#from the perspective of an angry sword boy

[silverskye13]

In which Mato strikes

[toastandjamie]

Thinking about Mat’s first meeting with Olver. Just this twenty year old who’s so frustrated with responsibility that despite hating fighting goes into this situation looking for an excuse to hit someone. Then he sees that a kids involved, and he tries to diffuse the situation, he’s tired and just wants to solve this quickly so he can go back to the inn and get some sleep- then this full grown man threatens to kill a child, for the crime of roughing his horse. And Mat, Mat KNOWS what it’s like to be that kid, too curious for his own good and getting into trouble, but never NEVER has anyone threatened to hurt him over it. And Mat without any thought for potential repercussions breaks a dudes wrist and hits the other right between the legs. And then he threatens to have the lot of them run out of town by the Band because they had the audacity to say that Olver was “just a peasant child” as of that changed the situation for Mat, a horse traders son in fancy clothes. Because to Mat that’s all he is, a peasant in nice clothes. Then he’s trying to figure out what to do with Olver, since his parents are no where to he found, and Olver tells him not to talk about him like he isn’t there. And Mat ACKNOWLEDGES that, he apologizes and kneels down so they can be eye level. He doesn’t talk down to Olver, because he knows what it’s like to have other people make decisions for him. He is so keenly aware of his Olver feels, the frustration and rebelliousness that comes from being a child because he isn’t that far removed from it. Just three years ago he was still just a kid, older and a bit more mature than Olver perhaps, but still just a kid and one who hadn’t seen the horrors that ten year old Olver had seen. He acknowledges Olver’s feelings and talks to him like he’s anyone else, and redirects Olver’s stubbornness so skillfully. He’s just so good with kids in a way that not even just having two younger sisters can account for. He Gets It, the parts of him that others consider immature are what make him so good at communicating with Olver.

Then think about this from Olver’s perspective. He’s been alone for who knows how long, forced to flee his home, to bury his mother, and now all alone in some strange place. He was likely sleeping in the stables, and that was how he ended up trying to make friends with the Hunter of the Horns horse. Then this Hunter drags him out to the middle of the street, threatening to Jill him. Olver was brave about it but it must’ve been terrifying. Especially upon realizing that none of the other refugees would help. Then suddenly a man in nobles clothes, a strange hat and the coolest looking spear he’s probably ever seen intercedes on his behalf. A man Olver has never seen before, a foreigner no less, but here he is coming to rescue Olver like some gleemans hero. Then Olver sees Mat fight, while to Mat this was hardly even a struggle, a few cracks with the blunt of his spear and the ‘fight’ is over, but to Olver, Mat probably looked like a warder with how easily he handled two armed men presumably trained in using those swords they carry. We as an audience see Mat mainly through the eyes of people who don’t take him seriously, Mat himself included, so it’s easy to overlook just how badass Mat must seem to anyone else looking from the outside, especially a young angry boy who wants to fight the aiel who killed his father. We don’t know how Olver found out, or when, but imagine being Olver and hearing the most certainly exaggerated story of Mat “dueling” Couladin. Is it any wonder that Olver hero worships Mat? That inspite of what Olver perceived as Mat being hypocritical and foolish(or as Mat sees it trying to properly care for a child and be a good influence) he still considers Mat to be someone to emulate. Whether Olver sees Mat as more a mentor, brother or father figure he very clearly idolizes him. He wants to be like Mat, he wants Mat’s attention and praise because despite Mat being “no bloody hero” to this little boy he IS a hero, one worthy of any gleemans story

[mxtxfanatic]

Jin Ling and the Curse of Escalating Abuse

Seeing the complex nature of the relationship between Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng, I wanted to cover the topic of escalating abuse of the uncle towards his nephew, as Jiang Cheng is abusive towards Jin Ling throughout the entire story but that abuse shifts as the story goes on. Note: this is not an essay about how abusive people can love their victims still. I know Jiang Cheng loves his nephew, but that love means nothing in the face of him continuously being the force that drives the young boy to danger. Love does not absolve abuse. Moving on: though many of the scenes I mention are gone over in multiple translations, I will only be using one source per scene for my argument, as none of them are worded radically different. I will, however, include the other translations under the cut for anyone who wants to see them for comparison.

In the early section of the novels, we learn two important bits of information about how Jin Ling views his maternal uncle, Jiang Cheng:

From as early as Jin Ling could remember, he had never seen Jiang Cheng’s face make the expression it was currently making. His uncle, who had led the distinguished Yunmeng Jiang Clan alone since the man had been young, had been cold, severe, and gloomy for years and years on end. Not a single lenient or merciful word left Jiang Cheng’s mouth if he could help it, nor was he ever willing to offer charity and kindness.

–Chapt. 23: Malice I, fanyiyi

Angrily, [Jin Ling] leapt onto his feet and pulled out his sword on the spot. “How dare you hit me! Even my uncle’s never hit me!”

Surprised, Wei Wuxian said, “Really? But doesn’t he say he’s going to break your legs all the time?”

“He’s just saying that!” Jin Ling raged.

–Chapt. 24: Malice II, fanyiyi

From Jin Ling’s perspective, his maternal uncle is always acerbic and never kind, but he has never been physically abusive to Jin Ling. Plus though he often threatens Jin Ling with physical abuse–threatening to break his legs or use Zidian on him–Jin Ling considers this all talk. In fact, Jiang Cheng’s abuse of Jin Ling stays firmly in the realm of verbal and emotional for most of the story. His most common insults to throw at his nephew are about Jin Ling appearing unworthy of his position as Jin (and Jiang) heir, in almost a mimicry of how Madam Yu would tell him that he was unworthy of being the Jiang heir in comparison to Wei Wuxian:

Frowning, he said, “Jin Ling, how much time are you going to waste? Do you need me to go over there and invite you back? Look at your sorry state—why the hell haven’t you gotten back up!?”

–Chapt. 7: Pride II, fanyiyi

“‘Fine’?” Jiang Cheng said. “You look like you took a tumble in a muddy ditch—you call that ‘fine?’ Aren’t you embarrassed to be wearing your clan’s uniform? Go back and change immediately! Out with it—what did you run into today?”

–Chapt. 23: Malice I, fanyiyi

He is also shown to have a bad habit of lashing out instead of expressing any emotion that could be considered nice, just like Jin Ling says:

Upon seeing that Jin Ling was fine, Jiang Cheng’s heart crashed back to earth like a boulder. Immediately furious, he said, “Didn’t you bring a signal? Don’t you know to fire it if you encounter something like this? Don’t try to show off! Come here!”

–Chapt. 10: Pride V, fanyiyi

And because of Jiang Cheng’s outward lack of concern for Jin Ling’s health and safety–prefering barbs over comfort–Jin Ling refuses to be vulnerable with him, keeping his fears, concerns, disappointments, and even positive emotions like relief to himself. Outwardly, he lashes out, just like he has learned to do from his maternal uncle:

Since Jin Ling hadn’t caught the soul eating maiden, he was also angry. “Wasn’t it you who told me I had to take the thing down no matter what?! You told me if I didn’t get it, I should never come see you again!”

–Chapt. 10: Pride V, fanyiyi

Annoyed, Jin Ling said, “I already told you, I didn’t run into anything! It was just a fall. The whole journey was a waste of time.”

–Chapt. 23: Malice I, fanyiyi

The one who called was Jiang Cheng, who stood near the edge. Still teary-eyed, as soon as Jin Ling saw his uncle, he immediately wiped his face, sniffing. He looked here and there and finally made up his mind to fly over, landing at Jiang Cheng’s side.

Jiang Cheng grabbed him, “What happened to you? Who did this to you?!”

Jin Ling rubbed his eyes roughly, refusing to speak up.

–Chapt. 84: Loyalty, exr

Who can blame him, though? Almost every life-threatening situation Jin Ling finds himself in is a direct result of Jiang Cheng’s cruelty towards him: from attempting to fight to goddess statue without calling for help, to ending up almost suffocated in the walls of the Nie Clan Saber Hall, and even to him winding up in Yi City:

Jiang Cheng’s next words were wrapped in thorns. “Why are you still standing there? Are you waiting for prey to rush toward you and stick themselves on your sword? If you can’t capture whatever’s living in Dafan Mountain, don’t ever come see me again!”

–Chapt. 8: Pride III, fanyiyi

It seemed that the boy hadn’t come to Qinghe alone. No surprise—at Dafan Mountain, Jiang Cheng had come to support his nephew, so why wouldn’t he come this time too? Only it seemed that the uncle and nephew had gotten into an argument in Qinghe Town, which caused Jin Ling to set off for Xinglu Ridge on his own.

–Chapt. 23: Malice I, fanyiyi

It turned out that, having tricked his uncle and released Wei Wuxian several days ago, Jin Ling had been worried that Jiang Cheng would actually break his legs, so he had decided to sneak off and disappear, intending to reappear in front his uncle only after Jiang Cheng’s temper had cooled.

–Chapt. 35: Flora III, fanyiyi

As much as Jin Ling wants to assure everyone that “that’s just how his uncle is” and show us how unbothered he is by Jiang Cheng’s behavior, he does actually fear the man. And with good reason to! Now let’s address the elephant in the room: Jiang Cheng very much so does want to be physically harm Jin Ling, and this almost always correlates to Jin Ling talking back/not listening to him. Take this scene from right after the juniors survive the goddess statue and Jin Ling reminding Jiang Cheng that he was the one who told the boy to either catch the beast on Dafan Mountain or never return to him:

Jiang Cheng wanted to slap the stinking brat so hard he’d fly back up his mother’s birth canal—but he did actually say those words. Since he couldn’t very well embarrass himself, the Clan Chief could only turn to sarcastically mocking the cultivators scattered randomly over the ground. “So what exactly thrashed all of you into looking so dignified?”

–Chapt. 10: Pride V, fanyiyi

The thing stopping him from slapping Jin Ling is the fact that Jiang Cheng publicly told the boy not to come back if he was not successful, and he has been publicly called out when trying to take Jin Ling to task. Being unable to swipe at the boy as he wishes, he then turns his attention to his disciples to punish, as they are lower than him in rank and therefore no one can chastise him on his unbecoming behavior. But once we get to the scenes where all social hierarchy and propriety break down–the second siege and Guanyin Temple–all hands are loosed:

Jiang Cheng forced himself to walk over to Jin Ling, grabbing him at once, “Did you get hurt?!”

Jin Ling’s breaths even smelled like rust, “I didn’t. I...”

Jiang Cheng immediately slapped him onto the ground, scolding, “You didn’t?! Then I’ll make you get hurt and teach you the lesson! You damn brat turning a deaf ear to my words?!”

–Chapt. 81: Loyalty, exr

Jiang Cheng shoved Jin Ling, who’d been holding him up helplessly, out of the way...

...With panic, Jin Ling stood in front of Jiang Cheng, “HanGuang-Jun! My uncle’s hurt...”

Jiang Cheng slapped him onto the ground, “Let him come! Am I scared of him?!”

–Chapt. 102: Hatred, exr

Social etiquette no longer exists in a life-or-death battle or hostage situation, so Jiang Cheng has no face to maintain in front of anyone else. But by this point in the story, Jin Ling has spent a considerable amount of time with two role models who do show him kindness, care, and support. He begins to crave that parental love he has been deprived of, starting from the second siege:

A few sect leaders clutched onto their sons, cautioning them, “When the corpses rush inside all at once, protect yourself and try to get out. Stay alive no matter what! You understand?!”

As Jin Ling heard this, he felt himself cringe, but somewhere deep down he hoped that his uncle would say something similar as well. He waited for a while, but nothing came from Jiang Cheng...

–Chapt. 81: Loyalty, exr

And when Jiang Cheng finally hits him for the first time, Jin Ling’s only reaction is to look towards wangxian:

He sat down, catching his breath as his eyes turned to the two sitting at the side of the Demon-Slaughtering Cave closest to the outside.

Both Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi were a mess.

–Chapt. 81: Loyalty, exr

Finally, all of the dysfunction in Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng’s relationship comes to a head in Guanyin Temple, the climax of the story. Jiang Cheng’s behavior escalates into physical violence towards his last living relative, while Jin Ling is no longer lashing out at his uncle in place of being vulnerable but is also no longer able to brush off Jiang Cheng’s cruelty as acceptable. He has had his entire worldview turned on its head, and out of that, realizes that he does not want to continue the cycle of abuse and hatred that Jiang Cheng tries to force him to inherit, but would rather follow the path of love and kindness that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have shown him is possible.

Jin Ling on Jiang Cheng’s personality:

For as long as he could remember, Jin Ling had never seen Jiang Cheng with such an expression. His uncle, who had single-handedly led the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng at a tender young age, was always cold and gloomy. He was merciless and never kind with his words.

–Chapt. 23: Malevolent Part 1: Running into Gunpoint, taming wangxian

From the beginning of his memory until now, Jin Ling had never seen such a look on Jiang Cheng’s face before. This uncle of his who led the prominent YunmengJiang Sect ever since a young age had always been cold and dark. When he spoke, he was willing to neither show mercy nor do good.

–Chapt. 23: Malice, exr

Jin Ling saying Jiang Cheng has never hit him before and is all talk:

Jin Ling stirred awake after a while. He rubbed his neck, which was still hurting, then angrily drew his sword and sprung up. “How dare you hit me! Even my uncle has never hit me before!”

Wei Wuxian was shocked. “Is that so? Doesn’t he frequently say that he will break your legs?”

Jin Ling raged, “He had never meant what he said!! You fucking cutsleeve, what do you want? I ...”

–Chapt. 24: Malevolent Part 2: Escape, taming wangxian

He was so angry that he jumped up and unsheathed his sword at once, “How dare you hit me! My uncle hadn’t even hit me before!”

Wei WuXian exclaimed, “Really? Doesn’t he say that he’ll break your legs all the time?”

Jin Ling fumed, “He’s only saying that! You damn cut- sleeve, what on Earth do you want? I...”

–Chapt. 24: Malice, exr

Jiang Cheng’s insults to Jin Ling:

He scowled, “Jin Ling, why are you wasting so much time? Do I have to come over to invite you back? You look like a mess now; why aren’t you getting up?”

–Chapt. 7: The Prideful Part 2: Wangji Finally Makes his Appearance! taming wangxian

He frowned, “Jin Ling, why did you linger for so long? Do you really need me to come and pick you up? Look at what a terrible situation you’re in right now, and get up!”

–Chapt. 7: Arrogance, exr

Jiang Cheng said, “Safe and sound? You look like you’ve been rolling around in the gutters, how is that ‘safe and sound’? Aren’t you ashamed to be wearing your family’s uniform? Hurry back now and get changed! Spit it out, what did you encounter today?”

–Chapt. 23: Malevolent Part 1: Running into Gunpoint, taming wangxian

Jiang Cheng, “Nothing wrong? You look like you just rolled around in a muddy ditch, and you say there’s nothing wrong with you! Don’t you think that it’s an embarrassment to be wearing your sect’s uniform? Hurry back and change into something else! Speak. What did you run into today?”

–Chapt. 23: Malice, exr

Jiang Cheng lashing out at Jin Ling in place of concern:

Jiang Cheng was greatly relieved when he saw that Jin Ling was not harmed. He immediately began to reprimand him. “Didn’t you bring the signals with you? Why didn’t you release it even though you were up against something like this? Were you trying to show off? Come over here now!”

 –Chapt. 10: The Prideful Part 5: I’m Bringing This Man Back to the Lan Estate, taming wangxian

Seeing that Jin Ling was safe, Jiang Cheng finally calmed down. Quickly afterward, he scolded angrily, “Didn’t you bring signal firelights with you? Don’t you know to use them when you meet something like this? What are you pretending to be strong for? Scram over here!”

–Chapt. 10: Arrogance, exr

Jiang Cheng’s behavior pushing Jin Ling into danger:

Jiang Cheng then said in a scathing tone, “Why are you still standing there? The prey’s not going to stab themselves with your swords! If you can’t capture whatever’s on Dafan Mountain, don’t look for me again!”

–Chapt. 8: The Prideful Part 3: Discovering His Good Looks After Cleaning Up, taming wangxian

Jiang Cheng turned again, his words covered with thorns, “Why are you still standing there? Waiting for the prey to come and throw itself onto your sword? If, today, you don’t catch the creature hunting Dafan Mountain, don’t come to me ever again!”

–Chapt. 8: Arrogance, exr

It turned out that Jin Ling didn’t come to Qinghe alone. That wasn’t surprising; previously, Jiang Cheng had also provided him with back-up on Dafan Mountain, so why wouldn’t he be here this time? However, from the looks of it, the uncle and nephew probably had an argument in Qinghe, hence Jin Ling had trekked up Xinglu Ridge alone.

–Chapt. 23: Malevolent Part 1: Running into Gunpoint, taming wangxian

It appeared that Jin Ling didn’t come to Qinghe alone. Well, no wonder. Last time, at Dafan Mountain, Jiang Cheng had been there to assist him, so why wouldn’t he have come this time? However, looking at this now, it seemed that the two had a quarrel in the town of Qinghe, which was why Jin Ling went up the Xinglu Ridge alone

–Chapt. 23: Malice, exr

It turned out that a few days ago, after Jin Ling had sent Jiang Cheng away on a lie and released Wei Wuxian, he was worried that his uncle might really break his legs this time around. Hence, he decided to sneak out and disappear for a couple of weeks, then reappear when Jiang Cheng’s anger had subsided.

–Chapt. 35: Foliage Part 3: The Paper Effigies Shop and Glutinous Rice Porridge, taming wangxian

Ever since a few days ago, after Jin Ling lied to his uncle and let Wei WuXian go, he had been worried that this time Jiang Cheng would really break his legs, so he decided to sneak out and disappear for a few days, not appearing in front of Jiang Cheng until his anger subsided.

–Chapt. 35: Grasses, exr

Jin Ling refusing to be vulnerable with Jiang Cheng/lashing out:

Jin Ling was furious that he failed to capture the soul-eating fairy, and retorted, “Didn’t you say I had to capture it at all costs? And that I shouldn’t return to you empty handed!”

–Chapt. 10: The Prideful Part 5: I’m Bringing This Man Back to the Lan Estate, taming wangxian

Jin Ling was also angered from not capturing the soul- consuming goddess, “Weren’t you the one who told me that I have to catch it? And, if I don’t catch it, I shouldn’t go see you?”

–Chapt. 10: Arrogance, exr

Jin Ling said impatiently, “I’ve already told you that I didn’t encounter anything. I slipped and fell. It was a wasted trip. Ouch!” He yelled, “Don’t you drag me around like this! I’m not three years old!”

–Chapt. 23: Malevolent Part 1: Running into Gunpoint, taming wangxian

Jin Ling replied impatiently, “I already said that I didn’t run into anything. I tripped, and it was a waste of time. Ow!” He shouted, “Don’t tug on me like that! I’m not three-years- old!”

–Chapt. 23: Malice, exr

The voice that had called out earlier had belonged to the man standing at the head of the ship, none other than Jiang Cheng. Between tears, Jin Ling peered out and upon seeing his uncle, he abruptly stopped crying and quickly rubbed away his tears. Sniffing slightly, he looked around, clenching his teeth as he quickly flew over to Jiang Cheng’s side. Jiang Cheng grasped Jin Ling’s shoulders in alarm, asking, “What happened to you? Who bullied you!”

Rubbing his eyes forcefully, Jin Ling remained silent.

–Chapt. 84 Loyalty: Little Friends, chiaki_himura

The voice earlier had come from Jiang Cheng. Jin Ling’s eyes were misty with tears. Hearing his uncle’s voice, he immediately wiped his face clean, sniffed his nose, looked back and forth between the two ships, and then finally decided to fly over. The second Jin Ling landed besides him, Jiang Cheng had his hands on him, “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?!”

Jin Ling wiped at his eyes hard, but refused to speak.

–Chapt. 84: “Core” Part 6, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Jiang Cheng wishing violence on Jin Ling:

Jiang Cheng wanted to slap this kid so hard that he would be forced back into his mother’s womb. However, these were his very own words; how could he take them back?

–Chapt. 10: The Prideful Part 5: I’m Bringing This Man Back to the Lan Estate, taming wangxian

Jiang Cheng seriously wanted to slap the rotten brat so hard that he went back inside his mother’s stomach. However, he really did say so himself, and he shouldn’t prove himself wrong.

–Chapt. 10: Arrogance, exr

Jiang Cheng physically harming Jin Ling:

Jiangcheng limped quickly towards Jin Ling, grabbing him his shoulders with both hands as he said angrily, “Are you hurt!”

Breathing heavily, Jin Ling murmured, “No, I......”

Jiang Cheng had landed a slap on Jin Ling’s face as he berated, “No?! If you’re not hurt then let me give you something to hurt about! You rascal, turning a deaf ear to my words now, aren’t you?!”

–Chapt. 81 Loyalty: Corpses of the Burial Mound, chiaki_himura

Jiang Cheng limped towards Jin Ling, grabbed him and yelled, “Are you injured!”

Even Jin Ling’s laboured breaths were tainted with the smell of blood, “No, I…….”

Jiang Cheng immediately slapped him onto the group, “No?! Then take this as a reminder for what you just did! Do my words mean nothing to you, you little shit!”

–Chapt. 81: “Core” Part 3, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Jiang Cheng pushed away Jin Ling who had been supporting him, and despite having lost so much blood, his face remained flushed with anger as he roared, “How could you?! Wei Wuxian, how could you?!”...

...Lan Wangji stood up furiously as Jin Ling leapt in front of Jiang Cheng again, trembling as he begged, “HanGuang-Jun! My uncle is injured......”

Jiang Cheng struck a blow on Jin Ling, causing him to stumble to the ground.

–Chapt. 102 Hatred: I’m Sorry, I Swallowed My Words, chiaki_himura

Jin Ling wanting to hear kind words from Jiang Cheng:

Several sect leaders grabbed onto their offspring, urgently directing them, “When the corpses rush in, you have to protect yourself and find a way to escape. You must stay alive no matter what! Do you understand?!”

Hearing the desperation in the parents’ voices, Jin Ling felt a pang of sadness. Deep down, he had hoped that perhaps Jiang Cheng would also say this to him, but however long he waited, nothing came out of it...

–Chapt. 81 Loyalty: Corpses of the Burial Mound, chiaki_himura

Various Sect and Clan Leaders had grabbed their own sons, warning, “When the corpses rush in, you will protect yourself, and find a way to escape! You must survive no matter what happens! Do you understand me?!”

Hearing this, a sourness churned within Jin Ling. A part of him longed to hear those same words from his own uncle. But after waiting for a few, long moments, Jiang Cheng showed no sign of speaking up.

–Chapt. 81: “Core” Part 3, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Jin Ling looking to wangxian for comfort:

After taking the blow, Jin Ling couldn’t stand any further and sat onto the ground heavily, breathing deeply as his eyes travelled to the silhouettes of the two people sitting closest to the entrance of the cave.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were a mess.

–Chapt. 81 Loyalty: Corpses of the Burial Mound, chiaki_himura

Yet Jiang Cheng* himself had no energy left to stand after giving this slap. He sat down heavily, breathing hard as he glared at the two figures closest to the mouth of the Demon-Crouching Cave.

Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi were a mess.

–Chapt. 81: “Core” Part 3, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

*boat-full-of-lotus-pods is the only translation of the three I have of Chapt. 81 that says that Jiang Cheng is the one who looks at wangxian. Both exr and chiaki_himura say that this is Jin Ling.

[whumpninja]

This one’s a bit vague when it comes to being a prompt fill but I LIKE it so who CARES. I TOLD you I would maybe write Traitor but from Tomás’ perspective and I DID it. (Traitor is a historical two-shot that you can find on my masterlist!)

Prompt used: Whumptober, alternate prompt- regret

Featuring: held at swordpoint, mentions of execution, uncertainty, mark of shame, sword cuts, blood

Whumptober Day Eight: Hero

In the heat of the moment, there had been anger. Anger, and fear, and the racing heartbeat that told him he had to survive, he had to fight, he had to win this because it was more than just his own life if he lost.

And he had won. He had won, and now the anger and adrenaline had faded.

Tomás couldn't name what he was feeling now. He had the governor's son in the dust at his feet, and he had thought this moment would feel triumphant but it just felt...numb. He had a sword in his hand that didn't feel like it belonged there.

My father's sword. At the throat of his murderer's son.

Mateo Rivera had changed since Tomás and his mother had been exiled. He was taller, leaner, all sharp edges. He was dressed like royalty, in a gold jacket and black shirt and a beautiful turquoise medallion, at odds with the villagers in their faded finery and clay beads. His eyes blazed hatred in a way they hadn't when the two of them were children. He was fierce and angry. But Tomás was stronger, and better with a sword.

"Tomás!" Fidelia's voice. She ran to him, and he held her close, relieved that she was there. Fidelia had been the one to fetch him from the desert, to spur him on to fight the governor, and then to fight his son. Tomás knew little for certain anymore- everything kept changing so quickly- but he knew that he loved her. And she had kissed him at the feast, so he was reasonably sure she loved him back.

He kissed her again now, careful not to lose his grip on the sword. And then he turned back to his enemy. "It's over," he announced, pitching his voice so the entire crowd could hear. "You've lost, Rivera." It was meant for the whole family of them, though he directed it at the son.

The villagers burst into life, cheers rising to a deafening pitch. "What now, Tomás?" a shopkeeper called out. "What do we do with these traitors?"

Why are you asking me? Tomás thought blankly.

It must have shown on his face, for the baker spoke next. "You're the hero of this village. Whatever you think is best, we'll do."

The governor, of course, said something insulting. Tomás barely heard it. Am I truly their hero? Is this decision really mine to make?

A farmer, grinning, said "We have rope handy. We could have all three strung up before sundown."

Tomás turned on him. "I am not Governor Rivera," he replied sternly. "There will be justice on the governor and his wife, but not without a fair trial. Is that agreeable to you?”

"We trust you, Tomás," someone else promised.

Tomás breathed out hard. Why is this so difficult? "Good. Then you can take former Governor Rivera and his wife to-"

"Wait a minute!" broke in another shopkeeper. "I can wait to watch the ex-governor pay his dues, but the boy tried to steal away Fidelia. He’s drawn your blood, Tomás." There was a cut in Tomás' arm, staining the sleeve of his shirt. He hadn't even noticed. Fidelia was there in moments, pressing a handkerchief against it.

"Our beautiful Fidelia was nearly forced to be the bride of the governor’s brat," added one of the women. "Surely that deserves punishment here and now.”

Tomás' heart pounded. What are they expecting me to do? Kill him?

A death in the midst of a swordfight would have been different. But a cold-blooded murder- an execution- Tomás couldn't do that. He couldn't.

Fidelia stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. "Tomás...I don't want to see him die. Can't you do something? There has to be something that will satisfy them."

Think of something! Tomás told himself. An idea came to mind- it was harsh, but it would appease them. He hoped.

He raised his voice again, tried to make it sound like his father's voice had sounded once, before it was silenced by the governor’s sword. "Townspeople!" he called out. "The Rivera family has failed you! They had a chance to be good, selfless rulers. Instead they overtaxed you, stole anything of value you possessed, and nearly drove this place into a famine. Were it not for Fidelia’s brave journey into the desert to bring me my father’s sword, this village might have been choked to death in the grip of the Rivera family. They are traitors! And while the former governor and his wife will face their own judgment for their crimes, their son will be marked as a traitor here and now.”

He met Mateo's eyes beyond the sword point. If there was fear there, he hid it well.

"Will you struggle?" Tomás asked. He needed to know. If Mateo fought him, Tomás could very well end up stabbing him in the heart.

Tomás had seen enough people run through with a sword.

Mateo glared up at him almost scornfully. "No."

Tomás steeled himself, cutting away the shirt and jacket and medallion first. Mateo, true to his word, held still. Tomás gritted his teeth as he cut into the younger man's chest, writing a symbol with blood as his ink. He cut deep enough to scar, but no more.

Then he pulled Mateo up and out into the circle of villagers so they could all see what he had done.

He'd carved the letter T- the symbol for a traitor- into Mateo's chest.

There were murmurs of approval from the townspeople. The governor looked murderously angry. His wife was very pale, although she kept her head high and said nothing.

Tomás stood there in the middle of them all with a bloody sword in his hand, unsure of what to do or say next. He stared at the drops of red blood in the dust. Am I a hero now? he thought to himself, and did not know the answer.

[deadmenandthedivine]

DEAD MEN § THE DIVINE

chapter sixteen: relearning from the same mistakes

Maetilda Targaryen, First of her Name, was supposed to be many things. What she became was entirely different.

table of contents

trigger warning!!! this fic contains many graphic topics and depictions. such as but not limited to: dead parents, abusive parents, toxic family systems, incest, medieval misogyny, forced marriage, threats of assault (sexual § physical), actual assault, imprisonment, kidnapping, murder, blood/gore, uxoricide, familicide, disassociation, thoughts of self harm and annihilation, PTSD and other neurodivergence. i will do my best to update as i go along, but please let me know if i have missed anything!

word count: 3953

Aemond acted tough and unphased, but Maetilda could tell that he was reeling on the inside. His jaw was clenched, shoulders were tight, and a firm, stoic expression never left his face. When she managed to catch his eye, she could see it all. Fear, overwhelming fear. They had arrived after the others, after Maetilda’s brothers had been bandaged up, but it did nothing to calm him. Shaking like an autumn leaf, she stood behind her betrothed and ran her fingers through his long tangled hair. His promises from earlier still rang in her ears. She thought of her home that would truly be hers. The thousands of ravens they would send back and forth. The visits she would have to see both him and Helaena. The tower she would build for him. Their future. Had she been a fool to think such fantasies could be real? Had she been a fool to trust the words of a Hightower? Had she been a fool to not listen to her father more closely? Certainly, her father would not let any marriage happen now. Maester Orwyle looked over Aemond’s various bruises and angry knuckles with a careful eye. The old man had already examined Maetilda’s scalp and her various scratches, per the request of the King’s second son, and had applied ointments and oils to hurry along the healing. Aemond’s bruising had only darkened with time. The worst one was on his back, close to his spine. Likely where he had been kicked.

No one was allowed to withdraw from the room until the Queen and Princesses Rhaenys and Rhaenyra were aware of the incident. Jacaerys, Baela, Lucerys, and Rhaena sat in a corner across from the pair. The boys both wore bandages of their own, nose dressing for Jace and a splint for Luke’s leg. But not a hair was out of place on the twins’ heads. Not even Baela’s. A part of Maetilda itched as she thought of the small pockets of opportunity she had to grab and pull, to make Baela look just as feral and unkempt.

“Maetilda, to your chambers. Now.” Prince Daemon sneered, barely crossing the threshold of the door before he spoke.

“Now?“

“I heard all I needed to hear. Get away from that boy. Go pack your things.”

“Prince Daemon, stop! As Queen, I declare that no one shall leave until I have given approval!” Queen Alicent asserted immediately upon her entrance.

She rushed forward, placing her hands on her second son’s shoulders in an outstretched embrace. With all the seriousness in the world, the royal woman studied his face. Looking him straight in the eye. Not once did she glance up at the princess who hovered behind them. Instead, Alicent waited for her son to give her a firm nod before she turned back around to face Daemon. Maetilda felt her entire body switch back into alert mode at the sight of her father’s hand on the hilt of his sword. He threw all of his weight onto one foot, jutting out his hip with attitude. He looked at his goodsister with bitter disgust. If not for the presence of Maester Orwyle — who would undoubtedly write his perspective of events in the histories — the princess had no doubt he would have spat at the woman’s feet, cursing her title and her name and the very idea that a Hightower would have any power over him. 

“The King! Where is he?! Bring him here!” The old prince bellowed to the Kingsguard. But none of them moved.

The Queen’s eyes narrowed in challenge, “He is in bed, where he will stay. He is not well.” 

“Horseshit!” 

“My patience for your outbursts is wearing thin, Prince Daemon.” A threat.

Instead of showing fear, the Rogue Prince smirked, “What will you do about it, your Grace?” 

“Luke! Jacaerys!” Rhaenyra’s panicked shout made it to the room before she did. Rhaenys trailed in right behind her.

“Girls.” The Queen that Never Was sighed in relief before rushing forward to hug her granddaughters.

Princess Maetilda watched the women joyfully reunite with her siblings. Warm hugs, kisses, doting examinations of their wellbeing. She couldn’t help the jealousy that sat in her heart. Of course she would never have what the rest of her siblings had. She wasn’t deserving of it. From the day they were born, they were better than her. It was a secret that her parents were not good at keeping. But she loved them anyway. All of them. Better or not, she had always thought that they were good. That they had everyone’s best interests at heart. Yet as the little green monster sat on her shoulder, she found herself questioning those beliefs for the first time. How could they turn on her so quickly? Especially when she was trying to act honorably. Was it truly that easy for them? The Maester’s solar grew deathly silent as the regal four — Queen Alicent, Princess Rhaenyra, Prince Daemon, and Princess Rhaenys — turned to face each other. It felt all too familiar. They were just missing the King, Lord Corlys, and an audience of funeral guests. The hair on Maetilda’s arms stood up straight. It was as if she saw double, living both the past and the present at once.

“I’m calling off the wedding. It is clear to me that the one eyed boy is a savage! I will not have him tainting my bloodline.” Daemon was the first to start.

“Careful! There is a black cell waiting for you.” Alicent retorted.

“Bring my brother here! Let me speak with him!”

“Daemon, you will not call off the wedding.” Rhaenyra stepped forward, shaking her head.

“Look at her! She has already sided with him!” Baela interjected, pointing directly at the eldest of the three.

Rhaenys grabbed her arm to silence her, “I see the state of your sister. The fingers are not necessary. Rhaena, tell us what happened.”

“We were in the training yards. Luke and Jace were showing us how much they had improved in sparring because Baela had mentioned how she thought a dragon rider should be able to hold their own if challenged. The boys had offered to teach us, but we did not think they would be sufficient enough.”

Daemon smirked proudly at his second daughter upon hearing the younger twin’s words.

“They were about to let us try when Maetilda, her knight, and Aemond tried to sneak past us. Unnoticed. In the training yards. Baela called after them, started asking questions, and they got defensive. At first, I thought we were all joking, but then the insults started. Before I knew it, Jacaerys’ nose was broken, and Baela and Maetilda were on the ground. I tried to stop them!”

“Ser Wyllam ran to fetch the Kingsguard to help split them up.” Ser Criston added.

Prince Daemon glared at his eldest daughter. His feet moved to start towards her before Queen Alicent spoke, stopping him in his tracks again, “Who started the insults?”

“Baela,” Aemond and Maetilda answered simultaneously.

“Aemond!” The other four chorused louder.

“It doesn’t matter who started it. These grudges must be thrown to the wolves. It is what the King wants!” Rhaenyra shook her head.

Maetilda asserted herself with crossed arms, “Aemond and I were going to the Dragonpit, to see where Shrykos would stay, when we were interrupted. Baela taunted Aemond, to which he countered. When Jace and Luke inserted themselves, the taunts turned into insults which turned to blows. I only fought Baela because she was about to jump on Aemond’s back while the boys were already having exchanges. Who knows what the three would have done with collective force? That is what happened.” 

The adults in the room looked at her in shock. For once in her life, the princess knew without a shred of doubt that she had not said too much. Her chest warmed knowing she had said just the right amount. The Queen was the first to react, moving over to Maetilda to take her future gooddaughter’s hands in her own.

“Thank you, Princess.”

“I shall take the boys back to Dragonstone.” Rhaenyra nodded to herself resolutely, “I shall return alone on dragonback, along with Shrykos, to continue our plans. Daemon will care for the children in my stead.”

“Over my mother’s grave would I leave my eldest daughter here with that conniving, ruttish codpiece! If I shall leave, Maetilda will come with me.”

“For what reason must she go with you?” Aemond challenged, not moving from his chair.

Prince Daemon laughed, “You do not fool me, boy. I know you wait for my back to turn. You wish to take what you see as yours.”

“Princess Rhaenyra, there is no need.” The Queen shook her head, “Please, you must stay.”

“I will stay. After I know my sons are out of trouble in Dragonstone.” Rhaenyra replied.

“Let us try having everyone again. After the next moon. Give them a little over a fortnight to change their tune, to see reason. The children must not be squabbling when the guests arrive.” Alicent suggested, “As you said, it is what the King wants, for the children to get along.”

“Yes, alright. When the Worm Moon is full, we shall try again.” The heir to the throne agreed.

Prince Daemon grumbled, rolling his eyes, “Worm moon.”

He angrily shifted his weight from foot to foot before he practically spat in Maetilda’s direction, “You shall not stay in this damn castle without me.”

“Quiet your hysterics, Daemon. Maetilda will be safe with me.” Rhaenys spoke up. “The twins will go back to Dragonstone as well until I can deliver my goodnephew’s body back to Driftmark. They should stay in a livelier keep before Vaemond’s funeral.” The Rogue Prince unabashedly chuckled as she continued, “I will see to correcting their behavior on my own.”

“It’s settled then. Have the ship readied. We shall leave on the morrow.” Rhaenyra declared, words booming authoritatively without having to shout.

The King’s only brother grabbed his wife by the arm and pulled her aside, but she was quick to pull herself free. Rhaenyra scurried back to her sons, enveloping them in her embrace. She whispered things into their ears. They nodded. Maetilda’s heart hurt as she watched them, with almost owlish eyes.

Speaking loud enough for the room to hear, Rhaenyra smiled sweetly when she turned back around to Daemon, “Husband, don’t you think it is time to go check on the little ones?”

It was the opposite of what Maetilda had expected to hear. Her father seemed taken back as well, but only briefly before he reset the expression in his face. He would rather his head sit on a spike for an entire summer under the unforgiving sun than allow the room to know of his shock. He would not be phased so easily.

“Certainly! I am sure the Queen has called for one of their eyes in our absence.” 

“Daemon!” Rhaenyra scolded, “I will sew your mouth closed if I must.”

The Rogue Prince’s eyebrows rose in interest as a smug, devious grin slowly overtook his face, “I would love to see you hold me down, wife.”

“A sentiment we did not need to know. I’m sure you all have packing to do.” The Queen nearly tapped her foot with impatience. A hint that the discussions were over.

The room seemed frozen. Like the smallest movement would break the tension and open the largest can of worms the world had ever known. Yet she felt the pull anyway. What was Aemond thinking? Was he disgusted with her father? Was he relieved their engagement had not been called off? Before the princess by title could turn to look at him, Aemond had already sprung out of place. Pushing passed her without so much as a glance. The Queen came up beside her and grabbed the princess’s hand in hers. Together, the two wistfully watched after the King’s second son as he disappeared out of the room. His footsteps carried off down the corridor. The Queen’s hand did not serve the comfort it was supposed to. Instead, Maetilda only felt trapped.

“Boys, I shall see you at dinner. Go.” Rhaenyra ordered her sons.

“To your chambers, girls. I shall collect each of you in time for our meal.” Rhaenys nodded to the twins.

As the group of four made their own exit, the adults remained still. Maetilda locked among them in the cold grip of Queen Alicent. The tension was thick. Far hotter and stickier than the humidity outside. The princess’s heart pounded in her chest, overtaking the sound in her ears. Her hand was undoubtedly sweaty, but the Hightower Queen’s hold did not loosen even for a moment. Maetilda was completely stiff, body tensed in preparation for whatever came at her next. Which just so happened to be her father. Rhaenyra let him out of her sight to exchange a few words with Rhaenys. Free of supervision, the first thing he did was march up to his daughter. Eyes completely ablaze despite the soft smile on his face. If his daughter had been Vaemond, she would’ve already been chopped in two.

“Bested by your little sister?” Daemon taunted his eldest.

“I never wanted to win. Only to make it even.”

“Of course, your goodmother shall have such a lovely time trying to keep your reason about you.” He sighed, “I do wish you the best of luck, your Grace.”

“I am not surprised, Prince Daemon. Only girls with your spirit would behave so...” Queen Alicent replied.

He cocked his head to the side in challenge as her highness searched for the correct adjective. “Forget not, once your husband is dead, my wife inherits his throne. You sit comfortably now, but you are no Targaryen.”

“And yet, three of her sons shall carry on the name. One of which will do so through your daughter.” Rhaenys butt in as the two grown princesses joined the other three.

“There is no certainty the pignut can sire children.” Maetilda’s father spat. His face as red as the finest ruby.

The Queen cleared her throat, “Forget not, my prince, it is a mercy you still have your tongue given the treason that ceaselessly rolls off it. What better proof of my love for your brother! May my care of your daughter serve as further proof.”

“Trust that I shall hear everything.”

He hinted to moles of his own. Throughout both the Red Keep and King’s Landing, my father had sympathizers. Yet the princess did not know of many who know how to read or write in order to send a raven. Unless the messages were delivered personally, which would not be ideal in emergencies. Outside of the mysterious other informants that she could barely begin to understand. Had he always had them? Even when they lived in Pentos? Beyond that of servants, who else could they be? As long as the princess remained at the Red Keep, there were always her knights. Only Ser Wyllam was known to tell her father anything, that much the princess was sure of. But hearing of multiple informants made her itch. She knew her men well. Didn’t she? Certainly well enough to not question them in a moment like that, but apparently not. As she stood shell shocked, Maetilda cursed herself. She was weak of body and mind, proving everything her father had ever said about her true. She was pathetic and stupid and a traitor to their family. Her brothers and sisters hated her. Never in her life had she ever seen them so angry. At least, that angry at her.

The only time they had been that ravenous had been the night that Aemond lost his eye. It was as if it still continued to play out right before her eyes. As if the sun had never come up the next morning and she never left Driftmark. Still the tallest out of all the royal children, young Aemond had come back inside after sneaking out to claim Vhagar as his mount. He was the only one out of his siblings, besides baby Daeron, who did not have a dragon to call his own. Both Jace and Luke had one each, even though the creatures had not been big enough to mount. The four boys had always been competitive — Aegon, Jacaerys, Aemond, and Lucerys. Although it usually resulted in the three others ganging up on Aemond. They mocked him mercilessly. It was only natural that he silenced their taunts for good by claiming the largest mount of them all. But having been the old faithful companion of Lady Laena Velaryon for as long as her daughters could remember, it had been assumed that Baela would inherit Vhagar — not Aemond. Baela, herself, had never claimed a mount either. As if she were waiting for her turn with the legendary dragon. Only for her years of patience to be crushed in a single evening. Baela never forgave him. Not completely. Perhaps she would never forgive Maetilda either. Perhaps instead of bridging the gap in their family, they had burnt any remnants of the bridge that lingered.

“Trust that your threats do nothing, but make me laugh.” Queen Alicent was firm, standing her ground.

“Careful not to strain your side.” Daemon snapped

Princess Rhaenys daintily cleared her throat,“I do believe we could all use a good laugh after this afternoon. Your Grace, might I suggest tea with the fools? Perhaps a bard performance in the gardens?” 

The Rogue Prince groaned in frustration, “I have had enough.” He turned abruptly on his heels to storm out, mumbling obscenities about the frivolousness of highborn women, only stopping in the doorway to tell his wife, “I shall see you at dinner, Rhaenyra.”

With that, only the four remained. Aside from Maester Orwyle who had remained a silent spectator throughout the entire ordeal. He had not said a word that did not have to do with the injuries at hand. He was smart. If there was one thing Maetilda had learned in all her years, it was that silence was often the safest. With enough people in the room, one could hide in it. Which is exactly what the maester had done, and the princess-by-title wished she could have. But that possibility vanished the minute she had collided with her sister. The more time the princess had to think, the more she wished she had second guessed her actions in the training yards. Had she butted into their back and forth sooner, been more firm in de-escalation, could they have avoided everything? She should have said something. She should have stopped them. She wished she had done more. And done less in other places.

Upon her father’s exit, the rest of the four visibly relaxed. Their shoulders dropped in unison as they all collectively released the air held in their lungs. The three older women shared a look that the youngest could not read. As if flocks worth of messages passed between their eyes. The princess-by-title could not remember a time the three had ever gotten along well — even Rhaenys and Rhaenyra only tolerated each other at best. She could not remember there ever being a time the three were close enough to communicate so intimately silent. But just as soon as their eyes started, they stopped.

“Maetilda, darling girl,” Rhaenys sighed aloud, “Please know you are not in trouble.”

“You have my utmost appreciation for your actions today.” Queen Alicent smiled.

Her words felt wrong. They filled her insides with more guilt and shame and paranoia. Maetilda could practically picture her father listening in from just around the corner. Waiting to punish her, to bring the boot down upon her head. Her muscles remained tense and tight in preparation. Only a fool would let their guard down. Princess Rhaenyra reached forward and tried to adjust the chaos on her daughter-by-marriage’s head, tucking a piece behind her ear, “Only a dragon could be as brave as you.”

“I am ashamed our argument came to blows.” Maetilda replied earnestly.

“We shall try again soon enough. Sooner than you realize. You’ll like it here.” Rhaenyra nodded.

The youngest took a deep breath to gather her courage before she spoke again, “Forgive me, but I don’t believe time apart is the answer. We all need to be locked in a room — no weapons or anything, perhaps tied to chairs — until we talk through our disagreements.”

“Enough damage was done today with hands and feet alone. You children said yourselves that this started from simple jokes. Being locked in a room would only result in more of the same.” Queen Alicent tucked a strand of hair behind Maetilda’s other ear, “This shall be for the best.”

“I shall return on dragonback before the next fortnight. We will plan your wedding and more! You shall be free of your father’s smothering! You will love it so much you won’t want them to return.” Rhaenyra agreed.

Maetilda laughed, “My father shall find a way to watch me.”

“He surely will.” Rhaenys chuckled, “Princess, may I walk you to your chambers? Both you and Baela should need a bath after rolling in the dirt like animals.”

The other two laughed as the four ladies all took their exit. Venturing off on their separate paths in pairs. Princess Rhaenyra made sure to remind her daughter-by-marriage of dinner before they both rounded different corners. Rhaenys calmingly ran her fingers along Maetilda’s arm as they walked. In the same way Lady Laena used to, back in the princess’s youth. Especially on evenings when she couldn’t sleep. Lightly across the skin with just the right amount of fingernail pressure. Princess Rhaenys kept pace on the outside in an attempt to keep her  obscured from any passersby. For what felt like the first time that day, Maetilda could finally take in a full breath. Even as they walked up several flights of stairs.

“Please tell me you were holding back, Princess. Your sister looked far too scratch free.” Rhaenys smugly smiled.

“I pounced on her and had the upper hand for a moment!” Maetilda tried, but the look she received was not convinced. “Yes, I was not trying to hurt her.”

“Good. I figured as much.” The older princess laughed.

“I am very sorry. I know I should have—“

“Stop. I simply will hear none of that.”

“My father—“

“I know exactly what he thinks and what he is going to tell you. I don’t need to hear you tell me.”

Maetilda could not think of a proper response, one that would make the woman beside her happy. The younger princess’s mouth sat ajar, moving to form words she couldn’t fully commit to.  “H-he’s just…”

“There is one thing I learned as a girl growing up in this castle that would do you good to learn.” Rhaenys did not speak condescendingly but in a way that suggested she hadn’t always been the woman she was known to be, “Each and every person in this world has a motive, a goal, a future they are working toward. Learn one’s motives and you shall never be surprised by their actions.”

The older princess’s words made Maetilda’s brain explode. She was so stunned, her legs got tangled in her skirts, causing her to stumble forward. If it weren’t for Rhaenys’s grip on her arm, the princess-by-title would’ve tumbled to the ground. She was practically in shock. All words left her mind again. Rhaenys was right, and Maetilda knew it. Every joint in her body agreed.

“How will I know that I am right?”

“When your head, your heart, and your gut all agree.”

A/N: Alicent and Rhaenyra are trying so hard to make things work! I also thought that the show needed to hint more toward tension in Daemon and Rhaenyra’s marriage before he assaulted her at Dragonstone over his own jealousy. So this is my trying to build toward that. They fundamentally disagree and there is tension and Daemon is reactionary. But in order to come into her own, Maetilda must overcome her biggest hater. Which is her father. I hope that comes across!

The pot is stirring though!!! If I do my job correctly, things should only get better from here baby B)

TAGLIST: @marvelescvpe your comment made me giggle and kick my feet and i appreciate you so much!! thank you! i missed you too!!

xoxo messy

[blackstarchanx3new]

FSR Rambles 15 times Shadow took the kids

Dark's utterly confused face here sends me every time.

Because DARK knows that Shadow doesn't actually give a rats ass if he's okay. HOWEVER.

This is where Dark's weird understanding of lying comes in.

Because I have faith in you you can see right through Dark's clear lies.

His phrasing is ridiculous paired with his expression being deader than a fish.

Dark is lying through his teeth here and guess who taught him how to do that... :)

Vio and Shadow-

Vaati fell for it. Lmao. Not like he hasn't been betrayed before.

Shadow tries intimidation buuuuut-

Well shit that only goes so far when you haven't proved yourself to act on said intimidation.

Shadow is still afraid of Vaati, and we know from Zelda's fight with him Vaati isn't easy to kill soooooo.

Reasonably so I'd say.

Dark is saying what we've all been thinking "Lmao let's just pull out Vio and the McGuffin sword"

Lol wait- Oh yeah Vio can't because of Dark.

Haha. Woopsie.

Dark going to just deal with it himself and being reeled back by Shadow is sweet to an extent.

Dark's confused about what this physical interaction means, whether or not this counts as a hug. Because let's be real Vaati isn't something he considers as a threat rn what else is his mind gonna focus on?

Shadow's angry Dark's so reckless but Dark's unfazed by the entire situation.

It's sad to consider Dark probably assumes temper tantrums are a normal behavior considering how frequent everyone he's watched so far has em...Just a thought.

Ngl Shadow's use of the word "Fool" in the OG manga always got a laugh out of me. His dialogue is so evil villain I try to capture that in FSR Shadow.

Shadow wanted to try to formulate a plan with Dark to get Vaati to go away but Dark questions why they'd even do that. Flabbergasting the fuck out of Shadow.

Dark HAS no sense of people working with HIM. Obviously Dark would know what team work is since...He's literally watching the team work pride parade but no one has offered HIM team work.

Vaati just bosses him around after all.

Dark's thought process on how his existence works is on full display.

He's alone. He WORKS alone and no body but him is going to get things done. Thanks Vaati.

...There's also the angle to consider he's actually learned this behavior in some capacity from Link...Link HAS been doing this shit by himself for a long time now....

So Shadow offering help is smth that gives him pause.

In the last pane the motif of Dark Link being his own cheer leader/being generally self aggrandizing pops up again.

His wording just being odd aside, he doesn't communicate what he actually WANTS to do, just that he needs Shadow's help getting close...

and from the quotes around help and the knowledge Dark can move fast as fuck on the reader's side, it's implied Dark is just placating Shadow's idea of helping rather than Shadow being actually useful in this interaction. At least from Dark's perspective.

Shield is up boys RUN FOR YOUR LIVES.

Shadow points out reasonably Dark is not being a very good team mate. XDDD

Be nice to him Shadow he's new to this whole "Team" thing.

Panel 2 here is funny because Dark makes the most NON Dark Link expression it stands out particularly just because it's funny but also like, take note of what he called Vaati here.

He just called him "Vaati".

Not "Master Vaati" or "Lord Vaati"

Just Vaati... HMM.

He also flung himself at Vaati full force so there's that.

OH FUCK IT'S YAOI- Oh a serious note...

Prepare to get bamboozled.

Yeah there's a reason Vaati is fucking confused. Dark was taking another conversation out of context to try and comfort Vaati.

So if there was any doubt about if that was what Dark was doing or not: Let me put those questions to rest that is what he was trying to do. XD

The kiss particularly is funny considering...Well yeah Shadow did kiss Vio a lot.

Shadow being, reasonably flabbergasted at this interaction just gets a laugh out of me.

Vaati's got nothing to say that shit hah. Dark isn't making MUCH sense in this interaction.

Dark does show he's still loyal in some way to Vaati though.

Turns out: Vaati's just not in the mood to deal with Dark's nonsensical behavior and points out an...interesting caviat to the whole "let's recruit Dark link" plan.

They have to kill him.

In no uncertain terms, to destroy the curse would be to destroy Dark Link. So having him on your side really doesn't mean anything. As he'll do what he was created for by nature.

In a way it brings you to question how much free will Dark truly has in this equation. Also, it makes you kinda realize in a messed up way Dark and Link both suffer due to the curse. They're chained to each other on a drowning ship.

Shadow's hypocrisy on display again. He JUST helped this dude and now thinks about killing him. XD

But also: What's the answer to this?

It's a train track scenario in a lot of ways.

Also since Dark's a curse, destroying his body or hurting him won't do much good to actually get rid of the curse itself.

His body will just regenerate or he'll retreat into the headspace.

There's also the thought of, if Link died, what WOULD happen to Dark Link...

Dark is insanely hard to argue with. Because dude can read you like a book and play you like a fiddle.

You can't LIE to him and he'll speak how he feels based on what he's seen.

Like, Dark isn't even just slinging the "you're gannon" ace up his sleeve card at him. He's bringing up things Shadow himself has actually DONE. And that pisses Shadow off.

No matter how much Shadow removes himself from his past self, he still DID those things.

And it does bring to question which of these two are more "Moral".

Dark hasn't killed anyone while it's at least heavily implied in the manga Shadow at least COULD HAVE and shows the willingness to do so to Vio at least.

Dark's "reason" for not killing people is "They stop being fun."

Dead people are boring. Like Link's dad. Which is just, a roast and a half.

Dark takes his aim and fires. Bro doesn't miss a shot. He'll drag everyone.

Shadow also has hurt Vio.

Really the idea Shadow and Dark have a LOT in common is a theme.

Like Shadow can get pissed off as much as he wants at Dark, he's done WAY WORSE than this lil demon guy and can't even argue about that.

The question of how much Dark truly means here is also up in the air as Dark will just say things on other's minds.

Reminder Dark is straight terrified of Shadow Link and just kinda shuts down when Shadow gets peak pissed off at him.

Dark sees Vaati as a fool who needs his help, and seeks Shadow as a threat who's going to hurt him.

Usually actions would speak louder than words, but in Dark's case feeling someone's emotions is 10xs more important. And what Dark knows is Shadow genuinely despises him.

Haha remembering the time pig dad abused you.

But this time Shadow takes the place of gannon being the threatening imposing force.

Thought to consider: Shadow's fear of gannon is reflecting in Dark's fear of Shadow link because...Well Shadow is a piece of gannon. They're in a way afraid of the same entity.

Shadow puts the mask back on and tries to be good boy.

Visually Dark's tendency to grab his hat and keep it close is similar to an animal keeping it's tail tucked between it's legs.

Welp, the beans have been spilled. Dark IS still working for Vaati...Kind of.

In Dark's own words it's not "For"

but Dark never makes sense to anyone other than himself so...

He also just, assumes Shadow knows what he's there for. Which is amusing. Dark in general assumes everyone else should know everything he does.

The comparison to Zelda is baffling but if you really think about it, Dark does make some semblance of sense here:

Link protects Zelda.

Dark protects Vaati.

Tis the same thing. According to Dark Link.

Dark Link in his own words is a hero.

Shadow's reasonable question of "What's wrong with you" is such a genuine reaction to that shit it makes me laugh. Dark's actions make no sense to Shadow but Dark's affections for Vaati aren't logical hah.

Dark wants to see Vio tho and Shadow just, shuts down thinking about this situation

He didn't give Dark an answer so Dark just goes to pick flowers. XD

Shadow's in a tight situation here. What's the best course of action?

"What to do with Dark Link" and "How to introduce him to the others" is a very...difficult one to answer.

If Dark was a mindless curse with no person attached it'd be easy to just destroy him guilt free. But he's not.

Shadow can't tell if Dark's behavior is genuinely malicious or if he's just socially inept (Third option Shadow: He's just acting in accordance to the curse.)

And another thing: How does dealing/handling Dark affect how Shadow should be treated?

After all they're very alike.

Final panels shows Dark offering up a flower to Shadow.

This page is both hilarious and disturbing.

Dark offering up the flower with a cute lil hopeful expression, paired with a happy looking eye on his chest.

Shadow accepting it and being like "Ah we're cool then right-"

only to see Dark vomiting up a bunch of flowers is just, funny. I find it very funny.

"You like one!? :D HAVE A BUNCH MORE!"

It's a reminder Dark really has no sense of how horrifying he is as he's trying to be nice here. XDDD

Which Dark being able to be kind (In his own way) is again smth worth noting. Dark isn't stuck JUST making people misseriable as he actively tries to do the opposite.

Dark continuously breathing out pollen is just a very funny thing to me.

The sense of "I've fucked up" seeping back.

I was listening to the song "Nuts" from adventure time while working on these pages. I feel like that song kinda relates to Dark and Shadow's relationship.

"You're so annoying you pitiful old man. I'd like to help you but I dunno if I can. I thought you were nuts. But, you're REALLY. REALLY. REALLY NUTS."

Actual page shit:

Shadow understands what Vio meant now. XD

Running away from your issues just FEELS easier in the moment sometimes.

Shadow's confessions of being "not a hero" and being terrified about their future make Dark visibly sad.

The comment "We are afraid of very different things Shadow Link" is I think the first time really Dark's directly addressed Shadow as such without the quotation marks or general disbelief in that name/title.

If it's not, at least the moment is impactful because Dark is giving Shadow respect in a way he typically chooses not too.

Shadow is very much afraid of Vaati, so Dark not relating to that emotion is a stand out.

Him fidgeting with his hands is a detail I just find cute.

"I feel that thing you hate" - directed at Vaati is Dark confessing he feels pity for Vaati. Since in FS Shadow says he despises pity.

Dark explains WHY he pities Vaati, he just finds Vaati utterly pitiful. XD

They have a little moment of bonding over their shared experiences with Vaati.

Dark mimicking Vaati here showing what he wishes Vaati would say to him:

Dark Link wants praise and affection and relationships with others.

But due to his very nature it's very difficult to actually gain these things, and the people he's spoken to outright deny him of these in any meaningful way.

Shadow's question of "Aren't you afraid of what he'll do" just gets "I like Vaati" in response. Pff.

Yes we know buddy, very insightful.

The 2nd to last panel shows smth very insightful:

Firstly that "Nobody loves Vaati" Any care Dark DOES have towards Vaati isn't just him mimicking someone else as it's safe to say everyone hates that guy haha.

More disturbingly:

Dark Link doesn't consider himself a "Somebody" and starts trailing off at the end of his sentance.

"I think it's sad, but it's his own fault...he rejects the only-" and then stops.

Dark Link referencing himself as the "person" Vaati continuously rejects but stops before he calls himself a "person" verbally.

You could imagine his continued sentence would be "He rejects the only person who cares about him"

Somebody's hair and eyes changed.

Instead of being white at the roots Dark's hair shifts to being Vio's complete hair color.

This is where we dive into psychological horror realm.

What IS Dark if not a person. IS he a person? What qualities does he have that make him a person?

Dark struggles with the distinction of if he's a "real person" or not but quickly dismisses it as smth Vio has been thinking. Which...Is true but also, considering his line about "Nobody loving Vaati" despite very much so caring about Vaati. Dark's identity crisis isn't exactly smth he has a firm grasp on.

PAGE. LIMMIT. Wrote this while sick so I'm sure I missed shit Aghhh.

[bthump]

Would you say Guts is feminine?

I would not. I mean femininity and masculinity are culture dependant and I'm no expert on the nuances of the categories in either fantasy medieval Europe or more contemporary Japan, but by the standards I'm familiar with Guts has like, maybe one(1) quality you could argue is feminine, and that's his ability to be a caretaker for people. Mmmmaybe his introspection as well, but that's hardly super gendered, and he's not even like notably introspective compared to other fictional characters, only compared to like, Griffith.

I guess from a narrative perspective you could also argue that rape trauma feminizes him, but a) I think you'd need to present an argument that that's intended in the text, it's not something you should just say as an objective truth about interpreting fiction imo, and b) Guts' expression of that trauma, ie killing everything, is super masculine so I don't think it exactly feminizes him overall even if that argument is made.

So yeah I don't think any of that is intended to present him as feminine to the audience. None of it really stacks up compared to being a big strong angry silent type buff man swinging a giant sword killing monsters and feeling driven to be the very best swordsman ever to be true boy best friends with someone.

He's pretty heavily masculine as a character, physically, emotionally, and narratively.

Thanks for the ask!

[smileomega]

Warioware Tabletop Headcanons

Wario: HUGE Loot Goblin. Will get into fights the second he's not allowed to have all the loot (he usually loses and leaves). Jimmy T.: He's a DM, but a really chill one. He doesn't really put a whole lot of forethought into his campaigns, usually borrowing them from online sources, but boy is he flexible. There is almost no way to break a campaign he can't adapt to, but he also is generally not into long campaigns, sometimes leaving the experience unfulfilling at the end. Dribble And Spitz: Really fun guys to play an RPG with, but constantly forget having to roll for ANYTHING. They'll frequently say things like "I hit him with my sword!" and "I intimidate the guard" and assume the game will let that happen. Sometimes, the DM will just let them have it because, darn it, they're just so fun to be around, and it'd be really funny. Mona: Another generally really cool player to be around, acts moderately well, but will NEVER play the same character in 2 different sessions. EVER. She always has to roll a new character, even in the middle of the campaign. 9-Volt: Min-Maxer. Probably running a Murder Hobo that is also somehow game-related despite games not existing in-universe. The DMs usually let him have this. Orbulon: Barely exists as a player, is mostly here to socialize and eat food. Occasionally tries earnestly to engage with the game for the heck of it and suddenly the train flies off of the rails. Dr. Crygor: Another DM, the polar opposite of Jimmy T. Has an entire atlas of the game's world, and has sharpened every single tiny detail about the setting, its countries, its history, its religions, its conflicts, its past conflicts, and every single dungeon he will unfortunately funnel you into regardless of how you feel about it. Kat & Ana: Orbulon, but only the first sentence (they're kids, what'dya expect?) 18-Volt: Will ONLY play with his custom bard character that Raps for all of his spells. Generally okay otherwise. Ashley: Her Character is the darkest flavor of spellcaster possible in the game, and their name is something like Deathdarkness Moonbladereaper, and she will play this character like her life depended on it.. Despite this, she's not actually DISRUPTIVE, and adds a unique perspective to the party, though occasionally has a habit of cursing NPCs that seem suspicious or having towns be angry at them because she doesn't care to hide her undead minions. The prose she uses during some of her actions also makes it really hard to take her seriously sometimes. Red: Will play a healing class, but will almost exclusively focus on keeping Ashley's character alive and as well as possible, completely ignoring everyone else. Ashley doesn't even want him to do this, it's just a thing he does, and nobody's happy about it. (Part 2 coming maybe)

[ninadove]

Felix often becomes Angry when he hears the word “Monster” since that’s the word Colt called him. However he remains calm when Kagami called him a “Monster” in Emotion.

Any thoughts about this?

I’ve actually been scratching my head over this one for a while! But I think it comes down to a few key parametres.

By the time Kagami confronts him in Emotion, Felix has just snapped what we can only assume is the entirety of Paris out of existence. As far as he’s concerned, all threats to his existence are gone; so the insult doesn’t carry any risk of real harm anymore.

Seriously, look at my child. You can tell from the look in his eyes that he’s feeling a sense of peace for what is probably the first time in his life. GET HIM TO THERAPY

Because yes, Kagami is ready to bludgeon him to death with a sword, but — she’s just like him! She’s only being hostile because she’s hurt and scared, and boy can he relate to that. From his perspective, it’s all just one big misunderstanding! She doesn’t know he’s been doing all of this to protect the three of them yet!

So he immediately brings Adrien back, convinced that will be enough to make her feel happy and safe. Surely she’ll be sooo down to live in this perfect post-apocalyptic world he made for them now. And she’s definitely going to be SO chill about him throwing her other crush best friend into a trashcan!

✨ TADAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! ✨

When we meet the kids again in Pretention, they’re not safe anymore; in fact, they’re literally being hunted for not conforming to the expectations that have been placed upon them since birth (sweet sweet queer-coding, how I love you). So, when Kagami uses the term "Sentimonster" without even thinking about it, the hurt on Felix’s face is immediately apparent. There’s anger there, too, but it’s not directed at her; he’s angry at his father, at her mother, at Gabriel — the people who were involved in creating them and continue to abuse them relentlessly.

This ties back to Felix’s relationship with Adrien and how we were led to believe he might hold some resentment and jealousy towards him, when in fact… Not at all! He loves his cousin! He’s willing to destroy the entire world to keep him safe! Their relationship has just been put under so much strain because of the abuse they’ve both been subjected to. And Felix sees this and recognises it for what it is.

The bottomline, I think, is that abused kids lash out sometimes, or don’t stand up for each other as much as they should, or unintentionally hurt each other when they meant to do good. Felix, for all his flaws and his misconceptions as to how the world works, understands this and would never put the blame on Kagami; it’s the adults’ fault, and now they have to heal from it, together.

[a-court-of-moonlight-and-ire]

Ive made through chapters 4-7 today and good god, I feel like i had basically nothing to say about acotar as I was reading it but with this book theres so much to talk about for some reason, its wild. Truly, I did not realize how much I liked Feyre in the first book until I was under threat of losing her

Now, I will say that Feyre seems in-character so far, shes still the same woman but traumatized, but I am worried for her. Tamlin is a whole different story though, SJM might as well shoot him dead right in front of me for how thoroughly hes being character assassinated. Like, if Tamlin actually cares about Feyre as a person and not just in a douchy, possessive alphahole way, which he should because Tamlin was not that kind of guy previously, then he would force Feyre to train so she can defend herself if necessary, not forbid her from it. Even if he didnt want her to use her magical powers, surely he would make her practice with her knife or with a sword or even with her bow just to be safe, because hes not always gonna be there

I think his actions do continue to make sense if you look at them from his perspective, but I also maintain that he's doing a really bad job at responding to Feyre. But also, its so laughably obvious what sjm is doing by having Tamlin say shit like "you were stolen from me", shes trying to paint him as some objectifying asshole. Even Lucien calling her "Tamlin's bride" feels like its part of all this, and I know Ianthe is gonna turn out to be a traitor and a rapist at some point, so it really comes across as an attempt to villify the entire spring court for its association with Tamlin

Speaking of Lucien, I genuinely think part of the reason Feylin is doing so badly in this book is that his dynamic with Tamlin is completely different now. For some reason hes all like "oh, my High Lord" instead of "my good friend Tamlin", he suddenly cant say a word against him when he was talking to shit to him just a few months ago in-uinverse. Like, if their dynamic was the same as it was in acotar, Lucien wouldve probably been like "hey man, I know youre stressed and I get it, I know what its like to watch the love of my life get brutally murdered I dont know what its like to have her magically ressurected again but thats neither here nor there, but Feyre is clearly not happy being inside all day and you need a break, go take her out on a date in the woods, I'll stay here and take care of everything, dont even worry about it" or gotten him to comprise with Feyre or chill tf out or SOMETHING but because theres suddenly this rigid hierarchy in the spring court in order to make the night court look better

Speaking of the night court, Ive heard some stuff about it feeling very orientalist but it still managed to completely blindsight me with its badness. Feyre got fucking harem pants to wear, really? And a short-sleeved croptop, and no fucking shoes, probably because Rhys didnt want Feyre throwing shoes at him again. That was the one moment in this book that brought me genuine joy btw, I would read a thousand fanfics about her just throwing shit at him

Anyway, speaking of my guy (derogatory) Rhysand Nolastname, hes so incredibly annoying I dont even have any coherent thoughts about him right now, like, if I were to write down what I think of him I would just write "he fuckinh pisses me off" over and over again. Im actually a really big fan of edgy shadow bois, but only if theyre like, sad and angry and closed off, if theyre like Rhysand and theyre all flirty and teasing and cocky and shit, theyre just annoying and nothing else. And the romance has barely even started yet, I cant imagine how much worse the flirting is gonna get later. Not to mention all these desperate and obvious attempts by sjm to make him sympathetic and morally good now, its honestly pretty pathetic

Now Im gonna be real with you, I didnt get a lot of sleep yesterday and I can feel myself and the things Im writing getting less and less coherent, so Im just gonna hit you with the very last of my thoughts bullet point style

The fact that Amarantha apparently didnt actually go rogue and it was all part of Hybern's plan feels misogynistic ngl

Ianthe's entire character already feels so misogynistic and slutshame-y and she hasnt even assaulted anyone yet

Something about Mor bothers me, I cant quite put my finger on it but its there. I think I do like her for annoying Rhys though

God, Im gonna have so much to say about the Illyrians but for now, its awfully bold of Rhysand to be like "they wasted no time throwing themselves before her feet" when THATS WHAT HE DID

Thats it for now

[gravidwithlore]

Building a Home: Flash Forward

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Didnt post this for a while bc I wasn't sure if people would be interested esp bc it's not kinky, not even a little bit. And also I was going to add more at the beginning and end of another characters perspective, but hell with it! I wrote it for me, and I had fun, and I want to share it! So have some whump/comfort featuring 5 year old Wulf and all of his parents.

______________________

Wulf was trying very hard not to be scared. One of the other kids was crying earlier, and one of the mean bad guys hit them so hard that now they had a cut on their lip and now their face was starting to turn a purpley color. So Wolf was trying very hard not to be scared. Or at least not to show that he was scared. All of his parents had always told him it's okay to be scared, or sad, or angry, to feel what you need to feel, but that sometimes our emotions made us act in ways that hurt other people, hurt ourselves, or could make a situation worse. Wulf felt like if he showed his scared, it would definitely make this situation worse.  

Thinking about his parents made him think about his Papa, and thinking about the last time he saw his Papa made tears start to burn his eyes. So he tried not to think of his Papa. But there wasn't much to do in the dank cold caves he and the other kids were being kept prisoner in, so he ended up circling back to thinking about his Papa despite trying very hard not to think about his Papa. 

Ever since the triplets were born, Papa had made an effort of setting aside time just for him and Wulf. And Wulf loved his little siblings very much, but he always loved just Papa and Wulf time. And today, or was it yesterday? It was so hard to tell here, but he'd just wanted to show Papa a cool plant he'd found a few days ago while playing with some of the village boys. His Papa had been trying to do art lately, and Wulf thought it would be really pretty to draw. And maybe later Bama would let them take a look at their big books of different plants, and they could compare Papa and Wulf's pretty drawings to the pictures in the books to see what kind of plant it is! Wulf knew he could ask his Bama to just tell him what the plant was, but it just felt more special this way and he wanted to share it with his Papa during Papa and Wulf time. 

But when they got to the edge of the farm, Papa had gotten tense, and some strange men riding by stopped in front of them. At first Wulf thought their black leather gear looked really cool, but then he noticed how on edge his Papa was. And then he heard the sound of whimpering and crying coming from one of the big sacks the strange men carried on their horses. One of the men knew Papa! Wulf had met people that knew his parents before, people from outside of their village at least. His Jiji sometimes had other bards visit from his super secret order, and his Bama met with other clerics and druids, and he'd even met his Dad's sister a few times, even though she didn't seem to like Papa very much for some reason. But he'd never met anyone who knew his Papa from before, well before he was born he guessed. Wulf had asked a few times but Papa had always looked sort of sad and said he didn't have anyone from before, his family had been gone a long long time. 

But this man knew Papa from before, and Papa was not at all happy to see him. He had put an arm in front of Wulf, and told him to get one of his other parents, and to run! Wulf tried to run, he tried to run so fast, he knew his Mama was just a field over, and his Jiji was still in the house, and he could hear Dad banging away at the forge. But he wasn't fast enough. The chains that wrapped around his middle dug painfully into his arms and chest as they yanked him away from his family and towards the bad riders. He could see his Papa fighting, and he didn't have his sword, not even the wooden swords he sometimes used when sparring with Mama. 

Wulf screamed as loud as he could as he felt one of the strangers arms wrap around him, just like his parents had taught him to do if an adult ever grabbed him without his permission. Papa was still fighting the Bad Man from before, and for the first time in his life Wulf saw his Papa afraid. More afraid than he even knew someone could be afraid. Wulf tried to shout for his Papa, as tears began to stream down his face, but one of the bad people stuffed some gross tasting cloth in his mouth. He tried to kick and punch whoever held him, even though his parents said it wasn't okay to do hits, Wulf felt like this one time would probably be okay. He was the strongest boy in the village, even stronger than the 10 year olds who were twice his age. But even though he heard a crack and the stranger holding him shout in pain, he wasn't strong enough to break out of their grasp. Papa wasn't doing much better, his fists outmatched by the Bad Man’s mean looking sword. But suddenly his Papa had taken one of the knives the Bad Man had stored on his side! He’d always told Wulf stealing was wrong, but to Wulf this felt like a good stealing. 

He renewed his efforts to break free again, struggling against his captors' hold, but again to no avail. The bad strangers started to ride off, and Wulf saw one of them, with an evil looking smile, raise a hand out and cast magic towards his Papa. Wulf tried to warn him, but his mouth was still full of that gross cloth! He struggled, the hardest he'd struggled yet, as they pulled a burlap bag over him and rode off. The last thing he saw was his Papa trying his best to fight off the magic, but losing and collapsing, unconsciousness, into the dirt. 

“Gods-damn I swear that kid broke at least two of my fucking ribs boss.” One of the bad guys complained, his hand holding his side. 

“Shut up, and get these brats into position. We have a limited amount of time to complete the ritual, and I won't be delayed by your bitching.” The Bad Man growled at them. 

“Yeah, sure thing boss.” The bad guy muttered as he warily approached Wulf. Broken out of his thoughts, Wulf went back to planning his escape. So far he was still on the first step: Find a good opportunity to escape. He didn't know what this ritual was, or why he and the other kids were here for it, but he knew it couldn't be good, and he also knew his own window of opportunity was about to close. When the bad guy went to grab him he growled, hoping it would deter him enough to give Wulf some more time to think. The bad guy flinched, but unfortunately he wasn't as scared of Wulf as he was of the Bad Man. 

His parents had always told him cursing was bad, and to do as they say and not as they do, especially his Papa, but this wasn't a time for rules, so Wulf mentally cursed at himself for not being as scary as the Bad Man. He may have been the strongest boy in the village, but he was only 5 years old! The Bad Man had at least 10, maybe 15, more years of experience in being scary than Wulf did! The bad guy shoved him into place, and Wulf could feel panic rising in his chest as the other kids starting crying. None of them knew what was going to happen, but all of them knew it was nothing good, and Wulf still didn't know how he was going to escape. The bad stranger, the one who'd put the spell on his Papa, started chanting, and Wulf tried to stay strong, but he couldn't do anything, he was still so small, and he was so so scared, and his Papa might be dead and-

Before the panicked sob could escape his chest, and loud BOOM! echoed through the cavern and a bright light across from him lit up his- HIS PAPA! And beside him his Dad and his Mama, and a giant wolf with fur the color of his Bama’s hair! Wulf’s relief didn't last long as the Bad Man grabbed his hair and held a knife up to his throat, his narrow evil eyes locked on Papa. Wulf couldn't help but whimper as the sharp blade started to dig into his exposed neck. 

“Let go of my son!” His Papa shouted. But even though he was relieved to see his Papa, alive and here to save him, Wulf could tell something wasn't quite right. His voice was too… theatrical? Wulf remembered his JiJi teaching him that word, but he wasn't sure he was using it right. And Papa was holding knives that were way too small for him, and Papa didn't use throwing knives like that. And his brows were furrowed together like they did when he got too competitive during game night. But the end of his eyebrow ticked up, just like his JiJi’s did when he was playing a funny joke and waiting for you to get it and laugh with him. Plus, why did his hair look like it was blowing in the breeze? 

“You heard the fucking man. Let. Him. Go.” His Papa growled low from behind him. Wulf didn't risk getting cut by moving his head, but he lifted his eyes up and could see the tip of his Papa’s blade, the one his Dad had made just for him, with the protective runes down the center, pressed into the side of the Bad Man’s neck. His Papa, his real Papa, was right there behind him! Then that must mean-

When Wulf looked back, his Papa, his JiJi disguised as his Papa, gave him a reassuring wink. Wulf knew they were all still in very real danger, the Bad Man was growling out his own response to his Papa, and the dagger was still at his neck, but he felt the tears of relief sting his eyes anyway. But then he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and a release of the pressure of the knife on his neck. The Bad Man had gotten so distracted by Papa that his hand had drifted up towards Wulf’s face. Suddenly he realized everyone was in a standstill. His parents weren't making a move because the Bad Man still had a knife on Wulf’s neck, but the bad guys weren't moving because his Papa had his sword pressed into the Bad Man’s neck. But if Wulf made sure the Bad Man didn't have a knife near his throat anymore, then his parents could kick all the bad guys butt's no problem! 

Seeing his moment to strike, Wulf bit down on the Bad Man’s hand. And he bit down hard. He imagined he was biting down into one of his Bama’s crisp apples from the trees on their farm, and he held on. He heard the Bad Man scream and curse in pain, but he refused to let go off the knife. After a moment of surprise and pain, he gripped the knife harder and drove the blade deep into Wulf’s cheek. It hurt so bad! Wulf had never hurt so bad, even that time he scrapped his knees really really hard on the rocks he wasn't supposed to be playing on. It hurt harder than anything Wulf could ever imagine, but he remembered his Papa falling down unconscious, and how he tried to help and wasn't strong enough. He had to be strong and help his Papa! So he bit down even harder than he knew he could, and even heard a crunch just like he would when taking a bite of Bama’s apples. These tasted absolutely nothing like Bama’s apples, the Bad Man tasted NASTY, but the taste of victory felt sweet as Wulf heard the sound of the knife chattering to the ground. 

The Bad Man yelled and kicked Wulf to the ground, into the center of the scary runes drawn in chalk. Wulf landed painfully on his hand and knees, face still throbbing in pain from where the knife cut into his cheek. He looked up just in time to see the bad stranger lift their hand and a blast of fire shooting right towards him, ready to engulf him in its flames. But right at the last second, the flames split apart before they reached Wulf, the light blue glow of a purely magic shield shone where the orangey-red flames beat against it. Wulf looked up to see his Dad, in the full suit of armor Wulf had only seen packed within it’s chest, when he peeked into the parts of his Dad’s forge he knew he shouldn't be in. 

Before Wulf could marvel in the glory of his Dad's cool armor, one of the bad guys shouted as they brought their sword down to attack. Before his Dad could move his shield up or swing the big hammed that looked just like the smaller one he used in the forge, his Mama's rapier pierced the bad guy in his side, throwing him off their path. Around his Dad's leg, he could see his Mama, one arm protectively around one of the other kids, the other getting ready to cast a spell. All of a sudden, he felt a hot moist muzzle on the back of his neck, teeth grabbing hold of the back of his shirt and lifting him. He flipped up and over, sliding down the wolf's neck to settle comfortably on their back, as the wolf gracefully leapt out of the path of one of the bad guys' ax. 

“I've got you my dearest Wulf cub, now hold on tight.” The wolf spoke in their Bama’s voice. Wulf grabbed on tight around their Bama’s neck and let a few tears of relief escape as he dug his face into their fur. Then the wolf growled and snarled, deep and threatening, and Wulf snapped his head up to see his Bama approaching a bad guy trying to grab one of the other kids. 

“Hey back off, meanie!” Wulf screamed, a little surprised when the bad guy actually looked a little scared of him. But the bad guy recovered and tried to grab the crying kid the same way the Bad Man had grabbed Wulf and threatened him earlier. Their Bama wouldn't allow that to happen though, and they leapt forward and snapped their jaws around the arm reaching for the defenseless child. Wulf didn't want to leave the warm safety of their Bama's fur, but the other child had just crumpled and kept crying instead of running away. So they slid off their Bama's back, and helped the other kid up. Wulf made sure neither of them looked in their Bama's direction as they heard the sound of something tearing and the bad guy's scream of pain. 

“Just close your eyes and it'll be okay.” Wulf gently coaxed them onto his Bama's back with them, and made sure they didn't see their Bama's blood-soaked muzzle. 

“A truer wolf there's never been, my little cub.” Bama's voice, slightly deeper in this form, rumbled through him as Wulf settled on their back again.

“Can't argue with that Mel.” JiJi appeared at their side, another child in tow. “A badass, just like your Papa.” Wulf gleamed with pride as their JiJi kissed them on the forehead, and deposited the child in their arms onto Bama's back. Wulf could feel the other child wrap their hands around his waist, as if they were hanging on for dear life. Arms free again, Wulf watched as his JiJi threw a knife straight into the eye of an approaching bad guy then leaped and disappeared into thin air, then reappearing on the other side of the crowd surrounding his Dad and another child. A loud clap of thunder boomed through the cavern as he landed, the force of it knocking over all the bad guys and leaving them at the mercy of his Dad's hammer. 

Wulf looked around as their Bama leapt away from a new attacker, worried he couldn't see his Papa in the fray. But he found him, injured, but not nearly as injured as the Bad Man was. For a moment Wulf thought the Bad Man had gotten the upper hand on his Papa, pinning him to the ground, knife moving towards his face. But at the last second, Papa drove the knife to the side and with a roar, rolled them over. A quick punch to distract and daze, then he darted behind some rocks for cover so he could attack from a different position. Wulf smiled. His Papa would do this sometimes when his parents were sparring ‘for real.’ It worked every single time, and from the Bad Man's confused and angry reaction, Wulf could tell it was going to work this time too. 

An angry growl distracted Wulf, as Bama snapped at a bad guy who'd tried to stab his Mama while she was trying to calm down a really scared kid who was hiding in between some rocks. Seeing Wulf and the other kids on his Bama’s back seemed to earn their trust enough to leap into his Mama’s waiting arms. As they did, a magical door opened and Jiji, and the kid that his Dad had been protecting clutching onto his back, stepped through it to join them.

“Wulf,” His Mama sighed in relief at the sight of him and put a hand on his cheek, as behind her his could see her rapier moving on its own as it sliced a bad guy to shreds. “My love, you're safe now. We'll make sure you all get home safe and sound.” She said to the other kids. “Wulf, are these all the children that were taken with you?” Mama asked him, voice serious and full of business. Wulf looked around. All the other kids he vaguely knew from around the village and other villages in the area. Amongst the chaos, Wulf searched his memory and counted how many whimpering sacks he saw on the back of the strange riders horses, how many scared kids had been tied up and held prisoner with him, who were about to be used in a scary mysterious ritual. Including him, there were five. Looking around him, he counted. Five kids total. 

“Yes Mama.” Wulf nodded. She smiled and hoisted the child in her arms to Jiji. 

“Good, then you all get out of here. Papa, Dad and I will… clean up here.” As if to punctuate her words, Wulf could hear a loud crack as his Dad's hammer hit someone in some part of the body that definitely shouldn't be hit by a giant hammer. 

“But Mama!” Wulf protested, suddenly scared of being split up from his family again. 

“No if, ands, or buts, kiddo. Help keep everyone safe, stay with JiJi and Bama, and we'll see you soon okay?” Mama said softly as she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him on the forehead, all while her rapier disarmed its opponent and stabbed them directly through the heart. 

“Okay Mama.” Wulf sighed, partly in disappointment he couldn't stay and help, partly in relief his parents were here to save everyone. 

“Be safe, my loves.” Bama growled affectionately, as they turned and took off for the exit, JiJi not far behind. Wulf took one last look at the battle as they left, most of the bad guys looked like they were dead or dying, Dad and Mama just picking off the last few stragglers. But Wulf already knew that, his eyes scanned the battlefield, searching for someone’s who’s special talent was not being seen. But right before Bama turned a corner in their dash for escape, Wulf finally caught sight of his Papa, driving his sword right through the Bad Man’s head. 

(After this Melian is too worn out to magically heal Wulf's face all the way, and he's left with a scar. Wulf is pumped that he looks just like his Papa and is trying to show he's strong for everyone, and Brone is on the verge of a panic attack, but I didn't have the time or motivation to write this whole scene(s) out)

[shannonsketches]

how does the big man feel about his two moms, what's their relationship like

Oh god OP I have so many feelings about this why would you ask me that here wE GO:

Ganondorf is a total mama's boy -- or was, until he accepted the truth of her.

H'okay, to understand my ridiculously involved perspective on Ganondorf and Twinrova, I am going to remind the audience that I spent a solid ten years working on a Ganondorf backstory webcomic prior to and shortly after Skyward Sword came out. When SS came out, I was angry, obviously, but I adapted my headcanons to include Demise, as it became clear his influence wasn't going to leave in future games.

So. oh god I'm gonna try and make my brain spaghetti as digestible as possible for people who have not known me that long lol bear with me, okay sO!!! SO!!

Demise. Happened. Whatever. But for me, to preserve my precious autonomous complex gremlin from becoming the baby from The Omen, in my little safe space bubble headcanon, Demise was sealed inside of the Triforce, and has been deteriorating for as long as he's been in there. We'll come back to that, okay, just stick that on the corkboard and remember I said that.

Cut to Twinrova. She's 300+ years old. She's lived through two previous Gerudo Kings. In my headcanon, Gerudo males are always born sickly and often don't live very long, which is why the Gerudo kind of ceremoniously decided they're godkings, since they tend to be tragic births, often killing the mother and then dying days or weeks later.

Twinrova, and her magicks, changed this for the king prior to Ganondorf. She helped stabilize his health, and he lived long enough to fight in the civil war. When he died, she realized that she had an opportunity, and when Ganondorf was born, she took it.

You may have noticed that Twinrova is the only Gerudo who can do magic (in OoT, at least). This contributed to a headcanon that she is an arcane practitioner, and a follower of the deadgod Demise. Do you see where I'm going with this? Walk with me.

Ganondorf is born, his mother dies, Twinrova is the only magic user and the only one with the ability to keep this child alive. So she takes him, and isolates him, and not only keeps him alive through his sickly infancy, but also raises him herself. She becomes a strict teacher, and a harsh trainer, and an unapologetically intense parent.

This is, to Ganondorf's knowledge, because the desert is cruel, and Ganondorf is of divine birth (all Gerudo Kings are), and he will have to not only be a protector of his people, but also walk the fine line between ally and threat to Hyrule. He needs to be elite. He needs to be perfect. He needs to embody a god, because quite frankly she intends him to do that.

She's raising a vessel in which to resurrect Demise, and take revenge on Hyrule for all the shit it's pulled for the last 300 years.

But Ganondorf doesn't know this. He fully believes she's preparing him for the realities of his role, and of the world he'll be stepping into as a leader. So he defends her at every turn. When Nabooru points out how horrible she is (she hates Nabooru, if that's not clear), when the late Queen questions her motives and her mothering toward Ganondorf, when anyone speaks ill of her, Ganondorf speaks in her defense. That's his mother, and she was the Gerudo Queen for a time, and she is to be respected as both.

And then he gets the triforce, and that godmatter hits, and he consumes what is left of Demise, and he knows the truth, and he understands, and he is angry.

But she is useful.

So she is not his mother anymore. She is a flunkie, like any other, and he is, for the first time in his life, more powerful than she could ever hope to be. And Demise is dead. He ate what was left of that god's heart and his power is the proof. There is only Ganondorf.

And she'll get what she wants. Hyrule will fall. But she will not take part in it. She's confined to the temple as a watchdog, since she was so eager to be subservient, unless he personally summons her elsewhere. And when she dies, he is much too far gone in his battle with sanity to care.

So, tl;dr:

It's complicated.

[urwendii]

7 11 24 for russingon asks :)

Thank you anon ! let seeeeee

7. Share some headcanons on how secret the relationship was: did basically everyone know about it, or just very close family, or nobody at all? How did that change over their lifetimes?

Alright so basically:

In Valinor, pre strife, it was secret and by necessity most likely. I don't think it was on their minds to be open about it. It was known they were Good Friends(tm) and it provided enough of a cover so they could spend time with each other without having to find excuses. Now did Fingon ever suck Maedhros off in broad daylight in the Palace's gardens? yes - they both got a bit reckless at times but who can blame them?

I hc that their relationship started deteriorating once the tension between their dads built up until Fingon broke them up after the whole Your Dad Threatened My Dad With A Fucking Sword?? and Maedhros was unable to totally let go of his loyalties for his family. My thought on this is that Maglor noticed how hard it was on Maedhros and started suspecting that maybe there had been more to their relationship than he ever let on. He never mentioned it though and soon enough they had other issues to worry about anyway...

Post Thangorodrim, it took them a long while to get back into a mind space where they could discuss everything and try to rebuild something. By then I believe more people suspected/knew including a few who disapproved mostly because of who Maedhros was as a Fëanorean (and the obvious politics power play dimension it had after Fingon was crowned High King.)

Maedhros' people in Himring would pretend not to know even if it was terribly obvious considering how their Lord was fretting upon Fingon's visit, how he would light up during it and how gloomy he would then become again after the High Prince/King's departure. And the fact said Nolofinwëan never slept in his own quarters.

11. How did they handle conflict in the relationship? Who's meaner during an argument?

hohohoho, well see I think Fingon is more rash, more impulsive and would be more opened with his feelings so he's the emotional one during an argument (from crying to yelling and crying again.) meanwhile Maedhros who basically is the embodiment of the Eldest Daughter Syndrome is used to deescalate conflicts (you know how his brothers are...) so he is the level headed one.

BUT :D , when you get on his last nerve, oh boy oh boy is he a mean one. Basically he will verbally murder you with a few asinine and sarcastic words that are carefully selected to impact maximum emotional damages.

Post Thangorodrim, he's more prone to coldly lash out and be mean on purpose - that's how he copes and Fingon knows it so they sort of try to navigate this new dynamic.

24. What’s a Russingon AU you often daydream about?

I HAVE SO MANY

i mean technically Reembodied Maedhros is an AU (sobs) so i love to daydream about how it would go for him and Fingon. It's not necessarily happy at the start because of ...well, all the murders and war crimes...so Fingon has the right to be extremely pissed off. (that's my fav way to write him in a post Valinor AU. then the kinky angry sex.)

Another one I will have one day to motivate me to write about is an AU where Maedhros dies on the Thangorodrim. Either by Fingon's hand (Manwë does not interfere) or he dies in Angband. It could be so interesting to navigate both choices from Fingon's POV (the painnnn) but also the opportunity it can represents - the Noldor civil unrest between Nolofinwëans / Arafinwëans vs the Fëanoreans, how Maglor fares as High King, all the butterfly effects of Maedhros not being there to hold his brothers in check etc...

And consequently having him being reembodied then sent back to Beleriand after a while and the new perspective on the Oath etc...

[somerunner]

Cradle Fanfic (Waybound spoilers)

Since this has spoilers I’m going to put it under a read-more. I posted this in the Discord a week or two ago, and have made a couple of minor edits since then.

Striding North of Cradle

—————————————

Northstrider looked inward. The memories he had received just moments before troubled him. He had known, of course, what his original goals were — and he had told Lindon his own mantra, days before the Silent King was killed and the current uneasy balance between Monarchs and Dreadgods started to collapse.

Look for a solution to the Dreadgods. Research, plot, calculate, simulate. Obtain the assistance of those who have power to solve the problem, or do it yourself. But do not cross them. They will take everything from you given the excuse.

Those weren't his exact words to the boy, but those were his guiding thoughts ever since he had reached Archlord. As a Sage, he only became more angry as he began to learn how powerful, and thus complacent, the Abidan were.

When he became a Monarch, he had somehow deluded himself into thinking he had not joined his enemy in complacency. His philosophy remained as it was, but he never admitted that he had become part of the problem. The Dreadgods were monsters, and Northstrider defended the people from them. All except his enemies, who would put a sword in his back given the chance.

Even when he had helped Tiberian Arelius, a trusted ally, he was stabbed in the back. Not by Tiberian, but alongside him, which was almost worse. When fighting the Weeping Dragon to protect the Arelius Monarch’s people, he left himself open to Reigan Shen, who initially assisted just long enough to gain a provisional measure of trust. Then, as the Dreadgod began to prepare its legendary dragon's breath, Shen used his mastery over space to maneuver both Tiberian and Northstrider into its range. Northstrider came to in the middle of the ocean, sensing a Monarch's Remnant getting packed away in a voidspace. Shen immediately left, and too weak to defend the continent, Northstrider floated and sensed the Dragon scour its surface.

He was right not to trust the other Monarchs. They were just as complacent as him in letting the Dreadgods destroy and feed, and did nothing to find a way to stop them. They took every chance to kill their enemies...just like he did himself.

With his old memories came a glimpse of his old mindset and perspective. That was what really made him look at himself, and he was disgusted by what he saw. Northstrider had truly ignored his own hunger and greed, and its effect on the populace. While he took care of the outcasts and supported the Beast King in doing so as well, he was a large reason behind those people losing their homes in the first place. One-fifth of the reason, if only hunger aura and the Dreadgods were considered.

It was time to ascend. People were dying every second that the Dreadgods fed. Of course, that meant it would be easy for even Heralds and Sages to take what they wanted, but that was only for the lucky one or two whose own lands were not under attack. Most were either defending allies or trying to recover from their own near-destruction in the wake of the Wandering Titan and the Bleeding Phoenix. Northstrider's own charges, kept away from the disasters in pocket worlds, would be well-equipped to take advantage of the situation. And he would be able to defend many of the reeling and vulnerable locations from attack by scavengers.

As he began to think about reasons he should stay on the planet, the Empty Ghost spoke. Northstrider was half-convinced to leave, half-threatened, and soon he found himself in the Way. He drifted in irritation and contemplation, but the currents of reality soon became too buffeting to ignore. This was not entirely surprising, as Fate had been exceptionally hard to read recently, but it was discouraging. It was hard to maintain any sort of course as the deep-blue surroundings pulled him in every direction.

Once he reached a less-turbulent fork in the Way, Northstrider clenched his fist. As much as he disliked Lindon, he knew he could trust the boy to take care of his researchers and other charges. But he would likely kill Reigan Shen without giving Northstrider the chance to do it himself. And with the world being so far from the Way right now, it was likely that billions would suffer from new threats almost equal to the Dreadgods in danger, back when they were as weak as individual Monarchs.

It was too late now. He had already left, and in doing so had taken a portion of the burden of hunger aura from the world. Even more, he was no longer burdened by ongoing responsibilities. He could find new monsters to fight, new sources of strength to draw from, and in his void space he had a Dream Well holding his prototype addition to the oracle codex.

In time, he would have his own Presence, without having to serve the Abidan. As much as he admitted to himself that he had been just as arrogant and dismissive as them, he did not want to be the servant who bowed again. He would reach to gain authority here in the Way, and at the first planet he dropped off at he would recoup his spiritual strength. And then...he would wander, he supposed. And look for opponents such as the dragons, who oppressed and killed at their convenience.

As he had this thought, the currents of the Way became turbulent again and spat him out into a starry area of stable space. Northstrider quickly scanned the area and noticed a planet nearby about the size of Cradle, but made of gas. There was no star close by, but several hundred spots on the planet glowed brightly.

They illuminated two orbiting rings, one made of several city-sized rocks, and the other of vast sheets of metal, a few miles thick and thousands of miles across. He sensed a few million people living nearby in these sheets of metal. These were in turn surrounded by small floating metal boxes, like fleas.

And now that he focused, he sensed a distress signal, clearly attempting to reach out to the Way but not getting through. It was being suppressed so it only sounded in this reality, and the turbulence in the Way’s currents likely meant the signal would be too distorted to parse anyway. It was going off at multiple points across the entire metal-composed ring, so it took Northstrider a few moments to sense its cause.

On the other side of the planet, a tyrant was slicing the city-sheets in half. Killing thousands as the innards of each city was exposed to space and the surrounding regions were shaken by each rupture, but not completely obliterating them. Taking it apart, piece by piece, savoring the destruction.

Like a dragon.

Northstrider rolled his neck. One of his regrets on Cradle was that with all his power, he could only kill weaker dragons and merely push back the true monsters such as Sesh, Shen, or the Dreadgods. He had never experienced a total victory over a challenging opponent since his advancement to Monarch. Here, sensing his new opponent, he could see they only had a little more than the power of a peak Herald. In his weakened state he could potentially deal with them without damaging the cities nearby. Best of all, because the Abidan couldn't hear this world, he didn't have to look over his shoulder while doing so.

Northstrider smiled as he kicked off of empty space. If it was so easy to find opponents such as this, that he could kill without worry or regret, he would enjoy his departure from Cradle.

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

Oh look she’s Stanposting again.

Specifically in the vein of how every time I write him, he is the EPITOME of the inherently gentle character who is definitely CAPABLE of causing harm, but would never hurt a soul. Unless you hurt someone he cares about.

Especially when it comes to Kyle.

So here’s some of the lines I’ve written across various stories that reiterate that aspect of his personality, both his own thoughts and other people’s perspective of him.

Oh boy this is gonna be a doozy.

From The Webs In The Rafters:

•(Now, Stan was a gentle soul. Always had been, always would be. He never initiated conflict, saved the birds that flew into windows before Cartman’s cats could get to them, and played guitar for the cows they drove to the sale barn. He was a lover, not a fighter, but,

There was a singular exception.

When Kyle was hurt, his gentle nature flew out the window. He wanted to punish the person responsible. Stan clenched his fists so hard they could practically break stone, he shed angry tears, and he had to fight harder than ever to uphold his values. He didn’t like to cause harm, but those who harmed others deserved all the fucking harm he could deliver unto them.)

•(Kyle let out a long, breathy laugh. “Dude, be cool. And you wonder why Cartman calls you my guard dog.”)

•(It was terrifying to see. When a characteristically gentle person broke like that, the whole world seemed to shatter.)

•(Kyle practically read his mind. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”

“With my bare fucking hands.”)

•(Stan was a real nice guy, but that only made it scarier when he actually got mad. Butters had known him for over half his life, but it would always be jarring to see his friend jump from his default state of gentility. When it came to Kyle, though, he was a wild card. It was terrifying.)

•(The man who did took another step toward the Spider, brandishing a two-by-four studded with nails like it was a sword. God, if Stan’s anger had been directed at him, Kenny would’ve withered where he stood, and he wasn’t one to back down easy. Apparently neither was Craig. He just…stood there, as Stan growled.)

From While The Dew Is Still On The Roses

•(“Drag him behind the fucking horses.”

The order shot a cold spear of dread into Kyle’s heart. His Stan wasn’t violent if it could be avoided. In the years since they had met, he hadn’t seen this side of him, or heard the curses of angered humans from him. He could feel his husband trembling, shaking in anger and fear as he held him.)

•(The door to the carriage opened, Stan wiping his bloodied knuckles off on his tunic. His eyes were dark, almost vacant until they settled on Kyle again.

“My- my dearest-“ the king croaked out, trying and failing to lift his head. “-what did you do?”)

•(Kyle looked Stan up and down, noting bruised knuckles. “Damien?”

“Is in the dungeons.” His husband finished. “There was some… questioning.”

He fought the instinct to sit up. “Did you kill him?”

Stan raised an eyebrow. “What variety of creature do I portray? Of course I didn’t; that decision is yours and yours alone. You know me better than to jump to that conclusion, my love.”)

From And The Lightning Cracks The Sky

•(“Don’t you fucking touch him!”

Kyle was still at the apartment, right? This person couldn’t get to him. Then again, he HAD summoned magic fire that refused to be put out. Kyle wasn’t safe.

“Please.” Stan didn’t give a shit if he got incinerated. He just didn’t want the forests to suffer. Or Kyle.)

•(Stan. His gorgeous smokejumper with the heart of healing water to Kyle’s fire, scrambling up and coming to his defense despite being shell shocked at this scene. “This guy SHOT you?”)

From Reckless By Nature

•(Stan froze, spinning around with a clenched jaw and a murderous expression. “Cartman. Jar. Right the fuck now.”

“What? He’s not even here!”

“But I AM, and I maintain the right to enforce Jar Laws on his behalf.”)

•(Above all, if ed jokes got made, even though Kyle had been better for a long time and generally didn’t care, his relentlessly protective partner DID, and had enforced that amendment. That was a bad one. Kenny knew that if Stan would’ve been around, Cartman would’ve been in critical condition.)

From In The Truly Gruesome

•(Stan Marsh wasn’t a violent person. But nothing would compare to the world ending rage he’d fly into if he ever lost Kyle.)

Lmao I love how TWITR has the most in that genre of Staniel. To be fair, it WAS befitting of the situation.

So that’s today on Stanposting! I love that sweet boy!!!

[its-calliste]

Susurrat Virtutis | Prologue

Hello! This is my first time ever posting a story in here, and well its very nerve wracking. I just wanna say that english is not my first language, and this is translated from spanish to english. This is cross posted on wattpad and Ao3 under the same name. The format is not the best so bear with me while i figure everything out. Tips, comments and hearts are appreciated!

♡............................

"Only the dead have seen the end of the war." —George Santayana, 1922

What is war from the perspective of a small child? For [Name], war was something that could not touch that village she called home, in that place where its residents knew each other well, where everyone knew who was who, who was married to whom, whose children were whose and who were friends with who, in that place it was impossible for the war to come. But [Name] was but a small child, one which didn't know what lay beyond her village.

"I still think it's a bad idea to teach [Name] to use a bow" her mother, a woman who had a somewhat traditional mentality, was opposed to her only daughter learning to use such a savage weapon.

"Maybe in some future it will be useful for her to know how to use it" her father had taught her how to use the bow since she was about 6 years old. She didn't know the reason why, every time she would ask he would always answer with the same "it will be useful to know."

[Name] listened to her parents having the same conversation they had every time she and her father went hunting in the forest that surrounded the village. She listened to it a little bit more until she got bored and left her position by the door to walk through the garden that her mother cared for.

It was a day like any other, the residents of the village went out to wash their clothes, tend to their lands or the animals, and the children got together to play. She on the other hand did not dare to join them. She feared that she would be rejected by the same boys who played at being warriors and fighting each other as one.

Her father had taught her to use a sword when she turned 10, so she was not afraid of being beaten by the other children. So she went with the girls who remained a few steps away from them, sitting and leaning on the fences that kept the sheep inside. They watched as they hit each other, bruises quickly appearing on their faces and arms.

This is how [name] spent the day playing with those who did not reject and judge her.

(...)

"Can you tell me another story of your adventures?" she asked her father, the dim light of the candle burning by her dresser illuminated the small room, she was lying in her bed with several blankets and furs from animals they had hunted together. Her father settled next to her

"again? I thought I had already told you everything, why don't I tell you when I married your mother instead? Your grandfather was really angry!" He laughed by just remembering it. Father and daughter turned towards the door when they saw movement.

Her mother came in with a basket in her arms "didn't you say you were scared when my father almost stabbed you with his sword?" she asked, looking at her husband in disbelief; The aforementioned man made a surprised face.

Her father was about to respond when they heard several knocks on the door, followed by several shouts of his name "Gjord, Gjord, Gjord!" Like a mantra, he continued until finally her father stood up and opened the door.

"What the hell got you so worked up for?" That man began to explain to him in a way that he did not understand at all, it was not until Gjord looked behind that man and managed to realize what was happening.

Several houses were burning, blood in some of them, and several men carrying shields, spears, swords, axes, and bows, ran around murdering the villagers of that once peaceful place.

[Name] couldn't hear what was happening well, she watched as her father entered the house again, as he whispered something to her mother and left the house again. Her mother entered her room minutes later, took [name] by her arm and took her to their room, moving the bed to the side showing a small hole in the wall. Her mother didn't explain anything, she just took [name] by the shoulders and looked at her with a sad expression. She opened her mouth.

"Listen to me, whatever sound you hear, don't leave this place, I don't want you to make any noise, when dawn comes, run out to the forest" her mother released her to open a chest, gave her a dagger, and her a sword that she once saw her father wield "You know those woods better than anyone, run to the nearest town you know and ask for help"

"Mom" she felt like she was about to cry. She couldn't understand what was happening. "where will you hide? And what about dad?"

"Don't worry about me, okay?" Her mother caressed both of her cheeks with her thumb; holding her small face "no matter what happens, you have to leave"

The next thing happened so fast that she couldn't understand what was happening. They heard a sound by the door, her mother pushing her into the hole. She moved the bed so that it would hide [name's] body from whoever was attacking this place.

She heard those intruders scream, then her mother shouting something and finally steps going far from where she was, those people behind her, and then silence.

(...)

She really didn't know how much time had passed, but she stayed in that hiding place for a long time, pushed the bed with all her strength and came out, abandoning the sword and dagger behind.

"Mom?" With a weak voice she called out to nowhere, she searched all the rooms of the house but found no one. She then went outside, looking around at what was once a beautiful place now reduced only to ashes of what were houses, how the air carried with it the smell of blood and burnt flesh. Bodies lying around of some villagers and unknown men wearing some type of helmet made of metal and wearing dark cloaks.

This moment, the moment when she stood alone for the first time, would remain etched in her memory for the rest of her life.

The small girl, only 12 years old, left her house, with a bow and arrows on her back, on her left side her father's sword and on her right the dagger that accompanied it. It was a little heavy but it was comforting to have something that reminded her of her father by her side. She took the small bag that her mother had made for her and filled it with some food, medicine, and bandages to begin the journey to the nearest village.

(...)

It was easier to talk about traveling alone and finding the village than to try and do it. She couldn't really tell how much it took to get to this small fishing village. She was hoping to stay there, but she was sure no one would help a girl who came from a village that had just recently been attacked.

So with the little money she had left she paid a merchant to take her across the sea to another village. About 13 days later, she found another village, still not daring to leave the edge of the forest. That's how it became easy to spot the ship that was slowly approaching said village.

She didn't really know English, couldn't tell anyone of the approaching attack but that wasn't really the reason. She just didn't want to die, that was the simple answer.

However she did notice a young boy, -perhaps her own age- watching a woman being murdered in front of him. And that's when she didn't hesitate to run for it.

Maybe she saw his sad look, something that made her see herself reflected in him. It was the push that made her try to pull him by the arm with desperate screams, shouting at him in the only language she knew."We have to get out of here!" was the first thing she screamed, the boy tried to get her off of him but [Name] simply refused to let go.

This is how they remained until the scream of the  people near them stopped, they were quickly surrounded by men larger than the two of them. A man with blonde hair, wearing some type of black armor approached them.

"What is this?" He asked when approaching the small children "did you get lost?" He didn't seem worried, rather he was asking in an amused tone.

[Name] realized that the man had spoken norse. "I..I, my house was attacked... I have traveled here in search of them," she said between cuts, without realizing it she was squeezing the other child's hand.

The boy was simply watching the interaction happening in front of him. She knew that these people were like those who had attacked her village. But it wasn't them, for some reason she knew it wasn't them. So with a lot of confidence as to not seem weak she asked "could you take me to the Faroe Islands? My family…I have family there"

That man laughed, causing the other men who had heard her question to follow him. After a few seconds of [name] being confused, the man suddenly stopped "the people in the  Faroe village are dead. We murdered them ourselves 6 years ago"

The girl did not know how to react to such news. She was ready to offer her weaponry if it meant getting to her family and finally being safe.

"Tell me girl," the man spoke again, "do you know how to use that?" He pointed to the sword at her side.

[Name] raised her head and looked him in the eyes. Nodding quickly, "my father taught me how to use it, the bow too…." SHe took a step forward.

The man smiled. “My name is Askeladd son of Olaf, what is your name?”

"My name is [Name] daughter of Gjord!" She answered loudly, "sir, please let me join your group!" The boy behind him tensed his shoulders. He stared at that girl in disbelief.

(...)

[Name] could see how the seagulls flew above that ship, how the waves moved in the vast ocean. From the back of the ship she could see how all the members of that band of pirates worked together to make the ship move, while their leader simply looked ahead.

Another taller man stood next to him. For some reason that man called Askeladd agreed to let her join his group of pirates. Many of its members complained about letting a girl join, apparently the boy who had tried to help was part of the band too. Although it seemed that he hated his companions.

He was in the back with [name], not saying a word or even addressing her.

"Uhm" she approached him making a small noise hoping to get his attention "my name is [Name]" she smiled at him "could I know yours?"

That boy looked at her for a few seconds, and without looking at her he responded "Thorfinn..."

[Name]'s eyes lit up, smiling even more. “It's nice to meet you Thorfinn!”

This was the beginning of [Name] story and another page of Thorfinn's.