#Fic: Black Moon Heresy | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

alteredphoenix · 5 years ago

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Red Fruit (WIP)(Sailor Moon/Madoka novelette)

A/N: This is an old WIP from July 10, 2015, as part of a crossover series between Sailor Moon and Madoka Magica, in an AU in which (and I put this in the simplest terms possible, because 2015!AlteredPhoenix was and still is super big on metaphysics and ontology) the cast of Madoka existed in a more high fantasy/military fantasy, Warcraft-inspired version of the Silver Millennium and were also reincarnated in the present day but in a separate timeline outside the Sailor Moon continuum. In this AU, all the planets of the universe were Earth-like and existed within their own Dyson Sphere, but the fall of the Millennium and Queen Serenity’s sacrifice (here described as an event called the Diaspora that is remembered now only by the remnants of the Mau race that exist in the shadows) saw the natural balance of life and death torn asunder and persist in atmospheres that they are known for today.

When constructing the series (which went under the name “Until We Meet Again”, although that version is old and discontinued, but is planned to be salvaged in some capacity and can be read on Fanfiction.net), my goal was to make the girls of Madoka deviatory from their canon personalities. Here Kyoko is a nondenominational girl that is very much anti-police and anti-establishment. She does not have faith in the pantheon of Mars and cares little for the interplanetary affairs that prelude the war that would destroy the Golden Age of the Silver Millennium. This fic would have her be put in the crosshairs of Mars’ law force and see her sentenced to serve as a pack mule to Endymion and his Four Guardians as they go on a mission (that I can’t remember the life of me what it was).

This mission would change Kyoko’s worldview and mold her as the person she is depicted in canon, and would carry over into the main AU story in the present, post-Rebellion world that would see her and Sayaka jump through timelines trying to reclaim Goddess!Madoka from hiding from Devil Homura’s hunt to recapture her.

(Mami would be elsewhere in the present day Sailor Moon timeline (which, at the time of that story, “A Passing Glance”, set it around 2017), infected with a parasitic version of Walpurgisnacht that is only held at bay by Nagisa’s watchful eye and the hope that Rei will purge and cauterize the blight before it overcomes Mami.)

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in seeing them?” said the voice, and Kyoko nearly dropped the apple she was holding.

Tightening her grip on it, she glanced behind her to see Mami and her damn pleated fan, unfolded to display a watercolor scene of flying fish with their oval mouths open to swallow the stars; a sleepy, rural village basked beneath a sky full of alien moons. It was a surreal image, one she did not understand, and staring at it for too long made her nerves itch in the way sliding a rusted nail down a used chalkboard would. “With all the noise they’re making, it’s hard not to ignore them,” she said, and peered over the balcony. “Look how garish they dress! Are they supposed to be soldiers or stoplights?”

Mami joined her and studied the cavalcade of men marching down the cobblestone road. She studied their uniforms for a moment—sharp, finely-pressed plated suits ranging from black to royal blue to ashy grey. “They look like they could blend right in at night.”

“Not those guys! The ones grouped around tall, dark, and pale.” Kyoko nodded their way, just as they were crossing beneath them.

Mami finally saw the quintet and nodded. “Ah, Prince Endymion and his Four Heavenly Kings. I don’t see King Aethlius among them. He must be in the Basilica with the other dignitaries and magistrates.”

“I don’t care about the King or any of that drivel!”

“Then what troubles you?”

“Just look! They’re not wearing any helmets! They’re not blending with the rest of the crowd! A sniper could put a round in every one of their heads and they wouldn’t even know what hit them!”

Mami watched the rest of the procession arrive. “I highly doubt an enemy of the state would risk his life attempting an assassination with this many people.” She waved the fan airily at her face. “We can’t see them from this angle, more or less be able to even if we tried, but the Talonites are all around us. They know all the secret places of the Forum as well as the Eternal Flame knows all about them.”

“So say I throw this apple at blondie there,” Kyoko said, pointing at one of the Kings with short, wavy hair the color of wheat. “Or that guy with the bleached roots.” She indicated a taller male towering over his brothers and Prince. “Would the gods see fit to cast a compulsion on their warrior-priests and make me spontaneously combust with a snap of their fingers? Or perhaps someone will jump out of these very shadows and turn me into a pile of ash with a single swipe of his uchiwa?”

“Any and all threats will be dealt with, depending on how severe the order the High Priests gives them,” said Mami. “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste precious food.” She leveled a pointed stare at the bag of apples pressed against the other girl’s chest.

Kyoko scoffed. “It’s not wasting food. It’s sustenance and makes for good ammunition.” She sank her teeth into the fruit and chewed.

Mami sighed. “Not only would you face possible death to the warrior-priests, the local merchants would have your head if they hear about it.”

“Why should they? There’s plenty of arable land, and no one’s howling for blood this year. Human sacrifices are so last millennium.”

“The Republic of Mars hasn’t been ‘howling for blood’ in over seventy-five years, since before the King’s father Aeolus passed away,” Mami groaned. “Must you always sleep through history, Kyoko?”

“None of that matters to me,” she said, and dropped the apple core into the bag; she was not about to incur Mami’s ire over leaving her spoils in a place that wasn’t a container or trash receptacle. “It shouldn’t matter to you, either. You’re not from here so that’d be understandable. But why should I go through all the trouble learning about the history of the Alliance when it’s written by gods-fearing victors?”

“You shouldn’t say that!” Mami shouted, and started, surprised at her outburst. Her cheeks coloring, she looked over the balcony and saw that the retinue had come and gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Need I remind you the consequences for spouting heresy?”

Kyoko rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I’ve heard it all: the forty lashes, exile by vote of majority, the public stoning, the burning at the stake. ‘S nothing new.”

“You can’t just say stuff like that in a place like the Republic, especially in a region that boasts the highest population of Talonites and religious adherents on the entire planet.”

“I’m entitled to my rights just as much as the next person.” She pulled another apple out of the bag, polished it off against her shirt, and took a hefty bite from it. “’Tough titty,’ said the kitty.”

“Kyoko,” said Mami, and the tone of her voice was like tempered steel, “you’ve been warned twice by the political police. If it happens one more time,” her eyebrows knotted worryingly. “If it happens one more time,” she pushed on, more softly, “we’ll never see each other again.”

Kyoko stopped, no longer feeling hungry. She sighed, dropped the apple into the bag and wiped her hand of its juices against the brown paper. “Mami—“

“Have you ever stopped and wondered what your family thinks about you?” Mami asked suddenly. “What your neighbors must think? When they see you with the heretics, the non-believers, taking to the streets, wreaking havoc and disrupting the peace with your beliefs, what do you think goes through their minds?”

Kyoko’s mouth went dry, her tongue arid as the red deserts that lend credence to Mars’ name. For one brief, absurd moment, she kicked herself for not having brought something to relieve her thirst. “Hey now…I’ve never actually hurt anyone. The ones that incite all the riots and clashes with the police…I’m not part o’ that crowd.”

“But surely you were a part of them?”

“Well, when I’m tryin’ to get away from everything, then yeah, I have to push and shove my way through. I’ve gotten into a few scraps, but it’s not like I cause them. There’s a reason for getting off scot-free and claiming self-defense by having the aggressor throw the first punch.”

“And for everything else? Do you put a halt to evening traffic and topple vehicles to delay the opposition in their pursuit? Do you fight back with restricted magic as per the laws of the Basilica Carta? Do you vandalize holy sites like the Face of Vulcan? Have you been injured by a Talonite and asked yourself ‘I will give unto him what he has given unto me tenfold’?”

“I don’t regret what I do,” Kyoko said testily. “I’ve been beaten and kicked like a sack of rice while being pinned down and bound by spellweavers. I’ve been sent to jail and harassed by officers and prisoners alike that my efforts weren’t worth the trouble. I nearly had my hair burnt to a crisp by one of those priestly chaps. Hell, at one point I got trampled by my like-minded brothers and sisters making a hasty retreat and almost died.”

“But have you?” Mami snapped the fan closed and jabbed it under the girl’s nose.

Kyoko growled and swiped at it, but Mami was faster and pulled away before the fan could be ripped from her grasp. “So what if I have? I’m human! I don’t claim to be perfect or a saint! Not like you,” she grumbled the last part.

“I am as imperfect and sinful as you are,” Mami said, frowning tiredly. “As are the free peoples of the Alliance and the far-flung races of the known universe. But you must be careful, Kyoko! The sons and daughters of Kagutsuchi will not tolerate any more of your antics.”

“They’re not antics! And I’m not afraid of those flame-worshipping lapdogs. They’re going to have to do more than dress like festival dancers to scare me.”

“You’ll be scared when they come into your house one night and drag you out—by force—to the execution grounds,” Mami snapped, and then, more softly, “No amount of pleading on the behalf of your family will sway them to ignore the Word bestowed by their elders…or that of the Eternal Flame. Peace, Kyoko, must be maintained…and you’re not helping.”

Kyoko sighed, ran a hand through her hair. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me, Mami.”

“I want to believe that,” she said, turning away. She looked out beyond the conical spires of the high-rises, past the cupolas and lighted braziers of the Church of the King of the Hunt, to the horizon. It looked like rain, and where there was rain there would be lightning and thunder, and there would be fire. Vicious, hungry fire, dancing and out of control. “I want to, but I can’t bring myself to. Something’s got to give.”

“You mean something I’ve got to give.” And she wasn’t going to. Not her beliefs. Not her cause. Not her life. Nothing.

“How else are you going to stop them? It’s either that or you’ll die.” Mami looked at Kyoko, and her face was long and haggard and sorrowful. “And I don’t want you to die. I will heal any injuries you might sustain or ease any anger or worries you might have, but I can’t cure death.”

“Ah, yes. Death. The Talonites can stamp out religious persecution and all manner of crime, but they can’t stop what’s inevitable.” Kyoko gathered the bag in both arms and, putting all her weight into her haunches, pushed herself onto the balls of her feet and rose. She joined Mami at the balcony and breathed in a lungful of air through her nose. The air was charged, thick and heavy with the coming downpour. It was pure and refreshing, but it was nothing like the smoky, sulfurous odor flames were wont to exude. “Kinda ironic, isn’t it?”

Mami nodded. “Aye. But for the phoenix that builds its nest atop the tallest mountain and sets itself ablaze, it rises anew from the ashes.”

“It’s just a bird,” Kyoko scoffed.

Mami sighed and pressed the tip of the fan to her forehead, brow furrowed in resignation. “Once again, you fail to see my point. Kyoko, I won’t ask you to promise me not to get into any more trouble than you already are…but at the very least try to stay out of it. I’m not always going to be there for you when you need a place to hide or words to whitewash any misgivings. I’m only here until summer’s end and—”

“’I won’t be here forever.’ I get it. Thanks for the warning, Mom.” Kyoko quashed the guilt skewering her breast at the hurt that flashed across Mami’s face. She couldn’t let that bother her. Not here, and especially not in front of Mami. She could feel like shit later, away from everything in the privacy of her home.

“Very well,” Mami said calmly, stiffly. “I entrust you to be on your…ahem, best behavior. As you were.” She stuck the fan into her waistband and glided past Kyoko, as a skimmer does on the surface of a still lake.

#sailor moon #puella magi madoka magica #kyoko sakura #mami tomoe #fanfiction #preview #mywriting

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merflk · 7 years ago

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give yourself to another night

Pairing: andromeda black x ted tonks Words: 1347 Link: ao3

for @ff-sunset-oasis because her tedromeda fic just murdered me

Andromeda Black liked things to add up. It was the only way she could properly deal with things – her parents, her upbringing, her education. It needed to fit. Even her friends. It was why she liked the house system so much: it was ordered. It was efficient.

When things didn’t add up, she would get frustrated. Her instinctive reaction was denial, but she already tried to fight that. These things did exist, and in their own way they had to add up. She just had to find that way.

Yet she had never been as dedicated to figuring out how something added up as she was with Theodora Tonks – Ted.

He was a Ravenclaw, and it suited him. He liked knowledge. He liked facts. He liked puzzles. He liked the stars. They were alike, in that way. Sometimes, late at night, when she snuck out of her room to look at the night sky, he was already at the top of the astronomy tower. She never showed herself to him, but she liked finding him there.

But Ted was more than just a Ravenclaw. Ted was… strange. It wasn’t just the fact that he was a metamorphmagus. It wasn’t that he chose to look like a boy at all times. She didn’t understand it, but at least it was consistent. He didn’t hide who he was, and she respected that about him. She respected the pragmatic way he kept correcting the teachers who called him Theodora.

The thing about Ted Tonks that didn’t add up was mostly how he made her feel.

She understood him. She could read him easily, even when she knew others couldn’t. She saw the passion he had for certain subjects, the kindness that shone through in small gestures – and mostly the pain.

God, he was in so much pain. And it wasn’t just the name. Yes, she saw him wince slightly at times when someone called him ‘she’. At other times, his expression went blank, as if he was forcing it to bounce off him. But there was more to it. There was a longing in his pain, a hopelessness. As if he wanted more somehow.

He was just like her.

It was something that still astonished her every time she realised it. She had never met anyone who reminded her of herself this way – especially since she’d never really spoken to him. She’d caught his eye, once or twice. He’d smiled at her then and she wondered if he knew how much she understood. Whether he could see it too.

Maybe she was delusional. But that didn’t add up either.

It attracted her, this understanding of him. She’d always been perceptive, but not like this. She wanted to know more.

She didn’t know how she finally gained the courage to approach him one night in the astronomy tower. Normally, she’d turn around and find another spot. But she had been watching him for two years and her longing got the better of her.

She wanted to be understood too.

Andromeda pushed open the door further and saw him notice it from the corner of his eye. He turned his head towards her in surprise, but he didn’t speak to her. After a second or two, he smiled.

She smiled back tentatively and joined him where he was standing in silence. He seemed unsure where the situation was taking him, but when she quietly turned to look at the sky, he went along with it.

“I like the stars,” Andromeda said, and it was all she could get out of her mouth.

She glanced at Ted, because she had noticed he always tried to look the person he was having a conversation with in the eye. And, yes, he was turning to look at her as well.

“So do I,” he said.

“I know,” she answered, “I’ve seen you here before.”

“Why didn’t you join me?”

She turned back to the stars, because there was no way she could look him in the eye if they were having this conversation. “I suppose I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” he urged gently.

“I never quite know.”

He nodded and looked back at the stars as well. Just with that nod, that sign of comprehension, Andromeda wanted to cry. She felt the treacherous tears well up in her eyes, but she forced them down. This was not the time for crying. This was her very first conversation with Ted Tonks.

“Did you know the muggles are planning on going to the moon?”

Andromeda looked at Ted in surprise. To the moon?

“No,” she said, “How would they do that?”

“They are building a machine,” he told her with a smile, “That’s going to take them there.”

Andromeda let out a deep breath. To the moon... “That sounds wonderful.”

“If I wasn’t a wizard, I might have joined them.”

Andromeda felt a pulse of truth rage through her chest and, before she could stop herself, it spilled over her lips. “If I wasn’t a witch, I might have joined them too.”

He looked over at her in surprise and she felt a blush come on. That could have gone for heresy in her family, and they both knew it.

But she liked surprising him. She liked letting him… know her.

“Can you imagine being near a star?” she asked him, her voice still shaking, heading back into safer territory.

“Of course.”

When she looked at him this time, he had a grin on his face and oh God, that should be illegal. Still, she managed to arch an eyebrow in a questioning manner.

“Your name is Andromeda, isn’t it?” he explained.

And that was it, she was done for, she was gone, she had gone up, straight into space, she had started flying, flying, flying…

She nodded.

“It’s funny you like the stars so much, with that name,” Ted said with a smile.

Andromeda pursed her lips. “Hardly. Many of my family are named after constellations.”

He nodded. “That’s a fair point.”

They looked at the stars quietly for a little while.

“What’s your favourite?” she then whispered.

He pointed up, a slow drag of his arm to the sky like he was lifting his wand for a spell. “The morning star.” Ted looked at her. “What’s yours?”

The stars were reflected in Andromeda’s eyes, and for a moment she felt like they entered her bloodstream and became a part of her. “I don’t have one,” she whispered back.

They looked at each other and, again, she felt like she had shared something personal. Their conversation felt intimate.

A breeze crossed the astronomy tower and Andromeda tugged at her sleeve against the cold. In doing so, she briefly brushed Ted’s hand, and it startled them both. For a moment, they just looked at each other, wide-eyed. Then Andromeda started stumbling back.

“I-I should go back to bed. To sleep.” She added the latter almost horrified at him thinking she was inviting him.

“Yes, of course,” Ted muttered as a response, his eyes on her. Then, he seemed to shake himself from his trance. He approached her. “Let me walk you back.”

“Oh, no, that’s really not necessary,” Andromeda said as she moved backwards without turning away from him, “It’s much easier to be spotted when you’re with two instead of one. I’ll be fine.”

He halted and she thought she saw a little disappointment in his eyes.

“I will see you tomorrow,” Andromeda offered bravely.

His eyes lit up again. “Yes,” he said.

“Bye Ted,” she said, before turning the corner and quickly heading back to her dorm. Her heart was pounding in her chest and adrenaline was coursing through her as though she had fought a dragon instead of had a conversation with a boy.

She could feel a dreadful inevitability settle over her. For a moment, it made her wish she had never approached him. It felt like something had been set in motion – something inescapable. Like the arrows of a clock had started moving, suddenly.

And they were pointing straight at her.

#tedromeda #hp #hp fanfic #ff-sunset-oasis #hprarepairnet #ted x andromeda

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doom-cookie1 · 5 months ago

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Chapter 1. There Is No Moon In Hell

When Sitara had left her cloister in Waterdeep to embark on her quest to Baldur's Gate, she hadn't been sure what to expect. She knew only that she had to go and that, according to her mentor, she would 'do that which she had always been destined to do.' She had not needed to know more, her faith and trust in her godess unquestionable.

That being said, waking up on a Nautiloid ship after having an illithid tadpole slither its way behind her eyeball wasn't exactly the start to her adventure she had been hoping for. Did she mention that said Nautiloid ship was currently hurtling through Avernus with no signs of stopping? So far, her 'destiny' sucked.

At least she wasn't alone. An intellect devourer and a Githyanki made for odd companions, but Lae'zel was an effective fighter and Us seemed content to follow her command, at least for the moment. Which was good, because Sitara was feeling much weaker in terms of power than she should.

She had maybe two good spells in her, after that she'd be relying on the mace in her hand and a handful of cantrips. Whether that was because Avernus had no moon, or the tadpole had weakened her, she couldn't be sure. Either way, there was no time to dwell, Us had led them into a larger control room. Not that Sitara had time to really look around before her attention was drawn to the pod on the left side of the room.

"You!" The woman inside screamed, pounding on the glass. "Get me out of this damn thing!"

"We have no time for stragglers!" Lae'zel asserted.

"I'm not just going to leave her here," Sitara replied.

"Hey," she said, addressing the woman, "I'm going to get you out of there, alright? Just hang on."

The woman seemed to relax some at her words. "Try that contraption next to the pod, they did something to it when they sealed me in."

Sitara examined the odd machine. It, like the rest of the the ship, was an amalgamation of alien technology and living tissue. She couldn't make much sense of it, but there did look to be a slot for something to be placed inside.

"It looks like it needs some kind of key," she said.

"The one that locked me in here went through there," the woman told her and gestured towards the nearest sphincter-like door.

"I'll be right back," Sitara promised her.

"Hurry, please!" She begged, voice once again bordering on hysterical.

Sitara took off and Lae'zel followed. She was a bit surprised the Githyanki hadn't abandoned her, but she was grateful all the same. There would be time for thanks later, though. Provided they survived.

There was another pod in the room, another woman trapped inside. Sitara approached with no hesitation and banged on the glass.

"Hey, can you hear me!?" She shouted. But the woman inside gave no response.

"Leave her," Lae'zel said. "She appears half-dead already. The other one at least looks capable of fighting."

Sitara glared, but did not argue. Lae'zel wasn't wrong, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She silently begged the trapped woman's forgiveness before moving on to the dead woman on the floor.

A quick search of her pockets revealed a strange rune stone, perfectly shaped for the slot on the living machine. As she ran back down the small stair case, she stopped at what she assumed was the control panel. It looked similar to one that needed a key, but there was no slot for one.

As Sitara placed her hand against it, her head pulsed with the connection. Whatever was on the other end of the machine was giving an order, commanding the woman in the pod to -

Change.

Sitara yanked her hand from the machine as if it had burned her. Behind her, the half-dead woman woke and began to scream.

"Oh, no," she whispered under her breath.She rounded the side of the pod quickly to look inside. She wished she hadn't.

It is one thing, to read about how mind flayers are born. How the flesh splits and bones break. But to see it for herself, to hear it, the gory wet sounds and cracking bones. The inhuman screeching and clicking from newformed vocal chords, a mockery of a baby's first cry.

"Kaincha, changed at the pull of a lever. How?" Lae'zel exclaimed. "If we are not purified, this may be our fate."

'No', Sitara thought. 'It cannot be.' Whatever destiny Selûne had in mind for her, becoming illithid was not it, of that much she was certain.

"I'm sorry," She said softly to the creature in the pod as she backed towards the door. "I'm sorry."

Sitara returned to the other room and placed the rune in its designated slot. She reached her hand out to the machine. . . and hesitated. Would it change her, like the other?

The woman in question pressed herself as close to the glass as she could.

"What are you waiting for? Open it!"

Save her or damn her, either way Sitara could not stay idle. She whispered a quick prayer under her breath and made contact with the console.

That strange tingling flooded into her mind again, only this time instead of listening to a command meant for another, she felt that she could give one.

'Open,' she thought, and pushed her will into the neural pathway of the machine.

A hitch.

A click.

And the sound of released pressure as the lid of the pod rose up and the woman inside pitched forward as she fell out.

Sitara darted forward, just managing to catch her before she hit the ground, arms wrapped tight around her waist.

"Easy, easy, get your feet under you," she said as the woman gripped her shoulders and slowly straightened up.

"I though that damn thing was going to be my coffin," she breathed. "Thank you-"

They both flinched back from eachother as their minds connected. The woman was indeed thankful, but a wariness clung to her thoughts. She distrusted Lae'zel's presence, and the intellect devourer.

The connection faded as the Githyanki crossed her arms and glared, but remained silent.

"You keep dangerous company," the woman spoke.

"More like she's keeping me," Sitara said. "Besides, dangerous company is what you need in a fight."

"Fair point," she agreed. "Looks like there's plenty of fighting ahead. Let me come with you, we can get off this ship and watch each other's backs along the way."

"I'll take all the help I can get. I'm Sitara, and that's Us," she gestured to the little brain. "Don't worry, Us isn't a threat for now, thinks we're thralls."

"Shadowheart," she introduced herself. An interesting name, Sitara wondered if she chose it herself or if her parents named her such. "One moment," she said, and turned back to the pod and fished something out of the bottom.

"What's that?" Sitara asked. She hadn't gotten a good look, but maybe it was some kind of weapon, like the throwing bulbs she'd found on some of dead mind flayers.

"It's nothing, trust me."

"Enough of this chatter," Lae'zel cut in impatiently. "We need to get to the helm. Now!"

"She's right," Shadowheart nodded. "Lead on."

It was like the set up to a bad joke. Two half-elfs, a Githyanki, a Mind Flayer and a Cambion, all converge on the helm of a crashing Nautiloid ship. Which one of them would manage to land the damn thing?

Sitara herself, it turned out, and only barely. The Cambion had managed to kill the Mind Flayer fairly quickly, and had wasted no time in turning his flaming sword on them.

Lae'zel had held her own against him well enough with help from Us as Sitara and Shadowheart made their way to the transponder, picking off the small fry. Sitara had used her two good spells to heal Lae'zel from a distance as best she could, and still the Githyanki looked to be hanging on by a thread when Sitara finally reached the tentacled transponder.

As soon as she touched it, she could understand its function. This ship could travel near anywhere in the realms, but there was only one Sitara was concerned with.

Just as she put the necessary tentacles together, a giant red dragon slammed itself into the side of the ship! Sitara was frozen with fear as it stuck it's head inside and blew a column of fire straight at her. The ship lurched at she lost her footing, threatening to send her flying! She held on to the fleshy machinery through sheer force of will, and with a final push, managed to grab onto the controls.

'Faerûn,' she commanded, and the ship gave a hard jolt as it warped from one realm to another. A deep metallic groan sounded from deep in the ship as the already damaged vessel finally cracked in two and began to fall in earnest.

Sitara could feel the return of the moons presence in her soul, but it wouldn't do her much good as she fell to the ground.

'Please,' she prayed, 'this cannot be the end.'

Just as she was about to make contact with the ground, she suddenly stopped, and a masculine voice spoke inside her head.

'It is not.'

Sitara dropped the last few feet onto the sand and knew no more

#Bg3 #bg3 tav #bg3 shadowheart #shadowheart x tav #My tav: Sitara #Bg3 fic #Adding a little more flavor to the 'canon' events to make it more interesting #Not sure how much I'll end up deviating but *shrug* just kinda going with the flow #Fic: Black Moon Heresy

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doom-cookie1 · 5 months ago

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Black Moon Heresy

Chapter 2. Strength In Numbers

Can't think of better company.

(Unedited)

Sitara had loved the ocean from the first time she saw it when she was a child, newly arrived to Waterdeep. She could taste the salt on the air, hear the waves crashing, smell the faint hint of brine. Later that night, as she lay against the window of her new room, a storm rolled in. Lightning had lit the sky in searing flashes and rain had pelted against the window so hard she thought they would shatter. She could feel the thunder reverberate in her chest, like the very atmosphere was purring.

She had fallen in love with the storm as surely as she had the moon. The tempest domain was perhaps uncommon for most Selûnite clerics, but did not the moon control the tides? Her mentor had agreed, and said it suited her well.

All this to say that when Sitara first stirred awake, for a moment she thought she was back in her initiate rooms, the sound of soft waves lapping at the shore just outside her window. The memories rushed back quickly, however. The horror of the tadpole squirming into her head, the blazing fires of Avernus, her fast made allies and the fight that followed. That last thought spurred her to action and she groaned as she finally got up from the sand. If she was alive, perhaps they were, too. She should find them.

Sitara took stock of herself as she stood. She was a little battered and bruised, had some sand in a few unmentionable places, but overall, none the worse for wear. Already, she could feel she was stronger than she had been on the ship, more able to call on the divine power granted to her by Selûne.

She didn't have to look long before finding one of her ship companions. Shadowheart lay still in the sand, her armor blocking any sign that she might be breathing.

'Please don't be dead,' Sitara thought as she approached. As much as she felt stronger for being back in Faerûn, Revivify felt far beyond her.

Sitara took the chance to study the other woman as she knelt down. She was a fellow cleric, that was certain from the spells she'd cast on the ship. Who did she serve? The black stones set in her armor would suggest. . . But, no. Not even Sitara's own armor made her faith so obvious, and a Sharran would have even less reason to advertise themselves. Just a cosmetic choice, perhaps, or a god Sitara was unfamiliar with.

She was holding that strange object in her hand. She hadn't used it on the Nautiloid, so maybe it wasn't a weapon after all. Whatever it was, it seemed important to Shadowheart somehow. Best to leave it be.

Sitara reached out to shake the other woman awake, and her eyes snapped open on a startled gasp.

"You're alive!" She exclaimed as she stood. "I'm alive! How is this possible?"

"I was hoping you might know that," Sitara replied.

"I remember the ship," Shadowheart spoke slowly, her brow creased in concentration. "I remember falling. . . Then nothing. I just woke up here."

Sitara gestured wide, "I don't suppose you know where 'here' is?"

"No," she shook her head. "I don't recognize this place. But anything's an improvement on where we just came from. First thing's first. We need supplies, shelter, and most of all a healer. We might have escaped, but we still have these little monsters in our heads."

"'We?' You want to stay together?" Sitara asked.

"We need each other, and we both know what's at stake. Can't think of better company," Shadowheart shrugged.

"Neither can I. Good to properly meet you, Shadowheart," Sitara stuck her hand out in greeting.

"Good to properly meet you, Sitara," Shadowheart grasped her hand in a firm hold. Her skin was warm and mostly soft, with a few calluses where she must grip her mace. "One more thing, just before we go. I wanted to thank you again for freeing me. It would've been all to easy for you to run right past my pod, but you didn't. I'll remember that."

Her face was soft with her earnest thanks. Not for the first time, Sitara found herself thinking she was pretty.

She smiled at the other woman. "I'd do it again. Come on, let's get going, maybe we can find our githyanki friend."

Shadowhearts own faint smile dropped. "I wouldn't be so quick to call her a friend. Looks like she abandoned us."

"She fell off that ship the same as we did," Sitara reminded her. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere. She wasn't looking well before the crash, could be she needs help. Besides, we never would have made it without her."

Shadowheart scoffed.

"What, you got some sort of problem with githyanki?" Sitara asked.

"More like githyanki have a problem with everyone else," the woman spit. "But, if we find her, fine. I suppose it's only fair to return the favor."

Find her they did, along with a couple other similarly afflicted companions. A pale elven man by the name of Astarion, and Gale of Waterdeep, a human wizard.

'A merry band we make,' Sitara thought as they set up camp. Lae'zel and Shadowheart kept shooting glares at eachother. Astarion, though quick with the charm while conversing, seemed at a loss of what to do otherwise. Gale seemed to be adjusting the best, but was just this side of too jovial for it to be anything more than a front.

With the sun set and camp made, it would be time to offer prayer soon. She'd check in with Gale first.

"Go to hell."

Or maybe not.

"Just got back actually and I've got to say, not for me."

"Ha! You're a good sport," he laughed.

As he spoke more on the topic of hell and their uninvited guests, Sitara walked closer until she stood at his side and stared into the fire with him.

"Believe me, I understand your concern," she told him. "But I'm not too worried. We'll find someone who can help us. I can't imagine Selûne would send me on a quest just to have me turn into an illithid on my first day." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Have a little faith, Gale. We are not abandoned."

His answering smile was a bit strained. Sitara wisely did not mention it. "Faith, right," he said. "I suppose you're right. Let's be up with the lark! Find a healer before the wee one gets hungry."

Just as Sitara was going to check in with Astarion next, Shadowheart caught her eye and made a gesture for her to come over.

"What were you two talking about?" She asked. Though it sounded suspiciously like a demand.

"Good evening to you, too," Sitara replied with a raised brow. "And what do you mean?"

"You and Gale," she sneered.

"He seemed a little down, so I checked in on him. We were just discussing the next steps," she explained.

"I see." Shadowheart nodded her understanding, but her tone remained. . . Petulant, Sitara thought. "I'd be careful with Gale."

"You don't trust Gale?" Sitara thought he came off a little proud, bordering on arrogant, but he wasn't unpleasant to be around.

"He's a wizard. All they care about is power."

"You don't like the Gith, you don't like wizards, is there anyone you tolerate?" Sitara asked.

"Your presence has yet to aggravate me," she shrugged. "In any case, let's hope we rapidly find a healer. You seem reliable, I think you know how important it is that we find someone who can cure us. Best if we focus on that."

Sitara sighed, a part of her wanted to press the issue of the other clerics' attitude, but she supposed discretion was the better part of valor. She wisely kept her mouth shut. She seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight.

"Agreed," she told her. "The sooner we find someone to help us, the better."

"Good. We might even get lucky and find one right away. As I see it, we're overdue some good fortune. Rest well."

Sitara planned to do just that. Astarion and Lae'zel had volunteered to keep watch, so she was hopeful about actually getting some shut-eye.

Tomorrow the real work would begin.

#bg3 #Bg3 fic #Bg3 tav #shadowheart bg3 #shadowheart x tav #bg3 gale #My tav: Sitara #Fic: Black Moon Heresy #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 fanfiction

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doom-cookie1 · 5 months ago

Text

Rating: Mature

Relationship: Shadowheart/Tav

Tags: Cleric of Selûne Tav, Slow Burn Romance, Fast burn passion, blasphemous flirting, and they were parallels!, (oh my god they were parallels), Astarion lives for the drama, Sitara - I can make her better, Shadowheart- I can make her worse, right in front of everybody's salad

Chapter 2. Strength In Numbers

Can't think of better company.

#bg3 #Bg3 fic #Bg3 tav #bg3 shadowheart #shadowheart x tav #Fic: Black Moon Heresy #My tav: Sitara #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 fanfiction

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doom-cookie1 · 5 months ago

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Now cleaned up and on ao3

Chapter 1. There Is No Moon In Hell

"You!" The woman inside screamed, pounding on the glass. "Get me out of this damn thing!"

"We have no time for stragglers!" Lae'zel asserted.

"I'm not just going to leave her here," Sitara replied.

"Hey," she said, addressing the woman, "I'm going to get you out of there, alright? Just hang on."

The woman seemed to relax some at her words. "Try that contraption next to the pod, they did something to it when they sealed me in."

"It looks like it needs some kind of key," she said.

"The one that locked me in here went through there," the woman told her and gestured towards the nearest sphincter-like door.

"I'll be right back," Sitara promised her.

"Hurry, please!" She begged, voice once again bordering on hysterical.

There was another pod in the room, another woman trapped inside. Sitara approached with no hesitation and banged on the glass.

"Hey, can you hear me!?" She shouted. But the woman inside gave no response.

"Leave her," Lae'zel said. "She appears half-dead already. The other one at least looks capable of fighting."

Sitara glared, but did not argue. Lae'zel wasn't wrong, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She silently begged the trapped woman's forgiveness before moving on to the dead woman on the floor.

As Sitara placed her hand against it, her head pulsed with the connection. Whatever was on the other end of the machine was giving an order, commanding the woman in the pod to -

Change.

Sitara yanked her hand from the machine as if it had burned her. Behind her, the half-dead woman woke and began to scream.

"Oh, no," she whispered under her breath.She rounded the side of the pod quickly to look inside. She wished she hadn't.

"Kaincha, changed at the pull of a lever. How?" Lae'zel exclaimed. "If we are not purified, this may be our fate."

'No', Sitara thought. 'It cannot be.' Whatever destiny Selûne had in mind for her, becoming illithid was not it, of that much she was certain.

"I'm sorry," She said softly to the creature in the pod as she backed towards the door. "I'm sorry."

Sitara returned to the other room and placed the rune in its designated slot. She reached her hand out to the machine. . . and hesitated. Would it change her, like the other?

The woman in question pressed herself as close to the glass as she could.

"What are you waiting for? Open it!"

Save her or damn her, either way Sitara could not stay idle. She whispered a quick prayer under her breath and made contact with the console.

That strange tingling flooded into her mind again, only this time instead of listening to a command meant for another, she felt that she could give one.

'Open,' she thought, and pushed her will into the neural pathway of the machine.

A hitch.

A click.

And the sound of released pressure as the lid of the pod rose up and the woman inside pitched forward as she fell out.

Sitara darted forward, just managing to catch her before she hit the ground, arms wrapped tight around her waist.

"Easy, easy, get your feet under you," she said as the woman gripped her shoulders and slowly straightened up.

"I though that damn thing was going to be my coffin," she breathed. "Thank you-"

They both flinched back from eachother as their minds connected. The woman was indeed thankful, but a wariness clung to her thoughts. She distrusted Lae'zel's presence, and the intellect devourer.

The connection faded as the Githyanki crossed her arms and glared, but remained silent.

"You keep dangerous company," the woman spoke.

"More like she's keeping me," Sitara said. "Besides, dangerous company is what you need in a fight."

"Fair point," she agreed. "Looks like there's plenty of fighting ahead. Let me come with you, we can get off this ship and watch each other's backs along the way."

"I'll take all the help I can get. I'm Sitara, and that's Us," she gestured to the little brain. "Don't worry, Us isn't a threat for now, thinks we're thralls."

"What's that?" Sitara asked. She hadn't gotten a good look, but maybe it was some kind of weapon, like the throwing bulbs she'd found on some of dead mind flayers.

"It's nothing, trust me."

"Enough of this chatter," Lae'zel cut in impatiently. "We need to get to the helm. Now!"

"She's right," Shadowheart nodded. "Lead on."

Sitara herself, it turned out, and only barely. The Cambion had managed to kill the Mind Flayer fairly quickly, and had wasted no time in turning his flaming sword on them.

As soon as she touched it, she could understand its function. This ship could travel near anywhere in the realms, but there was only one Sitara was concerned with.

Sitara could feel the return of the moons presence in her soul, but it wouldn't do her much good as she fell to the ground.

'Please,' she prayed, 'this cannot be the end.'

Just as she was about to make contact with the ground, she suddenly stopped, and a masculine voice spoke inside her head.

'It is not.'

Sitara dropped the last few feet onto the sand and knew no more

#Bg3 #bg3 tav #bg3 shadowheart #shadowheart x tav #My tav: Sitara #Bg3 fic #Fic: Black Moon Heresy

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doom-cookie1 · 5 months ago

Text

Cleaned up and on ao3

Black Moon Heresy

Chapter 2. Strength In Numbers

Can't think of better company.

(Unedited)

She didn't have to look long before finding one of her ship companions. Shadowheart lay still in the sand, her armor blocking any sign that she might be breathing.

'Please don't be dead,' Sitara thought as she approached. As much as she felt stronger for being back in Faerûn, Revivify felt far beyond her.

Sitara reached out to shake the other woman awake, and her eyes snapped open on a startled gasp.

"You're alive!" She exclaimed as she stood. "I'm alive! How is this possible?"

"I was hoping you might know that," Sitara replied.

"I remember the ship," Shadowheart spoke slowly, her brow creased in concentration. "I remember falling. . . Then nothing. I just woke up here."

Sitara gestured wide, "I don't suppose you know where 'here' is?"

"'We?' You want to stay together?" Sitara asked.

"We need each other, and we both know what's at stake. Can't think of better company," Shadowheart shrugged.

"Neither can I. Good to properly meet you, Shadowheart," Sitara stuck her hand out in greeting.

Her face was soft with her earnest thanks. Not for the first time, Sitara found herself thinking she was pretty.

She smiled at the other woman. "I'd do it again. Come on, let's get going, maybe we can find our githyanki friend."

Shadowhearts own faint smile dropped. "I wouldn't be so quick to call her a friend. Looks like she abandoned us."

Shadowheart scoffed.

"What, you got some sort of problem with githyanki?" Sitara asked.

"More like githyanki have a problem with everyone else," the woman spit. "But, if we find her, fine. I suppose it's only fair to return the favor."

Find her they did, along with a couple other similarly afflicted companions. A pale elven man by the name of Astarion, and Gale of Waterdeep, a human wizard.

With the sun set and camp made, it would be time to offer prayer soon. She'd check in with Gale first.

"Go to hell."

Or maybe not.

"Just got back actually and I've got to say, not for me."

"Ha! You're a good sport," he laughed.

As he spoke more on the topic of hell and their uninvited guests, Sitara walked closer until she stood at his side and stared into the fire with him.

His answering smile was a bit strained. Sitara wisely did not mention it. "Faith, right," he said. "I suppose you're right. Let's be up with the lark! Find a healer before the wee one gets hungry."

Just as Sitara was going to check in with Astarion next, Shadowheart caught her eye and made a gesture for her to come over.

"What were you two talking about?" She asked. Though it sounded suspiciously like a demand.

"Good evening to you, too," Sitara replied with a raised brow. "And what do you mean?"

"You and Gale," she sneered.

"He seemed a little down, so I checked in on him. We were just discussing the next steps," she explained.

"I see." Shadowheart nodded her understanding, but her tone remained. . . Petulant, Sitara thought. "I'd be careful with Gale."

"You don't trust Gale?" Sitara thought he came off a little proud, bordering on arrogant, but he wasn't unpleasant to be around.

"He's a wizard. All they care about is power."

"You don't like the Gith, you don't like wizards, is there anyone you tolerate?" Sitara asked.

"Agreed," she told her. "The sooner we find someone to help us, the better."

"Good. We might even get lucky and find one right away. As I see it, we're overdue some good fortune. Rest well."

Sitara planned to do just that. Astarion and Lae'zel had volunteered to keep watch, so she was hopeful about actually getting some shut-eye.

Tomorrow the real work would begin.

#bg3 #Bg3 fic #Bg3 tav #shadowheart bg3 #shadowheart x tav #Fic: Black Moon Heresy #My tav: Sitara #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 fanfiction

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