#[ Goodness right when I wasn’t bitter on her and at peace with her something pEEVEs me ]

[aworldofyou]

tag dissecting a fcs background:Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux, Hudeshabina Nakoda Sioux, Sissiton-Wahpeton Dakota Sioux

Me: jfc-

[crusherthedoctor]

5, 23, 26, and 30 for the fic ask meme, please?

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something?

You can guess the obvious ones: killing characters off (bonus points if it's unnecessarily gory and/or extremely obvious that they're being killed off because the author doesn't like them), turning Eggman into a harmless villain or non-villain, turning certain heroes into OoC assholes/sociopaths/yanderes, flanderizations (Sonic, Amy and Rouge probably get it the worst, though Knuckles and Shadow aren't far behind), Mary Sues and Gary Stus that can do everything better than the entire official cast, with the smug personality to match...

Outside of that...

- I tend to roll my eyes at high school fics, especially given how oddly common they are.

- Alternate universe fics aren't usually my thing either, although part of that is because I'm not into AU stories in general, because I find a lot of them boring at best, and obnoxious at worst (since they tend to use it as an excuse for turning characters inside out to the point of being said characters In Name Only, rather than smartly playing around with them.)

- Archie-tier soap operas? No thank you.

- Villain teams up where they specifically make a point about not including Eggman because he's too pathetic. Doubly hilarious when some of the members needed to rely on Eggman and/or his resources in the past, like Eggman Nega, Lyric, the Deadly Six, etc.

- If Sonic and Eggman are forced to team up, no matter how briefly, I’m closing that shit. Because goddamn am I sick of THAT happening in the series as it is.

- I tend to immediately check out if Sonic says "Ames" or Amy says "Sonikku". Because I'm extremely petty, apparently.

23. What's your absolute favourite trope to write?

Too many to name, so here's a list of some of them:

- Build up. Whether it involves character development, the characters' interactions and fee-fees with each other, the background lore, establishing the villain's threat and personality, setting things up near the beginning or middle that may or may not be noticed by the reader the first time around, only to have a big payoff later on that gives earlier chapters a whole new context...

- Creating memorable locations and giving them their own details. Already talked about this in the previous ask, so I won't repeat myself here. Although, to add onto it...

- Creating a primary setting for the story as a whole. While there are exceptions, I've found that a lot of my favourite games tend to focus on one place in their world rather than going all over the place. (South/Westside/Angel Island in the Genesis trilogy, Dragon Realms/Avalar/Forgotten Worlds in the Spyro trilogy, DK Island/Crocodile Isle/Northern Kremisphere in the DKC trilogy, Beanbean Kingdom/Rogueport/other examples in some Mario games...) I think this might be because there ends up being a lot more passion put into their environments and overall character, rather than treating them as a footnote.

- Giving the villain a group of henchmen that have their own different quirks, yet are no less dangerous than their master. (Eggman has the Hard-Boiled Heavies of course, while Razor has "The Gifted".)

- Pushing the hero to their physical and/or mental limit, only for them to triumph through their determination/super power of teamwork/etc.

- Showcasing the friendship and loyalty shared between the heroes.

- In the case of new characters, making them stand out and be memorable without falling into Sue territory. With Trudy, it's fun to give the readers a feel of her personality, and (hopefully) endear herself to them without being annoying or overpowered.

- Letting shy or mellow characters come out of their shell. (Yep, Trudy again.)

- A final battle where everything around you is constantly changing.

- The heroes have triumphed, the nightmare is at an end, and peace has finally returned... but at a great cost, to cement how much of an impact the villain had even despite their ultimate downfall.

- Tastefully-handled aesops that either aren't as common, or are done in a more unconventional way. For example: "you may have your limits due to reasons beyond your control (like having a condition), but that doesn't mean you should limit your quality of life, and it doesn't mean you can't see the world".

26. What's your biggest distraction from writing?

It's a tie between constantly second guessing myself and worrying if my writing is good enough, and being discouraged by how it's a lot harder to get your fanfic noticed when compared to fanart...

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words.

(It's over 300 words, but screw it lol.)

"You... you..."

"What? No one-liners? No petulant nicknames? Or did you jump into all this with the expectation that I was in over my head, with forces beyond my control, being the ~mere mortal~ that I am?"

"But how...? How could you... do this...?"

"You were so pumped up and ready to lecture me, weren't you? So certain that this was another Chaos. Another A.R.K. Another Gaia. Another opportunity to point and laugh at the man who simply wanted a worthy empire."

"This isn't about your stupid empire," Sonic muttered breathlessly. Rage and confusion plagued his mind in equal quantities. "It's about-"

"Well you thought wrong." The doctor playfully wagged a finger, mocking the hedgehog's own tendency. "I took my time with this one, you see. I can do that, you know, despite what you may believe. Everything was set up perfectly, not that YOUR room temperature intellect would be able to appreciate the beauty of it. No one else on the planet could achieve this, not even dear old grandad, tried as he did... but I did! And this sad fossil right here...?"

His glance turned towards the motionless figure slumping between them. Then gave the body a kick for good measure, followed by a smug chuckle.

"Never stood a chance."

"You... you have to stop this," Sonic's fists were trembling uncontrollably. "This is wrong! WRONG! Even for YOU! Look around you, Eggman! Look at all this insanity! It doesn't have to be this way!"

"You're right. It didn't have to be this way."

He walked closer to him. Slowly. His grin carefully rearranged itself into a bitter scowl. Sonic could swear there were daggers pointing at him from behind those glasses.

"But you pushed me, Sonic. You pushed me. You pushed... and pushed... and pushed." His tone was quiet. Too quiet. As if he genuinely felt betrayed by not getting what he believed was entitled to him. "I have waited so long for my respect in this world, and it's all because of you. You and your insipid army of squeaky-voiced sheep. You've gotten in my way every time... every single time... and I'm sick of it. Sick of it. Sick of you not knowing your place like the rodent you are..."

Sonic's intense glare remained frozen. He never denied that the doctor was a villain. Never questioned that he was a menace. But with all their history together, there was a side of him - perhaps a selfish side of him - that wanted to believe he wasn't like the rest of them. He wanted to believe the doctor was a step above all those other monsters he faced through the passage of time, no matter all the things he did.

But...

He couldn't really do that anymore, could he...?

"You were fun in your time, hedgehog. I can't deny that there was some entertainment to be had between us, and had things been different... I may have remembered you as a worthy adversary. But like all toys that were brand new once upon a time, you became worn out just like the rest of them. And now?"

He pulled out another switch.

Sonic's heart almost stopped.

"I don't want to play with you anymore."

[kessielrg]

Comeback Kid: Part 3

Summary: More third person additions to the chaos rp that @chibi-mushroom​​ and @animacreates​​ are doing.This time, Sabrina has spontaneously decided to break up with Ventus after what could amount to a nervous breakdown. In the aftermath, she is forced to take all her vacation time and become reacquainted with one of her favorite hobbies. But is it enough to get over Ven, or will the memory of him be too much to ignore?

Rating: K+

Word Count: 2,492 words

Part: 1 | 2 | 3

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

In dance, the phrase 'one more time' was its biggest lie. It was always 'one more time' before you ran through the routine seven more times. It was very common for a class to sometimes run five to ten minutes over just because the teacher wanted to make sure everyone had the right steps down. The only good thing about having private lessons meant that you could almost end the session whenever you wanted. Roxanne wasn't that bad either- no surprise, Max was pretty good at finding genuine girls.

Not much smaller than Sabrina, Roxanne was a lovely redhead with a habit of twisting her hair when she was nervous or excited. When dancing, she kept her hair up in a high ponytail with a little strand hanging down on the right side of her face. Sabrina didn't want to admit it, but Roxanne was pretty good as an instructor. Just a few days under her tutelage and Sabrina was once more accustomed to her dancing shoes. It also helped that Sabrina was there four times a week. She would have been here six times a week if her family wasn't closely monitoring her. It was like being a preteen all over again.

“The recital isn't that far away, but if you want to, I'm sure we can squeeze you in.” Roxanne offered after the first week. At this point, Sabrina had gotten a refresher on the basics, so she and Roxanne were working on a short routine for her to further develop her old skills. “You can use this routine we're going through and everything.”

“I've got all the time in the world, Roxanne.” Sabrina prudently informed her. She couldn't look at her teacher because she was currently stretching a leg on the barre. “I can be here every day of the week if I wanted. As long as I'm home before 10. I'm on a curfew.”

“Any particular reason?” Roxanne asked, not meaning any harm. “I noticed that someone usually drops you off. Max mentioned that you were trying to recuperate from a bad breakup. Is that still the case?”

Sabrina's body tensed. “Yeah.” she grumbled. She switched legs before telling Roxanne, “Apparently, coming home and screaming like you've got witnessed a murder means you've had a mental breakdown and need to take a month to recover. If that.”

“Oh, wow.” Roxanne marveled. “I didn't know. I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else, then!”

“Let's.” came the agreeing hiss.

“I know!” the bubbly instructor said. “The local radio station is going to be interviewing some staff here at the studio for a little sketch they're doing. Something about hometown heroes or hotspots? Either way, I'm one of the staff that volunteered to be interviewed, so I may have to leave our session for a bit to talk to one of the hosts.”

“When is this happening?” Sabrina questioned, putting her leg down so she could give Roxanne a hard glare.

“Next Monday, I believe.” Roxanne grinned. But then she noticed Sabrina's dark expression and seemed taken aback. “You don't mind, do you?”

“No, I guess not.” Sabrina replied, her voice rather dark, before she got down to the floor to straddle the wall. Maybe the pain from the stretch warmup would distract enough to not be bitter.

. . .

“Lengthen your body a bit more. Good. Now lower your leg slowly… Perfect!”

This routine was becoming second nature at this point. Roxanne would sometimes stand near Sabrina to help her balance a bit when they had to review certain positions, such as at this moment. Not that Sabrina particularly enjoyed the -literal- hand holding. Still, someone would have tutted at her for not accepting other's help- let alone from her own teacher. She could stomach this for now.

The girls were interrupted when Roxanne's phone started to go off. She carefully let go of Sabrina before going on over to see who it was. She gave the phone a rather funny look as she answered it.

“Hello?” she asked. Sabrina only half listened to the conversation as she got some water from her water bottle. “Is he here? That's great! I'll be out in a moment.”

Roxanne happily twisted her hanging strand of hair. “He's here!” she happily announced to Sabrina.

“I'll be back in a jiffy. Feel free to go through the routine again, or whatever else you'd like.”

Sabrina gave the instructor a rather disinterested hum in response. It didn't phase Roxanne in the slightest. She happily smiled before heading on out the door. Sabrina looked back to where Roxanne had left, then her gaze fell to the one-way mirror next to the door. It was placed there so parents could watch their children dance. Sabrina had a good feeling that other people used it to peep in on whoever was in that studio at the time. She knew that at least one single parent on Mondays looked in on her while she practiced. He wasn't particularly cute and his kid was a brat, always asking to go to the bathroom so they didn't have to be in a class they didn't even enjoy.

She had a feeling someone was watching her now, and the thought made her grimace.

Besides throwing a towel up at the window, there wasn't much Sabrina could do about it. So instead she went to the stereo and flipped through her music playlist. She didn't know how long Roxanne would take, but she wouldn't spend her time just sitting around for her. Sabrina clicked her tongue as she went through every song she had, not liking a single one at the moment. She finally paused when a song with a relatively good beat started to play. Her expression hard, Sabrina carefully stepped away from the stereo to the center of the room.

She looked at herself in the mirror as she started to move her body to the music. It was like she was experimenting. The routine she and Roxanne were working on led emphasis more to her legs and upper body control than much else. But this time, Sabrina just went with whatever felt good. Quick foot movements, seductive little hip tilts, her arms used to bring her chest up a bit higher as she continued to watch herself. Sometimes she'd close her eyes- phantom images of a certain someone crossing her mind as she moved her body just the way she wanted. She never once got the chance to 'service' him like a professional. The idea just never came up before. Now it was the only thing she could think of.

She was a bit disappointed when the song ended. At the same time, she didn't realize how much of a workout she had given herself. Her chest lightly heaved as she caught her breath. She wasn't quite aware that the door to the studio room opened up until she saw someone with fiery red hair enter with Roxanne. Sabrina immediately spun around to give them both a dark glare. Roxanne didn't seem to notice Sabrina's annoyance, the newcomer (who had to be a good six feet at least) just grinned at her in a smarmy way.

“Sabrina!” Roxanne happily said, “Come meet Lea. He's that radio host I mentioned earlier.”

Sabrina remained rooted in her spot. It didn't stop Lea from casually walking over to her, extending his hand in hopes of an earnest handshake.

“Pleasure to meet'cha!” Lea grinned. It didn't change Sabrina's outlook on him in the slightest. “Your name is Sabrina, yeah? You wouldn't happen to be the same Sabrina that used to work at the police station with Sora, are you? The one that was fraternizing with another cop. Ventus, I think?”

Sabrina's face immediately paled. Without meaning to, she grumbled under her breath, “Shit.”

“So you are her!” Lea gleefully marveled. “Sora's got a lotta respect for you. Makes Kairi jealous sometimes, you know?”

Sabrina just gave him a stiff nod- unsure if she was going to kill Kairi first when she next saw her, or Sora. Maybe both. Both sounded incredibly tempting at the moment. Then she could steal their kid as a peace offering to Ventus. It would be the perfect revenge.

“How do you know Kairi and Sora?” she asked instead through clenched teeth. She did accept his handshake, although her grip was a bit too hard. Oh well, she had to assert dominance over this moron somehow.

“I'm Kairi's brother if you'd believe it.” Lea snorted. He pulled his hand away with a little shake, but didn't say anything about it. “We don't get to meet up as often as we'd like, but when we do…! Phew, her man really knows how to tell a story.”

“Sora does have a chronic 'won't shut up' problem.” Sabrina agreed with a sneer. She folded her arms in front of her chest in defiance.

“Now, I wouldn't put it like that,” Lea laughed, placing a hand behind his neck. “But he is animated. Hopefully having kids won't knock that out of him too much.”

“Here's hoping.”

From there, a dead silence fell between the two of them. Sabrina casting daggers at Lea from her eyes, while Lea likewise felt a bit out of place. There were few people who made him feel small. Kairi when she was peeved was one of them. This girl, Sabrina, was starting to become another.

“Well, I, uh, should let you girls get back to your lesson.” Lea stammered, hoping to get out of the room as fast as possible now. “It was a pleasure to meet you guys. Roxanne. Sabrina.”

Roxanne gave a happy wave as Lea left, Sabrina just continued to give him a hard glare. Once it was sure that he had left the building, Roxanne immediately turned to Sabrina to take her by the hands.

“You were a cop?!” the bubbly redhead asked. Sabrina’s whole body tensed as she tried to get out of her instructor’s grip.

“Roxanne, now isn’t the time…”

But Roxanne was too in wonder to do much else.

“Well it’s no wonder you got such refined upper body strength!” she went on. “You can’t really tell because you don’t show off a six pack or anything, but do you ever look at yourself in the mirror? How your abs just contract and expand in this beautiful way?”

“How does that even-?”

At this point, Sabrina might as well give up making Roxanne change the subject. She was going to have to excuse herself to leave early today if this kept up. Why did talking about the past feel so much more draining now? It’s not like it was anything she was -too- ashamed of. Were the memories draining because she worked to the point of exhaustion? Was it because of the people she spent time with? No, that couldn’t be right- would it?

Either way, Sabrina was sure of something;

If she saw Lea again, it would be far too soon.

. . .

Sabrina looked at Roxanne like the dance instructor just told her Ventus had recently punted a puppy.

“Don’t worry,” she tried to tell the unamused dancer, “You’ll still be able to do your single routine at the recital. But I think it would be good if you tried a pas de deux as well.”

“With who, Roxanne? Because I don't know anyone else in this studio, and I sure as hell am not just going to start shaking hands with the first guy that walks in.”

Roxanne very quickly twirled her strand of hair in excitement. “Oh, but I think you already know who this is. He’s been a super quick learner for our first session. You and him can come up with a routine for the recital in a snap.”

Sabrina just continued to stare. “No, I don’t think I do.”

“Just trust me.” Roxanne told her, even putting a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be here on Thursday. I’m going to get you two started as soon as possible.”

Sabrina emitted a low growl of displeasure. Even when she had freedom, she was still trapped. But she was patient… to a degree. She decided to humor Roxanne and waited dutifully for her new dance partner. The odd feeling that the certain someone was blonde kept nagging at her. When the door to the studio room opened, she had to physically keep herself from strangling the six foot, fire red haired mutant that actually did come through the door. He even acted all surprised and thrilled to be with her- that fool.

“Hey Sabrina!” he cheerfully greeted. “Roxanne was telling me that you're looking for a dance partner.”

“I am not.” came the prudent reply. She even folded her arms in displeasure as he walked further forward.

“Ah, too bad.” he teased. He boastfully pointed to himself before adding, “Because you got one right here!”

“Behind the beanpole in front of me, or are they somewhere else in the building? It would be rude to not tell them they aren't wanted to their face.”

“Ha, ha.” Lea retorted in a dry tone. “Look, Roxanne’s kinda already gave me the spiel that you’re not that trusting toward others. I ain’t gonna knock that outta ya because it’s your business. But you’re a good dancer. You put a lot of heart into what you do. Now, I may not be the best, but I want to work with you.”

Sabrina held herself tighter. “Why?” she sharply questioned. “What do you have to gain from it?”

“Do I have to have anything to gain from it?” Lea wondered right back, his hand sheepishly reaching behind his neck. “Maybe I’d just like to dance with a talented partner? Do I hafta go through a whole interview process?”

She wasn’t going to lie, it sounded incredibly tempting. But this wasn’t the police station. This wasn’t even her trying to find some good trait in a super lousy county treasurer with delusions of grandeur. She didn't know Lea well enough to know what he'd do at all. Not knowing if she couldn't trust someone was like being vulnerable; she couldn't allow it, and she wanted it even less. However, she likely wouldn't even be in this spot if she didn't open up more. She flinched, not for the first time today thinking of someone else. If she could have just stopped being an abusive monster and just talked to him like he wanted…

“Fine.” she finally grumbled. Her fingers digging into her arms as she looked back up at Lea. “But only until this next recital. After that, I don't want anything to do with you.”

“Alright, geez.” Lea retorted, unsure if he should be grateful or even more wary. “Dancing with one guy isn't going to change your whole outlook on life, kid.”

Sabrina recoiled a bit. Lea didn't know it, but that was exactly what she wanted to do.

[boat-dock]

Marcel

part 3 of my Mikaelson family oneshots! a little bit of a darker side of Hope cause she is a Mikaelson after all

When Hope’s birthday comes around and Hope faces a surprise visit from her brother, she is forced to fight against her darker impulses and learn to spend the day with people she cares about.

Today was perhaps Hope’s least favorite day of the year. It wasn’t always, but for the last few years, it had become incredibly difficult to enjoy a day dedicated to her, without her parents by her side. No one at the school knew when her birthday is and therefore no one knows to celebrate, which is exactly how she liked it. She normally got calls from her family and some gifts sent in but not much else. 

She was acutely aware that Josie knew when her birthday was because every year the young siphoner always awkwardly approached her in an attempt to be kind, but Hope always dismissed her. However, now that they were friends she was worried that the twins would plan something for her, or just inform everyone else.

It turns out the twins weren’t the ones she needed to be worried about. She should have known that her family wouldn’t just sit idly by as she turned 18. Not that they would treat her as an adult now that the law claimed she was, they were over a thousand years old and would treat her as a child until she was probably half of that. 

She was sitting in her room alone, enjoying her solitude as she normally did every year on her birthday, when a strange and familiar scent hit her; it was of power and principle yet somehow faintly of apples. She knew who it was automatically and confusion overwhelmed her. She slowly made her way out into the hallway and down the stairs following the smell that wafted through the air on autopilot while her mind wandered. 

If Marcel was here why hadn’t he come straight to her? There was no other reason for him to be in town if not to see her. 

The school was bustling with students, but Hope wandered through them in a kind of trance, that smell was like a magnet drawing her in. When she reached the entrance to the school and saw her brother sitting in front of the large burning fireplace surrounded by every vampire that attended the Salvatore school, she froze and waited in the shadows leaning against the door frame.

Marcel was boasting and laughing while the vampires hung onto his every word. White-hot jealousy coursed through her like a snake. She felt every bit of possessiveness that she had worked so hard to overcome her entire life come boiling over and she was powerless to fight against it. The longer she waited the more she worked up she became. 

That’s why when she was spotted hiding in the shadows she behaves in a less than stellar manner. “ Hope,” Mg called perking up when he saw her, “ this is Marcel, he’s the most powerful vampire in existence. Isn’t that awesome?” 

He was hopelessly naive, but that wasn’t a surprise. “ ‘Most powerful Vampire in existence’ that’s quite a title,” her words dripped in sarcasm and were bitter in her mouth. She slipped on a mask, Mikaelson gravitas and grandeur were easy for her to come by. Marcel’s head snapped toward her grinning but when he saw that all too familiar expression on her face he realized exactly what thoughts were prowling around in her mind. “ and you have your own little fan club, how adorable.” She didn’t mean to sound that bitter or cruel but for the first time in a while, Hope didn’t have a good grip on her emotions. 

“You might want to watch yourself, Hope,” Kaleb spoke with an arrogance that could only come from a peaceful ignorance, “ I know you’re used to being big dog on campus but one day you might meet someone more powerful than you.” 

It was a foolish insult but it still made her blood boil. She could easily overpower this entire school without breaking a sweat, not that she would, no matter how angry she was. The Salvator school was a bright spot in the sea of darkness that is the supernatural world, it teaches control and breeds collaboration between the factions, but it was still at its core a high school. Filled with teenagers that intend to act exactly as teenagers do. Most days she doesn’t take it personally, in fact, she considers half of the people in this room her friends, but today things were just too much. 

Marcel, however, wasn’t looped in on the social interactions of students, he took the words much more to heart than Hope did. He shifted in his seat, shoulders tense, his smile became cruel in the blink of an eye as he fell into the role of protective big brother. He leaned forward, bearing his teeth, “ Was that a threat?” he growled, in such a way that some might think it was a laugh. 

The vampires around him bulked and pulled back, recognizing the threat in his voice. Hope was filled with perverse satisfaction. It was gone a quickly as it appeared and replaced by guilt. Her friends didn’t deserve Marcel’s wrath because of her dark impulses. 

With quick steps she went behind the couch where he sat and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder effectively drawing his attention, “ No threat, “ she purred smiling sweetly at him, “ just highschoolers being highschoolers.” 

That seemed to appease him, “ well then I’m very happy to never have gone to high school.” watchful and confused eyes followed their every action. 

“Sometimes I forget that your education was learning to read Shakespeare and Uncle Elijah teaching you piano.” 

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, kid trust me.” Marcel’s past was no joking matter, but that didn’t need to be discussed now. No one told her much of her family’s past but she was smart enough to figure it out on her own. 

“You guys know each other,” Mg exclaimed, more excited than he should be. Marcel shot his eyes at her and she met him with an eye roll. 

“Yes,” Hope answered, “ and this is a lovely reminder that Marcel is here for me and not you,” she shot, enjoying the surprised and slightly terrified looks on their faces. 

“Uh oh,” Marcel sang, “ Someone is in a mood today.”

He didn’t know how right he was. Perhaps she was a little testing but she had a right to be, “ Well if you’ve forgotten I did spend the better part of last year trapped in an endless void, so forgive me if my quota for familial love and affection wasn’t met,” she wasn’t sure whether these were the right words or not but once they started they didn’t stop, “ and so when I saw you here - my brother - surrounded by your little fan club, not even seeking me out, well I was a little peeved.” 

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Marcel answered her, “ We asked you to come home,” he groaned, “ we told you, that you needed to recuperate but you didn’t listen,” she could go home whenever she wanted, without her mother around there was no one insisting that she even go to school. Her father’s side of the family would be more than happy to compel her everything she could ever want and need in life, but it was her choice to stay at the school. 

“So how exactly do you know each other?” asked Rafael, who was sitting in the back of the crowd and had stayed silent until this moment. Hope didn’t even know he was there.

“I’ve known Hope since the day she was born,” he answered simply, but Hope decided that she should tell her side of the story.

“Marcel is my oldest friend and the closest thing I have to a brother.” She joined him on the couch where he was sitting facing the group of vampires and easily situated herself under his arm. He pulled her close and pressed a light kiss to her head. 

One of the cats was out of the bag now and she doubted her other secret would stay hidden for much longer. Her family members didn’t just come to the school on a whim, there was always a reason whether it was for a major crisis or a surprise birthday visit. And that reason didn’t ever stay hidden for long.

“Now that proper introductions have been made, can we go?” she wanted to leave and go to whatever event her family had planned before things got out of hand here. With her playing the role of school hero, if everyone found out that today was her birthday they would decide to make a bigger deal out of it than it needed to be. 

“Of course kid,” Marcel answered standing from the couch and grabbing her hand while motioning for her to lead the way. “We can do whatever you want. It isn’t every day that the Mikaelson miracle baby turns eighteen,” 

Hope fought back her groan and forced her face into neutrality, as to not give away that this was exactly the sentence she desperately wanted to avoid. With a tight-lipped smile, she pulled him toward the exit hoping to make an escape. “Wait, what was that?” Kaleb asked, sounding smug. “Did he say turning eighteen?” 

“What could that mean?” Mg wondered aloud, grinning sneaking at her. Hope’s stomach knotted as she glanced around. 

As if on cue confetti exploded above her and rained down like a sea of sparkles and paper. The twins busted through the doors, Landon close at their heels, with noisemakers and party hats. Noise erupted around her as everyone cheered. “You knew,” Hope groaned. 

“Of course we knew,” Kaleb laughed. 

“I actually did not know,” Marcel commented, before slipping out of the group and leaving Hope to deal with everything herself.

“Happy birthday Hope!” Josie squealed, throwing her arms around from the side with Lizzie following suit, till she was sandwiched between them. She lifted her arms awkwardly till she was hugging them back. Landon appeared behind her and dropped a party hat on her head as the twins released their death grip on her. 

“You guys didn’t need to do this,” Hope said looking at all the people around her, here to celebrate her birthday. 

“Well, apparently we wanted to,” Lizzie answered with her usual snark causing Hope to laugh. They shoved a small blue package with a large bow into her hand. 

Hope grinned, never had she had friends here who cared enough to celebrate her birthday much less ever give her a gift. Her cheeks flushed as she answered with a meek, “ Thank you.” 

“It’s nothing really,” Josie insisted before pushing her towards the door, “ Now go see your family.” Hope’s attention was immediately drawn back to Marcel. He seemed to have vanished in the crowd. But she found him leaning against the door frame, his phone lifted up and pointed straight at her. 

He was videoing. Hope laughed to herself at how silly this must all look, but she didn’t doubt that in twenty years or two hundred she would be grateful to watch that video back and remember this day. 

But for now, she was sure that video would get sent on the family group chat for everyone to enjoy and tease her about. 

[123dragonage]

Shizuka Cousland.

Full Name:

Shizuka Cousland.

Nickname/Alias:

Lady, Lady Cousland, Lady Shizuka, Ice lady,  Yukion'na, Shirayuki-hime.

Meaning:

Shizuka:

Quiet, Summer, Fragrance.

Yukion'na:

Snow Woman.

Shirayuki-Hime:

Snow White.

Title:

Lady, Warden, Lady Warden, Shirayuki, Shirayuki-Hime, Shizu.

Pet Name:

Pup, Ice Lady, Hime.

Gender Role:

More lady-like than anything. But, she has her moments.

Class:

Enchanted Warrior

Sheild and sword.

Orientation:

Straight.

Real Age:

Depends on the place and time.

Age Appearance:

17-20.

Birthday:

August, 24th.

Birthplace:

High Ever.

Zodiac Sign:

Virgo.

Immediate Family:

Father:

Bryce Cousland.

Mother: Eleanor Mac Eanraig.

Brother: Fergus Cousland

Sister in law: Oriana.

Nephew: Oren Cousland.

Ethnicity:

Alamarri and a Fereldan.

Eye Colour:

Crystal blue.

Hair Colour:

White-Silver, with a blue Tint in it.

Hairstyle:  

You would think her hair was easy to tame, but it wasn't. She has thick hair and while it was still straight and seemed to look neat, Shizuka always had a hard to taming it into the usaul hairstyle. It was down, never tied up so what could be hard about that. Right? you would be surprised to know how many tugs is there.  Brushing it into a neat place and leaving it was the hard part mostly, unlike most nobles who move there hair into buns or braids. She preferred it down and long, at least to her hips. Her bangs were combed to both ends, right and left. Leaving the centre of her forehead and face to be seen.

Makeup:

Her lips are painted red or pink, depending on her mood or how they got up. There was no need to put anything on her face really, she was perfect the way she is and her mother believed that woman should wear less than more when it comes to make up. She did, have some silver eye shadow as well. It was barely seen though.

Appearance:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Body Type:

Athletic, but looks fragile from the first glance.

Build:

Petite looking, but well built for a women.

Birthmarks/scars:

There was a birth mark, of two eagles on her right shoulder, her twin has it as well.

Distinguishing Features:

Her pure white hair, pale skin and blue eyes.

Posture:

Lady-like.

Scent:

No one can place her scene, but apparently it's a flower called Andraste's Grace.

Heroes:

Mother and Father, Though recently it was the Grey Wardens.

Pets/Familiars:

A wolf, Though for this it is going to be like a normal dog, able to withstand the Taint.

Wardrobe examples:

F-o-r-m-a-l. O-u-t-f-i-t-s. B-a-l-l-r-o-o-m. O-u-t-f-i-t-s. F-i-g-h-t-i-n-g. O-u-t-f-i-t-s. C-a-s-u-a-l O-u-t-f-i-t-s. D-a-n-c-i-n-g. O-u-t-f-i-t-s. N-i-g-h-t w-e-a-r.

Equipment:

-Family sword.

-Sword level one.

-Sword level two.

-Sword level three.

-Cousland Shield.

-Shield level one.

-Shield level two.

-Shield level three.

Accessories:

-Locket.

-Family Ring with the crest on it.

-Magic book

-Journal/Diary.

-The crest of the Cousland family.

Element:

Water.

Biggest Failure:

Letting the people she loved die alone, even at all.  Her life was always about them and how she would bring her people up as a heir. At least, they told her as much. If she didn't then her brother would. Even then, they would have found someone willing to marry her anyway.

Secrets:

As a young girl she wished to be free, never to hold herself back. Her family always knew she wanted to be free and wander like her brother did. However, due to her class he was forced to ignore that and grow up. But, in there group she fears that her secret love for freedom might come out. A witch who has been free since a child, A sister who choose her path and lived with it, Even there Assassin friend made her wonder.  No one like her should even be thinking of that, but she did.

Hobbies/Interests:

Writing in her journal and diary, by herself, Walking in the forest alone or with someone, Watching the night sky, singing, Dancing, writing poems, horse riding.

Skills/Talents:

-There is a small part of magic in her, but not enough to call it dangerous. I'm trying something new with this, so I hope you will accept this part- She is NOT a full blood mage. -Casting without her hands. -Making her magic flow into her weapons. -Knowing different herbs, poisons. -Cooking. -Flower Arranging. -Can work with a shield, but she choose a smaller one than most.

Likes:

Singing, Dancing, Children, Animals, her brother, Alistair, morrigan, Writing poems, Cooking, Night walks.

Dislikes:

People treating Elves, Servants or anyone of low class bad, Her title coming up, talking about the past,  howe.

Pet Peeves:

-The Servants being treated badly. -Someone giving up with not say in the matter. -Pointless talk. -Bringing up the past. -Judging someone for no reason.

Personality Detailed:

Personality:

Intelligent

The Virgo are an intelligent lot, who would love to know about various subjects and increase their general knowledge.

Practical They don't believe in living in the fantasy world and will be very much in touch with the reality. Their practical approach is one of their biggest strength.

Analytical The Virgo possess an analytical mind and see things in black and white. They are capable of producing a clear analysis and thereby a solution of even the most complicated problems.

Reliable You can trust a Virgo for following the instructions and trying his best to do the job well. Besides, he is a rational person and would not let emotions affect his decisions.

Modest Since they are goal-oriented, perfectionists, rational and reliable, it is very likely that they are great achievers too. But you will rarely see them boasting about their accomplishments. Overcritical They have such a clear picture in their minds as to how things should be, the Virgo tend to be overcritical and lose the plot in the process. Fussy The Virgo-born often get lost in details and they will not have a peace of mind till they resolve all the issues. Besides, their strong likes and dislikes make them quiet fussy. Fastidious Pleasing or impressing a Virgo is tough job, as anything less perfect (in their eyes) does not make the cut. Harsh They call a spade a spade and they don't sugar-coat their opinions before putting them across. Their harshness does not always go down well with the people around them.

Conservative The Virgo are conservative and won't readily accept modern ideas. Maybe it has to do with their need to test the waters and be sure of the outcome.

Judgemental

The Virgo-born are criticised for being judgemental. They cannot ignore faults and mistakes as anything less than perfect is not good enough for them.

Symbol:

Cousland Crest.

Vice:

Chastity.

Virtue:

envy.

Background.

The outpost of Highever was originally a bannorn and was held by the Elstan family, who was a secondary branch of the then-freeholder family of Howes. During the Towers Age, Bann Conobar Elstan was murdered by his wife, Flemeth, thus ending the bloodline. Sarim Cousland, the captain of Conobar's guard, took the lands and title. The Couslands declared their independence from Amaranthine, starting a war that lasted thirty years. When the war ended, Highever won its independence and possession of half the land that had once been southwestern Amaranthine. Highever became a teyrnir during the Black Age. Previously, the Couslands held only the minor title of Bann. During the lycanthrope plague, Bann Haelia Cousland[1] or Mather Cousland[2] according to other sources, gathered the lords together under the Cousland banner to drive the werewolves out of their lands, thus earning the title of Teyrn. Calenhad Theirin was born in Highever in 5:10 Exalted as the third son of a poor merchant. He left at a young age to become a squire, but returned during the Unification of Ferelden as a Teyrn. The contemporary ruler of Highever was Teyrna Elethea Cousland; She fought the soon-to-be-King Calenhad in an attempt to maintain Highever's independence, and so when Calenhad's army reached Highever, Teyrna Elethea led the local banns against him, but lost against the future king. After Elethea's men were defeated, Calenhad asked her to swear fealty. She did, thus allowing the Couslands to retain the teyrnir in Calenhad's new kingdom.[2] In the beginning of the Storm Age, the Couslands conspired with Warden-Commander Sophia Dryden in the Grey Wardens' attempted rebellion. The rebellion was betrayed to King Arland by politicians before it began, and the king's guard ambushed their meeting place, with the rebels barely managing to escape. The Couslands were not so lucky, however. King Arland executed the Cousland Teyrn and a number of others, and then sent soldiers to Soldier's Peak to stamp out the remainder of the rebellion. During the rebellion against Orlais, the Couslands opposed the Orlesian rule. However, Arl Tarleton Howe of Amaranthine supported the Orlesians and this resulted in several bitter battles between Amaranthine and Highever. Eventually, the Couslands manage to capture Harper's Ford and hang Tarleton Howe for his treachery. Unlike his father, Rendon Howe was part of the rebellion like his uncle Arl Byron Howe. Rendon and Bryce Cousland fought beside each other at the battle of White River, becoming two of the fifty rebels who survived the defeat. Thereafter, Arl Rendon Howe was a great friend of the Couslands. Arl Howe later betrayed the Couslands, using the chaos of the Fifth Blight as his route to power. Teyrn Cousland had called together the forces of Highever and Amaranthine, intending to ride with Howe to support King Cailan against the darkspawn. However, upon arriving at Highever, Arl Howe told Teyrn Cousland that the Amaranthine forces would be delayed for a few of days. Not one to keep the King waiting, Teyrn Cousland sent the bulk of Highever's forces ahead to Ostagar under the command of his eldest son Fergus Cousland, intending to leave with Howe's Amaranthine men once they arrived. After Fergus left the castle, Howe's forces took advantage of the Couslands' weakened defense and made a surprise attack during the night, killing the teyrn, his wife Teyrna Eleanor Cousland, and Fergus' wife Oriana and son Oren, as well as most of the other inhabitants of the castle. Though Fergus was left as the rightful heir to the Teyrnir of Highever, Howe then declared himself the new teyrn. Eventually, however, Duncan will rescue the human noble from the surprise attack on Castle Cousland in exchange for joining the Grey Wardens. Following the end of the Fifth Blight, Fergus Cousland will inherit Highever and become the next Teyrn. Fergus will also be given control of Amaranthine, which he presents to the Grey Wardens.

Theme song:

[hereliesbitches--me]

@quantahope liked for  a starter!

She checked the file again.   Once, twice. Three times to be sure.

To be certain of every detail. She wouldn’t make the same mistake again.  Mistakes cause accidents. Accidents caused lives. And she couldn’t afford to lose another.        It occurred to Rosie that she hadn’t checked twice the last time.              Perhaps if she had been more attentive, Rocky would still be alive.

She made a face at the thought. her lips pulling into a bitter frown as she stared at the compiled papers in her hands.    ‘ Ya makin’ dat face again, cat.’ Rosie didn’t have to look up to recognize the voice -- the accent -- nor did she want to; It wasn't real.                     He wasnt real.     ‘ Ya face gon’ get stuck like dat. don’ worry so much.’ His accent was a sound she took comfort in, once upon a time. It was home... blissful assurance of his presence. No more. Now it sends a cold chill down her spine, coiling dread in her gut like a heavy weight in her body. Instead, she focused her eyes on the papers in hand, narrowing upon the fine print til she drowned out all else. Anything that curved the urge to look at the murky cadaver that smiled next to her. Rosie occupied herself by tracing the printed words on the page, memorizing maps and directions until it became engraved into her brain. Her hands felt clammy, her cheeks growing hot despite the cool air that circulated about the jet cabin. It was only she and the Angels. They were real.         Her love had died months ago. And there was no changing that. Her grip tightened and crinkled the papers in her hold.   “Hey, Rosie, you okay?”     Amy brought her out of her thoughts with a gentle hand on her shoulder. By instinct, Rosie had flinched when she realized the physical sensation resting on her body, but her attention was drawn out nonetheless.  “I’m fine, just thinking.” Rosie answered curtly, with noted defense. She nudged off the hand briskly and took a short, haggard breath.   Things hadn’t been the same since their last mission. She hadn’t come back the same. Months of grieving and guilt, drowning her sorrows in a bottle had put her out of commission. Rosie hardly had enough energy to maintain herself, after everything was poured into holding herself together just enough for her kids. Her anxiety in returning to the project was no secret to her team.       But it was time to grow up,    she told herself bitterly, and willed herself back onto shaky feet.          This isn’t what he would have wanted.    “ Relax a bit. We have a few hours before we land, then you can go robotic leader overdrive. ”   The spy gave Rosie a knowing, sympathetic look, much to Rosie’s own annoyance. But Rosie knew she meant well. Amy gave a pat to her leg and smiled with a warmth in hopes of perhaps soothing their leader, “ Maybe take a nap. You look like you need the beauty sleep.”  To that, Rosie said nothing. She simply looked around the cabin at all her sleeping teammates.  The cadaver was gone. Perhaps she should get some sleep.. Even if she knew the awful things that awaited in her dreams.  She needed the energy.

     By the time they had landed, it was still early in the afternoon. Ironically, compared to the time they left, they were now an hour behind the time it would have been in New York City. Wisconsin was different from the concrete jungle they called home. It was Jacob, Amy, Fei, Lyak, Zoey, and Kasimir that Rosie had picked for this trip. Each bringing their own particular skill sets to the game which Rosie felt would best fit their investigation. Though, Rosie has a hard time imagining why they were needed when the city they were headed to seemed so small. She rather bring her heavy hitters, than be sorry for it later.       This was farming country. Small, close knit towns where everyone knew everyone. The worst things that happened here were drunks, cow tipping, and gun blazing idiots. Maybe aliens. But to need the Angels to come investigate? It was either Ed or the government that saw something to gain. Rosie minded herself to not be so careless about the situation. To underestimate could lead to dire consequences , and she was not ready to pay so heavily again.  They needed to get to their safehouse soon. To unpack and get planning. Rosie looked into her file one last time before the group gathered into the military truck, and then they were off.

   The drive was hardly maybe half an hour. The usual pairs talked, the usual few sat in silence, all while Rosie was left to her thoughts.  When they arrived, they poured out in a uniform line onto the watered green lawn they would call their own for the next few weeks until they solved the case. Rosie stood aside with her dufflebag as she watched the group take their belongings and quickly shuffle into the safe house. It was a nice, sizely two story home, surrounded by lots of crop fields.The nearest neighbors were a few miles away, which promised working in peace.  Their driver left them once all the gear was unloaded. He gave a stoic nod and a tip of his hat to Rosie, to which she nodded back, and then he drove away to leave her once again. For a few minutes she watched the dust cloud form behind the heavy vehicle, til it disappeared into a black speck over a hill. Once gone, she went back into the details of her file report expectantly, then raised her head to scan around her. In search of something that was suppose to be there, but was not. She frowned in a way that scrunched her face, then checked the digital watch on her wrist.     He’s late. Not good. 

    Punctuality was a peeve of hers.  He should have already been here. In her aggravation, Rosie looked to the paper again to see if perhaps her deprived mind had made a mistake,  despite herself. She checked the name, the meet time, and found things were as she planned. Things were not going according to plan.  Again, there came that nagging feeling that ached in her bones. Tilting her head back, she glared angrily into the sky with an angry groan. Setting her stuff down fully and pacing about the grass, she was just about to make a call when something caught her attention.  There came the crunching of gravel in the distance. 

It was an old pickup truck, whose driver she could not make out in the kicked up dust that came from the dirt road they drove on.     That must be him... The ache in her muscles quickly subsided as her body relaxed. Her face smoothed out with sweet relief.     Back on schedule.

Rosie made her way over at a leisure pace, waving her hand through the dust cloud and snorting to keep it out of her nose. She walked around the hood and made some attempt to make out the figure inside the car as she did, waving politely through the haze just as the engine cut off. The door opened, and out emerged a tall man. 

“ I was just about to complain that you were late.   You came just in the nick of time. I’m impressed. ”   Rosie opened the conversation playfully as she came around her meet him, her voice smooth and adjusted for civility and diplomacy. She made her space right up against the car door as the haze of smoke finally passed and drifted with the breeze, at last fully able to get a look at him, she offered her hand. 

   “ Are you our guide, Wendell?          My name is Rosie. ”

[natsuxlucyfanfiction]

A NaLu Marriage (Newlywed AU One Shot)

Hello! This was inspired by a prompt posted by @moeruhoshi . I asked for permission to write this and permission was granted, but this was a while back. I definitely put this one off lol, but am glad that I wrote it. It’s basically just a bunch of shorts combined into a one shot.

"Lucy," Natsu whispered into Lucy's ear, desperately trying to wake her up.

"Natsu," Lucy groaned. "Not this again." She flipped over and covered her ears with the pillow.

"But Lucy, do you even know how important today is?" Lucy opened her eyes and looked at the clock. It was 12:01 am.

"What is it Natsu?"

"It's officially been 16 days since we got married. Happy 16th day anniversary, Luce."

"We didn't get married at exactly 12am though."

"Why you gotta be no fun?" Natsu whined.

Lucy opened her eyes just to roll them, but she couldn't help giggling at his silly antics. "Happy 16th day anniversary, Natsu."

***********

Sixteen days passed since the newlyweds got married. Two days have passed since they've got back from their honeymoon. While they did have the essentials, such as a bed, an alarm clock, kitchen essentials (thank you, wedding gifts), they didn't have anything like a couch, tv, coffee table, etc. After hours and hours of walking around the store, the couple was tired and ready to get off their feet. Seeing so many different options didn't comfort them anymore, it only got more on their nerves.

"That couch is nice, let's get it," Natsu said for the thousandth time.

"You didn't even look at it! And we gotta take the measurements to make sure it'll fit and-"

"Well I don't want to." He turned his head away and folded his arms, showing his refusal to comply.

"Stop it," Lucy whisper-yelled. "You're acting like a child and embarrassing us!"

Natsu screamed in exasperation. "No, I'm exhausted! There's no point in even looking around, you're always gonna find one tiny thing that's wrong with it. Why do we even need a couch?!"

"So you'll have a place to sleep when I couch you tonight," Lucy seethed after seeing all the heads turn to glare at them.

Natsu hmphed in response.

***************

The couch was decent enough. Not entirely awful, but he knew his back was gonna hurt the next day. Nevertheless, he couldn't be bitter with his wife. He loved her too much, simple as that. Sleep evaded him for what felt like hours. To pass time, Natsu blew tiny fire sparks into the air and counted how long it would take to dissolve in the air. The shortest time was 2 seconds, longest was 8. He only stopped when he heard strange shuffling sounds. It couldn't have been an invader since the silhouette had the familiar scent of vanilla. An aroma he knew, loved, and cherished. His lovely wife, Lucy Heartfilia.

"Natsu," he heard her whisper, "are you still awake?" He hummed in response."Then scoot over," she murmured. He did, even though there wasn't much space to scoot to. Lucy joined him on the couch, wrapping her arms and legs around Natsu to pull him into a tight hug.

“You know, we could take this to the bed,” Natsu mentioned, hoping to get off the couch.

“Yeah, but the small couch forces us to stay close with each other,” Lucy mumbled into his shirt. His heartbeat was steady and lulled her half to sleep.

“Don’t worry, Luce,” Natsu sighed with contentment and overflowing love for his wife, “I’m never gonna let you go.”

*******************

“Lucy, can you get the mail?” Natsu managed to groan from the couch. It was early morning. Well, early for Natsu. Though Lucy was already up and prepared for the day, he remained sprawled out on the couch.

“Of course baby Natsu,” Lucy pretended to gush, adopting an annoying high-pitched tone. She pinched his cheeks and shook them harshly. Natsu mewled in annoyance. Lucy threw her head back and laughed. “What the heck was that? You some sort of wild animal now?”

“Yes,” he responded with eyes still closed, “a tiger.”

“More like a rabid bunny,” Lucy snickered. She turned to go get the mail and halfway to the door, she heard another mewl. This time it sounded very realistic. “Woah, Natsu,” Lucy spun around, “do you practice cat impressions in your free time? Loser.”

“That wasn’t me,” Natsu admitted, finally getting up. Lucy’s curiosity piqued, and she opened the door to see a blue cat on their doorstep. It meowed and rubbed itself against her legs. Before Lucy could even say anything, Natsu was already at the doorstep cradling the cat.

“It’s freaking blue!” Natsu exclaimed. “It’s ours now.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Too bad. I’ve already named it. Welcome home, Happy!”

****************

The doorbell rung, signaling the arrival of their guests. Lucy was still cooking dinner in the kitchen, and with the loud crackles of fire and sizzles of food in the pans, she completely missed the ring. Natsu, however, heard it loud and clear. The doorbell rung again, this time paired with a booming knock. Still, Lucy didn’t catch it.

“Natsu,” she finally asked, “are the Fullbusters and Fernandezes here yet? It’s not like them to be late.”

“Nope,” Natsu lies. “By the way, when is the food gonna be ready?” He teased Happy with a little red laser beam, like Lucy was teasing him with the tantalizing sweet smell of a home-cooked meal.

“Should be soon,” Lucy responded. “I shouldn’t have started as late as I did. Maybe it’s good that they’re not here yet?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Natsu took advantage of her uncertainty. The truth was, Natsu was going to hog all the food to himself. Yeah, it was immature and kind of mean, but he didn’t care. Other than Lucy herself, nothing made Natsu go wild like how he did for her cooking. He bet that her food was better than Gordon Ramsay’s. Just then, Lucy’s phone began to ring on the counter.

“Natsu, could you get that for me please?”

“Got it,” he rushed to her phone before she could check the caller ID. Natsu grabbed the phone and quickly declined, just barely seeing Erza’s contact. “It was just a spam call, some number from Portugal,” Natsu lied for the second time that night. Just as quickly as he declined Erza’s call, he deleted the unread texts on her phone from Juvia, Gray, and Jellal asking about what was going on. His clueless wife hummed, finishing with the last of the meal.

“It’s been 50 minutes since they should’ve been here, do you think maybe they got hurt?” She pondered while setting the table. “I don’t even know why I’m setting the table. It doesn’t seem like they’re coming.”

“They’re fine, Luce,” Natsu reassured. “You know Jellal and Erza, it probably has something to do with the little one.” His words were believable because they stemmed from truth. Little Justine took a lot of the couple’s time. No one could blame her, she was only 4 months old. Adding the combined forces of Jellal and Erza’s overprotectiveness to the situation, it seemed that the parents depended more on Justine than Justine relied on them. One second away from their precious angel was torturous to them.

By then, the Fullbusters and Fernandezes long gave up on trying to get in. They went back to their homes and ordered take out. Lucy stretched her arms, studying the beautifully set table with pride. Unfortunately for her, she had no friends to share the feast with.

“I cooked enough food for two armies. It’s been an hour and a half and they haven’t come. What are we going to do with all this food?”

“No worries, Lucy. Leave it to me.” Natsu gorged down serving after serving. Lucy giggled, watching the mess her husband was making with amusement. Little did she know that her “perfect” dinner party was successfully ruined by Natsu’s evil schemes.

******************

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand captivated Lucy. She was enthralled by the story and the characters. Natsu was taking a shower, meaning that she finally had some quiet time to read the book in peace. Happy rested in her lap, purring as Lucy stroked him in between flipping pages.

“Hey, Luce, have you seen my brush?” Lucy looked up to see Natsu standing there wearing only a towel. Droplets of water dripped down his chest, bringing his well toned abs to Lucy’s attention. In that moment, she became an innocent middle school girl again. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she averted her eyes before she could stare any longer.

“Yeah, it’s in the bathroom,” she sputtered, still not looking in his direction.

“I was just there and the brush wasn’t there,” he retorted.

“You’re pretty blind for a guy with amplified vision. It’s there, look harder,” she sassed with a fierce attitude that contradicted how she was feeling. If Natsu didn’t leave that instant, she would shoo him away.

“Fine, I’ll check again.” On his way back to the bathroom, he stopped and faced her. “By the way, Luce. You’re my wife, you can look at me as much as you want.” And with a wink, he left, leaving Lucy more flustered than before.

She was peeved. Her arms crossed and her nose crinkled. “I’ll get my revenge,” she promised saltily, like the sore loser she was.

[archetype-online-blog]

Archetype’s Great Choose Your Own Villain Adventure

You’ve finally done it — you have written an amazing hero.

She has all of your own best traits: kindness, bravery, stubbornness, cute glasses. You don’t know if you want to be her or marry her. Readers will see themselves in her and dress to match her style. Critics will fear her. And best of all, she is wholly, undeniably, ready carrying the weight of your complex plot.

But now you need to craft your antagonist. And this fellow really needs to measure up.

Don’t worry, though—in this post, we’ll break down some of the many tools you can turn to when creating someone to foil your protagonist’s plans.

Just how bad is bad?

A.  An Evil Villain? This villain has no morals, or if she does, she buried them deep down a long time ago. She’ll sacrifice her family, friends, and everyone’s free will for eternal beauty, unlimited power, or world domination. Think the Evil Queen from Snow White or Sauron from Lord of the Rings.

B.  A Disgruntled Opponent? This villain's had a lifelong streak of bad luck. His parents were killed by someone eerily similar to the hero, global warming flooded his lair last week, and the hero spilled coffee on his pants while saving a cat from a tree this morning. Really, all he wants is a nap—if he has to chain up a few good guys for some peace and quiet, it’s no more than he deserves. Think Luke Castellan from the Percy Jackson series.

C.  A Good Person with Questionable Goals? Rational people presented with the same situation won’t always agree, because at the end of the day all people, even equally good people, have different values and morals. If your hero wants to flip the switch and save five people on the train track but your antagonist doesn’t think the one man on the other side should die, you’re probably going for this dynamic. This is Captain America: Civil War through and through.

Just how serious are they?

A.  Funny and exaggerated? A villain like this is there to put a wrench in your hero’s plans (and probably provide lots of comic relief), but not seriously threaten anyone with bodily harm. They may think they’re irredeemable and say they couldn’t care less about another person, but they’re either confused or wildly incompetent. Think about it: nobody believes Dr. Doofenshmirtz is going to do anything more than mildly inconvenience them.

B.  Menacing and exaggerated? Your villain shoots lasers out of their eyes. Their knuckles are embedded with knives. One whiff of their breath causes paralysis. One word from their mouth has civilians leaping off cliffs. They wear only black, and their evil lair says “Evil Lair” on the front door. They also probably have a lot of henchpeople. Basically, everything about them screams Bad Guy, to the point where it’s definitely not realistic. A good example is Gru from Despicable Me.

C.  Spookily realistic to the point of goosebumps? The world is a scary place, and sometimes it’s important to represent that in your work. Antagonists can be made all the worse by the fact that they’re just regular people doing reprehensible, unforgivable things. Think Frollo in Hunchback of Notre Dame or Mother Gothel in Tangled—attempted sexual assault and child abuse are no joke.

Was your antagonist …

A.  Brought into being because of the actions of your hero? Some villains might have been a cashier down at the 7-Eleven if it wasn’t for that chance encounter with your hero all those years ago. Now, though, they’ve sworn to get revenge for their slighted pride—stupid heroes and their ego, right? Buddy Pine, AKA Syndrome from The Incredibles, is a great example of this.

B.  Morally transformed by a dramatic life event? Sometimes good people do bad things when they’re under a lot of stress, especially if they’ve been traumatized. Have they been forced to make an impossible choice with consequences that haunt them? Tortured because they were good? Watched their family die? Depending on who you ask, the Punisher falls into this category.

C.  Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons? Sure, your antagonist stole the diamonds and fired a warning shot at the reception outside the gala, but the real baddie is holding her wife hostage at home. Your hero would have done the same thing—right? Think the origin story of the Hook-Handed Man from A Series of Unfortunate Events, or Killmonger from Black Panther.

On a related note, does your antagonist …

A.  Have a history with your hero? In many cases, the protagonist and the antagonist go way back. Maybe they were once friends (this has tons of potential—do they know each other’s weaknesses? Have certain pet peeves they’ve sworn never to exploit?), or maybe they’ve just fought about this issue many times before. Have they dated? Were their parents friends? Think Catra from Netflix’s She-Ra reboot.

B.  Fear your hero’s reputation? This antagonist knows your hero is coming, and as much as he tries to deny it, he knows he’s not ready. Maybe there’s a prophecy. Maybe the hero just has a really good PR team. Either way, the villain is going to try to shoot first—and if he misses, he probably won’t get another chance. Voldemort.

C.  Have no interest in your hero whatsoever — the hero wants to stop them, but they don’t think the hero is a threat. There’s always a chance, though, that your villain doesn’t even think your hero is worth the time of day. Maybe they’ve heard of him, maybe they haven’t—what does it matter when they’re not going to be stopped either way? This villain feels toward your hero what Irene Adler feels toward Sherlock Holmes—totally unbothered, and maybe occasionally amused.

Other fun questions to ask:

Do they have a sidekick? Why does that sidekick serve them?

Do they have an accent? Is it real or for effect?

Do they have powers? Do they wish they did?

Do they have a color scheme?

Does something dramatic happen every time they come into the room (lightning strikes, mirrors crack, a woman screams, etc.)

If left in the room with a wailing baby, how would they handle it?

If left in the room with a barking dog, would they handle that differently?

What are they afraid of?

Things to be cautious of:

Excusing appalling behavior via redemption.

Some things are just inexcusable—or at least, they should be, if we don’t want to contribute to the negative energy out there in the world. So ask yourself … has your antagonist beaten their wife? Sexually abused someone? Harmed children? Acted extremely racist? Gleefully supported fascism? Brutally killed their own father in cold blood?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, think really carefully before planning a redemption arc.

If you want your villain to turn to the good side by the end, they can still do villainous things. They can lie, they can betray those who are close to them, they can plot world domination, they can even kill. But there are lines you probably can’t let them cross if you don’t want them to be hated by your other characters for all eternity. Let’s put it this way—Aladdin, whose worst crime is stealing bread, is redeemable. Loki, who was supposedly being mind-controlled during the first Avengers film, is questionable. Hannibal Lecter, who eats people, is a lost cause.

A really, really phenomenal example of a villain doing sometimes-okay things and yet not being excused for his misdeeds is Count Olaf from A Series of Unfortunate Events—both the books and the Netflix series. There are genuine, emotional reasons he’s a terrible person, and he even does halfway decent things every once in a while. And yet, he’s not forgiven by the characters or the narrative, and he’s treated as the villain he is until the bitter end. Actually, A Series of Unfortunate Events is great at this all around:

Charles: You have to understand, he had a very terrible childhood. Klaus: I understand. I’m having a very terrible childhood right now.

A less great example is Severus Snape from Harry Potter. When it’s revealed that he loved Lily and occasionally didn’t have it out for Harry by the very end of Deathly Hallows, it’s like the narrative wants us to forget about his bullying, bigotry, attempted genocide, child abuse, pet-murdering, deception, and every other foul thing he gets up to for thousands of pages.

Queer coding. There’s this thing Disney does that you might be familiar with. Let’s pick a few examples and see if you can pinpoint it.

Simba vs. Scar

Hercules vs. Hades

John Smith vs. Governor Ratcliffe

Ariel vs. Ursula

That’s right—male villains tend to be more effeminate and delicate than their tough heroic counterparts, and female villains are hell-bent on corrupting sweet, innocent princesses. Even if the characters themselves aren’t meant to be read as gay—even if they don’t appear gay at all, aside from the coded traits—there’s a history of this being used to reinforce negative stereotypes.

That’s not to say that you can’t have gay villains—make everyone LGBT+, if you want. Goodness knows there are enough straight characters out there to last several lifetimes. But if only the villains are gay, and all the heroes are straight, you’re getting into the dangerous territory of suggesting that the traits that villains have are traits that only gay people have, and vice versa.

The same thing applies to race—if all your antagonists are black or Asian or Jewish or Romani and all your heroes are white, what does that say about how your readers should view good and evil? And if all your villains are disabled or mentally ill and your heroes are able-bodied, might you end up spreading the wrong message?

Writing diverse stories is amazing and so, so worth it! But it’s definitely going to take extra sensitivity and care—so make sure you’re fully committed, or you risk doing more harm than good in the end.

Questions? Concerns? Send us your thoughts at contact@archetypeonline.org or leave us a comment!

[whimsical-ness]

Felon | 07

◇ Link to Masterlist

◇ Baekhyun & Kyungsoo series: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ?

◇ Genre: Cop! Ksoo, Criminal! Baek, Crime! AU, inspired by Dhoom 2

◇ Summary: As your life takes a dangerous turn when you get caught between a criminal and a cop, you begin to question how thin the line between good and bad really is.

◇ Word Count: 4.1k

You had never felt as awkward as you did when you woke up the next morning to face Baekhyun’s widened eyes.

There were likely several different ways you could have reacted to the situation with. But not saying a word to him, leaping out of bed, and avoiding him for the rest of the day was probably the stupidest thing you could have done. Which you did.

If anything, Baekhyun was even more awkward about the whole thing than you were, and the two of you refused to make eye contact at all, to your slight relief.

You were extremely confused. Why on earth had you fallen asleep with him in his bed? It had been a horribly intimate decision, and it made your stomach twist into knots every time the thought of lying next to him sprung to your mind.

His innocent, peaceful face in sleep, his messy hair and lidded eyes when he’d woken up and stared at you, the faint blush that had crept across his cheeks when you’d both realized how close you were curled up together.

You couldn’t get the image of that out of your head. Baekhyun had been extremely unnerved, had looked flustered even, more so than you would imagined him to be. Somehow, his reaction to the whole thing was making you feel more uneasy.

You would have loved to avoid him completely if it wasn’t for the looming robbery you had to prepare for. But it was easier when all you had to talk about was the plan and nothing else. 

And what a plan it was.

You were trying to trick not one, but two different criminals. A mafia, posing as Baekhyun’s partner.  And Baekhyun himself. Who had seemingly put all his trust into you, assured, that you would not let him down, not after everything.

Not after what he’d confessed to you, after he’d bared his heart to you and told you the truth.

It shouldn’t have been as much of a shock as it was, but your eyes had widened in surprise when you’d heard it. 

“Who is Junmyeon?” you had blurted, one night over dinner. Baekhyun had gnawed at his lip, his eyes hardening, and you had seen his internal struggle over whether or not to tell you starkly on his face. 

But he’d relented, and he’d told you. That Junmyeon was the leader of Exo, the mafia. How he had saved Baekhyun from that rough patch without even knowing him, how indebted Baekhyun had felt towards him.

How Baekhyun had joined the mafia willingly, pledging his allegiance to Junmyeon and to Exo, no matter what. How Baekhyun had decided to put Exo first, above and before everything else in his life.

Until something had changed. Until it had all fallen to pieces and he had had to leave.

Baekhyun had told you all of it with bitterness in his voice, but he’d left out the details over why he’d left, why he hated them as much as he did now. 

But the reason for him wanting to steal the diamond was clear to you now; he was stealing it as revenge. He was stealing it to get back, what he believed was rightfully his, after he’d been the one to help Exo steal it originally.

“As for me knowing about the wedding and how everything is going to be...it’s because I have someone on the inside still. Someone I trust,” Baekhyun had said, sighing. “But they don’t know that what I want back is the diamond. They only think I want to be at the wedding. That person is the one this house belongs to.”

Secrets, unravelling, bit by bit. Secrets you told Kyungsoo right after Baekhyun told them to you, whispering into your phone in the bathroom in the middle of the night. 

The entire plan too, you relayed to Kyungsoo, careful not to miss out a single detail. You had underestimated how much trust Baekhyun was putting in you. If the diamond was to be stolen, your part in the whole thing was a lot bigger than you had ever imagined.

You were to check into the hotel, the day before the wedding. Since you weren’t exactly a wanted criminal like Baekhyun was, you were the only way he was going to be able to get into the hotel without being suspected.

Your alias? A rich heiress on vacation. You were going to have to play the part, were going to have to get close to Junmyeon the night of the reception, distract him from whatever Baekhyun was to be doing.

You had one job: keep Junmyeon away from his sister under all circumstances. Because the diamond...the diamond was going to be in possession of the bride herself. She was going to be wearing it, Baekhyun said he was sure.

Getting it from her was up to him. He omitted the details, even when you asked incredulously how he was going to even going to get close enough to her, when she would be likely surrounded by bodyguards, as well as her husband. Baekhyun looked sure of himself, and you couldn’t help but wonder if he was keeping something from you, something that had to do with the bride. That had to do with him.

Something that you needed to know.

“Why’d you make me do all that training?” you asked him, slightly peeved. “I don’t see how distracting the mafia leader has anything to do with climbing—”

“The training was to prepare you for the worst,” said Baekhyun, rather darkly. “Don’t underestimate Junmyeon. If he catches onto you in the slightest, you’re going to need to be alert and swift enough to get away.”

“Don’t worry,” you mumbled. “I’m pretty good at deceiving men.” Baekhyun smiled oddly. “Are you?”

You looked away, your heart starting to beat unevenly.

And then it was D-Day. Surprisingly, checking into the Atlantis proved not that hard at all, not with the extremely legitimate looking ID that Baekhyun gave you.

Complete with the thousand dollar clothes and tons of luggage that was basically empty, you checked into a suite at the hotel, your palms sweaty and heart hammering in anticipation.

The Atlantis Hotel was beautiful, the interior very fitting to its name. Though you had no time at all to explore, you wished you could go see the different attractions that were in the hotel itself, like the huge aquarium. 

But no, you had a plan to see through, because your separate plan with Kyungsoo also had to be put into place. The night of the reception, Kyungsoo and Jongin were going to pose as extra security personnel. Kyungsoo was going to tail Baekhyun, and Jongin was going to tail you and Junmyeon.

That way, if something went wrong, Jongin would be able to help you.

Getting Baekhyun into the hotel was another story. He had his mask up over his face again, and when the reception stopped him (understandably so) he refused to take it off (understandably so). This meant that you had to go solve the sticky situation.

“He’s uh...he’s had plastic surgery,” you blurted, earning you a harsh cough from Baekhyun, whom you avoided your gaze from. “His nose it’s all...bandaged and ugly,” you said quickly, and the lady at the reception desk smiled awkwardly. “He is your guest?” You nodded fervently. “Yes, he’s my guest.”

Baekhyun’s scowl when he finally took the mask off in your suite was one that made you bite your lip to keep from laughing. “Out of all the things you could have said, plastic surgery was the only thing you came up with?”

You shrugged. “Hey, it worked didn’t it? You’re in the hotel. We’re done with the first bit.”

“Yeah, and now all you need to do is convince Junmyeon you’re a rich heiress who wants to get into his pants,” deadpanned Baekhyun, and now it was your turn to scowl. “How am I supposed to approach him anyway? I can’t invite myself to the party,” you snapped.

Baekhyun threw himself onto the large bed, sighing loudly. “Sweetheart, if you do what you need to, Junmyeon will invite you.” “What do you mean by that?” you asked, crossing your arms. Baekhyun cocked his brows. “Wear that dress I told you to and put on that red lipstick you bought the other day. Trust me when I say Junmyeon won’t be able to take his eyes off you. No one will.”

For a few seconds you just stared at him, and he gazed back, a small smile starting to play at his lips. “Stop saying things like that,” you said finally, looking away from him. Your stomach was beginning to feel like it was tying into knots, intricate ones that felt permanent, ones that would be difficult to untangle.

“Why?” he said softly. “I mean it. Sometimes I don’t even realize I’m staring.”

A furious blush shot through your cheeks, rendering you completely blank. What was he saying? That he thought you were pretty? Why was every little sentence making your heart beat like crazy?

At the shocked look on your face, Baekhyun began to laugh, shaking his head. “Relax, okay? You’ll be fine. Now go get ready. It’s nearly showtime.”

While Baekhyun went off to prepare for god knows what without trying to be seen by any of Exo who were all in the hotel, you attempted to get dressed, your mind spinning the entire time.

You couldn’t even look at yourself in the mirror once you put the dress on, the dress that Baekhyun had given you. You hadn’t even realized when he’d gone out to buy it, a flowing, silky champagne coloured gown that hugged all your curves. It fit you perfectly, strangely enough, and just the thought of him picking it out for you was enough to have your stomach flipping over again.

The question why was piercing through every cell in your brain, making it difficult to think of much else. Ever since you’d met him, ever since you’d started the whole stupid scheme, Baekhyun had affected you, first in little ways, but now in more. Every small comment, every borderline flirtatious remark, that you’d brushed aside at first were becoming impossible to ignore.

Pretty. He thought you were pretty.

You let out a shaky breath, your fingers trembling slightly as you put the lipstick on. You shouldn’t have cared. You shouldn’t have cared at all, what Baekhyun thought of you.

But the hard truth was that you did. Because why else was your heart fluttering so rapidly that it felt as if it was about to burst from your chest?

You blinked at your reflection in the mirror, a horrible guilt washing over you. You pushed the forbidden thought to the very back of your mind, refusing to ponder over it any further, and swallowed down the strange emotion that was bubbling in your chest.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when a sudden knock sounded on the door of the suite. For a few seconds, you deliberated whether to open the door at all, until a low voice spoke. 

“It’s me,” came Kyungsoo’s smooth murmur. Your eyes widened, and you opened the door swiftly and ushered him inside. “You can’t be here, he might be back any second—”

Kyungsoo’s blinked, his parting slightly as he took in your appearance. “You look breathtaking,” he breathed, and you groaned. “Kyungsoo, this really isn’t the time—”

He seemed to snap out of it, clearing his throat. “There’s a slight change of plan. You need to drug the leader.”

You stared at him. “What?” Kyungsoo handed you a small packet, holding a suspicious looking white powder. “You need to get this into his drink, somehow. I trust you to do it though, it’ll be a piece of cake for someone who has the experience you do.”

Weirdly, this managed to tick you off. “What the hell does that mean?” you snapped, and Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You’re good at being subtle,” he said slowly. “I meant that you can do it without him catching onto you.”

You rubbed at your forehead. “Fine,” you said tiredly. “And then what? Jongin is going to smuggle him out of here without being seen by anyone?” Kyungsoo smiled wryly. “He won’t need to be smuggled. He’s a criminal. Imagine being able to successfully arrest the leader of one of the most notorious mafias in the world. We’ve never been this close to achieving something like this before.”

“And what about Baekhyun?” you shot. “What about him?” said Kyungsoo dismissively. “He won’t be too difficult to get, not when he’s trapped between two groups of people who are out for his capture. As soon as Jongin sends me the signal that you’re with Junmyeon, I’ll handle Baekhyun. There’s no way he’s getting away. Not this time.”

You looked away from Kyungsoo, an odd unrest simmering in your chest. You had a bad feeling, about everything. It felt too risky, too brash, and the worst of all, you felt somewhat betrayed by your own emotions. 

If Baekhyun was caught tonight, you would have succeeded.

Then why the hell did it feel as if you were losing?

The sound of the door handle turning made you gasp out loud, and Kyungsoo swore under his breath. “H-Hide,” you hissed, and he barely made it behind the curtains in time before you had to whirl around to face Baekhyun.

Your heart nearly stopped as he narrowed his gaze, his eyes shifting to the space behind you; the space where seconds ago, Kyungsoo had been standing.  “Who were you talking to?”

You forced yourself to stay calm. “No one? I was probably just saying something out loud, I do that sometimes.”

“Huh.” He finally stopped looking around suspiciously, and his gaze fixed on you instead. He didn’t even have to say anything. The look in his eyes and the small smile on his lips was enough to make you want to melt into the ground.

“Junmyeon better watch out,” said Baekhyun softly, stepping closer to you. You held a breath as he lifted his hand, gently pushing a loose strand of hair off your face. “I need to say something,” he said, his voice low, and you swallowed, acutely aware of Kyungsoo’s presence just a mere few feet away.

“If something goes wrong tonight, if we don’t end up getting the diamond, or if something worse happens...” he broke off, looking slightly flustered. Your heart was hammering so fast that you almost thought you could hear it in the silence of the room. 

But Baekhyun didn’t continue, instead stepping back and clearing his throat, his fingers moving to pull his mask back on over his face. “Take care of yourself,” he said, and you could say nothing back. 

This was very well going to be the last time you were going to see him, if everything went according to plan. Or, you would see him, but he would be behind bars. The image of him like that, being caught, in jail, sent a chill down your spine. The thought of looking at him and seeing the hurt and betrayal in his eyes.

It hit you then, how terrible it was going to make you feel. You had deceived him, completely, and you shouldn’t have felt bad at all, but you did. You hated it. 

You hated that you were lying to him.

Were you going insane?

Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you okay?” You swallowed. No, you weren’t okay at all.

“Well, I’m going then,” he said, still looking concerned. “I’ll be with the friend I was talking about, until I know for sure that Junmyeon isn’t with his sister. You should probably get going too.”

You nodded. “Okay.”

Baekhyun seemed to be hesitating, almost as if he could sense the same awkward tension that you could, between the two of you. Something was there, something was happening, and it was making you feel incredibly uncomfortable.

“Just go,” you blurted finally, and Baekhyun flinched. “Just leave. I’ll take care of it, of Junmyeon. Just get the diamond and...and be careful.”

Oh no. You most certainly had not just warned Baekhyun to be careful, had you? Not when this entire thing was relying on him not being able to catch onto the fact that someone was out to get him?

Baekhyun smiled. “You don’t need to worry about me, sweetheart. Though it’s cute.”

You laughed awkwardly. And then he was nodding once, before walking out of the suite, leaving you feeling almost dizzy. The moment he was gone, Kyungsoo threw the curtains back, stepping out from behind them with a cold look in his eyes.

“Kyungsoo—” “Don’t,” he said sharply. “Don’t try to explain anything. I’m going to kill him.”

“I didn’t—” “You didn’t what?” snapped Kyungsoo. “Didn’t realize that the guy you’ve been trying to deceive had fallen for you?”

You sucked in a breath, your rationality crumbling to pieces. “You’re being ridiculous.”  Kyungsoo let out a short laugh, shaking his head. “The joke’s on him, anyway, isn’t it? The poor fucker won’t see it coming. Imagine how his heart will break, when he realizes the girl he let himself fall for was faking it all along. You’re cruel, Y/N. Cruel because you aren’t just betraying him, you’re breaking his heart.”

His words were like needles, piercing through your skin and bones. “Stop it,” you said harshly. “You’re jumping to conclusions. I don’t want to talk about this further.”

Kyungsoo’s smile was bitter. “I can see it in your eyes. The guilt. You’re starting to regret ever thinking about this entire hellshow, aren’t you?”

He wasn’t lying.

“Maybe I am. But it doesn’t change anything. We’re arresting Baekhyun tonight. And then all of this will be finished.”

He looked away from you, and you felt your heart splinter. How had everything suddenly gone so wrong? It was a disaster.

But the real one was just waiting to happen.

Kim Junmyeon, his full name was. The cold and calculating leader of Exo, the one feared by friends and foes alike, the one no one attempted to deceive in fear of losing their lives.

The one you were sitting at the bar with, smiling at, over the drinks in your hands.

You had wandered down to the main lobby after Kyungsoo had left, still angry, and as soon as you had spotted the main ballroom, you had put your plan into action, with the assurance that Jongin was there, close by, that he had your back.

It was sheer lucky, really, that he had been talking to someone outside the ballroom rather than inside, because you would have had to figure out something else entirely to try and get into a wedding reception without an invitation. You had known how he looked, because Baekhyun had showed you a picture.

A deathly handsome face, charcoal hair that was swept off his forehead, and dark eyes that seemed to be able to read your mind. Kim Junmyeon was hard to miss.

From there, all it had taken was a slight ‘accidental’ brush past his shoulder, and a sly smile, and Junmyeon’s eyes had fixed onto yours in interest. You had been taken aback by how easily you had done it, but it had worked.

Fifteen minutes later and there you were, laughing and smiling coyly next to him at the bar. Junmyeon had followed you there, after telling you to wait for him, and it had given you the perfect opportunity to order two drinks and dump the drug into his. The only problem was, he hadn’t taken a single sip.

“You know, I don’t think your sister will be too pleased to know that her brother is here with someone he’s just met instead of being with her on her special day,” you remarked, twirling your drink. Junmyeon only smiled, his keen eyes not wavering from you. “She’ll be quite alright,” he said, his surprisingly light voice laced with charm. “After all, I have to take care of all my guests, no?”

“I qualify as a guest?” “Certainly. It would be a shame to not entertain someone as enchanting as yourself,” he said smoothly, and you felt goosebumps wash over your skin. You had no idea how you were managing to talk to him, how you were managing to stay so calm. On the inside, you were breaking apart with nervousness. 

The bar wasn’t very busy at all, what with mostly everyone being in the ballroom for the reception. Jongin was there though, in the corner, almost out of sight. You didn’t think Junmyeon had even noticed him. But you were also well aware of Junmyeon’s guard that was lurking somewhere near too. The leader of a mafia wasn’t just going to meet a stranger without anyone to protect him now, was he?

Everything about Junmyeon was like a red flashing warning. It was as if he oozed danger, from the way he spoke with his sugary sweet words, to the way his eyes were coldly observing you. He was like a lion on edge, ready to pounce or have someone do it for him, as soon as sensed an enemy.

“What’s her name?” you asked, smiling sweetly, almost urging him to take a sip, a single sip, and then it would be over.

“Hani,” he replied, and your eyes followed his fingers as they wrapped around the glass. “That’s a pretty name,” you gushed, and Junmyeon chuckled. “She must be beautiful, I imagine.”

“Oh?” “Well, you’re her brother, and you’re dashing...I was only making an educated guess,” you said smoothly, earning another chuckle from Junmyeon. “She must be very happy today,” you continued. “Since she’s marrying the love of her life.”

Junmyeon tilted his head. “Another educated guess?” You shrugged. “She wouldn’t be marrying someone she didn’t want to, surely.”

“Of course,” said Junmyeon, but something about his tone made you curious. “My sister...she doesn’t fall in love very easily.” “Not everyone does,” you answered, ignoring the forbidden thought that was once again floating at the corner of your mind.

“I wonder sometimes, if I’ve made mistakes,” he continued, seemingly in thought. “I fear she hates me, after some of the things I’ve done.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t,” you offered, a little confused. “All siblings fight, right? It’s natural.” Junmyeon sighed a little deeply. “Maybe. Sorry, this conversation has become a little sidetracked.”

You smiled awkwardly. “No, it’s alright. You seem like a very interesting man, Kim Junmyeon.” “You know who I am, don’t you?” he asked, his eyes glinting. “Yes,” you replied, raising your eyebrows. “And before you ask, no, I’m not afraid.”

Junmyeon clicked his tongue. “You should be.”

Your heart skittered. You licked your lips, suddenly feeling your throat go dry. You took a small sip of your drink, stopping your hand from trembling on the glass. Your eyes unconsciously floated over to where you knew Jongin was, watching, but your blood ran cold when you saw that he wasn’t there. He was gone.

You set your glass back down, attempting another feeble smile. Junmyeon was looking at you intently, and you felt a million things rush through your mind, all at once. Where was Jongin? Had something happened to Kyungsoo? What exactly was happening at that very moment, with Baekhyun and the diamond and the plan?

A strange nausea began unfurling in your stomach, and you tried to breath, feeling slightly light-headed. “All okay?” asked Junmyeon, his tone testing. You could only nod, alarm rushing through your veins when you realized you were feeling faint. What was happening to you?

“I-I don’t feel very well,” you stammered, trying to stand up. “I-It was nice talking to you, Junmyeon, but I have to go—”

He grabbed your wrist, his grip so tight that it made you gasp. “You’re not going anywhere, darling,” he purred, and the awful smile that crept across his features made your heart stop.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t realize that you were trying to drug me?” he asked, almost pityingly, as you stumbled back down onto the bar stool, your vision getting fuzzier and fuzzier. “I’m surprised you didn’t see me swap our drinks around. I guess you aren’t as smart as you look.”

Your eyes fluttered shut, your heart pounding in your ribcage. “I know exactly who you are,” snarled Junmyeon, his voice growing fainter as you began to lose a grip on reality. “Baekhyun is a fool. And now you’re going to pay the price for it.”

And then everything went black.

A/N: It took a month, but I did it lmaoooo. I still don’t really know how to feel about this chapter, but I hope you appreciate that lil’ cliffhanger hehe...leave me your thoughts pretty please x

[helpinghighlander]

Layers: Cerigo

LAYER ONE : THE OUTSIDE

Name: “Cerigo Sarior, but you won’t find it in any books and few actually use my full name, Hell few actually use my full first name even.”

Eye Color: “Blue, or at least mostly blue. Why do you see some gold in it? I wouldn’t worry about that too much it happens.”

Hair Style/Color: “I am standing right here but fine, if you want me to tell you… why are you writing this down? Whatever, its dark and currently short. It used to be longer but now its not, eventually its going to be longer again and then it will be short. Magic.”

Height: “Six fulms and “ He stopped for a moment looking down tilting his head holding his hand out then shrinking it and then finally deciding, “three ilms.”

Clothing Style: “Functional. I suppose you could say I like blue but most of the time is not filled with holes and fits is about as far as I think about it.”

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE

Your Fears: “Loosing myself.” He reached down to his hip for something that wasn’t there and gave a bitter smile, the next one was a bit slower ”Not living up to what those believe I can be.”

Your Guilty Pleasure: “Drinking. Fighting. Fucking. Not in that order, not in that order at all. Not sure what you are looking for right here but it’s not really guilt but pleasure. Life is too short to not enjoy it, tomorrow could be the last.”

Your Biggest Pet Peeve: “People saying that can’t when they really mean they won’t. I can help with can’t, won’t is on you.”

Your Ambition for the Future: “To die well. It was an old plan and seemed to be the one that no matter how hard I try I keep coming back to, sure there were others, but some dreams die some were never meant to be but that one. That is one I can do.”

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS

Your First Thoughts Waking Up: “Where am I?” He gave a smile and then a shrug, “Otherwise not much I keep my mornings most the same. Get up. Clean up. Start the day. Old life habits are hard to break and you have to be prepared for anything.”

What You Think About the Most: “It’s best to simply not. That’s not the answer you were looking for though was it? So I guess the sky? Maybe the stars? Maybe its that cute red head over there? Maybe its you? It all really depends.”

What You Think About Before Bed: “Nothing worth sharing, ghosts and old memories that refuse to fade. It used to be different but that doesn’t really matter. Oh right you were wanting something interesting? Sure… red head… you… pick one those are the good nights at the very least.”

Your Best Quality Is: “I can hold down the floor? I give plants a reason to stay around? Others say that its an earnest striving, what ever that is or something about a good natured heart. I can lift heavy things. That is something that is always useful.”

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER?

Single or Group Dates: “Single, group dates usually involve too many people competing in bed and trying to track all that and make sure everyone get…oh wait you mean a date and not sex. Right. Single still. I want to be able to know someone first then know them in a group.”

To be Loved or Respected: “You can’t ask that, you can’t have one without the other. I tried. I tried love without respect, it brought me here. Respect without love, I have enough scars from that too thank you but no. All or nothing.”

Beauty or Brains: “One day I will get to be the pretty one but I keep screwing that up by finding pretty and smart. One or the other isn’t bad, but I would rather have a smart woman in my life that I can rely on that I don’t have to take care of or rescue from herself. Been there, have those scars too.”

Dogs or Cats: “I am a little down on…cats…as a pet. As a pet yes. They are both fine.”

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU?

Lie: “Just one, had to use it too many times for my liking. You are gonna be okay. Never gets any easier but sometimes it’s all they need to hear.”

Believe in Yourself: “No room for doubt, no room for hesitation. Commit fully or not at all anything else will end quickly.”

Believe in Love: “Sure, I believe its out there. Its impossible not to see it in this world but for me? I don’t know. Its all consuming like a fire that burns everything in its wake both the one that starts it and the one that its aimed at. The question becomes is it worth it because when the fire is gone… the world is colder and the nights are darker.”

Want Someone: “Yep. I am not exactly subtle.”

LAYER SIX: EVER?

Been on Stage: “All of life is a stage and when you are at the center embrace it or it will move on but as far as an actual stage? I don’t have anything that people want to see and how many stages do you know actually want a male stripper…oh you do? Huh well sure I guess I can try it out.”

Done Drugs:  “Ever try Halone’s Mercy, its none of that organic or pure or what ever they use but if I was going to do anything it would be that again.”

Changed Who You Were to Fit In: “I have a hard enough time figuring out who I am let alone changing it for someone else. I change but it has to be for the better for a reason and fitting in? Yeah not good enough.”

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES

Favorite Color: “Blue. How is this even important again?”

Favorite Animal: “Dragon. Flight, form, power and command of the sky? What is not to like… eh maybe the fire breathing part when you are on the wrong end but it’s not that bad as long as you don’t stay in the same place it is”

Favorite Food: “Anything warm. You can look at me all you want but grow up without food or spend anytime as a soldier and warm food is like nectar from the gods and any food is better then none.”

Favorite Game: “Pin the spear on the reinforced target ninety fulms away? That’s not a game you heard of well you see you throw a spear at a reinforced target and try to hit it hard enough to pierce it. Okay fine, that’s not a real game then drinking games will work but I did play truth or dare for the first time and the outcome was enjoyable”

LAYER EIGHT: AGE

Day Your Next Birthday Will Be: “Soon I think, its about this time last time I really thought about it. I don’t celebrate it though.”

How Old Will You Be: “Thirty something. I lost count when I ran out of things to count it on so around twenty-one”

Age You Lost Your Virginity: “Too young, felt good though. Would recommend.”

Does Age Matter: “Only when it too low, I will give anyone a chance but if I am the mature one there is usually a far bigger problem.”

LAYER NINE: IN A BOY OR GIRL

Best Personality: "Let’s see I tried duty bound and that didn’t work, I tried lawful stupid, you can guess my opinion on that. I tried prideful but powerful. I guess if I had to choose again it would be honesty and self-reflection. Seeing the world for what it is and being strong enough to want to change it for the better. Open and caring but resolved to not go back.”

“So I guess I would like the moon, the stars, and the sun?”

Best Eye Color: "Who does this matter to? I would like her to have eyes the color? Really I already got overly picky about who she was and now you want to know color?”

Best Hair Color: “I heard blondes have more fun and red heads are fiery but it doesn’t matter. Maybe longer hair, something to play with and hold onto would be my only preference”

Best thing to do with a Partner: “Comfortable silence. When there is no need to fill it because the presence is enough when you can breathe and feel the peace with that other person. Oh that was too deep wasn’t it? Fine. Sex. Lots of it everywhere.”

LAYER TEN: FINISH THE SENTENCE

I love: “to come back to this question another time.”

I feel: “tired.”

I hide: “from myself”

I miss: “family.”

I wish: “to know your employer and why you are asking all of this. I also wish you to know that yes this is an actual threat but to answer the question. I wish to find myself in a world that no longer needs me”

[captainofthefallen]

30 Day Watcher Challenge- Day 15

Prompt list here 

15. decisions, pt. 3 – act III & IV: what does your watcher think of twin elms? which of the gods do they turn to at teir evron, and how do they feel about receiving divine support? how do they feel about the final confrontation with thaos? what do they ultimately decide to do with thaos, iovara, and the souls at sun in shadow?

She thinks for a moment. “I really think I should go back there,” she says at last. “You can’t really appreciate a place when the entire time you’re there you keep seeing things out of the corner of your eye, you’re terrified you’ll go mad before you can save the world or yourself, you can’t sleep anymore because of the nightmares, and you’re finally remembering what your past life did that was so awful and, well, let’s just say I just about threw up.” She takes a deep breath. 

“Sorry, that was a lot. Twin Elms was not a fun time for me. It was beautiful, of course, and under any other circumstances I would’ve loved the opportunity to learn about Glanfathan culture, but as it was… I was barely holding together. I think having my friends at my back was the only thing keeping me sane. Edér and Aloth especially, I couldn’t… well. When we heard Awakenings couldn’t be undone, the only thing that kept me from breaking down right there was that I could focus on worrying about Aloth. But really, that entire conversation with the delemgan was… while it was my last shred of hope, it was also… really, really unsettling.”

You ask how--what did the delmgan tell her?

“They said my only hope was to pray for help.” She sighs. “You know how I feel about most of the gods, so I’m sure you can imagine how well that went over. But in the end I decided to treat it just as I would asking for help from another person. So I talked to all of them. Just to figure out what my options were. And in the end, I was glad. It was sort of… I was able to get a fuller picture by getting each of their perspectives.

“As for deciding whose position to support, well. Ondra, Skaen, and Rymrgand were out just on principle. Ondra and I will never agree on anything, because I’m stubborn that way, she tried to kill me, and I hate her guts. If she even has guts. Anyway. I considered Berath’s suggestion, I considered it long and hard, but in the end… I wanted to do something good. Something that would help, that would make a difference. So it came down to Hylea, or Galawain, Magran, and Abydon.” She runs a hand through her hair. “Abydon’s my favorite, and at the time I was a little bit… shall we say peeved at Hylea because she wouldn’t give Pallegina the answers she wanted. Galawain’s never done anything to piss me off, and I talked to them before I truly figured out Magran was conspiring with Woedica, though I had my suspicions. In the end, the deciding factor was something Berath said to me. I asked why returning the souls to the Wheel would be better than returning to their bodies, and Berath… Berath said that they were… frayed. Battered, damaged, suffering. Of course, I didn’t know if it was true, but it made sense. I felt what it was like, someone having their soul ripped out by that machine. I couldn’t imagine that anyone could go through that and not have… lasting damage, you know?” She sighs.

“Returning the souls to their bodies just sounded… too good to be true, really. And in the end, I decided that using their essence to strengthen the rest of the Dyrwood was less of a risk.” She drops her head into her hands. “Gods, it sounds so damn cold when I say it like that. Like I wasn’t agonizing over it all the way into Sun in Shadow. Like I just took hold of the threads of fate and played god for a moment. And really, that’s what I did. But I didn’t do it lightly.”

Tirsa crosses to sit beside her, resting a hand on her knee. “You did the only thing you could, Mara,” she says quietly. She looks up at you. “I believe what she intends to say is, returning the souls to the Hollowborn risked doing more harm. If they returned to their bodies broken, screaming in agony from being flayed alive for anywhere as long as years, it would destroy their families. Galawain’s way… the souls remained lost, but those who remained found the courage and the strength they needed to face it. Do you understand?”

You nod slowly, mulling it over for a moment before you ask your next question. What of Thaos?

She takes another deep breath, a bitter smile on her face. “He failed,” she says simply. “Hundreds of lifetimes of memories, of planning and scheming and preparing, and he failed. I destroyed him,” she adds. “For a moment, down there in the dark, I pitied him. And I know enough of him to know that he would have hated it. But letting him return to the cycle was too great a risk. How many lifetimes had his memories returned to him? If the gods wanted it badly enough, they could have done it again. There would be no peace for him. So I reached into his soul, and I willed it into dust.” She meets your eyes, and there’s something cold and serious in hers. “His existence was dedicated to the preservation of one secret. He’s destroyed civilizations, tortured, killed, stolen the souls of children, all for this one goal. So that no one would learn the truth.”

Tirsa touches her arm. “My dear, you are being dramatic.”

She gives a wry smile. “Well, it deserves a little drama. Thaos’ secret was that the gods didn’t make kith. Kith made the gods.” She shakes her head. “He thought--so many of his people, really, even my past life, thought that kith would be worse if they knew. He told me all the false gods of the time, all the terrible things kith did in their names, and I look at kith today and ask how this is any better. Kith find excuses to do terrible things all the time. But maybe… maybe if there were no gods, at least some of them would take responsibility for their own damn actions. The Eothasian Purges. Those who believed in light and redemption, slaughtered because kith thought Magran wanted them to.” She shakes her head again, touching a hand to her forehead. “I keep coming back to this, I know, but it’s the same way in my thoughts. Maybe nothing would change. But--thinking a little selfishly for a moment--if there were no gods, I wouldn’t be on the hit list of at least one incredibly powerful, dangerously flawed being. So there’s that.”

You ask about the past self she mentioned, and the terrible things she did. How did she come to terms with it?

“I betrayed my sister to Thaos. I gave her to him, I watched her broken on the wheel, every bone in her body broken, some shattered, and I did it all because I was afraid. Because I was afraid of the truth.” She sighs. “There is no coming to terms with that, really. But I’ve learned from it. I’ve accepted that it wasn’t me, that there’s nothing I can do to change it, and I’ve accepted Iovara’s forgiveness, but… well, maybe, once, I would have wished I could forget. The look on her face as her eyes met mine, just looking at me from that wheel. But I can’t. And I wouldn’t choose to even if I could.” She looks at you. “She’s still there, you know. In that soul prison, in Sun in Shadow. And if the day ever comes when the gods can’t stop me, I’ll go back for her. I’ll release her. Because she was my sister. She deserves peace.” Another bitter smile. “Or maybe it’s me who needs peace. Maybe she’s fine where she is and I’m just projecting my own guilt onto her. But I’ll do it anyway. Because if nothing else, she deserves a choice.”

[floatingpetals]

Vanish in the Dark Pt 1

Pairings: None at the moment(A.K.A I have no idea where I’m going with this.)

Warnings: None right now, maybe language?

Word Count: 2600+

Summary: Assassin’s Creed AU and Marvel AU crossover.  The Brotherhood has spent years hiding in the shadows keeping the Templars in line as the years pass on. When the Templars company Abstergo Industries strikes up a deal with Hydra, things have to change. The Brotherhood decides to step out of the shadows, reaching out for the help of the Avengers. What could go wrong?

A/N: So far I have the first four parts written, but after that I dunno where I’m gonna go. All I know is this is gonna be a long one, and while I’m writing as I go, I’m really excited. I’ve started a tag list, so let me know if you’d like to added and I’ll be more than happy too add you! Also liking and rebblogging also helps me know if i should keep going. Thank you guys!  ❤️

Once again, the gif is not mine, credit to the owner.

Prologue | Part One | Part Two | Series Masterlist

Steve sighed into his bowl of oatmeal, watching Bucky and Sam bicker once again over who gets the last of the Lucky Charms. Natasha sat beside him, munching on an apple, throwing in a few quips herself which only cause the two start back up again. Clint had walked in, took one look at the two that stood at the center of the room gripping the box in each hand, and walked right back out. Steve was starting to think he had the right idea. 

“Could you stop egging them on?” He huffed at Natasha, who added another reason why Bucky should get the last bowl. Natasha only replied with a smirk as she took another bite from her apple. Steve rolled his eyes, knowing that she would only stop when she got bored. And from the look on her face, it wasn’t going to be a while before that happened. With the mounting tension, he thought he’d have to jump in and stop the two from having a smack down in the center of the kitchen. Just as he was about to tell them about the second box that was hiding on the top shelf in the pantry, a bellow from down the hall caused all four to stop and look in the direction.

Tony came sprinting into the kitchen, a piece of paper in hand, and looking unbelievably irate. He slammed the paper down on the island, causing the four to jump. They’ve seen him mad before, but this was a whole new level they never knew he had.

“Anyone want to tell me what the fuck this is?” He snarled, pointing at the paper. All four blinked, none knowing how to answer that question when they hadn’t the slightest clue why he was so angry. Natasha was the first to move, picking up the paper to read the words carefully. A scowl spread across her face as she read the words, unsettled from the amount of information that was typed on the paper. She turned the page over, eyeing the strange triangular symbol on the back of the white page. It didn’t spark a recognition in her mind, but the words spoke of how well the messenger knew them.

“Where did you get this?” She asked passing the paper over to Steve. Tony’s jaw clench as he tried to calm down enough to form a coherent sentence.

“It was in my lab, sitting on top my latest project. Along with a list of reasons why that prototype was not going to work and what I could do to fix it.” Tony scoffed. He was a bit bitter that someone managed to break into his lab, but was even more peeved that person had the audacity to leave a list of his failures he wasn’t even aware were there. “I checked all the tapes, there wasn’t a sign of someone breaking in the compound last night, not even a blip.”

“How is that possible?” Natasha asked leaning against the island. Steve stayed silent, rereading the words as he tried to wrap his mind around the content. If what this was saying was true then things were a lot worse than they thought.

“I don’t know, Romanoff.” Tony snarled, running a hand through his hair. “F.R.I.D.A.Y. already told that nothing out of the ordinary happened, that nothing was shut down. Yet somehow, someone broke into my lab, had time to tinker around with a prototype, and write a hand written 2 page essay on what was wrong before leaving, all while being capable of not setting off a single alarm!”

“Hey!” Steve boomed, switching into his Captain’s command voice. “Look, I get how upsetting this is, but don’t take this out on Natasha!”

Tony turned around, mouth open ready to argue. He stopped short at the withering glare Steve gave him, rolling his eyes at the blonde.

“Fine. Whatever.” He waved them off, snatching the paper out of Steve’s hand. “This is still a problem, however. Someone broke in last night. Someone knows things about us that have never been released to the public. Someone-“

“Knows of the deal between Hydra and that Abstergo company.” Steve finished. He was becoming just as unnerved about the whole thing as well. Bucky and Sam tensed, their eyes flickering to the pages. Tony passed the paper over, hardly sparing them a glance as he continued.

“They want us to meet them tomorrow afternoon. In New York. The only thing I can think of that’s going on that day is the press conference in Manhattan.” Tony was talking about the press conference that the famed company Abstergo Industries was having to speak about the advances they were going to take in the company. Their partnership with Hydra was not public knowledge, but they had heard it through the grape vine that something was happening between the two groups. The Avengers looked in on the company, wondering why Hydra took interest in them. What they found had appalled the group. They learned about some of the experiments that Abstergo took part of, and with this partnership with Hydra, they knew they’d have to do something. This request for a meeting was not something they expected however.

“Is that a good idea? I mean we have no idea who these people are.” Natasha questioned.

“I’m having F.R.I.D.A.Y. run a search for that symbol, clearly it means something. But if what they say is true, and what they know is right, then we might not have a choice.” Tony bit out. He wasn’t happy about how everything went down. However, he knew there was more important things than his bruised ego right now. Well only slightly more important. “I’m also going to up security. I can’t believe someone could sneak in.”

Steve sighed, pushing his unfinished bowl of oatmeal away. “Look, right now we need to worry about what the note said. If it’s true, then we’re going to have a lot more problems on our hands.”

Natasha nodded. “If they’re able to teach someone to become a trained killer in just days by a machine, I can only imagine what they’d do with Hydra’s less than legal experiments. Throw in the serum, they’d be unstoppable.”

Bucky tensed at that, flashes of his past coming up. He shuttered to think what could happen if this all went how the two groups wanted it to go. He passed the page to Sam and stepped up.

“I think we should go meet them.” Three sets of eyes turned to him. “The note said that if we refused, then it was fine. They don’t want anything besides stopping two groups from growing stronger than before. It’s clear they have no ulterior motive. They just want to stop them. And I agree. Hydra is already a problem, throw in the limited things we’ve learned of Abstergo and I’m sorry. I can’t let another one of me come into this world.”

Steve and Tony stayed silent for a moment. Neither wanted to agree to this, but Bucky had a point. They needed to stop this before it started. And if this other group was the key, then so be it.

“Sir.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. called, pulling their attentions away from each other.

“What’s up F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”

“I’ve done the search like you’ve asked, and I’m afraid you wouldn’t like the answer I’ve come up with.”

“And what exactly is that?”

The AI paused for a moment, before flickering on the tablet laying on one of the counters. Tony picked it up and brought up the hologram.

“It would seem that there is no current information on the symbol. Instead I found only older information. It’s an old symbol that was used dating back before history could record it. There are hints of used back in the Roman era. Perhaps ever before then. You can find old remnants on buildings, ruins, streets, and even some hidden tunnel entrances. The main known locations are Italy, present day Istanbul and recently found, Egypt.

There have been of course, other findings across Europe, and parts of Asia. There was talk of the symbol even having reached here to North America. But the symbols were suddenly wiped from existence somewhere in the 19th century. Across all countries. The only reason we know of them are because of the ones that have been found are from recent excavations and a few codecs that can only be found in ancient libraries.”

“As much as I love having an impromptu history lesson, cut to the chase. What does the symbol stand for?” Tony asked, a bit annoyed at the lengthy build up.

“That’s just it, sir. The only small bit of information I can find of it, besides the recent locations is a name. They called themselves The Brotherhood.”

“The Brotherhood?” Natasha asked.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.-“ Tony began, flipping through some of the images that showed the symbols on buildings. They were faint, a bit more intricate in design that the simple symbol on the paper, but he could tell what was there.

“I’ve already ran a search of the name. It came up empty. I had to tap into Abstergo Industries database to find out more, to see if they knew this symbol. I searched for what I could without tripping their sensors, which isn’t much. What I did find, however, is a bit appalling. It seems that Abstergo Industry is actually a front for an old order that too dates back to the beginning of history.”

Steve raised a brow; This was getting more interesting the longer the AI rambled on.

“They were once known as the Templar Order. An old group that wanted to control and use the people so that they might have order and ‘peace’ in the world. They wanted the world built in their specific image. They cared little for what happened to the common people, just as long as they, the Order, had control.”

“Sounds like another group we know of.” Bucky muttered, watching Tony flip through the files that flashed up on the screen. The AI continued.

“The Brotherhood was once their greatest foe, the group fighting back against the Templars. The Brotherhood stood for the freedom of the people.”

“What are you getting at F.R.I.D.A.Y?” Tony could tell the AI was hesitating from telling them the truth.

“The Brotherhood was also known by the Templars’ as the Assassin’s Order.” The group stood straighter as the word.  “They were a group of highly elite assassins that targeted the Order, to keep them from growing into power. They fought each other since practically the beginning of time, at one point the Brotherhood was nearly defeated. It was around the Revolution they grew in size once more but somewhere down the way-“

“The Brotherhood disappeared.”

“Yes, and that’s why I find- odd. How did they manage to fall off the face of the earth after centuries of fighting the Order? Why is it that now, they’ve stepped up? But more important, how have they managed to keep themselves hidden for so long, even after the number of successful assassinations?”

A screen popped up, faces with list of their information, the words deceased in big red letters across the face. There was a long list, over 40 from the first page with several dozen pages. The four in the kitchen stood wide eyed as they looked over the names of many dignitaries and higher ups. Natasha stepped up pointing at a member of Parliament.

“I though he died of a heart attack two years ago.”

“No, he was killed by poison. The Order, Abstergo Industries, were the ones who performed his autopsy. The reports were falsified for the public, but the Order kept his real cause of death hidden. If word got out, then there would be more panic then necessary. As it turns out, this member of the Order also had a hidden agenda the Order was not fond of. His death was not missed by them. It still did manage to hurt them. Apparently, they lost a quite a bit of their influence in Britain because of it.”

Natasha pointed to another, a senator who had been said to have died in a car crash two months ago.

“Slit throat that was covered up by the crash.” The AI went through a quick list of the ones that stood out the most to the group, and with each one the team was left even more amazed, and frankly, scared.

“How is this possible?” Steve whispered, frowning when he recognized two of the Senators. They pressed for the Accord, but were never linked to Hydra. This made it all seem even more terrifying knowing there was another group out there that was just as influential as Hydra.

“As I stated, I’m not certain. Abstergo Industries knows that Brotherhood is still out there, but somehow the Brotherhood work in the shadows. They’re off the grid. There have been no known sittings of the Brotherhood since before the 19th century. That is, until today.”

Sam whistled low, impressed. “They’ve managed to keep a low profile for so long, eliminating well-known figure heads, and managed to break into our compound without tripping one of the alarms.”

Tony turned to glared at him, but Sam only shrugged. “Think about it. If they’ve managed to do all this, unnoticed by any of us, then they must be damn good at their jobs.”

Steve grit his teeth, not like the truth to Sam’s words. They had to be damn good. He turned back to the hologram that had pulled up the information to the press conference that was scheduled for the next afternoon.

“What about this, what is that you can tell us about the two joining?”

“As you stated earlier, Abstergo Industries has a way to put people into the past, to learn from members of their Order. They can learn how to fight, how to kill, and how to lead by simply laying down in a machine for a few hours a day. They can learn to become masters of fighting in the matter of weeks. All with out sustaining injuries. Their members are willing and wouldn’t need to be wiped to have them do the dirty work of the company. Throw in everything that Hydra knows, and willing to bring to the table; The two would both be unstoppable. The only good thing that comes from this, is a kink in the system that Abstergo Industries still has yet to fix. They call it the bleeding effect.”

“The bleeding effect?” Tony asked, flipping through a few files that pulled his interest.

“They machine they use sends them through memories. If the subject spends too much time in the machine, their brain is unable to differentiate between what real and what was a memory. They’ve lost several members to the madness that it brings.”

“The only silver lining I guess.” Steve muttered.

“I suppose, however, the Brotherhood has made great strides in keeping the Order in line, even though they themselves have not been out in the open. I suggest you take them up on this offer.”

Tony snorted and shook his head.

“Sir.”

“I know, F.R.I.D.A.Y. You’re right. This is too important to ignore.” He turned to glare at the paper that sat on the island once more, the symbol of the Brotherhood facing up. It was taunting him, they managed to do the impossible. It was a blatant show of skill. And a tease that they’d never be as good as the Brotherhood. Tony was not one to back down from a challenge. Clenching his jaw, he nodded. With a swipe of his hand, he closed the hologram.

“Looks like we’re going to a press conference.”

Vanish in the Dark Tag List:

@buckybabybaby @ccehrler @the-echo-of-insanity @aya-fay

(OPEN-let me know if you’d like to be tagged)