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#who doesn't know how to fight yet magically survives all the time
coraniaid · 28 days
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In Season 1's Witch Buffy insists on defending Amy's apparent use of magic, even when she thinks she's been cursed by a life-threatening spell that Amy cast on her. "It's not Amy's fault," Buffy tells her friends, "She only became a witch to survive her mother".
This is an interesting moment for a couple of reasons. It's one of the last few times on the show that anybody will stand up for Amy Madison, a character who, despite going through multiple horrific experiences through the course of the show, is treated with considerably less sympathy or respect than .... well, take your pick, honestly: I'm not sure I can think of a recurring character the show consistently has less empathy for. But also, of course, Buffy is factually wrong: it wasn't Amy who cast a spell on her at all, but rather her mother Catherine who, we later learn, used magic to steal her daughter's body "a few months ago" and imprisoned her in own home in an attempt to relive her own high school glory days.
But it's also, I think, a possible bit of unintentional foreshadowing. Later on in the show, Amy will go on to become a witch. Not just any witch but, by the standards the show will later adopt, a surprisingly powerful one: already by her second appearance Amy seems to be able to cast spells that the Willow Rosenberg of Season 3 and 4 would have struggled with (the turning people into a rat and back one in particular), and Willow is clearly meant to be some sort of prodigy.
The show never bothers to ask how or why this happened. Amy presumably had access to her mother's old spell books (in the same way Willow was initially teaching herself from Jenny Calendar's notes), but until some point in Season 3, when she starts doing magic with Willow and Michael, Amy doesn't seem to have had any one else helping her. (Although one slightly depressing possibility raised -- I think unintentionally -- by Season 6 is that Amy was already going to see Rack as early as the high school seasons: how else would she know how to find him in Wrecked only days after being turned back into a human and after having been trapped in the form of a rat since Season 3's Gingerbread?).
But, again, why is Amy doing this? We know a lot about why Willow wants to become a witch. We can guess why Tara -- whose own relationship with her mother is almost the exact opposite of Amy's -- became a witch. What about Amy herself? What is her motive? There are much easier ways to cheat on tests, surely. Are we supposed to assume that being an evil witch is hereditary or something? (Certainly the show hadn't quite yet decided what it wanted witchcraft to be a metaphor for, for all that Amy's second appearance literally begins with her asking Willow if she's planning to attend the school's Valentine Dance.)
Well, consider how Witch ends. Buffy and Catherine are fighting, Catherine casts a spell to ensure that Amy "never makes trouble again", the spell backfires and Catherine vanishes. The audience know what happen to her, but none of the characters ever find out ("There's been no sign of her?" Buffy asks Amy after she's got her own body back.) Maybe Amy wasn't quite as confident about not having to worry about her mother anymore as she claims to be. Maybe she was worried that her new idyllic life with her father wouldn't last for long (and... well, it doesn't). Maybe she was afraid about what would happen to her if her mother ever came back looking for revenge and Amy still wasn't strong enough to defend herself.
So maybe Buffy was right after all. Maybe Amy did become a witch to survive her mother.
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bokettochild · 3 months
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Thank to rub salt in the wounds, Twi.
Not only your timeline was perfectly FINE, not only the hero before you isn't DEAD but he left you a sword in a perfect condition.
Twilight didn't have to fight, as a child, to survive in a cruel world. The hero before him did'n't fail, he didn't leave the sword in a horrible condition.
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I wonder if Legend has guessed that the hero before Twi was Time, seen Twi's smile. (it's kinda obvious seen how close they are)
Did he guessed that Time was the hero before him too? And he chooses to stay silence to not hurt anyone? Time has never been the hero of time in his timeline after all and is probably died as a child.
But outch Legend's face....it's a mix between "Yep you are a lucky boy" and "if only you knew about the hero before me or maybe "thank to remember me how much a tragic mess my timeline is"
Because Legend is too nice and patient to say "how nice for you, the hero before me died against Ganon, his sword was in a horrible condition with still his blood on her, so much that i have had to reforge her myself! As a CHILD."
No Legend is too nice to take his bitterness on Twilight who did nothing wrong and didn't know. He'll shallow it and says nothing about the sword's condition in his timeline.
I think that's a big part of who Legend is actually! He comes off as really bitter and cold, at least as far as Twilight is concerned, and I wish there was more focus on that interplay.
Twilight met Legend and, based off of a few limited interactions, mentally labeled him as a bully and a jerk and thus treats him accordingly. Not without reason of course, he's drawing mental parallels to actual bullies and Legend is unintentionally checking the boxes, but I think it's sort of sad that until this point, Twilight has still not bothered to get to know Legend at all beyond his initial observations .
But the fact remains that Legend IS from a world that was in shambles, a world where everyone is a threat, if not to everyone else than at least to him. Legend is a prey animal trapped amongst predators with little to no guidance. The cards of fate are stacked against him as far as his world is concerned, and while the goddesses may have granted him additional blessings and favor to make up for that, his world is still magically a mess, physically a mess, and just generally a mess.
The vet has no legacy of proud heroes to look back on. The First Hero died. The Hero of the Four Sword is a raging lunatic who tries to murder children and is sealed beneath the castle. The Hero of Time died in combat. This is the legacy he gets to follow in. Legend doesn't have the hope of becoming like those before, he has the fear of meeting a similar fate because life is never kind to heroes.
Legend's world was left in shambles, and he's had to be the one to help rebuild it, only to watch it get torn down again and again as enemies undo all his hard work. But on a more personal note, Legend has tried again and again to establish himself in the world just to have all the people he loves hurt or harmed on his account.
His Uncle died, and even though he was brought back, he disappears from the timeline shortly after, leaving a kid hero alone in the world. Legend's grandparents have high expectations and aren't the best at listening when he says that their wishes make him unhappy or uncomfortable, and instead push him to follow them anyway, only to themselves disappear from his life once the Oracle adventures are over. Din, Ralph, Raven, Nayru, Moosh, Ricky, Dmitri, all these are people Ledge befriended and was close to and had to say goodbye to again for one reason or another.
Marin.
Legend is always losing the people he loves most, watching his work get thrown in his face and receiving little to no thanks for his work. He's still actively treated like a nuisance and a threat by some people in his kingdom and no doubt there are others who simply don't believe him.
The whole world is against him, and yet the only thing it's done is made him defensive. Ledge isn't cold or cruel, you can see that he actively cares for and worries about the other heroes, he's just guarded more than they are about it. Still, in times of high emotion the walls fall and he's his true self: that kid who's got a heart too big for his own good and is going to get it broken again.
And Legend knows this. Legend actively knows that Twilight isn't fond of him, and that the other heroes regard him as an ass, but rather than correct them, stand up for himself, provide even one of the thousands of reasons he has to guard and defend his heart like he does, he just lets them have their peace because what good would it do to tell them about the losses he's suffered? The world he grew up in? The legacy he has to bear? The terrible fate he no doubt expects to one day meet? What good would it do to make them love him if that will just make their inevitable parting all the harder?
It's hard to lose those you love, but it's easier if you convince yourself they never actually loved you, so you're better off.
So yeah, Twilight is over here unintentionally rubbing salt in the vet's many wounds, but Legend keeps his mouth shut because it does no good to speak up, and in the long run, at least as far as he thinks, it's better to let it be.
I kinda hope Twilight will come to understand the vet better though, and maybe get a peek at what has hardened up the younger hero enough that he comes across the way he does. I'm pretty sure his whole outlook would change if he did, and his respect for the vet would definitely increase.
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raining-dreams · 6 months
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Best Underrated Shows
Saving Me 
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Saving Me is about a lonely old guy who invents a time machine so he can go back to his child self and fix all his past mistakes. I learned about this show from this video titled Watch THIS instead of Hailey's On It by M!n!mal M!ss Art. Despite this video, I was still very excited to watch Hailey's On It. It seemed like a story with a cool premise and cute art style (and ultimately I do really like the show) But Hailey's On It wasn't gonna be out for weeks when I came across this video and this video really sold me on giving Saving Me a try. I never would have even heard of this show without that youtube video which would have been a real shame because Saving Me is fantastic! I hope this show reaches more people and I'm dying for a season 3!!!!!
House of Anubis
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Mystery is my favorite genre and House of Anubis is chuck full of it. I used to be obsessed with this show back in high school. I had so much fun coming up with theories and live-blogging my thoughts and opinions about each new episode. Some of the acting & dialogue could be a little cringe sometimes but the story is just so good that it doesn't matter. I've heard that Het Huis Anubis (the Dutch version of the show that House of Anubis is based on) is even better, though I haven't gotten around to watching it yet.
Over the Garden Wall
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Those of us who have seen Over the Garden Wall seem to agree that this show is amazing! Which makes it feel a little weird to call it underrated. But it seems like so few people have actually seen it. Maybe because it was a mini series, it couldn't reach the same level of popularity as other shows of similar quality. If you like Gravity Falls, you'll likely enjoy Over the Garden Wall as well. (Wirt is even voiced by the same guy who voiced Dipper!) I would highly recommend anyone that hasn't seen it already.
Dead End: Paranormal Park
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I feel like it's pretty rare for animated series to exist in the horror genre for some reason. It truly is an untapped market. But if you love horror and animation, Dead End is the show for you! (Of course it's kid friendly horror since the target audience is children) The two main characters, Barney and Norma get jobs at a haunted park and work together to fight ghosts and demons. Dead End has a super cute animation style, in my opinion, and a very diverse set of characters. I encourage everyone to watch it!
Just Add Magic
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Just Add Magic is based on a children's book by the same name. It's a show about three girls who love to cook and basically discover that they can use cooking to do magic. It's a pretty interesting take on how magic works in their universe. It's very fun to watch. All of the actors are also so talented! And one of those actors is Zach Callison (the voice of Steven Universe)!
The friendship between the trio is awe-inspiring! They have so much chemistry. It's a pretty fun watch.
The Last Kids On Earth
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Based on a comic of the same name, this show is about a group of kids who have to survive on their own when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. And other various creatures start to threaten them (or even become their allies) It's basically a cute found family story. The premise is pretty simplistic but that's what I love about it. The animation style of The Last Kids On Earth is so beautiful as well!
I'm still waiting for a season 3!!!!!
Code Lyoko
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I remember as a kid being aware of this show and thinking it looked kind of interesting (and I always loved the theme song!!) but I never ended up watching it back then because I let peer pressure get the better of me. I remember I met someone who brought up how much they loved the show. When I heard them express that interest, I was at first excited to ask them more but before I had the chance, everyone else started making fun of him for liking Code Lyoko.
I guess it was like the nerd show or something? I don't really know why it was considered cringe to like Code Lyoko but upon seeing my peers act this way, I decided I can't like Code Lyoko if I want to fit in. So, I avoided watching it. But earlier this year, when I was flipping through channels, they were showing old episodes of Code Lyoko! I was intrigued since I remembered it from childhood and thought I'd actually give it a chance this time. And it's actually a pretty good show! It can be slow at times but overall I enjoy it.
If you're like me and avoided watching this back then due to peer pressure, I highly recommend leaving that in the past and just letting yourself enjoy this show!!
Slugterra
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Slugterra is honestly pretty similar to Pokemon, except it's slugs! And the entire series takes place underground. Basically, there's a whole underground world called Slugterra, home to slugs, trolls, moles, etc. And all the slugs have cool powers so the people collect & befriend slugs so they can use them as weapons ("slugslinging"). If you like Pokemon, you're sure to like Slugterra!
Detentionaire
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I discovered Detentionaire randomly while I was searching through Amazon's library of cartoons. I was looking for a new show to watch and just stumbled upon this one. It looked pretty interesting and I was surprised to see it was a show from 2011. I don't know how I missed this show back then. Idk if maybe it only aired in Canada or something? (cuz it's a Canadian show) But anyways, Detentionaire is such an intriguing show where the main character, Lee, discovers some grand conspiracy and has to try to expose it to prove his innocence so he can get out of detention. It's such an interesting concept. And, as I mentioned earlier, mystery is my favor genre, so I had a lot of fun with this one.
The only problem though is, of course, it ends on a cliffhanger. The show got canceled before they had the chance to conclude the story in a satisfying way (or any type of way) so watch at your own risk.
Catscratch
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I honestly don't even remember what this show was about but I do remember enjoying this show and being excited when I saw a new episode was out. I remember thinking it was so funny. I just don't think enough people know about this show.
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Be prepared for what I’m bout to tell you 👀 , ok one where the MC gets kidnapped and tortured for MONTHS like when m6 see MC again they are blind in one eye and have scars literally everywhere and that spark that they had is long gone and at first when the M6 found out MC was kidnapped let’s just say those months were like hell on earth for them . And MC didn’t change like at all they are still the same loving and caring person the m6 knows but something bout them Changed. ( you can add anything if you want,)
The Arcana HCs: What happens when MC takes down Valdemar but gets captured in the process
~ so apparently at least one person wants me to write more angst? I'll do my best but I can't make any promises. enjoy your pain, anon, and sorry in advance to anyone hoping for my usual fluff ~
(CW for mentions of torture, nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks, medical horror, scarring, injuries, and your loved ones getting secondhand trauma from you)
It began as a quick errand to your gateway. You weren't going to be longer than a few minutes, you just wanted to test a theory about how having the Fool's body affected your impact in the magical realms. You didn't take anybody with you, and that was how you found yourself sucked into what used to be Death's domain before Valdemar took over.
Unfortunately for you, they had survived the Devil's demise and had become fascinated with your "back from the dead" situation. It was a week before you were able to get any communication back to your friends through one of their familiars, and another five of strategizing and secret messages before you were able to join forces and get rid of Valdemar for good. For that month and a half, you were kept half-alive on a gurney by day and spent your nights healing and plotting and missing your loved one and preparing to do it all over again in the morning.
Nobody had time to comment on your state when you reunited, you were too busy fighting a full-blown battle against Vesuvia's founding demon, and when you finally made it back home you were able to fall back into a sense of normalcy fairly quickly (you've been dead before, resiliency is one of your strong suits). But as well-developed as your coping skills are, the physical and psychological scars you carry aren't going to magically disappear.
Julian
The first day you were gone, he just figured you had found something exciting and were taking your time exploring it
By the third day, he wasn't nervous, not at all, he knows you love him and wouldn't leave him
By the fifth day, he's worried. Nobody else has heard from you, it's like you've just dropped off the planet
When Malak appears on the seventh day with a message from you in his beak he nearly cries with relief, until he reads what you've written to him
He's immediately assembling everyone he knows who cares about you, he knows he's not an expert when it comes to magic and he needs all the help he can get
He doesn't know what you're going through. Malak doesn't have the means to communicate that clearly with him and you never mention it in your letters
When the dust has settled and Asra's whisked you all back to Vesuvia he gets his first good look at you and feels like he's going to be sick
It's not the scars or the signs of malnutrition and fatigue that turn his stomach, it's that he knows Valdemar's work better than anyone else
Every scar his eye lands on, he's seeing horrific visions of exactly how it was made and he knows exactly what its effects were
All he wants to do is drink you in, and yet he can't bear to look at you
Once he gets you home, he's pulling out his extensive medical kits and dressing and wrapping the wounds that haven't healed fully yet
This is why he traded his memories for the gift to heal anyone he touches, and this is one of the few moments he's wondering if it's a bargain worth striking again
He knows, having been a doctor during the plague, that there are things about him that might remind you of Valdemar
He gets rid of any plague doctor gear he has left, he gets a discreet bag for his surgical tools and keeps it under lock and key, he even switches his big leather gloves out for smaller cotton ones so his touch can stay safe for you. He rarely puts on his double-breasted jacket
He sees and admires your resilience, but he knows what your nightmares are made of
He's already an insomniac, but now he barely sleeps at all and wakes up at the slightest motion to check on you
He's more in love with you than he ever was before, because after you suffered under and then defeated the creature he could never conquer on his own, you came home to him and trusted him to hold you together when it was time to fall apart
Asra
They knew something was wrong as soon as you were taken, they're remarkably in tune with the magical realms
At first he was worried about you, but confident in your abilities to take on any beast. He just wished he was next to you to help
But soon they noticed the bargain mark glowing intermittently on their chest and realized that something was actively threatening the life in your body, and that's when they stopped sleeping
He was calling every contact he had, asking Nadia to use her sight, asking Julian and Portia to write every sailor they knew, calling Muriel to cast stone after stone to get a read on your condition
By night they traveled every corner of the magical realms, seeking an audience with every major Arcana they could find
Until one week in, when he reached the border of Death's realm and found he couldn't cross
They sent Faust in by herself, where she found you slowly recuperating in your holding cell
When Asra saw you through his familiar's eyes his steady magician's hands began to shake
You were able to have a brief conversation with them that night, telling them not to come yet, telling them to go back to Vesuvia and gather as much force as they could until you had a plan, telling them that there wasn't a fighting chance otherwise
He was able to do as you requested, because he knew he wouldn't be able to save you if he burst in now, but every step away from you sent ice through his chest
Now that they knew where you were, they were able to establish a link with you through your shared heart for further planning
Against your warnings, he tried contacting you during the daytime the second week in, and found himself experiencing every physical sensation that you were
Muriel found them in your bed after Faust sent Inanna a frantic SOS, writhing in agony with tears streaming down their face, wailing through clenched teeth and refusing to let go of your connection until they blacked out because as long as they held on they could take it in your place
Every day for the next four weeks, you would get a few hours of sudden blissful numbness, knowing with a sinking heart that realms away he was buried in pillow pile where no one could hear his screams
The first weeks after your return, Nadia kept you both under close supervision in the palace for intensive physical and psychological care. She wasn't stupid and she has the ability to see magic, she had an idea of what had been happening
She only let you two leave once you had been fully healed of all your physical injuries and your mental states were stabilizing
Asra immediately took you out to their sanctuary in Nopal, where you spent the next nine months taking one day at a time
You did have weekly check in visits with his parents and Nazali, who has treated their fair share of POWs, and you were eventually able to move back to the shop and resume a normal life
As grateful as Death is to you for returning their realm to them, neither of you can touch their card without wincing and you never visit your gates or another realm without each other again
Nadia
She has plenty of regrets in life, but one thing she will never be able to forgive herself for is how long it took to notice that you were missing
You had asked her at dinner if you could use her contemplation tower to make a quick research trip into the magical realms, and she had freely given you permission
And the life of a Countess is so demanding, she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and she never checked if you came back that night
When she woke up and you weren't there she assumed you were taking an early start, and then didn't get back around to meeting up with you until dinner
Which is when she sat, and waited, watching the food grow cold and refusing to eat without you, deaf to the servants' whispers as she finally listened to the part of her intuition which had been telling her something was wrong all day
That night she went up to her tower to look for you and then immediately visited the High Priestess's realm
When the High Priestess told her that she saw you passing through your gate, and hadn't seen you return since, Nadia began her realm-wide manhunt for you
She had every one of her sisters keeping watch for you, partnering with Muriel to keep eyes on less populated areas, getting Julian and Portia to spread queries for you, asking Asra to search for you across the realms, offering a large reward to anyone who could tell her anything about you
When Chandra reached her with a message from you in her talons, it had been six days of endless searching
You were in Death's realm, the one place Asra hadn't been able to reach, and you had a plan to overthrow Valdemar for good
This was progress, the end was in sight
Until Chandra shared what she saw of you in a dream with her that night, and she woke up in a cold sweat, tempted to return to her Red Plague state of isolation and apathy
But her pain had a direction, and in the following five weeks every person who knew her name learned of the pure willpower the Countess of Vesuvia possessed
She already had arrangements made for the month after you returned to take you to the seaside for recovery, and you had all of half an hour to thank your friends and catch your breath with them before she bundled you onto her yacht
With the immediate post-trauma care you received, you got a boost to your recovery and were ready to begin trying out a normal life again when you returned to the palace
The one symptom you won't shake for a long time is the nightmares
Nadia never lets you go to sleep without her right there to enter your dreams with you. She wasn't there when your world fell apart, but there is no way she's ever leaving you to fight your demons alone again
Muriel
You had been chattering about your theories to him for weeks, so when he heard you were planning on traveling to your gate, he took you to his casting spot to do it
He stood in front of you as you faded from view, expecting to see you reappear with your trademark grin in a few minutes
And then an hour passed, so he sat down
And then a day passed, so he began to cast
And soon three days had passed, and he knew that you had been taken somewhere, but he was frozen in place because this is where he was going to meet you when you got back
Inanna took things in her own paws and went in search of Faust, who spoke to Asra, who found their way to where Muriel had been keeping watch for someone who still hadn't returned
Once Muriel had someone to shake him out of his stupor he rallied his courage and moved without stopping
He reappeared in town, head high and jaw set, knowing that if he ever wanted to let you do the talking for him again he'd have to find you first
Word spread through Vesuvia like wildfire, one of the heroes of the city had gone missing, and the other one would not stop his search until they were found
He headed deep into the ancient forest to the south to find answers, sending Inanna to patrol with Asra and sending daily correspondence through Chandra
Inanna separated from Asra one week in to find you as you lay in your cell, and that was the only time you ever heard her whimper
She lay next to you the whole night, trying to share her body heat with you and licking your wounds while you whispered the beginnings of a plan to her
The next morning Muriel woke up to his familiar in front of him, covered in blood that wasn't hers, with sharp eyes full of hurt and and an answer to where you were
Every evening for the next five weeks Inanna would come to keep you warm through the night, bringing letter after letter and herbs to soothe the pain
And every morning Muriel would watch for her to appear, covered in blood that wasn't her own, and take a shaky breath of relief when he saw the paper in her mouth that meant you were still alive and planning a way out
When you returned to him, he looked at you and saw himself, fresh from a prison reeking of death and covered in scars
Every evening, he lines your bed with the softest furs and keeps you warm through the night, a burly arm curled around you and the smoothest silk covering the marks that the gurney's leather straps left on your wrists and ankles
And every morning, he'll press feather light kisses across your face in hopes that living in your body will one day be as pleasant again for you as you have made it for him
Portia
You were on Vesuvia's ambassador ship together when you left to do your research
You had been teaching her magic for a while now, and she was becoming better and better at it
So that evening, as you hung your hammocks side by side, she asked to come with you. Show her your gate, show her your world, let her join you on your grand adventures
And you, tired and wanting to sleep but needing to get your questions settled, told her next time
Next time, once you're back in Vesuvia, and Asra and Muriel and Nadia are available in case anything goes wrong, and Pepi can help act as an anchor now that Portia recognizes her as her familiar
She gets where you're coming from, but she's still a little miffed, so after you disappear she rolls over and falls asleep in a sulk, expecting you to join her with a sleepy apology when you return
And now she's waking up like clockwork with the sunrise in her eyes, you aren't in her hammock, and you aren't in your hammock, and she wonders if she was too pushy
And then she wanders the ship, and you've vanished
In her opinion, you're the greatest magician to ever live, but she knows there's no way you could leave a ship in the middle of the ocean, and deeper down, she knows that unlike her brother you would never leave her like this
So she's ordering the ship back to Vesuvia at full speed, sending messenger pigeons ahead of her, and by the time she arrives a week later the manhunt is in full swing
As soon as she's back in the cottage, at the center of the garden where she grows her magic, all caught up with Pepi and fast asleep, her familiar finally has the means to reach you
Portia wakes up in the middle of the night to a frantic Pepi clawing at her arm in a desperate bid for attention, a message tied to her collar
Now she's running through Vesuvia at night, bursting through the door to the shop in tears, because she shouldn't have let you go alone, she should have been strong enough to join you and now you're past death's door at the mercy of the same creature that nearly cost her her brother's life
When all is said and done and you're back in her cottage, soaking up the sun's rays in her garden and regaining your strength with every dish she bakes you, she's still pushing herself to learn magic better than ever before
Because she's still waiting for that spark to return to your eyes, she's still hearing you wake in the night with a hoarse shout, she still sees you flinch every time the cutlery clinks when she sets the table for dinner
And she's not expecting you to live like it never happened, but she needs you to know that next time, she'll be strong enough to fight and bleed and love and suffer next to you
Lucio
He's down in his homeland with you finishing up a job when he loses you
You'd achieved your goal, you were on your second day of the journey back to where you received your commission, and you were passing by his old village
You two had shacked up together in his mother's old crumbling hut and you had laughed at all his crass jokes about it before telling him you'd be right back, you were just doing a quick research trip
So he built you a fire and he laid out your sleeping rolls and he fed the dogs, and you still hadn't returned
So he sat in the ghostly ruins of the tribe he lead to their deaths, and the sun came up, and you didn't return
It took Mercedes and Melchior's obnoxious barking to rouse him from his lost daze, and for one brief moment their familiar bond worked
As soon as he knew you were trapped in the Arcanas' realms, he was on his feet and heading dead north, hoping to find someone, anyone, who could tell him how to bring you back
He makes camp one week into his search near the Kokhuri's burial ground, careful to avoid the graves and praying for enough mercy in the magic-rich place to maintain the strength to continue
That night, he doesn't know how, one of the dogs makes it across and doesn't come back
And the next morning, a sense of dread he doesn't understand forces him from the site, as it is not the place for him to find rest
For the next five weeks Melchior stays in your cell, somehow invisible even to Valdemar, keeping watch while you sleep and relaying messages to Mercedes
Lucio knows that Mercedes knows something, and he knows that Melchior is wherever you are, and he knows he needs someone who can speak to them better than he can
So he shows back up in Vesuvia three weeks into your disappearance, begging for help
Mercedes is most familiar with Chandra, who in turn has practice speaking to Faust, who tells Asra who tells everyone gathered that you're trapped in the Devil's realm at Valdemar's mercy
For once nobody is blaming him, but deep down he's carrying that fact that the creature toying with your life is the same one he handed so much power to
When you make it back and it's clear you'll need time to recover, he leaves the wandering life behind and places himself under Nadia's command to train the palace guards with his years of battle experience so you can rest
He sleeps in the afternoons now, so he can keep watch during the nights and wake you up when you're hit with the phantom pains he's all-too familiar with
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arthursknight · 2 years
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arthur knows there is something to be said of the way a man wears his scars.
his father wears his, an angry silver cord right above his eyebrow, with defiant pride. time and time again, he has seen a visiting noble alight their gaze on the mar, and his father's bellicose stare in return, a silent war between them. i have survived this, the king would say without words. i will survive you.
on his father's men, a constellation of pink, raised flesh-- a rope of gnarled skin on sir bedivere's left arm from the slice of a blade; a thick, white tear in the fabric of ector's neck. when arthur's young, he sits by fires and listens to the tales of bandits, beasts, and brethren who leave the marks on the warriors who arthur loves.
and, in time, they come to arthur. a snaking vine on arthur's right hip. a thin slice along his left bicep. none of them grow angry and purple the way he's seen after the battle dust settles. he's lucky, in that regard, that all his settle into the skin like they belong there. a man who wears his scars not without pride, but whose scars wear him with the same reverence.
his new knights collect them with the same wonder arthur first collected his. a memory of a battle well fought. a time where death reached out its hand and missed. i have survived this. i will survive you.
but they never come to merlin.
at first, when he's young and naive to all the things merlin has done for him, it stands to reason that merlin is never scarred. he doesn't do anything. later, when the truth outs, arthur knows that was as foolish a thought as trusting his father blindly.
merlin fights alongside him, now, in their older years. he watches as blade lunges, as arrow pierces, as spear aims-- and yet, merlin walks away from battle without a scratch. surely, arthur thinks, merlin has just been lucky. maybe his scars are like arthur's-- not quite as visible as his father's, as his men's. hidden underneath cloth and armour.
merlin shares his battlefield, his kingdom, and-- on the luckiest night of arthur's life-- decides to share his bed, too.
it's after arthur has run his hands over every inch merlin will allow him that he realises. not once, in the fog of their union, did arthur's fingers ever stumble over raised skin, divots or grooves.
"what's wrong?" merlin asks, his voice quiet, his lips pressed to where their hands are joined. "tell me if you're about to kick me out of your bed, at least, so i can figure out how i am going to walk after all that."
it's a joke to mask how scared merlin must feel. this is a new development, though one as easy as breath, as predictable as the sun rising in the sky. arthur will tell him that later. for now, though--
"you promised," he whispers into merlin's neck, "to keep nothing more from me."
merlin frowns, his brows drawn together. "i haven't? i mean, if you're talking about my affections, surely we can both admit that yours were the more hidden--"
arthur places a hand over the groove of a lower rib. "here," he says, "is where you were almost run through by bandits, a few seasons ago." his fingers trail down to a hip. "here, you intervened in my fight with some beast or another, and i had to watch gaius give you stitches. and here--"
merlin stops his hand, sucks in a breath. "arthur."
"did you use magic to heal?" arthur finds he isn't angry, not in the way he expects. "i understand, merlin. you had to explain away so much; it would make sense--"
"it's a glamour," merlin admits in the space between his words.
arthur frowns. "a glamour."
merlin can only nod.
arthur knows what the word means, sort of, from the magical instruction and history merlin has given him in the time past their-- arthur's-- new found knowledge of their bond. but glamours, as merlin had explained, are oft for the use of enchantment, so as to make one's romantic interest view them as beautiful--
oh.
he rolls merlin onto his back.
"show me." it is a plea more than a command. it is not from merlin's king, but rather, arthur hopes, his heart.
merlin sighs. his eyes glow gold.
like roots spreading through the earth, a tide rippling over sand, his appearance changes. angry pink gnarls. fine, silver cuts. the faint shadow of where a burn once sat. they litter merlin's pale skin, old and new, in places arthur never could have imagined.
he knows his face must show something that makes merlin turn away from him. with a shaking hand, he turns merlin's chin back to him.
"tell me one thing," arthur says. it is a command, now. "were these all for me?"
there is no air in the room as merlin nods.
slowly, arthur draws in breath. he leans down, then, and presses his lips to one at the base of merlin's neck.
"then," he starts, shakily, "this is mine." another kiss, to his ribs, the puckered flesh of a sword wound. "this is mine." to his wrist, where chains must have sat at the behest of his father. "this is mine," and he's choking up, now.
merlin's trembling underneath him, a quaking branch in the wind. arthur spreads his fingers over merlin's heart, takes its beat in his palm, and looks him in his eyes.
"i will love everything you show me," arthur breathes, a promise, "because it is mine."
"as am i," merlin promises back. "as am i."
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your post regarding christians learning hebrew made me consider - i'm anishinaabe (ojibwe or chippewa or native american or however you call it) and so i very much hope this does not derail you and is instead only the shared experience i mean it to be - it reminds me of how white people and the descendants of colonizers will mystify & then appropriate native medicine and mythology, our art, languages, and cultures, because they think it has secret ancient magic powers, and that everybody who actually practices that medicine or speaks that language is dead and gone, and that indigenous people are ancient history. when we are still alive and around and speaking those languages and practicing that medicine today. and the only reason we would even be all dead and gone anyways is if the colonizers who now appropriate our culture had succeeded in their plan to wipe us out!! anyways that's just a thought, like i said, i hope this only comes across as solidarity of some sort, i read your post and really felt i related to the experience!
oh this isn't a derailment at all!!! something i've noticed a lot but feel like i don't know enough about to be eloquent with it is the similarities between a lot of indigenous cultures and jewish cultures. idk it's super cool. shoutout to Really Fucking Old cultures and traditions surviving through and despite everything
there was a celebration for 40 years of democracy here in argentina at la plaza de mayo on saturday. lots of argentinian flags everywhere, big concert stage set up, the works. my friend and i went to an encampment on the casa rosada side that i had noticed a few times before. they had hand-painted signs talking about how they're from an indigenous self-advocacy group that has been trying to get an audience with the president for two years and three months. to support their continued stay on la plaza, they had a shop of homemade materials like bags, scarves, baskets, and more. i ended up buying gifts for my siblings, a gorgeous rainbow scarf with designs the man was telling me had all unique meanings and symbolisms in mapuche culture, and a handmade necklace of the tree of life. i told him that being jewish i'm always on the lookout for more scarves i can use to cover my head, and he told me he hopes this will serve me well (it has, i'm in love with it already). when he told me about the tree of life necklace, i told him judaism has similar symbolism, called etz hayim. he thanked me for teaching him the term
i don't know if that was a particularly impactful exchange for him, but there was some sort of solidarity i immediately felt, like our fights are intertwined (as are all our fights but you know what i mean). you put at least some reasons why that solidarity exists here into words. we are parts of cultures that have faced and are still facing attempted genocide after attempted genocide, and yet we are still here, embodying our people and not backing down. as people try to relegate us to some mystical past, we are vocal and fight back. solidarity to you anon, ily and i wish you the best. please feel free to talk to me more about this
i've reached out to the indigenous organizers currently camping out in front of la casa rosada but as of writing this i haven't gotten a response. the website hasn't been updated in a bit, but i'll add what information i have so that more people can learn about this fight in argentina (i'm realizing as i add this stuff that almost everything is in spanish lmao. i'm going to reblog this with the photos of their signs and translations of each. if your browser doesn't automatically translate these links please lmk and i'd be happy to help out anybody interested in learning more)
information about the org:
a story about a previous protest:
a story about the current encampment:
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sepublic · 4 months
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Yes yes Drolta sexy dommy mommy but like can we talk about the implications of her backstory and dynamic with Erzsebet??? She's a black woman but she's happily deferring to this white woman. She was an Egyptian priestess and we have her white lady appropriating a major deity from her religion, and instead of having the most reason and background to know what a bastardization this is, Drolta just continues to unironically love Erzsebet... What's up with that??? Did Drolta's background as a priest translate to Erzsebet accessing Sekhmet's blood? Or did she choose to worship Erzsebet because she had Sekhmet's blood?
And like yeah we can play with the idea of Olrox and Drolta as besties but can we also talk about their duality and how they're both dark-skinned PoC vampires and yet one of them is distinctly aware of this fact while the other doesn't really seem to care? You'd think Drolta would be more equipped than anyone else to know what's going on in Olrox's mind and anticipate his resentment-turned-rebellion, but she doesn't seem all that prepared? Or at least just kinda impatiently brushes it off like eventually he's gonna learn his place like she did.
Drolta is obviously socially keen enough to figure out Emmanuel's fatherly connection to Maria from just a glance, and yet she seems oblivious to how Olrox’s background clearly fuels his skepticism towards this “new world” talk she speaks of; These are NOT the words to convince Olrox, the very opposite, but Drolta is far too confident in using them as an appeal.
Hell what does Annette think, as someone who was a black slave to Vaublanc? Vaublanc was kneeling to Drolta as she inducted him into the cult of Erzsebet. She has to realize what a lot of these white nobles around her are like, how they feel about PoC. Does Drolta just happily see herself as the exception, does she think she's 'above' race because she's ascended to vampirism and is beside a goddess? And/or is Erzsebet's status as a white woman revoked because she ascended to vampire and then ascended a second time to goddess?
What questions would Annette ask, as a black woman who is also very spiritual, who has a mentor in Cecile? Annette also has a connection to the gods of her own heritage, whom she respects. She's going to them to undo the establishment. Meanwhile Drolta is letting her own god be bastardized. Does she think that survival can only come around if people make their cultures and magic adapt to the new status quo and find their place in it, regardless of what might be lost in the transition? There's a lot to say about Drolta and Annette fighting each other beneath the abbey.
Did Erzsebet turn Drolta, like she did Tera? Is the control a vampire has over its thrall inform a good portion of their dynamic? Please tell me we're gonna get backstory for these two regarding the blood of Sekhmet that explains what's going on in Drolta's head. Does she consider these implications, what does she think about them, how would she have reacted if someone like Olrox or Annette brought them up? Maybe Drolta accepts her place by Bathory's side because there's always a hierarchy in her mind, and all she can do is focus on saving herself a place above all of the rich white people, even if that means leaving behind her fellow PoC, because she's that kind of person who seeks empowerment for herself alone but not for the rest of her demographic, maybe seeing it as 'unrealistic' and her own position as a miracle that barely worked out.
Ngl I hope that one day Bloodlines gets adapted, and Drolta is brought back alongside Erzsebet as the main antagonists. I think there's a lot of room to explore Drolta's devotion to Erzsebet lasting until even now, and maybe develop their relationship. In game canon, Drolta is the one driving a lot of the events, being the one to resurrect Erzsebet, siccing the Mecha Knight on our protagonists, etc. And Dracula's second phase may or may not be intended to represent Drolta herself, which would otherwise explain her absence as a boss fight despite her role in the lore; And that places Drolta after Erzsebet in terms of gameplay.
I'm just saying!!! I'd love to see Drolta have a Fawful epiphany where she realizes that Erzsebet really is dependent on her contributions, and Drolta is the one who actually makes things work, she's the true driving force and mastermind; Erzsebet would be nothing without her, but can the same be said for the other way around? Maybe Drolta just assumed she needed Erzsebet but then she realizes she does all this and Erzsebet still has to depend on her. Maybe she IS aware of how much she outclasses Erzsebet, but Drolta finds it more convenient and safe to let Erzsebet take the spotlight as a figurehead, while she operates safely in the shadows.
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perpetualexistence · 5 days
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We Drive Each Other Batty
Alenoah Week Day 4: Royalty/Vampire AU
Alejandro Burromuerto is an absolute menace to the kingdom of Wawanakwa. He comes from a legacy of vampires that strive to control as much land as possible. He's only recently set his sights on Wawanakwa, and within a year he's enthralled three towns into being his local blood bank. Life is pretty good for him.
He's so confident in his abilities that he decides to go directly for the castle itself.
Aaaand almost immediately finds himself caught by King Chris's personal bodyguard, Chef, who knocks him unconscious with a pan before he can enthrall Chris.
The smart thing to do would be to kill Alejandro. But Chris is a petty man who prefers humiliating people.
Who better to ask how to do that than his personal court-wizard-in-training who Chris specifically because he's snarky and petty?
Noah gets dragged into this and comes up with an idea. If he likes mind controlling people so much, then let Alejandro be on the other side of things. Tinker with a familiar bonding spell to turn Alejandro into a familiar. He'll be forced to listen to someone else's orders, and can't harm anyone except in defense of his wizard. Plus, if done right, it can have the added benefit of making him 'fun size' thanks to having to categorize Alejandro as a bat to make this work. That way his vampire strength and speed won't be as much of an issue.
There's two problems with this plan.
One, the bond can only be created with a wizard who doesn't have a familiar yet. Most adult wizards do. It's even a requirement to bond with a familiar at some point in a good amount of magic schools.
And two, the bond is usually done with two consenting parties. Since Alejandro would be fighting it the whole time, keeping the familiar bond would be an active effort on the wizard's end. It's possible if you find a wizard with enough power, but good luck trying to convince a wizard to be a spell battery.
"Say, kid. You don't have a familiar yet."
"Mclean. Don't you dare."
"Think of it as a new part of your job description!"
"I'm not going to deal with a psychotic vampire for your sick amusement!"
"Sure you are! Do a good enough job and you might get a better holiday bonus this year!"
Thus Noah has accidentally sealed his fate to being stuck with a 4 inch vampire who is absolutely livid at this humiliation.
They both hate this situation so much. Alejandro can't mind control Noah because that's the first thing Noah ordered him not to do the second Alejandro woke up tiny, confused, and pissed.
Noah can't just leave Alejandro alone in a cage in his room all day because the longer and further he stays away from Alejandro, the weaker the bond and the more likely Alejandro will break free from it.
Alejandro keeps trying to persuade Noah that he's learned his lesson the non-magical way. And Noah shuts him right down because he knows that's a lie.
If Alejandro's really being difficult, Noah has no issues with throwing him into a bird cage and ordering him to shut up for a while. Noah really wishes he could just order him to shut up forever, but Alejandro starts fighting against the bond even worse when he can't speak, which usually ends up giving Noah a headache. Temporary relief is the best he can manage.
That and taking him to Chris to see what humiliation Chris and Chef have decided to put Alejandro through for the day. That usually brighten's Noah's day.
Alejandro still gets his own little revenges in. He looks for every loophole under the sun within Noah's orders. He banters at every given opportunity.
He'd love to give backhanded compliments to Noah in front of people that aren't Chris and Chef. However, no one else is allowed to know that Alejandro is still alive.
Letting a vampire live is a big no-no, even if Chris approved of it. Vampires still need generous amounts of blood to survive. Animal blood works somewhat, but it's more like living off rations. Vampires can only get full nutritional value from a human. Which doesn't really endear humans to vampires. (Part of Noah's job is to let Alejandro feed from his as well. It feels more like four little needles than a serious bite, and thanks to Alejandro's new size he doesn't feel that woozy when Alejandro has had his fill. Noah doesn't mind it nearly as much as he pretends to.)
Plus, Alejandro did get some of his hooks outside of the castle, so there's a decent chance someone could recognize him and decide to take advantage of the fact he's easily killable. So when around others, he takes full bat form and pretends to be a regular familiar. He's lucky he can at least talk with Noah telepathically so he doesn't have to be completely mute.
Still, it's not all bad. Now that Alejandro is, magically speaking, a bat, he can actually experience sunlight. He'd always used the metaphor 'you're as radiant as the sun' when charming others. It's a different thing entirely to actually feel its warmth.
Noah takes notice the first time when Alejandro is completely silent for once. He sees Alejandro staring directly at the sun in awe. He actually looks kind of cute sweet like that.
Except Alejandro is staring directly at the sun, and so Noah has to snap Alejandro out of it. He isn't just going to someone blind themselves, even if it is Alejandro. It's almost a shame to see the mask fall back on his face. (Too bad he didn't notice the flicker of shock at someone showing concern for Alejandro's wellbeing.)
With forced proximity, the two start to learn more about each other.
Alejandro learns about Noah first since he can't help but observe the fact that Noah is reading textbooks, but he hasn't seen Noah attend school once. When Noah isn't reading, he's catering to Chris and Chef's whims.
Noah still seems to be doing just fine, though. He knows Noah is advanced for his age based on what he's reading and how much he gloats about it. Still, if he was advanced than Alejandro would expect a tutor to be guiding Noah along to suit his level. The only adults he's seen consistently during his stay with Noah is Chris and Chef.
Alejandro points this out to Noah, and receives a long rant from Noah in return.
See, Noah's completely self taught. Before Chris, his family couldn't afford to get him a tutor. This isn't inherently a problem. Some wizards will take on apprentices for their service rather than for payment if they see potential in a particular student.
The problem is no one wants to teach a child who wants to learn dark magic. Nobody that Noah would ever want to meet, at least.
Noah could lie about not wanting to learn forbidden magic. But he'd always risk getting caught by whoever's training him. Not to mention the risk of getting himself killed because he was performing something dangerous without anyone to save him.
Plus, he considers it incredibly stupid that dark magic is a taboo subject to learn. The reason why creatures like Alejandro get away undetected for so long is because everyone else is more than happy to stick their heads in the sand. Their solution to combat evil is to simply not talk about it. As if that's just going to make it magically go away.
The only real way to learn how to counter it is to study it. It's like how making an antidote for a poison requires a bit of the poison itself so your body knows what to fight against.
Hell, it could even be used for good! Even something like Alejandro's hypnotism. It can lull a growing angry mob to not be stupid. It can force a different evil bastard to do something good.
But no, people like Alejandro screw it over for everyone else, and now any time he tries to make these arguments he's 'the bad guy' or 'should be barred from magic for everyone's good'.
Noah got lucky. Chef found him when he was insulting yet another wizard who shot down his chance at apprenticeship. He might have forgotten angering someone who can throw fireballs isn't the best way to guarantee your own safety.
Chef dragged him away and attempted to yell some sense into him. When it was clear that Noah was still just as defiant, he dragged him directly to Chris. Who ended up liking his spite and sarcasm, and offered him the job of court-wizard in training. It was hard for Chris to find any wizard willing to stay with him too long. And he's got plenty of dark magic crap that he has stored away. Both of them get what they want!
Noah wouldn't learn how demanding Chris was and how he'd make people put a lot of effort into stupid tasks that drive less patient people mad until later.
He took the deal because it was the best he was going to get. He knows he's being underpaid compared to what a regular court magician would be making. But for as much as Chris is a pain of a boss, he's given Noah exactly what he's wanted. He'd dare to say that Chris and Chef cared about him. Though Noah will refuse to say if he feels the same way about them.
Alejandro can't help but admire Noah for that. Deep down past that apathetic, snarky exterior, there is someone who's capable of ambition. Or at least capable of using spite as a motivator.
Alejandro's mask slips as he ends up sharing how he can relate. He gives off the airs of a vampire who's been around for at least a century or two. Truth be told, he's only a couple of months older than Noah. He's aging as a human would, for now.
He, and his lineage, are born vampires rather than bitten. Hence how he can have multiple thralls at once and transform into mist or a variety of animals. Bitten vampires are lucky to be able to hypnotize one person, and are typically limited to the advanced strength and speed.
So he can certainly one up the average vampire...but not other born vampires. Or vampires who have actually lived for centuries. He's still considered nothing more than an insolent child not to be taken seriously.
He does have the expectation on him to expand the Burromuerto influence. But he's constantly being compared to other relatives and their accomplishments. Particularly that of his brother José who has a couple of decades over Alejandro's head.
Alejandro has been working hard to close the power gap. He's been training to be as strong and fast as possible. His hypnosis works so well because he put in the work to learn how to actually charm people. The magic is to make sure the feeling stays for longer than it would naturally. But getting people to do what he wants? All him.
And it's still not enough for anyone else. So he decided to get a headstart on the family tradition. He was supposed to wait until he came of age, but he was already strong and confident in himself. Going off and succeeding early would prove everyone else wrong.
He'd been doing so well, too. He hadn't even needed to kill anybody. Unlike most of his family, he doesn't particularly care for it. Not because he cares that much about humans. But because he sees it as a waste of a resource. Sure, you can inspire fear into others with a death. But that fear can easily turn into outrage, and rebellion. It will be harder to control a population that is actively working to fight against you. Much easier to charm them and have them not even realize anything is wrong. Everyone is alive, and there is nothing to worry about. They just have to give a bit of blood every once in a while. And for that, Alejandro would make sure nothing else would dare to touch them.
That last part of the story concerns Noah. A lot. But it's...nice? That Alejandro cares? Enough to value a human life. Considering the rest of his family, it's a miracle Alejandro's got anything resembling compassion.
And at least he's finally being honest about something for once. Noah prefers honest but callous to kind but insincere. This part of Alejandro's still concerning...but he likes it more.
It's the start of these two doing more than just argue with each other. Alejandro's still not happy about being small. He complains about it just as constantly. But it's no longer lashing out at Noah. Noah doesn't really throw him into the time out cage anymore. Alejandro is gentler when he bites into Noah's neck to feast. Noah is less tense when it happens. He leans into it more. They bicker still, but they're actually willing to work with each other.
It's how they figure out a loophole. Neither can't really use their own magics to their full potential anymore....but they do now have access to each other's magic. They just have to be willing to train each other in it.
On Noah's side, Alejandro is trying to teach him how to hypnotize others through charming them. It doesn't go well. Noah's terrible at giving compliments. Changing his wardrobe to accentuate Noah's looks doesn't help when he doesn't flaunt them. That shopping trip to get Noah a new outfit definitely didn't awaken anything in Alejandro. Except it does. Noah is indulging him in one of his favorite activities. He looks cute in some outfits, hot in others. Noah mocks, Noah teases, Noah banters. It's just Noah, actually. Noah's cute, and he's also hot. Oh no. Alejandro's got himself a crush. ...MOVING ON FROM THAT-
Eventually, it clicks. This isn't working because Alejandro is teaching Noah how to be a Burromuerto. Which Noah certainly isn't. To charm someone, you have to work with what you naturally have and exaggerate it. Noah has snark. Use that to insult people that his victims would hate, not the victim themselves. Nobody likes being insulted, but everyone has something that they love gossiping about. That's Noah's in to get others to open up.
Then, there's the actual ask. Noah can't directly say what he wants all the time. Sometimes that may work, but sometimes what he wants is directly opposite to what someone else wants. He can find out when it's safe to be direct or not through gossiping. Then, if it's not safe? Make them feel safe. People underestimate Noah because of his age and figure. Use that.
Noah's just a pathetic, cute scrungly little guy who doesn't do much. What's the harm in letting him take a dangerously powerful grimoire off your hands? He's not going to do much with it. He's just curious.
Noah grins with pride the day he's able to hypnotize a guard who constantly abuses their power into humiliating himself.
On Alejandro's side, Noah's willing to teach him shadow magic. He wants to start with teaching Alejandro how to change their shape, and then move on up to making them solid.
There is also teleporting through shadow, but Noah's not teaching him that. That would give Alejandro the ability to leave Noah. Which would be bad for the whole 'keep Alejandro in check thing'. For no other reason. Noah wouldn't miss him. Not one bit. They just have to stay together for practicality. That's all. Let's get back to talking about shadows.
Alejandro assumes this should be a piece of cake. It's just another form of manipulating, just with a thing rather than a person.
He's terrible at it.
He coaxes, he begs, he pleads with the shadow to just move, and it refuses him. He's cursing in Spanish at an inanimate object.
Noah laughs at him for this. This earns Noah some curse words.
Noah tells him to stop treating magic like it's a person to be charmed. It's not. It's a thing. It follows orders so far as you figure out the right language. You tell it what you want, and then it gives it to you. No convincing, no tricking. Just asking.
Alejandro can't ask for one thing when he means another. That just confuses the magic and makes things not work. He needs to be direct for once in his life. Trust in his own ability to make something happen. Not in his ability to trick someone else into making something happen.
It takes Alejandro a while to just ask the magic to do what he wants.
I can't figure out how it'd work on Alejandro's side yet. Probably because I haven't yet defined the kind of magic he can do. 'Standard wizard fair' isn't going to cut it if this is coming from a personal bond/something that's intrinsic to Noah that would simply take a different form with Alejandro. It'd definitely have something to do with tying into how Alejandro doesn't actually NEED to charm people/force them to like him to get what he wants. His problem would definitely be that he's trying to force the magic to go exactly how he wants it to go. But magic's not something that likes being tamed like that. So Alejandros's got to learn to effectively say what he wants and just trust in his own abilities enough to make it happen.
When he does?
Alejandro shows off with a little shadow puppet show. He orchestrates puppets no bigger than him from atop Noah's bookshelf. It's endearing, it's sincere, and Noah is screwed because he is in love with this little vampire.
The more they teach each other, the stronger they grow. Neither realize it, but the bond is no longer draining each other.
They learn about this when someone attempts to mug Noah when he's running one of Chris's errands. The mugger grabs an Alejandro in bat form and slams him against stone to stop Noah from using magic. Alejandro is alive, but in a daze. Noah immediately makes tendrils of shadows to fling the mugger into the nearest wall, then hold them aloft in the air. He's running for Alejandro who's mumbling, asking if Noah is alright.
Noah doesn't know healing magic, but he's putting all of his focus into figuring out something to help Alejandro. It's working somewhat. Alejandro's head is clearer, though his body is still damaged. Noah puts more effort into making sure all of Alejandro is better. So much so that he doesn't notice a second mugger coming to check on their partner, who is now sneaking up on Noah. Noah is grappled before he can react, and is dragged away kicking and shouting.
Alejandro acts before he can think twice about it. The next thing he knows, he's standing at eye level with both of his newest victims. He hisses, his fangs bared, ordering them silent before they can scream about his presence. They are to release Noah and grovel.
The muggers do so without hesitation, their eyes glazed over. Alejandro wraps his arms around Noah in a hug. His grip is tight. He is at his full strength and could crush whoever he desired. He is gentle with his querido and plants a kiss on his forehead.
Alejandro wants so badly to drain them dry, but Noah takes priority. The muggers are to leave, turn themselves in, and forget the type of magic Noah and Alejandro used, and their faces.
The muggers leave, and the two are left to look each other in the eyes for the first time.
They stare for a while. Neither of them quite sure of what the other wants to do right now. Noah's the one who breaks the silence first.
"This late growth spurt's a bit much, wouldn't you say?"
Alejandro snorts at the absurdity.
They agree to keep the familiar bond as it is. It still lets them communicate with each other telepathically, and lets them use the other's magic.
They'll have to hide the fact that Alejandro is at his full strength, of course. Particularly from Chris and Chef. Alejandro tries and finds out that he can shrink at will now. Truth be told, he doesn't mind it anymore. (He's touch-starved, and rather enjoys being held and pampered by Noah.)
Alejandro also promises not to go enthralling everyone.
"Just five thralls will suffice."
"No."
"Two?"
"No!"
"One? I'll even make it Justin. Just imagine the things we could have him do."
"...No."
"You hesitated!"
"Stop tempting me!"
"Is it really tempting if you were already thinking it?"
"I hate you."
"You love me."
"That's not the point!"
The two stop when they realize that bombshell just got dropped.
They finally have proper confessions and decide to start dating. Alejandro immediately offers to turn Noah into a vampire so they can live together. Noah immediately shuts him down. Alejandro's sad until Noah explains.
One, that's a huge commitment when they've literally just started dating. And two, if Noah did that now then he'd have to be a teenager forever. He hates being a teenager NOW. An eternity of that? Hell no. In the future though? They can come back to this, and Noah'll let him know if he changes his mind.
Alejandro is more than happy to wait.
Fun little side note: Alejandro's got a bat form, and I already know exactly which species he is!
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Meet the vampyrum spectrum! Also known as the spectral bat, or the great false vampire bat. They're carnivorous little guys who eat birds, rodents, and uniquely, other kinds of bats! Part of their natural habitat covers Peru, and they're also fun in that while most other bat species are polygynous where it's just one male with multiple females, these guys are mostly monogamous! Perfect for Alejandro!
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writing-frenzy · 6 months
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Mob Protag Ichigo and the Puppet Master (UraIchi Isekai Idea :3 )
So yeah, for anyone who's read my first idea with the Kurosaki Fam Isekai, they'll know all the stuff that has inspired this and that I've already mentioned an idea with a Mob Character!Ichigo and a Puppet Master Benihime (AKA Urahara Kisuke)
Let us set the scene :3
How will Ichigo go to a fantasy world, especially with how he is? Well, as Ichigo was growing up, one of his sisters was really, really sick; they weren't sure if she was going to make it tbh. Ichigo did all he could, but being a little guy, there wasn't much he could do. One day, he came upon a weird being who said they could grant wishes; Ichigo immediately asks if they can make his little sister healthy. The being said yes after a moment, but it will cost him a peaceful afterlife. Ichigo takes the deal, the being is admittedly touched by this child's goodness and unselfish desire, because for such a sweet child, they know of death and the loss it brings already. So the being actually doesn't twist the wish like so many others he does, letting the children live out their natural lifespans in peace.
All is well, until a 17 year old Ichigo saves his other sister and her friend from dying to a truck. Our World's Divine Being is like; damn, you still had way, way more life span and time than you should have to had died now... but since you have a contract, I can't just let you survive :/ eh, I'll use it to at least give you perks to survive your reincarnation in that hell hole. (not to mention how they too are actually touched, they're a sucker for loving families)
Ichigo: wut
Godly Being: *throws a book series and some powers at him* Wish you luck out there!
After feeling just a bit violated and like someone was digging around in his head and blood, Ichigo wakes up in an abandoned house in some modern looking steampunk like city. Looking around he doesn't have much but some basics for survival, weird as heck items, and a book series. Not much to do, he reads the series, which answers a whole lot of questions even as makes Ichigo scowl like a thundercloud.
See, this is a very, very dark fantasy like series, it's gonna have all the canon Bleach fighting and gore but with magical surprises and such, with a very, very bittersweet ending. It's kinda like a modern setting meets with a very eco-friendly way because the world will crush those it sees trying to abuse it (mother nature don't play around here) so it's kinda steam/water/wind/solarpunk. Don't know who I want as the OG Story's protag to be, maybe Rukia or one of the Karakura Kids, but it follows them in a world were contracts/pacts/deals with spiritual beings is over everything; it can be with weapons, it can be with bloodlines or any such. Not all pacts and such are unequal, some in fact are real and true bonds, the pact bound loyal to their contractors to obsession... others, it is is very much a thing of slavery and torture, which can go both ways depending on what was exactly contracted.
Ichigo goes about trying to figure out his own contract/pact thing, which while so long ago, is just something he has never been able to forget, seemingly inscribed onto his very soul in a way. He knows he was picked because his soul was the most compatible for the spirits the being wanted for him, and he already knows its going to change his body as well, but it still confuses him.
(maybe something like;
A mix of holy power and darkness that would find most be consumed,
Flames properly controlled that can reach the moon,
Cut it from the sky and devour it if so desired,
But yet all one wants is to protect their own wary lost and life tired,
For One such as you a power so great is to be entrusted,
It will find you, change you, leave your life chain broken and rusted,
In Time it will be shown if you can make this power your own,
But already, your fate has sown.)
(LOL, this is Ichigo, he's gonna break his fate and make friends with his Hallow and Ossan, because I love the idea of the three together again in this au :3 later tho)
But yeah, so Ichigo is figuring things out, especially with controlling his body once more because his strength went a bit wonky, but I also like the idea of a different weapon Ichigo if that makes sense? Like, he will still be an op power house, but the thought of him using spells and martial arts makes me grin evilly? Like, with his Hollow more bonded later, he can make claws come out to rip soft bellies apart and such. And Ossan just insists he learn a bow for those times he needs long range and such, even if he gets a bit despairing when Ichigo occasionally gets too frustrated and just throws the damn arrow (all three in Ichigo's head are quiet whenever the move proves highly effective, which is always.) Oh, but now I can't help but think of Childe from Genshin Impact's fighting style :D maybe instead of blades though, Ichigo switches to a hand to hand with bracers of some sort covering his arms that are hard as fuck, easy to move around in because of magic.
But ah, getting sidetracked again, this all comes later down; for now, Ichigo is still figuring shit out, avoiding protagonists and co because yeah, people not protected by plot armor tend to die really, really messily around them and he still can't do jack right now (doesn't mean he doesn't do what he can, even if its just simple things like helping the elderly, making sure kids get home safe, or even knocking out some regular thugs harassing some ladies.
Ichigo, despite all his scowls and looks, still draws people in with his kindness and protective nature in this dark, lonely otherworld.)
Its as he's helping someone shopping, this sweet little lady who goes on and on about her sweet grandbaby, that Ichigo goes to the Urahara Shoten for the first time; not much gets his attention, besides the fact that the protagonist has only been here once or twice in the early chapters for some odds or ends, this place being some mixture of candy/pawn/tea shop.
But then something in the shop resonates with him; with his very soul. Looking around, Ichigo tells the sweet grandma he'll be right back, and call him when she's done, to which she gives a cheerful reply before Ichigo goes off, looking high and low before he finds a strange book and block with it, like a set. Picking it up, it just feels so damn right... till he looks at the price tag and cringes. While he has odd jobs here and there to help him out, it's just enough money for him to live with since he doesn't have to worry about rent with his questionable abandoned house, covering his food expenses and the public bath fee.
"Find something you like dear customer?" is said from behind him, which makes Ichigo jump like a few feet into the air, clutching his book and block set to his chest, before turning to the one who startled him.
And so thus the first meeting with Urahara Kisuke, Geta-boshi as Ichigo likes to call him. After a bit of back and forth between the two, Ichigo admits he can't afford the book and block set, too which Urahara merely hums, eyes oddly shadowed from his hat as he considers that. one thing leads to another and somehow Ichigo not only gets the set but even a steady job at the shop, even if his paycheck will be cut because of said set. And sure, Geta-boshi is sus as fuck, but Ichigo doesn't sense any ill will from the man, not too mention the man even helps him with understanding the book, a soul book as its called, which strengthens souls and their contracts, enabling them to get a growing weapon called an Asauchi that transforms with the soul. Its not bad.
On Kisuke's part, he is actually pretty intrigued by Kurosaki, this youth who carries the potential of a predator but the heart of a protector, actually reacting to the soul book and Asauchi Kisuke had made more for curiosity and boredom then to actually make a functional weapon. Not to mention just how much fun it is too mess with Ichigo, the boy shows he has a clever mind and a strength that just seems to constantly grow more and more. Kisuke is actually considering just how he can possibly use this youth for his goals, wondering if he can be the chest piece he needs to finally topple the king in this game between Puppet Master Benihime and Greater Lord Aizen.
Ichigo does know about Puppet Master Benihime from the story, they were a neutral character only focused on making sure the world would not collapse, no matter the amount that would be needed to be sacrificed in the end. But in the story, it only ever showed Benihime herself, never even mentioning that she was actually contracted, and 100% loyal to said contractor, so Ichigo has no clue about just how scary his mentor is at first, besides when the man actually did finally spar with him and Ichigo couldn't even get a hit on him. In this world, these two have a bit more time, a bit more room to act, and with it they bond, much to Kisuke great surprise even as he still plans to use him.
So things happen, things are reveled, discoveries are had, and Kisuke goes to Ichigo, confirming that he knows.
And then he kneels before this youth; he kneels and apologizes, thinking and knowing in his soul he's done something unforgiveable, thinking he won't be forgiven and fine with that as long as Ichigo still lives well... only for Ichigo to actually forgive, just like that, just because he could tell Kisuke meant it, scowling still but most of all accepting.
Its a good thing Kisuke was already kneeling because that alone would have made him bow just from the sheer acceptance and warmth Ichigo just seems to shine with. Ichigo has no idea just what he's done, who's utter loyalty and trust he has secured, and Kisuke will kill, die, and live for this boy, he just has to say the word. Even with all the people Ichigo has gathered, from villains to protagonist, people who are loyal and true if to no one else but him, Kisuke feels blessed he can be included, can be trusted even over the others to always remain at Ichigo's back and protect it no matter what.
In return, Ichigo looks up to Kisuke as both a mentor, ally, friend, and after an interesting dream, a damn annoying crush he can not get rid of, going strong for years (no longer a crush then but let him deny it for a bit). Parts of him wants to devour this man whole, never share him with the world, but Ichigo is such a being of freedom he could never dream to rip such a thing from someone else. (Kisuke being Kisuke wouldn't mind if its Ichigo tho >:3 All Ichigo has to do is ask, and this man would give him the world, Benihime right behind him.)
I feel like this story would be a slow burn but not if that makes sense? like, there is a tension from the very beginning of the story to Demi-romantic/sexual Ichigo's awakening of shit, so that's what that feels like (Fight me on this, I will defend it to the grave Very Demi!Ichigo)
But yeah, so far that's it for my Bleach Ideas :D hope you enjoyed them and stuff.
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aldruiel-scribbles · 10 months
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I can't stop thinking about it.
You know how when you romance Solas there's a power imbalance (that at first we don't know of) since our edgy puppy is immortal and so ridiculously powerful that I don't know how DA:D protagonist is going to survive, and because of that most fanfiction (especially those set after Trespasser) depicts Lavellan struggling because she fell in love with an almost god who's about to commit a genocide to fix a previous accidental genocide.
So what if there was a character that from the beginning could level down that power imbalance gap and slap the fuck out of that elvhen glory bald head? I was already thinking of a crossover with the poll I made, but now another idea has formed. Solas x Dovahkiin.
I know there's already a few fanfics about this pair, but I haven't yet found one which truly delves into how things and people would truly be affected by the dragonborn's presence and decisions (whether they're inquisitors or not). And most of the time the LDB is seriously scaled down in power. Nothing compared to canon lore. So I have an emotional itch that hasn't been scratched by the gods of fanfiction.
Also when I talk about power, I'm not necessarily talking about them fighting, flexing on their magic, or any sort of display like that. But in the sense of how every single interaction would be changed because now, Solas is facing someone that could possibly stop him. Maybe Solas would be the one to win. He doesn't know. He just knows that in some way they're equals and this means a whole new dynamic is unlocked, and THAT, I would die to read.
Because I think, that despite Solas feelings for Lavellan are very much real and intense, there's still a tiny little part of him that still sees her as a Da'len. Not necessarily disrespectfully, but still kinda patronizing. After all he's Fen'Harel, thousands of years old and he's a prideful man that doesn't believe Lavellan have the power to stop him.
So, introducing a character that not only changes the rules but the game itself would be delicious.
P.S: After everything that egg made me go through, I want to make him suffer. A Dragonborn would certainly achieve that, in the most diabolical 'rivals to lovers' kind of way.
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catpop2 · 8 months
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So uh... Earthspark Au idea
So you know how occasionally Starscream and Bumblebee somehow get paired together and goofy shenanigans insue? Like in IDW for example- Well take that but add some more shit to it- Like a lot more hand wavy magic shit to it.
Anyways spoilers for Earthspark Season 1, the whole thing. And also uh brain fart moment right here so its very rambly but I wanna try and get the main point across. I will elaborate it people are intrested tho.
Well I had a goofy au idea brainfart moment where after the events of season 1, the autobots and decepticons have to somewhat colaborate which each other to survive on earth. From finnaly freeing every captured Decepticon in the form of a transaction to get Starscream and his remaining seekers do an extended sweep over the entire earth in order to comfirm Dr Meridians death because oh boy his body mysteriously disapeared (And because Seekers aint called seekers for nothin, they hella good at tracking down anything that exists)
Other scheningans insue because Megatron wants to reconnect with his Decepticons and beocme friends with everyone- But like none of them are really having it, in fact the main motivator for any con is that they want to protect their new generation, the terrans, therefore they wont try and obliterate the autobots at every moment. This is specifically true for Starscream who literally cant exist in the same room as Megatron but gets absolutely swarmed by terrans the moment he is near them, most notoriously Hashtag and Twitch but mostly Hashtag.
And then there is Bumblebee, the mentor of the maltobots who will do anything to keep them safe- But not much can be done when your protégés are pestering the most dangerous Decepticon to ever Decepticon (Aside from Megs but he dont count anymore) So he has to just sit there and tolerate it-
Eventually though trouble arises once more and the maltobots have to fight for the freedom of their kind, now joined not only by the autobots but occasionally even a Decepticon or two whenever their expertise come into play, but the cons aren't doing it for the Autobots thats for sure.
Bumblebee is always with the terrans whenever he can be, but the five are more grown as each day passes, and far harder to keep an eye on, especially since the concept of war has been properly introduced to them. So when Starscream is there to provide intelligence or sneak stolen gadgets to Hashtag and Nightshade, Bee has to appreciate the weight the seeker unintentionally takes off his back. Afterall Starscream may be extremely dangerous, cunning and deceitful- But it certainly does wonders for him to be near sparklings.
Where the au comes into real play is when the threat of Dr Meridian resurfaces much to everyones dismay (Like pee paw willy over again).
The terrans and the kids are locked in tight combat, trapped in a very dangeorus and likley fatal situation of which they havent quite grasped the severity of. This time they dont seem to have the grace of Quintus Prime at their side as things look really grim, their only proper cybertronian assitance comes in the form of Bumblebee and Starscream who are forced to hold off the threat together the best they can before help can arrive. While the terrans do a great job of fighting alongside them as they have proved themselves plenty of times- It doesn't seem to be enough. All of them are left tattered, injuried and worse for wear- Particularly their two cybertronian gaurdians who had just taken on a fatal blow to protect them.
Quintus Prime, unlike the Maltos thought before, was with them, he watched them. He hoped, but there was little he could do, it was not like before...
But... There was a call, a plee. A promise of service. Not from the humans or the terrans. No...
Something else entirely- A presence akin to Primus itself- A spark, reaching out to him. Promising to protect.
Ah yes. The cybertronians. One of them had not yet given up yet, despite the fact he no long had functional limbs nor wings- It was present, nearby somewhere was also another presence, but so much weaker, so fragile and quickly fading.
No.. That couldn't work could it? They were already established sparks, born from the allspark directly-
Perhaps that could work.. Perhaps the Emberstone had a little extra light to give.
And so, from the rubble- Right as the enemy intends to strike another blow, two new protectors rise- And two new presences began to circulate between the thoughts and feelings of the Maltos.
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toriafiction · 1 month
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Flowers For My Love
One of my Dick /Jason wips. This one just won't get out of my head recently.
It's a soulmate hanahaki fic. 🌸
Check tags for possible tw / cw
Dick has known since Jason was Robin that they are soulmates. Jason didn't know because, at that time, he was too young for the bond to wake on his end, and Dick didn't tell anyone because he didn't want anyone or anything to influence Jason.
He's still a kid and he deserves to explore who he is and what he likes and have his own experiences like Dick did. He should make friends and date whoever he wants and not feel guilty for it. He refuses to take that from him.
So Dick balances his time with Jason very carefully. He makes sure that he isn't around too much. He's absent more than present but when he is around he makes sure that they spend some quality time together and have fun.
It doesn't matter if that's just sitting in the library talking about what book Jason is reading, playing a game or watching a movie together, going out, or even patrolling together. Sometimes Jason comes and stays with him at Bludhaven. Dick shows him his city and takes him train surfing.
It really is a balancing act for Dick. He doesn't want to woo Jason and doesn't want Jason to slot him into the brother role either. His plan is to be a fond yet distant presence in Jason's life until he is old enough to decide what he wants Dick as without Dick having influenced his decision. It's the only thing that seems right at this point.
He wants Jason to grow up with the same freedom he had and to decide what he wants them to be when he is old enough.
Then Jason dies and all Dick can do for years is mourn all the lost time and the future they didn't get to have together.
After Jason comes back and has really started to settle from the pit madness, Dick tries to tell Jason that they are soulmates. He had tried waiting for the "perfect time" to tell him before, and Jason had died. Dick isn't going to make that mistake again.
This time he has rushed it too much.
The remaining effects/magic from the Lazarus pit are still blocking Jason's side of the bond from waking, and without that connection Jason doesn't believe him. The pit rage surges with a fury. Jason thinks Dick is lying to him, trying to manipulate him and Jason is deeply hurt and feels so betrayed. Dick knows how much having a soulmate means to him, and the belief that Dick would use that is crushing.
Dick coughs up his first petals that night.
He doesn't have hanahaki yet. This is a precursor, a warning. There are no ill effects, just the occasional petals. Jason didn't reject him. He just didn't believe Dick.
But things get worse.
Jason is furious. He avoids Dick and, by extension, the rest of the Bats. Everyone is confused by this sudden change. and not so secretly blaming Bruce. Dick is desperate and scared. He just wants to talk with Jason. When he does, it turns into a huge blow-up that becomes incredibly vicious and cruel. In the end, Jason leaves Gotham. Dick leaves the fight heartbroken and not only with hanahaki but the aggressive variant that can kill in a few short months.
Bruce finds out about the hanahaki first, but even he doesn't figure it out until it has already reached the point that it's dangerously critical. He has to hospitalize Dick in the cave and within just a few days Dick requires extensive medical assistance to survive.
Bruce has had the surgery for hanahaki and they have a conversation that turns into a fight. Bruce is demanding that Dick get the surgery and Dick adamantly refuses.
Bruce has the same problem that everyone who has the surgery has. He can't feel love or any of the connected emotions such as compassion, affection, fondness, or tenderness. He can, however, still feel off shades of happiness or pride, a detached sense of pleased, satisfaction, or contentment. He can feel frightened, angry, and responsible.
He can feel deeply possessive.
Bruce can feel all of his negative emotions just fine but the good ones are so much harder to get to now and they aren't as full and complete. But those few bright and beautiful moments in his life are all connected to his family and he can still vaguely remember what it felt like to love his son.
So, he logics it all out in his head that Dick is emotionally compromised and can't be trusted to make this decision. That he knows better than anyone that after the surgery, Dick will be okay and even thank him for this. Dick doesn't need love like he believes. He can use logic and the code to navigate life like he does.
Bruce sets up the surgery for Dick.
He uses Dick's trust in him to drug him and take him in for it.
The hospital staff doesn't account for a Bat's tolerance, and Dick wakes up while they are still preparing him. Dick absolutely freaks out. He tells them he hasn't consented to the surgery. That he doesn’t want it. The staff already knows. Bruce has already taken care of that. Dick tries begging. He's crying and pleading with them.
"Please, don't do this to me." They just put him under. "You'll destroy me."
Dick goes under but never really comes back up.
He is not okay. Bruce thought Dick could live on cold logic and reason. He thought that Dick followed his code because he believed in it. Bruce believed that he was doing what was best for Dick and that when Dick woke up, he would see that.
Bruce was wrong.
There are a few reasons it is so extremely illegal to force someone into this surgery. One of those reasons is because the state of mind they are in has an enormous impact on how they come out of the surgery. Things like depression, suicide rate, or probability to turn violent are deeply affected by there mental state before their surgery. Patients are supposed to have as much therapy as they can manage beforehand. Then afterwards they need a strong and dedicated support team for the rest of their lives.
Another reason is that because without love or compassion it's nearly impossible to forgive.
Dick wakes up with a screaming void ripped into him. It radiates a cold so severe it burns his soul. Dick is furious. Bruce has betrayed him. Bruce has ruined him. He has literally torn apart his soul and stolen all of Dick's love, extinguishing any hope he had left with it.
Now there isn't anything to stop Dick from pouring his fury and pain out onto Bruce and all of Gotham. If Gotham thought it had seen the worst a Bat could do under the Red Hood's fury. Then it hasn't seen anything yet.
Because Nightwing no longer has any mercy left to give.
The streets of Gotham will run red with his wrath and pain.
Meanwhile, space and time to think is exactly what Jason needed to get his head on straight again. He is doing much better when word of Dicks condition reaches him. When Jason hears that Dick has hanahaki, he rushes home to find Dick.
He's two days too late.
If Bruce would have waited just two more days.
When Jason does find him, Dick is standing in the middle of a warehouse turned bloodbath. They talk, and Dick tells him precisely what happened and about just how broken he feels now. He spares no detail, but neither does he embellish anything.
Jason clutches Dick as tight against himself as he can. Like, if he holds Dick close enough, he can merge his heart with Dick's. As if their broken pieces can heal together and make something whole and new.
"I love you, I have always loved you," Jason breathes the words against Dick's skin like an apology from deep within his soul meant to reach the same depth within Dick's.
"I loved you once," Dick murmurs back. "I meant to love you always."
Jason coughs up his first petals.
Jason's hanahaki is the excruciatingly slow variant. Dick didn't reject him, the exact opposite in fact. However, now, by no choice of his own, Dick is unable to love Jason.
Jason feels crushingly guilty for what happened to Dick. The way he sees it, if he would have just trusted Dick or at least not ran away then this would have never happened to him. It makes Jason cling to Dick all the tighter.
"I don't want to lose you again, please, will you let me stay with you." For a long moment Dick just stares at him. His expression having never been more impossible to read before.
"I don't think I want to be alone," Dick answers after a painfully long silence.
Dick is set hard core on his revenge path against Bruce and this is something that Jason understands in spades. The thing is that Dick is really unstable right now. Just like Bruce, he's unable to feel any kind of love anymore and that includes all the adjacent emotions to it as well. Dick remembers feeling the full range of emotions. He remembers fond affection, passionate love, warm compassion and just being able to care. He remembers what it felt like to love his family and remembering hurts.
So instead, he burns with his anger, betrayal, hate, and pain. It's an icy fury that can't be banked and knows no end.
He's hurting and he doesn't know how to stop anymore. Not when the anger is the only thing keeping him going.
This leaves Jason as the voice of reason and as the one who has to throw the brakes on when things start to go too far. Jason has to help Dick realize when enough is enough. Dick always listens. If Jason is saying, "This is too much," then it has to have gone too far. He doesn't question Jason. He trusts him.
Dick struggles with both raging fury and stretches of deep depression. Sometimes swinging straight from one extreme to the other. Jason tries to help Dick modulate his emotions and mental state. Their relationship is rather unhealthy. Jason clings to Dick, refusing to leave him, and Dick ends up becoming really possessive of Jason.
Jason is with Dick nearly from the very beginning of his new life, and he is his grounding point. Dick knows he's better when he is with Jason, and he feels better around him. Just because Dick can't love that doesn't mean that he can't feel any good emotions. He still feels shades of happiness or excitement. Dick can't love Jason, but that doesn't mean that he can't enjoy him. He still has physical needs, and the way he sees it since he and Jason are supposed to be soulmates, it makes sense to go to him for sex.
He means it as a kindness. He doesn't want to hurt Jason, and Dick understands that him sleeping with other people would hurt Jason. So, if Jason meets his needs and keeps him satisfied, then he will only be with Jason. Even if he sees someone else he wants, in order to keep things good between them, he'll abstain.
He basically hands Jason an ultimatum though he doesn't actually mean to.
It doesn't occur to Dick that sex with him now might be heartbreaking. That, because it will mean more to Jason than simple gratification like it is for Dick. It will be a special kind of torture.
He has no idea why Jason cries in the shower after they're done that first time. He doesn't ask though, Jason had obviously been trying to hide it and Dick isn't sure he actually wants to know.
So with Jason as both his grounding point and the source of most of his positive feelings Dick becomes highly possessive and dependent on him.
"How long are you going to stay with me," Dick asks into the dark, sad and hurt and so very scared.
"My entire life Dickie. I won't leave you until the very end," Jason promises.
They both know that end is coming too soon.
Another problem is that Dick knows he isn't really good for Jason. Even though he really does try there are still times when he is unintentionally cruel. Despite this Dick can't let Jason go.
"I'm going to keep hurting you, and sometimes I won't even care that I am." Dick is going through another bout of depression.
"I know Dickiebird, and I'll let you, I'll forgive you, and I'll stay." Jason does his best to take care of him and reassure him. To help his soulmate claw his way back out of the darkness he has fallen into.
The people of Gotham quickly take notice of Nightwing becoming a merciless killer. The few that still believe in law and justice mourn the fall of a hero. The good but down trodden of Gotham that are starving for protection, relief and change see him the same as they do Red Hood. As what Gotham really needs. As someone that will be the catalyst for a change for the better. The criminals only see death.
A lot of theories get thrown around. The most prevalent is that he just finally snapped. That someone can only face the worst of humanity every day for so long before they can't take it anymore. After all, what change do the Bats see? They just face the same goons and villains every night on repeat.
But there are a few who see and recognize the signs, and they know.
Nightwing, a beloved hero, went down and never got back up.
Jason lasts a couple of years with the slow, torturous progression of his hanahaki. If he got the surgery, he could save his life, but that isn't even a consideration. He doesn't want it, and even more than that, he could never do that to Dick.
Jason had read once that the flowers are a physical manifestation of the shattered pieces of a person's soul after being rejected by their soulmate, like petals falling off a dying flower. He had always thought that it was people romanticizing hanahaki.
He isn't so sure now.
He thinks that someone stripped Dick of all his soft and loving petals and cauterized the wound where he was bleeding out, leaving only a thorny stem that remembers and mourns when it was once a flower.
It's cruel.
But he sees how hard Dick tries. Even now, with no love left in him, Dick still tries so damn hard for the people he remembers once loving. He shows it to most by refusing to see them. By telling them over and over when they hunt him down that the Dick Grayson they knew died on that operating table. That he is just the ghoul left behind to haunt them, seeking vengeance for the sin committed against him.
God, does Jason get it. He understands exactly how Dick feels.
Dick is different with him. He clutches tight to Jason and never lets go. Not even when Dick cuts deep into Jason and leaves him emotionally bleeding. Even then, Jason is grateful. There isn't anywhere else that he wants to be than with Dick.
When Jason's condition gets to the point that he has to be hospitalized, Dick stays with him. He feels a sense of responsibility for him and is grateful to Jason for all he has done for him, and frankly, he wants every last second he has with Jason before he loses him forever. So, he stays with him through long days and sleepless nights. Even when the rest of the family comes to see Jason, Dick doesn't leave.
There isn't much the hospital can do for him. Jason is mostly there for comfort care, but he refuses most of the pain meds. They mess with his head too much and make him sleepy, and he doesn't want to waste any of the time he has with Dick. He has been living with this pain for years now. He knows how to endure it.
It's close to the end, and Jason will have to be fully intubated soon. They have put it off as long as they can. When they intubate him, he will have to go on sedatives until he passes. Dick is lying in bed with Jason cuddled close to him.
Dick sets up and leans over Jason to look him in the eyes. “Let's try again in our next life. This was all wrong, but if we hadn't had our chance stolen, we could have been beautiful together. So promise me that we will try again.”
“I promise, for all our lives, however many that may be.” It's obviously painful and a herculean task, but Jason does it even as it leaves him struggling to catch his breath.
Dick holds his gaze and dredges up every last scrap of memory he has of love. He digs up the warm soft, and tender affection and hot and deep passion. He tries to fill himself with it. He kisses Jason and tries his hardest to give everything he used to feel, all that had always belonged to Jason, back to him in that moment.
“It's okay, Little Wing, let go. I'll be right behind you.”
Jason never sees Dick slip the needle into his IV. After Dick injects the lethal amount of morphine, he simply falls asleep and never wakes.
Dick wouldn't let Jason needlessly suffer through the last few days, and he wouldn't let the hanahaki steal his life. It belonged to him.
After he is certain that Jason is gone, he slips out of the hospital. He makes a single stop by a florist to pick up an order he had placed two days earlier. It is a truly massive bouquet with what a casual observer would consider a bizarre mix of flowers. To Dick, it's perfect and terribly beautiful.
Scabious - unfortunate love
Carolina rose - love is dangerous.
cypress flower - eternal love, memories of past love, or love that's unrequited or in vain.
Orange Blossom - Innocence. Eternal love
Primrose flowers - I can’t live without you
Hyacinths - Please forgive me
Blue hydrangeas - forgiveness, rejection, and regret - gratitude, grace, and beauty.
Sweetpeas - Departure, remember me, good-bye, a tender memory, thank you for a lovely time.
wisteria - devotion that transcends death
marigold - the brevity of life, despaired love, grief, sorrow, despair, and mourning, remembering the dead, power, strength
cyclamen - a new path in life, separation, goodbye or resignation
Love-lies-bleeding - hopeless love or hopelessness
Bleeding Heart - Unconditional love, Heartbreak and sadness, unrequited love
All flowers that Jason had coughed up and choked on over the years. Flowers that Jason had grown just for him.
Flowers for his love.
Dick heads to the top of the highest building overlooking Robinson Park, the place where Haly's Circus performed. He very carefully situates his bouquet by the edge and then climbs up onto it.
“Dick, what do you want?” Bruce asks from behind him.
It might seem like an odd question, but for them, it isn't. They both know what he's doing, and Bruce knows that it's because Jason is gone. What he doesn't understand is what Dick is hoping to achieve by doing this.
Dick looks out over the park where his parents fell to their deaths. Bruce had been there that night. It seems fitting that he will watch the last Flying Grayson fall as well.
“I just want to be with him,” Dick answers without turning to face him. “We'll get it right next time.”
Dick had grown his flowers for Jason when he wasn't there to receive them, and they had been stolen away before he could make it back to Dick, but now Dick falls for Jason just like he has so many times before.
Jason is waiting for him, and they will get it right next time.
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sword-dad-fukuzawa · 9 months
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I want to hear the niche anime recs
Oh I GOT you. Most of these are all short watches, 12/13 eps, and absolutely worth anyone's time--there's also enough genres here that I hope there's something you like.
Do you like thrillers, bright colors, and edge-of-your seat scifi dystopia action? Akudama Drive had me so hooked I watched all 13 episodes, no breaks, and then it broke my heart at the very end as a parting gift. Fuckin incredible pacing.
Want a silly crime show that's an easily digestible buddy cop until ep7 takes you for an absolute ride with a skyrocketing body count and tonal whiplash? I watched Millionaire Detective: Balance Unlimited just for the seiyuus originally but the cast made me soft for them. 12 eps, not very high octane, and very sweet.
Interested in a vampire romance that somehow manages to quietly deconstruct heteronormative, allonormative societal constructs about falling in love on top of sick character designs and a gorgeous atmosphere? Call of the Night is a brilliant 12 episodes that had me absolutely whipped for the chemistry between the two leads.
Do you want something dark that nevertheless doesn't take itself too seriously? Hakata Tonkatsu Ramens is an anime about hitmen who play baseball on their off days, but it's also about found family and the lead is a crossdressing, grumpy assassin who ends up in a funny roommate situation as the premise of the show. Fantastic use of the style where each arc is a case, and the characters are both hilarious and heartfelt. Thanks to @neon-snail-city for the amazing rec.
Okay, picture this: sci-fi crime/psychological thriller, except you don't know if the twist is time travel, seeing the future, or something else entirely. Captured criminals take a deep dive into the minds of serial killers in order to catch them in Id:Invaded and it's such a brilliant overlooked anime that I can't believe it's so under the radar. I've heard it's similar to Psycho Pass but I haven't watched that yet, so I can't confirm.
Hear me out here: Interspecies Reviewers may be an ecchi pushing the boundaries of how much titty they can show on TV, but it has the most nuanced and intelligent exploration of kink, sex, and boundaries that I've ever seen in anime. And it's batshit hilarious, so if you like dirty humor, this one is a fun ride.
I can't make a niche anime rec list without Mars Red, either. Another vampire anime, except this one is a lot heavier. If you're a fan of anime that deals with grief, what it means to be human, and how to survive in a fast-changing world, Mars Red has some heart wrenching stories to tell you. I've talked a lot about it on this acc if you search the Mars Red tag :)
If you're a magical girl fan who enjoyed Magica Madoka and you're looking for something else bonkers to fill the void, check out Princess Tutu. It has some of the rawest writing I've ever seen, and it's about characters deciding if they want to fight fate or follow it in a crushing exploration of the fairytale genre--it's incredibly meta and self-aware as its main gimmick, too.
This one was popular enough to get a second season, but I love Snow White with the Red Hair too much not to put it here. It's a sweet shoujo romance with a fairytale setting and the female lead is one of the most badass, headstrong women I've ever seen. She doesn't take shit lying down and the male lead is head over heels for her, plus the side characters are super endearing.
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Back when I was a kid the Narnia series was my absolute favorite. It was fun, magical, and the Pevensies were my favorite. But something always bothered me.
What drove Peter to spare Miraz in their duel?
Peter challanges him to find time for Lucy, and beats him. He doesn't beat him to death with his fists, but turns his back. Then Miraz attacks him. Peter manages to evade the strike and delivers a critical blow. At this point in the fight, he has every right in the world to finish Miraz off then and there. Any code of honour has been disregarded, Miraz has clearly shown contempt, and the fight was to the death, anyways.
Miraz is on his knees, vulnarable to Peter's mercy. There is no reason he should not execute him. He has probably done it before as High King. He has no moral qualms about killing Miraz, either; it is not as if he holds kings and queens in higher regard, as we can see when he waltzes in to fight Jadis. If you watch Edmund closely, you can see him expecting Peter to kill Miraz. "Not the time for chivalry, Peter!" Furthermore, our High King tells Edmund beforehand that he doubts the Telmarines will keep their word. He was prepared for this betrayal.
So why doesn't he kill him? My suspicion is that he wants to test Caspian.
At this point, Aslan has not shown up yet. The two have a shaky relationship, which is further damaged by the debacle at the castle. They are allies, yes, but Caspian is still a Telmarine. One who has shown once already that to him, revenge is more important than the plan. And Peter has been High King for decades; he is intimately aware of the court politics that led to Caspian being by his side instead of opposing him. There has not yet been a time where we see him fight for the Narnians instead of for himself.
Peter wants to know what kind of man Caspian is.
Will he kill the man who raised him in cold blood? Will he let his need for revenge trump his reason? Or will he keep his cool and understand that Miraz no longer needs killing?
By every means, this is a test: a test to see if they can leave their kingdom to Caspian, if Narnia will be safe in his hands. Is Caspian an honourable man? Does he truly care about Narnia? Or will he be a despot? A Telmarine like all those before him?
Playing into this is also the fact that Peter just won't know how Caspian would react if he just kills Miraz in front of him. Their relationship here is not the best. What's the etiquette for killing your friend's abusive adoptive father? Peter killing Miraz himself might make Caspian mad, and he doesn't want that on the brink of their most important battle.
What further complicates the equation is that Edmund, being the diplomat that he is, has undoubtedly picked up the tensions between Glozelle, Miraz, and the other general. He knows they are plotting something. He has shared this with Peter as well, of course.
He says that "Miraz's life is not his to take", but underneath that is a calculated risk. He knows that there is a high chance they will have to fight the Telmarines. He is ready and prepared for it. He also knows that Miraz will likely not survive the ambition of his generals.
What he doesn't know is if he can trust Caspian at his side, send him to lead his troops.
Caspian passes the test. He does not kill Miraz, overcoming his own hatred against him for the good of Narnia. And never again do we see Peter doubt him. They are close brothers after this fight.
It is a very clever piece of writing, and I love the producers for it. It shows so clearly that no, this isn't a 16 year old boy, this is the High King, an extremely skilled warrior, a brilliant tactician, and a clever diplomat. All of it in one scene.
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I just want to add my two cents for anyone still in that place, as someone who's survived and gotten out and is working on healing and becoming the best version of myself I can for myself and those around me, but especially for myself. I've struggled with suicidal ideation for IDEK how much of my life, definitely at least since my early teens (at least since I was 14; and the ED stuff started around 14/15 and the self-injury by 15), but even longer for abuse/neglect from my family, hell at school, mental illnesses, and chronic pain. I'm turning 32 on 4/24/23 and I'm still shocked that I somehow made it out of my teens alive and I'm still alive now.
And yeah, it's like what now because I wasn't expecting to live anywhere near this long. BUT it IS possible to make it through and there's nothing wrong with figuring it out as you go. You don't have to have it all figured out right now. No one ever has it all figured out and plans rarely go exactly how we think they will for anyone anyways, so it's not like you're behind in life or anything (though that's not even really a thing anyways because we're all different and have different goals and different paths in life). And you can change your goals and your path at any point. You're not bound to those goals or path if you realize they're not right for, for whatever reason; sometimes it's harder for various reasons to make those changes, but it is still possible.
So please do your best to keep fighting, keep moving forward, reach out for support and help as needed and as much as it's accessible to you (there is NO shame in needing and utilizing it, no matter what your brain and/or society/your culture/your religion tell you, though I know with professional support, there are often numerous barriers to accessing it unfortunately) and be as gentle and kind as possible with yourself (I KNOW it's not always easy and often feels impossible and/or like we don't deserve it/just feels plain wrong, I really do get that firsthand, but do your best to try, whatever your best looks like in that moment).
Things can get better, you can make it through, and if it's because you're in a toxic environment (like with your family or at school), you can and will get out of there sooner rather than later. And take it from me, it won't magically fix things or undo what you went through (though I really wish it did), and it can get worse before it gets better (especially if you've been stuck in survival mode for so long; and that's unfortunately part of the process, but that doesn't mean you're broken beyond repair or that things can't or won't get better or that you'd have been better off staying in that situation), but, again, be as gentle and kind to yourself as you can and reach out for support as needed, and keep reminding yourself that things will get better as long as you keep fighting and moving forward; you're worth fighting for, even if you can't believe that just yet.
I know for me, getting out of school and getting away from my abusers has definitely helped; again, I still need to work on healing from it and processing what I've gone through and dealing with other things, but it's so amazing to have the freedom to move around my place freely and to be able to come and go from my place as I want and need to and not have to worry about literally not being allowed back inside. I have my own place, my own space to call my own, and I can just be and not have to be on edge all the time, fearing what's going to happen next (unfortunately my nervous system still hasn't quite gotten that message, but that's from years of trauma/C-PTSD from that trauma and being on edge and is to be expected, but I'm absolutely so much better off away from them than I was when I was still stuck under the same roof as them).
Basically the point of my rambling is to say it can get better, so please hold on and keep fighting and moving forward and do your best (and sometimes your best is gonna be just making it through the day in one piece and there's no shame in that; making it through the day when everything seems to be going wrong and your brain is screaming at you to act on self-destructive urges and engaging in unhealthy coping skills if not just completely give up is a HUGE and AMAZING accomplishment and I hope you can feel even a tiny bit proud of yourself for that; at least in my book, that makes you a badass and shows that you're stronger than you may think/feel you are). You are worth fighting for and worthy of good things and you deserve to stay around and experience more of the good things in life, so please do your best to keep going. I'm sending so much love and strength and courage and hope and hugs and positivity to anyone who needs them (if you're not comfortable with the hugs, that's OK, just take the rest, even if you feel like you don't deserve them). 💕💕💕💕
The only reason I'm sharing the original post as a screenshot is because Tumblr wouldn't let me reblog it for some reason and I tried 2 or 3 times with no luck (and Tumblr is being annoying AF about doing it as an original post even; apparently I had to break it up into more paragraphs because apparently there's a character limit per paragraph, but I've been on Tumblr since like June 2010 and didn't know that and the app wasn't saying that was the issue, I only realized that because I decided to see if I could do it in the browser before trying to delete and reinstall the app, which is basically the only way I use Tumblr, so yeah; hopefully it'll actually work this time 🤞🏻), but I think this is something incredibly important to share and I hope that at least one person who needs to see this does see it and it helps them even a little bit. If you know of someone who needs to see this, send it to them or tag them in it because maybe, just maybe it'll be enough to help them keep fighting even just a little bit longer and let them know that there is hope and things can get better, even if they're not in a place to believe that yet (and no shame if anyone isn't there yet).
Also, feel free to share this on other social media, just credit the original poster and myself. I feel very strongly about getting this message of hope to as many people as possible.
And if anyone has the spoons to do an image description, that'd be greatly appreciated. I just don't right now, unfortunately. But I will reblog that version from you.
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authoruio · 6 months
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“You want justice? Then let's get your justice.”
Technical Information
Full Name: Felicitas Leya
Other names: Feli (general), Feli-yan (Rosemi), Fefe (Keres), Miss Leya, Miss Felicitas (Livius), Lei, Cia (Faysal), Lili (Victoria), Bluebell (Hyacinth), Reine de la Vengeance/Queen of Vengeance, Le juste juge/the fair judge (Rook), Waterfall (Leona), Mandarin fish (Floyd)
Age: 19 Birthday: December 10 (Sagittarius)
Dorm: Heartslabyul Year: 3rd Year
Height: 190cm
Relatives: † Faysal Leya (older brother)
Hometown: City of Flowers
Favorite Food: (Keres) Pies, Puddings, Tea
Least Favorite Food: Bitter Coffee, Bitter Chocolate
Gender: Female (She/her)
Sexuality: Bisexual
Species: Human
Club: Horse-riding club
Best Subject: PE, Biology
Hobby: Crochet, Fencing
Likes: Rain, Cold temperature, cute kinds of stuff
Dislikes: Too much makeup, strong fragrant smells, fire, Rollo
Talent: Fast Reflexes
Personality Felicitas is known as a temperamental woman who can't sit still and will do things in her own way. She has an obsession with justice because of what happened to her in the past. Speak any lies and she will cut you down.
Felicitas is someone who values truth (trust) and justice over anything and will not stop until she gets the vengeance she sees fit. She is regal yet blunt.
Despite being hard-headed on certain topics (I.e. justice) She is actually compassionate and just doesn't know how to show it. Maybe she could, but not in the way you'd think.
Felicitas is not one to forget a favor, earn her respect and she'll mostly look at you with neutrality and positivity. Maybe she'd look at you with high expectations too.
Unique Magic:
Endless Flakes of Blades
“Frosted judgment.”
Magic from Felicitas turns to snowflakes, real enough to feel the cold from them and those snowflakes could turn to icicle blades that could render the target immobile on their feet. Can be used in offense if the user wishes.
–Additional Info!–
Felicitas has been kicked out from Noble Bell Academy for attacking someone and from Royal Sword Academy for not engaging in-class activities but rather causing fights and brawls.
Felicitas has a knack for paper crafts. She often makes paper puppets or cute bookmarks that she gives away to anyone.
She had rules. Not to be friends with anyone with Pomefiore and anyone Azul is close with. Look how it turned out.
She loves drinking tea. Especially with Victoria Shard who talks about the people they dislike, though Felicitas is more of the listener rather than the talker considering Victoria seems heated on talking about Malleus... She doesn't know if Victoria loves Malleus or hates him that much enough to talk about him all the time.
Leona and Felicitas hate each other and Felicitas hates everything that comes out of Leona's mouth. Their dislike for each other may be for petty reasons. Maybe it's because Felicitas is so keen on fairness and Leona has played dirty more than once.
hates a certain someone in NBC Rollo.
she currently is surviving in NRC, which is a surprise considering her lack of interest in certain topics and her explosive temper.
Felicitas hates mice. (She fears them after a prank gone wrong that her brother did to her.)
Secretly though, Felicitas loves sweet and cute stuff. She would explode inside and her heart would do some mental gymnastics. She loves rain so much it's like she's also obsessed with it. (Considering her hair literally looks like tidal waves) And she can and will hiss at fire.
The reason why Felicitas hasn't thrown Riddle out of his position is because of his cuteness. (Her words not mine.)
Felicitas loves pies, specifically Keres' pies.
Felicitas and Rosemi are surprising friends. Felicitas keeps Rosemi around because she knows it's harder to deal with Rosemi as an enemy when she can ruin your image with just a single click.
-
“Oh, how I wished it was easy to burn away a memory.”
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