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little-pondhead · 7 months ago

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Your Ancient History, Written In Wax

Danny knew he should have put better security around the Sarcophagus of Eternal Sleep. It wasn’t even Vlad who opened it this time! The fruitloop was too busy doing his actual mayor duties because for some godforsaken reason, the man got re-elected.

No, it wasn’t Vlad. And it wasn’t Fright Knight, either. Nor the Observants. Who opened the Sarcophagus, then? Danny didn’t have time to find out as Pariah Dark promptly tore open a hole in reality and started hunting Danny down.

The battle was longer this time. He didn’t have the Ecto-Skeleton, as that was the first thing Pariah had destroyed. The halfa had grown a lot over the past few years, and learned some new tricks, but apparently sleeping in a magic ghost box meant that Pariah had absorbed a lot of power. The bigger ghost acted like a one-man army!

Amity Park was caught in the middle of the battle, but the residents made sure it went no further than that. Vlad and the Fentons made a barrier around the town to keep the destruction from leaking. Sam, Tucker, and Dani did crowd control while Danny faced the king head-on.

Their battle shook the Zone and pulled them wildly between the mortal plane and the afterlife. Sometimes, residents noticed a blow from Pariah transported them to the age of the dinosaurs, and Phantom’s Wail brought them to an unknown future. Then they were in a desert. Then a blazing forest. Then underwater. It went on like that, but no one dared step foot outside of Amity. They couldn’t risk being left behind.

It took ages to beat him, but eventually, Danny stood above the old ghost king, encasing his symbols of power in ice so they couldn’t be used again. He refused to claim the title for himself. Tired as he was, Danny handed the objects off to Clockwork for safe keeping and started repairing the damage Pariah had done to the town. The tear he’d made was too big to fix, for now, so no one bothered. They just welcomed their new ghostly neighbors with open arms and worked together to restore Amity Park.

Finally, the day came to bring down the barrier. People were gathered around the giant device the Fentons had built to sustain it. Danny had brought Clockwork to Amity, to double check that they had returned to the right time and dimension.

Clockwork assured everyone that they were in the right spot, and only a small amount of time had passed, so the Fentons gave the signal to drop the shield.

Very quickly did they discover that something was wrong. The air smelled different. The noise of the nearby city, Elmerton, was louder and more chaotic. Something was there that wasn’t before, and it put everyone on edge.

Clockwork smiled, made a remark about the town fitting in better than before, and disappearing before Danny could catch him.

Frantic, Danny had a few of his ghost buds stay behind to protect the town while he investigated.

He flew far and wide, steadily growing horrified at the changes the world had undergone. Heroes, villains, rampant crime and alien invasions. The Earth was unrecognizable. There were people moving around the stars like it was second nature and others raising dead gods like the apocalypse was coming. Magic and ectoplasm was everywhere, rather than following the ley lines like they were supposed to.

Danny returned to Amity.

The fight with Pariah had taken them through space and time. Somewhere along the way, they had changed the course of history so badly that this now felt like an alien world.

How was he supposed to fix this?

In the Watchtower, The Flash was wrapping up monitor duty while Impulse buzzed around him, a little more jittery than usual. The boy was talking a mile a minute, when alarms started blaring an alarming green. Flash had never seen this alarm before, and its crackling whine was grating on his ears.

Flash returned to the monitor, frantically clicking around to find the issue, but nothing was popping up. No major disasters, no invasions, no declarations of war. Nothing! What was causing the alarm?

Impulse swore and zipped to a window, pressing his face against it and staring down at Earth. “Fuck! It’s today isn’t it? I forgot!”

“What’s today?” Flash asked. He shot off a text to Batman, asking if it was an error. The big Bat said it wasn’t, and that he would be there soon.

“The arrival of Amity Park. I learned about this in school; the alarm always gives me headaches.”

Flash turned to his grandson, getting his attention. “Bart,” he stressed. “What are you talking about?”

Impulse barely glanced over his shoulder. Now that Flash was facing him, he could see a strong glow coming from Earth. “The first villain, first anti-villain, and the first hero,” he said anxiously. “They all protect the town of the original metas. They’re all here.”

“Here? Now??”

“Yeah? They weren’t before, but they are now. The first hero said there was time stuff involved, which was what inspired me to start practicing time travel in the first place.”

“I’m not following.”

“It’s okay. We should probably go welcome them before they tear apart Illinois, though. The history I remember says that some of them freaked and destroyed a chunk of the Midwest during a fight with each other.”

“WHAT?”

#dpxdc #pondhead blurbs #liminal amity park #I’ve seen stuff like this in the mhaxdp fandom and I eat it up every time #basically the fight with Pariah caused the town to jump through time a little #and while they THOUGHT they were keeping everything in #shit leaked out and tainted those points in time #so technically #historically and genetically speaking #Amity Park is the origin point for the meta gene and Danny made history as the first hero #because Clockwork is a little shit #everyone embodies a basic ability and it has grown from there #the flash family are direct descendants of Dani (speed force Dani for the win)#Dash is the reason super strength exists #so on and so forth #go buck wild #bart learned about it briefly in history class in the 30th century #practically hero worships them #booster gold knows about them too but in contrast to Bart’s excitement #booster is fucking terrified because there was a period where Amity Park rebelled against the US government #and he’s from that specific time #he learned to fear phantom because he lived during that part while Bart is from farther in the future when those issues got resolved #guess who’s chosen to welcome the town? >:)#if you’re wondering what happened to the GIW #they turned into the branch Amanda Waller runs #Danny is the first hero #Vlad the first villain #and Dani the first anti hero #there’s an arc where Danny is trying to fix things but clockwork won’t let him into the timestream and all the heroes are horrified #because yeah Danny is the OG but if he goes back in time to fix his ‘mistake’ what will happen to them?

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reconstructwriter · 1 year ago

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Star Wars Fix-it: The Holonet Edition

The well-bribed algorithms of the Holonet should have relegated Tookruta1387’s clip to the tender hearts of a few friends. The days of spontaneous viral posts – without credits to grease the wheels – died not long after the rise of megacorps in the Republic. But the poster was either lucky or savvy enough to play the algorithms because “Jedi Being Cold” exploded. Screens, conversation, even news. And their post was just the start of a trend…

“Jedi Being Cold”: An old transport ship, frost coating the inside of its windows. A corner swathed in a nest of robes. Within three padawans snuggle together, fast asleep. If they were cats they’d be purring. One is purring despite a lack of feline attributes. A hand nudges them with a datastick, only for it to float away to a cloud of similar items.

“Jedi Being Cold” part 2: A snow-covered lake. One knight finishes sculpting a realistic snow tiger. Two others Force push each other like hocky pucks across the ice. One goes flying towards the statue. An expression of ‘oh crap’. Incredible, Force- assisted acrobatics deftly avoids the sculpture but crashes right into the sculptor in a tangle of limbs, sending them skidding into a snow-bank. The third Jedi pokes their head into the many-limbed hole and gets snowballed for the trouble.

“Jedi Stealing Children”: A child at a slave auction. A robed figure swoops in like a hawk, slicing through chains with their lightsaber and ripping apart cages with the Force. The camera pans to one slaver Force shoved into a cage, clearly furious as the Jedi escapes with a whole crowd of people, many children.

“Jedi Stealing Children” becomes the title for 1287 pictures, clips and gifs before someone adjusts the algorithm. This makes them surprisingly hot commodities on the Dark Holo, especially the one with a Nautolan Master dramatically fleeing the capture attempts of a horde of children – ending in one dramatic arm reaching out as kids bury him

“Jedi As Warmongers”: A young Padawan, blood splattered, has a ‘does it get better’ look on their trembling face as they stare up at their Master. The Master is even grimier and gorier as they gather their Padawan up with an ‘I’m sorry but no’. The Padawan weeps and shakes, burying their face in their Master’s robes, who has silent tears down their face. In the background is a war zone.

“Jedi as Warmongers: part 2” Has war holomovie music playing in the background as the snap-thumm of a lightsaber echoes, vivid blue piercing the dark. The blade raises over something, is brought down…over a block of cheese and loaf of bread. The Jedi padawan gleefully declares: “Grilled Cheese for all!” The sound of sprinting footsteps is heard and a dramatic “Noooo,” from a Jedi Knight.

“Jedi as Warmongers: part 3”: The music has switched to aftermath of war horror, the kitchen looks like a cheese atomic bomb hit. The children are cleaning up and one wipes cheese with bread and pops it in their mouth: “grilled cheese for all!” An adult admonishes “You spit that out right now that’s not sanitary.” In the background the Jedi Knight is doing the same thing.

“Jedi Showing Off” Is Yoda’s contribution to this mess – which is just him going through an entire stack of photo-albums on his previous padawans. He opens the last book to Dooku the Padawan when Dooku the Master barges in: “Stop this indignity immediately!” The camera shows an intense close-up of someone’s palm. “Who even taught you how to operate holo-video? –” feed cuts off.

“Jedi Dignity”: Feed resumes from a different perspective as Master Dooku – previous camera still in hand – gives Yoda and several other watching Jedi a lecture on appropriate Holonet-posting behavior. “Not appropriate baby photos are?” Yoda asks, a card-shark’s spread of pictures with Dooku’s baby face. Dooku yanks them out of Yoda’s hands. “Not without m-the person’s permission!” Does a double-take. “Are you filming –?” Horrified glower. “Mace you traitor!” Video abruptly cuts off. Permanently this time.

Not even algorithm adjustments – and there are clearly several – can stop that from becoming viral. “Mace you traitor!” becomes slang for the latest generation. Mace himself rolls with it. Dooku attempts to entomb himself in the archives until this all blows over.

Actions may speak louder than words but memes speak loudest of all.

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dalishious · 2 years ago

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Catching up with Thedas

We’re getting another time-skip between Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Here’s a summary of things that have happened in the supplementary material leading up to this. Obviously, major spoiler warning for everything discussed here.

If this summary intrigues you, I would definitely suggest checking out the full stories for yourself. They’re all great—especially the comics. The characters in the comics are so good and that’s not something you get to appreciate just in summaries.

Major takeaways:

The Venatori are still active, especially in Tevinter, where a woman named Aelia (who is now imprisoned by the templars) took over after Corypheus was defeated and attempted to raise a powerful demon buried under Minrathous. The demon is still resting there, and the remains of the Venatori are still about. Although, the Antivan Crows have been hired to assassinate Venatori agents, and are picking them off one by one

The Qunari are invading the north again, and the following cities have been taken over: Ventus (Tevinter), Carastes (Tevinter), Neromenian (Tevinter), and Treviso (Antiva). They plan to move further into Rivain. However, the Antaam are on thin ice with the rest of the Qun, having acted against orders in the city of Ventus – suggesting there may be fracturing of leadership. This is further implied through the Ben-Hassrath declaring neutrality on the war with Tevinter. At the same time, the Qunari are also searching elven ruins trying to gather information about the Dread Wolf

There is a group of elves known as the Agents of Fen’Harel infiltrated all over Thedas and stirring up shit, including fanning the flames of war between Tevinter and the Qunari

The red lyrium idol has been everywhere, man… It was taken out of Meredith’s statue by the Carta, somehow wound up Tevinter, possessed by House Qintara, where it was traded it for information to House Danarius, where it was then stolen by Cedric Marquette, who gave it to Tractus Danarius, who brought it to Nevarra hoping Mortalitasi would help unlock it, where it was then taken back to Tevinter, only to somehow end up in Solas’s hands

Speaking of red lyrium, guess who is also still active? The red templars. And they are serving none other than an awakened but still crystalized Meredith Stannard in Kirkwall, who is known as “The Crimson Knight” by her followers

All Grey Wardens have been summoned to Weisshaupt for reasons unknown

The Grey Wardens have uncovered the remains of a dwarven thaig called Hormok, where beneath it they found elven ruins with signs it was a place of worship for Ghilan’nain. In these elven ruins, they find a magic pool that turns creatures into spliced-up monsters with parts of different beings melded together. While the wardens destroy this place, there are still eleven others out there somewhere

The Arlathan Forest has come alive with magic, changing place and time within it

Solas is in possession of an elven artifact called “the crucious stone”, with unknown powers

Dragon Age: Knight Errant (9:44)

Vaea is an elven squire to wandering knight Ser Aaron Hawthorne. She is recruited by Charter to rescue Tessa Forsythia and Marius (from the Magekiller comics) from where they were caught on their mission. They were sent by the Inquisition to infiltrate Starkhaven’s palace and steal a book with research on red lyrium in Sebastian Vael’s possession. Vaea successfully rescues them and then steals the book herself, but not without a fight with Cedric Marquette, an Orlesian scholar who is also after the book on behalf of the lingering Venatori. It’s found out from the book that the Venatori may already be in possession of red lyrium, and Vaea offers to go to Tevinter to investigate. Aaron agrees to join her, aware and supportive of her work for the Inquisition.

Dragon Age: Deception (9:44)

Olivia Pryde is a con artist working in Ventus, Tevinter. The city is under high tension because of an imminent Qunari invasion. She pretends to be a Magister investigating Calix Qintara, the son of a reclusive fellow Magister, until it’s discovered that Calix is also a con artist. They try to outdo one another in a con contest against sister and brother, Francesca and Florian Invidus, but both are revealed as liars. In their fleeing, they run into Ser Aaron Hawthorne, who coaxes them into helping with his and Vaea’s mission. Vaea’s goal is to steal the red lyrium that was taken from Kirkwall supposedly held in the Qintara estate. Also ending up as part of their plan is a deal with two Antivan Crows, (later revealed in Tevinter Nights to be Teia Cantori and Viago De Riva). While the Crows create a distraction—though one that ends up with the death of Florian—Olivia and Calix con their way into getting floor plans of the Qintara estate, which Vaea uses to successfully break in. Unfortunately for everyone, Francesca pushes her way through and demands to speak to Magister Qintara to reveal Calix has been posing as his son, only to find out that Magister Qintara has been dead for years, and his former elven slave Gaius has been posing as him in order to collect valuable information to pass on to the Agents of Fen’Harel. Vaea discovers that the vault that was supposed to contain the red lyrium is empty, having already been sold to House Danarius. At the exact same time, the Qunari attack the city of Ventus, throwing their mission into a very time sensitive window to escape. Olivia sacrifices herself in order for Vaea, Aaron, Calix, and Francesca to flee the city.

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith (9:45)

Outside Carastes, which has been overrun by Qunari, Cedric Marquette flees from a chasing squad of them with a strange sarcophagus-like device in his possession that he is taking to Magister Nenealeus, who trains slaves into perrepatae; mage-killers. (He was the Magister who trained Marius.) Also chasing after Cedric is Vaea and her crew, hoping he will lead them to Castellum Tenebris, home of House Danarius, where they want to recover the red lyrium. Francesca leaves the group, and Vaea decides to chase after her to convince her to stay with them. Francesca is told by a family friend that her father was taken by the mysterious Blue Wraith (AKA Fenris). She decides to pursue Fenris and rescue her father in an attempt to prove her worth to him, with Vaea tagging along. They find Fenris, but it turns out he did not in fact take Francesca’s father, but rather her father is working with Magister Nenealeus. Inside the Nenealeus’s estate, they discover it has been overrun by Qunari, and overhear an enslaved elf tell the Qunari that the Magisters plan on using an elven sarcophagus artifact to infuse an elven perrepatae with lyrium. Fenris flips out and attacks, recognizing that they have restored the means of which he was experimented on. Meanwhile, Aaron and co. track Cedric down to his meeting with Nenealeus, and the Magister, realizing they are being watched, uses the sarcophagus on a human slave. The slave goes crazy and attacks Aaron’s party, before exploding. With Aaron’s party as well as the Qunari in pursuit of Nenealeus, Cedric, and Francesca’s father, they launch several more human explosives to escape, but Francesca “rescues” her father. He is furious at her for this, and attacks, forcing Francesca to kill him. Calix realizes he’s not cut out for such death and destruction, and departs from the group. Fenris joins them, and together Vaea, Aaron, Francesca, Tessa, Marius, and Fenris head for Castellum Tenebris.

Dragon Age: Dark Fortress (9:45)

Tractus Danarius, bastard son of Magister Danarius, welcomes Nenealeus and Cedric to Castellum Tenebris, which sits on the outskirts of Neromenian. Nenealeus reveals his plan to infuse the elven perrepatae, Shirallas, with red lyrium, believing he will be so powerful as to drive out the Qunari and then expand Tevinter’s control of Thedas back to the glory days of the empire. Vaea and Fenris capture and interrogate Tractus while the others act as lookout, and gather the information needed. Fenris wants to kill Tractus, but Vaea convinces him not to, as they need to get out of Neromenian ASAP since the Qunari picked the perfect time to invade. The Qunari find Tractus still tied up and he tells them about the ritual as well, so they prepare to go to Castellum Tenebris too. Vaea manages to sneak into the castle and then lets in the others through a secret passage. At the end of the tunnel they find a chained up high dragon. Vaea and Fenris attempt to flee the dragon while Aaron, Francesca, Tessa and Marius fight off the Venatori, while the Qunari attempt to break in through the front gate. While all this is going on, Nenealeus completes the ritual on Shirallas, infusing him with red lyrium. Fenris makes a deal with the Qunari to join forces against the Venatori. Marius and Vaea are able to take out Nenealeus, and Fenris and Aaron are able to defeat Shirallas, with the help of Cedric who switches sides at the last minute and reveals his weakness. This comes at the cost of Aaron’s life, though. Tractus gets away, and forces Cedric to hand over the red lyrium idol he stole. Solas watches this from an eluvian.

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights (post-9:44, exact times unknown)

[RELATED POST – Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights Review]

(For more information on Tevinter Nights, I recommend checking out my review linked above.)

Three Trees to Midnight

After the Qunari took over the city of Ventus, they sent the healthy men into work camps on the outskirts of the Arlathan Forest, put to work cutting down trees. Myrion is one such worker, but is secretly a mage. He is chained up to an elf named Strife and immediately calls him a “filthy knife-ear” three times in the same paragraph, insulted to be paired with him. (He continues to do so the entire story, by the way.) They get in trouble for fighting. Strife is revealed to be an undercover Dalish, (though originally from Starkhaven). He was sent to rescue another Dalish elf named Thantiel who uncovered the Qunari invasion plans, though Thantiel was poisoned with an overdose of qamek, irreversibly turning him into a mindless labourer as well. Strife uncovers the plans and he and Myrion escape into the Arlathan Forest, after Myrion uses his magic to help them get away. In the forest they meet up with Irelin, a shapeshifting member of Strife’s clan, who takes off to spread word to other Dalish Clans of the Qunari plans to move into Rivain. The Qunari are also tracking the two escapees, and when the lead Qunari catches up to them, they take him out with the power of teamwork. When the rest of the Qunari catch up, the Huntsmaster reveals himself to actually be Saarbrak of the Ben-Hassrath, sent to investigate the Antaam working against the Qun’s orders in Ventus. Saarbrak kills the lead Qunari and lets the escaped prisoners go. They free themselves from the chains tying them together, and Strife leaves with Irelin, who came back for him.

Down Among the Dead Men

Audric Felhausen, a new member of the Funeral Guard, is recruited by the Mortalitasi’s Mourn Watch, (an elite fraternity among the Mortalitasi that act as guardians of the Grand Necropolis,) to track down and find the pre-maturely possessed corpse of nobleman Penrick Karn in the Grand Necropolis. Karn is after Duke Janus Van Markham, who also died in the mutually-fatal duel Karn perished from. Audric and Mourn Watcher Myrna head into the tombs after Karn. In their exploration, Audric comes to realize that the human Audric was killed at Karn’s funeral, and is actually a spirit possessing Audric’s body. Myrna hoped that taking Audric with her would help settle him into peace. In the end, Audric challenges Karn to a duel, but when Karn breaks the rules of the duel, Myrna rids the body of the spirit of Pride within it. Back in the Mourn Watch headquarters, Audric is offered a position in their library.

The Horror of Hormak

I actually already wrote out a long summary of this story here: [LINK]

Callback

(I’ll be honest: I only skimmed this one. It’s boring as fuck and I told myself I’d never read it again the first time I slogged through it, but here we are… So if I missed something actually important, my apologies. But I doubt it.)

Sutherland and Company, as well as a bunch of other NPCs from Skyhold, return to the Skyhold fortress to investigate why the remaining caretakers have gone silent. They end up fighting a demon of Regret, formed out of the plaster of Solas’s murals. They send the spirit back to the Fade, and leave Skyhold abandoned.

Luck in the Gardens

This story is told in the form of “Hollix” (an alias), the Lord of Fortune protagonist who is a master of disguise, recounting it at a tavern in Dairsmuid. Hollix tells a story about how they were hired by Dorian Pavus and Maevaris Tilani to hunt down a monster that was terrorizing Minrathous, called the Cekorax. The monster was first encountered by the Venatori, who were searching for an old cave under the city. It steals the heads of its victims and makes them part of it. They are able to destroy the Cekorax with the help of Dorian and a little girl named Mizzy.

Hunger

On their way to Weisshaupt, the dwarven woman Evka Ivo from Orzammar and elven man Antoine from Orlais, both Grey Wardens, stop in a small Anderfells village called Eichweill. They come to find out that people are disappearing in the village. The two come to uncover that it is werewolves responsible for the disappearances. The son of a noble named Renke starved in the woods and attracted a hunger demon, turning him into the first werewolf. Evka and Antoine hunt Renke down and fight him, and Antoine ends up getting bitten himself. However, they set a successful trap back at the village and kill Renke, believing Antoine and the others affected are now safe from the curse with its source defeated, and the demon banished.

Murder by Death Mages

Lord Henrik, a Mortalitasi, tips off the Inquisition that there is a plot to assassinate a noble in Nevarra. Sidony (from Dragon Age Inquisition’s multiplayer) is sent by the Inquisition to stop this, as she was raised by Henrik. She goes to meet Antonia, another Mortalitasi mage and friend of Henrik, who invites Sidony to attend a party hosted by a noble named Nicolas Reinhardt, where she will be able to meet with a man named Cyrros. Cyrros is an elf who has everyone in debt to him by knowing the secrets of every noble in the city, and Antonia suggests he will be able to help Sidony discover the assassin. Sidony recruits Cyrros as a partner in her investigation, after he says he believes it’s a Mortalitasi responsible. They find Reinhardt’s dead wife, and Cyrros attacks Sidony. She wakes up and overhears Nicolas Reinhardt reveal that he hired Cyrros to assassinate his political rivals and blame it on the Mortalitasi, but now thinks Cyrros killed his wife, which Cyrros denies. Sidony raises the corpse of Reinhardt’s wife and commands it to attack them both, killing Reinhardt and Cyrros. Sidony believes everything to be over, and goes to Henrik’s funeral, where she meets Antonia again. Antonia spills that she was the one who killed Henrick and Reinhardt’s wife, and traps Sidony in the tomb. Sidony somehow escapes though and goes after Antonia, planning to kill her.

The Streets of Minrathous

Neve Gallus is a private investigator hired by Otho Calla to uncover if Quentin Calla (his nephew) has fallen back in with the remains of the Venatori. Neve follows Quentin and witnesses his fatal stabbing by a figure in a bronze mask. The next day, Neve is told by Knight-Templar Rana Savas that another suspected Venatori was murdered the same night, named Lady Varantus. Neve is invited into the Templar investigation, up until the Varantus family request it closed to avoid bad press. Neve then meets a mysterious man who tells her the murderer, named Aelia, is after a set of clay discs held by Venatori agents, and gives her one of these discs. Aelia ends up attacking Neve for the disc—or rather, the “seal” as she calls it, and leaves Neve for dead. Neve saves herself though, and meets the mysterious man again, who is really a man named Flavian Bataris. Flavian reveals that there is an extremely powerful demon sealed beneath the city of Minrathous, and Corypheus planned on releasing it to destroy the city and build the centre of his new empire over it. The plan fell to the wayside when Corypheus was defeated, up until Aelia took over the remains of the cult, and now plans on summoning the demon herself. Neve informs Knight-Templar Savas of this plan, but storms out in frustration over the Order’s lack of willingness to do anything about it. Neve then heads into the Catacombs where Flavian told her the ritual would be held, and tries to stop it. At first she is unsuccessful on her own, but then three templars, including Savas, show up to back her up. They defeat the Venatori and arrest Aelia.

The Wigmaker Job

In Vyrantium, Ambrose Forfex, a successful wigmaker, is told by Crispin Kavlo and Felicia Erimond that he should cancel his wig show because The Antivan Crows have been assassinating Venatori agents. Ambrose decides to put on the show anyway. Sure enough, Lucanis Dellamorte and his cousin Illario Dellamorte prepare to infiltrate the party. There is a bit of tension between them, because Illario wants to become the next head of the House after their grandmother Caterina steps down, but people talk about how Lucanis should take that position, despite him having no desire to do so. They are interrupted by someone poorly trying to listen in on their conversation, and kill the eavesdropper. In his pocket, they find a letter sighed ‘A’, believing him to be sent by Ambrose. After sneaking into the party in the courtyard, Illario distracts a guard with his charm in order for Lucanis to get the keys to the place. They regroup after Lucanis kills the other guards inside. They find an enslaved elf girl, but Lucanis refuses to kill her, and she is all too happy that they are there to kill Ambrose, so they let her go. In Ambrose’s work room, they uncover the secret to his perfect wigs: He feeds his slaves red lyrium to create red-lyrium infused hair. Lucanis destroys the elven artifact Ambrose keeps in his workshop to prevent the veil from tearing, and while the party is erupted with demons. Illario leads the slaves of the estate that are able to escape to safety and freedom, while Lucanis confronts Ambrose. Ambrose shovels his magic wig hair into his mouth and becomes an abomination, but Lucanis still successfully kills him. The following day, Crispin and Felicia visit Magister Zara Renata and inform her that Ambrose is dead. Crispin says Zara will likely soon be a target herself, to which she responds that she has plans to take down Lucanis.

Genitivi Dies in the End

This story is impossible to make a summary of, because it’s told in the form of Philliam writing down what happened but full of fabrication, making it unclear what is real and what is fake. So nothing really matters. The only known fact is Rasaan, (a Qunari tamassran introduced in the Those Who Speak comics,) is leading a search for elven ruins trying to find information on the Dread Wolf. That’s really all that matters, I promise.

Herold Had the Plan

Dwarf Bharv and elf Elim, two Lords of Fortune, were after an amulet held at the Grand Tourney. Their friend Herold already died, and now they are on the run from Starkhaven guardsmen, along with their hired help, Panzstott. It turns out Panzstott is the real reason they guards are after them, as he stole the precious Celebrant sword, supposed to be given to the winner of the Tourney. He is working for a woman named Lady Lucie, who promises that she will help Panzstott find his sister, who left to become a Grey Warden and has never been heard of since. Lucie believes the Celebrant belongs to her, because her dead husband was the last Champion. A fight between everyone and the guards ensues, where Elim and Bharv are mortally wounded—however, it turns out the amulet has magic healing powers, and saves Bharv’s life. He heads to the pre-arranged meeting spot and gives the amulet to Vaea (from the Knight Errant-onward comics.)

An Old Crow's Old Tricks

After a group of Tevinter soldiers led by Magister Bicklius attack the Dalish clan Oranavra, the remaining clan members reach out to make a contract with the Antivan Crows to kill the soldiers. Lessef, an elderly Crow but still deadly, fulfills the contract, killing the soldiers one by one. In the end, she stands off with Bicklius, and in addition to killing him, steals back a precious halla statue he stole from the clan. Lessef then runs to her getaway boat yelling in Qunlat so that the soldiers she let chase her believe the attack was from the Qunari. Her partner Tainsley sails them away, happy that his uncle’s clan will get their halla statue back.

Eight Little Talons 🖤

All Eight Talons (the leaders of the most powerful Crow branches) are called to a meeting at the Verdant Isle of Lago di Novo by First Talon Caterina Dellamorte, to discuss the impending Qunari invasion of Antiva. Fifth Talon Viago De Riva is the last to arrive, where he meets Seventh Talon Andarateia “Teia” Cantori, (both of whom were first introduced in the Deception comics.) At their first meal together, the group argue while Third Talon Lera Valisti is notably absent. Viago and Teia are sent to investigate where Lera is, and find her dead, with her body displayed mimicking an infamous Crow murder of the past. The finger-pointing starts immediately and Caterina puts Verdant Isle on lockdown, forbidding anyone from leaving. This especially pisses off Sixth Talon Bolivar Nero. The next morning, they find all the servants have been murdered. Eighth Talon Giuli Arainai was also murdered the same night. Both again, in the style of famous Crow events. Caterina orders Viago and Second Talon Dante Balazar confined to their quarters, as they are the number one suspects. Teia ignores the rule about no visitors and breaks into Viago’s room anyway, where the two come up with a plan to coax the truth out of Dante, with a mixture of Teia’s natural silver tongue and a truth poison of Viago’s making. They are able to confirm Dante is not the killer. That evening, Teia and Fourth Talon Emil Kortez find Dante dead, while at the same time, Viago is attacked by a poisonous snake hidden in his clothing. Before he perishes, Teia returns to his room and finds anti-venom among Viago’s many alchemical vials. They figure out the killer is Emil, and upon confronting him, Catrina takes him out with her cane. Before Emil dies, he reveals he was contacted by the Qunari, and made an agreement with them that if he could destroy the Crows, they would invade peacefully and Antivans could keep their way of life, without submitting to the Qun. The remaining Crows then all stab Emil to death. With the killer dealt with, Catrina, Viago and Teia all make a plan, and send written orders to the head of each House, (the heirs, in the case of those now dead.)

Half up Front

Vadis, runaway daughter of a Magister, and Irian Cestes, former elven servant, are thieves for hire working in Minrathous. They are hired by a mysterious elven woman to steal back an artifact known as Dumat's Folly, which is said to be a piece of the Black City, from the Archon’s palace. They discover that the artefact has been stolen by the Qunari, and are able to track the thieves to Kont-aar in Rivain using blood magic. The two travel to Kont-aar and sneak onto a dreadnaught holding a ton of magic objects the Qunari are studying. But the whole thing turns out to be a set-up by the mysterious elf. She reveals several things in her villainous gloating: That she works for the Dread Wolf, that she has possession of the real Dumat’s Folly, and that the “Dumat’s Folly” that Vadis found on the dreadnaught is actually a magic bomb soon to explode. Her goal is to implicate a Tevinter mage in the destruction of Kont-aar. Vadis and Irian overpower the elf, but the elf bites down on a poison pill hidden in her mouth and dies. Vadis blows the dreadnaught out to sea using wind magic, and she and Irian escape on a lifeboat just in time to avoid the giant explosion. Back on shore, they are interrogated by Ben-Hassrath agent Gatt (from Dragon Age Inquisition), who shares that they were tricked into stealing the artifact in the first place by an Agent of Fen’Harel among their ranks. Gatt says that the Ben-Hassrath will remain officially neutral on the invasion. Gatt suggests they go to Kirkwall, but Vadis and Irian decide to go to Val Royeaux for a vacation instead.

The Dread Wolf Take You

Charter (from Dragon Age Inquisition) attends a meeting with some of the best spies across Thedas at a place called the Teahouse in Hunter Fell, Nevarra. At the table is a dwarf from the Carta, an Orlesian bard, a Mortalitasi mage, and a mysterious Executor from across the sea. She says she invited someone from Tevinter and the Ben-Hassrath, but they both declined. First, the dwarf tells a tale about how he and his crew used a special solvent that softens lyrium, allowing them to extract the red lyrium idol from Meredith’s statue in Kirkwall. At the meeting location a man from House Qintara (from the Deception comics) shows up and takes the idol. Also at the meeting were former templars looking for the solvent that softens red lyrium, but they were all killed in their sleep by the Dread Wolf. The Mortalitasi speaks next, about how a man from House Danarius, (that being Tractus from the Dark Fortress comics), brought the idol to her group of mages, asking for help unlocking it. They do so in a ritual, but it draws the attention of the Dread Wolf, who is angered by them using his idol to “vandalize the sea of dreams”. One of the Mortalitasi mages fled with the idol leaving the rest to die, but the speaker managed to escape with her life. Finally the Orlesian bard speaks of how the idol wound up in auction house in Llomerryn, where the Dread Wolf himself took possession of it. By this time though, Charter has come to realize that the Orlesian Bard is actually Solas in disguise, and asks for her life. Solas kills the other attendees, but spares Charter. She tells him he doesn’t have to do this, but Solas insists he does, before leaving.

Dragon Age: Absolution (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Elven rogue Miriam and Orlesian human warrior Roland, a couple of mercenaries, are recruited by Fairbanks (DA:I) to join his group, who are tasked by the remains of the Inquisition to steal a magic artifact known as the Circulum Infinitus from the Summer Palace of Nessum in Tevinter. The group also consists of the dwarf warrior Lacklon, the tal-vashoth mage Qwydion, and lastly human mage Hira, who Miriam has a romantic history with. Miriam and her deceased twin brother Neb were formerly enslaved by the man now studying the Circulum, Rezaren Ammosine. She is reluctant to return to Nessum, but Hira convinces her to help. Their heist does not go as planned however, and Hira is captured while Miriam is gravely wounded, but the others scoop her up and flee. Rezaren uses blood magic to contact Miriam in her dreams and tries to convince her to return to him so they can be like his idea of a family, but she refuses. It’s also revealed through flashbacks that Miriam was forced to kill Neb when Rezaren’s mother put a demon inside him to prevent Rezaren from failing his Harrowing, except Rezaren used blood magic to bind a spirit to his body that he now controls. Rezaren’s hope is to use the Circulum to bring Neb back to life for real. Miriam and the rest of the gang stage a rescue mission for Hira, but when they regroup back at their base, it’s revealed that Hira was planning on betraying them to “The Crimson Knight”. Rezaren chases after them, and manages to begin the blood ritual to try and bring Neb back. Neb’s spirit destroys his body rather than return though, and Miriam is able to kill Rezaren. She then asks Hira to choose their relationship over her quest to destroy the Tevinter Imperium, which Hira refuses, and flees with the Circulum, intending to bring it to none other than an alive once more Meredith Stannard from DA:2. Meredith is leading what remains of the red templars. Miriam and her friends vow to chase after Hira and stop her.

Dragon Age: The Missing (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Varric Tethras and Lace Harding are tasked by Charter to try and track down Solas, all the while stalked by a mysterious figure in Venatori Assassin clothes. Their adventure first takes them to the Deep Roads under Marnas Pell in Tevinter, where they encounter two Grey Wardens, Evka Ivo and Antoine (from the Tevinter Nights story, Hunger). They find an abandoned hideout with an invitation to the home of Lady Crysanthus in Vyrantium, where they investigate next. When they arrive in Vyrantium though, they find it under siege by the Qunari. This doesn’t stop them from breaking into Lady Crysanthus’s estate though, where they meet the Antivan Crows Viago De Riva and Teia Cantori (from the Tevinter Nights story, Eight Little Talons). Viago and Teia were there to kill Lady Crysanthus, but Solas beat them to it by turning her to stone. They discover evidence that Crysanthus was working for the Venatori, who are after an elven artifact called “the crucious stone” located in the Arlathan Forest. Viago and Teia share that the Crows are working against the Venatori, before they all part ways. In the Arlathan Forest, Varric and Harding encounter a group of “Veil Jumpers”, led by Strife (from the Tevinter Nights story, Three Trees to Midnight). The Arlathan Forest has turned into a place of chaotic magic, where space and time mix and mingle in strange ways. The Veil Jumpers help Varric and Harding get to the temple where the crucious stone is said to be located. Within the temple though, they only find a note left by Solas asking them to stop interfering with his plans – Solas now has the stone. Varric and Harding next travel with Minrathous to meet private investigator, Neve Gallus (from the Tevinter Nights story, The Streets of Minrathous). Neve says that Solas has been busy in Minrathous, attacking Venatori, stealing their artifacts, and freeing their elven slaves, who in turn are rising up in his name. Neve shares that there is a group called the Shadow Dragons that helps those who have escaped slavery as a lead about the elven rebels. They find an elf that Solas freed, who shares that there’s a meeting of escaped slaves planned that night at the docks, but Varric and Harding piece together that the Venatori know about the meeting and will attack. They decide to give up chasing Solas in order to help the elves. Varric realizes that there’s no way they will catch Solas at this point, because he knows them too well – so he says they need new help.

Short Stories

Minrathous Shadows (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

A templar named Tarquin plays a card game with a magister, and confronts her on being a Venatori cultist. It’s revealed that Tarquin and the deal are part of a group called “the Viper”?

Ruins of Reality (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Strife and Irelin (from Tevinter Nights) are lost in the Arlathan Forest, as the forest has come alive with magic, changing and shifting to the point where Strife’s map is no longer reliable, nor is the passage of time. Strife carries an ancestral journal from the Morlyn that began rewriting itself. They find copies of themselves—Irelin says either a mirage or an echo—running around. Irelin turns into a bird to snatch a crystal halla figurine off a statue they find, and the spell ends for a time.

The Wake (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Viago de Riva, Illario Dellamorte, and Teia Cantori (from Tevinter Nights) all attend an Antivan Crow funeral, implied to be Lucanis’s from Illario’s drunken story-telling about the two as children and him saying “I was always right behind him, you know? Now there’s nobody for me to follow.”

Won't Know When (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Evka Ivo and Antoine (from Tevinter Nights) fight off a darkspawn horde so a group of miners can escape. They ponder the dangerous nature of being Grey Wardens, before Antoine asks Evka to marry him, and Evka says yes.

As We Fly (post-9:44, exact time unknown)

Neri de Acutis and his sister Noa are old Antivan Crows fighting the Qunari occupation of Treviso.

-----

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#dragon age #da lore #meta

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thewriterg · 1 year ago

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𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭

pairing(s); luke danes x fem!reader

summary; to prevent you from loosing a leg Luke helps you with your Halloween decorations to save your limbs and his nerves —flufftober day; 10—

word count; 580+

warning(s); reader giving Luke grays, fluff, pet names, and language

playlist; baby I’m yours by cass elliot

A/n:—GIFs; @slayerbuffy & @clwnstim— can’t say I’m too sad to see flufftober go because I suck at fluff

“What the hell” Luke muttered rolling into your driveway with the turn of his steering wheel the tail of his truck following behind him as he squinted at the sight of you on the top of your roof artificial spider webs hanging from the pillars of your porch small plastic spiders peaking through the white web

The brunette didn’t rush out of the car until he began to watch your unsafe attempt of getting down from the top of your home aka with out a latter

“Hey! You’re killing me smalls!” You smiled down at him having got back to the surface of the roof of your home at the sound of his scolding voice that held no room for argument

“If i was waiting for my knight in shining armor to come rescue me then i declared i am no damsel in distress i shall save myself” You mocked in a posh gilded voice while Luke rolled his eyes in in response seeming over your act

“If you don’t come down right now I’m leaving you to the hocks” You gasped at the statement a hand over your heart and the brunette practically over the whole situation at hand

“You would never” You sat down your legs dangling over the ledge of the roof your arms crossed and a small mock pout on your face if you searched up ‘4 year old in time out’ Luke was sure your picture would pop up front and center

“Listen here you, if I have to come up there” You giggled at the stern finger that was pointed towards you garnished with stern ice blue eyes you hummed in response twirling a loose thread on your sweater your eyes tilted towards the sky ‘contemplating’ your decision

“God woman are you crazy!?” The brunette hissed as you slid from the roof barely able to catch you in time your frame secure against his flannel covered chest sitting you down on the ground giving you a few extra seconds to make sure you were settled

“Oh please dear lord, will you be ever so kind to help me hang the decor around the the castle” You spoke while Luke’s eyebrows furrowed at the borderline terrible accent shaking his head in disbelief or disgust you couldn’t quite tell

“Get in the house and bring me the boxes” the brunette grumbled and you giddily skipped your way up the porch into you home searching for Halloween decorations

💌💌💌💌

“Boo!” You screamed causing Luke to flinch his body jittering as you snickered at the shivering of his shoulders just having finished pinning the last 3D bats over your door frame

“Jesus Christ! You are insane you hear me!? Lala loopy” He hissed speaking with his hands to emphasis his point as you smirked before putting up grabby hands at the blue eyed pale man while he backed away declining the offer with a passion

“My big helper you have saved the kingdom from a unfulfilling castle and your reward is a lay of my lips” You made a high pitched smooch sound from your lips before placing it on his cheek the stubble tickling yours in return

“You’re gonna be the death of me woman” Luke uttered as you turned your back towards him pressed against his front half before he pressed a kiss to the crown of your head as the wind currents picked up around you both

Luke could argue about the best time of the year

#🦇𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑;𝐆 #luke danes #luke danes x reader #gilmore girls #gilmore girls x reader #fem!reader #spooktober #flufftober #angstober #kinktober #romance #fluff #i love you #thewriterg #2023

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astralnymphh · 7 months ago

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before the flora.

knight!ellie x princess!reader teaser. beginning is essentially just lore. bonus excerpt with ellie and princess interaction below the sketch. wrote the intro in january. no warnings tbh. illustration by @trackinglessons :P READ THIS . PALESTINE MASTERPOST

When the universe was born, there was only fire; a slowly waning blaze. And so hence when death begins to unfurl its low, groaning bloom— there will only be ice.

Yet the heavens and earth are nay alike, as death— and life, are interwoven by the timeless nuptial that is humans, and Mother Nature. Cordial and tepid heartbeats meet with her frigid and frightening marrow this season. Flakes are falling, a howl swells in the wind, and hearths stay an undying tongue of flame in the province of Istenad. Isle of riches and hedonism gone rampant amongst those who proved meritful of a conversation spat over gilded chalices. Or those who wiped a famished tongue stroke over the sole of His Majesty— The King's tan leather boots in entreat, declaring the hide a tenfold more gullet–watering than their stale, daily spare of bread. Where high life reins, low life is there to scrub their steeds.

The wintry pearlescent tundra fringing around uncharted woodlands hums your name— it carries by gale, an airy reed of vowels pulled through your ears.

Tut, tut, tut, the pecking of bark.

Everything seems to resound much heavier over the windows thick limestone sill. Woodwinds, the sough of pine boughs— a chorus wafted. Woodpeckers, they beat rigid timber with their sonnets of calling. The echoed tut starts to sound awfully kindred to a beckoning call of your name. And at daybreak, when the tangerine sun dips its head under the coast, you feel a magnetic lull to traverse your truest passions and slip away into the night, arctic chilled steel in hand. The quantity of hay sticking beneath your shoes collected by skittering across the night–doused thoroughfare was well enough to concern your maids on duty to dress you, brows fuddled at the streaming of straw near your door come morning.

Loop of your knuckles, bend of your wrist, a hand flexed on the hilt of a meticulously poached sword. A swing 'round your waist, a cold hale grip the air could taste, fighting off many mythic brutes of moonlight, however only conceived where dreams are airtight. The mind, it plays. The play it perceives, a viewing spread like tawny butter. Ghouls and ghastlies encircle a quaint pond, chanting away in cryptic grumbles and beastly bumbles, enraged with their slobber frothing at the fangs you tore from their sockets— deeper than artless, juxtaposed to the blinding ruby reds and dyed paper sunflowers of the theater. Your mind’s play felt real.

Unfortunate to your heart, dreams will stay dreams.

Nary a princess was meant to tune into melee, especially at your courting age. Nevertheless, your psyche has spurned from what a maiden is expected of and is completely in a haven of your own structure, your signature sanctuary.

In the farmsteads, a forthcoming soldier harvests not just crop— but dexterity. Derived and nurtured in the faraway prairie village of Dunwich, where the fertile seasons prove flaxen of corn and the trickling sweat of every farmhand turns to gold. Any newborn granted to this quaint village is fated to form calloused hands with labor written in their palm lines as time unfolds. In their— well, her— adolescent years, the yearning for practices of gallantry in knighthood swiveled her sights to the colossal stone castle way.. way far away. Sprouting beyond the earth line, far as the eye can see.

So, she learned, she trained, she slept, partaking in a ranged cycle taught by her ruthlessly departed father: Sir Joel. Reprisal became her nemesis; never able to rend the barrier of hesitation and cleanse her shut eyes of revolting imagery. The horseman of death was not omitting the trauma of this hazel-haired soldier. A weight so burdensome, her speckled skin remembers the tales of every scar clawed into it. Like how the lips of a bard cling to an everlasting ballad.

Every knight knew well to exile any lingering ties to the past. It's been years since he passed, she understands that. Though, the heart never lies, and certainly never covets forgetting.

Ambitions stemming from legions of knights in waiting have fallen short, submerging within the moat of the castle and sinking deep into the catacombs with no elegy sung. An allegory for dreams long since vanished. A domain so valued longs for those biding life with rigid bones, such as she. Tempered by the hardships, endured like metal meeting the blacksmith's chisel.

A vividness to her movements, flowing like a river. For it is water that soothes the most cosmic fires, carves veins into the earth's soil, descends from the heavens above and proves iron soluble. A knight so pinpoint and poised like a painter, yet so daring and baneful like a warrior of evenfall. An artisan of her craft, this knight-to-be is. Born to thrive in matters regarding protection of their kingdom and its nobility. By the sheer tenacity of her skill, she will excel. From the self–instructed lessons in a verdant pasture, basked by undying light in her hometown— to the ordained priming within the royal court.

They were forged to be dutiful.

You are a daughter of the illustrious King, Sagard, and swan–grace queen, Sagard— maiden name Adela, and sister of your highly revered and cherished kin, Prudence. Subsequent to her fabled rise, was your fall. A pratfall you plainly turned a serene ear from, for you foresaw its coming. Clandestine adventures and lollygagging in the marketplace earned you right in the clasp of consequences. You knew that, knowing it kept you on the balls of your toes before you'd be caught suiting into an act more repugnant— be it, no.. befogging yourself in a peasant boys' dire–in–muck rags, merely to play "boy" games as a young one?

Sacrilege!

Prudence was there, at every occasion, scolding with her youthful finger at the palace fore, sucking her fingertip wet of spit and dragging a stroke over your soot–strewn cheek, just before scuttling the halls in search of father, cawing, “Father, Father! My sisters become a boy again!” until it rang his fucking ears to a pulse. Hmph, father even countered his own remark of squawk, pouring through the walls, “Hah! The second son I wish I reared! Tell me, what peasants skin does she clad: butcher's boy, or of the farmer?”

Rebuking the role of royalty isn't your entire bastion of vengeance. You purely long for a world of your own color. Your self-brewn arcadia of art. In a concise phrase, desire for sovereignty. And your family chastised you curtly for every scant display of free will, short of the Queen, she is fair.

Daughter of the King, Princess of the thicket. You retain your fortunes. Modestly.

“Why don't you resemble your sister more?”

A ruby crested box designed by the best of goldsmiths is lodged at the margin of your beds footboard, safekeeping of your esteemed regalia. You possess a bedazzled amassing of circlets, veils, brocade and velvet tunics of long lengths within this box. But do any of them revel in the blessing of being worn on regal skin? Never. You opted for garbs of less gilding and jewels, so that you might taint it with whatever adventures mold under the ribbing of your foot. That shit offended your skin with its indelicacy of forgetting a human will don its fabric golds and woven jewels.

Even— court gatherings. You don the likeness of simplicity and temperate elegance. This morning's virginal aurora, a broach of light swoll from the windows arch, to the footing of your bed, made the wake of your eyes begin upon a lighting behind sheer skin. Your box of regalia shone in that incandescence momentarily. It danced, fleeter than you, irkingly so. You had to squint whilst flipping the clasps and hauling the heavy lid slanted against your bed, or else you may be heaven–blinded. “Every inch of Princess,” you intoned in quietude at the sight of glamored fabrics, “—whom I shant mirror.” and reached for the homelier fabrics, scratch of cobalt-blue linen delight brushing under your prints, you grasped your reserve tight.

“I was not made aware that there is a village wedding to be, dear sister— from what river does this dress of rags hail from?”

“It is not a brides dress, nor rags, leave me Prud—”

Prudence had blocked the shut of your chamber door with her hand flattened, pursuing, “You glum your gems. Rotting in that chest, tasting no light, no glory.”

You kept your lips thickly sown shut, casting dimly eyes to the ground.

“Shall I send for the steward so he may sell—”

“No need.”

“Hmm, most stubborn, are we? Then I—”

“I am least stubborn,” you wedged your fingers beneath her palm, prying the door loose, “—it is you, who strays your own counsel, unmoving as a mountain.” ending with the trudging shut of your door, ceasing in silence.

[++ bonus excerpt from act 2, scene 1]

“Uh–huh..” she draws out. Legato; a sarcastic reply, and wipes her tongue through the press of her lips together, “This far out? You must rebel quite often to have made a friend, I bet?” she tilts her head, a bit playful.

“You bet well— a lot, I assume?”

Cannily, she winks, “Indeed I do.” and aligns her face onward. Gesturing to her horse's rump a second— third? Eh, whatever time— she jerks her brow with a head cock back, “Hop on, I'll take you there.”

Both brows fall, and you flinch bemused, “Wh– uh,” as you hem and haw for words, grating a stutter, “But not a moment ago you spoke of the roads recent perils—”

“Surely it's not far?” she spoke presumptuously, “I mean, you've come this far, My Lady. Nobody would travel the woods past sunset, besides you it seems.” now a matter–of–fact vocal barricade that shoves itself into your ears and winds the cogs to think cleverly.

You shan't know my transgressions, sweet Knight. You may talk.

Trust is sparse as a puddle marched in.

“‘Tis but a mile out. Bravo on your convincing, Williams.” you wry and scoff.

“Can't fumble that name, huh?”

“I would not want to dishonor your knighthood.”

“You honor me with your coincidental presence, Princess.”

“Honor in your mind.”

"Hmph," her breathy chuckle, a sweetness you luckily caught with ears even numbed by the snowsquall. Do not blush. Do not smile. Fuck. Guess you'll be visiting Malina after all, the gale of a displeased sigh icing your lips over as you approach that dangling stirrup.

#౨ৎ. born of flora and fauna #ellie williams #ellie williams x reader #ellie tlou #lesbian #sapphic #ellie x reader #knight!ellie #knight!ellie x princess!reader #tlou ellie #ellie williams au #ellie williams concept

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1800naveen · 4 months ago

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Spoilers?? (Mentions of major character deaths)

Greenies can joke about Rhaenyra's death all they want but it's one of the coolest ways someone can die in a song of ice and fire and as a Targaryen.

If you aren't aware of how Rhaenyra dies, she is cut at her breast which alerts Sunfyre and he (she?) doses Rhaenyra in dragon fire before devouring her.

That is metal as fuck.

That's a dragon rider's death. That's a Targaryen death right there.

"Rhaenyra Targaryen had time to raise her head toward the sky and shriek out one last curse upon her half-brother before Sunfyre’s jaws closed round her, tearing off her arm and shoulder."

SHE WAS BEING BURNED ALIVE BUT SHE CURSED OUT AEGON ONE LAST TIME! SHE DIED NOT A COWARD BUT A QUEEN WITH HER HEAD HELD HIGH. I wonder what she said to him.

And you want to know how Aegon died?

He got poisoned.

"A cold wind was blowing. As the litter set off, the king closed the curtains against the chill. Inside, as always, was a flagon of sweet Arbor red, Aegon’s favorite wine. The king availed himself of a small cup as the litter crossed the yard."

"Ser Gyles and the litter bearers had no notion aught was amiss until they reached the sept, and the curtains did not open. “We are here, Your Grace,” the knight said. No answer came, but only silence. When a second query and a third produced the same, Ser Gyles Belgrave threw back the curtains, and found the king dead upon his cushions."

“There was blood upon his lips,” the knight said. “Elsewise he might have been sleeping.”

Poison is considered to be a woman's weapon. Aegon who usurped his sister's throne because she was a woman, died by a woman's weapon. Gotta love the irony. There are theories that Corlys or Larys poisoned him, what do you think? I think Corlys did it.

"Aegon was a good king!"

"Septon Eustace tells us that a “strange euphoria” took hold of King’s Landing; Mushroom simply says that “half the city was drunk.” The corpse of King Aegon II was consigned to the flames, in the hopes that all the ills and hatreds of his reign might be burned away with his remains. Thousands climbed Aegon’s High Hill to hear Prince Aegon proclaim that peace was at hand."

Mfs was getting turnt the fuck up when they found out that he died. They could finally be at peace after his reign. Yeah, don't say Aegon is a good king when this quote exists.

And Aegon and Sunfyre don't have the most powerful bond. A good example would be Daemon and Caraxes, Dany and her children too.

That answer was no answer, plainly. “Not Silverwing,” His Grace declared. “I will have a new Sunfyre, prouder and fiercer than the last.”

Sunfyre in the afterlife hearing that:

Your dragon died due to the shit you put them through and you want to get a new one? Damn, at least mourn or something. The dragons deserve so much better.

Everyone on team black died cool or interesting ass deaths. Rhaenys taking on two dragons and not even fleeing when she realized that she wouldn't win the battle, Jace and Luke dying alongside their dragons like a Targaryen and being buried in the sea like a Velaryon, Daemon leaping off Caraxes and driving Dark Sister into Aemond's eye; the eye that Luke took out.

Team green?

Otto got beheaded, Aemond looking up at terror when Daemon made him Dark Sister's place holder, Criston Cole getting arrows in him by the winter wolves who declared that no one will sing songs of him and his head was put on a spear, Daeron Tentsbane dying in a tent fire, and Alicent was driven mad after the dance, regretting her choices and hating the color green. Dark sister and Vhagar's skull were retrieved but they left Aemond's skeleton down there. They buried what was left of Rhaenyra but didn't do shit from him.

Helaena will not be mentioned because she didn't deserve any of this, the same for Jaehaerys, Maelor, and Jaehaera.

"Sunfyre ate!" Yes, Sunfyre did eat Rhaenyra. You want a cookie for reminding us?

"Sunfyre, it is said, did not seem at first to take any interest in the offering, until Broome pricked the queen’s breast with his dagger. The smell of blood roused the dragon, who sniffed at Her Grace, then bathed her in a blast of flame."

Sunfyre was nearing death, animals will stop eating when they near death (does it count for a dragon?).

Anyways, remember that Rhaenyra and Daemon's bloodline prevailed and gave us Daenerys, the current Baratheons, the current Martells, Brienne (through Duncan), Jon Snow (not yet to be confirmed in the books). And Aegon's line was brought to an end.

WHEN YOU USURP, YOUR LINE SHALL END! Maegor and Aegon: usurping the throne and having their line ended because of it.

"The choice is his, but he shall have no children. My sister’s line must end.”

Should've specified which sister.

Now enjoy some art of the rightful queen and her king (consort):

🎨: Jotasaraiva! So good, power couple.

🎨: Daewithmon! (Tried to make out the credits below but it's down there)

🎨: Chillyravenart!

@paparinka, give them a follow if you like the art!

DON'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, I LIKE TO YAP🙏🏾

#rhaenyra targeryan #pro rhaenyra targaryen #anti aegon ii targaryen #anti team green #pro team black #house of the dragon #hotd spoilers #daemyra

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six-eyed-samurai · 8 months ago

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AGAIN AND AGAIN - A REINCARNATION AU

A/N: Help, what have I done? Sorry if this doesn't fit the characters, I was writing it sleep deprived and as neutral as possible. Support me and my poetry (that I came up with in the shower)

Heavens blessed me with you

The Knight, who when your parents announced you would marry you off to some elderly Lord, kept true to his word and took you away, escaping into the clashing colors of freedom and love in another kingdom far, far away, only for your world to darken into black and white once more when your enraged parents caught up and had him executed; it was now your turn to keep your side of the oath and join him in the afterlife when you drank the poisoned chalice.

In every rebirth

The Roman General who passed by you, lashing out any "potential buyer" when he walked disgusted through the slave market - he bought you freedom and yet somehow you stayed with him forever willingly cuffed by shackles of affection...until he died of an assassination and you were hung for having an "affair" with someone of higher class, but not before you both screamed to whatever god that would listen to come back to each other once more.

I promise I'll find you

The Baker who's never cared a penny about the other air headed girls from his small British village until you, a young noble lady recently moved into the old Baskerville Manor, turned up requesting his help in setting a banquet. Excuses after excuses pile up from both sides in an attempt to extend your brief time together but soon, oh, too soon, you leave as per your family's orders and he's left to wonder how you're doing now, because after years and years of searching they refused to let him in.

Through tears, death, dreams and mirth

The White American who finds you working day in day out at the laundry lady's for little to no pay, so from his not so small tips grew to slipping love letters through the pockets of his clothes, but soon you're fired and bade to leave for your skin colour and he's still bitterly cursing the townspeople for their blind racism.

And I know it's just a gamble

The Hockey player who grins at you who always shows up to his games in every match until he asks you out on an ice skating date, but alas, how could he have known that the day you finally showed up in his jersey, much to his delight, would be the day a crazed fan clubbed you on the head with his own hockey stick, much to your doom? He left the industry as cold as the rink.

Unfair, repeated roll of dice

The F1 Racer who whines about the most ridiculous problems happening to his car and making bad impressions of the other drivers just to see his beloved mechanic even crack a smile - no oil or dirt stained on you could ever dim that brilliant smile when you both went on a joyride together into the sunset...oh, wait, his death on the track did.

But in this temporary, fleeting

The Roommate who knows exactly what you want for breakfast every morning, and soon it spiraled into having a meal together for lunch and dinner too, especially when he added candles and rose petals! You still make your coffee the same way he did even after your studies took you abroad and both of you decided it was for the best to break up.

Moment in fast ending time

The Landlord who did NOT expect such a cute little you to move on when he decided to make a little cash on the side renting out his spare room...never mind, it's still on rent because now you've moved into his room. He managed to save your photo album from the charred remains of your house though...although he couldn't save you.

Tell me, oh tell me

The Drug dealer who just recently entered your big brother's gang, who protected you with his scrawny body every time any sexually frustrated asshole came to harass you. Your declarations of love didn't come in heartfelt words or gifts but a smoked joint with each other. You both didn't get delusional, because why should you when your fantasies were right in front? It was the same when you overdosed after someone ratted him out and sent him to a life sentence in prison.

Darling love of mine

The Mafioso who charms you with his suave words and cool under fire attitude, causing you to giggle and kick your feet whenever he came back to your door with flirtations and blood on his face from those who disrespected the mob boss's goddaughter. It was the classic romantic Italian dinner when he got down one one knee...except for the part when his rivals arrived to gun him down and you're left staring at his broken body and shattered ring.

You're just as lost

The Neighbour who had no idea the babysitter for the kids next door would be so goddamned FINE - if only he hadn't fumbled and stumbled over his words in the elevator! But that's alright, even little Ray and Katie are rooting for him and you! Your first date might not be fancy, but he was more starstruck in awe of you than he was of the night sky as you sat on top of the roof.

In paradise

"I feel like I've know you all my life."

"In every lifetime?"

"Maybe!"

And somewhere deep inside, you both knew it for certain: the endless cycles of pain were finally broken.

"I'm so glad of whatever karma that I did in my previous life got me to meet you!"

"You better continue it in this life so I can see you in the next one!"

Not karma, actually, but a series of broken promises finally repaired.

***

Sukuna, Giyuu, Kokushibo, Gojo, Takemitchy, Mikey, Ranpo, Nikolai, Kirishima, Hawks, Kakashi, Nishinoya, Kuroo, Toji, Kazutora, Nanami, Eren Yeager, Gyutaro, Kunikida, Zuko, Yuta, Inumaki, Levi, your favourites!

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sluttysnowangel666 · 4 months ago

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Chapters 1, 2, & 3 of The Song of Blackwoods and Brackens

Kieran Burton fancast, this story will include violence, crude language, smut eventually, angst

This story is written BY ME and I do not consent or give permission to it being posted or translated anywhere else. thank you for supporting your writers <3

if you enjoy this story, submit questions or requests for one shots and imagines ❤️also taking cregan stark requests as well

Chapter Master List

Summary: A unique, fictional short story set in the "A Song of Ice & Fire/House of the Dragon" universe.

The Battle of the Burning Mill was one of legend. A bloody and brutal fight between two great houses at the start of the Dance of Dragons. There were those who supported the rightful Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, and those who supported the Usurper Aegon Targaryen.

This account retells the days leading up to the battle, and the tension between the son of Samwell Blackwood and the "nephew" of Amos Bracken. These two fighters hold a secret known to no one that changes both of their lives and the future of their houses.

*this story is NOT canon, and might change depending on how the show continues to play with these characters. especially depending on if davos is meant to be bloody ben. this story is a davos/bloody ben x female reader pretending to be a male, nsfw*

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1: Preface

𐂃 𐂃 𐂃 𐂃

"Uncle, you cannot mean it!"

"I do. You will do this for the future of our house, and that is final. Your father wanted you to marry long ago. It's unnatural a lady of your age is not even betrothed." My uncle Amos declares.

"I understand, uncle. I know my duty. But I beg you, please let the wise lords come to me to ask my hand, Uncle. Do not betroth me to a man I know nothing of!" I cry out.

"You are being ridiculous, young lady. I will hear nothing more of this matter. You know nothing of the wars to come. This alliance between our houses will secure our land and our future. You will marry the Lannister boy and that is final. Now, take your handmaiden and return to your chambers." He says, and I know there is nothing more I can say or do. My uncle was a cold man. He showed no sort of interest in what I, his niece, wished.

"Come, my lady." My handmaiden, Ara, says. She gives my arm a soft tug, and I follow her, trying to catch my uncles eyes before I leave the room. But it is of no use. He has no time for a lady, only time for the wars to come.

That night, I stared at myself in the mirror above my vanity as my handmaiden brushed my long hair.

"Leave me please, Ara." I requested her. She nodded, bowed her head, and left.

I continued to stare at myself in the mirror. I stared and stared until I no longer recognized the lady staring back at me.

Once I finished my staring, I sat with my thoughts. What would this Lannister lord be like? I oft heard of the Lannister beauty and gold. Many of the men were strong knights, the ladies as fair as they come. But would my lord be gentle, forgiving, kind? I fear I could not love a ruthless man. I also fear I do not have a choice.

"For the good of our house"

🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

"Father, you requested an audience with me?" Benjicot says, bowing to his father as he enters the hall.

"Yes, my son. I have a very important matter to ask of you." Samwell says, he turns and rests his hand on his son's shoulder.

His son, Benjicot, was a man of twenty and two, and was a fearsome knight. Benjicot had trained under the finest knights, fought in the toughest tourneys, and worked tirelessly to prove himself strong.

"I need you to hold the lands by the North Eastern mill. Those bloody Brackens have been allowing their livestock to cross into our territory, and letting their retched cows feast on our grass and crops." Samwell says, "All you have to do is hold the land and kill a few Brackens. I know this is simple, but this task is vital to our house and to supporting the Queen. If we take out these Brackens, the Usurper cunt will take a blow to their armies. I only need you to hold the lands for no more than a week, upon which I will arrive by your side to help slay the Brackens."

"As you wish, father."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 2: Lady Bracken

One moon before the Battle of the Burning Mill

𐂃 𐂃 𐂃 𐂃

"You must eat something, my lady."

"You cannot make me. I will starve before my retched uncle dares to marry me off to a conniving Lannister." I scold my handmaiden. None of this is any fault of her own, but perhaps death will be a kinder escape than forced into a betrothal.

"Please, my lady. It's been days. You must be starving by now."

"I find it hard to have an appetite knowing I'll soon be carrying a babe in my belly as an heir for House Lannister." I say. My handmaiden sighs and sets down the plate as a knock rings on the solid oak door.

My uncle enters, "You may go." He dismisses my handmaiden coldly. She bows and exits swiftly.

He addresses me.

"I have begun to prepare for your leave to Casterly Rock. Your handmaidens will begin packing your things following my departure tonight to King's Landing to meet with His Grace. Your brother Aeron will be acting lord until my return. You on the other hand, shall prepare to leave within the fortnight. A ceremony is in preparations as we speak." He says, briskly. "And I command you stop this nonsense at once. You are a lady and will do your duty to secure our alliances, which includes eating. You cannot arrive to Casterly Rock looking that of a starving lowborn."

I wait a moment before responding flatly, "I understand, uncle."

He takes this response as a success and leaves my bed chambers hastily.

My vanity.

I make my way back to my vanity. I stare again, and again. I stare endlessly. I stare until my face turns ghastly. I was becoming a woman obsessed with this bloody mirror.

And then it hits me. How could I have been so absent minded? I am not the future of my house. I have brothers who will create heirs and carry on the bloodline. I am not the future of House Lannister. My uncle cannot and will not make me marry the lord Lannister. Over my dead body.

I make my way over to the my chamber door. I open it and peer out, looking left and right for any signs of handmaidens or servants. When none appear, I walk out. All I have to do is mind my self and surroundings, and then no one will pay any mind to the Lady Bracken.

After making my way across the endless halls of the family castle, I find myself standing in front of my uncles war council chambers. I press my ear to the door to listen, but hear no voices or signs of someone being inside. I make my way in and walk straight for the dagger kept above the mantle. My uncle won't notice, at least until his return.

I return to my bed chambers, quickly rushing to stuff the dagger under my mattress before a handmaiden can question me.

My idea is foolish. Stupid. It won't work. Although, I have nothing to lose. Nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 3: She’s the Man

𐂃 𐂃 𐂃 𐂃

The moment my uncle's carriage was no longer in sight, I prepared for my plan.

I waited 3 days as to not arouse suspicion.

"Brother!" I called out to my twin brother, Aeron.

"The training yard is no place for a Lady. Return inside. Whatever the matter is can wait." He scolds me.

"A raven has arrived from our uncle. The king has wished the heir of House Bracken to accompany our Lord Uncle to bend the knee and declare for His Grace." I say, holding out a scroll for my brother.

"This makes no sense." He says, snatching the scroll from my hand. "There is no seal. When did this arrive?"

"Just now, brother. It is the King's words and penmanship."

"How am I to trust an unsealed scroll?" He snaps.

"I suppose you could ignore the request. But if you do, His Grace may believe it to be you wish to declare for Rhaenyra." I say.

He contemplates. My foolish brother. "If you leave now, you will meet Uncle along the Kingsroad. You will only be a few days behind. You might chance meet him at Harrenhal."

He sighs, "When are you to leave for Casterly Rock? We simply cannot leave Stone Hedge unattended."

"Uncle simply said within the fortnight. I will send a raven at once to Casterly Rock to inform them of a possible delay of my arrival." I say, "But you must hurry, brother. A war is coming. House Bracken cannot end up on the wrong side. We need the King's trust."

My words, sweet like honey but full of falseness persuade my brother. He makes his preparations, and is gone by the following morning.

I begin my own preparations.

—————

The clarity of my foolish plan set in shortly after my brother left. But it was too late to turn around. My brother had told our servants and knights I would be leading House Bracken until their return.

Maybe I couldn't escape this betrothal. Maybe I couldn't support the rightful Queen. But maybe... just maybe I could make a fool of my House as revenge. My House, my blood, who never showed me any sort of attention. They simply sold me off as a broodmare once l was finally useful to them.

My foolish blood. They will soon come to find out just how useful I can be.

I sit in front of my vanity again, for what will be the last time. I twirl the dagger in my hands, prodding its sharp edge with my dumb. Plenty sharp. Well enough for killing Blackwoods.

I reach my hand up and grab my hair into an even hold. I raise the dagger, and cut it all off in one clean swipe.

I stare at my reflection, setting down the knife so I may run my fingers through the freshly cut blunt ends. I shake the loose hair out of my hands.

"Lord Bracken." I say to myself in the mirror, lowering my voice deeply to sound more of a man. I shake my head. "No, I sound foolish."

"Lord Bracken." I say again, adding a rasp to my voice. "Getting somewhere."

I clear my throat, "I am Lord... Aeron of House Bracken, the heir..."

Gods, I was screwed. I didn't even know my brother's proper title. Was he a knight? I think so... mayhaps?

🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

"Bloody fuckin' hell." Benjicot snaps in anger, as he stares at the cattle on his land. "I swear to the seven I'm going to murder that Bracken cunt."

"Someone ought to teach that little prick a lesson." His cousin says, spitting at the end of his sentence. "We'll move the stones back for now. When you see him on his guard, show him how a Blackwood takes care of business."

Benjicot nods slightly.

"Oy, did you hear? Turns out they're marrying the Lady Bracken off to some Lannister cunt." His cousin says. "I've heard she's very pretty. Got them soft Bracken genes."

"And what do I care? Probably another cunt like her brother and uncle."

"Never said you did. Just found it funny. They seem to have a thing for letting their cattle roam on other people's land." His cousin insults. Benjicot chuckles at this.

"Poor girl. If there's one thing I hate more than a Bracken, it's a Lannister. Bloody cocksuckers they are." Benjicot says, his cousin agreeing.

"We best get these bloody cattle and stones back where they belong."

#benji blackwood #benjicot x reader #benjicot blackwood x reader #bloody ben #team black #hotd season 2 #hotd #hotd fanfic #hotd imagine #benjicot blackwood #davos blackwood #house blackwood

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fanfic-lover-girl · 2 months ago

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Yugioh Romance Flavours

DM: The protag has a crush on the girl but the girl has the hots for his cooler alter ego. Even weirder, said protag is chill setting up his cooler ego buddy on a "date" with the girl he has a crush on.

GX: The ice queen upper-class girl who dismisses guys begins crushing on the slacker guy after his duelling impresses her. But he never returns her crush. Instead, he enters a soul bond with his crazy non-binary duel monster spirit partner who tormented him as their form of showing love. But no worries! His rival picks up his slack by having a cringy crush on the girl. When the one guy you like shows no interest lol!

5ds: Upper-class girl meets boy from the slums. She gets off on throwing the protag around in their duels. Despite the protag literally growing up as a third-class citizen deprived of basic rights, somehow her life is so much worse. But after her scrappy knight in shining armour saves her from herself, she becomes his biggest fangirl. A romance that almost was where both parties show clear interest in the other complete with an implied kiss...but it's a card game show so who cares about romance am I right?

Zexal: Classic childhood best friends. She likes him but she gets lost in the shuffle of his mega huge friend group and other more interesting relationships. Basically just there to be the love interest. But hey, at least the girl got to declare her feelings at the end! Too bad the kids are like 13 who knows when they will start dating!

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ser-zoras · 8 months ago

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asoiaf predictions that will probably make people mad

sansa politically marries that guy whatshisface. kills littlefinger in self defense either via moon door or very fancy knife, possibly also poison. declares her husband regent of the vale in littlefinger's absence, and quickly allies herself with daenerys as dany pushes west. they fall in love, the embodiment of ice and fire.

brienne doesn't kill jaime bc honestly where would that leave the rest of us. anyway. they probs talk their way out of fighting lady stoneheart and either jaime dies fighting the others, leaving brienne to hedge knight her way around in his honor, or they disappear into the riverlands, never to be heard from again.

if any of the key five die (again), it's gonna be dany, but not in a mad queen way, but in self-sacrifice against the others after her conquest of westeros, which started with dragonstone. thematically implies that the reason daenys had that vision in the first place was so that the targaryens would continue on and produce dany in order to save the world. somehow the destruction of the iron throne will factor in, having served its distorted purpose in keeping the targaryen line alive long enough to create daenerys. this either kills drogon or sends him off toward the sunset sea.

dragonrider bran. either he or jon will rule westeros, don't know which.

speaking of jon, he's going to Come Back Wrong somehow. I think it'll be a targaryen-related way, but he's gonna eventually come around with his stark heritage. if he doesn't end up king of the seven kingdoms, he'll be king beyond the wall.

i don't know what's going to happen to arya. i think she'll surprise me, but i'm certain she's not gonna be lady of winterfell. i think that contradicts too much of her personal convictions about her purpose in life.

contrary to popular belief, i think there's only a 50/50 chance tyrion's gonna be a dragonrider. he's going to come over with dany but he will either choose to return to essos, searching for tysha or possibly accepting the reality of her death, or he'll stay on in westeros as jon's hand of the king. either way, penny will be a significant deciding factor.

stannis kills davos. not as a murder plot, but it's gonna be like. a whole thing.

missandei is protected and cared for and she writes a history of dany's brief reign as an adult(manifesting) and rickon is undeniably Odd now but he's going to be okay and somehow ends up the most normal brother. absolute tourney knight of a fellow (manifesting).

and last but not least, cersei is not killed by either of her brothers, although i think there's a slim chance she kills jaime, which triggers her death. she will be killed by one of her own plots, probably one related to wildfire, but being cersei, she will internalize it as a death by tyrion's hand.

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blackbutlerfandomnerddomain · 2 months ago

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September 28th - Horse / Basketball

Warning: Suggestive Language in courtesy of Jade being very proud of his boyfriend

Night Raven Collage; A prestigious school for mages and other forms of magical users can go and spend six years to study and practice their craft of magic and all it comes with it. For many years the school stood as a beacon of hope and future for all, a beginning of a new story for every student to grow as a whole.

“You were jealous of a horse.” “I was not jealous of a horse.”

Riddle giggles and sips his drink as he watches Ace and Jamil bicker next to him. It has been a total of two years since he graduated from Night Raven and started his medical program in his university, a good full one year since Ace graduated for a Basketball scholarship and the pair began to live together on a campus owned apartment building, and today was a special day as the couple decided set a group date with their previous club members (or at least the ones they were closets with) and their respected partners at a nice pub.

Currently though small funny stories aroused that led to some humorous debates.

“Ace, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me you weren’t jealous of a horse back in school.” Said Jade, his index finger pointed right to his eyes which were now widened in humor as he spoke. Silver, who’s holding a glass of lemonade, looks at the eel in curiosity and giggles with his beautiful aurora eyes, “Are you saying you weren’t jealous of any of the horse's love?” Jade smirks and leans back, wrapping an arm around the knight and kissing his cheek, “Of course I can admit I was. I had to fantasize about your thighs much longer thanks to it—” “EEWWWWW!”

The table laughed as Floyd, face twisted in disgust, gagged out at his twin’s open declaration of his sexual attraction for his partner. "Like you were any better. How many times have our room's "Do Not Disturb" sign was on the knob?" Teased Jade, sipping his iced tea. Floyd's eye brows frown, a finger up and pointing accusingly at the other merfolk, and he rose his voice a bit to speak, "Hey! Me and hark seal have a good reason cause we went to different schools!" Neige beside him giggles and hugs his sweatered arms around him to sooth him, "Darling, relax."

Ace rolls his eyes and huffs, “Okay, maybe I was a jealous a little bit over Vorpal. But that wasn’t because of some weird sex fantasy, I am just an attention lover. But that’s not bad. We rarely got jealous anyways—” “Oh no I was jealous of your club activities.” Ace looked at Riddle surprised. “W-Wait you were??” He fumbled lightly in his words, shocked his boyfriend could say that calmly and sip his beverage without much reaction. Riddle nodded. “Of course,” He started, putting his cup down, “I mean you were being very close to everyone and even sometimes shower with others. I think that’s a good excuse to be jealous.” “Oooooh shit!” Floyd cackles, laughing even more as Ace’s face turns beat red. Jamil, his hair much shorter since his traveling the year prior, spoke up all smug, “You guys can have your obvious jealousy but me and Kalim are fine.” Kalim looked down to his drink, his fingers stirring in the red gradient. “Weeeelllll—” Ace takes his turn to laugh as Jamil’s cole eyes look down at the heir beside him.

As Ace, Jamil, Floyd, Jade, and Sebek discuss who wasn’t jealous or who was more jealous, their partners sip their drinks and discuss on their own. “I understand what you mean though Riddle, you don’t want others to see what is yours.” Said Neige, resting his cheek against his palm’s heel as he stared at Floyd move his hands about as he talked animatedly, a warm glint in his brown eyes. Riddle giggles, “Yeah, that’s right. I mean, I knew Ace would never see anyone else behind my back but he’s beautiful right?” Kalim sighs, “That’s exactly why I was so jealous when people can make Jamil smile with me…” The group was quiet for a second. “. . . Me and Sebek made out in the stables once.” “I fucking knew it!”

Riddle did his hardest to not snort at how Silver’s shout caused everyone else to look at him, his hands covering his mouth as Sebek blushed hard as Silver called him out. Ace chuckles alongside him, leaning against his boyfriend as he finally sips his rose iced tea.

This is my story for @ridoaceweek!!! Next up, we're going to have a fun prompt tomorrow!

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autumnmobile12 · 11 months ago

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Storm Hawks: A Pretty Fun Take on Feminism

I don't know how many people actually remember this show, or even watched it , but this is an episode that's stuck with me all these years so I want to talk about it.

For context, the plot of Storm Hawks itself is pretty basic: Evil empire taking over the world, the good guys try to stop them, shenanigans ensue because kids' show. The main cast members fall into pretty generic archetypes. too. We have:

Aerrow (the 'true blue' leader)

Piper (the smart one/the girl)

Finn (the funny one)

Junko (the buddy)

Stork (the neurotic one)

Radarr (the animal sidekick)

And we're off:

This is Storm Hawks Season 1, Episode Ten: Fire and Ice

There was a lot going on in this episode, including a climate change allegory, but for the purposes of attempting to remain somewhat concise, I'm only going to cover the feminism theme for this post. Episode ten revolves mostly around Piper, opening with the team attending a festival put on by the Blizarrians, a race of snow-dwelling, humanoid, rabbit-dog creatures with Canadian accents and stereotypes in their world. (Which might be offensive, but the show was produced by a Canadian studio, so they can make fun of themselves if they want.)

The Blizzarian team (aptly named the Absolute Zeroes) invite the Storm Hawks to come snowmobiling with them in the backcountry. Piper is enthusiastic about the invitation, being a skilled cartographer, so she wants to map out the terrain...only to be told, "Ladies don't do the backcountry training. You just stay back with the girls."

Aerrow, being a true friend, tells Piper not to listen and she can ride with him, but since she's apparently not welcome by their hosts, Piper doesn't feel inclined to go anymore.

However, when Piper goes to meet up with 'the girls' and hang out, Suzy Lu (pictured above) unexpectedly introduces herself as the Absolute Zeroes' Sky Knight (essentially their captain.) So she's the one in charge, not the men, leaving Piper with the impression, Okay maybe being left out won't be so bad after all.

Later on in the episode, Aerrow does call out the male Zeroes, telling them she is part of their team and she has every right to be there with them. However, the Zeroes meet his words with genuine confusion, with the original member who told Piper to stay behind saying, "But Sky Knights don't do the backcountry training. That's just for us squaddies."

He thought Piper was the leader and therefore didn't need to be there. Similarly, because he was the male, Aerrow thought he was the Zeroes' leader, not Suzy Lu. It's still a sexist assumption to think Piper was in charge because she was a woman, but it's definitely a fresher take than the typical, "No, woman stay home because woman weak."

Going further into the comedy of the situation, though, is the fact the 'training' the Zeroes do in the backcountry pretty much amounts to them messing around on the snowmobiles and pulling off crazy stunts. They're just 'boys being boys.' If somebody wipes out on their ride, everyone else will be concerned up until the moment the fallen team member stands back up and starts cheering to show he's okay. It gives off a vibe that's similar to parents sending their kids outside to play when they're too hyper.

Further proving the point they are a bunch of well-intentioned dorks, it's also shown that Blizzarians don't assume all women are in charge. When Aerrow suggests a solution to the aforementioned climate issue that was also going on in the episode, Suzy Lu declares, "I like your thinking." And then, as an aside to Piper, whispers, "I was wondering why this one was in charge." So upon meeting the group, she definitely had a moment of, Okay, this Aerrow guy is the leader, not Piper. Kinda odd, but humans are weird. Whattya gonna do?

...

Overall, the storytelling of Storm Hawks was a bit shallow, which doesn't often appeal to most adults, and that likely was a contributor as to why it didn't receive much attention outside its target audience. The world itself, Atmos, was an interesting concept; a world interspersed with mountain nations (terras) that rose up out of a hostile wasteland, so travel is achieved primarily by flight. This theme is seen throughout the series in the very culture as many of the characters are named after birds. (Junko (junco,) Stork, Piper (sandpiper,) Starling, Dove, Snipe, Wren, Finn (finch.) In addition to the flight, their machines were powered by these crystals that varied in type, purpose, categorization of how common or rare they were, so there was a scientific/magic element to it.

The writing was episodic in format, though, so the characters don't really have longterm goals and never really had development arcs that spanned much longer than a single episode. The conflict itself was effectively a world war, but unlike a series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Storm Hawks never achieved the level of seriousness or emotion that a war story demands to be compelling or really respectful of that particular theme in fiction. The characters of Storm Hawks and ATLA are fun and light-hearted, but the Storm Hawks episodes were really more goofy and child-like adventures. I mean, there is an episode where it is heavily implied the reptilian humanoids are carnivorous and eat people. Okay, fuck, that's hardcore disturbing, but the show doesn't really expand on that because it's a kids' show. Nonetheless, since it's there, you're kinda left with, Okay, either follow through with your darker themes or don't mention them at all. It's a cartoon, find a better balance than that.

There also wasn't much depth to the villains either and their motivations were really just chalked up to the standard, "We're evil." One of them was even former 'good guy' turned traitor ten years prior to the main plot, but his reasons for turning traitor were never explored or even revealed. Come on, people, what happened? Ambition? Greed? He saw the political structure of the side he fought for was fundamentally flawed and decided it was best to tear it all down?

...

However, the detail that I appreciate with this nostalgia series is the fact that there were female characters in positions of power in Storm Hawks. Most of the fighting battalions were mostly made up of men, sure, and I would have liked to see a more balanced male-female cast, but some of the teams were straight up led by a woman and there was at least one group that was exclusively women.

The main antagonist, the reigning monarch of the aggressive nation in the war, was also a woman. (Well, teenage girl, but you get the point.) What's more; she was 100% in charge. She was not influenced in any way by a male advisor, she wasn't spurred on by the memory of a male predecessor, she was never intimidated by her male generals. And she was intelligent. Throughout the series, she was a scientist, an engineer, and a fighter. (Unfortunately, in the last season, her mind started to go a bit, so she pretty much devolved into a knockoff Azula.) We even have the brief insight of her background where it's shown she inherited her throne from her grandmother, not another male ruler. Which either implies primogeniture inheritance regardless of gender or it's a matrilineal monarchy, which is interesting to speculate, but that would be headcanon territory.

...

It was a fun watch when I was a kid, but as an adult...yeah, lots of flaws, a great deal of loss in potential with world-building and storylines, and even as a kid, I knew the plots and humor of later episodes fell into a category that was more stupid than funny.

But if Storm Hawks had one strength, they had the groundwork of the feminism angle down pat and that is always appreciated.

#storm hawks #piper #feminism #episode analysis #episode synopsis #nostalgia series #series analysis #absolute zeroes #cyclonis #female protagonist #female antagonist #sky knight #suzy lu

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akittenwrites · 2 years ago

Text

Queen of Ice and Prince of Fire [6]

Author: @akittenwrites

Summary: Lady Y/N Stark of Winterfell has declared herself Queen in the North. That means war, against King Viserys, and also against Prince Daemon. But the Rogue Prince doesn't want to fight her.

Type: multichapter series

Chapter: six

Pairing: Daemon Targaryen x reader

Word count: 4488

Warnings: swearing, violence.

Part one.

Part two.

Part three.

Part four.

Part five.

Marching to war with an army of useless buffoons hadn't been the most pleasant of experiences. It had taken almost a month to do it on foot. He had proposed they just rode their dragons to avoid precisely that, yet the fact that only three were fully grown and available to fight had forced them to assemble an army of men.

It turned out that hadn't been as easy as expected. Otto Hightower's brother had no choice but to answer the King's call considering the green snake's position in court, but the Stormlands and Westerlands hadn't been as agreeable. Ten thousand men from House Baratheon had cost them a seat in the small council, and fifteen thousand from the Lannisters... that had cost them Rhaenyra's hand, promised to Lord Jason Lannister. His niece had begged her parents not to, hollering that she would ride Syrax to war instead. Daemon would've allowed it —another dragon was worth fifteen thousand Lannister imbeciles— yet Viserys and Aemma refused. The Velaryons' strength was their fleet, which they couldn't unman, but their contribution was more than enough: two dragons.

He had forced the army to march nonstop for hours, only allowing them to rest five hours at night. There were complaints, but neither Rhaenys nor Laenor had dared say anything, so he ignored them. And after the first Lannister that publicly whined about it was devoured by Caraxes, the men became incredibly quiet. They could rest when they were dead.

It was the sudden snow that had forced them to make camp and reorganize themselves. They were expecting winter, just not yet, and not so cold. It gave the men a break for a day and a half.

He flew Caraxes as the first snow fell, letting himself get lost in the cold and the misty skies. As he closed his eyes and let his dragon guide him through the clouds, he imagined Y/N's arms wrapped around his torso, holding on tight. She had never ridden Caraxes with him, despite accompanying him to the dragonpit many times to see him off and welcome him back.

It will be too obvious and I do not wish to be questioned on my virtue, she had said. I will ride with you once we're free from these shackles.

Now the opportunity was gone forever, and the shackles had become even tighter around their wrists. He placed his hand on his armored chest, where he kept her letter, just beneath the steel.

They were supposed to be together, to face adversities side by side, not fight each other. Maybe if she had been a dragon riding Targaryen instead of a wolf they could've run off together. Why did he even harbor feelings for a woman so different from him? There was not a single drop of blood of Old Valyria in her, yet her aura was just as magical. Whenever their fingers touched, and their eyes connected, he felt it deep inside him. A bond similar to the one he had with Caraxes, one that didn't need words for understanding, and was just as deep. Y/N was part of him and his life just as his own dragon was, forever. He dared say she was even more important. If Caraxes was one of his limbs, Y/N was his beating heart.

It had taken them nine more days walking under the storm to reach Winterfell. As he mounted Caraxes, ready to fly towards the castle, he noticed his hands shaking. He cursed under his breath, forcefully grabbed the reins, and disappeared into the sky.

What was wrong with him? He had been tasked to lead the army with Caraxes, and his hands were shaking? What was he, a fucking idiot knight that had never even jousted before? With his jaw clenched, he gained speed as he flew towards Winterfell. Caraxes cried out, feeling his anger, and the castle finally became visible.

He barely had a second to find Y/N's position —a white spot with dark hair on the battlements— when large bolts were fired in his direction. He evaded them effortlessly, knowing they couldn't get too close without becoming an easier target. Y/N had delivered what she had promised.

"Do not fly toward the castle yet!" he warned Rhaenys, flying next to her. "They have bloody scorpions."

She nodded and he flew away, four more bolts meant for Caraxes disappearing into the sky. He looked down, seeing their army finally meeting the one awaiting them at Winterfell, but something was wrong. He descended, focusing his purple eyes on their men, and noticed they were bloody and disordered, and some of them even tried to run away.

The anger brewing inside him grew into sheer fury. Frowning, he flew even lower, inspecting the men under his command as Caraxes dodged the bolts sent his way. This was the King's army? A bunch of cowards and useless boys, clashing against the Stark army on the front lines and being cut down as if they were nothing? Madness took over him as he uttered his command.

"Dracarys."

He didn't even bother to look at the battlements anymore, focusing solely on the front lines. He left a trail of fire as he burned both sides to death, wreaking havoc as the men screamed and tried to move backward, with nowhere to go. No, they would burn. He didn't care for cowards that couldn't even lift their swords properly against their enemy. And he definitely didn't care for Y/N's men, no matter how tough they were.

Dragons would win this battle.

The chaos he caused on the frontlines spread to the rest of the armies, but another rain of bolts forced Caraxes to fly higher and stop his attack. He focused back on the battle, noticing Seasmoke slowly flying away. They had managed to hurt him.

It was only then he realized Rhaenys was flying straight toward the battlements, toward Y/N. It looked like it was happening in slow motion; the Red Queen majestically burning everything in her path and directing her fury to the woman in command. He was unaware he had stopped breathing until his lungs begged him for fresh air. And then everything was happening at the speed of light again. Daemon wasn't thinking anymore, he was acting. He whispered a few words to Caraxes, determined to reach Meleys before it burned Y/N to death. Another round of bolts forced him to dodge and stay away once again.

He placed his hand on his armored chest, feeling the folded letter under it, as he watched what was about to happen.

He wanted to look away, but he couldn't.

A sudden storm with rocks made of ice and cold rain fell upon them. Caraxes screeched in shock and pain, and Daemon placed his hand above his head to avoid getting hit by the stones, cursing himself for not bringing his helmet. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the battlements, searching for Y/N behind the rain and the storm. A flash of lightning illuminated her crown and he saw her standing there again.

She was alive.

He whispered a few words of comfort to Caraxes as he placed a hand on the scales of his neck, calming him down. He felt calm again as well.

But the battle was not over.

He would burn the rest of her army and force her to surrender.

"Dracarys!"

Letting the storm fall on him and his dragon, knowing he could weather it, he attacked again. This time his eyes searched for Y/N's, though.

And they finally met.

She looked at him briefly before turning around and leaving, and he didn't even know how, but he knew what she meant.

Agreeing, he ordered Caraxes to fly west, and as they left the battlefield the storm suddenly stopped and the skies were just grey. The grass was wet, but it wasn't raining anymore.

He saw her white figure a second before Caraxes landed before her, and he dismounted, walking to meet her again.

She stood before him dressed in a long white fur coat, with her hands holding each other, his ruby ring the only color to disrupt the white and grey vision before him. There was something different about her, Caraxes could feel it and he could too. Something magical. She held herself regally, her grey eyes bright yet emotionless as she watched him approach. His own eyes widened as he saw her crown shined with blue ice. Her direwolf stood next to her, as tall as she was.

She looked otherwordly. The smell of winter roses permeated the air. He stood there, admiring the sight before him. She had always been beautiful, yet she had never looked as divine as she did right then.

She truly looked like a Queen. A Queen of beauty and ice.

A Queen he would've gladly bent the knee to, had the circumstances been different.

"Daemon," she greeted, snapping him out of his trance.

"Y/N," he answered, studying her face. She looked as young as always. "Nice crown. How did you get it? Blood magic?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"I do not meddle with such things. You know it."

"You managed to injure a dragon and survive a deadly attack from another one. I am not sure I know anything about you anymore."

She smiled, lovingly but not without pride.

"I am Queen in the North now. Ice runs through my veins. But there is nothing supernatural about war strategy and a few well-made scorpions. I did warn you."

"What about the storm?" he challenged, raising an eyebrow. "You should call yourself Queen of Ice. It appears that is what you are now."

She remained impassive.

"The Gods have granted me the power to win this battle, that is all," she explained, her hand reaching for her crown and taking it off. The ice melted immediately. "Any more questions?"

"Yes, actually. What is the plan now? Take down Meleys? Try to kill me?" he walked a few steps closer to her, his voice coming out as a whisper. "Because right now you're at a disadvantage, love."

Her stare remained cold as he approached her, not moving an inch.

"Take down Meleys and take you as a hostage to force the crown to back down," she stated. "We will let you go when spring comes."

He laughed in disbelief. Had Y/N forgotten who she was talking to? Her crown made of ice didn't change the fact he was still a dragon, and a proud one.

"I would rather be killed by your cunt lords than be your hostage."

Y/N smiled slightly.

"I figured as much. What is your plan then, Daemon?"

"I'm still undecided," he said simply. "I planned to go back, burn every single person still alive in Winterfell, and come get you."

"And take me where?"

He shrugged.

"Where do you want to go?"

Sadness passed briefly through her eyes before she composed herself again. Why was she trying so hard to play her role in front of him? He knew her as she was.

Yet he understood, partly. He had been sent to kill her. She had her own duties as well.

"You'll have to kill me to get back on that dragon, Daemon," she whispered. "I am not forcing you, I am asking you. Pretend to be our hostage. Live this winter by my side. You'll have chambers next to mine. I'll warm your bed at night."

He shook his head, wondering what had gotten into her. They both knew how this encounter had to end, and they were both trying to take a different path. Yet it seemed they couldn't even agree on that.

"And yet I'd still be a prisoner, away from Caraxes, away from everything I know."

"By my side," she insisted.

He laughed again, but it was far from funny. A Targaryen prince forced to spend months, or even years, inside a dark castle, unable to ride his own dragon, unable to feel the wind on his face as he flew above the clouds. History books would not be kind to him.

"My offer is to run away together, as equals," he said. "Yours is I become your prisoner. I think you know the answer, Y/N."

"Then there is no use in further negotiations."

There was a brief silence between them as they looked at each other.

Her grey eyes were sad but determined. She knew it was her duty as Queen to end the bloodshed.

And it was his as Prince, as the King's appointed commander, to end it as well. Even if he loved her.

His gaze hardened as he ordered his dragon to leave. There was no point in Caraxes being there to watch. Even if he commanded him to burn her to death, he wouldn't. The bond they shared was so strong Caraxes could do what Daemon needed without the need for verbal commands, yet that also meant he wouldn't obey his words if they weren't true to his heart.

"Caraxes, qrīdrughāks," he said. Then he looked at the woman in front of him. "No beasts. Just you and me."

Y/N nodded, looking at her wolf.

"Storm, go away."

Both their companions hesitated for a few seconds, and then Caraxes flew and Storm ran, both getting lost in less than a minute.

Daemon unsheathed Dark Sister as Y/N did the same with Ice, letting her crown fall to the ground. He cut at her immediately and the sound of swords clashing was heard as she met him halfway, their blades forced against each other as their eyes met.

"Are you sure you can fight with that sword?" he questioned. "It seems ridiculously large."

"It is also ridiculously light," she countered, getting out of the way and slashing at him again from his left.

She landed blow after blow at him, and he blocked all of them with ease. He knew how she fought. He sometimes joined her in the courtyard when she trained. She was by no means bad at it, but she wasn't as good as he was. And she was slowly starting to realize it as he made no attempts to attack and merely defended himself, not breaking a sweat.

Y/N halted her attack then, narrowing her eyes at him, and reached for her collar to unfasten her coat. It fell to the ground, leaving her dressed in a simple grey dress and a breastplate. She didn't stop looking at him as she got out of her armor with great difficulty, sticking her sword in the ground to do so. He lifted a brow as he looked at her, admiring her beauty, before deciding to follow her example. His armor was light, Valyrian steel, but if she was going to fight unprotected, so was he.

He made sure her letter was still kept in the inside pocket of his shirt before picking up his sword again.

She did the same, grabbing the skirts of her dress and bunching it up before slashing at it with her sword, letting parts of it fall to the ground. She ruined it, leaving the skirt cut unevenly and barely reaching her knees, allowing her to move more freely and allowing him to admire her boots. He wished she would take those off too, so he could take a look at her legs.

Finally, she let her scabbard fall to the ground with the rest of her clothes.

And then she came at him again, attempting to cut at him, and he stopped her. This time, though, he fought back. They went back and forth for a few minutes, as Y/N's skills improved drastically without the unnecessary baggage, and they were almost matched.

Almost.

After forcing her to walk back a few steps as he used all his force to cut at her, he finally managed to disarm her as her sword flew backward and fell to the ground. He pointed his own sword at the center of her chest and she lifted both hands in a gesture of surrender.

She was defeated.

He only had to end it now.

But then she raised an eyebrow at him with mischief and dipped to the ground, doing a barrel roll in his direction that ended with her clutching his legs with both arms, throwing him off balance.

Even then, he managed not to fall, using his sword as a cane to stay upright as his legs were forced together.

He hadn't forgotten Y/N's love of hand-to-hand combat, he just didn't expect it. He remembered she had shown him some moves once, explaining that since she, as a lady, almost never carried a sword, had to be a better fighter without blades. He had never taken it seriously. If your enemy has a sword and you have nothing, you are as good as dead, he had told her.

The problem was she was fucking good at it.

"Are you seriously going to fight me like this?" he asked, feeling her grip tightening.

She smirked at him from the ground, her arms refusing to let go of his legs.

"There is no such thing as a fair fight, Daemon," she said. "Scared you'll lose?"

He attempted to point his sword at her again, but the second he lifted it from the ground she moved like a gazelle, rising to elbow him in the gut with her right arm and catch his wrist with her left. As he gasped at the unexpected blow, she forcefully rotated his wrist as far as it would go. They exchanged looks as he refused to let go of his sword and grasped her hair with his left hand, pulling on it to try and bring her down. She clenched her jaw as she looked at him, clutching his wrist even harder and sinking her nails into his skin until she drew blood.

"What the fuck are you doing, Y/N?" he hissed, trying to ignore the pain as blood started running down his arm.

Y/N didn't answer. She used her free arm to punch him square across the jaw and twisted his wrist even more until his hand couldn't hold his sword anymore. Dark Sister fell to the ground. Now both of them were disarmed. He turned to look at her again with fire in his eyes, refusing to let go of his grip on her hair. She might've managed to disarm him, but she couldn't expect to win against his brute force. He could knock her out with a punch if he wanted to.

"Winning," she said, at last. She finally allowed herself to fall, following the pull of her hair, and landed on her knees. He remained standing with her dark locks still held tightly in his hand.

"You're fucking mad," he whispered, watching as she pulled a dagger from inside her boot. He walked a step backward to avoid getting stabbed, pulling on her hair again even harder than before, forcing her to look up at him.

"And you fucking love me for it," she responded, raising the dagger to her head and slashing at her hair, freeing herself with one clean cut.

He looked at her as she stood up and then at his fist that still held strands of her long dark hair. He opened his hand, letting it fall with a soft smile on his face.

She was fucking right. He loved her, his wild wolf. And he loved her even more when she got her hands dirty.

She ran at him with the dagger raised and he stopped it midway through, catching her arm just before the blade could stab his neck. She attempted to punch him with her other hand, but he caught that one too. Their eyes connected once again, grey against purple, both determined to win this fight.

Her hair was now shoulder-length, still wet from the earlier rain, and he could see the sweat running down her forehead. Her chest rose and fell with her labored breathing. And she looked at him with her brows furrowed, completely focused on defeating him. On killing him.

He felt himself getting aroused as they gazed at each other. She was always stunning when she was polished and ladylike, but she was fucking luscious when she was out for blood.

He would have let her kill him if it meant she would fuck him one last time.

It was a game of push and pull, he didn't let her go, and she changed strategies between trying to pull away and trying to hurt him.

"You're right," he admitted, his eyes wandering down her body. "I love you for it."

She seemed taken aback for just a second, which he used to twist her arm just as she had done to him previously, forcing her to let go of the dagger that fell to the ground. His grip was so tight he was sure he would leave bruises, not unlike the ones he had left on her hips and thighs once, after nights of incredible passion.

"You have me," she said, at last. Her arms let up as she leaned forward, her face getting closer to his. She raised a brow, challenging him. "Take me, then."

His eyes moved to her lips, soft and wet, waiting for him. He leaned down, kissing her with the passion of a man that knew this was the last time he would kiss the woman he loved. She kissed him back fervently, and for a moment it felt like nothing else existed in the world but the two of them, loving each other until the end of time.

That illusion was shattered as soon as they parted.

She kicked him in the groin with the full strength of her leg, forcing him to let go of her as she jumped him, wrapping herself around him and using her entire body weight to make him fall backward, falling on top of him.

He groaned, cursing under his breath, and closed his eyes briefly as the pain of the fall slowly faded away. The feeling of a cold blade against his neck made him open them again.

Y/N sat on top of him, with her legs around his torso, as she held the dagger to his throat. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, and he swallowed, waiting for her to do her duty.

Yet she took too long, and that was enough for him to flip them over, making her lose her dagger again as they exchanged positions. He took the blade in his hands and traced a pattern down her neck with it.

"You shouldn't have hesitated," he whispered, looking into her eyes. It pained him he had to take the life out of them. The bright, grey eyes he loved so much. "Never hesitate."

"Then why do you?" she asked, sprawled underneath him, defeated.

He didn't have a chance to answer as the distant sound of horse hooves approaching distracted him. They both looked as three men on horses made their way toward them, dressed in the simple silver armor of the northerners.

"Harm her, and I will run you over with my horse until you're dead!" shouted the old, white-haired man that reached them first.

Daemon lifted his hands in the air, signaling he meant no harm, and let the dagger fall to the ground once again. Y/N moved under him, sitting up.

"Lord Karstark," she greeted. "What is going on?"

"The battle is won, Your Grace," he said, dismounting. He drew his sword at Daemon, who looked around only to find Dark Sister completely out of reach. And he had no idea where Caraxes was.

Y/N punched his leg, mouthing at him to get up. He did, offering her his hand so she could do the same. There was no point in continuing the fight now, he had no way of winning.

He was relieved.

"How many men did we lose?" she asked after Daemon helped her up, making her way toward her men.

He noticed the old man's demeanor turned even more serious then.

"Almost all of them, my Queen," he answered.

He couldn't see Y/N's expression from behind her, but he could guess she was harboring immense guilt. Thousands of her men had died in a useless quest.

"What of Rhaenys?" Daemon asked, stepping forward. "The other dragon. What happened to it?"

The Karstark man and Y/N exchanged a look as she nodded at him almost imperceptibly, and he proceeded to answer.

"An archer managed to wound her and she flew away."

"Wound her?" he questioned. "How badly?"

Silence.

"Will Princess Rhaenys survive, Lord Karstark?" Y/N asked. "Her death means we should expect an attack from both Houses Targaryen and Velaryon."

"It was an arrow to her neck," the old man responded. "She was wounded enough that her dragon carried her away. I can't tell if she will survive or not."

"You can expect an attack from both Houses just for wounding her, anyway," Daemon interjected.

Y/N turned to look at him with empty eyes.

"Then there is no point in keeping you alive, is there?" she asked. She looked at her men then, who had also dismounted their horses. "Shackle him. I shall execute him at sunrise, in Winterfell."

He admired her display of strength and leadership; no wonder they had named her their Queen. Yet he wondered if she was speaking the truth and was finally ready to do her duty, or if she would try to find a way around it again.

He felt the heavy iron of one of the shackles tightening around his right wrist as her two guards surrounded him.

"Tighter," she instructed. "And behind his back. Do not underestimate him."

"I can't ride a horse to Winterfell with my hands behind my back, my Queen," he mocked with a bow of his head.

"That won't be a problem," she said simply. "Winterfell is not far. We will walk."

The walk lasted less than an hour, in complete silence, with Y/N and Karstark leading. The literal shackles were more uncomfortable than the metaphorical ones Y/N kept bringing up.

When they finally arrived, the battlefield was barely visible because of the fog and the smoke. Yet there was something that made Y/N stop in her tracks, and everybody else did as well. Daemon walked until he reached her side, noticing her eyes were fixed on the scene in front of her. What was she looking at?

And then he saw it.

Men, dead men, rising to their feet and walking around. Headless men, men without arms, men burned to a crisp. They walked.

"What is happening?" Y/N whispered, so low he could barely hear it.

"This is..." Karstark started to speak and shut up, not knowing how to continue.

Daemon walked one step forward, his purple eyes unable to look away.

"Y/N..." he said. "What did you do?"

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

Next chapter.

If you like my writing, make sure to check out my masterlist and my page, where you can support me or read updates on what I'm working on and leave your comments.

Have a nice day!

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fourleafclovxr · 14 days ago

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8: hewn

Only one teacher is allowed into the Theatre of Tales, the night before the Circus of Talents. The rest are locked in their rooms, doors spelled shut with a magic far older and more powerful than their own, for all the Dean of Good might try.

But August Sader walks unrestricted in the School; Rafal could not keep him trapped if he tried. Not that he would try. There’s an old analogy about two birds. One that has every luxury in the world, but is kept in a locked cage. Another that has nothing, except for its freedom to come and go as it pleases. The first will fly away as soon as it is able. The second will always come back home.

August is still unsure of which, exactly, Rafal sees him as. Or which he is.

Rafal must know that, in the end, they are not on the same side.

But he is kind to August, or if not kind, at least lenient with him in ways no one else is afforded. Of all his colleagues August alone is allowed the privilege of freely coming and going wherever he desires. He can go home, meet his brothers, meet their children— if they want to see him. He can visit his sister and her twins, Rafal’s twins— if she lets him. Most of the time she doesn’t. The last time he saw Rhian and Japeth was their eighth birthday, the year before Evelyn sent them off to Arbed House.

A lot of the freedoms Rafal allows him are not freedoms at all, really. August would not leave the School if he could help it. He likes it here, really, likes that he’s familiar with the winding steps and the ever-alike classrooms and the intersecting hallways, likes that he knows his way around.

More than that, this is his duty. This School; this post.

And this man, just a man, who knows full well August would never believe his mystique. The School Master is sparing with his name, but he’d given it to August freely: Rafal, or, as I was known before, Rhian. Call me Rafal. My dear brother was wrong about me. He’s dead, now.

August, who had written and animated his first draft of the Student’s History of the Woods about Rafal and Rhian, or the other way around— then promptly burned it— had only nodded. Rafal’s mask had glinted, a blur of silver in August’s vision. I look forward to working with you, my Seer, he’d said.

My Seer. Rafal has always treated him like a possession, a prize. Has always been so proud that August chose to come to him. It is something that is easy to resent.

And yet August chooses to come to him, even now. Chooses to sit and listen patiently as Rafal enchants wooden likenesses of dying princes, on the other side of the Theatre for Tales. He’s spelled them to die with choked-off screams and feeble declarations of Good, though August isn’t sure how they’re dying exactly. It would be disturbing, if they weren’t in a School quite literally raising children to kill each other in their fourth year.

August has been dreaming of these things for years. Before he knew what they were.

He’s been dreaming of Rafal for longer. He knows all this already.

One last scream, and the room drifts mercifully into silence. Rafal turns, his boots clicking neatly on the floor as he makes his way back to the Good side of the theatre, cape sweeping over the floor with more flair than ever necessary.

He comes to a stop in front of August; offers his arm, fingers brushing August’s shoulder. There is not much August can do other than take it, gripping his cane firmly as Rafal pulls him to his feet. Rafal’s hands are, as always, ice-cold.

“You never have anything to say,” Rafal says lightly, half-complaining. “Perhaps this is the year my art finally gets through to you.”

“Our dearly beloved School Master,” August says, acerbic. “An artist. Perhaps you should pursue that, instead.”

“I could say the same about you, my dearly beloved Seer,” Rafal laughs. He seems happy to have gotten a rise out of August at all.

They pause just in front of the wall. August brushes his fingers over the carvings with a gentle touch; the carved knights cough and cry as he does. It’s good workmanship. Rafal has had a hundred years to improve on it, after all. But it’s not a very pleasant experience.

He says as much. “It’s not supposed to be,” Rafal replies, “they’re Evil.” He guides August to a carving of… some monster, or another, one that roars under his touch, spitting a burst of burning sparks. August tugs his hand back reproachfully. Rafal laughs, again.

“I’ll enchant something nicer for Good,” he promises. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Our first Good Seer in generations. Our first Seer with any sort of allegiance.” His voice strays dark as he completes the thought.

“You know very well why I have an allegiance,” August says mildly. It’s his duty; to kill Rafal. There is only one way this story ends.

“We could have been such good friends,” Rafal sighs. “You and I. But then I suppose we would have no reason to be.” He hooks his arm through August’s once again. They play at closeness, the two of them. Or Rafal does, at any rate.

They move to the crystal freizes, on Good’s side of the Theatre. They must be lovely, like everything to do with Good is. The stained glass is pleasantly cool under August’s fingers; he makes out the outline of a rose in bloom.

“I’m thinking of having them bloom as the students enter,” Rafal says idly. “No monsters here.”

“You just resent that Good keeps winning,” August sighs.

“I do,” Rafal admits openly. He has nothing to hide from August. He could not, either way. “There are more carvings, lower down, if you care for them.”

August nudges at the base of the wall with his cane, curious; he kneels to feel the raised patterns. Textured feathers. There, a wing, another. Borne in flight.

“Swans,” Rafal provides. Of course. He’s more predictable than he thinks.

August moves his cane along the wall, then starts walking back towards the other side, cane knocking against the continuous loop of carvings. Twin swans hewn all around the Theatre. A reminder of a promise unfulfilled.

Rafal doesn’t usually care so much.

But, of course, this Circus is special.

“This will be the tale to end all tales,” the School Master says, almost to himself. “Won’t it, August?”

“I don’t take questions,” August says.

“This is what you’re here for, after all,” Rafal continues, as if August had never spoken at all. “What role are you going to play, I wonder? Will we have to be enemies?”

This is the second to last time they will ever meet each other. August has spent years knowing Rafal, years with the idea of him— the shadow of him— living in his head. It was never going to amount to anything more than this.

Will he fly free, out of this gilded cage? Or has he sworn himself to Rafal, and his tale, and his end? You go on, no matter the cost. Seers don’t speak of costs, they only speak of duty.

Either way, both of them are trapped.

“You know,” Rafal says. Almost wistful. “You know, if I had the chance, I would want it to be you.”

#sge #tsfgae #school for good and evil #august sader #rafal mistral #saderposting #sge november prompts #uh yeah i did in fact rotate the idea of august/rafal around in my head for like 3 years #they have a screwed up something-like-a-relationship in my head #equals as in: no one else is playing this game on the same level as them #equals as in: no one else can even begin to understand #they both know how this story ends

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