not only for me. But for Amy, if he finds out about her… well, I need to keep her safe.”

While she reminisced about her times in Italy and a past lover, that now she was sure Gaius was involved in the assassination, she ignored what her brother was saying. All she could think about was how determined she was to get what she wanted: to know Gaius’ plans and use it to defeat him.

“Sister?” His voice called her back to reality. “Are you listening?”

“Yes, my apologies. I got distracted.”

“Do you think you can make it quick? Uhhh… there’s somewhere else I was supposed to be.”

“You’re not seeing it, but I’m rolling my eyes!” Kamilah growled, knowing what he meant. “Serious, brother? Priya’s fashion show?”

“I promised her.”

Kamilah didn’t answer. Although she didn’t want to admit, or even accept it, she knew her brother was falling for Priya. And she knew Priya was unable to develop any kind of affection for another being, except for her dogs, perhaps.

“Whatever,” she finally replied. “I didn’t ask you to come with me in first place. I can do it by myself.”

After a moment of silence between the twins, the clock struck midnight and it was time for Kamilah to go. Gaius would be waiting for her.

“I must go now.”

“Sister? I love you.”

“I love you too, brother.”

She entered the door in the back of the bar like the last time, where the gruesome competition Mortals vs. Vampires took place for another night. She followed her way, avoiding to pay much attention. As she followed to the basement, Harvey was already waiting for her.

“Well well, I was starting to think you wouldn’t show up,” her former clan member teased.

“I thought you knew me enough to know I always keep my word.”

“You never truly know someone, Kamilah. That’s something you taught me.”

“Ignore him,” Lysimachus suggested. “He’s testing you.”

Her twin brother was working on a counter-spell to break the hypnosis. Kamilah only hoped it’d be before she lost her patience completely and killed Harvey with her own hands. In her vampire form, she only looked at the male vampire in a threatening manner. Letting him know she was still in charge.

“I suppose you have a good explanation to your brother’s stupid move, Kamilah,” Harvey insisted.

“Oh please, I owe you no explanations. I’m here to see Gaius.”

She barely finished her sentence when an ancient figure emerged from darkness.

“Harvey, how dare you to bother My Queen?”

Kamilah felt a lump on her throat as Gaius started coming in her direction. A shiver went through her entire body. A feeling of weakness and insecurity took control of her mind.

“G-Gaius.”

“Hello, My Queen.”

She had no time to say anything else, Gaius hand gripped around her neck as he lifted her off the ground.

“Tell me, Kamilah. Tell me Harvey is wrong about you. You didn’t have anything to do with your brother’s move, did you?”

She gasped, attempting to breath and answer his question, but she couldn’t. She shook her head in denial.

“No?” Gaius asked, loosening a little bit the grip around her throat.

“N-No,” Kamilah spoke, with some difficult. “I… I haven’t spoke to… Lysimachus in… days…”

When Gaius finally let her go, she felt on her knees. He kneeled right in front of her, lifting up her face to look straight in her eyes.

“Hmmmm,” he smiled. “She’s telling the truth. I told you, Harvey. My Queen will always be loyal to me.”

Kamilah took a moment to breath and regain her strength. Looking at her surroundings, she noticed Jameson was nowhere to be seen. As well as the other thralls.

“Sister, are you alright?” Lysimachus asked, through the audio device. “Please, say something.”

“I thought we were having a meeting,” she spoke. “Where are the others?”

“Anya is upstairs, observing our potential candidates who have joined Mortals vs. Vampires. Jameson… is taking care of something else.”

“What about Nate? You must have figured out at this point that he’s good at disobeying rules.”

“Not here, my Queen. Nate has been a loyal soldier, this is why I gave him the night to do what he likes the most, having fun.”

There was something wrong behind Gaius’ grin and Kamilah needed to figure out what it was.

“Suspicious much?” Lysimachus asked. “Call it a night, sister. Let’s go home and figure out what they’re up to.”

Ignoring her brother’s advice, she decided to proceed with her own plan.

“I’m thirsty,” she announced.

“Why didn’t you say it earlier, My Queen. I have some mortals…”

“Alcohol, I mean.”

Sitting down, she waited until a hypnotized waiter came downstairs bringing a bottle of whiskey. She examined the bottle and smiled.

“Playing to my tastes, My Love? It seems like you haven’t forgotten what I appreciate.”

“How could I, My Queen?” The ancient vampire approached, caressing her cheek as if he was going to pull her for a kiss.

“There’s something missing,” Kamilah took a step back, grabbing the mortal waiter by the arm and sinking her fangs deeply into his neck.

Gaius watched everything amused.

“Kamilah, stop,” Lysimachus ordered. “You don’t have to take it so far.”

Indeed. But to defeat Gaius she was willing to go until the last consequences. As she felt the mortal was getting weak, she healed his neck and let him go.

“Kamilah doesn’t kill anymore,” Harvey provoked again. “She only feeds from domesticated mortals.”

“And so do you. It’s the price we pay to live in peace among mortals.”

“This is wrong, My Queen,” Gaius shook his head, looking somehow upset. “You should be ruling this city like the Goddess you are, not being submissive to mortals.”

“I prefer this way. Rather than spending my life running away or hiding after leaving a trail of bodies behind.”

“My beloved Kamilah… I fear that this years away from your King made you forget who you truly are. Your true nature. We’ll have to fix it, but first… I’m looking forward to hear the news you brought me.”

Kamilah handed him a folder Lysimachus gave her, containing false information about The Council members.

“This file contains the latest information about the other members of The Council. Their usual routine, their current businesses, their schedule for the next days… I assume it’s useful to your plans.”

Gaius examined the papers, reading carefully every line.

“This is amazing, My Queen. I suppose it’s not being easy for you to spend time with those traitors! There’s one thing you’ve got wrong though.”

“W-What is it?” For a second, Kamilah feared he had found out about their plans.

“Priya Lacroix’s fashion show is tonight. Not tomorrow.”

“A-Are you planning to kill her, my King?” She asked, with a false grin on her face.

“Not yet,” Gaius sat down to explain his plans, “first we must destroy what she loves the most, her career, her popularity. How about a big explosion on her little show, where thousands of mortals would be injured? What would the journalists say? Especially when the blame falls on Priya herself? She will be lonely, vulnerable and then… I’ll crush like the insect she is! And this is nothing, compared to what I’ll be doing to the rest. The Baron, Lester and especially,“ he clenched his fists in pure anger, “Adrian.“

———-

Amy

Amy let out a frustrated grunt as she checked her phone again, something she had been doing a lot for the last few hours.

“Amy,” Lily paused her game to look at her, “checking your phone every five seconds won’t bring Kamilah home sooner.”

“I know. I just wanted to know if she’s alright. She promised to call me as soon as the meeting was over.”

She was trying to act strong, for her own sanity. She tried to avoid thinking about everything that could go wrong in that meeting, how Gaius could torture Kamilah or even kill her, if he found out she wasn’t hypnotized. Kamilah also asked her to stay with Lily and Jax at the Shadow Den, where none of Gaius’ thralls would be able to locate her.

“I’m bored,” the girl complained. “I’d feel better if we could actually dosomething.”

“Amy! We are doing something, we’re shooting zombies!”

“Other than that. Like going out for a drink, that’s what I needed right now.”

“Kamilah ordered me to keep an eye on you and I’m not breaking my promise. You know how she’s like when she’s angry.”

“To be honest it isn’t that bad,” Amy let out a small laugh. “Not with me at least. She’s unable to be mad at me for too long. Come on, Lily…” she insisted. “If she finds out I’ll tell her it was my idea.”

“Fine,” Lily agreed. “But we’ll bring Jax with us. I think I may have something in mind.”

A few minutes later, she was inside a car with a blindfold in her eyes. She had no idea where Lily and Jax were taking her, but it should be fun.

“We’re almost there,” her best friend announced when they parked the car and she took her hand, guiding her to their destination.

When Lily finally removed the blindfold, Amy saw herself at a bar. A geek-themed bar. There were arcades, a band playing some rock music and a peculiar crowd.

“Whoa,” she exclaimed. “Where am I?”

“At the hottest spot for supernatural creatures in New York City,” Lily told.

“It was founded recently, by a Shadow Den member,” Jax completed. “And Lilly thought…”

“It’s the perfect place for your Bachelorette Party!”

While they accommodate themselves in a stand, Amy checked her phone again. Still no news of Kamilah.

“Bachelorette Party,” she thought. “I don’t even know if there will be a wedding yet.”

A vampire waitress came, bringing them some drinks and snacks. Being aware of Amy’s presence, every detail had been prepared especially for her, with everything she liked the most.

“I can’t thank you enough, Lil. I really hadn’t planned anything yet.”

“But I had! And… Lysimachus asked Priya to organize a surprise Bachelorette Party for Kamilah too.”

“Oh my god! She’s going to be so thrilled.”

Both she and Lily laughed, knowing Kamilah would never agree with the idea.

After a few shots she was finally more relaxed, observing Jax gathering with other members with the Shadow Den and Lily helplessly trying to beat a score at an arcade machine.

“Lil, you won’t be capable of doing that… not when you’re so drunk!”

“Amy, never underestimate my drunk skills!” She pressed a combination of buttons, that lead her to the next stage of the game. “Only one more.”

“Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“I… I feel you’re all hiding something from me. What’s with the plan to defeat Gaius? Kamilah seemed really pissed off about this morning and you change the subject everytime I mention it.”

“Amy, the truth is… there’s no ritual. It was a misunderstanding, that’s all. We’re back to the start, there’s no plan to defeat Gaius. I’m sorry.”

Quietly, she walked away back to her seat. With Gaius breathing on Kamilah’s neck it was a matter of time before he killed her, or hypnotized her for real. What about her? The ancient vampire would never admit somebody else to steal hisQueen, especially a mortal. None of Kamilah’s past lovers ever survived for long. Most of them died in unusual circumstances.

When she checked her phone again, a notification of a new message on her voice mail gave her some hope. She went outside to hear.

“Amy, it’s me. Your mom. Listen, darling. I just saw the picture you posted on your Instagram. Bachelorette Party? Amy, there’s still time to give up on this madness. Do you realize what you’re doing to your life? What about your grandma? Her dream was to see you getting married in our church, she has been suffering so much. Why don’t you…”

She pressed the delete button, refusing to listen to the rest of the message. When she headed back inside, a mysterious voice called for her:

“There are so many questions in your head right now, aren’t there, child?”

“Huh?!” She looked around, not seeing where it was coming from.

“Near the bathroom, in the last stand.”

She looked at the direction indicated, seeing a hooded figure sitting at the table.

“I can answer all your questions.”

“What are you? A psychic?” Amy asked aloud.

“Not like this, Amy. Inside your mind. Telepathy.”

Amy froze. How did that mysterious person knew so much about her? Could it be someone from Wright’s cult? Anyways, she still felt some insecurity towards her special abilities.

”Who are you and how do you know so much about me?“ She decided to try, putting a lot of strength in this thought.

”Calm down, my child. I’m a fellow supernatural friend, and we recognize each other. We can read each other.“

“Then why can’t I read you?”

“You haven’t trained your abilities enough yet.”

“Good point.”

Kamilah always warned her to be careful regarding her abilities and people who would eventually cross her path in New York. She should never completely trust anyone. There was a lot about the supernatural world she wasn’t ready to know yet.

“This is completely fine, Amy. You don’t have to trust me.”

The fact the mysterious figure was still reading her mind started to frighten her.

“But I see you’re worried… Kamilah is her name, isn’t it? I can tell you exactly where she is, and what she’s doing right now. Better yet, I can show you.”

Amy checked her phone again. There was still no signs of Kamilah. She sighed and started walking, headed to the stand where the hooded figure was sitting. She sat in front of them, yet she was unable to see their face.

“All right,” she spoke. “No more mind games. Just tell me how Kamilah is doing. I need to know.”

“Not like this, child,” she heard again inside her head.

“Fine,” Amy grunted, before starting to speak telepathically. “Tell me where’s Kamilah.”

“Hmmmm…” the figure was silent, pensive for a few seconds. “Her life may be in danger… she’s in the company of a dangerous someone… very dangerous…”

“Oh my god! How is she? Is he doing something bad to her? Please, I have to know!”

“I could show you but… I’ll need a little something.”

“What is it? I’ll do anything for Kamilah.”

“A few drops of your blood,” the figure told. “Just prick your finger and drop it inside this recipient. Through the water, mixed with your blood, I’ll be able to show you where Kamilah is.”

Without thinking twice, Amy took the needle the mysterious person offered her and followed their instructions. After a few seconds, the water inside the small recipient start to form an image and like a movie screen, she started seeing a scene. Kamilah was leaving Gaius’ hideaway in a hurry, desperate to speak to her brother. She entered her car and started driving back to New York.

“She’s alright,” Amy sighed relieved and smiled. “Thank you so much.”

“Anytime, my child. Until we meet again.”

As the figure disappeared through the door, Amy went meet Lily and Jax again. After all, she had a Bachelorette Party to enjoy. Soon, Kamilah would be back, safe and sound in their penthouse.

———-

Lysimachus

At full speed, Lysimachus drove back to New York City. Priya’s life was in danger, as well as her career and reputation. Gaius knew exactly where to hit her, how to make her weak and vulnerable for his final attack. A revenge for being part of the riot against him almost one century earlier.

All he could think about was his conversation with her in the morning…

Three days had passed since Lysimachus had found out what he was supposed to do to kill Gaius. In order to destroy his greatest enemy, he’d have to destroy his sister’s heart, and that wasn’t even a possibility. He loved Amy as much as Kamilah. She was like a younger sister to him.

"Hunter,” Priya’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “pass me the milk, dammit!”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I got distracted.”

“Distracted? You’ve been acting like a zombie.”

Priya laughed at her own comment as she poured the milk in her cereal bowl. Three days had also passed since she told him about her past. Nothing changed between them, except that she was pretending that night at her swimming pool never happened.

“You look happy this morning,” he pointed. “You’re never happy so early.”

“Did you forget?!” Her face turned into a frown. “Hunter! How could you?”

“Oh, tonight is the debut of your Spring collection.”

“Of course! Will you be there or will you be on the hunt for some fresh brains to eat?”

“I’ll try my best but… I’m going with Kamilah to meet Gaius.”

She stopped eating and stared at him, looking concerned for a moment.

“Well,” she shrugged, “if you make it alive, there will be an after-party in my house.”

“It’s not my thing,” he was very aware of what Priya’s after-parties were about. “It could be different, you know.”

His last words made her stop eating again.

“We’ll need to talk about it eventually, Priya.”

“About what?” She asked in response, in an almost inaudible tone.

“About the other night.”

“Sorry, I don’t talk about things I’ve said when I was drunk.”

Those were the last words he heard from her mouth.

Only a few minutes. That had to be enough to prevent a tragedy.

Arriving at her club, he looked around, trying to spot any suspicious faces. Using a detector he developed, he could identify three bombs planted at different spots of The Crimson Veil and one of Gaius’ thralls should be responsible for detonating them.

The show had already started and the club was crowded. Near the catwalk he spotted a familiar face… Nate. Luckily the young vampire hadn’t seen him yet. He needed to be cautious, one wrong move and the bombs would be activated.

First, he sat at the bar, observing the teenage vampire from far. He impatiently checked his phone at every second, waiting for instructions. Lysimachus took a deep breath. Next time he got distracted, he’d act.

He approached a little, merging among the crowd. When Nate pulled his phone out of his pocket again, he chocked him with his arm and began to drag him away.

“My apologies,” Lysimachus explained to the curious looks people were giving him. “One of Priya’s most dangerous stalkers. But no panic, everything is alright.”

Outside the club, he dragged Nate to a near alley where he slammed him against the wall.

“Tell me, what were you planning?! What Gaius ordered you?!”

The younger vampire started to laugh sadistically.

“I only answer to one King.”

With one punch, Lysimachus knocked him down. In his pockets he found a cell phone, where he was chatting with Harvey, waiting for his signal to detonate the bombs. In his other pocket he found the detonator, that he immediately crushed it with his hand.

After carefully trapping unconscious Nate inside a car’s trunk, he returned to The Crimson Veil, making sure there was nobody else suspicious. When he looked at the catwalk again, he spotted Priya on the backstage. She saw him too. For his surprise, she opened a smile. Lysimachus smiled back.

Seconds later, his phone vibrated.

After-party is canceled. Meet you in my VIP room after the show.

He gave her a thumbs up and she winked in response.

———-

Kamilah

“Sister, I gotta go,” Lysimachus announced. “H-He’s planning something against Priya… I must check. I’m so sorry.”

Betrayed. That’s how Kamilah felt when she heard the audio device being turned off as her brother left, back to New York. She was no longer a priority, even though her life could also be in danger. Even if Gaius could submit her to the most horrible things to prove her loyalty. Lysimachus swore he’d be there. He swore he’d protect her at any cost.

"Tell me, My Queen. Do you have any objections?”

“I couldn’t care less about Priya. We’ve only accepted her in The Council to keep her under control. Her behavior was a threat to our kind.”

She sat down at an old couch, Anya arrived, frustrated by the results of Mortals vs. Vampires. What angered Gaius even more.

“That foolish boy! He ruined my plans of a perfect new kingdom.”

“My King,” Harvey suggested, “you can take Priya’s clan members after you destroy her.”

“Good point, but…” Gaius looked at her direction again, as if for a moment he had forgotten she was there. “Kamilah, in the files you brought me. There’s no information about him! Lysimachus.”

“My brother isn’t a threat to your plans at the moment, My Love. He splits his time between Adrian’s company and Priya. He has fallen in love with her and it’s a matter of time before she gets him killed.”

Gaius stared at her blankly for a moment, thoughtful.

“He even may be useful in the future, as I can easily convince him into joining us.”

“We’ll talk about it some other time,” he approached her, cupping her face into his hands again. “You can go now, My Queen. You’ve proven your loyalty once again. Harvey will call you in the next few days with new instructions.”

Gaius disappeared into darkness again, followed by Harvey and Anya.

While Kamilah was relieved to be safe and that she could return home to Amy, her intuition was speaking louder. Gaius had something in mind and she needed to find out. Hiding in a corner of the dark basement, he could hear his conversation with the thralls. Nothing too important, until something alarmed her.

“What?!” He yelled. “But how did he…”

As nobody else responded, Kamilah assumed he was talking over a phone.

“I don’t care, Jameson. Kill her, now! Let’s see how the boy will deal with the loss of his lover! I’m gonna crush them both with a single blow.”

Before her presence could be noticed, Kamilah left the bar immediately. In her car, as she drove away, she attempted to contact her brother.

“Out of signal,” she complained.

He should be inside Priya’s club.

Guilty, she hoped nothing happened to Lysimachus, or even Priya. Would he ever forgive her for telling Gaius about their relationship? Unconsciously, she had exposed his brother’s biggest weakness to the enemy.

———-

Lysimachus

Outside Priya’s VIP room, Lysimachus waited nervously. Canceling her after-party only to meet him could be a sign she was ready to leave some of old habits behind? That she was willing to forget her tragic past for something new?

“There you are,” she opened the door with a grin on her face. “Guess the meeting with Gaius wasn’t exciting enough, huh?”

“Uhhh,” not wanting to ruin her mood, he decided to wait before telling her the truth, “I’ll tell you later, it’s a long story. So, congratulations. Your new collection… snatched wigs?”

“Shut up, Hunter! You’re too old for this.” Priya smiled and punched him slightly on the shoulder.

When Lysimachus’ eyes met hers, he noticed a difference. She looked happy, genuinely happy. Her happiness wasn’t hidden behind parties with houseboys or human blood this time.

“I have something for you,” he announced before taking a black velvet box from his jacket and handing it to Priya.

She immediately opened it and her eyes glowed in surprise.

“Only three pieces of this bracelet were produced in the world, and as I know you like to collect rare stuff.”

Priya went silent. She looked at him, then at the bracelet again, appearing anxious somehow.

“It’s uhh… stunning. But… why?”

Lysimachus took her wrist, closing the bracelet around it.

“This is what every girl deserves, after such an important night.”

She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. He could tell her cheeks blushed a little bit.

Giving her some time to breath, Lysimachus threw himself on a very comfortable armchair, finally remembering his sister was alone with Gaius. He should return, or at least go home and wait for news.

“So, why did you want to see me?” He asked, going straight to the point.

“I wanna have that conversation,” Priya quickly answered.

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“Well, Hunter. I have everything I always wished for and maybe more, but lately, it’s not being enough. It’s started to feel empty, lonely, pointless maybe… like if there was something missing.”

“And what’s missing?”

He got up, standing face to face with the fashion designer.

“I…” Before she could finish her sentence, a lot of voices started coming from the other side of the door. “Journalists,” she rolled her eyes. “Listen, wait for me outside. I’ll be there in a few minutes and we can finish this in your apartment.”

“Of course,” Lysimachus agreed. “It’ll give us more privacy.”

Outside, the first thing he did was to call Kamilah. As expected, she didn’t answer. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, wondering if she was safe.

Twenty minutes passed when her name finally appeared on his screen.

“Kamilah, thank god! I was starting to become worried…”

“Brother, where are you?” She had a strange tone in her voice, a tone of desperation.

“At The Crimson Veil, outside. Why?”

“Gaius dismissed me, but I hid myself to listen to his plans. Brother, as soon as I left, Jameson called him to inform you prevented the explosion and…”

“And what?!”

“He told him to kill Priya immediately.”

Lysimachus dropped his phone, rushing back inside the club and straight to Priya’s VIP room. Everything had been destroyed, the floor was covered with black blood and ashes, but she was standing there, holding the daggers he gave her during their training.

“Priya! Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” she answered between weary pants. “After the journalists left, somebody delivered a giant present box. I thought it could be a new houseboy but… a horde of disgusting Ferals. Don’t worry, our training was worthy, I’ve managed to kill them all.”

“Good,” Lysimachus let out a relieved sigh. “It was Gaius. God, when Kamilah called me and told me he ordered Jameson to kill you, I…”

“Shhhh,” the female vampire approached, silencing him with her index finger. “It’s over, Hunter.”

“I got worried. I-I… I care about you, Priya. I really do.”

She pressed a kiss on his lips, while her hands traveled through his toned abdomen and down to his waist, attempting to open his belt.

“We should go home first…”

“No,” Priya whispered in his ear before nibbling his earlobe. “I want you right here, right now.”

———- MxF Smut Scene - If you don’t wanna read it, skip this part ———-

Lysimachus agreed, kissing her again, more intensely this time. She drove him to a couch, where she pushed him violently and started to unzip his pants.

Smirking, he switched positions in an impressive speed. Priya wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer and placing her mouth on his again. As their tongues moved together on a fierce, frenzied mode, his hands went under her dress, finding her underwear and tossing it aside.

“Not today, Hunter,” suddenly Priya was on top, straddling him and removing what was left of their clothes.

Lysimachus gasped as he felt her warmth involving him. As she started moving on top of him, she dragged her long nails across his chest leaving deep red marks. Lost in pleasure, the male vampire gripped tightly on her hips, increasing the pressure and rhythm between them.

“Too rough?” He wanted to know.

“Hell no, it’s perfect,” she followed his pace.

Though they had done that a lot of times before, it felt different. More intimate. The way Priya occasionally stroked his hair or how she gently kissed and sucked his neck, drove him wild. Tired from the fight against Ferals, she reached climax first, but Lysimachus also didn’t take long.

———- Ending of scene ———-

As she laid on his chest, he wrapped an arm around her body, enjoying the feeling of finally being closer to the fashion designer. Lysimachus closed his eyes when something caught his attention, a familiar smell… blood.

“Priya, did you get hurt in the fight?” He asked, concerned.

“It’s was just a scratch. It’ll be gone soon.”

He looked down at her back, spotting a deep wound on her shoulder. Not any wound but... a bite. The skin around it was starting to become grey.

“Priya, y-you… you got bitten by a Feral.”

———-

Somewhere in New Jersey…

“Master, our suspicions were right. The girl is back,” Jameson announced, removing the hood he was wearing.

“Those are splendid news, Jameson.” Gaius grinned. “Were you able to confirm if she’s indeed The One?”

“Yes, My King. A little persuasion trick and I was able to collect a sample of her blood. As we imagined, she’s Keaseth’s descendant.”

“Incredible. Soon, all the power her blood contains will be mine!”

“What about Kamilah, My King? Do you think she’ll consent with the plan?”

“Kamilah is wrapped around my finger again. Loyal as a puppy. Little does she know it’s only part of my revenge against her. Her heart will be crushed in a million pieces when I command her to sacrifice her lover.”

“And then we’ll break the hypnosis.”

“Exactly, Jameson. My Queen will be paying the highest of the prices for her betrayal.”

Next: What are Gaius’ plans for Amy? Meanwhile, Lysimachus has to face a difficult decision about Priya’s future. Stay tuned!

Only 10 days until May! :D

#playchoices #choices stories you play #bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #kamilah x mc #bloodbound fanfiction #priya lacroix #lysimachus #gaius augustine

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