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pink-sparkly-witch · 11 months

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Taken for Granted, Part One

Summary: Having had his share of dangerous situations and close calls in Houston, this was meant to be the start of a quieter, slower life for Beau, Y/N and their daughter. Taking the job as Acting Sheriff in Helena, Montana, was a dream come true until Beau starts to spend far too much time with Jenny Hoyt, in and out of the office. At first, Y/N doesn’t mind too much, but one night Beau misses his daughter’s hockey tryouts and phone calls in favour of shooting tequila in a bar with his co-worker, and Y/N isn’t sure if she’s being taken for granted or if something bigger is going on that she needs to worry about.

Pairing: Beau Arlen x Female Reader

Warnings: Meet cute, flirting, angst, mentions of injuries, arguments, language, accusations of cheating.

Bingo Square: Free Space for @j3bingo

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: This is my first submission on my @j3bingo card. It was beat’d by the lovely @writethelifeyouwant and is my first Beau fic! I hope you enjoy! 💖

My Masterlist AO3 Ko-Fi

Being married to a police officer wasn’t easy, and Y/N knew that. She’d lost count of the number of promises she’d made throughout her younger years that she would never fall for a cop, and so in true Y/N fashion she did, in fact, fall for a cop.

She was from a police family; her grandpa, dad, and brothers had all felt the calling, and she knew they were disappointed that she didn’t follow the same path. It was like she wasn’t ‘one of them’ because she didn’t wear a badge and carry a gun, and their relationship became tense and strained.

Then she met Beau Arlen.

Finally, her family saw her differently. She became the hero because it was the stronger person that sent their loved one off with a goodbye kiss every morning, not knowing if they’d come home.

“So, uh… I’d really like to see you again. Take you on a date,” Officer Arlen had said after questioning her about the brawl that broke out in the bar where her friend’s bachelorette party was in full swing.

“Have they changed the rules about cops dating witnesses, Officer Arlen?” Y/N smirked.

“You’ve corroborated what fifty other people in this bar saw, but you didn’t see enough to be an official witness,” Beau explained.

“I don’t do cops,” she replied, trying to sound uninterested and not fall for his boyish charm and infuriatingly handsome face.

“I’m not asking you to “do” me, Miss Y/L/N, I’m asking you to go on a date with me,” the officer smirked, and she rolled her eyes.

“I don’t date cops,” Y/N changed her wording, trying to make him give up and leave her alone.

“Why, you got a problem with authority or something?” Beau was grinning. She knew he was flirting with her, and although he was cute and she was tempted, Y/N knew the second he found out the truth about her, he would run for the hills.

“You have no idea who I am, do you, Officer Arlen?” Y/N said, chuckling when he looked like he was searching through a Rolodex in his brain.

“Well, ma’am, I’m pretty sure I’d remember if I’d hooked up with a woman as beautiful as you. In fact, if we’d hooked up, I would never have let you go, so it’s not that.” Beau was teasing and she knew it. She’d have already gone home with him if he had any other career.

“You really have no idea who I am?” Y/N asked again, more seriously this time.

“Should I?” he replied, his tone matching her seriousness for the first time since he’d questioned her about the fight.

“Huh… I’m surprised my face isn’t ingrained in y’alls memories at training,” she mused. “My father is Joe Y/L/N, Chief of Police.” Now if that didn’t get this guy to back off, nothing would, Y/N thought.

“Is that meant to scare me away, or…?” Beau let his question hang in the air, and she had to admit, his complete indifference to who her father was–who her family were–only made him more appealing to her.

“When most guys find out who my father is and that I have three brothers on the force, they usually run a mile in the other direction.”

“I’m not most guys, darlin’.” Beau’s charming smile was obnoxious. And intoxicating. And stunning. “So, how about that date?”

Already on her way to falling for him, Y/N agreed to a date, and they’d been together ever since. They got married two years later, just before he was made detective, and she’d been by his side every step he climbed in the ranks of Houston P.D. Three years into their marriage, Y/N gave birth to their daughter, Maisie.

Growing up as she had, Y/N was well aware of the risks being a cop came with, but Beau took it to a completely new level. He was always going against protocol, putting himself in dangerous situations and taking unnecessary risks.

The worst incident had been when he ran after two armed robbers without waiting for backup. He caught one of them, but just as he handcuffed him and read him his rights, the other thief turned and fired. He’d been incredibly lucky that the bullet only hit his clavicle. If it had landed an inch to the left, it would’ve got his carotid artery and killed him.

Six months back on the job he did the exact same thing: chased down two armed drug dealers without any backup. Both perps opened fire this time, and it was a miracle he hadn’t been shot again.

They’d had the worst argument of their entire relationship after that, leading to Y/N not speaking to him for days. She felt it was more than justified because he’d been seriously wounded less than a year before and gone through several surgeries and weeks of physiotherapy. Not to mention Maisie was only four years old and Y/N really didn’t want to tell their daughter that her daddy wasn’t coming home.

Two weeks later and still in the midst of a silent standoff, Beau had tried to tell her that a dangerous operation to take down the biggest drug kingpin in Houston was going down that day. Y/N remained silent as she packed Maisie’s lunch for kindergarten and at his insistence that they talk about things, she’d responded pettily as she lifted Maisie out of Beau’s arms and made to leave for the day.

“I’d say be careful, but you and I both know you don’t know the meaning of the word,” Y/N spat at him.

“Darlin’, please,” Beau had sighed, defeated but knowing he kinda deserved it. Even he knew he’d been stupid chasing after armed suspects without waiting for backup. Twice.

“At least this time, try to remember you have a daughter and a wife at home and to not get yourself nearly killed.”

Beau didn’t make it to the precinct that morning. A dirty cop on the task force had told the cartel boss what was going down, and Beau had been attacked and kidnapped from a gas station as he’d filled the car on his way to work. He’d been held hostage, tortured, and beaten for four days.

When they finally found him, he’d been at death’s door. Lucky to be alive, all of the doctors had said. The first time they let Y/N in to see him after they’d run their tests and stitched him up, the sight of her husband’s broken and beaten body almost killed her.

Watching her sob at his bedside, Beau had tried to calm her down, but the guilt she had over their fight, over what her last words to him were, and the fear that she’d almost lost him—again—was too strong. She couldn’t even hug him for fear that she’d hurt him more.

All night she’d sat by his bedside, watching him sleep, thankful for everything she still had and grateful he’d fought so hard to stay alive for her and Maisie.

The next morning, they’d agreed to never go to bed, or leave the house angry at each other, again. It’d been too much of a close call, and they both knew they’d never forgive themselves if the worst had happened and they hadn’t been speaking.

After his first dose of morphine for the day, when Beau no longer felt like he’d been hit by a bus, he encouraged Y/N to curl up with him on the uncomfortable hospital bed, giving both of them the comfort and affection they’d missed for the past few weeks.

That promise to never go to work or bed angry at each other lasted for eleven years. Yes, they argued and had disagreements, and more than once they’d gone to bed or about their days hurling a rather aggressive “I love you” at the other, but they’d never left the other in any doubt that they still loved and cared for the other.

Until now.

This was the sixth night in a row Y/N had gone to bed alone, and just as many days she’d woken up that way too. Beau had told her that moving to Montana would make it better, that he wouldn’t work as long hours or have as many dangerous encounters as he’d had in Houston. At first, he had been right.

The first few months in Helena had been great. Beau was home in time for dinner every night, and they had breakfast as a family every morning. He didn’t even have a close call once a week, never mind several times a day. By all accounts, in those first couple of months, being Acting Sheriff in Helena, Montana, had been everything Beau and Y/N had hoped for.

Then he started working longer hours and responding to calls a sheriff should be sending his deputies to. Not to mention Beau would attend those calls with an officer who wasn’t even his partner. An officer he was currently in a bar with; drinking tequila, singing karaoke, and posing for pictures with, according to her social media. And so, once again, Y/N had gone to bed alone.

The sound of the shower running roused Y/N from sleep, and she glanced at the alarm clock. Frowning at the late hour, she turned on her back and set her gaze on the ceiling as she waited for the water to shut off.

It felt like an hour, but she knew it was only a few minutes later that Beau emerged from the bathroom, rubbing his damp hair with a towel.

“It’s a little late for a shower,” Y/N stated, making Beau jump, clearly startled she was awake.

“Jesus, darlin’, you scared the crap outta me!” Beau chuckled. “Did I wake you?”

“You were having a shower at three in the morning, Beau, of course you woke me.” Y/N’s voice was filled with irritation that she knew he’d be able to pick up on.

“I’m sorry, baby. It was a later night than I planned. Thought I’d save some time by showering now instead of the morning.” Beau carelessly threw his damp towel onto the bathroom floor and walked towards the bed, completely naked and standing at half-mast.

Normally, the sight of him naked and hard would have her salivating and pouncing on him the second he lay down, but not tonight. Tonight, she couldn’t help but visualise Jenny on her knees sucking him off. She didn’t know where the unwelcome image came from, she knew he wouldn’t cheat on her… or at least she used to know that.

Logically, Y/N also knew that the fact he was hardening with every step he took meant that that kind of activity hadn’t been happening while he was out, but she was hurt and confused and still half asleep. And men did not drink tequila in bars with other women all night and then come home at three o’clock in the morning and jump straight into the shower if they’d been faithful now, did they?

“I’m surprised you’re walking in a straight line. It looked like quite the party you and Jenny were having to yourselves.” The irritation in Y/N’s tone had increased tenfold since she last spoke.

“It wasn’t that kinda night, what with Jenny’s mom being in the wind again.” Beau frowned, and the fact that he was playing the night down hurt even more and made her exhausted with the whole situation.

“Huh,” Y/N huffed. “Social media really must be all smoke and mirrors after all because she didn’t look too beat up about it in the photos. In fact, it looked like you two were having a great time shooting tequila and singing karaoke, looking all cosy together,” she spat and turned her back on him.

“Y/N,” Beau sighed.

“I need to get some sleep. I promised Maisie I’d get her to school early tomorrow so she can pick up her uniform before her first practice with the senior hockey team.”

“Maisie made the team?” The pride in her husband’s voice made her smile for the briefest of seconds until she remembered she and their daughter were mad at him right now.

“Yes, which you’d have known if you’d come to the game tonight instead of going out drinking, or if you’d picked up any one of your daughter’s eight calls. You know, she was really upset that she couldn’t get a hold of you, Beau.”

“Great,” he said as he slid a large, warm palm over her waist, and she shivered at his touch. “I’ve upset both my girls.”

“All for Jenny and some tequila. I hope she was worth it, Beau, because I don’t know if I can keep doing this.”

“Y/N, come on,” he pleaded, “it was just a few drinks.”

“For the fourth time this week. And until three in the morning again. I haven’t physically spoken to you since Friday, and the only reason we’re talking right now is because you woke me up. You know, all these late nights with another woman are starting to throw up all sorts of red flags, Beau.” Y/N said angrily as she turned to look at him.

“You know I’d never,” Beau’s firm voice and clenched jaw almost made her back down but he needed to know. He needed to hear this.

“Do I?” she scoffed. “Jenny isn’t even your partner, and yet you go on every case with her while her actual partner does what, huh? Sits at his desk and throws a football across the bullpen to his buddies? You’re the sheriff, for crying out loud, Beau! You don’t need to go out on even half of those calls! And then when your shift is over, the two of you run off to whatever dive bar you can find on the outskirts of town where no one knows you, and you can practically grope each other all night and-”

“Y/N, I’m gonna stop you right there. There is nothing going on with me and Jenny, okay? We’re just friends. And she’s going through a tough time right now,” Beau tried to explain, but Y/N scoffed again and pretended not to notice that Beau was looking quite hurt that she doubted him.

“And tell me, Beau… would you believe that bullshit excuse if it was me, huh? What would be running through your mind if I was out drinking with a co-worker, singing karaoke, pulling him into hugs, playing with his hair and getting up close and personal with him?

“What would you think about that co-worker posting what looks like incredibly intimate photos on social media, knowing you could see them? Our daughter could see them? That the whole town could see them?” Y/N paused and showed him her phone.

She watched intently as he scrolled through the photos Jenny had posted with her arms around him, her head on his shoulder, her gazing up at him like he was the goddamn messiah. She watched as his face paled with the realisation of what those photos—particularly the last one—looked like.

“And what would you think if I came home from a night out, where there were photos of me and another man, who was “just a friend” like that,” she pointed at the photo of him and Jenny, his arm around her shoulder and his head resting on hers, one of her arms was around his waist, and her other hand resting on his chest, both smiling softly like they didn’t want to be anywhere else.

“What if I ignored all of your and our daughter’s calls, and when I finally came home, I went straight into the shower at three o’clock in the morning.”

“Y/N, I know what it looks like,” Beau tried to explain, but she couldn’t. Not right now. If she didn’t hit this home, he wouldn’t know just how much it had upset her.

“See, I don’t think you do. Not really. Because if it was me, you’d think showering so late meant that I was trying to get rid of the evidence of being with another man. You’re a good cop, Beau. A great one, even. So I find it really hard to believe that you wouldn’t think that. And that you wouldn’t have realised that things were getting far too close in there.

“And if something like this happened when we were still in Texas, you’d have ended the night right away and came home to your wife… or maybe that’s it. Maybe without my dad and brothers having eyes and ears everywhere, you’re finally free to do what and who you want!”

Y/N threw the duvet off her body and sat up on the bed. Dragging her pillow with her, she stood and walked across the room.

“Baby, where are you going?” Beau asked, and she could hear the regret in his tone.

“Anywhere that’s not here. I don’t want to be anywhere near you right now.”

Y/N barely slept a wink, and she knew her agitation was hard to hide in the morning. As she prepared the coffee machine, every drawer and cabinet door was closed a little more firmly than usual, and she seemed to have developed a fondness for huffing very loudly at inanimate objects.

“Did Dad even come home last night?” Maisie asked as she entered the kitchen. Y/N wanted to scold her daughter for her impertinence, but even she couldn’t deny that it was a fair question. He hadn’t been here when they’d gone to bed or woken up for the better part of a week. For all either of them knew, he hadn’t been home at all in that time.

“Hey!” Beau’s raised voice carried through the kitchen. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh!” Maisie exclaimed dramatically, “So that’s what you look like. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you that I was starting to forget.” Her sarcastic grin was uncannily like her mother’s, and it simultaneously made Beau’s chest burst with pride and broke his heart.

Y/N raised her eyebrows in surprise. Maisie had always been a daddy’s girl, and the fact that she was giving him a hard time was proof of how hurt she was too. Beau looked to Y/N, his expression begging her for some backup. Instead, she shrugged and carried on packing Maisie’s lunch, making it clear that this time, he was on his own.

“I know I haven’t been around much, baby girl, and I’m gonna change that, okay?” Beau said softly, sighing when Maisie scowled at him.“Mom said you made the team! I’m so proud of you, Maze,” he smiled, trying to defuse the tension building in the room.

“Where were you?” Maisie asked, tears welling in her green eyes, looking more vulnerable and hurt than Y/N ever wanted to see her daughter, and it made her even angrier.

“I’m sorry I missed the game–” Beau started but was interrupted by a scoff from his daughter.

“I’m not mad that you missed the game, Dad. You always miss stuff like that because of work,” she explained quietly. “But you always answer my calls, and last night you didn’t. So, where were you?”

“I… I was–” Beau struggled to figure out what the best thing to do was. Lie and hope Y/N didn’t rat him out or tell the truth and upset his girls even more than he already had.

“Your dad caught a case late last night. He was at the scene when you were calling, and by the time he got back to the station, he knew you’d be asleep,” Y/N answered for him, and Beau had never been more grateful to her for covering for him.

“Are you ready, honey? We need to get moving if you don’t want to be late for your first practice,” Y/N said and watched as Maisie smiled for the first time since dinner last night.

“Yeah, let’s go. Bye, Dad!” Maisie jumped off the stool and rounded the kitchen, hugging Beau before heading out to the driveway.

“Thank you,” Beau said quietly, stopping abruptly as Y/N raised a finger to stop him talking.

“Don’t you dare thank me for lying to our daughter. And don’t ever expect me to do it again. I did it to protect her, not you. If she finds out the reason you missed her game and didn’t answer her calls was to go out drinking, you will break her heart.

“You get this one for free. Next time… and I swear to God, there better not be a next time, but if there is? You are on your own. I won’t save you.” The venom in Y/N’s voice made him flinch. He’d never felt worse than he did right now, and he swore to himself that he’d never make his wife so angry again.

“It’s not just me you’re hurting here, Beau.”

Y/N picked up her purse and stormed out the front door, not stopping to kiss him or say goodbye; just gone.

And Beau didn’t blame her in the slightest.

P art Two>>

Tags: @deans-baby-momma @deans-spinster-witch @leigh70 @stoneyggirl2 @hobby27 @candy-coated-misery0731 @mrsjenniferwinchester

#j3bingo #beau alren x reader #angst #beau x reader #beau arlen

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warningsine · 7 months

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"Severance" is one of those brillantly structrured shows that rewards the viewers who watch it a second time.

Knowing the major twists recontextualizes so many scenes, e.g., the initial conference room convos between Helly and Mark,

and generally enhances the viewing experience.

An example?

Notice the colors above: Helly's blue shirt, the green chairs.

Haven't read what the cinematographers, designers and decorators said about this, but green is a sign of faith. The different shades of green could have been used because of the way the corporate people deify the founders and formers CEOs.

They could have been used because green and blue are considered soothing colors in graphic design. Lumon is a medical company that wants to keep its innies docile and calm.

They could have been used because a lot of viewers associate green with numbers/computers,

e.g., "Matrix."

By the way, the two hexadecimal values at the bottom represent two different shades of green in RGB format.

Now, Helly-as-Helena-Eagan's dress and jewelry in the finale?

Blue and green.

Just like the Severance prototype James Eagan gave to Helena.

0x15DB4A and 0x0AEAFC aka green and blue.

More blue and green:

Probably belonged to the founder.

MRD and Optics? Green vs. blue.

And of course, Harmony:

Helly chooses "Defiant Jazz" during the MDE scene.

youtube

As the episodes go, she starts wearing other colors [moving further away from the company line], e.g., white, brown, but there's always something blue or green on her. The exception to the rule seems to be her MDE moment: a yellow dress.

All the other colors were chosen equally cleverly, but especially the reds.

It's no coincidence that Helena/Helly is a redhead, 'cause it's not the actress's natural hair color.

The complementary color of red? Green.

Green is generally used for the innies' lives. They are livestock after all.

Blue is associated with Lumon.

Red seems to be used for the outside world—or rather the knowledge of it.

There are many instances of red vs. blue imagery throughout the show, which are definitely references to the red/blue pill choice on the "Matrix":

Petey wearing a red/blue nightgown when he begins to hallucinate being in both places at the same time.

We can see that Mark's gray car is parked between a red one and a blue one.

Mark having a red fish and a blue one.

Mark wearing red in his blue-ish house.

While Mark is watching TV, his orange-red (orange is the complementary color of blue) fish is swimming in blue water. The blue-ish walls are contrasting Mark's red couch and one of his fish.

Ricken's book is red, 'cause it contains forbidden stuff. The company's book is blue.

When Dylan has his moment of enlightenment, he's wearing red. When he refuses to go along with the status quo, the screen is red.

Irving wears a lot of blue, because he's very resistant to the truth. When he sees the black paint under his nails, there's the red ball under his chair.

Helena in the gala dressed in blues and greens in contrast to her red hair.

Other significant uses of red:

Ms. Casey wearing red, 'cause she's different from the other innies.

Petey giving Mark a red card.

The ball the innies play with is red.

[clears throat] All that being said, please enjoy all colors and rewatches equally.

#severance #Youtube

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havendance · 11 months

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Okay, I'm finally returning to the AU where Jason and Barbara are swapped so that she dies in a Killing Joker and Jason is paralyzed in A death in the family.

The simplest way to set up this AU (and why over-complicate things yet?) is to have it so that when Barbara Gordon opens the door, the Joker shoots to kill. However long later, when Jason is beaten half to death by the Joker, he survives the bomb, but he’s left paralyzed from the waist down. The Doctors say he’ll never walk again.

For now, Barbara Gordon is dead and we shall leave her there. She doesn’t haunt the narrative in the same way that Jason did. She was an adult when she died, removed from her former mantle. She wasn’t Bruce’s daughter. Her death weighs on Gordon, but then Sarah Essen returns to his life and his dead daughter fades into the background. Bruce, Dick, and Jason remember her, but there is no Batgirl memorial in the cave. She is just another symbol of the dangers they face. She comes up in vague aborted references and heavy silences.

(Now that I think about it, in a world where Barbara Gordon’s dead, I bet Helena ends up as Dick’s second primary love interest…)

Meanwhile, with Jason, we have a fairly standard Jason Lives!AU with the slight caveat that he’s in a wheelchair and can never become Robin again.

We’re not going to spend long on that because it could go any number of ways and I don’t want to be here all day, but to his some major points:

A Lonely Place of Dying doesn’t get triggered. Batman without Robin when Jason is paralyzed is worse, but not bad enough for Tim to feel the need to interfere. His parents probably still die in Rites of Passage because Batman is highly unlikely to leave Gotham to chase after some random kidnapping for ransom when he’s being overprotective of his recently paralyzed son. Or just have the Drakes die in a plane crash and skip the racism.

Jason as Robin is a character who doesn’t have many ties outside of Batman. Stuck in a wheelchair, he struggles even more with dilation. Barbara’s dead. Dick’s around more, but he still spends most of his time with the titans. He can’t be Robin and that means that he feels like he can’t be part of that community, losing the few connections he had there. On the civilian front, his injuries lead him to being held back a year. He doesn’t know any of his classmates, and stuck in the hormonal battleground of high school, he acutely feels the way that being stuck in a wheelchair makes him different.

I still need to read Oracle: Year One, but Jason is initially attracted to computers because of the anonymity the internet offers. On it, he can pretend to be normal; people don’t see the chair before they see him. From there, it expands into a way he can still help Bruce and be involved in the mission. Bruce says he doesn’t need to do anything, but with so much of their relationship tied up in being Batman and Robin, Jason wants to.

There is another Robin eventually. Dealer’s choice as to who. You can make an argument for Tim (the classic option), Steph (Girl power + Steph & Jason friendship) or, I don’t know, Lonnie ( I know he has fans, though, in full disclosure, I am ambivalent towards him). Whoever the choice, it’s alternatively important that they have the approval of both Dick, who originated the mantle, and Jason, who left it vacant.

But that’s enough about Jason. You want to know who I really want to talk about in this AU? You guessed it! Helena Bertinelli and Cassandra Cain.

It’s time for No Man’s Land baby~ (absolutely no one is surprised.)

Bruce leaves on an international guilt trip and brings his son with him, much to Jason’s annoyance. It’s over three months before he’s able to convince Bruce to return, and even then it’s only on the condition that Jason enrolls in a boarding school where it’s safe. (Jason is so looking forward to turning 18 when he can finally prove to Bruce that he can take care of himself.)

Meanwhile, Huntress is the sole vigilante presence in No Man's Land. It isn’t long before she recognizes the limits of her own mantle and takes on the mantle of the Bat. In this universe, she is called Batwoman.

It is as Batwoman that she runs into Cassandra, who has been living on the streets of Gotham.

No wait, better idea. Headcanon time: In between acting as two separate vigilantes, Helena also somehow finds the time to run a makeshift classroom for some of the kids stranded in No Man's Land. She recruits them to do odd jobs and in exchange,, she shares some of the food she has stashed wavy and tries to make sure they have at least some education.

Cassandra is curious and comes first for the food and then for the stories and the reading/writing lessons she doesn’t understand. When she sees Batwoman for the first time and makes the connection, she becomes even more intrigued.

When Batman enters and starts working with Helena, Cassandra saves them both in a handmade costume and ends up as the new Batgirl.

Helena remains as Batwoman after the end of No Man’s Land in this AU. She misses being the Huntress, at the end, but she has Cass to look after now. They grew close in the chaos of No Man’s Land and now the girl’s moved in with her. Helena needs to be better for Cass. She can’t go back to killing because, on one level, Cass wouldn’t let her. On another, she doesn’t want to betray her trust. So she holds the line. She stops her more self-destructive tendencies and tries to do the best for Cass despite the fact that she doesn’t understand her on a fundamental level.

This all leads to her being a more integrated part of the batfam. She's featured in more Bat comics and plays a major supporting role in Batgirl.

Post-No Man’s Land, Jason turns 18, moves off to college, and starts his own Birds of Prey type team. Bruce stalks him, Jason yells at him for it, etc etc.

And now, we’ve arrived at the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Red Hood!Barbara Gordon!

Barbara Gordon’s Under the Red Hood arc is a narrative commentary on fridging and is ideally written by a female author. In this universe, Barbara Gordon was a character who was killed off and vanishes from the narrative. She was a thing pre-crisis but never really a presence post. She is a tombstone next to Sarah Essen. A name mentioned when arguing about the Joker, quickly forgotten to focus on his paralyzing of Jason.

She comes back loud and angry, insisting on being remembered. Look at me, she shouts. Look at my pain. My story should be about me. She sets up a series of circumstances and clues all point to her. To the terrible things that happened to her. Bruce and Gordon have made her death about them, she’s taking it back. Reclaiming it for herself.

She also torments and antagonizes Helena and Cass. They replaced her, they took her place. They don't even know what they've done. They are the first to see her face and they don’t even recognize her. They don’t know the legacy they have claimed. Barbara Gordon rages.

And then, of course, future writers ruin that shining star of an arc by making her ~evil~ and ~crazy~. It’s probably all because coming back from the dead made her infertile and she can’t ever be a mother. Women, am I right? (eyeroll)

Anyway, I want a Red Hood!Barbara Gordon arc now.

#jason todd #barbara gordon #helena bertinelli #cassandra cain #joker fate swap au #my au ideas #carthago delenda est #dc #bats + birds + affiliated

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zahri-melitor · 2 months

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And...done with New 52 Gotham

There's a handful of additional titles I'm finishing rounding up (at the last minute I decided to go back and read Batwing, and I'm going to read the Poison Ivy mini) but I have now completed my main read.

The good: I've got a list of comic recommendations coming for what I would actually suggest reading in here if you want an entertaining story, or runs that I think are crucial in that they establish character traits that will continue to be heavily used from Rebirth onwards.

But for now, some general comments on what I've just finished up:

Batman - Snyder is very, very interested in making a statement. And with set pieces interrogating the 'mentality of Batman'. Which gets tiring reading in such a big chunk - he needed more time letting the story breathe and the tension come off. Where's my fill with Bruce chasing Mad Hatter? Not everything needs to be a deep interrogation of the psyche of Batman, and how his presence transforms Gotham city. Jim Gordon as Batman was certainly a thing that happened, and probably didn't need to happen.

Detective Comics - Manapul & Buccellato's run remains the highlight for me. Tomasi, who had the final run (45-52) was incredibly uneven. The first story, about Jim!Batman and the Justice League, was relatively boring. The second story, The Bronze Age, was a compelling mystery and probably the best Jim Gordon as Batman story of the lot. The third story, Our Gordon At War, was a deadly dull piece of military propaganda.

Batman & Robin Eternal - what worked here I think was the extensive supporting cast. It reminded me of the glory days of the early 2000s when Dick and Babs used to run Bat events together with no Bruce. On the downside was that Mother was simply uninteresting to me as she twisted everyone's character to make everything about her. No, I don't actually believe that the Order of St Dumas would let a rando be controlling their potential Azrael. Also way to eliminate basically all of David Cain's autonomy and decisions. It was nice to get Cass back. Shame about how it was achieved. (The incredibly frustrating part about this run is on paper it looks amazing, and there's a handful of decent scenes people like to reference)

Batgirl - ugh. Was ever 'right ideas wrong characters' more embodied than during Burnside? If it was a different character, or a prequel, or I had hit my head back in 1987 after reading the Last Batgirl Story and then picked up Burnside...I could almost cope. But it's just aggravating to read about a character I love so much. I actually don't mind the work to add additional diverse side characters, however I'm sorry, I will remain irritated by Frankie until the end of time. The number of times I have had to sit through reinventions of the Oracle role during n52 because oh no we can't use the REAL ORACLE... because running around as a street hero is clearly more important than Oracle's actual role.

Robin: Son of Batman - I think I'm going to make a lot of people mad when I say, while this is a very interesting Damian Wayne comic, it's a moderately dreadful Robin comic. I can see why people heavily recommend it for Damian, because it's probably the most generous and thought through portrayal of his childhood and relationship with Talia. The word 'Son' there in the title really should be the focus. This is about Damian as a Son of the Al Ghuls, Damian making choices over what he's learnt as Bruce's son before his death, and applying what he learnt from both to find who he is. It's something Damian needed. But it's got nothing to do with being Robin at all.

We are Robin - I loved the brutal groundedness of this comic. It smacks you in the face to pay attention several times. It's about teens, yes. It's about Alfred facilitating children to try and help them survive trying to become vigilantes. It's about what the concept of Robin means to the children of Gotham.

Grayson - I don't think it was using Helena-in-name-only, or the constant objectification of Dick or even the way my brain couldn't slot exactly how all the different secret agencies in DC were revolving around each other into place for this story that irritated me the most. It was how obvious, blatant and unadapted a rip off of James Bond (among other spy properties) it tended to be. I could see the file marks, and a lot of it didn't even feel like a loving homage, it was just "oh my favourite scene was" sort of stuff. Oooh St Hadrian's is a cheap St Trinian's knock off. Whoever would have guessed. Trinian's girls would have run circles around the Hadrian's ones.

Gotham Academy - Look, this is lighthearted fluff that enjoys picking up threads from all over Gotham to reference. I'm not particularly a fan of Brendan Fletcher's general approach to DC storytelling - it's a bit too tween and lighthearted for me - but this is a title where that style was an asset rather than a burden. It didn't require high levels of canonicity because people flitted in and out and the main cast were all original creations for the story. I can see why it's well-loved.

#z canon read throughs

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helenadurazzo · 3 months

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The Lord of The Underworld And His Lady of Spring Part 6

Next in the HPHM x Twisted Wonderland AU, it is time for the testing, as both groups of the boys go through it, Idia, along with Helena and Ortho go through the data to look for interesting results

“Test One complete.” Ortho confirmed, “Subjects are cooling down within the simulation.”

“All vital signs for the three subjects are normal.” An employee, Moor Eiriniko, of Helena recalled his name right, reported. “And blot accumulation is within standard range.”

“There are the numbers I expected as well.” Idia observed, “Time to see if they differ with the next test.”

“Simulator has been synced with the Lachesis System.” Another employee, this time, Etern Skotadi, was the one to talk, “We are set for the second test.”

Idia nodded firmly, “Take it away Ortho.”

“Roger!” Ortho obeyed, “Virtual enemy mode standby. Commencing dive!”

~~~

“Test two complete.” Ortho reported, “Subjects are cooling down in the sim.”

“Vital signs remain normal.” Moor typed on a tablet as he talked, “Yet there has been an increase in blot accumulation.”

Etern looked at the system and made modifications, “Lachesis System desynchronizing. Down to five percent… four, three, two… desync complete.”

“Simulator cooldown has finished.” Ortho’s voice sounded, “Subjects are being transported to the recovery room.”

“Excellent.” Idia breathed a sigh of relief, “When you are done with that, prepare Subjects B and D for their testing.”

“Roger.” Ortho’s holographic figure nodded before disappearing.

“Now let’s read the stats for these famed housewardens.” Idia grinned as he went over to a large screen.

“The difference in their blot accumulation rates is fascinating.” Helena observed, walking up to Idia to stand beside him.

“Totally.” Idia smiled at her and then looked at the screen, “Let’s look at Riddle first. He busts out spells like he is in hyperdrive. And his magic pool is way beyond other mages his age. Likely had training in magic at a young age. Like a sports pro who practiced their whole lives since they could walk. It’s the only way he could wield such numbers. If you ask me, his strength is more from hard work than from innate talent.”

Helena hummed, “He also has a tendency to elevate his output and brute force his magic during moments of indecision.”

“Whiles it is inefficient.” Idia admitted,

“he had the power to back him up”

“And his mental state is impacted by external factors rather than internal ones.” Helena pointed out, “If my memory serves him right, he had quite the controlling mother watching over him, a skill mage doctor in the Queendom of Roses.”

“Despite everything though.” Idia starred at the screen, “Its safe to say he has a strong offense but a paper thin defense. Being quite fragile physically and mentally when he isn’t in control of his surroundings.”

“Yet compare that to Azul,” Helena observed, looking at his results. “Despite his slow speed at casting, he is precise and deadly accurate with his spells.”

“He served as a support for Riddle’s brash actions!” Idia declared. “On one hand he is calm and efficient, on the other you could say he is cowardly for hiding behind the magical gifts of others.”

“Or it just means he can be suited as a healer.” Helena shrugged playfully.

“Perhaps he is careful because he has a small magic pool.” Idia theorized, “like he is banking up on his quick thinking to make up for his little reserves or something. It’s not like he can use his signature spell willy nilly.”

“Making him the opposite of Riddle.” Helena observed, “Then there is the case of Vil, who is unique in his own right.”

“Oh boy talk about STABLE.” Idia exclaimed. “All of his numbers are remarkably high and he hardly breaks a sweat. His lack of sharp performance strikes may be one thing, but he is solid in both offense and defense. And I am pretty sure Vil didn’t get any specialized training prior to his enrollment.”

“His physical and mental resilience is rather impressive.” Helena observed.

“He would make a perfect tank!” Idia declared with confidence. “Vil’s signature spell is a long duration debuff curse… and since he’s got a big magic pool, it is a long lasting one, that’s huge. I would hate having to fight these guys, but oh man they’d be a blast to play if they were in an RPG!”

~~~

“That was quick.” Idia exclaimed with wide eyes, “They figured out how the system worked immediately.”

“Well Leona is the type of guy who knows when he is dreaming.” Helena reminded him.

Idia sighed, “Where’s the fun in that? And Jamil’s stress levels barely moved to. How did these guys overblot? Vil as well for that matter.”

“Simulator cooldown complete.” Ortho reported as astern worked on desyncing the system, “Transferring subjects to the recovery room.”

“Testing sequence completed at 2245” Moor took note of.

“Good, good.” Idia muttered then looked at the two employees, “You two are free to go once the data is backed up.”

“Roger.” The two men nodded.

Ortho suddenly entered the room, “All subjects are in the recovery room Idia. They’re fast asleep.”

Helena laughed, “When is Leona not asleep? Not surprising at all.”

“Nice job Ortho.” Idia spoke calmly

“You to Idia!” Ortho cheered happily, “What do the results look like for Leona Kingscholar and Jamil Viper?”

Helena gasped as Idia put the data on the monitor, “Their numbers are exceptional!”

Idia started with looking at Leona’s data, “Spoiled or not, Leona is still royalty. Totally makes sense that he would have top notch magic instruction as a kid. His casting speed is off the charts and his magic pool is huge and he is quite efficient which helps with minimizing blot accumulation.” Idia sighed, “But I already knew Leona was tough and could handle whatever danger is thrown at him. And it’s hard to measure resilience when it comes to inner turmoil.”

“He does seem to commonly exhibit a great mental fortitude.” Ortho agreed. “And a drastic change could lead to an increase in blot accumulation.”

“Stat-wise he would be a great tank like Vil.” Idia continued. “But given his personality, he isn’t best suited for a leader. Now that I mention it, their personalities don’t seem to match with their ideal class.”

“What class do you believe Jamil would be?” Helena pondered.

“He’s tricky.” Idia admitted with a shrug, “He could fit just about anywhere TBH. But he tends to go for efficiency over speed, just like Azul. Looking at his background… he had no training before arriving at Night Raven College. Yet where he differs is how he is really quick and precise with defensive magic. Perhaps it’s his natural state given how he guards Kalim.

“So perhaps a Melee to defend a tank or a healer?” Ortho proposed.

“Something like that.” Idia nodded. “Just imagine it, Night Raven Quest, the RPG, now that’s a game I’d play even more given these additional stats.”

“You should totally make it Idia!” Ortho energetically requested, “It would be a blast! And it could be open world!”

“Development costs would be too much for open world for such a ridiculous concept.” Idia pointed out. “Besides development for a joke concept like this would be a pain and waste of my time.”

“Say Idia.” A lightbulb seemed to light up for Ortho, “Why don’t you invite the Housewardens to play with you and Muscle Red?”

“What!? No!” Idia was simply horrified, “Where did you get that idea!? None of these guys are interested in gaming! They are complete normies! And besides, we are going to send them to the River Lethe before they return to Night Raven College. They will forget everything, and possibly us as well.”Glancing briefly over at Helena and her Pomegranate lenses that his parents insisted on if their detail instructions before their departure, before finally turning his gaze to Ortho, “There is no use with making friends with them…”

#The Lord Of The Underworld And His Lady of Spring #Idia Shroud #Ortho Shroud #Helena Othonos #Helena Durazzo #HPHM #twisted wonderland #twst #Hogwarts Mystery #Riddle Rosehearts #Leona Kingscholar #Azul Ashengrotto #Jamil Viper #Vil Schoenheit

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cecexwrites · 1 month

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Prompt: A/B/O TW: Kidnapping (I was going to use it for that originally but shhh) A/B/O, forced pregnancy threat, death of a loved one

Her hand grew colder with each passing moment.

Scarlett knew she needed to get up, to move, to leave the damned house but she couldn't bring herself to let go. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping down onto the floral print duvet her grandmother had owned for as long as Scarlett could remember. Very little in the house had changed over the past seventeen years- eighteen. She realized as the red digital numbers on the old clock next to the bed changed over from 11:59 to 12:00. It was Midnight. She was eighteen.

She jumped, finally letting go of her grandmother's hand at the sound of the pounding on the door.

"Scarlett." A man's voice called out from the other side of the door. She peeked her head out of Grandmother's room, he was so loud, it was as if he'd already busted through the door but no- it was still in place. The floral curtains- a different floral pattern from the bedspread, were in place even. She couldn't see him through the little window.

'BAM BAM BAM' The pounding resumed and that spurred her into action. Scarlett ran across the hall to her room, grabbing her school backpack from the floor, she dumped it upside down, a mess of textbooks and papers falling out. Number two pencils bounced away, rolling under the bed and under my dresser. She shook it twice before deciding it was good enough and grabbed a handful of stuff from the dresser drawers, not even paying attention to what. She zipped the bag, grabbing her old red hoodie from the desk chair, and ran out-

"Fuck." Scarlett cursed, turning and running back. She slid down to the floor, nearly crawling under the bed to try and find it. She patted around, her hand wrapping around something, she pulled it out with a cry of happiness- only to realize it wasn't what she wanted, it was the stupid little plastic vibrator Scarlett had shoplifted from the mall in the next town over on a dare. She threw it out of the way and reached again, this time she grabbed it in seconds. The photo album. The young woman clutched it to her chest and rolled to get up. That was when she heard the unmistakable sound of wood splintering as they finally got the front door open. She ran to the window, forcing it open and Scarlett tried to climb out.

Hands gripped at her ankles, too-sharp nails digging into her skin. She screamed and kicked out, connecting with a wrist. Someone cursed and that was one less set of hands pulling her back. She tossed the album out the window to properly free up her hands but something heavy came down on the back of her head- everything went black.

The girl slumped, her body going limp. Cody was nursing his wrist- which she'd stomped. Helena removed her nails from Scarlett's ankle, little marks marring the smooth tan skin. Alaric looked down at the unmoving form of his woman.

"Take her to the car." He ordered, picking up the backpack she'd dropped in her frenzy to get out of the room. Helena and Cody did just that, carrying her out as if she weighed nothing. "And one of you grab the book she threw out there." He snapped. He walked around the little bedroom, he'd never been in this house before. He hadn't been allowed. It was so- incredibly normal. Above the desk was a corkboard with a class schedule and pictures of her and her grandmother. It seemed rather sparse. He smirked, he could see the little holes where other pictures had once been tacked. He'd done a great job of taking care of her little friends. of making her a social pariah until he was so sure that she was his and only his.

He turned and his eyes zeroed in on a little bit of teal on the floor. He walked over, stooping down to pick it up. It was a small vibrator. The kind they sold outside of sex shops. One could buy them at the mall. He smirked and tucked it into his pocket.

"I told you, Scarlett." He picked up the pillow from the bed, holding it up and inhaling deeply. "You. Are. Mine."

-------------------

Scarlett had no idea how long she had been out. But when she woke up, it wasn't gentle. She gasped awake, fighting out of instinct, to no avail. She was no longer being held by people. No, she was in a basement, or, she supposed, a dungeon. She was chained to the wall, something she'd find more disturbing if she weren't aware of the few ways to subdue a werewolf.

"Alaric!" She screamed. "Alaric James you dirty rotten son of a bitch, get your flea-bitten ass in here now!" She demanded. There was a chuckle, as he did just that, opening the door and walking in. He closed it behind him, a tray of food in his hands. It wasn't until then that Scarlett realized how hungry she was, her stomach growling.

"You rang?" He asked, walking over. He put the tray down on the floor near her, pushing it over with his foot.

It was obviously heated-up frozen food. Something that looked like Salisbury steak.

"You won't get away with this, Alaric. People will miss me, they're going to come looking for me." She warned.

"And why would they do that?" He asked. "You're eighteen, you're allowed to run away, especially in times of grief."

Grandmother. The realization hit her like a train, a hole in her chest opening up, threatening to swallow her whole. She forced herself to put that in a box, she could mourn later. Right now, she had to deal with this.

"They know I wouldn't-"

"Who is they?' He mocked, coming over and squatting down next to her. "Your friends? They hate you. You have no family anymore. And when your neighbors come home to find the letter on your computer and see the missing backpack. They'll know what happened." He smirked.

"Letter?"

"Letter, explaining that you just couldn't take the pain. That you've left, you might be back someday but for now, you just need space." He stood upright and grabbed the backpack from the floor-

"They'll see the broken door-"

"Already fixed it. You know you pack terribly." he unzipped it. "Fifteen pairs of underwear, two tank tops, a pair of shorts?" He quirked an eyebrow. "that's it."

"I was in a rush, some asshole was trying to break down my fucking door." Scarlett snapped. "And no one is going to believe that I would just run. That I would- oh god... is she still there just-"

"I left a tip, with the sheriff," Alaric answered the question she couldn't finish.

"Why are you doing this?" Scarlett asked, her voice small.

"I told you, Little Wolf. You. Are. Mine. You've always been mine and you will always be mine. I couldn't touch you for the past eighteen years but now-"

"You still can't." Scarlett snarled.

"There's that fire I love so much. But you will give me what I want."

"And what, exactly, is that?"

"Your body." He answered. "Your soul. Your heart may or may not follow I don't know quite frankly I do not fucking care, but sooner, rather than later, you're going to give it to me."

"The hell I will." Scarlett scoffed.

"You will- because Little Wolf. Today was your eighteenth birthday. And when a wolf comes of age, they go through... changes."

"Changes? If this is the puberty talk, Alaric, save it, I've been through all that."

"I'm sure, but this is different." He leaned against the wall, looking her up and down slowly, making her painfully aware of what she was wearing. She'd been in pajama pants and a tank top when she'd tried to run. She had the hoodie on over it now- she wasn't sure if she had done that or if they had. "You'll be going into heat soon- really any time now."

"Heat?" Scarlett blanched.

"Yes that's when-"

"I know what it is." She snapped. "I grew up on a farm." She reminded him. He held his hands up.

"Then you know what you're going to need to soothe the ache."

"Nothing aches."

"Yet." He pointed to a small fridge on one side of the room. "That's full of water, I will keep it stocked. Bathroom-" He pointed to the other side of the cell, there was a small bathroom, and in another corner was a cot. The look on her face must have said it all. "I don't want you to suffer- well... not that much. Also when you give in, I don't want to fuck someone who's filthy and too weak to function." He shrugged.

"That isn't going to happen." She rolled her eyes. He simply smirked and walked out, she heard the sound of a heavy lock sliding into place. She kicked the food away and stood. The chains did provide enough slack for her to get to the bathroom and the fridge, but she couldn't quite reach the cot.

"Asshole." She shouted at the door. She didn't know if he was close enough to hear it but it made her feel better.

Left alone in the room she began to panic- what if he was right? What if no one came to find her? She swallowed hard and looked at the discarded food.

"Fuck." She sat up, picked up her plastic fork, and started to eat. He wanted her strong. fine, she'd fight her way out then.

Day 1

"Alaric!" He couldn't hear her until he was right at the door. There was a camera in the room, one that only he had access to, but he hadn't been watching that, he'd been picking up her next meal, and carrying it down to the reinforced basement. There were two cells down there. One was for new wolves, wolves who couldn't be trusted out in the woods yet, the other was for the women when they went into heat if they were unmated. That was where Scarlett was kept

He unlocked the door and walked in, closing the door behind him.

Scarlett glared at him from the floor. Yes, he knew her chains didn't reach the bed, that was on purpose. There was an empty tray kicked across the room and three empty bottles of water.

"Good girl." He smirked. If glaring harder was possible, he knew that was what she'd be doing.

That made him incredibly happy. He didn't want a broken shell of a mate. He wanted her fire, her passion, that was what bored him about Rose, Scarlett's mother. She had been broken by her mate, nothing but a submissive wolf. Alaric wanted his woman to submit, of course, but he wanted to see the flames in her eyes while doing so.

"Don't call me that." She ordered. "Also- I know what you're doing." He quirked an eyebrow. "You're turning up the heat to try and sweat me out. It's not going to work, Alaric." His second eyebrow joined the first.

"Is that so?" He asked. He brought over the tray of food, putting it down next to her. He picked up the old one as well as the empty bottles.

"Yes. That is so." She rolled her eyes. He could see it, the flush to her skin, a slight sheen of sweat and he could smell it, the traces of heat.

"I'll remember that." He promised, smirking and turning around, going back upstairs.

Cody was sprawled out on the couch, flipping TV channels. Helena was in the kitchen, serving up food for everyone else. Alaric walked over to the thermostat on the wall and tapped the screen a few times, the basement was at the same temperature as the rest of the house, he turned it down a few degrees.

"How's it going?" Cody asked, glancing back.

"All according to plan."

Day 2

Scarlett was pretty sure she could feel every nerve in her body. And they were all overheating. She had taken her hoodie off- as best she could with the chains still around her wrists. the neckline of her tank top was dark with sweat. She hadn't slept since being thrown down here. she could feel herself losing her grip on reality.

There wasn't a clock in the room. She had no idea what time it was, she didn't know for sure how long she had been there. She had a bottle of water in her hands, she'd drank so much more water today than she had before. She was desperate for the cold relief.

"It's not going to help." She hadn't heard Alaric open the door, but she didn't need to, the moment he stepped in, she could feel it- the heat burning her body from the inside out turned up to 20. She squirmed, angry about the feeling of dampness between her legs. She knew he could smell it- she could smell it. "There is only one thing that can help relieve it."

"Fuck you." She snapped.

"Exactly that." He grinned. He had a box of water, which he took to the fridge, refilling it.

"You know that's not what I meant." She tipped her head back, chugging the rest of the cold water. "I just need-"

"Here." He walked over and squatted down, plucking something out of his pocket. This may help. He dropped it on her lap and it took her a moment to recognize what it was. The vibrator, the stolen vibrator.

"You're such an asshole." She picked it up and tossed it over to the side.

"So you've said." He smirked. "I can fix this for you, Little Wolf." He offered. "Say the word and I'll make it all go away."

"Don't touch me." She ordered. His smirk turned to a grin and he stood.

"Whatever you say." He held his hands up in surrender and gathered the empty bottles, taking them out of the room, and locking the door behind him.

Day 5

Scarlett was pretty sure this was how she was going to die, she was going to melt into a disgusting puddle on the floor in this dungeon. She was sweating- she kept drinking water to help with the burning- every one of her nerves felt like they were on fire, and that meant more sweating. Finally, she decided, she had to do something. She couldn't keep going on like this. Every touch to her skin felt like a hot poker that shot electricity straight down to her pussy.

She had just picked up the little teal vibrator when the door opened and Alaric walked in. He carried another case of water. He dropped it next to the fridge and turned to look at her, her hand still wrapped around the toy.

"It's not going to work." He warned.

"It has to do something." She insisted. "I just need this to stop." The last word came out as more of a sob than anything.

"It won't." He walked over, squatting down next to her again. This time she didn't tell him to fuck off or scream for him not to touch her. She was overwhelmed by his presence, his scent, his everything. He took the toy from her hand and with his other hand guided it to the bulge in his sweatpants. "You need this. More specifically, you need this, or what will be there." He stroked her hand from the tip to the base.

"I don't know what that means." She admitted.

"I know you don't, but your wolf does." He let go of her wrist, pleased when it took her an extra couple of seconds to pull her hand away. This was a good sign. "I'll make you a deal, Little Wolf." He offered.

"What?" She asked, her chest heaving. It was taking far more energy than it should to deny him. Even though in her heart and soul she knew that giving in would completely change everything. And not for the better.

Alaric grinned as she at the very least was ready to hear him out. He held the little vibrator up between his middle and pointer fingers.

"We use this. Let me prove to you that it won't be enough. It's not going to satiate you, the wolf in you needs my cock. But I'm willing to entertain your games." he turned the toy on, he'd put in new batteries before bringing it down, so when it came to life, it was strong. He ran it up her slit over her pajama pants and the panties underneath and that alone had her crying out in pleasure. "What do you say, Little Wolf?" He grinned.

"Fine- yes, fucking fine. Just make it stop." She choked out.

Fucking finally. He turned off the toy and pulled his knife out of his boot. He slid it through her tank top- slicing through the thin material like butter, her bra was next. If he was going to do this, he was going to fucking enjoy it. He snagged the keys to the cuffs that kept her chained and popped them open as well, so the hoodie, tank top, and bra could slide down off her arms, leaving her top half bare.

He dropped the knife and the keys, picking her up with one arm, the other hand grabbing the toy back up. To the bed, they went. It seemed like a rickety thing but it was much stronger than it looked as he dropped her onto it, climbing up on top of her.

"Alaric." She whined. He pressed his lips to her collarbone and she pushed him off. "No, just the toy." She snapped.

He laughed, stepping down from the bed and yanking her pajama pants off swiftly. The smell of her arousal, her need filled the room and he was harder than ever. He was concrete in his pants.

He ripped her panties off- literally, they were soaked with her arousal and driving him mad. He threw them to the side and spread her legs. Fuck- He turned on the toy again, running it up her inner thigh. She whimpered, arching her back up, her hips rising-

He slowly trailed it up, listening to her whimper and whine.

"Alaric." She gasped.

"Yes?" He trailed it back down, away from her pussy.

"Please-"

"Please what, Little Wolf?"

"Please... please use the toy, please." She let out a soft, choked sound and he relented, pressing the plastic and silicone to her clit. She cried out right away, her hand slamming up against the wall as her nerves- already red hot turned up to 50. He almost felt bad, knowing it wasn't going to be enough.

She would cum, almost definitely. That was just the nature of the human body but the heat would be going nowhere. If anything he thought this might make it worse. But He couldn't wait any longer. Either she was going to go mad or he was. As it stood he was snapping at everyone, he nearly tore the cabinet doors off the hinges looking for a plate this morning even though the plates were in the same place they had always been.

His mate was in heat and he couldn't do anything about it.

He could have, he supposed. She was small enough it would have taken nothing to hold her down and take her regardless of what she wanted. And he had been tempted. yesterday when he brought her some more water she'd been on the floor with her legs spread open the he'd nearly ripped her clothes off right then and there. But he knew His Little Wolf. If he did that, that would be the end. There would be no talking her into joining them. And a mate kept in the dungeons for the rest of her life wasn't really something he wanted.

He would have done it if he had to but it wasn't preferred.

This, however- this was going to get him what he wanted. She propped her feet up on the bed, her legs open wide, her knees bent, lifting herself up to press tighter against the toy. He ran it up and down her slit slowly, a question in his mind.

"Little Wolf?" He asked, his voice low. She made a noise in response. "Have you ever pushed the toy inside?" He asked curiously. "Have you ever tried?" He knew she hadn't fucked that boy from town. Her friend or whatever. Alaric had dragged that out of him while beating him to remind him to stay far the fuck away from Scarlett

"Not- Your business." She huffed. He quirked an eyebrow, pulling the toy back. Her hand shot down, wrapping around his wrist to pull him back to her.

"Answer the question, Little Wolf," he ordered. She was strong, of course, but he was stronger by far. She pulled a little harder but realized quickly that it was no use.

"Dick." She snapped.

"I can give you that too, if you're giving in." he teased. She dug her nails into his hand

"No. I haven't... done that." She admitted. He quirked an eyebrow. Well, that was certainly interesting. Good information to have. He wasn't going to give her that either then. He pressed it to her clit again, watching as her breathing shallowed out, his cock twitching against his pants as he watched his Mate cum. She cried out, her hand still wrapped around his.

Her hips lowered back down to the bed, and she let go of him, she let out a relieved sigh as the sweet relief of orgasm washed over her.

"You were wrong." She laughed. "This is better, this is much better" She closed her eyes, he was sure she'd barely slept at all recently. Hell he had barely slept at all, it was only fair that she was the same.

"You'll see." He warned, standing up. The moment she opened her eyes and looked at him- the relief was gone, She could see him straining against his pants and that set her body on fire all over again. Her stomach sank as she realized- it was true.

Well, it might not be. Maybe his cock wouldn't work. Maybe this was just her new reality, this wasn't going to go away. Though the very possibility of that made her stick to her stomach. She wouldn't survive.

Maybe she didn't want to.

"So?" He asked his hands on his hips. She licked her lips, her eyes on the bulge in his pants, At least she got to know she was affecting him as badly as he was to her. She shook her head, closing her eyes, trying to erase the image of him. "Alright, if that's your choice." She could hear the sound of his feet against the stone floor.

"Wait!" She couldn't stop the word from escaping. She sat up and opened her eyes, he hadn't moved. He smirked, his eyes trailing over her body again.

"Yes, Little Wolf?" he asked.

"I fucking hate you." She informed him.

"I'm okay with that." He really was as long as she understood she needed him. She looked at the door and then back at him.

"You win."

"I win?" He quirked an eyebrow at her. He knew what she meant, what she was saying, but he wanted to hear her say it, He wanted to hear the words out of her mouth. She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at him. "Say it, Little Wolf."

"Fuck me." Scarlett forced the words out through clenched teeth. "I want you to fuck me." Alaric grinned, victorious.

"I will, but I get to do it my way. How I want to do it. I get to take you however I want. All. Night." He demanded. Scarlett glared up at him but she knew he was going to get his way, she couldn't take this any longer

"Fine." She agreed, clenching her jaw. That was all he wanted.

"Then we have a deal, Little Wolf. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, Followed quickly by his pants. He wasn't wearing anything under the jeans, he tugged them down his legs and when he stood, his cock bobbed long and thick and proud.

"Holy..." She muttered, her eyes widening at the sight. She'd seen a cock before, she and Jamie had... messed around a little before. But it had never gone this far, and Jamie wasn't- nearly this big. She swallowed hard, her mouth-watering and her body burning as he walked over to the bed.

"Give me your hand." He ordered. She didn't even think about it, holding her hand out to him. He took it and wrapped it around his cock. It was soft- but fuck it was hard at the same time.

"What-" He slowly moved her hand up the length to the base.

"This is what you want. Down here. because when I fuck you, and when I cum, this is going to expand inside you. It's going to trap me deep inside of you- until I fully empty out."

"No. No, you don't get to do that-"

"We don't have a choice, even if I didn't want to see how much cum you can hold- which believe me, Little Wolf, I absolutely do, my body will do it regardless."

"But that could lead to-" She stopped her eyes widening even more.

"It could." He agreed. No, it couldn't. They had a witch who provided them with potions, it was like birth control from the other side- it meant that they wouldn't be impregnating their women every time they went into heat. And he had been taking it ever since they dragged Scarlett into the home. But she didn't need to know that. He was ready to make her worry, to make her think that she could be pregnant.

"Alaric-"

"You already agreed to everything." He yanked her up by her arm, pulling her up into a kiss. She started to resist, but her hormones took over- her body realizing it was going to get what it had been demanding for days now. When she melted against him, he knew it was over, he was going to get everything he wanted without too much more of a fight tonight. Of course with Scarlett, she was likely to fight just for the fun of it and he was okay with that.

He pushed her to lay back and she pouted at the kiss being broken, but his lips trailed down her neck, down her chest. His tongue flicked over her hard nipples and she pressed a hand over her mouth to hold back the moan. He reached up, yanking her hand down to the bed.

"I want to hear you, Little Wolf, I want the whole goddamn house to hear you." He growled. She whimpered, but didn't try to cover her mouth again as he made his way down her body again, nipping at the soft, smooth skin of her stomach before making it down to the juncture between her legs.

Fuck she smelled incredible, and she was so fucking wet, it was all he could do to stop himself from taking her right there. Saying fuck the foreplay and fucking her until she lay limp in his arms unable to so much as twitch a finger.

But that wasn't nearly as satisfying as making her enjoy it, as making her love every single second of depravity he was ready to dump on her. To make her crave it like a drug.

He pulled her closer to him by her hips and buried his face between her legs, gripping her body tightly to keep her from pulling away.

She cried out, her legs spreading wider and her hands shot down to Alaric's hair, gripping the dark strands tightly between her fingers. He could see it in his mind- when he'd grabbed her her nails had been freshly painted a dark blue shade and he'd seen over the past few days how it chipped and peeled and now those nails were scratching against his scalp in the most perfectly maddening way.

He ate with fervor, his tongue working her clit and her cunt back and forth, devouring every bit of arousal and cum from her slit like it was the finest of wines and he honestly thought it could be. Sweet and delicious.

She tugged harder on his hair, He knew she was close. This was her first real time being touched and she was already over-sensitive from the orgasm she'd already had. He could tell when she was close, her leg muscles tightening, Her cries grew louder, He nipped at her clit and that was the end- she screamed out, her back arching up off the bed as if possessed. He held her up like that until she she done, her body going limp but just for a moment before she was sitting up, yanking him up with a strength he didn't know she had, kissing him hard.

"I swear to god, Alaric, if you don't end this soon I am going to kill you and find someone else to handle my problem." The very idea of it flashed in Alaric's mind and he growled- actually growled, pushing her back onto her back. He spread her legs and lined himself up with her pussy. She gasped as he slipped just the head inside, fuck she was tight. He wanted nothing more than to slam into her, to fuck the idea of any other man right out of her head- and he would- soon. She cried out in pain and pleasure as a thrust forced a few more inches of his cock into her, effectively taking her virginity.

She let out a whimper, gripping his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. He pulled out a little, pushing back in- taking it decently slow until he was fully seated within her.

"Fuck." He groaned, this was going to be amazing. She stretched around him so perfectly and he sat upright so he could really see it. "You look so good like this, Little Wolf." He delighted in the angry glare she sent his way at the 'compliment'. He did wait until she had relaxed a little to start moving, pulling out and thrusting back in. She was still tense so he didn't go at full speed.

"More." She demanded- and if that was what she wanted, then he wasn't going to turn her down. He lifted her up by her hips a little so he could get better leverage and that was it- He began to fuck her in earnest, slamming their hips together at a speed that would have broken a normal, human woman. It was why he'd stopped taking human lovers years ago. They were so easily breakable.

Scarlett, however, took it perfectly. She let out a cry of pleasure, her eyes closing as she let herself be lost in the pleasure- in knowing the hell that was heat was finally going to end, it felt like a bucket of the coldest, freshest water was being dumped over her in the best, most refreshing way. For the first time in days, she no longer felt like she was going to die. She felt like she was going to fly to the fucking moon.

"Don't stop- Oh god." She cried as his fingers found their way to her clit, teasing that too. She reached down, grabbing his arm with one hand as if holding it there to keep him from taking it away, as if he had any plans to do that. Scarlett was beautiful, and she was even more so when she was cumming.

And fuck was she cumming. Her hips bucked up against him and he had to hold on tight to keep from sealing against her and ending it here. No, he wasn't ready yet. He dug his own nails into his palm, waiting until she was done before flipping her over onto her hands and knees and entering her from behind. She buried her face into the bed and whined at the new angle, somehow she felt even tighter from this one, which was good. It meant she'd feel like he was even bigger.

And fuck maybe he was, he felt like there was no way he wasn't swollen with how much cum he had built up over the past week of being denied.

He wasn't soft or gentle to start with, not this time. No, he was done with that, he let his primal wolf instinct take over and he fucked her, hard and raw. Slamming into her, taking what he wanted. If not for their healing abilities, he knew she'd have bruises and marks all over her body and the idea of it just spurred him on, fucking her hard and faster. She didn't seem to have any complaints as not a single sound coming out of her were actual words. She was reduced to moans and cries of pleasure as he took her.

He couldn't comprehend anything outside of his own pleasure anymore. Did she cum again? Maybe? Maybe more than once he couldn't be sure but he'd find out later. He could feel it building, threatening to explode as he slammed into her one last time, holding her against his body as he came- pleasure hitting him over and over in relentless waves. His knot grew, sealing her body to his and though she did cry out in pain, trying to move- it was no use. He held her hips tighter.

"I told you what would happen." He reminded her, though quite frankly he didn't care. He was damp with sweat and so was she- the sheets were wet and her hair was a tangled mess. He toyed with a lock of her hair as they remained stuck like that, his fingers trailing down to her spine, over each little bump. She whimpered, letting her head fall back down to the bed.

"I fucking hate you." She reminded him, her voice shaky.

"Good, I prefer it that way." He answered. She huffed, closing her eyes.

By the time his knot deflated, she was sleeping. He pulled out, a little stream of cum leaking out from her cunt, amazing, considering how much he'd stuffed her with. For a moment he regretted taking the potion. The idea of Scarlett being pregnant with his child drove him wild.

But it was done, she was finally able to sleep, and her heat was contained. He picked her up and carried her out of the basement. He lay her down on his bed as he went to shower.

Finally, she understood, she was his mate. Fate was inevitable and she would be warming his bed, at least once a month for presumably the rest of their lives.

Laying on the bed, half asleep, her body too sore and tired to move, Scarlett was plotting. Fate be damned, even now she wasn't going to let him win. This Red Riding Hood wasn't going to bow to The Big Bad Wolf.

#scarlett edon #ocx bingo

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otakween · 7 months

Text

Cyborg 009 BGOOParts Delete (2020) - Volume 3

This manga is clearly meant to be binged and not read extremely slowly like I've been doing, so I'll try to read more at a time to do things properly. I'm still really frustrated that this is such a rehash of tired material. It might be acceptable if this was a reboot, but it's supposed to be more like a sequel/continuation so...

Ch. 15

The monologuing continues! Apollon and Joe talk about their respective squads, what makes them similar and different. Joe emphasizes the fact that the numbers cyborgs resent being made and plan to eradicate all of Black Ghost's cyborgs from the face of the Earth.

Helena asks Francoise to help her stop the fighting, but Francoise says that she can't because she doesn't want to abort the mission. Helena knocks Francoise out and turns into her dark, Artemis form, complete with creepy looking wings jutting out of her cyborg spine. They drew her all sensual this chapter which made me kinda uncomfortable lol.

007, 002, and 006 fight the lesser Mythos cyborgs in the background. They're not given much to do and it's hard to care about their part of the story.

Ch. 16

This chapter was straight up incomprehensible for me. Not only do they shout out some new attack name every two seconds, but half of them aren't even in Japanese or English. Also, a lot of the characters use old timey Japanese. At this point I'm just hear to admire the art.

Artemis' body is now the Dolphin apparently. What is this Arpeggio of Blue Steel??

At least 005 and 008 got some screentime this chapter. Every time 008 does stuff outside of the water I'm like "he's just a dude" lol. The Aquaman conundrum...

Ch. 17

Geronimo's battle wraps up with the Minotaur dude. DAMN that guy was annoying. I think he said "The Dark Labyrinth" about 50 million times. I was so pissed off having to read it over and over lol. Like...shut up already (thankfully, he did).

I really love how Pyunma has been drawn by this artist. He's come a long way. He acknowledged how limited he is outside of the water in this chapter, which I appreciated. Chang comes to his aid.

Ch. 18

Apollon monologues himself to death lol. The dialogue is sooo bad in this manga. They keep repeating the same phrases ad nauseum and it feels cheesy for them to be ranting so much during a battle. Just have them fight in silence and monologue after or something.

In addition to the dialogue being cringey, the action isn't really good either. The Mythos cyborgs keep dying and I keep thinking "wait...how'd they die??" It's not drawn clearly at all. Apollon gets shot up and then set on fire somehow, but they didn't draw Joe doing any of that so I'm like ???

Ch. 19

Okay, Hippo Man making 007 melt was pretty disturbing body horror, I gotta say. 004 then easily takes him out in a pretty boring battle. Hippo man went on and on about his "true name" and they made "kaba/baka" puns. Hey Cyborg 009, aren't comic relief characters supposed to be...funny?

Artemis is pissed at Joe for killing Apollon, but what did she think was gonna happen? This is such a blah retread.

Ch. 20

Lion dude turns into Heracles (which looks like a guy wearing a lion fur and wielding clubs). The cyborgs all gather for their final battle (aside from Artemis probably)

Who was the hairy dude in the beginning? I'm sure I'm just supposed to know who is his but I forgot lol. It's so hard to follow this manga when no one's documented it on the 009 wiki yet boohoo

Joe looked pretty badass showing up at the end there ngl (plus the shippers probably like to see him carrying 002 like that)

Ch. 21

Okay, this last bit was interesting (finally). They talked about how the numbers cyborgs have already defeated Black Ghost and are now just cleaning up their ooparts. Heracles disagrees and says that the Mythos cyborgs ARE Black Ghost because they're following through on their mission.

I had to remind myself what ooparts are. It stands for "Out of Place" parts. It's supposedly an American term, but I've never heard of it. It's related to cryptozoology and refers to anachronistic artifacts. I guess the Mythos cyborgs kinda fit that, but instead of being new stuff in olden times, they're old stuff in modern times? IDK. I wonder if OOParts is a well known concept in Japan or just this mangaka's hobby?

GDI Helen showing up at the last second to resurrect everyone is cheating >:/ now this arc will never end!

I like learning random stuff from manga. Heracles kept bringing up the Nemean lion so I looked it up and basically it's a lion whose fur was impervious to weapons. Never heard of that myth before! With the added context I appreciated Heracles' design more.

The mangaka's fanart sketches at the end were really charming, I liked their little self portrait too (they didn't need to draw 008's OG design though -cringe-)

#cyborg 009 bgooparts delete #cyborg 009 #manga

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apollo-gate · 10 months

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Hey author! Since it was my birthday today I wanted to send in this ask to all my favourite blogs lol.

How would the ROs celebrate MC's birthday? How will they plan for it before they get together (crushing stage) and after they get together?

Omg HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!

I’m one of your favorites.

Where ya at that’s an immediate bear hug. RIGHT THERE. (Jk. I swore to someone that they get a bear hug before anyone else. So you be like 6or 7 on the list. But hey your there. But Vanessa will be before you so crap where did I write that down. Ah your after Nikki no no Jessica no was it Greg. No it was Justin. Ah it was Jessica my mistake. Your after Jessica . Got it so my mom. The one i promised to hug regardless of time or place. Vanessa. Chan, Nikki, Jessica, and finally you. Ok remember your place. (If your name here that was a lucky guess. Vanessa or hey Batman got on the list when that request of Vanessa prompts came about. Chan or Second chance asked because when he or I get married we meet so 🤣. Nikki I think that’s right. Got it with the bear gif. Like yes!!! Hello there Friend. 😁.

Now onto our ROs 👏 (I’m going to do it in parts as the list is wonderful.)

Alice: Is not really a big fan of huge party especially for birthdays. So it would be very small with close friends and family. In crushing stage she would do a private dinner. But in a relationship she would take Mc to where she went with her dad. A over look of the city and meals she and everyone made.

Helena: crush stage: ok so depending on the Mc this will change. Helena would get the Mc favorite band or singer they like for a private concert or get vip tickets to go to the concert. Relationship stage: Helena will do a underwater ship cruise.(this is one of the harder things to get.) Helena has already done them but wants to share the experience with the Mc.

Lisa: Don’t laugh. Crush stage: It would be art classes or pottery classes. She would want to share something that’s apart of her. Oh and the Mc gets to eat Lisa cookies. Relationship: Have you ever wanted to do body paint.(it’s happening.) And paintball fights with friends that too.

Becca: Beach trip or to the lake house. 🤷‍♀️ girl wants me time no one else. But doesn’t mean she won’t surprise the Mc with a cake and friends. She’s not friends with many people but as long as Mc is happy she’s happy.

Daniella: She will get Noah’s number and set up a dinner or lunch. Ask Mc to look after her son. Will get everyone in on it yes Becca I see you. And when Mc comes back every one is caught do one thing or another. So everyone cooks together and it becomes a thing. Although Noah is forbidden from the stove same with Scott and Lena.

Vanessa: Musumes or Art gallery than theater is also an option. Vanessa will have a picnic basket to. (Yes she like picnics. So just where will be y’all’s spot) Will be happy so very happy as birthdays are special. Will definitely strive to get a laugh out of the Mc.

Azalea: (doesn’t know what a birthday is. Yeah I know.) in crush stage would do a metal work as a gift. Would even get Mc into doing it. In relationship: Azalea would do a ritual If the Mc wanted to see the world how they see it.

Kent: Alright let’s get this right. Kent would do a breakfast in bed. Basically anything the Mc wants to do he will do.

Naamah: MCs Birthday is all about them. She will do the pampering treatment and everything.(could she have servants do this. Well yes but she wants to do. To show how much she loves and what the Mc means to her.)

Blaze: two words.Time travel. Man is going to zoom with Mc to anytime they want to go to. You want to reenact a historical event. See a historical figure or just say you ate during a battle and watched it. (Hell yeah Blaze is all for it.)

Zero: Zeros gift is unorthodox. It’s simply an outer body experience. In a robotic body. It’s not permanent don’t worry Zero has tested this many times.

Red Flag RO: Sex. Biting blood. Hmmm 🤔 You get your own blood bag.(person) She would also get you to see world with her daughter is at.

Rune: big party. Like the hugest you’ve ever seen. And a beautiful necklace with matching rings. Rune would get her own alcohol she makes to and just say no one walking away without a headache.

#happy birthday #bear hug for you

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dashofmonsters · 2 years

Text

The Long Road- Pt. 9

Male Naga x F!Reader

You were expecting a lot worse when Enyn said that your father was fighting Isa, but this is just sad.

Mr. Gohar and an orc are holding your blabbering father back while he's crying and yelling obscene things at Isa who is being held back by Helena because Silas' mother is throwing what looks like a basket of herbs at him.

"Honestly it was much worse a few minutes ago, Isa had smashed a glass against his head and slapped him with her tail. I think she only shirked back a bit because dear Helena got in the middle," Luctux comments as he sips from a mug.

You look at your father and see a small trickle of blood running down the side of his face. Silas squeezes your hand as if to help ease the rising tension building up. It doesn't really help.

"Anything else?" Silas asks the tiefling who only shakes his head. "Right then. My dear, how would you like to handle this?"

For a moment you think about the most peaceful option into breaking this up but you know deep down that won't work. So you start rolling your sleeves back and you hand your staff off to Silas before trudging up to your father.

He's still blabbering on as you walk up to him but the second your fist connects with his cheek he and the entire room silences immediately. His eyes are wide and redden from crying and drinking, his mouth hangs open in shock and his body goes limp.

"No more excuses, no more secrets. Your brother is about to start a fucking war and you're over here acting like an ass because everything is crashing down on you. You don't get to act like this after everything you've kept from the family! You don't get to play the victim because you fucked up! Whatever happened all those years ago, you need to get over it because things are about to get a lot worse!" you yell at him.

His expression goes blank and he begins to fall but Mr. Gohar catches him and sits him on one of the benches.

You turn and notice that Isa and Helena have stilled. Silas' mother holds a bundle of herbs to her chest and gives you a nod, acknowledging that she's net.

"Mr. Gohar, can you see to it that he sobers up please," you smile up at the elderly drider before turning to your brother. "We're going to have a lot of upset people here tomorrow, you know what to do. I'll tell you more about it later... today."

Silas slithers further into the hall and you watch as his mother eyes the armor he's wearing.

"We need to talk, now," is all he says to her, his voice dangerously calm.

Isa straightens herself and sighs, "Yes, I suppose we do."

Peter escorts Helena over to your side as Silas and his mother move to go towards the sitting room you'd been using to study in. Once the door shuts you hear your brother make a clicking noise.

"So how many angry people are we talking about? Ten? Twenty?" Peter gives you an awkward grin.

You shrug, "I'll get a rough number tonight whenever Silas' uncles swing by."

"Anyon and Enyn?" one of the men who had been holding your father back asks.

You and Peter look over and see a group of men huddled together with tight lipped smiles.

"Yeah, we're still here," one of them, the tall elf with a long blond braid waves.

"Oh uh sorry, I just-"

"Don't mind Lir, he just don't like being ignored is all. I'm Gustav by the way, and that's Culann-" the tall broad orc points to a rather thin and lanky dryad who raises a spindly hand. "That's Thurl-" he gestures over to a four armed giant of a man with greyish skin and orc-like features. "And of course that there is Lir, aka sir bitches a lot."

Lir shoots Gustav the finger, "Very rich coming from the one who earned the oh so endearing nickname Cu-"

The entire group quickly jumps him.

"You mad? That's Zale's daughter! If he catches wind of any of us speaking like that in front of her...," Gustav warns Lir.

You roll your eyes, "Yeah no, I worked in a tavern in Melmar. I can damn well guarantee that whatever he was going to say, I've heard worse."

Lir sticks out his arms in defense before crossing them. Gustav just rolls his eyes and shakes his head, "Moving on, I take it there's a lot of things that need to be discussed. Where's uh... where's your mother? Surely she would-"

"Dead, she died giving birth to me," you reply.

Everyone stills and they look as if they'd been punched in the gut.

"No... he would have told us... we would have...," Culann drops to the nearest bench and cradles his head in his hands. The others sway and murmur amongst themselves until Gohar descends the stairs.

"He didn't want to say anything because... it's complicated. More complicated then just being dead," Gohar looks to you with a pained expression. "Your father is one of the rooms, tied up. Don't expect him to be coherent till tomorrow."

"You knew? You knew Silver was dead and you didn't say anything?!" Lir snaps at Gohar and you back up a little.

You start to realize that you're not the only one being effected by these secrets but so many others. Just how far and how long have things been unsaid?

"She's not... It's complicated and then there's the matter of Valen-"

"And where's he? Dead too? What else have you and Zale been hiding?" this time Thurl speaks up, both sets of arms crossed.

The men start barking at Gohar, questioning him and his loyalties to the rest of the crew. You feel Peter tug you back a tad and you look back to see concern and confusion clouding his face.

"Valen's not dead though, right? He went missing... that's what Silas told me... But mom... dad said she-" Peter clutches his head in pain suddenly, wincing as if someone just hit him as hard as they could.

You and Helena help hold him up as he groans in pain, the angry group of men quieting as they watch your brother writhe.

"Mom didn't... she-" Peter let's out a sharp cry and Gohar rushes to his side.

"Stop thinking about it lad, you're going to do more harm to yourself the more you try to figure it out," he tries to pry Peter's hands from his face but it only causes him to jerk back.

"No! No she's not... she was right there! She was-"

Suddenly Peter is crumpling but never hits the ground. Luctux catches him and holds him up.

"What did you do!?" you look to the tiefling who sighs heavily.

"I spared your poor brother a terrible pain. If what Mr. Gohar was insinuating I'm taking it that there's some sort of curse or spell causing some issues?" Luctux looks to the drider as he drags your brother over to the bench Culann is sitting on.

"Something like that. Isa knows more about the situation that this thing has put a lot of people under. But that can wait, right now we have bigger problems. Notus is back and out for blood," Gohar looks to the group and their eyes widen.

"Too many people are getting involved in this," Luctux adds. "Cults and thieves are being added to the ranks causing internal conflict. If things get too out of hand Notus will have the entirety of Malredra in the palm of his hand before a war can even begin."

You remember Charlie telling you about the cults and the one Selia was in. Did the stragglers join with your uncle? How many survived that fight?

"We still have some slim chance for hope right? Kat said that Singred had someone send his message to the king so all we have to do is see what sort of response we get?" you ask.

Luctux shakes his head, "Even if the king responds there's no telling how much good it'll do. Notus is after the royal family, that much we know for certain. The overall end game is much worse."

Silence fills the hall as everyone grasps what to say next. Gustav groans as he folds his arms close to his chest, his nose scrunching. Culann raises his head and rests his spindly hands on his knees.

"I had feared this day would come," Lir clicks and strides forward. "I knew, we all knew that this might happen." The elf pauses before you and puts a hand on your shoulder. "Most of us are old and tired and have seen war before. We know- Knew Notus before the fall of Aella. He loves his family or at least he did. Zale's bargain for peace was like a knife to the back for him so I can't say for certain how safe you and your siblings would be if he knows you exist."

Your gut wrenches and the sour taste of bile crawls up your throat. Part of you had already figured this out, that's why you were glad to see Peter and Helena here but hearing it just makes the whole thing seem more real.

"So what I'm hearing is that it doesn't matter if I'm my father's daughter or not, if I fight I'm still his enemy?" you look Lir dead on and the elf looks stunned.

"She's got a point, regardless of her relation if she fights she fights as one of us," Gohar nods his head.

It's your turn to be stunned as you look passed the elf, "Wait what do you mean?"

Mr. Gohar shrugs, "I can't speak for everyone else but if Notus' is stirring shit like this then it means I can take care of some unfinished business."

The others look at each other and nod and grimace. You look back up to Lir who nods to you as well, "Welcome to the crew of The Dread Maunder."

~~~~~~

You and the few crew members that had made their lives here in Gilli talk, really really talk. They give you more insight to your parents than you ever hoped to get. Mr. Gohar seems to want to steer some topics away but the others are too mad at him to listen and you're honestly thankful for it.

Everything they say hits hard but you take it all in. Lir eventually breaks the conversation for a very late lunch that you, Helena, and Culann make with whatever food survived Isa's wrath from the start of her fight with your father.

Silas and Isa eventually make their way out of the study, both red eyed and tear stained cheeks. Silas makes a beeline towards you as you and Helena take a few trays of food to the dining hall.

"We're about to eat... Peter is uh currently passed out and my dad is upstairs tied up. We can talk later if you'd like," you give him a reassuring smile.

"Ok..." he nods and follows you closely to the dining room that the group had settled into earlier.

Gustav is running his hands through his hair and shaking his head when the three of you enter. His eyes go to Silas for a moment then back to you, "Culann still in the kitchen?"

You nod, "He kept taking over so we just ended up standing there. Helena almost started a fist fight with him."

"Now that's a fight I'd pay to see," Lir snickers and Thurl chuckles.

Helena gives them both the finger after she sets down the trays.

"You must be Valen's boy," Gustav goes over to Silas and clasps his hand on his shoulder. "Good to meet ya lad, now come and sit down. You look like you could use a drink."

The cold sorrow on Silas' face sobers into something calmer and he gives the orc a tight lipped smile, "Thank you, but not right now... That and I'm not much of a fan of alcohol."

Gustav shrugs but ushers Silas over to the table all the same. You take a seat next to him after you set the trays down. You urge him to eat something even if it's just a few bites but he just stares at the food. You sigh to yourself and roll your eyes before tapping his shoulder. He leans down and you whisper, "Don't make me coddle you like a hatchling."

He leans into you and starts laughing, the group of men eyeing the situation with raised brows or knowing grins. Luctux whispers something to Lir who then stands up, "AH! I knew it! I called it! Pay up!"

Both you and Silas look at the elf with confusion.

Culann walks in with a large tray of meats and fish that is unusually ignored by the grumbling men. "What in the nine hells did I miss?"

"Lir won the bet," Gustav points to you and Silas.

The dryad looks at the both of you and grins, "Oh is that so?"

"Wait what bet?" Silas asks.

"The bet that if Silver had a daughter and Valen had a son that they'd get together," Lir crosses his arms in triumph.

"That's a uh... oddly specific bet," you raise a brow.

The group of men shake their heads.

"Valen and Silver were very close, if it weren't for Isa most of us thought those two would have wound up together. That and Silver was very much in love with Zale, to everyone's confusion. Because of that closeness we bet the odds on sons and daughters. Lir of course won. I'd thought Silver would have a son that would get with Valen's daughter, but the damn snake never had anymore kids," Thurl admits.

Silas inhales sharply and clears his throat, "Actually he did have a second clutch."

The room goes quiet and all eyes are on him.

"They're uh...it's-" he pauses and when he looks up you both notice Mr. Gohar standing up.

"They're stuck in the same loop aren't they?" the drider asks.

Everyone's face pales and the tension in the room makes it hard to breathe. Silas nods.

"Don't tell me that idiot went to those ruins? What the hells for?" Lir stands, his chair slamming down to the floor.

"Erinna was dying and the only cure was near the old temple. My mother had mentioned-"

"So Isa sends her husband off to his death?" Lir yells, his voice echoing in the room. "Mabdreger's Temple is an unholy death trap, everyone knows that! I don't care if it's home to a rare herb or godly ass cure, it's a cursed place!"

Mabdreger's Temple, you've only heard of that place a handful of times and no one had anything good to say about it. An ancient place where time doesn't play by the rules, where people have wondered in and never returned or where people walk out of and go mad the second the enter the real world. If Silas' father went there for a cure-

"Then Peter?," Helena whispers and looks to Gohar.

"What about Peter and his mother, how do they tie into this?" She asks.

"Peter and Zale are afflicted with the madness caused by the temple since they were in close proximity whenever Silver vanished. Silver herself is somewhere in the temple, where though, that's anyone's guess. The clutch is also somewhere at the temple as well," Gohar replies, his pale yellow eyes closing as he sinks down. His shoulders sag as if a great weight has been taken off his shoulders and you suppose after holding onto these secrets for years, it has.

"Well fuck," Thurl clicks. "And here I thought this day couldn't get anymore messed up."

Silas looks down at the table with wide eyes, "Oh it can and it will. My uncle still hasn't come by to hash things out with my mom."

Gustav who had been drinking ale spits it out and slams his hand on the table, "Anyon hashing things out with Isa?! The gods take me now! Culann, hide all the cutlery and heavy pans!"

The group starts up again, some still barking at Gohar while others talk about the upcoming fight of the in-laws. Helena tiptoes over to the quiet and observant Luctux who's nibbling on his pipe. He pulls up a seat for her before his eyes go over to you and Silas. He smiles and gestures towards the door as if he knows you're looking for a moment to escape.

You tug on Silas' hand as you stand up and he silently follows you out. It wasn't like you needed a breather from all the information that had been dumped on you or a second to put everything together, but you did need a moment not to think about it. So once you and Silas are further down the hall you tug him down and kiss him.

His moan of surprise against your lips is quickly drowned out by the sound of your heart beat in your ears. You feel him pick you up and deepen the kiss, the breathing between either of you becoming shorter with each kiss. And then you feel a tear.

"Silas?" you cup his face and he winces.

"It's nothing," he nuzzles against you, holding you tighter. "I'm just feeling a lot right now, but this, this helps. You help."

You hug him back, "You help me too. More than you'll ever know."

The both of you just stand there in each other's arms for a good bit before you start peeling away. Your hands linger in his and he brings them up to his lips and he kisses the tips over and over again till you're giggling.

"It's odd that all this stuff is finally getting aired out isn't it," he scrunches his nose.

"Better now then later," you shrug.

"What are we going to do now?" Silas asks.

"I'm going to train with Kat, get my abilities under control so that when it's time I can fight. I don't want to be a liability or left behind or a damsel in distress, that's not who I am," you look up to Silas who and he nods.

"I should probably do the same. I'm not that good at fighting, I'm subpar at best if I'm being honest. Luctux and Selia really carried the party when it came down to actual fights. I also need to expand my use of teleportation since it's pretty useless as is," he grimaces and crosses his arms.

"We both have a lot to work on I guess. It'll be a good distraction, at least for me," you chuckle and lean against the wall.

"Distraction?" Silas inches towards you but you look away and stare blankly out the window.

"Yeah because I really don't want to think about the fact that my mother might not actually be dead or that my uncle wants to kill my family or that my dad and brother are afflicted by some temple magic causing them to become insane and then there's my own personal garbage on top of all of that! I- I'd rather be doing something that can just shut it off for a while," Your eyes sting a bit but you don't dare let a tear slip down as you look back up at Silas. "I wanted the truth and this is what I get! One giant fucking mess... all I wanted to do was travel, get out of Melmar for a while, see the world... Not get involved in a war!"

Your voice echoes down the hall and you feel Silas close in on you, his head dipping down and resting atop your own, "There's nothing I can say right now that'll make any of this better, but maybe once everything is over..." he pauses and inhales sharply. "Once everything is over we can start over and really travel. Go out and see the world with nothing hanging over our heads. Just you, me and George."

A breathy laugh escapes your lips as you look up, "We'll be dragging that poor salamander around the world?"

"He'll love it, he'll get to eat sticks from every continent," Silas chuckles then dips down and kisses your forehead. "Let's just get through all this and then it'll just be us."

Your stomach flips and you feel your heart flutter and your cheeks heat up. His words helped sooth the heaviness you've been feeling with the past being aired out but it does something else to you. You reach up and pull his face down just enough as you stand on your tip toes to kiss him. You feel him smiling against your lips and you feel in that moment that everything will turn out alright.

"Just us, and George," you smile.

"Just us," Silas agrees and tries to kiss you again but a heavy knock to the front door has him bending back with a groan, you laugh.

"That's probably Anyon," you give him a nervous smile.

Silas eyes widen and he scrunches his nose, "Might as well get this over with."

Anyon thankfully had brought Enyn with him, both bundled up for the cold and being shadowed by your aunt Kat and Elli.

Elli and Kat glide past Silas' uncles and over to your side obviously trying to whisk you away. Silas smiles and tells you that he'll find you later. He takes his uncles to wherever his mother had slithered off to.

"Walk and talk kid," Kat grabs your arm and pulls you along and through the front door. Elli follows and keeps close to your other side.

"I've pulled back several of my informants in Brakkor and have planted a few on the coasts. My sister told me to keep them off of Notus' ships so I sent word out to cease the mission and head to the capitol instead. I'll have eyes on the king in a matter of days, just like you asked. It's going to be tricky to get any closer than scullery maids and stable hands but we have some time I'd like to think," Elli looks forward as she laces her arm around yours and plasters a fake smile on her face.

Your aunt Kat does the same and you feel as if something is wrong, very very wrong. You wish you had grabbed your staff before you left.

"Your sister was in Melmar when we got Peter, Helena and Zale. Apparently her and her husband have been keeping tabs on Notus' ships and provided us with valuable information about the fleet. She said she'll keep watching from a distance and will update us somehow if things change," Kat pulls in closer and makes a strange face that makes Elli laugh. Your aunt leans in even closer and whispers something to you that makes you pulls away from her.

"Act like we're teasing you... we're being watched...followed...They're close."

"It's not funny!" you feign being hurt.

"No but it's cute. So when's the wedding?" Elli grabs you and pinches your cheek.

Kat laughs but the uneasy feeling grows and grows till you feel it prickling the hairs on the back of your neck.

Whatever or whoever got closer, a lot closer.

"Come... come on guys, we're not in a relationship relationship… We're just feeling it out," you blabber, trying your best to act like you don't feel the cold sticky air all around you. You notice Elli and Kat writhe a little but they play it off as if they're about to tease you again.

Something lands on your shoulder with a shlop. You don't see it but you feel it, feel the bony slimy six...no seven fingered hand curl around your neck and chest. You still, your mouth hanging open as something sharp presses into the flesh of your neck and before it gets any deep you ignite.

Your entire body is fire and flames and the thing that had touched you screams. It's invisibility drops as it hits the cold and icy grounds squirming and clawing at the air. It's body looks like it was made of mud and sticks and tar. It's screaming voice reminds you of glass shattering.

"Golem," Kat grits her teeth, covering her ears.

Elli steps back a bit in horror, nearly tripping over her feet.

Rage fills you and the fire wraps itself tighter and tighter till you feel like you have to shed it off. The golem's claws reach for you and as you dodge it you stomp its leg and the flames explode off your body. The golem shrieks and writhes as it dries and cracks under the heat.

Kat and Elli jump back enough that they barely miss the fire lapping at their clothes. You hear your aunt shout out to you but you can't tell what she's saying over the roaring fire in your ears. You stomp down on the golem again and it shatters into chunks of dirt and charred branches and sticks. You watch as the glow in its eyes dim and die.

You look up and around to see Kat shielding Elli. You turn towards the front of the house and see Gustav wide eyed as he holds his arms out, stopping the others from going forward. Then you look at yourself reflected in the window, your body completely on fire, your hands have grown long hard black claws and the whites of your eyes are a dark red.

The world starts to spin and your body becomes heavy. You fall to your knees and the snow covered ground sizzles and steams.

Control, I need to control this... Whatever this is I need to be in control...

You do your best to calm your breathing but every time you look at your hands, your claws, you feel a disconnect.

Control yourself!

You hear people yelling and shouting and running about but you don't register any of it. You close your eyes disregarding the burning sensation as you try to reign in whatever you're feeling.

Control this, go back to normal... back to normal...

The prickling of ice and snow slowly seeps into your skin. You topple over into the snow, a lighter sizzle fizzles in your ears. You want to cry but your eyes are so dry and you're suddenly so tired. You hear several footsteps and slithering approaching you. There's talking, lots of it, but it all fades as your consciousness does as well.

~~~~~~~

You wake up to a pounding headache and an aching body. Your mouth feels dry and there's a warm wet cloth over your eyes. You try and reach up to move it but your hand is swatted away.

"Leave it be," Silas grinds out. "There's herbs in the water that'll help with the strain and dryness. Come on I'll help you sit up, you're probably thirsty."

Silas sits you up and you feel his tail holding you up. He brings a cup up to your lips but they feel glued together. You try to open them but your mouth is so dry. After a few tries he carefully rubs your lips with a balm and helps you slowly peel open your mouth.

"Mother said you'll be bedridden for the rest of tonight and all day tomorrow. Your aunt and grandmother said it's best for you to start training as soon as you're well. Your powers are apparently growing at a rapid rate and need immediate control," Silas explains as he lowers you back into bed.

You let out a heavy sigh then groan. You remember very little of what happened aside from igniting and passing out, there seems to be something missing in between but you're still too tired to even talk much.

"On another note, your fire show stopped my mother and uncle Anyon from clawing each other's eyes out so you kind of stopped that. Oh and Charlie's back from wherever he slid off to these last few days. Apparently he-"

You tug on Silas' hand that had been lying atop your own. You feel him shift a bit on the bed, his hair now tickling your cheek.

"How late is it?" you ask, your voice is scratchy from your raw throat.

"It's a little past midnight," he replies before sitting you up again and bringing another cup of water to your lips.

You drink and ask for another and another till your throat feels somewhat normal. He starts to lay you down again and as he does you reach up for him and wrap your arms around his neck, "Come to bed already. I can't imagine you resting while I've been like this."

Silas laughs, he actually laughs and giggles as you feel him move you into his arms, "I'm the son of a healer my dear and you've been my stubborn yet lovely patient for the past several hours."

"And thanks to you and your worrying I'm on the mend. Now sleep," you kiss his cheek and you feel him relax a bit.

It takes no time at all for the both of you to fall into a heavy sleep. That being said, it takes forever for Silas to slink out of bed the next morning. You feel a bit better having rested and the herbal eye wash restored your eyes to normal. Isa gave you the clear to sit up in bed but that's as much as you're allowed to do under her watch.

Silas, his old party members, and your father's old crew are called away to hold a meeting on information that Charlie had brought back. He promises to fill you in when he gets back but not being able to go makes you a bit uneasy.

Your aunt Kat however takes full advantage of your circumstance to start you on some control exercises but not without some interesting conversation.

"I've never been one to pry into the relationship of relatives but I think I'm going to make an exception for you," she starts, her signature feline-like grin starting to appear.

You inhale sharply as you try and focus on the one emotion you opted to focus on, as part of the exercise...contentment. Thinking back now you feel as if you should have chosen embarrassment since that's all you feel most of the time when Kat talks.

"So it's not a a relationship relationship yet? Just feeling things out?" she teases.

Suddenly you feel yourself reeling, your control easily slipping as a memory slides back into place.

"The golem... The golem! What happened-"

"Oh it's good and gone, you made sure of that," Kat replies then recaps the entire incident without so much as batting an eye. "You looked horrified when you started calming down. We had to cover you snow to get you to cool down so we could carry you inside. Oh and don't worry, your old man was still passed out so he's none the wiser about it."

"Why did I do it? I didn't want to, it just happened and then... I wasn't myself, I had claws and.. and my eyes. What happened to me?" you look down at your hands, your very much real and normal hands. The disconnection to your body coming back once more.

"Your element was reacting. More specifically, the spirit of your element was reacting. For fire it's usually things like dragons and phoenixes, but you got the most volatile of them all, an ifrit spirit. Your semi-transformation was a huge insight even if it scared the hells out of everyone at first. Now that we know you don't have an average spirit we'll be able to work with that for your training," Kat explains, cringing a little towards the end.

You give your aunt a blank stare, your eyes wide and you're fairly certain your mouth is just hanging open before you shout, "IFRIT?!?" as you point to yourself.

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fancoloredglasses · 3 months

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Birds of Prey (minus Harley Quinn)

[All images are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros Discovery. Please don’t sue or paralyze me]

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(Thanks to The World’s Finest)

It’s absolutely incredible that Bat-mania, that was always low-key A Thing since Batman's debut in the 1930s (but kicked into high gear in 1989 thanks to a little film starring Michael Keaton) is still going on (despite Joel Schumacher’s best efforts) It’s to the point that pretty much any DC film (and a number of TV shows) that doesn’t feature the Dark Knight is all but doomed.

This may have been the issue with 2002’s Birds of Prey, based on the comic of the same name. The show takes place in Gotham some years after Batman stopped being A Thing, but there is still Scum and Villainy in Gotham (or New Gotham) to deal with, so a new team was formed to deal with them.

The team is led by Barbara Gordon…

…AKA Batgirl…or at least she was until a scene ripped right from The Killing Joke graphic novel…

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(Thanks to jbaltiero)

The Joker’s bullet shattered Barbera’s spine, leaving her a paraplegic. Still wanting to make a difference, she asked Bruce Wayne to set her us with a state-of-the-art computer system, which she used to hack into the city’s computer and surveillance network, allowing her to gain information on the underworld and rechristened herself…

...Oracle

The second member is the team takes her origin from her pre-Crisis years rather than post-Crisis.

The Huntress AKA Helena Kyle, daughter of Batman and Catwoman. When the Joker murders Selina Kyle, Barbera takes in Helena and trains her to be her partner on the street.

Finally we come to the final member of the team…

Dinah Lance is the daughter of the Black Canary. She has psychic abilities but little in the way of fighting abilities. As such, she’s usually held in reserve (or in danger)

The trio work to do what Batman did years ago, dealing with the Thug Of The Week.

However, as this was essentially a Batman series without Batman, plus for the most part there was no overarching storyline, the series only lasted half a season. Which is a shame, since the series had potential, even if the hardcore fans (like myself) may have had issues with the series taking too many liberties with DC canon.

However, the series was given a (sort of) proper sendoff 17 years later…

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(Thanks to TV Promos)

If you would like to watch the series, it's available on Tubi or behind your favorite paywall.

If you would like to see an episode reviewed, let me know!

#dc comics #birds of prey #oracle #huntress #black canary #Fan Colored Glasses

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elliepassmore · 4 months

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Ruthless Vows review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: historical fantasy, love stories, magical amnesia

Divine Rivals review

I've been dying to get my hands on this book since I finished Divine Rivals! The ending of DR definitely packed a sucker punch, so I was interested to see what was in store for Roman and Iris in this one. For anyone wondering, there is an HEA!

This book opens shortly after where DR left off. Iris is back in Oath with her brother, Forest, and is still (obviously) upset about losing Kitt. But Iris isn't down for the count and is determined to continue reporting on the war effort and determined to find Kitt again. Iris again shows her mettle, both when trying to find and help Kitt and when she decides to go back to the front with Attie.

Kitt is, as expected, not quite himself. He's still a writer, but his words are no longer entirely his own, and his memories are just as wiped as Forest's were in book 1. It was good to see that he was still himself though. Kitt may have been Dacre's minion to start, but he very quickly begins questioning things around him and his true self shows through, even if he still doesn't remember. I think book 1 really highlighted Iris while this one highlights Kitt and his journey. I liked getting more of Kitt's POV in this book, and I think there are some scenes that really go to show his growth in DR and in this book.

Attie is also back in this one and we get to see more of her life. Not only do we get to meet her family, but she also plays a pretty important role in this one. I enjoyed getting to see more of Attie and more of her and Iris' friendship. She even got a bit of her own romance in this book. I'd definitely be interested in a novella or companion book about Attie.

Tobias is a new character in this book, and is Attie's burgeoning love interest. He's an auto driver who helps the Inkridden Tribune get stories, and correspondents, to and from the front.

We also get to know more about Enva and Dacre in this one. Kitt is, obviously, with Dacre and we actually get to a good number of scenes between him and the god. Dacre is just as insidious as he's painted in the first book and it's clear just how much thought he's put into how he's going to destroy Enva, regardless of who gets in his way. Enva is...less of a presence in this book, but we do see her and get to know more of her story and why she hasn't personally stepped in to help those fighting on her side.

This book is split between Oath and Dacre's realm. Oath begins as the familiar city we were introduced to in Divine Rivals, but after Iris and Attie return from the front the second time, it's a changed city. There's a power struggle between those, like the mayor and Kitt's family, who support Dacre; the newly-founded, anti-god/dess Graveyard group; people like Helena at the Inkridden Tribune, who support Enva; and then the regular citizens are caught in the middle. The Graveyard group seems to have come out of nowhere, but there are hints that it's been around for a while and is only just now popping up. I would've liked to see more development of things in Oath, especially since I think the Graveyard group has a lot of interesting implications, particularly considering how they very quickly have everyone cowed. I also think the implications of war reaching Oath were interesting, and while I understand why this was a relatively short portion of the book, I think it would've been interesting to explore that more.

Dacre's realm is underground, relying on ley lines and special doors for travel. As grim as it could be, I liked seeing the various aspects of the underworld. There are parts of it made completely of stone, then there are halls/tunnels with unusual creatures and large gemstones, and then there are areas with seemingly unnatural features, such as sulfur vents and hot springs and mountainous regions. I definitely liked that Kitt got to see so much of it since it really was an interesting place, and it showed a lot of the past and present magic of the world.

Overall I found this to be a satisfying sequel and finale to the duology. It's not without its tragedies but it does have happy moments and a happy ending. I do wish that Iris and Kitt were together for more of the book, but it's pretty fast paced, so it doesn't feel like too long. I did enjoy seeing them together though and this time they're fully on each other's side!

#book #book review #books #book recommendations #fantasy #booklr #bookstagram #bookblr #bookaholic #bookish #ya fantasy books #fantasy books #ya fantasy #ya fiction #divine rivals #ruthless vows #rebecca ross #historical fantasy #ya historical fantasy

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helena-thessaloniki · 1 year

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Ah, Helena, I love and reread your works constantly! I would like to know number 3 and 17 from the deep fic ask!

Oh my. How did you manage to pick the hardest ones for me to respond to? 🖤

03: I'm strangely unattached to most of my rivamika stories. I'm probably only emotionally attached to the dynamics in Out in Search ("I'd be absolutely alone if it weren't for you/you're the only person who can actually understand me") and the scene where Levi knows Mikasa's pain as well as his own and runs her absolutely ragged in training to distract her from her grief.

There's something special about how he does it without need for recognition, that they aren't even romantically established, that it's a pure 'act of service' enactment of his love language, that he knows precisely what she needs and gives it to her without her even knowing he's doing it for her. If I'm a hopeless romantic, then it's for that kind of love: being understood to the core > verbal declarations and traditional grand gestures.

(Well, admittedly, I'm also deeply emotionally attached to the epilogue of Beyond the Walls, and only the epilogue tbh. I'm convinced everything I love about it is what people will dislike about it, so it's just sitting there unfinished in my drafts.)

17: I'mma be completely transparent here. I know many people? everyone? struggles to receive affirmation or compliments, but I am deeply fucked in that regard. When anyone tells me something kind, my brain listens to it for .01 seconds, then immediately produces a robust counter-argument with all the ways they're wrong. It's not stooped in insecurity, but how keenly objective and rational I can be. For every 1 kind compliment, I have 50 criticisms to add to it. (That's part of living with an OCD diagnosis and constantly having to do mental gymnastics to coach myself through ordinary interactions lol.)

So, I genuinely, genuinely struggle to read comments on my works. They mean the world to me and are absolutely a motiving factor to help me update and publish. (I write for me, but I do publish/post to engage with others, I admit that!) But I typically avoid reading comments for a few hours or days, cover my face when I finally do, and quickly exit out, blushing in half-terror, half-pleasure. For that reason, there's not really specific engagements that come to mind. :( It's why I struggle to respond to comments, didn't initially respond to any, and why I haven't once gone back to read old comments, even though I'm curious to see how many "familiar faces" there are of people I know now but didn't know back then.

This feels arrogant? but I'm really, really honored to have a few fandom friends and readers who insist on praising my writing and reminding me how much they love my stories, and that kind of sincerity and repetitive affirmation is the only way for my brain to actually believe and receive the encouraging feedback. Thank you, Hera, for being one of those friends. 🖤

TL;DR the ongoing affirmation from friends and readers who keep telling me they value my work has been the most life-giving, encouraging feedback and for that I'm eternally grateful.

(I do have to give a shoutout to my fandom bff though, who managed to cut through ALL of the aforementioned self-sabotaging bullshit by being so disarming and horny unconventional in their comments on Ao3. I couldn't tell you what the first one even was, but it made me lighten up and has helped me come out of my shell in fandom since then. That'd be @a-slut-for-smut ofc.)

Aha I sure can ramble. I've had bad anxiety from work stress lately, I think I needed the chance to engage in deep thought with a real distraction, thank youuu for the ask and thank you for being you (: 🖤

#my asks #fandom friends are the best friends

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latenightcinephile · 2 years

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Film #728: ‘Fanny and Alexander’, dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1982.

It's not often I have to start one of these analyses by looking at the question 'What is cinema?' but Ingmar Bergman's filmography is so dense and wide-ranging that it was bound to happen sooner or later. His 1982 magnum opus Fanny and Alexander was originally imagined as a television miniseries and produced in a five-hour version, which was cut down to 188 minutes for a cinematic release. The longer miniseries was released subsequently. According to the book, the version under discussion is the 188-minute cinematic cut, although reading up about the film there are some details from the five-hour version that I think are particularly illuminating. It's arguable that referring to these details (from an extended cut I haven't seen, no less!) is like citing page numbers from Tolkien when talking about Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, but this is my blog, so I'm not going to wade into the reeds on this one.

Anyway, the reason the provenance of Fanny and Alexander feels a little more relevant is because Scandinavia has a rich history of crossover between film and television, with some of its most prominent directors working in television drama production as well as releasing feature films. With the rise of streaming services and prestige television this distinction is a little less important, but to the best of my knowledge Martin Scorsese has never directed an episode of Masterpiece Theater, which is the best analogy I could come up with. Bergman is a director who has clearly given deep thought to the differences between structuring, themes and acting for television and feature film, and the end result is that the three-hour cinematic release feels like three one-hour episodes chained together. The same characters, and an ongoing narrative, but strikingly different themes and tones across each of them.

The first hour introduces our protagonist, Alexander (Bertil Guve), a boy with a feverish imagination. In the first few moments of the film we already see through his eyes a statue moving, and we can get an instant sense of his creativity, but also some of the emotional myopia specific to children - Alexander is withdrawn and distant when he pleases and recklessly dishonest when he pleases, and is constantly blindsided by how others react to his behaviour. This first 'episode' takes place on a busy Christmas Eve as the entire Ekdahl clan gathers at the home of the grandmother Helena (Gunn Wållgren, in her final performance). Helena acts as the emotional centre of the family for the majority of the film, and right from the beginning we often see the other family members considering their own actions in relation to what Helena would think. Some of these characters are drawn in great detail to prepare us for their appearances later: the romance between the married Gustav Adolf (Jarl Kulle) and the family's maid, Maj (Pernilla August) is an ongoing plot, for example. Other characters are carefully drawn, such as Carl, the philosopher, who hates himself for hating his wife, and who only seems happy entertaining the children with his performative farting - but Carl only appears in this section of the film. Bergman is drawing a rich cast of characters that give the world a feeling of population; an intricate web of relationships. Alexander's father, Oscar (Allan Edwall) gives a rousing Christmas speech to the employees at the theatre he operates, focusing on the differences between the 'little world' of the playhouse and the 'bigger world' outside. He observes that the theatre sometimes succeeds at reflecting the real world, but that the theatre is also an opportunity to escape those real cares - a theme that will be repeated at the end of the film.

Our second episode shifts the focus a little smaller, to the relationship between Alexander and his immediate family. Oscar dies of a stroke while rehearsing the role of the Ghost in Hamlet, and his mother Emelie (Ewa Fröling) is immediately wooed by the local bishop, Edvard (Jan Malmsjö). Emelie immediately learns she has made a mistake when Edvard is strict and controlling towards her and the children, demanding they rid themselves of their possessions and limit their contact with her family. Seemingly out of a mix of retaliation and grief, Alexander's lies and fantasies become more outlandish, culminating in his telling Edvard's maid that he saw the ghosts of Edvard's former wife and children, who announced that Edvard was responsible for their deaths. The maid immediately tells Edvard who, while Emelie is away secretly visiting her family, punishes Alexander and confines him to the attic. Emelie seeks help from her family, and salvation comes in the form of Isak Jacobi, a local pawnbroker and old flame of Helena. Isak smuggles the children out of the house while Emelie, who is now pregnant with Edvard's child, remains.

The focus is narrowed once more in the third episode, which almost exclusively revolves around Alexander's stay with Isak and his nephews. One is a master puppeteer and the other is a mysterious invalid who seems to have the ability to control the minds and actions of others (I say 'seems' because the film is quite deliberately vague on this point - a decision I'll come back to later). The two nephews either cajole or enable Alexander to bring about the death of the bishop, partially in conjunction with Emelie's decision to heavily sedate her husband so she can leave. The death of the bishop means that Alexander, Fanny and their mother can return to their extended family once more, and the film ends at a lunch celebrating a double christening: Maj's child with Gustav Adolf, and Emelie's child with the deceased Edvard. Gustav Adolf gives a speech which is quite similar to Oscar's in the first hour of the film, extolling the importance of actors in distracting us from life's problems.

The fact that the film opens and closes with similar speeches about the role of theatre in life is telling, because Fanny and Alexander feels like a drawing-room theatre trilogy. Many of the films on the list have drawn their similarities to theatre in an explicit way (think of The Golden Coach, which uses a theatre as a framing device, or Diva, which begins and ends with diegetic opera performances on a stage), but Bergman is working on a slightly more implicit and thematic level. His film is full of literal actors and literal performances, sure, but he also encourages us to think about life through the lens of these performances, rather than just the performances per se. Here's an example: Oscar's death happens during a rehearsal of Hamlet, in which Oscar is playing the role of the ghost of Hamlet's father. Alexander is in the audience for this rehearsal, and witnesses his father's collapse. The rest of this act plays with the tropes of Hamlet. Alexander is haunted, but not by the ghost of his father (the person who sees Oscar's ghost in this act is Helena). Rather, Bergman uses the trope of 'a ghost attesting to a wrongful death' - Alexander claims to see ghosts who accuse the bishop. A hasty marriage following the death of the protagonist's father is also central to this act, but the causality of it is out of kilter with the narrative being put right in the foreground. Either Bergman, or Alexander, or maybe both, is trying to make life make sense by recycling parts of Shakespeare's play, but none of the pieces quite fit together. At the end of the film, the bishop has been killed, but unlike Hamlet, Alexander stays alive, and the implication instead is that he will forever be haunted by the bishop.

But why should he be? I think it's pretty illuminating from a thematic point of view that at no stage do we really get confirmation of whether the ghosts that Alexander sees are real (at least in this version - in the five-hour version we apparently see the ghosts too, but I can't determine whether we see them in real-time or if they're only show through the frame of a story Alexander tells). The behaviour of the bishop in response to Alexander's accusations is interesting, because Jan Malmsjö plays his role with the menace that makes you believe he could be capable of such a thing. One of three possibilities is true: that the bishop killed his wife and children and the ghosts are real, that the bishop didn't and the ghosts are fictions dreamed up by Alexander, or that Alexander imagines the ghosts and yet has lucked into revealing the truth about the bishop. Bergman doesn't come down strongly on this question, and even the reveal at the end that the bishop's ghost now haunts Alexander doesn't help matters one way or the other. All of these explanations are plausible - either the result of a legitimate haunting or the fevered imagination of a guilt-ridden child. The same questions arise again when the bishop dies. At least according to what the film tells us is true, the following happens: the bishop's bedridden aunt draws a kerosene lamp closer to her, it topples and sets her alight, and then she fatally injures the heavily-sedated bishop in her attempts to get help. It appears, according to the narrative, that the aunt pulls the lamp closer under the influence of either the puppeteer, who is seen drawing a light closer directly juxtaposed with the aunt doing the same, or under the influence of the other nephew, guiding Alexander to unleash his most destructive psychic impulses. Again, though, both these supernatural explanations are in conflict with the natural explanation.

Whichever of the explanations for these events Bergman wants us to believe is true, it is apparent that these imaginative explanations aren't a lot of help to Alexander: most of the time, in fact, they make things worse. It ultimately doesn't matter too much whether Alexander sees real ghosts or simply imagines them, whether he says so out of childishness or malice: his punishment for claiming to see them is real either way. If Alexander believes himself to be enacting a skewed version of Hamlet's story, the lessons of the play don't benefit him at all. At the end of the film, with the bishop dead (and his death shown in excruciating detail in a flashback), the stories that Bergman uses to try and make sense of the world are shown to be of little help. That brings us back to the speeches that Oscar and Gustav Adolf give, with Gustav Adolf in particular imploring the family, "Don't be sad, dear splendid artists - actors and actresses, we need you all the same. You are there to provide us with supernatural shudders... or even better, our mundane amusements."

What this speech doesn't tell us art and theatre can do is solve problems. It tells us stories of power and the supernatural, but Bergman's film is refreshingly pragmatic when it tells us that art is not powerful or supernatural in itself. It is fiction, and even when it is telling us that amazing things are possible, that doesn't make the amazing things the story depicts any more real than if it said they were impossible.

Fanny and Alexander does seem to have one moment that displays an outright impossible thing. When Isak smuggles the children out of Edvard's house, he hides them in a chest he has offered to purchase from the bishop. He sneaks them into the chest and covers them with a small cloth - clearly too small to adequately hide them. The bishop catches on to Isak's plot, and throws the chest open, but does not see the children inside. He runs upstairs to try and locate them, while Isak falls to his knees and screams in frantic, rageful prayer. Upstairs, Edvard finds the children lying on the floor, still and rigid, but Emilie screams at Edvard not to touch them, and Edvard obeys. The children, apparently still in the chest, are meanwhile snuck out of the house. What on earth are we to make of this? The film doesn't otherwise give us any reason to believe in the power of God, either from a Christian or Judaic perspective (and it's very difficult to tell if Bergman is drawing on particular strands of Jewish mysticism or just general Semitic stereotypes). I've been influenced here by another blog, Seeing Things Secondhand, whose author is, I believe, an English teacher in the States. Writing about Bergman's work as a whole, he says "God has been uncaring (The Seventh Seal), impotent (The Virgin Spring), terrifying (Through a Glass Darkly), missing (The Silence). Here he is a puppet of man." Isak, and the nephews, Aron and Ismael, evoke God's power to their own ends, and it is always imbued with a hint of menace. After all, if you have access to this type of power, what wouldn't you use it for?

The power Isak and his nephews wield might be real, it might be explained away by a complicated chain of causes, but either way it's not something that the Ekdahl clan has access to. What they have is far more toothless but it is also not tinged with threat at every turn. Isak in particular, straddling the world of the Ekdahls and the world of mysticism, seems like a genial old man who should not be pushed to extremes. In comparison, the rest of the family, as turbulent as their lives are, seem ever-gentle. And that's okay. Their job in the theatre isn't to solve problems, but just to tell us stories.

Fanny and Alexander raises constant interesting questions, then, but the story that it tells across its epic runtime floats, barely tethered, above them. Rick Moody, writing for Criterion and wondering about how autobiographical the film is, suggests that the solution to a film like this is just "to realize that it is the interrogatives of which life is composed. Maybe Fanny and Alexander is simply an autobiographical yarn as Alexander would tell it, so that Bergman and Alexander now appear to us to be one and the same narrator of the tale. Maybe Alexander is Bergman refracted, in this instance in the convex mirror of art, where strange happenstances are routine and tidy answers are hard to come by. Or maybe Bergman is somehow Alexander’s own dream, from which the boy has yet to wake."

That wording resonates with the final scene of the film, in which Emelie presents Helena with the script for the next play the theatre intends to present, August Strindberg's A Dream Play. Sitting down with Alexander resting his head on her knee, Helena begins to read: "Anything can happen. Anything is possible and likely. Time and space do not exist..." It's an oddly comforting conclusion, freeing the characters and the audience from the expectation that anything must be explained. All that needs to happen is for us to watch and to narrate, and life will go on in that gentle way.

#1001 movies #ingmar bergman #Fanny and Alexander #epic

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milesonthenet · 1 year

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5 Fighters for Gotham Knights

Hello and welcome back to House of Milesverse. It has been a while since I made a post. However, the release of October’s Gotham Knights has given me an idea.

Today, I want to show you five members of the Batfamily who I would love to see in the game. There are so many characters that could make it. However, these five seem like they would be the most fun, and most popular to showcase.

Before I put together the list, I think it is fair that I explain what Gotham Knights is.

WHAT IS GOTHAM KNIGHTS?

If you have not heard, Gotham Knights is an action role-playing game for the Xbox Series X, Windows PC, and the Playstation 5. The game centers on the aftermath of Batman’s death. Without him, Gotham is unable to protect itself, and criminals overrun the city.

Thus, various allies of Batman aim to protect Gotham and restore justice to the city. In addition, Batman’s allies aim to investigate the mysteries surrounding his death and the enigmatic Court of Owls.

PLAYABLE CHARACTERS

Perhaps the most fun thing about Gotham Knights is the variety of playstyle. Many Batman fans love having numerous characters to choose from. In addition, each character feels different on their own.

So far, the playable choices are:

The first Robin, Nightwing.

Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, Batgirl.

The second Robin, and Outlaw member, Red Hood.

The third Robin, Tim Drake.

I like the roster, but I think Gotham Knights can go further with characters. There’s still a decent chunk of Batfamily members who should join the game. I have put together a list of some of these members who I personally believe should join the game.

NUMBER FIVE: Huntress’ crossbow gives her some range.

Sure, Huntress is probably not the first person you think of for this game. However, I think she does count as a member of the Batfamily. In fact, I believe she was a part of Batman’s circle during the 90s and late 2000s.

As a playable character, Huntress would be fierce and ruthless in combat. She’s more violent than Batman, and he’s even had to restrain her a few times. Her main weapon would be her crossbow, which helps to give her some range in combat.

I think Helena’s ferocity could give her an interesting position on the team. Jason Todd is also labeled the ‘violent one’ by fans. You could have them both interact and bounce off of each other. In addition, it also gives fans the chance to see more interactions between Helena and Batgirl. The two of them were a part of the Birds of Prey, and this is even referenced in the game with a photo.

NUMBER FOUR: Batwing brings a whole different style to the gameplay.

Batwing is an alias that was first used by David Zavimbe, the ‘Batman of Africa’. It was later taken up by Luke Fox, son of Lucius Fox, who helps provide Batman’s gear.

Regarding gear, Batwing has a different costume than the others. He has a more armored combat suit, sort of like Iron Man. He’s able to glide and maneuver through the air thanks to his cape. You could give him the ability to fly and have that be his maneuver option. Imagine how cool it would be to see Gotham from the skies.

NUMBER THREE: Azrael’s just too cool to not be included.

Azrael’s well-remembered as being the temporary replacement for Batman in Knightfall. What some people do not know is that story was made to make fun of the 90s. However, Azrael is still a fan favorite, and his appearances always bring much applause.

I think seeing how Azrael could interact with the rest of the cast could be fun. In particular, I would like to see him, and Dick Grayson develop a cool dynamic. When it comes to fighting, Azrael brings a particularly interesting set of weapons to the game. He wields dual wrist blades that can also set on fire. Azrael’s just too cool to not add to the game.

NUMBER TWO: This is the Signal for Duke Thomas to join the game.

I feel like Duke Thomas is one of the least popular Bat family members. Or, at least, he’s one of the ones who’s least talked about. Despite that, I think he’s proven that he’s worthy of being a part of the family.

I like Duke Thomas’ potential purely when it comes to mechanics. Duke’s photokinetic abilities could prove a challenge for developers to use. He can “see” light, where it has gone, and where it is going. This also enables him to predict the movements of enemies.

Apparently in Batman and The Outsiders, Duke Thomas also developed shadow abilities. Pooling from both shadow and light powers gives Duke a lot of variety to use. It also could give him a few unique mobility options, such as vanishing into the shadows or teleporting like light.

NUMBER ONE: Damian Wayne’s popularity is just too much.

For fans of the Bat Family, Damian Wayne is a must-have among others. He’s one of the most popular Robins. In addition, he is also the biological child of Batman and Talia Al’Ghul. This makes him an heir to the Demon, Ra’s himself, and the Wayne family.

As a fighter, Damian Wayne’s signature weapon could be the sword. You could give him a few cool combos on slicing and dicing his enemies. You could also have him make use of birdarangs as well.

If there were any reason to add Damian Wayne, it would be to see the dynamic he shares with Tim Drake and Dick Grayson. In particular, I think Damian is Dick’s Robin, and they could be seen as brothers. You could have Damian also have some growing animosity toward Tim. In fact, you could play them both as archenemies who later learn to work together.

CONSENSUS: Gotham Knights is an awesome experience

Gotham Knights is an awesome experience for long-time Batman fans. Even though you do not get to play as Batman himself, you get to use his supporting cast. All of them have various quirks and mechanics that make them memorable and cool.

For fans of the open-world genre, Gotham Knights offer a beautiful version of Gotham that’s always active. You can run around the city for as long as you want.

As a game, there is just no limit to what Gotham Knights can do. You and your friend can enjoy playing as one of Batman’s legacies. I truly hope that the game gets more content added to it. I would love it if one of these characters ends up joining the game as well.

#video games #gotham knights #batman #DC comics #bat family

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