#I should not have the lake guardians in my possession | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yveltalreal · 4 months

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stories ? 👀

OKAY SO. lets start with something. simple. the beginning of the hounds. the start of my family. at least as how we know it. the story im telling now... its what i was told as a child. in this past year or two i have learned more of how this story goes. more details. how things fit into place. names and faces. i will not be including those. it makes it more personal. puts things in a context i did not have as a kid. and sure there are contexts i had as a child you dont but. its what i will do.

im putting it under a cut cause its kinda long

The subject of this story has long since lost her name. Perhaps it was not uttered because of who held it. Perhaps it was lost with languages long gone. Perhaps it wasn't important. To us, she is The First. The First of Many. The First to Be Punished. The First to Steal From The Gods.

The First was born with many gifts: a talented psychic born in an era when lifting entire islands from the sea was easy, a skilled warrior said to have been trained by the best fighters in the world, and most importantly, The Legends could not see her.

Not literally, of course, but she was gone when looking in ways other than eyes. Dialga was blind to her place in time, and Palkia could not hope to see the space she occupied.

The First used this to her advantage. Clueless to her plans, the Legends did not fear what would come. That was until she stole Lugia and Ho-oh's most prized bells and a fistful of their feathers. The Legends were outraged. How could she sneak past them all like this! How had not one of Gold and Silver's most devout monks noticed her?

They sent the Lake Guardians after her and commanded them to remove her psychic abilities before ensnaring her in the Red Chain. This would soon turn out to be a mistake.

The Guardians had just finished, suppressing what power they could and wrapping her in divine shackles when suddenly the chain shattered. No mortal should have had such strength, but it was then they realized what she had in her possession. A knife forged from griseous ore, a weapon said to be gifted by Giratina itself. In shock, they let The First get away with pieces of the Red Chain.

The First affixed the bells and feathers to her knife with the chain, and her rampage began. No Legend was safe, and no follower was spared. The First travelled the world, attacking God after God and stealing artifacts and treasures. No one knows why she did this, and no one knows what her plan was. All that is known is that through it all, her mind was sharp. She was calm, collected, and precise.

Finally, though, it seemed The First's time was up. Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde were called forward by their fellow Legendaries to put an end to the violence. The battle waged on for six days and nights until the siblings finally defeated The First. They Celebrated for another day and night before finally moving to check the body. When they did, however, they were shocked at what they found.

The Body had vanished, and so had the knife. They were sure she was dead; no being less than Arceus could survive a total onslaught from the three together, but nothing was left. Not only that, though, but they found a baby. The First's only spawn.

Yveltal stepped forward, determined to ensure that this tragedy could never happen again, but her sister stopped her. "It was only a child," Xerneas argued. "We should discuss it with the others." And so a meeting was called, with every Legend and Myth in attendance, all except Arceus, who had slept soundly.

The Legends chose their kindness for the child. Not death, but a different punishment for its mother's crimes. The child would live to serve the Gods. Their life would be filled with work and toil to help the people and Pokemon of the world. When the child grew up and had children of its own, they, too, would work to pay off this debt to the Gods.

A Pokemon was chosen to be blessed by The Legends to be their companion. A mark of who they were, a guide through their task, and a helping paw in the years to come. This Pokemon was Houndoom, and on that day, The Hounds began.

anyways yeah thats the story of the first great great granny murder knife (she was a lot more greats than that)

#pkmn irl #from m #pokeblogging #rotomblr #//falls over

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orange-plum · 3 years

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So I was commissioned by @andrastesassets to write about the scene in “Satan and Me” where Satan gives his wings away for Natalie, but from his POV. This was kinda a big turning point as a wake-up call in the series for him, as you’re probably aware if you’ve read past that point and seen him be more open with his feelings and such. Anyway, it was a fun little thing to explore (yes, this is canon thoughts of his). I never expected to be commissioned to explore deeper into a canon of my stories that hasn’t been put into words before with the images alone of the updates, but I’m def open to that in the future!

Without further ado, here you go.

The looming presence behind him paled in comparison to the disorienting lurch his stomach gave as he kneeled on the unwelcoming cement floor. Keeping his gaze down, concentrating on the little tremors of his arms holding him upright, Satan struggled to properly see through the fog of stress clouding his mind. Clouding his judgement.

Fuck, this wasn’t the right thing to do, was it? Was he being too hasty? Should he spring up and sprint out the door before he followed through with something he couldn’t come back from? This was definitely one of his more impulsive and reckless decisions he’d ever committed to. Nothing could truly be worth this kind of –

Satan’s hand twitched, starting to rise as nerves got the best of him, when a blur of orange and maroon hovered on the edge of his peripheral. For a brief moment, he found himself vaguely wondering what the smudge of color was in the expanse of drab brown walls and muted trim.

Reality came crashing against him like an unforgiving tide for what seemed like the tenth time this morning. Sweat gathered at the base of his neck and he swallowed.

Satan returned his palm flat against the cement, locking his joints and muscles into place so that he would not stand up. His stomach did another discombobulated lurch.

Right. This was for Natalie. Natalie, who had no right looking so gray, Father, she was like a corpse.

She is a corpse! His mind howled the confirmation at him, leaving his breaths shallow in his welling panic.

Yes, that was true. It had been true for hours now, yet, somehow, the complete depth of what that really entailed eluded him in his denial. How could she be dead when she had talked to him only moments ago? Human’s lives had always felt fleeting, but had any ever felt quite this temporary before?

Less than a year they had been together . . . How had she burrowed this deeply under his skin? When? Satan tried to conjure a memory to pinpoint the exact moment Natalie had become a constant in his life as he bore his back to Death and Pestilence. In the end, it was fruitless. Between his ears remained endless static.

The tension in the air was suffocating. His arms trembled, but he kept his jaw clenched.

He would give them no further satisfaction when taking the last bit of value he still possessed of his former self. They would not see him fall apart at their feet. That could come later, when left in the privacy of this cold, dreary room, where he could lick his wounds and recover in peace.

He was still Lucifer, the Morning Star and omen of destruction to all who opposed him, wings or not.

But, fuck . . . Father, he would prefer to keep his wings.

Somehow, boneless and lightheaded from the trauma of the morning, Satan noticed, with a small sense of intrigue, that his back actually felt heavier now that it was empty. How was that possible?

The long gashes where the trunks had been swiftly carved open spewed boiling trails of lava down his skin, soaking into the hem of his robe and pooling Great Lakes onto the floor. Energy had left in his limbs the moment the numbing kiss of Death’s blade breached his muscles.

On wobbling legs, Satan rose in his shock and joined Natalie at her side. He carefully reached toward her, gliding the tips of his fingers against her ashen cheek, almost afraid to touch, because she looked exactly the same. What the hell? She looked no different than when she had been splayed out like a weathered ragdoll amongst her bedsheets at sunrise, goddamnit.

Before he could garner enough strength to turn on his company and spew venom and vitriol from his lips, Satan froze. Warmth wafted over his fingers under her nose as he lowered his hand. Closer inspection revealed the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The nauseating cramping in his stomach abated so suddenly, he almost keeled over right then and there.

“Give it a few minutes,” Death commented over his shoulder, as if reading his mind. There was no longer a smile in his voice, his face a neutral mask as Satan glanced at him with gritted teeth, the sight of his former pride being folded up and collected like loose laundry too much to bear. “It takes a little while for a soul to acclimate into their body after death. I assure you, her color and liveliness will rekindle when she wakes up.”

Through the haze, Satan vaguely realized he must’ve been making some type of suspicious face when Death suddenly snorted and shook his head, his eyes gleaming. “For all we’ve been acquainted, Lucifer, you should know I’m not one to break my word. Give my regards to little Natalie when she rejoins the land of the living, won’t you. As always, it’s been a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you and your brother again when the time comes for your big day.”

With the room empty, peppered only with the soft sounds of Natalie’s breaths and the distant echoes of Death’s laughter down the desolate hallway, the elephant in the room was no longer avoidable. Satan slumped against a wall, transfixed by the rise and fall of the chest beside him. Even more so as the rosiness began to fill Natalie’s cheeks the longer she breathed life into her form.

His previous adrenaline had left him a hollow puppet, now that there was no longer the turbulent cocktail of anxiety and doubt weighing on his shoulders. Satan allowed himself to drift to the floor, lying beside the only person he had ever met who had compelled him to do something so utterly foolish. Jesus, her daredevil stunts to ground him at his lowest points seemed to have rubbed off on him, and likely not for the better.

Satan’s wounds throbbed at the edges, a constant reminder of the magnitude of what he had just done.

Don’t think about it, his mind lethargically reminded. What’s done is done, so don’t start regretting it now.

“Prophecy child, huh . . . ” Satan muttered, his arm leveraged under his head like a makeshift pillow. The light cascading through the windows almost seemed to light up Natalie’s hair in its luminescence. Amongst the carnage splattered around them from his sacrifice, she was ethereal and without blemish.

He had found out about the Child of Prophecy by chance, becoming enraged at the notion of being kept in the dark so late in the game. Natalie’s existence had changed from an everyday annoyance to one of unbearable burden.

She had the power to sway him? To sway his empire and everything he worked for? A being like that, who would steal his autonomy or cast him spellbound, was too dangerous to fraternize with. There was just too much on the line to risk throwing away for some goofy, loud-mouthed human without an ounce of self-preservation.

And so Satan had done the only logical thing he could think of at the time: He ran away, leaving her with that pitiful, crumpled face as he rejected her in that inconsequential Oregon town. The less time he spent with her, the better off he’d be.

Only . . . That had not played out as he’d hoped. Watching Natalie disappear over the side of a bridge had been like a bolt of electricity coursing through his body. That she would see him as the monster that he was, a grotesque monstrosity that even Michael had recoiled from, and attempt to help him, regardless? Well . . . Perhaps there was more to Natalie McAllister than he had originally considered. He’d cradled her close and winced while he repaid her kindness by accidentally boiling her alive.

Oregon was a wake-up call.

Natalie had piqued his curiosity, her smiling reassurance that she didn’t befriend monsters jumpstarting the heart in his chest that he had presumed stopped functioning centuries ago. Not only that, but he had no way of knowing he would soon find out that running toward the very man attacking her and her cowardly little friend, despite the blatant terror in her eyes, was only the tip of the iceberg.

“Oh,” Satan muttered, something foreign flooding into his chest, emotion catching in his throat as he stared at Natalie’s slumbering form.

Silencing Hell for him at the cost of her soul . . .

Calling him her guardian angel. Crying, not for fear of Hell, but for fear of being separated from his company . . .

As much as he wanted to deny it, the fondness in Natalie’s eyes as she smiled at him was undoubtedly genuine. She really did seem to look at him like he hung the stars above her head.

“I love you, Lucifer. I’m glad I got to meet someone like you.”

Satan trembled, unable to properly sort through the sensations overflowing from his chest as Natalie’s eyelashes began to flutter. Champagne bubbles tickled his stomach, and though not required to breathe to live, he felt so remarkably breathless at once.

So that’s what this is, Satan distantly thought, watching pale eyelashes finally parting to reveal a cognizant gaze, blinking against the trickle of sunlight warming her cheeks. When meeting Natalie’s eyes, he couldn’t keep the smile of relief from his face.

Satan understood that he had never experienced this before, but he somehow knew what to latch onto in his jumbled mind with unquestionable conviction.

I love her.

#satan and me #writing #its not technically but im going to tag it #fanfiction #writing commission #commission #andrastesassets

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barbariccia · 4 years

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it’s time to talk about Hydaelyn.

i’ve been sat on this theory for a long time - i’m pretty sure i didn’t come up with the original idea myself, but the more i think about it the more it makes sense to me. i’m not sure HOW it’ll come into play in the story, necessarily, but the new year’s eve poem posted last night has me rubbing my chin even more. so:

Hydaelyn exists under Silvertear Lake and i won’t hear no for an answer.

(please note there'll be spoilers for 5.0.)

we have known since 1.0 that there’s Something Under Silvertear. admittedly, in 1.0 it was likely just Midgardsormr, because the times have been a-changing and while the dev team has done a truly admirable job at building on what lore remained from the 1.X days, they couldn’t and didn’t keep everything intact. i do not at any point consider this a downside, just something worth noting!

the Garleans, headed by Gaius van Baelsar (acting under solus-selch’s orders), after the invasion and successful annexing of Ala Mhigo, pushed into Mor Dhona as the next part of their “invade Eorzea” project as a central location that would make continued pushes into the land easy. not only that, but Mor Dhona is noted as being (and has been since 1.X) the center of aetherial connections in Eorzea, if not the whole world, though Eorzea is particularly topped up with aether compared to other landmasses. Cid Garlond in his 1.X iteration suggests that Mor Dhona is where aether returns to rejoin the Lifestream. Quote:

Cid nan Garlond: All aether would - should pass through Silvertear Lake upon returning to the Land, but it now appears that something is bending the energy's course - drawing it away.

in 1.X, Nael van Darnus was originally drawing Dalamud down to fall on this area, where Castrum Novum (now Castrum Centri in ARR and beyond) was built, until adventurers put a stop to that and the transmitter was relocated to Coerthas, where the Rivenroad was ripped from. I’ll accept it as a happy coincidence - the castra was built in this area, it makes sense for plot events to happen there - but it does strike me as interesting, especially where the parallel between the Garlean’s Meteor Project and the original Meteor from FFVII is concerned. Sephiroth wasn’t just calling down a giant slab of asteroid for shiggles; he was doing it specifically to create a wound in the Planet that would require an immense amount of energy to heal that he could siphon off of and become a god. If XIV’s Meteor had hit (and not hatched like an egg), a similar thing might have happened.

And there’s no better place to call a lot of aether to the fore than somewhere entirely rich in it. Almost like there’s a great being in that area dependent on aether that directs the Lifestream through itself to preserve not only itself, but all life on the planet.

The second the Garleans got too close to the lake, Middy burst out with a whole host of Dravanians and the Battle of Silvertear Skies began (and ended with Dravanian victory at great cost). This sequence from 1.X is notable as being one of those things that has to have been changed from ARR onwards considering what we now know about primal summoning (they weren’t just ‘let loose’ into the world, they’ve been actively taught to certain peoples (though why only ‘now’ and not ‘before, too’ is still up in the air)) - not to mention we know that the Echo started manifesting after the battle, too, almost as though something felt like it was in danger and needed thralls (1) to protect itself - but Middy came out to protect something. He’d been known as the great protector of Silvertear Lake for a very long time, since he first appeared to the source. Quote The Rising Chorus, from patch 2.5:

Minfilia: [...] an unlikely ally came to Eorzea's aid that day─Midgardsormr, legendary guardian of Silvertear Falls, burst forth from beneath the waters of the lake and led a host of dragons against the Garlean airships overhead.

Minfilia: Midgardsormr was once worshipped as the guardian deity of Silvertear Falls [...]

Minfilia: One of the ancient myths regarding Silvertear Falls states that when the waters came into existence, so too did the great wyrm. Althyk and Nymeia, Brother Time and Sister Fate, decreed that Midgardsormr ever watch over the source, from which all water─and magic─was said to flow. I wonder... What if this was the covenant of which he spoke, and 'twas not the gods with whom he treated, but Hydaelyn Herself?

minfy and ourselves can only guess as to the nature of the covenant forged between hydaelyn and midgardsormr. Following the Omega questline, we know that Midgardsormr fled the Dragonstar with his seven eggs to get away from Omega, crossing the vast expanse of space at great cost to his own personal strength. We don’t know at what time Midgardsormr appeared to the Source - whether it was before, during, or after the time of the 13th Reflection being turned into the Void as we know it - but it would have been post-Sundering of the Ancient world, considering he was able to make a pact with Hydaelyn at all (2) (not to mention there’s no dragons on the First; if there were dragons everywhere we’d know they were reflections of the First Brood! i’m still angy there’s no Azdaja and Vrtra. fucking PLEASE squenix i’m DYING for info on them).

(1) this is a good a place as any to mention that in 1.X, Minfilia - then known as Ascilia - witnessed the Battle of Silvertear Falls with her father Warburton and her Echo awoke a few years later. interesting to think that the primal that tempered Ascilia in potential desperation would later scour her clean and use her for its own purposes, though i know this wasn’t intentional from the devs at all as a plot-point.

(2) the nature of Hydaelyn and Zodiark’s battle makes me doubt that there was much time between Her summoning and the Sundering of the world

There’s an interview from 2014/15 with Koji Fox where he notes, quote,"There's a presence [at Silvertear]. It wasn't just Midgardsormr there, it was more of a force[...]". There’s definitely something there that isn’t just the dragons. Something big. It’s Hydaelyn!!! It has to be. (highlights in the excerpt mine.)

My interpretation of this event is that Midgardsormr agreed to protect the physical ‘body’ of Hydaelyn in exchange for the safety of his eggs - the First Brood - which is what he’s been doing for potentially upwards of 10,000 years. The battle at Silvertear is pretty explosive otherwise for what’s effectively a non-event. There might not have been dragons in Gyr Abania, or in Ilsabard, or Othard or anywhere else they’ve been pushing into - but there’s never been any indication of the dragons being particularly territorial. The Dravanians shared their space with proto-Ishgardians back in the day, and their issues with the elezen of the Source was due to some choice eye-vorage, not encroaching on lands like the sahagin and kobolds.

As for Hydaelyn’s physical form - well, it’s known that Zodiark has a physical form which was sealed directly into the moon. The true moon, known to us colloquially as Menphina (3) (is there another name for it? i haven’t seen anything). It stands to reason that Hydaelyn has a physical form as well, then, hidden away somewhere safe, because as we known, primals can be defeated and their essences scattered to return back to the Lifesteam.

(3) Hey, it’s worth noting here that Menphina, the Lover (whose divine stone is parked right where Haurchefant’s grave is) is said to be the younger sister of Azeyma, the Warden! and boy, while we’re thinking about the misremembered names of the Convocation coming back as names of gods in modern day, what significance does that have?

The Antitower: In all of creation, what greater mystery could there be than the fate of this very star? To sound the deepest depths, to study the aetherial sea itself─for these purposes and more was the Antitower built. Abandoned by her Sharlayan caretakers following the exodus, it has since been overrun by the magical guardians they left behind. Yet were one blessed with Her gift to brave these dangers and descend to the furthest reaches─to hear, feel, and think at the heart of this world─what would they find?

(emphasis mine.)

in the cutscenes following the Antitower, we meet Hydaelyn in the aetherial sea, and Her mouthpiece, the Word of the Mother. and by using the Antitower, something specifically Sharlayan-built, no less. I’d be very interested to know if you can reach the aetherial sea from only the Forelands, where that dungeon is, or from anywhere. I’m gonna make a stab at anywhere.

It’s been brought to my attention that in the cutscenes post-Antitower, Hydaelyn mentions in the quest The Word of the Mother (patch 3.2), and Ardbert echoes later in Shadows of the First (patch 3.4) that “across ten and three were [we] then divided, reflections of the source, each possessed of a shard”, which seems to imply that not only the people of the world and Zodiark, but also Hydaelyn Herself was sundered and became weaker in so doing. which is FANTASTICALLY interesting, all things considered! maybe She wasn’t just becoming weak (and finding it harder to take mouthpieces and the like) because of the land’s aether being drained by primals (and other sources).

The just-released (as of time of writing) New Year’s Eve poem makes me think that the “last chapter of this story” might relate back to this in some way.

[EN]

Our progeny may never know Wherefore we look unto the sky Nor why we dig for truth below; We bear their scorn or watch them die.

[FR]

With our mouths closed, we pile stone upon stone, To form a staircase leading to the lands of knowledge, As well as another pointing to the heavens of existence. Our children will remember it, no matter how angry they are.

[GR]

Committed to our silent office We seek wisdom in the deep earth. Put tomorrow in starry hands, Sung by children's lamentations.

[JP]

By staying silent and saying naught, we will not accumulate the crystals(?) (4) To gain knowledge, we climb into the earth, To survive, we climb to into the heavens. Even if our progeny resent us, it is all for their sake.

(4) 石 meaning stone rather than ‘crystals’, 水晶 meaning ‘crystal’ (and used in the JP title of the Crystal Exarch).

*** translations from THIS reddit post and THIS tweet for the EU and JP translations of the poem, respectively.

something something 6.0 is looking more likely to be Sharlayan than anywhere else, something something big tower something something learn stuff from within the earth. c’moooon, i wanna go beat some answers out of crystal mom. walk freeeee indeed.

Getting away from the poems again and back to Stuff On The Source, we can take a look at the First, a much more pristine reflection of the Source due to having no Calamities happen to it ever. The Source (not to be confused with the Source), the equivalent of Silvertear, is being presided over by none other than... Bismarck, a member of the fae (and BOY i’d like to know more about whaleboi in this world!!!!), in exactly the same position Midgardsormr is, presumably protecting something of equal importance. Having said that, I don’t know if by splitting the world, Hydaelyn also split Herself.

Having said that, there’s an environmental anomaly in that area. Fly out to Bismarck’s (5) nose, and then dive under the waves. There’s a crystal formation coming out of the ground that can’t be found anywhere else on the First - there is nothing else similar to this formation - that has patches of light emitting from bits of it. A friend of mine noted that the way it seems to be coming through in only this location is almost cancerous in origin - that is to say, uncontained and Wrong in some manner, more complex than we have words or knowledge of. The only way you can interact with these crystals is in the level 78 mining levequest Crystal Meds, which notes that you can yank salt crystals out of that formation... but it seems a little too suspect to leave as ‘just salt’.

(5) Speaking of Bismarck, from that earlier interview with Koji Fox, he also has this to say, which... what else have you been hiding in plain sight... (highlights again mine.)

Or the Crystarium’s just going around seasoning their meals with primal mama, who knows.

Eep, this post got away from me. Anyway, i’m not really sure what to DO with any of this information. as many of my friends know i’ve been harping on about this for years at this point, and i’m not the best at speculation and guessing accurately where stories end up going - but it feels more right than ever to talk about it now after that poem was release.

hells, maybe they’ll give us another tower. say... a tower of bab-il, to take us to the moon? 6.0 FFIV expansion pretty please??

#ffxiv speculation #ffxiv #hydaelyn #final fantasy 14 #ff14

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mysterious-crimson-lotus · 3 years

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Note #Lost-Count

Just a thing from my fanfiction A Trail of Notes. Well, it’s related. Consider it my fanfiction for my fanfiction. The next chapters to my fics are gonna come out soon, just have had stuff going on that I needed to deal with. But hey, take this, and while you’re at it, have a look at this other mini writing that I did recently.

This is a small thing. Just had some spare time and decided to abuse metaphors.

A hypothetical note from adult Naruto, if adult Naruto enjoyed overdoing literary devices. And had a vocabulary that included words aside from “dattebayo,” “ramen,” “Hokage,” and “Sasuke.”

Dear Guardian Angel,

People desperately kissing the Earth after leaving a ship is a common thought. I see it in the stories I read to the children, in the play Boruto said he didn’t want to act in, and saw it in the missions that I used to take back when I was on the field. It usually happens when one has been at sea, unsure of their survival, or else when they hate the water. The act is symbolic of our desire for stability, for peace and calm. The sea is dangerous; the constant motion of the waves pulling and pushing, the winds and the uncertain weather all amount to instability, chaos and uncertainty. The ground is firm, unmoving. It is stable, and, in its reliability, comforting. The steadiness births security, and spawns the potential to build foundations to greater and brighter things. It is not only in the dangers of the waters that spawns adventure and excitement; a strong foundation can give endless possibilities. The turbulent seas may be more enticing, more alluring, but in the end, a plant with no roots is destined to wilt and fade. When connected to the Earth, the plant can flourish. Reach new heights. Grow. A strong foundation gives the strength and confidence to begin one's journey, to explore and grow, for adventure without direction and a strong base is nothing but self destruction.

So of course we would embrace the earth when we see it. We love it.

Do you know that? Do you know that's what you mean? How steadying your comfort is? How you root me to the spot with your gaze? How the sight of you in the distance in the midst of a destructive and voracious storm gives me hope? How, in my moments of weakness, you have been the lighthouse shining a beacon of light through the vein of darkness and uncertainty?

Do you know that you are the shore, firm, unyielding, strong? You can be shaken, be struck by disaster after disaster, face constant adversity, but you remain resolute? Uncompromising?

So do you understand that when I see you, I, like a sailor lost at sea, see you as my salvation? As the one constant that is always there?

The way you always scrunch your face when I tap your nose. The way you lace your fingers through mine when I sneakily place them on the back of your hand. The way you pout up at me when you want me to kiss you more, or tickle me when I least expect it. When you sigh when I kiss your neck. They're features more beautiful than the most magnificent lakes or forests.

I've always been obsessed with material possessions. Friends and people were never really something I could count on. The only constant was always me, and ramen. So I tried to tether myself. My foundation was shaky, so I've attempted to anchor myself with them. If only I had more people, I would say. Now, I realise that you cannot, should not rely on others to anchor you in place. I need to be my own person. Find stability in myself. Yet you have been so wonderful at helping me build my anchor. You have shown me comfort and love that has shaken my flimsy concepts of stability. We may all have to find our foundations ourselves, but you have always let me lean on you when my base was shaky.

So, I want to kiss you. Hug you. Hold you. Have you hold me. I want to brush your hair away from your face and trace your beauty with my fingertips. I want to feel your breath and body heat on me as we embrace. Want to walk with you, talk with you, until I physically can't, then keep going. Run my thumb down your face and see the way you smile when you're happy.

If I could preserve that smile and that happiness, that would be enough. More than enough. That smile, that look that shines through the shadows like the sparkling of the Northern Star, guiding the lost.

Or, perhaps, I can lose myself in it's light. Lost, wrapped in your security and comfort. Lost in your smile.

Lost at sea.

But it’s okay now. I know what land is now.

I have my anchor.

With love,

Naruto

PS: Where is all my cup ramen? Boruto keeps saying that Hima ate it all while “training to beat your Queen of Gluttony record.” That can’t be true, right?

#naruhina #naruhina fanfic

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primordialfell · 3 years

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"Orhiius?" Xaallo searches the cave's lake for any sign of the Worm God. " Orhiius, if you're there I-- /I'm sorry/. I didn't mean to, please give me back my stone. Please." :{

" WHY SHOULD I? WILL YOU PLANT IT ONLY TO TURN AND FORGET WHY I HAVE MADE YOU UNDERGO THIS GREAT EFFORT ONCE MORE? SHALL YOU SIMPLY FORGET WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THE LESSON WAS? "

ETERNATUS' VOICE WAS A SIREN, a wailing tempest of the storm. It glared, scrutinized and pulled apart was the Alien Prince.

" GARDENING IS MORE THAN PLANTING SEEDS, O' PRINCELY MINE. IT IS MORE THAN THE HARD LABOR OF THE FIELD. I HAVE SUFFERED THIS LESSON COUNTLESS TIMES. "

Eternatus scowled.

" THE STONE IS NOT A PRIZE. IT IS NO THING YOU SHOULD WISH TO POSSESS. IT IS YOUR LESSON, YOUR SISYPHEAN BOULDER THAT I HAVE GIVEN TO YOU TO MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND. THE KIND ROAD IS THE HARDEST ONE. BEREFT OF HATE AND OF SUSPICION, THIS KIND ROAD WILL LEAD TO A LIFE OF JOY IN THE END, SO LONG AS YOU CAN ENDURE IT. UNTIL YOU HAVE PROVEN TO ME THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THIS, TRULY SEE THIS, THE COMPLETION OF YOUR LESSON REMAINS OUT OF REACH. "

The Worm Our God shuddered. Its great bony plating shivered.

" I AM YOUR GUARDIAN. YOUR ACTIONS ARE YOUR OWN. FEAR IS NO EXCUSE FOR HATE. BEGONE AND RETURN NOT BEFORE THE MORNING SUN HAS RISEN TOMORROW. I MUST RETREAT AND TEMPER THE MOURNFUL DISAPPOINTMENT IN MY SOUL, LEST YOU HAVE WORDS THAT CAN SOOTHE THE FIRE THAT BURNS IN ME NOW, O’ PRINCELY MINE. "

#xaallo #∞ ic.#∞ ask.

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katehuntington · 4 years

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Title: In Bad Waters - part thirteen Word count: ±3280 words Episode summary: Still in possession of the Winchesters’ belongings, Zoë meets up with the hunters on her next case. When it turns out to be a little more complicated than anticipated, she accepts their help in order to make an important deadline. Part thirteen summary: The three hunters have unraveled the truth, but need more details to close this case once and for all. Time to break the news to the Shire family. Episode warnings: Dark! NSFW, 18+ only! Descriptions of domestic violence/child abuse. Drug use/addiction. Angst, gore, violence, character death. Description of blood, injury and medical procedures/resuscitation. Swearing, alcoholism. Supernatural creatures/entities, mentions of demon possession. Descriptions of torture and murder, drowning. Illegal/criminal practices. Mentions of nightmares and flashbacks. Author’s note: Beta’d by @winchest09 and @deanwanddamons. Thanks, girls! Gif does not belong to me, but I was unable to track down the creator. Is this your gif? Let me know.

Supernatural: The Sullivan Series Masterlist

S1E02 “In Bad Waters” Masterlist

The ‘67 Chevrolet Impala rolls onto Lake Front Drive, a street where along both sides beautiful large homes are situated. On the left of the road they find a gorgeous house with blue woodwork, a big driveway and a nice yard, located right next to the lake. It’s the perfect picture of a family home, right out of a real-estate commercial. A dock runs out into the silent waters, geese bob at the surface as guardians of the deep.

Sam is waiting in the shadows of the streets on the side of the road, blending into the darkness, but his brother spots him, however. Through the window he has been watching Mrs. Shire, who is currently tidying the kitchen, while her son is out on the dock, absently bouncing a basketball on the wooden planks. When his brother’s car slowly moves past and comes to a stop, Sam emerges from the black shade. The tall guy crosses the street with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Right on time,” he comments, when Dean gets out of the classic car. “I don’t know who is in that grave, but it isn’t Laura,” Zoë fills in, emerging from the Impala with some difficulty. “The bones showed no signs of healed fractures.” Sam sighs; great, another curveball. “So where could she be then?” “We have a hunch,” Dean says, nodding his head at the waters. “Remember that she was soaking wet?”

Stunned, his younger brother turns to watch the shimmering surface, huffing when the pieces of the puzzle come together. “She travels through water,” Sam realizes. “It’s an awfully big lake, though.” “There isn’t a lot of current, so that at least helps. We need to figure out where Shire dumped her. That should narrow it down,” Zoë contemplates, glancing at the reservoir as well. “Let’s wrap this up, shall we?” the older Winchester suggests, ready to close this case.

He strides towards the Shire residence, but notices Zoë isn’t directly behind them. Dean glances further back and spots her. She got only several feet from the car in the timespan he reached the house, limping towards the men with her hand on her waist. Apparently the stiffness got worse after the car ride. “Comin’, Speedy Gonzalez?” he mocks. “Shut up, assface. I’ll be there before Christmas,” the wounded huntress bites back.

Fighting an amused grin, Dean climbs the stairs to the front door and pushes the bell. Before Mrs. Shire answers, Zoë joins them. “So what are we? FBI? State Police?” Zoë leafs through the several ID’s she’s got in the inner pocket of her leather jacket. “Just follow my lead,” Sam says without any further explanation.

Before she can ask about it, the door opens. A chain prevents the door from swinging out entirely; seems like the homeowner took precautions after the attack. Completely useless measurements of course, they need a lot more than a little chain to stop a ghost from entering. A tired and worried face of a woman in her late forties partly shows. “Can I help you?” she asks gently yet careful. “Yes, we are--” Zoë automatically takes the lead and is about to flash her badge, when Sam intervenes. “I’m Sam, that’s my brother Dean and this is Zoë. We’re here to help.”

Perplexed, Zoë stares at Sam, but recovers quickly. This is certainly not the approach she expected or would have chosen herself. He’s actually going to tell her the truth? She exchanges looks with Dean, but he doesn’t seem worried. Apparently he’s used to this tactic and has confidence in his brother. “Help me with what?” Mrs. Shire returns, puzzled. “We know what happened to your husband. Our sympathies,” Sam continues compassionately. “But there are some things we need to talk to you about.”

Doubtful, Mrs. Shire looks from one to the other. They can’t blame her, after the unexplained murder of Ronald, it’s only normal to mistrust anyone to show up at her doorstep, especially three complete strangers. “I don’t know who you are, but I already talked to the police,” she claims, after which she intends to close the door. With a quick movement, Zoë places her hand against the varnished wood to prevent it from locking. Her piercing brown eyes look straight into those of Mrs. Shire. “We know who killed Ronald,” she states, straight to the point.

The woman’s eyes widen as she freezes on the spot, shocked by the reveal. The widow is not the only one who is staring at Zoë. Sam doesn't seem pleased with her angle at all; talking about the direct approach. “Smooth.” Dean clears his throat while pronouncing the word. Normally Zoë would have glared at him, but this time her piercing gaze remains on Mrs. Shire, trying to get through to the woman. It seems to work, because she takes off the chain and steps back.

The hunters enter the house calmly. Zoë looks around like she always does when she’s someplace new. It’s a common household, the homey 90’s decor inviting. Pictures of the happy family fill the walls, portraying an illusion. She glances into the kitchen, spotting the dinner table she saw the family seated at in her flashback, the image exactly the same. While they walk in the living area, Sam hastens to the back of the house. “I’m gonna make sure her brother is okay,” he notifies, before he leaves the room. Mrs. Shire’s eyes dart to Dean and Zoë in confusion. They can read from her facial expression that she’s worried and suspicious; two words in that sentence raise a big question. “Her brother?” she repeats, dazed. “Is this about Laura?” “It’s about both your late husband and daughter,” Dean explains as he sits down.

Hesitating, Mrs. Shire settles on a comfortable chair opposite Dean. No one asked her to take a seat, but apparently something inside her tells her it might be wise. Zoë, on the other hand, remains standing. The only man in their company leans forward and rests his arms on his knees, forking his hands together. He pulls at his bottom lip with his teeth before he starts off; this is gonna hit hard. But before he can speak, the mother across from the table does. “Did you go to the police?”

Zoë can’t help but to raise her eyebrows. They are about to tell her who killed her husband and she’s worried about the police? Dean and Zoë exchange a look, after which Zoë answers. “No, we haven’t,” she states. “They usually don’t handle things like this that well.” “Things like what?” Mrs. Shire wonders, unable to follow. Dean sighs and glances up at his hunting partner; here goes nothing. “Things like ghosts.”

Flabbergasted, the woman across from the table observes them both. Then she starts to laugh nervously. “You’ve got to be joking,” she scoffs. But both Zoë and Dean keep a straight face. “Do we look like we’re joking?” Zoë returns the question. The tense smile slowly disappears from Mrs. Shire’s face as she gapes at them. These two people who invaded her house are dead serious. Nevertheless, she refuses to believe it. “This is outrageous, I can’t believe I’m still listening to this.” She gets up as the anger sets in. “Get out of my house.” “I don’t think you want to be kicking us out,” Dean shoots her a penetrating glare. “Sit down, Mrs. Shire.”

The widow holds his gaze, but the anger is replaced with a hint of fear. No wonder, because Dean’s order sounded intimidating, making it very clear that they won’t be leaving anytime soon. A necessary evil that sometimes is needed to get shit done, and for once Zoë appreciates the older Winchester’s angle. His stern message does its job, because Mrs. Shire settles on the chair again and places her hand on her lap, anxiously pulling her skirt down.

“Like I said, we know what happened to your husband,” Zoë says, her voice somewhat softer now. “But we also know what happened to Laura.” “I don’t know what you're talking about,” the woman claims. “That’s funny, because Laura was pretty precise on the details of how you were very much aware,” Zoë returns.

Bug-eyed, Mrs. Shire stares up at the young woman - who is still standing next to the couch with her arms crossed in front of her - then her gaze shifts to Dean, frantically searching for answers. Zoë suppresses a sigh when the widow keeps looking at him like a deer in headlights. This is taking too long, and it’s not like the huntress has all the time in the world. Annoyed, she glances at the backdoor, wondering how Sam is doing. “We know what Robert did to Laura. There’s no use denying that; we know everything,” Dean makes clear. Not believing what she’s hearing, tears well up in her eyes. She swallows apprehensively. “H-How could you possibly know?” she stammers. “Take in consideration that ghosts are real and I believe you can answer that question yourself,” Zoë enlightens her.

Speechless, Mrs. Shire’s eyes drift off as they shimmer, then she closes them and tears roll down her face, mourning silently. Now Zoë too looks down at her shoes, not sure how to deal with this. She isn’t the type of person who puts her arm around someone to comfort the grieving, especially not to someone who looked the other way while her daughter was being abused. Dean doesn’t undertake action either and so they let her be. After a while, she starts to talk.

“Ron always had an unstable personality. He could be a loving guy and just like that--” She snaps her fingers, “- he could change into this bad-tempered, aggressive man. I hoped that having a family would change him.” She shivers during a short pause as she wipes at her tears. Dean observes the mother, as Zoë leans on the back of the couch. The sympathy they have for Mrs. Shire grows, now that they learn that Laura wasn’t the only one Ronald used to beat up when he was in a bad mood. “When Tom was born, it seemed like something inside him did shift. Tommy meant everything to Ronald, he never laid a finger on him. But then, when Laura came...” Mrs. Shire closes her eyes as teardrops find their way down her weary face. “He never meant to kill her, he just lost it that evening. She was stubborn and he lost it.” Whimpering, she buries her face in her hands. “He had to cover it up. Tommy and I and even Ronald, we would have lost everything. Our home, Tom’s school, what was left of our family, everything. We just didn’t want to make it worse.”

Son of a bitch, Zoë mouths without making a noise. Dean notices her expression and shakes his head himself. He could give Laura credit for what she did to her father, but this has to stop now before it spins out of control. “Mrs. Shire, I know this is tough, but we need to know where Laura’s body is,” he confronts her. She sniffles. “She - she’s buried at Linwood Cemetery.” “No, she’s not,” Zoë immediately cuts in.

Bewildered, the woman opposite of them glances from Zoë to Dean. The huntress can see from the look upon her face that this time, she genuinely doesn’t have a clue what they are talking about. As Zoë observes her response, another theory starts evolving in her head; what if Laura’s mother never knew about the body swap? What if she thought that she really buried her daughter at Linwood Cemetery? Maybe the only people who knew about the switch were Ronald Shire and Dr. Hughes. “Where else would she be?” Mrs. Shire utters, staggered. “Don’t play tricks on us,” Dean warns. “Dean, wait,” Zoë interrupts. “Was the coffin ever open during the ceremony?” The hunter looks over his shoulder; just like Mrs. Shire he seems disoriented. The only man in their company gives her a questioning look; where is she going with this? “No, Ron insisted it was closed. Why?” Mrs. Shire replies. Zoë sighs deeply and rubs her face, then she turns to the woman in front of her again. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but Laura was never buried in Linwood Cemetery.”

Overwhelmed, Laura’s mother stares at the young woman in her living room. That’s truthbomb number three they just dropped on the widow who also lost her child. Mrs. Shire is being hit in the face with information that is almost impossible to digest, and it is starting to show. “W-what? But - but I stood at her coffin at the funeral. I - I visit her grave every day,” she whimpers. “Where is she? Where’s my Laura?”

Damn good question, Dean realizes. But he also knows that if Mrs. Shire doesn’t have a clue where her daughter is, they might be on a very dead end, literally.

“We believe she’s in the lake. We hoped you could tell us where exactly,” Zoë admits disappointedly. Out of pure desperation, the woman huffs and looks away. Dean can see she’s about to break, and decides to fill in the blank lines for the poor mother. Having answers is usually more comforting than being left in the dark.

“We believe your husband and a friend inside the hospital switched Laura’s body with a Jane Doe of the same age, because Ronald was afraid someone might start talking and kick off an investigation,” he explains. “He could forge documents and her medical records as Chief of staff, but if this had become a case, forensics would’ve noticed the many healed breaks and injuries that are consistant with child abuse if they had found Laura’s actual remains. He would’ve faced jail time.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Mrs. Shire whispers, covering her mouth with a shaking hand. Unable to swallow back the tears, the poor woman glances at Dean, a question dawning on her. “If - if what you just said about Laura’s… ‘ghost’ is true, why didn’t she tell you where her body is?” “Laura isn’t exactly cooperative,” he tries to explain. “She doesn’t want to be found. The hate and frustration she feels right now is driving her to get to the people who never helped her, while they could have.”

“The murders, first Ronald, then her principal Mr. Van Dyke, after that her teacher and a colleague of your husband, about two hours ago. They all knew about her situation, but in one way or another failed to do anything about it. Laura’s taking revenge for that,” Zoë fills in. “She would never do that. She’s ten, she’s not capable of murdering people,” her mother claims in disgrace. “I think she’s more than capable of violence, after what her father did to her,” Dean brings to mind.

“As a spirit, she doesn’t think or act rationally anymore. All she feels is rage, sadness, and frustration. She’s out of control. That’s why we have to find her and stop her. Otherwise you and your son will be in danger,” Zoë tells her. “She’ll…” Scared blue eyes dart up at the huntress. “She’ll come after us?” “You listened, you saw, but you didn’t act,” Zoë says, harshly yet truthful. “You didn’t stop it.”

For a moment, Mrs. Shire is able to hold the young woman’s gaze, but before Zoë’s eyes, the mirage of the perfect mother begins to falter. What started the day when Ronald struck his wife the first time and escalated when Laura lost her life, has left this family in ruins. The middle-aged woman begins to quiver, unable to keep her emotions at bay, and breaks down completely.

Zoë, not being the most patient of the three hunters, looks down on the woman who did nothing, and yet had such a big part to play in Laura’s violent death. Although she sympathizes with her, the tears aren’t helping anyone. Time is ticking and they have nothing besides a lake the size of multiple football fields. Also growing slightly impatient, but able to hide it, Dean gives it one last try. “Don’t you have any idea where he might have hidden her? Any clue at all?” “I know where she is.”

Surprised, the older Winchester looks over the back of the couch while Zoë turns around, both facing a young boy. He’s about thirteen years old and has blonde hair, with the same blue eyes as his mother. Sam’s standing behind him, a hand on his shoulder. “Tom? What are you talking about, honey?” his mother asks, concerned, trying to compose herself in front of her son.

He looks up at Sam, who puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, you can tell her now,” he ensures. Anxious, he turns back to his mother and takes a moment before he starts talking. But when he does, he stuns each and everyone in the room. “That night, when Laura…” He swallows apprehensively and takes a breath, then continues. “I saw Dad at the lake. He rowed the boat out and dropped a big bag in the water. When he came back, I pretended I was sleeping.”

Astounded, Dean and Zoë take in the brave little kid, who just stepped forward and gave them the break they were desperately looking for. An eye-witness, one whose voice was taken away by years of seeing so much brutality, that it left him petrified whenever he came close to telling. All this time, the little fellow knew, but couldn’t speak, knowing that he could quite possibly suffer the same fate as his sister.

“Oh, Tommy…” Mrs. Shire whimpers, as she walks up to him. The mother folds her arms around her son, who hugs her back while tears start rolling down his cheeks. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Mom,” he cries, holding her tight. “I knew Dad would have been furious if I had.” “It’s okay now. Don’t worry, it’s alright,” she whispers while laying her hand over the top of his head, caressing his hair softly, yet she is barely able to hold it together herself.

The three hunters exchange a look, silent witnesses to the embrace, the last shards of this family mended before them. The truth has been revealed, offering them a strong chance to solve this case. They need more details, though, and the only one who can provide them, is Tommy. Zoë concentrates on the young boy, once he slips from his mother’s arms. “Tom, do you remember how far your father went out?” she asks, kindly. “Not that far, he didn’t pass the goose nests,” the teenager tells her.

They remembers the birds on the lake. Good, they have a marked area now, something to go on. Zoë straightens her back and glances at the boys. “Seems like we are taking a swim,” she comments. “You’re going to bring her to the surface?” Mrs. Shire swallows with difficulty, both upset and relieved that they might be doing so. “It’s the only way we can lay her to rest,” Sam answers.

“There’s diving equipment in the boathouse. Tom and Ron used to swim in that lake all summer,” she offers. “Thanks, that might come in handy,” Zoë takes it as she checks her watch. “It’s gonna be completely dark in about a half an hour.” “Okay then.” Dean sets his shoulders, glancing between his brother and Zoë. As much as he likes a good hunt, he’s not fond of the fact that he’s on the menu of this nasty little spirit. Seems like they will be done with this case by tonight, though. With strong words he finishes. “Let’s do this.”

Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to like or reblog my work, shoot me a message or buy me coffee (Link to Kofi in bio at the top of the page).

Read chapter fourteen here

#Supernatural: the Sullivan Series #STSS #Dean Winchester fanfiction #Sam Winchester fanfiction #Zoë Sullivan #Dean Winchester #Sam Winchester #Dean x OFC #Sam x OFC #Supernatural series #SPN series #SPN #Supernatural #Dean Winchester series #Sam Winchester series #1x02 In Bad Waters #Kate Huntington

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big4girl · 4 years

Note

Heyyyy me again! I really loved your last fic so Imma request another, if that's okay! If you're still doing drabbles, could I possibly get a Hiccanna Angel/Demon AU fic with the sentence starter “If you don’t hug me right now I think I might fall apart.”? I'm in the mood for big boi angst lol (also kinda see Hiccup as the demon one here because of the dragon and fire connection, but reversed would be interesting too!)

I think I’ll go for what you suggested since it makes the most sense character-wise! I hope you enjoy!

****

Angels and Demons coexisted as enemies for many millennia. Good versus evil, light versus dark, virtue versus vice, Heaven versus Hell.

And Anna was okay with this. She was old, far older than the human numbers could reach. She thought she had seen it all. But that was before him.

The first time she was sent to Earth was on her first mission as a Guardian Angel. She had been protecting a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes who loved ice skating and playing with her brother.

Anna admired the way the family interacted; laughing, playing, creating. And how they created an orange and yellow light that kept the darkness away.

She listened intently one night when the little girl asked, “Mommy, why do we light the fire?”

The mother tucked her child securely in her bed, the covers pulled up to her chin. “Because there are evil things in this world, things that want to hurt us, and the fire keeps them away.”

Anna’s feathers ruffled at the mention of evil. How could someone even think about hurting people so innocent? Why they had never done anything wrong.

“Like the boogeyman?”

The mother smoothed back her daughter’s hair. “Yes, my love, like the boogeyman. But the fire keeps him away. You have nothing to worry about. And if the fire ever goes out, you have your guardian angel to protect you.”

Anna felt herself glow a little brighter as her ward’s eyes lit up.

“I bet she’s beautiful,” the little girl whispered.

Her mother kissed her on the head and said her goodnight, placing one of the brother’s head as well. How happy they were. How perfect that moment was.

Then that moment ended.

“Be careful,” the mother chided them.

“We will,” the boy replied with a laugh as his sister pulled him towards the frozen lake.

Anna walked carefully along the treeline above them, keeping a watchful eye, but she wasn’t worried. They had done this a hundred times before, what could go wrong?

How she wished she had paid more attention.

The ice cracked under the little girl’s feet, her sobs being drowned out by her brother's reassurances.

Anna couldn’t move, a force was keeping her rooted to the spot and she was furious.

She watched on in anger and fear as the brother coaxed his sister a few steps forward. The ice cracked, the little girl screamed and Anna was suddenly free from her trap.

She flew forward, grabbing the little girl by the armpits and flying her to the other side of the ice where it was thicker.

Anna smiled as the little girl looked around, her eyes finding her brother’s.

It was a blissful moment that was ruined by the deafening sound of cracking ice.

The brother let out a cry of surprise as it gave way under his feet, pulling him into the freezing waters below.

Anna cried out, but she couldn’t save him, couldn’t even touch him. She wasn’t his guardian angel.

“Jack!”

That’s when she saw him.

He was standing on the other side of the pond across from her. He had blood-red eyes and black scales running along his skin. He was frowning and. from a distance, Anna thought he looked angry.

“Hey!” She cried out angrily, leaving her ward’s side for a moment to fly towards the demon.

He disappeared when she reached him. She let out an angry shout before returning to the little girl’s side. Watching her sob as she ran for her parents.

Jack became an angel for his sacrifice.

Anna met him in Heaven. Shook his hand and apologized for not being able to save him. He didn’t hold it against her, just asked for updates on his sister every so often.

Anna would watch over the little girl until she was old and was ready to go.

When she closed her eyes for the final time, Anna was there; her hand out in greeting, ready to take her to Heaven. To her brother.

“I was right.” She said, taking Anna’s hand. “You are beautiful.”

Anna smiled. “I will miss looking after you,”

“You can come to visit me anytime,”

Anna knew it didn’t work that way but didn’t say anything, just smiled and nodded.

They were met at the gates by Jack and her other family members she had lost over the years. The moment she stepped through the gates, she was reverted to her child form, running to hug her brother for the first time in a long time.

Anna would have cried if she were human.

But her heart did feel funny, watching them.

Her next ward was a little girl in Scotland. The girl had a head of curly red hair and a bow and arrows at six years old.

Anna knew she had her work cut out for her.

She watched on from a tree as the little girl played hide and seek with her mother and received a brand new bow from her father, much to her mother’s dismay.

It was beautiful until the little girl screamed.

Anna was up immediately, landing in front of the mother and daughter, using her powers to still the bear until they were safely out of the way. She saw the way its eyes glowed red and she knew that this was no ordinary bear, but a demon-possessed one.

The father and his men charged the bear, pointing spears at it and a rush of panic flew through Anna. No, no, no not again.

The bear moved right past her and she was once again rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to help in any way.

The bear slashed at the wooden spear, effectively ripping the sharp end of it off.

The father threw the splintered wood aside, ready to take on the monster with his bear-hands.

It roared, ready to go in for the kill.

“NO!” Anna screamed, breaking free of the hold with all of her ability and slamming herself into the bear. It staggered to the side, jaw sinking into the man’s ankle instead of his neck.

Anna watched as the father screamed and the demon came out of the bear.

It was the same one from the lake.

His red eyes met Anna’s gold ones. He seemed surprised, intrigued.

Anna, however, was livid. She lunged at him, only for him to disappear the same as he had before. Anna screamed out in fury.

The father was alive, at the cost of his foot. But he was alive.

And Anna was in trouble.

“Άννα.”

She was suddenly standing in the blinding white room of her boss.

Not God, much worse.

“Elsa,” Anna replied, turning to see the head Guardian Angel standing before her.

“Άννα,” She repeated, using Anna’s original angel name. “You meddled.”

Anna frowned. “I had to! That demon was going to kill my ward’s father!”

“You cannot meddle, Άννα. You should know better.”

“Come on, I saved somebody! Isn’t that what guardian angels are supposed to do?” Anna argued.

Elsa only gave Anna an icy glare. “I’m sorry. But I cannot allow you to watch over Merida any longer.”

“What!”

"Acts like this have consequences, Άννα.”

“That’s so stupid! It wasn’t even my fault! If that stupid demon hadn’t been there-”

“Enough,” Elsa said sternly.

Anna cowered underneath her gaze but was still stewing with anger.

“You are on probation from guardian duties. You will be assigned to another job until it is through.”

Anna was on probation for centuries and it felt like a millennium. When she was finally released on another mission, she was assigned a boy this time.

Who was a troublemaker, of course. She always seemed to get those. But Anna didn’t mind; in fact, she was overjoyed because she was always on the move. Being locked up in heaven will do that to you.

Her ward was living the life. Just accepted into college at fourteen and being praised by his brother.

Anna watched on with admiration as the two talked. Her siblings up in Heaven never showed any emotions, perhaps that came with being an angel, but Anna longed for love.

Maybe that made her a bad angel, she didn’t care. Love was a fascinating prospect.

Then everything went bad. Just like it always does.

Anna noticed the fire right after the two boys did. She flew alongside the two brothers, terrified as she watched multiple guardian angels flying around the place.

Where was Tadashi’s? Anna suddenly realized, looking around to find Rapunzel.

She finally caught sight of her near the sidewalk, completely frozen in place, unable to move, to do anything.

“No,” Anna said with sudden terror. “No, no, no, no-”

She turned to find that Hiro and Tadashi had moved, gone closer to the flames.

“Tadashi no!” Hiro cried, latching onto his older brother’s arm.

“Somebody has to help.”

“No!” Anna cried flying forward, trying to catch Tadashi, but it was too late. All she could do was stand in front of Hiro and shield him from the blast.

“Tadashi!”

Hiro’s cries were faint in Anna’s ears as she looked around the scene. Guardian angels were flying everywhere, following people away from the fire and helping the firefighters put out the blaze, Rapunzel was free from her hold and she was crying, and there was that demon again.

Anna’s eyes landed on him at the steps of the building. He was gazing up at the fire, reflecting ominously in his red eyes.

He wouldn’t get away this time.

“Hey!” Anna cried out.

He didn’t move and Anna flew forward, tackling him to the ground.

He let out a cry of surprise and a grunt as they landed against the hard earth.

“What’s your problem with me, huh? Why do you keep killing the people my wards care about? Every time you’re around one of them dies!”

The demon below her didn’t say anything, just took on her wrath with surprising calmness.

This made Anna even more furious. “You don’t feel guilty at all? Ha. Should expect that from filthy demons like you! You probably take pleasure in killing people-”

“We don’t kill people,”

“What?” Anna asked, glaring at him.

The demon cleared his throat, as the best he could with Anna sitting on his chest. “We don’t kill people. We just cause chaos. Posses them, mess with them, make bad things happen, yes, but we don’t kill people.”

“Then how do you explain-”

“Do you think you guardian angels would let us get that far? We can’t overpower you, you know that. So, how can we kill anyone?”

Anna’s mouth went dry at his words.

No. He had to be lying. He had to be.

“Then how are these people dying?”

“Don’t ask me. Maybe you should take it up with the higher authorities.”

Anna’s world was crashing down around her. Heaven wouldn’t- they couldn’t-

“It’s not the Devil who chooses when people die, Angelface.”

Anna ripped her hands off him, stumbling backward, trying to get away from him.

“Then why were you there? Every time you were there.”

“We’re in tandem, I guess. I’m just a worker Demon. Like you. At least” - he frowned. “-I was.”

“We are nothing alike.” Anna spat.

“Keep telling yourself that, Angelface.”

“Stop calling me that! My name is-”

Anna was transported into Elsa’s room again.

“Άννα.”

“What?” Anna yelled, turning to face her superior, who was stone-face. “What, huh? What do you want from me? Want me to go on probation again? Because I’m sick and tired of watching people die, Έλσα.”

“You interacted with a demon, Άννα. This is serious.”

“So what? He was some beat demon, there to start a fire that was killing people.”

“Demons don’t kill people, Άννα. The lord decides when they are to come to Heaven.”

“What?” Anna said, angrier than ever. “But we’re Heaven! We’re supposed to be the good guys! The light! Killing people is wrong!”

“Άννα. Calm down.”

“No! No, why? Why does some unseen celestial being get to decide the fate of good people? Old age, okay, fine, but young people? Children? That’s wrong.”

“We serve the lord, Άννα. We don’t question.”

“Well, the lord can beat it! I don’t care! This is wrong! How can you not see that?”

“I’m sorry, Άννα.”

Anna was cast out of Heaven immediately. Her halo stripped from her, her wings turning a dark black to signify to the other angels her crimes. She would walk the Earth as a ghost.

She hit the ground near where her last assignment had been.

“So,” the demon said, sitting next to her when she came to. “I’m guessing taking it up with the higher authorities didn’t go so well?”

Anna felt something for the first time in her life. She left a million things at once and it hurt.

She turned to the demon with watery eyes and she noticed for the first time that his eyes weren’t red anymore. In fact, they were a really pretty green.

“If you don’t hug me right now I think I might fall apart.” She said.

The request didn’t seem to shock the demon. He just opened his arms and allowed Anna to hug him, to sob into his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed as hard as he could.

Anna felt something she had never felt before, but couldn’t place the emotion. Over time she would learn, but now all she wanted to do was cry and be held.

“Any chance you’ll give me that name now, Angelface?” he asked softly.

“Anna,” She choked out. “My name is Anna.”

“Nice to meet you, Anna. My name’s Hiccup. And I think we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together.”

#hicanna #hiccanna

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shadowthrone-ammanas · 5 years

Note

Got any more dad snatcher drabbles? Like what if Hat Kid was in danger with the empress(in the mansion) and Snatcher had to save her?

Thank you for the request!

The Manor

“Yo Dad, I’m going to go up to the manor again, you want me to bring back anything?”

Snatcher snapped around from resetting a trap to face Hat Kid. “Where did you just say you’re going?”

“To the manor.” Hat Kid pointed in the general direction of Vanessa’s Manor. “I want to read the rest of the Queen’s diary because I only read a couple pages when I was up there last. It wasn’t exactly on my list of priorities at the time because that was before I knew who she was. But since I’m going down there, is there anything you want me to bring back? I know you used to live with her. So you must have belongings there, right? Want any of them back?”

“And if I were to forbid you from going?” It was dangerous and she didn’t need to know any more about Vanessa than she already did.

“I would go anyway, you know that. But you also know I went once before and it was fine and that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself in general especially after completing all your Death Wishes. I’m smarter and faster than your crazy ex, she won’t even know I’m there. So, spare us both the trouble and yourself the embarrassment and don’t even bother trying to make me not go. Now, you want any of your old possessions back or no?”

When she put her mind to something, there wasn’t much he could do to stop her even if he was her legal guardian now. But she was right, she’d been up there before and come out unscathed. And she’d proven herself more than capable of taking care of herself during the Death Wishes even if she hadn’t already beforehand. And well maybe there as something Snatcher wouldn’t mind having from his old life. He’d given up on it a long time ago and he didn’t need it but if she was going anyway…

“There’s a lose floorboard at the foot of the bed in my old room.” It’s where he’d kept his most valuable possessions so Vanessa wouldn’t be tempted to take them. How could he have possibly been dumb enough to ignore that big a red flag? “Most of what’s in there is probably ruined by now but one thing that might still be in good shape is a gold pocket watch. I don’t need it but you could bring it back if you really want to.”

“You don’t seem the type to carry around pocket watch. Where would you even keep it? You don’t have pockets.”

“I don’t plan to carry it. It uh… used to belong to a friend of mine.” The only friend he’d had after Vanessa had driven everyone else away.

“Oh?” Hat Kid’s eyes lit up with interest that almost made him regret saying anything. “The romantic kind of friend.”

“No.” Just the thought made him feel ill after the wrong assumptions Vanessa had made about their relationship. “She gave it to me to fix because it broke.” He’d been pretty decent at that kind of thing back in the day. He’d been planning to finish repairing it that night. “Don’t ask anymore questions, either get it or don’t, I don’t care that much. If you can’t find it fast, just forget it.” He could never return it regardless because not everyone became a ghost when they died and she wasn’t one of them, he’d made sure of it. “I expect to see you back at the big hollow in an hour, got it?”

“Got it! I promise I won’t be any more than two hours. I’ll try for one though. See you then.” She gave him a wave before running off towards the manor.

Snatcher sighed as he went back to resetting his trap. This whole being a dad thing was hard. He probably should’ve at least tried to stop her from going. Oh well, too late now and knowing her, there was unlikely to be a problem anyway.

Three hours later Snatcher paced by the big hollow. Hat Kid should be back by now. Even if she was a feral alien child, she still somehow almost always managed to be good with time; when she said it’d take her X amount to time to be somewhere, that’s how long it took her to arrive.

With a growl, Snatcher teleported as close to the manor as he dared: in front of the broken bridge. Any closer and he’d risk Vanessa sensing his power and coming after him.

“Did Hat Kid come through here?” he asked the Subconite on watch duty.

“Yes, a few hours ago. She hasn’t come back yet though. I figured it was just because she ported back to her ship. But are you saying, she hasn’t returned?”

“Yep, so I need to go look for her now.” If this was a prank or she was safe for some other reason, he was going to be pissed. He would ground her for a year at least, probably longer.

“I hope she’s okay.”

“I’m sure she is,” Snatcher said for his own benefit as well as the Subconite’s as he moved over the bridge.

He made his way through the snow and ice, hating every second of the cold even if he barely felt it. Once he started nearing the frozen lake, he condensed his form down to disguise himself as a Subconite – he remained floating though because no way was he going to deal with walking, especially in snow – he didn’t want to cause a scene if he didn’t have to. He just wanted in to grab Hat Kid and then get the peck out as soon as possible and hopefully not even see Vanessa.

He hadn’t been anywhere even near the manor since becoming a ghost. As he approached, he couldn’t help the slight tremble that came to his hands. He didn’t let himself hesitate as he floated up towards the front door though. It was locked of course but nothing a ghost couldn’t handle. He slid through the crack in it and into the house.

Inside, it was colder and he hated it. It was also a mess, in need of a good dusting and sweeping. Vanessa had always been pretty tidy back when he knew her, forcing him to be too. Her standards in that area apparently had dramatically slipped. If only she’d been…

“Peck you bitch, let me go!” That was Hat Kid! She was somewhere upstairs and was clearly in trouble and making it worse by being an ornery brat.

Snatcher burst into action and dashed for the room that housed the stairs. Upon reaching the second floor, he paused. The door leading to the nursery was wide open. He could sense Vanessa in there. It had to be a trap. Vanessa was insane but she wasn’t stupid, she’d know Snatcher would come for Hat Kid. It was the only reason Hat Kid was still alive.

Hating every moment that had led to this, Snatcher crept closer, grateful he didn’t have to worry about creaking floorboards. He didn’t want to do this but what else could he do? He needed to save Hat Kid.

Once he reached the doorway, he peeked in. Hat Kid was in there, in the middle of the room, completely frozen except for her head. Her face where it wasn’t bruised and bleeding – clearly she’d been hit rather hard by something – was pale. Her eyes were closed too. She was still alive though, Snatcher could feel it, just unconscious probably in punishment for her scream a little bit ago.

All he needed to do was to get close enough to her to be able to pull her into his pocket dimension and then they’d be home free. So he should rush in and…

“My Prince!” Vanessa was suddenly taking up the whole doorway, making Snatcher flinch back. “You’ve finally returned! I’ve been waiting, I even captured…”

Snatcher summoned a blast of magic under her feet, making her cut off with a scream of rage as it hit her. He immediately moved to dodge her ice thrown in retaliation. At the same time, he summoned another blast of magic under her feet and another under the wall separating the nursery from the hallway. It destroyed the wall enough for his Subconite form to fit through. Allowing him to get around her and make a dash for Hat Kid.

“Go peck yourself you pecking selfish whore ice bitch,” he made sure to shout at her before pulling himself and Hat Kid into his pocket dimension, just in time to miss getting hit by another blast of ice.

Wasting no time, Snatcher snapped back into his usual form and loosely coiled around Hat Kid. “Kiddo,” he said as he urgently starting tapping the side of her face. “You need to wake up.” She was more than half frozen, the risk of freezing to death was way too real. He could worry about other possible injuries and getting rid of the ice in a bit, waking her up came first. … Unless it was already too late.

She grumbled as her eyes fluttered open, thank goodness. “Snatcher! Dad! You saved me!”

“Yep, sure did. Now uh…” He could easily break the ice with a strong blast of magic but with how much power he, he was liable to accidently hurt her in the process no matter how careful he was with it. But it was magic ice, meaning melting it through mundane means would take at least twice as normal ice. Meaning…

“I-it’s cold.” Her voice shook. “A-and I can’t move.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m working on it though just… hold on a bit more, okay?” He summoned a blue potion as he pulled back from her. He didn’t have time to explain so he just poured half of it out and threw it at her feet. She flinched and even gasped in surprise at the explosion but when the fog cleared, the ice encasing her body was cracked.

“O-one more should do it,” she said, looking back up at him with far too much trust because this was dangerous too but he couldn’t think of what else to do to get rid of the ice now.

Thankfully one more did do it. As the ice shattered, Hat Kid stumbled and almost fell before Snatcher caught her. He scooped her up to cradle in his arms. She was shivering and cold as she grasped onto his mane.

“Y-you’re warm,” she said, her teeth chattering. “You’re not supposed be warm.”

“I’m not, it just feels that way to you right now because you’re freezing. But other than that, are you hurt? Do you need medical attention?” He couldn’t provide it but he could bring her to someone who could. He maybe should regardless, just in case.

“Uh no, I’m not now… just cold and my head hurts because she hit me when I yelled. But uh… speaking of that, what happened?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Instead, Snatcher transferred them to her room on her ship. He pulled the blanket off her bed and wrapped her in it like a cocoon. He then grabbed the spare blanket from her closet and wrapped her in that one too. “Is this good?” he asked when he done because he’d been dead long enough that he was no longer sure what the best way to warm up after almost freezing to death was.

“Yes, thank you. Thank you.” Her shivers seemed to have died down some, meaning she was probably going to be okay now. He might still want to take her to the doctor later though, just in case, but for now…

“Don’t ever do that again,” he said as he settled in the pillow pool, still holding her in his arms so he could glare down at her to make sure his displeasure was fully known.

She giggled in response though. It was good that she was feeling well enough to laugh but…

“It’s not funny. You could’ve died.”

“No, I guess it’s not, huh? But… I’m just happy you’re being a grump again. It was kid of scary seeing you so openly worried.”

Snatcher couldn’t exactly deny that he’d been worried, even if he wanted right? He’d gone into Vanessa’s Manor for her, anyone who knew of his past would know what that meant. So… “You’re never going to the manor again. I don’t care what you have to say about it.” He’d tell the Subconites never to let her pass when they were on guard duty too.

“Fair enough. I got what I wanted anyway. Her diary and…” she paused as she squirmed and then finagled her hand and arm out of the covers through the opening made for her face, “this.” She held the pocket watch he’d asked her to find. It was tarnished with age but unmistakable.

Snatcher sighed, unable to stay mad. “Uh… thanks.” He should probably take Vanessa’s diary from her because she did not need to know Vanessa’s secrets. He’d worry about it later though. For now, he just accepted the pocket watch and sent it to his pocket dimension.

“Can we watch a movie now? One that’s set in a warm place.”

“Sure, why not?” With how mad Vanessa had to be, she’d probably come to attack the forest again soon but until that happened Snatcher was just going to let himself relax. He’d almost lost Hat Kid today and that was a far more stressful experience than he wanted to admit. So he needed to get his mind off of it for a bit.

For this drabble event.

#My Writing #Ahit #A hat in time #snatcher & hat kid #Dadcher #Snatcher & Queen Vanessa #angst

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begitalarcos · 5 years

Text

100+ Years of Horror

This is not a definitive list. These are just the films I believe every Horror fan should see at least once. I’ve excluded any sequels that I didn’t feel needed including. I hope you enjoy.

For @mechamag

1922 – Nosferatu

1925 – The Phantom of the Opera

1927 – The Cat and the Canary

1931 – Dracula, Frankenstein

1932 – Freaks

1933 – The Invisible Man

1934 – The Black Cat

1935 – The Bride of Frankenstein

1939 – The Cat and the Canary

1941 – The Black Cat, The Wolfman

1942 – Cat People

1945 - Dead of Night

1953 – House of Wax

1954 – Creature from the Black Lagoon

1955 – Night of the Hunter, Les Diaboliques

1956 – Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Bad Seed

1958 – The Blob, Macabre, The Fly

1959 – House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler, The Killer Shrews

1960 – 13 Ghosts , Black Sunday, Eyes without a face, Peeping Tom, Psycho, Village of the Damned

1961 – The Pit and the Pendulum

1962 – What ever happened To Baby Jane?

1963 – The Birds, Black Sabbath, The Haunting

1965 – Repulsion

1966 – Island of Terror

1967 – Wait until Dark

1968 – Night of the Living Dead, Rosemary’s Baby, Spider Baby

1970 – Mark of the Devil, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

1971 – The Cat O’ Nine Tails, Let’s scare Jessica to Death, What’s the matter with Helen? A Bay of Blood, Play Misty for Me

1972 – Ben, Children shouldn’t play with dead things, Deathdream, Don’t torture a Duckling, The last house on the left, Night of the Lepus, What have you done to Solange?

1973 – The Crazies, The Exorcist, The Legend of Hell House, Sisters, The Wicker Man, Don’t look now

1974 – Black Christmas, Deranged, It’s Alive, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Vampyres

1975 – Shivers, Trilogy of Terror, Jaws, Deep Red, The Stepford Wives

1976 – Alice Sweet Alice, Burnt Offerings, Carrie, Eaten Alive, The Omen, Squirm, To the devil a daughter, The town that dreaded sundown, The Tenant

1977 – Audrey Rose, Day of the Animals, Demon Seed, Eraserhead, Exorcist 2: The Heretic, The Hills have Eyes, Rabid, The Sentinel, Shock, Suspiria

1978 – Damien: Omen 2, Dawn of the Dead, Halloween, I Spit on your Grave, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Jaws 2, The Legacy, Magic, Martin, Piranha

1979 – Alien, The Amityville Horror, The Brood, Phantasm, Prophecy, Tourist Trap, When a Stranger Calls, Zombi2, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Salem’s Lot

1980 – Alligator, Altered States, The Changeling, City of the Living Dead, Fade to Black, The Fog, Friday the 13th, Hell of the Living Dead, The House on the Edge of the Park, Humanoids form the Deep, Inferno, Maniac, Motel Hell, Prom Night, The Shining

1981 – An American Werewolf in London, The Beyond, The Black Cat, The Burning, Dead and Buried, The Entity, The Evil Dead, Friday the 13th Part 2, The Funhouse, Galaxy of Terror, Halloween 2, Happy Birthday to Me, Hell Night, The House by the Cemetery, The Howling, My Bloody Valentine, Omen 3: The Final Conflict, The Pit, Possession, The Prowler, Wolfen, Scanners, Blow Out, Ghost Story

1982 – Alone in the Dark, Basket Case, The Beast Within, Cat People, Creepshow, Friday the 13th Part 3, Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, Madman, Pieces, Poltergeist, Q: The Winged Serpent, Tenebrae, The Thing, Visiting Hours

1983 – A Blade in the Dark, Christine, Cujo, Curtains, The Deadly Spawn, Eyes of Fire, The House on Sorority Row, The Hunger, Mortuary, Nightmares, Sleepaway Camp, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, Twilight Zone: The Movie

1984 – C.H.U.D., Children of the Corn, The Company of Wolves, Gremlins, Night of the Comet, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Razorback, Silent Night Deadly Night, Firestarter, Starman, Ghostbusters

1985 – Cat’s Eye, Day of the Dead, Demons, Fright Night, Ghoulies, LifeForce, Phenomena, Re-Animator, The Return of the Living Dead, Silver Bullet, The Stuff, Cut and Run, The New Kids

1986 – Aliens, April Fools Day, Chopping Mall, Critters, Deadly Friend, The Fly, From Beyond, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Hitcher, House, Invaders from Mars, Little Shop of Horrors, Maximum Overdrive, Monster Dog, Night of the Creeps, Poltergeist 2: The Other Side, Rawhead Rex, Terrorvision, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Trick or Treat, Troll, Vamp, The Wraith

1987 – Angel Heart, Bad Taste, Creepshow 2, Dolls, Evil Dead 2, The Gate, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Hellraiser, The Hidden, House 2: The Second Story, The Outing, The Lost Boys, The Monster Squad, Near Dark, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Opera, Prince of Darkness, Predator, Stage Fright, The Stepfather, Street Trash, The Witches of Eastwick, Lady Beware, Fatal Attraction

1988 – Bad Dreams, The Blob, Child's Play, Dead Heat, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Fright Night Part 2, Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Lair of the White Worm, Maniac Cop, Night of the Demons, Phantasm 2, Pin, Prison, Pumpkinhead, Return of the Living Dead Part 2, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Uninvited, Watchers, Waxwork, They Live

1989 – 976-Evil, The Church, Grim Prairie Tales, The Horror Show, Intruder, Leviathan, Night Life, Pet Sematary, Shocker, Society, Warlock, Dead Calm, The Forgotten One, DeepStar Six

1990 – Braindead, Bride of Re-Animator, Child’s Play 2, The Exorcist 3, Frankenhooker, Graveyard Shift, The Guardian, Hardware, IT, Jacob’s Ladder, Misery, Night of the Living Dead, Nightbreed, Predator 2, The Reflecting Skin, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Tremors, Two Evil Eyes, Arachnophobia

1991 – Body Parts, Cape Fear, The People under the Stairs, The Pit and the Pendulum, Popcorn, Scanners 2: The New Order, The Silence of the Lambs, Sometimes they Come Back

1992 – Army of Darkness, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Candyman, Demonic Toys, Dolly Dearest, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Innocent Blood, Sleepwalkers, Spilt Second, Man Bites Dog

1993 – Body Bags, Carnosaur, Cronos, The Dark Half, Leprechaun, Return of the Living Dead 3, Trauma, Kalifornia, Man’s Best Friend

1994 – Brainscan, Cemetery Man, The Crow, Death Machine, Hellbound, In The Mouth of Madness, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Stand, Wes Cravens New Nightmare, Wolf, Interview with the Vampire

1995 – Castle Freak, Demon Knight, Lord of Illusions, The Mangler, Mosquito, The Prophecy, Species, Village of the Damned, Screamers, Dolores Claiborne

1996 – Bad Moon, The Craft, The Frighteners, From Dusk till Dawn, Jack Frost, Scream, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Mary Reilly

1997 – An American Werewolf in Paris, Anaconda, Campfire Tales, Cube, The Devils’ Advocate, Event Horizon, I know what you did last Summer, Mimic, The Night Flier, Nightwatch, The Relic, Quicksilver Highway, The Ugly, Wishmaster, Kiss the Girls, Se7en, Perfect Blue

1998 – Blade, Deep Rising, The Faculty, Ringu, Strangeland, Urban Legend, Vampires, Sphere

1999 – Audition, The Blair Witch Project, Deep Blue Sea, The Haunting, House on Haunted Hill, Lake Placid, The Mummy, Ravenous, Sleepy Hollow, Stigmata, Virus, The Sixth Sense, Idle Hands

2000 – American Psycho, Bless the Child, Blood: The Last Vampire, Cherry Falls, Final Destination, Ginger Snaps, Hollow Man, Ju-On, Pitch Black, Python, Versus, What Lies Beneath, The Gift, The Cell, Shadow of the Vampire

2001 – The Attic Expeditions, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Dagon, Jeepers Creepers, Mulholland Drive, The Others, Session 9, Thir13en Ghosts, The Devil’s Backbone, Frailty, From Hell, Hannibal

2002 – 28 Days Later, Blade 2, Bubba Ho-Tep, Cabin Fever, Dog Soldiers, Eight Legged Freaks, Ghost Ship, May, Queen of the Damned, Resident Evil, The Ring, They, The Mothman Prophecies, Red Dragon

2003 – Darkness Falls, Dream Catcher, Final Destination 2, Freddy Vs. Jason, Haute Tension, House of 1000 Corpses, A Tale of Two Sisters, Undead, Underwold, Willard, Wrong Turn

2004 – Alien Vs Predator, Club Dread, Dawn of the Dead, Dead & Breakfast, Exorcist: The Beginning, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, Godsend, Saw, Shaun of the Dead, The Village, Taking Lives, The Forgotten, Enduring Love

2005 – 2001 Maniacs, The Amityville Horror, Constantine, Dark Water, The Descent, The Devils’ Rejects, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Land of the Dead, Wolf Creek, Hard Candy

2006 – Abominable, All the boys love Many Lane, Black Sheep, Fido, Final Destination 3, Hatchet, The Hills have Eyes, Slither, The Woods, The Host, Silent Hill, The Tripper, Wild Country

2007 – 28 Weeks Later, 30 Days of Night, 1408, Grindhouse, I am Legend, The Mist, My Name is Bruce, Nature of the Beast, Paranormal Activity, Primeval, REC, Skinwalkers, Teeth, Trick r’ Treat, An American Crime, Rogue, Funny Games

2008 – Book of Blood, Cloverfield, Deadgirl, Diary of the Dead, Let the right one in, The Midnight Meat Train, Mirrors, Quarantine, The Ruins, Splinter, The Strangers, Eden Lake, Outlander

2009 – Case 39, Grace, The Haunting in Connecticut, Heartless, The House of the Devil, Jennifer’s Body, The Loved Ones, Orphan, Pandorum, Splice, Triangle, Zombieland, Carriers, Dread

2010 – Black Swan, The Crazies, Exorcismus, Frozen, Insidious, The Last Exorcism, Let me in, Primal, Tucker & Dale Vs Evil, The Wolfman, Troll Hunter, Devil

2011 – The Awakening, Don’t be afraid of the Dark, The Innkeepers, Livid, The Thing, The Woman, The Rite

2012 – American Mary, Bait, The Cabin in the Woods, The Devil Inside, The Possession, Prometheus, Sinister, Byzantium, Compliance

2013 – The Conjuring, Evil Dead, Jug Face, Mama, Under the Skin, Only Lovers Left Alive, Warm Bodies, Horns, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Contracted, Stoker

2014 – Annabelle, As Above So Below, The Babadook, Deliver us from Evil, A Girl walk home alone at Night, Life after Beth, Starry Eyes, Tusk, It Follows, Goodnight Mommy, The Voices, Digging up the Marrow, When Animals Dream, Gone Girl ,The Remaining, Late Phases, Cub

2015 – Crimson Peak, Krampus, The Lazarus Effect, Maggie, The Visit, The Witch, Bone Tomahawk, Green Room, Regression, The Devil’s Candy, The Lure

2016 – The Autopsy of Jane Doe, The Belko Experiment, The Boy, The Conjuring 2, Don’t Breathe, The Eyes of my Mother, Split, The Forest, The Love Witch, The Neon Demon, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Raw, Train to Busan, The Void, What We Become, 10 Cloverfield Lane, A Cure for Wellness, The Shallows, Pet, Hounds of Love

2017 – IT, Get Out, Mother!, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Ritual, Thelma, Veronica, It comes at Night, Life, Gerald’s Game, Revenge, 1922

2018 – Annihilation, Halloween, Hereditary, Mandy, Mom and Dad, The Nun, Overlord, Possum, A Quiet Place, Suspiria, The House that Jack Built, Bird Box, Apostle, The Meg

2019 – Brightburn, IT Chapter 2, Midsommar, Ready or Not, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Us, I am Mother, Crawl, The Dead Don’t Die, Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil and Vile, Glass

#begita #Horror #I'll probably add more #but these are the ones that come to mind first off

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ladywindrunner · 4 years

Note

try + deathwing :')

try + (character) // accepting ::

D E A T H W I N G

He, who was the greatest of calamities, a triumph in destruction – found himself destroyed before his symphony of ruin was complete. Merciful oblivion took him in the throes of deserved agony, and that devastating torture that wracked his body finally ceased.

He’d been nothing but a plague of misery and ash, a pestilence of consuming fire and malevolence. In the quiet now, without distractions he could consider his failure properly. His memories, twisted as they were, played out before him and he saw how his pathetic servants had fallen short of their duties.

How entirely vexing, the short comings of others.

For a briefest flash, free of the intrusive thoughts that he’d been unable to fight off, he thought he may deserve this fate. To be nothing save a foul memory. He can almost recall who’d he been before, almost grasp the concept of honour, duty, and valour. All things once attributed to him at his grandest—

NO.

Neltharion was dead. Destroyed beyond recognition, not even a corpse remained for those to mourn the fool who thought himself guardian. Imbecilic idealist who’d believed mortals even worth consideration. He was the champion of a rotting tomb, a hollow memory with a crumbling memorial somewhere on that pathetic world.

If even that.

Good. Let the world forget the Earth Warder. Let those who cling to his memory and beliefs suffer. Their weakness should be punished!

Within this sacred abyss was Deathwing. Greatest of all the dragons, he who could not be conquered without those fools mucking about with precious time. His laugh rung out to the nothingness about his incorporeal form. He laughed at his latent victory.

Who were they now to stand on mighty kingdoms of righteousness? For they had sinned as he had. They played with machinations said to be forbidden. But they did so with the naivety of children. They clung to their delusions of morality. Perhaps they’d struck him down, but their actions had unleashed unknowable catastrophes.

Fate would see them punished for their crimes, yet they would not possess the serenity of oblivion. They would fight, tooth and claw, to cling to that pathetic rock of a world. Their wars would simply draw more chaos, peace would never last.

What he pitied, was he would not be there to watch their misery. The Old Gods, whispering horrible truths, played their hand too early. Their patience was endless but limited. They were festering paradoxes, and in the silence death brought, it was a relief now that Deathwing did not have to endure their plots.

Such simple schemes they were, too. To rule a world empty of resistance, to corrupt it and twist all those on it to the void.

He barked out a bellowing laugh, for here he could mock them. Their deaths, without he as their dark vanguard, would be swift and well deserved.

Old Gods indeed, free of their madness, he could see just how archaic their designs were. They wrought ruin for ruin’s sake.

But was that not the simplicity sicknesses incurred? A disease has no drive beyond mutation and death.

If Deathwing felt shame, it was only because he’d permitted them to warp his own desires. They offered him power eons ago, but who truly had worked to obtain it?

He had. He’d done the work; and suffered for it. He’d walked amongst the mortals and manipulated them, he’d tricked the other Aspects. What had the Old Gods done but offer empty promises from their long lost prisons? He’d wanted freedom from a burden thrust on him undeservedly so, and why? Because beings claiming to be his betters wanted to witness what would occur. They who could not even bother to care for their own world, gave the responsibility to dragons undoubtedly out of sheer convenience.

The abyss contained within it, no semblance of time. Here, he sensed there was no beginning nor ending. This was existence at its worst. To be something almost tangible, with thoughts and goals, but without a means to properly act. The predicament was inconvenient. Infuriating that this was the end the Old Gods had brought him.

Where are your whispers now, you filth. I so wish to witness your demise. I know of many who you thought to rule who planned to betray you. Let them taste victory, if there is any semblance of justice within the cosmos, you will be nothing but the fleeting terror in the dreams of infants!

Resentment was a fine companion. One worthy of his hatred.

“And my father is dead, because of the Old Gods.”

Wrathion.

His son, a runt hardly worth a thought. Deathwing’s contempt for him is only matched by his amusement. The purge of his flight had failed then, though it was a shame that it was one so wretchedly weak that survived. Was he to believe that it was Wrathion who lead the struggle against the Old Gods?

There is a flicker of pride for the boy, though it is fleeting. How grand would it be if it should be his son to strike down the disease? It would not be so difficult to imagine; the Old Gods were arrogant things. They thought themselves untouchable because they were as real as nightmares.

Fools, as maddening as their designs were, they were fragile.

Falsehoods. Fakes. Lies. Mirages of the worst sort, but illusions all the same.

Prove yourself useful, whelp. Deathwing rumbled, the void about him shaking in resonance. Even here, in this nothingness, he possessed power. Surely you tire of being such a disappointment.

The silence around him is deafening. He waits to see if oblivion bestows him with another glimmer. He knows many of his former masters have perished. He delights in it. Somehow, in this vast emptiness, his knowledge has expanded. This abyss is as much their fate as it was his. Only they, without the fear of mortals to sustain them, are withering. Their greed and lust to be worshipped and dreaded is their downfall.

He was not so simple, and that was the only gift Neltharion bestowed upon him. His existence before corruption promised that Deathwing would not be so easily vanquished. No, he was to suffer. As if somehow, being free of the crushing weight of Azeroth, and the madness it seeded was a punishment.

Oh, how he laughed.

I am destruction. What this oblivion seeks to do, is my very being. I am imprisoned here, but with it comes immortality.

His voice rings out to the emptiness, his new seat of power. There is a flicker of something forming. A wisp, a mote of existence within nothing. Shadow and flame, an ember of defiant, vicious truth.

“In N’Zoth’s name, his wings will darken the sky once more!”

His fury is immediate. A thunderous roar threatens to send the abyss fleeing in terror as it rings out. How dare anyone proclaim it would be some disease that would see Deathwing rise! The insolence! He seethes with loathing, and his being violently lashes out at the nothingness.

This was the first time oblivion felt as though it were a prison. He could not reach out and snuff out the proclamation. He could imagine the Old Gods laughing, mocking him even as they become grains of sand to be blown away by history.

His connection to this one is different. She is not his child, but the daughter of Onyxia. Yet her spirit burned truer than his son’s. She did not wish to be weak as the other dragons were. She valued power, control, and knew that to obtain such things one could not be so limited by ethics.

He fought against the ignorance this place wished to bestow upon him. He would have her name.

Nalice.

That inkling of flame grew larger as he stretched forth his mind and found the boundaries of oblivion.

It was vast, but not limitless.

Another lie of the gods. Old, new, and those who were timeless. The darkness that awaited the unworthy and wicked was not endless. It had walls, a floor, a ceiling.

Or… had he given it such things?

This was his domain after all.

That spark of smoke and flame descended into the floor.

Deathwing reached out for the worthier of the two descendants. He touched her mind, graced her with dreams of N’Zoth’s destruction. That infestation’s inevitable demise. He, the Destroyer, severed the old god’s hold on his granddaughter. She dreamt of Azeroth aflame, and the skies blackened by a thousand shadows.

The Black Dragonflight reborn.

You, child. He spoke to her, his words near beyond comprehension. He shook her sanity with his rampant might. May yet prove worthy of my gaze.

Oblivion caught fire, and the ground heaved.

The floor split open, a vast river of lava given light to an empty realm. Tectonic plates, suddenly thrust into existence, slammed into one another, forging ugly, jaded mountains. Lakes of tar seeped up from hairline cracks, and the abyss now reeked of sulfur and brimstone. Vents of noxious gas sprouted like wildflowers, spewing toxins into the air.

Hellish light illuminated the corpses of the old gods. Fire consumed them until they were nothing.

The tallest of mountains erupted. Plumes of ash and choking smoke exploded into the sky as debris rained down onto the valleys of lava. Magma roared outwards next, running down the cliffs in thick, murderous streams.

This realm is mine. His voice sees the new forged ground quake. Great crevices sundered open, and out from them crawled twisted elementals. Abyssal creatures of fire and earth.

Out rose a form from the belly of the volcano, a marvel of darkness. A draconic monster wrapped in smoke, lava running off seething scales and oblivion plate. He arose as a black dragon of oblivion, and he permitted his terrible power to breathe out of him. His wings smoldered and spat fire, magma leaked from his maw in a horrific fashion.

Deathwing, Lord of Oblivion, Emperor of the Abyss.

Fiery gaze turned upward as he coiled his form around the peak of the sundering mountain.

Pitiful mortals. He snarls, lips curling back as he peers up at that infinite dark. Watch as your world comes to an end.

An earthquake shakes the continent of Kalimdor. The lava fields of Sulfuron Spire churn. Temperatures rise as an early summer sweeps across the land.

And rallying call reaches the mind of those he deems worthy.

All will burn beneath the shadow of my wings.

#deathwing #neltharion #// with cameos of wrathion #// and windrunnerrs' nalice #// x.x hope dis is okiii #✯:: I trust you will not waste my time ( memes )#terraforged

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ticklikeabomb · 5 years

Text

Convincing Loki to help you out - Part 3 (Finale)

Pairing : Avengers x Gender Neutral Plus Size Reader ; Loki x Gender Neutral Plus Size Reader (platonic)

Warnings : Language, Endgame events altered, Death of character

Word Counts : 1.9k

Once the teams have been split, everyone got into those terrible red and white Quantum Real uniforms Tony designed and circled the entry of the device. "Everyone knows what they're supposed to do", said Steve looking at everyone warmly before his eyes narrowed on your figure to which you grazed at him with a smug smile. They nodded and Natasha commented "See you in a minute" to which you made a grimace, not feeling like it. "Come on Loki Luke, let's get this junk started", you grabbed the God of Mischief and traveled back to 2013 Asgard, ending in the prison district. You saw Loki's room and turned to the present version telling him, "You could at least clean your room." He rolled his eyes before turning towards you, justifying that it wasn't his room but his cell. "Hmm…even in jail you have to be a fancy bitch, don't you?", you commented while passing the cell.

You saw Rocket and Thor hide and in the middle of a commotion. And then you snapped when seeing Rocket's hand lift. "Don't you dare slap him!", you said through greeted teeth and preventing the hit. "Y/N the mission", whispered Loki. "If I know that you did it, you can say goodbye to that furry thing between your legs", you threatened the Guardian. He swallowed harshly and dropped his hand. "We'll gonna check out what's happening in New York", you said softly to Thor and calmed his anxiety down with some of your powers. Giving a deadly look to Rocket, you grabbed Loki once more and disappeared.

You ended next to Tony who slightly jumped, "God, you scared me." "What's happening? Tony?", you heard Steve on the comms. "Y/N and Loki are here", answered Scott. Tony commented on Steve's ass and you checked him out. 2012's Loki version began impersonating Rogers once more during his life time and you turned towards him, "You surely like impersonating Steve in particular, hein" and saw Loki's cheeks turn a slight pink shade. "It's ok if you wanna bang him, he surely must be righteous in ALL the places", you joked. "Would you Stop!", he greeted through his teeth making you chuckle and Tony smirk. "I hate you", he tuned towards you. "Yeah, yeah, love you too". Passing him a Pym Particle you told him you were going to check on the events in Vormir.

You arrived after the Keeper finished his famous 'One soul for a soul' part. "Alright Kim Possible what's going on?", you chanted while seeing them fighting each other. You rolled your eyes and sighed before paralyzing the two Avengers. You nodded at the Keeper and said "How's life, Skully?" "Long and empty", he responded. "Yup like my sex life. Happens. " You marched at the former SHIELD agents and they seem in pain. "What are you doing?", asked Clint. Your tone got solennel, "My job." Natasha's eyes widened and she whispered, "You gonna jump aren't you?" "It won't work, it must be someone you deeply love", said Clint. "No shit Sherlock." Turning to Red Skull, you saw him nod. You looked down the cliff and exclaimed before jumping, "This is gonna hurt like a Motherfucker." The only thing that was heard next was your skull fractured on the stone.

Natasha and Clint woke up, water surrounding them and the most beautiful sky they've ever witnessed. Inside her palm, Natasha had the soul stone in her possession. They sighed and activated the Pym Particle to get back to the present timeline. As planned, everyone arrived at the same time with the Infinity Stones. Some of them let out a happy scream of joy for achieving the Heist until Loki noticed your absence. "Where's Y/N?" He looked at Natasha and Clint and repeated his question with a firmer voice. "Where are they?" They bowed their head and said, "They sacrificed themselves for the Stone." The room quieted down, everyone giving you a minute of respect for what you've done. Loki left the room and ended near the compound's lake. "Why did you do it?", he mumbled to himself.

In the meantime, Tony carefully inserted the stones on his Gauntlet and Hulk reverse snapped everyone back. They felt the air around them shift and truly realized it worked when Clint's wife called him. Their joy quickly vanished when Thanos' ship shadow rotated above the compound and bombed the place. Recovering their senses, Tony, Steve and Thor marched at their nemesis. The fight 2.0 began. Thanos was on the verge to get Thor when Steve wielded Mjöllnir. "YESSS", shouted Thor. Thanos and Steve fought until it was only The Captain facing Thanos and his army. "On your left", he heard the comms. Two simple words warming his heart. Portals opened up, the World's Mightiest Heroes joining each other for one purpose. One order and everyone ran into battle.

Before crashing against the army, the right fling was decimated by an unknown force. "ProtoVision" by Kavinsky was blasting in the air. You appeared in a grand entrance, sword in hand, decimating everyone in your passage. The Avengers seeing you alive, proudly shouted into battle. "Hello Thanos, long time no see", you faced the Titan, who tensed at your presence. You didn't give him a chance to respond and attacked. Steve, Tony, Thor and Loki joined you. Each taking a turn on the Titan. At the corner of your eye, you saw Peter fleeing with the Gauntlet and decided to give him a hand. He didn't see the Alien coming behind him at full speed. You intervened the moment the monster was about to stab him but ended stabbing you instead. You fell to the ground, bleeding out. Loki was by your side, "Y/N, hey it's gonna be ok. I'm here." You shook your head and told him to go gets his revenge before, once more, passing away.

The fight escalated. Doctor Strange had to control the breach before it drowned the place while Thanos called for back-up. The Avengers were on their lasts ressources when Carol Danvers came crashing the Alien Spaceship. It was her turn to face off Thanos. She was keeping the Gauntlet from him while standing her ground. Thanos managed to take the upper-hand and take the Gauntlet back. Tony pushed further by attacking Thanos but was projecting to the ground by the Titan. "I am the inevitable", he proclaimed before snapping his fingers. When he saw it didn't work, you let the masquerade fade away and transformed from Tony to yourself, the Stones glowing on your bare arm. "And I am the beginning and the end", you said with a piercing gaze and snapped.

You felt the Stone's powers invading you, burning you whole. Thanos and his army vanished while you laid on the ground, breathing weakly. The Avengers kneeled before you and asked how you managed to come back. "I was created to keep the Stones safe and hidden. In doing so, I managed like a cat to have an amount of life chances. Six stones, six lives. I just used the last one. No coming back anymore", you spoke slowly, a silent tear sliding down your face. While you were telling them how you managed to come back, you traced a code in the dusty ground. Natasha noticed your move but quickly focused her gaze back on you dying. "I got my wish. I won't die alone", you said before slightly pushing your sword to Loki's direction. "You're worth it", and with that your body glowingly faded away.

————-

5 months later

The compound has been in reconstruction after the Grand Battle. Natasha recovered your code left on the dusty ground, tracing every formula with Tony and Bruce's help. Until now it was a dead-end. "If they left this behind it's not a coincidence", said Tony, while scratching his neck. "Sir, there is a delivery guy outside the compound's door", exclaimed F.R.I.D.A.Y. Confusion was written all over their features seeing that the package came from you. They intercepted the delivery guy and asked them about the package. He checked his notebook and declared that they that received instructed to deliver it today. Tony called everyone on their provisory conference room. "Why today?", asked Rhodes. No one had an answer. Inside the box, Tony recovered an USB drive to which he uploaded on the main screen.

It was a video recording of you facing the camera.

"Hello, if you see this message it means I am no longer. Obviously, otherwise that would be weird me watching this with you. So dramatic, right?", they heard you chuckle and couldn't help smile at the screen. "I know you all loved me and will miss me so much to the point of questioning if life is worth living without me in it, but it is. I would like to use this tragic moment to leave my last impressions and directives to you."

"Rhodes…would you slap Ross for me. Pleeeasse. I can't stand that one. Squirrel if I find out you slapped him, I will come back and cut not only your furry D but both your hands", you said with a piercing look. "Alright, I get it no slapping, Jeez", spoke Rocket in the room. The others looked at each other confused except for Loki who laughed out loud. "Little Ant, never stop growing, the stars aren't the limit." "Awnnn so cute", exclaimed Scott with a dorky smile on his face. "Clint I have been willing to ask you this for some time now. …WTF is that hAiRcUt ?!? Bruce, Hulk…Hulce, the new look definitely threw me of the grid. Wasn't expecting it but as long as you're in peace that's what matters. And ohh by the love of the cosmos NEVER DAB AGAIN." "Bro what?", Tony turned towards his friend who only shrugged.

"Thunder Thor out here killing all the humans with that amazing smile. Never stop doing that. Hmm who next? STEVIE-OHHHH, I know what happened in that office. No, I wasn't creeping around like some", you said insinuating it about him. "She knows she means everything to you, trust me for once. The past should stay in the past. It's time for the world to meet the Nomad *winks* you know what you gotta do." Steve's gaze briefly landed on Sam.

"Tony, Metal man himself. You can go rest now. You did good. It's time for your second journey, tiny and cute Morgan. Natasha, the spy of it all. I think I left you a task didn't I. Here let me give you one more hint. 'What you're looking for is closer than you think'. And finally, the one and only God of Mischief, Low-key. It was fun hanging out with you. Who thought you were more than just an amazing haircut. Don't do anything stupid but in case you do, don't forget about me. Take care of our baby."

"Anyway this is fucked up. If I had to choose a song to describe my life it would be Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It started slow, hesitant, simple before unexpectedly accelerating. The Rock'n'Roll notes overflowing my existence. Yeah you better be ready, sometimes I'm deep ok. Well 'was'. You were my Rock'n'Roll part and I would like to thank you for that. For a small fraction I didn't just exist but I lived. Bye Losers and live freely you little birds. "

The video ended with you smiling at the camera.

"Oh I almost forgot, btw, Nick Fury and Maria Hill are Skrulls. Peace!', your voice was heard for the last time on the tape.

The audience turned towards Fury and Maria, who felt very uncomfortable. They revealed their true identity before 'Fury' declared, "We can explain."

* gifs not mine, credit to owners*

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littleshebear · 5 years

Text

Destiny Fanfiction: Truth

Some self-indulgent Dawning-related fluff I wrote last year but never posted for whatever reason. Here’s a dark age, kinderguardian Zavala learning about the power of myth and stories, then teaching those lessons back to a Guardian Sasha.

Crunch!

“What are you doing?”

Crunch!

Zavala trails behind Sasha, watching her bunny-hop through the snow outside the gathering hall. He had recommended they leave when Sasha had reached for her knife after the tenth or so suggestion that they get a room.

“It’s really satisfying,” she replies, jumping onto another patch of virgin snow. Crunch! “You should try it.”

“Is it calming you down?” He cocks his head, smiling at the incongruity of a woman who can snipe three Fallen Vandals in as many seconds, playing in the snow like a child.

She turns to face him, grinning brilliantly. “I wasn’t actually going to stab anyone, you know.” There’s a series of gratifying crunches as she hops towards him. “You worry too much.”

“I’m never sure when you’re joking.” He hazards reaching out and brushing the back of his fingers against her chill-flushed cheek. She doesn’t flinch or pull away, a fact he finds infinitely more pleasing than the sound of freshly-trodden snow. “It’s cold, you should get inside.”

“No,” she protests, taking his hand in hers. “I’m not tired yet. Come on.” She leads him back towards the festivities but eschews the main hall. The normally sterile winter air is alive with the scent of woodsmoke and roasting meat. They weave through the crowds until they reach one of a few braziers dotted around a larger bonfire. There’s a group of people gathered around the open air fires listening to Matushka hold court. Sasha warms her hands over the flames and smiles up at him. “There. I won’t freeze to death, happy now?”

“I just worry.”

“We already established that,” she says with a chuckle. “It’s endearing." He looks sceptical so she adds, "Really.”

He nods towards the old woman. She speaks with a clear, ringing voice, in a language he doesn't understand. “What is she saying?”

“She’s telling stories.” Sasha smiles softly, unmistakable pride creeping into her expression. “Matushka knows them all. We lost so much during the Collapse but alot of our legends made it. The Fallen could burn as many archives as they liked but you can’t burn down an oral tradition. So long as there are storytellers, the stories will survive.”

“Which story is this?”

Sasha takes a moment to translate. “How Lake Baikal came to be. Well, one version of it, there are a few.”

“I thought it was seismic activity?”

“No!" She gives him a playful smack on the arm, before hedging. "Well yes. But no. It's an old, old legend. I’m no Matushka but I’ll do my best. So, Old Man Baikal had three hundred and thirty six sons and one-”

“Busy man, this Baikal.”

“Shh!” She gives him another light tap on the arm. “He had three hundred and thirty six sons and one daughter, Angara. She was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, so Baikal became jealous and cruel. He locked her away and refused to let her see anyone. She spent her days in loneliness and misery, the birds where her only contact with the outside world.” She paused to listen to Matushka speak for a while, before continuing. “One day, the birds brought her news of a young man named Yenisei who had heard of her plight. The birds carried messages between them and they fell in love.”

“Birds can’t talk.”

“It’s a myth, Luchik, work with me here. Suspend your disbelief.” She sighs to compose herself. “So. Yenisei came to rescue Angara and they managed to escape Westward. When Baikal realised Angara had fled he became enraged. He picked up a massive boulder and threw it at the young lovers to try and stop them.” The lake is shrouded in darkness but she knows exactly in which direction to point. “The Shaman Stone, that’s the rock he threw. It sits at the source of the River…" She expands her palm outwards in a revelatory gesture, "Angara! When Baikal realised he’d lost his daughter he wept and wept until his tears formed the lake.”

Sasha falls silent again and rests her head on his shoulder as she listens to the end of the story. “That’s how Lake Baikal and the Shaman Stone came to be. And that’s why three hundred and thirty six rivers flow into Lake Baikal and only one, the Angara, flows out and merges with the river Yenisei.”

There’s an outbreak of murmurs and discussion from the gathered crowd as Matushka finishes the story. Zavala says nothing for a time, he just gazes into the flames in front of them. “I don’t understand,” he says, eventually.

“What’s not to understand?” Sasha asks.

“Why do you still tell these stories? You know they’re not real. You know that these rivers and lakes happened because of tectonic plates, glaciers and what have you, not a possessive old man’s tears.”

“Just because they’re not real, that doesn’t mean they’re not true.” She need not to look at him to know that his brows are almost certainly knitting into a confused frown. “We don’t tell these stories because we literally believe them. They tell us things about ourselves. There are truths in myth.”

“Very well, I’ll bite,” he says, putting his arm around her shoulders. “What’s the truth about an angry old lake spirit throwing rocks at his daughter and her lover?”

Sasha relaxes against him, drawing on his warmth as well as that of the fire. “Well, I think it tells you about what love really is.” Zavala holds his breath, hoping that she can’t feel how much he’s tensed up all of a sudden. “Yenisei loved Angara. He wanted her to be free but Baikal...” Sasha pauses, leaning into the embrace. “Baikal said he loved Angara, he claimed she was the most precious thing in the world to him but. Well, that’s just it. She was a thing to him. He kept her locked up like a jewel in a box. That’s not love. That’s possession. In trying to hold on to her, he lost her. Attachment like that, it’s…” She takes a deep, shuddering breath. “It’s not healthy. If you love someone, if you really love them, you have to be willing to let them go.”

Zavala closes his eyes and encircles her with his arms, as if to relieve her of the weight of the words she's just spoken. “You don’t need to do that, Sashenka. I meant what I said.”

She returns the hug, the way her fingers sink into the fur of his jerkin belying her words. “If you need to leave for the Traveler after the thaw, I won’t stop you.”

“I’m not leaving.” He plants a kiss on top of her head that seems to serve as a full stop.

They stand in silence for a while, watching the fire and listening to voices that float over from the main gathering. Sasha eventually interrupts the quiet with a question. Zavala knows she’s trying to change the subject but he’s willing to let her. “Don’t you have stories? The Awoken, I mean. Aren’t there stories in the Reef, creation myths, tall tales?”

“There are, I guess but…” Zavala hedges. He guesses there are but he’s damned if he can remember any of them. “We left. Maybe our stories didn’t have enough truth to them.”

Sasha tips her head back to look up at him. “So make new ones.”

~*~*~*~*

“Zavala!” Izanami flitted around Zavala’s head like a gadfly, nudging his shoulder and purposefully blocking his view of his work. She wove left and right trying to lock his gaze with her optic. “It’s the first night of The Dawning, that’s enough now. You haven’t even looked at the Dawning Crystal, Ikora really outdid herself this year. The night shift is here. Everyone else has left, you’ve got no excuse...”

“The Dawning isn’t going anywhere, The Dawning can wait a few minutes while I finish up.” He replied, gently pushing her out of his way.

“We’re going to be late, Amanda will kill us.”

“First of all, we’re not going to be late and secondly Amanda will not-”

“She’s been working hard on this dinner, if we’re late she will literally kill us.”

Zavala pressed his lips into a thin line. “Literally? Words mean things, Izanami, you know I don’t like it when you do that.” The little AI’s shell was quivering with nervous energy. If he didn’t know that Ghosts didn’t eat, Zavala could swear she was hyped up on too much sugar from Dawning treats. Maybe it was psychosomatic? Could Ghosts pick up on the mood of over-excited humans? No matter, the root cause didn’t change the fact that she was actively delaying him rather than hurrying him along.

“Let’s go!” She pleads, turning in an impatient pirouette.

“The more you pester, the longer this will take. You go on ahead, tell Amanda I will be there in twenty minutes.” He raises an eyebrow for emphasis. “Literally, twenty minutes.”

“Fine.” His ghost turns to leave before abruptly turning back to face him. “But if you’re late and Amanda does kill you? I’m not rezzing you.”

“Thats a risk I shall have to take.” Zavala returned to his work with a wry shake of his head. It wasn’t just dotting i’s and crossing t’s in these missives to the Speaker. For his own peace of mind, he had to be sure the hand over to the Night Shift was properly handled and besides, there were Dawning-specific social niceties to think of. His conscience wouldn’t have allowed him to head off to a celebration without personally thanking each and every one of the staff who had volunteered to work over this festival. It was a selfless act and that was something that spoke to Zavala’s pride in his City like nothing else.

When he finally left, he decided to take a brief detour to take a look at the decorations around the Tower. As the Dawning Crystal hove into view when he ascended the steps to the plaza, he had to admit, Izanami was right. Ikora had outdone herself. A warm feeling bloomed in his chest as he took in the sight of the lanterns strung around the plaza and the snowfall filling in the footprints of raucous guardians armed with snowballs. He turned towards Traveler’s walk; the view from there during winter was always lovely and that area was less likely to be used as a snowball field of conflict. As he suspected, it was far quieter there. It was silent save for the sound of two feet jumping simultaneously into the snow over and over. He followed the sound to see who was making it.

Sashenka. No, he couldn’t call her that, not anymore. Hunter. Guardian. Those were the only appropriate names now. She was leaping, two feet together, from one unsullied patch of snow to another. She would occasionally pause to stamp down the snow into ice before moving on. He shouldn’t be there, he could practically hear his Ghost urging him to leave, telling him what a terrible, terrible idea it was to stay. Yet, there he was. Rooted to the spot, taking in every detail; How beautiful she looked bathed in the combination of lantern and Traveler light, the snowflakes settling on and standing out against her black hair, how similar she was to that woman he fell in love with centuries ago. How very discomfiting it was how often she challenged his assertion that Guardians were not the same people they were before they died.

Sasha did a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn. Her laugh when she stuck the landing was suddenly cut short when she saw Zavala watching her. She staggered to the side, spoiling the pattern of double footprints she’d left in the snow. She gave an awkward wave.

“Evening, Commander.”

Zavala responded with a respectful nod and crossed over to her. “Hunter. Enjoying your first Dawning?”

She shrugged and nodded a little too vigorously. “Uhm. Yes?”

He frowned at how unconvinced she sounded. “No plans for tonight?”

“My friends are having a party.”

“Your friends.” He held her gaze. “But not you.”

She exhaled slowly and seemed to deflate. “I’m just not feeling it.” The lines on Zavala's forehead deepened, signalling a demand for an explanation. “It’s not a real festival. It’s all made up.”

“Not real?”

“It’s cherry-picked. It’s a hodge-podge of different cultures.” She bowed her head and looked up at him through apologetic eyelashes. “It seems fake to me.”

Zavala brushed some snow off a nearby bench and gestured for her to sit.

“Did I say something wrong?” She asked, sinking down, her shoulders hunched up as far as they’ll go.

“No,” he said,settling on the bench beside her. “Just consider the possibility that just because something isn��t real, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” He paused to let her respond but her only answer was knotted brows, so he continued. “Rites, rituals, festivals. They give structure and meaning to our lives. You don’t have to believe in the reality of the Dawning to believe in the truth of the message behind it.”

“Which is?”

“How did you feel when you were first resurrected?”

“Scared. Lonely, I guess. Doesn’t everyone feel that way at first?”

“At first, yes. Being awoken, alone, without even the memory of who you once were to keep you company is a hard thing to bear. I know I felt adrift, with only my Ghost to keep me right.”

Sasha shook her head ruefully. “It’s hard to imagine you as a confused kinderguardian. You’re so-”

“- Choose your next words carefully,” he deadpanned.

“Stolid.” She grinned up at him, waiting for his reaction.

“All right. That’s an acceptable description.”

“Well I’m relieved, Commander,” she said, through soft laughter. “But what does this have to do with the Dawning?”

He smiled, allowing himself a modicum of pride in the fact that he can still make her laugh, stolid as he is. “I was scared, yes, lonely too but I found people. Made friends, formed connections. The same goes for the refugees who came to the Traveler and founded the City. The collapse was culturally devastating, so much was destroyed; Histories, languages, communities. We lost our stories, we lost those things that teach us about the world we live in. So we salvaged what we could and made new stories. We took what was true, what mattered and made new festivals to preserve them. We survived. We joined together and were stronger for it. We rebuilt. We are the light in the Darkness. That’s the story the Dawning tells. That’s what it’s for. So yes, it’s constructed. Made up, if you will.”

“But it’s true. It's the City's truth. I get it.” She gave him a sly, sidelong glance.“So it’s not just about cookies and presents?”

“Well, no. A big part of the Dawning is about celebrating family and friendship. Cookies and presents help with that, I suppose. So go. Be with your friends. Eat drink, be merry, for tomorrow we fight.”

Sasha rose and vigorously shook her head, theatrically ridding her hair of the snowflakes that had settled there. “Wait.” She smoothed her hair out of her face and looked intently down at him. “You’re by yourself. Do you have somewhere to be? You can’t be spending the Dawning alone, not after that speech you just gave me.”

“I have somewhere to be,” He reassured her as he got to his feet.

“Oh. Well. Good.” She seemed relieved and perhaps a little disappointed too. Zavala couldn’t be sure but he wondered if she’d started forming an invitation in her head. He decided that was just egotistical wishful thinking on his part. It was safer that way.

“Happy Dawning, Guardian,” he said with a respectful nod.

“You too, Commander.” She pivoted her foot as if turning to leave but the rest of her body didn’t follow suit. “And thank you.”

“For what?”

“You always know what to say.” She shrugged, as though that were completely obvious.

“I’ve had some very good teachers.”

If Sasha were intimidated by the intensity of his gaze, she didn’t show it. She stared back at him for a not uncomfortable couple of seconds before finally blinking several times and looking away. She drew up her hood with a sheepish smile and a mumbled, “G’night.”

Zavala didn’t move. He watched her make her way down the path, waiting, hoping for her to grace him with another glance in his direction. Amanda Holliday’s amused drawl over his comm unit eventually distracted him from his vigil.

“So your Ghost wanted me to tell you that you’re officially late, Commander.”

“Are you going to kill me? She was at pains to tell me you would literally kill me if I were late.”

“Nah, you’re fine,” she explained. “You’re officially late, not Zavala-late.”

“What is Zavala-late?” he started ambling down the path once Sasha was finally out of sight.

“Half an hour after the official starting time. That lets you squeeze in all those one last, one last things you always have to get done before you leave work. So you’d better get down here before your Ghost has a nervous breakdown.”

“I’m on my way. I’ll see you soon.” He turned off his comm unit and halted where the path met a patch of snow-covered grass, deciding that he had one last, one last thing to do before he went to dinner. He regarded the pristine, gleaming expanse of white with a serious expression. He glanced around furtively, looking to make sure no one else had entered Traveler’s Walk. When he was sufficiently satisfied that he was alone, he put his feet together and bunny-hopped forwards onto the snow, chuckling softly to himself.

#destiny fanfiction #the dawning #commander zavala #zavala x oc #zavala x female guardian #dark age flashbacks #my writing #oc: sasha #zavala x sasha

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imitranslates · 5 years

Text

Fukigen na Mononokean Ch. 73

A surprise meeting for the boys this month...

Please remember to check out the official English release when it comes out, preferably on Crunchyroll if you’re able to!

The newest chapter can be read on the official website by clicking the yellow button labeled 読む!

Fukigen na Mononokean Chapter 73 - Tearful Audience

Page 1

Aoi: You can see me off from here.

Aoi: My body won't be able to move in a few more days.

Page 2

Aoi: When I become nourishment for the parasitic shrub, and my spiritual power is weakened,

Aoi: The one I nominated as my successor will be appointed as a new guardian of the door to the Underworld.

Aoi: That means the moment you are able to call the door to the Underworld, "Abeno Haruitsuki" will become the master of the Mononokean.

Aoi: Do everything for the sake of the demons.

Page 3

Aoi: See you... Itsuki.

Page 4

Abeno: Good morning.

Mononokean: Mornin'~!

Mononokean: Hm?

Mononokean: Don't you have school today? Are you planning to go in those clothes?

Abeno: That's not it.

Abeno: I want to visit Newt Lake first.

Abeno: I want to report to the Legislator about Yahiko's case as soon as possible.

Page 5

Mononokean: Then, I'll connect a door to Newt Lake.

Abeno: Good morning.

Legislator: I don't want to start working right after getting up... Can't you come back after I've slept some more?

Page 6

Legislator: ...I see.

Legislator: It's just as you thought, Itsuki.

Legislator: The true identity of that fox spirit is Prince Mioya-hiko.

Legislator: But we didn't expect the Princess's poor condition to have an effect on Prince Mioya-hiko, too.

I'll share the information about this matter with everyone.

Abeno: I'd be grateful.

Abeno: With that, I'll be...

Legislator: Hey, wait a moment.

Legislator: There's one more thing you need to report.

Abeno: ?

Page 7

Legislator: The Underworld Princess said, "I'd like to meet the second master of the Mononokean."

Abeno: Me?

Legislator: When we talked about Aoi's remains, she was very interested.

Legislator: Isn't this your chance for an audience?

Page 8

Legislator: It's a special occasion, so why not bring your employee along to introduce him and go answer her questions?

Abeno: Ah?!

Legislator: Since it's like that...

Legislator: All members of the Mononokean must go to visit the Underworld Princess.

That's a "rule."

(Ashiya: GYAAAAAH!)

Page 9

(Ashiya: Gyaaaaah!!)

(Abeno: Shut up.)

Justice: Ashiya-kun, we've arrived.

Ashiya: Nn...

Page 10

Justice: Through here is how you get to the Princess's throne.

Ashiya: Golden flames...

Ashiya: The entrance sure is flaming, so how are we supposed to get in?

Justice: Just like this.

Ashiya: Eh?!

Justice: Don't worry, it only burns if you've got negative intentions toward the Underworld Princess.

Ashiya: You're right... It's not hot.

Page 11

Abeno&Ashiya: !?

Ashiya: Now there are four entrances...

Abeno: Which one do we take?

Justice: For the audience chamber... This time it's the left-most one.

(Ashiya: Mr. Justice... You can let me down, you know?)

(Justice: I'm not gonna...)

Abeno: "This time" means there are more of those crossroads?

Justice: That's right, Itsuki. There's enough branching paths in this place to be a maze.

Ashiya: This time there's three hallways!

Page 12

Abeno: Even if an intruder managed to slip past those flames earlier,

They wouldn't be able to reach the Princess's throne with this kind of layout...

Justice: Some halls have traps set in 'em, too.

Be sure not to get lost.

Justice: ...Hm?

Justice: Ah... damn. Got it wrong...

Ashiya: Wha?!

Abeno: Ah?

Page 13

Foxes: Kon!

Abeno&Ashiya: ......

Abeno: ...Fox spirits?

Ashiya: How cute... (There's three of them...)

Justice: Itsuki. We're gonna run, so get on my back.

Abeno: !

Abeno: You mean... one of the "traps" is...

Fox: Koooon!

Page 14

Ashiya: Woah... Those are some huge hands...

Fox: Konn!!

(Ashiya: Uwaaaah!!)

Page 15

(Ashiya: Uwaaaah!)

Justice: Mmm... They're gonna keep chasing us... What a pain.

Abeno: Justice, we're reading another branched path.

Justice: This time, the way to go is this one.

Justice: Next is over here.

Justice: And then.... this one, I guess?

(Ashiya: Aaaaaahhh!!)

Abeno: !?

Ashiya: Uwah!?

Page 16

Princess: Release them.

Princess: They are not intruders.

Fox: Kon!?

Ashiya: !

Princess: The servants of the throne have treated you roughly.

Princess: Allow me to welcome you, master of the Mononokean, Abeno Haruitsuki, and employees of the Mononokean, Ashiya Hanae and Hairball.

Page 17

[Could this voice be the Underworld Princess...?!]

Fox: Kon.

Ashiya: Wah!

Justice: They did nothing wrong. I ended up picking the wrong hall...

Princess: So that's what it was... How unfortunate.

Princess: Justice. You must be tired from acting as a guide until now.

Princess: Please relax in the antechamber while I finish speaking with the Mononokean.

Justice: Even if you say that, I can't.

While Ashiya-kun is in the Underworld, I gotta watch him.

Unless it's somewhere I can keep an eye on him, then...

Page 18

Princess: I wish to speak with them alone.

Princess: Please, Justice...

Justice: !

Justice: ......

Justice: ...Well, if it's a request from the Princess.

Justice: Please take your time.

Page 19

Abeno: Divinity of the Underworld, Princess Kamo-wakeikazuchi-hime... This is the first time I've made your acquaintance.

Princess: Cough...

Princess: ...I have heard of the Mononokean's activities from the Legislator.

Page 20

Princess: You all are human, however,

The devoted work you do to support demons is worthy of my confidence.

Abeno: Your words are too kind...

Princess: ...And...

About Mioya-hiko...

Abeno&Ashiya: !

Princess: ...How bad is Yahiko's condition?

Abeno: His symptoms are similar to yours, Princess, but he still has a healthy appetite and has enough energy to move around as he likes.

I delivered some of Kiyakudo's medicine to him, so as long as he continues taking it, he should recover soon....

Page 21

Abeno&Ashiya: (As long as he takes it properly everyday...)

Abeno: ...

Ashiya: ...

Yahiko: Ugh?! It's bitter!! And stinks!! It's horrible!! I hate medicine!!

Ashiya: Uwah?! He's spitting it out!?

Abeno: Force it in your mouth again and drink it.

Princess: If so, that's good, but...

Cough...

Princess: Cough,

Cough...

Abeno: Please don't push yourself if your body isn't feeling well...

Princess: (Cough...) I am alright...

I don't have a fever today, so... If the medicine is effective, I'll stop coughing as well...

Page 22

[Her condition does seem better, but

She still seems like a sick person...]

Princess: Cough...

Princess: (Cough..) Inari group one...

Can you retrieve my box of medicine?

Fox: Kon!

Ashiya: (They vanished.)

Abeno: Princess, is Koura absent?

Princess: Cough...

Princess: ...I let her return to Kiyakudo today.

I heard that you were coming to visit the throne...

Ashiya: ...?

[She had the Justice leave, too. It seems like she doesn't want anyone else besides us around...

Just why is that---]

Page 23

Abeno: If there is something you would like to speak about in secrecy, we promise that we shall not to reveal it.

Abeno: Not even to the three officials.

Princess: ...

Cough...

Princess: ...

Princess: .............

Princess: ...Abeno Haruitsuki.

There is something I must ask you.

Page 24

Princess: Do you think that Aoi is alive, even now?

Ashiya: ...!?

Abeno: No.

Princess: ...!?

Page 25

Abeno: Upon being possessed by the parasitic shrub, Aoi was infested by the curse and entered the forest.

Abeno: I don't think there's any possibility that they're still alive.

Princess: ......

Princess: ...That's true...

Abeno: ...It's just that, when thinking about it over and over again...

Abeno: Until their body is found, I would rather gamble on them being alive.

Page 26

Princess: The Legislator told me...

That only when Aoi's remains are confirmed, would you be able to accept it.

Princess: In other words, even now,

Princess: You won't give up on Aoi's survival.

Princess: ...I feel the same as you do.

Princess: There is no way to save demons that have been cursed by the parasitic shrub...

I realize that Aoi has to have passed away that same way.

Page 27

Princess: ...But... Somewhere deep down...

Princess: I cannot help but wish that they are still alive...!!

Princess: I had once prepared myself for their death, to respect that child's will, but...

Without anyone to take the throne if I collapse, I realize the magnitude of what was lost each day...

Princess: Aoi was... cough... a prodigy essential to the Underworld!

(And that child was also...)

(The only friend I could talk to, who didn't treat me as the Underworld Princess.)

Page 28

(Making other demons go into the forests in order to find Aoi,

Would be making them take a mission to risk their lives, with the threat of the curse.)

(...But humans can't be cursed.)

Princess: ....

Princess: I want Aoi to come back...!

Princess: Please, would you go to the forests to look for Aoi?

#fukigen na mononokean #fukigen na mononokean translation #The Morose Mononokean #fukigen na mononokean chapter 73 #fukigen na mononokean 73 #manga translation

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matrixaffiliate · 5 years

Text

Quarry

Chapter Update! FFN and AO3

Chapters 57 and 58 go up on March 28th.

Chapter 56

James:

It had been torturous. Waiting all night, and then still having their morning meetings on top of that, but finally, they'd made it. Finally, they'd changed into warmer riding clothes and we're walking to the stables. Finally, he was going to find out what had pushed Lily to change their regular time together.

Sirius hummed as they walked out of the palace.

"What?" James turned to his brother, but he was looking at Marlene.

No surprise.

"If we're quick?" She wore a frown as she looked back at Sirius.

"Quick about what?" Lily asked.

Sirius pointed off into the distance. "Those look like storm clouds. That might be our first snow."

Lily grinned, "I love snow!"

"It snows differently up this high, Lils." Marlene frowned. "It won't be the light dusting we get back in Privet that melts the next day."

James held back his groan. "Maybe we should postpone this. Marlene is right, our snowstorms can be unforgiving and it's cold enough that it sticks and builds up quickly."

"Couldn't we just go out for an hour?"

Lily looked at Marlene with an expression that James could only call pleading. Was she really feeling so cooped up? Perhaps she needed this more than they all realized.

"Maybe just a quick ride?" He looked at Sirius who was staring at the clouds.

"We could bring a few things?" Marlene looked hesitantly at the clouds. "And stay close to the palace?"

"Alright," Sirius nodded after a moment. "Let me grab a few things and then we'll head out."

James watched Sirius nod to Marlene before moving quickly back to the palace.

The stable boys walked out with their horses then and James tried to distract himself from the foreboding feeling the clouds in the distance were giving him.

"Did you ride much in Privet?" James took Lily's hand and led her to the old mare his mother had been so fond of.

"Mostly when I was a girl, not much after I moved in with Marly." She slid her foot in the stirrup as James helped her up and into the saddle.

"My parents aren't big fans of all the effort that goes into caring for horses," Marlene chuckled.

James frowned, "Isn't your father a nobleman?"

"Yes, but he doesn't like to have more servants than necessary. Plus horses cost money, and as Vernon and Petunia made more decrees about magic users it started to squeeze the money out of us. My parents put as much of our extra as they could into helping the common magic users. The decrees put some of them into poverty."

James bristled, "This is no reflection on you, Lily, but I kind of want to start a war with your sister."

Lily laughed, "That's the story of my life."

"Alright," Sirius came out and handed Marlene a pack. "Let's have a bit of exercise and then get back here before those clouds get any ideas about unleashing a white hell on us."

Once they started riding, James' cares started to fade away with the wind that whipped around them. It felt like a dream to be riding with Lily beside him. Not even the necessity of having Sirius in front of them and Marlene behind them could dampen the feeling of freedom he only felt when he was out of the palace and away from the title he inherited. They'd been riding for about a half an hour when he had an idea.

"Sirius," he called and reigned in, "Let's show these beautiful ladies the lake."

Sirius looked back at the clouds, "I don't know James."

"It's just over the next hill," James looked back at the clouds. Had they gotten closer?

"How about we go see the lake and then we'll head right back?" Lily smiled at Sirius.

"What do you think, Marls?" Sirius looked back at her and then Lily turned that pleading face back to her sister.

James watched as Marlene looked between the two, her bottom lip between her teeth. She turned to stare at the clouds a moment before speaking.

"Can you be quick, Lily?"

James blinked. Quick with what?

"Yes."

"Alright, Sirius," Marlene glanced back at the clouds again. "Let's go see the lake."

Sirius nodded and led them down to the lake that their parents had taken them to swim in when they were boys.

The lake was in a bit of a crater, the slope of the crater not too steep but steep enough that it blocked out the wind and the view of the surrounding plains. The ride down to the water took a couple of minutes, you had to go slowly on horseback, but James took advantage of the time to regale Lily with stories of him and Sirius and his parents with their guardians coming here in the summers.

As they made it to the water's edge Marlene took Lily's reigns. "We'll wait here."

Lily bit her lip but nodded.

"Would you walk with me?" Lily asked him as she dismounted.

James felt something akin to panic strike him. Was she going to leave him? Had she decided she couldn't be with him as a king? He pushed those feelings down far enough to force a smile and dismounted with her.

"I'd like nothing better."

He offered her his hand and she squeezed it as she took it in hers. After they'd walked far enough away to not be overheard, Lily stopped them and let go of him, turning to face him instead.

"I, er, I wanted to make this something special."

James nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he watched Lily wring her hands.

"I know that I probably made you feel like your hands were tied when I came back to you. I'm sorry about that. But I wanted to tell you that I've figured out that I'm not going anywhere. I do love you, James. I've loved you since we crossed into Ottery and I never stopped loving you, even after Enid."

James blinked.

She loved him!

Her words filled his chest like warm mead filling a tankard. James felt the smile on his face and he reached out, stepping forward to pull her close to his chest. He had promised her this would make her never want to leave, he promised it would make her realize this, what they had, was all she ever needed in life. And he wanted to savor this moment. He brought his hand gently to the silky, soft skin of her cheek, tracing the line of her jaw down to her chin. Her green eyes burned up at him, and she parted her lips as he tilted her head up just a fraction higher.

"I love you."

He said it quietly before pressing his lips to hers.

James thought he might die right there. Her lips were soft and cold. Her scent was intoxicating and her hands held onto his shoulders with a possessive grip that made his head spin. He tentatively reached his tongue out to brush her lips and smiled against her at the breathy sigh she gave him. She moved her arms to snake around his neck and pulled herself closer. James pulled her flush against him, loving the juxtaposition of her cold lips and her warm tongue as Lily warmed his frigid lips.

"James!"

James cursed his brother for breaking the spell that he and Lily had been weaving around them.

"Lily!"

Marlene's yell had a sense of urgency in it and Lily turned from him. James held back his groan and looked to see why their siblings were insistent on ruining what had been a perfect moment.

Marlene pointed up at the sky.

"Hurry!"

James looked up. The snow clouds were directly above them, and James had lived in this country long enough to see that they didn't have long before the snow would fall. There was no way they could make it back to the palace beforehand.

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