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witherby · 8 days ago

Note

Itsame!! How do you think the batfam would react to taking in a Mouse that was a villain kid? annnddd had somewhat unhinged tendencies from growing up w/ their parents?

thank you el!

--🎆

Hmm. In normal circumstances, I think they'd all react very patiently and just steer you in the direction of making good decisions instead of bad. Damian was raised by a league of killers, and they rolled with that without blinking. You'd have to be the child of someone super fucked up to make them think twice about who you are as a person. Like extremely fucked up.

Like, the worst person they could think of.

The cave was dead silent. Every member of the family stood around a table and looked at the documentation Bruce finished putting together in regards to the child he'd locked in a cell just down the hall with a mixture of dread and concern. Information was sparse, but the DNA tests and mannerisms were more than enough to paint the picture no one was acknowledging.

Tonight's patrol was supposed to be a routine one — investigate some leads, stop some crimes, then come home and go to bed. What Batman and Robin found instead, by pure happenstance, was a partially completed setup for an elaborate death trap that the Joker had been working on, which was then subsequently blown up in a half-hearted effort to kill them so he could escape.

They'd survived, obviously, but it wasn't just Batman and Robin that came back.

"So the clown fucks," Jason finally blurted. "Think he's only got one spawn?"

"Yes, as far as I can tell," Bruce said, rubbing the back of his neck. The migraine he'd been fighting off all night was swiftly worsening. He just wanted to go to bed. "Joker didn't seem to realize he'd left the child behind when he escaped tonight. I think she wasn't supposed to be there."

"Understatement of the century, B," Dick mumbled, thumbing through the papers again. "How did he manage to keep her secret for so long? That kid is, like, seven or eight."

"How did that frivolous hack keep her alive for so long?" Damian asked. "I'm just as impressed as I am concerned."

"We can figure that out later," Tim said, addressing the biggest problem, "what do we do about the Joker's kid?"

Everyone exchanged looks with each other, all silently coming to the same series of conclusions:

1. They couldn't put the child in the System. Her history and yet uncatalogued behaviors could lead to major issues, and the Joker would find and retrieve his kid in a matter of days.

2. They couldn't put the child in Arkham. There wasn't a ward set up to handle children. She was too young to be there, and breakouts from the Asylum were a common occurrence, so she'd inevitably go back to him.

3. They couldn't put the child in Juvenile Detention. As far as they knew, she hadn't committed any crimes, so there was nothing to convict her of in order to have her admitted.

Which meant, for the foreseeable future...

Jason stood up, thumbs gliding down the handles of his guns. Bruce gave him a sharp look and he holstered them with a shrug.

"You know I'm not actually gonna hurt 'er," he sneered, grabbing his helmet to slide it on. "But she don't know that. What's a little intimidation between a captor and captive, huh? I'm just lookin' to get some info about our new roomie is all."

"You can just ask," Bruce said. "That's a child in there, Hood, regardless of whose it is. We can approach this peacefully."

"Oh, fuck off. Your favorite wacko popped out a baby and he's been raising it for years. We can't assume this kid is any more logical than the shit-pile it came from."

Jason marched past Bruce and vanished down the hall where they kept the containment cells. Bruce hurried after him, scowling, and the remaining three followed suit with different levels of curiosity and caution.

"This isn't going to be good..." Dick muttered.

It didn't take long to reach your cell. The door was made of bulletproof glass, and the walls and floor were a smooth beige color, with pressure sensors to keep track of your location, oxygen levels, and heart rate. In one corner of the room was a toilet with a privacy curtain and a sink, and in the other was a plain bed with two pillows and a blanket.

You were lying in the middle of the floor, staring up at the ceiling with vacant eyes a placid smile on your face. You had on white face paint with a bold, red lip and blue triangles above and below your eyes, a bright green button-up shirt with a black bowtie, suspenders, brown pants, and black shoes that clicked every time you bumped your feet together.

Click. Click. Click.

Aside from the rhythmic bumping of your shoes, you were dead silent and unmoving in the cell. You didn't even look up when Jason walked up to the door and leaned against it, whistling for your attention.

"Hey, you," he called. "Name, now."

You didn't answer. Jason banged his fist against the glass, listening to the sharp reverb.

"When I speak, you answer," he barked. "What's your fuckin' name, kid?"

Click. Click. Click. You continued to admire the ceiling, arms splayed out at your sides.

"That's real cute," Jason growled, punching in the code to unlock your cell door. "You gonna pretend like you can't hear me? That's fine, lemme come to you then. I'll make sure you pick up the message loud and clear —"

"Red Hood!" Bruce said, grabbing his arm. Jason shook it off and stormed inside, grabbing a fistful of your shirt and lifting you off the ground. You didn't fight him, body limp and pliant in his grasp, and continued to watch the ceiling.

Click. Click. Click. Your feet bumped against each other even still. Unbothered. Undisturbed.

"Name," Jason demanded, voice warping badly through his voice modulator the angrier he got. You didn't acknowledge him. "I'll start asking you in other languages. Don't think you can get out of answering me that way, either."

"I think that's enough, Red Hood," Dick said, slipping into the room before Bruce could get in and potentially make things violent. He walked around behind you and gently hooked his hands under your armpits, coaxing you out of Jason's grasp. "You're probably scaring her. Let's all just —"

You giggled. It startled Dick badly enough he dropped you, and you crumbled to the floor like a puppet with cut strings. Your giggling grew louder as you carefully straightened out, lying on your back with your arms splayed again, and you smiled up at the ceiling.

"What's there to be afraid of?" You asked, voice sweet and cheery. It was also strangely soft, nothing like the harsh pitch of your progenitor. "The batcifists have captured me. I'm perfectly safe and sound."

No one moved. You hummed, shifting your head side to side with a wistful sigh.

"Batcifists. Get it? Bat-pacifists? Because you don't kill people? Popsy said you guys didn't find most jokes funny, and I guess it's true..."

Click. Click. Click. You knock your feet together again as silence momentarily descends upon the room.

"Does your popsy talk about us a lot?" Tim asked from the doorway.

"You're my bedtime stories," you muttered. Click. Click. Click. "Popsy says his greatest dream is to make you all laugh so hard you choke."

Dick crouched down next to you, frowning. You kept your gaze on the ceiling.

"What about you?" He asked. "What's your dream?"

"I'm Popsy's favorite toy." The smile on your face grew wider, more genuine. Click. Click. Click. "His absolute favorite."

Jason abruptly turned and left the room, stomping down the hallway. Damian looked visibly uncomfortable and followed soundlessly after his brother.

Click. Click. Click.

"Well, we can't call you Toy, can we?" Dick reasoned gently. "Do you have a name? What does your popsy call you?"

You giggled again. It was a gentle, melodic thing, that gradually worsened and grew louder, until you were clutching your stomach and kicking your feet with sheer glee. Your sharp cackling echoed through the room, the remaining bats all watching you with varying levels of horror. In the throes of it, you sounded exactly like him.

Nearly a minute went by before you started settling down again, wiping a stray tear from your face. You chirped your name with obvious pride as you clicked your feet together.

"Punchline!"

#el speaks #batfam x reader #🎆#punchline au #bruce wayne #batman #jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #damian wayne

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reality-detective · 6 months ago

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Things that are not in the news anymore… 👇

-Maui wildfires.

-East Palestine, Ohio

-Joe Biden classified documents as a Senator.

-Fauci working with China to create a bioweapon.

-Pete Buttigieg’s best friend in prison for child porn.

-Cocaine in the White House. (TWICE NOW)

-The BLM and Antifa riots during 2020 causing BILLIONS of dollars of damage. And yes I brought this up on Juneteenth.

-The data collected from the Chinese spy balloons.

-Ukraine intelligence documents released that showed they were suffering massive losses and the American taxpayer was being lied to.

-Nancy Pelosi’s “documentary” film crew on J6.

-Veterans being kicked out of shelters to make room for illegals.

-Pizzagate “debunker” jailed for possession of child pornography.

-Gay porn film in Senate hearing room.

-Veterans Affairs prioritizing healthcare of illegals over Veterans.

-THE SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS.

-Afghanistan drawdown and 13 service members killed in an attack on Kabul International Airport, that they hid the severity of it.

-Obama droning an American citizen in the Middle East.

-George Bush’s false WMDs.

-3 service members killed in Jordan.

-Hunter Biden making over $1M for “paintings”.

-J6 political prisoners that are still in jail.

-85,000 missing children at the southern border.

-Epstein’s clients.

-Obama coordinating with John Brennan and 4 other countries (5 eyes) to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign.

-Mail-in ballots were the cause of the stolen 2020 election.

-Jeffrey Epstein mentioning that Bill Clinton liked his girls “really young”.

-The (NOW TWO) airline whistleblowers that mysteriously died.

-Benghazi (I won’t mention anything more about this because I care about my life.)

-Nancy Pelosi’s daughter stating that January 6th wasn’t an insurrection.

-The January 6th committee destroying encrypted evidence before the GOP took over the House.

-Nancy Pelosi admitting that J6 was “her responsibility”.

-House Speaker Mike Johnson claiming there wouldn’t be foreign aid without border security in the bill, which was a lie.

-The recent riots from illegal criminal aliens at the southern border and the border in general.

-Hunter Biden not complying with a Congressional subpoena and deemed untouchable. Democrat privilege.

-Vaccine side effects.

-“Lab leak” out of China.

-The Secret Service having to basically guide Joe Biden everywhere he goes.

-Who leaked (Sotomayor) the SCOTUS Alito decision.

-Federal instigators inside the Capitol including pipe bomb evidence against them.

-Obama’s chef “passing away”.

-HRC’s chef “passing away”.

-The Sheriff that happened to be in Las Vegas (during the mass shooting) AND the wildfires in Hawaii.

-P Diddy sex-trafficking allegations. Where’s Diddy?

-Gonzalo Lira (an American journalist) that was killed in Ukraine

-Congress approving warrantless spying violating American’s 4th amendment rights while they are exempt.

-Americans that were left in foreign countries (Haiti, Palestine, Afghanistan).

-The billions of dollars of weaponry left in Afghanistan and the Taliban receiving $40M a week in “humanitarian assistance”.

-Biolabs found in California.

-Joe Biden’s impeachment.

-The scum in the UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES waving the Ukrainian flag.

-The over 300k ballot images that could not be found in Fulton County, Georgia; the same county Donald Trump on trial for “election interference”.

-Democrats defunding the police causing massive rises in crime.

-Kamala Harris’s record as DA in California.

-The Transifesto from the school shooting.

-Many U.S. Representatives and Congress receiving FTX funds.

-They’re already working hard to bury Donald Trump’s àssassination attempt but we won’t let them bury that story. July 13th is never going away.

The distractions are out of control.

Share to show that legacy media is dead and that WE are the media now. 🤔

#pay attention #educate yourselves #educate yourself #knowledge is power #reeducate yourself #reeducate yourselves #think about it #think for yourselves #think for yourself #do your homework #do some research #do your own research #ask yourself questions #question everything #news #we are the news #distraction #distractions #did you know

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allpiesforourown · 3 months ago

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Based on harem member SY au

Sy is basically the empress in the shadows, the unofficial empress (but he doesn't know that)

He's the one that takes care of majority of the wives while the emperor's away.

Bingge always thought it was his first 3 that takes care of them and the rest vying for his attention. And while true, the first 3 has the councils authority, the final say, rules the kingdom and uphold the rules of palace while the delusional wives lie, cheat, and sabotage to sit next to their husband

It was sy who kept the peace of majority of them. The wives who are smart enough to realize quickly (or slowly) they were just thrown away. He's the one that helps their hometown in their time of need, listens attentively about their home, stories, and rants, suggests way to revitalize their homes, and new found economy. Especially when the world's been merged and many homes struggle with beasts, demons, and making ends meet. Sy was there, with his emence amount of knowledge and emphaty helps them find happiness again even trapped behind walls.

(And when they had children, he was the one who welcomed them with open arm when their husband left them once more)

Bingge, who has just returned from his horrid trip to the other world, noticed he wasn't happy, wasn't loved, and went out to search for his own shizun not knowing he was already there all along

(not that the wives would let him. Both good and bad wives wish to keep him out of their husband's sight. For the good, sy is too good for their husband. For the bad, they know they'll lose by a landslide if they meet. And if they killed him, the other wives and their children would be out for blood)

I think Ning Yingying as first wife is very helpful and always there for her fellow wives but at the end of the day there's only so much she can do without going against Binghe’s rules. Shen Yuan isn't first wife and therefore has more freedom, so wives can go to him for more nuanced situations

For example:

Random wife is being stalked -> she goes to Yingying, who will immediately dispatch a guard to kill anyone who dares harass a wife of the emperor

Wife's brother wants to save her from the castle -> if yingying hears about this, it's her duty to have the man killed regardless of what she personally wants to do. Even if the woman isn't in danger and doesn't want her brother dead, that's just what happens if you try to take a wife away from the emperor and it's a rule Luo Binghe says she must enforce. For a situation like this the wife would go to shen yuan instead of the first wife, and shen yuan would deliver a letter or arrange a secret meeting for them.

#harem member shen yuan au #svsss #shen yuan #binggeyuan #ning yingying #long post

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bluesidez · 8 months ago

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Firefighter!Miguel Part 3

content warning: fluff, some mentions of Christianity because a lot of southern grandmothers are Christian (it shouldn't be anything that makes non-Christians uncomfy)

word count: 1.5k, not proofread

Prev | Next ‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅𓌉◯𓇋 Masterlist

Firefighter!Miguel who listens with a skeptical face as the trio of teenagers in front of him explain how their car ended up upside down in a lake.

“We saw a squirrel and we couldn’t just hit it, that’s inhumane!”

“So, you roll your car down a ramp instead?”

The trio stare at him with building panic.

“There’s not a single scratch or bruise on any of you.”

It takes about ten seconds of empty space before one of them crumbles to the ground in faux pain.

“I-I can still feel the sunroof on my head!”

“And you’re grabbing your stomach to show that."

The three of them stared at each other for a second, then one of them starts to cry, "We didn't mean it!"

"We're sorry!"

"I told them to just drive over a bump, they didn't listen!"

They started to crowd Miguel, each telling a different story. Miguel didn't believe a single one of them but their dedication to this bit was admirable.

"Ok. Let's get your parents on the phone," Miguel's voice demanded attention. "The totaled car is enough of a lesson, but I'm sure none of your names are on this vehicle."

The boy in the middle curses and runs his hand through his hair, "My dad's going to kill me."

"I would hope they'd be more happy that you're alive," Jess came up next to Miguel with a helmet under her arm. Her slicked-back hair has started to frizz up from the sheer amount of work it took to get a car full of water back on the ground. "If you all didn't think fast enough, there's no guarantee that we would have made it here in time to rescue you."

Firefighter!Miguel who tried his best to calm down the worried parents.

Yes, their children were ok. No, no one was hurt. Yes, with the right insurance totaled cars can be covered. No, he's not sure how the car ended up upside down. Yes, firefighters do these rescues regularly.

No, he was not giving out his number.

"What did I say about that face?" Jess sang as she sat in the passenger seat of the truck.

"Just because you say it, doesn't mean I want it to happen."

"Maybe you should get a ring. That poor mother looked so hurt when you rejected her."

"A ring doesn't stop wandering eyes or hands," Miguel gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Jess sighs, "True. That's not stopping you from staring at your phone like a sad seal while we're waiting on calls."

Miguel tried his best not to let his shoulders slump. He was a captain, not one of those reckless teenagers, "You think I did something wrong? It's been a few days."

"Maybe they think you're busy? Maybe they're nervous. Maybe they're busy. I'm sure you'll get a text soon."

Firefighter!Miguel who jolts from his sleepy daze at every notification from his phone. The 24-hour shifts can be grueling.

One glance at his phone showed some magazine emails and the reminder of a show he was excited to see.

Firefighter!Miguel who finally gets your text message on the way to his car.

You wanted to take him up on the offer of stopping by your house to check out the gas line.

His sleepy state gained a new jolt of energy and he was able to utilize it to tap along to the radio all the way home.

"When you add this, he'll never even think about finding someone else."

"Is that so?" You laughed as you listened to your grandma explain her secrets of keeping a man. Even if you found it a little funny, borderline ridiculous, and extremely outdated, you knew she was dead serious. "And how do you get the man?"

Your grandma paused and smiled, "Are you sure you're ready to hear that?"

"If you're laying out all of your secrets, I might as well!"

Your conversation was interrupted by a knock and the ring of a doorbell.

"Well, looka here!"

You can hear the glee in your grandmother's voice as she opens the door.

"Look what the Lord brought me," she comes back to the kitchen with her arm wrapped around Miguel's arm. She's smiling brighter than ever. "And he had enough sense to bring back my good dish. Won't He do it?"

"Of course, I had to bring it back. How else could I thank you both and ask for some more at the same time?"

Miguel looked funny in your childhood home. A little out of place. Though when he opened his mouth it was like everything seemed right. He looked even funnier out of uniform. The joggers were doing something for you.

"You ready?"

You blinked a couple of times, coming back to Earth and steadying your wandering mind.

"Ready for...?"

"My poor child," your grandma grumbled to herself. "He came to go check on the house. Remember?"

"Oh! Yes, yes. Of course! Let's go."

As you made your way to the door, your grandma made sure to pull you back.

"And remember what I told you, ok? You just need a dash of it."

"Grandma there won't be any cooking until I get my gas line fixed."

"I don't mean the cooking, child, I mean the-"

You coughed loudly to cover her growing voice. The older she got the more her brain-to-mouth filter faded away.

"I got it, grandma."

You were sure she was going to say something about a bedroom technique, but Miguel was probably standing closer to you both than your grandma thought.

He didn't need to know whatever your grandma was trying to say.

Firefighter!Miguel who was happy to have someone that truly piqued his interest after so long.

Some of his hookups were either growing too attached or getting too ballsy, stepping over several boundaries. The last girl he dated was in it for all of the wrong reasons, and the woman before that sunk him so low he never knew he could bounce back.

He told himself he wouldn't try to date any of the people he saved, but life was growing longer and he wasn't getting any younger. Plus, you did look really lovely in your patterned pajama pants and flour in places they shouldn't be.

Something about your struck a match against him.

Firefighter!Miguel who walked into your house with a calmer state than the last.

There was a blue tarp plastered over the hole in your home and some debris left over from the accident.

"Sorry for the mess," your voice was quiet enough that he had to hone in on it.

"I've seen worse."

You look back at him with shock then laugh when you see the silly grin on his face.

He walked deeper into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets, "It's not too terrible. I actually went ahead and called the gas company because something like this needs to be solved immediately."

Your eyebrows raise, "So is it already fixed then?"

"Took them about a day, but yeah. Now we just need to focus on getting the rest of this worked out."

"Thank you, truly," you smile up at him as you shift your weight. "Well, I guess I should do something else then, huh? I don't want to waste too much more of your time.

He was off work. "I don't mind. Glad to help in any way I can."

"Do you know how long the repairs might take?"

Miguel clicks his teeth repeatedly, "From about a week to a couple of months. From what I see, you should probably grab a few weeks of clothes."

"Roger that, Captain," you salute him as you turn to go to your room.

Miguel quelled the tiny spark that those words brought to him.

Firefighter!Miguel who watches you kick something out of the way when you enter your room.

He caught a flash of purple as you turned the lights on, but whatever it was under your bed in one swift motion.

Firefighter!Miguel who leans against the doorway as you bend deep to pull out more clothes.

Why you didn't grab things that were already on hangers, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't upset at the view at all.

Firefighter!Miguel who wanted to see you again, so he invited you to the annual charity car wash that his unit gave.

"We wash cars for a decent price, sell some goodies, and we take some pictures for the firefighter calendar."

He saw your eyes light up at those words, "I think I would love to see that."

"And I would love to have you there."

"Would you, now? Should I invite more people?"

"Yeah, for charity. I think I'm mostly going to be happy to see you."

Miguel picked a bin full of your clothes up and walked them through the door to his car, not really ready to process whatever look you might have on your face.

He may have nearly slammed his hand into the door with how fast he was moving, but he hopes that he can see you again soon.

divider by: @gigittamic + @/benkeibear (Idk if you'll see this, but I hope you're doing alright!!!) ❤️‍🔥

a/n: It's so late and I definitely have work tomorrow but here I am because I have no self control.

If you want to be added to the taglist, sign up here!

taglist: @snails-doodles22 @xerorizz @questionable-behaviour @babygotl01292003

@slushycoookie @calig0sto @ghost-lantern @tatatida @haveclayeveryday

@corpsenightmarebride @samjinxx @earth2fae @maiyart @feegrh32 @jellyamour

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@aly29a2001 @snakelore @tojishugetiddies @pigeonmama @darkstalight82

@prettygirleli @koikohib @jayskookies

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written-with-clouds · 4 months ago

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I Found Love (Where It Wasn't Supposed To Be) Pt. 2

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen/ Rhaenyra's Daughter!Reader

Summary: You and Aemond had always been close, even after he lost his eye and your mom moved your family to Dragonstone. What will happen when your grandsire dies and Aegon takes the throne from your mother? Will you and Aemond be able to stay together? Or will family drive you apart?

Authors Note: Cross posted on AO3, Aemond and Reader are of legal age during all spicy scenes.

CW: Uncle/Niece, Secret Relationship, Minor Character is badly injured

Part 1 Part 3

You stand alongside your brothers, watching as your mother and Daemon burn your dead-born sister. Joffrey clings to your legs, unsure of the sadness that permeates the air, and you pet a hand soothingly through his mop of brown hair. A few stray tears running down your cheeks.

The wind carries the sound of armored footsteps approaching. You turn, seeing a lone Kingsguard, not one of your own, carefully approaching your mother where she stands atop a small rocky hill. He bends the knee before her, holding out your late grandsire’s crown.

“I swear to ward the Queen, with all my strength… and give my blood for hers.” The Kingsguard starts, Daemon approaches him, taking the crown from his hands, as he continues. “I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall guard her secrets, obey her commands, ride at her side, and defend her name and honor.”

You hold your breath, watching as Daemon slowly returns to your mother and gently places the crown upon her head. He kneels before her and you watch as the other inhabitants of Dragonstone follow, kneeling down before her in a show of fealty. You and your brothers follow suit, bowing your heads to your mother.

The next days go by in a blur. Jace is sent north to secure the support of House Stark and the Eyrie, Luke sent to Storm’s End. Rhaenys leaves on Meleys, to patrol over the barrier made to cut off all sea trade to King’s Landing. Beala patrols over Dragonstone with her sister, Rhaena, on their dragons.

You, on the other hand, are left to watch your youngest brothers. You spend your days trying to entertain a seven year old Joffery, corral a four year old Aegon III, and keep a two year old Viserys II from eating loose stone. And even with the help of the wetnurses and maids, it is a daunting task.

During the night, your mind wanders to Aemond. At first you were angry, fuming, at the fact that he could stand aside and let his brother usurp the throne. That he would then, in turn, ask you to leave your own family behind. Then, you were sad. You would sit in your bed night after night and reread all of the letters he had sent you over the years. From the beginning, when you had first moved to Dragonstone. When he had first asked to meet with you in private, in the very same spot you had just days ago said goodbye to him. To the few letters he had sent in the days following your last meeting.

Meet me at the island, please. I need to see you one last time.

I waited for you. I will wait again tonight. Please come.

I am to leave King's Landing tomorrow, please meet with me tonight. Kostilus, ñuha jorrāelagon, (Please, my love,). I will be waiting, as always.

I leave today. Avy jorrāelan (I love you)

Luke was the first of your brothers to return.

He had been badly burned. The right side of his body had taken the brunt of it, the skin peeling and red. Arrax was only slightly better, his wings and scales singed and ash covered. Luke’s screams echoed throughout the whole of Dragonstone as the Maester’s worked to help him. After hours of listening to him cry and scream, you had had enough.

You walked along the coastline, fighting to keep your composure. In the end, it was a losing battle. You screamed, chucking rocks into the ocean and kicking sand around until you exhausted yourself. Collapsing to the ground, you wailed. For you or for Luke, you couldn’t tell. You cried for what must have been hours, every frustration and tension leaving your body. Over time you tired, curling into yourself, your eyes drifting closed.

You woke up in your room, laying overtop the blankets of your bed, still clothed for the day. Glancing outside you could see that night had long taken over, the sky filled with a crescent moon and glittering stars.

“You’re awake,” you turn to find your mother sitting in a lounge chair by the hearth. Rhaenyra stands, walking over to you and placing the back of her hand against your forehead. “Are you feeling alright, darling? We hadn’t seen you for hours and then Ser Erryk had carried you inside. He said he found you on the shore, asleep and trembling.” Her voice was laced with worry.

“I went for a walk to get some fresh air and grew tired.. I must have fallen asleep.” You say, “I’m sorry to have worried you.”

She sits next to you on the bed, pulling you against her in a hug and petting your hair. “It’s alright darling, I’m just happy you're safe.” The two of you sit in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the night.

Rhaenyra speaking breaks the silence. At first, you don't realize she had asked you a question. But when she repeats herself, your blood runs cold.

“You were close with your uncle Aemond… weren’t you?” You pull back from her, sitting up to look at your mother.

“Why do you ask?” You inquire, heart beating loudly in your chest.

“In truth, I’ve noticed that something has changed in you. I had no hope of knowing what it was without you telling me and had long resigned myself to not knowing… until tonight.” Your mother paused, standing from your bed and walking over to the small table next to the lounge she had been resting on. Your heart beats impossibly louder inside you as she picks up the letters Aemond had sent you. You had forgotten to put them away. “I read some of them… it’s nice.. that you had formed a good relationship with your uncle. You are perhaps the only one of us that could…”

You watch as she measures her next words, thinking over the best way to say them.

“But, I hope you will understand that this cannot and will not continue.”

You stand abruptly, “What! Why? Because of Aegon? Because of this fight between you and Queen Alicent?”

“Not just that dear.” She walks over to you, running her hands down your arms and grabbing your hands gently, “It’s–“

Interrupting her, pull your hands out of her grasp, walk out onto the balcony, and cross your arms over your chest. Turning to face her as she follows you, “It’s what? I need a reason, an explanation. A good one, not just some excuse about who his family is.”

“Aemond is the one responsible for Luke’s pain,” she says calmly.

Whatever anger you held in that moment shattered. “He… n-no.. you’re lying! He may have had his problems with Luke when they were children.. but he’d never give that sort of command! Aemond wouldn’t do that!” You wrap your arms around yourself as you begin to pace. “It isn’t true,” you whisper as if trying to comfort yourself.

Your mother stands in place, watching your inner battle. Her expression shows nothing but sympathy as she speaks again, “He didn’t just command it, dear..” Her words are gentle.

You abruptly stop, facing away from your mother. “You don’t– He didn’t–“ you struggle to find the words, tears clouding your vision.

“He… Aemond was the one to burn Luke.” Your mother’s words are drowned out by the ringing that fills your ears. Letting out a sharp cry, you drop to your knees sobbing. You jerk away from your mothers touch when she tries to console you with a hand placed on your shoulder. “Leave.” You whisper, crying into your hands. You listen as Rhaenyra’s footsteps recede and the door to your room opens and closes.

You didn’t leave your room for days… maybe even a full week. Servants brought food to you, even if most of it didn’t remain in your stomach. Most days you didn’t dress, remaining in your sleepwear and staring blankly out across the sea. When you weren’t transfixed on the water, you were sat at your desk. You wrote what must have been dozens of short letters, none of which would ever be sent.

How could you?

Did your hatred for Luke outweigh your love for me?

Why did you do it?

I hate you.

I’ll never forgive you.

I still love you.

It’s when Jace returns from the North that you finally decide to leave the safety of your room. Dressed for the first time in days, you join the council to welcome your brother, much to your mothers surprise.

“Welcome home, Prince Jacaerys.” Your mother spoke warmly. “What news do you bring us?”

Your brother bowed his head in greeting, one hand resting over top the hilt of his sword. “The Lady Jeyne Arryn has pledged her support to you. In return, she requests a dragon be sent for protection.”

Your mother nods approvingly, “and the North?”

“Lord Cregan Stark has promised two thousand men…” Jace hesitates slightly, glancing to you and then to your mother.

“Does he request something in return?” You ask.

He nods, answering. “Yes, He asks for (Y/N)’s hand in marriage.”

Your eyes widen and you watch your mother. Nothing in her expression gives away what she is thinking as she replies with a gentle, “Please send a raven North. Let Lord Stark know we will accept the terms of his offer.”

“What?” You say loudly, “Mother you can’t be serious!”

“We need to secure-“ Your mother starts, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“-Secure all the support we can.” You finish for her. “I know. But marrying me off to someone… a stranger at that? Sending me North? You’re okay with that?!”

She sighs deeply, placing her hand against the table. “Give us the room.” At her words, everyone in the room left. All but you and Jace, who hovered by the door, unsure of what to do. “Jacaerys, you may leave as well… go get cleaned up. Visit your brother.”

“Mother I–“ You start to say. After the door thuds shut behind your brother.

Rhaenyra shushes you, standing and walking over to you. Her jaw is clenched as she takes your hands in hers. Exhaling sharply through her nose and closing her eyes briefly to gather her thoughts. “I don’t want to send you away. I don’t want you to be seen as a prize or bargaining chip.” She reaches up to cup your face, “You are my daughter.. My first born… But I have to make choices I don’t want to make.”

Her voice cracks and you can see a tear fall down her cheek. Your brow furrows as you step away from her, shaking your head in disbelief. “No…” you say softly, almost in a whisper.

“We need the men,” She follows after you carefully, like you’re a wild animal that she is trying to tame. “The Starks are good people… they’re loyal and just… you’ll be safe there… protected.”

“But I won’t be happy.” You spit.

“You don’t know that..” Your mother bargains.

“I will be miserable. I will be nothing more than a trophy won in a war. A bargaining chip. A piece of the puzzle. A pawn in your game to move as you wish!” You scream at her.

She eyes you sympathetically, her expression holding nothing but pity. She sighs deeply before calling for Ser Erryk. “Take her to her room. She is not to leave Dragonstone until I have given explicit permission. I want one guard posted outside her door and her dragon is to be supervised at all hours. She goes nowhere without a guard or me. Am I understood?”

“Mother–“

“Yes, My lady.” Ser Erryk grabs your arm firmly, not enough to hurt but enough that you can’t twist out of it. He escorts you back to your room. Muttering a quiet apology before shutting the door.

You spent the next week pacing in your room. Throwing things against the door while screaming until your throat was raw. At first, your mother would try to visit only to be turned away with insults or ignored completely. Jace would sit with after night had fallen and update you on Luke’s recovery. The only happiness you felt was in hearing that Luke was fine. He would scar, but otherwise be okay. Even his walking was expected to recover nearly completely over time. These conversations were possibly the only reason you hadn’t gone insane.

On the seventh day of your confinement, you overheard the guards outside your door speaking with each other.

“How long do you think this’ll continue? I’m gettin’ bored of standin’ outside a door for hours.” One whispered.

“Not much longer I think,” There was a long pause where all you could hear was the slight shifting of metal. “I heard that Lord Stark is sailin’ here to claim his prize.” The second guard jokes, groaning after what sounds like he got hit in the stomach.

“Don’t speak about the Princess like that.. she could hear ya.” The first guard whisper-yells.

At the mention of Stark, you paled. Your heart stuttered and your breathing increased. Stepping away from the door you rushed out to the balcony, hands gripping the short stone wall so hard you cut your hand in a few places. You can’t feel the pain though, as you struggle to catch your breath. Tears cloud your vision for the thousandth time in the past three weeks. Slumping to the floor as your legs give out, you draw them towards your chest. Wrapping your arms around them tightly.

You sit there, gulp down whatever air you can for what feels like forever. You distantly hear a knock at your door. And another when you don’t answer. A few moments pass silently before the sound of a door opening startles you. You quickly push yourself backwards, attempting to hide within the shadows of the setting sun. Fearing that Lord Stark was closer than you assumed, that he had arrived at Dragonstone to take you.

Instead, in the archway leading to your balcony stood Luke. He walked with wooden crutches to support his weight and he had bandages adorning his right leg and most of his right arm. He carefully made his way to you. Unable to crouch or kneel, he leans back against the short wall.

Looking at you with concern and confusion, “What’s wrong.. am I so horribly disfigured that you hide from me?” He tries to joke. Hoping to lighten the mood and set you at ease.

You don’t move, only lifting your head to meet his eyes. “I can’t stay here…” you whisper, it’s barely audible over the breeze that passes through. When Luke doesn’t respond you speak again, “I need to leave… please Luke, I need help.. I can’t be forced into a marriage.. please– please help me..” you beg.

Luke considers you for a moment, deep in thought, before he speaks again. Sighing loudly, “Fine…” he says finally. “Tonight, after the guards last check, tie your sheets together and anchor them to the balcony. Climb down them and get to the shore line on the far east, there is a small boat tied to some rocks. No one will see you with how dark it gets, and by the time they do you’ll be gone.”

You take in his words, committing them to memory, before standing slowly. “Thank you, Luke..” You hug him, mindful of his wounds.

By the time Luke leaves your room, the sun has set completely and the moon is visible. As he leaves, you thank him one last time and ask how he knew of the boat. Luke simply turns to look at you over his shoulder and mutters a quiet,

“I have my secrets like everyone else.”

The moon was at its highest by the time you reached King’s Landing. You pulled the hood of your cloak over your head to conceal your face as you carefully walked through the streets.

Quietly you slinked through hidden hallways of the Red Keep, following the same winding path you have for years. Stopping only once you stood in front of the familiar backing to a painting. You strained your ears, listening for movement in the room on the other side of the painting. When you heard nothing after several minutes, you slowly pushed the painting away from the wall and climbed out into the room. Before you can put the painting back into place, you’re shoved against the wall with a dagger placed at your throat.

“I thought you’d be happy to see me..” You joke weakly. The dagger hits the floor with a loud clink and your hood is yanked off of your head. Hands grip your biceps tightly, as if afraid that you’ll run the second their grip loosens.

“Is it– Are you really here?” Aemond whispers into the space between you. He isn’t wearing his eyepatch, the sapphire gem reflecting the light from the fireplace.

You reach a hand up and gently trace along his scar, just as you had so many times in the past. You give him a small smile as tears well up in your eyes like they had so many times these past weeks. Although, unlike the other tears you’ve shed, these are tears of joy.

“I’m here…” you reassure Aemond, resting your forehead against his. “I’ve missed you..”

Aemond breathes a sigh, his shoulders slumping as he relaxes. His hands move from your biceps, one cupping the side of your face and neck while the other rests against your hip. The two of you stand in silence, enjoying the peace of being near each other. Of being in the other's embrace.

“I wrote to you…” he whispered.

“I know.” You respond equally as quiet. “I wrote many responses.. and even more questions… none of which I could bring myself to send.”

Aemond took a shuddering breath, pulling back to look you in the eye. He cupped your face in both hands, his thumbs rubbing against your cheeks, “I’m sorry… about Luke, I– I didn’t mean to hurt him…”

You shush him, bring your hands to rest on his forearms. “I believe you,”

He swallows, Adams apple bobbing, carefully asking “Did– is Luke… dead?”

You’re shaking your head no before he finishes his question. “Luke is alive and healing. He will be fine.”

Aemond nods. It’s a small, barely there, movement that had you not been so close to him you wouldn’t have seen it.

As silence falls over the two of you once again, you gently remove his hands from your face. Releasing them only to remove your cloak. You grab one of Aemond’s hands and guide him to his bed, softly instructing him to lay down. You climb into the bed after him, curling up alongside his body with your head resting against his chest. He holds you against him with an arm around your back that rests on your hip. His other hand lays flat against his stomach.

“Why did you come here?” Aemond asks. You can hear his heart beating against his chest, a dead giveaway to how unsure he is. “Why return to me? When I waited for you… I was sure I’d never see you again..”

“I needed to leave…” you say simply. Your hand traces nonsense along his torso and over the back of his hand. “Dragonstone was becoming a prison…”

You feel Aemond tense beside you. “What do you mean?” He asks carefully.

You sigh deeply, “While my eldest brothers were off on their dragons, securing allies for our mother, I was stuck on Dragonstone babysitting my youngest brothers…” as if he can sense your hesitation in continuing, Aemond squeezes your arm reassuringly. “When Luke returned… my mother practically doubled the workload of the guards. Especially those that protected my brothers and I.. it was all very suffocating.”

“And this caused you to leave?” He asked carefully. You shifted in his arms, propping yourself up on one elbow.

“Yes… but not just that…” You trail off again, worrying your bottom lip between your teeth.

Aemond watched you worriedly as you swallowed the lump that had formed in your throat. “What is it, Issa jorrāelagon (my love)? What happened?”

“Lord Cregan Stark asked for my hand in marriage… and in return, he promised two thousand men. My mother accepted and, when I refused, she locked me inside my room.” Your jaw clenched as anger welled inside you, Aemond’s arm tightening around your waist. “I sat there for a week… trapped and miserable, with guards outside my door and under my balcony all day and all night. I could do nothing but sit and wait. When I heard that Lord Stark would soon be arriving.. I decided, for sure, that I needed to leave.. funny enough, it was Luke who helped.. whether or not he knew of us I couldn’t say…”

Aemond was quiet for a moment. Taking in what you had experienced, the fact that your own mother would do this surprised him. He expected it from his own mother… but he always assumed yours cared more for her children than Alicent. “What matters is that you are here now. And I will not let you go again.” Another beat of silence. “Marry me, Issa jorrāelagon (my love).”

You breathe out a quick laugh gazing down at Aemond. “That alone would start a war, Aemond… our families would never allow it…”

“Then we won’t tell them.” He sits up hastily, nearly knocking his forehead against yours in the process. “We can leave. Leave Kings Landing… leave Dragonstone.. hells, even lease Westeros if need be.”

“Aemond–“ he continues to speak, cutting you off.

“We can start a new life together.. just us, our dragons… maybe a kid or two somewhere down the line..”

“I–I would really like that..” you say, smiling dreamily as you imagine it. “We should leave soon.. they’ll notice I’m gone come sunrise..”

“Then we will leave before that..” Aemond guides you to lay back against the bed, smirking as he kisses along your jaw.

“We should leave now.. no one is awake… no one would notice.” You whisper. You gasp as he licks along your neck. Your skin heats up from the warmth of his breath as he sucks against your pulse point, likely leaving a mark. You feel him hum a ‘no’ against your skin as he continues to kiss gently along your neck and collarbone. “Aemond~” you drawl.

Stopping his assault on your neck, he lifts up to meet your gaze, “We will leave… as soon as I’ve had a taste of you..”

Aemond returns his attention to your neck as his hands work deftly to remove your dress. The feel of the soft fabric sliding down and off of your body elicits goosebumps and the chill of the room hitting your skin causes you to shiver. Aemond kisses every newly exposed part of flesh, marking his way down your body. Sitting back in his heels, he tugs the dress off of your legs and tosses it aside. Your underwear follows suit.

“This feels a little one sided,” you joke, looking through half lidded eyes.

He simply laughs to himself, tugging his own shirt up over his head and tossing it to join your dress. His pants follow soon after along with his underwear. Quirking an eyebrow he smirks at you, “Better, issa jorrāelagon (my dear)?” He teases.

Aemond hooks his arms under each of your thighs as he makes himself comfortable between them. He lays his hands flat against your stomach and gently kisses your inner thigh. You watch with bated breath as he sticks out his tongue and runs it through your folds. The tip barely manages to push inside you before it is removed again. He groans against you, the vibrations causing your hips to stutter. Aemonds hands held you in place, trapped against him as he devoured you like a starved man.

“Aemond! Fuck.. oh gods, it feels good!” You moan. Despite the hold he has on you, your hips manage to grind against him with small circular motions. One hand fists the sheets below you as the other tangles into his hair.

Aemond lifts his head to look at you, licking his lips before saying, “Nyke jorrāelagon se sylutegon hen ao, issa dōna (I love the taste of you, my sweet),” One of his hands shifts down so that his thumb lays overtop your clit. You gasp as he begins to circle his thumb around it. “It’s sweet and far more addictive than any wine in the whole of Westeros.”

Your breath catches on a moan as Aemond continues to ravish you. He thrusts his tongue into you as far as it will go while his thumb quickly works over your sensitive clit. You writhe against him as you bring your hand up to cup your breast, flicking and pulling at your nipple. Your eyes shut as your head falls back against the pillows, back arching, as two fingers join his tongue. His fingers curl inside you, coaxing moans and shuddering gasps from your mouth. Heat pools in the bottom of your stomach as your climax rapidly approaches, Aemonds name falling from your lips like a prayer, begging for more. His tongue and fingers working in earnest as you writhe against him feverishly. The hand in his hair gripping and anchoring him against you. Your thighs tremble on either side of his head as your orgasm explodes through you. Your eyes rolling back and head falling limply to the side with a drawn out moan flowing from your mouth.

Aemond works you through your climax, thumb gently rubbing over your clit as his tongue and fingers slowly continue to stretch your entrance. It isn’t until you’re whining and struggling against him from overstimulation, that he stops and pulls back. Making a show of sucking his fingers, soaked with your release, into his mouth and moaning around them before pulling them out with a pop.

He looks over your body, skin glistening in the candle light. His eyes darken and he smiles. You meet his gaze as he crawls up the length of your body and captures your lips with his own. You moan into him, your tongues dancing against each other and you can taste yourself on him. Your arms wrap around his middle, hooking up to rake your nails down his back. You smirk into the kiss, hearing his sharp intake of breath and feeling his muscles spasm under your hands. You break the kiss, pulling his bottom lip with your teeth gently. He growls, chasing after your lips. You smile, chuckling lightly at his failed attempts to recapture your lips as you turn your face away from him. You position your mouth next to his ear, biting the lobe gently.

“Nyke jorrāelagon ao isse issa, sir (I need you in me, now).” You whisper into his ear before licking the shell of it. “Kostilus gaomagon daor mazverdagon issa umbagon (Please do not make me wait).”

Aemond shifts above you reaching a hand down and running it through your folds before quickly fisting his cock, using your arousal to slick himself. He guides his length to your entrance, prodding against you. “Skorkydoso kostagon nyke vestragon daor skori ao epagon sīr sȳrī (How can I say no when you ask so well)?”

Slowly, He pushes in. “You’re doing so well, issa jorrāelagon (my love).” Aemond praises. He runs his hands soothingly over your body, trying to help you relax as you adjust to his size. “You’re taking me so well… sīr vok (so perfect)... made just for me,” He groans, bottoming out inside you.

He remains still, placing kisses against your shoulders, your jaw, your temple, any part of you his mouth could reach. Whispering praises into your ear and against your mouth as he kisses you softly.

After a few moments of his gentle kisses and featherlight caresses, you shift your hips against him. “You- you can move now…”

Aemond sets a slow pace. Languidly thrusting into you as he continued to kiss the exposed skin of your neck and shoulder. Your hands roam over the expanse of his torso, feeling the muscles shift under your touch with each roll of his hips. You move a hand up to cup the side of Aemond’s face, pulling him to you. You lightly press your lips to his scar before kissing his lips. Pulling away from the kiss, he rests his forehead against yours. His forearms, placed on either side of your head, support him as the two of you enjoy the feel of being so closely entwined. You roll your hips to meet his with every thrust in, moaning as you feel him sink deeper into you.

As Aemonds arms tire, he repositions the two of you. He now lays behind you with his arms wrapped around your torso as he rocks into you from behind. In this position Aemond can freely run his hands over your body. One hand coming down to work over your clit, matching the speed of his thrusts. You cant your hips back against him as best you can, growing closer to release and seeking out more pleasure. The sound of Aemond’s breathy groans next to your ear only spurring you on.

Aemond finishes first, hips stuttering as he releases inside you. His breath is hot on the back of your neck as he groans before panting against you. You follow soon after, climaxing around his cock as his hand still works over your clit. As your body relaxes into his, Aemond pulls out.

He untangles himself from you, standing from the bed with a hushed promise of returning as your whine. When he does return, it’s with a rag and sleepwear. Aemond gently cleans his spend from between your legs before cleaning himself off. He tosses the rag into a wicker basket, quickly dresses himself and then helps your sluggish body into the garments. Finally, he climbs back into the bed behind you, pulling a blanket up over your bodies.

You turn to face Aemond, tucking yourself against him as he wraps his arms around you once again. He kisses your forehead, whispering promises of the future you two will have. “Rest for now, issa jorrāelagon (my love), We’ll leave soon.” He whispered to you, his own eye feeling heavy. It wasn’t long until you both had drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

You stir slightly at the sound of a door opening and armored footsteps rushing into the room. In your sleep dreary state, you think nothing of it. Snuggling back against Aemond.

It isn’t until you are being forcefully pulled from the bed that you comprehend that something is wrong. You scream and thrash against the man that is holding you, kicking your feet wildly and twisting your body to try and loosen his grip. The man's grip remains secure throughout your flailing, and eventually you give up.

Aemond is on his feet in seconds, dagger in hand, as he watches the men that had entered his room. Kings Guards. He scowls, taking notice of the several fully armored guards now standing in around him. His gaze shoots to where you stand when he hears you whimper. Shackles had been placed tightly around your wrists. Aemond starts to walk towards you, but is stopped by two Kings Guards as they each grab an arm. He fights against them, trying to pull his arms free only to stop at the sound of heels entering the room.

“What is the meaning of this?” Aemond snarls, fighting against the guards' hold.

“She is a traitor to the crown.” Queen Alicent responds calmly, her hands clasped in front of her. “We have it in good faith that she is here to either spy or harm the king and his family. Neither are risks I am willing to take.”

“She is of no concern to you.” He manages to free one arm, “She will not harm anyone here, you have my word, mother. Let her go. She will leave Kingslanding and not return. This need not go any farther.” Aemond bargains, pleading with his mother with more emotion than Queen Alicent had seen from him.

Queen Alicent considers her son for a moment, watching as his gaze shifts to yours. His eye softening as he tries to reassure you silently. The hand he had pulled free twitching at his side as if fighting to not reach for you. She turns her gaze to you, shaking slightly in fear but trying not to show it. Your eyes, wide as a doe, never leaving Aemond’s as you take in rapid breaths.

“Take her to the dungeons,” She spoke authoritatively.

“No!” Aemond roars, fighting harder against the guards trying to restrain him.

“Aemond!” You say, panicking as the guards force you out of the room. Aemond yells, just barely managing to free his second arm before a guard punches him in the stomach. He doubles over with a groan, coughing roughly.

Queen Alicent calmly walks over to him and places her hand against his cheek. “This is for the better, my dear. This will pass with time.” She quietly says before turning and leaving the room. The guards release Aemond and he drops to the floor.

When the door to his room shuts, he slowly stands. Grabbing the nearest object, a vase of black and gold, he throws it as hard as he can. It smashes against the far wall of his room, shattering to pieces before it can even touch the ground. Aemond continues his rampage until there is no part of his room left untouched by his rage. Until he sees something laying on the floor.

Stopping dead in his tracks as he goes to smash another object, there on the floor lays your dress. Discarded carelessly earlier in the night, when Aemond still held you in his arms.

The object clatters to the floor as Aemond follows, his knees giving out beneath him. Gently and with more care than he has ever shown to anyone but you, he lifts the garment in his hands. Bringing it to his face, he inhales. He can still smell your perfume, the hints of rose intertwining with the scent of ash wood from Dragonstone.

Silent tears soak the fabric as Aemond cries, still holding the garment to him. He never thought himself a religious man, but in that moment, Aemond prayed. He prayed, to any god that would listen or care, for your safety. And that you would return to him.

Aemond stood on shaky legs and walked to his bed, uncaring in shards of glass cut his feet. He lay on top of his sheets, curled around your dress protectively. Aemond remains there, on the bed, crying silently until he is unable to keep his eye open.

Part 1 Part 3

#aemond targaryen #aemond x reader #aemond x you #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen imagine #hotd #house of the dragon #house of the dragon fanfiction #hotd imagine #ewan mitchell

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downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le · 29 days ago

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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 8

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 2929 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together.

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

'Get to your stations! Grab any weapon you can!'

Dick weaved and dove in and around the swarm of women running through the halls of the armoury that encircled the palace, all the while trying not to lose Y/N as she stormed through the halls shouting commands. The walls thundered around them as harpies attacked the palace walls, trying to get inside. All the noise and speed of its all had Dick's blood thrumming in his ears.

'Y/N! Wait up!' Dick called out to her, but still she ran on, picking up Amazons who'd been shoved to the floor in the rush and pushing them onward to their posts. All while still wearing that stunningly beautiful gown.

'Keep moving!' Y/N encouraged as they continued through the armoury. 'Those harpies are not waiting for us, and I can only imagined there is more where they came from.'

'Y/N, hold up-' Dick tried again, but was cut off.

'Not now, Dick,' she said as she waved at him, clearly not listening.

'But I think you should-'

The shattering of a glass window interrupted Dick once more, the cause being one of the deadly harpies that were attacking them. It lashed out at some nearby Amazons, slicing legs and arms in its wake. Y/N leapt into action, seizing a lance lined up on the wall and charging at the creature.

She pierced the lance through one of its wings, wrenching an ear-piercing screech from the harpy. It slashed at her with its taloned hands, but Y/N leapt back out of reach, ripping the lance from the harpy's wing before plunging it into the harpy's exposed chest.

The creature spasmed and made a horrible, wet sound before it collapsed to the floor dead.

Dick watched as Y/N withdrew the lance from the harpy, green blood dripping from its sharp end. The same blood that had spattered all across her white dressing. She looked up to see a crowd of stunned warriors watching her. 'Go! There is no time to waste. We must secure Themyscira.'

The watchers scrambled to find a suitable weapon before darting away to attend to their posts. Without missing a beat, Y/N turned to Dick and motioned for him to follow her. 'Come on, we've got to go.'

'Y/N wait,' Dick tried one more time.

'Oh for Athena's sake, what is it Dick?' Y/N asked, angered as she turned back to face him. Some of her hair had escaped its bun and now framed her face, her flushed cheeks. Dick had to bite his tongue lest he tell her he thought she looked cute when she was mad.

Instead, he motioned to her green blood-spattered dress. 'Don't you think you should change first?'

That just only seemed to anger her more. 'Are you serious right now?' When Dick just nodded, she groaned in frustration but leant down, grabbed the dress from just below her knees, and sliced it until all that was left of her dressings was a shorter version that finished just above her knees.

In a frustrated huff, she threw the remaining scraps to the floor and pointed said to Dick, 'Happy now?'

'I am, but your Grandmother is going to be so pissed.'

Y/N rolled her eyes, but before she could retort, the sound of a high-pitched horn resounded from outside. The thundering around them stopped as well. Y/N and Dick shared twin looks of curiosity with one another before rushing to the broken window.

'They're retreating?' Dick questioned, watching the hundreds and thousands of harpies retreating to the beach he arrived on.

'No,' Y/N said, 'they're preparing to attack us with something worse. Quick, we've got to get our forces down to the beach.'

~~~

Y/N stood with Dick and Calliope on the beach she first arrived on all those months ago, staring out to the ocean where the harpies just hovered over the wild waves.

'What are they doing, Princess?' Calliope asked, and if Y/N didn't know any better, she would've thought Calliope sounded partially afraid.

'I don't know,' she answered, never taking her eyes off the creatures. 'They seem to be waiting for something.'

'Well I think we should take them down now,' Dick said, pulling out his escrima sticks the weapon masters had forged for him. They weren't his usual ones equipped with tasers, but they suited him far more than a sword or lance, along with the shuriken stars he'd requested be made as well.

'How, genius?' Y/N asked, pointing to the hovering harpies. 'They are ten metres above water that could be concealing even more dangerous creatures. You really want to test what the outcome of that fight will be?'

Dick gave her a frustrated look, one she'd seen many times before when they'd been in battles, but he shook his head in response and relaxed his stance once more.

'Princess, look!' Calliope called out, pointing to the ocean.

The waves drew higher, crashed on the shoreline more heavily and creating more foam. But that wasn't what scared Y/N. It was the green light emanating from underneath the water's surface. It seemed to circle the entire coast of the island.

'Warriors, at the ready!' Y/N called out, and she heard her cry echo either side of her until it faded around the corners of the island where other units of warriors waited to defend their home. Calliope drew her sword and Y/N took up an offensive stance with her lance, its green-crusted tip flashing emerald in the moonlight.

As the light grew more bright, the waves finally came to a chilling standstill, the surface mirroring the harpies and the night sky beyond them. But just as quick as the stillness came, it was broken as hundreds of thousands of black sea-like creatures with glowing green eyes came splashing and thrashing out of the ocean.

'Attack!' Y/N cried, and she, Dick and Calliope were the first to charge towards the creatures.

The beach exploded with the battle cry of thousands of Amazons as they charged towards the shoreline. The monsters howled and growled and hissed and screeched as they too charged away from their watery entrance to meet the warriors on the beach.

The two armies clashed like steel on stone, the mighty crash resounding up and down the beach like firecrackers being set off. Y/N threw her lance at a fish-like crocodile straight down its throat as it lunged at her with an open mouth. She didn't wait to see if it died, only pulling her lance from its throat as it deflated onto the sand and moving onto the next creature.

Hours could've passed, perhaps only a few minutes had, but Y/N felt trapped in a bubble of never-ending fighting. She struggled for breath as she fought off a human-sized octopus-like creature, trying to pull her lance out of its grip. It had seven tentacles on her lance, but the eighth rose high above, ready to strike down on her.

Y/N braced for the blow, but the sudden rush of air past her ear and the screech of the monster had her looking around to see Dick running towards her, preparing to throw another shuriken star.

As the second star hit its mark, the monster released its hold on Y/N's lance, giving her an opportunity to pull it free of its clutches and slice precisely and ferociously at its other tentacles before throwing it at its huge head.

Piercing its brain, the creature fell silent and collapsed to the ground. Y/N quickly picked her lance out of the creature's head and fell back to back with Dick.

'Thanks for the save,' she admitted, batting off a slithering eel-like creature as it lunged at her.

'Don't mentioned it,' Dick grunted as he kicked back another creature. He leaned over his shoulder to get a partial look at Y/N, an exhausted smile on his lips. 'Just like old times, right?'

'Right, because the last time I had to fight a greek goddess was, uh, when again? Hey, behind you!'

Dick and Y/N flipped around fully to attack oncoming creatures on both sides, and Y/N felt the familiar rhythm of working with Dick fall back into place. He had her back, and she had his. When he would duck, she would strike; when she made a feint, he would be ready for the hidden blow.

Dick breathed heavily as he turned to face Y/N, that damning smile bringing light to the midnight battle. 'Is it wrong to say I kind of missed this?' he said between heavy gulps of breath.

Y/N couldn't help but huff in amusement at his statement. 'Really? You want to reminisce now?'

He shrugged. 'Why not. No time like the present!'

'I'd beg to differ.' Y/N slashed at an oncoming creature's throat, barely flinching as green blood splattered all over her already ruined gown. Dick was right. If Y/N survived the night, her grandmother was going to kill her.

When she turned back to Dick though, he was still giving her that damn smile - the one that always sent her heart aflutter, the one that threatened to melt her resolve every time he flashed it - and she couldn't help but smile back.

But as if in slow motion, Y/N saw a black blur over Dick's shoulder, but before she could warn him, a tentacle wrapped itself around his ankle and dragged him backwards.

'Dick!' Y/N went to go after him but something slammed into her back and pushed her to the ground. She managed to rollover and put her lance up for the sea lion-like creature to bite on instead of her neck. It kept gnashing its teeth at her, and all she could do was block with her lance. She looked around for any help but all she saw were the Amazons.

Wounded, bleeding, fighting, lying dead in the sand. The cries of the injured deafened her, suffocated her to the point Y/N didn't think she was breathing. They'd fought valiantly, but the monsters just kept coming.

They were fighting a losing battle.

Anger and sadness overwhelmed her as she heard her name being called out to her. As if she could answer their prayers. As if she could help them.

I have to. I have to help them.

All her anger and hopelessness surged through her, along with something that was unfamiliar. As she looked up at the sea lion, her vision went white.

~~~

'Y/N!' Dick called out to her as he saw her be slammed into the ground by the sea lion. But the octopus had a grip on him which was not so easily escaped from.

Dick rolled onto his back as he came face to face with the creature apprehending him and threw two stars at its flashing green eyes. It screeched in pain, releasing Dick as it floundered around now blind.

Dick didn't pay the creature anymore mind, instead turning back to race for Y/N. But just as he approached, he was knocked back by some force that exploded from Y/N and the sea lion. When he refocussed he couldn't believe what he saw.

Y/N hovered just above the sand, haloed in a white energy that radiated power. Her loose hair floated as if she were suspended in water, and her eyes glowed pure white. Her lance appeared to be burning too, a white hot flame in her hand that did not flinch at its heat.

Y/N looked directly at him, but Dick saw no recognition on her face and knew in that moment he wasn't dealing with just Y/N.

'Get everyone to the mountainside,' she said, her voice echoed by a deeper, more resounding voice. It was almost like someone else was present with Y/N.

When Dick didn't move, Y/N lunged her lance at a large group of creatures running their way and expelled a large blast of energy that vaporised them in seconds. She then turned back to Dick and, seeing he still hadn't moved, shouted, 'Go!'

He didn't know what she was going to do, but he didn't wait around any longer to be reprimanded again. Dick scrambled to his feet and started ushering any Amazon he could find back towards the stairs that led up to the city. 'Get to the stairs!' he cried, running and fighting through the battlefield. 'Get to the stairs! Grab anyone you can and get to the stairs! Spread the message!'

Quicker than expected, his message wrapped around the whole beach and the thousands of warriors on it started retreating from it. One young warrior fell as she ran away from a creature chasing her. It lunged at her with fangs bared, but Dick slammed his escrima sticks down on its head before kicking it away.

'Here, come on!' he said, offering his hand out to help the young girl up. She couldn't have been any older than sixteen.

She gratefully took his hand and let him lead her to the stairs. Once they were high enough up, Dick turned to see Y/N drawing in the monsters and fighting them all. He was transfixed. She acted as a beacon on light, giving him and the Amazons time to reach safety.

But what would she do from there?

'Y/N!' He called out to her, and to his surprise she looked his way, those pure white eyes piercing his soul.

Without a word, she rose high above the crowd of creatures and Dick felt her drawing in energy from all around her as she glowed brighter and brighter. Suddenly, she took off, flying around the corner of the beach, and just when Dick thought she'd left them alone, she came flying back around the other side.

Dick held onto the young girl protectively as Y/N flew circles around the base of the mountainside, getting faster and faster until all she appeared to be was a blurry white line encircling the island. It was only then Dick noticed a sheer barrier building from the ground upwards and arc towards the middle.

She's creating a dome? Dick didn't quite understand how, but Y/N was creating an almost invisible barrier over the entire mountain of Themyscira.

Y/N finally began to slow down when the dome appeared complete, then floated down to where Dick, Calliope and other warriors crowded on the steps. She stared down at the monsters crowded on the beach, waiting for their attack.

As if realising they'd been pranked, the monsters howled and hissed as they charged at the stairs. But just as the first few creatures hit the base of the stairs, they disintegrated. Vaporised, as if they never existed.

A few more crossed the threshold to the stairs before realising they were heading to their deaths. The smart ones stood just before the stairs, growling up at Y/N as she finally floated down to the landing Dick and Calliope stood upon. As soon her feet touched solid ground, the white energy faded and Y/N dropped her lance as her knees buckled beneath her.

Dick was quick to catch her, throwing one arm under her should to hold her up and the other to gently hold her face. 'Y/N? Y/N, come on,' he said, worry threatening to overcome him.

Relief washed over him as Y/N's eyes fluttered open. 'Dick?' she asked, taking in her surroundings as she stood up properly. 'What happened? What's going on?'

'You just single-handedly saved us, Princess,' Calliope injected, turning to her fellow warriors and igniting cheers and claps of joy and success.

'What?' Y/N finally looked down at the beach to see the hoards of monsters standing by the dome. She looked up to the top of Themyscira, admiring the dome all around them. Dick noticed a hint of fear as she looked back at him and asked, 'I did that?'

All Dick could do was nod, very aware that he still held onto her and that she hadn't pulled away yet. He had questions, so many he didn't know where to start. But the semi-shocked and fearful look on Y/N's face told him that she was not up to answering them now.

He turned to Calliope, pulling her away from the celebration she had ignited. 'We should set up a guard around the base of the dome. We can't assume this will remain all night. Echidna will try her best to bring it down and get through.'

'Then I say she can try, but she will have a fight waiting for her on the otherwise if she does manage to get through,' Calliope answered, her face and tone serious once more. 'I will set up a guard immediately. You take the princess back to the city for rest. I will join you as soon as I have set up the guard so we can discuss our next moves.'

Dick nodded his thanks as Calliope turned to speak with the warriors nearby. Gently, he grabbed Y/N's hand, drawing her attention to him. 'Hey, let's get you up to the city. We should regroup there.'

Surprisingly, she didn't fight him, but instead let him lead her through the crowd of warriors who cheered and clapped her up the stairs. Dick couldn't help but notice however that she barely paid any of them any mind. She made the climb back to the city with her head lowered and her eyes distant.

What are you thinking about? Dick wished he could read her mind like he used to. But whatever had happened to her just now, he knew this time he couldn't help her.

And that thought alone broke his heart.

~~~

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kindaasrikal · 1 month ago

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The ninja think Lloyd has a twin brother after seeing an old photo of a pair of blonde and brunette teenagers in an old album.

They completely forgot about the fact that the (really old) picture held two teenagers and is a photo they don’t remember. And that Lloyd didn’t become a teenager under the most normal of ways.

After theorising for an entire night after sending Lloyd on a random mission, they came to the conclusion that Lloyd’s long lost twin must be living on the streets, like Lloyd once was. And since Lloyd was evil on the streets before living with the ninja, only to then become the most good person alive, then by magical twin logic Lloyd’s twin is the actual evil one with a traumatic backstory.

In hopes of not letting Lloyd remember (they assume he either chooses to hide those memories in pain or he has amnesia) of his evil and having left him behind family member number 2 (3 on the second one) they go out searching for a brunette teenage evil whose trying to take over the world in a random village.

After a whole week of searching they found squat and Lloyd and Wu got tired of it all, and cornered them to spill the truth. Shockingly enough, it was Zane who was feeling the most pressure over the secret and blurted it out with a little of pressure. Before crying out apologies over not finding his evil twin brother and saving him from the “DARK VISCOUS PATH GARAMDON WAS FORCED DOWNNN IT WAS ALL OUR FAULTSSSSS” as he sobbed.

Wu and Lloyd, rightfully confused, and very concerned because to be perfectly honest this would be expected of their family after Morro was hidden from them (Wu please don’t have any more secret hidden children) and how they are in general, call Misako and Garmadon.

Garmadon screams and Misako is very much prepared to murder everyone, because she can remember her own pregnancy thank you very much. Until, well, she remembers the family she joined. And the job she has. And then when the Ninja are convinced something is up, and even Lloyd is nearing the same state his father and Zane are in, with Wu questioning he should actually go through that old scrapped plan to kidnap Morro from the Departed realm if this random twin is also dead, Misako yells at them all to be quiet and wait for her and Garmadon to show up. Harumi can be heard cackling in the background when they all end the call.

When Misako and Garmadon arrive, the ninja and co are found completely silent. Misako is already sick of it all and Garmadon look like he might strangle the ninja for answers, so she just straight up asks them what made them convinced Lloyd has a twin.

Lloyd, Wu, Garmadon and Misako all stare at the ninja, who in turn sweat. Slowly, Nya gets up to grab a book off the shelf they hid it between.

And when they opened it to the page the picture was in, they were all silent as they absorbed it all in.

Then Wu snorted, and it became chaos after. Garmadon was both laughing his ass off and cussing them all out. Misako was muffling her own snorts behind her hands, shaking as she struggles to hold herself up on a wall, the ninja are staring completely baffled as Wu is giggling into his hat, and Lloyd is glaring confused between the two people in the picture, before slowly looking up and asking “is…is this?…”

The ninja are even more confused and even a little offended by that, and Kai starts pointing at it all like “Its your evil twin! I swear it!! Who..ahem, looks a lot like a certain old classmate right-”

And Wu just gets up, grabs the album, looks at Garmadon, and says “Lloyd really does look similar to us, doesn’t he?”

And Garmadon, who was wondering if he should stab the ninja after giving him such a huge scare, scoffs and says “Of course he doesn’t, he looks exactly like Misako!” And then looks at the picture and says “…Though, he does have my amazing hair, and your ugly eyebrows.” Lloyd takes zero offence and believes it a compliment when it comes to him.

It takes a second more of silence before Misako begins snorting again at the ninja’s faces when they realise.

Jay’s jaw is dropped, Cole is staring between Garmadon and Lloyd, Zane begins scanning the photos with Wu and Garmadon’s face, Nya is trying to ask for an actual explanation, Kai is frozen, and Lloyd.

Lloyd literally falls on the ground in relief. He’s had enough family drama to deal with, no more is necessary.

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shamelessexplosions · 1 year ago

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What I've learnt about the Batfamily from Tumblr

I know nothing about Batman - I have never read a comic, I have never watched a Batman series or cartoon or movie with him in it (except from that one scene at the end of wonder woman). This is what I have learnt about the members of the Batfamily entirely from tumblr and other social media.

1. Bruce Wayne

Bruce Wayne is Batman, and his superpower is being richer than God.

He lives in a mansion in Gotham, which is basically a city entirely made up of psychos

He cannot stop adopting children

Like I'm pretty sure he sees a child on their own with a vaguely traumatic backstory and has to adopt them.

Probably carries adoption papers in his utility belt for that very purpose

I'm not entirely sure how many children he has but that's okay because I don't think he knows either.

When he's in the mask his voice is really deep and he keeps saying "I'm Batman"

When he's not he acts like a complete idiot but probably tips a waitress by paying for their collage tuition

His parents are dead and this is very important - in a world of orphans, he is THE orphan

2. Dick Grayson

Bruce Wayne's oldest adopted son

He was in the circus as an acrobat until his parents died in front of him

I think they were murdered

He was the original Robin

Then he got bored or something and moved to somewhere called bludhaven which honestly sounds Norwegian, and renamed himself Nightwing.

Has extreme big brother energy

3. Jason Todd

Robin #2 because apparently there's a second one

I think he met Bruce after stealing the tires off Batman's car (the batmobile?) and then hitting him with a tire iron which is such a power move, especially for some random kid

He died but it's ok because he fell in a pit and got better

He renamed himself red hood and became a mass murderer for a bit

I think it was just a phase?

He was trained in the way of murder by someone called Talia. He either slept with her or was adopted by her.

I hope it's the second one because I know Bruce slept with her

Likes guns

4. Tim Drake

I think he stalked batman until he found out he was Bruce Wayne

In other words this random kid did what no megalomaniac with a grudge against the furry that routinely beats them up could

But then I think he was Bruce's neighbour pre-adoption so maybe he just noticed batman flying out from under the mansion each night, which says something problematic about his secret identity

He became robin too like how many robins does one city need?

Jason refers to him as 'replacement' which seems cold given 1. He himself was a replacement and 2. tim got replaced as well

I think he's Red Robin now, so clearly not too interested in change.

5. Damien Wayne

Bruce's biological son with the aforementioned assassin/murder trainer Talia.

Was in something called the League of Assassins but left to find his father, which given the name is the League of Assassins sounds like a smart life choice

Talia may have sent Damien to Bruce so she didn't have to deal with a teenager, but it also sounds like he left after an argument with his grandfather and League head-honcho Ra's so not sure whats going on there

Also Robin but I think at this point someone is taking the piss - possibly Batman

Feral Child(tm)

Likes swords

6. Cassandra (Cassie/Cass) Cain?

Maybe her surname is cain? Or maybe it's not?

I'm really confused because I'm pretty sure there is both a Cass and a Cassie in the Child-soldier Justice League and I think one of them is a bat-family member and one of them has something to do with Wonder Woman and they may or may not be the same person

Was an assassin involved in the same organisation as Jason and Damien

Is this where Bruce Wayne is finding his kids?

Was a Robin too (yay for feminism, boo for originality? Get some other names for your feral murder children Bruce)

Now called Spoiler and likes purple

May have at one point been batgirl?

7. Duke ???

Honestly I have no idea, I've just seen his name a couple of times

He was probably Robin at some point - they all appear to have been Robin at some point

I think he likes the colour yellow

8. Stephanie Brown

Another person that I have only vaguely seen the name of

She might have dated one of the batkids, Tim maybe?

May or may not be a batkid herself

May be batgirl, or maybe that was Cassandra, or maybe both. There have been so many robins nothing would surprise me

9. Barbara (Babs) Gordon

Daughter of a police commissioner

hacker

Her father may or may not be aware of her extracurriculars, but Commissioner Gordon has a massive flashlight for summoning batman when he needs help with a case so I don't think he has any room to talk

Goes by Oracle

Not a proper batkid but I doubt that stops her being on the family Christmas card

May have at one point been a Batgirl?

But at this point I'm just guessing everyone was batgirl

Maybe Duke was batgirl!

May use a wheelchair but I'm not certain

10. Alfred Pennyworth

Indeterminate age, may be immortal

Bruce's bulter

Raised Bruce Wayne, but still calls him 'Master Bruce'

Also refers to the batkids as 'master xx'

May or may not be sarcasm

English, ex-army and all-round exceedingly polite badass

Correction, he's English, I can say with confidence it is sarcasm

That is all the people I can think of, sorry if I missed anyone

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cardinalcanis · 3 months ago

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CODEX: The Viridian Phantoms

Summary: I did a thing. Been wanting to write about the custom space marine chapter that has been eating my brain the last few days. The Viridian Phantoms, my loyalist Mortarion successor chapter. They have been SO much fun to write and will totally do more things with them in the future. They are my first ever custom chapter so I would LOVE LOVE LOVE your reviews and opinions about them.

TW: People WAY too comfortable with death.

Word count: 3314

"Can I make my own fanart/OCs/head cannons/fics about/with the Viridian Phantoms?" First of all I will die <3, second of all, of course! As long as you credit me as the og creator of them I have no issue with it!

Tag squad (let me know if you wish to be tagged on stuff): @druidwolf21 @wolf-feathers12 @artemisareia @cosmic-cryptid-from-beyond @adhd-fandom-hyperfocus

@gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan @kit-williams @egrets-not-regrets @jaghatai-khock @horuslupercal @moodymisty

@sinistermojo @beckyninja @justallll @ms--lobotomy @pluvio-tea @lemon-russ

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General information:

“We are Death, so Humanity may live.”

-Chapter name: Viridian Phantoms.

-Other nicknames and given monikers (at least the nice ones): Angels of Krieg, The Bone Collectors, Krieger Kites, Jumping Tanks, Climbing Banshees.

-Loyalty: Loyalist.

-Homeworld: Krieg.

-Symbol: A ghostly skull wreathed in chains.

-Colors: Light viridian green accented with black and silver.

Origin:

“Father, see your children, battle-worn and pale,

Holy Chains and hooks prepared,

Father, see your children, dead but not failed,

By their blood may the corruption be cleansed.”

After the events of Baal and the Plague Wars Belisarius Cawl saw the necessity of having more resistant troops. Capable of weathering extreme conditions, facing bio-monstrosities and gargantuan enemies, and being Immune to plagues and other chaos or mortal-made maladies.

The Viridian Phantoms were born from Cawl’s experiments, using a modified strand of Mortarion’s gene-seed to create warriors who could endure almost everything. They stand as an act of defiance to Roboute Guilliman’s will in the face of what he considers advancements in the name of the Imperium’s survival, magnificent discoveries that honor the Omnissiah. Making them only female was the loophole he found to make their existence possible, even though kept in secret for many years. Recruited and trained on Krieg for their innate resilience and loyalty, these Marines are honed to become the embodiment of human perseverance.

They possess their gene father’s legendary resistance combined with an aspect of Mortarion not exploited by the previous Death Guard; his untapped psyker potential. The Viridian Phantoms are unyielding assaulters, designed to weather any blow; be it a plague, environment non compatible with life, or physical force. Their combat style is defined by their heavy armor, equipped with hooks and chains, allowing them to latch onto massive foes, scale them, and pull them down into submission so they can be butchered. Despite their heavily reinforced armor, their biomantic prowess allows them bursts of agility, enabling them to jump over large enemies and strike from unexpected angles. Even other Astartes speak about a sense of uneasiness seeing what in all senses is a terminator-like unit swinging in the air and climbing light as a feather. This makes them formidable in melee, where they wield chainswords and scythes with deadly precision. Learning from the Thousand Sons’ mistakes, they do not over rely on their psyker powers, biomancy is meant as another tool in their arsenal. Their uncanny resistance aided by biomantic regenerative capabilities make them the perfect unmovable wall for humanity.

Made behind the primarch’s back:

“Father, we are ready, take us if you must.”

Cawl’s unprecedented authority within the Mechanicus and his status as the architect of the Primaris project provided him with enough leeway to conduct this experiment. His known… quirks and disregard for strict Imperial protocol helped him fly under the radar. His projects are already known for secrecy, but even with the trust on his skill and status he couldn’t afford for Guilliman discovering the Phantoms before they were ready.

The choice of Krieg didn't only rest on its hardy loyal woman but also for its isolation, secrecy of what truly goes in their underground hives and lack of general scrutiny from the Imperium. Krieg’s conditions allow for secretive experimentation; the people of Krieg, known for their discipline and loyalty never questioned nor revealed Cawl’s activities, they were ordered not to anyways. It is said that long lines are made to this day for parents to proudly offer their daughters for testing, even though they didn’t know what it was about, the Emperor was looking for female children so they served accordingly.

Cawl carefully controlled who knew about the Phantoms’ existence and purpose, involving only trusted Mechanicus personnel and Kriegsmen who were at a need to know bases of their assignment and sworn to secrecy. Any record-keeping or tracking was obfuscated through a complex mix of bureaucracy and Mechanicus’ religious beliefs, already only revealing the biggest secrets to the worthy in the Omnissiah’ eyes.

The Phantoms were obviously kept isolated from other Astartes chapters and Imperial forces to avoid detection. In their deployments, the Phantoms engaged enemies with minimal support, focusing on missions that required little to no backup. Training and conditioning was completed in Mechanicus-controlled facilities under Cawl’s lock and key, keeping them away from inquisitive eyes. He implemented protocols restricting their interaction with other Imperial personnel, ensuring their knowledge and exposure remained minimal.

The Phantoms’ early deployments were limited remote or particularly hazardous battlefields far from populated areas or Imperial forces, where only the toughest units were expected to survive. These are regions affected by warp taint, plague, or xenos threats, where the survival of any unit would be notable but not easily verified.

Cawl specifically chose high-mortality missions where the Phantoms could demonstrate their resilience. By deploying the Phantoms to zones where no ordinary Astartes force could feasibly operate, Cawl ensured they’d operate in isolated conditions, where successful missions were difficult to track or verify independently.

Later on he made use of trusted Rogue Traders and Mechanicus explorator missions to test the Viridian Phantoms in the fringes of the Imperium.

Reports and data on the Phantoms were filed under vague terms or ambiguous classifications, described in ways that did not reveal their true origin or makeup. Listed as specialized Krieg regiments or other “experimental” Mechanicus units when deployed. These reports kept them concealed, making it appear as if they were simply part of a contingent of the Death Korps or other Mechanicus-approved forces rather than a unique chapter of Astartes.

Physical appearance, chapter culture and personality:

“Through pain and flame, we fall

And if you can stay, sister, then we'll show you the way

To return from the ashes we call.”

Moration’s gene seed gives the Viridian Phantoms a formidable yet eerie appearance that sets them apart from other chapters. Considered some if not the tallest Primaris Marines, they are built like a block of muscle, needing great upper body strength to hold their full armored weight while hanging mid air. Their skin turns a pale white or slightly grayish hue with visible veins. Their hair typically ranges in shades of white, silver, or light gray. They tend to keep their hair very long and extensively braided. Their eyes are described as a ‘pale gaze’ and ‘lifeless’ or with an almost glassy appearance, people claim that the Phantoms' gaze is ‘detached’ looking through them rather than at them. The intensity of their gaze is increased by how little they tend to blink unnerving those unaccustomed to their manner. All of these add up into giving them their phantom-like appearance they are named after.

They barely speak, when they do, it is done with precision and brevity. There is no room for flowery language or embellishment; they say what needs to be said and nothing more. Their speaking cadence tends to be emotionless and unenthusiastic, not due to lack of emotion but their little interaction with non Phantoms. As very sensible biomancers, they are constantly in touch with the inner processes inside those around them, including emotional responses. Spoken and gestured communication is just a poor mockery of the higher level subtle, unspoken connections they share. This makes them seem distant or even cold to those who rely more on direct communication, this lack of visible emotion could create misunderstandings or discomfort.

The Phantoms struggle hard to connect with outsiders, as they find typical methods of bonding cumbersome or shallow compared to the natural closeness they share among themselves. When interacting with other chapters, they struggle to adapt to more conventional forms of camaraderie, finding it challenging to communicate complex intentions in ways others understand and at the same time making them highly aware of the moods or intents of others. Knowing of the fear, frustration, anger and paranoia they cause first hand; but without the skills to properly address other's concerns.

This sensitivity fosters deep bonds between the Phantoms, allowing them to anticipate and understand each other in ways that most Astartes can’t. It creates a near-unbreakable trust, as they’re constantly aware of each other's emotional state, intentions, and even physical condition, reinforcing the idea of sisterhood beyond the individual. The electrical discharge in one sister’s muscles ordering to lift a bolter is sensed by the others, copying the same movements, making them capable of reacting to their environment like a well coordinated flock of birds. This gives them an almost meditative focus in battle. Their awareness of their sisters’ movements allows them to coordinate without spoken commands, making them seem eerily calm and united.

Krieg’s women to the core, their loyalty to the Emperor and their battalion is absolute. They see themselves as living tools of the Imperium, willing to sacrifice anything, including their lives, without hesitation. This unwavering dedication makes them reliable but can come across as suicidal, looking for death in death’s sake. Each Phantom believes their existence is expendable if it means the mission succeeds or the forces of humanity are protected.

The Viridian Phantoms also hold a profound respect for their fallen allies, whether they are their own sisters, other Astartes, or even mortal guardsmen and civilians. They view these fallen as martyrs of the Emperor’s cause. As a tribute, unless the remains are corrupted by Chaos, Phantoms often collect small pieces of armor, bones, cloth, strands of hair, or even rubble from the battlefield and fashion them into beads and charms. These adornments are extensively braided into their hair or hung across their weapons and armor, serving as personal memorials and tokens of respect. Teeth, in particular, are a favored keepsake known among the Phantoms as "flesh pearls," close second to hair which they braid with their own.

With so much of their time spent among the Mechanicus it is of no surprise that one of the most significant aspects of their culture is the ceremonial tending to their gear and weapons. Each battle-sister sees her armor and weapons as an extension of herself, considering them "bound" to her flesh and spirit. Outside of battle, Phantoms often spend hours in silent preparation, maintaining and blessing their chains, hooks, and weapons in a ritual that reinforces their connection. It has been reported that this strong belief on their gear as part of their flesh has ended into several occurrences where their biomantic powers also restore cracked ceramite or instances where guns keep shooting when it is obvious that the magazine must have been emptied.

This meticulous care for their gear makes the Phantoms selective about who is allowed to handle it. They permit only trusted Mechanicus priests or highly skilled serfs with whom they have overseen working many times to assist in maintaining their equipment. These chosen few would be expected to respect the Phantoms' many rituals and understand the reverence the Phantoms have for their weapons and armor. These selected few granted the honor of working with the Phantoms' gear have to undergo bonding rites, long meditations and purification rituals to align with each specific Phantom that has chosen them to tend to this sacred part of themselves to the highest of standards.

The Phantoms’ secret rites, meditations and mantras help them both handle their oversensitivity to all life around them and reinforce their religious adoration for death and sacrifice. The Phantoms hold pre-battle rituals where they recite personal death vows. These vows are spoken in low, emotionless tones, acknowledging their acceptance of death and pledging to die honorably if it serves the Imperium. Followed by their well known Death Hymns which they sing in ritual and even during battle, Viridian Phantom Death Hymns are the only instance of them raising their voices and carrying emotionally charged statements. They most are directed to a figure they ‘Father’, if it refers to either The Emperor, Mortarion or both is unknown. These chants carry an ominous, almost haunting quality, blending grim acceptance, defiance, and reverence for their purpose. The chants are rhythmic, echoing through the battlefield and unnerving allies and enemies alike with their strange, almost theatrical longing for death. They possess sections where the volume crescendos to shouts or quiets to an eerie whisper, transitioning between powerful declarations and subdued, haunting verses.

Currently, the Viridian Phantoms have no official Chapter Master due to their uncertain experimental state. Leadership has fallen by the battle sisters consensus upon Revenant (Captain) Lena Arendt, a figure respected for her exceptional combat skill and biomantic abilities. She is often referred to as the ‘Ceramite Fae’, due to even amongst other Phantoms her seamless grace mid air while fully armored creates the illusion of effortless flight. A fatal flaw her and many phantoms inherit from Mortarion is how much of a hard time they have at asking for help from non Phantoms, maybe not much out of their gene seed but their desire to prove their chapter is worthy to exist.

Gear and unconventional battle tactics:

“We are the scythe that reaps the corruption,

We are the chain that bounds the monstrosity to a kneel,

We are the knife that carves the names of the fallen onto our enemies,

We are the Emperor’s unbroken might,

We are his bleeding sacrifice so we could still have a light,

We are to fall so the many may rise,

We are the Viridian Phantoms,

And we are Death, so Humanity may live.”

As mentioned, The Phantoms hold close reverence to their gear and decorate them extensively with allies’ remains, one of the most memorable are their oracles (librarians) and gravekeepers’ (chaplains) complex teeth veils. Their armor is modeled on the reinforced Mark X, heavily modified for maximum durability. The plating is reinforced to withstand corrosive environments, disease, and warp-tainted toxins, often appearing thicker and more robust than standard armor. It is painted in a ghostly viridian green with black accents on the trim and silver detailing. Their helmets’ visors emit a ghostly pale green glow, most of them are inscribed with small runes or faint biomantic symbols.

Each Phantom carries many sets of chains and hooks designed for their signature combat style. These chains are attached to their gauntlets or armor and can be used to latch onto large enemies, structures, or terrain. The chains have runic symbols carved along each link alongside attached beads and charms, and when combined with their biomantic abilities, they become unbreakable extensions of the Phantom’s will, allowing them to anchor enemies or secure themselves in chaotic battles. The hooks are often engraved with the names of fallen sisters or even fallen guardsmen or civilians whose names they find on dog tags and forgotten personal effects among the rubble.

The Viridian Phantoms favor chain swords and most importantly scythes for close combat, weapons that symbolize their affinity for melee and their willingness to face foes up close. All of them also have the ability to extend into chain and grappling hooks. Their scythes are heavy, with blade edges honed to a sheen, used for sweeping attacks against larger foes. Made to grab, mutilate and disembowel in single clean swipes. Alongside their melee weapons they can also favor large shields that chained together create shield walls to push back at the latest of waves.

They are no strangers to range weaponry, which even if they aren’t their favored, each is shown equal love and customization as the melee does. Sometimes even consecrating every individual bullet in day or even week long rituals meant for deep meditation and calming their psyker abilities.

Even though they may be great assets for them, The Phantoms shun the use of chemical and viral weapons of any kind in their fight to distance themselves from their genesire’s legacy and fall into nurgle’s claws.

Appart to what they are known for, falling gargantuan monstrosities; the Viridian Phantoms' unparalleled resilience, little regard for their own lives and biomantic abilities would lend themselves to shockingly bold, almost reckless battle tactics and strategies. These tactics seem suicidal to other Space Marines and not Codex Compliant at all:

-Shield killbox: The Phantoms would march forward under heavy enemy fire interlocking shields with one another. Using their scythes they would pull and mutilate anything that comes closer, then throw the helpless bodies behind them where other sisters await to finish them up. Functioning as an efficient assembly line of carnage.

-Fire on my position: In coordination with allied forces, the Phantoms move into a position where friendly heavy artillery or orbital bombardment is directed. Knowing their unique resilience, they would withstand the controlled onslaught that devastates their foes, emerging from the smoke and flames, most of the time.

-Living bait: Phantoms would feign retreat or send vulnerable looking single units, drawing enemy forces into pre-arranged kill zones laden with explosives. Then, they would walk on the trap while still in the blast radius, relying on their enhanced durability to survive. Phantoms might also herd unknowing enemies into the blast radius of allied tanks. Or charge headlong into fortified enemy positions or into the path of tanks, absorbing fire and drawing attention while the rest of the battalion encircles the distracted enemy.

-Suicide landings: Phantoms generally do not fight alone unless they have a strategic purpose. Like sending one charging (or jumping off flying vehicle) into enemy positions or even the heart of their formations with explosives strapped to their armor, activating them upon impact. This act would be often followed by the surreal sight of the Phantom emerging from the carnage, bloodied but alive.

-Walking beacons: They do have a unique skill to escort survivors through dangerous zones normal humans would not survive. Making the helpless human stay close to them inside their auras so fire, disease or acid would not hurt them or would not feel the pain and heal quickly. They tend to cover the survivors' eyes and even ears so they feel no fear or run away in the presence of danger, as running away gets them out of the Phantom's aura, which means they will succumb to the factors the are being protected against. And the people's trust and faith that the Phantoms can protect them actually makes it easier to work their biomancy on them.

Cawl’s secret brought to the light:

“Hear hear, Father, we're all going to die

Father, we're all going to die

Do not sing me any farewells, for me you must not cry,

hear hear, Father, we're all going to die.”

The Viridian Phantoms' first encounter with Guilliman was intense and deeply scrutinized. After proving themselves time and time again completing dangerous missions in secret under Cawl’s direction, the Phantoms were finally brought to Guilliman’s attention as a fully-formed, specialized force created to withstand the most hostile environments and fight the Imperium’s most monstrous foes. Masking themselves as just another battalion of the Unnumbered Sons, with the help of voice modulators in their voxes making them sound masculine (aside from restricting their vox channels when singing).

They were deployed alongside his forces in a brutal battle. Observing them, Guilliman noted their resilience and uncanny coordination as they maneuvered in unison, taking down enormous threats with sacrificial tactics. The Phantoms suffered grave wounds but continued to fight, showing an almost eerie selflessness that unsettled many nearby Ultramarines.

After the battle, Guilliman confronted the Phantoms directly, demanding to know their origins. Their leader, Revenant Lena Arendt, revealed their loyalty and their gene-sire without hesitation, asserting their purpose and loyalty to the Emperor, not to Mortarion’s legacy. Guilliman, appalled by Cawl’s audacity, proclaimed that their very existence was an affront to the Imperium and must be erased.

The Phantoms responded by raising their bolters to their own heads, ready to end their lives at Guilliman's command. Stunned, Guilliman halted them. They remain a battalion awaiting Guilliman’s final judgment, will they be eliminated? Given a suicide mission hoping they never return? Will they ever back their birthright as the 14th? The future looks bleak and uncertain for the Viridian Phantoms. But the primarch must hasten as talk is spreading.

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lilac-rose-writes · 9 months ago

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KINDERGARTEN 3: Questions + Crack Theories

(Some done with @charismabee in messages <3)

1. Where are the other kids?

THEORY 1: The correct one. Bob adopted them all. Grabbed as many kids as he could see and took off with them. Their home lives sucked before? That's okay! Now they have a Bob! Unfortunately, despite his large janitor arms, he could only carry six children at a time. And by the time he went back for the others, they had been signed up to a new school and carted off by their parents. How sad. :(

THEORY 2: The Kindergarten one. They've all been kidnapped. Uh oh! They're hanging out with the mysterious disappearing former principal somewhere. Jerome is crying. Lily is furiously looking for an escape. Billy is having a panic attack. Ted "Felix" is being "Felix". Buggs is hitting things. Ozzy is having a panic attack. Things are fun <3

THEORY 3: The silly one! They're in the library. Regis looked at the troublemakers who have killed/want to kill/look like they want to kill people and put them allll in study hall together. And then put Ozzy there too. For funsies! So now they're all being scolded for committing all the murders and/or being Ozzy. Carla finds out she wasn't invited to Murder Club and she is furious.

2. What's up with Felix/Ted??

THEORY 1: After going home on Tuesday, Ted somehow discovered Felix's plans to kill him. Maybe he found the contract, maybe Felix straight-up told him (he is such a terrible liar. The WORST. I will be going back to this point in theory 2). However it happened, Ted learnt Felix wanted to kill him, pulled a Cain's Not Able alt route, and got his own back. He's in his Theodore era now. No more silly expressions. He looks at the space Felix left behind, and slots into it seemingly perfectly.

THEORY 2: The better one. Felix is pretending to be Ted. Felix too was grouped into the intended Murder Club, but he wasn't going to spend all day in study hall. Ew. So, he does the logical thing, and has Teddy fill his place. Felix thinks he's completely inconspicuous- like a sneaky hawk, so to speak. The thing is, he keeps "teehee"-ing between words and doing a frankly terrible impersonation of Ted. Remember all of his smug gloating throughout Cain's Not Able (e.g. "heheh... you have the most important part", the stealing Monty's arm plot failing so badly that Monty somehow knew Felix wanted to steal something from him and that said something was an arm, etc)? Take that and multiply it tenfold. Even the kids he's never spoken to before can tell he's not "Teddy". Meanwhile, Ted is sitting in Murder Club and trying so hard to act like Felix, but the only preparation he's had is switching shirts and he keeps trying to kill Ozzy when no-one's looking.

THEORY 3: Cain's Not Able just carried over through loops. Stevie's bandaged up, we only have one twin. Once again, Theodore arc initiated.

3. Alice & Ms Lovelett are related

THEORY: This one is simply because they are both redheads & Alice is an amnesiac. It's probably not going to be canon considering the amount of staff members' (principals') kids we have so far, but it's interesting to think about! I think it could add a lot of depth & mystery towards Ms Lovelett as a character, as well as giving us something to unpick about Alice's lost memories.

4. What's up with Monty's legs?

THEORY 1: The popular "Monty has Penny's legs" idea- part I. He went down to the lab (bc hey! Secret Lab! That sounds AWESOME for science!) and he found a Penny. A very dead, very robotic Penny. With legs. So, fitting right in with the weird limb rules of this universe, he does what Nugget did with Stevie's arm and takes those legs for himself. After all, it's not like Penny needs 'em anymore. He's being eco-friendly and reducing, re-using & recycling. It sucks that the skirt was also robotic. He could potentially get it off if he tried hard enough but he really wants legs again now and if he did there would be nothing else covering his new legs.

THEORY 2: The popular "Monty has Penny's legs" idea- part II. He still has Penny's legs, but this time, it wasn't his idea. If Applegate can somehow rise from the dead, who's to say that the superior-minded Dr Danner can't? Wouldn't be surprised if he's made himself immortal or something. He sees legless alive specimen Monty and legful dead specimen Penny and goes "hey little boy, want to swap legs with this robot?". Doesn't really matter if Monty wants to or not. His own legs are chopped off & replaced with Penny legs. He's so embarrassed about it. This will 100% ruin his street cred and also he didn't want his one-day broken legs to be gotten rid of forever. Sigh.

5. Romeo & Juliet

THEORY: This one's more of a silly guess/prediction, really. Either "Ted"/Ted gets cast as Romeo or we as Kid do (I like to think Kid will be managing all the behind the scenes stuff instead though :]) and Cindy demands to be Juliet. Only problem is, they're horrendous at acting. Cindy is over-the-top and overdramatic (like the queen she is). "Ted" is and always has been the worst actor to ever act ever. Ted too is pretty terrible at it and completely unused to being in the spotlight for anything. At least one character has stage fright. I can see Ms Lovelett as one of those teachers who start out sweet and welcoming, reassuring them all that they'll have lots of fun and put on a great show. But this is, of course, Kindergarten, so things quickly take a turn for the worse. She quickly becomes overbearing towards the performance, trying to perfect every little thing and criticising everyone repeatedly. With each passing minute, she becomes more and more frazzled. Her love for theatre is "insatiable", and she can't be stopped. The performance ends with the actors of Romeo and Juliet actually dying. Someone is poisoned, someone is stabbed. Maybe Nugget stabs someone. Maybe Nugget poisons someone. He has before. Seriously WHO thought it was a good idea to give him a knife in this game-

6. Regis' Deal

THEORY: Piecing together what we have so far, I'd say it's almost definite that he's the one behind the former principal's disappearance. He's taken on the role of classic Evil Kindergarten Principal, making both drugs and goo, making not just children but adults disappear too (hey K1 principal, imagine only being able to kidnap one child. To be fair he's a pretty sneaky hawk child who likes to hide in places but still. Skill issue).

Nugget's playing in the green goo outside. At lunch, he claims that he's "feeling funny again!", and at the start of the day, he encourages Kid to eat it. Upon doing so, Kid seemingly goes to the principal's office, where he is then sent to the medical room, looking distinctly green himself with a goo globule implying his death inside his last apple. It's safe to presume that this goo is at least somewhat similar to that of the goo in Kindergarten 2. Agnes adores it and it significantly disoriented Bob, so we can infer that it could have addictive/drug-like properties. It can kill people, as shown by the janitor's closet in K2. We know that it mutated people, and sustained Penny. It's dangerous. And there's a great deal of it all over the place.

In fact, there are elements from both of the previous principals' research scattered throughout the trailer. We see:

Green goo in a pool the janitor is cleaning in the cafeteria, a little away from the taped-over "STAFF ONLY CLOSET" door. Who has closets? Janitors. Who's a powerful member of staff? Regis, the former janitor.

Green goo pouring out of some sort of pipe into a puddle right below three tinted windows

The nurse's green cigarette smoke. We can guess that she designed the nurse's office, and therefore the posters within it- including the one discouraging/banning smoking inside of the medical room. So why would she be smoking herself?

A darkened, red version of the door presumably leading to the classroom. Dark, greenish stains cover the entire wall, but especially by that door in particular

The hole Regis drops Kid into for some reason. It has blood streaked down it- has someone been crushed by the closing mechanism before? Was one of the bloodied bags deposited there? Or, of course, did someone before Kid just spray up blood with the same absurd propulsion as a particularly bouncy ball?

IN THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE-

A brown monster with some sort of sword through its head

A bloody bag, perhaps containing the rest of the monster. It's leaked onto the floor, and bears a lot of resemblance to those seen in K1

A sword in a glass case, similar to the guns the principal had encased in K1

What does this all say? Well, I'd take it to mean that we have yet another shady principal/ murderous janitor on our hands. There's something behind those windows, something inside the staff-only closet, a reason why there are goo stains everywhere. Something happened to the former principal. Something's happened to the other kids. And Regis is the one behind it.

But other than that? Atm I've got nothing lol

I'd love to hear your own theories and thoughts on the trailer!! Maybe I'll add more to this tomorrow; the KG3 reveal has thrown me straight into analysis mode. No detail shall escape my scrutiny <3

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stargareed · 2 months ago

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Catelyn Actively Interfered with Jon's Life in a Negative Way

The Vault Vol. VIII

I. Intro

Recent posts have claimed that Catelyn, at worst, simply ignored Jon, and that this is fine because she didn't have a duty to mother Jon. While I agree Catelyn had no duty to mother Jon, I disagree that she simply ignored him. Rather, Catelyn unequivocally attempted to hinder Jon’s relationship with his family and societal position. Further, the text implies the only reason Catelyn didn’t do more to impede Jon’s quality of life was because Ned wouldn’t have allowed it.

First, a disclaimer: I think Catelyn is a compelling character who was, overall, a good person. The way she treated Jon was far more an indictment of Westerosi society than her own personal failings. Her wariness of Jon and his future children was relatively rational considering the historic threat bastards have posed to their trueborn siblings and Catelyn’s duty to ensure her own child inherited Winterfell. While Jon never exhibited any disloyal behavior, Catelyn understandably viewed him as a threat to Robb for at least three reasons: (1) Ned loved Jon and was very protective of him; (2) Jon was raised alongside his trueborn siblings; and (3) Jon looked like Ned, unlike any of Catelyn’s sons.

Ned brought his bastard home with him, and called him "son" for all the North to see. . . . She might have overlooked a dozen bastards for Ned's sake, so long as they were out of sight. Jon was never out of sight, and as he grew, he looked more like Ned than any of the trueborn sons she bore him. Somehow that made it worse. (Catelyn II, AGOT (emphasis added))

Aside from any threat Jon posed to Robb’s inheritance, it’s also understandable that Catelyn didn’t like Jon for personal reasons. He was the embodiment of her husband’s infidelity, after all, who was neither out of sight nor out of mind. And Ned seemed to love Jon’s mom. Worse, he refused to even tell Catelyn who Jon’s mother was and got angry when she asked. It had to be difficult when the man Catelyn grew to love refused to share such a big part of his life with her. Indeed, she reflects on this more than once the text:

Eddard Stark had married her in Brandon's place, as custom decreed, but the shadow of his dead brother still lay between them, as did the other, the shadow of the woman he would not name, the woman who had borne him his bastard son. . . . When the wars were over at last, and Catelyn rode to Winterfell, Jon and his wet nurse had already taken up residence. That cut deep. Ned would not speak of the mother, not so much as a word, but a castle has no secrets, and Catelyn heard her maids repeating tales they heard from the lips of her husband's soldiers. . . . The Lady Ashara Dayne, tall and fair, with haunting violet eyes. It had taken her a fortnight to marshal her courage, but finally, in bed one night, Catelyn had asked her husband the truth of it, asked him to his face. That was the only time in all their years that Ned had ever frightened her. "Never ask me about Jon," he said, cold as ice. "He is my blood, and that is all you need to know. And now I will learn where you heard that name, my lady." She had pledged to obey; she told him; and from that day on, the whispering had stopped, and Ashara Dayne's name was never heard in Winterfell again. Whoever Jon's mother had been, Ned must have loved her fiercely, for nothing Catelyn said would persuade him to send the boy away. It was the one thing she could never forgive him. She had come to love her husband with all her heart, but she had never found it in her to love Jon. (Catelyn II, AGOT (emphasis added)) Her own children had more Tully about them than Stark. Arya was the only one to show much of Ned in her features. And Jon Snow, but he was never mine. She found herself thinking of Jon's mother, that shadowy secret love her husband would never speak of. Does she grieve for Ned as I do? Or did she hate him for leaving her bed for mine? Does she pray for her son as I have prayed for mine? They were uncomfortable thoughts, and futile. If Jon had been born of Ashara Dayne of Starfall, as some whispered, the lady was long dead; if not, Catelyn had no clue who or where his mother might be. And it made no matter. Ned was gone now, and his loves and his secrets had all died with him. (Catelyn VI, ACOK (emphasis added))

Moreover, Westerosi norms likely exacerbated Catelyn’s hurt feelings because they limited her options in dealing with such a slight. She had no say over whether Jon lived in Winterfell, at least while Ned resided there. She couldn’t just divorce Ned. What’s more, she had every incentive to learn to love Ned for the sake of her children. But while societal norms encouraged her to forgive her husband’s infidelity, they did not force her to mother Jon. So, she didn’t.

Ideally, Catelyn would not have blamed Jon for Ned’s actions. But let’s be real, only an extraordinary person would be able to completely separate the negative emotions caused by their spouse’s betrayal from how they perceived the very product of that betrayal. And while Catelyn was extraordinary in some things, such as her devotion to her children, she wasn’t extraordinary in her treatment of Jon. And that’s ok. It doesn’t make her a bad person.

That said, it’s also disingenuous to pretend Catelyn didn’t mistreat Jon, even if her actions were understandable. In 2005, GRRM stated that Catelyn and Sansa were the two POV characters readers disliked most. This is likely because of their contentious relationships with sympathetic protagonists Jon and Arya, respectively. If Catelyn’s mistreatment of Jon was truly limited to neglect, it’s doubtful readers would have such a negative view of Catelyn. Regardless, the text provides multiple examples of Catelyn affirmatively interfering in Jon’s life.

One final clarification before we begin. I'm aware that in 1999, when asked about Catelyn's "mistreatment" of Jon, GRRM responded that while Catelyn "distance[d]" herself from Jon, she did not "verbally abuse and attack him," and that the instance in Bran's bedroom was a "very special case." However, while an author's account of the facts must be accepted as gospel (e.g. Catelyn did this to Jon, she didn't do that), an author's legal conclusion about what those facts constitute is not entitled to the same deference (e.g. Catelyn did A, B, and C to Jon, and this does/does not constitute "abuse"). To be sure, GRRM's statement that Catelyn didn't regularly abuse Jon is certainly relevant. However, it's not dispositive because, let's be real, a baby boomer speaking in the 1990s is likely going to have a different definition of abuse than a millennial would in the 2020s. As a result, I'm not going to focus on whether Catelyn "abused" Jon because many of us have different definitions of abuse. Rather, I'm simply going to try to discuss a few express and implied facts that show Catelyn did far more than simply ignore Jon.

II. Catelyn fought hard to banish Jon from Winterfell, even after Jon grew close to his siblings.

Catelyn had tried to send Jon away from his family multiple times before the events in the first book, to no avail.

Whoever Jon's mother had been, Ned must have loved her fiercely, for nothing Catelyn said would persuade him to send the boy away. It was the one thing she could never forgive him. (Catelyn II, AGOT (emphasis added))

Then, once Catelyn convinced Ned to become King Robert’s Hand, she again demanded that 14-year-old Jon leave Winterfell. This time she was successful, in part because of Jon’s desire to take the Black.

Jon must go," she said now. "He and Robb are close," Ned said. "I had hoped …" "He cannot stay here," Catelyn said, cutting him off. "He is your son, not mine. I will not have him." It was hard, she knew, but no less the truth. Ned would do the boy no kindness by leaving him here at Winterfell. The look Ned gave her was anguished. "You know I cannot take him south. There will be no place for him at court. A boy with a bastard's name … you know what they will say of him. He will be shunned." Catelyn armored her heart against the mute appeal in her husband's eyes. "They say your friend Robert has fathered a dozen bastards himself." "And none of them has ever been seen at court!" Ned blazed. “The Lannister woman has seen to that. How can you be so damnably cruel, Catelyn? He is only a boy. He—" His fury was on him. He might have said more, and worse, but Maester Luwin cut in. "Another solution presents itself," he said, his voice quiet. "Your brother Benjen came to me about Jon a few days ago. It seems the boy aspires to take the black." Ned looked shocked. "He asked to join the Night's Watch?" Catelyn said nothing. Let Ned work it out in his own mind; her voice would not be welcome now. Yet gladly would she have kissed the maester just then. His was the perfect solution. Benjen Stark was a Sworn Brother. Jon would be a son to him, the child he would never have. And in time the boy would take the oath as well. He would father no sons who might someday contest with Catelyn's own grandchildren for Winterfell. (Catelyn II, AGOT (emphasis added))

(As an aside, I’ve always loved that Ned referred to Jon not as a “bastard,” but as a “boy with a bastard’s name.”)

III. Catelyn also played a role in Jon ultimately choosing to take the black because she made sure Jon knew he would never be part of the Stark family or welcome in Winterfell.

While it was Jon’s choice to join the Night’s Watch initially, he quickly became disillusioned when he realized it was filled with criminals who lacked honor. But while he desired to go back to Winterfell, he knew he had no place there because of Catelyn. So, he swore his life away.

Once he swore his vow, the Wall would be his home until he was old as Maester Aemon. "I have not sworn yet," he muttered. He was no outlaw, bound to take the black or pay the penalty for his crimes. He had come here freely, and he might leave freely … until he said the words. He need only ride on, and he could leave it all behind. By the time the moon was full again, he would be back in Winterfell with his brothers. Your half brothers, a voice inside reminded him. And Lady Stark, who will not welcome you. There was no place for him in Winterfell, no place in King's Landing either. Even his own mother had not had a place for him. The thought of her made him sad. He wondered who she had been, what she had looked like, why his father had left her. Because she was a whore or an adulteress, fool. Something dark and dishonorable, or else why was Lord Eddard too ashamed to speak of her? (Jon V, AGOT (emphasis added))

We also see, through Jon’s eyes, the extent to which Catelyn made him feel alienated from his Stark family.

"We're not friends," Jon said. He put a hand on Sam's broad shoulder. "We're brothers." And so they were, he thought to himself after Sam had taken his leave. Robb and Bran and Rickon were his father's sons, and he loved them still, yet Jon knew that he had never truly been one of them. Catelyn Stark had seen to that. The grey walls of Winterfell might still haunt his dreams, but Castle Black was his life now, and his brothers were Sam and Grenn and Halder and Pyp and the other cast-outs who wore the black of the Night's Watch. (Jon IV, AGOT (emphasis added)) "Your sister," Iron Emmett said, "how old is …" By now she'd be eleven, Jon thought. Still a child. "I have no sister. Only brothers. Only you." Lady Catelyn would have rejoiced to hear those words, he knew. That did not make them easier to say. His fingers closed around the parchment. Would that they could crush Ramsay Bolton's throat as easily. (Jon VI, ADWD (emphasis added))

Fortunately for Jon, it seems Catelyn’s disdain for him was only adopted by Sansa, at least among his siblings:

He missed his true brothers: little Rickon, bright eyes shining as he begged for a sweet; Robb, his rival and best friend and constant companion; Bran, stubborn and curious, always wanting to follow and join in whatever Jon and Robb were doing. He missed the girls too, even Sansa, who never called him anything but "my half brother" since she was old enough to understand what bastard meant. And Arya … he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. Arya never seemed to fit, no more than he had … yet she could always make Jon smile. He would give anything to be with her now, to muss up her hair once more and watch her make a face, to hear her finish a sentence with him. (Jon III, AGOT (emphasis added))

Though, of course, Catelyn made her contempt for Jon known outside the Stark family.

"I will permit you to take the black. Ned Stark's bastard is the Lord Commander on the Wall." The Blackfish narrowed his eyes. "Did your father arrange for that as well? Catelyn never trusted the boy, as I recall, no more than she ever trusted Theon Greyjoy. It would seem she was right about them both. No, ser, I think not. I'll die warm, if you please, with a sword in hand running red with lion blood." (Jaime VI, AFFC (emphasis added))

This fact even made Jon hesitate to ask the Vale for food for the Night’s Watch.

We could, thought Jon, if we had the gold, and someone willing to sell us food. Both of those were lacking. Our best hope may be the Eyrie. The Vale of Arryn was famously fertile and had gone untouched during the fighting. Jon wondered how Lady Catelyn's sister would feel about feeding Ned Stark's bastard. As a boy, he often felt as if the lady grudged him every bite. (Jon IV, ADWD (emphasis added))

IV. Catelyn mistreated Jon while he lived in Winterfell, to the point where he felt uncomfortable even being in the same room with her if Ned wasn't there.

There have been some great write ups about how, while GRRM said Catelyn’s horrible treatment of Jon when Bran was comatose--i.e. “It should have been you”--was a “special case,” the scene also revealed Catelyn had a history of mistreating Jon. For example, Jon was afraid to visit his own comatose brother merely because Catelyn was in the same room.

He reached the landing and stood for a long moment, afraid. Ghost nuzzled at his hand. He took courage from that. He straightened and entered the room. Lady Stark was there beside his bed. She had been there, day and night, for close on a fortnight. Not for a moment had she left Bran’s side. She had her meals brought to her there, and chamber pots as well, and a small hard bed to sleep on, though it was said she had scarcely slept at all. She fed him herself, the honey and water and herb mixture that sustained life. Not once did she leave the room. So Jon had stayed away. But now there was no more time. He stood in the door for a moment, afraid to speak, afraid to come closer. The window was open. Below, a wolf howled. Ghost heard and lifted his head. Lady Stark looked over. For a moment she did not seem to recognize him. Finally she blinked. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a voice strangely flat and emotionless. (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

Jon’s fears proved well founded as Catelyn immediately attempted to prevent him from seeing his own dying brother.

“I came to see Bran,” Jon said. “To say good-bye.” Her face did not change. Her long auburn hair was dull and tangled. She looked as thought she had aged twenty years. “You’ve said it. Now go away.” Part of him wanted only to flee, but he knew that if he did he might never see Bran again. He took a nervous step into the room. “Please,” he said. Something cold moved in her eyes. “I told you to leave,” she said. “We don’t want you here.” (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

Notice how Catelyn said “we” don’t want you here, not “I” don’t want you here. She attempted to manipulate Jon into thinking Bran would also not want him there, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Soon, it’s revealed this isn’t the first time Catelyn tried to kick Jon out of a room to prevent him from seeing his family.

Something cold moved in her eyes. “I told you to leave,” she said. “We don’t want you here.” Once that would have sent him running. Once that might even have made him cry. Now it only made him angry. He would be a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch soon, and face worse dangers than Catelyn Tully Stark. “He’s my brother,” he said. “Shall I call the guards?” “Call them,” Jon said, defiant. “You can’t stop me from seeing him.” He crossed the room, keeping the bed between them, and looked down on Bran where he lay. (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

Notice also the power she wielded over Jon as Lady of Winterfell, threatening to call the guards on him.

Jon then gave a heartwarming talk to Bran, apologizing that he didn’t come earlier because he was afraid.

“Bran,” he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t come before. I was afraid.” He could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks. Jon no longer cared. “Don’t die, Bran. Please. We’re all waiting for you to wake up. Me and Robb and the girls, everyone . . . “ Lady Stark was watching. She had not raised a cry. Jon took that for acceptance. Outside the window, the direwolf howled again. The wolf that Bran had not had time to name. “I have to go now,” Jon said. “Uncle Benjen is waiting. I’m to go north to the Wall. We have to leave today, before the snows come.” He remembered how excited Bran had been at the prospect of the journey. It was more than he could bear, the thought of leaving him behind like this. Jon brushed away his tears, leaned over, and kissed his brother lightly on the lips. (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

And then a curious thing happened. Catelyn, grief stricken, confessed to Jon that she felt partially responsible for Bran’s condition. And Jon consoled her! (As an aside, GRRM really knows how to write a sympathetic protagonist, starting with the very first chapter when Jon excluded himself from the Stark family so his siblings could get direwolves, and even later in this chapter when Jon lied to Robb and said Catelyn was kind to him because he knew Robb had enough to deal with.)

“I wanted him to stay here with me,” Lady Stark said softly. Jon watched her, wary. She was not even looking at him. She was talking to him, but for a part of her, it was as though he were not even in the room. “I prayed for it,” she said dully. “He was my special boy. I went to the sept and prayed seven times to the seven faces of god that Ned would change his mind and leave him here with me. Sometimes prayers are answered.” Jon did not know what to say. “It wasn’t your fault,” he managed after an awkward silence. (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

And how was Jon rewarded for trying to comfort Lady Stark?

Her eyes found him. They were full of poison. “I need none of your absolution, bastard.” Jon lowered his eyes. She was cradling one of Bran’s hands. He took the other, squeezed it. Fingers like the bones of birds. “Good-bye,” he said. (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

Now, notice how Jon didn’t think twice when Catelyn called him a “bastard.” This was likely because she’d called him that before. This is important for the next part.

He was at the door when she called out to him. “Jon,” she said. He should have kept going, but she had never called him by his name before. He turned to find her looking at his face, as if she were seeing hit for the first time. “Yes?” he said. “It should have been you,” she told him. Then she turned back to Bran and began to weep, her whole body shaking with sobs. Jon had never seen her cry before. (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

So, in 14 years, Lady Stark had never once called Jon by his name. Notice it doesn’t say she never once called him a name. Indeed, she had just called him “bastard” and he didn’t think anything of it. So she called him names, like “bastard,” just never “Jon.” That’s pretty messed up. No one should have to face that level of contempt from an authority figure in their own home. No wonder Jon avoided her like the plague.

In sum, even if Cat telling Jon “It should have been you” was a one-time thing, it’s clear she had a history of mistreating him, such as (1) calling him “bastard” but never once calling him by his name; (2) kicking him out of rooms; and (3) making him so uncomfortable that he avoided spending time with his family if she was in the same room (unless Ned was there, of course).

Now, for those who say Jon may be an unreliable narrator, the next paragraphs show this wasn’t the case because others were very much aware of how Cat mistreated Jon.

"You Starks are hard to kill," Jon agreed. His voice was flat and tired. The visit had taken all the strength from him. Robb knew something was wrong. “My mother . . . " “She was . . . very kind,” Jon told him. Robb look relieved. “Good.” He smiled. (Jon II, AGOT (emphasis added))

Robb was worried about how his mother treated Jon while Jon was seeing his comatose brother for possibly the last time. When Jon lied and said she treated him kindly (I love Jon!), Robb was “relieved.” This shows Jon wasn’t just making stuff up, and others were aware of Catelyn’s mistreatment of Jon.

Robb’s interesting because, as supportive as he was of Jon, he unwittingly played a role in what was likely the one of the first times Jon realized he was a bastard, courtesy of Lady Stark, of course.

Every morning they had trained together, since they were big enough to walk; Snow and Stark, spinning and slashing about the wards of Winterfell, shouting and laughing, sometimes crying when there was no one else to see. They were not little boys when they fought, but knights and mighty heroes. "I'm Prince Aemon the Dragonknight," Jon would call out, and Robb would shout back, "Well, I'm Florian the Fool." Or Robb would say, "I'm the Young Dragon," and Jon would reply, "I'm Ser Ryam Redwyne." That morning he called it first. "I'm Lord of Winterfell!" he cried, as he had a hundred times before. Only this time, this time, Robb had answered, "You can't be Lord of Winterfell, you're bastard-born. My lady mother says you can't ever be the Lord of Winterfell." I thought I had forgotten that. Jon could taste blood in his mouth, from the blow he'd taken. (Jon XII, ASOS (emphasis added))

And soon after that repressed memory resurfaced, Jon thinks again about what Catelyn would do to make him feel unwanted and uncomfortable.

It was not Lord Eddard's face he saw floating before him, though; it was Lady Catelyn's. With her deep blue eyes and hard cold mouth, she looked a bit like Stannis. Iron, he thought, but brittle. She was looking at him the way she used to look at him at Winterfell, whenever he had bested Robb at swords or sums or most anything. Who are you? that look had always seemed to say. This is not your place. Why are you here? (Jon XII, ASOS (emphasis added))

V. Catelyn sought to prevent Jon from succeeding Robb, even in a scenario where Jon couldn't possibly threaten Catelyn's children or grandchildren.

Catelyn, like much of Westeros, was deeply prejudiced against bastards.

"Mya Stone, if it please you, my lady," the girl said. It did not please her; it was an effort for Catelyn to keep the smile on her face. Stone was a bastard's name in the Vale, as Snow was in the north, and Flowers in Highgarden; in each of the Seven Kingdoms, custom had fashioned a surname for children born with no names of their own. Catelyn had nothing against this girl, but suddenly she could not help but think of Ned's bastard on the Wall, and the thought made her angry and guilty, both at once. She struggled to find words for a reply. (Catelyn VI, AGOT (emphasis added))

(As an aside, it’s interesting that Cat seemed to feel some guilt regarding Jon. I wish GRRM had fleshed that out a bit more like the show did. It also makes me yearn for a Lady Stoneheart-Jon reunion.)

Catelyn also did not like Jon. So when Robb was trying to discuss who should be his heir--with Bran, Rickon, and Arya presumed dead, and Sansa married to a Lannister--Catelyn did not want to consider Jon, advocating instead for distant Vale relatives.

“Young, and a king,” he said. “A king must have an heir. If I should die in my next battle, the kingdom must not die with me. By law Sansa is next in line of succession, so Winterfell and the north would pass to her.” His mouth tightened. “To her, and her lord husband. Tyrion Lannister. I cannot allow that. I will not allow that. That dwarf must never have the north.” “No,” Catelyn agreed. “You must name another heir, until such time as Jeyne gives you a son.” She considered for a moment. “Your father’s father had no siblings, but his father had a sister who married a younger son of Lord Raymar Royce, of the junior branch. They had three daughters, all of whom wed Vale lordlings. A Waynwood and a Corbray, for certain. The youngest . . . it might have been a Templeton, but . . . " “Mother.” There was a sharpness in Robb’s tone. “You forget. My father had four sons.” She had not forgotten, she had not wanted to look at it, yet there it was. “A Snow is not a Stark.” (Catelyn V, ASOS (emphasis added))

Ok, first, I love the way Robb reaffirmed Jon’s humanity to his mother, reminding her that Ned Stark had four sons. (Go Robb!) It was always Jon’s goal to live his life so that people would say Ned Stark had four sons, not three. See Jon IX, AGOT (“He was no true Stark, had never been one … but he could die like one. Let them say that Eddard Stark had fathered four sons, not three.”)

Second, it’s important to note that Catelyn explicitly said she did not want to “look at” Jon. Not that she considered him but worried his vows or bastardy precluded him from being heir, but that she did not want to even look at him. This shows Catelyn’s gut feeling was to not even consider Jon, and only when she was forced to did she develop her post hoc arguments regarding Jon’s vows and bastardy.

Third, while Cat initially framed the discussion as deciding who Robb’s heir should be until Jeyne provided Robb a son, later the discussion was broadened to include who should succeed Robb if he died without issue. And even then Catelyn argued that an unknown Vale lordling should inherit over Jon. This is an important distinction because Cat’s arguments regarding the threat posed by legitimizing Jon--namely that Jon and his sons would threaten Robb’s sons--do not apply to a scenario where Robb dies without issue. And Robb’s Will could easily be written to only legitimize Jon should Robb die without children. So, clearly the issue wasn’t limited to Catelyn’s fear for her children and grandchildren. It also included pure pettiness on Catelyn’s part.

Catelyn first attempted to dissuade Robb by reminding him of Jon’s Night’s Watch vows. Then, when that didn’t work, she pivoted to the threat posed by legitimizing Jon.

“Jon’s more a Stark than some lordlings from the Vale who have never so much as set eyes on Winterfell.” “Jon is a brother of the Night’s Watch, sworn to take no wife and hold no lands. Those who take the black serve for life.” “So do the knights of the Kingsguard. That did not stop the Lannisters from stripping the white cloaks from Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Boros Blount when they had no more use for them. If I send the Watch a hundred men in Jon’s place, I’ll wager they find some way to release him from his vows.” He is set on this. Catelyn knew how stubborn her son could be. “A bastard cannot inherit.” “Not unless he’s legitimized by a royal decree,” said Robb. “There is more precedent for that than for releasing a Sworn Brother from his oath.” “Precedent,” she said bitterly. “Yes, Aegon the Fourth legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. And how much pain, grief, war, and murder grew from that? I know you trust Jon. But can you trust his sons? Or their sons? The Blackfyre pretenders troubled the Targaryens for five generations, until Barristan the Bold slew the last of them on the Stepstones. If you make Jon legitimate, there is no way to turn him bastard again. Should he wed and breed, any sons you may have by Jeyne will never be safe.” (Catelyn V, ASOS (emphasis added))

I love seeing lawyer Robb advocate on his brother’s behalf. But gods, Catelyn’s contempt for Jon couldn’t be more obvious when she referred to him having kids as “breed[ing].” It reminds me of how Robert Baratheon used that term when referring to Daenerys because of his hatred for Targaryens.

I love this next part because, not only does Robb defend Jon, so does Grey Wind! Don’t mess with the pack!

“Jon would never harm a son of mine.” “No more than Theon Greyjoy would harm Bran or Rickon?” Grey Wind leapt up atop King Tristifer’s crypt, his teeth barred. Robb’s own face was cold. “That is as cruel as it is unfair. Jon is no Theon.” (Catelyn V, ASOS (emphasis added))

Then it concludes with Catelyn stating she’d even oppose Jon if Robb died without issue.

“So you pray. Have you considered your sisters? What of their rights? I agree that the north may not be permitted to pass to the Imp, but what of Arya? By law she comes after Sansa . . . your own sister, trueborn.” “. . . and dead. No one has seen or heard of Arya since they cut Father’s head off. Why do you lie to yourself? Arya’s gone, the same as Bran and Rickon, and they’ll kill Sansa too once the dwarf gets a child from her. Jon is the only brother than remains to me. Should I die without issue, I want him to succeed me as King in the North. I had hoped you would support my choice.” “I cannot,” she said. “In all else, Robb. In everything. But not in this . . . . this folly. Do not ask it.” “I don’t have to. I’m the king.” Robb turned and walked off, Grey Wind bounding down from the tomb after him. (Catelyn V, ASOS (emphasis added))

VI. Catelyn likely would've treated Jon worse if Ned wasn't so fiercely protective of Jon.

To Catelyn’s credit, she could’ve treated Jon far worse. We see this with Falia Flowers, who was forced to serve her trueborn siblings. And then, of course, there’s Cersei:

"I glimpsed him once at Winterfell," the queen said, "though the Starks did their best to hide him. He looks very like his father." Her husband's by-blows had his look as well, though at least Robert had the grace to keep them out of sight. Once, after that sorry business with the cat, he had made some noises about bringing some baseborn daughter of his to court. "Do as you please," she'd told him, "but you may find that the city is not a healthy place for a growing girl." The bruise those words had won her had been hard to hide from Jaime, but they heard no more about the bastard girl. Catelyn Tully was a mouse, or she would have smothered this Jon Snow in his cradle. Instead, she's left the filthy task to me. "Snow shares Lord Eddard's taste for treason too," she said. "The father would have handed the realm to Stannis. The son has given him lands and castles." (Cersei IV, AFFC (emphasis added))

While I know Cat would never physically harm Jon, it’s interesting to consider how much of Catelyn’s restraint was due to Ned’s protectiveness of Jon, as opposed to her own scruples. After all, the text mentions multiple times how defensive Ned was of Jon:

The look Ned gave her was anguished. "You know I cannot take him south. There will be no place for him at court. A boy with a bastard's name … you know what they will say of him. He will be shunned." Catelyn armored her heart against the mute appeal in her husband's eyes. "They say your friend Robert has fathered a dozen bastards himself." "And none of them has ever been seen at court!" Ned blazed. “The Lannister woman has seen to that. How can you be so damnably cruel, Catelyn? He is only a boy. He—" His fury was on him. He might have said more, and worse, but Maester Luwin cut in. (Catelyn II, AGOT (emphasis added)) Still, she was struck again by how strangely men behaved when it came to their bastards. Ned had always been fiercely protective of Jon, and Ser Cortnay Penrose had given up his life for this Edric Storm, yet Roose Bolton's bastard had meant less to him than one of his dogs, to judge from the tone of the queer cold letter Edmure had gotten from him not three days past. (Catelyn VI, ACOK (emphasis added))

We also know Ned desired for Jon to have a close relationship with Ned’s children:

… but then somehow he was back at Winterfell again, in the godswood looking down upon his father. Lord Eddard seemed much younger this time. His hair was brown, with no hint of grey in it, his head bowed. "… let them grow up close as brothers, with only love between them," he prayed, "and let my lady wife find it in her heart to forgive …" (Bran III, ADWD (emphasis added))

But once that protection waned with Ned’s appointment as Hand and relocation to King’s Landing, Catelyn was able to convince Ned to allow Jon to take the black.

"He cannot stay here," Catelyn said, cutting him off. "He is your son, not mine. I will not have him." It was hard, she knew, but no less the truth. Ned would do the boy no kindness by leaving him here at Winterfell. (Catelyn II, AGOT)

Notably, while Catelyn was demanding Jon be evicted from Winterfell, it was actually Ned’s decision. This is evident from the fact he had denied her prior requests for Jon to leave Winterfell. Indeed, Ned even controlled where Cat’s own children went, insisting that Bran accompany him south over Cat’s strenuous objections.

So what made this request different? The answer is simple: Ned could insist that Jon remain at Winterfell, but without Ned’s protection, Catelyn would be free to make Jon’s life . . . difficult. Catelyn’s inner dialogue hints at this.

Ned would do the boy no kindness by leaving him here at Winterfell. (Catelyn II, AGOT)

Compare this to what Cersei told Robert about Mya Stone coming to court:

“[Y]ou may find that the city is not a healthy place for a growing girl." (Cersei IV, AFFC)

This begs the question: If Ned had insisted Jon stay at Winterfell in Ned’s absence, would Cat’s treatment of Jon change without Ned to keep her in check? To what lengths would Cat go to “differentiate” Jon from his trueborn siblings? While I think Robb would be old enough to curb Cat’s worst impulses, and Cat would also have to account for Maester Luwin “tattling” on her via raven to Ned if she got too bad, I’ve no doubt that Cat would, at the very least, be emboldened in her mistreatment of Jon.

VII. Catelyn's disdain for Jon likely hurt her in the end.

One of the first thoughts many people have after learning about R+L=J is: “Why didn’t Ned just tell Cat the truth?” It surely would’ve saved a lot of heartache. But I think Ned gave us his reasoning:

Ned thought, If it came to that, the life of some child I did not know, against Robb and Sansa and Arya and Bran and Rickon, what would I do? Even more so, what would Catelyn do, if it were Jon's life, against the children of her body? He did not know. He prayed he never would. (Eddard XII, AGOT (emphasis added))

In other words, if Cat knew Jon was a secret Targaryen, and she thought her family might be in danger because, perhaps, someone in King’s Landing suspected the truth, she likely would have no qualms about sacrificing Jon in a heartbeat to prove her loyalty to the Baratheon regime. After all, she never made any promises to any dying siblings to protect Jon.

Further, that Catelyn treated Jon so poorly likely played a role in Ned’s refusal to tell her the truth which, in the end, only hurt her because she died thinking Jon was the product of her husband’s infidelity, as opposed to Lyanna’s son.

Another way her mistreatment of Jon hurt her was in Robb’s decision to marry Jeyne Westerling. While Ned’s honor no doubt played a role, there’s a good chance Robb also married Jeyne to prevent any potential child he had with her from growing up a bastard because he had seen the way Jon was treated, including by his own mother. And, of course, Robb’s marriage to Jeyne directly led to Robb and Catelyn’s own deaths.

#asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #jon snow #catelyn stark

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wangxianficfinder · 11 months ago

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Fic Finder

March 15th

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1. Looking for a post 1st seige burial mounds fic on ao3. It was a wip but it's been awhile so may no longer be the case. In it jc only participated in the siege as a cover to get close enough to his brother w/out endangering lotus pier. Since he leads the charge he finds wwx first and when wwx passes out after destroying the seal jc fakes wwx's death and smuggle him back to lotus pier & hides/kinda imprison him. But the longer they're together the more jc realizes a lot of the things he blamed wwx for aren't adding up (seeing through Jin manipulations).

Jc also forgot/didn't know about ayuan so when wwx wakes up he freaks out about where his baby adopted son is, but by the time jc gets back to bm yuan is no where to be found (implied lz had already got him) but jc and wwx think this means yuan is dead. Wwx is very depressed and becomes Jin ling's secret nanny whenever the kid is at lotus pier. In the most recent updates (at the time) a baby xue yang was introduced.

He saw a disguised wwx in a hidden area by lotus pier playing in the water and is basically like 'I'm cute and small too' and plots how to get himself adopted so he can also be pampered like the wealthy kid. I think there were some alternating povs. Might of been a Lan pov too, creating dramatic irony since both yuan and wwx are alive but neither side knows? Was setting up yunmeng bro reconciliation.

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2. I'm looking for a specific fic, it was modern, WWX took LWJ to a concert of post modern, like synth? Chinese music and I think NHS told WWX about it?? It had some good song recs and I'm mainly looking for the the songs- if you guys could help me out? Thank you!!!! @recombinantdna

NOT FOUND! The Quiet Room by trickybonmot (M, 39k, WangXian, Modern AU, 1990s, Goth LWJ, Cellist LWJ, College Student WWX, House Hunting, Dating, Clubbing, San Francisco, Implied/Referenced Past Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Academic Disaster Aftermath, Getting Together, Repressed Teen Crushes to Strangers to Lovers, Homelessness, in the form of couch surfing, background NieLan) in which WWX finds LWJ being a DJ in a goth club in the 90s and it talks a lot about music. NHS is totally an enabler.

FOUND! show me a quiver, give me tonight by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 115k, wangxian, lwj/others, communication failure, mutual pining, artists, demisexual wwx, angst w/ happy ending) WY surprised LZ by bringing him to a performance of an artist LZ likes, H i d d e n f r a g r a n c e who plays electronic guqin. The sample songs can be found in the author notes in Chapter 10

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3. hi! im looking for a fic and the only thing i remember from it was wangxian (canon divergence, maybe arranged marriage but im not sure) in maybe caiyi?? sitting down at a noodle place, and there was a thing about how wwx loved the gusu dialect and kept pestering lwj to say something in the dialect, and he knew enough of the dialect to flirt or haggle so when lwj said an endearment term (i think it was something like sweetheart?) he froze and got all panicky about wwx recognising the word because he froze too, but then wwx just asks if he swore?? THANK YOU SO MUCH IF YOU FIND IT ive been combing my bookmarks and history for almost weeks now and im so close to thinking i made it all up

FOUND? Your Hand in Mine by cerbykerby (T, 20k, WangXian, Humor, Comedy, Pining, cursed to hold hands, Light Angst, Sharing a Bed, First Dates, Embarrassment, Fluff, bathing together, wwx is a menace to society, and lwj Suffers A Lot, Canon Compliant)

FOUND? Fentao-laoshi’s Guide to Cut-Sleeve Pleasures by occultings (microcomets) (E, 31k, wangxian, canon divergence, pining while fucking, friends with benefits, first time, cloud recesses study arc, practice kissing, sharing a bed, jealousy, getting together, confessions, happy ending)

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4. For fic finder: I have lost a modern-au fic where Lan Zhan is in the hospital, in a children’s wing, and Wei Wuxian visits a lot/volunteers there. Wei Wuxian has prosthetic legs and he gets a new red pair around the point I lost the fic. I am pretty sure I found the rec through this blog but I can’t find it again TT Help please!

FOUND? 🔒 some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)

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5. First, thank you for everything that you do ! Your posts and recommendations and "I'm in the mood for" collections have kept my heart and soul busy for years now! I am honestly in awe of all the hard work and time you dedicate to both pages! 🥰

Unfortunately I don't remember much of the summary of the fic I'm searching for, but I wanted to try my luck. 🙈 It was a light modern dom/sub fic where WY accidentally sort of turned LZ into a sub. I think by giving him indirect orders all the time? And nobody noticed until WQ pointed it out? I searched through Ao3 with the light dom/sub tag for ages and then eventually gave up.

Maybe it rings a bell for you? 🙏🤞❤️ @papperlapapp1

FOUND? And They Were Roommates! or The Accidental Domming of Lan Wangji by DizziDreams (E, 21k, wangxian, Dom WWX, Sub LWJ, inexperienced BDSM practices, un-/under- negotiated kink, horny climbing, horny cohabitation, horny on main except by main I mean at a party surrounded by innocent bystanders, Praise Kink, Masturbation, Bondage, Lingerie, Orgasm Delay/Denial, omg they were roommates, Modern, BDSM, debatably a bit of dom drop, Public Masturbation, Edging, Getting Together, WQ has to come in and straighten this shit out)

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6. Okay so looking for a fic where lwj or wwx accidentally summon incubus/succubus wwx or lwj. (I can't remember who was the sex demon or who was the human but it is a wangxian fic)

So, the succubus needs food and it is, unsurprisingly, cum. As in they have to literally eat cum to survive. So the human is followed by this succubus/incubus everywhere they go to including his university.

The human does love feeding the sex demon and even lets him feed in the uni bathroom during breaks.

Does a fic like this exist? Does it ring any bell?

FOUND? An Array of Good Decisions by celerydragon (E, 11k, WangXian, Demon Sex Size Kink, Size Difference, Consensual Non-Consent, dubcon, Tongue Sex, Omegaverse, Humiliation, Mild Breeding Kink)

FOUND? Lan Wangji's Fullproof Guide on How (NOT) to Summon a Demon by fardimensions (E, 3k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Porn With Plot, but not a lot of plot, Incubus WWX, Demons, wwx has a tail, Wings, Interspecies Sex, Bottom LWJ/Top WWX, Anal Sex, Crack, Filthy, size queen LWJ)

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7. for the fic finder: it's a fic (dom/sub canon au?) where wei wuxian gave lan wangji a collar before he died. lan wangji keeps the collar for as long as he can but eventually the leather is too old and it breaks. there's a bunch of sadness but all is well when wei wuxian resurrects.

thank you for all you do!!

FOUND? Breathe Again by Sheehan_sidhe (E, 4k, wangxian, Grief/Mourning, Depression, Breathplay, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, POV LWJ, LWJ Has Feelings, Submissive LWJ, Crying LWJ, Grieving LWJ, Collars, Angst with an Eventual Happy Ending)

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8. for fic finder: my heart tells me it was a modern/modern with cultivation au, but my searches have been fruitless. i just remember our beloved wangxian dancing around each other, and the juniors being there with a similar problem. specifically, jin ling being tested at archery, and sizhui Totally Only There For Emotional Support And No Other Reason.

FOUND? with you, I am home by tellthemstories (M, 47k, wangxian, Modern Cultivation, fake dating for reasons, Meeting the Family, There Was Only One Bed, Casual Domesticity, wwx is oblivious in more ways than one, 'this fic is like emotional edging', this comment sums up the entire fic)

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9. heyI've been looking for a fic for a while.WWX and LWJ were in the turtle's cave of slaughter... they had no energy to fight and decided to do double cultivation.

When it comes to the part where WWX donates the golden core to JC.... during the surgery, WQ discovers WWX is pregnant, the double cultivation generated a uterus.

He is still captured by the Wen clan and thrown into the grave hill.He believes he lost the baby because of this and uses his resentful energy to survive and get revenge.

When he reaches the part at the end of the campaign where the sun falls, he goes into labor without knowing that he is still pregnant.

It's not Omegaverse.

Sorry if my writing is bad, english is not my first language @crazy-tai

FOUND? Impermanence, Transience, Permanence by Best Bepsy (BepsyGray) (E, 39k, wangxian, canon divergence, unplanned pregnancy, mpreg, gore, sunshot campaign, assumed miscarriage, medical procedures, childbirth, golden core reveal)

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10. Hello! I was wondering if anyone here knew of a fic that took place during the Wen Indoctrination? If I remember right, it was only one chapter, set mostly in the Untamed universe because Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning had worked together to make it seem like he was dead for the Wens after being locked in with that dog, but he was grabbed too early and basically paraded in front of the other disciples under the belief that he was dead. If anyone else has seen this fic, I'd be extremely grateful!

FOUND!🔒💖 the universe would turn to a mighty stranger by RavenclawLoki (T, 11k, wangxian, Angst, Eventual Fluff, Some mentions of blood, it looks like someone is dead but!!, it is okay, everything is going to be okay i promise, First Kiss, Canon Divergence, Wwx and lwj know they're in love, They just don't know the other loves them back, Everyone Lives AU, Hurt WWX, Hurt LWJ)

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11. For your next fic finder, I'm looking for a modern wangxian dating reality tv au. It's omegaverse and in the first half of the show, everyone is paired up, but in the second half of the show, it's wilderness survival with the alphas trying to catch the omegas. Wwx is a career omega who is trying to get a cash prize instead of an alpha. @leahlisabeth

FOUND? 🧡 shoot your shot – hot or knot by defractum (nyargles) (E, 51k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Reality Show, Hunger Games Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, Extremely Dubious Consent, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Humor, Additional Warnings In Author’s Notes)

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12. Guys I need help finding this story. So it’s about Wei ying being hit by this memory yao. And he is in pain. So lan zhan, lan yuan, lan qiren, lan huan, Jin rulan, and jiang cheng. They use this spell to take Wei ying bad memories. They hold onto this bad memories because they don’t want Wei ying to go through all of that and remember. Ofc they are traumatized but they love him, etc. sooo please if you know the name write in comments. I have been looking for it for DAYS @zodime101

FOUND? Window of the Waking Mind by mrcformoso (M, 8k, wangxian, LSZ & WWX, JC & WWX, Graphic depictions of violence, Major Character Death, Heavy Angst with a Happy Ending, Sad with a Happy Ending, Post-Canon, Torture, Golden Core Transfer, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Hurt WWX, WWX Needs a Hug, WWX Needs a Break, Flashbacks, Curses, Night Hunts, Suicide, Starvation, Canonical Child Abuse, Canonical Character Death, Cannibalism, Although it was forced by the situation to survive, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, lots of comfort, Soft LQR, Learning To Communicate, Zidian Spiritual Tool, JC Tries, Reaction)

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13. hi! for the next fic finder — it was sizhui centered! him being raised by lwj but also wwx, but wwx is a ghost. and wwx has no recollection of his death and there was this one scene where he curls up around ayuans body and falls asleep and he wakes in the cloud recesses and i think he thinks he's being ignored? and then there was the whole realizing he was a ghost thing. and also lwj burying his body at the bm. pls help me T^T its Not "the dark doesnt frighten me, its mine" btw!

NOT FOUND! the moon, grown full by Deinde (T, 22k, LSZ & WWX, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Spirits, Identity Reveal, discussion of war crimes, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, Homecoming, reclaiming your name and identity, Names, Families of Choice)

FOUND! The Intervening Years by rosemu (G, 11k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, LSZ centric, Parent-Child Relationship, Wangxian is background, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort)

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14. Hi! For fic finder: I am looking for a canon-era fic where cultivators have golden blood and regular people have red blood. When Wei Wuxian loses his core his blood fades to red, which means he has to work harder to hide his wounds or they will give away his core-less state. I particularly remember the scene where Jiang Cheng stabs him in their “mock” fight WWX hides his wound with a cloak. He takes to covering up his body fully from head to toe to avoid showing any scrapes. Then after he is revived and Jiang Cheng whips him he purposefully shows the red blood to “prove” he isn’t WWX, then I think the core reveal happens when Jin Ling stabs him and everyone knows its him and they see the red blood too. Thank you!!

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15. I need help finding a fic, I didn’t get too far into it but I really want to finish it. I think it was a longer fic and I think it’s well known and/or already in a comp or itmf answer. I i remember is that the summary put wwx as a temporary head of the Jiang Clan, from the first few chapters I think he’s tricked/strong armed into this position by JC. He had some Buisness at koi tower or a conference that would take a while so he needed a filler and wanted WWX. I think it’s post-cannon and it had someone insulting WWX in the summary and something along the lines of a statement of spite and a declaration to prove said person wrong.

This is likely a terrible description but it’s all I have. I know I got the og link from this site so someone should recognize it… Help would be greatly appreciated.

FOUND? Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics)

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16. Hello! For the next fic finder I have two fics:

A) the only thing I remember about this fic is that it deals with the "do not speak with Wei Ying" rule. Lan Wangji was really angry when he found out and was about to go yell at his uncle, but Wei Wuxian kept trying to stop him. I remember Wwx threw himself into a pond or down a hill or something to snap Lwj out of it? I don't remember anything else about the fic unfortunately.

B) vampire au where Wwx was a vampire and the lans hunted the supernatural I think? Wangxian had to work together to stop some evil thing. I remember Wwx's backstory was something like: Wen Chao captured him and locked him in a room with a vampire, thinking it would result in Wwx dying (cultivators couldn't be turned into vampires, they would just die). But Wwx had given up his core so he got turned and Wen Chao locked him in a house with Wen Ning. There was a fire and Wwx turned Wen Ning to save his life. I also remember a scene where Wwx tried to go into Cloud Recesses, but the wards wouldn't let him. He thought this meant Lwj wanted nothing to do with him, but it was just Lan Xichen updating the wards or something.

Thank you!

16A)

FOUND?🔒Scenes From Three Winters by LtLJ (G, 12k, wangxian, post-canon, romance, family feels, family issues, family drama, PTSD, body horror, bad parent LQR, happy ending) Wei Ying throwing himself in a pond and down a hill to snap LWJ out of anger at his uncle sounds a lot like what happens at the end of Scenes from Three Winters by LtLJ but it's not specifically the 'do not speak to Wei Ying' rule that's the problem (will probably need to read other fics in the series for context)

16B)

FOUND?🔒hear the monsters calling home by sundiscus (M, 8k, wangxian, Modern Cultivation, Vampires, Misunderstandings, Angst with a Happy Ending, blood drinking (romantic))

FOUND? And you must keep your soul/ Like a secret in your throat by athena_crikey (E, 48k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Vampire WWX, Cultivator LWJ, Case Fic, h/c Angst, Falling In Love, First Time, Reference to Torture)

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17. Hi!! for the next fic finder, I was hoping of you guys could help me find a fic where it takes place in post canon: lwj cultivates to immortality even though he didn’t want to be and wwx tried hard to catch up to him but later on passes away bc he was never able to. Lwj was so devastated and during wwx’s funeral, jc came to pay respects and lwj found out that jc has also become an immortal. lwj says something along the lines of “how dare you cultivate to immortality with his core?” it might be a reincarnation fic but that’s about all i can remember from it. Thank you so much! @makkachiin

FOUND!🔒Closer Than Eternity by Netrixie (T, 26k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reincarnation, an unhealthy addiction to starbucks, Immortals, Self-Doubt, POV Alternating, Minor Original Character(s), Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Temporary Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, not for jc fans, This is not a reconciliation fic) The scene at WY's funeral is in Chapter 3.

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18. Hi! I hope my request will be clear, since English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance. I really want to read it, but I can't find a fic in which Lan Sizhui dies on a night hunt, saving the distracted Lan Zhan and Wei Ying. I don't remember many details, but I remember how the grief of A-Yuan's family and friends was described, and then A-Yuan was reborn. The fic was on ao3. @amelliss

FOUND? Setting Of The Sun by heartsdesire456 (M, 8k, WangXian , Character Death, Or Is It?, Grief/Mourning, Child Loss, Heavy Angst) i don't think it's reincarnation but this sounds similar to

FOUND? Our Son Reborn by RenaFair (T, 103k, WangXian, Mpreg, Deities, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Slow Build, There's smut, Rollercoaster of Emotions, baby a-yuan)

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19. hi, I’m look for a fic from ao3, I can’t really remember the plot but the end was wwx absorbing the tiger seal and in the process made a SILVER core. It happened in the burial mound (I think after the seal was stolen in Lanling but that might be a different fic)the timeline was before wwx’s first death because wen Qing was still alive @teasong

FOUND? ❤️ kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst)

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20. Hello! I am looking for Wangxian fanfiction where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are lovers before Demonic cultivation and Wei Ying hurt Lan Zhan as in canon later the reunite after 13 years or something like that @abz18699-blog

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#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic finder #wangxian fic search #the untamed #wangxianficfinder #long post

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astral-mariner · 3 months ago

Text

Exclusive preview chapter of my pre-DBZ Saiyans under Freeza fic, Homeworld Lost (read parts 1 & 2 already posted here) below the cut. Content warning for graphic violence and many disturbing themes.

This chapter is the third chapter of Part 9: Between the Stars. A little context: Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa are en route to their third and final scheduled purge planet after taking a long time to recover from some serious injuries they endured while on their previous mission. It was traumatic for everyone, to say the least, and each character has tried to cope with the various events in his own way. Vegeta is on edge for a very specific reason, but Raditz either doesn't speculate or is intentionally obfuscating this reason. Vegeta is in his early 20s here, Raditz in his late 20s.

***

Part 9: Between the Stars Chapter 3: Cui's Assignment

I turned the knife over in my hands. Squeezed it. Channeled my energy through my fingers till it passed through the prism. The blade appeared. I often wondered if Shardonne had ever learned to control what little power she had or if she instead harvested souls like [SPOILER]. Either way, fidgeting like this alone in my pod, I’d discovered that I could sate the knife’s hunger for life energy.

Not that I would know how to use it beyond this or perform any kind of spiritual surgery. I had, like the coward I was, left [Freeza's healer's] secrets to languish with him in his laboratory. Perhaps Arugala’s mother, my patroness, had taught me the anatomy of our chakras as she had her own children, but I wouldn’t know how to mend a soul any better than I would how to repair a body that I’d dispatched. However expertly I’d done it.

Yet when I awoke in a tank at a nearby station, Zarbon had left the knife tucked into my breastplate where he’d certainly found it. As if he expected me to learn how to use it. I’d figured out how to use and corrupt other devices supposedly beyond saiyan comprehension. So for all his talk of ensuring Vegeta’s death once he'd fulfilled his purpose, he’d nevertheless given me a chance to heal him. Equally possible that he was mocking me. Ultimately, he knew what Freeza and [his healer] meant to do to Vegeta where I didn’t, and he would manipulate all of us to secure his desired outcome.

Fidgeting. The blade flickered dangerously above my wrist. I didn’t want to step out of my pod. We didn’t belong here.

Vegeta’s grim shadow fell across the pod’s red window. Hurrying, I extinguished the blade and shoved it back inside my breastplate. He wouldn’t tolerate any delays, and only gods knew how he might punish me if he caught me with the knife. He’d come close several times. Always watching my whereabouts during our breaks from stasis.

He opened the hatch for me. “Sleep when you’re dead, third-class,” he spat.

I got up. Fit my scouter over my eye.

“Where the fuck is he?”

Nappa.

“I’m sure he’s almost here,” I reassured the prince.

“Gods, almost as useless as you.” He paced restlessly. Back and forth, boots grinding the dust beneath his feet. His fingers tapped and twitched where they gripped his bicep.

“We don’t have to do this, you know.”

He stopped. His back turned to me, I saw only the subtle bristle of his tightly-wound tail. “Cui”—a deep breath—“has humiliated me for the last time. Let him come to this planet and face me if he dares. After I am through cleansing this planet for him, taking half the time, I’ll throw his dust into the wind.”

“But, this planet…without clearance. Freeza might—”

“Freeza will punish Cui.”

“I don’t think Freeza cares what Cui does.”

Abruptly, Vegeta spun to face me. A flash of violet before I could react. The shot flew over my shoulder to strike a ruin stretched across the horizon. It crumbled to the earth with the roar of falling stone and the scream of metal bending, kicking up clouds of dirt and ashes.

Vegeta continued as if nothing had happened. “Took the Ginyus to subdue this planet.” Pacing again. “Freeza gives us such strange assignments. So very strange… Never was about what the Planet Trade needs a saiyan to fight. When was the last time we fought with honor?”

Fuenghi was a great power, having brought us all to the brink of death, but the prince’s question was rhetorical. I’d learned not to speak out of turn.

He stopped and tapped his scouter. Still searching for Nappa’s signal. “There are always survivors of these purges…” Pulling at his gloves now, adjusting them, wringing his hands together.

If it took the Ginyu Force, we could be in for more than a fight, my mind answered him, presuming he wouldn’t hear. He would not be questioned. Ever since recovering Nappa from the pleasure station, he tolerated so much less.

Everywhere we went, rooms fell silent until our sharp hearing picked up the inevitable mutterings about the massacre. Already Freeza’s scourge, now the prince was the murderer of depraved murderers, more merciless and cruel than any who favored their lawless gathering place. He might’ve worn the titles with pride if not for the disgraceful rumors that came with them.

“Nothing to say, third-class?”

“Yes, it’ll be good to have a real fight,” I agreed despite not having listened. “You don’t need to justify it to me.”

“As if I owe you an explanation.”

“You don’t.” And I didn’t need one. A worthy opponent to test his strength, putting Cui in his place—rationalizations for himself more than anyone else. He certainly wasn’t the first of his name to confuse our thirst for battle for a lust for blood.

He blasted at the ground a tail’s length off from where I stood. “You watched him get in his pod, didn’t you? You set up the coordinates yourself.”

“I did. You saw him—he was in his right mind before I initiated any stasis protocols.”

“You sent him somewhere, didn’t you? So you could say I forced you to come. That you weren’t responsible. That I was the one to go off course and defy orders.” He scoffed. “Try one of your lies with Freeza and see where it gets you.”

Nonsensical accusations, but I wouldn’t criticize him. “I swear I didn’t,” I said.

“Pray that he arrives soon, then.”

Even if Vegeta had come alone, consequences would fall on all of us. Our disobedience wouldn’t go unnoticed; taking on Cui’s assignment was meant to draw attention. No matter what Vegeta might’ve done to me, I would’ve refused to reprogram our route under any other circumstance. However, this planet must harbor some secret if Freeza had commanded the Ginyus specifically to purge it. More than mere strength, the assignment had required precision and, above all, trust. So I’d gathered from Cui last we met.

I let out a sigh once my scouter finally alerted me to Nappa’s arrival. He landed not far off, and I hurried to his pod. Better that he faced me first with the prince poised on the edge of wrath.

I opened the hatch for him once assured his vitals were stable. He was still groggy, but he recognized me. “I’m glad you’re all right.” Offered him my hand to help him stand. “Just…do as he says. Vegeta is in rare form.”

He nodded, but his knotted brow betrayed his confusion.

“We’re cleansing the planet,” I explained. “Leveling what’s left of the population centers, tracking down survivors. It wasn’t on our itinerary, so don’t blame yourself for not knowing.”

“Did you… Is this the first time you’ve told me this?”

I shook my head as I found his scouter for him, took his hand, and folded it over the device. I had, in fact, told him repeatedly. “You just woke up. It’s been a while.”

His scouter locked onto Vegeta stalking toward us, and he tensed.

“Are either of you done wasting my time?”

I positioned myself between him and Nappa. “I just sent you the updated maps. Got a hold of them right before we left.”

He narrowed his eyes, but scrolling over the data distracted him sufficiently. “If either of you fall behind,” he said once he’d finished his review, “I will leave you to rot on this godsforsaken rock.”

“You mean for us to stick together?” Nappa asked.

The prince laughed coldly. “If I could trust either of you, I might assign each of you different continents in the interest of time. But the fact of the matter is that I cannot.”

He took off without warning. Nappa and I scrambled after him, relying on our scouters when we couldn’t match his speed. His flight cut an angry gash through the red smog. Distant, rapid blasts thundered across the sky in brilliant flashes on either side of the wound. Tracing his path with the scouter’s map, he left absolutely nothing in his wake for us to destroy. He would do the work of an entire crew in a matter of hours if exhaustion couldn’t prevent him.

The prince thus occupied, I could easily slip away. And Nappa might not even realize I’d left with how he’d been. Compunction’s familiar ache churned beneath my ribs as I imagined him stranded and lost above the wastes. A relief, then, that I hardly knew what to look for. What it would be worth sneaking away to find. If Vegeta left anything behind for the finding.

He fired and fired and fired until he couldn’t keep apace with the planet’s rotation, and night caught up with him. And then even the dazzling crashes of energy grew fewer and farther between. Darkness at last came to rest over the devastation, and my scouter indicated that Vegeta had descended to the surface. The map outlined what remained of a settlement through the obfuscation of smoke.

Once I landed, letting the prince have his distance, an energy scan discovered no survivors. Just a few minuscule power levels likely belonging to animals. Smaller buildings clustered together on the outskirts of an industrial compound. The Ginyus had taken care to destroy the machines, hangars, towers, and ships, but had left the rest well enough intact.

On an instinct, I made way for the rubble. Nappa followed me without comment. Vegeta, meanwhile, continued to stalk along the perimeter of the settlement, moving with silent intent. Masking, perhaps, a need for rest. Whatever he pursued, I couldn’t stop him, and it made no difference to me so long as he gave me enough time to pick through the debris before disintegrating it.

Glints of green from my scouter’s glow reflected across generators, glass amalgam, new scouter chips, command boxes, adapted prisms—all recognizable, but each with features slightly different from those laid out in the plans Freeza had gifted me those two moons ago. These were more advanced. Only at the Imperial Academy itself had I come across such technology. And this was at some remote factory—hardly what the planet’s occupants must’ve kept for their ports and capitals.

They would’ve traveled far and known much. Too much. I reached down and sifted through the scouter chips until I’d isolated a few that heat and dirt hadn’t rendered useless. These I slipped inside my breastplate near the stolen knife. In all likelihood, the chips didn’t store any sensitive information, but I couldn’t leave them and wonder.

I looked over my shoulder. Nappa had wandered off. I spun, then tapped my scouter when I couldn’t see him anywhere.

A sigh of relief when the scouter highlighted his silhouette behind a shipwreck. Or not quite a shipwreck, but rather the spilled guts of a newly constructed Planet Trade flagship. One of its landing claws held him sitting upright. He looked up from his hands when I approached him.

“Here, you’ll need this,” I said, retrieving his discarded scouter for him.

He took it, fit it, and squinted at the display. “What time is it?”

“Hard to say, but it’s been hours. I’m tired too.”

He picked himself up, refusing all help, and scanned the terrain of the settlement. “I don’t remember this planet from the briefings.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We took Cui’s cleansing assignment. A detour so we could get here before his crew did. The prince’s idea.”

“He’s out that way.” He took a step in the same direction.

I gripped his arm before he could take off. “Nappa, we just need to get through this without fucking anything up. He put both of us in tanks last time, and he was already furious with you for being late.”

He hung his head. “It’s because of—”

“It’s because of the drug. I know you took some of it with you. And you won’t get better unless you stop taking it.” The last statement I wasn’t so sure of, but I needed to sound sure in case it were true.

“You took it too.”

“I—” I had no excuse for him, and he would know if I lied. He’d seen into my mind just as I’d seen into his all that time ago. “Once,” I said finally. “And you must’ve seen what’s happened with Vegeta too. So you know—maybe better than anyone—that he needs us to stay—”

An explosion cut off the rest. My arm whipped to shield my eyes as heat and hurled scrap crashed towards us.

A few scrapes here and there, but Nappa and I sustained no real damage. The scouter detected no power levels of any significance aside our own. I had to assume that Vegeta had grown weary of this place and would annihilate us with it if we lingered. No more blasts followed, however, and the ruins fell again into the obscurity of night.

The prince remained where he was, and we followed his energy. We heard him before we spotted the sparks blazing around his fists. Shouting.

“Freeza sent his special forces to destroy the likes of you? If you have any honor left, show me your real power.”

I directed Nappa to land at a cautious distance. Vegeta’s energy lit a gleam of terror across the furred creature’s face.

“If—if you have a ship, we’ll go. Take whatever you want!” it stammered. “W-we gave your people the maps already!”

Vegeta laughed. “I don’t give a damn about any of your maps. Either die a warrior’s death, or meet an end worse than hers.” He channeled more energy into his right hand and pointed it to illuminate a spot some tail lengths off.

There lay the mangled body of another creature. Several of six limbs twisted and broken. One snapped above the elbow, only soft flesh keeping the rest of the arm attached. A black, bloody mess of organs tangled beneath the ribs. Agony still contorted the face.

A shriek.

“What, never seen a battlefield before?” He blasted next to the creature and cackled as it dove into the dirt to dodge it. “Guess not. Hid from the purge too like the cowardly scum you are.”

The prince circled round to his victim’s side. The creature trembled too much to stand and couldn’t answer him apart from whimpers and sobs.

“Pathetic.” He shoved his boot into the creature’s spine. “Last chance to fight back. Show your strength.”

Turning away, I glanced toward Nappa. “I don’t think Freeza sent the Ginyu Force because these people were strong,” I said.

He stared blankly into the sky, smoke blotting out the stars. He was always worse when Vegeta lashed out. There was nothing to be done.

“Don’t think you’re going to fight,” the prince scorned. “Pissed yourself instead—I can smell it on you.”

A hoarse scream followed the deep crack of a limb wrenched from its socket. Pain’s memory echoed through my shoulders, numbness through my fingers. Vegeta had done the same to me when his blows left me shivering and useless. Warm-blooded, the creature must suffer similarly, and though we couldn’t let it live for Freeza to find, its misery served no purpose.

I braced myself before facing Vegeta once more. Before bearing witness to the torture he could easily turn on me if anger mastered him. “They’re just weaklings,” I shouted. “A waste of your time. Let’s get this over with and get off this planet.”

He dropped the creature with a snarl. “I don’t take orders from you, third-cl—”

A bolt of red struck his armor in between his shoulder blades. From a blaster deadly enough to pierce Planet Trade gear, yet ineffective in harming someone of the prince’s power level. He whipped around where he stood in search of the sniper, hands ready with charges.

A pair of smaller beings lingered a second too long before disappearing around a wall’s corner.

Vegeta kicked the creature at his feet. “Are those…your children?”

“No!” A plea rather than a denial.

“They—aha—are going to watch you die.” He tapped his scouter, isolating the trace power levels instantly. He vanished, my eyes hardly able to track him, and the two children had no hope of escape.

“Nn…” The presumed father squirmed towards me. Supplicant, he stretched one trembling hand out to me.

I took aim for his head.

“Aren’t you going to save him?”

Fired.

I didn’t process what Vegeta had said or why until it was too late. My shot had stricken the child who’d dove to protect his father from me. Now he wept over the little body.

I gathered energy into my hand. “These people are a waste. Just kill them.”

Vegeta answered my charge with one of his own. The child he held by the neck didn’t understand that he meant it for me and squirmed as far away as it could. “Defying me, third-class? How sorry you must be that Freeza won’t let me grant your deathwish. Always tempting me… I can control myself, unlike you.” His grip on the child’s throat stifled a scream.

I stood my ground. “Tell yourself whatever you want. But you won’t humiliate Cui by taking twice as long on his assignment.”

He fixed his sharp eyes on mine, sneering, as he leaned more of his weight and strength into his heel until his boot crushed spine and ribs with an unmistakable, wet crunch. “Worthless,” he snarled over the creature’s gargling.

A quick death, at least, if not an easy one. Consequences damned, I vowed that the child would receive an end just as swift even if I had to intervene. All four eyes tightly shut, tears streamed into the dark fur lining its face. Its lips quivered over clenched teeth, and trilled whimpers escaped through them as Vegeta released its throat to embrace the child from behind. Almost as tall as he was, the prince’s mouth was level with its ear.

“Does it make you strong, watching them die?” he said.

I’d heard those words before, and my steps faltered.

“It’s been so long since I’ve fought someone worthy… So long, lying awake, restless…” Abruptly, he let go of the child. “Show me you aren’t as useless as the rest.”

Its limbs buckled instantly, and it tumbled forward into the remains of its father and sibling. Away from Vegeta, I had a clear shot. I awaited only a slip of the prince’s attention. His speed would thwart me otherwise, and he’d deflect the blast.

The child, however, did not merely lie shocked and defeated. Somehow, even with a mouth full of its father’s blood, it summoned the will to rise up from the ground. I knew very little about the child’s race, but the look it turned on Vegeta was one of pure hatred. “Why?” it spat at him.

The prince answered with a crooked grin. “As if I could tell you why the gods have forsaken you.”

“Gods have nothing to do with it.” The child managed to stand. A rise in power level did not accompany it. “You did this.”

“Who are the gods but whoever is strongest?” Again, he seized the child by the neck. “And I am stronger than you. I’m stronger—haha—a Super Saiyan, the strongest in the universe!”

The [SPOILER] I’d seen had been no more than a dream. I was sure of it now. Many times had Vegeta lied, hidden, said one thing and done another, and exhibited more arrogance than his actual strength warranted. After all that’d happened, I understood why. My heart ached for him still. But as much as I’d denied it ever since he’d turned on me on that empty planet, I was beginning to recognize his madness for what it was. And because his sanity was slipping, I knew his defenses would slip too when I finally aimed and took my shot.

Blasted cleanly through its skull, the child died immediately. The body convulsed for a few seconds before going limp. Still gripping the neck while he raved, Vegeta seemed not to realize what’d happened.

“There is nothing but your own strength. The gods gave you a mother and father just to wound you when they were taken away. Better now that they’re gone, and you see the truth. I’ve set you free. Does it make you strong?”

He shook the body, rattled it. He’d come to assume soon enough that he’d spoiled his torture too soon. The corpse could fascinate him only so long. I left him with it to see where Nappa had gone.

He’d found the children’s hiding place behind the crumbled wall. He sat, rocking back and forth, muttering to himself. Something about Savoy. I couldn’t stand to listen. I leaned down and struck him hard across the face.

“We have to get out of here. You’ve got to snap out of it.”

He shook his head, massaged his cheek, and seemed to recognize me when our eyes met.

“Vegeta just needed a moment to rest, but he’ll be ready to set out again soon. He’ll put us in tanks again if we fall behind.”

“Raditz…where are we?”

I took a deep breath and turned my back to him before I could curse in his face. “Fucking gods damn it all,” I ground out. “Shit. Fuck. Can’t fucking take this anymore. Can’t fucking do it.” All of us were mad in our own way, and our next assignment would end in disaster. And all I had was I knife I couldn’t use, empty scouter chips, and connections who meant me more harm than anything else. Vegeta had been right about one thing—the gods wouldn’t help us either. They never had.

“Nappa,” I said, facing him again, “once we leave, we’re going to go through your things and get rid of whatever is left of that drug. Let me do it, or Vegeta will.”

He frowned. Perhaps he hadn’t even understood. Better, then, if he was too far gone to interfere.

“Just follow me, all right?” I took him by the arm. “It’s just a cleansing assignment we took from Cui. There’s not much left. We just have to finish up and leave.”

“Where’s Vegeta?”

“Down that way. Found some survivors and took care of them.”

His brow knotted after he tapped his scouter. Another tap. “He’s gone.”

Fucking gods, I refused to utter aloud. “Of course he is.” I locked onto his energy before he could fly too far ahead. “We’ve got to go.”

#vegeta #astral art #astral writing #homeworld lost #blood cw #dbz

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