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zaynahfrozenfrost · 1 year

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Enchanted To Meet You Part ||| (The Final Part)

Part ||

Part |

This is the last part of this series and I don’t know if this part's gonna be good but never mind. I'm really sorry for the long delay, I had exams and I had to find some wedding vows from Google but they weren’t good so, I had to delay it for that. I don’t know if these are Jewish vows but never mind.

Today's my wedding day and I felt scared at every single minute coming because I was coming a step closer to Edgar's dungeon. The wedding would start at 2pm and I had woken up at 9am. The maids, makeup girl and my stylist were dressing me up. It was a white strapless dress full of ruffles made of fine silk and I loved it. I had my hair in the back into a braided bun and my front into side swept bangs with my tiara and veil which was quite long. I had pearls on my dress unsystematically with some pearl earrings. I had my last conversation with Beth, Venus, Noelle and my best friend Freya. The wedding, it all felt too rushed for me.

I got into the carriage and we reached the cathedral 1 hour before the wedding. My parents were talking with Edgar's parents and they told us to go somewhere else. And so we did.

"How do you feel about the wedding? Or are just gonna run away from it like you do?" Edgar asked

"Please don't talk to me, Edgar. We both know what this marriage is for so, don't bother asking imbecile things" I said angrily

We both went silent as if we were strangers. Why did I have to see this day? Why am I marrying Edgar? Shouldn’t I be with Timothée? My mind had a lot to ask. Edgar's parents seemed like good people and most probably, they don't know about his tactics at all.

Then the guests started to come. I walked down the aisle with my father. It felt like I was going towards my birdcage.

"Dearly beloved, we gather here today to celebrate the union of Prince Edgar and Princess Y/n in marriage. In the Jewish tradition, marriage is considered a sacred covenant, and we are honored to witness this joyous occasion."

"STOP!" A voice shouted. And it was Timothée with my sister Sasha and her husband Rome. I talked with Sasha everyday so, how did Timothée know about all this?

"He's not a good man." Timothée said to everyone

"I don't understand" Edgar's father said

"What is he saying?" Edgar's mother asked

"How so? Do you have proof?" My father asked

"We do. You see, my dearest father in law, Y/n has told my wife about that man's disgusting behaviour towards her. You might ask, what happened to her left eye? He punched it and a few times, she called us and told Sasha about how he slapped her, forces her to do everything etc. Y/n never wanted to marry Edgar but because of your foolish, disgusting and greedy behaviour, she's putting herself into a bird cage. I hope this helped you" Rome said

"Edgar? How could you? You're our son and you go and do THIS?!?" Edgar's mother said

"Y/n, I never knew my son is such a sinister human being. My condolences and I deeply apologize for my son's behaviour" His mother said.

"Edgar, I guess it's time you get your dose of discipline because you were going to put another kingdom's princess in danger" His father said angrily

Then they took Edgar away and apologized to me a lot. I forgave them since they are not villainous like their son is. My father was raging with maroon on his face. My mother was shocked along with everyone.

"Y/n, what's going to happen to the ceremony? You might never be able to get married if we don’t get a groom." My mother told me

"I'll be her groom" Timothée said

Then Timothée got dressed up in his outfit. He looked so flawless and ethereal in it. Then I had to walk down the aisle again but this time, it felt safe because I knew I was walking to my soulmate. Music was playing as well.

"Dearly beloved, we gather here today to celebrate the union of Prince Timothée and Princess Y/n in marriage. In the Jewish tradition, marriage is considered a sacred covenant, and we are honored to witness this joyous occasion."

"Prince Timothée, do you take Princess Y/n to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor, and cherish? Do you promise to support her in times of joy and in times of sorrow, to be her partner in all of life's adventures?" Requested the priest

"I do." Said Timothée

Princess Y/n, do you take Prince Timothée to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, and cherish? Do you promise to support him in times of joy and in times of sorrow, to be his partner in all of life's adventures?

"I do." I said it and felt cathartic

"Do you both promise to create a home filled with love, kindness, and understanding? Will you build a life together based on mutual respect, compassion, and shared values?"

"We do." Timothée and I said together

"May your love be a guiding light as you embark on this sacred journey of marriage. May you find strength in each other, and may your union be a source of inspiration and blessings to all who know you. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you as spouses. You may seal your vows with a kiss."

Then we sealed it with a kiss and I felt like I was in heaven, his kiss felt so appealing. Other than my father, everyone was clapping. In evening, we were going to have our first dance ball and I felt so adrenalized because, this was going to be our first dance as a married pair. I can't believe that I actually got married with the love of my life.

Evening came around. I was wearing a off-shoulder tea length dress which was a very light shade of lavender and I had my hair down with a floral head piece. Timothée looked so charming that I couldn’t help but stare at him. Other than my father, everyone was there. The evening was so breath-taking, it was the best day of my life and I'll never forget about it.

Sorry if the ending sucked lol, I didn’t know what else to put here.

#timotheé chalamet #timothee chalamet fanfiction #prince timothée scenario #timothee x reader #timothee chalamet x you #timothee x y/n #taylor swift fanfiction

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shiningdesignersreflections · 5 months

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Chapter 3: Memory and Hope

Narrated by Leo.

Narrator: One evening, it was raining outside.

Narrator: I saw Lord Ian gather a stack of music sheets from a drawer, pick up his bow, and proceed to play a sentimental tune.

Narrator: Attracted by the sound of the cello, Hoare stood silently behind Lord Ian, enthralled by the music.

Narrator: The old man was so absorbed in playing that he did not realize the boy was standing there until the song had finished.

Narrator: Hoare's eyes were resting on the musical score, as if he could understand it.

Lord Ian: Do you like the song? Would you like to try playing?

Narrator: Master stood up and passed the cello to Hoare.

Narrator: Hoare sat down on the chair, picked up the bow with his right hand.

Narrator: And held the neck in his left, and proceeded to play it note for note.

Narrator: I remember that night clearly, the sound of the cello filling the villa, like a dream riding on the wings of a memory.

Narrator: The empty birdcage beside the sofa had been decorated with roses made from silk.

Narrator: Much to my surprise, that summer, the birdcage also welcomed its first guest in many years.

Narrator: Finally, the rain stopped and the sunshine warmed the earth for the first time in days.

Narrator: Hoare had put aside his crutches and was able to walk unsupported again, albeit slowly.

Narrator: Under a tree, beside the house, he found an injured baby bird.

Narrator: After so many days of rain, the bird was completely soaked through, as the boy had been when he had first arrived.

Narrator: I found some herbs and bandages which Hoare used to bind the bird's injuries.

Narrator: The antique birdcage became its temporary home.

Narrator: Hoare didn't act like a regular child around the bird, petting it or trying to get it to sing.

Narrator: He fed the bird every day, changed its water, and watched over it very carefully.

Narrator: Like he was wishing it got better so that it could leave the cage.

Narrator: Perhaps the care he showed it was somehow a reflection of the care he needed himself.

Narrator: Day by day, the bird regained its strength. Fluffy down sprouted all over it. Hoare's ankle also regained its strength.

Narrator: The look in the boy's eyes seemed to say that it was time to go.

Narrator: It was a solitary flash of hope, in those serious eyes.

Narrator: I had seen that deep, troubled look somewhere else.

Narrator: That's right... when Lord Ian looked at the boy.

Narrator: A look of hidden expectation.

Narrator: I cut two roses by the terrace and put them into a vase in the drawing room.

Narrator: Summer was coming to an end, and these were the last two roses of the season.

Narrator: The baby bird in the cage had fully recovered and was hopping around, full of energy, flapping its wings, eager to fly.

Narrator: Just like the boy who tended to it.

Narrator: Hoare had remained at the villa all summer, and his foot was as good as new.

Narrator: He came down the stairs, wearing the clothes he arrived in and carrying his bag.

Narrator: Lord Ian got up from his seat on the sofa.

Lord Ian: It looks like you are ready to leave... Child, do you want me to tell you about this photo?

Narrator: I didn't know what made Lord Ian bring up the subject of that photo.

Narrator: Hoare stopped. There was a shift in the mists behind his eyes. Something about the photo pulled at him.

Lord Ian: Well, the young man in the photo is me. Like you, I come from the capital of Pigeon Kingdom.

Narrator: Lord Ian let out a quiet sigh.

Narrator: Hoare looked unmoved, as if he had guessed that much of the story long ago.

Narrator: I was astonished. So, the boy was from Pigeon Kingdom? But how did Master know he was from the capital?

Narrator: The old man gazed at the young couple in the picture for a long time.

Lord Ian: You are no stranger to such tragedy, are you, boy?

Narrator: The shadows covering Hoare's face were impenetrable.

Narrator: In that moment, he seemed lost in a memory... silent and still, as if struggling to control something deep within.

Narrator: Master looked into Hoare's eyes.

Lord Ian: Perhaps you are someone who thinks the world needs to change, child?

Choose either "Why did he ask that?" or "What a serious question."

If "why," ...

You: Why do you suppose he asked him that?

Narrator: These days I thought Master saw something special in him. That's why he spared no effort in caring for the boy.

If "serious," ...

You: Isn't that a very serious question to ask a ten-year-old boy?

Narrator: I thought the boy was no ordinary one. Perhaps that was why Master spared no effort in caring for him.

Narrator: I looked over at Hoare. There was a great disturbance behind his eyes, like a flash of ice-blue fire.

Narrator: He did not respond to Lord Ian's question, but picked up the birdcage, threw his bag over his shoulder, and walked out.

Narrator: I recalled the expectation in his eyes as he looked after the bird. Perhaps he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Narrator: But the sanctuary Lord Ian had provided followed the boy out into the world.

Lord Ian: It is time for the bird to return to the woods.

Narrator: Lord Ian watched the boy as he walked away.

Lord Ian: Who knows? Maybe one day he will return.

Narrator: Master said, turning to me.

Narrator: The roses on the table gave off the last fragrance of summer.

Narrator: The empty birdcage had been left at the threshold... where the boy had first stood all those months ago.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

#mercury #shining nikki #chapter 3 #transcript #ssr designer #memory and hope #bird #roses #cage #change #cello #loss #freedom

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callunavulgari · 10 months

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Scrapbook 2023 | Pt IV

NGL, a little heated that Tumblr's new editing bullshit has made it so I can't save more than a month at a time, so I guess I'll have monthly ones from now on.

For anyone that’s new to this, this is how I keep track of all of the things that I enjoy and/or create throughout the year. I have literally been doing this since I had a livejournal.

It’s a nice little snippet of my life and helps to organize my brain.

A reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read 65 books, finish 4 video games, write more than 20 fics or something larger than 20k, and expand on your original novel outline to the point that you START WRITING.

Past Years

MOVIES

November

(Interstellar)

(Lotr: Fellowship)

(The Birdcage)

December

No Hard Feelings

The Muppet Christmas Carol

(Love Actually)

(Lotr: Fellowship)

Saltburn

(Everything Everywhere All At Once)

TV SHOWS

November

Loki, s2

Scavengers Reign s1

All the Light We Cannot See

December

Yu Yu Hakusho - Live Action

One Piece - Live Action

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

What If, s2

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

November

Watcher: Ghost Files

Watcher: Ghost Files Debrief

Watcher Podcast

Watcher: Food Files

Claire Saffitz Cooks

Gino's Italian Escape

Top 5 Beatdown

Inga Lam

December

Beryl!

Watcher: Too Many Spirits

Kimi

Imamu Room

BOOKS

November

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix [Fin]

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten [Fin]

(A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab)

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske [Fin]

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros [Fin]

The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec [Fin]

December

(A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab) [Fin]

The Only One Left by Riley Sager [Fin]

(A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab) [Fin]

(A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab) [Fin]

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin [Fin]

All Systems Red by Martha Wells [Fin]

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells [Fin]

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells [Fin]

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells [Fin]

Starling House by Alix Harrow [Fin]

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia [Fin]

Network Effect by Martha Wells [Fin]

PODCASTS

November

Watcher Podcast

December

Watcher Podcast

VIDEO GAMES

November

Baldur’s Gate 3

Hollow Knight

LoZ: Tears of the Kingdom

December

LoZ: Tears of the Kingdom

(Ghosts of Tsushima)

POSTED FIC

November

for years or for hours | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 1,677 words | “What the shit are you doing?” Mobius hisses, and Loki— Loki is tired.

touch-a, touch-a, touch-a, touch me | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 2220 words | “God,” Steve murmurs into Eddie’s mouth. “You look— I cannot deal with how you look right now.”

December

these, our bodies, possessed by light | Shades of Magic | Holland/Kell/Lila, Athos/Holland | 2,134 words | Holland tells her simply. “I want to go home.”

this house says your name like an elegy | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen/Xue Yang | 6768 words | “Good night, ghost,” he says. “We can play tomorrow.”

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

November

Eddie/Steve - Rocky Horror

Yuletide

December

N/A

Fanmixes/Spotify Playlists/Graphics

November

Holland Playlist - Lost

December

N/A

DELIGHTFUL FIC

November

The Water's Edge by entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 2k | In which Steve takes a walk in the rain, sees something he's not supposed to and has some thoughts he didn't expect.

The Shortest Straw by entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 4k | In which Steve gets to indulge in a bit of roughhousing with a friend and realizes how much he'd missed it.

Manacled by senlinyu | HP | Hermione/Draco | 370k | Harry Potter is dead.

Extra Fresh Cherry Flavor by entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | The cold, dry weather is not kind to Eddie's mouth, if only someone could offer a little help.

Faith, Faith, Faith by avocadomoon | Teen Wolf | Derek/Stiles | 21k | "Is there literally anywhere in the world you haven't been? Jesus fuck," Stiles said.

Crocodile Jock by entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 4k | When in doubt, Eddie figures you can never go wrong with a classic.

some version of you (that I might not have, but I did not lose) by PinkCanary | Loki | Loki/Sylvie | 4k | Mobius offers her the bedroom, but she insists on the couch.

come back. even as a shadow, even as a dream. by harleygirl2648 | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 6k | Dreams don’t happen in the TVA.

the earth from a distance by spqr | HP | Draco/Harry | 16k | “Really,” Malfoy drawled. “We’re stuck in the 16th century, with no idea how we got here or how we might go about getting back – pray tell, Potter, how could this situation possibly be worse?”

Five Stars by Dira Sudis (dsudis) | The Sandman | Dream/Hob | 3k | Robert G. who brings the groceries is one of the most-texted numbers in Dream's phone. This will surely never cause any problems.

A Sign of The Morning by ToEdenandBackAgain | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 86k | Vecna is dead. The Upside Down is cut off from Hawkins yet again. Steve is trying to go back to normal, whatever that is. He's also trying to figure out exactly how Eddie Munson has managed to fit so easily into his life.

(meet me tonight in atlantic city) by greatunironic | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 20k | Ten years on, in a town in Nova Scotia, on the edge of the Atlantic, Eddie finds Steve again, and also maybe himself.

Desperate Measures by Asidian | BG3 | Astarion/Karlach | 7k | "I think Scratch is coming down with something," says Karlach the next morning, and Astarion, who's in the midst of packing up for the day's travel, drops the pillow he's attempting to make space for.

Eye Of The Beholder by entanglednow | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 22k | Eddie works himself up to ask Steve if he can borrow his instant camera, because the type of pictures he wants to take are…not the kind he can get developed in town.

In Our Blood by secretsalex | HP | Harry/Draco | 38k | Draco is an accomplished pure-blood curse breaker, and Harry is tasked with accompanying him on his latest job—cleaning up the Van Boer mansion, which has been under a devastating fertility curse for seven generations.

Terminus by RC_McLachlan | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 4k | "Keep me here," he begs against Mobius's lips. "You must keep me here."

What Made Milwaukee Famous by synthetica | Danny Phantom | Danny/Vlad | 31k | Ten years after establishing a tenuous truce, Danny crash-lands at Vlad's Milwaukee lakehouse with a particularly nasty wound, three days recovery time, and absolutely nothing to do but talk to his long-lost archnemesis.

December

then now and always by raisesomehale | Teen Wolf | Stiles/Derek | 14k | Stiles is stuck in the fucking snow in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere at night with a broken down car three days before Christmas, and the nearest tow truck company—over fifty miles away—doesn’t open until morning.

many times, many ways by spqr | Suits | Mike/Harvey | 15k | Soulmates are something that other people worry about, normal people, the masses, like marriage and kids and mortgages in the suburbs, and besides, Harvey’s not the sort of person who wants a life partner.

Damage Control by entanglednow | Good Omens | Aziraphale/Crowley | 3k | When their meeting is unexpectedly interrupted by angels, Aziraphale and Crowley have very little time to do damage control.

the summer of '85 by ToEdenandBackAgain | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 20k | “Fuck The Man, Harrington. Gimme a taste.”

Handle Me with Care (I'm So Tired of Being Lonely) by thesurefireway | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 8k | “I’m a virgin.” Eddie figure’s he’ll just drop one unexpected revelation on Steve for now. He can only expose so many squishy, vulnerable parts of himself at a time.

Strawberry Fields by ParadimeShifts | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 19k | “No,” Steve had said three days prior. “Literally anyone else.”

i don't ask much (i just want you) by ToEdenandBackAgain | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 8k | "The fuck are you doing, Harrington?"

Deadwinter Warmth by Asidian | BG3 | Astarion/Karlach/Wyll | 4k | In the noble houses, Midwinter is a time of alliances, and Astarion knows better than anyone what that means.

Blood in the Snow by linaerys | Crimson Peak | Lucille/Thomas | 5k | Before the house, there was the earth, and the blood.

you gave up all the golden factories by evewithanapple | Anastasia | Anya/Dimitri | 3k | Two Petersburg childhoods.

A Private Room by 20thcenturyvole | The Goblin Emperor | Csethiro/Maia | 5k | One morning in late summer, ten months into the reign of Edrehasivar VII and four months into his marriage, the Emperor was apprised of a scandal brewing in his court when his wife upended her teacup at breakfast.

unintended consequence by itsmylifekay | One Piece | Zoro/Sanji | 8k | Imagine person A making person B a friendship bracelet, expecting person B to never wear it, but when it’s given to them person B puts it on and is rarely seen with it off.

our lady of zapovednik by magneticwave | Shadow and Bone | Darkling/Alina | 24k | Alina Oretsev owns a bookshop in a neighborhood in Os Alta that is escaping gentrification by the skin of its teeth and the sweat of its most notorious occupants, the Dregs.

just me against the sky by magneticwave | DC | Tim/Jason | 49k | Tim Drake stops stalking Gotham’s nocturnal wildlife when she goes to college. Unfortunately, they don’t return the favor.

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

November

Loki | God of The Multiverse

THE LAST OF US | Ellie Williams

Loki & Sylvie || Running Up That Hill (+2x06)

Spider-Gwen

The Beginning of the end. [COLLAB]

Loki || Glorious Purpose (God of Stories)

December

LOKI & SYLVIE | DYNASTY

Loki | The God of Stories

MARVEL || Believe in Me ft. Armanni Reign

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

November

Now and Then - The Beatles

What Happens Tomorrow - Duran Duran

Vois sur ton chemin - BENNETT

could have been me - the struts

freya - christian reindl

history is now - natalie holt

purpose is glorious - natalie holt

have yourself a merry little christmas - mother mother

ice storm - lindsey stirling

December

my goodbye - jorge rivera-herrans

thus always to the tyrants - the oh hellos

a child's shadow - jessica curry

the power - borislav slavov

i believe - christina perry

dj play a christmas song- cher

paint it black - wednesday addams

my sails are set - sonya belousova

#heather says what #scrapbook #2023 #heather writes #recommendations

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physicalturian · 4 years

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Why don’t you listen to me? Law x GN! Reader - Part 6

Spoilers for : Punk Hazard and Dressrosa arcs [No gender used for the reader, no physical description, everyone is +18] Words : 5386 Archive of our own Blood, exhaustion, fighting, violence, despair, blood, flirting, tension, hope If you feel like I should put more warnings, send me a DM or an ask

… Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Before hitting the ground, Luffy blew himself large enough for all of us to bounce on his belly but I was a bit off to the side. I tried to reach him, but couldn’t. In the seconds it took for me to reach the ground, I saw my life flashed before my eyes, I heard Law yell at Luffy who reacted in no time and enlarged his hand enough to grab me in time. I hit the pirate’s hand with a loud thud and apologized to him, quickly getting off of him, stumbling as I did so. My head was feeling dizzy but I couldn’t take a break, everything was only starting and I had to be there to help.

I could sit down for a bit, it wouldn’t hurt, right? As everyone debriefed, I walked up to Law and sat by him, in silence. He was the first to speak.

“Sometimes I think you’re deaf.” He stated.

“I’m not, if that’s any reassurance.” I told him off-handedly, licking my thumb to brush some dried blood from my arms. I looked like the main character of the movie Carrie after her prom, it was a real sight.

“Then it just means you’re an idiot-“

“Exactly, but guess what? I’m an idiot because you make poor choices, so I think it’s on you.” I said in a light tone. Being next to him alleviated some of the stress my body was feeling, it wasn’t a cure at all but a small part had left and it felt nice.

He was about to answer something witty, probably, when I saw pure fear in his eyes. “It’s started… the birdcage.” He said in a weak tone. I looked up at where he was looking and saw the strings, Doflamingo’s strings, reaching towards the sky only to fall back down somewhere far away. I listened carefully as he explained what was the Warlord planning and panic came rushing back in, I hated this. I hated him, this man was atrocious and we needed to get rid of him, I was not going to say no matter the cost… but considering what was going to happen if we did not take him down… I was willing to sacrifice a few things if it meant taking him down.

We started talking about what we should do, when we heard Doflamingo’s voice all across the country. I didn’t want to listen to him, I couldn’t bear to hear his stupid voice nor see his face, so I helped Law sit up off his seat and sat across from him. “If we lost the key, it’s on Luffy.” I stated as I rummaged through my pocket to find anything that could help unlocking the cuffs.

“You’re not going to be able to pick it, stop trying.” He said as a matter of fact, his hands tied behind his back.

“I’m starting to think you like being tied up, Law.” I said jokingly, grabbing his hands to take a look at the lock. I was surprised when his hands grabbed mine, but it wasn’t to stop me, it was to hold them.

I looked up at his back, confused. But didn’t let go, instead I smiled for a moment, tightening my grip on his hands. It must have made him realize what he was doing, because soon after, he let go and uttered my name in a scolding way.

“What? I’m checking the lock. Unlike you, I would rather have you free than chained up-“ I paused and moved back in front of him, grinning, “Or do I? You are much calmer like that, it’s also a sight really.” Stop talking, god stop talking. Is this what you call flirting? Why would you flirt with him? Stop it.

He raised a brow, the faintest smirk on his lips. “I’m only calm because I lost a lot of blood, but if you’d like I can start telling you how idiotic it is to be here when I told you countless times to get out of the Dressrosa.” His smug expression was replaced by some sort of disappointment, a tinge of frustration tainting his tone.

“Right, I’m the idiot, right. Remind me who got in a fight with a Warlord a lot earlier than planned-“

He frowned and leaned forward, his face closer to mine now, and gritted through his teeth, “For the information, I’m also a Warlord, I could have handled him- But you had to be there and make things worse.”

Tilting my head to the side, I quirked a brow, it was a bit painful to hear him say that if I hadn’t been there, he could have taken him down. I knew he wouldn’t have been able to, but part of me thought it was true. “I’m sorry to hear that, I’m sure the beating you took was for the show, right? That doesn’t look like handling well, to me. But I could be wrong.” I shrugged, giving him a deadly glare as I spoke.

He was taken aback and scoffed, “Why were you even there? Why did you not follow the plan? Are you trying to make me mad?” He asked.

“Uh, not everything revolves around you. I make mistakes, ever heard of that?” I said in a defensive tone before continuing in a lower one, “I lost Zoro and Luffy, so I thought I should find you at Green Bits.” I didn’t want to make him mad per say… All my actions just happened to not be what he wanted me to do. A loud sigh escaped his lips. For a moment he let his head hang low before lifting it once more and looking at me with what I could only describe as tenderness.

“How are your arms?” He asked.

“How are my- How are my arms? How is your stomach?! You got shot three times! Don’t mind me, how are you, let me-“ I ignored his complains and scooted closer, taking a look at his wounds. I was not professional, but it was a bit strange there wasn’t a lot of blood there. He told me he was fine, that he was managing it well and had a plan but I was still worried. “You look so bad, are you sure you’re fine?”

He nodded and explained how he had made it through, and what he was planning on doing to get rid of the bullets then paused and looked at me intently. “Show me yours arms, I can’t do anything right now but I have to know if it’s bad.” He explained in a gruffy tone.

Grumbling, I rolled up my sleeves and showed him my bloody arms. Most of it was dried blood, but some cuts were deeper than others, especially the knife wound. “It’s not that bad, it just a scratch really compared to what you’ve been through-“

“Press around the wounds, does it hurt?” He asked in all seriousness.

Chuckling, I said half-jokingly, “Well if I press it, of course it hurts-“ He gave me a deadly glare and said to just do it. So, I did, and winced, but hid it the best I could.

“You probably have an infection, just from looking at it it’s not good. You’re not going to lose an arm though. Go back to the Sunny and get it treated,” I saw what he was doing, but I was not going back to the Sunny until everyone was going back. This was not over.

“You almost had me there, but no. I’ll help Viola look for the key.” I said with a mischievous grin as I stood up. Law called out my name in a warning tone, and stood up too, he almost lost balance but caught himself and looked down at me with a frown.

I asked, “How does it feel to not have things go your way? I can see you’re a bit tensed there, Captain-“ I felt a tension built between us at the words, the small fight we had before coming here came rushing back to my mind but I tried my best to ignore it. Suddenly I felt a weight on my shoulder, Law was resting his head on it and let out a loud breath.

“Glad to know I’m still your Captain,” My breath hitched at the words, what did he mean by that? Hadn’t he told me to leave, was he regretting his words?

“As your Captain, I’ll ask but one thing…” I tensed at his words, was he going to tell me to go again? I didn’t want to leave, and I was not going to. “Since you don’t want to listen to me, then… Be careful, don’t try to come for me if things go to shit.”

I gasped and put a hand on his cheek to lift his head and look at him in confusion, “I wasn’t going to- more like, I… Hey it’s for Bepo and the team that I’m doing that. They don’t know that you’re being a complete idiot right now, you’re going to get killed-“ I shut up when he stared at me, not believing what I was saying. I felt my face heat up and looked askance, my hand falling back to my side.

“The only thing that can kill me is Luffy’s stupidity, not Doflamingo,” He paused. The silence made things a bit too intense to my taste. We both know he was wrong, but I played along, just this time.

Meeting his eyes once more, I couldn’t look away. The pull I’ve been feeling this whole time came back in a powerful way and I wanted to pull him down and kiss him, but I couldn’t. He seemed to be thinking of what to say, opening his mouth only to close it again. Instead of saying anything, he leaned in and pressed a kiss on my forehead before leaving and joining Luffy’s side. I stood there in shock, how come such a simple action could make me turn into such a mess? It did not alleviate my worry of him getting killed by Doflamingo, if he went to find him in such state, but it sent a weird feeling in my stomach.

I heard Luffy yell in determination, it was quickly followed by Law’s complaints and Zoro’s questioning. Turning around I saw the way he was carrying both men, like they were weightless, two bulky men under his shoulders. The sight was a funny one to see, even more so when I heard Law’s scream when Luffy threw himself, along with the others, towards the ground. Once they were out of sight, I exchanged a few words with Viola, offering her some help to find the key. She politely refused, saying she knew where to find it and she was going to bring it to them in time.

“Then, what do I do?” I asked her, pulling my sleeves down. Both her and the two other men made a thinking face, Kyros said he was going to help people in the centre of town and did just that. King Riku said he was going to join them but was told to stay here. According to Leo from the Tontatta, help was coming and since King Riku was there years ago when they were allies with the Tontatta Kingdom, Viola said he should stay, just for that. She then looked at me and gave me a small smile, “You should stay too-“

“Hey, I’m not royalty or anything like that, I don’t need to be put on the side.” I stated, straightening my back. For some reason the look she was giving me made me think of one of pity, I didn’t like it. So, I tried to look at confident as I could.

“Look at you, you’re bleeding all over. I see the way you wince when you move, you should rest.” She said politely. I didn’t need polite, I needed this to be over with. But being told I should rest, hit my pride, I didn’t know why. I wanted to be useful.

“Luffy and Law are in a state just as bad as mine, and they’re going for Joker.” I gritted through my teeth.

“But they’re fighters, from what I gathered your devil fruit is one of teleportation. Is that correct?” She asked softly.

“Yeah.” I simply replied. I had no idea where she was getting but I was willing to listen for now.

Humming she tore a part of her dress, there was an underskirt underneath which left her still fully dressed. Approaching me, she extended her arm, asking me to show my arms. And I did.

“Then we’ll need you to rest until the Tontattas arrive. Your power will be useful to evacuate the citizens.” She explained, all the while wrapping, the best she could, the fabric around my wounds. I don’t know if it was going to be of any help, but I let her do it. When she stopped, she held my arms and looked at me fondly.

“King Riku, my dad… He’ll need a lot of help; He cares for his people. He can lead them, but he can’t save them all on his own. Please help his people, our people- we’ll need all the help we can get.”

Sighing, I supposed it was all that I could do. I was not looking for greatness, I was not looking to take down Emperors and Warlords, I just wanted to stay alive. And maybe I wanted my Captain to stay alive… if only to tell him how I felt. How egotistical was that? Moving my arms to hold her hands just for a moment, I nodded.

“Alright, but please find the key. Bring the key back to Law, if he stays chained up, he won’t survive and- and I don’t know what I’d do if he…” I couldn’t even finish that sentence, my breath hitched at the mere thought of him dying and I couldn’t bare it.

A soft giggle left the woman’s lips and she tightened her hands around mine for a second before letting go. “I’ll bring him the key, but don’t worry, I’m sure he wants to stay alive just as much as you want him to be.” I’m sure she meant something more from those words, but I ignored it and laughed.

“No, no. You don’t get it… He’s ready to die out there, and that’s what worries me.” I let out a shaky breath, but grinned tiredly, “If you see him, tell him he’s a fucking idiot and I’ll be waiting for him to come back, that- the crew is waiting for us at Zou wait no that’s too much, just tell him he’s an idiot.” I closed my eyes a moment, reflection on what I had said.

Right, an idiot but an idiot I’m worried about. An idiot that had no sense of self-preservation. An idiot that was willing to go down swinging if it meant fulfilling someone else’s will. But fuck, it was an idiot I loved.

Looking back at the princess, I nodded, “Right, right. Well, good luck with the key.” She thanked me and took off the moment we were done. I was left in the company of an old King who was believed to be dead as we waited for the Tontattas to arrive.

I didn’t know him, he did not know me, it was fair to say the mood was very awkward up until other people arrived. Viola returned after a while, and Usopp from the Straw Hat arrived too. I think I may have dozed off at some point, I did not know how, because I did not hear him arrive. However, I heard him scream when he saw the two Samurais. Then chaos ensued. I couldn’t quite follow their conversation; They were worried about someone name Manshelly but I did not know who it was except that she was very important to the Tontattas.

I tried to close my eyes once more, to rest, but it didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to move, do something. Which is what I did when I heard Viola say that Sugar was awake and that she had seen how things would happen in two minutes if we didn’t do anything. Usopp said he knew what to do, but as much as my Captain trusted the Straw-Hat crew, I had not fought with them. They owed us nothing, I did not owe them anything either. And if both Captains’ fate depended on one man, I did not want to bet everything on it. So, I jumped off the platform we were on and started making my way towards the castle, my jumps weren’t as far as they could be from one point to another but I tried to get there as fast as I could.

When I left everyone, I think I heard Viola called out my name but I ignored it, or tried to, at least, she was pretty insistent.

It’s only when it was far too late for me to turn around, that I realized I wouldn’t get there in time. I stopped dead in my track and looked up at the castle, letting a frustrated groan escape my lips as I fell to my knees. I felt like all I was doing was running around, a pointless repetition of actions that lead me to nothing. I was fucking useless.

Still staring at the sky, I saw something fly through and crash through one of the castle’s window. I could only hope it was Usopp’s plan and that it had work because at this point, I was too disheartened to go on. But screams were echoing around me, people running around, for their lives even though nothing much was happening yet.

Swearing under my breath, I placed my hands on my knees to catch my breath and sighed before turning around and making my way towards the extremities of the birdcage. On my way there, I bumped into many people, most of them were running away from the deadly sharpness of the birdcage. I let the healthy people run and helped out the one who seemed to have a harder time, or those who tumbled. I couldn’t carry many people at once, at best two or three but I was going to make a difference no matter what. The idea was to steal as much time, while keeping as many people alive, right?

I didn’t have to do much else, but run around once more. “Oh, fucking hilarious.” I thought out loud as I helped an old lady who had tripped. She looked up at me, curious and I gave her a curt smile and apologized for swearing before dropping her at a far distance from the bars of the birdcage. I did that for a long time, I did not see time fly by, not that I had any way of keeping track of it.

At some point, people joined in and started helping putting others to safety, from what I overheard they were helping in the name of King Riku. I was grateful for the help, even more so when I heard a loud crash coming from the castle.

Looking towards the building, I made sure the person in my arms was stable and stared directly in the direction of the crash. Very, very slowly, the corner of the castle slid off. Then I saw, from afar, two forms in the air. Taking a good look, I couldn’t hide the fear on my face. Someone must have seen me and understood, since I heard them say that I should go, they were handling everything. I didn’t see who it was, I was too distraught by the sight of Law hanging in the air by Doflamingo’s hands, as I started running towards the castle. I bumped into someone who held me in place for a moment before scurrying off. Not paying them any mind, I thought, I was closer than before but it was never enough, was it?

Seeing the scene from afar I was wondering where was Luffy, why was Law alone against Doflamingo? Sure, both were warlords but there was clearly a different in level between them, not that Law would ever admit it. He was too stubborn for that. I was too low on the ground to see what was going on up there, I couldn’t run and stare at the sky at the same time but when I did one last time, I saw Doflamingo raise his foot just like he did when he was going to take down the soldier. Except he was doing it on Law this time, he did not hesitate to slam it down his arm.

My heart caught in my throat and I kept running forward, bumping into people as I did so and ignoring fights, I could not participate in. Don’t do it, don’t do it, please let him live. Don’t do it. My legs were starting to feel shaky, I had to yell at myself to keep going. Exhaustion was taking a toll on me, exhaustion and stress, pure panic too. I couldn’t read lips, and even if I did, I couldn’t see well enough what was being said but I think there was a scowl on Law’s face. Now is not the time to be bitter, I thought, but I didn’t think too long on it and kept running.

He was in no state to take a beating, he had bullet wounds that needed healing. He took a beating right on the bridge, he was locked with Prism stone cuffs not too long ago. If he was to take a hit as strong as Joker’s, he wouldn’t get out of it alive, I just knew it. If he- I did not have time to finish my thought that Doflamingo pushed his leg, he slammed it into Law’s arm as he held him high in the air.

Then they were both crashing down.

I was close enough to hear to agonizing screams of my Captain.

My heart broke. It felt like a physical pain so much it hurt. He could still be alive, right? I paid attention to the moans of pain but soon enough, they stopped. No, no, he’s still alive, right? “The vivre card! I need- I need to see, if- no, not if, he’s doing great, he’s okay, he’s alright.” Patting the outside of my pockets, I desperately tried to hear the scrunching noise of paper in it only to hear nothing. “Fuck off, don’t- it’s in there, I know it.” I muttered, and pulled my pockets out, they were now upside down and out. “No, no, come on!! Come! On!!!” I cried out, my voice was hoarse but I did not realize it, I couldn’t hear much. My head was filled with a mantra, a hopeless attempt to believe he was alive.

Everything was leading to him being gone. If I did not have his vivre card, it meant it was used up, it meant he was, “Dead…” falling to my knees, I hit the ground and starting hitting with my full strength, hurting the side of my fists in the process. “Fuck!” I didn’t stop until I felt content, repeating over and over that I should have told him it was madness, I kept swearing, letting out all my frustration. The dread of the birdcage was forgotten, all I could think about was his body lying on the ground, motionless.

I jumped when I heard gunshots and paused, staring at my bloody fists. This was it. This was the only remaining proof that I needed to be sure he was gone. I scoffed, feeling gross from the running tears on my cheeks and the dripping blood from my hands. I couldn’t feel anything and yet felt soreness all over my body. I couldn’t keep pushing on, I couldn’t do anything.

I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t be of use. I couldn’t even get a hold of myself. I couldn’t fight.

I tried to tell myself that it was not the time for self-pity. I tried to shove away in the depth of my mind what I had just seen, to erase that scene from my memory but I couldn’t. I was going to sneak off to some other place, quieter, where I could gather my thoughts when I felt myself being thrown away by an explosion.

The only thing that caught my fall was glass debris under myself, and onto my hands. The strength of the blow came from Luffy and Joker’s fight. I was going to get up when I heard a loud sound. Looking around, I gasped, squinting my eyes, “Is it… moving? You must be shitting me…” I uttered; my voice shaky as I looked at the birdcage. Observing long enough, I came to the conclusion that it was indeed moving and sighed. Seconds after, I remembered that if it was closing on itself, people might be in danger. My body was telling me to stop, to get away, but people needed help.

I had to ignore my own stupid feelings and help them, I couldn’t stay here, even less so considering the intensity of the fight that was happening up there.

But I couldn’t reason with how I felt. I felt heavy, not from fatigue but from knowing I had lost him. There was no going back, I would have to survive and go back to Zou to announce everyone I had failed. I had promised to look over him, I had promised to them and to myself, but I failed.

Dusting off everything off my form, I stumbled when trying to stand up but held my ground. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing but I could ignore it and hold back my sobs. Maybe I could replace this sadness when something helpful… like, anger, anger was nice.

Looking up I could see Luffy fighting and something sparked in my chest, it was because of him that Law was taken down. Where was he when my Captain was being held so high above the ground, he probably went rushing into danger as expected and ruined everything- “Everyone!! Get out of here!” I heard someone call out, it interrupted my inner monologue but perhaps was it for the good. I did not want to get mad at Luffy even though I still wanted to. Just a bit.

I looked around to see why did they want to move so desperately, but I did not have to wonder long. Fast enough, or was it fast? I don’t know how long I stood on that same spot, no one around me, but now I had to get moving. Fast enough, Doflamingo came crashing down somewhere in town. I almost lost balance at the quake it sent through the ground when his body smashed into the ground with full force from Luffy’s blow.

For a second I thought it was over, but as I approached the place where the Celestial Demon had fallen, I could see he was grinning. His fingers moving. Was it not enough? He looked so bad, he seemed in an ever worst state than I think I was and yet he was still up for more. Slowly, he stood up and I was not going to stay there long enough to see him standing, I couldn’t waste more time here.

As I ran away from the Celestial asshole, I almost got ran over my Luffy’s bouncing form. I used the little energy I had and teleported out of his collusion course. I could hear their fight going on, and hear it finish too. That’s when I stopped in my tracks and turned around, there lied on the floor the body of the Straw-Hat captain. Luffy, on the floor? Luffy, was defeated? I reacted out of instinct and teleported to his body, calling out his name.

“Luffy! Luffy get your ass back up, Mingo is still alive.” I shook him, at least tried to. His only response was to tell me he needed ten minutes. But we did not have ten minutes. I didn’t tell him that, fortunately someone had more trust in him than I did. He was dressed like a gladiator; I did not know where he came from but he helped Luffy onto his back and said we’d get him ten minutes.

Watching them go away, I called out, “I’ll-“ no it’s stupid, but stupid and improbable is what we need right now. “I’ll try to stall him! Even if I need to get him to the highest point and throw him off of it myself!!” I screamed from the top of my lungs.

Shuffling to my feet, I couldn’t teleport yet, I had no energy but I did start running to where Doflamingo was. He was a bit far away, but when I reached him, he was stumbling but still threateningly-so. In front of him, I could see the form Viola, she was standing right in front of him and took her cape off, showing her daggers.

I winced, highly doubting the damage she could do on a Warlord with simple daggers, then she started attacking. It was beautiful to watch, it was almost like she was dancing. When she went for his face, I smiled. The smile on my face did not stay long when Joker was now right behind her and he kicked her to the ground. I was surprised to hear a voice not far away and turned towards it. There was a girl with pink hair standing there, horrified to see Viola on the ground.

Looking back at the seer, she was rising from the floor, her hands behind her back. It was not from her free will that she was doing so, Doflamingo was pulling literal strings. “Hey asshole!!” Why did I call him out? He hadn’t seen me but now he knew I was there. Great way to use surprise as a way to get him. “You. You’re still alive. Ah, well, don’t worry. You’ll join Law soon enough,” He shrugged and moved his fingers, but I teleported out of his reach. I had to be able to get him one way or another, but since I got out of his reach, he attacked the pink-haired girl instead.

I heard Viola call her ‘Rebecca’, and calling her she did. She was trying to reassure the girl who now had her sword raised, I was confused at first until I saw the tears running down her face. She wasn’t in control; she was being manipulated by the blond fuck. I was trying to come up with a solution, anything, but I hardly believed those strings were cuttable nor did I have anything to cut them. But maybe by bringing his attention back on me, I could at least stall him or distract him.

So, I jumped from my spot, onto his back just like last time. He groaned and unlike last time, I did not have the strength the play rodeo and hold onto him for dear’s life. I was weakened, and couldn’t keep up with him. Grabbing me by the throat he lifted me, still manipulating the two women. “When will you learn to stay in your fucking place?” He grunted before slamming me into the ground.

A loud huff was all that escaped my lips, I couldn’t move anyway. The ground suddenly felt comfortable. The conversation that was happening in front of me was muffled, I couldn’t understand what they were saying but as Rebecca held back from making her way to Viola, Doflamingo was grinning. He was happy from all of this, but it didn’t last long.

The moment Rebecca was about to strike down Viola, the latter was replaced by Luffy- what? How did he get there? I was agape at what had been displayed in front of me, trying to comprehend. The only person I knew could do that was- “Law?” I sobbed in hope. Looking around to catch a glimpse of him, I felt desperate, I felt stupid. He was not here anymore, they somewhat managed to switched place- There he is. On the roof of that building.

[Part 7]

#trafalgar one piece #trafalgardwaterlaw #trafalgar law #one piece trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #one piece x reader #law one piece #law x reader #law x gn reader #why don't you listen to me #wdyltm #ao3 #writer #writings #fanfiction #ao3 writer #physicalturian #op x reader #reader

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Hulu New Releases: June 2021

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Hulu’s list of new releases for June 2021 is highlighted by a host of useful library titles and one fascinating original film.

The original film in question is the one that lends its delightful photo of Pierce Brosnan delivering a baby to this post. False Positive stars and was written by Ilana Glazer (Broad City). It sounds like a really fun, creepy time with a synopsis that reads: “After months of trying and failing to get pregnant, Lucy (Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) finally find their dream fertility doctor in the illustrious Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). But after becoming pregnant with a healthy baby girl, Lucy begins to notice something sinister through Hindle’s gleaming charm, and she sets out to uncover the unsettling truth about him, and her own “birth story.” Cool!

Hulu’s other original offerings aren’t too inspiring this month. Only Love, Victor season 2 on June 11 moves the needle much. If you count “FX on Hulu” as Hulu then June 17 sees the arrival of Dave season 2. Dave was one of TV’s best surprises last year and it’s nice to have it back.

After those two, it’s just a bunch of library titles. Thankfully, those library titles are fairly intriguing. Arachnophobia, The Dark Knight, Kick-Ass, and Slumdog Millionaire all premiere on June 1. Willy’s Wonderland, featuring Nic Cage’s battle against animatronic puppets, arrives on June 13.

Here is everything else coming to Hulu this month.

Hulu New Releases – June 2021

June 1 CHANGING THE GAME: Documentary Premiere (Hulu Original) American Ninja Warrior: Season 13 Premiere (NBC) Housebroken: Series Premiere (FOX) Small Fortune: Complete Season 1 (NBC) 50/50 (2011) A Most Wanted Man (2014) A Perfect Day (2006) A Prayer For The Dying (1987) The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Across The Universe (2007) Alive (1993) Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004) Anaconda 3: Offspring (2008) Anacondas: Trail Of Blood (2009) Arachnophobia (1990) Batman Begins (2005) The Big Chill (1983) The Birdcage (1997) Black And White (2000) The Blair Witch Project (1999) The Blair Witch Project: Book of Shadows (2000) Bloody Sunday (2002) Blue Streak (1999) The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009) Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star (2011) Charlotte’s Web (1973) The Company You Keep (2013) Conviction (2010) Convicts (1991) Convoy (1978) The Cookout (2004) The Dark Knight (2008) Desperate Measures (1998) Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) Dragonfly (2002) Driven (2001) El Dorado (1967) Face/Off (1997) The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) The Full Monty (1997) Fun in Acapulco (1963) Gamer (2009) Get Smart (2008) Hanging Up (2000) Hud (1963) The Hustler (1961) Jennifer 8 (1992) Jennifer’s Body (2009) Just Wright (2009) Kick-Ass (2010) Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2000) Last Chance Harvey (2008) The Last House on the Left (2009) Little Women (1994) The Long Goodbye (1973) The Love Letter (1999) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) Once Upon A Crime… (1992) Ordinary People (1980) Places In The Heart (1984) Primary Colors (1998) Revolutionary Road (2008) Richie Rich (1994) Rules of Engagement (2000) Sabrina (1995) Savage State (2021) Saving Silverman (2001) Scorpio (1973) Silence (2016) Slumdog Millionaire (2008) The Soloist (2009) Some Girls (1988) Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Soul Survivors (2001) Still Waiting (2009) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Switchback (1997) The Time Machine (2002) To Die For (1995) The Upside (2017) Vanity Fair (2004) Waiting… (2005) Walking Tall (1973) Wayne’s World 2 (1993) Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) Wilde (1998) Wings Of Courage (1995) Witless Protection (2008) Young Adult (2011) June 2 America’s Got Talent: Season 16 Premiere (NBC) June 3 MasterChef: Season 11 Premiere (FOX) A Glitch in the Matrix (2020) Night of the Kings (2021) June 4 The New York Times Presents: New Episode (FX on Hulu) Beat Shazam: Season 4 Premiere (FOX) June 5 Emergency Call: Season 2 Premiere (ABC) Rams (2021) June 7 Celebrity Family Feud: Season 7 Premiere (ABC) The Chase: Season 2 Premiere (ABC) To Tell the Truth: Season 7 Premiere (ABC) June 8 The Bachelorette: Season 17 Premiere (ABC) Legion Of Brothers (2017) June 9 The Croods: A New Age (2020) June 10 Trolls: TrollsTopia: Complete Season 3 (Hulu Original) Card Sharks: Season 3 Premiere (ABC) Trust (2021) Two of Us (2019) June 11 Love, Victor: Season 2 Premiere (Hulu Original) Real Housewives of Potomac: Complete Season 5 (Bravo) Come True (2021) June 13 Dragonheart (1996) Dragonheart: A New Beginning (2000) Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer’S Curse (2014) Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire (2017) Not Fade Away (2012) Willy’s Wonderland (2021) June 14 Rūrangi: Complete Season 1 (The Yellow Affair)

June 15 Accused: Guilty or Innocent?: Complete Season 1 (A&E) Alone: Complete Season 7 (A&E) Alone: The Beast: Complete Season 1 America Our Defining Hours: Complete Season 1 (A&E) The Celebrity Dating Game: Complete Season 1 (ABC) Dance Moms: Complete Season 8 (A&E) Duck Dynasty: Complete Season 3 (A&E) Forged in Fire: Complete Season 7 (A&E) Hoarders: Complete Season 11 (A&E) Married at First Sight: Complete Season 11 (A&E) Mountain Men: Complete Season 6 (A&E) Swamp People: Complete Season 11 (A&E) The UnXplained with William Shatner: Complete Season 1B (A&E) Born to Play (2020) Gone Girl (2014) Her Deadly Sugar Daddy Her Name Is Chef (2020) Michael Smerconish: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking (2020) Nasrin (2020) The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (2020) The Outside Story (2021) Secret Life of a Celebrity Surrogate (2020) (Lifetime) June 17 DAVE: Season 2 Premiere (FX on Hulu) Phobias (2021) June 18 Holey Moley 3D in 2D: Season 3 Premiere (ABC) The Hustler: Season 2 Premiere (ABC) When Nature Calls: Series Premiere (ABC) June 20 The Guilt Trip (2012) June 21 Cutthroat Kitchen: Complete Seasons 2 & 3 (Food Network) Worst Cooks In America: Complete Season 4 (Food Network) Backyard Builds: Complete Seasons 1 – 4 (Corus) Big Bucket Food List: Complete Season 1 – 2 (Corus) Family Home Overhaul: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Farmhouse Facelift: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Home to Win: Complete Seasons 1 – 3 (Corus) Home to Win for the Holidays: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Jr. Chef Showdown: Complete Seasons 1 – 2 (Corus) Save My Reno: Complete Seasons 1 – 4 (Corus) Hot Market: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Wall of Chefs: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Hostiles (2017) June 22 Monster Trucks (2017) June 23 College Bowl: Series Premiere (NBC) Motherland: Fort Salem: Season 2 Premiere (Freeform) June 24 An American Haunting (2006) June 25 FALSE POSITIVE (2021) (Hulu Original) Making It: Season 3 Premiere (NBC) June 26 The Choe Show: Series Premiere (FX) June 27 Safer at Home (2021) June 29 Bratz : The Movie (2007) Harvie & The Magic Museum (2021) June 30 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) Jack Reacher (2012) The Sweet Life (2016)

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Leaving Hulu – June 2021

June 4 Intrigo: Dear Agnes (2019) June 5 The Appearance (2018) June 11 Intrigo: Samaria (2019) LA 92 (2020) June 17 Identity (2003) June 30 28 Days Later (2003) 50 First Dates (2004) A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) A Night at the Roxbury (1998) A Prayer For The Dying (1987) A Simple Plan (1998) A Storks Journey (2017) The Birdcage (1997) Blue Streak (1999) Brooklyn’s Finest (2010) Bug (2007) Bulworth (1998) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) Changeling (2008) Cheech & Chong’s Still Smokin’ (1983) Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009) Convicts (1991) Convoy (1978) The Core (2003) The Devil’s Double (2011) Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009) Die Hard (1988) Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995) Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) Face/Off (1997) The Foot Fist Way (2008) Frankie & Alice (2014) The Full Monty (1997) Garden State (2004) Get Smart (2008) Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) Guess Who (2005) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) I Am Legend (2007) Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) Junior (1994) Knowing (2009) Little Women (1994) Live Free Or Die Hard (2007) The Long Goodbye (1973) The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) Monster’s Ball (2001) Mystery Science Theatre (1996) Napoleon Dynamite (2004) New in Town (2009) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) The Ninth Gate (1999) Once Upon A Crime… (1992) Pandorum (2009) Paycheck (2003) The Polar Express (2004) The Preacher’s Wife (1996) The Princess Bride (1987) Ramona and Beezus (2009) Revolutionary Road (2008) Rio (2011) Salt (2010) The Sandlot (1993) Saving Silverman (2001) Scary Movie 4 (2006) Scorpio (1973) Sex And The City (2008) Sex And The City 2 (2010) Shirley Valentine (1989) Sleeping With The Enemy (1991) Some Girls (1988) Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Soul Plane (2004) The Sum of All Fears (2002) Thirst (2009) Vantage Point (2008) Vertical Limit (2000) Walking Tall (1973) War (2007) The Wedding Planner (2001) Where the Heart Is (2000)

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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jarmes · 5 years

Text

Birdcage Chapter XIII

Masterpost - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Mistakes, or: the story told at dinner

A few days after the night we stood waiting for Camazotz to attack, the Knights gathered at the palace to receive a speech from the king. Only the bare minimum Knights were left guarding the wall. The Squads stood in lines in front of the castle. Our line was the shortest.

King Tasciovanus walked out onto a balcony overlooking the crowd. His two retainers, Johnson and Reynolds, stood behind him. The Knights bowed when we saw our King. He smiled and began his speech.

“A few nights ago marked the tenth anniversary of the great purge,” he said in a hollow voice. “Each and every one of you, I would wager, lost someone on that fateful day. I personally lost my dear wife Dietlinde. Our hearts, torn asunder by that fateful day, have beaten as one ever since.”

“We have spent much of the past decade cowering in fear, waiting for the next evil to threaten our great Kingdom,” the King continued. “Many of us feared the return of the vampire wars. But, the anniversary of his latest death passed without incident. Allies of ours in the Southern Seas have confirmed that the fortress on Mist Spire Island is empty. The Vampire King is dead, for good this time. Now we can start to move on.”

The King stepped back, and Firebrand Johnson took his place. “Okay, here’s the deal,” Johnson said as he took the stage. “After the Abrumian Crusade, we decided realized we didn’t have enough manpower to survive another large scale military operation. We’ve spent the last six years hidden behind these walls, stockpiling men and resources. In doing so, we made ensured Cieleta would survive in the event the Vampire King returned.”

“Holding back has come with its own problems,” Firebrand continued. “The treasury is nearly empty. Worse, we still haven’t reclaimed any of the land lost in the Purge. We don’t have enough farmland to provide for our citizens, and have been forced to buy food from other nations. At first, this wasn’t an issue; but, like I said, the treasury is empty now. We estimate that we can survive for another six months before we run out of food. Now that we know we Camazotz isn’t going to be a problem, we can use our military might to fix this problem”

“Enter the Reclamation Project, a plan to begin reclaiming the world outside these walls. Our first target is Stonecage, a mining town on the border of the Naitumon Mountains. The tunnels beneath Stonecage are rich in gold, iron, magic crystals, things that can save Cieleta. If we can reclaim Stonecage and set up a safe route between it and the Capital, our troubles will be over.”

“We’re sending a large expedition team, comprised of approximately half of the Knights, to Stonecage in three weeks. Captains will be informed in advance if their Squads will be needed. Preparations will begin immediately.”

We discussed development as soon as we returned to the barracks. “A journey outside the wall, to reclaim a fallen city and save the Kingdom,” Cas said. “It sounds-”

“Insanely dangerous,” Pollux interjected.

“I was going to say exciting, but I guess you aren’t wrong.”

“I’m not too worried about the Reclamation Project,” Sterling said. “Lest you forget, we’re considered by many to be the weakest Squad. Someone has to stay behind and handle wall duty. Don’t be surprised when that’s us.”

“We aren’t that pathetic,” I said. “We managed to put up a pretty good fight against that Eric guy.”

“Correction, we managed to survive long enough to watch that Eric guy run away,” Sterling said.

I strapped my sword to my back, preparing for a shift guarding the gate. “Hey Ernest, you up for a round of sparring tonight?” Pollux asked.

“Can’t. I have dinner with my grandfather once a month. Otherwise, he worries,” I said.

“Your grandfather, the vampire slayer?” Cas asked.

I shrugged. “I guess,” I said.

“It must be awesome, having someone so cool as a grandpa,” Cas said. “I bet he tells you all sort of cool stories.”

I rolled my eyes. “There’s a finite amount of stories Grandfather knows. I lived with him for ten years. It gets old after a while,” I said.

“Poor you, having a loving family member who wants to spend time with you,” Pollux snarked. “It sounds unbelievably horrible.”

“If you want, you guys can come along and meet him for yourself,” I said.

“I’d love to!” Cas said.

“Don’t be so intrusive,” Pollux shouted while elbowing in his brother in the ribs. “Ernest deserves to spend time alone with his family if he wants to.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t want to come,” Cas shot back.

“I mean, I do, but I’m not going to be pushy about it,” Pollux muttered.

“Really, it isn’t any trouble,” I said. “Sterling, do you want to come?”

“I mean, if everyone else is going, I suppose I could stop by,” he said.

That evening, the four of us showed up at Grandfather’s house. Anna answered the door. She eyed us over for a minute before turning and shouting. “Grandpa, Ernest and his friends are here!” she yelled.

“Distract our guests for a few minutes while I finish dinner!” Grandpa shouted back.

Anna stood in the doorway, not moving or saying anything. “I’m, uh, Castor,” Cas said. “It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

“Anna,” she replied.

“Can we come in?” Pollux asked.

“I don’t know, can you?” Anna asked.

I shoved past Anna, leading my friends into my old home. “Welcome to our house,” I said. “It isn’t much, but it’s home.”

Pollux and Castor looked side, at walls covered in hanging paintings of monsters. “Interesting interior decorating,” Pollux muttered.

“Grandpa paints a lot,” Ernest said. “It helps him with his nightmares.”

“Speaking of nightmares,” Anna said. “Ernest used to-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” I shouted.

“Ernest used to get really bad nightmares,” Anna said. “Like, wake up with soaking sheets every night level of bad nightmares.”

“Anna, you’re embarrassing me,” I muttered.

A few minutes later, Grandfather came out with several dishes full of food and a large bottle of ale. “Sorry if there isn’t enough food for you boys,” he said. “The prices have been a bit high recently.”

“It’s more than enough, sir,” Cas said.

We all sat down and dug into the food. Anna ate in her room. “Now, I know Ernest pretty well and I met MacDonald a few months ago, but I haven’t been properly introduced to you two,” Grandfather said while taking a sip of ale.

“I’m Pollux and my brother’s Cas,” Pollux said.

“I thought you two looked alike,” Grandfather said. “How do you like being a part of Squad V?”

“It’s great, sir,” Cas said.

“You know, I was the Captain of Squad V for a number of years. I could tell you a few stories from the good old days, if you’d like.”

“We would like that very much, sir.”

“Okay, here’s a good one for you,” Grandfather said, beginning a story I’d heard a dozen times before. “My Squad and I were traveling between the islands surrounding the Vampire King’s base, Mist Spire Island, when a magical fog surrounded our boat. We couldn’t see five feet in front of us. That’s when it struck.”

“A large bat-like creature, with massive black wings and pointed teeth, descended on our boat, picking us off one by one,” Grandfather continued. “Calvin did his best to keep us safe, but it wasn’t enough. The beast with too quick, and the fog kept us from seeing it as it flew by.”

“What did you do?” Cas asked.

“I closed my eyes and waited. As the beast drew close, I heard the sound its wings made as it glided through the air. With a single swing, I cleaved the beast in two, saving my Squad.”

“Wow, you’re so cool, Mr. Zuckerman,” Cas said. “I hope I can be like you when I’m older.”

“Don’t worry, kid, your story is just beginning. I’m sure there’re great things in your future” Grandfather said. “For example, I heard that Calvin hired you two after you helped Ernest and MacDonald fight off a dark mage.”

“I mean, Ernest and Sterling did most of the work,” Cas said.

Shortly afterward, we heard a knock on the door. We opened it to find Captain Cross, with a dark look on his face. “Hello Jim, might I come in and talk to my Squad?” Cross asked.

“Of course, Calvin. Why don’t you stay for dinner?” Grandfather said.

“I can stay, but I’m afraid I may ruin your meal with bad news,” Cross said. “I just finished up a meeting with the other officers about the Reclamation Project.”

“So, are we going to Stonecage?” Pollux asked.

“Firebrand Johnson requested that I personally go along, due to the defensive capabilities of my verse, while you four stay here and continue watching the gate,” Cross said. “Of course, I told them that I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my Squad alone, especially after what happened eight months ago.”

“So we aren’t going to Stonecage?” Pollux asked.

“Well, the thing is, Firebrand may have misinterpreted my request,” Cross said. “He decided to send all four of us to Stonecage.”

The reaction to this was mixed. Excitement from me and Cas, worry from Cross and Pollux, and a mix from Grandfather. Sterling stayed silent. “Don’t worry, James, I’ll ensure that these boys stay safe during the Stonecage mission,” Cross said. “Ernest, Castor, Pollux, and Sterling are under my protection.”

“Sterling, that’s MacDonald, right?” Grandfather asked. “You know, I must’ve heard someone call him Sterling sometime before now, but it only just clicked in my head. Your name is Sterling MacDonald, isn’t it?”

“It is, sir,” Sterling muttered.

“I’ve heard of a knight named Sterling MacDonald. You wouldn’t happen to be him, would you?” Grandfather asked.

“Depends on which Sterling MacDonald you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the one that received a lot of attention ten years ago. The one that became a Captain at the age of nineteen.”

“Wait, Sterling was a Captain?” Cas asked.

“Are you the Sterling MacDonald I’m thinking of?” Grandfather asked.

“I am,” Sterling said quietly.

“I thought so. You’re the infamous traitor, aren’t you?” Grandfather said.

“That’s quite enough, James,” Cross said.

“What’s he talking about, Sterling?” Cas asked. “What does he mean, the infamous traitor?”

“If you’d stop interrupting, maybe we’d find out,” Pollux said.

Sterling stood up. “I think it would be best if I left, Mr. Zuckerman,” he said. “Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

“Sterling, wait,” I said.

Sterling walked away, ignoring me. The door slammed behind him. I turned back to Grandfather. “What was that?” I asked.

“Your friend never told you about his past, did he?” Grandfather asked.

“I don’t care about his past,” I said. “Sterling’s my friend. He’s saved my life on multiple occasions.”

“Doesn’t really wipe away the people he doomed though, does it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you know a lot about the Purge, Ernest. Did you ever hear about the Dark Duo’s inside man who helped them pull it off? What if I were to tell you that Sterling was that inside man?”

Cross slammed his fist down on the table. “That is enough, Jim,” he said. “If you have problems with MacDonald, take them up with me. I hired him because I trust him and know he’s a good man. I don’t know what kind of rumors you’ve heard, but I assure you, they’re false.”

Grandfather glanced at his bottle of ale and sighed. “Maybe I’ve had a little too much to drink,” he muttered.

I left after that. I found Sterling sitting on top of the wall, looking out over the empty plains. “Hey,” I said as I climbed up.

“Hey,” Sterling said.

“When we first met, you said that you made some mistakes when you were younger and ruined your reputation,” I said.

Sterling sighed. “It’s a long story,” he said.

“I’ve got time.”

Sterling looked at the night sky for a moment. “It’s a full moon tonight,” he said. “That’s funny. It was a full moon on the night before the Purge, too.”

“Grandfather said you were responsible for the Purge. Is that true?”

“The magic, the planning, the execution, I wasn’t a part of that. But I played my roll in it, I suppose.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“The purge didn’t begin as a hurricane. It started with the flapping of a single butterfly’s wings, that grew into a nightmare. The King’s dead wife, Dietlinde, she belonged to a bloodline containing powerful magic. Black and Darkholme sacrificed her to begin the Purge.”

“And your role in all this?”

“Back then, I was a novice Captain. The queen was doing a tour of the Kingdom, visiting various villages damaged by the raids. My Squad was put in charge of guarding her. The night before the Purge, a mercenary hired by Darkhomle attacked us on the open road. I was the only member of my Squad he spared.”

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

“After the Purge, the King didn’t take kindly to my survival,” Sterling said. “A lot of people thought I betrayed the Knights, that my survival was a gift from Darkholme for my cooperation. The King wanted to execute me for my crimes. Calvin, an old friend of mine, stopped him.”

“Did you betray the Knights?”

“Do you count failure as an act of betrayal?”

I placed my hand on Sterling’s. “Do you remember what I told you, when we woke up in the hospital? I told you that I’d help you restore your reputation,” I said. “I’m not about to break that pact because of a few mistakes.”

“You’re a good man, Ernest. You deserve better than me.”

#writing #fantasy

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hisoillu-prompts · 6 years

Text

Really long: Dragon AU

(sorry about paragraphs that seem rambly, this was me throwing ideas together. A fic that I was going to write but never got to it but it NEEDS to be made)

In which Hisoka is a dragon that terrorizes the kingdom of the Zoldycks, stealing livestock from farms, burning down towns, and killing all of their strongest warriors, including the ones sent to kill him. A truly fearsome beast indeed.

They try to arrange for like a meeting with him but he doesnt show up the first time. Of course, the Zoldycks get pissed and Kikyo would throw a fit because how dare that vile creature, but they would call him again and again and just out of one part boredom and one part annoyance, hisoka would show up. Of course, despite how irritated they are, the two heads(most Silva since Kikyo is still internally fuming) would try to negotiate. But although interested in the gold they offered, Hisoka declines everything(as he does what he does for entertainment).

They ask him what he wants. He seems to think for a bit before asking for the whole household to gather in front of him. After looking, he picks killuia(that white haired kid of yours) since he thought he'll be the strongest/have the most potential(so they can fight lol). He doesnt really notice Illumi because he was kinda in a corner and is basically a shadow(as always), but Kikyo offers up illumi instead(he's my oldest[son]) because of course Hisoka cant take the heir- and Hisoka is would just be like 'eh sure he should be pretty strong too' and decides to let killuia 'ripen'.

-a kinda transgression by having it sort of from the servants point of view? like 'the eldest prince, Illumi, was very...strange, even in his particularly weird family. (Mention how he was like robot, empty dark home eyes, almost no emotion, follows orders, has a terrible empty aura kinda feeling, and is creepily good at fighting and killing) i have no idea im sorry

But when he actually gets Illumi the next day or something he's kinda like 'oh u arent scared' and Illumis like 'nah. Now what do u wanna do with me like srsly'

Illumi really longs for his house at first and is sort of at a loss at what to do without any orders, so he kinda just sits around and misses his bed and waits for Hisoka to get back or something. He’s glad that he was taken in place of killuia, as long as his family(and heir) were safe.

-He eventually adjust, realizing that the silence in the cave really wasnt that new or different than in the castle

-Hisoka terrorizes a new town instead to make up his part of the bargain(although he goes back in his human form to see whats up sometimes) and its like most of the time he would just walk around in his human form as it was more convenient to fight people and yet not get him kicked out/ have to deal with the bother of people shouting at him for being a dragon and waving pitchforks and stuff, but he was kinda going for a chillaxing time when he decided to dragon form wreck Illumis kingdom. He had heard that it was a very strong kingdom of assassins, fairly famous, and he had decided to blow off some steam fighting, and he wasn't disappointed. Much.But anyway Illumi's kingdom was a little out of the way for him, he had to take longer time to reach there, the mountainous kingdom. Dragons all had one cave, unless they wanted to move their treasures to another one/ had another cave just for other treasures. His cave took almost 7/9 hours to fly to from the Zoldyck kingdom, and dragons flew pretty fast.

The Zoldyck family of assassins are basically a miniature kingdom, small with a town underneath their mountain that they protect. The town is relatively normal, with most everyone looking up to the deadly family looking after them. But there are some that try to train to become assassins with the zoldycks as inspiration(maybe they sponsor an assassin guild for the smaller kills they dont bother wasting time with).

-A random asshole villager dude saw illumi in town once with a disguise(as a female) and fell in ‘love’ and trains to be an assassin to rescue her(him) from the dragon. Inwardly he also wants to get into the zoldyck family as well, thinking he can if he impresses them with his rescue of illu and then marrying 'her'. Access to all that wealth and power made one considered untouchable. Illu is disgusted when he hears about this and claims that such a weakling wouldnt last a second in the presence of him nor his family.

-Anyway They both go to town together sometimes. In disguises of course, or if Illumi needs groceries

-eventually they just fall into an easy pattern and be friends and include a scene where Hisokas like 'alright Illu get ready another knight is here to rescue you(because they think you're a girl cough cough) and Illumis kinda just reading a book and letting out the occasional 'frightened(more like monotone) scream from his 'prison'(a giant birdcage cuz Hisoka is flashy as fuck) and the knight is kinda like 'ok that didnt sound like a very convincing scream/her voice isnt that great but i heard her beauty was astounding' -anyway so like Hisoka fuckin rekts him of course and one time a knight actually goes "RELEASE PRINCESS ILLUMI' and Hisoka smirks and Illumi twitches and after the knight is turned into crisps Hisoka turns to Illumi with a shit eating grin like "so i guess youre a princess. You never told me.."And Illumis just like fuck you

(very optional/not really fitting angst)

angst in how Kikyo gave up Illumi(the eldest. The strongest of the children. The one whos been with her the longest.) for Killuia, proving that she cared about him more. 'Or maybe it was because he was older, and this was just one of his responsibilities. But he couldn't help the foreign feeling of something shallowly sinking in his chest' Illumi still is kinda obsessed with Kil, but its more because he was suppose to be the heir and also Mil was kinda a bad child and Illumi actually was lonely so kil played with him a lot but their relationship slowly twisted into a sort of love hate for Illumi. Because even though he didnt care too much about the crown, he did care for his family. Although he wouldnt admit it; and his training refused to show a slip in his mask, Illumi did feel strangely empty when his family rained affection on Kil and only turned to him with orders on their lips. But no it couldnt be jealousy, no WAY would he be jealous of his younger bro! Hahaha! (Just keep telling yourself that, Ill)

(optional random angst end)

-Hisoka considers Illumi part of his 'treasure'/hoard and as all dragons are, he is fiercely protective of his hoard. Not that any thief could make it past Illumi, much less hurt him too much.

-when people describe illumi as 'beautiful and skilled' everyone always assumes that 1. Illu is a woman, and 2, 'skilled' meant as in embroidery or the such. Not in fighting/killing/assassinating. Not that he cant do embroidery because fuck yeah he can and frick yeah does it look good.So everyone is surprised when they see him decked out in armor with a blade pointed at their throat

-illumi like dies or almost dies and is turned into a dragon? Very rare, something about dragons being magical beings - anything can happen blah blah hisoka’s magic dragon magic infused into his body and now he’s filled with dragon magic that his strong will and body and mind turned into his own magic (i dont know where this idea came from, or really how else to explain it- just that past me had a good idea in mind that I now can’t remember)

-sleek, completely black dragon with blue gleam in scales if light hit them just right and sharp, wicked spines/spikes. All sharp angles and sharp lines, like any move can cut someone into ribbons. Deadly. He made hisoka, who was by no means a cuddly looking dragon, look almost soft-but despite misleading appearances, hisoka was definitely the more dangerous. What he lacked in looks he made up for in sheer brute strength and cunning.maybe stronger fire range too.

- illumi breathes blue flames, much much hotter. But small range. And could not stay in dragon form for long since originally human and originally not his dragon magic(it was like oxygen, reusable, but still limited). Both of them had hard scales

If you looked carefully, you could tell. Hisoka was taller, bigger, you could see muscles rippling through every limb. Illumi lurked more in the shadows, looking slightly bored. .

#hisoillu #hisoka #illumi #illumi zoldyck #hisoillu prompt #hisoillu prompts #hxh #hunter x hunter #hunter x hunter prompts #hxh writing prompts #dragon!au #dragon!hisoka #knight!illumi #this was my fav of all of my ideas #hopefully someone makes it #one day

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trinity-blood-translations · 7 years

Text

Trinity Blood RAM-series analysis

or: What the heck is happening in RAM 4?

This was the question I had all the time in my mind while reading RAM 4 of Trinity Blood. Since in Trinity Blood you can understand almost everybody’s motivations and goals but this time it was a mess. I couldn't understand why things are happening so I had to think a lot about it and made researches and as usual checked the other versions, because as you know as well the English as the Spanish version have many failures in translation and left out sentences.

The questions: --------------------

1) How came Catherina’s name on the list of the New Vatican Members and how the Vatican got that List?

2) Why on Earth does Helga helping the AX to get Cherubim due to exonerate Catherina?

3) Why does she still want to get Cherubim to the Vatican after her real identity was revealed by Antonio and Abel?

4) What are the consequences of the Vatican got Cherubim and some information.

5) Why didn't Isaak do anything when he knew well that Helga is plotting against him bringing danger for the whole RCO and Cain as well?

The Results of Research: -----------------------------------

1) How came Catherina’s name on the list of the New Vatican Members and how the Vatican got that List?

Well, how it begins, is showed already in RAM 3 in a little RCO-scene after the Brno-plan failed. Dialogue between Isaak and Dietrich:

(RAM 3, Know Faith): Dietrich: "Shall I guess what you intent to do next?" Isaak: "Do you know what I intend to do?" Dietrich: Of course I know. You'll do something quite terrible, right?" Isaak: As you say Puppeteer, I'm now going to do something quite terrible.

-->This “quite terrible “ is nothing else than playing a false list of the members of the New Vatican in the hands of the Inquisition - of course with the name of Catherina on the list. As we get to know in RAM 4, the list supposed to be false by the AX, but they can't prove it:

RAM 4, Lady Guilty Antonio: “There were duplicates but never a master copy. So the Inquisition Committee must have a fake.”

RAM 4, Lady Guilty Dietrich to Isaak: “They’ve managed to escape the Vatican’s surveillance net, and we don’t know where any of them (the AX) are. They are pretty clever, no? But this the end of Duchess of Milan. The list you made was perfect. Those feeble-minded idiots at the Vatican will never realize that it’s a fake.”

So Isaak was planning with this list to remove Catherina and the AX, the only enemy of the Orden who are able to stop the RCO. Probably he is hoping as further result to win Catherina for the RCO because if she is sentenced to death she will have nowhere to flee but to the RCO.

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2) Why on Earth does Helga helping the AX to get Cherubim due to exonerate Catherina?

The AX knows that Cherubim should have the original list of the members. But they have no chance to find Alfonso (who has Cherubim) till Helga (undercover) comes to them and tells where the New Vatican is hiding. But we get to know her true intensions just after Antonio ask her who the fuck she is, because she is not the person she pretend to be. Her answer:

RAM 4, Judgment Day Helga: "Hee hee....Idiot! I worked so hard on this miserable act, but you really are idiots. It will not be possible for you to succeed in your desire to rescue Sforza. I'll take Cherubim back to Rome for you. You can rest easy!"

--> So she wanted to get Cherubim to Rom to the Inquisition, but she doesn't intend to help in rescuing Catherina. It means she was only using the desperate AX to get Cherubim to Rom. So she want the Inquisition get some other information from Cherubim besides the original member list. But what information could it be?

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

3) Why does she still want to get Cherubim to the Vatican after her real identity was revealed by Antonio and Abel?

After Cherubim is in Rome and Catherina is rescued Isaak makes Helga responsible for a big failure, because he never wanted Cherubim get to Rom it was Helga’s own plan not one of the RCO.

RAM 4, Judgment Day Helga: "What happened was a series of unfortunate coincidences." Isaak: "Do not be mistaken Countess. I am not trying to criticize you. It is just that these unfortunate coincidences have put us in a dangerous position....Cherubim reached the Vatican with information, due to these unfortunate coincidences. It is only a matter of time before they discover our locations-including this place."

--> It means the locations of the headquarters of the RCO, the one in Über-Brelin (Cain, Isaak, Dietrich, Susanne, Guderian) and the one in Vienna (Helga and the Neumann brothers) will be released for the Vatican. We know that Helga is deeply in love with Cain so she impossible wanted the Vatican discover Cain's hideout. Or she is certain that Cain would get away easily by a potential attack on the Berlin-headquarters. What does she really wanted? We get the answer in RAM 5 and RAM 6.

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4) What are the consequences of the Vatican got Cherubim and some information.

In RAM 5 (Birdcage) Helga manage to keep her plot running in order to reach her goals. She "invites" Isaak to Vienna where everything should get an end.

RAM 5, Birdcage Helga's thoughts after the video-conference with Isaak: "The next step was to continue to act in accordance with the pre-specified arrangements to complete the plan that was 'Operation Birdcage'. If it went as intended, everything would continue to develop according to the script that they had already laid forth. Now, Helga would have no need to dirty her hands. That meant that her mortal enemy- no, the two enemies whom she hated more than anyone, would both put an end each other, and finally die."

--> What does it mean?

“the script that THEY had laid forth”: Balthazar is helping her, because he is in love with Helga.

“ her mortal enemy”: Isaak (She truly hates Isaak, because he stands between her and Cain. RAM 4, Judgment Day. [Helga (while video chatting with Isaak:] "She internally cursed her bad luck that he was precisely the man whom she hated the most in the world for having total monopoly over her beloved and the one whom she had to explain now her failure.")

“the two enemies she hated more than anyone”: Abel and Isaak

“both will put an end each other”: In fact she wants Abel and Isaak killing each other in Vienna – just as it happens seemingly in RAM 6

--> There we have our answer: she wants the AX to get to know about the headquarter in Vienna, that's why she wants to get Cherubim to the AX. Proof:

RAM 5 (Bird Cage): Caspar: "Well, have you got answers to all of your questions now? What good do you think that you will get out of it, uncle? As you must know, I cannot stay here too long. I must return immediately to the 'Tower', otherwise I will be reprimanded by my brother." William: "'The Tower'? Well, now...is that your base of operations?" (bit later:) William: "Angel of Wisdom, 'Cherubim', I ask you! Where is this stronghold he called "The Tower'?" Cherubim: "In Vienna, Sir....City of Vienna, Germanic Kingdom, longitude 16 degrees north, and latitude 48 degrees."

--> Of course it had to look like the AX got this information on they own otherwise they could have sensed a trap. That's why Helga is going undercover to the AX in RAM 4 and helping them to get the Cherubim.

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

5) Why didn't Isaak do anything when he knew well that Helga is plotting against him bringing danger for the whole RCO and Cain as well?

We get to know already in RAM 4 that the RCO isn't really a united big family:

RAM 4, Lady Guilty Dietrich to Isaak: “After all, there are so many people who would like to drag you down. And they could be anywhere.”

--> He means even within the RCO. But Isaak knows well, that Helga is plotting against him and he pretend not to suspect anything. Seemingly he walks easily into Helga's trap and comes to Vienna:

RAM 5, Birdcage Helga: "But aren't you very busy with your work....?" Isaak: "No, I can find someone else here to be responsible for my current project. As soon as I finish shifting over that responsibility, I will immediately rush to your side."… Helga’s thoughts: This fellow had totally taken the bait. - Ice Witch bowed deeply, bit her lip, and smiled smugly. She was convinced that she had already won.

That Isaak is already aware of her plot get we know in RAM 5 (Radio Head) where Isaak and Dietrich are already on the way to Vienna:

RAM 5, Radio Head Dietrich: "But you know it’s a trap, why do you go to Vienna?" Isaak: "Oh, you mean why I’m going there nonetheless? Anyway, after all, the countess said, that Balthasar asked for advice. You're a smart man, since you think I've been aware of their plot - this perception should not be wrong – but well, they rarely specially invited me, if I flatly refuses to do so, I'm afraid it's not polite."

--> It means he has his own plans already. In RAM 6 Isaak and Abel meet in Vienna but instead of fighting and killing each other Isaak surrenders himself to Abel and offers him help to stop the Silent Noise system of Vienna. However they work together, at the end it seems that Helga won: Abel and Isaak are dying after a big explosion at the Schönbrun Castle. But shortly thereafter it turns out, that both are alive and Isaak was pulling the strings all the time and everybody were dancing around after his plans, especially Abel. (to read more about RAM 6 check the Authors note in translation: http://trinity-blood-translations.tumblr.com/post/150707132743/apocalypse-now-yoshidas-notes-for-ending )

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you go enjoyed this little analysis and we got some clearness in the mess of plot. Please let me know if you have questions. @Trinity Blood by Sunao Yoshida, illustration by Thores Shibamoto

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sineatcr-blog · 7 years

Text

MEMORIES 03 – LETTERS CARRIED BY BIRDS

| Five years after Memory 02. |

“…What do you mean, you won’t be coming back to the Citadel for a while?” Ardyn asked, bewildered. “Why not?”

Stella wrung her hands nervously, the thirteen year-old girl looking sad and upset, but also like she didn’t want to tell him. “Because…” She began slowly. “Mom found out. A-About our trips.”

Ardyn’s eyes widened. “How?!” He demanded, stepping forward. “We were really good at keeping them secret!”

Ever since their first excursion five years earlier, the two kids had been making regular trips out to the city proper, finding people who were sick and helping them. Ardyn couldn’t heal, but he had thrown himself happily into his combat training so he could protect Stella – and he’d gotten a lot better at his swordsmanship. The two children had made it a habit whenever Stella had visited the Citadel, slipping out and losing their guardians.

Ardyn had a pile of notebooks in his drawer, full of notes and sketches of daemons and the Scourge – his plan, his idea, was still growing and forming, and he’d even told Stella about it two years ago. She’d loved the idea. The two of them had been going out since then both to help heal people and to study the sickness as best they could, trying to figure out a way to cure it. There had to be something.

But now– Stella shook her head frantically. “I don’t know!” She said. “Maybe someone in the city saw us and told? It wasn’t me, Ardie, I swear!”

“I know,” Ardyn said, realizing he had yelled and reaching to grab her hand. “I know it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t me, either, Stel’. You’re right, someone probably told on us.” It made sense, didn’t it? Some worried citizen telling the guards that the Crown Prince and the Oracle’s daughter were out and about in the bad parts of the city. But…

He swallowed. “So you’re leaving…?” He asked.

Stella nodded. “Y-Yes,” she said sadly, looking down at their joined hands. “There’s– there’s a lot of new settlements out there lately, and Mom says as Oracle she needs to travel to all of them t-to heal people, and I have to come with her.”

“…So she’s basically trying to keep us apart,” Ardyn said bitterly. “I guess I’m a bad influence.”

Stella laughed. “The best bad influence.” She said fondly. “But yeah, I think so…we have to be together once you’re king and I’m Oracle, but I think until then she wants us to stay apart. Which is dumb, but…”

“But she’s your mom and Oracle, so she’s the boss of you,” Ardyn finished quietly. “It’s okay, Stel’ – I can’t heal yet, but I’ll keep studying. We’ll make this cure work, I promise. Even if we’re apart.”

Stella hugged him tightly and he returned the gesture. “I know,” she said fondly. “We’ll do it together no matter what. I won’t be leaving for a few days, though, so…let’s make those count.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, mind already hard t work trying to come up with any ideas to make this not happen, anything to help. “Let’s make it count.”

Though the two had tried desperately to be together as much as possible the last few days before Stella’s departure, the Oracle had done her own level best to keep them apart. It hurt, and it frustrated them both – Ardyn especially – but it did give him more time to come up with a plan. If he couldn’t stop her leaving, then the trick would be to find some way to stay in touch, right? So that’s what he had to do.

He’d worked hard, talking to everyone he could possibly think to ask, sneaking out and talking to the friends he’d made in the people the two had helped heal. Some idea, any idea, no matter how little – he was clever, everyone always told him that, told him he was smart and clever and good at coming up with things – and he knew he’d be able to work out a plan of action.

It was on this last trip, the afternoon before the Fleurets would leave, when he finally found something.

One of the people they’d healed was a merchant, and Ardyn entered her store to stop in surprise at the trill of songbirds.

“What are those?” He asked the older woman, looking around for the source of the sound. The woman chuckled, stepping into the back and bringing out a silver gilt cage, within which four birds in shades of gold, crimson, sapphire, and emerald hopped from perch to perch, singing cheerfully.

“Nebulawood Alcedines,” the woman said. “Clever little things, I’ve been told. Can find their way nearly anywhere, seeing as their native habitat’s almost always covered in thick fog. Pretty, too, all bright colors, and their song’s lovely. A cousin hunts in his spare time, and sent these to me as a gift.” She sighed. “Though I don’t know what to do with them, really…can’t afford pets.”

She paused, catching the look of awe on Ardyn’s face, and smiled. “That’s right…you like animals, don’t you, Your Highness?”

“Yeah,” Ardyn aid, reaching his hand through the cage bars. The golden alcedine fluttered down to land on his finger, twittering at him. “I love them.” It was true; though his interest had started with studying them to compare them with daemons, Ardyn had quickly discovered how fascinating the animal kingdom was, and how pretty – books on ecology and animals were slowly taking over his bookshelves, and he had to admit, birds were some of his favorites.

“Well, in that case, they’re yours,” the woman said, and Ardyn lit up.

“Really?” He asked, and the woman nodded.

“Really,” she said. “I know you’ll take good care of them.”

Ardyn stood on his tiptoes to pick up the cage, grinning as the birds chirped brightly, seeming to know they were going to a good home. “I will,” he promised, and an idea was already forming. They can find their way anywhere, huh…?

“Stella!” Ardyn nearly tripped, carefully carrying his surprise behind him as he hurried to meet her before she left. “Stella, wait!”

She turned, dropping her bags as her eyes lit up happily. “Ardie, you made it! I was worried you wouldn’t come see me off…”

“Of course I would, Stel’,” Ardyn said. “I was just getting something ready to give you.” He smiled at her crookedly, full of mischief, and Stella smiled back.

“A gift for me?” She asked. “What is it?”

Ardyn’s smile widened even more and he pulled the small birdcage from behind his back, where the crimson and gold alcedines sat placidly inside. “Rubri and Flavi,” he said proudly. “I have two more for me, those are Caeruli and Viridi.”

“Oh, they’re so pretty!” Stella said with a bright smile, taking the birdcage gently and whistling the song back at the birds. “I love them, Ardie, thank you!”

Ardyn grinned. “Oh, but that’s not all,” he said, pulling a little leather pouch from his pocket. “I was up all night figuring stuff out, and here. Write me letters and put them in here, and the birds will bring it to me. And I can do the same back.”

“We can keep in touch!” Stella realized, beaming. She set the cage down and threw her arms around him in a hug, squeezing tightly. “Oh, thank you, Ardie! I was scared we wouldn’t be able to talk again for years! But now we’ll never lose touch, and Mom can’t stop me! Wherever we go, they’ll find me, won’t they?”

Ardyn nodded. “Wherever you go, they’ll know the way there and back again,” he promised. “No matter where you are, my letters will find you.”

“Ardyn…” Stella repeated, and smiled shyly, her eyes glimmering with tears. “Thank you so much. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Stella,” Ardyn said softly, and reached out to give her hand a final squeeze. “But I’ll never forget you. Never.”

Stella sniffled, and leaned over to give Ardyn a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing her bags and the birdcage and running off.

Ardyn stood a moment, watching her go with his hand covering his cheek. “Bye,” he said softly, so quiet no one could hear. “See you again, Stella.”

#;prose: write til your ink be dry #;memories: what is past is prologue

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hot-tea-gardenparty · 5 years

Text

20 Questions

1. Any favourite tv shows? Too many to list...but as of right now: Killing Eve, Schitt's Creek, Supernatural, Bob's Burgers, The Haunting of Hill House 2. Fave songs at the moment? SSFWL - Oh My Girl, See Through - The Band CAMINO, Numb - Baker Grace, Painkillers - The Strike, Drive All Night - Joan, Violeta - IZ*ONE, SHA LA LA - PENTAGON, Human Condition - Parade of Lights, No - CLC 3. Favourite movies you’ve watched recently? The Birdcage, 21 Jump Street 4. Are you usually late or early to events/work? I am always early, it's how my momma raised me. Better early than late. 5. Favourite drink/foods? Coffee, tea (includes all types), Green Dakara (Japanese sports drink), Yuzu flavored anything....for foods, I adore miso soup, Pad See Ew (Thai dish with large rice noodles and vegetables),cherries, salt and vinegar cassava chips, cinnamon rolls 6. Movie title that best describes your life? Lost in Translation 7. City would you most like to live in? Osaka, Japan 8. What age do you wish you could permanently be? Oh god...I guess the age I am now...31...not too young, not too old...old enough to know better but with the energy to do whatever she might want. 9. Fictional place you would most like to go? Wakanda...or the Millineal Moon Kingdom (Sailor Moon) 10. How do you relax after a hard day of work? Cuddling on the couch with my husband and cat, watching television, talking about our respective days 11. Tv show or movie you refuse to watch? Anything that is overly gorey or disgusting, super fake...like Dr. Pimple Popper (seriously, why?!) 12. What are some small things that make your day better? Watching the cute little birds come eat out of our bird feeder. 13. What is the most impressive thing you know how to do? I know way too much about Japan, Japanese culture and Japanese history due to an obsession with the country and it's culture that hasn't died. I've been into Japan since before I can remember and been surrounded by it for over 20 years...lived in it...so yeah...I know a lot. I am not Japanese and I never will be, but I know quite a lot and I am proud of that fact. 14. Game or movie universe would you most like to live in? Harry Potter, hell yah! 15. If all jobs had the same pay and hours, what job would you like to have? Japanese/Korean media and pop culture blogger 16. What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without? Internet access. 17. What do you have doubts about? Can I say everything? Uhm...probably what I worry about right now is my future career. 18. What irrational fear do you have? I am always afraid someone is following me or watching me. 19. What would be your spirit animal? A seal 20. Three interesting facts about you? I lived in Japan for 2.5 years, I really love photography, especially nature or scenic photography, and I have five auto-immune diseases/issues (three of which deal with my skin) so I have a special diet I follow to help in controling their flare-ups.

#20 questions #about me #me #personal #no one cares #but i am doing it anyways

0 notes

jarmes · 5 years

Text

Birdcage Chapter XII

Masterpost - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Origin, or: the man who killed God

All of Squad V stood at the gate, weapons in hand, ready for the fight of our lives. In the distance, the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains to the north, drowning Cieleta in darkness. “Prepare yourselves,” Cross said. “It’ll begin soon.”

Squad V wasn’t alone that night. Half of the Knights were stationed around the wall, ready for war. The other half either guarded the palace roamed the streets, making sure everyone was inside. Firebrand stood alone, fifty yards from the gate, the first line of defense against the horrors of the night.

“Can I ask a question?” Pollux asked.

“You just did,” Cas said.

“Okay, may I ask a different question?”

“Again, you just-”

“What is it, Pollux?” Cross asked.

“What are we waiting for? This morning, the King told everyone to hide in their homes and ordered us to guard the gate, but no one’s told us why yet,” Pollux said.

“Today is, to the day, the tenth anniversary of the Purge,” I said.

“And that is relevant because?” Pollux asked.

“It means that the Vampire King is back,” Cross said.

“Okay, follow up question: Who’s the Vampire King and what does he have to do with us?” Pollux asked.

Cross sighed. “It’s surprising that someone could be as old as you and know so little about the world,” he said.

“I mean, I don’t want to harp on this point, but my parents died in front of me when I was six,” Pollux said. “I didn’t exactly have the most informative upbringing.”

“Fair enough, I suppose,” Cross said. “We’re on guard because we fear that Camazotz, the great and terrible Vampire King, is going to launch a raid on the Capital tonight.”

“The Vampire King was an ancient evil and father of monsters,” I said. “For years, he commanded his minions to attack cities, destroying them in nightmarish raids.”

“If he’s so dangerous, why haven’t I heard of him?” Pollux asked.

“He’s been dead for ten years,” Sterling said.

“So we don’t have to worry about him?” Cas asked.

“This isn’t the first time he’s died,” Cross said.

Pollux and Cas gave each other confused looks and Cross sighed. “I suppose I should start at the beginning,” he said.

And then Cross told the long, tangled history of the Vampire King and the seven Golden Gods. A story I’d heard many times before from my Grandfather and Sister Nancy. The story of our world. Or, more accurately, what we thought was the story of our world.

In the beginning, there was the Dusk, an endless plain of darkness ruled by Zero, an incomprehensible entity of death and destruction. No grass grew in the Dusk. No wind blew, no fire blazed, no lightning arched across the sky. It was a world free of magic, a world free of everything but Zero.

But, in the heavens far above the Dusk, a sliver of light broke free into existence. The light grew, transforming into the Hall of Light, a glorious kingdom untainted by the Zero’s malice. From the energy of the Hall came seven Gods, flawless beings born from light.

The seven descended from the hall and killed Zero, burying his corpse beneath a great mountain range. The seven Golden Gods returned to their hall and rested, recovering from their great battle.

Unbeknownst to them, their battle had changed the Dusk. Zero’s blood and the light of the Gods mixed, creating magic. From this magic, man was born.

Humanity first sprung force in the mountains lying atop Zero’s corpse, inhospitable peaks of ice and stone. Dark clouds surrounded the mountains, preventing man from leaving. For centuries, humanity hid on these peaks, dreaming of something greater.

One day, the leaders of seven tribes climbed to the top of the tallest mountain and prayed for salvation. The seven Gods, awakened by these prayers, descended from the heavens and greeted the tribe leaders.

The Gods summoned a great blast of light and destroyed the dark clouds, revealing to man the endless world that had lied out of reach. The Dusk, free from Zero’s wrath, had flourished, turning into a utopia. Each of the Gods took a tribe and led them out of the mountains to new homes.

The Lyvela tribe, led by the Tinkerer, settled in a lush valley north of the valley. Their patron taught them to dig through the soil and harness the metal and gems hidden deep beneath the earth.

The Forenz tribe, led by the Sage, settled in a tundra to the southwest of mountains. Their patron taught them to harness the forces of magic to fend off the icy wind.

The Verir tribe, led by the Lorekeeper, settled in a wetland to the northwest of the mountains. Their patron gifted them with ancient knowledge they used to construct bridges and cities.

The Dolgen tribe, led by the Adventurer, left the continent of Magpur entirely, sailing off in search of a new home. Their patron guided them to the northeast corner of the world they found a large, crescent-shaped island with tall cliffs and endless forests.

The Thernorn tribe, led by the Warrior, settled in a peninsula to the north of the mountains. Their patron taught them to protect themselves from the dangers of the world.

The Cieleta tribe, led by the Holy Mother, settled in a large country filled with forests and lakes to the south of the mountains. Our patron gifted us with healing magic tasked us with protecting the world.

Finally, the Abrum tribe, led by a God whose name has was lost to time, settled in a desert to the southeast of the mountains. Before their patron could bestow a gift upon them, the Abrum tribe rebelled, attacking their God to steal her power. Camazotz, strongest of the Abrumian warriors, cleaved off the God’s head.

As the God’s head rolled away, something began to change within Camazotz. The power of light and creation, an energy that could not be destroyed, seeped into his body, transforming him. Camazotz was reborn as a demon with pale skin, red eyes, and sharp fangs and claws. The power within him was greater than anything possessed by any other human, but still came with weaknesses. His flesh burned every time he stepped into the sunlight. To keep the power within him from destroying every fiber of his body, Camazotz was forced to drink the blood of his fellow humans.

Still, Camazotz used his new power to his advantage. He gathered armies of monsters and the people of Abrum bowed before his godly might. For years, Camazotz ruled over Abrum, content to only crush his own people beneath his heel. Then, one night, he decided to move on to greater things.

The first raids began in Cieleta. His vampires, twisted monsters built to resemble him, descended on villages, tearing men and women limb from limb. Soon, the vampires spread to Forenz and Lyvela, then to Dolgen and Verir, and finally, to Thernorn.

The six nations came together, combining their skills and manpower to fight off the vampiric hoards. After a grueling five year campaign, a swordsman from Cieleta finally managed to slay the Vampire King, bringing peace to the world. For a time.

Ten years later, to the day, the Vampire King rose again. The light energy inside him had bonded to his soul, keeping him bound to the material plane. Reborn, the Vampire King built a castle in the Southern Seas and resumed his onslaught.

For centuries, this cycle continued. Mankind would spend a few years battling Camazotz, we’d kill him for ten years, then he’d come back and attack again. The warriors who put the Vampire King to sleep for ten years, like my grandfather, received unmatched praise and glory.

After Camazotz abandoned them, the people of Abrum were forced to figure out a way to survive in the harsh desert without the teachings of a patron or the strength of a King. They invented dark magic, a cursed art allowing the wielder to unleash large amounts of power via sacrifice. Legend has it that this power was somehow connected to Zero, the fallen lord of death and darkness.

Eventually, the people of Abrum joined in the battle against Camazotz. That’s where the trouble began. Their dark magic, born from pain and rage, was a weapon of unmatched power. The allied nations began funding research into unlocking the full power of darkness.

Enter Jericho Darkholme and Nathaniel Black. A high ranking magic researcher and nobleman turned vampire hunter respectively. The two of them teamed up to carry out a plan to destroy Camazotz once and for all.

Eight months before I was born, the raids began again. Black and Darkholme dove into their research, spending years creating the perfect spell. Then, when I was seven, they activated it.

The spell worked like a snowball rolling down a mountain. It used some of the energy created from a single life to kill another life, and that energy to kill another, and so on and so forth, increasing exponentially as it spread through the world.

Black and Darkholme planned to absorb the energy created by the Purge, becoming strong enough to effortlessly slay Camazotz. That didn’t happen. The two were left as powerless as before, with an army of corpses lying at their feet. We ended up calling this event the Purge. You know the rest.

One good thing came out of the Purge: the Vampire King’s raids stopped. Some speculated that the spell had malfunctioned and fired the excess energy at him, or perhaps that he was one of the ones drained by the Purge. No one knew why, but we did know he was gone. I guess Black and Darkholme were successful, in a way.

Cross finished up his story. The twins stood there for a moment, unsure what to say. “Damn,” Pollux finally muttered.

We spent the rest of the night waiting for the vampires to come. I think that if they had, things would have gone differently. We would have known that Black and Darkholme’s actions were pointless, that the two of them were irredeemable monsters. Because if the vampires didn’t come, then they would have done something good. Our hatred, which gave us the strength needed to keep moving after the purge, would be misguided, if only slightly.

In the end, the sun rose. No vampires came that night, or any other night for that matter.

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jarmes · 5 years

Text

Birdcage Chapter XXI

Masterpost - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Sacrifice, or: the fate of the prisoner

Cross and I stood in the throne room. It was the day after Eric’s latest break-in. Pollux was at the temple recovering, and Knights from other Squads were helping Cas with guard duty. The King sat in his throne and Raia stood at his side; she’d rushed back as soon as she’d heard about what had happened. Firebrand was there; he held himself up with crutches. Military officials stood at attention along the side of the room, and a crowd of civilians had been let into the throne room for this occasion.

“I have gathered you all here so you may praise a fine young man,” the King said. “Yesterday, an attempt was made on the life of my daughter, Theresa, by the dark mage Eric Darkholme, son of Jericho, mastermind of the Purge. This attempt was thwarted single-handedly by a brave knight of the highest caliber: Ernest Zuckerman of Squad V.”

I approached the King and bowed. The Knights clapped for me. For years I’d dreamt of this, of being a hero like my grandfather. But, I wasn’t happy for some reason. Countless thoughts swirled in my head. Thoughts of Tera cursing me for saving her, thoughts of Sterling making me promise to steal the glory he deserved, thoughts of Eric helping me pull Tera to safety. I didn’t feel like a hero.

The King pulled a silver pendant from his pockets and handed it to me. “This is pendant is a symbol of courage handed out only to Knights of the highest caliber,” he said. “Enjoy it, Ernest. Few manage to earn it.”

“Thank you, my liege,” I said, a knot forming in my stomach.

“Is there anything you would like to say to the Kingdom?” the King asked.

I knew he wanted me to take the pendant with grace and respect, to praise him for giving me this honor. I didn’t do that. I couldn’t do that. “My King, permission to speak candidly?” I asked.

“Of course.”

I took a deep breath. “I didn’t save the Princess,” I said.

“Excuse me?” the King asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m sure he’s just being humble and making sure the rest of the Squad gets the praise they deserve,” Cross said. “For example, Pollux Gemelo was the first to spot Darkholme and ended up in the sickbay for his service. That’s what you’re talking about, right Ernest?”

“No. I mean, yes, it wasn’t just me who took out Eric, but that isn’t what I’m getting at,” I said. “Eric being imprisoned doesn’t mean Tera is safe.”

“Ah, yes. I see your point,” the King said. “We must remain vigilant. After all, other dark mages like Jericho Darkholme and Nathaniel Black are still out there. This incursion shows that our defenses aren’t as strong as we thought. Perhaps we should consider increasing the amount of guards assigned to my daughter-”

“Dark mages aren't the problem. The amount of guards isn’t the problem. I mean, it is, but not in the way you think,” I said. “The way we treat Tera, locking her in that tower away from the world, forbidding guards from befriending her, that is the problem. You, your majesty, are the problem.”

The king frowned. “Explain,” he commanded.

“Tera, she hates the tower. Anyone would. She hates it so much that she would do anything to leave. Including helping her captors.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Eric showed up, Tera didn’t fight back. She didn’t kick and scream, she didn’t yell for us so we could come save her. She helped Eric. She wanted him to take her.”

“I was not aware of this.”

“The princess is going to eventually leave that tower one of three ways. Option one is for you to let her out. Option two is to sit around and wait for a dark mage to take her.”

“What’s option three?”

“The one that ends with the Knights cleaning up a red stain on the ground.”

The King gritted his teeth. “The nerve you must have to even suggest such a thing,” he said.

“You’ve seen the marks on her arms, haven’t you?” I asked. “Or have your retainers not informed you why we aren’t allowed to give Tera sharp objects?”

The color drained from the King’s face. “I’m not a monster, Ernest,” he whispered. “I care about my daughter.”

“So do I, and that’s why I want to give her her freedom.”

I handed the pendant back to him and walked away. I noticed that Cross was standing there, mouth agape, completely speechless. “Maybe there is some truth to what he says,” the King muttered.

As I walked out of the throne room, the enormity of what I’d just done hit me. “I just told off the King,” I muttered. “I’m screwed.”

“Probably,” a voice said. I turned to see Sterling, leaning against a wall, shaking his head. “Telling the King off like that, most Knights have the common sense to realize that’s a really bad idea.”

“Think he’s mad at me?”

“If he wasn’t angered by your speech, it’s likely walking away arrogantly pushed him over the edge.”

“Well, shit.”

I leaned back against the wall next to Sterling. “I didn’t tell them you were there that night, just like you asked,” I said.

“Good,” Sterling replied.

“In hindsight, I suppose it was a mistake to hand all of the glory to me, considering I threw it away immediately.”

Sterling laughed. “Perhaps,” he said.

Cross and my grandfather excited the throne room and walked over to us. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I came to watch the ceremony,” Grandfather said. “It was interesting, but not for the reason I expected.”

“Handing back a royal pendant like that, I can’t believe it,” Cross muttered.

“As the only one here who’s actually been awarded one and not thrown it away, I can say that they’re overrated,” Grandfather said.

“I’m sorry that I embarrassed you in there, Captain,” I said. “You must be ashamed.”

“Ashamed? No, I’m not ashamed. I’m proud,” Cross said. “Saying what you did, to a King no less, it took courage. If anything, I’m ashamed in myself. All of the things you called the King out for, I noticed the day I met the Princess. If I had simply told the King what I thought of the princess’s living situation, none of this would have happened.”

“What do you think’s going to happen to me?” I asked.

“Removal from guard duty, definitely. Removal from the Knights, possibly,” Grandfather said.

“I guess I’ll go pack up my things,” I said.

Cross and I walked back to the barracks. Raia Reynolds was waiting for us there. “What are you doing here?” Cross asked.

“It seems disrespect for one's superiors is common among Squad V,” Reynolds said.

“I apologize, sir,” Cross said.

“That was quite a thing you did, Zuckerman. Calling the King a danger to his own daughter’s life. I suspect the entire city is talking about your little outburst by now,” Reynolds said. “Well done.”

“Excuse me, did you just say well done?” I asked.

“Don’t get me wrong, insulting his majesty was a foolish mistake, as is the decision to let the princess out of the tower. But, I respect courage and I respect honesty. Contrary to what the princess says, I do have a heart,” Reynolds said. “I’ll convince the King that punishing you is unnecessary. After all, it would be a shame to get rid of such a good Knight, especially one who risked his life to save his daughter.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“I’ll have my eye on you,” Reynolds said.

She began to leave before stopping by the door to the barracks. “Oh, before I forget, I need the two of you to go to the Temple sometime this afternoon,” Reynolds said.

“What for?” Cross asked.

“Our new prisoner refuses to speak to anyone but the two of you.”

Cross and I walked to the Temple and Sister Nancy led us into the basement crypt. A large metal cage stood in the center of the crypt, surrounded by a dozen guards. A fountain system had been set up than constantly poured water down over the bars and the prisoner, keeping them completely soaked.

The prisoner sat naked on a small bench in the center of the cage, his hands bound behind his back. His helmet was gone and the bandages had been stripped away. I was finally given a good look at the deep scars covering the face of Eric Darkholme and shuttered.

“Hello Eric,” Cross said.

“Calvin, I’ve been expecting you,” Eric said, shivering. “I’d like to talk to someone about this cage. It’s incredibly cold, you know? Inhumane, really, leaving a man in this kind of cage.”

“You know as well as I do the reason we’ve put you in there. The water keeps you from using your Verse on the bars or yourself,” Cross said. “Be thankful you’ve been given a cage at all. I’m surprised Reynolds didn’t slit your throat while you were unconscious.”

“I’m not. I know there’s only reason the Knights would leave me alive: they think I have information that will help them kill Jericho.”

“Do you?”

“Well, yeah. He’s my father.”

“Well, out with it. Tell us what we want to know.”

“And why would I do that? I’m alive right now because of what I know, what could I possibly stand to gain from just giving you that information.”

Eric noticed me staring. “You’re unusually quiet, Ernest,” Eric said. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” I said.

“You know, that’d be a more convincing lie if you hadn’t spent the last five minutes staring at my face.”

“It’s just...your scars. I never realized they were so bad. Every time I’ve met you, you’ve had on your bandages and helmet.”

“Not true. I didn’t have my bandages on when you let me through the gate.”

“Yeah, but your face was covered in blood. It hid that damage, a little bit,” I said. I scratched my chin, reminded of something about Eric that had been bugging me for a while. “When did you get those scars?”

“I told you about how I met Eric, didn’t I?” Cross said. “Remember, his father carved magic runes into his skin to turn him into a bomb?”

I shook my head. “When I met you, the scars were fresh,” I said. “I distinctly remember Anna healing them. Scars can’t be both a few months old and ten years old.”

“I’m surprised you picked up on that,” Eric said. “The wounds were open when we met, but they weren’t new wounds. I took a knife and reopened my scars before trying to enter the city.”

“You did what?” I asked.

“It worked, didn’t it? It kept everyone, including Calvin here, from recognizing me by my scars.”

“Still, to do something like that, it’s insane.”

Eric shook his head. “I don’t think it’s that crazy,” he said. “Then again, I’m a dark mage. I look at the world a little differently than most people. I understand what the word sacrifice means.”

“What are you blathering on about now?” Cross asked.

“Sacrifice, Calvin. Do you know what that word means?” Eric said.

“Of course I do. Sacrifice is an act of selflessness performed by those dedicated to their cause.”

“Not quite,” Eric said. “Sacrifice means to give something up to get something else.”

“I’m confused, what does the definition of the word sacrifice have to do with anything?” I asked.

“The concept of sacrifice is the core principle of dark magic, my chosen field of study,” Eric said. “How much do you know about dark magic, Ernest?”

“I know that it is evil,” I said.

Eric rolled his eyes. “Everything in this world is made out of energy,” he said. “Magic is the art of manipulating that energy. Each of the three schools of magic are each based on this principle. Where they differ is on the method used to obtain this energy.”

“Light magic users, like the ones in the Temple above us, receive magical energy as a gift from the Gods for prayer. They use this energy to heal wounds and create powerful blasts of light,” Eric said. “Elemental magic, the kind practiced by people like Firebrand Johnson, manipulate the energy of the natural world. Some need magic powder to channel this energy, but the really good ones can control the world around them through sheer willpower.”

“And then there is dark magic. The cursed arts. The magic born of sacrifice,” Eric said. “Everything in this world is made out of energy. Dark magic works by destroying things to release the energy found within them. Giving something up to get something else. Sacrifice.”

“I dislike your definition of sacrifice,” Cross said. “Killing someone and using the energy within their heart to kill someone else, that is not sacrifice. It is cruelty.”

“But that is not all dark magic is,” Eric said. “To give your life energy to a dark mage so he may use it to heal a loved one, that is sacrifice. To destroy your own body to protect a friend, that is sacrifice. To focus all of your lifeforce into a single blast, to kill yourself to defeat a great evil, that is sacrifice.”

“And, to kill countless innocents so you may become a God, is that sacrifice?” Cross asked.

“We’ve gotten off-topic,” Eric said. “The point is, when I reopened my scars, I gave up comfort and beauty to further my goals. This doesn’t feel strange to me because I’m used to burning through my own lifeforce to channel spells.”

Cross sighed. “What have you become, Eric? Your obsession with dark magic has done more than make you a criminal. It’s driven you mad,” Cross said. “I had such high hopes for you. You could have been a good man, a hero even! But you threw all of that away.”

“I didn’t throw it away. I sacrificed it,” Eric said. “I’m not an idiot. I knew the Knights would hunt me for the rest of my days when I killed Roland Bennet. I made my choice fully knowing the consequences that came with it. I killed Bennet not because it benefitted me, but because it was the right thing to do.”

“The gall to call cold-blooded murder the right thing is simply outstanding,” Cross said.

“Roland Bennet was a monster!”

“He was a person! And you killed him, with no remorse!”

“Because he was a monster!”

“Who’s Roland Bennet?” I asked.

“Former retainer to the King, the man Eric murdered before fleeing Cieleta,” Cross said.

“Ernest, how much do you know about the Abrumian Crusade?” Eric asked.

“Not much,” I replied.

“Well, Roland Bennet was the architect of that atrocity. The whole thing, every person whose blood was spilled, that was because of Bennet,” Eric said.

“I’m not sure I understand,” I said.

Eric sighed. “Okay, let’s start at the beginning. My dad killed a whole bunch of people,” he said.

“That’s an understatement,” I said.

“After the Purge, everyone was scared and angry, King Tacoversus included. There was so much hate in those days. People felt helpless. What they wanted, what they needed, was revenge. They wanted to see the men responsible for the Purge die. But, Nate and Jericho were nowhere to be found,” Eric said. “There was no way to satisfy the people of Cieleta’s hatred. It festered and grew until it consumed their hearts. Enter Roland Bennet.”

“One night, back when I was staying with Calvin, I overheard Bennet explaining an idea of his to Calvin,” Eric said. “Bennet wanted Cieleta to go to war with Abrum. He wanted a country whose military was in shambles to invade a peaceful neighboring country because he was angry.”

“It was more complicated than that,” Cross interjected.

“Oh, he gave a few alternate explanations, but we both know they were full of shit,” Eric said. “He said it was to wipe out dark magic so no one could ever use it for evil again, but he wanted to kill people other than dark mages. He said it was because we needed to find Jericho, but by then the military knew that Jericho had fled west. He said it was because Jericho was from Abrum, but he didn’t care that Nathaniel Black was from Cieleta. He was angry and wanted to kill people. That was why he wanted a war, because he wanted to watch others die.”

“So you killed him?” Cross asked.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Eric said. “Look, Abrum was hurt by the Purge just as bad as Cieleta. Yes, Jericho was from Abrum, but it isn’t like he told us about his plan. We were struggling to survive. If Cieleta and Abrum worked together, we could have rebuilt. We could have fought off the monsters together. Instead, Bennet decided to slaughter us because he wanted revenge. So I killed him before he could talk to the King. I know you want me to say I feel bad about it, that I regret it, but I don’t. I made a choice and I will stand by it until the day I die.”

“It didn’t work though, did it?” I asked. “The crusade still happened. The Abrumians were still wiped out.”

“Yeah, they were,” Eric said, looking at his knees. “I killed Bennet the same night he spoke with Calvin, the night before he was supposed to meet with the King to discuss his plan. Turns out, he’d written his proposal out in advance and had a copy of it in his pocket when they found his body. My people died, your people killed them, and I became a fugitive.”

“I spent a few years out in the wilderness, trying to survive on my own,” Eric said. “The monsters out there were too much for me to handle with the Knight skills Calvin taught me, so I started using dark magic to defend myself. That’s when I discovered my dream.”

“What dream?” Cross asked.

“To perfect dark magic. To use it to protect innocent people against monsters. I dream of a future where we use the power of dark magic to heal wounds and grow crops, a world where no one has to die needless deaths,” Eric said.

“Do you plan to accomplish this goal through murder?” Cross asked.

“I haven’t killed anyone since I bashed Bennet’s head in with a rock,” Eric snapped.

I mulled over Eric’s words before shaking my head. “Eric, I don’t think you’re a bad person,” I said. “You helped me save Tera’s life, and I do think you actually care for her. But your thoughts on dark magic are misguided. You can’t make evil pure by analyzing it. Dark magic can only be used to kill and destroy. It corrupts its wielders, making them evil like your father. It cannot be allowed to exist.”

“Well, you’re in luck. By culling the people of Abrum, the Knights made sure there are only about a dozen dark mages still alive. Hell, if you were to kill me right now, you’d probably do more towards wiping out dark magic than Bennet did,” Eric said. “The thing is, you need my help if you’re going to kill my father. So, Ernest, are you going to be like those great crusaders and kill a man who can’t fight back, or are you going to let me live out of the slim chance I’ll tell you where my dad’s hiding?”

I narrowed my eyes. “When we fought earlier, you got mad when I compared you to your father,” I said. “This makes sense, you hate those who kill innocents. Add in the fact that he tortured you as a child, and we have a pretty good reason for you to want your father dead.”

“Of course I want him dead. I just want to live more.”

“Then make a deal with us. Tell us everything you know and I swear we’ll stop Reynolds from killing you,” Cross said.

“I have one more condition,” Eric said.

“We can’t turn off the water or get you a different cell, you’ll escape,” Cross said.

“That isn’t my condition. I want you to swear to let Tera leave the palace a few times a week. You can guard her, if that’ll make you feel better, but the important thing is getting her out of that goddamn room.”

“I think that’s reasonable,” Cross said. “You have my word. Now then, where is your father hiding?”

“Hell if I know, I haven’t seen the man in years,” Eric said.

Cross frowned. “So all this, it was just jerking us around for your own amusement?” he asked.

“I told you I had information that would help you find my father, I didn’t say what that information was,” Eric said. “I don’t know where he is now, but I do know where he’s been and have a pretty good idea where he’s going. After the Purge, Jericho traveled northwest, going through the mountains and into the Northern Empire. He went from village to village, stealing and killing to survive. If the rumors are to be believed, he spent a few years working in Fort Kaiser before they kicked them out. Since then he’s been bouncing from country to country, searching for powerful magical artifacts.”

“That doesn’t really give us much to work on,” Cross said.

“If you want to catch Jericho, spread rumors that the Knights found a magic weapon in some abandoned village. He’ll show up to steal it, I guarantee it,” Eric said. “I know how my father thinks. He doesn’t care about anything but power. If you can trick him into thinking you can give him power, he’ll walk right into your clutches.”

“And when he’s in our clutches, how do you suggest I defeat him?” I asked.

“What do you mean I?” Eric asked. “I’ve fought you twice and kicked your ass both times.”

“That isn’t how I remember it.”

“The point is, my father is ten times as strong as I am. The Knights might be able to kill him. You cannot.”

“I have to kill him. I made a vow.”

“Oh, of course you did.”

“He killed my mother.”

“He killed a lot of people’s mothers. Shit, I’m pretty sure he killed my mother. You aren’t the only one who hates Jericho, and even if you were, you still wouldn’t be able to defeat him. He’s simply on a whole other level than you.”

“Fine, how are the Knights supposed to defeat Jericho when they find him?”

“Jericho is able to drain people’s lifeforce and channel it into his spells,” Eric said. “But, there’s a limit to the energy he can store within himself. Don’t let him drain you, wear him down until his reserves run dry. Then he’ll be forced to burn his own life force to fight back.”

“One more thing,” Eric said. “My father possesses an incredibly powerful Verse. It’s called Nightmare and allows him to create terrifying hallucinations in anyone he looks in the eyes. If he traps you in a nightmare, you lose.”

We went on like this for several hours, learning everything we could about Jericho Darkholme’s fighting style and personality. Eventually, all that could be said had been, and Cross and I began to leave.

Eric called out to Cross as we walked away from the cage. “Calvin, I’ve got a question of my own to ask!” Eric shouted.

Cross turned back. “Did you fight in the Crusade? Did you kill innocent people?” Eric asked.

“No, I begged the King to let me stay behind at the Capital as a guard,” Cross answered.

“Why?”

“Because I knew what we were doing was wrong.”

“Then why didn’t you fight back? Why didn’t you call the King a monster? Why didn’t you do something, anything, to stop the carnage?”

“Because,” Cross said as he looked at me. “I am not as brave as I wish I was.”

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