#Princess Veronica is a pure child who deserved better

[dreamingcellardoor]

Crossovers are my jam

A HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS AGO (I'm joking, it was more like 2 or 3), when I was first starting out I went around filling a lot of AC Kink Meme stuff and wrote a crossover with Bokura no Kiseki where Malik Al-Sayf marries Princess Veronica of Zerestria as part of an arranged marriage for no other reason than because it amused me to pit Eternally Prickly Grump Malik against Eteranl Ray of Sunshine Veronica. Not for actual shipping reasons because I feel like a platonic, sibling relationship developping between these two would be adorable.

Due to recent revelations about the possible purpose of Rainesburg and because I just can't seem to finish this story I've decided to give it up as a lost cause.

But here are some favourites:

(NOTE: This is all pretty self-indulgent so. Proceed at your own discretion.

In both Zerestria and its neighbour Moswick, it was customary for each member of the royal family to receive a one of a kind earring with a single stone on the end to wear on the left ear. Those who served them, would be given an earring that matched their lord or lady's to wear. It was a show of loyalty and servitude.

They had one prepared for Malik.

Malik wasn't even surprised.... What surprised him, was the disgust and anger that welled within him, rising like a tide after so long of feeling nothing.

He was an assassin, his only loyalty was to the Order, to their Creed. He was not some dog to be collared and put on display to stroke some foreign royalty's ego.

His hand (singular) curled into a fist and he felt his nails biting into his palm. He could not fight it, this was for the good of the Order, he had accepted this. This too, was out of loyalty for the Order (to which he had already sacrificed blood and limb).

But something within him still fought against this. Maybe it was pride. It was probably the only thing from his previous life he had left.

The priest walked closer, the earring, a round stone that was a rich red dangling from a short chain of gold, sitting in the middle of a velvet pillow and Malik fought down the urge to slap it out of his hands.

"I would like to see it."

The princess's voice, soft and calm, called out and suddenly, everything stopped. Even Malik slowly turned his attention to where the princess was sitting.

...

Eventually, the priest turned and held the pillow out for the princess. No one stopped her when she reached out to take the earring in her hand.... She looked up then, blue eyes staring right at Malik and held his gaze for a moment. Her expression was grim, but determined. ...

...Princess Veronica of Zerestria pushed the window open, pulled her arm back and threw the earring out the window. Dimly, Malik remembered reading that the materials used to make those earrings are rare and incredibly hard to come by. Replacements cannot be easily made and requests for them were often denied.

I feel like afterwards she must have been like GLEN I SHOULD HAVE GIVEN IT TO YOU INSTEAD.

He breathed in deeply, before letting his bag drop to the ground. Then he walked accross the room to look out the window. It had snowed recently, so when he looked out, the world was covered in white. The world outside was foreign and Malik did not recognize it.

He felt his chest constrict (in his mind could still see the map, could still see the line he had drawn on it from Masyaf to Rainesburg but it felt even further now than ever before) and he was unprepared for the ache and longing for <I>home</I> that suddenly took him now, when he was finally where he needed to be.’

Malik is homesick and the next morning rearranges the furniture in his room to create a makeshift training space. Veronica sees the space and thinks up another use:

Then they had a picnic. In Malik's room.

He had protested, because there was only so much ridiculousness he was willing to put up with on any given day and an indoor picnic went far beyond that.

Regardless, it ended up happening, much to Malik's irritation and dismay.

And Rainesburg’s library:

The first time he'd stepped foot into it, he had been unimpressed. It was fairly small and, more importantly, it was quite empty. There weren't even any of those fake books some nobles were so keen to fill their shelves with so it would not appear so empty.

(There actually had been, once upon a time, but they had annoyed Veronica when she first arrived, increasingly so when she pulled book after book off the shelves only to realize they weren't books at all. She had them removed and put to better use as over-sized door stops, paperweights or other miscellaneous jobs. One was famously being used as a chopping block.)

And then Veronica steals Malik’;s clothes because Malik was being stubborn:

At some point, Malik had needed more clothes made in addition to the few he had brought with him. He had put it off, unwilling to give up on any piece of home, until he chided himself for being so foolish and impractical. Especially seeing as he only brought winter clothes with him. It was all moot, however, when he realized that, at some point, Veronica had commandeered a set of his clothes and seen if something similar could be made.

Veronica finds herself someone to teach her to make maps and speak Arabic. Malik finds himself a student that wants to learn literally everything:

"Oh." She said, doesn't even mind that he'd rapped her over the head (and perhaps feeling a bit happy about it because no one has ever done that before), "Do you know how?" When he dropped his hand, she snatched it up, as quickly as any accomplished thief, and gently holds it between her two. "Will you teach me if you do?"

He stares at his hand in hers and tries to sound put-upon when he answers.

"You would only pester me to teach you if I refused."

He does not return her grip or her smile, but he doesn't pull away either, and her smile widens, apparently considering that more important than his gruff words. She draws his hand closer to herself as she says warmly, "Thank you, Malik."

A brief interlude where Altair figures out Rashid had Plans in Zerestria that required sending a man in to marry the princess, that Robert De Sable probably ratted out the assassin who will likely be executed and that Malik is alive (but may not be very soon). All at once.

And he thought, this had to be wrong. The words could not be true, because <I>he</I> was dead. (But then again, what better man to send for something that must be kept a secret from everyone than a dead one?)

You know, right before he goes to save Malik though I could not work around the scenes I’d already written because it was based on the set up that Altair doesn’t speak the language but why send someone who cannot understand the language to stage a rescue that may possibly involve diplomacy?

Also, Malik goes to be executed for the Good of the Brotherhood. Veronica is Not Amused.

Anger was not a feeling Veronica was familiar with, but it filled her chest these days and it was incandescent like a flame spreading through a forest.

Malik took one look at the stormy expression on her face and sighed, "don't look like that."

Her fingers were white with how tightly she was holding the bars. "Why will you not fight them? Why do you offer your life so easily?" Because Malik hadn't fought them and Veronica didn't understand why.

He sighed again and stood up from where he had been sitting against the cell wall to walk over to her.

...

She reached between the bars and Malik took her hand in his. Her hand was so small compared to his, so soft and breakable, but her grip was <I>strong</I> and unfaltering.

Malik shook his head, "Masyaf is too far for your brothers to attack without good reason and it is too far for our Order to retaliate against. Killing me would be enough of a demonstration to smooth things over and I am not so important it would move my brothers to attack."

"You <I>are</I> important, Malik." Her other hand joined her first one through the bars, "please. You should not give in so easily."

But maybe my favourite is: 

Some days, when he can't take how stagnant this place was, he takes his horse out, leaves through the gates and rides, hard and fast with no particular destination in mind. Climbing was a balm as well, but there is no city to fly over the roof tops of, nowhere to become truly lost in within the walls surrounding the castle. So he goes out into the flat areas surrounding the castle instead. Goes far enough sometimes that it's dark before he returns.

(Sometimes, in the dark of the night, he thinks about what would happen if he didn't return, if he just kept riding and riding until he could out-run the past and the present. But that's a fool's solution and, every time, Malik would find himself drawn back by the lamp they light outside when they know he's out, a flickering, guiding light for him.)

And its sister-scene later on:

"I wonder what it is like to have a relationship like that with one's brother?" Veronica looks up suddenly, when it occurs to her that she didn't know if Malik had any siblings, but the question dies on her tongue when she sees the way he was looking off to the side, mouth tight. His eyes are far away, as if he was staring at some point beyond the landscape outside the window, to some haunted, awful thing that existed neither in this place or time.

(It was the look that sometimes precluded him riding out into the night as if he inteded to flee, when Veronica would ask the servants to please make sure the lamps remained lit so that he would not become lost in the darkness.)

In case it’s no obvious, I love stories where two unrelated people find each other and developed a sibling like relationship.

[mystrangeaddiction-petra-venj]

Hello!! I was wondering if you have any fav non destiny related characters?

Hello and Yes!! And actually, quite a few from games that aren’t Destiny. You can read about all of them under the cut

Elder Scrolls:

Serana- My most useful follower because I never use magic or projectiles and her story line is probably one of my favorite.

Naryu Virian- I just think she’s cool and thought it was funny that she, a Morag Tong member, was helping out my character who was a member of the Dark Brotherhood and dressed like it publicly

Veezara- He was ride or die, and I appreciate that from the guild of murderers

Assassin’s Creed:

Evie and Jacob Frye: I loved how one was the brawler/fighter character, while the other was the brain/sneaky character. Also, it was cool to play as twin assassins.

Henery Green: He was so chill and was sort of the nerd version of an assassin. 

Kassandra/Alexios: They’re just so badass and it works. Also, they’re designs are some of my favorite that I’ve seen from an AC game

Mary Read/James Kidd: She made it with the pirates and still had their respect even after she revealed that she wasn’t a man. She didn’t deserve to die and that’s one of the few times a video game death genuinely upset me.

Ratonhnhaké:ton/Connor: He had the coolest clothes, one of the coolest stories, and one of the most badass arcs. Also, he got to kill Haytham.

Borderlands:

Maya the Siren: Was my first character that I played in Borderlands and I hated how quickly the killed her off in Borderlands 3. I like her backstory and I also like how she was revealed to be asexual. When I first began playing Borderlands and found out Maya was ace, I was excited because I had never had the ability to have an ace character before. 

Athena the Gladitor: I love her personality and her play style. I also like how she actively tries to be better than the people who trained her and for her wife. 

Zer0 the Assassin: My friend played Zero whenever we played together, so I just grew to love him as well. His facial expressions are what caused me to love him so much

Flak the Beastmaster- My sister played them and their voice lines and story had me laughing. Also the representation of a non-binary character delighted me and excited me.

Tiny Tina (though I guess it’s just Tina now): A child that is an explosives expert and is asked to help out grown adults because she knows the most about explosives. It’s like impossible to not like her (but that is just my opinion)

Roland the Commander: I love characters that want to help out those that can’t help themselves or that just want to protect people, so it was natural that I would like him. Also he was another character that did not deserve to die and who’s death was pointless.

Legend of Zelda: (You’ll notice a theme here)

Twilight Princess Zelda: Her dedication to her people and protecting them is admirable to me. She gave up her own life for that of her people and that is why she is my favorite Zelda. Also, her design looked the best to me.

Twilight Princess Link: Much of the same reasons I love TP Zelda. He wanted to save his family and friends and was willing to help anyone who asked. He’s a good person with a gentle heart. 

Zant: I thought he was an interesting villian because there were moments when you could tell that he didn’t really want to do what he was doing, but most of the time he just talked about taking over Hyrule. His mental breakdown at the end surprised me and I like how they showed it. I thought he was a creative choice for a villian and liked what the creators did with him.

Lady Urbosa: Besides just being a great overall character, she choose to be a mother figure to a girl who needed it and she didn’t even have any hesitations about doing so. She’s a good leader and tries to do what’s best for her people and for Hyrule. 

Fallout:

Macready, Danse, Veronica, Sarah Lyons, Dogmeat, Rex, Roxie, ED-E, Strong, Deacon, The King, Cait, Piper, Nick Valentine, and Preston Garvey- All of them had personalities that I loved, admired, or made me laugh. I love these characters and most of them I had with me as companions or were just my favorite npcs.

Warframe:

The Lotus: I like how she looks out for the Tenno and tries to protect them while also allowing us to make our own decisions. She’s a motherly character who tries her hardest to protect what she loves most even if it’s not what she is supposed to do. I was upset when she left us.

Teshin: Although I don’t play the Conclave or like how he blames Lotus, I can see where he comes from. I also like how he treats the Tenno as adults instead of just treating them purely as children. He fights for what he think is right and that is something I really like about him.

Metroid:

Samus: One of the first video games and characters I ever played. I love her story and her games. All her games interest me and I always enjoy playing them. She became a favorite of mine just by being one of the characters and games I’ve played through time.

This post was long, but I enjoyed writing about them! Thanks for the ask anon!

[aresaphrodites]

To B.C. I Still Love You - Chapter Seven

“I could tell you I’m sorry,” Betty says as her eyes shift around the room. She can’t make eye contact with Jughead for some reason. “But I know that wouldn’t do any good.��

“So don’t tell me you’re sorry,” he says.

She hates the way his voice sounds so emotionless, even his face is expressionless. She’s never really seen him like this, at least not with her, and she has to wonder if she’s really the one who did this to him, but she already knows the answer. Of course she is.

“What I want to tell you is that I was wrong. I was wrong to lash out at you that night. I was wrong to tell you all of the horrible things I did and I was wrong to walk out on you.”

“Betty,” he sighs and she finally looks at him. Their eyes connect and immediately she feels all the things she used to feel when she would look into them; love, comfort, hope. Although she doesn’t know if he sees the same things. “Why did you go to Los Angeles? Why now? After all these years, why couldn’t you just leave things alone?”

It hurts that he wishes she would have stayed away, but she’s sure she deserves it.

“I guess it kind of started with Veronica…”

If one word could describe Betty Cooper’s life it would probably be: tragic. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. Messy is a better one, or even just sad, both of those would work good.

Granted she didn’t start thinking about her life like this until recently, until he left. She couldn’t blame him though, she was the one who practically packed up his bags and told him to get the hell out of Riverdale. She doesn’t know what she was expecting when she left him, but she never really thought he’d actually leave Riverdale.

Archie had come to her two days before Jughead was supposed to leave, begging her to talk to him. Because if she didn’t talk to him then this was it, Jughead would be gone and they’d be done.

She just told Archie that they’d been done the second he decided to write a book about her father’s death.

Realistically Betty understood now that Jughead hadn’t just been writing about her dad’s death, but it didn’t really matter anymore. The fact remained that he went behind her back to write about her life, personal things that people didn’t need to know were probably written across those pages. It wasn’t something she could get past. So she didn’t.

She spent the four years after her break up trying to get her mom in a better place. It took some time, but Alice Cooper was a strong woman and not before long, she watched as her mom was able to get herself up in the mornings and make breakfast. She watched as the light began to return to her mom’s eyes and as the spark of creativity came back to her writing.

For four years she tried to move on from Jughead Jones desperately but she couldn’t. Sometimes she wondered if she actually wanted to. If she really wanted to then wouldn’t she have by now? Sure, she and Jughead had been together since they were fifteen, but that didn’t mean she would never be able to move on… did it?

She spent her days actively avoiding bookstores and TV interviews, anything that might accidentally make her have to face Jughead. She knew it was kind of immature, but it was fine. She was coping. She had wondered if Jughead would actually publish the book, a part of her wanted him to but another part was mad that he did. Veronica had told her that Archie talked him into it, though. Apparently it had worked out perfectly for him. Kudos.

It’s Christmas when Veronica shows up to her house with a rectangular wrapped present. When she opens it, she looks at her best friend with a mixture of outrage and betrayal on her face.

“I know you don’t want to and I know you’ll probably hate me for giving it to you, but you need to read this. It’s been five years, B. If you’re not over him by now then I don’t think you ever will be. You need to read this. Just read it and if you still feel the same way after, if you still swear you hate him, then fine. I’ll let it go and I’ll never bring him up again, but please. Just read this. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Betty didn’t say anything. She just watched as Veronica walked out of her house and then she fixed her gaze onto the book in front of her. It’s an average sized novel, but for some reason it feels extremely heavy in her hands.

She contemplates tossing it into the fireplace behind her and letting it burn. But she doesn’t.

Instead, with shaky hands, she opens the book slowly. The spine creaks under her hands and already she can feel her heart rate spike.

Right there, in front of her, is the dedication mocking her.

To B.C. I Still Love You.

She closes her eyes and tilts her head back. A whole new kind of pain rushes through her as she realizes that Jughead had listened to the hateful, ugly words she yelled at him all those years ago.

“Publish it and dedicate it to me. So that way when you’re rich and famous, every time you open that book up you’ll remember whose tragic life got you there.”

The words are still fresh in her mind. She’s not sure if she’ll ever forget that day and all the things she said. She wants to toss the book more than ever now, but she can’t. She needs to do this. If not for herself then for Veronica’s wishes.

She spends all day and night reading the book. She reads the same paragraphs over and over countless times before finally finishing it. By the time she closes it, she’s crying.

The words on the pages are beautiful. They are the sweetest, most heartfelt words a person could say. This whole book is a dedication to the love and affection Jughead had felt for her. It’s raw and pure and honest. It’s their life story and she hates the ending. She hates that she’s the one who created the ending. Their ending should have been something epic that could rival even the greatest novels of all time, but it isn’t. It’s tragic, the kind of ending that makes you never want to find love.

When she was a little girl, her mom would read her stories about princesses and princes falling in love and living happily ever after. She always wanted a story like that and she had it. She had that kind of love with Jughead and then she let it go. She let it go because she was mad and angry at the world and how it was treating her. She was mad at everything and she took it out on Jughead. Jughead, who had done nothing except be there for her from the very first day. Jughead, who had only ever tried to show her just how much he loved her.

“Betty?” Her mom asks. “Are you okay?” Warm arms hug her in comfort and for the first time in a long time, Betty cries in her mom’s lap.

“I made a huge mistake, mom,” she sobs out.

She doesn’t have to say what the mistake is. The book on her lap does all the talking.

“Oh, Betty,” her mom sighs as she runs her hands through her hair. “He loved you so much. You can fix this.”

Can she? She’s not so sure this time.

Veronica is the one who talks her into it. She says that Betty has to at least try before giving up completely. It’s an insane idea, she knows it, but it could also be the first step to fixing things between them. She knows she has a long shot. It’s been five years. Jughead could have a girlfriend or even a wife. He could have a family of his own over there in Los Angeles for all Betty knows, but she supposes that’s what this trip is for; to find out.

She takes the book with her. If her plan goes correctly then she’ll attend a book signing of Jughead’s. It’s probably not the ideal meeting for them, but it’s the only place she knows to start at.

She’s sitting in the terminal with the book on her lap, staring out into the airport and watching as people board and exit their flights.

“I loved that book,” a voice speaks up from next to her. It belongs to an old lady with gray hair and kind brown eyes. “It was such a beautiful love story. I heard it’s based on his actual hometown girlfriend.” The lady clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “Oh, that girl must be beating herself up now for leaving him.”

Betty starts crying.

She can’t help it. She’s been crying ever since she picked up the damn book and realized what an idiot she was. She knows that she made a mistake letting him go, she’s aware that she’s the dumbest person to walk the earth. She wishes she could take it all back, but she can’t and that’s what hurts the most. She doesn’t even know if things with Jughead will work out. If she goes to L.A. and it turns out that he doesn’t actually want her back then she might literally fall apart. She misses Jughead. She misses him so much that it physically hurts her. She had tried for so long to deny the ache she had felt for him, but she couldn’t do it anymore. She was tired of pretending.

“Would you believe me if I told you I was the girl?” She sniffles. “Would you believe me if I told you I left him?”

The old lady’s eyes widen. “Oh, dear. Are you really her?”

“Yeah,” she nods, still crying. “I wish I wasn’t and I wish I never had, but I did. I did and now all I have is this stupid book dedication.”

“You still love him,” the lady says.

“I do. I don’t think I ever stopped.”

“Then get him back,” she says fiercely. “The words written in that book are no joke. Those are the words of a boy who is so in love that he’d do anything for the woman. I wouldn’t give up just yet.”

“What if he doesn’t love me anymore? What if I’m too late?” She’s voicing all her concerns to a random lady she doesn’t know, but it still feels so good.

“Oh, child,” the lady chuckles, “there is no such thing as too late. If it’s true love, then it’ll wait. What’s meant to be will always come back. Now dry your eyes and tell me about your plan.”

Betty laughs and pats her eyes with her jacket sleeve before she begins talking.

She sits next to a teenage girl on the flight. Her book is still on her lap and the girl notices.

“I can’t believe she left him in the end,” the girl says to her softly. Betty doesn’t cry this time. Instead she just smiles.

“I bet you she’ll go back and fight for him,” is what she says to the girl before looking out of the airplane window. “If it’s meant to be then it’ll come back. And they were meant to be.” 

Jughead stays quiet. It’s okay, she tells herself. She hadn’t expected him to jump into her arms afterwards or to even say anything at all.

“Betty…” he says before cutting himself off and shaking his head.

“I know it’s a lot,” she rushes out to say. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I needed you to know everything. You need to know that I still love you, Juggie. If you don’t love me then I understand, I won’t bother you again but I just needed you to know.”

“What do you expect me to say to this?” He asks, running a hand over his face in frustration. “I was ready to have a family with you and you just left me, Elizabeth. You left me without even letting me try to defend myself. I understand why you were upset, believe me I do, but you lashed out at me and left before I could even try to change your mind. Did I mean so little to you?”

“No!” She exclaims in disbelief. “I don’t know how to explain how I was feeling to you. I think a small part of me just wanted to fight with you. I wanted to have someone to be angry at and to feel what I was feeling.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“I know. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. I ruined both of our happinesses just because I was mad at the world and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

Jughead stands up from the chair and looks down at her.

“You didn’t deserve what you were going through, but I didn’t deserve what you put me through either. I just wanted to be there for you.” He pauses. “I can’t forgive you, Betty. I want to, God, I want to forgive you. I want to tell you it’s okay and kiss you and make love to you to make up for all these years.”

“Then do it,” she cries, tears pooling over from her eyes.

“I can’t!” He yells out. “I can’t do any of that because every time I look at you all I can think of is the words you told me that night. I look at you and I get so mad I want to hit something, I want to go crazy. Do you see what you’ve done to me?”

Her heart breaks all over again at his words and she stays sitting there, crying.

“You make me so mad!” He says as he gets on his knees in front of her and places his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. “You leave me and then come back into my life out of nowhere and tell me you love me? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you trying to hurt me?”

“I’m not, Juggie!”

“But you are!” And then a single tear rolls from his eyes. “My life was fine without you. I was fine. I was finally starting to feel okay. You’ve just ruined all of that.” He leans back onto his ankles, pulling his hands away from her. “I love you so much and I want you so bad, but I can’t trust you. You hurt me in a way that no one ever has before and I can’t go through that again.”

“You won’t have to,” she tries to promise.

“You don’t know that. I love you, Betty Cooper, but I can’t be with you.”

He stands up and once Betty sees that he’s leaving, she jumps up and runs to him.

“Jughead, wait!” She grabs onto his arm and stops him. “I love you. I’ve always loved you,” she cries to him.

He pauses, stares deep into her eyes and then pulls his arm away from her gently.

“I’m sure you do. You just didn’t love me when it mattered.”

And then he’s gone.