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thebruno65 · 6 months ago

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Sato defence thread

I know nobody gaf about her, but the few that do despise her ass, so I made up my mind and decided to write a defence post abt her. So, without further ado... Why Sato is a more complex character than you think:

For starters, who in the world is Sato? That's probably a question 90% of all Dangan fans ask when they see me talking about her. So ill give a little background information to inform you/remind you who she is.

Sato is a minor character whom was introduced in Danganronpa 2, Chapter's 2 motive, Twilight Syndrome Murder Case as Girl E. She is known to be friends with Mikan, Hiyoko, Ibuki and most importantly, Mahiru.

But what she is more known for is being the culprit of Natsumi Kuzuryu's murder, the little sister of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. And its what most people point to when criticizing Sato and her behaviour towards her, most of the time saying Sato was fully in the wrong.

But I'm here to prove, or at least try to, that while murder wasn't the way to handle it, Sato had all the right to behave the way she did towards her. But before I start, I just want to clarify that I don't hate Natsumi, but it doesn't excuse her behaviour towards Sato and Mahiru.

When people blame Sato, they usually go ahead and say that her motive is weak as hell, saying that she is a generic, heartless yandere whose only reasoning is "I love Mahiru!" But that just isn't true, she has much more complexity and issues that people dismiss:

People have kind of forgotten that, despite Natsumi's and Hajime's conversation that showed a weaker side of her character, she was still not an angel. Its shown in the anime that she constantly bullied both Sato and Mahiru, and this is very clearly backed up in episode 3 where she intentionally provokes Sato to start a fight over with her. I mean, there is no way she didn't intend that.

Plus, this bullying can be dated to as far back as the photography club, I'm guessing that's like, around a year or more. So it isn't a recent thing she could just ´ignore´ like most people say, because I'm genuinely sick and tired of people saying that, like, if they met before hopes peak, then I can guarantee you that she has probably tried that before and ultimately fail. Either because Natsumi doesn't stop herself, or she genuinely cant mentally drown her our.

EVEN THEN, this is still not everything she has done, because there is still one more, pretty major thing Natsumi has done constantly to both, threatening to kill them. Ok, before anyone goes ahead and says something like "But those threats are empty! She didn't actually mean it, she is just mad". Put yourself in Sato's shoes first:

Imagine the daughter of one of, if not the biggest Yakuza clan in Japan says she will kill you to your face. I don't know about you all but id be shitting my pants and leave the country if I ever heard that. Not to mention she is also threating my best friend?

And its not like she just based it off of a simple word, she quite literally has physical evidence to prove that Natsumi, in her eyes, does not fuck around. I'm talking about the scar she gave her back in the photography club. After Natsumi and Sato had a fight, its said some men went ahead and scarred her arm.

In general the scar serves as a great way to remind Sato that "if you don't protect Mahiru, they might do something to her, they have done it to you before"

(BONUS)

Please note that, while I may have come as extremely harsh and rude on Natsumi's behalf, this is not a hate post. She is in fact a great character too, and I highly recommend checking this thread that explores her character in great detail. https://x.com/CHISALOVEBOT/status/1735610111245095022

Now, another reason as to how people misinterpret Sato and her motive is her relationship with Mahiru, her best friend. Now I'm not going to argue that she wasn't the reason to why Sato did what she did, in fact, Id argue its her biggest and most important reason for her. But what I'm trying to argue here is that it wasn't (just) because of "love"

I don't know about you all, but i find it very clear to me that Sato is not mentally stable, and this is most prominently shown when she shares her scenes with Mahiru, and how being with her has affected her psychologically.

lets talk about their first scene together, in which sato says, and I quote: "Mahiru, you're the hope of everyone in the Photography Club." At first glance, this sentence seems completely normal, but if you analyse just a little bit more, you will realize something odd... who the fuck unironically says this?

Even if its true that they are an Ultimate, one of the best at what they do. Going to extremes to say "hope" is... a bit overdue, especially speaking for everyone in the photography club. As seeing how the other reserve course students reacted when Mahiru came over, (though I do have to add it was because of Natsumi's comment) were not too sure if she truly meant everyone, or even anyone at all.

But, we can still tie this to her mentality of Mahiru, how? Well, when I said who unironically thinks this, there was an answer, and that my friends, is Nagito Komaeda.

Yes, i know, i seem crazy comparing Nagito and Sato, but think about it, they both have this support over hope, with both reminding the other ultimates that they are the "hope" of the world. Don't believe me? then look at this line said by Sato only a few seconds after the first one:

So in the end, she is not only referring to the photography club, she is also referring to the entire world. Now you could argue that she means this logically as once she graduates, her photos would probably spread around the world. But the fact that this comes right after her line about "hope" may have it signify otherwise.

Though this isn't the only comparison you can actually make between the two, as I've recently discovered that their views on the reserve course and talent are pretty darn similar too! Of course they show this in different ways.

What do I mean by this? We all know Nagito's certain distain for non-talented people right? and how only those can be born with a talent? What if i told you, this also is the case for Sato, only of course, to a lesser extent.

During the fight with Natsumi, Sato states that since the main course didn't scout her, she should give up since she had no talent and that she should "know her place" You guys see what I'm talking about?

Sato saying to know her place pretty much means she knows her role in the overall school of the academy, she is only there to support the Ultimates, be a stepping stone.

(BONUS)

Ok but like I generally find the idea of a conversation between Nagito and Sato be pretty hilarious, with Nagito going over the usual reserve shit and Sato's like "Ok that was pretty rude, you could have toned it down a little... But you're not wrong either."

Sato's sprites:

Anyways, back to my point. But then, why does Sato act like this, Is there a reason for it? And that's where good ol' Hopes Peak Academy comes in:

Its no secret that Hopes Peak does not care for its reserve course students, seeing as they just swooped both Natsu's and Sato's deaths under the rug.

Another thing that they like to do is remind them of this nonstop, where as would be with Main Course students like Nagito 24/7, Juzo when Hajime confronts him. Or other, more indirect forms.

These guys clearly think of talent and hope being the priority, then the rest after it. And Sato is a victim of this type of mentality, she puts down Natsumi and her wish constantly because she's thinking the way hopes peak wants everyone else to think. She praises Mahiru and calls her "her hope" because she is meant to be a stepping stone for the Main Course.

Now here comes a little bit of theorizing, but it will make sense trust me: This mentality has been driven so far into her brain, that it seems like a lot of the actions she takes, she always excuses it as "what Mahiru wants"

for example, every time she's arguing Natsumi, she always goes ahead and claims if she does something to Mahiru, she will not let her get away with it. Notice how its always Mahiru and not her? She quite literally cares for Mahiru's safety over her own.

(BONUS)

Can I just please gush about the genius way they made the Natsumi and Sato conflict work so well with their beliefs? Like they are quite literally the humanization of what the one of them thinks of the other:

Natsumi hates people that seem to have given up and not try to join the Main Course. Sato is someone who represents that by putting down others for them to 'give up'.

Sato hates people that don't know their place and think they can do more than what they can chew. Natsumi is someone who is openly stating to trying to join the main course as the 'Ultimate Little sister'

But, you may be wondering, "well if she cares so much about Mahiru, then what about the others? She never mentions Mikan, Hiyoko nor Ibuki in any way"

And here's were her motive becomes more complex, as I personally believe that her personality around Mahiru is more than just a Nagito complex. I'm going to throw the idea that Mahiru is pretty much the only thing from keeping Sato from quite literally existing. Yeah, depressing, right? But hear me out:

When I tell you that her first anime appearance wasn't when she slammed Hajime's desk, then what do you think it is? I bet almost none of you would have said this scene right here.

FYI, this scene plays right before Natsumi talks to Hajime about always looking out of the Main Course. (Special Thanks to @kousaka-erena for telling me abt this scene btw)

But, how does this scene signify my extremely absurd comment? You may ask. Well, lets take away our attention from Sato for a bit to look at the rest of the reserve students around her.

Notice how all of them seem to be having a conversation, or at least be with another student? Even though we cant confirm that all of these people are friends, per say. We can confirm that they are at least able to talk with one another.

Now look back at Sato, none of them are even looking at her direction, they don't even care about her. Not to mention that this is not a one off thing, she is never even seen interacting with any of the reserve course students aside from the other two.

In fact, I'm going to throw around the idea that the reserve course might actually hate her, or at least have some sort of distain. Probably from the fact that she's friends with an Ultimate.

The students are probably jealous by the fact she is able to talk to someone from the Main course. So in return, they don't talk to her out of jealousy, which in turn probably makes her time away from Mahiru extremely difficult for her.

The worst thing is that I would have glossed over this if it weren't for the fact she was in THAT position. While you could argue they did this with a writing perspective, so that they don't reveal her face until their reveal.

But if it really were the case, then why did they opt to specifically do it like this? Wouldn't it have been actually easier to just animate her with her back towards the screen talking to other students? So I believe they they had a little more in mind when drawing her here.

But, what about her other Main Course friends, Wouldn't you also count them in? Here's the thing though, apart from the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case game, do we ever see them interact? I mean, none of the 3 never seemed to really go ahead and visit her when they had the chance.

Sure, they are still seen together in the game, but how close are they really to each other? To be honest, Mikan, Hiyoko, Ibuki and Sato only seem to be friends because of proximity with Mahiru more than anything else. So I doubt Sato would have strong feelings for them either.

Like sure, she probably still respects them because they are still ultimates and all, and I'm sure she still considers them closer than anyone else, but just not by much.

And I think this loneliness also overall leaks its way into her treatment of Mahiru, with the way she feels the need to protect her at all costs, to praising her to none ends, to even hiding vital information from her:

When I'm talking about the ladder, I'm referring to Sato's and Mahiru's final scene together, which is infamously know as the retcon of Mahiru's involvement in TSMC, while I personally don't mind the retcon as much as others, Its still a blow to Mahiru's character and what she stands for in DR2.

But, lets put that aside, as were not here to talk about that. Lets instead talk about how this scene, despite not being great for Mahiru's character, is brilliant for Sato and how much she is willing to go to protect her.

So, we know how in the original TSMC, Sato immediately confesses her crime to Mahiru after being confronted. And while I can still see this in character, I much prefer her other interpretation.

In were, instead of confessing at all, she constantly hides the fact she murdered Natsumi and even reminds her how 'horrible' she was to the both of them.

Now, why do I generally find this better than the original? Because it shows you how fare she is willing to go to protect her, going as far as to hide the truth from her. The reason she does this is so that she doesn't get herself involved in it.

She even shows her the scar the Yakuza left her in her arm to gain pity and convince her to just leave the case alone. That's because she needs to protect her, just like she said before this scene.

Now of course you can always argue that Mahiru already knew about this and she just didn't tell her, but what's important is Sato herself couldn't know this, so she tried her best to not get her involved.

So, she is willing to go as far as to do this, for what? Well, I believe this goes back to the fact that Mahiru is her only true friend. She acts overprotective and obsessive over her because she doesn't want to lose her, she is afraid to.

As I've said before, Mahiru is the only thing she has left, its her only hope. So in return, she will do anything it takes for her to keep Mahiru by her side.

Now obviously, you can also deduce it to being, love, or something else. In fact, its been heavily implied that Sato is a Lesbian with the way she talks to Mahiru sometimes. But i personally found it to be this as there's just much more evidence supporting it.

(BONUS)

One thing that I also want to mention, but didn't find anywhere to fit this in, is when right after Mahiru leaves, her expression changes from a happy smile to a frown.

Which makes me thing she has also hidden her own emotions from her, maybe to not have her worry about her as she was probably told from Mahiru how her life at home is. Or it could also be that she hates lying to her. It can be anything really.

But, while this may be a lot, there is still one last push to try and convince you that she isn't your typical Cold, Heartless yandere you see the fandom depict her as: And that is she never intended to hurt Natsumi in the first place.

"But, you were literally just talking about her motives, what do you mean she didn't intend to kill her?" While yes, I did go ahead and explain her motives, I never said outright that it was to justify the death of Natsu.

In the motive, Sato says to Mahiru that she tried talking it out with Natsumi, but after another death threat from her yet again, Sato succumbed to her anger, and in a FIT OF RAGE, she strangled Natsumi to unconsciousness.

After calming down, she realised what she has done. In a state of fear and panic of the possibility of Natsumi waking up and having her send men to kill her and possibly do something to Mahiru, she kills her.

When people blame Sato, they usually say something along the lines of "omg! Sato is so dumb, why did she do that to Natsumi? Doesn't she know that the Yakuza would kill her?" And I can bet 10 bucks that these are the same guys that don't play the games.

Sato quite literally states she wasn't in her right mind when she strangled Natsumi. She was overcome by built up anger from years of bullying from her. Having those feelings closed up for so long will only make them come back stronger.

To be honest, its kind of weird to see this as Mondo Owada had a similar outcome with his murder, as he killed Chihiro in a state of anger. But one of them is regarded as sympathetic and the other a demon.

Of course its not the same, as Sato crime has two main differences that separate her from Mondo's crime. The first one being that Sato didn't kill her victim in her fit of rage, it was after.

And yeah, Sato killed her in her state of panic, which is actually pretty similar to both Sayaka Maizono's and Leon Kuwata's motive, both being scared and in a panic that they didn't think rationally and did some dumb moves.

I can see Sato in the same light as the other two, as the three of them were put in a situation where if they don't do something, a worse thing could happen to them. So thinking fast, they resorted to murder.

And the second reason, is that Mondo showed remorse for his actions, while Sato didn't... Or is at least what you'd expect from the outside. Because in my opinion, she is remorseful about her actions, she just doesn't show them.

A great example of this is the scene right after Mahiru leaves, in which Hajime confronts Sato about Natsumi. She starts of smug and states that she probably killed herself. Bur after Hajime states that she hadn't given up, her expression changes to an odd one you wouldn't expect.

Her face turn blue and she starts to state that he is wrong while she grabs and shakes her head in what seems to be in distress. So answer me this, would a person who is cold and heartless react like this?

Sure, you could argue that she is acting like this because she got caught and knows what's gonna happen to her. But I don't think that's the case, as we have seen her breaking down in that fashion before.

I'm referring to day 4, in which we see when Fuyuhiko kills Sato. She starts screaming for forgiveness while running away. And I don't know how to explain it or if its just me, but they feel different for some reason.

Like the one we see in Danganronpa 3 has more depth and a different reason for it. What do I mean by this? Well, this is purely a theory, but when sato started saying "You're wrong" she wasn't talking to Hajime, she was talking to herself.

She is trying to convince herself that she was right on killing Natsumi, trying to convince herself she did the right thing. That she's protecting Mahiru, but deep down, she probably regrets taking the life of another.

So in conclusion, Sato is more than just a 2-dimensional character with a complex motive. But since she isn't given a lot of screen time, she sadly gets thrown aside by the fandom. Which is something that I wish to change.

And that's everything I have that I can convince you all. If your opinion has changed about her, for the better or for the worse, then I'm glad I was able to change it!

If you guys have any criticism, like I yap too much or my points may not make sense, feel free to speak out and tell me, its my first time doing one of these and I'm open to change.

And if you liked my post, then feel free to follow me! I wont promise to make threads like these constantly, but I talk about Danganronpa a lot!

Uhh anyways, Sato is peak, the student council is peak, sato should join the student council and kiss every women in there, platonically and romantically. (Kisato my beloved)

#danganronpa #sato #Danganronpa sato #sato danganronpa #dr sato #sato dr #sato dr3 #mahiru koizumi #koizumi mahiru #natsumi kuzuryu #kuzuryu natsumi

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steam-powered-blinders · 2 months ago

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Steam Powered Blinders

The Trap

Continued from the previous part: Letters to San-Diego...

Cw: canon typical child endangerment, mentions of PTSD and grenade, Polly accidentally misgenders Rabbit.

Tommy finds the wire cutters and he and his brothers immediately freeze in place, the ruined betting shop momentarily forgotten.

"Nobody move, don't touch anything, don't move anything," Arthur says clearly, almost like he's sobered up.

"What's going on?" Polly asks, also standing still, watching the three brothers look around carefully and move as if there's a landmine or something in the room.

"When we were in France, we'd set up a grenade trap and leave wire cutters as a joke," John explained.

"Somewhere in here there's a grenade," Arthur added, still looking around. The air was rigid with danger.

"No," Tommy said, gesturing around with the wire cutters, "If it was in here, it would've blown already. This trap was set up specifically for me." He looks at his brothers.

"Where's Finn?" Ada finally pipes up from the kitchen, just outside the betting shop.

The family rushed out the door, heading into the street where the car is parked, Arthur had heard the two automaton brothers fighting when they came in, in the living room, so he threw a "Finn's in danger!" as he passed by the door.

They'd just made it out into the street when the Spine followed out of the house after them and into the alley between buildings.

"Finn," Tommy called out as he approached the car, Finn playing inside with the car shut off.

"Hey Tommy! I'm just playing! I'm pretending to be you," he laughed happily, completely unaware of the danger he may be in.

"Finn, listen to me, how'd you get into the car?" Tommy asked, slowly approaching, as if getting closer to a wild animal. His mind racing a mile a minute.

"I climbed in, pretty easy!" He swayed the steering wheel.

"Listen to me, Finn, I need you to get out of the car exactly how you got into it," Tommy damn near commanded his little brother, his worry making his default to his sergeant-major voice.

Finn seemed to get the wrong idea and slid over to the other seat, opening the door and jumping out.

"Finn, no!" Tommy called as he heard the telltale sizzling of an activated grenade. Could this get any worse?

Finn ran towards the Spine, who was only a couple steps behind Tommy. Tommy grabbed the grenade from where it was placed on the step below the car door and ran towards the entrance of the alley. "Cover!" He yells to the people milling about on the street.

Tommy then turns and runs towards Finn again, pushing him to the deepest point of the alleyway by his shoulder, Spine short on their heels. Tommy covered Finn and The Spine used his bigger stature to cover both of them.

They heard a loud blast go off behind them, some debris hitting the wall to their side, but the two humans were uninjured. Some clangs and clinks were heard.

Once the Spine was sure it was safe, he moved to give them space. Finn was clinging to Tommy, so he picked his younger brother up and carried him on his hip.

Tommy and Spine stopped by the entrance of the alley and looked at the damage. There was a chunk of wall missing from the building across from them and the dust was settling, but it appeared that no one got hurt.

Finn pushed away from Tommy, so he put him down, "And that's why you should never pretend to be me." Finn just hugged him, still looking a little shaken from what just happened.

Polly rushed into the alley with Ada right behind her, looking relieved that no one was injured. She and Ada hugged Finn.

While they were checking on Finn, Tommy looked up at Spine, "You good?" He'd heard the telltale clinking of debris hitting a metal chassis earlier.

Spine nods, "Yeah, no damage done, just bounced off." Tommy nods at the affirmative.

Once everyone was settled, they started heading back to the house, Ada going to find John and Arthur from wherever they ended up going to search.

Thankfully it didn't take long because they came running after the sound echoed to wherever they'd been.

Polly and Finn were the first to enter the house, Finn running off to somewhere in the house. Polly happened to see Rabbit quietly sobbing by the fire, his latest letter burning in the embers. Seeing the Spine and Tommy enter the house and go right past the living room, probably to go clean up the betting shop, she sighed and went over to Rabbit.

Rabbit turned around and held onto her, despite being a head taller than her, he looked so small, sobbing into her shoulder and shaking somewhat.

Ada entered with Arthur and John, but Polly shook her head when they tried to get closer. She didn't know if they'd make the situation better or worse, so when they left for the shop, Polly started slowly rocking back and forth with Rabbit to try and calm him.

Rabbit sunk to his knees, still clinging to her skirts, so she just gently patted his head. He was for once not wearing his hat and she thought the intricate patterns of metal on his head was oddly beautiful.

When he finally cried himself into stasis, she carefully untangled his hands and shifted him to lay down. She wouldn't be able to pick him up, so instead she grabbed a pillow from the couch and put it under his head. She then threw a thin blanket that was folded up on the other chair, over him.

Maybe he'll feel better once he's gotten some sleep. She made her way to the betting shop, where everything was at least picked up and put in it's rightful place by now. She was going to ask what happened between Spine and Rabbit, but Tommy spoke first.

"We're heading out for a meeting with Kimber," Tommy said, leaving no room for argument. He gestured then and his brothers and Spine fell into step with him, heading for the door and fighting their caps.

Polly sighed and figured she'd either ask later or one of them would tell her.

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bunnymallowo · 1 year ago

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The books Cassian x reader

Prompt: nobody in the I.C has seen y/n all day and they send Cass to figure out what’s wrong

a/n: I’m not totally sure where it’s going to go or how long it’s going to be, I’m just using this to procrastinate from life and escape loneliness. Also cause I just need some fluff rn

—————————————————————————

“just a few more minutes…” I said to myself, drinking the rest of my coffee (or other energy drink) before setting the cup down. I hadn’t looked at the clock in hours, to focused on the book I had started. Feyre had suggested this book series to me, and without thinking, I bought the books and started reading them. Usually I'm not one for cliche fairytale stories, for they tend to be predictable. ‘I mean if the guy is going to get the girl anyway, what’s the point of reading it?’ I had been saying to myself as I was walking to the library to find the book.

Surprisingly, I found myself engrossed in the book, following along word by word. I slowly started to imagine I was the main character in the book. The one waiting to be saved by a handsome masked stranger. And the true loves kiss. Oh how I yearned to find my true love. But, much to my dismay, the one I longed for, I fear is too far out of reach.

but maybe he wasn’t as far as I thought.

As I read, I tried to think of different people, who would fit as the hero or the savior in my story. In my head I flicked through images of the people I knew, going through one by one until my mind landed on "Cassian!" I exclaimed softly, a light blush dusting my cheeks and nose. Of course I liked him, who wouldn't, but he was one of my closest companions, and my sparing partner. So I could NEVER say anything about her feelings, lest I drive him away. No matter now much I just wanted him to hold me close.... I shook the thought of the male from my head, and dove back into the book I was reading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MEANWHILE DOWNSTAIRS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group was sitting in the living room, all talking together when Cassian walked in.

"Have you guys seen y/n anywhere?" Cas was looking around, so see if she had made an appearance and joined the rest of the group. Seeing that she clearly had not, Cassian sighed, and went to sit on the bench in the window. He stayed silent, listening to the drifting conversations between his friends. Feyre was talking something about clothes or jewelry that Cass couldn't care less about. Rhys and Az were talking about much more interesting fighting. One of his favorite things was sparing, especially with his friends. Not that he would ever admit it. He sat there, thinking about fighting and sparing, different technique and maneuvers, before he was interrupted.

"Cassian... CASSIAN!" he was being shaken violently by Azriel, who did NOT look amused.

"What?!" he slapped Az's hands away, shaking his head and standing up.

"Rhys is talking to you" Az pointed to the high lord who was trying not to laugh.

"All I was going to ask was for you to check on y/n" Rhys replied, Feyre stood, stretching " Nobody's heard or seen her all day, Go make sure she's okay" Feyre pointed to the doorway to the stairs. Cass rolled his eyes "Why don't you go check yourself?" He replied defensively, crossing his arms.

"Because I don't want to." Feyre replied, retaking her seat in Rhys' lap. Cass huffed in defeat, walking off towards the stairs. Feyre let out a satisfied huff, smiling contently as he walked away. "Go check on her yourself next time.." he grumbled, walking up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BACK UPSTAIRS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassian walked calmly down the hallway, admiring the art placed on the walls, as he made his way to my room. He knocked softly on the door "Y/n?...." He said softly. After only getting a mumble in response, he knocked a bit louder " y/n, if you don't answer, i'm coming in. "

Too engrossed in my book to care, I shrugged it off, not saying anything, but became mighty startled when the door to my room flew open. "ek!" I shrieked when the light from the hallway came flooding into my room, lighting up the mostly dim corridor. Cassian walked in, to inspect the situation.

"Y/n.." He walked towards the bed. me, who was wrapped in a blanket, set the book down, looking up at him "yes?"

"when was the last time you saw the light of day?" he joked, laughing softly at how clearly tired she looked.

"What do you mean? I was outside a little bit ago-.." I cocked my head to the side, confused. "Y/n, nobody's seen you since last night.. its almost lunchtime.."

I threw the blanket off of me, jumping up, startled "what?!" I tried standing up, but ended up tripping over the blanket. A pair of arms wrapped around me, keeping me from falling.I grasped tightly onto him with one arm. "Careful, don't want you getting hurt." he muttered softly, leaning closer to me, to where our noses were almost touching. I tried to calm my breathing, as well as the heat spreading around my face and ears. I tried to speak, but it mostly came out at jumbled stutters.

Cassian chucked softly "shh, you're tired, you need to rest" I huffed softly 'no, I need you to kiss me' I thought to myself, for a moment worried I may have said it out loud. Though my breathing was soft and light, my heart was pounding in my chest, and I was sure Cassian could hear it. If I were to move, even an inch, our lips would touch. maybe I had fallen asleep reading and I was just dreaming, but this seemed so real.

Maybe the lack of sleep had made me delirious, but before I realized what was happening I had my lips pressed against his, and my free hand entangled in his hair. He seemed startled, arms tensing around me, but nonetheless, didn't pull away. I stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling away. "Ah!- ..sorry.." I muttered, going to pull away, but I was held there, I wasn't sure if it was Cassian holding me there, or something inside my head telling me to stay.

Cass, not saying anything, gently set me down on the bed, brushing the hair from my face "don't apologize.." He said softly, gently lifting my head to looking at him " You did nothing wrong" I'm not sure why, but hearing him say hat made my heart swell. I smiled softly, leaning slightly into his hand, shutting my eyes. "You need to get some rest... because i'm betting you didn't get any last night.." he stated, looking towards the small pile of books. I hummed softly, neither in agreement nor disagreement. He chucked softly, lightly tapping my shoulders. "at least lay down first" He smiled, amused. I groaned softly, shifting to a laying position. After putting a blanket over me and turning off the lights, Cass went to head for the door.

"Wait...stay.." I said softly, reaching a hand out towards him, "please.." I muttered quietly. Cassian froze, standing still for a moment, before sighing softly and shutting the door before walking back to the bed and sitting hesitantly on the edge of it. "okay... just until you fall asleep.." He sighed softly, laying down next to me, and wrapping his arms around me. For once I felt comfortable.

Safe.

Happy.

Not long after my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep. Soon after, by mistake Cassian fell asleep too.

~~~~~~~~~~maybe like an hour ish time skip~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Should we check on them?" Feyre asked the group, looking around.

"Maybe.." Az shrugged and Rhys nodded in agreement. Mor shook her head, making an excuse as to why she couldn't go, so the other three went to check. Softly knocking on the door before opening it, Feyre poked her head in, followed by Azriel, that Rhysand. What they was was something they'd NEVERlet go. At least not Rhys and Az. They saw y/n, sleeping peacefully wrapped in Cassians arms. They didn't wake them, deciding to leave the teasing for later

A/N: I wasn't totally sure how to end this, and it seems a bit awkward, but it'll do i guess. I didn't mean to make it so long, but it is, and I had like 4 cups of tea while writing this. HOPEFULLY the next one will be a lot shorter (for those who like shorter oneshots)

A/N 2: I'm glad the way this went, and it was actually A LOT longer than I expected it to be. If ya'll want anything specifically written about (like if you have a prompt idea) feel free to ask me, cause as of now i'm kinda just writing whatever the hamsters in my brain come up with. OH! and lmk if you guys want any x male reader stories, cause i've realized most of them have been geared towards female readers.

#cassian x reader #cassian fluff #acotar #i need therapy #i want someone to love me #its literally 3 am #running on coffee and depression #literally writing while sick #i have a cold #I legit feel so lonely #someone love me pls #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #a court of wings and ruin #this was amazing #idk how to tag this #random tags #Why can I write more on here than in actual papers

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specialagentlokitty · 1 year ago

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Giles x teen!reader - the family you need

Part 5:

You felt your wounds slowly healing, and as you looked at your arm you could see the small cuts healing.

It would still take a while, but you knew at least you would be able to stand up soon, be able to move around and hopefully leave.

You weren’t sure if they were looking for you, and dear god you hoped they weren’t, you hoped they were just tidying the library up and they’d just leave you alone.

“What do we do Giles? We can’t fight a demon like that.” Oz said.

Giles sighted, running a hand down his face.

“Right… I.. I uh… all of you get out of here, I’ll find something to tell the police.”

“And the child of Satan himself currently running around out there?” Xander snapped.

“I’ll find them, just go, you don’t want to be getting into anymore trouble than you usually do, especially not for this.”

Buffy turned to face her watcher.

“You can’t take them alone.”

“Buddy I’m not going to fight them, right now the first thing to do is find them, get them out of here as well, then we go from there, I’ll do some research and see what I can find.”

Nobody seemed convinced but they didn’t want to argue with them, so they left, and Giles went into the hallway.

He looked around, and he saw some blood on the wall so he walked over, touching it to see if it was fresh, and it was.

Then he saw some drops on the floor, another spot on the wall, and more on the floor.

He could tell you stopped on that part of the wall, leaning there, and he looked around.

If you stopped there then either you need to rest, or you were looking for somewhere to hide.

He saw a door with blood on and he cautiously walked in, looking around.

“(Y/N)?”

Giles found a puddle of blood on the ground, it was enough to warrant him thinking a life or death situation but it was enough to know you were badly hurt.

But you were gone, whether or not you had just left was a different story and he sighed.

Before he could do anything he had to get somebody here to sort the mess, but before that he had one other thing to do.

It took a couple of hours, but once he was done he finally called the police to explained about a possible break in or something at the school before he quickly left.

Giles made his way to your apartment and knocked o the door.

“(Y/N) are you home?”

There was no reply and he looked around before crouching down, taking a paper clip from his pocket he made quick work of the lock and quickly entered before he was caught.

The place was pretty clean for a teenager living alone, a few school papers and books scattered on the table.

“(Y/N) it’s me? Are you alright?”

Giles knocked on all the closed doors before opening them, but there wasn’t even a trace that you had come back to your apartment.

No blood, no bloodied clothes, no you.

And that was where the trail went cold, because there wasn’t anywhere else he could think off that you would go.

Using your phone he called everybody else, asking if they knew where you would go, but they only knew the school and your apartment.

With a sigh, he set it down after speaking to Cordelia, and he looked around your kitchen.

The list he gave you was on the fridge, and he studied it for a moment.

Rushing out, he made his way to his home and rushed inside.

“(Y/N)? Are you here?!” He called.

He rushed around, checking everywhere you could have hidden, but you were there, and as he walked back to his living room he stopped.

His first aid box was on table, empty.

You had been there, clearly you got what you needed and had left again, but he couldn’t keep running around trying to find you.

He tried to do some research, but nothing in any of his books told him anything useful, rendering then two days he spent researching useless.

He thought with the school closed he could have time to find something, anything, but he was wrong.

On the third day when the school was open again, he walked into the library to see everything back in its place, and made his way to his office.

There on the desk were a couple of books, a note, and some money.

Furrowing his brows a little he walked up to the note and opened it.

‘Please don’t tell them where I am, they can’t find me. These books might help you in your new demons, and the money is for what I took. I’m sorry.’

Giles looked around his office, he wasn’t sure how long these had been there, but he sat down, opening one of the books.

A lot of the demons buffy had talked about there in the book, and he looked at the others, a bible, an introduction to exorcism, and some sort of journal.

He opened it, and took a photo out, it was of a baby, smiling brightly with innocent (E/C) eyes.

He chuckled a little, setting it aside and began to go through the journal, learning it was about you.

Every few months there was a new update, something new you had done or learned.

But as it went through the years of your life and whoever it was that raised you he noticed that it became less happy and more worried.

Fighting, skipping school, uncontrollable anger, demons coming after you, the seal nearly breaking.

All dark things, whoever this belonged to was clearly trying their best to look after you, keep you safe and hidden.

It wasn’t the work of a demon, that much Giles could tell, it was the works of a human, so whoever raised you had been a human, and he noticed after the entry about your 12th birthday that they stopped.

There wasn’t anything after that, just about how they were coming after you and that they’d hurt you, and he wondered if these were the same people you talked about in the note.

Sighing, he looked up at the sound of knocking on his door.

“Anything?” Willow asked.

Her, Xander and Buffy walked in, closing the door behind them.

“I’m afraid not, I checked everywhere a few days ago, they were at my home but quickly left after taking what they needed. I came in this morning to these on my desk, long with the note and some money.”

Giles handed the note over so they could walk read it.

“Don’t tell who exactly?” Buffy asked.

“I suspect it may have something to do with this entry in the journal, now I was given this for a reason, so I don’t want to expose too much until I know more, you must understand I was given it in confidence I’m not sure how much they want me to share.”

“Oh yeah, protect the demons identity.” Xander scoffed.

Giles gave him a disapproving look, but got up with the journal and sat on the edge of his desk as he began to read.

“…I know that they’re looking for a reason to take (Y/N), being the child of Satan they’re seen as a monster that must be put down, the elders are disappointed in my choice to keep the child alive, I know. (Y/N) is not a danger, but a child who has an unfortunate heritage, I can’t imagine what they would do should (Y/N) loose control, and I fear what they will do if (Y/N) ends up in their care…”

Giles closed the journal and set it aside, looking at the trio.

“I looked through the books, and from what I can tell, whoever wrote this is referring to an order called the academy, at front it poses as a normal school for elite teenagers, but in reality they train exorcists to deal with demons like the ones Buffy was seeing.”

They all nodded.

“Have you seen anything of them today?” Giles asked.

“No show, like at all.” Willow said.

Giles sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“We need to find them because someone or something else does.”

He stood up, grabbing his jacket.

“You three go home, if you hear anything from them or about them let me know immediately.”

Giles left his office, and he went back to good apartment knocking on the door again.

He listened carefully, looking at the bottom of the door for any shadow of movement, but he didn’t see any, he did however hear something, so he knocked again.

Whatever it was went quiet.

“(Y/N), open the door please.”

There was no response and he left.

Every day he would come back, a whole two weeks of knocking on your door, and today was no different. He knocked and waited.

There was a sigh, and the door was unlocked and he pushed it open, stepping inside before closing it.

He turned around, taking his jacket off he hung it up on the hook next to the door, and he walked a little further in to find you holding some frozen peas to your shoulder.

“We’ve been trying to find you for weeks.” He sighed.

“Did it occur to you that maybe I didn’t want to be found..” you grumbled.

You walked out the kitchen and over to your couch, dropping yourself with a grunt of pain.

Giles walked over, standing opposite you, leaning on the wall with his arms cross and you ignored him, turning your attention to the TV.

“Yes, it did. But we are going to have to talk about the other day eventually.”

You said nothing.

“You left me those books for a reason, can I know why?”

“So you know what you’re dealing with and don’t die.”

You pointed to the window and he walked over, looking outside.

He could see things he hadn’t seen before, these little black creatures just fluttering about in the sky.

“Demons, harmless in small numbers like that, so don’t waste your energy with them.”

Giles turned his attention back to you.

“You’re a demon, but you fight other demons?”

“Half demon, get it right. And yeah, I am, so what?” You snapped.

Giles raised his hands, walking over to the table and he sat on the edge of it, looking at you.

You had a small cut on your face, but it seemed to be slowly disappearing right before his eyes.

“I am not here to fight you (Y/N)…”

“Of course you’re not, you’re just here to tell me I don’t belong right? Tell me it’s my fault people got hurt? Because I’ve heard it all before so save your breath.”

You got up, heading back to the kitchen.

“That’s not why I’m here either.” He said.

“Then why are you here Giles? Because I saw your faces, you looked at me, and you seemed to forget that for months I would help you, for months I would study with you all, that I was human. The moment you saw that you immediately forgot all of that and saw a demon, a monster.”

“You have to understand those flames they.. they’re not exactly they symbol of good things to come (Y/N), thousands dies by those very same flames.”

You walked into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, coming back your slammed it on to the table.

“Then kill me! Do it! That’s what you want right?!”

Grabbing the knife you pressed the hilt into his hand, forcing his fingers around it and you pressed the point to your neck.

Your stared at him, tears brimming your eyes.

“Do what everybody else so badly want to do! Kill the kid of Satan! Kill the demon!”

You closed your eyes, a few tears falling down your face.

“I’m just a monster… so do it.. that’s your job right? To kill monsters?”

You let go of his hand and you waited.

Giles stared at you, and he would admit, that he looked at you in the library and all he could see was a demon.

And even know his watcher senses were screaming demon at him, screaming him to take the shot he was given and get rid of you.

But he couldn’t.

Because as he looked at you, tears running down your face, seeing how fed up you were, remembering the words written in the joints he was reminded you were also half human.

You were good, and you had done good things.

It was a conflict of interest, yes they killed demons, but a half demon? There were no rules on that, and they never killed Angel, not even after everything the vampire had done.

You hadn’t hurt anybody like that, not as far as he knew.

Giles moved the knife away, and he set it behind him.

“I’m not here to kill you (Y/N), I don’t want to kill you.”

You fell back, taking a deep, shaky breath and you looked up at him, wiping your tears with the back of your hand.

“Why..? It’s what you do right..?”

Giles chuckled softly, and he shook his head, getting up so he could crouch down in front of you.

“No (Y/N), we slay monsters, you’re not a monster, I don’t think you ever were a monster, whoever raised you certainly didn’t think you were a monster.”

You looked at him in shock and he just smiled, resting his arms on his knees.

“It was certainly a shock, that is true. How the others feel I don’t know, you would have to speak to them about that, but right now I don’t see a demon in front of me, I see a scared, hurt, teenager, who’s used to the whole world turning its back on them, right?”

“I never asked to be this…” you whispered.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the handkerchief he used to clean his glasses, and he reached out only for you to flinch away.

He placed it in your hand, and you shuffled back a little, using it to wipe your tears away.

“I know, but unfortunately we have no say in what we’re born as, but we do have a choice in how we make other people see us.”

“Apparently that doesn’t matter…”

Giles reached into his pocket, pulling out a few photos and he sat them on the floor in front of you.

You picked them up and he adjusted himself so he was sat down properly in front of you.

“I believe it would to this child, right?”

You looked through them.

“I had the whole world at my fingertips…”

“You still do, the whole world is within your grasp, you can be whoever you want to be (Y/N).”

“Not anymore…”

Giles sighed.

“You still can, as long as you are able to control your demonic energy, you can still live a normal life, a human life.”

You looked at him, sniffling a little.

“I need to know, are you in control of your demonic powers (Y/N)? Can you control your flames?”

“I’ve been practicing… but sometimes.. when I get really angry.. sometimes they come out..”

He nodded his head.

“So, they’re influenced by intense emotion? Anger?”

“And happiness…”

“So, any intense emotion, I see.”

Giles looked at you, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them.

“Have you.. have you ever lost control?”

“Yes…”

“Have you ever hurt somebody?”

“Yes…”

Giles paused before his next question.

“I need to ask… have.. have you Uhm… have you ever killed anybody?”

You quietly shook your head.

“That’s good, that’s a good thing.”

You said nothing.

“I may not be too experienced with one with your condition, but I think I understand more about it, do you mind if I ask a few more questions?”

“I know you need to.. you need to make sure I’m not a threat…”

“I’m sorry…”

Giles asked a few more questions and you answered them, then he looked around your apartment.

“You had a sword, is that related to your powers in some way?”

You pulled your hoodie off, setting it aside, and Giles could see the scars on your arms better this time, as well as the tattoo.

You held your hand over it, whispering something he couldn’t hear, and the skin shimmered like waves, allowed your to reach in and pull it out.

You laid it down in front of him.

Giles looked at you, gesturing to it, and you nodded your head, allowing him to pick it up, and he examined it.

He recognised it from the description he read, but he had to see in person what it could do, he had to see with his own eyes exactly how the sword was connected to you.

He looked at you, and he handed it back to you.

“If you want to show me then you can, but I won’t make you, this is completely your choice.”

You looked at Giles then the sword, it was your choice.

For once you weren’t being forced to expose who you were, it was up to you if you wanted to or not and you felt conflicted.

You felt he, they all had a right to know, but at the same time, you didn’t want to see the fear or disgust on the faces of the people you had grown to call your friends.

You looked at Giles and all he did was smile at you, and you turned away, tightly gripped at your sword

#buffy the vampire slayer imagine #buffy the vampire slayer #Buffy the vampire slayer x reader #Buffy the vampire slayer x you #Rupert Giles #rupert giles x reader #Rupert Giles x you #Rupert Giles imagine

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aquarius-stories-and-story-ideas · 2 years ago

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Discoveries.

((I’ve officially been sucked into ‘The Stanley Parable’ fndm. I watched Markiplier play the first game years ago and was actually uninterested in it. What pulled me back in and got me to like it were the vids made by the incredibly talented @blackkatdraws! After watching them I gave the game a second chance and watched Mark and Jack play it. SAD-ist’s vids sealed the deal!

I’ve decided to make my own version of the Narrator. As for Stanley, after looking at the different versions of him I decided to go a different route. Since I’ve hardly seen any gender bends of him (and female characters in general in the TSP fndm) I chose that. So, instead of Stanley I’m going with Starlla. Both start with Sta and her theme is going to be pink shooting star.

As a way of introducing Starlla and my version of the Narrator, named Nathan for the sake of convince, I decided to include Blackkat’s version of the Narrator and Stanley. I thought it would be fitting since they inspired me to give the game another chance. Plus, I really enjoy their versions of those two and I’m still exploring other versions of them.

Just FYI, things are subject to change since this my first time introducing Starlla and Nathan. So, hopefully I nail this and get Blackkat’s versions of those two men right.))

“This is a story about a woman named Starlla.”

A woman dressed in a pink shirt with a white shooting star on it, dark blue jeans, and black shoes sat at a desk in an inclosed office. The computer that sat in front of her was turned off. Her waist length copper hair was tied back and her green hazel eyes stared down at her lap. A silver chain with a cross, a small pink heart shaped diamond in the center of it, hung around her neck. A black smart watch was strapped to her left arm.

“Starlla worked for a company in a big building where she was employee #427. Employee #427’s job was very important. She sat at her desk in room 427 and checked security codes and firewalls for other companies. Orders for projects came to her on her monitor on her desk telling her what to work on next. This is what employee 427 did everyday, every month, of every year and although others might of considered it soul rending, Starlla relished every moment a new project came to her as though she had been made exactly for this job and Starlla was happy.”

Starlla said nothing as that rich voice filled her enclosed office. Truth be told, she wasn't happy. Not today. She honestly didn't want to do this today. But, she knew how much the Narrator loved playing this game with her. So, she’d suck it up and let him have his fun. This is what made him happy, after all.

“And then one day something very peculiar happened. Something that would forever change Starlla. Something she would never quite forget. She had been at her desk for nearly an hour when she realized that not one single project had been sent for her to work on. No one had shown up to give her a project, call a meeting, or even say hi. Never in all her years at the company had this happened. This complete isolation. Something was very clearly wrong. Shocked, frozen solid, Starlla found herself unable to move for the longest time. But, as she came to her wits and regained her senses, she got up from her desk and stepped out of her office.”

With a sigh, Starlla stood up and walked out of the room. She glanced at the other desks in the area. All untouched and clean. Nobody has used them in a long time. Probably never will.

“All of her co-workers were gone. What could it mean? Starlla decided to go to the meeting room. Perhaps she had simply missed a memo.”

Not wanting to put up a fight today, she did what the Narrator said. She trotted down the hallway and came to the room with the two doors.

“When Starlla came to a set of two opened doors, she entered the door on her left.”

Okay, this time she didn't want to listen to him. She wanted to try to get herself more in the mood to play this game. Maybe taking a detour would help her mood? Only one way to find out. She took the right door instead.

“This was not the correct way to the meeting room and Starlla knew it perfectly well. Perhaps she wanted to stop by the employee lounge, just to admire it.”

This was doing nothing to get her into the game. Dang it. It seemed she needed to try harder. While she didn’t want to do anything stupid and dangerous, there had to be a way to lift her mood.

When she walked into the blue themed room she expected the Narrator to say his usual lines of annoyance. But, instead she was greeted to the sight of the man himself. He was tall with short gray hair with gold highlights. Rectangular glasses sat in front of his beautiful gold eyes. A black three piece suit and dress shoes with a gold colored tie is what he chose to wear today. A gold pocket watch chain could be seen on his suit jacket connecting to his pocket.

Even though she felt depressed today, she still blushed at the sight of the older man. A look of concern painted his face. “Is everything alright, my dear? You aren’t very active today.”

The woman lightly sighed. “Sorry Nathan, I’m really trying. I’m just…..not very chipper today. You don’t have to worry about me, though. We can still-”

She was cut off when Nathan walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “Of course I’ll worry about you. I love you so much, my darling. You don’t have to play today if you don’t want to. Is something bothering you? Do you want to talk about it?”

She returned the embrace and buried her face in his chest. “I don't feel good today, that’s all. It has nothing to do with you, work, or anything.”

“Do you want to cuddle while I read to you?”

Starlla could’ve cried at the sweet gesture. She didn’t deserve him. He was too good for her. “…..Yes, please.”

With that said Nathan led her to the couch and sat her down. Before she could get comfortable he bent down and began unlacing her shoes. This took her by surprise. “Um, Nathan? What are you doing?”

“Making you more comfortable, my dear. I thought it would help you relax if your shoes were off.”

He did have a point. Taking off her shoes was a good idea. “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

After he took off her shoes he sat down next to her and took his off too. “Let’s both get comfortable. Forget about our little game today. Let’s relax and enjoy each other’s company.”

He placed his shoes next to hers and laid down on the sofa. Starlla had to scoot over a bit to make room for his legs. Before she could say anything she found herself being levitated off of the couch. Instead of saying anything she stayed silent since she knew this was Nathan’s doing.

She was gently placed on top of him and he stroked her hair as she laid her head on his chest. In a brief flash of glittery, golden, light a yellow and pink quilt was draped over both of them.

Nathen wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. “Comfortable, sweetheart?” She nodded. “Good. What story would you like to hear today?”

She thought for a moment. “Something relaxing. A fairytale?”

“Sounds good. Do you want to hear that spin-off novel from Frozen?”

“Yes, please.”

He kissed her on the head. “Of course.”

With that said he summoned the book and kept it floating in the air. Now he could read to her and not let go of her. He made sure she was comfortable before starting the story.

In the offices, a door that was usually kept locked turned red and opened. Two femininely dressed men stepped into the room.

The older one had short gray hair and golden eyes. Yellow earrings hung from his ears. He wore a white shirt, yellow tie, black trench coat that was yellow on the inside, black slacks that went up to his abdomen, and black high-heeled boots. He tightened the slights tightly around his middle to make his hips look wider. Makeup was applied to his face and black lipstick. His nails were painted black as well. His name was Black.

The other man was shorter and looked a bit younger than his companion. His short brown hair was styled back. Yellow arrow earrings decorated his ears and a black choker with yellow lace was tied around his neck. He wore a strapless black dress, black gloves that went past his elbows, and a white feather boa. His shoes of choice were black high heels with yellow on the bottom of them. His brown eyes glanced around the room. His name is Stanley.

“I’m so excited!” Exclaimed Stanley. “I’ve been waiting for this all week! I hope-”

Black held up a hand. “Hold up, sweetheart. Something doesn't feel right.”

He gave his partner a puzzled look. “What do you mean? Is something wrong?”

Black was silent for a moment. “More like different. I don't think we’re in the right place.”

“Really? That's unusual. Maybe we can still make it before the fun starts.”

Just as Stanley turned around Black spoke up. “Hold on. Let's explore. I would like to meet this place’s Narrator and Stanley. I don't think we’ve met them before. This place is very different.”

Stanley blinked before answering. “Okay. Maybe they’ll want to join us. The more the merrier.”

The two of them walked through the offices and came to the set of two opened doors. Stanley spoke first. “Which way should we go first? The left one?”

Black hummed in thought. “I haven’t heard this one's Narrator just yet. Let’s take the right one. Maybe this Stanley is exploring and went off the path.”

Back in the employee lounge Starlla was fully relaxed on Nathan, listening to him read and his heartbeat. Just as he was turning the page he froze. Something was incredibly wrong. He felt two unknown presence’s in his domain.

Starlla felt him stiffen and looked at him. “Honey? Is everything okay?”

“.....I feel two intruders in my domain.”

She sat up. “What? How did they get in here?”

Nathan could hear the sounds of heels clicking down the hallway already. He gently pushed Starlla off of him and slipped on his shoes. The laces began tying themselves as he grabbed the quilt. “Hide under here. I don't want to take a chance. If these people are aggressive then things will get ugly fast. This is my domain. Leave everything to me.”

She nodded. “Right.”

Nathan draped the quilt on the corner of the couch, making a pocket for Stella to hide under, and motioned her to crawl inside. As she did that he took her shoes and hid them on the side of the sofa.

He turned to the open doorway as Black and Stanley stepped inside. Nathan crossed his arms and glared at the unexpected guests. While he wanted to immediately toss these people out, he’ll restrain himself. He didn't want to get violent with Starlla in the room. “Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?”

Black spoke first. He put on a friendly face. “Hello. I’m Black and this is my partner Stanley. We were going to visit some friends to have some fun, but it seems we ended up in your place instead. Sorry about that. We were hoping to meet you and your Stanley.”

When Black spoke Nathan was shocked to hear his voice come from this man. What the hell?! Why did this man have his voice?! Not to mention why did he kinda look like him?

Shaking those thoughts from his mind Nathan spoke firmly. “Instead of turning back and leaving you both decided to roam around my domain without my permission? You’re trespassing on my property. Leave. Now.”

Stanley spoke up. “We don’t mean any harm. We merely want to meet you and your Stanley.”

Nathan wasn’t having any of this. He could feel his anger levels rising by the second and his self restraint was becoming more challenging to hold onto. He uncrossed his arms and tightened his hands into fists. “I don’t know anyone named Stanley! Even if I did I wouldn’t introduce him to people who trespass on other people's private property! If you two don’t leave right now I’ll throw you out myself!”

Things were getting heated quickly. Black tried to think of a way to get this man to calm down. But, he did have a point. They were walking around in his game without his permission. He has the right to be angry. The best thing to do was to respect his wishes and leave.

Black took a breath. “We’re sorry for trespassing. We really don’t mean any harm. We’ll leave.”

Under the quilt Starlla listened to the entire conversation. One of the men sounded exactly like Nathan! How was that possible?! Was it just a coincidence or something? Deciding to push her luck, she bent down and peeked outside.

As Stanley was about to turn around to leave he happened to glance at the quilt draped on the couch. He caught movement underneath it and saw someone peek out. He smiled and gave a small wave. “Oh. Well, hello there.”

Black and Nathan both looked at him. He pointed to the quilt. “I take it your Stanley, or whatever his name is, is under there?”

Nathan growled and his eyes briefly glowed. “Leave now!”

Seeing as she has given herself away, Stella crawled out of the quilt and stood up. Both Black and Stanley were taken back at the sight of her. This version of Stanley was a woman?!

Starlla gave an awkward wave. “Um. Hello.”

Black recovered from his shock and smiled brightly at her. “Hello, darling. I’m Black and this is Stanley. It’s nice to meet both of you. We apologize for coming uninvited.”

She lightly smiled back. “Thank you for apologizing. I’m Starlla and this is Nathan.”

“Starlla.” Said Nathan stiffly. “Don’t encourage them to stay longer. They need to leave. They shouldn’t have been able to get in here in the first place.”

Stanley smiled sheepishly. “I guess it was dumb luck?”

“I think we’ll listen to your Narrator and take our leave.” Said Black. “With your permission, may we come back and reintroduce ourselves properly?”

Nathan was silent for a moment. He wanted to say no, but he saw Starlla giving him puppy dog eyes. Dang it. He hated it when she did that. Obviously she wanted to get to know these two men more. He couldn’t say no when she was giving him that look.

He sighed. “Very well. You two may come back.”

“Wonderful!” Exclaimed Black happily. “I’m already looking forward to it! Have a wonderful day you two.”

Stanley waved. “I’m looking forward to our next meeting as well. Take care!”

Starlla waved bye at the two men and looked at Nathan. “Glad they were friendly. They seem very nice.”

He hummed, feeling himself simmer down now that they were gone. “Perhaps. I’m glad they didn’t destroy anything and hurt you.”

She giggled and kissed his cheek. “You’re so overprotective. But, I appreciate it. Want to continue where we left off?”

With a smile, Nathan kissed her forehead. “Of course, sweetheart. Let’s get comfortable again.”

#the stanley parable #tsp #tsp stanley #tsp narrator #tsp female Stanley #oc #Tsp oc #blackkatdraws #writing #fan writing #fanfiction #tsp fanfic #short story #Starlla #Hopefully I corrected all the grammar errors

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capcavan · 7 months ago

Note

Also Rinee breakup fic

Rinee (riko/renee) Breakup fic Draft Part 3 andrew’s pov There was some cash on the table nicky was counting the bills grinning even if his eyes were on the money he clearly cough andrews gaze, it was easy to notice consider usually his eyes were only his fox “You had not made a bet yet” Nicky said gathering the money back into his pocket, already feeling confident that by the end of ongoing bet all that cash will be his and of course he hoped andrew would add up to his budget “Because you all are wrong anyway” He said dryly, doing his damn best to not say anything more even as Neils eyes pleaded for a hint. “No way” Nicky said confidently , andrew was good at observing people, but all foxes had eyes, after the first few weeks Renee and Riko spend attached hip to hip everyone could see there was a problem even if surgical procedure that cut them apart left no traces of blood, the scars were noticeable to everyone. It was hard to ignore Riko’s moods. He was irritable and that made him fit in with the foxes- they went back to their old frequency of getting in fights on the court. Nobody complained they all found violence to be therapeutic. He was tense and distracted in class, his already bad grades got even more fucked as he stopped turngin on his assignements. But it was not something foxes cared for, they did not pried into each other’s business especially not Riko’s, if anything his clear plea for sympathy was somehow amusing. Andrew wanted to be amused but unlike others he knew Renee was doing no better, she could stand straight and proud but whatever was going on she clearly wanted to make it better, kiss it all good and give Riko what he so dearly needed. All of the foxes thought the relationship was over already, that Renee just waited to find the most suitable moment to finally cut him off, Andrew was the only one seeing how much she wanted the opposite to happen. He wanted to be mad and yell at her- You should not want to fix him. She was stubborn though and he respected this about her up till now that it has come to bite him in the ass. Now that almost all foxes made their bets on who Riko cheated with on Renee Andrew held back, the easy bet was Kevin but he wanted to strangle anyone who suggested that after taking on look at kevin himself. the vixens were out of questions Aaron would know and aaron voted for Kevin. Matt bet, no, accused nicky since Riko was one of persnalities on his and erik’s fuck list. None of that made sense though, Riko would not walk with his head low like that if it was just sex, Riko moriyama was not a man who seen any of his decisions as mistake even after being proven that his opinions on colors are worth shit (courtesy of abby checking his eyesight and making him aware of his color blindness). Andrew was pretty sure the reason kevin and riko never talked about Kevisn hand was because the fucker refused to ever feel in wrong about fuckign it up. “The bet is whatever or not he cheated on her, the who is just to add spice to it anyway” Nicky said when Andrew did not argue further. Andrew was sure that was not the case and covered neil’s mouth before the fox on his lap could try to continue the topic after Nicky left.

#aftg #riko moriyama #all for the game #andrew minyard #nicky hemmick #rinee breakup fic #rinee

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currentlyfckingurmom · 2 years ago

Text

Her Song part 12

The past few days have been hell. I have no idea what to do about Zach and Florence. Some part of me was expecting her to at least text, but I haven't heard from her at all. I haven't spoken to Scarlett or Lizzie either. Ash keeps pestering me to go after Florence but she doesn't know about Zach's threats.

And to top it all off, Syd has felt sick for days on end. Her head is killing her and she keeps getting stomachaches. I took her to her pediatrician, Dr. Lancaster, but he said she's perfectly fine. It feels like something is wrong, but I'm not the one who went to medical school, I guess.

Sighing as I calm my thoughts, I hand the customer their drink and give them a brief smile before they leave the shop. Ash is in class and Syd is in school, so it's just me here. It's only 11am, and I'm already exhausted. Standing behind the counter, resting my head in my hands, I perk up when the door opens. There's a brief glimmer of hope that a certain blonde will walk through the door, but it fades quickly.

"Oh, hey, Willow," I say, my voice a knotch higher than usual as I remember my vital mistake.

"Morning, Y/N," she greets, leaning on the counter across from me, a daring half smile playing at her lips. "You never called."

"Shit, I'm so sorry. I just got caught up with everything and-"

"Don't worry about it. So who is she?"

Her question catches me off guard and I stumble over my words. "What? Who?"

"Look, I'm not blind, Y/N. You're obviously hung up on somebody else. It's not fair to anybody to keep this thing going," she shrugs. "I'm not upset, okay? Honestly. Is it that British woman from VIP night?"

"It's complicated..."

"It always is. There's a reason true love is hard to find. If it were simple, everyone would have it."

"Thank you, Willow," I say sincerely. I know I was kind of an ass, but she's being really mature about this whole thing anyways.

"Thank you. For the, you know," she smirks coyly. I laugh and throw a paper cup at her, which she catches and throws back before walking towards the door. "I hope we can still be friends?" she asks.

"I'd like that." She leaves the shop and I smile slightly, glad that something is finally going right. I've known Willow for a long time, and I'd hate to throw that away just because we had sex one time. Well, more than one time, but all in the same night so it doesn't count.

A few more uneventful hours drag by. Switching the vinyls on the turn table, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Scarlett: We made a group chat. We need to talk. Lizzie: Scarlett don't make it sound so ominous. Scarlett: I'm pissed. I'll be as ominous as I want.

They made a group chat. That can't be good.

Me: What is going on? Why are you pissed? Scarlett: What happened to calling her?? I thought you were gonna fight for her, dumbass. Me: I did call. I left a message. Haven't heard from her. Lizzie: Well clearly it wasn't a very persuasive voicemail, considering she thinks you don't want to see her anymore Scarlett: You need to go talk to her Me: Why would she think that? And how am I supposed to talk to her? Scarlett: We can sneak you on set or into her trailer. It'll be straight out of a romcom! Lizzie: OOH yeah! Nobody will even notice and she'll be swept off her feet Me: This doesn't sound like a good idea. Scarlett: Do you have a better suggestion? Me: I guess not Lizzie: Then we're doing this. We'll pick you up in two hours. Be ready!

Oh God. Now I'm freaking out. What did I just get myself into?

I adjust the blazer around my torso, anxiously checking the time. I decided to wear mom jeans, a white top, and an oversized blazer. I want to look good without looking like I'm trying to look good. I'm definitely overthinking this. What the hell am I going to say?

I hear a horn honk outside, and bound down the steps of my apartment. I slide into the backseat of a black car with tinted windows, and Scarlett and Lizzie are already inside. "You ready for this?" Lizzie asks.

"Not in the slightest," I breathe out shakily.

"You'll do fine. Just, you know, woo her. With words and stuff," Scarlett advises me.

"Gee, thanks. That's really helpful," I grumble sarcastically.

"Don't snap at me. We could get in serious trouble for this," Scarlett retorts.

"I know. You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."

"You'll do fine. Just be honest with her," Lizzie soothes me.

When we pull up to the large building, it looks extremely suspicious. It almost looks like a warehouse, with barely any windows in sight. They drop me off by a back door, hidden by some bushes, and tell me to wait for them to come and get me. I do as they say, impatiently pacing back and forth as I practice what I'm going to say.

A clap of thunder echoes through the sky, dark clouds looming above me. "Oh great," I mutter as it starts to rain lightly. A few seconds later, another bolt of lightning strikes and it begins to pour. Raindrops hammer against my skin like pellets, soaking through my clothes almost instantly.

Several long, cold minutes later, the back door opens to reveal Lizzie and Scarlett standing in the doorway. Scarlett grabs my arm and pulls me inside, immediately setting a fast pace down the narrow hallway. "She's in with the makeup artist. Lizzie is gonna get the artist out and then you'll go in. Got it?" Scarlett rushes out.

"Y-yeah, got it," I stammer. Scarlett pulls me to a stop outside of a door, and Lizzie walks through. Seconds later, Lizzie walks out with another woman and they go down the hall together, talking and laughing.

"That was the artist. Go," Scarlett commands, shoving me into the room and closing the door behind me. Florence turns around to face me, her face morphing into confusion. I hesitate, simply staring at her as I forget everything I practiced. The water is dripping off my skin.

"Y/N, what are you doing here?" Florence asks apprehensively.

"I needed to talk to you."

#flo pugh #florence pugh x reader

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princess-of-the-corner · 2 years ago

Text

Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix Recap: Olympus Coliseum (What Lies Beneath)

The Gummi Route for reaching the world is “Phantom Storm”.

The route starts with the Gummi ship flying through a green energy stream, battling Nobodies among various bits of debris, until Chip (the Chipmunk, not the teacup) calls in to warn Sora about something coming up on the side.

The camera pans over to reveal the silhouette of a pirate ship through the fog, and ghostly Heartless slowly fade into view to try and take bites out of the Gummi Ship. This massive Heartless is the Pirate Ship, and the main enemy of the route.

After battling some more nobodies, the weird energy funnel cyclone thing deposits Sora in front of the massive Heartless, and the battle begins.

The wheels on its side, the various canons, the shaft of the mast, and the cannonballs fired by the cannons on the deck are all viable targets, though you do not need to destroy them to clear the route.

At the end of the route, the ship’s lower jaw drops to reveal the Heartless’ skull, which is the true controller of the ship. Killing the skull kills the Heartless, leaving the Pirate Ship as an empty husk. Indeed, this makes it the ONLY Heartless in the franchise to leave behind a corpse that doesn’t dissipate, as you can actually find the Pirate Ship’s remains in a later game.

However, you don’t have to kill the Heartless to complete the route, and the Gummi Ship will eventually reach the end anyways.

Clearing Phantom Storm unlocks Olympus Coliseum, allowing the main story to progress.

We open with Hercules defeating the Rock Titan by grabbing it by the foot and yeeting it into orbit. He raises his sword above his head as the apparently invisible audience filling the clearly empty stands cheers him on.

Meanwhile, Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive at the Underworld Entrance, a strange miasma briefly emanating from their bodies as they cross over into the Underworld.

Goofy asks if Sora’s sure they’re in the Coliseum, and Donald points out a shimmering staircase leading out of this nightmarish hellscape, at which point Sora realizes that they took a wrong turn somewhere.

The trio gets ready to just walk out of the afterlife, when they hear a screaming woman.

They turn around to see a woman in purple running from some dog-like Emblem Heartless who have their name localized differently in almost every game they appear in.

The woman trips, but the Heartless flee as soon as they hear Sora’s voice.

There’s a Save Point here, but you can’t progress this world’s plot until you help the woman up.

Or well, try to, as she helps herself up without accepting Sora’s hand.

She’s pretty dismissive of the trio in fact, but after they introduce themselves and reveal that they wanted to check in on Hercules, she instead becomes incredulous at the fact that they know “Wonderboy”.

“Yeah, because we’re heroes too!” Donald boasts.

“You mean junior heroes, Donald.” Goofy corrects.

The woman chuckles, already warming up to the trio.

“Looks like we have a friend in common,” she remarks, “Name’s Megara.” (Hercules) “My friends call me Meg.” (Herc)

SDG chat with Meg, who reveals that Hercules has been fighting at the Coliseum nonstop.

“A hero’s work is never done.”

He’s about ready to drop, but keeps on fighting anyway, so Megara just casually waltzed into the Underworld to try and convince Hades to dial it back a bit with the deadly monsters from the depths of the Underworld, and Goofy catches on to the fact that Meg and Herc are a bit more than friends.

A flustered Meg tries to play it cool, but Sora offers to handle negotiations with Hades instead.

Megara, realizing that she’s kinda out of her depth with the Heartless, agrees to let SDG handle it, but requests that they keep this a secret, and SDG agree.

As long as you are in the Underworld, your Drive Gauge is sealed (bound in chains on the HUD), meaning you can’t use Drive Forms or Summons.

As the game is structured so you will probably complete both Land of Dragons and Beast’s Castle before visiting Olympus Coliseum, and the mandatory appointment with Merlin happens automatically after you clear your second Disney world, this means that you are sent into a scenario where you CAN’T use your new Summon right after you unlocked Summoning.

GREAT GAME DESIGN THERE!

Talking to Megara has her point the way to Hades’ office, while warning Sora that the Underworld is said to drain a person’s strength. She also warns him to keep an eye out for falling rocks.

The way ahead is the Cave of the Dead, where wisps float around. You can attack these wisps for free MP orbs.

Additionally, boulders will drop from the ceiling whenever you approach any point that has dust raining down.

In the Cave of the Dead Passage, our heroes see IX of Organization XIII run deeper into the Underworld.

They give chase as more Heartless Corridor in to impede them.

Upon reaching the inner chamber, IX runs right at the group, shouts “Run, run away!” and then zips right past Sora and right into a Corridor of Darkness, much to our heroes’ confusion.

In Final Mix, this leads into a second, textbox cutscene, where a globe of darkness, surrounded by the same ethereal thorns Marluxia used, materializes, the symbol of Zexion’s book flickering and blurring into and out of existence within it. It emanates shadowy wisps.

The heroes wonder what’s up with this book, and note that the title is “Absent Silhouettes”.

They decide to leave it alone, in case it’s one of Hades’ traps.

There’s a Save Point and two chests in this room, the larger of the two holding the Map of the Underworld.

You can also access Mosh’s Moogle shop, which adds the “Falling Star” shield to the Weapon shops in the large towns.

When Sora, Donald, and Goofy progress to the next room, we see Hades and Pete having a conversation while Pain (Hercules) and Panic (Hercules) cower off to the side.

Pete asks what Hades is going to do about Hercules when every monster he’s sent after Hercules has failed epically.

“Pretty soon, the Underworld’s gonna be standin’ room only!” Pete taunts, “Say, why don’t you just pick someone already dead and save him the trouble?”

Hades seethes, and Pain and Panic duck behind Pete as he suddenly remembers that he’s mocking a god in said god’s turf.

Hades, however, calms down, and realizes Pete may have accidentally come up with a brilliant plan.

Meanwhile, Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive at the Valley of the Dead, a natural landbridge that goes over the River Styx and directly into Hades’ palace at the center of the Underworld.

Donald and Goofy are uneasy, but Sora’s as bold as ever, calling out to Hades to come out.

Heartless will spawn on the bridge to impede your progress, but nothing’s currently stopping you from just running past them.

At the end of this bridge is a staircase that leads directly into Hades’ chamber.

Speaking of, Hades has moved his table out of the way to reveal a swirling, green vortex, to which a nervous Pete asks what’s down there.

“Just the Underworld’s deepest dungeon,” Hades explains, “This time, I’m bringing out the mother of all bad guys!”

Pete nervously decides to back away, either because he doesn’t want to fall into the whirlpool of damned souls, he doesn’t want to be standing too close to whoever this vile villain is going to be, or some combination of the two.

As Pete considers leaving, Hades yeets some fire into the whirlpool of damned souls, at which point smoke and lightning erupt out of the depths, the silhouette of Hades’ newest recruit materializing within.

The smoke deposits the Final Fantasy character on the floor near Hades, revealing a Final Fantasy character.

“Let’s cut to the chase,” Hades opens, “I got a deal for you. I let you out of the slammer – no strings – you’ll be free as a bird.” Pete presses himself against the wall when the newly resurrected Final Fantasy character looks at him. “All for one little job.

“Fight Hercules, in the Coliseum, to the death!”

The Final Fantasy character grimaces.

“This is my story,” he states, “And you’re not part of it.”

He brandishes his sword, his other arm tucked into his gi (? It’s a ronin thing, apparently) and prepares to fight Hades.

“Did you forget who you’re talking to?” an incredulous Hades asks, “I am the Lord of the Dead!”

“Hmph,” the mystery man cracks a smirk, “No wonder nobody wants to die.”

“You are FIRED!” Hades turns red and charges, and the mystery man parries with his blade as Sora, Donald, and Goofy run in.

“Hades!” Donald shouts.

“You again?” Hades remarks, becoming distracted enough to turn back to blue and get swatted away by the mystery man.

“Fight!” the mystery man instructs, before going back to attacking Hades.

It ends poorly for him, and he’s quickly incapacitated.

Hades tries to finish him off, but Sora intervenes.

Cue boss battle!

Except instead of a boss theme, the Underworld’s regular battle theme (What Lies Beneath) plays over the fight as Hades turns red.

This battle will end after a few seconds, as it is entirely impossible to damage Hades.

Sora wonders why nothing’s happening as the same miasma from before emanates from the heroes, and Hades gives the run down.

“In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes – comes with the territory.”

The mystery man returns the favor, slashing at Hades with his sword, only for the god to teleport out of the way.

“Go now!”

“But I have to talk to Hades!” Sora protests.

“What was that?” Hades asks, having plugged his ears with his fingers.

The mystery man points out that they CAN’T beat Hades on his own turf, and finally convinces Sora to retreat.

AURON (Final Fantasy X) HAS JOINED THE PARTY!!!

Auron is a required Party Member for the next bit of gameplay.

His abilities are Horizontal Swing (Twists while stepping lightly and swipes his sword from left to right.), Vertical Swing (Quickly swings sword diagonally downward. Executes quickly, but has a short reach.), Aerial Upswing (Jumps, then immediately swings sword upward from directly below.), Aerial Downswing (Attacks by swinging sword downward after descending from a jump.), Divider (Attacks nearby enemies while flying through the air. MP Cost: 10), Healing Water (Restores 60% of a selected ally’s maximum HP. MP Cost: 99), MP Rage (Restores MP relative to the amount of damage taken.), MP Haste (Increases MP restoration speed by 25% after MP is fully consumed.), Once More (Ensures 1 HP remains after taking damage from a combo.), Auto Limit (Automatically sets the Reaction Command to Limit, if Limit is usable.), and his Limit is Overdrive.

Overdrive is named after a mechanic from Final Fantasy X, basically that game’s equivalent to the Limit Break system introduced in Final Fantasy VII.

It consumes all of Sora’s MP to use (like all Limits) and starts with the Bushido Reaction Command. Bushido has Sora and Auron step back and slash at all enemies around them. Two commands alternate between each other in both the “Attack” and “Reaction” slots: “Shooting Star” (the user spins around to attack enemies) and “Banishing Blade” (user leaps towards enemies and slices downwards with their weapon). After Shooting Star has been used three times, the Finisher, “Spiral” becomes available, wherein Sora and Auron spin their weapons together to create a tornado that draws in surrounding enemies and deals massive damage.

But back to the plot, our heroes have to flee to the Valley of the Dead and close the door behind them, only to Hades to teleport out to continue the chase.

They now must flee through the Valley of the Dead while Hades gives chase. There are three platforms, one outside Hades’ Chamber, one in the middle of the bridge, and one by the exit into the “Inner Chamber”, where Heartless will spawn and raise an invisible barrier to impede Sora’s progress. In order to progress, all Heartless must be slain, though Hades will repeatedly teleport towards the heroes.

Upon reaching the Inner Chamber, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are drained, while Auron’s still standing.

Sora asks if Auron is some kind of hero, but Auron denies it, and finally introduces himself, with Sora, Donald, and Goofy introducing themselves as well.

Auron wonders if they were fated to meet, and asks if Sora is in need of a guardian (which will make more sense if you’ve played Final Fantasy X), which Sora refuses.

Auron, however, seems more amused than insulted.

Since talking with Hades is off the table, the current plan is to just escape the Underworld and come up with a new plan.

Exiting to the Passage leads to a cutscene where Pete reveals that he’s got Heartless crawling all over the Underworld to smoke out SDG and Auron, and tells Hades to keep focus on turning Hercules into a Heartless so Pete can have him.

“This is my Underworld, you idiot!” Hades snaps, “I’ll handle this MYSELF!”

He then calls Cerberus, and sends him after our heroes.

You then proceed back through the Underworld as normal, until you reach the entrance to the Cave of the Dead, where the door has been sealed shut.

Donald points out the giant lock in the center of the gate, and Sora unlocks it with his Keyblade right as Cerberus attacks.

Auron holds him off.

Donald and Goofy pass through the door, while Sora goes back to help Auron, an invisible barrier blocking Donald and Goofy from following.

Cerberus attacks by lunging, biting, spinning around, producing shockwaves, and breathing dark fire.

He can also trap Sora between his three heads.

When Cerberus does this, Sora can use the “Evade” Reaction command to prop the center head’s mouth open with the Keyblade. This leads to “Jump!” wherein Sora pulls his Keyblade out of Cerberus’ mouth and leaps into the air. This leads into “Dog Paddle” where Sora charges up power and slams down, damaging Cerberus.

This is another boss the King can save Sora from.

When Cerberus is defeated, Sora and Auron escape. The three-headed dog regains consciousness and lunges at the closing door as Sora, Donald, and Goofy taunt him.

Defeating Cerberus earns Auron 40 more Max HP and Sora Counterguard (parrying an attack with Guard allows Sora to unleash a fast, invisible blast that hits all nearby targets).

Meanwhile, topside, Meg tries to convince a clearly exhausted Herc to take a self-care day, but he refuses, not wanting to disappoint the people.

He gets up to return to the arena, taking a second to recompose himself, while Megara begs an absent Sora not to let her down.

Back in the Underworld, Auron’s nowhere to be seen, but Sora’s confident he can take care of himself.

Besides, they have to meet up with Meg to come up with a new plan.

Mosh’s Shop can also be accessed here.

Upon ascending the staircase leading out of the Underworld, we cut back to Hades learning that Sora’s Keyblade can open any lock.

“Have I ever told you about the killer Coliseum we have right here in the Underworld?” he asks, “It makes the one upstairs look like an Olympic kiddie pool.”

Pete figures that’d make it a good place to put an end to Hercules’ winning streak, but then Hades revels Zeus locked it up, much to Pete’s disappointment, but then he realizes why Hades brought it up.

“All we have to do is swipe that kid’s key, and then reopen the Underdrome!” Hades remarks.

Pete then points out one glaring flaw in Hades’ plan: a Keyblade will ONLY work for its chosen wielder, and even if they didn’t, Sora’s not exactly a pushover.

“I think this calls for a woman’s touch,” Hades decides as he projects Meg’s image from the palm of his hand.

Meanwhile, in the Coliseum’s foyer, Megara reacts as if she heard something.

Meanwhile, SDG finally reach the Coliseum’s Courtyard, and the Underworld’s theme gives way to Olympus Coliseum’s theme as Goofy reminisces.

The billboards for the first game’s tournament are still up, but instead of listing off the competitors, interacting with them just has Sora reminisce on winning those tournaments.

When he tries to enter the Coliseum proper, an exhausted Hercules opens the door.

However, he brightens up the second he sees Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

The two get caught up, with Sora admitting that he’s still looking for his friends, and almost lets the whole “tried to talk with Hades” thing slip until he catches himself and only mentions fighting Hades in the Underworld.

Sora asks if Hercules has any idea how to get around the Underworld curse, and Hercules reveals that the gods on Olympus have a special stone they use to counteract the Underworld’s curse whenever they have to go down there.

Sora asks if they can borrow it, and Hercules doesn’t see the issue, offering to go by Olympus to pick it up for them.

Though he warns them that Hades isn’t a pushover, even WITH the Olympus Stone, and Herc will be too busy in the arena to go help them.

So, he suggests talking to Phil to train.

Sora receives a map of the Coliseum, and can now progress out of the Foyer and into the arena, where Phil is setting up some pots.

He tells “Herc” to get some rest for tomorrow’s match, since nobody’s gonna want to see a worn-out heroes.

Then he notices that he’s actually talking for Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and asks if they’ve earned their “true hero wings” yet.

He then decides that they still don’t have what it takes, before asking what they want.

He laughs when he learns they want to beat Hades, but while he finds victory improbable, he doesn’t think it’s impossible.

In order to begin Phil’s training, you just have to talk to him and select a course (the only available course is “Practice”.

The goal is simple, break the pots and collect orbs within the time limit.

You can knock pots into each other to break them more quickly, while breaking smaller pots will make bigger pots appear.

Earning 20 points within the time limit of 1 minute 30 seconds completes the course, opening up the next stage: Maniac.

In order to beat Maniac, you need to collect 100 points in 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Clearing it earns Sora Aerial Dive (unleashes a powerful ground to air combo on distant targets).

Hercules shows up, and talking to him has Phil take off to handle something that is “none of your beeswax”.

Meanwhile, Herc reveals that someone in a black coat stole the Olympus Stone, aided by a bunch of white creatures.

Sora figures that the Organization took it, and gets permission to borrow it if they can take it back.

Then, Hercules asks if anyone’s seen Meg, and Hades shows up (flicking Sora aside when he tries to talk), revealing that she’s in the Underworld.

When Hercules calls Pegasus (Hercules) to help rescue her, only for Hades to reveal that he’s sent the Hydra for today’s match, and if Hercules isn’t there to fight it, there might be some “accidents”.

“Accidents you caused!” Sora points out.

Regardless, Hades has headed home, and Sora’s gonna have to rescue Meg without Herc’s help, and the arena is closed off for the time being.

In short, time to go back to the Underworld, where Phil is laying on the ground, unconscious.

He apparently ran into the Olympus Stone’s thief, and got knocked out for his trouble.

He was trying to find a back-up hero to fill in for Herc, but didn’t have much luck.

He points down the previously closed off path to a green door as the direction the figure ran down.

Going through the green door shows Hercules just barely defeat the Hydra (Hercules), though he’s clearly drained by the fight after the fight as he runs off to help rescue Meg.

Sora and co arrive in the Lost Cavern Entrance where the mist covered floor hides a drop into a lower cavern, filled with Heartless. You have to go down this way, fight through ghost themed Heartless that can flip upside down to change their fighting style, and continue deeper into the Underworld’s depths.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy are noticing that the Curse is really draining them.

The Underworld Cavern Lost Passage is more of the “under the fog” portion of the first chamber, filled with Heartless and falling rocks.

Continuing deeper leads to the Atrium, where you can finally ascend above the fog, and come face to face with IX.

IX lowers his hood, revealing a mullet. This is Demyx of Organization XIII.

He calls Sora “Roxas”, much to Sora’s confusion.

He takes out a cue card to see what to do next, and it tells him to use violence.

He then reveals he has the Olympus Stone, uses it to unlock his powers, and takes out a Sitar based on the Organization’s logo.

Cue boss battle.

To win this boss battle, all you have to do is defeat 100 water forms within 80 seconds.

The watery clones of Demyx can’t attack and can be killed instantly, and sometimes turn into music notes Sora can swing around with “Wild Dance” to take out more.

They also count as Blizzard Magic, so Fire is really good here, ironic enough.

Defeating him earns Sora and Goofy more HP, Donald MP Rage, and the party the Olympus Stone, unlocking the Drive Gauge.

You can now use Summons and Drive Forms!

Time to proceed forward to rescue Meg, but not before a Final Mix exclusive cutscene where Demyx explains the Absent Silhouettes.

They’re the shadowy presences of slain Organization members, with the symbol inside being the weapon of whoever wielded it. The Absent Silhouettes are basically bonus bosses, and Demyx claims fighting them will “awaken the real you”.

Donald insists on saving it for later after Demyx leaves, pointing out they still have to save Megara.

Secret Ansem Report 5

In this realm, where all existence has been disintegrated, I have just barely managed to preserve my sense of self by continuing to think and to write.

It is a place where even time has lost all meaning. Eternity is as but a moment here.

I must make haste. Certainly their plans are already underway.

The Heartless must be the key to unraveling this mystery.

The six traitors were operating a laboratory that churned out those cursed shadows.

Not only did they generate “pureblood” Heartless from living hearts, but they then used those Heartless to synthesize artificial versions of the creatures as well.

These synthetic Heartless bore insignias and were called “Emblems.”

Pureblood or Emblem, these Heartless act only to fulfill their instinctive needs. They single-mindedly detect hearts and swarm around them.

A human’s commands would be ineffective: the Heartless would easily steal the human’s heart and use it to increase their own ranks.

But what if an even stronger Heartless was giving the orders?

If he cast aside his own soul and body and became a Heartless, wouldn’t he be able to control the otherwise intractable Heartless?

Furthermore, wouldn’t he be planning to make use of the creatures’ instincts? If the heart-seeking Heartless have their sights set on a larger, more powerful heart, their ultimate goal is crystal-clear.

The largest heart in existence—the heart of the world.

This is all conjecture, but it would seem he is utilizing the Heartless in his search for a path leading to the heart of the world.

The next room is the Lock which holds the Underworld Map, a Save Point, and a few other chests. Plus, you can talk to Donald and Goofy as NPC’s here.

In order to progress, you must interact with a rock that holds both a keyhole and an engraving of Megara, which Sora handles with the Keyblade, opening the Underdrome.

This opens the way forward.

Inside the hole, the group encounters Hades and a restrained Megara.

Hades teleports away, and Pete comes in with a group of Heartless under the impression that Sora’s still under the Underworld’s curse.

You have to keep Megara alive while fighting the various Heartless, with the battle ending as soon as enough damage has been dealt to Pete.

Pete attacks with punches bombs, and the powers of darkness.

And if you land too many finishers on him, he’ll protect himself with a forcefield.

Upon getting overwhelmed by the Heartless’ numbers, Sora cuts Meg’s bindings, and Herc arrives to join the battle.

Pegasus carries Meg back to the Coliseum as SDG head back to the lock.

Meg asks our heroes to back Herc up, and they go back into the cavern to help Hercules.

You now have 1 minute 30 seconds to defeat Pete as the cavern collapses.

When standing next to Hercules, you can use Aura Guard to shield yourself and repel the Heartless, or block boulders that drop from the ceiling.

When Pete summons his barrier, you can use “Pinball” to knock him into Herc, who’ll shatter the barrier.

Defeating Pete earns Sora Trinity Limit, Donald more Max HP, and Goofy “Hyper Healing” (recovers faster with more HP after getting KOed). Trinity Limit is a unique Limit Command. If Sora has both Donald and Goofy with him, then using it changes the menu to one with three options and button prompts. Pushing the Reaction Command button grants “Major Drive” (the trio damage the enemies with a spray of Drive Orbs), the block button grants “Ultima” (the trio draws in enemies and summons a cluster of fireworks), and the attack button grants “Break” (the trio delivers a series of powerful mid-air slashes). Using any of these commands causes that option to become “Begin Combo” (The finisher. Sora, Donald, and Goofy raise their weapons together unleash a storm of energy that damages all enemies in range, concluding Trinity Limit). Only “Begin Combo” deals any damage, but the number of hits depends on how many hits the previous attacks did, with activating the finisher being what prompts the enemies hit to deal damage. If Donald and/or Goofy is absent, then Trinity Limit is simply a solo version of the “Break” Combo, with Sora performing ten swings.

Pete runs off as the cave-in gets worse, and our heroes retreat.

Hades, meanwhile, cackles over his evil plan succeeding.

Our heroes return to the Underworld Entrance, where everyone celebrates their apparent win, only for Hades reveals that the Hydra recovered and has been “tearing things up” upstairs.

Hades leaves, and now you can talk to everyone as NPC’s, with…

Hilarious results, in one case.

“Pegasus neighs, urging you to hurry to the Coliseum,” Pegasus says if you talk to him.

(I’m not joking, they use a speech bubble instead of a text box when you talk to Pegasus, making it look like he is actually speaking.)

At the Coliseum Gates, the Hydra has completely destroyed the Coliseum, and is heavily implied to have killed everyone inside.

Hercules loses his strength, his emotional and physical exhaustion having finally caught up to him. He no longer has his powers, blaming himself for the tragedy that befell the Coliseum, even though NOBODY present blames him for it.

Megara is able to get him to safety as Sora, Donald, and Goofy ready their weapons.

Phil, Meg, and Pegasus swiftly join them, and the battle begins in earnest.

Megara will throw out HP, MP, and Drive Gauge prizes if you approach her.

The Hydra is an interesting boss, as it starts with just one head (its weak point) which sweeps across the arena, blasting out darkness, chomping its jaws, calling down beams of blue fire, and sweeping its tail.

Once the main head’s HP has been depleted, Sora gets the “Vanquish” Reaction Command, in which he cuts off the Hydra’s head.

Shortly after this, the Hydra buries its neck underground, and three more heads (each with their own, much smaller health bars) emerge.

Whenever one runs out of HP, you get the “Vanquish” command, which can be used to cut it off.

However, the heads can also burrow into the ground and emerge elsewhere.

Occasionally, Phil will tell you to “Get up on the Hydra’s back! Get up on the Hydra’s back! Get up on the Hydra’s back! Get up on the Hydra’s back! Get up on the-” until you get up on the Hydra’s back. Upon doing this, you’ll receive the prompt for the “Phil One-Two” Reaction Command. Using this causes Phil to throw an Urn in the air, leading into “Urninator”. This slams the urn into the Hydra’s back, stunning the heads, and delaying the return of the “main” head.

During the final phase, the Hydra has seven heads, all of which share an HP bar. It has access to all of the attacks it had in the first phase (just with six more heads), bite with all seven heads at once, or perform biting combo that ends with all seven hands slamming into the ground at once. When it uses that last attack, it can be interrupted with the “Pegasus Run” Reaction Command, wherein Sora mounts Pegasus and flies around the Hydra’s heads. Whenever Sora gets close to a head he can use the “Attack” Reaction Command to deal some damage. He only flies by each head once, however.

Also, this is another boss King Mickey can save Sora from.

After its HP is depleted, Sora can use the “Vanquish” Reaction Command to slice off all seven heads at once, ending the battle.

In the original Japanese version, the Hydra bled green blood every time it took damage, whereas it instead bleeds black smoke in the international version.

Defeating the Hydra earns Sora 5 more Max HP and the Thunder spell, Donald an Armor Slot, and Goofy 4 more Max HP.

In the post-battle cutscene, the Hydra’s headless body somehow manages to roar before keeling over, dead.

Unfortunately, the damage has been dealt, and Herc’s lack of contribution to the battle isn’t doing his self-esteem any favors, even if Megara insists that even a god would be exhausted in his situation.

Sora tells Hercules to take some time off to rest.

“There won’t be any games for a while, anyway,” Goofy points out.

Megara thanks the Junior Heroes for their help, and Sora insists it was no big deal, just asking that she let them know if Hades or the Heartless start acting up.

It’s about time for SDG to leave, so Sora tries to return the Olympus Stone, even if Herc barely has the strength to stand.

Before he can take it back, however, it starts emitting light and floating into the air…

Actually, you know the drill by now.

The Olympus Stone was housing the Gate.

With Hades triumphant, it’s time to go, with the Heroes Crest Keychain in hand! (Increases the damage of the finishing move in the air relative to the number of hits in the combo.)

And with that, it’s time to check in on Maleficent, who wants to know where the rest of her followers are.

“Beats me, they musta had some other matters to deal with,” Pete guesses.

Maleficent isn’t amused by the implication that ANYTHING could be more important than her return.

Pete brings up Organization XIII, who keeps meddling in their plans, but Maleficent isn’t impressed.

Pete also brings up Sora and how much of a headache he’s been.

“Very well then,” Maleficent replies, “I suppose you’d best tell me what’s happened during my absence.”

Back on the World Map, the next world has become available.

Right next to Hollow Bastion, it’s Disney Castle!

(I’ll give the rundown on the Absent Silhouette battle later, this recap is long enough as is, and there’s not a good spot to fit it in here.)

GHOST SHIP HEARTLESS MY BELOVED

#submission

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misguidedasgardian · 2 years ago

Text

The White Dragon (22)

22. The Blacks

MASTERLIST

Summary: Horrible news reached the island of Dragonstone

Pairings: main Harwin Strong x Fem!Targaryen reader

Warnings: cursing, medieval and A song of ice and Fire AU customs, (turns out we had a Volantis fling), usurping of a throne, threats of war, talk about war, and other things.

+18, MINORS DNI

Wordcount: 3.7 k

Notes: Thanks to your own doings Viserys, nobody could mourn you properly.

Sorry for the delay... the next one might come soon because this chapter was so huge I had to split them in two

As you were striding by the hallways on Dragonstone, words had gotten to you that you had received a raven from King’s Landing.

“Is there something wrong?”, you asked Rhenyra as you found her

“Alicent and Amma will take two more days to come”, she said simply

“Is everything alright?”, you asked

“Yes, just, preparations, Helaena wants to come with her children”, she said simply

“Alright”, you whispered, “That does seem odd”

“They are part of the royal family”, she said simply, and you smiled softly as well

“I guess you are right”

“You said Aegon already had two male heirs?”, she asked. and you frowned

“Yes, Jaehaerys and Maelor, and there is Jahaera, a girl, twin of Jaehaerys”

“I see”, she then smiled at you, but you knew it was fake. “I got other news”

“What else?”, you asked

“We are receiving a surprise guest”, she said, “A pirate”

“Pirate?”

“Yes, from Volantis, he wanted some dragon glass from the mines in exchange for mystery objects from Asshai”. And suddenly a shivering down your back

“Really? that’s odd”

“Apparently Daemon met him in Pentos, a little while after your little trip”.

“Is he already here?”, you asked, nervous

“Yes”

“What’s his name?”

“Crestan Naharis? I think”. And then you paled, feeling your heart beating hard against your chest, “What?”. She asked, clearly seeing your reaction.

“Really, what a weird name, alright, look at the time I have to go”, you said hastily, and almost ran away from your sister.

Shit shit shit!.

He was simply a pirate, he wouldn’t go inside the castle, right?, you didn’t believe it, so you didn’t even have to see him. You shook your head and banished those thoughts from your mind, you weren’t a little girl anymore.

You went outside the castle, to check on Vhaelar, she had a fight with the Cannibal himself when he attempted to eat Greywind, Vaegor’s dragon. Vhaelar wounded him so badly defending her dragonling that the huge beast hid to never be found.

Vhaelar suffered a minor scratch near her chest, but she didn’t seem to mind it, even though when something grazed it, it hurt her.

The connection your dragon still had with her dragonlings was unprecedented, but you thought it normal since they never separated from her, so she still recognized them and protected them as their own.

As you pet your dragon near her snout in the spot you knew she liked, you thought briefly

Aemma isn't coming yet. You found it strange, you could simply mount Vhaelar and fly over the King’s landing, or she could simply mount on Vermithor and come here. It was an odd reason, you thought, arrangements, as an excuse… They were all dragon riders.

Was something else at play?

You didn’t believe so, but still, it was so odd.

Something told you to go to King’s Landing, but you dismissed it, it was probably nothing.

Rhaegar and Maekar were up to no good alongside Jace and Luke. They were all young men and had grown restless and chaotic.

The twins watched both siblings spar by the beach, their skills were unmatched between them, but Rhaegar thought bitterly he could beat Jace with one of his swords instead of the two he usually used.

“Come on, let’s do something about it”, he said, with a smile, as he took his two swords and made them dance in his hands. Maekar laughed, grabbing his hummer

“Did you ever practice your speed as Steffon told you?”, he mocked

“Oh yes”, Maekar chuckled, “You will not believe how many cats I caught”. Rhaegar laughed

“Ready brother?”

“Since I was born”, and then, they launched at each other. Now Maekar had the size and strength, but thanks to years of training he also had the speed, it had to be quick to use the war hammer as his only weapon, so he did. He had to, to face Rhaegar with two swords, and for that, he had the handle made thicker, and longer, so he could stop his brother's attacks.

Now Rhaegar was, alongside Steffon, the only known knight who wielded two swords in the battle, choosing them instead of a shield, or nothing at all, it was a skill known to very few, because you had to be as useful with your left hand as your right.

The fight, as harmless and trained as it was, it was brutal, it felt life if they indeed landed those blows, could be fatal, but they were finely calculated, as they attacked and defended against each other as two.

Jace and Joffrey couldn’t do much but watch, astonished, their show of strength and skill in the art of swordsmanship

As they finished, in a clear tie as they both regained their strength. They saw their father, smiling brightly at them both

“Your skill and strength is something you hadn't seen in many generations, my sons”, he said, he grabbed both by the back of their necks with affection, “I’m proud of you”. And without even noticing, there were just the words Rhaegar needed to hear.

As your sons trained, and bonded with your father as many times you had seen him, you walked towards the small village outside the Castle’s walls, you needed to buy some ingredients for your favorite tea, you were aware they received the monthly trade from Essos. But, fate as great as it is, made you trip just to the arms of a long lost friend.

You’d recognize him anywhere, and he you, because as soon as he saw you, he smiled widely, opening his arms hoping you’d jumped in between them, oh how wrong he was.

“Princess!”, he cheered

“Crestan”, you said, taking a step back as he reached you, “What are you doing here?”, you asked

“That is how you receive an old friend you haven't seen in almost 20 years?”, he mocked. The years have taken a toll on him, his black hair had now thick striped of white, but if anything, added more to his appeal.

“yes”, you said, with a warning in your voice

“I came to see you”, he said, that knee weakening smile on his face. But you shook those thoughts

“It’s been 20 years!”, you said, “I’m married!”

“I know that”, he said, “I knew when we were together, your father married you up to some lord”

“It was one time!”, you fought, “And we weren’t even together in that way”, you whispered

“Three days on my ship!”, he said then with that one sided smile

“You told me you knew of a safe way to sail towards Valyria, and It was more like a boat”, you said, and he got serious all of a sudden

“My baby was a ship”, he fought

“I’m sorry for what happened, so, you want gold? retribution? I can give it to you”

“No”, he laughed, “I truly did want to see you”

“Well, you saw me, and soon you’ll see my husband”, you said, serious

“I saw your kids too”, he said with that kinky smile, “today by the beach”

“They are men now”, you whispered

“Are you sure they aren’t mine?”, and you opened your mouth in indignation

“I’m sure!”, you said

“How old are they? 19? seems a pretty small coincidence”, he mocked, with that smile

“Stop it, I know they aren’t yours!”, you defended

“How?”

“Once because you got too drunk that night to do anything, when you lean in to kiss me I punched you in the face, you stumbled away and threw up on board and then passed out, and two…I was already pregnant when we met”, you explained

“Ouch!”, he exclaimed, “so close”

“So don’t worry about it”, you whispered, glaring at him

“So that’s why my face hurt”, he was such an horny idiot you didn’t know if he was serious or joking

“You are an idiot and I was married”, you muttered raising your shoulders

“Very well”, he said, his smile returning to his face

“So truly, what are you doing here?”, you asked him. He looked away, searching for the right words

“Well I do need that dragons’ ass”

“Dragon GLASS”, you corrected

“Yes, and I also did want to see you, I thought why not?”, he tilted his head smiling at you

“Please behave”, you warned, “My husband is known as Breakbones Strong”

“What doesn’t surprise me?”, he asked, “It takes someone like that to tame you”, he chuckled, as you rolled your eyes. So he show you his hands, “I’ll be good I promise, I will get that dragon’s ass and I’m going to go”

“it’s been good to see you”, you said, smiling softly, “you are the only pirate I know”, and he laughed soundly

“And you even look more beautiful”. he admired

“Stop it!”, you warned, and he chuckled again, “Well, my good friend, why don’t you stay a few days?”, you continued

“Oh I will totally accept”, he chuckled, “I want to see a Dragon!” and then he looked up, and his face paled, “HOLY SHIT!”, he screamed, you look at where he was seeing and you saw The Red Queen, Melys, flying right over you

“Rhaenys?”, you asked

“Who is that!? Holy fuck”

“The Queen who never was”, you whispered, “A top her dragon, Melys”

“Is huge!”, he said, pointing

“Is not even the biggest one”. you giggled, “You had seen Vhaelar”

“it isn’t?! Well you must know I was drunk most of that year anyways”. But Melys didn’t land on the Mount, like it was customary, you saw her landing right near the Beach by the beach gate, that meant Rhaenys was in a hurry to get inside the castle

“I have to go, something is wrong”, you started walking hastily back to the castle

“Where are you going?”, he asked behind you, but you didn’t answer, so he just started trotting behind you to reach you, “I’m coming with you!”

When you managed to arrive to the receiving chamber, Rhaenyra was in tears, and Daemon had that look that told you he wanted to kill something

“What is going on?”, you asked

“Bring everyone in”, she whined. Rhaenys shared concerned looks with you.

The King's Guards brought everyone to what was known as the War room, and you didn’t know then but that is what is going to be used for. Harwin was by your side in a second, and whispered in your ear

“Who is that?”, he asked, pointing at Crestan

“He is a pirate I met in my journeys”, you explained, and Crestan was dressed rather eccentric, he clearly didn’t belonged here, “He is here for some Dragon glass”

“We have dark news for everyone”, said Rhaenys

“What is going on?”, you asked

“King Viserys is dead”, said Daemon, and instantly, your eyes filled with tears

“What?”, you whispered, Harwin held you against his side, “How?”

“That is not all”, said Rhaenys, “They crowned Aegon King, before the masses, barely a few hours ago”. All the air of your lungs left you

“They usurped the throne!”, you said. And Rhaenyra drops even more tears. But then… something else crosses your mind

“What about Aemma?”, you asked and you felt Harwin’s grip tight on your shoulders, “what about my daughter?”. Rhaenys looked at you with sadness, and then you started crying

“I couldn’t get her out”, she said, “They had her heavily guarded, what Ser Erryk told me, Steffon tried to get to her, but they put him in the cells, and then she was guarded by four hightower soldiers”, she told you

“Did you see her?”, she asked, “What about Steffon?”

“She had her in the platform the day of the coronation”, she said, “Steffon is locked up”

“Did she bend the knee?”, asked Rhaenyra. And you looked at her, wondering what she meant

“I don’t think she did, no, she wasn’t happy, she tried to reach for me, but Aemond had her grabbed tightly”. And you couldn’t help it anymore and you whimpered in fear

“Harwin, they have her!” you cried, Harwin received you in his arms, “they have our little girl”

“We will get her back” he assured you, his big hand caressing your hair, “they won’t harm her, they won’t harm her”, he assured you

“They are coming for you all, Rhaenyra, and for your children”, she said.

“We need to fight this!” Daemon said, “Those bastard cunts! That whore of a Queen killed my brother and stole his throne”

“I need to think”, said Rhaenyra

“There is no time to think!”, he almost screamed, “they stole your birthright!”

“Rhaenyra is right!”. you said, “they have the city!”

“They don’t”, said Harwin, “The city watch…”

“Had always been treacherous cunts”, said Daemon

“I replaced many of those cunts”, he answered

“Still, we will write to them, those bastards will die as soon as they step foot on the streets”, said Daemon

“SHUT UP!”, demanded Rhaenyra, and the room went quiet, “I need time”

“There is no time!”, said Daemon, but Rhaenyra left the room, he cursed under his breath and followed her.

And then, all those gathered, some Dragonstone Lords, the two Kingsguard and everyone… had their eyes on you, even your nephews

“My father just died”, you said quietly, taking a step forward, “but there is no time to mourn!”, you said then, “The throne has been usurped, right now, you must understand what that means”, you said firmly, “we might be at war”

“We will stand with Princess Rhaenyra”, said one Lord you couldn’t quite remember right now

“Good!”, you said

“You lived in court for the last 9 years!”, said Rhaenys, “what happened?”

“This is Otto Hightower’s doing”, you said firmly, “and the Lannisters, Aegon is easily manipulated, and that is what they did, it was the perfect opportunity, me, being here”

“What should be expected?”, asked someone

“They won’t dare to attack right away, we have more dragons, but still, search for the skies, knowing them, they will try to send terms towards us, to bend the knee”, you continued. “they will try to separate me from Rhaenyra”

“What?” asked Jace, the boy, nor, the man, seemed angry for some reason

“I have good relations with them, they will ask me to bend the knee, they have Aemma, they know I will”, you said, and you heard gaps from the people present

“You will not bend the fucking knee!”, said Daemon, returning to the hall, “you traitor!”

“They have my child!”, you said back

“You will fight with us!”, he said, standing right in front of you

“Without my daughter I will not”, you said firmly, “My family’s three grown dragons, and my allies will stay put”. You said then

He walked menacingly towards you, but you didn’t back down

“Are you betraying us?”, he whispered

“I will not move an inch until you can guarantee my daughter’s safety”, you said firmly, not backing down, he did not scare you, as idiotic as it sounds.

“Fine!”, he said, “but you are staying here!”

“Do not mistake me, uncle, I do not obey you in any measure”, you said then, and he was about to fight you

“I will go to King’s Landing!”, said Rhaegar, taking a step up, “I will get Aemma out!”

“As soon as they see you they will capture you”, you said gently

“There are many secret passageways I know, I could…”

“I will not risk you”, you said gently.

“She is my sister!”, but Maekar grabbed him, “perhaps I could trade myself for her!, Vermithor is more valuable, with her dragon…”

“I said no!”, you said, “I will never hear you speak of this”, you chided severely

“We will fight those cunts!”, said Daemon to the rest of them, “bring me the maester!”. You walked towards Princess Rhaenys

“Where did they held her?”, you asked her, grabbing Harwin’s hand tightly

“In your former chambers, in Maegor’s holdfast”, you released a sigh of relief

“As long as it is in Maegor’s Holdfast, we can get her out!”, you said

“What do you mean?”, she asked

“The secret passageways”

“They are a maze, you cannot go yourself!”, she whispered

“I’ll find a way”

“Aemond had her, I don’t think they will hurt her”, she said

“But I can’t do anything before i have her back”, you said, and she nodded

“What do you make of all this?”, she said

“Weirdly, It’s the thing I was preparing for, for years, but somehow, it caught me off guard”, you whispered

“You need to take time to cool your head and mourn”, she said gently

“There is no time”, you fought

“You will help no one like this”. She said, and then she looked at Daemon who looked desperate bossing people around looking at the map, “I will stay here”, you nodded, and squeezing Harwin’s hand silently asking him for space, you left the room

They were right, there was not a moment to mourn your father, but you took a long walk to clear your head. To think how to proceed

You could ride Vhaelar to King’s Landing, trade yourself for Aemma, and for Ser Steffon, but then, you didn’t have the love of Aemond, nor the affections that protected her. And then Rhaenyra wouldn’t have you, you were more seasoned in matters of politics, you had allies.

But Aemma was there, alone. You could not take her safety for granted. Ser Steffon was there as well, your shield and sword, your dearest friend, he was there as well, they had them both, and they were not going to be afraid to use them against you. It’s the only thing they held.

There was going to be war, there was no other way, you knew, and all those men in that room knew it too.

And in war, anyone could die, even your children, especially Rhaegar and Maekar, who had trained, and grown, and to their minds, they were going to be ready for battles and glory.

But you were certainly not.

At any turn or bad movement from you all, they could harm Aemma to get to you. You realized your own Power, you could turn the scales to one side or the other.With your and your children dragons and with your allies and the lands your husband held

Everything happened so quickly, but not quickly enough. Your side was by your sister, the true Queen, that was no question. But, were you ready to put your family in danger?

The answer was no.

Your family was not going to be safe if Aegon sits the Iron throne, not yours, not Rhaenyra’s. All of you posed a threat to his rule. Especially if he continued to be a drunken idiot and fool like he was now.

So you returned to the hall more confused than you were when you left, Rhaenyra had returned too.

“Any second that passes gives them the means to attack”, said Rhaenyra

“If they attack, they are dead”, you said, “they know it, they won’t come”

“The first thing we need to do is to secure Allies”, muttered Daemon, and you nodded

“That is true”

“Will you send letters to Dorne and Winterfell?”, Rhaenyra asked

“Your sister will not act if we do not assure Aemma’s safety”, and your uncle made you feel ashamed of your decision, the decision to protect your family.

“But sister…”, she started. And you were all interrupted by the entrance of a familiar Kingsguard

“Ser Erryk Cargyll, member of the Kings Guards”. Presented. The Knight entered the war chamber, with him the crown of your father.

You met with Harwin and your sons in your rooms. They were adults now, they needed to hear what was going on, and what was likely to happen.

“A war is probably going to be fought over this”, you said. “And I want to hear you, the doubts you may have, or the questions”

“Are we going to side with Rhaenyra?”, asked Rhaegar

“It’s the idea, yes”, you answered, “But, it is my wish to not take part in this war, at least not until we have Aemma back”

“Will they hurt her?”, asked Maekar. Harwin squeezed your hand

“We cannot take her security for granted”, he said, “Aemond may love her, but is his brother that sits the Iron Throne and Otto whispering in his ear”, he said, “they will if they are forced to”, he muttered, “In fact, I bet they dare to make this move, because they had her, they knew your mother and us will not move against them”

“I see”, whispered Maekar, “we cannot risk her”

“I say we can both go and…”, Rhaegar said

“No, I will not separate myself from you”, you said firmly, “and specially not into enemy territory”, Rhaegar nodded, “at war, everything seems justifiable, and in your minds, a simple move can change everything, but if you start doing things on your own account, we can all be dead”

“We will do anything you say, mother”, sworn Maekar

“That is exactly what I wanted to hear”, you said with a smile. “Will you bend the knee to Rhaenyra?”, you asked gently

“We will”, said both of them, together, “Is what our gransdire wanted”, said Rhaegar

“I understand if you hold love for your uncle and aunt”, said Harwin, “and know that we will try everything in our power to avoid bloodshed”

“Your father and I believe that”, you continued, “in talking before fighting”

“Then that is what we will believe too”, said Maekar

“Everything will change”, you warned, “our family might be broken, beyond all hopes”

“Then it is”, said Maekar, “I love Aemond and Helaena, I wish I could speak to them… Aunt Helaena is an innocent”

“She is indeed”, you whispered, “this is all fault of Otto, and they will be spared on my account”, you promised

“We rather bend the knee to you, mother”, said Rhaegar

“I’m afraid I’m not an option”, you chuckled, “But I appreciate your devotion my sons”

The ceremony was short, Rhaenyra stood on the top of the Dragon mount, pyres burning, and songs were sung. Daemon placed Jaehaerys crown on top of Rhaenyra’s head, and then, they all kneeled.

But you, as you stood by Rhaenys’ side, didn’t, your head clouded with doubts

More notes: My brain actually hurts from writing this... I rewatched the chapter like three times looking for inspiration... It's messy, the entire day was for them... in the next one, we will have the game splayed out for them.

And in said rewatch, I decided I do not like Jace so... 😬

taglist! ❤️

@tearsarcane @integra1127 @aestmilky @thanyatargaryen @tythaitie @lostinworldofdarkness @voodoogoul @wildmindedbeauty32 @lil-pudd @alicattx @electric-bloo @astaaan-lol @stargaryenx @kaitieskidmore1 @bregarc @lilpnd @jcpenneyyy @janelei @fexibau @ladyoakenshield157 @danielle-leah1997 @lady-ragnvindr @cecilyjmorgenstern @omgsuperstarg @bugheadskid @batprincess1013 @her-fandom-sanctum @holb32 @blue1006 @stargaryenx @grippleback-galaxy @mikariell95 @genesisliveson @mendes-bae @caspianobsessed

#misguidedhotd #harwin strong x reader #harwin strong x targaryen reader #hbo house of the dragon #house targeryen #house of the dragon #rhaenyra #daemon targaryen #targaryen!oc #targaryen!reader

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xiaowhore · 3 years ago

Text

aftermath of a break up

cutting ties with you was easy. getting over you wasn't.

includes: childe, zhongli & xiao !

CHILDE had been the one to say those words, fueled by his momentary anger in the heat of the moment — “we should go our separate ways.”

and hours later even as his rationality returned, impulsive tendencies out of the way, he couldn't bring himself to regret it; why would he? on the contrary, he'd never been better! dating wasn't a necessary part of life, and even if it'd been nice with you by his side, he could live on his own without you all the same. he did it before, and he'd do it again.

CHILDE had his priorities straight. chasing after a lover who didn't want him anymore — oh, excuse me, he meant a lover he didn't want anymore — certainly wasn't at the top of the list. he had a family to care for, enemies to battle, and a duty to the tsaritsa; you didn't fit anywhere in the equation. your separation even granted him more freedom! no one to nag him to stop fighting, or to forbid him from purchasing useless expenditures, or to force him to rest when he was clearly busy with his job, or to meddle with any of his personal affairs from here on out.

but in the dead of the night as he drags his battered body to the comfort of his home, aching all over from bruises and cuts, something wells up in his throat. his hands are shaky as he opens the first aid kit, eyes examining the contents closely. he isn't very familiar with the items inside — you were always there to take care of him, he never needed to check it himself.

there's something wrong about returning home without the lights turned on, the panicked questions flung at him as he's ushered to sit, and the soft hands carefully treating his injuries. there's something wrong without someone to lean on, someone to wait for him to come back, someone who worries for his wellbeing when nobody else does. someone who puts him back together when he's fallen to pieces.

and as CHILDE drops the roll of bandages to the floor and cries in silence, he wonders what went wrong.

on the surface, ZHONGLI's behavior didn't differ much from his normal day to day attitude — he moved at his own pace, working diligently at the funeral parlor without breaking a sweat, and offered little information pertaining what transpired the day before. his colleagues were well aware of his recent... separation, you could say. after all, your heated argument wasn't a very private affair, since you'd broken into a fight at a relatively populated spot of town.

ZHONGLI acted stoic throughout, showing no signs of backing down in his side of things, and coming to a disagreement, you split up. unruffled as ever, he paid no mind to the worried glances sent his direction during work the next day; perhaps avoiding them consciously to a degree.

it worked, somewhat, and break time eventually came along, wherein ZHONGLI habitually prepared himself some tea and snacks. it didn't even occur to him he'd prepared two servings by pure muscle memory alone until he sat down and saw nobody sitting opposite of him — the spot where he expected you to be present, smiling at him like you always did.

something pricked at his chest, piercing through a weak point he thought he never had, but he numbs the pain, hastily inviting a coworker to share tea. she appears to be surprised, an emotion akin to pity glossing over her eyes, and ZHONGLI can't bring himself to force a smile.

the loneliness he feels doesn't subside.

when verr goldet first heard news of you dating the adeptus, she'd been relieved. XIAO had a bad habit of overexerting himself more often than not, arriving at wangshu inn half-dead after his usual patrols to fend off entities with malicious intent. though she'd been tasked with looking after him, it wasn't easy to tell him off. he'd be more likely to scoff at her concern than take her warnings to heart. “i can handle myself.”

with you by his side, a worrywart and stern to boot, her worries lessened considerably. XIAO actually listened to you intently, vowing to have some semblance of self-preservation rather than throw himself into violence carelessly. he began to smile more, too, his usual scowl withering to a passive expression. verr hadn't been given the opportunity to see his smile personally, but she heard his small chuckles whenever you came over and initiated pleasant conversations.

however, the peaceful days came to an abrupt end. XIAO came back one day, drenched from the rain; his blood mixed with the droplets running down his face, and verr wondered if he'd been crying, taking notice of his reddened eyes. her first instinct was to call you over, but he stopped her immediately, coldly glaring her down and cutting off anything she said sharply. “i don't need them anymore.”

but anyone could tell he still does. he stands at the top of wangshu inn, waiting patiently for someone who'll never come, and he knew it. he knew because he was the one who pushed you away in the first place. but he reasons with himself it was for the best, for your better future. he may live an eternal youth, but you can't — there was no point in staying this way forever, was there? (and yet he continues to wait anyway, waiting, waiting, and waiting. what a laughable fool.)

and as XIAO leaves for his patrol one afternoon, verr goldet sighs, pulling out a piece of mail she'd hidden away out of his sight.

she hopes he'll never see this wedding invitation soon.

#genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin x reader #childe x reader #childe imagines #tartaglia #zhongli x reader #zhongli imagines #xiao x reader #xiao imagines

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maybcnksgf · 3 years ago

Text

like i do

a/n welcome to my first liam dunbar fic :)

pairing: liam dunbar x reader

warnings: swearing, season 6 spoilers, the fight scene in 6x14, blood, mentions of death.

word count: 2.2k

check out my masterlist!

liam dunbar. the school’s ‘monster’.

he looked around the hallway frantically, listening carefully to make sure the rumours spreading through the school weren’t too apparent. he was so focused that he jumped when you placed your had comfortingly on his shoulder.

“just remember what we talked about. they don’t know you like i do,” you whispered against his ear, smiling softly when he turned around to face you with a nervous expression painted across his features.

mason approached the two of you with a relieved sigh. “okay,” he breathed out, facing his best friend with a reassuring nod, “not bad so far. this might be easier than we thought.”

“maybe,” he nodded in reluctant agreement, clearly not convinced. as the three of you began to walk, you looped your fingers through liam’s.

well, that was short lived.

the minute you turned the corner, everyone turned to look at him. glares and dirty looks were thrown towards the boy in between you and mason, and you saw his shoulders slump in defeat in your peripheral vision.

the looks he could handle. not that he was happy about them, because he was far from it. they made him feel like a freak, like a monster. but, they were manageable. it was only when you reached his locker that the whispers started. whispers that he could hear all too well.

liam tensed up beside you, and though you couldn’t hear the voices like he could, you could only assume the nasty words rolling off of their tongues. he turned to the source of voices, facing them with a hurt expression before frantically looking around as the sound of them built up.

“hey,” you spoke softly, snapping him out of his panic, “just block them out. don’t listen to them.”

“they know...” he whispered, voice strained in worry.

“they’re just rumours,” mason reassured, trying to calm down the anxious boy in front of him, “they don’t know anything.”

corey was then by mason’s side in an instant, bearing bad news. “they know everything.”

you shot him a pointed look, squeezing liam’s hand tightly in your own to calm him down before the anxiety began to bubble up again.

“two sophomores on the lacrosse team were there last night,” corey continued, referring to liam’s shift in front of the public the night before.

mason lightly shoved his boyfriend with his elbow as a warning, and scrambled with his words. “yeah, but it was late! it was pitch black out, and there was fog on the road-”

“it was a clear night. full moon, and a well-lit intersection,” corey interrupted, once again ruining the attempts to console him.

liam inhaled a sharp breath. “i have to get out of here.”

“no. if you leave, these rumours never stop. you need to convince them that you’re a regular kid, that you’re not the monster they think you are.” your words were hushed, bringing your other hand up to rub liam’s shoulder in a comforting manner.

“i’m not a regular kid,” he countered, voice shaky and cracking.

“remember what scott said?” mason added, “be clark kent!”

“clark kent turns into a guy with a red and blue outfit and a cape. i turn into a monster with claws and fangs!”

“you’re not a monster,” you replied calmly.

“just get through the day without shifting,” corey suggested, and liam nodded with a deep breath. he lifted an arm to drape it around your shoulders while yours found home around his waist.

“okay. get through the day without shifting. easy enough, right?”

wrong.

you watched helplessly as liam was thrown through the doorway of your biology classroom and hit the floor with a thud. a group of kids were gathered around, eager to watch a fight break out and potentially see the other side to liam dunbar.

you struggled against the grip of an older boy, huge hands latching onto your upper arms and keeping you from running to your boyfriend. it seemed as though mason was in the same predicament, judging by his protesting shout.

liam’s eyes flashed yellow for a moment, as his heavy breathing briefly sounded like a growl.

“get up,” nolan demanded, “get up!”

he managed to push himself up to a kneeling position before gabe’s foot made harsh contact with his lower back, kicking him straight back to the ground.

“gabe, you sick little bitch! leave him alone!” you shouted through the crowd’s commotion, and the boy on the ground struggled to contain his shift. “your eyes, liam. c’mon, you can do this,” you whispered, voice so hushed you were sure that nobody could hear apart from him.

this seemed to calm him down momentarily before gabe tugged him back to his feet by his shoulders. “what are you trying to hide, liam? your eyes?” he taunted, shoving his back into the chalkboard with a sickening crunch. “open your eyes.”

the room burst out into reactions and a cruel grin painted itself across gabe’s face. when liam slowly let his eyelids rise, you couldn’t help but let the corners of your lips turn up in a proud smile as the normal baby blue colour of his eyes shined through.

the boys, however, were clearly not too happy with this, because nolan immediately reeled his fist back and let it smash straight into liam’s nose.

your face fell as you thrashed around in the student‘s grip, furious grunts leaving your throat.

your boyfriend’s head fell back against the chalkboard with a pained breath, hand lifting up to wipe the crimson liquid from his nose.

“hey! let him go!” mason screamed, struggling against the crowd.

“leave him alone, you sick freaks!” you added.

“are you just going to let us do this to you?!” nolan continued, ignoring your protests as gabe landed another punch to liam’s face, this time hitting both his cheekbone and his nose. he dropped to the ground from the impact with a deep, painful groan.

nolan grabbed the boy by his face and dragged him back up to look at him.

liam’s nose was covered in blood, hair falling messily across his forehead as he screwed his eyes shut.

“you know you can take us. all you have to do is change,” nolan spoke lowly, his grip on liam’s head strong as he shook it with every word. “does your little girlfriend know that you’re a freak? that you’re a monster?”

you felt the rage inside of your chest building every second. “nolan, you bastard! i’m going to kill you-!”

liam choked back a cough, blood rising from his throat and coating his teeth as he opened his mouth to speak his first words while being in their hands. “the sun...” he sputtered out.

“what?” nolan looked taken aback, furrowing his eyebrows at the ‘freak’ in front of him.

“the sun,” liam repeated, peeling his eyes open and staring back at nolan threateningly. “the moon, the truth...”

the mantra seemed to gain him a slight amount of control. “come on, li. you can do this,” you whispered, the sound evident in his ears and his ears only.

“what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“who cares?” gabe responded nonchalantly, shoving nolan out of the way and sending another violent punch to liam’s face.

this sent him flying to the ground, coughing and shaking in both pain and anger. his eyes glowed yellow for a split second before his head hung low and a guttural growl of agony burnt through his throat.

that was the moment you decided, you wanted to break every single bone in both gabe and nolan’s bodies.

“can’t you see how badly you’re hurting him?! he’s in agony! let him go!” you screamed, the student holding you seeming unfazed to the thrashing around.

“you’re fighting it,” nolan stated, ignoring you completely. the pained grunts and groans tearing through liam’s throat left the boys unaffected, and your eyes welled up in fury at the sight of your boyfriend withstanding such a beating. “but you can’t hold back forever!”

at that moment, your biology teacher, ms finch, pushed her way through the crowd, and all eyes turned to her as gabe and nolan halted their movements.

“do something!” mason shouted. she took one look at liam’s quivering form on his knees, covered in his own blood and shaking from the pain, and looked away.

“sometimes it’s best to let them work things out on their own,” she spoke, raising her hands in mock defeat.

liam’s head snapped up to her, eyes filled with disbelief before sending you a pleading glance.

“what is wrong with you?! you’re a teacher! he’s being beaten to a pulp and you’re just going to walk away?!” you screamed at her, gesturing to liam on the ground with a cock of your head.

ms finch looked at you for a split second before making her way out of the classroom. “you bitch!” you shouted after her. she froze in her place for a single moment, and you almost believed she would turn around and stop the fight, but she continued on her way without a second glance.

the moment she left, gabe grabbed liam by the hair, forcing his head upwards. his breathing was shallow, loud and forceful and agonising as gabe sent his knee flying into liam’s chin.

he fell onto his back and coughed loudly, blood spluttering out of his mouth like a fountain as he choked on it, though the boys didn’t stop there. they slammed their feet down against his ribs, taunting him and laughing while doing so, allowing his bones to break under their weight. you let out a broken and angry sob at the sight, watching as gabe grabbed liam by his shirt and pulled his head up.

liam’s face was completely covered in his own blood, tears were staining his eyelashes as he tried his hardest not to fight back.

something clicked within you at that moment. you sent your foot flying back into your holder’s crotch, and as you felt him release you and double over in pain, you bolted into the centre of the fight.

gabe’s fist was reeled back, about to land another punch to your boyfriend’s face before you grabbed his arm, effectively spinning him around. he still sent the punch, but this time, it was at you.

you let his fist connect with your jaw, and felt the impact of another hit as his second punch landed on your nose with a crunch.

“y/n!” liam croaked out, too weak to jump to your rescue.

he clearly didn’t need to, however, because suddenly the coach was there, shoving people out of the way with corey right behind him.

“what the hell is going on?!” he screamed, grabbing gabe and nolan by the shirts and shoving them towards the door. “back off! hey, get to the principles office now!”

your face throbbed in pain as you wiped the blood away from your nose with your sleeve, but you ignored it as you fell to your knees by liam’s form. his body heaved, and his hands gripped onto his (very clearly broken) ribs.

“what the hell is this? get out, all of you! i can’t stand to look at your faces!” the coach boomed, clearing out the crowd.

all that was background noise to you as you combed liam’s hair away from the fresh blood on his face with your fingers. he was still grunting in pain when the coach kneeled by his other side, a look of disbelief and sorrow evident in his eyes, which was a rare look for the man.

mason and corey softly grabbed liam by the arms and hauled him up to a standing position, coughs tearing through his throat.

you followed suit, lightly gripping his shoulders to help him stand. “oh my goodness, liam,” you muttered quietly, placing a hand on the back of his head as he caught his breath.

“i can’t believe you did that...” mason sighed, holding onto his back to steady him.

“clark kent, right?” liam breathed out, forcing a slight nod as a smile ghosted your lips.

“yeah, clark kent,” mason agreed.

liam’s head fell against your shoulder in exhaustion, and your hand laced itself into his hair as you silently cried with him in your arms.

“feeling any better?” you asked him quietly, sitting down next to him on your bed. he had an ice pack against his cheekbone and he was clutching his ribs protectively. he was mostly healed by now, but his body still hurt like hell. liam nodded.

“yeah. still hurts, though.”

you wrapped an arm around him, carefully avoiding his aching bones, and he let out a deep sigh before letting his head fall against your shoulder.

”i know you think you deserved that, but you didn’t. brett and lori’s murder wasn’t your fault.”

he shrugged, clenching his jaw at the mention of their death and shutting his eyes when you let your hand run through his hair comfortingly. a few moments of comfortable silence passed by before he spoke up again.

“you didn’t have to do that, you know. get punched for me,” he said softly.

you chuckled at that, causing him to look at you quizzically.

“you literally got beaten to a pulp and you’re worried about the two punches i got to the face?”

liam breathed out a slight laugh. “obviously. you can’t heal like i can.”

continuing playing with his hair, you grinned at him. “i’d take a punch to the face for you any day.”

#liam dunbar #liam dunbar x reader #liam dunbar imagines #liam dunbar imagine #teen wolf #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf imagines #liam dunbar x you #liam dunbar x y/n

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soulmate-game · 4 years ago

Text

Not related to the other two Bio!mom Harley AUs that I did. Just... similar. I wrote this instead of sleeping, as per the usual.

—*—*—*—*—*

“I need your help.”

No accent, no threats of violence, no beating around the bush (figurative or otherwise). No fighting or unconscious bodies.

Just Harley Quinn with her hair down, no makeup, and completely serious, in the center of the Bat Cave. Even though her usual exaggerated Brooklynn accent (circa 1950s) had become a pretty inseparable part of her personality over the years, every now and then she forcibly stuffed it down and used her mostly unaccented voice. The one reminiscent of days with less colors on her face, a high bun, and a pristine white lab coat.

Every single one of the Bats and Birds present, fresh from an interrupted patrol thanks to her, could count the number of times they had seen Harley like this on one hand. Bruce would have the most recollections, but everyone else would have plenty of fingers left on said hand. So they all knew, especially when Bruce willingly pulled down his cowl so he could look Harley in the eye, that this was the start of something they were not likely to forget. And maybe their chances of survival were slim too.

“Harley,” Bruce’s voice was still gruff, seeing as he was still mostly Batman at the moment, but his eyes were soft. “Maybe you should tell us what you need help with first. And sit down. You look exhausted.”

Sure enough, there were dark circles under Harley’s eyes. She let Bruce-man lead her over to one of their debriefing tables and sit her down. She let out a huge sigh, her fingers tangling in her loose blond locks.

“I have a confession, and it isn’t gonna leave this cave, capiche?” The slight return of her accent relieved a little of the tension, but not much. Taking this as their cue, the rest of the bats spread out into their usual seats at the table. Bruce stayed near Harley, keeping a hand on her shoulder in silent support. Harley didn’t continue talking until he gave her a solemn nod in agreement. She gulped— an action that immediately returned the tension.

“... fifteen years ago, back when I was still with Joker, I disappeared off the Gotham scene for a few months. I’m sure a few of you remember,” she looked up, and a couple of the older vigilantes nodded. Really, Jason has still been Robin back then. But the memory stuck out in his head now that he was thinking about it.

“Yeah, you were breaking away from him a little bit, which was weird at the time,” Red Hood mused aloud, arms crossed. “I think you helped us out a couple times and did some of your first team ups with Ivy before you vanished. Then a few months go by and you were back in action with Joker, so we mostly ignored it as you just being you.”

Harley nodded. “Ah, my Ivy’s a lifesaver, even back then. She helped cover up the timeline by keeping me in action for longer than I should’a been without putting me at too much risk.”

“Timeline…” Red Robin spoke up, eyes huge even behind his mask. “You don’t mean—“

“Harley,” Bruce breathed, having also caught on. “You were pregnant?”

The air went still. Harley sniffed, eyes watering even as she smiled.

“Oh yeah. Shouldn’t have been possible, ya know? Me ‘n Joker being dumped in that damn acid should have made us both more sterile than an operatin’ room. But I knew I couldn’t raise a kid, so after she was born—“

“You kept her?” Damian interrupted, earning a gentle cuff over the head from Dick. Harley just snorted.

“Yeah. Not gonna lie, I thought about abortion. But the baby didn’t do nothin’ wrong, and I was still in love with Joker back then so I was ecstatic that I was able to make something new with part ‘a him in it. Still, I knew a baby didn’t deserve to be raised in Gotham. Especially not my baby, not with my enemies and history. Not with who her father was. I knew he’d never want her, never let me keep her. So I spent the last five months of my pregnancy lookin’ around for the best possible family to take her in. And I found them in Paris, France. A sweet couple, both of them bakers. Sabine, she’s both adorably sweet and super kickass. Comes from a Chinese family that is crazy about teachin’ their women martial arts. But nothing shady about it, I triple checked. Just bonding through kicking people in the face. Which is perfect, I wanted my baby to know how to defend herself. I knew she’d need those skills eventually. And Tom, that’s Sabine’s wife, he’s a gentle giant. Same size as Bane, but as harmless as a puppy and makes the best croissants ever. Seriously, the best.”

“Harley,” Bruce gently prodded, but there was a tiny grin on his face. Seeing her behaving so… so normally, so proud and reminiscent, was a rare treat. Bruce would be lying if he said he wasn’t proud of how far the woman had come. How she had freed herself and become a better person, mostly on her own.

“Right, right. The point,” Harley took a breath, rubbing her forehead. “I came clean to Tom and Sabine, but apparently they knew who I was the whole time. They just didn’t care— did I mention they are perfect? Anyway, once I explained everything, they agreed immediately to adopting my baby. They’d been wanting kids, but it would’a been too risky for Sabine’s health. That’s how I found them anyway, they were in the market to adopt. We named her Marinette. She took Tom and Sabine’s last names, hyphenated. We decided Quinn would be her middle name. And after that, I came back to Gotham and told myself that she was in good hands and I needed to forget about her. Cuz I was no good for her. I knew that. I went back to my old tricks. And then…” Harley chuckled, but it was self-depreciating.

“Then a few years passed, and I started breaking away from Joker for real. Then we broke up, I blew up Ace Chemicals while you guys were outta town doing Justice League and Young Justice shit. I started dating Ivy. And—“ she smiled softly at the table, clearly seeing something the rest of them couldn’t. “Then Ivy convinced me to go see her. Visit my baby, see how she’s been. And I did. Marinette was seven years old, but damn it to hell she was gorgeous. And say whatever you want about me and Joker— most of it will even be true— but neither of us are stupid. And she inherited all of our intelligence. All of it. She got my blue eyes. But she got his hair, which meant Sabine teased me relentlessly about ‘are you sure she isn’t that Wayne’s kid?’ And don’t make that face Bruce, you’d be lucky to have a kid half as beautiful as my Mari-pie. No offense, Damian. Anyway. Anyway, this is the important part. Or part of it.

“She sat there and listened to everything I had to say. Everything. A little seven year old, who could barely understand English at the time, and she listened without interrupting once. She never threw a fit, she wasn’t angry or confused. I told her about the things I’d done in the past— well, G rated versions— and she didn’t care. She called me Momma Harley right away, said she wanted to meet Aunt Ivy sometime soon, and started telling me everything about her that I’d missed. From that day on, she became my sunshine. The light of my life, and I still call her at least once a week every week. When I disappear for a few days out of the city? I’m visiting her—“

“You’re banned from international travel, Harley,” Dick scolded, but he sounded way too amused for it to work. He knew she had her ways, anyway. Nobody could actually stop Harley damn Quinn from doing whatever she wanted.

“—Ugh, she tells me the same thing every time! Disappointed glare and everything. I don’t know how I gave birth to such a goodie goodie, but somehow I did. Not important though! The important thing is, I’m always the first to hear when something new happens in her life. And we had decided that she wouldn’t visit me in Gotham until she was at least eighteen, but apparently she disobeyed me— which I should have expected honestly— and entered you guys’ WE international scholastic competition.”

“Oh no,” Bruce pinched the bridge of her nose. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng? The contest winner?” He finally pulled out a chair and sat down. “The winner gets an all-expense paid trip to Gotham for them and their whole class.”

“Exactly!” Harley threw up her hands. “Mari told me last week, and I’ve been trying to talk her out of coming ever since. But she’s inherited both of our stubbornness too, and she isn’t budgin’ a bit. ‘Momma Harley, I wanna see you and Auntie Ivy though!’ And ‘Momma, Gotham’s nothing I can’t handle,’ or my favorite, ‘Maybe you’ll finally get to see me dropkick someone three times my size then, and I’ll prove it.’”

“So that’s what you meant by you need our help,” Tim said as he leaned forward over the table. “Joker just broke out of Arkham yesterday. You want us to protect her.”

“I’d prefer if one of you was with her outside of the mask too, as often as possible,” Harley confirmed. “I can’t stop her from coming here anymore, but I also don’t trust Joker for a second. As soon as he sees her, I’m afraid he’ll make the connection.”

“She looks like him?” Damian asked, scrunching up his nose at the ugly mental image of Joker as a teenage girl. Harley shook her head, solemn.

“She looks like a dark-haired mini-me,” she corrected. “She even keeps her hair in pigtails as her way of showing support for me. And I know Marinette can kick ass, Sabine’s trained her well. But Marinette inherited more than I’d like from me,” Harley ran a hand through her hair. “I didn’t notice it until she was thirteen. She got a crush on a classmate, and it was almost like watching videos of me back during the early days of— well, of Harley Quinn. Just without the crime and insanity. She didn’t even realize that she was almost stalking the poor kid until I pointed it out, and luckily I was able to put my doctorate to good use and we nipped that right in the bud ASAP. She never meant it that way, anyway. As soon as I explained things to her, she was horrified and immediately asked me to help her learn how to have a healthy relationship. That was a fun discussion,” Harley grimaced. “But she still gets attached to people really, really easily. Once she grew out of her crush on that boy, she adopted him as her unofficial brother. She already calls Selina “Auntie,” even though I’ve barely mentioned her to Marinette. She gets attached fast, and deeply. And I’m afraid that even after all the warning I’ve done, all the stories I’ve told her—“

“You’re afraid she’ll get attached to Joker just like you did,” Bruce finished for her, closing his eyes. “Because she knows he’s her father.”

“Yes,” Tears were slowly dripping down her face already, her hands curled into fists so tightly that her knuckles were paper white. “You know how he is. If he finds out she’s his biological daughter, he’ll immediately try to take advantage of that. And he’s far too good with his words for people like me and Mari. I’m worried outta my mind. Please. Help keep my baby safe from him.”

“We will,” Jason no longer had his helmet on, or the domino mask that he usually wore underneath it. All of them knew masks were merely formality with Harley nowadays. And he needed to look her directly in the eye so she could see how serious he was. “I can sign up as a bodyguard for the class. It won’t be weird, seeing as they’re tourists and this is Gotham. They also have several rich kids in their group if I remember right.”

Bruce nodded, agreeing with Jason. “That’s a good idea. I can lead the class on their tours of WE personally. That’ll serve the purpose of keeping an eye on her and shutting up the investors that keep begging me to make more public appearances for the sake of the company. Marinette’s name is already released to the news as the winner of the contest, so we can’t keep her out of the spotlight long. Tim, you’ll have to keep an eye on any and all pictures of the class. Try to erase or doctor the images with her in it well enough that connections between her and Harley can’t be easily made. Dick, you and Damian will be in charge of keeping an eye out for any activity from Joker. The slightest hint, and you notify all of us. We’ll decide on a case-by-case basis who is necessary to stick with the class and who goes after the clown.”

“She’s gonna sneak out of her hotel to stay with me and Ivy,” Harley admitted, bringing the (now slightly judgemental) attention back to her. She raised her hands up in surrender. “She didn’t tell me that, and I didn’t approve or suggest it! I just know my baby too well to not realize that that’s her plan. Could ya provide an escort?”

Bruce sighed. “This is gonna be an eventful month.”

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