#i drew my beloved middle aged man

[thecherrygod]

somehow i couldnt convince myself to use my pastels but i could convince myself to use my lineart pens so im taking it as a win

[thebadboyfanclub]

I Will Never Leave You (Daemon x Reader)

I think this more a love letter to Rhaenyra than anything but I’m really proud of this one cause I adore writing characters like this, I hope you guys enjoy it

Rhaenyra adored her mother since she drew her first breath, yet the woman she admired the most and desperately seemed her nod of approval was her beloved aunt (y/n) Targaryen, the middle child of prince Baelon and princess Alyssa, the seat between the brothers suited her, (y/n) had the good heart and the bright mind of her older brother that went hand in hand with the wild spirit and the constant need to protect the ones she called her own that she passed down to Daemon.

(Y/n) had been by Rhaenyras side when she needed her the most, wrapping her arms around the shaking frame of the young princess burying her face at the crook of (y/n)s neck.

“Dracarys”

Even though the dragon was not (y/n)s, beautiful Syrax complied whilst Rhaenyra broke down at the arms of her aunt, (y/n) ran her fingers through Rhaenyras long hair to offer her comfort as she whispered the lullaby she would sing to her when she was little.

She had also been the one to almost harass her beloved brother and king to name Rhaenyra his heir.

“As much as I love my lord husband, he is not fit to lead, the weight of the realm will crush him until he bursts into flames, we can prevent this, you can prevent this”

“And name Rhaenyra my heir? A queen has not sat the iron throne”

“Why not name the princess your heir? She is the second born”

Otto had questioned, (y/n) side eyed the man before she looked down to collect her thoughts, the wound of her brothers digging their claws on that piece of metal had brought such mental combat between them, turning blood against one another, if she had taken a go at them then all efforts for a harmonious family would have gone to war ages ago.

“I am afraid it is too late for me to claim what could have been or some could argue “should have been” but the time is just right for my niece, Rhaenyra is the result of the love you shared with the late queen Aemma, you have already wronged her, do not turn your back on the only thing you have left of her”

(Y/n) and Daemon had wed a fortnight after Viserys and Aemma, their wedlock’s were as similar as the sun with the moon, Daemon and (y/n) mirrored one another, their fire burned bright and their thick skulls could cause the the strongest storm to lash, still at the end of the day they ended up in each others arms, holding each other tight and whispering words of love and admiration.

(Y/n) was the only one that could keep Daemon on a leash, staying by his side as he raged for the “disrespect” their brother had shown, in a delicate manner (y/n) would always grab his hand and bring it up to her cheek to ground him.

“I love you and your bravery, however I do despise when you let your rage overtake everything that’s good in you, let me fix this for you”

Daemon would always take her in his arms and kiss her lips with all the might he could master. (Y/n) was his life line, her eyes were like a much needed breath after a deep dive, her smile resembled the feeling of the brisk air on the early hours of a summer day, her hair was as soft as a birds feather as it brushed on his skin, and her touch, oh that touch of hers…like a soothing balm on Daemons wounded heart.

“What is the matter, my love?”

“We must fly to kings landing by the morrow”

“Has something happened?”

“Lucerys’s claim is at question by Vaemond, Lord Corlys has not even passed and they are already circling around Rhaenyra like crows”

(Y/n) half mumbled half explained whilst her fingers rubbed circles on her temples, (y/n) had never voiced it still a pang of guilt ate her soul as slow as the carnivores ate their dead prey whenever she exchanged letters with Rhaenyra, she gave up on her, she left her alone to fight against those Hightowers, withering away as the bastards started to tighten the rope around the heiress’s neck.

Daemon puffed out a breath, the conversation had always been the same, (y/n) would often bring up her concerns over Rhaenyras well being, asking Daemon if mayhaps they made a mistake by leaving her, fabricating elaborate scenarios of how things could have been different.

With caution Daemon approached his lady wife and once he reached her he placed his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing circles on her aching shoulders as she slouched back and a grunt of pleasure left her, the flames from the fireplace licking her face in such a complimenting light, had he not touched her he could assume she was just an extremely accurate portrait from the hands of an exceptionally gifted artist.

“Rhaenyra is strong, she will overcome this”

“Rhaenyra is alone, our brother is barely able to make a sentence, she cannot stand alone at court”

“And what do you think our presence will do? We have been cast away for far too long, no one will pay attention to what we have to say on the matter, besides, driftmark is none of our responsibility”

After the birth of their first born daughter Enora Daemon and (y/n) decided to leave kings landing and reside in Pentos, granting protection with their dragons they were gifted with land and lived like the Targaryens only knew how to live.

“It is under the Targaryen rule, our closests bond to old Valyria”

“Dragons are our bond, which we have our own”

(Y/n) stood up from her chair to face her lord husband, fury that intertwined with confusion painted across her face as her eyebrows furrowed and her lips half open from the shock that his dismiss had caused.

Daemon resented when they fought, he did not enjoy his love being cross with him, though he loved a battle he would hang on dear life on anything and say whatever to make her curl up in his arms with content.

“You do not want to come with me” (y/n) stated

“I do not believe we will change anything”

“You believe that? Out of all I thought you would be the one to get on your dragon the fastest”

“You are with child, our other children are happy here, must we indulge in that mess?”

“That mess? Our brother has been crippled, our niece tortured by the Hightower and now she asks for our aid and you think I will just ignore it”

“You are emotional”

“I am, and proud of it, I will fly to kings landing with my children, you can choose to stay and hide behind our thick and tall walls of this castle. I will not leave our legacy, our blood, to slowly perish. It is your decision at the end of the day”

Daemon puffed out of breath before he reached for (y/n)s arms to which (y/n) stepped back to avoid, her eyes that spewed fire starring right into his soul.

(Y/n) was the diplomat out of the pair, one can imagine the surprise of her stubbornness when it came to this, which also revealed how important this was for (y/n).

“You mustn’t get upset in your condition”

“That is something you should remember, I was fine until I saw that the years turned you into a coward”

(Y/n) spat inches away from his face, with hurried and swift motions she intentionally bumped his shoulder as she made her exit of their chamber, Daemon did not catch a wink of sleep, (y/n) had never slept at another chamber separately since they had wed.

As the sun started to shyly make its descent (y/n) was assisting her three children on their dragons for their journey to kings landing.

“Hold on”

(Y/n) looked over her shoulder to find her husband with his dragon walking towards them, she had to admit that leaving without him would have costed her a great deal, she wanted him by her side, to help her, to hold her, to have her.

“What made you change your mind?”

“My astonishing devotion to you and your stubbornness, I won’t leave you alone with the wolves”

Daemon reassured her before he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, a smile making its way to (y/n)s lips as she gazed at him with love, that sparkle of joy was what kept Daemon alive, he would risk anything to see her well.

A giggle that came from their youngest children interrupted their sweet moment, Daemon and (y/n) looked up as the twins sat on their dragons, admiring the deep affection that oozed out of their parents, Daemon only winked at his children in response and turned back to his lady wife.

“Allow me dearest”

A shriek was heard when Daemon swiped the princess off her feet and lifted her up at her green dragon Zephyr. The family landed unexpectedly since they had not given any information to their visit, Otto and Alicent were fuming upon their arrival, the pair would stir the pot and cause chaos all in the princesses name, Otto was certain of it.

However no one could expect the ever defiant (y/n) holding Viserys by his right arm and the stoic prince Daemon holding the king by the left.

“King Viserys of house Targaryen, first of his name, king of the andals, and the rhoynar and the first men, Lord of the seven kingdoms and protector of the realm, with princess (y/n) Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen”

Time stood still as they entered the throne room, (y/n) had persisted on visiting her brother, encouraging him to stand and back Rhaenyras claim, begging him to find his strength and sit on the iron throne.

“I will sit the throne today”

Viserys was able to say to Otto who only bowed his head and stepped aside. When (y/n) gently assisted her brother to sit comfortably his crown managed to move and fall, Daemon was the one that caught it and placed it back on Viserys head. As the pair took a step back (y/n) was the first to curtsy in front of him.

“My king”

She whispered before she smiled, Viserys managed to get a hold of her hand and bring it up to his deformed lips, as cold and slimy the weird texture of his lips left on her hand (y/n) looked back on that memory until the end of her days, as many times as they fought (y/n) held a spot for Viserys, one of loyalty and respect.

Daemon snaked his arm around her waist as they went down the steps and took their place next to a baffled and ecstatic Rhaenyra, (y/n) subtly nodded and side eyed Rhaenyra letting her know she is her for her.

As Viserys reaffirmed Lucerys claim and Rhaenys announced the betrothal of Baela and Rhaena (y/n) was ready to turn and hug her dear niece when Vaemond stepped in front of the king, interrupting the glorious moment.

“You break law and centuries of tradition to install your daughter as heir, don’t you dare tell me who deserves to inherit the name Velaryon, No, I will not allow it”

“Allow it? I do not think anyone hear asked for your opinion Ser…. Apologies I haven’t been at court in so long, what is your name?”

(Y/n)s words sliced through Vaemond like Valyrian steel and Rhaenyra struggled to hide her chuckle, Daemon stood proudly by her side though his grip tightened around her waist when Vaemonds eyes fell on her for a brief moment before he pointed to Lucerys.

“THAT! is no true Velaryon and certainly not a nephew of mine”

Rhaenyra as the mother that she is took a step forward to stand closer to Vaemond and in front of Lucerys, what no one had seen was an important question that (y/n) had whispered at her husband.

“Which side is your sword on today?”

“Go to your chambers, you’ve said enough”

“Lucerys is my true born grandson and you are no more than the second son of drift mark”

“You may run your house as you see fit, but you will not decide the future of mine, my house survived the doom”

“To which you owe it to much greater men than you Vaemond, men that knew their place and played their part in history, something that you refuse to do”

“And you think that you can tell me what my place is? Your brother skipped over you and gave the name of heir to your niece, the gods know what you have done to make him skip over you and your… husband, my name survived and gods be damned I will not see it ended on the account of this”

“Say it, say it”

Daemon antagonised the man, (y/n) assumed her position and slipped away from Daemons grip, her hand gliding from his back all the way down to his sword, dark sister, and pulled it out the sound of metal brushing against its scabbard was enough to make (y/n) grind her teeth in annoyance, thankfully no one seemed to pay attention to what she was up to.

Except Daemon whom had already a mischievous grin tugging at his lips as he internally thanked whoever blessed him to change his mind and was now going to be a witness on this wonderful event and as he viewed it “important milestone” in his lady wife’s life.

Vaemond was caught in his own fury and sense of entitlement to see his end coming, even if he had seen (y/n) with a sword he would pay her no mind, a man of such ignorance wouldn’t feel threaten by a woman with a swollen belly or any woman for that matter.

“Her children are BASTARDS and she.is.a.whore”

“I will have your tongue for that”

Daemon watched with pride as his wife lifted the sword and with one clean slice Vaemonds head was cut right above his tongue. Enora was taken aback by her mothers acts while her two siblings Alastor and Aelia hid behind their fathers legs to avoid witnessing the gruesome sight of the corpse at such a young age.

(Y/n) stood still as the sword touched the ground to support her, glaring down at the man that had so much to say, a man that thought himself as indestructible and yet he laid on the cold floor as his blood gushed out of him and pooled on the ground.

“He can keep his tongue, to explain his treachery to the gods”

“Disarm her”

Otto commanded as his voice boomed through the throne room like a proper king that would command his kings guards to obviously attack (y/n), though the real king -Viserys- had just opened his mouth to stop this when Daemon took only a step forward.

“Don’t you dare”

Daemon warned them, in a rather surprisingly composed way for the situation Daemon approached her and took the sword from her, wiping it away at his clothes lazily before he placed it back on its original spot, his hand brushed a few strands of hair that had moved and let it glide behind her shoulder, he preferred it when her hair was out of her face, so he can fully take in her beauty.

(Y/n) was seen smiling brightly, basking in her accomplishment that was so grotesque that some reported that a numerous ladies that had been witnesses had fainted or vomited at the sight.

“You must rest, my love”

“Before that��

(Y/n) proclaimed, she left her husbands side momentarily only to stand before Rhaenyra, her hands going up to cup her nieces cheeks and place a kiss on top of the heiress head, a gesture that held such affection and compassion, (y/n) had Rhaenyra in her heart and her mind as her own daughter, images of the princess running careless on the grass and finding refuge in (y/n)s hug flashed before (y/n)s eyes.

“My dear niece”

“(Y/n)” Rhaenyra breathed out

“I will never leave you, ever”

Requests are open!

[mysticmellowlove]

can we get another yandere chat / yandere streamer please I really wanna know where the three people went

note; omg i'm fucking alive holy shit. i'm in exam period right now and i swear the universe is trying to take me out. shit's rough out here lol. I've been rattling the bars of my enclosure waiting to get out and write some more. missed you guys, cute lil friends xxx

warnings; yan chat is back, yan streamer, reader 'sugar', yandere tendencies, gang violence, they mean frfr,

word count; 1123

After logging off for the day and raiding one of his friends Streamer found himself checking on his discord, in particular the chat he had going on with three of his long-time fans, affectionately titled his three musketeers to respect their anonymity. The ones that had been with him since the beginning when he had no viewers and a silly dream of becoming a popular creator.

To think that he had that in his foreseeable future, it was intoxicating. Fans, money and most of all influence. Of course, he couldn't forget about his lovely mod as well.

His eyes scanned over the private chat with a satisfied grin on his face, they had found him. For a while now there was one particular chatter that was getting on his nerves. No matter how much Sugar banned them they always seemed to find a way back. He had been trying to appeal to Sugar for weeks now, always mentioning them and gifting various rewards that were specifically aimed towards the beloved mod.

Streamer knew things sometimes got a little parasocial when it came to internet personalities. Still, something about this creep trying desperately to get close to Sugar had his blood boiling as if he was using the chat as an e-dating server. He wasn't the only one either, it seemed.

A call button appeared on his screen for a moment before he adjusted his settings and answered it, the people chatting on the other side becoming more and more apparent.

"The man of the hour." One of them jovially said, a playful lilt to her voice. Porthos always seemed to be the one ready to talk, with perhaps a little too much energy to seem natural. It seemed her words had set in motion the other two greeting him, one with their ever-present modulated voice covering their identity and the other sounding like he'd just finished smoking a pack of cigarettes.

"Hey you, I see some interesting things in the chat." He hummed as he took a sip of the coke he had next to him, waiting for the three to fill him in.

"Yeah, we tracked down the guy in the chat that was bothering Sugar, it was laughably easy." Porthos mused, the low hum of who knows what buzzing in the background.

"He had his details all out in the open, turns out using multiple emails all leading to the same IP is a dead giveaway." She said before a sniffle interrupted her.

"Don't take all the credit, it was only because I have access to the city records that we even found him," Athos noted.

"Technically I did most of the work." The final of the three, the one who hid behind the voice changer, Aramis chimed in. The other two seemed to stop talking as soon as they spoke up, for good reason as well. There was something different about Aramis, but their knowledge was gladly welcomed.

"I assume you're all waiting for the finale?" They monotonously droned as the sounds of clicking came from their mic. Not long after a window popped up, fileshare. Without needing to do anything the file opened to a video and began to play.

The camera work was jittery but it was obvious what was in the middle of the screen. On the ground, legs and arms bound, was a middle-aged man wriggling. There was a group of men surrounding him, masked and dressed entirely in black with a badly stitched logo on their jackets.

No sounds came from the men as they drew ominously closer, that's when things really picked up. Their feet began to slam into the sides of the bound man, muffled screams coming from his gagged mouth as he tried desperately to wriggle away. Hands ripped at his clothing, showcasing the darkened bruises on his skin as the men continued their assault. The video tracked for about twenty minutes, all of it consisted of the men beating the shit out of the man on the ground. Screams turned to groans turned to whimpers as a mixture of piss, tears and blood mixed on the ground he was on.

His body seemed to turn entirely blotched with bruises as the video went on and on before no more sounds appeared to leave the man. Then the footage cut.

The silence seemed to wane on for a moment before Athos spoke up.

"That's some dark web shit or something." The only response he seemed to get was a clipped laugh from Aramis.

"I like supporting local businesses." It was no secret that Aramis was the only one of them who dared to play around on the darker side of the internet but damn were they good at it. Who knew what they got up to after hours, but it wasn't hard to tell that he had hired someone to beat the shit out of the creep.

"He's gone, probably being sold right now, well that parts of him that made it out unscathed. Don't worry, these guys are newbies but the group they're part of don't play around." A low whistle left his mouth as he listened to Aramis ramble about the exploit.

"You're a freak for real." Porthos laughed, seemingly having gathered herself, "Now that's dealt with I think we should get something in exchange, don't you?"

He rolled his eyes as he scanned the now blank screen.

"I'll organise something." He began before he was cut off rudely.

"Not something, we know you know where they are so why don't you get us all a little gift." Athos drawled. A harried sigh left his mouth as he tugged at the strands of his hair. The three of them were his fans, their support over the years had helped grow his platform greatly and they did fund most of his activities but... that also meant he had to keep them pleased.

Athos eluded that he was a well-known figure in the city, Aramis had ties to the black market and Porthos seemed to have no boundaries... they could very well take him down if they wanted to.

"Sure, I'll pick something up." He finally managed to get out, his voice obviously strained. All that greeted him was a chorus of laughter as the call ended. He stared at the screen for a moment more, thinking about the logistics of breaking into Sugar's apartment before a notification came through.

'Good boy' With a scoff he closed the application and got off his chair, annoyance swelling inside him. He was still closer to Sugar than them, he didn't have to panic yet.

[drbtinglecannon]

Raine for that character breakdown thingy

Raine Whispers my beloved

How I feel about this character

Man I get emotional over Raine when I think about them too long. Every single aspect of them from their name to their design to their identity is incredibly fun and important as representation. A brown nb middle-aged badass that's a major love interest that also plays a role in defeating the ultimate evil? They're just such a fun character with so many cool aspects to them I could just keep listing em. Like their palisman being a fox that's disguised as their instrument weapon?? The symbolism there??? They're a bard with stage freight but also a massive flirt??? Canon monsterfucker???? I could go on for hours, unfortunately it won't be very articulate after a while

All the people I ship this character with romantically

Obviously ride or die raeda, but I have always kinda liked raidarius and dariraeda, preferably the second one because ot3s are fun. But raeda is like "this is a pair do not separate" that I don't really care about shipping Raine outside of it unless Eda is involved too

My non-romantic OTP for this character

So I guess raidarius goes here too because Darius is very ace/aroace to me so I like them as like, sad cuddle buddies post Follies

My unpopular opinion of this character

Raine has always felt masc/butch to me considering their canon design and how Dana always drew them in her art, so I don't always vibe with fanart of them presenting very fem (which I've seen a lot of over the years, it's nbd its just not my preferred way to imagine them)

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

Was honestly surprised raeda wedding didn't happen considering Eda's gold ring on her left hand and Raine taking one of her hands (to disintegrate so she didn't die), but I'm not too upset by it. I remember Raine's VA being very insistent Dana not answer if they were married or not so it could be ambiguous since there're so many types of love, which I appreciate! I definitely wouldn't have turned down a wedding tho

[fifteensjukebox]

tagged by @amidalleia tysm!!💖

last song: winning by emily haines & the soft skeleton has been in my head and i have whatever a photographic memory but for music is called so i think it counts. i was trying to figure out the change in timing starting about a minute into the song and my memory wasn't good enough to figure it out, and i think the last song i actually listened to was wet blanket by metric (emily's band) in the car yesterday. what can i say i love her! (the update is that I tossed this post into my drafts earlier and i have now actually listened to winning and almost figured out what she's doing but i'll have to discuss with my music theory-knowing brother)

favourite color: turquoise/mint/teal/sage/cool amethysty purples/the denim blue VW car colour (my beloved first car was a vw beetle we called lulu so that colour is now lulu blue in my house à la dodie yellow)

currently watching/reading:

rewatching btvs and angel mid s4/s1 respectively while showing it to my mom and brother for the first time! it's taking ages but we're having the best time

gilmore girls - (late mid s3) first watch w my parents! there's so much i know from here and so much i don't but i know i love jess

grey's anatomy - watched s1-17 with my family a few years ago (begrudgingly at first bc i so did not want to watch a medical show. and sooo long! but it really is that good (sometimes)) & have been watching weekly as it airs since, but we just caught up on the first bit of the current season yesterday bc i didn't realize it was back. and i love the new class of interns so much we are SO BACK

not dead yet - the only show i'm currently watching by myself week to week as it airs and of course my favorite character is the white man i hate it here... i do love the women too though!!

doctor who 12th doctor rewatch but i stopped like a month ago in the middle of the episode before the cybermen plot starts bc it's just going to break my heart to lose bill for a third time. but i miss them! missy most of all so i will get to it soon

i'm not really reading anything at the moment but i have a couple audiobooks on hold at the library (yeah this is jenny's answer exactly but it applies!)

relationship status: single and i don't go out enough so i doubt it'll change anytime soon

sweet/savory/spicy: i want to say sweet bc i loooove sugar but i add salt to everything lately, i even added it to a rice krispie square the other day, so....

current obsessions:

also still nancy drew forever and always, but honestly i don't have a fandom hyperfixation atm! it's all about furniture shopping.... i'm looking for a small chair/stool for my bedroom desk, and a bigger table to go with my living room big chair so i can have my laptop/food/whatever else i want bc i seem to spend most of my time here

and emily haines/metric music (lately i haven't been listening to much me after 2007, but i love the more recent stuff just as much!

last thing you googled: something about the st vincent rock&roll hall of fame exhibit bc i'd seen a clip about it on someones story but i couldn't find the full video (still haven't)

no-pressure tags: @redheadedbrunette @apolloamy @godofsmallthings @jemhowling @acafemmeic @electrictouchfeaturingfalloutboy @coldnightairinmylungs & anyone else who wants to! i love these sm

[whitestlotus]

Fragment of a Memory (Scaramouche/Wanderer x F!Reader) | Chapter 1

Synopsis: The Teyvat Empire has fallen and split into seven kingdoms. In the serene electro kingdom, Inazuma – resides the crown prince of the original empire, Kabukimono. At a young age, he was introduced to the newly chosen crown princess of the Kingdom of Liyue, Princess Ningjing. Over the years, the prince has grown fond of the princess and later on asked her hand in marriage. This strengthens the political ties between Inazuma and Liyue amidst a faltering peace treaty among the seven nations. Alas, it only took a matter of time until a war broke out ultimately ending the life of the beloved princess. Devastated, Kabukimono vows to protect Ningjing in another life.

In the year 2023, over a thousand years after the Teyvatian War, Celestia – formerly known as Teyvat – was a flourishing country. Y/N, a 21-year-old college student studying Psychology, cross paths with Kunikuzushi. He is not the most positive person for lack of a better word. But what happens if suddenly as each day passes, a fragment of a memory that feels familiar returns to you?

And you are not the only one.

Chapter Warning: Swearing

Book Masterlist | General Masterlist

Book Playlist

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉  

A loud thud can be heard from across the room. Everyone drew their attention to the source of the sound and to no one's surprise, it was just Scaramouche. He threw a book at Xiao. The mint green-haired man maintained a deadpan face as he slowly returns to what he was doing prior to getting thrown at.

“Scara, could you PLEASE – for the love of God – calm the fuck down. Why did you throw the book at Xiao?” Y/N sighs as she walks over.

“All I did was tell him that if he wants to live up to his degree, he should quit his temper” Xiao mutters while resting his chin on the palm of his hand; eyes still locked on the book he seems engrossed in.

“So much for majoring in psychology” Lumine’s giggles were abruptly stopped by her twin, Aether, slapping her shoulder.

Scaramouche scoffs and gives everyone the middle finger before storming off. Y/N asks Xiao if his head was okay but Xiao just lets out a small ‘mhm’. She massages her temple and lets out a quiet frustrated groan. Annoyed yet concerned for Xiao, Y/N walks out of the classroom and makes her way to the clinic to grab an ice pack. As she passes the food court, she noticed a familiar purple-haired figure struggling with the vending machine. She leans on the wall nearby watching him like a hawk anticipating what he will do next. He pulls his sleeves up and tilts the vending machine forward, his drink was stuck. Y/N stifles a laugh as she walks over and gives a small pat on his shoulder. Scaramouche was startled but regained his composure quickly. He adjusted the vending machine back upright and as he was about to leave; Y/N pulls the hood of his hoodie back.

“Your drink?” She points at the still-stuck drink.

“Well Sherlock, it's clearly stuck.” He rolls his eyes crossing his arms in the process.

Y/N scans the food court for any student or staff. She looks at Scaramouche in the eyes and brings her index finger up to her lips. She reaches behind the vending machine and grabs ahold of a key that was left there. She unlocks the machine door, takes his drink out, and hands it to him. She swiftly puts the key back where it belonged leaving no trace.

“Wow, an actual thief.” He stares at her with disbelief.

“Oh come on, it's not like you didn’t pay for it. Before you say anything, I do pay for my drinks too.”

“No one would suspect a thing though if you just steal.”

“I have morals, Scara.” You press a few buttons on the vending machine after slipping a mora bill through the slot, treating yourself to a drink as well.

“If you say so.” He shrugs as he pulled the tab of his drink making an audible hiss sound.

“You know, you’re gonna have to fix that temper of yours if you want to make it through the course let alone the school year.” You pulled a random chair nearby and took a seat as you twist the cap of your drink. 

“Can’t help it.”

“Well, you obviously can’t with a mindset like that.” You retort.

“Have you submitted the paper for our group already?” He ignores your statement.

“Are you seriously changing the topic right now? And no I haven’t”

“Then get to it.” He walks off.

You stare at him in disbelief as he disappears from your sight as soon as he makes a right turn. You feel a hand pushing your jaw upwards gently which startled you. You look to your right and it was Tartaglia. He was still wearing his basketball jersey meaning he just finished his varsity training.

“Stop gawking at him like a goldfish, girlie” He jokes.

You swat his hand away and pinch your nose as tight as possible, “You actually reek.”

Tartaglia puts a hand over his chest and expresses an offended scoff, “Excuse me, it is a product of my HARD WORK”

You roll your eyes and push him toward the direction of the locker room with your index finger. He looks back at you and lets out a pout. He actually looks like a dog and you hate it. You let out a sigh and decide you will walk him to the locker room. He lets out a goofy smile and slings an arm around your shoulder, still obviously wet with his sweat.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, the clinic just so happens to be in the same general direction” You clarify.

“What are you doing in the clinic? Did you get hurt or something? Do you want me to carry you?” He teases as he bends down in front of you gesturing you to ride his back. You walk past him pretending he didn’t exist anymore.

“Oh come on, I was just kidding!” He runs back to your side again without the arm around your shoulders.

“Scara threw a book at Xiao.”

“Sad”

“I got worried because it was a hard-bound book too”

“Double sad”

“Could you just shut the fuck up?” You flick his temple, enjoying the sound of him letting out an ‘ouch’.

After dropping him off at the locker room, you made your way to the clinic. You requested an icepack from the nurse and walked back to the room just in time before the bell. You gave Xiao the ice pack before returning to your seat. Classes were the same, nothing interesting, and the occasional pop quiz here and there. You stare at the notes you had taken during each class and skim through each one as a sort of review. Every so often, you would glance at your phone to check the time. 

“That’s odd…” You thought to yourself. It's stuck at 3:33 pm.

You take a look around and noticed that everyone is gone. Your heart rate quickens out of both fear and confusion. You leave the classroom only to find nothing but empty halls. Your head starts to ache, making you drop down to the ground while grasping your head. All of a sudden, an image? No, a memory appears in your mind.

“Princess, this is Prince Kabukimono. Think of him as your playdate!” 

Kabukimono? Why does his name sound so familiar…

“Salutations Prince Kakukimono!” A little girl smiles cheerfully.

“It’s Kabukimono, but greetings Princess Ningjing.” The little boy, a prince, sticks out a hand for the princess to shake.

The memory was interrupted by loud chattering mixed with murmurs and whispers. You look up and found yourself in the middle of the school building entrance on your knees. You quickly prop yourself up and run back to your classroom. You check your phone, 4:26 pm. As you arrived back at your classroom, you packed your notes and laptop. You bid your friends goodbye and ran back to your dorm. You didn’t brush off the event a while ago so quickly, you were concerned. 

“What was that…” You set up your laptop and did a quick search. You typed in ‘Kabukimono’ and analyzed the results. He was the last prince of the Inayue Dynasty – a dynasty wherein the kingdom of Inazuma and Liyue merged due to a political marriage. You took out a notebook and jot down what you just read and what you can still recall from the memory that you just saw. You then searched ‘Ningjing’ and lo and behold, she was also a real person. She was the last princess of the Inayue Dynasty as well. Her death, however, was a tragic one. During a war that prompted the Teyvatian war soon after, she was shot by an arrow to the heart. She was then laid to rest on Mt. Narukami. Her husband – the prince – was also laid to rest next to her. His cause of death was unknown. 

You rest against the backrest of your chair and let out a deep exhale. You quickly made safe assumptions in your mind.

Yes, they are real people.

Yes, you did see a possible memory of them and no, you are not so sure if that is how they exactly met.

Yes, you are intrigued…too intrigued.

Ruffling your hair, you stand up and plop onto the bed. Being too tired from today’s events, you didn’t bother to change your clothes and immediately fall asleep. Instead of seeing darkness from closing your eyes, you were engulfed in a bright light. You rub your eyes to adjust your vision. As your eyes focus, you found yourself in a large garden. Cherry blossom leaves dancing in the wind, the sound of a small stream nearby caressing your ears, and a beautiful red gazebo with two children writing on a piece of paper and a woman who you believe resembles that of a shrine maiden next to them. She had pink locks complimented by her soothing voice.

“Your Highness Ningjing, this is how you write-” The shrine maiden’s hand was wrapped around the small hand of the little girl, ready to teach her how to write. She was interrupted by the said little girl pouting.

“Miss Miko, please don’t call me ‘Your Highness’ just call me Princess or Ningjing!”

“My apologies, Yo- Princess…it is, however, royal protocol to address you as such.”

“It's just the three of us here no need to worry!” The little girl lets out a wide smile.

“That is noted, Princess” Miko affirmed.

The scene then fades to white and then to black. A loud sound blares through your ears, it was your alarm.

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉    

Next Chapter

[four-loose-screws]

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 12 Section 4

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

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———————————

Chapter 12: Cog of Destiny (Section 4)

The Water Temple was one of the Black Fang’s bases.

It stood in secret underground, near a lake located in one of Bern’s mountain ranges. It drew in abundant amounts of water from being within the vicinity of the lake, with multiple man-made waterways connecting all of the most vital places in the area. It appeared that people used them in times of emergency to escape.

That was the reason why the base had been named the Water Temple.

Within the middle of the temple was a room used by their leaders, and Sonia sat on a chair inside of it with a displeased look on her face.

Word had already spread that Zephiel’s assassination was a failure.

She'd exhausted every possible resource she had, including Ursula, yet even Ursula had failed to carry out her orders. She suspected that her beloved and respected leader Nergal would of course view this as her failure.

And so, her anger only grew towards both Nino, who betrayed her despite being such trash, as well as Jaffar.

“Sonia." Limstella suddenly appeared before her.

A face she cared not to see appeared before her. Sonia snorted, and said to bluntly make her feelings clear, “Hmph. You are but a puppet. Do not call out to people so casually. …So, what business do you have with me?”

“Eliwood is still alive. Lord Nergal’s orders go unfinished.”

“Silence, you morph!! I know that. The Black Fang is gone, but I am still here… I will take care of Eliwood and his army myself!” She screamed, expressing her anger towards Limstella, who was standing before her with a calm expression on their face.

Then, Sonia heard a voice calling to her from outside the room.

“...Sonia! Where are you, Sonia?!”

The voice was that of the Black Fang’s leader.

He entered his wife’s room, noticing the person next to her that resembled her so greatly it was scary, and shouted in surprise, “What are you?! Who is this?!”

Sonia’s lips twisted upwards in a cruel smile, and she responded, “I’ll tell you. I had decided that I was going to get rid of you soon anyway. Keh keh… Those annoying brothers were in my way, and I could not act until now.”

“...Sonia, you…”

“I got close to you to take over the Black Fang… Look around you. There’s not a familiar face here, is there? One-by-one, I’ve replaced them all… With morphs, the dolls my Lord Nergal has made!!”

Morphs - living dolls that Nergal created from quintessence, who all swore their undying loyalty to him. Limstella was only one such creation.

“...So you have betrayed us.” Brendan said in a low voice, glaring at Sonia.

Brendan had blindly trusted his second wife. But when his sons went missing, and when he witnessed her order Nino to carry out an assassination despite her young age and essentially being the same as any commoner, doubt arose within him.

Together with Jan, they secretly began investigating Sonia, and brought various details to light.

That Uhai, Legault, and many of the other original members had vanished. That Linus was dead, and Lloyd was missing. That Nino was not Sonia’s daughter, and her birth parents had been killed. And that everything was connected to Nergal and Sonia…

With his eyes now completely opened, he had come to this room to hear Sonia’s own explanation.

But his wife cackled and said coldly, “You’re a fool to notice all of this now, Brendan Reed! Despite your sons being wary of me from the start. I never would have actually wanted to lay a finger on a person like you. But everything was for Lord Nergal… and to take hold of the Black Fang. But it’s all over now. Die, Brendan! For your beloved wife!!” She spoke with an ecstatic expression on her face, and her utter distaste for him written in her cruel smile.

“...Damn you Sonia!” With those words, the anger that had built up within Brendan burst out. He tightened his grip around his glittering silver axe, and rushed at her.

But when he swung his weapon, the moment before it was to hit his traitor wife, his body was assaulted by a freezing cold whirlwind.

Sonia had cast one of the most advanced spells of all anima magics, Fimbulvetr.

As he felt his body and blood freeze, Brendan tried as hard as he could to move his increasingly sluggish body, and swung his axe sideways.

Sonia turned to try and dodge the attack, but failed, and the axe sliced deep into her abdomen.

That was the best Brendan could do. He now froze completely, from the very top of his head to his toes.

“Guh… Lloyd… Linus… Forgive your… fool of a father…” Brendan apologized in his head to his sons, then took his final breath.

“He just had to be the Black Fang’s leader until his very end.” Sonia spat, watching Brendan fall to the floor with eyes full of hatred.

His attack left a large gash in her right side. It needed to be tended to immediately, but her pride would never allow her to show any weakness to Limstella.

While clutching her wound with one of her hands, Sonia was determined to stay standing.

Meanwhile, Limstella was extracting a light as red as blood from Brendan’s fallen body… It was his quintessence.

“...Brendan Reed. What magnificent quintessence. I shall deliver it to Lord Nergal straight away.” They murmured.

“You better report that I was the one who killed Brendan… Gah!” Sonia's shouting sent pain shooting through her. Her entire body broke out in a cold sweat, and what color she did have drained from her white face.

Limstella looked at her, and said in an entirely indifferent tone, “You appear to have been injured. Shall I take over for your duties?”

“Don’t be foolish! I will not let a doll like you steal my glory! I am a superior ‘human,’ chosen by Lord Nergal to dispose of Eliwood’s army. Me, Sonia!”

ー

“Com-Com-Commander… No… They’re monsters…”

One person witnessed Sonia kill Brendan. It was the one remaining member of the original Black Fang, Jan. 

He had investigated together with Brendan to figure out the details of Sonia’s betrayal. They gathered proof and came to the Water Temple to question her, but then she had ruthlessly killed Brendan.

He had to escape as quickly as he could…

Jan was older now, and his assassination skills had dulled so greatly that he no longer had any strength left with which to fight any opponents. He did not even have any desire to avenge Brendan. He was nothing but a cowardly old man now.

In his youth, he probably would have rushed straight in to help his commander in danger. But he could not do so at his current age. His only option was to flee in fear.

He willed his aging body to run as fast as it could to the exit of the shrine, where he crossed paths with a girl that he knew very well. And behind her stood the “Angel of Death.”

“Uncle Jan! Is that you, Uncle Jan?!”

"Miss Nino?! Wh-Why have you come back?!"

"…I've decided to talk to Mother…"

"R-Run!" He shouted over her.

He was panicking so much that Nino realized something was off. "Uncle?"

"The Commander has been killed! That woman, she…!" 

"What are you saying about me?" A cold, feminine voice echoed through the air.

He turned towards the source of the voice, and there stood a bewitching beauty with an icy smile. The wound Brendan inflicted on her had been treated with basic care.

The moment he saw her, Jan started shaking in terror and shouted, "Eek… Sonia… U-Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!" He abandoned all sense of shame and honor, and ran out the door.

"...That lowly fool! I'll smoke him out later!" She took one look at Jan, but then looked down with eyes full of hatred at Nino. "What's more important, Nino… is that you have disgraced me!"

"Ah… Mother…"

"Silence!" Nino started to speak, but Sonia harshly cut her sentence short. "...You were useless to me to the very end! If I'd known you were going to be like this, I would have sent you to your real parents sooner!"

"My real… parents?" At Sonia's unexpected words, Nino froze, unable to understand what she just heard.

Nino truly knew nothing.

Sonia smiled cruelly and said, "Ha ha ha, that's right. I will tell you the truth. You were born into a Lycian family known for generations as a house of prestigious mages. They alone guarded the secret of the dragons. Thirteen years ago, Lord Nergal and I went to steal that secret."

"My… family…"

"Keh keh keh, no matter how great their wisdom was, in the end, they were only human… When I used their child as a shield, there was nothing they could bring themselves to do!"

Sonia continued the story on with great pleasure, "Your father, your mother, and the child I carried… after they shared all they knew, I killed them all myself!"

"I-I'm… I'm not your child?" Nino asked, unable to hear another word. Being told everything she had ever believed to be true was a lie left her staring at Sonia with eyes full of both shock and fear.

The sight made Sonia smile in satisfaction before she finished the story.

"They had two children, a boy and a girl. Your mother held on to the girl desperately to protect her until her very end… and that girl was you, Nino!"

Though she had still been just a child, she might be of some help to them… Nergal thought on a whim, and decided to let Nino live. She was still only about one year old at the time.

That was how she came to be raised as Sonia's daughter.

The blood of a talented mage family coursed through Nino's veins. Nergal thought that if Sonia raised her well, then she may be able to be used as a pawn. 

"But those calculations were wrong! You are a stupid, useless creature! You are trash, and have done nothing but get in my way!"

"...So you tried to have her killed? You are rotten to your very core…" Jaffar said, breaking the silence he maintained until this moment. Though his eyes had always been like glass beads, they now burned within anger.

"Those words are a surprise coming from you, Jaffar! Whatever happened to the man once known as the Angel of Death, who slaughtered as Lord Nergal wished, without even flinching?"

"...Nino changed me. I…  am no longer Nergal's tool to kill his enemies. For Nino… Sonia! I will kill you!" He shouted and drew his sword, before then stepping in front of Nino, who was still frozen in place, to protect her.

"Stand down. …I will take care of this woman."

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha, I never would have expected you to care for anyone! Well then, shall I execute you for your betrayal, as the law of the Black Fang dictates? Keh keh keh… I will make your punishment long and painful!!" Sonia cackled with a sneer on her face.

"We won't let you!!"

A man's voice cut in not even a second after Sonia was done speaking.

In the entryway to the Shrine stood Eliwood, Lyn, and Hector, with their allies also visible behind them.

Hector shouted in response to Eliwood's words, "Grr, how dare you cause all this trouble!"

"We're your allies now, and don't you forget it!"

"Everyone…" At Lyn's words, and the sight of everyone rushing to help her, Nino was so touched that it snapped her back to reality.

But the sight of Eliwood's allies and their surprise appearance only made Sonia cackle harder.

"Ah ha ha ha, what nice friends you have, Nino! They saved me the trouble of going to them. …Keh keh, I won't let even a single one of you escape!!" Sonia raised one of her pale white hands.

In response, countless pools of darkness appeared around her, and over thirty figures came out from within them. They were all clad in black clothes and had white skin and gold eyes. Every last one of them was a doll Nergal had created - a morph.

"You are the sinners who hurt my Lord Nergal… I will not allow your deaths to be quick!" Sonia said, then lowered her raised arm.

At that signal, the morphs all rushed towards Eliwood's army.

ー

[galaxythreads]

Ah if you’re doing lore for fics, could u do it for Brothers of Frost (my beloved) —thot-son-of-odin

always still doing fic lore! :)

I have literally not looked at his fic since the day I posted it. So this will be interesting I guess.

The basis of this fic was actually based off of an idea for an original story my sister had, where countries traded heirs so that way they would stop fighting. I honestly don't even remember what the original request was so I'm not sure how badly I altered it.

I remember very vividly how much writing from Odin's POV made me feel frustrated because like, usually i just consider him to be an a-hole, but I couldn't do that from his pov and I needed him to be a good dad so I had to compromise a bit.

LORE FOR BROTHERS OF FROST <- LINK TO STORY

---

"Frigga's hand rests on his shoulder, and Odin lifts his gaze to his wife gratefully, raising his hand to gently hold her fingers between his own. She has always been attuned to him, able to read his face like an open book despite his best efforts to dissemble."

This position has always struck me as really intimate when partners do this. <3

Also I really must have just discovered the word dissemble, because when I was doing a different fic lore I saw it and was like ??? galaxy WHY. Because like, it means what I think it means in this context, there are just so many better words to use. Sometimes eyes are just eyes, yknow?

---

"The word of a Jotunn is never trustworthy."

oh and I'm spelling jotun weird. okay. Also. My man. my guy. my dude. Your xenophobia is showing and your frost giant son is literally two feet away from you.

---

"his feet giving tittering taps against the ground in a rhythm that is familiar to him."

...tittering taps? what on earth--?

---

"He casts a look at the boy, long blond hair is tucked into a messy ponytail with loose strands coming to hang around a thin face. He carries muscles, but it is meager compared to other children his age and it does not seem to hold well onto his gaunt body. He is tucked into furs, but they do not seem to be warm enough for the brittle edge of Jotunheim."

fun fact!! @thot-son-of-odin drew fanart of this:

---

"She releases his hand and moves forward slowly, though Thor flinches to it. Wide blue eyes swing up to meet the golden blonde's and his fists clench at his sides, as though preparing for a fight."

Hypervigilance from being raised in a society that loathes him. Thor was bullied and beaten up frequently.

---

"Thor barely comes up to her shoulder, and Odin can see the stiff surprise in his expression."

Guess who is receiving the first hug in their life that they can remember?

---

Thor lifts his eyes towards him, "I'm…" He murmurs in a shaky common-tongue. He swallows, "I'm…"

thor was going to say "i'm going to pass out", but frigga interrupted him.

--

 "Hello, Thor," he says in a small voice, "you're well, I trust."

"I'm…" Thor repeats helplessly, then clenches his fists tightly, "yes. Of course...Thank you."

Just realized that Thor is meeting the person that he was traded for and he's probably having mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, Loki is smol, on the other, Loki stole his life.

Thor was also going to say he was going to pass out. The boy does not know how to cite his needs.

--

Odin bites sharply at his inner cheek before sharing a helpless look with his wife and rests a hand on Thor's shoulder, pretending to ignore his flinch.

Guess who is NOT used to contact that isn't intended to hurt??

---

Odin guides Thor through the palace, but the slightest noise or abrupt movement makes him flinch and draw in closer to himself. He seems terrified of everything and Odin is not quite sure what to do with this information

Yeah, guess who grew up in the middle of Jotunheim streets and like. Did not see people and color? This is literally Thor's first experience with Asgard that he remembers and everything is loud and he hates it.

---

Thor asks no questions. He hardly speaks except when asked a question, instead opting to stare at everything.

GUESS WHO DOESN'T KNOW THE COMMON TONGUE THAT WELL BECAUSE NO ONE FREAKING TAUGHT HIM?

---

When they at last make it to the royal family's wing, Thor's eyes widen with wonder. The personal rooms are adjoined in the middle with a large sitting room, a private kitchen (Frigga has always loved to cook and not even her royal status is going to stop that), and a small nook that Odin has turned into a library since he moved in here with Frigga.

Galaxy's Quest To Ignore/Explain Away Servants Continues!

---

Odin laughs with the others and rejoices, but notices with painful realization that Thor has shrunk further into himself and is barely picking at the food on his plate

GUESS WHo--i'm kidding. thor hasn't ever been to a party before. Everything is STILL LOUD.

---

Loki keeps attempting to start conversations with him (which shows the blond's true lack of talking desires if Loki, who hates initiating talking, has to start first), but Thor isn't responding.

"lack of talking desires" GALAXY WHY IS THIS--

Thor still doesn't understand the common tongue that well. Loki might as well be speaking gibberish.

---

Thor was always to return and take that responsibility. Asgard was never meant to be Loki's. It does not quell his fury to realize how many believed he'd simply sentenced his firstborn son to death.

my man my guy my dude. you didn't. even think about that a little bit? Laufey could have just outright killed Thor. And then you wouldn't have an heir. Also kind of messed up that Odin's immediate solution to this is to dump the throne onto Thor once he came back. Like. HOW DID YOU THINK THIS WAS GOING TO GO?

okay. good news guys, even when I try to write Odin as a good parent he still sucks. It's just in his nature.

I still cannot believe that Laufey didn't even want Loki back. Like BRO--

---

To recompense this, they asked Sir Borison, head of the nobility's school, to have him take a placement test. He wasn't drastically behind others his age, but he does not bare Loki's genius. Odin is not unhappy with this, he is pleased Thor understands what he can.

i'm gonna let you all in on a little secret. Sir Borison is the name I always give Loki and Thor's tutor and it's because it's literally sir boring-son. Yes, I have the sense of humor of a ten-year-old.

---

His common-tongue is often choppy, as if he did not spend enough time speaking or learning it, and the fact it did not hinder him in the testing was impressive in of itself.

YEAH. CAUSE HE TAUGHT HIMSELF HOW TO READ.

---

Thor is not so much of Jotunheim's that he does not feel.

OH MY GOSH THE XENOPHOBIA. DUDE. LOKI IS RIGHT THERE.

---

"I not want—" Thor starts, then clenches his fists, "please not make me be attended to by healer." Why is there such reluctance? Surely the boy must know that they intend him no harm. He is safe here. Asgard will always be safe for him.

I literally don't remember why Thor doesn't want to go to a healer, but I am so here for this. What's going on baby boy? :(

Also the failing speech patterns are just *Chef's kiss*

--

"Father!" Loki cries, coming up to the other side of the desk and slamming his hands against the surface. "I want a new brother!"

*rolls eyes fondly* oh my gosh you big dramatic baby.

---

It is hard to see Jotunheim in him when he's shy and stumbles over his words, but this? This is the culture he knows best. The one that Thor cannot keep if Odin is to make him king. If Thor is to recover from the years he spent as Laufey's.

I'm so annoyed with thim right now. A because MORE XENOPHOBIA AND LOKI IS STILL RIGHT THERE and b...dude. Thor has been there for like ONE WEEK. How is he supposed to have recovered by now???? And what does "recovered" even mean? That he acts more like Asgardians? LIke? Odin has put in zero (0) effort into helping Thor, but expects him to be all better anyway.

I'm just asdfkjas;dflkajs;df

---

Sir Utlison's gaze flicks up to him, almost as if guilty before admitting, lowly: "He's...reckless. Dangerous. You must know this, he is a tool that Laufey created. A intelligencer. Why do you believe he was sent with no escort?"

I am banging my head against a wall. A spy. Just SAY SPY. An EYE IS SOMETIMES JUST AN EYE.

---

Thor's eyes lose their anger, replaced with a tired defeat. "Fandral hit Loki hard enough to make him bleed. I hit him enough to make him regret it."

THOR. MY CHILD. MY BABY. YOU HAVE KNOWN LOKI THREE WEEKS AND YOU'RE ALREADY BEATING UP HIS BULLIES. <3

SOMEONE NEEDS TO BEAT UP YOURS NOW

---

Thor's head whips up and he jerks slightly, "Wait! Please! I lost control of my temper and I'm sorry, I swear on my honour I'm sorry, but please don't lock me in the room!"

Oh.

Oh.

Right. Forgot about that. Okay. Yeah.

---

"...yes. The King was never pleased with anything I did. He was always angry. Sometimes he'd hit me, but I was to small and fast. They were always making fun of me and I hated it. No one liked me, but they pretended they did. I tried to do the things that they wanted, but I was always cold, sick, and they hated me for it. The King—Laufey would punish me by throwing me in the room and I hated it. I didn't like dark. It was always cold, All-Father, and I just wanted to be warm."

You know. Isolation in the dark and cold is probably one of the worst long-term psychologically damaging things I can think of. Good job, Laufey, you messed up a perfectly good child.

---

Thor squeezes his eyes shut, "Fandral's gang of idiots. That's-that's why Loki hit him first. Then Fand-ral hit him back and called him the hiccup of the family and that he wouldn't underssstand because of that, and I was so angry. Loki's mean, but he's my brother. All-all of them hate me and they said that you do to and that you want to send me b-b-back."

I FORGOT ABOUT THAT TOO.

I literally love how in any reincarnation of them, Thor and Loki are still ride or die siblings. AND SOMEONE HIT THOR'S BULLY BACk!!!

(I DO NOT ENCOURAGE NOR CONDONE VIOLENCE)

---

Startled, but not surprised, Odin assigns Loki to the task as well to keep the four boys from strangling each other.

maybe, consider this, you could have an adult supervise them instead of an actual child, sir?

---

There's a book between their legs from where they're sitting on the floor and Loki points at something on the page.

"What's this letter?"

""E"?" Thor questions, looking up for confirmation.

Loki shakes his head, "No, that's "Æ", this is "E"." He points somewhere else on the book. Thor makes a little humming noise of agreement.

Odin's stomach jerks.

Thor never learned how to read from the Jotunns.

There's just something really really sweet to me about the idea of Loki putting together that Thor can't read and then going "well i guess I'm just going to fix that" and then Thor trusting him enough to let him help. I love these two so much.

---

Loki gives him a look, but it's softer this time, "Worry not," he reassures, releasing Thor's hand, "you should really think about drawing the Dejorunn Mountains, they're beautiful at this time of year. Sir Borison said that he was going to take my class up to see them, but Astrid slipped and got her dress all dirty and she cried for a long time, Brother, it was at least three minutes, and then Brosn fell down and broke his ankle so the trip was cancelled. Do you want to see them with me? Father said he would take me, but he's been busy and he might let us go if you ask—" no, he wouldn't, they're too dangerous. When they're older, maybe, "—and I would love to drink from the Waterfall of Kings. You would, too, I think."

Loki learning with Thor's anxiety and helping Thor with it and Thor letting him help and this 'verse is SO GOOD. I'm very proud of myself. I did a great job, lol.

I always think of this as like. The devil's fic. Like on my list of fics I hate this is below that. But it's actually really good??? like. Yeah it's got some rough spots and Odin is STILL horrible, but overall I would write a follow-up one-shot, which is kind of my basis on how much I hate something, XD

thank you so much for this ask. It gave me a little boost of confidence.

LINK TO STORY <-

[winterluna81]

A Love Beyond Time-Chapter 5: The Foxes and the Valley

Dinner was a homely and sumptuous affair held at the clearing next to the waterfalls Sagiri had chanced upon earlier. A large pot of stew, filled with vegetables and herbs, simmered over a steady flame. Another slightly smaller pot held fragrant rice with adzuki beans, and a platter piled with ripened peaches and pears completed the menu. The crisp evening air, initially cool due to the setting sun, was now warm and spiced with the rich scents of a freshly cooked meal.

The large group of allies, existing and new, humans and foxes, gathered around the fire. No words were exchanged as they focused on filling their empty stomachs. Only when the sharp edges of hunger were soothed did Nurugai break the silence with a satisfied belch.

“That was a really delicious meal! I haven’t eaten so well for a very long time. Since….” The young Sankar girl trailed off, remembering her slain tribespeople and her beloved grandfather. How they had their evening meals around fires like this, eating and drinking and chatting. How those happy moments were instantly and cruelly wiped out forever by a group of devious samurais. By her own naivety.

A warm, slightly callous hand closed over hers and squeezed lightly. Nurugai looked up to see Shion’s soft smile of comfort and empathy. Of course, her new Sensei would understand because he, too, was nursing a heart shattered by loss and tragedy. Nurugai leaned into the older man, whispering her thanks for his thoughtful gesture.

Right opposite Shion, Seimei studied their exchange with an inscrutable expression. He raised his cup to his lips and drank absent-mindedly, seeming lost in thoughts.

"So, now that we have sated our tummies, can we sate our curiosities now? Who are you? Where are we? Why do you help us? Do you know anything about the Tensens and the Elixir?" Gabimaru, in his usual blunt and single-minded manner, fired off a quick succession of questions like arrows from a tightly drawn bow.

“Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are foxes, and we came to Nihon from the Middle Kingdom 500 years ago. Some people call us fox spirits, fox fairies, or fox demons. We can gain 1 tail after every century of cultivating our life forces. Each tail contains different powers and denotes our age. The ultimate number of tails is 9-hence, the nine-tail fox is extremely powerful,” Harumi paused and glanced lovingly at Asahi. “My mate here, Asahi, is a nine-tail fox. He got his last tail about half a century ago. My twin sister, Keiko, and I have eight tails each.”

“Fox Spirits? So are you now completely human or half of each?” Fuchi queried, his round eyes gleaming with inquisitiveness and something else, which Sagiri dreaded thinking about. She knew her comrade’s obsession with medicine and science. And dissection.

“We are born as foxes. Sometimes, perhaps due to affinity with religious philosophies and teachings, we gain the ability to practice them. We can obtain a human form after 50 years of practice. However, our true form is still the fox, so if we lose our powers, we revert to our original state. Not all foxes have this special religious affinity, though. And every century, a calamity will befall us just when we are about to gain our new tail. It’s like a test from the Celestial Kingdom, albeit perilous. Once we pull through it, we get a tail and increased powers.”

“Are there many nine-tail foxes around?” Nurugai wondered. Asahi shook his head.

“No. Sadly, many foxes fail to withstand the tests and lose all their powers, even their lives, when they are only 300 years old or so."

“Your explanation only covers the three of you, right?” Gabimaru drew a circle around Asahi and the twins with a pointing finger. “What about him?” The shinobi jutted his chin in Seimei’s direction.

 Eleven pairs of eyes swiveled to the silent figure in white. Seimei cocked a dark brow and sighed slightly.

“I, too, have nine-tails. But I am different from Asahi. I am a Celestial Fox and am much older than him.”

“What’s the difference?” Ganetetsusai frowned in confusion.

“It means Seimei is a Deity." Seeing that their Chief did not want to elaborate, Keiko chimed in on his behalf. “People in the Northeastern regions of the Middle Kingdom worship him. He’s one of the most popular deities in their folk religions.” Ignoring Seimei’s glower, she continued proudly. “He’s a very powerful and benevolent deity.” It was obvious that the young vixen greatly admired the Celestial Fox.

An audible gasp sounded as everyone fixed their attention on Seimei. A deity? On this island?

“Is that true? You are really a deity?” Nurugai asked excitedly.

“That was in the past. Yes, I had worshippers and temples dedicated to me,” Seimei’s beautiful face hardened in contempt. “But those mean nothing to me. Now, I am just an immortal with some powers. End of story. Let’s move on to other questions you may have.”

Seimei’s harsh words and apparent disdain for his status as a deity cast an uneasiness over the group. Keiko lowered her eyes and laced her fingers together, biting her lips. Hoping to salvage the situation, Sagiri cleared her throat. “The valley is absolutely breathtaking. Is it a part of Shinsenkyo? Or is it another realm?”

“Both," Seimei recalled. “I found this island more than 2,000 years ago while exploring the Mortal Realm. I liked it a lot-it was very peaceful and had valleys, mountains, lakes, and this waterfall. A perfect place for foxes.”

“But when I returned later, a group of humans from the Middle Kingdom had landed and established a village on the island. At that time, I was in poor form. Also, Asahi, Harumi, and Keiko were still too young. We couldn��t afford to expose ourselves or engage in a battle against the humans. So, I carved up a sizeable portion of Shinsenkyo to form another realm, which I hid and protected with enchantments. This became the valley. The four of us stayed here and continued to cultivate our life forces. I thought we could maintain the status quo. Until the humans started experimenting-first on their fellow countrymen and the island’s wildlife, then the lured outsiders-turning this place into a massive laboratory.”

“It doesn’t explain why you decided to interfere only now. Why didn’t you step in when the humans started their experiments or lured other humans to Shinsenkyo?” Gabimaru questioned.

“Like Seimei said earlier, we were not strong enough to stand up to them initially. It would have been foolhardy and fatal. Later, we didn’t try to rescue the lured humans because they weren’t worth saving, to be honest. All of them were greedy, malicious, and incredibly stupid. Why should we risk exposing our existence and sacrifice ourselves to help them?” Asahi interjected.

“But why rescue us then? What made us so different from the others?” Gabimaru persisted, his eyes trained keenly on the Fox Chief.

“Because all of you are stronger and far more intelligent than the previous ‘victims.' And you have valid reasons to survive this ordeal and return home. Personal reasons and convictions that motivate you to continue fighting. That moved me, so I wish to help. Besides, we no longer want to stand by and watch the experimenters continue with their atrocities and cruelties,” Seimei stated.

The truth is, there is a reason among you why I must step in now. My only reason. He mused quietly to himself.

Sagiri studied Seimei as he spoke. She had noticed him looking intently at Shion since they sat down for dinner. Though his face was a mask of serenity and his posture relaxed, the female Asaemon could sense some inner turmoil within the immortal being.

Does Seimei know Sir Shion? Why does he keep looking at him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Images, dozens of them, clear as day, assailed Shion's mind as they sat around the fire, listening to Seimei. He gasped quietly, helpless to stop them.

…There was a temple-it was not exactly large, but beautiful and well-maintained. He could even smell the incense and the offerings, hear the prayers uttered by the worshippers…

…A large statue of Hu-Xian Ye* was placed on the altar, lifelike and beautiful. Large plates of fruits and eggs were placed on the table as offerings, where an elaborately decorated incense holder stood in the middle, holding hundreds of smoldering joss sticks…

…He was standing behind a pillar, well hidden from view, watching the tall figure in white as it glided gracefully among the crowd with an amused expression. Once, the figure went to the altar and grabbed a peach, biting into it while scrutinizing the statue of the Celestial Fox with an amused expression. As he watched him, his heart felt full and throbbed with an intense emotion….

What is this feeling?

Why do I feel this way about the figure in white?

Who is he?

And…why do I feel so hot and dizzy? Why do I feel as though my body’s on fire?

Nurugai glanced at Shion when he gave a low moan. Puzzlement turned to worry and worry to shock when she noticed his paleness and the sickly sheen of perspiration dotting his forehead. Before she could utter a word, he collapsed to his side.

“SENSEI!”

Quick as a bolt of lightning, Seimei appeared beside Shion. He cradled the moaning blind samurai in his lap carefully and took his pulse. Seimei frowned and, in one fluid motion, removed the silver belt and lowered the top part of the robe to Shion’s waist. What was revealed had the Celestial Fox cursing viciously and the rest of the group swallowing hard in dismal.

Most of the wounds that Shion had sustained had healed nicely and turned a light pink. Except one on his right torso-it was large and a raw, angry red, oozing blood and a pale greenish liquid.

Seimei touched the festering wound gingerly. Though his fingertips barely grazed the surface, Shion writhed and arched his back with an agonized cry. Nurugai rushed toward her Sensei with a distressed cry, only to be held firmly back by Harumi. Seimei tightened his grip around the injured man, murmuring words of comfort in a language foreign to the gathering humans.

“There is some residual venom in his system that infected this wound. We need to purge it immediately.”

As the Celestial Fox spoke, his eyes glowed as if lit from deep within. A sharp talon grew from his left index finger, and he ran it over the lesion, scoring the inflamed flesh. Blood, a dark sinister green, spurted from the cut and ran in rivulets down Shion’s mid-section, pooling near his belly button.

Shion could hear them, the muffled voices. He could not make out what they were saying, but the sounds were enough to tell him he was still alive. The pain spoke to him as well, letting him know that he was clearly not out of the woods. Yet.

“Little Dragon, it’s all right. You’ve been so brave, so strong. Just be brave for a little while more. For me, please. It will be over soon, I promise.”

A murmur cut through the voices and the pain-soothing and achingly familiar. It made his heart quiver again with that strange, intense feeling, and his throat constricted with unshed tears. Who's talking to him? And why does he feel like crying?

Then he felt something slide over him, like silk. Just a flutter over his skin, under it, then deeper, deeper still to where the pain was clenched in fists. Then the silk heated, then it burned. Oh, God. And the fire of it forced those fists open until the pain spread and broke into a thousand jagged pieces.

In his head, the silver-haired samurai screamed foul curses and obscenities that would turn the air blue and thoroughly shatter his reputation as a well-respected Sensei of the Yamada Asaemon clan. But all that passed through his chalk-white lips were inaudible croaks and groans. He sucked in air and trembled as a fistful of fresh pain exploded. But it slowly ebbed away and became a steady throb that finally receded as a cool wave washed over him.

Nurugai choked on a sob as she watched Shion tremble and convulse in Seimei’s arms, the pool of infected blood growing. Harumi squeezed the young girl’s shoulders in a reassuring hug and met Sagiri’s tear-streaked face. She reached a hand out to the female samurai, who took it in gratitude.

“Don’t worry. Shion will be fine. Trust me, and trust Seimei,” she reassured. Sagiri shook her head tearfully.

“How long more must it take? I can’t bear it…”

As if on cue, the blood, which now flowed a healthy crimson, slowed to a mere trickle and stopped completely. At almost the exact moment, the glow in Seimei's eyes faded, and he sat back, arms still around Shion.

“He’s all right now. I have purged the venom completely. All he needs is a good rest.”

Everyone looked in disbelief as the wound, festering and raw and bleeding mere seconds ago, began to heal, knitting close as though sewn together by an invisible hand. Soon all that remained was a palm-sized jagged circle, tenderly pink. They googled even more when Seimei conjured a small crystal bottle out of nothing, and the pool of tainted blood, glistening dully with an oily sheen on Shion’s pale flesh, flowed in a graceful arc towards the bottle and into it. Once the blood was collected, the Celestial Fox capped the bottle, and it vanished with a flick of his hand.

“Why did you collect Shion’s infected blood?” Fuchi questioned when he found his voice.

Seimei looked up at the yellow-haired Asaemon after popping a pill into Shion’s mouth.

"I want to examine the blood, see if I can identify the venoms. I plan to create an antidote. In any case, I enjoy studying things, making my own potions and salves. Basically, medical and healing-related stuff."

Unsurprisingly, Fuchi’s eyes sparkled with interest and excitement at the word medical. “Can I see how you work? I want to learn more about the Tensen too! And I love medicines and…”

“To dissect things to know how their internals look like," Seimei finished drily before flashing a sharp smile at Fuchi, which had the latter shivering slightly. "I know what you're fantasizing about, my boy. But I'll allow you to work with me and Keiko on some healing stuff. Just don’t push your luck too far. And…don’t act on your thoughts. Or I’ll toss you over the cliffs.”

Sagiri noted that Shion was still reclining in Seimei’s lap, with the Celestial Fox’s arms wrapped snugly around the blind samurai’s waist while speaking to Fuchi. As the platinum-haired man muttered and shifted restlessly, Seimei moved his left hand and cupped his cheek tenderly, almost lovingly. Much to Sagiri's astonishment, Shion snuggled closer to the immortal at the intimate contact and sighed contently.

They look like a pair of cuddling lovers...Anyway, I never knew that Sir Shion had this vulnerable, childlike side to him. He's always so strong and confident.

The young samurai looked away to see Yuzuriha and Nurugai also looking at the two males with interest and curiosity. Just then, Keiko hurried to Seimei’s side and knelt.

“Seimei, I’m so sorry. I didn’t detect the venom earlier…it was my fault that Shion got so sick. I’m really sorry….” Keiko broke off and bowed her head, weeping brokenly. She had grown extremely fond of the silver-haired man and was wrecked with guilt about what just happened.

Seimei smiled and placed a hand on the young vixen’s chin to lift her head up.

“It’s not your fault, little one. The amount of residual venom was too minuscule to be detected easily. You have already done an excellent job.” So saying, the Celestial Fox got to his feet with Shion in his arms.

“I think we should call this a night. We have enough adventure and information for the day. Let’s continue our conversation tomorrow morning. I want to speak to you about our battle plans. Have a good rest, everyone.”

With that, Seimei strode off briskly, leaving the humans behind with questions and intrigue buzzing through their minds. The trio of foxes stared after their Chief’s departing figure, a heavy uneasiness and despair weighing upon them as the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place, and their doubts were confirmed.

Shion was the one that Seimei had been waiting for. And that could only mean one thing….

*Hu-Xian Ye (狐仙爷): The Celestial Fox Fairy (male)

*The nine-tail fox is one of the most well-known and, sadly, controversial mythological figures in Chinese and East Asian legends. The earliest historical records of the mythical creature first appeared in the Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), compiled from the Warring States period to the Western Han period (circa fourth to circa first century BC). Initially, it was depicted as a benevolent creature. However, later Chinese dynasties turned the nine-tail fox into an evil demon that often took on the form of a beautiful seductress who would bewitch men to kill and eat them.

*According to Taoist records, the fox fairy is a deity worshipped by people in North and Northeastern China. The deity can be represented as either male or female, whose animal form is a nine-tailed fox. It is the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese Shintō cult of Inari Ōkami, both god(desses) of the foxes or collective representations of the fox spirits.

[thelaughingpanda]

Ah alas, it has some of my favorite lines, so I’ll just put the rest here for everyone! Continuing from where we left off:

'Thus the years drew on to the War of the Ring; of which more is told elsewhere: how the means unforeseen was revealed whereby Sauron might be overthrown, and how hope beyond hope was fulfilled. And it came to pass that in the hour of defeat Aragorn came up from the sea and unfurled the standard of Arwen in the battle of the Fields of Pelennor, and in that day he was first hailed as king. And at last when all was done he entered into the inheritance of his fathers and received the crown of Gondor and sceptre of Arnor; and at Midsummer in the year of the Fall of Sauron he took the hand of Arwen Undómiel, and they were wedded in the city of the Kings.

'The Third Age ended thus in victory and hope; and yet grievous among the sorrows of that Age was the parting of Elrond and Arwen, for they were sundered by the Sea and by a doom beyond the end of the world. When the Great Ring was unmade and the Three were shorn of their power, then Elrond grew weary at last and forsook Middle-earth, never to return. But Arwen became as a mortal woman, and yet it was not her lot to die until all that she had gained was lost.

'As Queen of Elves and Men she dwelt with Aragorn for six-score years in great glory and bliss; yet at last he felt the approach of old age and knew that the span of his life-days was drawing to an end, long though it had been. Then Aragorn said to Arwen:

'"At last, Lady Evenstar, fairest in this world, and most beloved, my world is fading. Lo! we have gathered, and we have spent, and now the time of payment draws near."

'Arwen knew well what he intended, and long had foreseen it; nonetheless she was overborne by her grief. "Would you then, lord, before your time leave your people that live by your word?" she said.

'"Not before my time," he answered. "For if I will not go now, then I must soon go perforce. And Eldarion our son is a man full-ripe for kingship."

'Then going to the House of the Kings in the Silent Street, Aragorn laid him down on the long bed that had been prepared for him. There he said farewell to Eldarion, and gave into his hands the winged crown of Gondor and the sceptre of Arnor, and then all left him save Arwen, and she stood alone by his bed. And for all her wisdom and lineage she could not forbear to plead with him to stay yet for a while. She was not yet weary of her days, and thus she tasted the bitterness of the mortality that she had taken upon her.

'"Lady Undómiel," said Aragorn, "the hour is indeed hard, yet it was made even in that day when we met under the white birches in the garden of Elrond where none now walk. And on the hill of Cerin Amroth when we forsook both the Shadow and the Twilight this doom we accepted. Take counsel with yourself, beloved, and ask whether you would indeed have me wait until I wither and fall from my high seat unmanned and witless. Nay, lady, I am the last of the Númenoreans and the latest King of the Elder Days; and to me has been given not only a span thrice that of Men of Middle-earth, but also the grace to go at my will, and give back the gift. Now, therefore, I will sleep.

'"I speak no comfort to you, for there is no comfort for such pain within the circles of the world. The uttermost choice is before you: to repent and go to the Havens and bear away into the West the memory of our days together that shall there be evergreen but never more than memory; or else to abide the Doom of Men."

'"Nay, dear lord," she said, "that choice is long over. There is now no ship that would bear the hence, and I must indeed abide the Doom of Men, whether I will or I nill: the loss and the silence. But I say to you, King of the Númenoreans, not till now have I understood the tale of your people and their fall. As wicked fools I scorned them, but I pity them at last. For if this is indeed, as the Eldar say, the gift of the One to Men, it is bitter to receive."

'"So it seems," he said. "But let us not be overthrown at the final test, who of old renounced the Shadow and the Ring. In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory, Farewell!"

'"Estel, Estel!" she cried, and with that even as he took her hand and kissed it, he fell into sleep. Then a great beauty was revealed in him, so that all who after came there looked on him in wonder; for they saw that the grace of his youth, and the valour of his manhood, and the wisdom and majesty of his age were blended together. And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.

'But Arwen went forth from the House, and the light of her eyes was quenched, and it seemed to her people that she had become cold and grey as nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Then she said farewell to Eldarion, and to her daughters, and to all whom she had loved; and she went out from the city of Minas Tirith and passed away to the land of Lórien, and dwelt there alone under the fading trees until winter came. Galadriel had passed away and Celeborn also was gone, and the land was silent.

'There at last when the mallorn-leaves were falling, but spring had not yet come, she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea.

'Here ends this tale, as it has come to us from the South; and with the passing of Evenstar no more is said in this book of the days of old.'

Are we doing the rest of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen appendix? Since we cut it off earlier to avoid spoilers.

I won't be sending more fragments, the Appendix B fragment from May 26th was the last bit of the newsletter - I wanted to end with just this one bonus to stick to the main story and make the ending short and neat. I hope you understand!

[oiphity]

drew a stupid idiot <3

this was just supposed to be a silly little figure study but i decided to turn it into my favorite capitalist boytoy wearing his default outfit because i'm a glutton for punishment

anyway look at this man. my beloved rancid, probably middle-aged poor little meow meow of a man. god help me

[erynalasse]

Who is your favorite character from each main first age species (elf, human, ainur, dwarf, etc) you can choose more than one if you want!

-@outofangband

Oh, this is quite an interesting one! How dare you make me pick favorites!!! If you don’t mind, I think I’ll interpret this more as a “who’s your under-recognized favorite” since my answers would be pretty predictable otherwise.

Elf: I thought about this one the most because there’s so many to choose from. I have to go with Eärwen, which might be surprising. It’s not like with have any canon character details on her besides her genealogy. But I love the possibilities that opens up! All of Eärwen’s children head east after the Darkening. Her husband Arafinwë almost does too before he turns back. And then the two of them are tasked with ruling a shattered people who lost their old king, their lights, and their stability in one blow. And the Noldor also have to patch relations with the Teleri after Alqualondë—and oh, yeah, it’s Eärwen’s own father who rules them. Conflicting family loyalties much? It’s an impossibly difficult situation and I have to imagine it took all of Eärwen’s strength and grace to navigate it. How to you approach being High Queen of the Noldor when your only models are Míriel and Indis and their famous marriage issues?

Man: Oh Boromir, my beloved. Not a First Age character, but he deserves it. This one was an easy choice. I mostly grew to love him after seeing some excellent metas about his character. I’ll have to come back and link them. But I love how Boromir embodies the best and the worst of the race of Men, and how the Ring brings out both extremes so strongly. Boromir is indeed a man of extremes: strong loyalty, strong love, strong duty, and strong stubbornness and pride. He does his best every step of the way until the Ring seduces him, and even then it cannot overcome loyalty to the little ones. I cry every time I see this scene, and I’m not ashamed to say it.

Vala: Ulmo! This is also an easy choice, mostly because we have a small pool and a lot of unattractive options. I mostly love Ulmo because he’s one of the few Valar who give Manwë’s edicts a big fat middle finger and keeps intervening in Middle Earth. Manwë and his Eagles get half-marks, at best, for timing. I also think it’s important that Ulmo is proactive, especially in guiding Turgon and Finrod to build their realms. Ulmo starts them early and he keeps helping Turgon and Tuor and their family. Manwë, notably, only intervenes when things have gone horribly wrong first.

Dwarf: Hmm. I don’t actually have such strong opinions about this one, mostly because we just don’t get many Dwarven characters. But I really, really like Azaghâl. You can build up a very compelling character from the handful of details: Maedhros rescuing him and his people (in a similar way to Haleth and Caranthir!), the story of the Dragon-helm, his death in the Nirnaeth. All very interesting, and I wish we had more.

And a bonus, because I’m not sure whether it counts as a race! Actually not even related to @outofangband liking my meta on her, but I hope you like this take too.

Peredhel: I love Elwing. I really, really do and I wish fandom were more open-minded about her. I don’t agree with her decision to cling to the Silmaril—it was objectively foolish, and she had good examples for why. But I love Elwing for the same reasons fandom fixates on the Fëanorions: she grows up under the burden of a family legacy that also kills her family one by one. She escapes, and survives, and does her best to find happiness even after she’s lost so much. And that happiness and that legacy, too, is snatched away from her because she drew the line at giving up what her family died for to unworthy hands. She lost so much, and life in Valinor with a husband away on star duties is less than what she deserved.

[shikonotama]

Noragami Reverse Bigbang 2021

Hello! This is my piece for this year's @noragamibigbang. The idea for this fic came from @littlessushi who was my partner for this reverse bigbang. Please make sure to check out her beatiful art! As this was the first time I participated in a reverse bigbang I was quite nervous at the beginning but thanks to my partner's help it was a really great time and I enyojed the writing a lot. Have fun reading! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ »That’s all. Thank you very much.« The young woman took the bag in front of her, bowed politely and left the supermarket she often used to visit on her way home. Right after stepping into the already fading sunlight that warmly lit the surroundings; she stretched both her arms high up into the air, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. It had been a tough day so far.

Since she had finished medical school and started to work at the local hospital some weeks ago, starting from tomorrow she had her first days off, so she could take things easy today.

‘Alright, Hiyori’, she told herself, ‘time to head back home, get some warm tea and a blanket and just chill on the couch.’

Meow…

Surprised she lowered her arms and opened her eyes to look around.

»Meow…« It took her quite some time to get a glimpse of a tiny black cat. It sat on top of a trash can cover and had its eyes strictly focused her way.

»… me…ow…«, the sound coming out of the small mouth got quite a bit lower after she took some steps into the small cat’s direction.

»Don’t be afraid…«, she smiled, stood still and squatted down while leaning forward a bit. At first Hiyori feared the cat would jump up straight away and run, but it just kept watching her, then the black head rose, the cat closed its eyes and the tiny black nose started to wiggle.

»What’s wrong?«, she asked, knowing well a cat wouldn’t answer. Instead it opened both eyes in an instant: »Meow!«, the big green eyes were now focusing the white bag Hiyori just bought. The woman smiled, stood back up and put one hand into the plastic bag.

»Are you hungry? I only bought some buns, you know?«, she laughed and held a piece between her fingers, so the small animal could reach it without any trouble. When their eyes met again, Hiyori’s smile vanished in an instant and she froze.

Even though the weather hadn’t changed the slightest, the sound of raindrops falling onto the ground reached her ears: raindrops that hit the ground, the roof, the rain drain, her umbrella and the trash can cover.

“I will keep my promise!” Her own words echoed in her ears, “I will never ever forget about you…!”The young woman shuddered and held her breath.

»Ya…to…?!«, she whispered while barely getting any kind of sound out of her mouth and took a closer look at the pair of light green eyes that carefully watched her. The bun she just held dropped on the floor. Just one second ago, Hiyori believed that the cat’s eyes’ colour had changed from green into a deep and light blue – but she was wrong: It was still the same.

‘Why …?’

“Will you really keep that promise, I wonder…?”

Not caring about some people who would probably think she had gotten crazy, Hiyori let the entire bag fall on the ground, turned around and ran.

The park she just entered was still filled with people, mostly families and friends. Many of them already started to prepare their way home, but some were still enjoying their time together. The cherry blossom trees throughout the city had just started to bloom and drew everyone’s attention towards them. Tiny pink petals were dancing through the air, swirling around and lightening everybody’s mood, or so it seemed.

Countless children were running around, screaming and dancing with both leaves and their friends while on the other hand older people were sitting on blankets, drinking, chatting and laughing with their beloveds and family – meanwhile Hiyori was still caught in her thoughts, not fully aware of what just happened or where she ran to.

It was only some minutes later when she finally recognised she ran quite a distance. She abruptly stopped and leaned against a trunk, her eyes still closed to get back a hold of her breathing.

As her emotions calmed down and the surrounding sounds started to reach her consciousness again, she carefully blinked and reopened her eyes. Even though she could still feel her heart pounding against her chest, her breathing tempo went back to normal and her brain had started to work properly again. Even her hands had stopped shaking.

‘What’s wrong with me, all of a sudden?’ She led out a heavy sigh and watched the children play on the grass right in front of her eyes. Hiyori couldn’t help herself but bring back a smile to her face. It felt like ages, since she last went out for a walk during the Hanami. When she was younger, she used to go out with her family and play with her brother and friends like those kids did just now. Later, when she entered middle school, she used to come visit the blooming trees together with her friends, but since she went afar to study to become a physician, she simply didn’t have the time to take a relaxing walk around the park.

Just now, when her eyes tried to follow the petals swirling through the air, she felt like a heavy weight was lifted from her chest – a feeling she hadn’t felt in quite a while. Like a vanishing mist that lay upon her soul for the past… days… maybe weeks… or even years?

»This place sure is amazing, isn’t it?! We definitely have to come back here again next year!«

»You bet we will!«

»For real?! It’s a promise! You better not forget, okay?«

»Of course I promise. How could I forget something that important?!«

The three people, walking by Hiyori who still leaned against the trunk of one of the biggest cherry blossom trees around, laughed and giggled up until she lost sight of them.

»… a… promise…?« Hiyori murmured, softly pushing her body away from the cherry tree trunk. Slowly she continued her way through the park, passing by several trees – some of which were lit by nearby street lamps that had just been switched on one second ago. As she moved on, the amount of people crossing her way decreased, until she finally found herself at the edge of the park, looking over a beautiful riverside, while the sun had continued its way, so it was just about to touch the ground in the far distance now. This caused the white and pink petals swirling around Hiyori’s body to be touched by the fading sunlight, turning the already beautiful view into an even more mysterious one. The tree right beside her, which had its trunk wrapped up in a mat of straw, didn’t seem to be one of the strongest or biggest ones she passed today, nevertheless its petals rained down and spread across – some of them might even reach the other riverbank.

She carefully approached the tree and put her palm on top of its somewhat familiar bark.

‘So warm…’ She lifted her eyes and waved her gaze to the treetop. In an instant she could feel a fresh breeze of wind playing with her hair.

“The Sakura’s in full blossom.”, her own voice echoed in her ears. She shrugged.

“Whoa… they sure are pretty!” It was the voice of a young man, maybe still at a kid’s age. Startled, Hiyori took some steps back from the tree she just put her hand on and searched her surroundings.

“They are… Let’s come back next year, too, okay?!”

“Definitely…” The blonde boy beside her, his eyes sparkling in joy, nodded, still gazing at the big cherry blossom tree. Just one second later he snapped out of his current mood, turning his attention to the back while shouting: “Yo – You dumb old stalker. We did you a big favour by letting you come with us, so you better be careful!” Following his voice, Hiyori turned around as well. Some meters behind them stood a young man dressed in a black track suit. His gaze was locked on the cherry tree as well, but in contrast to the boy, his eyes didn’t sparkle, nor was there any joy visible on his face. His expressions hadn’t changed since Yukine spoke to him, he didn’t even spare a glance on the two. Hiyori couldn’t help herself but feel unease: It was rare for him to put up that kind of face. She wanted to ask him, wanted to know if something happened she didn’t know about, but on the same time she didn’t find the right words to do so. His mind seemed to be in a place far away from here, would he even bother to answer?

Then suddenly, he started to mumble some words. Not loud enough to understand completely, even though she really tried. The wind made the young man’s black hair cover his eyes, so she couldn’t get a hold of his expression anymore. ‘What’s wrong??’ Just as she started to make a move to turn around and walk in his direction, some of his words made it through to her.

“… huh? … can’t even remember… when I last saw…”

‘When?’

“What are you rambling about?! Cherry blossoms are everywhere in Japan…!” The boy’s voice snapped both of them out of their thoughts.

“Hmph… Dumplings over flowers for me any day.”

Without any further word, Yato headed straight to the bento boxes Hiyori prepared for today, sat down on the blanket and pinched a bit out of the box next to him. “SO MUCH FOOD!”, he picked up one of the sausages shaped like an octopus. In contrast to his appearance just some moments ago, he wore a big grin on his face, his cheeks rosy from excitement.

“Ahh, just looking at these adorable octopus hotdogs makes me warm with Hiyori’s love…”

“Wait ‘til everybody gets here, okay?”

“Everybody?”

Just as they spoke, a bunch of people appeared in the far, strictly heading for the cherry blossom tree they prepared the picnic at.

Hiyori couldn’t help herself but giggle at the images that just flashed before her eyes. Both Yato and Bishamon sure were energetic that day. Everyone else probably had a lot of fun, too!

»You should quit drinking that much if you lose the capability to control your actions, you know? Don’t blame me, Yukine or anyone else for the things you did!«

Hiyori had turned around, rolling her eyes and both of her hands rested on her hip.

‘At least he doesn’t make that gloomy face anymore.’

The annoyed look on her face vanished and turned into a happy smile as their eyes met.

»Whatever… this day turned out to be a lot of fun, huh? Well… it was even more chaotic as I could’ve ever imagined beforehand…«

After a short pause, she continued: »Yato…!« It was just then, when she finally realised that neither Yato, nor Yukine nor one of the others had been with her to begin with.

In front of her eyes there was still that cherry tree which had a small part of its trunk covered, the same petals dancing around her body and the same river some steps ahead.

»Right…«, she told herself, »… it’s already been some years.« ‘How could I forget? … Again…’ The whole amount of energy she just felt some minutes ago had already left her body, so she leaned against the tree behind her, slowly sliding to the ground. In silence, tears had gathered in both of her eyes, blurring her vision before they rolled over and left a wet mark on her face.

Back then she couldn’t even think about a life without them – a so called normal life. A life where she simply went to school to learn, have fun with her classmates and friends and then starting to think about her future goals.

After she was hit by that truck when she was trying to save this reckless god running over the street to catch a stray, she tended to leave her body from time to time. Even now she couldn’t fully understand what happened back then. As a so called half Ayakashi she could jump up high and her kicks were even stronger than Tono’s. Yato had promised to find a cure for her state. ‘Right… I even payed him the five Yen he requested.’ As time went by, she had started to stop regretting her new state and used the power given to her to help her friends and fight. What started as something alarming and scary turned out to be a way full of friends and mysteries to solve. Never could she have imagined that it would not stay like this forever.

Even though Tenjin had warned her to stay alert and thus suggested that cutting ties with Yato and everybody else would be for the best, she refused and stayed. She wanted to stay by their side – by his side. After she almost forgot about everybody once, she treasured her dairy even more, closely paying attention to reread and write something down every single day.

‘Why did I forget about them again? Did he cut the ties for real this time? That night?’ – He didn’t, she just remembered. After her cord was heavily damaged and her physical body had gotten weaker, Tenjin brought up the matter of cutting ties again.

“I’m sorry… if it wasn’t for me, your condition wouldn’t be that bad right now…«, Yato stood some steps away from her, his eyes strictly directed to the floor. It wasn’t easy to understand every word he said, because his voice was about to start trembling any moment. To cover up, he kept it low.

“That’s not true! Why do keep blaming yourself for things you can’t change?!!”

Hiyori’s voice was filled with anger and despair. If he really wanted to cut the ties that connected the two there wasn’t much she was able to do against.

“Yato…”, after a while she lowered her voice too, slowly closing the gap between them until she was able to touch his chin with her fingertips. Gently and yet firmly she lifted his head so his eyes had to make contact with hers. His were cold and without the sparkling deep blue she loved about them the most. His face was covered in bruises from the many fights he had to endure and despite her having bandaged them the best she could, he really looked like someone who should rest rather than standing here at night, chatting.

“… please.”, she continued her talk, “I don’t want to forget, I will be fine, I’ll-…!”

She felt cold sweat running over her face and her breathing was unsteady and fast. It was just at that moment, when she suddenly felt dizzy and was about to tumble. Yato quickly had put his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his chest. She could feel every finger of his tightly holding onto her shirt while desperately trying to cover the fact that his hands were shaking.

“Please… I don’t want to forget… again…”, she whispered and could feel him strengthen his grip even more.

She tightly wrapped her arms around her knees as she remembered what happened more than six years ago. Her condition kept getting worse, so everyone suggested it may be best for her to continue living a normal life. That’s why she decided to sign up for medical school far away from Kofuku’s house. If she studied far away, kept her distance and regained her health, she would be able to meet with them again – at least that was what she had hoped for.

Her condition did indeed get better throughout the years passing by, she felt a lot healthier now and

could not remember a single day she left body again. ‘But… I ended up forgetting about them… about all of them nonetheless.’

‘I wonder… are they still arguing day for day? Fighting evil spirits? Did they get into a fight again and got hurt? Are they… still ali-…!’

Hiyori stopped her own thoughts, opened her eyes wide and held her breath while covering her mouth with both her hands.

“The only kinds of believers Yato could ever relay on were those one-time customers, not to mention he was never really blessed with a good shinki… I’m sure he had his fair share of fears and doubts. I bet there wasn’t a day when his mind was at ease, since he had to cling to one person’s memory at a time to stay alive…”

‘Right… without his lifeline, an unknown god like Yato would…’

Her chest hurt and her head was filled with dust. Hiyori could feel her knees shaking, as she tried to stand back up on her feet again. After she forgot about him during the past six years, did he…? No…

»This can’t be… right!« Hastily the woman grabbed the bag she was carrying her mobile in; at least she tried to. Where she remembered her bag to be, she could just grasp thin air. She must have lost her bag after encountering the black cat next to the supermarket this afternoon.

»Damn…!« With one jump she ignored her still shaking knees and jumped back on her feet.

‘It doesn’t matter if we’re supposed to cut ties… I don’t care…’ Her body ran back into the park she came out of some minutes ago. All its ways were lit by streetlamps, now that the sunlight was almost completely gone for today.

‘I have to call him… I have to know whether he and Yukine are safe… Please – be safe!’

The tears had flooded her eyes, making it difficult for her to follow the path she was heading properly.

‘Please…’, she begged in her mind, not able to think of something different anymore.

»YATO-…!«

Some birds that were sitting on nearby branches to enjoy the last warmth of the sun flew away in fright – not because Hiyori suddenly shouted out a name into the dark, but because of the sound of two bodies crashing into each other. The uninspected impact made the woman stagger backwards; therefore she was now sitting in the grass, heavily breathing.

»I’m terribly sorry… I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Are you hurt?«, the calm voice of a young man dispelled the rising panic occupying her mind.

»No, I’m… I’m fine. Sorry.«, she answered in a low voice and raised her head. Since it already got dark and the last piece of sunlight couldn’t reach the centre of the park she was now in, the big cherry blossom trees around her were all lit by some streetlamps. One might say the contrast of the dark night with its deep blue sky made a beautiful contrast to the white and pink petals still swirling to the ground, but Hiyori didn’t care about anything like that right now. She was looking into the direction the young man’s voice had reached her ears from. Even though she could only see his silhouette because he stood right in front of one of the lights, he had a somewhat calming aura around him. As she took a closer look she noticed he wore some kind of tracksuit. Maybe he was one of the students or freshmen who spend their time after work for some fitness runs through the park.

‘Whatever… I have to hurry!’

As she made a move to stand back up again, the person in front of her came some steps closer and made something swing right before her eyes.

»This happens to be yours, doesn’t it?«

Just now she realised that it was indeed her mobile phone the stranger was holding. She nodded.

»I figured.«, he replied and straightened his back again, »Well then…«

»How did you kn-…?«

»Be careful – tonight’s gonna be a gloomy night.« The young man in front of her avoided to answer her question and turned around, just to be gone not even a second later.

»Wait!« Hiyori put her hand in front to push her body on her feet again, when she realised her phone lying right before her eyes. Hastily she picked it up and unlocked the screen when she suddenly paused. Attached to the upper right of her phone, there was a small keychain she did not remember putting there in the first place. It was a golden crown which was attached to a thin string, shining even in the pale light of the street lamps.

The tears that had stopped once she fell to the floor continued to run all over her face, as she embraced the small keychain and squeezed it close to her chest.

»Thank god…«, she murmured and couldn’t hold back the sobbing that echoed through the dark, while a gentle wind, which brought a lot of cherry blossom petals with it, gently caressed her body, as if it wanted to give her at least a little comfort.

************************************************************************

Close to the riverside the young man was looking back at the park full of cherry blossom trees, when the woman’s whispers reached his ears and a relieved smile hushed over his face. He closed his eyes and turned around to leave.

»Stupid… I won’t disappear that easy.«

[shera-dnd]

Are you ready for some nuts? some dolts? some bees even?

Because this chapter has a lot of all of those

Also Lady Xiao Long is 6′6, because everyone in this is already over the top and larger than life, so I just had to go a little extra with my girl

anyway link above, fic bellow. Let’s get to it!

Weiss had to admit, Lady Blake was absolutely right, this really was the best meal she’d had in ages. Of course this was only in small part thanks to the fish, and in great part thanks to the company she now shared. Though it would be a long shot to consider any of these people her friends, it was certainly a far more amicable setting than any meal she’d had in at least a decade.

Lady Polendina was a ray of sunshine personified, and was happy to make Weiss feel welcome. Lady Blake had been nothing but courteous with her since the moment they spoke their oaths to each other, and Lady Ilia…

Lady Ilia may still very clearly detest Weiss with all her heart, but she had done something that she would not soon forget. She had given Weiss a gift, the first gift born of genuine kindness she had received since the day her grandfather passed away.

Now that gift was draped over Weiss’s shoulders, warming her heart as well as her body.

Maidens save her, she felt so foolish to ever even think of something so sappy. Perhaps it was for the best that she followed Lady Blake’s example, and focused on her grilled fish right now.

Unfortunately a growing commotion kept her from enjoying this meal any further.

The crowd of festival goers parted and scurried away as six figures made their way towards them.

The first figure was a blond woman who stood a full head taller than the rest of the crowd, her face was hidden behind a mask painted in the semblance of a bear, her muscular arms adorned with a collection of iron bangles. From her side hung the largest blade Weiss had ever seen, and she had no doubt that if anyone could ever swing a weapon like that, it would be this mountain of a woman.

Behind her followed an equally fearsome woman; though older, and not as large as the first one, she easily compensated for it with her demeanor, and an intense glare that could cut through a man’s resolve like a blade through flesh.

Following those two came three more figures, each of them carrying war scythes and covered by long hooded cloaks. The first was a younger woman in red, then an older one in white, and finally a man in grey.

The last one to approach was an older blond man whose calm smile, and sunny disposition, would mark as the least threatening of the bunch...were it not for the fact he was accompanied by a massive hunting hound.

Whoever these people were, they were nothing short of terrifying.

Weiss’s hand reached for the hilt of her sword, not to draw on the sinister group, but simply for the comfort it offered. Lady Polendina on the other hand seemed to need no such comforts, for she marched up to the group with confidence and greeted them with her usual cheer.

“Salutations! You must be the envoys from the Branwen Clan.”

The figures stopped, the girl in red peeked from under her hood in expectation, but did not move yet, awaiting for her leader to act first. That titan of a woman walked up to Lady Polendina, towering over the knight as she took off her mask.

Behind it was a cheerful expression that could almost match that of the little knight she talked to.

“Lady Polendina, I presume,” she greeted with a voice that matched her size. Though the woman was clearly mistrali, she spoke in perfect atlesian, “it’s good to finally meet the woman my sister has spoken so highly of.”

The girl in red shifted nervously and pleaded something in mistrali. Whatever she said seemed to amuse the rest of the envoys.

“And it’s good to finally meet my dear Rose’s family, Lady Xiao Long,” she replied. Quite a lot of emotion placed in the nickname, more than enough for Weiss to notice.

Done with waiting, the girl in red rushed to Xiao Long’s side. Her cloak billowed as she ran, revealing under it silver armor with the heraldry of the Knights of the Spring Maiden. Looking more attentively, it was clear that all but Lady Xiao Long carried that crest.

“Yang, must we do this here and now?” The young knight asked, “could we at least set up camp before you embarrass me further?”

Lady Xiao Long said something in mistrali that had earned her a furious glare from the young knight. They conversed in the language for a few moments before the larger woman let out a loud laugh.

“Very well, Ruby, we’ll be on our way,” she declared, before turning to face Lady Polendina once again, “but before I leave, Lady Polendina. I’ve heard that a tournament has already taken place in our absence.”

“Indeed it has,” the knight replied, “it was a simple warm up, but it was quite thrilling. I was actually just sharing a meal with the winner of that tournament.”

That seemed to pique Lady Xiao Long’s interest tremendously.

“And who would this mighty victor be?”

“That would be me,” Lady Blake answered, putting down her food and joining Lady Polendina’s side.

“Lady Xiao Long, this is Lady Blake of the Knights of the Fall Maiden,” Lady Polendina gladly introduced, “Lady Blake, this is Yang Xiao Long, chieftain of the Branwen Clan.”

“Your fame precedes you, Lady Blake, it is an honor to meet you,” the chieftain greeted, taking Lady Blake’s hand gently and bowing before her. Lady Ilia gagged at the sight, “and it would be a greater honor still to see the Black Knight in action.”

“Would you be inviting me to a sparring match, Lady Xiao Long?” She asked, sounding profoundly amused by this turn of events.

“I would indeed,” she replied, a smirk forming on her face, “if you would indulge me.”

“I believe I will,” Lady Blake replied with a smirk of her own, “though perhaps it would be best if we wait until you and your family are fully settled in. Besides, I’m in the middle of enjoying a nice meal with my companions.”

“Then let me keep you no longer,” she answered, before turning back to her companions and calling out their orders in mistrali. She turned and spoke to Lady Blake one last time, “I look forward to seeing you again, my lady.”

And with that they departed.

Lady Ilia shivered and suppressed another gag.

“Are you well?” Weiss asked.

“Not if I am to see those two acting like this again,” she replied.

“I do not see what’s so wrong with their conversation.”

“Of course you don’t,” was Ilia’s only response.

Weiss rolled her eyes and returned to her food. It was obvious that she would be getting nothing more from her on this topic. And, unlike Lady Ilia, she was genuinely happy that their companion seemed to be making such fast friends in the Branwens. This was a celebration of peace and union between the kingdoms after all.

The two of them were silent for the rest of their meal. Ilia quietly seething at Blake, while Weiss was simply lost in thought. Though they walked the grounds a little longer after that, they soon enough found themselves being dragged along to the Branwen clan’s tents. Lady Blake eager to have her match and Lady Polendina eager to spend more time with her…friend.

Even though it had been hardly more than an hour since they last spoke with Lady Xiao Long, the Branwens had already properly set up camp and had even made a small fenced area for them to spar in.

This makeshift arena was currently occupied by Lady Xiao Long herself, standing mighty and proud, face once more covered by her terrifying mask. In one hand she held her colossal sword, in the other she held a fully armored knight by his throat.

Seeming to finally notice her visitors, she smiled before slamming the man to the ground with ease.

“Do you admit defeat?” She asked, the knight could only nod, prompting the chieftain to yank them up once again, “thank you for this fantastic warm up!”

She pulled them into a rib crushing hug before unceremoniously dropping them. The knight bowed before her, and excused themself away from what Weiss assumed was a humiliating defeat.

“Lady Blake,” Lady Xiao Long cheerfully greeted, “I’m glad to see you here so soon.”

“I could not bring myself to keep you waiting,” Lady Blake replied, “though I must say I’m surprised you have set up camp so quickly.”

“My people are nomads, my lady,” she explained, “if there is one thing we’re good at it is making camp.”

“Impressive.”

“Lady Xiao Long, if I may,” Lady Polendina interjected.

“You wish to know the whereabouts of my sister, do you not?” she asked, and Lady Polendina nodded, “she’s off with our mothers and uncle. As Knights of the Spring Maiden they’re expected to greet your Knight Commander as soon as we were done setting up. So for now it is only me, and my father, here at camp.”

“Of course,” Lady Polendina replied, mildly disappointed, “may I wait here for my dear Rose’s return?”

“Anything for Ruby’s beloved little Firefly,” Lady Xiao Long chuckled, “please make yourself comfortable.”

Weiss had her suspicions, but that made it certainly clear that those two were much more than close friends. As happy as she was for Lady Polendina, she simply couldn’t help but be surprised by the openness with which they discussed this topic. Though Lady Xiao Long had also admitted to having two mothers and a father, such things must be considerably more common among the people of Mistral.

“Now if you’ll indulge me my lady,” she once more turned to face Lady Blake and gestured towards the arena behind her, “I would be delighted to spar with you”

Lady Blake gave her host a smile and readied herself. She put on her horned helmet, drew her blades and walked with Lady Xiao Long towards the arena. Her black armor gave her a sinister air matched only by the chieftain herself.

The battle began and Weiss quickly understood that had she been in Lady Blake’s position, she would have been defeated already. Though Yang Xiao Long may have looked brutish and simple, her form and fighting style was anything but. Every swing of the blade was calculated, every opening pressured, and every mistake punished. She fought not only with her blade but her entire body, throwing in punches and kicks to catch her opponent off guard.

Meanwhile Lady Blake proved her incredible skill once more. She rushed in close, keeping the chieftain from effectively using her blade, adapting as fast she could to the woman’s unconventional strategies, compensating for the difference in their physical strength with an unmatched fierceness.

Had this been one of the storybooks from Weiss’s childhood, these would be monstrous villains, engaging in a bloody battle to the death from which the only good ending would be their mutually assured destruction.

For once reality was far kinder than fiction.

Lady Xiao Long laughed as the fight dragged on, not out of malice nor bloodlust, but out of sheer, raucous joy. Her hand finally connected with one of Lady Blake’s horns and she slammed her down with force, bringing her greatsword down by the knight’s head… only to find a sword pressed against her stomach.

There was a moment of silence, the two of them looking at each other through mask and helmet, their ragged breaths the only sound around them. Until Lady Polendina broke the silence with her cheer.

“Sensational!” She nearly jumped as she said the word, “never have I seen a fight like this before. Truly you two simply must join the tournament.”

The two combatants laughed as they began to stand up. Faces once more revealed as they spoke.

“Lady Blake of the Knights of the Fall Maiden,” the chieftain began, pride in her voice, “I declare you victorious!”

“I’m flattered, Lady Xiao Long,” she replied, “but this was a tie at best.”

Lady Xiao Long smiled, but shook her head.

“Nay, my lady,” she spoke, taking Lady Blake’s hand once more, “sparring with you was already a great victory for me, so it is only fair that I grant you this one.”

Lady Ilia gagged once more.

“If you insist,” Lady Blake replied, rolling her eyes in playful annoyance, “though I’ll hardly be able to brag about a victory granted through kindness.”

“Nonsense,” was the chieftain’s reply, “you’ve more than earned your bragging rights.”

“Maybe so,” she countered, “still I can’t help but feel like a rematch is in order. Perhaps I should return soon and earn this victory properly.”

“Then I look forward to when our blades meet next.”

At that Lady Ilia made an outraged noise that Weiss couldn’t quite describe. Weiss’s previous annoyance at these senseless responses revived once more.

“Why must you react so crassly!” Weiss demanded.

“Is it not clear to you what they’re doing?” Lady Ilia asked back.

Weiss looked at her in confusion, “being polite to one another?”

“What you do is polite, Sch--...my lady,” she cleared her throat, catching herself just in time, “what they’re engaging in is flirtation.”

Weiss looked back at them, only now seeming to catch the lingering gazes, the playful smiles, the tone in their voice.

“Oh.”

[georgesbestieboo]

Nightmares

Hello Love-bugs, I’ve decided to just keep doing Calina Romanoff x Bucky one-shots, I do have a book going but in order to help me get out my thoughts these One-Shots are helping wonders. As a reminder! The pairing you will read here is an original character of mine with Bucky. She is the biological sister of our beloved Natasha Romanoff, was also put in the red room but later than Nat since she is a couple years younger. Also, the timeline is the comic timeline just to make it a bit more interesting, meaning, Natasha was born in 1928 and Calina, (My OC) was born in 1934 but since the Widows carry their age VERY well Nat will remain the age she appears in the movies and Calina will appear to be 26. 

Also: Please leave one-shot recommendations in comments! X O X O 

Summary- Bucky stumbles to Calina’s bedroom in the middle of the night in need of reassurance TW: Truama and PTSD 

*************************************************

The eerie, burning sensation of eyes boring into her skin woke Delilah up with a start. Despite her room submitting to the overwhelming sense of the darkness, she could sense someone with her, and from the slight creak in the floorboards she could tell they were approaching her sleeping form as she analyzed her quickest game plan. 

Being careful to stay very still, she slowly inched her hand towards the dagger that was always kept under her pillow, closing her fingers around it as she allowed a deep breath to fill her lungs. As she exhaled, she sprung up in the dark, flinging herself from her comfy bed at the presence in her room, her free hand fisting in their shirt while the other pressed her weapon to the intruder's throat, a grunt escaping their lips. 

“I-I  was hoping I wouldn’t wake you” 

Calina relaxed instantly, recognizing that husky voice she had come to love after all these years not even needing to see his face to know it was him. “Shit Bucky,” She ran a hand through her bed teased hair, her scared fingers catching painfully at the knots. “What are you doing here? It's 2 am” Sighing as she checked the clock Calina moved to her nightstand and fumbled for the small lamp on her dresser. “You scared me, I thought you were someone from the red- Bucky?” As light sliced through the darkness she was finally able to make out the features of the man that stood in her room. 

The Sargent had tear tracks tracing down his flushed cheeks, fear clearly dancing through his crystalline eyes. She watched as he tried to keep his composure but as their eyes locked, Calina’s heart broke as she watched his facade drop and the tears flow freely from his already puffy eyes, silent sobs beginning to shake his body. 

Without hesitation, she grabbed towards him, pulling him down to her chest, without hesitation his hands wound in the back of her sweatshirt attempting to pull her closer. “Hey, hey, hey” She whispered “its okay, your safe, I’m safe” 

Calina mentally cursed herself for not seeing it sooner. There was one point in their lives where this had become a routine, and it crushed her every time she had to see him so torn. Despite being free of his life as the Winter Soldier the gruesome memories still haunted him, plaguing him with flashbacks every time his eyes fluttered closed and his head hit the pillow. Most of the time he was able to wake up from those nightmares and calm himself, not wanting to burden anyone, but there were certain nights, ones like now, where even conscious he couldn’t rid himself of the horrors. 

“I did-didn’t mean to wake you” He sniffled into her shoulder as she walked them back til her thighs hit the back of her bed, Bucky took notice of what she was doing and let go of her long enough to sit himself on the bed, hesitantly drawing her into his lap. One of her hands drew soothing circles into the part of his shoulder where flesh met metal, the other resting gently on his that sat on her thigh while Bucky's head nestled deep into her neck. Calina waited patiently for the tears to slow, murmurs of comfort leaving her lips every few hiccups. 

Eventually the flow of tears against her neck stopped, and Bucky's breathing slowed. “Do you want to talk about it, Dragul meu?” She whispered, pressing a fluttering kiss to his temple. 

A shaky breath left his chest, “We were…on a mission” He started slowly “Hydra was involved. Things went south and you got captured-” Bucky's voice broke, Calina just held him tighter. “I went to go find you, and-and I did. They had you strapped to the chair, the one they used for…me” Calina’s breath caught in her throat, she had heard many stories of said chair. She had a feeling she knew where this dream was going. 

“Bucky, Love,” Lifting his head from her shoulder she forced his eyes to meet hers. His bright blue eyes were tear clouded and even more read than before, lines of worry painfully tight across his forehead. “It’s okay-” 

“When I got to you, you were bleeding and bruised, I lost it. I didn't bother to check if there was anyone else with us. Of course, there was. They started saying the-the words. I didn't think they would work since we fixed it in wakanda…but Calina they did” tears began to fall again, the warm droplets trailing down the woman's collarbone. “My mission,” He gasped, this time his once gentle touch closed into fists around her. She knew he was too scared to realize what he was doing but she also knew those actions would leave bruises against her pale skin. “Was to kill you. I fought and fought it, but I couldn't refuse the order. I killed you Calina, I killed you. I pulled out of the trance right as you dropped dead, into my arms. Thats-thats when I woke up.” 

 Calina was at a loss for words but her hesitant response worried him even more and Bucky's breathing became erratic, his chest heaving with each painfully burdened breath. Releasing his grip on her, his hands found their way into his hair as he squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head in an attempt to rid the horrible nightmare from his brain. 

“Bucky-” 

“I killed you!” His eyes snapped open, widening when he saw her in front of him. Tearing away from her he frantically stood, Calina falling from his lap with a start. “I need- I need to go, I cant- you cant be near me” Stumbling to the door his metal hand reached for the handle but Calina lept into action, slipping between him and the door. 

Bucky flinched. “Calina, please” He pleaded, his voice cracking in pain. “You can't be near me, what if he hurts you?” 

“James, my love, come here,” Smiling softly, the woman took his face in her cool hands. “I trust you. You wouldn't let him hurt me.” 

He pressed his forehead against hers. “But what if I do?”. Bucky wouldn't be able to live with himself if she died by his hands. He met Calina Romanoff many years ago back in the Red Room. She fell in love with his monstrous side. The only one to show him compassion and love, something he had not seen for many years till he saw her. They were the Red Room lovers. Whispers of their fairytale spread all throughout Europe, sadly those murmurs eventually reached the Red Room who forced the two apart. They fought them with everything they had but his spy was still ripped from his arms, their foolish fantasy coming to a naught end. Though He never stopped thinking of the beautiful and fierce girl he had come to love; no matter how many time’s his memory was wiped, her face still played repetitively in his  eyes. When they were reunited it was like he could see in color again, actual meaning flooded into his life when he saw her smile, he couldn't bear to lose her. 

“Listen to me James. We’ve been through so much, I’ve handed you my life on many occasions and I'm still here right?” She waited until he nodded “You’ve saved so many people since then Bucky, the shadow of a man you used to know is no longer here, and I swear on everything if he comes back I will stay right there with you til’ its all over, because it will end. You’re one of the strongest people I know, I have so much faith in you that will never fade. Do you understand that?” 

Peering through the dark she could faintly make out the movement of his lips but no words fell upon her ears. 

“What was that sergeant?” 

That caused a small smile to tug at the corners of his mouth. “Yes Ma’am” 

“Good,” Capturing his lips in a tender kiss she took his hands in hers, walking him back to her bed. “You can stay with me tonight” 

Falling back into routine, Calina crawled to the left side of the bed snuggling deep into the covers as Bucky did the same to her right. Once they were finally situated with their bodies turned towards each other Bucky spoke for a final time. “I don't deserve you,” He whispered admirably, tucking a strand of hair behind her freckled ears. “I never understood why you chose me” 

“Because this,” She brought his metal hand to rest on her heart, the slow thumping sending vibrations up throughout his body. “Belongs to you entirely”

[jaskiersvalley]

Hi. I'm sorry to bother you. Can I request some domestic witchersexual Jaskier?? I just had to put my 6 year old doberman down because she had an autoimmune disease and wasn't getting better and I'm really sad and I have read most of the new fics on tumblr and AO3 but alot of it is whump or Angst and I can't deal with that right now.

I am so sorry to hear about your doberman! It’s never easy to lose a beloved pet. If there is anything beyond writing something to take your mind off things that I can do, please do drop me a line either via ask or DMs. This story turned a little less domestic with not all focus on Jaskier but...hopefully it still gives you the comfort you crave.

Rumours were rife. Witchers, already a dying breed, were disappearing without a trace. No body to recover, no contract to follow the trail of. One minute a witcher was travelling in his usual stomping grounds, the next, he was never seen again. It had Vesemir fretting. Just because he was responsible for Kaer Morhen didn’t mean he was blind and deaf to the stories that were rife. Strangely, despite the witchers disappearing, there wasn’t an abundance of creatures running rampant.

Of course Vesemir worried for his pups. He worried for all witchers but his own boys were special to him. When winter came and Lambert turned up, followed not long after by Eskel, Vesemir could almost relax. A crow from Geralt reassured him that his wolves were all okay and whatever was snatching witchers hadn’t been able to get to them. It didn’t take much to gently extract a promise of regular communication with them throughout the following year. Messages were regularly sent back, letting Vesemir know that the unseen enemy hadn’t snatched them. Yet.

Despite their best efforts, Eskel stopped writing. Even when Lambert and Geralt rushed to where he was last seen, there was no trace of him, nothing. That winter, Eskel didn’t return home and they mourned him.

If only Eskel had been enough for the monster that seemed to hunt witchers exclusively. However, Lambert made it down from Kaer Morhen in the spring and was never seen again. Vesemir tried to remind himself that this was a witcher’s life. Solitary, filled with loss, grief and there was no hope of a happy ending. At least he still had Geralt, the shining star of the Wolf School. Deep down, Vesemir found it fitting that Geralt would be the last one standing of his pups, even if Eskel had been his equal in all but fame.

Witchers didn’t travel together, there wasn’t enough work in any area to support one, let alone two witchers. But Vesemir didn’t want to be the last Wolf in existence and he didn’t want to lose Geralt. Not when they had both lost so much already. Kaer Morhen could lock its doors for one last time. It was already crumbling and Vesemir didn’t think he would be returning, not if he went out on the path, shadowing Geralt in a parallel path, occasionally meeting up.

If anything, contracts were more scarce than ever before despite there being fewer witchers. It made no sense and Vesemir couldn’t understand. There was no explanation for it but he trudged on, determined to do what he had been created for. If there were fewer witchers in the world, he would pick up the slack.

Camping was harsh, sleeping on the ground made Vesemir’s bones ache. It was a witcher’s lot in life to weather the discomforts, even in old age. In the morning, Vesemir packed up camp and trudged out onto the road. He and Geralt were heading towards Nilfgaard, an army always left necrophages in its wake so it was a guaranteed income. Somewhere in the distance, there was singing and the soft strum of lute drifting through the air. A fellow traveller, a happy one at that. Unintentionally, Vesemir slowed his steps and let the singer slowly catch up.

“Fine day,” the brightly coloured man called, bouncing along as he played. He definitely kept strange company, an elf who smiled indulgently.

“Made all the brighter by your cheer.” Even if Vesemir wasn’t a fan of the style of music, he could still be polite and appreciate the attitude if not the noise.

“Thank you, kind sir.” The bard took a bow. “I’m Jaskier, this is my friend Chireadan. Mind if we accompany you along this path for a while?”

A bit of company was always welcome, even if Vesemir used it to gather information rather than make friends. The two made for curious travellers, seemingly defenceless, not a sword or dagger between them. It had Vesemir wondering just how they had survived for so long.

Chatter turned from pleasant chitchat to current events to probing questions. It was such a subtle shift, Vesemir didn’t notice until he was being asked quite pointed questions about being a witcher.

“So in all your 300 and something years, you’d never been able to rest?”

Vesemir blinked. “Well, maintaining Kaer Morhen was as much of a break as any witcher could have.”

It only drew a hum from Jaskier. “So single-handedly being responsible for a large keep, repairing it, ensuring crops grow around it to keep four, five, maybe even six witcher bellied full over winter, thinning out the forktails so when your pups and stragglers return home they won’t have to fight as hard, that counts as a break, yes?”

When put like that...Vesemir shrugged it off He did what the world demanded of him, no more, no less. It didn’t seem to deter Jaskier.

“What about a true rest? If I could offer you something, would you take it?”

“No.” Because Vesemir couldn’t abandon Geralt. Not when it was just Geralt left. Even if the others had still been around, Vesemir couldn’t in good conscience leave them behind to live a harsh life with nobody to greet them home each year.

“If it’s Geralt you’re worried about, I promise it’s okay. He’ll be there too.”

Perhaps Vesemir should have been more alert and distrusting. An elf and a bard, unarmed and yet seemingly so at ease in the world. There had to be something more to them. But his medallion didn’t sing, didn’t hum, there wasn’t even the slightest bit of vibration to it. Human and elf. Nothing more. And yet.

“You’ve served your time. You can relax now,” Jaskier murmured softly, swaying closer and putting a hand on Vesemir’s back to guide him.

“Are you Death?”

The sharp, bright laugh suggested that Vesemir was wrong.

“If he is Death, what does that make me? I’m a healer by trade,” Chireadan chipped in. He had been quiet for most of their shared journey, smiling fondly and staring off into the distance, aloof like most elves. “Let us show you what we offer.”

They stopped in the middle of the dusty road with nobody around for miles. Jaskier fished something out of his pocket and, with a lot of fidgeting and even more cursing, a portal suddenly opened up. It was portable, contained chaos and Vesemir took a step back.

“It’s okay.” That was Geralt’s voice and he stepped out of a portal from behind Vesemir. “I fucking hate portals but you can trust that one.”

Whatever trickery this was, Vesemir didn’t trust it one bit. However, Geralt urged Roach through before turning to him with a lopsided smile. “Come home.”

With that, Geralt stepped into the portal and Vesemir reached for him, wanting to pull him back.

“What’s it going to be, my Lone Wolf?” Jaskier asked. Chireadan had stepped through the portal too, waving with a quiet “see you in a minute” which was just a little presumptuous.

Steeling himself, Vesemir gave in. He’d had enough, all the fighting, the loss, the grief, it was enough. Even if this was a trick, he realised there was no point in resisting. His pups were gone, Kaer Morhen wasn’t a place to live alone, contracts were more and more scarce. It was time to put down his swords and accept whatever was on the other side of the portal. Vesemir didn’t look back as he stepped through, feeling the world lurch around him.

The other side was bright, breezy and noisy. Water lapped at the shores of a beach and there was life bustling around him, laughter and...people shouting his name. Geralt stepped closer first and squeezed his shoulder.

“Welcome to The Island.”

Behind Vesemir, Jaskier had stepped through and the portal closed. More people were approaching. Ciri was running towards him like she was still a child. Behind her was- Vesemir’s breath hitched. There was Eskel and Lambert on either side of Jaskier. And Coen. And Aiden. Letho. Wolf, Cat, Griffin, Viper, Bear, all the schools’ surviving witchers, smiling, laughing and happy. It was beyond anything Vesemir had ever seen or even dared hope for.

“What?” He choked out.

“The world didn’t need us any more. And we didn’t need them,” Geralt explained. It wasn’t all witchers, there were a couple of sorceresses, elves and humans too. They all looked comfortable and happy.

“It all started with Eskel,” Jaskier said, an arm around the witcher in question’s waist. “An enchanted bear trap caught him out.” It explained why he limped probably. “It was just me at the time and the idea of a retirement retreat was barely a babe in my mind. But Triss helped heal him and I started travelling with Chireadan. Needed to make sure I could get every hurting witcher home.”

“Actually, Jaskier wanted a sex island,” Lambert butted in. Vesemir noted that he looked at peace, smiling without any of the bitterness he’d been weighed down by over the years. “Eskel couldn’t run. I didn’t want to run. Eventually Geralt let himself get caught. Like a stray cat Aiden turned up. Then Ciri dragged her friends with her. A Jaskier’s got a lot of love to give if they want it.”

Geralt smiled at the stunned look on Vesemir’s face. He clapped him on the shoulder.

“I said welcome to The Island earlier but what I actually meant was welcome home.”