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fruit-salad-ship · 7 months ago

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I took a run at the Viking/Druid AU. This one’s a ‘married for political rest, hate each other at the start, then learn to appreciate.’

Story draft under cut

This particular group of Vikings might be a bit of an off shoot, they were led by peachs family for a fair few generations sucessfully, a notoriously violent lot, theyve come to be knows for their brutality. BUT that was peachs mother, the generation before, and the world needs a calmer head sometimes, so when peach was handed the reigns, her mother dead in battle as she'd always wanted to go, the weight of the village was suddenly on her shoulders. sure she'd prepared for this, but she thought she had more time to goof off and be young and free. alas, this shift fored peach to grow up, to watch her people die through her bad choices at times, to see them hungry or sick, and have to learn on the job how to avoid this, or fix it. Older generations have tried to overthrow her, but she proves she is the best fighter, if not the biggest, certeinly the fiercest, and smartest. She is tall and muscular, but her real edge is in her ability to be five steps ahead. She keeps a calm head unless shes in a besrker rage, something she doesnt do unless she ABSOLUTLEY has to. Triggered by a cocktail of plants, a tonic of strength essentially. the recipy was taught to her by her mother, and her mother before her, and so on, back many generations, and is unique to the family tree, a secret to them only. Peach goes and forages for the plants and parts often. so a few years later, with several mutinies squashed, a village of now healthy, fed, happy people, who trust her leadership, and believe that the young blood in this case has done well, is an accomplishment. Grey is her captain of the troops, hes vital, her confidant, her child hood friend, a guy whos very level and reasonable, traits she has been TRYING to get people to adapt to, and reduce how much bloodshed her people have brought to others.

They still raid and fight, but they pick and choose more wisely, taking from those who have more troops and more to lose, pinching from farmers and villagers is a cowards fight, they have pitchforks, and nothing worth taking. but kings? lords? princes? ohhhhhoho, they got shit they can stand to lose, their lives included. so they target bigger fish. arguably their trade with local hunters is also quite key, being good on the waters means fishing is their lifeblood, and many neighbouring villages have built a tentative truce with the viking settlement in order to trade and barter. it is...hard to work with, as her people are prone to fighting, but peach manages to delegate and calm raised tempers with a surprising level of reason. This same reason extends to the druid population. Her faimly have...perhaps been known to slaughter them upon sight. She has seen it, she had watched her blood strike down witchcraft in a heartbeat through fear, and peach does not wish to extend that fear further.

that being said, she is kind of terrified of druids.

low key tho

so when the druid council arrange a meeting with her, no weapons, no threats, a simple plea for peace, she is open to hearing it. Peach and her council go to discuss, and a peace can be arranged if there is a show of trust. Notably, marriage. A viking leader, to a Druid patron of the gods. if this can be done then surely they can trust in an alliance together. Peach is SO not here for it. She however is overruled by the council, they all agree this is a very reasonable arrangement, and peach is left taking one for the team, so to speak. and its honestly something that puts her in a foul state of mind from the get go

she has no clue who shes being married off to, and goes home sulking, telling grey everything over drink, and he is roaring with laughter. the towns most unapproachable, inhospitable woman has finally been shackled down. he cant even believe it, and does not give a rest to the pokes and prods of his taunting. A fortnight passes and no news, nothing from the druids save for a charm of favorable winds for their ships that arrives by raven. Sure enough the ships do prosper, the winds are behind them, and the fish are plentiful. Peach begrudgingly watches her village flourish, and dreads the next step, one she alone has to venture forward with, one she is honestly mortified about. She toughs it out, and soldiers on. And then the letter to the ceremony arrives. She is to meet her betrothed in a week, and the first meeting will be within the druid community, where peach will come with no more than two escorts to agree to terms, and collect the person in question to return home with. There is no exit clause, this means peace for their people once and for all.

and that long long hike to the heart of the woods where the druids exist is...hell. Shes got real nerves, doesnt even get like this for battles, in fact she states on several ocasions that she'd rather be in the thick of a war in the mud and the dirt and the blood than in the calm of the woods. its almost too calm, lets her mind wander to what kind of awful person shes been tied to for the rest of her life. she pictures an old crone, a witch of the woods, a crusty old being, and shudders, while her two companions make jokes that she'll have to have horrible weird druid sex with an old person. and shes there trying not to throw up.

the druids welcome them in with more hospitality than expected, this is of course a negotiation for peace, and peach activley hands in all her weapons, right off the bat with no arguing. she has to berate the other two ONCE, and no more, to do the same. So theyre in a community of 75-100, all of which follow this weird and wild magic, all somehow touched into natures way, and the vikings are just there, strangers in a foreign land, and people are very wary of them. They are taken to the leaders, sat, offered food and drink, to which peach is feeling too sick to really partake in all that much, picks at best, but her attention is toward the new setup of what is to be rules on how their people interact with each other. No more unnecessary deaths. The work of it all nearly lets her mind slip from the end result, her people will no longer hunt druids, offer trade, military aid and services should need be, and for all forward purposes consider them allies, unless violent action is taken against them, in return they will gain access to medicine and the occasional charms to aid the villagers, magic to bolster their people. It is a truce. A good one. A better one than peach was expecting to get. their negotiations go on into the early hours, and finally the leader of the druids says its late, and peach must be eager to meet his daughter. She pauses, looks up, processes, and then recalls the arrangement. she had NO idea this man she talked with was to be family, she'd have tried to be a little more impressive and imposing, but perhaps her subdued and calm approach was fine. they walk to a rather lovely building, draped with vines and hidden deep into the mossy dirt, he sighs, and looks at peach. a warning is given, his daughter was...not, thrilled about this situation. she may be fierce in her actions and words.

peach is left to knock the door, her brides father not entering, simply waiting a few paces back, calling in a name, a pet name from the sounds of it, and from inside peach can hear the light footsteps of someone. the door opens, plum sticks her head out, glares past peach to her father, shouts 'NO' and slams the door. Peach cant help but laugh.

he sighs, waves a weary hand, and turns to go stating taht peach best get acquainted with his daughter, this is out of his hands. and so peach tries again, calls in to at least ask her name, and gets no response. just told to go away. their conversation starts on a hostile point, and peach sits against the door and tries to reason with her. plum is every bit as stuborn and hard headed as peach is, but shes really throwing a fit about this. peach ends up just as mad, as if this is ideal for either of them?! but its not about them, its about their people, and moving forward with a sense of peace. surely as a druid, of all things, plum could reason with the notion of peace? and thats when the door opens, peach tumbles back, lands looking up, met with a VERY mean glare, plum saying she has no idea what druids should or shoudlnt reason with, that shes just some bloodthirsty idiot with nothing between her ears. harsh but fair. the girls row. and fight, and argue, and get to understanding that they couldnt be more further apart. this goes on for hour, until it becomes a fight, and peach is trying, TRYING not to take the bait, shes twice as big as this little druid and not about to break the truce on the first night. plum however does not care, and eventually peach has to defend herself. it is a close quarters, brutal little spat, and they both end up scraped and bruised.

by the morning peach is ready to go home, black eye and bites and scrapes adorned, the truce is made, plum has been appeased by her father and a whole host of others, she is in NO WAY happy about this, but has come to the bitter conclusion that its for the good of her people. the travel back is mind numbing. plum stops to look at things all the time, shes never really ventured out of her territory for fear of vikings. they have to slow down, get caught in rain, get their path crossed by a bear. the two with peach go to attack it, she tells them to back down, leave it be, and plum at the VERY least appreciates that she lets it pass unbothered. by the time theyre back at the village its all hands on deck to get ready for the festivities, everyones happy to see them, but peach suggests she'll hold a meeting tomorrow once rested and settled, to introduce her...betrothed (she is still mad about it) and inform everyone of the events. natrually some of the older vikings are not happy with plum there, they eye her with hatred, and skulk away. peach doesnt notice, those old farts are always angry, theyre old, its what they do, but plum gets a bad read off them. peach and plum go back to the girls new home together, a longhouse with fair space and one too many weapons. Plum is mildly interested in some of the strange trinkets peach has stolen, but doesnt ask, she is given a bed, a space her own, away from peach, and shown around enough to feel at home. it is very much laced with snide jabs and comments from both sides. things plum does notice: peach makes her own beserker tonic, and seems to be mid-way making a batch now. peach of course doesnt reveal what is in it, nor what its for, it is none of plums concern, and plum pulls the 'well ill be your wife soon enough you may as well tell me now.' card. peach hates it. doesnt cave.

it is another restless night for the girls, they bicker and fight about every little thing. plum kicks her shoes off anywhere, peach never remembers to throw a log on the fire in time, plums constantly tripping over things shes used and not put away, peach cant stand the smell of the tea plum drinks, a home blend. By the time the meeting in the village comes the next day, peach is hardly awake, grouchy, and fed up. but the information of a truce is given, plum is introduced, and the village sets about trying to come to term with the change. Grey is the life saver, he is very calm, and offers to show plum around, giving peach a break. one that she spends the entire time sleeping through. grey and plum actually get on fine, she finds him much less irritating, and perhaps even nice, if she can put aside his murderous skills. she learns the village, the people, the trades, the buildings, she pets the animals, she sees some of them trying to farm, others hauling in fishing nets from the boats. all in all, plum is quietly surprised the vikings have this level of civilisation built, tales and stories would suggest theyre all mindless brutes who do nothing but kill and steal. she is at LEAST pleasently surprised.

she gets home to peach fast asleep by the fire, on a number of furs, and proceeds to dump a jug on water on her, for the fun of it.

the 'i have to marry you, i dont have to like you' comments they share are laced with seething disdain, peach goes to fish, plum goes to forage, they dont see each other unti the next day, and its over a very hostile breakfast. Eventually peach is thankful to leave to fight, and plum is left home to her own devices. This raises issues. While peach is out doing her thing, the older villagers start to fuck with plum, and she has to recall the truce, and not to hit back. they say some horrible things to her, perhaps even get in her face, but it never gets physical, so she leaves it be. She can tough this out for her people, the village will get use to her, shes just new. peach and her raiders get home a week or so later, they haul in goods stolen, and peach has cleared her mind of rage, and tried to be the bigger person...not literally, she already is, but she has returned, and gets home, and doesnt say a word about the tea smell, instead pulling a rather pretty broach from her pocket that looks like a branch of blossom in golds, inlaid with some kind of pinkish gemstone. A peace offering. Plums right, she does have to marry her but he doesnt have to like her, but maybe if they just, got along this could all be a little less shit. Plum says nothing, sees peach is battered and hurt and tired, her body is on the rebound off beserker tonic, so she needs rest. She slinks off, runs herself a bath, and tries to soak her aches out. plum sits and looks at the broach and doesnt say much, rolls over and goes to sleep by the fire. peach finds her curled up, pulls a blanket over her, and goes to her own bed to try and do better tomorrow. well that doesnt quite work out. the next two weeks the girls are slowly at each others throats more and more, its becoming obvious to everyone.

they foil each others fun, ruin each others things, have spite for one and other that extends to their personal space and privacy. Grey watches them both get run ragged by the endless torment they throw at each other. And then finally, the wedding arrives. The dreaded day. it is traditional viking style, with a few tweaks to include the druid nature of one of the brides, and honestly everyones just there to feast and drink afterwards, something the two new wives hardly do. well. peach drinks. a lot and plum throws berries at her for the boring bits. they go home, sleep at opposite ends of the house, and try to just get on with this. its for their people, both say to themselves in the quiet of night. every time peach has to host to other leaders plum is subtly spiteful, makes her look bad tbh, which is fine, but after one particular disaster of a meeting with a local leader who could have been a useful allie, peach sees them off and turns to plum to remind her, NOW she is fucking with pech's people, and another reminder, they are now HER people, shes the chief's wife, she is one of this village too, and shes shooting her own in the foot because shes a spiteful witch. peach is furious, she needed to barter that better, this is less than ideal. plum finally sees that perhaps she went too far. this isnt just a dig at peach, and she hates to say it, but peach is right. these are now her people. and most of them, save for a few, have been nothing but agreeable towards her, some even nice. plum sits up, peach is asleep turned away, ad the druid has time to do something good for once. she sits up and starts to do what she does best.

peach awakens the next day to a myriad of smells she does not know, and finds plum still awake, concocting a whole host of small bottled items. plums things are sprawled out, she hardly notices peach, and when she does, she doesnt say anything, feeling a little bad for the day before. peach asks, has to, its taking up half the house, and plum says shes working. thats as good as peach will get, she knows that, she leaves, goes to help with building a new barn, and doesnt go home until late that day. this goes on for two more days, before peach wakes to the house quiet, no plum, no things out, the chaos has subsided, its cleaned up, mostly. herbs hang and dry neatly, a huge mortar and pestle sits clear of debris, theres a bowl of petals drying, some jars of unusual powders all lined up, its like...plums settled in. her things have places, and has become part of this setting. weeks of not getting along or finding her place here, and finally it seems to be happening. Peach doesnt find her in the yard out front, not the woods when she goes to check the perimeter, nor alogn the lakes edge where plum goes walking. No. Peach finds her in the village, she spots the drift of her curls and peaks out to see what shes doing. Going around offering help, she found the man with the bad cough, the kid with terrible itchy skin, the mother who cant sleep, the man with no luck, even the cow with a funny limp. Plum has made a fix for most of the ailments. She is not the bitter twisted little shit peach has been presented with now, she is calm and kind and open, and seems to radiate true druid energy while doing this kind of work, she is a different person. Peach doesnt say a word, but they clock each other, theres no smile shared, no look of taunt or smugness, they just...they know. they know that plum took on board that these are also her people.

and dare peach say it, shes thankful for her, for once. The villagers repair, thrive even, but some still do not care for her meddling. Peach catches her back at home, coming in late, hands full of splinters, a fresh batch of jerky brought in from the drying racks, she traded a few bits for actual apples too, nice ones from a farmer that came through! She's in a surprisingly good mood, but there is still caution coming home. She doesnt want to cause any more arguments. She tells plum about the apples, to help herself, and leaves her alone to go soak her hands and try to get the splinters out. it is a slow process, but methodical, she quite likes the joy of excavating a big splinter, getting a good sharp blade and sitting in the bath to start this process. She has since become numb to plums tea, she actually has even started to like the smell perhaps, its certainly not nice, but its definitely a smell of home to her now. It shocks her when plum comes to sit with her, the first time ever. Neither talk immediately, peach is trying to catch the wood i her hand and pull it free, so her focus is mostly taken up, and plum is poking at the fire with a stick, sipping her drink, not really paying much attention. its quiet company. after a while, Peach syas she's grateful, her people benefited from plums skills today, she got a lot of people telling her that druid magic helped them with this and that. plums short 'mm' back is enough. they continue in quiet, peach getting slowly more frustrated by one stubborn splinter, going to cut into her hand to get it out, until plum notices and stops her, wordless, takes the knife, finds the problem, and carfully pries it out. takes two goes, and the chip comes free. there is a BRIEF moment where she still holds peachs hand, and looks at her like shes looking for something in her gaze, before giving the knife back and going back to the fire.

this quiet existence is a nice change to the arguments. for weeks after they bicker less, but still of course snap and disagree over so much, but certainly have less quarrels, and come together to put on an air of power should people visit for talks of trade or alliance. peach gifts plum a shawl that was her mothers mothers, a hand woven thing that holds a lot of meaning, and displays her families mark clearly, its not a huge deal, but it kind of is. the girls play it down, but peach is quietly happy to see plum wears it when the chill in the morning air is too much, or when shes wandering the village working. their marriage was not conventional, nor chosen, but they are finding a midground. even if they annoy eachother endlessly. its for their people, not them. but with time the things that bugged them start to hold less weight. Plum can no longer find irritation with peach not putting things away because shes changed, she does actually return items to where they belong. The endless weapons have their own storage, she doesnt leave them lying around. There is never a leak in the roof she cannot fix, and for such a merciless killer (plum thinks, shes never seen her fight) peach holds a calm note to all decision making, and typically never puts her own wants above others in terms of whats good for the masses. She has very little, and gives what she can, but somehow it comes around, and she is never left wanting. Her good nature, and speed to help her own pays back. Plum sees she is not all harsh edges. Peach however has also come to herms with plums temperament. The woman knows when plums going to kick off in a meeting and always manages to calm the situation. plums need to create went from an annoying clutter in the house to something peach finds joy in looking over now.

theres even a quiet love for plums cooking, which is arguably better than she thought it'd be, somehow she expected druits to chew on twigs and berries, but no, plum can and does make many nice things, and so they can take turns and give each other breaks from that task. peach even likes when plum is busy weaving and shes carving some wood and they sit quiet;y by the fire together. its...calm company. quiet. Is peach horny 24-7? yes, but again, shes had to put that aside and ignore it, this is not a marriage of joy, its one of peace.

the scalding tone of 'oh, so you survived then.' every time peach gets back from a trip has become welcoming, plum does not care, she knows, but at least she acknowledges her entering the home now. its something.

it is on one of these late nights, when peach gets in from a volatile battle, the village hit with a violent downpour, the people are struggling to pull the ships in, everyones out to lash them to post and stop the waters taking them, even plum is out helping as best they can to calm animals and settle people. when peach is away, plum acts in her stead, she is the wife, she has to. so shes out, in this miserable weather, and while everyones busy trying not to lose ships, peach notices she cant see plum. not anywhere. with things under control she goes looking. plum however has seen a bunch of goat bolt, a pen left open, a crack of thunder spooking them, and chases them down. cant lose a flock like that, she can get them. but it was a trick. those old vikings, ones who saw peachs mother rule with her bloody iron fist, do not care for this new alliance, and have been compelled to kill plum and break the truce, they dont like this peace with witchcraft users, they liked things the old way. Plum is busy trying to get these goats to come to her, a quiet whisper to them that they understand, to calm, to come to her, and they do. She only turns in time to see three villagers coming at her with an uneasy look, plum says its ok, shes got the goats, asks if they others wrangled the boats? and they dont answer, she takes a step back when she spots theyre armed, and starts considering the peace pact, the tentative nature of this situation. they attack her, and she can retaliate, but it'd scare the villagers, potentially break the peace, peace she'd finally managed to come to terms with herself. she tries to talk them down, reason with them, but they spew old world hate, words plums not heard in the mouths of men for a while, they want the druids gone, they dont trust nor like them.

she winds up a low powered warning spell, firest it at the floor and tries to spook them, but theyve fought druids before, and dont fear her small show of strength, shes pulling punches , big time, and they keep advancing. So she charges up an even bigger hit, warning them, telling them, urging them not to risk the peace, and they dont hear it. In the raging weather, they dont hear the person running in, the three villagers swing weapons, and plum fires a defencive spell. Both hit, but not as they had wanted. between them both peach stands, she has redirected the spell, pointing plum upwards, and taking a fair brunt of whatever she cast, and her other hand wields a weapon blocking the one at the front who swung first. Chief is back and pissed, she barely stepped off the boat, she didnt even get to see the villagers, she didnt have a moment to rest, and now her own are beign traiterous bastards to the peace. She tells everyone to step down, cool off, this is not worth it. She will let the three leave with their lives if they stop now. They made an attempt on her wife, she will not allow them to stay, but in any other situation, theyd be put to death for it. She is giving them a chance to pack, and leave by morning. they dont hear her. Plum is completely preoccupied with the spell she fired off, it was a harsh one, one thats settled under peachs skin, not a direct hit but plenty enough to graze her, she can see her words are a bluff to some degree, shes tried, she was hurt when she got back, now shes more hurt because of her. The men do not back down, calling her a coward in the shadow of her mothers wake, and so peach is forced to fight. and boy does she fight. harder than ever, with a brutality plum has never seen on her. She is fast, and precise, and despite injury plum thought would slow her, peach fells three and is still standing.

she however is now very much out of momentum, she looks plum over, shes fine, the goats are fine, the boats are tied, and she drops as soon as the relief hits. plum is left trying to turn her from drowing in the rain, goats chewing on her hair, being shooed away, plum eventually being found and helped, they get peach in her home and she for the first time ever, tends to the injuries. She is exhausted, the effects of the spell that grazed her are very much settled, and her injuries from the battle are painful but not fatal. Peach will live, but she really pushed herself. plums wondering how she has druid resistance, the spell she cast shoudl have done a lot more damage than this. She doesnt know the tonics peach has ingested all her life have built her tolerance to some things, and she doesnt know peachs family are old school druid killers, all dead now, but peach technically is her natrual enemy. not that plum knows that. peach groggy with pain awakes inside, warm under so many furs and throws, the fire crackles, she can squint out details in the low light, and plums there, asleep next to her, the cold cloth in her hand fallen but still held to her head. Its a very surreal moment. peach is convinced she died, this is not her wife.

she shifts and in that shift plum startles awake, seeing peach now somewhat awake, if not a little hazy. they have their first civil ish conversation after nearly half a year of marriage.

there is a quiet thank you in plums actions, not her words, she wipes blood from peachs skin as they talk, a soothing that chief didnt think she'd ever want, nor need, yet here it was like being cradled, her body cried out for contact, this long with nothing but hostility, this was a welcomed change in her sorry state. plum does tell her she was stupid to redirect magic like that, it was dangerous, and peach can only think of the peace brokered, how fragile it is, now scared people would be if a death was caused by a druid and not her. No one will question it if she cut them down in defence of her wife, thats a reasonable motive for deaths, she warned them, she gave them a chance, they didnt take it. on their head be it. for the first night ever, peach settles on her side, and plum does not go to her own bed, she stays by the fire and lies down and they drift off together. This whole thing does not stop the girls arguing, but their bickering seems mostly laced with concern, or reason. they grow mildly closer by the day, its slow, tentative process, but plums starting to see the joy in her big strong wife, who is surprisingly calm and patient, and peach cant help but notice how intelligent and beautiful the druid is, convinced she might be going mad but accepting it. Its not like anything would happen between them anyway, this whole thing was for the people, not for love of any kind. She is resigned in the thought that she gets to watch plum fuss over a potion or incantation, and sit quietly and see how the light hits her just so when shes by the window grinding up herbs, wiping her brow and ending up with all manner of colours on her face.

it is quiet admiration from a distance, on both parts, too resigned by the situation to act on anything, even when they catch the other looking. even when plum helps peach with a minor injury, or when peach brings home "too many flowers" for a dye, and just happens to leave them for plum on the table. They have a quiet language between them, and their bickering really does mask it day to day. Eventually however theres a new person in town. Another druid brought in by hunters, they found her wandering hurt, and with the new alliance, they offered help as agreed. chief and her wife are overjoyed at this show of hospitality, her people are learning! its a big step, and so with some digging, they find this druid has no allegiance in this area, and had no clue about the treaty. She is weary and seems to drift directly towards peach, who to most holds a very calm reassuring presence, so this is not unusual. They welcome her in, ask if she has any family, she is put up in a small hut, given a job, shows their ways, and once healed seems happy to be part of things here. Plum wakes often to find this new woman with her wife talking, she watches from the house as peach and the druid chat while working, seems like shes always close to her, and certainly is quick to help should anything go wrong with Peach. Plum saw her patch up a cut, and pull a splinter, and hang fish to dry, all simply to spend time. Seems no matter where peach geos, somewhere close, that new druid hangs by. eventually plum catches peach alone at home, night a welcomed break, and tells her to keep an eye on that one, shes got an odd feel to her. peach just laughs, says she sounds jealous if anything, in a mocking kind of teasing tone. The accusation causes an argument, and they end up sleeping on opposite sides of the house in angry heaps of furs.

this continues, the closer the druid gets, the more peach pulls back from her duties, plum picks the slack up, starts to notice peach doesnt come home for longer, is less talkative and interested in plums day to day goings on. This was a marriage of peace, of politics, not of love. so why does she feel awful seeing this? then one day peach goes missing. no one can find her, plum has to take on the role of leader, and calm everyone, reassure them they will find her, and oddly, the other druid is gone too. whispers start to spread. People really like plum now, shes helped so many, proven shes good natured, and cares for them, and start to worry if this is some scandal. Plum reassures them its probably nothing, and sets about working out where peach has gone. she puts an appointed council in charge and gathers her things and does what she does best, using magic and logic to track the path peach last took. it winds plum into the forest and grey catches up to see if she needs help, something she is fine with, theyve grown to be good friends. they wander deeper into the woods, noticing a path, keeping on it. The druid might manouver these forests with ease but if peach is with her, then she will be as haphazard as youd expect of any viking going on a nature trail.

they come to some kind of clearing after a while of travel, signs of a struggle, theres blood, its not animal, its human, and the trail seems to lead further up, a small mountainous peak ahead. they amble up, following the blood drops into a rather discrete cave half way up, slinking further in. Plum feels no natural life here, everything in this area is dark and twisted, the energy here is...disturbed. uncomfortable even. they peak around a rocky outcrop as the muttering of a person is overheard, finding the druid at some kind of alter surrounded by bones of many kinds. sat on her knees behind the other druid, peach, her gear pulled down to reveal her top half streaked in red, blood? no doubt, the druid also seems to have slapped on the same markings with hands, as if she adorned them both with warpaint. her mutterings are so low plum cant catch the incantations, but nothing like this is ever good, and the energy is all off, whatever god she's pulling from, its not a decent one. Plum goes to cast a block, to stop whatever happening, but its not strong enough, bounces off, and also alerts the other druid. So here they stand, Grey tries to be the valiant fighter, and he is good sure, but magic like this trumps anything a sword or axe can do. He is knocked back, not by a spell, no, peach has gotten up, turned to face them, and is brandishing her weapon. her eyes are not her own, the bloody markings all over her skin look like theyre hot from burning, she gets between her wife, grey, and this new druid, and takes a stance to defend the new witch.

if peach fought like a demon before, this took it to a literal point. plum can tell somethings residing in her body, a vessel for something, the runes drawn on her seem to hint at that too, and greys struggling to keep up with her at all, hes getting hurt. an almighty fight plays out, mostly of plum casting double time to not only try to knock the other druid down but defend and bolster grey enough to stand up to whatever peach has become. its exhausting, but quickly they realise grey is not a threat, the real problem is plum, and both attackers go for her, target the caster specifically. this works well, but plum gets to pull one some big-bollock kind of spells shes never got to use before, tells grey to run out of direct sight, and he does, before she casts. the cave is flooded with light, searing, cleansing light, her druidic hail mary, and its fantastic, downs the druid, and dislodges whatever is in her wife, but that things stubborn, got its claws in her. Plum cant think to do anything when shes grabbed and thrown down hard, peach now on top of her, it is not her face, or expression, or eyes, thats not her, but shes in there, plum can sense it, shes hesitating. where peach didnt before, she seems to be now. Plum cant think of anything else to do, so frustrated with seeing what was a good woman in this state. she gets free for a second of peachs grip, lunges forward and kisses her. one last spell, a cleansing one, needs direct contact, these kinds of spells dont tend to work so well without thre being real oomph behind them, a real tether to the afflicted. Plum can move away and cup her wifes face, peach has comepltly stopped, focus flickering from fierce and full of hate to a far softer one. plums little 'come back to us. come back to me.' that no one hears, pulls, and pulls, and drags whatever evil was in there kicking and screaming out.

they can leave there, and leave with their chief dazed, and a little confused, but alive. Greys got under her arm, plums taken the journal from their dead foes body, a coded druidic shes slowly figuring out, unravelling the truth of what happened. Peach was charmed, heavily, from day one, and lured away thanks to that deeply ingrained charm to be a willing receptical for some kind of evil spirit. to bring it into the human world. the druid she killed was essentially a cultist, and a good one at that

very nasty, very devious, knew about the druidic treaty and took advantage of it

it is once peach is home, her people calmed now shes been found, the situation explained, in a way that was careful not to put fear of druids back in them. plum handles it very well, and can go home to her wife, who she now realises she quite enjoys, and sits with her quiet as ever by the fire. she gets peach to try and rehydrate, gives her some of her tea, with WAY too much honey in it, but peach likes it that way, and tries to get her to rest. Peach is so confused, she doesnt recall the last week, her actions werent her own, whatever happened she totally lost herself. plum fills the blanks in, and gets to the point where she cant NOT tell her wife, a woma nshe was bound to in marriage out of oath, not love, that in fact she saw her with this other druid and felt... sad. a flash of peachs old teasing comes back 'jealous much?' and plum laughs, smacks her arm gently, not too hard, peach took some serious damage, but they seem to be acting like normal.

for the first night ever, peach curls up in her bed, in so much pain, trying to find comfort, and plum comes in and crawls over, she could hear peach in the dark struggling, and joins her, a small incantation to repair, like a gentle healing aura, the best she can do for her wife right now. She gets in as the big spoon, and peach feels relief from her touch, the magic helps her sleep, helsp the pain slip away, and they can recover in peace.

they still bicker nd argue, peach has a slow but steady recovery back to full health, but something always resided in her after, something that kept her up at night, something that made her see things in the darkest shadows. Whatever spirit was put in her, plum suspects it left somethign behind. None the less peach leds her people with patience and care, and plum, despite her awareness of peachs new problem, finds ways to improve her situation, and the situations of all the villagers. They are her people too, after all. the wives slowly find new ways to love each other. plum likes the water, so peach takes her out to swim, knows a clear calm river in the wood thats perfect for it. they girls get to drink together on long windy nights, and talk about their families, about each other, about what they like, dont like, where they love being, where they'd want to go and see. they find beauty in each other. It doesnt take too long before they finally find themselves FINALLY getting intimate, as most married couples do

#viking au #fruit salad #brainrot #doodle

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digitaldoeslmk · 1 year ago

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I find it interesting that MK basically has to learn the opposite lesson his mentor did when it comes to violence. from what I understand swk slowly learned that not all conflicts had to be solved with bloodshed. and MK has to find peace with the fact that not all conflicts can be solved peacefully. People minds can't always be changed, not every villain is broken/misunderstood/misguided, and sometimes people are just pure evil. its no wonder his mental health is unstable, and i'm sure swk isn't thrilled seeing this sweet kid have to struggle so much with it.

yes!!!! yes you got it!!!!! :D

on a deep level too, JTTW has a running theme that the more violent one's response to a crime, the more violent is the reprisal for that response if it fails. the whole arc of the Havoc in Heaven is about a monkey and yaoguai warlord being thrown into an environment he wasn't equipped or prepared to handle the expectations of, and that punishing him instead of properly preparing him for his role has consequences. also you can interpret it in a symbolic way: as Wukong is the Mind Monkey, the restless and unrestrained human mind, you can't punish yourself into becoming better, you must stop, learn, and understand your situation before moving forward. otherwise what you get is just, a mess spiritually and mentally.

meanwhile, MK was brought up in a very loving and understanding environment. yes, the show portrays his friends and family (Pigsy and Tang are his dads, you cannot change my mind) as far from perfect, but they are altogether a circle that loves and supports each other even through their mistakes, and it's their flaws that makes them stronger. however, in esoteric Buddhism there's the concept of a ruthless compassion, in that sometimes you need a heavy hand to stir people towards the right path; in this article my friend JTTWR shares how even Wukong's golden fillet is a display of that concept.

and yes, an understanding and kind approach can take you very far; in my au, MK manages to befriend and help turn around most of the enemies he encounters, not unlike the show! but sometimes, that's not enough, and sometimes, it only makes things worse and drags you down with them. sometimes, violence is a valid and even necessary answer for the good of the majority.

as for Wukong... as a bodhisattva, he knows that suffering is necessary for learning and that he can't shield MK from everything. one must face adversity to learn to overcome it. but as a grandpa himself, he's not keen on the suffering of beings, much less those close to him. he can offer an ear to MK's vents, a shoulder to cry on, a hug, a joke, a few matches of games to take his mind off things. MK needs to learn these harsh lessons, but Wukong's not letting him do it by himself.

#lmk au #by the book au

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innerchorus · 4 months ago

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Arslan Senki Chapter 130 (Part 1)

You know, I'm starting to get so nervous for these that the last ten minutes before the chapter comes out are a really unpleasant experience!

Arakawa reminding us of Innocentis's presence in this scene by having Hilmes's disarmed sword land between his legs... There's a reason for this (I already know it, but for readers who don't it's a good choice not to let us forget he's there).

Then we move to a flashback montage of sword training scenes for Arslan, some old and familiar (with Vahriz and Daryun) and some new (with Gieve in Gilan, and I'd have to check but I wonder whether that was mentioned as one of the ways Arslan passed his downtime there?).

Funnily enough, I did look back through Arslan's training scenes before to see if there was any sign of the move he pulled on Hilmes AND HERE IT IS; Narsus's approach to swordplay put into practise by Gieve. Basics, practice, application; all the components that Arslan drew on to help him defeat Hilmes. Yes, there was an element of luck in that Hilmes's mental state was so shaken, but not only did Arslan take advantage of that, behind it lay months of diligence in training.

Arslan's dialogue really shows that now Hilmes has been defeated, he has no clear way to deny Arslan's victory and therefore his right to the throne, and at this point I really just wanted to see his face but instead we backtrack a little more to Narsus and Gieve on their way through the waterways...

I think I uttered my first "holy fuck" of the chapter here?

GIEVE WAS LITERALLY READY TO HEADSHOT HILMES FROM A DISTANCE IF ARSLAN LOST, BECAUSE HE REFUSES TO ALLOW HIM TO BE KILLED.

(Never have I been more glad that Hilmes lost. For the record, Narsus did NOT try to stop Gieve, lmao. I imagine, though, that they will keep this agreement between themselves.)

(Also, things coming full circle etc etc with Gieve in a high place on Ecbatana's walls drawing a bow to protect Arslan versus his mercy killing of Shapur)

Anyway, Gieve lowers his bow when Hilmes stands there defeated and ZANDEH CRIES OUT HILMES'S NAME after seeing Hilmes stood there weaponless with Arslan's sword levelled at him (help me I love Team Hilmes so much it's really hard to be coherent right now but I love this moment and what happens next)

It really feels like Daryun just becomes an obstacle to Zandeh; nothing more than something standing in his way on his path to Hilmes's side. Duel be damned, he just wants to get to his Prince at all costs. Yes, I know he swings his weapon at him but Daryun is literally standing between him and Hilmes and in that moment I think it's clear that Hilmes matters more to him than revenge.

And he gets to Hilmes's side after having his mace swept away by Daryun and sustaining a wound to his wrist and honestly I'm sure Daryun could have killed him there and then but he lets him go to Hilmes... another thing to be thankful for

I'M FUCKING CRYING ZANDEH YOU GOOD BOY, look how he puts himself between Arslan and Hilmes without a thought, without a weapon in his hand, ready to protect him at all costs. He would die for Hilmes if need be (really hope I'm not tempting fate by saying that)

Sam asking for mercy because of course he would! If I remember rightly, in the novels he orders their men to put down their swords to prevent further pointless bloodshed. What's Hilmes thinking right now? In all likelihood he's as numb as his sword arm, but I hope he understands that both Zandeh and Sam value his life this much.

I can't zoom in on this any more but...

Zandeh's protective posture 👌

Sam kneeling to beseech Arslan that Hilmes be spared 👌

Both of them positioning themselves in front of Hilmes, between him and Arslan 👌

THANK YOU ARSLAN but surely none of those who know him were actually thinking he'd kill Hilmes.

Arslan: "He can live. But I'm not gonna forget about his crimes." That's fair.

MY BOY ZANDEH KNEELING TOO. He's giving thanks! I really think he must have been worried that Hilmes might not be spared; he looks so taken aback by this suggestion. Or perhaps it's also the fact that they're apparently not going to be restrained and imprisoned? Though I'm sure that room will be under guard.

What if Team Zahhak were to kidnap Hilmes from that room? Team Hilmes can't get out, but snakes can get in... But with a change that was made later in this chapter, I'm now considering that maybe it's not Hilmes who is in line to be a vessel for Zahhak? Or at least, there's another option.

Okay this marks the halfway point of the chapter so I'm just gonna post this part and then write up some thoughts on the rest.

#arslan senki #the heroic legend of arslan #arslan senki spoilers #arslan #gieve #hilmes #narsus #zandeh #sam #guys I'm exhausted #and still reeling from the realisation that Hilmes would not have survived his own victory here #if Gieve had been given cause to loose that arrow #I feel sure that Zandeh would've gone berserk after seeing Hilmes die like that and wound up being killed too #and can you imagine how much Hilmes's death would have added to Sam's misery too?#so thankful that it never came to that

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narutosux · 1 month ago

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i want to talk about the frank castle, mr The Punisher, of my dreams

the version of the punisher that is canon to me in my heart and idgaf about reality because men wrote him anyway and i dont respect men in general. im also going to talk a tiny bit about daredevil because to me they are literally two sides of the same coin they're literally bbc merlin and arthur and im this woke ass dragon going "two sides of the same coin go freaky on each other"

In my heart of hearts, Frank Castle is an anarcho communist. He is a hardcore anti-establishment commie who believes that revolution cannot come without bloodshed. He respects and cares about the wellbeing of Daredevil, Matt Murdock, and other heroes who have similar goals, because they do want revolution and change, but they don't have the balls to actually kill wholesale like Frank. Frank sees himself as the only one willing to actually get shit done, and he's okay with being an attack dog. He's used to it, because its what the US government used him as when he was a Marine.

The concept he would ever respect the police, a violent force used to oppress lower classes and protect capital, is LAUGHABLE. It's foolish. I ignore iterations of the Punisher who is fine with killing drug addicts because they're "breaking the law", and I believe in versions of Frank Castle that kills CEOs of pharmaceutical companies for pushing opioids as harmless drugs. I think the Punisher of the 80s might focus on street level drug offenses, however I think he would learn that the problem is systemic and tearing the leaves off a tree won't kill it, you have to attack it at the root.

I believe that he would work willingly with Daredevil A LOT... Obviously, Frank Castle is more than capable of doing investigative work on his own, and he's great at planning, however I think that both men recognize their ability to work well as a team and function together. Frank is willing to work with him on jobs where he can admit that killing isn't NEEDED, even if it would do things a whole lot faster.

Frank Castle, without a single doubt in my mind, HATES the US Military Industrial Complex, and the enforcement of violence. He accepts violence because it's all he's ever known. He's a good trained attack dog, and it's where he feels comfortable, but he's both a dog and his own master, and he feels he can only make up for the attrocities he's helped commit by righting the wrongs he's done. He's single-minded, headstrong, focused on his goals of destroying in order for rebuilding a better version of the world. Allowing people to take time to change means they can fuck up and harm others in the meantime. He's not willing to risk that.

Another piece that I did like from the version of him where he was the leader of the Hand, I really liked the idea that Maria was planning to divorce him right before his family was slaughtered. I think it would make him recognize just how little of life he had, and it would make him even more angry at him failing to protect them and failing to be a genuinely good husband. But, he also recognizes that it was never love, it was a role he thought he was supposed to fill. I just don't think he really loved her. Love doesn't look like what he put Maria through.

He knows how to fill roles, but he doesn't know who he actually is. Something quite similar to Matt Murdock, who feels he's the Devil, but also doesn't know who he is when he's Matthew. They're both constantly trying to fill roles in other people's lives, or fill the roles they think that they're supposed to be in, but they don't actually know who they truly are as people.

I think that's so powerful, for these two men who are so full of conviction and so firm in their beliefs but when it comes to thinking about who they are as people, they don't know themselves. But, they know each other. I think they know each other better than they know themselves, but they don't recognize that it's because they see so much of themselves in the other man.

Sorry, but you can't convince me they aren't completely fucking obsessed with each other. Daredevil sometimes wishes he could be the Punisher. He wishes he could just kill the evil he has had to hear for years and years and years and years of his life. But he knows it would never solve anything, it would only make him as bad as the evil around him. The Punisher wishes he could see a world where redemption is possible, he wishes he had that scrap of humanity left in him still. I think when he works with Daredevil he feels himself growing weaker and he has to run away and can't stay with him long, because it makes him recognize that he might not have the resolve to kill. He also fears he might taint Matt Murdock. He might eventually actually convince him to kill. And that scares him. Frank Castle taints everything around him, even his bloodsoaked, mangled children. Even his wife Maria, brought back from the dead, still covered in bullet wounds and beautiful as ever. He drove her to kill.

One day he might ruin Daredevil like that too, and the only saving grace of that moment would be that Daredevil would finally put down the sick dog that is Frank Castle.

#tips #daredevil #the punisher #frank castle #matthew murdock #i am ltierally so fuckign insane and so obsessed im begging anyone who is interested in this discussion please be my friend im Pupthetic i #know but still #fratt #bc yeah i cant lie yea i know im poisoned by yaoi but also like even w/o romance like people need to know that they're.......#they're like merthur coded like that still ok two sides of the same coin please put ME down like a sick dog too #i have like 20 different fanfics i keep writing on and off about them because im like..... i want them ot be happy so bad i want them to fi #find peace in each other but also i think they have to go thru so much pain but i want them to be happy #help! help! help! WHAT ! help me! chicken nugget

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codenamesazanka · 8 months ago

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it's somewhat related to Sazanka, but personally, I like to wonder about what would have happened to Tenko if decay had manifested without bloodshed, and I really like the idea that he would have turned vigilante even if Kotaro had changed his mind about heroes. or maybe he would have turned vigilante also if AFO had never found him on the street? i just generally find the fact that the Sazanka concept was vigilante super interesting, and his whole stick of "i'll carry out hero work on my own terms" while being extreme about his methods still sounds quite Shigaraki to me.

Sorry to derail your ask for a bit, but I LOVE wondering about what would happen to Tenko if Decay had manifested in different ways. I'm a slut for AUs, and I'm a slut for worldbuilding, and so it's such a rich area to explore.

Plus, like, there are are so many moments inbetween the first ever manifestation of Decay (the ball Tenko was playing with cracking) and when everything official goes to hell (Mon-chan dies) for things to reach a different outcome.

If you want the AU where Decay manifested without bloodshed, it would be the family realizing Tenko finally got his quirk after the ball disintegrates a bit. (Which is interesting, because it means Decay first manifested when Tenko was experiencing happiness - realizing he had a Hero for a grandmother, at feeling like he could take on the world - contrary to all those theories about how Decay is from Tenko feeling bad and hating things.) Maybe it would've distracted Kotarou from his anger at the moment. Maybe not.

I've got an AU where Decay manifested partly as Kotarou gears up for the second slap. Tenko throws up his hand to protect himself, and Kotarou's arm get disintegrated. Kotarou survives minus one arm, but there's a lot of screaming and blood.

AU in which Mon-chan still dies, but Hana managed to get away. Or, AU in which Hana still gets killed, but not Nao and the grandparents (nor Kotarou). Fun thought exercise: if this is because a Hero heard screams and managed to get to the scene on time, how traumatizing to Tenko would it be if one of his formative experiences is a Hero saving people from him?

@stillness-in-green managed to come up with the horrifying 'what-if' of 'only the grandparents and Kotarou' survive, so that Tenko loses his mom and sister, his two main supporters; and we've also come up with the AU where Kotarou manages to knock out Tenko, so that only he and his son lives (and still fall under AFO's sway).

Putting side the first AU - these are all on like, varying levels of stigma and fear Tenko would suffer due to the incident (kid who mutilated his dad with his quirk < kid who killed his dog < kid who killed his sister < kid who killed multiple members of his family), but I think there's no doubt that he would've gone through life being shunned and with rumors swirling all around him, no matter how much everyone knows it was an accident/how much information about the incident is suppressed. Not to mention how strained the Shimura household would be.

At the root of everything, though, is 'Decay'.

It's a powerful quirk - it can easily hurt people (and damage property). Those traits can be said to be true for lots of other quirks! And people with those quirks have turned out more or less fine.

Where Decay differs though, from what I can tell, is that 1) there's only one power level, so to speak, and it's the highest one: it can kill a person in seconds with no way of stopping the decay chain unless they're willing to undergo an immediate amputation (and that's if the origin point is somewhere that can be amputated), plus in it's original form, the disintegration can even spread beyond the object; and 2) it can be easily and involuntarily activated. Even if Decay had manifested without bloodshed, I think it's a quirk that would've made people fear it (and along with it, Tenko).

For a quirk like that, it's not hard to imagine Tenko being directed to quirk counseling - especially if his scratching is seen as a symptom of Decay. "The itch is the user wanting to use their quirk" + Tenko is always itchy = Tenko seems to constantly subconsciously want to use his quirk? That's no good - let's get that behavior straightened out.

(Bonus: since it's a mutation that suddenly pop up in the bloodline with no precedent, the Shimuras might need to take Tenko to see a quirk specialist. And because the Shimuras can afford it, why not see the best quirk specialist available?)

I want to say, this isn't me trying to come up with the worst scenarios to give to Tenko. I'm not purposefully trying to torture the poor kid - I don't think I am. I'm deriving a lot of these ideas from things that we already know happens to other people in the manga - being singled out for having a 'villainous' quirk, being shunned for having been involved in a crime, being forced to attend quirk counseling, etc. And I do think that it's fortunate that the Shimura family is wealthy, because maybe that money might be able to help Tenko out - Kotarou can straight up move the family to a new area for fresh starts, keeping ahead of any rumors; or he can pay for support items, if those can be of any help.

But I think 'Decay' would've given Tenko trouble without even bloodshed at its manifestation. I've talked about him being ostracized, I've talked about possible quirk counseling, but there's other stuff too - like having to wear gloves, which I know is a popular headcanon, but I think could lead to it's own issues. What if he's told he should make himself useful and go into waste management (with the implication that he needs to "make up" for having such a dangerous quirk)? A minor thing by itself, but it will start to irk a person if they're told this by every well-meaning teacher they meet.

Even if a more glamorous profession like 'Rescue Hero' is suggested, it's still a subtle narrowing of options for his life, it's still trying to fit him into a category that he might not want to be in. You can say finding fault with stuff like this is bratty and selfish - but if it makes someone chafe, it makes them chafe.

You will notice lot of these things isn't because of 'Decay' itself, but because of how the world will react to Tenko having this quirk! This is why I'm wary of blaming AFO for everything and saying only Heroes saved Tenko, then everything would've been/will be fine. Things probably wouldn't have escalated to 'Shigaraki tries to decay Mt. Fuji', but things likely also wouldn't have been fine.

(and even if AFO gave Tenko 'Decay', the fact that this quirk exists and someone out there had it, means all this things would've happened for them, and that is also not acceptable. No one should go through such shunning? (inb4 it turns out 'Decay' was an artificial quirk created by AFO for nefarious purposes))

Especially because Tenko might very well be someone who ends up being similar to Shigaraki Tomura - bratty and selfish and hates having to chafe against the rules society puts on him. In which case - heck yeah, turning to vigilantism. Becoming 'Sazanka', in even this version of HeroAcaLand.

To reply to points in your ask:

even if Kotaro had changed his mind about heroes

Personally, I think Kotarou would be the kind of insensitive ass who, after Tenko manifests 'Decay' even without bloodshed, would say something (perhaps not to Tenko, but definitely something that would be overheard by the kids) like, 'Well, at least he can't be a Hero now, with such a dangerous quirk.'

And I think Tenko should be spiteful against that, forever.

his whole stick of "i'll carry out hero work on my own terms" while being extreme about his methods still sounds quite Shigaraki to me.

It is, isn't it??? <333 It has all of Shigaraki's signature traits - extremist/black-and-white thinking, doing whatever he wants, but at the base of it, trying to help out, in his own way.

Though I'm unsure what exactly Tenko would be a vigilante against. Is he going to hate and target Heroes who can't "hold up" their end of the social contract, much like how he hates All Might for smiling as if there's no one he can't save? Is he going to carve out an area of the city as his own territory and peacekeep it, like Koichi in Vigilantes? Unite the troublemakers and punks, end up forming a League, and protect his own? Or maybe he can go and kill CRC remnants and other non-Villain villains.

And finally, let me recommend @robotlesbianjavert's AU fanfic about vigilante Sazanka, featuring Spinner, Nana, and porcelain gnomes.

Thanks for the ask!

#ask #asked #answered #anon #anonymous #Sazanka #Shigaraki Tomura #Shimura Tenko #nalslastworkingbraincell

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kayakoto-enterprises · 2 months ago

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Breaking down Sam's nightmare: Real World Parallel and Implications

I want to first point out the following:

I am not Indonesian nor Balinese. I do not know the full nuances of their religious practices. I know very little about the technical aspects so take this with a grain of salt as this is a surface level comparison.

Beneath The Trees is American. All characters are implied to be American and I understand that this mirror is a coincidence!

I just want to highlight the thematic similarities of both the dream sequence and the Hindu Yadnya.

I'd like some feedback from possibly some Indonesian or Balinese friends if you find this!

Bhuta Yadnya

In Hinduism, there are five types of Holy Sacrifices called Panca Yadnya (Five Sacrifices). These five sacrifices are dedicated to sustaining a balance between Man's relationship with the Gods, and to address particular subjects. Bhuta Yadnya ceremonies are meant to maintain the balance between the universe and the human self.

Simply put, this ceremony is intended to keep nature in balance.

The ceremony takes place a day before Nyepi, the Day of Silence (also celebrated as New Year's Day).

The ceremony is divided into two events: The Mecaru and Pengerupukan

Mecaru

During Mecaru, Balinese people present offerings to Bhuta Kala to ask that disruptive spirits leave the community and its people in the coming year. These offerings come in the form of either a Segehan, little boiled rice in 5 colors, accompanied by ginger and onion, arak, rice wine, and incense.

Animal sacrifice is a lot more common during Bhuta Yadnya, as this is what would perfect the ceremony. Animal blood, flesh, and alcoholic drinks must be provided. Animals that are sacrificed in such ceremonies will be reincarnated into a higher level in the next life, and so will the person offering the animal.

The ritual not only serves to purify the animal to be sacrificed but also embodies respect for the cycles of life and death.

The animals to be sacrificed include chickens, ducks, and dogs.

Pengerupukan

Festivities happen after sunset where roads close down and Balinese people bang on traditional instruments to scare away lingering evil spirits. The highlight of Pengerupukan though is the Ogoh-Ogoh Parade.

Ogoh-Ogoh statues are demonic figures made from cloth, bamboo, and paper mache that depict negative human values and vices, negative elements, or even just characters from Hindu mythology. These are paraded around the village until they are brought to a cemetery to be burnt.

Mirroring Benevolence

Upon my many rereadings, I've always wondered if this sort of animal sacrifice in front of a crowd (or even human sacrifice) was inspired by any real world tradition. I believe Bhuta Yadnya is the closest mirror for what it symbolizes and how it's presented.

The dream is a reframing of the Woodbrook Bicentennial Parade in the 1st Issue. We could find a connection between the Hindu New Year and the celebration of a town's New Year or Anniversary.

The crowd looks demonic and rabid, bloodthirsty and morbidly curious. The parade is framed in this uncomfortable angle where we're surrounded by the spirit of violence. The spirit of bloodlust. Suddenly there's an imbalance, an unfamiliarity that needs to be appeased in any means possible- that would have to come in the form of a Sacrifice.

Also perhaps I should point out that we can also interpret the Uncle Sam float as similar to an Ogoh-Ogoh statue! Perhaps the image wasn't tied to the negative connotation of imperialism it has today. However it's drawn to match the violent crowd so it could also represent the vice of mob mentality in the town.

A sacrifice is needed to perfect, complete the ritual to ask for the blessing of a peaceful new year and safety of the community from evil spirits. The disruption of the peace in Woodbrook through the murders calls for necessary bloodshed. Ironic that the only way to stop a murder is through a murder.

The ritual is interrupted by Nigel (the corrupt spirit) though, perhaps representing that there really is no moral or religious or clean ending that could ensure the return to balance to the town. It's one or the other.

The Sacrifice

Maybe it's just the wrong sacrifice. It is a nightmare, after all, so it's not a real ceremony taking place right here. But as a whole, Beneath The Trees is about the correct order of natture- the right way to kill and who deserves to kill. Maybe we can say that humans have the right to kill. Ethics aside, we kill animals for meat, kill bugs and pests, and kill other people because we believe that it's only natural we should do it. I like to believe Sam thinks she has the right to kill, that she's the only person allowed to and this system being challenged by a mouse disrupts the order that was once there. Yadnya is the answer here.

Perhaps we all know who the sacrificial cattle is in this dire hour.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Dream sequence can also be interpreted as the reinforcement of the Right Way to Kill. Samantha's inflated self importance as a pillar of good in her community being humbled when she gets attacked by the bears. Then it turns out to NOT be the case by Issue 5 where yes, this is correct and moral and you should lean into that impulse. You have the right

I came across this interesting blog post about Duck Sacrifice to prevent a string of deaths in a family. Animal sacrifice in Filipino-Chinese communities are not uncommon as this is seen as a life for another life- to prevent a 3rd death from coming along.

Ironically, Sam killing Daniel (the duck guy) begins the string of deaths in Woodbrook. Sacrificing him in the dream doesn't either so the deaths comes in threes:

Daniel

Lola

Nigel

and..

Martin

Cherry

Charlie

Hope ya'll enjoyed this insane lil infodump! I've been fascinated by the very similar mirrors it had to the Balinese ritual and feel free to critique this or add on your own thoughts or similar mirrors or details I missed out on!

#i wrote this to a Secret Tunnel russian roulette playlist you better like this #beneath the trees where nobody sees #media analysis #analysis #bhuta yadnya #hinduism

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llondonfog · 1 year ago

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Hey! For the headcanon game, can I get an 🤬 headcanon for Lilia? But maybe if youre up to it can you give a headcanon for before and after lilia adopted Silver? Because I think while both versions of him have the same triggers (fucking around with someone he's protecting,) I think that General Vanrouge and Lilia have very different ways of going batshit crazy angry. If not that's cool, I always love reading your writing and hope you have a good day!

hc game !

YOU ARE SO CORRECT!! I've actually incorporated this in a few aus before because it makes so much sense? That Lilia would have to learn how to talk to and engage with a child in a softer, kinder way than he would any of his soldiers— and a human one at that! We don't know much of anything regarding Lilia's past (here's hoping Ch7 sheds some light on it), but we do see from the last part how cold and clipped his voice was when addressing those he saw to be humans. I don't think he was ever as prejudiced as Sebek's grandfather, but one could easily understand his brusque reservations when we consider he's been fighting wars for centuries now against them.

(plus we kind of see him confess that in his birthday vignette where he talks about the realization with a hint of regret of how he was training Silver like a soldier when he was just a child.)

(and now that I think about it, it's interesting too how Lilia addresses Silver/Sebek/Yuu in the last part because we know from Malleus' memory that he was fairly congenial and kind to Malleus after his tantrum in the palace. So this is definitely a 'battlefield' voice and mindset that he's in right now.)

I also think it's so fascinating because (my personal hc) of how late we are in Lilia's life that he learns this kind of skill. Yes, he mentored Malleus, yes, he spoke to him with understanding, but also respect for the position that Malleus had— he's the crown prince, Lilia is simply a General in the scheme of their hierarchy. I will die on this hill that Silver was the first to teach Lilia of unconditional love and genuine, sweet devotion, and that irrevocably changed Lilia on a fundamental level.

SO AFTER THAT DISCUSSION—

General Vanrouge HC: His anger is a great and terrible thing of laser sharp focus, honed to the nth degree of brutality. The night sings for him, in him, through him, and the devastation he wields is awe-inspiring for the soldiers that follow like devotees in his footsteps. He's not a cruel leader, never one to humiliate a lower-ranking member for a mistake made in training, but he is an exacting one— he has no patience for the inept and no tolerance for failure. This is war, (one that already claimed the lives of their king and queen), and his only purpose is to serve his ruling family and protect their lands against those that would wish to seize them. There is no room for error, and second chances on the battlefield only end in death.

Papa!Lilia HC: After adopting Silver, Lilia learns to laugh at a lot of things. His son's well-meaning messes, his earnest attempts at soup that end up burning in the pot— these aren't life or death situations, even if the tears welling up in Silver's eyes deem them as such. Lilia weathers the clouds that dampen his child's wondrous eyes with a kiss on his head and a reassuring squeeze, finding what he assumes could only be the sun's warmth soothing his bones where fire once scorched. Silver never sees his father's wrath, not this child of peace. He will never know the madness that his very presence has tamed and stilled behind Lilia's heart, the wildfire now banked into a cozy hearth.

He's slower to anger now, mild in his calculations. There is so much to be gained by conversation instead of confrontation, and he ensures this lesson is taught to Silver not by bloodshed and loss on the battlefield, but from the comfort of his father's lap, held safely between the shielding force of Lilia's arms.

(But if a single hair were to be harmed on the head of his son, if anyone approached his child with ill intent, well. He'd only be too happy to demonstrate that he still remembers in perfect clarity how to vivisect a living body.)

#lettie's asks #MMMM THE WAY I WANTED TO DO THIS ONE JUSTICE #thank u for allowing me to ramble before i got to the hcs akl;dfj #this is just SO FASCINATING TO ME!!!#also thank you for the kind compliments ; u ;#twst spoilers #lilia vanrouge

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steloiv · 1 year ago

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it baffles me how much the civil war could have been resolved if tony were a little more honest and steve a little more trusting...

it's been revealed in the What If: Civil War comic that the tiniest instance of Tony telling the truth to Steve during their meetup would have been the ripple that would cascade monumentally and would've been tantamount to Steve trusting Tony.

and it's so surreal to me (and at the same time makes absolutely perfect sense) that what Tony was being honest to Cap about was the fact that he (Tony) had uncertainties about the Registration Act and needed Steve's help to make sure that he was on the right track. Tony had put on the effort to ask Steve for help.

i think it deserves to be given emphasis: Tony Stark asking for guidance? Tony Stark unsure of a decision he's already made?

this is where it all comes together. up until then, Steve was performing and fighting under the assumption that Tony was stone-cold confident and certain that the Registration Act should be pushed through. Steve knows how Tony is once he's already made a decision: it's nearly impossible for him to change his mind.

in fact, Steve mentions this during their secret meetup before the final battle happened:

Steve's anger comes from the fact that Tony won't ever change his mind about it, and there's no other way this could be fixed other than oppose Tony. to Steve, there's only one correct or wrong way to do this, and as far as he knows, the Registration Act strips them from their freedom by a singular entity which is fatally wrong.

but Tony is acting on the motivation that even though he knows there is a wrong on the Registration Act, the alternative solution to it is just the worse. Tony is a pragmatic person, but he's also smart. the wise way to do this was to work on the inside.

it's hard for Steve to realize this himself, so Tony knows that he needs to convince Steve to do it so that there would be no bloodshed.

it's been shown in Civil War: Iron Man that Tony had reservations about the Registration Act from the start. he doesn't know if he should be doing what he's doing and this uncertainty is eating him inside out.

if Tony had told Steve about this, if he had shown Steve that he wasn't nearly sure about this like he was with his past decisions, they could have worked things out.

but they didn't.

because, let's face it, Tony Stark is rarely honest. Tony has a lot of insecurities, and him being honest requires a huge level of trust and bond from the guy.

Steve would have been the perfect man for that description; he and Tony have been friends for quite a long time and they literally went through thick and thin with each other.

if Steve had trusted Tony a bit more, he wouldn't have betrayed Tony's trust to him and they might have took time to talk things through. if Steve hadn't been blinded by his anger and took a minute and put himself in Tony's shoes and understood things from Tony's perspective, he wouldn't have to be so distrustful to Tony.

it's so damn painful to think about how small instances like this could've been the key to a world with no civil war. they could have worked everything out!!! but it takes two to tango, and if either one of them was willing to meet things halfway, they could've avoided things spiraling downhill to a worse downhill.

like cmon, don't ever talk to me . the look tony gives cap and cap gives to tony is just . so painful i literally have no words. i'm grieving so hard on this two yall need to understand .

#i have been suffering #ever since i read this #and it's only now i've been able to articulate #like are u KIDDING me #ohmygod is civil war even real #the amount of layers in their dynamic #i could GO ON #i will never stop talking i think #stony #stevetony #civil war #marvel #marvel comics #avengers #marvel 616 #tony stark #steve rogers #iron man #captain america

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cartoonedin · 3 months ago

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sapphire dorm + video games hcs. probably ooc but idc <3

sophia touches grass too much to be considered a gamer girl but after rory introduces her to first-person shooters? you're dead. you're gone. you're her dad you're reporting her but she'll never be dead or gone because pro teams all over the country are trying to recruit her. which country. who knows. she only plays at her friends' houses on saturdays because she doesn't want her brother to snitch on her swearing but sometimes she uses her 'oops i fell off a cliff again and need to call for help' projection and gets banned from those houses too. she and her horse-poop-covered hands hate mobile games. her parents are the reason new candy crush levels are still being added but she has neither the patience nor the long-term planning skills for level one. did the genocide route on undertale in record time because she thought it was how the game was meant to be played. into red dead redemption for the horses and the bearded cowboys who learn about fatherhood via gunfights.

ava is a handheld console girlie. if pokemon nurse were an actual profession she'd be employee of the month thirteen times a year. her animal crossing island has a better economy than every continent combined. that being said the day her brothers introduced her to warioware was the day the world was introduced to true bloodshed. has broken at least one controller because of sheer emotional attachment to a cute character. treats pikmin like a survival horror game and dead space like a sci-fi romcom. got the pacifist ending in undertale and does not understand why other rpgs don't have the mercy option. unless rory's in the game at which point she brings out the laser guns or whatever to get back at him for making her reveal her middle name. you know he's let that slip to more than one call of duty lobby ok let a girl live.

layla's favourite game is google chrome. she's boring and i love her for that. she speedruns minesweeper and solitaire to get her mind off particularly devastating biographies. she's friends with everyone's parents on candy crush and scrabble. she could be a gm on chess.com but she overthinks her moves to the point of losing on time despite playing as white. she's almost been hacked so many times because she can't resist correcting bad moves on word formation advertisements and gets led to online casino #infinity or something. she has a lifelong streak on every new york times game except vertex because you cannot tell me wildstar's constant use of her magic didn't destroy her eyesight even further.

isabel puts the bro in smash bros. rotates between king k. rool, sonic, and greninja because she has a brand and it must be tangential to adhd medication. in the same vein as sophia i think she touches grass too much to be considered a gamer girl but she makes rory keep up with madden and fifa news just to figure out if she's been added to the latest installment. she has a skateboard on her dorm wall but never uses it so i'm thinking she played through the og trilogy of tony hawk's games as a kid and echoed every voice line to the point of perfect memorisation. take the word dude away from her and she's mute. also i think she discovered happy wheels on her mom's computer and ruined several important business presentations that way.

valentina is a slightly grown ipad kid. i'm sorry but you can't tell me she didn't steal her style from dress to impress. also she rates everyone one star on those games not because she's a corrupt voter but because she has a sixth sense for when a bitch is hiding bacon hair beneath a hundred layers of sparkles. up there with isabel in terms of lacking screen time video game wise because i truly believe her family would spend their money on better (read: elite-r) past times but she 1000% plays the sims. one world is for planning fashion moments and carrying on the digital furi bloodline. one world is for drowning people by deleting their pool ladders and saying "not now sweetie mommy's cyberbullying the mayor" to her baby who's on fire.

rory's room looks like a gamestop. idc about his canon phone case he is SILLY. he will play anyone in smash as long as it looks funny next to the other character but he has a soft spot for kirby, yoshi, zero suit samus (isabel side eyes him very hard for this at first but it's still a very gay choice i promise) and wii fit trainer. his personality is held together by goat simulator, untitled goose game, and donut county. also duct tape and blue raspberry gum. he trolls a little (a lot) on first person shooters and mmorpgs mostly so he can pretend with an ounce of plausible deniability that he's just having a fun unserious time when sophia and/or ava beat his ass at both even though they're on the same team.

#unicorn academy #sophia mendoza #ava banji #layla fletcher #isabel armstrong #valentina furi #rory carmichael #headcanons #i have so many feelings about how cringe these kids should be

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indianariesolive · 5 months ago

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My Unpopular(ish) opinions/takes on Legacy of the Gods series by Rina Kent

Contains spoilers ⚠️

Starting off strong, let me just get this off my chest, I really dislike God of Malice. This is mainly due to the insufferable MCs; Killian & Glyndon.

First of all, I found Killian really difficult to empathize with. Sure, what his dad said about regretting having him sucks but that's no excuse to be an a$$hole. I'm sure that if a mid/ugly guy with no money & prestige did the same things he'd done when first meeting Glyndon (iykyk) they'd be mercilessly ripped apart by the fandom. Also that one line in his POV when he said that the main reason why he chose to be a med student was because that gave him a free pass to poke & prod into people's innards & watch them squirm in agony 🤢

Coming to the 2nd part, Glyndon. As a protagonist she was such a blank slate. Killian at least had personality! (A bad one but he had one nonetheless). Same can't be said about Glyndon with her wimpiness coupled with an absurd inferiority complex (despite being talented & surrounded by a powerful & loving family & friends) as well as her lack of a deep connection with her friend group. On a more serious note, I despise the absolute double standards with which she views Killian & her brother Landon. Both are clinically diagnosed psychopaths but she has none of the grace & understanding for her own brother but readily excuses her boyfriend's behavior even though both of them are the same person, different font. 🙄

Moving on to the 2nd book, God of Pain is one of my favorites in the series but not without its fair share of drawbacks. Even though Annika appeared to be a manic pixie dream girl at the beginning she grew on me as chapter by chapter, her POVs revealed her to be more complex & headstrong, contrasting the whimsical image she's perceived as (both by her love interest, the MMC Creighton as well as the other characters like her friends & family). She's a sweet, soft girl with a dormant badass side that can get dangerous when provoked & that's precisely what Creighton had to learn through the hard way.

Getting to the gist of my main problem, I really hated the way everyone treated Annika after the you-know-what. I mean, what else was she supposed to do, watch her beloved brother get murdered by the love of her life? Everyone cut her off 'cause 'she hurt Cray-Cray who's like our brother'. Well, SHE HAD TO DO THAT TO SAVE HER OWN BROTHER, YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBASSES!!!! Y'all brains weren't braining here. Also, that scene near the end where there's this huge confrontation Creighton has with Adrian Volkov & Annika with her quick thinking just snatches a guard's gun, negotiates & diffuses the situation without bloodshed was just chef's kiss. 😌

Also, everyone gushes over Lia & Yan's friendship but Yan's bond with Annika, how he plays the role of the fun uncle while Adrian glares & has to rein them in as the level-headed dad. 🥺

That brings me to this sidenote: Glyndon could take a page out of Annika's book & learn a lesson: How to Love Your Brother & Stand Up for Yourself.

Regarding Jeremy & Cecily, I don't have any major complaints. I like how Cecily put Jeremy in his place & made him grovel for disrespecting her with his trust issues. Putting his mommy issues aside, Jeremy was overall a good character for a dark romance. He's got the hot biker thing going.

Moving on to Landon & Mia. I have nothing against Mia per se. She's pretty cool. I only hated how the author ruined her bond with her twin Maya. Also, I'm kind of ashamed to say that I wasn't the biggest fan of Landon at first but then going through his POVs made me realize that I'd been bought into the anti-Lan propaganda by Glyndon. He actually cares for his siblings, unlike Killian. He just has an unconventional way of showing it. Plus there wasn't a huge power-gap/imbalance between him & Mia so that's another point in his favour.

Last but not the least, God of Fury featuring Nikolai & Brandon has got to be among my top favorites. I only dislike the unnecessary mud-slinging with the irrelevant ex Clara. Everything else was perfection. I never expected Nikolai to be such an adorable & funny character. Also something I find really funny was that both in this book as well as in her POV, Glyndon claimed to be the one closest to Brandon. The way she described her dynamic with her brothers was, "Bran & I are a team against Lan." And not only did Brandon shut her down in a gentle yet firm tone, also her dense arse never noticed anything wrong with Brandon like!?!?! Landon was the one who'd picked on Brandon's tendency to hide & repress his emotions & stuff, and he was the one who'd tried to help Brandon open up, even if his attempt was unsuccessful. So much for her being the one on the same team lol.

#dark romance #legacy of gods #rina kent #Observations and opinions #god of malice #god of pain #god of wrath #god of ruin #god of fury #god of war

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tiredcowpoke · 2 years ago

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SNAP

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Reader Request: “Hey hey 👋 been a big fan of your writing for a while and glad to see you back! (mostly interact from sideblog @cirillamylove) would love to request an comfort fic for Arthur Morgan with a chronically stressed out reader just really going through it (I didn’t see any prompt lists so I hope this is ok)“ Warnings: Major warning for an anxiety/panic attack, there’s also some blood and injury, along with some angst but there’s comfort at least. Reader’s gender neutral (or I haven’t used any specifically gendered language) Note: Adopting a new formatting style from my other blogs, so that’s what’s up with the sudden change. Also, I based this around my experiences with panic disorder and anxiety, so it got a little self indulgent but I hope it’ll help/ring true to people with similar experiences. Anyway, sorry for the quiet, I hope you all enjoy.

Much like an old rope, each strain and pull only disconnected and frayed what little you had keeping you together. The quick upheaval of camps, the shootouts, the uncertainty of your future, they pulled that rope taut.

It wasn’t like you weren’t aware of the lifestyle you had found yourself in and what it did to people. You had seen some cruel bastards in your time, those who reveled in destruction and bloodshed. There were those who pretended to saddle a gray area, but they were particularly easy to see through once they had to weigh their actions against their words. You had also seen some more level-headed outlaws, those who were outcasts already and saw no other way, those who were just trying to survive. You liked to think you stood within the latter group, and yet the risks were the same, regardless of what reasons you had for doing what you do.

Yet, the fear and stress made a predator that you found yourself struggling to escape from sometimes.

You weren’t the only one experiencing that–you saw it crop up in other camp members when things were bad. Abigail’s harsh words and fussiness over Jack, Hosea’s clipped answers and shouts, Dutch’s recklessness and anger, Arthur’s biting sarcasm and remarks thrown about without a second thought to harm. Among others.

You liked to think you had some control over your emotions–you shared your concerns, sure, but you could tell when you were reaching the end of your rope. The ache in your teeth and jaw from clenching and grinding them in your sleep, or the way you felt like you had to be on point in everything you did. The uncertainty felt suffocating some days–how far were you supposed to run? How long would these changes last? How much money does the gang really have? How much do they really need?

‘Worrywort,’ ‘a worrier,’ you had heard some sort of variation of that comment when it came to you from time to time. You didn’t think it was always a bad thing–someone had to worry, right? Yet, the anxiety that came from that had such a strong grip at times that you weren’t sure how to function. Locking up in moments you really shouldn’t be, and the clumsiness that resulted from the racing in your head at points didn’t exactly go over well with some people.

It made you weary to go out on jobs, to earn money for the gang that you were pressured to do constantly, and you didn’t know if you would be able to collect yourself if you fell apart.

Yet, it was inevitable. That final tug came with the sharp pain of a bullet ripping through your shoulder, and something in you snapped.

The ringing in your ears almost drowned out the sound of your horse’s hooves against the ground, the shout of your name as you continued to just ride. You didn’t know exactly where you were going–the outskirts of the town had long since disappeared into the distance, the plains of the Heartlands stretching out before you, and it was hard to recognize anything. You had rode around the area more than enough to know where things were, yet everything looked the same to you at the moment.

You knew you were pushing your horse, the snorts and the starts of the agitated head throwing finally seemed to register in your mind as you turned to make your way up a small incline. A part of you just wanted to get up high–somewhere safe, where you could see things. Finally, you pulled your horse to a stop once you climbed to a flat surface overlooking part of the Heartlands.

“Sorry, sorry…” you muttered at your horse, who stomped and huffed as you tried to calm the poor beast. In your mind, you felt like you were miles away from the moment, but thankfully that ringing in your ears and the rushing in your head was slowing down.

You were aware of the sharp pain that was radiating from your shoulder, but at the moment you didn’t really care. Once you had managed to calm your horse, you unsteadily climbed down from your staddle and moved forward a couple steps to sit yourself down on a rock. Your head was pounding, your heart racing as if it had run there on foot.

The shakiness that usually only seized you at night was now making you almost quake, teeth chattering and your hands shaking. You just wanted it to stop–this whole thing was minor, there was a fight with some trigger happy assholes, and you weren’t sure if Arthur followed you out this far or if you had just outran him, but you didn’t want him to see you like this. He had complained to you a couple times about being the camp’s ‘workhorse’ and how he struggled to keep everything together, and you didn’t want him to have to see you while it felt like you were coming apart at the seams.

You just couldn’t quite get your breath under control, still gasping like you had just sprinted several miles and shaking like a leaf. It’ll pass, you reminded yourself, it always does–

“What’re you doin’ out here?” a familiar voice called out, making you jump.You almost threw yourself to your feet, yet you let out a shaky breath and managed to just cast the owner of the voice a sharp glance.

“Just–” you snapped, “Get out of here, Arthur.”

If agitation hadn’t gotten a hold of your tongue, you would have realized how sharp that demand was. Yet, in the moment, you didn’t feel like you were in control of anything. Arthur didn’t respond to that for a few moments–you had looked away from him, not wanting to see the look on his face. You didn’t want to see his expression when he realized just how much of a mess you really were.

Yet, while a more prideful part of you was wishing he would just walk off, you also wanted him there. In a way. You didn’t really know what you wanted from him at the moment.

“You’re…” Arthur started, sounding almost torn on what he wanted to do, himself, “You’re bleedin’ on yourself. I saw you get shot.”

…Right. Right, you had been shot. In your current state, somehow that had managed to slip into the back of your mind. With your attention now drawn back to it, you could feel the sharp sting of the wound in your shoulder. Gingerly, you reached up and under the edge of the shirt you wore, pulling your hand back to see some blood on your fingertips. Shit.

“You got somethin’ to close that up with?” Arthur asked.

You still didn’t want to look at him, but you didn’t have the energy to get up or chase him off, despite your previous words. You pointed toward your saddle bags with your uninjured arm.

“I have an old shirt. I can cut a sleeve or…something and use that until someone can close it up properly later.”

Again, Arthur didn’t reply, but you heard him walk off behind you toward where your horse was. Thankfully, the momentary distraction helped with that terrible tightness in your chest, as much as you still shivered as if you were sitting out in the cold. The Heartlands wasn’t terribly hot, but it certainly wasn’t freezing either.

Arthur returned with the shirt you had mentioned, sitting down on the rock beside you. There was some space between you, so he wasn’t crowding you but it was enough to notice him. You watched as he cut a part of the sleeve off, cutting it down the middle somewhat so it was long enough to wrap around your arm.

“Ain’t…” he started, putting the hunting knife away, “Ain’t good at much else, but I’ve closed up enough wounds in my time. Should be enough until you get back to camp.”

“Yeah,” you muttered, letting him take your arm and wrap the make-shift bandage around it.

You took in a small breath at the sting of him tightening it, but it was a bit of a relief to know that at least you wouldn’t have to worry about too much blood loss on top of everything.

“...I don’t know what happened,” you said after a few moments, Arthur releasing your arm once the bandage was secure. “I thought…I thought I was fine. I had more–more control, and then…”

“We almost got into a shootout,” Arthur commented, “It’s happened before. I don’t think it’s anythin’ that’ll come back to hurt us any.”

“I guess, but…in the moment I don’t think I really knew what was going on. Something in me just…snapped. I can’t–I don’t…I don’t feel in control of myself these days. The running, the moving, the jobs, the packing up and moving again…”

“I know what you mean,” Arthur said with a small nod, “Things…I dunno, they ain’t great but we’ve made it outta things like this before. We’ll do it again. Don’t got much choice on that.”

“I know Dutch always…” you exhaled heavily, pressing the heels of your palms against your eyes for a few moments, “He’s got his plans, but…I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“We…keep pushin’,” Arthur replied after a few moments, “That’s all we can do. We’ll get out the other side of this, we just have to keep goin’.”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur said with a shake of his head, clasping his hands together in his lap as he looked down at his boots, “I ask myself that a lot, but…no use givin’ up now.”

You nodded lightly, accepting that answer. It didn’t exactly mean you accepted the situation, but it was the one you were in. You also knew that Arthur didn’t like it either, that he could understand your stress in a way. Perhaps not in exactly the same ways, but it was enough that his words were a little soothing. That it wasn’t just you. That you weren’t worrying for nothing.

With a sigh, you reached up and rubbed at your eyes, feeling the wetness that soaked your cheeks. A quick flash of embarrassment had you trying to hide your face somewhat, but you knew it was no use since he’d seen it all anyway.

“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” you admitted, wiping away the tears from your eyes and cheeks.

“Like what?”

You gestured vaguely to yourself with your good arm, letting out an almost humorless huff. “Me crying and shaking like a leaf, bleeding all over myself. I should have collected myself or…”

You trailed off, realizing how futile that statement was. You didn’t invite Arthur to come find you, he showed up on his own. You didn’t have time to ‘collect yourself’ and yet a part of you hated that you hadn’t.

“I don’t want you to think…lowly of me or that I’m just…a mess,” you continued, “I thought…I thought I had more control of myself, but…I don’t feel like I do.”

Despite your own words, you couldn’t help the way your eyes clouded over with unshed tears, voice cracking at the end as you pressed the back of your hand against your mouth to hold back the sob that threatened to come out. Out of control. That’s what scared you–you wanted to be in control of yourself, and yet…you certainly weren’t in that moment.

You were surprised, however, when you felt Arthur pull you into his side as he wrapped an arm around your back. While a part of you wanted to push away, to insist that you were fine, you found yourself wrapping an arm around his back as you pressed your head into the side of his neck. Arthur placed his free hand on the side of your head, the feeling causing you to close your eyes as you let out a shaky breath. You could feel the tears leaking out, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to stop holding onto him, your free arm curled into his chest. Your shoulder was protesting, but you didn’t care.

“You’re alright,” Arthur muttered, the softness of his tone surprising you as well. “I don’t think anythin’ different about you. Shouldn’t matter much if I did, my opinions ain’t worth much.”

“That’s such a lie and you know it,” you replied, voice thick but you couldn’t help the touch of amusement as you felt him chuckle in return.

“Well, first part’s true. Don’t know about the rest,” he said, making a small grin touch your face.

It was a relief that he didn’t judge you for what was happening, really. You had wanted him to believe that you had it under control, that your wellbeing wasn’t just another thing to add to his list of things he needed to keep on top of. Yet, you knew it wasn’t fair to just hold everything in. He cared, that much was true.

“You’ve been in camp long enough,” he continued, “You’ve seen the screamin’ matches, people stumbling around drunk, injured. You’ve seen me in some ways I wish you hadn’t. I can’t judge. You’re one of the strongest people here.”

“I don’t feel strong,” you muttered, voice muffled into his shoulder. Yet, it was an admission that seemed to lift some weight off your chest. “I want to be, but I don’t feel like I am.”

“You are,” Arthur insisted, “Amount of times you’ve seen me lash out, say things without thinkin’. You kept it together for a long time. Runnin’ off on your horse is not the worst way I’ve seen someone break.”

“...I’m sorry I snapped at you,” you said, letting out a heavy breath as you relaxed into his hold some more, “You didn’t have to stay, but you did and I appreciate this. More than I can say, Arthur.”

“We’re gonna get through it,” Arthur replied, resting his cheek against the side of your head, “It’ll be fine.”

You didn’t know if that was a lie or not–if that was naive thinking with what you both knew about what was happening. In the moment, however, you let yourself believe that. You wrapped your arms tighter around him, shutting your eyes as you let out a slow breath.

“Thank you.”

#my writing.#arthur morgan x reader

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little-cereal-draws · 2 years ago

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ok sab season 3 theory time!

It's really more of an au; I'm calling it a theory because it's based off how they left season two and what they have potential to do with the story but I don't think it'll happen

David is going to be on parem

ok I know it's a long shot but hear me out. It's based off four points they ended season two with.

We didn't see his body so by film rules he's still alive. And no one ever says he's dead either. All Genya says is, "I can't feel his heartbeat," and they leave it at that. That doesn't 100% mean he's dead, it could just mean he's not nearby; especially because she wasn't amplified like she was the first time she found his heartbeat

They introduced Saint Neyar, the Durast. Of course, this was for Jesper's character arc but it showed the audience how powerful and deadly Fabricators can be even though they're the Grisha order used in the war the least

They introduced parem and how it affects Grisha. In that one coronation scene, it showed the physical toll it has on Grisha and addictive it is, how it amplifies their abilities to insane levels, and how Fjerda has access to it and is using it on Grisha

They're only loosely basing their plots off the books and they changed how David dies so why not change the rest of his story too

Now back to the theory/au. David isn't stupid. Even though he stayed to protect Genya, he knows there's nothing he can do against a being made of shadow. He pretty much just doomed himself. He's got too much to live for -he was going to propose for Saint's sake!- so there's no way he's going to stand there and die or try to futilely fight it. He was never a fighter anyway, so he runs. Maybe out a window, maybe out the door, idk but he makes it out. He does get seriously injured though; hence the giant blood splatter Genya saw later.

He doesn't have time to check the elevator for Genya; he's being chased, the fold is expanding, he's bleeding, he needs to get out of there and hope she did the same. He'll come back and find her later he decides. He runs through the woods for a while until he can't take another step and collapses. Eventually he gets found by a Fjerdan scout. They take him back to their camp where a few other Grisha they found fleeing are also being held.

Flashforward a little while: Nikolai is the king, Alina is struggling with her new powers and public backlash, and the newest threat to the barely stable country is parem attacks. They've only increased since the first one at the coronation and everyone's afraid. Grisha are going missing left and right only to return fatally hooked to the drug and Otkazat'sya are calling upon their king to end the new bloodshed by Grisha against them. Tensions between Grisha and Otkazat'sya are running high again and there have been many fights have broken out from it.

Nikolia, Alina, and probably The Crows too get roped into trying to stop the murder of civilians while figuring out a cure for the drug. Along the way, they hear whispers of the most fearsome parem warrior of all. Not the inferni who can destroy ten houses with one shot, not the tidemaker who can pull people's blood out straight through their skin, not even the heartrender who can kill fifty people with one flick of their wrist. No, it's a fabricator. He can level whole buildings with one look and is untouchable by any weapons. He'll strangle you with your own clothes and even the out-of-the-box thinkers who tried to take him on naked got horribly mutilated. It turns out bones are just calcium and blood is just iron.

Our team of protagonists get ready to stop them but when they get there, they see something that stops them in their tracks. It's David. He's the one all the whispered rumors are about. He's alive but looks only just, like a moving corpse. This wasn't something they planned for and are completely thrown off. While they try to regroup and come up with a new plan, Genya steps out. They lock eyes and for a second Genya thinks he recognizes her until she feels her necklace digging into her throat. She's choking and gagging but doesn't stop looking in his eyes as she scratches at the metal. Just as her vision begins to fade to black around the edges, his eyes grow wide. That ruby... he knows that ruby. He was going to use it for... something, he doesn't remember what, but it was important. And if this woman has it than she must be... David holds his hands up placatingly and Genya falls to her knees coughing and gasping for air.

David doesn’t do anything for the rest of the battle which gives our protagonists a slight advantage. It’s still a strenuous fight and Alina has to use her new shadow powers to win, which she was very conflicted abt, but they beat them. Some of the grisha get killed, they can’t help it, but Nikolai made it very clear when these attacks started that they’re going to try and take everyone alive and see if they can help them first. There's a bit here about Alina being harassed by the public for her shadow powers even though she was saving them. Right as another fight is about to break out, Nikolai decides it's time to leave.

Genya’s mind is racing the whole trip back to the palace. She wants to talk to David so bad and kiss and hug him, but she doesn’t know how much he remembers. He stopped just short of killing her before and she doesn’t want to push it. David’s thoughts are racing too. He knows that woman, he loves that woman, but his brain is too foggy to recall where he met her or what her name is. As the drug slowly wears off, he can piece together more and more until he finally remembers the last time he saw her. Genya.

By the time they make it to the Palace, all the remaining Grisha have come off their high and are begging for another hit. Their eyes are even more sunken than before and they’re shaking so bad they need help getting out of the wagon. When it comes to David’s turn, he looks at Genya and whispers her name. She instantly bursts into tears because he remembers. Shaking like a leaf in the wind, he reaches out as best as the restraints they put on his hands will let him and puts his hand on the side of her face. Everyone else is standing at the ready, weapons drawn, in case he attacks but Genya stands there and lets him do it. She bites her lip to stifle a sob and squeezes her eyes shut, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. He remembered. He still loved her. He was alive. And yes, they were a long way from ok but in this moment, but she has hope that they could get there some day.

The rest of the season goes on to deal with Alina's shadow powers and Nikolia sends The Crows to the Ice Court to see if they can find out where the Fjerdans are getting the parem or how they're making it. The captured Grisha are being kept in cells until they are over their addictions and it's a painful sight to see. Even though they're being fed, they're morbidly skinny. Even though they're warm, they tremble with each breath. Even though they moved beds into the cells, the bags around their eyes look like they haven't slept in years. They cry and beg and curse and yell; trying anything to get even the smallest amount of parem.

David offers to help in the effort to find an anecdote and tell them everything he knows, which Nikolai agrees to but refuses to let him experiment with any actual parem. Genya has never seen David react like that to anything before. The way he was pressed up against the bars innocently, politely offering his help to the king, listing his years of experience and qualifications then suddenly having the mask drop off his face revealing what he truly felt, rage. He paced his cell and threw a chair into the wall, yelling that they would never figure it out without him, they needed his help, and he only needed a little bit of parem, just a little bit. He scared her.

The cells are not fabricator proof, especially for one that has been affected by parem, and every night he bends the bars and goes out looking for where Nikolai is keeping his tiny experimenting stash. The whole palace can hear him tripping over things in the dark, opening and closing doors, emptying drawers onto the ground. It gets brought up in a meeting one morning. Alina wants to station more guards around the palace to stop him, but Genya argues that David hasn't hurt anyone, taken anything, and always returns to his cell in the morning so adding more guards is unnecessary. Nikolai says that his parem isn't in the Palace at all, it's in a secret outside workshop he's commissioning exactly in case something like this happened. Genya continues to press her point off of that saying that maybe this is something that David needs to do to recover. If he searches the whole Palace and sees that there is no parem there, he might be more inclined to cooperate when they say that they're not giving him any. Much to Alina's outrage, Nikolai takes Genya's side. Alina's powers start acting up and she has to step out and deal with that and the main plot.

That night is the last night David searches. In the very early hours of the morning, he ends up in Genya's room, hovering at the foot of her bed like a phantom. She could feel him coming down the hallway and is wide awake, but she still has her eyes closed and is forcing her pounding heart to slow. "Genya?" he whispers. "Genya? I know you have it. Please, Genya, I just want a little bit, just a little bit." She doesn't respond, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible and not respond to how desperate he sounds. The silence is so long she wonders if he fell asleep standing up. Suddenly he speaks again, voice cracking with emotion, "Saints, Genya... you're killing me." It takes everything in her not to sit up and tell him everything right then. Tell him where the workshop is, how to get in, and to please forgive her, she's only doing this because she loves him. He shuffles down the hallway and Genya cries. He doesn't leave his cell at night after that.

The season ends with all the addicted Grisha either receiving an anecdote, The Crows probably find something at the Ice Court, or getting over it from going cold turkey. Except now the problem is all these people's powers have drastically changed (think like Nina's powers after she recovered from parem). So now they've got this population of Grisha who have all new powers that have never been seen before and that sets up season four. David proposes to Genya for real and they finally get their happy ending and nothing bad ever happens to them ever again.

#whoops didn't mean to write a fic lol #can u tell i'm in denial abt david being dead but still craving that angst lol #shadow and bone #shadow and bone au #shadow and bone theory #david kostyk #genya safin #david x genya #genya x david #alina starkov #nikolai lantsov #genyadavid #davidgenya

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