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terramythos · 1 year ago

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett Reading Notes

Full Review Here!

-I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett outside Good Omens (ages ago)

-Discworld has always been on The List so I followed the general "just pick one" recommendation

-no chapters :0 here's hoping I organize these notes in a coherent way

-probably just rando page breaks tbh

-ok putting a characters drunk rambling in the narration is pretty good. Like drunkenness and blurring state of mind etc

-oh boy. Footnotes

-"all this was untrue" oh good. *proceeds to describe something more insane* oh GOOD.

-... oh no, it IS funny.

-God the back and forth of nonsense pass codes

-oh my god the punchline being not just that but they're at the WRONG secret society 😭

-and the switch to just ordinary pleasantries. With the dramatically grim tone otherwise. Help

- nooooo another person was at the wrong one. Boomerang-ass joke

-youve done it, you've broken down megalomaniacal villains to their bare essentials!

-ok it dawned on me their titles are their professions. Lmao. Brother Plasterer literally a Plasterer.

-thunder rolled... a six

-the sword being unique because it's not obnoxiously prophetic/magical

-"it's a terrible thing to be nearly sixteen and the wrong species" brother, ain't that the truth

-wait. This is the premise of Elf. Hello?

-damn, dwarves a bunch of nonbinary kings I guess

-I like that the word "king" is nonliteral, at least in the way we would think it, but by technicality fits the prophecy shit or w/e

-"You have to know all the laws to be a good officer" ooooog

-oops! You're a dragon now

-thieves threatening to strike lmao

-"do not let me detain you" brooo lmao

-thieves having state sponsored organized and licensed crime with annual quotas! So like. The actual cops, not The Watch

-ok I'm not the only one seeing the poop jokes right. "Back to front way of living." "Sergeant Colon." Vimes enters the story basically in the sewer.

-If The Fantasy Noir Aesthetic Was Not Obvious Enough Here Is A Magic Glowing Sign That Is Flickering Random Letters

-nicotine elephants graveyard? Where did he come up with this shit lmao

-there are a lot of boomerang jokes

-oh boy them giving Carrot a drink. Like hes not a biological dwarf but. Uhhh

-ok this has a lot of good bits. But one of my faves wasn't actually a joke. "There were some types of sobriety that you just couldn't budge." So true bestie

-is the Patrician also the Supreme Grand Master?

-ok probs not based on that line. And wouldn't make sense based on the SGM's motivation

-sybil ramkin token chick but also. GIRLBOSS

-i don't often say this but the sex jokes are really good lmao

-there are so many good lines that I have to hold myself back but. "A group of swamp dragons was a slump, or an embarrassment"

-"and then they realized." What a transitional statement

-"it dawned on him that he was very probably a flawed character" like hello?

-okay, I like the contrast between Vimes' alcoholism and the SGM saying "I can give it up any time I like" about summoning the dragon.

-though side detail, It's interesting we havent actually seen him control the dragon from his perspective

-a little funny that the currency is just dollars

-"the curious incident of the orangutan in the nighttime" we getting Sherlock Holmes references now

-the implication it isn't a "real dragon" but it's effect seems to be. Is the SGM transforming into one

-one thing I like but didn't necessarily expect is there's sobering seriousness throughout the story

-and sometimes the serious bits are told like a joke. You know?

-all the innuendo with vimes and ramkin is so fucking funny dude

-vimes sympathizing with the swamp dragons 🥺

-"in another few hours, the sun will rise"-ass line

-oh the use of typeface

-fucking MORPHIC RESONANCE, Terry?!

-oh good to know New Orleans and Rio are Discworld-canon.

-halfway point of the book and there's a bookend with a rainy night

-I like that vimes is way smarter than he or the narrative give him credit for cause he's also Just Some Guy

-oh i like that the summoning goes both ways. Uh oh!

-ok is this an extended balls joke or am I extremely immature

-my totally batshit theory: the watch guy who died (Gaskin) is the Supreme Grand Master

-im so ffxiv brain poisoned but "noble dragons don't have friends. The nearest they can get to the idea is an enemy who is still alive." IF you know you know

-Lady Ramkin is so fucking cool she just grabbed the horses out of the mist and dragged them back what the fuck 😭

-you know shit about to get real when the Death typeface shows up

-t-time travel is it?

-the number of times this printing has typoed Vimes as "Vines"

-the story has made many comparisons about the dragon's behavior being "practically human", but when we got the dragon's perspective it was more that it had an intelligence that pre-dated anything anthropomorphic so I'm not sure what to think on that

-the giant fucking dragon hanging from the ceiling like a bat is pretty funny though

-Oh This Is An Allegory For Capitalism. I See.

-well this took a turn from light hearted fantasy-flavored ribbing to uh. Kinda horrific! I'm a little impressed tbh

-oh my god WONSE was the Supreme Grand Master. That just hit.

-ok well played, he was kind of a prick, and way over qualified for a SECRETARY position

-and he got that extra characterization for seemingly no reason

-... AND his flat denial about the dragon being back and his anger at Vimes for it. This makes a lot of sense.

-I guess you could make the argument "wolf in sheep's clothing" since his surname is literally Lupine

-The Poop Jokes Are Back, But No One Is Laughing Now

-okay the previous scene makes it seem like the dragon is coming up with this horrifying arrangement itself. And now we learn it's really Wonse trying to make it "better".

-but my honest and genuine surprise at the dragon REALIZING this, and its actual HORROR at how horrible people can be by nature. WOOF.

-so I guess that's the "almost human" connection cause. No it's not. That's just how people read and projected it.

-"we [dragons] never burned amd tortured and ripped one another apart and called it morality" like hello??? This is so dark all of a sudden

-I guess the comedic tone elsewhere lets Terry sneak this shit in and make it stick especially hard.

-^ this is nothing but praise, to be clear. I've read a lot of "silly-humorous but with darker moments" work but this might be the best example I've read so far.

-did we need a canon explanation/justification of Vimes being an alcoholic?

-ALTHOUGH. isn't that like. Lack of natural alcohol an actual thing? Am I insane? I swear I've heard of that before.

-like I'm sure missing natural dopamine production which means I do need to take stimulants to function but I'm not sure if that's comparable

-not to over analyze this but that sort of implies drinking doesn't even make him drunk unless he has way too much which adds some interesting context to previous bits.

-in before it was literally just a joke

-If You Somehow Didn't Figure Out It Was Wonse We Are Spelling It Out Here

-oh shit he said the line

-I am just shocked that the one token female character is the designated sacrifice, lol. At least she's a GOOD character

-I will be a little annoyed if she's just a damsel in distress for vimes, considering she just charged six guards with a broadsword and only lost cause one of them tripped her

-ok the bit about the Patrician and the rat unlocked a forbidden memory of me reading like one chapter of a YA novel in the Discworld series when I was like. Ten

-i don't remember what it was called lmao

-one bit I liked in the arrest scene is it was very trope-referential, like literally naming what a hero is supposed to do in a scene like this. But unlike say 90% of adult animation, it actually like. Made a joke of it. "There IS no fireplace!"

-like the bar is low but YES! JUST BEING AWARE OF THE TROPE ISNT A JOKE! YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT! THANK YOU!

-"never build a dungeon you wouldn't be happy to spend the night in yourself" ok Patrician kind of based actually

-the sudden strange implication (?) that one can see a thousand miles away with how the Discworld is structured? It might have been metaphorical

-i love the whole bit about million-to-one odds always working (like the cliche), but then the rank rethinking the actual odds as way better, so now they have to do something to make their odds of success worse

-the fucking bit being they don't make the million to one shot at the dragon but DO make the million to one chance of surviving being hit by its flame. My god.

-oh my god errol is farting flame to fly??? Like a rocket? INSANE.

-ok is that one Tumblr comic about the wolf needing to get lucky only once literally from a line in this book. I guess there might be something they're both referencing that I just don't know

-oh my god the twist of the dragon being female. I guess I take the comment back about Lady Ramkin being the only one. Lmao.

-Shrek moment?

-i like that explaining Errol's weird behavior and how he like. Decides he has to. Court her? I guess? That's pretty funny.

-ok I basically chalked and dismissed The Patrician as just like, a Lawful Evill Ruler type but he has a fun amount of depth.

-ok I like the echo of "Guards! Guards!" as the title line summoning the protagonists this time

-ive resisted saying it but I have to now. Carrot autistic king

-Vimes telling the Patrician to shut up. Character growth

-"killed by a... metaphor" ... "looked like the ground to me" RAW ASS LINE

-ok this was earlier but I forgot to note it. I like that textually we know Vimes doesn't choose swords because he associates them with heroes. And when he decides to go to the palace for Wonse, he asks for Carrot's sword.

-"is that you, Brother Doorkeeper? METAPHORICALLY, it said." RAW ASS LINE!!!

-ok. The whole monologue about all of humanity being evil like. Man if that isn't how I feel, sometimes. It's a little cathartic to read. Evil not because they say yes, but because they don't say no. Yeah...

-is this the first time we've heard Vimes' first name? Book almost over?

-CASABLANCA? Fucking Casablanca?

-well that was pretty good! I'll need to think and organize my thoughts

#taylor reads #reading notes

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sonicasura · 1 year ago

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Rung would probably be around ROTB Mirage's height or a ft taller than that. Not too big/not too small. As for the Persona outside Metaverse shenanigans, Cybertronian Relic nonsense. I think those would have an effect on Persona users than normal people. Half being exposure to Energon and a unique individual such as Rung with the other from Metaverse exposure. (Futaba definitely causes the whole thing. Their outfits have a cyber design afterwards.)

Futaba: I have an idea to help Robo Pops!

Makoto: Why I got a feeling we are about to do something that will give Rung a 'spark attack'?

Ryuji: *sees the strange clearly Cybertronian device in Futaba's hand* ... sounds about right.

Everyone of his kids will throw hands for their new robo dad figure much to the Decepticons' horror and Autobots' confused surprise. 'How can someone that small be so horrifyingly powerful?!' Jak and Ren brings the most horror since the former can become a pseudo demon via Dark Eco while the latter can smite through demon gods.

Even if robo dad isn't a great therapist, it doesn't mean he won't try to give his kids some closure or handle their trauma. Rung find some good hobbies for each of them. Jak seems like the type who use Legos as a way to cope. Sonic would have race cars or any speed related stuff. Ren has books and model building.

Ann, you can have more than one father figure. Coffee dad Sojiro is an example of that. Rung would also take grampa more than our beloved LeBlanc owner. Answer: I'm not that old yet.

Jak would be the hardest to open up to our dear robo dork. Man gone through so much betrayal and heartbreak that he can't find see the good in folks. They either turn their backs on him (Keira/Samos) or die(Damas.) It will be like a dam breaking once he finally realizes Rung genuinely cares.

Jak takes after Daxter and hangs out on his shoulder once he fully accepts robo dad. Using loved ones as a perch is sign of trust for him. ...now I got the image of Dark Jak(like a gargoyle)and Light Jak(parrot style) doing that.

For how he met Ren, the kid ran away as his canon parents don't seen like good people to me. Rung figures since he's the only one the human sparkling can trust, why not try being a dad? All the Phantom Thieves become his sparklings and he just a proud dad.

Poor Optimus is gonna need some of that Energon once Rung's kids enter the picture. Jak and Daxter are chaos guaranteed to make something explode. Team Sonic are an energetic speedy bunch most likely to break something. Phantom Thieves are organized gremlins that will hold up a Decepticon for an All Out Attack.

Rung loves his kids despite waking like this in the morning:

Today I discovered IDW Transformers Rung, a psychiatrist whose much more than he seems. He's too dad shaped to not drop into sudden parenthood. Look at him! You can't tell me this man wouldn't make such a delightful dorky father figure.

I already got a few characters in mind to drop him on. First is definitely going to be Jak from the Jak and Daxter series. Whether it be pre Jak 2/3 or Post 3 is in the air. I'm leaning to Jak, Daxter and the Kid being displaced with Rung in Transformers Prime. That or Earthspark. Most likely Prime because of comparisons between Eco and Energon.

Plus Jak seriously needs therapy alongside a hug. He's got a case of 'chosen hero' syndrome and self worth issues that needs to be handled.

Next is Sonic the Hedgehog specifically the Movie variant. Both will be displaced in either G1, Cybertron or Animated. I would say Prime just for Super Sonic vs Unicron but nah. Earthspark will be used in a different project with this iteration.

Rung ends up being a dad to a 3-5 year old Sonic, as i can't resist the image of him trying to raise a child that can fit in human sized pockets. Freshly traumatized hedgehog gets hugs alongside therapy. Also the hilarity that between the giant robot and his super fast child, it's Sonic someone has worry about as he will throw hands.

Last one for now is Ren Amamiya/Joker from Persona 5. Universe wise, Prime, canon divergent Bayverse or Knightverse be perfect for the two. Mainly cause Persona is an M rated series that are spurred from the design of particular Personas such as Mara to murder being a more uncommon occurrence. *Persona 4 was literally a murder mystery.*

Rung met and raised Ren when he was five years old. The bot would be unable to stop the unfair trial but definitely won't leave his kid alone in a different city. Plus Rung getting dragged into the Phantom Thieves' shenanigans by Ren. Kid already has a codename made for his pops: Guide.

What do you guys think? Should Rung be hit with the dad hammer?

#sonicasura #sonicasura reblogs #embarasseddragon234

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thatoneitaliangirl · 4 years ago

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Oh my gosh could you write a childe x reader thing 🥺🥺 I wanna just have some sweet angst with a happy outcome somehow 😔

I may have gone a bit overboard- At this point, I feel I'm literally incapable of writing anything under 1,000 words. So sorry this took so long, I had to take a break from writing to work out some things with school. A bunch of nonsense and stuff lol. You didn't specify gender, so I wrote the reader as female, only cause that's what I'm used to working with. I apologize if that's not what you wanted. I can always whip up something for ya with your preferred pronouns! But I'm not sure if I'll make it this long . . . I honestly don't know how I even did this, like this is a feat I feel. Anyways, I hope Childe isn't too OOC in this. I'm not the best when it comes to writing angst, so I hope you like it! And just as a little explanation beforehand, I read up that Childe joined the Fatui when he was about 14, became a Harbinger at 18, and is considered a young adult. So in this fic, it's assumed that he and you are at least 20 years old just so the timeline adds up and stuff. Also, despite how long this is, Childe isn't in it as much as you probably wanted- I have a tendency to write more about the reader than the characters. It's something I'm trying to break, but I was just so proud of this. I hope you like it! Anyways, happy reading!!! ^^

Childe x Reader Angst

Plot- Reader and Childe have been together for years when Reader finds out that Childe killed her sister when she was young.

Word count- 8,864 (I'm so sorry)

Warnings- Mentions of death, sadness, bad writing, possible suicide at the end(But just mentioned as a fear), swearing, and cringe 'funny' moments cause why not.

The wind blows through your hair as you sit atop a ledge overlooking Liyue Harbor. Today is your younger sister's birthday, and for the past six years, it's been nothing but a reminder of your failure. You were supposed to take care of her. After your parents passed away, you were all she had left, and she, you. But you were just a kid yourself, hardly capable of raising a child.

You bite your lip and look over at all the families walking about, having fun. It brings a smile to your face knowing at least some people can be happy on this day. She wouldn't have wanted doom and gloom to be her only remembrance. The sun in the sky is warm, beaming down on your skin. You've fought many battles for the Adventurers Guild during your time living in town, and are proud to say you've survived. Even escaped a few sparring matches with Childe relatively unscathed.

You win every time, but it's no surprise given he lets you win. That's one of the many things you love about him. He tries to put you first in most situations as much as he can with his job. And it's the little things like letting you win a fake fight that makes you feel like you're floating.

Your relationship is practically plastered on every notice board in town with how affectionate you are to each other. Not a soul in Liyue can look at you and not know you are the Harbinger's lover. But you're okay with that.

Taking in a calm breath, you hop down and glide your way to the docks below.

"Good morning, _____! Nice weather, isn't it?" You smile at the young girl as she approaches you. You've known her for a while now, and have come to consider yourself friends. She seems a bit nervous though.

"It certainly is. Are you okay, Chen?" Her smile drops and she grips onto her arms.

"Can I ask a favor of you? It's rude of me, but I'm desperate!"

"It's fine, what's the matter?" The young girl sighs.

"My brother borrowed a loan from Northland Bank last month and the payments were due two days ago. He told me he was going to pay it back . . . He hasn't been home since. I just thought that . . ."

"You want me to ask Tar?" Her eyes snap up to yours.

"Will you? Please? I'm just so worried about him! I told him not to take that loan, but he never listens to me." You put your hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"It's okay. It's no problem at all! I was just headed there anyway. I'll see about your brother for you." Young Chen sighs in relief and reaches in her pocket.

"Here, I want you to take this as payment." You shake your head and push her hand away.

"No, I could never!"

"I insist! My mother gave this to me when I was a kid," She opens your hand and places a small coin in before closing your hand around it.

"She told me travelers would give these coins to people who did favors for them and that they grant wishes! Though I'm sure that's just a children's story; I was never able to get it to work." You give the coin a look, hesitant, before slipping it into your pocket.

"Alright, I'll accept. Thank you!" You wave goodbye to Chen and head towards the bank. Childe spends most of his days there, what he does, you have no idea. It's a mystery. The most you get out of him is 'business' which, yeah, obviously you do business. But it's understandable. The Fatui are a questionable lot, and not many people in Liyue trust them.

The Qixing keep a close eye on them as well, though you're sure even they hardly know what goes down under the 'bank' façade. Sometimes Childe comes home with cuts and bruises, claiming they're from training with his comrades, and while you don't buy that one bit, you play along. No need to add to his stress. If he thought you needed to know, he would tell you. No doubt about it.

Walking up the many flights of stairs, you nod to Vlad who lets you in.

Lucky for you, the first face your eyes land on is the exact one you came looking for.

"Tar!" He immediately looks over in your direction, smiles, and dismisses the Fatui agent he was talking to.

"Well, if it isn't the most beautiful woman in all Teyvat. Come to steal my heart?" He pulls you into a hug and kisses your cheek.

"No need, I already have it," You pull away, giving him a smile.

"I actually came here to see you."

"I'd hope so! Who else would you want to see?" Rolling your eyes, you grab him by his hand and lead him to his office.

"I have a favor to ask of you," The joking atmosphere surrounding you turns heavy as you hold his hands in yours.

"As you know, today is . . . Very important to me. I was wondering if you could get off early tonight? If not, it's okay though. I don't want to trouble you or anything." Childe chuckles and pats your head.

"I know what today is. I already requested an early leave this morning, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. If we're that backed up, I'm not sure I'll be able to," Your face falls a bit, but you smile. He made the effort to try and get off early without you even asking.

He places his hand onto your face and rubs his thumb over your cheek.

"But I promise to make it up to you. If I don't get back too late, we can go up to Mt. Tianheng and watch the lights at night. I know you like to do that when you're upset." The kind smile on his face is only magnified by the gentle look in his eyes. He's always been soft with you, even before you got together.

It was always an odd sight for people to see the two of you interact before you were a couple. He always regards people with the same jokester attitude, especially those he has to keep an eye on. But when he's with you, he may joke around, but is always much more concerned for your wellbeing.

"Thank you, Tar. I really appreciate it." He smirks and laughs.

"You appreciate it, huh? How much?" You roll your eyes again and give him a kiss on the lips. Childe smiles into it and tries to make it deeper, but you pull away with his lips chasing after you.

"Easy there, tiger. Save it for later, huh?"

"So, there's a later?" You lightly smack his chest and pull away from him as he laughs.

"Get back to work, Tar." You turn to leave but stop in the doorway.

"Oh, before I forget, I ran into Chen earlier," The look in Childe's eyes shifts slightly, but you barely notice.

"She mentioned that her brother stopped by here about two days ago, and was wondering if you knew where he went after? He hasn't been home since and she's very worried."

He ponders for a moment before his eyes light up in realization.

"Now that you mention it, he did say he was headed towards Lingju Pass. Don't know what for though." He shrugs.

"Okay, thank you! I'll be sure to pass it on." You exchange words of love before you leave.

After speaking with Chen, you decided to head towards the countryside. Your conversation with her went about as well as you expected. She seemed distressed and unsure of the information you gave her, but any criticisms were held as she thanked you and left. You hope that she'll be okay and that her brother comes back. Archons know, you understand what it's like to lose a sibling.

You take in a deep breath.

The air in Liyue is unlike any other. Once you leave the city and all the warm bodies, it's nothing but gentle breezes and the smell of earth. And the occasional Hilichurl, but you can easily take out a few to preserve the peace.

Walking along a random path in the sand, you reflect.

When you and your sister were young, you would often take walks like these while your parents were arguing. Despite only being a few years older than her, you actively chose to take on a more nurturing role. But after your parents died, you realized just how hard it was to provide for the two of you.

You knew how to use a bow to hunt, but not well, and even though you had your mother's catalyst, you didn't have a vision. Sometimes just showing it off and pretending you had a vision was enough to scare off petty thieves and weak Hilichurls, but it was only a matter of time before that wouldn't be enough.

Unfortunately, that time came all too soon.

The two of you had found an abandoned campsite and you decided to rest for the night. Your sister and you were headed to Mondstadt in search of a distant relative who you believed could help you. But during the night, your sister got thirsty and you were all out of water in your canteen. So you heading out to find a lake close by to fetch some, only to return to see a dark figure escaping into the night and your sister, laying in the tent, unmoving.

You were only a few hours walk to the city.

Sometimes you wonder if you had kept going that night, maybe whoever it was would have never even crossed your path. Your cries for help were heard by knights close by and they gathered your sister. Everyone in the city was welcoming and understanding, and the church gave her a wonderful service.

But nothing could mend the hole in your heart. Thankfully, the family member was able to take you in and trained you to become a knight. But that's not what you wanted. You wanted to find the person who killed your sister. And after completing your training, you left for Liyue and gained your Cryo vision along the way.

You summon your catalyst and flip through the pages. It's strange how magic works and how everything interacts with your vision. Before you, this weapon served your pyro vision-wielding mother. After you gained your vision, all the spells changed to fit the cold rather than the heat. You sigh and close the book. Sifting through it is just going to make you more sentimental. The sky above begins to turn shades of orange and pink as the sun goes down, so you decide to head home.

"I know you did something!" A loud voice yells, not too far from you.

"Chen?" You whisper to yourself and make your way around to see her at the edge of town, yelling at a Fatui agent.

"Calm down, miss Chen. We don't know what you are referring to." She balls her hands into fists, her face twisted in anger.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! Lingju Pass? He hasn't set foot there since our father died. How dare you make up such lies!" You decide to make your way over to try and calm her down. She's obviously upset, and you know that Fatui agents aren't well versed in the ways of 'feelings.' In fact, most of the ones you've met have all been quite stoic and unconcerned.

"Are you calling the Fatui liars, miss Chen?" You stop, Childe stepping out in front of the other agent.

What is Childe doing out here?

"You Fatui lie about everything! Everyone in Liyue despises your presence here, and this just proves to me how low you people actually are. What did you do to my brother?!" She reaches up to hit Childe, and you run up to her and grab her by her arms. You know she can't hurt him, but if she tries she could get into some serious trouble.

"Chen, listen to me, you have to calm down." She looks up at you with tears streaming down her face but shakes off your grip.

"No! I refuse! He knows something about my brother, I know he does!" She looks at you with pleading eyes.

"Please, _____, tell him. Tell him to tell me where my brother is!" Chen sobs. Tears start to form in your eyes.

"Chen, I'm sorry, but Tartaglia doesn't know," You look up at Childe and are taken aback by the look in his eyes. His eyes are dead, angry, violent as he stares at Chen. He waves his hand, and two Fatui agents come from behind and drag Chen away.

"Let go of me!" She struggles as they hold her arms and pull her through the dirt path. Chen glairs at Childe, digging her feet into the ground to slow them down.

"You're a monster, Harbinger! A monster!" You continue to stare after her as she's dragged away. What just happened? You've known Chen and her brother since you moved here. What could have happened to make this poor girl act like this? You jump when Childe places his hand on your shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." He wipes the tears from your cheeks and smiles his normal, dashing smile. Nothing like the look he was giving Chen just a moment ago.

"Sometimes those awful rumors spreading about the Fatui make people act irrationally." You look him in the eyes as he holds your face. His eyes are soft and caring now, just how he always looks at you.

"Do you know what happened to her brother?" You ask softly. His eyes darken a bit, but his smile never faults.

"_____, my love, are you questioning me now too? Come on, you know none of that stuff is true, right? I work at a bank, not much else to it." He answers, his voice joking, but there's this undertone you can't quite place and have never heard before. You force a smile and hug him close.

"Your right, I'm sorry for asking. I'm just so concerned for Chen and her brother. Do you know where they're taking her?" He hugs you back, tight, and kisses your forehead.

"I think you should just leave it be for now. Go home and get some rest. I should be getting off work soon, and we can do what I promised. How's that sound?"

"Good." You lean up and give him a kiss. His voice drops low as he whispers in your ear.

"I love you, _____. Don't ever forget that."

And he leaves before you can reply. A chill goes down your spine as you watch him leave, and it's not from your vision. You've never seen Childe like that before, even when he interacts with the Traveler. It made you freeze in place, made your blood run cold, and had your heart beating faster with fear all at the same time. That was Harbinger Childe, not your Tartaglia. You rub your hands along your upper arms to calm yourself. You never want to experience that again.

Taking a deep breath, you reach into your pocket to grab your handkerchief, but pull out the coin Chen had given you instead. All it does is remind you that once again you failed to protect someone you cared about. Poor Chen is scared and afraid, and you're positive that Childe's reaction did not help her any.

But as you hold up the coin, you notice a faint glow emanating from around the outer edge which turns the intricate patterns into Liyuian Characters.

'Let the truth be revealed.'

What does this mean? You remember Chen telling you the story of the coin, but it was just that. You've never heard of any coins gifted by travelers before, and it definitely wasn't a common folk tale.

You shove it back into your pocket and rush home.

The sun is almost fully down, and the stars begin to light your way as you walk hastily down the path. Once your house is in sight, you pick up the pace and run inside.

The glow from the coin is brighter now, illuminating your darkening house. How does one even make a wish on a coin?

"I want to see the truth, but I don't know how," The glow of the coin shifts and changes colors in your hands, giving off an almost mystical wave of magic you've never felt before. Whoever made this coin had to have been powerful. You take a deep breath and look at the coin with determination.

"Show me the truth!" The glow envelopes you and when you open your eyes, you're shocked at what lays before you. The dark figure that haunts your dreams at night looms over your dead sister, red-stained blade in hand and a mask over his face.

You step closer, the classic mask of the fatui on the hooded mans' face making his eyes glow white in the darkness. His stature is much smaller than yours, and his outline seems to be that of a boy. At the time it would have been easy for you to confuse him with a man, being he would have been taller than you. But now that you're an adult, you can clearly see his youth. He smirks and laughs down at your little sister's body while whipping the knife on his sleeve.

"You should never have crossed the Fatui." Your heart drops as the young boy removes his mask revealing ocean blue eyes. The eyes of your lover that you adore on the face of the person that you've despised for years. A woman appears next to him, the same woman you've seen him speak to on many occasions but have never spoken to yourself.

"Good work, Tartaglia. You've proven yourself useful to the Tsaritsa after all. But your job here is not done," Childe looks up at the taller woman, his face determined.

"The other daughter has left to fetch water. Unfortunately, there are too many knights around on patrol to take her. Dispose of the body, and return at once." Childe bows to the woman and she smiles wickedly.

"Yes, Signora. Anything for the Tsaritsa." She leaves, and Childe begins to wrap up the young girl's body in a blanket. He stops suddenly, lifting his head up as young _____ approaches from over the hill. Childe smirks, fixing his mask and hood back on properly.

"Until next time, _____." He says and begins to run.

You gasp as the light invades your sight again and you're returned to the present. Your heart is beating a mile a minute and your breathing begins to pick up. The realization is overwhelming, and the shock is preventing you from crying.

Tartaglia was the one this whole time? It can't be, it just can't! You love him, and he loves you, he says so all the time. Has he lied to you this whole time? Has he just been keeping you close to screw with you before breaking your heart and killing you? That coin has to be lying. There's no way your Tar would ever do something like that, especially to you! He tells you everything. There are no secrets between the two of you.

Right?

The clock on the wall says that it's seven-o-clock, usually when Childe gets off of work. You don't want to be here; you can't be here. How can you face him after seeing that, even if it was a lie? You quickly run up to your shared bedroom and grab your adventuring bag, filling it with few essentials.

Where will you even go? There's nowhere in Liyue where Childe can't find you. Even across Teyvat, the Fatui have eyes and ears. You just need some time to reflect, get your barrings, and confront him. If you'll confront him. This has to be some kind of joke, or lie placed by some unknown power to question your love for him. There's no way he could have-

"What are you doing, _____?" You gasp, started by Childe suddenly behind you, blocking the exit to your room.

"Tar, you scared me!" You say shakily, holding your bag close to your chest. He smiles his usual caring smile at you, but all you can see is the smirk he held while staring down at your little sister.

"Sorry, my love. I got off of work early like I said I would. Is that why you have your bag?" His ocean blue eyes dart down to your bag and back up to you again. You subconsciously grip the bag tighter, Childe noticing.

"N-No. I accepted a commission last minute." The lie slips out like acid on your tongue.

You've never lied to him before, and it feels wrong. But you have to get out of here. Every alarm bell in your body is screaming at you to run as fast as you can away from the man you love.

His brow furrows a bit with concern and he takes a step closer to you, but you take one back.

"This isn't about what happened today, is it?" He sighs and shakes his head.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, it's just I don't like it when people falsely accuse me of things. I kinda slipped into Harbinger mode for a sec there." He laughs, again trying to come closer to you, you step back.

"Are they false though?" The question falls from your lips before you realize it, and Childe's eyes widen in surprise.

"_____, you can't be serious? You know I would never lie to you-"

"How do I know that, Childe?" You've never called him Childe, and it shows from the shock on his face when you do.

"What are you going on about? I could never-"

"Get away from me!" You yell at the Harbinger, tears finally falling from your eyes. There's no way you could be near him like this, knowing that he could have . . .

"Why? I love you, I won't hurt you." You try to steady your breathing as he slowly inches closer, treating you as of your a wild animal he wants to tame.

"You don't love me." You shake your head, gripping your backpack with white knuckles.

"What?" The question comes out as a whisper from the man's mouth in disbelief, hoping he didn't hear you properly.

"You don't love me!" You say one again, louder, confirming what he has hoped wasn't true.

"_____," Childe tries to come closer, but you shove past him and run to the front door. Before you can grab the handle, Childe grabs you by the shoulders and spins you around.

"Please, _____," His eyes are glassy with unshed tears as he gazes into your own.

"Tell me what I did to make you think this way?" You sob, hands pushing on his chest to break free but failing. You can barely breathe as the sobs rack through your body.

"You-" Trying to get the words out only makes you cry harder as the realization hits you. All the rumors are true. The Fatui are evil, conniving, and uncaring. They kill, pillage, experiment, torture, and don't care about who they have to step on to get their way. And your boyfriend, the love of your life, the man you wanted to marry and start a family of your own with, is one of them.

"You killed my little sister!" Your hands ball into fists and punch his chest as hard as you can, but in your state, you have barely any power.

"My baby sister is dead because of you! How could you?" You managed to get out through your tears, finally breaking down in the arms of the man you've despised for years.

Childe stares at you, unbelieving. He pulls you into a tight hug, crying on your shoulder, continuously apologizing. Never in your life have you seen Childe cry. Even when talking about how much he misses his family or his country, the farthest he gets is a sentimental smile and longing. Never have you thought you'd see him cry either. It's almost enough to make you forget that he's practically admitted to the murder.

He killed your only sister. How do you know he's sincere with his tears as he holds you close and begs you not to go? You've seen him lie before, never to you, but if he kept this secret for so long, what else has he been hiding? But none of that matters right now. The man you've been searching for years for, who you wanted to kill with your own bare hands, is the same person holding you so tenderly now.

How could you forget the countless nights you've woken up from nightmares of that boy coming to kill you and finish what he stared, only for Tartaglia to wake you up and hold you close, promising that he'd protect you? Every year when you mourn your sister and confide in him about how you were going to find that monster no matter what it took, did he fear you'd ever find out and kill him?

Is that why he kept you close for so long, to make sure you'd be too weak for him with love to ever even try? How can you love someone who killed your sister? It's easy to just assume you'd hate him, but for some odd reason, a little voice in the back of your mind is telling you to trust him and love him like you always had.

Another voice is telling you to end his life with no mercy and finally bring your sister to the peace she deserves.

Gathering up your strength, you manage to push him off of you.

"_____, no," He's in a state you've never seen before, face wet with tears, nose running, eyes puffy. But, he doesn't try to pull you back in.

You swiftly grab your bag and leave the house and Childe behind.

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

"_____," Your cousin John calls your name, pinching the bridge of his nose. He watches as you continuously use your vision to destroy training dummies.

"You continue this and the knights aren't going to have anything left to train with." You stop temporarily to glare at him.

"I'm training."

"So it seems." He watches as you continue your 'training.'

"You know, this doesn't seem healthy. I'm no doctor or anything, but, maybe you should, like, not?" You sigh irritated and cross your arms.

"Not what, John?" He gestures to the broken wood pieces scattered around the courtyard. You roll your eyes.

"I'm doing no worse than the average rookie knight!" John nods, leaning up against the wall.

"Yeah, yeah, except no. Why? Thank you for asking, cause your not a rookie and you're upset, at what? I don't know because you refuse to tell me. All I know is that my cousin is back after being gone for three years and the-," John looks around before stepping closer and lowering his voice.

"The Fatui in town have been eying us up everywhere we go. What the hell happened while you were in Liyue?" You bite your lip and message your wrists. The tips of your fingers have begun to turn purple from the cold, but you hardly seem affected. John pats you on the back and leads you inside the knight's headquarters.

"Look, I know we were never very close, and when you lived with us, we barely spoke, but I'm here now. We're not kids anymore, _____." The two of you sit down in the library. The three years you lived with your uncle and cousin were your worst. They treated you nice, but you were grieving and took it out on them and many training dummies. It seems you've done the same again.

"I'm sorry, it's just . . ." What happened with Childe months ago is still fresh on your mind. You haven't seen him since you left that night, and you aren't sure if you want to. You're conflicted. You thought coming back to Mondstadt would help you clear your mind and help you decide what to do, but you can't, and it's frustrating.

Despite how hard you've tried . . . You still love Tartaglia with all of your heart. But you can't forget what he did. You could never forgive him either. You've held hatred for this man for six years now, and every waking moment has been used to devise a plan to find him and kill him. But you can't kill him; not when you still hold these feelings.

If this was his goal, then he succeeded. You know he knows you're in Mondstadt. As John said, the Fatui have had their eyes on you since you showed up. You wouldn't be surprised if they all have you listed as a threat. After all, being one of their high-ranking officer's vengeful lover with intent and reason to kill would put anyone on a list.

But, with that said, he hasn't tried to contact you. No letters, no passing of words, hell, no carrier pigeons. He's extra enough to do that. And this has caused you to feel even more upset. Cause you still love the man, and there's some hope still there that he meant what he said and he does love you and the fact he hasn't done anything is killing you.

"_____, you good?" You snap out of your daze and nod.

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

"You seem to be doing a lot of that lately. Please, what's going on with you?" You decide it's best to tell your cousin the truth.

You explain to him the situation. How you fell in love, what life was like for you the three years you were gone, the coin, and finding out the killer's identity. John looks at you in shock.

"Wow, that's a lot. And this is why you came back?"

"Yeah, I know. I should have come back sooner to at least visit, but," John cuts you off and waves his hands.

"No, you're fine. I mean, it would have been nice to see you, but that's irrelevant right now. You found out your boyfriend, a Fatui Harbinger, was the one that killed your sister, and you're here? Doing what? Destroying Favonius property?" You agree hesitantly.

"I mean, when you put it like that, it sounds odd."

"No, _____, odd is an understatement. Why are you here? You should be getting answers, slapping people, storming Snezhnaya! Actually, don't do that last one, that could get us in a lot of trouble."

"True," You agree.

"Honestly, I don't know what to do. Do I confront him? I mean, if he did kill her, which I'm about 90% sure at this point that he did, do I get revenge? I've wanted to for years, but I know that I could never kill him." John takes your hand in his and speaks with sincerity.

"You love him, I get that, but you can't let that get in the way of things."

"No, I mean, I literally couldn't kill him. He's a beast in battle, and could probably end me without even blinking. I've seen him take on multiple ruin guards in seconds, like, he's on a whole nother level." You sigh and put your head in your hands.

"But even despite that, I do still love him. At this point, I feel the best thing to do is to just move on. Go my own way and let him go his."

"And what about your sister, huh? Just gonna forget about her?" You look at him questioningly.

"Look, you need to at least get closure. Obviously, he doesn't want you dead, because you would have been so by now. I can't even tell you how many times the Fatui could have nabbed you, gagged you, and sacked you since you've been back."

"Gee, thanks John, that really makes me feel better about the situation." He rolls his eyes.

"Talk to the man, _____. There will always be a home here waiting for you to come back to." Maybe your cousin is right? If Childe did want you dead, you know damn well he has the power to have made it happen. But how would you even react when you see him? The only way to find out is to get it over with.

With newfound enthusiasm, you jump up from your position and slam your hands on the table.

"Alright, I'm gonna go! I'm gonna talk with Tartaglia and I'm gonna punch him at least once!"

"That's the spirit!" A series of loud shooshes sound around the library and you slowly sit back down.

"Sorry!"

You and your cousin John devise a plan over the next few days. You're still unsure about this whole thing, but with encouragement from John, you gain the confidence you need to push through.

In the end, you decide the best thing to do is to sneak out of Mondstadt without any Fatui seeing you. It's still dangerous to speak with him, and the two of you decide the safest thing is to get him unprepared and off guard. If he's not expecting you, he has no time to plan. Not that he needs a plan to kill you, he could just do it. But still-

As the sun seeps down past the hills and flatlands of Mondstadt, John and you make your way out of headquarters and down to the main part of town.

"You know what sounds so amazing right now? A tall mug of cider from Angel's Share!" John exclaims and grabs your arm. The two of you practically run towards the tavern, gaining looks from the other citizens.

"Cool it, John," You whisper yell to him as you head inside.

"You wanna actually look suspicious?" He laughs, sitting down at a table in the back.

"Sorry if I'm not good at being convincing. Dad always said acting would be my downfall."

"When would you ever have to act to be a knight?" He shrugs his shoulders.

"Right now?" Okay, he has a point. Merely minutes after you sit down, two Fatui agents walk in after, taking a table far enough away, but close enough to keep you in their sights.

"Don't worry, _____," Your cousin says, noticing your worried expression.

We'll get you out of here."

John waves his hand and gains the attention of Master Diluc as he's walking around the tavern.

"We'd like two Valberry Whiskey's please!" Your cousin asks loudly and winks. Diluc rolls his eyes and heads towards the back of the tavern, getting the 'drinks.'

It was a miracle and a half that John was able to convince Master Diluc to help you. But John said he owed him a favor. For what, you have no idea. Not even a second later, a young bard runs over to your table and slams his hands down.

"What did you just order?"

"Uh," You look to your cousin for guidance. The drink was simply a code, not an actual order.

"Valberry Whiskey?" The young bard looks at you in amazement. He's clearly drunk, but the sheer excitement in his eyes seems to sober him up enough to eagerly rush to the bar counter.

"A new drink! And Diluc didn't tell me?!" His shouts of joy gain the attention of the entire bar.

"A new drink?!"

"One not on the menu?"

"Master Diluc!"

Your cousin and you share a look as the crowd goes wild, rushing towards the front bar and to the back looking for Diluc to inquire about this new drink. The few Fatui agents that had followed you in stand up from their seat to get a better view of you and John. John grabs your arm and pulls you into the crowd, the Fatui agents desperately searching for your whereabouts.

"This way, _____." He pulls you farther and farther away from the Fatui till you feel another hand grab you and pull you out of the back entrance to the tavern.

"Hey, watch your hands, buddy!"

"Would you rather still be in there then, _____?" You smile nervously up at Diluc, who's handing you a bag and cloak.

"Things didn't exactly go as planned, huh?" The redhead smirks and crosses his arms.

"I knew that bard would be in here tonight. Drunk off his ass, he wouldn't be able to resist the call of a new drink item." You laugh, pulling the hood over your head.

"Thank you, Diluc." He gives you a rare smile and nods. You begin to walk off but stop, looking back at the tavern owner.

"Hey Diluc, what was the favor for?" Diluc sighs and pinches between his eyes.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

__________________

The journey back to Liyue is a tiring one. It seems a lot closer than it actually is on the map, but heading to the main harbor is always a task. Thankfully, you're able to make your rations last the whole trip, and as you enter the harbor in the wee hours of the night, you smile at the familiar buildings. You may have only been gone for a few months, but this was your home for the last three years.

Your home with Tartaglia . . . You pull your hood farther down your head and try to remain in the shadows. Despite the time of night, the area is still bustling with people. Merchants making deals, ships delivering goods, the whole nine yards.

You flatten yourself against a wall as a few Fatui agents walk past. The place is absolutely crawling with Fatui, even more so than usual. Could it have something to do with you? You doubt it. Harbinger or not, Tartaglia could get in serious trouble for using Fatui resources in such a way.

You carefully slide through cracks and crevises, branches and bushes, trying to stay out of any Fatui sights. Eventually, you find yourself on the outskirts of the city, not far from your shared home. It surprisingly takes a lot from you to not run straight for it. You miss your house. You miss your bed. You miss Tartaglia.

But now is not the time to get sentimental!

You still need to confront him about what he did. And depending on his answer, one of you may not make it through the night. You keep yourself stealthy as you enter the house from the back. He's not home, which is good. But the place is in disarray. Furniture turned upside down, plates smashed against walls, everything caked in dust. It's hard to believe he's been living here if he even has been.

If that's the case, you may have to go looking for him. You look around the house at the disaster. He may have been trying to look for something; maybe a clue to what you had planned or something to use against you.

With that in mind, you run up the stairs to the master bedroom and open the closet. You fear the worst but are surprised to find your sister's belongings still in place.

Surely he would have found them in here.

The bedroom isn't as bad as the bottom floor, though still a mess. The bed is unmade, with a small pile of your clothes on your side of the bed, and his clothes on the floor. All of your things, besides the clothes, are still neatly in their places. Pictures of you and him together that were once on the walls are now on his nightstand, face up and smudged with fingerprints.

"What the hell happened here?" The sound of the front door opening startles you. Could that be Childe? There's no way he's living like this!

Footsteps move across the floor, into the kitchen, into the living room, and slowly up the stairs. Whoever it is, your about to face them.

The door opens slowly, almost torturously so. Soon, the sunken and sullen face of your lover is in your view, and even faster, your on the floor with a knife made of hydro to your throat. Your hood continues to obscure your identity as Childe pins you down.

"Bold of you to break into the home of a Fatui Harbinger! What did you expect?" With the pressure from the knife digging deeper and deeper into your skin, you freeze the hand wrapped around his holding the knife, and kick your leg out. Childe falls over, dropping his weapon which shatters on impact. Before you can get your bearings, he's lunging at you again. He grabs you from behind and holds you in a chokehold.

"Your fast, but you'll never be fast enough!" You gasp for air, holding onto his arm as it's wrapped around your neck. He's trying to kill you, you know he is. All the times you've sparred with him, you knew he was holding back, but he's definitely not this time. Even so, his hold on you is weak. Weak for him, at least.

You rear your elbow into his stomach as hard as you can knocking him back and you summon your catalyst. As he said, he's faster than you, but before he can get back, you place a wall of ice between him and yourself. It's not enough to hold him back for long, but enough to catch your breath. He laughs as he can hear you choking, attempting to regain your oxygen.

"You think this little wall will stop me?" He attacks the wall with his fist, making a section crumble. Your breathing is fast, but you can't seem to gain enough breath to speak. As he crumbles your wall piece by piece, you pull back your hood and lean on the bedroom wall behind you. Finally, he lands the finishing blow and the ice dissipates in a gust of cryo magic. The crazed look of bloodlust vanishes from his face the instant he sees you, hand on your throat, and your breath heavy.

"___-," He can hardly finish his whisper as he lets out a shaky breath. With the tense atmosphere suddenly calm, you're able to regain your breath and look up at the man. His skin a pale and his eyes are dull. He has large dark circles under his eyes and he looks a bit thinner than normal.

"_____," He manages to get out, still shocked you're actually here.

"Are you okay?" You shake your head.

"You haven't seen me in months and that's the first thing you say to me?" He rubs the back of his neck and looks down, ashamed.

"I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry if I hurt you." You can hardly believe what you're seeing. He seems broken, utterly defeated. If he hadn't fought you just now, you'd assume he'd fall over with the breeze.

Looking at him now, it's hard to believe he's the same man that killed your sister.

"We need to talk." He nods, refusing to meet your eyes.

"You need to tell me the truth, Tar," He takes in a shuddering breath at your words.

"All these years, I've been beside you. I've stood up for you, I've loved you. I told you all my darkest secrets and nightmares. Not once did I ever lie to you."

Tears come to his eyes just as they do yours. He bites his lip to prevent the tears from falling. You step closer to him, dropping your cloak, and put your hands up to his face. He flinches away from you but relaxes when your palms cup his cheeks and he finally looks you in the eyes.

"Over the past few months, I've thought long and hard about what I wanted to say to you. And no matter what scenario I came up with, I could never tell if I was doing the right thing. But, even though I carry some semblance of anger, I know that what I feel for you is real. And with that, I still hold hope that you feel the same and it wasn't all just a lie."

He grabs your hands, the tears now falling one by one down his pale cheeks.

"I swear to all the Archons that I love you! I never lied about that!" You hesitate for a moment, blinking away your own tears.

"And though I don't want to, I believe you," You rub your thumbs across his face, clearing some of the tears.

"But I need you to tell me everything." Tartaglia closes his eyes. He never dreamed in a million years he'd have to tell you this story. He'd hoped that you'd live in blissful ignorance for the rest of your life with him. But the gods had another plan for him and you, and he prays that at least one of them will let him keep you. Even if that's a selfish request.

"I joined the Fatui when I was young. I was constantly trying to prove myself to Signora and the Tsaritsa that I was willing to do anything they asked me. I still am," He looks at you with regretful and sorrowful eyes as he recalls the past.

"Your parents had fled Snezhnaya when you were born, because of a debt they racked up with the Fatui. When they were found in Fontaine, it was revealed that they were working for a group of rebels intent on infiltrating Snezhnaya. It was my job to take you and your sister to use as leverage on your parents. But, your sister fought back," You release his face and look away, finding it harder to keep eye contact with him.

"I wasn't as skilled as I am now, and I panicked. But La Signora said I did a good job. I didn't know that your parents had already been killed by the rebels, and neither did the Fatui. Not until after we had left you. At that point, there was no reason to continue after you. But you were never forgotten about. And when you came to Liyue, I was instructed to keep an eye on you," Childe lifts his arms up and places his hands on your shoulders.

"But I never expected to fall in love with you." You look into his ocean blue eyes and are overcome by the warmth they hold for you.

"The day I met you, I could feel it, and I tried so hard to forget about it, but you were just so . . . Amazing, and beautiful, and kind. I never expected that from you. You never once judged me or ridiculed me, even though you knew who I was. I thanked the Archons every day that you came into my life, and I prayed that you'd never find out what I'd done."

A sob breaks through as he wipes the tears running down his face. All the years you harbored hatred for this man, you never once thought about what he could have been going through. It's true that this doesn't excuse his actions, but to know that he truly regrets what he did brings you some kind of closure. In the end, revenge would have never made you feel better. Your sister wouldn't have wanted that.

You love Tartaglia with all your heart, and in this world, it's better to forgive than to let it eat away at you any longer.

"Tartaglia," His name comes out as a whisper with your breath, but he hears you loud and clear. The fear of rejection in his eyes tells you everything you need to know as you carefully speak to him.

"I forgive you." He cries, pulling you to his chest and you hug him back. Unfortunately for him, you weren't finished.

"But, I need some time to think about this. I love you; I never stopped loving you, and I always will," You pull back and smile at him before gently kissing his chapped lips.

"I'm going back to Mondstadt, but I'll be back. You just need to give me some time." He smiles as best he can and nods enthusiastically.

"I'd give you all the time in the world if I could." He moves to kiss you again, but you put a finger up to his lips to stop him.

"Save it for later, Tar." He laughs, looking back up at you with bright eyes.

"So, there's a later?"

(A little something extra. It doesn't quite fit to be an ending, but more like an epilogue just tying things together I guess lol.)

___________________

You sigh as you sling your bag over your shoulder. It's been a good few months back in Mondstadt after your reconciliation with Childe, and you've decided it's time to go home. You've kept in regular contact with him since you've been here, writing letters to each other like new lovers. You found the whole thing quite cute, despite the circumstances. He's been regarding you with caution, taking things one step at a time, and never pushing you past any limits you set. You're grateful for that.

"You sure you wanna go back? You can always stay a bit longer, just to give yourself a bit more time to think it over." John says, arms crossed and head down. You two have grown closer over your time spent here. It's a shame to think you were so caught up in your misery to be blind to the best friend you could have had. And it's tough to say goodbye, now that you've grown attached.

"I'm sure. You don't have to miss me too much, ya know? I'll be back to visit, and I'll write every week!" John huffs.

"You better, or I'm coming over there and kicking that Fatui's ass for keeping you away! I don't care how many ruin guards he can take on!" You laugh and pull him into a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you." He hugs you back, holding you tight.

"Yeah, I know." You roll your eyes and wave goodbye to the family you didn't realize you had.

Once back in Liyue, you get settled into your home with Childe. Thankfully, he cleaned up the mess he made while you were gone. He had said he was so distraught at the thought of you leaving him, he trashed the place in anger. Not anger from you, but anger at himself. He was afraid you'd think he was a monster, that he was heartless, and that you'd never want to see him again.

He was relieved when he heard you were in Mondstadt. There, he could keep an eye on you. One of the things he was afraid of was you doing something to yourself due to the pain of it all . . . If you did that, he wouldn't know how to cope. And when he received word that you had disappeared from Mond, well, he thought that fear had come true. But in the end, things worked out. You could never forget what he did, nor do you want to. It's something you have to live with, just like he does, and it's up to you to put it aside.

You know there are many things he's done that he's not proud of. Many things of which he promises to tell you when he's ready. And you'll be there to listen as he spills his heart out to you.

You take in a breath of air as you enter the harbor, smelling the salty water of the ocean and the wonderful herbs being brought in from traveling merchants. You'll never get over these smells.

"_____!" You look over your shoulder, surprised as Chen runs over to you. You haven't seen her since the incident outside of town.

"Chen! Are you okay?" She smiles and hugs you.

"I'm doing great! My brother and I have been selling a lot more of our goods since he's been back, and business has been booming!"

"Your brother?" You tilt your head.

"Yes!" She nods enthusiastically.

"He did go to Lingju Pass as Childe had said. It turns out, he had a buyer out there but didn't want to tell me in case the deal went south. I overreacted. . ." She puts her head down in shame.

"All the rumors about the Fatui got to my head, and I assumed the worst. But Childe went out and found my brother for me. Can you please tell him I said thank you? Also that I'm sorry. I really owe him one."

You pat her on the head, relieved.

"Of course, Chen." She reaches into her pocket and pulls something out.

"For payment-"

"No!" You shove her hand away.

"Gotta go! I'm late to see Tar!" You sprint off, leaving a confused Chen in your wake.

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin childe #genshin impact childe #genshin impact childe x reader #genshin childe x reader #childe x reader #genshin impact angst #genshin angst #genshin impact x reader angst #genshin venti #genshin impact venti #genshin diluc #genshin impact diluc #angst

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swimyghost · 3 years ago

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Uniforms

This is a Lupin III High School AU that no one asked for but me and some friends made anyway. This AU will include OCs they haven’t made an appearance just yet. Also this high school is a blend of American and Japanese high schools since I’m, unfortunately, more familiar with an American setting. I hope you enjoy.

---

The ICPO Academy’s name was a joke. Not to say the academy itself was a disgrace to the name of education seeing as the school produced several graduates that went on to become lawyers or doctors or more artistic jobs such as famous actors or architects. ICPO Academy was well known for its reputation as the hub for international learning and cultural acceptance, having the school built in Japan but accepting students from everywhere. Many would question why someone would call the academy’s name a joke with high test scores, amazingly well-funded athletic and arts programs, and a spotless background all being well-known facts.

ICPO: International Criminal Police Organization. The name was outdated and, as mentioned before, a joke, especially to the students who attended the school. The once militaristic educational institution was originally assembled by the Japanese government as a way to train the most elite future members of the police force; the international part only added later once other countries noticed how well the Alta maters excelled in their field. Time, however, was an ever-flowing river and soon more programs such as the arts were added to the school. The need for highly trained police officers was in little demand and the school’s talents for training the best were need elsewhere. The name never changed due to stubborn tradition, also due to the idea of the students needing to “remember their roots”.

Horrible naming aside, the school was strict with everything, from grades to clubs to sports, including school uniforms. That was how three students ended up in the principal’s office one early morning.

“Arsène Lupin, Daisuke Jigen, and Goemon Ishikawa,” the principal, a heavily balding middle-aged man, sighed. He looked like he hadn’t received any proper sleep in weeks. “You three realize the school year only started a month ago and yet you consistently end up here.”

“Sir, I think you are missing the point!” a tall dark-haired man shouted. He stepped forward, shoving aside the three students. The red armband on his left arm was labeled “Head Hall Monitor”. “These three have broken one of the school’s rules, one which is mentioned on the first page of the school handbook so they clearly know what they are doing!”

One of the students, a sophomore with a cocky grin and an even cockier look in his dark brown eyes, laughed. “Pops, you should know I never read any of those dumb manuals!”

“It’s paramount that you read the handbook! And quit referring to me by that ridiculous nickname!”

“Whatever you say, Pops.”

“Mr. Lupin, Mr. Zenigata, I order you to stop this nonsense!” the principal shouted over the arguing pair. “Mr. Lupin, despite you lacking in understanding the school’s policies, you are a sophomore, you should already know that wearing the school’s uniform is a requirement, that goes for you too Mr. Goemon, and especially you Mr. Daisuke, you’re a junior, for Pete’s sake!”

“Jigen.” a gruff-sounding teen muttered. Shaggy black hair covered the teen’s eyes. Unlike the well-dressed (although still against the rules) Lupin, Jigen chose to wear baggy clothes such as a worn hoodie and ripped jeans instead of his uniform.

“Fine, Jigen,” the man said with an exasperated sigh. “Look, I’m going to cut to the chase since you already know what’s going to happen. I’m going to have the front desk call your parents so they can drop off your uniforms. Mr. Lupin, Mr. Jigen, you’ll be sent to detention for today and tomorrow and will have to use half of your lunch period cleaning the school along with the regular cleaning hours. Mr. Ishikawa, you will have the same punishment except you won’t have detention.”

“What!?” Zenigata cried.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Zenigata?”

“Sir, forgive me for my insolence, but I think this is highly unfair,” Zenigata turned his gaze to the last of the trio, a blue hakama-wearing boy with long but slightly uneven cut hair. “Goemon here is equally as guilty as the rest of them! Therefore, he deserves the same punishment!”

The principal let out a long groan. “I wish I could, Mr. Zenigata. Unfortunately, Mr. Ishikawa is a part of our Judo Team and we’re about to have a match against Cagliostro Academy so-”

“So it’s favoritism!” Zenigata bellowed, slamming his hands on the principal’s desk.

“It’s not favoritism, it’s about securing our school’s reputation! Besides, Mr. Ishikawa isn’t a criminal for refusing to wear the proper garb.” the principal nonchalantly waved his hand.

“We will become one if you don’t punish him accordingly!”

“Do not insult the Ishikawa name like you, you bumbling gorilla.” Goemon spat, keeping a cold expression on his face.

“What did you say!?”

“ENOUGH!”

The room went deathly quiet. The principal, who was suddenly standing tall with an enraged expression on his face. He glared at the four students with a newfound fire in his dark eyes.

“Mr. Zenigata, this is not up for discussion. If you have a problem, take it up with someone else!”

Zenigata looked like he was going to blow up due to how red his face was. Lupin was frightened, but he kept a small grin on his face. The other two were suddenly extremely interested in the wall.

“Now, all of you, out of my office. I have important work to do.”

Zenigata took several deep breaths before replying. “Alright, sir. I shall take these troublemakers to the front desk to make sure they don’t try to run away.”

“That won’t be necessary, Mr-”

It was too late as Zenigata swiftly herded the group outside of the office, slamming the door behind him.

The trio shuffled down the hall with only Zenigata walking with a powerful stride. The halls were silent with only the muffled chatter of teacher’s going over their lessons breaking that silence. Posters advertising out of school and in school were taped on walls or pinned to one of the many corkboards that lined the walls. Freshly cleaned windows allowed light to enter in. Jigen grunted as a line of sunlight pierced through his thick locks and entered his eyes. Lupin leaned over Zenigata’s shoulder and smiled.

“The head really chewed you out, huh?”

“Quiet, you scum!” Zenigata snarled, glaring back at the shorter man.

“Wooooooow, is that how all upperclassmen speak to their juniors? I thought we were starting to become friends.”

Zenigata scoffed. “You are not one of my equals, neither as a student or a member of society.”

“Really?” Lupin said with fake surprise dripping from his words.

The senior stopped, leading the rest of the group to follow suit. “I know who you are, Lupin, and I know what your family is.”

“You do?” Lupin glanced over at his companions, who kept measured expressions on their faces, then back at the older student. “What is my family, Koichi Zenigata?”

“A bunch of liars and thieves,” Zenigata said with an icy chill.

The stillness held nothing but tension. Jigen and Goemon silently moved to Lupin’s side. One a slight glimmer of Jigen’s eyes could be seen through the curtain known as his hair; meanwhile, Goemon’s eyes were studying the situation, ready to strike if necessary. Zenigata stood tall with his dark blue and white suit barely hiding the muscles bulging through the cloth. Time ticked away until Lupin broke out into laughter.

“Never knew you hated me that much, Pops!” Lupin patted his shoulder, causing Zenigata to flinch. “C’mon, let’s not fight. Especially since it won’t be a fair fight since your little buddy isn’t here and your reputation would be hurt more than mine.”

“Little… Buddy?” Zenigata looked confused, both due to Lupin’s actions and at the nickname he gave to this unknown person.

“What was his name… Goro! Goro Yatagarasu! That poor boy follows you are like a puppy.” Lupin said.

“Do not insult him like that! Yata is a good student and a better person than you’ll ever be.”

“You’re starting to sound like his boyfriend, Pops,” Jigen spoke up, enunciating the word ‘Pops’.

“Wha- Yata is a freshman and a minor!”

“That hasn’t stopped seniors before,” Jigen muttered.

Goemon stepped between them with his hands raised. “You wanna get in more trouble?”

Jigen grunted and turned his head away. Zenigata just glared at the trio before starting back on his quest to the front desk. Lupin just pretended to wipe the dust off his crisp white dress shirt and followed the upperclassman with his friends following close behind.

The rest of the walk was uneventful since Lupin stopped trying to press his senior’s buttons. Jigen was more interested in his old sneakers than a conversation with Goemon adopting a similar attitude. Once they reached the open front lobby, Zenigata turned his gaze to the lady who sat behind the circular front desk. Her hair was tied up in a lazy bun with her glasses hanging close to the end of her nose. She looked as interested in her computer work as the principal had looked. She lifted her gaze when Zenigata cleared his throat.

“Can I help you?” her tone was low and bored.

“Yes, these three have broken school rules by deciding to not wear their uniform! I assume the principal has alerted you about the situation?”

“He has.” the receptionist said.

“Then I believe you need to-”

“I’ve already contacted their parents, Mr. Zenigata.” the lady cut off Zenigata with a pointed stare.

“Um, uh, yes,” Zenigata cleared his throat, more awkwardly this time. “W-Well I assume you have the situation handled then?”

“I do.”

“Great! I need to return to class! Please make sure they don’t try anything suspicious.”

“I will, Mr. Zenigata.”

Zenigata bowed before turning to look back at the trio. Lupin stuck out his tongue with a goofy smile plastered on his face. The senior frowned deeply then took off towards an adjacent hallway. The group looked at the front desk lady who already went back to typing away at her computer.

“Wait by the benches over there.” she pointed at the set of benches that were poised by the front doors made entirely of glass.

“Thank you, ma’am!” Lupin replied in a cheery tone with a wink. The woman just made a noncommittal hum of acknowledgment. Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon all sauntered over to the benches and sat with Lupin in the middle and Jigen and Goemon sitting at the far left and right respectfully. Goemon closed his eyes and lowered his head in mediation with Jigen scratched at his kangaroo pocket. Lupin noticed his not-so-subtle scratching.

“You need to smoke already?” the sophomore whispered.

“Nah,” Jigen replied in a matching soft voice. “Just need to know they’re there. Get anxious if they’re not.”

“That’s a sign of addiction, my scruffy friend.”

Jigen scowled. “Like you’re any better.”

“I can handle being away from cigarettes for a few days, you cannot,” Lupin pointed out. “I’ve even seen you smoke bent ones!”

“A smoke is a smoke.” the junior shrugged.

“Both of you have bad habits.” Goemon chipped in at the same time side-eyeing the pair.

“Like you’re any better. You even said that cigarette you had felt nice!” Lupin countered.

Goemon looked down. He enjoyed the feeling that one cigarette gave him but he’d never admit it, especially since it would most likely lead to his athletic career being cut short.

Lupin turned his attention back to the older of the three. “Is your mom or dad gonna drop off your outfit.”

“Doubt it,” Jigen snorted. “Ma started taking double shifts to make up for all the new books I had to buy.”

The leader of the group stared at Jigen for a few moments before pulling out his cellphone. He tapped away before raising the phone to his ear.

“Hey, dad? Yeah, it’s me, did you leave already? No? Good!” Lupin said. “Listen, along with my uniform, can you get the bigger one that’s in the drawer next to all my other ones? Thank you!”

“No using any electronic distractions during class periods.” the front desk lady said, still not looking up from her computer.

“Got it, ma’am!” Lupin replied, saying a quick goodbye to his father before preceding to smile at Jigen. Jigen knew something was up.

“What did you do?”

“Called my old man, of course,” Lupin said.

“No duh, but I know what your family… Does. I need to know if you didn’t just secretly hire a hit or something.”

“Do you really think that lowly of me, Jigen?” Lupin pretended to look hurt.

“I think you can do some nasty shit if you felt like it,”

“He’s got you there, Lupin,” Goemon added.

“You both are so cruel!” Lupin dramatically placed a hand on his chest. “All I did was ask my father to bring a junior uniform and you’re accusing me of murder!”

“Junior uniform, why would you-” realization hit Jigen. “You bought one… For me?”

“You’re my best friend, you wheezy chimney,” Lupin let out his signature grin. “Someone’s gotta pick you up when you’re down.”

Jigen stared deeply at Lupin before making a tsk sound and whipping his head towards the window. Lupin just chuckled and leaned backward.

Suddenly, the bell rang throughout the school. Students immediately started to flood both the hallway and the front of the school. Couples were walking with their arms linked while others congregated in large groups, laughing about the latest episodes of their favorite shows or lamenting failing a test. Lupin watched them walk by as if he were looking for-

“Hey, Fujicakes!”

Jigen and Goemon both groaned as a long-haired brunette with highlights sashayed over towards them. She wore the standard dark blue, gray, and white uniform but it was clearly altered in some minor but still noticeable ways. The shirt was smaller than it needed to be and the skirt was shorter. Black tights completed the outfit. The freshman carried books and a binder in one hand and a phone with a fake diamond keychain in the other. She stopped only a foot away from the trio before glancing up and down.

“Was dressing like clowns really necessary?”

Jigen and Goemon’s preexisting frown deepened but Lupin gave her a hurt puppy-dog look. “That hurt Fujiko. The real clown outfits are those gaudy uniforms they make us wear. Not you, though. You look fantastic in anything you wear.”

Fujiko giggled, causing Jigen and Goemon to roll their eyes. Fujiko stopped with a sigh. “In any case, I’m guessing you three are in detention.”

“I actually got-”

“And I’m hoping you’ll be there with me,” Lupin said, interrupting Goemon.

“Are you kidding me?” Fujiko said with a snort. “I have cheer practice. I don’t have time to waste with someone like you.”

“Fujicakes,” Lupin said with false hurt.

“I gotta go, Lupin, maybe I’ll see you later when you’re done making a fool of yourself.”

Fujiko walked away with a purposeful stride, leaving Lupin wanting more of her and the other two wanting less. As the crowd began to grow smaller, Jigen glared at his friend.

“How can you stand that girl?”

“Perhaps Fujiko is right about one thing,” Goemon looked down at the still swooning Lupin, “you are a fool.”

“She may be made of ice, but like all ice, it can be melted.” Lupin poetically answered.

“Oh, please,” Jigen grumbled.

Just as all the people left for their class, two men entered the building. One was a wealthy-looking businessman with well-kept hair and a faint beard. He wore a freshly ironed suit that almost gleamed as much as his well-polished shoes. The other was an equally well-dressed man but this time in more traditional Japanese garbs and sandals. His hair was much longer and had a clean-shaven face. Goemon stood up and made his way to the more traditionally dressed man, bowing once he reached him.

“Father.”

“Goemon,” he replied, thrusting the pile of neatly folded clothes he had been carrying into his son’s arms. “Do not repeat this act.”

“I won’t, Father.”

While that exchange went down, the first man eagerly went over and hugged Lupin. He held a smile that was eerily similar to the boy’s.

“Arsène! You causing micheaf again?”

“Of course, dad, why else would be here?” his son wheezed, trying to escape his bear hug.

He laughed and clasped Lupin on the back. “Aw, I don’t know, maybe you missed me that much you had the principal call me down.”

“Dad!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Lupin’s dad chuckled. He looked at the front desk lady, who was watching the whole scene and shrugged. “Kids these days, am I right?”

The lady blinked slowly. “You need to give them their uniforms, sir.”

“Right, right, right,” the man reached into his suit and handed two bags to Lupin and Jigen. “I believe these are for you.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Thanks, Mr. Lupin.”

“Now, I need to leave. Business never gives you a break, I swear.” Lupin’s dad winked at the receptionist before following Goemon’s dad out of the building. Lupin let out a long sigh once he left the building.

“Your dad is certainly a character, Lupin,” Goemon commented.

“Not a word, Goemon,”

“You three go change in the bathroom. I write you a pass to your next class.” the woman at the front desk called over to them.

Lupin gave the group a smirk. “There’s still a full day ahead of us, gentlemen. Let’s not waste it.”

#lupin iii #lupin the third #lupin the 3rd #arsene lupin iii #goemon ishikawa xiii #goemon ishikawa #ishikawa goemon xiii #jigen daisuke #daisuke jigen #fujiko mine #mine fujiko #koichi zenigata #zenigata koichi #inspector zenigata #high school au #lupin iii high school au #ficlet #fanfic #fanficition

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madou-dilou · 4 years ago

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I love how Harrow and Viren are totally king Arthur and lord Lancelot from Kaamelott.

On the left : Lancelot. Right : Arthur.

Harrow and Arthur are haunted by the trace they will leave in history.

Harrow: Soon you'll learn the great lie of History.

Arthur : I am King Arthur. I never despair. Children look up to me.

(Arthur also has a personal chronicler who writes down every great deeds : "Between your sick horses and your dead horses, I would remind you that I have a legend to write !")

Both are anxious about the fact that they may not deserve their place :

Harrow : Ezran is a lucky little boy, but many little boys of the kingdom were born with much less. What have I done to deserve all of this ?

Arthur's mentor : You don't become a chief because you deserve it, you dumbass ! A chief is made by the circumstances, and only afterwards he deserves it !

Arthur himself, to the Lady of the Lake : What about Excalibur ? You want Excalibur back ?! Take it ! Eff with it ! Give it to someone else ! Give it to Percival, if his destiny is so much greater than mine !

Both are guided by a vision of equality.

Harrow : Real justice is a fair system. This fair system should be fair no matter the accident of my birth.

Arthur : Yeah, sure, one by one, it’s easy to be worthy. But the real difficulty is to put everyone to the same level.

Lancelot : *snorts* You still believe this nonsense ?

Arthur : Yes, I do. Salvation, light are for everyone. If it’s just for me, I don’t see why. For the Grail, I built a fortress. It's called Kaamelott. I went through all the kingdom to find knights. I built a table. I wanted it to be round, so no one would be stuck in a corner or at the end of the table. So everyone could take a chance. Even the morons. Even the weak.

Both are trying to be progressist.

Harrow : I want things to change, Sarai.

Arthur : Yeah, about that... I thought we should abolish slavery. And death penalty, while we're at it. Imagine : the first country in the whole world which doesn’t sentence people to death ! In five and ten years, only barbarians will still do those.

Both hate the idea of people sacrificing themselves to save theirs lives :

Harrow : I won't hide myself in an innocent's body while he gives his life to pay for my mistakes.

Percival : That's legit. Priority to the one whose life is more important.

Arthur : WHAT ?! Who told you so ?

Percival : The other knights. They say if we get ambushed, if you are in danger, we must sacrifice ourselves.

Arthur : What ? No no no no no no no no no ! NEVER do that. Never, is this clear ?!

Percival : But, your Grace...

Arthur : No ! If I'm in danger, you run the fuck away !

Both are suicidal.

Harrow : I need to pay the price for my mistakes.

Arthur, after failing his suicide attempt : What is someone who spills his own blood so everyone is guilty ? Everyone who committed suicide is the Christ. Every bathtub is the Grail.

Meanwhile, Lord Viren shares many similarities with Lord Lancelot.

Both are the king's best friend and closest advisor :

Viren : He insisted so I would stand by him for the picture, because he knew I would stand by him through anything.

Lancelot, his hand over Arthur's shoulder : Fear not, your Grace ! I shall protect the Queen from the ferocity of night beasts ! (Arthur, rolling his eyes : Oh, won't you ever chill for like, one minute ?)

Both are surrounded by idiots :

Viren : Yes. History is... Like a see-saw.

Lancelot : I've been saying this from the very start. The Grail quest is for the elite ! (Arthur rolls his eyes). We must put the dumbass aside, or else we just struggle !

Both have a close but tense relationship to their kings :

Viren, to Harrow : And where exactly is that place ?!

Lancelot, to Arthur : So work on acting less like an asshole ! I'm bloody sick of advising a ten year old pissant who can't even find a Grail or get his wife up the duff ! So, yes, I did sit on your throne because I am the one who does half of your job. And fuck you !

Both want to help :

Viren : I wish for humanity to flourish.

Lancelot : That's what I live for. To save people.

Both don't feel worthy of existence if they don't concretely help people :

Viren : Oh, you are powerless, useless ! I thought you would be something special, something important !

Lancelot : A village attacked by thieves, a woman getting beaten up, a limping chicken, there are plenty of oppressed out there ! At least this way I'll feel like I'm useful !

Both relinquish their family...

Viren, to Claudia : Choose the dragon egg.

Lancelot, to Bohort : Get the hell out ! A wandering knight has no cousins !

Both are arrogant :

Viren : I am the law.

Lancelot, to Arthur : You are not worthy of the Grail quest. You don't have what it takes. Even hopping stripped-naked, I'll still go faster than you and your stupid bunch of morons !

Both are saved from suicide by a pact with the devil :

Viren : I have nothing left to lose.

Meleagant, laughing, to Lancelot : I wonder how you were able to wait for so long before cutting your own throat !

Both are frustrated by their devils :

Viren, to Aaravos : What game are you playing at ?

Lancelot, to Meleagant : It doesn't make any sense ! Who are you ? Who sends you ? For how long do I have to deal with your mysteries ? Oh, it doesn't matter, right ? I'm not asking the right questions, right ? For God's sake, it's not complicated to tell one's own name ...

Both are manipulated by the said-devil who stroke their broken ego :

Aaravos, to Viren : How may I serve you ?

Meleagant, to Lancelot : Passion. Perseverance, courage. Ah... If you only had just one single drop of humour within you... You'd be reigning over the world.

Both are pushed to extreme by their devils :

Aaravos : They deserve to be motivated by fear.

Meleagant : A traveller is coming down this way. I want you to kill him.

Both refuse to completely forsake their moral boundaries :

Viren : No, I want for humanity to flourish. (Aaravos : And to fullfil such noble aims, mustn't we... conquer Xadia ?)

Lancelot : I don't kill my cousin. I still have something left from my former values ! (Meleagant : You'll be soon committed to get rid of those as soon as possible.)

I love intertextuality

#lord viren #king harrow #arthur #lancelot #kaamelott #the dragon prince #tdp #upthebaguette #tdp viren #viren #harrow #tdp harrow #Lancelot Kaamelott #arthur Kaamelott #we used to be friends

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shapeshifting-wildcard · 3 years ago

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Akira Konoe's Shadow awaited them at the top of the tower. He was a relatively young man, about the same age as Amazon, with short black hair and a little black goatee. The Shadow sported the typical glowing gold eyes they'd come to expect, and a smug air of someone who believes everything is going according to plan.

"So you've come," the Shadow said. He spread his arms wide in greeting. "A warm welcome to the terrorists who toy with others' hearts in the name of their self-righteous justice, the infamous Phantom Thieves."

Crow scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes behind his mask.

"As if you've any right to talk!" Fox said. "You who repeatedly takes control of whomever you please!"

"And you even tried to pass us off as a bunch of killers," Oracle added. "...Again! You're the real bad guy here!"

"It would appear you haven't realized just how similar we are," the Shadow said, a condescending tone to his voice.

All of the adults (save, perhaps, for Wolf) all looked at him with varying degrees of incredulity.

"Oh, really?" Amazon said, quietly challenging him to back his point up.

The Shadow frowned ever so slightly at her tone, but went back to his cocky smirk quickly enough. "We're one and the same. We both detest this rotten society and struggle day after day to combat it."

Crow laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "Oh, that's rich coming from a man who literally got away with murder."

The Shadow paused, lip twitching. "Excuse me?"

"We know all about your past," Noir chimed in. "It must have been so terrible for you."

"And I for one am well acquainted with the conclusions you came to the night you decided to take matters into your own hands," Crow said, casually adjusting his gauntlets. "'There are no heroes,' 'no one is coming for me...' You also saw the ugliness of the world, and came to the same conclusions."

The Shadow's smirk returned. "So, you understand where I'm coming from, then? You understand that someone needs to save this rotten world?"

Crow returned that smirk, lip curling back to reveal teeth. "I don't give a crap about this world. It can burn for all I care. And at the end of the day, I think you don't give a crap, either."

"What?"

A few of the others shot Crow looks, some confused, some intrigued. That was a bold claim to be making, after all.

"You claim to want to save the world, and yet all you've done is enslave people. Bending them to your own will."

"Of course I have, it's the only way. I need to stamp out every last trace of evil from within the hearts of humanity!"

"How naive."

The Shadow glared at Crow. "I'm naive? We've both seen the true nature of this world. How could you possibly call me naive?"

"Because you believe that 'evil' is simple. So simple that if you could just locate it within the human heart, you can get rid of it and everything will be just fine."

"But that's how it works!" the Shadow said. "It's what the Phantom Thieves do!"

"No, it isn't," Crow said. "The Phantom Thieves don't remove evil. They remove a distortion. They remove the blinders that people place on themselves that allow them to ignore the suffering they've caused. They remove their excuses and justifications." He glared at the Shadow. "Excuses such as, 'others mistreated me, so that makes it okay for me to mistreat them.' The very excuse your chosen Monarchs used to steal others' Desires."

The Shadow took a step back, gaze darting between the Phantom Thieves. "So, it's only okay when you all do it, then? Is that it?"

"That would be a valid question," Amazon said, "if it weren't for the fact that your change of heart victims become susceptible to the whims of whoever holds their Desires. To my understanding, the Phantom Thieves' targets are not left permanently susceptible to their whims."

"That is correct," Crow said.

"I think I see," Sophie chimed in. "For Konoe, changing someone's heart means imprisoning them. But for the Phantom Thieves, it means setting them free."

The Shadow took another step back. "Wh... What nonsense. What good could possibly come of letting people do whatever they want? Without someone... without a hero like me at the helm, what's to stop evil from taking root in people's hearts?!"

"You mean the way it took root in yours?" Joker asked.

The Shadow flinched as it glared at him. "I... I'm the hero. Heroes always win."

"You're only sayin' that 'cause you got away with murder," Tailor pointed out. "I mean I get that the guy was an absolute shithead to you and you were genuinely scared for your life. But it's still murder."

"Do you believe you could have saved me, then?" the Shadow said.

"Oh come off it," Crow said, rolling his eyes. "What happened, happened. Stop trying to run away from the past by rewriting yourself as the hero just because you got away with killing the man who abused you."

"Well then what about all those other kids in the same place as me?" the Shadow said, taking a step back even as it raised its voice. "What have you done to help them, huh?"

"Saved them from a life of torment under a selfish teacher by exposing his lies!" Fox snapped back.

"Saved them from being used as a pawn in their father's political schemes," Noir said, glancing away as she held her hands to her chest.

"Helped 'em get back on their feet after getting away from their shithead dad and dealin' with the teacher that ruined their future," Skull chimed in.

"Helped them return to society after shutting themselves away from all the trauma," Oracle said, voice wavering slightly with emotion.

A small smile crept across Emperor's face and a chuckle escaped him. "It would seem that in pursuing your desire to be a 'hero,' Konoe-san, you forgot one of the fundamental parts of heroism: helping people."

The Shadow backed up almost all the way to the wall, a look of anger, sadness, and jealousy splashed across his face. "You... you can't save everyone this way! My way is more efficient! Sure, the range of a Jail is limited to one city, so I'll need an army of Monarchs—"

"It isn't 'more efficient,'" Joker said, taking a step forward. The Shadow's gaze turned to him. The distance between them was vast, and yet as Joker took another step, the Shadow flinched. Joker's knife heels clicked on the ground as he advanced, his now feathery coattails billowing behind him dramatically. "All you're doing is trapping people in their own trauma in order to fuel your desire for control. You say you want to stamp out evil, but all you're doing is spreading it. You're using the very people you want to help in order to bring the rest under your control. To you, all of them are either victims to 'save,' or pawns to use."

Joker stopped halfway between his Thieves and the Shadow, head tilted up defiantly.

"You're no hero. You're a villain with a hero complex."

The Shadow backed up to the wall, placing a hand against it as he glared back at Joker.

"...Fine. Fine! It seems there's little point in discussing this further. If we can't reach an understanding, then only one side can remain. It's time to decide which of us truly walks the path of justice!"

#!drabbles #!long post #!event: Summer Scramble #!abuse mention #((this took so much longer to write than it needed to alskfehsldh))#((I rewrote so many parts of this so many times over))

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watchathon · 4 years ago

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Carmen Sandiego S2E3: The Daisho Caper

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a TV show every weekday, with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so. Now that the introductions are over with, here’s my thoughts on The Daisho Caper:

- Refreshing to see the history explanation scene done by someone other than Player or Carmen. In this case, Shadowsan!

- Also nice to see a flashback of Shadowsan being nice to young Carmen.

- I’ll agree with Carmen that I didn’t expect another vanishing act from Shadowsan...

- Easy to forget that VILE’s leadership are themselves also thieves, like the ones they command. But here we see something that Shadowsan himself stole once.

- I like Carmen’s no-nonsense attitude when it comes to stealing for personal gain. She gets the idea that Shadowsan’s “personal business” is to steal for himself, she puts an end to that before it can begin.

- This background music is sounding like the start to a musical number...

- ...Or, a Zack and Ivy karaoke session. Close enough!

- I’ve always wanted to sing karaoke myself. Maybe if I ever take a trip to Japan?

- More history from Shadowsan. Used to wonder, when I was a kid, what the difference betweeen samurai and ninjas were. Now, kids who watch Carmen Sandiego will get a simple and clean explanation.

- Google Translate tells me that Dokuso translates to “toxin.” Meaning that Lady Dokuso is a properly menacing name for a seasoned VILE operative and one half of today’s villainy.

- The other half being Paper Star, the return of my favorite VILE thief.

- Didn’t occur to me that Carmen’s glider could be cut through. I mean, in hindsight, it’s totally super-obvious, but it’s just one of those things I never thought of before now.

- True story, my sister walked in during this scene and said that she’s gonna watch Carmen Sandiego just for Paper Star the same way she watched She-Ra just for Catra.

- I like that VILE’s arc throughout the season is finding a replacement for Shadowsan. It’s a nice way to see a bunch of seasoned thieves that are fit to be a part of VILE’s upper echelon.

- Sad to see Shadowsan’s backstory as a troublemaker who grew to regret his past.

- Not to mention he felt he’d made a mistake about as soon as he took the sword. Only running out of panic.

- The thing about Shadowsan is, Lady Dokuso’s minions talk about these unbelievable stories involving him... and I could totally see Shadowsan pulling these things off. Especially when his actual entrance into the club has him making a point of fighting off the minions barehanded.

- Nice to see Ivy playing a pivotal part in the plan.

- “Boo!” Paper Star’s just the right amount of cute to accentuate her creepiness, and her second intro in the back of the club is a perfect demonstration of that.

- Much appreciated that as awesome as Shadowsan is, he’s not invincible, like any other member of Team Carmen. Even after he takes care of the grunts, he falls victim to Lady Dokuso’s toxin.

- Meanwhile, Paper Star falls victim to the one weakness of anyone whose main offensive technique involves throwing things: glue.

- I like that Shadowsan doesn’t get forgiven, bad as I’m sure that sounds. His only goal was to get closure correct the mistake he made decades ago, and that’s all he gets. It’s a bittersweet note for the episode to end on, one that leaves Shadowsan with closure and ready to keep adventuring with Team Carmen, but leaves him still apart from his brother.

#TV #Carmen Sandiego #Carmen Sandiego Season 2 #The Daisho Caper #Shadowsan #Carmen #Zack #Ivy #Lady Dokuso #Paper Star

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laurelleghuleh · 4 years ago

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OCAF | Ch. 3 “Heart, tell them what you came for”

Warnings: read the masterlist first

Songs: “Tell Them” by James Blake, "Forever & Ever More" - Nothing But Thieves, "Bad Man" - Esterly, Austin Jenckens

LEVI'S POV

"You shouldn't be here. Do you miss prison so much?" I asked her.

"I'm doing anything wrong. Please, get lost..." she paused and then slightly turned her head, just to say "captain".

Captain. I repeated the sound of her voice articulating that word a couple of times more. Captain. Captain.

"Tch. I don't care. You should be in your room, sleeping"

"I can't" She confessed.

Well, apparently, I wasn't the only one not able to catch some sleep.

"Again. I. Don't. Care. Go back to your room"

She stayed silent, ignoring me and still staring at the sky.

"Oi. Are you deaf? I said. Back. To your room. Don't make me repeat myself or I'll push you down the building"

She suddenly turned her head over her shoulder, staring at me intensely. If looks could kill, I'd be dead right now. And yet, on second thought, her eyes were pretty reddish. Glassy. Close to tears. Was she crying before I caught her?

Too distracted by my own thoughts, I didn't notice she had slowly gotten up and pretty close to me. "You are all talk, captain, and no trousers, you know? Always threatening me with death and yet here I am. Still very much alive. Living and breathing"

Her tone ignited something almost animalistic inside of me. Something wicked. And at that moment, I totally lost it. Who she thinks she's talking to?

I fiercely grabbed her collar, brought her to the very edge of the roof, almost shoving her out of it. One of her feet slightly whipped out of the corner, but her face remained stoic. Stony-faced. She grabbed my wrist to steady herself like she was trying to provoke me, fight me, but still stayed almost unmoved.

Looking me dead in the eyes, she was waiting for the death sentence from her executioner. Not a single word. Not a single whine. Isn't she afraid of me? Isn't she even afraid of dying?This must be a bluff. And yet, she never flinched.

Enough. I decided to let her go, throwing her to the ground. "Back to your room" I said once again.

"Captain?" she mumbled while I was already closing the roof's door behind my back.

Again. Captain. Captain. I turned back.

"Captain, before you go... I wanted to say... I-I'm sorry"

"Ok. Got it. Now, back to your room"

"No" She declared standing up, right in front of me "N-not for this. Well, also, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry... for Farlan...and Isabel... I've never stopped thinking about it. You know, about your reaction. They were close to you, weren't they? I'm so sorry... I was ordered to-"

"Don't" I interrupted her "Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't know and that was your mission, right?" and then we stared at each other for what seemed a very long time.

I was looking for something else to say or some way to say nothing at all, but a little voice inside me told me to speak. To talk to her about it. But why? So, I soundly sighed and opened my mouth.

"Yes" I declared "We were close. Friends, you could say. More like a family, actually" She immediately tensed.

"I told you, don't be sorry... I don't need your pity" I spat as she was lightly shaking. What is the matter now? Why does she even care? Criminals don't care.

"I am. I am sorry" she replied straight away.

"You know, I'm pretty familiar with the underground. It challenges you in any way humanly possible until you can't bear it anymore, until you are capable of the most horrifying things, just to survive. Swim or you'll drown, right?"

She flinched a little and then said "So, I was right. You are the guy from the underground"

"Yeah... to be honest, our stories are pretty similar" I confessed.

"I don't think so, captain"

And then again, my childish curiosity spoke for me: "So tell me about it, cadet"

"There isn't much to say... You already know pretty much everything. Just a regular thug from the underground. Before that, to quote one of your comrades, a slut. A poor orphan making a living by working in a whorehouse. Oh, and I once was a survey corps' prisoner. The rest is history"

I couldn't find the right word to say. She really was a prostitute. And Oruo had the audacity to provoke her like that. I felt so upset. He was a great soldier but... a loutish most of the time. I was still speechless. If only she knew that also my mother used to work as a pr-...

"Well, captain, I've bothered you long enough now. So, I-"

"Forget about it" I suddenly spat "Whatever happened back then forget about it. Let your past die and most importantly, don't have any regret"

"Like you did?"

"Yes, and like you should. Be a better person. Do something good. Make new friends"

"I'm tryin-"

"No, you are not. I saw you today. I observed you. You barely speak to your mates. They are your comp-"

"I know you stared at me the whole time, captain" She teased me looking up at me. Was I staring at her? Was it that obvious? I thought.

"Shut up. That's my job, cadet. I have to survey you and your fellows"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, captain"

"Tch. Be more sociable. Full stop. Now, back to your room..."

"Look who's talking..."

"Cadet. I warn you: you're playing with fire"

"I'm just saying that I did everything I was supposed to do today. I ate. I trained. I didn't try any "funny business" as you said, so-"

"That's not enough. You have to trust them and they have to trust you. Some of them will join the Survey Corps. Some of them we'll be in our squad, so you need to trust them. The next expedition will take place soon, so be more sociable. End of discussion"

"Ok, I wasn't sociable, buuuut I observed them if that counts for anything"

"Tch. Let's hear. Enlighten me, cadet. Share with me some of your wisdom"

She frowned her forehead, upset by my little tease, and then she started "Some of them are already both talented and motivated, like that Mikasa. Then we have a bunch of "I don't know why I'm here" beefy guys. Similarly, a bunch of "I want to be here but I don't know if I should", you know, the motivated but poorly skilled type. Still, I admire their spirit, like that Armin. He seems a nice person. And lastly, the ones who give me chills. Like that blondie, Annie. Her eyes looked almost dead... Even though she was the only one truly challenging me during the combat, she mumbled some nonsense, like that she wants to survive, she won't join the survey corps. And yet, she was one of the strongest in the group. Weirdo. Oh, and talking about weirdos, let's not forget our Jean. He hit on me three times. Three. Only during the training. And then once again soon after it ended"

"So, you can be very talkative when you want to, Daphne" And also, she had quite a good intuition. She could really read people. Wait... Did I just call her by her name?

"I-I was just trying to give you my point of view, captain..." Is she blushing? "I need some more time to trust them" She continued "I'm not good at socializing, let alone trusting people. I'll do better next time"

Yeah...I know what you're talking about...Trusting people ain't my thing either.

"Try. And now, go and try to sleep" I ordered "Tomorrow it'll be quite a busy day. Erwin just informed me there'll be Eren's sentence. Have you heard of him?"

"I heard Mikasa and that short blondie talking about him. They seemed pretty worried about him. So, is it true that he can shift?"

"Yeah, he's the guy. Tomorrow the Supreme Commander will determine which division will look after him... well, survey him. He's fundamental for our mission. We can't afford to lose him. So-"

"Yeah, I know. Back. To my room." She sighed almost mimicking me. I stared at her dead in the eyes. She enjoyed teasing me way too much for my liking.

"Good night, captain"

I nodded, unable to respond, while my head was still focused on that captain.

DAPHNE'S POV

I think I'll never get used to the sky.

I've dreamed about that so many times and yet I couldn't still find my peace. It felt like I couldn't allow myself to feel at ease, let alone content to even that view.

I had no choice, and actually, their offer had given me a little more time to think again about my plan. I would have wait and then, when the right opportunity would have come, I'd run away.

Maybe during the next expedition...What a coward, I thought immediately. I couldn't not only accomplish my mission but also I was no use to their cause. What a coward. Maybe I should have helped them, for a while, and then escape.

I was so conflicted, confused.

That night changed everything for me. When that thing, the titan, attacked me nothing else mattered. Any worry I had ever had in my life couldn't compare. Its expression haunted my thoughts throughout the day as I was trying to plot my way out of that place.

I needed to go back to the underground again, I couldn't let things that way. Wait for me... Wait for me, Abi...

As her face appeared between the shining dots of the wild blue yonder, a single tear dropped down along my cheek to my jaw. "Crying won't fix anything, you coward. Stop it" a voice in my head told me.

And that's when I sensed him. Someone. No, Levi was watching me, and soon after I said something to get his attention. He was just surveying me, yeah sure, but still, his presence didn't bother me that much, quite the opposite.

Scratch that, not only the titan, also the captain and his revelation about being the guy from the underground haunted me all day and for the rest of that night too.

Fortunately, the night didn't last that long, and "a busy day" awaited me.

First thing in the morning I headed to the cafeteria where a quite enthusiastic Hange was already bothering an unfazed Levi.

"Good moooorning, little early bird!" she shouted at me, while Levi only nodded in my direction, simulating a greeting.

"Why so early, darling?" Hange asked.

"The captain had informed me just yesterday that today we would have had a lot on our plate, so I wanted to be ready as soon as possible..." I replied.

Sincerely, I didn't want to be in their way. The faster I would have gained their trust, the faster I'd had a chance to run away.

Moreover, Levi seemed rather pleased with my answer. Did I catch him hiding a little smile in his cup?

"That's great! Since she's already here you two should accompany commander Erwin to the court, I'll go get the kid. I'm so thrilled to finally meet hiiim! See you there!!" and so she left.

Again, I was left alone with the captain. He took another sip and then extended one of his arms to a table behind him. "Here, eat something, so we can arrive at the court before the crowd" said Levi, not daring to even look at me.

"Good morning to you too, captain... and thanks anyway" I didn't make him repeat it and I did as he said. But here he was again, bossing me around while being nice.

He had prepared a cup of tea and some slices of bread with jam. Did he prepare it? For me? Is he just acting like a hunter feeding his prey right before killing it, or is he actually a caring person?

My little and silent breakfast was soon over, so we headed to the stable to get a couple of horses. Levi seemed to have his own and then he grabbed another horse for me: "Take care of it. Horses are pretty smart animals" he said while brushing his horse's mane "They have a great memory and they can understand human emotions. They'll read you right away...They are known to be able to smell fear, you know? So, remember what I said to you yesterday: forget about the past and be present. Moreover, don't be afraid. Whatever you're going to see today, trust me, trust us"

I nodded, swallowing soundly. I somehow did trust them. I trusted him.

"You're such a good little liar, aren't you, Dafne? You trust him, you trust them but they shouldn't trust you. You don't deserve being here, you don't deserve being a soldier" said again that voice.

However, we made it to the court and met Erwin right in front of it. I saw both of them chatting about something and before I could catch any clue the assembly had already started. The room was packed with people: soldiers from all the ranks, regular people, and even a priest.

"Get here, next to me" said Levi catching me by surprise "Be a good girl and stay quiet until the very end" When will he stop bossing me around?I want to punch him so bad.

"Now, look there. Right in front of you. See, that's the gendarmerie, our opponent. A bunch of chickenshit... If they win Eren's custody, they'll kill him straight away. And they still dare to call themselves soldiers" he explained.

I listen to him carefully as I scanned them one by one. Then Levi pinched my hand "Here he comes".

As soon as Eren got inside the room the air got heavier. The gendarmerie was pretty agitated, they made a big fuss while arguing with a mad priest. On the contrary, Erwin confronted them and without losing his cool he proved his point. He was in charge.

But still, everybody seemed to be afraid of Eren: what if he couldn't control himself? What if he was a bluff? What if-

While the whole commission was arguing, Eren was kicked right in his face. LEVI. What the fuck is he doing??? He kicked him again, and again, and again. Even harder than before. He was ruthless. What the-

But I soon realized what he was doing. He was trying to prove he was in charge, that he had Eren under his power. He was the only one who could have stopped him if necessary. Fair enough, but isn't he even a little afraid of that kid? Levi is still a mystery.

Soon after, Mikasa tried to scream and suddenly stood up. So, I moved closer and stopped her "Wait, Mikasa. Wait and see. Trust me" I told her.

It was a setup, I knew it.

When Levi was satisfied with his job, Erwin started to speak again. He explained once again how indispensable was Eren's power to their mission and proposed to assign the boy to the only one who could have surveyed him: captain Levi. The supreme commander accepted. They won Eren's custody.

Soon after the end of the assembly, Hange, Erwin, Levi and I escorted Eren back to the HQ and tried to help him with his bruises. Hange had carried some medicine with her, but Eren was so in pain. Levi had been far from gentle with him.

That's when I remembered an unguent Martha used to hand me whenever I encountered a difficult customer. I once was beaten up pretty bad and I still remember Martha's words "Here, take this. You know, sometimes this type of thing happens around here. Get used to it, babygirl"

Yeah sure, like it was totally normal.

However, I tried my best to replicate the recipe pretty fast with some ingredients brought there by Hange.

"What are you doing, cadet?" immediately said Levi, standing behind me and observing what I was doing.

"What does it look like to you, captain? I'm trying to help him out" I confronted him.

We stared at each other. None of us dared to look away.

"Oh, c'mon Levi, cut her some slack" said Hange.

I glared at him once again and then got back to my recipe. Soon after I was finished and I handed the unguent to Eren.

Half-kneeling down in front of him I said "It should help speed up the process. Or at least it'll help endure the pain. It contains aloe" I smiled at him, trying to cheer him up a little.

"T-thank you s-so much, it feels really nice" He stuttered.

"You're welcome, kid. You did well today" I said as I playfully rubbed his head. He giggled.

"Wooo, it's true! It does feel nice. Where did you learn that, girl? I want the recipe now" Hange said enthusiastically as she was applying a little of my unguent on her arm. "This girl continues to amaze me, I'm glad you two captured her" she laughed and then she turned to face both Levi and Erwin. And so I did too.

The captain eyed me. Unfazed. A penny for your thoughts, Levi?

However, I chuckled a little. Hange's fervor was quite contagious, I must admit.

Suddenly something else caught my attention: Eren's bruises started to fade away. What the fuck?! "I think I saw something even more amazing, Hange. Look at his skin..." I said pointing to him "I don't think that was my unguent" What kind of witchcraft is this?

"No, darling, that's the titans' power. But still... how fascinating..." said Hange, drooling. Another weirdo. Well, another nice weirdo.

However, that's what Levi was talking about before. "Don't be afraid. Whatever you're going to see today, trust me, trust us" he said. I turned around to watch his reaction and he instantly glared at me. A hint of a smile appeared on my face. I wanted him to know I wasn't afraid.

The more I spent time with them the more I could see what they were about.

Soon after, Hange escorted Eren back to his dorm, while Erwin, Levi and I headed down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Before he left, Erwin said "We made it. Another step further" and then he approached me "You did well today too. Thanks for handling Mikasa, she could have gotten herself into trouble without you"

"Don't mention it, commander. She was just blinded by her feelings. She was clearly worried about Eren's fate, I totally get it" I replied.

"Sure, but you demonstrated a lot of self-control and discipline today. Well done, cadet"

"I'm just good at reading people and situations, but thanks commander" I tried to minimize my actions. "Look at yourself: behaving, obeying, being a good girl... what have you become, Daphne?" that voice inside my head echoed once again.

The commander discharged us, so Levi and I headed to our respective rooms.

"Are you happy now?" Levi suddenly asked me when we were almost at my door.

"Excuse me, captain?"

"Now I'll be on Eren's ass. I won't have time to survey you" he said, getting close to me. Way too close "Consider yourself lucky, cadet" he continued.

"If you ever miss my ass, captain, you can make an appointment. I'll definitely keep myself free for you" I teased him, preparing myself for the worst.

His jaw tensed as he scanned my face. He inhaled soundly, never looking away from me. He looked like a wild animal, a predator. His eyes were running furiously all over my face, restless.

"Calm down, captain. I was just messing with you..." I hissed, almost feeling my own breath coming back to my face. He was way too close.

"I've already warned you. Smartmouth, drop it already" he whispered "Just because you behaved today, it doesn't mean I'm buying it. I'll still keep an eye on you"

"Oh, my dear captain, I know you'll do" I teased him.

My fault. I brought it on myself. He gripped my jaw with just his hand and so my head banged on the door. He stared at me furiously but a small grin painted on my face. You don't know who you're fucking with, Levi.

He groaned and let go of me. His expression suddenly changed: did he regret acting out of rage?

"C'mon captain, it's time to go to sleep, right?" I whispered massaging my chin and trying to make eye-contact with him.

Levi suddenly grabbed my hand and took it away from my face. With his left one he cupped my cheek, so he started stroking my jaw with his thumb. I stared at him trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my ribcage.

His thumb softly traveled back and forth on my jaw, while the other fingers stayed solid on the back of my neck. What was that all of a sudden? And the expression on his face...He seemed sorry. Then his eyes traveled from my chin to my eyes, looking for something. He sighed soundly and moved his attention back to my jaw.

He eyed me once again and then left me there, without saying a word.

Once in my room, another sleepless night awaited me, and yet another day came. I really was a lucky bastard.

However, when the daylight hit my window I got up, showered and then headed to the cafeteria where again a silent Levi was waiting for me. Sitting next to him was Eren, quietly eating. On my usual seating position, there were a cup and a plate. Again, Levi had prepared that for me.

I noticed the plate was stuffed with biscuits, slices of bread and some fruits. Was he making amends for yesterday? I smiled at him, but he stayed silent.

While I was still focused on the food, he shyly scanned my face, looking for some evidence of our last encounter. I saw him out of the corner of my eyes so I kindly asked "Is everything alright, captain?" but he just gave me a dirty look.

Once he was finished with his tea he started to speak "Today we'll move out of the HQ. We will travel a little and get to an old castle, which is actually the old HQ. There we will hide you, Eren, so that freak can continue her experiments on you in peace. Hurry up and meet me at the stable" and so he left.

I rolled my eyes, so Eren laughed a little. He was clearly afraid of the captain. How can I blame him?

"Scary, isn't he?" said Eren when Levi left the cafeteria.

"He is all barks and no bite, trust me. However, I guess he is just trying to be a good captain... in his own way, but I think I get it" I admitted.

"I heard he went hard on you too, right? You are the criminal from the underground... Oh, I'm sorry, it didn't come out that well... "

"No, don't worry. You're right, I am the criminal from the underground. And yes, he wasn't that gentle with me either" I said.

"But you don't seem frightened around him, how do you do that??" I really didn't know what to say... Maybe it was because if Levi wanted me dead, I would have already been worm food.

I didn't know for how long it would have lasted, but to be honest, judging from his last behaviors Levi seemed as conflicted as I was. Luckily for me.

After we finished our breakfast, we headed out and started our little trip along with the Special Operations Squad, also known as Squad Levi: that creep Oruo, Eld, Gunther and Petra. The elite squad of the Survey Corps, hand-picked by the almighty Captain Levi.

Once there, we all reunited in front of the gate.

"Oh God, this place is a mess. Look at all that weed!" exclaimed Gunther.

Indeed, it was a mess. A huge castle, for sure, but it rather looked like a dump now.

"In which case we have a problem, don't we?" said Levi, coming from our backs "Best get a broom and get to work".

Is he for real? A question mark appeared on my face and Petra immediately caught it.

"Oh, that was just the calm before the storm, now you'll see what captain Levi is really all about" she giggled as she took me by the arm, escorting me inside the building.

#levi ackerman #levi fanfiction #levi x oc #levi x reader #levi smut #snk levi #levi fanfic #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction #Captain Levi #levi heichou #levi #read on ao3 #read on wattpad #ytlcaf #fanfic

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wecomrades · 4 years ago

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❝That time when Alton More became a thief❞

A/N: I don’t know if this has been done before, but the other day the idea struck me so randomly and unexpectedly that I had to do something about it! As always, thanks to my other brain cell @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant for cleaning this up from grammar impurities. Ily ♥

Given my last fic being a little (too much) angst, I decided to add some light with my favourites comedians. It’s nonsense, but I hope you enjoy!

(this fic is also on Wattpad and Ao3, come send some love I’d appreciate that quite a lot!)

Words: 945

Warning: comedy trash

Taglist: @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant @gutsandgloryhere @liebegott @vintagelavenderskies @punkgeekchic @wexhappyxfew @easy-company-tradition

If you fancy being in my taglist please comment this post or send me an ask! I’d love to have you ♥

___________________

"I guess they were Hitler's photo albums, sir. Sure had a lot of pictures of him in it."

Alton More can't believe his ears, honestly. He's being accused for what reason, exactly? He's being accused of stealing by a proper thief. The one and only king of thieves. That's hilarious, really. Silver Stealer, is what the boys had started to call Ronald Speirs, after he'd been seen exiting citizens' houses with arms full of silver.

And he is the thief?

"So you looked at them but didn't take them?" urges Speirs, his eyes piercing Alton like a blade.

"That's right, sir," Alton sighs, hoping this third degree would end soon. He's had enough, and he has a game to attend.

"I don't believe you," Speirs almost yells. Honestly, what does Speirs want from him? Like, what if he did take fucking Hitler's photo albums? The man shot himself in the head, surely he doesn't need them anymore.

If Speirs wants them for himself, hell, finders keepers.

With the corner of his eye, Alton sees someone approaching the door and when he turns to them he sees Talbert, a little bit taken aback: who knows what his friend could be thinking now, entering Speirs' office and seeing him fuming, while Alton is pretty damn calm.

His comrades always envy his nonchalance, often tell him he's a calming presence in that loud bunch that is Easy Company. He's never felt like contradicting them, he likes that reputation.

After some awkward exchanges, Speirs turns his look to him.

"I'll be watching you," he says, his tone severe. Alton was always up to some mischief when he was a child, but not even his old teachers at school dared saying 'I'll be watching you', as if he was some kind of delinquent. "You're dismissed."

About time, Alton thinks while saluting his captain. He turns quickly, glad that that little dramatic scene of Speirs yelling at him for stupid Nazi photo albums is finally over. Dramatic, indeed. With all the things they've been going through this past year, one could think that would be enough drama by then.

"You better not be lying to me," Alton hears from behind.

He smirks, because it's all he can do.

***

"So?" asks Luz once Alton reaches him, Malarkey and Martin outside. "What did he want?"

Alton shrugs, lighting himself a cigarette. "He wanted to know if I took the photo albums we found at Eagle's Nest. The bastard, all he does is stealing from civilians but as soon as he hears one of us taking something more valuable he goes all angry about it."

Luz scoffs. "Somebody needs to tell our captain that out of all the men in Easy, he's the one who could build an entire town with all the things he's taken since we got here," he says, taking the lighter from Alton's hand and using it on his own cigarette. "He thinks himself as a kind of Robin Hood or something."

"Why would he believe you stole those albums, anyway?" Johnny comments, a little bit indignant.

Awkward silence.

Alton having everybody's eyes on him.

"Probably because he did," Donald breaks the silence, shaking his head. When it's clear that nobody had seen that coming, he just shrugs. "What? I was there, I saw."

Alton smiles at his shocked friends, wondering why they're being so surprised. It's not like he stole the entire Eagle's Nest library, he just put a couple of personal Hitler's albums under his uniform and left.

"I'm not believing you're this savage," Luz tells, clapping his hands like he just heard the funniest joke ever. "What are you going to do with the man's pictures, anyway? I bet they'd be great in winter instead of the firewood, keep y'all warm."

A loud laugh echoes in the yard, making some people who are passing by startle. The boys start walking down the street and towards the baseball field; some of them organised a game to welcome Buck Compton back and couldn't stop talking about it since the day before.

"Yeah, Luz, looks like a nice bonfire would fit his preferences."

"Oi, rude," Donald says. "True, though."

Johnny whistles. "Honestly the only thought of having a small piece of that Nazi ass in my house, is beyond my understanding."

"Guys," Alton stops them, dropping the cigarette butt behind him, "I'm not going to either burn or sell those pictures, okay? I took them to keep them as a souvenir of the most hated man in the whole world. End of story."

"Nice," Luz adds.

"Aye, come back to me in ten years and tell me you didn't sell them for hundreds of dollars, dude!" Donald insists, kicking his friend's leg and almost having him tripping on the ground. "Oops, sorry."

Well, we'll see about that, thinks Alton, shaking his head at his chaotic friends. They're almost there when Alton suddenly starts running leaving them behind. "Last one to the field will use Perconte's toothbrush for a week!"

As they all were racing like total idiots, Alton More can't help but think that maybe yes, maybe he will get rid of those albums someday, somehow, but for now they're safe and sound in his current home.

But he doesn't tell them that, they don't need to know. And Speirs doesn't need to be informed about that, either.

What they also don't need to know, is that he's planning on becoming a thief once again, since he has heard some guy from Division came to Austria with a handful of old pictures of Toccoa men.

That is going to be a really great souvenir.

#bob fics #bad of brothers #alton more #who thought i'd write about alton tho

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itsbenedict · 3 years ago

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Two-Faced Jewel: Session 7

A half-elf conwoman (and the moth tasked with keeping her out of trouble) travel the Jewel in search of, uh, whatever a fashionable accessory is pointing them at. [Campaign log]

Last time, Saelhen and Looseleaf continued their scouring of the evil torture wizard's evil torture tower for clues as to the identity of the murderer terrorizing the towns of Barley and Wheat. They found a bunch of mysterious documents of ominous character, but they've yet to check out the tower's hidden basement- and the ne'er-do-well lurking within...

The basement doesn't immediately contain any horrors, unless you're the type to get the jibblies from a messy room. There's dirty dishes (recently used), empty beer bottles from a Zeishus Brewery, and discarded clothes everywhere. It's very lived-in, and whoever lives-in here doesn't seem like they were expecting visitors.

Saelhen takes a look at the desk nearest the stairs, next to a well-used recliner and a recently-extinguished candle. She gets a nat 20 on her Investigation, and finds that the desk has been rotated to face the wall, concealing a drawer that doesn't look like it's been opened in some time, judging by the cobwebs.

What's inside is mainly more of the sort of thing they found on the sixth floor- technical notes on neurology and pain magic. With the critical success, she's able to piece together that the odd numbers on the abrasive letter found upstairs were some sort of pain measurements the letter-writer was providing to Lumiere.

They also find a less academic, more personal note, expressing frustration with his own research.

"Why would the Burnscreamer's rituals require Abyssal? Even a god like him shouldn't have any connection to the demons- what is he playing at?" "If I could just correct the sigil, I could bypass so much of this nonsense..."

Saelhen then gets a nat 1 on her Religion roll to know what that means, and assumes the Burnscreamer is the frontman for a metal band her dad likes.

As they search the rest of the room, they notice- at the bottom of the central shaft- a circular basin in the stone floor. It's stained red, but it's dry- not as much blood as you'd expect to see given the carnage on the sixth floor, so it seems like it's been recently emptied or cleaned out.

Oyobi, meanwhile, checks the locked door by the stairs, and finds it... cold? I wonder what that means vis-a-vis-

The extremely sneaky +9 Stealth person hiding braced against the walls of the central shaft fucks up right about then, and slips a little, letting out an involuntary "Gh- shit!", alerting the party to his presence.

Saelhen tries to chase after this person by parkouring off those same walls, gets a 9, and faceplants in the blood basin, leaving the issue to the party member who has wings. As the hider flees through one of the doors in the shaft, Looseleaf uses her darkvision and 24 Investigation roll to pick out the right door and give chase.

(Meanwhile, the rest of the party heads up the stairs normally- and Saelhen orders Orluthe to bust down the front door, so they can go outside and catch anyone trying to escape by rappelling down the side of the building. This turns out to be unnecessary, because when Looseleaf detected that the front door was magic and assumed it was a trap, this was incorrect.)

Benedict I. (GM): ("who knows what kind of trap could be on this magic door? better go up and through the window into the room full of traps, instead") (i was laughing so hard) (it's just an automatic door!) Looseleaf: Honestly, the people in town oversold this place. They made it sound like such a deathtrap and really it was just a bunch of spiky bots. And knives. And comfy pillows. Benedict I. (GM): Well, when they were there, there was a living evil torture wizard actively trying to take them prisoner and torture them.

Looseleaf botches her Investigation roll to search the torture lab she emerges in, but... that doesn't stop her from just checking each and every possible hiding place one by one, manually. She alights upon the correct solution swiftly- checking inside the broken remains of the iron maiden.

bBenedict I. (GM): Anyway, Looseleaf, inside the corpse of the iron maiden, you find. A rather heavy man, performing a downright heroic feat of contortionism to suspend himself inside the door without getting impaled on the spikes. Arnie: "Uh." "Can you pretend you never saw me?" Looseleaf: "That depends on what you're doing here, I guess. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: oh that is a nervous man Arnie: "No one. Nothing. I'm, uh, supposed to be like, dead, probably." "So I'm not here." "Yeah?"

Arnie Zeishus is the deadbeat husband of Cassie, the innkeeper from Barley, who fled town a while back. He explains that after fleeing his responsibilities in Barley, he tried to set up shop in Wheat running a brewery, but got in trouble flouting the brewing regulations of the Ecumene of Harmony. So after getting arrested there and breaking out of prison, he decided to sneak into the torture wizard's tower and lay low as a squatter in the guy's basement. He figured he might get caught and tortured, but it couldn't be worse than what the townspeople wanted to do to him.

Except, as luck would have it, the torture wizard was already dead when he arrived! So he's been making a home of the place with Lumiere's old animated housekeepers, using the torture wizard's fearsome reputation as a way to keep anyone from tracking him down and making him do stuff like clean up a distillery explosion or pay child support or what have you.

On the other hand, someone has been sneaking around his tower doing something sinister on the sixth floor that results in blood pouring down into the basin periodically, and he's stressed out of his mind wondering who the hell is doing that and how he's supposed to avoid getting caught and/or killed by them.

(He notes that the "KEEP SHOUTING" sign was his attempt to get intruders to at least give themselves away by making noise, after they were clearly ignoring the "KEEP OUT" sign he put up.)

Looseleaf also takes the time to ask if Arnie here knows anything about someone named Choss.

Arnie: He looks surprised. "You know Choss?" Looseleaf: "Let's say that Choss is a figure of importance in this investigation." "Anything you could tell us about how they arrived in town and what they did in town would be appreciated." Arnie: He shrugs. "Choss was there before I was- she's a real weirdo." "Knows how to party, but- gotta say, her stuff's a little too strong for me." "A crazy high at first, but it gets- whoof, intense." Looseleaf: "She's an apothecary of some kind?" Arnie: He laughs. "You could say that. She's got herself a little drug lab in town, always smells like burning. Don't know how she gets away with it- some of that stuff's gotta be illegal." Saelhen du Fishercrown: "And how old is she, approximately?" Arnie: "Eh? She's- hard to tell with lizardfolk, s'not like you can read the wrinkles..." Looseleaf: Ah, of course. Lizardfolk. Saelhen du Fishercrown: yep Arnie: "Seems youngish, though? Party girl through and through." "Just, uh, if she offers you a blend, don't take it unless you're ready to spend the next hour feelin' like fire ants are chewin' their way out of your skin." He shudders a little. Looseleaf: "Hm. Sounds painful." Arnie: "You have no idea," he laughs.

They also inquire about the locked freezer room- and why Arnie would hide out here, in dangerous torture tower, rather than just running off to a city, which is a little weird that he didn't do. Arnie claims there's just groceries in there, and no stolen wine bottles whatsoever, he certainly isn't a thief and he definitely hasn't been lying low out here because if he goes to a city some old pals from Thunderbrush might find him and want him dead, no sir! He would never ever commit a crime, ["wink wink" in hand-signed Thieves' Cant].

Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Of course. I can't imagine we have any thieves here." [Nudge nudge.] Looseleaf: "In the meantime, Mr. Zeishus, you mentioned having done something that.. makes going anywhere where you might meet someone from Thunderbrush a dangerous thing?" Arnie: He fidgets. "Uh, well..." "I, I try to leave all that behind me." "You just... don't want to get involved with the ghost dryad mafia. Just a tip."

He drops a little bit of exposition about something that may be coming up- apparently, Thunderbrush used to have these huge skyscraper-sized trees, but they got chopped down in some sort of war or raid a while back, and now the Stumps are ruled by the necromancer ghost dryads of those trees who used the last vestiges of their power to cheat death. Apparently Arnie was strongarmed into doing crimes for various ghost dryad mafiosos and made too many enemies, so he fled to Barley to shake the heat.

Looseleaf also comes to a realization regarding some hints dropped earlier in the townsfolks' tragic backstories:

Looseleaf: (actually, wait, i just realized: choss is probably chitch's daughter, the timelines there line up perfectly and maybe this whole dragonborn business is a total red herring we invented for ourselves) (what the shit, lumiere, you kidnap a guy's daughter and raise them as your own child? that's fucked.)

Looseleaf occupies this Arnie guy by interrogating him about these things, while Saelhen slips downstairs to try to pick the lock to the freezer room.

Eventually, after a bunch of failed rolls and more small talk from Looseleaf to keep Arnie occupied, Saelhen pops open the lock. Inside, she finds a fairly large and frigid room. There are meathooks hanging from the ceiling, empty. There are shelves lining the edges full of frozen food.

And to her right, there's another door- this one out of place with the rest of the construction, made of a strange stone shot through with rivulets of glowing orange. There's a symbol on a stone circle embedded in the door:

Before she checks that out, though, she checks the darkened back of the room- which contains some tubs filled with ice.

And those tubs have corpses in them, with the four-pointed wounds.

It is not especially likely that Arnie had no idea these were here, in a room he claims to use to store groceries and has the key to.

Looseleaf, meanwhile, attempts to read Arnie's spirit to determine his alignment and general intentions. His Deception beats her Insight, but what she does manage to get is...

Arnie is afraid. He is filled to bursting with terror and desperation more intense than you've ever felt from anyone before. And the fear does not seem directed at you.

Meanwhile, Saelhen tries to get that door open. What's the deal with that thing, huh? There's no handle, so... she has the bright idea of slapping her mysterious god icon bracer (the one that when previously slapped against a magic thing opened a pit to infinite bats) against it, see what happens. And I get very excited, because ohohoho, I didn't expect that, I had to think through the ramifications of doing that, and...

...then I work through those ramifications, and what I realize is that, as far as the players would know, the end result is just that the door slides open, and nothing else of note occurs.

Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Why am I even here I just wanted to help a nice little girl show up her dipshit inquisitor mom now I'm in a pain room investigating pain machines..." Looseleaf: (looseleaf warned you about getting involved in the case, she warned you dog)

There's also a bunch of weird machines, and more of Lumiere's notes, which Saelhen goes and nabs as many of as she can. Then she beats feet immediately, not wanting to spend any longer than necessary in the hell lab. The problem is, she doesn't want to leave any sign she was in there, so...

Saelhen du Fishercrown: Does tapping the exposed bit of stone with the bracer again close the secret hell door? Benedict I. (GM): Nope. Saelhen du Fishercrown: hmm. poking it with her finger? Benedict I. (GM): Ouch. Nope. Saelhen du Fishercrown: physically pulling the stone upwards while muttering "fuck fuck fuck ow ow ow"? Benedict I. (GM): Oh, hm, yeah, that would work. At first there's no effect, but as you continue to pull and the pain gets worse and worse... Roll me a Constitution save. Saelhen du Fishercrown: 16 CONSTITUTION SAVE (3) Benedict I. (GM): That'll do it! Your pain feeds the door, and, satisfied, the mouth closes. Looseleaf: How extremely concerning!

Cool!

So Saelhen goes back upstairs, the party secretly confers and exchanges information, and... something has to be done about Arnie.

His expression changes, suddenly.

Arnie: "You don't know what you're talking about." "This doesn't have to happen."

Looseleaf continues to try to offer help to this guy, inferring that he's being forced to do someone else's dirty work. She rolls a 20 on Persuasion! So... what happens following them cornering and exposing the culprit is not the rolling of initiative. Still, though...

Arnie: Arnie... backs up a step. "You're morons." "You have no idea." "You're talking like you can help me?" "That's impossible. No one can help me." "I- I'm fucking cursed, dammit!" Looseleaf: is he? i have magic sense, he is clearly not actually magically cursed, right Arnie: "What are you clowns going to do about it? Nothing!" "What are you going to do, kill a dragon?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "You are entangled here. If Looseleaf says so, then I trust her intuition and her investigative prowess. This doesn't necessarily mean you're entangled in such a way that there is no way out for you." Saelhen shrugs. "Theoretically, the device on my arm is responsible for drowning a small city in vampiric monsters from beyond the stars. And yet there was a way out of that, and a genuine silver lining into the bargain." "I want you to understand that I am absolutely sincere when I say: There is always a way out." Arnie: "That's- there's no way! There's only one way out!" "He'll free me from the curse if I do what he says, and that's the only way!" Looseleaf: ...That is not how dragon-curses work at all. Benedict I. (GM): Not as far as you're aware, no. Doesn't seem like anyone's told Arnie.

They continue to try to convince him that there's hope, that he doesn't need to do what the dragon says, that they can help him. And Arnie just keeps pushing back, refusing to acknowledge any of it, weeping and shouting and doing whatever he can to avoid believing that he didn't have to do any of that, that there was any other way- because if there was, he'd be a monster, right?

Meanwhile, Vayen... is standing a ways away and staring at them all, as usual... but this time, he's smiling. No one here has ever seen Vayen smile before. He looks like his birthday came early. And as they're on the verge of a breakthrough...

Arnie: "Fucking- you don't think I know that?" "I know that! I know he's manipulating me!" "But what else do I do?" Vayen: "You could kill yourself," Vayen suggests. Looseleaf: "Vayen what the FUCK?" Arnie: "What the fuck- shut up, asshole!" "I'm not dying! Not here, not nowhere!" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "...Vayen, you are placing a remarkable number of ticks in the 'leave you at the side of the road' column." Vayen: Vayen shrugs. "It's the most reliable way to neutralize a dragon's curse." "It's the sensible thing to do, if you don't want to cause collateral damage."

It's as though he deliberately picked the one thing to say to ensure that this argument would keep happening, and not reach a friendly resolution. The hell is his problem?

Still, the party keeps trying to talk this guy down.

Saelhen du Fishercrown: "And -- Arnie, surely you don't think the dragon would hunt you down? Dragons don't go out of their way to punish us; they just use us to accomplish whatever it is they're planning. He'll make it someone else's problem." "I know the type. Arnie, it wouldn't care enough to hunt you down. What seems like a personal connection, like it caring about you -- if it tries that at all -- it's just an implement. It's a way of getting you to do what it wants. Go to ground effectively, and it won't bother to spare the effort." Arnie: "What are you, talking like some kinda dragonologist? The hell do you know about dragons?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "...I am not a dragonologist, no," admits Saelhen. Looseleaf: "...Are you a dragonologist?" Arnie: "Of course it could hunt me down! Damn thing's got magic items out the ass and it flies faster than I can run!" "As soon as it saw me going somewhere it didn't tell me to, I'd get turned into a midnight snack!" "And then I go to ground, and the curse kicks in, and I end up dead or worse anyway. Sounds great." "Or, I stay here, gut a few self-righteous fucks who treated me like dirt for a while, and maybe the thing keeps its end of the bargain and lets me go!"

Yeah, that's a confession, and like, not one that makes him look great. Still, given this guy's weirdly high rolls on physical stuff, and his apparent aptitude for murdering people, they're not super sure they want to fight this guy- on top of just, not exactly wanting to fight this guy.

What are they going to do? They have to come up with a plan- and their plan has to take less than three weeks to pull off, since Arnie only has six corpses left in the bathtubs, and the dragon wants two corpses a week to prove he's still doing the job.

(And is it even worth going to all that trouble just to protect this guy from the consequences of his actions?)

Next time: a plan is hatched, and the party gets back on the road.

#twofaced jewel #tfj log #d&d 5e

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gamerwoo · 5 years ago

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[Tales from the Pack] Seungcheol: Stubborn (Part 11)

Characters: Seungcheol x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, fluff but also like fluffy angst??, a little bit of crack thanks to Josh

Word count: 3,907

Summary: You’ve heard the stories your relatives told you about werewolves when you were younger, but you always thought it was just a scare tactic to make kids behave. Well, up until you woke up in a den full of werewolves.

a/n: I think this is the first part that’s completely different from Seungcheol’s original storyline. but uhhh I hope it’s alright???

Previous | Next | Stubborn Masterlist

“What?!”

Your tone was just as sharp as you intended it to be. Seungcheol had to be out of his mind if he thought this was the answer, but considering his expression was unwavering, he was absolutely out of his goddamn mind.

“It’s not safe for you here right now,” Seungcheol elaborated. “Danbi’s going, too.”

You didn’t understand why the alphas thought sending you off to Soomin’s was the answer. These were werewolf hunters they were up against. Werewolf hunters were basically the only real predator to werewolves other than other werewolves. With you being an ordinary human, they were no more deadly to you than a regular hunter. But to a werewolf? Fighting them would be suicide.

“How are Danbi and I alike other than the fact we’re human?” you questioned, knowing you were far more skilled than Danbi was. “I’ve proven I can hold my own, haven’t I? I saved you from these creeps before!”

“Yeah, and they chased you however many hours away!” Seungcheol reminded you. “This isn’t up for discussion, _____.”

“You can’t make me go!” you shouted.

Seungcheol stepped toward you, eyes narrowing, “Wanna bet?”

The anger and adrenaline in you had you closing the little gap between the two of you, standing toe-to-toe with him as you matched his glare, “You wouldn’t.”

Seungcheol might not, but Soonyoung absolutely would. He had to carry you over his shoulder all the way to Soomin’s with Seungcheol, Mingyu, and Danbi leading the way. You were kicking and thrashing and yelling threats at first, but it turned into you just grumbling angrily to yourself as you were carried to the small cottage in the forest.

“Now that you’re done hitting me,” Soonyoung said with a slight sourness to his tone, “I can let you down if you’d like.”

“We’re already almost there,” you huffed in annoyance, “there’s not really any point now.”

So Soonyoung carried you all the way to Soomin’s. It wasn’t until somebody knocked on her door that he set you on the ground. But you didn’t turn to face the door or the backs of the others. You stayed facing the way you’d come, arms crossed over your chest.

Were you acting like a child? Yes. But did you feel like you had good reason to be upset? Absolutely.

While Soomin opened the door, Seungcheol went over to stand in front of you, giving you an apologetic look. You merely glanced up at him before staring passed him instead, your expression hard. If he was sorry, he would let you help. Instead, he was going to willingly get himself killed.

“_____, please don’t be mad at me,” he begged.

You didn’t reply.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, “I just want to keep you safe.”

“And who keeps you safe?” you snapped, finally looking up at him, though your glare was just about burning a hole in his face.

“My pack,” he replied calmly. “We can take care of it.”

“A bunch of werewolves are going up against werewolf hunters,” you stated. “Do you not hear yourself? You may as well just walk into town with your yellow eyes and fangs out!”

While it made Seungcheol happy that you cared enough about him not dying that you’d get upset you couldn’t help, he refused to put you in harm’s way. He knew you wouldn’t forgive him for it, but he’d rather that than get you injured or worse.

“You just have to trust me,” he told you simply, not knowing what else to say to make you feel better.

“You can’t promise me that nothing bad will happen to anybody in the pack,” you mumbled, not meeting his eyes, “including to you.”

Seungcheol sighed and wrapped his arms around you. You let him, but you didn’t go to hug him back. You just stood still in his warm embrace.

“I’ll do anything and everything it takes to get back to you,” he swore, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of your head, “I promise.”

But you still couldn’t trust that promise.

You had two specific rules to follow while staying with Soomin: don’t go back to the house until somebody from the pack comes for you, and don’t give Soomin or Danbi a hard time. But considering your past as a thief, the pack should’ve expected that you were never one to follow rules, and one of those rules was about to be broken -- possibly both of them if either of the girls woke up.

You waited until it was late into the night to sneak out. Both Soomin and Danbi were fast asleep, and that was when you decided to leave the house. Neither of them would be around to stop you, and you technically wouldn’t be breaking the second rule since neither of them would even know you were gone.

The plan you had in mind was to sneak through the woods to the house and watch out for any werewolf hunters. Obviously nobody was sure when they would show up, but they assumed it would be very soon since they were now aware that werewolves really were in the area. So even if you lost sleep over this for no reason, it would still be worth it to know everybody was safe.

Getting out of the house was easy. You insisted that Danbi share the bed with Soomin while you took the couch, so neither girl knew you had left. You had grabbed a knife from the kitchen before you slipped out quickly and quietly, closing the door just as silently as you had left. Then you ran toward the house with the knife in your hand. It was a shitty weapon against guns or crossbows, but it was all you had. It was definitely better than nothing.

You slowed when you got closer to the house. In case anybody was around, you didn’t want to get caught. You tried to move as quietly as you could through the forest, keeping your ears open for any talking or signs that there were--

“What’re you doing?”

You almost screamed, jumping as you spun toward the source of the voice and held the knife out with both hands. But when you saw the glowing yellow eyes, you relaxed and let out a breath, trying to get your heart rate back down.

“Joshua, what the fuck!” you demanded. “I could’ve stabbed you!”

“You, I’m not afraid of,” he replied coolly. “Anyway, you’re not being sneaky. At least three of us know you’re out here.”

“What? How?”

“We’re working in shifts to check the perimeter. Chan, Wonwoo, and I all heard you out here.”

You let out an annoyed huff, but you had to at least be thankful that Seungcheol didn’t--

“Chan already went to tell Seungcheol so he can deal with you,” Josh told you as if he knew your thoughts.

You let out a groan, wishing that maybe you had stabbed Josh. But he seemed almost amused by your distress as he put a hand on the small of your back and started leading you closer to the house.

“C’mon; you’re not my issue to deal with,” he smirked as he brought you closer to the house that Seungcheol was no doubt racing out of right now.

Chan had the power of speed, so it really didn’t take long for him to get to the house to report to the alpha that you were wandering out in the woods. And sure enough, he was angry when he sat up and left the house in just his bottoms he was sleeping in. As if sleeping on the floor to give another member of the pack the couch wasn’t bad enough, now you were out wandering the woods when hunters could be out there -- or any other vicious wild animal.

He stomped out of the house, running along with the youngest who had slowed his pace as to not race off ahead. Seungcheol knew exactly where you were because of the pull, and he knew that you were also slowly getting closer to him, as well. Chan had mentioned that Josh was going to go make sure you didn’t do anything stupid, but Seungcheol also knew that the no-nonsense werewolf would probably give you an earful, too.

The closer they got ,Seungcheol could hear Joshua droning on and on about how they didn’t have time to deal with you. He knew Josh didn’t like putting up with most things -- and with good reason -- and he knew the impatient wolf was going to make sure you fucked up. That definitely made Seungcheol’s job was easier, but he was still absolutely going to reprimand you as soon as he saw you.

Thankfully, it didn’t take very long to get to you. As soon as Seunngcheol spotted you, he ran ahead of Chan, skidding to a stop in front of you. Part of you wanted to even hide behind Joshua, but you knew that was probably even worse than just facing Seungcheol. Josh absolutely wouldn’t protect you from your mate when you deserved to be scolded.

“Are you crazy?!” Seungcheol demanded, his voice harsh despite the warm hug he pulled you into. “I told you not to leave that house!”

“Because thieves always follow the rules,” Josh deadpanned. “Can you lecture her after you get home? It’s not safe for her out here.”

You couldn’t tell if Joshua genuinely cared about your well being, or if he was using that as an excuse to get you away from him. Either way, Seungcheol was quick to drag you off with him, making sure to keep an arm around you just in case.

“Report back if anything changes,” he said over his shoulder.

You expected Seungcheol to start going off about listening and being safe and how worried he was, but he didn’t. He stayed silent as you walked back with him through the woods, but that was somehow even more terrifying than him saying anything.

“Shouldn’t we be going faster?” you wondered quietly just to break the tension.

“The pack that’s out here is aware you’re here now,” he explained, “so they’ll be sure to keep you safe above all else. Word travels fast in the pack, even split up like this. Our senses are sharp.”

So everybody probably heard Joshua yell at you. Wonderful.

“And we have Wonwoo in his wolf form so he can talk to Seokmin back at home so we always know what’s happening,” he continued.

So the entire pack knew you got in trouble. Even better.

You spent the rest of the walk in silence instead because now you were embarrassed that the pack knew you were in trouble. If you had gotten away with it like before, you’d feel pretty proud -- maybe a little badass, too. But no, you had gotten caught, and everybody knew about it.

By the time you had gotten back to the house, everybody was either asleep or averting their eyes as they sat in the living room. Seungcheol brought you up the stairs, though, and straight to his room. You knew there would probably be even more lecturing, but you had been thinking the whole way home on how to defend yourself.

As soon as Seungcheol closed the door behind you, he started with the scolding.

“I can’t believe you snuck out like that!” he exclaimed, sounding like an upset father more than anything. “You disobeyed me, you put yourself in danger, and you probably have Danbi and Soomin worried sick wondering where you went!”

You turned around and sat on his bed, letting out an exasperated sigh, “I’ve gone up against the hunters before and I was fine. In fact, I saved you -- and you thanked me!”

“But they were close to catching you, _____!” he reminded you sharply. “If they think that they have proof that there’s a pack of wolves out here, they’ll get more people to come looking. You won’t get away.”

“But--”

“But nothing! _____, you don’t even stop to think! You just do whatever you want!”

“Because I lo--”

You stopped before you could get the word out, but only because you had just realized what was about to come out of your mouth. You definitely didn’t plan to say that on the way over, but you just...wanted to say it. Did you mean it, though? Did you actually love Seungcheol?

Oh god, did you?

“You what?” Seungcheol asked, his voice softer now like he had an idea of what you were going to say -- and he did.

“I, um...” you gulped, looking down at your hands as they fidgeted in your lap. “I care about you. I don’t want anything to happen to you, and if I feel like I can stop it, then I’ll try.”

He let out a deep sigh, walking over to you as he ran a hand through his dark hair, “I know. I know what it feels like to be in your position, but it’s better for both of us if you stay put. I won’t have to worry about you when I know you’re safe, which means I can focus on keeping my pack and myself safe.”

“Does that mean you’re sending me back to Soomin’s?” you mumbled.

“Well...no. It’s not safe for you in the woods, so I’d rather keep you here. If we get word that anybody’s nearby, I’ll have somebody get you out as quickly as possible.”

Seungcheol could see you brighten a bit at that, and smiled softly to himself.

“That works,” you decided.

“Just don’t go outside, and make sure somebody always knows where you are at all times,” he instructed.

“I’ll just hang out downstairs with you,” you shrugged.

“Well, I’ll have to go out at some point. We change shifts.”

You frowned. You had forgotten about that part. You didn’t want him going out there, but you knew you couldn’t tell him not to. He was the alpha, meaning he had to protect his pack. You were sure Soonyoung and Jihoon would have to go out their, too -- assuming they weren’t already out.

Seungcheol noticed the corners of your lips tug down and he lightly brushed your hair back, “You can stay with me until I take my shift, okay?”

“Well, it has to be okay because I can’t do anything else about it,” you grumbled.

He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, joking, “I wish you had that mindset in the first place.”

And while you did playfully roll your eyes, you both knew the other wasn’t happy with the situation. Truthfully, both of you were scared, but you also knew there wasn’t anything you could do to fix it. So you’d just bottle up your fear and stay by Seungcheol until he had to go, hoping he would return to you.

You really did do your best to stay awake, but you inevitably fell asleep on the couch. You were between Seungcheol and the arm of the couch, your body laying toward the arm with your own arms acting as a pillow for your head.

Seungcheol was actually happier you were sleeping. It was late, and you definitely needed the rest. He was pretty sure you hadn’t even slept before leaving Soomin’s.

However, it was while you were sleeping that a few of the pack came in to switch their shifts. The two alphas came in, along with Joshua and Seungkwan. Because the two alphas were going to rest, that meant Seungcheol had to be out.

“We caught wind of something,” Jihoon reported. “Three hunters were in the area. Chan’s tracking them now.”

“How far away?” Jeonghan asked.

“A couple miles southeast, I think. We think they’re looking for where that other wolf killed the hunter.”

“If they find it, they’ll be dangerously close,” Josh commented.

“Then we should get going,” Seungcheol nodded. “Everybody go to their posts, and I’ll go catch up with Chan.”

“You should take some backup,” Jihoon advised.

“I can help from home,” Soonyoung smirked.

“Maybe have Hao go,” Jihoon suggested, nodding toward the younger wolf. “He can use my power.”

Seungcheol nodded, “But everybody else stays to watch the perimeter and the house. I don’t want anybody getting in here. Let’s move quickly.”

“Are you going to wake _____ up?” Soonyoung wondered as Seungcheol stood up carefully as to not jostle you too much.

He let out a soft sigh, looking down at your sleeping form. Part of him wanted to tell you he was leaving because he knew if he’d even make it home later -- especially now that they knew hunters were out there looking for them.

But the last thing he’d want to do is worry you, or wake you up when you needed the rest.

“No,” he murmured. “Let her sleep.”

“But what if...” Joshua trailed off. He had been in a similar situation, and while he didn’t want to say ‘what if you don’t make it back’, he was worried the alpha wouldn’t get to say what he wanted to say to you.

“It’s okay,” Seungcheol reassured him. “For her, it’s better if I don’t say too much or be too suffocating. Everything she needs to know, she knows.”

Joshua only nodded.

“Jihoon,” Seungcheol said, staring at the youngest alpha, “you already know you’re in charge. But everybody, if anything happens--”

“She’s first priority,” Seungkwan nodded.

“We’ll keep her safe,” Jihoon promised.

He leaned down, placing a hand on the back of the couch to steady himself as he got closer to you. His lips pressed softly against your forehead, lingering there for just a moment. Quietly, he whispered, “I love you,” before he left with the members of his pack.

“Go back to sleep,” a soft voice told you as you stirred, your eyes peeking open.

But you were too uncomfortable curled up on the couch, so you sat up and stretched out your limbs, yawning. You started to remember why you were on the couch and what the current situation was, and you looked around when you noticed Seungcheol wasn’t around.

“Where’s Seungcheol?” you wondered.

The wolf that had been talking to you was Jihoon. After Seungcheol left, he had sat on the couch with you so he would know 100% that you were okay. On the other couch sat Soonyoung, who was now completely passed out. He stretched himself too far to keep up with the three wolves tracking the hunters, and had to give up and rest. That meant they no longer had any idea how things were going with them.

Jihoon pursed his lips before saying, “You know where he is.”

Seungcheol had left. According to Jihoon, it had been three hours. None of them sensed anything was wrong, though, which was sort of reassuring. But it didn’t mean something bad couldn’t happen.

“We can only sense these things with the alphas, though,” Jihoon explained to you. “If something bad happens to Seungcheol or Soonyoung or myself, the pack will just feel it. But if something bad were to happen to Chan for instance, none of us would know.”

You weren’t sure if he was trying to make you feel better or just teaching you. But still, no matter what he said, you only thought about Seungcheol. Was he okay? Were you ever going to see him again? You realized just how much you really cared about Seungcheol when it hit you that you could possibly never see him again. But then you just felt guilty for the way you’d treated him, and you should feel guilty! You treated him awfully by pushing him away, and still holding back when you were warming up to him. Why didn’t you just let him love you completely? Because truthfully, you did love Seungcheol. You just wouldn’t admit it to yourself, let alone anyone else.

It wasn’t until you watched the werewolves perk up and strain their ears that your heart started racing, and you stood up to follow Jihoon as he went straight for the door. But he still didn’t smile. Nobody in the pack looked happy despite hearing movement.

“What is it?” you wondered.

“Go back to the living room,” Jihoon ordered quietly. He wasn’t positive who it was yet, so he wanted to play it safe. “Wake up Soonyoung and stay by him.”

You did as you were told as Jihoon stood by the door, waiting to see if he sensed anybody familiar. But you already knew who it was by the way Soonyoung reacted when he realized.

“It’s the pack,” he chuckled, his tense body relaxing. “Wonder if they’ll have any updates, though. Can’t let our guard down until we’re positive we’re safe.”

Jihoon had opened the door and went out to meet the others, making sure to close it behind him just in case. You weren’t sure how much time had passed until the door opened again, and the boys -- and one wolf -- entered the living room.

Your eyes scanned each person one-by-one. You watched as members of the pack came in with tired eyes and messy hair. Hansol, Mingyu, Junhui -- you were glad everybody in the pack were all safe, but you couldn’t focus on that because you suddenly sensed his presence.

Seungcheol.

You looked over to the doorway, seeing his expression exhausted, his hair a mess, and a little bit of dirk on his skin. He immediately locked eyes with you, and his hard expression softened. His arms opened as he rushed over to you, and you threw yourself into his arms with such a force that he wasn’t expecting, that he almost fell backwards into Minghao.

You didn’t realize you had started crying until Seungcheol was stroking your hair, and shushing you. You could feel the vibrations from his chest, his inner wolf overjoyed to see you and hold you safely in his arms. He was sure you’d be safe with the pack, but it was still good to really know you were okay and you were with him.

“I-I thought…” you stopped, hiccuping a sob, “I th-thought something b-bad might’ve happened.”

“No, _____, I’m right here,” he assured you, pressing a warm kiss to the top of your head with a soft smile. “Don’t cry, everything’s okay.”

“Is everything okay?” Jihoon asked.

Seungcheol looked around you to his pack, nodding, “They thought _____ was a female wolf with how fast and agile she was. Her leading them to that other town actually made them think that’s where our pack is located. We won’t have to worry about them, I’m sure of it.”

You sniffed, trying to collect yourself, laughing a little bit, “God, I’m blubbering like an idiot! I-I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Not as glad as I am to be able to come back to you,” he chuckled.

Your next words passed your lips as if it was a reflex. You didn’t even have to think about it, but you didn’t take them back, either. They were muffled by his chest, but he heard them loud and clear.

“I love you, Seungcheol.”

He purred so loudly you could feel it in your own chest, and it only made you tighten your hold around his waist.

He buried his face in your hair, hiding the widest grin he’d ever worn, “I love you, my _____.”

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elizacornwall · 4 years ago

Text

Vengeance is an Idiot’s Game - Chapter 21 - Death by Proclamation

Eliza was relieved to see the rest of the group had made it back unscathed, just ahead of them and thankfully with the wagon and all their supplies. Their reunion was interrupted by Miss Grimshaw marching in, accusing Sadie of being reckless and putting her girls in unnecessary danger. Their argument looked a lot like a mother bear fighting a cougar and Eliza slunk away with the three girls, not particularly eager to get into another battle today. The way the two women shouted at each other, she thought she preferred bullets whizzing around her. After a quick recount of the events from when they got split up with Mary-Beth, Karen and Tilly, Dutch showed up with Hosea close behind him. “Trouble in town? I hope everyone is safe and sound?” The four looked up, nodding. “Some darned bounty hunter recognised Miss Adler, thankfully we already had all we needed and was hidin’ in the store! Eliza weren’t so lucky, got dragged into the fight, we thought they was gonna gun down the whole town”, Tilly explained. “Well, we headed back after them when the coast was clear, I’m just glad no one knew they was with us.”

Karen and Mary-Beth nodded. Dutch turned to Eliza, concern in his eyes as he was considering her carefully. “Are you feeling alright, Miss Eliza? This must have been quite the shock for you.” His voice was so soothing she almost got completely lulled in by it, forgetting all the troubles of the day. Heavens, Molly didn’t seem quite so stupid to her in that moment, listening to him cooing like this after the adrenaline of a deadly shootout had pumped through her body would make any woman’s stomach flutter. She forced herself to return to reality, blinking up at him. “I’m fine, Sadie got me out of there. Just a bit shaken, that’s all.” The black haired man nodded and Hosea smiled at her, relieved. Now this was a man whose emotions she could take for what they appeared as. “Indeed, shaken will be right. I’m glad, I was you might have changed your mind about staying with us after this terrible ordeal. You are a welcome addition to our little family, and I’m sure we all would be sad to see you go.” Dutch squeezed her shoulder for a short moment, then turned to head back to his tent where Molly stood at the entrance, squinting at them suspiciously. The pretty redhead was a problem for another time Eliza decided, it wasn’t even midday yet and she already wanted to go back to bed. Hosea went off and grabbed some tins from the kitchen wagon, placing them onto the table nearby. He beckoned her and the girls to have a seat and eat something after the stressful events of the morning. Her stomach growled at this and she was reminded that she hadn’t had any food yet. Maybe that was for the better, considering the chase had led her to throw up violently. She sat down beside the old kindly man, wordlessly picking away at some strawberries and wasn’t sure if she could stomach them and the turmoil of this morning. Sadie plopped herself down at the table a short while later, sighing exhaustedly. “If I had the choice between gettin’ shot at by a bunch of ugly bastards and bein’ yelled at by that woman, I think I’d take the shootin’ any day.” Eliza laughed, having thought something similar not too long ago. Hosea chuckled. “She’s a frightful woman, but that’s one of her best qualities. No one is gonna come between her and her girls!” “Her slaves, more like”, added Karen, grumbling. She really didn’t take kindly being woken up that early. Tilly slapped her arm, laughing. “What would you know ‘bout slavery! Your parent’s ain’t been owned by some rich white folk! Really, sometimes I wonder if you ain’t never looked at me.” The whole table shared a hearty laugh, shaking off the agitation of the morning. When everyone turned their attention to the food again Sadie waved her hand in an expecting gesture at Eliza. “You ever gonna read that paper we almost died for then?” For a moment the girl didn’t know what she was talking about, then remembered why she had gone back past the gunsmith in the first place. With a small cry she pulled a heavily crinkled newspaper out of her dress, smoothing it out on the table. She scanned the front page, headlining a train robbery, something about some nonsense the President spouted, a murderer on the loose and about her father, expanding his reach to the Caribbean. She skimmed over the article, there was nothing new, only the same ruthless businessman he had always been. She moved on to the train robbery piece, headlining ‘who are the Scarlett Meadows Bandits?’, when Mary-Beth joined her, curiously following the same article. She broke out in a loud laugh. “Well, ain’t that a coincidence! I can tell ya a secret, them name’s are Arthur, John and Charles!” Eliza turned to her, in disbelief. “They robbed a train?! B-but it says here there were casualties…” She stopped talking, everyone’s eyes were planted on her. She had spoken without thinking, of course there would be casualties. Sadie didn’t just get chased out of town by half a dozen men for mere robbery. She wondered how high the price on each of their heads was and dropped her gaze back to the paper. “Sorry”, she mumbled, her voice

meek. “Well”, Hosea stretched out, getting ready to leave, “You’ll get used to the thought of being surrounded by murderers and thieves, we all did. At least we’re not like the O’Driscolls, we try not to take innocent folk’s lives.” Eliza just nodded, humming her agreement. The thought of lawmen not being deemed as innocent people was strange to her, but in the end surely most of them had blood on their hands too? She had shot at men today, hitting at least two or three of them, and even if she didn’t take their lives she definitely wasn’t innocent herself anymore. The thought of this made her uneasy. Her eyes were fixed blankly on the paper, not taking in the lines they were following when Mary-Beth pulled it out of her hands. “Karen!” She hissed sharply, staring on something on the page with growing excitement. Karen looked up, her expression slightly irritated. “Karen, look!”, she handed the paper to the blonde girl, pointing at the article about the murderer. “It’s Sean! He’s alive, and he’s free! They got him out!” Karen’s face changed in a split second. She grabbed the paper and almost tore it out of Mary-Beth’s hand, searching eagerly for the story in question. “Sean MacGuire, a member of the notorious Dutch van der Linde’s gang, has escaped from custody. MacGuire was captured and in the process of being transported from Blackwater to a federal prison in the west. The Van der Linde’s gang was responsible for the Blackwater boat robbery in 1899 that left many dead.”, she cited the article aloud. “…shootout was fierce… Upper Montana river… the escape is yet another example of the incompetence of police… They’ve done it, they got him!” She jumped up with a wide smile on her face and ran to tell everyone that would want to hear the news, dropping half the paper on the ground. Sadie leaned back in her chair fishing for it and threw it back on the table. “Well someone’s sure changed her tone”, she said, her eyes following the blonde. “Ain’t sweet on him, sure.” She smirked. Tilly leaned in, keeping her voice low. “Why d’y’all think it’s taking them so long to get back here?” Sadie studied her, her forehead wrinkled with thought. “I ain’t sure… Probably ran into some trouble or other and had to lie low for a while. Blackwater’s still crawling with Pinkertons, we ain’t wanna lead them back to camp.” Eliza listened to their speculations and flipped through the rest of the pages. There wasn’t much of interest, until her eyes got caught by a little article, tucked away between advertisements past the middle of the paper. Her mouth dropped open in silent disbelief as she read, hot anger rising in her chest. Tears started to gather in her eyes, and she slammed the paper on the table, ignoring the sharp pain on the edges of her hands. The three women jerked up. “Eliza, what’s wrong?” Mary-Beth asked, confused. She stammered for a moment, before she could get the words out. “H-he… My… My bloody father, that’s what’s wrong!” she exclaimed, her voice shaking with indignation, pointing at the article that laid open on the table. Sadie took the paper and read aloud for the others to hear. “Tragic loss of oil baron’s daughter. Eliza Cornwall, 26, daughter of famous oil and businessman Leviticus Cornwall, has been killed at the hands of the van der Linde’s gang. Cornwall announced her kidnapping in early March, along with a letter of blackmail by the wanted criminal Dutch van der Linde. The widely known gang, also referred to as Dutch’s Boys, demanded five thousand dollars for her return. Despite the police’s best efforts, her whereabouts remained unknown. At the site of the exchange a gunfight broke out, killing her in the process. The Pinkerton Detective Agency is looking for the murderers, it is believed they are currently residing in southern Ambarino.” Sadie let a whistle through her teeth, putting the paper down. Her eyes were resting on Eliza. “So, he killed you then.” She was shaking from head to toe, hot tears of anger rolling down her cheeks. “How… How could he. How dare he.” She clenched her hands into

fists, staring at the cursed piece of paper. Mary-Beth was at her side, pulling her into a hug. She struggled at first, too worked up to care. She wanted to break something, hurt someone. The girl didn’t let go, and slowly Eliza succumbed to her embrace, leaning her forehead against her shoulder. “I… I knew he didn’t care for me much, but this is just… I hate him. I’ll kill him.” Mary-Beth gave her a pat on her shoulder, untangling herself and looking at her. “You don’t mean that.” “You better believe I do. He’s a disgusting human being, always only out for his own good. Lying and cheating, he doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself! He destroyed my mum’s life and many others, and now he cut ties with me, telling everyone he tried to get me back?!” Her voice echoed across the campsite, drawing everyone’s attention. “I’m gonna kill him, and if it’s the last bloody thing I do. FUCK.” The last word was yelled into the sky, it felt good to curse. Her father had abandoned her, finally discarded her after ten years. She laughed bitterly. “Come on now Miss Eliza, let’s sit you down.” Hosea had reappeared, holding her at the arms and guiding her towards her canopy. “Mr. Pearson, would you mind getting us some nice hot tea?” He gently pushed the desperately upset woman down into a seat on her bedroll, taking the lantern off the stool before he sat down on it himself, his hand still resting on her shoulder. “Hosea, I… I hate him.” She looked at him, pleading for understanding. “He’s an awful man”, he sighed, nodding. “I thought so before and now, well, now we know how he treats his own kin.” His eyes rested on her, filled with hurt. “We may be criminals, robbin’ and killin’ folk out there, but at least we do it with our own hands. Men like him, they…” “They pay others to do it for them”, she murmured, pulling her knees to her chest. “Yeah, I know he’s done that before. Keeps his hands and conscience clean, if he even has one.” Pearson hurried back with a cup of hot tea, holding it out to her. Sadie walked up behind him, sitting down on the cot beside her. Mary-Beth and Tilly were speaking to Karen and Miss Grimshaw, and they were headed in her direction too. Suddenly Eliza felt overwhelmed by all the support and consolation she was given here, causing the tears to flow again. “Now, now, Miss Cornwall, no need to cry. Your father is an atrocious man, and we’re all right here behind you. At least you ain’t ever gonna have to go back to him now.” Miss Grimshaw looked at her, with deep sympathy written across her face. She noticed the cup in the girl’s hands and produced a flask out of her apron's pocket, adding what could only be assumed was whiskey to the tea. “Now, drink up and get some rest. You girls are all excused from the chores today, I think the day has had plenty of excitement otherwise.”

___

A short nap, aided by the generous amount of alcohol added to her tea by Miss Grimshaw, proved to do wonders for Eliza’s mental state. Waking up in the late afternoon she felt settled and much less erratic. Her mood was still grim, full of dark thoughts about her father, but now her anger had a calculated energy to it. She would pay him back, she just didn’t know yet how. Dutch came by as she was stood at the edge of camp, staring out into the valley and deep in thought of how she could make her father’s life hell. “I hope you don’t mind me joining you Miss, I couldn’t help but hear of your father’s appalling newspaper report. May I just say, we are more than happy to have you here in our midst and we do not ever abandon our own.” He stopped next to her, hooking one hand under his belt, in the other one of his cigars. As much as she didn’t trust him, to hear these words coming from the leader of this gang was comforting. “Thank you Dutch”, she replied, throwing him a quick glance. The low standing sun gave his features a golden glow. She let out a deep sigh. “It was just a bit much. He’s never been kind to me, but this… I guess it hit a nerve.” Shrugging, her eyes followed the slow flow of the river, as they had so often before. “It is more than understandable, Miss. What he did was… cruel.” Shaking his head, he took a draft of his cigar. “No man should ever betray his child like this.” He turned to her and placed one hand firmly on her shoulder, an earnest expression written on his face. “I promise you Eliza, I won’t let him hurt you any more. One day, we will make him pay.” The girl couldn’t help but stare at him, lost for words. She hadn’t expected him to support her in this way, and her mind flicked back to Molly and what she’d think if she saw her man in such close proximity to another woman. Slightly uncomfortable, she eased herself out of his grip. He let go, but not without a nod that was clearly meant to underline his sincerity. “Thank you Mr. – I mean Dutch, I really appreciate it. I… I should get back to camp, I wanted to see if I could help Mr. Pearson with dinner”, she lied and hurried off. He really was a strange man, so unreadable. Spending time alone in his company made her nervous, and that was the last thing she needed today. To not prove her falsehood, she headed towards the kitchen wagon where Pearson was kneeling, stirring the pot on the fire. “Can I help you Mr. Pearson? I wanted to thank you for the tea earlier.” The man looked up at her, a wide smile beneath his giant moustache. “Don’t worry dear, it’s pretty much ready. And ‘t was no bother, no bother at all.” He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. Not quite knowing what to do with herself until dinner she steered towards the campfire. Uncle laid passed out under one of the tents opposite, Lenny and Tilly both shared a quiet conversation when she approached, smiling at her as she sat onto the log. “You alright? Been quite a day for ya”, Lenny asked. Eliza’s lips curled into a half smile, having someone that much younger enquire about her wellbeing in such an elderly-sibling manner amused her. “I’m okay, thank you Lenny.” She took a deep breath, stretching her back and closing her eyes for a moment, tilting her neck back. “How are you guys doing?” “Better than you I reckon. Karen’s all happy and ain’t touched a bottle yet, even Miss Grimshaw seems t’ be happy about the news of Sean. Lenny and I was just wonderin’ when they’ll be back.” “Don’t we all”, Eliza mumbled. The absence of some of the gang’s most capable members had grown heavy, and she started to truly miss Charles and Arthur. Until now she hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself, but their company had always filled her with a sense of calmness and security. The three of them sat there for a little while, Lenny shared a story of of him and Morgan getting mighty drunk in the Valentine saloon some while ago to pass the time until dinner. The laughter was soothing, gently washing over the hurt inside her. “And then – listen – then he’s runnin’ off into the alley next to the

saloon an’ tryin’ to jump a fence, all while yellin’ ‘I’m an American’! And what happens next? He’s landin’ face first in a steamin’ pile of shit!” All three of them were wiping tears out of their eyes, Lenny was wheezing hard, struggling to continue. “I got away, but Sheriff’s got him, tanked up as he was. Only saw him again the next day, came draggin’ back to camp like some rusty gut.” “He really wasn’t in a good mood, I remember! Barking at everyone to quiet down ‘cause he had a stinkin’ headache”, Tilly confirmed. Eliza’s stomach muscles were hurting and she was struggling for air, it was hard trying to imagine Arthur Morgan in such a state, near impossible. He always seemed in control of himself, a bit awkward at times maybe or ferocious in his anger, but loose? Never. Slowly the cramps in her abdomen eased off and she was able to sit up straight again, just in time for Pearson’s “Dinner’s ready folks” call from the cooking fire.

Sadie waved from her wagon as the three of them were strolling over to the stew pot, still chuckling. Eliza grabbed her portion and followed Sadie’s invitation, seating herself next to her on the back of her wagon. “You alright? Sounds like yer day ain’t as bad now as it was”, she asked, not bothering to swallow her food before she spoke. “Yeah, thank you. I’m much better than earlier. That reminds me, I didn’t even thank you for getting me out of town safe… Well, I-err… Thanks Sadie.” Her cackling laugh was loud and drew a few confused glances. “Ya wouldn’t have been in danger if it wasn’t for me in the first place! But sure, you’re welcome. Sorry it gave you such a fright.” She smiled shily. Sadie was right of course, but she was thankful all the same. After all those articles about her, she should have known better than to presume that a trip into town with Sadie Adler would be a completely mundane, safe endeavour. Trouble followed her like a pack of wolves on the trail of a wounded animal, and it rarely ended in a drunken Can-Can for her. “Saw you runnin’ away from Dutch earlier, he botherin’ you?” The abrupt change of topic caused Eliza to almost choke on a piece of mushy carrot, she didn’t think anyone would have seen the short exchange she had had with him. Sadie slapped her back as she coughed and the girl could feel the colour raise to her cheeks. “I – I wasn’t running away from him, I just… Well, he wouldn’t be my first choice of company when I just want a bit of peace and quiet.” She had been fleeing his presence of course, but that surely wouldn’t sit well with the rest of the gang. She chose to be in this family herself and didn’t want to give away the impression that she didn’t at least respect him as the head of it all. Sadie nodded, her expression utterly indifferent. “He sure likes to hear himself talk. I prefer my own company most days.” “So why are you putting up with me then?” Eliza tilted her head, curiously. Did the woman just feel obliged, after she did her the favour of upscaling her living quarters? Sadie hummed, seeming to be searching for the right words whilst scooping the last bite into her mouth. “Well, you’re prettier than Dutch for one”, she jested, “but I s’pose I put up with you like I put up with Morgan. You’re good company, and also got your head screwed on right.” Putting her empty bowl down, she caught her glance. “I bet not one of them girls would’ve shot at them fellers in town this mornin’ if they’d’ve been in your shoes. Well, Miss Jones maybe, but only because her head ain’t screwed on right.” Eliza bristled at her judgemental tone when she spoke and felt the need to defend the blonde girl. “Karen is not that bad you know. She’s loud and a bit brash sometimes, but she’s a good person really.” “Oh I ain’t sayin’ she’s not, darlin’. She’s a damn good actress, seen it myself once or twice. She just ain’t exactly the type that can sit with ya in silence sometimes. Same with Dutch, right?” She gave an amused bark, pulling a bottle of whiskey out of thin air and offering it to her young friend after she took a sip herself. Eliza decided against it, becoming a drunkard wasn’t on her plan even if she would grow into a fully fletched outlaw. “Is that why you’re close with Arthur? Because he doesn’t talk much?” “Well, partly. He’s a decent feller, got a bright head on his shoulders when he decides to think for himself. He also ain’t never looked down on me ‘cause I’m a woman, can’t say that about most people. Even here.” She took another hearty swallow and Eliza pondered on her words. She had grown to like the man well enough herself, enough even to be worried about him being absent for so long, same as Charles. Only, Charles was easy to understand, straight forward and his personality was transparent as anything. Arthur? Well… He was a mystery to her. She didn’t know why he was humouring her presence in those early mornings at the cliff, or why he’d check up on her whenever their path crossed in camp. Did he feel like she needed protection after Micah’s attack? The

thought of someone assuming a guardian role for her because they didn’t believe in her own ability to protect herself was humiliating, no matter how much she had yet to learn. It reminded her of the fact that she was in way over her head and made her feel like a child thrown into the ocean to learn how to swim. “Where the hell’s your filly run off to? You still with me girl?” Sadie’s voice brought her back to the present, and she quickly loosened the frown her face had pulled itself into. “Sorry, my thoughts went wandering there. Did you say something?” The blonde woman cocked an eyebrow at her, showing a half smile with an expression Eliza could not read. “Your head off with the horses there, hm? I just said Arthur reminds me of my Jakey, in some ways. He’s the best man I know.” Her gaze trailed off, staring at a point somewhere in the distance. “Do you miss him?” “Yeah… every day. But he wouldn’t approve of who I’m now I suppose.” She shrugged and let out a deep sigh. “He’d understand though. Life ain’t fair or just, but we gotta make the best out of the worst situations. We’re all just a bunch of stranded folk, tryin’ to survive.” After a moment’s hesitation Eliza put her hand on her arm, hoping to infuse the little gesture with as much empathy as she could. “I’m sorry about your husband”, she said quietly. Seeing Sadie so vulnerable was strange, she had been her hero for a long time and she wanted to comfort her. But she just shook her head and smiled at her. “Nothin’ to be sorry for, girl. You ain’t had it easy either, even before you got dragged into all this“ – she gestured towards the camp – “mess; and now your own daddy pronounced you dead.” Getting up, she stretched tall and gave a yawn. “Knowin’ there’s good people like Morgan surroundin’ you makes it a bit easier, hm?” Eliza followed her example and hopped off the wagon, picking up the empty bowls, a quiet laugh escaping her lips. “Seeing the good in people takes a while when they kidnapped you in the first place. But I suppose you’re right, Arthur doesn’t seem like a bad man.” “I sure hope they come back soon”, Sadie nodded as Eliza dropped the plates into the water barrel by the kitchen wagon. “Else I’ll have to ride out myself an’ make sure they’re alright. Been a while now even for them.” She tipped her imaginary hat at Hosea, that was walking past, getting ready to settle for the night. He gave them his warm smile and wished a goodnight. Sadie decided she needed some sleep too, giving her friend a gentle squeeze on the shoulder when she declared she’d stay awake a while longer. The gang was slowly tucking themselves away into their bedrolls and it got quiet. Without Javier’s guitar the campfire seemed only half as enjoyable in the night and most people preferred the quiet conversations with their tent partners, safe and warm. Having had a lengthy nap during the day, tiredness was some way away for Eliza still, so she strolled towards the cliff that had somewhat become her favourite spot to spend her spare time at. The night air was fresh, and the soft breeze made her shiver a little as she sat down behind a big rock, obscured from curious eyes. Her gaze once again followed the river, moonlight reflecting on its rippling surface. The little cluster of trees and bushes where she and the girls had washed down in that distressing night drew her attention, and her eyes lingered there. Sadie was right, he was a good man. And if the woman had reason to be worried about the boys being away for longer than anticipated, well… Eliza certainly didn’t need to feel guilty admitting she was worried about him too.

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