#i imagine they simply fought back against any monster that attacked them

[personalshredder]

Integrity appreciation post

[shiroi---kumo]

·:¨༺ ✩★✩ ༻¨:·. He was under the impression that Sinfonia was still within the space of the Kingdom if there had been anything left of it with the way Misterica had been crying out once the sky went black. He doesn't know what happened to their home. He saw the sky crack and dark lines like ink only foretelling of their fate spread out before his eyes but the gales were too much to fly against and both he and Nousi stood little chance against them.

Apparently he was wrong...and that's not something he very often was.

When the skies went black, there was little else they could do. They had heard the instructions to get to the mountain shelters just like all the rest of the people in the palace but they lingered behind as he attempted to gather enough of his usual medical supplies to survive a few days in case they wouldn't be able to return home for a while.

A while.

It's been seventeen years and he hasn't seen the kingdom since. He hasn't seen the kingdom since and now Sielu is telling him that not only was Sinfonia here but the man faded out on them without a damn thing that any of them could do about it.

He thought the reason the musician wasn't speaking his Bond's name was because he was simply too lonely to do so - he didn't know it was because - because he-

Because he died.

Sielu is shoving his face into him wherever he could manage to find the space to do so and the only thing he, himself, can find it in him to do is to lace his hand into blue locks as tears build in his own eyes and begin to stream down his face with the same volume of his mist. He couldn't imagine - losing Nousi in such a way and it's in this space he remembers.

He remembers being surrounded by that forest with the beast that had evil in it's eyes staring them all down. Revon told them to run. Revon told them all to put their masks on and to run while he fought the beast alone. Sinfonia was a Mythic, Sielu says. A trained one. One that trained right along side their king and that only meant that Taivas himself had trained them both.

And yet still - still the monsters here tore that man to shreds...and Sielu - Sielu had to watc- did Sinfonia tell them to run too? He would have. What he knows of - no no knew of the man - Sinfonia would have begged them to run before he let whatever beast had attacked them hurt Sielu or Sydän.

It's no wonder he's comparing Revon and Sinfonia in his mind right now. He's already watched this world tear his bond apart and then it took his twin and then he, himself, got shattered into a thousand pieces.

The tears are streaming. He didn't know. He didn't mean to cause him any undue pain. He didn't mean to -

"Sielu I'm so sorry. I - I thought he was still home. I thought he was still - with the kingdom. I didn't mean anything - you can sleep as long as you need. I'm so sorry, Sielu."

He couldn't bring back the people he's lost but he could be one to help him right now.

He knew it would come.

He knew the moment would arrive where he would have to face the beasts again.

He just hadn't thought it'd be right now. He hadn't wanted it to be right now.

This exchange has forced him out onto a tightrope in an instant. One misplaced movement will send him back into the wilderness, tumbling and falling but never landing.

There is a flicker of light - of fire casted from orange Mist in desperation - in blue eyes at the mention of his bond, though his gaze returns to its usual glossiness after several blinks.

He can't let himself listen to the scream and the sound of crushed bone again.

"There is no hope out there," he replies, his voice little more than a dull whisper. "Bringing him up does not... reassure me about Revon."

Doesn't he know better than to tell anyone what happened? The memories are his to be haunted by, aren't they?

Every part of him pushes for him to retreat with nauseating force. His memories and his friendships are to stay separate, guarded from each other lest they conflict and make him lose them too.

That's the point he's been trying to get to. Sydän was not someone who had to be told much, because in most aspects their life had been shared. Their memories were always full of each other, never experienced alone. He never had to explain anything because she'd always been right next to him. Anything they were apart for was quickly and easily reconciled in mere seconds.

But it's been years now. A decade, and that decade has been like a slow rot more than it has been him aging.

He wonders if she would still understand him now, or if she would see a stranger vaguely resembling her brother. He wonders if he would have to explain and he wonders if she would accept the answer.

More than anything right now though, he wonders why Valo had to do this.

He wonders why the subject had to change and why his explanation of the way his very existence has always felt needed to be steered into these hellish waters, leaving him no choice but to follow the new course.

"He was a trained Mythic," he continues. "Trained next to Aurinko. He still stood no chance at all against the beasts that tore him apart. Even if he had not faded, there would have been nothing left. Revon is gone."

And some part of his gut is twisting at the thought he shouldn't say more. Letting himself feel it only breeds distance and conflict, but closing it all up hurts just as well. It makes him sick to hear Herba in the back of his mind reminding him of just how little his feelings about anything matter. It isn't as if they change anything, darling.

It's not fair to have another reminder of what he's lost pushed into his face with so little warning. He hadn't even needed it.

He remembers all the time, when he wakes with his arms around lifeless pillows instead of a breathing form. He remembers when he sees Pilvi curled around the small human and purring. He remembers when he makes small meals and eats them by himself. He remembers when he steams himself red in the shower with tears flooding his face. He remembers when he's terrified in the middle of the night and there's no one there in his nest to hide with. He remembers when he sees Valo and Aamunkoitto sleeping soundly in each other's arms.

He feels the absence all the time, but he can't say that. He shouldn't risk sounding ungrateful or any other awful thing, not when he's already had one too many poor outcomes with being open.

Yet, more words and more tears pour anyway as he pushes his face into Valo wherever it will fit. More of his stupid feelings - he wishes he could be rid of them.

He hadn't been ready to face this today.

"I - want to sleep."

Another sob.

"It just hurts. It never stops unless I go to sleep. It was - It was him and then her and then only two weeks before Herba and it just does not stop and I'm miserable without them. Everyone else got their person back. Not me, though. I just - It does not feel fair. I miss them and I just want to sleep."

[wlwmarvelenthusiast]

Darkest Secrets

Requested by @mcmorgan9794

Summary: Keeping this secret from Wanda has been hard, but you don't have a choice but to come clean when everything is brought to light.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3,446

You’d always wanted to tell Wanda your deepest, darkest secret. You had been with her for well over a year, after all. A secret like the one you harboured wasn’t something that you should keep from someone you loved so dearly. But your secret was the ugliest part of yourself. It was something you hated, lurking deep within every inch of your body. It brewed in your blood and rested in your bones, uncontrolled at the best of times and unstoppable at the worst. It was a burden you’d never wanted to place upon the girl you loved.

Yet, keeping it from her hurt too. She’d look at you with those soft green eyes, spilling everything to you. Tears would stream down her cheeks as she’d tell you all about how much she hated the powers she’d been given. You’d hold her close and whisper soft words of comfort, wiping her tears away with the pad of your thumb, refusing to tell her you felt the same about your own. She would tell you everything. You wouldn’t tell her anything. You couldn’t tell her anything. She thought she was a monster. In reality, you were the monster. If she knew that, her heart would shatter.

Sometimes, these facts were all you could think about. It was the quiet moments. Wanda was away getting coffee with Natasha, Tony and Bruce were in the lab, Thor was on Asgard, and Clint was home with his family. You were left alone at the compound. You hardly ventured out of your own room. While silence screamed in the dark room, you tried to distract yourself with a book or a movie, but it didn’t last. Instead, the weight of your secret was crushing the oxygen out of your lungs. It always did. You longed to have Wanda back, to have her by your side and thread your fingers through hers. She didn’t know how agonizing solitude could be.

You curled up in your armchair, pulling your knees up to your chest and curling your arms around them. You squeezed your eyes shut, wishing you could will the overwhelming thoughts out of your head. They were screaming at you. They were reminding you of the monster that lay dormant in your very soul, cackling as they pushed images of what you were capable of. Then you imagined Wanda. You could do her so much harm and she didn’t even know it. Were you putting her in danger every day you lay by her side? You swallowed as you tried to force back the tears.

The dark thoughts came next. They always did. You wondered how much better off the world would be without you. You wondered how much better off she would be without you. She loved you. Losing you would break her heart, but she’d be okay eventually. If you hurt her in the way only you knew you were capable of, you knew she would never be okay again. None of them would. The dam broke and tears spilled down your cheeks. Hurting Wanda Maximoff would kill you.

And as you were about to imagine all the ways you could take yourself and your monster out of this world, your phone rang.

You grabbed the phone off the table, wiping the tears from your eyes with the back of your hand. You took a steadying breath before you even dared look down at the screen. The first thing you noticed wasn’t the person who was calling, but the time. It hadn’t felt like it had been as long as it had since the other had left you alone in the compound. The darkness in your head could do that. You lost track of time often when you reached that place. An hour could pass, then two, and then six.

It was Natasha’s face that was flashing on your screen. Worry filled your gut. Was Wanda okay? She had to be okay. You forced a deep breath in, and then out. Her phone had probably died. The Sokovian was notorious for remembering to plug the charger into her phone, but forgetting to plug it into the wall on the other end. After reminding yourself of that a few times, you finally found the ability to slide the answer button and hold the phone up to your ear.

“Hey.”

“Thank god,” Natasha’s voice said. There was a loud screech in the background, the sound of metal grinding against metal. “Listen you need to get to the hospital.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach. Oxygen caught in your throat and you were barely able to let words squeeze past the lump that had formed. “The hospital?”

“The ambulance is almost there. She’s hurt bad. Don’t come anywhere near Midtown.”

You didn’t even bother to respond. In fact, you didn’t even bother to hang up the phone. You simply slammed it down on the table that you’d only just picked it up from, heading for the elevator. A million thoughts were racing through your head. There were so many emotions tugging at your heart that you could hardly decipher one from the next. Fear, anger, and worry were all fighting to take over every one of your senses. You couldn’t breathe. It was as if on autopilot that you made it to the garage and hotwired one of Tony’s cars.

Scenery was flashing by you, mere streaks outside the windows of the car. The pedal was on the floor beneath your foot. You flexed your fingers; knuckles having gone white with the force of your grip on the steering wheel. Your brain was showing you visuals of Wanda lying on the table, shining green eyes dulled in the absence of life. Head too wrapped up in the thoughts that ran through it, you didn’t realize you weren’t headed for the hospital at all. You were headed toward midtown, exactly where Natasha had told you not to go.

You’d never been an Avenger. You would never be an Avenger. Maybe it was selfish, refusing to help others when you had the ability to. People died and you might have been able to stop it. Your own powers scared you too much to allow you to. It was something you’d decided long ago. The lives of every civilian that you could have saved were worth it. You couldn’t unleash that sinister thing that lived inside you. Yet, here you were, rushing toward the fight like you were Tony Stark in his suit of armour, or Steve Rogers with a vibranium shield strapped to your back.

The car screeched as you slammed your foot down on the brake. The seatbelt dug so hard into your ribs that you weren’t sure a few hadn’t snapped beneath the pressure. The adrenaline pumping through your veins assured you wouldn’t feel it even if they did. You fought to keep your breathing under control as you stepped out of the car and took in the destruction around you. Someone here had hurt Wanda, and, honestly, you couldn’t find it in you to care which one it had been. You’d kill every single one.

Gravel and rubble crunched beneath your feet as you ventured further and further into the warzone that had broken out in Midtown New York. They looked human, whoever they were. They were armed to the teeth and attacking every moving thing in sight. None of them had noticed you yet. That was better for both of you, for the time being. You shut your eyes for a brief moment and listen to the sounds around you. Civilians were screaming and car alarms were blaring and explosions roared. Then there was running, and it stopped at your side.

“I told you not to come here. Wanda’s at the hospital.”

You opened your eyes. Natasha was at your side. Blood trickled down her temple, staining her pale skin. She flinched as she put weight on her left leg to move a little closer to you. Wanda might have been the woman you called your own, but the Avengers were your family. Seeing one of them hurting in the way Natasha was only stoked the fire that was beginning to burn hotter and hotter inside of you. Your gaze moved away from her and back to the oncoming forces. They were getting closer.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Tony’s cars have trackers. We got an alert the second you left the compound and another as you came here. Get to the hospital.”

But you’d already stopped listening. The incoming threat had gotten close enough to notice you now. Green eyes followed your gaze until she, too, noticed the men approaching the two of you. She raised her arm, the gun still clutched tight in her grip. You could tell by the bewildered expression on her face that she hadn’t at all been expecting you to stop her. Your hand grabbed her wrist, lowering her arm until it was back against her side. You suspected it was the crimson gleam in your eyes that was the only thing that was keeping her weapon lowered.

You turned back to her once more. Surprise was written across every feature on her face… no, it was fear. She was afraid. She should be scared of you. Your skin began to blacken as you began to fade into nothing. Her eyes were still able to find yours, glowing bright as ever. She flinched when you reached out, backing up as you reached for her hand in an attempt for a final goodbye. You bowed your head, wishing she’d let you feel the warmth of her skin beneath your hand one final time.

“I’m sorry, Natasha.”

Then you turned away from her. The last of your human form faded away. It was hard to make out any shape in the tall, dark shadow that you’d become. Haunting golden eyes cast to the men that were racing toward you. As if to match the scene, a dark cloud rolled in front of the sun. Its shadow cast down onto the city, the darkness concealing you even further and making your eyes glow seemingly brighter. They continued to approach. They didn’t know their mistake. You did. You were dangerous at any time. You were more dangerous now that they’d hurt the person you loved more than you had ever loved before.

You raised your arms into the sky, feet leaving the ground. When your feet had been touching the concrete below them, you’d already been towering over the oncoming men. Now, you looked down upon them. Guns raised to where you hovered in the sky. It was almost comical. One of them screamed, and suddenly they were all firing. Their bullets tore through you, yet they didn’t touch you. Your head tilted to the side ever so slightly as an unsettling grin appeared in your dark shadow, disrupted by the whiz of dozens of bullets flying through it.

“Knock knock,” you said. Even your voice was sinister, a deep rumble that felt like it emanated from every direction, or deep inside of any listener.

The laughter that burst from their chests was strange, at first. It seemed out of place in such a setting. Confusion flickered across each of their faces. Then they laughed harder, and harder. Guns fell to the ground and they howled with laughter, but it contrasted their eyes. There was no sparkle of amusement in even one. It was pure, unbridled fear that you could see shining in them. One by one they fell to their knees, clawing at their throats as they tried to stop. One had tears streaming down his cheeks as he covered his ears, trying to block out the sounds that were torn from his own throat.

They couldn’t get in their comms to tell their men to keep away.

The next group that came for you met the same fate. Soon they, too, were on the ground. You got some sort of sick satisfaction as you watched them fall, unable to control their bodies. You’d taken over, grabbing hold of their heads and their bodies. You’d grabbed onto their lungs and ripped laughter from their chests, absolutely uncontrollable. When they lost control of that, that was when the fear started to take over. Fear would grip at them; you could feel it emanating off them. It would only get worse. You’d watched men take their lives as they lost their minds.

There was a reason you never used your powers. You were afraid of them, sure. The reason you were afraid of them, however, wasn’t because of their strength. Their strength could have saved lives. It wasn’t even because you couldn’t control them. You were addicted to your own powers. You took pride in watching grown men reduced to tears, curled up on the ground, shaking like an abused puppy. Your sick satisfaction was what you feared.

Was this what it felt like to be an Avenger? Were you taking pride in watching the civilians able to run from the scene, or was your pride in the fact that they no longer feared the invading forces, but you instead? The men were rendered immobile as the New Yorkers ran far from the scene. There you were in the centre of it, arms outstretched eyes gleaming, and grin growing wider and ever more evil. Natasha was still hovering just outside of your reach. You could feel her. You turned to face her. You could tell by the look in her eyes that she no longer recognized you. She put her lips to her comm.

“Evacuate the area. Don’t come down this way. Clint, go check on Wanda.”

Wanda.

Your powers ceased. No one rose right away. It would take some time for them to recover. They were gasping for breath. Their arms were too preoccupied hugging themselves tight to bother even trying to wipe the tears that covered many of their faces. Some of them were even rocking back and forth as the effect wore off. You dropped to the ground, human form taking back over. Your eyes were back to normal as you looked to Natasha once more. Neither of you said anything, but you took off running.

*

You pulled your hood up further, gaze locked to your black running shoes. You couldn’t help but feel like every set of eyes was on you. That’s how it felt, you supposed, being wanted by every agency on the planet. With the ability to change your form, though, it was pretty easy to hide in plain sight. Your footsteps echoed on the hard floor beneath your feet as you kept forward. Anyone who saw you would know you were on a mission. You knew exactly where you were going.

She was sleeping when you arrived. The cuts on her body had been stitched and bandaged, and her broken arm had been cast. Sam’s signature was already present on the red material, accompanied by a bad drawing of a bird. You couldn’t help but smile a little to yourself at that. Hopefully, it had kept a smile on her face as her world fell into turmoil, something undoubtedly caused by you. That simple fact would always break your heart. You had to turn to the window to keep the tears at bay.

When you turned back to Wanda, her green eyes were on you. There was something in her eyes that you couldn’t quite read. Her head tilted to the side as she looked at you, in a form that would be unrecognizable. It wasn’t just hiding you from the authorities, but it was hiding you from her. It was protecting her from you. She didn’t need to know that it was you, the woman who had never for a single second deserved to love her or be loved by her. A small smile grew on her lips.

“You forget I can read minds, my love.”

Of course. Wanda had always promised you she’d never read your mind. She would never violate your privacy like that. Right now, though, standing in her hospital room, you hadn’t been you. Obviously, she’d found it appropriate to peek into the mind of the stranger who had been watching her sleep. You should have been mortified. You’d never wanted her to know that you were here. Instead, a large part of you was relieved.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” she breathed out. “So, that was quite the secret.”

Even though you deserved it, it still felt like a knife to the heart when she said it aloud. You nodded slowly, cracking your knuckles nervously. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

You studied her face. Wanda really was a saint, with powers like the ones she had. She was kind, thoughtful, and respectful. You were sure if you’d had her powers right then, you’d be digging through her mind trying to find out what she was thinking. Her eyes weren’t showing you enough. They were calm, though, and it was keeping you calm. Your breathing was level and your head was steady on your shoulders, something you wouldn’t have had been able to say only five short minutes ago.

“Are you afraid?” You managed.

“No,” she assured instantly. “Confused. Why didn’t you tell me?”

You breathed out slowly. “I didn’t want to hurt you. My powers? They’ll hurt you.”

“Will you hurt me?”

“Never!” You insisted. “I… I only hurt them because they hurt you.”

She smiled. “Then I’m not afraid.”

She beckoned you. You padded slowly toward the bed, watching as she stared up at you with an amount of love and adoration that you didn't deserve. Wanda glanced at the door, making sure no one was there to see, and then took your hand in hers, tugging on it to get you to sit down next to her. Instant calm washed over you, drowning out any negative, scared thoughts that had been in your head for days previous. It was like her hand was a lifeline, keeping you anchored on the spot. In the last few days, you’d been anything but calm and present.

You’d been a wreck without her, not knowing if she’d hate you… if you even saw her again. You didn’t know if you’d be able to feel her touch again, to feel her hands on your cheeks or to feel her grab onto you and pull you into a searing kiss the way she did. But you had seen her again, and, somehow, she didn’t hate you. Now, it seemed now you could get oxygen flowing through your body again. Still, you were uncertain.

“And can you forgive me?” You asked, voice so quiet she almost didn’t hear it. “Can you ever love me again?”

Wanda took her free hand and put it on the underside of your chin, tilting your gaze up to hers. “I see nothing that has to be forgiven.” She brushed her thumb across your cheek, wiping away a stray tear. “I love you. I will never, ever stop loving you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise you,” she assured.

She leaned forward and then her lips were on yours. It took you a second to realize the salty taste was from the tears that were streaming down your cheeks, but it didn’t seem to be bothering the Sokovian. Both of your hands found hers and you held tight, as if afraid you’d never see her again if you dared to let go. She slipped one hand out of yours as she pulled back, using it to brush a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I’m sorry I kept it from you,” you muttered.

“I’m sorry you were so scared all alone.”

Your heart swelled. You really had found the perfect woman. “You’re really too good to me. You know that?”

Wanda laughed. “You deserve the world. You know that?”

With the way you tucked yourself against her in a hug, it was obvious she knew you felt the same of her. Her hand stroked your hair as you finally, for the first time ever, felt absolute ease and a sense of peace. Hiding that secret from Wanda had been the second hardest thing you’d ever done. The hardest had been coming clean with it. You snuggled a little closer to her, burying your head into the crook of her neck and mumbling against her skin.

“I’ll never hide anything from you again. I promise.”

Wanda pulled you away so she could look at you. “While we’re revealing secrets, I suppose I should tell you about the engagement ring in my jacket pocket.”

[aspoonofsugar]

Semblance of the Soul: Qrow and Raven

The Branwens are two people with a shared past, that have taken different routes in life:

Ozpin: Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self-interest.

Qrow has made an altruistic choice. He hates the crimes of his tribe and is happy to help people by working for Ozpin.

Raven has instead decided to prioritize herself and her tribe and sees Ozpin’s cause as foolish and reckless.

At the same time, they are twins, but have chosen different families. This is why the concept of family comes up so often in their interactions. After all, they first meet in the episode called Family:

Raven: Hello, brother.

Qrow: Raven. So, what do you want?

Raven: A girl can't just catch up with her family?

And their last exchange is this:

Raven: Sorry, brother. Sometimes family disappoints you like that.

Qrow: We're not family anymore.

Raven: Were we ever?

Qrow: I thought so, but I guess I was wrong.

Still, how are they doing with their families of choice? Are they happy with them? Do they have healthy relationships?

For the both of them, the answer is no. This happens because Raven and Qrow are both scared to grow close to people.

It is just that this fear is declined in opposite ways. Raven is scared for herself (selfishness), while Qrow is scared for others (selflessness).

This trait they share, but show in different ways, is well conveyed by their respective semblances. This analysis will use their powers as means to explore both characters and their foiling.

RAVEN: BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Raven’s Kindred Link perfectly embodies the saying...

Birds of a feather flock together...

...until the cat comes:

Raven: I...I'm sorry...

On one hand it lets her create portals to the people she has a strong bond with.

On the other hand she mostly uses it to run away from those bonds.

Why does she do it?

The answer is clear:

Lionheart: I'm helping her for the same reason you are - I'm afraid. We... we can't stop her... no one can...

Raven is just another version of the Cowardly Lion. She is a coward like Leo, but does not aknowledge it and prefers to hide behind a pragmatic and survivalist mask:

Raven: That's why I tried to leave when I did. I'm not afraid, I'm smart.

This is why she goes back to her tribe after she leaves Yang and Tai. She says she does so because she considers them her family and wants to protect them.

However, her motivations are implied to be more selfish. She goes to them to run away from things that scare her.

To be more specific, the tribe protects Raven psychologically in two different ways.

1) It lets her be the monster, the criminal, the most violent and powerful one:

Mercury: We’re the guys you should be afraid of.

Raven: I doubt anyone should be afraid of you.

Here, Raven mocks Mercury, but the irony is that her coping mechanism is really not that much different from his. She hides behind a Grimm mask, a universal symbol of fear, but she is the scared one.

2) She goes back to the family who raised her and neglects the family she is supposed to raise (Yang).

Deep down, Raven is just an adult, who fails at being an adult.

Mostly, this shows in her inability to make a choice:

Yang: Which is it, mom? Are you merciful, or are you a survivor?

 As a matter of fact she keeps changing her mind because she is not brave enough to stick to one decision.

Initially, she is sent to Beacon, so that she could learn how to kill hunters. However, she ends up becoming a huntress herself and she accepts to fight Salem. She is considered so loyal that she is even given magical powers. Finally, she enters a relationship and has a daughter with Tai. She basically starts creating a life outside the tribe, only to leave it all behind at a certain point. It is not clear if it is because she saw something specific or if it is the result of a longer struggle.

The point is that nobody forced her to fight Salem. She could have also refused Ozpin’s powers. Finally, she could have told Ozpin and the others she wanted to stop. In any case, she did not have to leave her family to stop fighting Salem. What is more, she could have brought her family with her, when she ran away.

She chooses instead to leave everything she has built behind and goes back to the world she was a child in. It might be a violent world, but she sees it as safer.

Let’s highlight that she has the same tendency of changing idea in the series itself. She switches sides and organizes a risky plan, which puts almost all her major bonds (Qrow, Vernal and Yang) in danger. She does all that because she wants the relic, so that she has leverage against Salem. After all of this, even after Vernal’s death, she simply runs away. She is obviously shaken by her confrontation with Yang, who calls her out. However, Yang is perfectly right when she says so:

Yang: Because you're afraid of Salem!!! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic. She'll come after you with everything she has. Or she can come after me. And I'll be standing there, waiting for her.

Taking the relic would just put Raven in danger. For her it is safer to open the vault and disappear, so that someone else can take care of things. Even if this someone else is her daughter.

In other words, Raven is a failure of a mother. This is shown by her failing all three of her “daughters” (Yang, the Spring Maiden and Vernal). Moreover, it is perfectly conveyed by her being a Maiden.

The idea of maidenhood is symbolically juxtaposed to the one of motherhood. Of course, this does not have to be true in-universe for all the Maidens. Still, in Raven’s case, this juxtaposition is deliberate. Raven is an eternal Maiden, who runs away from her parental responsibilities.

This is why she received the power from her protegee instead than from a mentor figure. She is so selfish she takes from the people she should protect:

Cinder: Vernal was a decoy the whole time. The last Spring Maiden must've trusted you a great deal before she died. I bet that was a mistake...

What is more, it is strongly implied she killed the previous Maiden to take her powers. This is interesting because it ties to a second meaning of her semblance.

Her ability symbolizes the unfairness of the bonds she forges. She works to create those bonds and there is affection involved. However, these bonds are double edged swords for the other party involved because of Raven’s moodiness. She can leave when she wants and come back out of the blue. She can always go to others when she needs it, while others can never reach her. This leads to an unbalanced dynamic in Raven’s favour.

This dynamic can even become extremely dangerous for the other person:

Raven can potentially use her ability to attack the people she is bonded with. She does not use her semblance this way in the series. Still, what happened to the Spring Maiden is something similar. To receive the power of the Maiden, Raven must have been the last person in the girl’s thoughts before death. This probably happened because the two shared a close bond. A bond Raven betrayed.

In other words, the nature of Raven’s semblance hides in itself the potential of betrayal:

Raven: Aura can't protect your arm, it's Grimm. You turned yourself into a monster just for power.

Cinder: Look who's talking...

As Cinder points out, Raven too, like her, has become a monster to obtain power. The difference here is in how this montrosity is conveyed.

In Cinder’s case, she is literally turning into a Grimm. She has accepted this metamorphosis to take the Maidens’ powers.

In Raven’s case, it is ironically the opposite symbolically. She wears a Grimm mask, but the true monstrosity is the Maiden behind it:

Raven is monster-like because she stole the power from a person, who trusted her.

Let’s highlight that the motif of the Grimm mask has come up several times in the series. So far, it has been used by people, like Raven and Adam, who want to be feared. Something similar can be seen in the Hound as well, who is not really wearing a mask, but whose humanity is hidden behind his Grimm appearance.

In all three cases, the true scary thing is what is behind the Grimm-face:

It is always the humanity behind it that is scary. Be it the victim behind the monster in the Hound, society’s mistreatment of Faunus or Raven’s cowardice and what it led her to do:

Yang: You're right. I don't know you. I only know the Raven dad told me about. She was troubled, and complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe! Did you kill her too?

Yang’s question is poignant and underlines how all Raven has done is simply to hurt herself. By hurting the people she loves, she has been killing a part of herself.

This is also conveyed by her emblem missing from her possessions. According to the wiki, Raven’s emblem is this:

Raven's emblem is a winged eye with a clock inside of it. This emblem has not appeared on any of her possessions so far.

This is a reference to Raven and Qrow’s allusion to  Hugin and Munin, Odin’s two ravens, who travel the world and bring him information. Raven and Qrow do the same for Ozpin and they are his eyes.

Qrow is the left eye:

Salem: The last eye is blinded... you disappoint me.

While Raven used to be the right. So, her emblem is probably the right version of Qrow’s own one. Still, Raven refuses that part of herself and this is why she is not wearing her emblem.

In short, Raven used to be a bird of a feather with Qrow, but she is not flocking together with him anymore. This is because a scary cat has come:

And Raven has sacrificed her bonds out of fear. Not only that, but she has weaponized them:

Yang:  You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!!

Raven has been using her most loved people as assets, so that she can shield herself from danger. Maybe it is because of this that she symbolically uses Omen to open portals. This even if she can apparently do so without it, since she opens them even as a bird. However, using her sword is a way to distance herself from the true nature of her ability (bonds). It is a way to reduce her ties with people to simple things she can use.

That said, this is damaging Raven herself.

To be more specific, she is making herself weaker and weaker:

Yang: Oh, shut up!! You don't know the first thing about strength! (...) You might be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong.

Raven is powerful, but weak. This weakness is symbolically conveyed by her behaving in the opposite way her semblance would need to truly shine.

Raven’s power works thanks to bonds, so it can be assumed it would be at its strongest if its user cultivated them both in quality and in numbers. However, Raven has few bonds and she is cutting them off one by one:

Yang: You can bond to certain people. And when you do, you could create a portal that takes you straight to them. You've got one for Dad. One for me. And you've got one for Qrow.

We know that Raven is also bonded with Vernal. Still, Vernal dies at the end of volume 5. Of the other ones Yang mentions, Raven has pushed away both Qrow and Yang through her actions at Heaven.

This makes this scene interesting:

Did the portal Raven opened at Heaven go to Tai? Did she go there because she felt nostalgic and missed him? Or is he the only one (both practically and symbolically) she can still run to?

QROW: A SCARE-QROW SCARED OF CROWS

Qrow’s semblance is Misfortune and it is basically a Bad Luck Charm:

I am no one's blessing I'll just bring you harm I'm a cursed black cat I'm an albatross I'm a mirror broken Sad to say I'm your bad luck charm

Qrow causes bad luck around himself. Because of this, he sees himself as a curse.

However, this conflict Qrow has with his semblance is actually symbolic of a turmoil developed on multiple levels.

Let’s begin with this:

Raven: You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them.

Qrow: They were killers and thieves.

Raven: They were your family.

Qrow: You have a very skewed perception of that word.

Qrow was born in a tribe of bandits and was taught how to kill and steal. Finally he was sent to a hunter academy, so that he could learn how to kill his classmates in the near future.

Qrow’s semblance is nothing, but the manifestation of his self-hate, that was probably partly caused by the environment he was born in. In a sense, it is his symbolical response to his childhood.

Let’s highlight that this response is very different from Raven’s. This is shown by their opposite behaviours toward their tribe. Qrow leaves it, while Raven goes back to it.

This difference can also be conveyed by how both Raven and Qrow share a specific motif, but embody it in different ways.

Both twins are associated with bad luck. Both can turn into ravens/crows, which are birds linked to misfortune. Moreover, their weapons are called respectively Omen (Raven’s) and Harbinger (Qrow’s).

The meaning is clear. The twins were born and raised with the idea that they should be symbols of violence and bad luck for their enemies. It is just that Raven wants to be a bad omen because it makes her feel strong. Qrow does not want it, but thinks he is:

I'm a harbinger, I cannot lie, I will change the color of your life.

It is to try and free himself from this curse that Qrow started working for Ozpin. He literally becomes the Scarecrow of the story to try and exorcise the bad fortune he brings. He is trying to scare the crows away. He thinks that if he does so, he’ll become a full person.

This ties with the original story of his allusion. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow wants a brain because he is told by an old crow he would be just like a real man, if only he had one. In short, the Scarecrow wants a brain to become a real man, so that he can scare crows better than he already does.

Qrow too wants to be a full person, but he believes he is not. He thinks he is cursed and as a reaction to this he has attached himself to Ozpin and to his cause:

Qrow: No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good...

This is why he reacts so badly when he discovers that Ozpin (who is basically a father figure for Qrow) has hidden so many things from him. Not only that, but he feels that the impossibility of truly defeating Salem (of truly defeating evilness) makes his life meaningless.

The point is of course that this is not the case and that Qrow does not need to do anything specific to be a true person and to be loved:

Qrow: Every choice I've ever made has led me here, and I've dragged you along with me. Oz, myself, the others... We're responsible for the mess the world's in now. I shouldn't have come, shouldn't have let any of you come... What was I thinking?!

Ruby: We're all in this together, and we're all going to do the best we can. That's all anyone can do. And I know it's what you've always aimed for. We would've come whether or not you'd let us, so stop talking like we're your responsibility! We're not! But we could still use Qrow Branwen on our side.

Ruby’s confrontation with Qrow at the end of volume 6 is basically the opposite of Yang’s confrontation with Raven in the finale of volume 5.

Yang calls Raven out because she refuses her responsibilities. She pushes them on others and leaves her own daughter to fight a battle she ran away from.

Ruby calls Qrow out on taking too much responsibility on himself. The kids were not forced by him to come. Qrow should not be completely responsible for them, but should learn to fight by their side.

Later on, Qrow is basically told the same by Maria:

Maria: You weren't half bad yourself today, Qrow.

Qrow: I feel like they did all the heavy lifting.

Maria: But you were there to help when they asked for it, and you were there to catch them when they fell. Literally, if I recall.

This is important because Maria appears just after Ozpin (aka Qrow’s mentor and guide) disappears. She is the person Qrow aspired to be:

Qrow: You never used your name, never showed your face. Lots of us thought you were just layin' low. Eventually, we just came to accept that you were probably dead. But the stories about you, I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper.

At the same time, Maria too, like him, considers herself a failure:

Maria: Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way.

However, at the end of the volume both Maria and Qrow realize that they do not have to save the world by themselves or to be invincible heroes. They just need to be there for their loved ones and the new generations. In short, Maria mentors Qrow on how to be a proper mentor.

And it turns out that he just has to take better care of himself:

In short, Qrow became the Scarecrow to scare crows, but ironically all he needs to do is to overcome his own fear of one Qrow.

If he does not, his semblance is bound to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, as it is shown in his two fights against Tyrian (vol 4 and vol 7).

1) In volume 4 he manages to protect Ruby, but ends up injured and unable to help the kids for the rest of their journey. He goes from their protector to a wounded man they have to take care of.

Narratively, it happens because of this:

Ruby: This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy, but... I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and, and--

Qrow: Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I-- It's a long story, okay?

The whole fight between Tyrian and Qrow could have played out very differently if Qrow were better at communicating with his niece. He wanted her away from Tyrian and himself because of his semblance, but Ruby interpreted it as Qrow not trusting her.

2) In volume 7, the battle ends with Clover’s tragic death being framed on Qrow.

Why does it happen?

Clover: Sometimes the right decision is the hardest to make. I trust James with my life! I wanted to trust you.

Once again, the problem lies in a lack of trust.

Qrow and Clover genuinely like each other and have bonded. Still, they fail to trust each other in a key moment and make the worst possible choice.

This is true for both characters:

Clover: I enjoyed working with you, you know. Even with that endless cynicism of yours.

Qrow: I'm usually proven right.

Clover: We don't have to fight, friend.

Qrow: You don't know my friends. That's how it always goes.

Qrow: Why couldn't you just do the right thing instead of the thing you were told?

In a sense, the whole fight can be read as The Scorpion and the Frog. In the original fairy-tale, the point is that one can’t overcome their own nature. The scorpion will sting the frog even if it goes against its own survival. Here, it is the same for the characters. In order for things to go well, either Clover or Qrow should overcome their flaw, but they fail.

Clover is not able to let go of his loyalty for Ironwood, even if it is clear the orders he received are wrong.

Qrow goes back to his usual cynism and makes a pact with Tyrian:

Robyn: I’m sorry for what happened. It wasn’t your fault.

Qrow: It was, though. I made a deal with the darkness, and he paid the price. It was all happening so fast, but Clover wouldn’t let up. Could have worked together against Tyrian if Clover just... 

Tyrian is the poisonous scorpion, while both Qrow and Clover are two frogs, who are hurt by him. Ironically, the frog’s mistake in the story is to trust the scorpion, while the mistake of our two frogs is that they did not trust each other.

Still, why is it so narratively? To be more specific, why is that so when it comes to Qrow’s character?

The answer is here:

Qrow: But the thing that really stings? For the first time in a while I thought, maybe, maybe I could be around somebody - anybody - without my semblance making it… complicated. And now, it just feels like a childish dream. Gone... like everybody else.

Clover is narratively this:

Blake: You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem.

He is a very simple answer to a very complicated problem that has its roots in Qrow’s interiority. Qrow’s flaw, what goes in the way of his relationships and happiness, is not that he is unlucky, but that he feels unlucky.

He feels worthless and thinks of himself as bad for others. This is why he keeps his distance and refrains himself from growing close to people.

He blames it on his semblance and this is why he makes an exception for Clover. It is because he sees in the other’s ability an easy fix to his struggle.

Still, he is proven wrong because in the moment of truth, they fail to communicate and everything goes to hell.

This is not to say that Qrow and Clover’s relationship was bad or that Clover deserved to die. In-universe their bond had beautiful aspects and could have grown stronger. Moreover, Clover could have developed and left his flaw behind.

Still, narratively Clover serves a specific purpose and him dying is a part of said purpose.

Clover brings a superficial harmony to a situation and a group dynamic, which is actually not harmonic at all:

Clover: What would you guys do without me?

The Ace Ops are a group of individuals repressing their own feelings and identities for the sake of an unspecified greater good. They see the world in black and white, not because they are stupid, but because they refuse complexity:

Robyn: Yeah, because you don’t care about the truth. You just want someone to be mad at. Easier than taking an honest look at what side you’re on.

Winter: Penny. The general is making hard choices so we don't have to.

This fits with them being a group based on Aesops aka short stories with a very well defined and often simplicistic message.

In short, Clover is the one that keeps his group together. Once he is gone, his group starts deteriorating. All because they refuse to aknowledge their feelings:

Ren: That’s why you lost against Team RWBY. You, you try to fight how you feel about each other, so you’ll never truly work as a team.

Once he is gone, Qrow is similarly forced to grieve and self-reflect. Luckily, he is not alone:

Robyn is the opposite of Qrow in terms of symbolism.

Qrow is associated with crows and bad luck, while Robyn is linked to robins, which bring good fortune.

She is also a symbol of unity and hope (her emblem is basically Katniss’s symbol in the Hunger Games, after all):

Tyrian: Robyn Hill. For such a little bird, you have quite the impact around here! Bringing hope and a smile wherever you go! I find it…upsetting.

Despite this, Robyn too has suffered isolation, just like Qrow:

Robyn: Believe it or not, I know a little of what that’s like. When people are worried you’re gonna sniff out their secrets, they tend to push you away. It makes a real connection… difficult.

Qrow: I-- never thought of it that way.

Robyn’s line is important for two reasons.

a) It shows Qrow that he is not the only one who has met difficulties in life because of his semblance. His case is not unique.

b) It links to the idea that trusting others is difficult and it is not something that comes without dedication and work.

As a matter of fact Robyn’s semblance is specifically symbolic of trust. It is the power to detect lies through touch, so if you are going to work with her, it means you must be ready to trust and to be trusted:

This also ties figuratively with the act of shaking one’s hand as if to make a pact (an act of trust). If Raven’s power is about asymmetrical bonds, then Robyn’s is about mutual ones.

Robyn highlights that this creates problems for her because it is not easy for people to trust. Some can’t be trusted, while others do not trust Robyn won’t cross their boundaries.

However, this also means that the relationships Robyn manages to forge are strong bonds, where everything or almost everything is out in the open. This is the exact opposite kind of environment than the one realized through Clover’s good luck semblance. It is a harmony more difficult to reach, but it is a more stable and genuine one.

It is these kinds of bonds Qrow should aim to create. In order to do so, he must accept his semblance and his past as parts of themselves. Still, he should not let them define him. Not only that, but he should learn to trust others and their strengths:

Qrow: Ruby, stop!

Ruby: I need you to trust me.

Only in this way, Qrow can truly grow. The secret is that it was never about scaring the crows away, but to learn how to live with them.

HUGIN THAT RUNS AWAY AND MUNIN THAT MAKES EVERYONE WORRIED

Raven and Qrow’s issues can be synthesized by this quote:

"Hugin and Munin fly each day over the spacious earth. I fear for Hugin, that he come not back, yet more anxious am I for Munin."

Raven never comes back, while Qrow has his loved ones fear for him because of his self-destructive tendencies.

In order to overcome these flaws, they must grow in opposite directions.

Raven must realize that her survivalism is actually self-destructive. It makes her survive, but it negates her the chance of living. She must become more selfless and trustworthy to make it up for the unfair bonds she created.

Qrow must accept that his self-destructiveness is actually selfish and damaging to his loved ones. He must start to trust others’ strengths, so that he can be brave enough to live together with them, instead of looking at them from afar.

[anxiouslyfred]

Fighting Styles

for @dukexietyweek‘s day 2 prompt of Swapping

Summary: Virgil knows how to fight as Thomas’s primary defensive side, but after a comment about Roman when they’d been sparring he decides to try and improve and be more unpredictable with the least predictable side around.

Warnings: fighting, sparring, a couple innuendos

/\/\

Out of all the sides Thomas had, Virgil was the primary defence system. He was the one on the look out for alerts and always ready to get Thomas out of there whether that was by escaping or fighting and that meant he had to know how to fight. He learnt from copying movies and paying extra attention to any fight scenes Thomas did on stage. Stage fighting would never be real, but it included at least some things that could be useful in a fight. Logan had even provided Virgil with multiple martial arts books when he fully understood the extent that he had to protect Thomas.

Roman always claimed to be a fighter, a Knight even, but for all his extravagant attempts in the imagination Virgil could never see any form or ability in the way he fought. Honestly he was convinced that Roman only knew how to fight in formal duels and made up everything else when going on quests. When he'd first been accepted he had hoped to be able to spar with Roman in real contact fights but quickly dropped the suggestion after getting taken on a quest.

“Come on, I know you can fight. There were all those books in your room last time I visited. Don't you want to get some practical experience in?” Roman was whining. Honestly if he'd known leaving the books visible on his shelf would lead to this Virgil would have buried them in the garden anytime he wasn't reading them.

He couldn't go all in for the battle. He knew too many different techniques and forms of hand to hand, aside from simply not wanting to do anything which might harm Roman. Instead for the entire afternoon, Virgil watched, played the defensive as long as he could before laying Roman out with a few repeated moves. It was learning how to fight for fun almost, with nothing at stake given Roman wasn't likely to try and harm him either.

Eventually though Roman sighed, moving away instead of asking another go. “You're too predictable in how you fight, Virge. Where's the black knight going to go if someone actually tries to attack us?” He pronounced, dusting off his outfit and looking around the hall he'd created for their fight.

“Are you needing criticism in return because I thought we're trying to be nice to the ego for a while?” Virgil snarked back, raising an eyebrow when a frown was shot at him. “Guess I'll go find Remus then. If anyone knows how to be unpredictable, it's that trash monster.”

He didn't give Roman a chance to protest that statement, sinking out immediately. It was already pretty clear that Roman would try to follow up his comment about being predictable with an offer to teach Virgil formal duelling but The Duke knew that just as well as any Prince, and would probably offer without any farce day of fighting beforehand.

“Arm yourself! I'm stealing your ability to fight!” The cry came as soon as Virgil appeared in the main living space, and he immediately ducked to the floor and rolled out of the way.

“How about you teach me yours and I'll teach you mine instead?” Virgil throws the innuendo out, hoping if nothing else the double meaning would distract Remus from the attack. It got his request out too which was useful.

Remus had already reared around, morning star above his head for another swipe. “Like Uncle Iroh? Multiple pieces mixed together to make us stronger? I got the weapons collection to prove that already.”

“Don't need your ideas today, just a fighting style to mimic. I've got my knives. You're already armed so lets focus on that!” Virgil insisted, not fighting in when he felt Remus dropping them both into the imagination. It was probably less likely to cause damage or others to get hurt if they weren't in the main area anyway.

Fighting Remus was completely different to Roman. The Prince had the forms of a knight, and was very quick with the moves, he had a sharp control that made following the movements easily and a rhythm that even if you couldn't predict completely what came next, the beat it would happen on was clear. Remus only had occasional moves the a knight might use, and none of it could be related to music or patterns at all. He was wild flung movements, already pulling some other limb into the fray and of course that included ones which rightfully shouldn't exist.

It was perfect to fight against when concerned over what dangers or attacks could happen in the real world and Virgil threw himself into it, only resisting from copying some of the moves so they could learn from each other.

“Can't decide if I want to give up and let you beat me into the ground or if I should start doing this!” Remus quipped, backing off only for a second as he changed his morning star out for knives similar to Virgil's.

A thrilled smirk found its way onto Virgil's lips. “Only if you don't mind me doing this.” He approved, letting an extra arm come out to grab at Remus's first swipe starting the fight again.

It wasn't quite sparring but fighting didn't fit when there was no malice or actual wish to hurt between them, but it was the best test for Virgil's skills and ability to adapt that he'd faced for a while. It was even better than the times that the imagination was left wild, without any intentional influence from either Creativity.

They were fighting with all of their skills but also copying things each other did later on in the fight.

“Tell me we're doing this again, or let me worship at your feet cause my knees refuse to stand from the work over you just gave me.” Remus cackled, collapsed on the floor only when neither of them had the energy left to carry on fighting.

“How about tomorrow you bring the formal duelling out and slowly introduce the dirty fighting while I start out with just my martial arts and no weapon?” Virgil suggested.

It felt like the beginning of something far bigger than a fighting technique swap, and Virgil couldn't wait for the next time Roman tried to suggest they spar. He was already consistently winning but this way the spars would be over before they began and he had an actual partner to fight beside after them.

[sakurawarfare]

Amidst the golden blossoms (Lumine x Childe oneshot)

Olah! I'm back~!

First off, thank you so much for all the likes and love that you've given for my first oneshot 🥺

I'm sorry for not posting anything new for almost a month and honestly, writing this one was a real doozy. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy it and again,

Thank you very much and have a nice day!

-Sakura

Exploring Liyue was certainly a challenge. Given how the terrain is a mix of tall mountains, wet marshes and winding paths that go over and under the surface, it was completely different from that of Mondstadt. Though of course, the monsters here were a lot tougher and certainly became a pain in the ass when all she wanted was to explore this new land. 

However, Lumine would always marvel at how everything is so yellow here. In many of the worlds they had visited before, yellow always symbolizes joy and light. In Teyvat, it represented the Geo element, loyal and grounded as it painted the trees, leaves floating in the breeze and the flowers that bloomed almost everywhere she went, resonating with the power of Geo that once lorded over this vast domain.  

Though perhaps, it was the color she was most of as it that reminded her most of her beloved brother.

The girl let out a sigh as the Ruin Guard finally collapsed, fading to blue dust as she continued on her afternoon stroll. Nearing the clearing, she noticed the golden spiral she had discovered just a few days ago. 

She remembered how beautiful it had looked from afar as she first saw it atop the mountain near Guili Plains. It was fascinating to say the least, as she glided down to examine it even further. Unfortunately, she was interrupted by some hilichurls nearby that somewhat soured her mood. Even after that, once she'd activated the elemental monuments, she was ambushed by an Eye of the Storm that she disposed of with some difficulty given that she only had Fischl as her team’s archer. 

Yet at this moment, it seemed that what truly caught her eye was a blot of orange and gray that stood out from the golden landscape.

Deciding to take a closer look, she slowly approached with her footsteps slow and steady. When the figure finally came into focus, she tried to ignore how her heart skipped a beat.

Standing there was no other than Childe, or rather, Tartaglia, the eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui. 

She quietly ducked behind the rock near her, peering out enough just to see. What was he doing here?

Their last encounter had not been so pleasant. After all, she had to defeat him three times and even after that, she had to clean up after him as he decided to summon an ancient god in the midst of a temper tantrum and beat the crap out of countless of his lackeys. 

Looking at him like this seemed weird, listless and silent.  It was certainly different from the Childe she knew, given how she was well aware that underneath that boyish, annoyingly handsome exterior lay the fearsome spirit of a bloodthirsty warrior. 

He was still staring up at the sky when she heard him speak. "Like what you see, ojou-chan?" Her eyes widened, somewhat startled. "You could take a picture you know, that way it'll last longer."

She clicked her tongue. There was no point in hiding anymore. She got up from her spot and strode near him seeing as he stood in the center of the spiral. 

“So what brings you here?” he said with his usual, playful tone, a major difference from when he spoke during their final battle in the Golden House. His eyes were focused on her now, a smirk adorning his face.

“ I could ask you the same thing,” she huffed. She reminded herself to be on guard, after all this is the very same man who threatened to wipe out dozens of innocent people with zero hesitation. 

He chuckled in reply. “Staying inside a stuffy bank the whole day just isn’t my style, you know?” He placed an arm on his hip and she noticed how the action made his top rise a little bit, giving her a peek of his well-toned abs. 

He was a bloodthirsty warrior, yes, but an attractive one nonetheless.  

He continued, “Plus, it’s amazing to see how different Liyue is from Snezhnaya.”

That statement certainly piqued her interest as she asked him with genuine curiosity. She was a traveller at heart after all. “Really? How so?”

Childe looked at her, somewhat surprised. She tilted her head a bit, somewhat bemused by his reaction until she realized the absence of caution in her words. “Shoot,” Lumine thought. “I-I mean-”

“ You know that there’s no harm in me telling you about my homeland, right?” he turned to her, crossing his arms. 

She took a step back, “You can’t exactly blame me for not trusting you after you threw a whale at me. Twice.” 

The girl was surprised to see him frown, eyes lowering a bit narrowing slightly.

Since when was he so emotional? Lumine thought this is definitely a big contrast to the Childe, or rather, Tartaglia, she was familiar with. 

Although, she can’t deny that a part of her wanted to say sorry. It certainly wasn’t nice of her to treat him so coldy, especially now when he seemed to resemble the look of a kicked puppy. Sad but oddly cute. She immediately stopped her train of thought. She shouldn’t think that this man could be in any way adorable. 

He sighed. “Then how about a spar? If you win, I’ll tell you all about Snezhnaya,” she noticed how his eyes gleamed at , “but if I win, you’ll share stories about your place.”

She blinked. “ I don’t see how this benefits you at all.” Given her time with Zhongli, she knows that there should be more to their deal than just stories.

He simply shrugged. “I mean I do get a good fight out of it and honestly, I’d really want to get to know more about you, ojou-chan.” There it was again, that impish, boyish smile that made her heart flutter slightly. 

She put a hand to her chin, a vain attempt to hide the growing warmth on her cheeks.  Although some part of her told her she certainly shouldn’t be fraternizing with the enemy, there was no harm in a little sparring session. After all, she had beaten him before and this also seemed like a good chance to know more about the Tsaritsa too, if she could figure out a way to worm it out of him. 

She wouldn’t dare to acknowledge how her heart did a little dance at the thought of getting to know more about him though. 

She gazed at him, the small smile from earlier returning. “Fine, we have a deal.”

That seemed to have cheered him up as he quickly ran to one side of the spiral with her following suit and taking her place on the opposite end. 

Even as the sun began to dip in the horizon, she could see glimmer in his eyes, blue orbs glowing in the faint sunlight. There seemed to be no trace of his gloomy disposition earlier, and she could almost imagine him with a tail that swung back and forth, much like how a puppy would greet its owner.

She shook her head. She really should stop with the dog similes.

She was immediately brought back to the present when an arrow whizzed past her, the sound ringing in her ear. She tried to mask her surprise with a straight face, eyebrow raised as she summoned her sword.

“Hey, eyes on me ojou-chan,” she didn’t miss how his voice sounded deeper, huskier, almost like a low growl. Pushing that thought away, she rolled sideways to dodge the incoming arrows then lunged, quickly closing the distance between them.

She wasn’t surprised to hear the sound of metal and water clashing, as she tried to push against him. She was forced to jump back when he switched to a spear, slicing a wide arc in front of him.

He continued his offense, switching again to his blades this time. He gave her blow after blow, leaving little room for her to maneuver in. She parried his every thrust with her own strikes, matching his speed and power. Lumine scanned his movements, eyes calculating for an opening.

Just as she expected, he became more apparently irritated with her sticking to defense.

“Come on, it isn’t fun when-” Lumine quickly cut him off, releasing the Anemo energy she had secretly been building up with her other hand in front of her, making him stumble slightly as she pressed on with her own barrage of attacks.

Even as he stepped away, she made sure that the last swing contained a small gust of wind that managed to graze his cheek. As he caught his breath, she tried to mimic his own cocky smirk. “Eyes on me, Childe.”

She had meant to mock him for earlier but instead she heard him laugh, a sweet, melodious sound that resonated within her. A voice in her head kept reminding her to stay on guard, that she should take the first chance to strike back.

But seeing him like this, eyes filled with so much light and a wide smile adorning his handsome features, filled her with a sense of satisfaction that tugged at her heartstrings. 

“Ojou-chan," his laughter slowly calming, "you are simply adorable."

Lumine felt her cheeks flush as the grip on her sword tightened. "H-hey!"

"Alright, alright." His laughter finally died down as she saw him return to his former stance, his predatory gaze set on her once more yet the smile never left his lips. "Let's have some fun."

~

Their battle lasted until the moon had settled in the sky, bathing the land in its iridescent glow.

A strike here, a hit there, the two exchanged blows with no hesitation. The young warriors fought amidst the golden flowers, filling the air with the sounds of their blades clashing as the yellow petals glided along with them.

Time was lost to the two as they continued in their own world, a dance that only they knew as they kept up with each other's paces, making sure to keep the other on their toes. 

But as always, Lumine was once more the victor, her blade pressed closely to the Harbinger's nape, successfully trapping him underneath her.

He was panting quite loudly, his chest rising steadily against her own. "Fine, you win." He let his blades melt away, hands raised in defeat. 

Lumine smirked at his surrender as she could finally focus on steadying her own breath, willing her sword away as she huffed. 

"Though I've gotta say," his eyes peeked downward then back to her, "I didn't expect that you'd want to go for another round."

She raised an eyebrow in reply, continuing to stare at him in confusion. That is until she glimpsed in the same direction, finally noticing how her legs were straddling his hips as she sat on top of his stomach, the heat emanating from his body seeping into her.

"Ah!" She immediately scrambled to get off of him, trying desperately to mask the crimson that bloomed on her cheeks by sitting a few meters away. Though some part of her missed his warmth, the rational part of her brain shoved that way back inside the depths of her thoughts.

Lumine noticed from the corner of her eye that he was gazing up at the sky. Feeling her blush slowly dissipate, she moved a little closer.

"So, what do you want to know first?" He was lying down now, his blue eyes shining underneath the moonlight.

She laid down next to him, her back slightly tickled by the blades of grass underneath her as they both stared up at the sky in silence.

"Can you tell me about your favorite places there?" She faced him, trying to mask the enthusiasm in her voice.

"From what I can remember…" he muttered, "We had this huge marketplace in the center of the city where my father would always take me and my siblings to buy all sorts of trinkets and goodies for mother. Afterwards he'd take us to an old bakery that also sold Sharlotka."

"What's that?"

"It's this really fluffy cake with apples that melts in your mouyh while you eat it. The apples give it a tart, fruity taste that also balances the sugar dusting on top." He sighed. "Man, I should really make some sometime."

"Hmm, where else...Oh, we also used to go to this frozen lake just a few minutes from our house where my father taught me how to ice-fish." He smiled at the thought. "My old man would make a competition of who got the biggest fish, and he'd always say these really corny jokes just to make me laugh when I had a bad day."

"Those were definetly simpler times." He looked wistful as he spoke.

Noticing how his mood lowered, Lumine spoke in a teasing tone, "you sound just like Daddy's little boy.

He was quick to return her taunt.  "On the contrary, I'm actually a proud Mama's boy," he smirked, "where do you think I got my passion for cooking?"

"Oh?" Playing along, she rolled her eyes. "So you're saying that your cooking tastes better than mine?"

"Girlie, I'm not saying. I know that I'd wipe the floor with just my own version of a Sweet Madame."

"I'd like to see you try, water boy." She laughed.

Their playful banter died down as they continued to watch the starry sky, the two basking in comfortable silence.

Childe was the first to speak. "Perhaps when you get there, you'd need someone who could show you around the city, maybe a few spots outside it too."

She smiled. "That does sound nice." 

There it was. An unspoken promise that they would make plans to spend time with each other, not as Tartaglia and the Traveller, but as….friends? 

She huffed slightly, friends was one way to put it. She was supposed to be wary of him, push him away and strike him down when the chance presented itself. He was a bad guy after all.

Yet somewhere in her heart knew that there was more to this man than his thirst for battle and his honey-sweet tongue. 

"Lumine?"

"Hm?" Turning to face him once more, her eyes widen slightly at the foreign sight before her. For the first time ever, Childe's eyes looked unsure, perhaps even a little shy.

"Thank you for tonight." Never would she imagine that she would hear those words from him. 

"What for?" 

"It's been a while since I've shared something that wasn't work related…" he grinned, though she noticed it didn't reach his eyes this time, "I don't exactly have anyone to talk to about these things."

It finally dawned on her as she continued to stare at him, astounded at his confession. He was a lone soldier facing the world with nothing but his own strength to rely on. He was fierce and merciless, a force to be reckoned with.

Yet the Childe that she was talking to right now was the complete opposite. He was lonely. Vulnerable.

 Lumine tried to speak, but she couldn't think of the right words to say. Instead, she reached out a hand to cup his cheek, breaking him from his stupor.

This was too risky. Too bold of a move that broke all the rules she had followed this whole time. Aether would warn her not to get attached for a traveller will never linger in one place for too long.

However, here she was stuck in an unknown world, comforting one of the most dangerous people in all of Teyvat.

"Well," she whispered, "you have me."

She expected him to laugh, to scoff at her and remind her that they were on opposite sides of a war. She thought he would pull away, and turn around to leave her there.

To her surprise, he squeezed her hand in his, relishing the warmth of her palm as he gazed at her with...Was that fondness? Were her eyes playing tricks on her or was his face turning pink too?

She squirmed underneath his stare. Why was she feeling so weird tonight?

Lumine couldn't stop a yawn from escaping her lips as she tried to fight off the wave of exhaustion that overcame her. Her whole body ached from their little skirmish earlier, on top of that she still couldn't make sense of all the emotions that swirled inside her head. 

"Hey, stay with me." 

Even though her mind screamed at her to move, her body struggled to do anything in her tired state. Her eyes were becoming heavier by the second as she struggled to stay awake. It didn't help that his voice sounded so calming, echoing in her ears until she was lulled to sleep.

~

Lumine opened her eyes as light illuminated her cozy room. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, confused as to how she ended up here.

She wondered why she felt warmer than usual when a red cloth fell from her neck. She pulled it away, finally recognizing it as the scarf that Childe always wore.

He had brought her here. He actually went out of his way to make sure that she was safe despite how late it was. The thought warmed her heart a little more than she would have liked but she welcomed it all the same.

The girl looked around, wondering just where her flying companion was, cheeks warming as she took in the scent of his scarf. 

It reminded her of an ocean breeze, salty and strong, with a hint of lemon as well. Wild and full of energy, just like him.

She shook her head out of her thoughts. It was too early for her to be so sappy.

Though try as she might, she couldn't seem to wipe off the wide smile on her face as she looked forward to the day ahead of her.

[fichtner-fics]

My Hero (Alex Mahone)

Request: Can you do a Alex mahone x reader where she's his wife, adn he saves her from T-bag something like that?

Warnings: spoilers from 4x21, bad language, abuse, mention of rape, (basically I should mention T-Bag himself as a factor to be warned about), anxiety attack, crying

A/N: Of course I’ve written this based on 4x21, the episode called Rates of Exhange. And, to be honest I’m quite happy with this one. Not exactly the first part (some lines I’ve borrowed in whole from the serie😬), but the ending! I hope you’ll like it too! ✨

Sorry for it took so long (meaning here every request I’m indebted to you with), but I’m so so thankful for your patience and request and feedbacks ofc!! 

[gifs are not mine; I can’t get over how they complete each other😆]

Basically, the whole team minus T-Bag and myself was out on the field, trying to fight against Krantz and Michael’s mother at the same time. It turned out that it wasn’t just a coincidence that we were the ones left alone in our temporary flat. Because what we all had no idea about was me being the bait and the motivation for them to be successful – or at least in Krantz’s opinion and give the Scylla to him.

I was so naïve, believing T-Bag could ever be capable of a complete turnaround. He was so co-operative in the past weeks, so generous, so helpful… of course he had a hidden motivation back then, too, he always had. But it wasn’t at least me dead or the Scylla in Krantz’s hands.

I realized that it’s going to be not so okay, when the General phoned Michael, giving him an ultimate. Of course, it turned out shortly that there weren’t going to happen any bargain at all, and finally Kratz threw me in front of Theodore just like that. He left us alone in the flat, letting him (even urging him) to do anything he liked with me.

I was shaking, trembling all my body while T-Bag pushed me leaning to the door. I couldn’t see any solution what could save my life or get me out of here. I needed Mahone, only him. I truly desired to cry out his name, but I knew I had to stay focused and calm as long as I could. So, I just let him to handcuff me to the handle.

“Theodore, I promise you, if you let me go, I will stand by your side at the court. I’ll tell them you saved my life. Even Alex will be so grateful… just take me back to him” I started pleading desperately, but with a fairly strong voice. I couldn’t help but wincing when he suddenly stepped close in front of me, with his face inches from mine.

“You know, all these past times, I’ve always been so… so jealous! You get what I mean, right? Look at you, precious little girl” his eyes nearly scanned me through as he stopped for a moment, disgustingly licking his lips, “being married to that… dull, fuddy-duddy policeman. Don’t ya really think I won’t have myself a little fun, when it’s only the two of us?”

“I know that you don’t have the best relationship with Alex” I said immediately. I felt I had to talk, unless he would touch me or do even worse things to me. “But if you let me go, if you take me back to him, he won’t be ungrateful, trust me.”

“Oh, I don’t wanna hurt you. I wanna hurt him. And unfortunately, the only thing which can be hurtful for him is you being hurt. But don’t worry. You’ll be returned in one piece. Only in a little… used… piece” he winked at me, and my stomach flipped.

“Please, Teddy” I whispered. All my strengthen flew away in a second. My thoughts were rattling in my head, I was panting, sweating. He decided to walk past me, and as he took a few steps, he sniffed my neck. Cold, disgusted feeling ran down my spine, but I relieved when I couldn’t see him, even if it lasted only for few minutes.

Suddenly I felt the warmth of his body behind myself. He uncuffed me for a brief moment, only to separate my two arms, and cuffing them back to the two sides of the door so I faced him forward. I tried to fight him, but my weakness could do so little against his manly strength.

“We’re gonna finish sooner than you would recognise, my dear” he whispered straight in my ears, before stepping a bit further from me. My panting, heavy breathing echoed in the small room. I tried to detach myself from the situation. I started a mantra inside. Alex will come soon. Alex will save me. I must be strong just until then.

“Oh, look at that” Theodore smirked suddenly. At first, I hadn’t even had any idea, what could he see. I glimpsed at my trembling hand, and realized, just when he spoke again. “Look. At. That. What a beautiful wedding ring. Well, you know, it’s actually so good to see that Mahone has feelings too. But tell me, my dear little bird, has he been man enough to… go there?” he asked in a low voice, husky by the suppressed desire. He moved his hip and if I weren’t lucky enough to be able to back a few inches, our skin would join.

His eyes jumped back and forth between mines and my lips. My stomach was spinning, and I truly fought not to burst in tears. Somehow, I managed to strengthen my voice to retort.

“Alexander’s more a man than you could ever hope to be” I breathed through my teeth, managing myself to look him straight into the eyes.

“That was mean” he said in a pitying voice, backing a step. “I wonder if you’d be so harsh if you knew how long I’ve waited for this. Our little shared private moments. You wouldn’t behave like this, am I right?”

I didn’t answer, only turned my head as sideways as I could.

“What if we… take this off?” he teased. “As I see, this is only distracting you. I’m afraid you won’t enjoy… me… enough if it keeps disturbing you” he said, and after that he truly pulled the thing off.

“You can take my ring, but you never can make me relish anything you do” I said suddenly, even surprising myself with the strength of my voice. “You’re a disgusting human being, and if you’ve ever wondered why nobody loves you, let me enlighten some things. You’re incapable of love, Theodore Bagwell. Not with your body, not in your mind. Every touch of you is filled with brutality, violence, and you’re nothing but a filthy rapist who…”

I could continue, using even stronger and uglier words, but he slapped me so strong I banged my head in the glass, and if it wasn’t for my handcuffs, I would surely fall to the ground. “Listen here carefully” he hissed. I could barely hear him because of the blood rushing through my veins so loudly after the hit. “Now I’m going to show you, how functional and tender I can be.”

I heard the zipper of his pants opening, but I wasn’t strong enough to prepare for the next minutes. I couldn’t even open my eyes, only relying on my hearing. But instead of feeling fingers pressing on my neck or hands ripping my clothes off (as I imagined the next things would be) … I heard a crash. A crash like when you break something wooden. Steps, shouting, skin slaps skin. Alex’s voice. Alex’s voice!

I forced myself to open my eyes. It was Mahone, who searched for something around T-Bag. He was lying on the floor with a closed eye and a ripped eyebrow. Just in the same second, Sucré rushed into the room.

“Get this pig out of my sight” Alex hissed to him just before he could get surprised by the unconscious Theodore Bagwell. Mahone’s voice echoed firmly in the frozen air. Fernando nodded quietly, while Alex stood up and turned all his attention to me. “I’m here, Y/N” he stated, while his shaking hands found the closure of the handcuff, put the key into it and freed me. “Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?” he kept asking.

I couldn’t talk, not yet. When my loved one freed my hands, he immediately pulled me close to him, as I burst in tears. Luckily, he kept me by holding my waist, otherwise I would fall to the ground. All the suppressed tension surfaced, and all I was capable of was crying, unstoppably.

“Can you put your arm around my neck?” Mahone asked me softly. “I’ll take you out of here.”

I did as he asked, simply let him to carry me anywhere he’d like. Honestly, those few minutes are just blind spots in my mind. All I can remember is his strong arms holding me, tears leaving burning trails on my cheeks, the spicy, aromatic and so familiar scent of Alex’s fragrancy, and his soft tone whispering my ears: “I love you. I love you so much, and nobody could hurt you, ever.”

He found a bedroom empty which we could chose as a temporary shelter. Alex carefully placed me on the sheets, then sat in front of me. My sobbing subsided as I slowly realized that he is the one holding my hand, he is the one breathing with me, and if this is so, nothing else matters.

“Y/N, please tell me just one thing” he asked as he wiped the tears under my eyes. “Did he touch you? Even with one finger?”

“No” I breathed so quietly I wasn’t even sure if I said out lout. “No, he was just… playing” I added. Then I realized, what else happened, and the tears which just disappeared a second ago fogged my sight again. “But Alex, he took my ring” I looked into his eyes scared. “He took it off my finger, but I didn’t see his hands and I have no idea what he did with it.”

“It’s okay” he smiled, lifting my chin up. “You’re fine, and I don’t care anything else.”

As I was fighting with guilt and Alex just wanted to pull me close. When I leant to his chest, he placed a long kiss on my forehead.

“Can you forgive me?” he whispered suddenly. I furrowed my brows, but he continued before I could ask what he meant. “I let this monster… to be alone with you, to do anything to you… and if it wasn’t for Michael, he would have done anything.”

“It’s not your fault, Alex” I ensured him, hugging his chest even closely. “You couldn’t have known. It was a part of their sick game” I continued with slightly breaking voice. “You’re my hero. Truly.”

I felt him taking a deep breath, but the silence remained still. Before any of us could speak again, we heard the door opening. I snapped, stood up frightened, but it was just Sucré smiling shyly.

“I bet this is yours” he said and came inside to place some tiny in Mahone’s hand. He nodded happily and wide smile started to form on his lips, but I was too dizzy yet to realize what is that.

When Fernando left us alone, he looked at me and offered his palm for me as he would ask something.

“Show me your hand.”

I did as he asked, placed my hand upon his, realizing what did our friend find. Alex put the not-so-long-lost ringlet on my finger, just as he did back at our wedding.

All kind of feelings were swirling in my head, but there were two eternally sure thing. Alex by my side and his undying love for me.

[avengershumanresources]

blood 6 - Strange/Stark!Reader

Relationship: Dr. Strange/Princess!Stark!Reader

Rating: M

Warnings: Adult Themes, eventual smut, adult language, implied sexual violence, general violence

Synopsis: Reader is the daughter of the legendary King Anthony Stark, Uniter of Lands, The Iron Defender, and leader of the realm. When the king disappears during battle, hope is lost and he is presumed dead.

When the late king’s uncle, Obadiah, takes the throne until your brother Peter is of age, he quickly arranges a marriage for you with a wicked king in a neighboring kingdom.

With the realms politics in question, and rumors of an upcoming siege to overthrow Peter’s rule before it starts, you quickly learn who is loyal to the crown and who is not.

part 5 - part 7 

Masterlist

Chapter Playlist 

6 - a promise

Violet was uncharacteristically tight lipped as she dressed you the next morning. Part of you worried that the nosy maid had seen you on the balcony the night before, but you quickly remembered she’d gone to bed early after drinking too much. 

She kept sending pitying glances in your direction, and you couldn’t for the life of you figure out why. Smoothing out your skirts, she grabbed the knife you’d hidden under your pillow and tied it securely at your side. 

“For good luck?” she joked, though that pitying look crossed her feature as soon as the words left her mouth. 

You’d been struck dumb, expression bewildered as to how she knew about the dagger. 

“James,” she replied simply, patting the weapon for safe keeping. 

The implication was both comforting and terrifying. 

How much influence did her two friends truly possess within the castle walls? 

Accompanying you to breakfast, Violet stopped you outside of the dining hall, hand tightening around your forearm. 

“Please keep your head,” she whispered, glancing nervously around them. “No matter what you find on the other side of this door.”

It was an ominous warning, but you kept it in mind while she pushed open the door,’leading you inside. 

For a moment, you were certain your heart had stopped working from pure horror alone. 

King Brock Rumlow sat by your uncles side, laughing as a plate of meat and eggs was placed in front of him. 

“My dear, it’s so wonderful you could join us,” Obadiah stood and motioned for you to sit across from Brock at the table. “Did you sleep well? I imagine you might have stayed up bubbling with excitement.”

“Uncle,” you greeted tensely, feeling Violet’s form freeze at the casual exchange. Keep your mind. You needed to stay calm. 

Calm, even though your father’s murderer was smirking at you, only meters out of your grasp. 

“Princess, I’m sure you’re familiar with King Brock Rumlow,” he motioned to the king who stood and bowed his head. 

“Your highness,” he reached for your hand and pressed a kiss to your knuckles, lingering a moment too long for your comfort. “I’m sure this has been such a confusing and terrible time.”

You bit your tongue, swallowing down any backlash that stirred. 

“Rest assured, King Brock has a very reasonable explanation for everything,” Obadiah invited the group to eat. You took your seat, trying to ignore the way Rumlow’s eyes devoured you.  Like a lamb to slaughter, he looked positively ravenously at you. 

“Your highness, it’s been a terrible misunderstanding,” he explained with a long sigh. “The Asgardians had been ordered to attack the border villages and I sent my men to help. There was skirmish and your father was murdered by that brutish Thor Odinson. They threw his body into the river before retreating. There was nothing we could do.”

Liar. 

“You see? He was trying to defend the king,” Obadiah tilted his water goblet in your direction. “And to think, those barbaric Asgardians had the audacity to stand and mourn with you.”

Liar. 

“I’m...” you never had been a very convincing actress (Peter had always told you so), but the performance you put on that morning would have rivaled the great Bard himself. “That is certainly distressing news.”

Obadiah eyed you, the reaction catching him by surprise. 

“Brock has come to formally apologize for the confusion,” Obadiah started, watching you carefully for the slightest slip up. “He’s asked me for your hand as a means of reconciliation between the kingdoms.”

Your stomach dropped out, your lungs stopped moving, and you were certain both bellmen could hear your heart hammering anxiously against your chest. 

Marriage... to that monster. The man you knew slayed your father. The man whose rumors of his late wife followed behind whispers of death and deceit. 

Obadiah wanted to marry you off to him, for something. He had to have gotten something. 

Your father out of the way, your brain supplied helpfully. 

“With King Brock’s help, and the Kree army to the north, we will finally be able to stop those damned Wakandans and Asgardians from breaching our trade routes.”

Fingers tensing around your dining knife, you forced a smile on your face. 

“Really?” you asked, throwing as much enthusiasm as you could stomach in the question. “Me? Married to a king?” 

Obadiah paused, furrowing his brows, but Brock seemed unfazed. 

“You’ll be my queen and we will rule this entire region,” he reached across the table and took your hands. “We can make the arrangements post haste.”

“Why not a fortnight from today?” Obadiah suggested, a cruel smile spreading over his face. “I’ll start the servants on things today.”

“If you insist,” Brock laughed, an empty sound that stabbed deep into you. “What say you, my dear?”

You turned to your uncle, a cold mask over your true thoughts. 

“Must we wait a fortnight?” you asked, your lip jutting out in a pout. “Surely a more intimate ceremony can be put together in the next week?” 

You could tell Obadiah was trying to guess your plan, the king trying to call your bluff but agreeing wholeheartedly. 

“Such eager lovebirds,” he bellowed with another laugh. “Bring the wine, we have much to celebrate today.”

You managed to get through the breakfast, face hurting from all the forced and held smiles that fought against your cringing. 

After the meal ended, you excused yourself to lay down for a a while, the excitement having tired you out.

Instead of your chambers, however, you hurried to the observatory, praying to the gods that Stephen was inside. 

You found him curled on one of the cots, red cloak strewn over his shoulders, deep asleep. That peace was broken once you tried to quietly shut the door. His eyes flickered open and he took you in with a sleepy smile. 

“Your highness,” he greeted, sitting up while you moved to sit across from him. Sensing your sour mood, he reached tenderly for your hands. “He told you.” 

“You knew?” you asked, broken that he would keep such pertinent information from you. 

“I found out early this morning,” he admitted. “I spent the evening trying to think of a way to make it right, but have kept coming short.”

“I don’t believe that,” you smirked toward a book open to a page detailing the effects of belladonna. 

“I realized murder would be frowned upon,” he murmured. “And I think the court would be suspicious if the king and his allies turned up dead all at once.”

“They’re blaming Asgard for my father’s death,” you explained. “They intend to invade after the wedding.”

“How long do we have?” he asked, eyes scanning your face for a hint of good news. 

“I uh, I may have made a mistake in that regard,” you replied, expression contorting in guilt. “Initially it was a fortnight, but Obadiah didn’t seem to believe that I would comply. So I suggested seven days.”

“Why would you need to be compliant?” he asked. 

“I don’t know, Violet told me to keep my temper under control, so it seemed like the smart thing to do,” you threw your head back in exasperation.

“You aren’t wrong,” he replied, quickly explaining the dilemma Peter had outlined the night before. “But a week means our timetables must move up.”

He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, quickly scribbling a message and holding it in his palm. It disappeared in a poof of smoke. 

“What was that?” you pressed, following him with your gaze when he stood up and paced the room. 

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he assured her. “Just trust me. There are many forces at work. Don’t make any more moves without first telling me. Promise me.”

You tilted your head, reading his exhausted expression and nodding your head slowly. 

How could you not trust him? 

He smiled, a sight that sent your heart rushing, in a good way. Moving toward him, you cupped his cheek and stood on your toes to give him a soft kiss. 

“Careful princess,” he growled as the kiss became more heated and he stumbled back into one of the chaise’s, your body pressed flush against him. “Don’t start what you don’t intend to finish.”

The warmth inside of you screamed to finish the job, but his warning hit a more rational part of your brain and you pulled away in disappointment. 

“Soon,” you promised in a terse whisper, wishing you could ducal your head into a cool pond. 

“I have every intention of keeping you to that,” he replied, shifting slightly and adjusting the front of his robes with a sigh. His face flushed, pupils dilated. 

Gods you could have had him then and there.

Another folded piece of parchment appeared on the table and you quickly snatched it up, reading over the familiar handwriting before Stephen could jump up from the chaise. 

“You’re working with Loki?” you asked, holding up the paper. “You do know it’d be suicide for him to show his face in this kingdom.”

“The guard is on our side,” he explained briskly, grabbing the letter and reading it over. “We need to delay this as much as possible. If he challenges Brock to a duel, the law dictates the match must be honored.”

“Were you not the one worried about Brock’s sudden influx in power?” you asked incredulously.  “He’s up to something sinister. Loki will get himself killed!”

“I said trust me,” he countered sharply. “Please, princess. I’m doing this all for you and we need a little more time. Besides, it will get Loki into the castle undetected by Amora.”

You’d almost forgotten about the enchantress. Brock spoke highly of her during breakfast and you’d had the pleasure of meeting the blonde haired woman at the end of the meal. Even from a distance, you could sense there was something wicked about her. 

“You will be careful?” you asked, knowing that even if the reassurance was empty, it was something. 

“We will do our best,” he promised quietly, both of you knowing full well he was lying.

(—)

Natalia hated wandering to this side of the forest. She knew she could reasonably fight off any ne’er do wells or rogues, but she also knew that the mystics and magic users liked to use the thick foliage coverings as a means of hiding from the public. 

Not everyone could serve in a castle and villagers were fickle, superstitious folk. 

Still, it was where Michelle had told her to meet with Wanda, the sorceress having passed the message long in hopes of the pair crossing paths. 

“My cottage is just around the meadow,” Wanda chimed up, breaking Amat’s train of thought with an amused smile. “You’re early.”

“I wanted to make sure the area was secure,” Nat replied, her fingers dropping from the dagger she’d been about to pull. “Quite a way of passing along a message.”

“I needed to ensure its discretion, I apologize for the roundabout means,” she answered sincerely, moving toward a small cottage and opening the door for her guest. “We have much to discuss.”

“Couldn’t you have passed it along the princess or Strange?” 

“It’s not yet the time for them to know,” she hummed, snapping her fingers and igniting the fire under a tea kettle. That had caught the assassin’s interest and she waited until Wanda continued. “You’re aware no body of the king was found?” 

“They buried an empty box,” Natalia nodded, glancing at the teacup places in front of her. “The leading rumor is he was thrown in the river and the Kree are holding onto the remains.”

Wanda pulled a few herbs from her pantry, pulling the kettle from the fire with a wave of her hand and floating it over the red heads cup. The hot water fell from the air, passing through the herbs, and landing into the cup as a freshly brewed tea. 

“There are many whispers about the fate of the great Iron Defender,” she agreed softly, taking a sip from her own cup with a satisfied smile. “But, what I want to tell you is the truth of the matter.”

“Which is?” 

“I’m amazing at dramatic entrances,” a voice cracked, opening the front door of Wanda’s cottages and grinning at Natalia. “Natalia, it’s been quite some time since you were stealing rolls from the kitchen.”

King Anthony Stark himself stood before her, perfectly healthy and strong. 

“How?” she blurted out with a wide eyed look between the pair. “Clint saw you pierced through the chest with an arrow.”

“Did he?” Wanda asked, a twinkle of crimson flickering through her eyes. “The men saw what the king wanted them to see.”

“I needed to ensure my enemies thought I was dead,” he explained, settling at the table across from her. “I knew Brock was planning something across the border and once Odin warned me that Amora had taken the place of Mordo, I needed to act to protect the kingdom and my family.”

“You need to remove Obadiah from the throne, he intends to-,” Nat started but Tony nodded slowly at her words. 

“I’m well aware,” he stated. “I knew he’d been corresponding with Brock for some time and that there would be a plot against me. I needed to make sure my enemies were all exposed in a fell swoop, but Wanda mentioned the engagement and I was forced to move my plans forward.”

“Plans?” 

“I had hoped to move when Obadiah refused to give up the throne on Peter’s birthday,” he explained. “But, given what Brock intends to offer for my daughter’s hand, we can’t wait any longer.”

“What do you mean?” Natalia furrowed her brows. “You don’t mean to move on him now, do you? That’d be madness, not without our allies.”

“Who said I didn’t have allies?” he grinned back at her. “Black Widow, you’re not the only one with a large web. I’ve secured Wakandan and Asgardian support, as well as the support of the southern Kree empire. Steve has been working under my orders to determine the loyalty of the guard. Everything is ready to be put in motion, so long as Brock doesn’t mobilize his troops before the wedding.”

“Did you expect this?” she asked, dumbfounded by all of the information. 

“I had expected to deal with them separately, but this makes it convenient,” he shrugged. “But I need you to ensure the safety of the princess and my family.”

“It’s being taken care of,” Natalia replied. “Strange and the others have come up with a plan to get them all to safety. The queen and Morgan will be moved to Kamar-Taj and the princess will be taken to Stephen’s family home.”

“Has he come to his senses, yet?” he asked with a snort. 

“Very recently,” Natalia chuckled. “So he has even more to lose with a successful marriage. I’ve never seen him quite this motivated.”

“And what of Peter?” 

“He wants to fight,” she explained. “The others are encouraging him to wait, but already some men have sworn allegiance to him. Some of the major houses are beginning to start preparations for civil war.”

Tony considered her words, fingers twirling around the edges of his beard as she spoke. 

“This is good then,” he decided. “With Peter rallying the families against Obadiah, he has less claim to the throne.”

“Unless Obadiah catches wind and has him executed on the spot,” Wanda supplied dryly. “We must continue to work discreetly.”

“We need someone inside of the walls to help coordinate from within,” Tony explained.

“Why can’t Wanda do it?” Nat asked and Wanda let out a frustrated sigh.

“Obadiah is keeping out all magic keepers except Stephen and Amora, since he is the Master Sorcerer of the castle and she’s a royal guest,” she shook her head. “It’s an effort to prevent any threats against the royal family.”

“The irony was not lost on us,” Tony added with a small smirk. “I can pay you handsomely- after I reclaim my throne.”

“Wouldn’t that be humiliating?” Natalia teased. “All this work and you lose the throne in the end?”

“That ultimately depends on what you say,” he urged and she bowed her head, offering a hand to shake. 

“I want a large parcel of land,” she insisted. “And a title.”

“What about James?”

“I suppose he’ll need a title too,” she paused. “Perhaps another parcel for him as well?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

(---)

“It’s quiet,” you whispered, back against cool grass, fingers intertwined with Stephen’s as the two of you gazed up at the night sky.

“Mandatory curfews,” he murmured. “We’d do well not to attract the guard.”

“Then we’ll just have to be quiet, won’t we?” you rolled toward him, propping yourself up on her elbow and looking down at him with a sly grin. 

“We must be absolutely silent,” he agreed, leaning up and cupping your face. Slowly he pulled you closer until you were practically onto of him. Pulling you even closer, you tumbled a ways down the small hill before stopping with a soft thud on the ground below.

Exchanging bewildered looks, you both burst out laughing. You reached forward to pluck a few leaves out of his hair when he caught you by the wrist and kissed you passionately. A moan escaped you when he nibbled on a more sensitive part of your neck, the chill sending shivers everywhere.

“Don’t do that,” he warned, the nibbles becoming small bits, his kiss becoming more desperate and hungry. “I can’t promise to control myself.”

“Then don’t,” you managed through a whimper when he slipped his hands under your corset. He teased, fingers lightly maneuvering over the sensitive skin. You were about to rip the damned thing off yourself when he stopped.

“Are you trying to be cruel?” you asked, face drained of blood and clothes disheveled.  

“Something’s coming-,” he scrambled to his feet, drawing up a portal and sealing it shut just before a blast of fire struck. “Someone knew we were there.”

“Impossible,” you shook your head. “You’ve disguised your magic, and the wards around the room are some best rune work I’ve seen in ages.”

He paused, catching snippets of what you were saying. 

They hadn’t tracked his signature- they’d tracked yours.

He grabbed your wrist and wrapped his palm around it, muttering a spell and pulling away. 

The rune Loki had cast over you had almost faded away. 

“What is-?” you started but he was scrambling across the room looking for something to prick the end of his finger to get a little blood. 

Spying a needle on your armoire, he grabbing the tiny object and prodded his fingertip, a small bead of blood appearing. 

Approaching, he frowned in thought. He needed to be careful. Too powerful and the seidr wouldn’t be able to protect you. Too weak and the seidr would eat through too quickly and its uncontrolled power in your untrained body could wreak devastation the kingdom over. 

“Why are you renewing a seal?” you asked, recognizing the symbol on your wrist with pointed interest.

Why were you such a dedicated student? You’d read almost all the texts he had read in his life, often asking thoughtful questions about the material he hadn’t thought of. 

This was a basic power sealing rune that had been added on and changed slightly in terms of the magic involved.

“What are you trying to seal, Stephen?” you repeated tersely, eyes narrowed at him.

(---)

7- a king 

TAG LIST (message to be added!):

@ayamenimthiriel​ @ladynothing 

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[chrotethys]

Daily Writing Challenge - Day 10 - "Feast/Sleepless"

The day started with promise as the sun rose. Warmth filtered over the mountains and heated the lake below. Several guards patrolled the bridge as the sound of hurried feet kicked against the cobblestone.

"Whoa, whoa, where's the fire this morning?!" One of the guards said as they stopped Kaden in his tracks. The young boy was panting heavily as he adjusted a small bag on his shoulder.

"I'm-... I'm in the process of finding my first familiar! And I have to do it during daylight hours, sir!" The boy looked absolutely winded as the guard adjusted his helm.

"Lad, you shouldn't go about on your own. Don't you have a friend or a guardian to accompany you?"

"N-No sir, but I know magic! I can defend myself!" Kaden made a point to assume a stance for combat. But to the guard, it looked loose and open with vulnerability.

"I'll tell you what - if you want to go across the bridge here and into the wilderness, you have to prove to me you can handle it." The guard raised an armored hand to gesture at a pallet of stone blocks. "Move one of those blocks to me, and I'll take your word and trust your meddle. Failure to do so though, I will forbid passage to the other side until you have someone to accompany you."

Kaden looked to where the guard had gestured and frowned. "That's not fair! And you know it! That stone block is likely twice my weight and glued down. This is a rigged test and you know it!"

"Make no mistake, lad. This is no trick or deception, but a testament to what you may face. Not all your enemies will be the same size as you. So it's better to understand reality rather than imagine yourself capable. Do I make myself clear?"

The young mage pouted and set his bags down. He went over to the block and studied it. He knew physically the strength wasn't his to muster, but maybe...

From the vantage point of the guard, the boy had begun to wedge a large piece of wood beneath the block as his comrade emerged beside him.

"What are you asking this poor child to do?" She asked giving her subordinate an unhappy look.

"He wants to leave Lakeshire on his own, I'm simply preparing him."

As they spoke, the block fell to the ground unceremoniously. Kaden then knelt down and tried to push and lift the block over. It was... comical in its own right.

Though to both of the guard's surprise, he did make progress. When Kaden had reached the endpoint, beads of sweat adorned his brow. His robes were disheveled and his hair unkempt from his painstaking efforts.

"Alright lad! Next time I may be able to humor you in some spirits!"

At that, the other guard elbowed him and scoffed. But Kaden quickly gathered his bags and darted by them both.

"Kids these days," the guard said and shook his head.

As the young mage scaled the hill, he regarded the paths that split to Duskwood and Elwynn Forest. He knew of the magic that lingered in Elwynn, but... he found himself staring in the direction of Duskwood. Stories of the Dark Riders and Karazhan had filled his mind. What if he could acquire something of power? The temptation had caused a wry grin to make its way onto his face. And quickly he moved behind the tree line. The guards in the tower didn't seem to take any notice of him as he slinked towards the brook that bordered Duskwood and Redridge.

The air of Duskwood was noticeably different. Its stark cool air was an unsettling contrast to where he had been moments before in Redridge. An ominous presence waded in the shadows in the deep forest ahead, but he substituted his own courage with reckless ambition. The terrain was not hard for him to sprint through as he felt the tightness in his lungs. Every now and then he would pause at a tree to catch his breath and mind the creatures of the night.

Several worgs had made a kill nearby and were fortunately distracted from the young boy's presence. And even the spiders seemed unwilling to leave the trees as they prepared for the night hunt. Within the hour, he would find himself on the outskirts of Darkshire. Yet... no magical familiar was in sight.

He was not yet discouraged as he began to climb the hill that led towards Deadwind Pass. And once more... Kaden eluded the detection of the Darkshire Night Watch. Or so... he had thought.

A voice called out to him, but his feet did not dare stop. He was running towards a mountainous ravine as his pursuer had fallen too far behind. Even if they had caught up to him, he was nearly there!

Looking around the pass, he saw several carrion birds flying overhead and opened his bag to pull out a small waterskin. He drank greedily from it and raised his head towards the path that had matched the description of Hell's final bend.

In a starved manner of ambition, he rose once more and made his way along the path. Albeit this time he traveled much slower - more cautious among the dangers that likely would have compromised the greatest of travelers. He crept low to the ground as he heard the shout of a nearby ogre.

"HEY!" The ogre's voice bellowed. Though what had followed was not a verbal response. Along the stone wall, he could just make out the shadow of the ogre and his opponent. A great horned beast approached him and lashed out, causing the smallest point of the ogre's shadow to fly off like a projectile. Kaden fought back his shock with a startled gasp as the head of the ogre rolled out in front of him. The eyes were wide with apparent surprise and its jaw clenched tightly.

In a fit of panic and the painstaking realization that he shouldn't have come here; Kaden weaved behind the decrepit remains of a tree. It had become a husk of a trunk that was large enough to hide his smaller form from the sight of the monster. He watched with unease and trepidation. He felt his fingers curling so tight that the white of his knuckles mirrored the coloration of his bones.

Upon the road in front of him, a massive hoof emerged first, followed by the shape of a strange-looking Tauren as he moved forward. This had been Kaden's first time seeing one, and from the texts that he read in class - They were a very spiritual and noble race that had strong warriors.

However this warrior... he did not fight with the pretense of mercy. It was as if he were bloodthirsty and that the death of his foes was all he sought. Kaden's throat grew tight after swallowing. He could feel his body shaking as if any breath he drew in would likely attract the evil that permeated from the Tauren in front of him.

Watching the large bovine as it knelt down, he noticed a large hand reach out for the Ogre's head. Three meaty fingers wrapped around it as he raised it to his face for inspection. Kaden didn't know what to expect, but he had hoped it was just a trophy for keeps or pure examination of his battle.

But the sickening crunch of the ogre's skull followed shortly after the fingers of the Tauren's hand clenched shut. Blood poured out between the Tauren's fingers and spilled onto the ground in an unholy display of carnage.

If he had not been afeared before, the child certainly felt the heat of urine in his loins. The humility he would have faced was a small price to pay for his own survival. And he didn't think waiting for the Tauren to go away was a plausible outcome. It stood like a damn sentry with its arm outstretched over his kill.

Where were the heroes that Kaden had read about? Was this a new threat to the Alliance? Did they know of this monster?! Kaden wondered if the right choice was to stay in hiding or if it was better for him to run and warn the unsuspecting inhabitants of Darkshire. All he had wanted was a familiar... and the thanks for his magic was the Death in the flesh. And he knew it would be foolish to try to attack this enemy with magic.

He didn't expect the shift of his foot in his hiding place, as a rock rolled out from his place of hiding. And the Tauren's head slowly turned in his direction.

Oh, gods! He had drawn its attention!

Reason and hope were cast aside as he made a desperate effort to retreat to safety. His robes catching on a branch as he tore the fabric behind him. He didn't care for the possessions that he lost and he most certainly didn't want to look behind him. The winding road he had traveled on stretched out like a leviathan. And it seemed endless when he sought salvation so fiercely.

Would he make it? Did he want to take the risk of seeing if the monster followed? The notions were dropped as the unease from the unknown enveloped him. He looked over his shoulder as he ran now and saw no sign of the Tauren following. And slowly, his sprint began to ease into a walk. His chest rising and falling with a rapid need for air. The shaking in his arms and legs grew even more unsteady. Even with the solid earth beneath him, he felt like he might collapse from fright.

Staring back at where the Tauren had been, he considered what he saw and start to felt a sense of composure after the ordeal. His eyes closed as relief flooded through him and the disgusting revelation that he had in fact pissed himself. He shook his head and placed his hands upon it in exasperation. But when he had turned... the maw of a completely different monster was closed behind him. As large white fangs emerged and the darkness that laid within, Kaden let out a blood-curdling scream.

Now what remained in his place... we're just two stalks of his small legs and blood...

In the weeks that followed, posters were strung up in Darkshire and Lakeshire for the disappearance of Kaden Stanford. Though.. the closure that could be gained would not bring peace to anyone's hearts or souls... And many sleepless nights would await the Stanford family, as the monster's feast had only just begun.

@daily-writing-challenge

[taeyongdoyoung]

summary: you are a mermaid and you save a handsome man from drowning but little do you know it’s not his first rodeo when dealing with mermaids. seonghwa, a former prince, is currently hongjoong’s first mate and boyfriend. hongjoong is the captain, the pirate king of the most savage crew across the seas. and you want nothing to do with them. not because they’re pirates, but because they’re humans…

ship: mermaid!reader x prince/pirate!seonghwa x pirate!hongjoong

genre: little mermaid!au, pirate!au, romance, angst, fantasy

warnings: kidnapping, water deprivation (?), swearing, manipulation, eavesdropping, jealousy, betrayal (?), i think that’s it, but pls let me know if i missed anything triggering!!!

author’s note: sorry for the huuuge hiatus, i’ve been working on other things and also uni has been really hectic, i hope you guys enjoy this new chapter!

word count: 2.5k

chapter one ☠️ chapter two ☠️ chapter three ☠️ chapter four ☠️ chapter five ☠️  chapter six ☠️ chapter eight ☠️chapter nine  ☠️ chapter ten ☠️ chapter eleven ☠️ chapter twelve ☠️ chapter thirteen ☠️ spotify playlist

You were trapped inside a fishnet. Everything was so dark and dry you couldn’t breathe. You couldn’t tell exactly where you were, all you knew was that Soojin was nearby and she was screaming in a panicked way.

“Relax, Soojin, we’ll get out of here,” you tried to comfort your sister.

“HOW?” she cried out. “WE’LL DIE HERE!”

You attempted to not freak out and focus on what you knew. Someone had thrown fishnets at you two and you were now left without water. Which meant that this wasn’t Hongjoong’s ship. No matter how much he hated you, you knew that Seonghwa would never let Hongjoong do anything like this. But you were still positive that this was a pirate ship. What you couldn’t find out was who had taken you two and why?

Fortunately (or not), your questions were answered soon enough, as a tall figure approached, holding up a torch that lit up the front part of the ship, giving you a chance to examine your surroundings.

“Where did you get the ring?” the man asked Soojin as he pulled it out of her finger.

Soojin gulped nervously and even though you both knew it was Yeosang that given her the ring, to your surprise, she lied.

“I found it. Now will you let us go?”

The tall figure laughed darkly.

“No. Because you’re lying, you little thief.”

Shit. You were in big trouble.

“Let’s see how a week without water will do you,” he hissed. “Pathetic mermaids.”

“Wait,” you yelled after him, intending to tell him the truth rightaway. You couldn’t risk dying over this. But before you could open your mouth again, Soojin dug her fingernails into your hand, preventing you from speaking up.

“ROT IN HELL,” she screamed at the man as he was walking away.

“Oh, darling, I’m already in it.”

Once he was out of earshot, you struggled in the dark to focus on Soojin’s features.

“Why did you lie to him, Soojin?” you hissed in frustration. “You don’t owe Yeosang anything!”

“If I told him the truth, he would go after Yeosang!”

“And you’d rather die than let anything happen to your sweetheart, is that it?” you sighed.

“Yes, I’d die happy if I knew he was safe.”

“What about me, Soojin?” you groaned. “How is this fair? I don’t want to die here to ensure some human will live.”

“You won’t die. You said it yourself. We’ll get out of here,” Soojin tried to sound hopeful.

“If we don’t, I’ll haunt you in the afterlife,” you vowed threateningly.

“I deserve that,” she chuckled sadly.

🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️

You couldn’t tell how much time had passed. You felt so tired and hopeless and as if you were minutes away from drawing your last breath. Soojin was in a similar state. Your initial idea to claw your way out of the ropes had proven to be futile. Not only was that impossible to achieve, but the lack of fluids was weakening your bodies in such a way that you no longer had any idea if it was day or night. You promised to yourself that if the tall man who’d trapped you here appeared again, you would tell him everything about Yeosang. You didn’t want to die and follow Soojin on her suicide mission. But no matter how much time passed, the dark figure didn’t return. You were done for. And despite how badly you hated humans (pirates, in particular) in that moment, you still wished you could see Seonghwa once more. Let him know that you didn’t blame him for Ariel’s death. That the real monsters were the sea witch and his parents for separating him from his loved one in such a cruel way. But you couldn’t even do that. Couldn’t even hear his voice again…

☠️☠️☠️

Seonghwa’s POV

We were on a journey across the sea with no specific direction when suddenly, we ran into Mingi’s ship by accident. I wondered if he noticed us and if he would attack us. It had been a while since our last encounter when that bastard cut off Yeosang’s right hand. It had also been a while since the last time I talked to Y/N. I missed her and I was so mad at everyone standing in the way of our friendship. Imagine my surprise, when I spotted a large fishnet hanging from Mingi’s ship, tied up to the figurehead, tall enough so as to not touch the water. I squinted in order to see better and soon enough, realized that whatever was inside, was too big to be a regular fish. No. Fucking. Way. Were those mermaids? I didn’t know what came over me, maybe it was my gut feeling, but I knew I had to save them. Even if I didn’t know them, I couldn’t have another mermaid death weighing on my conscience. I hurriedly rushed to talk to my fellow mates and tell them what I’d seen. We had to make a decision quickly or else Mingi’s ship would sail away and then, it would be more difficult to trace him.

“Guys, I think Mingi’s trapped a couple of mermaids inside a fishnet!” I screamed.

“What? We have to help the poor creatures!” Yeosang replied, backing me up. I gave him a thankful wink.

“I agree,” Wooyoung added and pointed towards the fishnet that was still in our field of vision. “Look! That asshole is not letting them touch the water!”

“Oh, no, that’s horrendous!” San exclaimed. “I’ve heard that mermaids can’t last long without water.”

“All the more reason to save them,” I insisted.

“I don’t think this is a sensible idea,” Hongjoong argued.

“Please, whatever your ridiculous vendetta against mermaids is about, it can wait,” Yeosang complained.

“It’s not just about the mermaids, Yeo,” our captain responded. “The last time we fought Mingi, it didn’t end well,” he purposefully stared at Yeosang’s missing hand, as if to remind him. Yeosang gave him a dirty look and took his sword out, skillfully managing it with his left hand, as if to prove a point. “Mingi is too powerful and dangerous, if we confront him, we may risk losing not just a hand, but our lives.”

I pulled Hongjoong aside and whispered in his ear.

“Do you want them to know that you lied to Mingi? That you told him the mermaids killed the sea witch?”

“I did that to protect you,” Hongjoong hissed.

“Nonsense. You did that selfishly because you wanted to get rid of Y/N. Be very careful what you say next.”

“Come on, guys!” Wooyoung urged us to cut it off. “Mingi’s ship is getting away!”

“Yeah, make a decision already!” San groaned.

“It’s your call, Captain,” I addressed Hongjoong. “Choose wisely. You might gain something if you stop us but you’ll lose something far more important.”

“Are you threatening me?” Hongjoong furrowed his brows. “Don’t forget who’s in charge, Hwa.”

“I haven’t forgotten anything. It’s you who forgot how to show compassion to those in need,” I reminded him. “You saved all of us. That’s why we’re loyal to you. Why can’t you help us save these mermaids, too? Would it really kill you if you tried?”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes.

“Fine. But if one of you gets hurt, it’s not on me, it’s on you, Hwa. Remember that in case things go wrong.”

“We can take care of ourselves, thank you very much.”

And with that, we pulled out our weapons. It was time to attack Mingi’s ship and get those poor mermaids out of these fishnets.

☠️☠️☠️

Hongjoong’s POV

This was a terrible idea, but Seonghwa put me in such a position that it was impossible to refuse. We hurriedly threw ropes with hooks at Mingi’s ship in order to get on board. The plan was that Yeosang and I would confront Mingi ourselves, while Seonghwa, Wooyoung and San cut off the fishnets and free the mermaids into the sea. I knew that it was a big risk, but a part of me also knew that I was partially responsible for this happening. If I hadn’t been so petty to tell Mingi that the mermaids were to blame for the sea witch’s death, we wouldn’t be here right now. As we were looking for Mingi, I was surprised at how relaxed Yeosang seemed. Honestly, I admired him for his bravery.

“Hey, bastard!” Yeosang yelled as he stormed into the captain’s cabin. “Face me, you coward!”

Mingi was obviously taken aback by Yeosang’s recklessness and it took him a while to find his sword. While he was frantically looking for it, I grabbed him by the collar and hissed.

“You betrayed us and cut off Yeosang’s hand, Mingi. You’re not getting out of this.”

“What’s your problem? I thought mermaids were our common enemy, Hongjoong,” Mingi exposed my secret and I loosened my grip on him, ashamed by my actions.

Yeosang didn’t seem fazed at all, he simply pointed his sword towards Mingi’s neck.

“You had it all wrong, Mingi,” Yeosang informed him calmly. “The mermaids didn’t kill the sea witch. It’s humans you should be scared of,” he added, without specifying too much and attacked.

I was frozen in place for a couple of seconds, which was enough for Mingi to regain his composure and defend himself.

“You knew?” I whispered to Yeosang as the two of us charged faster against Mingi.

“I may have overheard your conversation,” Yeosang replied coldly.

“Why didn’t you tell us you knew all along?” I asked as I tried to hold Mingi off.

“Why didn’t you tell me yourselves?” Yeosang countered and disarmed Mingi.

“Go ahead, then! Kill me already,” Mingi incited us.

“No,” Yeosang refused. “I want you to live with the consequences of your actions,” he dropped the sword and once again took that damned ring from Mingi. “Tie him up, Hongjoong.”

“Why are you suddenly giving the orders?” I complained but pulled Mingi close as I wrapped a rope around his wrists.

“I literally have one hand, how am I supposed to tie him up?” Yeosang groaned.

“That’s fair.”

☠️☠️☠️

Yeosang’s POV

“Soojin!” I cried out in relief as soon as I saw her back into the sea and freed from those terrible fishnets. I jumped into the water and kissed her. “Are you alright?”

“My love, what happened to your hand?” she inquired worriedly.

“Mingi, that bastard who trapped you, cut it off,” I informed her. “But don’t worry, Hongjoong’s currently taking him as a prisoner to our ship.”

“I don’t understand,” Soojin whimpered. “I didn’t tell him anything about the ring, why would he come after you?”

“I know you didn’t, my brave girl,” I reassured her and hugged her. “I’m just glad you’re okay now.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“Honestly? I’d like to say I was destined to find you, but the truth is we ran into Mingi’s ship by chance. Seonghwa saw the fishnets and realized whatever was inside seemed too big to be fish.”

“What did you just call me?” Soojin joked, pretending to be offended.

“No, I just meant that…”

“Relax, I was only teasing,” Soojin laughed. “Thank you for saving us, darling. Another minute without water and I probably would have died.”

“I’m happy we came on time, then,” I smiled at her and pressed my forehead against hers.

☠️☠️☠️

Seonghwa’s POV

The minute the mermaids were free from the fishnets and back into the sea, I realized we had saved not just any mermaids, but Y/N and Soojin. I jumped right after them, not even bothering to check if Mingi had been successfully captured and soon enough, Yeosang joined me to talk to Soojin, quickly informing us that Hongjoong had taken Mingi back to our ship and he would no longer be able to harm anyone.

“You’re safe now,” I hugged Y/N and whispered words of reassurance in her ear, immediately forgetting all about our last encounter and the fact that she might need more time to accept what she’d learned about me and Ariel. The only thing that mattered was that she was okay. “You’re alright.”

“H-how did you know we were t-trapped?” she stammered.

“It was by accident.”

“Thank the fates,” Y/N sighed. “We wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”

“Did Mingi hurt you?”

She shook her head.

“Other than the no water thing, no, he didn’t.”

“Good. I would have killed him but…”

“No more death,” she spoke gently. “I’m beyond happy to see you, Seonghwa. I missed you terribly.”

“So did I, dearest. Does that mean you’re willing to forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Y/N replied. “I can no longer bear being parted from you. Not even for a minute.”

Her words broke my resolve to respect her boundaries and remain loyal to Hongjoong despite what he’d done to me and I kissed her. To my utter disbelief, she kissed me back, her fingers holding onto my hair for dear life. When I finally pulled away, we were both out of breath.

“I’m so s-sorry, I shouldn’t have.”

“No! I wanted you to.”

“You did?”

“Of course! Seonghwa, I like you so much. And even though it hurts…I think Ariel would have wanted you to move on and to be happy.”

“Well, you make me happy.”

“Right back at you,” Y/N smiled fondly.

For the briefest of moments, we were in our own little world and I had forgotten all about the rest of the world with its problems. But then I made the mistake of looking away from her and I saw him.

☠️☠️☠️

Hongjoong’s POV

I couldn’t exactly interrupt them. I didn’t deserve it after all. I mean, not after being so harsh to Y/N, not after telling the secret about Seonghwa’s past to Y/N, and certainly not after lying to Mingi about the mermaids’ non-existent involvement in the sea witch’s death. I felt like a piece of shit for hurting them and yet, I couldn’t look away, either. It was no longer jealousy I was feeling. I knew I had it coming. It was so strange to me when I realized I felt perfectly calm to watch them embracing and kissing. I was even enjoying this, in some perverted way. And then Seonghwa spotted me. Soon after, Y/N did, too. I was so embarrassed that I had been caught observing them that I immediately turned around and started walking towards the inside of the ship, anywhere that would ensure avoiding them like the plague. They didn’t bother to yell after me and I was thankful for that. I was in no mood to explain myself or talk to them or anything. And despite the fact that she’d taken him away from me, I was glad that she’d survived. No creature deserved to be left without water for so long and I could only imagine how much worse such an ordeal would be to a mermaid. In any case, I was relieved that Mingi was in one of our cells now. Coming here wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Two lives were saved and we had finally defeated him. Our former friend, who was also our enemy and now, our prisoner. When had life gotten so damn complicated?

To be continued…

[four-loose-screws]

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 10, Section 2

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

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Chapter 10: The Secluded Sage (con’t)

Everyone pulled out torches from within the convoy.

Because they did not want to have too much luggage, they’d prepared as few supplies as possible. Their thought was that it would be best to stock up on what they lacked in towns along the way, but that plan had now backfired.

Still, a little was better than nothing. A few soldiers grabbed the torches they had, and were tasked with maintaining a consistent field of vision.

The dim light shone throughout the fort and revealed the disgusting sight of vines snaking up its crumbling walls.

‘If only we had just a few more torches….’ As if someone had read Eirika’s thoughts, a bright light suddenly shone from behind her.

She whirled around in surprise, and was blinded. When she raised a hand over her eyes, she was able to confirm that the light was shining from the tip of Natasha’s staff.

“I apologize for surprising you…”

“Natasha, what is that staff…?”

“I thought maybe it might be helpful… Um, is it perhaps bothering you?”

“No, on the contrary, it’s very useful!”

It was a much appreciated staff that made up completely for their lack of torches. Because Natasha couldn’t go out on the front, it was decided that she would light up the rear line, and the army ventured inside of the fort.

The inside looked exactly as they’d predicted. While it had been originally built to fight against monsters, ironically, now it was a monster den.

Ewan darted around while shouting, “Whoa… it wasn’t like this in here when I explored it at all! It was totally empty and abandoned… How could this have happened in so little time!?”

“Ewan!” Tethys had heard what he was saying and ran up to him. She looked terrified, and grabbed his arm. “What are you doing!? You know it's dangerous to be out this far on the front, right!? Stay with me on the rear line…"

"I’m going to fight! I want to show everyone the magic my teacher taught me!”

“You can’t! It’s still too dangerous!”

“No it’s not! Just watch me, Big Sister!”

“Can’t you hear what I’m telling you? When did you turn into such a bad child? If anything ever happened to you, I…”

Tethys buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders started shaking. Any observer would know that she was faking it, but Ewan took her very seriously. 

He was horrified, and hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry, Big Sister! I understand. I’ll do as you say. I’ll stay on the rear line with you.”

Ewan guarded Tethys, who was still pretending to cry, as they retreated to the rear line.

Eirika was surprised at this unexpected side of Tethys. When she was with Gerik, she seemed so carefree. She didn’t seem like the type to be so concerned about family, but she completely spoiled her little brother.

Gerik saw her expression, and laughed. “You look surprised. Didn’t think she was so kind… did ya?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“You don’t have to be polite. I was taken aback the first time I saw her like this, too. It felt like the woman I’d seen dancing at the bar was a different person. It seems that they lost both of their parents very suddenly, and were living all on their own. Ewan’s all the family she has left.”

“Really?”

The young sister and brother, surviving by protecting one another, had no doubt struggled through a lot together. She must have worked so hard to develop her exceptional dancing skills so that she could raise him. And perhaps he’d decided to study magic at such a young age because he wanted, from the very bottom of his heart, to help out his sister however he could.

Eirika was silent, so Gerik worriedly whispered to her, “Hey, don’t look so sad! Tethys’ll rip me a new one if she figures out that I blabbed about her tragic past! She hates it most of all when people pity her.”

“I understand. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

The battle had already begun on the front line. The nauseating and rotten smell of the monsters was all around them, and the monsters’ shrieking cries of death pierced their ears. Eirika and Gerik both withdrew their swords and started slicing up the monsters coming towards them.

The group nesting here at this fort was far stronger than that in the Za’ha Forest. 

This time, even Gargoyles, a pure black, winged creature, was among them. They wielded iron weapons likely stolen from people they’d previously fought with, and attacked at terrifying speeds. 

As Eirika had expected, both Lute and Artur played a huge role in this battle. They rushed around to back up all the soldiers who were having difficulty fighting. The effects of Artur’s light magic were particularly great. He defeated almost all of the monsters he fought with one spell.

“Lady Eirika, I have troubling news!” Franz, who'd been fighting on the front line, rushed up to her in a panic. 

'No… is someone injured?' Eirika wondered, but that was not it.

“There appear to be people inside of this building!”

“People…?”

"Yes. They are blocked off from us by monsters and we cannot get close, but we can hear their voices. They seem to be travelers who lost their way and were then attacked...”

"Understood. Let's make saving them our top priority."

When Eirika went in the direction Franz had told her, she also heard voices.

"Aaaaargh! There's no end to these monsters! What in the world happened to this fort!?"

“Please rest, Lady L’Arachel! I’ll take care of them from here!”

“No, Dozla. I will not be the only one to save myself from this danger! This is yet another trial sent to me by the gods!”

The voices were ones that Eirika did not expect, but remembered hearing before, causing her to stop in her tracks.

They belonged to a very odd lady and her retainer.

‘That’s right, she said she was going to take the land route to Rausten.’ She must have chosen to take the same route through the mountains as Eirika’s army.

L’Arachel sounded annoyed, but also like she still had strength to spare. Eirika and her army followed their voices as they cut down the monsters.

L’Arachel and Dozla were fighting in a small room, though it was more accurate to say that Dozla was the only one in direct combat with the monsters. L’Arachel rushed around behind him, waving her staff around. She seemed to be the same as Natasha, a healer who only knew how to wield staves.

They were one person short, so Eirika couldn’t help but wonder if Rennac had been killed. This made her even more worried, and she shouted out, “Miss L’Arachel! Are you alright!?”

“Oh my, that voice…? Aren’t you the person from the other day? So we meet again! We seem to be bound by fate!”

“Please retreat to a safe place! We’ll take it from here…!”

“Oh, you have no reason to be that worried! We are still on our journey to cast judgement upon all monsters! This lot is no trouble at all! Now see how magnificently we fight!”

“Miss L’Arachel, there are injured people on the rear line. If possible, I’d like you to please use your staff to heal them. They need you.”

Eirika’s plea immediately got through to L’Arachel. She cheered up and rushed straight to the back line, allowing Eirika to fight without worry.

L’Arachel’s companion Dozla was exactly as strong as one would imagine he was at the sight of his hulking body. He swung around a huge battle axe that any normal person would have trouble lifting with ease, and sliced through each and every monster with all his strength. He could even shrug off minor attacks with his muscles of steel, and took little damage from them. He was truly a warrior to be feared. 

The fog slowly thinned out as they fought, so the battle did not go on for long.

L’Arachel played a huge role in caring for the injured. She was a bit rough compared to Natasha, and even yelled at them a few times, but aside from that, her healing abilities were the real deal.

When the battle was over, Eirika sheathed her sword and called over to L’Arachel. “Thank you, Miss L’Arachel.”

“You can just call me L’Arachel… Um…” She tried to call Eirika by name, but cut her words short and tilted her head to the side. “Oh dear, now that I think about it, I haven’t asked you for your name yet. What is it?”

Eirika laughed. It already seemed like L’Arachel was an acquaintance, so it was strange that she didn’t even know her name yet. 

In a case like this, Eirika always used the alias “Eilis the Mercenary,” but she didn’t want to lie to these two, so she didn’t feel the need to do that. “My name is Eirika.”

Seth looked like he wanted to say something, but Eirika cut him off. “It’s okay, Seth. These two aren’t bad people. I don’t think we have to hide anything from them.”

L’Arachel stared straight at Eirika for a moment, then whispered, “I’ve been told that the princess of Renais’ name is Eirika! And that after the palace fell, she fled to Frelia, has been fighting ever since, and…”

“Yes. That is me.”

“Oh my, you’re the princess of Renais!? That is only logical. I knew all along that you were someone very refined. Didn’t you think so too, Dozla?”

“I did indeed think the exact same thing, Lady L’Arachel!”

“It is an honor to meet you! When I heard of another princess like I, traveling to each country while battling the evil rampaging the world, I wanted to meet her at least once!” L’Arachel took Eirika’s hands in her own, and squeezed them tightly.

“N-Not at all. I didn’t necessarily start traveling for that reason…”

“And we even got lost on the same rugged mountain, bringing us even closer together!"

It seemed that L'Arachel hadn't planned to climb the mountain, rather, she'd simply gotten lost. No ordinary person would climb such a steep mountain simply because they'd gone the wrong way.

"No, we didn't get lost. Actually…"

Eirika told her everything that had happened since they split up in Carcino, including Carcino’s betrayal, Pablo's surprise attack, the battle at the previous fort, and the village Ewan had told them about, Caer Pelyn. 

L'Arachel was deeply interested in the story from start to finish, and when Eirika was done talking, she said with conviction, "We were guided to meet here by fate! Please let us go with you, Eirika."

"Huh…?" Eirika had no idea what to say to the enthusiastic L'Arachel, and simply stared at her.

She'd seen L'Arachel and Dozla's abilities in action firsthand during the last battle, leading Eirika to very much want them to lend her their strength. However, they had no connection to neither Renais nor Frelia, and did not seem to be victims of Grado's violence, either. They were different from Eirika and her army, and had no reason to go on a dangerous journey.

L'Arachel noticed Eirika’s sigh, then pleaded passionately, "Please consider it! We're on completely different journeys, yet have met three times already! It is no coincidence! It is our fate to fight together!"

 “But as I just explained to you, Miss L’Arachel, we are being pursued by both the Grado Army, and now Pablo’s men. If you travel with us, I can’t even imagine just how much danger you’ll be put in…”

“Ha, do you think I fear danger? Since the day I decided to devote myself to the extermination of all monsters, I have been ready for anything! No matter how dangerous it is, everything is a trial sent to me by the gods. Helping you is a duty they have bestowed upon me!”

“I… I see…” 

As someone who was not a very devout religious believer, she couldn’t understand what L’Arachel’s excitement was about at all, but it moved Dozla to tears, which he wiped away with his giant fists.

And that is how it was decided that L’Arachel and Dozla would travel with Eirika’s army.

Eirika then asked about something that had concerned her since she first saw them in the fort.

“There was someone else traveling with you, correct? I believe you called him Rennac…”

“Yes. We lost him.” L’Arachel shook her head in disappointment. “He has no sense of direction, so he must have gone down the wrong path. It’s such a shame…”

She was completely blind to the fact that she herself had gotten lost. But knowing that he hadn’t been killed by a monster gave Eirika a sense of relief. “I hope you’ll be able to meet back up with him soon.”

“I really hope so too! It’s very inconvenient not to have him with us. He may be lazy, but because he’s greedy, if there’s a reward in it for him, then he’s excited to do anything. He’s as adept with his hands and as cunning as a thief, so he’s been very helpful to me…”

L’Arachel clearly had no qualms about speaking her mind. Although Eirika felt bad for Rennac, she didn’t feel that L’Arachel meant any harm, so it made her smile. “How do you three all know each other? Dozla seems to be devoted to serving you, but…”

“Yes, you are right. I am actually…”

“Lady L’Arachel!” Dozla placed one of his short fingers on his lips, signaling to her not to tell.

“But I’ve already become allies with Eirika! She is a kindred spirit, fighting to rid the world of evil, and bring peace! I’m sure everything will be fine if I tell her…”

“Do you forget what the bard Saga said? According to him…” Dozla whispered something in her ear.

L’Arachel nodded deeply in agreement. “You’re right. The truth is a secret that I cannot speak of casually, even to my allies… And that is much sweeter in times such as these! Thank you for reminding me, Dozla!”

“‘Tis nothing, Milady!”

“And that’s the situation, Eirika. I am an envoy of justice sent by the gods to exterminate evil, Dozla is my faithful servant, and.... Rennac is a lazy, greedy employee of mine… please accept that for now.”

“I will… I suppose…” She was probably in a position where she did not want to tell anyone. Eirika decided not to question L’Arachel any further.

-

Eirika’s army quickly left the fort, and headed for the sage Saleh’s house.

The remaining path was as steep as it had been the entire way up, but the fog had cleared. They no longer had to worry about not knowing what might be under their feet, so they were able to climb faster than before.

They arrived at Ewan's teacher's house before sunset. It was a simple house hidden among the trees on the mountainside.

Ewan ran in excitedly and slammed the door open without knocking. “Good afternoon, Teacher!” He seemed to always be this energetic, no matter the situation. However, no one answered.

Eirika peeked in from behind him. The only furniture inside was a small desk and a bed. His teacher seemed to live a simple life.

And, as far as she could tell, he had left without locking the door. It was unlikely that any thieves were ever in the area, and even if a bandit did get in, there wasn't a single thing they could take, so there was really no need to do so.

Ewan turned around with a disappointed look on his face. "I think he's out."

"Perhaps he's close by? We can wait here, in case he might come back soon…"

"Hmmmmm… I dunno. He travels a lot."

"He travels a lot!?" Colm exclaimed so loudly that his voice echoed through the house. He continued on, shouting at Ewan, who drooped his head, “We worked our butts off climbing all the way up here, and he’s out on a trip!? Give me a break! You can lead us the rest of the way on your own, right!?”

“I do know the road, but… I won’t be able to convince the people of the village on my own…”

“So we won’t be able to get through to them? Then what are we gonna do? Come back the way we came?”

“I’m sorry…”

“You sure talked big, but you just made a fool of us all! Seriously, after all this, he’s not here…!?”

“Colm!” Neimi nudged him.

While it got him to stop yelling, he still looked very displeased.

Ewan was so sad and dejected that it was nearly impossible not to feel pity for him.

Tethys said kindly to Colm, “I’m so sorry. He was just trying his hardest to help everyone… He’s always been treated like a child, so he wanted to do something all by himself, but instead, he made things more difficult for everyone. I don’t know what to say…”

“No… it’s okay. I didn’t really mean to attack him… Not even a little! I swear! I-I mean, it’s nice to go mountain climbing every once in a while, right?” When the bewitching Tethys apologized to him, Colm completely lost the last of his composure, even forcing a smile that was entirely unlike him.

Neimi still looked sad, so she didn’t seem to notice at all.

Eirika comforted the disheartened Ewan. “It’s too bad, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It wasn’t your fault, so please don’t look so sad. For now, let’s talk to everyone about what we’re going to do next…”

He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. But when his eyes darted past her, he gasped. “Teacher! Yay, you came back!”

“I told you not to come here, remember? I’m usually out.” A man appeared and scolded him in a harsh tone.

Eirika turned around and was so surprised that she couldn’t respond immediately, because she had seen Ewan’s teacher before.

The man did not notice her, instead trying to go around Ewan and enter his house. “I will leave again soon. If you want to master magic, then please find another teacher.”

“Um…”

When Eirika started to talk to him, he turned around with a stern look still on his face. He seemed to remember her as well, as he looked like he was trying to remember something.

“We met before. In the border town Serafew… You were looking for a lost child, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes.”

He seemed to remember now, as he was nodding his head. She wanted to ask him if he’d found the child, but he didn’t seem to be in the mood for casual conversation. 

He was probably still very young, but had a calm composure that did not fit someone of that age. To Eirika’s eyes, used to seeing unusual mages like Lute, he seemed to have a much more mysterious aura, one that most anyone would expect from a mage.

‘So this is the sage Saleh.’ For Innes to have known his name, he must possess such great power that even Frelia’s spies could not ignore gathering intel on him.

But Ewan clung to his teacher. He completely disobeyed what Saleh had told him to do, and said in his same tone as always, “So, uh, um, Teacher! All of these people want to cross the mountain to reach the country on the other side. So I decided to take them to Caer Pelyn! I can get there okay on my own, but I think it would be even better if you were with us!”

Judging by how disappointed Ewan had been before, it hadn’t seemed that he was confident he would be able to guide them the rest of the way. But now, he sounded completely confident in himself. 

Eirika thought that Saleh’s response would confirm he was a grouchy person, but contrary to her expectations, he nodded immediately. “That should be fine. I was about to return there myself. You can all come with me.”

“Really? It’s okay!?” Ewan asked without thinking.

Saleh replied bluntly, “We do not aim to keep outsiders from getting in. People simply do not try to interact with us. However, the sun is already setting. Let’s rest here for the night, then depart once it is light out.”

“He’s right.” Innes nodded. “Everyone is tired. And if a large horde of monsters like the one we just fought appeared, then there would be nothing we could do. It would be best for us to rest and focus on keeping our morale up.”

Everyone followed his suggestion, and it was decided that the soldiers would camp around Saleh’s house for the night.

While the soldiers were setting up their tents, Ewan said, "Should I go ahead and explain everything to the elder? If we suddenly show up with a group this big, we'll probably surprise everyone in the village."

"But it's already getting dark, Ewan…” Eirika tried to stop him, however, the speedy boy had already run off. He turned around once, said, "I'll be fine!" with a wave, and soon disappeared between the trees.

"Grrr, he's so naughty.. !" Tethys was worried, and tried to run after him.

But Saleh said, "Ewan knows these roads very well. You should let him go."

Tethys still looked concerned, so Innes said, "It’s not that I don't understand how much he wants to help. He cannot fight so well on the battlefield yet, so he wants to make up for it in other ways."

Ewan had teased him the entire way up the mountain, putting him in a bad mood the whole time. For him to say that he understood how Ewan felt was unexpected.

But Eirika put herself in Prince Innes shoes and imagined how he felt. He was proud enough for two people, and hated losing. He probably hated the memories of whenever someone took him lightly as a child.

The soldiers had removed their armor, and quickly set up camp. Now, those on cooking duty were making a hot meal, and those who were hungry hovered around the pot. Their grueling climb up the mountain became a funny story, and the entire area was filled with cheerful laughter.

When it came time to sit in a circle around the campfire, as they always did after dinner, everyone was far too tired. They all decided to quickly retire for the night.

-

Eirika’s army set out early the next morning. At almost the exact moment that the sun began to rise, Saleh came out of his house, ready to start moving.

When he saw Eirika's army was still fast asleep, he frowned. The soldiers on guard duty all shook everyone awake in a panic. The commotion also caused Eirika, sleeping in the same tent as Tana, to awaken.

"Wow, mages sure get up really early. Oh, but Lute usually sleeps in. I guess that means there's mages of all types?" Tana grumbled, still sleepy. 

Because Saleh was the one who would guide them to their next destination, they had no choice but to go with him. Everyone was still rubbing sleep out of their eyes when they started following Saleh further up the mountain.

Before they had even made any progress, Colm suddenly yelled, "Hey, something's coming this way! But it's not a pegasus. Its wings sound much stronger than that."

Eirika looked up. She saw three shadows in the sky. "Are they…?"

The shadows gradually became larger and larger, until everyone could tell what they were.

Seth whispered, "Dragons! I can't believe it… They’re imperial dragon knights…”

The knights atop the dragons were undoubtedly dressed in the empire’s colors. They were both more powerful than pegasus knights, and harder to damage. It was likely that they had been flying around the area to search for Eirika’s army. 

They’d decided to climb the mountain to avoid any enemies, but had been found even in a place like this.

The group only seemed to consist of the three knights. No matter how strong they were, it was far too reckless for just three knights alone to take on Eirika’s entire army. It was too difficult for her to judge what their true intentions were, so all she could do was stare at them as they approached her.

The dragons quickly descended. Seth stood in front of Eirika to guard her.

The knight leading the other two jumped down from his mount, then glared at Seth with a stern look on his face.

He was a young man with bright blond hair and a strong, masculine face. 

The moment she could make out his face clearly, Eirika gasped. “General Glen? It is you, isn’t it!? Everyone, I’ve met him in the Grado capital before…!”

The young man nodded lightly, the stern expression still on his face.

She had met him before, however, it was only once during a trip to Grado’s capital city. He sometimes passed by when Eirika and Ephraim were chatting with Prince Lyon, but one day, Lyon called him over, and introduced him to the twins. 

-

Glen had a very serious personality, and it showed in his greeting to them. Ephraim tried to joke with him, but Glen, standing at attention, did not even smile. That amused Ephraim all the more, etching the event into Eirika's memory.

He wasn’t very sociable, but politely answered a few questions she had about dragons. His manner of speaking was very boorish, but within his voice seemed to be hiding a very kind personality, so Eirika liked him.

When Glen left, Lyon whispered a secret to Eirika and Ephraim. “He’s really strong, and works very hard. If I was as tough as him, I’m sure I would enjoy combat training too, but...”

-

When Eirika remembered how Lyon felt about his frail body, she still didn’t know what to say.

Ephraim’s teacher General Duessel had also considered Glen like a son, and praised him as one of the youths who were Grado’s future. At that time, Ephraim was bitter that General Duessel would tell him his spearmanship couldn’t yet compete with Glen’s, and declared Glen his rival. When Ephraim told them he would kill Glen one day in a fit of rage, both Lyon and Eirika found it amusing, and looked at each other and laughed.

When Ephraim said “kill,” he of course actually meant that he would defeat Glen in a duel with set rules. None of them thought that a day would ever come where they must go to war and divide people into allies and enemies.

The feelings of nostalgia were still warm in Eirika’s heart as she looked up at Glen. “I never thought I would meet you here like this...”

“I didn’t want our second meeting to be like this, either. However, His Majesty has ordered it. Eirika, for the crime of massacring Carcino citizens, I must punish you.”

“What…!?” The next words to come out of Glen’s mouth were the last she ever would have expected from him. “I massacred…? What do you mean, I…”

“If you can explain yourself, then I will listen. However, your actions were unjustifiably cruel. You suddenly attacked the port town of Kiris, and slaughtered a great number of the citizens who were desperately trying to escape. You and your army were supposed to be Frelia’s allies! How could you unleash such cruelty upon the people of Carcino, who trusted you!?”

Eirika stared at him, mouth wide open. She didn’t know how to respond to a story that was so completely different from the truth. And he was not making false accusations against her. He really seemed to believe that Eirika’s army had committed a massacre. His chiseled face was twisted in a look of anger and hatred.

The one who answered for the bewildered Eirika was Innes. He chuckled and said, “Don’t be stupid. I thought you were General Glen, one of Grado’s famed Three Imperial Generals. You cannot be this foolish.”

“...What?” Glen furrowed his eyebrows. 

Innes’ tone became even more and more scathing as he continued, “We were the ones betrayed by Carcino. They hired mercenaries to attack us, so we had no choice but to fight back. None of the ordinary citizens should have been harmed. Try investigating on your own before you open your mouth next time! How dare you say something so foolish as Eirika committing a massacre! This was all orchestrated by the Grado Empire, was it not?”

“What did you just say!?”

“Amazing! So you did really believe those idiotic lies! I'm amazed you managed to become one of the Three Imperial Generals…"

“Stop it, Innes!” Eirika finally regained her ability to speak, and scolded him for provoking Glen. She then looked back at Glen, who seemed to be understandably offended. “Sir Glen, what Prince Innes just said is correct. We did not harm the villagers. But if you believe the emperor’s words over ours, then there is nothing we can do. I don’t want to fight because of a misunderstanding like this, however…”

Confusion appeared in Glen’s eyes. His intent to fight vanished entirely, and he became lost in thought.

Eirika waited. Glen was a smart person. She believed that he would surely reconsider everything.

Finally, he opened his mouth. His voice was much softer now. “I understand. You’re right. I don’t know anything about the damage in Carcino. I will come again after I have confirmed what happened. If what you are saying is correct… then what His Majesty told me is a lie. I must ask him what his true motives are.”

“So you believe us?” Eirika breathed a sigh of relief.

Glen looked at her again. He still had a harsh look on his face, but the anger he’d originally showed was gone. “No, this doesn’t mean I believe you. I will simply withhold judgement until I can confirm the truth. If I find out that what you told me is the lie, then prepare yourselves.”

“We will.”

“Sorry for bothering you.” Glen climbed back atop his dragon. 

The other two dragons following behind him also softly spread their wings and flew upwards. Their powerful wings sliced through the sky, and in the blink of an eye, they became tiny specks.

“I can’t believe the emperor would tell such a lie…”

Eirika heard a voice say from beside her. She looked to see who it was, and saw Amelia staring up at the dragons. On her innocent face was an expression full of regret. “Maybe… Pablo was the one who spread the lie, and tricked His Majesty… Yeah! I’m sure that’s what happened!” Amelia said to convince herself, then nodded.

Seeing Amelia like this hurt Eirika’s heart. She may be a member of their army, but she was originally from Grado. Her respect for the emperor was likely to still be very strong. Eirika understood her desire to think there was some sort of misunderstanding.

But Eirika was sure that this wasn’t some plot of Pablo’s, but a path the emperor had chosen for himself. He was the one who’d ordered the sudden invasion of Renais. No matter how horrible his methods became, nothing would surprise Eirika any more.

“Amelia, this actually gives me a sense of relief.” Eirika said.

Amelia looked at her with her mouth wide open. “What… do you mean?”

“General Glen said that he was going to go confirm the truth. So long as there are people like him, then there’s still a possibility that we can talk this through. There’s also the rumor going around that General Duessel is against this war, correct? They’re both central figures to the empire, so everything can still be okay.”

Because the emperor had planned his strategy poorly, he may have actually dug his own grave. Anyone who investigated into the truth could quickly figure out that Eirika and her army had not committed a massacre. Glen was unlikely to trust an emperor that lied to him. If they were able to convince someone like him, who had such a huge influence over the military, there was even a chance that it would mean the beginning of the end of the war.

Amelia’s expression also brightened.

And so, Eirika’s army continued to follow Saleh, beginning to walk even higher up the mountain.

[itsinmydunah]

Title: WWE Smackdown

Rated: G

Words: 1290

Fandom: twilight rennaisance fic babayyyyy

———————————-

Summary: Bree may be tiny, but she is mighty.

A warning those who may be effected: mentions of past child abuse.

This one was a request from JaneMalfoy on ao3. So you have them to thank for this one, haha. I’m hoping I’ll be able to churn out more Bree fics with the same gusto. This fic is, as usual, also posted on my ao3.

Please be sure to tell me what you think!

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The sound of shattering ceramic has Bree cringing. She braces for a blow while stuttering out a hasty apology.

There’s dead (ha) silence throughout the house. No one is even fake-breathing.

“Bree, sweetheart, no one is going to do that here.” Bree peeks from beneath the heavy curtain of her hair. Esme is looking at her with kind and knowing eyes. The woman reaches out a hand slowly and tucks Bree’s hair behind her ear. Her touch is so gentle that Bree doesn’t even startle. “You never have to worry about someone hitting you or harming you. I promise,” Esme vows with an assertive tone.

“I—I didn’t mean to break it, Esme.” Bree believes the matriarch when she says no one will hurt her. From what she’s seen of this family in her short time with them, they don’t cross Esme. And more important than that, they are kind to each other. Even when Emmett ribs or mess around with Jasper and Edward, there is a line. No one hurts each other here. It’s not like the home she was raised in or the foster families she bounced from. Despite being ‘monsters’, they’re gentle. Especially to her.

“Oh, I know, baby. Don’t worry over it. We all broke many things in our early days. No matter what, you can’t be worse than Emmett.” Esme grins widely, nose crinkling as she teases her rowdiest son. Bree cracks a smile that grows even bigger when she hears an exclaimed ”hey!” from the upper floor.

“Yeah, don’t worry Bree. Carlisle makes sure Esme can have everything she wants. That vase wasn’t even an antique. I’m pretty sure it was just from Pottery Barn.” Bree tries not to let the thought of Pottery Barn being just a dispensable brand to anyone. She grew up with plastic chairs in the kitchen and a fold up table and was lucky to have season-appropriate clothes.

The Cullens’ wealth still boggles her mind. She was immediately given a closet-full of clothes by Alice and toiletries from Rosalie and a laptop from Jasper. They didn’t think anything of spending money on her, even in the very beginning. As much as she enjoys those things, she likes being able to regularly shower the most. And the hugs from Esme. And the calm, receptive presence of Carlisle. And the way they’re all so kind.

“If you’re sure,” Bree says doubtfully. She begins to pull herself out of her instinctive cower.

“1000%,” Esme assures. “Anyway, you’re pretty strong now yourself,” the woman winks.

“Sure, she’s strong, but she’s so tiny. Like, tinier than Alice!” Emmett booms. His raucousness has drawn the rest of the family from their rooms.

“Emmett, you know I can kick your ass,” Alice says, eyebrows set in a challenge.

Emmett tuts and waggles his finger. “No, no, no. You can evade me. Probably for days. But you cannot kick my ass. Not even close to the same thing.”

“It’s an important distinction.” Edward shrugs with a crooked grin. “But, actually, Emmett, you're not the strongest in the house right now.”

Bree cocks her head. Emmett certainly looks like the strongest one. Jasper is pretty stocky, too, though. Edward was lithe and fast, but not really one for brute strength. Rosalie was certainly formidable, but Bree didn’t think it could be her, either. Esme and Carlisle were simply too gentle to be the strongest ones.

“Edward means you, Bree.” Jasper offers. Bree blinks. Her? Not a chance! She was barely over five feet! Jasper must sense her confusion because he goes on to explain, “the human blood still in your body from your recent turning makes you stronger than any of us right now. And because you spent your early life drinking human blood you also have that as an advantage.”

Riley hadn’t told her any of this. She was still very unaware of a lot of aspects of being a vampire.

“I mean, I know that’s how its supposed to be, but look at her, Jas!” Emmett gestures towards Bree with exuberant hands. Bree looks down at her slight figure and skinny arms and has to agree with his assessment.

Jasper scoffs and shakes his head. “Newborns half the size of me could take me down before I was trained against them.”

“You’re telling me I could take Emmett down?” Bree inquires disbelievingly. She certainly felt stronger as a vampire than a human, but the very idea of taking down Emmett’s hulking mass is unthinkable. He’s easily 6’5”.

“If you can get a proper grip around him, yeah.” Jasper is grinning now like he knows what’s coming next. Alice is practically vibrating beside him.

“Well I won’t believe it until I see it,” Emmett says stubbornly. “Try me, short stack.” He holds out his arms and gestures for Bree to attack him.

“Emmett Cullen, not in my house you don’t.” Esme isn’t even in the room, but somehow she knows what’s happening. Bree shakes her head in wonder. This family is very in-tune with each other. It makes her undead heart a bit warmer.

“Yes, Esme,” Emmett intones like a begrudging child, “ Outside then, short stack.”

Emmett is already dashing to a cleared area behind the house. Bree looks at the others. They’re all bemused but unsurprised by the turn of events. They don’t seem concerned at all by Emmett’s determination to fight her. She knows that Emmett won’t hurt her, so she shrugs and follows him outside.

He’s already poised to attack when she gets to him. She tenses for a moment before lunging at him. She perches on his back and pushes down with all her might, sending him windmilling forward. A helpless cackle slips from her lips at the sight. She is strong!

“Oh, you’re sneaky!” Emmett booms, turning on his heel to bulldoze towards her.

She isn’t scared of Emmett. His open face is nothing like that of her father before he hit her. Emmett is smiling sunnily and laughing as he dodges her and tries to grab her waist. Bree can’t help the giggle that escapes her when she slips from his grasp. He looks so bewildered as she continues to evade his attacks. There’s the sound of Rosalie’s laughter in the background, but Bree doesn’t let herself be distracted. She hadn’t fought with the other newborns when they attacked the Cullens. It was an odd rush to get to use all the power given to her.

When Emmett finally gets his hands around her hips, she throws herself towards the ground and flips her center of gravity, sending him careening into the rocky bank beneath them.

“OHHHHH!!!!!! Em, she got you!!” Rosalie is full-body laughing now, bent over in mirth. The sight of this tiny girl flinging her huge husband over her body is just hilarious. Alice is grinning widely as Jasper guffaws at Emmett’s grumbling as he climbs up the bank. Edward is smirking. Esme, who came out to witness her son be put in his place by their newest addition, is also laughing.

“I did tell you she’d be able to,” Jasper reminds his brother who is picking leaves off his now-torn shirt.

“Yeah, yeah.” Emmett waves him off, narrowing his eyes at Bree. She grins, putting her hands on her hips and tossing her hair behind her shoulder. The much larger vampire shakes his head and breaks out into a good-natured laugh. “It won’t last forever though, short stack!” He scoops her up in a hug, twirling her. Bree shrieks and giggles, smacking his back but also clinging onto his shoulders.

She never imagined what it would be like to have a brother, but now it seems she will have a few brothers for the rest of eternity.

[98prilla]

Nightmare

Can’t stop writing me some soft Roman and Virgil!

He was stupid. This was so, so stupid. What was he even doing here, hand hovering over the door, poised to knock, if he could just steel himself enough to knock…

 He bit back a growl of frustration at his own cowardice. It felt like butterflies gnawing at his stomach, crawling up his throat, buzzing in a panic in his head, making his shoulders hunch higher. It was the fear of the dark of a child, the fear of the monsters under the bed, the fear of everything and nothing, the fear of the unknowns.

 Because what if it hadn’t been a simple nightmare? What if it had really happened and he’d sunk back to his room and cried himself to sleep and everything being fine and perfect and normal was the dream? What if he knocked, and was met with cold, icy eyes?

 What if Roman did as threatened and ran him through before he could say a word?

 What if Patton told him, so gently it was cruel, that he was a nuisance, a bother?

 What if Logan produced his journal, filled with reason upon cold, undeniable reason, that he was simply a hindrance?

 What if they were right?

 He couldn’t, couldn’t face them. He should just go back to his room and wait for one of them to come looking. If they came looking then it hadn’t been real, but he could not stand to face them if it had been.

 He didn’t know why it was Roman's door, he was hovering outside of. Perhaps because the prince was always so blunt. He would know, immediately, with Roman. Maybe it was because he couldn’t take anymore gentle devastation from Patton, any more pure evidence of his detriment from Logan. Maybe because he hoped to god even if it was real, that Roman would somehow pity him enough to let him in anyway, before sending him away for good.

 He bit his lip, hand shaking. Do it, just do it, why was this so hard? The longer he waited, the worse it got, the gnawing becoming a pit becoming a black hole in his stomach and he was just about to shuffle away when the door opened, revealing a yawning, bleary eyed Roman.

 He froze, fear and hope and shame welling in his chest, making it hard to breathe. Then Roman spoke.

 “I thought I heard you out on patrol, Stormy Knight. Wandering the halls so early?”

 He burst into tears.

Because Roman had spoken softly, Roman had smiled tiredly, Roman didn’t draw his sword or snarl or slam him against the wall and tell him to never come back, and it had been a dream, just a dream, and nothing, nothing could match the pure relief flooding through him.

 “Virg? What's wrong? Are you hurt?” Roman asked. Roman was worried. Was worried about him.

 He shook his head, barely able to speak through the tears, through the what ifs still running and running and running through his mind, so loudly.

 “H-had to s-see… didn’t kn-know…” he wasn’t being coherent, he barely knew what he was trying to say, but Roman must have understood, in some way.

 Carefully, slowly, Roman reached out, tugging Virgil close, wrapping his arms around the lanky side.

 “This ok?” He asked, when Virgil didn’t respond at all to his touch. He felt Virgil nod, and he choked out something that was maybe a yes.

 Roman nodded, resting his head atop Virgil's, humming softly and he gently swayed with Virgil in his arms.

 “there now, my little black hole. It’s alright.” He cried harder at that, somehow, and his hands fisted the fabric of Roman's pajama top, clinging to him as if his life depended on it.

 He was barely aware of Roman swaying, murmuring gentle nonsense, as his tears finally gave way to hiccupping gasps, as he sagged against Roman.

 “sorry… im sorry, I-"

 “Virgil. It is ok, its ok.” He buried his head against Roman, he didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes. “shall we get you back to bed?” his eyes widened, and he shoved out of Roman's embrace, stumbling until his back hit the wall.

 “N-no. No! I c-can’t, I c-cant do it a-again, I-" he broke off, breath heaving, hands tangling in his hair as he fought for air, the world blurring around him.

 “Kiddo, ya just aren’t really helping Thomas, y'know? It might be better if you just… stopped."

 “His productiveness goes down 40 percent whenever you are around, and you also have a damaging effect on his social life. There is no if. Thomas will be empirically better without you.”

 “il… eath… please…” no no no no. They were right, of course they were right, he wasn’t good, wasn’t needed, wasn’t-

 “virgil.” His eyes shot up, Roman was kneeling a foot away from him, eyes warm with sympathy and concern and understanding. “can you hear me?” he swallowed dryly, managing a small, shaky nod, and Roman's face lit up with a gentle smile.

 “good. Then listen to me, ok? You are never unwanted. We love you, I love you. I will never tell you to leave. And I would fight the others if they said otherwise. It was a nightmare, Virge. Just a nightmare.” Slowly, Roman reached out, ever so careful as he tucked Virgil's bangs back, letting his hand rest gently against Virgil's cheek.

 “P-p-promise?” Roman's heart broke at that quiet vulnerability, his eyes wide as saucers, filled with a broken kind of hope, a shattering kind of pain.

 In an instant, Roman had scooted closer, scooping Virgil onto his lap, cradling him close.

 “I promise. I promise, Virgil. I promise.” He let out a soft sniffle, shoulders shaking as he wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck, face pressed against his shoulder, he was tired, so tired, but the fear ate at him, even as Roman rocked him, rubbing his back, murmuring and humming and being so patient with him. And somehow every small action, every small movement of kindness and love sent him back over the edge into tears. They were seemingly endless. He didn’t remember bottling this much up inside, didn’t remember when he shoved all this sadness and deep, aching, endless fear into his chest, but he couldn’t stop it from leaking out now.

 “Oh, darling… I know. I know.” He didn’t know how long they had been kneeling there on the floor, but he was exhausted, yet completely unwilling to let go of Roman, too tired to be ashamed of his need for touch right now, too warm and sleepy to force on his dark demeanor, and pretend that he didn’t want this, need this, crave this closeness. “Sometimes talking about nightmares can make them better. That’s what we always do, me and Remus. We tell each other our nightmares, and then we make them better. We say all the ways we would defeat whatever monster hurt or chased or scared us, we turn the fears into something ridiculous. Once, I was being hunted through the imagination, by some giant, shambling, thing. I couldn’t leave the bed, I was terrified. Remus said next time I had that dream, I should imagine the thing trying to move with roller skates on, I should imagine it with googly eyes, I should make its body turn into playdough and its legs into pipe cleaners. It wasn’t so scary after that.” Roman said, getting a small, weak laugh out of Virgil, who shook his head.

 “maybe. Maybe in the morning. But i… I can’t… right now, I can’t…”

 “That’s ok, too, darling. You don’t have to tell me anything. You don’t have to talk about it. It just may help. Do you wanna spend the rest of the night with me?” He nodded, so fast it made his head spin. He couldn’t bear to go back to his room alone, he would die, if he had to go back alone. “alright. Going up, then, my sliver of starlight.” He let out a soft noise as he was lifted up in Roman’s arms, the fading adrenaline and minor panic attack weighing him down, so he was very nearly asleep by the time Roman carefully settled the two of them in his bed.

 He curled tight against Roman, letting out a small happy sigh, at the warmth, at the touch, at the comfort as Roman wrapped his arms around him, cuddling him close and gently, thumb stroking his forehead in blissful, soothing circles.

 “go to sleep, Virg. No nightmares will find you here. I promise, love.” Roman murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head, causing him to let out a soft, small almost mewl at how damn good he felt. “Sleep well, love. Sweet dreams.”

 And they were.

[littlemisswriter]

A bit Green

Summary:

Lily discovers one of the Rooks trying to get close to Jacob, and never having experienced true jealousy before, it doesn't sit well with her.

[This imagine struck my heart, he’s so gentle with her and yet still so fearsome ahhh, anyway, more in the works to come so hold tight :) x]

An eruption of laughter at the table had escaped into the air though no one took particular notice to the loud noise. In fact, the entire pub had lit up with conversation and song, the music that echoed around the room had lifted the spirits of everyone in it. Most nights drinking with the Rooks had been merry, but tonight had been a special occasion to celebrate; to the new ownership of Horse and Groom.

The assassins began to slowly expand their empire from borough to borough, able to find funding in underground fights and carriage races, evidently where they recruited most Rooks who had eager ferocity against Blighters and a willingness to fight. Numbers grew larger and larger as did the influence of the assassins gang within the city, an undeniable uprising to those who sought against the oppression.

In the corner amongst few Rooks sat an assassin, her emerald eyes fleeting from faces to the scenery around her, still coming to terms of the pub investment that had landed them ownership of this fine establishment. A light chuckle came by Lily, averting her attention back to the green coated allies at the table that shared conspiracy rumors of the city itself. Debating on what deemed true and did not, pints in hands splattering at passionate opinions and loose fingers. The thought of drinks had her head turn to the empty chair beside her, waiting for her partner to come back with promised said drinks.

There had her line of sight drawn over to the bar, eyes softening at the familiar sight of Jacob's robes, even if from the back. The way he had leant against the counter as he waited for drinks had struck him out from the crowd, the man easy to spot when he hadn't been hiding in plain sight. But her smile faded as she lay eyes on the woman beside him, a younger Rook she hadn't known by name but had seen at various stronghold locations. She had provided the Rooks with decent information to enable Jacob to plan attacks against Blighters and run things accordingly without much disturbance.

So to say the least she was around a lot, and appeared to enjoy that factor.

Lily's face hardened as she kept a close eye on the girl, her pretty features working in her favor to get what she desired; and she was aware of how alluring she looked. Although her intent hadn't been one to worry, but more so on who her target was. She suddenly laughed, lifting her hand up to push back a strand of hair behind her ear, gaze eagerly looking up to Jacob in an attempt to flatter the assassin. He hadn't been fazed which provided Lily with a moment of relief, though it was only that, a moment.

The Rook's confidence grew as she slyly lifted an arm up beside him, brushing her fingertips to his elbow gently to engage in physical contact of her flirtations. A sudden harsh intake of air had been swept into Lily's lungs, watching another, especially that of an ally, make a move upon a man that was clearly taken. The disrespect of the woman crossing boundaries despite knowing them had Lily's anger flare. But she kept it at bay, allowing the emotion to slowly bubble up internally instead of acting impulsively.

This had all been new to her, the foreign circumstance creating an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew Jacob had well intent, and wouldn't succumb to that of his Rook, yet still felt sick at the sight. Was she jealous? Sitting close by to a show of affection for a man she had already made claim? She didn't like it. She refrained physical anger with tight clasps of her fists perched underneath the table as a wave of uneasiness seemed to settle over her completely.

A sudden cheerful welcome came to the group as another band of Rooks across the pub had made way to the table, excited to suggest a new interest of the night. "We're gon' make way across town to Topping's fight club! Thought you might want to come!" With intent to extent the night out longer, Lily couldn't seem to keep focus as her eyes trailed back to Jacob. The woman now in a closer proximity, her eyes staring wantonly up at her boss. It was a sight that Lily could easily start up hellfire for, but fought against it for the pleasantry of others. So she agreed to accompany the others out to Robert Topping's underground fight club, no longer able to bear witness to the sight before her.

She stood, leaving the pub behind the others with a slip out of the doorway, believing she had gone unnoticed toward the new endeavor. Though she was wrong. Jacob stood idly by the bar, waiting for the barkeep as one of his Rooks kept him company. She had simply started up with light conversation and praise of new ownership, but quickly had he come aware of her intentions and only hoped to get his drinks quicker.

The light touches of the woman and sexual glaze over her eyes hadn't fazed Jacob, only hoping for an excuse to retreat back to his seat where his beloved sat waiting for him. At the thought of Lily, he couldn't help by itch a smile to himself, turning his head to lay eyes on the woman that stirred a fire in his heart. But the feeling abruptly froze as he saw her seat empty along with a few others from that same table. His eyes scanned the pub intently, only just seeming to catch Lily slip out of the doorway and into the night.

His fist clenched, forgetting his intent on buying drinks as he easily stood straight and made haste after her. His name was called from the Rook though he made no motion to answer it, swiftly stepping out into the cold to have lost sight of the assassin. No matter, as his quick wit had brought him to his mastered eagle vision, head turning to catch sight of where she could possibly have gone. And down the alleyway across the street, a few figures made way into the night, one being gold and seemingly his only concern as he made way after her.

Chatter and easy strides lead Lily behind those that kept in high spirits, her head tilting high though her stomach sat the complete opposite. An emotion she knew she couldn't justify, yet one that decided to linger despite it. So caught up in her thoughts, the sudden grasp to her arm had completely caught her off guard. Lily acting on impulsive reflex at the sudden contact with a defensive swing of her arm. But it had been blocked by none other than Jacob, the assassin unfazed by the attack as it appeared his mind riddled with other current concerns.

"Lily," her eyes looked between his in momentary shock, unable to comprehend how Jacob had quickly made of her absence, "what are you doing?" Something had felt awry, Lily not normally one to skip out on any such celebrations, especially ones that include drinking. His hands tightened ever so slightly as he pressed for an answer, the woman averting her gaze back to the group that slowly made way into the distance. "What's going on? Lily, answer me."

"Some Rooks and I simply wanted to visit Topping's fight club." Her stare finally meeting his, though there had been a vulnerability to hers that Jacob couldn't quite decipher. "That's all." Her blunt statement was cold, though Jacob knew there was more. This hadn't been the first time Lily had struggled to express anything with emotions to Jacob, an ability that would take time. Hence why Jacob didn't snap, yet continued to prod with curiosity.

"We were getting drinks. You were waiting for me while I-"

"It appeared you had found better company." Lily snapped, her mouth moving faster than her brain had. The statement was sharp with hurt, an emotion she had conveyed too easily without restraint. It had Jacob's brows furrow as he shook his head.

"I don't understand." A sigh came his response as her arms folded over her chest, feet allowing a step away as she quietly huffed at how overwhelming this green monster inside her had become. "Lily, talk to me." He reached out, briefly brushing his fingers to her wrist as he closed the distance between them once more.

She felt foolish for letting her feelings get the better of her, not truly knowing how to explain to Jacob what she felt had her bothered. "I just," she swallowed the lump in her throat, kicking the gravel beneath her as Jacob stood awaiting an answer, his gaze focused in on his partner before him, "you were there with... and I..." Why had this been so hard?

But before she could attempt at a better explanation, a sudden call of Jacob's name came from close by. The pair turning their attention onto the very Rook that had provoked flames of anger into the very assassin. Her chest heaved as she subconsciously took a step away, Jacob laying his sights on the drop of Lily's features. Her eyes seeming so sad with an emotion she couldn't will herself to indulge in; it had caught Jacob off guard, his own gaze softening as he watched her then instantaneously switch up to her hard glare. The Rook came closer, hands clasped in front of her chest as she looked between the two before landing her sights on Jacob; she politely smiled. "I was wondering where you'd run off to."

Lily shook her head in disbelief that the Rook had been so concerned of his whereabouts. It hadn't of been her business as she yet again ruined another moment.

"Why don't you go back and keep your current entertainment occupied." Lily growled, spinning on her heel and making her leave with haste in each step. Jacob reached out to her as he watched her continue out of reach. He blinked back feverishly as he tried to piece together what had just happened. He'd never seen lily so defensive so quickly without reason which led him to delve into memories just moments before. Though rethinking to her words and what had led her to a quick exit, it appeared something clicked in his head as he tied the knot to it all together.

His face dropped in realization before he felt a sudden light touch to his shoulder, almost skimming over close to his chest. The Rook had daringly made close contact with the man, ever so bravely stepping by his side to close the gap between them. "Give her space." Her words wanting to come across with good intent, though her underlined tone told him anything but.

It was her. She had seemed to be the stem of this problem.

He could only recoil from her touch, stepping away as he knocked her wrist lightly from his body. The Rook appeared shock, cupping her wrist as Jacob had looked down at her expressionless. It seemed he had not previously been the polite man he had mere minutes ago, and she didn't like that; as if her plans to grasp a tighter hold on him loosely slipped away. "Jacob? I don't-"

"You will address me as Mister Frye, or Sir. Do you understand?" His tone deathly serious as if to challenge her to call him otherwise. It was a barrier he needed to firmly place, realizing the misinterpretation it caused. It would not happen again. He would not allow anything to make Lily feel so insignificant again.

"I-I-" His brow raised expectantly, the Rook finally concaving to the reality as she moped with a nod. "Yes, Sir." Jacob now satisfied that the situation had been rectified, he turned back around to where Lily had left off, features softening once more as he began running after her without another word.

Having caught up to the group, Lily allowed them to walk ahead as they closed in to the entrance. The walk had been a colder one than usual, the weather seeming to affect Lily more than she realized as she felt just as much internally. Her jaw clenched and unclenched, hands shoved into the pockets of her robes as she followed the Rooks with disinterest.

"Miss 'arvard! We're nearly there, come on!" Opening her mouth to respond, she was immediately cut off by an all to familiar voice.

"Give us a moment!"  She snapped her head back around to lay eyes on Jacob once more, swallowing back as she looked around for that Rook to be in toll close after. Yet she hadn't, which had Lily curious. Her brows narrowed in somewhat anger, but at what particularly she didn't know. Jacob did not truly do anything wrong, and so her anger wasn't directed at him. She was just generally upset, unable to rid the feeling or express why she sat in it as she did. The bitter emotion sat heavy to her chest, eyes averting sideways momentarily as she expected another interruption.

"Lily," Jacob cooed her name softly, stepping closer to her so her face sat level with his chest. The way her name rolled off his lips as her shoulders softened, fingers clasping to her robing material in anticipation. Her eyes drew up, surprised to see Jacob looking down at her with a gentle gaze; he hadn't of been angry or even confused. Simply accepting, and it tugged at her heart.

His arms lifted to wrap around the top of her shoulders, tugging her closer to press her against his chest. Her eyes widened as he tightened his hold to her. It was a particular place he liked to embrace Lily when he wanted a close proximity, a place that she felt most valued when he was with her.

A kiss came atop her forehead, her eyes lifting up to meet the hazel pair that gazed down warmly at her. The hands in her robes slipped out onto his chest, fingers clutching his vest to additional comfort as he kissed her forehead once more. "You're all that I need, Lily." He began, gently tilting her head up closer to his with the aid of his forefinger and thumb. His other took a hold of her hand, sliding it over his chest to land atop the part where his heart lay underneath. "That is yours, Lily Harvard." She swallowed back, wrapped in the emotion along the side of the street, yet she couldn't seem to find enough will to care. "And I will continue to call you mine, until a day comes where you wish it not."

Lily could only shake her head, glancing down to their hands as he began to run his thumb warmly against the back of her palm. Though his words were few, they seemed to be enough to emit a lighter feeling in her chest, the weight etching away with each moment by the sheer warmth of his touch and sincerity behind his eyes.

Her response came as a nod, tipping up onto her tip toes as she pressed a lingering kiss against him. He smiled against her, holding her close as the two embraced on the street, uncaring of those around who watched. His hot breath against her own sent her into a trance as she pulled away, Jacob pressing a last kiss to her forehead as she inhaled contently at the exchange. Surely more to come as the rest of the night could finally be spent in the joy the two had been expecting.

[turtletimewriting]

If you still doing the OP thing, maybe LoganxVirgil, please? :D

1. Who has the cutest tickle laugh?

Hmm... I feel like Logan. Similar to Virgil, he doesn’t laugh often and most of the time it’s just a sarcastic laugh. But I think he has the cutest as Logan snorts like you wouldn’t believe. His laughter is so squeaky and snorty and all over the place! The sort of the laugh where you find yourself laughing along with it. Virgil is completely obsessed with it. Imagine the most responsible uptight posh person you can and then their laugh is high pitched squeals and breathy snorts. 

2. Who is ticklish in unusual places and where would that be?

It’s not really a strange place but I really love the idea that Virgil is supremely ticklish on his back. Completely and utterly ticklish back! The cuddle up in bed and Virgil spends ten minutes squealing that Logan can’t touch his back, breath on his back, even look at his back. Watching films and Logan pulls Virgil into his lap? Half an hour of Virgil giggling at even the thought that Logan could get his back at any point. Logan tries to take a picture with his arm around Virgil and Virgil is blushing neon red and squirming before he can even put his arm around him. 

3. Who gets cheer-up tickles?

I don’t know if this is cheer-up, but I really like the idea of Logan completely stressed out his mind. Like slumped at his desk, realising he isn’t doing any work and won’t be able to do any because he’s so tired and stressed. He pushes away with a sigh and collapses into Virgil’s lap. Virgil knows exactly what he wants but he cheekily pretends he has no idea. Logan timidly asks that Virgil take his mind off things with some gentle tickles. They then spend the next half an hour gently scribbling and tracing around his feet or tummy, letting Logan just giggle and squeal his worries away. And this all happens a lot more often they would both like to admit. 

4. Who takes advantage of the other one getting their arms stuck while taking off their shirt?

Oh Logan, completely! I love the idea of Logan being kinda useless in the morning. He wakes up and doesn’t bother putting on his glasses. He will say he doesn’t need his glasses because he can roughly see and has memorised the house. In actuality, he always forget about them and can’t be bothered finding them (even though they’re in the same place every single morning). So he always, ALWAYS, gets tangled in his shirts. He can’t count how many he’s put on backwards or inside out. He gets stuck in his morning uselessness and his blindness all while his adorable little tummy is open and vulnerable. Virgil cannot be blamed for anything that he does. 

5. How did they discover each other’s ticklishness?

Oh I don’t really know. Building on question 2, imagine an analogical who’s only just got together. Logan in his own super awkward attempt at being sappy, he tries stiffly hugging and cuddling Virgil only to see Virgil completely freeze. He questions it and Virgil ends up shouting that he’s “super ticklish, Lo! Shut up!”. They’re still a little awkward afterwards but Logan really loosens up when he realises who cute Virgil is when tickled.

Of course, Virgil discovers Logan’s ticklishness when he finally fights back. He’d say that he fought back against Logan’s tickles immediately but in reality, he didn’t think to fight back until months of attacks and tickles. At first, he thought Logan wasn’t even ticklish but it turns out you just need to go gentle to unlock all his laughs then he can’t hold back. 

6. Who can’t take tickle bites?

I feel like neither are hugely affected by tickle bites but I think Virgil has a special weakness to seeing Logan finally acting fully silly and embracing his inner tickle monster. Have you ever seen a tickle monster with a tie? Exactly. Something about it, makes it tickle all the more and also he just thinks seeing Logan ‘nom’ away is really funny!

7. Who has to be tickle-forced out of bed in the morning?

Surprisingly, a bit of both. Definitely Virgil the most often. He’s just a sleepy boy and there’s nothing funnier than tickling his back to then see him shoot out of bed with a squeal. He goes from dead to the world to across the room giggling. There’s nothing more that brings more joy to Logan. 

But that doesn’t mean Logan doesn’t have his moments. Some days, especially after a stressful project, he’ll treat himself to waking up late. But, the stress just always conks him out. If he isn’t woken up then he’ll sleep for sixteen hours straight. Virgil will always start gentle in the hopes of slowly waking him up but that never works. It quickly turns into planting raspberries on his neck while digging into his sides. It doesn’t happen often but Virgil genuinely treasures and looks forward to those mornings. 

8. Who gives up in a tickle fight?

See, you would think it would be Logan. He’s a posh boy and he has an embarrassing laugh (to him). But no. Logan is stubborn and competitive. If he starts a tickle fight then the earth will be swallowed by the sun before he gives up. He could be pinned down being destroyed but he is simply biding his time to attack when Virgil gets too confident. 

Virgil always makes the mistake of getting too entranced by Logan’s carefree giggles and squeals and so when the tables turn, he immediately knows he’s too ticklish to fight against Logan’s thorough effective tickling. He starts almost all of their tickle fights but he immediately folds when Logan wins.

9. Who is in danger of getting hurt when attacking the other?

Neither really. Virgil just always squirms in the spot or just tries to run away if Logan’s grip is weak, so he never really gets in the way. And Logan has the worst habit (in his view, Virgil loves this) of just curling into a ball as if that would protect him from everything. It doesn’t and never will. 

10. Who always provokes the other into tickling them and how?

Logan will ask for tickles but it is Virgil who always provokes tickles. Again, he will make a huge deal about being tickled and just how incredibly ticklish he is which is all just screaming for a tickling! Not to mention, Virgil has the habit of falling into Logan’s lap and then giggling and begging for his back not to be tickled. Of course, Logan can only take so much temptation.

[danddymaro]

Before I Go | Jean Pierre Polnareff x Reader

Set during Part 5. AU Where sweet Baby Polnareff doesn’t get fucked and instead gets a happy ending, surviving Diavolo.  

Kind of, sorta angsty (???)

Thoughts are italics in quotations = ‘Example’

Flashbacks are in italics = Example

Word count:  2395

Before I Go

“ How was I supposed to tell him?” She said quietly as a soft, little look of remembrance touched with sadness melted onto her features as she remembered each and every time the question went over her head,

‘How Polnareff? How could I have even stood before you ?’ She asked herself, not knowing how she could ever come to face him again.

By then, the stark night was illuminated by the large glowing moon, the only light that could lovingly touch her now, something she detested with a passion, because it just reminded her of how seldom her life would remain while stuck lurking in the darkness.

Furthermore, it reminded her of  her loss of humanity,

“ How was I supposed to admit that the entire time we’d been together, I had been nothing but a monster,” She revealed, her (e/c) eyes glaring down at her open palm, her overgrown nails, both pointed and black coming into perfect view as she brought her fingers down, forming a tight, shaking fist.

“Every time he’d look at me, he'd know I was just as revolting as those two…” She said while sucking in a harsh breath, “ Those...two…” She added through her tightened teeth, unable to finish her sentence, woeful tears leaking from her (e/c) eyes as she recalled the events which took place many years ago.

Suddenly calming, she then let loose of her tightened fist, her shoulders coming down in a slacking state during the process,

“It's been years and I haven't heard a word from him,” she started, continuing to speak to the golden haired teen to reveal all of her truths, “ But to be fair, I hadn’t really searched much,” she admitted, “Because...well... I was too afraid he’d know I was still around. ”

It was then that she cracked a small smile, a very minuscule one that showed tenderness,

“ He'd no doubt found a wife,” She doted, certainty in her (e/c) drops. “... someone to share little moments with, just as he'd always dreamed of. - All like he said he would one day.” She said with a touch of amusement, remembering how everyone would roll their eyes at his flirtatious nature,

‘ He was such a romantic...’

“ And of course....I can imagine him with so many children,” she said smiling, her voice cracking in between the sentence, because she’d always wanted to have children as well.

“ I can see him playing with them, both arms outstretched as he spins them around,” she added with a hiccup, shaking it off with an unsteady chuckle instead to try and drive away the unbearable pain in her chest,

‘ Just like with sherry...like you said you'd done so many times…’ She recalled with fondness.

“ I miss those days, those few days we knew each other, because while they hadn’t been the longest, I can admit without a shadow of a doubt that I'd never been happier than I was at that point in my life!” She confessed, her arms tightly hugging her own figure.

‘Every day we struggled to make it to the next, and even then I’d never smiled so much. I’d never been so damn happy than when I with all of them... Especially you Polnareff,’  She thought while thinking back to all of the men she’d traveled with. 

She missed jabbing Jotaro until he grew annoyed, physically poking him out of boredom until he fought her back, doing just the same out of rebuttal. Occasionally, she’d catch his scowl take a turn, twitching into a smile during his own attack.

“Good Grief,” He’d mutter, “You’re so annoying!” He huffed in between his assault.

She missed hearing Kakyoin jabber on about his gaming strategies, promising they’d one day play together. There was a smugness to him during his talks that she found funny, because he was sure no one could really beat his technique, no matter what video game they’d pick. 

“You know,” Noriyaki started, “I’ve never really played against anyone else,” He admitted, “Not with a friend,” He added, smiling at her with appreciation for even bothering to take interest in something he had a passion for.

She missed Avdol’s calm, warm air, and the ease she had when she was around him. Out of all of them, he felt the closest to family, being the wise one, the level headed one she could ask for advise and trust with her life, 

‘I never had a doubt you’d give yours for one of ours,’ She thought as she remembered him with fondness, appreciating his sacrifice, the very one that kept her from falling into Vanilla Ice’s mercy. 

The same one that kept Polnareff out of danger more than once...

She missed Mr. Joestar’s pleasant company, always beaming as he’d lay a hand over her head as a little act of affection he’d grown accustomed to doing. She also enjoyed his stories, listening on attentively to them with amazement, 

“You know...” Joseph said while looking down at his prosthetic, feeling just a smidge bashful at his admittance, “ Sometimes I feel like no one listens to this old fool,” He confessed to her. “For a long time now, even Holly seemed to grow tired of me, focusing more on her own life,” He said while offering (f/n) a soft smile, “ Thank you for listening (f/n). Thank you for taking the time,” He added, laying his hand over  her head, scuffling up her combed (h/c) strands while she responded with a happy smile, truly at peace.

‘I even miss that gas machine Iggy,’ She mused, loving the tenderness he showed when they were left alone,

“Why can’t you be this sweet all the time,” she asked the creature while pouting, touching the little sensitive spot behind his ear, “It wouldn’t hurt to stop acting so tough,” She suggested, watching as the Frenchie scoffed, nonetheless staying still to keep being caressed.

And then there was Polnareff, the man who she simply could not let go of, no matter how much time progressed. 

- The same man who currently hid from her, the entire time sitting in disbelief as he heard her voice.

Listening on, the silver-haired male closed his eyes tightly, keeping himself hidden away from her, listening on to the woman as she poured her heart out to Giorno.

‘I hadn’t forgotten you either.’ He thought to himself, having spent nights with the same heartache, yearning for the woman he thought had died back in Cairo at the hands of the golden-haired fiend.

“ Is that why you helped us?” Giorno asked, his voice soft as he stared at the woman with interest, finally having understood her strange behavior. "Just to find him again," He added with a soft smile lifting up his features, truly taken by the dedication that existed within her.

With a somber nod, she confirmed it.

“It’s also why you only showed yourself during the night,” He added with understanding.

“Precisely,” She said with a soft blow of air coming out from her nostrils, “I did all I could to aid you,” She said lowly, " Just know, I’m sorry I couldn’t do more,” She added with regret, knowing there were none but three of them left.

"Yeah," he responded back with the same gentleness.

In the end, he couldn't blame her for what happened, especially not now that he understood her restrictions.

“ I  just wanted to see him one last time,” she admitted, “ One last time before…” stopping herself, she swallowed thickly, instead, trailing her eyes up to the full moon where in the morning the sun would soon arise,

“ Before?” Giorno asked her, urging her to continue.

Looking at him straight on, the woman smiled wholeheartedly, her eyes shut tight as  a large grin itched over her face, painfully being forced to stay,

" Before I let the sun rise over me. Before I turn to nothing but ash," She revealed to him.

" I wanted to see him one more time before I go.

 I haven't found happiness in all this time, and I doubt I'll ever come to hold it within my chest again." She added.

“ I don't mind him looking away from me, not when even I can’t stand the sight of my own figure.” She spoke with the same melancholy,  “ At this point, I don't care if he detests me, because I've lived with that thought every day for years.

I know he’d despise me.

The only comfort I have from that is that I know that once he finds out what I've become, he'd be much happier knowing I was dead. And then...then I could make him happy just once before I die. "

The teen’s Green eyes open wide as he heard her, his  mouth opened up to speak before another voice cut him off,

“Tch! Are you insane?” Polnareff said out loud, barking at her as he revealed himself to her, his arms straining to push his chair forward.

“P-pol…” she couldn't finish, her eyes grazing over the filthy murky silver of his chair, and then his artificial limbs that were now useless.

Stopping, she held in a breath, her heart stilled at his miserable sight,

"I don't care about any of that !" He cried out to her, having willed himself right to her, his two hands tightly grasping hers to pull her down.

"Pol-" she couldn't finish her surprised outburst before she fell down to him, his lips immediately latching onto  hers.

Through his shut eyes, crystal droplets escaped, mixing with her two falling streams as they traveled down, their paths once again coming together to taste bittersweet,

“I could care less...” He murmured between their mashed lips,  “Mon amour,” he muttered softly, drawing back slightly to gaze into her (e/c) colored eyes,  the pad of his thumb brushing over the flesh of her lips, both top and bottom, relishing in the softness of them, something he hadn’t been able to do in the past, despite all the overwhelming desire he'd had during those days.

“Do you know what my life has been without you?” he asked her, moving his hand to take a hold of the side of her face, collecting her tears and gently  wiping them away,

“Do you know how many pieces my heart shattered into?” he added, a shuttered breath leaving him as he thought back to the last night he'd seen her,

He moved too slow, his royal blue eyes watching with horror as her body curled onto the large arm impaling her, clean going through her.

Frozen, he watched while she was then  thrown aside, her beaten body rolling across the concrete ground. A trail of red was painted upon the empty road, starting from the woman’s carcass, and leading back to DIO.

"(f/n)! " He cried out, crawling towards her, his vision blurred as he stared at her longer.

Pushing himself he cried out in lament as he stopped, his sluggish body unable to move further,

"I couldn't help Jotaro," He mumbled, his cheek pressed against the chipped , concrete ground,

"I couldn't save Avdol.

I couldn't  save Iggy.

I wasn't there for Kakyoin.

I couldn't even reach out to Mr. Joestar .

And now....Now... (f/n)… I can't even make my way towards you,"  

He said while tightly shutting his eyes, the smothering embrace of slumber taking over, his last thoughts on the woman  slain a few feet before him.

Silently signaling both Trish and Mista, Giorno took his leave, deciding it best to leave the other two to themselves, sparing one last glance at them with a placid smile, wishing them the best. 

"- I searched for you," Polnareff  told (f/n), "The first thing I did was look for you when I woke up in the hospital," he revealed to her. " But by then you were gone. Jotaro said that you were gone when he went back, and we didn't know what to think of it." He went on,

"Last I knew you'd been struck by him... You'd been beaten bloody...

After that, I would have never imagined you alive," he said with relief.

"But here you are," he marveled at her, seeing how little she'd changed, retaining all of the beauty she possessed in the past, and in fact,  growing even more stunning now.

"I am, "she said back to him, " I am here...but I'm a monster nonetheless," She told him. "He'd given me his blood and whether or not I knew of it, it doesn't change the fact that I -"

"That I love you." he interrupted her, " It doesn't change the fact that I love you.” He flat out told her, “ It doesn’t change that I'd thought of you every day since then. That no matter how much time passed by, I could never find it in myself to even look at another woman." He went on,

"(f/n) ," he started, his face soft and uncertain, a gentle, rosy color rising over his face as he continued to look up at her, reminding her of the past version of himself that was still young,

"You're nothing like him.” he assured her, “ You're no monster, because all in all, you're still (f/n). You're still my dream, " He admitted.

Grasping both her hands, he took them up to his lips, kissing them sweetly, his blue eye gazing up at her with unwavering love,

"I've spent years without you, having been unable to tell you in the past how much I loved you.

I know I'm only a fraction of the man I was before, and so much time has gone by. 

But...

But (f/n), I'd still love to spend the rest of my days with you. Grow old at your side. " He told her.

Her hand rose to take hold of his cheek, caressing it tenderly before drawing in towards him, answering him with a sweet kiss in return,

'I can't grow old.

I can never live a normal life...but even so, even while knowing,

you still propose such a thing to me,' She mused.

"If you still love me the way I am... If you'll still want to spend the rest of your life with me, then I want nothing more than to live in that future,

With you Polnareff,"  She said with happiness.

The warmth of his body radiated to hers, and for a fraction of a second she felt the same as she did before, 

Alive and human… 

Happy and accepted...

“I love you,” He said while not taking his eye off of her, never wanting to go another day without his love.

“Forever... and always,” He said with evident adoration.