#but whatever is left is nigh gone

[tryagainstarlight]

Are you sure there wasn't a different craft in your country?

💫: Im... Going... To stop thinking about it.... I don't want my head to explode... owwww....

[imsofreakingtired]

sevika gets drunk and ends up forgetting about her own wife and ends up in the brothel, and reader end up knowing all, but dont have courage enough to confront her, but she noticed the changes on your behavior like, dont wanting kisses often, dont wanting to cudlle at nigh or worried when she tells you that she have to work and etc.

(I am obsseeeed how you write angst, mwah mwah)

- 🧸

ohh absolutely. i love that idea<3 also tysmm!

leave you with nothing

content warning(s): idiot lesbians (slight angst) (not too bad i swear)

"are you sick of me? would you like to be? i'm trying to tell you something something that i've already said"

~~~

i think she would get drunk only when work was really stressing her out. or if her sense of self-worth is just at an all-time low (i’m thinking of the time silco dead up ordered her to help with a dead body, which was shocking even to renni, who was literally the mother of the victim.) when she feels trapped, hopeless, powerless, like the enterprise isn’t getting zaun anywhere closer to its ultimate goal. she doesn’t want to confide in you about this, she wants to keep up a front of stoic confidence to you, because she’s afraid if she reveals herself to be vulnerable you will leave her. 

so she drinks her troubles away and tells herself she’ll clear everything up to you in the morning if you ask why she came home late, she tells herself she’ll just play a round of cards or two with her drinking mates, that you’ll never know the difference (never thinks she’s more sober than when she’s stinking drunk.) 

one drink leads to another and she’s vaguely aware of her desire for something else that night - a woman’s touch, a woman’s voice, someone to hold her and tell her she is doing alright. she’s too drunk to remember where she’s felt this before, who has held her like this, and all she is aware of is an all-consuming loneliness that threatens to devour her alive. she’s thrown back into the old days before she met you, when all that awaited her after a hard day’s work was an empty apartment strewn with emptier liquor bottles. she doesn’t want to go back to this home. 

so she makes her way to babette’s, incredibly calm and collected—she’s good at playing sober when she wants to, and babette is surprised to see her check in— isn’t she married? — but she asks no questions and Sevika sees a woman who kind of looks like you. the eyes. the shape of the face. the hips, the way she moves in the dusky light. she picks her immediately. 

she’s too drunk to care about how it might look, asking the woman if it’s alright if she just lay with her head in the woman’s lap. telling her to stroke her hair and let her sleep for a while. even on the walk here she was hot with desire, but now she just wants to rest and hear the pretty words you would whisper in her ear when you thought she was asleep. 

she comes home at around 4 in the morning and promptly passes out on the couch, not even bothering to change. smelling of someone else’s perfume. you find her there in the morning and she doesn’t remember a single thing except that the coins in her pocket are gone. 

you know the signs; you’re not stupid, but you don’t want to think the worst. until you overhear Chuck talking to some of the patrons at the last drop. 

“yeah, Sevika was here, swept the table and then left in the middle of the round talking about Babette’s.” “Babette’s?? doesn’t she have a wife?” 

you wander through the rooms in a daze for the rest of the day as you wait for Sevika to come home. you’re furious at first, then you’re cold with dread. was it you? had you done something wrong to make her want something else, someone else? 

you don’t want to confront her, you’ve convinced yourself by now that whatever it was, it must have been something you did wrong, and even though you can’t think of a single time Sevika seemed angry or even unhappy with you, you can’t bring yourself to start the conversation. 

she comes home tired and her eyes light up when she sees you. when she tries to kiss you, you turn your face away. her hand reaches for your waist, you dodge her touch. 

“baby, what’s with you?” she asks. “i smell funny or what?”

yeah, you smell of babette’s. you smell of liquor. you smell of lies. 

“nothing. i’m tired. you want dinner?” 

“i ate already,” she says. “i’m going to bed.” 

okay, so we’re playing ignorant, you think. two can play at that game. 

as the days go on you avoid her more and more. you still clean up after her in the apartment, cook her meals, wash and mend her clothes as usual. but you don’t stay up waiting for her to come home, and you don’t let her kiss you in bed. Sevika’s at a complete loss—she’s never seen you this way before. unlike you, she’d never wonder if maybe she were at fault. if she feels she hasn’t done wrong, she’d stick to that conviction to the bitter end. but it exasperates her, the way you elude her touches, answer her with monosyllables, stare at her with a strange apprehension in your eyes when you think she isn’t looking. 

“i’m working late tonight,” she tells you one day. “don’t wait up.” 

you feel your heart drop. she’s already a regular for someone at babette’s, you know it. 

“what time do you think you’ll be back?” you ask, a little too quickly. 

she looks at you oddly. you’ve never asked her this before. “i’ll be back when i’m back.” her brows furrow in concern. “why, is something wrong?” 

“no,” you say. 

after she leaves you pace the apartment for about an hour before making up your mind and running out into the street. hood over your face so you won’t be recognized, you run straight to Babette’s and burst through the doors, ignoring the strange looks you receive. no one deters you—you were also a frequent patron before you met Sevika, but you see the workers look at you and whisper to one another. it only confirms your suspicions. you reach Babette’s office and she looks up at you in surprise. 

“can i help you, hon?” 

“Sevika,” you say breathlessly. “how many times has she checked in here?” 

her brows lift. she checks her records. “i don’t do this for anyone, you know - confidential information. but since you’re her wife…”

“how many times, please?” 

she looks up at you. “just once. a month ago. she seemed inebriated. stayed only for two hours.” 

just once? and drunk? Sevika, drunk? you couldn’t imagine it if you tried.

you walk back out of the brothel, barely thinking of where you’re going, barely thinking at all, when you hear a familiar voice call out your name. 

Sevika’s walking swiftly down the street towards you, her eyes dark. 

“what are you doing here?” she asks, grabbing your wrist. 

“what am I doing here?” you shoot back. “i’m here finding out what you were doing here!” 

she looks up at the sign of Babette’s place, as if she can’t understand what you mean. “i haven’t stepped foot in this place,” she growls. 

“Babette’s records say otherwise.” your voice is cold. 

then it all comes back to her at once. Sevika’s lips part slightly as she recalls that night, the desperation, the way she had lain in another woman’s lap. 

“baby,” she says. “listen.” 

“i’m done listening,” you snap, and turn on your heel. you walk away from her, leaving her behind on the street outside Babette’s.  

~~~

note: pt. 2 is here!

~~~

taglist~ @notlores @demothers-empty-blog @theyluvbix @archangeldyke-all @prettyinpink69 @beatdariceee @sevikaaaalover @intrnetrbl @00valentina-writes00 @zelluna @mamas-evil-hag @sevikassluttywaist @justhereforsubsevika

[spacebaby1]

Ghost of you (Law Trafalgar x Reader. ft Cora-San) Part 3

It was a sunny afternoon, and most of the crew members were on the deck except your captain. He was locked in his room working on something. You kicked on the door before hearing his voice asking you to enter.

'Captain, why aren't you outside? Everyone is out in the deck.' He looked behind you out of the door and then went back to whatever he was writing, 'I'm busy. Did you need anything?'

'Actually, yeah,' you begin playing with your hand, 'I need a favour to ask for, Captain.' He raised a brow turning to you, 'a favour? What for?'

You nervously chuckled, 'uh, I want to go somewhere, an island.'

'An island? Is it where we need to be heading, you mean? I ch-'

'No, it's for my research, the Minion island.' You saw his face change experience in a matter of seconds before he took a deep breath and spoke, 'W-what for? I can help you if it's med-'

'No! It's uhm, well, it's personal research, and I was wondering if you could let me go there for a few weeks?'

He stood up, 'alone?' You nodded. He sighed, 'I don't know, I don't want you to get in danger. Let me come with you, or we can stop by Mi-m- that island for as long as you want, and we can leave when your research is over? Hum? That's okay with you?'

You smiled wide and jumped to hug him, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you, Captain! I promise I will try to finish the work as fast as I can.' You let go of him, and he watched you leave with a small smile on his face that dropped the moment he realised he's been smiling.

The crew didn't mind the few weeks break from the sailing. However, the cold is what they minded, and you were only excited to start your search for that devil fruit that will bring Cora-San back. You had figured out the spell that goes with the powers of the devil fruit to revive someone back from dead; it was a hard job, but you wanted to do it for your captain.

You have arrived by nigh time, luckily finding a small Inn to crash for the night away from the cold. You were still reading a book when you noticed that Law left his room and was heading somewhere. You decided to follow your captain and where he was going in the middle of the night without him knowing you were following him and followed him till he reached a tree with a small headstone under the tree. He sat there for a long while, then left as you hid behind one of the walls.

After he was gone, you walked towards the headstone and read the name on it, "Rosinante Donquixote (Cora-San)." It's been few days since you saw Cora-San and you couldn't stop thinking how much Law missed him, it was heartbreaking to you that he couldn't see him when you can even though you didn't even know him as much as Law does, a cold hand rested on your head, patting your hair, 'You'll catch cold out here.' You smiled at the voice, 'Then give me your fur coat. It looks comfy.'

Cora-San chuckled at that, taking the seat next to you. He wished he could share his coat with you so you won't catch cold, 'what do dead people do when we visit their graves? Do they see us? Or are they long gone, and it's just a body resting there?'

Cora-San raised a brow, 'you've got a huge mind there, Crybaby. I per-are you crying?'

You were. 'No, I'm not.' You whipped your tears with the back of your sleeves. And Cora-San ruffled your hair, making you chuckle. 'Come on, kiddo, let's go. I don't want you to catch cold and worry my Law.' You nodded and followed after him, 'Your Law, that's so cute!' Cora-San laughed at your comment.

[redrandomposts]

WEEPING BC I READ YOUR RESPONSE WHILE I WAS ON THE WAY HOME FROM AN ERRAND LMAO

imagine hyuna manages to catch ivan before he runs away, but she doesnt stop him bc she saw how miserable he was while he was at base and maybe he can find another human settlement where he can be happy at least ? so she provides him w a radio for emergencies and some provisions and makes him promise her that he'll at least send a message every once in a while so she'll know he's safe.

ivan was long gone when till finds hyuna standing by that one window facing the rising sun. till looks a lot more frazzled than hyuna has ever seen him, and thats saying something.

(he just remembered the end of r6 and theres two lifetimes fighting for dominance in till's mind)

till asks hyuna if she has seen ivan.

hyuna remembers the ever-present broken look on ivan's face every time he sees till and every time till pushes him away with cruel words and even crueler fists.

hyuna tells him no.

----

of course hyuna does tell the adults in charge of ivan's departure. they inform the other human settlements to look out for ivan and they move on with their lives.

while theyre saddened by ivan's departure and wish they couldve gone with the kid (he was twenty, barely an adult !), theyre at least comforted by the fact that he wasnt chaining himself down by his guilt anymore.

----

as days go by, hyuna notices the changes in mizi, sua, and till.

she never personally told them that ivan left but someone mustve told them nonetheless.

theres a new tension between the formerly-inseparable mizi and sua.

(mizi remembers the moment sua lost her life in front of her and, knowing what she knows now, wonders why sua kept her ignorant until the very last moment.

"i wanted to preserve your happiness."

"by making me lose you?"

"...")

till ... hyuna doesnt know what goes on with that kid. one moment hes watching both his friends like hes afraid theyll disappear in the blink of an eye, the next moment hes writing lyrics and music like a madman and searching for ivan like a man starved.

hyuna doesnt get it. with how much sua and till practically shoved ivan away, they shouldnt be this affected by his departure, right ?

ah, whatever. that's their problem now.

----

at first, ivan sent her check-in messages maybe once or twice a week. the most he's gone without any contact has been two weeks and that was because he had trouble finding batteries.

and then his last message came in.

the first thing she hears is static and gunshots.

finally, ivan's voice comes in. he doesn't sound so good.

"--oona, noona im sorry--"

"ivan, what-"

"--n't know how but -- found m--"

static. gunshots. a pained noise. more static.

then, silence.

hyuna needs to get a rescue team out there as soon as possible. she has his coordinates, she can-

"was that ivan ?"

fuck. how long has till been standing there ?

"hyuna... was that ivan ?"

----

anyways :> hyuna gets a rescue team for ivan and they manage to get him back to base in one piece but hes hanging on for dear life lol. imagine he got shot in the same damn places he was in the past life and bleeding out from the mouth too.

till sees and is immediately gut punched into a harrowing flashback and panic attack and hyuna wonders just how she was saddled with such troublesome juniors.

i, too, got possessed it seems LMAOOOO

— 🌦️

do u need a tissue for your tears, 🌦️?

imagine there's a spy rebel that was promised a lot from the aliens and sent ivan's signal to them, so the aliens are able to track him...

till is beside ivan's bed, sifting through hastily-drawn sketches from the middle of the night, lyrics that seem more like chicken scrath, and melodies that's played repeat in his head.

ivan looked the exact same as he had in round six. blood spilled, a slight smile when he caught sight of till—till didn't deserve it. he didn't deserve the heartfelt smile, the bleeding heart ivan gave to him, the all the ivan put to him but never got back.

he painfully remembers the night of their escape, too. ivan was stressed beyond relief, and when they made it out, he looked to the sky as if expecting something. till hadn't recognized it then, but he does now; the look in ivan's eyes resembled heartbreak, sorrow, grief, mourning.

till looks down at ivan. in the past decade since they've escaped, he's never seen him so relaxed.

[conundrumoftime]

Galadriel and Celeborn in earlier drafts of LOTR (part 2)

Previous: here

Starting off with a passage that exists in LOTR but not in the earlier drafts, because I think it's really interesting in the context of even later developments. This is the section where Galadriel is telling Celeborn off for snapping at Gimli:

Do not repent of your welcome to the Dwarf. If our folk had been exiled long and far from Lothlorien, who of the Galadhrim, even Celeborn the Wise, would pass nigh and would not wish to look upon their ancient home, thought it had become an abode of dragons?

Because Tolkien changed Galadriel and Celeborn's story and particularly Celeborn's origin so much (thoughts and prayers for Christopher dealing with that when you can practically hear the sighs in his editorial notes), I don't know whether Tolkien was thinking of him as the Sindar prince-of-Doriath Celeborn that he became later. But if he was - and even if he wasn't, just viewing this in the light of that version of Celeborn - this feels like quite a surprising thing for Galadriel to say, since his folk have been exiled long and far from their kingdom and his ancient home is now ruins beneath the sea.

From one of the Unfinished Tales 'History of Galadriel and Celeborn' versions:

In Doriath she met Celeborn, grandson of Elmo the brother of Thingol. For love of Celeborn, who would not leave Middle-earth (and probably with some pride of her own, for she had been one of those eager to adventure there), she did not go West at the Downfall of Melkor, but crossed Ered Lindon with Celeborn and came into Eriador. [...] Celeborn and Galadriel therefore went eastwards, about the year 700 or so of the Second Age, and established the (primarily but by no means solely) Noldorin region of Eregion. It may be that Galadriel chose it because she knew of the Dwarves of Khazad-Dûm (Moria). [...] Celeborn had no liking for Dwarves of any race (as he showed to Gimli in Lothlorien), and never forgave them for their part in the destruction of Doriath; but it was only the host of Nogrod that took part in that assault [...] In any case, Galadriel was more far-sighted in this than Celeborn; and she perceived from the beginning that Middle-earth could not be saved from 'the residue of evil' that Morgoth had left behind him save by a union of all the peoples who were in their way and in their measure opposed to him. She looked upon the Dwarves also with the eyes of a commander, seeing in them the finest warriors to pit against the orcs.

There's a brief addition to this in The War of the Jewels where Tolkien goes even further on that to say that in blaming the Dwarves, Celeborn was 'passing over Morgoth's part in this (by angering of Húrin), and Thingol's own faults'. Not mentioned, but definitely also prominent in the list of People Who Have Wronged Doriath: Galadriel's own cousins, who invaded and burnt it and murdered a lot of its people. Blaming unrelated dwarves by association when your Noldor wife is standing right there is well goodness quite an approach; but I'm also intrigued by the suggestion that he refused to blame any of it on Thingol.

Anyway my point for this post is that with Celeborn's Dwarf Issues being very firmly placed (definitely later on if not at the time Tolkien was writing FOTR) as because of Doriath, then it's an interesting choice on her part to ask him to empathise with dwarves wanting to return to their once-glorious kingdom that had fallen into ruin just to look upon it once again. (This is something I've played around with in fic before, the idea that while Galadriel is torn between 'home' as Valinor where she grew up and 'home' as Middle-earth where she spent most of her life, Celeborn can't ever go home to the place where he grew up - it's as gone as Númenor is.

Anyway! Back to the early LOTR draft, and Galadriel tempting the Fellowship/testing their loyalty/whatever you want to see her as doing here:

She looked at each in turn, but none blenched. Only Sam blushed and hung his head before the Lady's glance left him. I felt as if I hadn't got nothing on,' he explained afterwards. 'I didn't like it - she seemed to be looking inside me, and asking me whether I would like to fly back to the Shire.' Each of them had a similar experience, and had felt as if he had been presented with a choice between death and something which he desired greatly, peace, ease [written above: freedom], wealth, or lordship. "I suppose it was just a test," said Boromir. "It felt almost like a temptation."

LOTR version:

And with that word she held them with her eyes, and in silence looked searchingly at each of them in turn. None save Legolas and Aragorn could long endure her glance. Sam quickly bushed and turned away. [...] "What did you blush for, Sam?" said Pippin. "You soon broke down. Anyone would have thought you had a guilty conscience. I hope it was nothing worse than a wicked plot to steal one of my blankets." "I never thought no such thing," answered Sam, in no mood for jest. "If you want to know, I felt as though I hadn't got nothing on, and I didn't like it. She seemed to be looking inside me and asking me what I would do if she gave me the choice of flying back home to the Shire to a nice little hole with - with a bit of garden of my own." All of them, it seemed, had fared alike; each had felt that he was offered a choice between a shadow full of fear that lay ahead, and something that he greatly desired: clear before his mind it lay, and to get it he had only to turn aside from the road and leave the Quest and the war against Sauron to others. [...] "To me it seemed exceedingly strange," said Boromir. "Maybe it was only a test, and she thought to read our thoughts for her own good purpose; but almost I should have said that she was tempting us, and offering what she pretended to have the power to give."

Gardens as Sam's temptation is also what the One Ring offers him, although that temptation is about Samwise the Great with a whole realm of gardens.

Which brings me to Nenya and the Three Rings for the Elven-kings.

This point in writing LOTR is also where Tolkien starts sketching out an origin for the Rings of Power and Sauron's connection to them. Origin stories considered include this one in which the elves made them but under Sauron's guidance:

In Ancient Days Sauron the Great contrived many things of wonder. For a time his purpose was not turned wholly to evil, or was concealed; and he went much among the Elves of Middle-earth and knew their secret counsels [...] [T]he Rings of Power were made by Elven-smiths, but Sauron was present at their making: his was the thought and theirs the skill

And this one in which Fëanor made them

In Ancient Days, the Rings of Power were made long ago in the lands beyond the Sea. It is said that they were first contrived by Fëanor, the greatest of all the makers among the Elves. His purpose was not evil, yet in it was the Great Enemy But they were stolen by the Great Enemy and brought to Middle-earth.

Christopher describes this as his father 'revolving the mode by which he should withdraw the Three Rings of the Elves from inherent evil and derivation from the Enemy', and talks about this in connection with this line of Boromir's from the first version of an earlier chapter:

"The Three Rings remain still. They have conferred great power on the Elves, but they have never yet availed themselves in their strife with Sauron. For they came from Sauron himself, and can give no skill or knowledge that he did not already possess."

But then back to Lothlorien, and a quickly drafted version of Galadriel's words to Frodo in which she says the Three were not made by Sauron:

Frodo offers Galadriel the Ring. She laughs. Says he is revenged for her temptation. Confesses that the thought had occurred to her. But she will only retain the unsullied Ring. Too much evil lay in the Ruling Ring. It is not permitted to use anything that Sauron has made.

OK I'm going to leave this one at that for now. Next time: Mirror, 'Many Partings', and the epilogue.

[zarry-ot5]

Love You Goodbye

This will be discussing March 2015 and include whatever I can find on all of the boys in that timeframe. I believe Truth lives in the middle. I don't want to spread opinions, so these will contain facts only. If there are pictures I will indicate, but due to limitations of Tumblr can't post them all. There is a 6-7 hour time difference between Asia and London.

Another thing of interest, at this time, Dan Wooton is over The Sun and The Daily Mail. Simon Jones is the Publicist in charge of the image of all the boys in One Direction. Simon Jones is still the active publicist for Perrie Edwards, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan.

March 10, 2015:

Lou Teasdale, Lux, Gemma Styles and Lottie Tomlinson arrive at Changi Airport in Singapore. Pictures with fans.

Niall tweet

H pictured leaving LAX on private jet

March 11, 2015:

H pictured arriving at Changi airport wearing Red Velvet Star Jacket.

Louis is pictured with fans in Changi airport.

Z pictured on private jet with cousin Jawaad. Upon landing in Singapore takes pictures with fans.

One Direction performs at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Gemma is seen at Singapore show with Lou Teasdale and Baby Lux.

March 12, 2015:

H arrives in Bangkok. Pictures exist of Harry at Nightclub with Gemma.

(Pictured Jawaad Malik, Zayn Malik, Martina Olsson, and her friend). Notice his and Jawaad shirts are the same night he's pictured with Laura.

Of note, Seduction Nightclub is an adult themed night club, with scantily clad women dancing on tables. It is not a strip club, just adult themed. This Nigh Club permanently closed in 2019.

According to The Daily Mail, Maria Olsson says Zayn and Louis went to Seduction Night Club where she met and left with Zayn, had a one night stand, and met up with him again the next morning after Lauren had left.

March 13, 2015:

I do need to make a side note, the distance from Smalls to the Sukhothai Hotel, where everyone stayed, is 3 min in a car. Literally just around the corner and up the street. The distance from the hotel to the stadium where they performed is 22 miles in a car.

Smalls is a 3 story building with a restaurant in the lower floor, where they have live music and a DJ booth. The upper two floors consist of an enclosed bar and a covered outdoor bar.

According to my research, Harry had gone to Smalls Live Music Nightclub.

Gemma pictured in Bangkok with Lou Teasdale and a fan.

Pictures also exist of Gemma and Harry at a Nightclub together, which I am going to assume was Smalls.

Zayn went to Seduction Night Club with Louis and cousin Jawaad, to watch DJ Examples set. This is where he met and was photographed with Lauren Richardson. She later stated she was invited to a Villa at a Hotel that Louis and Zayn we're renting in Phuket.

March 14, 2015:  

Louis Tomlinson photos kissing Lucy Julian were reportedly taken at the same all-night pool party at Bangkok’s Sukhothai Hotel at 6:30am on the morning of their March 14 concert, The Daily Mail reported.

There are pictures of Louis exiting the pool and returning to the lobby of the hotel.

H is photographed with DJ Buddha and DJ ONO before the show

The band played in Bangkok, Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium.  

H photographed with Model at dinner.

Gemma and Lou Teasdale photographed with with a fan in Bangkok at a restaurant.

According to Joe Cummings, after their concert, Harry came back to Smalls and was told by Harry he and Zayn had a falling out.  

The timing of this is the concert started at 8:00 pm local time. Their set was 20 songs and and encore of 3. Their opening act was DJ ONO, and DJ Buddha was his promoter at the time. So 1D would have gone on by 8:30-9:30 pm. 1D set would have been about 1.5 - 2 hour set...they would have been done by 11:30 pm. 25 min drive back to the hotel, gets them back close to midnight. Which is when Joe says he started talking to H. There's some wiggle room in there for showers and what nots.

My Assumption - The argument has have been before the concert and before H was photographed with DJ Buddha and DJ ONO. DJ Buddha is the one who told H about Smalls and made introductions to Joe.

March 15, 2015:

Louis, Ollie Nightclub in Phuket, Thailand

March 16, 2015:

March 17, 2015: 

Harry tweets

Cheating rumors run in media as pictures of Zayn and Lauren Richardsons are published. Richardson will later say nothing happened between them, they met and enjoyed each other's company while together, then went their separate ways. Richardson eventually lands a role in June 2015 on Love Island. For years she is attacked online as the reason One Direction broke up.

March 18, 2015: 

Pictures exist of Lou Teasdale, Lux, Gemma Styles, and Lottie Tomlinson in airport in Hong Kong.

Picture of Lottie, Gemma, and Sophia taken at 1D concert.

Zayn tweet

Band plays last performance with Zayn in Hong Kong

March 19, 2015: 

Zayn is photographed in Heathrow airport in London, England at 5:00 am, Perrie is the one who picks Zayn up from the airport. The flight from Bangkok to London is 14 hours and 15 min.

Gemma and Sophia drinking a glass of wine posted on Gemma's IG.

News of Zayn's departure runs through media. Cited as stress, assumptions made about drug use.

March 20, 2015:

March 21, 2015:

Perform in Manila, Philippines

March 22, 2015:

Perform in Manila, Philippines

March 23, 2015:

Louis Tomlinson pictures published kissing Lucy Julian. 1D publicist indicates E and Louis have been broken-up for 2 weeks.

March 24, 2015:

March 25, 2015: 

Performance in Jakarta Indonesia

Statement released via Facebook that Zayn has left 1D.

Perform

March 26, 2015:

Media starts reporting Harry wants to branch out in his own solo projects, Harry crying on stage during March 25 concert.

H tweets: All the love as always. H

Liam: So glad to hear in bed after a strange 24 hours.

Niall: Been a mad few days and your support has been incredible as per usual ! This in turn Spurs us on to make the best music we possibly can

Louis: Been a crazy couple of days but know that we are going to work harder than ever to deliver the best album we've ever made for you guys !

March 27, 2015:

March 28, 2015:

Pictures of Harry in Johannesburg airport carrying guitar case

Perform at Johannesburg, South Africa

March 29, 2015:

Perform at Johannesburg, South Africa

March 30, 2015:

Pictured with Perrie in London, house hunting with Tricia Malik.

[icycoldninja]

Will you miss me when I'm gone? (Kuja x Reader angst/fluff)

Summary: Kuja's thanatophobia gets the better of him in the middle of the night, so you go and help him out.

——————————————————————————————————

You lay in your bed, smothered with blankets, asleep.

Or at least you were asleep, until you realized something was missing from your cocoon of warmth. After opening one eye and blearily looking around, you realized that your boyfriend Kuja wasn't draped across your abdomen, fast asleep like he normally was. In fact, he wasn't anywhere in the room.

"Kuja?" You called, clearing your raspy throat a few times. "Where'd you go?"

There was no response, making you fear whether or not Kuja had left the house. Worried for his safety, you leapt from the bed and headed for the living room, blinking sleepily in the darkness until you caught sight of his slender frame curled up in the corner, shivering like he was outside during wintertime.

"Kuja?" You called again, this time softer. "What's wrong, baby?"

Kuja wouldn't answer you, and remained silent, his thin arms wrapped tightly around his even thinner body, eyes wide and bulging, lips blue and quivering. He looked more terrified than you'd ever seen in your life, and it broke your heart to see him like this. Scrambling to his side, you threw your arms around his shoulder, and pulled his shaking form into a tight embrace, running your hands up and down his back in an attempt to calm him.

"I'm going to die," You heard him whimper, after some time. These words were nigh inaudible, but you managed to hear them since you were so close.

"No, you're not," You replied, chuckling. "You're not going anywhere. I won't let you."

"B-but I had a dream--" Kuja began, before you cut him off with a kiss.

"A dream is just that, Kuja, a dream," You told him, dragging a hand through his hair fondly. "It's a figment of your imagination, nothing more. It doesn't tell the future. You're not gonna die."

"Yes, I will," Kuja insisted, looking up at you with wide, teary eyes. "My time is running out. They told me in my dream. I...I don't have long...."

"You most certainly do," You assured him, squeezing him gently. "You really think I'm gonna sit here and watch you kick the bucket?"

Kuja was silent after this remark, but at least his shivering had stopped and he wasn't breathing as heavily as before. You decided to stay there with him, soothingly rubbing whatever parts of him you could reach before he finally spoke again.

"Will you miss me when I'm gone?"

You had to admit, you didn't expect that.

"Of course I will," You finally managed to reply. "But like I said, you're not going anywhere. Not if I can help it."

"I just....need to hear that..." Kuja whined, snaking his arms around your waist and holding onto you as tightly as he could. "Tell me you'll miss me. It makes me feel better."

Such a narcissist, you thought to yourself as you repeated your words, punctuating your sentence with several kisses. This seemed to cheer Kuja up substantially, as he had completely ceased his sobbing and was now quietly leaning against you, his head pressed against your chest; your fingers busy playing with his hair.

"Happy now, my little peacock?" You asked, playfully.

"Somewhat," Was his flippant reply.

"Ready to go back to bed?"

"Only if you'll carry me, for I feel too weak to walk."

"Fine."

[thornsofrosesdumps]

The choice the crown showed Tai (if he has it) (mentioned suicide trigger warning)

If Tai has the crown I think the choice it gave him is killing whatever is left of summer, this is hinged on two theory’s the Tai has the crown, and the Summer was turned into something similar to the hound theory. One it’ll make Tai so so so much worse of mentally, which in RWBY means he’s getting character development and it’ll also tie into the poem summer is partly based off of. For the uninitiated that’s the poem “the last flower of summer” by Thomas Moore which is essentially about someone or something preparing to mercy kill a summer rose Because it’s alone,

'Tis the last rose of summer,     Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions     Are faded and gone; No flower of her kindred,     No rose-bud is nigh, To reflect back her blushes     Or give sigh for sigh!

this tied into the fact that here teammates are scattered to the winds and as a Grimm monster she is alone. she also had no other sliver eyes warriors with here, she had no other roses. Apart from Ruby but she was just a kid and not someone who she could genuinely share her woes with, someone to give Sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one.     To pine on the stem; Since the lovely are sleeping,     Go, sleep thou with them; Thus kindly I scatter     Thy leaves o'er the bed, Where thy mates of the garden     Lie scentless and dead.

her fellow sliver eyed warriors (minus Ruby) are all presumably dead, and her teammates are scattered to the wind. “Thus kindly I scatter” Is tai rationalizing killing what’s left of summer. And taking down the Grimm beast that she is now.

So soon may I follow,     When friendships decay, And from love's shining circle     The gems drop away! When true hearts lie withered,     And fond ones are flown, Oh! who would inhabit     This bleak world alone?

So soon I may follow-I’m guessing Tai isn’t aware his kids are alive so he’s prepping to Kill himself because his family is dead and he’s just killed what was left of his wife. when friendships decay: Team STRQ falling apart, leaving tai alone.

And from love's shining circle The gems drop away!: Loves shining circle is his family and the gems are the people dropping and dieing and leaving.

When true hearts lie withered and fond ones are flown: True hearts are summer and Tai, summer rose withering from the Grimm curse and Tai drowning in his depression, the fond ones flown? Yeah that’s the Branwen twins baby! flying away from there problems, specifically Raven.

oh who would Inhabit this bleak world alone?: man’s family and friends are gone, he’s alone and patch is probably going downhill-He’s scarred so in a act of despair after killing what was left of summer he goes to kill himself-Which either ends in him succeeding or his friends/family showing up to show him he’s not alone.

also I really want to talk to my mutes but social anxiety exists even online ):

(IF ITS BAD ID LIKE TO MENTION I WROTE THIS IN MATH CLASS)

[gamereign]

"Hi Yugi!" boops him right on his nose and skips away gleefully. "Bye, Yugi!" little did he know she booped a lil Kuromi sticker on his nose.

         𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐄 :   unprompted   /   𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 :   always accepting !

𝐇𝐄’𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑 ,   though his astonishment at her sudden appearance may be linked ,   to some degree ,   to his   absorption into his phone screen   as he catches up on messages he’d missed while busy .   

           it had been a    𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐲   at kaibacorp ,   and yuugi ,   through   SHEER WILLPOWER ,    had managed to gather whatever energy had been left to his name to run a few   straggling errands   before heading home for the evening .   evidently ,   they hadn’t been planning to meet up today   (   especially since it usually involves one of them taking a train to another city   ) ,   but yuugi is   ALWAYS PLEASED   to spontaneously run into a friend .   it’s just that now ,   sakura seems to have come out of nowhere ,   and is   swept away   just as swiftly as she had appeared  ━━━━   almost as if yuugi had   IMAGINED   the entire encounter . 

           the sturdy paper of the bags tucked into his elbows rustles with her approach ,   and   doll - wide violets   enlarge   impossibly more   as her index presses against the tip of his nose ,   prompting its bridge to scrunch in the vein of a rabbit’s .   briefly ,   yuugi goes   COMPLETELY CROSS - EYED   as he tries to figure out what exactly had just happened ,   and what his nose has to do with it   (   this is far from his first time being   booped ,   as it seems many of his friends simply   𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭   whenever the opportunity arises ,  but he swears he can almost feel something other than the typical   TINGLING SENSATION   it leaves behind   [   . . .   ]   nigh on as if she had   put something there   ) .   before he can pose even a fraction of a question ,   however ,   he’s gaping at sakura’s back as she makes a   hasty retreat .

           “   h━━━━hey ,   wait   ━━━━   ”   he tries ,   long ,   dark lashes fluttering as his senses return to him in a haze .   what on earth is sakura doing in domino .ᐣ.ᐣ   and why is she running away .ᐣ.ᐟ    “   sakura - chan .ᐣ.ᐣ   ”

          a   𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡   gusts from yuugi’s lips ,   but he’s smiling fondly all the while .   “   what was that about   [   . . .   ]   .ᐣ.ᐣ   ”   he wonders aloud ,   eyes still locked in the direction in which she’d taken off ,   though she’s long gone ,   now .   whatever the answer ,   it’s   LIFTED HIS SPIRITS   as much as it’s left him winded and confused   ━━━━   and as he glances back down at his phone and   catches his reflection   in the glare of the setting sun ,   he makes a sound at some intersection between   A GASP   &   A LAUGH . 

          so that’s it .   with how often she makes the comparison between yuugi and the   𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑   now occupying the center of his face ,   it’s no surprise she’d thought of him once she’d stumbled upon the sticker ,   likely in one of the   dozens   of stationary stores they’ve visited together .   the thought causes his smile to   grow ,   and even though it looks silly ,   he decides to   leave the sticker where it is ,   for now .   

          he’s used to being stared at ,   anyway .

[cloudbattrolls]

Breadcrumbs

Jameth Abnale | Present Night

Jamie tapped his fingers against the warm metal of his laptop, thinking.

It had been a few nights since the attack, and now he felt able to think more objectively about it. Now he wanted to start dissecting everything that had happened - Thudan disappearing was the least of it, and it hadn't been like he'd wanted the cyborg to begin with; he'd told Sombra and Saori to oh, he didn't know, see what they could turn up by studying him.

Honestly, it had been a bit of a hassle.

A shapeshifting machine was far more interesting, if threatening.

He knew who he'd like to talk to about it.

But how to talk to Jastes? He hadn’t heard or seen from the yellowblood in a while.

He was genuinely curious how the cyborg was doing, but knew he was, understandably, not someone who could expect answers from the man he had nearly captured.

If Process was still here he could ask it for help, but the damn AI - troll - whatever, was long gone and hadn’t left any contact information.

Think, Jamie, think.

Then he remembered something: a brief news story that the Spine helm generator (though bereft of all its helms, thanks to him and Jastes) had blown up some time ago. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time - except a resentful ‘good riddance’ - but now he wondered if there wasn’t more to the explosion.

Jamie searched around the internet, looking for more information, sending his bots out to perform keyword queries and scan civic reports.

His eyes widened as he sent them into databases and caste-restricted news sites.

An abandoned cavern discovered deep underground? Defunct for over five hundred sweeps, if not more? Most of it caved in already? 

Well, even if it had nothing to do with the cyborg, this was worth looking into.

There were apparently survey drones down there now according to one report - perfect. If only he could hack into their feeds…but he would need far more information than he currently had to do so.

Then he snorted at his own slowness. Obviously, he could just send his own cloaked robots down to latch onto them and run their own investigations. It would likely take at least a night to modify them, send them out, and have them make the trip, but it would potentially be quite intriguing.

Besides. He needed something to do besides work to take his mind off what had happened while he also planned to move.

—

It took a night and a half, but his robots finally found the survey drones and latched on, leeching a bit of power to sustain themselves. 

Yet he found the livestream from their cameras rather boring - the drones were clearing through the rubble and collecting scraps of what had once been the Spine.

But why did it blow up? It hadn’t even had any power connected to it at the time. He and Jastes had made sure of that.

So who could have done so and why? 

He searched around the reports instead. Ancient cavern…there before Civitrecce, from an earlier settlement, but there were traces that it had been used by someone after that, around the four hundred and sixty sweeps ago, right before the city had become part of the empire.

Well, that was fun trivia, but hardly useful. 

Except…

No. That would be too coincidental, wouldn’t it?

Perhaps. Yet he felt compelled to check.

He ran searches for Torvah Verdan, Jastes’s ancestor, the one Process had told him about.

He found almost nothing.

Except a few short snippets and theories that supposedly, they had been a psiionic of great power, but no one from the empire had actually seen them. Some people even assumed the original city trolls had made them up, especially with talk of their “nigh-unbelievable” powers.

A few trolls had even claimed…

His eyes widened.

A few trolls claimed Verdan had made a sort of thinking security system to protect them and were angry that it had vanished along with the psiionic. We encountered no such thing. It seems to be another of the lowbloods’ fabrications, or perhaps their leader lied to them. 

He could find nothing else. It was just that one brief mention.

Jamie’s thoughts ran wild.

He forced himself to calm down, well aware he might be drawing connections where there were none. 

He knew, beyond a doubt, that he had to talk to Jastes.

At the very least, he had to warn him.

Jamie looked at the starry ceiling of his apartment, remembering that before he had lived here, he’d had his small hive in the suburbs.

He’d left it after Tetrao had come and broken his spine, unable to stand remaining there.

Now a different sort of Spine had been broken, and he feared…

He feared what might have been set free.

[strange-eorzean-tales]

A cool breeze blew through Sharlayan, causing boughs of the tree above her to sway. Normally, the desert raised miqo'te would find herself shivering, but she was so lost in thought, her body was numb to the world around her. The only movement from her was an idle thumb tracing the outline of a faint scar on her wrist. It was hardly noticeable unless you were scrutinizing her, but to her the cause was still fresh. Her eyes closed, and soon she found herself drifting off.

A voice called out to her, the words garbled behind the fog of sleep.

"Livia? Livia!" It was her brother's voice calling out, and finally she shot up, alert and present looking around. Just spotting the outline of a figure coming her way with long purposeful strides.

"Livia? Liv! there you are...I was worried when you left without saying anything. Why in the hells are you out here?"

The brown haired miqo'te finally made his way to her, looking her over, checking to see if she was wounded.

The girl turned her head towards him, rolling her eyes.

"Mikh'a, I'm fine. Quit your fussin'."

He heaved a sigh and sat near her, back pressed against the same tree, he glanced up to the foliage as leaves danced in the wind.

"You sneak off a lot. Why?" The question was blunt, and quite unexpected. Livia didn't know how to react at first.

"You hole yourself inside your lab all day, and you're questionin' me on seekin' solitude?" Her lips pursed as she thought, finally she turned her head towards him. "Sometimes I just need to clear m'head. Lots of stuff happens an' ...I just need time t'process it...I guess."

He nodded, "I... Suppose I understand that. I'm sorry."

"Why are you really out here, Mikh'a?"

He was quiet for some time. "The ship gets stuffy. I wanted fresh air."

"...You're hidin' somethin'..."

"Maybe, but it's not anything you need to concern yourself with."

Silence filled the air, though only briefly, as Livia finally spoke up,

"Y'used t'tell me everythin'. We used t'tell each other everythin'....What happened?"

Mikh'a gave a sigh, shrugging a shoulder. "We went our separate ways. Grew apart, endured.....different battles that changed us."

Her brow furrowed at that answer. Not quite satisfied.

"I don't think I changed. You did....th' others....they say things 'bout you. Things I don't want t'believe but....they've b'come m'family. I trust them."

"You don't trust me?" He asked,

"....Not like I used to...how could I? You've been gone for long, with nary a letter 'bout your whereabouts."

There was more silence, both miqo'te anxiously waiting for the other to speak.

Mikh'a sighed and looked over to Livia, who stared back with those wide green eyes, filled with hurt.

"Shit... Liv... I couldn't. Everything I've done was... I wanted to. My studies were....arduous and the situation I was in...the man that took me away he...he wasn't a good man. His true colours exposed once he knew I couldn't get away. He used my attachments against me. Used *you* against me."

Livia's ears folded back and she shifted from her spot, turning to face Mikh'a.

"What... What do y'mean?"

His eyes narrowed and he looked off to the distance, "It's... Not really something I want to talk about, but...just know what I've done...*everything* I have done was just to give you a better life. I don't think I've succeeded."

"Y'can only control so much, Mikh'a."

He fell silent, shaking his head in disagreement.

"I'm sorry for failing you, Livia. I'm sorry for continuously failing you...."

The girl shook her head. "Don't do that. I'm th'one that pushed for you t'go away. We can stay here all nigh' jus' blamin' ourselves but... Maybe... Maybe it's time we jus' move forward...yeah?"

He cast his sister a look from the corner of his eye. "...Aye....I can try that..."

Livia pushed herself up from the ground, quickly dusting her pants off. "Good. Let's get outta here. M'freezin'."

He sighed and followed along, "If you took better care of yourself..."

"Yeah, yeah...whatever."

With that, the siblings returned to the airship.... Playfully bickering the rest of the way.

[liightbringr]

𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

@generalzelgius asked: “ i like spending time with you. it's nice. ”

𝐔𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘, 𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓'𝐕𝐄 filled the space between them. A quirky remark that could've garnered a laugh or two doesn't come. There's a sweet smile && the shine of enamel as she looks upon him, but words don't seem applicable here. It's in the way her heart seems to beat a little faster being so near to him. Or the way her hands itch to touch in even the most innocent of ways. How her heart wishes to be closer, closer, && closer still yet. Part of her wonders if the thoughts waging war in her mind might overcome her newfound timidness with her chin propped in her hand sitting next to him. The day's been a simple one, at least. Lounging on the couch in her living room in an array of pastels && soft beiges. && whatever could possibly be playing on the tv has long since gone unnoticed. Moreover when he utters these words, telling of his delight. Voice comes finally, but it's nigh a whisper. More a breath than anything truly coherent. "It is, isn't it..?" && perhaps it is the true source to the way she moves almost in second nature. A reflexive adjustment that sees the slender digits of a lithe left cradle the corresponding line of his jaw. Coaxing him closer, fingertips pressing into the nape of his neck---almost pleadingly---until supple tiers capture his own in so tender a kiss. Genuine, sincere; emotions at the forefront of her mind when following through with her impulsiveness. Even if only for a mere moment. Reduced to silence, gauging the situation. Nearly cursing herself, even, for being so forward so suddenly. But she could hardly help herself.

[ffxivbabey]

"Go, go! Save yourself! I'll buy you some time!"

The Light came borne on the wings of beasts that looked an awful lot like marble. The residents of Il Mheg had heard tales of such things, of course, but never truly believed them. It was just too fantastical, wasn't it?

It was a myth, until it wasn't. The first was an oddly-coloured wolf prowling out of the woods, jaws slavering the liquid Light.

"Looks like it just gave good head," Alin joked over its corpse, carefully retrieving his arrow from its side. Anden sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Even at the end times," said Anden, shaking his head.

"You know it," Alin grinned, and, wiping off his arrow, returned it to its quiver.

"Rak'tika has fallen, then," said Anden. All of Alin's good humour faded away as he turned to really look at his boyfriend, hands on his shoulders.

"No... Twelve, not them, they have to be okay," Alin fretted, blond ears folding back. "They're warriors, they're strong, they'll be okay."

"I have to believe that." Anden squeezed his eyes shut, though it did little to stop the tears. "I couldn't protect them, but I can protect the flock."

With no more words spoken, Anden started forward, first striding, then running through the forest, breaking into a sprint to get back to his flock.

Alin found him with his arms around one of the woolly creatures, squeezing it tightly as sobs wracked his body. The sheep, meanwhile, looked confused, though allowed itself to be hugged.

"What if I'm the only one left, Alin?" he wept, turning his tear-streaked face towards the other viera. Or viis, as Alin was called here.

"It'll be okay," Alin tried to soothe him, but Anden would have none of it.

"How?" Anden demanded. "The warriors of darkness are gone, Alin, they're dead! Nobody has seen them since they started all this."

"Titania," Alin offered. "They'll protect us, surely."

"But the sheep are not the fae," said Anden. "I'm not fae, Alin, you're not even of this world!" It was true, neither of them knew how Alin had come from Eorzea to whatever this world was.

Before Alin could even search for a reply, the sound of heavy marble wings alerted him. They had come. Anden growled, fetching his shepherd's crook from his back and running towards the fell beast that descended from the sky. It looked like a woman.

"You will not harm my sheep!" Anden declared, holding the crook like a mage might wield a staff.

The woman laughed.

Her blade flashed, Light cascading from it as it carved a shallow gash in Anden's left arm.

But that was enough.

"No!" Alin cried, stepping forward, but his voice got through to Anden even as the Light began to bleach his tanned skin.

"Go, go!" Anden urged him, making a stand in front of his lover. "Save yourself! I'll buy you some time!"

"I can't just leave you!" Alin protested.

"You have to," said Anden, his face twisted in pain. The Sin Eater watched him. Grinning. Waiting. "Please, Alin. Get help."

"New friends! Over here, over here!" Alin looked up, a nigh-hysterical laugh bubbling up. It was them. The faery king. Titania. Come to save them.

The beasts turned, now, looking at the bigger threat to them, massing around the biggest Sin Eater. A Lightwarden, Alin was sure. But he only looked for a moment, kneeling at Anden's side as the viis collapsed to the ground, his crook falling from his hand, writhing in agony.

"Anden? Anden, hey, look at me," said Alin. "It's going to be alright." Tears blurred his vision, but Anden was blinding to look at.

"Of course it is," said Anden, his voice sounding far away. "Titania is here now. They will protect my flock."

"And you too!" Alin declared, looking around. He spied a pixie, a glimmer of hope. "Hey, you! Over here! Please!" He couldn't speak fae, not like Anden could, yet they understood him anyway.

"Now, now, what's all this crying about?" the pixie asked, and Alin sobbed aloud.

"He's hurt," said Alin. "Turning. Can you... can you save him?"

"For his love and care towards our sheep," said the pixie, and there was a spark of something as they touched Anden's forehead. "Now, he may stand guard over them always."

It was a topiary now, in Alin's arms. A leafman, the fae called them. It appeared to be smiling as Alin righted it.

"When all this is over," Alin said to it, unsure if it could hear him, "I'll watch over your sheep for you. I promise." He kissed what he supposed was the leafman's forehead.

And then, as the faery king returned to their castle to lock the doors for one hundred years, Alin made for Lakeland on the back of an amaro, the skies safe for a time with the Lightwarden vanquished. He would return. He promised.

[princess-of-the-corner]

ask Ariel: Hey all, Vox here again. So, update on that making-the-High-Council-of-Gods-piss-their-collective-pants thing: most of the gods have either been gone or silent.

Like, we haven't heard stuff from the Greek or Roman pantheons, the Heavenly Domain's nigh-deserted, and don't get me started on the Sins. Even the other Horsemen have disappeared. The only ones left are me, Tia, and the old crones on the High Court.

Obviously, none of them wanna do anything about it - High Court's too scared and Tia's too busy getting piss-drunk and screwing with mortals - so I'm officially raising the alarm. Thankfully, whatever's coming after the Gods aren't out for Witches or demons, but still - keep your guard up and watch yourself.

Ariel: "Oh that's so many kinds of not good."

[little-engineer-who-cant]

Strange pairs in odd junctions create beautiful things. This work briefly overlaps with Orpheus, Don't Turn Around (i know you will, you always do)

Part 6 of Sirens Scream Names Forgotten by Tomorrow, Laid to Rest in Infinity

(Chapter 2 under cut)

Chapter 2: Devil Boy, Embrace Your Hellfire Sunrise

Summary: Boom.

“You ask me about love and I tell you about violence.”

- Winter (Katie Maria)

He’s made quite a few fuck ups in his life, but something is telling him that the slammed door at then end of this hall will be one of the most difficult to swallow his pride for and own up to. Especially after he’s made this much of a scene. After he said that to her, voicing his terrible thoughts aloud in the worst possible way. The stupidest thing he could do right now is chase her, he’d just make it worse.

So he does the second stupidest thing, since that seems to be tonight’s theme, and he moves to leave. 

“No,” Clarisse- 

(Forgot about her didn’t you? Slipping already. Pathetic.)

-stopped him, a firm grip on his arm. Nigh on immovable.

“I’m leaving.” If he doesn’t leave, he’s going to lose what little is left of his sanity, fall to his knees and beg in tears at that damn door. At least if he’s gone, no one will see them under his mask. 

“You can’t go alone,” she insists, not so much as twitching at his caustic tone. An immobile specter to one of his most spectacular mistakes. 

“What the fuck should I do then?” he sneers. “Take you?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Coming back from the dead didn’t make you deaf.” He has to take a deep breath after that one. Get the sickly green at the edges of his vision to recede so he doesn’t do something stupid and fight the very seasoned daughter of a very real god of war standing next to him and getting in his way.

“And why should I do that?”

“Because you need back up. Doing this alone is stupid.” 

“I don’t trust you.”

“You don’t have to.” And that gets his attention. Clarisse shrugs. The movement is stiff, revealing her lingering injury, but he has no illusions that it makes her less dangerous. “You don’t have to trust me. I certainly don’t trust you. But you matter to her,” she jerks her head towards the bedroom, towards where the reverberations of the door slamming still echo. “So, I’m coming with you to make sure you don’t get yourself killed.” 

(Maybe she’s doing this to kill you.)

(Maybe I fucking deserve it now, huh?)

“Keep up.” He won’t be able to stop her, he knows that. But he has some pride left. “If you get spotted, you’re on your own.” 

—

“You’re sneakier than I gave you credit for,” he admits, grudgingly impressed by her stealth.

“And you’re more discerning,” she replies, wiping blood off the knife she’d ‘borrowed’ from one of Black Mask’s goons.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Honestly? I thought your deal was less ‘Dexter’ and more ‘scorched earth’. I find myself pleasantly surprised.”

“Thanks.” He rolls his eyes, not that she could see it from where the lenses cover him.

“I can feel you rolling your eyes.”

“Oh so you can sense emotions too?”

“No, that’s just Silena.”

“Silena,” he mumbles to himself, shaking his head at how easily the unfamiliar name rolls off Clarisse’s tongue.

(She’s still a liar.)

(Fuck. Off.)

(She. Lied.)

(Everyone in this city lies.)

(Are you making excuses for her? Maybe you’ll start doing that for Joker next.)

“-ey, hey!” he swings blindly at the hand shaking his shoulder and ends up in a headlock for his trouble. “Cool it, garden gnome.” Whatever he had been thinking about pride earlier is now sitting at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, along with his ego. 

“Let go,” he snaps and she does, much to his surprise.

“You’re a fucking mess, Hood,” she mumbles, shaking her head at him. He can’t help the bitter laugh that summons.

“You have no idea.” Silence, or at least however much silence Gotham can ever summon, descends between them as they size one another up. Jason, tired down to his bones, injured from his own bombs-

(Desperately trying to ignore everything you don’t like to hear.)

-and slowly descending into madness. Clarisse, still injured from whatever had gotten ahold of her before she crossed Silena’s doorstep, but just as capable of a killer as he is.

“What happened to you?” he asks. “To bring you to her.” Clarisse licks her lips, then glances suspiciously at the shadows.

“I’ve been informed I ran afoul of the Batman ,” she says the name with such blatant disrespect that Jason would have high-fived her if he wasn’t suddenly panicking. 

“Batman?” he demands. “What the fuck did you do to get his attention?”

“I don’t know!” Clarisse throws her hands up in frustration, then hisses and grabs her side. “Nothing in this fucking wreck of a city makes any gods damned sense!”

“Then why did you come here?”

“Someone had to,” she spits, glaring at him. “We heard whispers of Kronos survivors making a haven here. It’s…” her anger flickered into fear. “We needed to know what they were planning.”

“Planning.”

“The information may have been mildly incorrect,” she allows.

“Does… she know why you were here?” 

“No.” The denial rings between them. “I’m not baring my fucking soul to you, jackass,” she scoffs but he recognizes a deflection when he sees one.

“But maybe you can answer a few questions for me.”

“Why haven’t you asked Silena?” She squints at him and he leans against a wall, taking some pressure off his aching joints.

“How?” he demands. “I’m open for suggestions, because it seems like every word I say sends her on a spiral and I end up even more confused! What does Claiming even mean? Who is Chiron? Who is Thalia? Nico? So many goddamn names, but if I stopped her to ask, she might have stopped talking and then I’d have nothing-”

“Fucking Styx, calm down!” She slaps a hand over his mouth. “Gods, we don’t need every slime-ball in this city attracted to the sound of your screaming about mythology at the top of your lungs.” He rips her hand away.

“Then answer some questions!” If he doesn’t hear some explanation that doesn’t take the form of a long, rambling explanation of guilt and confusion and long repressed anger, he’s going to go even madder than he already is. 

(If she’s even going to speak to you.)

(I didn’t mean it.)

(Yes you did.)

“Me first,” Clarisse cuts into his silent argument.

“What?”

“You can ask your questions,” she agrees. “But you have to answer one of mine first. Tit for tat.”

“Why the fuck should I agree to that?” He doesn’t have any power in this situation. She’s got all the answers, all he has is his bullheaded ability to ignore problems until they blow up in his face.

“What was that about the heads?” she asks anyway, folding her arms and mirroring his posture of leaning on another wall in this stupidly tiny alley. “The one goon really thought you were gonna cut his off. Why did he think that?”

“Glad they all got that message,” he deflects, cracking his neck and trying to look more relaxed than he is. 

“Stop being an edge-lord. What the fuck was it about?”

“I cut off the heads of all their lieutenants,” he shrugged like it was no big deal and not three days of constant, careful work. “Dropped them all on the table and offered the bosses a deal.”

“Oh, okay,” she hummed. “So Dexter wasn’t that far off.”

“It worked.”

“I imagine it did. Brutal, but effective.”

“You sound almost like you approve?”

“I’m a daughter of Ares. Savagery is something we can respect. I imagine Dad would like you, considering your methods.”

“Huh.” He’d never thought of it that way. The thought that he has any god’s attention is a terrifying one.

“Answer me one more thing.” He probably won’t. “Why are you doing this? Because it’s clearly not just the money.”

“I’ve got a score to settle.”

(Do you?)

“With who? Batman’s still running around and the Joker got away. Who the fuck do you have to settle with that you haven’t already fucked up? Unless you plan on posting up somewhere with a sniper and taking potshots-”

“You don’t know a fucking thing about me.”

“I know you’re terrible for her.”

“What?” Of all the answers, that’s one he was not expecting, no matter how true it is, how many times he’s said it to himself.

“You’re going to give her a heart attack before any of the seventeen people out for your head get a chance to kill her.” Also not the answer he was expecting. Every turn in this conversation has been a left and yet there is no familiar territory in sight.

Silence falls between them, the safe house they’d ransacked dripping with blood, bile and other less savory bodily fluids. Jason can feel her eyes on him, like she’s staring through his head and into the demon trying to scrape its ever sharper claws across the already melting ruin of his mind. He wonders if she can, if this monstrosity is visible to her or to another of her, their, kind. Perhaps someone could pull it out of him.

(Perhaps they’ll kill you again.)

His fingers twitch against the holster on his thigh. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Inhale, hold, exhale. Beat, pause, beat.

(You shouldn’t be doing any of those things.)

(Here I am anyway. Can’t change that.)

(You really are a little fool, aren’t you?)

(Better a fool than a corpse.)

(You’re both.)

And going mad besides. Clenching his teeth, he inhales, holds, exhales. Stares at the daughter of Ares who stares back. Hopes she’ll open him from gut to gullet. Hopes she'll tell him how to fix his own life. Prays she leaves this city and never comes back, never tries to wiggle her way back into An- Silena’s life. Desires nothing more than to swing a fist, the feel the crunch of bone, the spatter of blood across his knuckles, the power of life in his hands as he snuffs it out-

“Alright,” Clarisse mutters, hunching over the rickety dining table and waving vaguely in his direction. “I’ve asked my questions. Your turn.”

“What won’t she tell me?” That’s the one he needs answered. Maybe it makes him an even worse kind of bastard, but he’ll pry her secrets out of someone else if she won’t spill them herself. He’s spent too long in the dark, too long shoved aside, ignored, used, too long being disposable. 

“How much do you already know?”

“She came here to hide. There was nowhere for her to go after the war.” Clarisse hesitates then, a familiar darkness falling over her face before she smooths it away and sighs. Jason’s body tenses against his will. Wherever this is going, it’s bad.

“Did she tell you why?”

“I…” he looks away, eyes focused on the hazy skyline. “I have a few guesses,” spit it out, “and I know she was a spy. I imagine that didn’t leave a good taste in everyone’s mouth when the dust settled.” Clarisse’s silence is enough of an answer. “And she betrayed you, didn’t she?”

“What gave it away?”

“You look at her like she’s ripped your heart out. And she looks at you like she wants to drown herself.” She twirls a little toothpick between her fingers, staring at it like the innocuous piece of wood has every answer.

“Do you know what children of Aphrodite can do?” she asks at last, but doesn’t wait for an answer. “Charmspeak. It’s a powerful thing. If they are careful, you never know that they’re doing it. They just seem so… reasonable. It’s the only way to do it, right? Their way.” Jason’s entire body goes cold, she wouldn’t-

(Wouldn’t she?)

(She’s been lying and you never pushed.)

(But I knew she was lying and I chose not to-)

(Are you sure?)

A gentle push on his shoulder drags him back, head ringing with malicious laughter that sounds far too familiar for comfort-

“How can you tell?” he demands. He needs to know, before he goes back into that apartment, if he needs to have a loaded gun. If he needs to harden his heart and put a slug in her head like he has so many others-

“It’s like a haze,” Clarisse’s voice is quiet, far away. “It’s… warm. Like you’re being wrapped in the softest blanket.” Fuck, fuck, fuck- “But the whole time, there’s something screaming. Small, easily dismissed, but there’s a part of you that knows. That’s hammering at the golden bars being woven around you. And when it breaks, it hurts. Like knives in your head. That little part of you crawls out and finds nothing but devastation. Because it never lasts. It’s just a waking dream.” 

“That’s…”

“Awful. The more they use, the worse it gets. It feels like you're resurfacing from drowning, lungs screaming, limbs heavy. You can always tell, afterwards. Once they’ve gotten what they want and leave you alone. But in the moment? There’s no stopping it unless you stop them from speaking.”

“You sound like you know.”

“She used it on me to steal my armor and make a suicide run.”

“What?”

“How the fuck do you think she got those scars?”

“She said there was a drakon she tried to fight…” Clarisse snorts, then flips her toothpick up into the air and catches a fucking spear . Jason takes a step back.

“Relax, I’m not stabbing you.” The little pop of electricity from the tip does nothing to reassure him. “You see right here?” There's metal around the shaft, right near the head, a sleeve around the wood. 

“What about it?” What does this have to do with anything?

“That’s where this spear broke, killing that drakon with the discharge. It was fucking stupid, but…” She flips it back into a toothpick. “Only a child of Ares could kill it. But before the invasion, I made the call that Ares wasn’t fighting at all. We’d been fucked over too many times.” She sighs, leaning on the concrete wall. “She told Kronos that Ares wasn’t fighting. That’s why he sent the drakon.”

“And she fought it?” Now he’s confused.

“Yeah. I don’t know what changed her mind either. But she abandoned Kronos. She ran off to camp, found where I was on patrol. Charmed Chris and I to steal my armor. The last thing I remember is thinking oh shit and then there’s nothing. It was…” she shudders, “strong. We didn’t come out of it until almost an hour later. And by then, she was long gone, along with the rest of the Ares kids.”

“She didn’t even try to convince you to go?”

“It was probably the right decision. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that. I probably wouldn’t have budged. Pride, uncertainty, defeatism, whatever the fuck I used in the moment to justify it. But by giving me no choice but to pursue…” She doesn’t need to finish that, the silence does enough.

“You said it’s like a haze? What does it sound like?” That’s what he needs to know. 

“Yeah. The words are meaningless, really. What hits you is the intent behind them. The desire to give them whatever they want, so long as it keeps their attention on you.”

“Sounds like a drug high.”

“Probably not far off,” Clarisse snorts. “Aphrodite is all about pleasure. But after it’s gone, fuck, you can feel it. Even just a word or two can leave you with a fucking migraine. Trust me, man, if she charmed you, you’d know.”

“I don’t know if that’s comforting.” 

“Just a fact.” Maybe in her world, but his is far less clear and only becoming murkier.

“Do you know why she came… here?”

“Not a clue. You?”

“No.”

“Guess we’ll both have to ask then.” Jason sighs at her cool tone, ignoring the burn of her side eye and the flood of guilt in his chest. 

“I’m going back to mine,” he decides, pushing off the bricks and resisting the urge to take a swing at Clarisse. Just to put off this moment of decision even longer. Procrastinating on the inevitability of his- 

(Running away with your tail between your legs like a sad little pup. Pathetic.)

(I should have stayed gone.)

(For once, we agree.)

He leaves, a reaper going to face his reckoning. She watches, a bloody acolyte ready to sacrifice him to her unforgiving god. Jason does his damndest not to think of why it aches somewhere below his chest as this particular safehouse vanishes amongst the identical masses. The scratching poison in this mind has no such reservation. 

(You’ve missed having a partner.)

[bugcatcherwill]

I don’t know if this is what you believe to be the lore but I personally believe that prior to a timeline merge or whatever the consensus is about BOTW/TOTK, the Gleeoks were the biggest dragon species and allied themselves with Ganon because he was the strongest force at the time and could protect them, so kind of a King Bulbin situation, but as Ganon (or in RATC terms Demise) shifted to using Malice, they made the Gleeoks extinct and recreated them as Malice puppets which is why their head is literally a Malice eye with a mouth.

Again this may not be your lore/headcanon but it’s my personal belief as to how Gleeoks went from dragon to whatever you want to call them in TOTK because they have some similarities but there is no way that is a dragon.

Ooooooooo that's more or less how I see it in the lore! I do have a little bit of nuance and story to how the monsters even came to be in the first place, and it will get explained eventually I swear, but it'd be cool if Gleeoks are mentioned in the same breath as other legends of Hyrule.

As in, they were once these nigh-unkillable dragons that destroyed whole armies in the name of Ganon. They're gone now, and nobody knows why they left, but if they'd return it'd be a disaster.

Which then begs the question, how did they come back in ToTK? ;)