#'One time he tried to assassinate me - it was awesome'

[vividxpages]

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ "in the dead of night"･ﾟ✧*: ･ﾟ✧*

pairing: Jacaerys Velaryon x fem!Reader

words: 7000

summary: when Jace is attending a late council meeting, two hired assassins take their chance to sneak into your chambers and hold you captive. Taken to the dragon caves below and meant to be slain by your own betrothed’s dragon, you have to trust the bond between Vermax and you is strong enough to escape your captor’s murderous plans.

warnings: soft!reader, fluffy start but HEAVY angst (reader being held captive by two assassins similar to Blood and Cheese), physical violence (slapping, hair pulling), verbal abuse, threats of rape and violence, Vermax being Vermax and also protective of reader, hurt/comfort, shock and crying, Jacaerys being a caring betrothed, Rhaenyra being the best mother in law, aftermath of trauma, healing, hopeful ending

a/n: please mind the warnings for this story, it’s my angstiest so far! Big thanks to @princessvelaryon and @princesschimchim1325 for being awesome and inspiring me to write this!

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

You smiled to yourself as you held two small wooden figures in your hands, a princess and a prince, their hands linked together and small attires made of cotton and wool. When you were younger, you remembered playing with them for hours, creating little scenarios of the prince who might sweep you off your feet someday.

Now, many years later, you had found the love of your life in Prince Jacaerys.

Ever since your own parents had died too young, Jace’s family had welcomed you as if you were one of them by blood, making you a home at Dragonstone and accepting you with open arms as theirs. Perhaps, a huge part of it was because Rhaenyra’s oldest son had been in love with you ever since he had first laid eyes on you, but there was more to it. His mother adored you and you got alone with his siblings and cousins and brought a joy into their house that was much needed in those dark times of war.

This afternoon, you were sitting on the soft fur carpet in one of the big living rooms of the castle, Rhaenyra’s twins peacefully playing with their wooden toys all around you. Earlier, Baela and Rhaena had joined you for a chat and the newest gossip, but you didn’t mind being alone with the kids as well, your own inner child always coming down around their soft souls.

You let out a playful gasp as little Viserys assembled a row of knights on their horses along the imaginary street you had built together. “Are your noble knights going to a tournament, Vis?”

The boy nodded timidly at you, letting one of the horses gallop forward and making you laugh.

Your betrothed Jacaerys leaned against the doorframe and smiled softly as he watched you. Little Aegon had snuggled close to you and you helped Viserys move the toy carriage around the carpet.

You looked up as he pushed himself off the frame, walking towards you with pure adoration in his eyes. “Oh hello. I didn’t hear you enter.” You said, letting your hand be lifted by him so he could press a soft kiss against your knuckles.

Moving to stand and placing Aegon on the ground, he laid a hand on your shoulder, shaking his head. “I didn’t want to interrupt your play. What adventures is my princess going on today? Have my brothers been behaving?”

“They are the sweetest.” You told him in all honesty, your heart melting at the two little blond boys in front of you. Whenever you spent time with Jace’s smaller siblings, you could not help but notice how your heart expanded and spoke to a deep part in you that wished for children of your own someday. “We were playing a carriage ride to a tournament, I believe, but then a dragon escaped and now we have to look for him.”

Jace squatted down for a moment and handed Aegon a rattle shaped like the bell of a sept, which he immediately took with a toothless grin and tried out. You watched your betrothed with a soft heart and thought what a wonderful father he’d make…

“I dream of the day this will be our life someday.” He confessed to you, the corner of his plump lips lifting sadly. “When there is peace in the realm and we have time to take care of our future children together.”

“I wish for nothing else.” You replied softly, your heart blooming with love for him.

For a moment, Jacaerys looked as if he wanted to sit down and join you and his little brothers, but as you knew your hard-working betrothed all too well, he sighed and stood up again, careful not to step on the big skirts draped around you like a blooming flower.

“There will be a late council meeting this evening.” Jacaerys announced to you, his displeased expression betraying him. “Everyone of the council and the dragon keepers will sit together to discuss. I wouldn’t ask you to join us, it will be very boring and entirely unnecessary.”

You chuckled, knowing all too well how different Jace would do many things if his say in the matters of his mother would be of more weight. But at the same time, you were glad, Rhaenyra kept him sheltered and protected with you for now, at Dragonstone where it was the safest place for the future king and his queen.

“Will you come to bed later?” You asked shyly, although it was not uncommon for the prince and you to share a bed before your marriage had even been consummated.

A small and narrow passage connected your room to Jacaerys’ and you had often made use of it, whether you wanted someone to talk to before heading to bed or were in need of his warm embrace before you eventually drifted off into an innocent sleep together. When he was gone or bound to duties, you usually made yourself comfortable in his bed, but perhaps you’d return to your own tonight if the meeting was going to take a while before he’d be released.

Jacaerys smiled softly at you and nodded before he raised your hand towards his lips. “I will. Don’t stay up too late, I’ll be with you as soon as I can, I promise.”

You hummed pleased and let him kiss your knuckles. “I hope it won’t be too long. And don’t take their words to heart too much, Jace. You’re the prince and they’re lucky to have you.”

“It is me who is lucky to have you, my beloved.” He said and watched in delight as you blushed at his appreciation. “My safe haven, my light.”

Jacaerys leaned down, softly cupping your cheek before he gently kissed your lips, your back arching a little to reach him better. Your lips brushed tenderly against one another and you sighed in bliss at his open affections for you.

You smiled at him when you separated, squeezing his hand in yours. “I love you. I’ll see you later.”

“I love you.I’ll do my best to hurry.” He promised, hugging his little toddler brothers as well and softly stroking their hair before he departed. You sighed to yourself, eager to have the hours pass and let the two of you be reunited again as little Aegon presented you a wood dragon, silently asking you to rejoin their play..

“Alright, where were we, my princes?”

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚

Being alone in your private chambers had become a rarity since you had been promised to Jacaerys.

You listened to the quietness of the room, the fire cackling in the pit as you sat on your bed and combed out your hair. You had taken a bath after bringing the princes to their nurseries and changed into something comfortable for the night.

The small evidence of Jace’s frequent visits to your room were visible all over the place. A cloak of his was thrown over one of your chairs by the fire and one of his books laid open by your desk. Even his smell still faintly clung to your pillows, a little gift from the last time he had fallen asleep here, not bothering to retreat back to his own chamber under your soft and lingering touches to his hair.

You could not even remember the last time the connecting door between your rooms had been closed.

You let out a small sigh as you sunk into bed, watching the dark outside of your window for a while. The council meeting must’ve been going on for a while now and you tried to read a few pages to keep you awake, not wanting to miss the moment Jace would come to you.

The time went by and your eyelids kept dropping.

But after a while, the door to your chamber opened and a wide smile split your face as you sat up in your bed, ready to welcome Jace back. Your hair fell over your shoulders, the blanket slipping down your body a little, but just a second later, everything in you froze to a stop.

Two men entered your room, their clothes dirty and faces dark as they took you in. These weren’t your guards and as one of them unsheathed a blade from his belt, you opened your mouth to scream.

They were on you in a heartbeat.

One of them drew the blankets off the bed while the other grabbed your hair, dragging you from the mattress and onto the floor, every sound in your throat seizing up and choked off by their sudden display of violence.

You were not a fighter, never had been. You stood no chance as they manhandled you in their middle, the taller one quickly looking over his shoulder as you struggled to no use against their tight grip.

“Look at that.” You heard close to your ear, the deep raspy voice sending shivers down your spine. “The bastard prince’s little bird, right between us. What would your man say now if he could see you like this, huh?”

You whimpered when your head was tugged back, the other gripping your wrists and making quick work of a tight rope around them, scratching over your soft skin and successfully binding you.

“Who are you?” You demanded to know, your voice barely louder than a whisper. You were shaking from head to toe, your body and mind gone into overdrive when they had first laid hands on you.

They shared a grin with each other. “Does it matter? All you have to know is we’re not your fucking maids. And that you will die tonight, princess. Now be a good girl and shut the fuck up.”

You tried to press your heels into the floor, to keep them from stirring you towards the door, but after a moment the tall one simply picked you up and carried you towards the door. Your nails scratched over the man’s back, but it was like he didn’t even feel it, his grip around your legs too tight for you to struggle and free yourself.

“Behave.”

You were set on your feet again, crowded by them against the door. You swallowed hard against the lump in your throat, your eyes flickering between the two of them. “Whoever paid you, their reward is not nearly enough for the misery my family will bring down on you when they find you. I am a princess of Dragonstone and you have no right to-“

They pushed you out of the door, not bothering to listen.

A horrified gasp escaped your lips as you stepped outside your chamber and nearly stumbled over the dead bodies of your two guards, bleeding out and cold on the floor. The sound echoed through the hall and before you knew what was happening, your head was pulled back by your hair and a hard hand slapped you across the face.

Pain exploded in your mind, blinding you for a moment before the sting ebbed away and was replaced with a dull throb in your cheek.

You held the palm of your trembling hand to your throbbing cheek, breathing hard as you recovered from the blow. “You will die for this.” You said oddly calm and collected. It had to be the shock, you could not think clearly, but you knew one thing for sure: “The prince will cut your hands off for laying hand on me.”

The tall one grinned as if it was an empty threat. “We will be long gone once your prince finds you, stupid cunt. And in what state that will be, I still have to decide.” His disgusting hungry gaze crept over your body, barely hidden underneath your thin sleeping gown. You wanted to throw up.

“You will lead us to the place where the dragons are.” The shorter one said. “We know the keepers are all at the meeting and you know ways where no guards keep patrol. And if you dare to scream or run to wake anyone, I’ll cut out your tongue and heart and throw it in front of the bastard prince’s feet.”

You swallowed down bitter tears, your head screaming at you to do something, anything. But your hands were painfully tied and you did not find your voice as you slowly began to walk with them through the castle.

In the past, you have had nightmares like this, terrible visions of you being powerless as hands held you down in the dark, doing horrible things to you. You sometimes had woken up screaming, but Jacaerys had been there for you every time, holding you until the worst of it was over and you slowly were able to calm down in his safe and warm embrace. Now, there was no one, all people living and working at Dragonstone either asleep or summoned by Rhaenyra and Jacaerys for the council meeting. By the time someone had discovered the corpses of your guards in front of your chambers, you’d likely be dead or taken to who knew where.

You walked through your home, shivering against the cool air with only the thin nightdress you wore on you, the dangerous presence of your captors behind your back. You knew Jacaerys would blame himself for leaving you alone and suddenly, a sorrow so consuming filled your chest, you choked on a quiet whimper. You had not even said goodbye…

“Shut the fuck up.” They hissed at you and one of them slung his arm around your waist, your fingers digging into his flesh in protest as cool metal suddenly rested against your ribcage. A dagger. “Be fucking quiet and keep walking.”

Soon, the air began to smell of salt and sea and you heard the distant crashing of the waves against the island. The entrance to the dragon caves came into sight and you turned around to face them.

“Now tell us, girl, where is your precious dragon?”

Your heart sank into the pit of your stomach, but before you could open your mouth for a reply, the other one of them shook his head. “No. Don’t be stupid. The beast will kill us right away if it sees their rider in our clutches. But…the bastard’s dragon. It’s a foul ill-tempered beast, isn’t it? Where is it?”

Vermax.

A protective wave washed through you and for a moment, you regained the little confidence you had before the man had laid his hand on you. “What do you want with the dragon? You are in no state to have a chance at killing him.”

They shared a look, both grinning viciously. One of them stepped up to you and touched your chin with his dirty hand, right where a fresh bruise from his violence bloomed. You tried to flinch away, but he held you close.

“We don’t mean to kill it, flower.” He told you, bloodthirst flickering over his features and making you sick. His knuckles brushed over the cut on your lip and you wanted to gag from disgust. “We’re going to watch as it kills you.”

Your mind was swimming as you led them through the darkness, watching their big shadows looming over your small own. The taller one still held his dagger against your waist and you knew he’d make use of it if he noticed you playing any games. There were wild beasts slumbering in the depths of these caves, but would they be faster at attacking your captors than the knife against your skin?

The hope in your chest thinned the further away you walked with them from where you knew your own dragon slept, but one last shimmer of it remained in you. You knew Vermax and he knew you just as Jacaerys did. You had to hold on to that.

“It’s here.” You announced quietly, your whisper echoing across the cave near the ocean. It was quiet here and you had to squint your eyes to make out the big nest at the end of the cave where a green-scaled dragon slept fitfully.

“Call it.” The smaller one muttered, his eyes fixed on the beast. You winced as the tip of the dagger pressed into your skin, a warning. “We will stand behind you and when it has come out, you will command it to kill you, you hear me? No tricks or I’ll gladly be the one to end your suffering, right after my friend here has had his fun with you, princess.”

You took a deep breath as they retreated into a safe distance.

„Naejot Māzīs, Vermax.“ You commanded shakingly and the sound of your familiar voice, the big pile of green and red in the corner of the cage moved, uncurling himself from his light slumber.

Jacaerys’ dragon blinked at you sleepily, a shudder going through his beautiful scales as he tilted his head to the side questioningly. When he spotted the two men in your company, he tensed, stepping forward and showing himself in his full height.

“Lykirī…“ You lifted your hands, trying to catch Vermax’ eyes again so he’d look at you instead of them.

With a low growl in his throat, he settled, stepping closer to you until his snout almost touched your outstretched hand.

“Say it, girl!” You heard the commanding voice behind you, in a safe distance of the beast that slowly blinked at you, considering. “We’re not going to wait much longer!”

You took a deep breath and looked Vermax in the snake-like eyes.

He met you with a calm stare, tilting his head to the side again, a deep rumble in his chest.

You had to trust in him now. You had to trust in the love Jacaerys and you were sharing and the bond between you and the dragons.

Out of the sudden, a heavy thrown stone hit you in the back and you gasped in pain, stumbling forward and almost slipping in a dirty puddle.

“DO IT!”

Trust in Vermax, just as you trust in your Jace.

“Dracarys.” You whispered finally and closed your eyes.

Vermax surged forward with a furious roar, one sharp claw in the ground, his wing shielding you from the scenery. Nearly pushing you out of the way, he advanced on the men who had threatened you with a snarl and warmth filled the large cave, fire burning low in his green-scaled stomach.

A horrible realization flickered over their faces as the green beast drew closer, their backs hitting the wall behind them as they looked at you one last time. “You fucking cunt-“

Vermax wiped out their miserable existence with one single breath of fire. Heat tore through the cave and you stumbled backwards as the dragon fire burned them and the scent of roasted human flesh reached your nose.

You squeezed your eyes shut and buried your face in your hands as you listened to their screams. Their agony bounced off the stone walls and heat crept down your spine, but Vermax kept you close, the leathery feel of his wing a small comfort against your skin.

Suddenly, silence rang in your ears.

You dared to peek up over the protective curl of Vermax’ wings.

Where your captors had stood, only ashes and bones remained.

Vermax let out a self-satisfied growl, clearly pleased with what he had unleashed on the terrors. He bent down, blinking at you with his sharp eyes as if to make sure you were alright. Tears, both from the shock and gratitude, filled your eyes and you leaned your forehead against his snout, trying to take deep breaths to steady yourself.

You shrunk back as you heard footsteps in the caves, hurried steps running over gravel and through the water puddles, a flame throwing a long shadow over the walls. You felt Vermax tense, his wing drawing itself tighter around you. Any other threat advancing, he’d burn to the ground.

In the next moment, Jacaerys stormed into the chamber, his sword drawn as his other hand held a lit torch. His chest was heaving, sweat gathering at his hairline as he quickly took in the state of the room. He looked like he had run the length of the castle and you knew it likely had been the case.

Vermax snarled without threat, greeting his rider and lifting his wing to present you to your love.

Your eyes met and you let out a shuddering breath.

The sight of you was a thousand daggers to his heart.

Your face was smeared with soot and the blood from your split lip coated your chin, your hair unruly and disheveled from the way they had grabbed and dragged you along. Your silk dress was dirty and you shivered against the cold of the cave as you slung your bruised arms around yourself.

Behind you, Vermax hovered like a protective shadow and waited, willing to serve with Jacaerys now here with you.

As he took a step towards you, his boot made contact with the skulls of the assassins. Two of them, he realized and the rage surging through his veins was all-consuming. He looked down at their bones and wished to go back in time to kill them himself, over and over again until not even these mortal remains stayed behind.

But his own bloodlust vanished as he raced towards you, your own legs unsteady and finally giving out under you just as he reached you.

He fell to the ground with you in his arms, holding you tightly as you clawed your hand in his clothes, his heart breaking for you right underneath your tight grip. It was like any last strength in you had left, leaving you a broken and sobbing mess in his embrace.

“You’re safe, you’re safe…” Jace murmured into your ear, softly swaying you back and forth as you wept, the adrenaline and shock from the situation finally crashing down on you with full force. “Nothing is going to happen to you, I’m here…”

The Queen and the dragon keepers found the prince and his princess just like this.

Jacaerys was kneeling on the ground, the princess dissolved in tears in his arms and the ill-tempered beast that had saved his love curled around them, chortling comfortingly as the prince stroked her hair and whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚

You had been escorted back to the castle, but you couldn’t say you remembered much from the journey. Your mind had gone into an odd state of survival, the girl from before the attack having retreated into a far corner of your mind.

The guards, now dead because of you, had been carried away in front of your door and you had stopped in the middle of the hallway, not able to go another step as you stared at the spot where maids were now scrubbing the blood from the floor.

“Come on, my dear.” Rhaenyra had gently told you and you tore your eyes away from the scene as your Queen and Jacaerys led you into his chambers instead. The warmth and unique scent of Jace’s quarters – the smell of old parchment and books, mingled with the wax of the candles and the smell of his sheets – enveloped you and you drew the cloak Jace had draped over your shivering form tightly around you.

Now, a little later, you were seated at Jace’s work table and blankly stared at your scraped hands in your lap.

Jacaerys had instantly expressed his dislike for an interrogation at this hour of the night, but you had shaken your head, willing to recount the situation to Rhaenyra as if words could wash away the poison they had brought onto you. Your skin felt coated with it and you feared the stain might never go away again.

Yet, you had told her and Jace what happened, slowly and quietly, and when you were done, Rhaenyra was holding your hand and Jacaerys looked as if he wanted to break something.

“My brave girl.” Rhaenyra murmured and softly cupped your cheek as she looked at the bruises on your face and neck. “You’ve fought enough for tonight, darling. I’ll call the maids and healers and-“

“No.” You cut her off, shivering at the prospect of unfamiliar hands on you, seeing the evidence of what had happened on your naked skin. You swallowed hard, your eyes filling with unshed tears again. “No one else. It’s- it’s alright, I can do it myself, I really can-“

Rhaenyra smiled sadly at you. “You are hurt, my dear.”

“I’m not broken.” You insisted, although you felt like it. You were shattered pieces on the ground.

“And no one says so, dear.”

Jacaerys, sensing you were on the verge of breaking down, knelt down next to your chair and caught your gaze with his. “I can help, if you want.” He offered quietly.

You looked back at him, conflicted. If Jace stayed, there’d come the point where he’d see the damage you had taken and you did not know what troubled you more; him seeing you like this or seeing him as his heart shattered for you.

“Jace.” Rhaenyra looked at him. “Perhaps a woman’s presence at this time is better suited for her. I’ll fetch you later, I promise, but she needs a moment for herself now, alright?”

He was tense, your beloved prince, but after a moment he nodded with a set jaw before he stood and looked at you one more time. “I’ll wait outside.”

You didn’t want to meet his sad expression, so you kept your gaze down as mother and son went to the door, talking in quick and hushed voices before Jace stepped outside and Rhaenyra returned to you.

She leaned down and brushed a little bit of soot from your cheeks, careful not to touch your split lip. “Vermax surely knows how to rain down fire on our enemies, hm?”

A weak smile tugged at the corner of your lips. “He saved me. He knew exactly what was going on the moment I entered and he was intelligent enough to play along until the right moment had come.”

Rhaenyra hummed, offering you a hand to stand up. “And still, they only call my son’s dragon ill-tempered. How does a bath sound? I’m sure you’d like to step into more comfortable clothes, wouldn’t you?”

You nodded, longing for a simple cotton shirt, preferably one of Jace’s that smelled like home and warmth and safety.

Your future mother-in-law went to the big bath next to Jace’s bedroom with you, a steaming bath already having been drawn for you.

When you saw her drawing a stool close to the tub, your eyes widened and you were quick to interject: “I-I can do it myself, Your Grace, there is no need for you to-“

“Please let me help you just as I would help any other child of mine.” She interrupted you kindly and soon after, you gratefully sunk into the bath, your sore muscles relaxing in its warmth.

Rhaenyra helped you tilt your head back and you closed your eyes as warm water flowed over your hair and down your neck, tears of your own silently running down your damp cheeks. Your throat bobbed painfully as you let her work, the Queen’s gentle hands a mother’s comfort as they helped to get rid of the dirt from the caves and a root clinging to your skin.

“I have sent Jace to fetch an ointment for your bruises and cuts.” She told you quietly and you nodded silently, cupping some of your water to rinse off your face, careful not to touch your throbbing lip. “I want you to tell me if I should send him away for the night. You can be honest with me, dear.”

You sniffled, gladly accepting the towel she lent you after helping you out of the bathtub. After a moment, you rasped: “It is not him I am scared of. It’s just…I know it pains him to see me hurt.”

“He hurts because he hasn’t been there for you, my dear.” Rhaenyra explained softly and you sighed to yourself as you slipped into a silken robe, the fabric easy on the big bruise on your back and arms. Underneath, you already wore one of Jace’s long shirts, the fabric more of a dress on you. “If it is one thing I have learned, as someone who loves and is lucky enough to be loved, it’s that healing means accepting the help of others. No one will fault you if you want to be for yourself tonight, but I know Jace will do anything he can to help you recover from this, no matter what that might look like.”

You did not want to be alone.

You feared it, laying down in bed once again when the door could open at any moment and reveal the terrors, although Jacaerys had doubled the amount of guards outside his door, simply so you’d feel safe.

You wanted to feel sheltered and able to move past this with the one you loved more than anything else, the one who had first thought about when your life had been in grave danger.

You needed Jacaerys.

“Jace may come in again.” You said quietly, suppressing the urge to groan with every step. You had not seen it yet, but the pain the stone thrown to your back caused felt like a flare and you were sure the spot was already turning a deep shade of purple.

Rhaenyra led you towards Jace’s bed, seemingly pleased with your decision. “I’ll make my leave then. Sleep in tomorrow, the both of you. You need all the rest you can get.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” You squeezed her hand in yours, bowing your head in gratitude. “And thank you for helping me.”

She smiled at you one last time, although there was a strain to it, her worry over a sneak attack like this consuming her mind. Tomorrow they’d speak about this in council, but tonight she’d let her son do the rest, his wide eyes meeting hers when she opened the door and let him in.

You turned around to look at him, your damp hair falling over your shoulder and his clothes, a princess despite the cuts and bruises on your skin. Jacaerys slowly walked to you and your heart stung when you noticed his blood-shot eyes and how pale he still was. He was tense all over, yet he softened as he came to a stop in front of you.

“Where does it hurt?” He asked quietly, looking for your honesty and not a false promise towards him.

You let out a shaky breath and leaned into him.

For a moment, you simply stood in front of each other, forehead against forehead and breathing each other in. Hot tears welled up in your shut eyes, his closeness rescuing and suffocating you at once. Jace’s nose touched yours and his soft curls tickled your cheeks and for a second, you thought that everything might be alright again when the morning came.

“My back. My cheek and wrists…” You whispered, your breath tickling his lips. “I know I’ve bathed and changed and I’m safe in your rooms, but…it feels like they’ve put me apart and I’ve been assembled back together wrongly.”

He shook his head, swallowing against his own lump in his throat. “You could never be wrong, my love.”

Your bottom lip wobbled dangerously, only doubling the pain in the cut grazing it. “I’ve been so scared, Jace. When they entered my room- Anything could’ve happened, they could’ve done anything to me-“

You gasped both in relief and sorrow as his arms pulled you against him, the hug both grounding and warm, something you thought you’d lost forever mere hours ago. You were too exhausted to cry once more, but the horror over what else could’ve been done to you shook you to your very core.

“I’m never going to let something like this happen again.” Jace promised you darkly as he tightened his arms around you, soothingly brushing his hand through your hair as you rested the unwounded side of your face against his heart. “You will never have to be afraid again, I promise. I should’ve been there, I should’ve stopped them-“

“You didn’t know they were here.” You reminded him, but you could feel the fury radiating off his body, an all-consuming rage deeply rooted in him. “No one did. No one is to blame except for the ones who sent them, Jace.”

“And they will pay.” You could practically feel the daggers he was glaring at the wall behind you. But just after a moment, you felt his anger deflate as he softly kissed the top of your head and gently lifted your chin so he could look at you. “You’ve been fighting all alone tonight, but I am here now and I want to be of use, beloved. Will you let me help?”

“I don’t want to upset you.” You almost bit your lip before you remembered the pain.

His gaze softened endlessly and he tucked a damp strand of your hair behind your ear. There were lots of tangled emotions inside of him still, but he saw you, this sweet delicate girl he had fallen for ever since the beginning and knew he had to take care of you now. “You could never upset me, my beautiful strong princess.”

The words were mending on your shaken soul and you closed your eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before you let him to his work.

“The maester said the salve might be a little cool on the skin.” Jace murmured and you nodded in understanding. “And he gave me ice, scratched from the old side of the island’s cliffs, for your cheek.”

You took the dripping bundle from his hand, sighing as the cold cloth touched your cheek, the swelling subtle so far yet inevitable to strengthen throughout the night. But every bruise and cut on your body was better than not living to see the sun rise in the morning. “I could apply the salve on my own?”

Jace shook his head. “Let me do this for you.”

He walked with you to his bed, helping you sit down as he knelt before you, devotion shimmering in his eyes. You realized that he needed this just as much as you did, to prove himself he was able to take care of you now, even if he had not been there for you then.

He cupped your healthy cheek as you covered the other one with your ice. “Should we start with your back?”

Jace helped you lift the fabric, only so much so he could see where the stone had struck you, a dull bruise blossoming right next to your spine. It was nothing he had not yet seen so far, still you felt self-conscious under his attentive eyes.

You held very still as Jacaerys began to carefully apply the ointment to the bruise, his finger drawing soft and soothing circles over the blue spot. His other hand touched your waist, just barely underneath the fabric of his shirt on you and you closed your eyes as the cooling sensation drew a little pain from you and let it vanish.

“Good?”

“Feels good…” You murmured and tried to crawl into the feeling, the tiny relief washing away a little of the darkness from before. With a small kiss to your nape, he let the shirt fall and cover you again.

Next came your sore wrists. He lifted both of them, seeing the red marks where the tight rope had cut into your skin and swallowing hard. He wanted to unleash Vermax on the dusty bones of your captors again until their remains were annihilated from this earth. Jace softly kissed both of them before he dipped his fingers into the small jar again and repeated his careful motions.

You made a small sound in your throat and he stopped instantly.

“Too hard?”

You shook your head. “My lip…”

He sat down beside you, the mattress dipping underneath his weight and bringing you closer to him. The cut wasn’t pretty, but no cut was and you did not shy away from him as he took in the damage, one of his hands still rubbing circles into your wrist.

You held your breath as his coated thumb touched your bottom lip, his touch light as a feather as the cooling salve instantly mended the throbbing. Your hand reached up to hold his wrist, not ready yet to let him go when his touch felt infinitely good for your aching body. There was nothing sexual about the way you breathed against the pad of his thumb, relishing his care and simply letting it wash over you, and for a while you were simply content like this, Jacaerys remaining close to you as you breathed through the slowly ebbing pain.

“Do you want me to braid your hair for the night?” He asked quietly like he had so many times before.

Your wonderful beloved Jace. You nodded gratefully as he shuffled once more on the bed and sat behind you. Kissing the back of your head and brushing your hair over your shoulders for you, he got to work.

Your body was lulled into relaxation as his fingers combed through your hair, loosely braiding it so you wouldn’t have to wake up with tangles and knots in the morning. His warmth was a comfort against your back and if the vicious bruise hadn’t been there, you would’ve leaned back against him, ready to melt into his tenderness.

“Vermax saw right through them.” You spoke up after a while, your eyelids drooping from time to time from exhaustion as Jace finished up his braid for you. “He didn’t let them see at first, but there was a moment where I knew he was going to protect me, that he knew what was happening.”

“He loves you as if you were his own rider.” Jace mumbled, affection for you and his dragon in his voice. “I am glad he had been there for you when I wasn’t.”

“I want the finest sheep the shepherds can organize for tomorrow.” You looked over your shoulder with determination and Jacaerys frowned at you, a question in his eyes. You welcomed the small sting your lip caused you when its corner lifted up into a weak smile: “I want Vermax to be rewarded for defending his rider’s princess so honorably.”

“And I’d be honored to be the one to select it for you, my princess.” Jace’s face darkened, fury swirling in his brown orbs. “I still wish they would’ve suffered more. They deserved much more than a quick death of fire.”

His revengeful words were nothing against the soft touch with which he doted on you and when he was done and brushed his fingers once more over your hair, your body wanted to sink into his pillows and melt into them.

Jace laid down with you, carefully adjusting his position beside you so he wouldn’t accidently bump into your sore body. You exhaled deeply when your head touched his pillow, smelling so comfortingly of him. You could not bear to lie on your back, so you snuggled into Jace’s bed on your stomach, hugging his pillow and turning your head so you could look at your love.

He was resting on his side, his brown eyes searching for any discomfort you might have. Your eyes flickered over his shoulder, towards the door of his chambers.

“You are safe now, I promise.” Jace whispered and leaned forward, pressing a small kiss to your nose. “There are five guards outside and my sword leans against the bed. I’m here. Nothing bad will ever befall you again, my love, I swear it with my life.”

You gave him a tiny nod and tried to relax, although it was hard to keep the shadows lingering in the corners of the room at bay. You wiggled one of your hands out from under the pillow and found his, tugging him closer until his lean body warmed your side, one of his hands resting securely on your lower back.

“Tomorrow, I want to take a walk to the cliffs.” You whispered, longing for the fresh air and its cleansing effect.

Jacaerys smiled. “Then it will be arranged. Does my princess wish for any company?”

You nodded timidly, his playful undertone distracting you from the dull throb underneath the ointments. “And I want to have a picnic if the sun is out, with all my favorite things.”

“I’ll tell the kitchens then, first thing in the morning. They’ll be happy to please their future queen.”

“And when I’m healed, I want you to kiss me…” Your eyes drooped, the exhaustion from the night overpowering the little anxiety that remained in you.

“Your wish is my command...” Jacaerys mumbled back, his eyes on you as you slowly drifted off into a well-deserved sleep. He had not been entirely honest with you, there were many things he wanted to do.

He watched you sleep beside him, the most innocent sweet being he knew, covered with his warm clothes and bruises on your skin. Jace still held your hand and was not willing to let it go for the rest of the night.

At the soonest time, he’d convene a council meeting and strengthen the security around Dragonstone. He already had caught word of Daemon wreaking havoc on the guard unions patrolling around the castle for not being more attentive, for the princess was one of his favorite people in this family and Jace knew he’d have an ally for his cause.

He’d take his revenge for you.

But for now, he knew you needed him more than ever, and tomorrow he’d do his best to make you happy again. 

He could almost see it in the dark of the room, your eyes closed blissfully against the sunbeams, your hair dancing with the wind as you walked hand in hand as you had done so many times as children. You’d eat ripe peaches and cake and slowly, this incident would move past you until it was only what it was; a shadow in the corner, in the dead of night…

my taglist (open): @princesschimchim1325 @cecestea @jacesvelaryons @princessvelaryon @diannnnsss

[physics-of-one-piece]

Since I did what Doflamingo does/says in I'll build castles for you, my love (look at me, not my brother) (Rosinante x Reader x Doflamingo WIP) I bring the aforementioned brother from the title and a snippet (which is before he dies but I wrote it and nearly cried, so I thought it was worth a share) with him:

Some NSFW mentions in the bulletpoints but nothing descriptive:

Gets into a first bath in a month with Law and bathes him, trips on the floor getting out the bath

trips and falls in his own house in a hurry to get the medicine for Law's fever

most softest 10 foot lover in the One Piece World but he absolutely can rock your world

always careful with his big hands

never holds himself to intimidate while home

has fun coloured sweaters and fun shirts

your favourite outfit of his is his blue dress shirt and white pants, he looks so FINE in that 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 also his marine uniform without the coat 🫠

watches you fuss over Law and cries

he kneels down to hug you, and always loves getting his hair ruffled by you

peppers you with kisses when he comes home

removes make-up and makes Law scream thinking he's Doflamingo

"Did you think my actual name was Donquixote Corazon? Cutee~"

when asked by Law who you are, Rosinante blushes, smiles goofily and chuckles, saying "She's... my wife."

insulted by Law saying to you, "You deserve better."

dances with you in the kitchen

finishes his jobs for Doflamingo early so he can spend the rest of the days he is supposed to be away with you, which means this man sails to you as much as he can

spent two weeks with you and got you pregnant in that timeframe

always bring a bouquet and chocolates and souvenirs from islands he visited when he comes home to you

puts you in a Silent bubble so you can scream your anger/frustration away

his Silent is literally your therapy and when you tell him his Devil Fruit is your favourite Devil Fruit, he grins so bright, the sun wishes it could shine like that

you meet him when he crashes into you

How many guys can say their clumsiness got them a wife? Not many. Exactly, Rosinante is built different.

cries every time you make him pancakes for breakfast

actually a solid cook, but he needs to be watched, always have water nearby

You call him Rosi or Rosinante

He blushes when you call him Corazón or Cora-san. Once roleplayed as his "pirate" persona, and he managed for five minutes before breaking character and you laughed for a good ten minutes

you can get as loud as you want in the bedroom within his Silent bubble 😉

you love his red hat

he can bake cookies and they're sent from heaven

has his own marine squad since he's a Commander and his crew is awesome (original characters but I like them, you'll see)

kills a Celestial Dragon that tries to kidnap you and makes it look like an assassination by pirates - Sengoku is on board with it

humble and sweet wedding day, Rosinante cried the whole time

loves cuddles & loves your cooking

cried of joy when getting a lunch box for his journey with Law from you

takes the secret he has a wife to his grave, never mentioned you to Doflamingo, never let Doflamingo find out about you (considering the chapters with Doflamingo that come, very clear why)

died not knowing you were pregnant, as even you didn't know it at the time (I'm so sorry 😭)

And here is the snippet:

Your face flashed in his mind.

Sorry, mi amor. thought Rosinante.

The red lenses that have by now become his brother’s eyes stared down at Rosinante coldly, red stained glass reflecting the falling snowflakes.

Guess I’m not coming back home this time.

Rosinante was going to make sure Law gets away. He could get himself to Eudai by paying a fisherman to get him there. He’d be safe there, and with any luck, he could then decide what he wanted to do with his life. He knew you wouldn’t ask Law to stay with you if Law didn’t want to. You were good at reading the kid like that.

Law was a smart cookie. He’d probably activate his Devil Fruit powers in an hour from now on and heal himself within a minute. Rosinante knew it. He believed in it.

Rosinante isn’t worried about anything, he isn’t afraid. He is grateful. He is so grateful to be here, in this moment, on the side he considers right.

Not on the marines’ side. Not on the pirates’ side.

On Law’s side. He was Law’s Corazón now, not Doflamingo’s.

You said such to him yourself. Law saw Rosinante as his guide, Law trusted him, had faith in him, just like you did. Law had become a part of Rosinante’s family, your small family Rosinante was the patriarch of, the protector of. Rosinante wasn’t fighting for the marines now, or for the pirates. He was fighting for a sick little boy because nobody else would, nobody else wanted to, nobody else thought to, except him and you.

You had guided him and supported him to become the man he is today, catching him by the hand before he could trip and fall the same way his brother did. 

He remembered the first time you tried to teach him how to dance with him, and he ended up stepping on both your feet. 

“I’m so sorry! Please give me another chance.”

You told him, “Just enjoy the dance.” before pulling him into your first dance together, and he did as you asked, letting his legs follow the beat and the song, and it turned out okay. He never stepped on your feet again.

Six months later, he was dancing with you every day in the living room of the house the two of you called home, pulling you into a dance on the field of blue forget-me-nots, your sweet, soft laughter caressing his ears.

Because of you, Rosinante knew he’d never lose his way. Because if he did, you’d set him straight, grip his hand so he doesn’t fall apart. 

You were the flag Rosinante carried in his heart.

He felt so lucky to have you. He was the clumsiest, luckiest man on the planet. He never thought his clumsiness would bring him to you.

Rosinante was happy. Donquixote Rosinante was the happiest man on earth. He didn’t need any treasure, or an army, or a country, or immortality, or the world. None of those things could ever make him happy as living with you and Law did.

And Rosinante realised it then; it was that Doflamingo lacked. He had a family, but he also didn’t. For a moment, Rosinante pitied his brother, even though his brother had done it to himself. To live without experiencing pure happiness, genuine happiness, without hurting anyone to attain it… 

It must hurt, Doffy. thought Rosinante sadly. You must be lonely.

Rosinante looks at his older brother, and for the last time, there is a pang of pain in his heart at the sight of what his older brother has become. 

Rosinante pulled out the pistol, aiming it at his big brother — at Doffy, at Doffy — pulling back the safety pin, knowing very well he wouldn’t press the trigger, and knowing very well his brother would.

Rosinante really wished he’d gotten to dance with you one more time. 

***

Word Count Report:

Currently, Rosinante's part (Part 1) is 8.4k words, Doflamingo's Part 2 is 13k words so that one might get separated into 2 parts to keep it a normal word count. Part 3 (also Doflamingo) is the shortest at 4k words but there is a lot left to write and plan for that part.

Taglist: @fanaticsnail

[pandafruit]

Ok, I’ve been tossing this AU around in my head for AGES, and I have to get it out or I’m gonna explode.

So in TEC, it’s made pretty clear that there are numerous risks to reviving Butler that even the fairies can’t fully account for. No healing like his had ever been attempted before, and there was really no telling what was gonna happen.

What if, in the face of all this, Holly refuses to heal him?

She’s not a trained medical warlock. She’s on her own. And she’s being asked to desecrate the body of her friend, with unknown, possibly catastrophic results. She refuses, tries her best to console Artemis and goes home.

Now, a lot changes from here.

Artemis obviously isn’t giving up hope. He transfers Butler to longer term cryogenic storage and has human surgeons fix his wounds as best they can in the meantime.

Artemis and Holly’s friendship is shattered. Artemis could never forgive her for not even trying to heal Butler. Holly doesn’t hate him in turn, but she does (mostly) believe she did the right thing, and wishes he would see her point of view. The LEP might still occasionally contact Artemis for help (though not for long - I’ll get to it) but the two of them remain, at absolute best, frosty around each other from then on.

Spiro and Blunt are no longer getting the “off to prison” treatment lmao. Artemis contacts Carla Frazetti and convinces the Chicago mob to turn on Spiro and assassinate both him and Blunt. Afterward, Artemis ends up taking Spiro’s place as benefactor and strategist for the mob. In return, Carla provides him with a security detail when needed (which is how I’m getting around Artemis not dying without Butler every 5 minutes lmao). The relationship proves very beneficial to Carla, and absolutely horrible for Artemis’s moral compass.

Artemis becomes obsessed with learning how to use magic - if the fairies won’t heal Butler, he’ll do it himself. This strains his working relationship with the LEP to the breaking point, and he eventually becomes a fairy fugitive. (I’ll be honest, this one is just bc I think Warlock!Artemis is cool as hell. They should’ve let him keep the magic >:(((( ) (Also cue tragic-yet-awesome scene where Holly is trying to bring him in and they get into a magic fight. The drama. The cinema).

Speaking of his magic! Artemis is no longer actively monitoring Foaly’s work, and the calculation error for the demons goes unnoticed until far too late. Thousands die in Hybras’s return to Earth, and the fairies come dangerously close to being revealed altogether.

When Artemis’s Atlantis Complex hits, because of his decidedly more amoral life path and extra dabbling in magic, it’s a hundred times worse. He has full blown hallucinations, panic attacks, multiple alters, and can no longer access fairy help for any of it. He stumbles by with human OCD treatments, but it’s not nearly as effective. He still refuses to see a psychiatrist.

Eventually, years down the line, Artemis masters magic well enough to revive Butler. It’s both better and worse than it would’ve been had Holly healed him - he no longer has to deal with the Kevlar strands thanks to the human medical intervention, and Artemis was able to train for years specifically to heal him, but the extra time in stasis means it takes even more of Butler’s life force to revive him.

When Butler finally awakes, he no longer recognizes the cold, paranoid, angry young man he used to dutifully protect. Butler may have been the one who was revived, but it’s Artemis who came back wrong.

There’s a million different ways this AU could go, but this is the stuff I’ve been tossing around. Also I know for a fact I haven’t hit every plot hole - PLEASE please share what you guys think would happen with me!! As of rn, I have no name for this AU, so I would appreciate suggestions for that too lmao

[iamadequate1717]

Stede's Strange Day

I want to talk about Stede Bonnet's very strange day. Let's look at the progression of just what Stede sees.

He spends the night with his boyfriend for the first time, and his boyfriend brings him breakfast in bed like Doug did for Mary. They talk about their reunion. Stede is very happy right now!

His boyfriend tells him that he envisioned him as a beautiful merperson and that he thinks he saved his life.

They get dressed, and they go out on a breakfast date on the town. Stede tells Ed about the letters he wrote, and Ed loved that!

Stede then discovers he has a fanclub! Ed laughs and is happy for him! They're going to go down to Jackie's so Stede can enjoy this some more!

Ed throws in some light banter/teasing about this turn of events, and Stede literally squeals before they run off giggling together.

They get to Jackie's, and Ed continues to encourage Stede!

Ed leaves him to it! "Enjoy the night" are his parting words.

So Stede enjoys the night!

He's being accepted! And he still talks about his boyfriend while being fawned over!

Everyone tells him he's awesome! He offs an assassin while saying something cool! No one is making fun of him!

After a bit, he goes to find Ed to share in his fun! He's had a great day.

Only, he's immediately met with this with no context: Ed regrets being with him! Ed is leaving immediately!

Remember: Ed's last words to him were "Enjoy the night!" This is complete emotional whiplash. Stede knows right away what the problem is, but Ed shuts it down.

Ed wants to be a fisherman! A proclamation completely out of the blue! Stede tries to talk him down. That fish wasn't so awesome that it should completely change Ed's life trajectory, casting Stede out of the way.

Ed disagrees and abandons Stede with no real explanation or listening to what Stede was trying to say, which isn't a great move for a healthy relationship.

Basically, Stede spent a few hours (only a few hours!) enjoying himself (in a manner that Ed encouraged him to!). He did nothing awful (because murder is cool in this show), and was a lot tamer than what Ed and company were doing in 1x8 (turtle vs crab is mean!).

I'm going to go more into Stede defense in another post. "Last night was a mistake" is an egregious phrasing to use with the man you love who has self esteem and trauma issues (we know what he means but it can be interpreted much worse), but Stede took it in stride. But for some reason people act like Stede committed war crimes with the fish comment? Ed sharing his day and Ed excising himself from Stede's life are different contexts and the fish is viewed differently in each lens. It was an OK fish, and Stede did nothing wrong. Stede is right that Ed is a coward, and I don't think Stede saying a few slightly harsh things in the heat of the moment when being blindsided like this is a character flaw.

Ed behaved appallingly in shutting down the conversation and refusing to even give context to what was going on. With 1x9&10 and Stede deciding Ed was better off without him, I saw plenty of comments about how Stede couldn't make a major life decision for Ed like that. With this, Ed has made a major life decision for Stede (I'm going to dump him and remove myself before he can choose piracy over me!), but I have yet to see the same comments, and I know exactly why that is.

...

More Stede defense!:

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

FIRST ROUND: 27th Tilt

Cesare Borgia, The Borgias (2011-2013) VS. Prince Hamlet, Hamlet (1948)

Propaganda

Cesare Borgia, The Borgias (2011-2013) Portrayed by: Francois Arnaud Defeated Opponents: - Ancelyn ap Gwalchmai [Marcus Gilbert], Doctor Who: “Battlefield” (1989)

“How do I even begin to explain Cesare Borgia? - Cesare Borgia is flawless. - He has one duchy and two cardinalates. - I hear his hair is insured for 10,000 ducates. - I hear he does Church speeches… in Spain. - His favorite painter is Pinturicchio - One time, he met Caterina Sforza in Forlì. And she told him he was pretty. - One time, he threatened to kill me… it was awesome! This man.... this man, this man. He is the complete package: a perfect case of competent kink, a ruthless bastard (ie sexy) AND he's so irredeemably fucked up you also get the "I could fix him" complex. This is the man who could had it all and yet he wasn't enough (again, sexy).

Prince Hamlet, Hamlet (1948) Portrayed by: Laurence Olivier Defeated Opponents: - Björn Ironside [Alexander Ludwig], Vikings (2013)

“1) That slutty thing he does with his leg in the character-intro shot. I see those calf muscles in those customary suits of solemn black. Unf. 2) The EYES. Haunted. Enormous. Intense. 3) The way his hand hovers millimeters above Jean Simmons' hair in the "Get thee to a nunnery!" scene. Not over it, never over it. 4) Vulnerability is hot, especially when it's transgressive/unexpected, and this Hamlet has that in spades. 5) "Lady, may I lie in your lap?" The sincerity of desire under the veneer of everything else just undoes me.”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Cesare Borgia:

(Excerpted from above propaganda) "He's serving cunt at ALL times. In Cardinal clothes? Serving cunt. In "civil" clothes? Serving cunt. In armor? Serving cunt. He had one of the most competent thinkers and do I say philosopher of his time (Machiavelli) *fawning* over him. Was he a tyrant? Possibly, but it's one we LOVE. The man [Machiavelli] literally BASED A BOOK on him.... (Cont. under the cut)

"He has a personal assassin of ...unmatched abilities and YET he's even better than the man himself!!! He tries to kill his own would be killer in like the pilot episode and the man was ready to swear absolute fealty to him. As would I, to be honest. As would anyone and everyone. SO much cunt is Cesare Borgia serving at all times!!!

"We love him and loathe him and love to loathe him. His father loves and hates him bc they're too similar. His brother wishes he were him (he's not) His sister doesn't see anyone else. Lucrezia... yes: the incest is fucked up. Also that's why we love it- it's so unhinged, as anything Borgia should be!!! Their relationship... perfect. She's the only one that can possibly understand him, she's the only one he truly loves. She loves him and always has - only a Borgia can truly love a Borgia amirite?

This is a man who is clearly Not Okay and you want so much for him to Be Okay but at the same time not, because it's so much more entertaining when he's not and also we love a hopeless case. I rest my case only bc I lose any trace of coherence when talking about him so I dont know what more to add.”

For Hamlet:

[literaryavenger]

Captain America: Civil War - 4

Summary: You make it to the airport but it looks like you're gonna have to fight your way out. Thankfully, Steve called some backup.

Pairing: Avengers x Reader, slight Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of violence. Descriptions of injuries. Language. Mentions of Y/N and Y/N/N (=your nickname). My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 3.6K

A/N: It took me a fucking long time to write this, I hope I did the airport scene justice. Here's to hoping the next chapters don't take me as long to write! I did my best, enjoy!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

You get to the 6th level of the parking garage at the Leipzig/Halle airport and Steve parks next to a van and you all get out.

Steve gets closer to the van, followed by Sam while you stay behind with Bucky, both of you leaning on the car as you stand on the passenger’s side to be able to see over the car because you’re just that short.

You hear a little snicker from Bucky and look at him with your eyes narrowed as he seems amused by the sight but doesn’t say anything. Your attention goes back to the van as Clint loudly opens the side door.

“What timezone is this?” Scott asks, clearly disoriented as he gets out.

“Come on.” Clint encourages him and pushes him slightly towards Steve. “Come on.”

Scott walks to Steve and shakes his hand with an amazed look. “Captain America.”

“Mr. Lang.” Steve politely says as he shakes his hand.

“It’s an honor.” He says in awe. “I’m shaking your hand too long.” You try your best not to laugh as Scott fangirls over Steve.

“Wow! This is awesome!” He turns and sees Wanda and, in the same cheery voice, says “I know you, too. You’re great!”

Then he turns back to Steve and feels his shoulders saying “Jeez.” and you can’t help but giggle, seeing the scene and everybody’s reactions that go from amused to confused while Scott continues talking.

“Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so… thinks for thanking of me” He says and you giggle more while looking at Bucky to make sure you heard right and his face is as confused as you feel. You turn back to Scott as he says, “Hey, man!”

Sam tries to play it cool by saying “What’s up, Tic Tac?”

“Uh, good to see you.” Scott says, seeming a little confused at the nickname but deciding to blow past it. “Look, what happened last time when I-”

“It was a great audition, but it’ll…” Sam interrupts him, shaking his hand with a chuckle. “It’ll never happen again.”

“It was hilarious!” You comment somewhat loudly and everyone turns to you, Sam glaring while Scott giggles quietly as you wink at him and wave at Wanda and Clint.

“They tell you what we’re up against?” Steve brings everyone’s attention back on the matter at hand before you and Sam start bickering.

“Something about some… psycho-assassins?” Scott says innocently and you keep in your laugh, hoping Bucky is not offended by Scott’s description of the Winter Soldiers.

“We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man.” Steve warns him.

“Yeah, well, what else is new?” Scott says casually and you grin. Dude is pretty cool.

“We should get moving.” Bucky says.

“We got a chopper lined up.” Clint says to the group, just as the PA starts announcing something in German, which you fortunately understand.

“Dies ist eine Notsituation." You frown. Emergency? “Alle Passagiere müssen den Flughafen sofort evakuieren.”

You’re about to translate when Bucky beats you to it. “They're evacuating the airport.”

“Stark.” Sam says and you roll your eyes. Yeah, that makes sense, that dramatic diva.

“Stark?” Scott echoes, sounding surprised and not in a good way.

“Suit up.” Steve says in his Captain voice and you know better than to disobey.

-

Steve is in his uniform now as he strides through an underpass, then jogs onto a private runway, heading for the chopper when an electro-disabler slams onto the chopper and Steve looks up.

Tony and Rhodey, both in their Iron Man and War Machine suits, descend and land in front of Steve.

You’re in the terminal with Bucky and Sam as the latter scans the airport to find their Quinjet. You can’t really hear what the others are saying, but you can hear Steve through the earpiece.

“Hear me out, Tony.” Steve tries to reason. “That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this.”

You see T’Challa leap over a truck and after a moment Steve says “Your highness.”

You can see Tony talking, you assume trying to get Steve to surrender, before you hear Steve again. “You're after the wrong guy.”

Tony says something else you assume to be about Bucky because of what Steve answers back. ”And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't.”

You can see Natasha talk next and then Tony makes a face and you know he’s done, then you can hear him yelling “Underoos!” through Steve’s earpiece. 

Suddenly you see a guy in a red onesie swing in and shoot what looks like webs at Steve, stealing his shield and binding his hands before landing on top of a truck a little wobbly. 

You furrow your eyebrows and look at Sam to your right but he’s busy with Redwing so you look at Bucky next to him and he looks just as confused as you do. He meets your eyes and raises an eyebrow in question but you simply shrug and look back at the scene when you hear Steve say. “You've been busy.”

Tony tries his hardest to reason with Steve while, as planned, the Captain patiently listens to him while Sam looks for their Quinjet. “You did that when you signed.” He answers calmly at whatever Tony said.

You can see Tony pleading with Steve, and you almost feel bad but are snapped out of it when Sam finally talks. “We found it. Their Quinjet’s in hangar five, north runway.”

You see Steve raise his arms and one of Clint’s arrows flies through the air and breaks the webs on Steve’s hands, freeing him. “Alright, Lang.” Steve says and Scott enlarges, taking the shield from the guy with the red pajamas with a flip and giving it back to Steve.

“I believe this is yours, Captain America.” Scott says and you chuckle. Dude has a serious man crush.

The two men next to you look confused at what is so amusing, and you merely roll your eyes and say “come on.” as the three of you start running.

As you’re going through the terminal, you see the Spider-man dude stick to the glass outside and all three of your attention goes to him.

“What the hell is that?” Bucky asks as you run.

“Everyone’s got a gimmick now.” Sam sounds really annoyed and obviously you have to tease him.

“That’s a person, not a metal bird, Wilson!” You say.

“Don’t bring Redwing into this!” He yells back, glaring at you as he runs.

“You brought Redwing into this!” You snark back and, before Sam can say anything, Spiderman breaks through the glass towards the three of you, Sam tries to protect you and that causes you both to go crashing into the wall. 

You can see Bucky throwing a punch but Spiderman catches his fist easily, shocking all three of us while shouting “You have a metal arm?! That is awesome, dude!”

Sam goes flying into Spiderman and takes him away, while you approach Bucky.

“Did that sound like a kid to you?” you ask him, still looking after Sam and Spiderman.

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s go.” He says starting to go after the other two.

“Matters a little…” You mumble while following Bucky.

You can hear Wanda and Clint talking through the comms, to Tony you assume when Wanda says “You locked me in my room.” and then you hear Clint say “made you look.” just as you see through the window all the cars flying down thanks to Wanda’s magic.

Spiderman wings through the rafters in the terminal, chasing Sam who flies backwards firing shots. Spiderman stops on a high beam and just then Bucky throws a giant piece of metal at him.

You can hear Spiderman yell back “Hey buddy, I think you lost this!” before throwing back the piece of metal, causing Bucky to cover you with his metal arm while it flies back, thankfully missing you both.

Sam takes the opportunity to kick Spiderman and try to bring him down, but Spiderman swings again and webs Sam’s wings, which sends him crashing to the floor. As he gets up, Spiderman webs his hands to the railing behind him and then sticks to a column and starts nerding out about Sam’s wings as you run to help Sam, Bucky right behind you.

You’re too focused on Sam to notice Spiderman swinging towards him at the same time that you get to him, luckily Bucky wraps his arms around you as all three of you crush into the railing and down to the floor on the level below. 

As you all land Spiderman quickly webs Sam’s arms together, Bucky’s metal arm to the floor and then your arms, sticking you to Bucky since he was still holding you with one arm as you basically landed on him.

While Spiderman talks over you, you can faintly hear Sam messing around with his gear and you hope he’s doing something useful. Just as Spiderman is about to shoot webs again, Redwing attaches to his wrist and drags him off.

After a beat of silence Bucky says “You couldn’t have done that earlier?” to which Sam answers “I hate you.” and you roll your eyes and say “God, you two are children.”

You do your best to grab your pocket knife and, after a moment of struggling, you succeed then cut the webs off of you and Bucky with a little difficulty. You get up and cut the webs off of Bucky’s metal arm before going to Sam and helping him out of the webs too.

Your heads all snap to the window when you hear the sound of an explosion and can see it just as you hear Scott through the comms saying “Oh, man. I thought it was a water truck. Uh… sorry.”

You frown and turn to Sam and Bucky. “That can’t be good. Let’s go.” The three of you run out of the terminal as fast as you can and when you get outside you meet up with Steve, Scott, Clint and Wanda, all of you running towards the Quinjet.

“Come on!” Steve yells, but your run is interrupted when suddenly a yellow laser makes a line in front of you and you’re all stopped in your tracks. A fucking laser. You look up and see Vision hovering over you.

“Captain Rogers. I know you believe what you're doing is right.” He starts while the rest of Tony’s team gathers around him. Tony flies in while holding Natasha, Rhoday flies T’Challa and Spiderman swings down with one of Dora Milaje, T’Challa’s personal guards, that you saw at the FBI bunker and you think her name is Ayo. “But for the collective good you must surrender now.” Vision finishes talking and there is a moment of silence where you all just look at the opponent directly in front of you, which in your case is Ayo.

“What do we do, Cap?” Sam asks.

“We fight.” Is all Steve says and you hesitate for a second looking at him and then at Ayo.

“Anybody wants to switch?” You ask while looking at your teammates, some look amused but Steve kind of glares at you. “No? Alrighty, then.” You look back ahead as you all start walking, then jogging faster and faster until you’re full on running towards the opposite team.

Tony, Rhodey, Sam, Wanda and Vision take flight and then the first sound that can be heard is Tony’s fist meeting Steve’s shield. 

Clint shoots an arrow at Vision that dodges it, Sam bumps into Rhodey mid-air, Scott shrinks and jumps on Natasha, Wanda shoots her magic at Peter while he shoots webs at her and T’Challa straight up jumps onto Bucky. 

You lose track of what everyone else is doing once you come face to face with Ayo, who loses no time hitting you with her spear but you luckily dodge it, throwing a punch of your own that she easily avoids. The only thing you can tell is that Nat and Clint are near you fighting, and so are Bucky and T’Challa.

You take out your extendable baton, glad that Clint suggested it, and try to hit Ayo repeatedly, but you miss everytime. You’re getting frustrated when you finally land a hit to her cheek and grin, but you quickly regret it when she kicks you hard on the ribs, sending you flying back.

Ayo jumps on you and raises her spear right over your face, but before she can hit you Wanda sends her flying back far away from you.

You don’t have time to thank her when she’s throwing Natasha off of Clint and into a metal container. 

“Geez, Wanda, go easy on them.” You tell her and she gives you a pointed look, before looking at Clint and saying “You were pulling your punches” before walking away.

You and Clint exchange a look but you get distracted by T’Challa throwing Bucky into a container near you. You get into action right away and just as T’Challa is about to claw at Bucky, you push the supersoldier out of the way and you both go stumbling to the side while Wanda throws T’Challa into a big metal container far away from you. 

You and Bucky roll a little and, when you stop, you end on top of him. He looks up at you and whispers “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Soldier.” You wink at him and get up, helping him up too. Wanda joins you with an amused look on her face.

“Still think we should go easy on them?” She asks smugly, and you merely roll your eyes.

You’re thankfully distracted by Spiderman knocking Steve off his feet but when you go to help him, you’re intercepted by Natasha.

As you start doing hand-to-hand combat with her, you can hear Scott calling Clint “Arrow Guy” and you almost chuckle, but don’t let it distract you because you know Natasha could seriously hurt you, although it seems like she’s going as easy on you as you are on her.

“Nothing’s changed between us, right Tasha?” You ask, concerned about your friendship as you keep fighting, though it almost feels like any other sparring match you’ve ever had.

She laughs and nods. “Nothing, Y/N/N”.

You grin at the nickname and say “Good” before kicking her a little harder than you’ve ever had and sending her flying back, then you run to Steve and get to him as he points at himself and says. “Brooklyn.”

You frown at him and then look at Spiderman with one of those giant metal walkways people use to get to the planes and your eyes widen.

“That seems a little excessive.” You say, looking back at Steve.

“He’ll be fine.” Steve says shortly and starts jogging away, signaling to you to follow him, which you reluctantly do.

You and Steve are running when you hear Scott say “Uh-oh” through the comms and you frown. “Are you okay, Scott?”

You can hear him panting freaking out, saying “Oh boy. Whoa!”

You and Steve are joined by Bucky as you’re hiding behind some containers and you’re about to ask Scott if he’s okay again when Bucky talks and you turn to him. “We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now.” You can't help but think how fucking blue his eyes are.

“We gotta draw out the flyers.” Steve says, snapping you out of it and you make up your mind.

“I'll take Vision.” You tell him “You two get to the jet.” 

You know Steve’s about to argue when Sam cuts in “No, you get to the jet! All three of you!” He says through the comms. “The rest of us aren't getting out of here.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it.” Clint chimes in. 

You and Steve look at each other and it’s like Sam can sense your hesitation as he says “This isn't the real fight, guys.”

“Alright, Sam, what's the play?” Steve says, his eyes darting between you and Bucky.

“We need a diversion, something big.” he says and you try to think about what you could do.

“I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long.” Scott offers “On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half… don't come back for me.”

You frown and look at Steve and Bucky who seem just as confused as you do. “He's gonna tear himself in half?” Bucky asks.

“You're sure about this, Scott?” Steve asks into his comm.

“I do it all the time. I mean once… in a lab. Then I passed out.” He tries and fails to reassure you.

“That doesn’t make me feel better, like at all.” You say looking from Bucky to Steve, who seem to agree.

You can hear Scott mumbling “I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the BOSS!” to himself and then suddenly he grows into a fucking giant of 60-65 feet.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” You say almost in shock.

“I guess that's the signal.” Steve says and starts running towards the jet, you and Bucky following closely.

You can hear Sam saying “Way to go, Tic Tac!” as you run, going past Scott, who stops T’Challa from following you by kicking a bus into him, then Rhodey almost gets to you, but he’s stopped by Wanda.

The three of you are getting closer to the jet when a tower starts falling over the entrance, courtesy of Vision, but Wanda keeps it up with her magic for you.

As you pick up your pace and approach it, you’re stopped by a spear landing right in front of Bucky, missing his foot by a centimeter.

Ayo is about to jump on Bucky but before either him or Steve can do anything to stop her, you throw yourself on her, sending her stumbling back and to the ground, enough distance between you that you have the opportunity to look behind you at Bucky, Steve just behind him with a look that’s both impressed and shocked at your reflexes.

“I got this. Go.” You tell the two men even though your eyes are fixated on Bucky. 

“Are you sure?” he asks you with a hint of worry and you grin.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle, Sergeant.” Steve smirks and nods, moving towards the jet again, but Bucky hesitates. You know Wanda won’t be able to keep the path clear forever so you try to reassure him.

“Go, I’ll be fine. Go!” You yell the last word, which seems to snap him out of it and he turns around with a nod, running at full speed towards the Quinjet.

You turn around just in time to see Ayo running towards you, but this time you’re not fast enough and she sends you falling back. You quickly get up and do your best to keep her occupied while the tower that Wanda was keeping up falls to the ground.

Or, more accurately, you're taking her punches while landing little to none yourself.

Ayo gets distracted for a second when she sees Natasha stunning T’Challa and that’s enough to give you the opportunity to take the upper hand and take her down. Unfortunately you don’t notice how close the two of you are to her spear but then again neither does she.

You see Giant Scott get taken down and, while still holding Ayo down as best as you can, you say worriedly through your comm “Scott? Scott, talk to me, are you okay?” There's a pause while you hold your breath and then he says “Does anyone have any orange slices?” And you let out a breathy laugh, both amused and impressed by his resilience.

In the time it took you to check on Scott, Ayo managed to get a hold of her spear, almost driving it through your arm. Thankfully she misses, though it still leaves a pretty deep cut.

Your eyes widen and as you get off of her she wastes no time to go help T’Challa. You lay down on the ground while holding your arm where the cut is and can see the Quinjet taking off so you let out a relieved sigh.

You sit up and, when you see Vision going to Wanda, you smile and get up to gocheck on Scott.

“You alright, big guy?” You ask him as you approach him with a little bit of a limp and he nods chuckling.

“I am. Are you alright? “ He eyes your arm and you nod. “I’m fine.”

Clint approaches you and wraps an arm around you to help you stay up, knowing you’re not gonna ask for help but he can clearly see by your quickly paling face that you need it.

You look towards the Quinjet and your eyes widen when you see Rhodey quickly falling down, Tony and Sam both diving to help him. “Shit…”

You all watch in shock as he hits the ground, Tony lands right beside him and then Sam lands a little further away. You can hear Sam saying “I’m sorry.” right before Tony shoots him and he goes flying backwards. 

“SAM!” You yell and try to start making your way to him even if he’s far, but Clint holds you back with his arm around your waist, Scott’s hand on your uninjured arm.

You hold your breath until you hear the faint “I’m okay” in your ear, followed by Sam’s grunts and you relax, mumbling “Thank fucking god…”

You look around the airport, all the destruction and the people you still love despite it all.

Steve and Bucky made it out of here, so you won. At what cost though?

You can just hope this was all worth it.

Requested taglist: @sapphirebarnes @aki-ham @mary-jinx @abbyyourlocalmilf @selcouthial @esposadomd @americaarse

[muzansfangs]

Guilty pleasure.

Starring: Muzan Kibutsuji x f!reader; Kokushibo x f!reader; Nakime, Douma, Yuichiro Tokito, Sabito, Makomo and Kotoha; mention to Inosuke and Kagaya;

Warnings: murder, death, use of guns, shotguns, blood, gore, mental and physical torture, explosions, knives, stabbing, abuse, angst, psychopathic tendencies, harassment, criminal plots, cheating, use of alcohol;

Plot: Muzan has finally found a way to take down part of the Ubuyashiky Empire. While you do not even know where he is, attending a dinner, supposed to be a date with Muzan, with his First in Command, you get drunk and a small accident takes place in the parking lot. What you do not know is that your soon to be husband is busy blowing up a building, while with the help of his loyal guards, he lets blood run down the streets.

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER

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THIS PLACE IS ABOUT TO BLOW.

The night had barely veiled the sky, when Muzan hopped down from the car. After years of searching for that place, he had finally found it. The road was silent, exceptionally silent, and everything was set. For weeks he had tried to fetch Kagaya a blow. After the little stunt he had pulled with his daughter, with you, Muzan craved more. His arms factory, the industry located in a secret location that nobody could ever find, was now under his nose.

The new recruit, Kaigaku, had done a pretty decent job in stalking his cousin all the way here. Such a pity that a fine building was about to turn into ashes in a few minutes. Bombs had been activated in every angle of the company and all it would have taken to make them explode was a simple remote he was currently holding into his hand. A small black device with a red button in the middle.

"I believe there's still someone inside" Nakime pointed out, scrutinizing the area with a pair of binoculars and spotting two cars in the parking lot.

Muzan did not even bother glancing at them, he closed his eyes for a second and a small grin crossed his lips. There was such a difference between the person he was now and the one he was around you. He did not want to fail to attend your dinner, he went mad when he was not around you. Yet, he could not turn into somebody else only because now you were part of his life. If you love someone, you learn to love their edges too, right?

Also, everything he was doing now was for you.

"Awesome. This only means there will be some collateral damages" Muzan replied, before shoving his hand into his breast pocket and pulling a phone out to check the time. It would have been foolish bringinghis main device in the area. The police would have reasonably been able to track him down and, frankly, the last thing he needed was to be arraigned on a charge of murder.

Studying the area before attacking had granted him the chance to find a blind spot where the videocameras could not catch even small glimpses of them. Yet, since there seemed to still be people into the building, and he was smart enough to figure that some of them were Slayers, they had to be ready to fight. Bringing with him his most cold-blooded assassins would have surely helped me to get the job done in a matter of seconds.

"Be nimble. Don't toy with your victims. — Muzan said, his plum red eyes darting on the silver-haired man at his left — I'm talking to you, idiot" he remarked, earning a grin from Douma.

His presence alone was enough to irk Muzan. He would have gladly asked Kokushibo to take care of this but, since he could not trust Douma around you, he had no other choice than switch the roles of his bodyguards.

"Can I, at least, kidnap a lady? You know, like a souvenir to remember this glorious night" Douma chimed, causing Nakime to grimace in disgust and Muzan to load up the gun he kept on his belt.

As the raven-haired politician turned to face Douma and pointed the gun at him, the bodyguard knew it was time to shut up. It was not the first time Muzan killed someone. Five bodyguards had been murdered in the last two years, all murdered by the said man.

"Do not give me an excuse to blow your brains out  – Muzan deadpanned, locking eyes with Douma before turning to glance briefly at Nakime – Get in position now, both of you" he added shortly.

In a few seconds, the lights into the building they were watching turned down. Kaigaku had finally caused the blackout in the area. A few seconds passed by, before a couple of Slayers ran out of the building and checked the area around the parking lot. Their blades glimmered under the moonlight as their eyes searched for possible threats. They seemed young, probably barely around their early twenties. It was clear that they were no match for the two Moons ready to strike them down. They waited in the darkenss, until the taller one noticed the shiny car parked on the side of the road.

"Fox, that car doesn't belong to any of us" he pointed out, his turquoise eyes widening even so slightly in the futile attempt to catch some details that coukd have helped him to figure out what was going on. However, they were too far for that and they ventured down the desert street to approach the vehicle.

The other Slayer, the one wearing a white Fox mask with a peculiar scar on it, walked beside his dark-haired colleague. His grip on the hilt of his katana was tight, his knuckles had turned white as they carefully devoured the distance between them and the car. He seemed more tense than the other, as if he was expecting to be attacked at any given chance. Yet, it was not enough to save them.

It happened before they could even realize it. As the taller one got close enough to peek into the opened window of the parked vehicle, a knife was thrown at his back and impaled his right  shoulderblade. A wince of pain left his lips as he turned around hastily and slashed at the brunette woman standing a few strides away from him.

"Yuichiro!" the masked slayer yelled out, the blood spilling out from his colleague's wound splattered over his white mask.

Nakime dodged the attack and drew another knife from the suspender on her thigh "Good evening, fellas" she cooed, her red-painted lips curling up in a smile as Douma joined her and unfolded his tessens. He pouted, cocking his head to the side as he let hsi multicolored orbs analyze his opponents outfits.

"Distasteful choice of colors for your suits... The mask is cute, though, but I would love to look my enemy straight in the eye, as I tear him apart. I hope you don't mind it, dear" the Second in Command cheerfully said, before quickly slashing at the mask covering the shorter slayer's visage.

The sound of the two pieces of wood clattering on the dirty ground made the peach-haired guy flinch and his lavander eyes glint in anger. That blow, so fast and precise, could have killed him right on the spot. How was he not able to dodge it? There was no doubt that the two strangers in fornt of them were skilled fighters. They were Moons. They clearly had no chances against them and his mind only screamed for one thing: the urge to protect Makomo and the secretary, Kotoha. They needed to run as far away as possible and to call for someone to help them out.

If they somehow managed to survive.

"Go to call Makomo and Kotoha. Tell them to go, tell Makomo I love her" Fox said through gritted teeth, not even galncing at Yuichiro for a second.

"Sabito, no! If you think I'm going to leave you alone, you're clearly out of your mind" Yuichiro spat, before he coughed up some blood on his hand.

At that sight, Douma smiled brightly and nudged Nakime's ribs with his elbow "Woah, you compromised his lungs! Good job!" he beamed, as the brunette simply twirled the knife between her fingers and threw it at the already wounded slayer, hoping to get it through his heart.

As she aimed for the organ, Sabito's eyes switched on her as he was quick to knock it out of Yuichiro's way with an horizontal slash of his katana.

Nakime sighed "You know, I was doing your friend a favor by stabbing him through his heart. I was saving him all of this sufferings... Nevermind, though" she whispered, as she got ready to throw another knife.

However, a sudden shotgun and the sight of Yuichiro's dead body slumping onto the ground were enough to make her flinch. The bullet had went clean through the slayer's head, killing him right on the spot. While Nakime knew exactly who had fired the gun, Sabito's eyes widened in horror as he knelt down next to his comrade as if shaking his shoulder could bring him back to life. It was pointless. Yuichiro Tokito was dead. A tickle of blood was running down the curve of his nose, contrasting with his pale skin and the glassy eyes now staring into the void. It was over, it was all over.

"Incompetent Moons are a pain in the ass. Worthless, you are worthlesss" Muzan Kibutsuji flatly said, his deep voice piercing their ears before he came to their vision.

Soft whimpers and shaky breaths filled the air, as two women walked slowly in front of him. One of them was younger, her tiny hand hold a broken blade in her hand as her blue eyes serached for Sabito's ones. Her left eyebrow was cut, as if someone had smacked her and, as Muzan kicked her on her back, making her fall face down on the cobblestone, it was pretty clear who had done it. The other one was around her thirties, emerald eyes contrasting with long and dark hair loosened down her small shoulders. She was terrified, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched the scene before her eyes.

"Muzan Kibutsuji" Sabito hissed, trying to craddle Makomo in his arms, as the tiny girl sobbed in fear and gripped the fabric of her boyfriend's shirt in her little fists.

Muzan gripped the older woman's hair and made her wince in agony, before he shoved her against Douma's chest, as a sign for him to hold her still. The silver-haired man sneered and gladly wrapped his hands around her wrists, holding them tightly behind her back. His breath fanned her earlobe, making the woman shiver in fear.

"What's your name, honey?" Douma whispered, propping his chin over her shoulder.

"Kotoha. Hashibira Kotoha" she merely murmured, squeezing her eyes shut in fear as Muzan loaded his gun again and walked up towards the young couple of slayers, sitting at his feet.

It was their end. No one was going to save them.

"That's right. It's my name. — Muzan replied, pointing his gun at Sabito's head — I've tried to ask them about it, but all they were capable of telling me were pleas for mercy. How pathetic... Tell me, is there someone else in the building?" he coldly asked him, his finger ready to pull the trigger as soon as the slayer had given him the answer he needed.

Sabito held Makomo tightly, tears welling up in his eyes, as he refused to waste his last breath to talk to him. Instead, he pressed his lips against Makomo's temple and closed his eyes.

"I love you. Close your eyes" he whispered softly.

Two shotguns filled the air, some bids flying away from the brench of a nearby tree as Kotoha almost fell on her knees. She knew she would have been the next, her heart was thrumming in her chest in anticipation as thanked the God for what had happened that morning.

If Inosuke had not changed his shift with Yuichiro, the young boy laying on her ground would have been her son.

"Nakime. You know what to do. A 'K' on her left cheek, now. Hurry up" Muzan ordered his Fourth in Command as Douma gripped Kotoha's jaw to hold her head firmly.

Terror filled her eyes as she tried to wriggle in Douma's grip, only to earn an amused chuckle from the sadistic Moon behind her "Come on, hold on tight, it's like a tattoo" he crooned, as Nakime pierced her cheek with the cold blade of her knife.

Screams of pain shattered the silent night as the Fourth in Command neatly cut on her flawless skin, dark blood oozing down from the lines forming the shape of a 'K'. The mark of Muzan, his message for Ubuyashiki.

"Please, stop! It hurts! I can't!" Kotoha screetched, as Nakime finally stepped back and Muzan flicked his gaze up to admire her work of art.

There was no sympathy in his eyes as he reached his hand up to tuck a strand of Katoha's hair behind her ear, apathy in his visage as he grasped her hand delicately and pulled her closer to him. He did not care about the pain he was putting her through. She was a tool for him to send a message to his enemy.

"Your role is important, my dear. You will deliver my message to Kagaya Ubuyashiki" Muzan said, holding her gaze as she sobbed uncontrollably.

His words confused her. Was he going to spare her? The dim ounce of hope seemed to twinkly in her eyes as she wiped some blood and tears from her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

"What do you mean? Do I have to call him? Do you want me to be a messanger?" she naively asked him, her shoulder shaking as she tried to collect her breath.

This made him smile faintly. His hand reached for something behind his back, as he made sure her gaze was transfixed on him. Kotoha Hashibira was indeed a sweet woman.

His free hand held up her chin as he spoke out again "Yeah, exactly. You are going to be my messanger, Kotoha. But, you see, I got nothing to tell him. Therefore, my message has be graphic. That is why I do believe in killing the messanger" Muzan reasoned, grasping the handle of the switchblade he had hidden in his back.

Her eyes went round as she shook her head "No! No, please! Why?" she screamed, but the blade through her heart made her choke on her words.

Blood dripped out of her mouth as Muzan stared deeply into her eyes and helped her to lay down onto the ground.

"Because it sends a message" he whispered in her ear, as she twitched a few last times, before life abandoned her body.

Silence swallowed them again, as Muzan grasped the controller and his bodyguards got back into the car. He stared at the building one last time, before hopping into the passenger seat. As Douma began to drive away, Muzan rested his thumb onto the red button and, with a click, the industry exploded. The sound of the explosion felt like music to his ears and he watched the smoke and flames envelope it through the rear view mirror.

♚

"He stood me up. He fucking stood me up" you slurred, eyes wide open as you stared up at Kokushibo in pure shock. You could not believe Muzan had cancelled your dinner through a stupid message.

Now, all dolled up and drunk, you were talking to his First in Command about how pathetic and stupid you felt for not having got back at him for that.

"As if buying me some Valentino dress and these stupid shoes... Argh, I have even forgotten the name of their brand" you ranted, dipping your head between your arms as you closed your eyes in irritation. You had drunk too much, that was evident, and now an exhaspered Kokushibo was forced to raise from him chair and help you to stand up.

"I think it's time to go home. – he lowly said, clearing his throat to catch your attention — And the brand of your shoes is Louboutin" he added, making you quirk up your eyebrows and smile up at him.

"Aw, that's so cute, you remembered the brand for me! Yeah, let's go home! Let's go! I wanna set his stupid collections of ancient tapestries on fire!" she chimed, giggling as the stoic man's ears turned pink for the embarrassment.

The restaurant was empty at that hour. You were the last two guests left in here, since you had kept on ordering bottle after bottle to drown your anger and sadness into expensive wine. Actually, all that you felt now was a suffocating dissatisfaction. You could barely stand on your heels and you clung to Kokushibo's arm as a koala.

As you almost toppled down a table, the man exhaled through his nostrils and hauled you over his shoulder making you squeak out in surprise.

"Coconut! Coconut, let me down! I can perfectly walk!" you protested, blushing as the waiters stared at you two with uncomfortable expressions plastered over their faces. They had recognized you, obviously, but Kokushibo had paid them enough to keep their mouths shut about this little stunt you had pulled.

"Stop calling me that" Kokushibo said, walking through the exit and up to his car. Just a little longer, he had to try not to strangle you for a little longer.

However, you were far from being done. Annoying Kokushibo was an art you had crafted since the first day you two crossed paths. It was in your veins, you were born for it.

"Oh, I understand! You were just looking for an excuse to stare at my ass, were you not?!" you taunted him, bursting out laughing for your own stupid joke.

"I suggest you to shut up" he warned you in a stern tone.

"I suggest you to take that broom out of your ass".

It was enough. He wanted to choke the life out of you, yet you were absolutely cute at times. Now, now as you were pestering him, you were hilarious too and he could not take it anymore. You were ready to say something else, he felt the muscles of your abdomen flex over his shoulder as you took a deep breath. This time, though, you were going to swallow your shallow speeches.

You did not process it, all you knew was that you found yourself settled onto the hood of his car and his maroon eyes bored into yours for a split second. What followed was his hand grasping your jaw and his mouth capturing yours in a passionate kiss that made your toes curl into your shoes.

It lasted a few seconds, your hands settled on each side of you for balance as his tongue explored your mouth. You were drunk, really, but sober enough to feel how passionate he was.

"Will you shut up for the rest of ride?" he breathed out, as the kiss broke.

Of course you were going to shut up.

AUTHOR NOTE.

Hello there! I have finally uploaded this chapter on Tumblr too. One more part and I will be finally get the perfect balance again. This chapter was rather dark and I am well-aware of it, but the story is supposed to be like that. It’s finally time to show some action, after all. Hopefully, I will bless you with some fluff in a while… Or so I believe!

As per usual, likes, comments and re-posts are greatly appreaciated!

Until next, x o x o

Tags: @mrskokushibo @ladytamayolover @tired-writer04 @hjjks @kakuchosbff @yazzzmints @bookandstar @z3r0art @cherrymanhuas @kazuhaslvt @selenenyx0124 @infinitedilf @yunixkill @shigarakithings @i-loveyou013 @yoriichi-second-wife @sunaswife @lucikittyxoxo @heartsforjeongin @ishmealmendes @wondermilka @dangerousdreamkitty @crazycatlddy

[teecupangel]

Based on @auroramoon-draws16’s idea in this post.

Desmond lost Altaïr.

He really can’t explain it.

He thought Altaïr would be fine. He seemed to have a grasp on the situation and looked like he was taking everything in better than Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton.

“The Apple has shown me visions of this future. I’ll be fine, Desmond. Just give me a phone with this internet thing in it.”

Oh god.

Desmond should have not trusted his words.

He should have anticipated something like this.

That Altaïr would get lost in the crowd of this…

Anime convention?

Oh fuck.

Desmond needed to find Altaïr before he gets suckered into Vtubers or one of those toxic fandoms (he seriously didn’t want to see Altaïr having an oshi or going to Twitter to fight some rando because they had differing headcanons) or worse…

Hentai.

Desmond did not exactly have any memories of Altaïr’s love life (thank god for that small mercies) but he knew that Altaïr was a curious little shit and would definitely research hentai and kinks and-

Desmond needed to find Altaïr for both his sanity and the purity of the Brotherhood’s image of the great Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.

“And the winner of this year’s Cosplay Competition is… Altair from Abstergo’s video game franchise: History’s Hit Men: Murder in the Levant!”

Desmond froze.

Please.

Please, for the love of god, let this be a coincidence. Pleasepleasepleaseplease

“It’s Altaïr.”

Fuck.

Desmond tried to get to the stage as the MC laughed before asking, “Okay, Altaïr, how about a few words to share to everyone? Why did you choose to cosplay this character and did you learn to parkour because of him or did you cosplay him because you do parkour?”

“I was trained by-”

“-by our awesome parkour trainer!” Desmond shouted as he jumped onto the stage, placing himself between Altaïr and the MC. He gave the MC a charming smile that caused the MC’s cheeks to reddened and a few of the people in front of the stage to cheer.

“Oooohhh a modern take of the Assassins?” The MC flawlessly asked as Desmond kept a tight grip on Altaïr’s shoulder to stop the man from running away.

“Yup! We’re sorta a duo.” Desmond said, trying to bullshit his way out of this while Altaïr remained quiet.

Desmond wanted to believe it was because he knew he fucked up.

But no.

Most probably, he was quiet because he wanted to see how Desmond would get them out of this.

Asshole.

“He’s cosplaying Altaïr as the game showed and I’m cosplaying Altaïr if he was an Assassin of our time.” Desmond said.

“Oooohhh, that sounds nice.”

“He would totally wear leather pants!” Someone in the audience shouted.

No. He definitely would not. That shit was too tight. It would be hard to freerun… parkour… wearing them.

“On behalf of my partner, we are grateful that he won and we’d like to go now because, I’m gonna be honest with you, we haven’t eaten yet.”

That got a few chuckles from the crowd.

“Alright, give it up for Altair and uuhhh… Modern Day Altair!”

The audience clapped while Desmond walked Altaïr off the stage by pushing him.

“Dad’s going to kill me.” Desmond hissed.

“I will talk to him.”

Desmond rolled his eyes as he said, “That won’t do anything. He’ll just kill me after talking to you.”

“I’ll make sure he won’t.” Altaïr promised.

The saddest part of this entire thing is that Desmond actually believed Altaïr could do it.

“By the way, Desmond. Can I borrow a bit of money. I would like to buy fanmerchs of my oshi.”

“I left you alone for an hour, Altaïr!”

[voteformightyclocks]

Why The Bad Batch Season 3 Was Bad

Now hear me out! I enjoyed it, for the most part. And I know many fans did enjoy love it. But objectively speaking, the show had a rough Seasons 1-2 while it tried to find it's footing, and then a horrible Season 3 due to bad writing. I could never really find the words to explain how I felt but recently I discovered an actual writing technique that was not implemented, which is the core of my problem. So let's talk about that!

The technique in question is setup/payoff. Ideally, everything in your story should have some sort of payoff. Think Boromir being tempted by the ring, and then later betraying the Fellowship. Or the dwarves and elves hating each other but later on Legolas and Gimli referring to each other as friends. The setup can be truly anything, and the payoff also can be. They don't need to be these massive moments that feel epic. But ideally, every notable moment and every lore drop should be building towards something.

While nothing has to build towards something, Tech's death should have. His death was a consequence to the Bad Batch's actions, however it wasn't properly built up or hinted at. The mission was treated the same as any other mission. There was no setup for Tech's death. You could replace his death with literally anyone else in the crew and the impact would have been exactly the same. So if Tech's death wasn't paying anything off, then it should be setup for something later down the line. It's a major event, it needed to be.

Fast forward to Season 3 and we have this assassin pursuing the Bad Batch. This assassin demonstrates Tech's abilities, as well as Crosshair's. Theories buzzed around the internet that this assassin was, in fact, Tech. This would have been awesome payoff. But instead the assassin was a faceless individual. I understand where the show was coming from: "This is what the Empire wanted to turn Task Force 99 into." But that's not satisfying. There was no buildup towards the Empire removing the identity of the clones, not truly. We could have seen that through Crosshair, but all we saw was the Empire trying to control Crosshair, not erase who he was. If we in contrast did have Tech return as the assassin, that would have been different. There would have been setup for that, and then slow buildup, and then finally, the reveal.

And this leads to a major thing that I'm going to talk about that Star Wars...has a history of ignoring. It's okay for the audience to be right. They knew we were saying "Tech could still be alive!" They knew we were going to theorize about the assassin the moment we saw him. I suspect that the whole Faceless Assassins twist was implemented to try to surprise us. It sucked. It had no setup. It wasn't paying anything off. It landed as flat as Tech's death. Yes if the main assassin was actually Tech, we would have guessed it and not been surprised, and granted that would have been a slightly cheesy part of the story, but we would have been excited. It would have been proper payoff to Tech's supposed death.

So TL;DR, The Bad Batch Season 3 sucked because it abandoned a writing principle in order to attempt to shock us, and instead left a major Season 2 event and the entirety of Season 3 dangling with emptiness.

To all you writers or aspiring writers out there, don't follow that path. Even if it means the readers are right, stick to your story and don't abandon writing techniques. There is so much power in writing a story that is purely yours, and no one else's.

Until next time

[deadwhisper]

"all those empty rooms, we could have been anywhere, anywhere

Instead I made a bed with apathy.

My heart knew the weight, ten years worth of dust and neglect

We made our peace with weariness and let it be"

FUCK IF IT DOESN'T REMIND ME OF TIMOTHY JACKSON DRAKE WAYNE !!

Let's see...

(also maybe incoming spoiler alert???)

"My feet knew the path

We walked in the dark, in the dark

I never gave a single thought to where it might lead"

Timothy was a smart kid and looked at the world in factual terms since he was a kid. He has to, it was the way his genius brain could cope with the trauma of being left alone and neglected under the pressure of behaving and maintaining his status in the society in the absence of his parents. He always knew what he had to do despite the path or his choice being not so good in his favour yet he walked on. For his parents, for Batman when he went feral, for the YJL, for Dick, for Batman again when he was lost in the time space continum, taking over the We at an young age, joining league of assassins, facing Ra's Al Ghul. He has always walked the tougher and the darker path all for his family and friends who always somehow fail to notice his sacrifices.

"I shine only with the light you gave me", could be related to anyone!!!

For being a Drake because he is by birth a Drake but he never felt worthy enough for his mom or dad always criticised him or always made sure he knew that he was never good enough, never responsible enough or independent enough to be a proper drake even though he was FREAKING 10!!!

Then the second title could be for being Robin well because during his entire of being Robin he was always and I mean ALWAYS, somehow made to feel as if it didn't belong to him. Bruce rejected him being Robin very vehemently and even trained him too hard in the hopes that the boy would leave, Jason called him a replacement and tried to kill him and did bodily harm him. Dick was never very vocal about anything regarding Tim and him being Robin but we mustn't forget that he was the one who took the mantle of Robin from Tim against his permission and gave it Damian. And one my say that Damian need it and blah blah but the point is, it implies that Tim was never given any authority over Robin and made him feel that the title never truly belonged to him as it was very easily ripped away from him without his consultation.

Then we have the last one!!! DEMON BRAT or BRUCE'S GENETIC HELLSPAWN or Damian Al-Ghul Wayne. Man...do I even need to explain??? All the very intent full murder attempts?? The way he made it very clear that Tim was never a part of or worthy of the legacy, that he wasn't even a part of the family and considering the fact that it was something Tim struggled with alot!!!

( man I am projecting my traumas a lil too much via Tim Tam)

The moon will sing a song for me

I loved you like the sun

Bore the shadows that you made

With no light of my own

Timmy boy is like the moon who takes on any role the world or his superior figures or idols (sun) want him to take. He never questioned the multiple roles and responsibilities shoved upon him silently. Never complained about the pains or sufferings and the sheer amount of exhaustion at bearing so many responsibilities at once (bore the shadows that you gave me) my boy was Robin, a school kid, a CEO, an emancipated teen, leader of a Titan group, member of the league, Lady freaking Shiva's pupil and what not!!!

Swallowin' your doubt

Like swords to the pit of my belly

I want to feel the fire that you kept from me

I think at all points in his life, Tim was always faced with alot of doubt in his capabilities (swallowing your doubt). You can't be a good Drake like that, a good son, a good robin, a good CEO, a good leader, a good replacement, a good anything. And in the long run Tim believes that. That maybe he Isn't good enough (like swords to the pit of my belly) yet he always tried and always succeeded ( cause he's an awesome mf) but even those success were overshadowed by the mistakes and flaws that others eventually pointed out and he hardly was made to feel super proud (I want to feel the fire that you kept from me)

Yeah

Yeah that's ....it.... welcome to my Ted talk. Hope you had fun reading my absolute rant and me trauma dumping my shared feelings too. Bye bye❤️

[sunnyrosewritesstuff]

Ready to rec some awesome fics that I read this month!! Feel free to add on with some of your own Bagginshield recs. 😁

April 2024 Rec List

G Rated:

A Dwarven Beauty by bebel_bee (Complete, 4K, 1ch.)- You have to love cultural differences where it comes to the dwarven and hobbit concepts of beauty. Bilbo is getting a bunch of odd comments on his looks that he thinks are derogatory. This is such a fun, quick read with fun misunderstandings and a lovely getting together scene.

Green-Handed by lotus0kid (Complete, 41K, 20ch.)- This was a really fun magical hobbits fic. Under certain conditions, hobbits go "green-handed" which means they can grow anything through touch and that's how Bilbo finds himself one morning. The ending of this fic just gets me with how absolutely enamored Thorin is with Bilbo and his gift.

Ive found Frodo...and he found you? by Lucigoo89 (Complete, 2K, 1ch.)- I need to preface this by saying my house had an entire den of fifteen skunks living under it that we tried to relocate...I absolutely despise skunks. But I gave this a chance for Lucigoo and it was as predicted, completely adorable. Little skunk Frodo wanders off and when Bilbo goes after him, he finds him in a den of badgers, one of whom he knows rather intimately.

T Rated:

Burning Crowns by Morg47 (Complete, 9K, 2ch.)- I read the first chapter when this was just a one-shot craving more and the author didn't disappoint! Infamous thief Bilbo helps the rightful king of Erebor in his assassination attempt of Smaug. I love seeing a confident BAMF Bilbo, and apparently Thorin does too.

Frozen Heart by snowmissus (soul_of_blaze) (WIP, 14K, 5ch.)- This is such a unique AU with a compelling set up. Bilbo has been tasked by Yavanna to try to help Erebor out of its frozen state, and by extension its king. Very fairytale-esque with some great characterizations and interactions, I can't wait for more!

Imbalance by northerntrash (Complete, 10K, 1ch.)- This story genuinely shocked me! In this Hades/Persephone AU, it is Bilbo who is Lord of the Underworld and Thorin who is a plant life god. As cracky as that sounds, it actually legitimately works in this AU as Bilbo and Thorin rely on each other to make themselves better.

There and Not Back Again (or, The Saving of Erebor) by femmbingley (WIP, 178K, 52ch.)- There’s so much to say about this fic. Post-BOTFA dwarven politics where Bilbo has assumed the duties of the consort which makes things more difficult for Dain. I really love the characterizations and I just can’t get enough of this fic!

to feel you like a knife by queerofthedagger (Complete, 23K, 2ch.)- Thorin's POV absolutely shook me at the beginning as he describes seeing his three loved one laid up in cots. After Bilbo saves Thorin's life, he wakes up to find his memories prior to Laketown are gone. It was so well paced and absolutely delicious in angst with a happy ending.

M Rated:

Backs to the Wall by Conkers (WIP, 124K, 24ch.)- I held off on this fic for a long time, not because I was worried I wasn’t going to enjoy it, but because I knew how much it would have me foaming at the mouth. Missing the deadline, the Company splits up at Laketown with Thorin, Dwalin, Nori, and Bilbo remaining to earn some coin. I’m beside myself with the gentle, sweet moments of pre-Bagginshield that have me screaming.

E Rated:

The Burden of Choice by Fantasyinallforms (Complete, 56K, 12ch.)- I went absolutely feral over this fic! Bilbo and Thorin are arranged to marry each other, neither knowing who the other is, and they escape in the night and begin to travel together. There were just so many emotions throughout this fic, it was so well written!

The Riven Crown by BeautifulFiction (Complete, 254K, 31ch.)- It was time for another read of this wonderful story. Bilbo stays in Erebor to see them through the winter only to find himself in a courtship with the king and a plot to see Thorin off the throne. This is just the ultimate Bilbo remains in Erebor fic and definitely worth the read if you haven't already.

Theft by Erinye (Complete, 124K, 40ch.)- Another epic that I had to reread this month. For his part in the alliance, Thorin demands Bilbo be returned to the mountain to be tried for his crimes in stealing the Arkenstone. Although the deaths of Fili and Kili break my heart in this fic, the rediscovery of Bilbo and Thorin's relationship through sex and comfort makes this a great read.

[evenmorefatallyobsessed]

Prof. Gelé  AU Concept

To be clear this isn't the only Au/ comic I'll put the model in but it is the one that comes to mind for me most often.

Bleiss is born into the previous generation to RWBY's main characters like Jaune was in my Prof. Arc AU, also like him she became Glynda's partner.

There wasn't really much to say about Bleiss, not really. She Nicholas Schnee's second born daughter. She had talent, beauty and a fierce intellect. But she was also a rebellious teen with a chip on her shoulder towards Atlas.

After that one snake in the grass tried to coil around her what was his name again Assques? Anyways she broke his nose, stole his date and the next day sick of this Atlas high Society shit she left to be a Huntress in Vale, to live her own life how she pleased, free from the SDC.

And Bleiss didn't just manage she fucking flourished! Made a cute friend and admittedly unrequited love named Summer, the best drinking buddy ever in a Branwen called Qrow and finally a bitch she could count to cover her back in Glynda...

Yeah admittedly the two didn't get along too well at first... Okay more like their first two years but whatever. Anyways Bleiss fucking loved her life, shit even turned out she had a knack for this teaching shit.

though only for Hunter Academies, combat school parents were always complaining bout their brats picking up some of her awesome habits.

She loved her students, some more the others specifically of the cute girl variety.  Gawd did she love putting that brat Coco in her place. She'd have to do it again soon, the girl had been a bit too cocky recently with her fellow students after all.

But for now there were mors important things to deal with. Some fuckers had attacked Amber, she might not have fucked the girl or anything but she was a former student and nobody fucked with the brats she trained, graduated or not.

So she was suprised when the Malachites called her. The pair of girls she trained both on fighting and in bed having been excited over beating Ray's fucking brat who tried to wreck her favorite club. Thank god she gave them a few lessons on fighting from time to time.

Anyways apparently Junior got some kid some fake transcripts. A part of her wanted to grab the suspicious brat and throw him in a cell to interrogate. Too coincidental that someone attacks Amber, steals half her fucking soul and now someone else is trying to sneak into where they just so happen  to have her.

So she makes it a point to be in front of the Bullhead the faker was coming in through. She was gonna decide what to do with him once she saw him. After all her drinking buddy Qrow got in with fake transcripts after all so she had to at least pretend to give him the benefit of the doubt...

She felt a bit bad for her neice Weiss, yeah she wasn't exactly her favorite kid of her sis but still. She always did like sweet, little innocent Whitley betterbafter all.

Then her daughter started showing of her dad's side and the guilt for not paying her too much mind died...

Seriously she left the brat there in a freaking crater sniffling and... And... And who the fuck was that?

Tall, blonde and strangely getting her engines roaring was a blonde boy with deep blue eyes, and a freaking knight aesthetics and a sword and... Wait? That was him!?

Okay so the brat apparently had a semblance that influenced people, had to be that? She wasn't into men. So why did her eyes keep tracking him, right right semblance.

Well didn't matter she had her man targeted and went in for the kill. Grabbing the blonde away after old Ozzy's dumb speech. Really it was less kidnapping and more telling the blonde to follow her.

A lie about boys sleeping separately from girls and he was all too willing to follow. Really he was sorta naive for a spy/ assassin. She had him right where she wanted, in her room ready to get straight to the Seductio-Interrogation! She meant Interrogation.

Thankfully the hunky chump still believed he was in the clear so she just had to act all treachery and respectable and junk while she slowly used her ace.

Alchohol, loose lips came hand in hand with drinks after all. And here he was all trusting, with that dopey sweet smile and those lovely blue eyes and that fuckable fac- DAMMIT!

She didn't think he'd be heavy drinker like her, brat could hold his liquor... Sexy. Finally though she managed to ignore the blazing inferno that was her libido long enough to get down to buisness.

And by that she meant she broke a bottle and he reached to clean it for her drunk ass... And cut himself.

He, he didn't have aura... And then everything came out now that she was interrogating the boy about his aura outta worry more then suspicion. After all he couldn't be a spy without aura. That'd be retarded and suicidal, once she told him how she knew he was a fake he buckled and caved in...

And she listened, listened to the blonde talk about his dream, and how he was denied the chance to even attempt it. How he ran away from home, sold just about everything he owned to get his hands on the fake papers so he could risk it all on the chance to attempt to live up to his families name.

So he could be a hero instead of just his families biggest dissapointment... Their black sheep. And she made up her mind then.

Glyn would've blamed the booze, but Bleiss knew perfectly well what she wanted to do.

So she did something she really did...

Something Glynda feared her doing, she gave the blonde a private lesson... And no not the sexy kind though she was awfully fucking tempted.

But no Bleiss Gelé unlocked the blonde's stud levels of aura and then went full out drill Sargent on the sexy blonde. Most would've broke, hell many combat school graduates did under her excessive, cruel and unusual tutoledge.

It was why she was strictly teaching in Dust classes so she couldn't train the poor soft Hunters-in-training. But Jaune didn't break, oh he whined, cried and yelled, but the blonde as it turned out was made of tougher stuff then his folks gave him credit for.

And then the night was over... Dawn broke and the poor blonde bastard hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. But that was fine, she had a plan, she'd go to Ozzy, get his permission to make the kid her sexy assistant like she was gonna do for sweet lil Whitley when he came down for Vytal and then she'd... And he was gone!

Next thing she knows she's freaking out over the kid being launched into the fucking Emerald Forest! Oh Gawd! She wore him the fuck out and not even in the fun way!

She'd never been more pissed at her partner then she was at that moment as Glynda restrained her. She was freaking the fuck out as she saw the poor kid launched through the air... Then he wasn't cuz that one famous brat chucked her spear his way.

Then she directed herself his way... Did something happen between them? How? Darling must've at best had a minute or two to interact with anyone on the way here?

After several more minutes of annoyingly futile resistance she finally calmed down and accepted things as is and decided to watch Jaune try his luck during Initiation and vouch for him if he failed.

-O-O-O-

Glynda felt very... Conflicted over her partner Bleiss. On one hand she'd known her through her entire time in Beacon. She understood Bleiss even if at times if was irritating to do so.

It was ultimately why she felt secured to a point around her. Glynda knew what to expect from her... Usually. Right now as she fretted over a random boy who she couldn't have known for more then a few hours was leaving her utterly stumped.

She observed him, and frankly Jaune Arc while having high aura levels was hardly what she could call competent. The boy was tripping all over himself and getting lost in thought randomly.

He was proving to be a detriment to his partner. Then they entered that cave and he... Did he fall asleep!?

Actually looking closer at him the blonde he looked utterly exhausted and his aura levels were rather low especially given how quickly they were restoring... If she didn't know better she'd have thought the Arc had been fighting for his life, the. Night... Prior.

No...

Turning she looked to her worried partner and spoke the most dire question without thinking positive even her impulsive, sadistic partner wouldn't be so reckless.

"Bleiss what did you do?" Bleiss avoided her gaze and begun to mumble, that was never a good sign.

"What did you say?"

"I... just... Trained him a bit last night." She wasn't the only on to look horrified, Port, Oobeleck and even Ozpin looked pale at the implications. After what Bleiss considered legitimate training was illegal across the kingdoms.

"How is he alive..." She agreed with Port before turning back to the screen concerned about the boy.

Her previous concerns were utterly dashed. Anyone who could survive Gelé's training more the deserved a spot in Beacon.

-0-0-0-

Exhausted, irritated and sore were Jaune's feelings... Aura, thank merciful Oum for aura! He didn't know how he survived all these years without it. But he was sure he would've died last night if not for the soulful energy.

Miss Gelé was terrifying, at first he'd been flustered when such a pretty older woman tricked him into her room, then confused and then worried when his transcripts came to life.

But all that fell wayside when out of nowhere she stood up grabbed him, dragged him outside and told him she'd be teaching him a few of the basics a Huntsman needed to know.

He'd been about to talk back, not willing to take a hand out even if from a teache- Then she knocked him flat on his ass, walked up to him and said some kinda cool sounding words before she unlocked his aura.

Oh she explained what she did to him. But did so as she was stabbing at him with a freaking sword, darting around the place like a bullet. She even summoned monsters! Just constant pain, agony on the physical front and lectures on Grimm, Aura, Dust and a ton of other stuff he didn't know about.

All while she continued to beat his ass...

Once his aura shattered she'd beat him with fist, kicks and really painful grabs until it restored and they were back to him trying not to be impaled! Wash and rinse and repeat to sunrise! She looked happy! Excited even!

But hey, at least he had super powers now... Aura was awesome. Though right now he'd trade it in a heart beat for a coffee of even better a pillow...

But those thoughts could wait! He had bigger worries. He didn't go through all that just to g

fail Initiation! The Grimm weren't even as scary as that after all!

At some point he must've gone in a cave because currently he was running from a freaking Giant Scorpion!... Still not as scary as Ms. Gelé but this thing clearly wanted to kill him.

Aura into his feet like he saw miss Gelé doing he managed to outpace it! Pyrrha said something bout not wasting his aura but frankly he still had a lot...

Like much of the rest of the day it all happened like a blur. Ruby and Weiss eating dirt from falling from the sky and giant bird getting added to the mix and something about chess pieces.

All he knew is that they needed to get outta there fast to pass and best of all not fight the two giant monsters. That was a plan he could get behind!

And he would've, should've and was sure as hell going to. Until the ginger girl beside him called out her partner's name. He turned and saw that Pyrrha and the brunette he could assume was Ren hadn't made it before the bridge collapsed.

Really it should've been a easy choice, they were strangers, he hadn't even known Pyrrha a hour. He owed them nothing and the finish line was right there! Yep, it was a easy choice, one he didn't even need to think about... Dammit.

Pumping aura in his legs he leaped out towards them. After all what kinda person wouldn't rush in to help others? Not him that's for sure.

Exhausted, tired and only mentally there by a fraction his mind worked overtime. Instincts were in the front seat. And so he listened to them.

He knew there was no way he could tear through the things armor... At least, not with what he knew how to do. But there was something?

pumping aura into his arm he tanked a sting with his shield, the attack denting his heirloom's mechanism shifting sheath but somehow managed to feat of strength to not have his poise broken from the blow.

The Grimm's carapace was thick, to thick for a sword like his... But maybe if he stole another one of miss Bleiss's moves?

She'd been so nimble and quick during the fight, pushing aura into her legs as she explain it while beating him.

It was where he got the idea of doing it, though he had the feeling he wasn't nearly as good at it as she was. But despite how petite she was her blows were heavy... Because she put aura on the blade, heck she even swung it once and sent the energy flying.

It was that which he inspired to copy in that moment.

Pushing all the energy he could into his sword, desperation and determination were powerful motivators.

and from them he managed to once more repeat the technique Bleiss had preformed before him like her aura reinforcement.

All his aura surging out in a arc of violent energy, that cleaved into and through one of the Deathstalker's claws.

His aura shattered, he was out and now the thing was glaring at him, oh he was scared but he had three people with him. All of which seemed more worried about his auraless state then even he was. It reassured him, didn't seem like they'd run for it.

Which meant he had a chance. After all, this Grimm wasn't nearly as fast a attacker as Ms. Gelé, and Jaune had learned last night just how much being light on his feet could help.

He smiled, a crooked, sure toothy grin it's way, finding himself terrified but also excited to kill his first monster.

-0-0-0-

While they were sure Team RWBY would be the focus of their students for the staff the group their eyes were on were JNPR. And for once it wasn't because of miss Nikos.

No the reason was the blonde dancing around and avoiding the Death Stalker's strikes.

Who knew it was targeting him but didn't turn tell to run despite having no aura but instead kept it's attention so the others could wear it down.

"A Fucking Mazing..." Glynda felt a chill run up her spine as she turned to look at her partner. And what she saw terrified her.

Bleiss was unashamedly looking hungrily at the Arc.

"One fuckinh night with aura and he manages this..." Her lip bled she was biting it so hard. Wait, did she say a night with aura!? Didn't that imply he didn't have it before.

Surely not, he used aura reinforcement on his legs several times and even swung a aura Arc. Those were advance techniques, techniques her partner knew... Technique that look utterly and completely unrefined and raw being performed by the Arc as if he'd never used...

She had to do a double take, but, but he was so nimble on his feet?

"Heheh, Hahaha! He can't beat that thing in strength but if he can dodge me he can sure as hell dodge it!" That... Was true.

Actually he didn't look like he was dodging it so much as... Dancing around it's blows.

What was this, well at the least she knew one thing as Bleiss licked her lips.

She would have to keep a eye on the boy for his own sake from her partner.

[euphreana]

The Shape of Truth - Chapter 3: The Pink Phantom

Masterpost

-

Ambrosius was convinced he was seeing things. The stress of the day was getting to him. The punk teen who’d randomly appeared in his room continued to hold her hand out expectantly.

“I don't care.” He said in response to the greeting, “Just leave me alone.” He moved past the pink figure and flopped back onto his bed, eyes closed.

“Leave you alone? You look like you need all the help you can get!”

Ambrosius cracked his eyes open. The hallucination that had called itself ‘Nimona’ had her face inches away from his, upside down. She grinned.

“And luckily for you, I happen to be the perfect one for the job!”

Ambrosius narrowed his eyes. “What job?”

“Your new sidekick!”

Ambrosius groaned and rubbed his eyes. Was his brain trying to create an imaginary friend to fill the void Bal had left behind? When Ambrosius opened his eyes again, the teen had disappeared. Good. Then the same voice cut in again from atop a shelving unit.

“Don’t bother to fill me in, I saw everything.”

“What?” Ambrosius sat up, seeing Nimona now lounging on the shelves.

“It was a beautiful scheme!” She said.

Ambrosius blinked, and Nimona was suddenly spinning on the easy chair across the room.

“Assassination of a monarch, the kingdom thrown into complete and utter chaos, it would have been perfect, if only he’d made his daring escape! But don’t worry! This is just half-time - you can still finish what he started!”

“Finish w—” Ambrosius began, but suddenly found a sheaf of papers whirled into his hands. “What’s this?”

“My resume!”

Ambrosius glanced at the papers. There was no text; just crayon drawings of all manner of animals rampaging through piles of royal guards.

“… This is—”

“Awesome, isn’t it? I thought a visual aid would really make it POP!”

Ambrosius looked up from the papers to see Nimona sitting on the dresser.

“Sooo… what’s the plan, boss?”

Ambrosius stared at her for a long moment.

“What are you supposed to be exactly? Some repressed memory?”

The teen huffed and hopped off the dresser. “I told you - I’m Nimona.”

“Okay… Nimona. I’m tired and don’t want to deal with this right now.”

“Oh, oh sure, I get it. Still getting over your buddy’s death. Got it. Just let me know when you’re ready to move on to the next stage of the plan.”

Ambrosius shoved the papers back into her hands.

“There is no plan. Bal is…” He locked his jaw, willing the tears to go away.

“That’s not going to stop you though, right? The man must be avenged!”

Ambrosius was about to respond when he heard a knock at the door. He hoped the noise was real this time.

He opened the door. It was Captain Ironwill; a burly man with black hair.

“Captain.” Ambrosius greeted him.

“Goldenloin.” Ironwill nodded. “I heard about what happened at the execution. They’re giving you tomorrow off.”

Ambrosius lowered his gaze. “Thanks.”

“I tried to get you full bereavement leave, but you weren’t legally related.” Ironwill’s voice dropped slightly. “I’m sorry. I know you were close. At least he didn’t drag you into it.”

Ambrosius nodded.

Ironwill continued, “Nice choice of color.”

Ambrosius looked up. Ironwill was looking past him, into the room. Ambrosius turned around. There was a pink cat sitting on the bed wearing a vest labeled ‘Emotional Support’. Ambrosius stared at it mutely.

Ironwill acknowledged Ambrosius again and left. Ambrosius stood in the doorway, still staring at the cat.

The cat spoke up, “What? Not a cat person?”

Ambrosius sputtered, then turned to the open door behind him. The hallway outside was empty.

“Good Gloreth I’m going crazy…” he muttered, shutting the door.

“Come again?” Ambrosius turned back to see Nimona sitting cross-legged where the cat had been. Definitely a hallucination, and one he was tired of.

“How do I make you go away?”

Nimona shrugged and got up, bouncing on the bed a few times. “Same time tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Morning?”

Ambroisus rubbed his eyes. Anything to make her leave.

“Fine. Just go.”

“Got it, boss!”

When he opened his eyes again, there was a pink bird perched on the windowsill.

“Tomorrow!” the bird said, then took off, leaving him alone in his room. Finally.

“Gloreth please don’t let this happen again.” Ambrosius said to himself, falling back onto his bed. He didn’t want to end up in the psych ward.

~ ~ ~

The front office was surprised to see Ambrosius when he went in early the next morning.

“Didn’t someone tell you to take the day off?” the receptionist said.

Ambrosius remembered the stress hallucination from the day before. Or had it been a vision of the future?

“Oh… Yeah, I forgot.” he stammered.

Ambrosius left the building, wondering what it was that had happened yesterday.

“THERE you are!” a familiar voice broke into his thoughts. It was that Nimona hallucination, except this time she’d taken the form of a large, pink dog, again wearing the emotional support vest.

Ambrosius groaned.

“You again…”

“Me again! I thought the longer legs would make it easier to keep up.” The dog waved a paw. “So what’s the plan for today? Or should we… discuss things somewhere private?”

Ambrosius wondered if ignoring Nimona would make her go away. He didn’t want to be seen talking to an imaginary friend, although there wasn’t really anyone to see - it was early enough that hardly anyone was out on the campus.

“Whatever.” he mumbled and started the walk to a nearby tea shop.

“What better place to hide than in the open. I like that.” Dog-Nimona winked and followed alongside, “I thought up some ideas for revenge - it looks like the director was the one who ordered the execution, so I was thinking we-”

“I’m not taking revenge. For all I know… Bal was guilty.”

“No duh! I saw him fire the… wait, are you saying that wasn’t part of the plan?”

“What? No! Why would I- I wasn’t- I don’t even know if-”

“Oh….” The dog suddenly looked disappointed. It was a look Ambrosius had always dreaded seeing. Was even his subconscious disappointed with him?

The dog spoke up again.

“So you’re not a villain?”

“No!”

“But he was, right?”

“I don’t—”

“Well someone is. So why don’t we find out who?” Nimona hurried in front of Ambrosius, now walking backwards so she could see his face. “We dig - we find out if your buddy was behind the plot, and if he wasn’t, we find out who was. And we take revenge!”

“Revenge?”

“So what leads do you have? Assuming you’ve already been looking into this. Searched his belongings for clues?”

“Everything got confiscated or thrown out.”

“Huh. Anything else of his?”

“I don’t know… they have his sword in the archives.”

“Then off to the archives we go!” Nimona began to trot on ahead.

It didn’t sound like a bad idea, but Ambrosius wondered why his subconscious would be so focused on revenge. He’d been taught the pitfalls of seeking revenge since he was young - the right thing to do was forgive and move on. But… he did want to know if his dead boyfriend had been a murderer or not. He needed to know if what they’d had had been real. What if the Institute had missed something in their assessment of the situation and there was someone else involved? The authorities didn’t know Bal like he did, and stuff wasn’t adding up…

The imaginary dog had charged ahead, but now it was looking back at him with pleading puppy eyes, wagging its tail.

“Aren't you coming?”

Well, since this was basically his own advice, he might as well follow it.

Chapter 4

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

QUALIFYING ROUND: 45th Tilt

Cesare Borgia, The Borgias (2011-2013) VS. Ancelyn ap Gwalchmai, Doctor Who: “Battlefield” (1989)

Propaganda

Cesare Borgia, The Borgias (2011-2013) Portrayed by: Francois Arnaud

“How do I even begin to explain Cesare Borgia? - Cesare Borgia is flawless. - He has one duchy and two cardinalates. - I hear his hair is insured for 10,000 ducates. - I hear he does Church speeches… in Spain. - His favorite painter is Pinturicchio - One time, he met Caterina Sforza in Forlì. And she told him he was pretty. - One time, he threatened to kill me… it was awesome! This man.... this man, this man. He is the complete package: a perfect case of competent kink, a ruthless bastard (ie sexy) AND he's so irredeemably fucked up you also get the "I could fix him" complex. This is the man who could had it all and yet he wasn't enough (again, sexy). (Cont. under the Cut)

Ancelyn ap Gwalchmai, Doctor Who: “Battlefield” (1989) Portrayed by: Marcus Gilbert

“A brave and loyal, if somewhat stubborn, Arthurian knight, who helped the Doctor out and fell head-over-heels in love with a badass 20th century brigadier in the process. There's nothing like trying to flirt with a lady while you're being chased by an evil army and she has just threatened to kill you if you don't start running. ("Art thou betrothed?" "NOT NOW, ANCELYN!")

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Cesare Borgia:

He's serving cunt at ALL times. In Cardinal clothes? Serving cunt. In "civil" clothes? Serving cunt. In armor? Serving cunt. He had one of the most competent thinkers and do I say philosopher of his time (Machiavelli) *fawning* over him. Was he a tyrant? Possibly, but it's one we LOVE. The man [Machiavelli] literally BASED A BOOK on him...

"He has a personal assassin of ...unmatched abilities and YET he's even better than the man himself!!! He tries to kill his own would be killer in like the pilot episode and the man was ready to swear absolute fealty to him. As would I, to be honest. As would anyone and everyone. SO much cunt is Cesare Borgia serving at all times!!!

"We love him and loathe him and love to loathe him. His father loves and hates him bc they're too similar. His brother wishes he were him (he's not) His sister doesn't see anyone else. Lucrezia... yes: the incest is fucked up. Also that's why we love it- it's so unhinged, as anything Borgia should be!!! Their relationship... perfect. She's the only one that can possibly understand him, she's the only one he truly loves. She loves him and always has - only a Borgia can truly love a Borgia amirite?

This is a man who is clearly Not Okay and you want so much for him to Be Okay but at the same time not, because it's so much more entertaining when he's not and also we love a hopeless case. I rest my case only bc I lose any trace of coherence when talking about him so I dont know what more to add.”

For Ancelyn ap Gwalchmai:

[duhragonball]

Chainsaw Man ch.63-66

Last time... uh, wow. Holy shit.

Okay, so all these assassins were coming after Denji, but the only three who matter are Germany's Santa Claus and his army of humans-converted-into-doll-monsters, Quanxi and her fiend minions, and Tolka and his master. While everyone else was fighting, Tolka managed to kill Denji using the power of the Curse Devil, and now his master has appeared to congratulate him. He wants to collect Denji's corpse and withdraw to complete their mission, but she tells him there's no need. Then she explains to him that he's become part of the family and talks about all the steps to creating a perfect doll.

I'm not sure I get the exact idea here, but Tolka's master touches him and he starts robotically walking around in the department store the battle is in. And then Germany's Santa Clause steps inside the store, while Tolka's Master stands outside.

Clearly, these three are all on the same team, and I guess Tolka's master is the granddaughter of Santa? Or maybe she just thinks she is? My guess is that she's another one of his dolls, but more sophisticated than the others we've seen. And Tolka is a doll she made just to carry out this task. But to what end?

Well, Santa stabs himself and calls out to a devil, offering his own heart and children in exchange for something, but what?

Turns out he's talking to the "Hell Devil", which... okay, nice flex. And he's asking for the Hell Devil to take everyone in the department store to hell. Also, here's those four kids he got as payment for this job.

Look, they're eating spaghetti! And... OH NO!

Ohhhhhh no...

So I got to this part and the art just completely blew me away. This is the best part of the whole series so far. It's kind of thin on story, but the visuals are just amazing. All the characters we've seen fighting lately are now in this weird landscape with fingers crawling around like worms. Or maybe they're just laying there. I prefer the idea that Hell has severed fingers crawling around the ground. The sky is covered in doors.

All the fiends are freaking the fuck out, and Denji is alive-ish? But not quite. The Angel Devil recognizes the scent of hell, and that's really the only clue they get as to what just happened to all of them. Quanxi asks one of her fiends how they can get out of here, and she freaks the fuck out.

Okay, so as Angel Devil explained before, the devils in this story can't truly be killed. If you destroy one on Earth, it gets reincarnated in hell, and when it's killed in hell, it eventually reappears on Earth. So it's this endless cycle of death and rebirth. However, there are devils who represent primordial fears, transcendent devils who have never left hell, because they have never been killed, even once. And that's what makes this place so terrifying. Whatserbutt would rather kill herself than face these kinds of horrors, and as soon as they draw the attention of any of them, they'll be doomed.

And then here comes the Darkness Devil.

This rules. I don't understand the astronaut thing, but it's awesome.

This guy just sort of walks up to these idiots and their arms all fly off their bodies. They're completely helpless.

The only one who seems to know what's going on is Tolka, if this even is Tolka. He kneels before the Darkness Devil, and maybe he summoned the guy here? I dunno. Anyway, he identifies himself as the Doll Devil, so maybe that's who he was all along, or Santa created him to serve as a vessel for the Doll Devil. Anyway, Doll Devil had a contract with the Darkness Devil. In exchange for Chainsaw Man's heart, he asks for the power to kill Makima.

Wait, what?

So, remember last time, when Master Kishibe tried to form an alliance with Quanxi, and he used written messages to communicate, because apparently Makima could hear him? Well, the Germans who contacted Germany's Santa Claus did the same thing. While that guy was talking to the old man about how many kids he would take as payment for killing Denji, they were actually discussing a plot to kill Makima. Apparently Denji was just a means to an end. Trade his heart for a piece of the Darkness Devil's flesh, and feed it to Tolka's Master, who is apparently Santa's new body. Or maybe she was always Santa's original body, and the old man was a puppet. Or... whatever.

So what about all the guys stuck in hell? What about them? Darkness Devil decapitates Tolka/Doll Devil, and I don't even know why. Whatsisbutt tries to use his power to turn things to stone, but....

Darkness just grabs the Stone Devil who made that power possible in the first place. Looks like he destroys Stone and the guy contracted to him.

Beam tries to pull Chainsaw Man's rip cord, but Darkness dismembers him. I'm not sure this would have made any difference, since Chainsaw Man can't seem to transform all the way. But Beam greatly admires Chainsaw, so it's no surprise that he'd try this.

Darkness Devil takes out a few more of these guys and I'm not even sure how. At least he pointed at Beam. What makes this so eerie is how quiet this is. I mean, there's sound effects, but still. Something about this feels like it's happening in a profound silence.

Then the Violence Fiend tries to attack. We met him earlier in the story, and his deal is that the Violence Devil was insanely powerful, and normally when Devils become fiends that weakens them, but Violence Fiend is still incredibly powerful anyway. He wears this mask which I think is supposed to regulate his power, and so in this situation he asked Kobeni to remove it and run away. So this is Violence Fiend Unleashed, but it still doesn't accomplish anything. Dakrness Devil makes some.... sound... and....

I dunno, chunks of him are just gone now. As he falls, someone hops off his back to fight in his place...

I'm not sure what to make of this. Maybe Denji's Chainsaw power is enough to upset the Darkness Devil? This looks like a reaction of some sort. I can't really interpret it, but this is more than the other characters got when they tried to fight.

It still doesn't work, though. Darkness Devil does some sort of thing and Denji's arms and legs twist in all sorts of bone-crunching directions.

To his credit, Violence tries again, and a big-ass sword appears over Darkness Devil's head, and Violence Fiend gets impaled on it. A bell jingles, and he explodes.

Oh, and while this is going on, Aki is losing it, because he recently gained the power to see into the future. So I think that means he's getting to experience this horror in stereo. All this death reminds him of Himeno's death, and he's losing teammates again, and he can do nothing to stop it.

Angel drops dead next, and then Aki. Oh shit, I hadn't even noticed the hands coming out to get him. That's pretty spooky.

Suddenly the Spider-Fiend shows up! Oh, right. Makima ordeered her to stick close and pull Denji out of danger if things got bad. So she must have been in the department store too when this happened. But her ambush is no more successful than the others.

I really like the "ribbit" here. What makes Darkness Devil so effective is that he's so profound. He's not a bad guy dressed in black, or hidden in the shadows. He's the personification of darkness itself. Some caveman got lost at night and heard frogs croaking and it was absolutely fucking terrifying because he had no idea what those were or what was going to happen next. There's no rational explanation for anything Darkness Devil has done. Why does it care about Chainsaw Man's heart? Why is it even bothering to attack the others? Why is it using different powers on some of them? There's no way to know. We're in the dark.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Makima is somehow aware of what's going on, and she's in contact with the Spider Fiend. She asks her to summon Makima to Hell, and Spider-Fiend obliges.

Oh come on! Makima can beat this thing too? This is insane?

I guess they kind of both hurt each other? It's not clear what Makima even did here, but okay.

This gives Makima time to... do something to the Doll Devil, which causes Tolka's body to offer itself to the Hell Devil, and thus send them all back to Earth.

The Darkness Devil impales Makima with her sword, which I suppose means that she could defeat Makima given enough time, but Makima was prepared for this and now that the Hell Devil is taking them all back, they can return to Earth back to the way they were before they left.

Meanwhile, Santa uses her newfound Darkness Devil power to assemble her dolls into a new doll body.

Makima returns close to where Santa Claus is, and she pulls the cord to reactivate Chainsaw Man. Apparently he's okay now that he's out of hell. She asks him to rescue her from Santa Claus and he replies "woof".

So yeah, this was a trip.

[the-wolfbats]

thoughts on [The] Taggerung

This is very long because I'm very torn on it. When it's good it's very great but it fails in its original twist.

All my favorite Abessess are dead 🫥. Well except Lycian I guess. 

Here's something never mentioned - outside of Germaine's tomb, where are the Abbesses buried? Just by the vegetables to replenish the soil I guess. 

I may be wrong but this may be a new art style for the chapters and only for this book. It may never be seen again in another story because I don't remember seeing it again (disclaimer - I get the ebooks and not all come with art) Pity, it's like the Marlfox art but with less sketchy lines. It's nice!

You've heard their names, everybeast has. Cluny the Scourge, Slagar the Cruel, Ferahgo the Assassin and many others. All of them defeated and slain. Redwall is so powerful, it killed someone who never tried to conquer it or even entered Mossflower Country!

See they mention Vulpuz! There’s a demon entity! AWESOME

Once again we have a great concept that's kneecapped bc of the strict dichotomy these species have. You can find fanfictions on the Redwall wikia where people have played with the concept of “good” species who are raised in evil (or in my 25 chapter fanfictions case, suffered a head wound and turned into vermin) and actually kill and commit crimes. We can't even give Tagg the vermin dialect. There's nothing to deconstruct here. 

Sometimes he had admired Sawney, his strength, leadership and determination, but he had never really liked the ferret, never called him lather, never loved him. No internal conflict. If this had been written earlier, I'm sure we would have gotten a little. This is why Nimbalo is a better character because he has been changed bc of the abuse he suffered and is unlike most mice in the series.  

The hares are wildly hit and miss for me. Scarum was annoying. Boorab is delightful. 

We see the flatlands north of Redwall to the mountain. It's nice, lively, not as weird southern desert like where the ravine and Loamhedge is. 

This may be the only book in the series with an actual theme beyond good vs evil, in terms of family. The ones you pick, are born into, are forced into, you lose, you leave, you make. You see it in the Obvious but then you see it with instances like how Boorab and Filorn are peas in a pod or how Fwirl (who is a rarity as an actual active female character who is noted as pretty doing things beyond healing) joins the Abbey, and Mhera supporting Cregga all this time. 

Actually most of the redwall characters genuinely grow and learn something you don't often see in these books. It helps that it's not a huge cast, like in Loamhedge, the Bellmaker is killed early and they never name the man again. Broggle learned confidence, Fwirl and Nimbalo learned to rely on others, Filorn learned acceptance,  Alkanet isn't shamed for being stern but grows to be flexible , Mhera did the typical Abbess MasterClass speed run. 

One of the chapter arts suggests that Nimbalo is much smaller than Tagg. He stated to be a harvest mouse, when the non denomination mice of Mossflower are a bit more in scope with otters. 

We need more Forthrights. 

The actual drama of Tagg finally being back at Redwall but them not knowing he's the missing babe Deyna is very good and I appreciate how the reunion is delayed and not rushed through. There's a real sense of anticipation, and for my big critiques about the idea not having any follow through, this is probably the best 3rd act of any Redwall book. Maybe only Mossflower is better. 

Somehow I thought Ruggan Bor just...walked away when Deyna said the Taggerung wasn't at Redwall lmao WHY did I think this.

Another point; You know how I said squirrels don't have a subculture like the other animals? There are very few, if any, shrews without a subculture , they're either Guosim or Pigmy Shrews.

There's a sliding scale of sapiency with some animals. Woodpidgeons don't talk, so they can be eaten. Other birds do, so they don't get eaten, even if that's the intent of the villains. Most lizards are sapient but some like Firl in Mariel don't talk. So when rawback was trapped in the swamp, did he go insane by eating talking lizards and frogs? Basically one out of two mentions and depictions of cannibalism in the series?

While there's a humongous missed opportunity with Tagg as a character, this can very solidly sit in my top 5.