#I can summon found family wherever I go

[brickleandfickle]

POV: You're Dieter and you are trying to convince Tenma to not abandon you mid-story nor go down the path of murder.

[vividxpages]

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅ home is wherever you are ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚

pairing: Jacaerys Velaryon x fem!Reader

words: 13k

summary: As the Christmas holidays approach, your parents summon you home to attend a business dinner with the Hightowers and secure a possible match with one of Alicent’s sons. With no intention to go, you spend the weeks of December with your boyfriend Jacaerys and your friends at Hogwarts, but as the holidays draw closer, you find yourself crumbling underneath your worries and it’s only a matter of time until Jace finds out…

A festive Hogwarts x HotD story.

warnings: Gryffindor head boy!Jace x pureblood!reader (they’re in seventh year), established relationship, fluff, festive and cozy vibes, kissing and making out, , bastardphobia, discrimination, the Targaryens are a legendary family of dragon tamers & riders, anxiety and bad coping mechanisms, Quidditch, vaginal fingering, handjobs, angst, burn injuries, mental breakdown, hurt/comfort, Christmas, happy ending, hopeful ending

a/n: this fic poured out of me within five days, so I am so excited to finally post it. if you don't like reading long fics on tumblr, you can also read it here on my ao3 account! Please consider leaving kudos or a comment on there if you like it.

Happy festive season to all of you ❤️

December at Hogwarts was a breath of cold sharp air and a warm blanket by the fire, both at once.

The cozy and freezing season showed itself at best in its contrasts at the castle by the lake, the bright snow all around it with the earthy colors on the inside, every fire and candle lit within the corridors and rooms of the school. There were only a few weeks left until Christmas and the atmosphere at the school was welcoming and cozy as ever, the air smelling of cinnamon and peppermint, pine and gingerbread.

In every corner, the preparations for the festivities could be spotted, whether students were having snowball fights near the forest or muttering spells into the Christmas cookies so they remained warm and soft throughout the week. In the cold landscape, groups of friends went on a snowy walk and board games were played in the evenings while others knitted Christmas sweaters or wrapped their presents until it’d be too late to give them out to their friends at Hogwarts.

In the middle of it all, there was you.

You were the only daughter of an old and proud pureblood family, a cruel fate of the stars which never had been easy for you.

As a child, you had often wondered if you were a changeling, misplaced on the wrong doorstep, a flower doomed to try her best to blossom between a thousand thorns. Going to Hogwarts and finding a home in those warm halls had been a blessing, but the relationship with your strict parents had only complicated itself more, until it eventually became a twisted and ugly thing. The situation at home only worsened for you since they somehow had found out you were dating Jacaerys Velaryon.

Their already disobedient and free-minded daughter with the dark-haired wanna-be Targaryen, son of Rhaenya Targaryen who they had sided against ever since the deep rift in the biggest and richest dynasty of wizards and witches had opened. It was a scandal, to know this illegitimate half-blood sullied your good name and virtue.

Of course, they had tried to talk some sense into you on many occasions, their words like poison clouding your mind until you knew one thing for sure; you hated them. And you were never going to end things with Jacaerys simply because they despised the match between you two.

With the Christmas holidays soon approaching, letters from your parents’ estate in the countryside had started to arrive and so far, each of them had been burned by a quick whisper from your lips. Instead, you were ignoring all your worries and pushed them far away into the back of your mind and simply by spending time with your boyfriend, it had worked out well for you, so far.

Falling in love with Jacaerys Velaryon had been as easy as choosing your wand all this time ago, as feeling the first magic of your life prickle beneath your fingertips.

Since you had been assigned to the same House, your paths had crossed often but briefly and something inside of you had always been mesmerized by him. As head boy and bright heir of Rhaenyra Targaryen, he was a wanted man, making it difficult at first to get to know him even as you lived and studied close to one another.

The way his addictive laugh echoed across the corridors when he walked with his younger brother Luke or his quidditch team, how he could lose himself in deep concentration during his studies and he achieved greatness to follow his mother’s grand reputation. It all only added to the quiet fascination you nurtured for him, his good looks and charming personality a dangerous fuel to the fire. While hard-working and ambitious, he was kind and courageous and when you finally became acquaintances through your friendship with Baela, you knew this could either end well or in complete heartbreak for you.

With your friend groups mixing, the two of you had danced around each other for the longest time. And while you really had tried to see him as a friend, your thoughts kept returning to wondering how it might be to kiss him, to hold his hand while you walked around Hogwarts, to know all of him and to be known by him.

It finally had hit you one day in Potions, when the amortentia you’d been asked to brew had started to smell like Jace’s quidditch jumper, his cologne and a unique scent of salt and fire. You had looked over at him in shock and to your surprise, he had already been staring at you, his own kettle a soft pink, similar to the bow you often wore in your hair…

It had been summer and with the privileges of the 6th year, you had been allowed to go stargazing on top of the Astronomy Tower. You had sat beside Jace, his jacket draped over your shoulders as your feet had dangled over the edge. When the first shooting star had passed by and everyone gasped in delight around you, Jace and you had only eyes for each other until he finally bridged the last little bit of distance between you and kissed you softly.

That night, you had fallen asleep together, sharing one sleeping bag as you giggled together in the darkness and shared kisses, every new one more daring than the last…

Ever since then, Jacaerys and you had been a dream team, the golden Head Boy and Quidditch star and the smartest girl of Gryffindor House.

Today, it was a quiet evening at the common room, only a few students still mingling around after dinner at the Great Hall. Jace and you had finished up early, taking a small plate of creamy tiramisu with you on the way to secure your favorite spot on the old and comfortably sofa by the fireplace.

The shadows of the flames warmed your legs as you read in a book, your hand absently brushing through Jace’s hair. Your boyfriend’s head rested in your lap, tiny and pleasant shivers going through him at your affections while he wrote a letter to his mother, his fingertips stained by the dark ink.

While Rhaenyra was a famous and feared auror, one of the best out there and honored multiple times for her dangerous missions against evil, she was one of the most loving people you knew, although you had not met her personally yet. But you heard how fondly Baela and Rhaena spoke of her, how often little care packages from home arrived for Jace and Luke, the brothers living separately at Hogwarts through Luke’s division into Ravenclaw where he was friends with Rhaena, but never being found too far apart from each other.

There was a comfortable silence between the two of you and from time to time, you fed Jace some Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and made him guess the flavors while you ate some of the sherbet lemons you couldn’t get enough of.

“And?” You asked, smiling at the way Jace’s brows furrowed in concentration.

“Hmm.” Jace traced little patterns on your knee, the closest part of you he could reach as he was stretched out on the couch. “It’s minty, but there’s something else in it. Maybe- ugh, fir resin?!”

You laughed as he grimaced, handing him the next one as you laid your book aside for the night. Jace chewed on the candy for a little more than a second before he looked up at you, grinning. “Oh, easy. Your lip gloss.”

“Huh?”

“It’s cherry.”

You snorted and rolled your eyes at him affectionately before leaning down and capturing his lips with a slow kiss. Your hair framed his face and he arched up to meet you, a delicate hand on your cheek as you kissed, blind and uncaring for everything else in the world around you. Maybe you could sneak out tonight, to your little secluded spot in the greenhouse?

“Ay, keep it together, there’s kids around here.” A deep, amused voice greeted you and Jace and you separated to see Cregan sitting down in front of the sofa, a knowing grin on the Quidditch keeper’s face as he looked at the pair of you.

“Good evening, Cregan.” You said overly polite and he barked out a laugh, grabbing one of your red gummy vines for himself as Jace sat up with a slight groan, placing the letter to his mother on the little table beside you. Instinctively, you leaned into his side, snuggling beneath his arm as the softness of his red and gold sweater caressed your cheek.

“I didn’t want to interrupt the two of you-“

Jace gave him a look. “But you did.”

“-but I wanted to ask if you’re coming to the 7th year student’s farewell party for the old year?” Cregan smiled at you, a nice sight since the wolf of the north was often serious around others, all duty and honor, but a secret softie at heart. “It’s happening next weekend. There’s gonna be lots of booze and music. There’s just one tiny thing that might piss you off, Jace.”

You looked at your boyfriend who furrowed his brows. “What is it?”

“Your uncles will be there too.” Cregan confessed darkly. “I would have objected but one of the other guys thought it’d be hilarious to have their asses there. Invites are already out. Sorry, man.”

You felt Jace tense beside you, his nostrils flaring at the thought of Aegon and Aemond walking into his common room. They were a delicate subject to him and you knew about the complicated tryst within his big family divided by the Targaryen and the Hightower side. They were powerful and influential with their great dynasty of dragon riders and tamers, yet they chose to shred each other to pieces. The mistrust ran deeply and the fact that they all were part of the most influential and powerful wizard family of the country didn’t help.

Aegon and Aemond, similar to Jace and Luke, were known around the halls of Hogwarts, but unlike the dark-haired brothers, they used it to their advantage, looking down on others and bathing in their admiration and fear to equal parts. Their younger sister Helaena had become yours and the twin’s friend, but she was the only sweet soul on her side of the Targaryen family.

Earlier this year, the tensions between the boys had escalated when Aemond had provoked Luke to the point where Jace had to drag his brother away from their uncle as he threw insults at him, the fight the top gossip subject in the next weeks. You knew what they whispered about Jace and Luke. Dirty bastards. Half-bloods. To people like your parents or the Hightowers, it was an insult, a curse. It was all a bunch of bullshit.

“Hey.” You said softly and rested your hand on Jace’s arm, drawing him out of his spiraling thoughts. You knew him all too well after all and at your touch, Jace softened a little, leaning back into the deep cushions of the couch. “We want to go, right? It’s probably the last big gathering before the season’s break. Surely you won’t let them ruin your night, Jace. Let them come, their words mean nothing.”

Cregan remained silent in front of you, patiently waiting through the silent exchange between the two of you. Jace squeezed your hand in his and then nodded, turning back to Cregan. “We’ll be there. Now hit the showers, man, you still reek of training.”

Your shared friend left with a triumphant grin and as the crackling of the wooden logs took over the quietness of the room again, you sighed and sneaked your hand underneath Jace’s sweater to warm yourself, your head resting on his shoulder.

“It’ll be okay.” You murmured, knowing the matter most likely had not left Jace’s mind yet. “There will be so many other students, we likely won’t even see them all night. Our group doesn’t want to hang out with them anyway, Jace.”

“I know.” Jace replied quietly, staring into the flames, the brown of his eyes shining like embers. “It’s not just Luke or me I’m worried about. I also don’t want you to get hurt by them. They are such pieces of shit, always causing trouble, if they’ll come near you…”

“I’ll hex them.” You suggested brightly and successfully lured a smile out of your Jace. “If they’re acting up, I’ll teach them a lesson. I can be very protective of the ones I love, too, you know?”

“Yeah…” Jace smiled at you, smitten and adoring of your courage and carefreeness. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear and gently cupped your cheek, getting lost in your eyes. “One of the endless reasons I love you.”

“I love you too.” You whispered back, leaning into his touch. “Screw them, we are going to have our fun, okay? Deal?”

“Deal.”

You smiled back, biting your lip in consideration. “I believe we have been doing something of most importance before Stark interrupted us, wouldn’t you agree?”

Jace laughed, back to his smiley self around you and pulled you closer by the waist. “Oh, I agree wholeheartedly.”

You sighed as Jacaerys kissed you again, his lips slowly moving against yours as shivers ran down your spine despite the warm fireplace. You tilted your head to the side, gladly letting him take over the lead and granting his tongue entrance. At your side, your bag of candy rustled, but neither of you cared as you got lost in each other, Jace making sure to show you exactly how much he loved and appreciated you before it was time to separate and go to bed…

⋆｡˚❆˚ ｡⋆

When the weekend came, Jace and you met down in the common room early to have breakfast at the Great Hall together. After pancakes and oatmeal, you had met with Luke and a few of his Ravenclaw friends to take a trip to the snowy Hogsmeade.

There were no time restrictions for you anymore with the both of you being in 7th year now and you were giddy and excited during the long walk, laughing as Jace started a snowball fight with Luke when about half of the way was done.

With your destination reached, you two separated from Luke and went straight to Honeydukes while Luke went off to go to Zonko's Joke Shop. You laced your fingers together with Jace’s and pulled him into the sweets store, sighing at the delicious smell of caramel popcorn and cotton candy.

Together, you browsed through the shelves and tried the little samples of your favorites, occasionally sharing a tooth-rooting sweet kiss. You brought a bag of chocolate frogs for Baela later, who was on prefect duty today and accompanied the 3rd year students to their first Hogsmeade trip, and a small treat for Jace and you to share. At the cash register, Jace stood close beside you and sneaked one hand into the back pocket of your jeans, making you blush and smile as you paid up.

Out in the snow again, Jace stopped by at the post office to send off his letter to Rhaenyra, quickly slipping a tiny hearty bone into it, which he had shrunken with magic and would later become a very monstrous snack for his dragon Vermax. For obvious reasons, no Targaryen kid could take their dragon to Hogwarts with them and so, Jace often missed his companion, although Helaena had crocheted him a mini-version when they were in year four.

Stepping outside, Jacaerys smiled at you as you bit off a gummy red vine and kissed your red nose. “Should we go to the Three Broomsticks Inn? It’s barely afternoon, we still have time.”

You sighed leaning into his side as you began to walk. “Yes, please.” At the thought of hot chocolate and the cozy atmosphere at the inn, your heart screamed for warmth.

“Come on then.” Jace kissed your temple and laid his arm around you. “Drinks are on me.” As always when you were out with him.

Usually, at least three of Jace’s mates were hanging around the inn, but today everyone seemed to prepare for the party back at the castle, so Jace and you were on your own, slipping into your favorite booth way back in the taproom where it was quiet and always a good hideout to make out with each other.

Laughing as Jace shook out his snowy hair, you skipped the bench opposite of his right away and made yourself comfortable on his knee. After ordering two butterbeers, you dove into your bag of candy and chatted about the classes you’d have together next week and what homework still needed to be finished until then. You were entirely uninterrupted here, in your own little world as Jace lazily caressed your body and peppered your neck with little kisses, the busy noises from the main room not reaching you at all.

 All too soon, it was time to make your way back. The snow had fallen thickly overnight and there was no doubt now that Christmas was approaching fast. At your side, Jace laughed at you as you stuck out your tongue and tried to catch a snowflake with it, his feet nearly slipping on a frozen puddle which made you giggle in return.

You always had liked the path leading back from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, mostly because Jace and you could be alone and chat without anyone listening, especially the lower year’s little reporters who often wanted his opinions for their magazines. Now, you were walking hand in hand as Jace carried your purchases from the village for you when suddenly, your beloved owl came into view below the clouds and fir trees near the road.

“What’s Darling doing here?” Jace looked at you with curiosity as the owl briefly sat down on your shoulder and let an envelope sink into your hand. With a quick feathery nuzzle against your cheek, she launched herself into the air again and took off to the tower where she lived with her companions.

You stared down at the letter in your hands.

The paper was a tasteful black and dark blue and when you saw your own initials on the unbroken seal up front, you knew exactly who had sent you mail on the weekend.

“I’ll open it later.” You smiled blandly at Jace, stuffing the letter into the pocket of your coat and taking his hand again to walk back to the castle with him. “Let’s go, we’ll miss dinner if we loiter.”

Hours later, you were staring into space, zoned out although the large room around you was crowded and very much in the best party mood possible. The common room was full to the brim, chatter and music from the old stereo in the corner buzzing in your room. Everyone had wanted to join the last unofficial party of the year before going home to their families and students kept pouring in through the open door.

In the crowd, you could spot Baela and Rhaena, laughing with Luke and handing out little glasses with a suspiciously green content that smelled sharply of mint and liquor. Cregan had found a comfy spot in one of the big armchairs, passionately kissing a girl from Hufflepuff while some of your other friends were dancing carefreely.

Just yesterday, you would’ve been one of them.

But the words of your mother from the letter were replaying themselves in your mind over and over again.

The message towards you had been short and clear, yet full of hidden meaning; Your father and I expect you to join us for the holidays this year. We are to be guests at the Hightower’s estate. They are a respectable family and good allies of us and you will do your best to impress Alicent’s sons. A match with a powerful heir like they are is only suited and overdue for a young woman like you. We expect you home on the afternoon of the 21th.

In need to quieten the noise in your mind, you chugged your shot of firewhisky back, grimacing at the strong taste exploding on your tongue and squeezing your eyes shut for a moment. There was a familiar touch to your side and you were snapped out of your thoughts as Jace came up behind you, sneaking both his arms around your waist and drawing you closer.

“Hey, beautiful.” He murmured in your ear, pecking your cheek affectionately. “Is everything alright?”

You took a deep breath and turned around in his arms. Becoming a little weak in the knees at the sight of your handsome boyfriend, you nodded and leaned close as his hands stroked up your spine and played with your hair. In his dark red sweater and freshly washed hair, he looked particularly good tonight, a slight flush of warmth painting his cheeks.

“I’m just a little sleepy.” It wasn’t a lie, not really. “I think the trip to Hogsmeade today tired me out a little.”

Jace looked at you with soft eyes, lowering his voice and offering: “We could go upstairs and cuddle, if you want? It’s just a stupid party.”

Your heart melted at his offer, the knowledge he’d drop everything to make sure you were comfortable doing something to your already tender being today. Jacaerys made you so happy…why couldn’t your parents simply see that and accept it? You silently scolded yourself for returning to your parents again. You were eager to forget about all of it for the night, not sulk in your misery and let them deny you the fun you deserved to have.

You shook your head, a real smile on your face this time as you nudged him into the direction of the improvised dance floor. “I’m fine. Let’s have some fun, come on.”

Jace let himself be pulled into the crowd, his eyes traveling over your tights and the short, checkered skirt you wore tonight, your top a classy roll collar so no one could make fun of the hickeys he had left on you earlier today at the inn. Just as if it was the first time, he looked at you with so much love in his dark eyes, you forgot all your worries as he snaked his arm around your waist and you placed your head on his shoulder.

You swayed to the beat in his arms, allowing yourself to just be as Jace played with the soft edges of your hair, breathing your sweet perfume in and stroking his thumb over your side. Over his shoulder, you smiled back at the twins as Baela fumbled with her polaroid camera and quietly took a snap of you.

As you danced with Jacaerys, you were happy.

If only it could stay like this forever.

Further into the night, when the spontaneous bar in front of the fireplace had switched over to harder liquor one of Cregan’s guys had managed to somehow sneak past McGonagall, you stood together with your girls. Clinking your bubbly glass flutes, the pocket of your skirt kept the polaroid of Jace and you safe for the rest of the party and you caught Jace’s eye from across the room, gesturing that you were going to go to the bathroom real quick. He nodded and you excused yourself, walking down the corridor outside of the common room. Earlier, you had seen one of your roommates sneak off into the girl’s bathroom with a guy from Slytherin and you were not eager to walk in on them.

You walked down the hall, rubbing your arms against the cold of the walls when suddenly, a dark silhouette stepped out from one of the niches.

“Needed a breather as well?” Aegon smiled cooly at you, stubbing out his cig against the stone wall next to him. He watched you closely as you stopped, not sure how to assess the situation. His face was flushed, but otherwise he seemed to be not as drunk as normally during parties, which surprised you.

You gave him a curt nod. “Aegon.” As you tried to walk past him, he stepped into your way, holding up a hand.

“Truly, I’m delighted to see you, I must say.” A foul grin took over his features and you stepped back once more, the faint whiff of alcohol from him now hitting you. “My mother just sent me a letter about you today, you know? Got mail from home, too?”

You glared darkly at him, a look of despise Jace would’ve been proud of. “None of your business.”

“Oh, come on.” Aegon snorted, winking. “If the relations between our families are blossoming, we should get acquainted sooner rather than later, don’t you agree? Or perhaps, I can introduce you to my brother Aemond, if you prefer? My mother mentioned your parents aren’t particularly picky when it comes to a match for you. And Christmas is just around the corner…”

You froze.

He knew.

You stared at him, your clenched fists trembling with anger at his nonchalant and disrespectful manners, his eyes looking you over as if you were a prize he already had won.

“Come on, it’s about time you surround yourself with people of your status.” Aegon tried again, not letting you off so easily.

“I would rather die.” You spat out, glaring daggers at him and just as Aegon opened his mouth and took an abrupt step towards you, quick steps echoed down the hall. You whipped your head around and saw Jacaerys, stalking towards you and his uncle with fire in his eyes and a tense jaw.

“Ah, nephew!” Aegon greeted him cheerily, although a disgusted snarl now tugged at the edge of his mouth. “Me and your girl were just talking-“

“Shut up.” You hissed in warning, your hand itching to grab your wand which you wore tugged into the warm leather of your knee-high boot. A second later, Jace was at your side and rested his hand on your waist, protectively drawing you close.

“Are you okay?” He looked at you searchingly, his eyes flickering across your face with worry. “Leave her the fuck alone, Aegon.”

“We were just conversing. Is that forbidden now?”

Jace took a threatening step towards him and you knew your quick-tempered boyfriend wouldn’t hesitate to throw a spell against his uncle if he said another wrong word, although the consequences would likely be gravely. You remembered the day both Rhaenyra and Alicent had been summoned to the castle because of the fistfight between their sons…there was no need for a repeat performance.

“Jace.” You pleaded quickly, holding him back from doing something honorable and very, very stupid. Aegon grinned brightly at the two of you, clearly thrilled by the way you tugged Jace back by his arm, stepping between the two men. Under your breath, you mumbled: “Don’t. It’s exactly what he wants. It was nothing, I’m okay. Come on, let’s go, come.”

Jacaerys tore his murderous gaze away from Aegon and let himself be led away, his hand holding yours tightly as you brought more and more distance between them. Only when you reached the entrance door to Gryffindor House, you felt him exhale, yet the tension did not leave his body entirely.

You threw one last look over your shoulder and shuddered at Aegon’s vicious smile.

You were in desperate need of another drink.

⋆｡˚❆˚ ｡⋆

You rubbed your gloved hands together as a fierce breeze brushed against you, caused by the formation of Quidditch players on their brooms flying past you, Rhaena and Helaena. The girls and you sat huddled together on the bleachers by the Quidditch field, your wand steadily held up to produce a small magical fire in front of you.

Today’s quidditch training was in full swing and occasionally, you cheered Baela and Jace on as they chased across the field, spurred on by Cregan’s massive form flying from goal to goal to defend their score. In a few days, there was a match against Slytherin and none of them intended to lose against Aegon and Aemond before the year would end.

“I can’t believe we didn’t think of marshmallows.” Rhaena said regretfully and Heleana huffed out a laugh, her quick fingers skillfully knitting a new scarf. You for yourself had concentrated yourself on the black cat in your lap, which belonged to Rhaena since she had no luck yet in securing a dragon for herself back at home. Your friend bumped you into the side. “We could’ve made smores!”

Over your heads, Jacaerys halted on his broom, shouting encouraging commands before he flew on. Your eyes followed him across the field, a small smile tugging at your lips. “Next year, I promise I’ll bring chocolate.”

Silently, Helaena suddenly reached into her fluffy jacket and produced two chocolates bars from her pockets, making both you and Rhaena gasp in delight.

“Hel, you’re the best!”

You waved at Jace from the distance, wiggling triumphantly with the chocolate in your hand as your flames danced, and you swore you could’ve heard his laugh echo through the air.

“Are you fit for the Astronomy exam next Tuesday?” Rhaena asked, nervously biting her lip. “I feel like I got no clue about anything.”

“It’s not that complicated.” Helaena chimed in softly.

“Helaena, I love you, but you are close to being a medium, your opinion doesn’t count.” Suddenly, an idea crossed Rhaena’s mind and you laughed at her stunned expression. “Teach me, please, and I’ll help you with Transfiguration next week.”

“That’s cheating.” You sing-songed, earning a glare. “What? The only reason I passed the last History of Magic test is simply because my boyfriend is a massive nerd.” Your tutoring lessons with Jace had taken a while to become efficient though, since you two were easily distracted by each other’s closeness and often, your books had fallen off your bed during a heated make out session with him.

Rhaena groaned, leaning her head on your shoulder. “I’m glad when all of this is over, I can’t wait until Christmas break. Our grandparents will visit and we’ll all be together. What about you, guys?”

“I wish we’d spend Christmas together again…” Helaena mumbled, lost in her knitting. It was true, Jace and the twins only really saw Helaena at Hogwarts. Rhaenyra and Alicent only saw each other during brief encounters at the Ministry and it was better for everyone if Daemon didn’t see any of the Hightowers at all, really.

Rhaena looked guiltily at you before clearing her throat. “How about you? Any fun Christmas plans?”

It took all your strength to not meet Helaena’s worried gaze beside you. If Aegon knew about your parents’ plans, then so did she and you were not going to deal with this whole matter in front of your friends, especially since you kept all of this from Jace and intended to keep it that way.

You thoughtfully petted Rhaena’s cat, willing the dryness in your throat away. “You know, so far there’s been-“

“Oh, look who it is!”

A lightning bolt of black and red shot towards you, making the three of you squeal as Jacaerys slowed down on his broom and stopped right in front of the grandstand railing. His dark hair was disheveled by the wind and he looked like a prince in his Quidditch uniform, proud and sturdy with one of the quaffles tucked beneath his arm.

“Hi.” He grinned brightly at you as you wordlessly stuck out a hand to give him a piece of chocolate, one he took gladly but not without kissing your gloved knuckles first. From the distance, he had admired you longingly, the sight of you dressed in your bright coat and warm beanie close to the one of a princess. Jace could never stay away from you for long.

“Shouldn’t you play the game?” You challenged him and he looked over to Cregan, who already gestured him to rejoin practice.

“A kiss first.”

Rhaena and Helaena groaned in unison.

You gracefully stood, black cat still in your arms as you leaned over the railing and softly kissed Jace’s lips. He held perfectly still, the press of his lips on yours featherlight as you tucked a curl of his behind his ear.

For only a moment, the suppressed tension in you left your body and you only felt Jace, a high worth chasing for, even if it meant to lose yourself. But just as quickly as it rushed into you, it left with Jace whispering goodbye against you before he had to fly on.

It seemed like the weight sank back onto your shoulders the smaller he became in the sky…

As if the universe had somehow read your mind and decided to do you a great favor, Jacaerys took you to the Prefect’s bathroom in the late afternoon after training. While Jace as a head boy was mostly almost annoyingly responsible and accurate, he and you had often abused his privileges to sneak off into the luxurious hidden bathroom on the fifth floor.

When he had to calm down after a big game or you both needed a break during exam season, you retreated into the big swimming pool, where you sometimes washed his hair for him or he kneaded your legs for you while you told him stories sitting on the edge of the pool.

On other occasions, Jace and you simply were ridiculously horny, such as now.

Currently, you were in his lap, rhythmically rolling your hips as your tongues danced with each other. The hot water of the bath gently splashed against the edges and your hand curled into his wet hair, making him groan in pleasure. Jace’s sounds, his taste in your mouth was addictive, his passionate kisses making you drunk in a way no firewhisky ever could.

You needed to feel him until you completely forgot yourself.

And you were on a pretty good way to get there.

A breathy moan escaped your lips, your half-lidded eyes fixed on his angelic face as you rode his fingers deep inside of you. Jace was holding out a hand beneath your thighs, two of his digits fingering you sensually as his thumb played with your aching clit, luring the sweetest sounds from you.

“Such a good girl…” Jace purred, biting his plump lip as he watched you bounce in his lap. He leaned close, wrapping his lips around your rosy bud, softly biting into your flesh as you moaned loudly from the hot sensation. “Riding my fingers so well, such a sweet angel for me...”

Ever since Jacaerys and you had become a couple, you knew him as a slow and very thorough lover, always attentive and selfless when it came to sleeping together. With the slow roll of his hips and the endless praise, he could make you cry with bliss, dragging out the experience until you’d shatter into pieces in his arms.

But today, you needed him hard.

A part of you wanted him to spin you around and pull you down on his hard length, passionately fucking up into you until you had nothing left in you except for your love for him. But you knew Jace all too well for that.

So, you doubled down your efforts and tried to fuck yourself harder on his fingers.

Jace chuckled, love-drunk on you as he noticed your change of pace. “Eager, are we?” He crooked his fingers inside of you and you mewled, burying your face in his neck as you ground forwards, your tender walls convulsing around him.

“J-Jace…” You sighed, feeling your peak approach as he sucked at the sensitive sweet spot on your neck, his arm coming around you to press you closer against him as he kept on fingering you.

“God, you’re beautiful.” Jace mumbled in awe, tilting your chin up so he could look into your hazy eyes, his own cheeks flushed by the heat and your sight in his lap. “I know you’re close, sweetheart, come on, just a little more, let go for me, angel…”

That was all you needed to hear.

You came, stifling the desperate sounds in your throat by biting down on his shoulder, your thighs quivering as Jace softly talked you through your high, his fingers slowly stilling their movements inside of you. You squeezed your eyes shut, collapsing against him and breathing heavily into his neck.

In the afterglow of your orgasm, Jace pulled you close to his chest and held you tightly, his nose brushing against your cheek as he hummed in satisfaction. As your breath slowly began to calm down again, he let his hand wander up and down your back, especially giving a few tender spots attention as he massaged you until you nearly drooled on his shoulder with relish.

Never in your life had you felt as safe and wanted as you did in Jacaerys’ arms.

“So good…” Jace praised you, completely neglecting his own need that was still very apparent between his legs. “I love you so much, you did wonderfully, baby.”

You shivered, too aware of the sudden knot in your throat to say anything yet. For a while, the two of you simply relaxed like this, Jace’s hand cupping the water ever so often to pour over your naked back so you wouldn’t get cold. You were wound around him like a koala, unwilling to separate yet.

“I was wondering…” You hummed, signaling him you were listening, although you were still floaty. You could feel him smile near your neck, nuzzling the wet skin briefly before he quietly spoke: “…if there’s anything you’d like for Christmas?”

Your breath faltered, but you recovered quickly, swallowing down the lump in your throat. What did you want for Christmas? You wanted to burn your family’s manor to the ground.

To buy yourself more time, you absently kissed Jace’s jaw and licked the sensitive spot under his ear, which made him hiss and stifle a groan under his breath. You carefully paid attention to his reactions, how his hands on your waist tightened briefly and he exhaled shakily, his cock between your thighs stiffening even more until you could almost feel it throbbing against you.

“I want you.” You huskily whispered in his ear. Your fingertips brushed over his tip.

Jace let out a low moan, but shook his head. “You can have me all the time. Something special, think about it.”

“You are special…” You contradicted, kissing him briefly before leaning back in his lap and slowly beginning to stroke him from root to tip, his whole body tensing and relaxing at your much desired touch. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He had no idea how true it was…

“Baby, f-fuck…” Jace breathed, his head falling back and mouth opening to a blissful little o. The wetness between your thighs returned quickly as you jerked him off beneath the surface, the water making the slide of your hand over his curved dick so much better, more intense than you could ever achieve it with spit.

His breath hitched deliciously as you twisted your wrist and pressed little bites and kisses to his chest, Jace’s body and soul exposed and willing just for you. You needed to get him off, needed to convince you that this was forever, that he wasn’t just going to disappear if you closed your eyes for a second too long. You needed to hear your name on his lips, a plea or praise, you didn’t care. You needed to lose yourself in him until everything was alright again.

And so, you continued to take good care of him, until the roaring inside your chest quietened and Jace’s hips bucked into your touch, only his sweet and whiny moans filling the steamy air of the baths around you…

⋆｡˚❆˚ ｡⋆

A freezing cold winter wind blew over the field as the last Quidditch game of the year was in full swing. Gryffindor against Slytherin always drew the most attention and today, every last seat on the grandstands was filled, the crowd of students and teachers from the castle divided into red and green.

You pulled your scarf tighter around yourself as you squinted your eyes against the brightness of the sky, trying to see what your boy was up to up there. Beside you, Rhaena and Luke cheered, spurring Jace and Baela on as they raced towards Slytherin’s goal, passing the quaffle between them before Jace got it and swung it forcefully towards the golden ring.

The crowd erupted with applause and shouts as Jace raised his fist, shouting as Baela and the other players flew past him with cheers. You smiled up at your boyfriend, his joy and pride, before they moved on to defend their goal keeper Cregan now.

“And that’s another goal for Jace Velaryon, ten points for Gryffindor in this very much exciting last game of the season!”

After all, the game was not only so popular because of your rivaling houses. It was also because Jace was playing against both of his uncles, two of the most dreaded beaters of their year.

Today, they had seemed to make themselves the goal to give Jacaerys absolute hell on the field. The brothers were terrors on their brooms, completely ignoring Gryffindor’s seeker and racing after Jacaerys who was trying his best to avoid them in order to score more points for his team.

“What the hell are they doing?” Luke muttered beside you, looking unsure.

Your eyes stayed on Jace who once again looked over his shoulder to see Aegon and Aemond at his heels. “They’re trying to confuse Jace. This isn’t good, something is wrong.”

Dark letter envelopes swirled through your mind, words of your father who demanded for you to end things with Jace before Christmas so you’d be agreeable for the Hightowers. So far, you had not replied to them once and as the realization hit you, you wanted to vomit on the stands. This was the Hightowers’ revenge, to hurt Jace to show you what was at stake.

You saw Aegon lift his wooden club, a determined serpent-like grin on his face as Aemond threw something up in the air for him. You sprang up from your seat, shrieking: “Watch out!”

A shocked gasp went through the crowd as Jace was nearly hit by a bludger, only avoiding it at the last second by dodging it quickly and stirring his broom downwards, losing the quaffle in the process.

“These stupid idiots.” Luke cursed, gritting his teeth. “Why isn’t this called out? They have no business attacking a chaser like this!”

“It seems like there is a personal family feud happening in the sky today, remember to play fair and respect each other.” The commentator called out nervously, the game continuing although Cregan was fiercely discussing and gesturing with the referee on the side of the round field. But today, one of the profs Aegon and Aemond had called the game; everything was possible.

You were on edge, the cold breeze messing with your hair as you followed the game, always keeping an eye out for what Aegon and Aemond were up to. Luckily, they seemed to only mean to scare Jace, keeping the rest of their game pretty tame except for a few harsh bumps into his shoulder when they flew past their nephew.

You could tell Jacaerys kept himself in the background for a while, weary of the brutal energy from the opposite team, letting Baela take the lead and score a row of perfect goals for Gryffindor. When the final whistle echoed across the field, your fellow house members erupted into joyous shouts and a sigh of relief left you as Jacaerys celebrated with his team members.

As everyone on both teams descended down onto the field’s ground again, Jacaerys quickly flew over to where you stood, grinning triumphantly and leaning over the railing to kiss you fiercely. When you rested your hand on his shoulder for balance, you felt him wince.

“Your shoulder?” You whispered as Luke patted his other one and the others around you congratulated him.

Jace shrugged, crooking a smile at you. “Barely a scrape.”

Your eyes widened. “They hit you?”

“It’s alright.” He pecked your cold cheek before Cregan yelled from somewhere under you to get his ass over here and he had to leave. “Don't worry, okay?”

Easier said than done.

When the Quidditch team returned to the castle, you were already waiting for Jace, a small jar with a cooling herb cream resting in your lap. While your friends shared speculoos and hot chocolate by the fire, Jace was sitting in front of you on the soft carpet, leaning into your touch as you applied the salve to his bruised shoulder. You tried to keep up with the conversations around you, but your mind kept trailing off.

Was your life going to look like this from now on, constantly threatened and your love in danger and a target until you’d stop revolting against your parents’ orders?        

That night, you found yourself unable to sleep, staring off at the ceiling of the bedroom’s tower and listening to the wind outside. Everyone had gone to bed early and you had tried to read a little, but found no joy in it. Everything had turned out fine in the end today, why couldn’t you simply let it go?

You sighed, shifting to lay on your side, and stared at the picture frame on your nightstand. There were a few photos of Jace and you in there, but the one you liked most had been taken by the Great Lake earlier this year. You had fallen asleep with your head on Jace’s thigh, your hands still laced together, and he lovingly looked down at you, keeping watch as you found rest.

You stared at the photograph for a long time, but your eyes wouldn’t droop. With a frustrated sigh, you slipped out of bed and out onto the stairwell. But instead of going to the common room, you walked upstairs.

You held your breath as you opened the door to the boys’ bedroom, sneaking in on your tiptoes and squinting your eyes so you wouldn’t stumble over anything on your way to Jace’s bed. You stopped, taking a moment to look at his peaceful, sleeping form. He always had his mouth open a little bit, adorably curled into himself on his side as his chest rose and fell slowly.

A part of you regretted having come here, not wanting to disturb his well-deserved sleep, but another selfish part of you needed him close, to assure yourself everything would be okay in the end.

On his bed, Jacaerys shifted and let out a tiny groan, blinking his eyes open at you. Standing there in your sleeping clothes, you looked like a little ghost and his heart skipped an excited beat at you being here.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” You whispered into the darkness, fearing your voice would break if you raised it any higher. The sounds of ruffling sheets filled the room as Jace shuffled over and made space for you, opening his arms without any hesitation.

“Of course, love. C’mere, ‘s cold…”

You slipped underneath the covers, sighing as you were enveloped by Jace’s warmth, your boyfriend immediately pulling you against him and snuggling his face into your neck.  You slung your arm around his waist and breathed him in, trying to keep the dark thoughts swirling through your mind at bay.

He smelled like home.

He was your home and who could promise that you wouldn’t lose him eventually?

“Did you dream badly?” Jace whispered into your hair and you shook your head, clinging only tighter to him. You wanted to crawl underneath his sleeping shirt, to melt into him until you’d never been seen again.

“…just needed you.” You mumbled tiredly, your nerves calming down a little as Jace caressed you lightly in the dark. He hummed against your temple and kissed your cheek, not interpreting too much into your small words. “Go to sleep again, it’s okay…”

You closed your eyes too, swallowing against the vulnerable tightness in your throat as you slowly felt Jace drift off into sleep again. You internally scolded yourself to get it together, not wanting to risk any hot tears falling upon Jace’s skin. If you tried hard enough, you could pretend just a little longer that you weren’t breaking apart right in his protecting arms…

⋆｡˚❆˚ ｡⋆

In the final two weeks before Christmas, you were sure you were slowly losing it.

As you prepared for the final exams of the year – no professor really having mercy on their oldest students at the castle – a final letter from your parents reached you, with instructions on which fireplace to use in Knockturn Alley to floo-powder travel home. Before that, you were to go to Madame Malkin to pick up a gown, which you were supposed to wear during the dinner to impress Alicent’s sons. The humiliating orders of your parents paired with the stress of all the exams you still had to ace quickly left you spiraling, causing you to retreat into yourself and neglect your friends.

More and more, they all began to talk about going home for Christmas and involuntarily, you had started to snap easily, wanting to be left alone to focus on your work to avoid their questions.

You watched the rain pour down outside of the windows, the busy chattering of the rest of your class like white noise in your ear. You had woken up tired already this morning and now you were stuck in potions class, the one you shared with Jace.

The thoughts about the upcoming holidays and an inevitable confrontation with your parents were eating you alive and you couldn’t concentrate, reading over the recipe of the potion you were supposed to make over and over again without understanding the words.

Beside you, Jacaerys worked away on his own kettle, but he had been keeping watch of you for a while now, gnawing at his bottom lip with concern. 

Since the Quidditch game, he could feel you slowly slipping from his grasp, distancing yourself when you spent time with your friends and going to bed early and getting up late. You fell asleep in the common room often, in his arms where he could see the dark circles underneath your eyes or alone on the couch by the fire until he had to wake you up for dinner. You ate less than usual and were only seen around in his hoodies, staring into space and daydreaming.

Jace worried about you, but you seemed not very eager to share your worries with him. In retrospect, he could now see that you had been retreating into yourself for a while now and he hated himself for not seeing it earlier. Now it seemed, all he could do was to be there for you and show he was listening if you wanted to open up to him.

“Remember, students, the mixture we are making today is intended to be only brewed by seventh year students for a reason!” Your professor walked between the aisles, peeking into a few kettles here and there. “You are to handle it with utmost carefulness.”

Jace noticed you staring at the parchment in front of you, your eyes not moving to read. He leaned over, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Baby? Could you hand me the goat hair you got over there?”

You perked up and his heart clenched at your glassy eyes, your pale skin. You rummaged around in the boxes you had been given, attempting a smile as you gave the vial to him. “There you go.”

He let his fingers brush over yours for a moment before you retreated, going back to your own potion. Jace suppressed a sigh, catching Baela’s eyes from across the room who had been watching the small exchange. They were all worried about you and you knew.   

If you didn’t find a way to prevent the forging of the poisonous band your family planned for you, you were not only going to lose yourself. You were going to lose every single one of your friends. Your hands started shaking at the thought of them despising you, avoiding you in Hogwarts and having to pick up the broken pieces you would leave between Jace and you when you eventually would have to end things before you hurt him even further…

You shuddered, grabbing one of the smoking glasses in the middle of the table for your kettle. What would Jace think if he saw one of his uncles and you, on the first page of the Daily Prophet, announcing the union between the Hightowers and your family-

The glass slipped from your grasp, the contents briefly sloshing against your hand before it all shattered on the ground.

The students around you gasped, taking a step back in fright while Jace took one closer to you, reaching out a hand. You heard him speaking to you, hushed and fast, but you couldn’t comprehend what he said as you looked at your hand in shock.

Burning streaks painted the palm of your hand red as if you had attempted and failed badly to catch a whip mid-air. You stared at the wound in disbelief for a moment.

Then, the pain came.

“Oh my goodness, hold on everyone, reparo!” The professor hurried over to your side and you silently watched as the broken glass to your feet levitated up on the table until all the liquor was back inside and sat perfectly in front of you. “What have I told you about handling this ingredient carefully?”

“Professor, she’s hurt.” Jace said, his voice dripping with worry for you. You could not look into his eyes, afraid of what you’d find in them. “She needs to go to the infirmary.”

You tried to take a steady breath and to your own shock, a little sob escaped your lips instead, just barely audible. The burn on your hand felt like wildfire spreading, but there was something else aching in you too, the stress and worries of the last week making it all worse. You knew if you’d stayed, you’d break down in front of everyone in the class.

You were not going to let them see.

Brushing off Jace’s hand on your shoulder, you made your way straight towards the door, not looking back despite the protests of your professor and Jace calling out your name. You tried to blink away the hot tears burning in your eyes, clutching your shaking hand close to your chest, but by the time you nearly ran down the corridor, they were already overflowing.

It was all too much.

Behind you, you heard Jace sprinting down the hallway after you and your chest only tightened, panicked at the thought of him seeing you like this. Just as you wanted to take a corner and disappear out of his sight, he reached out, gently touching your arm and holding you back.

“Baby, you need to go to the infirmary, Madame Pomfrey has to take a look at that.” Jace insisted emphatically, turning you around to face him. “Let me walk you-…”

You stared at your feet, not meeting his eyes as he took in your miserable state. Your nose already felt stuffy and your head hurt from keeping down your tears, heart pounding achingly in your chest. Jace opened his mouth to say something, shocked and worried to see you so sorrowfully.

“What’s going on, love?” He asked softly, stepping in front of you and shielding you from a group of passing students. You pressed your lips together, unable to answer and shaking your head instead. Jacaerys gently laid his arm around you, careful not to brush against your hurt hand, quickly thinking about what this all meant.

“Let’s go to Madame Pomfrey together, okay?” He said gently. “She needs to look at this, I bet it hurts, huh?”

At his soft tone with you, you let out a tiny whimper, hiding your face in his shoulder as he shushed you comfortingly, starting to walk with you. “Sh sh, it’s going to be alright, I promise. We need to cool this, c’mon, we’re halfway there, okay?”

You let yourself be led by him, exhausted and not strong enough anymore to keep up the act that everything was fine. On your way through the hallways, you disassociated a little, Jace’s arm around you and his whispered comforts the only thing keeping you halfway in the present moment. At least there was no one else at Madam Pomfrey’s desk, saving you from further humiliation.

“Hello dear, what can I- oh goodness, what has happened?” The elderly woman came around the table and inspected your hand.

“We were in Potions and one of the ingredients spilled.” Jace explained calmly, although his voice trembled. He led you towards one of the chairs by the entrance of the hall, staying by your side as the nurse took your hand and cooed compassionately. “I think it was a burn potion?”

“Yes, it looks like it.” Madame Pomfrey looked at you. “You must be in great pain, my dear.”

You had been for a long time.

“It’s nothing that’ll leave a permanent mark, we’ll cool this and then there’s a potion that should help as well overnight, hold on.” You watched silently as she returned with a slick cloth and hissed as she slowly placed it down on your palm. Jace’s hand on your shoulder caressed you soothingly and you bit your lip through the pain, not wanting to make a sound.

After she had wrapped your hand, Madame Pomfrey left for her potion cabinet, leaving Jace and you alone. Your hand throbbed dully, but the pain was slowly fading away and Jace sat down beside you, gently taking your other hand in his.

“Will you talk to me?” He asked quietly and without pressure. “I can tell something is wrong, dear. There has been for a while now, hasn’t it?”

You sighed, leaning back in your chair and playing with your hand in his. Closing your red eyes in defeat, you told him. “My parents have written to me to come home over Christmas. They want me to meet the Hightowers with them to-…They think a match with either Aegon or Aemond will be beneficial for the family.”

Jace exhaled, the expression on his face unreadable as he clenched his jaw.

“I-“ You searched for the words you had kept down for so long. “They don’t care for my opinion at all. I’m just a valuable chess piece and they move me however they want for their own wealth and station. It doesn’t matter what I want or what I think and-  I’m going to lose you and everyone will hate me, this is only the beginning of their schemes, I know it-“

Jace stopped you in your rambling and wordlessly took you into his arms, his hands itching to take his wand and simply hex your sorrow away. Something in you broke at his gentle embrace and you slumped against him, letting the tears flow as he brushed over your hair and kissed the top of your head.

“You’re not ever going to lose me, love.” He murmured, his need to comfort you clashing against the rage he nurtured for the other side of his family. “I’m not going to let this happen.”

“Me neither.” You sniffled hopelessly, looking up at him through glassy eyes. “I would rather die than engage with them. But I’m scared of what they’ll do if I don’t comply. If you’re getting hurt because of me, I will lose it.”

You felt yourself hyperventilating, but Jace took your tear-streaked face between his hands and deeply looked at you, making you focus entirely on him. “Hey, hey. No one will get hurt, okay? I promise you this, you will not lose me, my love. No matter what happens, me and my family will have your back. We’re adults now, we’re graduating next year, no one can tell you anything or force you to an arrangement like this. You only belong to yourself and I will not let them take you from me, alright?”

You nodded miserably, remembering your bandaged hand just before you wanted to wipe your cheek. Jacaerys smiled softly at you, brushing the tears away from you and kissing your forehead.

“Is this why you have been so distant recently?” Jace asked gently and you nodded in defiance.

“I didn’t mean to.” You said guiltily. “I was just so stressed and…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Jace said, drawing you close again and resting your head on his shoulder. “I just wished I could’ve helped you earlier, you don’t have to go through this alone. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” You sniffled one last time before the last of your tears tried and you felt a little lighter on the inside. Squeezing his hand, you took a deep breath while the two of you sat huddled together in the silence of the hospital wing.

After a while, the pain in your hand had retreated almost all the way and you longed for your bed. You let out a small yawn and Jace chuckled, nuzzling his cheek against your head.

“You know, if I would’ve known, I would’ve asked you this so much earlier.” Jace shook his head, softly cupping your cheek and stroking your heated skin. “Will you spend Christmas with me? You can stay over at my family’s home for the entire holidays, we have enough space. I’ve been thinking about it for some time now and I want you there with all of us, more than ever now. My mother would be delighted to have you, we all would. And I can’t have you going to your parents now, I just can’t. Hey, please don’t cry again.”

You laughed watery, not able to stop the emotional tears from coming. You were overwhelmed by Jace’s question, how much love laid in his proposal and you couldn’t stop your heart from screaming out yes, yes, yes.

You pressed your forehead against Jace’s, playing with his hair as you smiled. “Yes. It would be an honor to be with your family for the holidays. I want to spend Christmas with you, if you’ll have me.”

“I always will. My home is yours.” Jace mumbled softly, wanting to press a kiss to your nose. 

“And you are mine.” You whispered back and were quicker, pulling him down into a slow kiss and putting all of what you felt in that moment into it as your lips slowly moved against each other, Jace’s hand resting on your waist while the other disappeared in your hair, tilting your head to the side.

You’d protect him just as he was going to protect you.

And as you two kissed and Madame Pomfrey eventually walked in on you, the way Jacaerys jumped even made you giggle, you knew you were going to be alright.

⋆｡˚❆˚ ｡⋆

On Christmas morning, you woke up in the arms of the love of your life.

Above you, there was a beautiful hanging mobile, its little dragons dancing in the warm morning sun. You smiled, enjoying the way the sunbeams fell onto the checkered thick blankets of the bed, how the old heater by the window crackled and the quiet sounds of the house made it feel like a real home.

Stifling a little yawn, you nestled back into Jace’s embrace, your boyfriend still in dreamland as you slowly took in your surroundings. Jacaerys was plastered against your back, one of his arms slung over you and resting protectively on your stomach underneath his shirt you had stolen. The other rested under your head as a pillow for you and you noticed with amusement how his hand twitched from time to time while he was dreaming.

Jace’s childhood bedroom was exactly how you had imagined it to be.

On a big shelf in front of his bed were countless books on magical history and dragons, whether they were biographies or travel reports, the great novels of famous wizards and witches and tales he had read when he was younger. On the walls were photos of his family and friends at Hogwarts and you, again and again and again, smiling back at yourself from every corner of the room. His closet was a neat mix of hoodies – which you wanted to take with you, preferably all of them – casual clothes and more elegant things to wear for official gatherings of his well-known family.

Underneath the covers of his twin-size bed, you felt safe, sheltered from the rest of the world and you sighed happily, snuggling your cheek against his bicep just as Jace stirred behind you.

You turned in his arms and you felt as if your heart was golden when the morning sun reflected in Jace’s brown eyes blinking sleepily at you.

“Good morning.” You whispered, a besotted smile on your face as Jace’s face scrunched up and he quickly turned his head so he wouldn’t yawn in your face.

You laughed quietly, snuggling closer to him underneath the thick blanket you shared and tangling your legs together. Jace sighed blissfully and pecked your cheek as he brushed your hair back behind your ear. Your hand had been healed for several days now. “’morning, beautiful. Merry Christmas.”

You smiled, although a little sadness remained inside of you. Maybe it was not ever going to leave again. “Merry Christmas, Jace.”

Ever since you had arrived at the town house of Jacaerys’ family in London, the Targaryens had done everything to give you a warm welcome after you had never showed up at Knockturn Alley to throw a hand of floo-powder to the fire. Jace’s brothers had been particularly excited to meet you, the girl on Jace’s photos and his mind when he was home during summer, and his mother and step-father had been pleased to finally meet you as well.

Two days ago, far in the evening when you had sat close to Jace in the living room and listened to one of Rhaenys’ stories as glasses of cherry wine were shared and candles lit, a final letter from your parents had reached you.

Seven simple words on paper for all eternity.

You are no daughter of ours anymore.

While you had stared wordlessly at the message in your lap, Rhaenyra and Daemon quickly had sent everyone else to bed until only the adults, Jace and you remained. A whirlwind of emotions had rushed through you then and before you knew what came over you, it was like a dam had broken and you were crying. With Jace’s arm securely around you as he softly whispered into your ear and Rhaenyra reaching over to hold your hand, you had mourned the relationship you never had with your parents, the tears both suffocating and freeing you at once.

You were released from their clutches, after all.

And you had been lucky enough to find your real family along the way.

After that, when Jace and you had gone to bed and you had slept through the entire night, the holidays had been going splendidly. And when Rhaenyra had assured you during breakfast that you stood under her family’s protection now, you knew you were going to be okay.

For the first time, you truly felt at home.

You went for walks around the neighborhood, building snowmen with Jace’s little twin brothers and making hot chocolates for everyone in the afternoons. You made gingerbread houses with Baela and Rhaena and asked Rhaenyra all about her career as an auror. Daemon you had beat at Wizard’s chess, leaving him speechless while Jacaerys cackled in the background.

One afternoon, Jace’s family had left the house for some last errand running before Christmas and he had loved you in front of the fireplace, slowly eating you out and letting his hands wander over your naked body on the furs...You had rode him until the two of you were breathless and you had almost drooled on Jace’s shoulder in bliss as he had rocked into you at a toe-curling slow pace.

You smiled at the memory, happily closing your eyes and leaning into his touch when Jace started to softly kiss your neck, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of your waist as he pulled you half-atop of him. Like this, your leg was hooked over his side and his hand cupped your cheek, keeping you close while he ravished you with little kisses.

“Jace, we should go downstairs…” You breathed, your eyes fluttering closed and mouth dropping open as Jacaerys paid special attention to the sweet spot on your neck now, nibbling at the sensitive skin before licking over it soothingly.

Jace let out a hoarse little sound, something between a groan and a whine. “Five more minutes…” He nuzzled his face into your shoulder and you chuckled, combing softly through his hair while he cuddled with you.

“Don’t you want to get your gifts?” You teased him playfully and squealed when he squeezed your bum, which ultimately ended in a small pillow war until you threatened to hex every of his books to fly an attack on him.

He smirked at you as he helped you out of bed, a small flushing adorning his pretty face. “I already got the best gift right here.”

And how were you supposed to not kiss him right then?

It only took a little more convincing and willpower to not stay in bed with Jace until you two descended down the staircase together, the excited sounds and conversations from the big salon guiding your way. Jace had changed into a dress shirt and some nice tailored pants while you wore a dark velvet dress with a turtleneck, the ballerina shoes on your feet a festive red. In your hair, you wore a bow and Jace squeezed your hand in his before you walked into the room to join his family, stopping briefly one more time to kiss underneath the mistletoe that hung in the hallway.

“Good morning, everyone!” Jace beamed as the little twins ran up to him, excitingly talking over each other about what they got for Christmas. “Did you get some nice things this year, guys?”

Rhaenyra smiled warmly at you and you looked into the round, a little shy out of the sudden to be present at such a family-centric moment. “Merry Christmas…”

Rhaenys invitingly patted the empty space between her on the couch and you joined her, Baela and Rhaena as the twins pulled Jace over to the large Christmas tree. There was a little locomotive flying around it as it chu-chued and the ornaments had a certain spark to them that could only be explained by a charm.

“Jace look, we got a magic kit to make fireworks!” Aegon and Viserys basically vibrated with happiness. “We are going to blow up the ministry!”

Daemon barked out an amused laugh, looking at their sons proudly while Rhaenyra just shook her head. “No, we are not blowing anything up, you can at least wait until New Year, boys.”

Meanwhile, Corlys and Luke were busy with a big photograph book the latter got, the pictures of the sea and its many creatures and legends coming to life and nearly making a wet mess on the ground between them.

“We’re so glad you’re here.” Baela nudged you in the side, lacing your fingers together while Rhaena did the same on your other side. “You’re part of our family. That's all that matters, alright?”

You nodded, not trusting your voice as you hugged them both. You watched together as Jace unpacked a large present, revealing a brand-new Quidditch gear and looking at his parents speechlessly before he went to hug them both tightly. In the room, presents left hands and found new ones and soon, the ground was littered with gift wrapping paper and Jace had gravitated towards you again, sitting down in an armchair as well and bidding you over silently.

His family, sensing the coming moment of quiet between you, went on with unpacking and gifting each other as you sat down on Jace’s knee and smiled at him.

“You haven’t opened yours yet.” Jace mumbled mysteriously and you gasped as he pulled out a little box.

“Jace, you didn’t have to-“

“I wanted to.” Jace insisted, his thumb caressing your thigh as he looked at you seriously. “I love you. It’s Christmas. And…I hope you’ll like it, if not, I could bring it back and you can choose something else-“

You opened the bow around the box and opened the lid, your hands shaking despite yourself. Inside, bedded on a little velvet pillow, waited the most beautiful necklace you had ever seen. It was a delicate thing, a shiny pearl hugged and protected by a swirl of silver. Your finger brushed over the piece before you looked at Jace in disbelief.

“Jace…it’s beautiful.” You couldn’t help the tears welling up in your eyes. “It feels magical, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Jace said shyly, carefully brushing your hair over your shoulder so he could help you put it on. The cool silver rested perfectly around your neck as Jace’s hand splayed out on your lower back. “It’s…us. Here, take a look.” He lifted the pearl to your face and it took you a moment to see what he meant.

It was hard to explain. For a second, you only saw the smooth surface of the irregular pearl, but then it changed, making room for…memories. You stared into it in awe, as moments of Jace and you flashed before your vision.

You and him on the train to Hogwarts, sharing sweets and napping. The two of you studying together outside by the lake, a blanket thrown over your legs while you made little fireflies dance over your heads. Sharing breakfast at the Great Hall and kissing in the rain. His laughter and yours. A whisper of I love you in your ear. Jace smiling at you and lacing your fingers together…All these tiny moments that made life and love with him so good.

You slowly put down the pearl, lost for hours as you looked at your boyfriend. “I…I have never possessed something as wonderful as this, in my entire life, Jace.”

Jacaerys flushed a bright red, cooing at you when you quickly brushed a tear away. “I’m glad you like it, angel, but please, I can’t see you crying on a day like this.”

You laughed quietly, lifting his chin and kissing him slowly before leaning your forehead against his and whispering: “Thank you. It’s so beautiful, I love it. I love you.”

“Love you too…” He smiled at you. “I’m so glad I could pull this charm off, it wasn’t as easy as the books said.”

You poked his shoulder playfully. “Speaking of charms.” You reached into the pocket of your dress, producing a little package of your own. “Uh-uh, don’t look at me like that, if you get to surprise me, I can return the favor. Give me your hand. And close your eyes.”

Jace complied, waiting curiously as you fumbled with something in his lap. Then, he felt something cool on his wrist and opened his eyes again, meeting your bright smile as his heart melted.

“It’s an enchanted bracelet.” You explained to him as he looked at it, fascinated by the way the little dragon scales seemed to move, its subtle green shimmer perfectly matching Vermax’. “There’s a spell on it meaning to protect you from harm and bring you good luck.”

You didn’t have to tell him part of the reason why you’d chosen it for him. A part of you would continue to worry, but as long as Jace was with you, you were strong. You both made each other strong.

Jace looked at you softly and with understanding in his eyes and turned the bracelet on his wrist, in awe of your pure talent.

“I also made sure it can’t slip off during a Quidditch game-“

He swallowed the rest of your sentence with a kiss.

You smiled against his lips, letting yourself be kissed by him and nearly forgetting that you were in fact not alone. For just one more moment, you let yourself be surrounded by him, his hand still securely on your waist as the other played with your new necklace before-

“Hey lovebirds! Come on, breakfast is ready!” Luke called over from the doorframe and you and Jace laughed together as you helped him up. The rest of your family already was in the dining room, busy with finding seats and talking over each other.

“Thank you.” Jace whispered at you, laying an arm around your shoulder. “For everything. These are the best Christmas holidays ever.”

“We haven’t even had our New Years party.” You hummed, excited for the future for the first time in a long time.

“I can’t wait.” Jace grinned, holding out the chair for you at your family’s table.

Yes, you couldn’t wait to see what the future brought.

You smiled at him. “Me neither.”

my taglist (open): @princesschimchim1325 @cecestea @jacesvelaryons @princessvelaryon @diannnnsss @mattnott @hattiewritesalot @chocotorta2027 @mckennah123 @still-jon-snow

[callooopie]

Bloodborne Hunter!Davos would consist of…

Just go out and kill a few beasts. It’s for your own good. You know, it’s just what hunters do! — Gehrman, The First Hunter // Bloodborne

..Gurl what is this? Idk either man I thought I cooked something different.. anyways important! This is formatted like a wiki page for the Bloodborne wiki (fextralife my ride or die). So if format is strange it’s bc I was trying to go with this Wikipedia style. I’m trying something new I’m sorry I’ll be back to the regularly scheduled program soon 😭😭😭 but if people like this style 👀👀👀…. Tarnished!Jacaerys .. stay tuned..

— shit.. you were really having trouble with this game and this questline… time to look up the wiki —

Davos, Bloody Hunter is an NPC in Bloodborne.

“A peculiar young man with the smell of blood permeating from him. What could he want?”

— Davos information

Can become hostile if attacked. However attacking and subsequently killing ends his quest line prematurely and you do not receive the items Bracken blood vial or Blood Gem Ring

An NPC that appears throughout the map wherever you are in the story. His quest line moves along with your story progression up until Byrgenwerth. The ending of his quest is in Old Yharnam at the Church of the Good Chalice.

Drops: if killed, will give 9000 blood echoes and Davos’s Shotel. Although this weapon can also be obtained upon quest completion

— Location

Can first be found after the Father Gascoigne fight if you return to the Hunter’s Dream and return back to the Tomb of Oedon lantern. He will be leaning against the large statue in the middle of the area right next to the lantern. Upon your first encounter he will gift you 5x quicksilver bullets.

> can be summoned before the Vicar Amelia fight. Enter the grand cathedral and look to your right immediately.

— Associated quest

Meet him at his first location. Respond with the option I’m not a Bracken, and he will remain cordial and see you as an ally. Choose the other option and he will attack you on sight and must be killed. Continuing with the first response, he will ask you to aid in his cause. Respond I will, and he will give you 5x quicksilver bullets. Choose I will not, and he will remain at his first location.

Note: if you choose I will not and continue in story progression, but come back and say I will, his quest line will not work.

Continuing after accepting his quest, Davos will appear near every major lantern throughout the map. After each required boss is killed, he will spawn after returning to the Hunter’s Dream and then returning back to the boss area lantern.

— Dialogue

upon first meeting after the Father Gascoigne fight

“Hm? Oh, a fellow hunter are you? Smelling of blood and a crazed look in your eyes, you might just be my type. Unless you’re a Bracken.. are you?”

responding “I am not”

“Ahh, good good. I’d have killed you where you stood if you said yes. Haha—not laughing are you? Shame, the ladies always said I was funny.”

“I suppose I ought to give you an answer for my behavior earlier. Firstly, I am Davos. When not skinning beasts alive in the streets—I’m hunting Brackens. Have you heard of them? A cursed, vile family. Stole land from my kin, according to family legends. Although… that was so long ago..”

next meeting, inquire about the Old Blood after the Vicar Amelia fight

“Old Blood? Bah—load of fantastical falsities if you ask me. I do not care to drink my fill of dubious liquids unless it is gin that burns your throat. How am I a hunter then? Well heheh.. you don’t need to be a part of the church to be a hunter of something…”

upon asking about Brackens

“Ugh—why do you wish to know about those fools? They have scorned my family for generations.. or so I was told by my father. How can I do it? They are like beasts.. something vile and dangerous, surely they are all evil. That line is cursed.. surely...”

after the fight with the Shadows of Yharnam, before the lantern near Byrgenwerth

“You know where you’re heading next? Byrgenwerth up ahead? You’ve heard little about it? Hm.. perhaps Gehrman is losing his grip then—..how do I know him? Ahaha.. a tale for another time.”

upon interacting with him again

“Ah—why am I here? I’m on the trail of.. something. Can’t say if it’s a real lead or anything. But the trip won’t be in vain, I got to talk to you at least, haha.”

Coming upon Hemwick Charnal Lane, speaking with Davos at the lantern.

“Oh, it’s you again. Surprised you’re here.. it’s a little out of the way, no? What am I doing? ..tracking some prey, nothing to worry your pretty head about. I can almost smell his fear, his blood. Maybe I’m lost in the head already, ha!”

Interacting with him again

“Still here? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were in love with me. Haha... Say—what if you join me on this hunt? Our quarry’s running off to Old Yharnam from what I can tell. A caged rat, that’s what it’ll be.”

“Oh—one more thing I suppose. I found this in one of those shops broken into. Thought you might like it—unless you’re not the type for jewelry that is! There’s of course no foul in saying no but…”

choosing the option of taking the ring

“…really? Oh.. I—I did not expect such a swift response. You have made me a happy man my love, haha. What does it mean? Ah—you’re a foreigner here in Yharnam aren’t you? Then I shan’t ruin my own fun and tell you now that’s for sure!”

upon finding him at the Church of the Good Chalice

“Damn! ..he put up a fight actually.. that mucker.. h-ah hah.. don’t worry about me love. Just a flesh wound, as hunters would say. If I could still dream… oh what does it matter… I’m a goner regardless.”

interacting with him again

“..H-Here.. take my.. weapon. I’ll have no use for it anymore. Finally, that dogged bloodline is no m-more. If only.. I could seemingly live.. to enjoy that thought.. Curses—a shame.. I won’t get to hear your voice anymore eh? Here.. take this too, drink it—savor the taste. Bracken blood—sweeter than wine. Or maybe sweeter than you, would you agree heheh? ….”

— Lore

A strange character, who continues his familial feud against the once-noble family of the Brackens even during a hunt. From what is gleaned from his dialogue and item descriptions throughout the game, Davos was once a church hunter. Younger than his compatriots, but a swift learner and a deadly force. He was once able to dream, much like the player and other hunter NPCs like Eileen The Crow. A description from his attire reads: “Hunter attire of Davos, Bloody Hunter. Lightweight and darkened fabrics suggest that Davos learned his own techniques from The First Hunter. It’s said Gehrman took a liking to his most recent and final student. Although banished him from the Dream upon learning about an irreparable truth.”

Davos seemed to be a good hunter however despite his transgressions. The item description of his weapon reads: “Trick weapon of Davos, Bloody Hunter. Pulling back your arm and casting it activates a mechanism that launches the blade at an enemy with a sharp steel rope and can thus be used to hook an enemy to pull them closer. A masterpiece of workshop craftsmanship, and could only be wielded by an individual of unquestionable skill and talent.”

And from what players can gather through exhausting his dialogue it seems Davos had intentionally sought out those aligned or a part of the noble house of Bracken and killed them. This in turn however tarnished his reputation as a hunter, and he was exiled from the Hunter’s Dream. Davos is also implied to be blood-drunk from his actions of killing innocent people. The description for his head gear states: “A worn down Hunter’s hat with bandages hastily tied around the top to secure it to one’s head. The bandage that goes around the eye would be able to hide the unseemly look of a blood-drunk hunter, concealing the collapsed pupil behind the fabric.”

From the item description of the ring he gives the player, it seemed Davos had become romantically inclined toward the player and decided to bestow a marriage proposal to them—although with our hunter being a foreigner; the true meaning of the ring was lost on them. This seems to not displease Davos however, as his dialogue laughs and teases about it. The description reads: “A golden ring fitted with a blood stone gem and a worn off house sigil on the inside of the ring. Given by Davos, Bloody Hunter. In Yharnam, this would be considered a proposal or courting strategy for wealthy young nobles to win over the one who had caught their eye.”

— aw fuck.. now you gotta get to NG+ to do his quest right.. time to get back on the grind you suppose.. —

[writingtraumaforever]

'Green' Justice: A Courtship Mini-Sequel

Notes: I really hope you guys like this introduction to Rouge! Don't worry, there will be more of Amy in the future. I took creative liberties on why and how the other characters begin appearing, taking inspiration from Sonic X's reasoning in the show.

Summary: More and more Mobians are showing up on earth, and Sonic is super excited about it!.. Until a certain bat shows up and gets a little too close to Shadow for his liking.

Courtship Masterpost!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Sonic has officially decided. He hates bats.

Yup. What’s good about bats?? They’re scary, they carry diseases, they can fly, see in the dark–

Okay. Bats are kinda cool.

Oo! And Batman!!

Anyway. So maybe he doesn’t hate all bats.

But he doesn’t like this one.

See. Turns out that when he and Shadow use Chaos Control to go Super?? It creates connections between worlds. Kinda like the warp rings but instant. So after the ARK battle, more and more “aliens” like Sonic, Knuckles and Tails started showing up from other worlds. This has been mostly kept under wraps by GUN since some humans feel threatened by Sonic and those like him’s very existence, thinking they’re too powerful and only seem to bring trouble wherever they appear.

Which is kinda fair.

But they literally saved the world from being crashed into by a giant space station like– a year ago?? So what’s the big deal??

Anyway. Sonic’s entire family pretty much is partnered with GUN at this point because of this. They’re started a whole new program called the ‘Mobian Project’: Mobian being the new term coined for their kind. Mobo-Sapiens being the scientific term. Knuckles came up with ‘Mobian’. Said it sounded like the words ‘mammal’ and ‘alien’ had a baby, so it made sense.

It all essentially meant that if a new Mobian showed up on GUN’s radar, Sonic and Team were dispatched to welcome them and help them assimilate to earth’s culture safely. Shadow came along if the Mobian had special abilities like Sonic’s speed or Tails’ flight, taking record of them to report back to GUN. Surprisingly, though, most Mobians were pretty basic. Just your regular anthropomorphic animal beings. 

The only one who had any sort of new abilities so far was a pink hedgehog Sonic had found named Amy. She was like. Crazy strong. And she could summon this giant and terrifying hammer out of thin air! And she was like. A witch or something, Sonic was pretty sure. She did palm readings and tarot card stuff, and she was rarely wrong– if ever.

He met her when Eggman used the quill Sonic gave him in exchange of working with him to fight Shadow awhile back to create a robotic version of him called Metal Sonic. Eggman had managed to pick up her arrival on earth on his radar before GUN had, and sent Metal Sonic to kidnap her. Long story short, Sonic saved her, and she was practically a part of the family now! She lived with Randall and Rachel, pretty much an honorary Handel now. And JoJo got a sister!

Sonic liked her. And she liked him. Her and Maddie really hit it off, too. And Shadow. He told Sonic once she reminded him a lot of Maria..

Anyway, Sonic was pretty happy about this little project they had going with GUN. And with Maddie, Tom and Shadow all keeping a close eye on the organization to make sure they don’t do anything sketchy, he had zero problems working with them. Especially if it meant helping more lost Mobians like him find their home..

He hadn’t met a single one he hadn’t liked yet, even though they were few and far between..

That is.. Until the stupid bat came along.

He doesn’t even know where she came from! Apparently it’s classified, but Shadow told him GUN caught her infiltrating their facility. She nearly got away with a chaos emerald! And evidently that’s all it takes to get on GUN’s good side, weirdly enough, because next thing Sonic knew, she was working for ‘em.

And partnered, specifically, with Shadow.

Shadow hadn’t seemed too mad about it, which just irritated Sonic more. Shadow always said he preferred to work alone, so what made this girl so special?? 

“She’s good at incognito field work, which is good because that’s my weak point,” Shadow explained, “And she can fight. Really well. I wasn’t sure about her at first, but it doesn’t look like I’ll have to worry about her holding me back.”

“I’d really like to meet her,” Sonic had so foolishly beamed back, excited about having yet another of their kind on earth, “She sounds super cool!”

She, in fact, sucked.

He met her nearly a week later when he was at GUN waiting on Shadow. He had been away a few days, but Sonic wanted to surprise him by being there to greet him when he came back. It was while he was waiting that he saw her for the first time.

And she was… blessed. Blessed is a good word for it. One that Aunt Rachel often uses to describe ladies with large- ahem, how does he put this like a gentleman?… Knockers.

She was all curve and confidence, looking absolutely stunning even after a long mission with full makeup and a few cool piercings on her left ear. Her GUN suit was very sexist in Sonic’s opinion– who authorized such a revealing and tight uniform for a field agent??? It wasn’t practical at all.

But none of that is what really got his attention.

What got his attention was the way Shadow was smiling while she talked to him. They were walking out of the building, Shadow’s arms crossed and an amused look on his face.

And her gloved hands— why do her gloves go all the way up her arms?? Who does she think she is?? The Queen???— are all over him as she walks beside him. One arm is interlinked with his own, the other hand moving to rest on his bicep as she talks about something that’s obviously just soooo funny.

Her pink lipstick makes every word she’s saying seem vibrant, but Sonic is sure she’s surely not that interesting.

He should go save Shadow from such a boring conversation. Yup.

He’s gonna do it.

He’s gonna go over there and stop her from harassing Shadow any further.

Even if he is smiling… and seems perfectly comfortable with her arm around his.. and hasn’t even noticed Sonic is there like he usually does the second he catches a whiff of his scent..

Sonic’s tail sags behind him, his ears folding back. He suddenly feels silly. Stupid. Foolish. Embarrassed.

He takes a few steps back, the need to run suddenly becoming overwhelming and suffocating. In the process of turning to leave, he finds himself tripping right over a parking bumper and falling with a little gasp. His eyes shut for the impact—

Except it doesn’t come. Instead, black arms cradle his body right above the concrete. Emerald eyes open and look up to see Shadow staring down at him with knitted up brows.

“Are you alright??” 

Sonic hates how concerned he sounds. How his chest thumps from his heart pounding inside it.

“Uh-huh,” the blue hedgehog nods with an awestruck look in his eyes. Shadow looks right back at him, taking a moment to examine him as if to make sure Sonic truly is just fine before he offers a small huff and amused curve of his lips.

“What are you doing here??”

“Waiting for you,” he answers honestly as Shadow helps him to stand back up properly, Sonic offering a bashful smile at how Shadow’s hands linger on Sonic’s arms even once he’s standing.

“You didn’t have to do that, I was coming to see you..,” he rubs his hands down Sonic’s arms, fingers brushing along the backs of Sonic’s hands before he lets him go. Sonic shivers.

“I know— I just wanted to be here to welcome you back,” Sonic explains with a little blush on his muzzle.

Then his eyes catch movement behind Shadow.

The bat.

She’s standing there smirking with a hand on her hip. Watching them.

Shadow follows Sonic’s gaze to the bat, clearing his throat and quickly stepping aside to introduce them properly, “Oh, Rouge. This is—“

“Sonic the Hedgehog,” she finishes knowingly, reaching her hand out to shake Sonic’s, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Aw yeah?” Sonic forces a smile and shakes her hand despite his twisting stomach at her acknowledgment, “All good things, I hope.”

“Mostly,” she winks, “I’m Rouge.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard about you too! Agent Rachel is my aunt. She talks about you sometimes.”

“Oh?” Rouge’s ears perk at this, but then a playful pout is placed on her rosy lips as she directs her attention back to Shadow, “You don’t talk about me?”

And Shadow, the absolute idiot, nods immediately and dumbly confirms, “I’ve told Sonic of our partnership.”

“I’m flattered,” the bat grins, her smile full of mischief and coquet. Sonic’s stomach twists more.

 “Did you trip??” Shadow’s gaze returns to Sonic, seemingly dismissive of the previous conversation and still worried over the fact he just prevented Sonic from cracking his head on the concrete.

“Oh, um— yeah, I was just— I forgot I had promised mom I’d pick up another bag of Ozzy’s dogfood. He’s out, so… I was gonna go.. get that..”

Shadow’s frown looks uneven, eyes observing Sonic in a suspicious sort of way, “I could go with you??”

“No, no! That’s fine. I didn’t mean to interrupt you guys’ uh-..,” he awkwardly gestures both his hands to Shadow and Rouge before clearing his throat and, “cool-spy-conversation.”

“We were just debriefing and saying our goodbyes,” Shadow replies simply, looking at Rouge again, “I’m sure Rouge has her own life to get back to.”

“Hardly,” she shrugs nonchalantly, “Haven’t had the time to really make any friends here yet. Or get to know the town..”

And Sonic, the poor, unfortunate dummy he is, absolutely word vomits with zero thought behind it, “You should come bowling with me and my family tonight!”

He mentally facepalms.

Rouge blinks at his sudden loud and aggressively inviting voice, Shadow staring at Sonic now with a confused sort of look.

Sonic flounders a moment before offering a wide grin and awkward chuckle, “I just mean— we’re going bowling tonight. There are tournaments coming up, and my big brother is on a bowling team, so we’ve been going to practice a lot.. You could come?? Since you don’t.. have any friends here yet..”

Shadow’s brows furrow a bit at this. Sonic may be trying his hardest to seem cool and friendly, but Shadow knows better. Knows him.

Something’s up.

“That’s mighty nice of you, Blue,” Rouge smiles, Sonic’s nerves grating at the unauthorized nickname, “But I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“You wouldn’t be imposing at all! In fact, with you and Shadow there, it would even out the teams! Whuddo’ya say??”

Shadow looks at Rouge, Rouge looking back at him before shrugging with a smirk, “I guess I could use some fun.”

“Great!” Sonic beams, sounding way too enthusiastic about her agreeing to come. Very forced. “We’ll be expecting ya! Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat some more, but I gotta run. Y’know how dogs get when they’re hungry!” Sonic laughs so damn awkwardly, his teeth feel weird in his mouth. “See ya!”

Shadow opens his mouth to tell him to wait, but he’s already gone. Only thing left of him is the small patch of dust he kicked up in his leave.

Rouge snorts behind him, “Sheesh. I know you said he was a ball of energy, but I didn’t expect him to be so skittish.”

“He’s not normally like that,” Shadow mutters, brows furrowed and eyes still looking in the direction Sonic disappeared off to.

“Well I’m not hatin’. He’s your man. Who am I to judge?”

Shadow just sighs, crossing his arms and his mind racing with possible explanations of Sonic’s odd behavior.

•••

“And then I invited her to come bowling with us!!” Sonic horrifically concludes, groaning as he collapses onto the couch face-first dramatically.

“Nnmf-mm-mm-mmf-mm.”

Maddie blinks amusededgy but sympathetically at the sight of her poor, destressed middle child with his mouth buried in the cushions, “…Didn’t catch that, sweetie.”

Sonic lifts his head just enough to clearly pout, “I said I need to get longer gloves,” his face splats right back into the cushion.

“Oh Sonic,” Maddie moves to sit on the couch, rolling her boy so that his head is resting in her lap rather than buried in the couch, “There’s nothing wrong with your gloves.”

“They’re not cool enough. They’re basic,” he grumbles with a little furrow of his brows at his hands, as if the white gloves he’s currently sporting have personally offended him.

“Not cool enough??” Maddie scoffs, “Oh honey- green is not a good color on you.”

“I’m blue, Mom. Blue. Have you seriously thought I was green this whole time??”

“No—“ Maddie sighs and rolls her eyes hopelessly, her hand resting in Sonic’s quills to soothingly pet through them, “It’s an expression. Someone who is metaphorically green means they’re green with envy. Jealous.”

Sonic gasps dramatically, “I am not jealous!”

“You sure sound jealous,” she points out with a quirk of her brow, “Not to mention- where has that classic Sonic confidence gone?? I’ve never heard you sound so insecure and down on yourself!”

“I’m not insecure,” Sonic defends with a huff, crossing his arms defiantly as he pouts up at his mother from his spot in her lap, “I’m just-… needing some changes. Upgrades! I’m finding myself.”

“You already know yourself,” Maddie reminds him with a little poke to the middle of his forehead, “And Shadow knows you too. And he likes you. Not some batty version of you.”

A sigh escapes Sonic’s nose at this, averting his eyes with a grumbled “I know”. Why’d she always have to be right??

He’s quiet a moment. His ears folding back and a vulnerable look in his eyes as he looks back to his mom, “But what if he likes her more..?”

“Well..,” Maddie sighs and then shrugs, “then it’ll be okay. You can’t fault him for how he feels or her for being the one to make him feel that way.. you care about Shadow, right??”

Sonic nods slowly, “He’s my best friend..”

Maddie smiles all soft and empathetic, “Then you have to be prepared to be okay with whatever makes him happy..”

Sonic frowns at this, looking down at his gloved hands with a knit in his brow as he ponders this. 

Is he ready to step aside if it means Shadow will be happier without him?? Is he ready to lose the guy he’s spent so much time with, so many conversations with, so many adventures with.. if it means Shadow will be better off?..

Yes. He is. It’ll kill him, he thinks. But he could do it for Shadow.

“But just to be 100% clear??” Maddie adds with a hand tilting Sonic’s head back up to look at her, “I seriously doubt that’s gonna be the case, kiddo.”

Sonic offers a tired sort of smile at this, “Thanks, mom..”

Maddie hums and leans down to place a kiss to his forehead, “Anytime, sweetheart.”

It’s about that moment Knuckles strolls in to grab some snacks from the kitchen and finds them like this, blinking at them a few times before immediately having a determined glare overcome his face, “Is it time to enact my duties as eldest of the sons of the Wachowski tribe and bring harm to the Utmost Being of Life??”

“Not yet, Knucks,” Sonic sighs with an eyeroll.

“Mm. I shall be at the ready,” and with that, he goes back to gathering his grapes.

•••

The family arrives at the bowling alley promptly as always, very good at always being on time despite their constant chaos. Wade is already there with a lane booked and warming up, Knuckles immediately going to greet his bowling partner merrily. 

Sonic feels like a pile of nerves, standing in line with his folks as they wait to get their bowling shoes. His eyes are darting around. No sign of Shadow or Rouge yet, but if he knows Shadow, he’ll be here any second—

“Boo.”

Sonic nearly jumps out of his quills, spinning around with wide eyes and a yelp to find Shadow standing there snickering.

Sonic’s glares at him, asserting a playful shove to his chest as he scolds, “Personal space, man! That’s a good way to get yourself knocked out!”

“As if you could ever,” Shadow rolls his eyes, still looking amused at his successful scare. Then he’s pausing to eye Sonic up and down with a small smile, “You’re wearing my jacket..”

Sonic blinks and looks down at himself with a light blush, “Oh! Yeah, it-.. it said it would be a bit chilly tonight, so I figured—“

“It’s 85 degrees outside,” Shadow smirks knowingly.

“I meant in the bowling alley!” Sonic lies with his blush deepening as he looks behind Shadow and shifts the subject, trying not to sound too hopeful, “Where’s Rouge?? She not come??”

“I imagine she’s on her way,” Shadow shrugs with a quirk of his brow at Sonic.

“Oh- you didn’t come with her??”

Shadow blinks, “..Why would I do that??”

“I just thought-.. nevermind,” Sonic shakes his head dismissively, turning to the alley worker now that he’s at the front of the line and asking for his shoe size. Shadow brings his own shoes because he refuses to put his feet where other people’s feet have been.

Which. Fair.

They make their way to where the others are waiting, already putting their shoes on at lane 13. Tails and Tom are making silly faces with the alley screen so that the tvs will play the silly bobble head skits between each turn. 

Maddie is helping Knuckles tie his shoes. Again.

Sonic swears having giant mittens instead of gloves cannot be that great.

Sonic can feel Shadow’s eyes on him as they walk, choosing to ignore it and do his best to keep his casual smile on his face. 

“..Are you alright??” Shadow eventually asks, grabbing Sonic’s arm just before they joined the others as to have a more private conversation, “Did something happen when I was gone??”

“Huh?? No! No,” Sonic chuckles with a shake of his head, “Well— not outside Knuckles traumatizing squirrels in the backyard by trapping them and having them compete with Ozzy for the title of  ‘Wachowski Tribe Pet’, again. Ya’know, I still don’t think he understands what a pet is—“

“Sonic,” Shadow says firmly, making Sonic’s smile disappear, “…I’m serious.”

“Nothing’s wrong, Shads,” the blue blur reassures with a soft look, “Everything is totally chill.”

“You’ve just been acting strange since I got back, and—“

“Hey boys!”

Sonic and Shadow’s eyes each turn to see Rouge approaching, now dressed in a simple hot pink v-neck and black leggings with matching pink heels.

Who wears heels to a bowling alley???

Her super cool piercings shimmer in the disco lights..

Sonic should get super cool piercings.

No…

No, don’t be green, Sonic.

She approaches with a friendly wave and smile, her hand resting on her hip, “So this is a bowling alley, huh?? Pretty nifty.”

Right. She probably doesn’t even know what bowling is. Makes sense.

“Hello, Rouge,” Shadow politely greets.

“Hey! You made it!” Sonic grins, smile spread far too wide.

“A lady never bails on an invitation,” she smirks, her eyes shifting to Sonic’s attire, “Cool jacket.”

“Oh, uh— thanks, it’s actually—“

“So this is the infamous Wachowski family, huh??” Rouge interrupts before Sonic has the chance to get it out that it’s Shadow’s jacket that he gave him, the bat looking behind them at their group preparing for their match, 

“Uhh infamous??” Sonic’s head tilts with a quirk of his brow.

“Everyone knows you guys. Especially at GUN. You all are who started all this, after all,” she explains.

“Oh..,” Sonic says a bit sheepishly, “Yeah, well. We’re just a normal family.”

They look over at the Wachowski’s and their two other Mobian sons preparing for the bowling match, Sonic having a fond little smile as he watches Maddie help Tails stretch and Knuckles and Tom search for the appropriate ball sizes for them all.

“Yeah.. normal,” Rouge smirks with a quirk of her brow, her eyes lingering on the echidna..

“Come on! I’ll introduce you,” Sonic offers with a nod of his head towards the group, the three joining them now at their lane.

Shadow places the duffle bag with his personal bowling ball and shoes down on the bench next to where Tom sits, beginning to unpack his things as Sonic stands with Rouge before them all,

“Hey guys! This is Rouge. She works at GUN too.”

“Rouge!” Maddie immediately grins, moving to shake her hand, “I’ve heard so much about you from my sister.”

“Handel, right??” Rouge smirks, shaking Maddie’s hand, “She’s a fun gal to work with.”

“Try growing up with her,” Maddie mutters back sarcastically before politely adding, “I’m Maddie.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Maddie.”

Tails peeks out from behind Maddie’s legs before stepping out and holding his own hand out now, “Hi! I’m Tails.”

“Aw yeah, the boy genius!” the bat gives an impressed little smile, “I’ve heard you give our technologies division a run for their money.”

“Heh,” Tails removes his hand from hers and humbly rubs the back of his neck, “I just tinker a bit.”

“You’re too modest,” she winks, Tails blushing a bit and quickly scurrying away all shy.

Tom is sitting next to Shadow— who is now putting his shoes on. He offers Rouge a little wave and smile from his seat, “Tom.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Tom,” she nods, “Donut Lord, if I’m correct?”

Tom chuckles at that, “Sonic tell you about that??”

“Shadow, actually.”

Tom quirks a brow at Shadow to which Shadow merely shrugs in response, continuing with perfectly lacing and tying his shoes.

Knuckles approaches now, having been conversing with Wade through most of this. He eyes her suspiciously, Rouge seeming to share whatever curious vibe he’s giving if the way she eyes him up and down is anything to go off of.

“And you’re the echidna,” she observes aloud, smirking slow at the older brother.

“I am. The last,” he says honest and proud, “And you are??”

“Rouge,” she answers, holding her hand out for him to shake—

Uh oh.

Sonic should stop her. 

Warn her.

Instead, he just watches with a knowing smile.

Knuckles reaches a hand out to take hers, “I am Knuckles of the Wachowski clan—“

“HEY!” she’s immediately jerking her hand away, trying to shake the pain out of it and causing everyone’s eyes to snap to the two at the sound of her yelp. 

Knuckles just stands there unphased. As if this is just how every introduction on earth is meant to go.

Sonic honestly doesn’t know if he knows any different.

“What’s the big idea?!” she glowers at him, Knuckles seeming a bit thrown off by her assertiveness, “You nearly broke my hand!”

“I was simply offering a courteous earth handshake. It is custom to this world to squeeze the hand of another when meeting them,” he explains as if he’s making perfect sense, and she’s the crazy one.

“Not enough to turn my hand into mush, you Knucklehead!”

Knuckles’ cheeks puff angrily at this, “Why does everyone call me that?? That is not my name! I clearly stated it was Knuckles—“

“It’s called an insult, genius,” she huffs, still clutching her throbbing hand.

“Insult??? You dare to insult me?! I demand a duel to the—“

“Woahwoahwoah—.” Maddie quickly steps between the two before things can get too out of hand, “no duels. No battles, no death arenas, no.”

Knuckles is still glaring at Rouge when he huffs out a, “Fine. We shall settle this with a game of bowling.”

“How am I suppose to bowl if my hand is broke??”

“That is not my problem. It’s not my fault you are fragile.”

“FRAGILE—?!”

“Okay! Why don’t we all simmer down,” Maddie tries again, gently ushering Knuckles away to create more space between them. He does the thing where he points two fingers at his own eyes and then points them at Rouge as he turns to return to Wade. Sonic taught him that.

Sonic can’t help but bite back a little snicker as he watches Rouge turn away with a huff, still clutching her hand.

His amusement immediately dissipates when he finds Shadow at him with a disapproving frown.

Sonic clears his throat and looks away, pretending not to notice.

Shadow stands with his bowling shoes now on and laced up, moving to Rouge to place a hand on her back and gently usher her away, “Come on. Let’s get you some ice for that..”

Sonic watches them with a frown, his ears bending back and a pout working its way onto his lips.

Well.

That backfired.

•••

They split into teams. Knuckles and Wade competing against one another for tournament practice’s sake, picking between the Wachowski’s and Shadow and Rouge.

Wade picks Rouge right of the bat (pun intended). Sonic is fairly certain this is because Knuckles demanded he have her on his team since Rouge has never played a game of bowling in her life.

“I’m Wade, by the way,” the deputy introduces as she approaches his side of the lane, holding out his hand to shake hers only to immediately put it back down when he only receives a glare from her in response. 

Too soon.

Knuckles picks Shadow, the most precise bowler of the amateurs.

Wade picks Tom.

Knuckles picks Maddie for “equality’s sake”.

Wade picks Sonic, meaning he’s on Rouge’s team. Yay.

And it ends with Knuckles picking poor Tails who doesn’t seem to yet have the strength to get the ball to go down the middle quick enough to do any real damage to the pins, resulting in usually a 4 or 5 on his first bowl.

Taking lane 14 next to 13, Team Wade starts the match.

Wade is their first bowler, going through his typical routine before rolling the ball down the alley and receiving an easy strike. The team cheering, though not surprised by his skill.

Knuckles steps up then, amethyst eyes locked in a glare with Rouge as he stands right in front of the lane and chunks the ball. He never looks. The pins nearly exploding from the impact of the strike. Rouge huffs. His eyes narrow further. 

He steps away to allow Rouge to go.

Stepping up to pick up her ball, Sonic notices her heels are still on.

“Oh, uh- Rouge?” she turns to face him, “As much as I’m lovin’ your bowling chic, you can’t step out there with those on. They get mad if you damage their floor, trust me—“

“I won’t touch the floor, no worries,” she winks, Sonic frowning in a confused way as he watches her turn back around to bowl.

Her wings spread before she steps out on the slick wood, flapping just enough to allow her to hover as she rears the ball back and then tosses it down the alley. 

And she’s strong because that ball flies!

It barely even touches the ground before hitting the pins, knocking them all down from the sheer impact of her bowl. She smirks at this, turning to meet Knuckles’ eyes with a sassy little “hmph” before she sashays back to her seat.

Knuckles is fuming. Sonic would honestly love her for this is the circumstances were different.

Instead, he finds himself feeling ill at the impressed look on Shadow’s face.

The game goes on like this. Wade, Knuckles Rouge and Shadow getting a strike every time, Tom and Maddie getting a few in here and there and Sonic and Tails getting mostly spares or high numbers. Sonic would much prefer to curl up in a ball and spindash down a strike, but the manager said he couldn’t do that anymore since his quills were scratching up the floors..

The game is close, and typically Sonic would be playfully smack-talking the opposing team, but he’s strangely silent. Emerald eyes always watching the bat, observing her movements and attitude and form..

How she always gets a stupid strike.

And while he obsessed over her, ruby eyes watch him. Concerned and curious by his uncharacteristically quiet nature.

Sonic stands in the back leaning forward against the wall the bowling balls are nestled in, watching the game but not really watching the game. His mind is elsewhere. That much is obvious to Shadow. That along with the fact he isn’t sitting by Shadow and chatting him up after Shadow has been gone away on a mission is.. odd. He’s barely spoken to him all night.

 Approaching Sonic quietly as Tails takes his turning bowling, Shadow leans next to Sonic and keeps his eyes on the fox bowling as well. 

“You’re sweating,” Shadow eventually says from Sonic’s side.

“Huh?? I’m not sweating,” Sonic snorts with a roll of his eyes, a small shake of his head.

“You are,” Shadow mutters, “You should take the jacket off. Your cheeks have been flushed most the night. You’re likely overheated.”

“My cheeks are not flushed,” Sonic frowns defiantly.

“They are,” Shadow pushes, now looking at Sonic and frowning at his defensive tone, “What’s got you so uptight??? Why Don’t you just take the jacket off and come sit with me for a bit—“

“Why do you want me to take your jacket off so bad??” Sonic argues with a little glare at Shadow, making the hybrid blink in surprise at the sudden hostility, “I can keep it on if I want.”

Shadow pauses and then frowns, his own patience wearing thin. He doesn’t deserve this sort of snippiness, he hasn’t done anything. “Hey. I’m just worried about you. There’s nothing wrong with me worrying, especially when you’ve been acting like a fool since I saw you at GUN earlier.”

Sonic huffs at this, rolling his eyes and looking away with an angry little frown and annoyed shake of his head. His cheeks are flushed darker again. 

“You’re the one that’s been acting different.”

“Me???” Shadow scoffs with wide eyes, “Oh please do inform me on how I’ve been different.”

“You’ve been with her,” Sonic’s eyes dart daggers at the bat who is giggling to herself as she watches Knuckles take his next bowl. 

Shadow follows his eyes to Rouge and blinks in confusion before returning them to Sonic, “Rouge??”

Rouge’s ears twitch at hearing her name.

Sonic looks back to Shadow now, eyes growing glossy and face heated with growing shame and embarrassment for his behavior, but it’s like he just can’t stop himself—

“Yes, Rouge.”

“What about her??? I can’t help that I have to work, Sonic—“

“I saw you two,” the blue blur hisses out, face dangerously close to Shadow’s now in a daring and angry sort of way, “At GUN. I saw how yall were laughing together and holding arms and being all couple-y.”

Shadow is so lost at Sonic’s words right now, having been oblivious but now slowly beginning to snap pieces together, “‘Couple-y’???”

“You know what—“ Sonic now begins aggressively stripping the jacket off his arms, fumbling a bit at his wrists as they get caught on his gloves but eventually getting it off with a huff and shoving it at Shadow, “Take your stupid jacket since you don’t want me wearing it so bad.”

Shadow’s hands go up rather than taking the jacket being held out to him, looking hurt by Sonic’s sudden rejection of his gift, his scent, “What?? No! That’s yours—“

“Hey, boys, heard my name—“ Rouge is there, now. Looking cool as always but there’s a bit of awkwardness in her stance.

“Fine!” Sonic huffs, ignoring her words and moving to instead shove the jacket at her. Tossing it this time so that it hits her rather than waiting for it to be taken, “She can have it!”

Then he’s storming out, turning and stomping out of the bowling alley and leaving Shadow and Rouge both staring wondering what the hell just happened.

“Hey!” Wade calls with a frown, “It’s almost Sonic’s turn! We only have three more rounds!”

“Ha! Dishonor! He left your team before inevitable defeat because you suck!” Knuckles boldly mocks with a booming laugh, oblivious to the drama unfolding.

“We do not suck, we’re winning by six!” Wade argues.

The two continue their competitive bickering as Rouge looks down at the jacket with a frown and then at Shadow who is staring off in the direction Sonic had gone looking absolutely distressed. 

The pieces fall pretty quick.

”I need to go talk to him,” Shadow says determinedly, worry laced in his voice. But as soon as he makes a step, Rouge is reaching out to stop him.

“No..,” Shadow turns and looks at her with knitted brows, “Let me..”

Shadow isn’t sure for a moment. She is what has made Sonic so upset, after all.. but after Rouge gives him a reassuring smile, he gives with a nod, watching as the bat walks off in the direction Sonic left with jacket still in hand.

Maddie and Tom exchange worried looks before Maddie stands up from her seat and moves to comfort Shadow, having a little more insight on Sonic’s rash behavior than he seems to.

“Hey, sweetie..,” she says softly as she approaches him, her heart aching at this sweet boy’s almost scared eyes looking down at his hands as if they had done something wrong..

She’s grown very fond of Shadow over the past near-year. He and Sonic are a perfect match, even if they’re not official yet, and they balance each other out so nicely.. Almost as if they were made for one another, Maddie has often thought.

She’s learned Shadow has a deeply sensitive heart, one that’s quite larger than most people’s. He feels things so much deeper than others, with so much more intensity and devotion. He unapologetically tries. Harder than she’s seen anyone else ever do in her lifetime..

He’s simply stunted on how to properly project these emotions.. he struggles with getting those overwhelming feelings out properly, with sharing them in a way others can comprehend and understand. But he’s grown. Sonic has helped him with that..

Sadly, Sonic himself struggles with big emotions, too, now and then.. and he struggles with not letting them out in a whole new way. He simply bundles them up and suppresses them inside rather than messily letting them out like Shadow. Let’s them all build until he inevitably explodes. Like he just did..

“What did I do??” Shadow frowns, eyes slowly lifting to the woman who has now become a mother figure to him as well in many ways, “How do I fix it??”

He looks terrified.. like he’s losing Sonic. 

He can’t lose anyone else. He can’t lose Sonic.

“Oh honey..,” Maddie sighs sympathetically, crouching down to his height to wrap her arms tight around him and hug him to her, “You didn’t do anything..”

“He’s so upset..,” Shadow mutters, immediately leaning into her hug but wrapping his own arms around himself. 

“This is a Sonic problem,” Maddie reassures, “Not something you did. He is dealing with something he hasn’t really dealt with before, and we know how he can be with changes..”

Sonic hates change, especially when it’s something he’s unfamiliar with or can’t predict the outcome of. Her mind immediately goes back to how betrayed he had been when Tom had initially planned to move away from Green Hills. The decision to stay was certainly the right one, but it was also a sneak peek of how Sonic finds new and sudden things a bit overwhelming.

He’s matured over the years, of course. But he’s still a kid. And he’s still processing all sorts of new emotions– especially since Shadow came into the picture.

“But what changes have even occurred??” Shadow questions, tilting his head back to look at Maddie properly, his ears twitching like they want to fold back but refuse.

“Well..,” she sighs, trying to find the right words without making anyone any sort of bad guy or victim in this situation. It’s all just a lack of communication, not so much a legitimate conflict. “Up until a few weeks ago, Sonic had you all to himself..,” she explains softly, hand lifting to gently brush down Shadow’s upsettingly raised quills. Mellow him out some from his distressed state. This is a hedgehog thing, she’s noticed. Both Shadow and Sonic’s quills seem to raise slightly and get pokier when upset. Like a cat raising its fur.

“Now he’s having to share you with someone he doesn’t really know well,” she continues, watching as Shadow’s eyes look down in thought as he processes her words, “Someone he obviously thinks is cool enough to compete with his own charisma..” “Rouge,” Shadow states quietly, eyes lifting in realization to Maddie, “He’s envious of her..?” “Moreso jealous than envy,” Maddie winks with a small smile, “He doesn’t want to be her necessarily, but I think he might feel threatened by her new place in your life..” “But Sonic can’t be replaced in my life,” Shadow assures with a knit in his brow, trying to understand why the hedgehog might be so upset by this. It seemed silly to him. Sonic should know Shadow would never replace him..

“Maybe he doesn’t realize that,” she says gently, “He’s a pretty straight forward guy, Shadow.. A lot goes over his head if it’s not put out in the open. Maybe you two should talk a bit more firmly on where he stands with you and what exactly you two mean to each other..” Shadow ponders her words a moment, looking at her before nodding slowly, “We communicate poorly when it comes to emotions.” “Your words, not mine,” she giggles with a little shrug, “..you’re not at fault here, though, okay?? I need you to understand there’s nothing wrong with you having friends outside of Sonic. And he knows that, too. He’s just thinking a little too into it right now, and a little more insecure than he likes people to believe. He’ll snap out of it eventually, and just be happy you’re branching out some. This is a big step for you: making a friend on your own. And I, for one, am proud of you.” Shadow’s brows knit tight at this before a relieved sort of smile forms on his lips, “Thank you, Mrs. Wachowski..”

“Don’t let this discourage you from making more friends in the future,” she gently rubs a hand over his ear before cupping his muzzle softly, “You did nothing wrong, and Sonic will be okay.” Shadow nods against her palm before glancing towards the door, “I should go talk to him, shouldn’t I?” “Absolutely,” she smiles with a wink, standing once again just for him to look back to her with a grateful nod before walking towards the exit.

Knuckles watches this all unfold, a little scowl on his face and mind venturing away from the bowling match. Instead now focused on his little brother that is obviously very upset because of the dumb bat. 

The group decides to pause the game and grab some snacks while waiting for things to simmer some with Sonic, Shadow and Rouge, Knuckles taking this opportunity to go and find the bat for himself and show no mercy for inflicting pain on the Wachowski tribe. 

Outside, Sonic is pacing back and forth on the roof, hoping he wouldn’t be followed or found up there. He’s muttering scolds to himself, fingers running through his quills irritably and eyes full of guilt and regret at how he just acted.

“Stupid, why’d you have to be so stupid,” he hisses to himself, closing his eyes in annoyance as he drops his arms to his sides with a huff, “His face.. He looked so hurt..,” he frowns and opens his eyes to spot a rock on the floor, scowling at it before bending down to pick it up and glare at it as if it had personally offended him, “Why do I have to be so annoying!?” He turns and chunks the rock off the roof with a growl, a spark of blue in his quills and eyes as his powers are triggered by his high emotions and the rock is sent flailing towards space.

“Wow,” Sonic flinches and spins around at the unexpected voice, “And here I thought Shadow was the one with anger issues.”

“Look,” Sonic immediately huffs, trying to keep his cool but sounding a bit out of breath as his hackles rise, “I know I shouldn’t have thrown the jacket at you, and if you give me time to cool off, I’ll offer a way better apology. But right now, I’m soo not wanting to look at you.” Rouge blinks at that, landing from where she had just flown up to the rooftop upon hearing his little tantrum up there, “Mwah??” She places a hand on her chest as if to clutch her pearls, scandalized by his hostility towards her. Except she’s not, immediately letting the facade fall as she smirks and, “That should be a crime. I’m easily the best thing to look at in this boring, little town.” Sonic’s eyes just narrow at her, growling under his breath before turning away from her to cross his arms stubbornly, “Then why don’t you just leave??” Obviously offended by her insult to Green Hills.

“No can do, Blue. My new friend invited me here, and it would be a real shame to ruin a new friendship over a silly jacket,” she offers, taking a few steps towards him but not getting too close in case he still is too angry.

Sonic pauses a moment, turning his head slightly to look at her over his shoulder, “You think I’m your friend??” “Well, I was hoping,” Rouge chuckles, now approaching him fully to stand behind him and watch with slight relief when he turns to face her properly again. This time he doesn’t look like he wants to chunk her off the roof like he just did that rock. Instead he looks… guilty. Embarrassed.

“...Why would you want to be my friend after how I just acted??” “Because you just had a diva moment,” Rouge shrugs, “Trust me, I have plenty of them. And if I was held accountable for every time I had one, I’d never make any friends.”

Sonic looks down, rubbing his arm sheepishly with a small frown as he eyes the jacket she’s holding in her arms, “..I didn’t mean it. Snapping at you. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything..” “Oh hun, you didn’t hurt my feelings,” Rouge smirks reassuringly. “I didn’t??” Sonic blinks, looking up at her. “Sticks and stones, Blue,” she shrugs with a wink, “Not the first time I’ve had someone not like me simply because they’re intimidated by me.” Sonic wants to defend himself, argue with her that he wasn’t intimidated by her.. But..

“Yeah. I guess that’s my problem, huh?? Kinda seems unfair you have to be treated bad simply because you’re so cool.”

Rouge puts a hand on her cheek to feign bashfulness, “Oh stop. You’re making me blush.” “You are! You’re– you have cool piercings, and you’re pretty like– all the time, even after long missions! And you fight really good, and don’t seem to let things bother you–” “Now who said all that??” Rouge tilts her head with a little quirk of her brow.

“Well… I just kinda.. Assumed.”

“Hey. That’s where you went wrong. Everyone knows to assume is to make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’.”

Sonic blinks.

“What??”

“I’m saying,” Rouge sighs, moving to sit on the edge of the roof now, jacket settled in her lap, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover. I’m not as perfect as I make myself out to be. Hard to believe, I know.” Sonic looks at her a moment before moving to join her on the edge, settling beside her with a foot propped up on the ledge and his arm resting on his knee. Overlooking the bowling alley’s parking lot.

“Besides, you’re pretty damn cool, too, Blue,” she adds with a small smirk, “Hero of earth? Fastest thing alive?? Look around, you have tons of people who care about you. That can’t be for nothing..”

Sonic shrugs, “I got real lucky, I guess.” “That ain’t luck, sweetheart,” she corrects firmly, Sonic glancing at her suddenly more stern tone, “People aren’t drawn to luck.. They’re drawn to good. And you’re probably the good-est thing anyone here has had in a long time..”

Sonic looks down again, thinking about her words. In a large way, he did bring them all together. They love him, he’d never doubt that. Maybe she’s right.. Maybe it’s not luck. Maybe it’s just.. him..

“I know Shadow certainly thinks so,” she adds with a knowing smirk, peeking at Sonic out of the corner of her eye to see him blushing a bit and his eyes widen slightly.

“Shadow-... Shadow’s biased. All he knows is me. The second he finds something new and better, he’ll… he’ll see I’m not as great as I’ve told him I am.”

Rouge snorts at that, “That’s some pretty selfish thinking.” Sonic looks at her confused, “How is me admitting I’m lame selfish???”

“It’s not. But you putting words in Shadow’s mouth for him is. You can’t think for the guy, kid, you gotta let him come to his own conclusions. Shadow knows a lot, okay?? He’s not some sheltered puppy. Hell– he’s seen more than you or I combined, I’m pretty sure..”

Sonic stays quiet, looking at her as she turns to look at him and continues.

“And he’s seen you. He knows a good thing when he sees it, and that’s all he sees when he looks at you. Good. And I think he knows he’s hit the jackpot managing to coral a good thing like you.”

Sonic blushes a bit and looks away again, fighting a small smile as he looks up at the half-blown up moon..

“He’s not looking at me, Sonic,” the bat adds with a little bump of her elbow to his arm, “He’s only got eyes for you. And I think you know that.. You just needed a reminder.”

Sonic sighs at that, looking back to Rouge and offering a small smile, “...I like you.”

Rouge just laughs at that, rolling her eyes at him and shaking her head, “I give you a whole speech on self worth and not being intimidated by false assumptions, and all I get is a ‘I like you’???”

“Hey! That’s an honor,” Sonic chuckles, “I’m the good-est thing in this town!” Rouge snorts at that, grinning as she shakes her head, “Gee. Glad it’s not gonna go to your head.”

They laugh another few moments before their giggles die down and they’re left sitting there content with one another.

“..I really am sorry for being a jerk,” Sonic says after a moment, turning to her to hold out his fist, “We cool?” She looks at his fist then him, offering a smirk as she fistbumps him, “We’re cool.”

Sonic nods, feeling way better already.

“Besides. Would be a damn shame if the two hottest kittens in this town weren’t friends,” Rouge adds with a shrug. “Oh, for sure. We’re gonna be such an iconic duo– earth doesn’t know what’s coming,” Sonic agrees matter-of-factly with a nod of his head.

“Agreed. So what’s up with your older brother??”

“Dude, ain’t that the question of the hour,” Sonic snorts with a helpless roll of his eyes.

“He doesn’t have much goin’ on in his head, does he?”

“He’s actually really smart! Just.. only with the things he already knows about.” “Obviously, he doesn’t know about manners,” Rouge huffs.

“Yeahhhh, that’s not his strong-suit, no,” Sonic rubs the back of his neck. “Guess someone will have to teach him,” Rouge shrugs, leaning back on her palms with a mischievous little smirk.

Sonic’s head whips around to look at her with wide eyes, “...Ewwww, that’s my brother.” “Hey. All is fair and all that jazz,” she shrugs, giggling at Sonic’s obvious disgust. 

“Ugh. Just leave me out of it,” Sonic shivers, Rouge humming a little chuckle.

Her ears then twitch, hearing something from behind. Turning to look, she smiles softly and then slowly moves to stand up, “Well, I’m gonna get back in there. Let you two chat..” “Two??” Sonic’s brows furrow as he turns to look around and sees Shadow standing there looking… very upset.

It breaks Sonic’s heart, that guilt immediately rising in him again as he swallows on the lump in his throat.

“Oh..”

Rouge walks to Shadow, pausing beside him to hand his jacket off to him with a little wink, “Go easy on him. His cute makes up for the stupid.”

Shadow merely gives a grunt in response, taking the jacket as it’s handed to him with his eyes locked on Sonic’s.

Rouge flies back down below to the entrance, reaching to pull the door open only to freeze at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

She looks to her left to find the echidna stepping out from the shadows where he had obviously been eavesdropping. 

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you it’s rude to sneak up on a lady??” she huffs, crossing her arms as she faces him, shifting her weight on her leg to stand all sassy with her hip out.

Knuckles ignores her words, stepping in front of the door beside her as he eyes her.

She almost feels nervous at this. How he’s sizing her up like he’s judging a pie at a county contest or something. But she doesn’t show it, merely leaning forward and narrowing her eyes at him with a quirked brow. “Take a picture, echidna, it’ll last longer–” “Thank you for comforting my brother.” She blinks, standing up straight again as her stance tenses at the unexpected appreciation.

“What?” “Sonic. My brother. I am not the best at knowing how to handle when my tribe is upset.. I am glad you were here to ease his mind,” Knuckles explains, his fists limp at his sides to show his openness. No hostility.

“Oh..,” she raises a hand to her chest, a slow smile forming on her lips, “Well in that case, you’re welcome.” “I will not forget this good deed you have performed for my clan,” Knuckles nods formally, a hand lifting to heavily rest on her shoulder and squeeze, “I am in your debt.” Rouge grunts a bit at the heavy weight of his fist on her shoulder, shrugging it off with a, “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Dusting her shoulder as if he might’ve gotten dirt on it before pausing and then forming a mischievous little smirk on her lips as she looks at him, “I can think of a few ways you could repay me..” “Anything,” Knuckles says so dang nonchalantly. Like he doesn’t know what that deep voice promising that word can do to a girl. Probably because he doesn’t.

She just hums at this, reaching to grab the tip of one of his front quills hanging over his shoulder and give it a little tug so that he’s down to her level.

He crouches a bit hesitant as she leans up to whisper in his ear..

Then his eyes go huge and his muzzle matches the color of his quills, quickly pulling away with an absolutely scandalized look on his face, “MY INNOCENCE! My sweet innocence– I will not perform such an act, you batty woman!” He’s already rushing inside in an attempt to get away, Rouge laughing as she moves to follow after him with a shrug. “What??? Girl’s gotta eat..”

The door shuts and above on the roof, Sonic and Shadow are still staring at one another as if unable to make the next move.

Sonic swallows hard, slowly pushing himself up to stand from the edge and face him properly.

Shadow doesn’t move. Just stares at Sonic with this.. strange look on his face. A mix of hurt and fear and anger and… something else. Determination maybe??

Either way, Sonic is the first to speak, knowing he’s the one that owes the apology here.

“Shadow, I–.” he swallows hard, feeling the lump in his throat grow bigger with each word and finding it harder to speak, “I’m so sorry. I was really stupid in there..”

Shadow starts walking towards him, and Sonic just keeps word vomiting as he always does, his feet feeling frozen in place as the hybrid stalks towards him.

“I was being dumb and insecure and assuming things and I should’ve just talked to you about how I was feeling instead of being all dramatic about it and I just really care about you and am scared that maybe you’ll think I’m like super lame one day and won’t want to be around me anymore and are you gonna punch me?? Because I totally get it if you do, but also, my precious face–” Shadow reaches Sonic and shuts him up.

And by ‘shuts him up’, he means he grabs him with his face cupped in his hands and jerks him to him to crush their mouths together.

Sonic squeaks, eyes going huge and tail immediately wagging so fast that he might take flight like his little brother does. Shadow’s eyes are clamped shut, keeping his lips firmly pressed to the hedgehog’s and his hands holding him in place as he kisses him.

It’s awkward. Very inexperienced and firm and not at all soft and romantic like movie kisses are. Sonic can feel Shadow’s fangs peeking through his lips against Sonic’s own mouth from how firmly they’re pressed to his, but he is soooo not complaining.

And in his shock over this entire moment, he forgets to kiss back, standing there like a stiff noodle with his hands flexed in surprise at his sides and not touching Shadow.

A few moments pass and Shadow pulls back with a quiet ‘smack’ of their lips parting.

Sonic is still staring at him all frozen and tail wagging giddily. Shadow opens his eyes to look at him as well now, a deep blush dusting his cheeks as he clears his throat and looks down a bit awkwardly, “Just, um– just to make myself clear on where we stand,” he explains, lifting a fist to his lips to clear his throat–also to rub over where he can still feel Sonic’s on his.

“Oh,” Sonic croaks, voice sounding shaky and breathy and higher than normal.

“I hope that’s okay.”

“Yup.” “And we’re.. clear then?”

“Crystal.”

Shadow breathes out an amused puff of air at Sonic’s short answers, rolling his eyes before finally finding the courage to look back up at him and finding Sonic is now smiling like the stupid idiot he is.

Shadow just offers a soft smile back, moving to then take the jacket all this mess derived from and gently drape it back around Sonic’s shoulders. Straightening the collar, he looks back to Sonic’s eyes and finds the hedgehog’s pupils are still blown but his gaze has softened from shock to something akin to lovestruck.

“This belongs to you,” Shadow says firmly once the jacket is on Sonic properly, “Only you.”

Sonic melts a bit.

He’s got a feeling they’re not talking about the jacket anymore.

[radiance1]

Ahem.

So I remembered a very old post of mine that came to be in the form of an ask I sent someone, so I'm going to borrow an idea from that. Can't remember it accurately, nor can I find it so I'm just gonna take a few creative liberties here :)

So, Danny defeats Dark Danny, the Nasty Burger explosion happens, but Clockwork doesn't reverse time, leaving everything Danny held dear gone.

Danny obviously doesn't take this well and you know, breaks down as one does after losing both family and friends at once. He stays locked up in the Fenton house, moping around in a daze for most of it and trying not to become Dark Danny.

One day, when looking through his parents' old stuff he finds a few comic books, a world where superheroes and villains existed and they fought each other in the classic good and evil. Danny wasn't really all that interested at first, but after a while he sat down and started reading them.

Needless to say, he was instantly enthralled with the world, with its heroes and villains and everything going on with it that made it seem so much more fantastical than his own, bleak and miserable one.

He found himself a favorite rather quickly, a Superhero going by the identity of Batman, and his civilian name Bruce Wayne. He's read all of his adventures with bated breathes, hoping for him to succeed when he seemed unable to, sharing his misery when something truly terrible happened, and sharing his joy as well.

It made his life seem... brighter, than it did after the explosion.

Unfortunately, there was a limited supply of them, and he quickly had to take to rereading them over and over again. Until more mysteriously started to appear on his bed one day, and the young dragon (Yes I'm infecting him with the Eastern Dragon au. He has the horns, claws, scales, fangs and tail, everything is human.) was weary of them at first, before just sitting down and reading them anyways.

Introducing new characters, he watched as both Batman's allies and enemies grew. More being added to his family over time, experiencing the great loss that happened when Jason died and being just as surprised when he came back.

He could almost imagine himself there, if he really, really tried.

Then one day, when he was waiting and expecting for more of those comic books to appear, instead what he was greeted with some kind of circle that appeared on his floor, and Danny really shouldn't have done what he did, but there wasn't anyone there to stop him, nor any that would care if he was gone.

Not anymore.

So he just stepped inside of it. Whatever it was, was probably an aimless summoning that didn't have an intended target, probably, if the gasps of those who summoned him- who looked like the generic cultists- let out as well as one of them outright questioning that it worked.

He didn't really care about them though, he was just about ready to leave, step out of the circle and all to go explore wherever the hell he was when something, something utterly precious caught his attention.

Batman smashed through a window, landing with a roll onto the floor and quickly standing up to identify the threats in the room.

Danny paused, not blinking or even breathing he thinks.

That. That man.

That was his.

[rychlostthespacewizard]

I've been collecting some random quotes I found around the internet and use in my dnd games

Here are some I found in no specific order:

1. "Speak, mortal. You have reached Tharvek, Devourer of Innocents and Wielder of Eternal Flames. It appears I have missed your pitiful attempt at contact. Leave your name, teleportation runes, preferred genre of torment, shoe size, allegiance, deepest fears, vulnerabilities, complete medical history, and where you summoned the gall to disturb me. I may choose to acknowledge your existence, but not by such mundane means. Thank you, and remember: tread carefully, for death lurks at every shadowed crossing."

2. "Are you aiming for greatness or avoiding disapointment"

3. "Si operarii omnes producunt, omnia operariis pertinent."

4. "what do you think it means to be saved"

5. "What happened?" - "Nothing that wasn't my fault"

6. "Something is different"

7. "I don't think so, but i do think that the growing control of those that have the power over the means of production is a threat to the autonomy of the people. As value that is created by the working force is not rewarded to them. Instead only guarantees enough for them to survive and work more. It's like slavery but with extra steps. So anyhow, how's your day going?"

8. "You know, that reminds me that sometimes, violence is the necessary. Sometimes the only path to redemption for the sins of ignorance is to face the fundamental truth of blood and fire. As they meet the primordial within their heartbeat, the oppressors might have a chance to understand the pain they caused and atone for their sins. Also have you seen the new play at the theater?"

9.  "You think we're equals? I had to battle struggles you've never imagined. I became this while fearing the night, disguising myself as a man just to travel safely. Our similarities end when you learned to fight your enemies, while I had to fight comrades who left me with scars that will never heal. I survived because I was cursed to live as I am among those I swore to protect, only to be seen as their enemy."

10. "The universe is and we are"

11. "We do not have much connection, you and I. Still this encounter feels special, I hope you do not mind if I think of you as a friend"

12. "This is your home. If you want to fight to defend it, that's your choice. I'd be honoured to stand alongside you. The enemy attacks tomorrow. He's brutal and fights only to kill, which is why he will never defeat us. Look around. In this circle, we're all equals. You're not fighting because someone's ordering you to, you're fighting for so much more than that. You fight for your homes. You fight for your family. You fight for your friends. You fight for the right to grow crops in peace. And if you fall, you fall fighting for the noblest of causes: fighting for your very right to survive! And when you're old and grey, you'll look back on this day, and you'll know you earned the right to live every day in between! So you fight! For your family! For your friends! For Ealdor!"

13. "I can't blame you for wanting to know yourself better, it was one of the biggest pleasures of my life"

14. "The pain of your absence is sharp and haunting, and I would five anything to not know it; anything but never knowing you at all I can only hope that you are safe, wherever you are"

15. "This song is new to me, but I am honored to be part of it"

16. "It's tempting to linger in this moment, but unless they are collapsed by an observer, they will never be more than that, only possibilities"

17. "Are you still here? I am unsure how to survive in a universe without you, I am unsure how to be me without you"

18. "Is the hardest part of this tragedy not knowing who we may have lost? or will the hardest part come later, when we learn?"

19. "I see someone making through, you just need to be sure it is you"

20. "You are no saint; you're just indifferent. You aid all without caring who they've wronged or what evil they've wrought. You place the wicked among those who shelter you. Even the gods' love is not unconditional, and neither should ours be."

21. As the hag's gaze pierces through the darkness, her voice resonates with an otherworldly chill. "You feel it, don't you? The knot tightening around your throat, the sharp claws of dread digging into your chest, the icy tendrils slithering down your spine? That's the sensation of being forsaken, of standing alone in the void, unnoticed by the gods. Even your soul quivers, knowing that no divine intervention will come to your aid. You're trapped in a blind spot, unseen by the greater powers." Her words hang heavy in the air, suffocating the very essence of hope. "And yet, you cling to your righteous desires, your noble quest to save your friends. But can you be certain that your gods will forgive such a pact with a creature like me? Your actions may be seen as a grievous offense, a betrayal of everything they hold dear. Will they not turn their backs on you? And this dread that gnaws at your spirit, it will not dissipate once you leave this place. It will cling to you like a curse, haunting your every step until the day you finally rest in your grave, a constant reminder of the darkness that lurks within your soul."

22. "In this life, we traverse like a canoe upon deep waters. Our passage ripples the surface briefly, yet the depths remain undisturbed. With time, the surface quiets once more, leaving no trace of our journey."

23. "You are a coward wearing the facade of a revolutionary."

24. "What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"

25. "I will face god and walk backwards into hell."

26. "The man who sleeps on the floor cannot fall out of bed."

27. "The man who sleeps with a machete is a fool every night but one."

28. "For every person who dreams up a butter knife, there is a person who dreams up a poisoned dagger."

29. "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

30. "Does the archer fear his bow? Or does he kiss each arrow goodbye as it marries the wind?"

31. "These feelings can eat away at you, chip away the parts of you that you once held dear and defined you. You remember a time where you felt more complete, had stronger relationships and felt more loved."

32. "To be tall is not a virtue, to be short is not a sin."

33. "Power comes in a response to a need, not desire. You have to create that need."

34. "You can't kill me in a way that matters."

35. "Do what you must, I have already won."

36. "Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer."

37. "Darkness without light is an abyss. Light without darkness is blinding. You cannot have a coin with only one side."

38. "When they burned Ioun's Archive, the crowd revelled in horrible disbelief. They understood that there was something older than wisdom, and it was fire, and something truer than words, and it was ashes, and something more eternal than knowledge, and it was death."

39. "I can no longer be a liberator for people who refuse to see their chains."

40. "You could sooner divert a river from its corse than deny my nature."

41. "Violence for violence is the rule of beasts."

42. "The only universal langue is blood and flames, we all have spoken this language and felt the fear of words older than our desires."

43. "The fire of extravagance can never burn simplicity."

44. "A mind unprepared for freedom will shatter like glass when shown cosmos without restriction."

45. "I have been cursed by my hubris, and my work will never be finished."

46. "I would rather die standing than live kneeling."

47. "For even the most banal of deaths can be made tragic by a broken heart."

48. "To love someone is to turn around. To love someone is to look at them."

49. "There's no cheerful somebody waiting for you at that alter. There is no meaning your alphabet soup. There is a right to obey."

50. "The foulest insults you hurl with intent to wound will calmly settle at the earth beneath my feet, and the venom you spit will bring all the pain of a warm summer breeze. You are less than you can concieve, while I carry on, brmmming with joy distilled from detatchment."

51. "They killed the best of us, so they are stuck with the worst of us."

52. "There is no truer hatred than the way men love."

53. "Would you spit in the face of the god's designs by referring to a mountain as a hill?"

54. "If i lay one brick down at a time who are you to tell me I'm not building a house?"

55. "True love graced you with its presence and you turned its intimacy into a joke to be shared with the world."

56. "To enter is to be forgiven of the greatest sin, to leave is to repeat it. Would you dwell in this garden, or would you forsake it, for man deserveth not his paradise lost?"

57. "She was wild, crazy, ravenous and beautiful. But we simple mortal men who have lived know better than to chase things that are not meant to be caught nor tamed."

58. "I live outside of the gods' sight and by consequence outside of their love."

59. "This is war. War does not determine who is right, only who is left."

60. "I'm a man dying of thirst watching another man drown."

61. "You are naught but a nail dreaming itself a hammer."

62. "Each inch of our lands are littered with the ruins of empires that dared to dream of eternity and deemed themselves endless. "

63. "You walk upon bones of those who thought they could tame the wild, and yet dare to repeat their sins?"

[masterhallmark]

Maxie x Isekaied Reader headcanons

You wake up in the Pokemon world through an ultra wormhole. Word gets around that strangers from a world WITHOUT POKEMON have fallen through giant wormholes, despite Interpol attempting to cover it up. You found yourself in the Hoenn region, right outside Team Magma's lair. Maxie decided he needed to investigate the claims himself.

You seem like just a normal person, and you certainly know what Pokemon are, so he's skeptical...until you mention him by name before he even introduces himself. In this timeline, Team Magma hasn't even made their official debut, yet. You couldn't possibly have known about him unless, as the rumors claim, Pokemon is a fictional series in your world. That makes you a potential security threat, so he decides you need to be captured. It will give him more time to research you, anyway.

Once he has you in his lair, he explains that he, unfortunately, cannot let you go until his plans are fulfilled, and he apologizes that it has to be this way, but you'll be treated as a guest. He's not a SAVAGE. You'll have a nice bedroom, be fed, given forms of entertainment, and be kept company.

When you attempt to tell him why using Groudon won't work, citing the events of the games, he simply takes notes so he can plan for all the ill effects of trying to use Groudon that you mentioned. As far as he's concerned, you provided valuable information about how Groudon can cause a drought, how it might clash with Kyogre, or how using the wrong orb shall enrage him, but what you're describing is still from a silly game.

When talking with you, he notices you're quite smart, and decides to learn more about you. What is your world like? How big is it's landmass? How has the absence of Pokemon made your world different from his own? Can he please look at your cellphone and upgrade it?

Eventually, you give up trying to talk him out of summoning and controlling Groudon, so he starts to warm up to you. The questions gradually become less about your world and more about YOU. Your favorite series? Your family? Favorite Pokemon? Hobbies? Employment history?

At some point he starts to enjoy your company, to the point it's interfering with the mission. When he realizes this, he tries to resolve the problem by convincing you to join Team Magma, promising to make you his personal assistant. You're hesitant, until he asks, "Don't you want your very own Pokemon? I can catch your favorite."

Should you agree, you're given a uniform and a Pokemon. As his assistant, you're basically a travelling secretary and must go wherever he goes...he doesn't quite trust you to go off on your own, yet, and honestly, he enjoys keeping you nearby as you make good company.

He tells himself he just enjoys the company, at first, but over time his feelings grow stronger. On the outside he's stoic, but on the inside his stomach's full of beautiflies around you.

You start to become close to him as well. You don't agree with his methods, and you think his plan is foolish, but you can't help but admire that he's TRYING to help humanity.

He attempts to flirt. You'd think the charisma he used to get a ton of people to follow him in his goals would translate to flirting, but he's TERRIBLE at it!

You're no better. The two of you become Team Magma's main source of entertainment as they watch you try and fail at flirting.

Eventually when you two are alone, Maxie just decides to be blunt, tell you how he feels, and ask you to be his. What you two do after is up to you.

However, there's a problem. You've been trying to figure out how to get back home. The thought is driving Maxie insane. He realizes he put you in a difficult spot, one where you'll have to choose between him and everything you left behind. And he doesn't know whether or not he should try to help you find your way home.

[nomsfaultau]

(Potentially) Daily ask №3

Technoblade and the Blood god edition!

I saw you mention an incident in which somebody got a -1 hand while playing a game of rock, paper scissors with him. How the heck did that happen? How do you piss a guy of in the game of rock, paper, scissors so badly that your arm gets disintegrated?

What college degree did he get? And how the heck? I mean college is already hard enough, how did he manage to get in without documents and while being a vessel for the Blood god?

What are the criteria of someone being an orphan? Like, I assume they'd have to have 0 parents. What if they live with their grandparents? What if they don't know that their parents are dead? Does found family work? What if the parents are in a coma? Just out of the picture? If a surrogate parent was involved do they count too? Adoption? Complicated definitions of being an orphan, dude.

So he just.. got spontaneously summoned by Tommy one day.. and was just fine with it?? I mean I assume that was before the foundation. So Techno could just be sitting in class and then go tear some dudes apart and then have to drive back to class? Unless they lived in the same city which would be more convenient.

How does he feel about being Tommy's tool, basically? Sure, everyone including Tommy care about him, but he is a self-defence tool for Tommy, isn't he? Doesn't it sting a little? Considering C! Techno's whole "I am a person" theme and monologue on dsmp, I assume there's something there, isn't there?

Does he have any opinions about being surrounded by 2 completely different gods? The Blood god and Phil. Because sure, Phil cares about him but he's still a god. And I assume he doesn't have the highest opinion on the Blood God (fear/disgust/spite, perhaps?), does that reflect on his opinion of Phil in any way? Phil does also go on bloody rampages, doesn't he? To protect the ones he cares about, sure, but so does the Blood god. Sounds like a great glass (angst) opportunity.

Uh-oh, I might've set complete chaos onto the foundation the last time around. So uh, I do despise it in this universe but also not having amnestics at all would indeed set the world on fire, I think. So, I have an idea. Amnestic brownies. There's just a room full of an infinite amount of amnestic brownies now. And the foundation is thoroughly convinced that they always used amnestic brownies. Oh also amnestic brownies don't work on the main crew. Just because.

Yes, I absolutely agree with the Blade demanding that he gets more cookies because of his size. So uh, a yellow truck just casually rides up to wherever they are camping. The truck is full of all different kinds of cookies. Here ya go. They also won't ever get moldy. Whatever flavour you want, it's there. Magic. Oh also the truck is invisible to everyone else besides the main crew so nope no risk of being discovered.

Boom the foundation mysteriously forgets about the main crew's existence amd all records of them dissapear. So they're not searched for. Under their respective scp numbers are now:

Phil - a chest that works like an infinite bag from dnd. But it only works on people. You throw people there and then you can call out their name and they return. Unchanged and with no memories of what happened there. (Haha get it, collected)

Wilbur - a shadow bunny. It's a bunny. Made out of shadow. Just a normal bunny. Likes carrots.

Tommy - an anime episode where the scenes play in a different order every time. Also there's occasionally a giant "fuck off" watermark on.

Blade - an axe but all blood that comes out of the wound made by that axe is censored, like in a children's game. The textures are randomly changed to one of definitely not blood.

Ranboo - as previously stated, amnestic brownies

Cheesus Crust, this is more me causing complete chaos in the fault world than an ask. I'm sorry? I can go back to a more ask and a shorter format if you prefer that

Get as silly with this as you want! I'm having a swell time with hypotheticals. Though it might be easier to send only a few questions at a time and save the rest for later, since tumblr formating is a pain. Answers below.

The Blade never. loses. It's impossible. The universe contorts itself to ensure this no matter the odds. Mind, this doesn't necessarily mean he wins. So theoretically if someone were to nuke him from the other side of the planet, The Blade would die but also an accident would occur (wire short circuits, random truck, etc) that would kill the person who slapped the nuke button. The Blood God answers anything that hurts or challenges his vessel, often against The Blade's will, so it's less that The Blade was mad enough to tear off someone's limb and more so that The Blood God chose to do so to guarantee victory in a game of chance. Is there a different way The Blood God could have won? Definitely. His strategy is unmatched, and he can almost sense an opponents move before they do it, giving him insane reflexes. However. He likes blood. So no arms for that poor D-class.

English major, folklore and mythology minor. He didn't go in person to college (aside from graduation, which was a very chaotic affair but he'd thought it'd be funny). Used a laptop and never once turned on his zoom camera since he gave a different excuse for it every time. He paid for it via online gambling since he never loses. As for ID, his college friends call him Dave so I presume he committed identity fraud at some point. Likely did something similar speedrunning K12 education since beforehand his main education source was the voices.

An orphan status is something The Blood God can sense via soul bonds, since Bonds are kinda his deal (usually of the enemy/challenger sort but still). Have to be a child. It counts things like adoption/found family, since Collection counts otherwise Wilbur would be deadzo. It relies on a person's attachments to a parental figure, so grandparents/believing their parents are alive/coma would work. In Tubbos' case, Jasmine (a member of the hive) has parents that are living, but she doesn't consider them parents because they shot Tubbo. Ergo, Jasmine is an orphan, and Tubbo is too even if other members are adults who have parents.

The first encounter between Tommy and The Blade is found in the short story What Happened in the Catalyst. The Blade had graduated by that point and was living with Wil and Phil. So luckily he lived on the same continent by that point lmao. The Blade was incredibly confused when first summoned but was being shot at and so dealt with that first, inadvertently rescuing Tommy who survived because of Red stopping The Blood God. After a very hilarious phone call where Philza thinks he's in a hostage negotiation, they sort everything out. The Blade doesn't really fit in a car and Tommy's parents don't own a horse trailer, and so I guess he stayed with the Simonses while Phil and Wil made their way to Nottingham, since they're less conspicuous. The Blade got tacos out of it, and Tommy utterly hero worshiped him, so he was more or less cool once he had a plan to reunite with his friends.

The basis of The Blade being summoned by Tommy has its roots in how Technoblade would show up when called for battle, specifically the Battle of the Lake or whatever it was. Complaining about being woken up and grumbling yet eager to help his friend. Tommy had a pattern of getting in over his head and relying on his friends to get him out, and so I made that his literal power (along side starting wars). In the DSMP it degraded into a feeling that Technoblade was just being used for his might to further Tommy's goals. However, in Fault the summoning isn't controlled by Tommy at all, so it's harder for it to resemble a pattern of being intentionally used by a friend since the guy bleeding out on the floor probably doesn't have much control in the matter. If anything, The Blade feels more like he's The Blood God's tool than Tommy's. Actually, summonings are one of the few times The Blade is slightly more willing to be overtaken by The Blood God since it's violence with a purpose (rescuing his friend) rather than just because The Blood God feels like it.

But he also DOES resent Tommy to some extent. Summoning to him is less being used as a tool and more a chain that the Foundation uses to deny his freedom, dragging him back every time he gets out. Logically he blames the Foundation for attacking his friend, and The Blade's justice tends to the straightforward murder of the people causing the problem...but that doesn't change the fact he'd be free if it weren't for Tommy. On bad days he almost views Tommy as a tool to force him into submission. But again, in the Foundation he mostly encounters Tommy when he's dying, and it feels bad to hate the kid sobbing into his lap and depending on him for salvation. And it's even harder to feel like a hero knowing his escape attempt is the reason Tommy was sacrificed in the first place.

6. The Blade has a very very poor opinion of The Blood God chiefly for the fact his bodily autonomy is violated every time he takes over. He views The Blood God as a parasite trying to invade his mind, body, and control exclusively for the purpose of senseless violence. Frankly...it's a very derogatory and one dimensional view of The Blood God, but The Blade shuts him out completely, and so proper communication there isn't going to happen until a lot of character development.

Philza on the other hand doesn't violate his bodily autonomy or take over his mind. In fact Philza was very instrumental in The Blade getting better control over The Blood God and coping techniques for his intrusive thoughts. He made The Blade feel like he had more control through their careful spars where he brushed against the boundaries where The Blood God would usually take over while still maintaining sovereignty of himself. (Which in the long run only further hurts the relationship between The Blade and Blood God but not like Phil knew that so eh). Philza actually does have a decent relationship with The Blood God, since they often fight side by side. The Blood loathes and loves him in equal measures for protecting The Blade but also making it easier for The Blade to suppress him.

But also The Blade's background taught him that violence is the best solution to most things, which unfortunately Philza probably encouraged. Because Philza uses his wrath in the service of his Collected, The Blade is more at peace using The Blood God to defend him and his friends whereas before he was alone and saw fighting more as interruptions. Probably why The Blade is more amenable to Tommy summonings tbh. Philza encourages him to be violent, but also controlled violence. Which sounds crazy since Phil is out doing massacres, but to him that's very intentional, purposeful violence.

To The Blade, Philza and The Blood God differ wildly in the why department. Philza does it out of love and makes him feel free. The Blood God does it out of love madness and makes him feel trapped. However, there will come a scene where Philza tries to seek his bloody vengeance through The Blood God, only for The Blade to refuse being used as the tool of Philza's wrath. Not that he uses The Blade to the extreme degree The Blood God does, but the comparison is rather apt.

7. Ah this takes me back to the fake pot brownie scene I wrote for Fault years back and lost...alas. Basic premise was a Real Estate walking in on them crashing in a for-sale house and then Tommy trying to convince her the courtesy brownies she brought for clients were laced with weed and she's high as a kite. So I suppose brownies that hide the existence of anomalies has precedent in Fault? Though for the most part amnestics are used on humans and Philza was an emergency case. I'd be slightly more worried about the friends, family, and allies of the crew!

8. I'm personally imagining a dump truck, which is conveniently about the size of vehicle they'd need to drive The Blade around! They're going to get to Chicago in no time with that thing. Philza is having a very hard time convincing his kids that they need a balanced diet that isn't just cookies. Wilbur realizes he doesn't have hobbies now that he doesn't have to worry about food. Tommy WILL try to claim all the cookies by marking them with Red.

9. I'm assuming this is now what the Foundation has? And bravo they're all crazy creative. Let's see how the Foundation reacts I suppose.

Phil Bag of Holding Children: I can honestly picture him being used as a MTF tool, though my Foundation doesn't tend to use anomalies. But the potential of moving an entire flank of soldiers around with ease, completely undetected, is too tempting. One guy gets the drop on an anomaly and then boom throw out their pokeball and the poor anomaly is utterly surrounded now by an MTF squad.

Wilbur Shadow bunny: honestly so adorable. I feel like Morgan (observer from small au with Doctor!Phil) would fantasize about rescuing it. Wouldn't cause they're an utter coward, but they'd be nice and bring extra carrots.

Tommy Disorientating anime: 1 it would have to say m̶̮̯̃ụ̶̤̀̕f̵̯̹̈́̇f̴̗́́į̴̲̃̈n̶͎̈́ off because of Halo. Nobody in Fault can swear. Well except The Blade but he doesn't know that yet. 2, Webb (Philza's handler) would watch in his down time trying to make sense of it because he's desperate to connect with his daughter and teenagers like anime right? He's so lost.

The Blade PG13 axe: Honestly Maureen (guard) deserves this. Classic axe lesbian.

Ranboo Amnestic brownies: I can just picture Dr. Blake (very evil doctor) slipping crumbs into people's food and then taking notes on what happens. She would offer the whole brownies, but I reckon no one would trust that since it's so out of character.

And technically I suppose Tubbo already is a box of pinned bees and assorted limbs in the Foundation.

[favcharacterpoll]

ROUND 3 MATCH 64: NICO VS. THE DOCTOR

Nico di Angelo from the Riordanverse faces The Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who. WHO do you like more?

Nico Propaganda:

"autism"

"

YOU KNOW WHAT. if autism isn't enough to compel you to VOTE NICO then i will write this.

ok so he's gay & european (like the legally blonde song) and also a goth. we love our goths here on tumblr right?!

first i need to provide you a visual. please imagine a small italian boy. now imagine that small italian boy going through a time machine hotel casino in vegas, some wack crazy traumatic incidents, becoming an alt/emo kid and being so fucking powerful that even gods show a little more respect to him than others...

nico has gone through literal hell TWICE !! one time it was VOLUNTARY !! and all the while he was probably experiencing said hell in its most terrifying form. this shows us his mental resilience and selflessness are incredibly strong traits of his and that maybe he should stop being a reckless bitch but whatever !!!!!!

tumblrinas listen up... nico was the first canon lgbt+ character created by rick riordan in the chb chronicles (i am not counting all the other gods, goddesses, minor deities and other figures of greco-roman myth). he was the trailblazer. his story didn't end in tragedy, but he found friendship and love and family, which in this age of upsetting "bury your gays" media is still quite hopeful to read!!

nico has a sunshine bf who would literally walk through hell with him!! i'm not kidding. this actually happened. i'm sure he's definitely cheering from the sidelines somewhere... please do not let will solace down!!

did i mention nico's the son of hades, god of the underworld?? this means his powers include, but are not limited to, being able to communicate with spirits via mcdonalds happy meals, wielding a sword that rends souls asunder, turning people into ghosts, re-animating skeletons, shadow traveling and being able to read other people's death auras.

these powers and his terrifyingly grumpy personality (in earlier books) have created a reputation famous among the demigods and deities. also he literally summons an entire skeleton army and rises from the fucking underworld with his father, stepmother and step-grandmother (all gods) (how does this work) in tow, inspiring FEAR and PANIC among the enemy lines.

and if that's not enough, he's friends with lizard people, his signature items of clothing are a BIG AVIATOR JACKET + SKULL RING = VERY GOOD CHARACTER DESIGN and his hair canonically smells like rain on stone. just so you know

VOTE NICO VOTE NICO VOTE NICO !!!!!!!!!!!"

Tenth Doctor Propaganda:

"hot murderer"

"They’re a thousands of years old time traveler who travels the universe, helping out wherever they can."

"Idk"

"doctor sweep on the doctor who website"

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Unfamiliar

Part 4

Demon!Grim gets summoned by a bunch of kids accidentally and immediately decides to adopt them in retaliation

<P3

Grim found Deuce a few steps away from the kids’ room. Wide awake, now, it seemed. He was on his knees, on the floor, tears of relief spilling down his cheeks. He wiped at his face when he saw Grim approaching, sniffling.

“I-is he…?”

“He’s fine,” Grim said, maybe a little bitterly. “Traumatized, maybe, and Soulless, but… alive. Barely even bleeding.”

Deuce nodded slightly, a watery smile on his face. “Okay. Thank — thank you.”

Grim waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I got something out of this, too.”

He unlocked the door, and smoothly stepped to the side to avoid getting hit when it flung open. The other two kids came rushing out, damn near tackling Deuce to the floor, wrapping around him in a tight hug.

“You’d better not have sold your soul!” Trinity said, tearfully. “You…  you said we could split it!”

“I would’ve,” Deuce said. “But no. I didn’t.”

Ace gave a wet laugh and squeezed his friends tighter. “We’re… free, then?”

“Yep, free to go home,” Grim said, shrugging. “I’ll escort you all back to your families, wherever they might be.”

Ace and Trinity grimaced.

Grim cursed internally. This was not a reaction that indicated good things.

At least Deuce lit up. He shook Trinity’s shoulder, so hard that she laughed, her lips pulling into a smile.

“Yes, yes, I know, I can let her in. If you Summon her, I can let her magic signature through.”

Deuce opened his mouth.

Grim cut him off: “How about you dismantle the wards, instead? You’re wasting mana by keeping them up for longer than you need to.”

(And Grim didn’t want the faerie who owned this house to have any protection anymore, especially not any of the protection that he had gotten by exploiting these kids. If he wasn’t so determined to make sure his Deal didn’t get null and void-ed because he’d accidentally gotten the guy killed, he’d take a match to the entire place.)

Trinity blinked, as if she had never even considered that. She shrugged. “Alright, sure, let’s go outside.”

Despite how long it had taken Trinity to construct the wards, dismantling them was a surprisingly quick process. She hummed as she walked in a circle around the perimeter, her fingertips running along a wall only she could see. Occasionally, she would make a shoving motion, and the pressure in the air around them would lighten. It was like walking out the door of your house, and breathing in fresh air for the first time in a while. The air inside hadn’t been bad, per se, you hadn’t had a problem with it, but now that you were outside you couldn’t help but feel relieved.

“Alright, done!” she said, as if they didn’t already know.

Deuce worried his lip for a moment. He glanced at Ace.

Ace sent him a smile, though it was a touch nervous.

Deuce nodded, slowly, and then mumbled something under his breath. The mumbling was unnecessary, the word was incoherent to all those who happened to hear it, but Grim supposed that he would be paranoid about people overhearing a Name, too, if he were a faerie.

Being a faerie in these kinds of scenarios must have been convenient. All you needed was a Name, and you could Summon help in an instant.

Well, it could be inconvenient, maybe, if the person being summoned happened to be busy. But that was a problem that came with all types of Summoning.

See Grim as an example. He was missing his favorite Romcom right now.

The woman who appeared in front of them, dressed in her pajamas, seemed just as inconvenienced. She scraped an arm over her eyes, trying to wake up. “Who’s –?”

She opened her eyes, and was thrown into wakefulness.

Deuce threw himself at her next, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he could, sobbing into the fabric of her shirt. Slowly, as if scared that he would disappear if she acknowledged that he was there, she returned the hug, blinking rapidly in an attempt to stave off the tears building in the corners of her eyes.

Mostly for the sake of giving them a moment of privacy, Grim looked at Ace and Trinity.

Both of them stiffened immediately.

Grim sighed. “You guys don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”

Trinity crossed her arms over her chest, as if protecting herself. Witches were a complicated species. A majority of witches were made – a person would sell their soul to a demon for power and become a witch. But, because they were Soulless, the average witch was not an empathetic creature. They didn’t often mate, and were even less prone to mating with another witch. Born witches like Trinity were rare. When one was, against all odds, born… well, they raised the child into adulthood (‘adulthood’ only took six years for witches, anyway, so it wasn’t a huge ask) but it wasn’t, typically, out of love. It was an obligation. An ‘I spent so many months pregnant with you, if you die stupidly at age two because you messed up a spell I would be very annoyed’.

So, he had expected Trinity, at least, to not really want or need to go home.

He had not expected Ace to look just as uncomfortable, toeing at a rock with his shoe. Dragons were a possessive species. To the point where dragons who had reached maturity often struggled to leave. Now, Grim realized that it was odd that Ace’s parents weren’t attempting to break through Trinity’s wards at every hour of the day.

“I dunno who my bio parents are. I don’t remember them. Sometimes I think he took me as an egg. Just – sounds like something he’d do.”

Well. That certainly makes things more complicated.

Because Ace and Trinity were watching Deuce’s mom with a hint of wariness. Which was understandable. If Grim had been held captive by a faerie for most of his memory, he wouldn’t have been all that eager to live with another one, either. He had figured that Ace would take Trinity with him to his parents’ lair, and the three kids would have frequent playdates, and that would be the end of things.

But, no, Grim’s life would never be that simple.

Grim looked at the sky, considering everything. “I’m not going to let the both of you go off on your own when you haven’t even reached maturity yet – and, for the record, Trinity, I mean maturity in human years, I need you to have experience living in the real world before I’m comfortable letting you two ‘leave the nest’, so to speak.”

“Can’t leave the nest if you’ve never had one!” Ace said, smirking, like he had found a super-cool loophole and hadn’t just said something devastating.

“I’m an adult, if we’re going by human years,” Deuce offered, still sniffling a little.

This was, probably, true. If Grim had to guess, he’d say Deuce was probably around… one hundred? He was pretty sure that the ratio of human to faerie lifespans was 1:10 or so. He wouldn’t mind Deuce taking care of them. One hundred years was plenty of life experience… though he had some concerns about their ability to protect themselves, maybe he should teach Trinity how to actually summon a familiar…

However, it seemed Deuce’s mom was less alright with this. She squeezed her son tighter. “I just got you back! You won’t be an adult for another eighty years! You’re not going off and living with two other kids on your own yet!”

Deuce’s face, already a little red from crying, flushed. “B-but mom…”

“No.”

Deuce huffed, but didn’t argue anymore.

Ace and Trinity looked even less relaxed around Deuce’s mom, now, too, which was just great.

Grim crossed his arms over his chest.

He could, he supposed, take the kids in. The Soleils he would get from the new soul under his belt would be more than enough to provide for three people. It would only take around eight years for Ace to reach adulthood, by which point he should be more than strong enough to defend himself, and eight years was also plenty of time for Trinity to learn magic (in a safe way), too. Grim wouldn’t mind taking care of them until then. He’d heard that parenthood was ‘never boring’, and he was mildly curious as to whether this was true.

But that came with its own problem:

Deuce was looking at Grim with open distrust. It seemed that, despite everything, Deuce was just as wary of Grim as Ace and Trinity were of Deuce’s mom. Which, Grim supposed, made sense. It had only been a day.

And, for a faerie in particular, a day meant nothing.

Demons were an impatient species. If Grim had had ill intent, he would have done something by now. He already had – he hadn’t even waited an entire day before confronting the man who had held them captive. But faeries were different. Their life spans were in that sweet spot where they lived for almost ten times as long as a human might, but they didn’t dread boredom like demons did. Faerie often spent years, if not decades, on a single thing.

It was reasonable to assume that demons would be the same. Grim had existed since time had begun, and would continue to exist until it finally ended. In theory, he should be patient. In theory, spending a day on a single plan would be nothing.

This was not reality, though.

But how could he truly convince Deuce of this? He wasn’t sure.

He sighed. “We should head to the human world for the night. They’ll have hotels we can stay at while we figure out what to do.”

Trinity knelt in the grass, looking around for a rock to cut herself on. Grim sighed and hooked a finger in her sleeve, dragging her back to her feet.

“There’s no need to hurt yourself. I’m sure that, between myself and… uh…”

“You may call me Delilah,” she said.

“Yes. Delilah and I can take care of it. Everyone, take one of our hands –.”

Ace yelped, his shoulders jumping up to his ears with a sudden realization. “Wait, guys, we forgot Fluffy!”

Grim made a hissing sound through his teeth. Right. Yeah.

But, to his surprise, Deuce and Trinity just laughed.

“No, no, he’s here,” Trinity said, pointing at Grim.

Ace blinked. “What?”

“Unless all demons and familiars have the same exact magic signature, down to the letter, they’re the same guy,” she said.

Deuce grinned. “Did you think he asked Trinity what animal she wanted as her familiar for fun?”

“I – I mean… I just hadn’t thought about it,” Ace said, his face bright red. And then his tail appeared to swipe his friend’s feet out from under them, sending them into the grass. “Stop laughing!”

If anything, they just laughed harder.

Grim crossed his arms over his chest. If he’d had blood, it definitely would have rushed to his face right about then. “So you two tried to name me ‘Shadow’ and ‘Fluffy’ on purpose?”

“‘Fluffy’ is a cute name!” Trinity defended herself.

Deuce, however, simply shrugged. Smiling. Unrepentant. “You never told us what to call you. So, I guess, we’ll just have to keep calling you ‘Fluffy’ until you give us your name.”

Grim raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. Again, he had been around since the beginning of time. It would take a lot more than that to trick him. Not that he would have cared all that much about Giving his name, he wasn’t all that partial to it. He’d used it for ages, so it might be weird to change it, but he didn’t actually care all that much if he was called Grim, Shadow, or Fluffy. Frankly, the change might be welcome…

An idea hit him.

It was risky, but it was the only way things had any chance of working out.

He knelt in front of Deuce.

“My name is Grim.”

The clearing went quiet. Even the grass wasn’t rustling, as if scared to break the silence. Deuce stared at Grim with wide eyes.

“O-okay…” Deuce cleared his throat. “Well! Grim! You aren’t allowed to hurt a hair on their heads! Or – uh – any part of them at all, actually!”

Grim smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“And!” Deuce began, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

Grim fought to stay calm. He had taken a risk, but he’d had reason to believe it would be fine. After all, Deuce had just had his Name abused, it was unlikely that he would turn around and do the same to Grim when the memory was so fresh on his mind. And, of course, Deuce was a child, and a relatively sweet one at that. It should be fine. He just had to… trust in his own judgment, if he couldn’t quite trust Deuce.

“You have to take them to the store and get them everything they want.”

Grim relaxed.

“Sure, let me cash this soul in for Soleils, and I’ll make sure they live in comfort for as long as they’re with me.”

Deuce beamed, looking proud of himself, as if he had tricked Grim in some way. Maybe he had, faerie were known for their ability to manipulate. But, even if he had been tricked into Telling him his Name for the sake of making sure that he didn’t hurt Ace or Trinity, he didn’t mind. He’d had no intentions to do so in the first place, and if it gave all of them some sense of security…

Well, it was a small sacrifice to make.

~~~~~

P5>

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Theodosius, thank you for joining us. My name is Alys, and I will be part of your welcoming team for your entrance to Shadowvale Academy. Do you have any questions for me?"

Theo glowered at the woman, who continued to smile politely back at him.

"Can I talk to my boyfriend now? Why are we still in stupid Arkhelios? I want to go back to Pleasantview."

Alys' serene expression never wavered. She gestured to her right and another adult appeared beside her. Unlike this Alys, he didn't look like a demon, though maybe Theo was being presumptive. It's not like he looked like a demon most of the time either.

"My name is Leofric," the man said, smiling a little too enthusiastically. "I'm going to be your therapeutic guidance counselor. If you ever need to talk about your thoughts or feelings, I'm at your service. You can talk to me about anything, and it will stay between us. It's going to be a difficult transition, and sometimes demons can be a little too, uh, expressive when their emotions bottle up. Part of taking control over your abilities means taking control over your emotions too. I'll help you work through your emotional stumbling blocks, so that you can graduate into a responsible, mature hybrid in complete control of himself."

"No, I'm fine," Theo insisted angrily. "I'm going back to Pleasantview."

The teen snapped his fingers to summon a demonic portal, but none appeared. He tried again and again, but with no result.

"We've been entrusted with your true name, child," Alys stated coldly. "You'll find that many of your abilities may be out of your reach until you learn to master them. Coming with us isn't a choice. I'm afraid Pleasantview will have to wait."

"No! It's not fair! I need to talk to Adam! I'm not going!"

Overwhelmed with fear, anger, and despair, Theo found himself bursting into tears. He tried to stop the tears in order to look intimidating, but he couldn't. All he could feel within him was a cyclone of those emotions, blurring out every rational thought.

"Change can be difficult, I know," Leofric said soothingly, putting a reassuring arm around the teen. "What you're feeling is natural, especially now that you've realized that your normal means of escape are no longer possible. This is all part of the process; it's only natural. Why don't we continue this conversation inside so that it can remain private?"

"Where are we?" Theo asked through his tears. "I don't even know this part of Arkhelios."

"Because your parents and elected leader are sheltering you," Alys replied. The tone in her voice dashed Theo's hopes of escaping. Hopefully the rest of his so-called team were nicer than she was. Somehow, he didn't think he'd be that lucky.

"This is the former residence of the Chun family and the current residence of the Chun Undead. It is a part of your journey and where we must begin."

"I don't remember this place," Theo insisted, staring at the walls, hoping something would spark in his mind and trigger a reason why he was being forced to be here. "Those are my parents on the wall, but I've never been here before."

"This is the area where President Bellamy houses the undead," Leofric explained. It's part of a small zoned area for Arkhelios' undead residents to embrace their second chance at life."

"This is the zombie containment area?" Theo gasped. "No one's been here but the president herself! How did you get access here? Aunt Lucy and Grandma petition the government every five years to keep this place sealed. No one is allowed here."

"I think you will find that there are very few places where we don't have access," Alys replied. "We had need of it and it was made available to us. For our purposes, we were also granted the help of the undead. Your president has been very helpful. "

Theo frowned. These weren't the same same kind of teachers the Pleasantview Academy had, and they were well known for their long reach within the country. Wherever he was going, it looked like he would miss the freedom of Pleasantview. Whoever these people were, they were impossibly powerful, both politically and magically.

"Theo! Theo Dorhack."

"Grandpa? Is that you?" Theo stared at the zombie that was creeping toward him. He certainly looked like Theo's father, and was a zombie, so logically that would make this man his Grandpa Ian.

Theo didn't really know what to expect of his grandfather. From his grandmother's rants, Ian had been a worthless, cheating bum who squandered their money with his whore mistress. There may be some truth to that description, but when Theo thought about how she usually spoke about him, he decided to give his grandfather some grace. Nearly everyone was actually better than how his grandmother described them.

"Hey, Grandpa," Theo greeted nervously. "How have you been? It's been awhile, huh?"

Theo vaguely recalled his father mentioning that Theo had met his grandfather when he was younger, but Theo had no memory of it. The zombie seemed to understand what Theo was saying, even if he couldn't respond in complete sentences.

"Sit down, Theodosius," Alys commanded, gesturing to the couch beside her.

Ian seemed to respond to the command, gently pushing his grandson towards the requested seat. Theo grudgingly gave into the command, seeing that he was outnumbered and nearly powerless.

"Now, before we can continue with your admittance, we need to measure the limits of your potential," Alys said. Theo perked up at the thought that he could stall the process, but abandoned all hope when Alys locked her eyes intensely with his. "This is in no way optional. If you refuse to participate willingly, we have your true name already. You will be made to complete the exams."

Theo tried not to show fear, but this woman was a professional. Even when she was merely watching him, flashes of terror flooded Theo, warning him against defying her.

"O-okay," Theo gulped. "What do I need to do?"

"We were hoping to chart your natural state to establish an estimate of your abilities," Leofric answered. "Your file indicates that you displayed a large amount of power in this location as an infant. There is a stain of demonic magic in this house that we were hoping to attribute to you, but from seeing you interact with the space, it looks like it belongs to another demon. Perhaps Dorhack, as this was once his domain. It will be added to our measurements, but we need to dig deeper. You will accompany us at dawn to the secondary location. Until that time, you are permitted to sleep. I'd suggest that you take this opportunity. Testing may be...tiring and the chance to sleep may not come again any time soon."

Theo stretched out on the couch he was sitting on, watching his team members watch him coldly. Falling asleep wouldn't be so bad, especially if it meant escaping this nightmare for a few hours. In his dreams, he could return to Pleasantview like he wanted. In his dreams, he could hold Adam again.

As soon as the sun rose, Theo was rudely awakened when a freezing cup of water was emptied on his head. Alys tried to remain impartial, but Theo swore that there was a devious sparkle in her eye when he woke up sputtering.

"We're leaving. Now."

With sleep still in his eyes, Theo walked through the portal Alys had opened for him. On the other side, he stood in front of a weathered, small house, surrounded by water. Theo recognized the area from his childhood.

"This is still Arkhelios," he stated. "Is this the school? This is down the street from where my dad used to live."

This was much closer to the water than where Roman used to live, but Theo could still see the lights of Arkhelios in the distance. He didn't fully remember the near bunker they had lived in before taking over the Bellamy estate, but he did remember how quiet it was. Very few people came to the island next to Arkhelios due it's size and lack of amenities.

"This, Theo, is where you were born. Your entrance into the world was here, so it stands to reason that this is the best place to connect with the root of your magic. We have your true name and the location and time of your birth. All we need now is to see how your body reacts to our conditions."

"Conditions?" Theo repeated, but Alys was already climbing the stairs that led to the house.

"Stand in the magic circle and reach out your hands," the demon commanded. Leofric lingered near her, writing something in a notebook.

Theo did as he was told and immediately felt a rush of energy. His outstretched arm began to waver with the intensity of it all.

Alys nodded her approval and looked over at Leofric.

"Okay, test one, attempt one. And...go."

She snapped her fingers and immediately, all the rush of energy Theo felt exploded, colliding into him at breakneck speed. Energy flooded his mind, and he could feel the weight of the horns on his head, indicating that he'd shifted into his dark form.

"This feels funny," Theo stated, noticing the energy forming around his hands. He felt the top of his head worriedly. "There's still the extra horns from before. Plus the wings. They're sort of a new thing. Maybe they're part of what's wrong with me?"

"Unlikely." With a snap of her fingers, Theo immediately shifted out of his dark form, hitting the ground as his regular self. The change happened before his body could even register the movement.

"Well, that's what happened the other day with Adam," Theo said, hopeful that the experiment had concluded for the day and that he could go home. "So, since you've got the data, I should probably-"

"Test one, attempt two," Alys replied, snapping her fingers again. Theo swore she looked excited at the opportunity to inflict pain and discomfort on him.

The rush of energy came faster this time, still nearly knocking Theo to his feet. The transformation felt nearly instantaneous. Theo could feel the power coursing through his veins, energy exploding from his fingers. Every second, he felt as though he was about to burst from the amount of energy coursing through him. This was how he felt with Adam. The wild, unyielding power that threatened to destroy him had taken over his body within seconds.

"Now hold that position," Alys commanded. "We're getting a good reading. Okay, now try to summon energy to your hand, just what you did with Apprentice Darktide."

Theo obeyed the order, despite the amount of pain that he felt while doing so. Energy crackled in the air around him. His eyes felt like they were burning in their sockets. The room faded away from his vision, leaving him with nothing but endless darkness. Theo was sinking into darkness as an unnatural light shone within him, destroying his ability to concentrate on what was happening to him. He was going to explode from the magical pressure building inside of him. There was only darkness and pain and fear and....

Theo's mind snapped back to attention the instant it collided with something impossible to ignore. A tiny light in the darkness called to him, offering him shelter from the chaos of his thoughts.

The more Theo reached for the light, the more familiar it became. He could feel an unmistakable warmth unfurl around him, easing the fury of the energy forcing the shift into a dark form.

Adam, I finally found you.

There could be no mistaking the change in the air. Even Ian could sense that something had changed, despite not having the capacity to voice it in words. Theo didn't appear to be struggling nearly as much as he had before.

It was impossible for Theo to fight the urge to stay in his dark form, but he was making an incredible effort resisting it. He was no longer breathing heavily and was able to maneuver his hands together to expel whatever he could of the power burning within him.

"Fascinating," Alys exclaimed, putting away her notes in order to fully observe what she was seeing. "Finally, a reading that makes sense. Leofric, when we get back to the school, please send our gracious sovereign a message. The situation is as she thought it might be. The boy is stable here where he entered the world, while using a secondary source's power."

"That's wonderful," Leofric replied. "He can follow a fairly standardized course of study then. I'll have most of his entrance package ready within an hour of our arrival." He paused for a moment, running different scenarios through his mind. "And the secondary source? Do we need to contact them?"

Alys shook her head, still marveling at the teen in front of her. With every passing second, the boy seemed more calm, more in control of himself. Provided the right elements, this little hybrid was more than capable of growing into the threat the Sovereign envisioned. Once he learned to control his abilities, who knew what he could do, especially when paired with this secondary source?

"Only the Sovereign and Master Maricourt need to be informed," she decided. "They are our employers. The magic that they have said this boy can produce...well, the Ocean never gifts such power to a single person. You remember the stories. How odd to finally see such a thing in person."

Leofric nodded, still unsure of what his opinion on the matter would be.

"I'd be more inclined to believe the boy is the result of blood and contracted magic," he suggested. "This Dorhack and his daughter making contracts with powerful families and performing illegal magic would also explain the boy's abilities."

"No, this has the stink of a deity all over it. Impossible life magic, pairing the boy off to be grounded by another? You're far too young to know this, but our controversial life deity came into being due to circumstances much like this. Maybe this all started with Dorhack, but even he couldn't pull this off."

"I disagree. Blood magic amplified by a broken curse can easily explain this," Leofric replied. "I suppose we'll see when he gets settled in and starts training which one of us is right."

Alys snapped her fingers again, releasing Theo and sending him crashing to the floor, his dark form immediately vanished.

"It's a bet. Take Mr. Bellamy through the portal and get him settled. I'll be along shortly."

She gestured towards a wall, opening a portal that would lead Leofric and his young charge to the school.

"I have a feeling that this will be one of our more memorable students."

[januarywren]

I'd like a Sansa x Sandor, he finds his way to Winter fell to rescue her from Ramsay, but he arrives as she's feeding him to his dogs

I apologize for how long it's taken me to fulfil your request! It turned out a little different from your original request and I hope you like it (you can read it here or down below)! I deeply appreciate your support, and can't thank you enough. 🐺🖤

//tw: miscarriage, canon physical/emotional/sexual abuse, canon animal abuse, canon violent death//

He heard the screams first.

The snaps and snarls.

Sansa –

He held his breath until he saw a flash of red hair. There she was.

He found himself drifting toward her wherever she went, despite the lingering guilt that gnawed at his conscience. Their paths had crossed at Castle Black, where he had pledged to Jon Snow to keep her safe during the chaos of war. They all knew what could occur when men were lost to bloodlust.

Including himself.

And, it seemed, his Little Bird too.

Sandor approached cautiously, his heavy boots crunching on the snow. "Thought you'd be inside, celebrating."

Sansa, without turning, her voice steady, replied, "There's nothing to celebrate yet."

He stopped beside her, his eyes on the gruesome scene that she had imagined enacting countless times. "Guess the bastard got what he deserved."

She finally looked at him, her expression unreadable. "He did. They always do, in the end."

He grunted, watching Ramsay's demise with a mixture of disdain and satisfaction.

As if he had any right to watch.

To feel, as she did.

Sansa kept her expressions still, tucking her resentment into the narrow depth of her ribcage. It was the same place where Cersei’s cruel smiles and Joffrey’s venomous taunts resided, where echoes of her family’s laughter once brought warmth, and where her childish dreams lay. It was a place that no one could take, no one could see; a place where she hid her name, and the pain etched upon her face.

“I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell. This is my home.”

The dogs howled, tearing at the marrow within the bones, their whimpers echoing when their hunger couldn't be sated. They were hideous creatures, their fur matted with blood, and muzzles dripping with frothy saliva. They had no loyalty to the master that starved them; their bodies were littered with scars, their pads cracked and aching without end.

“And you can’t frighten me.”

Sandor exhaled; his breath visible in the bitterly cold air. "Gods, girl. You've grown cold."

Meeting his gaze, a flicker of something—pain, perhaps—passed through her bright blue eyes that he’d often dreamed of. "I've had to."

She wasn’t the girl adorned in silk, its threads dyed crimson and gold, her tiny bones once yearning to bear the weight of golden-haired lions. Sandor felt a pang in his chest as memories flooded back, memories of when her moonblood came and he found her stuffing bloodied strips beneath her mattress.

And what had he done?

Sandor swallowed hard, the buzzing sound in his ears growing louder. He had grabbed her by the arm, his grip firm, and told her there were no secrets in the Red Keep; none that she could keep. He had known he was hurting her, could feel bone grinding against bone, and yet he hadn’t let go. Her arm had been warm against his touch, and he had wanted more; a warmth he could never claim for his own.

Look at me, he’d wanted to snarl, look at me, and sing me a song, Little Bird.

He'd wanted to carve a space inside of himself for her as if he could hide her from the lions that prowled the Red Keep. The fact that he couldn't made fury and regret and disgust at himself simmer in his stomach until he'd vomited after every meal until he drank himself to black out every night instead.

Fuck her.

No –

Fuck me.

He’d kept her secret, but it hadn’t mattered. Sansa was soon summoned to see the Queen, who announced her engagement to the buggering dwarf.

“This world’s done you no favors,” Sandor admitted, his voice rough with regret. He gestured towards the dogs who were now scrabbling in the dirt for any trace of human remains. “But this..." he paused, struggling to find the right words. "This ain't you."

"Maybe not. But it's the world we live in. You taught me that."

"Aye, I did. “

He wished she would sing him a song then; one that was beautiful and sweet as spun sugar melting on his tongue, and would take him away from there. Instead, he tasted ash and dirt, and worms making their way into his gums. He knew what he’d done, and the man that he was.

He wasn’t worth hearing her pretty songs; not realizing that his Little Bird had no more songs to give. She had stopped singing long ago; her voice wasted on her guardian had sold her to a man who ensured she would never feel safe in her home again. Nor were her songs meant for her bastard brother who looked at her as if he wanted everything from her while knowing that he could expect nothing; or to the northern families whose loyalty was swept away in the river alongside their fallen king, and her eldest brother. None of them had ever come for her, regardless of how loud she had sung.

So, Sandor sang a song of his own.

“I failed you, leaving you to face it alone."

Once, Sansa’s heart would have quivered in her chest, hearing his song that was as hauntingly beautiful as any she had ever sung. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath.

"We can't always choose what we become. Only how we survive."

His fingers twitched. "Surviving ain't the same as living, girl."

A cold, ironic smile tugged at her lips. "No, it isn't. But it's a start."

Softly, almost to himself, he said, "You deserve better."

Whispering, more to the night than to him, Sansa replied, "We all do."

It was easy to imagine her siblings and the life they should have led. She envisioned a future filled with warmth and laughter, where they were all together, surrounded by the love and protection of their family. Arya would be free to roam the forests of Winterfell, her spirit untamed and wild. Bran would explore the mysteries of the world, his mind unlocking the secrets of the past and the magic that lay hidden in the shadows. And Rickon, the youngest of them all, would grow strong and brave, his laughter echoing through the halls of their ancestral home.

But woven into these dreams was the image of Robb, their noble brother, crowned as King in the North. Sansa imagined him standing tall and resolute, a beacon of hope for their people, and a worthy successor to their beloved father.

Not for the first time, Sansa wondered if her mother had known the fate of her children if she would have let them emerge from her womb. If it were her –

What would she have done?

She didn’t want to answer. She couldn’t answer; not when she thought of the first night at Castle Black. The memory of doubling over with cramps and staining the bed sheets with her blood was still vivid. She hadn’t let herself cry even as Jon had pulled her against his chest and buried his face in her hair, tracing soothing circles over her back. She would have never allowed Ramsay’s babe to live. She couldn’t have.

“I’ll protect you,” Jon had whispered in her ear, and bile rose in her throat. She believed in Jon’s actions, but she couldn’t believe his words.

“No one can protect anyone.”

After a moment of silence, Sandor’s voice a low rumble, he continued, "I failed you once, Little Bird.”

‘As you’ve said,’ Sansa thought, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip.

She knew that he was drawn to the sight; blood rising to the surface. Did he think of the blood that trickled from her wounds when the Kingsguard beat her on Joffrey’s order or of the blood that dripped from her cunt when her moonblood came? She’d been desperate to hide it from the southern court, knowing that it meant she had come of age for breeding. Cersei had made it clear that when she did, Sansa would marry the dwarf and have his monstrous babe; one that would tear her cunt apart.

“For your sake, I hope it’s a boy, little dove.” 

She remembered how gentle Cersei’s tone was, even as she cupped Sansa’s cheeks and dug her nails into her skin. The cruelty took her breath away, and even then, Sansa questioned how she ever thought the woman was tender and kind.

‘I am slow to learn, and slow to forget that which I have learned.’

Sansa knew what Sandor wanted from her, the same as Petyr did. They wanted her sweetness and her submission, and a place in her heart that no one else did. Perhaps Jon too, wanted that place in her heart; one that her mother had given to her children but never, ever, to him.

How could she?

“I was a hound for the Lannisters, but my place is here now, by your side. As your hound, if you'll have me."

‘Pity that he didn’t bend down on one knee,’ Sansa thought, even as she knew it was dark, and mean. Her thoughts were ugly things; twisting and turning in her mind and demanding to be let out. They were the kind of thoughts that would have made Septa Mordane weep, and her mother –

She wasn’t sure what her mother would think of her anymore.

What did she think of herself?

"You'd be my hound? How noble. And what happens when you grow tired of me?"

He didn’t flare with anger like she'd expected. Instead, he thought of his time with the brothers, of digging grave after grave, envisioning flaming red hair and blue eyes with every corpse he buried. She was inside him, and he couldn't get her out, no matter how he tried. "I won't. I owe you that much."

He owed her far more than that.

"Perhaps,” Sansa allowed the cold in her voice to thaw just enough for him to hear it. She knew that regardless of how much he had changed, she could only push him so far. “But loyalty is a rare thing. I've learned that the hard way."

Who was she loyal to?

The North.

The Starks.

Who was loyal to her? Truly loyal?

Jon, she thought immediately, and Ghost. Arya and Bran. Sansa knew they were out in the world still and believed they would make their way to Winterfell again.

“The lone wolf dies but the pack survives.”

Even then, there were so few of them against many.

Grey eyes met blue then, as Sandor murmured, "I ain't leaving you again. My place is here, by your side, Little Bird. Always."

He was serious, she realized then. He truly believed he could protect her. Protect her from what she wanted to ask. From the monsters that fill my dreams? The ones who wear the faces of my husbands, those with golden hair, my aunt who hated me, and my guardian who wanted me to call him father and sit in his lap as if she couldn't feel his reaction to her?

Her mind spiraled back into the depths of her nightmares, each one a place she had already been. She remembered the cold, harsh walls of King's Landing, the cruel sneers and whispers, the constant threat of pain and betrayal. She thought of the Vale, where her aunt's jealousy and madness had nearly destroyed her. She saw Ramsay's sadistic grin, felt Joffrey's cruel hand, and the calculating eyes of Littlefinger. These were not just dreams; they were memories, indelibly etched into her soul that would always be with her.

I am never alone; she almost said, swallowing the words as they rose in her throat. I’ll never be alone. She had already said enough –

And there was a part of her, the stupid, silly little girl, that reminded her Sandor had never hurt her. His scars had scared her, yes, but he had never harmed her as other men had. All he had ever taken from her was a song.

A song.

The only sound Sansa wanted to hear now was the noise Ramsay’s dogs made as they panted and settled, their bellies full to bursting for the first time in weeks. The thought of the waste inside them gave her a grim sense of satisfaction, a feeling the girl she had once been could never have imagined experiencing. Then again, she had experienced countless things that she could never have imagined, let alone dreamed of. Her world had been turned inside out, filled with horrors and unexpected twists. Yet, amidst the chaos, there were moments of clarity, moments where the impossible became reality.

She toyed with the sleeve of her fur cape; the one tell that she couldn’t break herself of as a thought came unbidden to her; a thought that made her feel as if she too, had a belly full of waste, and ached from the sheer weight of it, after going weeks without eating. The smell of copper was heavy in the air, but for once, it did not emanate from Sansa’s bruised frame.

Ramsay was gone.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, a part of her would have always doubted that he would never be able to touch her again. That was why she had stopped Jon from killing him – he would have done the same, had she decided to hang the men involved with killing him, in his stead.

It still didn’t feel quite real, even as she knew that it was. Ramsay would never be able to touch her again. No one would.

She stilled, her thoughts turning in her head. 

If Ramsay could die, why couldn’t the Hound live for her?

The sheer size of the man beside her made her relax, as she knew that no one in the whole of Winterfell could tower over him. His presence was a fortress, a wall of strength and defiance against the darkness that had plagued her for so long. The Hound, with his scarred face and gruff demeanor, had always been a figure of fear and fascination. Yet now, he represented something else entirely: safety.

Why couldn’t she use him?

Her pink lips curved into a soft smile, one that Sandor found as lovely and earnest as the smiles his sister used to give him, back when she had a missing front tooth and her hair tied with yellow ribbons that he gave her. She had loved him, and he’d let Gregor kill her.

Sansa saw the starving look in his eyes—a desperate craving to be wanted.

To be needed.

Once, she’d had the same look in her eyes.

Sansa’s hand drifted toward his forearm; her fingers resting there. She didn’t miss the way that he stiffened and stared hard at her face. He didn’t scare her now.

He never would again.

“I’d like that,” Sansa admitted, her voice as faint as the beating of a sparrow’s wings. She would be his Little Bird again; one that sang pretty songs and placed its head into the mouth of a hound. A hound that had little idea about the wolf that crept behind it, with gleaming eyes and sharp canines.

[artzychic27]

What about DC!Nathaniel AU? An AU where Nathaniel is the one somehow related to a DC character? Not sure who his father/mother would be, but he would dye his hair red to match his found family. And then we can get Caprikid using his powers to get revenge on his toxic hero father. I like angst, okay.

I know you said hero, but... Nathaniel's the son of Trigon, 'kay byeeee!

After finding a safe haven on Azarath, Arella gave birth to two children, a boy, and a girl.

For years, Raven and Nathaniel are taught to control their emotions and suppress and control the demonic powers they inherited from Trigon, and while Raven is shown to be making progress, Nathaniel constntly loses control

Trigon knew of their whereabouts, but did nothing to intervene, except when a monk named Juris had cast Nathaniel into another dimension to avert disaster

This action, in the process, erased his memories and reverted him back into a baby to avoid disaster and hopefully have the unlucky people who find him be able to control his temper

Trigon struck Juris down at the moment of the deed and went to search all across the universe for his son, knowing Nathaniel will be the twin to continue his legacy and conquer the Universe, seeing as Azarath corrupted his daughter

Nathaniel ends up in a basket at the doorstep of Aya and Maison Kurtzberg's home. They think nothing of it and immediately bring the ebony-haired purple-eyed baby into their lives

And to match his parents, he dyes his hair red when he’s seven! Aaw!

So, Nathaniel grows up normal with no knowledge of his parentage and everything is fine until his father dies

Overcome with grief, Nathaniel reveals his inherited power. His skin turns red, his hair turns white, an extra set of eyes appears and all four of them glow a bright yellow

Instead of running away when he lets out a demon scream, Aya comforts her son until he turns back to normal

Neither of them have any idea what just happened, but one thing’s for sure, Nathaniel’s got to keep his emotions under wraps

… Then he starts middle school

It's incredibly difficult for him to stay calm when Chloé's going around tormenting the students, the principal is a spineless moron who does nothing to stop it, and... Oh, yeah! It’s middle school!

And just when he thinks things can’t possibly get any worse, this creep named Hawkmoth shows up. He’s stressed out of his mind trying not to get Akumatized, and some prick named Louis is being a real pain in the ass

Nathaniel nearly reveals his powers in fits of rage by making things float or causing glass to shatter, but people only assume there’s an Akuma

It’s not long before Nathaniel gets Akumatized into Evillustrator, but because of Trigon’s DNA, his appearance is slightly altered- Extra set of eyes, horns, longer hair, and a nice set of fangs

He summons demons made of ink to ravage the streets, and what makes this more scary is that Hawkmoth has no control over him. And this isn’t Nathaniel’s own doing, either

It takes Ladybug and Chat Noir hours to defeat him, and the second he’s deakumatized, Nathaniel runs away before they can ask if he’s alright

Meanwhile, Master Fu has been sensing a dark presence for years now, but is nowhere close to figuring out where it’s coming from… Until he sees Evillustrator

Later, for about a week, Nathaniel is plagued by nightmares of a man who looks similar to him when in his demon form, and all he can hear is the name Trigon, something about him fulfilling a prophecy, and being a portal

This leaves Nathaniel on edge, causing some slip ups with his powers and keeping his emotions in check, so he starts to “fix” things that annoy him

-Every time Kim attempts to do a dare, it suddenly turns safe and he has no chance of hurting himself… Or others

-Chloé’s mouth disappears

-A black bar covers Adrien’s face wherever he goes

-Rose’s voice is muted, Juleka’s voice is louder

-Two shadowy hands come up from behind Marinette and pull at her pigtails every time she mentions Adrien

Master Fu summons Ladybug and Chat Noir and tells them to capture and bring Nathaniel to him

He performs some sort of ritual that undoes everything Nathaniel used his powers on and makes him less evil looking

After assuring Ladybug and Chat Noir that he’s not an Akuma, Master Fu explains that Nathaniel is the son of Trigon, devourer of a million souls, conqueror of countless worlds, and one of the most powerful beings in the universe

Ladybug/Chat Noir: … *Drawing their weapons*

Master Fu: Don’t.

He explains that Nathaniel’s destiny is to act as a portal which will allow Trigon to enter their world and conquer it. However, when that will happen is a mystery. But, the more he taps into his dark side, the more Trigon comes close to discovering his location

Nathaniel: WHAT?!

Master Fu: Do I need to spell it out for you?… You are a living portal for your demon father, and he’s going to tear open our universe with his bare hands!

Ladybug: … But?… There’s a ‘but,’ right? There’s a solution?! Yes?!

Chat Noir: Say yes!

Nathaniel’s dreams become more frequent, and occasionally, he goes into this sort of headspace where all the land around him is desolate with blood-red skies and not a living soul around. And this man in a strange mask keeps following him and telling him to accept his destiny as he causes these glowing red marks to appear along his skin

When he wakes up, the markings are gone, but his hair becomes longer. While he can cut his hair, this glowing S-shaped mark remains on his forehead, which he covers with his bangs

Ever since he learned of the prophecy, Nathaniel has been attempting to become closer with his classmates- Modeling some of Marinette’s clothes, going to Kitty Section rehearsals, listening to some of Nino’s demos, making posters for Ivan and Myléne’s protests, trying out rock climbing with Lacey, doing some makeup art with Cosette, watching some of Jean’s performances, and even creating a comic with this cute guy named Marc

Alix wonders what’s gotten into him as of late, but Nathaniel remains secretive

One night, Nathaniel, with the advice of Master Fu, tries meditation to clear his head and relax. But he comes into contact with Trigon, who warns him that his destiny is drawing nearer, and then shows him horrifying images of everyone he loves suffering under his wrath

Nathaniel wakes up, and like always, his hair is longer

It’s the next morning when things take a turn for the worse. The marks that are usually only in his dreams are all over Nathaniel’s arms, and he becomes aware that this is the day Trigon will turn him into his portal, so he tries to make his friends’ last day one they’ll remember fondly by suggesting an outing at the park, going for ice cream, and doing a quick sketch of all of them together

This has them all concerned and thinking something’s wrong with Nathaniel, but only Marinette and Adrien truly know what’s got him acting this way

Before he can tell them exactly what he is, a spontaneous solar eclipse blocks the sun, and Nathaniel collapses. When Kim tries to help him back up, he accidentally reveals the marks on his arms and forehead, which Alix recognizes from one of the museum exhibits

They take him home where Aya reluctantly tells them everything, from finding Nathaniel on her doorstep to discovering his powers after Maison died

Of course, they’re horrified and come to the conclusion that Nathaniel is the reason so much weird stuff has been happening to them, but Alix and Marc are quick to shut that down

Meanwhile, when it seems all is fine and well, Nathaniel is kidnapped right out of his bedroom and dragged into some decrepit building by people in cloaks. And standing there is the same masked man from his dreams, who calls himself Slade

They perform the ritual to summon Trigon, and by the time his friends locate him, it’s too late. Nathaniel is gone, and Trigon returns to take over the world

But, somehow, the Akuma Class and Science Kids survive his attack and not be turned into stone like everyone else.

Simon: ... Everything is gone. Everyone's dead. Nathaniel's probably dead, and we're gonna die soon! Can this get any worse?!

*Suddenly, a black portal appears in the sky*

Simon: Of course! Why not?!

From the portal emerges a young woman in a purple cloak, accompanied by four other people

She introduces herself as Raven, daughter of Trigon and the twin/elder sister of Nathaniel. While Trigon has been searching for Nathaniel, so has she. After Nathaniel was banished from Azarath and de-aged, she spent years looking for him before their father could find him with the help of the Teen Titans

Bombarded by all sorts of questions, Raven goes on to explain the prophecy

Raven: Children on Azarath heard the prophecy so many times, but… “The gem was born of evil's fire. The gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, he comes to sire. The end of all things mortal.” My brother, your friend, is that gem.

Akuma Class: …

Science Kids: …

Teen Titans: …

Ismael: … They told that to kids?!

While things seem hopeless, Raven assures them not all is lost. Nathaniel’s existence as an inter-dimensional portal is complete, but another part lives on elsewhere. They just have to get him back and have him battle Trigon

Alix, of course, is going, along with Denise and Ivan for muscle, and Beast Boy for some extra power

Ladybug and Chat Noir pass along the Miraculous so the others can help them battle against Trigon with the Teen Titans, though, it gets tricky when he summons nega versions of the team to taunt and fight them on an equal playing field

The trip is long and perilous, but they successfully find Nathaniel… Only he’s seven and has no memory of any of them

Back on the surface, the heroes are battling their nega-selves and are nowhere close to weakening any of them while the others battle Trigon’s minions in case they go looking for the others

Carapace then suggests that, since they can't defeat themselves, maybe they could defeat each other. And surprisingly, it works, but according to Trigon, all they did was prolong their suffering and he sends more of his minions after them

Going back the way they came, Raven carries Nathaniel and tells him about their time on Azarath, about Trigon and the prophecy to try and return his memories with Alix adding a few things about his life in Paris, but nothing’s coming to him

They are soon accosted by a horde of fire demons. The group successfully escapes while keeping Nathaniel out of harm's way. And amidst the battle, it’s revealed-

Nathaniel: Alix, why are you doing this?

Alix: You do remember, don't you?

Nathaniel: … The stories you were telling...I can see it. Bits and pieces. You...our friends...my dad...like it was a dream. A nightmare. Whatever it was, it's over.

Ivan: But, there may still be a way to--

Nathaniel: Nobody can stop him. I remember that. You came down here for nothing.

Raven: … I came down here for you, baby brother.

Back on the surface, the large group run away with Trigon's minions in pursuit. They take down most of them, but then Raven and Beast Boy appear to finish them off

At first, everything seems well, until they see Nathaniel

Roi Singe: WE’RE DOOMED!

Wyvern: Shut up! You’re gonna scare the damn kid!

Rena Rouge: We’re dead. We are so dead!

Just then, Trigon commands his army to expand throughout the universe and enslave everything until all bow before him

Before going to battle their father, Raven comforts Nathaniel by saying he is no longer a slave to any prophecy and he will know what to do when the time comes

At that moment, Ladybug’s only lucky charm is a pair of hair clips, which she gives to Nathaniel since he lit up with her lucky vision

The Titans, Miraculous heroes, and the survivors without powers take Trigon head-on. To their shock, he takes damage only thanks to Raven's added power. But, as one final attack, Trigon envelopes them all in a massive blast, immobilizing them

As Nathaniel begs them to get up, Trigon unleashes another heat ray to kill him off, but Nathaniel somehow shields himself and the others with his powers. And while Trigon charges up another blast, the Goat Hero transforms back into Marc, and Nathaniel discovers that the Miraculous is a pair of hair clips like the ones Ladybug gave him

When he fails to kill Nathaniel again, Trigon only mocks him, claiming that Nathaniel’s only purpose is to serve him as his portal, his creation, and declaring that he has no power over him

Nathaniel: ... You created me… But you were NEVER my father! Fathers are present in your life! Fathers protect you! Fathers raise you! I was protected by the monks of Azarath and searched for years by my sister. I was raised by Aya and Maison Kurtzberg, and my friends! They are my family! This is my home! And you are not welcome here!

As Nathaniel renounces any biological ties with Trigon, he returns to his original age while wearing all white, and his original hair color is restored. His power returns, and he transforms into CapriKid

Genesis, combined with his own powers augments both of them, allowing him to create bursts of white energy he uses to blast and weaken Trigon before creating a massive burst of energy that engulfs and obliterates Trigon for good, and propels a wave of restorative energy that washes over the earth and undoes Trigon’s corruption

Akuma Class: …

Science Kids: …

Teen Titans: …

Nathaniel: … Uh- *Gets tackled into a hug by the Akuma Class* H-hey, guys.

Nino: That was awesome, dude! You were a badass!

Juleka: So. Fucking. Wicked.

Chloé: You’re not entirely lame, Kurtzberg.

Adrien: So, is the black hair permanent?

After all comments on his powers and how he defeated Trigon are out of the way, Nathaniel and Raven have a proper (and tearful) reunion

Weeks pass, and everyone other than the Akuma Class, Science Kids, and Teen Titans has no recollection of Trigon's temporary reign

Nathaniel has better control over his powers, is able to use them around his friends, he occasionally visits Raven over in Jump City, and has recently begun dating Marc

... Also, somewhere, that Slade guy who kidnapped Nathaniel is nothing but a living withered husk, and... Cliffhanger. Just like the Original Teen Titans, which I am still bitter about.

[arakawa-division]

Sounds of Silence Isekai Outfits

Alexis - "The Nightingale" (Seneschal)

Quote: "In silence, a knight prepares; in action, a knight reveals."

A high-ranking official of country far from the Dark Kingdom, this dedicated and loyal servant was sent by her kingdom as a spy to investigate and find out exactly what it is the Land of Chuohku is up to. A master of working behind the scenes to unveil and stop threats before they occur, she has posed as a simple villager in one of the many cities in the kingdom. However, when action arises, she has no problem donning her armor and working alongside her cohorts, including "The Sunrise Knight" to destroy any who threaten her home, including the one who took the lives of her father and brother, the so-called "Devourer of Souls"...

"You made a mistake opposing my homeland, your last mistake."

Diệu - "The Ornate Woman" (Temptress)

Quote: "When it comes to temptation, there's one key advice people always forget: it's harder getting out than it is staying out."

A mysterious young woman who seems to come and go as she pleases, rumors about her swirl throughout almost all of the world, with no truth being found out about her. Some say she works for a secret organization that's seeking to spread their influence. Others say that when she was young, she sold her soul to a demon, which allows her to claim anything she desires. Some say that she was a child of terrorists and was trained to cause mayhem wherever she goes. And some say, she isn't actually a person, but a ghost sent to tempt humans to doing wrong. But whatever the truth is, something has brought her to the Land of Chuohku. And who knows what she will get up to while she is here...

"Enjoy these last few seconds before it all ends. Hehehe~"

Ivelisse - "The Sarvajna" (Monk)

Quote: "The moment you start acting like life is a blessing, it starts feeling like one."

A well-known monk and follower of The Way, this young woman is renowned for traveling across the world in an effort to cease conflict wherever it may arise. Lengthy talks and debates are her bread and butter, and she has ceased many disputes and quarrels with her thoughtful and impressive rhetoric. After being summoned by her home country to investigate the Land of Chuohku, she has accepted their offer on two conditions: one, because she hopes that by speaking with whoever is in charge of the land, she can persuade them to cease their hostile and malevolent activities. And two, because she has heard rumors of a young man there who resembles a family member whom she has sworn to find after he ran away from home...

"I describe myself as a simple monk. No more, no less."

[the-6th-harbringer]

RELATIONSHIPS

About Wanderer [@wandering-hat-guy ] -First Encounter "When I first interacted with him, I was disappointed, because I thought that is what I was going to become. In all honesty, I thought he was weak. I have been proven wrong." -Fixing "I was surprised that he willingly fixed me in the desert. I expected him to simply leave me to die- or not show up at all." "Hm? You're asking if I can fix myself?" "I can.. but I'm not very good. Blame Dottore."

-The Gnosis Fight "Part of me is glad he interfered, but part of me wishes he didn't."

-Home "I see him as my brother now. Wherever he calls home, I call home too." "Or I suppose you can say he is my home." -The Promise "Don't worry, I'll be keeping that promise. I'm not one to go back on things like that." {I betrayed him. He's going to hate me.} -Memories "So it never really happened after all. Well, that's a relief."

About Kabukimono [ @ask-kabukimono ]

-General Hatred "It's simply self-loathing. Don't worry about it."

-The Gnosis "It better do some good with that Gnosis. If not, I'll come and take it back." -Disappearance "..." "If I ever feel the need to break my promise to Wanderer, I'll do it quietly where no one can stop me."

-The Fourth "What a stupid decision. Guess I still have reason to hate it after all." About Menthe and Other Melusines [ @melusine-summons ] -Menthe "I'm glad she found me in that bubble that day. Wouldn't be here without her." -Her Family "She has a lot of sisters, and I've forgotten a lot of their names. However, I still care for them. They're too nice for you to not love them."

About Estrella and Lyn [ @ask-lyn-n-estrella ] -Doll [Estrella] "I use doll as an insult quite frequently. Him being a doll makes it kind of hard to use that as an insult. I feel rude by doing so." "He also gives me strange vibes. I am unsure why."

-Kickable [Lyn] "I could gently tap him and he'd fall over and shatter like a mirror. How amusing."

About Astris [ @ask-astris-celeste ] -Outsider "Kinda like you. Not from this world, yet seemingly fits right in."

About The Not-Cat [ @adi-cat-anon ] -Risk "That thing is powerful. If it isn't careful, it'll catch the eyes of a certain doctor. Kabukimono better take care of it." About Cyrille [ @cyrille-leclair-de-fontaine ] -Apology "I feel bad for leaving him in Fontaine with all those other bastards just to attempt to disappear on my own selfish accord. I didn't even tell him." "..Hm. He probably wouldn't have cared anyways."

-Hinadori "He has to balance taking care of Hinadori and taking care of himself. If he doesn't, I will have an issue."

-Time bomb "..Why is he so insistent that I'm not a ticking bomb of destruction?" -Love? "..It shouldn't be possible. And yet.." "I guess its not too bad."

-Love

"If only it didn't hurt him so much to love me."

About Sakura [ @the-tainted-blossom ]

-Mother "Good riddance to that beast."

-Home Realm "I think that's where my consciousness was transported when I fell asleep. It's not a happy place in there." "I never, ever want to go back there."

-Mother II : Speech "'To mess with time is to mess with the world. And you, my children, have now broken the world beyond repair. If this plane of existence were to downfall.. blame it on nobody but your pathetic selves.'" "Those were her final words. Bit over the top, no?" -Victims "Sakura was probably in the same boat as me at some point. I feel bad for them, genuinely." -Saved "..."

BONUS LINES: About the Vision - Irony "The second I gave away the Gnosis, my original heart, I was greeted with a new heart. And it just happened to be electro as well. What are the chances?" -Separation "The vision is the thing that has separated me and my brother's identities. I am no longer just an extension of him."

[valeriefauxnom]

You know, one idea I am very much tempted to write a one-shot right now for Dragalia would be the sheer angst back at the Halidom during the Stranded Scions event.

Like. Euden never looks for or is worried about any of his friends, he's there alone with just Chelle, Leonidas, and ultimately Emile. He probably received his invitation alone by Chelle, since luxury things have a strict headcount. He probably wanted to stay at the Halidom, but I'm sure at that point his friends would've been pushing him to take a break from it all for a while, he's earned it-...

...and then words gets back that the ship was sunk by a rogue storm no one saw coming, fates of all royalty aboard unknown. Heck, make it even worse, if someone saw Euden thrown overboard as he recalled here:

Yes, he can fly or swim as a dragon, but only for a certain amount of time. And if he was injured or knocked unconscious at the wrong moment, -which seemingly happened, based on the gap in his consciousness in his narration of the event, -that advantage would've gone right out the window. And taking a tumble from that high would not help the odds of either not occurring as water makes not quite as kind a landing you might believe.

So all they know at best is likely: Euden and some his family was on the ship that sunk. Whatever the general casualty situation of the event since it's never specified, nobody's found their bodies....nor them alive. But they were in the sea in a storm ferocious enough to sink a luxury, state of the art ship.

Can't imagine the panic and guilt when that got back. The frantic efforts to grapple with the idea there's a very good chance Euden is dead with three of his siblings, and their fledgling country now has to try and figure out who can replace him if he's not rescued and soon. The idea that since Emile was a last-minute add-on to the ship, the Dyrenell Empire which was just starting to get stabilized into a more respectable land, is going to be thrown right back into the chaotic power vacuum that lead to Emile's ascent. Leonidas and Chelle, too, as major players in their own rights. That's two (technically three, since Gala Leonidas seems to indicate he's declared his lands 'Alberia' and is thus a ruler of a country in his own right) sovereigns dead, all from the great powers of South Grastea.

The similarly frantic attempts to start organizing searches for Euden and co and all the hope and fear that comes with it as the days drag on without a body. Fear that he survived, but didn't have the resources or know-how to survive on an abandoned island or makeshift raft or wherever he ended up.

As tempting as it is to write, I've a bit too much fic to work on right now since I'm behind on quite a few things!

As a last side note, though, can I just add an oof for Euden since even he's acknowledged he gets no relaxation at any time even when he's trying to? 'First time in a long time' is a small phrase with so much weight when what he is getting for the first time in a while is a 'few peaceful hours'. And then he thinks 'thanks' and immediately summons a storm.