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syndrossi · 2 months ago

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Now I REALLY WANT something where Ser Thoren DOES rescue the boys and reunites them with Daemon earlier, largely because I want to see what happens when the Volentenes attempt to kidnap them while they're with their father.

Oooh, that WOULD be spicy, wouldn't it? I imagine the way it plays out initially is:

Ser Thoren brings them back up north to catch a ship to King's Landing.

Allard dispatches his men in search/pursuit of them.

After a week of failed searching (Crayne convinces Allard to keep it on the down low), Allard finally informs Rhea via raven that the boys are missing. She reaches out to Rhaenyra to have a raven sent to Daemon in the Stepstones and sends out ravens throughout the Vale to be on the lookout for the boys. Ser Thoren and the twins set sail from the Fingers.

Rhea rides south to Gulltown chasing a rumor about the boys, accident (or is it?) occurs just before Daemon arrives in Runestone for answers. Ser Thoren and the twins arrive at Dragonstone, as he wants the matter somewhat discreetly handled. Rhaenyra is here, just as in canon, and sends a raven to Runestone.

Daemon confronts Rhea, forces the confession, and this time the raven that reaches him isn't of the boys' kidnapping, but Rhaenyra's that the boys are safe in Dragonstone, which he immediately sets out for.

The big meet happens there, and Daemon and Rhaenyra fly the twins to King's Landing. There is much fanfare, but none of the urgency of Resonant, because the boys were never truly kidnapped. Viserys is pleased that Daemon's a father, but there's no "hand in the hearth" debriefing, so he has no reason to believe the boys are prophecy children. There is no 24/7 knight rotation, and boys are far less traumatized (though Rhaegar is still mourning Rhaella and Rhea) and Jon's not hurt.

Probably a few weeks pass without incident. The boys settle in, Daemon escorts them around the Dragonpit, though without success. (To Rhaegar's utter heartbreak.)

Daemon has no catalyst to set him after Volantis, so he's trying to figure out what to do now that he's a single dad. He also feels fairly safe taking them out into the city.

Meanwhile, the Volantenes + Jephyro are already aware of the new circumstances and have sailed into King's Landing to set up an attempt there...

Here's part one of an innocent outing in the city that may be about to turn into something quite a lot more dangerous...

x~x~x

"What about this one?" Daemon pointed at the clasp that had caught his eye—and clearly Rhaegar's—against the dark velvet that held the jeweler's various works: silver shaped into a dragon curled around a deep red garnet. "Do you have another?"

"Another, my prince?" the man repeated, before comprehension dawned. He looked between Daemon's two sons. "I could fashion a twin to it easily enough."

Daemon stole a glance at Jon to gauge his interest. His other son had proven himself to be less enthused about the finery afforded him in his new station. Allard Royce and whatever passed for clothing in the Vale were partly to blame for that, he presumed.

Jon's gaze was on a different piece, however, that of a silver wolf's head with eyes of smoothly-polished sapphire. It had no relation at all to their own house, better suited to the houses of the southern Crownlands and northern Stormlands who bore wolves upon their crest. But the longing in his face was clear, along with an undercurrent of sorrow.

He does not know to ask, Daemon thought with a familiar simmering anger at the reminder that his sons had spent their childhood being denied all that they were due.

It would not have been his choice, but boys formed all sorts of fascinations, and although wolves were no dragons, they were worthy enough in their own way. "Would you like that one, Jon?" he asked, reaching for the clasp.

He was immediately met with a grey-eyed stare so filled with uncertainty that his own heart ached. "It is a beautiful piece," Daemon said.

"I—" Jon swallowed, gaze returning to the clasp, then flicking up at the jeweler. "Could you change the eyes?"

The jeweler, sensing a sale, smiled encouragingly. "Easily enough. What suits your fancy, young prince? I have some emerald stones that could be fitted."

"What about the red stone in the dragon clasp? Do you have more of it?"

"The garnet? I do. I also have ruby, should that be more to your preference." The jeweler disappeared into his work room, emerging after a moment with a small cloth of both garnet and ruby gems, some rough and others worked, that he laid out on the table.

Jon looked between them. He seemed drawn at first to the ruby, touching a finger to it, but his mouth firmed with decision as he pulled back. "The garnet." He glanced at his brother. "So that we match."

"I shall have the modifications completed by tomorrow," the man said with a bow, before turning his gaze back to Daemon. "Is there anything else that you seek, my prince?"

"I have been told you have experience working with dragon scales."

The jeweler's expression brightened, this time with interest. "I do. I have done work for Princess Rhaenyra, and even Queen Alysanne herself, many years back."

His sons watched him with nearly identical expressions of curiosity as Daemon withdrew a thick red scale from his pouch, partly split by a glancing blow from one of the Triarchy's small ballistae that they lugged onto the shores of the Stepstones in hopes of a lucky shot before their inevitable destruction by dragonflame.

"What can you make of this?"

The jeweler took the scale from him with a hushed reverence, examining it from various angles. "I can shape it into smaller pieces and fashion a fetching pendant. Several, even. A gold setting would be striking, or--" He glanced at their silver-and-garnet selections. "Or silver, if that is more to your liking. If my prince cares to return in half an hour, I can make some sketches for your review for the pendant itself."

"Can you design one of a dragon's head?" Rhaegar asked. His look at Daemon held an uncertainty not unlike Jon's earlier. "We could have one apiece."

"The three heads of the dragon?" Daemon kissed the two heads within reach. "That feels fitting to me."

"I shall focus my efforts on dragon designs, then," the jeweler said with another bow, and Daemon could not tell if his enthusiasm was from the opportunity to work with such a rare material, or the growing purse he anticipated receiving.

Even if Viserys weren't cheered enough by his return and meeting his sons to see it paid directly from the royal treasury, Daemon had spent very little of his own allowance these past few years. There were scant opportunities in the wastes of the Stepstones.

It was getting past midday, long enough since breakfast for hunger to make itself known in the growling stomachs of growing boys. The taverns at the base of Aegon’s Hill catered to visiting nobles and rich merchants of the area, their fare a good deal finer than would be found just a few roads further south, near the harbor.

A royal visitor was not uncommon in these parts, though it still afforded them a quiet table away from the small pocket of knights well on their way to a drunken stupor not even halfway through the day. He would have numbered among them once, Daemon mused. Not the knight part, of course. But he had drunk his way through most of the taverns in the city in his youth, often dragging Viserys along. His brother had been a more exuberant drunk then, prone to wild capers he would not otherwise consider when sober.

I wonder if he might consider stealing away some night. Even a king could wear a cloak, and if any tavernkeep were to notice, he would wisely pretend otherwise. It would do him good to remember life outside those walls.

And it would scandalize Otto Hightower, which was reason enough in itself.

Daemon turned his attention back to the twins, both of whom seemed comfortable enough in the tavern, though he imagined they would not have seen one growing up isolated in the Gates of the Moon. “I take it Ser Thoren brought you to a few inns along the way,” he said.

“Only a few,” Jon said. “On the road north through the Vale.”

A carafe of wine was brought to the table, along with bread fresh enough from the oven to be steaming. Slices of cold meat and cheese were brought out soon after. Daemon limited himself to a single cup, and let each of his sons try a sip, taking in their mutual nose crinkles at the taste with fond amusement that turned faintly bittersweet. There were many expressions he had still to learn, to discover which emphasized their similarities and which their differences.

Each delighted him, though he had a special fondness for when they mirrored one another. It spoke to an extra bond between them that comforted him somehow.

A special treat of warm, gooey raspberries served in a bowl with a generous heaping of cold cream atop it had been sent to their table, and both his sons had eagerly devoured theirs before turning faintly envious eyes to Daemon’s own half-eaten portion.

“Is there anything else you would like to see before we return to the jeweler, and then the keep?” he asked once they had finished off his dessert.

#resonant asks #resonant concept writing #probably the most unfortunate thing about canon resonant is that they don't get to have these fun outings together 😢#also lmao this is such a view into my process as a writer #“what if daemon DESTROYS some volantene kidnappers who come after the twins”#me (nodding): yes yes okay right first lemme write a detailed timeline of the events leading up to this in the hypothetical au #me: and then write 1-1.5K of establishing background for the scene with requisite sadness #me: and then MAYBE we'll get to the actual bit you were interested in #resonant 'verse rescue au

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yuesya · 1 year ago

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What would happen if Twins!Satoru and Canon!Satoru bodyswapped? As in just him, without Shiki attached. How would Twins!Satoru react to suddenly not sharing a body with Shiki and being in a totally bonkers universe where Suguru is DEAD, Shiki just plain doesn't seem to exist, and everything seems worse? And Canon!Satoru having to readjust to bodysharing with Shiki, who apparently is his murdered twin sister(!!?), and seeing an alive and not genocidal Suguru, would be so interesting.

Warnings: Description of body horror.

The day starts like any other.

Bright sun, white clouds. Suguru glances out the window, and makes a mental note that it’s a good day for the kids to get some sparring done outdoors. He and Riko had been workshopping the idea of having the first and second year students spar out in the surrounding forest, instead of the grassy school field. Get them used to fighting in different terrains, and it would also help them to–

Cursed energy detonates.

One moment, there’s nothing, and then in the next –a supernova. Suguru startles so badly that he nearly ends up tripping over his students when he turns, all of whom have been instantly flattened against the ground by the sheer pressure choking the air around them.

Kugisaki’s mouth opens, and closes. The normally-vibrant girl’s eyes are wide with panic, and no sound is coming out from her throat. She’s literally suffocating–

“Tamamo!” Suguru instantly calls upon the Special Grade cursed spirit using his cursed technique. The humanoid curse materializes in a swirl of illusory flames, falters, but determinedly raises a protective barrier.

Kugisaki coughs roughly. Once, twice, sharp and wracking, but Suguru can only feel relief as his student finally starts breathing again.

Fushiguro slowly raises his head, attempting to pull himself to his feet again on shaky limbs. His entire shirt is soaked through with sweat, but the boy doesn’t even seem to notice. “Geto-sensei, what in the world–?”

“The three of you need to go to the main building. That’s where the school’s protective barriers are strongest –Yaga-gakucho will be there actively maintaining the wards, too,” Suguru cuts off his student’s questions, because now isn’t the time for it. “I’ll go take care of this.”

“Ha, you think you can do anything?”

Itadori promptly slaps a hand over the mouth that opened up on his cheek –to no avail, as a new mouth promptly tears open on the back of his hand instead. Sukuna.

“Shut up,” Itadori hisses. Suguru does not miss the clear tremble in his tone, nor the worry in the compassionate boy’s eyes as he lifts his gaze. “Sensei–”

“Your sensei will be dead if he tries to fight that,” the ancient cursed spirit cackles, malevolent and amused. “To think that the world would still have cursed spirits of this level in this day and age…”

Itadori slaps another hand over the extra mouth, and this time, the King of Curses deigns to fall silent. The impact of his words leaves Suguru with three wide-eyed, fearful students, though, which is not appreciated.

“I’ll be fine.” Suguru has no intentions of fighting, and even if it comes down to a fight… well. Geto Suguru is Special Grade for a reason; he can hold his own, at the very least.

“Sensei, do you need us to–?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “This is beyond your abilities to handle –just stay with Tamamo, find Yaga-gakucho, and make sure that you stay safe.”

“But what about you, Geto-sensei?” Fushiguro makes a frustrated sound, “Where’s Gojo-sensei when you need him?!”

Suguru tries not to react too obviously to those words.

That explosive swell of cursed energy just now? The heavy cursed energy that nearly killed his students just from the looming pressure alone?

That was Shiki.

What happened?

For Shiki to react like this… it’s… unprecedented. The closest case that Suguru can think of is that time when the Sorcerer Killer had attempted to kill Satoru, but even then, Shiki had been moderately composed the entire time. So why–?

After haphazardly settling his students, Suguru summons the Rainbow Dragon and immediately takes off towards the epicenter of the roiling energy.

Satoru. Shiki. Concern seizes his heart in a vice grip, but Suguru forces himself to stay calm and keep his mind clear. It’s hard to imagine any threat that could possibly make Shiki react like this, when Satoru was arguably the most powerful sorcerer of their age just on his own, but given the circumstances–

There!

Amidst the broken wreckage and smoking rubble, a flash of white hair. Suguru urges the dragon into a steep dive, ignoring the rising panic at the sight of blood staining the ground, that’s Satoru’s blood–!

Satoru. Satoru!

Suguru leaps off of the cursed spirit, hitting the ground with a low thud, and sprints forward. Satoru is–!

It only takes an instant for Suguru to register the sight that he sees before him. Only an instant, before he’s bludgeoned by shock strong enough to leave a hollow ringing inside his head. By horror potent enough to leave him feeling as if his entire body is encased in ice.

Because that’s Satoru, doubled over on the ground on his hands and knees, blood dripping from his lips. But even so, his hands still form a shaky seal, and a wordless Red carves a swathe of destruction –directly across the writhing mass of flesh rising up from his back.

No, not just rising up from his back. His back has been torn open, and amid that formless, pulsating flesh, there is a pale arm reaching out, one that raises into a blocking gesture and withstands the powerful blast of energy. Not entirely unscathed, but that doesn’t seem to matter. The torn flesh mends itself with a burst of blood, and–

Satoru hisses, a pained sound. There is a loud crack, and then a second arm rips out from his back with a thick, renewed splatter of blood. Right before Suguru’s eyes, he can see something beginning to crawl out, the formless flesh beginning to take shape–

And he finally jerks into motion.

“Shiki, stop!” Suguru leaps forward, reaching out and seizing those pale, bloody hands before they can go any further. Shiki and Satoru share the same flesh and blood; he’d never, ever considered what it would be like if they ever got into a fight over it. “Stop it! You’re killing him!”

There’s no doubt that he’s going to be seeing this in his nightmares for months. But even so, Suguru holds on and doesn’t let go, praying that Shiki will hear him and listen.

The writhing mess of blood and flesh pauses.

Slowly, the hands that Suguru are holding onto shift so that they’re not pushing against him. Instead, soft fingers lace through his own on one hand, while the other reaches up and caresses his face.

… He’s not Toru-nii.

Shiki’s voice –echoes. An eerie, unnatural sound, faintly high and feminine, but underscored with something that marks her nature as inhuman.

“What… what do you mean?” Alarmed, Suguru glances down towards Satoru, because that’s most certainly Satoru. Except… his gaze as he looks back towards Suguru, faintly shocked and disbelieving, as if he’s seeing a ghost is…

He’s not Toru-nii, Shiki repeats herself. I’m going to devour him and find out what he did to Toru-nii.

“Please don’t do that,” Suguru instantly responds. He doesn’t know what is going on here –Satoru is missing? How?– but literally ‘devouring’ Satoru’s body sounds like a Bad Idea, no matter how she puts it. But if he wants to reason this out with Shiki… “It doesn’t matter who ‘he’ is. This body belongs to Satoru, doesn’t it? Shiki, please don’t make a mess with Satoru’s body. He’ll be very cross with you once he finds out.”

Satoru wouldn’t be, actually. He’d probably be more concerned about his little sister than his own body, but Suguru is smart enough not to mention anything about that.

Suguru…

“Be good. Don’t do anything drastic,” he admonishes gently, detecting the faint sense of unwillingness in her tone. Then, in a softer tone. “Leave this to me for now, alright? You did a number on him, so even if he tries to attack me, I’ll be able to deal with him. Easily. I understand that you’re worried about Satoru –I’m worried, too. But blowing up half the school is not the way to go about it. You could’ve killed the students.”

… Sorry.

“I’m not going to say ‘it’s alright,’ because it’s not,” Suguru sighs. “Satoru and I are both Special Grades, but you need to remember that other people aren’t, and it means that they’re a lot more fragile.”

I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Suguru.

Shiki’s hand draws back from his face; Suguru catches it, and lightly brushes his lips across her fingertips.

“I know,” he says.

Unlike most curses, Shiki might be violent, but she’s not malicious. She is, however, largely defined by her love for her brother –which explains her reaction, but he still needs to make it clear to her that it was unacceptable all the same, without coming off as overly harsh. Shiki could’ve killed Kugisaki, if Suguru hadn’t been with his students at the time, entirely by accident.

She snatches her hand out of Suguru’s when he moves to dip his head again, and he lets her go this time, faintly amused by the reaction. It’s a lot harder to run away from any teasing when she can’t just switch places with her brother, hmm?

Shiki doesn’t say another word as she pulls herself back into her brother’s body. Raw flesh and sinewy muscles contort unnaturally as they return to the original vessel, in a manner that should be anatomically impossible, but somehow works out to be perfectly fine all the same.

And then, it’s just Suguru and Not-Satoru left together amid the empty rubble.

“Suguru…? No. You’re not… who are you, really?”

The Special Grade sorcerer eyes the impostor for a moment. It doesn’t seem like he’s about to attack him, and if they could get him to cooperate in finding out what happened to Satoru…

“My name is Geto Suguru. Special Grade sorcerer, and teacher for the first year students at Tokyo Jujutsu Technical,” he introduces himself. “And you?”

“Gojo Satoru.” The other man returns his strange look with one of his own, “Also a Special Grade sorcerer, and… also the teacher for first year students in Tokyo Jujutsu Technical.”

“… What?”

#QA #Writing #zenith of stars au #twins au #but not really #not twin cannons either #uhhh #twin swap?#twin swap au #in which canon gojo takes an unexpected trip to twins-verse #and everyone freaks out #twins au satoru is not having a good time on his end either probably

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