#her blood literally becomes the antidote.
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So apparently there is a limit to how many tags you can use. It cut off before I could finish. I was going to add that Tucker only speak in riddles (just to mess with people) as in everything he says, everything, is a riddle and only the other villain sidekicks understand what he’s saying. I’m debating if Riddler can understand him or just pretends to. Like Riddler is explaining his plan and when Tucker hacks into the entirety of Gotham’s security system on an old DS game, Riddler is just like “yeah, uh huh, I told him to do that.”
Also that Danny is ironically the most friendly looking and acting one out of the sidekicks despite being the most terrifying power wise. And that Jazz is absolutely terrifying. And that they all collectively hate Joker. Literally, they will just stop whatever evil plan they are doing to attack him, even if they are fighting the bats. Just all collectively freeze, turn to the clown, and go at it.
The villains of Gotham seemed to have acquired individual sidekicks. Fortunately, these sidekicks seemed to have convinced their respective mentors to give up killing. Unfortunately, all their plans have seemed to become more unhinged in recent weeks.
#dp x dc#dc x dp#dpxdc#dcxdp#hyper prompts#danny fenton#dp x dc crossover#dc x dp crossover#dp x dc prompt#The villains have sidekicks.#they cause chaos.#mostly with each other.#Grundy x killer Croc.#They both live in the sewers.#the sidekicks make sure their new parents are happy and with their loved ones.#the villains WILL kill for their sidekicks/children#they quickly figure out the sidekicks know each other.#they make sure nothing happens to the other sidekicks because it will make THEIR sidekick sad.#villain solidarity#parent solidarity.#Danny is Grundy’s sidekick/son.#He is incredibly overpowered and no one knows how he came from Grundy.#he only listens to his ‘father’ or Scarecrow’s sidekick.#Jazz is scarecrow’s sidekick.#she builds up a natural immunity to fear gas.#her blood literally becomes the antidote.#Sam is Poison Ivy’s sidekick.#Sam gets adopted by Ivy and Harley.#I know someone said Mad Hatter could be Tucker’s villain but I do you one better. He is RIDDLER’s sidekick and his villain name is sphinx.#Tucker is incredibly smart and enhances the games more and more (but makes them non lethal)
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Like. Ayame's late husband was half Fishman, meaning that HER children ( Mai, Jun'Ichi. Itsuki, Izumi, and Kai ) have Fishman ancestry & subtle traits, like Kai's ridiculous ability to camouflage that's only heightened by their Devil Fruit, or Mai being able to hold her breath for upwards of seven minutes at a time. Also, Mai knowing Fishman Karate. Her father taught her. His father taught him.
Or Kiyomi being a swordswoman with a cursed blade. Mamushi, with a thirst for blood. It's been in the Fujihara for hundreds of years, passed down from first child to first child.
Or Itsuki having insane field medicine knowledge & being able to come up with antidotes to poisons & toxins in the field on the fly because of Izumi's Devil Fruit. She had to learn when they were both ELEVEN how to handle wounds caused by his DF.
The Fujihara as a whole being a line of royalty from an Island in the Grand Line that has existed for several hundred years, with a bustling economy. They're all royalty. Kiyoko sits the throne! Suma's a literal princess! Something she fails to mention until they're on their way to Water 7! And even then, she doesn't tell the Straw Hats that she's a princess, just that she's technical royalty. THAT truth bomb hits post-Dressrosa.
Or Ayame. She was Roger's Sharpshooter. She sailed with him for several years before leaving the crew to take over for her DYING BROTHER on the throne of Janoshima, becoming the first Empress they had seen in over two hundred years. Ayame knew the TRUTH. And then- MARINEFORD happens & Ayame is... gone.
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they’re bullying him, the oaf. @asprinkle . she’s not sure he realizes it, or perhaps he does and much like her he finds there is not much he can do to stop it. it is better to laugh with them than be laughed at by them. the club is loud, one of lukas’ preferred spots in new york, full of bloodsuckers and men with powdered noses. ebba is not one for this scene, it never was. greg looks just as out of place as she feels, she could almost feel bad for him if not for the fact he’s done it to himself. she curls in to herself a bit further, sips at her drink and waits for them to decide their next vulgar display.
❝ the only way they’ll respect you is if you try to destroy them. ❞
lukas laughs somewhere to her right and it sends a shiver down the length of her spine. she’s grown comfortable in the way her blood curdles, her stomach churns, it’s the same feeling as every time one of the little insulated packages arrived at her door. she still has them : the liters of frozen blood, they’re in a paper bag in her freezer like fucking meat. who the fuck does this guy think he is ?
“ you’re not very good at that, are you ? destroying them. ” she clarifies. “ it’s okay . . . i will trade you for this advice, the roys for matsson, : you don’t need their respect. ” she looks to the proverbial them, her eyes find matsson immediately, ebba is always intimately aware of where he is in a room, how far to get to a door. “ you need to become unkillable, so you find the gas.” not the right word: what she means is ammunition, you find the god-killer, the thing that is never meant to escape. “ the poison and you breathe it, little by little, and when it no longer makes you sick, surround yourself in a bubble, you hold the antidote with you, always. then . . . they cannot destroy you, or they die too, you make it so they cannot let you die. ”
#asprinkle#baby girl you are so creepy crawly#drug mention /#harassment mention /#* · ˚ ⋅ 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ﹕ ❪ communications ❫ * ebba .
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THEY ARE LITERALLY STAR-CROSSED AND SURROUNDED BY STARS NOW!
Her first thought is to protect Wook from herself, the monster she believes she's become. Mu-deok used to threaten him with death, called his love a poison and herself his antidote but now she sees herself as the poison she needs to save him from.
After killing countless people, Naksu comes to loathe herself for being a monster, but even in her darkest and worst moment, when she can't love herself, Wook loves her so completely and unconditionally, literally embracing and accepting everything she is, has been and will be, her whole being. He loves her at her worst and he loves her at her best. He's never feared her, only losing her.
When she pushes him away, his answer is to envelop her in a fiercely protective embrace, ready to shield her from everyone and everything and fight against the whole world for this tiny woman in his arms.
The fierce, almost cold-blooded, determination and protectiveness in his eyes reveals he wouldn’t shy from anything as long as it would save her. The faze says it clear: “No one, no one touches her and I’ll eviscerate everyone who tries!”
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I SEE IT!! I SEE THE VISION!!!
The side by side is so crazy it’s literally the same picture 😭😭
(Only difference is Peeta could never match Ivan’s freak lmao)
An Everlark style slow burn would be PEAK IvanTill imo.
Ivan being a constant in Till’s life, even if it was just in his periphery, like Peeta was with Katniss.
Ivan (Peeta) does everything he can to keep Till (Katniss) alive, both before and during the games. Ivan and Peeta’s shared charisma and self-sacrificial tendencies!!
Till and Katniss realizing too late/almost too late what the formers’ plans were. Kind of wet rags at first, but then slowly coming to realize over time that they care about their partners and eventually falling in love with them… I’M SO NOT NORMAL ABOUT THIS!!!!
Till with a big ass sledgehammer sounds metal as hell, I’m in!! You’re so right about his general attitude being very blunt and forceful and a sledgehammer matches that perfectly.
Ivan is canonically an unsettling character, so I wanted to lean into that. His District 2 militant background makes him similar to Sua (sharp, exacting, lethal), but in a more brutal/tactile way (physical touch is kind of his thing). He doesn’t really *need* a weapon when he *is* a weapon. But he purposefully becomes a shield for Till.
And him stealing things Till has stolen is so on brand for him lol.
I’m drafting a post right for potential outfit ideas (let me know if you have any more thoughts/ideas, the solar idea for Hyuna and Hyunwoo is GENIUS), but for now, please accept more of my ramblings about this AU:
Unsha and Urak still have their rivalry and want Ivan and Till to destroy each other.
Ivan tells Unsha that he plans to help Till get to the end and then kill him, to make the biggest impact.
He’s lying. Like a liar.
Mizi lays Sua to rest in a field of clematis flowers and sings to her.
She hunkers down nearby to watch over Sua, to make sure no one disturbs her resting in peace. One tribute tries to loot Sua’s body for anything valuable and Mizi beats them to death with her gifted brass knuckles (Mizi/Till parallels go brrr).
A little later on is when Ivan and Till happen upon her. Ivan even pays his respects to Sua, and tells Mizi he regrets that he didn’t get to know her better before she died.
When the rebels infiltrate the arena, Hyuna uses her vocal mimicry talent to lure Mizi away from a sleeping Ivan and Till by making her voice sound like Sua singing.
Isaac and Dewey create a technological distraction for the cameras and overseers and Mizi is quietly pulled out of the dome.
The canon never sounds to announce her death.
Till wakes up first and is distraught to find that Mizi is gone. He wants to search for her, but he receives a mysterious gift from an anonymous sponsor containing and note only he can read. The contents of it seem to set him at ease. Who is it from? 🧐
At the final two, Ivan tries to sacrifice himself so Till will win. But Till just… Won’t? Let him??
Ivan ate some nightshade berries — the same ones Acorn tried to poison Till with — and is coughing up blood (canon reference, yippee!). Till is furious and starts yelling at him, “You’re not leaving me again, you bastard!”
His anger catches Ivan completely off guard, giving Till the opportunity to tackle him and force the antidote down his throat.
Urak gave Till the antidote as a sponsorship gift earlier in the game after Acorn’s failed poisoning attempt. Using the antidote on Ivan of all people is a major act of rebellion for Till.
The Capitol audience is extremely moved by Till’s words, and they don’t want either of the star crossed lovers to die, so the game gets called after that.
Capitol shippers would lose their minds when Ivan and Till do the Victory Tour.
found my old hunger games au.... will I post about it? maybe one day....
#mentally i’m doing cartwheels in an empty walmart parking lot right now#every time i think about this au i get a little more silly#literally yippe-ing over here#everlark you will always be famous!!#ivanttakethis talks too much
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Anon if you don’t mind! Most of us agree that Breaking Dawn was way too easy and happy and Bella didn’t have to really give up anything. How would YOU have ended the story? Personally I probably would have killed off Edward, hahaha.
Here’s the thing: I’m a sucker for a bittersweet ending. Especially when we are dealing with a topic like vampires. Like, idk, I just don’t think ‘happily ever after’ and ‘eternally doomed to thirst for blood’ really jibe together. Vampires are only interesting to me as a topic if there is something aspect of a ‘curse’ to it. Perfect Piece of Forever is just Not For Me.
If I could just throw out the whole concept of Breaking Dawn and make my own ending from scratch, Bella might choose not to marry Edward OR Jacob and like go live a life. That she realizes while she loves Edward, committing to literal eternity as a vampire right after graduating high school is . . . a lot and she needs more time to really think this through. That the idea of having this eternal, burning, painful thirst that can never be quenched but temporarily with the blood of human beings might be like, I don’t know, MORE OF A PROBLEM/FACTOR here than it is in the book. She goes on to live her life and then when she’s an old woman in hospice Edward and Alice show up to bid her goodbye. She tells them of the life she’s had, her loves and losses and adventures and everything, and they get a little taste of living vicariously through her and can let her go (I am ignoring the canon of vampires literally cannot go on without their mate or whatever but I don’t care for it lol).
If I have to give it a happy ending, then Edward goes to turn Bella in BD as agreed (no pregnancy/baby) but it doesn’t work. After freaking out and getting Carlisle (and Rosalie) involved, they realize that the James bite and Edward sucking the venom out worked kind of like an inoculation: Bella’s immune to vampire venom now. She can’t be turned. She’s devastated but Carlisle and Rosalie are intrigued and somehow use her blood to craft a antidote to vampirism. A cure. A way back to humanity. Edward’s thrilled, Bella’s still kind of lowkey disappointed. But he becomes human and they have a long and happy life together (Rose and Emmett become human too and have a gaggle of kids; Alice and Jasper stay vampires. I could go either way with Carlisle and Esme [being able to ‘protect’ their human kids + eternally helping as a doctor vs the human life I think deep down both of them would like). For me you just can’t have the ‘oh woe is me’ style vampire she has with Edward and Rosalie and all the quotes she chose for the books (do not eat from the tree of knowledge, violent delights have violent ends, etc) and have it be a HAPPY FAIRY TALE SUNSHINE VAMPIRISM in the end. The over-the-top happy ending she is seemingly setting up here is Edward becoming human, not Bella becoming a vampire.
But if I HAVE to stick to the basic Breaking Dawn stuff then Bella IS turned into a vampire after their wedding night (no pregnancy/baby) but it’s HARD. It’s a STRUGGLE. She has to learn how to handle the new abilities, the new thirst, she has to let Charlie go, Jacob is upset, it’s not just the “wow I’m strangely good at all aspects of being a vampire I was born for this!” and getting to keep Charlie and Jacob around. A girl who loves the sun and warmth and passes out around blood does not sound like a natural born vampire to me. It’s hard, there are accidents, there is angst and regret but it’s WORTH IT in the end because she gets to be with Edward forever and that’s what she really wanted (again I’m sticking closest to canon here).
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On The Sea - Chapter Seven: On the Sea
You wonder if Frank can smell the putrid scent, turning his nose in disgust at your selfishness. The monthly visits comforted you, not her; they licked your wounds, not hers. Had you sentenced her to greet the fate of her father, marked by a kiss on the cheek? Was it you that doomed her from conception, fueled by self absorbed motives to resuscitate a corpse? Perhaps you deserved the throbbing pain from the bullet sized wound in your skull.
summary: It was a confession, and you didn’t bite your tongue. Whether you knew it or not, the desires of your heart were laid at his feet, and the dragon held its breath.
warnings: ANGST, fighting, tiny tiny violence (Miss Honey shoves Frank while she’s upset), fluff towards the end, lots of religious imagery
A/N: hiiii please don’t hate me for this chapter… it hurts me. this chapter/whole fic is based off of THIS SONG, so feel free to listen if you would like to get the full effect :) (honorable mention)
REBLOGS/FEEDBACK/COMMENTS/LIKES are literally so appreciated- I always look forward to what you guys think, and I live for your theories. thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and interact!!
DO NOT STEAL, COPY, REPOST, OR TRANSLATE MY WORK.
Droplets of blood from your split knuckles splatter against the floor, seeping into the cracks that paint your path towards escape. Towards relief.
It was ridiculous, actually- the position you found yourself in. Mythical monsters, bleached bones of clanking skeletons, ghosts and corpses of dead men surrounding you in your anguish, pointing rotten fingers in your direction and barking laughs at your misfortune. Was it karma? Or maybe a punishable debt?
There was no definitive answer. No legitimate explanation to soften the blow from shitty cards slicing invisible cuts in the small space between each rib- one uneven, infected gnash just below the abdomen and right above the fleshy mons. There was just you, a shell of a woman, worn from anger that could be traced back to each helix of your genetic makeup, running from your penance.
You would run if you could- stretching each fiber of muscle past its potential, towards the innocent lamb being fattened for slaughter as each second ticks towards the right, teasing you with the sound of vibrating sheers. The searing burn of your lungs would act as an antidote for the chunks of missing flesh from your heart, a dragon’s tooth lodged between atriums.
You can’t breathe; the air becomes weighted and chalky as the falling ash collects in your throat, your home succumbing to the dragon’s flames as it hurls fire from the chasm of its long neck. It laughs from behind the frame of a once sturdy man, now slacking under the pressure of colliding worlds, as your desperate attempts to disrupt a blood sacrifice fail.
The doorknob burns the palm of your hand.
“You tracked my car.” The realization causes your spare hand to feel empty, missing the feel of weighted keys. Your attention had been so diverted between the shock of your fortress crumbling and waves crashing into your chest that you hadn’t realized you were essentially ripped away from your seclusion, your fantasy, with no life vest in sight.
“You tracked my car.” Frank cowers beneath your intense stare as he emerges from the opening of the hallway, unwilling to meet your eye, studying the red liquid that drips from your fingertips. Your nostrils flare at his silent answer, unwilling to accept his cowardice.
Erosion would feel better than this- a slow, gradual process of purification, revealing the vasculature of your heart, stuffed with plaque. Instead, you were falling backwards, watching the rippling waves grow further apart as your body disappears into the darkness between tectonic plates- your skin bubbling and melting as the boiling springs welcome you.
A half empty glass that sat atop the kitchen island became victim to your rage, exploding against a cabinet door like the salty spray of a wave crashing into molten stone.
Shards of glass fight through layers of scarred skin and strained muscles in search of Frank’s engorged heart as he watches you pace through the living room, fear and panic oozing from your wounds.
God, he wanted you- wanted nothing more than to interrupt your valiant march, to shield you from the falling pieces of rubble that cracked and crumbled from the groaning ceiling. His heart thumped against his sternum, wishing to rip through its cage and find a new home in your barren womb, stitching together the jagged flesh in the process.
The walls inch closer to you, forcing the dragon and the man to shuffle forwards, the chain around his ankles clinking together like brittle, calcified remains. You could feel your bones stretch under the pressure, forcing you to chip away at the cement that plastered your frame. The fabric that clothed you left indentations of thick threads as it dug into your skin while you expanded, your spine eventually resting against the ceiling.
Your lungs contracted in your attempt to grow smaller, but the flesh of your throat burned with each sob. It felt as if a spotlight flooded your senses, the failures of protecting your daughter searing into your skin with each ray of artificial light reflecting off of your gilded shell.
You wonder if Frank can smell the putrid scent, turning his nose in disgust at your selfishness. The monthly visits comforted you, not her; they licked your wounds, not hers. Had you sentenced her to greet the fate of her father, marked by a kiss on the cheek? Was it you that doomed her from conception, fueled by self absorbed motives to resuscitate a corpse? Perhaps you deserved the throbbing pain from the bullet sized wound in your skull.
Splinters of wood pierce your feet as the floor crumbles beneath your stride; you miss the way Frank holds the air in his lungs as the dragon stumbles.
He watches through wet, heavy lashes, trying to balance the scales between his head and heart, fighting each organ as he stretches himself in two- one part desperate to touch you, the other afraid of encroaching upon your purge.
His ears ring as your chest heaves, mucus and sticky membranes shaking with each panicked cough, while breathy sobs fill the room. Regret weighs heavy on his shoulders, causing him to slump forward, the reality of his paranoia and miscalculation on full display as panic ripples off of your shaking body.
The rattling of chains that adorned Frank’s ankles pierced through the delicate skin surrounding your eardrums, interrupting the way you welcomed the burning water that rushed through your nose and filtered through the branches of your lungs.
“I’m a good mom.” You lie to yourself through swollen lips, your face hardening underneath the feeble attempt to convince not only yourself, but the childless Father that remained shackled to your storm.
“I know.”
“I had to leave. I had no choice. They would have killed her, or me.”
“I know.” His voice is gentle, laced with sincerity, fully understanding of your sins, and yet it feels as if his heel dug into the sopping wound that marks your crossed feet.
“I see her. Every month,” you have to emphasize the frequency of your betrayals, but you aren’t sure if it’s a wet tongue to your wounds or isopropyl alcohol cleaning the guilt. “She knows who I am. Her first word was ‘dada’.” The memory stings. “It was ‘dada’.” You don’t even process the way your teeth latch onto the skin below your lip as you nod absentmindedly, entranced by the sting of remembrance.
Although he wasn’t there, he remembers; he remembers that familiar swelling in his chest all too well. The balloon that just kept growing- inflating as soon as crossed lines on a little stick spelled his last name, when the fuzzy grey picture painted his future, when his little girl called for him for the first time, collapsing into his arms after three wobbly steps. It never deflated, even when their bodies did.
“Her dad is dead, and that was her first word. Isn’t that funny?” A single tear falls from your lashes and ricochets off of your cheek as you acknowledge Frank’s presence, the sound of shackles dragging against the wooden floor peeling your consciousness away from your solitude.
“Her dad is dead,” you repeat yourself, although you aren’t sure why. Maybe saying it out loud would make it real, somehow- as if the wallowing fog that blanketed your heart didn’t exist. “And she says ‘dada’.”
His organs felt pulverized; completely indistinguishable as your pain spilled and bounced off of your cheeks, landing in droplets at his feet. The familiar strain of heartstrings tugging against the pumping flesh, the exertion they had felt three times too many, began controlling his ligaments- unable to stop the hand that reached for you.
“It’s gonna be okay,” his voice croaked, weak from silence. He believed himself; he believed it would be okay, somehow, eventually- but his comfort fell short, and rightfully so.
“How? How is it going to be okay?” The large hand that intruded your space fell against his body with ease as you pushed the comfort away.
The battered floorboards weep under your stride, the circular markings of identification practically molded into the wood.
Frank notes the way the apartment teeters in the short lived silence, bracing himself for whatever wave you would throw towards him- ready to welcome your storm.
“You know they do safety procedures? In school?” You watch the way your feet melt into the floor like wet, heavy sand, suctioning you in place to stare at the brown eyed man. “Safety procedures,” you start, swallowing the sadness. “Like, ‘what’s your address?’, ‘who do you call in an emergency?’, ‘what’s your mom’s phone number?’” Your thighs ache as your heavy hands land against them in defeat.
“What am I supposed to say?” He doesn’t know. “Which one do I teach her?” He isn’t sure. “Which fucking burner number do I tell her?” A barstool clatters to the ground in response, hardly standing a chance against the sole of your foot.
“And how about,” you huff, swiping whatever empty envelopes and discarded magazines off the kitchen island. “How about, ‘what’s your mom’s name?’“ The laugh that leaves your throat comes out like billows of cotton, regurgitated from the depths of your womb.
“What a fucking joke.” Porcelain shatters against the floor, reminiscent of the organ that resides in your chest.
A part of you is envious of the plate. Pieces of uneven glass could fit together again, sealed with gold, turned into a gilded imperfection, and yet, you couldn’t. You didn’t fit anywhere. No matter how hard you tried, how desperately you wanted to believe, nothing would fit against you except for a disfigured seed that latched to your roots, begging to be watered.
“How am I supposed to have a kid, right?” You’re not sure who you’re talking to- the ghost of a man, or the rotten corpse. “How am I supposed to have a kid when she can’t even know my real name? What,” Frank catches your swollen eyes for a brief second as your body slackens ever so slightly. “Is she supposed to call me Honey? Call you fuckin’ Pete?’” Your arms fly in his direction at your confession, dropping with defeat.
It was a confession, and you didn’t bite your tongue. Whether you knew it or not, the desires of your heart were laid at his feet, and the dragon held its breath.
He wasn’t sure if he heard you properly- had you hinted at the possibility of introducing him to a part of your world that remained untouched- sinless and pure? A part that had been stored away in some glass box, just out of reach? Was there a part of you that longed to weave and intertwine a pulsing cord with his snagged thread?
The answer was yes, of course. It was an easy answer; one that came to you faster than you’d care to admit, but nonetheless, it was still true. It was still true that you would split yourself into two currents if it meant he would at least be caught in one.
“I can’t-“ a sob gets lodged in your throat and your shoulders shrug in defeat. “I don’t know how to do that.” Do what? “I don’t know how I’m supposed to be a mom like that, Frank.”
Hypothetical scenarios flicker through your senses, nailing your feet to the cross you carved for your sacrificial lamb. Would she have the opportunity to go to school, to memorize integral information, to truly know you? Would your lamb be fattened by wool or gashed and smeared above doorframes?
“You don’t have to know.” Your grief transmuted into waves of anger as Frank spoke carefully, prying the soles of your feet from rusted nails.
“Yeah? Then what?” Did he truly believe you would be so reckless to not have every detail of her life calculated? Your vision blurred, the rods and cones in your retina turning everything red. “She gets killed? They find her at a park and kill her?”
Frank’s body stiffens. The shackles around his ankles freeze over, unlatching on their own and falling to the floor with a clatter.
The gasp that left your lips and the slap of your palm cupping your mouth reverberated throughout the apartment, bouncing off of cracked stucco and cement.
This was it. This was the moment you had prepared for. This was the piece of flimsy plastic that managed to pierce through ligaments and nerve endings of a humped beast.
It wasn’t that you welcomed the end, per se, but it was inevitable- wasn’t it? There was no happy ending for you- not that you particularly deserved one, anyhow. Happy endings existed in works of fiction where dragons were slain instead of being fed by the protagonist, each wave of guilt and shame acting as fuel for its giant body.
You hope that Frank would do you the honor of smashing tectonic plates together, your melting body lodged between. Yet even in your selfishness, you knew that you fucked up. You drew a line in dry sand and leapt over it, throwing a stone somewhere behind your head.
“I’m sorry, Frank. I’m so sorry,” you start, regret pooling on your waterline. “I shouldn’t- I didn’t-“
“No, you’re right.” His voice was even, cutting a vertical line from your navel to the bottom of your sternum.
“No. No, that was too-“ The apartment grows dark as your eyelids squeeze shut, wincing as the vertical line splits into two opposing diagonal lines, ending at your collarbones.
“I understand.” He peels back the delicate skin, exposing your deformed heart that pounds behind a calcified cage, your nose and mouth completely smothered as the flap of flesh drapes over your face.
It’s suffocating; your scent travels through your nostrils, burning the tiny hairs that have the displeasure of staking you to reality. None of it makes sense- why isn’t he shoving the sawed off barrel of gun into your forehead, reminding you your debt is due? Why isn’t he kissing your cheek in exchange for some coins, watching as your body hangs from a meat hook? Why isn’t he-
“God damnit.” He hardly catches your defeat as you whisper to yourself. “God damnit!” A rush of wind collides with him as you turn your back, cyclonic waves forming in your wake.
If walls could talk, they would laugh in unison at your current state.
Frank watches the way your body disappears under the weight of toppling waves, your fingers laced through the roots of your hair, tugging and pulling to feel something- anything else. The ligaments and tendons stretch and pull as he flexes his fingers and toes, swallowing back the urge to breathe life into your lungs.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to, he just doesn’t know how. He’s a man that acts first and thinks later, making amends with the consequences when it was most convenient, but now? Now he was the water that filled your lungs. He was the pressure against your chest that caused your eyes to bulge, peeling the lids back while you watched helplessly as your daughter’s body became decorated with bullet-sized holes.
Your hands blur as they loosen at the joints of your wrist, mimicking the sounds of a hummingbird’s wings as they flap against your side. The futile attempt to rewire your short circuiting brain had only deepened your frustrations.
“Be mad!” Frank appeared as a glimmering light in front of you, apparent even as your eyes rolled back like a shark’s, failing to cease its attack. “Be mad at me!” Your wrists pinch uncomfortably as you shove your palms into his sturdy chest.
He would take it- take anything from you, especially this- especially the way your self hatred seeped from your pores and clogged his.
“Tell me I’m a bad person!” You grunt into the force. “Tell me I’m a bad mom!” You aren’t. “Tell me I’m a piece of shit for abandoning my daughter!” You aren’t. “Tell me I’m the most selfish person you’ve ever met!” You aren’t.
The brute force of your emotions couldn’t move the broken man, no matter how hard your clenched fists fell against his chest. The only sign of life came from furrowed brows and brown eyes that scanned over your storms. His heartbeat was a thready pulse, and you fought to resuscitate him.
“Tell me you hate me for giving up! Tell me you hate me because it wasn’t a hard choice!” The back of your throat burns as you gasp, inhaling thick, black smoke. “Tell me you hate me for making a choice that you didn’t have!”
The apartment walls crumble as you cry out, and the hot tears that spill from your lashes join the rising waters that hide your ankles.
It hurt; the way your heart had been split in multiple pieces- rotting away in a buried brine, resting in the sticky palm of a toddler, thrumming in the musculature of a burdened man- everything hurt. It hurt, and yet you still tried your hand at sewing, welcoming the pain of pin pricks. You had done your best to thread alternating fabrics and textiles to pull the pieces in a way that resembled an organ, but Frank’s material always had a funny way of bunching together and splaying into four individual pieces.
This is what you had been preparing for all along, you think. You waited for the day that Frank would unearth your biggest failure- abandoning the innocent lamb as it stared at the fallen shepherd's staff, and turn his back towards you in repayment. The choice you made slept peacefully under a soft blanket and the rotation of a mobile, while his choices laid six feet below the ground, blanketed under wet soil.
“Tell me you hate me and never want to see me again!” Salty tears fall from his eyes as your fists meet his chest, joining the flooding water that kisses the back of your knees.
He would let you hit him over and over and over and over if it meant he could absorb your pain, but this was entirely different. This wasn’t pain, this was agony.
“Tell me-“ your neck strains as you look towards the ceiling, sucking air through a small hole in your trachea. Tears burn trails into your cheeks as you sob. “Tell me you hate me!” The muscles of your neck relax as you find his sympathetic gaze.
Water splashes around your body as his heel crashes into the back of your knee, sending you falling towards the vastness.
You’re drenched in sadness.
Regret.
Guilt.
Shame.
Anguish.
You’re suffocating underneath the weight of your decisions and the muscular arms that surround you, cradling you as the currents pound into your fragile frame.
“Tell me you hate me!” You beg him, watching through blurred vision as the dragon hurls fire in your direction.
“I love you.” He doesn’t wince as flames lick his back.
“Tell me you hate me!” Sobs wrack through your body as you scan his face, apologizing with each breathy inhale.
“I love you.”
“Tell me you hate me.”
“I love you.” A hand cups your face, and your cheeks cool as his thumb wipes at the emotion.
“Tell me you hate me.” It leaves as a hiccup, halted by the
gentle touch of lips pressing into your head.
“I love you.”
“Tell me-“ You aren’t sure if you’re pleading with the man that rocks you on the floor of your living room or the toddler that sleeps with a stuffed lamb, miles away.
“I love you.”
He means it. He loves you with every fiber of his being and every extension of himself- every alias, title, nickname- it doesn’t matter. The love he has for you holds no earthly obligations or regulation; it could not be stopped by the promise and finality of death, but it can break his heart in a new way- and it does.
Maybe it was selfish of him to wonder how much of you he hadn’t experienced yet. How many pieces of cubed flesh had you hidden away due to selfless acts of love, and how did he miss the sweet scent of laundry detergent, formulated for sensitive skin? Had he overlooked the dried stains of pureed food and the acidic smell of dried vomit that lingered on your clothes? Were the declarations of love in your worn out journal for someone whose molars peeked beneath squishy gums?
The realization smacks against his scorched back like a heavy wave, steam hissing and billowing around his silhouette as he hunches over your incapacitated body, rocking back and forth as the tide ebbs and flows.
“I love you.” The neckline of Frank’s cotton shirt sticks to his skin as your tears soak the fabric, heeding his affections.
There aren’t enough words in the English language for you to use that would justify your dishonesty, you know that. You withheld a piece of your heart to spare the childless Father, effectively minimizing the risk of the dragon’s head multiplying. Still, you returned once a month, growing smaller and smaller in the process, pushing through for him and for her.
His heart breaks, anyways, and he doesn’t expect to see himself when he looks down into his lap- like some circular, empty shell that waits to become a home. The familiar grief, that gnawing little monster that feasts on pulsing organs- it festers and permeates, floating from one graveyard to another.
You fold in half, wishing to disappear and be swept away by a forceful tide, hiccuping into each rock of Frank’s melodic flow.
“C’mon sweetheart, breathe for me.” He knows he’s probably suffocating you as you burrow into him, but it was the only way he could ensure you wouldn’t slip from his grasp, even though you were a finely granulated speck of sand.
As much as it hurt, as much as you rejected the idea of being worthy of love and tenderness, you couldn’t help but melt into him, relaxing into his secure hold.
“There you go, just breathe.” His voice acts as an anchor, fastening you to the ocean floor as bubbles escape from your nostrils, floating to the surface in search of relief.
chapter eight
A/N: so…. what are we thinking…. were you correct about what the dragon symbolizes? how are we feeling? the next chapter will be a lot better<3
#frank castle#frank castle x reader#frank castle fanfiction#frank castle x female reader#frank castle angst#frank castle on the sea#on the sea#frank castle hurt/comfort#the punisher x female reader#the punisher angst#the punisher series#the punisher fanfiction
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I honestly agree with a lot of your opinions, and even when I don't, I think that your arguments are always well structure and respectful to other people.
But I have some questions (and I'm sorry if you have already answer them), (also sorry for some of my English, it's not my first language)
How do you feel about narusaku?
How do you feel about people changing certain aspects about Sakura to try to improve her character?
How would you improve Sakura?
How much do you think Sakura being a good character could affect the story?
What was the moment you really started to ship SNS? And what are you favorite moments?
(Sorry if there's ro many questions)
I honestly agree with a lot of your opinions, and even when I don't, I think that your arguments are always well structure and respectful to other people.
Aww!!!! Thank you, Anon. This made my day. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
I will start from my favourite question (The one in the last)
What was the moment you really started to ship SNS?
I never wore any shipping lens, Anon.
Literally, I started to ship SNS only after Episode 478 or Chapter 698. Before that, I always had these doubts in the back of my mind.
'Something seems to be very weird between these guys',
'Why are they behaving differently compared to other friends?',
'Why Sasuke is behaving totally different towards Naruto?',
'Why Sasuke agreed to honour Naruto's promise under the bridge, despite having no shred of affection towards his other former Team Members?',
'Why Naruto is so obsessed with Sasuke?',
'Why Sasuke felt Naruto's chakra in Konoha and bothered by it?',
'Why Sasuke is protecting Naruto like a precious treasure only to end up wanting to kill him?',
'Why Sasuke has this weird obsession that ONLY I CAN KILL NARUTO but not someone else?',
So, I had all these questions piling up one by one inside my mind as the series progressed and I can't simply jump into a conclusion because I don't know what Sasuke was thinking. I hate one-sided ship and I want reciprocation. So, I usually put all these questions on the back burner and started to focus on the story. Damn!!!, The story was equally captivating and emotionally daunting. When Sasuke finally confessed his feelings towards Naruto in Episode 478, I simply couldn't believe myself but ship them. Because, in no world, Friends would behave this way towards each other.
So, to answer your question, it's after Episode 478, I started to ship them. But if you want me to say when exactly I started to doubt their level of friendship??
It's this moment,
Now you may think, 'Yeah, you saw two boys in a close proximity and decided to ship together. It's nothing strange'.
I have to say, Close proximity was the last thing, I felt from this scene. My reason was those heart breaking scenes that happened before which led to this specific moment.
I will make it as short as possible. I'll start with this
God!! I wanted to punch Sasuke so badly when he said this with a deadpan expression. It looks like he was lying just to get power. I thought, 'Sasuke!!! What a lying piece of crap you are!! If you want to kill Naruto, Just do it. Why doing a fake confession? '.
It doesn't help as the fight progressed because Sasuke was really playing football with Naruto and when this happened,
I was shell-shocked because, the Sasuke we saw so far is no more. It even confirmed my thoughts about the fake confession. Which sane person will ram Chidori through his Close Friend's body?.
After many blows were exchanged, I simply wished for one thing. Naruto should win and Sasuke should be stopped no matter what. When the final Rasengan vs Chidori happened, I couldn't understand what was going on inside that power ball. Naruto and Sasuke look at each other with pained expression and we see the younger version of them smiling at each other.
And then finally we see a knocked out Naruto with Sasuke standing and looking at him without any expression and was about to say, 'Naruto.... I' which was interrupted by rain and when Sasuke felt a stinging pain in his arms and falls down on his knees. He coughs up blood and then this iconic scene happens.
That scene conveyed many things
Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto but couldn't.
Sasuke meant what he said. Naruto is his closest friend, it’s not a lie.
Sasuke couldn't severe his ties completely with Naruto.
Sasuke's pain of saying 'Goodbye' is greater than the stinging pain in his arms.
Sasuke deliberately, I repeat deliberately and not accidentally, came close to look at Naruto's face and experiencing something that, we, audience don't know.
So, you see, Anon. The emotional train wreck that led to this scene made me really doubt about their depth of feelings they had towards each other for the first time. That's when I thought, 'Something seems to be very weird between these guys, what is it?'
And what are you favorite (SNS) moments?
There are two moments which shows how Sasuke is playing an emotional battle within himself.
1. Sasuke, Susanoo, Naruto, Minato
This happens right after Sasuke said to Obito, “Not you.... The one who is going to sever the past is....me”.
In this moment, Sasuke can pretty much let Naruto to die, because nobody is trying to kill Naruto. Still, he saved him with a 3 layered protection. The best part is Sasuke acted quicker than Minato, the fastest shinobi, to protect Naruto. Surely Minato wouldn’t want to blow up near his Son, for whom he gave his life once. It’s just that Sasuke is extremely quicker at this moment.
2. For some reason, My Sharingan deactivated on it’s own
If only, Sasuke maintained his Sharingan, he could’ve traced Naruto’s movements and deflected his upper cut and would’ve successfully landed his Chidori through him. But he just couldn’t.
Both these scenes happens in a span of a day but Sasuke’s emotions fluctuates a lot when it comes to killing Naruto, protecting Naruto, can’t kill Naruto.
How much do you think Sakura being a good character could affect the story?
To be Honest Anon, Storywise ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
Yes, I agree with her amazing performance in Gaara retrieval Arc where she tagged along with Granny Chiyo and almost killed Sasori.
After that ????
She did nothing in the Sasuke Reunion Arc. It was all about Naruto vs Orochimaru, Yamato’s Wood style jutsu, Sai’s betrayal towards Orochimaru. Geez!!! I liked her attitude in this arc but totally spoiled when she was standing simply like a wooden doll when Sasuke was about to stab Naruto. It was Sai who blocked Sasuke.... I was like, ‘Girl!!!! You said you will save Sasuke for Naruto when he went into 4 tails mode. What happened now??? Why are you not stopping him???’
She was just making Food Pills in the Rasen Shuriken Arc.
She was basically climbing from one tree to another in the Sasuke killing Orochimaru to Sasuke joining Akatsuki Arc. Even Naruto’s role was very minimal in that arc except he met Kabuto, Dead soul of Jiraiya, Itachi, a split second meeting with Sasuke where he got Chidori’ed and fought with Tobi.
She was just a spectator praying for Naruto in the Pain Arc. Yeah, she did healed few people and punched some monsters. But it just doesn’t matter. Even Konohamaru killed a Pain in that arc.
She turned into an Asshole by making a fake confession towards Naruto and decided to kill Sasuke in the Kage Summit Arc. I think, this is where Kishi decided to shit on her mercilessly by making her into someone who was going to hurt both of her team mates mentally and physically. Basically Kishi transformed a clever medical Ninja who can find an antidote in a matter of hours to an asshole who believed Naruto did everything for her and even more of an idiot by planning to kill Sasuke with just a poisoned Kunai. Isn’t she the one who told Kakashi that Sasuke was given forbidden drugs to improve his strength after their Reunion??? Can’t she put 2+2 together to know Sasuke would be immune to poisons because of his days spent with Orochimaru??? Yeah, she did impacted the story. But it was not for her development. Sakura’s foolishness made Naruto and Sasuke to meet each other again and made a promise. So, you see, she was just a tool that pushes the narrative development of other characters, not her own. Her development took a big blow in this arc.
She was non-existent in the Naruto-Killer Bee Training Arc.
She was just healing people and punched some zetsu during Powerful Edo-Tensei Shinobis vs Allied Shinobi forces Arc. I expected her to have a special fight. But Nope. Even Ino, Shikamaru and Choji fought Asuma, Kakuzu and Kinkaku, Ginkaku brothers.
She was non-existent in the Uchiha Madara vs 5 Kages mini arc
She was non-existent in Obito vs Naruto, Kakashi, Might Guy and Killer Bee mini arc.
She was non-existent in the Sasuke & Itachi vs Kabuto mini arc.
She was non-existent in the Edo Tensei’ed Hokages and Team Sasuke arc.
She was punching some Juubi Clones in the Official War Arc which will never make a difference to the story. At the same time, her character was transformed from an Asshole who hurted her teammates to an horny biasshhhh who wants only Sasuke’s D. She summoned Katsuyu and was healing soldiers. But there were an army of Medical Ninjas too. So her absence will not affect the story in a big way. She did Lip to Lip CPR for Naruto though. Again, that would never help Naruto in a major way unless he was helped by Obito by placing Bijuu inside him. Again, Kishi didn’t make her the sole saviour here. Instead, she was used as a medium to facilitate Obito’s transformation from a bad guy to good guy. Kishi made Obito as the Saviour here.
She was useless and was not able to destroy Obito’s rinnegan in the Reincarnation of Indra and Ashura vs Rikkudou Sennin Madara arc.
She was useless in the Kaguya arc. [Sorry, that punch won’t make any difference because Kaguya must be stupid to not use her 360 degree vision to see Sakura from behind. With Naruto and Sasuke has already become a demi god at this point, her clown show is incomparable].
She was useless in the final Naruto vs Sasuke arc.
So, you tell me Anon. Did she make any impact to the story that served as a major twist??
The story revolved around Naruto and Sasuke.
Itachi, Obito, Jiraiya, Madara, Hashirama and other Hokages were the game changers of this story. Meaning, their presence or death will change the story by a huuuuggge margin.
Tsunade, Orochimaru, Team Nagato, Kabuto helped our protagonists in a BIGGGG WAAYYYY.
Akatsuki were just amazing who gave us the sense of thrill as well as fun.
Even Sakura being good will never impact the story because she had no dedicated arc written for her.
But, if she were written as a good character, my viewing experience would have improved in a relaxing way so much so that I don’t have to press my fast forward button whenever she appears and I wouldn’t be writing this post explaining why I hate her.
How would you improve Sakura?
Simple, By writing her similar to Rin Nohara.
No obsession but a simple love towards Sasuke.
No toxicity but caring friendship towards Naruto.
That’s all.
How do you feel about people changing certain aspects about Sakura to try to improve her character?
Well, that means they would qualify as a fanfiction writers, aren’t they??.
Also, this inherently proves that she is a piss poor character and people wants to change certain aspects of her which they find annoying. But it will 100% end up being OOC. And I’m not into reading those OOC stuffs, Anon.
I always believe in accepting what the author has given rather than trying to fix their work. Because the author writes a character deliberately to make the readers feel what he intended in the first place. Kishi could write a redemption for even someone like Orochimaru towards the very end. Like, he literally made him to help Sasuke, not as a human predator, but as a former Master and an admirer. He wrote him to help Tsunade and other Kages. So in the end, Orochimaru was not hated like he was hated in part 1. If he can write something for Orochimaru, why not for Sakura???
You know how I can redeem Sakura in just 3 or 4 panels?
Let me tell you.
After that fake confession, Sakura could talk to Naruto,
“I am very Sorry, Naruto. I know you will never take things in your heart. But still I shouldn’t have used Love as a tool to make you not to do something. I was an Idiot to not realize how badly you want to save Sasuke. It wasn’t just for me. But it was for Sasuke and also for you, as his friend and also for us as Team 7. So, how about we go to Ichiraku, for a nice lunch??”
While confessing Sasuke for the second time,
“It seems you still want to go on to that dark path, isn’t it?. I am not the most powerful ninja in this world and I know I can’t trade blows with you. But still.... if you try to hurt my friend, Naruto and my master, Tsunade. I will fight with all my strength to kill you..... Even though I love you”
I am pretty sure, if Sakura confessed something along these lines, everyone would have admired her and it shows her emotional maturity as a Kunoichi who wants to do something to this world as well as a person who is ready to kill someone she loved in order to protect the people she holds dear.
In chapter 699. Before saying Goodbye to Sasuke,
“I am very Sorry, Sasuke. I never really understood what was going on inside your heart. And, I always forced myself on you because of my selfishness. I really feel bad for those things. I never really became your friend in the first place. How about we say farewell as ‘a good friends’, before your redemption journey??” (Shakes hands.... End of Scene)
How is this???
Is it pleasant to read?? Of course, Yes.
I am pretty sure it wouldn’t take more than 4 or 5 panels. Kishi could’ve easily did something like this. Am pretty sure readers would’ve been satisfied. Her fans too. Even I would’ve forgiven her mistakes.
But Kishi didn’t and I am very sure it’s deliberate. Because, this very same Kishimoto could able to write Konan, Tsunade who acts with so much maturity without whining like a little girl.
Which shows Kishi clearly hates this character and never wanted to redeem her.
So no matter how many people improve this character, it will never be believable.
How do you feel about narusaku?
Naruto always placed Sasuke as his priority, Anon. That’s always the case. So, apart from SNS, if you want me to say whether NaruSaku had any potential?
I would say, yes, NaruSaku had potential. I will not deny it. Naruto had some liking towards Sakura compared to the absolute indifference towards Hinata.
There are some moments Sakura genuinely cried for Naruto without anyone’s influence. I liked it. Say, the scene where she cried on hearing ‘A Jinchuriki without Bijuu will die” and with Yamato she told, “I can only do little things for Naruto”.
These are all coming from her own heart. No one instilled inside her.
[[[ That’s why I will not accept her realization of ‘Annoying, huh? So, this is how Naruto must have felt too. Maybe I should be a little nicer to him next time’ as genuine in Episode 3. Because she realized only after Sasuke roasted her. I want feelings to emerge subconsciously rather than instilled by someone. ]]]
Unlike the asshole Sakura she was in part 1, Sakura started out good in Shippuden. I was surprised with her development in Gaara Retrieval Arc and was not at all annoyed by her presence. (Except when she said she will save Naruto and Sasuke from Itachi.... Grrrrr.... Biashhhhh.... Do you know Itachi’s abilities first of all??? He can crush you like a meatball with his Susanoo)
I started to feel, ‘Wooow!!! She has improved a lot. Great!!!!’.
Even though, she was useless in Rasen Shuriken Arc, She still made an effort to make food pills for Naruto. She even hugged Naruto much to his surprise, before all the villagers and especially before, ahemmm Hinata after defeating Pain.
Despite all of these moments that had happened between them, I could only see them as a pair formed of mutual tragedies rather than mutual attraction, Anon. In their case, Losing Sasuke. I wasn’t 100% sure whether Sakura moved on from Sasuke or not. Because When Sakura was looking for Sasuke with Kakashi’s Tracking dogs, she was still in love with him. So Sakura fluctuates between her obsession with Sasuke and some genuine feelings towards Naruto.
Kage summit Arc is where everything changed and finalized. Sakura was crying like an annoying shit when she heard that Sasuke joined Akatsuki and was wanted by Raikage. This clearly shows her obsession has flared up again and ‘Poof’ all the development she had with Naruto was thrown into drain.
On top of it, the fake confession. Grrrrrr.......
Plus, Naruto officially closed the possibilities of this ship by saying, “Sasuke, I know the Truth of Itachi from a guy named Tobi. I don’t know whether it’s true or not. But whatever you’ve been doing so far (hunting Killer Bee, ruckus in Kage summit conference, trying to kill Sakura, Kakashi).... It’s all understandable”.
If Naruto truly, wholeheartedly, deeply loved Sakura, he wouldn’t have said something like, ‘It’s understandable why you tried to kill Sakura”. He should have beaten Sasuke into a pulp. Or atleast shown some intense anger. Instead, Naruto was talking to Sasuke and making promise by saying ‘We will die together’. It’s like Sakura playing cupid for Sasuke and Naruto.
Naruto was okay with someone trying to kill Sakura whereas he was not okay with someone trying to kill Sasuke and even went to the extent of hyperventilating. This is why I feel any other ships are incomparable with SNS.
After that Sakura started to behave rabidly towards Sasuke in the War arc which I can’t help but feel disgusting. So, anything she did for Naruto in the War Arc was overshadowed by her crazy obsession towards Sasuke. That’s why her CPR doesn’t matter, Sakura healing Naruto doesn’t matter. [Naruto has his own regenerative abilities, so whatever she does will not matter much for him]
So, NaruSaku was closed officially by Naruto and Sakura. It couldn’t sail because of the presence of Sasuke.
At the end, I felt like Sakura used Naruto for getting her man back ready for romance rather than a killer mode Sasuke. I couldn’t feel the friendship they once had or any familiarity.
I just hate people who don’t value friendships, anon. Sakura was not even a good friend, first of all. Yeah she had her friendly moments here and there. But, at the end of the series, she was not. A war has just ended, many people lost their lives, her supposed ‘best friend’ Ino lost her father. Why can’t she help her out emotionally? Why can’t she do some fucking good stuffs for this Shinobi world like her other teammates?? Instead, what she did was ‘let’s go and persuade Sasuke-kun to lend me some D by going along with his journey. Because I am so horny’.
It not how you were in the beginning, It’s how you ended up being. She started this series as a worst friend and she ended up as a worst human being for me. How can I ship such a person with Naruto????
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That Kind of Love Never Dies_Chapter 1
Hey guys, Now that more voted to split my fictions in 2 parts, I'm back with the first part. I hope you like it. Don't forget to leave me feedbacks. I'll always appreciate them. Love you all.
This is for writing event @tvdspngirl314
My quote is "That kind of love never dies"
Dean x Reader series (just 2 parts)
This chapter words: ~5k
Series warning:
Angst, fluf, smut, angry Dean, hurt Reader, hurt Dean, there's some more but I hate spoilers so I insist on "Angst & Hurt"
It all started with a stupid argument at home. What was it? Three months ago? Sam couldn't remember the exact date but after years, it was the first time this awkward coldness between Dean and Y/n had started to build. He could remember the first time he and his brother came across Y/n like it was yesterday, they were hunting a very nasty creature who used to kidnap young and lonely women at night, then got them wrapped in ropes and ties on a bed in a warehouse to rape, torture and feed on their blood until the victim either died or accepted to turn into one of his kind.
Sam could remember the helplessness in people's eyes too. The pain of the victims' families, the frustration and anger on cops' faces when no one could find the criminal yet, even after the sixth missing girl.
"Sammy, he just kidnapped another girl. And I think I know where he's gonna take her. Let's hunt this son of a bitch."
When Dean was saying that, Sam never expected him to fall in love with the woman they would save that night. Well, unfortunately they weren't fast enough to prevent any harm to the girl. When they arrived and Dean killed the nasty creature, Y/n was almost dead. The monster had already raped her, tortured her … and when he felt the hunters enter the place, he drank almost all of her blood, to gain more energy to fight. So as always, Dean was up to blaming himself. Of course only in his own eyes, not anyone else's.
"Call Cas to come home. Tell him it's an emergency."
Dean told his brother when he finally could get Y/n out of those ropes. And Sam knew he was right. At that point, no one could save Y/n unless God or his angels. Maybe she was not so lucky coming across a nasty supernatural creature like that but she was lucky enough that Cas arrived just on time and healed her. However, angels can only heal physical wounds. But Y/n was hurt much more than that. She couldn't just move on from the things that the bastard had put her through. Even after Cas tricked her brain to forget some certain things, she still had bad nightmares and had this dark shade of hopelessness in her eyes. Soon, she started to eat and talk less and less. And Dean just couldn't let her go. He really wanted to fix all of that for her but she kept shutting him out… until the depression hit her. It was so bad that Cas felt the need to tell them to prepare themselves for her death. Because after all those days and unlike everything else in their lives, The Winchesters were already used to her presence around them; like the way a lonely person can get used to a wounded cat more and faster than anyone else.
"I'm not gonna hunt until I'm sure she can live her normal life." When Dean stated that, Sam really thought he was joking. But after a few days he started to believe it. Dean truly would do anything to keep her alive. From cooking vegetables to laughing at his own dad jokes in front of Y/n to make her smile. That was when Sam started to feel that they can be more than a random hunter/rescued victim relationship! It felt like his brother had finally found his motivation in life: "Saving Y/n."
Gradually Y/n started to respond to this special attention from Dean with trust and smiles. Soon they became a power couple that could motivate each other so easily that sometimes Charlie would call them out. And honestly Sam had no problem with it. In fact Y/n had become his other sister.
"My God, Dean! You're burning up!" It was two day after a werewolf hunt in which Dean had got hurt. At first it was just some scratches on his arms and chest. Yet as the time passed, more symptoms started to appear: headache, pain, fever, cold sweat, even nose bleeding and before they could figure it out, Dean fell unconscious. Apparently the claws of the werewolf were poisonous. However Sam wasn't sure. The only thing he got no doubts about was the fact that it was already too late. Dean couldn't make it to the hospital. So either Sam had to do anything possible to save him or Cas should've picked up his God damn phone.
"No. no, no, no, no. Dean … Dean!!!"
That was when Sam got to hear Y/n's helpless cry and see her true feelings. She was already in love with his brother.
Luckily, unlike typical love stories; no one died that night. Sam's antidote worked. And Dean opened his eyes an hour later.
"Sammy … Y/n?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Y/n grabbed his face and put her thirsty lips on her beloved hunter's, letting the tears stream down on her face… and then his.
"Never do that again." She begged, breaking the kiss, her trembling hands holding Dean's face so she could look into his eyes.
Sam couldn't stop his smile remembering how cute they were. Y/n literally had Dean wrapped around her little finger, to the point he accepted to teach her how to hunt and soon she was part of their team too. Until … a few months ago. After two years of them being constantly close to each other, Sam could tell something was off when Dean started to go out without eating breakfast with Y/n. Of course she got suspicious after the third time and that was when their endless arguments started.
"Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"
"Because nothing is wrong, Y/n."
Actually there was. Something was VERY wrong. Anyone could tell that just by the change in Dean's eyes whenever he wanted to look at Y/n. Day by day he was getting more quiet and cold. Now they didn't even eat pie together or watch movies late at night. And Sam couldn't ignore his brother being grumpy or drunk on hunts, not anymore.
"Ok man, I've had enough. You either tell me what's wrong with you or next time I won't make any excuses so you can leave Y/n out of our hunt plans. I'm serious, Dean, I'll tell her the truth." He finally said, when they were alone in the impala, on their way to do their next hunt.
"She wants more."
"More?"
"Yeah. Sometimes it's like she sees more in me. She thinks we can have a different life. There's no need for any saying, I can see it in her eyes whenever we accidentally come across some family at a diner that try to feed their kids or people's wedding photos whenever we go to talk with some witnesses or whoever during the research! Sometimes she even looks up wedding dresses or kid stuff on the net!" Dean blew his anger out of his nostrils and sighed, shaking his head.
"Wow." Sam couldn't find the proper word to say but he couldn't hide his surprised face either.
"What?" Dean gave him an annoyed look.
"I mean …" Sam chuckled. "… are you telling me you're actually angry with her for imagining the things you always dream about?!"
"Sam …"
"No, really. I'm just curious. What's wrong with you, man?" Sam asked genuinely, waiting for an answer.
"What's wrong with me?! You think something is wrong with me just because I'm the rational one in this relationship; who's actually able to see the difference between a dream and the reality?"
Yeah, anyone could take that earnest speech, but not Sam. He'd seen and knew enough about his brother.
"What's the reality? Aren't you and Y/N living that dream life already?"
"What?! No. No … that's not the same." Dean shook his head.
"Really? How is it not? It's been two years, Dean. You two are constantly with and/or around each other. Always worried when the other one is in trouble and still looking at one another like there is nothing in the world that can make you happy as much as this relationship. So … excuse me if I won't buy your pretty speech; man ." Sam said, Rolling his eyes.
"Ok, let's say you're right but ... is it gonna be like that forever? With all the supernatural crap that we have to take care of … and the constant danger and chaos in this hunter life we have… I …"
"You what?" Sam asked when Dean didn't finish his sentence. He was lost in his thoughts, staring at this unknown point in the depth of the road. Finally he blew out his despair.
"I just can't let her fall for the things I know I can't provide for her. It's not fair, Sammy. It's not fair to lock her up in this dark life with me just because she loves me … especially while I know there is a whole bright future out there waiting for her."
"Here we go, the old Dean's self-doubt" Sam thought to himself as he took a deep breath before finding the best words to wake his brother up from this nightmare
"Yeah, I know but I don't think it's your call. If Y/n wants to go to hell with you instead of living in heaven with someone else, it's her choice. Not your responsibility. Right?"
Dean shook his head while his lips curved up a little to fake a smile but he never answered or said anything about that conversation ever again. He kept his silence for like three weeks … until someone new showed up: "Gary Smith". A tall man with the most stylish haircut and the most perfect teeth and smile.
They saw him for the first time at their hangout bar, as the new bartender who almost jumped in Y/n's way as soon as they entered the bar.
"Oh my God, bunny! Is this really you?" He said, pulling her in his embrace. Like she was the long time missing piece of his beloved puzzle!
"Bonny? You're wrong. Her name is Y/n." Dean said, pretty annoyed by the way Gary tightened his arms around Y/n's little shoulders, making him chuckle.
"No, uh … it's just a nickname." Y/n said as soon as the guy let her go.
"Yeah, actually the most fitting nickname that I could think of. I mean … you have to agree. She got the most cute little ears in the world." The guy explained, chuckling and pulling on her little star earring. Well, if Sam wanted to be honest, he had to agree with him. He never paid any attention to it before but now that Gary mentioned it, he could tell Y/n's ears were truly small.
"I see … So … I guess this means you were close friends?" Dean said, already hating the way Y/n e's blushed with hearing her old nickname.
"Uh … well, no. Actually more than that." The guy grinned, ruffling his own hair while he was awkwardly laughing and looking at Y/n. Just like a proud embarrassed teen!
"We used to date." Y/n said.
*oh* Sam tried his best not to let that stupid grin sit on his lips but Dean's frown and his sudden heavy silence didn't let him do so.
"Yeah. We are kinda each other's first. Like … you know? prom date." The man added, giving Y/n a wink while Dean's gaze was still locked on his large arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah. It's been years, Gary."
"I know. But believe me, bunny. you still look the same." He said, bending to put a kiss on her right cheek.
Dean would kill him. Sam just knew that. Because his brother's eyes were already burning with jealousy.
"By the way, don't you wanna tell me who these gentlemen are ?" The guy asked Y/n, giving her his softest smile.
"Of course. This is Sam and this is Dean. My colleagues who are my friends now. I live in their place."
After they met, everything got even more complicated. Y/n, the girl who was still trying to get old-happy-days Dean back suddenly stopped whatever she used to do. No more complains, no waiting at nights to see Dean before going to bed, no more effort to get involved in hunts, no nothing. And despite what Dean had claimed before, it was making Dean even more frustrated. Day to day he and Y/n were getting colder towards each other and there was nothing he could do to fix it. That was what made him even more furious. Sam already knew all of that and he still had to live with both of those grumpy faces. So last night when they began to fight, he could see this was coming: Y/n left the bunker after Dean let some hurtful things out of his mouth, just because he didn't know how to deal with all the heartache anymore. He now was convinced that Y/n didn't love him anymore. Yet the next day after drinking whatever strong drink they had, he begged Sam to come with him. Apparently Jodie texted Dean about Y/n being in her place for that night. Just to make sure that her crazy step son won't sell his soul over a tracking spell! So Dean almost begged his brother to be there with him, cause Dean believed that as much as Y/n didn't care about him, she still respected Sam and cared about him. Like a little sister and her elder brother.
So here they were, In Jodie's living room, in front of her and Y/n.
"Considering your sleepy eyes, I think we caught you at bed time, huh?" Sam asked, checking Y/n's obvious eye bags.
"Who says that? I'm totally good, Sam."
She said with a small smile, looking much more in control and stronger than before. So Sam knew it was a lie. Y/n Just had made her peace with what had happened last night. The realization۹ kicked Dean in the gut. Y/n always used to be stronger and bolder when she got hurt.
"I'm gonna make some coffee for us. Why don't you guys take a seat till I come back?"
Jodie interrupted, to ease the heavy and sharp silence that suddenly had fallen over all of them.
Y/n gave her a smile.
"Of course."
It was so fake. Her smile didn't even curl her lips completely. She was still badly hurting.
Sam swore in his head when he looked over his brother who sank silently into the nearest seat at the end of the table like a broken shell that he was too . One of Dean's hands was in the pocket of his jacket, the other formed a fist on the table. Sam was sure Dean knew it too. He knew everything was almost past saving. "Almost". Sam tried to stick to their small chance.
"So …" He cleared his voice before he put some (semi fake) hope into his words."You're … you're gonna come back home today or did Alex and Claire made you promise them otherwise?" He laughed and tried to make it funny but the truth was he asked this for Dean's sake, knowing he already was struggling to find the words … to let Y/n know how much he wanted her back … to ask her to come back.
"To be honest … I don't think I can live in the bunker anymore." Y/n said and as Dean's head snapped up to look at her in horror, she raised her hand to stop his (likely) protests.
"I applied for a job 3 weeks ago and to my surprise they called me this morning to tell me I'd actually got it."
*What?*
No one had to ask it. The question was already hung in the air. She snored mockingly in her nose. "Perfect timing, right?"
She moved her gaze from her interlocked fingers on the table to Dean's eyes.
He didn't answer, he didn't move but he got tense. Still staring back at Y/n.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Sam asked, once again saving Dean from asking the question he was itching to ask with some other words that for sure couldn't be nice.
"I wanted to but I didn't think I could actually get it and even if I did, I never figured out how to tell you. Besides, I never considered the "move out" option before..." She looked at Sam for a second before she turned her gaze on Dean. "... But I actually appreciate that you bring it up. I think now I can take the advice. I'm gonna move on."
Sam's heart dropped in his stomach when he heard those words. Because he knew what this meant. It felt something like having to watch Dean get stabbed in the heart.
"Is this … because of that Bartender?" Dean asked, staring deadly at Y/n with his bloodshot eyes. He was already chewing on his bottom lip. And Sam knew a heavy storm was on its way to hit them.
"I don't want to answer that question."
*shit*
"Why? Because you can't just simply say no?" Dean scolded and Sam could see how it pushed on Y/n boundaries.
"No. Because it's not your fucking business and it's not Gary's business either. But at least he knows his limits."
*well, fuck*
"By "limits" you mean when he drools on you just because for God knows whatever the reason, you started to wear leather jackets when we go there?"
"WHAT?!"
*Oh, fuck* Sam thought to himself, watching Y/n rise from her seat.
"You think … you really think that I …" she laughed nervously and Sam could tell she would punch Dean in the face if she wasn't a sweet, super nice person.
"How you can even …"
"I can even what, Y/n? Are we now going to pretend like I'm a blind man who can't see how you got attracted to your ex again? Did you really think I couldn't see how your hands were shaking when his filthy face lighted up by seeing you for the first time after all these years?"
Sam wanted to interrupt him or at least leave the room but everything was happening so fast.
"So what? Why and since when you care about my private life?"
"Since you stopped drinking bunker's beers just because you rather drink those crappy poisonous cocktails he makes at the bar!"
Dean was on his feet now as well. And despite his will, Sam couldn't stop his smile. He never saw his brother this jealous before. It was fun.
"Poisonous? … You … of all people, you are the one who says this? cause as much as I know, you're the one who puts dormitives in my guest's food so the poor guy gets tired and can't spend his time with me!"
"Yeah, because your poor guy is not welcomed in MY PLACE!" Dean yelled, punching the table with so much power that made everyone almost jump out of their skins.
"Dean!" Finally Sam interrupted but as soon as he stood up, someone rang the doorbell and Sam could hear Jodie welcoming someone inside.
"Guys … I know it's not my place to interfere but you two really need to sort things out somewhere private … of course that's when both of you can be much calmer than this."
"No, we have nothing to say or to talk about, anymore. Your brother was clear enough when he said he wants me to move out, so I'll move out. And that's it."
Y/n declared, looking at Sam to resist any eye contact with Dean, probably to make him even more crazy.
"And that's it? You wanna ignore that part where you were too eager and ready to accept that suggestion and leave the bunker instantly like your pants were on fire?!"
Dean retorted while Y/n was shaking her head like she couldn't believe him.
"Whose pants are on fire?" Jodie interrupted as soon as she re-entered the room with the coffees she'd made, this time a man was with her. Y/n's guy. The famous bartender.
*Oh, No!*
Sam sighed, closing his eyes for a second so the guy couldn't read his face.
"Obviously not mine." Dean hissed through his teeth, looking first at the guy and then at Y/n with such a disappointment and rage that no one could ignore.
"Hey, what's wrong?" The guy asked, choosing the worst spot to stand on: right next to Y/n.
"My typical life I guess. Nothing's new." She mumbled in reply to him but her eyes were still on Dean.
"No, nothing is wrong with your life, Y/n. It's about your choices. That's what's wrong with you. As always." Dean said bitterly. As sharp as a knife, as cold as ice. Sam could see how it drained color from Y/n's face.
"You better watch your mouth, buddy." The Gary guy warned Dean and Sam could tell that if it wasn't for the sudden thud sound that stole everyone's attention, Dean would throw a fight right there. But …
"Y/n!" Jodie almost screamed. Y/n was laying on the floor, seemingly unconscious.
"Oh, God." Sam said as Jodie rushed to her.
"Y/n? … Y/n can you hear me?"
As she sat next to her, Gary's fingers already were on Y/n's carotid pulse point. So Sam couldn't stop himself from looking up at his brother, who was still standing where he was. In shock.
"Oh, shit!" Gary's worried voice made Sam check Y/n's pale face again but Jodie was the one to dare ask the question which was on everyone's minds.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Her pulse ... too faint." He said before turning to Dean: "Is she bleeding?"
"Bleeding?" Dean blinked and mumbled in confusion.
If it was up to Sam, he'd ask *What bleeding?* & *Why are you asking this from my brother?*
"Oh my. You still don't know. Do you?" Gary sneered.
"Know what? What's happening?" Jodie was freaking out now and Sam actually felt the same. He didn't like the way this stranger pretended like he knew her better than them. However what happened next was much more unexpected. And … rude!
To everyone's surprise, the guy reached out to Y/n's jeans and drew his hand between her legs but before anyone could react, he spread her legs open so it could be possible for everyone to see that big red stain there. Then he raised his hand. It was all wet and red in blood!
"She's having a miscarriage." He revealed.
Sam's gaze instantly caught Dean's ... Burning. Dean was burning inside with his heavy silence.
"Don't you worry. It's not mine." Gary added more fuel to that hell with such a mocking tone, staring right back at Dean's eyes.
Now Sam could feel it. The storm was there: rising in his brother's roar!
Before Sam could've moved any muscles, Gary was already pinned to the wall, Dean's hands on his now-ripped-out collar.
"Dean, no!" Sam jumped in, trying to catch his brother's arm before his fist make any contact with the guy's nose but all he could do was changing the direction of the punch which landed on Gary's shoulder, making a painful cracking sound.
"I said no … Dean, stop it." Sam had to literally cage Dean in his arms so the furious man couldn't tear Gary apart.
"Get off me, Sam. This son of a bitch has to learn his place."
"Enough!" As Dean just broke himself free, Jodie's scream stopped everyone in their tracks.
"It's enough!" Jodie warned all three men, pointing at them one by one.
"You want to fight? Not here. Not in my house!"
"But ..."
As soon as Dean opened his mouth to protest, Jodie cut him:
"And you … you should know Y/n is pregnant with your twins. So … you'll be a responsible man who will try his best to save them or you can get the hell out of here and never come back!"
"What?" Sam was too shocked to suppress his reaction while Dean couldn't even find any words to say. His confused look darted between Jodie's face and Y/n's figure while his parted lips kept moving without making any noise, just like a dying fish on the shore!
"I promised her not to tell anyone but it was a promise under normal conditions, not this." Jodie sighed, struggling to keep her emotions under control. Sam saw the worry in her frown. Like a real mother, worried for her children. However it was nothing in comparison to his brother's blank eyes and pale face.
"Dean, It's ok. We just need to take her to hospital. … it's ok, man. I promise."
He had to grab Dean by his jacket, as his brother was struggling to process all of these in his head.
"Come on, man. We got no time. Do I need to do this alone or you'll …"
"Get the car, Sammy."
It was just a simple sentence. Yet it had enough power to make Sam's heart sank. Since Dean had put the car keys in his hand saying that, Sam couldn't stop thinking about that tone. Dean never had called Baby a "car" In years. And Sam had never heard that crack in his voice since their Dad's death.
"You ok?" He finally let himself ask, two hours after they arrived at the hospital.
"I want to be." Dean closed his eyes and put his head against the cold wall, letting the dim light to darken the shadows under his eyes.
"I'm sure she'll be good. She's strong, Dean. You know that."
He smiled and Sam looked away not to watch him. He knew that smile. Dean used to give him that, whenever everything was gone so wrong that Dean couldn't promise him anything good. Like when both of them were still kids. Hungry, cold and all alone in a rusty motel room where John had left them on their own for a one day long hunt but then a heavy snow had crashed the roads and kept them apart for half a week. So Dean had to wash the dishes and do the laundry in the motel to rent the room for another day and provide some snacks so they wouldn't starve to death. But after three days, the hotel managers didn't want them to be around. And Sam could vividly remember that smile on his brother's face when he asked: *Where should we go then?*
"You were always such a father material. You know?"
Sam admitted with a broken smile on his face.
"You were always responsible, kind and caring with me as a kid. And I can't imagine anyone who deserves to be a father more than you."
Dean took a deep breath and opened his eyes without looking at him: "But I don't want ... I really can't, Sammy."
All, it certainly wasn't the response Sam had expected. He used to believe that Dean would never turn down any chance to start a family with Y/n. Especially after everything in the world was back to normal.
"Are you kidding me? You always wanted this."
"No …" Dean finally turned his gaze to meet his brother's confused eyes. "No, Sammy. Not like this. I don't want to raise another kid without his mom. I'm not that strong anymore."
Dang. Once again Sam's heart dropped in his stomach. Dean was really helpless.
"Mr. Winchester?"
Dean was on his feet as Sam just realized the doctor's presence.
"It's me."
Sam prayed for any good news as doctor took a glance of Dean and fixed his glasses on his face …
"To be continued …"
READ CHAPTER 2 HERE
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The next and also ultimate chapter will post on Sunday, April 25. Thanks for reading.
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#dean x reader#dean winchester x reader#dean x ofc#dean x you#dean winchester#allyswritingevent#Acklesterritory#dean winchester x ofc#dean x y/n#dean winchester x you
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We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:
Sekhmet, the Goddess of War & Vengeance, whose origins stem from Ancient Egypt. She is now a City Council member and the owner of Visión / Ilusión.
FC NAME/GROUP: Kim Hyoyeon / Girls' Generation GOD NAME: Sekhmet PANTHEON: Egyptian OCCUPATION: Owner of Visión / Ilusión, Council Member DEFINING FEATURES: Sekhmet is immediately recognizable through her sharp, killer gaze. Though her frame is smaller than others, she is agile and moves gracefully, sweeping the air with a subtle ominous aura and scenting her surroundings with musk released from her long, straight locks, usually varying between a bright blonde from her lioness persona, and a jet black that offers a preview of the dark, doomed fate one will fall into after rubbing the goddess in the wrong way.
PERSONALITY: Sekhmet is quick – quick to act, quick to react, and quick to lose her temper. She remains on her feet and leads an active lifestyle to curb the blood thirst that stubbornly remains even after the age of war, battle and bloodshed. Her natural wartime instincts now converted to constant wariness and doubt of everyone and everything, and she always questions one’s intentions.
Yet this part of her is also balanced out by her gentler, more sympathetic side. Once worshipped as a patron deity of physicians and healers, Sekhmet can bring comfort, both physical and emotional, to those who are in need and have secured her absolute trust. Once a goddess associated to widespread disease and horror, who threatening to wipe out the entire humanity just to quench her blood thirst, she lives in an age where such sentiments were no longer acceptable nor necessary, and she began to become fascinated in seeing and experience the mundane, daily little pleasures she shall discover in her eternal life. Besides, constantly letting instincts run wild and letting fits of extreme rage ruin her days didn’t sound like the ideal lifestyle for Sekhmet today. Sometimes, feigning a sweet demeanor to watch a string of events unfold sounds like a fun way to pass time.
Although Sekhmet is definitely not a benevolent goddess by any means, she looks down upon and will always punish sly, plotting individuals. Everything she did, even her bad deeds, were done with dignity and pride, and any cheating or fraud of any kind is unacceptable in Sekhmet’s world. Of course, old habits die hard, and the goddess remains within her core her vengeful nature. Act with respect towards her, and she will return the favor with grace and generosity, but do her wrong and be prepared to meet the worst of fates possible.
HISTORY: An enraged Ra, God of Gods, having had enough of humankind plotting against him and going against the laws of ma'at, tore the cobra from the uraeus on his head and turned it into a lioness-headed goddess. Sekhmet was thrown into life, quite literally, and she believed it was because of that she was destined to be a goddess of great things. Everything substantial originated from her; war, chaos, plague, and even the unforgivingly scorching heat from the sun and her breath. She before whom evil trembles was revered and feared by all upon the land, and great measures were taken by worshippers to keep her appeased in order to avoid atrocities.
On certain days, she found herself unable to control her urge to destroy. On one of her usual missions to wipe out all men who were against Ra, she couldn’t stop killing until Ra fooled her with blood-colored beer that flowed in the rivers. On other days, she graced mankind with her powers to heal, offering antidotes for the deadly diseases she spread in fits of rage.
Both the benevolent and the malicious wanted so much from her, and Sekhmet knew whatever they wanted, she could give. Showered with luxurious offerings she’d never run out of in her eternal lifetime, her bloodlust only grew, and for eternities and more, Sekhmet would provoke wars of all scales, and spread deadly diseases that killed people in the most gruesome means. To stop her in her tracks, worshippers from all walks of life would step up their offering game, but the ones who prayed for victory in battle often outshone the others; and this is how the world came to be, settling their problems through good old-fashioned combat.
Therefore when the world gradually moved towards a time of rational debate over war, eradication of diseases with vaccinations, Sekhmet became restless, and questioned her purpose of life as her sole function began to become less relevant in the modern world. Perhaps it was time to shift her image and seek a new purpose in life, and while she had no dreams of making the world a better place, she wanted to place a certain type of order upon it that rang true to her values. Where would be a good place to start?
Perhaps somewhere small, where people would know who she was.
POWERS:
Solar/Fire/Heat Manipulation - As a descendent of Ra, God of the Sun, Sekhmet possesses the abilities that of a solar deity. Although the spectrum of her powers do not extend as far and wide when compared to a proper solar deity, she can manipulate lunar energy and make the use of fire and heat to a masterful extent.
War Manipulation - As a Goddess of War, Sekhmet has the supreme ability to manipulate all aspects of what leads up to a war, events during a war, and the aftermath of a war. This ranges from manipulating emotions that provoke conflict, manipulating the lands in which battles take place, the luck of any preferred winner, and much more.
Lioness Physiology - Sekhmet is represented by a lioness in ancient folklore, so she embodies the physical qualities of a lioness, first of all including the ability to shapeshift into one. When in lioness form, she will possess all physical and mental properties a strong lioness would otherwise possess.
Enhanced Archery/Swordsmanship - A self-explanatory trait, Sekhmet excels in the arts of weaponry, and can produce, use and manipulate weapons with skill and ease.
Disease Manipulation and Healing - Sekhmet can spread diseases of any kind, big or small, and can also offer antidotes for the diseases she spreads. On the other hand, she can heal illnesses, those to do with pathogens and internal medicine more effectively than those of a more mechanical or surgical nature.
Blood Empowerment - Sekhmet does not need to consume blood to survive, but she enjoys it and gains vitality and “pep” from drinking it, very much like alcohol or drugs.
STRENGTHS: Honest and straight to the point; observant and perceptive, and can usually spot nuances others cannot; generous with a punchy (if not slightly dark) sense of humor
WEAKNESSES: Brutally honest without a filter; obsessed with obtaining respect from others; stubborn, unwilling to compromise and is almost attracted to conflict; uses alcohol and drugs carelessly, and finds herself more violent and vengeful when under the influence
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why do u like carla
Unimportant Information: I am an INFJ personality girl and these personality people are fond of coldest & serious characters/ppl out there most of the time? For example, Carla's personality I believe INTP and that tends to be very 'alike' or similar and compatible with my personality type :P Ik I sound like a hella NERD but I like Naraku as #1 Character in Inuyasha. Don't ask me why skjskjsk
Past / Background
Carla's past story or BG story is probably be the main reason I like him the most. He had a very TRAGIC past and I really cry each time I see him having a mixing emotion regarding his father Gishbach's torture on him. He really tried his best for being acknowledged and praised by his father...Altho his mother was always there to support him. and it kinda also reminds of my own life situation and goals And also shin's view point regarding Carla in past...but the truth Carla really cares about shin as a perfect brother. I like the bond between Carla and Shin as brothers way more than Mukamis. And also the time when he killed his father was also sad for me. In short, Carla's BG story was most interesting one for me.
Talent /Skills /Strengths
Carla is born-talented with powers as it was told by Krone, which is very powerful compared to his father or other First-blood races. In a training with his father, Carla really mastered a strong magic power(?) which his aged races couldn't do and Gishbach was highly jealous and astonished about that and knocks him out senseless following on. He is also very good in sword, and basically in all the things that ought to be required for a king. He also loves to read books which is absolutely amazing I guess. He is also very artistic person, ae he likes landscapes paintings. He also has a very sharp nerve as it was told my Yui in CL. He is also great in English (grammar) shown in DF. Like yo,,,there are 100s+ and I will get tired if i type everything lmao!
He is also exceptionally good in chess, probably be more or equivalent to Reiji. In Reiji's route, I could clearly say how cold-headed and planned tactics Carla made to beat down Reiji. He said - "99% of the chess is strategy" and it has become my most fav quote ever lol. Altho it's very basic thing to know for a chess-player/lover like me. And then Reiji mentioned after that there's something where he and Carla are very alike...(Which is they both wanted to be acknowledged and praised.) Bringing Reiji here cuz he is my #2 bias forever
His Kindness
For the DL fans who haven't played his route yet might haven't notice that much but, Carla is a very kind person. In LP, I really liked those moment when he saved Yui even though knowing he is gotta get effected by the poison twice in Zatan's mouth. Also when Carla told Aji not to kill the snake which seizing the antidote outta that,,,,although it was the biggest bother in that route lmao. In LE, also when he didn't punish or yell at a ghoul child for injuring him etc etc. Even tho he finds sometimes difficult to understand ppl,,,but he is very kind inside at the same time.
His appearance
Okay—I fall in love with his dress and everything hjsksks. I personally see his style very unique, meanwhile goes well with his kind of person who said "I don't dresses which exposes skin too much like a shameless." Every single outfits, especially dark fate and lost eden. Also like the way he manages his hair and scarf. Idk how to specify lol, I really like every single thing. His hair, eyes, body and EVERYTHING AAAa-
His Voice
I always find deep and dark voice very calming, and carla's voice is such a soothing version of it. I am a big fan of Toshiyuki and most of the otoge characters that I stan is voiced by him uvu. Ik some ppl think Carla's voice sounds like he is around 60+,,,but I never thought of him like that and will I be ever. His voice suits pretty decent with his sharp gaze and cold atmosphere. I luv him voice, so much like literally music in my ears.
His love towards Yui
Although his main attraction towards Yui/MC was developed in Maniac epilogue,,,pretty late but it worth it very much. I was like really surprised that how lovely and affectionate he could be...wow. The hands that was more likely to choke her was now the only place Yui could belong. Also he was jealous when he saw Reiji taught him that English thing on that notebook before. Despite being sadistic, he has a soft heart inside and—always cares about Yui and protects her. He can also catch Yui's mood or thoughts easily by observing her expressions and face.
I am tired-this is just the top reasons that popped out in my mind lol. I can write a newspaper tbh,,how much i love him and my reason for that. Not only romantically but...i really do learn many things from and it is the most inspiration in achieving my goals and especially study purposes sjsksjk
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Crooked Kingdom Review 🕰️
Holy shit.
(spoiler warning, duh)
Book: Crooked Kingdom (Book 2 of the Six of Crows Duology)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Rating: 5.5/5
The Plot
This book took me a bit longer to finish because I wanted to absorb as much of the plot as possible because of how much action there was. Every chapter had something going wrong (cough cough part 4) which made it impossible to put the book down. Some parts literally had my heart racing.
There were a lot of interesting moments and I would hardly say they were predictable. At some parts of the book I literally had to just...sit there and just think about how incredible the twists were. I never expected anything to happen, and the way things played out in the end were mind-blowing. I loved the way the plot expanded and it was very satisfying when the book ended.
The Characters
"Where do you think the money went?" he repeated.
"Guns?" asked Jesper
"Ships?" queried Inej.
"Bombs?" suggested Wylan.
"Political bribes?" offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. "This is where you tell us how awful we are," she whispered.
I fell in love with every single character and watching them grow made me so happy. I think personally I loved Kaz Brekker the most in this book because you really got to see how his trauma left him scarred, as well as how skillful he really is when it came to the missions. The smallest details of Kaz's character just built him into such an awesome character. His backstory expanded, explaining so many things that I didn't even think I needed to know until I read them. Plus the fact that he basically wrote the book. Leigh made up the idea for the plot and Kaz said "I'll take it from here".
"I don't hold a grudge. I cradle it. I coddle it. I feed it fine cuts of meat and send it to the best schools. I nurture my grudges, Rollins"
And that was what destroyed you in the end: the longing for something you could never have.
Inej stole my heart again and again and for what. She really is such a well-built character with amazing determination. The beginning literally had me shaking (It was also the part of the book that had my heart-racing) because I really felt for Inej. Leigh also wrote Inej's kidnapped chapters perfectly, it felt so real. Her showdown with White Blade was so beautifully written and honestly Dunyasha was such a cool character I almost wish she was developed into something more rather than killed.
Anyway, Inej holds a place in my heart and it was refreshing to have such an in depth character, from her history at the Menagerie, to her references of her culture (which were so beautiful). It really made her stand out from the rest of the crew and she was just an incredible character.
"That was how you survived when you weren't chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway."
"The Suli believe that when we do wrong, we give life to our shadows. Every sin makes the shadow stronger, until eventually the shadow is stronger than you."
Her heart was a river that carried her to the sea.
Jesper was the character I resonated the most with. His backstory was so interesting and structured, but simple. I did enjoy the appearance of his father because it added an element of Jesper's character we didn't see much of before. We got to learn his backstory and learn about his relationship with his father. His unhealthy habits was also something I resonated with so it comforted me to be able to understand this character and connect with him. Also, I love the fact that his ADHD was given more attention to show how and why he dealt with situations the way he did. Also, when he bent the direction of the bullet at the last part...chills. He's my ultimate comfort character and I loved getting to know him.
Guilt and love and resentment were all tangled up inside him, and every time he tried to unravel the knot in his gut, it just got worse.
There's a wound in you, and the tables, the dice, the cards--they feel like medicine. They soothe you, put you right for a time. But they're poison, Jesper. Every time you play, you take another sip.
Nina was definitely one of my favorite characters to see grow. The creativity that was put into her powers was amazing and she was just such a badass. She could literally raise fuckers from the DEAD????? That shit made me lose my mind like how powerful can she GET. She was definitely an awesome character and I really wished we got some more on her powers and her story after they got their money.
She was the Queen of Mourning, and in its depths, she would never drown.
Wylan...sweet Wylan. I love him so much it hurts. He was such an entertaining character and his courage was awesome, he really stood out from the rest of the characters because of how different he was from all of them. He also admired all of the crows and was treated like a little brother by all of them which was so cute. The character development went from "Why am I here?" to "How can I help?" and I loved seeing him become a part of the crows. Also in that last scene where he's just leaning against the wall, beat the fuck up, was so good SAINTS.
Wylan summoned every bit of bravado he'd learned from Nina, the will he'd learned from Matthias, the focus he'd studied in Kaz the courage he'd learned from Inej, and the wild, reckless hope, he'd learned from Jesper, the belief that no matter the odds, somehow they would win.
But they were his first friends, his only friends, and Wylan knew that even if he’d had his pick of a thousand companions, these would have been the people he chose.
Matthias back with his long ass chapters (until chapter 40 LOL) (i'm so sorry that was outta pocket). Anyway, I still had meh feelings for him but I loved him and Nina's relationship. Yes, I shed a few tears when he died that shit hurt come on now. I did like to see his protective side and him overcoming his fears and past beliefs. The character development in him was immaculate.
He was on the ice once more, and somewhere he could hear the wolves howling. But this time, he knew they were welcoming him home.
The Ships
Kanej: cries. literally in tears. bawling my eyes out. throughout the entire book. THEY HELD HANDSSSSSS, HE OPENED UP TO HERRRRR, THE SHIPPPP AND THE PARENTSSSSSSSS AHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY HEARTTTTTT
I would come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together--knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.
Wesper: adorable adorable adorable. my favorite gay mfs in the world. Jesper is such a fucking flirt though he had ME blushing. Also when Jesper kissed Kuwei HAHAHA WHATTT, the way Kuwei was like 😏 had me gone. Anyway, the chemistry between these two was something else (so much better than in the first book) and the ending with them was wholesome I'm so happy they got the happy ending.
Wylan shrugged. “Maybe. Not all poisons have an antidote.” Jesper snorted. “That’s why we call him Wylan Van Sunshine.”
This was the kiss he’d been waiting for. It was a gunshot. It was prairie fire. It was the spin of Makker’s Wheel. Jesper felt the pounding of his heart—or was it Wylan’s?—like a stampede in his chest, and the only thought in his head was a happy, startled, Oh. (<3)
Helnik: cries. again. sobs. This one hurt me so bad, I literally was just sitting in my bed staring at the wall, book in hand, crying. They had such a beautiful relationship and they grew so much together it HURT. The way Matthias was so protective of Nina and was always worrying about her. They planned their future together in their heads all the time. They were SO HAPPY WHY COULDN"T THEY JUST BE HAPPY.
They deserved the world.
I will always protect you, even in death, I will find a way.
You aren't a flower, you're every blossom in the wood blooming at once. You are a tidal wave. You are a stampede. You are overwhelming.
Final Thoughts:
My final thoughts are scattered throughout the review, but overall this book took everything from Six of Crows and made it better. It broke me, made me laugh, had me angry as fuck, but it also left me feeling like I knew these characters and they knew me. It really was so much better than the first book in so many different levels and I will never get over this book. Truly better than waffles.
#crooked kindgom#kaz brekker#six of crows#kanej#the crows#jesper fahey#wylan van sunshine#inej ghafa#kuwei yul bo#pekka rollins#no mourners no funerals#kaz x inej#soc#book review#booklr#helnik#wesper#mathias helvar#queen of mourning#grishaverse
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Wizards Hearts Recs: Healer!Draco
Wizards Hearts was a four-month-long Drarry reading fest. Players were given a playing deck of 52 tropes, and were asked to find 52 different fics to read and comment on to fill their decks. To prevent the same few fics from being read, fics were restricted to only being used for the game three times before being considered ineligible for further points. The tropes and submissions list can be found here.
Check out the masterlist of fics for this trope below the cut!
📜 The Four Doors by fluxweed Rated: Explicit Words: 48845 Tags: Mind Healer Draco Malfoy, Legilimency (Harry Potter), Memory Loss, Memory Magic, Sexual Fantasy, Masturbation, Power Imbalance, Auror Harry Potter, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, Dubious Consent Due To Patient/Healer Dynamic, Mind Fucking (Literally), Not Epilogue Compliant, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE Summary: It’s been four months since Harry lost his memory. Four months of dead ends and no answers. With time running out until his memories are gone for good, Harry agrees to a course of Legilimency therapy with a renowned specialist: Mind Healer Draco Malfoy. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Where The Falcons Fly by MyNameIsThunder Rated: Mature Words: 283177 Tags: Healer Draco Malfoy, Seeker Harry Potter, Quidditch, accidental magic, Blood and Injury, Not Epilogue Compliant, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Post-Hogwarts, Scars, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Whump, POV Third Person Limited, Mutual Pining, Power Couple, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Eventual Fluff Summary: Where the Falcons fly, there’s blood. Where Draco goes, there usually is too. That’s his job, after all – heal morons and the people who get in their way. He could deal with that, he thinks, if only there wasn’t Harry fucking Potter, Seeker, who gets injured a lot even by the Falcons’ standards and seems to have made a habit of inserting himself in Draco’s private life. Draco just wants to heal people – normal people, that is – and do his research in peace. Well, when does he ever get what he wants? ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 A Better Kind of Love by MalenkayaCherepakha Rated: Explicit Words: 25768 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, St Mungo's Hospital, Hospitals, discussion of injuries, Broken Bones, Injury Recovery, Skele-Gro, Physical Therapy, Nightmares, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Quidditch, Masturbation, Rimming, Shower Sex, Locker Room Sex, Semi-Public Sex, H/D Erised 2020 Summary: Harry, along with the rest of the Puddlemere United team, is determined that this year will be the year they finally win the Quidditch League Cup. But when a Bludger-induced fall leads to a missed Snitch, broken bones, and an extended stay in St Mungo's, that conviction is put to the test. If Harry wants to have any chance of returning to the pitch this season he has to put all of his faith in his assigned Healer. Which is no easy task when that Healer is Draco Malfoy. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Meet Cute by rewmariewrites Rated: Teen and Up Words: 4203 Tags: Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, St Mungo's Hospital, Hospitals, Healer Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, POV Draco Malfoy, Pining Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry is a Little Shit, Banter Summary: It may be important to note that Draco Malfoy meets the love of his life when he is twenty-five years old. Well. In the spirit of fairness, that statement is both technically inaccurate and incredibly vague. Draco isn’t just twenty-five years old, when he meets the love of his life, he’s also in his fourth year of the Healing Programme at St. Mungo’s, and this isn't actually the first time they've ever met. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Don't Waste Your Eyes on Jealous Guys by EvAEleanor Rated: Mature Words: 9667 Tags: MACUSA | Magical Congress of the United States of America, Auror Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, Roadtrips, Music, Implied Sexual Content, on the bonnet of a car, Pining, jealous boyfriend, mentions of Abusive Relationship (emotionally and verbally), First Kiss, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Hopeful Ending, Choose Your Own Ending, Touch, hearing, TasteofSmut 2020, First Time, Bittersweet Ending Summary: For two years now, Harry’s life has been different. Not only does he work in New York City as the Auror liaison to MACUSA on an international murder case, but he’s seen more of Draco Malfoy than he’d ever thought possible. Working with him, and spending time with him after work. During all of this time, Harry has watched Draco going back to his shitty boyfriend over and over again. The worst thing about all of this, he’d fallen in love with him. Maybe there’s hope for Harry though. Maybe for just one night... ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 All is NOT well... by iStiz Rated: Mature Words: 65500 Tags: HP: EWE, Not Epilogue Compliant, Slow Build, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship, Healer Draco Malfoy, Quidditch, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Physical Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Depression, Substance Abuse, Rehabilitation, Cuddling & Snuggling, Mild Sexual Content, vague sexual content, Happy Ending Summary: The war may be over but all is NOT well. Harry feels lost, the Ministry is still trying to control him, his friendships with Ron is rocky at best, he doesn't sleep enough, and then there's Draco Malfoy. Things haven't turned out quite the way Harry expected them to, but at least he still has Hermione to help him (and maybe some new friends if he can trust letting them into his life). ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Harry Potter and the elusive day off by pleasebekidding Rated: Explicit Words: 71753 Tags: Sleep disorders, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, in all honesty this has a bunch of pain, problematic therapist/patient stuff, mind healer!draco, auror!Harry, no seriously the therapist/patient stuff is super problematic but welcome to fanfic, Child Abuse Summary: Auror Potter needs a fucking break. He is wiped. He is exhausted. He probably didn't intend to put himself into a magical coma but these things happen. And who cares, really? He is comfortable in a house where he has hidden away all the shit he can't deal with. Guaritore Christopher Black is an exceptional psychiatrist with a specialisation in sleep disorders. He is also Draco Malfoy in a Glamour. Minister Hermione Granger knows the dangers and the complications, but she needs her best friend back. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 oxygen by MaesterChill Rated: Teen and Up Words: 4065 Tags: Healer Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Post-Hogwarts, Smoking, Cigarettes, Talking, Breathing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Minor Character Death, A Kiss, Fanart, POV Second Person Summary: Draco doesn’t smoke. Except when he needs to breathe. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Indebtedness by RecIt_Ralph Rated: Teen and Up Words: 50685 Tags: HP: EWE, Healer Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Slow Build, Fluff and Angst, forgiving Harry, Chaptered, My First Fanfic, Swearing, Snark, Eventual Happy Ending, Second Chances, Getting to Know Each Other Summary: Of all the Healers in all of St Mungo's - why does Harry always end up with Malfoy? ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Best Laid Plans by CreateImagineWrite Rated: Explicit Words: 10105 Tags: Marriage Proposal, Lust Potion/Spell, Secret Relationship, Anal Sex, Established Relationship, Barebacking Summary: He hadn’t intended to be fully clothed with Harry naked at this point, or to have just made him take an antidote to a poison or have had to Incarcerus him to the bed. But they’ve never had a very normal relationship anyways. And damn him if he’s going to let Ginevra Weasley get in the way of him marrying this man. Fourshot. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Iustitia & Prudentia by skeptique Rated: Explicit Words: 36302 Tags: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Post-War, Auror Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, Bisexual Harry Potter, Gay Draco Malfoy, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Mental Health Issues, Everyone is going to Therapy, Taking their Meds, Calling Their Person, Slow Burn, Procedural That's Fairly Light on the Procedural Part, Canon Content Warnings Apply, brief discussion of infertility, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Discussion of Ongoing Food Related Issues, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Canon Typical Violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Pansexual Theo Nott, Case Fic, Mystery, Draco Malfoy in Glasses, Minor Character Death Summary: Draco Malfoy’s entire life fell apart after the War. He’s putting it back together as best he can with what is available to him. But Harry keeps interfering and won’t leave him alone. When he agrees to be an Auror consultant to help Harry, is it more than he bargained for? The world shifted under Harry Potter’s feet and he found himself lost and purposeless. He anchors himself in uncovering the truth about a dangerous pureblood terrorist group. Is Draco the key to solving these crimes, or is he a distraction? ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 To Do No Harm by Lokifan Rated: Explciit Words: 58114 Tags: Post-Hogwarts, HP: EWE, Quidditch, Getting Together, Getting Back Together, Hurt/Comfort, Recovering From The War And Becoming Better People, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, Community: hd_erised, Break Up Summary: Draco hadn’t planned to end up as team Healer for the Chudley Cannons, but it’s a Healer job, so he’ll take it - and then Potter shows up, the glorious centre-of-attention Seeker, as ever. And someone with a grudge is sabotaging Quidditch teams, and it’s only a matter of time before the Aurors’ eyes turn to Draco. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 To Prove We're Not in a Rut by gracerene Rated: Explicit Words: 2140 Tags: Established Relationship, Post-Hogwarts, Healer Draco, POV Harry Potter, Bottom Harry, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Wall Sex, well it's actually against a door, Top Draco, Bottom Harry Potter, Top Draco Malfoy Summary: Draco and Harry are not in a rut. Draco sets out to prove it. ❤️ Read on AO3
📜 Tell Me the End at the Beginning by harryromper Rated: Teen and Up Words: 36591 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, St Mungo's Hospital, Healer Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Auror Hermione Granger, Christmas, Christmas Tree, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Christmas Presents, Christmas Decorations, 25 Days of Harry and Draco, Food Hall Turkeys, Advent Calendar, Healer Luna Lovegood, Kreacher, Minor Neville Longbottom/Ginny Weasley, Yule Logs, Misheard Christmas carols Summary: St Mungo’s is the last place anyone wants to spend the festive season. Harry finds himself there anyway. Or: Harry's an Auror suspended from duty, Malfoy's wearing the hell out of three-piece suits, Hermione is entirely over everything, and Kreacher just wants to be left alone to decorate for Christmas. ❤️ Read on AO3
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blood 2 - Strange/Stark!Reader
Relationship: Dr. Strange/Princess!Stark!Reader
Rating: M
Warnings: Adult Themes, eventual smut (like, wayyy down the line), adult language, implied sexual violence, general violence
Synopsis: Reader is the daughter of the legendary King Anthony Stark, Uniter of Lands, The Iron Defender, and leader of the realm. When the king disappears during battle, hope is lost and he is presumed dead.
When the late king’s uncle, Obadiah, takes the throne until your brother Peter is of age, he quickly arranges a marriage for you with a wicked king in a neighboring kingdom.
With the realms politics in question, and rumors of an upcoming siege to overthrow Peter’s rule before it starts, you quickly learn who is loyal to the crown and who is not.
part 1 - part 3
Masterlist
Chapter Playlist
2 - a night at the pub
You parted from Stephen the moment you saw Natalia and James in the crowd at the pub. They were sipping from large beer steins, listening to a bard sing a sorrowful song about the death of the great Iron Defender.
When the music ended and the pub applauded, the entertainer switched to something more upbeat to soothe the mood.
“A bit sentimental for you two, isn’t it?” you asked, pulling back your cloak. Stephen had transfigured your overbearing mourning garb into something that would better fit in the village.
“How on earth did you slip out tonight?” James asked in surprise, brows raised to his hairline. “I would’ve though t they’d have had you under lock and key.”
“Everyone’s a bit... distracted, believe it or not,” you replied coolly, taking a seat at their table toward the back of the room.
“So we hear,” Natalia leaned in. “Any news of the next king? I have a wager with the barkeep’s wife.”
“Anthony has an uncle who still lives,” Stephen supplied, taking a seat at your side. “Or so my companions informed me. Until Peter is of age, he would be the presumptive heir.”
“What do we know about him?” Natalia asked quietly, lowering her head conspiratorially.
“Nothing,” you replied with a long sigh. “He’s been at the winter palace my whole life.”
“Nothing suspicious about that,” James shrugged and took a swallow of his drink. “Nat, what do ya think about Asgard this time of year?”
“Stop up James,” the redhead nudged her companion and returned her attention to you and Stephen. “And if he doesn’t give up the job in six months?”
“He is removed,” Stephen replied bluntly.
“Yikes, you’re scary, did you know that?” James murmured.
“I’ve been told,” the sorcerer grunted, flagging down a barmaid for a drink. He could already tell it was going to be a long night.
“Don’t forget, you owe me,” you reminded him.
“Lose a bet?” Natalia asked in amusement, eye rating between the duo.
“I caught him enchanting my tea without permission,” you replied.
“Uh oh, broke the one rule,” Natalia mused, watching Strange for a reaction.
“It was a protection spell, hardly worth mentioning, I cast them over the princess all the time,” he snorted under his breath.
“All the time?” James asked in a voice low enough that only Stephen could hear.
“That’s dangerous conjecture, Barnes,” Stephen warned. “My responsibilities include keeping my student, who happens to be the princess, safe.”
“If we were being honest, if I were kidnapped or traded away, it wouldn’t do much to the kingdom,” you reasoned, eagerly grabbing the first mug of ale before Stephen could take a sip. He waved a hand over the drink, ensuring it hadn’t been poisoned, before you took a long swallow. “Peter is the one who has to stay safe. Who knows where we’d be without a true heir?”
“You know that’s ridiculous,” Nat snorted. “Gods, you’re so dramatic sometimes.”
“My father’s funeral was today, give me a little sympathy,” you huffed in response, taking another swig of your drink.
“To King Anthony,” James stood up, his voice bellowing through the pub. You ducked your head down into Stephen’s shoulder while onlookers cheered and joined in the toast. “May he rest in peace!”
The pub shouted in response, with steins clinking against one another and another song starting up.
“We’re trying to draw attention away from the princess, you oaf,” Natalia muttered tersely toward James.
“Who would be looking for her here?” the brunette assassin shrugged. “Besides, no one would be able to slip past the three of us.”
Stephen snorted under his breath, giving the room a quick glance to ensure any unwanted attention hadn’t been drawn toward them. James did have a point. Someone in hiding would seldom encourage a room to drink.
Besides, he looked over at you laughing over something Natalia had said, you were genuinely smiling for the first time in weeks. The risk was worth a little relief.
He nursed at his drink while you signaled for another round for yourself and your friends. Stephen did well to avoid becoming drunk in your presence, mostly for your protection, but also as a means of avoiding embarrassing himself in front of you.
The last thing he needed was you armed with an artillery of teasing that he couldn’t even recall.
As the booze flowed and the music picked up, James grabbed your hand and pulled you to the center of the room, dancing with some of the villagers to the upbeat song.
Stephen watched, almost transfixed by the way you spun and twirled so lightheartedly to the sounds. As if you hadn’t a care in the world, and your life was back to the simpler time when he’d first met you.
“You’re drooling a little,” Natalia chuckled over his shoulder.
Stephen’s head whipped around, unconsciously wiping at his mouth before scowling at the nosy redhead.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, doing his best to keep his composure under her hard gaze.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed of,” she hummed, eyes falling where you and James continued your antics. “You’ve seen the man I’ve dedicated myself to.”
“You know the oaths I have to take,” he murmured.
“Aren’t you the one in charge of said oaths?” she challenged coyly. “I’d never understood your antiquated ways. I would argue that loving another gives you more reason to stay dedicated to your craft.”
She had a point, Stephen reasoned to himself. The ways he’d worked to ensure your protection, the kingdom’s protection, and the advancement of his knowledge at your urging was beyond any work he’d done on his own at Kamar-Tai.
Still, the distractions. The liabilities.
By the Vishanti, if an enemy were to ever get their hands on you… oaths be damned. He’d burn the world to the ground to ensure your safety, and that was the problem.
“She’s going to marry a prince, and have kings and queens as babies,” Stephen replied coolly. "We have our roles and our duties.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind giving her a few babies,” Natalia smirked up at him, laughing when his face went as scarlet as her hair.
“Regardless,” his voice cracked slightly, adding even more to the embarrassment when Natalia quirked a brow. “I would need permission from the king to consider breaking my oaths and wedding a princess.”
“Oh, you’d marry her? That’s a new development,” she replied, eyes falling behind him while you and James returned.
“I’m going to need another ale,” you complained, staring down the empty mug after chugging down your second drink.
“You’re going to need to watch how much you drink,” Stephen replied. “Remember last time. The hungover elixir only works so well.”
“You have a hangover elixir?” James asked. “Gods, I’d murder a man for one of those. Maybe it’s time I go to Kamar-Taj. Find my true purpose.”
“Don’t look at me,” Stephen held up a hand. “Wong is the one who brews it. He claims it’s an old family recipe.”
“Might have to pay Master Wong a visit tonight,” James stated, sliding a pair of fresh ales toward you and Natalia. “This one’s on me.”
“Are you going to tell me which lord you stole the coin from?” you asked, sipping at the drink before Stephen could check its contents.
“It’s the one with the wart on his nose,” James snickered behind his drink. “I picked him specifically because you mentioned he beats his wife.”
“He’s getting another visit from the Widow in a few nights,” Natalia added with a wicked grin.
“I don’t pity the man-,” you started coughing, trying to clear your throat. “-Ah, excuse me-!”
Caught in a fit of coughs, Stephen’s focus became you. You couldn’t catch a breath, even when he tapped your back, and you hadn’t had anything to eat- the ale. A wave of his hand confirmed the liquid had been tampered with.
“Find out who served that ale,” he demanded the assassins, grabbing your arm and hauling you outside of the pub.
You gasped for air, clutching at your throat while he drew up a portal back to the observatory. If this was what was happening with the protection enchantment in your system, he hesitated to think of the alternative.
Scooping you up, he stepped through and situated you on one of the chaise’s strewn throughout the room.
He thumbed through his collection of vials before finding a generic antidote and opening your mouth to pour the liquid in.
It worked- kind of. You were able to take a few shallow breaths, but your eyes rolled back and you collapsed, falling back against the chaise.
This was literally his worse case scenario. Everything he’d been afraid of, because he’d let you convince him to go out, and because he’d distracted himself with his conversation with Natalia.
He summoned a spell book, fingers finding the page he recalled from his apprentice days. It was written to purge someone of any toxic entities within them, be it poison or dark magic. Moving his hands through the air and reciting the runes, your body was overtaken by a wisp of winding yellow light.
It threaded itself through you, eventually hitting the source of the poison in your chest and pulling the toxic liquid free in a cloud of rancid black smoke. That was peculiar. Generally such a reaction was associated with dark magic rather than a consumed poison.
Poison was usually a dark red or green.
You stirred the moment the spell had finished its work. Taking a deep breath and clearing your throat, you looked to Stephen in wide-eyed horror.
“I was wrong,” you stated, hand to your chest.
“How do you feel?”
“I’m not dying,” you answered quickly. “Stephen, I am so sorry… I underestimated my… wait, Peter.”
Stephen understood your meaning immediately. He instructed you to stay within the safety of the observatory and opened a portal to the outside of the prince’s chambers.
The knights on guard jumped at the sudden appearance of the sorcerer, who took no time for pleasantries.
“An attempt was made on the princess’ life,” he informed the duo. “Have you heard any disturbance from the prince?”
“No one has been in or out since the prince retired,” Sir Samuel informed him, looking to Sir Clinton with a shrug. “He hasn’t made a noise.”
Just as Samuel finished his sentence, there was a loud crash from within the room.
The guards charged in, finding the prince in a struggle with a masked man. The prince was doing his best to fight off the dagger brandishing assassin, kicking him in the chest when he was distracted by the entrance of the guards.
When the assassin realized he was outnumbered, Stephen saw his hands move rapidly to open a portal, and before anyone could intervene, he was gone.
“Your highness!” Samuel rushed to the prince’s side while Stephen ignited the candles in the room with a snap of his fingers. “Are you injured?”
“Sir Clinton, get to the queen and Princess Morgan,” Peter ordered after catching his breath. He looked to Stephen. “And the older princess?”
“Safe,” came the sorcerer’s response.
“You said an attempt was made on her life,” Samuel retorted.
“A what?” Peter glared up at the sorcerer.
“I took care of it, she is safe,” Stephen assured him. “Are you injured, your highness?”
“I’m fine,” he brushed off the two men and stood up. “I want the guard awoken and informed of what has happened.”
He turned to Stephen.
“I want the wards reconstructed around the castle,” he continued. “I don’t trust the foundations of previous Masters. If you must call in sorcerers from Kamar-Taj, we will provide what they need.”
“Sir, your great uncle is due to arrive in a fortnight,” Samuel reminded him. “Shall we inform the convoy of the attempts on the royal family?”
Peter looked to Stephen with a frown. One of the young king’s first major decisions.
“Let’s address the question in the morning,” he decided. “I want to know my family is safe.”
As if on cue, Queen Virginia and Princess Morgan were led into the room by Sir Clinton and Sir Steven.
“Peter,” the queen pulled the prince into a relieved embrace. “Clint told us what had happened.”
“I recommend we reconvene in the throne room,” Steven suggested with a nervous glance around the chambers.
“The wards are strongest there,” Stephen agreed with a curt nod. “I’ll go retrieve the princess.”
He returned to the observatory and found you sitting, staring down at the floor in deep thought.
“Princess?” he called softly. You leapt up at his voice, hurrying over.
“Are they safe?”
“Peter was attacked, but he fought the assassin off,” Stephen informed her.
“And mother? And Morgan?” you bit your bottom lip anxiously.
“Safe,” he confirmed.
You let out a relieved sigh, your hands trembling slightly at your sides.
“Sir Steven suggested we go to the throne room to discuss our next options,” he offered his arm and she took it gratefully.
He hoped she didn’t feel his own tremors. His own panic at the thought of losing her. The aftershocks of their new reality and his worst nightmare.
“I won’t allow this to happen again,” he promised her quietly.
“It wasn’t your fault,” you assured him, your voice was shaky. “I was hurting, and whoever did this, acted on our vulnerabilities. I’d been selfish to hide in the village when I should have been by my family.”
“You slipped up once,” he countered, slowing his pace down the hall. He could have easily drawn a portal to the room, but he figured you both needed some time to manage your emotions. “You’re human. We make mistakes. It just happened we both made a mistake at the same time tonight. I wouldn’t have allowed you to go if I hadn’t been confident in my judgement of the situation.”
Your hand trailed down to his and you gave it a squeeze.
“Thank you Stephen,” you murmured, holding on a moment longer before replacing it on his arm.
He felt his heart give a small throb at the minute action, his fingers left tingling, and not from the damage from the accident.
“Always at your pleasure, your highness.”
(---)
3 - a new day
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Your Weekly Insight Into SA… Cultural Culture?
Man. Cultural anatomy this week is all over the place, hm?
Well, of course. It’s hard to put your thumb on something as broad as culture, and India - land of over a hundred languages and breaching thousands when including dialects - is a crucible of influences that are more than I can pin down in one post.
Stories swim in and out of recognition, filter through interpretation - Agni himself began as the messenger of the gods, found on the earth as fire, in the atmosphere as lightning, in the sky as the sun. Now he’s slipped more into a general understanding of what binds the land and sky together: an essence instead of a deity.
And even that’s not true for everyone. Parts of South Asia still venerate him - an eight-day fire festival in Karnataka features fifteen minutes of chucking flaming torches at one another with medical assistance on standby… appeasing the goddess Durga in the same act. (How’s that for the adrenaline-crazed sister of Diwali?!)
And, India’s never lost its touch as the land of mystery!
Some of this may be due to idiotic Orientalism, but most of it lies very much in the fact that we’ve been ever-changing and diverse since before the arrival of the Aryans. A wealth of history, religion, and celebration to outfit a continent by ourselves, and in these few weeks I’ve hardly presented a hoard of the treasure.
So here’s something I stumbled across that seems to apply strongly to the princess above (and her mother), and leads into the last week without pulling punches: the Visha Kanya.
Literally “poison maiden” - women who were trained from a young age to become master assassins for Indian kings. Via a disturbing practice, really. CW for snakes and poisons under the cut.
(Yo… 😳) Raised on a diet of toxins and antidotes until they achieved a remarkable immunity by maturity, some of these girls would die, while others survived - vetted as the toxic virgins whose very kiss meant instant death.
It’s said that Aristotle warned Alexander the Great of these women before he began his Indian campaign - also that Alexander died from embracing a Visha Kanya who was gifted to him. Their own skin and bodily fluids became venomous through an excess use of mithridatism. Ladies that make Westley’s trick in The Princess Bride look like child’s play…!
Strangest of all? There’s no historical record of them. They’ve passed into folklore and fascination, as cultural epochs can attest to. And yet, statues of women entwined with snakes stand in relief at ancient sites.
Are they real, or are they not - and could Azula have easily (no doubt metaphorically) been a weapon brought up by posion? Ozai’s cold-blooded angel could have a hell of a twisted backstory after this…
Eek. This one gives me the creeps. Guess it’s another love letter to horror enthusiast and fellow mod Crooked!
See you all for one last week! ✨
#AH YES my other darling… azula!#ray’s weekly insight into sa culture#zhaozai palooza 2021#atla#cultural anatomy#south asian culture#agni keli#visha kanya
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“Lin Haoqing was not like this before,” she said. “When I first met him, he was very gentle and kind. He treated me like a sister, and I treated him like a brother. At that time, he had a puppy given to him by Lin Canglan. He named the puppy Flower, because the puppy loved to go and bite those flowers in the garden, and toss them into the air.”
She smiled as she reminisced about the good times.
“Soon after, Lin Canglan asked him to kill the dog. He wouldn’t do it. He took a good beating, and still wouldn’t do it. Then Lin Canglan threatened him that if he didn’t kill the dog, he would have to kill me. And if he didn’t kill me, then Lin Canglan would kill me himself.”
Ji Yunhe’s voice was flat, as if she were telling someone else’s story.
“Lin Haoqing choked Flower to death while he cried up a storm.”
Ji Yunhe waved her hand, and the rain in the dungeon fell a little heavier. “There was a thunderstorm that night, he was soaked to the skin when he strangled Flower in the courtyard. The dog did not bite him back...Lin Haoqing was so upset he fell ill the next day. Lin Canglan cooked Flower and fed it to him spoon after spoon. He ate while vomiting. At the same time, he had to listen to Lin Canglan’s scolding, calling him a wimp, useless, good for nothing, and weak like a woman.”
“Lin Canglan said the future master of the Demon Valley has to be ruthless. Not only must he eat the dogs he raises, but he also has to be able to eat the people he raises.”
Changyi looked at Ji Yunhe, and although he was too weak to react, his eyes stayed on her and did not move away.
“When Lin Haoqing got well, I went to see him and asked if he hated me. After all, he killed the puppy he loved so much for me. But Lin Haoqing said no. He said I did nothing wrong. He said the one thing in this matter that still allowed him to find a little comfort was that he saved me.”
Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick!!!!
Valley Master Jr is a psycho but what chance did he have, when his father literally abused him into it.
THE HELL!!!!
And then he makes YJ push him into a pit of snakes because it’s his greatest fear so he will feel betrayed by his quasi-sister and have no attachments (that is why he poisoned her so he could control her through the antidote. And when she still refused, he framed her for it, and by then she decided, she’d go along because it was clear daddy was gonna torture his kid until he did become a psycho so might as well spare him some suffering.)THE HELL!!!!
But then this happens!!!!
For years, I believed I had made the right choice that day. Because Lin Haoqing was never forced to suffer again by his father. But Changyi…” Ji Yunhe looked up at him.
He hung on the wall, his body had been washed clean of the blood, and the withered fish scales that stuck to his skin like scabs were also washed away. But he was still of a pale, bloodless color.
“The choice I made back then brought you great suffering today,” Ji Yunhe went on. “I was wrong…I am so sorry…This is all my fault.”
The dungeon stayed quiet for a while. Finally, Ji Yunhe heard a faint and gentle reassurance.
“Not your fault.”
I love this not so much because of Changyi’s gentleness (he is as straightforward as a plank and refuses to blame her with unerring sense of justice even though he’s been mangled) but because of how JY owns the consequences of her choices, the cause and effect, and does not try to wiggle out of it - her decision to spare LHQ back then led to CY’s suffering today and she knows that, she accepts that, she is sorry for it and carries the burden and the culpability inside herself.
After three whips, Ji Yunhe’s back was already a bloody mess.
But she did not cry out in pain. She believed as long as a person could bear the consequences, there was nothing he or she could not do in life. She chose to visit Changyi, beat Lin Haoqing, and stay out overnight. Some of these were impulsive and some of were deliberate.
But they all pointed to this outcome.
So she received it silently and without a blink.
It’s that unflinching acceptance of consequences that is so rare in rl and novels. She and CY are very different in many ways, but the same in this.
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