#I did have to look up guides to help with some bosses and the palace

[finalfroevo]

defeated Radiance & got the Dream no More ending

:] !!

[linkedin-corp]

okay heres the timeline/series of events for my "chimera vivian" au <- guy who needs to make a better name for it

ONCE AGAIN WARNING FOR LOOOONG POST! bring popcorn

and yes before you ask i Did write this in a Sort Of. wiki "plot explanation" type of fashion, mainly because i was thinking in the pov of like. if this was actually part of the game. idk why i did that. helps me think about the mechanics of everything more

the au begins once the party reaches the shadow palace , on a seemingly normal path to completion

the party is tired from traversing through the shadow palace once they reach gloomtail

gloomtail is significantly harder, and eats vivian halfway through the fight

the party flees due to this

they take refuge in rogueport once again to try and think of a way to get her back

they find the real frankly still in rogueport, and tell him of what happened

frankly is visibly very stressed and panicked after they tell him this and he digs through multiple books to find useful information; eventually he tells them of a very powerful magician that very briefly mentored the four heros of old, whos tale was lost to time due to the thousand year door story

the party has to find a certain someone who would be willing to take them to a dangerous dungeon that the magician is rumored to live

once they do, they need to do a favor for them so that this person can trust them

once this favor is completed, the guide introduces themself and their own party, who coincidentally wants to visit the magician themselves (though most of the party is more interested in the riches)

after a nice ‘getting to know eachother’ dinner, the next day they head off

meanwhile, the shadow queen awakens due to the time of the doors seal being up

grodus still tries to take control of the shadow queen, but fails

the shadow queen remains within the shadow palace, and plots a way to stop mario before they return with the crystal stars (also spends her time creating many creatures that wreck havoc while the party is away)

the two parties have some trouble along the way, including a handful of very overpowered enemies (as theyve traveled into the untraversed areas of the map, looking for the magician's dungeon)

once they finally find it, the trials inside are sort of like the pit of 100 trials and keelhaul keep combined

the dungeon is huge and full of life, (like the dunmeshi dungeon) they get lost inside a few times due to the secondary party’s leader reading the map wrong accidentally

a huge puzzle lies before the final room of the dungeon, the crystal castle (now abandoned and visibly crumbling)

inside lies a cloaked boss that can shapeshift into previous bosses mario's party has faught; once they defeat it, it reveals itself as the thousand year old magician. (“well done for combining your strengths to defeat me!”)

because they defeated them, the wizard allows them to request anything they want of him. mario tells the wizard they need him to help revive vivian

the wizard only agrees to help if mario acknowledges that revival magic is very fickle, and that it may not work perfectly or as they intend. they agree, as it's their only choice

the party makes the trek back; noticing the enemies in their path have become increasingly more difficult to defeat ; luckily, having the wizard on their side helps tenfold

on the way back, one of the secondary party members gets severely wounded. this forces them to reveal themselves as doopliss. (“beldam .. she was rude, but these guys seemed kind to eachother. i thought i wouldve been able to finally fit in with a powerful group.”) (doopliss wouldve appeared after gloomtail with beldam and marilyn, but because mario’s party did not appear when beldam had expected, he had time to rethink and turn back after beldam was using him as a verbal punching bag)

the entire group returns eventually, moderately unscathed. unfortunately, rogueport and adjacent towns are in ruins because of the shadow queens minions

the secondary party ends up staying in rogueport to help the locals with their infestation problem

mario’s party returns to the thousand year door with the wizard and goes back to gloomtail to defeat him

after they defeat him, they notice vivian isnt being spit out like koops dad

the wizard tries to use the revival spell, but everyone is filled with tension and worry because of the unexpected circumstances

the spell of course backfires, and vivian is revived— only alongside gloomtail as well (chimera time)

just as ‘vivian’ wakes up, the secondary party arrives because their leader got worried for their safety (and surprisingly, they cleaned up rogueport quite quickly)

vivian freaks out, heavily injuring many of them in the process

after a very confusing fight that got pretty much nowhere (as mario’s party didint want to harm vivian), she flees

mario’s party and the secondary party form up and decide to yet again return to rogueport to heal up

mario insists the secondary party stays behind; after much arguments on both sides, they agree

the wizard stays behind to help the secondary party heal as well, as he doesnt want to make any more preventable messes with his rusty work

mario’s party visits frankly to try and get advice on how to turn vivian back

he suggests the only way to do so is by sealing away the shadow queen, as once she is sealed away, all of the shadow palace subjects will be sealed away too

mario asks how will they make sure vivian is safe while also making sure she doesnt kill anyone else

frankly suggests perhaps using the power of a crystal star to do so (“maybe jogging her memory so she can gain control might help!”) (if you feel like doing other stuff at this rate (stuff like mindless quests like the help board n stuff), you can try and help other towns get rid of pests made by the shadow queen— you of course get rewarded for doing this — doing it also makes the shadow queen weaker during the final fight)

mario’s party returns to the shadow palace to try and find vivian (this takes maybe like 30 minutes of going through each room except the ones right before the shadow queen; you follow vivian's footprints) while also trying to avoid the shadow queen and her minions

once they find vivian and corner her, mario shows her the ruby star, which makes her lash out as if she were in immense pain before passing out

it takes her awhile to wake up, but mario’s party stays with her to make sure she gets up

once she does, her memories are retained and shes much calmer now (but can barely speak, only uses hand signs and warbled speech)

almost immediately after vivian wakes, the shadow queen finds them and corners mario’s party, hoping to get rid of them once and for all

due to now having vivian back, the party is able to defeat the shadow queen, and seal her away

once she is finally sealed again, vivian returns to normal (albeit with a few permanent changes)

rollllll credits

most of these details are. not entirely set in stone , obviously, so i might be editing this occasionally or talking about stuff ive changed. obviously i havent figured out the details with the new party or the wizard yet, but i will ! eventually !

i have a vague idea of what the secondary party might consist of for now, so ill be updating on that periodically

[stardustmorozov]

All The Things We Hide In The Dark (part 2)

Pairing: The Darkling x Reader

A Beauty and the Beast AU fic collab between @thatbritishactor and me

Summary:  Chased by Drüskelle and out of options, Reader (You) seeks refuge in the remote Little Palace which is rumored to be haunted by a beast and his ghosts. But he is not the only one who hides dark secrets…

Warnings: None, I think?

Word count: 3661

A/N: It has been quite a while since we posted the first chapter and a lot of things have happend in the mean time. Aside from me being not a very fast writer, some complications have come up in the collaboration, so with her permission I will continue writing this story and posting it here. If there are going to be any changes in this regard either me or @thatbritishactor will tell you guys.

Part 1

The following morning you awoke with more of a start than you'd liked. Strange dreams had plagued you all night. Dreams of a castle appearing only in the silhouette of a lightning flash, wisps and a strange, masked man who could summon the shadows.

The room around you seemed strange, but you were certain you had seen the place before, trying to rack your brain for any clues as to where. Then it dawned on you. Last night had not been a dream. You could feel your stomach drop as you revisited the memory. You had been on the run from the Drüskelle and a storm had guided you to a castle where you had desperately pleaded for shelter. Shaking your head you tried to erase the terrifying image out of your mind with little success.

And then there was the strange man in shadows.

If you were honest with yourself he was terrifying and if it hadn't been for the giant locked door, you would have gladly made your way out of here hours ago at his command. Instead the wisp called Genya had given you your current room.

You knew it was rude to leave your host without saying goodbye, but you had no desire to run into the mysterious, shadow shrouded man again and possibly suffering his wrath for overstaying your welcome, so you moved to one of the windows that looked like it could be opened.

You judged the jump down wouldn't be too far and in the worst case scenario you thought you'd end up with two sprained ankles, but you had survived worse. What you did not expect to happen however, was the fact that the lock of the window suddenly made a clicking sound. As if it had locked itself when your fingers touched it.

But now that you weren't overcome with fear and desperation, you remembered the fact that you had a set of lock picks in the pockets of the dress you had been wearing when you arrived here. A quick search through the pile of fabric yielded the picks and in silent triumph you returned to the locked window.

"Now we'll see who's boss," you muttered under your breath , putting the picks carefully in the lock as you moved them around, moving tumble after tumble in the right place and when the lock finally gave out after a few minutes of trying, you couldn't help but grin. But as you tried to push the window open, it gave resistance and after a few more pushes you heard the lock springing closed again.

You wanted to scold the window for being rude, but the idea of doing such a thing to an environment you didn't even know felt wrong. And it was quite silly now you thought about it.

Stepping down from the windowsill you turned to your old dress, not really feeling like putting on one of the other dresses in the closet when you were going to leave anyway at the first chance you got. And who knew when that might be.

Back in the bathroom where you had shed your clothes the previous evening you decided to get dressed, not exactly feeling up to dressing up in what felt like a living room to you, which just so happened to have a bed.

The fabric was still stiff from all the dirt and filth that clung to it and it made you crawl in your skin, but you reasoned with yourself that you'd get used to it soon enough once you had left this sanctuary.

Your stomach growled as you finished putting on your dress and you turned to unlock the door and the hall appeared to be empty as you stuck your head around the door. Relieved by the fact that the mysterious man in shadows was not nearby, you tried to remember the way Genya had taken you from the kitchen, hoping to find something to still your hunger with, at least for a few hours.

The silence in the halls was deafening and every supposed sound had you on edge, still feeling like an intruder in this strange, luxurious environment.

Soon, the giant staircase of the hall you first entered the castle came into view and with a guilty sort of curiosity, you made your way to the door, gently trying to pry its locks open, but as with the window in the room you'd spent the night, it locked itself again as soon as you had it open.

Feeling slightly defeated, you made your way back up the stairs and towards the kitchen where you found two wisps in conversation, which halted as soon as one of them noticed you in the doorway.

"There you are! I was wondering when you'd wake up," Genya chittered excitedly as she floated over to you taking her somewhat human form again, taking in your appearance.

"Shame I haven't been able to fix your dress though," she mumbled as she turned away again to guide you to the cabinets where the bread and toppings were stashed as you heard a chuckle come from the second wisp in the room.

"Genya darling, always the perfectionist, aren't you?" the wisp chuckled, its voice sounding younger than Genya's and you curiously eyed the shapeless form, before moving over to the cabinets where Genya hovered.

"And you must be our highly esteemed guest then," the voice said to you as you tentatively pulled the bread, toppings and a plate out of the cabinets.

"Highly esteemed?" you snorted as the last of the toppings hit the hardwooden surface of the table, "Has word of my arrival gone around the place that quickly?"

"It is not every day that we get visitors." His tone was playful, but you couldn't help but notice the sadness in his tone. "Anyway, where are my manners? I am Fedyor," Fedyor introduced himself, taking the form of a man you would definitely have fallen for were it not for your circumstances.

"Nice to meet you Fedyor," you said, extending your hand to shake his, before you remembered that he, like Genya, was a wisp and not a physical being, so instead you gave him a polite nod, redirecting your hand to take a piece of bread.

As you ate, you managed to make friendly conversation with both of the wisps before coming onto the topic that brought you to the castle in the first place.

"How long do you plan on staying?" Fedyor asked, causing you to nearly choke on the water you were drinking, eyes darting towards Genya who simply gave you, what you guessed to be a shrug.

"I uhhh… I actually didn't plan on staying at all…." Your voice was barely audible as you spoke, in part of the shame you felt towards admitting it to your host, the other part still scared of the man you encountered the evening before.

"You found the castle," Fedyor argued, "You must have had some reason to come here."

A pitiful chuckle left you as you shook your head, stuffing the last piece of bread into your mouth. "The only reason I came here was because I was on the run. I was looking for shelter and this was the first place I came across."

Even though it was the truth, you felt like you were lying to them. Perhaps it wasn't the entire truth, but it was all they needed to know. For now.

If the castle would truly keep you locked in, you'd have no choice but to stay and maybe, just maybe, you'd have the courage to open up to them one day.

"Who were you being chased by?" Genya asked in a curious tone, just as intrigued by your arrival as Fedyor, even though she did a better job of hiding it.

"Fjerdans," you answered simply, picking up the plate and looking for a sink to put it in, before putting the rest of the food back where it came from.

"So you're Grisha then?"

"I don't see why they would give chase if I weren't."

You guessed they sensed you weren't keen on any more questions about your background, they invited you along to show you around the castle, which you reluctantly accepted, not wanting to run into the mysterious man again. But as the two excited wisps dragged you from corridor to corridor, that fear subsided, more and more, though your curiosity demanded you to find out who he was.

So when they pulled you into what appeared to be an empty corridor, without any doors, you mustered up the courage to ask.

"Genya, who was the man in the shadows? From yesterday?"

"General Kirigan?" Fedyor said, as if he were surprised that you had seen him.

"I think? I've never met someone who could summon the shadows."

"The general is a mysterious man," Genya joked, though you sensed some pain underneath and you wondered why.

Fedyor stayed silent as you progressed through the long hall, seeming too caught up in his own thoughts as he started floating higher and higher.

"Fedyor," Genya snapped and the wisp suddenly seemed aware of his surroundings again, dropping back down to eye level as he came down like he was under the sudden influence of gravity.

"Sorry, I got into my own head," he said quietly to Genya, who gave him a soft smile and you noticed you had arrived in one of the bigger halls of the castle, admiring the grand works of art displayed on the walls and the craftful chandeliers suspended from the ceiling.

Even though you had seen multiple of these halls already, they never seemed to fail to take your breath away as you tried to make out every detail in the paintings and all the different shapes of glass worked into the heavy chandeliers above you.

You could hear Fedyor say something in a teasing tone, but you were too busy to actually notice as Genya playfully responded.

"I still can't believe you live here," you said as you spinned around to take it all in.

"You should've seen it when there were still people here, that was truly a sight to behold," Fedyor said wistfully as he and Genya started to reminisce about old times.

"Oh yes, and the Fete, that was truly something else."

As Fedyor and Genya drift off in old memories, you wandered off to a smaller room that was directly adjacent to the hall that looked to be a lounge as your hand trailed over the back of one of the velvet couches, while story high windows made up the outer wall with half sheer curtains in front of them.

On the other side of the room there was a huge fireplace, though whatever fire had been burning in it was extinguished a long time ago. The windows looked out over a giant garden, though the only greenery that was visible were the fern bushes as the rest of the plants had lost their leaves or had sought their refuge underground as the bright colors of the forest that laid beyond the garden broders heralded the new season.

"I thought I told you to leave." The cold and threatening voice of the general ripped you out of your thoughts, your gaze snapping to where he stood only a few feet away from you as his shadows swirled menacingly around him, slowly filling the room.

The feeling of every bit of blood leaving your face for other places had you frozen where you stood and for a few moments you were too shocked to do anything, but you refused to let him know how scared you truly were as you mustered up the courage to stand up for yourself.

"Believe me, I gladly would have. If every way out didn't keep shutting itself right in front of my face." You could only hope your voice didn't tremble as the words left your lips, silently bracing yourself for what might come now that you defied him and the anxiety and fear you had felt when you first met him was back in full force, but you refused to move. You wouldn't be intimidated like this a second time, but it was hard as the darkness around you kept getting thicker and the man that seemed to be the source of it all took a few steps closer to you.

"People don't arrive here by accident. What brought you here?"

"Drüskelle," you answered simply, not trusting yourself to say any more words than you thought strictly necessary, "they've been chasing me from Kribirsk to here." You could see his shadows recoil and stir fearfully, though you didn't understand why. He was terrifying enough that you were sure that just the presence of too many shadows would send even the most hardened Drüskelle running for the hills.

"The Little Palace was made to be a safe place for all Grisha, so stay as long as you need. But I hope for you, you're telling the truth. I do not take kindly to being lied to."

As he spoke, the shadows dispersed as the grave tone in his voice seemed to calm them, only for them to get thicker and thicker until you were sure you could feel them if you were to move your hand through them when he made it clear that he had no good intentions for those who tried to deceive him.

You couldn't find it in yourself to speak up again, the grateful words dying on the tip of your tongue as fear had you still frozen in your place. Your body stiffened as he brushed past you, the shadows cold against your skin as they furled over you like windcurrents.

Your mind raced with thoughts of how lucky you were. That maybe the saints had watched over you in this moment as they had granted you the dumb luck to still stand.

"There you are! We almost lost you." Genya's voice pulled you out of your thoughts and the adrenaline that had kept you from moving finally released its grip on your body. "Come on, let's get out of here. We've got much more to show you." As she spoke, her humanoid form returned, but you barely had the energy to care that she was not human.

You didn't look back as you walked out of the room, closely sticking to the sides of the wisps that accompanied you and showed you more of the Little Palace, though the curiosity they had felt at the beginning of the tour had mostly been beaten out of you by your unexpected meeting with the general.

By the time you arrived back at the room Genya had given you the previous evening you just wanted to be alone. After you'd given them your thanks for showing you the palace, you simply collapsed face first onto the bed.

Genya and Fedyor had been beyond kind to you and you couldn't say you weren't grateful for that, but the man they called general Kirigan terrified you and the lockpicks were starting to feel like an attractive option again.

You'd almost completely forgotten about them when you were with Fedyor and Genya, but now that you were alone, it didn't seem so bad of an option, despite what had happened that morning. And like you had done a million times before, you fished them out of their place and slowly worked the lock again, the satisfying click of it being opened not coming nearly as soon as you'd like, but when it did, you were careful not to pull them out in the hopes of preventing the faulty mechanisms from locking themselves again.

As you pushed at the glass however, the frames didn't budge under your weight and you cursed under your breath.

"Let me out, dammit!" you cried out in frustration as you hit the glass, hoping it would finally be the push that was needed, but to no avail.

Defeated, you curled up against the bed, your back resting against the side of the mattress as you realised you were truly stuck here. You had little hope for trying the heavy front doors again and now that you thought about it, you wondered how you'd gotten in in the first place.

What little strength you still possessed that evening would not nearly have been enough to open the heavy doors that guarded the Little Palace and for a brief moment you considered that the palace had its own mind, but you quickly dismissed the notion. Wisps you could believe, but a building with a mind of its own was too far fetched of an idea. Even in a world where Durasts existed.

You drifted in and out of sleep as the exhaustion of being on the run for days caught up to you again and the adrenaline from your sudden meeting with the general finally subsided. By the time you could keep yourself awake without immediately wanting to doze off again, your stomach was begging for food. You contemplated simply staying in this room, ignoring the growling of your stomach and simply hoping it would go over.

After a few minutes however you decided to throw that idea out of the window and cautiously made your way to the kitchen. You knew you were not welcome here, despite what the general had said about the palace being a safe place for Grisha and Genya and Fedyor doing their best to make you feel comfortable.

The kitchen was quiet when you opened the door. The bleak light of the last stretches of sun lit the cold room and the deafening silence that hung in the room only amplified the feeling that you were more of an intruder than a guest.

You called out for Genya. The echo of your own voice startled you and the silence in the room reminded you of how utterly alone you really were. Lost and trapped with no one to look for you. Or to mourn when you would inevitably leave this world.

You rummaged through the cabinets, hoping to find something else than bread. The sound of the closing doors closing was nearly deafening.

As you systematically moved through the kitchen, you got the strange sense that someone was watching you, the burning feeling in your upper back making you itch to turn around and see if there was actually someone there.

When you couldn't find anything that didn't need preparation before you could eat it, you went to the place where you remembered the bread being stored.

"I see you have made yourself familiar with the kitchen already."

For the second time in a few hours the general had managed to scare the living daylights out of you and you nearly dropped the plate you were holding, the porcelain landing rather loudly on the hardwooden table.

"Do you make a habit out of scaring the life out of your guests?" Despite how shocked you are, a teasing tone slips by you as you watch his shadows swirl and spike at your words.

"I try not to."

The next few minutes are spent in silence as you finish setting the table. You consider setting a plate for the general as well, but with his masked face and the shadows that shrouded him it was hard to read him.

Deciding you didn't want to come off as rude, you put down a second plate, even if he wasn't actually hungry, you couldn't say you hadn't cared.

The silence in the kitchen was deafening, only distrubed by a soft whooshing sound that seemed to come from the shadows that surrounded the general and the occasional clinking of cutlery against porcelain.

"It seems you have already met Fedyor and Genya, but I can imagine you have a lot of questions."

The sound of his voice had you stop eating, swallowing the large bite of bread and ham before answering him.

"How long has this place existed? I thought it was just a fairytale."

"It has indeed existed longer than most people remember, but if memory serves me right, the building of it started a couple of decades after the appearance of the Fold. Construction finished about fifty years later. Since then, Grisha from all over the world have sought their refuge here." His tone left little room for discussion but it made you all the more curious as to why the palace seemed so abandoned. If people indeed used to seek sanctuary here, what had made them stop coming?

"Have the wisps always been here as well?" The flaring of his shadows told you'd struck a nerve and the silence that followed almost made you regret asking in the first place.

"It... depends on how you look at it. Yes they have always been here, but they didn't always exist."

"Cryptic," you chuckled as you stuffed another piece of bread into your mouth. "But how did they come into existence then? I can't imagine it happening out of nowhere." The already dark kitchen was further plunged into darkness as the shadows crawled in thick layers over the walls and windows and you had to fight the urge to summon your light. To drive away the darkness and provide yourself with a sense of safety. Not when you didn't know if the man in front of you would reject you for your strange powers, even if his seemed just as odd as yours so you kept your hands on the slice of bread in your hands. The soft dough flattening between your fingers.

The only thing that told you that he left was the sound of his boots on the tiles of the kitchen stairs and them fading down the long hall of which you'd already forgotten where it led to, the shadows that hung in the kitchen following him a few minutes later.

Tag list:

@blissfullybarnes @stuckysdaughter @hagarsays @ohsorandomlyme @bat-revival @littlebobree @profoundme444 @psychomanias @joossieisdabomb @thecatempire @hummelmia @kahlanmars @intothesoul @sarcasm-n-insomnia @jack-napier-2008 @phantomofmoon

[teddy06writes]

Greek Myth Series: Hades And Persephone

Woo! Woo! It's finally here, the moment you've been waiting for, the kick off of the greek myth series!

We are starting out with Hades And Persephone because on the poll they beat out Psyche and Eros by like, 12 or 13 votes. So lets go:

Wilbur Soot x reader (slightly implied female)

Trigger warnings: yelling, some swearing

premise: if you know the story of Hades and Persephone then you know what it is. If not, well you'll see. This is me putting an mcyt twist on my take of the story.

Just a line up {subject to change from part to part of this series} :

Wilbur- Hades

Tommy- Thanatos

Dream- Zeus

Ranboo- Hermes

Hannah- Demeter

Tubbo- Askalaphos (the dude who tells Persephone to eat the pomegranate)

Sapnap- Apollo

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

Long, long ago, when monsters and mortals still clashed over land, and when Gods still ruled the Earth, there lived a woman.

No, not just a woman, a goddess, one of the 12 major gods, housed in the Greek Pantheon.

Hannah, they called her, who hailed over crops and the growing season. Most would have known her as passive, but in one flick of her wrist you may find your fields dead, and her wrath growing.

Now, Hannah, had but one godly child, who presided over spring growth, called (y/n).

(y/n), though they loved to walk the earth, to see fields full of flowers, and orchards full of trees, longed for something more. As they grew, Hannah bound them more and more to the growing season, nearly forbidding them to have their freedom.

And, during those fleeting moments, where (y/n) was able to roam free, not giving their energy to blessing crops, they didn't know that someone had been watching.

Wilbur Soot, the king of the underworld, could sense their despair, and their suffering. Of the things he wished he could change, this was the one he could not.

At least, until one day.

It was one of the few days that (y/n) was able to escape what seemed to be a prison with their mother. They had picnicked, in a lovely valley, with a few of the friendlier Nymphs, Niki, George, Foolish and Puffy.

The sun was just starting to sink in the sky when (y/n) slipped away from their friends, wandering through the flower field.

They sighed, twirling the stem of a cut rose in their fingers, if only they could get away like this everyday.

It wasn't until they were a considerable distance from the Nymphs that Wilbur made his move. Chariot beginning to long trek to the surface.

(y/n) turned suddenly, as a crack formed in the ground, the chariot pulled by huge black stallions emerging.

"Who- who are you?" They asked cautiously, already backing away.

Wilbur stepped down from the chariot, "I am Wilbur Soot, king of the Underworld. I- love you, join me, to rule by my side."

(y/n) let out a nervous giggle, "Ummm..."

"I know that you've been longing to get away. If you come with me you won't have to be a slave to your mother's passions any longer."

They looked at him for a long moment, at his outstretched hand, and then back they way they had come. Could he really free them?

Wilbur couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut, worried for their response, only to feel a hand grip his own. Opening his eyes, he looked down at them, "Truly?"

They nodded, "We should go, before my mother catches word."

~~

The underworld, (y/n) quickly realized, was nothing like the world above. There was no sky, only a dark cavernous ceiling, and there seemed to be no blues, no yellows or greens, only the dark dismal blues, greys, and reds.

The first days that they had spent there, were spent exploring, the palace, the grounds, and anywhere else they were allowed.

Usually, Tommy, the young god of death accompanied them, having appointed himself as their personal tour guide.

It frightened them, to be so far away from the surface, so far from their mother, and so close to the dead.

Though, they did suppose that it was freedom, they couldn't trust this foreign place, minding to never eat anything, for fear of becoming stuck in that place, never allowed to visit the surface again.

On the seventh day of their stay in the underworld, (y/n) managed to shake Tommy long enough to wander into a set of gardens they had never seen before.

With a gasp, they realized that all of the fruits, all of the plants that though abundant on the surface never grew there, were all thriving in that garden. Rows and rows of apple trees, cherry trees, pear trees and- Pomegranate trees.

As soon as the gasp escaped their lips, a small form appeared from behind one of the trees, "Oh- hello there!"

"Hello- what is all this? If I'm allowed to ask." They edged forward into the garden.

"Oh- Lord Wilbur ordered all this to be planted, to make you feel at home. I'm Tubbo, the gardener."

They blinked, processing his words, "He did all this- for me?"

Tubbo nodded, already moving to put down his watering can, and beginning to pluck some of the pomegranates from the nearest tree, "He cares for you very much."

(y/n) continued to look around in amazement as they sat at the small table.

"You look famished," he commented, "Do you want any?"

"Oh no, I couldn't." They shook their head.

"Not even a few pomegranate seeds?"

~~

It was at the same time, that Hannah's quest to find her missing child, found her standing in the Olympian throne room, threatening to worsen the state she had put the world in.

While (y/n) had explored the underworld, the overworld had withered, Hannah's wrath once again coming to the surface.

Sapnap shifted in his throne, "Well, Hannah, I may have some information, on the where abouts of your kid."

She turned on him, "What did you see?"

"It was a bit ago, they were out wandering, big hole opened in the ground, and they got in one lord of the Dead's chariot." He shrugged.

Wilbur swallowed as Hannah whirled on him, and slowly he held up his hands, "In my defense they agreed to come with me."

"Did they?" Hannah questioned.

"They did. (y/n) wanted to get away from you!"

The throne room was thrown into chaos as various gods and goddess shouted their opinions on the matter.

"Silence!" Dream yelled, "Wilbur, is what you say true?"

He nodded, "Yes M'lord."

Dream frowned, "This is a predicament indeed."

~~ When Wilbur finally returned to the underworld, it was with Ranboo trailing behind, both trying to formulate a plan where (y/n) could truly get a say in what happened.

They found (y/n) in the garden, sitting with Tubbo, and laughing candidly.

"(y/n) Are you aware that your mother has been looking for you?" Ranboo asked.

They jumped up, hiding there hands behind their back, "Well, I had assumed so, yes."

"Are you aware of the trouble that this has been causing the mortals? Hannah has begun a decay, and thousands of them starve everyday." Ranboo reported, "I am to asses the situation here and report back to Dream. So, allow me to ask a few questions before we prepare to decide your fate, have you permanently installed yourself here?"

"Well not permanently, but some of my things are here." They answered.

"Mhhhm, and you haven't done anything to effect the lives of the dead? er- afterlives of the dead?"

"Smooth one boss man." Tubbo muttered.

"Gods no." They shook their head.

Ranboo nodded, "Okay, and last one, hove you eaten anything during your stay here?"

The ichor seemed to drain from (y/n)s face, "Well..."

"Well what? (y/n) this could decide whether or not you'll be forced to stay here or not!" WIlbur exclaimed.

Tubbo grabbed one of their hands, holding it out for the gods to see the pomegranate juice that still stained the flesh, "One third of a pomegranate."

"Oh dear."

~~ It was decided that (y/n) would be brought in front of the council of gods, to advocate where they would like to stay.

After long hours of arguing, it was decided, that because they had only eaten one third of the pomegranate, they would remain in the underworld for one third of the year, and for the rest they would stay above.

However, after Wilbur advocated for it, the Gods agreed that (y/n)'s time above could be spent however they chose, and not in the slavery of Hannah.

Perhaps it was then, that they fell.

For in time, (y/n) grew to love Wilbur, and they married, becoming the king and queen of the Underworld,

[holdmyowos]

Karma Akabane X Reader

Includes: Mentions of blood, violence, angst, minor cussing, and kidnapping. (This is Assassination Classroom, people. Literally the whole point is killing someone)

You and Karma have been friends since childhood. Playing tricks on your teachers is what led you two to being together in class 3-E. Now, you play tricks on your new  octopus teacher by trying to murder him, stabbing him whenever you can. Recently, last Valentine's Day you had confessed your love to Karma. He knows you have a crush on him, but he has not said anything and recently things have been wired between the two of you ever since you told him.

Today your class was going to go on a field trip to some far off town. You were going to take the train it was so far. Kuro-sensei had given you giant red books that he thought you would actually read through to see the sights. It was the size of an encyclopedia. There was no way.

People started getting into groups of who they would be going with for the trip. You were alone. Only recently had you gotten off probation from your last prank with Karma, so you did not really know anyone else. You had not received good enough grades in either academics or assassination to attract any new friends either.

Karma came up to you. "Hey, we need a sixth person for our group. Wanna join?" You obviously told him yes. The group went to planning all the places that they wanted to see, and the best places to assassinate Kuro-sensei.

Sadly, you had to ride in the back of the train. The students in classes A-D were in first class, while you E class people were stuck in coach. There was some really sketchy people back there, but you felt safe with your classmates, trained assassins, and an alien that could go mach 20.

Finally, you were at your destination. Kuro-sensei was with another group, so you could actually sightsee instead of only worrying about killing him. There was a ton of really cool places you went and saw, including a giant palace. After lunch, the group went walking down some of the back alleys.

"This would be a great place for ambushing someone," the green haired girl from your group said. No sooner had she said it than your classmates were trapped in a ring of people. They were the sketchy people from the train. "This little missy is a smart one. From that smart middle school, I guess that makes sense." The leader of the high school gang smirked down at your group and grabbed her, slinging her over his shoulder. She tried kicking him, but he hardly flinched. "Listen up, kids. If you let us take the pretty ones without a fight, you won't have any harm come to you. Nice and easy." What did that mean? Another two of the gang members picked you up. You were not going to be kidnapped that easily. Using the techniques you had learned about in the classroom, you easily flipped out of their grip and kicked their kneecaps. They yowled in pain. Two more of the goons came. Soon, it was an all out brawl. There was too many of them. It was pointless. Your classmates were knocked out on the ground, save you, the green haired girl, and Karma. The man holding you took off, running away from the group. "Karma!" You shouted, reaching out for him. Someone had knocked him onto the ground. You could see a large bruise on his cheek. He tried getting up to come after you, but he did not have the strength. "Don't worry. I'll come for you. I swear. We just need a plan."

You stopped kicking and screaming at the kidnapper. Karma's promise sounded so grave it had sent shivers up your spine. If he said he was going to do something, he was going to do it. You felt less worried for yourself and more worried for the people that kidnapped you. He would give them hell. You could tell that much from his voice. The green haired girl started to yell again. "Damn you little middle schoolers! How are we supposed to kill Kuro-sensei if you can't even protect your own classmates from High Schoolers?" She had a point.

The gang dumped you and the green hair (which you had learned her name was Kaede) down on the floor. You were surprised that their hideout was so close to where they had kidnapped you from. The group was too busy arguing over who got which person to actually pay attention to you and her. "Kaede. What do we do?" You whispered to her. "I'm not sure. Wait! I have something that may help!" She pulled the giant red guide book out of her backpack. You huffed at her. How would a guidebook help you? She flipped through the pages. She came to a page that she read very intently. "What is it? Did you find something?" She sighed and shook her head. You took the book.

"What to do if you become kidnapped:"

"Wait for help."

"Are you kidding me?" You throw the giant book at the leader person. It sailed through the air and hit him on the head. He fell down onto the ground. The gang members had not seen what had happened, too consumed with fighting amongst themselves. When they saw that their leader was down, they stopped fighting and tried to help him up. He was knocked out, so that did not help any. Those people must be really dumb.

Your classmates snuck in the back door. Silently, you motioned for Kaede to look that way. She saw them and nodded in understanding. Your classmates beat up the leaderless thugs by using a formation, ganging up on each person individually. Most of the kidnappers ran away. Karma was in a frenzy. You had never actually seen him attack another person before, except in second grade when someone stole your candy. And attacking Kuro-sensei. You had heard that he was really good, but you had not expected what you saw. Karma was an absolute boss in battle. The way he almost danced grace fully, ducking punches and giving them back. He was passionate, all right. When all the fighting had stopped, all the high schoolers had been knocked out. Your classmates were all good, except Karma had some blood on his knuckles.

Karma knelt down next to you. "Did they do anything to you?" His voice was laced with concern over your well-being. It kind of concerned you. He never acted this... caring. You shook your head. "Luckily, you got here just in time." Karma put his head against your chest in a hug. You hugged him back. His shoulders started shuddering. A small sound escaped from his lips, slightly smothered by your clothing. Was he laughing? You felt something wet fall against your lap. A tear. Karma Akabane was crying. "K-Karma? You're acting strange. Are you okay? Why are you crying for? I'm safe. Besides, I was the one that was kidnapped. I should be the one crying.

He clung to you tighter. "I realized how much you mean to me. Today, I was scared. I'm never scared. But I was today. Scared because I could have lost you. If you had been killed... I'd have kept jumping off that tree branch until Kuro-sensei gave up on trying to save me." The weight of his words settled on you. "Don't talk like that, Karma! You saved me, that's all that matters." You leaned more into his embrace and wipes his tears on your uniform as he snuggled against you. You had never seen him so vulnerable looking. Your classmates were still scanning for the goons, and had not seen the two of you. You kissed Karma's forehead. "Let's get up. Kuro-sensei will show up any minute. And I'm sure you don't want him or any other people to see you like this." You helped him to his feet and smiled at him. He save you a small smile back, and kissed you on the cheek. "I love you too." He backed away a bit so it would not look like the two of you were up to anything to your classmates.

Kuro-sensei came in. "You have really outdone yourselves! I came in ready to beat up some punks, but it looks like you already took care of all of them. Full marks!" Kaede stepped forward. "I would like to take credit for this, but that wouldn't be fair. Karma took most of them out actually." Kuro-sensei looked impressed, pink with a shine in his eye. "Perhaps you will be the one to kill me, after all." Karma swiped at the teacher, and Kuro-sensei easily dodged. You swiped at him too. Karma chuckled. "Just because you're impressed doesn't mean I'm letting up. In fact, I might just up my game." He took out his gun and fired a few rounds, while your classmates tried stabbing the teacher. "That's what you get for only writing 'wait for help'!" Kaede shouted. Everything was back to normal for class 3-E.

[nova-is-a-writer-now]

Fools

[[zuko x reader]]

->next

Summary: Zuko and Y/N had liked eachother for a while even though neither of them knew it. Y/N tries to get over her crush for him, failing miserably. So just when she decides to let go and embrace her feelings, the new Fire lord finds himself feeling jealous and decides to take matters into his own hands

A/N: this is the first Zuko/ATLA fic i’ve ever written, so go easy on me plssss, i just finishes the show a couple days ago (a little late ik) and ever since then i’ve been OBSESSED with this man (if he’s too ooc pls let me know) . This is set a while after the coronation and it’s an AU where zuko and mai were never a thing. Hope y’all like this <3

ps: this may get a little long, i’m writting this before i finish it but i get a feeling it’s gonna be a long one so be prepared lol also it will most definitely have a pt.2 if y’all like it.

Warnings: Angst but it’ll end well i promise, swearing

-IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS DONT HESITATE TO ASK-

Things after the war ended had been chaotically peaceful. Turns out that leading an entire nation, specially when it was the one that caused the war, and reuniting the lands that had for so long been against eachother was harder than all of you thought. The fact that a group of teenagers were the head of the operation wasn’t a big advantage either.

Sure, Aang and Zuko, who were the ones who had the most important positions when it came to politics and diplomacy, had advisors and people around to help guide them, but it was still a hard job. Nevertheless, without a war or fighting, you were sure it was good for the entire group to keep busy. They’d kept a lifestyle of always moving around and being on guard for so long it would’ve been a big shock to be forced to stay still after that.

Katara and Sokka travelled back and forth from the Southern Water Tribe to the Fire nation a few times, not too often though because of how far apart the two were. That was a shame because of how close you’d grown to Katara and her motherly self, her advice and her unconditional friendship, and even to Sokka and his bad jokes, his way of teasing everyone and how he could make you smile even when you weren’t in the mood, you even missed how mad he made you sometimes. Suki went with them to spend some time away from everything, she loved her life as a Kioshi warrior but she decided she needed a break after everything she had gone through.

Aang, on the other hand, was traveling all over but mostly between the Earth kingdom, were he would very often meet with Katara, and the Fire nation. You got to see him way more often than you got to see Katara, Suki and Sokka, although he tended to be busy with avatar business. He was doing a great job, you had to admit. The people loved him, he found a way to spread his teachings and the teachings of the Air nomads to the world and uniting others helping them put aside their differences seemed to be his thing now more than ever. But most importantly he seemed truly happy, one time he even told you he finally felt like he was making all the air nomads proud, wherever they were.

Toph still wanted to be away from her parents, so she refused to go back to the Earth Kingdom. She hated the cold, not being able to use her seismic senses in the snow and being bossed around by katara, so she refused to go with them too. So when you offered her to stay with you, she accepted. She made it seem as though it was her last choice because she had to keep her tough girl reputation, but actually she liked you a lot, she saw you kind of as a big sister. You took care of her in a way no one had before, not seeing her as helpless and weak but still being there for her when she needed you. Though she’d never tell this to anyone aloud.

And Zuko was still Zuko, just that now he was a Firelord. He took his job very seriously, determined to prove wrong everyone who had said he was too young or too weak for it. He knew the big responsibility he had in his hands and he seemed to be doing really well. He had his moments, of course, where he would have outbursts of emotion and anger, but he always found his way back to being who he needed to be for his Nation, and you always helped with that. He was the one who suggested you stayed in the Fire nation as a representative of the Northern Water tribe. You were hesitant at first, but after thinking the idea over you realized you had no business up in the tribe, you’d been away for a long time and you weren’t ready to go back just yet.

The two of you had never been incredibly close in the time since he joined the gaang, but you couldn’t denied there was a connection between the two. You got his humor and he got yours, you could tease eachother all day without getting butthurt, you could open up and talk about deep stuff under the stars on a sleepless night, and spending time with him seemed easier to do than with most people. You’d brushed this off as the two of you being good friends for a good while, even after you moved into the palace and started to hang out with him more, but for the past few weeks it’s been getting harder to do.

Every time Toph, him and you ate lunch together and he sat in front of you, you couldn’t help but end up staring at him, not in a weird, creepy way but in a ‘I’m mesmerized by you why am i mesmerized by you and since when are your eyes such a beautiful shade of gold’ way. You were in denial about it but deep down you knew you were starting to have a crush on him, and eventually Toph caught up to it too.

One night after diner she pulled you into her room, closed the door and said “Listen, Snow queen, I’m kinda tired of your heart going crazy every time mister flaming pants is around so you either get over your little crush, tell him how you feel or I will personally snitch on you directly to him, understood?” You didn’t even have the guts to deny it to her, specially since she’d know if you were lying, so you just heavily sighed and looked at the floor. She must’ve felt bad for you cause she took your hand and dragged you to sit on her bed to interrogate you about the situation.

“Out of anyone you could’ve ended up liking I never saw this one coming” she told you taking a seat on the opposite side of the bed

“Don’t get me started” you threw yourself back to the bed and stared at the ceiling for a second before speaking again “Like how dumb do I have to be to crush on someone who isn’t only probably the busiest man on all kingdoms right now, but also royalty and... well Zuko. He would never like a girl like me and even if he did, he probably has to end up with a princess or something.”

“I’m not letting you drown in a pity party here, ok?” Toph pulled your wrist and forced you to sit back up and look at her. “He’s lucky a girl as decent as you is willing to put up with that temper of his and how annoying he can get. Now what are you gonna do about it?”

“Nothing?” You replied in a low voice not taking a second to think about it. Toph punched you in the arm in response “Hey, what was that for?”

“What I said before still stands, I can’t deal with you being all flustered every time he’s around, so get over it or tell him how you feel.” She spat and all you could do was grunt and throw yourself back into the bed

So you were gonna get over it then. Easy task. Never done anything easier before.

It wasn’t.

Turns out that by trying to avoid Zuko at all costs you ended up stumbling into him even more. Around the corners, in the hallways, everywhere. The plan was to just avoid him as much as possible until eventually your feelings faded away, you couldn’t have a crush on someone you didn’t even see right? Wrong. Even when you weren’t around Zuko he was still on your mind. You tried to go to the palace library and distract yourself with literature, but reading romance books only made you feel more miserable and the only other option there was were war strategy books which you weren’t very interested in. The next distraction you chose was gardening, you loved nature and you were a water bender, it was the perfect task you thought, but once again you were wrong. You turned out to be such a bad gardener, Kya who was the one in charge of the royal gardens (and who was the sweetest lady) ended up banning you from messing with her flowers ever again. The last thing you could think of to stay away from Zuko was feeding the turtle ducks. It seemed like a good idea and on the few occasions you’d been in the pond before, the little animals seemed to be very fond of you. You couldn’t mess this one up, anyone could feed the ducks, but there was a little problem as it seemed to be the theme of that day, the Fire lord had forgotten to tell you that the pond was his place of choice when he needed to clear his head.

You didn’t even notice he was there until you heard his voice behind you. “Keep feeding them like this and they’ll get obese”

You jumped a bit out of surprise and turned around to face him with your palm pressed to your chest. “Spirits, Zuko, don’t do that to me, you’re gonna kill me one of these days” It was a bright and sunny day, the heat of the Fire nation weather made his face glimmer a little, his hair was up held by the royal Fire lord hair piece and he was wearing a version of his formal attire made for a hotter weather, leaving his muscly arms on display. As soon as you realized you were staring once again, you turned your attention back to the pond in an attempt to hide the blush that was slowly conquering your cheeks.

He took a sit next to you and waited a couple seconds before breaking the silence. “Hey... um... I don’t know if this is just me but you’ve been acting weird lately, is everything ok?” He asked looking at you.

“Everything is fine, definitely just you.” you replied not taking your eyes away from the shining water of the pond. The ducks had grown tired of waiting for you to keep feeding them and swam away.

“I... don’t think so. You didn’t come to breakfast today, everytime we’re together you seem to wanna leave as soon as possible and right now you can’t even look at me.” He paused before taking in a deep breath. “Did... did I do something to upset you?”

You finally turned around to look at him and the look you saw in his eyes was heartbreaking. Ever since he joined Team Avatar, Zuko had been making a huge effort to be good. You could see how sometimes he struggled to pick being kind and gentle over being erratic and explosive, and you also knew that had a lot to do with his childhood. But he had been doing such a good job at it, specially since he became Fire lord, he was so much more friendly, better at socializing and overall improving. And right now it was clear to you that you had made him feel like he was failing at being a good person and he’d somehow messed up with you.

You turned your body around slightly and put a reassuring hand on his knee before saying “Oh, Zuko, no. You haven’t done anything and I’m not upset at you, I mean that. It’s just...” coming up with lies and excuses had always been your strong point but having Zuko there making you ridiculously nervous wasn’t a factor that helped. “I.. uh...I’m getting a little homesick, you know? With Toph gone most of the day and you busy, I’ve been feeling a little melancholic about my home, but it’s nothing I promise. I’m just trying to find something to do with my time.” You we’re impressed with yourself with this one, it actually sounded pretty convincing.

You thought you had the situation handled until Zuko spoke again a few seconds later. “Y/N, I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized until now with all the chaos of being Fire lord but I asked you to stay here and represent the Northern Water tribe and I haven’t even given you time out of my day. I haven’t been the best host, have I?” Before you could even reply he widened his eyes and said “I have an idea, tomorrow I’ll take the day off and we can go on a small field trip to this cabin my family has on the ourskirts of town, there are some nice fields and it’s very peaceful, we’ll have a picnic lunch there and just relax. You can even ask Toph to come with. How does that sound?”

He looked at you expectantly and you started to look for reasons to turn him down, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. It was true that you hadn’t had much time to spend with him ever since he took his position, and in all honesty, crush or not you really did miss him. Your weakness for him won the battle and you ended up accepting the plan saying it was a great idea. The regent stood up from his place and assuring you he’d have everything ready for the next day he left.

You really had messed up this time.

—————

The next morning you put on a flowy, flower-print dress. It was classy but at the same time comfortable and light enough to handle the summer weather. You had nervously been looking at yourself in the mirror for way too long now. Before dinner the past night you at least had hopes that Toph would come with to the field trip and she would help you contain yourself when it came to Zuko, but of course that wasn’t the case. When he had brought the topic up at the table Toph limited herself to look at you knowingly and say “You know what? I happen to be very busy tomorrow, you know, I’m trying to get a name for myself in the Fire nation’s fighting scene and I have a fight tomorrow, sorry.” You knew she was lying because she had told you about her fight but instead of the next day it was three days from then. All you could do was look at the little devil and make sure you wrote a mental note of getting back at her as soon as you could.

So here you were, minutes ago from embarking in a field trip with the person you were supposed to avoid, and you had no idea how you were gonna get out of this one.

A knock on your door startled you and took you out of your worrying thoughts. A few seconds later a maid’s head popped in as she said “Lady Y/N, Firelord Zuko and the carriage are ready for you.” You took a deep breath and walked towards the door while replying with a soft “Thank you, Yun”

The carriage waited for you in front of the palace and so did Zuko. He was already inside, sheltering himself from the unforgiving sun, so you startled him when you hopped inside. “Y/N, you look...nice” he complimented you, a faint blush running through his cheeks making him gain a more childish and youthful look.

“Thank you, Zuko. Likewise.” You responded attempting to stay as calm as you could. You hated that he had so much power over you.

He ordered for you to be in your way before the carriage started moving swiftly. Your eyes flowed to the window, looking out at the capital city of the Fire nation. “You’ve done a great job leading this people. They look... so happy.” You drew your eyes back at Zuko as he stared at you. It was you who was starting to blush now.

“I hope so. I’ve done everything I’m capable of to change the old ways of this nation. I hope I’m making the right choices.” A worrisome look took over his eyes as he let his own attention drift towards the streets.

“Hey” you called to him as you stretched your hand to cover his. “You’re doing just fine Zuko. You’ve done so much for these people and all the other nations as well, I’m sure you’ll do even more good.”

He faintly smiled at you as a response and you could tell that although he did worry about the future, your reassurance helped.

The rest of the ride was spent pointing out the animals you saw on the road, sharing childhood stories about when Zuko and his mom used to come here when they both needed to get away from everything, and a bit of teasing about how Zuko had no idea what to pack for a picnic and had to ask the head chef of the kitchen for help. Luckily you had become friends with chef Karou in the time you’d been living in the palace and he knew your taste rather well.

When you finally arrived there was no sight of the usual movement and noise proper of a big city, the air was filled with the peculiar scent of flowers you couldn’t recognize just yet and grass. In the distance at your left you could see a small cattle of Hippo cows and Komodo chickens. And at your right a long field of grass and flowers that seemed to go up in a small and almost unnoticeable hill.

You and Zuko stepped down the carriage just as a guard handed him the picnic basket. The tall regent turned to you and ordered “Follow me, I wanna show you something”. You did as you were told, being led by him all the way up the hill until you were at the very top. When the two of you got there your breath was taken away by the beautiful view you had in front of you. A huge field of flowers layed gracefully at the end of the hill and extended far enough that it connected to the horizon.

“This is...” you started but were so taken aback by the view you didn’t finish your sentence.

Zuko seemed to understand regardless and replied “I know.” Behind you he started to set up a cloth for the two of you to sit on. You forced yourself to remove your attention from the field and place it on what was going on behind you. Taking a seat on the opposite end of the cloth you helped him take out all the items chef Karou had packed for you. When you were done you looked at Zuko and said “Thanks for this. It’s really nice.”

“No need to thank me, I’ve been leaving you alone so much time lately. I know aside from Toph I’m pretty much all you have here so take this as a ‘Sorry I’ve been a terrible friend’ offering.” He smiled wide expecting you to do the same but that smile faded away as soon as he saw the expression on your face.

‘Friend’

The word echoed in your head as your eyes dropped to the food you had in front of you. Of course he saw you as a friend. You had almost convinced yourself you should confess your feelings to him and he goes on to call himself your friend. A knot in your throat started to form and you did your best to show it as little as you could. But you obviously failed.

“Everything ok?” Zuko asked tilting his head to catch your eyes.

You looked up and faked a smile. “Yeah... just thinking how far we’ve come.” You lied through your teeth before continuing. “Anyways, enough of all the cheesiness, I’m starving.”

“Agreed” He replies picking up something for himself. You chose a small salty biscuit with a mix of meats on top and decided to distract yourself with it. “Chef Karou said you’d like that one. He also said you hated onions and peas. What type of weirdo hates peas?”

You chuckled a little, the feeling that oppressed your chest fading away quickly. “I do. They’re disgusting and if you like them I don’t trust you.”

Zuko laughed loudly before remarking “Its not like I like them, Y/N. It’s just a weird thing to be picky over. They’re peas, they don’t really taste like anything.”

You widened your eyes and quickly swallowed the bite of biscuit you had taken. “What do you mean they don’t taste like anything? They taste disgusting and they are mushy and just... gross”

Zuko replies with another laugh. His laugh made you feel warm inside, it could make you forget about everything, Toph’s threats, your previous plans and even the now faint voice poking the back of your mind telling you to be careful or you’d get your heart broken.

The two of you kept eating and chattering at the same time. You’d finished the salty food and it came time for the desert. Chef Karou had made a type of cake and stored it inside a small glass jar. You tried opening the lid but it was too hard. You heard Zuko in front of you offering you help but you refused it telling him you could do it on your own. After a couple minutes of struggling , Zuko took your deep sigh as a sign of defeat and scooted closer to you. “Here, let me.” He took the jar from your hands and quickly opened the lid, handing it back to you. You looked up expecting to find a smug smirk that felt way to familiar to you at this point but instead you found his serious face dangerously close to yours.

You took the jar back and set in down. “Thanks” you muttered softly and quietly. His only response was to slowly but firmly raise a hand up to your face to put away a strand of hair that had fallen. His touch sent shivers down your spine. All thoughts of caution escaped your mind as you felt his face so close you could feel his warm breath mixing with yours. The tension between you seemed to almost be to much to handle when you thought you saw Zuko lean in a little. Before anything else could happen, one of the guards that had come with and stayed back where the carriage was spoke. “Firelord Zuko”

The golden eyed boy dropped his hand from your face and turned around to face the guard. “Have they not taught you to not interrupt people when they’re talking privately?”

“I am very sorry, Firelord.” The guard bowed in sign of respect. “But we have just received a messenger hawk with a letter from the palace. The Avatar and you other friends are here.”

[pixielix]

୭̥⋆*｡ royal christmas!au felix

pairing: prince!felix + gn journalist!reader genre: fluff, slight enemies-to-lovers word count: 1.7k warnings: none ― @districtninewriters​’ winter fic exchange for the lovely @freckledberries​

a/n: hey jules :] i’m so happy i could write this for u. ur someone who’s been so sweet to me since the very start, i’m so grateful for u !! i hope u have a merry christmas n happy holidays <3 love, angie

it’s infuriating that the prince still looks as good as he does in the world’s ugliest christmas sweater

he meanders through a crowd of thousands carrying a subtle air of grace that catches everyone’s eye and the kind of exuberant warmth that holds their attention

it feels like every movement he makes is filled with an intention to charm 

one example is his habit of pushing back his hair after he bows

fingers weaving back through strands of strawberry blonde that gently frame his freckled cheeks

even you can’t deny he’s almost enchanting to watch

but it doesn’t make it any less excruciating that you’re being paid a mediocre wage to watch him smile and shake hands for hours on end

you don’t hate the prince, or anyone from the royal family really, but you hoped that your first assignment as a real journalist would be something that you’re actually passionate about

and unlike everyone else in the country, you really couldn’t care less about the royals

the feeling’s somewhat mutual

it’s a well-known fact that the royals are ‘indifferent’ to journalists

they say if the king had his way, he’d have banned every news outlet in the country years ago

maybe that’s why felix’s eyes shift to the opposite direction whenever he sees someone with a camera and a bright red press lanyard

so naturally, when you catch him trying to escape his own guards and make an early escape from the winter parade, his first instinct is to put on a charming smile and try to slither his way out of the situation

“your highness?” you find him straddling a wooden fence at the back of the park just as you’re stepping away from the crowded parade to get some air

his lips stretch into a bashful grin, avoiding your eyes as he swings one leg back over the fence and lands on both feet in front of you

“hey uh.. how did you know it was me?”

“the sweater” you point a finger at the the tinsel-covered, burgundy fabric still visible under the hem of his hoodie, unintentionally grimacing at the sight of it

“oh… is it that bad?”

“to be honest, it’s the ugliest thing i’ve ever seen. uh- no offense-” you blurt out, eyebrows knit together apologetically as soon as you realise you just insulted the prince

“none taken” he breathes a soft chuckle, “thank you for your honesty”

you both stand there in a stalemate for a few seconds, feet shuffling awkwardly in the snow as you carefully consider what comes next

felix’s eyes grow increasingly troubled as he realises how screwed he is if you rat him out to the guards, or worse, to the media

as desperate as he was to get away from the crowds and have the day to himself, ‘runaway prince’ wouldn’t be a good look

meanwhile, you have the thrilling realisation that if the prince were to somehow slip away, there’d be no need for you to stick around

sure you’d come back to the boss empty-handed, but at least you could save him and yourself from many more brain-numbing hours of smiling and shaking hands

“go.”

“what?”

“i won’t tell anyone, i promise” you assure him

“really? why should i trust you?” felix quirks his brow in suspicion as he leans back against the fence with arms crossed over his chest

“cause i want to get out of here just as badly as you do”

both of your heads whip around at the sound of footsteps approaching

“go.” you repeat firmly in a hushed tone

before he can argue, a group of his guards falls into view

“your highness, please, come back! just one more question!” you yell, but in the complete opposite direction of the park, diverting their attention and giving felix enough time to jump the fence and hide in the bushes

he peeks out and you turn back towards him with a relieved smile

“merry christmas” you mouth

all he can do is return the smile, watching speechlessly as you turn and walk away

the next time you’re assigned coverage of the prince’s activities is at the annual christmas eve performance of the nutcracker

once again, you find yourself watching from a distance as the prince captivates the crowd

taking the time to greet each of the young performers dressed as snowflakes and dewdrops with an enthusiastic high five

the lights dim as the performance starts and you use it as your chance to take a break from the noise

it doesn’t take long for you to notice a familiar young man in a hoodie walking slowly behind you down the empty corridor

“i’m supposed to be the one following you, you know”

“sorry i didn’t mean to- well i did but i-” felix stutters, frozen in place as you turn towards him

“i’m kidding. can i help you?” you smile with your head tilted and your hand on your hip

he scratches his neck, scrambling to remember the reason why he’d been looking for you in the first place

“um- oh! i uh- i didn’t get to thank you last time”

“for what?”

“helping me escape the parade”

“oh”, you smile and felix can swear he feels his heart start to tremble, “it’s no big deal”

“no really, you saved me, thank you” he bows deeply, only realising how overly courtly he’s being when he catches you stifling a laugh

“sorry” he blushes, “habit.”

without missing a beat, he threads his fingers back through soft tresses of blonde hair and you watch them fall perfectly over his handsome features

he’s even more enchanting up close

a few seconds pass as you both ponder the absurdity of a friendship between a prince and a journalist

but felix breaks the silence with the exact suggestion that you’ve been waiting for

“i’ve seen this performance of the nutcracker about twenty times before so i wasn’t really thinking of sticking around. did you want to…?”

“absolutely” you nod firmly and his eyes light up like stars

you tug the press lanyard from your neck as he holds open the exit door for you

“after you” he grins

“thank you, your highness-”

“felix.”

“thank you, felix”

as you get to know felix on a spontaneous trip to the outskirts of the city, it seems like everything you thought about him was wrong

the warmth and sweetness of his persona as the nation’s beloved ‘fairy prince’ is completely real

and despite only being the second-in-line, he still feels a strong sense of responsibility towards the country, especially to inspire and empower young people

seeing the way his face lights up in excitement when he gushes about all of the organisations that he’s taken up an ambassadorship with, you can’t help but start to admire him

he opens up to you about the struggles of growing up in the public eye and the media storms that almost tore his family apart

it’s no wonder that when felix invites you as his guest to the royal family’s christmas ball, it causes quite a stir

“no journalist has stepped foot inside the palace in the last fifty years, felix” you repeat, pacing frantically in your bedroom as he tries to calm you down over the phone

“you’re not coming as a journalist, you’re coming as my guest.”

“i can’t even dance!”

“i’ll teach you. you know i’ll look out for you, don’t you?”

“i know it’s just- are you sure about this? about me being there?”

“it has to be you.”

you can almost hear the smile in his voice, warm and reassuring

“okay… only if you’re sure”

“i’m sure. a hundred and one percent.”

the whole interior of the palace is more rustic and homely than you’d expected

and the music is lively, so are the laughs

his sisters are the most beautiful, sweetest girls you’ve ever met and your heart instantly feels warm in their presence

along with the hospitality of his parents (besides the occasional side-eye you get from the king)

in a conversation with one of his sisters, who speaks as fondly about felix as everyone else seems to, she mentions hearing about you

“my brother is an affectionate person, but i’ve never seen him gush about anyone as much as he has about you” she beams

flustered, you look over at him, only to find him looking straight back your way

leaning back against a wall with a glass in his hand, almost oblivious to the group of people that are circling him and instead fully focused on you

he hands his drink to one of his friends and proceeds to slowly walk away

but not before tilting his head and giving you a mischievous look that you immediately know the meaning of

let’s get out of here

“this is nothing like i imagined” you breathe shakily, following felix down the stairs as he leads you out of the ballroom

“what were you expecting?”

“chandeliers, statues, maybe a dragon” you laugh

“i wish” he sighs playfully as he nudges open a door to the outdoor courtyard

felix hurries a few steps ahead so that he can extend his hand to you as you step out onto the glacial footpath

but he ends up almost slipping over his own feet in the process, so you interlace arms and cling to each other for dear life

“ah-!” you stifle a squeal, instinctively tightening your grip on the sleeves of his flowy white dress shirt with every step you take

you glide around each other on the frosted concrete for a few seconds trying to regain your balance

“hey look, we’re sort of dancing” felix chuckles, twirling you under his arm with ease as you gently fall forwards and laugh against his chest

“i don’t think this counts”

“then let me teach you properly like i promised”

light snow continues to fall as you find your rhythm, guided by the soft echo of people clapping along to a lively acoustic beat inside the palace

“am i doing this right?” you ask softly as you watch your feet while carefully mirror his steps

“yeah” he whispers against your hair, warm breath tickling your ear, “you’re doing it perfectly”

the distant roaring of crowds indicates that it’s come to that part of the night where the royal family gives their christmas address to the public at the front of the palace

but felix just continues to hold you close, humming blissfully as if to drown out the noise

“i think the whole world’s waiting for you out there...”

he pulls away, just for a second, and looks at you with those doey brown eyes that seem to hold the expanse of the entire sky on the clearest winter night

“the world can wait”

m.list

[countessmorgasson]

Your Wish is My Command

Spicy Nadia x MC! It’s been a long day, but Nadia still has some bossing around to do ;)

Gender Neutral MC

(Disclaimer: 🍋 warning)

When Nadia summoned you down to her chambers for her nightly bath, you were ecstatic. You hadn’t seen her all day- she was particularly swamped with meetings and preparations this week.

It was almost time for the annual masquerade.  Even with Count Lucio out of the way, the town of Vesuvia had grown accustomed to the yearly parties- and frankly, you had to admit they were fun when Nadia was in charge. 

Unfortunately for the two of you, preparations took over the entire day and most of the night, leaving Nadia too exhausted to even sit for dinner with you. Tonight seemed to be an exception.

You rush to fix your hair in the mirror- you want to look your best, even if you’ll be under the water when you’re with her.

You throw on your bathrobe and head down the hall...

-

Nadia’s already relaxing in the water by the time you’re there. She’s got a weary look on her face which soon brightens at the sight of you. Even so, she’s nearly radiating with tension. No wonder she’s already gotten in the water.

“Oh, good. Join me, darling. The water’s so warm.”

She beckons for you with her manicured hands. Her bathrobe’s long gone now, set aside and folded neatly. 

You don’t hesitate anymore. You used to blush at the thought of undressing yourself in front of her. As time passed, you’ve come to realize that she actually enjoys the sight of you, believe it or not. 

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” you start. Nadia waves it away.

“For you? I’d wait as long as it takes.”   

When your robe falls to the floor, you notice that playful spark ignite in Nadia’s expression; she looks you over with a raised eyebrow.

You know that look.

Wading into the water, the contrast between the warm bath and cold air draw goosebumps along your skin. You muscles react instinctively to the hot water and relax, letting you fall nearly limp in Nadia’s embrace.  The sun begins to set outside, and the golden skies pour in though the window that overlooks all of Vesuvia. Of course the nicest bathing chamber in the palace would belong to the Countess, but you? You still look around this room in awe.  You can’t believe you’re here sometimes- with Nadia. The Countess herself.

Soon, you’re running your hands over her bronze skin, marveling over how soft she feels. Was it even humanly possible for someone to be so... perfect?  That’s the only word you can think of, it’s perfect. She’s perfect.

She sighs when you work your hands into a soft massage, starting with her shoulders.

“I must admit, I’ve been looking forward to this moment since I woke this morning,” Nadia purrs.

“You planned out this far?” Why are you surprised? She thinks of everything.

Digging deeper, you press your fingers into her shoulders, down her back, along her arms until the tension begins to leave her body. Occasionally you’ll press a kiss to her shoulders, just because you love to hear the way she giggles when you do it.

The water’s cooled, and to your surprise, Nadia’s risen from the pool immediately. The light from the sunset continues to seep in from the window, setting a golden glow over her wet skin. 

“Going so soon?” You ask.

“Not exactly.”

Nadia approaches you, and in her hands is a box. You lean forward to get a good look. It’s a luxurious dream; massage oils and lotions galore. Flower petals, bath salts, all the works. 

“What do you say we find... a different way to keep ourselves warmed up?”

Yes. Yes! A million times yes, you think. Instead of responding aloud, your eyes just linger on the box while you make your plans. There are so many things you could get up to with those tonight... 

Finally, you manage to look up- Nadia’s patient gaze is fixed on you. 

“Absolutely,” you finally sputter, and you come to realize that you’ve got that dopey smile on your face. You can feel it, how the corners of your lips lift up into a curve- you must look so silly. 

You soon stop worrying about the expression on your face when Nadia starts guiding your hands over her skin- starting with her neck. You rub lavender-scented oils into her skin- slowly. 

She’s even scattered some petals across the bath- but you’re much too focused on what’s in front of you to admire them.

“You’re still so tense,” you mutter to yourself. 

“I suppose I am...” Your eyes meet, and your hands glide down onto her chest, her stomach...

Part of you waits for her to whine, or moan- something. But she’s still got her eyes locked on you and a haughty smile on her lips. 

“Don’t tell me you’re feeling shy all of a sudden, m/c.” She reaches forward and slides her fingers down your chest. “Perhaps asking nicely doesn’t do the trick.”

The words send a warm flush through you- and you’re all-too aware of how hard your heart’s pumping, but you don’t catch the smile in your voice when you respond. 

“You are the Countess. Maybe you should order me around a bit.”

“I see.”

For a moment you wonder if it’s magic, the way that her eyes send a thrill through you. Goosebumps break around your skin again, even in lukewarm water. Nadia holds her tongue and maneuvers the two of you around until you’re leaning against the wall of the pool, and she’s directly up against you. 

So close... you can hear her heartbeat... 

And she parts her lips to speak.

“Kiss me.”

You cup her cheek and lean in, but she catches your hand in mid-air and pulls away. 

“Not here.” She raises an eyebrow, and by now you’re too flustered to speak.

So you follow her orders, starting by kissing along her jawline. You shut your eyes, admiring the softness of her skin and the smell of her perfume. Taking your time, you leave kisses along her ear and down to her neck, half-expecting her to stop you again.  She doesn’t- she looks down on you with the most peculiar smile on her face- like she’s... smug. 

By now, you’re leaving sloppy kisses on her chest and breasts- leaving marks where no one else will see. You’re secretly so desperate to hear her moan; the only sound you want to hear is your name through her voice. But she remains quiet- knowing that it’s exactly what you’re craving. 

“M/c.” She’s icy enough to send more shivers down your spine. You break free, and she hoists herself up along the edge of the pool- leaving you at eye level with her hips- you have to look up to her to see her expression.

Almost as if you were on your knees for her.

“Please, Nadia...” your words somehow feel warm against your tongue. “Let me worship you.”

Just the idea of it gets you off- and Nadia’s amused smile proves that she’s taken notice.  

“Well then. What are you waiting for?” She tilts her head to the side expectantly, eyeing you up and down like she’s waiting to see what your next move is... or maybe she’s watching your body language- noticing the way your hands tremble as you fuss over her, or how you bit your lip before kissing along her thighs.

You almost forget about the massage oils. You scramble to rub more into her skin- starting with her legs. You’re going to take your time with her. After all, she’s looked forward to this all day- who are you to deny her what she wants?

When you’re satisfied with the massage you’ve given her, you lean forward and run your lips along her legs, showering her with compliments that you’re not sure she even hears.

“Go on, magician.” she eggs on. “Please me.”

Finally!

“...As you wish.”

Every inch of her skin smells sweet- tastes sweet. From her legs to her inner thighs to her hip bones, you kiss and lick like you’re hungry for her. You’ve melted into her hold, gently gripping her by the thighs before pushing your face in between her legs.

She twitches at the first touch, but strains to hold back any moans.  I suppose I’ll have to earn that, you smirk to yourself. 

You eat her out like your life depends on it. The moment your tongue reaches her you can feel her entire body settle into relaxation.

The water around you is going cold, but you hardly notice it. Your own heart pounds against your chest and you moan like you’re the one on the receiving end. You can’t help it- it’s just too good. She’s too good; the way her fingers brush against your hair when she pets you, and when a whimper escapes her lips... the pool could turn into ice water and you wouldn’t dare break away.

It feels so good to pleasure her- it’s an honor.

“That’s right, m/c... good...” Even her sultry voice begins to waver as she nears the edge, but you’re losing yourself in her. 

You almost don’t hear it when she comes.

A shudder, sigh, and then...

“M/c...”

Her grip on your hair loosens, and you rear your head back, admiring the blush lighting up her face. 

Before she can catch her breath, she lowers herself back into the water and embraces you again- pulling in for a deep kiss, tasting herself on your lips.

“!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t make sure you’re taken care of?” Even breathless, she sounds so seductive- so domineering. 

You must have really set her off- she returns the favor tenfold, kissing every inch of your neck and chest, just like you had to her. 

The two of you rock against the water, oblivious to the soggy flowers sticking to your skin. You’re lost in her again- the position you’re in has one of her legs rubbing against your sweet spot, sending you into ecstasy. You didn’t realize how close you were until you were on the receiving end. 

“Relax for me, dear.” Nadia purrs in your ear, locking you into place.

You grind against her a little harder- unashamed to let yourself moan for her.  It just feels... she makes you feel incredible. You can only hope you did the same for her.

The oil on her skin makes your movements so smooth, so easy to...

“Ahhh...”  You rear your head back and dig your fingers into Nadia’s skin, careful not to leave any more marks. 

You ride out your climax in a daze, only aware of Nadia’s hold on you and the smell of lavender. 

-

For a moment it feels like you’ve lost all your other senses.  Nadia has to kiss your forehead to bring you back to reality, and only then are you aware of just how cold the water’s gotten. How long were you two in here?

“What do you say we head to bed a little early tonight? I’ll have a bottle of Golden Goose sent up for us.” Nadia traces her fingers along your goosebumps, her own arms breaking out in chills as well.

When you look at her, it’s like you’re seeing a different version of the Countess. She’s actually relaxed for once- and it’s such a lovely sight to see.  If you could, you’d give her the entire world. You’d take on all her meetings, her responsibilities, just to keep that look in her eyes.

But for the rest of the night, it seems like a glass of wine and a cuddle will do.

“Anything you say, my dear.”

[vampiresuns]

Power Couple | JC Sanlaurento x Saoirse

⚡︎ POWER COUPLE ⚡︎

1.7k words. JC Sanlaurento and Saoirse make a comeback for the prompt ‘who to see’ from @midsummer-masquerade​.

All Saoirse, Theo, Meredith and the rest of her crew belong to @apprenticealec​. Just like ‘Wouldn’t You Love to Love Her’, this is also set in the Janiverse.

You can find Sanlaurento’s outfit here, and the rest of City of Delights here.

Julianus examined the invitation —the luxurious paper and printing work— and hummed. 

“So, what you’re telling me is that Vesuvians host secret sex parties?” They asked Saoirse, who was sitting on their bed, watching Julianus sway in their place from side to side. 

“That’s a way of looking at it.”

JC snorted. “It tracks for me. What doesn’t is that Meredith knows the former Count.”

They left the invite Saoirse had given them next to Saoirse’s own as they went to sit on the quartermaster’s lap. Saoirse began telling them what they knew about Meredith’s and Lucio’s friendship, as the two of them sat unnecessarily close to each other. Saoirse liked it that way, they liked the way their Julie’s rib cage moved as they spoke, or the way their heart beated inside their chest. 

“Who got the fourth invite?” 

Saoirse’s smirk told them the answer was going to be good. “Theo.” 

Jules was already vibrating.

Vesuvia wasn’t that different from what they remembered. They had travelled to the City a handful of times when they were studying in Firent and  the plague was no longer a risk. Julianus liked it — lively and cosmopolitan, the atmosphere vibrated with magic, making it seem like anything would happen. 

As soon as they reached port, Elizabeth and Tariq dragged Meredith their own way, Drew walking calmly behind them. That left Julianus, Saoirse and Theo to go search for their outfits on their own. They walked the streets together, Jules holding Saoirse’s hand while they animatedly talked with Theo about fashion, textures and the like, sharing jokes as they browsed through the Red Market. 

When they ran into Meredith, Julianus couldn’t help but to tease Theo a little bit. Theo replied with some teasing of his own, telling his friend he was sure Saoirse and them wouldn’t even make it out of their room at the party. 

“Let’s see,” Jules said, that little smile on their face that no one in the crew knew if Saoirse had copied from them, or them from Saoirse. 

They didn’t have much more time to stroll around the City after they got their outfits. Not wanting to be late, they made their way to the Palace, meeting with Meredith on the door. While Meredith and Theo had separate rooms, Saoirse and Jules had one together, as it was customary for couples who didn’t request otherwise. They didn’t remember saying anything about it, but the pink-haired servant that was guiding them through the Palace said one could tell. 

Jules felt Saoirse short next to them, quickly followed by their arm around their back. 

They wanted to ask the name of the servant, to thank her, but she was gone before they could say anything as soon as they were shown their room. Julianus soon forgot about it anyway, as Saoirse pressed against them from behind.

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were impatient.”

“How about ‘curious’? It’s hard not to be when you have been very insisting about me not spying on your outfit. Despite you helping me choose mine.” 

“You’ll have to tame that horse because I want to shower before I begin getting ready.” 

Saoirse just made a deadpan comment about their woes, that Jules fully knew they didn’t mean. Saoirse was a patient person (because Saoirse was a person, eldritch existence aside), and Saoirse liked to indulge whatever little ritual Julianus came up with in situ. They found them entertaining, and they could see why their partner liked to come up with little explanations and decorative reasons for certain things.

They just were fun to follow. Not that Saoirse ever expected to think that, but that was their Julie. 

Saoirse asked if they were allowed to have a bath with them, and they were, though of course it ended up being half bath, half make out session. Yet, the moment they began getting ready once they were out of it, Julianus shooed them out of the bathroom with a gentle push. 

“You’ll get many rewards for your compliance, thank you very much.”

“Oh, I’m the one getting the rewards tonight? I thought you liked being the one getting them.”

“For being a void with eyes and I being the horny human, you’re absolutely incorregible.”

“I thought you liked it.”

“I do,” they said, asking Saoirse to lean down to kiss their lips.

Saoirse kissed them back before going to get ready themselves, looking around their room when they were ready, and seeing how soft the bed was. It was very, to their discovery. Julie was going to like it, they thought — it had not gone past them that while they were not even close to Theo’s original royal status, or Elizabeth’s for that matter, they had come from a very economically comfortable background. To begin with, they were a lawyer who had studied in Firent. That said something on itself. 

While their Julie wasn’t conceited in the slightest and had separated their choices from those of their family, out of what Saoirse knew and could tell from having observed humans for so long, there were some things that, like Theo, they couldn’t shake off. Luxurious bedding was one of them: Julie always raided rich people’s quarters for certain possessions and home making elements were one of them. Saoirse’s bed in the ship had never looked nor felt plusher. 

Lying back on the bed, waiting, they began making conversation with them. They talked about Vesuvia, about Theo and Meredith, and the party itself. Julianus revealed they didn’t know if they would come to something like this otherwise. 

“I don’t think this is the kind of party to come alone, or at least I wouldn’t attend alone. I don’t mind doing things on my own, but again, this isn’t it.”

“I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people looking for other people.”

“Well, it is a sex party,” they said, their voice carrying into the bedroom from the bath, “I just have a bit of trouble thinking about the hypothetical.”

Julianus did not know how the conversation turned from there to if they’d be interested in someone else, if they weren’t a thing. They couldn’t help trying to figure out why Saoirse was asking, even though they knew Saoirse was asking simply because that’s how they explored things they didn’t quite understand. Asking.

“I think I’m answer is not going to be as interesting as you think it will be. Though I honestly do not know what you’re expecting— the thing is I just can’t picture myself with anyone else other than you now? I know you wouldn’t care if I let you know I wanted another partner or to sleep with someone else, but unless I had a specific itch, I just… don’t see it.

“Like, okay maybe if Meredith wasn’t my boss, but Theo has the right of way there because he is my friend and I want him to be happy, Tariq is very handsome; If you make me think of other ships Jade and Louis are very pleasant to the eye, and maybe in another life I would flirt with them. Maybe in this one too as a joke, and to piss Rodrigo off. Even then they’re all very nice hypotheticals I care little for when I have you right here.

“Your all the private devotion I will ever need.”

They came out of the bathroom. They had their hair in waves, two red flowers pinned to the side of their head. Julianus was wearing a black bustier styled corselette, it had garter straps hooked to black thigh high socks, and was wearing black boots that went almost as high up as the socks. They were fitting into each arm a pair of above the elbow, black gloves. 

They looked stunning. They always did. It wasn’t the outfit that made Saoirse look at them like that.

“Mo grá?”

“Aside from the Queen, I don’t think anyone has ever chosen me like that.”

Jules walked towards them, who was now sitting on the bed, and stood between their legs. They kissed their forehead. “Well, to you, to love is to protect. For me, to love is to choose, too. You’re a wonderful person to choose, Saoirse.” 

For a being as old as Saoirse, loneliness was something they had to be used to. For a being as old as Saoirse, who also spent so much time around humans, they don’t think they would ever notice what loneliness was if it wasn’t for their proximity to them. Saoirse’s hand found Julianus’ side, as their mouth pressed itself against their skin and their clothes. 

“No comments on the outfit? You look very handsome. I am most definitely the luckiest person in this Palace, sorry to Theodore.”

“You look, you look—” Saoirse didn’t know how to finish their sentence. How human of them. How odd. How misplaced. How very Saoirse. Them and Jules were both like that: misplaced. Yet right then they looked beautiful, inviting, sexy, like the sea, like freedom on Saoirse’s hair and like not a wave, but a tsunami changing their coastline forever. 

Saoirse didn’t need to finish their sentence for Jules to get it. “See, this is what Tariq means when he says you’re bound to make me mad with power.”

“You like it.”

“Oh, I do. Nothing like being loved and fucked by my favourite eldritch entity. Like I said: my own private devotion.”

Saoirse smiled at them; a kind of smile only reserved for Julianus, one that carried a different complicity than the one they had with the Pirate Queen. 

“Do you want to have a look around, or do you want to prove Theo right?”

Sanlaurento snorted. “Never. Let's go make people jealous of how good we look.”

Saoirse was happy to indulge them. Out of their room and into the party, Julianus hooked their arm around Saoirse’s. It made them stop. Looking at them with a little smirk, Saoirse crouched down to sit Julianus’ on their shoulder, turning their head to kiss their thigh. 

“Why walk when I can carry you?”

“Mad with power, and it’ll be your fault.”

“I’ll have to find something to keep you in line then.”

“Please do,” they said, catching the innuendo in Saoirse’s tone. 

[dindooku]

after a mission goes wrong, you find yourself somewhere you could never imagine.

how will you cope with your new situation?

how do you know who you can trust?

word count: 4,614

rating: E (swearing)

This was no routine operation.

You’d trained for stressful situations like this for the last ten years, enduring more pain, sacrifice and penance then the human body is able to cope with.

But you’re no normal human; you’re a soldier. You’re the Officer Commander of the 118th SAS Special Operations unit, which for this mission was specifically tasked to investigate and neutralise an unidentified object which had landed in enemy territory.

 The mission debrief had been one you’d never forget. You were given very little intel, purposefully. Being it was an unidentified object meant utmost secrecy, despite you being the OC who would be leading the mission to retrieve it. You knew better than to ask questions, and you could only place your full trust in your superiors. So, you were given the only information you needed to know:

* Co-ordinates

* Enemy confines

* General landscape

��This was usual information, nothing you’d not seen before. The debrief was tense, to say the least, but it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle or hadn’t done before. You were surrounded by a circle of officials, some you recognised, some you didn’t. Your orders were clear.

 “You will leave the base at 18:00 hours to arrive with the 118th at enemy coordinates at approx 04:00 hours. Ensure no civvy is within the target range and that your officers supply daypacks and equipment for Recce. Your mission is to infiltrate enemy confines, secure the UO and then hold guard until we can get a securing unit in.”

 You had looked at your commanding officer with determination. This was an odd mission, yes, but that didn’t mean you were scared. If anything, the abnormality of an unidentified object being the objective of this mission was intriguing, and you were excited to do a recon mission which didn’t involve the usual sieges of palaces or governments with your soldiers, your brothers.

 When you’d first joined the army you always thought that you’d never be excited or ever looking forward to pain or bloodshed. You joined seeking help and routine, just to be anywhere from home. But after spending 10 gruelling years facing oppressors and sick, twisted maniacs with too much power for their own good, you now lapped at the opportunity to right their wrongs and help those caught in the crossfire. Sure, you’d done terrible, terrible things and witnessed tragedies that the human mind couldn’t even begin to fathom if it wanted to, but knowing that you were doing something to help, whether it be violent or not, was what drove you to keep going.

 It was already 16:00 and the sun was begging to set, leaving only 2 hours to prep your boys before heading out on your mission. You’d received the intel and thanked your commanding officer in haste, wanting to let your brothers in on the exciting new challenge that waited ahead. But, before you could leave, you were called back to attention.

 “Commander, one more piece of intel. This is most important, and we cannot emphasise this enough.”

 This piqued your interest, so you stood back to attention and nodded for them to continue.

 “The UO must not be disturbed. As you’ve seen from the Holo-Map, the data projections have shown incredible readings of energy. It’s not come back as radioactive, or anything on the electromagnetic spectrum either which could, or could not be harmful’—” the commanding officer emphasised those last words, as if he’s implying a hidden meaning, or hiding something that they don’t want you to know, “—therefore you’re under strict orders not to touch the UO. You must hold off and contain the drop zone until we can get the specialists from MI5 in. Under no circumstances does anyone touch the UO without specific authorisation. Do I make myself clear?” They finished with stern words, their gaze burning into you. All soldiers were used to strict commanders and the generic intimidating gaze of superior officers, but as a woman in the SAS field, you’ve built-up an indestructible backbone to threatening power plays. You had to, it was one of the first, and one of the hardest lessons in your training. You’re surrounded by men who thought that because of their physical strength this gave them an advantage, but you soon proved yourself over them with your quick thinking and relentlessness. You were brutal, but that's what was required to be successful in such environments. You seemed to have done something right because now you’re the Commanding Officer of the 118th, leading a 6 man battalion, all of which looked to you for orders.

 You nodded again, but you maintained the intense eye contact, not even breaking a sweat. “Yes, Sir. If that is all, I will debrief the men now and we will prepare to leave for 18:00, Sir.”

 The commanding officer nodded a dismissal before turning round to discuss further intel with the other officials in the room; so you took your leave at their dismissal.

 __________

 You couldn’t have been more wrong.

 This was no routine operation.

 Things were quiet, eerily quiet…too quiet.

 You’d made good time with the boys, with only a slight hiccup at point break with 2 guards, but 9’s and Sleeves (your two knife specialists) took care of them with ease. What wasn’t right however was how easy it was to infiltrate. You’d had practically no resistance, and while normal people would celebrate this, you knew better. Something just wasn’t quite right.

 You made the break at 04:00 under the blanket of night. The base was small, only consisting of a few small rooms in a single building. The terrain was a thick jungle, and the humidity was stifling, but you had done enough training and excursions to be practically immune to the heat. The target was set in a clearing of the forest, completely remote and isolated from outside interference. This could’ve explained the limited armourment, but also made you question why an odd-looking temple of sorts was sat smack dead in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. It was obvious under first impressions that the building was ancient, and resembled similarities to the Mayans and Egyptians architecture, but something about the carvings and inscriptions along the walls just wasn’t anything you could recognise. Not that you could read Mayan or Egyptian, but the symbols were unique and seemed extra-terrestrial…odd.

 But now wasn’t the time to play Indiana Jones, you had a mission to do. So, you ordered your men behind you and you breached the compound.

 As soon as you entered the odd-looking temple, the energy around you shifted instantly. It wasn’t just humid with rain anymore, this was a different humid. It was suffocating but not in the physical sense, instead, it was more like a static that clouded your mind and slowed your processing. You glanced back at your soldiers, “Did you feel that?” You said, hushing a whisper into the mic of your helmet.

 “Feel what, Sir?” Screw asked back, the reply static with interference in your earpiece. You tapped the earpiece at the side of your helmet in an effort to fix the static, but it did no good. Still moving forward, you replied.

 “The energy, it feels different in here, don’t you think?”

 “Don’t start with your hocus focus shit.” Sleeves retorted.

 “Yeah, boss now isn’t the time for your ghost stories,” 9s chimed in.

 “Aight, I get it, but it just feels odd… I don’t like it, stay tight,” you commanded, bringing your M14EBR to your shoulder. You really didn’t like the feeling in here, not one bit.

 You all advanced through the temple, making quick work to check and secure each room and corridor before you found yourself in the centre. The static from before was now overbearing, but you kept to yourself, not wanting to give the boys any chance for further teasing. You wouldn’t mind normally, but this place was really giving you bad vibes.

 As you all entered the centre room, the atmosphere changed again. This time is was cold, icy. The sudden chill brought you out in goosebumps, and a harsh shiver raced through your body, but you made effort to maintain your focus and continue with the mission at hand.

 The overbearing static acted almost like a guide, playing hot or cold with every step you took. And with every step towards the centre of the room, it got louder and louder. You peered round to look at your team, only to see them looking back at you, confused at your sudden tensity. Were they not feeling this presence, this energy? How couldn’t they? There’s clearly something going on…

 “Boss… Don’t. Move.” Frankie said sternly.

 You froze. Slowly peering back round to him you looked at the others, who were all still stood at arms at the back of the room where the corridor joined. You were tense beyond belief now, and you hadn’t noticed how fast your heart was beating, the sound of your blood was now deafening as it coursed through your ears and around your body. It was as if your senses were magnified, everything felt overwhelming and suffocating; the feeling of your gloves on your skin, the sound of dust particles drifting through the air, the smell of dirt that hadn’t been disturbed for hundreds of years. You were sweating profusely now, but you still felt ice cold.

 Turning your head slowly, you faced Frankie. “What. Frankie?” Your voice trembled a little under the whisper, but you held yourself together for the moment.

 “Right in front of you, the…the reflection, it’s like a hazy mirror, can’t you see it?” He replied, his confusion twisting his face. He was looking at you like you’re crazy, in fact, they all were. 

 “What reflection—” You hissed back, turning back around to be greeted with nothing. And they told you to cut the hocus pocus? You scanned the area in front of you. There was absolutely nothing, just the rest of the empty room. So, you took another cautious step. Everyone took in a breath at the same time, holding it in. You tensed, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happened. Right, this was all over nothing.

 You turned, relaxing your shoulders, facing the boys.

 “See, nothing to worry abo—” You were cut off by the anxious shouts of your soldiers, who now had their guns pointed at you. “HEY! Hey, put the guns down, what the fuck are you doing?!” You shouted back, but they didn’t respond. You went to take a step back towards them but were blocked by some sort of force, like a wall…but there was no wall. You put your gun out to test the space in front of you but were met with a solid object. But you couldn’t see it…

 “What in the fu—” you muttered, completely at a loss for what was transpiring in front of your eyes. The boys started moving forwards, their shouts were now muffled. odd, it sounded like you were underwater, barely able to make out what they were saying. You wanted to reach out, to touch the odd, static wall in your way. Your curiosity got the better of you, and before you knew what you were doing you were taking off the glove on your right hand and slowly reaching out to the void ahead of you.

 “DON’T! DON’T TOUCH IT, HEY!—”

 “BOSS!—”

 “What the FUCK IS—”

 You couldn’t hear the shouting. You didn’t see your soldiers running towards you. All you saw was your own reflection staring back at you as you raised your hand to reach out, to touch whatever it was before you.

 Your index finger poked the wall, and you instantly recoiled, the icy lightning coursed through your body, igniting your nerves and singeing your blood. You dropped limply to the floor, and like that, you were out like a light.

 ______

 Your eyes dart open.

 You’re gasping for air, choking on it as it soared into your lungs like you’d just been pulled from water.

 You quickly take in your surroundings. You’re on the floor. It’s light out. You’re sweating, it’s hot. It smells almost… smoggy? Wait, this isn’t the temple, it was dark, we were inside… why is there a hand on my back?!

 You shoot up, twisting and grabbing the hand that had rested on your back. You’re still heaving for air. You stare at the human with wild eyes, completely frantic with confusion. This was not where you were last.

 “Hey! Ow! I’m just tryina’ help! What in the…” They trail off as they reach for your handgun, but before they can grab it you shoot up and launch yourself forwards, turning on your toes and pulling the handgun out of the holster to aim it at the perp.

 “Who are you and where am I!” You demand, your voice shaky and raspy, but the tonality is not mistaken - you’re fierce with your formalities. You don’t like getting fucked about.

 “Woah, ok, calm—” they raise their hands, crouching slightly to act as if they’re of no harm.

 “Don’t tell me to be calm. Where. Am. I” you demand, taking a step closer, still aiming the gun between their eyes, finger dancing on the trigger.

 “Hey, ok, you’re on Coruscant. Look around ya, it's ok, no one’s gonna hurt ya, you’re on the upper levels—” they took a step back, gesturing with their arms to the now growing crowd of civilians watching the scene unfolding in front of them. You take a second to peer around you, taking in the environment.

 It was bright, busy and loud, very loud. It looked almost like a local market place, but huge. The street ahead of you was never-ending, bustling with home stalls and shops - neon lights littering the area with sales of all sorts and goods you don’t recognise. Then you see the language, the same symbols and inscriptions as those on the side of the temple. You’re freaking out a bit now. Yeah, you’d done intense training and seen too much shit to care about regularities but this was a whole other level of bat shit crazy. Peering up, you couldn’t believe your eyes. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes where whizzing just above your head, going in all sorts of directions at great speed. They looked nothing like anything you’d seen before, not jets or planes or anything. Something was seriously wrong here, you’re not anywhere you’ve been before.

 You shoot your gaze back down to the crowd around you. There were beings of all shapes and sizes. Some you instantly recognised as human, but others were deformed or misshapen, odd-looking. Upon closer inspection, some had multiple limbs, green, blue, purple skin, 6 eyes. Ok, have I been drugged? You wonder as your jaw drops open with shock. This was stuff you couldn’t even imagine.

 Sensing the attention growing on you by the second, you leap into action. Peering around you take in the buildings surrounding you, and just in the distance, a tall, church-like building stands tall. Right, refuge. Safe-House possibly? You jerk back towards the human who woke you up, giving a quick nod before you dart off towards your new objective.

 Luckily you still have everything with you, your backpack, watch, guns and spare ammo if needed. You didn’t have ID but if you could find some sort of police station you’d be able to hack and search the database to call upon your credentials and send an SOS for recovery. With this in mind, you ran through the streets of ‘Coruscant’ towards to towering cathedral.

 ___

 You don’t think you’ve ever run this fast in your life. Not when you were ambushed by terrorists, not when you’d been kidnapped and you broke free from the encampment, and not even when you’d been woken in your sleep by a pack of wolves on a Russian Intel OP in the middle of Siberia. Your hallucinations hadn’t stopped, and with every turn new, crazy creatures stared at your frantic attempt to find some sort of normality.

 You finally made it to the Cathedral, but you weren’t quite prepared for how grandly spacious and lavish it was; it must’ve been a good kilometre or two wide, and roughly the same in height too. You’d never seen such a large, simple yet intimidating building. Eyeing the courtyard, hundreds of white armoured beings paroled and strode in groups, but not in assembly, casually. They looked like troops, and your suspicions were confirmed by the metal looking guns attached to their hips or swung round their backs. Some had their helmets off, others didn’t, and they seemed to be colour coded. But now wasn’t the time for exploring, you had to find a safe house and make contact with Base. Picking up the pace from where you’d stopped, you run into the Cathedral, taking two steps at a time. What stood before you was nothing you could have ever predicted, or even prepared for.

 Underneath your feet lay long, smooth slabs of a marble-like substance. The area opened up into a great hall of sorts, with pillars of stone arranged in an open rectangle, supporting the towering ceiling above you. The pillars were simplistic but still had the odd inscriptions plastered up and along with each one. The walls were of minimal design too - no grandiose trinkets or monarchs, no real display of wealth or power - it was unlike any church, cathedral or anything you’d ever seen. Crowding the courtyard in the centre were smaller beings, that looked to be children, all either playing or running around, reading or training - grappling with one another, but happily. What you did notice however was that they were all wearing the same similar robes, some different colours to others but the design the same. Was this some sort of School?

 After taking a second to absorb your surroundings, you scrub your palms over your eyes as if to test whether this was all real of not. Undoing the chinstrap and removing your helmet, you slip one strap off your army pack and attach the helmet onto the back. You don’t feel threatened here, and despite not being ordered to remove it, you have the sneaking suspicion that following orders doesn’t really matter right now.

 Then your attention is drawn to the far corner, where a young man dressed in black robes is walking, quite quickly towards you. You look briefly to his right to see another man, dressed in brown and cream robes just behind him, striding just as quickly as if trying to catch up. You go to take a step but you stop yourself to watch what unfolds in front of you.

 “Anakin, for the love of the God’s will you stop and talk to me!” The older man shouts, clearly exasperated with the younger man before him.

 “Look, Master, I felt a disturbance and I must investigate it, it could be dangerous!” The young man retorts, turning to face the older man and waving his arms in the air. They’re both clearly agitated and something is seriously bothering them.

 “I understand that Anakin, I do, I felt it too. But we can’t just go running off in the middle of Council meetings! You know better than this,—” the older man exclaims, running a hand down his face and resting on his beard, slowly stroking it as if in deep contemplation.

“Master, you must learn to trust me, either way - we must investigate this disturbance and find the source before it’s too late. You know this,” the younger counters, shaking his arms as if to show how irritated he is about having to wait.

 “Do not test my patience, Anakin. I—I do trust you Anakin, just please take a second to centre yourself before you go running into the street of—” And before he can finish his sentence the older man's gaze lands on you.

 You lock eyes. You feel an odd pick of electricity as his sapphire blues burn into your eyes, freezing you both in place, forcing your sharp intake of breath to hold painfully in your lungs. His light golden hair is tidily swept to the right, parting on the far left of his temple. It's not short hair, but it’s not long either. It sits in comfortable waves, soothing and sophisticated. His eyebrows match the colour of his hair, perfectly framing the piercing blue eyes that are boring into you. His jaw is framed in a thick but trimmed beard, accentuating his jawline, giving a heavy aura of wisdom to his frame. He’s gorgeous. Sure, you’ve had the hots for guys before and you’ve had your fair share of flings and relationships, but they were nothing substantial or of purpose, they were just tiebreakers that allowed you to fill your time and release hormones; no one had ever really caught your eye and made you double-take - you always thought you never had the capacity to love because of your profession… but there’s always a first for everything. But now really wasn’t the time for admiring men, because you soon realised that said man was now making a beeline towards you at an alarming pace.

 You jolt, realising now is the time to run. Without thinking you run back out into the courtyard. You make quick sense of the stairs, striding three at a time, taking extra care not to trip of fall. Now was not the time for mistakes. Once you reach the bottom you chance a glance back, only to instantly regret your decision as the distance between you and the two mystery men was quickly diminishing. You turn back around and reach for both your pistols this time, one on each thigh. You pull them up and aim as you stop and turn quickly, bracing yourself in a strong side stance, enabling you to bolt again if needed. Just as you pull up to aim at both men, they stop, side by side. You’re frantically breathing now, body tense. Every muscle is coiled and ready to pounce at the drop of a hat, and you will not hesitate to protect yourself.

 Just as you think you have things under control, the two mystery beings reach into their robes and pull a metal cylinder into their hands. What in the name of all that's holy are they going to do with a piece of pipe?! You chuckle to yourself - you couldn’t lie, you’d seen weirder weapons.

 “Where the fuck am I and why are you chasing me,” you hiss. You’ve just about had it with the weird alien shit and you’re not about to be played around. You want straight answers.

 The older man calmly replies, “Language. You’re on coruscant, we could ask the same abo—”

 “Did you just tell me to watch my fucking language?! How about you tell me where the fuck I am before I shoot the brains out of that pretty little mouth of yours?” you grill. How dare he tell you to watch your mouth when you’ve woken up in this weird-ass city filled with aliens and flying space cars.

 “And you tell me I have a bad mouth master—” the younger man cuts, a slight smirk lining his lips.

 “Anakin—,” the older man scolds, obviously not finding the humour in Anakin's reply. He turns his attention back to you, “Look, why don’t we just lower out weapons and—” He goes to take a step towards you but you fire a warning shot to the ground just right of the older man. He instantly stops, and both men glare back at you. This catches the attention of the soldiers in the courtyard, who are now beginning to surround the three of you.

 “Don’t fuck with me,” you hiss back, fingers flexing slightly on the triggers of each gun.

 “Master, why was there no blaster bolt?” Anakin asks, turning his head a fraction towards the older man.

 “I don’t know Anakin but now isn’t the time,—” he replies before both return their full attention back to you. You slowly start to take a step back. You need to get out of here now. “I wouldn’t bother trying to run my Dear, you won’t get far,” the older man advises.

 Oh, I can’t believe this.

 “You,—” you shake your left pistol towards the older man in a way to gather his attention, “What’s your name?”

 “Obi-Wan Kenobi”

 “Well, Obi-Wan Kenobi, one — I am not, Dear — I am a Commanding Officer of the 118th SAS, and two — for your best own interest you will let me walk away so I can find some way back to where I need to be, comprende?” You barter.

 “Master I—,” Anakin is again cut off by Obi-Wan.

 “I’m sorry but I cannot let you do that.”

 “What makes you think you can stop me?” You’re clearly angry now. The absolute cheek of this man, this imbecile in some sort of funky monk clothing telling you not to run. Is he seeing what you’re seeing, can they see the mad aliens and weird flying vehicles just above you?

 “Oh Darling, don’t test my patience” he retorts, adding a hint of sarcasm to his words. You genuinely can’t believe it. A slight chuckle escapes your lips. You’re going mad, this is it. The years of battle and trauma have finally caught up to you and now you’re seeing space monks, great. Your laughter grows louder and the other two men nervously join in, obviously confused about your reaction. You shrug your shoulders, waving your hands in the air in an exasperated manner. The other two men carry on laughing but chance a nervous glare between them in silent communication. You rub your forehead with the back of one of your hands, the cold metal of your pistol soothing your sweat-laden forehead. Your laugh drops and you fire another warning shot from the other hand, deadening your stare back at Obi-Wan. They freeze.

 “I’ve killed more for less. Let me go and I won’t add you to the list,”

 “Master, I’ve had enough of this—,” Anakin huffs, and with a flick of his wrist, you’re now suddenly disarmed. What. The. Fuck.

 “Language. Please, just put your hands out and—” did he just tell me to watch my language? I didn’t say anything, is he reading my mind? “you could say I am, yes, now please just calm down—”

 What the FUCK is going on right now?! “Calm down? Calm DOWN?! What sort of space wizard BULLSHIT is going on right now, how did you do that? How did you throw my guns? Where am I, who are you? What is going on?” You’re starting to panic now, you can feel the bile rising up from your stomach. This is all way too much for you to process. Either you’ve been knocked out cold and have an incredible concussion or you’ve drunk some really funky tea, either way — this can’t be real.

 “Anakin, I think we need to use a trance, can you—,” Obi-Wan mutters to Anakin, holstering the weird metal cylinder tube from before. Anakin does the same and goes to wave a hand but you cut him off.

 “Trance? What do you mean by trance? No, no way, you are not using some weird wizard shit on me, I’m leaving.” You haven’t got time for this. You’ve got a mission to finish, and you need to find a way back to base. Focus on your priorities. You turn to walk away, about to make haste but before you can take a step, everything goes black.

[savysavannah]

Practice Challenge One part Two

Special thanks to: @eaton-schreave and @s-morgan

Men have been paying more attention to me lately. Not that they didn't much before, I am a woman after all they're fairly predictable on that front. But what I wasn't expecting was how aggressive they'd be once I became something they knew they couldn't have. 

I tried to continue living on as if nothing happened. Wake up, go to work, work through lunch (you can't let the papparazzi see you with mayo on your cheek again), take a break and call Angelic who works at the palace and has been my personal helper through this transition, beg my boss to let me work through the selection, "I can just go to court virtually!", skip dinner, drive home, make sure no one is following me, they still haven't found out where I live at least, pop open a bottle of gin, then research this bitch who I had to somehow, for the sake of my own ass, not murder. 

The office is on floor 10 of the 20 floor building I work in. I park in the parking lot, thankfully the paparazzi can't follow me there as you have to scan in. I walked up to the elevator and pressed the button. Just as the doors closed a larger man ran up and blocked it with his hand. He was around 6’4 and towered over me, he stood a little too close and I clutched my purse to take the anxiety out.

I watched the numbers go up as we rode but felt him watching me. His pinky finger rubbed against my thigh fiddling with the hem of my pencil skirt. He couldn’t do anything to me, not with who I now was, not in a moving elevator. I tried to remember to breathe as we hit floor eight and leaned to the side to avoid him which he leaned closer in response. Finally we stopped at floor ten and I got off. Thankfully, he didn’t follow. 

I tried to put the moment out of my mind while I worked. It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened, but it was the first time that I was completely and utterly alone. I clicked the B key of my laptop over and over trying to get my brain to pump out something. Some kind of work. But all I got in response was the distracting thoughts of what to do next time. 

At lunch I stared at the elevator. I had to take either the stairs or the elevator. If I took the elevator I'd be stuck in the same situation. If I took the stairs I'd be alone in a dark area for longer. I pressed the button and watched my watch as I waited. 

I was thankfully alone as it lowered to the ground. I was able to breathe and let my mind debate over if I should go to the sandwich place near work or drive home and eat leftovers. Going with the sandwich I started to walk down the block.

“Daniel will you get off that stupid device and pass your sister the peas.” Mother ordered as we all sat at the table of our parents estate. Our weekly dinners were normally a lively event, but tonight was the first night before I left. Daniel and I still hadn’t made up since his plan for vengeance against someone who had not harmed him had succeeded. 

I’d tried to make the best of the situation, research some ounce of goodness in the Prince, but all I found were articles of his outrageous college behavior. Dan had been assuring me that once I was eliminated I would have a sea of men to pick from and would be happily married to a two or upper class three, I could quit work and be a simple housewife like his Marina, this outraged me further and caused a fight. My goal in life is not to be a wife but to work and be content with my work. Danny was the only one who could actually provide any solace reminding me that it would just be for a few weeks, possibly less, then I’d be back to work just as before. Eventually, people would forget I was ever someone to know and I could return to my life. 

Just as we finished dinner the doorbell rang, though there was quickly a rattling of the knob and a busting in before the help could get to the door. Grandmother came in with large pink bags, which I believed to be for me. Soon after I learned that they were filled with all kinds of masks. Masks for face, masks for hair, hands, feet. Apparently, being on TV meant my skin had to be extremely soft.  

Grandmother is the current head of the Mars candy corporation. Next in line is my Uncle Dennis, then my cousins, then uncle Ricky. Hopefully though it won’t come down to Ricky. Ricky blew all his money before he could trap a wife, he’s still a two as grandmother keeps him afloat, but barely. One day he’ll probably be caught with some kind of drug, he’ll be dropped to an eight, it’ll be a shame that could have been prevented had the lawyer in the family not been a stuck up bitch. I’m just tired of working for free on a man who will never change, and doesn’t deserve the luxury. But God forbid I charge family. 

The morning of the flight I wasn’t nervous at all. I said my goodbyes to my boss, let her know I’d be available on my phone or through email if she needed anything, locked up my home, and headed to the formal goodbye where I’d meet up with my family. There was a surprising amount of pride in the province for me being selected. I had read an article about how it seemed I would be destined to be the perfect fit for Queen. I already worked in helping those of Illea through complex laws and policies, I was well educated, from a wealthy family but not a literal two. I was the perfect mold and the pride of Labrador. There were other provinces which had an eight selected that were not quite as cheerful. In the quiet of the airport I was finally able to say my goodbyes. Mother told me to remember to not be too closed off, Father told me to be careful, Danny told me to tough it out but give it an honest try; “He may not be terrible, don’t deny yourself happiness.” Some nonsense like that. 

Dan congratulated me on the opportunity, and Daniel stood quietly trying to avoid eye contact. I was still mad at him. What he did was unforgivable. But we couldn’t leave like this. I hugged him tightly and boarded the plane.

The day was a blur, a blur of useless lessons, a blur of mild appearance changes, girls who were possibly friends, possibly enemies, possibly annoying. It was late into the evening by the time I got to my room. My maids, Florence, Abigail, and Eimear seemed eager to be serving possibly ‘the future queen of illea’ and I was eager for a moment to myself. I dismissed them for the night to unpack on my own. 

I’d snuck a few pairs of my own tailored dress pants in, my laptop, phone, a notebook, a few books, and a family photo. Soon enough the room was a strangers room with sprinkles of me throughout. Once I sat down at my laptop I realized it was already getting fairly late. I changed into a silk nightgown, closed my laptop and tried to sleep. 

As I slept I thought of the footsteps around me, everything felt so loud, a screaming echo that I was in the very last place I ever wanted to be. After a while of tossing and turning I finally stood and walked to the wine cellar. We had been told to make ourselves at home afterall. As I walked back to my room I bumped into a stranger. 

After a moment of shock and regaining my grip on the bottle of wine I looked up to see Prince Eaton. He was known to be more sane than his brother, so I was thankful for at least that. “Oh! I'm sorry, Prince Eaton.” I spoke and gave a small curtsy. 

He looks down at the bottle and myself with a bit of a furrowed brow “You don't need to apologize.”

He pauses for a moment and gives a friendly smile, “And you don't need to curtsy, either. Lady Savannah, is that right?” It’s a bit astonishing he’d both remember my name and recognize it as mine upon seeing me. If I were in his place I’m not sure I could. 

I sighed a bit in relief please I wouldn’t be getting yelled at for my carelessness this evening, “Yes. Just Savannah is fine, or Ms. Mars if you insist on formality. Though, the apology is still warranted considering I should have been watching where I was going. At little out of it, first night and all.” I lifted the bottle as the first night related to the bottle. 

He gave a deadpan joke and I was fortunate then that I am competent in people reading. It may have been awkward if his "I'm not sure wine will help you remember the palace geography.”

“Well, the goal is to drink it once I return to my room. That or the courtyard since it is pretty out tonight. Though, you do make an excellent point that the wine combined with being in an unfamiliar location could have negative consequences.” For a moment I paused. It may not be a horrible idea to make the acquaintance of someone here. 

“Care to have a glass with me? Splitting it and being with someone who knows the 'geography' well may decrease the negatives.” I offered. 

“Interesting that you don't drink though. I'd heard you were more....sober, than your brother but it's noted to the extent. *kinda blushes* not that I was researching you or anything, it's just difficult to not hear things when you both went to my undergrad and you're a prince. Kinda a common conversation topic.”

He stood a bit straighter and eyed the bottle, “I do not drink.” After a moment passed he then cleared his throat, the tone of his statement before must have hit him, “However I can keep you company if you want to.”

I stifled a laugh at him clearing his throat not trying to be rude but finding his realization funny, “Great then. You can be my guide then for the evening.”

he seemed embarrassed and put his hands in his jean pockets, “I'm afraid this kind of thing comes along with the title...“ he took a hand out of his pocket, making a motion like ‘shall we go?’ 

“So you went to the University of Labrador?”

“yup. Go Labs *kinda mumbles for a moment* I wasn't really there for long. We started the same year I think, which I don't really remember much of. I was kinda a different person then. Then I graduated in 2 years and went to Yale law so all in all not a whole lot of time there. But I am from Labrador and my family home is near the campus so I know the area pretty well.”

he had a very small smile “And I showed off to my brother for graduating in three years. Labrador is a beautiful province, though. I miss it.”

“Well, I'm sure you had more to do than me. I'm not some kinda royal so I just got to spend all my time working on getting credits. It is pretty though, I already miss it. Not that Angeles isn't. My mom's family lives here so I've been here a few times, but it's just not Labrador.”

“I agree, but I've come to realize Angeles is full of little gems. You just need to find them. Hopefully you'll be able to get out of the palace to see it for yourself.”

I chuckled a bit at my situation, “Well, I don't imagine I'll be here very long so maybe I'll have a little Angeles vacation”

he raised his eyebrows, “I know... My brother's reputation. But I think he's trying to take this seriously.” He paused for a moment, “Or as seriously as he can take anything.” It was a bit shocking to hear him say that. He seemed like a sensible person, any sensible person would be unlikely to defend the Prince. Though, he was also his brother, perhaps there's a familial bias. 

“Mhm.” I nodded then picked the conversation back up, “well, only time will tell. Hopefully for the sake of the country what's been said about him the last few years are baseless rumours” I sighed a bit thinking about which floozy of a wife will be our future Queen. The floozy and the fuckboy, what leaders. 

Prince Eaton clenched his jaw, “Media is prone to exaggeration.” but did not deny what had been said. 

He was being nice by walking with me so I decided to spare him a grilling and change the topic, “I'm sure. So how do you feel with the whole uh, 35 girls in your house situation?” Great now I sound like an interviewer. 

We reached an access to the gardens and he opened a French window for me, “My space is always invaded, it's nothing worse than usual.” He said with a failed attempt at a smile. I assume he isn’t looking for pity but it’s difficult to not be pitying over such an attempt. 

“That's fair I guess. Surprised you stayed though. Had my brother decided to have a bunch of ladies in our home, privacy be damned I don't wanna be around that mess.” I joked.

He snorted and seemed surprised at himself, “I was supposed to avoid it with a world tour. But things took another turn and now work won't get done alone.”

“World tour sounds a lot more fun. Postponed or cancelled?”

He gave his first genuine smile of the night, “Already done, actually. I came back a couple months ago.”

“Where did you go? Since I assume a world tour isn't literal?”

“Oceania, South Asia, Central Africa, and Europe.” He gave a small wistful sigh. I’d be wistful too if I had been all over there. 

“That's very worldly. I've only been to France and Germany. Did you have a favorite visit?”

He didn’t hesitate for a moment, “New Zealand and Scandinavia. What about you though? Did you enjoy your visits?”

The question caught me off guard so I took a moment trying to remember them, “they were alright. Quite a long time ago though. We only went to stay with my Uncle in France since he runs the part of my family's company in France and then we went to Germany because we were there so we may as well head there. Mostly it was just sitting with my brothers at a hotel while my parents went off or my grandma playing dress up with eight year old me”

“Oh. Do you regret not getting to see more of those places?” He said and looked to a bench we were approaching, but more with a thoughtful consideration than a directional goal. 

“A bit. It would have been nice to go out but they were more business trips than anything else. Maybe I'll go again at some point on my own if I have the free time.” I let us pass the bench, I’d been sitting far too much today with all the lessons and makeovers.  

“Sometimes you have to give yourself the time or you'll never do certain things.”  

“Logically I agree. But emotionally.....it's difficult to step back to work when my work directly impacts horrific moments of people's lives. Like if I were to go see a movie and my phone off, a client could be arrested and their treatment and time in jail without being able to contact their legal representation would be on my hands.”

He nodded slowly, “I can understand that. It gets hard to stop when people's lives are on the line.”

I sighed, trying not to get too revealing over my reasons for being here, afterall telling a stranger- regardless of him being a prince, that my brother had forged my application would be dumb, “I don't even really want to be wasting time here. But it is what it is. Trying to view this as a forced vacation. At least there are pretty flowers and good wine.”

He furrowed his brows, “Is there a way we could keep you working, from here? I guess you couldn't do much, but a little is better than nothing.”

I sighed,  “Yeah I tried. I work for the ICLU so I asked if I could just stay in contact with clients and work from a far. But I wouldn't be able to make any proper court appearances and they wouldn't want someone just thrown on for court so it made more sense to just give me paid vacation. They were pretty proud anyways since apparently it's an honor to be selected for this reboot reality TV bachelor show.”

He pursed his lips, “I'm sorry you don't get to keep working. But they're not wrong. You being selected does give visibility to your organisation.”

I stopped for a moment, completely caught off guard by the comment, “That is true I hadn't thought of that. It's a non-profit so I hope donations may increase from me being here.” I dug into the oversized pockets of my nightgown and grabbed a pen, always best to keep a pen in the pocket, then scribbled on my hand, “reminder to think of ways to bring up iclu during this.” I explained. 

He laughed through his nose and smiled, “See, a couple things might come out of your forced vacation.”

I chuckled a bit, “You're a smartass, and I mean that as a compliment. I can tell already which makes me feel much better about Prince Damian being in charge next.” I sighed content for a moment then remembered I was supposed to be making conversation, “So, you know I'm a nut for my work, what are you passionate about?”

He shrugged and looked around as if the gardens would save him, “My work.”

I smiled wondering a bit why that would be something to be ashamed of, “I get that. But do you have a specific part? I mean I'm sure you do a lot. So do you ever wake up and you're like 'man I get to do blank today!" Like for me it's court days because I love the theatrics of it.” I smiled a bit remembering the fun of cross. 

The question seemed too intimate for him as he tucked his hands in his pockets, “I guess I like working on projects. I mean, when the planning part of it.”

“Projects are fun. I hated them when I was in high school. I was very much so not the nerd I am today.” I tried to avoid going too deep into the projects conversation, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable. 

He raised a brow at the comment of my past, “I understand why people can find them boring, though.” Thankfully he didn’t press further on the past. 

“Yeah I was more of a push off project till the last minute and party with my friends type for a while. Now I kinda wish I could have them again, it'd probably be fun to analyse how the flaws of Gregory Illea still impact us from a historical perspective.”

He snorted and shook his head, “It's more nerve-wracking than fun, in my opinion.”

“Well yeah, but if you can identify the flaws you can work to fix them and the research is fun so overall, more fun.”

He looked up at the stars as he thought, “I don't know... Not all of it is fixable. Not that easily at least.”

I thought as well for a moment, the country had been in a bit of unrest for awhile now. He was probably thinking of that, “Well, just because it isn't easy isn't any reason to not be excited about it. The accomplishment of fixing something difficult is arguable even better.” I tried to reason. 

He stayed thoughtful, and looked down at me, “I see your points. But sometimes I think our ancestors just put us in a situation we'll never fully get out of.”

“That's a very cynical outlook and I disagree. It isn't logical to assume that just because a way hasn't been thought up yet that there can be a way out of a problem.” I said and smiled up at him. 

“Maybe it's cynical, but what I see is history repeating itself.” He looked up again, “It doesn't mean I think things aren't worth fighting for, though. But magical solutions don't exist.”

“I agree. Solutions often require a lot of work and even then are often not perfect. But to never fully get out of seems too far cynical for me to believe.”

  He looked down at me curiously, “You're more optimistic than you appear to be.”

I raised an eyebrow, “hm, interesting that I appear to not be optimistic. I take it that it's the wine bottle causing that.”

He smiled slightly, “Maybe. But just a little.”

“Any reason you don't drink?” I asked before realizing that may be very personal, “that is if you're comfortable answering.”

He shrugged, “I don't like the taste. Or the sensation.”

“That's a fair reason. I didn't like it much till I joined a sorority and ended up just liking it because we drank so much.” I kinda shuddered remembering the hangovers.  

He raised an eyebrow,  “I guess it tastes different once you're inebriated enough.”

“Yeah like spicy foods. Everyone hates them when they are a kid but you grow to love them as you get older.”

He snorted, ”I've always liked spicy foods, even as a kid.”

I laughed, “Well then you're weird. I still can't handle wasabi.”

He laughed softly, “You just need to be careful about the quantity.”

“No literally any bit of it and I'm out. My brother Danny put some on my sushi the other night, it was just a dapple from his chopstick but I couldn't eat the piece.” 

“Did you try to?”

“No. Why would I want to be in pain, I'm not a weird masochist.”

“How do you know it's that bad if you never give it another try though?”

“Hmm, traumatic memories.”

He raised his eyebrows, a curious expression on his face, “Care to share?”

I sighed at the memory, “When I was a kid I really loved matcha paste. It was like a sweet matcha pouch of paste that you could suck out, like those applesauce containers. it was my favorite thing. My grandmother gave me some and since my parents found it effective to shut me up I got it a lot. One day they ordered sushi, left it on the table, I was around four so i could reach it, thought the wasabi was matcha and ate a handful of it. Tears ensued and now I'll never touch it again.”

He laughed softly, “Alright, I understand better. But you could try to overcome your trauma someday.”

“Maybe one day, but with a lot of milk in arms reach”

He nodded, “I'm sure it can be easily arranged during your little vacation.”

I kinda shuddered at the thought, “I'll for sure need a friendly face there with me for moral support.” I laughed.

He laughed quietly, “It shouldn't be hard to find.”

“Probably harder than the wasabi though. So that is task number one on mission wasabi.”

He smiled slightly, “Well, if you stay stuck too long on task number one, I can volunteer as a friendly face.”

“Thank you. Same to you if you ever happen to need one.”

He nodded, “I'll remember that.” He jerked his chin to the wine, “Are you still planning on drinking this?”

I lifted the bottle and stared for a moment, “it'll come back to my room for further deliberation. Possibly a nightcap.”

“If it can help you get some sleep…” He glanced at the palace, “I should walk you back to your room.”

“If you don't mind. I would consider you an expert of palace geography after all.”

He snorted and shook his head, “Do you remember your room number? Or Hall?”

“Ummmmm. I'm gonna guess 14. Could be 15 though.”

He took a step towards the palace, gesturing for me to walk along, “Well, hopefully we won't step into anyone's bedroom.”

“Hm. Well the doors do say our names on them, so assuming one of us is literate I think we're safe from that” .

“I'm a humble geographer, I read maps.” He replied, getting a small giggle from myself.

“lead the way, humble geographer.” We walked for a bit through the palace till we found my room.

“That's me.”

He stopped in front of the room, “Well, we've made it. Unscathed, at that.”

“Very impressive. I would say you're a 10 out of 10 guide for such an achievement.”

He bowed, “Please don't hesitate to post a review on TripAdvisor.”

I chuckled at the joke, “well thank you for all your help. Wishing you the best, Prince Eaton.”

“Eaton's just fine. Goodnight.” He smiled.

“Good night, Eaton” I replied with a curtsy then retired to my room. 

Once I got on my laptop I pulled up my email. It wouldn’t be too annoying if I emailed my boss with some advertisement suggestions. If I let her know I’d be willing to help as much as I could. I could take up some interviews and remind people to donate. But as I typed I found myself hitting the same key over and over. 

Finally I scrolled onto Toogle and began to read about Prince Damian. The bottle of wine found its way to my lips as I read about his partying, his boorish public behavior, his absolutely lack of responsibility for his people. Quickly the bottle was empty. 

The world spun and I closed the laptop. My stomach gurgled demanding sustenance. Crackers? Something salty? Maybe popcorn. Popcorn and a movie sounds good, I mean why should I bother with anything else while I’m here in this hell. If I have to wake up early I can simply nap when I have a moment to spare. I took the bottle with me planning to throw it away in some form of recycling bin which I assumed would be in the kitchen.

I couldn’t find the kitchen. Instead I stood in an unknown hallway for a few moments, before finally deciding to give up and just return to my room. I could ask my maids for popcorn in the morning if I still wanted it. 

I walked to my room on the corner of the hallway, walked in and laid on my bed. I let my shoes slip off and rest on the ground next to where I had placed the empty bottle.

“Um…” I hear someone say who then clears their throat and says a bit louder, “hello?”

I Rolled around to look at her. I had dismissed all of my maids, who was this person? After a moment I recognized her as a selected who I had seen earlier in the day, “Um? Hi?” I mumbled and tried to sit up a bit in bed. This was not a good time for me to be receiving visitors and I hadn’t the slightest clue why this girl was in my room. 

She steps a bit closer to me, “Are you alright?”

“More than. Rich asshole got fucking great wine. I'm Savannah Mars of Labradoradora. Why are you in my room?” I slurred. 

She mouthed “Labradoradora” silently to herself before she blinked again, and walked to the edge of the bed and looked at me. Seeming to understand my condition she smiled, “Somehow someway, you ended up in my room. Sienna. Not... Sorry, what’s your name?” 

“Woops.” I giggled a bit at the situation now fully understanding this poor girl's confusion at my intrusion. “Savannah.”  I lifted an arm in a lazy wave, “Mars. If you read the papers I'm the selected whose brother punched a reporter.” 

She half grimaced, “Well hopefully you don’t punch me when I offer to help you back to your room.” 

I laughed a bit at what this girl must be thinking of me, “not at all! They're just protective over a creepy paparazzi.” I sat up more straightly and swayed a little.“you don't have to help me though. I am perfectly capable of finding a room. Regardless of my state I am in fact a lawyer. Therefore I can read.” 

Her smile is a little more at ease with my laugh, then she nodded slowly, “Oh absolutely. But so I don’t get mixed up in the future, can you let me come?” She said, eyeing my swaying carefully. 

“Gotcha!” I cheered and did some finger guns and stood up successfully with the help of the bedpost, “I'm a lawyer, you?”

She stepped near me and offered a hand, answering distractedly, “Illustrator.” 

I took her hand, “Pretty!” Then blushes a bit at the exclamation, “Illustration i mean! You are too though!” Trying not to insult the stranger.

She laughed softly and took my arm into the crook of hers, “Thank you. The compliment goes both ways.”

I nodded enthusiastically, “oh no bad idea dizzy.” I said and settled myself again, “I sleep somewhere around here. Why do all these doors look the same”

“I see why you got confused heading into my room.” She chuckles as she scans the plates, “Are you sure your room’s in this direction?” She blinked “Never mind.”

Suddenly I saw another door, it said S something, how many selected with S names could there be, “S is me!” I exclaimed. 

She squinted and she looked closer at the nameplate, “S is close to you, but this isn’t your room. It’s Soraya’s,” She frowned and nodded at a guard who we passed. 

“Oh... “ I wondered why someone else would have joined this, I suppose this other selected is a perfect person to ask, “Do you have the hots for the prince?”

She seemed startled by the question, “Well... we haven’t even met him yet.” She then raised a brow, “Do you?”

I laughed and nearly threw my head back, “Absolutely not! But I was wondering if all the girls here would be like” I stopped for a moment to gather myself, “UWUWUW Prince Dammmm i wanna be your wifeeyyy” I batted my eyes mimicking my expectation of my fellow selected, “and shit.”

Thankfully she laughed before quickly covering her mouth, “Let’s see how the interviews go then talk. I might go all moony-eyed.” 

I half chuckled, “I don't think there’s a thing he could say to me to make me go all "uwu'. Strongly dislike the man off the bat.”

“Oh?” She raised a brow, a laugh still in her voice, “Is it the partying?”

“120%” I said fully serious. 

She hummed, “What about it don’t you like?

“The fact that he's supposed to be the heir to illea and he's running around partying like he's just some ordinary frat boy. He has an obligation to the country and his choice to party over starting on work directly impacts thousands of peoples lives. I spend freaking days arguing cases that could just be solved if we had a leader who was sand enough to amend laws that deserve amending but he's out there doing jello shots and drinking tequila!” I complained, probably spilling out a bit much.

She sighed and bobbed her head to one side for a moment, focusing on the hallway before they reached the end of it and realized her room is probably back where they were before, she simply missed it. tugs them back in that direction again, “Maybe he’s... getting it out of his system.” She defended and wrinkled her nose clearly not believing her own words.  

I sighed, “Maybe. At least this will let me tell if he's really that hopeless or not. Not that I'm one to speak in my current state.”

She gave a short laugh, “What if he is hopeless? What will you do then?”

I hadn’t quite thought that far out, “I figure out which one of you is the least hopeless and try to help them win.” I suggested.

She seemed amused at my conclusion, “Why did you submit your name then? For kicks and giggles?”

I sighed, “I didn't submit my application. Let's just leave it at that. Why'd you submit yours?” She seemed to agree with me about the large faults of the prince which made me more curious. 

“Second chance at... something.” A vague answer. 

I snorted, “something? What did you date a prince in a past life?”

She looked down with a smile then back up, “Life. Second chance at life.” I knew what she meant. The chance to reinvent yourself. I was able to get it before, if this was hers I wished her the best. 

I looked up at her and smiled, “Well, I hope you get it Ms. Artist.”

She directed a smile at me, “Thank you.” We finally approach a room directly labeled Savannah Mars, which is funnily enough exactly across the hall from Sienna's. “I hope you don’t get too much of a headache tomorrow.”

I waved, “Nah I chug water.” I smiled at her already feeling the effects wearing off, “Thank you for walking me here, and I'm sorry for lying on your bed.” 

“Sure sure.” She let go of her arm and raised a brow, “Positive you’ll be alright?”

“Positive.” I replied with a brief nod, headed into my room, then passed out for the night. 

[biscuitreviews]

Biscuit Reviews Third Anniversary Review: Persona 5 Royal

It’s been three years since the beginning of Biscuit Reviews and what better way to celebrate the third year than to review an enhanced version of the third game I reviewed for the blog, Persona 5 Royal.

Now for this I’ll mostly be pointing out the differences between the two versions and give a review of the new content and Royal’s main selling point, a new party member, a new Palace and a third playable semester. Now that I’ll be talking more about in the “Keep Reading” cut to shield full on spoilers, because I can’t talk about that portion of the game without spoiling Persona 5’s story itself.

Like before, you are an unnamed silent-ish protagonist. Now in regards to Persona 5, the main character has two canon names, his manga name and his anime-adaptation name. To make it easier, I’m just going to refer to him as Joker from now on, which is his Phantom Thief codename.

One night, going home, Joker hears a woman screaming. He investigates it to find a man trying to have his way with her. He attempts to stop the man only to find out that he’s a powerful politician that turns the situation around to where Joker assaulted him. This false charge brands Joker a criminal to which his parents decide to have him live with their friend Sojiro Sakura

Later, a mysterious app downloads on Joker’s phone that allows him to travel to a place called the Metaverse, a place where cognitive distortions are manifested. It is here the power of Persona is discovered and Joker and friends take up the mantle of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

As a Phantom Thief, Joker will be attempting to steal the hearts from the Palaces of corrupted adults in positions of power to change their ways and admit the crimes which they have committed. These Palaces are all uniquely built with different paths, traps, and ambush points. Now in Royal, these Palaces have had a few changes. There are some shortcuts built to make going through the longer tedious areas less painful, there are new paths that lead to more treasure chests, and there additional areas to make use of the new grappling hook tool. 

However, the grappling hook is mostly used to access a new collectible in these Palaces known as “Will Seeds”. Collecting all three Will Seeds will make a new accessory to equip. Obtaining these Will Seeds aren’t an issue either as they are usually along the main path. The game also lets you know when a Will Seed is nearby and finding them is usually easy as the path to it is pretty obvious.

Even though the bosses are the same, all of their fights are different than in the original Persona 5. In fact, the new Okumura fight actually gave me a bit of a hard time, so much so I had to lower the difficulty of the game to have somewhat of a chance. It probably wouldn’t have been much of an issue if I had better Personas for the fight, but I was determined to push forward.

Mementos also comes back as your place to do side quests and comes with its own changes. There’s a new character called Jose who wanders Mementos looking for Flowers. You collect Flowers in exchange for powerful items. Mementos also has stamp collection stations. Collecting these stamps and giving them to Jose allows you to alter the rewards of Mementos. You can alter EXP received from fights, how much more money you can acquire, and have enemies drop better quality items within Mementos. It definitely makes going through weaker areas more bearable as you’ll still get decently rewarded no matter what level your party is.  Now remember the Will Seeds I mentioned earlier? If you have the Will Seed accessory, Jose will also upgrade it for you for no charge or special requirement.

After collecting every stamp, an extra boss fight against Jose will be unlocked. Going through this boss fight does contain what the internet has theorized as a possible tease for Persona 6, and possibly even the Shin Megami verse as a whole.

Now, the issue I had with Mementos in my previous review is still present. If you don’t keep up with Mementos, you’ll have a very long dungeon to do before you get to the “Final Main Dungeon.” So it is important that you at least go into Mementos once a month in game to keep pace.

Despite these new additions, Mementos does suffer a setback from the new additions. If you leave Mementos, you lose all the flowers you gained. You would think, “Oh that’s fine, Jose will probably be at the entrance so I have a chance to spend my flowers before leaving.” Nope, Jose will not be at the entrance, if you want to spend your flowers before leaving, you’ll have to find him within Mementos, spend your flowers and then return back to the entrance. For so many improvements to better streamline Mementos, it’s really odd that they did not streamline this part.

There’s also the addition of the Thieves’ Den. This mainly serves as an intractable gallery of events within the game where you view pictures, cutscenes, and listen to music. You can even customize it with various statues and wallpapers. Jose is also present here, but he serves more as a tour guide on what you can do in the Thieves’ Den.

There are additional improvements that have been included as well within the game. For one trying to convince a Persona to join you is easier as the game tells you that Persona’s personality type. Also Morgana and Futaba will actually tell you what kind of answers to give these specific Persona if you want them to join you. It certainly takes the guesswork out of everything and also makes Futaba feel more like an asset rather than just a character that is there because of the plot.In fact, Futaba actually does more in-game. She can sometimes takeover during the  all-out attack, and her Mementos and battle perks happen more frequently, at least, I felt it was that way.

The gun attack has also been greatly improved. In Persona 5, if you used up all of your ammo, that was it, you would have to leave the Palace and return the next day in-game to reload your ammo. Now, ammo is refilled after every encounter within the Palace. This to me, actually gave me a reason to care about buying and customizing new guns because they were now an actual effective tool.

There is also a new event that happens in the Velvet Room known as “Prison Alarm” This alarm allows you to do supercharged fusions that makes these fused Persona more powerful and also learn stronger spells. However, this is only guaranteed for the first fusion, the second fusion will have varied results. I do recommend still doing the second fusion as you’re more likely to have a normal fusion or a strong fusion than a weak fusion. Even if you do get a weak fusion, there is still a possibility that the weak fusion can know strong spells

All party members now know Baton Pass by default, you don’t have to have them learn it from their Confidant track. You can however make their Baton Pass stronger by playing darts with them, which is an actual mini-game in Persona 5 Royal. Not only will this increase the Baton Pass level, but also help deepen the bond with party members.

All Confidant events now have a phone call that occurs after the event that allows an opportunity to gain additional points towards Joker’s relationship with them. 

There are also 3 new confidants in Persona 5 Royal and maximizing their ranks are important to access the new semester and Palace. These new Confidants are Takuto Maruki, Goro Akechi, and Kasumi Yoshizawa. Even though Akechi was a Confidant in the original Persona 5, his track ranked up automatically and required no effort on the player’s part. Now, effort from the player is required.

Kasumi Yoshizawa will also act as your new “party member”. I use quotes around party member, because she’s only an active member for the new Palace, not for the overall story. She is used in a couple of battles during the main story, but that’s it outside the new Palace. I was really hoping she would be more of an active member, considering having a new party member was one of Royal’s main selling points.

As for Kasumi you’ll notice her Confidant rank is a bit different. She only has five ranks rather than the normal ten. She does have ten ranks, but to access the other five, you do have to access the new Palace as they are tied in to that Palace’s story.

Now, if you care more about the social aspect of Persona and not so much the dungeon aspect, you can still max out Maruki’s rank to access the new semester without worrying about the other two. But to get the full experience of Royal, you have to max out the three new Confidants and I encourage it to get access to everything. Also Maruki’s story and Kasumi’s story are both tied into the new Palace 

I will however state this though regarding the new semester. It’s only one additional in game month and that’s it. It’s a bit disappointing as I was hoping for two months akin to Persona 4 Golden, which opened up new events and scenes with the main cast. I am however curious about something regarding unlocking only the new semester and not the Palace. It’s something I haven’t quite found an answer for, it’s also a bit spoilery so I won’t go into details there, but I will in the cut.

Alright, I’m now going to be discussing the new Palace and its story. This will spoil the ending of the original Persona 5 as well as what happens in this new portion of the game. I’ll go ahead and give my score for the game as well as some of my overall thoughts.

If you haven’t played Persona 5 at all for any reason, definitely get Royal as it fixes a few issues that were present in the previous game and adds some new activities, cutscenes, and moments with the main cast. I highly recommend looking at this version rather than the regular Persona 5. If you played Persona 5 already and are debating on if you should get Persona 5 Royal, my suggestion would be to wait for a sale.

I will however add this as well. Persona 5 Royal is supposed to be the definitive edition. Normally when a definitive edition comes out, it includes all DLC. Now it does include all DLC from the original Persona 5, but Royal also comes with it’s own DLC. This DLC is in the form of costumes for Kasumi and additional extra boss fights with the protagonists from Persona 3 and Persona 4. Why are these not in Royal already to begin with? Royal already has a bunch of extra events and fights already, why weren’t these included?

So anyways, I’m going to give Royal two different scores as I feel that the experience will vary depending on if you’re a first time Persona 5 player, or a returning player for the new content.

If this is your first foray into Persona 5, it’s easily a 5 out of 5.

If you’re looking to go into this game for the new content, it’s easily a 4 out of 5.

So take it how you will and now I’ll be getting into the brand new content so again only click on “Keep Reading” if you have experienced the content, or just don’t much care for spoilers.

The events of the new Palace begin immediately after your fight with the God of Control. The original ending of Persona 5 is altered. Rather than Joker turning himself over for questioning during Sae’s pursuit against Shido, Akechi comes to turn himself in rather than Joker, showing that he survived the events of Shido’s Palace. The next day, you learn that Makoto’s father is alive as well as Futaba’s mother. To everyone else, this is how it always was, but Joker suspects that something has changed. This would be confirmed by Akechi and Kasumi who also seem to be aware of the changes around them. This marks Kasumi as now joining you as a permanent party member as well as Akechi, which was a surprise to me.

It is then up to Joker to convince the Phantom Thieves that what they are experiencing is not the true reality. During the investigation Maruki reveals that Kasumi herself is also living in an altered cognition and is in fact Sumire, the once thought dead sister. and not Kasumi. It turns out it was actually Kasumi that died in the accident, and it was Sumire’s grief that wanted Kasumi to come back. So to have Kasumi return, Sumire’s cognition got altered to where she was Kasumi and Kasumi was Sumire. During this conflict of identity, Maruki has Sumire channel that anger towards Joker and Akechi in an attempt to kill them.

The final battle against Maruki was slightly disappointing. His battle has three phases, but only one of them requires any actual effort, that being his first battle. His first fight took me a couple of tries to figure out the best party makeup and to figure out an attack pattern. Also, hopefully you didn’t burn any of those Full HP and SP recovery items while fighting the God of Control, because you will need them during this fight. The second fight, all you have to do is keep the attack debuff on him and your defense buff up and stay healed as you fight him. The third fight, you don’t do anything. You just have to stay healed and guard. You don’t have to buff yourself, you don’t have to manage your resources, just stay alive and guard for your life. Which is a shame because I was looking forward to a grueling fight with the third phase, something akin to old RPGs when it came to final bosses having multiple forms, you were in for the fight of your life with multiple forms that truly tested you and your knowledge of the game. Maruki had that promise, but ended up not delivering.

The new Palace also provides three different endings, with one of the endings having three different variants on how to get it. You have the indecisive ending, where Maruki puts Joker to sleep, with Joker’s room showing that no one has gone to check on him for who knows how long. The bad ending being Joker accepting Maruki’s reality and everyone being happy, yet it’s implied that Joker and Akechi are aware that it’s fake and that they both accept it as the new true reality. Now I’m not fully ingrained into the Shin Megami Tensei series, but I do know that this overarching series has spinoffs upon spinoffs based on different endings from its various titles. I can see one of these endings giving birth to a new series within the Shin Megami Tensei line because there is some potential in what has been created here with these bad endings and I hope Atlus does revisit this in the future. I have to say despite being bad endings, they were given some thought and care. 

Personally, I think the bad ending could actually serve as a true ending especially seeing every member, minus Akechi, was having doubts about what they are doing and if fixing reality is truly the best thing to do. Seeing that inner conflict with the cast also had me feel that same conflict. Do I want these characters that I spent over 100+ hours with to have their happy ending, or do I bring them back to the true reality?

Finally, there’s the good ending where the Phantom Thieves defeat Maruki and restore reality to its proper form. This means that Akechi is dead and the events of Persona 5’s original ending continue with the Phantom Thieves being the only ones that remember the events of the altered reality. 

Or is reality back in its original state? 

There are definitely some threads it left that do have me curious. Is Akechi truly alive? Does the Metaverse still exist? As far as I know, this is the first Persona game to actually have unanswered questions at the end. From what I understand with Persona 5 Scramble, the Metaverse does still exist, however, there’s no answer regarding Akechi. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait for either another Persona 5 sequel or maybe even easter eggs within Persona 6 to learn the answers to those questions.

Which is also my question for what I had earlier. If you only maximize Maruki’s Confident, does that mean the bad ending happens by default? I haven’t been able to find an answer to this online and I am a bit too worn to go back and retread through Persona 5 for a small curiosity. If anyone knows this, let me know or link me to a Youtube video where I can see this, I would like to know.

Either way, it’s a bit of a mixed bag with the new content. I did love navigating through the new Palace, and some of the new Mementos requests were on the challenging side for sure, but the buildup to a big finale fight was a bit of a let down and not being able to play the full third semester was even more disappointing.

[aire101]

Ferrum Chapter 5

LINK TO FIC MASTER POST

A/N:  Well, I'm definitely not winning Nanowrimo again this year, but I did get a chapter out earlier than previously, and hopefully I'll be updating again soon. Also, this chapter I attempted to briefly show different perspectives on the game being cleared, and both were based on what my own feelings would have been at two different points in my life, so don't come at me about it please. Take care of yourselves, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

---

The Town of Beginnings had changed remarkably from three weeks ago.  Sure, the buildings and streets were all the same, but the mood and tension in the air hung like a thick blanket over nearly every person within the walls.  In sharp contrast, the NPC’s on the street continued to merrily hawk their wares and interact with those in the street, most of whom seemed to be ‘out of towners’ like themselves.  From windows above, you could occasionally see a face peering down before a drape would be pulled closed again.

All in all, it was distinctly unsettling, but exactly what Tony had expected.

“I knew some would hole up in the starter town, but this is a bit more intense than I imagined,” said Peter, as they made their way towards an inn.

“Kid, almost two thousands people have died since this game began—two out of every ten people who started.  In all honestly, I’m surprised how many of us have hit the ground running,” said Tony.

“I know, but turning into a complete shut-in seems a bit extreme.  Its not like anything is going to attack you within the city’s Safe Zone…”

“You say that, but that assumption is born from an inherent trust of the system.  A system that has already been previously hijacked and altered to trap us all here on the whim of a asshole with a god complex.  Considering that, who do you really think is crazy?  The ones who can’t bring themselves to trust the system to protect them, or the ones who do?” asked Tony.

“I guess when you put it that way, I see your point.  But still, we’re probably going to be here for a while.  Are they just planning on staying in one room for the next however many years?”

“I imagine some of them will eventually venture out and find their own niche in the world, even if it isn’t battling the local mobs.  Some will start fishing, or hunting, mining, cooking… the skill list for the game is extensive.  Some entrepreneurs will probably start opening player run businesses and establishments.  But I doubt we’ll see much of that until the Level One Floor Boss is found and cleared.  These people are stuck in the dark without a light, believing the system is rigged against them.  They need to see proof of what’s possible, a light to guide them forward, before we’ll see any real progress here.  And even then, there will still be some who never go further than the walls of this city,” said Tony.  “The amount of specialized therapy everyone in this game will need afterward is going to make some psychologists rich.”

Ahead of them, Tony saw a sign for an inn and turned to Peter.

“You can go ahead and get us set up for the night.  I’m going to go and find a tool shop and a smithy, see if I can add a durability upgrade.  Do you need anything while I’m out?” asked Tony.

“Um… Maybe some more potions.  I used the last one back in the West forest.  Though god those things taste like dirty socks,” said Peter, checking his inventory.

“You know, if you stopped doing dumb crap like jumping between me and attacks you wouldn’t have this problem,” said Tony, with a dry tone and a distinctly unsympathetic expression.

“What’s the point of having each other’s back if I don’t guard it?” said Peter, completely unrepentant.

Tony threw up his hands as he turned and walked away, calling over his shoulder, “Potions it is!”

He didn’t have to look back, he could feel the boy’s eyes roll into his head.

As Tony worked his way towards the central market, he took in the graystone streets and buildings with ornate windows and battlements.  Every so often he would come across small barren plazas with lovely fountains and flora, nearly empty cafes and brightly colored vendor stalls. Even an occasional vista located just perfectly to allow someone a majestic view of the city and the surrounding area. Tony sighed, thinking of what could have been for this city that many had spent years of their lives developing.

The Town of Beginnings would have been a beautiful city without the miasma of despair that clung to its inhabitants.

It got him to wondering exactly what had come of his AIs, the ones Argus had requested.  He had almost had one completely coded at the time of their last meeting.  She had been a sweet one.  But since he had woken in the game, he had seen no sign of her.  Did they end up including her in the Cardinal System at all?

Maybe he should start poking around the GM user panel in earnest, see what he could find out.  So far, he had mostly kept away from delving into it, afraid of catching Kayaba’s attention.  But if there was something he could do to help, he would damn well try.  

Up ahead he saw a sign advertising a blacksmith and item vendor.  Eventually he wanted to try and open a smithy himself.  Peter seemed set on throwing himself into harms way (per usual), and if he was going to do that, Tony wanted to make sure he had the best equipment available to do so.  So Tony started learning how to do what he did best— make weapons and armor.

But to do that required a blacksmith’s forge and anvil.  And to get that required a hefty amount of Cor.  So for now, he rented an NPC blacksmith’s resources every now and then in order to improve and repair their equipment.

A bell jingled as he opened the door, undoubtedly triggering the customary NPC interaction.

“Welcome to Varden’s Smith and Sundry!  How may I help you today?” called the man behind the counter.

“I would like to buy potions,” said Tony.

“What quantities would you like?”

“Ten.”

“That will be 1,500 Cor.”

“Ugh…” Tony broke the script to groan.  He didn’t begrudge the purchase, far from it.  But seriously, the kid needed to stop getting hit in the first place.  His heart really couldn’t take this, and neither could their pocket book.

Who would have guessed he’d finally learn the concept of budgeting in his fifties?  And boy did it suck.

Tony opened up his inventory, removing the required amount to place on the counter.  As soon as it hit the counter, the bag of Cor flashed and disappeared.

“Thank you for your purchase!  Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Yes, I’d like to rent your forge,” said Tony.

“Ah, yes!  Come!  Follow me this way…”

—

As Peter entered the inn, he glanced around the first floor tavern where various parties sat around rough hewn tables over pub fare and pints.  At the bar, several others sat, conversing casually, though a little less intimately than those at the lower tables.  Making a decision, he approached the bar.

“What can I getcha?” asked the barman as Peter sat.

“Whatever today’s special is and a pint,” said Peter, setting the typical meal cost in Cor down on the counter.

The barman nodded, accepting the payment and placing a full pint down in front of Peter before turning to finish the task.

As he waited, Peter took sips of his drink and listened in on the conversations around him.

“Word is they’ve finally found the entrance to the dungeon, as well as a new town relatively close to it called Tolbana.  Hopefully within the next week or two they’ll find the boss and the first floor will be cleared,” said a woman to his left.

The girl sitting on the other side of her shook her head.  “But how many more will die clearing it out?  There’s already almost 2,000 names crossed out in the Monument of Life in the Black Palace.”

“What else are we supposed to do?  We either die trying to get out or die of old age stuck in a virtual world.”

“Would that really be the worst thing, though?  In the real world I’m in constant pain from my condition, some days I can’t even make it out of bed for more than the absolute necessities.  Here I can live without that.”

The woman next to him sighed, “I’m sorry for that, and I understand why you would consider the option of living within the system.  But some of us can’t.  When I dove, I told my husband it would only be for a couple of hours, then we could take our five year old son to the park.  They’re waiting on me to return.  I want to be able to see my child grow up.  So its a risk I have to take.”

The other girl nodded, “I get it.”

It was at that point the barman set a plate of what looked and smelled like chicken and roasted squash in front of him.  Peter thanked the man and began to eat.

“God that looks good…” said the girl a couple seats down.  “I haven’t eaten a proper meal in a couple days.  The black bread is cheaper, though its dry and doesn’t last very long.”

“You really should try and go hunting.  You’ll never make enough Cor or skill points to survive comfortably unless you do.  Even if its just around this area,” said the other woman.  “Going hungry for the next few years would be pretty miserable.”

“Sorry if I’m intruding,” said Peter, “but I’ve been curious about something— how often and how quickly do you get hungry in here?”

“Well, I haven’t really left the city, so I don’t make much Cor to buy food with,” said the girl.  “So I kind of just stay hungry throughout most of the day.”

“When I’m leveling I tend to press through instead of stopping to eat,” said the woman, “But when I am eating regularly, I’d say I start feeling hunger similar to how I would in the real world, about every four to six hours.  But I’m not sure if its tied to our real world feelings of hunger or a virtual schedule.”

“Might be a little of both… I tend to get hungry a lot in RL, but in here its spaced out a bit more,” said Peter, taking a bite of chicken.  

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the girl still looking wistfully at his food.  

“Sir, I’d like to order a second plate, but give it to her,” said Peter, nodding in her direction.

As the barman nodded and walked off, the girl started waving her hands.

“No, you shouldn’t do that.  Save your Cor—”

“It’s alright, I promise.  I’m in here with—”

Shit.  What should he call Tony?

“…Imagine being stuck in here with your dad.”

“Er— my sort of Dad, and we’ve been doing pretty good with the mobs.  So I can afford it.”

She looked for a moment like she was thinking of arguing still, until the plate was set in front of her.  She eyed the food before her eyes teared up a bit, and she nodded.

“Thank you.  I really appreciate your kindness.”

“It’s not a problem.  I’d do the same in the real world.  And what I would do there is what I should do in here,” said Peter.

“Those are wise words,” said the woman.  “And you are uncommonly kind.  I hope you are able to keep that, but don’t expect everyone in here to share your mindset.”

“I won’t, but just because others choose to not do the right thing doesn’t mean I have to.  We all have the power and responsibility to choose to do good,” said Peter, and he felt the intangible feeling within him that he had been wrestling with since the beginning calm.

It wasn’t that the responsibility was no longer his without his powers, it was that the power and responsibility was everyone’s.  

Perhaps it always had been.

And just like in the real world, there were those who used their power for good, those who used power for evil, and those that never used their power at all.  Most thinking they had none, just like the girl a couple seats down.

But if they worked together…

Peter felt his resolve form.

He was going to the front line.

—

As Tony stepped back out onto the street, he considered his options.

Obviously he needed to head back to the inn.  Afterward they could probably head out and take a look around town, seeing as they hadn’t really done so on day one.

But the memory of a café he had passed was singing its song…

He really missed coffee.

Surely they had some digital variation in this game.  If not he was lodging a complaint.

The café was just as vacant as when he passed earlier.  There were a couple people sitting at a table outside, but was otherwise empty of players.

The customary tinkle of the door as he entered prompted the NPC barista to smile and wave.  On the wall behind the counter was a blackboard with various items written— sandwiches and what Tony suspected were types of teas, and in a bottom corner there was a selection of drinks called ‘Kaf.’

“Bingo!  I’ll have a black kaf,” Tony looked at the pastries on display off to the side, spying a familiar donut shape with pink frosting, “And one of whatever you call this.”

A minute later he was sitting at a table out front, facing away from the two other patrons with his visor moved, taking a drink of the weirdest tasting ‘coffee’ he had ever tasted.  If he had to describe it he would say it was more like a tea, with floral and berry notes and a touch of honey, but with a darker color and consistency of a french press coffee.  It wasn’t bad, it just was not what he had been expecting.

Oh well, the donut was a perfect reproduction of a strawberry frosted Dunkin Donut.

“Man, if I make it out of this alive my wife is going to kill me.  She’s been super anxious since the Blip— not that I blame her, you know— and this whole thing was definitely not something she was very confident in to begin with,” said one of the men sitting at the nearby table.

“Damn… you were one of the ones caught up in that?  I lucked out I guess… I’m not really close to anyone and the ones I am were spared,” replied the other.

“Yeah, I know the Avengers ended up saving everyone in the end and I’m thankful for that obviously, but everything is still such a damn dumpster fire.”

That caught Tony’s attention.

The Blip?  Bit of an odd name for an Avenger’s battle.  How were the Avengers even a thing?  Last time he checked Rogers and his merry men and women were still considered war criminals at large.  The ‘Avengers’ consisted of himself, Vision and Rhodey.

“No joke.  Almost every economy is still tanked at the moment.  And I’m pretty sure half of upper New York State is a crater.  Glad that fight was over there and not in my part of the world.”

The bottom of Tony’s stomach dropped out at those words.  

“There was a battle… you won, but you took a lot of damage.  You’ve been in a coma ever since.”

Peter had never said anything else about the battle, and Tony hadn’t pressed.  But if a giant chunk of the state had been completely destroyed because of the battle surely he would have mentioned that?

Wouldn’t he?

Obviously a lot more happened in that battle than Peter had led him to believe.  Tony eventually being taken out of commission in a fight was one thing, but from the sound of things this was on par with the Battle of Sokovia.

So why hadn’t Peter mentioned it?

“It was good to catch up, we’ll have to do this again when I’m back this direction.  Or maybe on another floor if the rumors of the first floor dungeon door being found are true,” said the first man, standing up.

“Sounds good to me, though I’ll probably be pretty busy soon.  Some of us around here have started organizing to try and provide resources for the people here in town.  Some of them are players who don’t want to chance dying in the game, but there’s also some kids who are way younger than what the minimum play age was supposed to be.  A few volunteers have taken up residence with them in a church in town and we’ve been supplying them with food…” said the other man, as they both walked away.

Damn… that wasn’t something he had thought about, but of course there would be kids who either snuck in on a parent’s account or who were allowed to lie about their age to play the game.  Jokes about eight year olds talking crap on Call of Duty were a dime a dozen and everyone laughed about it, but here…

Maybe he should look into that, see what help he could offer.  Though unlike in the real world, simply throwing his money at the problem couldn’t fix it.  Mostly because he didn’t have any money.  Ugh…

Speaking of kids though, he’d need to decide what to say once he got back to his kid at the inn.  

Tony took a few deep breaths, trying to loosen up the hold his anxiety had started to take.  

Obviously whatever had happened had been huge— Avengers assembled (with or without Rogers and co?), massive property damage, Iron Man out of commission, every country feeling the economic backlash.  But unlike what had happened with Sokovia, despite the damages it seemed like the general public opinion after the fact was positive…?  

That was unusual.

Most importantly at this point, whatever had happened had affected people across the globe, but especially one young man from Queens.

Had he been at the battle?  Tony had initially offered the kid a spot after the whole vulture debacle, but after he had actually slept on it a few hours (the first time he’d slept properly in a few days) he had come to the realization that Peter turning the position down had saved them from what had been an awful idea in the first place.  And that was BEFORE May Parker had shown up at the complex in an unholy righteous fury.

So Tony could not imagine having called Peter into a fight, and if it had taken place at the compound like he suspected, Peter shouldn’t have been anywhere near there.

He wanted to go back to the inn and wrangle the details out of Peter.  Who was the fight against?  What was it about?  Was Rogers there?  If so, how was Rogers involved?  Why was public opinion seemingly in their favor for once?  Had anyone other than him been hurt?

Oh god… What if something had happened to Pepper…

No.  Peter would have told him that.  He wouldn’t lie to him about Pepper, and he had told him weeks ago that she was fine.  She was safe.

Tony dropped his head into his hand.

He wanted to ask all those questions, needed those answers…

But even if he got his answers, what could he do about any of it?

And was it worth potentially driving Peter away from him?  His kid.  The only person he knew and could dare to trust with the truth of his identity in this world?

No.  No it wasn’t.

He would just have to see what he could find out from others.  And hopefully Peter would eventually come around and open up about what had happened.  He trusted the kid with his life, he would trust him in this, too.

The walk back to the inn seemed much quicker than the one to smithy due to Tony’s preoccupied mind and nerves.  He was still unsure what to say when he got to the room.  He needn’t have worried though, because Peter fixed that problem.

“I want to start fighting on the front line.  I’m heading to the dungeon tomorrow.”

“Wait— excuse me, what?”

[une-nuit-pour-se-souvenir]

Russia Visit Balance

I flew on Lufhtansa four times. Very nice company as usual, no problems. Nice catering and support. Very nice pilot and copilot and crew that invited me to check out cockpit. I study this stuff so of course this was quite a treat and gave me an extra boost to finally finish this doctorate once and for all.

EXCEPT Frankfurt. All fine with the check and stuff (annoying and slow, but understandable). But the dumb arsehole on boarding gate ewww. I was told I couldn't take my cabin trolley and it had to be taken with heavy luggage. I had already flown with it in that company that week thrice, it had the right weight. I asked why, he wouldn't explain. "It sometimes happens." Why? He didn't answer. I insisted as that is my right, I wanted to know why only me and he told me he already explained 10x times. 10m on this. Until his boss came and said the reason. It's because of the weight distribution on the airplane and cabin was already full. I study this shit for a living, hell there is a course where we learn to calculate it BY HAND. I looked like a standard tourist so boarding dumb employee fancied himself not needing to explain. This pisses me off. For me, because I had the right to know and I was refused to, as well as all the "ignorant" who also ad the right to know but this dumbarse thinks himself unnacountable to these people either. At leat he got chewed off. Arsehole.

Saint Petersburg

I want to live a couple of months of the year there forever. 😭😭😭

A beautiful city, the "centre" feels like stopped in time, the old architecture and decorations, yet modern enough for you to feel its modern times. Wi-Fi everywhere. It sucks because you need to provide mobile phone and I'd have to pay roaming. At least that's what I got.

Near summer solstice (~21/06) the days are the biggest and nights the shortest, the sun went down at 22:30 and got up at 3:00. Its the contrary in he winter solstice (~21/12). This is why May to September is tourist season so it's packed full. The temperature was warm enough 12C - 20C, supposedly it rain here a lot but it never did. I wonder if visiting it in March / April would be too cold and rainy... I like cold and rain though.

Saint Petersburg looks like Venice, rivers and bridges. The Neva river and all the others smell "nice". I cannot say the same for other cities with rivers running through them (* looks at my own country *). Whole place was spotless clean, not a single piece of garbage floor. YOU CANNOT DRINK TAP WATER. There are "free" washrooms which are very clean. You ask for toilette like the French.

I visited half of the big places too quickly to really appreciate it but enough to entice me to return on my own. My favourites were the historic centre (buildings, rivers, bridges), Hermitage (not the 8116627228283762 Chinese groups though) and Summer Palace (also not the Chinese they were everywhere, I've travelled plenty and I've never seen so many or so much disrespectful). The other half was closed for repairs. What a tease.

Can get scammed in both street sellers (sometimes they trick you, they sold me matrioska with 3 instead of 5 like promised) as well as legitimate souvenir shops (double the price from the streets). I got the best deals in the streets though, so keep an eye on them as they have the same stuff but at half price. I highly recommend "summary" books in your language (they sell them "everywhere") for about 10€ or 500p (I got them outside for 5€). Here I was not scammed and I made really good deals. This will change of course, but carry a calculator as exchange is easy. Rubles divided by "70" to get € (I believe "60" to get $). On the other hand, multiply € /$ for "70" or "60". Check exchange and not that some will be more anal retentive about the exchange rate than others. About half of the places accept € / $ but charge slightly more. If you have VISA you can withdraw from ATM (most have English version) and the tax isn't high. Exchange rate is more favourable in Russian soil.

There are markets open "24/7" or close to it. I know this because I had to go search for super glue at six in the morning and there was one open. Another thing worth knowing is pharmacy > ANTEKA and the traditional green cross, there are many of them. "NOBODY" anywhere except museumz speaks english but they will usually try to help (no matter the age). Take mobile with Google translate, photos, or something to draw. Improvise too. I got them to understand caviar by bringing fish and eggs together.

I want to hate Holiday Inn because of an incident with my football team. I've spent several times in different ones and yet I could not hate it, yet again. Damn them. Recommend. I found their "interpretation" of my national dishes hilarious, this is something recurrent because there were French and Italians laughing about the same.

Lots of salads, which I'm a fan of. Also soup made of salad apparently. Small doses (blasphemy for my country). Very soft meat but not much fish (understandable). Huge mugs for weak coffee they drink anytime and everywhere, as well as black tea. I like my strong espresso like any shameless Mediterranean dweller. There was a machine at the hotels but nowhere else.

Good Vodka every meal, except for one which not only was awful made me cry because it was the last meal I had there. I was offered a Vodka bottle for my sadness which I'm already chugging. There was one with Gin and Lemon(?). Please someone give the recipe if you know what it is. I almost died from how good it was.

Moscow

Moscow is opposite. Very cosmopolite, its like three cities in one. The old one (like Petersburg), the random urban jungle one, and the futuristic one. The guide said, Petersburg was more artsy and Moscow more economical.

Moscow very beautiful at night. The lights really make the place "shine" (urgh). Saw much less there because if was raining like the end of the world. I saw an old religious peregrine place (if you're not Protestant you will find their churches breathtaking), Kremlim and Red Square (its not red), as well as everything else there (Basil, Lenin).

There was some fancy mall (GUM which had limited edition dior makeup where I spent all my pocket money). I also bought a cute Moscow umbrella with monuments and a Gargarin t-shirt (first human in space) which I'd chose over all the makeup no matter if if cost 10x less. Sometimes it's the little things. I also wanted to buy shirtless Putin mounted on a bear flag but I was afraid I'd be arrested. I was very tempted in buying a shirt with Putin with Trump behind him with the word "friends' over it. Again,what if I was arrested.

There were also oil canvas 30x20 sold in souvenir shops in both cities (150€ each) and an interesting "matrioska" with all the Russian presidents since Lenin (on of them had a defect). My heart broke and a bit stayed with them as I couldn't bring them with me.

Hotel this time was Marriott. Veryyy good and veryyy bad. Rooms were better, food was worse, the reception girls were super nice but some employee stole stuff from several rooms as well (money, "lame" souvenirs - da fuq, fur hat / stoles / coats, sunglasses, even some fancy face creams). I always shove everything inside the safe and bags with secret code so I was good but I still spent one hour waiting for an engineer to come SUBSTITUTE the whole safe door because they were that determined in opening it.

Taxis have unfortunate reputations on every country. Apparently Russian taxis are cool because they are government issued. I cannot confirm. I paid 200€ for a drive and the ones that came after us paid 70€. This is of course impossible. I'd rather go on subway (I recommend checking the ones on Moscow, some are beautiful) bit I was with old people who were afraid of getting lost (how hard could it be srly). Well then. Something got lost alright.

Highly recommend!

[secretsocietyxmen]

Tsunette God Au - Introductions

(I really need a name for this)

@fantasyfandommaiden @royalchaoticfangirl @fireflywonder

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

Tsuna never wanted to be the God of Death.

To be completely honest, he would have been fine just being some minor god, representing a small village or aspect of humanity, But no, he had to get a glowing recommendation from the previous God of death, and was forced into training by the main judge of the afterlife.

Really, the job would have been cool if there weren’t so much paperwork involved. Honestly, when he got the job a few decades ago, he never expected the sheer volume of paperwork involved in the process. (Really, that’s why he chose to punish Mukuro as he did, you just can’t go through reincarnation as many times as he did and refuse to do the appropriate paperwork for both the Death and Revival.)

To be fair, there were some benefits to this job.The first is location, as the underworld is not the typical vacation spot. This allows him to get the paperwork done with few distractions. The other was that he was able to both make new alliances with other gods, as well as bring some of his friends with him to the Pit (Kyoya practically salivated at the thought of enacting punishments on the damned souls.)

“Boss? Something seems to have come up.”

“Ah, Chrome. I’ve told you that you don’t have to call me Boss all the time.”

She pointedly ignored his comment. “Natsu seems to have found a wayward goddess, and is making his way here.”

Natsu, a large flaming lion, was a force to be reckoned with (when he wasn’t hiding behind his desk, waiting for Reborn to go away). If a god was following into the depths of the underworld, they were either unfazed by a flaming lion, stupid, or they found him adorable (for the “guard dog” of the underworld, he can really lack intimidation at times.) 

“Huh. Well, can you go tell Hayato not to be so hard on her. I kind of want to meet this goddess when she gets to the Palace.”

—————

Marinette was not having the best day.

It all started with Lila and her usual stories. (Really, turning water into wine and feeding a mob with just a few loaves of bread and fish? She had met the god that did that.) And, of course, Adrien kept telling her to let her tell her stories, because what harm could come from them?

So, she needed a break. Going into the fields to vent, she noticed a pool of dark energy in a nearby forest. Against any better judgement she may have, she decided to jump into it.

The underworld. Very few gods have ever been there, and fewer gods talk openly about it (Lila being a rare exception to the latter, while never experiencing the former). She had heard dark, depressing things from the few that ventured into its depths.

Nothing about a large flaming lion though. That part seemed to have been omitted. 

The beast seemed to take a liking to her, which was probably due to her role as a Goddess of Life. That was of little condolence when a angry silver haired teen decided to point a flaming arrow at her. 

“Oi, what are you doing here woman?”

“Clearly having a tea party with this lion.” That probably wasn’t the best answer, as he then seemed ready to explode at her. That was, until, a young woman appeared before him an a dark violet mist.

“Hayato, you should leave her alone. The Boss wants to meet with her.”

At the mention of this “boss,” his demeanor changed completely acting more like an excited puppy than a violent warrior. The two of them than guided her towards the palace in the center of the underworld.

As she was walked through the shockingly beautiful  halls of the palace, Marinette couldn’t help but feel a bit fearful. While she never believed Lila’s stories, she was the only one to offer any idea of what the God of Death actually looked like (he was not given his role at any of the ceremonies her friends were at). So, the thought of a walking skeleton, covered in pitch black flames, was definitely unnerving.  

So, imagine her surprise when she saw that one of the most feared gods in the pantheon was an average looking teen in a black chiton, with the fluffiest brown hair she had ever seen.

“Hello, my name is Tsuna. Do you mind telling me what you are doing in the Underworld?”

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

I want to thank That Guy for giving me the idea of “taking credit for the feats of Jesus” thing, or I could have been lost for a moment

[ask-the-phan-site]

Phan Cam: Phantoms vs Phantoms

>Amity Park, Minnesota, USA. We came here to fulfill a request on a new target in the city most famous for its own phantoms.

Wouldn’t you know? We came here expecting to see ghosts, but everything here just looks like any other town in America.

Give it a second.

>We waited. And sure enough...

BANG!

>Something flew past us and into a wall that collapsed.

Holy shit! You weren’t kiddin’!

>Then, something just phased out of the rubble.

(Art by the original creator of the show, Butch Hartman.)

Well, I guess that’s the end of that truce.

>Then, a ghost emerges forth.

You may have saved the world and the Ghost Zone, kid, but it doesn’t change who or what you are. When I look at you, I still see that punk who wondered into the Ghost Zone and doesn’t know what he’s doing. Someone who needs to be taught a lesson... And I’m the ghost who will teach it.

Danny Phantom: There’s just one problem with that... This punk kid is a man now. And more powerful than ever.

>The fight continues.

That was so cool!

Just try not to forget why we’re here.

Find our target, Vlad Masters, learn his keywords, and take his heart.

Right. So let’s get looking.

Okay. I checked the town directory. I know where we need to go.

>Vlad Masters’ Mansion.

Isn’t this place suppose to be in Wisconsin?

Oracle: As a precaution, if he doesn’t become mayor of Amity Park, Vlad had his mansion moved here to keep an eye on things. Including Axion Labs, the ghost activities, and of course... Maddie Fenton.

I see.

Oracle: I already put his name and this mansion in the Nav. This is definitely where his Palace is. But we still need to know the distortion. What does Vlad see this place as?

Panther: If I had to guess, it must be something that has to do with obsession. Maybe a museum?

Nav: Conditions have not been met.

Fox: I don’t think he’s like that. Perhaps it’s this Ghost Zone everyone speaks of.

Nav: Conditions have not been met.

Skull: This might take some time. I don’t think we’re gonna make it to graduation.

Violet: I don’t think that might be a problem. Our requestor gave us a hint... Valerie Gray.

Do you really think she can help?

Violet: It’s worth a try. I already looked her up. It appears after she finished high school, she moved back to Amity Park. She has an apartment not far from here.

Then let’s get to it!

>A little later, we were now in front of an apartment building. After waiting a while, we managed to see a woman in a red jumpsuit flying by on a hoverboard.

Violet: There she is! Excuse me, Ms. Gray! Excuse me, can I have a word with you?

Hmm. I wonder what she wants.

>Ms. Gray makes a hand motion to us saying that she would like to see us in her apartment. We go up and she lets us in. Inside, it looked a lot like some kind of command center.

Violet: Thank you for inviting us in, Ms. Gray.

Ms. Gray: You’re welcome. Say, haven’t I seen you all in Dream FES?

Violet: (a bit happy) Ah, you saw that?

Ms. Gray: An old friend from high school was watching it online. I got curious and watched it myself.

Joker: And... you’ve been having weird dreams?

Ms. Gray: Well... Yes. Actually, a lot of people have been having dreams since Dream FES... But so far, no problems. So, things are fairly normal... Well, as normal as a town full of ghosts can be.

>I guess that’s a relief.

Ms. Gray: What’s with that look?

No reason.

Ms. Gray: So, what brings all of you here? Doesn’t the school year in Japan end this month?

Panther: We just thought about we’d take a last minute trip before college keeps us busy for a while. And we thought that while we’re here, we would get to know this place a little more.

Ms. Gray: Really? I would think that you could get better info from our town blog or even Mayor Foley.

Panther: We thought we could get info from places no one would think to get it because they might know more.

Ms. Gray: Fair enough. So what do you want to know?

Noir: Well, we know you might find this subject a bit sore, but... What can you tell us about your old boss, Vlad “Plasmius” Masters?

>Ms. Gray suddenly just froze. And then, a look of anger is seen on her face.

Ms. Gray: That creep who tricked me into doing his dirty work? That guy doesn’t deserve to be known about! He uses people and ghosts just to get what he wants. How sick can one man get? Why would you want to know about him?

Queen: (a little nervous) We thought we could look into the mind of a supervillain to know more about them. You know, like last minute school work.

Ms. Gray: But aren’t you already friends with the Wall Crowler? Can’t you ask him to bring one to you?

Queen: I doubt he can get us a villain with ghost powers. We thought of asking you because you used to work for him.

Ms. Gray: (groans) Fine. What do you want to know?

Queen: Well, we know he brought his mansion here from Wisconson. What does he think of it?

Ms. Gray: I don’t know. I’ve never actually been to it. But if I had to guess... It would probably have to do with Maddie Fenton. Seriously, that guy’s obsessed with her. The lady’s already married and has kids! He even named his cat after her. I swear, it’s like... It’s like he worships her day and night.

Worships her day and night? Like, in a temple?

Ms. Gray: Pretty much.

Queen: Thank you, I think that’s all we need to know.

Ms. Gray: That’s it?

Queen: You’d be surprised how much you just helped us.

Ms. Gray: (a little confused) ... Okay. I suppose.

Queen: That’s good to hear. Again, thank you, Ms. Gray.

Ms. Gray: ... You know what? Just call me Valerie. Val for short.

Alright then, Val.

>With that, we leave... Val, however, was curious about what we just said.

>Back at the mansion, we gathered.

Oracle: Okay, let’s see if it works! Temple.

Nav: Results found. Updating guidance system.

We’re in! Are we ready?

>We all nod in agreement.

It’s showtime!

>Behind some bushes.

Val: What on earth?

Nav: Beginning navigation.

>The familiar red wave passes over us. When it was over, the mansion had transformed into a temple version of itself with a large statue of Maddie Fenton wearing northing but a large white cloth and in the same pose as the Birth of Venus.

Oh my! I know Maddie Fenton looks a little perfect for that pose, but this might be a little too much.

Are you nuts!? It’s disgusting! I can’t believe this is how he sees this place! Vlad needs to get a life and leave her alone!

Queen: Panther, keep it down. The Shadows could hear us.

Mona: She right. Look, our clothes haven’t changed yet. That means we haven’t been perceived as a threat yet. So we need to be careful and be alert.

Joker: For now, let’s just see what we can find.

>We nod and go on... Back behind the bushes...

Val: What is going on?

>At the entrance, we look around. We know we can’t go in through the front entrance, so we try to find another way in. After searching for a while, we find what looks like a side door to the servant quarters.

Skull: I’m surprised this place has somethin’ like this.

Queen: It may be a temple, but it’s still a mansion.

Mona: Give me a second, I’ll pick the lock.

>After a couple of attempts, he manages to get the door open. Inside what looks like a kitchen, the staff was busy making meals. What made them a bit disturbing, they all looked the same: A big fat man in an orange jumpsuit with black glove and boots and he had black hair with white high lights.

Skull: What’s with these guys?

Queen: If I had to guess, this is Jack Fenton, Maddie’s husband. Vlad’s been jealous of him ever since the accident that gave Vlad his powers.

Panther: I wonder how did someone like Jack Fenton get her.

Noir: Who knows? Love is blind, but a perfect guide.

You can say that again.

Indeed.

Mona: I know they’re cognitions, but we don’t want to get their attention. Does anyone know a way past them?

>I look around and I see a support beam stretching over the kitchen.

Joker: We can try that.

>We get on the beam and walk over it. We manage to get to the other side and managed to find a way to the foyer. The place was completely decored with all things Maddie Fenton, including a large nude statue of Maddie with a nude Vlad.

How could this be? This isn’t even art anymore.

This is bullshit! Vlad is no different than Kamoshida!

???: I can see that.

>We quickly turn to see we have been followed... No way, it’s...

Val: Care to explain all of this?

Oh no, this could be bad!

Val: It’s about to get worse if you don’t talk. What’s going on? I know this has something to do with Vlad.

Joker: Well... Maybe.

Val: I know you guys are going to do something to him... And I want in.

What!?

Val: You heard me. I want in.

Joker: (whisper) Mona, what do we do?

Mona: (also whispering) I don’t know, Joker. Valerie may be a great fighter, but that’s ghosts, this is Shadows. But we can’t send her off because she might tell someone.

Joker: I guess we have no choice. We have to let her join in. Besides, she knows Vlad and might be able to help us. (out loud) Alright, you can come with us, but stay close to us.

Val: Good. I won’t let you down. Vlad owes me big time for everything he’s done to me.

?????? ????: You think so?

Everyone: !

>We turn up to the balcony at the end of the hall to see a man who looked like he was dressed like some kind of pope in black robes and his pope hat had a picture of Maddie Fenton instead of a cross. He also had blue skin, a black goatee, shart teeth, and his eyes were completely yellow (I think they’re supposed to be red).

Val: (with a look of hatred) Vlad Plasmius.

Panther: That’s him?

Oracle: More like his Shadow.

Val: His what?

Shadow Vlad: Valerie Gray, as clueless as ever. And you brought these thieves over as well? If you are trying to get back into my good graces, I’d rather you bring me Goddess Maddie’s heart... Or Danny Phantom’s head.

Val: Now that sounds a little morbid, even for you. But it doesn’t matter, you’re here, now I can get my revenge!

>Val readies her weapon.

Shadow Vlad: Foolish girl, did you really think I wouldn’t be prepared for this?

>Shadow Vlad snaps his fingers and three Shadows that look like ghosts appear. Val began shooting at each one but they keep dodging it.

Shadow Vlad: You’re out of your league, Gray, these aren’t your average spooks that you’re used to. I rule this sacred place with my beloved Maddie. No one shall defy the rules.

>Suddenly, in a flash of blue energy, our clothes change.

Our clothes.

He must perceive us as a threat now.

Yes, we can fight now. Let’s do it!

Val: You’re going to fight?

It’s what we do.

Shadow Vlad: Fine. If you wish to become ghosts yourself, be my guest.

>With a snap of his fingers, the Shadows change shape.

Here goes! Persona!

>Necronomicon scans the three Shadows.

Oracle: I got it! They’re weak to Nuclear and Gunfire. Queen, Noir, beat ‘em up!

Queen: We won’t fail you. Noir?

I’m with you all the way!

Queen and Noir: Persona!

I’m in, too. Persona!

(Hope we don’t get flagged for this.)

>I change Personas.

Joker: Persona!

>Anzu 1 uses Masukukaja. Anzu 2 uses Garula on me. Anzu 3 also uses Garula on Panther. Johanna uses Marakukaja. Milady uses Triple Down. All the Anzus dodge it. Carmen uses Dekaja. Thoth uses Mafreila. Two of the Anzus were knocked down. I pass the baton to Queen and Johanna uses Freila on the remaining Anzu.

Queen: Let’s wipe ‘em out!

>After the attack, the Anzus were gone.

WARNING

>More Anzus appear.

Oracle: More enemies! Be careful!

>Anzu 1 uses Masukukaja. Anzu 2 uses Garula on me. Anzu 3 uses Garula on Noir, but she dodges it. Johanna uses Mafreila. All the Anzus are gone.

WARNING

>More Anzus appear.

Oracle: More!?

Noir: Don’t worry, we can still take them.

>Milady uses Triple Down and all the Anzus are gone.

WARNING

>Even more Anzus appear this time, with a new Shadow.

Shadow Vlad: Fight all you want, I have more where they came from.

Oracle: He’s right, there’s too many coming!

This looks bad. What are we gonna do?

Oracle: I don’t know. There seems to be too many.

But there has to be something we can do.

Oracle: If only we could find a way out.

Val: I’ll make us a way out.

>Val tries to use blaster, but the Shadows pin her down.

Shadow Vlad: Did you think it would be that easy? After all these years, you still haven’t learned. I am always one step ahead. No matter what you do, I will always win.

Val: (scoffing) And this coming from the guy who got his butt beat by a high schooler.

Shadow Vlad: True, I have had many setbacks, but now I’ve learned. And now that I’ve returned from the void, I can finally take my revenge on the one person other than Jack Fenton who ruined my life. His son. And what of you, Valerie Gray. What have you’ve been up to? You think that now you’re improved on some of your tricks that everyone will treat you better. Come now, girl, in the end, many people still see you as a villain. You tried to destroy the hero who saved Amity Park and the world. I doubt anyone will want to be friends with you now.

Val: I don’t need friends. I only need my approval.

Shadow Vlad: Oh, and what about... Your father?

>Val just became silent.

Shadow Vlad: I see, you haven’t told him, have you? That right after you moved back to Amity Park, you went back to ghost hunting.

Val: I... I was going to tell him. I just... I just...

Shadow Vlad: You just can’t. You’re afraid that if he knew that you went behind his back resuming ghost hunting when he told you to stop for your own safety, he would hate you forever.

Val: That’s... That’s...

Shadow Vlad: Yes. In the end, you’re just Daddy’s girl. You can’t do anything without upsetting someone... But how about you return to work for me? Do this, and I’ll see to it that won’t happen. Ever.

>Val wasn’t sure what to think. What was to be done?

Val: I... I...

>Are you giving up? >Don't do it! >>Find your own answer.

Val: Huh?

Noir: He’s right. I know what it’s like, Valerie chan. I also cared about my father. He was all I had in my life. But I learned that you need to be able to make your own decisions when the time comes. You love your father, that’s why you think of doing this. To protect him. And if your father thinks that what you are doing is wrong, you need to show him that you are doing this for everyone...

Including him.

>Val thought about this.

Joker: Hear her, Valerie, she speaks from experience. You are not alone. You don’t have to do this on your own.

We will help you if you need it most. Believe in us.

>Valerie thought more... She finally knew.

Shadow Vlad: (sarcastic clapping) That’s a fine friendship speech you gave, but you’re just wasting your breath. You are about to become real phantom thieves. So you might as well-

Val: Just can it already!

Shadow Vlad: !

>Val manages to push away all the Shadows pinning her down. We could tell that Vlad’s Shadow was getting nervous.

Val: I know I can’t undo the past. I know everyone despises me for what I tried to do to Danny. Even I’m starting to regret what I did. But I won’t let that stop me from living. I will keep living the way I think I should with no one telling me what to do. Not my father. Not Danny. Not anyone... ESPECIALLY NOT YOU!

>...

Voice in Val’s head: I see you the real you now.

>Val suddenly clutches her head in pain as her eyes turn a gold color.

Voice in Val’s head: The silence has been broken and you will no longer go unspoken... You can gain the power from within if you are willing to take it... From the beyond, you will accomplish many things... I am thou. Thou art I... Care to see just how far you can go? Then our contract is agreed upon... Though you will walk a different path... It will lead you to the light!

>Then, a mask similar to the on Val once wore appears on her face. But they had some black markings on it. Then, Valerie begins painfully pulling the mask off. When she manages to rip it off, a large burst of energy appears behind her and something appears from it. A woman who looked similar to Carmen, however, her clothes looked more like they came from 19th century America. It was yellow with a white cloak with pictures of red flowers on it, blonde hair, and, instead of love-obsessed men, she had pumpkins.

Val: Amazing. I can feel the magic in this. Right, now I know what I can do about this.

>Valerie’s Persona uses Mafreidyne and destroys all the Anzus.

Whoa! Her Persona is powerful.

Val: Alright, Vlad, you’re next. You won’t be a problem for others again. I’ll make sure of that!

Shadow Vlad: If you say so, feel free to die here. I’ll let the Cleaning Jacks do the rest.

>With a snap, Shadow Vlad was gone and three more Anzus appear.

Val: I may prefer to do things alone, but I will count on friends when we need each other. So I will do what I can for others who need it.

Will you be able to do it?

Val: With Van Tassel by my side, nothing can stop us.

Oracle: That Shadow, Norn, has no weaknesses. And you may have to get a bit strong for this.

Noir: And we’ll do it. Queen? Joker?

Queen: We’re ready.

Joker: Let’s do it.

>Noir and Queen both go Ultimate and I change Personas.

Noir, Queen, and Joker: PERSONA!

>Van Tassel uses Mafreidyne. The three Anzus are knocked down. Val uses Masukukaja. Astarte uses One-shot Kill on Norn. It was a critical hit.

Noir: Time to punish them!

>After the attack, the Anzus are gone, but Norn is still here. Anat uses Marakukaja. Asura uses Atomic Flare. Norn uses Garudyne on Val. But thanks to her Persona, she absorbs it. Van Tassel uses Bufudyne. Norn is Frozen. Astarte uses One-shot Kill. It was a technical hit as the ice shatters. Anat uses Flash Bomb. Norn becomes Dizzy. Asura uses Atomic Flare. It was another technical hit. Norn tries to attack Queen, but it misses. Val uses her blaster. Another technical hit. Noir attacks with her ax. Another technical hit. Anat uses Atomic Flare.

Oracle: I think it’s almost finished. Joker, care to land the final blow?

>With that, Norn was down.

Joker: It’s showtime!

>With that, the battle was over.

Way to go, everyone!

Mona: And I think we have someone new on our team.

Val: Seems that way.

Noir: That Persona was very powerful.

Val: Thanks. I didn’t even know I have one.

Mona: Everyone has a Persona. You just have to know how to use it.

Oracle: But right now, we better leave for now. I’m detecting more Shadows coming.

Joker: Right. Let’s retreat.

>With that, we leave. We’ll be back.

>Today, everyone in Amity Park still comes to the Nasty Burger, even though business has been failing due to the unstable condiments.

>We arrived here to explain the situation.

Val: So, you guys are the famous Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Skull: Pretty much. You surprised?

Val: Only by the fact that I was considered a target.

Noir: True. But we checked the Metaverse Navigator. You don’t have any distorted desires. Besides, there’s no reason to, anymore. You have a Persona. I think it’s clear that you are a good person.

Val: Now why would you think that?

Beats us. But that’s how it is.

Joker: So, now we have to ask, will you join us and help us take Vlad’s heart? If we don’t, Danny and his love ones are doomed. Including you and your father.

Val: A chance to finally get back at Vlad for everything he’s don? ... I’m in.

Then welcome aboard.

Oracle: Now, I managed to get in contact with a fellow computer freak who visits Amity Park a lot from far away. He says that Vlad plans to take his revenge on the 17 of this month.

Queen: So we must establish a route and deliver the calling card two days prior, the 15.

Val: Then we better do it. (takes up her soda) To our new partnership.

>We take up our sodas and tap them together... Some people noticed.

Hey, Val, long time no- Wait a sec... It is! It’s Ryuji Sakamoto of KUROFUNE!

No kidding, Dad, I recognize that bleached hair anywhere.

Val: Ah, the Baxter Family.

And Kwan.

Hi, Val. It’s been a while.

Hey, Aunt Val.

Val: Hi. Actually, Dash is the one who showed me that live stream of Dream FES.

...

Jazz Baxter: We thought about having a family outing and we don’t mind having another join us since Danny, Sam, and their kids couldn’t make it. And your new friends are welcome, too.

Val: Thanks, but we kind of have this night booked.

Dash Baxter: C’mon, this might be mine and Jessie’s chance to get a boy band autograph.

Dwight Baxter: As if you don’t already have enough already.

Jessie: You’re no fun.

(taking out a pen) Oh, boy. This is gonna be a long night.

>So the night wears on. We will take Vlad’s Treasure and make sure the Fenton/Manson/Baxter Family will be safe.

(Some character images were from ScarletGhostX.)