#Also I can’t believe the giants whole battle thing was cause of the same thing that Zoro and Sanji were doing

[dressycobra7]

Just finished episode 78 and here’s some thoughts I had while watching the episode (literally just wrote these down while I was watching it)

Ohh my gooood he’s so cute!!! The little head tilt has my heart 🥺 also poor Vivi she has so much pressure on her!!

AHHHHHHH

I FEEL LIKE A VICTORIAN MAN SEEING AN ANKLE FOR THE FIRST TIME AUGH

he should be shirtless more often 😩 didn’t know he was hiding all that muscle under there 🤭 this man has me giggling like a little girl

my baby boooyyyyyy 😭😭 my MAN!! I don’t think yall get how much I love this man 😭 he’s so cute! I just know he’d treat me like a queen 😌😊🥰

My poor babyyy 😭😭 I’m so sad that she’s sick! I’m hoping this is the episode where we finally see Chopper since he’s a doctor! (I think? I’m just basing this off clips I saw) I also loved seeing how much the boys care for Nami and thought it was sweet

[kitsu-katsu]

Why c!Wilbur blowing stuff up for shits and giggles as a child makes no sense for his character (and why that would reflect a lot more badly on c!Phil anyways if that were the case):

Warning: c!Phil critical ahead, if you don't like that, skip this post

Now, to those of you that decide to read this: Strap in folks! We've got a lot of ground to cover this from and a ton of quotes ahead!

1) Wilbur’s a pacifist through and through. He always preached words over weapons, only fought when attacked first, wanted to ignore a war until it went away, considered giving up his nation many times, etc. A few examples of quotes to show this thinking:

“Basically, we have such a lower opportunity here that we probably just need to accept the conditions of surrender, just so we can save any more bloodshed, any more destruction on our land. They’ve entrapped our land, they’ve set up bombs on our land, they’ve destroyed all our homes. To stop any more bloodshed, I feel I would be a bad general if I didn’t look for conditions of surrender.” - (Wilbur’s The Revolution is Coming: 30:32, 2nd Aug)

“Tommy, we need you alive. Tommy, this isn’t worth it. Tommy, your life is worth more than the revolution.” - (Wilbur’s The Revolution is Coming: 34:57:, 2nd Aug)

“What has made you do everything you’ve done up to this point?” (Quackity)

“That’s a- That’s a big question. Um. I guess it’s just protection for my people. I mean, I- I- I just want to see them thrive, and I want to see them safe.” (Alivebur)

- (Quackity’s Killing My Enemies: 1:03:02, 12th Apr)

“Look, do you know how long and how much blood was shed to get L’Manberg to the point it was at? You know what would happen if we manage to get L’Manberg back again? More blood would be shed, and we would be the illegitimate rulers of a nation.” - (Wilbur’s video Am I the Villain?: 18:52)

“We don’t win wars with battles and with armour. We win wars with our words, Tommy. We’re starting a revolution, not a war.” - (Wilbur’s The Wall: 4:54, 29th July)

“I’m not a fighter, I’m a writer.” - (Wilbur’s The Wall: 1:48:31, 29th July)

“Fighting is not necessary right now, Tommy.” - (Wilbur’s the election results: 43:42, 22nd Sep)

“Tommy, control yourself. Tommy, control yourself, it’s not worth it. Tommy, do not take your shot! He disrespected me, yes! But we’ve talked about this, Tommy…!” - (Wilbur’s techno and wilbur make cave better: 59:36, 23rd Sep)

2) The reason his thoughts about blowing it all up in Pogtopia even hit as hard, the reason all his allies were so shocked about him going through with it IS his pacifism first mindset (which has only been put second when he’s been attacked first and put in the defensive or in the case of his speech to Quackity after the political debate he genuinely thought, by the previous failure of his philosophy and the war trauma spurred on mainly by the FCR and Eret’s betrayal, that the only way to truly win respect and make a change in the world was through fighting and killing, which he was convinced of but was ultimately always too soft to actually go through with (note how he doesn’t kill anyone in the L’manburg explosion and how in the times during Pogtopia in which he declared he wanted people dead, he got second thoughts, regrets, retracted his statement or protected people with his actions):

“If you want to really help people, you’re gonna need power, Quackity. You can make a movement, you can make a resistance, right, you can go out and you can come back, and they’ll give you a ticker tape parade. They’ll cheer for you in the streets, but you will change nothing.” - (Quackity’s Killing My Enemies: 1:05:42, 12th Apr)

“If you have a revolution, everyone will hate you, you will sacrifice everything, and you will lose everything you’ve ever had, but you’ll come back and everything will be changed.” - (Quackity’s Killing My Enemies: 1:05:59, 12th Apr)

“And power isn’t gaining from diplomacy, and bureaucracy, and giant courthouses suspended in the sky, blah blah blah. It’s gained from swords, Quackity. It’s gained from blades, it’s gained from steel, iron.” - (Quackity’s Killing My Enemies: 1:06:19, 12th Apr)

“We blow up the entire fucking place to kingdom come. I want no survivors. God help whoever’s caught in the fucking crossfire.” - (Wilbur’s video, Am I The Villain?: 17:52)

“And, I know you’re scared, Tommy, I understand you’re scared. And it’s scary, it’s scary, Tommy, but do you know what? You know what? In a time like this, when a man has nothing to lose, do you know what that means? It means we can do what we want. We have a man on our side who literally rigged our nation with TNT. We can do the same to them. We can rig this festival with TNT. We can kill them all, Tommy. ” - (Wilbur’s who are you go away: 1:15:52, 8th Oct)

“Anyone caught in the crossfire is caught in the crossfire. That’s how it goes, you know? - (Wilbur’s who are you go away: 1:41:22, 8th Oct)

“Chat, do I wanna- Chat, do I wanna, do I wanna do it? I’m having second thoughts about the TNT. Chat, I’m having second thoughts about the TNT. Do I wanna kill these people? Seeing that they’re my friends.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 34:09, 16th Oct)

“Tommy, I’m getting second thoughts. These are my friends, I don’t- Do I- I don’t know if I wanna [inaudible].” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 36:17, 16th Oct)

“Just, if you’re gonna kill anyone else, kill me. Don’t kill anyone else here.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 1:10:53, 16th Oct)

“You sounded like you were gonna murder another person. You sounded like you were gonna go for Niki.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 1:12:34, 16th Oct)

“Oh, yes, sorry, Niki, you missed that part. I was gonna blow up Manberg, I was gonna completely destroy it in a huge fireball. Look, Niki, come to Pogtopia, you’re safer here. You’re not gonna be hurt by anyone.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 1:17:59, 16th Oct)

“No you two can escape, I’ll be the… I’ll- I’ll- I’ll be… I’ll be trapped in here…” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 27:27, 17th Oct)

“I don’t, I don’t, I don’t want to kill you two. I don’t want you two to die.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 28:53, 17th Oct)

3) He was inspired by Dream blowing up L’manburg first with Eret’s betrayal during the first revolution. He knew Dream wanted L’manburg out of the picture and had tried it before. It’s why he knew to immediately ask him for TNT, because either way, Dream would benefit from both side’s mutually assured destruction:

“Here’s the plan, right, Dream. Dream is on our side, Dream has TNT, Dream has everything, right. I say we talk to Dream, and we ask him very nicely, very kindly, ‘Dream, give us all the TNT you have’. ” - (Wilbur’s who are you go away: 1:12:22, 8th Oct)

“Remember, how he rigged L’Manberg, like ages ago, during the War? And then he detonated the TNT and destroyed the entire thing? We do that again, everyone, we blow up the entire fucking place to kingdom come.” - (Wilbur’s who are you go away: 1:12:36, 8th Oct)

“The only reason that Dream is working with us, is because of the fact that we are the enemies of his enemies! That’s it! That’s all that joins this!” - (Wilbur’s who are you go away: 1:14:35, 8th Oct)

“Dream, let me be your vassal. Dream, I understand you have a lot of TNT, a lot of the ol’ trinitrotoluene in your possession, don’t you? You do! Dream, I want to be your vassal, I want to set this up, I want to rig the city.” - (Wilbur’s who are you go away: 1:33:27, 8th Oct)

4) Wilbur hesitated a LOT with the detonation, wanted to be stopped, told people his plan in detail and was overall in a deep internal conflict about the whole thing (and didn’t blow it up once to not kill Tommy and Quackity too, this is also the moment in which his suicidal tendencies are the most clear in his lines before the 16th). Ultimately he decided to do it because he was suicidal and deeply suffering from mental health issues, believed himself to be the root of all bad in the server and by extension, L’manburg was too, and by that point his original view for L’manburg had been so twisted by Schlatt anyway that in his POV it’d only be used to hurt more people anyway:

“I- Look, rigging L’Manberg is not gonna help us get it back, I’m aware of that. But sometimes in order to feel comfortable and safe you have to be ready to give up the things that you’re worried you might lose. And in this case, I think I might lose it already.” - (Wilbur’s who are you go away: 1:17:57, 8th Oct)

“I know there’s a lot of people, Tommy! … I’m not telling you where the button is, man. … Tommy, it’s over that hill, it’s over that hill, right there!” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 28:30, 16th Oct)

“Chat, do I wanna- Chat, do I wanna, do I wanna do it? I’m having second thoughts about the TNT. Chat, I’m having second thoughts about the TNT. Do I wanna kill these people? Seeing that they’re my friends.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 34:09, 16th Oct)

“Tommy, I’m getting second thoughts. These are my friends, I don’t- Do I- I don’t know if I wanna [inaudible].” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 36:17, 16th Oct)

“But this is the opportunity- this is the opportunity. If I don’t blow it up now, when am I gonna blow it up?! When am I gonna blow it up, Tommy? But when do- when do we do-” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 36:30, 16th Oct)

“If I don’t do it now, what happens if this is the only chance I get. Everyone’s in this close situation, I can do some proper damage. Look, this isn’t a- He needs a consequence for his actions, Schlatt does, he can’t just keep being handsome and powerful and strong all the time. He needs, he needs to be put down a peg.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 37:07, 16th Oct)

“I can still call off this whole detonating at the end of the speech, dude. I can call it off.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 38:24, 16th Oct)

“Should I show you where the TNT’s laced? ‘Cause in a, in a last ditch effort, we may need to destroy it by hand, okay? So, under the chair, where Schlatt sits, there’s about twenty pieces, right? And then going under, under the main area here, following this red line, there is TNT all the way, and then it jut- and then it- … It darts up here, and over to the dance floor, but it doesn’t touch the water.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 38:29, 16th Oct)

“I have to light it, I’ve got to light it, I’ve got to light it.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 1:08:17, 16th Oct)

“Yesterday I had the perfect opportunity to blow everything up and finally end it, you know. I had the perfect opportunity to finally blow up everything and end it and just completely save everyone, right, from the tyranny of Schlatt and the tyranny of the existence of Manberg and L’Manberg, right.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 25:17, 17th Oct)

“Explain it to me! Give me a reason! Give me a reason!” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 26:50, 17th Oct)

“Who else is it gonna hurt?! It’s gonna hurt Schlatt, Manberg, and-” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 26:55, 17th Oct)

“Why did I bring- I should have just done it. I’m such a fucking showman. I should have just done it.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 27:18, 17th Oct)

“No you two can escape, I’ll be the… I’ll- I’ll- I’ll be… I’ll be trapped in here…” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 27:27, 17th Oct)

“I just- I just want to f… I just wanna end it, I wanna end it. I wanna press that button, man.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 28:08, 17th Oct)

“I don’t, I don’t, I don’t want to kill you two. I don’t want you two to die.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 28:53, 17th Oct)

“Ohh, fuck you! Fuck you, man! Why do you make it so hard?! I should have just- I’m such a fucking showman.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 29:29, 17th Oct)

“Tommy, we’ve tried my ideas. I’m willing to listen to you. I’m gonna follow you, Tommy. Whatever you think is gonna be the best way of taking down Schlatt, we’ll do it. We’ve tried my ideas.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 32:01, 17th Oct)

“My L’Manberg. My L’Manberg. As long- As long as I know the button is here… as long as I know. As long as I know the button is here. It’s just not today. I just need to know that it’s there for a fall-back. I need to know it’s there.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 33:46, 17th Oct)

“I’ve been hasty. But the fact that I know it’s there, and I can just stroke my right mouse button, that’s all I need. As long as I know it’s there.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 34:27, 17th Oct)

“You’ve convinced me, I don’t wanna go straight to Plan B, if Plan A fails.” - (Wilbur’s Speedy Stream Festival What festival: 39:02, 17th Oct)

“Look, Tommy, at the end of the day, if this doesn’t go well, I’m gonna blow the place to smithereens. The place will be gone, I’m gonna detonate it and blow it to smithereens, right, if this doesn’t go well. But it will go well…! … ‘Cause it’s literally- there’s no one on Schlatt’s side.” - (Wilbur’s smithereens: 21:00, 16th Nov)

“But none of them have the same anticipatory love of what they’re doing, unlike us. Everyone on our side is fighting for something we’ve loved, and had for ages, right. That’s why we’re gonna win, and that’s why you shouldn’t be afraid. And yes, the whole place is rigged.” - (Wilbur’s smithereens: 21:38, 16th Nov)

“I could, I really could, that’s the thing. That’s the bit that I like. It’s the bit that makes me smile the most is the fact that I definitely could.” - (Wilbur’s smithereens: 26:28, 16th Nov)

“Chekhov’s Gun. Chekhov’s Gun. I’ll be honest with you, chat, I’ve been wondering this whole time if it still works. I’ve been thinking to myself does it still- ‘Cause I fixed it up for today.” - (Wilbur’s smithereens: 1:11:36, 16th Nov)

“Phil, I’m always so close to pressing this button, Phil! I have been here, like seven or eight times I have been here… Seven or eight times” - (Wilbur’s smithereens: 1:14:56, 16th Nov)

“Phil, I’ve been here here so many times.” - (Wilbur’s smithereens: 1:15:13, 16th Nov)

“I don’t even know if it works anymore, Phil. I don’t even know if the button works. I could, I could… press it, and it might-” (Wilbur’s smithereens: 1:15:29, 16th Nov)

5) The one time anything about Wilbur using TNT while young (and here the age isn't as clearly implied as in Phil's thing, this could very well be more of teen Wilbur than kid Wilbur) is mentioned in the actual text is this one maybe-canon-maybe-not-so-canon-anymore line:

“Tommy, have you heard of TNT duplication? The flying machines that dup TNT? Phil taught me about them. He taught me about them- I’m sure he wouldn’t have taught me them if he knew what I was gonna do with them. But, he did teach me about them. … They were very useful, in this.” - (Wilbur’s The Festival: 11:30, 16th Oct)

Now let’s pretend that headcanon makes any sense and that yeah, Wilbur totally just enjoyed building shit to detonate and said tendency encouraged in childhood just up and carried into adulthood and manifested as him internally going “I must blow up this thing I made because that’s what I do” and let’s pretend that he didn’t have a big ass internal conflict about it.

Ok, so Phil said that Wilbur blew stuff up when little, so he’d have connected it to the button room. Now think for a moment: How does that reflect on Phil as a parent? Let’s forget about everything else for this one moment (and believe me, I’ve got no shortage of stuff to critique c!Phil on in regards to his relation with c!Wilbur) and just focus on this one action. A man freely lets his son use TNT to blow up some random stuff presumably made out of toys. Just a little kid playing with TNT, yup, that’s his boy. And it was to such a degree that the same man just went “Oh yeah! It’s totally the blowing shit up thing!” in a fraction of a second after seeing the button… And then yeah, saw all of the hesitation, the breakdown, the struggle, the wishes to die and impaled him with a sword, but we can go deeper into those aspects in another post

Then Phil tried to make it better by saying to chat that all kids just break stuff apart, more implying that little Wilbur wasn’t actually using explosives which… makes the whole thing even dumber, ngl, because at that point c!Phil is just saying “Oh yeah, he knocked over his lego houses when he was four, so when I saw that button I immediately went ‘Oh, of course! He rigged the place! What an obvious connection!’”. You see what I’m getting at?

TLDR: It doesn’t fit with canon and even if we shove it in with its implications, then c!Phil is just an idiot, whether it be from letting his kid freely play with TNT to such a degree that he deduces where his most drastic measure resulting from trauma and breakdowns is going just by seeing the button OR whether it be from him connecting dots where there are none if he tries to save his skin as a father and just say “Oh yeah, no, who didn’t knock over stuff as a kid, what do you mean?” not realizing that… exactly… who didn’t…. so it wouldn’t connect with the button room at all

[the-modernmary]

you’ll always know me || aaron hotchner x reader

Summary: "I would have stayed... If you asked me to.

After your high school graduation, you left without saying goodbye to Aaron Hotchner, your best friend, and nobody had heard from you since. Years later, you're back in DC, and catching up with Aaron brings more than you could have possibly hoped for.

Warnings: mentions of weed

A/N: I really wanted some soft Hotch content in my life after all the angst in my best habit, and this is about as soft as I can get. Inspired by Taylor Swift's "dorothea". Honestly, I was listening to evermore, blacked out for about three hours, and this is what came from that. There is no other explanation for this. It's written differently than my usual style, but I hope y'all like it still!

read on ao3 || masterlist

~~~~~~~

“What’s got you in such a rush?”

  Rossi eyes Aaron carefully as the latter circles around his office, double and triple-checking that he didn’t forget anything. The last thing he wants is to have to come back to the office and cut his day short.

  Aaron shoves a few case files in his briefcase. “An old friend from high school is in town and I’m meeting up with her.”

  Rossi perks up at the word ‘her’ and he leans against the door frame. Aaron notices this, too, because he shakes his head quickly. “It’s not like that. We both got sent to boarding school for being problem children and we became quick friends. I haven’t talked to her since graduation. She just packed up her stuff and left the very next day.”

“You sound bitter,” Rossi points out.

  “Not at all,” he lies, trying to forget the hurt of running to your dorm for your weekly breakfast together, only to be met with an empty room and a singular polaroid. “I knew she hated it there and her goal was to travel and see as many places as she could. Honestly, I’m surprised she’s back stateside at all. Last I heard, she was doing some art apprenticeship in Italy, but that was years ago.”

  “You sound like you have a long evening ahead of you, so I’ll get out of your hair. And have some fun tonight, Aaron. You deserve it,” Rossi adds on as an afterthought. 

  The corners of Aaron's mouth lift slightly. “I will. Try not to let the building burn down while I’m gone. Reid is back on his physics magic kick, and I think I heard something about a lighter.”

  Rossi gives Aaron a two-finger, half-hearted salute in acknowledgment, which is all it takes for Aaron to shut his office door and head towards the elevator. Knowing that you’re just outside, he has to make a conscious effort to slow his pace from an excited jog to just an anxious speed walk. The elevator ride is slow, seemingly stopping at every single floor on the way down, which gives his mind ample time to wander and think back to graduation day.

  “There you are!” Aaron shouts from across the football field as he runs up to you, shoving through bustling groups of families trying to take pictures. He has so many stoles and cords and leis around his neck that you can barely see the suit he’s wearing underneath his gown. It’s a stark contrast to you, with only a singular chord for academic achievement, although a 3.2 wasn’t much of an achievement in the eyes of most people at boarding school.

  “Here I am!” you laugh, throwing your arms around him in a hug and breathing in the smell of his cologne.

  “Where’re your parents? Didn’t they come?”

  “Of course they didn’t. They’re not ones for celebrating something as trivial as high school graduation, not when it’s just expected of me.” You roll your eyes. “What about you? I thought you and Haley were going to do the whole ‘meet the family’ thing today?”

  Aaron is oblivious to the bitterness in your voice, although that’s nothing new. “We are, but I just wanted to give these to you.” It’s then that you notice the bouquet of flowers in his hand, although it’s now being pressed into your arms. “As a congrats. And a thank you for being there for me this whole time. You’re my best friend.”

  You try to ignore the ache in your chest at his words. “Thank you, Aaron. I… I didn’t get you anything, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he waves it off. “If you want to get me something, breakfast is your treat tomorrow.”

  “Okay, deal,” you agree, the smile coming back to your face. Selfishly, you don’t want him to go back to Haley or his family just yet. You want him to stay there with you so you don’t feel so lonely in the crowd of happy graduates. “God, I can’t believe you’re staying in D.C. for college. We always talked about getting out, seeing the world and never coming back.”

  Aaron shrugs, and you watch as he brushes away a piece of his hair that falls into his face. “I’m hoping that going to GW for undergrad will make it easier to get into law school there.”

  “And Haley Brooks is still here for another year,” you point out, half accusatory.

  “Yeah, that, too.” Aaron chuckles uncomfortably before quickly switching the conversation. “What about you? Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

  “There’s an art school in Glasgow I’m thinking of going to. But, you know… George Washington also has an art program. It’s pretty nice, too. I’m still deciding.” You trail off, looking straight into Aaron’s eyes, giving him every chance in the world to make the decision for you.

  Aaron hesitates, fighting an internal battle. “Go to Glasgow!” he says, fake enthusiasm in his voice, but your disappointment blocks out anything but his actual words. “Then I’ll have an excuse to visit Scotland.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I was leaning towards, too,” you lie. “Aaron, I—”

  You’re cut off by a voice calling his name. You both turn around to see Haley Brooks waving him over, her other hand holding 7-year-old Sean’s hand. She looks like spring personified, her blonde hair in bouncy curls and her pink sundress swishing around her long, slender legs. Her smile is so big that it could have parted storm clouds, and you want nothing more than to hate her with every single fiber of your being.

  But then you see Aaron, returning her megawatt smile with his own, one you rarely ever saw, and how can you hate somebody who makes him so happy?

  “I have to go, I’m sorry,” he says, although there’s not even a hint of regret in his voice. “But I’ll see you for one last Sunday breakfast tomorrow?”

  “I’ll see you then,” you lied.

  How Aaron could have missed the signs of your unhappiness, he’ll never know. At that time, all he knew was that you left without ever saying goodbye, leaving behind only a polaroid of the two of you from your weekend trip to Virginia Beach, both of you drunk and laughing with your arms wrapped around each other. He still has it, buried in his nightstand somewhere, but he hasn’t had the courage to look at it for a few years now.

  As Aaron steps out of the FBI building, he recognizes you instantly, even though it’s only the back of your head, and it causes his breath to catch in his throat. He calls your name and watches as you turn around, your hair whipping around you, and the fact that you still have that same mischievous glint in your eyes is enough to make him feel like he’s sixteen again and nervously skipping class with you holding his hand and pulling him towards the school gates.

  “Aaron!” You jog up to him and throw your arms around him in a hug, which he happily reciprocates. You press a quick kiss to his cheek before pulling away, and Aaron’s entire face burns.

  You keep your hands on his biceps, holding him at arm’s length, as you study him. He looks almost exactly the same as he did all those years ago, with soft hair and the slightest bit of stubble, but he looks less carefree. He seems more mature, like life had aged him 100 years. Still, as cute as high school Aaron was, it had nothing on how good he looks now. “Look at you, Mr. FBI, all suit and corporate-looking! I never thought I’d see the day.”

  “Yeah, I guess I’ve changed quite a bit,” he admits, and the sight of his dimples makes you want to melt right there into the sidewalk. “It’s really good to see you again. I’ve missed you.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you barely thought about me,” you joke, but hurt flashes through your eyes.

  Aaron wants to argue, to tell you that he thinks about you all the time, but decides against it. He doesn’t want to spend the precious few hours he has with you bringing up old issues. “Are you hungry? Because there’s this diner a few blocks down with giant milkshakes.”

  “Why are we still standing here, then? All you had to say was milkshakes, they’re my favorite.”

  “I know. I remember,” he says, and that all-too-familiar pang in your heart comes back like it had never left. “Come on, we can walk and cut through a park.”

  The two of you start your walk in comfortable silence, listening to the bustling city around you. Every once in a while, your hands would bump into his, and you were doing everything you could to ignore it.

  “So did you ever go to that art school?” he asks suddenly, looking over at you.

  You nod, a soft smile forming on your face. “I did. You were right, I loved Scotland.”

  “Where did you go after that? Nobody heard from you.”

  Your eyes sparkle as memories of your life the past few years flash through your mind. “Everywhere. Literally. I took a bunch of odd jobs and spent my time traveling,” you admitted. “I taught English in Vietnam for a year, worked on a cruise ship that went around South America, was an au pair for a French ambassador, went on research expeditions… Even dated a pilot for all of six months. Anything I could do that would let me see the world.” You laugh to yourself, shaking your head fondly. “I really put that private boarding school tuition to good use, huh? My parents were pissed.”

  “It sounds like you were living the life you dreamed of,” Aaron says softly, looking down at you.

  “It was,” you agree, your voice a little sad.

  “So then why are you back here in DC?”

  You shrug, your hands clasped behind your back, and you step down on a particularly crunchy leaf. “I’m just passing through. I’ve been going around the US and looking for a place to settle down. Finally. Figured I might as well put that art degree to good use. Maybe I’ll open a gallery or something.”

  Aaron nods slowly as the chill of autumn runs through his bones. It’s nice, though, in a weird way. He’s always preferred the fall over spring. “Where have you looked so far?”

  “Lots of places. San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, San Antonio, Miami… I’m heading up to New York next. Nothing’s felt right so far. But enough about me, how are you? I heard you married Haley Brooks.”

  That same bitterness you felt in high school when you talked about Haley comes back with a vengeance. It’s unfair, and you know that. How was Aaron supposed to know that you were practically in love with him in high school if you never told him? Even now, you’re sure that he hasn’t put together the pieces.

  You watch as his gaze falls slightly. “I did. She died a few years ago.”

  “I’m sorry,” you whisper, and you reach out to give his hand a small squeeze.

  “We got divorced a little while before it happened,” he explains, unsure why it’s so important to him that you know that. “I blamed myself for it for a long time. But I’ve, uh… I’ve made peace with it now.”

  You give him a comforting smile, fully aware of the fact that you’re still holding his hand. “Aaron Hotchner, making peace with something in his life? I never thought I’d see the day.”

  Aaron chuckles and bumps his shoulder to yours. “I’ve been known to do it a few times. But only a few. Haley and I have a son, though. His name is Jack. He’s 8 now.”

  You shake your head in disbelief, and your cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “And you’re a father? Wow, you really have changed.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” he asks, and you shake your head wordlessly.

  “I like every version of Aaron Hotchner,” you promise. “Besides, change is a good thing. Especially since this city hasn’t changed a bit.”

  Aaron looks around, eyebrows furrowed, like he’s seeing DC for the very first time. “It’s actually changed quite a bit. But it’s subtle. Only people who have been here as long as I have would even notice it, probably.”

  The words cut through you both as a painful reminder of your abrupt departure from DC, and the silence settles over the two of you like a thick fog. This conversation was going to have to happen no matter what, you knew that going into this meeting with Aaron, but you didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

  “I would have stayed,” you whisper, your voice barely audible. “If you asked me to.”

  Aaron shakes his head as his Adam’s apple bobs. “I thought about it. But I couldn’t do that to you. I knew you wanted to see the world, and you said it yourself. This city had nothing left to offer you.”

  You pause, rubbing your thumb over your fingertips with your freehand. “It had you,” you reply, and Aaron feels like he was just stabbed in the heart. “That would have been enough.” Seeing Aaron’s dejected face, you quickly keep talking. “But I get it, don’t worry. You were head over heels for Haley Brooks. Everybody knew you two were meant to be together.””

  “What does that have to do with you leaving?” he asks, more accusatory than he intended.

  “Everything.”

  Aaron breathes out your name, unsure of what to say until he settles on: “I’m sorry.”

  You wave him off, forcing a laugh. “Don’t be. I was 17 years old with a crush. We do stupid things, like want to stay at home for a boy. I’m glad I left. Besides, Haley Brooks was clearly the love of your life, and far be it from me to try and break up the golden couple.”

  The two of you stop in front of the diner and you drop Aaron’s hand, much to his disappointment, although you’re still close enough to him to see your reflection in his brown eyes. “I didn’t know you felt like that about me,” he says.

  “Which is surprising, because everybody else definitely knew. But you’ve always been a little clueless when it comes to stuff like that,” you tease, flashing him a toothy smile. “But it’s in the past. So come on, I want to hear about this FBI stuff and drink a milkshake so big it makes my stomach hurt.”

  Twenty minutes later, you and Aaron find yourselves smushed together in a corner booth covered in cheap vinyl, splitting a chocolate milkshake and laughing as you stroll down memory lane. 

  “You know, I ran into Stephen yesterday! A little coffee shop not too far from here,” you tell Aaron.

  Aaron almost drops the fry he was about to eat. “Do you mean Stoner Stephen? What is he doing back here?”

  You take a sip of the milkshake, and Aaron’s gaze is intense as you wrap your lips around the straw. When you pull back, he’s still staring at the soft pink your lipstick leaves behind. “Apparently, he’s lived here for years. Also, did you know he’s crazy smart? Like… graduated 4th in our class, went to Brown undergrad and Columbia graduate, smart.”

  Aaron’s eyes go wide in disbelief. “And this is the same guy who, completely sober, tried putting his mattress in the pool so that he didn’t have to sleep in his own dorm?”

  “The very same one. He’s like a lobbyist now or something for some activist group.”

  “Wow, I did not expect that. Do you remember when he got so high that he thought his joint was going to catch the dorms on fire?” Aaron asks, the words barely discernible through his laughter. “So he warned campus police that the whole school was going to burn down.”

  “Yes!” you giggle, your head thrown back in laughter. “They thought it was an arson threat and they had to evacuate the whole school. I was taking an English final during that.”

  Aaron’s shoulder pressing against yours makes a shiver run down your spine. You idly wonder how much closer he can get to you if he really tried.

  As if reading your mind, Aaron turns towards you a little more so that your knees are touching and you can feel his breath on the side of your neck. “We went to the beach that weekend,” he says quietly, unwilling to break eye contact with you. “Drank cheap beer. You got stung by a jellyfish. I had to carry you back to the car.”

  No, no. You were not about to fall for Aaron Hotchner’s charm again that easily. Not again. It took you too long to get over him the first time. Still, you were leaning closer to Aaron, and Aaron was leaning in towards you, and your noses brushed as you tilt your head to the side ever so slightly and—

  And his phone rings. Aaron’s eyes flickered to your lips one last time before pulling away, giving you an apologetic look.

  “Hotchner,” he answers, and you pull your coat tighter around yourself as realization sinks into you. You feel like you’re 17 again, desperately waiting for Aaron to ask you to prom, only to hide in your dorm for days on end when he asked Haley Brooks.

  When Aaron hangs up, he immediately reaches into his pocket to pull out his wallet, setting enough cash on the table to cover the tab and tip. “That was work. We have to fly out to Arizona. I’m sorry.”

  You nod understandingly. “Gotta catch the bad guys. When do you leave?”

  It’s silent for a few torturous moments before he finally answers. “An hour, at most. We brief at the office and then get on the plane.”

  “Wow,” you breathe. “You weren’t kidding when you said that you live out of your suitcase. Can I walk back with you, at least?”

  Aaron smiles, a small smile that makes you wonder how often he actually smiles now. It used to be a lot, but from what he’s told you, it seems like he’s had a rough go of it the last couple of years, and has a lot less to smile about. It makes you sad because when you were traveling the world, his smile was the one thing you missed the most.

  “I’d really like that.”

  The two of you make small talk on the way back, swapping stories about Jack and your various adventures around the globe. The autumn air is crisp with leaves falling all around you. At one point, there was a big gust of wind, and leaves and pine needles got blown onto the two of you, and you took your sweet time running your fingers through his hair, bushing it all off him. 

  When you get to the entrance of the FBI building, neither one of you says anything. You just stand there, both unwilling to say goodbye. You turn to face each other, just as close as you were in the diner booth.

  “Oh, you have a…” Aaron delicately reaches his hand to your hair. His fingers in your hair make your stomach do flips, and you’re almost positive he can hear your racing heartbeat. His eyes stay trained on yours the entire time, never blinking. “Pine needle,” he whispers, holding the offending object between his fingers.

  “Thanks,” you breathe, and you’re not sure if it’s the autumn chill or his hand reaching to cup your cheek that sends goosebumps throughout your body.

  As if he were magnetic, you rise onto your toes, bringing yourself closer to him, and you press your lips against his. Aaron deepens the kiss and runs his thumb across your cheekbone. His other hand wraps itself around your waist. The kiss is slow and sensual and better than anything you could have dreamed of — and you dream of Aaron kissing you more often than you’d like to admit.

  All too soon, the two of you pull away from each other, both wearing matching smiles.

  “I should probably… get in there… before my team sends out a search party,” Aaron says reluctantly, pointing towards the entrance. 

  You give his hand a soft squeeze. “Go save lives. I’ll probably be around for a few more days before heading up to New York. If you’re back by then.”

  Aaron purses his lips, deep in thought. “You’re definitely settling down somewhere? Done with seeing the world?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Have you… Do you think…” Aaron takes a grounding breath, trying to gather the words he was too afraid to ask back at graduation. “Have you ever considered settling down here? There’s a pretty big art community here.”

  You shrug, ignoring excitement building in your chest. “I think my work is a little too experimental for the people of the capitol.”

  “You’d be surprised,” he chuckles.

  You bring your lower lip between your teeth, chewing nervously at it. “I don’t know… I left for a reason. I just don’t know what DC has to offer me anymore.”

  Aaron spreads his arms out at his side, palms facing you in an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability. “There’s me,” he offers, and, when your eyes go wide, he adds, “And Stoner Stephen, if I’m not enough.”

  A laugh bursts out of you uncontrollably, which seems to put both you and Aaron at ease. “That makes it a very tempting offer,” you tease.

  “And I have a coworker who flips houses. He’ll be able to tell you where to get the best deal on an apartment,” Aaron presses as if you need any more convincing. As if your mind isn’t already made up.

  “First, I need to know that there’s more than one good place to get milkshakes,” you point out, shoving your hands in your coat pockets. “You’ll have to show me around when you get back.”

  Aaron’s lips quirk up in a hopeful smile. “It’s a date.”

  He makes his way towards the entrance of the Hoover Building, but you call out his name, stopping him once more. “We’ll also need a new Sunday breakfast place. Since our old one is closed down.”

  Now, his smile is one of pure joy, and his eyes are sparkling in a way you haven’t seen in years. “I know just the place. As long as you don’t up and leave without telling me again.”

  “Never again,” you promise, and for once, the idea of staying doesn’t terrify you.

  “Then we’ll get breakfast together as soon as I get back.”

  You smile at him, already missing the feeling of his lips on yours. “I’ll see you then.”

[iheartbookbran]

Ok so actually my biggest problem with the whole “Daenerys will burn KL” theory—not even the Mad Queen Dany theory, which is of course very sexist for obvious reasons, but just like, the idea that Dany will ~accidentally~ ignite the wildfire in the city, burning it all to the ground. That, at first, doesn’t sound that bad, but the longer I think about it the more I hate it because tbh it doesn’t do anything for her character? And also… that fate for her is just down right cruel.

Like, the most frequent argument I see on why this would be at all satisfactory for Dany’s arc is basically that it would be a sort of lesson for her about the dangers of unchecked power and the real threat the Dragons can pose on humans and that she shouldn’t use them to fight against other people. And that’s all well and good, excellent message… except that’s not something Dany’s ever really needed to learn? Not anymore that her fellow rulers, which I will touch on more detail later, but in general Dany has seen what the abuse of power can do. Starting with her conflicting feelings regarding Viserys and how she recognizes that even though he was her brother and she loved him, he also abused his power over her as her older brother, her only family and her king; she feels guilt about the atrocities Drogo committed to the lhazarene and tries to help them; she feels so much guilt about not handling things correctly in Astapor that she decides to throw away all her plans to go to Westeros and instead stays in Meereen.

And about not knowing the true danger that her dragons can pose? I mean, this is the same girl that literally agonizes across several of her ADWD chapters because Drogon killed a child, and then takes the extreme measure of caging Rhaegal and Viserion to prevent that from ever happening again. I think she’s at least a little bit aware that the dragons can be dangerous, thank you very much.

Ok so this got long...

Anyways, the only time Dany legit uses Drogon to harm someone and not just as bluff was at the house of the Undying, where she was being attacked, and in Astapor… and like, lmao, that asshole Kraznys mo Nakloz and the rest of his slaver buddies deserved it. Don’t at me. Also, Dany’s hardly the only one with a big magical and deadly beast at her disposal, why didn’t Robb had to go through some horrifying traumatic incident to learn he shouldn’t use Grey Wind in battle to tear his enemies’ throats. Bran will be learning about the dangers of abusing power, but that’s linked to his magic powers and an actual reprehensible thing he’s doing, not the use of his glorified prehistoric dog to kill, which he’s done, just like Robb. By all means let the narrative hold Dany accountable for her mistakes… but her actual mistakes and not shit she has no control over, because she doesn’t have much control over Drogon or the other dragons even though she’s trying to, and that’s very obvious in her last ADWD chapter where she’s delirious and Drogon could kill her at any moment, and she knows that.

The other big argument people make for Dany burning KL (even if it’s by accident!) is that it will teach her about the price of war, that someone as young as her shouldn’t be leading armies and conquering kingdoms, and that fighting for the Iron Throne is not a worthy cause, and I feel like that misses the actual point of her story by a mile. First of all because a) Dany is hardly the only teenage ruler in the story and b) this is a fantasy medieval story, a lot of the characters shouldn’t be doing the things they do, aaaand yet. Also speaking of other teenage rulers with far more power that they should have—Robb and Jon, being the biggest examples.

Granted, Robb and Jon aren’t exactly successful during their time as rulers, they’re literally betrayed and killed by their own men (even if Jon will technically come back for round 2 of bullshit he’s too tired for). But the moral of their stories is not that they lost because theirs was an unworthy cause and they were stupid kids wholly unprepared for their roles. And I actually partially agree! They are just kids, including Dany, and they shouldn’t be responsible for looking after so many others and going to battle, but their cause is still just and worthy, even with all the mistakes they make along the way. Robb didn’t loose because he was wrong in demanding justice for his family or trying to protect the riverlands from the Lannisters and their minions, he lost because Tywin Lannister was a giant coward who couldn’t take him out in a fair fight.

Likewise, it isn’t wrong of Jon to try to incorporate refugees from beyond the Wall into Westeros. He’s not too stupid and honorable to do politics like his father (how I hate when people insult Jon and Ned like that), and while he did some very obvious mistakes that inevitably ended in a coup and in him dying, this is more connected to his inability to let go of his ties with his family (mainly Arya or who he believes to be her), and in isolating himself from his friends and the people he could actually trust.

I’ve always thought that Dany and Jon share a parallel narrative within the story, so while Jon is struggling with that Dany is faced with similar problems. She cages her dragons, that to her represent the only family she has left, and she tries to compromise with the slavers, marry a man she doesn’t love, pretend she’s ok with reopening the fighting pit. While she tries her best to rule wisely in Meereen, it all comes at the cost of betraying herself and her beliefs, so it’s no surprise when it all crashes around her and she’s betrayed and nearly killed. Ironically, it is Drogon who comes to rescue her.

If they are monsters, so am I.—Daenerys II, ADWD.

This is hands down one of my favorite Dany quotes from the whole series, and I hate that it’s been given such a negative connotation in the fandom, when for me it represents Dany’s humanity and compassion at the fullest.

GRRM has a knack for humanizing the ‘monsters’ of his story, for showing the good in the outcasts and the ugly and the scary. He embraces their ‘otherness’ and makes them the heroes of his stories; Arya, Bran, Brienne, Dany, Tyrion, Jon, Theon and many others are all compared to monsters or beasts at one point or another in the books.

Dany sees herself in her dragons, literal monsters in every sense of the word. Later on she faces Drogon inside the pit, and in that moment you could say that she accepts that ‘monstrous’ part of her, and in doing so she’s saved from her fate of dying at the hands of the men who would crucify innocent children and gleefully profit off of the suffering of their fellow human beings while watching them fight each other to the death for their own amusement. Now tell me who’s the real monster in this situation.

But shortly before that happens, Dany is able to see the humanity in Tyrion, an outcast who has been branded as monstrous and unlovable due to his disability all his life, a man who has come to believe in his abusers’ rhetoric about him so strongly that he’s started to act cruel and detached. She saves his life. She sees value in his life when few others would, because she cares.

I’ve always find it funny that the “dragons plant no trees” is—another—example fans use to argue in favor of Dany’s descent into Darkness™ because the actual scene goes like this:

You are a queen, her bear said. In Westeros.

"It is such a long way," she complained. "I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl."

No. You are the blood of the dragon. The whispering was growing fainter, as if Ser Jorah were falling farther behind. Dragons plant no trees. Remember that. Remember who you are, what you were made to be. Remember your words.—Daenerys X, ADWD.

Now am I the only one who finds it at least a bit relevant that it’s freaking Jorah Mormont aka Jorah the Enslaver whom Dany’s subconscious, at her literal lowest moment, utilizes to represent this particular thought, which btw I’ve always interpreted as Dany’s own self-loathing manifesting in her, and this is something she’s actually always struggled with—the idea that she’s not enough and she’s failing. Because above all things, even Westeros or the Iron Throne, what Dany wants is peace, she wants to plant trees.

When Dany made her descent, Reznak and Skahaz dropped to their knees. "Your Worship shines so brightly, you will blind every man who dares to look upon you," said Reznak. […] This match will save our city, you will see."

"So we pray. I want to plant my olive trees and see them fruit." Does it matter that Hizdahr's kisses do not please me? Peace will please me. Am I a queen or just a woman?—Daenerys VII, ADWD.

But of course the world doesn’t work like that, and so long as there’s Jorahs and Tywins and Eurons out there, men who would take the freedom of humans and submit them to their will, Dany can’t have the luxury of peace, just like Jon can’t have the luxury of belonging and family so long as there’s people still beyond the Wall who need his protection.

And I think that’s fine. It’s fine that Dany failed, it will help her develop as a character and realize that there’s no room to compromise with slavers, the metaphorical monsters of the story who do far more harm than the other more literal ‘monsters’ of the story. So that when she has to face down Euron Greyjoy—who btw, there’s a high chance he will end up stealing one of Dany’s dragons via Victarion using Dragonbinder… y’know, as in enslaving one of her children and using said dragon to inflict god knows what horrors, yet not many people ever consider this for some reason?—she will know. When she has to face down the Others, the magical ice fairies with no regard for human life, she will know.

That’s why I believe that it would make absolutely no sense for Dany to have to go through such a tragic and traumatic experience like burning a whole city even by pure accident, over something that’s either never been a problem with her character or she’s well into her way of learning anyways, so it would just feel repetitive. As I have pointed out, she’s already reached one of the lowest moments of her arc. Not saying there will be no other blows for her, and probably the destruction of KL will be one of them, and knowing Dany she will feel responsibility over it no matter what, but that doesn’t mean she has to be the culprit, intentional or otherwise.

[catreginae]

A Soldier, Not a Hero: Chapter 3

Warriors was a soldier, not a hero.

- - - - -

This is a fanfic for @linkeduniverse​! Go check it out if you haven’t already. You can also read it on AO3! If you haven’t read chapter 1, you can do so here! TRIGGER WARNING: this fanfic contains graphic depictions of violence, minor character death, blood, and gore.

I can’t believe I forgot to post this! I’m so sorry that it’s been... a whole ass year

Sickness was a battle that Warriors didn't have much experience fighting. As a child, when fevers would run rampant through the other children in town, Warriors and his siblings would just get runny eyes and stuffy noses. Even his little brother, who always ended up the worst off in terms of illness, managed to keep a normal temperature. They were still miserable, but they could get out of bed, tough it out for a bit, and still cause some trouble for the rest of the family.

So when he regained some awareness, like breaking the water's surface after trying for too long to figure out which way was up, he knew something was horribly wrong. He never felt so awful before. He was used to the sharp pain and aches from waking up after a tough battle, but he wasn't used to the headache, or the dizziness, or the heat that ran through his body like fire in a field of dry grass. His limbs were heavy, his entire body hurt, and while he was awake and somewhat aware about what was going on around him, he didn't have the energy to even open his eyes.

Not even Ganondorf managed to make him feel so awful.

“What's with the frown, sailor?” Legend asked. There was a creak behind him, quickly followed by Legend's soft footsteps. Perhaps he just walked into the room, but since Warriors could only go by sound, he wasn't quite sure if that was correct.

“I just wish that bastard got a taste of what they deserved. They almost killed Wars and I just... let them get away with it.”

Legend sighed. “You know Warriors wouldn't care about that. He's the type of dork that would worry more about you even though he's the one with that had a giant hole in his back.”

Wind let out a long sigh. “I guess it would have just made me feel better. Is that a bad thing?”

“You should be asking Time or Sky, not me.” Legend took a deep breath through his nose, and he hesitated for a moment. “I don't think it would have made you feel better though. Whether you killed that Yiga or not, they still stabbed him before any of us could get to him. He would still be like this. You just want to feel like you're helping because it fucking sucks that we can't do anything but wait around for him to wake up, right?”

Wind huffed. “When did you get all wise?”

“I have my moments,” Legend said, though it didn't sound as confident or cocky as Warriors thought it would.

“Renado said that talking to him might help him. Do you think that's true?”

“Help us, maybe. I doubt Warriors can hear anything in that condition. It's like talking to a wall, not that it's his fault, but you know. Same effect.”

Warriors tried again to crack just one eye open, since he was aware that he was laying on his stomach and his face was half buried in the pillow. He couldn't just let Wind feel like didn't do enough, but most of all, he wanted to show Legend that he could in fact hear him, thank you very much. Opening his eye was a chore and keeping it open long enough to identify Legend's red tunic was even harder. The quiet gasp from Legend's lips was all he needed to hear for the effort to be worth it though.

“What was that... about not being able... to hear you?” Warriors tried to smirk, but he quickly realized that speaking at all was a mistake. His head swam, and a wave of nausea smashed into him and pulled him under. He squeezed his eye shut, curling his head into the pillow as his fingers tightened around his sheets, trying to steady himself. He barely moved and yet, it felt like he was on a rocking boat.

“Wars!” Wind cried out, placing cold hands on Warriors' too warm shoulders, the only bit of exposed skin. It was the first time he realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt but at least he had a blanket.

“Just focus on breathing,” Legend said slowly. “Wind, you stay. I'm going to go get Renado.”

“Don't worry, Warriors, everything is going to be okay.”

He knew Wind was right. He woke up, he could feel pain, and he could remember most of what happened before he hit the ground during the battle. However, 'okay' felt too far away when his head hurt so badly. The pillow and Wind's hands were the only things that made him feel somewhat grounded, that no matter how fast the world was spinning, he was still in the same spot. Even Wind's quick paced words were comforting, even though Warriors couldn't keep up with everything he was trying to say.

He wasn't sure how long it took for Legend to come back with another pair of footsteps. The blanket covering him was peeled back to settle on his hips, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Hello, Warriors. My name is Renado. I'm a healer, and you've been under my care for four days now.” His voice was commanding and firm, though Warriors found it calming. Renado's tone reminded him of his uncle, back when Uncle Arnie was a captain and trained Warriors like any other soldier despite the fact that at the time, he was only eleven. He was still caring and supportive, but he also commanded respect and Warriors tended to respond fairly well to that. “You probably already realized this, but you have a terrible wound and a terrible infection from it. We can't fully heal the wound until the infection clears. If you're anything like the Link I know, it'll be hard for you sit still for long periods of time, but you're going to have to take it easy and let yourself heal.”

Warriors groaned in response.

“Good. I'll be back in a moment with some medicine. It'll help bring fever down at least, though it may cause some drowsiness. I will say though, it's good to see you awake. I doubt you feel well now, but you are getting better. This is a good sign.”

With that, Renado was gone.

“I hope you know that we're going to make sure you take it easy,” Legend muttered. Warriors could practically hear the smirk.

“Don't doubt it,” Warriors mumbled into his pillow. Wind laughed a little, but he kept his hands were they were until Renado returned. Without any words, Legend and Wind hoisted him into a sitting position. He could barely keep his own weight up, so they had to hold his arms and keep an arm around his waist to keep him in position. Renado had to tip his head back, and hold the cup for him as he drank whatever tea Renado had in there. Warriors didn't recognize the taste, but if he had enough energy, he probably would have spat it out.

He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

- - - - -

Warriors lost the rest of the day to sleep, and most of the next two days as well. He was woken up for more tea whenever somebody noticed his temperature was creeping back up or for a light meal that he could barely keep down. If he managed to do anything else but sleep for all those days, he could not remember it. All the days blurred together and he couldn't distinguish any of them apart.

When he woke up on the fourth day, the sun was already up. Normally, losing so much time would leave him bothered, but in his current condition, he couldn't have spent the time awake doing anything worthwhile. He didn't have any energy to even care that he spent three days practically asleep.

It was Renado who came to see him first. It was the first time that Warriors really got a good look at him ever since he arrived, as Renado was either just out of sight or the tea was wearing off and his fever just made it too hard for Warriors to properly focus on him. He knew Renado by his voice and his general presence, not because he recognized the man's appearance from the last couple of times he was in the room with the tea or a light meal.

His appearance suited his presence, Warriors decided. His robes were mostly brown and white, with the only pop of colour being some sort blue layer under the outermost layer. His outfit was quiet but Warrior's gaze was still caught up in the patterns on the outer most layer, pondering their significance. Renado's eyes were brown and gentle, regarding him like an equal and thankfully, not with the pity he would have gotten from the healers in his own Hyrule. A smile tugged at his lips, but otherwise, he kept his face relatively neutral as he brought Warriors a glass of water.

“Good morning,” Renado greeted as he handed Warriors the glass. “I thought you would be asleep for a while yet. Are you feeling up for an examination?”

Warriors nodded as he eagerly downed the water, stopping only when it was empty for breath. Renado checked his temperature first with the back of his hand to his forehead, then had Warriors turn around in his spot once the glass was safely sitting on the nightstand. Warriors used a pillow to settle his arms on the headboard as Renado did whatever he had to do. From what he could tell, Renado was mostly just prodding his back, touching the area surrounding the wound but not the wound itself. Peeling the soiled bandages off hurt more than the actual examination, as the bandages were stuck to the wound, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle.

Warriors walked and fought with worse. It gave him hope that soon he could get out of bed, socialize, and get back into shape. He had a lot to catch up on after being out of commission for so long.

“The good news is that your wound is looking better and your temperature is down. You should be able to take a potion soon without fear of sealing the infection in,” Renado said as he applied something cold onto his back and over the wound. It made his back arch at first but once Warriors got used to the chill, he did find it pleasant against his still too-warm skin. It was followed quickly by new bandages. “If you do feel better though, it would be good for you to get out of bed and walk around for a bit, as long as you don't overexert yourself. How about we go to the window for some fresh air?”

“Be sure to tell the others or they'll never let me out of bed,” Warriors answered as he swung his legs over to the side and pushed himself out of bed. He wobbled, his legs immediately buckling under his own weight, and if it wasn't for Renado's quick reflexes, he would have ended up on the floor. The initial excitement he had regarding his progress quickly withered away into a familiar frustration, reminding him all too much of how long it took him to get back into shape as Hyrule was falling apart around him.

He hated feeling so helpless. He hated feeling like a burden. He hated feeling like he was letting people down because he couldn't stand on his feet. All of Hyrule depended on him and -

“Careful, it's been nearly a week since you were last on your feet. Take a deep breath and take it slow. You can do it.”

Warriors closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It was advice and assurance that he heard before, back when he was in backyard with a wooden sword and an uncle who meant the world to him. If he kept his eyes closed, it was like it was Uncle Arnie who was holding him up instead. It was certainly a happier time. Back then, his only worry was being fussed over by his worrywart of a sister.

He cracked his eyes open.

The window was a short distance away from the bed. If his legs weren't shaking so violently, he could make it there in just a few steps, but suddenly it felt like it was on the other side of Hyrule itself.

“Just start with a single step.”

Warriors took another deep breath and put one foot in front of the other. The action made him wobble and his legs threatened to collapse again, but with Renado's help, he was still upright. He took another step.

He was being ridiculous, he realized. It wasn't like him to just sit there and feel sorry for himself. He didn't get to where he was by giving up or sulking when things got inconvenient or difficult, and he wasn't the kind of person to be ungrateful for the help he was getting either. Renado didn't have to literally hold him up, but he did anyway. The least Warriors could do was try to get the damn window.

“That's it,” Renado said quietly as Warriors found his gait again. It was slow, much wider than usual, and wobbly as all hell, but he was walking for the first time in a week. It didn't even take that long to reach the window and open it for himself, seeing for the first time just where he actually was. He leaned almost all of his weight against the windowsill and soaked in the sight.

Twilight's Kakariko wasn't built on a green, open field like the other Kakarik villages Warriors had the pleasure of visiting. It was definitely still beautiful in its own way, with a spring that literally sparkled and its teal colour complimented the reddish dirt that was found all over Kakariko. It was built under a mountain and all of the rocky cliffs that came with it. It had one main street from what he could see, lined with some buildings that looked relatively new standing alongside buildings that looked like they could collapse in on themselves at any moment.

It was also emptier than he excepted, with just a few of the Links out and just a couple of villagers talking to them, but he had a feeling that the condition of some of the houses had something to do with that.

“Has it... always been this way?”

“No. Kakariko has seen better days, but it has seen darker days too, and those days are behind us. We are still rebuilding, and some of the residents have come back, but it will take some years yet.”

Warriors wracked his brain, trying to remember if Twilight ever said something about the Kakariko in his Hyrule, but he came up empty. Twilight spent more time talking about Ordon, and he had good reason to. It was his home, after all. The most Twilight said about Kakariko was that he did indeed have a Kakariko.

“What happened?”

“Link didn't say?” Renado asked quietly before he quickly moved on. “We were attacked by monsters, monsters not like anything in this world. I don't think I could have conjured them from my worst nightmares. They killed the villagers that couldn't flee, and in our darkest moments, it was just me, my daughter, the children from Ordon, and Barnes. It was just us, huddled in this sanctuary as the monsters roamed just outside, and when it seemed like the end may have been upon us... they suddenly vanished. We found Link just outside our door. He never said it, but we knew he saved us. In comparison to that, Kakariko is doing fine.”

“He never said anything about that,” Warriors whispered to himself. He could see why Twilight wouldn't, it wasn't like Warriors was so forthcoming about his experiences either. It was an unspoken rule after all, a rule that was only ever broken if it was something that made their journey more difficult for everybody else. Even then, the secrets were stretched as far as they could be stretched before they snapped and recoiled. “And yet, time moves on, doesn't it?”

“It does. We don't forget what happened – we can't forget – but time does march on and if we don't at least try to keep up with it, it will move on without us,” Renado said, putting a hand on Warriors' shoulder as Warriors kept his eyes glued to the twinkling water.

Warriors opened his mouth to say something, but the words fell out of his head and he came up with nothing. Renado's words hit him harder than he expected. It was so obvious but still out of reach.

“We will never forget the people we lost. I pray every night that they found peace. Sometimes we wonder if we could have done more, but we can't afford to lose ourselves to those thoughts when the present still demands our attention.”

“Why-”

“It just looked like you needed to hear it,” Renado said quietly. “Shall we head back to bed? Try to sleep for a bit. I'll let Link and the others know to let you walk around a bit.”

Warriors nodded. A nap sounded good.

- - - - -

Time was there when he woke up from his nap, sitting in a chair beside the bed with a book in his hands. The sun still hung high in the air, so his nap was only a couple of hours at best. He turned in his bed to face Time, putting an arm under his pillow for more comfort. For a second, he didn't say anything. He just wanted to see how long it would take for Time to notice that he was awake.

“Did you enjoy watching me sleep?” he said after a while of watching Time read. To Time's credit and to Warriors' disappointment, Time didn't seem at all surprised. He just calmly turned his head and set the book down on the lap, using his thumb to keep his spot.

“At least you slept this time. Last time I saw you in bed like this, you just complained all day and then you laughed at me,” he mumbled, looking down at his book. “I'm just glad you're giving yourself a chance to actually rest this time.”

“But did you see yourself?”

Time was about to pick up his book again but opted to pinch the bridge of his nose instead and let out a long sigh. “Regardless... just keep taking it easy. It was a tough battle and if you push yourself too far, you aren't going to heal. You have the opportunity now. You aren't alone and the rest of us are looking after the village.”

Right. He had to keep telling himself that Ganondorf currently wasn't a threat and that his current situation wasn't quite the same as the situation with Ganondorf. Whatever it was that they were chasing was a threat certainly, but it probably didn't have the Triforce. As far as Warriors knew, it didn't have the power to level the entire country at any moment. The threat was creeping but it wasn't looming. He had eight other people he could trust, so he could rest easy for just a bit if his mind would let him.

“I'm aware. I'm allowed to walk around a bit but I can't even do that on my own right now. You don't have to worry right now.”

“But I do. I don't doubt that battle took more than a physical toll.”

Warriors instantly knew what he meant. Time, or Mask as he was called at the time, wasn't there at the battle at the Sealed Grounds and Warriors was thankful for that, but that didn't stop Mask from finding out about it. Everybody knew what happened within a matter of days. Words had a habit of spreading like wildfire and Warriors didn't even try to put it out.

“I'll... be fine. I'm not fine now, but I just need a little bit of time,” he mumbled, knowing that honesty was probably the best course of action, at least in front of Time. He knew what Warriors went through, so there was little point in hiding his feelings from him. “There are a lot of unpleasant memories right now, but I'll be fine.”

“If you need to talk, I'm here.”

“It's... just that I'm reminded of the traitors I had to kill and I still don't even quite know why we were betrayed in the first place. It's hard being called a hero when I've killed so many.”

“I also don't like being called a hero, but for completely different reasons,” Time mumbled, book long forgotten. “I can't tell you how you should feel about being called a hero. It's up to you to define yourself. If you want my opinion though... I personally think you do a great job taking care of those around you. I see it time and time again and I know the soldiers who stuck with you the entire time do too. You don't have call yourself a hero, but don't change what you do.”

“Really?” Warriors asked. “They aren't just terrified of me?” It wasn't just the turncoats he had to kill, the many many many turncoats, but it was also the darkness that Cia pulled from his heart too, how his own pride in his abilities to protect others endangered them instead. He wasn't the only one who had to look into the abyss and dodge when it tried to attack back. His allies and his soldiers were made to protect themselves too. Warriors supposed that many did seem to be able to look past the fact that Cia had so much to use, or that he could kill a person within seconds, but how they could still think of him as a hero was beyond him.

“Perhaps a little. Many people were reminded that they don't want to be on the wrong side of your blade that day,” Time said with a small smirk. “But they were also so grateful, Captain. They didn't just tell everybody what happened, they told everybody how they felt, and nobody said anything bad about you.”

“I... I didn't know how badly I needed to hear that,” Warriors mumbled as he rubbed at his eye. Wow, when did he start getting tired again? He just got up.

“It looks like you woke up too soon. Go to sleep, Captain. Somebody will be around when you wake up again.”

He put his head down on the pillow. Almost instantly, he drifted off.

- - - - -

After a week spent mostly in bed, only getting up for short walks around the sanctuary, he could finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Wild even made a cake.

It was the day that his fever finally broke and Renado declared that there was no sign of infection anymore. He was never so happy to take a disgusting potion.

He nearly forgot what it was like to move without any pain or without instantly getting exhausted and ending up on the floor or supported by one of the other Links. Warriors knew he couldn't go overboard just yet but for once, he wasn't too worried about getting back into shape just yet. He was actually looking forward to a bath, he was in desperate need of one to clean his body and ease his mind, and he heard there were hot springs in the area.

Once the cake was devoured and Warriors soaked himself in the company of the others for a bit, listening to conversations but declining to join them, Twilight took him to the hot springs. It was conveniently located by the inn, and actually required going through the inn and up the stairs located outside to access it. At first, he thought that the inn was underneath the hot spring and carried the potential of one day destroying the inn. However, it seemed to be a little way back into the mountain, and the inn was actually just in front of the cliff that the hot spring rested on. Twilight carried everything on their trip through the inn, not that there was much to carry, but Twilight insisted on it so Warriors didn't argue.

It was Twilight's Hyrule. Maybe he just wanted to be a good host.

“Here we are! This is the only one in the village, the other springs are up on Death Mountain.”

“Oh don't worry, this is more than enough. As long as it's hot and goes past my knees, I'm good,” Warriors answered as he threw his borrowed shirt to the ground and began to wiggling out of his trousers. Once he was down to just his undergarments, he slipped inside the spring and settled in.

Sitting down, the water only came up to his pecs. He preferred deeper, at least up to his shoulders if he had the option, but it was way better than nothing and he wasn't in any condition to complain. After just a few seconds of soaking in the water, he already felt completely relaxed, more relaxed than he was even before they ever fought that battle.

“You coming in?”

“Of course. Why do you think I volunteered?” Twilight smirked as he wrestled out of his own layers, and joined Warriors just a moment later. “You would think you would be tired of being warm after battling a fever for a week.”

“To be fair, I spent most of that time asleep,” he answered with a deep, contented sigh. “And even if I did feel it for a week, this is completely different. I like being warm by choice. I will never say no to a warm bath. This is exactly what I needed after a tough battle.”

Twilight's smirk fell off his face. “I haven't said it before, but I just wanted to say... Thanks. If it wasn't for you, I feel like that battle would have gone way worse. We're lucky we got out of that fight without more injuries.” He ran a wet hand through his hair, his eyes flickering between Warriors and the steamy water. “And we're lucky we didn't lose you. Legend is still trying to get the blood out of your scarf and tunic.”

“I just did what I had to do,” Warriors mumbled as he reached out for the bag he kept his cleaning supplies in. He dipped his head underwater to wet his hair, and reached for the bottle he kept his hair products in. He spread a generous amount into his hands and ran his hands through his hair, lathering the cleanser into his hair. “I could tell that the Yiga would be trouble, so I took them out first.”

“You make it sound like it was easy.”

“Physically, people aren't that hard to kill. I'm trained to take lives and I have put that training to use even before meeting you. I don't even have to really think about it. It's just the emotional toll that's hard to deal with after the battle.”

He felt like he swallowed a rock. He thought that maybe after his conversation with Time, he would feel better but perhaps it was naive to think that one conversation and some time to sit on that conversation could make his problems vanish. It was good to hear from Time but the memories still swirled in his head.

Twilight's eyes shifted again. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this trip so...”

“Macabre? No, it's fine.”

Warriors dipped his head underwater again, shaking the cleanser out of his hair before reemerging, watching it dissolve in the water as he did so. It was a strange feeling to talk about death while he was washing himself but it would be stranger to just drop it and leave the heavy topic hanging. He just happened to really need a bath and he really didn't want to think about the feelings were bubbling under the surface. He came to relax.

“Really. Sometimes, you just need to say what's on your mind.” The words left his mouth and yet, they didn't entirely apply to him. His feelings were burning under his skin as the memories came back with a vengeance. He felt like he needed to scream and tell everybody that he wasn't quite the hero they thought he was. So many people died on his watch and too many were by his own hands. Ultimately, he kept his face cool, vowing to pay attention to those feelings later when nobody was around to witness it. Twilight looked distressed as it was and Warriors wasn't going to contribute to that.

“You've said you put that training to use... When? Before all of this, I mean.”

Warriors took a deep breath. One thing at a time.

“In the middle of my adventure. We were in the middle of a battle when some soldiers suddenly just turned on us. I had no choice but to kill them to defend myself and protect the ones who didn't turn traitor. They were shocked. Who could blame them? We had a nice dinner with them all the night before and they were plotting against us the entire time. I had to kill all the ringleaders to stop the mutiny, and many more soldiers on top of that just to get to them. It was a mutiny on top of an army full of monsters led by a demon that was already there.”

“I'm so sorry, Wars.”

He wasn't used to Twilight looking so down. Twilight wasn't always all smiles, he was too busy trying to find a glare that could make Wild take him more seriously and fussing about the others to smile all the time, but the kicked puppy look didn't really suite him either.

“Twi, you didn't cause the mutiny. You didn't stab me in the back. There's nothing to apologize for. Even though that mutiny happened, I still trust you all with my life. I know everybody here has my back and I never doubted that for a second,” Warriors said, reaching back into his bag for his body wash and scrubber. He shoved all the doubts away for the time, and offered Twilight an easy but genuine smile. “Clearly, I was right to do so.”

Despite being betrayed in the past and being well aware of his status as a walking target for all those who were upset with the crown in his own Hyrule, he couldn't help but to trust the other Links. Maybe it was because they had the Hero's Spirit that he found it so easy to trust them all. Deep, deep down, they were the same person. Sure, they didn't get along all the time, but he knew (more than ever) that when push came to shove, they had his back like he had theirs. He would return the favour one day, but he could start with trying to cheer Twilight up.

“Here. Catch.”

He quickly pulled his hair cleanser from the edge of the hot spring where he left and tossed it in Twilight's direction. Twilight's eyes went wide as he fumbled for it, the jar jumping out of his wet hands and falling into the water.

“What was that for?” he shouted before he dove into the water to retrieve the bottle Warriors tossed.

“You should use this opportunity to use the best cleaning products around. My treat! I don't share often since I can only get this stuff in my Hyrule, so enjoy it while you can.”

Twilight must have been practicing his glare a lot while he was sick in bed because that one had a touch of Time in it. “Wow, thank you,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“That's a good one. Wild might just listen to you the next time you tell him not jump off the cliff if you use that face.”

Twilight threw his hands up and sighed.

But he opened the bottle and that was a win in Warrior's book.

- - - - -

The next day, he explored Kakariko alone, careful to keep his current condition in mind. He felt a lot better after eating dinner the night before and a hearty breakfast earlier that morning, but he knew he may still have to turn back earlier than he liked.

Just like he saw earlier, the town was a patchwork of buildings in varying conditions. The inn with the hot spring looked like it was restored recently, with fresh paint and sturdy looking walls. It was welcoming, just as an inn should be. The shop next to it looked a little tacky in his opinion, decorated with colourful garlands that didn't seem to belong whatsoever, but it was obviously cared for.

He spotted a bomb shop that was a little dented and rusty, but it didn't seem like it would collapse on him and that was more than he could say about the buildings were probably houses at one point.

Warriors winced and he was quick to move on.

Beside Renado's sanctuary was a path the led deeper into the mountains. He almost turned back once he found out what was on the other side of that path, but he pressed on.

The graveyard was small and enclosed by the mountainous walls that surrounded Kakariko. The graves at the front were well cared for, though the ones towards the back were dilapidated and the headstones threatened to fall over. There was a breeze that blew his hair out of his face that somehow managed to be chilly and warm at the same time. He didn't notice the darkening clouds when he first left but after stepping foot in the graveyard, he could tell that a storm was coming his way.

Graveyards were not his favourite places to be. The air always felt heavy and dreary, even as a kid who went with his father so that they could pay respects to an aunt Warriors never knew. As an soldier, it was a physical reminder of all the lives he took and all the lives he couldn't save, even if the vast majority of the dead had been resting long before he was even born. They were full of broken promises to other soldiers. It almost felt like he had no right to be there, as the one who might have been the reason for the headstone being there at all.

But he visited as many soldiers as he could anyway, despite how unwelcome he felt, because he still felt like he had to. He failed them all one way in other, and the least he could was apologize to the stone that represented their legacy and try to fulfill the promises they could no longer make good on.

Somebody had to live for the dead.

“What are you doing out here?” Warriors turned his head. Behind him stood Legend, holding a bundle in his arms. “You're not usually the one who needs babysitting.”

He decided not to say anything.

“How about... we sit down?” Legend mumbled, gesturing to the end of the graveyard where a small staircase carved into the rocky wall led to a slightly higher level of the graveyard. In the back, he could see a hole in the rocky wall, one that he was just wide enough for a person to crawl through. Legend found his seat first, under a tree that surely wasn't dense enough to provide enough cover if it did up storming, but it was better than nothing, so Warriors joined him.

“What is this about?” Legend didn't just sit him for a talk for no reason.

“Twilight told us all about that mutiny because he was worried. Time said he talked to you too and he thinks that you probably just need some time, but I just thought I would try too so... if you need to say anything, I'm here.”

Legend's face was softer than normal, his usual snark replaced by concern that he was usually pretty good at disguising. For him to take those walls down, even for just a little bit...

“I never had any doubts about that. It's just...” Where could he even begin? Talking to Time helped for a bit before the memories came back and reminded him of why it did bother him so much. Talking to Twilight was just talking about the facts and it didn't make either of them feel that great. Twilight hadn't asked for more than the facts, and while Legend didn't explicitly say so, Warriors had a feeling he expected more.

He looked at Legend again, who was gently unfolding the fabric in his arms. His scarf, he realized. Oh yes, Twilight did mention that Legend was trying to clean his clothes.

“I know the Yiga are dangerous people who want Wild's head on a silver platter, but they just... remind me of all the traitors I faced. I knew a lot of them, Legend. I looked up to one of them... I trained with one of them frequently and one of them used to be my bunk mate, and they all tried to take advantage of that. It even worked for a brief second because I was so shocked that many of my allies suddenly wanted all of us dead. One got a hit in because for a second, I couldn't believe what was happening.

“But do you know what I did? I sliced his neck open. He died before he could regret ever going after me. I knew these people for at least two years and I killed them all without a second thought because that's just what I'm trained to do. I still had to take care of the actual objective on top of that too! The mutiny happened in the middle of trying to close a gate to reverse the damage Cia caused!”

He could still feel the resistance as he pushed the blade into Muray Mullen's back. He could see still Kieran Smith's eyes roll back into his skull as his life poured from his neck. He could still hear Dan Hillman's voice asking him a question that followed him around like a shadow. He could still feel Gregory Sullivan's spear in his hand, how odd it felt in a hand he wasn't used to fighting with while using a weapon he wasn't used to fighting with, and how strange it felt to still be able to take a life with it.

And they were only four of many. So many more. Only one was a turncoat leader, only one of five, and the lives he had to take to get to them was something he couldn't truly comprehend. It was just a lot of people. He couldn't put a number to it.

And why was he rambling? Why was it Legend that brought all of these feelings to the surface? Maybe it was because Legend had nothing to do with it. Legend had no idea until yesterday.

“As a soldier, I do what I have to do, especially in the heat of a battle. But as a hero? I can't call myself a hero! Would you believe that two people so far used their last breath to ask me how I could still call myself a hero? I can kill people with a flick of my wrist and I can do it in a second. I didn't even have to think about it. A soldier can do that but a hero...? Surely, a hero could do better. I'm just somebody who got in way over their head. I was just a cadet who was eager to fight and suddenly I was a captain leading people into battle. I'm no hero.”

There was a long silence as Warriors' words weighed on them both.

“What's your definition of a hero?”

“I...” He couldn't form any words. Warriors' mind drew a blank.

A hero was...

Just somebody who could do what he couldn't.

Right?

“I can't tell you how you should feel or what word you want to describe yourself with, but maybe your definition of a hero is more than anybody can live up to. We don't live in some sort of fairy tale were everything is right or wrong or even makes sense. Sometimes we have to do things that are unbecoming of a hero to be a hero. Not even murder is off the table if that's what the goddesses ask... and you know what?”

Legend closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Warriors tried, but he couldn't read the expression on the younger hero's face.

“It sucks that we're the ones who get stuck being pawns in some divine game of chess, but we're heroes because we're the only ones who see that stupid chess game to the end. We never asked to be part of that game and here we are, yet again, because five adventures wasn't enough for me.”

Warriors managed a laugh, because despite the veiled anger in Legend's words, their situation was just absurd when he sat down and actually thought about it. It wasn't the first time he met a version of himself, and it wasn't the first time he jumped through different time periods, but doing all of that all over again with eight other versions of himself? The first time alone was a once in a lifetime adventure, so of course something like that would happen to him again. Why not?

Legend only looked confused and concerned.

“Our situation is just crazy, that's all,” he answered, once he calmed down enough to talk. “You know, the only thing I wanted to do was to protect and help people. That was it. That was the only reason why I joined the military. I didn't want to be the hero, I didn't want some fancy title. All of that is meaningless. The titles haven't brought me any happiness. I know I did what I set out to do but... it's hard to see that past all the times I couldn't.”

“I get that. I get that more than you'll ever know.” Legend's words came out quieter than a whisper. He sounded so scared and so sad, and Legend came to try and cheer Warriors up. He shook his head though, his eyes wandering up to the darkening clouds. “Just... don't let all of the lives you couldn't save diminish all the lives you did save, and you saved more than you can count. I'm still trying to do this myself so it's not like I can talk but-”

“We can try to do that together, then,” Warriors said, his eyes falling once again that the bundle that Legend kept save the entire time. “Is that my scarf?”

“Yeah. I meant to give it to you right away but feelings happened. Here.”

He took the bundle. It wasn't just his scarf, but it was also his tunic and his undershirt. He gave it a quick look over, and if he didn't know any of it had blood stains or tears previously, he wouldn't have been able to find them. Legend was good at taking care of things though, even if he had a lot of things, so he wasn't surprised that it Legend could pull off the repairs so well.

“Huh, I don't think my sister could have done it any better.” Legend raised his eyebrow. “That's a compliment, I promise! My older sister has been sewing since she was like, three, so she's amazing when it comes to sewing. We all had to work in the shop and help out my parents since they won't sell anything that wasn't family made, but my older sister actually likes it. I just learned because I had to help out with the shop until I enrolled in the military.”

Just as he finished speaking, he was rewarded with a fat rain drop hitting him right on the nose. Legend patted him on the back.

“Let's get you back to Renado's before you catch another fever,” Legend mumbled, jumping to his feet.

“Hey, it's not my fault the wound got infected! I wasn't even awake when it happened.”

“Are you coming or not?”

Warriors huffed, but he followed Legend back nonetheless.

[i-am-ironic]

So I'm dead then. Interesting.

Sorry this took so long to get out a lot of stuff has been happening and I've been super busy. Anyway i saw this idea a LONG time ago and it just seemed perfect for daminette.

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

As Damian opened his eyes he looked around. This room was not familiar. He was not at the manner then, so where was he? The room was far too pink for his tastes, and was that a dress in the corner? No this definitely wasn't the manner.

"Marinette!! Get up you are going to be late for the first day of school!!"

Damian jumped, wiping his head around. Next to him was a girl who was just starting to wake up. She had black hair that fell just around her shoulders. She sat up in bed and stretched. wait a minute, WHY WAS HE IN THE SAME BED AS HER???!!!! This was bad this was very bad!!! He was only 13!!! what happened!!

Damian tried to push himself away from her only to fall through the rail on the side of her bed. The girl, Marinette, didn't seem to notice him she simply climbed down the ladder and, grabbing some clothes, headed to the bathroom. He could hear the shower turn on so he decided to look around.

She had a sewing machine on a desk with a sckech book open next to it. The sckech book held elegant dresses and tuxedos with embroidery so perfectly placed you would have to wonder if it was part of the fabric.

There were pictures on the wall of the girl's friends, one boy seemed to take up most of the space, perhaps her boyfriend? Damian also found a skylight that appeared to open onto a balcony.

When Marinette reappeared she was wearing a nice outfit, still drying her hair off from the shower.

Damian decided now was as good a time as any to ask her what the heck he was doing here, "Excuse me miss," no response, "I was wondering where I am and who you are." Still nothing, "im trying to talk to you!" Damien said reaching out his hand to grab her by the shoulder. His hand passed right through her. He stared at the girl who was still packing her backpack, and then at his hand which was becoming more solid every second he wasn't touching her.

He grabbed his own hand and could feel the scars on it from the league. But when he tried to touch Marinette again his hand passed through her, this time she shivered a bit. Odd he could touch himself but not her, could he touch other things? He reached out to the wall, his hand rested on it until he pushed more and he began to slip through the wall. Very interesting.

As Marinette walked down the stairs to the voice that had called her before Damian followed testing things as her went. Marinette sat down to eat breakfast with who he asumed to be her parents before rushing off to her first day of school.

As Damian followed her throughout the day he discovered several things: he didn't have legs anymore. Where his legs had once been was now replaced with a flowy tail (like the genie in Alddin). He also couldn't be seen or heard by anyone, he had tried to speak but nothing happened. And to top it all off he was in France!! He probably should have figured that out by all the people speaking French but it hit him when marinette had gone to the Eiffel tower after school. Well not exactly marinette, ladybug had gone to the Eiffel tower when fighting a monster called stone heart.

After Stone Heart was defeated marinette went back home and detransformed, Damian hadn't seen her receive the earrings so seeing a giant floating ladybug was strange, but to be fair he was flying right now too.

"Oh marinette that was great! I knew you would make the perfect Ladybug!" Said the.... thing.

"Thank you Tikki!" Oh so that was the things name.

"It was your first day and......" Tikki paused, "oh marinette im so sorry, I didn't know."

"Whats wrong Tikki? What didn't you know?"

"your soulmate...... he's here." As if that explains everything! How was that supposed to help him.

"What do you mean my soulmate is here?" Marinette asked.

"If your soulmate dies before you meet them then they come to watch over you, most humans have soulmates they just don't know about it until its too late...... I can sense yours. I'm so sorry marinette."

so he was dead, that made a lot of sense actually. The last thing he remembered was fighting his clone and then darkness. He should be angry he knew that, but he really didn't care. He liked this girl, he felt safer with her in one day then he did with his father after a whole month. Still he wanted to try to tell his family he was alright..... ok maybe he wasn't alright but he was happy.

Marinette's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "What happened to him?"

Tikki closed her eyes trying to concentrate, "im not sure, he died bravely, in battle. Other then that i don't know."

Well she was correct, he did die in battle with his clone. He wondered what had happened in that battle after his death. Had his family succeeded in defeating his mother, or were they all dead too now? He had no answer but what he did know was that he should try to find them.

That night he began flying away in the direction he believed America was, he reached the sea faster then he had expected. One advantage about being dead was that he didn't get tired, he just kept flying.

Then suddenly he was back in marinette's room as she stretched on her bed. Sunlight was streaming through the skylight. Every time he tried to leave he reappeared at the exact time Marinette woke up every day. The day repeated much the same as the day before, one of the girl's in marinette's class called her names and didn't get in trouble, a monster was beaten by Ladybug and her partner Chat Noir, and he floated around.

Eventually he discovered he could leave massages for marinette on her phone, in the steam on her mirror, or if she left a notebook out overnight. He left small things like, "don't forget about you math test!" Or "Alya said you could go to her house for cookies after school" or "talk to chat noir before he becomes a problem." You know important stuff.

Damian discovered he had grown quite fond of his 'Soulmate' as Tikki had called her. She would talk to him sometimes, about school, ladybug stuff, everything. He would answer back when he could with a note or send a sign, she always seemed to understand.

One day after hearing Marinette talk about how hard it would be to find HawkMoth Damian decided to do something about it. That night he Searched evry house on the east side of Paris. When marinette woke up he was at her side.

He wasn't sure how long he looked, every day was spent with marinette and every night trying to find her enemy. He really wasn't sure how long he had been dead, it felt like he had always been like this, but at the same time like everything was brand new.

After what must have been weeks of searching he found Hawkmoth. The man was nun other then Gabriel Agreste. As damian raced back to marinette's house he got the familier feeling of being pulled away from his spot to Marinette.

Except he wasn't at Marinette's house, he wasn't even in Paris, he was in the batcave looking up at his father.

"Damien! It worked!" Cried Batman still holding his disoriented son.

Damien had no idea what was going on, one minute he was going to tell marinette who her worst enemy was and now he was half way across the world and appeared to be alive, again.

"Father? What am I doing here? Where is marinette?"

Bruce frowned at his son, "Who's marinette?"

Just as Damian was going to answer a loud crash came from behind them. He just got back and already had to fight someone. Great. The fight didn't take long once Damian discovered he had super powers given to him by the same crystal that brought him back to life.

After his family explained how they had brought him back using magic and that his grandfather was also alive again, he had his own explanation to give.

"Everything is all fuzzy."

"Thats alright Damian, you have been dead for months." Tim said.

"But i wasn't really dead," everyone glanced around confused as Damian continued, "I woke up in Paris, and she was waking up and I didn't know what to do, she is a Hero. She knew I was there. She knew I was dead. She is my soulmate."

"Damien are you okay?" Bruce said, this wasn't like Damien at all, he should be mad he let himself die not concerned for someone who didn't exist.

"I have to get to Paris! I HAVE TO TELL HER ABOUT HAWKMOTH! She has... to....know........" the end of his sentence drifted off as Dick pulled the needle out of Damian's arm.

"When he gets up, we will have to tell him that he was hallucinating, we don't need him running off to France to find someone who doesn't exist."

Soon the memorys of Marinette and his time being dead grew distant. He was unaware of the confusion he had caused in Paris.

Tikki could always feel marinette's soulmate as he traveled around Paris. Until he vanished. She immediately got Marinette out to the bathroom to talk.

"Marinette he's gone."

"Who is gone, Tikki?" Marinette asked.

Tikki frowned trying to feel him, "your soulmate he isn't here. I can't sense him anymore."

"There must be a reasonable explanation, maybe he just went out of Paris?"

"No, he isn't anywhere it's almost like he isn't dead anymore."

"But that's not possible, right?" Marinette asked almost hopefully.

"I've seen it before, but don't get your hopes up."

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

This isn't the best but I did my best. The ending definitely needs some work. I'm still learning to write so this is the best I could do, I think I'm going to do a list of ideas and have people request whichever one they want. If you like that idea let me know.

Tagging:

@ivymala07

@iloveitwhen

@chocoleteicecreamlover

@crystalangelluna

@clumsy-owl-4178

@pawsitivelymiraculous

[luckysliceofbread]

Genshin Characters Reactions to you having the powers of someone from another world

(Aka: yet another excuse to talk a bit about Honkai imapct)

Tw: talks about fighting but I think that was a given, swearing

Oh also just know that I’m barley ever serious, it’s not enough to be a whole crack fic buuuuuut...

Quick explanation/ the best explanation I can make about Honkai imapct and how the fighting stuff works:

People called Valkyries are trained to fight these things called Honkai beasts and use these things called “battle suits” to fight them, but there are the gods called Herrschers, they don’t count as Valkyrie’s but some fight Honkai beasts.

One person can have multiple battle suits and depending on the battle suits, they can control elements, there are no elemental reactions, but the elements are still in the battle suits.

I’ll assign you a random battle suit, with pictures of said battle suit and the stats, of course (Although the weapon stats are the stats of the weapons when you first get it).

Oh, and I should also add:

SP is like the energy that’s used for ultimates.

Some cost less than others some cost more. You get SP from hitting monsters and stuff.

Now onto the headcanons!

Prolog:

You loved Genshin Impact, playing the game when you felt like it, trying your hardest to get a good team and then build them up, you hated the constant grind, but you put up with it because you were having so much fun playing the game.

Recently you’ve heard about another game MiHoYo released a few years back, Honkai Impact 3rd, you saw a video of one cutscene from inside the game and immediately went to download the game.

Now you’ve been playing for a while and you’re also having a pretty great time there too, you’ve pulled for quite a few characters and found it fairly easy to build a team.

One night, you stay up to late playing Genshin and you wake up literally inside Teyvat. You soon discover that you have the powers and abilities of the Valkyrie you were building up.

Cool part is, you look exactly like the Battle suit, the only things you kept were your skin, eyes, hair colour and body shape, pretty cool that you somehow magically also took their fighting reflexes, fighting style, weapon and powers/abilities.

(No seriously, fighting like the Valkyrie does in the game feels like second nature to you.)

You spend a few weeks in Teyvat, and make quick friends with a few people, however you only tell one about- uh- this mess.

Albedo:

Battle suit: Stygian Nymph

Let me clarify that the more SP Stygian Nymph has during her ultimate increases her damage output. That’s why she’s op.

Oh wait that makes a lot of sense.

He knew you came from another world, you told him that

But to also imitate that person’s abilities?

How interesting

He studies you a lot, asking questions about the Valkyrie herself

You tell him that Seele (the Valkyrie that uses this battle suit), also uses her ‘other self’ to fight in battle, but you haven’t tried to summon her because you literally have no idea what would happen

Which is pretty reasonable

Albedo asks you if you’re okay with trying it out for the reasearch

You go “fuck it” and call upon your ‘other self to lend you their strength’ just like Seele does

It works, but you still have full control, no ‘other you’ sadly

You test out the fact that your sythe had turned into these giant floating claws and tenticals

You have SO MUCH fun bulling the hilihurls

Poor them

Then after clearing through many, many, many camps (listen this battle suit can solo anything), you remember Stygian Nymph’s Ultimate

You figure that you’ve definitely maxed out your SP and that the damage is going to be humongous

So you go to bully that poor cryo flower (I forgot what it’s called)

Albedo is unsure, but after you tell him that this battle suit has solo fought a god, a killing machine, a giant dog and more stronger things in Honkai impact, he agrees, completely ready to step in, only just in case though

You just run in, and Albedo goes to find a safe spot to sit down while he watches you fight for a while

He’s like ‘this’ll probably take a while’

So it took less than a minute

You used your ultimate when the boss slouched on the ground

That flower is very dead

You collect your rewards and leave

Albedo’s like wtf was that

You’re like idk man, I had a lot of SP

wtf is an SP?

Aether:

Battle suit: Herrscher of the Void

Side note: you also evade and float around like HotV I just couldn’t find a way to bring it up here without getting off-track.

This is the only acceptation to the ‘your eyes stay the same too’ bit

Your eye colour looks the exact same now

Aether looked you in the eyes and went ‘hey that looks like the person who kidnapped my sister’

He attacked you and you were like ‘Aether wtf’

You tried explaining the situation as calmly as you can while almost being stabbed

He calms down a bit and is like

“So, can you use her powers?”

“The Herrscher of the Void and that unknown goddess are probably not the same person.”

“Oh.”

“But I’m pretty sure they’re like, alternate universe counterparts?”

“Really? Cool.”

You joined his party after a few weeks of Paimon BEGGING Aether to just “Invite y/n, already!”

Paimon is getting tired of watching your semi-awkward interactions

So they hope bringing you on the team will stop making things so awkward

It kinda worked?

After gaining enough SP you used your ultimate, knowing that the missiles(?) couldn’t hurt anyone on your team

You scared the FUCK out of everyone

I mean you helped a lot but like

Give a warning please

Wait no he’s not mad at you don’t feel bad

Xiao:

Battle suit: Motolov Cherry: Augment Core

Let me tell you what an augment core is. I don’t know if they have a canon explanation because I skipped a lot of the HI3rd text, but it’s like a battle suit inside a battle suit.

They usually work similarly but in this case the battle suits aren’t very similar.

The way he met you was unique

He heard a ruckus around Wangshu inn and went to go see if it was trouble

It was but you were taking care of it

He was about to leave because you looked more than capable of handling this

But then he saw that you dual-wield greatswords (or claymores, as they’re called in Teyvat)

You were just flinging them around like it was nothing???

Curious, he stuck around to watch you fight from afar

Then you used your ultimate

Great, now there’s even more pink and blue paint every—

Wait what it all disappeared after the fight wtf

See, the thing is, you actually expected him to be there

That’s why you were clearing out any remaining hilichurl camps around the inn

But you didn’t tell him

So now your talking

You trust him a lot, considering you literally lured him out to talk to him

He sticks around, and of course he asks questions

“Are those horns?”

“Uh, I think?”

“You think?”

“How do you dual-wield strange looking claymores, and then fight with them like they’re regular blades?”

“They’re not actually that heavy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you can hold one to test it out.”

He then dropped it on the ground, and fell down with it

Obviously it was kinda funny, but this is Xiao, so you try to hold back your laughter in order to keep Xiao as your friend

He then disappears out of embarrassment

You make a mental note to visit him at the inn sometime

Oh, and don’t forget the Almond Tofu

Venti:

Battle suit: Starlit Astrologos

Yeah she’s a support-dps

She’s my child and I love her

So it all started when you went to the adventures guild to find a place to stay

That’s where he heard you say “I have an anemo vision, but it’s in my coat.”

He surely didn’t remember giving you a vision, he’d definitely remember someone who looked as pretty as you

You got away with it and you were allowed into the adventurers guild!

Suspicious, he goes all like

“Hey, I couldn’t help but over-hear that you have an anemo vision! Let’s be anemo buddies!”

After he says that your just like oh no he’s on to me

You feign obliviousness, pretending like this man isn’t the literal anemo archon, and you agree

So you’re doing a commission and he tags along

Mainly because he doesn’t believe you have anemo powers and he waits for an excuse to come from you

“I’ll stay a bit behind and shoot a bit.”

“Ok, be careful.”

“I will.”

You dig your weapon into the ground, it made a musical bum sound

Wait do you actually have anemo powers

You used your charged attack and deal MASSIVE amounts of damage

And you use your normal attack to heal yourself when you get hit

He’s already amazed

Then a hilichurl is about to attack you from behind, but he can’t shoot it in time

Luckily, you dodge it in time, activating your ultimate evasion

Now, ultimate evasions differentiate from different battle suits

But the most common one is literally stopping time

But an extra thing this battle suit does is release a large burst of wind at the enemy who cause the evasion in the first place

Venti is so confused because he can move, you can move, but the hilichurls are slowed down by a lot

You yell at him to come step in the formation on the ground after time stops

So you continue attacking the hilichurls, and Venti makes his way to the small formation on the ground

The entire time he’s like

‘What the fuck, is y/n actually a human? What’s happening??’

Time goes back to normal and he steps in the forma— AAAAA EVERYTHING IS FROZEN AGAIN

Then the cherry on top to the cake of confusion was your ultimate

Hoo boy

Your ultimate is a giant formation with a tornado inside it

“Ok what the fu—“

After that you tell him that your from another world and about the whole situation blah blah blah

“So, you come from a different world, and then you took the powers of someone else from a different world?”

“Yeah, she’s like, really strong.”

“Is she a god?”

“Nope.”

“Then what are the gods in that world like..?”

“You don’t wanna know.”

“I wha—“

[oquinn53]

BNHA THEORY RAMBLING WITH SPOILERS

Okay so second bnha rambling with theories because I can’t think straight so I think of bnha! Specifically Deku.

Specifically, Deku’s endgame. There are so many theories out there and I just.... think about Deku specifically a lot. I mean he’s the protagonist and everything and I love him and a common theory that I actually do kinda think about a lot is Deku losing OFA. But I don’t think he’ll end quirkless. I think a lot of things need to happen but let’s start with me rambling about Deku’s characterization, how it can all be wrapped up in this:

Deku has PTSD. (This part is LONG and talks about masochism and mentions suicide and all that. Other points are shorter!) And I don’t mean post war arc or even post Bakugo’s kidnapping, if we want to go that far back. Deku has PTSD from the VERY start. This kid is a walking mental illness. Sources? Hi, I’m a Civilian With PTSD and I saw Deku at the beginning and I watched Deku’s horrible mental health deteriorate EVEN MORE than it started off as. This is really important to me, to state that he has it from the beginning, because I believe in the character growth and development. I might be talking out my ass but it’s fun so. Why do I say he starts out from it? Let’s look at symptoms.

A) hyperfixation, my old friend. Deku fixated hardcore on All Might and Heros in general. But he fixated specifically on All Might and he gets EMBARRASSED about it a lot. (Funny enough, the embarrassment of it is also a symptom of ADHD but I’m not as well versed in that). Hyperfixation is a very very common coping method.

B) His anxiety. Kinda self explanatory here. He’s a bully victim. He also has been literally classified as LESS. Quirkless. But also defenseless. Useless. We’ve heard that, his anxiety is there but it’s because of what DEFINES him. His self identity was born from what everyone else tells him. He’s a determined boy, but his sense of self is only wrapped up in what other people think—or specifically, what All Might thinks. Which blends a bit with...

C) A loss sense of identity. I talked about this a little bit he last part but Deku’s goal to become a hero is so tied to All Might that even when he gains the quirk, he has to have it beaten into him with warning of losing the use f his arms for him to realize he’s NOT All Might. But that’s still what he sees, even when he switches to using his legs more. He has no idea who he is. He just copies. He copies Bakugo’s moves again and again. And while it’s cool to see all the parallels and growth of Deku learning from others, there is a message of “making it his own” when Deku copies others again and again because he has no idea who HE is. He analyses like crazy because figuring out how other people do things is the only way he can figure out how HE can do things. Also, the whole language change because his image of victory is Bakugo? Literally his speech pattern isn’t his own, his every day one matching his mother’s.

D) repressed and heavily released emotion. He’s 0 or 100, both when he gets OFA and with his emotions. I mean. Feral!Deku. Do I need to say more? Yes, because I was to drive home how not okay Deku is from the very beginning. Boy cleans the beach and screams bloody murder. He has no idea what emotion to have and needs to let it out. Doesn’t matter he just did a shit ton of physical release, he has so much emotions that he doesn’t know what to do with. Just like Bakugo’s anger, Deku’s emotion usually comes out as his tears. Boy cries a lot but sometimes tears aren’t enough and Deku screams a LOT. Even his own excitement bursts out in bigger ways, with his mumbling and fact dropping (god, also slightly autistic coded maybe? Blurred lines with ADHD there, it again, not my area of expertise)

E) black and white thinking. He’s young, so that explains some of this but just like I mentioned above with the 0 or 100, he represents the mindset of civilians. He literally blinds himself at the very start to even what’s happening to HIMSELF. He sees hero and he sees villian and those are his two categories. Bakugo literally tells him to kill himself and Deku thinks about how that would negatively affect Bakugo. He doesn’t and never does see Bakugo as a villian for this. He sees “wow that wouldn’t be good for his Hero image” and because Deku sees Bakugo as a hero, everything has to fit into that. And while Deku has huge growth with this next part, he also originally viewed villains as just villains. He learned a LOT and while the society’s image becomes less black and white for him (because the whole manga revolves around the gray morality of it all) he still doesn’t see much gray area. It’s win or lose. With the sports festival, he literally won the race without his quirk. He got through the Calvary battle despite being a giant ass target. He placed in the top 8 (which he probably would have gotten higher on if his goal didn’t change) and despite accomplishing his goal with Todoroki, he broke down about not doing what All Might asked him despite gaining permanent scarring and a hell of a warning re his arms. But to point back at the beginning, this is reinforced with his entrance exam. Passing the written exam meant NOTHING because he did “””nothing””” in the practical.

F) last point, Deku’s a masochist. Obviously with the broken bones and things but I’m not even just talking about the physical damage he does to himself—which is, what, 95% of the time what he gets most of his wounds from? Anyway—I’m talking about his mindset. Masochism isn’t just the physical act of causing pain. It’s that mindset of deserving pain. The reasoning doesn’t matter. Deku only “betters” himself for the sake of giving more to others. He trains so hard, not for himself, but for others. On the outside it might seems like his goal of becoming a hero is his own but he sacrifices his body and dives into situations where he’s literally been warned he’s going to die and he just does it anyway. Eri’s Arc and him “changing the future” is what I’m referring to here and you could say “well he DID say he would change that future!” And okay, sure, but he was told Sir is never wrong. But he would rather rush into that future where he dies than take even a moment to think through his actions. But anyway, my point is him at the beginning so I specifically mean the training montage. Where he was ALREADY on a tough schedule that he knew would be difficult and he literally adjusted it and added MORE. Because, to circle back to other points because mental illness always overlaps points, he can only think of himself as 0 or 100, black and white, Able To Save or Failure. If he can’t be at 100 then he believes he deserves pain and causes it to himself. The only time he regrets his injuries is when it prevents him from giving MORE of himself to others. He learns his shoot style not because he doesn’t want to hurt himself but because he doesn’t want to become useless to others. He trains and loses sleep and puts his body through hell because he thinks of himself only as something for others. (I think wanting to save Shigaraki is a powerful moment not because it’s Pure Boy Deku but because it’a his own thinking, his OWN want, but.... it’s still not for him and will still cause him pain). And a last point on this, Heros Rising showed us that Deku is willing to give up his quirk and his dream to win and it showed us that while he believed he didn’t have any other choice, he was deeply disappointed in himself. Winning wasn’t enough. Hurting himself THAT MUCH wasn’t enough. He let All Migjt down and giving up his dreams, almost dying, becoming quirkless, all wasn’t enough to counteract the shame he held. Like god. Baby.

Other small observations or relevant commentary:

1) The doctor who told Deku he was quirkless is the same doctor who worked on Shigaraki. Same doctor who can perseve dead bodies. Same doctor who worked with AFO and all that. (See? Short! Will be relevant soon)

2) One for All is tied to All for One. OFA was literally created the moment a hand reached out to help. Can one even exist without the other?

3) Bakugo needs to apologize. Horikoshi has literally said in an interview post Heros Rising that Bakugo needs to apologize. Sacrificing his life to save Deku is NOT how you apologize to Deku. Deku will ask for a receipt on this type of apology. Return to sender. Unacceptable. So. Bakugo needs to apologize.

4) Deku’s dad isn’t in the picture yet. Hasn’t even been spoken of except for the fact we know his quirk is fire breathing and his name is Hisashi. Oh and he’s abroad. Oh and Horikoshi said he’ll be in the picture at some point. Given we’re in the final arc......... this might not be relevant at all to my theory because I have mixed thoughts on AFO being Deku’s dad but it would connect a few things in the theory.

SO. Finally, all of this together had me thinking about Deku’s characterization and what this (now with COMBAT related ptsd and not just civilian ptsd) means for his ending.

Like I said, I think he’s going to lose OFA. And I originally didn’t think so because Heros Rising showed his losing it and why would they do that again? The movie is canon. Horikoshi himself said so and was a huge part of the production of it. So they did that and wouldn’t do it again. Except.... Deku GAVE OFA away. Which is significant because it was his choice. And he had shame and we witnessed how much that hurt him, but we haven’t seen what’s now been tried TWICE: OFA being forcibly taken from him. Maybe by Shigaraki, since that is building up big time. But maybe by saving Shigaraki.

Either way, what’s more significant to me than how he has it taken is what that means for him, based on everything else above: he would lose his entire self identity. He would literally have no idea who he is anymore except for the only reference he’s ever had, which his from when he was quirkless. He gained friends only after he had a quirk. Every bond he has is tied to him being a hero and he was told it was impossible for him to be a hero without a quirk. Even All Might’s adjusted answer to him at the beginning involved giving him a quirk as the answer for him being able to become a hero.

I think this is the absolute perfect chance for Bakugo to say “since when did you need a quirk to be a hero”. And it doesn’t matter much what the context is, what causes Deku to still need to be a hero (whether a Situation or just an identity crisis) and I think about Quirkless Deku as a hero a lot, since that’s how he was originally written in the one shot before he was revamped for bnha.

But I don’t think Deku will end quirkless either because of who his doctor was. I think Deku had a quirk. I think the doctor stole it. Whether that’s because AFO is Deku’s dad and saw his quirk and knew he had to take it for some reason or whether it was independent and the doctor saw it and took it. The whole toe thing can be written off so easily that Deku could easily have had a quirk at some point.

And maybe, if AFO and OFA are cancelled out, the quirks that were stolen go back to their original owners. Meaning Deku gets his ORIGINAL quirk back.

As in, Deku gets his own identity.

And what would that quirk be? Hm. I don’t know. But. His mom can move small objects. His dad can breath fire. A mutation, maybe? I’ll leave that one up in the air.

And there are a lot of implications here that this could mean for him, as far as healing. And I just want him to be happy.

[askthekuvaqbrothers]

It's all Fun and Games

(TW: Injury)

“I’m heading to work now.”

Hermes adjusted his coat, feeling a collision with his leg the moment he reached for the door.

“Don’t go!”

Holding in a small sigh, he knelt down and ran a hand through his son’s green hair.

“It will only be for a little while Cletus. Just be patient.”

“Then take me with you!”

“I’m going to work. It’s not a safe place for children.”

“I’ll be good! I’ll sit still!”

Hermes sighed, “You know if I take you, then the other two will want to come too.”

Cletus frowned, not at all pleased with what he was hearing, and frowned harder when his brothers came up behind him, Rufus prying at his arm.

“Come back, we can’t play Junk Knights and Orbit Pixies with only two!”

Hermes smiled, “See? You’ve obviously got a game going on. Time will fly while you’re playing, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

Argus joined in, pulling Cletus’ other arm, and successfully dislodging him from their father’s leg. Unimpeded, Hermes now took his chance to leave.

“Be good.”

The door clunked shut. Pulling from his brothers grasp, Cletus considered wailing on the door and crying for Hermes to come back, but the man’s long strides probably meant he was already far from the door, and crying was just grotty and exhausting. Besides, Rufus was already grabbing at him again.

“Back to you position pixie! I was just about to battle to the death against the evil Controller.”

“Yeah, you know it’s my favourite part.” Argus grinned, punching a fist into his palm.

“I don’t wanna. Let’s… play something else.”

Rufus pouted, crossing his arms, “Like what? It’s gotta be more fun than Junk Knights.”

“What about…” Cletus looked around the house, then to the door, before a devilish smirk grew, “Hide and Seek?”

“Lame!”

“-But we play it outside.”

Rufus’ eyes lit up, but Argus put his hands on his hips.

“We’re not allowed outside without Dad.”

“Yes, but he always takes ages with work, so as long as we’re back before him, he’ll never know.”

“Yes! Let’s gooo!”

Rufus ran straight to the window in the kitchen, being the only one that opened to let out the smoke that came with Hermes’ cooking. It required him to scramble up the cooking furnace, and once he was on top and at the windowsill, he paused to offer a hand.

“Hurry up! I already have a perfect hiding place!”

Argus stepped up, accepting the hand, and allowed himself to be pulled higher. As the space on the furnace became cramped, Rufus slipped out the window and Argus in turned helped pull Cletus (and the plush toy he never let go of) up. Once they’d cleared the fall, the three made their way to the centre of town, standing by one of Gizmo’s emergency call stations.

“Right! Since you wanted to change the game, Cletus, you’re the seeker.”

“Okay. I’ll close my eyes and count to a hundred then.”

The green haired boy adjusted Poisonous into the crook of his arm, then turned and began counting.

“One, two, three, four…”

With a grin Rufus sprinted off, vanishing into the warren of a town, Argus swiftly following after. When the sound of their steps on the metal walkways went silent, Cletus stopped counting.

“Finally.” He brought Poisonous to eye level, “Now, what should we do now that we have some peace and quiet?”

The plushie’s crooked eyes stared off.

“Impeccable idea. Perhaps we could even go for refreshments.”

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

It must have been almost half an hour later when Argus found Cletus lounging in the shade, absently patting his plush toy. He looked up, and tried to feign surprise when he spotted the glare.

“Oh, you found me?”

“I believe you were supposed to be the seeker.”

“Is that so? I must have misheard…”

“How long were you going to sit here?”

“Don’t know, how long were you hiding?”

Argus sighed, the one that made it known he was not in the mood to play along with Cletus’ game. The green haired boy pouted in turn.

“Well I caught on to your alternate game, but Rufus is still hiding.”

“…Can’t we just wait until Dad is back? He’ll come looking for us anyway.”

He looked up to where he could just make out the entrance to the mines. Argus followed his gaze and paused, thinking.

“I suppose that wouldn’t hurt. He can only ground us.”

Cletus relaxed, scooting over enough that Argus could have some shade too. Another hour passed by before they finally caught sight of Hermes striding out into the open, where the two chose to wave him down. When their father caught sight of them, he was clearly disappointed, until something else crept into his expression.

“Boys, what are you doing here? Where is your brother?!”

Cletus rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry, he’s probably still hiding from our hide-and-seek game.”

“How long ago was this?!” Hermes was quickly starting to panic, Rufus being the one he knew shouldn’t be left on his own, “We need to find him.”

“Sure, I guess so.” Argus stood, dusting himself off, “If we shout that he’s won he might come out?”

Cletus reluctantly stood as well, following his father and brother as they began calling out. Rufus not coming home honestly sounded like a good deal to him; no more being hit in his sleep, no more grubby fingers going through his stuff, more peace and quiet. Sure, Argus may start demanding more of him, but it wasn’t the worst trade off.

Another 30 minutes and there was still no sign of their red-haired sibling. There was also no signs of fire and/or explosive destruction, which was both a good and a bad sign according to Hermes. Good, in that they weren’t having to deal with a destroyed town, but bad in the question of what Rufus was up to instead.

“Maybe he fell asleep?”

“Maybe he fell in a hole. Maybe it’s a really deep hole, and we’ll never see him again.”

Hermes ignored Cletus’ comment, which cause the boy to frown. He didn’t understand what the big deal was, it was just Rufus. He’d heard people say that Hermes couldn’t handle three sons, so surely it would be better if he just had two now. They should just accept he was gone and go home. The sun was right above them now and the whole mountain the town was on had begun to boil, heat waves rising off every metal sheet used in its foundation, and Cletus could feel his pale skin begin to tingle-

“Found him!”

Argus was standing on a small mound, looking down into a ditch that wasn’t visible from just the normal paths. A large piece of metal on the edge of it was also free of rust, leaving it blindingly shiny and the prefect distractor. Hermes scrambled through the scrap to reach the hiding spot, dropping down to pick up the missing boy. As he re-emerged, Cletus felt his skin crawl.

Rufus’ skin looked almost the same colour as his hair, and in places it had clearly begun to blister. The idiot had been sitting in the sun the entire time, with both the sun beating down on him and the giant reflector next time him, and he hadn’t thought to move. As he was being jostled, said fool managed to crack open an eye.

“…n’fair, -in’t say Dad could help…”

To where he promptly went limp. With a semi-strangled noise, Hermes began to move back to town, giving a brief command to the other boys to follow as they beelined for Gizmo’s clinic.

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

“Heat stroke, and a nasty lot of sunburn. You know, there’s a wonderful thing called ‘common sense’…”

Hermes bowed his head further, ready to accept the usual lecture, but all he got was a sigh from the town’s medic as he returned to his desk.

“I’ve applied some salve to the burns, which will need to be re-applied regularly. I would like to say he’ll be bedridden for several days, but considering who we’re dealing with here, I suggest you enforce bed rest and make sure he doesn’t rub off the salve as it needs to set in. No running about, no going outside, no excessive play. And make sure he stays hydrated.”

Gizmo looked to the two healthy brothers, where while Argus nodded solemnly, Cletus’ gaze remained on the floor. There wasn’t any blame being passed about for why they were outside in the first place yet, but all Hermes had to do was ask and Argus would tell, and Cletus would find himself without dinner for the next week.

‘Stupid Rufus.’

Hermes thanked Gizmo, collected Rufus, and quietly told the other boys to follow. The whole trip home was in silence, and it was eating Cletus up inside. Even when they were inside, Argus watching over Rufus on the bed, Gizmo didn’t say anything, simply lighting the stove and beginning dinner. Cletus sat himself at the table, distractedly plucking at Poisonous’ threads, running over the many possible punishments that could be unjustly given to him. It wasn’t his fault Rufus was an idiot with no self-preservation, if he’d just hidden somewhere normal and safe then they’d all get off with just a grounding but no, he had to get himself hurt and make it a big deal and all the blame would fall on poor little Cletus for just wanting some peace and quiet-

“Are you not hungry?”

Cletus jumped, completely unaware time had passed to the point that dinner was in front of him, Argus and Hermes seated beside him.

“I-I…”

He didn’t understand why their father hadn’t asked yet. In fact, he only felt more confused when a hand rested on his head, soothingly running through his hair.

“It’s alright, I know it was kind of scary to see, but Rufus will be fine.”

This was wrong. That wasn’t his hang-up at all. Sure his own skin crawled at the sight of him now, but that wasn’t the issue. Was he really not going to ask why they were outside of the house, where he always told them not to be?

He stared into his bowl, before suddenly pushing away from the table.

“Are… are you not going to ask?”

Hermes tilted his head, “Ask?”

“W-why we were outside, why we hadn’t listened to you?” Cletus trembled, a confused jumble of emotions swirling within.

Argus eyed him, “…He wants to know why you haven’t punished us yet.”

“Punish-? Oh. Oh boys.”

Hermes carefully moved to kneel by Cletus, pulling him into a hug, before he offered an arm out for Argus to join. With two sons in his embrace, he let out a breath.

“Yes, I am disappointed you ignored my rules, and that it had led to injury, but more than that, I’m just thankful you’re all still here. I never thought I’d have a time in my life to be a father, but after everything, I now can’t imagine myself without you three.”

He squeezed them both tightly.

“I just hope that this world will last for you…”

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

“OW! DAAAAD!”

“Cletus, don’t poke you brother.”

“But he’s trying to lick the salve again! This is the only way to stop him.”

Cletus turned back to Rufus, only to see his brothers tongue going once again for the back of his hand, so he yanked at his bright red ear.

“OW!”

Now with a dollop on his finger, Cletus sniffed at the medicinal mixture, almost daring to taste it himself.

“It doesn’t even smell that nice.”

“It smells like a plant I bit once!”

There were many things Cletus could have questioned, but he didn’t get the chance as Argus came into the house.

“Gizmo said this should help.”

Hermes accepted what Argus handed him, and after turning it over in hand, he realised how it worked. With a reluctant sigh, he knelt before Rufus, and swiftly wrapped what was essentially a plastic cone around his neck. The boy squirmed, not coordinated enough to dislodge the device, before he accepted fate.

Neither of his brothers could resist laughing at the sight.

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

Bonus: The scribble that inspired this

[llogllady99]

INTERMISSION

CHARACTERS | Levi, Erwin, Hange, Petra, Nanaba, Mike, Eld, Gunther, Oluo, Moblit

RELATIONSHIPS | Erwin x Levi

Genre | Reincarnation, Afterlife

IV | Afterlife, Hurt/Comfort, Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence. Alternate Universe - Modern Setting/ Reincarnation, Fluff, Reunions, Introspection.

SUMMARY | Levi dies and reunites with Erwin and the others in the Afterlife. 

WORD COUNT | 2.5k

It was one of those sunny days that Levi passed away. The kind of days that occurred in the middle of summer, sun shining proudly in the centre of the sky, beaming with light in all directions; its yellow rays placing gentle kisses and giving shape to everything around them. A breeze blew gently, ruffling the blades of overgrown grass, flowers, and other plants that were blooming by a pristine and crystalline river. A river so clean and fresh that even the tiniest of rocks could be visible. Southern Magnolias, Flowering Dogwoods, birch, and oak trees lined the river and gardens of the people resided in the area. On such particular days, Levi could be found gardening away his late adulthood; his garden was the most clean and organised with freshly mowed lawn and colourful flowers, trees, and bushes placed meticulously around the alleyway that lead to the entrance of the house, the backyard, by his windows and entrances, and inside the house. Therefore, it should have been no surprise when Levi spent his last day doing exactly that: cleaning, organising, and arranging things.

It came unexpectedly, like death often does. It should have upset Levi, he was still considered too young to die by the rest of the world, but he himself couldn’t have been more happier, more relieved, and at peace. It had started with a soft breeze, blowing through his now white strands of hair that were still arranged in the same familiar undercut and under his white cotton dress shirt that was a bit oversized. Then came a wave of unfamiliar fatigue, causing Levi to lie on his back on the grass, his eyes now on the sapphire sky, watching the different sized clouds move along in slow motion. Somehow he knew his time had come, he always had great intuition. With black now cornering his vision, the man closed his eyes, letting the sun rest gently on his face, warming him one last time. He smelled the sweet aroma of his flowers, he listened to the almost silent buzz of a bee in the distance, appreciating the things he had become so used to. Finally ready, Levi inhaled deeply, and with a contented smile spreading on his tired and wrinkled face, exhaled slowly as everything went black, sounds and sensations ebbing away gradually.

However, the world didn’t stop, the sun still shone, the birds still sang their relaxing songs, their high pitched chirps sounding through the valleys, the wind still blew, and the clouds in the sky still travelled their never ending journey; a perfect day for humanity’s strongest soldier to pass away.

-

Levi was now engulfed in deep darkness, thick and relentless. Silence reigning over the infinite void. It wasn’t a heavy silence or an uncomfortable one but rather comforting and warm, making him feel at peace in god knows how long. He looked down at his hands, they weren’t wrinkly anymore but soft and smooth again. He was back in his original form, his old inky black hair hanging daintily on his forehead, his cheekbones once again high and sharp, his eyes now a strong grey steel, and his lips rosy red. His body was also young again. Now that he was in this purgatory of sorts, a giant screen appeared in front of him, displaying moments from his life in chronological order. He saw himself as a baby, his mother cutting for the first time his hair in an undercut, his mother telling him stories, embracing him, loving him. Then came her death, her horrible death, leaving Levi alone. His uncle Kenny made his appearance on the screen, taking him under his care, teaching him how to fight and defend himself after walking away never to be seen again. It showed how he met Isabell and Furlan, the days they spent together in the underground. The blonde boy reading to them by the fire, Isabell snoring in Levi’s lap, his hands in her hair, twisting the ginger strands, Levi defending the redhead in a fight, and Isabell telling them jokes one night whilst playing cards. All of the precious moments now unfolding before his eyes. It made Levi’s heart swell with happiness at seeing their faces again. He had forgotten their faces after so much time but seeing them now reminded him of their bond, their brother like bond. Then he joined the survey corps and shit hit the fan.

Next came memories of joining the survey corps, of seeing Erwin for the first time, their first kiss, first time making love, moving in the same room together, going out with his comrades, Hange, Nanaba, Mike, Moblit, everyone made an appearance on the screen. Then came the brats, their round baby faces and bright eyes full of determination. Retaking wall Maria. Erwin’s death…

It displayed the four years in between their battles. The years when he moved in with Hange and having tea with them every other afternoon before making the plans for the attack on Liberio. The shit show started, the whole fucking rumbling, Eren going batshit crazy, Mikasa killing him, and them staying behind in Marley. His friendship blossoming with the other two brats and finally tasting true freedom, a world with no walls where the sky was the limit. Other sequences also played, like how he returned to Paradis, Gabi and Falco’s visits, who were now married and living happily in some exotic country, and then the day he died. He would have argued he lived a beautiful life, one which he certainly didn’t regret, but after Erwin’s and Hange’s death his only purpose was to survive the day, get through it and ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.

If this was the after life, why wasn’t anyone here? Did he do something wrong? Where was Erwin? Didn’t he promise he’ll be waiting for him? For the first time in the darkness, Levi felt suffocated, he couldn’t breathe, the overwhelming feeling he did something wrong washed over him, imbuing his every cell and tissue. Luckily, before he could finish that destructive train of thought, a glimmer of white appeared in the distance. As the small dot got bigger and bigger, Levi realised it was some kind of vortex that was sucking everything in it, including him. It sucked in his feet first then his hips, stomach, arms and finally his head. Everything went white around him, his spirit was travelling with so much speed that he felt he was inside an airplane engine, the turbines spinning faster and faster, the noise getting louder and louder, and finally the plane took off. As the noise reached its apex, Levi’s surroundings became silent until he was pushed out of the vortex and into the afterlife, the one in which his comrades also seemed to be.

Levi landed bottom first and with a thud, his backside coursing with pain. He flinched and got up. He scanned his surrounding and noticed that in the far off distance there was a group of people. Relief washed over his entire being as the feelings of panic and loneliness left him entirely. One by one he willed his feet to move, each step becoming more hurried, until he broke out in a run. The shape of the group was getting bigger and bigger as Levi closed the distance between them. The closer he got, the more he could make out their faces. Wait! Was that blonde and messy brown? Hange and Erwin? Happiness started blossoming in his chest, like a bush of Camelias in spring, the flowers opening up more and more, becoming bigger and bigger covering the whole green bush with their beautiful pure white and milky pink. A smile grazed his features and tears started falling down his face, each droplet streaming down his jawline then falling on the ground behind him.

“Erwin!” Levi shouted, finally getting his lover’s attention. Erwin turned, wide eyed as he recognised his voice and broke into one of his famous full mouth grins. He extending his arms, inviting the raven in. Levi gladly took that invitation, jumping on Erwin and sending both of them tumbling down, wrapping his arms tightly around the blonde, sniffling that familiar cent of cologne and tobacco. “You waited for me! I can’t believe you waited.”

“Of course I did, in fact all of us did. Look around Levi, we’re all here.” Levi lifted his face and looked around, his eyes landing on Hange grinning maniacally at him, Nanaba and Mike close to each other, Moblit, and his squad.

“Heya guys! Long time no see I guess.” Levi stood up from Erwin and made his way in between the group, taking everyone’s faces in. They were all here. He looked in Hange’s direction, they now looked truly happy without a care in the world. He approached them and wrapped them in a tight embrace, one which he so seldom offered when they were alive.

“Hey short stuff. Gotta admit watching over ya from up here got kinda boring. You were never up to any shenanigans, you just sat there all day reading your damn newspaper and drinking that awful tea.” Hange playfully reprimanded him. Levi snorted then play kicked their feet. Petra came up and hugged him from behind, burying her soft ginger hair between his shoulder blades. She inhaled shakily and choked out:

“Missed you so much, Levi Heichou.” Levi turned around and tucked some of her hair behind her year, setting his hand on her cheek, rubbing with one thumb a tear that spilled from her left eye. The raven then wrapped her tightly in the same hug he’d given Hange, burying her small head in his shoulder. “Missed you too.”

Mike came up and sniffed his hair, his nose scrunching up taking up as much of the sent as possible and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, trying to pin point the smells. He then patted Levi on the shoulder and told him:

“You still smell the same, maybe except with a hint of a flowery touch to it.”

“Always so romantic.” Levi replied, shaking his hand like brothers do. Nanaba came up behind Mike and offered him one of her beautiful smiles. “Great seeing you Levi, but Mike,” she then grabbed the tall man’s hand pulling him towards her, “it’s time for us to go.”

“Go where?” Levi asked frantically, he just got here why were they going already?

“We will get reincarnated, me, Mike, and Erwin.” Nanaba replied casually as if it was the most natural thing. Levi started hyperventilating.

“Why?” He croaked. “I just got here, you can’t go! Not yet! Erwin please don’t go!” He looked around and found the blonde standing next to Mike, he grabbed his hand tightly, urging him not to go, however it was for nothing as his lover wouldn’t budge.

“I can’t Levi, my time has come.” Erwin grabbed both of his hand and kissed his knuckles and fingers, rubbing them against his cheek. “I need you to watch over me and when your time comes too, join me. We’ll meet again, in a world with no titans and infinite time on our hands. We will truly be happy there.”

“Fine, but promise me you won’t do anything stupid Erwin. Wait for me.” Levi demanded, raising himself on his tip toes and pulling Erwin down for a passionate kiss. After they parted, Erwin stepped next to Nanaba and Mike again and waved his big hand at the others before all three of them vanished from sight.

Over time, the same exact thing happened to the others. Eld and Gunther went, shortly followed by Auruo, the other people also gradually disappearing to god knows where. After some time, only him, Hange, Petra, and Moblit were left. Now it seemed that Moblit’s time had come too, if the bear hug he gave Hange was anything to go by. Offering them one last kind smile, Moblit vanished, leaving now only the three of them. Hange cried that day, harder than he ever saw them do it and Petra rested her head on Levi’s shoulder, sorrow and longing also emanating from her being. For a few years, all they could do was watch. Watch Erwin’s seventh birthday party, Mike and Nanaba chewing on their toys, Eld being adopted, guess he didn’t have much luck in this life either, Gunther ride his bike, Auruo playing his first song on the piano and so on. On a not so special day, when they resumed their seats and watched over the others, Hange stood up and with a kind smile and wave their hand they vanished too. Levi cried and so did Petra, they missed their friend dearly but it was bound to happen. A few short months after Petra also left, leaving Levi alone, drowning in the familiar feeling of loneliness.

A month after, Levi got visitors in the after life, they were Armin, Mikasa, and Annie. They greeted their captain and took their seats next to him, joining him in watching over his friends.

“I guess now I have you brats to watch over me when I’ll go down there.” He joked, getting a pat on the back from Armin.

“Hopefully, in the next life I won’t be a midget anymore, You guys don’t know how fucking hard that has been for me.” That earned him a laugh from all of them. Over the next two months all of them got closer together, Armin and Mikasa telling him about how his death impacted everyone. Apparently it has been a national funeral, all the nobles and even queen gathering around his coffin. How ironic.

One day, Levi woke up groggier than usual and much more heavy. It felt as if the ground was pulling him towards it. It was no doubt: his time had come. Armin was the only one that was watching the world down below, Mikasa and Annie sleeping soundly a few feet away. Levi sat next to him and cleared his throat, redirecting the blonde’s attention to him.

“This reincarnation thing is so beautiful, getting a second chance in a world not as cruel as ours.” Armin began. “I’m glad we aren’t stuck here forever, it gets more boring every day.”

“Try doing that shit for seven years.”

“That’s really long. I can’t stand this place anymore and I’ve only been here for what? Two months? If you don’t mind me asking, who was the first to go?” Armin asked, a little bit shy in case he was prying too much.

“Erwin.” Armin’s eyes widened. “Yeah, I just got here and he was already gone. But now is my time and I’ll finally be reunited with him.” Levi stood up and grabbed Armin’s hand also pulling him to his feet. “See ya Armin, you were always my favourite cadet.”

Bringing his fists and arms to his chest, delivering his last salute to the 15th Commander of the Survey Corps, he vanished, white clouding his vision. Everything went black afterwards.

-

The next time Levi opened his eyes, he was crying his eyes out and shouting like a mad man, his little legs and arms kicking and moving in all directions. He had been born into the new world.

Notes: 

A song I would recommand while reading the fic is It's been a long, long time. Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read it and notes and comments are welcomed, Obviously, I do not own Attack on titan or any of the characters that take part in it. They are inspiration for my works and I love them to the core. Thank you again lovelies for taking the time to read it! <333

[botwstoriesandsuch]

The reason aoc had no stakes is cuz even if we lost link would just take a nap and then wake up and murder ganon with a stick

Ok I recognize that this is a joke and I love you good job have a lil kiss *mwah* nice joke nice joke but also I am in MAJOR WRITING MODE which means that I am prompted to write essays on the storytelling process at the flip of a switch and buddy, pal, chum, mate, this is a major switch that has been flipped

Because it gets on my nerves, it’s one of my BIGGEST PET PEEVES of ALL TIME, I abso-fucking-lutely DESPISE, when people think that stakes is equivalent to life and death. I just hate it, it makes me seethe to no end. I could grip the clouds from the heavens, and my rage would make it rain upwards.

People who think stakes is just about winning or losing or living or dying, I will stake you, I will do violent crimes. You wanna know why those big superhero movies like Justice League and what not don’t work? It’s because it thinks that big giant death armies are meaningful stakes. You know stuff like Civil War, or hell even shows like Attack on Titan or Gravity Falls work? It’s because it’s stakes exist both externally and internally, and the consequences of actions exist beyond just living or dying or winning or losing.

Listen to me very closely. The reason Age of Calamity has no stakes, is because you don’t care about the characters. It’s not because of the timelines, or resurrections, or whatever whatever, no. It’s because you don’t care about the characters.

Now Ashshshshsh, yes you love your bird and fish husbands and wives very much ok yes I get that, I do too. BUT, BUT, when you look at this from the storytelling perspective, like thinking from the perspective of someone experiencing the story fresh for the very first time, with or without botw context. You did not care about the characters, you cared about the ending. That is why there are no stakes. 

Why the fuck do you care if Teba dies? Like, sure, if Teba dies, you are sad, the character that you love is dead, you might even cry! But why do you care, what are the consequences of his death, what happens if he dies, what does he, on a character level lose?

What you’re typically supposed to do to get your audience to care, is establish a character, develop them, then give them a goal and a need to attain that goal, a good goal or motivation that affects a character both externally and internally, and then when the conflict or battle comes up, you’re left with that feeling of “oh no, I really hope this character wins, because otherwise, [insert something] happens, and I don’t want that.” That’s what stakes is, in very broad concept. 

That’s why living and dying is a form of stakes, but it’s not the only one. “Oh no, this character is hurt, I really hope this character wins, because I like them, and I want them to live.” That’s you stakes. Same idea with winning and losing. “Oh no, this character is losing this volleyball match. I really hope this character wins, because they’ve worked hard to reach their goal, and I don’t want to see that go to waste.” Okay, great. 

Now the PROBLEM is, those concepts are overdone to the point of extinction, like it’s arguable that the stakes of living and dying just doesn’t exist as a strong good form of stakes in media anymore. Whether by symptom of plot armour, of predictable writing, or the establishment of modern tropes and clichés, blah blah blah, you can’t solely rely on those ideas for stakes. ESPECIALLY in the realm, of video games. I don’t need to spell out the whole living and dying aspect of it right? And the winning and losing stakes goes out the window because that concept has an entirely different meaning and tone when the player is the one in control. Essentially what I’m saying here is, on a character level, you can’t rely on those ideas as a sense of stakes because it just doesn’t have meaning. But the thing is, Age of Calamity does rely on it. And it SOME aspects, it worked. 

You have experience good stakes in this game before. You’ve probably done it on some crazy tough side mission or some interesting self-made quest to find yourself that last raw bird wing to finish up that upgrade. You yourself struggled, and understood the journey that you went through, the time that you invested to make yourself better (as big or small as it may be) at the game, and you eventually beat that level, or found that item. And you were genuinely relieved and happy. Whether you realized it or not, you were on the edge of your seat, intently focused on the task and “battle” at hand, you were invested in yourself, and the effects of the outcome of your struggle. That’s what good stakes does. That’s why so many videogames have impactful story telling.

But listen here, the reason you only experience those good stakes through the gameplay, is because you don’t need to put in the effort to care about yourself. You’re you! You know yourself, you played out your motivations and struggles. That all happens without the games help. So now the issue becomes, you need to emulate that same feeling for the story world and it’s characters. And Age of Calamity just puts in none of the meaningful work to get you care about the CHARACTERS on a CHARACTER LEVEL. It relies SOLEY on the work done by Breath of the Wild, with the exceptions of maybe Kohga and King Rhoam. And also Sidon is an exception in the sense that his relationship to his sister is a pretty decent stake (but tbh the bar is VERY LOW)

We’ve established how the stakes of winning or losing or living through a battle don’t have as much strength as motivations or stakes in this game. So, knowing that....Name Daruk’s motivation. Name a true and honest reason why Zelda shouldn’t die. And don’t tell me that “because it would make the other characters sad” because that is just a reaction to events (based on the characterization and writing work done by AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GAME cause again Hwaoc doesn’t character develop for shit) being sad isn’t motivation, or stakes. Being sad is a normal human reaction to anything ever, it isn’t anything new, and by god it doesn’t inherently impact the world or story around you.

You know what would have been good stakes? If Age of Calamity developed the New Gen Champs a bit more and maybe one of them could say something like, “I feel it’s my duty to help stop the Calamity, because the fact that I time traveled here means that I have a big responsibility, and if we lose then I’m a failure in both this time and my own. So I need to step up to the plate that has been set for me” or something something. Or, and this is a big one, give ASTOR something to do (because stakes is inherently about CONFLICT and you can’t have good internal and external stakes when there is nothing to CONFLICT with the other characters) let Astor be like “This world doesn’t deserve to go on, humanity has made too many mistakes, I was abandonded as a child, the King murdered my mom, I need power to get revenge, or to revive some dead family member” blah blah blah pick one of the clichés but at least it would be SOMETHING. When motivations conflict, that’s what gets you to care about characters, because then it’s not just about living or dying, it about the effects of that death, or that loss. If this character dies, they died believing a lie, or believing they were a failure and I don’t want that. If this character is defeated, they won’t get another chance to save the people they care about, and I don’t want them living with regret. These two characters have sympathetic goals, and I can see the points that both sides have with their motivation, but I also like them so I don’t want them to die, oh no, what’s gonna happen. 

If you don’t CARE about the characters, and their goals, if the only thing that’s keeping you awake at night about them living or dying is “I like them” then there is something wrong. 

You didn’t finish Age of Calamity because of the characters, you didn’t finish it out of an honest desire to see these characters reach their goals. MAYBE there’s a connection you had for Zelda, but honestly compared to Breath of the Wild, it’s nothing. You finished Age of Calamity simply out of curiosity to see what happened at the end, to see what your efforts of gameplay lead up to. You had no actual character arcs to latch onto or care about, which means you had no expectations or desire to see how they would play out, no STAKES no INVESTMENT. Which means live, die, resurrect, or perma-death as you see, you’re not invested in the characters, your invested in the time you put into that media. 

[anntoldst0ries]

Diagnosis

I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who read my previous fic and left such kind comments. You can’t imagine how much I appreciate this!

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x f!MC (Vicky Valentine)

Word Count: 2,911

Summary: Dr Ramsey attempts to diagnose the most difficult case in his career...his own.

Warnings: None! A lot of introspection again and hints of angst :)

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

Ethan Ramsey considered himself a brave man.

He always had the courage to say whatever he wanted to say or what had to be said - be that a terminal diagnosis, savaging someone’s speech at a medical conference (only if the speaker was talking nonsense, that is), scolding an intern - you name it. 

With years of experience under his belt, Dr Ramsey excelled at the “art” of saying the most horrible, unpleasant and inconvenient things. It was a process he took to pieces and mastered every tiniest part.

He knew exactly what they were whispering behind his back in the hospital corridors. Dr Ramsey is a bully. A ruthless cynic. No one survived more than 3 minutes of his tirades without bursting into tears. Or, as some of the interns so lovingly put it, he was “the only survivor of a heart transplant”. The last remark had been conveyed to him by Baz, who found it hilarious…and so did Naveen. It took one deadly look to silence Baz forever, however Naveen used every occasion to remind his protégé of hospital’s favourite joke:

‘How’s your heart, Ethan?’

‘Good, why are you as—‘ Ethan didn’t have a chance to finish answering the question, interrupted by Dr Banerji who was in convulsions.

‘God, Naveen, for such a bright mind and one of the best doctors in the world, I still find it hard to believe that you have a sense of humour of a 5 year old’

‘There is nothing wrong with some joy, Ethan. You should try it sometimes, it may do you good.’

Similar conversations took place on a regular basis, but they always ended with Ethan rolling his eyes and Naveen sighing. Younger doctor would never, ever tell his mentor off, he respected him too much. So Ethan let Dr Banerji have some fun at his expense from time to time.

But, truth be told, he kept his emotions at a leash and he was good at it, because there wasn’t a thing in Ethan’s life that he wasn’t good at. Regardless of what it was - saving people’s lives or emotional self-deprivation.

That’s why reminiscing past 2 years was so hard for accomplished diagnostician. He couldn’t help but think that he’s lived more during this time than he’s lived during his whole life. His existence wasn’t a boring one, he loved his job and the cases that the team had to crack were mostly complex and thus exciting. There was also a sense of fulfilment and servitude to a greater cause.

As a kid, Ethan wanted to be a detective. It all started with Alan buying his son one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books. There was no hidden intention in this choice - Alan simply ran out of book ideas, Ethan was literally gobbling up the books at his disposal and was thirsty for more. Therefore, Mr Ramsey picked picked one of the thickest positions available in the book shop, with hopes it will keep Ethan occupied for at least a couple of weeks. Oh, how wrong he was - 5 days later his son was already begging for more.

Sherlock Holmes and Hercules Poirot quickly took the top spot on the list of Ethan’s childhood heroes. He was obsessed with their investigative methods, their sharp minds that captured even the tiniest of details and how missing those nuances would make solving a mystery a lot harder, if not impossible. 

That’s why he became obsessed with details. He analysed, compared, observed and noted down everything around him with deliberation. After a while, Ethan realised that these skills come handy in various areas of life. He could read people and to a degree foresee what their next move was going to be. If he wanted to, he could probably try and influence their decisions too. If it wasn’t for Alan’s upbringing, this particular skill might have taken his life onto a dark track, but fortunately he utilised it for greater good.

Having this sort of insight made him very self-conscious and he never turned away from reliving his own decisions and behaviours, which helped him become a better doctor, every single day. But he never wallowed in the mud of emotions, instead always operating on facts.

But for the past couple of months, this process became a pure torture. 

You know what they say, the devil is in the detail. And the devil it was indeed. 

The devil that would be the death of Ethan was 5’4, had raven hair, plumped lips, mesmerising eyes and a captivating laugh. 

Suddenly, he heard the devil’s voice in his head.

‘Are you pinching the bridge of your nose right now?’ 

He was.

‘God dammit!’ - shouted Ethan, so loud that he startled poor Jenner, who resigned from occupying the sofa and ran straight to his bed. Even the retriever, in his doggy wisdom, knew that when his master was upset, it was best to stay out of his sight and wait for the storm to pass.

Whenever Dr Ramsey had a serious dilemma, he would subtly join his thumb and index finger to pinch the gentle skin between eyes. She knew of this somewhat subconscious habit and teased him about it countless times. 

With most people, the whole observing and reading process was a one-sided game. For majority of mortals, Ethan was a closed book and they had no idea how to open, let alone read it. But not Rookie. She saw right through him. Ethan considered himself a riveting mystery thriller before, if we’re talking comparisons, but right now he was probably a cheap Harlequin. How did he sink so low in practically no time?

The answer came before he was even able to finish the question.

He was hopelessly, utterly and irreversibly in love with Dr Vicky Valentine.

“Victoria….” he whispered. He knew her full name, he’s read her bloody application and her employee file many, many times. More than he’d ever care to admit. Neither him nor anyone else addressed her by her full name. She always introduced herself as Vicky and even mentioned to him, June & Baz one time that she considered herself too young to be a bearer of such gracious name. But when the name fell out of his lips, it made perfect sense. Victoria. Victory. After a long, tough and heartbreaking battle, she’s won all of him. And man, wasn’t she fighting fiercely. 

She was so much like him, and yet so different. Patients loved her, and for a good reason - not only was she amazing at her job, but also so genuinely caring about every patient she met. Somehow, she was able to see past people weary of their conditions, instead she always noticed the human beings with their unique stories. Thanks to her, patients never felt like sickness became their identity, but merely a stage in their life that shall soon pass. 

Hospital staff adored her as well, she had time and a huge smile for everyone; her bright aura lit up every room she walked into and was a pleasure to be around. 

Those who knew Ethan a bit better or worked with him were aware of the insanely high standards he was holding himself to. And it would have been fine if they only applied to him, but he held everyone else to the same standard too. It was his buffer. Most gave up without even trying, it was humanly impossible to live up to such expectations. And that was the goal. Dr Ramsey wanted no distractions and if anyone wanted so much as approach him, they had a giant wall to jump over first.

But the young intern wasn’t bothered in the slightest. Dozens of people before her stood in front of the wall and tried to figure out how to get in. And she… she just found a tiny gap and squeezed right through. Before Ethan realised what’s going on, it was already too late. And she wasn’t even fully aware of what she’s done.

Like air, she’s entered his life imperceptibly, filling every space until there was nothing else. She was in every reflection he saw, every smile, every freaking thing a reminder of her, one way or another.

He was completely under her spell, enchanted, drunk in the thought of her.

The most ironic part was that if he went by his unreasonable standards, she’d never stand a chance.

She was messy, she was a klutz, she laughed too loud and rounded her eyes like a child when something seriously excited her.

And yet, something about her made him break all of his rules, lower his guard and re-think everything he’s ever thought he knew and believed in. 

Obviously, he wouldn’t be himself if the occupational quirk did not kick in at some point. Whatever the cause, Dr Ramsey had to get to the bottom of it, no matter how many tests did he have to run on his mind and heart. He needed the diagnosis so he could start the treatment. But his sharp diagnostic skills which made him a famous man, suddenly decided to go on unplanned vacation and it looks like they were not coming back anytime soon.

Ambivalence became Ethan’s newest companion. Some days, he thought he was going to blow his brains out, the others he was strangely content and did not want to analyse anything, things were good just as they were.

For the first time in his life, he felt truly lost. He felt like Jon Snow, he knew nothing. It wasn’t a result of one event, rather a chain reaction. Starting with Naveen getting sick, the inability to figure out what was wrong with his mentor made Ethan seriously doubt his capabilities as a doctor. Then, Louise Ramsey made a surprise reappearance after having walked out on him and his dad 25 years earlier. When he was little, his dad use to say that wherever Louise goes, trouble follows and it wasn’t any different this time. She brought company - insecurity, sorrow, resentment - to name just a few. Ethan felt like someone ripped a band aid from his heart and painfully reminded him that all the wounds are still alive and never really healed. 

And finally, Edenbrook. The place that others saw as walls, glass, beds, people in white coats, sickness, illness, death. To him, it was much, much more. The hospital had almost a transcendental dimension. It was here that Ethan’s transition had been completed. He shed his old skin and became Dr Ramsey, the person he was always meant to be.

That’s why Edenbrook closing hit him so hard - a part of him was about to die and be buried beneath years of sweat, tears and effort. It was probably the hardest thing to come to terms with in the 37 years that he’s been walking on the surface of the Earth.

And throughout all these events, she was with him.

She never gave up on Naveen and Ethan knew that there was more to it than just saving Edenbrook’s most prominent doctor. He believed, he wanted to believe that she did this for him too. 

The memory brought shame that drained off him like unpleasant wave of cold water. Ethan never really forgave himself for just laying in his bed like a drunk bag of potatoes, whilst she was busting her gut to solve the case, even though she had ethics hearing to prepare for. A hearing that could make or break her whole career, before she even had a chance to start.

Dr Ramsey would like to think they were alike. But as a matter of fact, she was a much better person than him.

Then, with his mother in the picture, she never told him what to do. Even though he asked, many times. He hoped someone can actually make the decision for him, because it hurt so much to even think about this, let alone decide what to do next. But she never did. She was just there and by simply being, she empowered him to make his own, informed decision. 

She was there, like no one else was in his entire life. Not to take anything from Naveen, who had tremendous effect on Ethan’s life - but this was completely different.

She penetrated his soul.

She made him feel.

Love.

It was the first time he used this word in a long, long time. 

And maybe, quite possibly, for the first time in his life he used it with intention. 

He thought he felt it once before. 

When he was a student at Johns Hopkins, Ethan met Camille. She was a year older than him, with angelic voice and looks, the cascade of blond locks surrounding her gentle facial features like a halo. 

What impressed him was that she kept hitting up on him, not the other way round. He’s had his mind set on graduating as a top student in his class and then getting the best residency there was - in Edenbrook hospital in Boston. It was either him or someone else. University romances were of no interest to him, or so he thought. After all, he’s just gone past his teenage years and was relatively new to the world of intimate human desires. As much as he tried to push them away, he had needs and his hormones were still a giant part of his decision-making process, doesn’t matter how hard he tried denying it.

Also, there was something motherly about her and she reminded him of the woman who left him when he was just a boy. It was completely fucked-up, he hated his mother and yet a memory of her and how he’d once do anything for her was tattooed in the insides of his brain.

Ethan and Camille shared a passion for medicine, music and opera. A few times, he was close to bringing her down to Providence, to introduce her to Alan, his father. But there was this weird voice in his head stopping him. 

Maybe that’s why he wasn’t overly surprised when one day he walked on Camille. In his bed. Screaming and making other explicit sounds…except, he wasn’t the igniter. It was none other than his best friend at the time, Tobias. Ethan would never forget the jealous glance he shot him with when he first brought Camille to one of the student parties. And then things got worse. Ethan and Tobias always competed and for a long time it was a fuel that kept them both going. But when someone wins, someone has to lose. Neither of them was good at losing or accepting the failure. 

Ethan was doing better than his best friend. Not significantly better, the difference between them had usually been slight, but it was there. Tobias couldn’t swallow this. Not only was Ethan doing better than him, he also had one of the most beautiful students at Hopkins by his side. Jealousy started to spread inside him like a wildfire and since his attempts to beat Ethan at school were futile, he decided to make use of his other skills. Tobias was a born flirter and charmer. He often used to say that no woman can resist his spell and that “where there’s a woman - there’s a way.”

Dr Ramsey never told anyone, but having found out that his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend was sort of relief. Call it sixth sense, an intuition… subconsciously he sort of felt that she wasn’t a girl for him. As for Tobias, he was tired of the fight….of Tobias fighting with him, that is. Ethan wasn’t fighting, he was just a better student and was going to be a better doctor. He was tired of petty competition and how the toxin poisoned their relationship.

So they actually made him a favour and helped him killed 2 birds with 1 stone - he was saved from having an awkward break-up conversation that he’s never went through before and he now had every right to hate Tobias. He didn’t really, as such feelings were a waste of energy, but a week later Tobias moved out of their shared apartment and they never really spoke again.

After Camille, he was only in a brief relationship once. With Harper. He deeply admired and respected her, but when things started getting too serious (from her side), he distanced himself. And so, for a couple of years to follow, they were on the off and on again terms. They went through countless friends with benefits stages, but he genuinely enjoyed her company. They just never wanted the same things, which became more and more evident as she was getting older. And he respected her too much to mess her around.

Ethan’s career was everything to him and he accepted the fact that falling in love and having a family is just not in the cards for him.

Or so he thought.  

Dr Valentine entered his life one September morning and hasn’t left ever since. And, hell, hasn’t he tried to erase her. To make her hate him. To draw a line between work and personal life. He could honestly say that he tried everything.

For the love of God, he ran to fucking Amazon! He tried to hide from all things Dr Valentine, like a fool who forgot one of the most basic rules of life: there is no running away from yourself. 

Tag list (please let me know if you wish to be removed): @terrm9 @openheart12 @openheartthot @rookie-ramsey @alwaysmychoices @brooks-eden @drethanramslay @starrystarrytrouble @justanotherrookie @caseyvalentineramsey@incorrectopenheart @heauxplesslydevoted @perriewinklenerdie @mercury84choices @archxxronrookie @renasalek-blog @maurine07 @whippedforethanfreakingramsey @lemonmiddleton @tsrookie @choicesfan10 @dr-colossal-pita @queencarb @gryffindordaughterofathena @qrkowna @aarisa-frost @choicesficwriterscreations

[lesbian-deadpool]

"Soulmates”

Part Three Of Three: The Truth Of The Matter

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Words: 1,825

Warnings: Angst. Death. Canon Endgame. I’m so sorry.

Request: For the anon who donated to the Australian Bushfires, who wanted angst. Well, you got it, buddy.

Summary: She loved you. Always.

A/N: Again, thanks to @missmonsters2 for helping me out with this idea.’ It’s shorter than the others. I know. But I tried my best lol.

(Not my GIF)

***

Your eyes fluttered open, showing you the bright blue sky of Wakanda above you, the treetops a beautiful green against the warm sun. Birds were chirping, bringing peace to your otherwise fuzzy body.

You were disorientated. That much was for sure. But you were forgetting something. Something important. You just knew you were. But what was it?

Leaves rustling and twigs shaping in half brought your attention to behind you. Moving your still laying head to peer above you, you saw a disgruntled looking Bucky, his hair matted with the battle that you had just lost.

Lost.

You had lost.

As Bucky whispered for Steve, you sat up, chest heaving.

Where the hell was Natasha?

Your eyes were wild as you looked around for her. Finding T’challa, a crouching Wanda, your eyes snapping to Sam rushing out from the trees. Along with the countless other Wakanda soldiers scattered around.

“Natasha?!” you yelled, fingers weaving through leaves, twigs, and dirt. Anything to hold you onto reality.

Where the fuck was everyone?

Hastily, you moved to stand.

“NATASHA?!” you roared. You had to find her. You needed to find her. God. You had to tell her how stupid you were. You had to tell her. You had to tell her.

“She’s not here.”

You looked up to find a strange man wearing a cape, and a goatee that he had looked like he had stolen from Tony, standing before you.

“Where the fuck is she?” you growled. You didn't know who this man was. But if he knew where Natasha was, you would stop at nothing to find her.

“I don’t know.” You were about to call bullshit when he spoke again. “But we are needed.” That’s when you noticed Peter, three others, and that weird tree dude that Thor had brought along with the raccoon guy, who was also nowhere to be seen, standing behind the cape-wearing Tony Stark wannabe. “It’s been five years. And there's a battle that is in dire need of our assistance.”

“It’s been how long now?”

***

You were looking around everywhere you could for Natasha when you had exited the portal from Wakanda. Because apparently the goatee guy was a wizard Named Stephen Strange, or Doctor Strange as his alias, and could also create portals.

Oh well, you've seen crazier things.

And this might count as one of them.

The compound, the very same one you had left not even a few days ago -in your time- was destroyed. Crumbling down into the crater where most of it had assumedly blown up, parts of the building still smoking and on fire.

You stood, wide-eyed and breathing heavy, looking at Thanos and his large army, along with the people and beings in yours.

Great. So you had to do this shit all over again.

Not even ten minutes break.

Fucking- A!

“Avengers-”

Hey, you knew that voice. Looking to your side you spotted Steve, not even third feet away from you. How you hadn’t noticed him before was beyond you. But then again, you were well-intended on finding Natasha before you could even imagine noticing anyone else.

God, you wished she was alright.

She had to be.

“Assemble.”

You scoffed humouredly to yourself. Well, at least he finally finished his sentence, and after years of you waiting on him. Not even a second later, you were racing off towards Thanos’s incoming army. If it really had been five years. They you were gonna give your all, to make sure that this would well-and-truly be the final battle that the purple titan, and all of his followers, would ever see.

Gasping for air as you glanced around, watching out for any incoming aliens, while you took a much-needed breather, when you spotted someone else you knew.

“Clint?” you asked, almost sceptically because of the man's appearance.

“Y/N?” he asked breathlessly, and you could tell he was so happy to see you.

Shaking your head to regain your thoughts, you remembered what you were originally going to ask the blonde man.

“Where’s Nat?” His jaw ticked and his eyes welled with tears. “Clint?” you asked slowly, but still no reply, “Clint, where’s Nat?”

He looked to the ground below your feet, steadily shaking his head.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“No.” You took a step back, your gun dropping from your hand and onto the battle-worn ground, as tears begin to well in your own eyes. “No, she can’t- Clint. It- It’s Nat. She’s strong. She’s so strong. She’s a fighter, Clint. She can’t have-”

“Y/N.” Salty tears rolled down his cheeks. “It’s true.”

Your second tear rolled down your face, falling to splatter upon the dirt beside your boots when the fire began to blase within you.

“Why?”

Clint inhaled a deep breath like he was about to tell you exactly what happened to the red-head. But instead, he looked off into the distance, where the battle was still raging, and where the purple titan Thanos stood.

Then it all clicked.

“Him,” you seethed, causing the tattooed man to look your way once again, not that you gave him the same treatment. Your eyes fixated on the giant who thought of himself as a god. “He’s the reason. He’s the reason that Natasha’s dead.”

Finally, you snapped your attention towards Clint. “Right?” you hissed, to which you only received a nod in return.

At Clint’s confirmation, you growled, picking up your gun and racing off into battle, once again. Swearing to deal out as much damage as you could, before you reach Thanos, fully intending for him to pay for all that he has caused. For everything, he has taken away. For Natasha.

***

It felt like you had blinked, and suddenly you were watching Tony Stark die in front of you.

You hadn't blinked. Of course, you hadn't. Blood coating your hands and all the way up your bare forearms, as you panted. The rage within you diminishing with every intake of stale, death-filled air.

Dropping to your knees, squeezing Tony’s shoulder lightly as he took his last breath. You allowed your tears to fall along with the others falling to their knee, finally letting yourself cry for Natasha. And now Tony.

How did life change so much in such a small amount of time? Was it even possible? It had to be. Because it was happening to you right now.

Your heart was slowly tearing into two, you could feel every tiny rip with each ragged gasp of breath, and tear that dropped. Quiet sobs racked through your body, you just couldn’t hold any of it in anymore, not the heartbreak, the hate for all that has happened, the rage you felt for that purple fuck. Noe of it. It was all pouring out of you, like a broken tap, the tears soaking your cheeks a clear indication of that.

Something- Or rather someone, bound into your side. Holding you tightly. Letting tears of their own drip onto your shoulder.

Wanda.

You could tell that much from the dirty hair brushing against your cheek.

You won.

But you, along with others lost so much.

***

“About, ...”

“What about her?”

“She-” A deep sigh, as if to control their emotions. “She found someone else. She’s happy.”

“Right,” you noted, struggling to find any emotions to react to it. “I don’t care.”

“Of course you do, Y/N,” Wanda said, “You loved her. Still do probably. You both believed you were soulmates, or as close as we can get in this world.”

“People are wrong all the time,” you said, never once taking your eyes away from the lake before you, “I know I was. And I was too blind to see what was in front of me, the whole time.”

“She loved you, y’know?” Clint asked, before clarifying who, “Natasha.”

“I do. I know that now.”

There was a long pause, filled only with you watching the ripples glide along the lake, the crunching of leaves and twigs, as people walked away from you, and breathing in the fresh nature air. You still weren't used to it, from all of the smoke-filled heavy air, from the battle two days prior. It was clean. Too clean for how dull and dirty the world felt to you now.

“She was with me not even three days ago... she lived five years without me- us. But, I had only seen her a few days ago. And now she’s gone,” you were in a daze as you spoke. You didn't even know who you were speaking to anymore. Or hell, if anyone was still there to hear you.

But the hand that was suddenly placed on your back, rubbing soft circles into it, let you know that you were, in fact, not alone.

Glancing to your side, you saw Wanda. She was one of the people who were the closest to knowing how you felt. How that lost feels. And you could see it in her sad tear-filled eyes, and understanding tight-lipped smile.

“She knows,” she told you, “She knows how you feel about her.”

It may have been stupid. It may have just been your mind. But you felt a strange wave of temporary hope, brightness, warmth. Her. You felt her presence. And you just couldn’t let that go without saying something. No matter how strange, and crazy it may seem.

“You mean everything to me, Nat.”

And with that. The feeling was gone.

***

“Y/N?” You looked over your shoulder to see Stephen Strange, standing not so far behind you. You turned your head to face the lake before you, Stephen taking that as his queue to approach you further, placing a hand on your shoulder. Almost everyone had left long ago, ready to begin living there lives again.

Lucky bastards.

What were you meant to do now?

Suddenly you had an inkling of how Natasha had felt. Even when you had still been around. The sadness that rested against the centre of your chest, making itself a home there. One that you knew you would have an extremely hard time getting it to leave.

“I saw fourteen-million-six-hundred and five different futures-” he informed you.

“I know. And we only won one.”

“Yes. We did.” He nodded solemnly, eyes moving to the side so that he could look at you, while still facing the lake with you. “But, she loved you in every one of them.”

With a pat to your shoulder, he left you alone.

Tears blurred your vision, sobs pounding against your chest, begging to be let out, but you held them in. You vaguely saw the dirt ground, green patches of what you assumed to be grass, along with a multitude of different browns, probably sticks, and other woodland objects, as your head moved on its own accord, to face the floor.

Your voice wavered as you spoke, threatening to crack with the pressure of your emotions.

“So did I.”

Taglist:

@womenlovingwomen-imagines, @shycucumbersandwich, @jxst-livin-my-life, @rofl987, @saltymaddiee, @marvelb00kwolf, @kangerland, @hernanadez-23

[sainedeparam]

okay so: one book and one song for 7 oc's your choice and why!!!

Flor i am so sorry because this took me forever to answer 😭😭😭 i really had to think about what fit best and i ended up changing the “one book” to “one quote from a book” since i struggled with that but here we go. Under the cut because it ended up being too long akshsjsksl

One Song

Tate Cerati • Believer by Imagine Dragons

First things first // I'ma say all the words inside my head // I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh // The way that things have been, oh-ooh // Second thing second // Don't you tell me what you think that I could be // I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh // The master of my sea, oh-ooh

No thoughts, just vibes with this song. I don’t really have a reason why I chose this for Tate other than vibes. It just felt so… him, if that makes sense.

Brynn Delvaux • Born Ready by Zayde Wølf

I don't believe in no devil // 'Cause I done raised this hell // Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh // I've been the last one standing // When all the giants fell // Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh // I won't shiver // I won't shake // I'm made of stone // I don't break // Start me up // Open my eyes // Turn me loose and you'll see why // I was born, born ready // I was born, born ready // Staring at the pressure now // I won't quit, not backing down // I was born, born ready // I was born, born ready

I like powerful women. The type of women that are feared by everyone. And this song best describes the kind of vibe I was going for when playing her route in WTNC.

Ryder Vesta • Centuries by Fall Out Boy

And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name // 'Cause I was only born inside my dreams // Until you die for me, as long as there's a light // My shadow's over you 'cause I am the opposite of amnesia // … // Some legends are told // Some turn to dust or to gold // But you will remember me // Remember me for centuries // And just one mistake // Is all it will take // We'll go down in history // Remember me for centuries // (Hey yeah, oh hey, hey yeah) // Remember me for centuries // We've been here forever // And here's the frozen proof // I could scream forever // We are the poisoned youth

In my head this is a Villain Theme Song and he’s cocky enough for this to fit him. And this is also to implement the fact that Ryder could never really become a Vigilante, let alone a Hero. Even if he’s dating a Hero, he will always will be a Villain and I love that for him.

Amaris Voight • Control by Halsey

I'm well acquainted with villains that live in my head // They beg me to write them so they'll never die when I'm dead // And I've grown familiar with villains that live in my head // They beg me to write them so I'll never die when I'm dead // I'm bigger than my body // I'm colder than this home // I'm meaner than my demons // I'm bigger than these bones // And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me" // I can't help this awful energy // God damn right, you should be scared of me // Who is in control?

I was listening to this song while I was thinking about what I wanted to do for Amaris’ future. There is sort of a complexity of whether this means her talking to the citizens she’s meant to protect, her talking to Nathaniel + Areum or just her talking to herself. You can’t just have the amount of power she does while not being able to fully control it and not be wary of her.

Kavan Vekany • Stronger by The Score

Set me on fire // Set me on, set me on fire (whoa, whoa-oh) // I'm still alive // I'm still ali- I'm still alive (whoa) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Higher, faster, everlasting // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Higher, faster, never-crashing // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Stronger // (Stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Stronger // (Stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // I do this with conviction // I write truths and never fiction // My disease is what you fed // I can't stop with my ambition // Like a missile on a mission // I'm a force that you will dread-ead

If The Exile was a series or movie, I can envision this song being played while at the end of Chapter 3, or maybe Chapter 4 since that’s when we maybe talk to Syfin + Trystan + Our Family.

Benjamin Blackwood • My Demons by STARSET

Mayday, mayday // The ship is slowly sinking // They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling // They're all around me circling like vultures // They wanna break me and wash away my colors // Wash away my colors // Take me high and I'll sing // Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay) // We are one and the same // Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away (away, away, away) // Save me if I become // My demons

This is just basically him asking for help, I just haven’t decided if I want this to be romantic or platonic in terms of he’s asking for help from.

Kai Morgenstern • Lovely by Billie Eilish & Khalid

Thought I found a way // Thought I found a way out (found) // But you never go away (never go away) // So I guess I gotta stay now // Oh, I hope some day I'll make it out of here // Even if it takes all night or a hundred years // Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near // Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear // Isn't it lovely, all alone // Heart made of glass, my mind of stone // Tear me to pieces, skin to bone // Hello, welcome home

Kai and her complicated one-sided relationship with the supernatural world. There’s a reason why she has a really high Resistance Stat.

One Quote

Tate Cerati • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

“Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.”

This ties to the moment he found out the truth about Daphne, and Alex. How everything just shattered for him in the blink of an eye. It also ties to other events, like finding out what happened to his mother and during the battle when Daphne dies trying to save him. It's just him not expecting an outcome that would destroy his life, in a sense. The kind of outcome where he has to live with that knowledge knowing there is nothing he could have done to change it.

Brynn Delvaux • They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

“Sometimes the truth is a secret you're keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier.”

I headcanon that she had her suspicions about what Hunters really were. I mean you can't really be that strong and still be human. But keeping it to herself and not investigating further was better than to face the truth because being just like the kind of creatures she was taught to hunt was too much for her to handle. Even after she learns the truth during the story she is still in a bit of denial.

Ryder Vesta • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“Usually we walk around constantly believing ourselves. 'I'm okay' we say. 'I'm alright'. But sometimes the truth arrives on you and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer--it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced.”

I told you about what his childhood, and how he came to be working for the Phoenix Organization, so this fits into him questioning Phoenix and his upbringing. Trying to figure out whether what he was told about his parents abandoning him were true or not, and thinking about what he would do if it weren't. The slow process of finding the truth, thinking that he's okay until it hits the point where he realizes he's actually not okay and not knowing if he is actually strong enough to go against the person he was loyal to.

Amaris Voight • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

“Sometimes, you do things and you do them not because you're thinking but because you're feeling. Because you're feeling too much. And you can't always control the things you do when you're feeling too much.”

Every decision she made after waking up were based on feelings so they are a bit questionable even if they're not exactly bad, like not reaching out to Nathaniel and Areum. But it also fits in terms of her abilities. She has sort of learned how to use her abilities and has trained in order to be able to control her powers but she still doesn’t know the extent to what she can do so sometimes when she’s feeling too much, she can’t really control her abilities and the outcome of that is not always pretty :(

Kavan Vekany • The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3) by Rick Riordan

“Pain is an interesting thing. You think you have reached your limit and you can’t possibly feel more tortured. Then you discover there is still another level of agony. And another level after that.”

After reading the new update, this just fits him so much. Everything he had to go through after [redacted], especially whatever they did in order for him to not be able to fully transform anymore? He’s known pain like never before, and you know it’s bad when even i think it’s too much lmao.

Benjamin Blackwood • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

“He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.”

He grew up thinking that there was only one way of doing things, his father’s way. It never really hit him until he got older. For the majority of his life he just kept on doing what he was told because he thought it was the right thing to do and because he wanted his father to be proud but he was never truly happy. He never stopped to think about that feeling until later on.

Kai Morgenstern • They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

“I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that's gotten me. I'm at the finish line but I never ran the race.”

My favorite girl, who hates life in NMC and being a Keeper in general. She wasn’t exactly “safe” or “cautious” when doing things before the events of kotsam but her life was never in danger, she had everything she wanted. And then, in the form of one car crash and almost being killed, he future just went down the drain and in the span of 2 years (so far) she has had so many near death experiences. She’s just so tired at this point.

[lycaran]

Meet Lonnie

So uh...May have made a Hardenshipping fankid.

His name's Lonnie, an orphan street kid that Archie and Maxie adopted who counts as a fankid in my eyes, god damn it.

I can’t draw muscles or children to save my life.

Originally @cryptidanaphafsi​ did this I with their fankid I believe? 

Info under the cut because I really started to ramble about details...A lot. 

Bad Quality picture, but his adult versions both have a keystone in the middle of their mask that they use for Mega Evolution.

Notes:

RSE canon is Emerald, which leads in Alpha Sapphire in the future, though in this canon way, RSE events get resolved Without a protagonist. Hypothetical game futures for the SM and USUM games.

RSE Version -

-Still living on the streets at this point, 8-10 in age.

-Met a few times over the course of the story, usually found hiding around a corner after an encounter with Maxie or Archie(outside of hideout encounters), seems mostly in awe of how cool the plans seem.

-Selectively mute, if talked to he'll make gestures towards the player but since the player is about ten, all you really get from talking to him is "...."

-Jumpy, running off as soon as the player is done talking

-Vitiligo

-In the Sapphire & Emerald versions of the game, post game, he's absolutely Terrified of Kyogre, developing Aquaphobia as he grows older.

-Sometime post game, Archie and Maxie pick him up bc he still seems to tag along just behind one of them, and hey, the kid needs a home. And when they’ve patched things up, they’re really good dad’s.

ORAS Version, constants-

- Adopted pre-game and raised by Maxie and Archie before they split bc of differing ideals...again.

- Mid-twenties.

- Team Magma Admin.

- Aquaphobia from past trauma, selectively mute.

- I can't draw muscles but he's definitely the strongest person there, thanks to Archie and a bit of Matt.

- As an adult, Vitiligo patches have spread and caused part of his hair to grow in white.

- Personality wise, he's a rather nice man, only really being a sore loser. And takes after Maxie alot in the brains department, including dumbassery. 

- He’s dating both an Aqua Grunt and a Magma Grunt, don’t tell his dads though. A grunt in the Magma hideout asks you if you want to place a bet on that happens when the bosses find out, then realizes you are Not one of the grunts, and runs off.

- Aqua Grunt is named Dew

- Magma Grunt is named Ashe

- I will draw them eventually, they will be mentioned elsewhere.

Omega Ruby -

-he appears somewhat sporadically, usually around Maxie. Fought once at Mossdeep city when the player beats the gym, viewing the player as a threat to Maxie's goal...and wanting to make use of himself, aquaphobia keeping him from following the rest of the team down to the Seafloor Cavern. Team: Crobat, Camerupt, Mightyena, Sealeo.

-A Grunt, Ashe, follows him around and acts as an interpreter. Talking directly to Lonnie is always "..." before the grunt buts in to explain what he's trying to say.

-When defeated by the player, he'll turn to the grunt, signing furiously, only for the grunt to exclaim "I can't say that to a child!" before Lonnie leaves in a huff.

- During the Delta Episode he's fought at the Magma Hideout, without Ashe, absolutely Livid about what Zinnia did to Maxie, and fighting the player as soon as they enter, seeing them as just something else that'll upset his dad. Team: Crobat, Camerupt, Mightyena, Walrein.

- Post Delta Episode, you'll actually find him alone in a house on the Battle Resort. When talked to, he still won't talk, but after interacting with him Maxie walks in to explain that he and his son were there, trying to lay low, relax a bit, and they're waiting on "a certain someone" to show up for a talk.

Alpha Sapphire Version, aka the Canon Version-

- Not very active story wise, always seen rather ominously popping up mere seconds after an interaction with Team Aqua. He doesn't have an interpreter this time, so all the player really gets is "...." then a yes/no text box before he leaves.

- Appears on Mt. Chimney with Maxie to try and stop Team Aqua's little attempt. Maxie will actually translate some of what Lonnie's trying to say, and while it would be nice, he doesn't exactly explain Why Lonnie tends to be tailing Team Aqua, Archie most specifically

-And ho boy. When Kyogre gets awoken, this poor man is having the Worst day.

- In Sootopolis, he's seen quite visibly shaking, signing Something at Archie, who might be having a "Oh shit." moment and a half because his Son is VERY MUCH AFRAID OF WATER, AND VERY MUCH CAN. NOT. SWIM.

- So yeah. Not a fun time.

- Half of what he's signing is ruined by how shaky his hands are. Ashe looks ready to strangle Archie, and Dew is reeling from the reality and Actually starts cursing Archie out as soon as the player leaves to handle Kyogre.

- Tbh if the two boys didn’t start trying to murder Archie first, Maxie might’ve.

- When Kyogre is captured, when the player leaves and all is said and done, he gives the player a piece of Cameruptite with a small little Thank You note.

- Battle Resort/Battle Maison, he is once again found in a house, but this time Maxie is already there. And once the player talks to the two, Archie walks in, but when that happens, the player is asked to leave so they can have a Family chat.

Sun & Moon Games-

- Okay this is just me being self indulgent and including him in my favorite games of the series, plus it’s just neat.

- Basically, he’s there on a honeymoon with Ashe and Dew.

- Even after the teams disbanded, he’s very partial to his Magma outfit. Only real change coming coming from the removal of the Magma symbols on his vest. Still keeping the combined symbols on his mask.

- More or less appears as a cameo. The only reason they’re even having a Honeymoon in Alola is because it has both Water and Volcanos near eachother.

- Shows up in post game, investigating the Altar of the Sunne/Moone as the idea of other worlds really peaked his interest.

- Funny Images: 6′0″ string bean and a 5′7″ man with average muscle trying to carry a 6′5″ man with muscle from hell because the waves touched him and he freaked out.

Ultra Sun & Moon Games - 

- Mostly the same.

- With the addition of the player actually getting his help against Rainbow Rocket

- When reaching the mansion, Lonnie will be there. Along with Ashe and Dew.

- He’ll then “ask” which side the player wants to take on, fighting either Archie or Maxie depending on choice. Vs. Archie, he takes Ashe with him, Vs. Maxie, he takes Dew. The other of his husbands goes with the player to help handle the other boss.

- After this, you can find Lonnie, Dew, and Ashe at the battle tree.

- Funny Images: Trying to get Lonnie onto Aether, a man made island in the middle of the ocean.

Pokespe Version -

- His age is more me throwing darts at a board trying to guess when shit happens.

- He’s alot more playful and joking in this version.

Ruby Sapphire Chapter -

- 16

-Actually adopted prior to the Ruby&Sapphire Chapter, but in a surprising twist, stays mainly with Archie.

- Interacts with Ruby and Sapphire once, maybe twice through the whole Manga.

- Hard for Archie to be intimidating with a giant of a teen in a life jacket clinging to him everytime they get near water, but he makes it work

- He stays with Arche and team Aqua for two reasons and two reasons only

- One, he lacks past trauma with Kyogre in pokespe, thus doesn’t fear water as much and can stand to be around it more. Two, alchoholics scare him more than water ever could.

-Along with that, Archie also has the safer public persona, so win win on his part

- Lonnie, being a teen, does tend to wander though. Barely seen for most of the chapters. When Archie and Maxie have their fight, he's there for a split second, before letting out his Crobat and fleeing.

-I don't have it all ironed out, but basically, the whole battles between Magma and Aqua through the whole arc have slowly built up this fear in Lonnie's brain when it comes to his dad's, and this is the tipping point.

- Sadly, both leaders are a bit preoccupied to notice at first that he's gone, and it's a fullblown panic after the fact.

-Sadly tho, this doesn't slow down their plans. But Blaise and Amber are put in charge of trying to track him down and find him.(Not in a bad way, more in a Extremely worried parents with a missing son way)

- Cue end of arc.

Emerald Arc

-still 16

-Makes brief cameos, he tends to linger around the back.

- Actually, screw it, I'll make this pretty later but he and Emerald do become friends.

- Has a small interaction with Emerald, writing about how he finds his equipment cool, and is in awe of how he calms pokemon.

-And boy oh does this lead to some Fun

- Cut the confrontation with Guile in the cave, the first Jirachi attempt

- Alot changes here.

- First of all, while Jirachi still escapes, Guile lingers for a moment. Looking at Lonnie for a long moment. And while he does 'reflect' back the attacks with his sword, he sends the attack flying off into a wall instead of at Emerald and Lonnie.

- Later, Guile actually snatches the poor kid, pulling off somewhere just to have a few moments to make sure he's okay

- If you know the manga, you know it's gonna be revealed to Lonnie at this point that Guile is, in fact, Archie. And while he tries to avoid the details, he does tell Lonnie he needs Jirachi to fix things

- Lonnie assumes, sadly naive, that this has to do with Maxie and their family. Even asking Archie where his other dad is, only to be met with silence.

- That doesn't settle well with him, actually demanding to know what happens, atleast as much as you can demand when you can’t talk. The last he heard about them was nearly destroying Hoenn so what happened?

- Archie doesn’t tell him, straight up Refuses to tell him what happened.

- This does not go well. Leading to Lonnie once more running off.

- Lonnie keeps in touch with Emerald after the arc is over, basically adopted him as a little brother because they’re both weird looking kids, Emerald being unusually short, and Lonnie having Vitiligo.

- He runs into Amber after this and kind of just, vibes there, treats Amber like an uncle, and that’s who looks after him for the next few years.

ORAS Arc -

- 20

-Lives with Amber, mostly helping the man with fishing and all around, just trying to have someone around he can 'talk' to without needing an interpreter or to write down every word he says.

-Team Aqua....2!

-He does end up joining the New Team Aqua, since he feels more safe with them in Pokespe. Along with this, he’s curious about where they came from and what’s going on here.

-Looks most like my concept sketch for him in this version.

- Eventually just, disepears in the midst of fighting. He's learned enough and doesn't want to face that all.

- Listen when I tell you. When he sees Maxie and Archie, he's pissed.

-And when The Dustening happens...

- He actually does cry. Hell, it's probably the only time he speaks, begging in a hoarse voice he never uses for his dad's to stay there. Just for once. Let them be a family just for Once.

- It doesn't work.

- Funny Images: Emerald, looking up at Lonnie who is like 3-4 times their height: “I AM GOING TO STEAL YOUR KNEECAPS!!!!” Lonnie, amused, signing: “You-can-try.”

-Pokemon Seen: Crobat, Sharpedo, Sandslash.

Sun and Moon Arc -

- 22

-He actually appears here.

- Listen, he's a smart man, and he knows a lot.

-Appears after that small time skip after Sun and Moon disepear through the portals, ultimately he's here investigating the portals.

- He 'talks' with Kukui and Burnet to try and figure out what's going on.

-I don't know how it'd be incorporated, but basically, he's trying to figure out where the Hell his dad's are. And if these Wormholes can help him, by god is he going to use them

- Knows that, most likely, they’re dead and gone for good. But still holds out hope that somewhere out there, they’re still alive.

- He's still wearing the life jacket. Less for Aesthetic, more because he’s scared shitless about being on an island.

- Are this chapter is where he would have started dating Dew and Ashe, having met them when that whole, other Team Aqua & Magma were made in ORAS.

[ishleep22]

Kereshus: The Argonian Water Mage

                                  (Final Reedit I promise)

                                                                                    An Elder scrolls story by Branton Lawrence

On the 26th of Xeech (known to the rest of Tamriel as the 26th of Sun’s Dawn), out of a luminous blue egg came a little Saxhleel boy named Kereshus. Kereshus was a small, relatively skinny Argonian with a unique light blue glowing scale all over his body. These scales are the most prominent on his face with a unique pattern on his forehead. His mother and father were confused by his appearance since no one in their tribe have ever had glowing scales to this extent and with such vibrancy. They took him to the village Tree-Minder and asked him why the hist gave him such distinct details. The Tree-Minder informed the family that he was born with an extraordinarily strong connection to Aetherius. So strong that it had a noticeable impact on his physical appearance. His mother asked why he specifically was given this connection and not his sister. The Tree-Minder told her “The Hist works in ways we will never understand. We will never truly know why your boy here was given such power. All I can tell you is nurture and take care of him. When the time comes, I will send someone to train him in the ways of the different magical schools.” His family left the Tree-Minder to begin caring for the little boy still with many questions on their minds on how to take care of such a gifted child.

Kereshus was born into a family who prided themselves on their warrior skills. His father was a renowned warhero. A giant red Argonian, taller then most high elves and beefier then most orcs. He had tones of scars all over his body from the numerous battles he has been in. His code name was Tyranno, which is known throughout Black Marsh for his victories against Dunmer Slavers and rival tribes. He was extremely strict and to the point. He didn’t play around with anything or anyone no matter who they were. His mother might not have been as well-known as his father(mainly because she’s was a very good assassin/ scout), but she was in every way his equal. She was always there, watching his back from afar or sticking her axe into anyone who got too close to him. She also had a no-crap view of life, but she was a lot less strict and a lot less narrow-minded than he was. They were a perfect duo and anyone who trifled with them found themselves headless. They finally settled down and had 2 children over the many years they were married: One of them was Kereshus the other was his older egg-sister, Am-Lee.

Am-Lee was her birth name, but she very quickly picked up the title Loves-To-Wander. Am-Lee was also a skilled warrior but her true passion was exploring. She loved discovering new places and any chance she would wander off in whatever directions she was facing. This caused some conflict with her father because she would constantly wander off during his lessons. This at first aggravated him to no end because he could see the untapped potential she had as a warrior but instead, she wasted her time climbing trees and going into places she was not supposed to go. But one day he decided to follow her to see what it was she enjoyed about exploring. He found it hard to tail this spry little lizard as she went deeper into the swamp, but he also found it entertaining in a way. After a while climbing, sprinting, and swimming they found a little circular alcove with a cute little pond at the bottom. It was a very strange thing to see in the middle of such a dense portion of the swamp. Am-Lee sat down by the edge of the pond collecting all the odd things she could find. He went up to her and put his hand on her shoulder causing her to go into full defensive mode. She flipped him over her shoulders making him land face-first into the pond. She quickly jumped onto him baring her teeth and claws. Then she realized she had just flipped her dad making her quickly jump off. She expected for him to give her all the forces of oblivion for wandering off and attacking but instead, she got to see him laugh for the first time. “I’m half surprised you didn’t finish the job; Almost cracked my damm skull open,” he said as he stood up. “I see your claws are sharper the I originally thought.” “You aren’t mad at me?” She warily asked. “Mad? No, more like surprised that you are paying attention to me!” “Your head is always in the clouds that I was convinced you that you were too high to hear me!” He chuckled. “When did you find such a beautiful little place?” “I found it 2 weeks ago when we were out hunting.” She told him. “I don’t know why but this place is just so inviting.” “I feel what you mean, little one.” “This place breaths an aura of serenity that you rarely find in these swamps.” “Hey why did you-“ “Tail you from one side of black marsh to another?” “Well because you’re my daughter and I just have to know where in oblivion you wander off to.” “By the hist, you do know what’s out there, right? It’s not safe to tread in these dark waters by yourself especially for a youngling!” “Yes, father, I know of every danger in this swamp. I also know these waters like I know my own scales.” “These waters have swallowed up Saxhleel who thought the same way you do.” “Hmm could have sworn there was only one of me.” She replied.

She prepped herself for the worst of it but again he replied calmly and gently. “You’re right. There is only one of you. Only one Am-Lee, and that’s why I came out here with you. Because I would hate to see such uniqueness disappear into the swamps forever.” She lowered her head, unaware of what to say. “Look, Am-Lee, I know you adore being out here. And I also understand that nothing I do will stop you from coming out here. So, all I ask is that you stay safe and don’t take unnecessary risks. If you see anything that looks a bit off, dive out immediately; understood?” “Yes, sir.” She replied. “That’s my little hatchling. Now come, it’s your brother's hatching day! We finally get to figure out what’s going on with him.” Before they left, her father marked this place down on his map. So, he could easily return here since he wasn’t as good as tracking as Am-Lee was.

When Kereshus was born, Am-Lee became a bit protective of him. I mean he was so skinny, and the blue glow coming off his scales was so intriguing to her. And he’s a magic user, which she had never met before besides the Tree-Minder in her village. She spent every second of her free time just admiring Kereshus and taking care of him. She went from explorer to caretaker in seconds devoting all her time to taking care of him. For some reason, he had a little trouble learning jel, their native language but had an easier time learning basic Tamrielic. He did end up being fluent in both but still, his family took note of the struggle he had to connect with other Argonians in the beginning. When Kereshus got older, Am-Lee and he became close friends with each other who always liked to challenge each other. While Kereshus was still skinny, he could hold his own with a sword even being the only one in the village to go toe-to-toe with his sister. When their father wasn’t training them, she watched Kereshus train in the arts of magic from many mages from all over Tamriel. One of them even showed Kereshus the arts of music, teaching Kereshus how to play the lute. He already had knowledge and a love for drums and other Saxhleel instruments, but the lute quickly became his favorite. He played tunes for his family every now and then until he gained enough courage to play for the entire village. He was shy at first, but he quickly opened up to everyone, and soon, his whole village adored him. He was a quiet, yet charismatic Argonian who loved his family and friends. But he didn’t let this love for his sister make him any less a rival to her.

It was the Annual Village Brawl where Saxhleel tested each other in one round battle until one person yielded. It was Kereshus vs Am-Lee and the whole village was watching. They battled furiously against each other until Kereshus got the upper hand and accidentally slashed her eye. In a panic, he quickly ran to see if she was ok. Am-Lee took advantage of this flipping Kereshus to the ground putting her sword to his neck. “Yield?” She asked. “Yah yah, I yield. Hey, are you ok?” “Kereshus, you know I’m fine. I’ve taken bigger hits from people bigger than you.” “But did those hits leave a mark like that?” “Well, I’m not blind so again it really doesn’t matter.” “I know but- “What did I tell you about this? When I say I’m fine, I’m fine. You know if I wasn’t fine, you’d be the first one to know.” “but- ““By the hist, you worry too much. Come on I have something to show you.” Am-Lee leads Kereshus to that circular alcove that she hadn’t been to in so many years. “What is this place?” Kereshus asked. “A place I found a while ago. I used to come here every day before you were born. It’s still as peaceful as I remember it being.” So why did you bring me here?” “Well for 2 reasons: One I have a question for you and two I have a gift for you.” “Well let’s start with the question; What is it?” I was wondering if you’d like to be my traveling partner. I’ve always loved to explore as you know but I’ve never had anyone to watch my back out here. Father says it's unwise to explore out here by ourselves and I believe him. So, what do you say? You down for it?” Before Kereshus could answer they heard rustling bushes nearby. Whatever was coming wasn’t anything small, so they readied their weapons. Out came a half-naked Argonian, who looked like he was feral. “Are you ok, sir?” Kereshus asked. The man didn’t say a word, just stared at Am-Lee with his teeth bared at her. “Sir, I’m going to need you to calm down. And stop looking at me like that before those beautiful teeth disappear.” He still stood there, staring at Am-Lee. Kereshus whispered to Am-Lee, “Maybe we should just go. I don’t feel like dealing with this today.” “I can't just leave him here; this is my area!” “Well, then you can fight them.” “Them?” Kereshus pointed to the pond as another Argonian raised from it. “Wow Kereshus, never known you to be so thin-scaled.” “I’m not thin-scaled, these guys just make me feel uneasy is all.” “Fine, let’s go then, hatchling.” As they turned to leave, one of the feral Argonians started to bellow.  The water rippled with the vibrations coming from him as the other one also began to bellow back.  As they bellowed, they began to morph. Their bodies morphed into large creatures.  With huge teeth, sharp claws, and eyes full of hate. “Kereshus don’t tell me they-““Turned into Werecrocs? No, why would I even suggest such a terrible thing?” Kereshus and Am-Lee began running back towards the village. Kereshus used his powers to try to slow the Lycan down as Am-Lee tried to get away. But no matter how many tons of water, no matter the electric currents he sent through those streams nothing would stop these 2. They just kept coming and coming like an unrelenting force through the damp swamps. Feeling like nothing he could do would stop them, he stopped running. “What in the hist are you doing, you egg sack?” “I’m holding them off so you can get help.” “But you’ll die, fool.” “I will if you don’t stop flapping your jaw; Go!” Am-Lee left Kereshus to deal with these lycanthropes by himself as she got help.

One of the Werecrocs dashed towards Kereshus, claws outstretched. Kereshus narrowly dodges before the other one rams him into a tree. Kereshus didn’t know if he was hit hard or if the one who rammed him was smiling at him. The croc who lunged at him was about to lung at him again before the other stopped him. While Kereshus was laying on the tree he got a good look at them. The one who rammed him had dark red scales, sprinkled with black dots all over his body. He was taller than the other one and appeared to be a little bit more muscular than him although not by much. The other Werecrocodile had a much more mosey, rugged, and devilish look to him. Scars all over his dark green scales with a gash on his head freakishly like the one he accidentally gave his sister being in almost the same spot.  The red one appeared to be way calmer and more tactical while the green was all twitchy and jumpy. Like he would turn around and pounce on Kereshus at any second. After a monument, the red one walked towards Kereshus. He grabbed Kereshus by his arm and was about to bite it off when Kereshus shot a scalding hot water ball into his mouth with his free hand. In pain, it reeled back letting Kereshus go. Kereshus then attempted to stab him with his sword but was hit with a strong whack of the red one’s tail. Kereshus landed as the other one bolted towards him. Kereshus rolled backwards as the jagged claws of the Mossy Werecroc came crashing down. He then retaliated by throwing mud into its eye as he swung his sword to hit him. The mossy croc closed a translucent membrane over his eyes to block the mud and grabbed Kereshus by the head. He then started to squeeze and squeeze wanting to crush Kereshus head. Kereshus dropped his sword and then blasted the croc back with a mix of water and lightning. As he did this he saw out of the corner of his eye the other red croc’s jaws wide open. He fell backwards as the jaws went right by his head. Kereshus landed right next to his sword, jumping back onto his feet. As he did so the mossy croc had recovered and was again dashing towards Kereshus, this time much more telegraphed due to most likely being weakened water and fire. Kereshus saw an opening and sidestepped the croc shoving his blade deep one of the scars it had on its back. All this did though was get a loud hiss out of it as it appeared to barely be phased by it. Kereshus stumbled onto his feet as an idea pooped into his head. He conjured up a huge wave that sent the 2 Werecrocs flying back. As they came to, Kereshus was nowhere to be seen as he was in the trees. Part of him was tempted to run away but he didn’t want to risk them finding his village. He caught his breath and began trying to think of ways he could finish this fight; if he could at all. “Ok,” He thought to himself,” The green seems to be getting more and more tired. So, if I can separate them and knock them both out, even for a few seconds, I could grab my sword and kill the green one. Maybe then the other one would back off.” He wasn’t 100% down with this idea but it's all he had. He got up from the branch he was sitting on as the two of them began looking for him. Kereshus started to pelt them with high-speed water balls with the occasional lightning strike and fireball.  Both Werecrocs took cover from the volley as Kereshus jumped from tree to tree pushing them to take cover in different positions until they were back in the alcove. Kereshus, still launching spells at them both even though they weren’t hitting, Maneuvered his way to the other side of the pound. While his glowing scales weren’t as bright as they were normally, they were still visible. He stood there, even though a little bloody and beaten, with his glowing scales shining and teeth bearing at them. Looking ready to continue fighting (Even though he knew he barely had any Magicka left in him). The mossy croc roared and ran toward him as the red croc realized that Kereshus had intentionally missed all those shots in the alcove. The mossy croc was an inch away from stepping on the line of runes placed by Kereshus. The red croc reached out to stop him from stepping on the runes, but it was already too late. A massive explosion of water and lightning erupted out of the swamp send both crocs flying. Kereshus took cover behind a tree to avoid the explosion and debris. The red croc went flying backwards into a random part of the swamps and the mossy croc smashed into a tree a yard away from Kereshus. “This is it!” Kereshus exclaimed as he ran over to the limp body of the Werecroc. He jumped on its back and began pulling and pulling trying to get it out. “For the love of the hist, COME ON!” he said straining himself trying to pull it out the blade. “Did he heal over it or something? I can’t be that tired.” “No,” said a deep voice from underneath his feet, “You’re just weak.” Before Kereshus could react the mossy green Werecroc grabbed his tail and launched him off his back. “Damm mages are always a pain to fight. Always hurling fire at your problems.” He said pulling the blade out of his back. He looked down at Kereshus. “My friend was wrong for trying to toy with you thinking we had 2 easy prey for our lord. At least killing you now would most definitely satisfy him.” He broke the sword with his mighty jaws and spit the piece at Kereshus. He grabbed Kereshus by his face neck lifting him off the ground. “Well before I do that…” he says as he punches Kereshus in the face sending him flying into a rock. “One last hit, for my partner.” He said in a deep, eerie voice as he smiled menacingly at him. He sat Kereshus up, getting ready to bite his head off. Kereshus had no fight left in him to resist so he waited for the end to happen. Before the jaws of death could close around his head, he heard the whistle of an arrow come flying through the swamp. Straight into the eyes of the Werecroc. He dropped Kereshus down roar out in pain as multiple more arrows rang out through the forest. Kereshus’ mother and the village hunting party had arrived and started pelting the croc with arrows. And out from overhead, his father came crashing down onto the croc slamming down onto it. He rolled back to his feet with his battle-axe in hand and charged at the Werecroc. Dodging all of the wild attacks of the now half-blind Werecroc, he got several gashes on the Werecroc before it finally fell to its knees out of exhaustion and pain. Kereshus’ father looked it in the eye before embedding his battle-axe into its skull. His father ran over to him wondering if he was too late. His mother and sister were right there behind him. “What happened to the other one?” Am-Lee asked. Kereshus was half-unconscious but was able to point in the direction the dark red Werecroc flew. His father let out a grunt as he led most of the hunting party in that direction. His mother order 2 members to stay and help her. “Get the stretcher, now!” She barked continuing to tend to Kereshus as much as she could. “Hist be praised, you're still alive!” Am-Lee said relieved that she didn’t leave her brother to die. Before he could respond, his mother stopped him. “Shushhh, little one. You’ll get all the time to brag to your sister about how much of a hero you are after you get healed. Right now, I need you to rest.” The other 2 Argonians came back with the stretcher and lifted Kereshus onto it. As they began to walk, Kereshus looked over to Am-Lee getting her to come closer to him. He whispered to her,” I’d be glad to be your traveling partner”, before falling unconscious.

A few months passed by since that entire situation. Although his father had no success in finding the red Werecrocs, they theorized that he was long gone since no one had gone missing nor had anyone seen him. Looking past that both Kereshus and his village were doing extremely well. He had fully recovered from the fight and was feeling better than he ever had. His father was training some of the best shock troopers in all black marsh while his mother became a merchant. She was a great aid to the village's economy but that didn’t stop her from training a squad of elite archers in her free time. While they were in aiding the village’s daily affairs, Kereshus and Am-Lee began exploring. Their adventures took them all over Black Marsh, meeting the different cultures and tribes that inhabited the land. They even started to make plans to explore outside of Black Marsh. Kereshus was keen on visiting Cyrodiil and Elsweyr while Am-Lee wanted to explore Skyrim and Hammerfell. They agreed upon Skyrim, both wanting to explore the ancient Nordic ruins. Kereshus planned on visiting the bard’s college and the College of Winterhold. Both to learn about the Nordic culture and to learn more about magic from the college. But they had to pass through Cyrodiil anyway to reach Skyrim. They said their goodbyes to friends and family (Which for Am-Lee also involved mostly passive-aggressive farewells to all the rivals she had made. Kereshus found the amount of pettiness coming from his sister incredibly hilarious which he predicted was intent.) but for some reason, they couldn’t find their father. “Come to think of it I haven’t seen him all day,” Their mother told them while preparing a meal for them. “Ever since that suspicious dry-skin came into town.” “What suspicious dry-skin?” Kereshus asked. “Some man, think he was imperial.” She replied. “Didn’t say a word or bought anything. Just walked around town and then left.” Was he scoping out our village?” Am-Lee asked with a bit of excitement in her voice that Kereshus knew meant “New adventure!?”. His mother also noticed it and quickly replied, “Hey don’t worry your father’s business when you 2 have business of your own. Isn’t today the day your hatchlings go on your big journey across this continent?” “Yes,” Kereshus responded. “But we were hoping to say goodbye to you and father before we departed.”  “We can wait, Kereshus,” Am-Lee said. “Because I’m not leaving without saying anything to him.” They heard a chuckle from the door to their home. “That would be the first time in your life you said anything before wandering off.” Their father said as he came in. “Didn’t think id miss my young ones leaving over a thin-skinned land strider, did you?” “Father, you’re ok!” Am-Lee exclaimed, reaching to hug him but then hesitated instead giving him a salute. “I’m not your commander right now, Am-Lee.” He spoke in a voice that Kereshus hadn’t heard, ever. “I mean it’s not like you would listen to my commands anyway, you slithery salamander.”  He joked hugging them both. “I could never be prouder of both of you. My finest warriors are ready to explore the world and make names for yourselves.” “Wow, I expected for you to rant to them about staying in the village.” Their mother joked preparing tonight’s meal. He then proceeded to say something to her in Jel that ruffly translates to something incredibly flirtatious (which Kereshus and Am-Lee both fully understood, making them gag at such thoughts). The 4 of them laughed and helped prepared what would most likely be their last meal together for a long while.

Their mother went all out on getting food for this meal. Kereshus’ Swamp Hen and Crayfish salad, Am-lee’s Swamp-eel broth, their father’s favorite giant wasp gizzard with a snail-gin. She even got them freshly sweet rolls from a traveler from Cyrodiil which Am-Lee had gotten Kereshus into eating when he was just learning to speak Tamrielic (being the first word he had said in the language) which became a sort of tradition between them 2 on their hatching days. Although finding a baker who is willing to come to the most dangerous provinces for non-natives for whatever reason is extremely rare even if their part of the swamp is hospitable enough for weekly trade with other cultures. They enjoyed their family moment for a few hours but then his father got the whole village involved in a celebration for his kids with lots of dancing and singing that even the foreigners got involved. But Kereshus felt off like his own essence was being sucked from him. Am-Lee noticed from the crowd she was in and went over to check on him. “What’s wrong? Couldn’t handle the Phlegmwine?” She laughed punching him in the shoulder. He didn’t respond to this as he fell into a pond behind him. Am-Lee was about to make another joke when she was gagged and turned invisible. Another invisible figure came towards Kereshus and dragged him into the marsh.

“Wake up!” Someone said harshly. Kereshus and Am-Lee woke up bound together. The boards around him slowly shaking from side to side and the sound of waves all around him indicated to Kereshus that they were on a boat. Where they were going was one thing he couldn't tell however.  “Ah our 2 guests of honor are finally awake it seems.”  Said cloaked figure standing in the shadows. “Hey, who are you and where have you taken us!” Am-Lee hissed. “Where you are doesn’t matter. I would be concerned with your lives.” “Why don’t you stop acting like a tuff guy from the shadows and show yourself?” Out of the shadows came a Dunmer, a dark elf. “Who are you?” Kereshus asked. “Someone you, or anyone you know, doesn’t even know. Someone who has a… slight problem with your father.” “Ok but how about you take your problem up with him,” Am-lee growled. “or are you afraid that he would tear you in half.” The elf chuckled at the comment “It would be like that monster to rip someone apart.” Kereshus tried to muster up power for a spell, but nothing seemed to work. “You think you could just blow your way out of here? Welp not with those cuffs on.” He said this while pointing to the cuffs Kereshus had on. “Only Mephala knows how hard it was to get you 2 n’wahs. Your mother is always checking for food that has been tampered with. But all we needed was a tiny amount of Magicka draining laced sweet rolls that only you, my glowing friend, could notice. Then getting your sister was just so trivial in comparison.” What do you want from us? Kereshus asked. “Oh, I just need you two as a message. For any scaly barbarians who think they can burn down my land! And take those who I loved from me.” He sat there staring at the dagger in his hands. “When our father finds out about- “Am-Lee started before getting cut off by a thump to the head by the pommel of his sword.  “Silence, Lizard! Save your voice for what's about to happen next.” The Dunmer pulls out a coin that he had in his pocket. “You see this? Your fate rests in this septim. If it lands on its head, then the girl lives. If tails, then the boy lives. Since I only need one of you alive for this message to your father, let’s just see which one of you has miss fortune’s favor.” Kereshus begins to plead with the elf. “Please, sir! You don’t have to do-“” “There is no need for you to even try talking me out of this, n’wah. It won’t stop what’s coming.” Kereshus and Am-Lee Looked at each other into each other’s eyes. Both fearing what was going to happen to the other one. The elf flips the coin high into the air. As it flew, Kereshus prayed that the coin would land on its head. Am-Lee prayed the opposite, that the coin would land on its tail. Before the coin landed, the elf caught it midair. He unsheathed his sword saying the words: “Sorry, my dear. It seems that luck isn’t on your side.” As he walked up to her Kereshus started to plead with the mer, yet his words fell upon deaf ears. Am-lee calmy told Kereshus “Don’t let this dry skin stop our plans. Once you killed this thin-scaled fool, continue our journey to Skyrim. Explore a few dungeons, meet the locals, and practice more of that magical stuff even more for me, Egg-brother.” After she said this, the elf grabbed her by her horns and slowly slid his blade across her throat. Kereshus roared out gaining a surge of energy coming to him as he fries the cuffs into nothing more than just burnt leather, he charges at the mer tackling him into the ground, digging into his flesh with his bare claws. Other people from above the deck came down when they heard the yells from the hooded dark elf. They drew their weapons while the more magically inclined ones summoned hellish whips that they swung at Kereshus. Kereshus dodged those and proceeded to launch everyone back onto the deck in a large tidal wave coming from his finger tips. A few either snapped their backs from the force they were launched into the hull of the boat or just completely going overboard. He knew he was running on only his biological energy right now since the cuffs had kept him from regaining Magicka. So, with the little amount of energy, he had left in hobbled his way back to his sister who was limp on the ground. He fell next to it. He physically couldn’t move or walk anymore so he crawled toward her trying to heal her. But sadly, it was too late. All that he could bring out of her were a few words: “Keep wandering, for me, please?”

Kereshus woke in a cage. The only things that were in there were a bed and a bucket. Kereshus didn’t care that he was now a slave, he cared more about his sister he had lost. He grabbed his head and began to whimper. He had no other feelings but sadness. Not only did he lose his sister, but he had also lost his best friend. He failed to protect the only person he had to. He let his father, mother, and most importantly himself down. He sat there whimpering until someone knocked on his cell door. It was a young Dunmer woman who came with a tray of food. “Is everything alright, sera?” Kereshus said nothing, blocking his face with his legs. The women looked around to see if there were any guards around and then opened the cage. She sat down in front of Kereshus putting the tray on his bed. “Look you’ve been in here crying for a few hours now. The guard half wanted to knock you out again, but I stopped them. Those boneheads.” Kereshus still sat there saying absolutely nothing. “Alright, I understand we aren’t technically supposed to be having this conversation. I also understand that you don’t trust me for good reasons. But can you at least eat this so that you don’t starve to death?” She picks up the tray and places it in front of him. As she leaves, moves his knees from in front of his face. “Kereshus. My name is Kereshus.” “Well hello Kereshus, my name is Verlanna.”

Verlanna came to Kereshus multiple times a week to bring him food. With each visit, she sat down to have talks with Kereshus. He started to open up to her, teaching her about Argonian culture and his village. He told the story of how he took on 2 Werecrocodiles by himself, which he still was surprised that he had done. Over time, he opened up about his family and his sister. Even opened up about his sister’s death. Verlanna was horrified hearing and what happened. And disgusted that the man she considered a friend would ever do such a thing. She wanted to do something about it, she was sickened by the mistreatment of these people at the heads of slave masters. So, she and a group of like-minded Dunmer plotted a revolt. They would need a distraction to free the slaves. Verlanna suggested that they get Kereshus’ father involved. He's leading a group of elite Argonian shellbacks would be a perfect distraction allowing all the slaves to be freed. Also, his family would want revenge for their daughter’s death. So, she set out to visit Kereshus’ village to meet his father and plan Kereshus’ escape much to Kereshus’ worry that his father would do to her. Upon arrival, Verlanna was met with an incredibly angry Argonian and afraid-looking outsiders who he had kept at the village ever since that night. Kereshus’ father was not in the mood to deal with a Dunmer when she saw her until she told him about Kereshus which got his attention. At first, he almost killed her right there if it wasn’t for Kereshus’ mother intervening. Verlanna proved to him that Kereshus was alive by telling the stories he told her and that she planned to save him. He asked about Am-Lee’s fate which she reluctantly told him her fate which they began to sob. “So that voice we heard that day must have been our little hatchling. Her last words carried over the winds by the hist to us.” “I am truly sorry for your loss. And Id likes to help you in getting your son out of captivity.” Verlanna suggested. “How would you help us? Haven’t your people done enough to mine?” Kereshus’ mother said with a sobby growl. “I have a plan to getting him and other slaves out. There are those of us who think our traditions of slavery need to go. But I can only do that with your help.” They both whipped their tears off their faces and went full battle strategist mode. The plan was to distract the guards with a frontal assault while Verlanna’s people got the slaves and non-combatants out. While Verlanna wanted to avoid bloodshed entirely the only option was to minimize death that was already going to happen.

“We are under attack!” Verlanna yells as she runs into the compound. “By whom?” Her old friend asked. “Him.” He knew who she was referring to, so he quickly ordered his men to ready themselves for battle. He grabbed his blade out of his office and ran outside. Verlanna grabbed the key and ran down to Kereshus’ room. She opened the cage and released Kereshus from his cuffs. “Come on we have to go!” “Where is he! Where is that murder!” Kereshus hissed loudly. “He’s probably already been captured by your father’s troops. Now we have to go!” They left the building grouping up with his father and his mother. In front of them there he stood. Before anyone could say anything, Kereshus leaped onto the man tearing into him with his claws. He then proceeded to beat his face in with a rock. Verlanna pulled Kereshus away from him but all that was left was a mer that was unrecognizable. A bloody mess laying on the ground. This didn’t make Kereshus feel any better, however. His father walked up to him putting his hand on his shoulder. “That worthless piece of meat deserved more. “I couldn’t save her.” Kereshus sobbed. “No one could. Even with your being as gifted as you are. His father helped him to his feet. “Did you find her? Kereshus asked. “Yes, we did. We’re taking her back to be laid to rest in the marsh.” Kereshus feared her body was lost forever hearing that they found her body put some relief in his mind. “Come young one, you’ve been through a lot.”

And so there Kereshus was, watching his other half sink into the mud of the marsh. With the rumbles of the village singing in Jel, with low sounds resonating in their bodies, somberly moving their tails across the grass of the marsh. Afterward, Kereshus had a long talk with his father and mother about what to do next. The words Kereshus heard didn't come from Am-Lee, but instead come from her final thoughts as she passed on. Water magic was a rare skill that not only gave him power over water but also the power to control what was in water: memories. When a mortal dies, while their body decomposes into the earth and their soul goes to whatever god they believe in or demon that has enslaved him, Their memories flow into the rivers an oceans of Nirn. Kereshus had tried this skill before but was unsuccessful in all of his attempts to do it consciously. He doesn't know how he did it but he some how projected his sisters final words into the minds of his family so that they all could hear her one final time. While the words Am-Lee spoke still lurked in their minds they didn’t want to split up. Nor did they think it was a good idea for all of them to leave the village. They decided to let Kereshus go to Skyrim after having multiple hour-long prayer sessions with the hist for almost 2 more months. With the help of Verlanna, who got him a boat to Skyrim, they planned his journey in the name of Am-Lee. But before Kereshus sets of his father gave him something. “We had meant to give you these things before… that day.” “What are they?” Kereshus asked. “It’s a silver sword for when you run into any of those demon werecreatures.” It was a finely made sword, that looked like it was made by the same smith that made his. “Also, here your sister made this for you.” It was a drum, nicely made woven together by multiple bits from around the swamp. The sound it made when Kereshus hit it was so nice on his ears. He sat there staring at it for a minute before the boat arrived. He gave his mother and father a very long and loving hug. He also said his goodbyes and greatly thanked Verlanna for all her help and then set off to wander Tamriel in his sister’s name.