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#to introduce you to the fact that there are magical threats in this world
devildomwriter · 16 days
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Why Lucifer is A Good Brother
*Somewhat chronologically in order everything is canon and if you want the reference I’ll give it to you*
*Heavy spoilers*
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All angels consider each other siblings but out of the millions, possibly billions of angels. Lucifer chose to take five brothers and a sister (originally) under his wing.
He gave Mammon a challenge to become his apprentice and when he succeeded he welcomed Mammon with open arms and never rejected him afterwards even with all the trouble he caused.
He gave Asmodeus the nickname “Jewel of the Heavens” something he still loves to this day even as a demon.
He made Levi feel seen and useful even after the peace treaty between realms made his position obsolete.
He bonded with Beelzebub who was originally his guard and took him and his twin under his wings. He also introduced Lilith to the twins who became inseparable.
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When Lilith fell in love he visited the Human World to see if this man was good and kind.
When Lilith broke a Celestial Law this man WENT TO WAR WITH AN ENTIRE REALM and GOD to save her. He asked his brothers to side with him and carried guilt for doing so after the war.
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After the war, he pledged eternal loyalty to the man in control of the realm he was at war with for most of his existence all to save his sister despite the humiliation. He saved her even though she wouldn’t remember him and he could never see her again and he carried the burden for thousands of years until MC’s ancestry was revealed.
The Devildom and Celestial Realm hold very strict laws so he took whatever means necessary punishment-wise to correct their behavior. In the Celestial Realm, it was so his brothers weren’t outcast and in the Devildom it was so they weren’t imprisoned or killed.
His brothers believe he’s more loyal to Diavolo than to them but he does this FOR them.
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When the brothers struggled with becoming demons he was there to comfort them.
When he accidentally created Satan he took full responsibility for the absolute murderous maniac and did his best to raise the personification of hatred.
He cared about Satan so much that when the brothers were offered the chance to return to the Celestial Realm, the realm he once ruled, he told them to return and he alone would stay with Satan so he wouldn’t be alone. Even though this decision meant he wouldn’t be able to see his brothers and they’d be seen as enemies, he wanted what he believed was best for them and what they wanted.
Lucifer did everything he could to master new demon magic, insert himself into Devildom politics, and befriend his enemies all for his brothers’ sakes to give them the same position of respect they had in the Celestial Realm.
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In Nightbringer when he was incarcerated in Cocytus the fact his brothers were being held too enraged him to the point he broke free and even fought Diavolo believing he had something to do with it. And when Raphael cried having to sentence him, Lucifer wasn’t angry he felt sorry for Raphael—a former brother.
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Lucifer continuously fights those many times stronger than him all for his family’s sake.
Even though it pained him to see his former angelic brothers for the exchange program he remained cordial even though it was at first awkward and a reminder of all the pain of the past. He did this for his former brothers.
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When Belphegor threatened treason and war, he lied to the ruler of the Devildom and hid Belphegor away to PROTECT him.
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He lashed out at Mc and nearly killed them because he saw them as a threat to his brothers. First when Luke held the Grimoire that could control them and MC got in the way; then threatened them because they were making pacts with all his brothers; then why they betrayed him and found Belphegor because this could reach Diavolo and Belphegor would be punished for treason. In Nightbringer he originally remained suspicious and cold because MC could control his brothers without a pact and then had the grimoire which could control them. Lucifer only attacked MC when he was being protective of his brothers.
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When Lucifer had amnesia he immediately bonded with his brothers again and revealed many things he’d done secretly to help them like pulling strings to get Mammon the car he worked so hard for.
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He was even willing to sacrifice himself to let MC live who became family (or romantic interest—up to you) and his final ask was that they take care of his brothers.
Lucifer’s methods seem strict, unforgiving, and cruel but remember this is HELL, the DEVILDOM. Law only recently was created and Diavolo may be forgiving but who’s to say his father or descendants would be just as lenient? If his brothers don’t behave it could mean the worst and he refuses to lose another family member.
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moongothic · 3 months
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You know I wasn't going to post about this, but the more I think about it the more it drives me up the walls
So when Luffy and co release Crocodile from jail, it's specifically under the threat that if Crocodile tries anything funny, well, Iva-chan has a trick up their sleeve to put Crocodile back in-line.
So what the fuck was that actually about? What is Crocodile's secret weakness? I'm specifically looking at the way this is phrased in the manga, because the anime's added dialogue kinda messes with what's implied here. But what Iva specifically says is that Ivankov in particular holds the key to one of Crocodile's weaknesses, but they'll stay quiet about it as long as Crocodile behaves himself ("Vataashi wa koitsu no yowami wo hitotsu nigitteru", a very clunky but literal translation could be "One of his weaknesses is within my grasp". The way Viz translated the line is a bit different so I'm not bothering with getting a cap of the panel, you wouldn't be able to tell how these lines were phrased in Japanese based on Viz's translations anyways) (The dialogue Toei added was Crocodile furiously shouting at Iva-chan, telling them to not say anything and Iva-chan reminding Croc to watch his tone or else they'll reveal Croc's past to everyone. A lot of people don't remember this was in-fact added by Toei, hence I wanted to clarify/remind what happened in this scene originally)
And now. Obviously. When Oda went out of his way to introduce a brand new character whose entire personality is being queer and their power is giving people magic HRT. And then like five chapters later re-introduces Crocodile. And tells us that these two have Secret Beef. And never proceeds to fucking tell us what the hell that was about. Yes, the natural conclusion one would come to would be that Crocodile is stealth trans. That is basic, good storytelling. You (re)introduce two characters, tell us they have beef, one has a very specific ability; you're supposed to connect these dots in your mind. So that now, if Oda revealed to us tomorrow that Crocodile was canonically trans, it would not surprise anyone because it's already been set-up in the story, by this very scene. It's a logical conclusion.
But. I'm becoming more and more convinced that Iva-chan's blackmail might actually not be about Crocodile being trans.
Like the general fandom assumption for the past 15 years has been that Crocodile's stealth trans, but we actually don't know he's stealth. He could be openly trans, and between that being a borderline requirement for Crocodad to be real (since he would've been a Shichibukai for years before Luffy was even born) and the possibility that his earring could specifically be a gay earring, like. Yeah. Crocodile could be openly trans. If Crocodile's perfectly happy to let the whole world know he's gay, then him being trans shouldn't have to be a secret either. We the readers could just be unaware of it because it wasn't relevant information to us, and his transition would be old ass news in-universe and not worth bringing up.
And thus, if Crocodile isn't stealth, then Iva-chan can't blackmail him by threatening to out him, becaus he can't be outted.
Now for a while I did considder that Iva-chan could've been actually threatening to detransition Crocodile if he tried anything funny. Surely he would hate that, so much so that he might not have wanted to even hear Ivankov suggest it. But thinking about it. Unless Iva-chan can use Armanent Haki or get Crocodile moisturized, they shouldn't be able to hit Crocodile actually. Like Croc's Logia makes him impossible to hit unless he specifically allowed himself to be touched. So even if Iva-chan tried to surprise attack Crocodile with Estrogen, Croc should just turn to sand automatically, the attack should not land.
Meaning Iva-chan shouldn't be able to detransition Crocodile against his will, at least not without Haki and we don't know if they can use it, so that can't be Crocodile's weakness either.
And so we have to ask the question. What the fuck is that weakness then that Ivankov mentioned?
All we really know is that Crocodile doesn't want this weakness to be brought up, it's a secret. And for all we know Iva-chan might be the only person in the world who knows about it.
And I just. Like.
There is one weakness, kind of a universal one that many people could have, one that has been brought up time-and-time again post-timeskip, one that has become more and more relevant in the story, especially now at the begining of the Final Saga.
A secret weakness.
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If pregnancy is what cracked Crocodile's egg and he transitioned immidiately/soon after giving birth, then it's entirely plausible Iva-chan could know Crocodile had a secret child. And surely he'd want nothing more than for his child to be safe, not end up in trouble because of him. And Ivankov most certainly could put that child in danger, especially now that Crocodile was officially no longer on the World Government's side, there'd be no protection for the baby. All Ivankov had to do was leak the information out, that Sir Crocodile had a child, and anybody who had beef with him could get their revenge by attempting to find the child.
Like I'm just saying. This could line up nicely, actually
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Technomaniac!Yuu
I'm just here to mix-and-match different kinds of Yuus with different kinds of personalities to see what monstrosity I can make. That being said,,, Technomaniac!Yuu brainrot! 
So basically this Yuu belongs in the High Fantasy Yuuniverse on the human side and they’re absolutely obsessed with technology and becomes unhinged when creating stuff. 
Mayhaps their family ran a robot-related business or a machine-creating business and that’s where their obsession started. Maybe Yuu’s obsession further increased due to the fact that they were a human being in a world full of otherworldly creatures.
In a world of high fantasy, there’s bound to be differing opinions and speciesism can’t be avoided. 
Some creatures thought humans were inferior due to their short lifespans. That they were greedy and ignorant. Some humans were even prejudiced to their own kind. Others thought humans in a more positive light, the fact that they were versatile and determined when it comes to things.
So Yuu with no magic and no super powers strived to be the best in the only thing they knew they could fully control and wanted to prove to everyone that humans weren’t inferior, thus beginning their obsession.
This Yuu has this cute little drone hovering over them all the time because I said so. The drone’s very expressive and acts as a kind of assistant for Yuu. 
So anyway, the day of the entrance ceremony?
Forget Grim opening the coffin, Yuu just ordered the drone to laser through the lid and then kicked it open. 
Seeing this, Grim became startled but then soon after demanded their robe.
“Beep! Threat detected! Determining threat level, please wait… Threat level determined. Warning: Threat level 5, initiating self-defense protocol.” The drone hovering over Yuu’s shoulder turned to an alarming shade of red but before it could do anything, Yuu waved them off gently. “Stand down, A1.”
Yeah, the little drone’s called A1 meaning Assistant 1.
Thankfully, a battle between the force of fire and laser never happened since Yuu saw no reason to wear the ceremonial robe because they felt their clothes were much better and gave it to Grim but only on the condition that Grim become their second assistant.
Grim, too focused on acquiring the robe at all cost, didn’t notice Yuu’s condition.
Anyway, guess what Grim’s nickname is. Yeah, that’s right. It’s A2 for Assistant 2.
Let it be known Technomaniac!Yuu has no penchant for naming. All that’s in their brain is making technological stuff.
I just suddenly thought of Yuu having Doofenshmirtz penchant for naming, just slapping ‘-inator’ at the end of their creation’s names.
Can you imagine an overblot and Yuu just pulls out this strange device and introduces it like:
Yuu: “Behold! Marvel at my ‘Insta-Knockout SlumberBlaster 3000-inator!’ Riddle’s going to definitely go down with this in just one hit!” A1: “With only an approximate 63% chance of dealing concussion! A massive improvement from the previous trials!”  Ace: “Excuse me, only 63%? Wait— Previous trials? Yuu, who did you test it on for you to get that statistic? Yuu? Yuu, come back here! Who did you test it on?! Yuu!”
Another overblot scenario would be…
A1: “Beep! Threat detected! Determining threat level, please wait…” Someone: “W… Why do you need to determine his threat level??? He’s literally about to kill us???” Yuu: “No, no, let my child cook.” A1: “Threat level determined. Warning: Threat level 10. Suggesting course of action: Run.” Yuu: “Okay, now we run.”
Let’s not forget holograms!
Imagine Deuce seeing Yuu facing away from him in the distance so he runs over to them and tries to gain their attention. He tries to tap Yuu’s shoulder but their hand just goes over Yuu’s form, leaving a slight glitch-like effect where Deuce’s hand passes through.
Hologram Yuu looks over to Deuce and says:
“Alas, as I am not here, I disappear.”
Then throws out a peace sign before slowly fading away while still maintaining eye contact.
Now that I think about it, on the first day of their janitorial duties, Yuu was able to make a weird-looking cleaning device out of metal scraps and pieces they found in Ramshackle and it somehow worked.
Well, for the most part anyway. 
Having no windows technically meant nothing to clean so in a way Yuu was doing their job, yes?
Yeah, Yuu broke a few windows and may have contributed to the chandelier also breaking that day so Deuce ain’t the only one at fault for this.
Speaking of, Ace’s first meeting with Yuu.
When he was introducing the Statues of the Great Seven to Grim and Yuu, Yuu turned to him and asked in the most serious voice possible if Ace wanted the statues to be animated by turning it into animatronics.
Ace barely managed to stop Yuu from dismembering the statues.
Technomaniac Yuu at literally everything they can see: “I can make it better!”
Giving broken things to Technomaniac!Yuu to be fixed is a gamble. 
Oh, a toaster? Well, you either get a completely fixed toaster that’s a bit better with warming your bread than before or it turns into a charcoal-maker. There is no inbetween.
Your phone? Oops, might’ve accidentally turned the flashlight function into a flashbang, teehee.
Technomaniac!Yuu is basically the tech support of NRC.\
Or more like tech terror. Tech-rorr, get it? I’m so funny.
Speaking of NRC, Yuu got banned from going to Ignihyde dorm.
That’s because they got too excited seeing all the new devices and technology they haven’t seen before in the dorm and kind of dismantled almost everything to see how it worked.
Ooooo, now that I’m thinking of it, cybernetic body modifications!
Like, what if they got severely injured against one of the overblot boys? Lost a limb or two? Or maybe they already had cybernetic body modifications even before they arrived in Twisted Wonderland.
Imagine them having an arm kinda similar to the robot arm Princess Bubblegum gifted Finn with the various power tools/weapons functions. There’s probably a rocket launcher function around there somewhere.
 Rook tries to stalk Technomaniac!Yuu but it always ends up being a hologram. Why do you think Rook calls them Trickster?
Wait, can you imagine the dynamic between Technomaniac!Yuu and Malleus?
One’s so bad at technology while the other’s the complete opposite.
Yuu asks Malleus if he wants his phone to be upgraded and suddenly Malleus’ phone has a built-in taser, ultra hd 4k graphics camera and video resolution, live tamagotchi game synchronization and surveillance, 24/7 AI assistance, unlimited wifi, faster internet speed, ultra deluxe storage expansion, the strongest antivirus known to to mankind, and Malleus still doesn’t know how to use his phone.
Yuu learns Briar Valley has technomancy and they’re immediately putting that place as a vacation spot because hello? Combining magic and technology? Can you imagine all the things they could create with those two forces combined? They’d be unstoppable!
Also, the Magicam Monsters stand no chance against Technomaniac!Yuu.
The moment those suckers break into Ramshackle, Yuu would immediately interfere with their gadgets and kick them out if they’re feeling merciful.
If not, well, say hello to the most vengeful virus they’ve ever met in their lives. 
No matter what gadget they change into, the virus will always follow them everywhere in the cyberspace network and break their devices or cause them the most annoying inconveniences. 
Slow internet? You betcha! Wifi symbol on but internet not coming through? Why, it happens almost every other day! Apps failing to open at the most crucial time? Lmao, rofl.
Speaking of gadget, Cater probably asks Yuu to upgrade his phone so he can take better selfies.
Thankfully the upgrade was a success and nothing exploded.
Yuu: “Well, here’s your phone, Cater! New and improved with better camera quality, efficiency, and effectiveness! Also, I hope you don’t mind but I also added an app that I occasionally use called Therapy Bot. Free of charge!” Cater: “Thanks, Yuu! Wait—” Yuu, looking around and leaning in to whisper: “Between you and me, I think everyone in this school could really benefit from Therapy Bot.”
Technomaniac!Yuu the most unhinged yet one of the most sane Yuu variants out there.
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gabessquishytum · 6 months
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Feeling like some family fluff ❤️
Dream and Hob reunite in the modern day, clear the air about 1889, and somehow manage to confess their feelings. There’s just one little hitch to keep Hob from immediately jumping into this relationship: either by adoption or by accident, Hob has a small child that has to be his first priority. And they are a feral little creature to nearly anyone who isn’t Hob, and very protective of their father.
Dream is rather nervous to be introduced to someone whose opinion is so important to Hob, but determined to try his best to like and bond with the tiny human, for the sake of his relationship with Hob.
Upon meeting them, the kid starts by biting Dream’s hand. He is enchanted.
So wrapped up in his worry about messing this up, he’d forgotten how much he genuinely likes kids, and look at how delightful and interesting this one is! They’re the sweetest angel in the world to Hob, which reminds him of some of his loveliest dreams, and does their level-best short of maiming to scare Dream off, reminding him of his youngest nightmares. They’re the best of both worlds, and Dream is besotted, no longer just for Hob’s sake.
The child is growing more and more torn about the situation. On the one hand, no one they’ve ever met has been good enough for their dad, and they’re reluctant to admit that this guy might be the exception. On the other hand, he can do magic, which is pretty cool. On the other other hand, their personal pride at their ability to chase anyone off is at stake here. But on the other other other hand, it’s kinda nice that he never gets angry at their tricks or threats, and in fact seems to enjoy them. Not to mention their dad seems to actually really care whether or not this guy sticks around, which is significant.
Hob tries his best to rein his kid in when they’re like this, but he can’t help but see their feralness as a kind of zest for life and therefore isn’t very good at reprimands. Dream tends to wave off his apologies anyway, and his obvious delight at the child’s creative antics (not trying to tame or gentle them, but appreciating them as they are) does funny things to Hob’s heart. This might work out after all.
-🪽anon
Oh yes this is very sweet. I love it when Hob is a dad.
And oh, I love the idea of Dream having to go through the traditional ritual of "You're dating my dad and I hate that about you." As every potential step-parent should.
And the best part it - Dream loves it. He loves being scrutinised by this very small human, who is so like Hob in many ways. He doesn't mind how feral the kid is, basically because they are clearly having a really great time trying to chase Dream away. The whoopee cushion prank in the middle of the new inn was pretty epic, even Hob has to admit that, and he's never seen Dream laugh so much.
Maybe somewhere along the line Hob has a big emergency and there's no one to babysit, so he calls on Dream to help. The child is secretly thrilled because a) Dream is magic and they secretly love that and b) being alone with Dream is the perfect opportunity to be as feral as possible and prove that Dream is not up for the job of dating their dad.
But Dream turns out to be a rather excellent babysitter, and keeps very calm during all the antics that occur. Eventually he sits down on the bedroom floor in the middle of the chaos with the kid and they actually talk for a bit. The kid shares some concerns about whether Dream will actually stick around, whether he'll be nice to Hob, all of that stuff. And Dream (not exactly king of communication) tries his best to promise that he does want to be with Hob longterm and that he's learnt a lot about not hurting people, recently.
Hob returns to find his kid tucked in and snoring away (benefits of having the literal sandman putting you to bed, Hob is so jealous). They end up kissing on the sofa because Hob is kinda horny about Dream’s potential parenting skills, and in the morning the kid begrudgingly admits over breakfast that maybe it would be ok if Dream comes over more. And takes Hob for dates. Maybe.
But no kissing. They got up to pee last night and saw more than enough of that 🤮 <33
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tylered-up-in-blue · 9 months
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Response to “The Magic Trick You Didn’t See” / The Coffee Theory
I, like many people in the Good Omens fandom, have already read the big essay “The Magic Trick You Didn’t see” –which blows up the coffee theory that’s been circulating on my twitter page to greater heights and big claims. I have some thoughts.
First of all: I think that the original essay has a few details wrong, essentially because it falls into a kind of utilitarian perspective with the whole magic show metaphor. The thing is –sometimes details which are left hanging, or themes which are shown to be important, don’t always tie up somewhere. Sometimes they’re there because they’re interesting, or poking at intrigue –trying to get you to notice and note down for later, rather than evidence of one ultimate solution that’ll be revealed as a holistic great plot. Also “I didn’t think the writing was good in this moment” isn’t very convincing to me, I’m sorry.
But –I do think that they were onto something. I hesitate to make any grand claims, like “Maggie isn’t real,” or “The Metatron is editing the book of life,” because -to be honest- I don’t trust myself to put my name to something as big as that, and I don’t want to erase my favourite thing about Good Omens: its whimsicality. But I will say that there are themes and notable elements which I think will be important later and hint at some larger fuckery (if you’ll excuse the OFMD reference) going on, so consider this a kind of rejigging of the theory to be a more thematic approach that lays out things I just thought were interesting under an more open-ended (or flip-floppy, depending on how you take it) idea:
Something was going on this season which will be revealed as a Heavenly plot to split Aziraphale and Crowley up by the end. It worked. And the person to reveal the greater plot will be Muriel.
I’ll write down first of all a list of things that have been introduced to the world of Good Omens which I think are important, and highlight why one of them sticks out to me. Then I’ll work on a thematic basis of what things are shown to be worth narrative focus/presuppose S3. The first two themes are very much commentary drawing on the essay I’m responding to, and the second two are more my own ideas –certainly the fourth.
Okay, so: there are introductions to the Good Omens-verse which are clearly there to expand our world for later use. I don’t know if all of these things will come up again, but by the end of this season we know:
There are Nazi (and possibly more) zombies running around London.
There is a gun in Aziraphale’s bookshop -in case it’s needed. 
Heaven is interested in keeping things quiet, and they will fiddle with memories to do so. Erased memories can be “stored” in things/creatures.
There is a thing called “The Book of Life” that if you’re written out of, you NEVER EXISTED. (It can be edited, too, presumably.)
Crowley is possibly the most powerful being in the show. “Half a tiny miracle” ends up being enough to resurrect someone 25 times over, and his attempt to stay calm after a little tiff with aziraphale results in draining the street of electricity. Also he created the entire universe. (coming back to amend this with the fact Neil said he got going just "that tiny corner of space" -but I still feel there is significant evidence to say he is very powerful:) )
I lay these out because they’re just good to have noted down, really, and because they’re definitely GOING to be important. ALSO because the last one makes sense for the greater aim to be breaking up the ineffable husbands. Emphasis on Crowley’s power –and for their shared power– sets up a REAL threat for what we KNOW will be the basis of s2: The Second Coming. If you’re Heaven, and you want the second attempt at an apocalypse to be successful, you’d be stupid to let the two celestial beings who were meddling in the whole averted-apocalypse ordeal last time to just be AROUND for it. Especially when one has the ability to stop time!!! You’ve GOT to break them up. 
Theme 1: Investigation (Muriel!)
Investigation is a fun little theme in s2: Aziraphale goes full detective mode. He loves the clues, he’s in his little trilby investigating. All the marketing was very investigative and invites the audience to pay close attention. And there are SO many little easter eggs. From The Colour of Magic appearing to Gabriel reading the first lines of Good Omens –even as small as a Terry Prattchet impersonator speaking over the tannoy in Hell, or the film in The Resurrectionist being chosen specifically to play because there’s a scene where Jimmy Stewart talks to a fly. 
So! Investigation is fun! It’s important. And my favourite part of the essay I’m responding to is definitely that about Muriel. I think that all this build up to the detective-vibe is going to cumulate in their s3 role. Essentially: I entirely agree that they are coded as the one to blow open this whole case in S3. The police costume and giving them The Crow Road are certainly suggestive–but more than anything, leaving them in charge of the bookshop (full of Aziraphale’s diaries and books and everything) props them up perfectly to earn the promo they got for s2. Because I’m not sure about you, but my mutuals and I were shocked that the NYCC scene (“hello hello hello, I’m a human police officer!”) didn’t happen until episode three. From the way the promo was going (character profiles, trailer etc.) I thought Muriel would be in s2 WAY more.
They also make a HUGE point of how Muriel is considered “nobody.” They say it themselves, they’re called “the dull one” by Metatron.
They set them up perfectly to solve this later.
Theme 2: Memories and Stories:
Memory! Another theme! –memory that can be tampered with, contained, erased and returned.
Heaven is willing to meddle with and erase memories if necessary. They are, then, SUBTLE.
There is no God narrator.
There is a statue immortalising a very real Gabriel (somehow/for some reason –Gabriel was also involved in its making?) 
My favourite part of season 2 was definitely the minisodes. The costumes, the settings –I was so surprised to find the horses and carts in ep 3 were CGI in the X-Ray! They look so good! I loved how every single flashback was incredibly vital and interesting to expand on Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship –that convo on the rock in ep 2? WOW. Stunned. Anyway, not to go on.
I completely disagree with the conviction that these were edited. I think that, to the contrary, these memories are (IF there’s something going on with temptation/persuasion (more on that later) and The Book of Life) are ENTIRELY real. And the reason for that is highlighted in the very essay: each memory is tied to a physical record of it happening. The Book of Job; the Polaroid in ‘41, and Aziraphale’s diaries. This is not to say that there aren’t still gaps: where was the “I’m sorry” dance of ‘41? If Aziraphale wasn’t drinking in 2500 BC then when did he start? Just little things like this.
This is the thing: stories, words, are vital. The challenge that they gave the guy who did Sherlock (I can’t remember his name I’m sorry!) –it’s talked about in the X-Ray– was to have words pop out in 4 different ways across S2. This a fun stylistic choice, but it also gives words narrative attention, so ties in with all this. Without God to narrate, narratives and accounts are left to the characters within the world. It’s fun and important both. So is the spelling stuff. Maggie can’t spell, neither can the demons. (She may be a demon herself –I’m not entirely convinced it’s this simple, tbh, but Aziraphale’s miracle not working on her in ep5 is definitely a red flag.) Anyway – it’s also interesting.
With all this, my idea that Heaven/Metatron had been planning the aziracrow divorce from the beginning might mean they’re tampering with The Book of Life –it also could mean that they’re ABOUT to do something weird with Aziraphale’s memories, or all these pieces are going to become very very helpful for Muriel’s investigation.
I really do wonder what this role of records, memories and narratives will come to, but I have a feeling it’ll bleed into s3.
Theme 3: Food
Crowley was the reason Aziraphale tried food in the first place. I just wanted to put that down because of course he was, but also it is deeply INSANE that he INTRODUCED AZIRAPHALE TO THE CONCEPT OF EATING. God, David was right. They really don't exist without each other.
This is kind of the point I make with food here: it’s a HUGE theme in s2, largely just to emphasise the fact that it’s powerful.
For some reason (jokey or otherwise) eccles cakes can “calm you down.”
Aziraphale becomes significantly bonded to Crowley by eating the Ox in ep2. Later, Crowley is “as strong as an Ox." –fun little echo.)
They drink the same wine as always in ‘41 –they share no wine in s2, just the sherry and whiskey respectively. They also don’t share a meal, which seems interesting. I personally think that it’s to do with consumption being a metaphor for queer desire, and the absence of it being a sign of C/A being on “their own side” in s2. Crowley abandons temptation as Aziraphale abandons attempts to “save” Crowley. –-Or it may mean something else!
Crowley drinks laudanum and it makes him go lala. It ALSO makes him turn tiny, then giant, and he does something kind –kind enough to get him dragged off to hell and tortured so badly that he’s asking for holy water as “insurance” 40 years later.
That fucking oatmilk almond coffee. Okay. So if food is powerful, this has weight. From the colour of it being weird against the background to the fact (to quote my dear friend Jey) “nobody fucking drinks almond syrup!!” –I’m sure you’ve see all this going around. Almonds are obviously very poison-coded, and considering the above point I smell something strange. (I don’t believe it was quite a case of drugging per say, but more metaphor: Aziraphale is being tempted. He’s being manipulated, and drawn back into the culty office world of heaven.)
So what we know here is that food is powerful. An important metaphor and force (especially for aziracrow.)
Theme 4: Resurrection
OKAY: so, this is the most original of my listing in these themes. I am so interested in this resurrection thing they’ve got going.
The Resurrectionist pub: where Gabriel and Beez come to their plan. We see that The Dirty Donkey is a lift to heaven (which NOT enough people are talking about) –so what about The Resurrectionist? What power does it hold as a space? Why is the legacy of Mr Dalrymple important?
Why did (wee) Morag’s eyes glow briefly? Is she a zombie now?
Zombies exist. We know this. They’re also tied to the concept of consumption, which is cool.
Heaven measures miracles by Lazarii.
Gabriel, in one of his flashes of prophecy, says: “there will come a tempest (...) the dead will rise from their graves and wander the earth once more.”
These are all cool. Thematically, it seems that being raised from the dead is going to be something big. I’m interested in this, considering that after Gabriel said the above mentioned prophecy my good friend Jey said “hold on, is this going to be about The Rapture?”
Now: we know that “668: Neighbour of the Beast” was supposed to be set in America. Whether it actually is or not, I don’t know, but I think that if it is about a second coming on American soil, The Rapture feels VERY pertinent. The dead are the first to rise and be with God in The Rapture, but all believers join them: and they join them permanently. In some versions, there is a period in which Christ rules the earth. All very fun and interesting prospects for s3!
Where this leaves us:
S2 is the “bridge” between 1 and 3, in Neil’s words. It’s the “romantic filling” of the sandwich.
I would argue that some seriously tough bread started with “oh Crowley, nothing lasts forever,” but hey ho, that’s the very ending of the season. I just want to talk about coded language/draw on what I’ve just said to talk about how we’re set up for the structures of s3:
Heaven is a CULT. A serious cult. From the (temptation) manipulation of the coffee, to the man at the pub calling Gabriel a “mason” –which I’m assuming he means freemason– to the frankly INSANE smile on Michael Sheen’s face as the credits roll (also sickening lighting there)– they are a big threatening cult, and that is going to be important. I think it’ll just get increasingly so.
FurFur and Shax have it OUT for the ineffable husbands. Like they are NOT fans. And they seem to also be buddies now so… not great news.
In The Scene </3 Crowley stops himself short of saying he’d like to spend eternity with Aziraphale, and instead asks him to “go off together,” just like s1 –I think their language is going to develop hugely in s3. It’ll go back to being the space they “carved out for themselves,” only further.
And finally: a bet. The last time we see Crowley, he’s in a car full of plants because he’s carrying “their side” away with him. I am willing to bet –not that this is a hottake or anything– that it’ll end, as it began: in a garden. S3 will end in the garden of their South Downs Cottage !!!
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randomimaginesideas · 1 month
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Let me rage part 2
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Summary; Finally reunited Valtor and (Y/n) can get back to conquer the magic dimension. (Y/N) gets to meet the Trix and shows why she is Valtor’s right hand. Deciding to infiltrate Alfea she meets the Winx, and becomes an important player in this battle. 
This work is also published on AO3 under my username Acourtoffanficsandfeelings, if you prefer to read it there.
Continuation of Together again, and second part of let me rage.
A/N; First, I am incredibly sorry for the delay. I was having an intense writer's block for a certain part in this chapter and didn’t really know how to continue.
It seems that to this day Valtor is still a beloved character, and this fic still gets kudos, and comments. And that motivates me to write. So even if it has taken a while I hope I’ve managed to write a chapter you’re all very happy to read, as I did my best to make it as long as possible to make it up to you guys. While writing this chapter I concluded that this part of the series will be 3 chapters instead of the original two, as I felt it would have the story flow more. 
Also because I hope this way to fetch out the character of the reader more, to give her some emotions, and struggles, while still remaining an badass amazing villain lover. And to show you some more moments between Valtor and (Y/N).
So I want to thank everybody again for sticking around,and reading this after my long absence, and if you just found the fic and this was already out when you found my fic, I hope you also enjoy everything that I’ve written so far.
Monday morning. Idle chatter could be heard filling the classroom as some of the Alfea students were waiting for their new teacher to make an appearance. A teacher who was ten minutes late. When the wooden doors started to creak, and announced the arrival of somebody the chatter slowly faded out, and silence filled the room.  “Sorry class, I know I’m late, but as I’m sure some of you would agree with me, this school can be quite a maze.” The students, including the famous Winx, watched as the new teacher made her way towards the desk, and placed her bag on it before turning around to face her students. “Hello class, I’m Professor Whiteshade, and I am your new teacher specialized in Enchantix.”
While she was introducing herself (Y/N) could feel the eyes of the students observing her. They took in the white floor length dress that she wore, with the black belt across her waist. She could feel their eyes looking at her blond hair that was so pale it almost looked white when the lights hit it in a certain spot. It had been pulled into an intricate bun to keep the hair out of her face. (Y/N) didn't like the look she had currently on, but there have been worse faces she had turned into.
One of the students raised her hand, gaining (Y/N)’s attention who smiled at her. “Yes,-” She glanced down at one of the papers on her desk, pretending not to have seen Bloom before. Valtor had shown her some of the winx in his scrying orb and explained the most important facts she needed to know: like the fact that Bloom was the fairy of the dragon flame. “Bloom, is it?” The red head nodded, before asking her question. “Not to be rude professor, but why are we now suddenly getting this extra class in our curriculum?” 
“Not rude at all, and an understandable question at that. I understand you’re not looking forward to more homework, so I will try to keep it at a minimum. As you all are well aware there is a new threat trying to conquer the magic dimension.” (Y/N) voice got serious as she looked across the room, seeing multiple defeated faces of the fairies who’s home had been affected by Valtor. A good person would have felt bad when she looked at those faces, but (Y/N) knew that sometimes things had to be destroyed for a new world to rise again. A world in which she and Valtor ruled the magic dimension.
“Headmistress Feragonda has asked me to come to Alfea, and teach and guide you students as you learn more about Enchantix in these troubling times. From the information I’ve gotten, two of you have already received your Enchantix.” (Y/N)’s eyes found those of Aisha and Stella, whom she gave a reassuring smile. “You should be proud of yourselves for earning your Enchantix, despite how grave the situation was in which you’ve gotten them.” (Y/N) focused on the class again. Aisha’s and Stella’s expression grew dark as (Y/N) could see the memories of those moments come back to the girls.
“Enchantix isn’t easily gained, it requires great sacrifice. I know of fairies who’ve nearly died in their efforts to earn their Enchantix. And sometimes you need to sacrifice your own happiness and choose to do what’s right because not everything that makes you happy is right.”
~~~
“Are you sure this is the only way?” (Y/n) asked as she looked at the beaten and locked up form of professor Whiteshade, who was currently lying unconscious on the floor. “You know that there is nobody I trust more with this than you.” (Y/N) felt Valtor place his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. The two of them were standing in front of Whiteshade’s cell, which was located one floor above Griffins, where Valtor had told her his plan regarding Alfea. “We need to have an inside source, and find the hall of enchantment. They will notice if I or the Trix slip by but they won’t notice you.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes, knowing he was right, but not really agreeing with the plan.
“I’ve only just returned to you, and you wish to have me leave again.” She muttered, feeling rejected. Valtor quickly turned her around, guiding her by her shoulders. One of his hands grabbed her chin gently between two fingers, and tilted her head up. “That is a cruel thing to say, for you know that is not my intention. I’ve missed you with all my heart, and I dislike this plan as much as you do, but there is nobody I trust more with this than you. And the sooner this is over with, the sooner you can return to me.” Valtor said as he looked into her eyes, and pressed a brief kiss on (Y/N)’s lips. 
A sigh left her lips afterwards as she enjoyed the closeness between them for a moment, knowing that she would have to part from it again so soon, and then she relented. “Alright, I’ll do it.” Valtor smiled at her as he slowly released her from his hold. (Y/N) turned to look at the real professor Whiteshade again, as she whispered a spell, closing her eyes. As soon as the spell had crossed her lips the shadows around them in the room seemed to twist and turn as they started to glide across her body. Through the glimpses of shadow Valtor could see her clothing change from the black dress she wore to a red sundress. Her (Y/H/C) turned into the lightest of blondes. And when the shadows moved away, and (Y/N) opened her eyes, even her eye color had changed. 
She looked almost identical to the professor Whiteshade in the cell, only the trained eye would spot the differences. A mole that wasn’t there where it usually was, a scar that wasn’t there, perhaps a bit more weight on the arms or legs.  (Y/N) had always been able to manipulate the shadows, to make things seem different from what actually, but only small things like books, trinkets or furniture. But during her years with Valtor he had taught her to think bigger, to practice her spells, and now she was almost able to place the spell on almost anything. For everything in the shadows is not what it seems.
~~~
It had been two weeks since (Y/N) had arrived at Alfea and she was annoyed. She knew she was doing important work for Valtor, passing along information from the room of enhancement to Valtor, but those types of things took time. It turned out that Alfea had finally invested in a librarian who took her work seriously. Although it wasn’t difficult for (Y/N) to charm Barbatea, and learn all about the library. But it also meant that Barbatea  knew every nook and cranny, and would know it if things disappeared. So (Y/N) was forced to make copies of some of the lesser important spells, and tried to find substitutes for the more important books and scrolls. (Y/N) was particularly proud of the erotic romance novel she had managed to look like an ancient spell book. Now she just hoped that nobody would open the book. 
After spending seventeen years as a statue, her powers were still on the weaker side. Each week she felt her power grow, and Valtor had helped her by sharing his power. But from the moment she had woken up she had used her magic continuously. Pretending to be Griffin when anybody would try to contact her to keep up the appearance that Cloud Tower was still standing. Or that one time they had intercepted a call from Feragonda to King Radius to ask how things were regarding the fountain, and King Radius had replied that; everything was quiet but they would keep an eye out for anything strange and notify her when they did. And now, (Y/N) had to continue to keep up the appearance as professor Whiteshade, and keep the illusions of the books going even if she wasn’t anywhere near them.
And on top of all that she had to actually teach the students something about Enchantix. The first couple of days (Y/N) had mostly placed the focus on introductions in the class, and to Enchanctix, telling what she knew of Enchantix, but she was running out of information. So one day she had made a parkour course for her Enchantix students, before letting them race the others. To make the students see how much stronger they would become if they earned Enchantix, and why it came with such a heavy price.
But the thing that kept (Y/N) going was the fact that she knew Valtor was growing stronger every time she sent him something through the shadows. And Valtor also seemed to know when to say something to her, even when he couldn’t speak with her.
~~~
It was dark in the library, most of the Alfea students were in bed, as were most of its teachers. Barbatea had just wished (Y/N) goodnight, after (Y/N) had promised the librarian she would lock up behind her, but just wanted to research one more thing before her class tomorrow. (Y/N) had turned off the lights, preferring the light from the moon shining through the windows. (Y/N) always waited half an hour after everybody had left to make sure that Barbatea wouldn’t just reappear. 
When the half hour had passed (Y/N) slowly rose from the chair she had been vacating, and she closed the book she had been reading. From her bag, which was filled with her students' homework to keep up appearances, she grabbed a gardening book that she had taken from the greenhouse earlier today. After placing it on the table right next to the one she had been reading previously, she placed her hands on top of the books, one on each. (Y/N) closed her eyes, and tried to focus. “Mirror image.” She whispered as she felt her magic move beneath her hands. The headache that had been slowly growing bigger these past week, grew stronger with the new spell she casted. 
When (Y/N) opened her eyes she let out a sigh of frustration. It almost looked like the spell had only taken half effect. The title of the spellbook had been transferred to the gardening book, but the flowery cover could still be seen underneath.
(Y/N) lifted her head to look at the ceiling as she took another deep breath, trying to soothe the headache, and focus on the shadows she was already controlling. Her image of professor Whiteshade, and covers of around fifteen books she was trying to keep up, while focusing on creating a new one. If she focused, she could feel the shadow connecting the books together, although weak as it was, it was there. (Y/N) tried to imagine Valtor standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, placing a kiss on her lips as she had her head tilted backwards. And his words he had whispered to her long ago that fateful day; that she was strong, that she was capable of anything, as long as she remained by his side. 
“I miss you.” (Y/N) confessed to the quiet library, with only the moonlight and the shadows as her company. It had been two weeks of no contact with either Valtor or the Trix. And after only a week with Valtor,before she had gone to Alfea, after being stuck in stone for seventeen years felt like a short time to be together again. But (Y/N) also knew that they would have all the time in the world together once Valtor and her conquer the magic dimension. 
Thinking with their end goal in mind (Y/N) returned her attention back to her task at hand. “Mirror image.” She said again, and this time when she opened her eyes, she had two identical books. Or at least when you didn’t look too closely. Perhaps a tear wasn’t in the place it always was, and maybe the letter R was a different font but didn’t look out of place at first glance. 
(Y/N) stood up and placed the duplicate copy back in the place it belonged, before grabbing the original and walking to a shadowed corner of the library, a place where the moonlight didn’t reach. (Y/N) squatted down and waved her hand, the shadows twisting underneath into a calm whirlpool of shadows. She imagined Cloud Tower, more specially Valtor’s desk, next to the scrying orb as she pushed the book into the shadows, and dropped it. 
(Y/N) stood back up again, and went to turn around when she heard a small thunk, and something hitting her ankle. The shadows had gone quiet again, no longer moving as their mistress had no longer any use of them. But that wasn’t what caught (Y/N)’s attention, for she had expected them to be quiet. No, on the ground near her ankle she saw a small circle with something sticking out of it. 
After picking it up, (Y/N) made her way towards the window. In the moonlight she saw she was holding onto a ring with a small note attached to it. Before (Y/N) studied the ring she opened up the note. It was a small letter, one that would sometimes have been tied to the foot of a bird. The only message on it was; As promised. Two days.
(Y/N) turned her attention towards the ring. It was a ring that was on the wider side. The first thing that caught her attention was how blue it was. When she looked closer she recognized the blue to be some type of coral, from andros more specifically. The whole inside of the ring was made of polished blue coral, the sides inlaid with gold to give it a more delicate effect. A smile came on (Y/N)’s face as she brought the ring to her chest and held it there for a moment. 
Seventeen years ago Valtor had promised her all the jewelry her heart desired when they were rulers of the magic dimension. (Y/N) had mentioned how her sister had gotten a ring from Andros, which had used coral instead of diamonds, and how she had always wanted a ring like that. And how some corals from Andros were worth more than some of the most expensive diamonds. So that was why her sister only had one small part of her ring infused with the coral. In response Valtor had promised she would have the most beautiful ring of Andros one day, even prettier than her sisters. 
(Y/N) remembered how Aisha hadn’t been in class today as there was another attack on Andros. Seemed like Valtor had remembered his promise. With a smile (Y/N) placed the ring around her, or rather professor Whiteshade’s, finger. She tore up the paper and threw it in the trash, making sure nobody would be able to read it, and even then it couldn’t be traced back to her. With renewed strength (Y/N) made her way out of the library, and towards her bedroom.
~~~
That had been two days ago. It was now Saturday, and everybody, teachers and students, were free to do as they pleased today. But (Y/N) had been on edge the whole day, just waiting for something to happen. She kept herself busy by making sure all her shadows were still where she needed them to be, and keeping her head ache to a minimum. But she did all that from the solitude of her bedroom. (Y/N) was in the habit of keeping her curtains almost closed, not a fan of the burning daylight. 
Her attention was pulled when the small streak of light that came from the crack in between the curtains turned dark. Opening her curtains she could see storm clouds gathering above Alfea as it started to rain. If (Y/N) hadn’t suspected something was amiss, the fact that the magic barrier was going up was a definite sign.
Relief and excitement coursed through (Y/N)’s body. Relief that her stay in Alfea would finally be over, and excitement to know the future that will be waiting for them. (Y/N) stepped out of her room and ran into professor Palladium and professor Wizgiz who had also been residing in their chambers. The tree of them ran up towards one of the rooftops, knowing that Faragonda had gone there to activate the barrier. “Miss Faragonda!” Professor Palladium called out to her, gaining her attention.
“Brace yourself. The lighting is bewitched, and clearly the work of Valtor.” Faragonda warned them as she turned to look back in the sky. Up in the storm clouds the mark of Valtor had appeared, whenever the lighting struck it grew brighter. Faragonda turned her attention back to the professors at her side. “Keep your eyes open, be prepared,-” “Look, he’s using the witches from Cloud Tower.” Professor Wizgiz said, pointing towards the storm cloud. Professor Wizgiz was right. From the storm clouds, they’re hands outstretched came the lighting that had previously been in the clouds. The lighting struck the magical barrier, and with Valtor controlling them the magic of the witches was a lot stronger than they’d normally had, making the barrier fall apart.
Faragonda turned back around to face her colleagues. “Alright, get the girls. They’ll need our help, and we’ll need theirs.” Faragonda said with confidence before she was hit with lighting from behind. Luckily with everything going on it just seemed like professor Whiteshade stepped away from the blast to protect herself, and certainly not because she didn’t feel the need to catch the headmistress. (Y/N) had to give credit where credit was due, and Faragonda quickly got back up again. “Alright, you two,-” Faragonda looked in the direction of the professor's Palladium and Wizgiz. “Gather all the fairies and prepare for battle.” The two professors ran off as the barrier fully broke, and tiny glittering pieces fell down the sky. 
Then Faragonda looked professor Whiteshade in the eyes. “Go to the library and don’t let any of the information get into the wrong hands.” (Y/N) turned to walk towards the library when she heard Faragonda call out her lover’s name, which made her stop in her tracks. Faragonda was way too focused on Valtor who came down from the sky to notice that she had stopped.
Valtor landed with two feet on the ground, arms folded together in front of his chest. “We meet again, Faragonda, it has been a while.” Valtor smiled as he tilted his head slightly sideways, almost as if he pitied the woman standing in front of him. “You’ve grown old.” He added chuckling. For the briefest of moments (Y/N) saw his eyes go over Faragonda’s shoulder in her direction, before returning towards the furious headmistress.
“You’ve bewitched the girls from Cloud Tower.” She accused before throwing a spell at him in her anger. Valtor managed to easily catch the spell with his hand, before throwing it back in Faragonda’s direction, which managed to hit her in the chest. Faragonda flew backwards towards the edge of the roof, hitting the brick wall. She landed close to (Y/N), who was now calmly inspecting the spectacle. Now that Faragonda could see that professor Whiteshade had remained standing, (Y/N) could see the clogs in her head turning. “I’ve always been known to be rather persuasive.” Valtor said, walking closer towards them as (Y/N) slowly started to make his way towards him. “No, no!” Faragonda muttered, almost shocked, as realization slowly started to dawn on her.  “Or should I say, we are very persuasive.” 
“I suppose we are.” (Y/N) chuckled, as she let herself drop the image of professor Whiteshade for a moment. With each blink of Faragonda’s eyes a different person was standing next to Valtor. One moment in her place stood the professor, then Griffin, and then King Radius , and with the next blink shadows circled around the woman standing next to Valtor, revealing the woman lying behind the shadows, beneath all the false faces she created. A smile on her lips that Faragonda knew all too well from many years ago, then the professor was back in place but the smile still remained. “Well, as fun as this little reunion is, I was under strict orders to make sure the information in the library would not fall under the wrong hands.” (Y/N) told Valtor, who matched the smile on her face. 
“Well then, you better get going. Faragonda and I have a lot of catching up to do anyway.” 
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reikiajakoiranruohoja · 7 months
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Second Inquisition WOW
I don't even know how to preface this, because this is some massive tonal confusion. I guess the best way to put it is that for all I love Werewolf and Vampire, I am not blind to the horror they are for humans. Though my go-to question for anyone writing monster hunters is why they hunt, I still feel hunters are extremely important to the narrative as a counterpoint to the monsters. So when I read the introduction text for the Second Inquisition book for V5, my jaw hit the floor.
"The theme of the Second Inquisition is determination – aimed at the player coterie. Like a certain killer cyborg from the future, the Coalition can’t be reasoned with, it can’t be bargained with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Individual Inquisitors or soldiers or cops or nuns can be reasoned with and bargained with. Most feel fear, some feel pity, and even a few feel remorse. All those deviations and human moments make excellent stories, ripples in the flood. But the narrative relentlessly washes over those stories, replacing every flawed or broken foe with two more – ten more — out for revenge or salvation. The Inquisition as a whole – both as a conspiracy and a movement that enflames that conspiracy – will not stop until every Kindred burns. Conveying the impersonal, implacable determination of a gigantic bureaucracy to crush the player characters should not be impossible in the 2020s – but it should be very effective."
Why this made me stare at the screen, is how the Inquisition was introduced in an older book;
"The theme of The Inquisition is the crusader. The Society of Leopold sees itself as humanity’s last stand against the encroaching hordes of the World of Darkness. Inquisitors are the new Crusaders; all the Earth is their Holy Land. But theirs is a lonely struggle, bereft of the support of those whom they would save. The general populace does not know of the struggle, and would most likely think the Inquisitors are mad. Inquisitors are holy knights, alienated from their fellow mortals by their knowledge of what awaits. Some within the Inquisition are zealots, it is true, but it is better to err on the side of caution than to let slip the defences of humanity." The difference is stark, especially as they are talking about the same sort of hunters. The reason I find the newer book's take extremely strange, is due to the fact that the player characters in VtM are undead bloodsucking parasites that manipulate humanity and have magic blood powers that make them much stronger than an average human. Yet the V5 book chooses to introduce the inquisition as horrible people who will never stop hunting poor innocent vampires. It goes even as far as the art.
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(Start ID; A mixed media picture with modified photographs. A bald man in a trenchcoat is scowling with his fists clenched. He is holding the severed head of a female vampire from its hair. The expression on the head is of wide-eyed horror. End ID.)
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(Start ID; A book cover with the text Inquision as the title, with a crosshair symbol reading 'Year of the Hunter' on the bottom. The cover art is a painted picture of a bearded man in a trenchcoat and torn jeans wielding in one hand a large cross and in another a lit torch. There is a shotgun and spent shells on the tiled floor. Just outside the light of the torch, a horde of vampires with glowing eyes has surrounded the man, some shirking from the light. End ID.)
One treats the hunter as a threat overpowering a vampire. The other treats the hunter as a lone figure surrounded by a mass of vampires. Let me be quite frank, humanity in WoD are the mice that the cats (vampires) hunt. Hunters are the mice that fight back. A vampire in VtM, regardless of edition, has an advantage over a hunter. Vampires use humans as prey, the polite ones pay them for it but they don't HAVE to. In V5 you are given various methods to hunt for your blood, some which are cruel. Painting the people standing up to creatures that actively harm humans as the abusers and the ones in the wrong is extremely tone deaf. Vampires are not some oppressed minority trying to eke out a living, a vampire is creature that needs to drink blood to survive and human blood is the best. In V5's own lore, it is only recently that vampires are even put on the backfoot at all. Before that, humanity were pawns in centuries long grudgematches and at best a quick bite snack at wost fleshcrafted into sacks hung from hooks. Can there be good vampires and bad hunters? Of course, WoD is all about the shades of gray. It is when the basic set up of the setting is turned around like this that I have a problem.
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himbo-writer · 1 year
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Does my magic scare you? I
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Azul x fem!reader (lilia x reader) [AU]
[Reader has feelings for Azul but gets heartbroken and finds comfort in Lilia]
Contains: porn with plot, oral, cream pies, choking, spanking, degrading, edging, orgasm denial, multiple rounds, mating press, light praise.
Part 2
《♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡》
NRC was your dream school you wanted to prove to everyone that you didn't need to be at some cream puff all girls school. You wanted to show everyone you could be amongst the worlds best Male sorcerers.
You studied your ass off and worked day in and day out to perfect your abilities to use all types of common magic. All the training led you to where you are now being accepted after months of arguing with the principal and three mock battles and tests to prove your worth.
Because you were the first girl to ever get accepted into NRC news of your power spread around school quick. Not only that the magic mirror put you into Diaaomnia the strongest dorm for magic users.
Even with all that it didn't stop guys from teasing you about your uniform or that fact a girl shouldn't be in a man's school. None of the comments got to you expect for one person. Azul Ashengrotto.
For whatever reason this man could just look at you and you felt the need to sucker punch him. The first time the two of you met he introduced himself with such elegance and grace that it left your cheeks with a pink tint and your knees weak.
"We at Octovinelle wish to give you a present for making it into our elite school. Along with a personal welcome from their housewarden me Azul Ashengrotto." he said taking your hand and placing a kiss to it. "Thank but theres really no need for that" you said taking your hand away before your blush grew any bigger.
"We insist after all it's not everyday a girl makes it into our ranks so easily" he teased with a smirk. "I'm not sure what your implying but I'm going to ignore that comment of yours" your lips turned into a frown as your patience's was running thin.
"Forgive me if it came off as rude I merely meant that it's reason to celebrate. With that we hope you come and celebrate with us at the Mostro Lounge." The smile he gave didn't really help him but he didn't really seem like a threat so you let it go.
"Thank you I'll stop by once I've finished my work for the day" you waved bye leaving to your dorm and doing whatever work was assigned that day. You debated going to the lounge since it was a little weird but you did really want to see him again. Against your better judgment you went, dressed to the nines wanting to impress him even just a little.
An elegant black dress with a slit running up your left thigh, gold jewelry glistening against your skin. Everything tied together with black eyeshadow and gold glitter sprinkled on top of it.
As you entered the lounge it grew silent all eyes on you as you waited for someone to seat you. "Um h- hello miss I'll be your waiter for tonight follow me" the shy man stumbled over his sentence as you followed him. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice and peaceful with light classical music playing.
Azul noticed you had arrived and made his was towards you, "ah hello miss..." his sentence trailing off towards the end realizing he didn't catch your name.
"You dont know my name?" You questioned your curiosity peeked.
"I'm surprised you hadn't heard through all the others at this school Mr.Ashengrotto" you teased while browsing over the menu. His calm demeanor wavering for just a moment before he spoke again, "I dont believe in listening to simple rumors unless they have concrete proof" he mused.
A light laugh escaped your lips to which he raised an eyebrow wondering what was so funny. "Oh forgive me for laughing it's just I've never met a person who didn't indulge in silly rumors, whether real or not". His smirk returned as he slid into the the chair sitting in front of you.
"Does that mean your one to listen to rumors?" He questioned wondering what type of person you are. "Maybe. There where lots of rumours at my high school that I listened to" this conversation seemed to be going somewhere but where?
"Really? What high school did you go to?" He continued to ask you questions throughout the night. You found yourself relaxing for the first time since you got to this school, "I never would have thought that you would be so funny Azul" you said giving him a small smile as you got ready to leave.
"Wait I never did catch your name" he said with a warm smile that made your heart melt. "It's y/n. Y/n l/n" you said timidly before trying to leave again, only to be pulled into his arms making your heart race and face heat up.
"A- Azul what are you-" your sentence was cut off as he dragged you to the V.I.P area closing the door before locking it. "Azul what is the meaning of this-" your sentence being interrupted yet again. "Forgive me but I wanted this conversation to be private" his words made your heart flutter with excitement.
What did he want to say? Was he going to tell you off for the way you dressed? Did he also catch some kind of feelings quickly?
Questions swirled through your head but before they got out of control Azul's voice had brought you back to reality. "Look I know this might be sudden but I wanted to know would you be interested in working at the Mostro Lounge."
Huh?
He wasn't being serious was he. You laughed thinking it was a joke leading to what he was really going to say but no he was serious! "Wait you pulled me into the room to ask me if I wanted a job?" Your repeated wondering if you got things right, "Yes exactly I knew you would understand" he beamed taking your hands in his.
"I'll write up a contract for you as soon as-" you took your hands away from his taking him by surprise. "Are you serious right now!? I've barely been in this school for a month and you're try to get me to work for you? Your no different from the others guys that have been trying to get something from me" you screamed wanting nothing more than for the earth to swallow you whole.
"Don't get me wrong under normal circumstances I would be flattered but considering this is only our second meeting I find it rude as fuck!" You continued walking towards the door ready to leave. Azul wouldn't let you leave so easily though, "my dear l/n I didn't mean you any harm I just figured you'd like to take the opportunity" his voice lowered into a caring tone.
You started to feel a little bad until he pulled you into his arms once again, heart racing at how close you where to him. Face just centimeters away from yours, for a second you thought he would kiss you.
"Just please consider my offer" he whispered in your ear before letting you go causing you to almost fall. You left not wanting to be in the V.I.P room any longer paying for the food then leaving back to your dorm.
The whole way there you grumbled thinking just how much of an ass he was wanting so badly to slap him. When you finally reached your dorm lilia was sitting in the common area reading a book. He noticed your presence asking you how your day was not looking up from his book.
You felt irritated all over again taking a seat next to him beginning to rant about Azul. "I've had a horrible day with Azul trying to get me to work for him at the lounge" you huffed feeling exhausted just thinking about it.
Lilia's eyes grew wide with interest putting his book down to look at you, "really? Well that sounds like it was fun" he teased scooting closer to you. "Don't get me started. He even pulled me into a separate room just to tell me and I felt so used" pouting remembering how much your heart was racing just to be let down.
"You felt used? What where you expecting from him? Something more scandalous" his voice dropped an octave as he moved closer grabbing your chin to face him. Your eyes widened at the sudden change in demeanor as his eyes met yours pulling you into a soft kiss.
You didn't pull away your mind kept yelling at you to stop and tell him this wasn't right but your heart said fuck it. You just wanted to be held something to fill the hole in your heart, and not have to think about what he said any longer.
You pushed forward deeping the kiss throwing your arms around him while his arms snaked their was to your hips holding you still. His tongue dragged across your bottom lips asking for entrance which you didn't hesitate to give.
The feeling of his tongue exploring ever inch of your mouth had your legs rubbing together wanting more. Heat pooling between your legs as you pulled away from lilia, a string of saliva falling apart as you took in his hazed eyes.
Lust clouding your vision as he pulled you into his arms carrying you to his room. He locked the door behind him walking to the bed tossing you before climbing on top. "Such a naughty girl. Going off about some man only to end up in my sheets" he teased pulling your dress off you slowly exposing you inch by inch taking in how beautiful you look.
"This is your fault" voice barely above a whimper out of embarrassment, "I don't exactly see you objecting to this situation". His voice was so teasing while he laid kisses all over your body. Staring from your collar bone moving lower until he reached your clothed pussy.
"You won't be needing these" he mused pulling the material to pool at your ankles and sitting up to take in your helpless state. "Can you not stare" you whispered feeling so exposed even though you still had your bra on. "Oh but you look so nice all spread out for me with nothing but your bra left" his tone was so intoxicating and the way he spoke had you weak.
"Stop teasing" his gaze didn't waver as he closed the distance between you two, "oh my is someone that eager to start?". There it was again that mocking tone that gave you butterflies in your stomach.
"Please..." your body was shaking from excitement ready for him to finally give you what you wanted. "Please what darling? You need to use your words otherwise I won't know what you want" a sly smirk spreading across his face while you pouted not wanting to say it out loud.
"Please fuck me..." your voice trailing off to the end embarrassment flooding your mind as your checks turned red. "Good girl" moving lower until his head was centimeters away from your dripping cunt, he started to rub light circles over your pussy.
Shivers ran up your spin at the light stimulation, his long cool fingers prodding at your entrance trying to gauge your reactions to every touch. He loved seeing how certain touches made you gasp while others made you squirm.
"My dear your body is just so erotic" he teased moving his fingers to circle your clit applying light pressure as you whimpered wanting more. "Please Lilia just fuck me" small huffs left your lips with the demand, he smirked head moving in between your legs diving right into your cunt like a starved man.
You let out a small squeal to his action, "I guess I'll give you what you want since your such a whore" his face showed he was irritated but not angry. "Just relax and I'll take you to the pleasure hell, You'll be so overstimulated by the end you won't even remember your name". His words make your face flush as he pushes your legs farther apart smirking with how your inner thighs glinted from all your arousal.
His head diving back into your cunt lapping at all your juices. "Lilia more- want more" moans and pleas for more fell on deaf ears as he slowled down going so agonizing slow it made tears form in your eyes.
Lilia loved the way you pussy clenched around his tongue but he also wanted to see you lose all sense of yourself just from his tongue. "Lilia please" mewls of pleasure escaped your lips as his tongue made you loose all sense of yourself.
"Oh how I love the sounds you make my dear" his voice muffled between your things continuing his attack on your pussy. Lips moving to suck on your clit sending a jolt of new pleasure up your spine as your hands found their way to his hair pushing him further into your pussy.
"My my such a needy slut" he mused pulling away to see his work before immediately going back to pleasuring you. "Fuck- Lilia" your voice grew louder as he slipped a finger into your cunt while he continued to suck your oversensitive clit.
His finger pumped in and out with ease making him smirk deciding to add another finger stretching you little by little. "Lilia- I'm gonna cum" your voice was shaky as you felt your orgasm approaching quickly only for it to be ripped away at the last second.
"Oh no you don't" as soon as lilia felt your cunt start to clench harder he pulled away leaving you hot and bothered. "Lilia you're so mean" you whined as he pulled you closer by your ankle until you where straddling his hips.
"I want you to come on my cock and feel the pleasure of me filling this little cunt" his breathe was hot on your neck as he whispered dirty promises exciting you more. The thought of him filing your cunt made you want him even more, "please lilia please fill my needy cunt" his heart was beating faster excited to see you so needy and begging for his cock.
"Your wish is my command dear" he purred finally releasing his cock from its confinements. Your jaw gaped at the sheer size of it, how on earth does he intend to fit that in you.
"My dear your staring" his voice brings you back to your senses "first thought let's get rid of this last restriction" hands moving to unclapse your bra tits bouncing lightly as the cool air hit your nipples sending a shiver down your spine.
"Now that that's gone let's have some fun", lilia lines himself with your cunt tip teasing your entrance as it collects arousal as lube. He gives his cock a few strokes before, you feel the tip push it's way inside finally giving you what you wanted, "Oh lilia" your voice going up an octave as he thrusted into you setting a fast pace as your tits bounced with every rock of his hips.
"Who know you where such a needy bitch? Did you come crying to me knowing I would stuff this pretty pussy huh?" His words had you clenching down on him harder as he moved his hand to start choking you. The feeling of his hands restricting your air flow had you light headed and eager for more.
"Please lilia please" your pleas sounded like music to his ears, "please what slut?" his hand tighted around your throat as he asked the question. "Please fill me with your cum" you breathed out on the verge of passing out from pleasure.
"I guess I can since your such a needy slut" his hips began rocking harder reaching deeper inside your cunt. "I'm gonna- cum" your cunt clenched hard as you came, gasping for air.
"Fuck- if you squeeze me like that how can I not resist cumming in your pussy" his hands moved to your hips holding you tight as his thrusts became sloppy and his cock began to twitch. "Now be a good girl and take it" his hips came flush against your ass pushing himself into the deepest part of your cunt before finally cumming painting your insides white.
"Ohh lilia" moans fell from your lips as his grip on your hips was bruising and he began to thrust again. "You didn't think we were finished did you?" The sound of skin against skin drowned out your moans as he started abusing your pussy again, "lilia slow down I'm still sensitive" your pleas fell on death ears as he instead started thrusting faster and harder hitting your g-spot sending you into euphoric pleasure.
"Cumming- I'm gonna cum again" your screams of pleasure filling the room as you clench hard squirting on Lilia's cock, face twisting in pleasurable pain. "Oh fuck love you just squirted on me... do it again" grabbing your legs folding you into a mating press cock kissing your cervix sending wave after wave a pleasure down your spine.
"Fuck love your squeezing me tighter, you like being fucked rough huh?" Moans replaced your words as your tounge lolled out out of breathe from the constant rocking of his hips. "Still sensitive- oh fuck~" words being brought to whimpers as lilia's cock felt like it was getting bigger if that was even possible almost entering your womb.
"Fuck darling I'm gonna cum, take it all like a good girl" his hips snapped to meet yours as his body became flush with yours dumping his seed into your womb. You could feel him painting your insides white, trying to catch your breathe he brought his hand up to your face caressing your cheek.
"You did wonderful my dear" he whispered into your ear before kissing your cheek and pulling out slowly. He watched as his seed spilled out of you loving the sight and how much control he had over you just because of a little heartbreak.
"I'm going to grab a towel and run you a bath just try to relax dear" he hummed leaving you alone with your thoughts. Your not sure if fucking Lilia just because you where mad at Azul was the best decision but you didn't really care much.
As you were about to think things over again Lilia came in with water and a towel, "just lay down and let me clean you up" his smile made your heart melt. Yeah you definitely made the right choice picking him over Azul.
This Definitely won't come back and hurt you later.
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carelessflower · 10 months
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rating all potential contenders for tec love triangle
we all know cassie loves LOVES a good love triangle, every character in the story knows it. just ask clary, poor girl went from cute typical ya bad boy vs nerd options to boy needing therapy vs boy needing therapy and baptism, and now it's fiance vs cross dimensional murderous criminal counterpart of her fiance. all im saying is, the love triangle is an essential part of cc's worldbuilding in every series. then why hasn't the eldest curses gotten a juicy, frustrating, paper-wrenching love triangle yet? because cc forgets its existence gonna introduce it in tbvotd of course!
let's make a quick round of all the most promising contenders for this honorable spot
Shiyun 2/5
alec will probably have some interestingly chosen combination of words to say about her but she is in fact obsessed with magnus! i mean who wouldn't be but that makes all of this the more exciting. just picture shiyun and alec competing for magnus, with alec trying to save magnus's life while shiyun actively traps him onto different altars for sacrifice
2. Camille 2.5/5
there was already a love triangle of camille-magnus-alec in cofa & cols (tho i would argue it's more of a magnus-alec-voices in alec's head situation). it would be a neat little conclusion on magnus's end, and to show how different adult alec gonna act around camille compared to his younger self
3. Alec's out-of-nowhere childhood crush 2.5/5
though the chance of this happening is near zero and the chance anyone with the intention of hitting on alec can get near him is so below the surface it discovers another type of lava, i would still enjoy it
4. Jobs 4/5
the typical thirdwheel in most relationships when both people have to work. now add magical master and president of almost a country to the mix and the stress level would send quokka crying
5. chairman meow 5/5
chairman meow warms up so quick to alec and it's a threat to magnus personally, imagine all the treats and belly rubs chairman would receive to win over his affection
6. self-sacrifice 100/5
trsom: "i wanna solve this cult business asap so i can continue my holiday with my boyfriend" & "fuck it what a clave my boyfriend is my only priority".
tlbotw: "becoming a mindless bloodthirsty minion for a greater demon and helping him destroy the world is fine actually as long as my boyfriend is alive" & "hey babe wouldn't it be cool if i stabbed myself with this magical demonic sword thing and definitely would kill me to might save you"
tbvotd: ?????
tag list (tell me if you wanna be removed or added):  @magnus-the-maqnificent @literallytypogod @ukisteria  @wildesummerchild-deactivated202 @sociallyineptbibliophile​ @queenlilith43 @khaleesiofalicante​ @wandererbyheart  @raziyekroos  @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @alexandergideonslightwood @andrwminward @noah-herondale-lightwood​ @elettralightwood​ @dustandducks​ @deliciousdetectivestranger​ @delightfullyterrible​ @letsgofortacos​ @kita-no​ @mxtthew-fxirchild-apologist  @thelightofthebane​ @secrettryst @pocketoffeels @cityofdownwardspirals @stupidfuckindinosaur @i-have-not-slept @rinadragomir @potato-jem @what-ho-christopher-put-in
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samueldays · 2 months
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A friend recommended Deadworld Isekai to me the other day. To damn it with faint praise: it was good enough that I finished reading all three volumes, and the author has a solid grasp of spelling and grammar.
It has the usual LitRPG problem of re-reifying abstractions to produce weird round-trip-translation nonsense that has become the heart of the LitRPG genre, one of the most finely polished turds in the world.
The thing that stood out to me as the most 'fixable' problem, though, was the fake suspense and the fake threat. Oh no, the protagonist is in over his head, however will he survive? Oh no, the protagonist is on the verge of death, what asspull deus ex machina is going to save him now?
The cast is too small and the premise too specialized for there to be a serious threat of replacing Matt as protagonist, and once you've introduced CRPG Healing you can't threaten injury short of death, so I roll my eyes at every new danger, confident he'll be perfectly fine (and powered up!) a chapter later.
I want to contrast this with Lord of the Rings, which looms over the wider fantasy genre so much that it gets taken for granted, and I sometimes see people thinking of it in terms of the popular cliches that were copied the most. But I feel it's pretty good about threatening Frodo, and that's less copied.
At some point in The Return of the King, the reader has seen Gandalf die and Boromir die and the Fellowship broken, and then parts of the Fellowship met new cool people, and then those cool people started dying too, with Theoden bravely dead on the battlefield and Denethor horribly dead in attempted murder-suicide.
It starts to look like Frodo might die, IMO, it's genuinely plausible that Tolkien will kill off another major character at this point. The deaths are mounting, Frodo's psyche is fraying, and the savvy reader sees Sam is right there to take over if Frodo dies. The main protagonist will probably still survive because that's how stories go, but it's not all that obvious.
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It looks like death when Frodo is stung by giant spider and carried off by orcs, but it's much less of a deus ex machina to hear that the spider was using paralytic venom to save a meal for later. Frodo isn't getting a sudden powerup or new ally, it's just a spider being a spider.
With no magic healing, several magic items lost, and Frodo increasingly traumatized, the quest gets closer to Mount Doom. Here Frodo puts on the Ring, which is not how these stories normally go! No heroic last-minute surge of willpower. Frodo is sick and tired, looks at the Ring of Power, and decides that in fact, he would like Power for himself.
Gollum bites Frodo's finger off, falls into the lava, and the Ring is destroyed nonetheless. Tolkien again makes it look like Frodo might really die in the resulting volcanic eruption, now that his importance to the story is over and the Ring is destroyed and the rest looks like cleanup from the army marching on Mordor in the other plot thread.
But the book isn't over yet. If you're reading Lord of the Rings in print, you can feel there's another hundred pages left to go at this point. Frodo is saved, Aragorn is crowned, our heroes are victorious, there's celebrations and marriages and vacations and songs.
Then Frodo heads home at long, long last and finds Saruman got there first and started polluting the Shire.
The last surprise is that Saruman dies really fast. The rest of the book is appendices. What, you expected a hundred pages of Frodo fighting the Shire Wizard War? Nope, we're done here! Also Frodo has to leave, Sam takes over at the very last. It's a good series of plot twists, without being a plot swerve.
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fluxedbuds · 29 days
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apparently y'all Are desperate enough for my Lomadia Oc so uh. hope you're in the mood for [checks notes] ~13 paragraphs, half of which is just description!
allow me to introduce Villom!
She doesn't have an actual name or in-universe nickname, I just call her Villom. Because she was originally a Villain Version of Lomadia from a sci-fi world for some comic idea I totally scrapped bc it sucked. Except for Villom!
So basically what if we put Lomadia in space and gave her every problem and no normal coping mechanisms
The base universe is Completely Impossible sci-fi space stuff, involving solar systems being relatively close together and having tons of habitable planets, with star trek 'convergent evolution' making everybody a Weird Human Basically. Part of these choices is that I. Don't actually like sci-fi lol. I don't think its bad I just can't Get Into It, so I did the lazy version. HOWEVER I do also use the fact that its extremely artificial and story-focused as part of the plot so its FINE There IS also magic, but it’s generally less used, as tech is more accessible and less complicated from a user standpoint. That doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful, if you know what to look for. Thats foreshadowing!
Compared to base Lomadia, Villom is.. very immature. She has trouble identifying and controlling emotions, she's quick to anger and holds grudges. She's also more impulsive and tends towards insults and crude jokes. She's actually pretty fun to hang out with as a result, but responsibility is a role she's crushed into, and it never truly fits. She's trying her best ok
Villom starts out her story as a young adult, training to be a pilot. She does some hero shit, but breaks so many rules in the process and gets kicked out. She’s enraged by this betrayal of what was supposed to be her life, and steals a ship to go rogue and try to pursue her dreams anyways. She doesn’t exactly know what she’s doing, though, and eventually a chase causes her to crash on an unfamiliar planet, where she meets Rythian. He’s steampunk now, don’t question it
Anyways, they end up teaming up, and form the first of her crew. Later additions are Martyn, who is a mouse guy who has So Fucking Many People Who Want Him Dead, and Zoeya! Who ended up separated from Fionn following partially the plot of Mushbury, and works as the ship’s engineer. Their ship (that lasts long enough to get a name…) is called the Ask, and Villom occasionally (and jokingly) calls her crew the Answers. (Its called the Ask because originally I gave the characters nicknames based on Norse mythology for Pretentious Reasons, those might come back later)
So everything’s all fine and poggers for a while, with the Ask’s crew causing mischief and undercutting evil empires across the worlds- and then Villom’s home planet is destroyed. And she sees it happen.
See, one of the tropes of sci-fi that bugs me, is how understated the death of an entire planet tends to go. This is the first step of Villom realizing how truly fucked up the world they live in is- and the first step of her wondering why it has to be this way, and how to stop it.
It only gets worse from here.
No matter how many evil empires they topple, no matter how many massive threats they thwart, there’s always another one. And no matter how fast they are, they can’t stop every world-ending crisis. Villom starts learning magic, wondering if theres some kind of solution there. When she doesn’t find one, she just looks harder. Brushing so close with forces she’s alone in experiencing wears on her, compounding with their futile mission.
The breaking point is when Rythian dies. Raiding an enemy ship goes wrong, they’re outnumbered, they’re trying to retreat. Surrenders are not accepted, there.
It’s another thing she sees happen, another thing she was inches away from but unable to stop. And she can’t take it. She can’t take losing another part of her, another of the few things she could call home in this cold void.
She takes some of the things she learned looking where she shouldn’t- and kills the nearest member of the enemy team, trading a life for a life. And part of her soul as tax, of course. Just a small bit, this time. She never tells him. Pretends it was instead an incredibly close call. He probably knows she’s lying, on some level, but he never says it.
Villom is desperate, now. There’s more and more things she’s hiding from her crew, more and more boundaries of safety she’s pushing. She trades one of her eyes for the ability to see the functions of the world itself- maybe it’s a mistake, there’s some gear stuck, and if she fixes it this infinite loop of wars will stop.
There is no mistake. This is how the universe is intended to function.
She can’t give up. Because if she stops, she’s never going to get up again.
Maybe there’s other worlds where it’s better, where it’s safe. Maybe there’s a way to make this world like them.
Maybe there’s a way to leave.
She’s barely human anymore, even though she looks perfectly fine. Her hair is white, her eye replaced, but that’s all. She’s replaced the things she’s traded away. She’s barely even a part of the world, anymore. Unstuck from the threads of it, floating as a constant point, unchanging and undying, snapping back into place when moved.
A lot of universes are visited by a strange woman with white hair, who never stays. Sometimes she’s a savior, or a tyrant, or merely another passerby.
One of them, somewhere, has to have an answer. The way to break the cycle. And Villom will find it- even if she has to take every one of them apart.
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pinkpiggy93 · 2 years
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Lucid dreams: Home coming
It’s been a while since my last Lucid dreams update, I’m back with a new chapter and a new plot :3
Escaping death by a threat, Rosie learns Raven’s secret. Why is he called Raven? That’s simply what he really is, as a familiar to this Witch in the woods.
I’ve always wanted to do st more oriental when it comes to magic wielders, and the clothes they are wearing here are inspired by Vietnamese traditional costumes during Nguyen dynasty, the last dynasty in Vietnam which was when the French invaded Vietnam but also brought western culture to us. An interesting fact is we write using Latin alphabet because the French introduced it to us, otherwise we would use the same system as Chinese 😂
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mdhwrites · 1 year
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You said before that Boiling Isles is basically our world but with more teeth, it's flat and flawed, also because there's tech in there despite already having magic that could do the same job. So I was wondering.
What would've made the world building more interesting? Or what Bl should've got rid of to not make it a copy pasted version of our world?
The short answer to this is that I don't really know. I will talk a LOT about why TOH feels like such a bare bones fantasy world but the issue is also part of its identity. There's a reason why I've also said that the writers feel like people who don't like fantasy who were forced to write a fantasy show. There's just no respect for the fantasy. And if that's where you're STARTING from for your fantasy world, there's already something wrong unless you're writing a full blown parody. And TOH is all too happy to borrow the easy outs that fantasy can give, especially to spectacle, to make that claim. It's just that if you don't have one side of the coin, your spectacle is going to struggle to feel meaningful. But let's first talk about the complaint. "Our world but with teeth." This is the fantasy equivalent to the horror genre complaint of "This is an action X but with zombies." Both effectively mean the same thing: It is wearing the skin of the genre but not understanding the draw of the genre. The core feelings and emotions and the like of the genre. After all, a scary design does not make horror. Dread, suspense, scarcity, disempowerment, etc. like that make horror. So that begs the question of what makes fantasy fantasy? Well... That's really hard because fantasy is INCREDIBLY complex. Yes, there's the version of wizards and goblins and orcs and elves and etc. but that isn't by any means the only version of a fantasy world. Magic can be limited to very few characters and it can still feel fantastical. You could in fact have ZERO fantasy elements and still evoke the fantastical and the other worldly through your story. That this is a new place with new rules. As an example, my favorite book series, Ranger's Apprentice, has very sparse actual fantasy elements outside of the first two books. And yet, I don't think it loses the fantasy title because of the titular rangers. How people react to them. Their reputation. Their limits and strengths that make them have the reputation of "One Ranger, One Problem." They're that effective at solving things and the joy in finding ways for Rangers to solve new problems is WONDERFUL. And a large component of that is that the myth of the Ranger, how the world sees the Rangers, is taken very seriously. Compare this to The Owl House. Outside of Belos, literally zero threat, if much of anything, is taken wholly seriously. Most of them, frankly, aren't magical. They may have a magical gimmick but they're a story that doesn't require magic. As an example, Tibbles' first appearance. Just swap it to the medication for Eda's disability isn't widely available right now, she has to go to the night market for it, she gets card sharked to give up King and then gets a gun put in her face. The only thing the fantasy elements adds is that you believe no one will object to Tibbles now owning a person.
And that's where the more teeth part comes into play. People are so much like our real world counterparts that it doesn't feel like a reasonably different culture. Just think about how Willow is introduced. Her strength in plant magic isn't what decided her path. Her path was decided because 'abominations have more career options'. It's a cute joke but like... Plant magic is TERRIFYING in most settings. TOH effectively boils it down to vines outside of one memory poison but think about all that plant magic can encompass. The sudden growth of potion materials. Pheromones and pollens by plants you make suddenly spring up. The hundreds of different poisons you can craft out of plants, OR THE ONES THEY MAKE THEMSELVES. But just from that one line, we're told that magic is incredibly de-emphasized in this setting. That it's so mundane that you learn what will get you a job instead of what you are capable of doing. Does the show do anything with that though? No. A LOT of S1 Boiling Isles actually has this feeling. This feeling of people being very mercenary and out for gain more than they are the wonder of their own world. It's shockingly similar to ours honestly and at first explains why instead of exploring the world, 90% of what Luz faces is some form of huckster or scam artist who's magic doesn't matter. I mean, just look at the twins. They have illusion magic which should allow them such a wide variety of options to mess with people and their grand plan for their sister? Steal her diary and share it with people. Yeah, that's... That's totally not something that could have just happened in a normal, school setting. Molly Mcgee has more fun with what you can do in those sorts of ways than TOH and its one fantasy hook is ghosts. Molly Mcgee is REALLY good though. I highly recommend it and I personally need to watch more. But let's back up to something you might criticize me on. While in Hooty's Moving Hassle, Eda's plot can easily be converted away from a magical setting, what about Luz's plot? Moving house, monster hunters, etc. like that?
Well, that's when we get into the other side of it: It's very functional. The Resident Evil games as they become more action oriented changed their zombies into versions that were much cooler to kill and fit into action rhythms. The horror elements no longer were something to care about but now bent to the will of the action verbs.
TOH does this with fantasy. The majority of Luz and co's plot line in Hooty's Moving Hassle isn't interested in the monster hunters or Hooty himself, enchanted by the magic. Those are to give action to Willow's anger towards Amity and to give Willow something to show how powerful she is against. None of this will be remembered. None of this will be called back to. None of this even portrayed in very interesting ways as the fight is effectively skipped at the end and yeah, they move Hooty but it's just for teenage hi-jinks. It's not bad but it's not special.
This extends to much more important episodes though. Teenage Abomination features Principle Bump putting the school into lock down with intricate runes and a complex system of magic. We never see anything like that again. The Power Glyph in Covention spits directly in the face of Luz's magic being special but it allows Amity to have a fighting chance against magic traps (another concept never brought back) that Eda places and for the emotional moment of her having been tricked into cheating.
Now this isn't to say that your fantasy/magic shouldn't bend to your narrative. There's a breaking point though. If the magic ONLY bends, instead of standing tall, it feels like a tool. It's actually part of what's important about early Hogwarts stuff in Harry Potter. Do the portraits need to be alive all the time? No. Do the staircases constantly have to be moving, especially when they aren't actually saving physical space? No.
But do you know what those things do add? They add the feeling that when a secret passage is shown to exist, you immediately believe it. This place is DRENCHED in unnecessary magic. So much of it defies logic because why the fuck not? This is magic. Let's have fun! So when you're told there's fifteen evil basements and roughly 27 BILLION secret passages, you just… agree. That is the world they've set up.
And I do want to mention that this isn't just in flowery ways. Dark Fantasy effectively asks the question of "How fucked up can we make magic?" What can you do with bones and blood that will just make a person's skin crawl? How much pain can we inflict on the mind because of pressure that couldn't be possible in any other way? What price is paid for magic?
TOH cares so little about its magic thought that it can't even keep something as basic as the spell circle consistent. Darius' abomination form has NO SPELL CIRCLE. Not even an attempt despite how strong that spell feels. He just focuses and casts. Why? I don't know. Probably because it's cool and it's less of a Danny Phantom ripoff than what you'd get with a transformation done with a circle. Most bard magic doesn't have spell circles for OBVIOUS REASONS.
And this doesn't need to be hard coded into its magic. Little Miss Rich Witch, my own series, is very loose with its magic. Instead it's through the society that I create the feeling of something different. The main characters are nobles, something we don't have as much of, and that fact permeates through their social interactions and the feeling of them not being just people from our world in costumes.
But with TOH... how many care about Luz being human? That she doesn't have magic or that the glyphs are special? She is a complete anomaly to this world and NO ONE CARES. It gets a little lip service by Amity and Eda but Boscha just calls it weird that a human is going to her school. She cares more about Luz being friends with Willow than anything to do with her being human or magicless. The glyphs themselves are purely mechanical even with little weight to most of them and little impact for those that do have weight behind their discoveries.
Or hell, how about the demons of the DEMON REALM? They act like anyone else and their biggest distinction is that if you're a demon, you're a villain or a background character. You're not pretty enough to be a part of the actual cast (despite Boscha being a bombshell but I mean... All she has is a third eye). The majority of character just look like elves but with only their magic instead of any sort of culture, ideals, etc. like that. When even your only two races in your fantasy realm are that basic... What's the point? Why not just them all humans with magic if that's effectively what they are? If they have no personality beyond that? And I know that's hypocritical of me since I wrote a 300k word behemoth that was exploring Luz, Amity and Boscha, two main characters and someone I elevated into have very real depth, inbetween S1 and 2 but that's also the thing: On accident, S1 appears to have a personality. Lots of questions about its magic that you may want answers to. Oddities to its world like teachers getting excited about kids fighting that stick out in the brain a little. And the setting is also just malleable enough that I could headcanon a LOT of different elements, like glyphs being linked to emotions and that causing problems with a witch's bile sacs so as to make them dangerous to witches but that's also why Luz is so powerful with them. S2 takes away SO MUCH OF THIS. The increased attention but also death of taking the EC seriously is a large part of this. Suddenly, we're being told that things like Child Endangerment laws have been in place since Eda was a child. Why is it like this now? The Savage Times were actually a utopia so now any negative element of the BI feels forced and incongruent for the simple message of "Belos bad" even while Gus doubles down on "ONLY ILLUSIONS FOR LIFE MOTHERFUCKERS!" So what could have been done? Caring. At all. But the writers hardly care about their characters and treat many of them like plot devices. Why in the world should we expect them to treat the setting with more care than that? Especially when King, arguably the most important character in the series, spends half of it as comic relief? And all of this doesn't even get into the subversive elements. I barely touched on how none of the threats arrayed against people are taken seriously for more than a minute besides Belos. But those elements themselves really push the idea that all is ephemeral. That you shouldn't care about any of it. That the moment you look away, it all vanishes. And one of Fantasy's greatest strengths, or the strength of any story, is to teleport you to new worlds that you can believe in. That feel real, despite the fact that you know they're not. And eventually, I found everything to be made of nothing more sturdy than cardboard with some glitter on it. ========
I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!
I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.
And finally a Twitter you can follow too!
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onomatopagu-et-cie · 8 months
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Some other theories and observations, part 2
First impressions after re-reading DGM Some theories and observations, part 3 Notes on Link, part 1 & part 2
Have a nice week!! The end of summer is right around the corner and it’s still melting me…
(SPOILERS UP TO CH248!!!!)
▶ Bookmen’s « lineage »
Why was Lavi given 49 aliases/names when Bookman has none (at least, none that we know so far)? Does the name mark the apprenticeship? How does this even work? We know there are many Bookmen or sympathizers (just like Neah, actually) in DGM’s universe and they help each other when it’s needed, but we know so little about them!
Out of all the groups in the story, be it families or clans, the Bookmen are the only ones that the story specifically qualifies as a blood relationship, unlike the others. At the beginning of volume 13, Road uses ‘chisuji/血筋’ (lineage, blood relationship, descent ; the kanji for blood, 血, is a component of the word) to define the Bookmen:
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The rest of the cast is defined with a clanic/familial notion that doesn’t specifically require a blood relationship:
➔ The Noahs are defined with ‘ichizoku’/一族 (family, relatives, household: ‘zoku’/族 is the kanji for tribe, clan, band, family). ➔ The Luberrier are also described by Lavi in the manga with 一族, but also with ‘ke’/家 (house, family), just like the Chang (I couldn’t find it for the Epstein, but it might also be ‘ke’), and ‘kazoku’/家族 (family, and as ichizoku, 族 is one of its components). ➔ When Luberrier qualifies Hevlaska’s crime against her own family/tribe (it’s highly probable she is a Luberrier herself), he uses ‘douzoku’/同族 and ‘ichizoku’.
The Bookmen stand out with this sole occurrence. I wonder what this really means, because the Bookmen were introduced as a group definitely not related by blood, formed through apprenticeship. And if I’m not mistaken, Hoshino even hinted at the importance of the Bookmen ties in one of her recent ig posts… ? It might even have a connexion to Lavi’s concealed eye, who knows!
▶ « Lavi »
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In ch119, Lavi and Bookman have been associated with wheat or barley, overly present in the Campbell mansion landscape.
If Hoshino really pushes the wordplay between multiple languages, « spring » also refers to the coil or screw/helical shape in english, which is interesting since the recent chapters focus on the helix magic explained by……. Past!Allen!
(Lavi could also be a reference to 'la vie' which means 'the life' in French /jk idek at this point haha)
▶ past!Allen
(I’m thinking about that ‘past!Allen was a Bookman’ theory again haha)
Somehow after transplanting Neah’s memories in him, past!Allen became in the former’s eyes « a crazy puppet », as he said in volume 21. past!Allen was someone whose affiliation to the Innocence was beyond imaginable to Neah: once Neah learns his present self wishes to be an exorcist he deems him as his enemy. This is very poor reasoning, but the only characters revealed to have ‘sided’ with the Noah in the manga are Bookmen until the present war broke out or some time before. We also know Bookman lost one (or more) successor(s) before Lavi thanks to Sheril’s threats (« you don’t want to lose another successor again, right? »).
And the « again » is accentuated in the original version (the panels on the left):
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When Tyki reports to Sheril what happened and Bookman overhears it, it’s as though he had prior knowledge from an unidentified source of what would trigger the history they were meant to record as Bookmen (the panels on the upper right). « An Innocence called Apocryphos… The departure of Allen Walker… » sounds as though he’s listing off ‘early signs’ finally announcing an important event is about to occur.
Could it be that someone/something had foreseen this? Or had already experienced this before them in another timeline or world? In addition to the ‘other world’ the Noah once lived in according to Cross, dream!Bookman insisting on the fact Bookmen live outside of the world (in ch119, the last panel on the bottom right), Allen and Lenalee’s dreams and the constant imagery of the world being nothing but a stage actors play on, it’s tempting to think there’s a timeline distortion/alternate universe or whatever plot line going on in this story.
It’s also interesting to note that for an unknown reason, Wisely interrupted Bookman’s questioning and refused to reveal whatever he read in his mind (eg. Road’s relationship to Neah), as Tyki reveals it in ch225:
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▶ « Howard Link »
Compared to the third generation exorcists, who began as Crows just like Link, why is Link the only Crow to have a last name? If I’m not mistaken, Hoshino doesn’t use the Japanese naming order (family then given name) eg. Allen Walker, Cross Marian. So Link’s first name would be Howard.
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In Link’s flashback in volume 21, Tewaku called him « Lin-niisama » (could this hold some significance in the manga later on?):
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Was his first name Lin? I don’t believe Tewaku would call him by his last name as a child. If it’s the case, why would they swap his first and last name later? Or were the Crows ordered to call each other by their last names, since the flashback seems to happen when they became Crows? Is Link’s first name important somehow?
Before becoming a Crow, was his name Lin, not Link? Or was it just an affectionate nickname given by Tewaku? Where did Howard come from?
Or did they have no name at all or no name they could remember, like Red?
I was always under the impression that Link was his first name for some reason, I was a little silly haha
Aside from Tewaku, the only moment the third generations interacted with Link was when Goushi accidentally hurt Allen. Unlike Link, who calls them by their name, Goushi here mentions Link by his full name and title in quotation marks: « Inspector Howard Link ».
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I don’t really know what to make of it. The formality would be pretty normal as their functions as Crows call for it, but it still seems weird to me as the 3rd generations call each other by their name.
Perhaps some distance gradually came to form between Link and them (eg. their training as Crows that seems really harsh and impersonal, or the influence of the Akuma cells)? (It also could be that Goushi was visually impaired, and recognized Link by his voice!)
Also when Tewaku cries for help, she asks for Madarao, Tokusa, Goushi and Kiredori but not Link.
▶ Artificial Exorcists Arc parallels
The artificial exorcists were, in retrospect, pseudo-Noahs created by the hands of humanity: they were given great regenerative abilities and a predestined role, to become exorcists in this war. The Order forced on them previous existences from which they would gain the ability to synchronize. But the memories of their previous lives threatened to overwhelm them, affecting their mind and senses, the Order would then deem them as ‘failures’. With the third generation, they intended to perpetuate these abilities for generations but Alma’s hatred was too deeply rooted.
There are also visual parallels between Kanda, Alma, Mana and Red/Neah:
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Allen’s current situation also parallels Kanda’s past anguish with unknown memories flooding his head and the fact that both Alma and Mana were alive was hidden to them.
▶ Influence exerted through hands (TW: child abuse and domestic violence)
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(Now I’m expecting a flashback from Link’s pov of the operation to instill Crow’s ability to cast magic with this kind of hand imagery, it would be interesting)
The hand is also accentuated in two other pages when Apocryphos attempts to merge with Allen:
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There were also these panels in volume 27 (my stomach churned when I searched them again for this post)… The last two panels fill me with pure disgust, I turned these pages really fast because that was too much.
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Hands can convey many messages and symbols like that in the way they’re framed, the ones above are drawn by Hoshino in a way that inspires horror and abuse.
In DGM, sometimes they’re a symbol of connection (eg. Allen and Suman, Johnny and Allen), sometimes a symbol of influence, control and violence.
Violence was also represented in other ways:
-> In Lenalee's past:
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When Lenalee remembers her past, the Order and the Crow’s uniform is a symbol of her suffering: the personnel’s faces are obscured, contrasting with their outfits.
It’s the same when she remembers the experiments that forced victims into Fallen Ones. Their hand grasping the boy as well as the boy’s waving her are also highlighted. The profusion of the scientists and executives’s comments and orders, represented by bubbles gradually taking all the place, desensitized and disconnected to the cruelty of the experiments we see depicted behind it.
Luberrier’s figure in the page on the right is the only face with distinctive features she remembers, concentrating her fears.
(And ironically, Lenalee’s Dark Boots feel very heavy and could be a symbol of all her fears and hatred shackling her: they empower her but at the same time weigh her down emotionally. Her scene with the head nurse giving her her boots destroyed me ;;;;;;;;;;;;;)
In the Destruction of the Black Order arc, the ghost even forgot her name, but the memory of the experiments along with (supposedly) a Luberrier dragging her by force remain.
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Luberrier and Link’s introduction in the manga also represent them with their teeth highlighted:
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-> The experiments on Kanda and Alma were often visually associated to the Innocence and the Crow’s silhouettes. When Kanda and Alma are chased by Crows, the focus is on their hands: they emerge from the dark to cast binding spells. Just like Lenalee remembers Luberrier, Kanda remembers the horror of the experiment with Sirlins Epstein baring menacing teeth.
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-> The cage which is also mentioned in the Lost Fragment of Snow novel:
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I said it in a previous post, but the manga My Hero Academia also does it and it’s gutting. Hands are represented as vectors of both violence and sympathy/love.
(SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE MHA SERIES!!!!!)
Three character arcs illustrate this poignantly: Eri and Overhaul, Tomura and All For One (he literally embodies this image as it’s part of his character design and powers), and the Todoroki family and Endeavor.
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witchthewriter · 2 years
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✦ 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 ✦
🌹 gender neutral reader, requests are open!
𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕
SFW
・Deception was her play; and it was always a safety-net. However, being an Avenger quickly took the anonymity from her cache of weapons. Her famous red hair and iconic black widow moves had been seen by the world.
・ So it was a bit of a tongue-twister when she sat before you, at your job, asking for a beer. 
“Oh, er - sorry what was that?” You stuttered, a pit forming in your stomach.        
       “The house beer, or is that not available?” She responded, a certain look in her eye. It didn’t take you long to spot it; exhaustion.
“Oh of course, yeah, gimme a sec-” You turned to the fridge behind you, and leant down, pulling on the steel handle. Popping the cap, you gently placed it in front of her.
Natasha pulled her hair back from her face, tying it in a loose ponytail. She was even more beautiful up close.
    “Don’t need to check my ID?” She smirked, taking a sip.
With a tilt of your head, you replied, “I think I can trust you.”
    “Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I was you...”
・Surprisingly, she’s a homebody. She loves to stay home, wrapped in a blanket and watching one of her favourite movies (James Bond, Indiana Jones, The Outsiders & Legally Blonde).
・Whenever you’re together and there’s a loud noise, she’ll push you behind her or if you’re in a different room - she’ll go to you and make sure she’s between you and any threat.
・Speaking of threats, she’s got many enemies and in this world - with aliens, robots, magic - no one knows what will happen in the next hour. So, Nat told you about a safe house, she gave you all the numbers for important people (Tony, Steve, Bruce etc)
・As an Avenger, you worry for her so much. She hates seeing you so scared, but promises that she’ll be back in time for dinner.
・If there is another threat Nat will call you instantly, tell you to get to the safehouse; she’d call you within another 20 minutes to make sure you’re there
・Most definitely teaches you self-defence; hand to hand combat, as well as, guns, bow & arrow, knife etc.
・Opening up about her past is tricky, but when she realises that you’re her forever person, then she would feel safe enough to talk about it.
・You buy her flowers every friday afternoon, so the weekend feels even more special. She adores it. You buy her a different kind of flower every time.
・You’ve met Yelena and get on so well. You’re a chaotic duo that Natasha didn’t expect.
・Your trope is the: dumbass x I guess this is my dumbass that I have to protect with my life
・ You guys are good friends with Wanda and invite her over for meals, movie/sitcom nights. You're all really great friends, and have introduced her to Yelena too.  
・ SHE LOVES IT WHEN YOU READ TO HER; especially if you use different voices/accents for the characters. You've read her to sleep and tucked her in.  
NSFW 🔞 (go away minors, literally i don’t want to be the cause of your internet trauma bro)
・I- she is so passionate. Every unspoken word, every feeling she keeps inside - she shows you with her mouth, her tongue, her fingers, her body.
・  Wants you to feel like you’re the only person she’s ever loved
・ She’s usually in charge; biting and licking until you’re moaning her name so loud that the neighbours complain
・Likes it when you spontaneously pull her into the toilets while you’re shopping, or desicrate Tony’s office
・Have had sex in nearly every room you’ve been in together
・High sex drive but not to the point where it’s suffocating.
・She likes it when you drip hot wax onto her bare chest and bite down on her nipples
・Loves nipple-play; pulling, squeezing, pinching. She likes it when you clamp something down on them; pegs, clips etc.
・Likes tying you up, and you wanted to do it to her too but it doesn’t turn her on that much do to the fact that it’s unrealistic.   “Baby, I can get out of these knots with my eyes closed,” she purred. Her dark eyelashes, red lips and slight red cheeks making your groin ache. (And she did btw. Even with your best ties/knots.)
・...she likes to roleplay ... but the sillier roles like doctor/nurse x patient, policewoman x criminal.
・She likes eating ass
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bloomfish · 1 month
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My controversial and long-winded Willow/Tara thoughts
I honestly don't mind, narratively speaking, that Tara was killed. Obviously I love Tara with all my heart and was devastated when she died but I keep trying to see another way forward for Willow's arc and... I can't? Honestly I think this would have been Oz's fate had he not been written off because Seth Green had to leave.
I also think that nowadays we're very conscious of the "bury your gays" trope and there's obviously a lot to criticise about this when it's gratuitous. But especially given what Willow and Tara represented at the time... It was a different world in terms of LGBT representation. It's common knowledge that they had to fight for the onscreen kiss in The Body, the fact that a main character was even portrayed in a lesbian relationship at all on a show like Buffy was groundbreaking. All that being said, I personally don't think Tara's death was gratuitous.
The only other permadeath of a Scooby love interest until the finale is Jenny Calendar, and you can definitely make a case here for the "killing off a female love interest for manpain" trope but where would S2 be without Jenny's death? Like it just doesn't make sense without it. Passions is the moment where the stakes of the series as a whole suddenly explode into astronomical new levels. Sure, Giles could have been a woman and Jenny a man, but that also undercuts many of the themes and ideas behind the Giles+Buffy relationship and the Watchers in general.
Similarly, from the moment Willow's use of magic was introduced, EVERYTHING in her arc was leading up to Dark Willow. We got a taste of it in S5 but if the show had ended there it would never have actually reached a true conclusion. She's not punished for her Dark Moment, she's rewarded. It would have gone unresolved, and the looming threat of Willow turning to the dark side would have been hanging over the heads of the surviving Scoobies forever. Tara being mind sucked by Glory feels like a sort of... idk hasty first attempt at killing her thematically (an idea that was obviously in the works) except that her death in S5 would undercut those of Joyce and Buffy. So it's natural to resolve this in S6.
The reason I think Tara had to die for Dark Willow to emerge is that we're shown that Willow needs a grounding presence to keep her from losing control. Her 'darkest moments' almost all occur when she feels abandoned. When Oz cheats on her in S4 she tries to curse him and Veronica, when he leaves Something Blue ensues. When Tara is mind-sucked she goes apeshit on Glory. When Buffy dies she does the resurrection spell. When she and Tara fight in S6 she uses magic to make her forget, the subsequent breakup causes her to spiral. Like this is a HUGE pattern for Willow.
Oz and Tara function fairly similarly in that they are stabilising presences that pull Willow back from the brink, and so nothing short of the complete, permanent removal of Tara could force her to completely go over the edge. She couldn't have "just left" because that leaves the glimmer of hope that, like Oz, she will return. She had to die and Willow had to try and fail to bring her back.
Obviously it's not a pleasant thing. But it's just... Idk, it's narratively cohesive for me. It's so far from being even close to the worst moral failing of the writers in that single episode, let alone the series as a whole. The reason it stings so much is because Tara's death wasn't just shock value, she was a character that made a lasting impact on the show and had visible effects on characters outside of Willow (mostly Dawn and Buffy but still) so even though she was doomed from the start I don't think it's a case of a lesbian character being gratuitously killed off for angst. I get that it's a touchy subject but I also don't think it's accurate to paint every single instance of a gay character dying as 'bury your gays' when it's not necessarily so.
Anyway. There's a lot to criticise about Buffy but this isn't a personal gripe of mine- even as someone for whom Tara and her relationship with Willow was deeply and personally important at the time.
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