#i hope its as decent as if eel it is cause i worked like for hours straight on this lol

[moroser]

It's finally up! chapter 7 of vampire au!

thanks to everyone for their patience with me! with being unpredictably sick at times, my timing for posting is not always On Point. hope you enjoy!

[old-archivist]

Sorry, not here to drop more half baked recipes. Instead I’m going to drop random dragon age trivia - and general animal trivia - I found while working in the cookbook.

Some preface though, humans love categorizing things. So much so that we usually have a name to denote sex, age, and reproductive maturity in most of our livestock. I knew this before, but in the old cookbooks I’m looking at it was much more common for people to know this sort of thing and use it in regular conversation. In comparison to today, its not common knowledge unless you work with animals.

The rest is going under a cut cause this became a whole thing...

A castrated rooster is called a capon.

Pullet is a young hen less than 1 year old.

Poults are young fowl, especially turkeys.

Green goose is when you kill a gosling that is under 4 months old and eat it without stuffing.

Young wild ducks that can’t fly are called flappers.

Raccoon meat is oily and comparable to the dark meat of poultry though the meat is tough so you need to cook it for longer and/or use methods to tenderize it.

There are eels in Thedas, which seem particularly popular as a food in Ferelden. You will find them in game through out Redcliffe and other food spreads.

Baby eels are called elver.

Dragon age’s pheonix are technically edible in the same way a puffer fish is. I love this for them.

Fennec is most likely edible. Though prized for their fur, they would be a decent enough meal. However given their similarity to foxes, their meat is likely as tough and has musk glands so would need special prep much like a raccoon’s.

In Dragon age, ram their own species. Personally, I think they’re separate from sheep (think boar vs pig or rabbit vs hare) as WOT v2 calls them a species and not a breed. Which they do call the August Ram a “breed” which makes me think it’s a breed of ram not sheep. There is also the fact that sheep are sexually dimorphic but these rams are not. That said, ram is also used as a term for male sheep in Thedas.

Speaking of, rabbits and hares are two different animals. People just mix them up for…reasons? I was never quite sure why.

Leverets are hares less than 1 year old.

Wild boars and pigs are also not the same animal. While a male pig is called a boar, they still differ from their wild counterpart. Even though both species share the same terminology; ie. boar, sow, hog, swine, runt, barrow, stag, gilt, even their group name - a small group of pigs and wild boars are called a sounder. The only exception is for their babies, which baby boars are boarlets. Though it is still valid to call them piglets, but come on, boarlets is cuter.

On the topic of animal misconceptions, ox and cows are the same animal. The technical term is cattle as “cow” means a female cattle who has had at least one calf and are used primarily for dairy and beef. Ox are typically male, they can be castrated and are used solely for work due to their larger muscles. They’re like the draft horse of cattle. They’re also typically smarter than other cattle as they’re trained to take direction.

Cattle, sheep, bison, buffalo, antelope, gazelle, and goat are all in the same family, Bovidae. Which, with that knowledge I suggest that draffalo, ram, august ram, and halla are also in that family.

If you’re in the bovidae family, your horns don’t regrow. Knock them off, damage them, ect. They aren’t coming back. Which is why the Dalish can carve halla horns and they’ll stay that way.

I am pleasantly surprised that there is no mention of opossums in Thedas. I hope it stays that way.

[ironwoman359]

Love Song for a Siren

Summary: Life aboard the pirate ship The Sea Serpent is as perfect as Roman, Patton, and Logan could hope for, but a startling discovery turns their lives...and their hearts...upside down. 

Ships: Established Moralogince, eventual LAMP, side Dukeceit

Content Warnings: Mentions of whaling, piracy (the swashbuckling kind), sympathetic deceit, sympathetic remus, general fear/anxiety, being trapped/captured.

Word Count: 5,407

Read on AO3 here

My Fic Masterlist Commission Info Ko-fi

A/N: @vintage-squid, surprise! I’m your secret santa! I’m so glad you enjoyed the story, I had a blast writing it! Thank you to @theinvisiblespoon for beta reading this fic, you’re the absolute best! I have at least two more fics for this AU planned, a prequel that tells the story of Roman and Remus coming to be crew members aboard the Sea Serpent (cuz boy howdy is that a tale), and a sequel that pits our now established LAMP boys against an external threat. Both elements were ideas that I had for this story/universe that just didn’t make it into the final version due to time/length, so let me know if you’d like to be tagged in those future stories, or if you’d like to be on my general writing taglist. As always, comments/reblogs are greatly appreciated. Love you guys! -Taylor <3

--- --- ---

“All hands on deck!”

Roman grinned and scampered down from his perch in the crow’s nest, his boots hitting the deck with a satisfying *thud.* The sky above him was clear and bright, and a cool ocean breeze rustled through his hair, granting him a reprieve from the heat of the sun. The gentle sway of the ship, once so strange and foreign to him, was now a familiar, soothing motion, and Roman’s chest swelled with confidence. He pulled his rapier from his belt and swiped it through the air with a flourish, winking at the ship’s navigator who was standing nearby.

“Just once, I’d like to see you answer Patton’s call without all your typical fanfare,” the man said, raising an eyebrow at Roman.

“What? My brother, pass up a chance to be dramatic?” a cheerful squawk called out, and then Remus was beside them, throwing one arm around Roman and jostling him playfully. “That’ll be the day.”

“Indeed, the one that we all long for,” the navigator agreed, and Roman pouted before letting his features slide into a smirk.

“Oh, come on Logan, you know you love me,” Roman crooned, and his smile widened as Logan’s cheeks became dusted with pink.

“Unfortunately, yes,” he said as Roman wriggled out from Remus’s grip to peck him on the lips. “However did I let that happen?”

“Okay you two, cut it out!” Patton chided as he walked over. “You’re both too adorable and it’s not fair, ‘cause I very much want to kiss you both, but we don’t have time right now!”

“Later, my love,” Roman promised, blowing the ship’s quartermaster a kiss of his own. Patton pretended to catch it out of the air and held it close to his heart, winking before he turned and addressed the larger crowd of sailors that had gathered on deck. 

“We’ve adjusted course to intercept a ship, prepare for boarding!” Patton called. “And standby for the captain’s orders!”

As if on cue, the captain stepped out onto the deck, surveying his crew at work for a moment before turning to Patton.

“What’s the target?”

“It looks like a whaling ship,” Patton said with a grimace, and the captain snarled.

“Right. The captain should be worth a half decent ransom then, plus there should be plenty of valuable cargo on board. We’ll disable the ship when we’re finished then leave the rest of the crew to their own devices, if they aren’t idiots they should be able to survive long enough to make whaling seem like a very unattractive occupation to their buddies back home.”

Patton nodded, then turned back to the crew.

“Ready about!” he called to them, then nodded to Roman. “Ro, take point on the first raiding crew.”

“Oooh, Dee, your mask!” Remus suddenly cried, before dashing into the captain’s quarters without another word. He emerged a moment later, handing over the mask before planting a kiss on the captain’s cheek.

“Oh, so you have time for kisses, but I don’t,” Roman teased, and Remus stuck his tongue out at him.

“Captain’s privileges,” Dee said with a smirk before sliding the mask down over the left side of his face, carved features and painted green scales covering the burn that marred his skin.

“Ro, come on!” Patton called again, and Roman turned his attention to the whaler that was still approaching them, not yet realizing that the innocuous looking Sea Serpent was actually a pirate vessel.

“Heave to!” Patton shouted, and Logan pulled on the ship’s wheel until the Sea Serpent was directly in the path of the approaching whaler.

“Ready canons!” Dee called, and Patton relayed the order to the gunmen below deck. “On my command! Ready?”

Roman gripped his sword hilt, a smile growing on his face despite himself. Right here, standing on the deck of his ship with a sword in his hand and his two loves by his side, was exactly where Roman wanted to be.

“Fire!”

--- --- ---

It didn’t take long for the crew of the whaler, called The Carlotta, to surrender, and before long, Patton was leading a small party through the ship to look for anything worth looting. As soon as he stepped below decks, however, he had to stop. He waved the other crew members on ahead of him and leaned against a nearby support beam, taking in several deep gulps of air through his mouth. Unfortunately, that didn’t do much to alleviate the stench.

The cargo hold was full of dozens upon dozens of barrels, and a foul, fishy scent clung to the air around them like mold. The smell was bad enough, but that combined with the thought of what was actually in the barrels was enough to make Patton gag on the spot. He, like Dee, was not fond of the practice of whaling, but while Dee would still bring the whale blubber onboard the Sea Serpent so they could sell it themselves and turn a profit, Patton would just as soon dump the whole batch back into the ocean so he didn’t have to think about it for too long. He was just grateful that they hadn’t come upon The Carlotta when she’d taken a fresh kill; money or no, message or no, Patton was not about to deal with looting a ship floating beside a dead whale carcass.

“Quartermaster!”

Patton looked up to see one of the younger crew members coming towards him, their eyes as round as saucers.

“What is it, kiddo? And I’ve told you, just Patton is fine.”

“Right, yessir–I mean, Patton. But, um, you need you see this!”

“What is it?” Patton asked again, following the young sailor deeper into the hold.

“I...I don’t know, sir, you’re just...going to have to see for yourself.”

Thoroughly intrigued now, Patton let himself be led into the back corner of the cargo hold where he was met with a peculiar sight. What appeared to be a large iron kettle, which Patton recognized as part of the tryworks that whalers would use to boil the whale blubber down into oil, was sitting in the middle of the open space. The kettle itself wasn’t what struck Patton as odd though, it was its placement below decks. The ship had clearly recently brought in a new whale, and Patton remembered seeing the other kettle in its proper place on top of the furnace up on deck. What on earth was this doing down here?

The other thing that was confusing was the large slat of crisscrossed iron bars that had been laid haphazardly over the top of the kettle. If Patton had to guess, he’d say that the whalers had taken the door off the ship brig and used it as a sort of cap, and for extra measure, a few canon balls had been placed on top to provide additional weight. Three other crew members were standing around the kettle, looking inside with something akin to awe on their faces.

“What’s going on?” Patton asked as he approached, and the crewmen just pointed, stepping back so Patton could peer into the kettle himself.

He didn’t know whether to be amazed or horrified.

“Get the captain,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “He needs to see this.”

The sailors nodded and hurried off to find Dee, leaving Patton alone to stare at what they’d found in growing disbelief.

Lying tangled in a net at the bottom of the kettle in about a half-foot of water was...some sort of creature. At first glance, Patton had thought the long, slippery tail belonged to a strange fish or eel, but as his eyes traveled upward, that thought was quickly dismissed from his mind. Halfway up the creature’s body, the scales gave way to smooth purple skin and a surprisingly human shaped torso, despite the fins on the creature’s sides and elbows. A set of gills was visible on the side of its neck, and a shock of dark hair fell around the creature’s ears, or at least, the wide, fan-shaped fins that protruded from where the ears would be on a human. It’s chest was rising in short, quick bursts, and Patton didn’t need to be a medical expert to tell that it was having trouble breathing.

Despite growing up in a port town and being around seamen for most of his life, Patton had never really put much stock into superstition, or the wild tales of sea monsters and magic that sailors brought back from their ventures out onto the open ocean. Sailors in his hometown tended to drink as much as they talked, and while their stories made for good entertainment, he’d never really believed any of them. And yet, staring down at the creature in the kettle, he knew now that some of the tales had to be true.

“What is it?”

Patton turned at the sound of Dee’s voice, and he found that there was only one thing he could say.

“Dee...they have a mermaid.”

As if on cue, the mermaid stirred, twisting in the kettle and letting out a muffled hiss as it strained against the net that had its arms pinned against its sides. Dee and Patton looked down, and Patton bit his tongue to keep himself from whimpering.

The eyes that met their gaze were wide with fear, but they narrowed in an instant as the mermaid hissed again, flaring out its fins in warning. Patton was sure that if it were able, the creature would be baring its teeth at them, but somehow the net had gotten tangled in such a way that it was wrapped around its face and digging into its mouth. If Patton had to guess, the mermaid had tried to bite its way out of the net and only succeeded in trapping itself further.

Patton looked up at Dee, who still hadn’t said anything and was staring into the kettle with a blank expression, which Patton knew meant he didn’t want to give away what he was thinking.

“Dee, we can’t just leave him here,” Patton said quietly.

“What other choices do we have?” Dee asked, raising an eyebrow. “Cut it loose and throw it back into the ocean?”

Patton glanced down at the creature again, his eyes traveling over the places where the net was digging into its skin. One of the sections was wrapped so tightly around its tail that it was cutting into the flesh, and Patton shook his head.

“He’s hurt...if we just threw him back into the ocean as is who knows what could happen to him? He needs time to recover.”

“So what do you propose? We can’t haul the tryworks onto the Sea Serpent while on the open ocean. And even if we could, if healing is the main goal, I don’t think curled up tight in a pot would be the best place to keep it.”

Patton chewed on his bottom lip, thinking.

“They haven’t finished fixing that damaged dinghy belowdecks yet,” he offered. “But she should hold water.”

Dee blinked.

“Are you suggesting that we fill the dinghy up with water like it’s some rich landlubber’s bathtub and...what, just keep a pet mermaid in it?”

“Not pet,” Patton insisted. “More like...patient.”

“You’re deflecting the rest of the question, Quartermaster,” Dee said, raising an eyebrow, and Patton raised one right back.

“And you’re avoiding giving me an order, Captain.”

Dee chuckled, then his eyes flicked back and forth between the kettle and Patton before he sighed.

“Alright, have it your way then. But Patton...if this creature turns out to be dangerous...if he ends up hurting one of the crew? That’ll be your responsibility, you understand?”

Patton nodded firmly.

“I do.” Then he grinned, and threw his arms around Dee in a quick but tight hug. “Thanks Dee!”

He let go and hurried above deck, hearing Dee mutter something about “reputation” as he went, and stopped when he ran into Remus sticking his head to look inside the (thankfully) unlit furnace the whalers kept on deck.

“Remus! I need you to do something for me,” he called, and Remus grinned.

“Anything you say, Mr. Quartermaster sir!”

“Can you get a couple of the crew to fill the dinghy belowdecks with buckets of seawater?”

“How many buckets?” Remus asked cheerfully, and Patton shrugged.

“As many as will fit. Oh, and Remus. I want the water dumped out into the dinghy. I’m not asking for a boat filled with buckets, I want a boat filled with water, okay?”

“Aww, now you’ve spoiled my fun,” Remus said in a mock pout, but then he winked and practically pranced back towards the Sea Serpent, nearly knocking over Roman as he skipped past.

“What’s he so happy about?” Roman asked, frowning as he watched Remus leave the deck of the The Carlotta.

“I gave him a weird order,” Patton said, sliding up next to Roman and sighing happily when Roman snaked an arm around his waist and planted a kiss on top of his head.

“Anything interesting in the cargo hold?” Roman asked, and Patton froze. “What?” Roman asked, pulling back and frowning down at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Patton said quickly, pressing a kiss to Roman’s cheek. “It’s just…” he glanced back towards the cargo hold, chewing on his bottom lip. “You’re going to want to see this.”

--- --- ---

“You found a what?” Logan asked, staring at his boyfriends in growing disbelief.

“A mermaid, Specs,” Roman said, and Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“We’re serious, Lo!” Patton insisted. “Why would we make something like that up?”

Logan raised an eyebrow.

“I saw Remus looking entirely to happy to be carrying buckets of water back and forth from the cargo hold, and you expect me not to be at least a little bit suspicious.”

“Okay, maybe I should have had someone else supervise setting up the dinghy, but to be fair, I knew that Remus wouldn’t waste a lot of time asking me why I wanted him to do that,” Patton said with a shrug.

“Listen, while ordinarily your suspicion might be slightly warranted–”

“Slightly?” Logan asked, and smirked when Roman spluttered indignantly.

“Really, Logan,” Patton said, his voice quiet and earnest. “We found a mermaid, and he needs our help. Come and see, okay?”

Logan frowned at Patton’s sudden shift in tone before he nodded slowly. Patton flashed him a grateful smile, then turned and led the way into the cargo hold. Logan had to admit, he wasn’t sure quite what he was expecting to see as he followed Patton down the stairs, but the Sea Serpent’s beat up dinghy filled with water hadn’t been high on the list. He opened his mouth, but as they approached the side of the boat, the question died in his throat. His eyes traveled over the purple skin, gills and fins, and wide eyes with slit pupils.

“Oh.”

“You can say that again,” Roman said, raising an eyebrow.

Logan elected not to speak again, noting the way the creature shrunk back at Roman’s loud voice, choosing instead to take a step closer and get down on one knee beside the dinghy so he was eye level with the creature. It thrashed and hissed as he approached, though whether the hiss was a sign of aggression or an expression of pain as the net dug deeper into its flesh, Logan couldn’t be sure. Either way, the first move clearly had to be removing the net.

Logan pulled his knife from his belt and the creature thrashed again at the sight of the blade, and it bumped the side of the dinghy, sloshing some of the water over the side.

“Be still,” Logan said in as soothing a voice as he could manage. “We need to get that net off you, and if you struggle you could become injured.”

Logan had been speaking more with tone in mind than with words, but to his surprise, the creature cocked its head at the words before hissing again, more deliberately this time. Logan froze, staring into the creature’s eyes.

“Can...can you understand me?” he asked, and the creature moved its head up and down.

“Did he just nod?” Patton breathed, and the creature tried to nod again, hissing in pain as the net around its face dug deeper into its jaw.

“Don’t try to move,” Logan said, holding up his empty hand in what he hoped was a placating gesture. “You’ll only hurt yourself further. Could you blink your eyes once for yes, twice for no? If you can really understand us?”

There was a beat of silence as they all held their breaths, and then the creature slowly blinked once.

“Was that a yes?” Logan asked to confirm, and the creature blinked once again. “Wonderful. I’m going to cut this net off of you, is that alright?”

The creature didn’t respond at first, eyeing Logan warily, and Logan frowned.

“Do you wish to remain tangled in the net?”

Two blinks.

“Are you currently in pain?”

One blink.

“If you let me remove the net, we can see about tending to your wounds. But if you continue to thrash about, I may accidentally hurt you...and I do not want that to happen.”

The creature eyed his knife again, and Logan tried to imagine things from its perspective. It had been captured by humans and transported from ship to ship like so much cargo, and now a human was crouching next to it brandishing a knife...all things considered, Logan supposed he would react similarly if he were in such a situation.

“Are you worried that I will hurt you?” he asked.

One blink, and Patton made a quiet, distressed noise behind them. Logan ignored the urge to soothe his boyfriend, knowing that Roman was there to provide comfort if needed. Right now, getting this creature to trust him was the top priority.

“We have had ample opportunity to do so already,” Logan pointed out bluntly.

“Lo…” Roman’s voice was uneasy, hesitant, but Logan pressed onward. He could only hope that this creature was capable of logical reasoning.

“Whether it was on the ship you initially were held captive on, or in transporting you here, my comrades and I have had the opportunity to cause you pain intentionally. Have we taken it?”

Two blinks.

“Would it not make more sense, if hurting you was my intention, to simply move forward in an attack rather than wait for your permission.”

One blink. Logan smiled.

“So logically, we must not want harm to come to you. Quite the opposite. But if you don’t hold yourself still, more harm may occur. Now, may I approach?”

Time stretched out between them, and Logan waited patiently as the creature’s eyes flicked back and forth between Logan, the knife, and Roman and Patton standing behind him. Eventually, he blinked once, and Logan smiled again.

“Alright. Keep very still now…”

The mermaid (or merman, if the top half of his anatomy was comparable to that of a human) squeezed its eyes shut, long webbed fingers curling into fists as Logan began to cut away at the net. He’d scarcely been working a minute before a soft, pleasant sound filled the cargo hold, and the merman’s eyes snapped open.

Roman was humming, a quiet, soothing tune that Logan recognized as one of the lullabies that Roman would sometimes sing to either of his boyfriends if they were having trouble sleeping. The merman’s face changed from one of shock, to curiosity, to something bordering on contentment, and by the time Logan had managed to cut away the last bit of rope, the tension had drained from the merman’s shoulders almost completely.

“There, finished,” Logan said with a small smile, standing up slowly and taking a step back.

The merman took a moment to stretch his limbs out, opening and shutting his jaw (which, Logan noted, had rows of sharp, needle-like teeth) and swishing his tail.

Patton made a cooing sound, and Logan knew that the shorter of his partners was completely enamored by the creature.

“Better?” Logan asked, and the merman looked up at him. For a moment, Logan was expecting another blink, but then the creature opened his mouth.

“Yes. Thank you.”

His voice was low, slightly raspy rumble from the back of his throat, and Logan told himself that the flash of excitement that ran through him was because of the discovery that such a creature could talk and nothing more.

“Are you hurt very badly?”

A quick glance at Patton revealed that Logan was not the only one who had suddenly been struck with a reminder of just how gay he was, but to Patton’s credit, he seemed to recover quickly.

“I…don’t know.” The merman ran his hands over the gash in his tail, wincing, and Logan hummed in sympathy.

“I think it would be best for you to remain here for the time being, at least until you have healed sufficiently.”

“What?” the merman’s head snapped up, his eyes growing wide. “No, you can’t just keep me here, I–”

“It would not be permanent,” Logan assured quickly. “Only until we are sure that you’re well enough to return to the ocean. If you were to return now, in your weakened state, your chances of fully recovering would be slim.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t dream of imprisoning you here like some sort of animal,” Roman chimed in. “Not like those dreadful whalers did.”

“If you really don’t want to stay, kiddo, we won’t force you,” Patton added. “You can make your own choices, after all...we just want to make sure you’re okay.”

The merman looked between the three of them warily, before glancing down at the cuts on his body and nodding slowly.

“Alright then.”

“Oh, yay!” Patton squealed happily, causing the merman to jump slightly. “My name’s Patton, and these are my partners Roman and Logan, do you have a name?”

For a moment, Logan thought the merman wasn’t going to speak, but after a long moment of silence, he opened his mouth again.

“Virgil.”  

Logan gave him a small smile.

“Well Virgil, welcome aboard the Sea Serpent.”  

--- --- ---

Virgil was very confused. When he’d initially been caught by the human whalers, he’d been sure he was going to die. He saw what they were doing to that whale corpse, and when the humans had hauled him onto their ship and thrown him into a cramped metal pot, he was certain that he would be the next to be chopped into pieces. For three days, he’d tried to untangle himself to no avail, and by the time that Patton had found him, he’d all but given up hope on making it out alive.

But instead of hurting, these three, strange humans were helping him. He’d been on this ship for what was close to a month now, and not once had any one of the crew been hostile towards him. The boat, while not the most spacious of homes, gave him enough room to get himself in virtually any position he wanted to, and he found himself now floating on his back and absently sucked on a fish bone, (the last remnant of the food that Patton had brought him that day) reflecting on the three humans he tended to see the most.

Patton had been the first to visit him frequently. Virgil had honestly been so hungry directly after Logan had gotten the net off of him that he would have accepted anything offered to him, but Patton had asked him what he ate, and when he simply said “fish” brought him three different kinds to choose from, even apologizing for not having more choices. Patton was like a sunbeam incarnate, warm and bright and full of the promise of life, and despite how terrified Virgil had been when they’d first locked eyes, he found himself looking forward to all the times Patton would drop by to see him, not just the ones where he was bringing food.

More confusing was Logan, who should be far more intimidating, with his blunt way of speaking and his detached approach to the world. And yet, Virgil found his words calming, an anchoring grip in the middle of a current, and Virgil began to miss Logan’s soothing, steady voice when he wasn’t around. Even the numerous questions about everything from what Virgil ate to how he learned to talk to whether there were other mermaids besides himself and what their societies were like, were somehow endearing instead of unsettling when they came from Logan. Virgil knew Logan didn’t want to hunt his kind down or dissect them, he was just...curious. Brightly, passionately curious, and that curiosity was infectious.

Virgil found himself asking Logan questions about humans, which Logan was all too happy to answer.

And then there was Roman, loud, boisterous, impossible Roman. If Virgil were honest, the first few times he’d dropped by, Virgil had been annoyed. Roman talked too loud, too fast, and Virgil shouldn’t enjoy his company, he really shouldn’t...except Roman sang nearly everywhere he went, and Virgil couldn’t help but be drawn to the sound. His own song was bottled up inside of him, itching to be released into the world, but Virgil didn’t want to know what might happen to the crew of the Sea Serpent if they suddenly heard siren song coming from inside their own ship. But one day, Roman was packing something up at the other end of the cargo hold, singing a soft and familiar tune as he worked, and Virgil couldn’t help himself.

He sang softly so that none of the crew would hear him, closing his eyes and losing himself in the harmony, ducking and weaving around Roman’s voice as it steadily grew louder–

Virgil’s eyes flew open and Roman was only a few feet away, his work forgotten in the corner.

“Roman, snap out of it!” Virgil cried, and Roman blinked at him in confusion.

“Snap out of what, Vee?”

“I...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Virgil said hurriedly. “I didn’t think you would hear me, I didn’t mean to lure you, I promise–”

“Lure me?”

“My song,” Virgil explained. “You heard me singing.”

“Yes I did,” Roman said with a smile. “It was lovely.”

“Yeah, well, if a human hears my song they get sort of...bewitched? You’ll see your heart’s desire, and have no choice but to follow it. So I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Hurt me?” Roman asked with a laugh. “Newsflash Virgil, I was only coming over because I wanted to hear you sing more. I didn’t see my heart’s desire or anything, I just saw you in your boat, like always.”

Virgil’s heart just about stopped beating right then and there, but he forced his face to remain blank.

“Oh...alright then, I’m uh. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Roman smiled his big, boisterous smile at him, but it suddenly turned shy, and Virgil frowned.

“Do you think you could...do it again?” Roman asked, and Virgil raised an eyebrow.

“Sing with you?”

Roman nodded, and slowly a smile spread across Virgil’s face.

“I’d love to.”

--- --- ---

It had been just over a month, and Virgil’s wounds finally seemed to be completely healed. Logan had looked them over and declared them sufficiently healed, and Virgil swore up and down that the cuts no longer pained him, though there were thin lines of scar tissue up and down his pale purple skin that would forever serve as a reminder to the terrifying ordeal he’d been through. Roman had half a mind to find the crew of The Carlotta again and exact vengeance on behalf of his beloved siren.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Roman’s face turned bright red, and he tried to push it back down into whatever crevice in his heart it had crawled out of, but it was too late. The thought was released into his mind, and now that it was free it was determined to be as loud and noticeable as possible.

Beloved, beloved, beloved.  

It was the day Virgil was going to back to the ocean, and Roman didn’t want him to go.

One look at the expressions on his love’s faces as they all gathered on the deck to say goodbye was all he needed to know that they felt the same as him. They had been together long enough to easily tell what the others were feeling, and they all three were painfully aware of how much they would miss Virgil when he was gone. A tiny selfish part of Roman said that he should stay here on the Sea Serpent forever, but unlike his first unbidden thought of the day, this one passed like a wave across the sea before he even had time to process it. For as much as he might want Virgil to stay, he wanted him to be happy much more. And Virgil could never be happy living confined on a ship like this. He deserved his freedom, and Roman’s heart would count itself privileged to have known Virgil while it could.

“Are you ready?”

Logan’s tone was careful and even, but Roman knew his boyfriend well. His voice was too clipped, too measured. He may not be as obvious as Patton trying to hold back tears, but he was just as upset that Virgil was leaving as Roman himself was.

“I think so,” Virgil said. He spoke with so much more confidence now than he had the day they had met, and Roman let himself feel proud that they’d been able to break through Virgil’s rough exterior in the time they’d had to know him.

“Thank you. For everything,” Virgil added, and Roman nodded.

“We’ll miss you, Virgil,” Patton said tearfully, and Virgil smiled softly at him.

“I’ll miss you too, Pat.”

Patton knelt down to hug him, then stepped back so Logan could grasp his hand.

“Thank you for teaching me so much, Virgil. I must admit, I will miss our talks.”

“Me too, Lo,” Virgil said, and then he looked at Roman.

Roman stooped and pressed a kiss to Virgil’s cheek before he could stop himself.

“So long, Dark and Gloomy.”

Virgil looked stunned, but he managed a smile back.

“So long, Princey.”

Virgil looked at the three of them one last time before he turned and pulled himself up over the railing of the ship and disappeared with a splash into the ocean below.

“Oh gee, I’m gonna miss him so much,” Patton sighed, leaning onto Logan’s chest.

“As am I, Patton,” Logan agreed quietly.

Roman did not speak, but he knew he didn’t need to. He turned instead to go help his brother haul the water out of the cargo hold, hoping that the distraction would keep his mind off his feelings.

But before he made it very far, there was a great *splash* behind him, and he turned just in time to see Virgil land back on the deck with a rather comical flopping sound.

“Virgil!” Patton cried, and Virgil took a deep breath.

“Ifitsallthesametoyouguysidliketostayhere,” he rushed out, and Roman’s heart leaped with hope.

“I...I’m sorry, did you say…?” Logan looked confused, but a teensy bit hopeful as well, and Patton was outright beaming.

“Did you say you wanna stay here, kiddo?” he asked, and Virgil nodded, his cheeks flushing a dark purple.

“It...it doesn’t have to be in the dinghy all the time,” he said. “I can swim in the ocean sometimes, catch my own food, that kinda thing. But um...yeah. I’d like to stay with the Sea Serpent. With...with you guys, if that’s okay with–”

“Nothing would make us happier,” Roman said firmly, and Virgil looked up, a shy smile spreading across his face.

“Really?”

“Really,” Roman said, just as Patton squealed and dropped to the deck to wrap Virgil in another hug.

“Get down here, you two,” he ordered, and Roman smiled as he and Logan knelt beside them and allowed themselves to be pulled into the hug.

It was a little bit crowded, and Roman’s shirt was getting wet from where he was pressed against Virgil’s back, but he didn’t care. Right here, sitting on the deck of his ship with the sun overhead and his three loves in his arms, was exactly where Roman wanted to be.

--- --- --- 

Sanders Sides Taglist (pt.1): @lizethemotherlycat,  @coffeestudylive, @logically-asexual,  @migraine-marathon, @princeyssash,  @idontevenfreakingknow22, @tree4life25, @spacevirgil, @virgiltheanxious, @thebaagelboy,  @msu82, @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2, , @thesleepyraziel, @bobolovesoze,  @littlemiracle05, @pattson,  @nerd-in-space, @thesides,  @stay-in--place​, @ravenclawunicorn1​, @at-least-seven-pretty-potatoes​, @michealawithana​, @anotherfandomtrasher​ , @fandomsofrandom​,  @a-deliciouslyfadingcollection​, @nightmarejasmine​, @xxfoxit​, @quoth-the-sparrow​, @katatles-the-fish​, @misty-the-mysterious​, @alyssadashrub​, @punkassplonker​, @noctisvalex​, @i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom​, @funsizedgremlin​, @vigilantvirgil​, @nonamefightergirl​, @thomasbemyfriend​, @starsinger​ , @milomeepit​, @justabookworm39​, @shortandfantastic​, @thesilentbluesparrow​, @royallyanxious​, @mirror2thespirit​, @coffee-stains-paper-and-ink​, @silverrhayn​, @mooksie01​, @backatthebein​, @nye275​, @anastasialestina​, @callboxkat​, @a-lexicon-of-words​, @emeraldfoxface​, @peachie-keeen​, @llamaly​, @witch19​,  @heythereprincey​, @bring-it-on-perra​, @nienna14​, @bubblycricket​, @thomasfandersunite​, @slightlyobssesive​,  @logicallyanxious​, @apologetically-anxious​, @keys117​, @digitally-analog​, @ocotopushugs​, @warping-reality​,  @grey-lysander​, @your-username-is-unavailable​, @hikariyukino​, @theresneverenoughfandoms​, @virgil-sanderssss​, @violetmcl​, @thatfandomfollower​, @nothingelsemattersme​, @cdragontogacotar​, @narniasfinestavengingsociopath, @absentmindedproff​, @fantasyandfairfolk​, @virgilsblogofanxietys​, @your-average-outcast​, @sanderstalker​, @galaxy-warping​, @queen-of-all-things-snuggly​ @a-little-bit-of-ace​, @faithfreedom-art​ @therealhmmlingle​ @xxladystarlightxx​, @morgan-the-art-girl​, @stormcrawler75​ @wowitsmyblog​, @romanssippycup​, @lunalikesgamesandstuff, @lamp-calm-sanders​, @musikasworld​ @cyberpunkjinx​, @mauvelavender​ @samathekittycat​ @black-out-wonder​ @i-read-by-lamp​ @ravenclawicecream​ @nashiraneko​ @lucifer-in-my-head​ @ladyartemisia28​ @awesome-and-unique-username​ @zoalis @entpscarleharrrr @raygelkitty @zeldahadasword @gubbalupagus @musicphanpie-b @virgilssweaterpaws, @faacethefacts @a-simple-fryingpan @pinkeasteregg @punknerdmusings @imantisocialgetoverit @anuninspiredpoet  @awkward-avocado-of-death, @poison-lyra @modcarbz, @thisrandomperson102,  @skydiamcnds @just-another-starfish, @thepoolofthedead,  

[oswednesday]

yesterday i made curry and cleaned a bunch, nothing like harsh or chemically just tidy’d between online like chores, i really like making meals that arnt urgent and like going about the house in like a Gentle way it really feels like the place gets woken up with you? i hope to be able to do that more and like carry that with me or like in the future itll be working on projects while stuff is cooking like oh dreamy it feels like if i sit down to work work i might burn something ggdf like theres a different sense of urgency but omg so i just made food and fell asleep basically and heres the only part i really remember, this was like a recipe level intro to this dream im sharing fdgdf

i was in a class but it was set in my preschool caf which was also the areas like rec center, it has a stage like it does irl, its very like ethnic of it dsdsd and the class was like a reading literacy thing where we practiced reading out loud and stuff so maybe more of an acting class? but it was in the dream like englishy like a reading class, which omg my grade school did seperate reading from like grammar now that im thinking on it, omg anyway this old book collector had donated a bunch of books from like the 17th century cause whatever fantasy currency he had only accumilated based on Deeds he was still mega wealthy but you know like ooohh nooo my massive wealth is only huge how embrassing and i had volunteered to read them like hehehe he’ll fall in love with me, and there was like a class host? class rep? or whatever like an older student who sat in with the younger students to help as apart of like guidance thing older students are expected to do in catholic schools (or at least the ethnic ones fdgfd) and she was dressed goth and so was i and like a teacher was like which one of yous shawl is this and she was annoyed that my stuff would be confused with mine and as im typing this im like pretty sure this girl in my dreams was my actual like assigned older student like we got lunch buddies or w/e and they were suppose to like share food and talk with us and like eat with us as like a mixed age thing and she was sooo mean and didnt share anything i cant fully remember what she did or said but one of the other students like took me from her and had doubled up like hey get away from that person and i recall now feeling like oh no im doing something wrong i should go back to her, hmm much to think about

but omg then i left the class with people i knew from highschool who were both like not the core group and nice to hang out with casually and became like seperated from the group cause of group drama or just like different life directions with no self awareness of it, but in the dream it was just us, the latter one was trying to get validation from us and like teachers about becoming a military nurse and we were like noooo dont be a bootlicker and also how dangerous that is for your person and like the building we were in was like so so different ive never really been in a building like that before it was like the vague feeling of a school building in a scifi setting but with like darker lighting and blue tones like 90s scifi, it was time for gym and i didnt want to change so i just hiked my skirt up i was wearing like this extra long black one, some boy kid came in to harass us and i was looking for a decent place to get changed but it was all just like lockers like the alchoves of lockers was shaped like a square with a wall missing also hey isnt it wild that young children are expected to get naked in front of their peers and teachers and shamed when they use the bathrooms to change like there’s absolutely nothing else like that in society where thats acceptable and on top of that most american schools dont even have like gym uniforms so its like get judged twice in an american gym class

but omg okay like you have to leave the changing room to have access to the bathroom but the hall wasnt like a full hall it was like half walls with a space under it too, and the kid threw a red rubber ball in after me and it like bounced and rolled back into the changing room, the toliets were at the end of the hall, no doors but they were facing like the opposite direction so like your back would be too each other if both were occupied and like the “boys” one was super clean and new and the “girls” one was clogged unclean and junky and i was calling to the others to look at this, act of sexism and i group had gathered to be like hey wtf and then it clipped to like lunch

it was like a sushi bar from another planet like i recognized the food and what it should look like plated because in the dream ive like read about it, but how it was like to be assembled i had no idea like you were suppose to do it yourself and people, older students and teachers and other staff, sat around the serving station, i didnt know what to do and was afraid to cut into a group so i was doing my best to put the food together how i remembered from books but i knew i was doing something wrong, finally someone got up from a table that was nearer to a wall and had put me in front of a kitchen worker that was still doing stuff and they had an exchange in the planet’s like native language or like the language from whereever we were on the planet and i thought i was in trouble cause the exchange sounded urgent but then the worker was like if you dont know what youre doing it can be dangerous and then showed me how to crack and peel this eel like thing that had to be open up like a shrimp to be edible and like what parts to pull off and like you had to eat that first as the Start of the meal and the worker was like your homeroom teacher had boasted about a student who had read into the culture we were in and i was all like super embrassed like oh thats me haha!! ;’;’;’;’ and the worker was like i noticed, you did as good a job as you could on your own and then after i had gotten help at like all the food stations i went to go sit with like the First Years who were in a different eating area with like a pull down projector set up playing stuff like the gist of it was like visual lessons in the guise of like media like eduatainment from the native culture and i woke up before i could find a seat

[janethepegasus]

BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU RP Thing: Crystal Breaker

This is an RP me and @pika-ace did relating to the BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU, where Cyber and Leo fight have a round two against an BRS inspired Akuma named Crystal Breaker.

(Warning: LOOOOTS of blood in this)

(Cyber and Leo leap onto a roof, after retreating from Crystal Breaker) Cyber: *pants* I think.....we lost her..... Leo: *pants* Yeah.....she was tough....

(Both of them are covered in cuts and scratches from being attacked by her pointy rocks) Leo: What...what do we do now?

Cyber: We try to think up a plan....it’s obvious she’s a lot stronger than we thought....

Leo: Yeah...but how are we gonna do that?

Cyber: I don’t know....you said you heard about the anime she’s based off, right? Leo: (sweats a little) Welllll......

Cyber: *Dad voice* Leo, what aren't you telling me?

Leo: IIIIIII......may have learned the shows existence from Jane....both mentions of the series.....and her fanart and fan fiction about it....

Cyber: Well there we go; we'll start by learning more about her and the world she's technically from

Leo: But I haven’t seen the OVA and anime FULLY yet! I only know the small bits of the series from Jane!

Cyber: Well since she's the expert... Leo: Oh no... Cyber: It makes sense that we get the right information FROM said expert, don't you think?

Leo: (raises an eyebrow) Where are you going with this?

Cyber: We're going to rest up; and then we're going to see Jane.

Leo: Wait, WHAT?! You're saying we should call in for the night while the akuma is still out there doing GOD knows what?!

Cyber: No, I meant take an hour or two to catch our breath! Goodness Leo, do you think I’m THAT irresponsible?

Leo: Sorry, sorry, still shaken up by Crystal Breaker...

Cyber: Yes, I am too. Now come on, let’s get further away to make sure she doesn’t surprise us while we’re unprepared. Leo: Yeah...she might try to put us in a bag or something...

Cyber: Don't get any ideas Leo.

(They leap off into the night)

(An hour later, after recovering, they search around for Jane)

Cyber: Its late; she should be home

Leo: Yeah, hopefully she doesn't mind us visiting her home, especially when her favorite super hero is there. (winks to Cyber)

(They hop onto another roof and peer down at the next building to see Jane inside with Kirsty, the two of them scribbling on notepads)

Leo: There she is! Not surprised Kirsty's there too.

Cyber: Indeed. (They leap onto her windowsill and Cyber gently taps the glass)

(Jane looks and her eyes lit up) Jane: CYBER SHOCK! 8D

Kirsty: WHA-? *she flails and falls off the bed from the sudden yell*

Leo: Pffft, you're definitely her favorite! :P

(Jane hurried over and opens the window to let them in) Cyber: Sorry to intrude like this, but... Leo: We miiiight need your help.

Jane: Hm? With what?

Cyber: Theres an akuma attacking the city- Kirsty: No surprise there... Cyber: And we believe it’s based off a character from a show you watch.

Jane: Which one?

Leo: Uh, Rock Shooter, something?

Jane: *gasp* Black Rock Shooter?! 8Dc

Leo: Yeah, that one!

Jane: Well, what'cha wanna know about it? :3c

(They explain the akuma and what it’s doing)

Jane: Oh wow 0_0

Leo: Yeah, so if you could tell us how these powers work so we can beat her, that would be great

Jane: Oooooh, well sit down you two cause i'm gonna give you some knowledge from the series! :D

(They sit down and Jane explains all she can)

Jane: So okay, i'm gonna give you the general idea of an Other Self, basically what BRS is, since the OVA and Anime kinda have different rules. So basically, they're these beings that are connected through human emotions, all of their fights are connected to whatever emotional conflict is going on in the real world. And considering its an akuma, i'm guessing she's having an emotional battle with herself with whatever she's facing with. Now, these beings can withstand more than us humans, they could be thrown A COUPLE MILES AWAY AND CRASH HARD INTO A WALL, and yet they'll still be able to stand. Plus they can still withstand major injuries like deep cuts but still feel pain, though they can die normal ways like us humans can, like if an other self cuts off their head or stabs them in the heart. So in a nutshell, they're basically stronger humans that have multicolored eyes and blood, can summon huge ass weapons out of the blue, and are connected to human emotions.

Leo: Okaaaay... Cyber: So how could WE fight back effectively?

Jane: Well you DID say she was summoning a bunch of black crystal pillars all over the place, right?

Leo: Yeah

Jane: So, she might be creating a little landscape for herself, since in the OVA and Anime, characters like Dead Master, Chariot, and Black Gold Saw have their own little realms of their own which for some odd reason all take place in one world, The Other World. So i'm guessing she's trying to make her own. In that case, you should try to fight like BRS, since i'm for certain she's gonna bring some of that Other World magic into some kind of bubble dimension or something.

Cyber: So, we should fight her in this Other World?

Jane: Possibly yeah.

Leo: Okay, I think we can pull that off

Jane: Just be prepared to manage getting up on your feet from being thrown around like a rag doll or something like that.

Cyber: We will. *they stand up* Thank you, this should be a big help.

Jane: You're welcome Cyber! <3 Jane: And Leo too

(Cyber and Leo nod and head back out the window, jumping out into the night)

(They run through the city, with the knowledge they need to fight against Crystal Breaker, but then they stop to see a large glowing dome in the distance)

Leo: Uh-oh, that can't be good... Cyber: Let's hurry!

(They run towards the dome and they jump right through.) (When they landed, they found themselves in a strange landscape) Leo: Weird..... (Cyber tried to talk but....nothing came out)

(Cyber opens his mouth, trying to talk a few times, but nothing happens)

Leo: Uhh Cy....? I think you look kinda pale....actually, scratch that, you're completely white!

(Cyber looks at himself and sure enough, he's white as snow) Leo: Boy, you're pretty quiet about this...

(He tries to speak but nothing came out)

Leo: What? Cat got your tongue?

(Cyber tries all he could to yell but nothing ever came out)

Leo: Oooooh okay, yeah, this is weird... (Cyber looks quite distressed due to the appearance change and his lack of voice)

Leo: Sooo i guess we should start looking for the akuma then, right?

(Cyber nods and they start walking)

(They look around the landscape, noticing that it looks kinda distorted and kinda creepy, jagged stones are seen in the distance and broken pieces of concrete with checkered patterns lay on the ground)

Leo: Okay, I don't like this at all...

(They keep walking until Cyber starts to notice something, on the checkered concrete, there seemed to be somethings written, but the words were too small to see from afar)

(He points and leads Leo towards it)

Leo: Huh? What is it?

(Leo follows Cyber closer to the checkered concrete)

Leo: What is that?

(They walk up to the words and look at them)

(It read "Every day i feel trapped, like the walls of my room slowly close in on me. I could hear echos of voices, voices from the halls and into my room. I yelled and begged those voices to stop, but they never did. What did i do wrong? Was it something i did? The thought of not knowing what i did to deserve this feels like knifes are poking at my skin.")

(Leo and Cyber make faces) Leo: That's...disturbing...

(Suddenly, they can hear a loud clang)

(They jump and whirl around)

(They see a giant spear made out of crystal, it seemed to have two little symbols on it)

(They go up to get a closer look)

(Once they got close, their eyes widened when they saw the two symbols were an eel and a lion)

Leo: Uhhhhhh is this good or bad?

(Suddenly, they could hear something from the sky, they look up and saw a swarm of black crystals being hurled towards them)

(Cyber tackles Leo and they roll out of the way just in time)

(The crystals land all over the place, sticking into the ground upon impact)

Leo: Holy shit... O_O

(The crystals stopped falling but the two were now on alert)

(they get up, standing back to back, on the lookout) Leo: Where is she?!

(Cyber scans the area, looking for her, then out of nowhere, a black block of crystal pops out of the ground, knocking Cyber into the sky)

Leo: HOLY SHIT CY!!

(He flies through the air faster than any normal human could, he was afraid of breaking his whole body. But then he remembered, he's possibly an Other Self now! And according to Jane, he can withstand the impact! He just has to make a decent landing to do so....)

(Cyber starts to fall and moves in the air so he's ready to land on his feet)

(He lands but he gets a little throwback, resulting in his feet dragging deep into the dirt, leaving behind a little track)

(Leo looks up having had tears in his eyes thinking his partner was dead) Leo: CY!!! *he glomps him*

Leo: I thought you were dead!!

(Cyber smiles and hugs him back, patting his head to reassure him)

(They break the hug)

Leo: Okay, that akuma HAS to be here somewhere!

(Cyber looks around until he spots something in the distance)

Leo: What? *he follows his gaze*

(They look and saw a castle-like mansion with a couple of crystals poking out in some places)

Leo: You think she's in there?

(Cyber nods)

(They head over to the mansion and stare up at the entrance, hoping no more black rocks will shoot out)

Leo: *softly* Please no more rocks pleeeeaseee

(Cyber keeps Leo close and they head towards the front door)

(They open the gate and saw the hallway, which looked seemingly normal, except for the black crystals poking out in some places)

(They slowly walk down the hallway, their guard up)

(They keep walking down until they reached a large throne room, where Crystal Breaker was sitting at her throne) (She glared at them, not even saying a word at all)

(Cyber pushes Leo behind him, glaring back at her and tensing for a fight)

(She stares at him for a moment and then stands up from her throne, slowly walking towards them) (When she got close to them, she grabs Leo by the arm)

Leo: Wha-hey!!

(She glares at him for a few seconds and then throws him far away from where she and Cyber were)

(Cyber's mouth opens in a silent yell and starts to run towards him)

(Then suddenly, chains were wrapped around Cyber's waist and it pulls him back to Crystal Breaker)

Leo: Cy!! *he gets up and starts running towards him*

(Then out of nowhere, a wall of black crystals surround Leo)

Leo: Wha...no! *he runs and pounds on the wall no longer able to see anything* Cy!! CY!!!

(Crystal drags Cyber near her and she glares at him) (Then she kicks him which sent him flying, and also releasing him from the chains)

(Cyber lands and skids back on his feet before glaring back at her)

(She slowly walks forward, summoning a bunch of black crystals floating on both sides of her while smirking evilly) (She throws those crystals straight towards Cyber)

(Cyber grits his teeth and dodges them before glancing at the black crystal container holding Leo; he starts towards it, but the akuma shakes her head and pointed rocks appear around the container, impaling the container slightly; if he tries anything, Leo will get impaled)

(Crystal grins evilly and sends more black crystals towards Cyber, this time some of them hit his suit and pinned him against the wall) (And one hit the top of his shoulder)

(Cyber's mouth opens in a silent yell of pain and he pulls against the crystals)

(It started to bleed, but not like it normally would, it was like a leaked water pipe at best) (Not to mention, his blood wasn't the normal red, it was royal blue)

(Cyber pulls and manages to get one arm free and he pulls the crystal out of his shoulder, ignoring the change in blood color)

(He looks at Crystal Breaker, who's ready to strike at him at any moment)

(Cyber makes his free hand light up, readying an electric attack)

(He fires an thunder bolt towards her, which hits her shoulder, and oddly it had a small burst of purple blood and then it disappeared.)

(Cyber then manages to pull himself free of the crystals pinning him)

(He looks at one of the crystals and it gives him a little idea) (He runs towards her with a crystal in his hand, willing to use it as a weapon)

(Crystal frowns and fires more crystals at him)

(He dodges as much as he can, and though a few of them barely scraped his body, he keeps running towards her)

(Cyber raises the crystal ready to thrust it towards her)

(It stabs her stomach, which made her make a silent scream in pain, while purple blood pours out) (She glares at him and grabs his arm, forcing him to yank the crystal off of her)

(Cyber uses the close proximity to give her a hard kick to the stomach, making her fly back a good distance)

(She crashes through the wall and into another room, after the dust settled, she gets up from the rumble)

(Cyber runs through the hole in the wall after her)

(She smirks and snaps her fingers, suddenly chains appeared out of nowhere and wrapped it all around his body)

(Cyber blinks in surprise and struggles angrily, glaring at her)

(Crystal makes an evil grin as chains appear on her side, possibly the ends of all the chains around Cyber) (She pulls them, which made the chains grip tighter on Cyber)

(Cyber silently yells out in pain, trying to break free to no avail)

(She pulls again, making the grip tighter, this time little bursts of blood spew out in some places of Cyber's body)

(Cyber grits his teeth, swallowing the pain, thinking of some way to escape)

(Then she lets the chains go, and just when he fell down, she kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying)

(Cyber flies back through the hole and hits Leo's prison, sliding to the ground in pain) Leo: Cy?! Cy is that you?!

(Cyber winces at the pain) (Crystal slowly walks towards Cyber, ready to attack once again)

Leo: C'mon Cy, if that is you, you can do it! I know you can!! You're stronger in this world, I know you'll beat her!!

(Cyber slowly gets up, glaring at Crystal) (Just as when Cyber was about to fight back, Crystal got real close to him)

(Cyber steps back, his back pressing against the wall of crystals holding Leo)

(Crystal stared at him and then, her right eye glowed and a fire bursted out) Crystal: *telepathically* Would you like to see how much your new body can handle damage?

(Cyber's eyes widen in shock to hear her voice)

(She grabs his chest and throws him far away from the cage and into the air) (And then with the snap of her fingers, pillars made out of black crystals appear, completely closing in on Cyber)

(The attack is too fast for Cyber to even comprehend, barely getting ready for it)

(The pillars stabbed through his body, though not completely, and royal blue blood spews out from his body)

(Cyber screams silently blood pouring onto the floor)

Leo: Cy? CY?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!

(She keeps the pillars on Cyber for a little bit, until she releases him from its grasp)

(Cyber crashes to the ground in a pool of his blue blood)

(He breathes heavily, shocked that even after all of that, he's still alive. But he can't ignore the pain)

(He can hear Leo pounding against his prison screaming for him)

Leo: CY!!!! (Crystal walks towards his lump body, summoning a cannon and sword hybrid from out of the blue)

(Cyber glances at the weapons and Leo's prison, feeling thankful that Leo didn't have to endure this)

Leo: CY!!! WHAT'S SHE DOING TO YOU CY?!?!

(Cyber weakly reaches towards Leo's prison as if he could somehow talk to him that way)

(As soon as he touched the prison walls, he blinked, and he was strangely in another place, and oddly, Crystal and the prison were gone)

(Cyber blinks and looks around)

(And oddly, it felt like he stepped into a manifestation of his own mind) (A lot of things that defy him and his life were all around him, just not literally)

(Cyber slowly gets to his feet and gazes around)

(As he looked around, he spots a particular face he never thought he would see, Plasma Shock.)

(Cyber's eyes widen and he backs away in fear)

(He didn't look like he wanted to fight, but rather, he looked calm) Plasma: You care about him, don't you not?

(Cyber frowns in confusion)

Plasma: Your partner, your student, the closest thing you'll ever get to another son, do you care about him?

(Cyber looks at him as if he's crazy and nods)

Plasma: Then why aren't you fighting for him?

(Cyber blinks)

Plasma: In this realm she created, you can't simply fight someone for the sake of good VS evil, it's for the sake of emotions, feelings, the very thing that makes us human.

(Cyber's eyes widen as he remembers what Jane said about fighting with emotions)

Plasma: Ah, so you remember that bit? In this world, the fights here are tied to any emotional conflict in the real world. You saw what she wrote on that piece of concrete, right?

(Cyber nods, recalling the words)

Plasma: Well, this poor girl who became Crystal Breaker.....is dealing with depression and going through mixed emotions with her parents arguing almost everyday.

(Cyber's eyes widen)

Plasma: She doesn't understand why they're arguing, and thus, resulted in her thinking those things, she's confused and scared, she doesn't know what to do, thus feeling like the walls of her own room are closing in on her.

(Cyber listens and nods)

Plasma: See this fight against her as like in the real world, you trying your hardest to help her cope with those emotions, but she drives you away, again and again. Plasma: That'll be because you didn't say anything that could help her, you'll just be telling her to stop it and it never did. Plasma: So, instead of just telling her to stop, talk to her. And in translation to this fight, survive and fight as if she means something to you, show her that you are willing to help her in any way.

(Cyber frowns in thought and then nods)

Plasma: Good, now, fight not for the sake of good and evil, but rather fight for the sake of her emotions, and save possible other emotions from being hurt as well.

Plasma: And don't forget to keep that kid of yours safe.

(Cyber nods) (He blinks and he's back in the throne room, being right next to Leo's prison)

Leo: *almost crying* Cy?! Cy, please, tell me you're okay!! Somehow, tell me you're okay, please!!

(Cyber slowly gets up, wincing at the pain, and touches the prison walls) Cyber: *telepathically to Leo* L....Leo....

Leo: *gasps* CY?!

Cyber: *telepathicaly* W-What....? Y....You can hear me.....?

Leo: Yes! Yes I can hear you!

Cyber: *telepathically* G.....Good.....ow....god the pain.....

Leo: Oh my god, Cy are you okay?! Oh god what did she do to you?!

Cyber: *telepathically* Erk......a lot of things......

Leo: Oh god, Cy... *close to crying again*

Cyber: *telepathically* My shoulder......my body.....and oh god.....those pillars.....they almost went through my whole body....!

Cyber: *telepathically* Don't worry...don't cry...I'll be alright, I promise...

Leo: *sniff* B-But Cy.....you’re hurt....like....REALLY hurt....!

Cyber: *telepathically* I know, but it's okay...I know what I have to do now...

Leo: You do.....?

Cyber: *telepathically* Yes...don't worry...I'll get you out as soon as I can...

Leo: Okay....I trust you Cy....

(Cyber nods and slowly starts to get up)

(He glares at Crystal)

(Crystal glares back, moving to hit him to make him stay down)

(She points her weapon at Cyber, ready to attack)

(Cyber fully stands, remembering what he learned in his brain, strengthening his emotions)

(He remembered, he’s not fighting for the sake of winning, he fighting so he can help her)

(And his love for Leo would give him the strength he needed to reach her)

(She charges towards him, willing to beat him down with her weapon)

(Cyber gets ready, his hands lighting up)

(Just as when she got close, he fires a lightning strike at her, pushing her away)

(The lightning was much stronger than last time, blowing her back a good distance)

(She hits the wall, only leaving a crater upon impact) (Even so, she is not giving up on this fight)

(Cyber starts towards her, hands crackling with electricity)

(She grits her teeth and charges towards him, clinging her Claw like hands into Cyber’s body)

(Cyber winces and grabs her wrists, pushing her hands away from him)

(She tries to push them back, resulting in the two struggling between each other)

(Cyber's lightning flashes everywhere as they struggle against each other)

(Eventually, Cyber manages to push her away by a lightning bolt)

(He immediately shoots another after her, sending her through the wall)

(The impact was strong, breaking down an entire wall. Cyber thought for sure she’ll stay down, but after a moment, she gets out of the rumble) (She slumps a little bit but she’s still standing. Then she sees that her shoulder seems to be dislocated)

(She grips her shoulder and glares at Cyber)

(She only stares at it for a couple a seconds, then she closes her eyes, and then when she opened them, her eyes looked dull) (She grabs her arm and through strength, she yanks it off her body) (Not feeling a single sign of pain at all)

(Cyber flinches and recoils in shock)

(She glares at him and grits her teeth, and she lunges at him like a wild animal)

(Black crystals start to form where her lost arm was, forming a giant claw made out of black crystals) (She pins him to the ground with the crystal arm)

(Cyber winces and grabs onto the crystal arm, trying to move it off him)

(She raises her other arm and slashes down on Cyber, while holding him down with the crystal arm)

(Cyber grits his teeth and covers himself with electricity before releasing a shockwave, blowing her off him)

(He gets up, wincing at the pain. While she rolls on the ground and then quickly getting up)

(Cyber fires more electric blasts at her)

(She tries to dodge them but some of them hit her, but she did not want to go down that easily)

(She makes more black rocks and throws them at Cyber)

(He dodges them as well, though a few scraped his body, he's still standing in this fight)

(Crystal grits her teeth in frustration, wondering how she can take him down, and her eyes fall on Leo's prison behind Cyber)

(She grins and flings herself towards the prison)

(Cyber watches in horror and tries to go after her)

(She gets to the prison first and yanks off a crystal out from the prison with her crystal arm)

(Leo looks up in shock and horror from the hole she made)

(Leo backs away from the hole, pushing against the wall behind him)

(Crystal grins wildly and reaches in, grabbing the front of his costume)

Leo: Wha-HEY!!

(She yanks him out of the prison and throws him against the wall before pinning him to it by his costume with multiple crystals)

(Cyber tenses up as he saw this)

(Crystal then throws one more crystal and Leo aiming right for his heart. Leo screams and shuts his eyes...but feels so pain. He opens his eyes to see Cyber in front of him, the crystal sticking out of his back)

Leo: C-C-CY?!

(Cyber looks up at him with a weak smile) Cyber: *telepathically* Don't worry...I'm alright...

(Blood starts spilling out from the front and back)

Leo: O-Oh my god, Cy!!

Cyber: *telepathically* I-I-I'm.....f-fine.....

(Crystal grins and throws more rocks and Cyber covers Leo completely with his body) Leo: CY NO!!!

(All of the crystals hit Cyber)

(Cyber squeezes his eyes shut in agony as blood drips down his back) Leo: *in tears* CY!!!

(His legs shake and then he falls to his knees, still trying to keep himself alive)

Leo: *almost sobbing and trying to escape* CY!! Cy no, please no, don't do this, please!! Please get up, Cy, you can't die, YOU CAN'T!!

Leo: *sobbing* P-Please.....don't leave me Cy.......

(Crystal walks forward towards them, her crystal arm at the ready; Leo struggles madly as they reaches towards him, when a hand grabs her wrist, covered in electricity)

(Suddenly, her whole body was covered in electricity, silently screaming in pain)

(Cyber glares up at her, his eyes glowing bright blue as he slowly gets up, lightning covering his body)

Leo: C....Cy....?

(Crystal stares at Cyber, almost scared, as he seems to tower above her, still holding her wrist in an iron grip, lightning flashing everywhere)

Cyber: *reaches her telepathically* YOU...DO NOT...HURT...MY SON...

(Crystal grits her teeth and glares at him)

(With a strong throw, Cyber throws Crystal up so hard that she hits the ceiling, nearly breaking through it)

(She falls from the ceiling and crashes down hard on the ground)

(Cyber walks towards her, eyes still glowing and lightning still covering him) Cyber: *telepathically* This won’t help anything. Using all those negative emotions to fight won’t make them go away

(Crystal stares at him in confusion)

Cyber: *telepathically* I know why you’re doing this, because of your parents and your own depression.

(Her eyes widen in shock)

Cyber: *telepathically* And now you’re trying to take who I love, because you feel that no one else loves you, since your parents argue with you. If we keep fighting, it will just go on forever...unless we decide to stop.

(Crystal doesn't respond, she only shakes, trying to pull back the tears)

(Cyber kneels in front of her) Cyber: *telepathically* I’ve suffered terrible losses myself, and using emotions like this will just become a cycle of pain for everyone around us. This isn’t a fight either of us can win...so what’s the point of continuing?

(Her breaths were starting to get shaky, and tear were forming in her eyes)

(Cyber reaches out a hand to her, his lightning dying down, kindness in his eyes)

Crystal: *telepathically* ...Help.....me....please.....

(Crystal reaches and takes his hand and Cyber sees a watch on her wrist; he takes it off and squeezes her hand) Cyber: *telepathically* I will. I promise. (He breaks the watch and a black bird flies out)

(He purifies the bird and a dove flies out. When he does the restoration thing, there was a bright flash of light, covering the whole area) (They find themselves laying down on the ground, Eric and the girl passed out) (Leo slowly gets up)

Leo: Ugh.....

(He looks and sees Cyber on the ground) Leo: CY!!

(He races over towards him, and strangely, he transformed back into his normal self) Leo: *shakes him* Eric! Eric wake up!!

Leo: What the...whatever, Eric! Eric are you okay?!

(He keeps shaking him, trying to wake him up) (But Eric didn't open his eyes)

Leo: Eric what’s wrong?! ERIC!! (He transforms back into himself) ERIC!! C’mon Eric, it’s me!! Wake up!!

(He keeps shaking him for a bit but he can't seem to wake up)

Jeremy: *tearing up* No no no no please please, Eric, don’t do this!! Wake up PLEASE!! (He starts to cry and lies on him, hugging him) Please...wake up...

(Then, Eric weakly and slowly puts his arm around Jeremy's waist)

Eric: *whispers* Don’t cry...Jeremy... (Jeremy’s teary eyes fly open and he looks up) Jeremy: Eric?!

(Eric softly smiles) Eric: *whispers* Yeah....it's me....

(Jeremy just stares in shock, tears pouring from his eyes, not saying a word)

(Eric holds him close, putting Jeremy's head on his shoulder) Eric: *whispers* It's okay, it's okay, i'm here.....i'm here....

(Jeremy bursts into sobs and hugs him back) Jeremy: I...I was...s-so scared! I-I thought...y-you... *keeps sobbing*

Eric: I promise you Jeremy.....i will never leave you.....

(Jeremy nods, still crying and clinging to him tightly)

Eric: *whispers* I love you so much Jeremy.......i will let anyone take you away......or me....

Jeremy: *nods again, still crying* ...I love you too... (Eric presses a kiss to his hair)

Eric: *internally* I'm so glad that i met you Jeremy.......you mean the world to me.....

(They stay on the ground in each other’s arms, not intending to let go anytime soon)