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redrydersrequiem · 11 months ago

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The Raven and the vampire

Chapter 1

This is a Twilight and marvel mashup, the daughter of loki finds her soulmate in jasper Cullen and the twists and turns it will take them both

As of 11/21/24 i've redone this story it is no longer a reader insert. I want to thank everyone who liked the original and hope you like the updated version more, this was my first ever fic and i've slowly grown as a writer so everyone enjoy

It begins like every other day on Asgard, sunny and golden, gilded with light, as the sounds of a baby’s wails break the silence of the healing wing. Loki paces back and forth, waiting to be with his wife and newborn. The doors swing open, and an attendant comes forward.

“You may enter your highnes. Your wife and child are all cleaned up and waiting for you.”. Brushing past the attendant, Loki heads straight for the figure sitting against the backboard of the green silk bed.

“My darling, how are you? How do you feel? Do you need anything? Are you hung/…’..

“/Loki, calm down. I'm perfectly fine. A little tired, but it was all worth it to finally meet our daughter.”

“it’s a girl?”

“Yes, my son,” comes the voice of Frigga, queen of Asgard, as she walks over to the bed with a wrapped bundle in her arms. “She is a beautiful baby princess, and here she is, ready to meet her parents.” Walking to the new parents with a bundle of green and gold cloth in her hands, Frigga handed the new princess to her mother.

The baby was a light blue with raised markings prominent on her body, tufts of deep black hair crowning her head, and scarlet eyes opened to take in her parents. Lady Sigyn didn't even pause at the baby’s coloring, long since having broken Loki of thinking himself a monster due to his heritage.

“She is half Jotun as we expected, but her body should adjust to the environment soon just as her father did,” Frigga states, noticing her son had yet to say anything as he simply stared at his daughter's small form resting in his beloved's arms, slowly offering his finger to the baby girl. Skin turning blue as the babe gripped it in her tiny hands.

“She’s beautiful,”

“Yes, she is, oh, Loki look,”

The new parents watched as scarlet eyes gave way to white with beautiful amethyst irises, skin turning a beautiful pale like her father's with a dashing of freckles like her mother's.

“She looks like you, my love, beautiful dark hair.”

“She looks like the both of us, a perfect blend. Elara Frigga Lokidottir, Princess of Asgard.

Our little raven.”

Eight hundred years have passed, and the young princess has blossomed into a woman of grace and beauty. Like her father and grandmother before her, she is a mage, as well as a warrior in her own right. How could she not be, with private training from an actual Valkyrie, not to mention her aunt and uncle— The goddess of war and the god of thunder (who is affectionately referred to as the "god of sparkles")

Through many trials and tribulations, she has grown. Throughout her life, she has been surrounded by love—seeing it in her parents' faces as they look at each other, her baby brother's eyes as he babbles up at her, and the warmth of her grandparents, uncle, and many others. She has also heard countless stories of love that were never discovered and tragic tales of love found only to be lost.

“Mother, father, I've done it.” Elara omimite as she bursts into her parent's sitting room.

Sigyn was sitting on the floor with the twins as they had tummy time, while Loki was next to her, legs crossed at the ankle, reading a book to the two of them. Both looked up as their oldest came into the room.

`What is that, my little raven?”

“ Father, I've completed the spell to find my soulmate.”

“Soulmate? Spell? Darling, what are you talking about? You're still so young. You shouldn’t be worried about that yet.”

“Mother, you and father were only 200 years older than me when you both finally married, and much younger than that the first time you met, you started frolicking with each other. Uncle Thor has told me as such. Besides, I'm ready. I want to have what all of you have, especially before I'm used as a pawn to help diplomatic affairs.”

At this, Loki stands, embarrassing his daughter and ushering her into the lounge between him and her mother. Though Elara had grown 800 years in Asgard, it only made her about 18- 20 in human terms. And yes, she was old enough to start being courted. He selfishly thought that time wouldn't come for much longer. His wife's voice breaks him of his

“My little raven, we would never allow the Allfather or anyone else to use you as a pawn, you know that, right?

“You can try, Mother, but we never know what the future holds, and I don't want to wait anymore. Besides, Father is the one who gave me the idea to begin with.”

“Loki, why am I not surprised you are somehow involved with our daughter trying to leave?”

“Dear, it will all be fine. I would want nothing to harm our little raven, but she is right; now we are at peace, but that can easily change. I want her to be able to choose her path instead of others doing it for her.”

“And it not just to spurn the Allfather.”

“While that is always a bonus, no, Mother even agreed with me. Our little princess is grown, whether we like it or not; now go ahead, love, tell us what you’ve discovered,” Loki states as he kisses his wife, soothing her while gesturing to Elara to carry on.

“ Mother?”

Sigyn pinches her mouth, looking between her mischievous husband and equally energetic eldest.

“Fine, I will go along with you and your father's plans, but I wish to be there when the spell is cast and part of the travel discussions.”

“Absolutely, Mother, I can do the spell now; I just need the maps of the realms.”

Loki summons all the maps he's collected over the years, including a globe of Earth, and sets them up for his daughter when a thought occurs to him.

“Odin forbid this adventure; send you to Midgard.”

“Loki, we will support whoever it is and wherever it takes her. Besides, if you didn’t want her to go away, you shouldn’t have helped her make the spell to begin with.”

“Your words cut deep, my love. I simply hoped for her future match to be here in Asgard.”

“As you’ve said, my dear. Now, sweetie, let's proceed with this event.”

The maps of the realms litter the giant green carpet. In front of Elara, she sets the small golden bowl with the spells and concoctions as she draws the needed ruins.

“So I modified a spell to find a lost item and a spell to show your heart's desire, combining the two with a complicated magic circle. I should be able to find my soulmate”,

“Very impressive, little raven”

“Thank you, Father,” Elara says before beginning.

Purple magic flows from her fingers toward the bowl. The power quickly spreads out, forming a magic circle, and as soon as it is complete, a bright, pulsing light shoots up.

The light dances around Elara and her parents several times before shooting to the maps.

“It's working!” Sigyn happily claps in awe, watching her daughter work.

Pulsing around the realms maps, the light simply hoovers before shooting for the Midgardian globe, encasing it insistently.

“Oh joy, my daughter's soulmate is a Midgardian.”

“Honestly, I think it serves you right, Loki,” Sigyn states, picking at her husband and his distaste for Midgardians, “but you don’t even know who or what this midgarden is. Who knows, they could be gifted like our dear Wanda.”

“Yes, my darling,” Loki says as he collapses on the nearest couch.

“Well, go on, my little raven, let's see where in Midgard you will be visiting.”

Walking over to the globe, Elara peers over to what small words have now been illuminated.

“It’s a place called….. Forks, Washington.”

@reblogspostedheresoogcanbeclear @notwithawhimper @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @xcharlottemikaelsonx

#twilight fanfiction #jasper hale x OC #twilight masterlist #the twilight saga #twilight x reader #last twlight the series #twilight x OC #twilight #jasper cullen x you #jasper hale x Elara Lokisdottir #jasper cullen #jasper hale x reader #lokis daughter #Loki x sigyn #uncle Thor #marvel crossover #marvel x twilight

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 10 days ago

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Christmas Reruns 2024–Day 14: Eli the Elf

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t! One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia. A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns. So here you go! Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Word Count: 5393

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Elf on the Shelf

Note: This fic was originally written for Fluffy Fridays last year

Emma collapsed onto the sofa in her living room. Being the parent of a rambunctious, mischievous three-year-old was not for the faint of heart, that was for sure. Not that she’d change her crazy life for anything. Emma loved Hope Swan-Jones with all her heart. After all the months and even years she and Killian had tried for a baby with no success, there was no doubt that Hope was their miracle, their second chance, their opportunity to be a family.

As Emma’s maternity leave had neared its end, Emma and Killian had come to the decision that they wanted to be there for and with their daughter every hour of the day. Daycare simply wasn’t an option for them, so they’d come to an arrangement: they’d trade off days. One day Emma went into the station and Killian stayed home with Hope, and the next day they swapped.

Lately, it seemed like Emma was far more tired at the end of her days with Hope than she was at the end of her days as the sheriff. Who would have thought those early months where Hope barely slept would actually end up being the easy parts of parenting?

Hope was a good girl, sweet, affectionate, smart as a whip, but she was also the daughter of a pirate. Seemed like Emma couldn’t turn around for a second without Hope making another mess or getting onto some sort of mischief.

Emma let herself succumb to sleep while Killian put Hope to bed–no doubt with a thrilling, overly dramatic bedtime story, like he did nearly every night. Hope adored his tales…and everything else about her Papa. Emma knew her daughter loved her, but there was no doubt she was a daddy’s girl.

The couch dipped beside her, waking Emma abruptly.

“My apologies love,” Killian said, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Emma yawned before settling into Killian’s waiting arms. “Don’t worry about it. I was just kind of resting my eyes. Don’t want to sleep through the evening when we finally get to have a little alone time.”

Killian brushed a kiss against the crown of her head and tightened his arms around her. “I worry about you love. You’ve been so tired lately. Are you sure nothing’s amiss?”

Emma kissed him gently. “I’m fine, Killian, I promise. Guess I’m just having a tougher time navigating life as a working parent than I thought I would.”

“Are you sure…?”

“I am,” she said decisively. “It’s just, we have a very busy, active toddler on our hands. I love her like you would not believe, but by the end of the day, I’m so tired I feel like I could sleep standing up.”

Killian’s brow furrowed. “The lass is three now, old enough to begin to understand consequences. Perhaps we should begin discussing disciplinary tactics.”

“You know, I was thinking about that today,” Emma said, settling against Killian’s chest and resting her hand over his heart, loving the comfort his softly thumping heartbeat gave her.

“Christmas is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I thought maybe we could make use of some of the traditions to convince her to work on her behavior.”

“Swan, if you’re referring to that Santa Claus fellow, I’m not entirely sure I approve,” Killian said, voice sternly disapproving.

Emma laughed. “You are morally opposed to Santa Claus? Why?”

“One cannot seem to patronize any establishment in this town without hearing his song,” Killian said, “He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. Swan, this Santa fellow sounds like one of the worst villains we’ve faced yet.”

Emma laughed again. “Killian it’s just a song, and it’s all in fun. Kids love Santa. He’s the one who brings them presents.”

Emma could see in Killian’s face that he wasn’t convinced.

“Anyway,” she continued, “that’s not what I was talking about, not really. There’s this other tradition parents do sometimes. Called Elf on the Shelf. You get this toy elf, and the idea is that it watches the kids and kind of reports to Santa. Each night the parents move the elf, so it’s like it’s alive. The fun of it is that the kid never knows where the elf is going to show up next. Plus, knowing there’s an elf watching you, well, it’s extra incentive to be on your best behavior.”

“Are you daft, Swan?” Killian exclaimed. “This ‘Elf on the Shelf’ sounds, if possible, even more horrifying than Santa Claus! I’d rather not traumatize our daughter.”

“Would you stop being such a drama queen?” Emma asked, laughter still evident in her voice. “I promise you it’s all in fun. This isn’t some Christmasy ‘scare the kid straight’ thing. Kids love it. It brings the magic of Christmas to life.”

Killian was clearly still skeptical, but finally conceded. “Very well, Swan. We’ll try this Elf on the Shelf, but if it gives Hope nightmares, I must put my foot down.”

“Relax babe,” Emma said. “If the elf gives Hope nightmares, I’ll personally lock it in our dungeon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning

Killian stepped into Granny’s and made a b-line for the large booth at the back of the establishment, seeing David and Rogers already present.

After the realms had combined, Dave had suggested he and Killian get together with Rogers, as the town decided to continue referring to his alternate reality version, to help him get adjusted to life in Storybrooke. This get together quickly became a weekly thing.

Emma referred to their weekly breakfasts as the “brot3 convention.” Killian hadn’t a clue what that might mean, but the phrase brought a delighted smile to Swan’s face, and that was enough to make Killian adopt the language. There was very little he wouldn’t do to make his wife smile.

“Hey Killian! Good to see you,” David said.

Killian noted the fatigue in his father-in-law’s eyes and the yawn he was attempting to stifle.

“The lass keep you up last night?” he asked sympathetically.

David and Mary Margaret’s daughter Ava was quickly approaching her first birthday. She’d come as a surprise to the couple who’d believed their family was complete after the birth of Neal, but she was a very welcome and loved surprise.

“Yeah,” David said, and then took a bracing sip of his coffee. “She was up every two hours last night.”

“I thought you said she’d finally begun sleeping through the night,” Rogers said.

“She did,” David said, “but I think she’s teething. Runny nose, running a bit of a fever, wanting to chew on everything.”

Both Hooks nodded in understanding and sympathy. “I don’t miss those days with my Alice,” Rogers said.

Their conversation was put on hold as a waitress, wearing a festive Santa hat and necklace made of Christmas lights, took their order.

“So how about you, Killian?” David asked after the waitress walked away, “How’s everything going with your family?”

Killian frowned. “I must admit, I’m a bit concerned about Emma. She’s been so exhausted lately and a couple of times she’s gotten dizzy. She insists it’s nothing, but I’m near to insisting she visit Doctor Whale.”

“Tired and feeling faint?” David asked. “Any other issues?”

“It was the strangest thing,” Killian said, furrowing his brow. “This morning I attempted to serve her her customary PopTart for breakfast, but she insisted she couldn’t stomach it. She actually asked for boiled mackerel and grapefruit.”

“Tired, feeling faint, and with significant changes in appetite,” David listed off. To Killian’s surprise (and consternation) a grin covered his father-in-law’s face. “I think Emma’s right. I think you have nothing to worry about.”

“Other than life getting significantly busier in eight or nine months,” Rogers said with a grin identical to David’s.

It took Killian a moment to put the dots together, but then his eyes widened. “You think Emma could be with child?”

“I have very little experience with these things, my own daughter’s birth being so very….unorthodox,” Rogers said, “but it certainly seems possible.”

Killian felt the joy bubble up in him. Another child! He and Swan may have another child. It was a blessing he hadn’t even allowed himself to wish for, given the difficulties they’d had conceiving Hope.

“I suppose there was that one weekend away we had just before Thanksgiving,” Killian said slowly, “when Alice and Robin stayed with Hope. We did engage in copious amounts of intimate activities…”

Rogers barked out a laugh and David groaned, reminding Killian of just how much his father-in-law did not want to hear the specifics.

Breakfast was a joyous affair following the pregnancy speculation, the three men discussing their lives over the past week.

Killian walked home with an extra spring in his step. This Christmas was shaping up to be one of the best he’d ever had.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Grandma, what do you think about putting the wreath here?” Lucy asked, holding the Disney’s Captain Hook themed wreath against their front door.

Emma laughed. “Looks great kid. It’ll get a good natured grumble out of your gramps every time he walks by.”

It was still weird to get used to being called Grandma, but Emma’s heart warmed at the thought that Henry was back to stay and that she’d have the chance to get to know her daughter-in-law and granddaughter in a way she’d missed out on over the first decade of Lucy’s life.

Lucy laughed, turning to Charming to ask him to hammer a nail for her so she could hang the wreath.

It had become a Christmastime tradition since the merging of the realms. The whole family got together to decorate each other’s houses and then have dinner together. This weekend, a mere two weeks before Christmas, it was the Swan-Jones household’s turn to host (and get decorated).

Emma took a step back, watching as her family, her whole, big boisterous extended family worked to make her home look like something out of the Hallmark channel. Regina and Zelena stood by the impressively large pine tree stringing garland, Alice, Robin and Rogers worked to make the hearth festive, Henry, Jacinda, Killian and her dad were braving the frigid temperatures outside to string lights on the bushes and the front of the house, Neal was occupying Hope in the playroom, Ava napped in the nursery and Snow worked away in the kitchen on what Emma was sure would be an amazing dinner.

It was the type of scene you’d see in one of those cheesy Christmas movies. Happy family enjoying each other’s company while they decorate for Christmas and listen to carols. It was even picture perfect outside, with the snow gently falling.

It was perfect, and Emma loved every minute of it.

While Hope was occupied with Neal, Emma grabbed the elf on the shelf, looking around for the perfect place to move him. Maybe she’d put him in Hope’s room tonight.

Emma wasn’t sure if the elf was all that effective as a disciplinary tool. She hadn’t noticed a significant lessening of mischief since she and Killian had introduced “Eli the Elf”, but Hope certainly seemed delighted in looking for him every morning.

And the joy on her daughter’s face was really what was most important, when it came down to it. It was Christmas, the time for child-like wonder.

Emma wandered into the kitchen, pausing for a moment and taking stock of her stomach. Seemed like smells nauseated her at the drop of a hat lately—one of the main reasons her mom had offered to make the meal for their get together (the other being neither she nor Killian could cook worth a damn). Emma sighed in relief when she noticed the smells elicited hunger rather than nausea.

“Anything I can help you with, mom?”

Snow turned from the stove where she was stirring something as it bubbled merrily away. “You sure you’re feeling up to it? I know how rough it can be in the early months.”

Emma gave her mom an assessing look, subconsciously placing a protective hand over her belly. “You know, don’t you?”

Snow abandoned the pot on the stove and rushed over to give Emma a warm, motherly hug. “About the baby? Your father told when he came home from the last brot3 convention. Oh Emma! I’m so excited for you and Killian! Is it official? Do you know for sure?”

Emma felt the familiar mix of anticipation, joy and fear bubble up inside her. After his last breakfast with the guys, Killian had come home with a smile on his face.

“What’s up with you?” she’d asked. “I haven’t seen you so excited since they had that buy one get one special on rum at The Rabbit Hole.”

Killian had led her to the couch. “It’s been some time since your last monthly, hasn’t it?”

“Uh…yeah. I guess I’m a few days late. Why?”

“I was talking to your father and Rogers…”

“You were talking to my father about my period?” she asked, brows furrowed.

He laughed. “Of course not, love! I merely mentioned your fatigue and appetite changes.”

“Okay…..”

“Your father…” Killian said, taking her hand, “your father raised the possibility that there could be a very specific cause for your symptoms. Love, is it possible you’re with child again?”

Emma’s eyes had widened, the possibility not even entering her mind before he brought it up.

“With child? Killian, we haven’t even been trying.”

“No, but we’ve also not not been trying,” he said. “And I can recall a few very satisfying encounters over the past few weeks that could have very well resulted in a new life…”

Snow tapped Emma on the shoulder, and Emma realized she’d spaced out, her face flaming slightly as her mind went to a few of those “very satisfying encounters”. Killian’s skills as a lover were ridiculous. She’d really hit the jackpot.

“Uh…sorry mom,” Emma said, “what were you saying?”

“I was asking if you got it confirmed.”

“No,” Emma said, thinking of the pregnancy test currently residing in their bathroom medicine cabinet. “I’m a little afraid to take the pregnancy test, to be honest.”

Snow led Emma to a chair at her dining room table and urged her to sit. “Why, honey?”

Emma shrugged. “What if it’s negative? I mean I have all the classic symptoms, and this is exactly how I felt with Hope, but….I mean, we had such a hard time getting pregnant with Hope. What if this is just some weird flu or something? Killian and I are already excited about Baby Swan-Jones #2. If it turns out he or she isn’t actually on the way…”

Snow reached over and hugged Emma. “For what it’s worth, from what your father told me, I really, really don’t think this is a false alarm, but if it is…” Snow shrugged. “Well if it is a false alarm, you and Killian can have lots of fun trying to make it a reality over the next few months.”

“Mom!” Emma said.

Snow shrugged again, a wicked grin on her face. “Remember, I know how much you and Killian enjoy…pancakes.”

Emma made her hasty exit, opting to check on the kids before her mother started talking about her own taco sessions with David.

Still, apart from the very uncomfortable thought of discussing her sex life with her mother, Snow had a point. What did she and Killian have to lose? She resolved she’d take the pregnancy test the very next day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next afternoon, around nap time.

Hope Swan-Jones was not happy.

She wasn’t sleepy. Why did Mama make her take naps? Sleeping was no fun at all! Uncle Neal didn’t have to take naps; why should she?

She’d asked Mama that one day, and Mama said it was because Neal was twelve years old. Twelve-year-olds didn’t have to take naps.

Hope wished she was twelve. Not three.

Hope glanced over at the shelf high on the wall and noticed Eli the Elf peering down at her. She stuck her small, pink tongue out at him.

“I’m not going to go to sleep,” she said rebelliously, “and I don’t care if you tell Santa!”

Hope continued to look at Eli as her eyelids started getting heavy in spite of herself. That was another thing. Why didn’t Mama and Daddy ever let her play with Eli? He was a doll just like the others she had in her play chest. Why couldn’t she play with him?

Hope knew better than to leave her bed when Mama said to take a nap, but still, she reached out her hand as though to reach for the elf. Suddenly she felt kind of funny, like there was something warm and bubbly just under her skin. She watched in amazement as a beam of white light shot from her outstretched fingers, and suddenly Eli the Elf was zooming towards her, right into her arms.

Did…did she have magic like Mama did?

Maybe she should try again.

She looked at the elf and then reached her hand out the way Mama did when she did magic. “I want you to play with me, elf,” she whispered.

The strange warm bubbly feeling happened again, and another burst of magic shot out.

Suddenly Eli the Elf stood up on his own, blinked twice and then grinned at her in a way Daddy would have said meant trouble.

“Eli the Elf at your service,” he said with a bow. “So kid, you ready to have some fun?”

Hope glanced toward the door, afraid Mama would hear. “Shhhhhh!” she said. “We’re supposed to be asleep!”

The elf rolled his eyes. “Naps are for Grinches. You’re not a Grinch, are you, kid?”

She shook her head no.

“Good,” Eli said, “so here’s what I think we should do next….”

Eli the Elf went on to outline a plan of chaos that made Hope’s eyes widen. Surely he wouldn’t dare!

She shook her head. “We can’t! We’ll get in trouble!”

“The threat of getting caught is half the fun,” Eli said, before jumping off the bed and making a dash for the partially opened door. “I’m going to do it, whether you follow me or not.”

Hope climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the door. She had to stop him! She was going to be in so much trouble!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That evening

Killian closed Hope’s door and made his way down the stairs to the kitchen where he set about preparing a nice steaming mug of hot cocoa.

He had a feeling Swan would need it after the day she’d had.

Killian had come home from the station, smile on his lips and spring in his step…only to find the living room in shambles and Emma on the couch crying.

He’d rushed to her. “Swan! What happened? Are you hurt? Is Hope alright?”

Emma swiped at her cheeks and got to her feet. “We’re fine, Killian,” she rushed to reassure, stepping into his arms and burying her face in his chest. “It’s just…I’m so damn tired, and she was supposed to be napping, and I come downstairs, and…well, just look!”

Emma gestured to the living room. The bottom half of the Christmas tree was completely bare, the baubles that had previously adorned its branches were strewn over the floor, a couple of the delicate glass ones broken against the hearth.

His eyes widened. Hope had done this?

“Swan, there must be some mistake,” he said, “Hope is mischievous, to be sure, but she’s never blatantly engaged in destruction and she loves our Christmas tree.”

Emma collapsed on the couch, pulling him with her. “She was in here, Killian,” Emma said, one fat tear of exhaustion rolling down her face. “I caught her red-handed. Literally. She was holding that stupid red Santa ornament in her hand when I showed up. When I asked her what she was doing, she lied to me. Lied right to my face.”

“That doesn’t sound like my lass at all,” Killian said, his brow furrowing as he wrapped his wife in his comforting embrace. “I’ve never known her to speak a falsehood. What happened?”

“She told me…get this…she told me Eli the Elf did it! That damn elf on the shelf was lying on the ground next to the tree. Not only did she disobey me and leave her room during naptime, she somehow got her hands on the elf, went on a tree destroying spree, and then lied to me. Killian, I don’t even know what to do with her anymore!”

Emma started crying in earnest, and Killian hugged her to him, rocking her slightly and caressing her hair. “Where is the lass now, love?”

“She’s in her room,” Emma said, voice thick with tears. “I…Killian, I kind of lost my temper. I raised my voice a little. She looked so surprised and almost, I don’t know, betrayed. I sent her to her room, because apparently I can’t parent worth a crap, but I wanted a chance to cool down before I said anything else to her that I might regret.”

“Sh,” Killian said. “Emma you are a wonderful mother. Never doubt that. We all lose our temper and have moments we aren’t particularly proud of. We’ll sort this out. Together.”

He’d stayed with Emma a few more moments, holding her as she cried, and then he’d gone to have a talk with Hope.

Now, 20 minutes later, steaming mug of cocoa in hand, he returned to the Christmas carnage that was their living room.

Emma took the cocoa with a grateful smile. “How is she?”

Killian’s brow furrowed. “She’s settled for the moment, and she seems quite apologetic over what happened. What say we put this tree to rights, aye?”

“Killian, you don’t have to…” she called after him as he began gathering discarded ornaments and placing them on the tree. “I can just zap it with my magic…”

“Nonsense, love,” he said, “you’re exhausted and at your wits end. Rest, let me handle this.”

He made quick work of righting the tree as he heard Emma sigh behind him. As he worked, his brow furrowed. He knew Emma was upset after her difficult day with Hope, but he knew Emma Swan-Jones, perhaps better than she knew herself. There was something else on her mind, something else that was causing her significant distress.

Killian set the last bauble on the tree and then sat beside his wife, opening his arms and waiting for her to settle against him before he spoke.

“Swan, I know when your heart is heavy,” he said. “Share your burden with me. What’s amiss?”

“Well Hope…”

He stopped her with a gentle finger to her lips. “Aye, she’s been rather difficult today, but there’s more isn’t there?”

She glanced aside, before reaching for the small box on the coffee table and handing it to him.

He glanced at it, noting it was one of those wands that could tell if a woman was with child.

“Swan…?”

“I…I thought I should take the test,” Emma said, voice thick, “you know, to make sure we’re really pregnant like we think we are.”

“But it’s still in its box unopened.”

“Yeah,” she said, glancing aside. “I wanted to wait for you to take it, and then…”

“Then?” He prompted.

“Well I got scared.”

“Of what?” he said, hugging her to him, “what frightens you?”

She was quiet for a moment, taking the test back, and turning the box over and over absent-mindedly. “What if it’s negative?”

Killian rubbed her back in a comforting motion. “Swan, we’ll cross that bridge if we get to it.”

“But I know how excited you are already about this kid…What if…?”

Killian stopped her with a soft kiss. “Emma, I would be delighted to welcome a new wee pirate or princess into our home, but even if it doesn’t happen, even if it never happens, I will be perfectly contented. I have a wife I adore, a daughter I love beyond measure, and a step son with a family to dote upon.”

She sat up and looked carefully at him. “Do you really mean that?”

“Aye,” he said with a decisive nod. “But I can see the toll this uncertainty is taking upon you. Perhaps it’s best if we find out once and for all.”

Emma took a deep breath, seeming to steel herself for whatever was to come, and then she got to her feet, taking the box with her. “Okay, I’m going to go take the test. Wait here.”

Emma padded to the powder room off the kitchen, emerging two minutes later, pregnancy test in hand. “Okay, babe, moment of truth,” she said, handing him the small, white wand. “I can’t look.”

Killian took a deep breath and then looked down.

Two pink lines.

“Swan,” he said, smile suffusing his whole face, “it’s positive!”

She reached for the device, looking for herself before letting out a joyful shout. “Positive! Killian, we’re gonna have a baby!”

Killian got to his feet, enveloped her in his arms and swung her around, both of them laughing and crying. Emma leaned down and captured Killian’s lips with her own, pouring all of her joy and relief into her kiss. They collapsed back onto the couch, the kiss continuing as they smiled against each other’s lips.

Suddenly a shout pierced through their haze of love and happiness. A shout coming from the direction of Hope’s bedroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hope swiped at the tear tracks on her cheeks. It wasn’t fair; it just wasn’t fair! Eli the Elf was the one who did the bad things and she got in trouble for it.

No one believed her. Not even Daddy. Oh, he wasn’t as upset as Mama was, but he didn’t believe her either; she could see it in his face.

And he was disappointed in her. That was the worst.

She wished Eli the Elf had never come here!

As soon as she’d followed him from her bedroom and saw him about to start messing up their pretty tree, she’d tried to stop him. She’d tried to use her magic like Mama did, but it hadn’t worked. Maybe Hope sized magic wasn’t as powerful as Mama sized magic.

When her magic hadn’t worked, she’d tried to catch him and make him stop, but he was too fast for her.

He wouldn’t stop until Mama walked into the room. Then he played dead and let Hope get in trouble.

“How long you gonna let them keep you couped up in here, kid?” Eli asked from the shelf where Mama had tossed him when she marched Hope to her room. “The Christmas tree was fun, but there are lots of bigger and better things we can do to shake up this place a little.”

“Don’t you dare!” Hope growled at him under her breath. “You already made Mama yell at me and cry.”

Eli shrugged, and hopped down from the shelf, opening her drawers, rifling through, tossing toys and clothes every which way.

“You stop that right now!” Hope shouted.

The little imp ignored her, continuing on with his perusal of her things.

Hope was normally a good tempered child. She rarely got upset, but now, finally this elf had gone too far. She was not going to get in trouble again for something he did! She closed her eyes, concentrated as hard as she could and then thrust her arm toward the elf.

Hope knew her magic was working even before it shot from her fingers, the warmth and electricity flowing from her surrounded the elf, wrapping him in light magic bands, like a glowing rope.

“There!” she cried triumphantly. “Now I’ve got you!”

Eli the elf grinned. It was not a pleasant sight.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Eli said in a smug voice. “You see kid, your magic brought me to life. It can’t stop me. It can only make me stronger.”

Hope watched in horror as Eli puffed himself up until he got bigger and bigger and bigger. Soon he was almost as big as Daddy.

“Mama! Daddy!” Hope screamed, knowing things had gone completely out of her control.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killian burst through the nursery door, his hook at the ready, prepared to battle whatever foe was menacing his daughter.

Or so he thought.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of the Elf on the Shelf not only alive but gigantic.�� For a moment, he stood frozen in the doorway, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide, and then he jumped into action, bursting through the door, putting himself in between Hope and her elf.

“Cygnet go! Get to safety!”

The elf laughed, knocking Killian aside as though he were merely a ragdoll. “You think you can defeat me?” the elf taunted. “You think you can…”

But before he could finish his thought, suddenly he shrunk, eyes becoming glassy, body turning back to cloth and cotton.

“Yeah, I’m sure he could have,” Emma said, stepping into the room and kicking the elf she’d just turned back into a toy, “but he doesn’t have to. I’ll take great pleasure in kicking your…” she glanced toward Hope “butt all the way back to the North Pole.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Several hours later, Emma climbed into her big, comfortable four-poster bed and burrowed into her husband’s warmth.

“So, never a dull moment in Storybrooke is there?” she said, deadpan.

Killian laughed, rubbing comforting circles along her back. “Final battle won, final villain defeated, and yet it still seems there’s more excitement in this small burg than in any of the realms.”

Emma chuckled and then sobered. “I didn’t believe her, Killian. My own daughter, and I didn’t believe her when she told us the truth about what happened. What kind of a person does that make me?”

“A human being,” Killian said gently. “Her story was rather outlandish. I had my doubts as well, if you’ll recall. Hope is resilient love. She knows how much you love her, and she’s forgiven you already.”

After she’d zapped the elf, turned it back into an inanimate object and then locked it in their creepy Dark One dungeon that they kept padlocked until they could figure out how to turn it back into a normal basement, Emma had returned to Hope’s bedroom and given her a long, comforting hug, feeling her toddler sniff against her as the fear and excitement of the day slowly receded.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” Emma murmured into Hope’s riotous blond curls. “I should have listened when you tried to tell me the truth.”

“It’s okay Mama,” Hope said. “It was my fault Eli comed to life.”

Hope had gone on to explain the whole story to her stunned parents.

“We really did make an amazing kid, didn’t we?” Emma said. “How did it never even occur to us that she might have magic?”

“A terrible oversight on our part, love,” Killian said, chuckling. “She’s the second generation product of True Love. Of bloody course she has magic.”

“We need to talk to Regina, have her train Hope, get a handle on this thing,” Emma said. “Magic’s great, but man can it go wrong if you don’t have it controlled.”

Killian kissed her. “Aye.” Reaching down, he cupped her still-flat stomach, caressing their unborn child in the only way he could at the moment. “What do you think are the odds this wee one will have magic as well?”

Emma groaned. “We’re in for a wild ride with two of them, aren’t we?”

Killian laughed. “That we are, Swan, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. Together, this family can handle anything.”

Emma hummed in agreement, and for a moment they fell silent, and then Killian chuckled.

“What?” she asked, noting the mischievous look in his eyes.

“I think it would only be good form, love, for you to admit that I was right about the Elf on the Shelf.”

Emma rolled her eyes with a grin. “And you’re never going to let me forget it, are you?”

He shook his head. “Never.”

Emma sighed. “There’s going to be no living with you after this. I dread the moment you learn about the Easter Bunny.”

NEXT CHAPTER->

#cs fanfiction #cs christmas reruns 2024 #my fanfiction #eli the elf

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mommyofkittens · 2 years ago

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Masterlist

A Court of Fallen Heroes ( Azriel FanFiction )

𓆩✴𓆪 Summary 𓆩✴𓆪

It was a well known fact: the veil between the worlds grew thinner and thinner, so the possibility of a crashing was already a certainty. The rumours started a long time ago, but no one did anything to stop it. Luckily, time has passed, we went through wars and race eradications, but Faerie Realms and Mortal Lands stayed almost the same, some richer and some poorer.

Nobody was talking about the fallen, untill now, when the fates started working their old, wicked magic and gave us an early Summer Soltice gift: an unprepared girl who was sent tumbling from the sky.

Tumultuous and dangerous,

Bitter and heartbreaking.

This is the story of the Evening star.

About the young woman who holds the Sun as her weapon,

And the Moon as an ornament.

About the Cursed Crown, who chooses its own master

And about the man in the shadows, irreversibly bound to her, by the tongue of death.

And, after all, about us, the nothingness who catches a goal.

I am the Bloody Blade, former leader of the first legion, last of my kind, banished and tormented by dark memories and here is the beginning of our story.

Read on Ao3. 𓆩✴𓆪

Read on Wattpad. 𓆩✴𓆪

𓆩✴𓆪 Playlist

𓆩✴𓆪 Prologue

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 1: 3:33

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 2: " God Forbid... "

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 3: The Waking World

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 4: The Countess

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 5: Haunted

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 6: Decisions. Part I.

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 6: Decisions. Part II.

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 7: A Tale of Time

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 8: Jane Doe 𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 9: The Third One 𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 10: The Bloody Blade

𓆩✴𓆪 Chapter 11: The Vespertus

Hello, everyone! I am new to the writing experince and also English is not my first language. Hopefully, this won't interfere with my work too much. I am sorry if there are mistakes, I'll try to correct them. I didn't give up on this work, but writing one chapter is taking quite some time considering the fact that I always have to check my grammar and if the phrases make sense or if they're too long. Sometimes, when inspiration doesn't come, I write them in my own language and then translate and it takes a while too.

Also, I have exams untill mid July. Med school it's time consuming as hell. 🥲

You can also find me on Ao3 and Wattpad, I always keep my chapters updated and corrected there because it's easier to read them.

Hope you like my work! Have a great day, babes!

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stormingfrost · 2 months ago

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Wonders of the Invisible World

Tags: Body horror, major character death, Implied/Referenced child abuse, original characters, pitch/sandy

summary:

Through hundreds of years of strange things happening all over the world, finally someone sees. The Bennett family is now at the forefront of every children's tale - except, now, they learn that these tales are not only real, but much, much darker than they first thought.

For @rotg-halloween day five: Apparition

Read it on AO3

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 /13

chapter five: Apparition

under cut

“What do you mean fae can be dangerous?” Joyce asked, her voice tense. Andy shrugged.

“It’s folklore from the old times. Fairy circles and iron. Stuff like that. Giving a fae your name or any part of you gives them full control. I’m guessing that the tooth fairy has something like that, but with teeth controlling memory.”

Joyce looked at Jamie, frowning. He seemed fine, not worried, and only couldn’t remember his father. The fairy hadn’t touched anything else.

She was getting iron and horseshoes the second they got back home.

A part of her was relieved that he couldn’t remember. His father was a bad, bad man. She hated the idea of the abuse happening right under her nose. She nearly had killed that man when she found out. It took everything in her to only divorce him and show the courts proof of the abuse. Luckily, they took her more seriously than he ever did. She hoped he enjoyed justice.

Jamie seemed lighter, somehow. Happier. But the protective part of her, the one that wanted to throw iron at the fairy, hated it. Who was she to take memories from Jamie? Who was she to make that choice for him? How did she have that much power? What if she made Jamie forget more?

Joyce shuffled her kids back into the car.

“Bye!” Vivian hugged Joyce. “Be safe.”

“After the past few days, I think I’ll just ring up the leprechauns if anything goes wrong.” Vivian laughed.

“Right, and then he’ll send the sandman to bring you to fairyland.”

Joyce smiled.

“Children’s stories. Who knew that they were right?”

She now had an eight-hour drive home. Nine counting the bathroom breaks. Jamie stared out the window, watching trees past the car. Sophie watched a movie on the DVD player, her headphones in.

“Mom,” Jamie said. “Was Dad nice?”

“No.”

It killed her when Jamie told her. She wanted to cry for a thousand years and never stop. He was scared. The bruise on his back was exactly the size of his hand. She kissed the crown of Jamie’s head, promising that he would never hurt him again. When he got back from work, they fought. He was angry that Jamie ‘tattled’ and threw a vase at her. She kicked him out.

The next morning she went to report it. When she got back, the door was open. He’d gotten in. Jamie was lying, dazed, on the floor. Sophie was crying.

He’d given her son, her baby, a concussion. He hadn’t hurt Sophie, thank god, but he scared her. The divorce went quicker than his sentencing, but she wanted to be free of him.

And now Jamie couldn’t remember.

She stared at the road, her eyes tired from focusing. She had seven hours to go.

“What was he like?” Jamie asked, cutting through the silence like a hot knife. Joyce didn’t know what to say. He was cruel. Nice at first. So nice and kind… She fell in love with him. And he hurt her children. So, she went with the answer that Jamie would understand.

“He hurt you. He was a bad man.” She wanted to tell him more, but what was the point? Traumatize Jamie again? Put her frustrations and anger on her kid?

“Okay.” Jamie looked out of the window.

“Is that truck weird?” He asked. Joyce looked behind in the rearview mirror, seeing a semi-truck behind them. It was serving into the other line and then back.

They were hours away from any town. It was just trees and mountains here. No service. Joyce needed to get out of the truck’s way.

She looked forward, slamming the gas. The truck blared its horn.

She turned sharply around the next turn, wincing as her car struggled. The semi-truck slammed into the side of the mountain. The driver stumbled out of the wreck, despite the wreckage being severe.

She looked back, her mouth agape.

“Mom!” Jamie screamed. She looked forward.

There was a man on the road.

Joyce screamed, slamming on the brakes. Her stomach lurched. Sophie startled, scared and crying.

The car stopped only an inch away from the man.

Joyce breathed, looking up into the man’s eyes. They were golden. He was short, with an unnatural glow to him.

He smiled warmly.

“What?” She muttered.

“Sandman,” Jamie said. Sophie stopped crying.

The Sandman waved, smiling.

She shouldn’t have joked about it. This ghost, this creature, was in front of her car, smiling so warmly you’d think he intimately knew each of them.

Maybe he did.

“Hello,” a voice said, echoing in her mind. “I’ve heard about your family.”

Joyce debated running over the Sandman.

“You dream of peace,” the Sandman said. “Soft hands taking yours. There is no need for anger there. No need to protect.”

The Sandman glanced over to Jamie and Sophie. Joyce looked over to her kids, seeing their little faces light up.

“What are you?” She asked. “Why do we see you?”

The Sandman’s golden eyes snapped to her. “Answers come to the patient, Joyce.”

A shadow snaked below her car, and a man formed out of it. He stood, tall and thin, next to the Sandman. One was sun, one was shadow. Jamie gasped, and the Sandman smiled at him. Their hands interlinked.

“You can find your answers through stories. Beware of the nature.”

Then the two men disappeared.

The trucker knocked on Joyce’s window. She rolled it down, numbly looking over to him.

“What was that?” He asked. “Those men?” Joyce shook her head.

“I’m not sure.”’

Stories. The answer was in stories. The trucker used his phone to call someone, and Joyce waved goodbye to him. He was going to say something, but Joyce drove away.

Her kids were quiet.

“What did he tell you?” She asked, glancing at her rearview mirror to see them.

“Dreams,” Sophie said. “Sweet dreams. And a warning.”

“Don’t trust her,” Jamie added. “Beware of the nature.”

#rotghalloween2024 #rise of the guardians #rotg #sanderson mansnoozie #pitch black #jamie bennett #sophie bennett #ms bennett #my fanfic

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unholyhelsing · 1 year ago

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chapter 11 of a tale of crowns. I'm already stressed.

#atoc #a tale of crowns #atoc chapter 11 #a tale of crowns chapter 11 #interactive fiction

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waning-and-waxing · 1 year ago

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they saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make things difficult for X and they RAN with it

#a tale of crowns #atoc #atoc chapter 11 #atoc spoilers #these two think they're hilarious #and they're RIGHT #D thinks they're covering it up by not moving a single facial muscle #but that only makes them more suspicious #dara/delal #rozerîn/rêzan

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no-where-new-hero · 3 months ago

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Tagged by @cheesenames!! Many thanks for thinking of me :)))

20 Questions for Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Six! A seventh is definitely in the works. Will not promise more

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

29,982

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Emily series, The Blue Castle, Tale of the Nine-Tailed

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Barney Snaith POV is the runaway favorite with 63

Feral Fox Girl with Angst coming in at 48

Hurt/comfort in a hotel at 25

My half-finished historical AU (RIP) at 23

Aaaaaand my other two LMM fics are tied at 15

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always, though unless the comment has feedback or is hugely gushing, it's typically a pretty standard grandma "thank you, that's sweet, hope you enjoyed"

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably the Dean fic? Feral Fox Girl is definitely the angstiest story, but at least it has a mostly happy ending

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Barney Snaith POV simply because TBC is a happy book

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not unless there's a stealth discord of secret haters I don't know about

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not in this incarnation of my fandom self, though a little PG-13 sexuality isn't unexpected

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, but that's not to say that I might not someday

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Hopefully not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but that's another thing that I would be open to doing someday

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Don't know if I have one? At least not one that I will write a fic for

15. What's a WIP that you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

God, at this point I'm so dubious that I'll ever finish my chaptered TOTNT1938 fic. I'm sad about it because that fandom gave me so much joy to write again last year, but I just ,,, do not have the same voracious interest in the show to spend time on writing it. Somehow the TBC rarepair fic gives me more delight; I am determined to get to some kind of ending for that story someday!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Pretty prose, interweaving exposition and action

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I tend to go on and on. Too much worldbuilding when the story doesn't need it

18. Thoughts on writing in another language in a fic?

I'm sadly not fluent enough in any other language to ever do this

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ignoring the fanfic-adjacent stories I wrote in my early teens that were heavily based on The Hero and the Crown, the first "real" fanfic was kpop rpf

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Probably my Dean one, what can I say. A Dean/Emily fanfic ("euchronologie") was one of the best things I ever read and opened my eyes to fanfic in general, plus I needed to write a story for them that was the way I saw them, if that makes any sense

Tagging (if you have not already been tagged): @mollywog @thesweetnessofspring @arizonapoppy

#blake’s last braincell #writing life

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paigelts05 · 11 months ago

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The Final Containment of William Afton [FNAF, Renegade AU]

https://www.deviantart.com/paigelts05/art/The-Final-Containment-of-William-Afton-FNAF-1019973107

Renegade File Server Location: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52491037/chapters/135909397

Published: Feb 11 2024

William Afton is being contained. Permanently.

The truth behind how William was finally contained and kept out of Faz Ent's hands is a story that Fazbear Entertainment frequently dramatises and frequency paints in a fantasy light, but such tales have little effect on either the public opinion, or the individuals involved.

The reality was down to earth and hectic, but Cassie, Cassey, Ness, and Sylvia make a great team.

Cassey and Ness's forced William into the game in order to weaken him, causing him to hide within Princess Quest 4 and get captured by the red king. Cassie and Sylvia solved riddles to find the collectables that the mimic was hiding from them in order to access the arcade and pick up William from the red king in order to take him to Ness in this weakened state. Then, Ness was finally prepared to take on the duty of keeping William Afton contained, acting as a human prison.

And even though Ness and Cassie didn't see eachother in person that day, they knew the other was just as happy as they were to have William contained.

=°•.🌹 Story 🌹.•°=

°°•°°•°°•°°•°°•°°•🌹•°°•°°•°°•°°•°°•°°

Desmond and Cassie had moved all the way across the country to live with Sylvia 'officer Vanessa' Blake in order to escape Fazbear Entertainment.

When a cardboard box that bore Faz Ent insignia arrived in the mail, Desmond felt nauseous; since his daughter's hospital stay after the Ruins incident revealed a chip in the back of her neck, he had known that when Cassie's sleeper side had told him many times that 'they will always find me, no matter where I go' meant that she had known from the start that Faz Ent had some kind of tracker implanted into her before she came into his care, but he never thought they'd actually use it.

As Cassie and Sylvia carefully opened the box, they found a VR headset, a game box, and a note addressed to Desmond.

After seeing the contents, yet before he read the note, he froze in a terrified daze; this was the VR equipment from his old apartment; the exact things that Faz Ent had sent him before: the VR headset, the external casing cracked from him lobbing it across the room, the controllers, hand prints visible where he had held them in a vice grip, and VR training game, that cursed game that had forced him to hand Cassie that mask.

He wanted to run away, he wanted to throw up, he wanted to go somewhere his former employer would never find him. He passed out.

Sylvia had been briefed on his experience with that VR training simulator prior to her discharge from the hospital, as Desmond being used to make the map bot function was a major part of the investigation into what Faz Ent had been doing in the ruins of the megaplex, so she wasn't surprised that he'd pass out at seeing the game again. She had also helped him move out, so she was aware that he had purposefully left all this behind at his old place, aiming for the police to pick it up.

Instead, someone at Faz Ent had sent it to his new home.

After making sure that Desmond was just out cold and nothing more serious, Sylvia and Cassie read the note.

U LN BIR AYEW QGI QUKK EWLS RGUA VYR UR UA VEUWD LBS BIB-CURLK.

RGUA FLNW UA RGW JWT RI GUA WRWEBLK XIBRLUBNWBR.

KWE RGW BWQ OEUBXWAA RLJW RGW XEIQB.

"This looks like a scrambled mess," Sylvia sighed as she looked at the mish-mash of letters on the paper.

Cassie shook her head. "It's encoded with using the keyboard letter to the left of the actual letter. Easy to decode once you know it, but enough to throw someone through a loop. I'll read it." Cassie cleared her throat before continuing, "I am not sure who will read this but it is brief and non-vital. This game is the key to his eternal containment. Let the new princess take the crown."

Some metaphorical gears turned in Sylvia's head as she processed the words as well as some rabbit shaped graffiti-like markings painted on the plastic cover of game box, so an addition made by the sender and not a part of th official print, and her eyes lit up. "I know this is going to scare the shit out of your dad, but I think you need to play the game. I think that Cassey T and my sister need you for something."

Cassie now bore the confused expression. "For what?"

"Remember what Des told us about that game. What is in it. We have reason to suspect that William will take refuge in here, hence these markings as a warning." Sylvia picked up the game box as she spoke and pointed to the rabbit graffiti.

"Yeah, the mimic is also in there. It's the thing that forced my dad to pilot the mask bot to hand me the mask," Cassie replied, "That training sim is the space that that weird short exec guy used to stick GGY, Clone William, and Mimic1 in the code blender so it wouldn't be found out until he downloaded it onto that endo I destroyed. Why would William hide in the same space as something trying so hard to copy and kill him."

"As I said, he's not actually in there yet," Sylvia replied, "I said he will be forced into there."

"Forced in?" Cassie inquired.

"He managed to possess my sister and her dad's ghost has been keeping him in, but she told me she has a plan." Sylvia grinned, "She'd get help from an insider to anonymously mail us what we need, and once the plan is in action, he will be forced to take refuge in there."

"And that insider is me."

A voice that didn't belong to Cassie or Sylvia spoke up, and the duo turned around to see Desmond standing and speaking in a voice that sounded wrong for him.

"I am Alistair. You may already be aware of me from my involvement in the VR environment. I could have shipped this in a blank box, but I needed my brother unconscious to fill you in on the details, as having any kind of paper trail from here on in will stop this plan from working."

"And this plan is…?" Sylvia inquired.

"Take the memories from the hand of the disembodied. Use them as the bait. Take up the mantle and lure the wizard into the witch's trap." Alistair spoke slowly and calmly, as if reciting a story.

"Cryptic," Sylvia grumbled, "Can you tell us anything else?"

"The hand may take up the wand and robes of the destroyed, but it is not wise enough to use it yet," Alistair replied, adding a final piece of information to her story, "it would be dangerous to say any more."

"Got it." Cassie said as she begun to set up the VR equipment.

"I get the gist; take what bad entity 2 has nicked to bait bad entity 1, and we can worry about the fallout later." Sylvia nodded as she begun to help Cassie.

By the time Cassie and Sylvia had set up the VR environment, Alistair had silently left and let Desmond wake back up.

"What's going on?" Desmond wearily mumbled as he pulled himself to his feet.

"We're on a mission," Sylvia answered, "Your sister filled us in on the details."

"That explains the pain…" Desmond grumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to soothe a phantom pain. "I'll assume that's why the box was used - so she didn't have to fight me."

Sylvia flinched at how Desmond described the whole possession thing. "… Are you OK?"

Desmond nodded. "Alistair and I don't always get along, but she needed to convey a message I guess, and by the looks of it, an important one."

Cassie nodded as she held the VR headset above her head.

"Time to grab some memories and lure an evil wizard to his death."

Once in the training simulator, Cassie knew that she'd get very little further direction from Cassey and Ness, and no further instruction from Alistair. She also knew that Sylvia was about as much in the loop as she herself was, so she'd have to rely on herself to find these 'memories' that if her interpretation of the mission was correct, the mimic would be hoarding.

If it was Mimic1, Clone William, GGY, or a mix of the three was yet to be discovered, but she knew that with the exception of the GGY component, it would likely see her as a traitor. Her managing to 'kill' clone William back in the VR environment before she could rendezvous with the other Gregory Getters branded her a traitor in his eyes. Her managing to destroy the endo the mimic had been downloaded onto in the real world during the Ruins incident branded her a traitor in Mimic1's eyes. Two thirds of it were likely against her, so she had two choices: appeal to the possible third segment, or the better options.

Allegiance against a common enemy.

With the mimic relegated back to code, and likely a disembodied hand if the mission briefing was being literal, William had gone from being the lesser threat of the two to being the greater threat of the two. With how her sleeper side had managed to drive the mimic back in a bare-fisted brawl back during the Ruins incident, she knew that it knew that she was a capable fighter who is skilled way beyond her years. She could claim a mercenary motive for her actions. Whether it'd beleive such bold-faced bullshit was another question, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

She hoped it'd see her as being indistinguishable from any other player. The other better option, and probably the best.

As she loaded into the lobby, she felt as if words were being injected directly into her mind, words that linked back to what Alistair had told her. It felt like someone was giving Sleeper further instruction on what to do, and in turn, Civ instinctively felt as if she knew what to do as well.

She needed to find a way to play Princess Quest 4. That is where Ness would be waiting for her to deliver William to her.

The note in the box had been to tell Cassie that she had to be the one to play the game, likely because of the message Ness wanted to send would only be able to reach someone like her, and Alistair had to deliver the extra details so she would have the preconceived notions necessary to fully understand the even more cryptic message that Ness sent.

Cassie received the message loud and clear.

She was ready to create the key and do all that was needed to let Ness enact her plan.

"He should be in there…. ETA NOW!" Cassie heard Sylvia yell. She was loud enough to get through the headset, and that's all she needed to hear.

It looked like the game was officially afoot.

She followed many cryptic hints for hours and hours, taking each doll from the disembodied hand that lurked, and after collecting the final doll from Fazerblast 3, a minigame that she was sure was the embodiment of the mimic's own want to eliminate William, if only to take the man's place in the world, she claimed her prize and returned to the main hub where she found the purple Faz-token that had now spawned in.

She knew exactly what to do with it.

After taking it from where it floated, she made her way over to the Princess Quest 4 arcade machine and inserted the coin that it needed to begin.

Taking a deep breath, she begun her part of this journey of leading the princess through the castle, making use of a teleport ability that felt very similar to typical VR movement mechanics.

As she played, she had some time to think: Princess Quest was not a Faz Ent IP. It was solely a Silver Parasol IP. One they released as an app and an arcade machine. It was a monument, a record, and an escape key. The fact a Princess Quest game was in this at all was a sign that Cassey T, Jeremy B, Ness, and Sylvia had managed to scheme their way into getting in on the development of this game.

Ness and Cassey were waiting somewhere on the other side of this game, ready to strike.

Heading deeper and deeper into the castle within the arcade, she noticed something odd.

"That looks like the room I'm in!" She heard herself exclaim as she saw a figure hunched over an arcade machine on the screen.

As she looked up, she saw that the room around her was dark. Looking around more, she saw the princess. An 8-bit sprite, as she expected, but it felt odd, but also as if it was meant to be.

On instinct, she directed the princess towards her and pressed the only interact key she knew of: the attack key.

Everything went white, but she felt nothing from it, and when everything cleared, she was in a place she didn't think the game expected her to be. It was dark, and the only distinguishing feature was the checkerboard floor lit by a golden glow coming from somewhere in front of her. In front of her stood Cassey Tapper, holding the glowing golden sword. Meanwhile, she also saw Cassidy hovering slightly behind the programmer.

Cassie looked around, and finally saw the ghost that had been possessing her hovering nearby as well.

"You must be Charlie," she said.

Charlie just nodded and pointed back towards Cassey.

Cassie nodded back and looked back towards the programmer who was possessed by the one William should not have killed.

"It's going to be up to you; you're going to be able to pick up where we left off." Cassey knelt down and held the sword out in front of her as she spoke, resting the point on the tile.

Cassie instinctively grabbed the hilt, and Cassey placed her hands over the girl's. She noticed that her hands actually looked like her hands, and her arms looked like her arms. It didn't feel like she was in a VR game anymore, but that her soul was somewhere else, temporarily in some kind of secret meeting place. Cassie turned her attention back to the sword; she had never welded such heavy weaponry before, only using knives and at most a machete. A sword, albeit virtual, was new, and even with Cassey holding it steady, it still felt as if it was going to topple, but she didn't panic. She smiled as the golden glow illuminated herself and the room she was in.

Cassey gave one last smile as she let go of the sword, letting Cassie be it's sole bearer, before she stood up and walked into the darkness.

Cassie knew that this was all the help that Cassey and Cassidy were able to provide; William knew them too well. But Cassie? The last time they met was on terms neutral to the both of them; the old man would not suspect a thing.

The screen went white again, and when that too faded, she was back in front of the arcade machine. The princess stood unarmed next to her. The sword was on the arcade's screen, and the words "take it" were below.

As she took the sword, she knew that it was for certain that her encounter with Cassey had not been in this VR world, but had been elsewhere, merely facilitated by the VR equipment. It was most likely that it had been a temporary digital consciousness transfer so that they could meet in secret and Cassey could pass her part of the torch onto her.

And now she was back in VR.

Cassie knew that once this was all said and done, Cassey, Jeremy, and most importantly Ness would have thier hands full with the finer details of William's containment. Whilst Sylvia was a part of that team, she also had the most experience dealing with the components of the mimic, having been involved in the Ruins incident. It was clear that Sylvia would be the bridge that kept the containment of William and the pursuit of erasing the mimic connected, and that from everything that has happened so far, Cassie could tell that Sylvia already knew her role. Why else would everyone at Faz Ent fearfully refer to her with all sorts of words that in some way meant 'Knight'.

The cavalier, the woman-at-arms, the duellist, the chevalier, the knight; all refering to this woman.

They also called her 'Don Quixote', though Cassie felt as if she and whatever exec had called Sylvia 'Don Quixote' and had called Luis 'Sancho' hadn't read the same book that she had. Faz Ent probably hoped that Sylvia's knights quest was simply the insane endeavour of a woman already driven to delusion, but Cassie had watched everything from the shadows, and despite Sylvia seeing a fantastical fantasy form of the world half the time - a condition Sylvia believes was caused the the remnant her bosses had sneakily injected into her system - she had managed to stay grounded enough in reality thanks to her friends and her drive to protect them.

And with Cassie taking up the mantle of the princess of light, she too would now need a knight at her side, as even if the Princess's Quest appeared to be the adventure of a single girl on the surface - a single player game - the player had always been there as a guide, as the knight.

This sword felt lighter than the one Cassey had passed her. She knew what she had to do.

She maneuvered through the game around her; the training sim that had become Princess Quest 4 was her battlefield as she slew foe after foe, fighting towards the core of the castle within this game.

First, she found a key. It opened the door she found herself next to, and through it, was a pit, similar to the one the princess had decended on the arcade machine.

She decended through the pit herself, slaying any monsters she met along the way. Once at the bottom, she found herself in a long corridor. The beasts were an afterthought as she made her way down the red carpet that lead out into what was both a courtyard and graveyard; the only place in this castle that was outdoors.

The puzzle was easy to solve; a simple case of lighting the torches in an incrementing numerical order. But she followed a different pattern and unlocked a secret basement underneath the courtyard. The chest held a familiar mask.

Whilst her dad had his father's retro Bonnie mask, the familiarity felt more visceral.

Sleeper must be the one familiar with this mask.

The door at the far end of the courtyard opened anyway.

The door lead to a grand corridor, devoid of monsters.

At the end, she met the red king. She traded her Vanny mask for the plush toy that William had hidden himself within. He had been holding William prisoner in this plushie form since he had fled here to escape the hand that lurked. It seems as if even though the mimic had been reduced to a hand, the destructive potential William saw within it terrified even him.

Then a door opened. To the elevator of the rental service warehouse. The ride didn't last long, as the walls came down and she saw that she was now inside a claw machine.

She knew this was her destination.

She saw Vanny outside, giant, yet to Cassie, not imposing.

She was finally face to face with Ness.

All that was left to do, was simple.

She handed the plush doll that William was trapped within over to the moon, who delievred it to Ness.

Whilst William had freed himself from his plush prison and had resumed his Glitchtrap form, it wasn't long lived as Ness crushed him in her hands.

Ness then looked over at Cassie and waved as she dipped into the darkness. She could tell that on the other end of whatever system was connecting them, that Ness was smiling.

Cassie waved back at her aunt, and she couldn't help but smile.

They had all done it.

Ness had captured and contained William.

Everything was on her terms now.

And as Cassie removed her headset and dealt with her eye strain and minor disorientation, she couldn't wait to see how this would all play out.

°°•°°•°°•°°•°°•°°•🌹•°°•°°•°°•°°•°°•°°

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jacksgreysays · 1 year ago

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35. things you said that made me feel real + Shikako/Gaara, royalty!AU

Anonymous asked: "welcome to the show," Kankurou and Shikako, chaotic political intrigue with a hefty dose of theater

First off, here are all eleven mentions/instances of the Shikaara royalty!AU that I could find because gods know I never came up with a title for that AU and thus have never tagged them for my own convenience: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. But if you don’t want to read those (most of them are three sentence fic, so it’s not too long, but I get it) then just know that Gaara, youngest prince of Wind, and Shikako, a daughter of a minor noble from Fire, literally bump into each other during Crown Princess Temari’s coronation and the tabloids turn their meeting into the fairy tale romance of the ages.

Okay now that that’s done: Anon(s) I’m also sorry for bundling your prompts together, but this time it’s because they were LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER in my inbox and also, the juxtaposition is SO FUNNY TO ME and also, also, adds additional nuance to both of them that I now cannot untangle them in my mind.

Well, I mean, I COULD. And you would theoretically get a very sweet, serene, straightforward Shikako and Gaara fall in love with each for real during the quiet moments behind what the rest of the world sees as their whirlwind romance via tabloids. Then a separate Kankurou and Shikako being bros and, essentially, grifting [insert number and which countries] daimyo(s) with some kind of stage performance as the cover/distraction while the actual mission is something else entirely. So not exactly The Producers, but a little bit? Also, a little bit like Ask Box Three Sentence Fic 8.2

BUT, what I think I like best about combining the two prompts is that the conflict of the narrative is built in with the softly budding, earnest Shikaara romance having to compete with the wilder, flashier PR scam that Kankurou and Shikako are running. Which does then get into the worldbuilding of: hey, actually, how much privacy do members of the nobility have and what is their duty to their countries and is publicity only good publicity when you control it?

HOWEVER, I’ll be honest, what REALLY got me into wanting to combine these two prompts is that, well…

In response to the first prompt (things you said that made me feel real) my brain immediately went to:

“Do you trust me?” she asks, hand outstretched. Gaara can hear the noise of the press, even muffled as they are by the door separating the green room from the stage. He doesn’t have a very good relationship with the press, his older siblings are more charming, more practiced, he mostly just wants to hide away from all the prying eyes. Though he supposes that’s what got him here in the first place. “Do you trust me?” Shikako repeats, hand still reaching out to him, and it’s now that he notices how it’s trembling, slightly. That she, too, doesn’t like the limelight. That she had also just been looking for a quiet place to hide, during their fateful meeting weeks ago. He puts his hand in hers, matching her grip in an attempt to ameliorate both of their nerves. “Yes,” he says, before they jump into fray together.

And then, because I will always, ALWAYS be in love with Chapter 95 (which even kicked off my whole recursive fic writing in the first place) my brain glommed onto the magic carpet-esque sand platform after the fight and what I’m saying is:

Shikako is Aladdin and Gaara is Jasmine, which ULTIMATELY makes Kankurou the Genie which I think is great :D

And so the second prompt comes in with Kankurou in the Genie role, just doing his best to make this PR machine work in their favor so that he can prove that being a royal doesn’t have to mean being miserable all the time (and also so that he can abdicate his place as first in line after Temari in relative peace)

Because if you really think about it—Gaara is second in line for an entire country (for now, though if Kankurou has his way, he’ll probably be bumped up to first). And, yes, his place will probably drop if/when Temari has kids. BUT, that’s a lot of responsibility. And I don’t exactly know HOW active/how much authority royalty actually has in this world. If it’s more figurehead-ish or if they actually do have executive power in the government. But either way, I don’t think he would have complete freedom over who he gets to be with, in the sense that he still has to do what is best for his country.

BUT, what if Kankurou can make it so that what is best for Wind IS to have the fairytale romance with Shikako and to make it real? (ie, good morale boost/PR for the country, kind of like what was going on with Princess Diana, RIP, and Charles’ relationship but actually good instead of being behind the scenes awful)

So then you have to bridge the gap between literal second (first?) in line for an entire country and the daughter of a minor peerage from Fire. I think I made Fire a five clan oligarchy made up of the canon four noble clans plus the Senju, which—finally my garbage taste in trash manhwa is paying off!—would probably make each of those five clans duchies. And if the Akimichi has the rank of Duke/Duchess, then the Yamanaka and the Nara are their subordinates which means that they are either Marquis/Marquess or Count/Countess.

Add on top of that, Shikako isn’t even her father’s heir. I mean, she could be if she wanted to fight Shikamaru for it, but she suuuuper doesn’t want it or to fight him for it. So… she might not even have a title at all, technically?

I mean, depending on how wild I want to get with the “prequel/backstory” of the royalty!AU (ie, Naruto’s Princess Diaries meets Anastasia fairy tale of realizing that he’s actually the long lost prince of Uzushio because of a grand adventure to meet the Duchess Tsunade) she may have been awarded a title for her “service.” But it still wouldn’t necessarily match Gaara’s second(/first) in line for the Wind monarchy.

Hence why Kankurou has to be the Genie and gas up Shikako’s reputation in Wind a la Prince Ali Ababwa. So you can see how that much chaotic energy and masks on masks and rumor manipulation would be the opposing force of Gaara and Shikako serenely, earnestly falling in love.

Then again, if we REALLY need like… an actual bad guy… I suppose there is the whole… just me scavenging from the Gaara Hiden novel again … Sand council arranging Gaara’s marriage with Hokuto of the Houki family (who would be a high ranking Wind noble in this world). Or maybe I do use the Akatsuki as international terrorist group and technically Shikako is a known associate of one of their members thing? But… I don’t particularly like that plot… so… probably not.

ANYWAYS, just imagine Kankurou having to somehow make the flashiest fairytale romance of the century with two quiet nerds who would much rather not be in the spotlight, please and thank you. He is a stage manager struggling to herd these two cats. Sure, he’s got Jinzo on the Wind side, but he’s also going to need so much of Ino’s help to wrangle Shikako. HE’S DOING HIS BEST WITH WHAT HE’S GOT, OKAY?

Thank you for the prompts, anon(s), I had fun!

#jacksgreyson #anonymous #ask box advent calendar #dreaming of sunshine #shikako nara #sabaku no gaara #sabaku no kankurou #fanfiction #writing #brainstorm

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