#and they had to go on a quest together to find an herb that would

[dragonpyre]

Did anyone else make elaborate warrior cats OC's and inter-clan politics or am I just autistic

[leapingbadger]

Decisions - Chapter 3 - Wrecker

It's our darling Wrecker's turn in the spotlight today!

Omega's most supportive sibling is ironically the one to give her pause in her quest to join the rebellion.

Read all five chapters on AO3!

Omega had been home for a few days and had settled into the routine, or lack thereof, of life on Pabu. She was pleased that despite her conversations with Hunter and Crosshair, they weren’t treating her differently, although she would occasionally catch Hunter’s eyes on her from across the room, as though he was making sure she was still there.

Wrecker was the hardest one of her brothers to pin down, being the only one with a permanent job on the island. While Hunter helped out here and there and Crosshair occasionally sold his paintings in the market, Wrecker worked at the docks, happily spending his days in the warm sunshine, chatting with locals who had instantaneously become his friends all those years ago.

She cornered him in the kitchen on a surprisingly cool and cloudy day. The windows and doors were shut against the chilly air but her brother, who always ran warm, was still wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt, the spider web of scars running down the whole left side of his body on full display.

“What can I make ya?” he asked as she entered the small kitchen. He was at the stove, preparing a solitary feast.

“Where are the others?” she asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting at the wooden table to his left.

“They’re at the market. You’re eating us out of house and home, Kid.” He said with a guffaw.

“I am?” she asked, taking a pointed look at his rounded belly.

“Well, maybe both of us then,” he said with a chuckle.

Omega laughed and watched him work. Of all of them, Wrecker seemed to find it the easiest to adapt to life on the island. He had found a place where he could be useful, could laugh and share stories with people on a daily basis, and eat to his hearts content, something he had never been able to do when he was in the army or when they were on the run.

He pulled out two plates, loading them with the hash and eggs he had created. He chopped a few herbs and sprinkled them on top nonchalantly, like he’d been cooking his whole life.

The chair scraped back as he sat down opposite Omega and handed her a plate.

“So. Is it my turn?” he asked, taking an enormous bite, his eyebrows raised.

Omega paused, fork centimeters from her mouth, the food hanging off and eventually falling back onto the plate.

“What do you mean?” she asked

Wrecker chuckled, the sound filling the room with light that the island’s hidden sun couldn’t. “You talked to Hunter, you talked to Cross, so now It’s my turn, right?”

Omega shrugged in a noncommittal kind of way, “We don’t have to right now. There’s no rush.”

“Why don’t you want to talk about it? You could barely hold it in with the others.”

Omega moved her food around with her fork, purposely avoiding eye contact, “well, I’m kind of tired of getting told not to do it.”

“Pshh, no one’s telling you that.” he said, shoving another mouthful in.

Omega looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed together, “Hunter is. So is Crosshair.”

“Nahh, they’re askin’ you to think it through. There’s a difference.”

“Wrecker, you weren’t there. They told me not to go. That the risk is too great, that, that I could die.”

Wrecker shrugged and Omega dropped her fork with a clatter on the plate, “None of that is wrong, Megs. You know that. Pilots in the rebellion die, even the good ones.”

She watched as he continued to eat, his eyes never leaving her face. His brows were knitted together in concern, and while she had always found it hard to see his likeness in his other brothers, she realized he looked like Hunter in this light. The same concern etched on his face.

“So, you don’t think I should do it either?” she asked, finally taking a bite of her food before it got cold.

Wrecker shrugged again, scooping up another mouthful on his fork but letting it linger so he could talk. “I just want you to be happy, Kid. Always have. If that’s what you want to do, I have to support it. Even if I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Really?” Omega asked, her face lighting up. She ran around to his side of the table and threw her arms around his broad shoulders. He chuckled into her embrace, the vibration reverberating throughout her body. “Will you help me convince the others?”

“You’re grown Megs, you don’t have to convince anyone. We’re still going to love you even if we don’t agree with some of your choices. You know that. And you can always come home.”

Omega felt tears prickle in her eyes. The little girl stranded on Kamino, locked in a lab, working day in day out would never have believed that one day, not only would she be able to live with her brothers, but she would also have a home so full of love and so unequivocally hers that they would leave space for her, even when they disagreed with her. It never failed to stop her in her tracks, just how lucky she was to escape with them all those years ago.

“If I get in trouble, I’ll just call you for an extraction” she said boisterously.

“Ah, that’s the rub though, isn’t it?” Wrecker said, scraping his last bite on to a fork and sinking back in the chair.”

“What do you mean?” Omega asked, sitting down to hastily eat the rest of her breakfast.

“Well, we’re on borrowed time now, Megs. You know that. We might not be able to save you next time. We’re getting old, we’re slowing down.” He said, winching as he tried to crack his neck, “Crosshair’s eyesight isn’t what it once was, I’ve got at limp that I can’t seem to get rid of and Hunter still has that back issue from Tantiss that he thinks no one knows about. We might not be able to help you when you need it. Of course, we will always try.” He finished.

Omega faltered in her resolve. The sudden realization, always on the periphery of her mind but never close enough to bother her, now wanted to knock her off her feet like a crashing wave. Her brothers could spend the rest of their lives with her, but she wouldn’t be able to spend the rest of her life with them. There would come a day when their rapidly aging bodies would give out and she would be left alone. It was the final cruelty of the Kaminoan’s, that even long after their deaths they could still take her brothers from her far too quickly.

Was that why she wanted to leave, to save herself from the pain of watching them wither away? her strong and capable brothers? Was she looking for a substitute family to help her cope with the inevitable loss, when it eventually came?

“Hey, Megs, you okay?” Wrecker asked, pausing from clearing his plate and looking at her with concern.

“Yeah, I’m…I’m fine, Wrecker. Thanks.” she said, choking down her food, her throat constricted and tight.

“Tech would be proud of you, ya know. Rebel pilot,” Wrecker said with a chuckle as he placed his plate in the sink. “Bet he wouldn’t have seen that one coming.” He said with a belly laugh.

Omega smiled, “Yeah. I bet.” she said solemnly, but her brother didn’t seem to notice.

Omega’s heart sank and she walked back to her room, painted gold during their first months there. Hunter used to joke she was the light in the family and that the color choice was meant to be. She took off the yellow jacket she had worn since she arrived and tossed it on the bed, reaching into her closet for a crocheted shirt she had received as a gift. She pulled her hair out of the collar and looked in the mirror. Perhaps she was more of an island girl anyway. But her eyes couldn’t help but linger on the yellow jacket and what could be.

[chaoticbardlady99]

Fluff of companion pairing of your choice taking care of each other after a really hard fought battle (not related to their own personal quests), maybe when one of them went down or was severely wounded. Both feeling like they aren't "enough".

Needing space from everyone else, but realizing that being near each other was still okay. Soft words, tenderness. Safety, security, wholeness.

As the World Caves In (Karlach x Shadowheart)

Author note- I’m so sorry, this has been sitting in my inbox for a hot minute but I really wanted to feel confident. I’ve only romanced Astarion, but I’ve watched quite a bit of Karlach and Shadowheart content and I’m OBSESSED WITH THEM! So I hope you enjoy :) I definitely think I didn’t go the direction you were thinking, but this just flowed better for me.

P.S. lightly edited

CW: mentions of abuse, mentions of death, fear, mentions of Astarion x Tav

Picture from Kazuliski’s YouTube video about Karlach’s dinner date.

Karlach gently strokes Shadowheart’s hair as she sleeps soundly against Karlach’s chest. Shadowheart tells her the warmth from her engine soothes her to sleep like no other herb can. She also appreciates the white noise which made Karlach laugh so hard she peed herself when Shadowheart said it initially.

Karlach wishes it would help her sleep tonight too.

It had been an incredibly difficult day at Last Light Inn- Marcus had been a surprise for all of them. Shadowheart had been the first to make contact with the monsters he brought with him. Shadowheart had frozen- in the midsts of a religious crisis- and was struck down. Three of the creatures had descended on her as she screamed for help. Karlach had killed them all in swift, swinging blows, but the damage had been done. Karlach was grateful Isobel hadn’t been taken- she isn’t sure if Shadowheart would have recovered without her.

The moment Shadowheart sat upright and gasping for air was the same moment Karlach swept her up- the two of them crying while holding one another. Karlach supposes that you don’t accidentally walk into fear- to some extent everything must have some reason. She’s decided that fear finds you, hunts you for sport, and it makes a home in your heart. Karlach never thought she would ever feel that scared again in her life after Zariel had shoved the infernal engine in her body, but all that suffering had been ripped out and put on display again the moment Shadowheart began to scream for help. It certainly hasn’t gone away since- it’s only grown and created more worries.

Karlach is suffering from her own internal chatter. Almost losing Shadowheart today made her affection for her become slightly melancholy. She realized she doesn’t want to live without Shadowheart, but she is going to have to. Karlach will be in the Fugue plane all alone while she watches Shadowheart have a life.

At the beginning of the journey, the idea of dying a free woman at the end of this giant debacle was a tolerable thought. She wants to believe that she will be able to explore with Tav, Shadowheart, and the rest of their companions after this is all over. Karlach even imagines a world where her and Shadowheart live together- going on double dates with Tav and Astarion, becoming properly reacquainted with Baldur’s Gate together, and maybe one day she could even convince Shadowheart to adopt a couple children. They could grow old together, go on dinner dates, explore the world, and just be in love for as long as the Gods would allow them to be.

Karlach isn’t that lucky though and that’s what drives the tears down her face. She stiffles the sobs in her chest as Shadowheart continues to snore- not wanting to wake up her healing Wonder Woman.

It hurts to know when this is all over that everyone else will get to move on and she will simply cease to exist. Shadowheart will move on and have a life with someone else one day- Karlach will be nothing but a distant memory.

She doesn’t want that- not even a little bit. It makes her even more angry with Gortash than she was before. He really took everything from her at the end- even her future.

Astarion and Tav sit together at the fire, talking excitedly, and as happy as Karlach is for them, she can’t help but be incredibly envious. Astarion frequently worries that his inability to be out in the sun after this will scare Tav off- at least he won’t instantaneously combust. Also Tav is half-Drow, she could probably give a shit less about being in the sun anyway.

She didn’t realize that her sobs had become more aggressive.

Karlach doesn’t want to die. She thought she lost Shadowheart today and it felt like the whole world had caved in on her. Now she has to prepare herself to look her love in the eyes one last time as she takes her last breaths too?

It’s so Gods Damn unfair it makes her chest hurt.

“Karlach?”

Shadowheart is propped up and staring up at her with concern. Karlach tries to smile and just breaks into a fit of crying again. She sits up and pulls Shadowheart into her lap- the smaller female’s face resting in the crook of Karlach’s neck.

“What’s wrong, K?” Shadowheart whispers softly while rubbing Karlach’s back.

“I- I though- I lost you and I just,” Karlach chokes on her words, “I don’t want to die, Shadowheart. I want to stay here with you and grow old and senile together.”

The silence in the air isn’t uncomfortable or daunting- it’s melancholy and pessimistic. The grief is all consuming.

“I don’t want you to die either, K,” Shadowheart says, her own tears streaming now, “I have never met someone like you and I don’t think I ever will again.”

“You will,” Karlach says with a choked laugh, “and you’ll forget all about me.”

Shadowheart has Karlach’s face in her hands and is kissing her- hard- before looking at her with the most adorable, angry face Karlach has ever seen.

“That will never happen,” Shadowheart scolds, “and don’t you ever speak those words again or I’ll- I’ll….”

Shadowheart sits and thinks for a second- looking past Karlach’s shoulder with her eyebrows furrowed before shrugging her shoulders.

“I don’t actually know what I would do, but I can and will turn you into a sheep if that’s what it takes to never hear you say that again.”

“I’ll just keep BAAING until you change me back, you know.”

“Then I suppose we’re having lamb chops one night for dinner.”

Karlach laughs loudly and Shadowheart joins in- leaning her forehead against Karlach’s. When their laughter dies down, they just sit there and breathe each other in.

Shadowheart reminds Karlach of a walk at night under a full moon, but right after it rains- when the dew makes the grass sparkle and the world looks like magic.

Shadowheart is magic. She makes Karlach feel like she could do anything. Karlach would lay her life on the line a thousand times over for Shadowheart and never regret it. Shadowheart could betray her and Karlach would still thank her for their time together. How lucky is Karlach to have a chance at love at all? Maybe that’s not worth throwing away in spite of how scared shitless she is to end up in Zariel’s hands again.

“The only way I will survive,” Karlach whispers, “is if I go back to Avernus. Wyll offered to go with me and like that’s great and all, but…. It’s- he’s not you.”

Shadowheart’s delicate, callused fingers wipe away the ghosts of Karlach’s tears before she leaves a lingering kiss on Karlach’s forehead.

“I love you, Karlach. I want you to live, but I also don’t want to take your choice from you,” Shadowheart says with conviction, “if you want to, I will go with you to Avernus and we will find a way to fix your heart. Then we can come back and be as old and senile as you want. Deal?”

It’s Karlach’s turn to surprise Shadowheart with a kiss. Her hands glide up the back of Shadowheart’s shirt and Karlach relishes in the way Shadowheart melts into her chest. Her hands glide up Karlach’s chest and over her shoulders- connecting loosely behind her neck. Shadowheart hums happily as Karlach kisses her jaw and the sensitive skin on her neck before kissing her lips again.

Karlach had sworn she would never go back to Avernus. She would never give Zariel the chance to hurt her again, but if being afraid and on the run is the price to pay for a working heart and a life with Shadowheart- well it might just be fucking worth it.

“Deal,” Karlach whispers.

[honeybummer]

Chapter 25 "Ⴀ𝚘𝓂𝓮 𝒉𝚘𝓂𝓮, 𝒄𝒉༏𝒍𝓭" is up! Astarion <> Fem Fic - "Bloodstained" on A03

Below is a lil snippet:

In the shadowed study of Gale's home in Waterdeep, the room was filled with the scent of old parchment, herbs, and arcane residue. Books were stacked high around the room, some nearly toppling over, while others lay open, their pages marked with ancient symbols. 

Gale's voice broke the silence, his tone smooth yet edged with an unmistakable authority. "You must understand the gravity of what you're undertaking," he said, his hand pausing as he traced a particularly complex symbol into her skin. She winced but allowed him to continue. 

Lyra lay on her stomach atop a plush sofa, her tunic discarded to expose the pale expanse of her back. Next to her, Gale worked with precise, deliberate care, etching a glowing rune into her skin with a magical stylus. 

Tara, his ever-present feline companion, lounged lazily beside Lyra, her purring a soft background hum.

"These runes will bind someone to your will. Once the spell is cast, it will be irreversible. No other force or magic can undo it." He dug deeper into the skin on the back of her arms. 

She blew out a breath. "Explain it to me again. It's basically a reversal spell, right?"

Gale muttered something under his breath about her carelessness. "It's more than that. It's not just a shield; it's a weapon. Anyone who tries to bind you to their will shall find the spell backfires on them. This rune will protect you from such control."

"Even a god?"

Gale seemed to ponder, his fingers pausing on her soft skin. Lyra knew he regretted not claiming the Crown of Karsus. 

"Yes," he said. "Even a god." He resumed his work. "Should Bhaal—or any other being—attempt to bind you to their will, the rune will turn that magic against them. Instead of you being bound, they will be the one shackled to your will. It's a dangerous game, Lyra. You're wagering with a god's power."

He disapproved. She knew that. But he was still a good enough friend of hers to do this for her. 

When she had shown up on his doorstep, he had greedily taken her in. She was somewhat shaken and desolate after her run-in with Astarion. 

She explained that he had been corrupted. Had his soul taken. And she was on a quest to get it back. 

Gale tried to persuade her to forget it. That as long as she was with Gale, she would be safe. That there was no saving Astarion. That it was too dangerous.

Lyra wasn't worried about Astarion coming for her. She had seen the break in his mind; he let her go, after all. She didn't think he would come after her. At least, she hoped he wouldn't. 

So, she begged the wizard to help her.

Gale had feelings for her. She knew that. 

He had flirted with her many times and even tried to have sex with her. 

They had spent one passionate night together. He had shown her a mirage of his home, and she had told him she didn't need all that and wanted to see him for who he was.

They had kissed on a bed he had conjured. His hand slipped inside her shirt, down her trousers. He had made her come in a beautiful way. Then, she returned the favor.

When he had tried to remove her underwear, she had stopped him. As much as she wanted to experiment, she didn't want to hurt Astarion. 

Not that the vampire seemed to care about her feelings or her trysts, but she still wanted to take it slow. 

Gale made love to her with his fingers. 

Astarion devoured her with animalistic intensity. 

Gale looked at her with love.

Astarion glared at her with hunger.

Gale whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

Astarion growled sensual threats.

Both were pleasurable. Only one got her blood pumping and her core throbbing. 

And it wasn't Gale.

Lyra had broken it off with Gale a few days later. Having Gale's fingers in her only made her realize that she only ever wanted to feel Astarion's. 

Gale had pouted. Ignored her for days. And then he had forgiven her. 

As his fingers draped over her bare back reverently, she knew he still hoped she might come around. And she had every reason to want to. But, her heart belonged to Astarion. And she was going to save him. 

So, Gale agreed to help her.

"I don't have enough space on your arms. I am going to need to continue on your back," he said, letting his fingers smooth down her skin.

"How much?"

"It's a powerful combination of runes. It will cover your entire back."

How ironic. Astarion's back was scarred with runes meant to cage him. 

Her back would be covered in runes meant to set him free. 

She nodded, and Gale handed her a glass of whiskey. She downed it and he refilled it for her. 

"This will be very, very unplesant," he warned. 

She gritted her teeth and let him continue.

Sweat coated her skin as the minutes stretched into hours. The pain was intense, but she was used to pain, wasn't she?

The pain of knowing Astarion was lost was much, much worse. 

Lyra spoke, desperate to distract herself. "So, when I enter his temple, and Bhaal tries to take control…"

"He'll find himself ensnared instead," Gale finished, his voice low. "But you must be prepared. The moment he tries to dominate you, there will be a struggle—a battle of wills. You need to be strong enough to hold on, to not let him break free."

She turned her head slightly, her eyes filled with determination. "What kind of struggle?" She moaned in pain as Gale began to carve runes across her spine.

Gale's expression hardened, and the warmth in his voice was replaced by a cold edge. "If you falter, if your resolve wavers, Bhaal could overpower you and take everything. You must be certain, Lyra. This is a battle you cannot afford to lose."

Lyra listened to the soft tear of her skin as Gale opened the skin on her back. 

It felt endless.

"You'll need more than these runes to be successful. I'll be giving you a strong protective amulet. Certain curses and magical items will have no effect on you. He may try to restrain you when he attempts to bind you. The enchantments of such bindings will not hold you. His ritual will require the blood of Bhaal, which he will provide. Before the ritual is complete, you will need to add your own blood to the mixture, and this will seal Bhaal's will to yours."

The pain became a dull throbbing sensation, and her mind became fuzzy, but Gale tapped her head with his finger. "Did you hear me? Without your blood, the ritual will not work."

She nodded. "Yes."

"Luckily for you, he will do the entire ritual for you, thinking you will become his. All you have to do is steel your mind and provide your blood. And make sure he frees Astarion's soul before the ritual."

She nodded again. 

"Quit moving."

"Sorry." Then, "I appreciate your help, Gale. Truly."

He took a break and handed her more liquor. She gratefully drank.

He said nothing for a long moment. 

Tara snored softly beside her. 

"I could take care of you, you know. Give you things he cannot. A family. A house filled with love. Kindness."

She closed her eyes and bit back her guilt, setting her head back down so he could continue. 

Gale sighed. "But, you don't want care. Or kindness."

Lyra thought it might be true. She wanted danger. Freedom. Exhilaration. Pain. Pleasure. 

She had been looking for a home all this time, and she found it in the chaos of a vampire. 

"I know," she whispered.

With a tender hand, he pushed the stray, sweat-soaked hairs off her neck so they would not get into the bloody mess that was her back.

Hours passed, and Gale finally finished.

"This may hurt," he said again.

He uttered several dark phrases, and she felt her skin tingling. Searing. Like someone was branding her. 

She refused to scream.

Lyra closed her eyes, feeling the magic sink into her skin, becoming a part of her. The rune felt like a living thing, humming with power, and she knew there was no turning back now. 

Gale finished the chant. Tara, seemingly uninterested in the gravity of the moment, stretched and curled closer to Lyra, her soft fur a brief comfort.

As Gale stood, his eyes softened for a moment. "Remember, Lyra, this rune is your safeguard. Bhaal may be a god, but even gods can be bound. Even ascended vampires can be defeated. You have the power now—don't let them take it from you."

The runes on her back pulsed with a faint, steady glow, a silent promise of the power it held.

The pain remained for days.

[lilacskiesapothecary]

“…Stars…”

Reader X Zoro

In your world , where adventure and danger lurk at every corner, you found solace in the presence of Zoro Roronoa. Though he appeared tough and unyielding to others, there was a hidden tenderness that only you could see.

One sunny afternoon, as you two strolled through a bustling market, Zoro's eyes sparkled with excitement. You knew that Zoro loved selecting fresh ingredients for your cooking sessions together. You two would spend hours exploring the market, searching for the perfect vegetables, fragrant herbs, and succulent meats.

You two’s culinary creations became legendary among your friends, but it was the moments shared in the kitchen that held the most magic. You loved watching Zoro's strong hands delicately chop the vegetables, the aroma of fresh herbs filling the air. And when you finally sit down to enjoy your meal, Zoro's smile spoke volumes.

But it wasn't just cooking that brought you closer. You discovered that Zoro had a sweet tooth, and together you embarked on a quest to find the most decadent chocolate treats. From creamy truffles to rich lava cakes, you indulged in the finest desserts, savoring each bite and sharing laughter along the way.

One evening, as the sun began to set, Zoro suggested that you two go star-gazing. He found a quiet spot, far away from the noise and chaos of the world, where you two could just be together. Lying on a soft blanket, you looked up at the vast expanse of the night sky, dotted with countless stars.

"Star-gazing was a good idea," Zoro whispered, his voice filled with warmth and affection. Your heart fluttered at those words, realizing that this moment was a testament to your bond. In the silence of that night, you two felt a connection that transcended words, a love that was as infinite as the stars above.

As you laid under the starry sky, a gentle breeze brushed against your faces, creating a moment of perfect stillness. Zoro turned towards you , his eyes filled with an intensity that couldn't be ignored. Slowly, he leaned in, his lips meeting yours.

Your lips met in a soft, lingering kiss, carrying with it the sweetness of the chocolate you had indulged in earlier. It was a gentle dance of lips, a moment filled with warmth and affection. Time seemed to stand still as you embraced, your connection deepening with each passing second. In that magical instant, the world around you faded away, leaving only the two of you , lost in the beauty of the starlit night.

And so, their journey continued, filled with market adventures, mouthwatering meals, and sweet moments of stolen glances and kisses. Zoro remained the strong and stoic swordsman to the world, but in your presence, he let his guard down, revealing a love that burned brighter than any star in the sky.

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[patheticbatman]

Part Four

I'm very proud of these dolls, and I'm also leaving them at my parents' house, so I did a little photoshoot with some books as background so I can have nice pictures of them. This set of pictures is exclusively dolls that I painted, so I’m very pleased to show them off.

This is the fourth and final post, so check out the first for more info!

First up is Sisu, with The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I swear that I did not rip the cover. I think that copy is like 50 years old, and I swear I had the ripped of part until recently. I’m very sad about losing it. But in any case, I feel like Sisu would relate heavily with being the only one of her species left for a long while, about how human vice affected her status as an endling, about spending time in a body that isn’t really hers to survive, and the whole quest really. Hell, in the book, Schmendrick and Molly end up together, and we all know that’s going to happen to Raya and Namari eventually lol.

Second is Mirabel with In the Tike of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez. I feel like Mirabel would be the most invested in her family in keeping up with the outside, in magical world, as both a breather from all her family’s guilt and drama, and as a future head of the household later on. In her life. I also know that the Latin world paid a lot of attention to the struggle and loss of the Mirabal sisters (The Butterflies) and what with the book being told by Dede (the non-revolutionary sister, the only survivor) and being about a 4 sisters, Mirabel would empathize with this a lot. She’s one out of 3 sisters + a close girl cousin, and is the only one who’s not involved with what made her family famous. Encanto takes place in about the 1950s, maybe 60s, so Mirabel would definitely be interested in this book, because she would have definitely been interested in the real life events that occurred when she was young (the events of the book and the real life murders of the Mirabal sisters occurred form the 40s to 1960, but this book was published in the 90s)

Third is Dolores with Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. I feel like she is a more overlooked member of the Madrigals, and she probably is a BIG Romantic at heart, though I bet she keeps it secret. as such, I gave her one of the most Romantic books I have as a background.

Fourth is Isabela with The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I think she would find the themes of huge responsibility and the focus on perfection by society to be quite pertinent to her lot in life at the beginning of Encanto.

Fifth is Luisa with Jacob I have Loved, by Katherine Paterson. The title is a reference to the Bible saying, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”. I DID think about giving this one to Mirabel, but ultimately chose Luisa because I feel like Mirabel never felt she had a chance to live up to Isabela, while Luisa probably felt like she had a chance to under all that *pressure* (lol), like Sarah Louise (the Esau) with her twin sister Caroline (the Jacob). I think the themes of small town life (SL in the book moves from a small coastal island to a mountain town, and the Madrigals live in the mountains) would also speak to Luisa.

I couldn’t decide for Shuri and also wanted to show her off more, so she gets two books! The first is my copy of the collected Infinity War comics, because she appears in it, and the second is The Deep by Rivers Solomon. Shuri gets The Deep because it’s about a mermaid whose people were the magically-transformed fetuses of pregnant African people who were thrown overboard while being transported to the Americas for enslavement. As Shuri’s movie is both about a strong African nation and about a people pushed underwater by colonialism and racism, I just felt that it was fitting. If you look in her hands, one has a heart shaped herb and the other has the bracelet from Namor.

As a romantic and a girl obsessed with the surface, I believe Ariel would love The Princess Bride, full stop. I also think the framing premise would tickle her.

Last but not least, Asha! Her movie ofc hints at her becoming the fairy godmother and crossing over with fairy/Disney tales, so I gave her The Sisters Grimm!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[narrans]

Everyone Needs a Little Hero | Helping Conditions

It was time; or, rather, it had been enough time or Hero to buck up the courage to go and talk to Rey again.

After the incident with Sam and the glue and with everyone still recovering from the sickness that plagued the Borrower community, it was time to apologize once again and see if Rey wanted to continue to help him on his quest to be a true hero.

He pulled together his things, borrowing bag with his hook and spare lines, and headed down the familiar path toward Rey’s home. It had been a while since he and Rey talked, and he kept wondering how he was going to start the conversation.

Apologize again? Ask him how he’s been? Check in on the family after the sickness subsided. Soren’s family had been one of the few to step up and bring healing remedies to the community. That was probably the best thing to start with.

Come to think of it, Soren had deep bruises which he didn’t explain the last time Hero saw the only other Borrowers he knew to interact freely with a human. Hero wanted to ask Soren or his father, who Soren had spoken to shortly after the Borrowers began to recover from the sickness, but never addressed the topic to him.

He thought this might be a better topic to start with – making sure Soren was okay – when his thoughts were interrupted by his arrival to a door that was slightly ajar. Hero actually stumbled back a few steps as he stared at the entrance to Rey’s home. Confusion kept Hero stock still as he surveyed the scene.

There was no interior light and, to Hero, it looked like something out of a spooky movie. His heart pounded nervously in his chest and his palms suddenly felt damp with nervous sweat. He could’ve headed back, but that was the coward’s way out. If something was wrong, Hero needed to know so he could help. He needed to check and see if the family was okay.

Living up to his name, Hero took a bold step forward and pressed on the door, at the same time slipping out his thumb tack dagger and keeping his hip lamp close. The door’s lock, which was non-existent, clattered to the floor hollowly.

There was no warm glow from the lights inside.

There was no smell of herbs or cooking meals like how there was in his home.

It was dark.

Uninhabited…

Hero cautiously tiptoed into each room to find essentials and some of their more precious items missing. Other items looked like they had been overturned and ransacked, torn apart and rummage through.

What happened? He wondered to himself. Where did they go? What happened here? Did they move out? Surely not…

Hero decided it was the next best move to go and talk to their human counterpart, Ashlynn. They had met officially one time before and, if anyone knew where they were, it would be her. Surely she would be around, right? It was easier for a Borrower to move from one place to another than it was for a human to move from place to place.

But, on the other hand, Hero hadn’t seen them in a while.

With the utmost caution, he left the abandoned home, questions swirling in his mind, and headed down for the secure line leading into the kitchen. Every step felt heavier and heavier, thoughts filled with worry for his friend.

He finally arrived at the line and practically flew down it, hands gripping the line loosely, providing a rapid descent. The slide down was so fast that Hero winced and bit back a yelp as he collided with the ground, shins aching instantly with a subtle throb. He checked that he was alright before cautiously pulling the bolt loose from the electrical socket and sliding it aside and revealing a bright, sunny kitchen in the human world.

The teenage Borrower waisted no time in hopping out onto the counter and walking across its surface. He didn’t need to go far to hear the sounds of clinking among a soft voice, seemingly alone.

Either someone was whispering to themselves or there were other Borrowers about.

Perfect!

He unlatched his hook from the loop on his belt, secured it, and slid down the next line onto the floor. Safely on the ground, the teen casually made his way across the floor, completely exposed, until he made it to an area by the couch, which he elected to walk under since it was the fastest way to get to where he heard the voice.

When he made it to the other side, his insides leapt for joy because he spotted Rey tinkering away with his tools at his side. He was muttering to himself as he continuously glanced over at some sketches and plans of his latest invention.

The relief and happiness he felt turned instantly to a sickening shock as he spotted Rey’s bandaged arm, which was in a sling at the Borrower teen’s side as he continued his inventive tinkering.

Rey sighed and, without warning, turned to come face to face with his friend, Hero. Both boys locked eyes simultaneously, but both boys possessed vastly different reactions.

Rey, who had been thinking about Hero and what to tell him about his human helping, smiled a slightly hesitant but genuine way, and waved with his injured arm out of pure habit. He winced slightly, but it didn’t diminish his smile. Hero, on the other hand, felt his jaw drop, features morphing from curiosity to worry and concern.

“What happened to you?”

“Hey, how’ve you been?”

Both boys spoke in unison, but it was Rey who recovered first and spoke.

“Hey, Hero. Long time no see. Um… how are you?” asked Rey. Hero waved Rey’s question away like a scent in the air as he stepped up to his friend, gingerly taking his injured arm and examining it within the bandage.

“I’m fine, but you’re obviously not. What happened to your arm?” demanded Hero, voice shaking with concern. He was terrified Rey’s injury was because of some interaction or another with Ashlynn but even if she had, it would’ve been an accident.

Rey tugged his arm from Hero’s gentle grasp and kept it close to his body.

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story,” he muttered. “Um… you might want to sit down if you want to hear it all.”

“Absolutely,” Hero replied without hesitation.

The two of hem sat down and, as thoroughly as possible, Rey told Hero the whole story starting from the attack, Soren being shoved into the freezer, and how they were now living with Ashlynn and avoiding the Borrower community.

“No way,” mumbled Hero in disbelief. “So, you were attacked by our own…” Rey nodded stiffly. “And that’s why Soren’s face was all busted up when I saw him come over and talk to my dad.” Rey nodded again.

“It’s scary to think about, but yeah. He barely recovered from being in the freezer. Ashlynn helped us get through all of that. It’s a good thing we had her and that Soren is so tough. We’re all still recovering actually, but I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if…” Rey’s voice cut short.

Hero took a moment to let Rey breathe before asking his next question. “And they chased you and Dorian after that?” asked Hero, to which Rey nodded in response again. Hero breathed a massive sigh of relief. This was even more proof to the aspiring hero that anyone – not just humans – could be dangerous.

“Anyway, we’re all hanging out here and it’s been great. I mean, we basically spent all of our time down here anyway. We’re lucky to have Ashlynn helping us,” Rey said. His body posture shifted ever so slightly as he, for the first time since seeing his friend, averted his gaze. “Um… speaking of which… I wanted to talk to you about your whole… human helping.”

“Wait,” interjected Hero, wanting to say his piece before Rey continued. The blue-eyed Borrower did indeed pause and waited patiently for Hero to continue. “Before you say anything, I… wanted to say sorry. I thought about it and… after our visit to Sam… I didn’t think it through completely. Even though I know Sam wouldn’t have hurt you, I should’ve listened and helped you out of the glue rather than call Sam over to do it. I didn’t think about how freaked out the whole encounter might have been for you. So… I’m sorry Rey. I’ve felt so awful this whole time about what happened, but couldn’t think of a good way to come up to you and say it. Do you forgive me?”

Hero’s word vomit tactic put a smile on Rey’s face and even brought out a chuckle.

“Of course I forgive you,” said Rey. “I’m sorry for not coming over and talking about it sooner. I actually wanted to say that, if you’ll have me, I’d like to keep helping people out.”

The stones weighing down Hero’s middle suddenly vaporized. The bright-eyed Borrower nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course! I didn’t think you…”

“Hold up,” interrupted Rey, pointing a finger to make sure Hero understood he was serious. “I have conditions and clarifications.”

“Okay. What are they?” asked Hero, feeling the weight starting to come back. He felt slightly uneasy about these conditions Rey was about to impose.

“Well, first, when Ashlynn said no more talking to humans, she meant we shouldn’t talk to humans – period – even if we know them. At least, not if we can avoid it. I talked to her after everything happened and she agreed with me,” stated Rey plainly. Hero opened his mouth in protest, hoping to go to the aid of his human friends and argue that they were good and careful people, but Rey stopped him. “That being said, we need to be careful around the humans you’ve already started talking to. I don’t think Ashlynn will be mad if we say hi from time to time.”

Sighing, Hero nodded. He was afraid Rey would really push for not speaking to any humans ever again or, for that matter, never want to help him in his quest to help as many humans as he could.

“Second, we have to be more careful in general. I know you know these people, but I don’t. Also, Ashlynn was the only human I really talked to or interacted with before meeting Sam. If you want me to help, know I will be a lot slower to go out and talk to your human friends,” said Rey.

“But I know they wouldn’t hurt you,” said Hero reassuringly, to which Rey nodded in agreement.

“I know, but I’m not like you,” stated Rey softly. “I can be outgoing when I need to be, but I’m really more of a people watcher than anything. I would prefer tinkering and a night hanging out with family than going out and interacting with everyone.”

Hero sighed and nodded. It was a fair point. Hero, out of most of the Borrower boys his age, was one of the friendliest and outgoing of the lot. Rey was equally as friendly, but if this was a condition for his help, then that’s how it needed to be.

“Any others?” he asked. Rey pondered for a moment, but finally nodded.

“One other thing. I’m here to help you be safe as well as help some of the people here in the building. That means that I’m going to be honest with Ashlynn if she asks me questions about our tasks. If I think either of us are doing something dangerous or if we’re exposing the existence of Borrowers to anyone other than the people you’ve talked to, I will let Ashlynn know and I won’t feel comfortable helping anymore,” stated Rey.

“You’d tell her if we talked to anyone else?” asked Hero cautiously, now feeling mildly uneasy. Part of the fun was asking humans about their lives. How was he supposed to find out if something was wrong and help them?

“It’s just a safety precaution. Ashlynn knows more people in the building than we do, and if someone is trying to trick us, she would know,” pointed out Rey. “Also, I don’t like keeping secrets from my family. I’m a lousy liar, and it’s obvious to anyone who knows me if I’m trying to hold something back. I’m going to always be honest with Ashlynn and my brothers and you.”

The boys locked eyes once again, taking a measure of the conditions and whether someone would buckle under the contingencies. Hero, wanting to have a friend to help him for some of his bigger ideas as well as a confidant, thought long and hard before straightening up and sticking out his hand for Rey to shake.

“Okay. I think I can live with those terms,” said Hero. “I do wish you’d try it my way, but I won’t force you.”

“Deal,” said Rey, reaching out and shaking Hero’s hand. Both of them grinned and, like the sun peering out from behind the clouds on a dreary day, the tension between the two of them vaporized.

The two of them talked about the new device Rey was making and how he was going to reinforce it with springs found in pens since those were easier to bend and maneuver. Rey was attempting to perfect his emergency hook slinger, which he said had saved his life when he and Dorian were being chased by the strange three Borrowers.

After several hours, Dorian and Mayzie made an appearance and, a short time after, Ashlynn and Soren came back from a short outing, visiting the rooftop greenhouse for some quiet time alone. Hero noticed that Ashlynn and Soren were acting differently, but didn’t press the matter. Once back, Ashlynn began making dinner with the help of Dorian, Soren, and Mayzie.

As Hero watched the family go, a thought sprung to his head.

“Oh! I just thought of something. I do have one condition for us working together,” stated Hero, looking mischievously at Rey, who suddenly looked mildly concerned.

“Okay?” Rey said tentatively.

“You have to invite me over for a movie night with the family. It would be nice to see Ashlynn again and talk to her. I still have so many questions about the human world!”

Rey grinned and chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I think we can arrange that,” stated Rey. “In fact, why not stay for dinner tonight? We’ll watch a movie after. Maybe we’ll even get to watch something after Mayzie goes to bed.”

“Deal. Oh! Maybe I can stay the night too?” asked Hero. Rey chuckled and looked around at Ashlynn.

“You’d have to ask Ashlynn, but maybe let’s do that next time. I wouldn’t want to put you out too late with your parents and everything,” Rey stated. Hero frowned, but didn’t press the matter. He had been away from his family and hadn’t told them he was going to be gone for dinner.

“Well, how about I just come tomorrow and stay for dinner and movies then,” suggested Hero.

“Deal!”

The two parted ways, Hero getting a chance to say hello to everyone, before vanishing back into the walls and heading home.

There were several thoughts that kept ringing in his ears based on what Rey said. First, the fact that Soren and Ashlynn were acting differently toward one another. Was it more, dare he say, affectionate? Perhaps. He wanted to ask, but he also knew some of these things were private and that he shouldn’t pry into every little detail of Rey’s family’s life.

Second, Rey’s conditions. He wanted Rey’s help, but that meant he wouldn’t get as much chatting time with some of his friends like Watney and Sam. His only immediate solution was that he would have to go and see his friends independently and do actual heroing work with Rey.

Finally, they were attacked by other Borrowers. Who were they? What were they trying to accomplish? Why would they do something like that? Were they really that afraid of Ashlynn? She was always so kind to him and Soren’s family. Also, most importantly, were they still around to know he had paid the family a visit.

He hoped for his sake and the sake of his family that they were no longer watching Rey’s family and that the next night they would be able to sit and watch a full-length movie together.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

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[feolnir]

TToFaË: Wandering and Woe (3)

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Fëor was…reluctant. His relationship with spirits ran deep, but he still felt slighted after that illusion. He was all the more frustrated upon realizing that, despite dealing with a fake, the encounter hardened his resolve and gave him a crumb of confidence. So, with a silly stomp of stubbornness, he followed the ethereal spirit.

Though fëár are fickle, his decision proved to be wise. Gälenor was, after all, more densely covered in root and vine those days. Even the most experienced travelers expected their journeys from Gälnos to the Meadow of Mýrás to last two weeks, even when following the often-tumultuous Gälnolëa. Fëor was certainly not an experienced traveler. Without a guide, he would probably…be lost forever.

Especially since he had no clue where Ërna went.

To be honest, this whole journey was fraught from the start. He set out on a whim, hardly thinking it through. How in Ánor was he going to find a single Eldásr in such a massive grove? He of all people? Gälenor’s most famous shut-in? It was…kind of stupid.

That said, he had nothing to lose by putting his faith in the winds of fate Herself.

But even with a gylfëa for a guide, it took him six days to travel twenty leagues—a distance most could cover (with the same conditions) in three. For an exhausted Fëor, unaccustomed to sustained physical labor, that alone was an incredible act of mithra. 

Thankfully, those days were quite boring for him; no unsettling illusions haunted him, nor did any strange monsters attack him. He was, after all, still terrified of the world beyond his bubble. What surprised him most of all, though, was the fact that Tálnos never reappeared. After encountering him, Fëor expected the ëolfëánorí to put an end to his insane quest that technically started with betrayal—an end that part of him probably still wished for (were it not for the fear of retribution). 

But it really was strange. How had he gone so far without anyone stopping him? Were the grove’s sentries too busy looking westward, letting him wander freely unbeknown to all, save Tálnos? Or was this the same strange luck that let Ërna reach him in his distant glade?

Regardless of those lingering concerns, however, he still reached the Falls of Mithrafëol without fail.

He had no clue just how special that place was.

There the Gälnolëa, flowing eastward from the roots of Mýrás, cascaded down a rocky slope in a stunning display. Naturally, he was enamored by its beauty. Especially at dawn, the fëol-rich waters sparkled with golden glimmers as it leapt from stone to stream. Bears and salmon gathered there (though admittedly not on the best of terms) while a vast array of flowering herbs thrived in every crevice that was blessed by the life-giving spray.

Naturally, he was enamored by its beauty. The soft light of dawn illuminated the falls, which in turn veiled the surrounding grove in a mist of gold, pink, and glimmering green. The beauty he did not see, however, was deep beneath his feet; for here the roots of Mýrás and Gälnos mingled, bringing west and east together as one.

Were it not for the fact that his journey was about to get much, much more difficult because of it, Fëor would have considered it paradise. (It was also too far from home.) Instead, it would become his first test from Ëolna; for here the land rose steeply, then gradually, as the valley rose to meet the lofty Meadow of Mýrás further west. In other words…the next 50-or-so leagues were all uphill.

Fëor sighed deeply, realizing he had to climb now. 

“No way…”

He side-eyed his spirit-squirrel guide, who scurried effortlessly up the rocky falls. 

“Are you serious?”

Had Ërna really gone this way?

Resources from feolnir.com: Glossary | Maps | Characters | Herbs | Ko-fi

[sporadicspores]

well despite having 10 other tavs and two durges i still need to play, i ended up caving and completely making a new file/save for Vrisryn since their main campaign is just... corrupted as hell at this point lmao. it was funny at first with little glitches like the whole Astarion-confessing-to-being-a-vampire-on-the-first-long-rest thing (which works since Vrisryn def noticed he was a vampire right away anyways) and minor stuff like the companions just forgetting that they had a high approval rate together. but by the time i got to Act 3, it was like... painfully bugged, to the point of their entire romance with Halsin being skewed/glitched, and major parts of companion quests weren't executing properly. with the whole point of restarting it being to 1-to get a fresher grasp on their character/make more in-character choices and 2-to be able to play the epilogue properly without glitches, it felt like i had to restart again. (thank god i love them so much and would replay their run 1290823980482394 times)

that being said, i was able to fully take the time to flesh out their Act 1 clothing, stats, armor etc! and i realized i never made any real proper post or introduction for them before posting the first chapter of their backstory/fic, so... behold! the refreshed Vrisryn (or Vrysryn as they're named in my game to avoid save issues lmao)

i decided to go for a more civilian looking outfit since they would have been in Baldur's Gate, not the wilderness they considered home when abducted. they were traveling to bring research findings and samples from the Underdark to the Lodge of the Society of Brilliance on behalf of their circle, as well as to fulfil some personal curiosities and make a bit of coin by selling/trading herbs and tinctures in the city. routine stuff mostly, that landed them unfortunately in the illithids capture. and ofc i had to use the autumnal druid dye from astralsprout on nexusmods bc i mean. look at them. that dye was made for them. typically though, when traveling they would roam in druidic armor or their camp clothes, which consist of a long overcoat and simple garments:

in my canon/work, they also don't really take their headpiece off like... at all, not until like Act 2.5 at least and even then, it's only around Astarion, Karlach, Wyll and Shadowheart. it isn't until Act 3 when they've finally reached the Elfsong that they let their guard down fully about their Spellscar, and their headpiece is used to help cover it since it takes the shape of antlers and stems from around the same area that their headpiece lay. The Spellscar appears in a similar fashion to the spores that typically surround their person and effects during travel/battle, so as long as their headpiece is attached, it's rather difficult for anyone who isn't familiar with Spellscars to notice that that's what's going on with them when it appears.

also the foreshadowing of this shot given the weird temporary triangle of angst they fall into with Gale and Astarion cracks me up but we'll get to that in many future fic chapters lmao

anyways this was really just for me to be able to dump some pics and keep a timeline of stuff as it develops in this playthrough. i'll do a more proper introduction post later and i'm gonna try to remember to reblog this whenever i get around to finishing my own character sheet of them in my style so i can show the differences between how they appear in bg3/how i see them and how they actually appear! stuff like them having top surgery, their Spellscar/it's effects, and other little details that bg3 simply can't convey. even if it's just for my own sake i'm excited to share more about their character on here :3 it's crazy to me how they started as simply an over-glorified self insert and then within 10 hours developed into a whole different, realized character with a HUGE backstory. that bg3-inspiration pipeline goes crazy when you're on hiatus in your own dnd campaign i suppose lol (also gonna try to post my next chapter of spores & stars later next week! just gotta push through finals and the end of this semester, then i plan on letting the oc brainworms consume me during the entirety of my break before summer classes begin oTL)

[teecupangel]

Yeeesss. Ada having Xiao Han being her ancestor would be such a funny addition. Also, Edward would be staring at her the entire time because she looks familiar but also… not familiar? The longer Edward stares at her, the more his head ache. Leon actually thinks Ada treats Desmond like a sorta younger brother that she has a distant relationship with. She’s not affectionate, not at all, but she’s nicer to him and explains things better. Leon actually thinks Desmond should be the one to keep talking to Ada so they can get better information than whatever cryptic bs she’ll tell Leon XD

Yeessssss. Maybe Edward rushes out of the castle to get away from them while other stuff goes on that leads to Ashley being led away from them and Leon activating a trap that pulls him down with Desmond getting pulled down as well because he tried to save Leon. And now, the gameplay has both a Leon and Desmond section as they split up to check where they have fallen in. You can switch using the typewriter and it’s a callback to RE0’s switching mechanics. And, yeah, they reunite with the others around the first Krauser knife fight. To be more exact, Desmond and Leon gets there and Leon takes on Krauser while Desmond saves Luis using every healing items they have.

Ff you want to be mean to the players, Desmond’s inventory needs to have at least 3 tricolored mixed herb or 2 first aids or 1 first aid and 2 tricolored mixed herb to save Luis. Thankfully, considering Desmond is more of a knife + pistol user there’s enough space in his inventory. Unfortunately, Desmond actually has a smaller inventory than Leon and it needs to be ‘tricolored herbs’. Any other mixed herb combinations will not work. (in terms of inventory, it’s Leon > Desmond > Ashley > Edward, with Edward not having any inventory at all)

And then, during the end of the fight, Edward goes barreling into the room and bodyslamming Krauser because he tried to attack Desmond to piss Leon off.

It’s actually Ashley who finds the broken hidden blade together with a letter that’s too old to be read in its entirety. It is addressed to a ‘Master Edward Kenway’ and Ashley remembered that Desmond called his ���bodyguard’ Edward (I don’t know why. It just feels like his name) so she takes it with her. The weapon makes her think it would suit Desmond for some reason. It’s only after they reunite and they meet the merchant for the first time after reuniting that he sees what Ashley took with her and tells them that he can repair it if they have the proper items.

Cue: Hidden Blade Repair Optional Sidequest

The necessary items are all over the castle because Edward was not the first nor the last Assassin the cult had ‘taken out’.

The reward for the quest is Desmond getting the Hidden Blade, an unbreakable weapon that serves as an upgrade to his knife. It does not take up inventory at all and it unlocks the ability to assassinate humanoid enemies. Desmond can perform up to two assassinations in succession using the hidden blade and his knife. A third assassination chain can be unlocked if the player returns to the room where Ashley found the hidden blade with Desmond and Edward in the party for a short scene where they find Edward’s old clothes, unusable due to the passage of time. Desmond’s third assassination chain has Edward jumping from behind Desmond and taking down the third enemy before jumping out of frame.

Luis is a nonplayable character but saving him adds a certain perk to the party. Any herb mixed by Leon would have the same effect as a tricolored herb mix, regardless of the color combination. The idea is that Luis is the one mixing them so he knows the best way to ‘maximize’ the herb’s capabilities.

.

(Oh man, we’re gonna go Syndicate-ish with this lol)

… cue the next game being the president of the US and Ashley going to Buckingham Palace for a ‘diplomatic visit’ with Leon as their bodyguard and an outbreak occurs in London XD Desmond was nearby with Edward because Ashley used her connections to get him in Buckingham Palace to look for this ‘thing’ that Ada suggested might help and was just waiting for the best time to infiltrate the place. Luis now serves as Desmond’s version of Ingrid and is safe in the sewers where they have set up camp.

Of course, Luis gets fucked when the zombies start coming to the sewers and he runs away and he’s now a playable character (with the same inventory space as Ashley, lol) and equipped with a handgun. He goes deeper into the sewers to run away from the zombies and accidentally gets into the room where Minerva’s Aegis clothes used to be.

Then he is saved by someone wearing a white hoodie and calls themselves Clarkson, an Assassin who is trying to find the rest of their goddamn theme.

(And this Clarkson looks a lot like the Frye twins because they’re the descendant of Jacob Frye. Their name is a reference to Darcy Clarkson, the Frye descendant Assassin in watch_dog XD)

pops in here bc I’ve been writing Resident Evil crossover AUs for fun (and angst) and I have a fun little idea for you!

so, re4make has dropped some interesting and tasty lore about Los Illuminados, aka the parasite cult that makes up the main bad guys in this particular game. according to the new lore, they popped up in 1554 and were exiled from their old place in 1741. now, we know that mutations and parasites and viruses can possibly extend somebody’s life in REverse beyond their natural lifespan and also make them far more durable than humans. I was thinking—Edward Kenway gets killed in 1735. this we’re well aware of. but what if he wasn’t?

say that Birch is aware of Los Iluminados and their work. he wants to keep a closer eye on them since he hears a lot about Las Plagas and its hive mind abilities, but he’s not about to risk becoming a part of their hive mind—he doesn’t entirely trust this cult. and he has a pesky Assassin who’s just found out that he’s actually a Templar, and who has a book and a son he would defend. if he survives the night—and it’s damn near a guarantee that he would, Birch has heard that he once cleared a whole deck of a galleon on his own—there’s nothing stopping him from taking up his sword and beelining to Birch and just cutting down every last member of the British Rite. but he can’t do that, if he has a bug inside his head.

so Edward gets knocked unconscious, and dragged off to the cult. now Birch has a reason to keep an eye on the cult, and he’s taken Edward out of the picture with no one the wiser for it.

years later—hundreds of years later—Desmond Miles, 17yo runaway, gets kidnapped along with Ashley Graham for whatever reason. maybe he saw too much and immediately launched himself at Krauser and actually managed to acquit himself pretty well in a fight, only to get stuffed into a van along with a very terrified First Daughter. Leon goes to find them.

in the meantime, Saddler has a very fucked-up Edward stand guard, and Desmond starts to talk to this guy, bc something about him seems…not quite the same as the rest of the cult. there’s some core of humanity still holding stubbornly on inside him, even if he looks pretty bad off, if not heavily mutated by now. which is how Leon ends up finding both Ashley and Desmond having managed to get a very snarly pirate to help break them out and has to gently convince said pirate that yes he really is here to help them please put that pitchfork down sir.

Oooohhh, if you wanted to, you can even include one of Ezio’s or Aquilar’s descendants in the lore as well, maybe even both? 1554 is around the time Flavia and Marcello would be 20~21 years old. Old enough to be Assassins that would be sent to foreign lands to help other Brotherhoods. We can even have them be sent by the current mentor of the Spanish Brotherhood because of this cult that supposed worship something ‘strange’. The mentor thought that the Italian Brotherhood who had a mentor who had been quite verse in strange things would have an idea of what they’re dealing with. Flavia or Marcello (or both if you want) asks to be sent because it seems connected to the precursors and, as Ezio Auditore’s children, it’s their duty to continue their father’s legacy.

They meet up with Aquilar’s child (or grandchild maybe?) and they help in exiling Los Illuminados, making the cult hate them and the Brotherhood in the process.

It’s because of their hatred for the Brotherhood that Birch was able to have a distant alliance with them and it’s because of his connection with the cult that Edward starts to suspect him as being a Templar.

(To sprinkle more angst, how about Haytham saw his father being dragged away and tried to save him, killing one of the kidnappers which ends with Teresa seeing him as a cold blooded killer and he is indoctrinated by Birch as a way to try and find Edward but never found him. After learning Birch was the leader of his father’s kidnapping, he gives up on Edward because Birch burned all evidence that will link him to Edward and the Los Illuminados)

Okay, so we go to the Ashley and Desmond part of the story.

Ashley is around 20 years old when she was abducted so, if you’d like, she could be in New York to shop or something when she was kidnapped. Desmond was on his way to his first shift in Bad Weather and saw a woman struggling while being dragged into a car with men looking like professional bodyguards (suit, sunglasses, wired ear pieces) on the ground, unconscious maybe? Dead even?

Desmond didn’t have time to think, his body reacted and he punched one of them. He starts to fight them off while telling the girl to run and the girl tried to, screaming for help but there were more men than they expected but her screaming (and his battle cries, they were not screams, they were battle cries damn it) was attracting attention so they had to book it quickly and Desmond was swept alongside the girl in the process.

Leon is briefed that an unknown man with no past of his own may be with the president’s daughter and he’s a low priority. The most that Leon is expected to do is find out who he was and if he was truly just taken alongside the Ashley because he tried to be a good Samaritan.

Now Saddler though…

Saddler had planned to kill Desmond from the very beginning but then he noticed something peculiar.

Desmond looked familiar.

So he let Desmond live because he needs to find out why Desmond looks familiar at all. He orders Edward to guard them and to keep them there.

Leon starts doing his job and Saddler gets sidetracked.

When he heard that Edward had ‘betrayed’ them, he realized why Desmond looked so familiar.

In one of the oldest journals written by his ancestors, there were sketches of the three Assassins who led to their fall and exile.

And two of them…

… looked very similar to Desmond Miles.

So now, Saddler believes Desmond is a descendant of those who exiled them and wants to infect him as well.

Because what better revenge is there than to have a descendant of those who wronged them become their ‘property’?

Unorganized Notes:

I like to imagine Ashley and Desmond become friends immediately, with Desmond helping Ashley stay calm while Ashley gives Desmond something he wanted ever since he was a child, a close friend.

Ashley would definitely not leave without Desmond and Desmond would do everything he can to keep Ashley safe.

Edward ‘recognize’ Desmond, in a way that Desmond reminds him of his young son, but he doesn’t understand it, because the infection inside him mutated thanks to his ‘bloodline’, so he’s not exactly the same as the others.

Edward will be conflicted though because his infection would make him want to obey the cult but he can't hurt Desmond at all. He doesn't want to and his body will never allow it.

Is it his own free will? The reminder of a past long gone? Or...

The Calculations at work?

[iicheeze]

Genshin Impact with Motherly Travel Companion Reader

Random thought I had while trying to get my brother to sleep after he almost got harassed by a random woman

imagine that Traveler is just busy with a random quest and is tired as hell and all of a sudden you just whip up a meal in a second both for them and Paimon 💀

would let Traveler sleep on your lap (and Paimon too)

IMAGINE IF THE TRAVELER IS AETHER.

Bro you'd just be yourself and he'd just cry all of a sudden and you thought you did something wrong when in reality he just misses Lumine

i'd imagine Scaramouche or Wanderer just attaching himself to you once Traveler finally got him

Anywhere you go bro would be seen with you 💀

Or even the children like Klee or Qiqi or Sayu thinking of you as a mother figure

like Klee coming to you to play together, or Qiqi inviting you to find herbs with her or Sayu just wanting to sleep on your lap

Or characters just telling you their achievements so they can get compliments and maybe head pats

liek

“ [Name]!! I won the Grand Onikabuto Championship!! What'd you think? I did awesome, right?? ” “ Of course you did, Itto! I'm so proud of you!! ”

or

“ [Name]! I finished making a new cooking recipe and it's a hit now at the restaurant!! ” “ Woah! That's great, Xiangling!! I'll come by soon, once I ask Paimon and Traveler if they want to come as well. ”

or maybe Reader finding out the achievements themselves and they came by to see the characters just to compliment them about it

“ Hey, Cyno! I heard that you finished up a case and arrested over 300 people!! That's really cool! You did marvelous! So, why don't you go rest and play a round of Genius Invocation TCG with me? If you win, I'll make your favorite dish! ”

meanwhile cynos too happy to say anything

(anyways have this)

[terry-perry]

Hi! if you're still open for requests,can you please do a oneshot,drabble or whatever with this suggestion?. Loki’s out in the forest to collect ingredients for his spells/potions and unintentionally goes too deep and gets lost, it's evening and he's finding his way back, he suddenly sees a wide patch of land holding many rare ingredients and he's in the middle of taking a bunch of it but suddenly hears a whip of the wind behind him and looks to see a woman ina cloak saying he’s in her property.

Potions were hardly needed in the world of Asgard. For certain spells, however, those who studied magic believed the best way to perfect them would be homemade remedies with the most enchanting of ingredients. Thanks to Frigga, Loki managed to find most of the things he needed to create his potion. There was one thing left though that would complete it. A special herb that could only be found in certain regions.

Frigga did mention it may be in stock with an old acquaintance of hers. As soon as she brought out their name, Loki grew hesitant. There were stories of this woman that didn't put her in the best light. Like with Frost Giants, she was a horror story that parents told their children if they misbehaved.

"Go to bed, or Y/N the Enchantress will snatch you up and cook you for supper,"

According to his mother, she was nothing more than a woman who shut herself away from the rest of the world after the death of her family. She and Frigga had grown up together, being raised by the coven of witches. But since the tragic event, they had since grown estranged.

Despite his mother's assurance, Loki did not wish to take any chances. Her grief could have led to the madness. Simply going to her home to ask for the herb could lead to her inviting him inside. No. It was probably best to sneak away and take just a bit of it from her garden if it was truly in stock.

Late in the evening, Loki snuck out of the castle and went deep into the nearby woods where Y/N was said to reside.

He never saw the place for himself. As one of the princes of Asgard, he was rarely allowed to go anywhere on his own. Any chaperone -- be it a guard or Thor -- was always around to warn him of straying too far. As he grew older and had a better of his skills, there was more leniency in where he could go. This sneaking away in the dead of night was more out of fear than anything else. Perhaps he should've woken up Thor to let him know of his plans.

There was no turning back now since he was finally met by a stone cottage in the middle of the woods. The moonlight seemed to especially shine on the desired garden at the back of the home. He saw that it possessed a beautiful collection of flowers and herbs. His eyes immediately caught on to the specific plant he needed to fix his potion. It looked so fresh and green. He just had to have it!

Looking around his surroundings, Loki snuck around the back of the cottage to retrieve it. He hated that it was in the middle of the whole garden since it meant he had actually had to sneak in to retrieve it. Doing his best to not make a sound, he stepped over and around the other plants until he managed to reach out and pull the other plants until he managed to reach out and pull the ones he needed by their roots. He was so focused on his little quest, he did not realize he had been caught until the enchantress came out to make her presence known in a hissing voice.

"Who dares to come and disturb me at my home?"

Loki froze on the spot. The enchantress was holding onto a lantern, so he managed to see some of her features. He was now frozen for another reason. His mother claimed they knew each other growing up, so he was expecting someone around her age. But the woman before him was a lot younger and very pretty.

He didn't bother himself too much with her looks. In fact, he now feared that the rumors may be true. Could she really be using children to keep herself young and beautiful? He did his best to straighten up and pull down his hood. Perhaps if he revealed his title, he might be let go with simply a warning to never return.

"I am Loki," he introduced himself with confidence. "Prince of Asgard."

"Friggason," she added, her eyes never leaving his. "I know the proper way to address you would be as Odinson, but your mother's name holds more value. Don't you think?"

A smile flicked the corners of his mouth. He wasn't going to argue with that.

"What does the son of Frigga wish to do with my herbs?" She asked then, lowering her lantern.

When she did this, he had a better view of her youthful appearance. It was certainly lovely, almost ethereal. And by lowering the lantern as well as showing a form of respect for his mother might mean he could lower his worries a bit.

He straightened himself up and explained. "Forgive me, I had wished to brew a potion that required this herb,"

"And instead of asking, you chose to steal from my private garden," she responded. "I would've expected this from the local village children, but not from one of the sons of Frigga. Surely she gave me a good word?"

Loki grew pale during her little interrogation. He wasn't exactly sure how how to answer her. As he stayed silent, she sighed.

"The stories," she mumbled. "Will they ever cease?"

"I'm sorry if I offended you,"

Her pretty face softened somewhat as she now looked so sad. He of all people should know what it's like to be judged so shallowly. It's why he was there to begin with.

"Let me show you something," he said.

As soon as her eyes met his once more, they widened as his skin shifted. The Asgardian shield Odin had covered him in when he was a baby melted away as he revealed the blue underneath. She watched as he showed her all who he was. The icy skin, the Jotun markings, the blood red eyes.

"Frost giant!" she softly exclaimed. And yet she did not retreat.

"We might have more in common than we realized..."

[fightxxmexxshiggy]

People mentioned dnd to me and now I'm having thoughts so everyone can have a crisis with me about how hot this would be.

BAKUGOU the first one up is our sexy boom man and lord let me tell you I absolutely see him as a lvl 15 half elf artificer (really hope I spelled that right) he would come up with the most intricate bombs and weapons that he'd have a reputation for always being ready to level a kingdom if he needed to. He would literally find you doing some petty theft to survive and decide your interesting. He would take you on as an assistant teach you some profitable skills and when he felt you were gonna be ok without him talked to you about where you could go for a good job. He is not happy when you laugh in his face. That is until you explain that the only thing you wanna do for work is be his assistant and work his cock inside your hole every night if he'd let you. This was absolutely the perfect thing to say because the next thing you know he's gripping you by the neck and slowly walking you backwards to the bed. The moment is tense and you can feel the sex energy in the air so you make a joke about being ready to store his boom stick for him. He smirks and pulls out a long thiccc cock that has you both wary and wetter than a flood. He would crawl over you and slide it between your lips the hand on your throat still gentle but the command he has over you is unmistakable. As he gets a steady pace of face FUCKING you, he also gets into a little rythm of squeezing and caressing your throat in time with his cock head hitting sliding into it. Before long he's cuming down your throat and growling at you to drink every drop like a good girl so he can fuck your little full of his next load. He would literally say "only good girls get breed and good girls drink all the cum their given so keep swallow my pretty assistant."

SERO he is a shifter archer who was on the way to meet up with his party when he finds you wounded after a battle with a rude hobgoblin. He patches you up and takes you with him to the next town to get you to a proper doctor. After meeting with his party he goes back to visit you and make sure he didn't drag you here only for you to take a ground nap. He doesn't expect to find you up and fully healed. But at this point he's just gonna go with it. As a thank you you take him to a local inn for a meal. After talking and laughing together for a bit you start getting flirty and rubbing his leg underneath the table. He grins slow and cat like before hooking his leg around yours and jerking his head towards the back alley. Once outside he's got you against the wall and is finger FUCKING you WHILE he rolls your clit with his thumb. In minutes your squirting and squeezing his fingers. That's when you learn that shifters are long and strong. SERO'S teeth are gripping your shoulder while he holds you up against the wall finger tips digging into your ass and hard cock rearranging your guts like it's a damn sport. Your cuming again when he let's go and floods your womb with hot cum. Just as your ready for him to put you down he starts thrusting again hitting your deepest spot like he's guided by magic. The nonstop pounding has you breathless an unable to do more than grip his hair as you moan in his ear. A part of your mind is wondering if his party has space for one more until everything goes blank when you cum so hard you go limp.

KIRISHIMA he is a goliath barbarian with a surprising sense of humor. His party uses your town as a homebase of sorts and he comes to your shop often for supplies and even more often for the snacks and pastries you sell at the counter. He always buys enough for his friends and then sits down with the large portion he got just for his big ass self and has tea with you while he fills up. He regales you with tales of his dungeon raids and where he might be off to next. Usually he leaves you with a little charm he had carved while off on a quest except this time he leaves a wooden carved ring with the word mine engraved on it. The sly man has already headed back to the large home he shares with his party on the edge of town. Once the work day is done you march down to his home an knock on the door. It's answered by the ever grumpy half self that you push past and march up to your goliath. You drag him out by his ear and hand him the ring back with a growled if you don't put it on me the right way no more snacks. He puts it on your left hand and then throws you over his shoulder. He runs to his room and drops you on the bed much faster than you would have thought such a big man could. With your skirts thrown up around your waist you have a perfect view of the redhead slurping and feasting on your pussy. It's only after your 6th screaming orgasm that he frees his cock. You swear it's a war hammer made of flesh but that doesn't stop your pussy from clenching at the sight of it. Long minutes later you were impaled on half of his cock just whimpering and squirting while he worked you up and down like a fuck doll. His growls and snarls only made your pussy weep more juices down the length of his cock. On a particularly hard thrust you came so hard your pussy convulsed around his cock milking his cum from him so violently that even when he had shot every drop into your welcoming womb he was still twitching inside as if he had more to shoot.

DENKI he is a tabaxi rogue. He was doing some scouting for his party on a quest when he sees you. Your collecting herbs and fruits nothing strange except your scent hits his nose like mace to the face and he jumps from the tree's to land in front of you. Needless to say you are freaked out until he apologizes and explains that his species are drawn to the sent of their mate and your scent is making him want to both protect you like a precious treasure but also rail you like he's in rut. Yes he says this like it's not kinda nuts to say to a stranger. You weren't happy in your village and you had given up on finding a life partner so you took a leap and said you'll be his mate on the condition that he courts you like other races do first. He's over the moon and agrees but asks that you let him cover you in his scent before he goes back to his work just to keep him sane. He rubs and grinds all over you for about five minutes before running off to continue his work. From that point on he visits you at least twice a week and courts you, bringing gifts and having meals with you. One night after it had been two weeks since he last came he shows up with a few almost healed wounds and tells you that his last mission was difficult. You fuss over him for a while until you notice the clear bulge in his pants. Thinking about how much you had missed him you decided that you needed the closeness that only sex could bring. He's panting at the knowledge that he'll finally be able to claim the little pussy that's been giving off the most alluring scent he's ever smelled. A few minutes of tongue FUCKING you with your leg over his shoulder later, your sliding down his thicc cock and riding him like you used to ride your father's horse. He's FUCKING up into you with no mercy, absolutely abusing your gspot. The sensations are too much and you can't stop crying as you cum soaking his cock. He rolls you to your back still fucking you like a madman until he shoves deep and his cock swells locking him inside your pussy as he cums so much you can feel it escape your pussy.

Someone come take my internet away. @hipster-merchant-of-death @reinawritesbnha @sendhelpimstupid @cupcake-rogue

[xpeachesncream]

witcher jin | one shot

NOTICE ! !  MISSUS has been missing for almost a week now. last seen her walking near the swamps north of town — am afraid a monster er beast has gotten to her. any help would be 'preciated. reward in coins and a meal.

summary: jin takes on a quest to find a missing person, only to encounter powers that are much stronger than his own. the saving grace? you, his ex.

pairing: witch!reader x witcher!jin

genre: witcher au, fantasy au | smut, very light sprinkle of fluff and angst

words: 6.5k

warnings: cussing, mature language/implied sexual content, jin is not the strongest witcher out there because he’s injured, mentions of dark magic/rituals, use of dark magic, potions, oils, sword use, use of magic/witcher signs, mentions of death or near-death experience, mentions of cuts/wounds, unprotected sex, clit play, slight spit play, neck kisses, sex on the edge of a table, a literal sprinkle of dirty talk

tags: @miinoongi​ @bluesharksandfish​

➺ TERMS

endrega warrior - monster that resembles a huge lizard, has an incredibly long tail that has venomous quills

bestiary - compendium of beasts and monsters

witcher senses - superhuman senses that allow witchers to see clues and tracks that no other human can see/pick up on.

aard sign - one of the 5 simple, magical signs witchers can use; a telekinetic wave that can throw back, knock down or stun an opponent. this sign can also be used to destroy obstacles, like crumbling walls or stacks of barrels.

hex - a magic spell, curse.

Jin loved you. More than words can even explain. You were the love of his life, and he was ready. But, not ready enough to put his witcher ways to rest and that was clear enough for you to understand.

He wasn't actually going to settle with you any time soon.

So, Jin sits in the tiny hut he's taking shelter at - a hut that sits in the backyard of a rich, old lady's cottage - living a sad life as a lonely witcher who doesn't really know much about his future path. As payment for his shelter, he takes care of the lady's garden and digs up old weeds, tosses out the dying flowers, brings in some useful herbs. You know, some shit a witcher doesn't normally do. But, she was kind enough to help him when she had found him bleeding out on the side of a road, a nasty endrega warrior slashing him on the shoulder with its venomous quills. He was unconscious for a good minute, waking up in the poor old lady's hut with her tending to his wounds and giving him an herbal remedy to help suck the venom out of it.

He can already hear you scolding him for not taking proper precaution or reading up on the bestiary about these beasts.

The wound is still healing and he's struggling to move his shoulder around like he used to, but he has to move on and continue his duty as a witcher. He spends time in his hut whipping up rare concoctions that can help him in battle, using some ingredients he'll find in her backyard or around the area. Going to the school of the manticore, he's been trained on how to put together these concoctions to provide great defense. Many lessons included how to make potions, weapon oils,  and bombs. However, not always do they help as intended. Sometimes, he's having to fend for himself because not all monsters or beasts respond the way he expects them to.

Hence, his fucking shoulder.

Anyway, today he needs a little bit more herbs than usual and they're herbs he can't necessarily get unless he visits an herbalist. He heads into the nearby village to pay the herbalist a visit, only to stumble upon a notice board once he's gathered the things he needed. He didn't feel ready to take on another quest, but he knew he had to keep it moving whether his shoulder liked it or not. One notice catches his eye, something about someone's wife gone missing and he's instantly reminded of you. Not that you've gone missing or anything, but you might as well have with the way you upped and left without saying a word to him.

He didn't think he was ever going to see you again, and it was probably because of the way he put his witcher lifestyle [his witcher ways] before you. You were making him choose. He didn't mean to, but this is the life he was brought into and there wasn't really a way to erase it. You too, were living on the edge, being another witch left in the world. It was easy for you to tuck that away, not necessarily easy for Jin as a witcher though. Maybe it was just all of the emotions thickening the air that one night, but he wished you gave him a little bit more understanding. But, he also didn't blame you if you were tired - tired of worrying about him all the time in his earlier days when he wasn't at his best.

Well. There's that.

Jin clears his throat as he adjusts the hood over his face, pale skin and yellow eyes gleaming faintly underneath it, black bangs draping the sides of his face as his hair had gotten longer and grown into a mullet. He raises his knuckles to knock on the wooden door gently, a man with a soft expression opening the door, greeting Jin with a small smile and nod.

"Witcher, how can I help you?"

"Saw your notice." He holds the folded piece of paper in between his fingers before tucking it away into his pocket. "Still need someone to help?"

"Ah yes, please. If you're able." His eyes are wide and full of worry. "If not, it's okay, I'm sure someone will—"

"I mean, I don't really know what sane person would throw themselves in front of a monster or beast for your wife, no offense." Jin says, slightly waving his hand out.

"Anything you can do to help. I'd greatly 'preciate it." Jin nods.

"Anything else you know besides last seeing her at the swamps?" He hands Jin a small sketch of her, Jin taking it and tilting his head while he examines the picture.

"No, she just said she was off to visit a friend who lives in the town on the other side of them swamps. She had made it perfectly fine b'fore, not sure why this was any different."

"Hm." Jin hums. "Alright. I'll see what I can do. Might take me a little bit before I can come back with anything though."

"I understand. Thank you so much." He takes Jin's hand in his and shakes it a couple of times before he lets go and sends him off. Jin looks out at the small village, simple villagers tending to their gardens out on the front of their cottages. A few look at him through their peripherals; It's so easy to tell when they're trying their hardest not to look at a witcher, yet they end up doing so. He's used to the act, it's not really anything surprising. You know how normal folk look at witchers, he didn't have to explain it.

As he begins to walk down the path to start heading towards the swamps, he sees a family happily minding their own business at their cottage that sat at the end of the village. Was he the only witcher who longed for a family like that? Maybe. He knows a lot of witchers who preferred to be alone, or who preferred a quick fuck in between quests. Him though - this is what he wanted. A family. One he could settle with on the outerskirts of the map, happily living their life without having to worry about people coming for him or putting his life in danger every single day. He wonders what life would be like if he hadn't been granted the one he lives now. At this point, he doesn't think he'll be able to know what it feels like. Ever.

Or, maybe he will. But he might not choose to find out, if it wasn't with you.

He lets out a deep, heavy sigh as he lowers his head and continues to walk on, the path into the swamps being much, much quieter than the village he had just been in. Not only is it incredibly quiet, but the fog gathers around the swamps, making the place seem a lot darker, eerier than it usually is. Something already feels off, Jin tapping into his witcher senses before he walks deeper. He sees a trail of footsteps and follows them up north, the footsteps almost half the size of his - he knew it was a female, but if it was the man's wife, he couldn't say it was 100%. Her scent also lingers, but it starts to fade even though her footsteps are clearly in front of him and he's not sure why.

Well no, he knows why. Only witches are capable of masking scent that way. Witches dabble into magic that required lots of rituals, potions, concoctions, all that shit of their liking, but it's rarely ever for good intentions. Why there would be a witch here, he wasn't sure. Probably because the witch decided to prey on smaller villages. Why it would be masking her scent, he also wasn't sure, but he knew it couldn't be good.

He sees a tiny, tiny village made up of three cottages - the cottage in the middle being the tallest out of the other two. There were two children playing with each other in front of the cottage on the left, with the cottage on the right being completely empty. There were only a few items left, some fruits molding on the shelves with a raggedy cot pressed against the wall in the one room it has. He passes the two children on the left, their guardian standing near them with her arms crossed.

"Miss." Jin nods towards her.

"Can I help you?" She lets out a breath as she shifts on her feet.

"Have you seen a lady come by around here? Looks like this?" He holds up the sketch. He catches her body tense up even though she's trying her hardest to look calm, normal. He will never understand why people lie about this type of shit when he's a fucking witcher - he can easily pick up on someone's bluff. She shakes her head and lifts her chin to answer rather confidently, making Jin furrow his brows.

"Nope, ain't seen anyone like that come 'round here."

"You sure about that?"

"The hell, witcher. I gave you your answer." She catches Jin's eyes switch from hers to the tall cottage in the middle. "Wouldn't bother that poor old lady if I were you."

"She can't answer a simple question?"

"She won't, especially not for someone like you. Now leave me be, you've already taken much out of my day with this pestering." She says with attitude. He watches as she gathers the children and ushers them inside the cottage, roughly shutting their wooden door and shutting their windows.

Odd.

He completely ignores the lady though, and proceeds to the middle cottage, smoke coming out of the chimney placed slanted on the side of the roof. Before Jin could knock on her door, she pokes her head out from one of her windows.

"Can I help you?" An elderly lady comes out, looking thin and frail with her long grey hair and big eyes.

"Have you seen this woman?" Jin says, causing her to shake her head and aggressively shut her windows.

"Nope. Don't come 'round here no more with that mess." She yells from her house. Yep, definitely odd. What's even worse is that even though these people are flat out lying to him, he can still see her footsteps. They lead into this cottage. This lady was definitely hiding something, and he could already tell where this was leading. Did people not know how witchers worked anymore?

Yes, this was this man's wife.

Yes, that old lady was a goddamn witch.

If he was indeed right about this, then he wouldn't be able to do everything all in one go tonight. He'd have to wait - wait to gather more information simply by watching and to prepare by creating more potions, oils and perhaps bombs. He walks away from the village and heads a bit west to hit the lake and pitches a tent for his shelter tonight. He was far, but not too far where he couldn't get a good watch of the village, specifically this cottage.

He can safely assume that this lady was perhaps using the man's wife as some kind of host. She was old and frail, so it seems. She probably wanted to use her body to conjure something and release it onto the village or perhaps some place bigger, depending on what exactly that something was. Or, she was just using the poor man's wife. Simple as that. She was using her energy to bring herself back to life and do damage once she was young again, full of life again, strong again. If that was her goal, Jin didn't have much time or else she'd be dead soon.

Witches are a pretty big beast for witchers to go against. Depending on the witch [most likely bad witches], they messed with a lot of dark magic and rituals. Dark magic was never something to fuck with, but if you have the power and you are fully capable of understanding what you're getting into, then the dark magic can be used to your advantage. Witchers don't have that capability - they don't understand much about the fine details of dark magic and the rituals that go along with it. They don't know a lot about a witch's ways. Even with you around, Jin never really understood much about it, and he didn't really try to. Or, guess the better way to put it was that he never wanted to meddle.

Witches differ from sorceresses strictly by their training, their schooling. A sorceress goes through strict training and education to be able to understand the power they hold and contain it, while witches don't have that formal education and don't necessarily understand the cap to their magic. Most don't know how to contain themselves, when to stop. You got into witchcraft to tune your skills, but never wanted to use it with bad intentions. There's probably only one other witch who had good intentions with their witchcraft, and that was Keira Metz. Keira Metz was long gone. The rest of these witches? Power hungry.

As the sun rests below the horizon, Jin watches the village closely. The lights in the cottage never die, and the smoke never stops climbing out of the chimney.

She was hard at work. But that also meant Jin was pressured to work quickly.

Jin is scouring the fields for one more bunch of Arenarias, which are plants he needs for his oil. He lazily swings his sword around, using it to quicken his search and to cut the bunch when he finally spots it. He brings it back to camp, completing his oil to spread along the upside of his sword. He catches a glimpse of his yellow eyes along the blade while he wipes it down, continuing to spread the oil along its surface. He always pictures what that simple life would be like.

Suddenly, he hears a loud scream - a scream of someone in great, agonizing pain. He turns to the cottage, immediately tucking his things away and throwing his sword over his shoulder. He darts to the cottage, casting his Aard sign to tear her door down. Surprisingly, the family in the next door cottage does absolutely nothing and doesn't even budge from their cottage. But, Jin figured that was an issue he'd look into after.

The second mistake he makes is assuming that witches didn't do dark magic during the day. He always assumed they needed the moon light to make its magic stronger. Or so, he was told it increases the power.

Obviously, she didn't care much for that. She has to be that powerful.

Getting inside the cottage, a pungent odor hits his nostrils, causing him to furrow his brows. But the thing that catches him completely off guard is what he sees ahead - which, is something he should have expected since it was one of the theories he thought of last night. The old, frail witch was using the poor lady as a host, but it was probably the most disturbing thing out of all the monsters, beasts and creatures Jin has ever seen in his life. The man's wife sat in a weak, wooden chair, hands and legs tied tightly to its arms and legs. Her head tilted back as she screamed in pain, veins popping out of her neck as her face turned red. There were no black orbs, or clouds - nothing to signal any dark magic besides the old witch lady herself. Speaking of her, her head tilted back as well, but her eyes were wide open, staring straight towards him as gibberish left her mouth in a quick, fast-paced manner. As the minutes go on, the old lady [maybe old isn't the right adjective at this point] begins to fill with more life, her skin becoming younger, her hair becoming darker, while the man's wife was dying. Her skin became wrinkled, her hair turning grey, her cheeks and eye sockets starting to sink in.

It was truly disturbing, and this witch knew he would come for her.

The way he knows that is because he makes his third mistake. Him being the typical witcher who doesn't rely much on the 5 signs he has under his belt, he strikes with his sword, hoping the oil would break whatever this was. Whatever she was becoming.

It doesn't.

The sword bounces off this invisible shield she has between the room and him. And even though she's busy sucking the life out of the lady, she manages to work magic on him too, raising her hand ever so slightly to put him in a chokehold from where he's standing. At this point, she's almost young again, the lady in the chair frail and weak. Any moment now, she could die, and that's not the news he necessarily wants to deliver to her husband. Also, he fucking hates losing. It's just in a witcher's nature. He never wants to lose, and if he does, god, it would constantly haunt him. He uses his Aard sign once more, hoping to knock her back somehow and he gets a little lucky. She breaks out of the daze she's in, slightly pushed back from the force of his Aard sign. Jin repeats the sign once more, causing her to fly into the wall, and fall to the ground. As he grips onto his shoulder, the pain radiating through his body from when he was let go from that chokehold, he quickly drinks up the potion he whipped up and walks over to grab his sword.

Except, not.

He's stuck right where's at, and the witch is no longer paying attention to the poor thing on the chair - she's onto Jin. And her goal is to destroy the witcher.

She puts him into a chokehold, but this time, it's much, much stronger than earlier. And not only is she doing that, but she's also sucking the life out of him. Sucking his life so bad that the potion he just ingested is now traveling back up and out of his mouth, and he has nowhere to turn. There's absolutely nothing physical for him to grab, to break free from, to help him.

He's literally fucked, and he feels himself losing by the minute. The man's wife is now included in this and the witch is becoming so, so powerful that she barely has to bat an eyelash when she's reciting her stupid fucking lines.

This was probably it for Jin. This is how he goes down—

"Off the both of them, now." Jin swears he knows that voice, but once he's down on the ground, he can't even make sense of all the commotion happening because he's too busy trying to gather himself and muster up the rest of his energy to help defeat her. But right now, that possibility seems dim. He weakly stumbles and sits off to the side, trying to grab himself another potion to help heal him temporarily with his shoulder feeling like it was tearing apart again.

It was you.

It was you that stood there, suddenly so mighty and powerful yourself. Jin assumed you were casting some kind of hex on four corners of the house with the way you turned and quietly recited a spell and held onto this rock with a symbol on it.

"You!" The witch, now slowly returning to her normal self. "Goddamn you!"

"Me? Thought you would be more excited to see an old student of yours, Aggie." Aggie [apparently is her name] looks livid enough to recite a spell of some sort to grab the moon, crush it to pieces and let its crumbs rain fire on you. But, whatever she does fails. Anything she does fails, and you stand there, amused. Jin is honestly so confused at what the hell is happening, maybe a bit loopy and dizzy from all the sudden movements.

"W-what did you do?!" Aggie yells angrily as her body fully becomes what it was when Jin first saw her.

"Ohhhh, so you mean to tell me you don't remember the things you taught me?" You raise a finger, symbols glowing in the corners of the room and on the rock you're holding, causing Aggie to look around in fear. A stupefied look, even, because she didn't think about putting a hex on the cottage first. "Silly." You laugh. "If you place a hex in four corners, only that witch can work her powers. You, my dear, are absolutely useless."

"N-no, no, I can undo this, I can—" Aggie scrambles to her book of rituals off to the side. Sure, maybe she can being she's full of dark magic, but you don't give her the chance. Instead, you reverse the ritual she had initially started earlier, but this time she's aging faster and the man's wife is starting to regain the life in her, the energy in her. You continue to recite your spell, your intentions about where this is going clear as day. Because you don't stop until she begins to crumble in ashes. And the most fucked up part is that you take her ashes and use it for another ritual where you seal her away, burying her ashes with the rock in your hand beneath the dirt and away from life as far as possible. Well no, it's not fucked up for what Aggie just tried to do, but Jin didn't think you'd go that far. It wasn't in your normal routine to turn someone into ash and then seal them in their house like some sort of genie.

"Jin." You help him up, Jin grabbing at his shoulder as he slightly limps to get his footing together.

"Y/N." He says, trying his hardest not to crumble at your touch.

"You alright?"

"Could be better." Jin straightens himself up not to look weak in front of you.

"You know better than to go at a witch without understanding her powers." You say as you go to untie the poor man's wife from the chair while she sobs. Before Jin can say anything else, he watches as you tend to the lady, tucking her hair behind her ear and helping her up. "We need to get her to—"

"I know." Jin holds up the paper. "I was helping her husband find her."

"Come, I have a horse outside. You can take her back while I figure out the family in the next cottage. Looks like she also performed some kind of mind control ritual, made them her dolls."

"Is that something you can just un-do?"

"Yeah, it's gonna take me a bit though so I suggest you bring her back and advise that she gets taken care of by a nurse for the next couple of days." Jin nods as he follows you and the lady out. Jin helps the man's wife onto your horse before getting himself up behind her. You give them a nod, watching as they trot away towards the village before letting out a deep sigh and walking into the cottage to deal with this mess Aggie had created. You sigh because seeing Jin after all this time still has your stomach doing somersaults. Big ones, too.

And so Jin does what you advised him to do, bringing the man his missus back and letting him know he should get a nurse over to check her out due to the events that transpired. He pays Jin with a pretty hefty bag of coins, along with a packed meal and a few other snack items before he leaves him be to allow him to get back to you.

"You get your coin?" You ask as you spot Jin making his way back on your horse right before you walk back into Aggie's cottage. He hops down, pets your horse on the head before meeting you inside.

"Yeah. But I don't know if I should keep it since I didn't do much of the damage."

"Well, you found her right? You are a witcher and you keep your word no matter what you tell people.

"How'd you know about this?"

"I didn't. I only heard of Aggie's plans, so I came by to pay her a visit. See if I could talk her out of it. Apparently, she hasn't changed." You give him a tight-lipped smile. "There was never any talking with that lady." Then it clicks for Jin— He remembers when you'd rant about how unfair she was. He remembers this Aggie, and he remembers her well because you had gone many nights crying yourself to sleep about her.

"That's the same Aggie you used to rant about?"

"Sure was."

"Jesus, what happened?"

"She found more of herself within dark magic." You nod. "She liked having that power, the feeling of being unstoppable. She really wanted to do so to destroy me and the sorceresses left so she could be the most powerful one around."

"So, she takes a lady hostage for a week then does this?"

"Yeah, who knows what else she's done to her. But she really wanted to wreak havoc wherever I was at, wherever the sorceresses were at. Just utter chaos."

"Huh." Jin hums. You step closer, your finger running through the blood seeping through his shirt and vest.

"What happened here?"

"Endrega warrior."

"Still not using your bestiary, I see."

"Mm, can we not?" You smirk.

"You stay around here?"

"Yeah, my hut isn't too far from here."

"I'll take you back and get you cleaned up." You say, leading the way to your horse. You have to admit, it's pretty awkward being that the last time you two left off, it wasn't pretty, nor did you ever conclude what this was going to turn out to be. It's unfinished business, and knowing that, it makes you feel shy around him in a certain way. You loved Jin, too. God, he was everything to you and he still is. His pale skin, black hair, broad shoulders, yellow eyes, pecs outlined well through his shirt - he was the love of your life. Possibly still is with the way he's had your knees buckling this entire time.

You just hated how his world revolved around being a witcher, like there was no room for you, but that was you being young and selfish. You understood well that he couldn't just flip a switch to this. But it drove you crazy, worrying about him day in and day out and you didn't even know if he appreciated it. He wouldn't say much [before], he didn't talk a lot about what the future held for the both of you. It was enough for you to take it as no, he'll never settle down with you. No, after all this time, you still weren't worth it. You never communicated that though, and instead, distanced yourself from him and the relationship. Arguments flew left and right, lots of pointing fingers and what if's— challenging your own thoughts on whether or not you should do something you’d regret.

Then you just left him. Without a word. And you regret the way you've handled it but it's been some time and it is what it is. You've come to terms with the fact that you and Jin were never going to work out seriously. So you think. You just couldn't understand what he was thinking, you weren't a mind reader.

Getting to the destination, he greets the elderly lady in the main cottage before he's sliding himself off of the back of your horse and walking in to his small hut. It's enough space for him— one small bed against the wall, with a small kitchen and firepit. Fire has been going, keeping his hut nice and toasty. He has a ton of ingredients laying around and about his kitchen, signaling that he has been working his craft on creating whatever concoction he could think of this time.

Such manticore attitude.

He sits on the edge of his bed, gently tearing away at his vest and shirt before he's fully shirtless. You create a well-known remedy for him, pouring the homemade oil onto his skin as he winces and groans at the stinging. You then place your hand over the wound, allowing your power and the oil to come together to at least get rid of the residual pain and close up the wound as much as possible.

"Shouldn't rip open on you again."

"Please, for the love of god." He lets out a deep breath once he's realized you're done tending to him.

"So, what made you think potions and oils and bombs would do anything to Aggie?" You chuckle, hand on the hip.

"I just figured it could provide some defense. I didn't think she was 'dark magic crazy' like that."

"Nice try, witcher. I really do commend you." Jin slightly shakes his head and lets out a small snicker. Still sarcastic as ever, I'll give you that.

"Where you headed next?"

"Not sure, White Orchard. Skellige. Oxenfurt. Wherever the wind takes me. Haven't been doing much besides go from town to town, seeing what I can get into." You look around the hut once more. "Comfy, I see? Not planning to leave anytime soon?"

"No." Jin says, his head dropping.

"I see. How long have you been in Buyan?"

"For awhile. Been trying to heal up."

"Be careful next time." You cross your arms against your chest, a hand rubbing your arm to provide some kind of warmth. "Well, I should get going and leave you to your peace. Thanks for your help today."

"Wait—" He says, holding out a hand to prevent you from walking out any further. "Y/N, it's been so long. Can't you just stay and talk for awhile? I think we owe it to each other to at least do so." His look is genuine, even with the witcher eyes and the faint scars painted right below his chin. You can't even find yourself saying no to the way he looks, the way he reaches out for you. You've never seen him this vulnerable. Barely.

"Jin. I'm not sure what you want me to say." He stands, towering over you.

"Why don't you start with why you just left?"

"Did you really think we were going to work?"

"Why did you think we wouldn't?" You groan, pacing to the opposite end of his hut.

"You're you, you're a witcher. You go out there, putting yourself in danger. I hated worrying for you day in and day night and you-you didn't even—" Your bottom lip begins to tremble. "You didn't even appreciate it. You always put me on the backburner, like I wasn't worth it to you. You always talked like there was no future for us."

"Y/N, what do you want me to do? I can't just be a witcher whenever I please. And you never even told me about this. Of course you were worth it to me, everything about you was always worth it to me. It doesn't mean I care about you any less just because I wasn't as vocal about it. It doesn't mean I put everything else before you. I just—" He sighs. "This is just how shit is. I don't see how it's any different when you're a witch putting yourself in danger, too."

"We got into so many arguments, lots of you did this, you did that—"

"Yeah, because you never talked to me about anything. You kept everything inside until something tipped you over the edge, every single time. You blew up on me." He walks closer to you. "You blamed everything on me being a witcher. I highly doubt that's what it really was."

"I didn't think we could ever settle down together, have a family, be like these people."

"That's what you thought." You catch his jaw clench a bit, Jin swallowing the lump in his throat. "Why couldn't you just talk to me, Y/N?"

"I needed to accept it. Get over you and move on." Jin shakes his head.

"That easy for you, huh? Just to fucking accept it and move on." He shrugs, somewhat mocking you.

"Where are you even trying to go with this, Jin? I think we've said what we needed to say. We were on different pages and I don't think any of that has changed."

"Stop putting words in my mouth. That's not how it is."

"Then, what is it?"

"God, Y/N. You're so fucking frustrating and I can't help but despise you sometimes because I just remember waking up and not seeing you there. That feeling of being betrayed, left alone— it lingered for so long because you never even thought about coming back, let alone saying anything to me. You just deemed us over like it was nothing. But it wasn't even over for me. None of that shit was fair, Y/N. None of it. Until this day it isn't because I still love you and it drives me insane that I could still feel this way about someone who left so easily." The very first mistake Jin made was loving you, because now he’s stuck in this endless loop of wanting you, longing for you, needing you. You were a drug and you were always going to be the first biggest and most beautiful mistake he has ever made. He loved you too much. He couldn’t just let it go.

"Jin." You shake your head as the tears begin to slowly stain your cheeks. "I don't even know what to say."

"Just tell me you don't feel the same and that'll be it." You groan into your hands.

"I can't tell you that because that's not how I feel and I hate how you do this to me. Ugh, I wasn't even supposed to run into you today, I'm not even sure how this ended up happening. I've done good steering clear from you—" You pull your hands down as you continue to ramble, only to find that Jin has gotten incredibly close to you, the tip of his nose barely grazing yours.

"Look at where that brought you." He says lowly.

"Jin." You whisper as his lips close in on yours, the feeling of his soft, plump lips sending tingles down your spine. You missed this feeling, you missed the way he felt against you, the way his lips molded so perfectly with yours. You couldn't help yourself. You rest your hand against his cheek, his large hand resting behind your head as he gently tugs on your hair. The kiss deepens quickly, Jin's tongue welcoming itself inside your mouth, pushing against your own. You moan into the kiss when you feel him swoop you from behind and sit you on the edge of the table against the wall. The kiss becomes sloppier, tongues fighting for dominance every chance they get.

You fiddle with his belt while he fiddled with your tight pants, tilting you upwards enough to tug them down and just below your knees. You do the same, releasing his hardened member from its confines as you continue to kiss him, a groan breaking free from his lips when he feels your hand stroke him. His cock is velvety to the touch, tip reddened and pooling with pre-cum. You use your thumb to swirl it around and bring it down just below his tip.

"Fuck, I miss you." He moans, breaking free from your lips to kiss you along your jawline before attacking your neck - licking the surface and peppering it with small kisses.

"Wanna feel you. Please." You plead softly in his ear, your hands brushing up the nape of his neck and tugging on the ends of his hair. You slightly twitch feeling his finger swipe down your folds, gathering as much of your wetness before he slips his finger into his mouth and widens your legs by pulling them apart at the knees. He begins to tease, stroking his cock a few times before he presses it between your folds and grinds it along your wetness. “Hnnnng— Jin. Don’t tease me.”

“Isn’t this what you like? Don’t think I’ve forgotten your weak spots.” He continues to grind up and down in between your folds, pressing down with just the right pressure and tip brushing against your clit every time. You jut your hips upward to go against his motions, sending shivers down your spine. He indeed still knew what your weaknesses were, this being a big one, as it was able to send you to the next dimension within a matter of seconds.

"Ohhhh, shit. Ohhh shit, oh shit, oh shit." You repeatedly whine. "Fuck, you're gonna make me cum." Jin moves his cock slightly, spitting onto your pussy and letting it dribble down your folds. His motions against you don't stop, and quite frankly, the pleasure pooling in your core can burst any minute now. “I’m coming!” You cry, your body trembling under his grip. Jin smirks as he looks down at you, already looking completely fucked out by the foreplay. When you finally bring yourself back down from your high, your eyes lock onto his, full of lust.

"So wet for me, babe." He says as he shuts his eyes, feeling you bite onto his bottom lip and tug back slightly. He wastes no time inserting himself into you, your head tilting back in pleasure, not even giving a damn that it hits the wood wall behind you pretty harshly. You lean back against it, eyes still shut from the feeling of being completely filled with Jin inside of you. He continues to fuck into you, his pace steady but his thumb working in fast-paced circular motions against your clit. "Still think you wanna try steering clear from me?" He says lowly near your ear, his pace picking up.

“Give it to me.” You moan, completely ignoring the question, which causes him to stop thrusting into you. You whimper, because although he still feels so fucking good inside you, you need the friction - you need to feel him sliding in and out of you.

"That wasn't my question."

"N-no, Jin. No." You moan breathily.

"I thought so." He lets out a small groan as he almost pulls back completely before hammering into you, your head bobbing up against the wall due to the contact. Your hands grip onto his shoulders, trying your best to pry him off of your sensitive nub, yet he doesn't budge. You twitch in his grip, panting as the pain from the overstimulation quickly turns into more pleasure. His pace becomes quicker and rougher, while a hand grips onto your thigh to support himself as he fucks into you senselessly, your moans and his moans mixing together at different pitches.

"Cum in me." You plead.

"Yeah." You nod, licking your bottom lip before biting onto it as you watch his cock slip in and out of you from below. The sight has Jin tilting his head back in pleasure, eyes shutting close and mouth slightly hanging open. "Gonna fill you up real good, baby." He groans. 

"Shit, I'm-I'm—" You stutter, the pleasure ready to tip you over the edge quickly.

"Close." He says in unison with you. His tip is poking you in all the right places and at the right pace that as his thumb flicks against your overly stimulated clit one more time, it sends you hurdling over the edge. You moan loudly, suddenly feeling Jin coat your walls warmly at the same time you unravel for the second time. His cock twitches once or twice before he pulls out, his head buried in the crook of your neck and placing gentle kisses on the surface. He helps pull up your panties before his hands caress your thighs, soothing your body in every way that he could. "Stay." He says at a whisper. "With me. We'll figure this out. Just stay." He pulls back, looking you in the eye. All you can do is nod, because yes, you love him. That had never changed for you.

"God, witcher." You say, fixing yourself up before you wrap your arms around his neck. "I truly can't stand you."

"Can't get out of this spell, now can you?"

“Don’t ever.”

➺ portals that are currently open:

✘ the cat

༄ the wolf

✘ the griffin

༄ the viper

༄ the crane

✘ the bear

⟳ back to novigrad?

[enmy-writes]

Just Let Me Help You

Summary: Zuko, trying to keep is girlfriend safe, unintentionally gains the trust of the Gaang after a showdown with Combustion Man.

Word Count: 2728

Fandom: ATLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Pairing: Zuko x Fem!Reader

Genre: Mostly fluff, is fluff-angst a thing? Idk guys I’m soft, you tell me.

Rated: 18+

Content Warnings: Profanity, some gore graphics (brief mentions of blood, killing, murder), uhhhh that’s it I think I’m sorry if I forget anything else.

****Huge shout-out to my friends Kenz and Jenna for editing this and hyping me up. Hopefully, since this semester from Hell will be over soon, I’ll be able to write more. Please request things! Thank-you all for supporting this and let me know more of what you want to see in the future :) Also, feedback is always welcome. Enjoy!****

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They had landed the war balloon days ago, stalking the tired and defeated Team Avatar and trying to figure out how the complicated Fire Prince would convince the people he chased for months that he wants to help them now.

(Y/N) was stoking the hot flame provided by the fire bender, making sure the coals were burning a cherry red before she added leaves and herbs into a pot to make a stew for the two to enjoy. Her eyes followed Zuko as he paced back and forth, practicing what he was going to say when he finally decided to confront the rebel group, lips turned upward in an amused smirk.

“Hey, Zuko here…” she heard him say before he started rambling a bunch of nonsense about his past; from his discovery, to Azula, to his father-- all the tragic topics. It took him about three minutes, but he finished with a hopeful look in his direction.

“Well?!” He clenched his fists at his side in a nervous gesture, only wanting to get this right.

The girl on the log cleared her throat before speaking, obviously hiding her laughter from the sensitive boy. “Well… it’s perfect. I especially liked the ‘Hey, Zuko here’ part. I’m sure that Aang and his friends with be very pleased to finally learn your name instead of thinking you’re called ‘Angry Ponytail Hotman’.’’

He groaned loudly, rubbing his eyes with clenched fists. The melodic laughter from his companion tempted him to give up his quest and just run away with her and live a happy life free of his father and his destiny… whatever that may be.

Still laughing, (Y/N) stood from her log by the fire and made her way to Zuko, coming up behind him. Her arms slid right around his slim body, holding on tight as she tried to pull his mind from the depths of his insecurities.

“Zuko, love.” Her voice is soft, but intense. “Just go down there. I won’t lie, they might not take you right away. You have done a lot of damage to them and their goals.”

His warm hands slide down the tops of her forearms and slide between her chilled fingers, entwining them together as Zuko grips her like she’s holding him down on the land they’re on.

“I… I just…” He struggles to get his feelings out, finding it hard to convey how he feels even to the girl wrapped around him.

She shushes him. “I know.” Is all she says, as they stand there in a momentary comfortable silence before she detaches from him to continue dinner.

____________________________

Zuko had told her to stay behind, that he’d be back to either get her or because he failed to convince the group that he came to support them, instead of harm them.

“Zuko! I could easily be an alibi for you. A reason for them to trust you!”

“No. End of story. They could attack me and you’re in Fire Nation clothes. You’re staying here.”

A staring match between the two only lasted a few seconds, but (Y/N) let it go; remembering Iroh’s advice that sometimes the boy has to do what eases his mind to grow.

The empty pot gleamed an orange glow from the flames, a light in the dark woods that surrounded the two as they lounged by the fire.

(Y/N) was carding her fingers through the upset prince’s hair while he stared at the sky; confused. His emotions spilling onto (Y/N). He didn’t talk much about the encounter, only enough to tell her that they wouldn’t be helping the Avatar defeat his father anytime soon. Rather than pressure him, she offered her solace with calming actions rather than words.

The two had met in their early childhood, (Y/N)’s father being the leader of the Yuyan Archers and of course the Fire Lord wanted the talented girl to meet his… troubled son. In hope that she could help bend his son into the ruthless leader the nations needed to proceed him. Though they didn’t see each other as much as they should have due to (Y/N)’s schooling, the two quickly became close friends and were often found with Lady Ursa quietly running around the palace grounds.

His banishment led to (Y/N) perfecting her skills, and becoming the master she was destined to be, given there was no more distraction. No one could understand her in the way that Zuko did— they fit together like they were made for one another. Where he was hotheaded, she was cool; Where he was nimble and direct, she was resourceful and hidden. The two were the perfect set of opposites who ultimately balanced each other. And one without the other was a heartbreak everyone could see.

When she heard the news of his return, she rushed to the palace; radiant as ever. In an instant, the two fell back into where they left off;  barely any words needed between the two. Her fingers and lips had trailed over his scar often in those few days, brushing away the tears and insecurities that came with it.

Leaving the Fire Nation with Zuko wasn’t even a debate in her mind. She was tired of the life of lies and torment that her nation inflicted upon the world. She had spent the last two years relocating and rebranding people who were targets to the Fire Nation. In total, about one hundred innocent lives were saved from her dangerous missions. Her skill level was better than even her father’s, and she prided herself in her abilities. (Y/N) was truly a professional in her art with the eye of an eagle.

When she caught Zuko writing a letter to her with packed bags on his bed, she instantly went into the shadows and caught up with the boy easily, hiding in the balloon behind the engine for a while until it was too late for him to turn back. It was hot and the most uncomfortable thing she has ever done, but she regrets none of it. She joked with the boy; how did he not question a pile of fabric behind the piece of equipment that holds fire? She let it go after he hugged her close and cried for a while.

“Don’t do that shit again, Zuko.” Her voice was stern, though her voice stern, she held him close. She ghosted her fingers over his tense shoulders; the shoulder that carried such burdens. She pressed her fingers into his shoulders; trying her best to rub the tension from his body. 

“I won’t. Never again. Don’t leave me, I need you.”

A rustle of leaves and broken trees in the forest near the edge of their little camp put the two into defense, instantly gripping her perfectly crafted bow and quiver. Her ears pricked at a slight movement and she aimed her bows in the direction of the noise without even looking. Suddenly, green clothes fill the area as a younger girl makes her way into the clearing. Startled, Zuko sends a wave of fire towards the intruder, burning the girl.

Everything happened fast.

(Y/N)’s left foot—her plant foot—sunk into the ground and twisted inward, releasing a loud crack into the air. The Earth girl was long gone now; Zuko had been screaming at himself when he heard the cry of pain and the sickening noise that left the lips of his girlfriend.

The earth has released its hold on her, but the damage was done. She kneeled, trying to hold back tears but failing as they kept streaming down her face in a pain response. Zuko’s own eyes filled with tears as he ran over to her, helping her sit down and take the tension off of it.

The joint was already beginning to swell, black and blue and purple and yellow starting to show up in swirls around the area. Zuko carefully tried to feel the injury, barely touching the girl in fear of hurting her more. (Y/N) sighed, pushing his fingers away and ignoring his protest. She rotated her foot outward, cringing at the pain, but crying out when she turned it the other way. Zuko cupped his hands around her ankle, hands heated slightly to hopefully alleviate the pain.

“Baby… it’s okay—”

“No, you’re hurt! I knew this would happen!” He cuts her off with a panicked yell. (Y/N) places her hands on the sides of his face, forcing his eyes upon hers with a slight wince of discomfort.

“It’s most definitely, at worst, a fracture. I can still move it outwards without a lot of pain. It’s, like, a week off my foot at most and then another week with a splint and a crutch. I am okay, Zuko.” They stared at each other for a solid minute, saying nothing.

"Promise?" Zuko whispered.

"You think I would lie to you, Zuko?" She says as she wraps her pinky his for good measure

They turn in not too long after, (Y/N)’s ankle wrapped up in some extra clothes for stability. Zuko’s arms hold her to his chest as they slip off into the world of dreams.

_________________________

Oh shit. She thought from her perch on top of the cliff edge. The assassin that they have also been trying to find has been blowing up the place, really testing the stability of the edge of the cliff in shakes after shakes like an earthquake. Zuko had told her to stay at camp, but unfortunately for Zuko; (Y/N) was never that good at listening to commands.

She was sitting down, watching the Avatar, his friends, and her boyfriend try to figure out how to win this fight against the combustion bender, feet dangling over the edge. She didn’t want any pressure on her foot from standing on it; settling for the dull throbs of pain coming from the force of gravity alone.

Some third eye. (Y/N) thought to herself as she watched her boyfriend get too close to being blown off the edge of the cliff, wincing. She quickly strung her bow, aiming it at the man. She smirked, a devious smirk, and aimed it in a precise location.

Zuko was still trying to talk the man out of it when suddenly, his eyes went blank and the grossest sound he has ever heard reached his ears. Everyone watched the man, confused as to why he just stopped. It’s not until red trails down his forehead and around his nose in a slow trickle that they look at his eye.

In the middle of the red eye, that at one point seemed indestructible; an arrow sat; a perfect shot — his perfect shot. "Bullseye!" (Y/N) howled, her voice resonating in his ears.

In the midst of Zuko's panic, he failed to recognize the cliff he was standing on becoming increasingly unsturdy; turning he locked eyes with the archer. A ghost of a smile graced her lips, pride radiating off of her. Though he was angry, he couldn't help but share her pride. He locked eyes with his girlfriend who was sitting nonchalantly on the cliff edge above them all, waving nonetheless, when he told her to stay back. It’s then that the earth beneath him rumbles and falls, taking him with it.

“Zuko!” She screams, jumping to her feet; a loud crack coming from her ankle, buckling under the pressure and bringing her to her knees.

With a hobble in her step, (Y/N) climbed down the cliffside. The tears ran down her face at a ferocious pace, making her way over to the cliffside, a loud sob relented from her mouth as she saw Aang helping Zuko up over the edge of the cliff. 

"Spirits, Zuko!" She breathed, limping her way over to him and hugging him tight. "I should kill you, you fucking idiot!" She sobbed, pulling him into her chest. 

Zuko huffed out a laugh, wrapping his arms around her. He took deep breaths, calming his nerves from his near death experience; he focused on the feeling of her hand carding through his hair to grip it tight, and the hold on his shoulders. As he calms down, he remembers that he told her to stay put; and he sharply pulls away.

"I told you to stay at camp!" He huffed, "I told you I was coming back for you!”

She scoffs pushing on his forehead with two fingers. “In case you have forgotten, Zuko, I have authority issues. If I weren’t here, who would be saving your stupid royal ass? No one! You’re welcome, by the way. He wasn’t going to negotiate, Prince Pouty, and you and everyone else here is no good to the world dead.”

“You—You---You could’ve been hurt! (Y/N)! Or worse!” His protest was a whisper, trying to make the scene more private as he’s aware of the crowd around them.

“Zuko, love, I can handle myself. I’m a master at my craft--.”

"—your craft of carelessness, you could've been killed—"

"—but I wasn't Zuko!"

"That's not the point." His voice stern, making it clear that the conversation was done for now. (Y/N) simply nodded, pulling away from him and fixing her clothes.

Aang, Toph, Katara and Sokka watched the two as they argued; watching as they continuously tried to out-care the other. They watched as the two eventually stopped arguing, instead remained staring, as if daring each other to speak

“That was a ... nice shot? I guess?" Aang spoke, clearing his throat and drawing the couples attention to him. "He's definitely you know, dead."

(Y/N) smiles at the boy. “Thank you, Avatar, for helping save this dumb ass from falling off a cliff.” She gets up and bows to him. Zuko suddenly picks her up, the world turning sideways as he put her bridal style in his arms.

“Stop putting weight on your ankle!”

“I’m literally showing respect to the person who just helped you, is that a crime?”

“What if you break your ankle so much that you have to cut it off.”

“Oh, now you’re just being ridiculous.”

“Okay well you were first when deciding to sit on the edge of a cliff with a broken ankle.”

“You’re right! Sitting is dangerous. Next time, I’ll make sure to stand so at least I’ll have a better chance of reacting if the cliff side starts falling from under me. Oh wait, you were standing, and you still fell.”

Zuko sets her down on a broken rock that’s suitable enough for her to sit on. “Will you just shut up already and let me help you.” He reaches for her ankle, but she moves it from his grasp. Their eyes meet again and narrow in competition.

A mess of limbs as the (Y/N) evades the grip of Zuko, occasionally slapping his hands away if they get too close.

Sokka tilts his head in confusion and opens his mouth. “Is he—is he actually caring for someone?”

Aang nods. “I think? I don’t know, they’re kind of fighting a lot.”

Toph cringes, “Guys, I think it was me who hurt her in the first place. Last night at their camp. Zuko instantly stopped trying to help me when I heard her scream.”

“Guys… I think I’m supposed to let him be my master. I mean, he did just risk everything to save us.” Aang says, eyes locked on the one member who he cares more about than anyone.

Katara, still holding off on agreeing, looks to the two Fire Nation kids again.

“Ow! You bit me! Are you crazy?!” Zuko yells, shaking his left hand out.

The stranger girl laughs cheerfully. “Only crazy for you, stupid.”

And a phenomenon occurs. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation blushes and looks down at the ground, a huge smile on his face.

“I hate you.” Is all he says.

“Yeah, I love you too.”

Katara, seeing the humane side of the prince, finally lets her guard down and walks over to them. Zuko’s eyes widen at her proximity, but the water tribe girl holds his gaze.

“I’ll heal the girl if it gets you two to shut up. And you have to find dinner for tonight.”

Katara’s eyes widen again at the sight of the crying prince who suddenly bows to her feet, thanking her with his whole heart. He then turns to his smiling girl beside him and pulls her into a hug.

“Thank you, (Y/N). For everything.”

“I’ll always help you… stupid.”

[johaerys-writes]

Fandom: The Song of Achilles

Pairing: Achilles/Patroclus

Summary:

Patroclus is a sailor, and Achilles a merman that saves his life when his ship is caught in a storm. The two end up on a deserted island, and the friendship that develops between them will change both of their lives for good.

Chapter 3: The Nymph Who Became Star, the penultimate chapter of my Merman AU Fall Into Your Tide is up! Art is by the wonderful @katartstrophe​ :)

Read on Ao3! Or read from the beginning

Once upon a time, deep in the Laconian mountains, there lived a nymph. The forest was her home; she walked the woods and swam in the streams, protected the animals that lived there and helped the trees and plants grow strong.

One day, she met a young man from a nearby village. He was a healer’s apprentice, and had ventured deep into the forest in search of medicinal plants. Touched by his gentle manners and dedication to his craft, the nymph decided to help him and share her knowledge with him. The man returned the next day, and the day after that, bringing her gifts of flowers and honeyed sweets. His visits became a regular occurrence; they would spend hours together, talking and gathering herbs, exploring the forest. It wasn’t long before the two fell in love.

Months passed in peaceful bliss. However, when the next summer came, a terrible war broke out with a neighbouring state, and the man was called away from his village and sent to battle.

Endless days rolled by without him. The nymph waited and waited, fearing the worst, for she knew well how fickle and short the lives of humans were, winked out in a fateful instant like the flame of a candle. Finally, after several months, the war came to an end. The men who had gone to battle returned— or what was left of them.

The young man did not come to her. Overcome by worry, the nymph decided to approach the village in hopes of seeing him, even though she had always kept her distance from humans and their settlements. When she finally found his house amidst the multitudes of others, she hid in the trees of the garden and peeked inside.

She was overjoyed to see that her love was still alive, but her relief was short-lived. He had been grievously wounded, and his life was hanging by a thread. The healers of the village had done what they could, and all that was left was prayer. Incense burned around him night and day, while he lay on the bed, pale and unmoving.

The nymph's heart ached with longing and grief, such that she had never known in her long life. Tearful and distraught, she returned to her forest, determined to find some way to help him.

She searched for the other nymphs, much older and more experienced than her in the art of healing. None knew of a way to bring back someone that was only a breath away from crossing Hades’ rivers.

“Death cannot be healed,” they admonished her, “and it should not.”

The nymph listened to no one. She kept asking, kept searching. Only a dryad, knowledgeable and wise and older than the forest itself, her skin tough and leathery like an oak tree’s bark, knew of an answer. She told her of a herb, one that grew on Olympus’ highest peak. It was the rarest plant there was, unmatched in its potency. It could mend the deepest wounds, cure the most severe of illnesses.

"The gods guard their home well," the dryad warned her, "and do not tolerate trespassers. No one dares enter the Olympians’ realm without their consent. Anyone who does, must pay the price.” T he nymph thanked the dryad for her help. There was nothing else for her to do other than to brave the long and arduous journey to Mount Olympus.

She was quick and silent as she travelled, yet her movements did not go unnoticed. Zeus' eyes were on her long before she'd reached the foot of the mountain. For an oread, a mountain nymph, to leave the safety of her forest and travel such great distances, to cross rivers and plains and deep ravines and pass so close by so many human settlements was unheard of. So he watched, curious, and waited.

When the nymph reached the middle of the mountain, he disguised himself as a centaur, and presented himself to her. When asked where she was going, the nymph told him the truth:

"I have come to gather a herb, to heal the one I love. It grows on Olympus' highest peak."

Zeus was angered by her boldness, but her earnestness intrigued him more. He warned her, not unkindly,“If you continue on your quest, you will make the gods angry. They do not take kindly to such insults.”

The nymph thanked him for the warning, and continued on her way.

Zeus kept following her, taking on many disguises: a deer, a hunter, a satyr. Each time, he told the nymph the same thing, and she responded in the same way: she thanked him warmly, and continued.

When she finally reached the peak, and her satchel was filled with the precious herb, Zeus presented himself to her. He thundered and shone, blindingly bright, in all his menacing godly glory. I nstead of cowering before him, the nymph stood tall.

“I am aware that this is your land,” she told him, “and this plant belongs to you. Whatever price you command for it, I will gladly pay it.”

Zeus thought long and hard. The nymph’s insolence was unparalleled, but he found her bravery refreshing. In the end, he decided to let her go, allowing her to take with her not only the rare plant she had gathered, but also enough provisions for her journey home to Taygetus’ misty peaks.

The nymph returned to the young man’s village as swiftly as she could. In a matter of days, he had regained his full strength; he was lively and healthy again, as bright and fair as he had been before he had left for the war. They were both so glad, that their love shone like a midsummer sun.

It was then that Zeus reached down and plucked the nymph from the earth and her lover’s embrace. He placed her among the stars and tasked her with guarding the very plant she had stolen, for all time. Before he left, he set one of his fearsome eagles upon her, to make sure she would never shirk her duty.

The price for saving her lover’s life had finally been paid.

The Guardian star shines in the midst of the constellation of Aquila, Zeus’ eagle. The star shines the brightest during the summer months, when the plant is in full bloom.

~

Achilles let out a sigh after I had finished. The sky had darkened while I recounted the story, and the stars were now twinkling above us. We were lying on our backs on the sand, still warm from the sun that had been beating upon it all day.

“Olympians,” he muttered darkly, “and their cruelty.”

Many times before had Achilles expressed his dislike of the Olympians. The nereids were Titan-born, and the Titans had not been on good terms with the powerful and arrogant sons and daughters of Cronus for millennia. By the way Achilles’ brow furrowed whenever I told him tales of their many transgressions or fierce punishments of those who displeased them, I could tell that this animosity between the old and newer gods was far from forgotten.

“Why did not Zeus simply let her take the plant?” he asked. “He didn’t need it. He wouldn’t miss it. What could one mortal’s life have meant to him, in the grand scheme of things?”

“In truth," I said, "I do not think it was about the plant at all."

“What was it about, then?”

“Perhaps it was because the nymph attempted to hold on to something she was never meant to have," I told him earnestly. "She wasn’t meant to have a long and happy life with that man; he was dying. Nothing could change that other than this plant, and it was forbidden. She wished to avoid the pain of losing him, therefore she was punished."

Achilles frowned. "Anyone would wish to avoid that. That doesn’t sound like that serious of a crime to me.”

I took a breath, letting my gaze drift over the dark sky above. Achilles’ scent of ocean currents, of salt and sand filled my lungs, warming me. His hand was so close to mine, I could feel the faint heat emanating from his skin, yet I did not dare close the distance between us. Something held me back. It always did.

"Pain is only a natural consequence of living,” I said, and the words sounded dry to my ears, harsh. “Death, separation; those are the rules. Life is the exception. This is how it’s always been, for humans. If the souls in Hades’ halls were released, they could fill the earth ten times over— there are so many more souls down there than up here, an infinite supply of them. The only certainty for any mortal is that, one day, they will die. For gods, it’s different. Life is guaranteed; death is but an improbable outcome. The nymph wished to defy this rule, to give her lover something that wasn't hers to give, or his to keep. In so doing, she would have challenged the order of the world itself. It could not happen. The gods could not allow it.”  

Achilles turned his head to look at me, his large, feline eyes piercing me to the core. The light brush of his breath against my shoulder sent a roll of warmth cascading through me.

“Do you think she shouldn’t have done it, then?”

I stayed silent for a moment, pondering his question. "That is not for me to say," I said after a short while. "I'm not sure it was a matter of choice for her. It is said that, when you love someone, you act to keep them with you for as long as you can." I shook my head lightly. "I have never loved someone like that before, the way the nymph loved this young man. But I think… I think I can imagine what it must have been like, for her.”

The truth was, I had never let anyone too close to me. I did not know what it was like, to care about someone deeply enough to risk everything to keep them by my side, the same way that no one had ever fought to keep me by theirs. My father had given me up when I was far too young to know the difference, and since then I'd had to largely rely on myself for my survival. I always tended to keep my distance from most people I met, and never lingered in any one place or ship for too long. Xanthos was my closest friend; we had known each other for years, but even he would go away for months at a time to return to his family, while I stayed at sea. I had always been alone, and I always told myself I preferred it that way.

I had thought my life peaceful, comfortable, even. A life of hard work and few luxuries, yet it was mine. I was a free man, depending on no one. I had thought myself content. It wasn’t until I had come close to losing my life in that storm, until I had found myself on this island, until I had met Achilles, that I realised how drab and colourless my life had truly been.

Achilles was looking up at the night sky now, his profile illuminated by starlight. The stars shone bright, like a multitude of silver pins on a dark blue canopy, keeping it in place. He lifted his arm, pointing at a cluster of stars right above us. "Is this the nymph's star?"

"No," I told him, "it's this one." I took his hand and moved it slightly to the left, until it was pointing right at the Guardian star, the smallest of the bunch.

He gazed at the star for a long moment. Then, he asked, "Whatever happened to the young man? The one she fell in love with?"

"I don't know," I replied. "That was where the story ended. I never learned the young man’s fate."

He sighed. “I would have liked to know what happened to him,” he said. “What his life was like, after the nymph was taken.”

“You would?”

"Yes." Achilles tilted his head to look at me. “It is the greater grief, after all, isn't it,” he said softly, “to be left behind when another is gone?"

The nightbirds cooed above us, and the chill breeze stirred the leaves of the cypress trees that lined the coast. The world was peaceful, and in the silence that lingered, I thought I could hear his heart beating, a quiet and steady thump between us. His skin reflected the pale moonlight, and in its feeble glow he looked very nearly transparent. When his eyes focused on me like this, soft and dreamy, almost wistful, I knew that I wanted nothing more than to be where they could see me.

I swallowed, willing myself to meet his gold-flecked gaze. Gods, I could drown in those eyes. I would gladly let their shifting currents swallow me whole.  

"It is," I whispered.  

Read the rest on Ao3!