#before retiring after saving the realms three times over and they are never seen again except for whispers on the wind.... or whatever

[lautakwah]

havent posted my face in a while if anyone is mean to me i WILL cry btw

[flareondotcom]

im making tags for my active dungeons and dragons characters!!! just for blorbo posting, for funsies. but ive never posted them before, so this is a lil introductory 🫶 yknow, put faces to the names youre about to be seeing a lot more of lol

forgotten realms babes under the cut!!!

really sorry ahead of time for the low quality pictures, s'all i got boss!

THIS v

is Heller Highwater!

race: kenku

class: barbarian

background: sailor

pronouns: he/they

they have fucked up zygodactyl parrot hands and feet. no reason, just some flavor lmao. hes a jokester, a goober if you will, always keeping their spirits high. a scrappy lil fella. optimistic, confident, could befriend anyone in any tavern, and drink them under the table while he's at it. so loyal that its a flaw, not a trait.

as an egg, he was plundered by pirates from a small island apart of the moonshae isles. (the pirates are good guys, its a whole situation) he was raised by the crew on the open seas. they operated more like a nautical merry band of robin hoods than pirates. the captain was a retired harper, and had a strict code of conduct.

the story of how they became a barbarian though, is quite the tale. this is already going to be so long tho, so maybe some other time lol. after all is said and done, he left the sea behind for a life of adventuring on land, and comes out the other end with the same amount of jolly zest for life, but now with a deadly temper when the conditions are right.

their war hammer, Feather Fall, is enchanted to be completely weightless, and still hits with all the deadly weight of any war hammer. he picked it up while escaping captivity. he had been held captive for so long that he was in poor health by the time of his escape. he was so atrophied, feather fall was the only thing in the armory (that was burning down) (again, its a whole situation) that he could lift to take with him as he fled.

during one of the many "missions" heller went on with their crew, the tip of their beak was blown off after a risky maneuver to save their ship mates from certain death. the ship mates and involved crew felt so guilty for making heller risk his life that they pooled together enough silver to commission him an ornate prosthetic with a polished red jewel for his beak. its fashioned to the keratin of his beak by screws, and he can take it off when it suits him. their beak gets sore whenever a stormfront comes through.

THIS v

is Masha Chokecherry!

race: forest gnome

class: archfey warlock

background: hermit

pronouns: they/them

masha is soft-spoken, monotone, and willing to go with damn near any flow that comes their way. absolutely nothing frightens them, but nothing seems to particularly excite them either. has a sick sense of humor. twisted fucking cyclepath. ultimately just wants a simple, quiet life but fate denies them that life at every possibel opportunity, and they are resigned to this. they're slow to trust, but once someone's earned it they'll have it always.

they grew up in a remote village deep in the wilderness. this village was ruled over and governed by three prominent, ancient families of gnomes: the chokecherrys, who are rangers, the brambleboots, who are druids, and the fiddleheads, who are clerics. if you hadn't guessed by now, the village worships all aspects of nature, and live and die by its balance. on the surface, it was all very peaceful, serene even. picturesque. but underneath its surface, behind closed doors, the politics of the three families are cutthroat, high stakes, and taken deadly seriously. each of the families collectively vie for the most divine clout from their respective pantheons of nature gods, and will do Anything to put themselves ahead of the other families. piously, of course.

(hit me up if you ever wanna know about the insane machinations of the three families, it gets crazy. fucked up gnome discourse the likes of which youve never seen. generations of soap opera gnome drama you would not even care about)

^ here they are making pixar face

through a series of bullshit events, masha is violently exiled from their village for entirely petty familial dispute related reasons. (another quite-the-tale situation). it was during their years of isolation in the wilds that they had a chance encounter with an archfey in need of a warlock servant. and well! the rest is history. they have a positive, but ultimately complicated relationship with their patron. honestly i could go on and on about that, but this already feels like a lot of information lol.

ok now do a silly one.

anyways! these are some of the most fleshed out characters in my entire arsenal, so theres a lot of stuff i left out! for the sake of brevity! thanks for looking at my silly lil sketches of my silly lil guys!!! this is going to be the first post in each of their respective tags, and i'll mostly be putting memes and aesthetic stuff in here, but i'll probably post more sketches and blurbs about them in the future!!!

and of course... feel free to ask about em if you ever feel like it, its so fun to talk about them <3

[pesewla]

Thank you for the request, @bout-to-snap <3 

“This is why I don’t trust him!” Mu Qing fumed. “He’s literally the Lord of the Ghost Realm, Your Highness…”

Xie Lian allowed a small, relaxed smile to grace his lips. He was mediating a fight between Mu Qing, Feng Xin, and Hua Cheng for what seemed like the thousandth time. Though newly renovated, Puqi Shrine was still too small for these massive quarrels, and Xie Lian dreaded the property damage that would ensue if their swords were drawn.

Given all that had happened – the destruction of the heavens and defeat of Jun Wu – why were these three still at each other’s throats?

“I thought we were past this,” Xie Lian sighed. “We don’t get to see each other all the time, so can we please not fight?”

“Exactly, we don’t see get to see each other all the time, so can’t we talk to you in private?” Feng Xin said, fidgeting a little.

Xie Lian looked confused. “About what?”

“You expect me to walk away when you’ve just called me the scum of the earth?” Hua Cheng said coolly, examining his nails. “Gege, these servants are no good.”

“We’re not his servants!” Mu Qing exclaimed. Xie Lian thought it sounded like he was about to say “anymore” at the end, but cut off his speech abruptly, making the outburst awkward and clunky.

“Are you sure?” Hua Cheng asked skeptically. “Because when you’re with him, it’s like 800 years never happened, you can be his ever-most-loyal-servants again. The roleplaying is disgusting, and doesn’t absolve you from guilt.”

Xie Lian sensed the atmosphere in the shrine shift. He stepped forward again and raised his hands placatingly. “San Lang – “

“And what would you know?” Feng Xin demanded. “You can’t possibly understand what we’ve been through, at the time you were merely a mortal child.”

“I understand that you abandoned Dianxia when he was most vuln –“

“San Lang,” Xie Lian said. Hua Cheng’s lips instantly froze at the warning in Xie Lian’s tone; it was a lilt and a dangerous flavor that Xie Lian hardly used on anyone, and never on Hua Cheng.

“…”

“Why can’t they know, gege?” Hua Cheng asked softly. “Don’t you think they deserve to know? Frankly, their ignorance offends me.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing had fallen silent, too, their faces both a few shades lighter. The word abandon seemed to always have that effect on them. Then Feng Xin regained his voice. “Ignor – know what? Taizi Dianxia, just what…”

Xie Lian had folded his arms, his mouth drawn into a line. “It’s old history,” he sighed. “There’s no need to bring things like this up. Do not shame me.”

“Shame you? When that came to visit you, he dismissed your fears as insan –“

Hua Cheng’s voice cut off for a moment, and the temperature in Puqi Shrine seemed to drop. Because, at that moment, an expression entirely foreign to Xie Lian flitted across his face: rage. Neither Mu Qing nor Feng Xin had seen him make that expression since his third ascension, and it didn’t suit him well.

It was gone as soon as it arrived, and Xie Lian’s characteristically peaceful smile returned in its stead. However, the faces of his two ex-subordinates were already white as sheets. Hua Cheng stepped toward, placing a hand on Xie Lian’s shoulder as if to hold him up.

“Dianxia, are you mad… at us?” Feng Xin whispered.

Xie Lian looked at him strangely, as if he had asked a very bizarre question indeed. “No… Not you.”

Hua Cheng snorted, as if he was thinking, too bad. Xie Lian’s face was soft. “In any case, I’m quite tired, so I think I will retire for the night. Please make yourselves at home.”

“Wh – you can’t – after –“ Mu Qing sputtered.

Feng Xin’s eyes were round. “Dianxia, does that mean… That time with White No-Face, when we were on the run… Was it really…?”

Xie Lian had started towards his chambers, but after being addressed, his shoulders tightened infinitesimally. Then, he turned back to the trio, his face still serene. “Yes.”

As if he’d been punched in the gut, Feng Xin slouched over. Mu Qing looked baffled.

“I didn’t tell you this because I knew you’d blame yourself. Yet, in the end, the only one who sinned was me. So, please, do not inquire further into this matter.”

With a nod and another smile, Xie Lian vanished into the back room, anxious to escape the conversation.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing were bursting with indescribable emotion. Some small part of Feng Xin fumed at Xie Lian for leaving them without explaining, but the rest of him just wallowed in a torrent of guilt, doubt, and self-questioning.

If the Taizi Dianxia wouldn’t tell them the truth, who would? Xie Lian had been abandoned with only his parents, who were long dead, so who besides him even knew what happened? The only people must be Jun Wu himself, and –

“Don’t look at me,” Hua Cheng rolled his eyes, leaning lazily against a chair. “I’m not going behind gege’s back for some backstabbing servants.”

“You’re the one who said we deserve to know,” Mu Qing argued.

“So? It’s gege’s story to tell, and he said no, so no.”

“How do you even know?”

Hua Cheng shrugged. “I was just ghost fire at the time. I had to watch.”

The corners of his eyes tightened, and a murderous look crossed his face. Unlike Xie Lian, his malice wasn’t bottled away, but instead broadcast for all to see.

“Watch what?” Feng Xin cried in anguish. “Why must you torture us?”

Hua Cheng snickered. “If only you knew your own irony.”

With that, he straightened and glided in Xie Lian’s direction, back towards the sleeping chambers.

“We – we’ll be back tomorrow!” Feng Xin and Mu Qing shouted at his receding back. Hua Cheng shrugged again.

//

That night, Hua Cheng was holding Xie Lian in his arms, and casually said, “Gege, this is what you did with Lang Qianqiu, too.” It wasn’t an accusation – it was never an accusation, just a comment.

Xie Lian exhaled. “I know.”

Hua Cheng’s voice grew husky. “Isn’t it enough that you suffered alone then, why must you be alone now, too? Why must you save everyone secretly, then endure their collective ridicule?” Then, “Is keeping it a secret truly doing anyone good?”

Xie Lian was silent. “Maybe I don’t have a good reason,” he finally said. “I don’t like thinking about it, really. I’m weak.”

“…”

“Although, looking back on it, I can’t believe that cute little ghost fire was you,” Xie Lian laughed. “You’d barely popped up and you already had a little cult following, so adorable!”

Hua Cheng grinned, but it was pained, like he couldn’t remember that period of his existence without discomfort. He said nothing, but his grip around Xie Lian tightened, like he was afraid of letting go.

Xie Lian noticed, and, after a beat of silence, shut his eyes. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

//

Feng Xin and Mu Qing would not give up. Day after day, they visited Xie Lian, demanding answers, so after months of heckling, Xie Lian finally agreed to explain what had happened all those years ago. When Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing sat down in Paradise Manor, Hua Cheng started talking first, trying to alleviate Xie Lian’s burden.

“…He’d wailed and screamed and cried and begged for mercy, but the people, having deemed him a sinner, continued without hesitation. Of course, his sinfulness was merely an excuse to save their own skin…”

“…After one hundred fatal strikes, Dianxia laid on his own altar, disfigured beyond recognition. Nothing more than a pile of flesh.”

Feng Xin was not the type to cry. So, when his eyes grew wet and then started streaming, Xie Lian hurriedly waved off Hua Cheng’s stone-faced words.

“Feng Xin, this was hundreds of years ago,” Xie Lian assured him, patting his shoulder. “It’s not sad anymore. Also, I’ve endured worse since then.”

This aggravated Feng Xin even further, and he looked like he wanted to cry some more. “I just can’t… when I imagine it, I can’t help it…”

“Trust me, whatever you’re imagining, it was five million times worse in real time,” Hua Cheng muttered darkly. He stared at Xie Lian with an odd expression, before languidly pulling him into his embrace.

Feng Xin looked like he wanted to rebuke, but in the end, could not. Thus, he motioned for the story to continue.

Xie Lian skimmed over his recovery period, the reformation of his flesh, and Feng Xin’s departure, but before he was in the clear, he was interrupted.

“So that’s why you asked me to leave?” Feng Xin said incredulously.

“There was no need to pull you down with me,” Xie Lian murmured.

“I thought you’d gone insane,” Feng Xin mumbled, nauseated. “I told your mother and father… I left you…”

Describing what happened to his parents was even harder, and when he finally got to saying how he’d put his own head in the noose, eyes filling with blood and collarbone cracking, Mu Qing jumped up.

“DAMN IT,” he roared, picking up a glass and shattering it against the nearest wall. “Damn it, damn it, damn it, Dianxia! What the actual fuck?”

Xie Lian peered at him. “Please don’t break San Lang’s things,” he tried.

“WHAT DO I FUCKING CARE? FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, TAIZI DIANXIA, HOW COULD YOU KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM US?” Mu Qing was panting, and Feng Xin was staring off into space, eyes empty. “WE COULD’VE HELPED! IF I’D HAVE KNOWN, I’D HAVE –“

“Come back?” Xie Lian questioned lightly. “Followed me until the end?”

There was a deafening silence.

“No… I wanted you both to break free,” Xie Lian said. “You had a future.”

“SO DID YOU!” Feng Xin cried, broken from his trance. “Why… why did all this… why must it happen to you?”

“For that, I have no answer,” Xie Lian said. “But, if it had to happen to anyone, I’m glad it happened to me.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing looked like they’d been shattered into a million pieces. Xie Lian said ruefully, “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

Mu Qing rushed forward. “GODDAMN IT, THE FACT THAT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT IT IS EVEN WORSE! WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK FOR HELP? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO USE US, RELY ON US, THAT WAS OUR FUCKING JOB AND WE…”

“At the time, you were ganging up with Middle Court lackeys to chase him out of spiritual lands,” Hua Cheng remarked icily, pulling Xie Lian closer to him.

Mu Qing appeared stupefied, like Hua Cheng had just slapped him. “San Lang!” Xie Lian admonished. Mu Qing sat back down.

Both Feng Xin and Mu Qing both looked like they wanted to protest more, but Xie Lian continued with the story before they could. When he described donning the white mask and preparing to unleash the Human Face Disease, both of them seemed to hold their breath. Hua Cheng described his rebirth as a ghost soldier, following Xie Lian’s commands but never believing that he would truly commit the atrocity.

Feng Xin was regarding him with something that almost looked like newfound respect, but Mu Qing turned his head.

The rest was all downhill from there. He described laying on the pavement for days on end, and the one farmer who’d salvaged his faith in human goodness.

“To anyone else, thousands of onlookers ignoring your pain and suffering before one did anything shouldn’t reinforce your faith in anything…” Mu Qing muttered.

Xie Lian pressed forward, practically sprinting through the unleashed Human Face Disease, taking the brunt of the curses, and then Hua Cheng dying for him for the second time. He talked about ascending into heaven, and asking Jun Wu to punish him for his wrongdoings using banishment and cursed shckles.

“…DIANXIA?!?” Feng Xin gasped. “IT WASN’T A MURDEROUS RAMPAGE?”

“Nope!” Xie Lian said cheerily, relief crossing his face as if he was pleased to be done talking.

Mu Qing’s face darkened, and he started swearing again. “I WAS FUCKING WONDERING HOW SOMEONE AS TALENTED AS YOU SPENDS 800 YEARS TRYING TO ASCEND, IT WAS ON FUCKING PURPOSE? FUCKING FUCK, I WANT TO STRANGLE SOMETHING! SOMEONE GIVE ME SOMETHING TO BREAK!” He clomped off in a random direction.

Feng Xin’s face looked shadowed over, too. “Here I was wondering how you suddenly had such bad luck. As Crown Prince, you’d never had something so egregious. Now, learning that you asked for it… it all makes sense.” His hands were clenched into tight fists, and his words turned into cries. “Why… why… why… for 800 years, we felt… we waited, we were waiting, for something, and we thought maybe you’d died, or gone crazy, or vanished… We…”

Xie Lian had approached him, and put both hands on his shoulders. It was an old, but familiar gesture, and Feng Xin’s heart immediately squeezed with pain and regret. He was at a loss for words, and everything seemed wretched.

“Feng Xin, I understand your anguish,” Xie Lian said softly. “But I became very close to becoming that thing which I swore to destroy. And, to be honest, at that point I didn’t care much for godhood. I lost everything because of godhood. What I couldn’t stand to lose was myself, not to that monster, not to anyone. So, please understand. I’m sorry I hurt you, but it was necessary.”

“WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO FUCKING GOOD?” Mu Qing roared, coming to stand next to Feng Xin. “WHY CAN’T YOU EVER BE SELFISH?”

Xie Lian chuckled, and Mu Qing covered his mouth, as if the words had escaped by their own volition. “…I wasn’t being good, I was scared.”

Mu Qing swore more. Feng Xin, on the other hand, fell to his knees, his shoulders trembling. So, Xie Lian acted on impulse, pulling Mu Qing down to the ground, too. Xie Lian then wrapped one arm around Feng Xin, and the other around Mu Qing, enveloping the both of them in a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Xie Lian murmured again, trying to control their trembling. He couldn’t tell, at this point, if it was only Feng Xin, or if it was Mu Qing too.

“We failed. I failed,” Feng Xin said, and his voice was raw with agony. “Why are you apologizing?”

“It wasn’t fair to either of you… but I loved you very much, and it was like you were shackled to a man descending to the bottom of a lagoon. If I didn’t remove your chains, you would’ve drowned too.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, holy shit, I’m so sorry,” Feng Xin said, almost gasping through the words. He looked as though someone had drawn a sword across his Adam’s apple, and he was choking through the blood. “Taizi Dianxia, I’m sorry. I failed.”

“Don’t be so damn self-sacrificing, Your Highness.” It was Mu Qing, this time, and he wasn’t struggling against the embrace. “Every single fucking time. Disgusting. How can we even stop you? Something like this. Damnit.”

“I’m a bit tougher than I look,” Xie Lian assured him. “Drowning is no big deal. Pain will subside. Embarrassment will fade. And look, I’m very happy now.”

From somewhere far away, Hua Cheng laughed slightly. However, even Mu Qing and Feng Xin, who weren’t well acquainted with him, could hear that it was laced with pain, too.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to stay with you,” Feng Xin said. “I wanted to stay, I trusted you unequivocally, you’re my world. But it scared me…”

Xie Lian smiled. “I know. You didn’t have to say anything. Ever since you came to help me at Yu Jun Mountain, I’ve known. And I’m grateful.”

“Stop being so damn forgiving.” Mu Qing’s voice was muffled by Xie Lian’s robes.

“Why? I forgive you.” Mu Qing and Feng Xin seemed to collapse in on themselves. So Xie Lian repeated, “I forgive you.”

No one moved for a long time. The trembling intensified. “You’re so damn forgiving,” Mu Qing mumbled. “It doesn’t mean a thing…”

And yet, they were not willing to break away.

Even after 800 years, Mu Qing and Feng Xin didn’t think that they would ever get used to being dazzled by the Crown Prince.

[nvvermore]

Nothing Changes

In which everything has changed at the palace

[Continuation of Into the Shade]

words: 1288

cw: discussions of past character death, manipulation, implied alcoholism

accompaniment

—

For the first time in a very long time— now that they can remember that far back— the palace is almost comforting.

Immediately, Amaryllis is recognized by palace staff and is escorted to their room, the room they’ve had here for almost ten years now.

The palace is so beautiful, and the people in it so alive, all pristine marble and streaming sunlight. Every year when Amaryllis returns, the sight almost reduces them to tears. There’s an unfamiliar skip in their step as they’re shown through the halls, swinging their bag around, a twirl here and there. They’re long past being worried about anyone thinking them to be crazy. Besides, that would be one of the nicest things people think of them these days.

A corner is turned, the staff insistent on showing Amaryllis the way, even if they remember better now than ever before. And past that corner is the former count himself. In an uncharacteristic bout of open excitement, Amaryllis bounds to his side.

“Lucio!”

When they place a gentle hand onto his arm, he flinches away. Though it doesn’t register with Amaryllis, too busy with every memory of him— of their unlikely friendship— flooding back so vividly.

“Amaryllis,” Lucio greets, if you can even call it a greeting. It’s not much different than he’s addressed them each spring, but now something sticks out.

“You never used to call me Amaryllis.”

“I- what?”

“From the first day we met, you called me Amie. I hated it.” Amaryllis notices the way he looks ready to bolt then, stepping back to give him space. “Guess who gave it all back to me.”

They know Lucio knows exactly who, as the choices are limited, and these days there’s no one else he sees when he looks at them.

“Getting cozy with the Devil?” There’s a forced bite to his words, ultimately unsuccessful in masking his anxiety.

“You’re one to talk.” Lucio gasps, face scrunching up into a proper pout. His eyes dart away, like he can’t possibly handle the sight of them. “You should know better than anyone what making a deal with him is like, you should be the last one to shut me out.”

“I do know, and that’s exactly why I’m scared,” he blurts. “His influence is… terrifying.”

“I’m still me, he has no influence over who I am-“

“I thought the same thing before too. I can’t risk it again, for all of Vesuvia’s sake. I’m making amends, and you’re not here to break his chains this time around.”

“You think I’ll somehow tie you back down to him?”

“Not you— his influence, the way he clouds your mind and thoughts. It didn’t take very much or very long for him to warp me.”

Deep down, Amaryllis knows he’s right. How apathetic they become in his realm, how erratic they’ve become up above. They haven’t been themself in a long time. But just because they know doesn’t mean they’re ready to come to terms with it.

“Even after everything we’ve been through. You can't even play nice for a few months? You know what it’s like to be all alone too.”

“That’s not fair.”

“None of this is.”

Amaryllis can’t take it anymore, Lucio being the one with more sense between the two of them. The idea that the Devil has taken more from them than just their freedom and their family. They brush past him without another word, bumping his shoulder with theirs. It’s only a few hurried steps down the hallway before a splitting pain rushes through their head and they remember.

“You know,” they spin back around, Lucio already facing them, reluctant to turn his back their way. “You were the last person I saw. Before I died. I remember it now.” A step forward. “Asra was long gone. Ilya had disappeared into his work. I woke up ill, got my things in order. Then I came to see you, because I didn’t have to worry about getting sick anymore.”

“You sang to me. Even though you were suffering so much more,” he looks ashamed, “I was such a brat the entire time you took care of me. Always begging for more of your time and attention and then—“

“And then once you were asleep, I left for the Lazaret.”

“Amie, I’m—“

“Save it. Everyone keeps saying they’re sorry, but nothing changes.”

- - -

The force of the things their room has seen really hits them once they’re finally in the door.

Falling into bed after singing and dancing the night away. Hiding away from Lucio, long before Amaryllis had come to stand him. Learning to feel comfortable amongst nobility again. Falling into bed, exhausted, after long days during the plague. Falling into bed with Julian, and all the ways they fell into each other on these sheets. The headache they’d gotten when they were first shown to this room after Nadia sought out their assistance in catching Julian. How his dead body rested on this bed for three days before returning to them, and how Asra held them in the corner in the interim.

It might have been a gift, they decide, the chance to forget it all.

- - -

Dinner is tense.

It wasn’t, not at first. Amaryllis was excited to see Nadia and Portia, looking forward to discussing the couple’s upcoming wedding. It even seemed as though Nadia had prepared for their arrival, and they’d never been happier to see the rose-colored gown she’d sent for them.

Amaryllis’s arrival is announced and they’re seated, then Lucio, then Valerius and other palace officials they aren’t as familiar with, then the countess and her wife.

Nadia is radiant and poised as always, and they almost don’t even recognize Portia as she’s dressed up so elegantly.

“Wife? I was under the impression the wedding wasn’t until this season.” Amaryllis inquires once everyone is seated and the dinner conversations pick up. Nadia and Portia glance from them to each other and back.

“Ah, unfortunately we had to move the wedding up to the winter. I have a niece who is expecting a child in two months, and we didn’t want to overshadow her firstborn.” Nadia explains, hiding her face in her glass of wine.

“I see, well I’m sorry I missed it,” they’re trying not to take it personally, “I hope you at least found entertainment up to par with what I have to offer.”

No, Amaryllis really hopes they did not.

“Ah, actually,” Nadia says, and then— and then the new court musician is announced.

With an inscrutable expression, Amaryllis watches a young soprano in fine silks take the stage to provide the entertainment for dinner. Objectively, she has a lovely song and dance. Or at least, they could probably say so for certain if they’d been able to pay attention. They’d never even realized they’d been dismissed.

They try so very hard not to act out of sorts, but there’s a tense air and from then on conversation with Amaryllis is either clipped or avoided.

“I’ve had quite the day,” they rise abruptly, “I think I’ll retire.”

No one looks particularly surprised as they turn tail and stomp out of the dining room.

Back in their room they strip out of the awful pink gown, retreating back to the safety of the one gifted by the Devil. They pace for a long while, unsure of the time, or what to do or how to survive the next six months like this. There are so many thoughts and memories racing around in their mind, and Amaryllis almost wishes they were back in his realm so they didn’t even have the capacity to think about any of it.

But, there were much more exciting ways to forget.

—

[thewindsofsong]

Ok ok ok!!! So last night I had a dream that I rec’ed a dmbj/svsss crossover fanfic, but never actually read the fic. Then I woke up because my cat was yowling in the middle of the night.

After talking with @1ebilcat and @merinnan for a while, I managed to flesh out a basic outline of what that fic might look like. Please know that because this is a crossover with svsss, there is papapa mentioned. several times.... (nothing actually explict is described because that would make this not a not-fic)

So one day SQQ and SQH are messing around trying to figure out what this new “unique one of a kind treasure” does when SQH accideny drops some melon seeds on it or something and it suddenly activates.

Meanwhile in dmbj world, the Iron Triangle are pretty much retired from the whole tomb raiding business, but still run Wushanju (better now that wu xie actually concentrates on running it instead of running off every week). Someone comes in with a strange artifact that they found while clearing out a deceased relatives store room they want to sell. Wu xie buys it because he’s never seen anything like it before and wants to research it.

Xiaoge gets super weird vibes from the object, but it doesn’t seem overtly menacing, so he leaves wu xie be (if wu xie is preoccupied he gets in marginally less trouble). However, when xiaoge touches the object with wu xie and Pangzi nearby, it grows a point and gives xiaoge a paper cut. The blood touches the object and it activates.

One blinding flask of light and disorienting tumble latter, they find themselves at the foot of a picturesque mountain with a gate that labels them at the foot of cang qiong mountain. They’re quickly found by the cang qiong crew and everyone is super weird out by each other. Things happen and eventually LBH crashes in and says his shizun is missing mobei-jun is there too because SQH is also missing. More communication happens and everyone realizes this is the artifact’s fault. No one knows where the artifact is.

Meanwhile SQQ and SQH wake up someone completely unfamiliar to either of them. After using magic to light things up, they see that they are in a tomb absolutely covered in different depictions of penises: there’s pictures on the walls, statues of men with WAY TOO BIG penises, sooooo many dildos. Queue SQQ immediately launching himself at SQH with a shriek of outrage because “THERE’S NO WAY THIS ISN’T YOUR FAULT YOU SHITTY HACK AUTHOR!!”

Back with the iron triangle, there’s a research montage going on as they and other CQ sect member scour the libraries for any information about the mcguffin that caused all this randomness. At some point in all of this, iron triangle go to MQF to see if he can take a look at Xiaoge regarding his memory problems. After some more research, MQF learns about an herb that could stabilize his qi and stabilize the fluctuations that cause his amnesia.

Turns out that while proper cultivation doesn’t exist in dmbj world, the Zhang family line has managed to cultivate the family line to extended life but because they’re the only ones that can (maybe due to bronze gate?) it has a lot of dangers. 

The herb needed is of course incredibly rare and only found in some horribly dangerous location. Xiaoge wants to go alone because he doesn’t want wu xie and pangzi to be in danger, but knows that they won’t be left behind. There’s some agnst had about how Xiaoge feels he’s brought pain and suffering to wu xie and pangzi, but of course neither of them are having any of it. The three of them talk about how they’ve never regretted meeting each other and how the adventures they’ve shared have brought meaning and joy into their lives. 

The three of them cobble together some hotpot and spend the night before setting off soaking their feet side by side, content and secure in their bonds with each other. Its very sweet. 

The next day, the three of them set off with LQG and LBH. Right before arriving at the location, bullshit happens and Iron Triangle get trapped in the location where the herb is located and trigger a wife plot in which papapa is the only way out. Iron triangle proceeds to have incredibly kinky marathon sex. LBH and LQG can only listen awkwardly from the boundary, not able to get through, but also not wanting to leave completely just in case something else happens. The sexual tension between LBG and LQG grows to new heights. Neither will do anything about it until SQQ is back home safe. 

After the marathon is over and iron triangle has time to actually sleep, the three of them get cleaned up with the herb in tow and head back to Cang Qiong. They get the herb to MQF who tells them it will take at least a day to prepare the pill for xiaoge to take. That night, Iron triangle has sweet, tender, affirming sex because while they all agree that while xiaoge not losing his memories every few decades is for the better, it also means that he’ll have to carry the memories of wu xie and pangzi long after they’er gone, with no hope of them ever being together again.  Xiaoge assures wu xie and pangzi that this is what he wants, to know that at least at some point, he loved and was loved, that he had a connection to this world and that his life has meaning beyond his obligations to the Zhang clan. Wu xie and pangzi make xiaoge promise to live on after they pass and to find him in their next lives.

Xiaoge takes the pill and the search for a way back home continues again in earnest. Eventually, LBH travels back to the demon realm and figures out how to track the artifact through space and time because his protag halo is too strong to keep him away from his love interest for too long. 

Wu xie and pangzi learn some basic meditation techniques that disciples would learn when first arrive at the mountain. Its too late for them to cultivate to longevity and there’s no guarantee that its even possible in their home world to cultivate if you aren’t a Zhang. Regardless, wu xie and pangzi don’t want immortality, they just want to spend as much time as they can with xiaoge. Wu xie is gifted a flute made with special bamboo and pangzi is gifted a wine jug from Zui Xian Peak. Both have spiritual properties that may or may not be able to function when back home, but they’er good gifts given in good faith. 

LBH, losing patience, forces iron triangle to get moving so he can save SQQ. He bursts through time and space and iron triangle plus LBH, MBJ, and LQG end up in dmbj world, in Wushanju. After scaring the crap out of Wang Meng, the group realizes that while several days have passed in svsss world, its only been a few hours since iron triangle was pulled away. Which is good because Ershu was likely to call in an army if wu xie went missing for no apparent reason. The whole thing would have been way too messy. Probably more than one person would have died. 

What follows is a night of LBH, LQG, and MBJ attempting different divination spells to try and pin point the exact location of SQQ and SQH to varying degrees of success. None of them are good at divination. Regardless, the three of them manage to get a general location of where the two missing peak lords might be and the iron triangle gets to work searching the internet for any rumors or information of any tombs that might be in the area. (Its just wu xie and pangzi looking, but xiaoge standing around still in his beautiful borrowed robes from CQ is good moral support.) 

They hear about some local legends about an ecentric noble from a bygone era that was buried in a very peculiar tomb. Potential tomb located, the whole group prepares to head out. the SVSS gang is convinced to not fly over immediately because that would be waaaaay to flashy and draw unwanted attention to them that would delay things even more. The six of them cram in together into the van and head off. Svss gang are forced into modern clothing and are def a little too big to comfortably sit in the van. LBH hits his head on a doorway at least once on this adventure. At lease two women and maybe a guy slip their numbers to him too. The man is supernaturally gorgeous.

After some more road trip shenanigans,  they arrive at the rumored entrance to the tomb and head in. The tomb has a few traps here and there, but is practically child’s play for the iron triangle to get through. Svsss are appropriately impressed by their competence and LBH and LQG think specifically about how the iron triangle is a true threesome that supports each other and fights together. MBJ just wants his hamster boy back. 

When they near the central chamber of the tomb, they hear the faint sounds of fighting which spurs SVSSS to speed ahead while iron triangle tries to get them to at least be a little cautious about setting off traps. 

The sight that LBH sees when he breaks into the main chamber like the kool aid man is a disheveled SQQ beating SQH over the head with a baton? Kind of. Its a baton carved into the shape of a penis. SQQ immediately stops and tries to put on his “peerless immortal cultivator” mask on with a flick of his fan, but its hard for that to be effective when your hair is all over the place and your in a room covered in penises. SQH dives for his king’s thighs and cries in relief that he’s no longer trapped in a room full of dildos and penises with SQQ. 

Then the iron triangle catches up and the realization that SVSSS gang is in modern clothing sinks in. The transmigrators freeze for just a second before jumping in front of iron triangle with a thousand questions. They ask in their shitty English which leaves answering the questions mostly to wu xie because pangzi’s english is pretty spotty and xiaoge doesn’t like talking in general, let alone a foreign language.

The whole group eventually leaves the tomb and all its phallic glory behind and get above ground where there’s phone service again. After a bit of searching, the transmigrators realize that while this world is very similar to their original world, there’s no signs of “Proud Immortal Demon Way” ever being written here, no other signs pointing to the two of them existing in this world. SVSS gang are very concerned as they watch SQQ and SQH talk in a strange language to these relative strangers, but don’t feel like its the time to figure out whats going on until everyone gets back home. The now expanded group makes their way back to Wushanju in an even more cramped road trip back. SQQ absolutly ends up in LBH’s lap at least once and SQH ends up with MBJ’s head in his lap at some point. its all very cute as the feeling of everyone being accounted for and safe settles in. 

Maybe there’s some stuff about SQQ and SQH being transmigrators and them being tempted for all of half a second to stay in this world that is so very much like their original world but choosing to go back with their lovers and the lives they’ve made for themselves. 

As the complete SVSSS gang now gets ready to head back home, the Iron triangle makes a huuuuge goody bag of all the snacks and treats that SQQ and SQH have been missing ever since they’ve transmigrated and put together a basic netbook plus solar charger for them to take back. There won’t be internet service back in SVSS world, but they loaded it up with a whooole bunch of web novels and pop songs, along with a few spare parts. 

SVSSS gang finally makes their way home after having a large farewell dinner at Wushanju at Pangzi’s insistence and LBH bullies his way into helping out. Its a very sweet scene of laughing and drinking. After dinner is done, SVSSS decide to go back immediately because the time dilation thing would mean they would be away for longer than they would like. 

Once back home, LBH, SQQ, and LQG have a confrontation/conversation about their relationships with each other and figure out if they want to try being all together, all three of them. MBJ confines SQH to his northern palace. Specifically their bedroom. He was also the one that remembered to grab the artifact that caused all these problems to begin with while everyone else was distracted by dildo tomb.

Iron triangle goes back to their retirement, at peace with the decisions they’ve made and the lives they’ve chosen to live.

THE END!!!

[lokislittlesigyn]

OG616 : Thor 1 - Pt.3 [The Odinsleep]

[My masterlist, where all parts of this and my other fics can be found]

Pairing: Loki / Sigyn (basically an oc based off the marvel/myth namesake)

Warnings: Some mention of violence/death. All past tense.

Author’s Note: It’s getting worse.

Taglist: @high-functioning-lokipath

To be added to the taglist, just ask me here or send a message! <3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Something has happened.

Something is wrong.

Sigyn sat alone in the library, a forgotten book lying open next to her. The last remnants of evening light gleamed over the city. Fiery hues of red and gold, mixing with the slightest whisper of purple. So far, the Bifrost had fired - thrice. She heard it, the distant, low rumble.

Loki still hadn't come for her.

Healers bustled around the castle. Rumors spread.

"The Warriors Three were wounded."

"Prince Thor hasn't been seen since they returned."

"The Allfather mentioned Jotunheim."

Sigyn decided against bothering the healers or trying to find her brother and his friends. Instead, she decided, she should stay put. Things were better that way. No need to worry, she told herself. Everything would work out, and soon Loki would peer around the corner, wearing his signature smirk. Ready to tell her how foolish Thor was being, or how relieved he was to be home.

So she waited.

And waited.

She twiddled her thumbs, gazing out a window. The day was fading. Tones of amber and gold mixed with cobalt blue, where stars began to twinkle, promising the coming night. Asgard always had beautiful sunsets.

"Princess?" The guard's voice made her turn. "Princess Sigyn, the bookkeeper asks you retire soon."

"Yes. Of course…" She stood, returning the book to its shelf.

The guard didn't move.

".. Do you need something else?"

"Prince Loki requested I escort you to your quarters."

Sigyn whipped around to face him. "He’s home?"

"He is preoccupied."

".. Very well, follow me, though I wish Loki would do it himself. Where is he?"

The guard led her from the library, on the usual route back to her quarters.

"He is at the Allfather's bedside, milady."

"The Allfather…?"

"Has fallen into the Odinsleep."

Sigyn stopped. "What?"

"Allfather Odin has fallen into the Odinsleep. Had you not known?"

Without a word, Sigyn turned and walked in a different direction.

"My lady, where-"

"I need to see the Allfather."

"My lady," The guard jogged after her, "My orders were to escort you back to your room..."

"Consider this taking the long way."

"Princess Sigyn." he stressed.

Sigyn sighed, looking at him. "I ask that you please escort me to the Allfather before you escort me to my quarters."

After a moment of silence, she asked again. "Please?"

With a sigh, he finally spoke. "Yes, my lady. But only this once. I fear Prince Loki's wrath should I displease him…"

"Leave my husband to me. He can be difficult, but he'll come around."

They reached the Allfather's cavernous room. Entered.

There, in a great bed, lie Odin. Frigga was on one side, Loki, the other. A golden aura encapsulated the Allfather, cloaked him in shining light which shifted and writhed like waves.

"Sigyn," Frigga stood, "Daughter."

"Frigga." Sigyn smiled at her, but quickly looked back at Odin. It was jarring, to see him there. The king of the realm, the most powerful of all of them by far, reduced to a deep sleep. Defenseless.

Without him to govern the realm, perhaps the Frost Giants could attack again, could-

No. That would never happen.

Loki stood, staring the guard down. "I told you to escort her back to our chambers."

"Yes, Prince Loki, but when she heard about the Allfather-"

"I don't care. You should be flogged for disobeying my orders."

"Loki, have mercy on him." Sigyn glanced at him. "It's not his fault I decided to run off."

"So it was you again? Sigyn, you mustn't keep running about like this, you’ll end up hurting yourself." Loki walked over to her. But he didn't touch her, didn't take her hand like he normally would. "Go to bed, Sigyn. It's late."

"But what of the Allfather? Is he safe? Are we safe? Loki, how did this happen?"

Loki’s jaw clenched. An unfamiliar, pained look flashed across his eyes, but quickly left.

Sigyn's brow furrowed. "Loki?" He avoided her gaze. Avoided getting too close. Have I done something wrong?

Frigga walked to them, embracing Sigyn in a light hug. "My dear, worry not. Tomorrow we'll have a better understanding of how long Odin may rest… Until then, you should rest." She kissed Sigyn's forehead, then turned to Loki. "Both of you."

Loki opened his mouth to respond, but shut it. Instead he nodded, dismissing the guard and motioning Sigyn toward toward the door. She turned back to Odin, pondering as she stepped backward to follow Loki.

"Sigyn." He called.

"Coming..." She took a final glance over her shoulder before leaving the room.

~~~~

Sigyn waited for Loki to embrace her that night, but he never did. She supposed the day had been very rough, and he would talk to her in the morning.

She expected him to. To wake her up the next morning, venting about how reckless Thor had been again. How Volstagg had nearly gotten himself killed again. How everyone had acted like complete oafs, only for him to save them all again.

Sigyn would smile and lie there with him, agreeing with him, stroking his ebony-black hair. Tracing the line of his jaw. Perhaps stealing a few kisses.

But that never happened.

Instead, Sigyn awoke to find she was alone.

"Loki?"

No answer.

She pulled a blanket around herself, trudged over to the balcony. Even with her nightdress on, she felt cold.

There Loki, fully dressed as though he’d been up for hours already, stood overlooking the city.

"Did you sleep well?"

He jumped, turned to face her. "You startled me."

She pursed her lips, walking over to join him. "I'm sorry, I hadn't meant to…"

"It's fine." He turned back to the city and set his jaw firm. He didn't smile.

Didn't say good morning.

Didn't jest or chuckle or tease her about the blanket.

He didn't even seem to notice the blanket.

What's going on with you? Why aren't you yourself? My love, why won't you look at me?

".. Any news of the Allfather?" She focused on the city. She loved this city. But more, she loved the man next to her, the man who still hadn’t looked her in the eye.

"No."

"And of the Warriors Three? I heard they were wounded."

Loki shifted next to her. "Yes. Fandral and Volstagg both."

"And?"

"They're being healed." His tone was short, his jaw still clenched.

"I’m glad to hear it." Sigyn practically felt the conversation waning. Gasping for breath. Dying. She cleared her throat. "And Thor? Is he well? I didn't hear from him yesterday. Though I suspect he may be tending to his wounded pride.."

"Thor is banished." Loki spoke far too calmly.

Sigyn froze. Blinked. "... What?"

"Odin banished him."

She turned to face him, head already swimming with questions. But all she could manage was- "Why?!"

Loki huffed through his nose. "Sigyn, isn't it obvious? We went to Jotunheim. The imbecile nearly got us all killed because a few stray Frost Giants broke into the weapon's vault. Thor practically committed treason."

Sigyn’s blood ran cold. "But- You warned a guard, so you’d be stopped?"

"That was my plan, Sigyn." Loki was growing tenser by the second, and yet, he refused to look at her. Refused to acknowledge the fact her hand was reaching for his. "It's the guard's fault for taking so long; this could've been prevented."

Sigyn went silent, trying to comprehend everything.

"...Where did the Allfather send him?"

"I don't know."

"Will he ever come back?"

"I don't know, Sigyn!" He shouted, finally facing her, then stilled himself when he saw how her eyes had gone wide, how she’d pulled away from him. 

He breathed, swallowing and hushing his tone. "There's no telling when Thor may return. And now our realm is weak; we have no king, no crown prince, and no assurance our borders are even capable of keeping out two Jotuns - much less an army of them."

Sigyn swallowed. Loki turned away, running a hand through his hair.

".. They won't get in again, will they?"

He glanced at her. "I cannot say for sure."

"So they might."

"Of course they might. I won't pretend our realm is safe. None of us are safe now. Laufey practically declared war while we were on Jotunheim."

"War?" Sigyn's pulse quickened.

"He mentioned it."

"Oh, Loki.." She leaned against the balcony wall, hugged her blanket tighter around herself.

So the truce was broken. Jotuns, at war with Asgard, like they were when she was a child. Her thoughts drifted back to then – to the stories of fearsome, bloodthirsty creatures from a world of ice and darkness. Her father had told her those stories of the Jotuns he slayed. Hundreds, he said, had challenged him. He killed every one of them.

Sigyn shivered. If war came again, she would hardly be able to help – she was weaker than other Asgardians, more delicate, more… Cold. She always felt cold.

Luckily, Loki felt rather cold too.

He always said that it proved he and Sigyn were destined to be married. Her skin hardly felt different to him...

She looked back at her husband.

He hadn't moved. Still deep in thought, he stared out over the city, his brow furrowed, his body tense. She hadn’t seen him this tense in a long time.

"Loki…" She moved closer, "Whatever happens, I love you. And I trust you. We'll be okay."

He tried to smile. But there was still a shadow behind his eyes. He seemed closed off, removed... Like there was a gap between the two of them.

She returned it, nodding slightly. "We'll be fine. Just fine."

[thepilgrimofwar]

Liminal

[Follow up to: The Door for Him Backstory for Context: The Curious Case of Apartment 547 Musical Embellishment: Go Tomorrow]

1.

Two and a half years. Two and a half, long, bloody years. Through war, famine, and the chaos that proceeded in their aftermath, Zharia had looked for her father. The Sunguard had said that he was deserter--that the final lead they had of his whereabouts was the ship that had smuggled him out of Quel’thalas at the very height of the Phoenix Wars.

But she knew Arrenir better than that. Her father did not run. When backed into a corner with nothing to lose, he’d have thrown himself into the fire over and over again until he or his enemies were dead. He must have taken that ship for a good reason, she just needed to figure out why.

For two and a half years, she had searched. Now, at last, her leads had finally brought her to Apartment 547.

Technically no one owned it anymore. All three co-owners were dead or presumed dead. Even so, getting the keys from the City Council of Dalaran was no issue, seeing that she was a blood relative to one of them. But when she slotted the key into the front door, she realized that it had not been locked.

Zharia swallowed hard, both excited and afraid of what she might find here. She prayed, Light upon Light, she prayed that she would not find her father’s corpse upstairs. Not after everything they had been through together, not after she had brought him back, and not after almost losing him to misery during The Fall. 

But Apartment 547 seemed normal. A layer of dust had taken residence upon the sheet covered furniture. The pots that Lirelle had left in their conservatory had become soil beds for new life. The kitchen and dining table, where there had been so much laughter and joy in the past, stood still with a contented silence. There was no death to be found here. No blackened stains of old blood, no smells of rot.

Zharia made her way up the stairs as rays of sunlight pierced the frosted windows of the apartment. It highlighted the dust that she was disturbing, coiling and floating upwards as she slid her palms over the guard rails. She had never visited personally but from the way Arrenir used to laugh at the time, she knew that the best years of his life were spent here. The rooms on the second floor were empty, save for the smell of sunbaked linen. Excitement had begun to fade as the fear that this was yet another pointless lead filled her heart.

But her fear quickly turned to dread when she made it to the top floor and saw the door at the end of the hallway. It was ajar.

No you fool. No, no, no.

Arrenir had told her about the doors long ago. He had wanted to get her opinion on their nature, seeing that she was a woman of logic and reason. Zharia had told him that they were the workings of a man who could not let go of a past--much like he used to be. She had warned him to be careful with them, lest they tempt him with their empty promises.

She was immune to the alluring claims that they could take you back in time, because unlike many others--often the ones who were time obsessed--she was not as naive. Zharia knew that in order to get where she was today, many things needed to have fallen in place exactly as they did. 

Even so, she could not deny that the thought of going back and fixing past mistakes was attractive, but the idea also opened up the possibility of so many other things going wrong. So in the end, she was glad to leave the past behind. It meant that the mistakes she could have made could no longer touch her. It was as Arrenir had told her, once upon a time, ‘that to fix one’s mistakes, it needed to be done in the present, not within the reach of the past.’

The man who had left the door ajar, the door at the end of the hallway, was not the man who she thought her father was. The Arrenir she knew would have never run--not from war--never from life. In a way, this revelation was so much worse than finding his body. It was suicide, only of a different kind.

Zharia stormed towards the door and pushed it wide open. The walls of the hallway seemed to narrow around her, but she ignored it. Dead, alive or something in between, she was not going to let the apartment stop her from tracking down her father.

As if sensing her intent and picking up on her desires, the hallway beyond the door warped and changed. Space seemed to compress until there was but a singular door for her. One that looked exactly as the one that had been left ajar.

“Much obliged,” she muttered as she opened it up to a hallway that led back into Apartment 547. Another Apartment 547.

2.

Everything was wrong. Because everything was right.

She could tell by hopeful chatter in Silvermoon’s streets, and by the way that eternal spring clung to the air of Eversong woods. It was as if the winter, born from the Phoenix Wars, had been nothing more fleeting nuisance instead of the catastrophe her people had suffered. Heading to the Dawnspire, Zharia passed Goldsea where its fields remained unblemished by the ravages of war, and through Autumnvale whose residents had raised a monument to the heroes who had so courageously given their lives for it.

As she gazed upon the alabaster towers of the Dawnspire Citadel, it was clear that the years had been kind to the Sunguard, this Sunguard. Here, following the war, they seemed to have the gratitude of the entire Thalassian nation in their debt. Here, they had been the Honor Guard of a new era of peace. But as abundant as it had been for the guild, the talk of passersby made it clear that it wasn’t nearly as bountiful as it had been for its leader, who apparently was expecting his third child in two years.

The old Guard had retired. Zharia gathered that from the bored receptionist who had been staring at the gates that were never breached, in the courtyard that had never seen blood. According to the girl that manned her uneventful station, the officers had all stepped away for a new generation of leaders. Officers Shadowsunder and Stormsummer had married and now looked to mend the House of Sunders of Shimmervale. The Sunfires had turned their duties to their children once more. Sunshard received a lordly commission of her own: a fleet from the crown itself. And as for Firestorm, the old man had finally settled to administer his realm of Shallowbrook. 

When it finally came to the topic of her father, after much gossipping, the receptionist was all too happy to inform her that he had too settled away from the Guard. Marrying one Lirelle Dawnbrook.

3.

Zharia paused at a lovingly crafted door to a cottage by the sea. A part of her didn’t want to knock. It would be so easy to turn around now, head back through the door at the end of the hallway and consider her father dead. But she needed to know if it was him. Really him. The man she had sought for so long.

Is where you went, you old fool?

The door swung open, revealing a war-scarred man with tied crimson hair. “Oh, Zharia? I didn’t realize you were visiting your father today,” he said with a smile.

“Sederis?” Zharia cocked her head involuntarily.

“We’re having a little reunion dinner tonight, but I suppose it wouldn’t be too much trouble if you joined us,” Sederis said, looking back into the cottage where a woman toiled away in the kitchen. “Right dear?”

“We’ll have more than enough food for her if you just leave her some!” she replied with a laugh before joining Sederis at the door. The woman wrapped an arm around her husband’s growing waistline and extended the other to shake Zharia’s hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met dear,” she said. “Ny Dawnbrook, Lirelle’s sister.”

Zharia stood still for a moment, stunned by the sight of the man who had long been dead. She hadn’t known him personally but Arrenir had spoken fondly of him, once upon a time. “Zharia,” she croaked, before shaking the offered hand. “Arrenir’s daughter.”

“Well come in,” Sederis said, welcoming her inside her father’s cottage. “He’s at the beach with Lirelle, probably catching crabs or some other nonsense!” The crimson haired man chuckled. Zharia had never seen him so happy. The times she had seen him in her own time, Sederis had always seemed to carry a weight about him. A burden that he no longer carried in either world.

She made her way inside as the couple returned to the kitchen, aiming to fill the house with the aromatic smells of roast meat and baked garlic before the sun set. It was a quaint place, with exotic plants around every corner, each of them flanked by display cases filled with beetles and bugs. 

You never put anything you loved on display. You never wore anything on your sleeve. Why now? Why here?

Her thoughts were cut short when she reached the back door to the cottage, one that opened up to a pristine beach. There, amongst white sands and gentle waves, she saw him. Arrenir Silversun, treading lightly upon rocky tidepools and pointing things out for Lirelle who followed in his wake.

He waved at her.

She waved back.

4.

“Your father will be along shortly,” said Lirelle as she arrived back at the cottage, thrusting her thumb behind her. “He got caught up wrestling a mudskipper for an aquatic crustacean he wanted.”

“Hasn’t changed a bit,” Zharia replied. “How are things?”

“Things are good, The Crows are having a well deserved break after putting down a rebellion against Lord Dumbass’ vassals over there.” Lirelle gestured in Sederis’ general direction before adding, “I told you so!”

“Yeah, yeah I know,” Sederis waved her off like a bad smell as he continued grilling dinner.

Zharia shook her head. “Sorry, I’ve...I’ve been away. Expedition overseas. A rebellion?”

Lirelle sighed as she leaned against the doorway. “You met my sister? I assume she failed to mention that she’s next in line to Dawnveil after my father eventually croaks it. Anyway, the only way she’d marry was matrilineally, and Sederis decided that he wanted to marry her.”

Sederis cleared his throat, carrying two skewers of meat in each hand. “Long story short. A few nobles got uppity because the Emberglades could end up with the Dawnbrooks in a generation. So we crushed them. End of story.” The Lord of the Emberglades leaned in to kiss his wife who batted him away, already preoccupied with a pan of paella. Seeing that he wasn’t wanted, he shifted over to Lirelle offering a peace kebab. “Thanks by the way.”

“Your gold was most welcome,” Lirelle replied with a smirk. She took a bite of her peace offering as she joined her sister in the kitchen when Arrenir finally appeared at the doorway to the cottage.

“Zharia, I didn’t know you were coming!” Arrenir bellowed as he wiped his boots on the welcome mat before taking them off.

“Neither did I,” Zharia responded.

A long silence followed, filled only by the chatter of the other guests in the kitchen as it slowly dawned upon Arrenir that something there was something amiss. She watched as the realization spread across him like fire.

“Zharia?” he said at last.

“Hello father,” she couldn’t bring herself to smile. A storm of emotions circled within her as she tried her best to speak.

“Dinner is served!” Sederis called out to them, interrupting the moment as he set a spread of food on the table.

“We’ll talk later?” Arrenir asked, as if to confirm that she would be staying long enough for them to speak.

Zharia nodded.

5.

“We visited Thandiel’s grave,” Sederis said somberly as the evening began to wind down, and drinks became uncorked. “Esheyn came with a bouquet of flowers. Biggest and brightest she’s ever grown. Personally I think the old Bloodknight would’ve much preferred a good bourbon, but I’m sure she’d appreciate the gesture nonetheless.”

“We’ll be sure to leave her some the next time we go,” Lirelle replied. “Have something decent in one of your stashes we could borrow?”

“Stashes?” Ny raised an eyebrow at her husband who merely shrugged.

“Look, I committed to drink less, not banish every hidden cache of alcohol I have,” he said.

Lirelle snorted. “He probably doesn’t even remember where half of them are. And I can tell you where the other half is hidden.” She started ticking locations off on her fingers, “Way behind in the back of the cabinet in your bathroom, under the huge pot in the kitchen that Elan never uses, in the corner of my shed…the usual.”

“Well,” Arrenir interjected. “Highdawn’s death anniversary is coming up, so that’d be the best time for us to visit. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind a second visit from the two of you,” he said with a smile.

“Will do,” Sederis said with a nod, and as the dinner drew to a close, the mellowed out Lord of the Emberglades rose to his feet and insisted on doing the dishes despite Arrenir’s protests. “Guest, or not guest, seeing that my brother is buried in paperwork and is not here...I’m the only one without more catching up to do.” The Pilgrim of War donned an apron, rolled up his sleeves, and with a weightless smile began to clean up.

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” said Ny, standing with her husband. “I’ve got to scold my sister here for not visiting home often enough.”

Lirelle stood up. “I visit plenty!”

“Ever since you two built your cottage, you’ve been coming back here between leading your campaigns with the Crows...” Ny trailed off as she left for the living room with Lirelle who chased after her elder sister with an incredulous look on her face.

Arrenir laughed at first, waving the both of them off until he was left at the dining table with Zharia. His Zharia.

She sat as she had throughout dinner, in a daze. Surrounded by the living dead, she wondered how differently their counterparts would’ve been if only they had lived.

“We should talk outside.”

6.

They sat upon the deck that overlooked the seaside. Stars dotted the skyline, reflecting off a dark and undulating sea below. Zharia couldn’t bring herself to speak at first, unsure if doing so would lead to catharsis or a gaping wound that would never close. But she needed to.

Arrenir broke the silence first, staring at the night sky as he did. “I--I never thought I’d see you again. It’s good to see you Zharia.”

“Is it?” she spoke at last. “You ran. Away from it all. Away from reality. Away from me.”

“I did,” Arrenir replied, staring at the night sky. “I’m sorry.”

She scoffed. “Are you?”

“Yes,” Arrenir spoke quietly as he turned towards her to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry for abandoning you without a word. I’m sorry I left you without a body to bury and with questions, millions of questions, left unanswered.”

Zharia saw that there was genuine pain in his eyes. Her father didn’t do what he did lightly, that much she could see. And as Arrenir reached over to embrace her, she flinched at first, but quickly leaned into his shoulder and descended into tears.

“Why?” Zharia sobbed, shedding tears of grief and anger. “I never mourned you because I knew you weren’t dead. But this, this, is so much worse than that! Do you understand what you’ve done? You chose to go to a place where I can’t follow. Do I mean that little to you!?”

Arrenir held her as she yelled into his shoulder. “You mean the world to me,” he said softly. “I thought by coming here, I could do better. Be a better father. Be a better soldier. Be a better man. It was only after everything--the war, the life I built here--did I realize that you wouldn’t be a part of it.”

“And yet you never came back,” Zharia sneered as she tore away from her father’s embrace. “I guess it’s because you found what you were looking for.”

Arrenir looked back at the cottage he had built. The life that he had earned for himself through fire and blood. From each plank of its construction and each display case filled with the collections he had gathered. “Yes,” he said quietly. “I did.”

“Good for you.” Zharia said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Because this, all of this, is wrong. It belongs in another life. To another Arrenir. A life you’ve stolen it from him by coming here.”

Arrenir shook his head. “He’d have made the same mistakes I made. Nothing would have changed.”

“Would it?” Zharia shook her head. “I’m going now, back to where you ought to have been. Where your friends are dead and where your daughter is missing a father.” She rose from the deck. “This will be the last you’ll see of me.”

Arrenir swallowed hard, trying his best to choke back his tears. “Goodbye Zharia,” he said. “It was nice seeing you again. I was hoping that you’d stay--”

“Save it,” Zharia spat and turned to leave her father behind. “You raised me well enough to know not to run from my mistakes.”

7.

After long moments spent in deep thought, Arrenir finally returned inside to find that it was quiet. The kitchen was spotless, plates and pans drying on their respective racks. The living room still bore the scent of tea, but it was clear that his guests had already gone.

“Lirelle?” he called out to his wife but received no response. After checking each room of the cottage he finally found her on the front porch that overlooked her garden.

“Who the fuck are you?” She asked.

“How much did you hear?”

“Hear? Do you think I’m blind? I figured something was up the moment she spoke to me,” Lirelle glared at him. “She came through the apartment, didn’t she?”

“She did,” Arrenir said, knowing better than to mince words with her. “And so did I.”

“I always wondered why you became less insufferable to be around all of a sudden,” Lirelle said. “I thought it was because you finally understood who I was.”

“You aren’t wrong, though the only difference is that the realization happened elsewhere.”

“So I married a dupe,” Lirelle rested her face in her hands. “You’re not even my Arrenir.”

“I am your Arrenir,” he said, folding his arms. “Your Arrenir would’ve continued to be insufferable. Trying too hard to be something he thought you wanted him to be. And failing.” “Speaking from experience?” his wife got to her feet and folded her arms. “Fail with one Lirelle, but wait, don’t worry, there’s an infinite more to choose from! All you need to do is keep crossing fucking dimensions until you succeed in pinning me down. God I’ve got to be the worst Lirelle of the lot,” Lirelle spat as rage welled up inside her. “So is that it? Is that why you came here!?”

Arrenir looked her in the eyes and held her ire-filled gaze. “No,” he said. “I came here because you died.”

“What?”

“Sunstrider Isle, fighting Dame Everleigh’s forces. But instead of crushing them together, we had parted on poor terms. You died there, with Sederis.”

Lirelle’s demeanour changed and she sat back down. “And the Crows?”

“Died with you, save for a few. Garris sent me your death letter.”

She ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head, trying to wrap her head around how differently it could have all played out. “So you came here, because your Lirelle died.”

“You’re my Lirelle,” he responded without hesitation. “The Lirelle where I came from was never mine. Neither were you until you gave yourself to me.” 

“Really?” she said skeptically. “I bet if I had died on that field, like she did, you’d just have jumped ship again. Gone to another door. Tried again. Again and again until I lived.” 

“No.”

“No?”

Arrenir shook his head. “I didn’t come here because I wanted you to live. That wasn’t my regret. My regret was that I didn’t ride out with you. I came here, to this world, because I wasn’t there with my friends when everything came to an end. I should have been. I would have been, if I wasn’t so damned selfish.” He brought his hand to her cheek, brushing her hair back behind her ear. “I came here to die with you. If you had fallen, I’d have fallen with you. Because I love you. You.”

Epilogue

“Take me home,” said Zharia as she climbed the final steps to the top floor of Apartment 547. The door at the end of the hallway waited for her, already open. She took one final look at the world she was leaving behind. A better, brighter world, but not her’s. For better or for worse, this one belonged to her father now. She had hoped for catharsis--to bring her father back--but it was clear he was no longer the man she remembered. But even so, Zharia was content with closure.

I’m glad you found what you were looking for. I’m glad you finally found yourself. I just wish I could’ve been a part of that.

Goodbye, father.

She stepped through and the door to this world closed behind her, never to be opened again.

-fin-

I’ve been meaning to write this for a long long time. First, I told myself I’d do it after the Phoenix Wars. Then I told myself I’d do it after the Guild’s last day. Again, when I told myself I’d do it after The Emberglades Civil War.

I guess it took so long because I’ve always meant for this story to be a symbolic goodbye. As the last story I’ll ever write for WoW and it suppose it was hard saying goodbye to characters that I’ve role-played as for 5 years. Some even more than that. It isn’t the end of course, I’m still game to keep role-playing them from time to time. But as for the arcs that I’ve been doing since the Emberglades Saga go, this will be the last one.

I want to thank everyone who has made these last 5 years probably the best ones of my life. Guildies, raiding buddies, friends, and everyone who suffered with me through my Emberglades Civil War Campaign. Special shout out to Sean for not only for letting me use his Roll20 system to bring that story & campaign to life but for leading the Guild that has left so many fond memories for so many people over the years.

Photo Credit: Toast_91

[jadeender]

Altered: Epilouge

The next morning each of them woke up in their beds. Curse, Ravio, and Legend were all returned to Legend’s house. Time woke up the next morning in bed at Lon Lon Ranch to a cry from Malon, happy he was back. Sky awoke in the still recovering Castle in his room and immediately sought out Zelda to tell her what had happened, who he'd seen. Warriors awoke in a similar way, hoping the trouble he'd be in back in his own home would have dispersed.

Wind and Tempest awoke in the bedroom they would now share, with Aryll running in crying happily that her brothers were home. Wild woke up alone in his house in Hateno village and sighed. Twi too woke up in his home alone.

Hyrule was returned to his home and awoke to go talk to his Zelda's, they deserved to know where he'd been. Four and Maverick awoke in Fours house/ forge. 

Three months later

Maverick crossed out of the shadow realm and stood in front of the farmhouse at Lon Lon Ranch. They've planned a little party to celebrate the end of their adventure and everyone was coming. Even Savage and Noble had been convinced to come. 

The past few months had been good, Four had resumed his job at the forge and was making weapons, cups, cutlery, and just about everything you could from metal. Just to have something to do Maverick had decided to take up some metal engraving, his shadow blades were small and precise enough he never made a mistake the embellishments be added to his lights products had been very popular with the locals. 

Officially the locals knew him as Fours brother, having travelled to visit his brother and deciding to stay. This suited him just fine, because I'm a way he felt like he was. 

He was still working on figuring out who he wanted to be, he'd rediscovered a passion for reading and spent much of his down time in books. And he was living a good life, he didn't like to be around people but the townspeople were kind and the quiet retreat of the forge were enough to keep him doing fine. 

Four stepped up next to him and opened the door and gave his friend a mischievous smile. It was time to see everyone again.

They walked in and pretty much the entire hang had already arrived. Malon was busy bustling around, Wild was in the kitchen cooking with Legend passing out plates and forks. 

The others were sitting at the table telling stories from the past month. At the moment Warriors was dominating the conversation as bombastic as ever.

"Training the new army is going much better than I'd thought it would. A good number of men came from across Hyrule when we put out the call for soldiers. We compensated the families of the old army, and Zelda and I have been personally visiting them when possible and set things right. It's not perfect but we're working towards perfection. Soon the new army will be fully trained and it'll be business as usual." Warriors said gesturing.

"A whole army trained in 3 months? Only you could do that 'captain'." Hyrule mocked laughing at his own joke, the others cracked up as well and then noticed the two new entrants into the house.

"It's good to see you again." Time intercepted them as they headed to the table. He looked different, almost younger with the armor and like a burden had been lifted. 

"Happy to be here." Maverick replied forcing eye contact, no longer scared of it. 

Four and Maverick took seats at the end of the table were Wind was regaling Ravio and Curse with tales from home. He was in the middle of talking about their most recent adventure with Tetra fighting of an enemy horde of pirates.

"It really was amazing. He's getting much better at controlling his powers, the whole fleet was swept up in a storm and delayed by a week. By the time they reached us they were almost too tired to fight." Tempest shifted uncomfortably at the mention of him but quickly switched to bravado.

"Don't pretend like it was your idea, it was my plan that saved you when they tried to take you hostage." He pointed out very self assured.

"Yes because calling down lightning is exactly what I would have done, you know considering I was inches away from the guy, that was real safe." Wind shot back.

Everyone got a kick out of that laughing at the twos “arguing”.  By then the table had been set and they were just waiting for their last guests to arrive. Savage and Noble were the last to arrive but when they did there was a noticeable difference. Whatever injuries they had suffered from fighting Maverick were completely healed. 

Noble was of course dressed in his best, his tunic and cloak were high quality and his braided hair was free of any and all dirt, decorated with what appeared to be ribbons, and peculiarly enough a golden feather. Savage was himself. Although apparently living with Noble was a good influence on his as his hair and clothes were clean and free of blood stains, though his tunic still had some characteristic tarrering, the dark wolf pelt wrapped around his shoulders. 

Maverick got up and greeted them first, gulping slightly. "Hey so, I'm sorry for what happened while I was under Callous's control. I don't really remember what I said or what I did but I know we fought, and I'm sorry."

He squirmed waiting for a second. He knew whatever fight they'd had he'd won much to his own surprise. But had no idea how they'd treat him now.

"It wasn't you." Savage replied gruffly. "No doubt you would have never chosen to attack us if not for that bastard, I'm only sad I wasn't there to see him die. I won't hold any grudges, as long as you don't hold any against me."

Maverick unconsciously touched his neck where scars of wolves teeth lingered and nodded. "You did what you had to do then, Eternal was the one to blame, not you."

Savages features softened a little, and gave Maverick a look one could almost call enduring. "But if we ever fight again don't think you'll win. You proved you can win a fight for once, but don't get cocky."

Maverick nodded, his face determined..even though he had been under someone else's control the skill had been his own, he was a better fighter now and not a scared one at that.

Noble gave him a look and with his scratchy voice just said, "it's good to see you not in a fight."

The last two sat and the meal started. Despite the term "little party" they'd gone all out. Stew, various meats, pies and cakes had been made. Skewers of fish and roasted vegetables, all served with cold refreshing Lon Lon milk of course.

The meal was amazing, everyone was in a good mood. And after almost an hour they started cleaning up and they retired outside to enjoy the sunset. They sat in the field with colors streaming across the sky, orange and pink and yellow. 

“I'm glad everyone’s here. It’s great to be home, and to rest. Even if Malon has been keeping me busy around the farm.” Malon laughed him as Time continued. “But I’ve missed all of you. Our adventures touring your worlds and my own, even though we had tough moments, I will always treasure that time. It was different but relieving to have others along for the journey this time. Thanks to you all I was able to return home alive, and in one piece this time.”

Time shifted as Malon stood to stand next to him. “We have a little surprise for all of you.”

Malon stood in side profile and creased down her shirt, showing just the beginnings of a baby belly. The crowd rioted! Everyone was thrilled, that after everything Time was gonna have a family, and he’d found the peaceful life all of them were still searching for. 

After a round of congratulations and everyone calmed down Four and Maverick stepped up.

“Well we can’t compete with a new baby but we do have a present for everyone.” Four held up a bag and removed from it a bangle about an inch wide. Simple silver metal but it was inlaid with a triforce, one corner of which was colored green. Maverick began to pass them out as his light continued. “Maverick and I made these together. I shaped the band and he did the engraving. After all its the spirit of courage that unites us so we figured we’d make a physical reminder of that. Something to make sure we don’t forget each other.”

“And for the darks, we may not be spirits of courage, but we’ve all shown we’re not cowards either. So we made these.” The bangles were identical to the ones they’d given to the other except the corner of the triforce was the color of each of their eyes. He’d painstakingly made sure to find paints to match each of them. “We’re not like the lights but not completely different. And i thought this would be a good way to remember them.”

Maverick pulled the last one out, its corner a brilliant blue and slipped it on. 

“They’re beautiful.” Noble said slipping is on and admiring the glinting metal. “You matched it perfectly.”

____________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the evening passed quickly, they made a campfire out there under the stars in Lon Lon Ranch. Sharing stories and enjoying one last night together. They talked well past midnight. And eventually guests began to leave. Tempest and Wind traveling back to their seaside home. Curse tacking Hyrule home before returning for Legend and Ravio, promising Malon he would make her a good deal to sell her Lon Lon milk in the other hyrule, offering a generous cut.

Noble and Savage stayed much longer into the night but eventually left as well, bound for bed, napping apparently being something they’d taken to recently now that the adventure was over, no doubt they had plenty of sleep to catch up on. 

Twilight and Wild were staying at the ranch for a little while so they also went up to their rooms until only Four and Maverick remained.

"It's time we went home." Maverick said standing from the couch he and Four had been sitting on as they chatted with Time and Malon. 

"You're welcome to stay here tonight if you want. You know we have the room." Malon offered, but the two refused.

"We'll be home in seconds, and there's nothing better than your own bed." Four said as he also got ready to leave.

"I can't argue with that." Time smiled and caught them before they could vanish. "Remember you're always welcome here, whenever you want to drop in, please do."

"We appreciate it." Four answered as story disappeared into the shadows and reappeared in a room with two bunk beds and one single bed off on its own. 

Maverick flopped down on the single bed as Four looked pensively at the bunk beds as if trying to decide where to sleep.

Eventually he picked the bottom bunk of one bed and laid down. And everything was calm in the house, darkness fell over the room and the two lapsed into sleep, their adventure finally over.

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One:  The Dark Curse

Chapter 92:  Favors From An Old Somebody

As long as Light and Dark Magic existed, there were two kinds of people in the world.

There were heroes, those that did what people considered to be "the right thing" like it was a hobby. Heroespath he wa were princes who saved towns, shepherds who saved damsels, even retired barmen that spent their lives stealing from the rich and giving to the poor before somehow magically falling in love with a Queen who wanted to murder her step-daughter.

He was not one of those people.

Though he believed that his quest for his son was the meant to be on, endless as it seemed, he was aware that there were quite a few who would refute his methods. Heroes would never help him get his son back. Which was a shame, because after several long hours of sitting in his Tower, he had come to the conclusion that this was something he couldn't do alone. He needed help. Blood Scarabs, Dragon Fire, at least one unknown piece of Fairy Magic, Natural Magic, and a Chernabog-it was too much even for the Dark One to handle.

But if heroes wouldn't help him, he had to find someone who would.

Fortunately, there were two kinds of people in the world, not just heroes, but those that often saw in shades of gray instead of black and white, those who focused on their own interests instead of others, those who were likely to start the fire that those heroes so often found themselves running into. They were the villains.

If he wanted something done "the right way" he'd call a hero. If he wanted something done, period, then there was no better way than to enlist a villain.

The only problem with that was that villains were self-serving. They didn't think of others, only themselves. He'd need a special argument, some kind of special arrangement in order to get a team to work together and after hours of thinking, he had come to the conclusion that he needed a team and a unique one at that. The cavern could cancel or mess around with most magic, not allowing spells, and therefore he needed villains who didn't need spells but had natural talents. The cavern was a place where natural magic was enhanced, it was likely if he chose individuals with the right abilities, they would become stronger and wouldn't suffer as he had. A terrifying thought, setting himself up in a place like that with no way out, but he'd make it work. For Bae. They didn't need to know what he knew about the cavern, and before he went he could take potions to help keep him on his feet. He could at least appear at full strength, and they'd never be the wiser. As for the "they"…

He had an idea of who he could use for each of his tasks, all of them women, none of them Regina, though it would have been nice to use her for this. No, for this he had three particular women in mind. The problem, aside from the fact that he was certain they didn't like him or even each other, was that one of them wasn't in this realm.

He'd spent an hour muttering curses under his breath for Robin of Locksley, and whatever ignorant Dark One had thought it was a good idea to send him on a wild goose chase over a pain in his chest he'd scarcely felt again forcing him to waste the one potion that could take him to any realm of his choosing! With no way to the London his target lived, he was left with one option. One that he wasn't thrilled with for many reasons, one that he would love to search for a way around, but with the clock ticking, he simply couldn't.

In the daylight hours, he worked. He prepared. He created potions to defend himself against the rigors of Natural Magic. He wrote two nearly identical letters for two very different people. For one, he summoned Pirithous, and ordered him to take it to a particular spot on the coast where he knew his first target liked to sunbathe. He obeyed and it was done. For the other letter, he sealed it, watched his crystal ball until the sunset and the time was right, then placed the letter in his jacket and let himself travel to a far away wood within Regina's Kingdom, to a small house with smoke rising from the chimney.

He could have knocked, but considering what he knew had just happened inside, he felt it better to let himself in.

"Well, well…Matrimony seems to be working quite well for you," he smiled as the familiar man sitting in a chair beside his daughter's bed jumped and twisted to get a good look at him. His tension faded the second he saw who it was. Jefferson wasn't the person he'd known what felt like eons ago. He was still young but seemed to have aged decades since he'd last seen him in person. It was cruel what he'd said to him. That much he knew. He wasn't sure how much Jefferson knew about what he'd known, but he had kept an eye on his former ally. He knew his wife was dead. He knew it was an accident after the pair had tried realm jumping and stealing again despite saying they wouldn't. He knew that he hadn't done a jump since then. In truth, he would be happy to leave Jefferson to mourn in peace with his daughter at his side if that was what he chose to do. But this was for Baelfire, and no matter what their relationship was or had been he needed him to do what only he knew how to do. There wasn't any time to find someone else.

"Tell me…is it everything you asked for?" he questioned, looking around the small place they now called home. They used to own a bigger house, he'd seen it in his ball after they'd married. But after the accident, he'd moved his daughter here, away from memories he imagined.

"Go away," Jefferson insisted as he rolled his eyes and moved away from his sleeping child. He moved to what could have been called the kitchen and dipped a gourd into a bucket of water. "I'm not in the mood."

"Well, now aren't we fussy."

"Fussy," he chortled as he dropped the gourd once more. "Can't imagine why. It's been…what?! Four…five years since we last saw each other? So can you just tell me what you want so I can say 'no' and get on with my evening?!"

"So glad you asked!" he smiled, ignoring the rest of what he'd said purposefully. "I have need for a man with your talents."

"Yeah…you forget that we've been here before, but this time things have changed. I'm retired."

He had a feeling he'd say that, even if he'd hoped he wouldn't. Truly, he'd wanted to be able to come here and leave on good terms and not use what he knew he had to, but then again that was why he'd done what he'd done all those years ago. He'd always been prepared for this moment.

"Thought you might say that, which is why I came personally to remind you…you owe me a favor."

"A favor!"

"Several actually. You accumulated quite the debt in your heyday!"

Jefferson's eyes went wide as he sucked in an audible breath and he straightened his back as if he'd been slapped. "You can't be serious! That was a joke!"

"I'm always serious, dearie! I take my deals quite literally. I thought you would have learned that in your time."

"Yes, but…" Jefferson stopped before he could finish his sentence. He'd been building up to something, he could hear that in his tone but suddenly his slumbering daughter had moved. It demanded his attention and reminded him not to raise his voice. He knew because he'd once been in a similar situation with Baelfire, which was probably why this seemed so difficult. "I have Grace," he finally went on in a quieter tone, looking over to where the child still slept. "And I gave you a potion that could take you anywhere, to any realm you want to go, you don't need me! Not unless…no…you didn't. You used it already?!" he exclaimed with bulging eyes. Jefferson stepped closer, but he didn't allow himself to be moved.

"I had a need to get somewhere and you weren't around, I had little choice in the matter. Really, it's your own fault-"

"No!" Jefferson refused, shaking his head and stepping away. "No, I don't take responsibility for your slip-ups. I gave you enough of my life, I don't have to do it anymore. I have my daughter and no wife, I can't be running around chasing after who knows what for you, not anymore! If something happens to me, like it happened to Pricilla, then Grace has nobody."

But that was the thing about their deals, magically Jefferson was bound to do what he wanted. He had no choice in the matter. A deal had been struck, and according to his abilities, he was entitled to do anything that he pleased in order to get him to pay off that debt. He could imprison him, take his daughter, destroy his home…anything.

But he didn't want to do that. Weakness. He could feel his own kind sneering at him for such sentimentality. Anyone but Jefferson and he would have taken the girl or thrown him in his dungeons already. But for Jefferson…he supposed he felt for him in some odd kind of way. He didn't want to, he didn't know how, but he did feel something, and that was clear. Very rarely in life had he had the urge to help other people but watching him sit by his daughter's bedside, a widowed man just trying to do what was best for his daughter despite who he'd been��yes, that sort of thing was a weakness.

"I also thought you might say that which is why I've come to make another exchange…I'm not a cruel man-"

"No, never," he commented sarcastically, rolling his eyes so far back into his skull he might have been able to see his brain. It reminded him of when the man before him had been nothing but a boy, and they'd joked at their first meeting in his Uncle's cabin. Jefferson had never feared him. He was one of the few; a rare person indeed.

"This particular deal, if done well, could be significant. So, in addition to forgiving another of your favors, I'll also pay handsomely."

"All of them."

"What?!"

"All of them!" he repeated slowly and loudly. "You'll forgive all my favors…and pay handsomely."

"A bold request."

"Not bold, just wise. You know I did learn a thing or two when we worked together all that time. Buy low, sell high, always start the negotiations cheap, never let them see what you really have. I do know how you work, Rumpelstiltskin. You said this deal was important to you, so I'm betting you're willing to pay for it, you just wouldn't make it your first offer so I'm going to jump through all that negotiation and arrive at our final deal. Being forgiven of my debts and having you out of my life completely…that's what is important to me. If I do this for you, then you will forgive my favors in addition to paying handsomely."

He swallowed hard. Jefferson was maybe a foot in front of him, his gaze held steady. Anyone else and he'd feel threatened abut at this moment the feeling ballooning in his chest was pride. He had learned something from him. Something he wasn't exactly pleased with at the moment because it meant he lost, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to care. He was impressed. And somehow he felt like he bore the weight of what had happened. He was a man of his own making. It made him miss Baelfire. And that was unexpected.

"Well, well…when did you get teeth?" he questioned sinisterly instead.

Jefferson shrugged a shoulder just like he always used to in his younger days. "Probably right around the time I stopped spending time with you and focused on my family." Yes. That tended to happen to men. Another victim of love, just as he'd always suspected. "What would you need me to do? If I agree to all this, of course."

If. If was good. There was no more discussion of price. It was all the favors in exchange for what he wanted, and right now, talking to him, he wanted Baelfire back more than anything! He wasn't the one in control, and Jefferson knew it. He was going to give him anything he wanted to do this task for him. All his favors as payment was a cheap price.

"You recall fetching a medallion for me from the home of one woman named-"

"Cruella De Vil, from the London Realm, black and white hair, controls animals with her breath, yeah…she's kind of hard to forget."

"Good. Now I'd like you to fetch her for me."

Jefferson groaned and sat down in a chair, rubbing his face. "You can't be serious."

"I believe we've already had that conversation. Let's not have it again," he responded quickly with a roll of his eyes. Somethings never did change. "You will fetch her for me from that world. You will bring her back to this world, leave her outside the Forbidden Forest with this!" From beneath his cloak, he brought forth the sealed letter he'd worked on. "Then you are free to leave her. As soon as you let me know she's here, I'll do the rest."

"And how is she supposed to get back without me."

Now it was time for him to offer a shrug. If she survived the Chernabog…that wasn't really his concern at the moment. "That will be her problem, not…not yours." He had to catch himself, to bite his tongue to keep from saying "ours". They weren't partners, not anymore, not by a longshot. This was now strictly a professional deal. Jefferson had seen to that. "However, I don't recommend telling her that right way. Remember, I only offer payment once the job is done as agreed to. If you don't get her here, then it's no deal."

"So you accept my terms then…"

His terms. All the favors owed and handsome payment in return for this one favor. What choice did he have?

Favor! The Seer shouted in his mind all at once. One day he'll return a favor!

After so many years he'd learned not to change his facial expression when the Seer spoke, but even he had trouble with this one. He hadn't expected the "unacceptable deal" cry to come from her! Nimue or the other Dark Ones perhaps, but not her! What had she said. One day he'd return him a favor. How was he to do that when he was about to give them all away? For a moment, he didn't answer. For just one moment, he waited, hoping that the girl would offer some further words of wisdom or perhaps a vision, but he wasn't surprised when she didn't. That particular power enjoyed being suspicious and prophetic. She enjoyed speaking in riddles and he knew she wouldn't give him the answer. He could ask, he could alter the deal and ask to save one…but he was so close to getting what he wanted, to getting Baelfire...

The future be damned! Everything that she'd predicted was within his grasp and time was running out! He needed this done quickly. What choice did he have?

"I will accept our terms, if you'll accept my mission…" he answered, offering him the letter.

With a sigh, Jefferson reached out and took it from him. He looked the plain white envelope over in his hand as if staring at it might bring him some solace or comfort. Finally, he glanced back up at him.

"You know I used to look up to you," he muttered softly, his eyes suddenly reminding him of Bae's when he'd been as small as Jefferson was in his chair. "There was a time I thought that we were friends, you and I."

"This old argument again…" he grumbled.

"No. Not the old argument," Jefferson refuted quickly. "Not the old argument because I've changed, I know the difference now. Having Priscilla in my life, even for the little time I had her…it was the best time of my life. I wouldn't have traded it for anything, no deal could ever be enough. And being a father…" he looked over his shoulder to where the girl was still miraculously sleeping soundly. "Now that Grace is all I have of Priscilla, I will cherish her forever."

He knew the feeling, at least where his daughter was concerned. And he felt a small flicker of happiness inside of him at the memories of days like he was experiencing. All the days he'd had with his son after Milah had gone and before things had gotten bad with the war. It had been the greatest feeling in the world. He'd been the best person he could ever be. He was happy Jefferson got to experience that. Love had made him a fool, but part of him knew that it also had forced him to grow up, and that wasn't a bad thing either.

But he'd never let Jefferson know that. Not before. And not now either.

"What is the point of this conversation?" he questioned dully.

Jefferson smirked and let out a soft snort before he rose to full height, and suddenly he was reminded of all the ways he'd grown. He'd been a boy when they met, child. Today he stood before him a man. And he knew their relationship would never be what it once had been, but he knew he'd had a part in the man Jefferson was today. And he was proud of that. He was proud of Jefferson.

"Call it friendly advice from someone you never considered a friend. I've seen what love and true friendship can do, Rumpelstiltskin, I know that you don't really value them; otherwise when Priscilla died, you'd have been here with me. But I hope one day you'll have what I had. I hope one day you know what it is to love everything that you despise now. I hope that what you face isn't…" he turned around to look at his daughter again before slowly letting his eyes roam around the house they stood in. He saw Jefferson's chest quiver. "I hope it isn't this."

He was right. They weren't friends. They never had been. If he had then he would know that he'd already suffered this and more. He'd suffered worse. But right now, there was no point in rekindling what had never been in the first place. Though his throat felt thick with emotion, he pushed it down.

"Touching…so you'll be going then."

Jefferson glanced down at the envelope in his hand, tapped if a few times against his palm, then nodded.

"I'll make arrangements for Grace come morning and be gone. I'll be paid, and my favors will be forgiven."

He wanted so badly to order him to go now, but with the girl asleep, the father in him knew it wasn't a possibility unless he wanted to stay and babysit. And he did not. It was going to take more of his precious time to wait for him, but the important thing was that it would happen. That was why he reached out his hand for Jefferson to shake and uttered only one word before going.

"Deal."

[alvaar-aldaviir]

Wondrous Tails: Day Off (Replacement)

("Day Off" is a replacement for "Meeting the Parents." Because Alvaar's probably scared of that shit and frankly so am I.)

Time Frame: Post Canon (years after Shadowbringers(?)), No Spoilers

Notes: All characters are aged up. Mentioned poly relationship between my WoL and the twins, but nothing more.

  It’s been over a month since Alvaar had last been in the Rising Stones, off on yet another Grand Adventure into who knows what that would likely end with him and a team of adventurers emerging triumphant over an enemy that was threatening the world. If Alisaie hadn’t kept meeting people corroborating his stories, she would have refused to believe the amount of ancient evils the Warrior of Light seemed to keep tripping over. It was almost as if he couldn’t go a week without kicking a rock that unleashed an ancient voidkin hellbent on genocide.

Granted, in all fairness she couldn’t fault him for his absence. Her own travels of Eorzea had only recently seen her back in Mor Dhona and was likely the only reason she wasn’t vocally irritated he hadn’t invited her along. Well, that and the obvious fatigue in his voice when she’d called him via link pearl to poke fun at him proper. He would be back soon, his exhausted voice had confirmed, and he looked forward to nothing more than sleeping in late sandwiched between his lovers in their shared room and catching up on what they’d been up to over breakfast and tea. And because he would be back on what was now tomorrow, it meant she would have her hands full today.

So she rose early per her usual, but instead of treading the worn path to her practice spot on the lake, she made straight for the kitchen long before the hired staff had arrived. Pulling a recipe tin down from one of the high shelves and flipping through numerous cards in varieties of penmanship until she found one featuring her own efficient script. Reading over the whole recipe once, and then a second time she sighed and glared at the oven and then the refrigerator before rolling up her sleeves and setting to work.

    An hour later, with pastry sheets chilling in the kitchen, she made for the Aetheryte Plaza and took herself to Bentbranch Meadows before setting out South. The walk toward the Mirror was uneventful, the few monsters that wandered about freely were too docile to cause much trouble, but the weather was already comfortably warm and the skies were promising to be a beautiful day.

It was a shame her quarry would be less than agreeable it seemed, she mused as she eyed the blackberry bushes and their thorns sourly.

“... He failed to mention needing gloves for this,” she grumbled aloud before sighing and resolving to making the best of it. At least she could heal any scratches on her own she reasoned. Which was good, because over the course of the next few hours she earned herself plenty.

    “Correct me if I am mistaken Alisaie but... I thought you hated blackberries?” Alphinaud asks from the side, watching her work in the kitchen of the Rising Stones late that afternoon with confused interest.

“I do,” she replies simply, continuing to spread the dark filling over cut squares of puff pastry.

“But you’re making blackberry turnovers? When you have repeatedly said you hate baking?” he continued, no less confused.

“I am.”

“... Were you perhaps going to clarify why you’ve taken a full day to make one of your least favorite baked goods, or should I just forget all about it?”

“I’ll lose track of time if you stand around gawping and asking silly questions. I’m making them because I am so if you’re not helping, don’t you have more important work to be doing?” she snipped flatly.

Raising his hands up in a placating gesture, the Scholar opted to take his leave. Even as her twin, some things his sister did he figured he would never understand.

    “And the serving tower? You’re spoiling me,” Alvaar teased, settling himself into a seat at their usual table in the Rising Stones.

“Hardly. Consider it payment for whatever undoubtably grand tale you’ll have to tell. I could use a good mystery for how this one sprung up,” Alisaie replied, setting the three tower snack tray on the table while her brother brought the tea.

“You know every time you bring that tower out, I always secretly panic about what order it’s supposed to be eaten in,” Alvaar remarked. “Then I notice it’s loaded with sweets and I remember you picked it out and it doesn’t matter.”

“Rude,” she sniffed, accepting the teacup Alphinaud offered to her. “It’s too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. Did you expect a full spread? Maybe even rolling out a red carpet for your arrival oh Grand Hero of the Realm?”

Chuckling, Alvaar waved it off and accepted his cup of tea as well. “Of course not. Just happy to see you and give you shit for a change. Short lived as it is… Thank you Alphi. How have you been?”

Giving a quiet smile as he curled his fingers about his teacup, the Scholar inclined his head. “Busy as ever. Offering advice and mediating with the beast tribes to help smooth over relations among the factions. Assisting in logistics for rebuilding efforts and writing letters of introduction...”

“Paperwork. He’s either been holed up in the study or away putting people to sleep with his speeches since you left,” Alisaie cut in flatly.

Alphinaud stared at his twin sourly for a moment before he lifted his cup and asked politely, “Alisaie, how are Ga Bu and the kobolds of U’Ghamaro by the way? Have trade relations with Limsa Lominsa been worked out? That was where your latest adventure went to yes? Some monster trouble in the mines?”

A soft snort left her before she flashed him a smile. “Yes, yes, brother I hear you loud and clear. Forgive my impatience, you know I wouldn’t dream of downplaying the importance of your diplomatic efforts. But given I skipped breakfast I would very much like it if our guest would make his choice of snacks so I can be one turn closer to my own given these silly rules of etiquette you both harp on me about.”

Biting down his laughter, Alvaar took a slow sip of his tea as the pair swung into fond bickering. Glancing over the trays he raised a brow before picking a few pieces with interest.

“From the sounds of it between the pair of you the Warrior of Light will be out of work. Excellent. I wouldn’t mind an early retirement from saving the world every other year or so,” he remarked once their spat slowed while Alphinaud selected his fare. Biting into his first pick and chewing thoughtfully for a moment, Alvaar went abruptly still, eyes wide as if in a moment of revelation.

“Alvaar?” Alphinaud asked hesitantly, glancing at his twin who was suddenly back to sipping her tea and studying the trays with shrewd assessment.

“Hm?” Blinking at him, the Bard offered an awkward smile and patted the air in a flash of rings for reassurance. Swallowing and taking a quick drink of his tea he chuckled softly. “Sorry. Just... had a moment I suppose. This just seems familiar is all,” he murmured, studying his plate as he reminisced. “Rosa used to make blackberry turnovers for me when she came back from long journeys. To make up for her absence I suppose. She’d always ask me about my studies and then tell me about wherever she had been and what adventures she’d been up to... Gods, wherever you got these must use the same recipe. They’ve got it almost down pat.”

Blinking in surprise, Alphinaud stared at his sister pointedly while she carefully selected a fruit tart off the tray.

“Alisaie you should try one of these,” Alvaar chirped happily, licking crumbs off his fingers. “It’s almost spot on for that recipe I told you about.”

“No thanks. I can’t stand blackberries,” she returned politely. “I’m afraid you’ll just have to enjoy them yourself. Now, how did you say that whole ‘accidentally unleashed an ancient evil’ business went again?”

      A/N:

A very long time ago before my parents divorced, I remember finding out that my Mom hates Deviled Eggs. Which I found strange because I remember her making them for almost every family event and most holidays, mostly because my Dad loves them.

It seemed silly that you would learn a recipe you hate, but I’ve asked a number of women over the years if they know a recipe they can’t stand because their SO loves it and pretty unanimously got a yes.

Affection and how women show it is a weird thing. Teaching yourself to do something you hate for someone else, just because it makes them happy. I know it’s not unique to women, but it’s always stuck with me as a prime example of it anyway.

[angelsarts]

I'm sorry to be a bother but, could we have a new anime list? I don't mind if it involves the animes on the original list!

O-K!! I will friendo!

1. My hero Academia! - adventure, superhero

Born without special powers in a world where 80% of the population has them, Izuku Midoriya still dreams of becoming a hero. An unexpected encounter with the legendary hero All Might gives him a chance to change his fate, but first he must master his newly-acquired Quirk in order to pass U.A.’s entrance exam.

2. Ore Monogatari! - Romantic comedy

With his muscular build and tall stature, Takeo Gouda is not exactly your average high school freshman. However, behind his intimidating appearance hides a heart of gold, and he is considered a hero by the boys for his courage and chivalry. Unfortunately, these traits do not help much with his love life. As if his looks are not enough to scare the opposite sex away, Takeo’s cool and handsome best friend and constant companion Makoto Sunakawa easily steals the hearts of the female students—including every girl Takeo has ever liked.

When Takeo gallantly saves cute and angelic Rinko Yamato from being molested, he falls in love with her instantly, but suspects that she might be interested in Sunakawa. With his own love for Yamato continuing to bloom, Takeo unselfishly decides to act as her cupid, even as he yearns for his own love story.

3. Gakuen babysitter - Comedy-drama, Slice of life, School story

After their parents are killed in a plane crash, Ryuuichi and his younger brother Kotarou are taken in by Youko Morinomiya, the stern chairman of an elite academy whose son and daughter-in-law died in the same accident. The Chairman makes it clear that in exchange for being their legal guardians, Ryuuichi must work outside of class hours at the school’s daycare, where Kotarou will stay during the day.

The series tells the story of the daycare children’s antics as well as how the two brothers adapt to their new lives.

4. Fruits basket - comedy romance slice of life

After her mother’s death, Tohru Honda finds herself living with the Sohma family consisting of three cousins: Yuki, the ‘prince charming’ of their high school, Kyo the hot headed, short tempered outcast, and Shigure the mischievous novelist, if not sometimes that of a pervert. Tohru finds out the Sohma family secret that when a member is hugged by the opposite gender or they are tired out, they turn into the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. Filled with many lovable character and many plot twists along the way, life at the Sohma house will never be the same again.

5. Say I love you - pure shoujo

Friends will only let you down—that is the sad truth Mei Tachibana lives with, ever since she was wrongfully blamed for the death of a class pet by her so-called friends in grade school. Since then, she stays away from people in order to avoid ever being hurt again. However, Mei’s life begins to change drastically when a misunderstanding in high school causes her to encounter popular student Yamato Kurosawa.

Yamato finds her intriguing and insists on being her friend, even though Mei wants nothing to do with him. But when a dangerous situation ends with Yamato kissing Mei to save her from the unwanted attention of a stalker, Mei begins to develop feelings for him. On the heels of her discovery that their feelings are mutual, they start dating and she gains not only a boyfriend, but friends as well. Mei, however, finds it very hard to adapt to this new lifestyle, especially in expressing her true feelings towards Yamato.

6. Yuri on ice - sports

After a disgrace in the Grand Prix Final, Japanese figure skater Katsuki Yuri seeks to retire. Victor Nikiforov, Russian world champion in figure skating is known for his surprises but is feeling stuck when he realises he has no more surprises left. When Yuri dances to Victor’s most famous routine 'Stay Close to Me’ the video is posted online and is seen by Victor. In this moment the Russian world champion decides to move to Japan and become Yuri’s coach. Over the course of various competitions, the two form a powerful bond and see that each other was all they needed to accomplish what both had hoped for.

7.  Kyou kara maou - comedy, fantasy adventure with a hint of gayness

Kyou kara Maou! revolves around Yuri Shibuya, your average Japanese teenager. One day, Yuri sees a classmate being harassed by bullies. Thanks to this intervention, his friend is able to escape, but unfortunately Yuri becomes the new target of the bullies in the process and gets his head shoved into a toilet. But instead of water, the toilet contains a swirling portal that sucks him into another world, largely resembling medieval Europe. There, he is told that he will become the next Demon King due to his black hair and black eyes, traits only possessed by the demon’s royal lineage.Yuri’s arrival is met with some skepticism by some of the demons, who view him as unworthy to be their king. However, after Yuri wins a duel by utilizing his magical powers, the demons slowly begin to acknowledge him as their monarch. Yuri must now learn what it takes be a true Demon King, as he tries to keep the peace between demons and humans in this strange new realm.

8. Princess Jellyfish -  comedy romance

Ever since her late mother took her to an aquarium when she was young, Tsukimi Kurashita has been obsessed with jellyfish, comparing their flowing tentacles to a princess’s white dress. Now living with five other unemployed otaku women, 19-year-old Tsukimi spends her days as a social outcast dreaming of becoming an illustrator.

However, her life changes forever when one day, a beautiful woman unexpectedly helps her save a jellyfish in a local pet store. From then on, the stranger—confident, fashionable, and the complete opposite of Tsukimi and her roommates—begins to regularly visit the girls’ building. This trendy hipster, though appearing shallow at first, harbours some secrets of her own, starting with the fact that “she” isn’t really a girl at all, but a wealthy male college student named Kuranosuke Koibuchi!

9. Fullmetal Alchemist - adventure, sci fi, dark fantasy

The Elric brothers’ mother is dead and their father has long since abandoned them. Deciding to perform a forbidden human transmutation to bring their mother back, they end up losing their bodies. Now Edward must join the military in order to gain certain alchemical privileges, with his one goal being to restore his brother to his original state. But with war on the horizon it’s only a matter of time before they are both forced to question their morals and ultimately decide the value of human life.

10. The world god only knows - comedy romance

Keima Katsuragi prefers immersing himself in the 2D world, chasing digital girlfriends. However, after answering a mysterious email he finds himself bound by a contract helping the demon Elsie capture 'lost souls’ from the underworld. He must now win over these real-life ladies in order to fill the void in their hearts which these souls have entered, releasing the souls and allowing for their capture. Also to further motivate, if he does not perform this 'duty’ a collar around his neck will explode.

[maanling]

☾ *¸• HEADCANON : PARENTS & EARLY CHILDHOOD.

Previously posted here !

italics = ‘’official’’ canon material that I accept bold = canon divergent headcanons

Remus’ father was called Lyall Alton Lupin and his mother was called Hope Louise Lupin (née Howell).

Hope was a muggle and the daughter of a pharmacist, born in 1936 in a remote village at the edge of the Scottish Highlands. Lyall, born in 1928, was a half-blood wizard and was raised in Liverpool.

Lyall ’‘was a world-renowned authority on Non-Human Spirituous Apparitions’’ and worked for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic. He is a serious workaholic.

Lyall and Hope met in 1958 while he was chasing a particularly fierce and vicious boggart across Scotland.  Passing through the village while preparing an expedition to the Highlands,  Lyall never suspected to stumble upon his future wife. They did not fall for the other straightaway— after parting in the belief their meeting was nothing but two strangers’ accidentally crossing paths, one more month of mundanity passed for Hope.

Their second encounter was far from pleasant ;  after the said boggart travelled from town to town, causing havoc wherever it went, the spirit found itself inhabiting Hope’s closet. She was mercilessly faced with the horrific sight of her parents standing motionlessly in a fashion that would already have been frightening without the fact that their heads were brutally severed. Lyall burst in and managed to banish the spirit, unfortunately too late to prevent the incident from being incredibly traumatizing for Hope, whose parents symbolized the small village she had never dared to leave; the only realm she’d ever known. Hope was both intrigued by and terrified of Lyall and demanded several explanations, eventually being informed about the magical world beyond hers.

While Muggles ’‘rarely see [boggarts] plainly and are often easily convinced that they are a figment of their imagination’’, Hope’s boggart was extraordinarily realistic. Lyall later explained that could be due to the fact that the boggart had been uncommonly wild and aggressive.

The two fell in love and Hope - with mixed feelings from her parent’s side - moved to Liverpool.

Hope became pregnant before she married Lyall. In fact, that very twist was to be one of the major reasons Lyall proposed to her.

THEY. DID. NOT. HAVE. A. WEDDING CAKE TOPPER. IN. THE. SHAPE. OF. A. BOGGART. Hope highly prefers not to be reminded of her encounter with the non-being.

Remus Lupin was born on March 10, 1960, in Liverpool.

‘’In 1965, Fenrir Greyback was brought in for questioning at the Ministry of Magic following the deaths of two Muggle children (…). Greyback was himself a werewolf, but because the Werewolf Registry was not maintained very well, the Ministry did not know this fact. He insisted that he was a Muggle tramp, and all members of the questioning committee, save Lyall, accepted this story. Lyall recognized characteristic signs of lycanthropy in Greyback’s appearance and behaviour. He voiced his concerns to the committee, recommending that Greyback be detained until the next full moon (…). However, the other committee members laughed at him, and he lost his temper, declaring werewolves to be “soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death.” Consequently, Lyall was expelled from the room, and Greyback was released. But while being seen out by a Ministry wizard, who intended to erase his memory of having been brought in for questioning, Greyback escaped with the help of two accomplices.’‘

Lyall Lupin was (partly) responsible for the imprisonment of three members of what later turned out to be Greyback’s pack.

Both Lyall’s insulting speech and his engagement in the capture of werewolves made Greyback eager to harm him– while the thought of turning Lyall himself came to the werewolf’s wicked mind, he soon realized it would be more effective to hurt the ones he loved.

On February 6, 1965, while Hope and Remus were both asleep and Lyall was completing a report downstairs in his study, “Greyback forced open [Remus]’s bedroom window” with the intention of brutally murdering the boy only to perform the same cruel act on his mother. Remus’ screams were loud, though, and as soon as they were perceived by Lyall, the man apparated into the bedroom and managed to repel Greyback from the premises ‘’with powerful curses’’ before he could achieve his aim. Unfortunately, Lyall hadn’t been able to prevent permanent damage; a deep claw mark, gushing with blood, ran over Remus’ unconscious neck and shoulder. HIS FACE IS LEFT UNSCARRED. A rightfully distressed Hope, barely able to breathe normally, desperately tried to cease the bleeding with her bathrobe. The incident left Remus eternally scarred, both literally and figuratively, as the ruthless disease of lycanthropy now ran through the boy’s bloodstream.  

Both Hope and Lyall instantly went to St. Mungo’s with their son, where they spoke in full confidentiality to a Healer, who only confirmed what Lyall already knew ;  there was no cure for werewolfism known to wizardkind, nor any magical way to fade the scars.

And so life as the Lupin’s were familiar with changed drastically – they moved often, residing mainly in Muggle towns, claiming where ever they went that their son had been attacked by a vicious dog when neighbours noticed the scar in his neck. As soon as whispers would start to spread, suitcases would be packed again.

Remus’ first transformations were in his own room, the most valuable objects moved to the living room. Hope and Lyall never fell into sleep’s arms during those nights– they simply sat there, staring at nothing in particular, trying not to let the howls and growls permeate to their ears. Hope always silently wept.

His mother was usually the first one to enter the room in the morning, only to find the door mutilated by claws and her precious son curled up naked on the wooden floor, asleep or shivering, but always covered in fresh scratches.

Lyall lacked no magical skills, yet was entirely impotent against the one kind of beast he truly feared ; the monster hidden beneath his son’s skin, who imbibed all the boy’s energy and tortured him with no mercy every few weeks. Each time he laid his eyes upon the scarred complexion, extreme guilt would well up and he’d consciously eradicate the memory of ever insulting Greyback, hoping the more often he’d do that, the less real its results became. Hope felt even more powerless– with no magical abilities whatsoever, limited knowledge of the Wizarding World that she hardly felt a part of, and the ignoring glares of Healers who pretended she was nothing but an ignorant piece of furniture, the only way she could really help was by emptying her heart and giving her only son all the love she possessed.

His parents did everything within their capability to find any sort of medication for their son, trying both magical and muggle remedies to alleviate his lycanthropic transformations — but no potion nor antibiotic managed to do so. Hope applied the medical knowledge she’d received from her father when patching up her son after transformations.

Remus had very little to no contact with other children of his age, causing him to be incredibly lonely.

Remus developed a form of anxiety at an extremely early age. Although he was young, he was bright enough to realize his curse was a genuine burden for his parents; he saw it in the way his father faked smiles when he got home after work (if he ever did so) and in his mother’s gloomy eyes that appeared whenever they had to pack their belongings in order to move away again. Shortly after his seventh birthday, Remus ran away from home– not mirroring the classic case of a lost kid who flees from their family because he claims to no longer like them, but rather one of a child who - burning with insecurities and self-doubt - wants to relieve his parents’ suffering by erasing himself from their lives. His father found him two days afterward and, imprisoned by the illness called “concern’’, Lyall had a long and vexed conversation with his son, only to end in a clinging embrace.

When his wolf form grew too powerful and large for the bedroom, Remus and Lyall would monthly travel to forests and other remote areas. His father would stay awake all night to make sure he didn’t wander off too far.

Remus initially did not receive a letter from Hogwarts when he turned 11. Despite not being surprised by the subtle refusal - after all,  what risk is greater than having a young werewolf at an educational institution? - his father was outraged, believing his son was entitled as much as any other child ( if not more ) to quality education and the opportunity to be around peers. It wasn’t until Lyall sent an owl to Albus Dumbledore, thoroughly pleading for Remus to be accepted at Hogwarts and even offering aid in any able manner for the monthly transformations, that Dumbledore apparated at their front door to discuss the possibility of the boy’s admission. Remus was never informed about his father’s action, believing that the Headmaster contacted the Lupin’s entirely of his own accord. This belief would eventually lead to the development of the crucial and virtually blind faith the werewolf would later have in Dumbledore.

During his years at Hogwarts, Remus used the fact that his mother was ill as the excuse for his monthly disappearances. While this wasn’t the main reason, obviously, Hope indeed suffered from a form of lung cancer.  She passed away in 1981.

After Remus’ death, Lyall retired and spent most of his time with his grandson. He passed away in 2019, 38 years after his wife and 17 years after his son.

[swanqueeneverafter]

What Dreams May Come, Pt.27

Henry's Dreamscape. Kingdom of Valencia. The Bottle Yard. (Queen Madelena and Gareth enter the tavern in the middle of a brawl. Upon spotting their king and queen however, the patrons settle themselves.) Bearded Man: "Crown!" Queen Madelena: “So, how does this whole bar-fight thing work?” Gareth: “Well, usually, we have a pint or two. And then I catch someone looking at me, I insult his mother, and then away we go.” Queen Madelena: “Oh, good. Let's start. (Looks around:) Oh. What about him? He gave you a momentary glance.” Gareth: “Mm. Did he? (Walks over and shoves the man:) Oi! You got a problem?” Bald Man: “Uh, none at all, uh, Your Highness.” Queen Madelena: “Well, you should. King Gareth just called your mother a two-bit hussy.” Bald Man: “Oh, uh, right you are, My King! My mother is a hussy. In fact, she's the biggest hussy in the land.” Bald Man’s Mother: “Indeed, I am, your grace!” Man 2: (Stands:) “My mother sells herself, as well, Your Majesty.” Man 3: “Mine too! Filthiest woman in the whole red-candle district.” Man 4: “My father's a hussy!” (Soon all the patrons are shouting indistinctly. Annoyed, Gareth turns and leaves, Madelena following him out of the tavern.) Enchanted Forest. Past. (David and his faithful dog, Wilby, are walking through the woods on their way to Longbourn.) David: (Notices something in the dog’s mouth:) “What did you find, Wilby? A cup. Why don't you let me hold your treasure? Come on. We got to get to Longbourn before dark. (The dog whimpers and returns the way it came:) Wilby! Wilby! (Follows:) Wilby! Wilby! (Barking:) Wilby!” (The dog leads him to a wagon, standing alone in the forest.) Peddler: (Stepping out from behind a tree:) “Can I help you?” David: (Turns to face him:) “Oh, sorry to intrude. My dog got something into his head.” Peddler: “Say, that's my cup you have there. Went over a bump a while back and dropped it. I thought it was lost. Not good for a traveling merchant to be so careless with his goods.” David: “Well, that explains it then. Wilby must've gotten the scent of it. My mother says he's a bloodhound in a sweater. (Hands over the cup:) Sorry it's a little battered.”

Peddler: “Oh, that's all right. Worth it to see such a fine animal like this. (Crouches down to pet the dog:) You are a fine little fella, aren't you? (Chuckles:) Made camp here last night so no brigands would find me.” David: “Brigands?” Peddler: (Stands:) “Oh, yes. I usually never travel this road alone. Say, which way are you headed?” David: “To Longbourn.” Peddler: “Fate has smiled upon our heads. That's exactly where I'm headed. Perhaps we can travel together? My name’s Gabriel.” David: “David. (They shake hands:) That sounds fine.” Gabriel: “Hop on up. I'm eager to get started for the day.” (While David heads to the front of the wagon, Gabriel opens the back, revealing several large chains, armour and axes.) Elsewhere In The Forest. (Blue, still in her human form, walks alongside Snow White.) Blue Fairy: “Do you really have to go, Princess Snow? The fairies can help you. Surely there is a way other than leaving your home.” Snow White: “Home is where your family is, and by now, that's pretty much just the woman who's trying to kill me.” Blue Fairy: “There's an old fairy saying. If someone believes in you, you are never alone. All the people love you.” Snow White: (Scoffs:) “Love.” Blue Fairy: “Love is the most powerful magic in the world.” Snow White: “Really? You know that brooch I sold? My father gave that to my mother because he loved her. She treasured it because it was from him. After she died, you know what he did? He gave it to Regina because he loved her, too. She treated it like trash. His love meant everything to my mother and nothing to my step-mother. See, love doesn't hold its value. The only thing that's maintained its value this entire time is the brooch, and I can't afford to invest in anything less. (Holds up a pouch:) This? This can buy me something that can actually change my life... a ticket out of here. (They hug:) Goodbye, Blue.” Blue Fairy: “Be careful. Danger can look harmless at first.” Henry's Dreamscape. (Ella, Richard & Roberta ride upon their one remaining horse when it stops walking.) Richard: “It stopped. This is what happened to the last one.” Ella: “Okay, okay. Let's just try giving it a kick. It worked before. One, two, three. Kick.” (They all attempt to prod the horse into walking, but the animal does not want to move:) Great.” Richard: “It's useless. (They all climb off the horse:) How could things have gone so bad so quickly? Those stupid bats ate all our food. We all got the same cold. Worst of all...” Ella: “Please don't say it again.” Richard: “We had to eat that family of hobbits.” Roberta: “Ugh. Richard, look, I'm sorry we had to eat hobbits. But we didn't have a choice. We're starving.”

Richard: (Notices a signpost up ahead:) “Hold on a minute. ‘Sir Arnold Galavant’s Swordsmanship School.’ Huh. This sounds promising.” Ella: “Uh... No. (They turn to face her:) We don’t have time to enroll you in some sword fighting class, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Richard: “Why ever not? Neither of you two have managed to train me.” Ella: “That’s because we’re always too busy fighting off bandits who want to rob and kill us while you scream like a little girl.” Richard: “That is not- (Glances at Roberta:) Okay, fine. But it’s a school. At the very least they’ll have food.” Roberta: (Pleading:) “We ate hobbits.” Ella: “No, we have to keep moving. Look, I'm sure we could find a warm bed and a nice meal in literally any other direction. (They turn to look at other signposts. One reads ‘Nothing for 20 miles’. Another reads ‘Nothing for 50 miles’ and the last simply says ‘This way to certain death’:) Oh, fiddlesticks.” The Land Without Magic. (Emma and Regina are driving back to Storybrooke.) Regina: "So, do you want to talk about what happened back there?" Emma: "What part in particular? The fact that Henry is now trapped in the dreamworld, or the part where we have to ask our friends and family to form an army to save him because we can't?" Regina: "Then you agree, we should stay behind?" Emma: "What? No, I just meant that-" Regina: "Because I think you should seriously consider sitting this one out." Emma: "Me? You're the one who's pregnant here." Regina: "Yes, I'm pregnant, not disabled." Emma: (Winces:) "Look, I'm sorry, but I know what you were gonna say. You think it's a bad idea for me to go through the curse again." Regina: "I saw how you were with Facilier." Emma: "Hey, I did fine with Facilier." Regina: "Only after you realised it wasn't him. I think that speaks volumes." Emma: "I'm not talking about this. I'm going, end of discussion." Regina: (Glares at her, coolly:) "Pull over at the next stop. (At Emma's look:) I have to pee. I’m pregnant, remember?" (Emma nods but says nothing, clearly aware that the discussion is far from over.)

Storybrooke. Outside Granny’s Diner. (David sits across from Jefferson, a destroyed hat between them.) David: “Can you get me through?” Jefferson: “No.” David: “Can you get them back? Can you get it to work?” Jefferson: (Laughs:) “If you only knew.” David: “Okay, I know you have others so use one of them and take me to wherever Henry and Hook are being held.” Jefferson: “They're in Morpheus’ realm, that's for sure. I just can't go there.” David: “Can’t or won’t?” Jefferson: “I already meddled in Morpheus’ affairs once and it cost me dearly. You can’t win in his world.” David: “So you won't help me?” Jefferson: “My days as a portal jumper are over. I tried to warn you people this would happen and now it has. It’s out of my hands.” David: (Grabbing Jefferson by the scarf:) “I’m not letting you off that easy. How about I just throw you in a cell until you agree to help me?” Jefferson: “Then all we'll do is both sit, thinking of those we’ve lost... Double the pain. Double the suffering.” (Jefferson tips over the table and flees. David chases after him, but is stopped by Lily.) Lily: “David, stop!” David: “Get out of my way!” Lily: “No, what is going on?” David: “He has the way!” Lily: “The way? The way to what?” David: “To saving Henry... (Realising:) And your father.” Lily: “My father? What’s this about?” David: (Sighs:) “Henry and Killian are trapped in the Dream World, and I’m trying to find a way to get to them.” Lily: “And you think the best way to do that is by threatening everyone?” David: “Jefferson’s been there before, he could easily take me there if he wanted to, but he refuses.” Lily: “You want to put your trust in the Mad Hatter’s hat? The rules of that thing change with the wind, it’s far too unstable.” David: “Then what’s your big idea, sheriff?” (Without waiting for an answer, David storms away. Watching him leave, Lily thinks for a moment before getting an idea.)

Henry's Dreamscape. (The trio arrive outside the swordsmanship school and Ella is still not convinced.) Ella: "Listen, we don't have time for this. I promise to train you myself while we continue our search for an army." Richard: "Unless you can train me while we eat, I'm not interested. (To Roberta:) So hungry." Roberta: "Yeah. (They walk through the gates together:) I wonder if dinner is steak?" Richard: "Hear, hear." (Up ahead, the sound of children can be heard.) Arnold: (Carrying several children:) "Ha ha ha! Ah, greetings! Come in. Boys, make way, make way, make way. Welcome, welcome. (Beckoning them inside:) Come, come, come.” Roberta: “You have a lovely home, sir.” Arnold: “Thank you.” Richard: “You have a lot of children. Your wife must be so sore.” (Roberta hits Richard in the chest chidingly.) Arnold: (Chuckles:) “They're not mine. I run a swordsmanship school for at-risk youth. Have been ever since I retired from the heroics game.” Ella: “A school for children?” Roberta: “Should’ve seen that coming.” (They enter the practice area and are swarmed by more boys.) Arnold: “Hey, boys! Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! One at a time.” The Land Without Magic. Roadside Cafe. (Returning from the bathroom together, Emma walks ahead as Regina takes a seat at a table.) Emma: “David said Jefferson won’t help us, so we’ve got- (Notices Regina isn’t behind her, turns and walks to the table:) What are you doing? We can get a drink to-go.” Regina: “I’m not going anywhere until we talk about this.” Emma: (Pulls out a chair and takes a seat:) “All right, let’s talk.” Regina: “Even if you were willing to relive the curse, you still wouldn’t be able to save Henry.” Emma: “We’ll figure something out. We always do.” Regina: “But that’s just it. Morpheus isn’t going to allow us to share a dreamscape. You’ll be reliving the Black Fairy’s curse and I’ll be god knows where.” Emma: “Then what, Regina? We just give in, let Morpheus rule over us all?” Regina: “At least there’s a chance we’ll still be together.” Emma: “Yeah and there was a chance Hades would’ve lived among us in peace, right up until he killed Robin Hood and almost killed you.”

Regina: “Fine, then what do you suggest? That we walk blindly into the Dream World and fight Morpheus on his terms?” Emma: “I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I do know that sitting here won’t accomplish anything. (Stands:) So, you coming?” (Regina watches Emma closely, troubled by what lies ahead for them, and for her wife especially.) Henry's Dreamscape. Swordsmanship School. (Richard stands in front of the other students, sword in hand.) Richard: “All right, boys, who's gonna train me? (The boys stand in a line and all draw their own swords:) Oh. (One boy steps forward, twirling his sword menacingly:) Oh! Watch the face! What's wrong with you? (They begin to train:) Good Lord.” (Watching from above are Ella and Roberta.) Ella: “You know, there was a time when I would've paid good money to see this.” Roberta: “It's nice that he's good with kids, though.” Richard: (From below:) “Why, you little... Come here, come here! Ow! Ow! Ow!” Roberta: “Ella, I'm starting to worry that Richard won't be ready when the real battle comes.” Ella: “Careful, Roberta. You're starting to sound like someone who cares for the guy.” Roberta: “In love with him? Me? (Scoffs:) What? I'm not in love with him.” Richard: (From below as the children attack him:) “What's wrong with you people?!” Roberta: “At all.”

Enchanted Forest. Past. (David and Gabriel continue travelling together through the woods.) David: “I didn't think we'd break so soon.” Gabriel: “Oh, my poor old horse needs a good many breaks. And I like to take a look at the local scenery. Don't think Wilby's complaining, either. (David Chuckles:) Drink up. No more breaks after this. We can make it all the way to Longbourn in one leg.” David: (Takes a drink:) “Thanks.” (David immediately feels woozy, falling to his knees.) Gabriel: “You all right, mate? Oh, mate, you shouldn't take drinks from strangers. (David collapses to the ground, panting. Wilby whimpers:) He's just sleeping. And I have a fun game for you and me to play in the meantime.” Elsewhere In The Forest. (Snow White is walking alone, when she hears a branch snap. Turning quickly, arming herself with a heavy rock, Snow is relieved to see Wilby walking towards her.) Snow White: (Crouching down to greet him:) “Oh, hey. Where did you come from?” (She gasps as an axe lands beside her.) Woodcutter: “I see you met my friend.” Snow White: “The Woodcutter. How did you find me?” Gabriel: (Removing his hood to reveal his face:) “You're nothing but a lost princess. And I came across an excellent sheep dog. They're great at finding strays. They just need to get a scent. (Wilby whimpers and runs off. Snow spits in the Woodcutter’s face, who laughs:) Oh, come on. I'm not gonna kill you. (Grabs her face:) I'm just gonna take you to the queen and get a reward. She'll kill you.”

[marshunter06]

Endgame Thoughts

If you haven’t seen it and you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read this.

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Unpopular opinion but I don’t fucking care. I fucking hated endgame. What the fuck was that? This movie was written for fanboys with no regard for fan girls. There were so many issues within the original six’s characterization (with the exception of Clint imo). Call me an angry bitch just cause my ship wasn’t canon, sure whatever, but that’s not why I’m fucking bitter. It left me so fucking unsatisfied. I feel empty. What the fuck did I just watch.

While I love Steve and enjoy Tony, this movie was once again not an avengers movie. It’s a Steve and Tony movie. Everyone else got their story arc pushed back. Telling me that Natasha will play a big role in this movie then killing her off halfway. Yeah sure. Tell me again why Thor was pretty fucking useless against Thanos while Steve was kicking ass? He’s the fucking God of Thunder! Also he was the butt of too many jokes and it was way overdone. Haven’t we seen Thor hit rock bottom having to fight his way back enough times? Also he didn’t mention Loki??? He’s still hung up on Jane? Now he’s probably going to be in gotg 3 and I’m just not a fan of that. Take more spotlight away from the guardians whatever. I’m not a Thor stan so I won’t say more, but they did him dirty.

The Bruce and Hulk thing was pretty fucking weird to me. Though again not a huge fan of him normally I can’t say much. I’ll agree with Valkyrie when she says I think I liked you better before. If they would have explained this better or even set it up then maybe I could accept it more. When the ancient one pushed Bruce out I fully expected Hulk to get up, but nope. Guess he’s gone, just his body left. Kinda pissed fhat ge didn’t get a rematch with Thanos. I also think that they made Bruce more of a joke and dumber even though he’s pretty fucking smart. Again not a stan, so I’ll leave it at that, but they him dirty.

Tony. Fuck man. Nothing will every prepare for that moment. Everybody knew it was coming, but it wasn’t fucking fair. You guys just couldn’t let him be happy with Pepper and Morgan (this Morgan is fucking pissed because of this). He’s played the self sacrificing character in every single fucking avengers movie. Really? This crap again? It’s fucking old. Just let the man retire, but no because no one else is more qualified to deal the final blow to Thanos. Fuck that. The heart and soul of the MCU is gone now. Thanks a lot. With it, a true OTP gone too. While I’m at this, fuck Howard Stark. Why do you guys want to paint him as such a great man all the time? Tony just suffers and suffers. Does he get a happy ending? No, he gets to die instead. Of fucking course. I could go on about this, but basically they did him fucking dirty.

As for my goddess Natasha... words cannot describe how bitter I am that you’re gone. I refuse to believe it. You’re just stuck in the soul realm. I honestly think they killed her just because they didn’t know what the fuck to do with her character. Which is fucking dumb since I would’ve loved the Black Widow movie to be set after Endgame with her doing shit on her own, but nope. Poor Nat is just trying to keep shit together without falling apart. She cares so much about her found family and she would do anything for them. It’s a shame she doesn’t get to see how she helped save the world. It’s also a fucking shame that she didn’t get a fucking funeral or more than a few lines from Clint. Yo if you don’t see romanogers as an otp theyre at the very least a solid brotp! We got one fucking tear from Steve then nothing. Why did she even have to die! In Infinity Wars Red Skull tells Thanos he must lose what he loves most, no offense, but Natasha is not what Clint loves most. He’s already lost who he loves most. All of a sudden it changes to who you love? While the clintasha moments were great, it was just that. This movie gave us Clint and Clintasha development but nothing with just Natasha. She is more than her relationship with other men. I know I wrote a fic where she dies during Endgame, but fuck man did it really have to come true? She wasn’t in half the movie because of this bullshit! That awesome women empowerment moment with all the ladies of the MCU was missing the Black Widow! She gave us the first strong female hero in the MCU and she should’ve fucking been there for that scene, but no. I don’t care what anyone says, she should’ve fucking been there. It would’ve been such a kickass moment to finally see all of them together on screen kicking ass. She deserved better. Fuck. I’m sorry Natasha, they did you fucking dirty.

I have a lot of feelings about Steve obvi since that’s my Captain. The man out of time thing? We’re really still going with that? Sure just disregard all of his character development in the previous movies, yeah let’s just put him back at the first avengers film. It’s a fucking sad day when I say I wish he fucking died. They basically killed his character for me. I fucking knew he would go back in time and stay there. What other choice did they have if they didn’t want to kill him? Well they should’ve just killed him. It would’ve been fitting for him to make that ultimate sacrifice finally just as Tony did. I’ve always loved seeing Steve progress and develops with each movie proving to us why he’s Captain America and why he’s still relevant today, but this movie fucking regresses the hell out of him. You’re fucking telling me he chooses to go back for Peggy who he knew for what like three years instead of staying with his team/family who he’s worked with for over ten fifteen years now. Yeah cause apparently they don’t mean shit to him. Fuck that. Steggy isn’t the only real relationship. His brotps matter too and they matter a hell of a lot more than his romances. Instead of giving us that Howard and Tony talk, Peggy should’ve slapped some sense into Steve. Honestly I firmly believe that Steve wouldn’t have gone back if Tony and Nat made it. I’m still fucking livid. Yeah let’s just ignore all the timeline/ other universes that will occur when I choose to stay back in time. Let’s just skip over Steve putting the soul stone back and ignoring Natasha’s death so he can get back to his lost love. Yes I’m fucking bitter. What the fuck did you do to my favorite character? And to the important relationships he had with the other avengers, new and old? Given the choice I guess we would apparently all choose to live in the past instead of moving forward. Great fucking message there. Steve, they did your character fucking dirty.

Bring on the fanfics cause this canon is fucking broke. I have a fix it fic in mind already. I’m so disappointed in the MCU. Endgame is not my canon. Fuck that movie. Honestly I’m kinda done with this. I don’t want to talk about this fucking movie anymore. I never thought Endgame would be the end of my love for the MCU too. To quote Tony, “part of the journey is the end” and unlike some poorly written characters, I can move on.

[beyondalicerp]

Name: Elora Astaril Age: 27 Date of Birth: June 7th Gender: Female Sexuality: Heterosexual Residence: The Palace Occupation: Assassin Species: Inhabitant Affiliation: Crimson Face Claim: Poppy Drayton         Suggested: Theo James, Michael B. Jordan, Nathaniel Buzolic,                            Lesley-Ann Brandt, Jamie Chung, Caity Lotz, Tessa Thompson Played by: Bryony

The Panic separated many families fleeing the horrors of Tulgey. The Assassin was still so young when it happened. All they recall of their family is vague figures in the back of an old cart. From then on, they were on their own, stealing food and seeking shelter in whatever small spaces they could fit. Then, the Crimson King came. On their first visit to the Woodland after their coronation, the Assassin remembers struggling to move through the crowd to see them, only for a strong hand to reach through and pull them out. The Assassin still doesn’t know what it was that day that the King saw in them, but the King saved them, brought them to the Palace, and raised them with greater purpose. Their title is a myth to the people of Wonderland, a reputation with no face, and it is within that shadow of mystery that the Assassin works. With unwavering loyalty, the Assassin works to ensure that every word of the King’s is upheld, and all threats eradicated, for the protection of Wonderland.

The Crimson King: The Assassin looks up to the king, seeing all of the good that they have done and knowing the kindness that was shown to them as a child. Although they were a small child, they were a fighter, and it was shown in the many instances where the Assassin came into conflict with bullies, both around Wonderland and the Palace. The King must have seen that, as they decided to have the Assassin trained by the knight that first led the King’s forces, a dear friend of the King’s and a fierce fighter. While said knight has since retired, the Assassin has surpassed those lessons, becoming the King’s most lethal weapon and most loyal protector.

The Golden Archer: The Assassin has always had to deal with bullies, and the Golden Archer is no different. The Archer makes a point to tease and humiliate the Assassin in front of anyone that will listen. The Assassin tolerates it as best as they can, knowing the Archer is only trying to get under their skin, but part of them wants to fight back like they did when they were young. It is only their respect for the King that is keeping them at bay, but the Archer may just push them too far one of these days.

Chanson the Chaotic: It is easy for the Assassin to travel in the Woodland since no one recognizes them as the Crimson Assassin. They are simply a nameless figure, keeping watch on the community. They noticed Chanson a couple of months ago. Something about them intrigued the Assassin. The way they look at people, they way they talk... It’s all very strange. The Assassin suspects they may not be from here, and that they may have ill intent, but Chanson’s identity and mission has managed to evade them so far. 

The Crimson Assassin is currently TAKEN.

Violetta and Trito never meant to hurt anyone. They had been living a perfectly normal life with their three children, and they were perfectly content. They travelled a lot, and lived out of a cart. It was hardly the ideal way to live, but for them they had everything they needed there, and anything they didn’t have, they could soon find in the land. It wasn’t a grand life, but it was a happy life. But they mostly only travelled in Tulgey, and soon the horrors of the Panic came. They tried to travel quickly, but the old cart could only move so quickly, and even after throwing out everything, it was still too slow. That was how it came to be, that they realised that to save themselves and their children, someone had to be left behind.

Elora was the youngest, and at the time she was suffering from an illness. Only a cold, but it felt easier to give her up, and save her two older brothers who had a better understanding of what was going on.  She was told to go and find some fire wood, and that her family would meet her at a location an hour later. But she did the one thing they told her not to do, and she turned around to see the cart leaving, with the rest of her family leaving. Although young, even she realised that she had been left behind. She had learnt enough from her brothers to be able to fight her way out of scraps, and so she focused on somehow just staying alive. Her family had abandoned her, and so she stopped thinking about them. If they weren’t interested in her then she saw no reason to be hung up on them.

And so it was, that Elora survived. She learnt to steal food when she was hungry, and learnt to hide when there was danger. There was a few who tried to harm her, but they never really got very far with it. Then the day came that Gideon appeared, and suddenly the monsters she had spent so long hiding from were gone. She only went to the coronation to see the man that had risen up against the things her nightmares were made of. She wasn’t expecting anything to come of it, and yet she still fought her way through the dense crowd to see the man. She hadn’t expected him to even see her, let alone pull her from the crowd and take her back to the palace.

It was a different world from the one she was used to. Instead of sleeping in holes, or under tables, there was a proper bed, and proper food instead of the scraps that she had stolen. The whole thing felt like a dream. But she was still young, and still fairly small, especially compared to some who walked around the palace. She didn’t really understand why the King had been worried about this, but the defence lessons started, and oddly she found herself enjoying them far more than anything else. She didn’t even realise how good she was, she thought that people were taking it easy on her because she was young, but it soon became evident that they weren’t.

For years her life was training and she didn’t really realise what it was for, until one day the King came to her with a strange request. He wanted to keep Wonderland safe, and it seemed the biggest threat was Alice. She had heard all the stories about the girl, and though the request sounded odd to her, she went. The realm Alice lived in was a strange place, metal horses and strange boxes people spoke into. But one thing that wasn’t different was the weather, and as a storm started, she realised she could use it to her advantage. Knocking on the door she begged for shelter. Alice being Alice, gave her the shelter, and having heard all of the stories in Wonderland about the woman, she was under no doubt she had found the right person. But there were children in the house. She wasn’t too worried about destroying their innocence, she had lost hers when she was younger, she was more worried they could cause a commotion if they saw their mother die. That wasn’t what she needed. So instead she waited, waited until night final fell and there were no sounds in the house before she went into Alice’s bedroom. She had no qualms with doing the deed, the King had told her that this woman risked Wonderland’s safety and this was the man who had saved it all those years before. Still, she had heard the stories, and so used a poison, pouring it through the woman’s sleeping lips. Painless, but effective. She didn’t wait to the life drain out of the woman, the poison would do it work. Instead she simply slipped out of the house and back to Wonderland. Even if anyone did believe the children about her being there, she knew they would never be able to find her again.

It was the first time that Elora had killed for the King, but it would not be the last. Silently getting the job done, with no one aware it was her. It became almost an art form. However in the palace she has become almost invisible. No longer fighting to survive, but instead appearing calm and collected. If anyone does even notice her, they simply assume she is a serving girl, and she will always go along with whatever it is that they ask of her. Outside the palace she is rarely noticed, normally just assumed to be a local girl if anyone does even wonder about it. If it means that Wonderland and, more importantly, the King are safe, then she doesn’t mind living in the shadows. She has heard the whispers of rebellion in the castle, but as far as she can see, the King saved her life, and now she owes it to him to protect his. As for the people she’s killed, she hasn’t lost any sleep over them.

[toku-explained]

@stevetbqh asks: Has it been explained in depth, in any Garo media exactly why females can't become Makai Knights? Warning: this post has serious spoilers for a while chunk of the Garo franchise. As far as any research into the topic has told me, no. While trying to research the topic I've seen people claiming that women are naturally more stained with Inga or that certain things that only happen to (cis) women would prevent them from being able to fight Horrors all the time. That of course, is terrible, and ignores the fact that any Makai Knight with a Madougu partner is already out of action for one day a month, and that if periods prevented women from fighting we wouldn't have a veritable army of badass Makai Priestesses who have never been shown as unable to fight. My assumption has always been that, in universe, the answer is simple sexism. Let's remember that the Makai Order have been in existence for millennia, and by necessity managed to be spread across the world and somewhat organised for centuries even when that should be impossible despite this. My assumption was always that the Senate, for whatever reason, declared women could not be Makai Knights, probably subscribing to typical views, and no further thought has gone into it in their minds. The problem with this is that given the Senate don't seem to actually keep good track of the members of the Makai and familial links, surely at some point a daughter of a Makai Knight would have trained herself to the same level as a Makai Knight and been able to summon her parents' armour, even if only recently. But no, apparently all daughters of Makai Knights have only ever trained to be Makai Priests. The whole issue of women not being able to be Makai Knights has only really been covered a few times. Before I get to the people for whom it's a plot point, I want to talk for a moment about how a Makai Armour is passed in. There seem to be two ways, either a Makai Knight releases their armour, be it on retiring or as they die, to a son or student to claim, either at that moment or when they are ready, or it is passed directly along the bloodline without the direct involvement of the knight, which has only been depicted in the anime seasons. The previous Garo in Honoo no Kokuin had died with no male successors, and his armour passed to the possession of his daughter Anna, and remained with her even after a male heir, her nephew, was born, (don't recall if she knew about that though), only passing on to a man when her son, Leon, was born as she died, even though she couldn't use it. Although I doubt she would have tried to use it anyway. Also to get it away, it would appear based on Alice in Dragon's Blood that women were able to become Ryu Knights, the predecessors to the Makai Knights, even if I'm not 100% on the details of Ryu Knight Alice. So let's move now to the only female characters who have actually expressed a desire to be Makai Knights. First of all, Rekka, in her debut in RED REQUIEM was most of ours first avenue into the knowledge that women couldn't be Makai Knights. We know that she desired to inherit her father Kengi's sword from a young age, and it seems that this would have been something he would have liked to happen. This carried over into her adulthood, as she always dressed in a manner similar to a Makai Knight despite being a Makai Priest. While certainly bitter about the fact that literally the only thing preventing her from being a Makai Knight was her gender (and Kengi's sword presumably being lost in a Horror's realm when he died), part of the film was about her still being able to fight just as well as a Makai Priest, she has proven to be one of the most capable in fighting Horrors, and since RED REQUIEM has had no issues with not being a Knight, possibly recognising that part of her issues with it were due to her father's death. I can't remember if this was ever an actual issue but I think Rekka had issues with womanhood, possibly being ashamed of her gender because of it preventing her from fighting as a Knight, and had to learn there was no shame in being a woman. It's been a while since I watched RED REQUIEM and I think I'm making some of this up. I used to hope they were building to some day doing a story where the law was changed and Rekka became a Makai Knight, but I've recently realised Rekka isn't the Knight this story should be told with. Yuna should be. Now Yuna at her introduction in BLACK BLOOD was pretty similar to Rekka, the daughter of a late Makai Knight desperate to avenge him, with one major difference. She can use a Makaiken. Now I know some took the explanation of how Yuna could wield Kuroudo's sword as a statement that women flat out couldn't wield Soul Metal, but I disagree, partly because why does Rekka use a knife in combat if it isn't Soul Metal? The reason Yuna required the method to wield a Makaiken that she did was because she would have spent her entire life up until Kuroudo's death training as a Makai Priest. It takes years of training to wield Soul Metal in combat and control it properly, which she simply hadn't had. Of course my explanation of this is kind of dampened by the fact that Alfonso in Honoo no Kokuin and Yasusuke in Guren no Tsuki both became Makai Knights with only months at the most of training. The best I can do to explain it is that they were both already morally upstanding individuals with standard combat training, and so their training would have focused almost entirely on the use of Soul Metal. Anyway, the reason Yuna can wield Kuroudo's Makaiken is because she had her father's arm bones magically placed into her arm, sort of tricking the Makaiken I suppose. Now this had serious issues and she would several times be rendered unable to fight by serious pain as her body seemed to try to reject the bones. Everyone saw this as a temporary measure, as soon as she could avenge Kuroudo with his own sword they were going to remove the bones. However, in Yuna's latest appearance in Makai Retsuden, while she had started using a Madou Brush again, she was making serious efforts to still fight with the Makaiken, seeming almost to be unsure of what direction she should go down. At the climax of that episode, fighting against an enemy she was able, using both her Makaiken and her Madou Brush, to create and open a Makai Circle in an attempt to summon her father's armour. While the armour didn't emerge, it was enough for Fudo Leo, secretly testing her, to appear and end the test. Now Leo is significant within Garo as the only character who is both a Makai Priest and a Makai Knight. He certainly wouldn't be the only one in universe, but he's the only one we've met. Except, as he points out, Yuna is also both a Knight and a Priest. She may not be able to summon an armour, at least not yet, but outside of Makai Senki, we have no proof that any of the title less Knights we have encountered could do that either. Some of them must have been able to, but all of them? Probably not. Furthermore, the fact the Senate had Leo test Yuna in this way in the first place suggests they are considering the possibility of female Makai Knights. While Yuna didn't make an appearance in Dragon's Blood, it is my sincere hope that, if we see her again, it will be with the ability to summon her own armour. And now let's talk about everyone's favourite semi-example assuming anyone even knows about it, Shakunetsi Kishi YAIBA. Most of us first found about it when information about Makai Kessen GAOH, the only Garo Pachinko machine to actually get noticed by fans. YAIBA was one of three original Makai Knights featured in the game, alongside Jushin Kishi GIGA and villain Takasumeragi Kishi OUGA. GIGA would a couple of years later make the leap to screen in GOLDSTORM Sho, but the others haven't. Well sort of. YAIBA is actually from the novel Youseki no Wana, one of the three prose products that came about between Byakuya no Maju and RED REQUIEM. And as you can see, appears to be female. Now here's where things get complicated, and I probably have some details wrong. Now English sources I can find now, which weren't around back when I did my research into the novel, seem to say that YAIBA has a female form by default. I'm not sure I believe that given the properties of Makai Armour, but all official depictions do use the female form. Now my understanding of YAIBA is that it's user, Godo Akira, was young when one night, a woman he knew named Misaki became a Horror. Misaki attacked him but he was saved by a Makai Knight, but was left cursed, and would with a fever involuntarily become Misaki. Eventually he would learn to control this, or at least induce changes on his own, but I'm unsure if uncontrolled changes still occurred. There's something about having at least some attraction to men as Misaki that isn't there as Akira that could be problematic since who he is shouldn't be changing. It so happens that the man who saved Akira, and apparently supported him somewhat, was Barago. Despite his own nature, he told him about the Makai and would seem to have trained him somewhat, but also told Akira, who had come to wish to be like him, to give up, as women cannot be Makai Knights. Despite this, Akira managed to become a Makai Knight, even acquiring the title of YAIBA, and operated in the Southern district. When someone who at the time only knew them as Misaki asked how they summoned armour, Misaki said 'half of me is male after all' Whether YAIBA truly counts as a female Makai Knight isn't something I can really answer. Hope this helps.