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j-graysonlibrary · 1 year ago

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The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four Chapter 31

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 118k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: In order to save the world from the continuous subjugation and potential annihilation at the hands of Tiandi, hard lines must be drawn. The Great Spirits that were imprisoned ages ago must be unsealed and awakened, no matter the consequences.

The players are divided—those who stand blindly with Tiandi, such as Xiang Merra and her disciples versus those who want to tear the system down and give the power back to the people. Even a few of the most religious Lords change their minds when they learn the truth of the world—that Tiandi is no more than a dictator with no love in his heart.

It is up to the last, real Xiang and the ill-fated Chaaya to put everything they have into tearing God from his throne and creating new possibilities for the future.

Full chapter 31 under the cut

Chapter XXXI:

It would be the last time they all had to separate, or so they hoped. There was no telling, for sure, what the next stage would hold but, at the very least, the days of them grouping up to leave for large hunks of time were about to be behind them.

The days of them breaking Great Spirits free were definitely coming to a close, at least.

And, with the information given to them by Badou, they had a fairly good idea of where to begin their search in Agni.

Kira opened a portal that took them to the outskirts of the Oasis, hopefully, out of eyeshot for anyone in the village. Pangu, also, opted for no disguises as he hoped to get a little information from the people as himself. If he could find the leader, Illana, he knew she would be willing to treat with him and maybe offer a scholar to answer any questions he had.

When they landed, the heat caught up to them immediately but there was a surprisingly pleasant breeze that passed through.

Phay took a deep, sustained breath and then exhaled all at once. “Ah, Agni air. I missed you.”

“Nothing but clear skies,” Loa mentioned and looked around with her hand shielding her eyes. “I did not realize just how bright it is up here.”

“Right, you three have been stuck inside the longest,” Kira mentioned and glanced to Baiya who had his hand clamped over his eyes.

“So…fucking…bright…” he groaned.

“Baby,” Kira goaded.

“Dick,” Baiya muttered right back.

Pangu rubbed his shoulder and then walked around him to offer his hands as a visor. “Shame there is no shade to hide under anywhere near.”

“There are some trees over by the pond,” Phay said and pointed. Despite the drastic change in lighting, she seemed entirely fine.

“Barely,” Kira sighed, “But I guess we can hide away there. Phay, have you been here before?”

“A few times,” she answered and led the way, along with Kira, to the water’s edge.

Loa kept her head down and a hand against the side of her eyes to block out the majority of the sun’s rays. “Phay took me once about a year ago. She wanted to show me the old cave.”

“Oh, we went there too!” Pangu rushed forward, keeping a hold on Baiya’s free hand all the while.

“It is a fascinating relic of the past and the ever enduring history of Agni,” Phay said with a proud smile, “Of course I did not realize, at the time, that the stories of old were all true and that I would be returning in search of one of the old Great Spirits they spoke of.”

“Funny how life works, huh?” Kira snickered.

“So, what did you all do here?” Loa asked once they made it to the shade of the trees.

Baiya finally removed his hand and started to adjust to the light but Pangu still kept his hand clasped in his. Kira leaned against the trunk of the tree, or tried to—the curved nature made the task a little more difficult. He readjusted himself to stand at more of an angle and then answered, “Honestly, we were just trying to get from one point in the desert to the next. The Oasis is just the only stopping point in between. Pangu and I also cleared the place of miasma for them.”

“You can drop the Pangu bit,” Pangu said with a laugh, “Everyone knows by now that I did not actually do anything.”

“These people do not know that,” Phay pointed out as she gestured to the side, toward the buildings.

They all nodded and muttered in some form of agreement before going silent and just resting. Pangu closed his eyes and felt around, careful not to break past the shield he had erected around them. Each of the sealing sites had exuded a particular kind of feeling so he searched for it in the area.

As if he knew exactly what he was up to, Baiya asked, “Feel anything?”

“Maybe…”

“Is it in the Oasis itself or near?” Kira asked next.

“I think…maybe north of here, more in the desert.” Pangu pulled his energy back and re-secured the barrier. “It might have been part of the Oasis a while ago but my guess is the sands took it over. But, just heading north from the village and stepping into the spirit realm should do it.”

“Should we ask around just in case?” Loa asked and glanced to the colorful and inviting building to her right.

“Sure. That might help narrow the exact location down.” Pangu nodded.

They headed forward, entering the village from the direction of the pond which drew a lot of eyes. It seemed there were still few visitors to the locations, save delivery caravans, so to see a group of travelers was most strange. And the confusion only grew once they were recognized.

“Pangu?” A man called out with a furrowed brow. “And Lord Phay…? Where did you come from?”

“Hello, um…” Pangu recalled his face but his name was eluding him. He had been one of the people to help set up his miasma clearing ceremony and, while they had not spoken for long, he had been pleasant. “Higgs!” he blurted out the second he remembered. “Higgs, um…is Illana around? Or Blue?”

“Sure but…they will both have questions.” The man shifted his attention between them. “Would you like to join us for breakfast? It should be about done.”

“Of course,” Phay answered for all of them.

Their communal meals were sure to include the people they were looking for and, of course, free food was always a bonus. Pangu wondered if they still had the melons they served the last time he was there and his mouth started to water just at the thought.

They sat down at a length of free space, each with a plate full of food and Higgs’ promise to find Illana for them. He disappeared in the crowd of villagers, giving them ample time to focus on eating before it was back to business.

The large woman arrived before them while Pangu still had a slice of melon left so he said a silent goodbye to it before setting his eyes on her.

“Hello again,” he said and stood to greet her. It was most likely sloppy but he attempted to bow in the correct, Oasis way that he was taught on his last trip.

Illana chuckled and gestured for another to join them. Blue, or so Pangu guessed. They had grown almost a foot taller and were scrawnier than before but with more angular features on their face.

“I thought I should bring our old friend to the table with us,” Illana explained and squeezed their shoulder. “Now, before we go any further, I should tell you, Pangu, there are some nasty rumors about your death. Do you know about those?”

He glanced from one side to the other, hoping to portray his intentions through his look alone. After everyone stayed silent, he cleared his throat. “Yes, well, those are exaggerated, clearly. There is a new Xiang, however, and I have been…what is the word…?”

“Demoted?” Blue offered and Pangu shrugged in a loose agreement. “Why?”

“We do not see eye to eye,” Pangu responded, “Neither does Tiandi see eye to eye with me.”

“You look quite pale dear, are you alright?” Illana asked, switching her focus to Kira.

“Oh, I am fine.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Not enough time in the sun is all.”

She remained skeptical but did not push it. “So…why are you all here?”

“Well, to put it plainly,” Phay began, a sober look on her face, “We are looking for something very important and we believe it could be around here. Is there any record of a ruin or important monument north of the village? Perhaps something that has been destroyed in a previous war or just lost to time?”

Illana blinked and regarded Blue. “You want to tell them?”

The young scholar nodded slightly and leaned back into their seat. “I think the village used to be larger and there was more of the cave up north. But you are right, it is all gone now.”

“May I ask what such an important group of lords and holy folk are searching for, exactly?” Illana’s usual cheerful demeanor dropped but she did not seem especially agitated either.

Pangu, feeling a tad guilty, answered, “A path to the Great Spirit Salamander.”

Both Illana and Blue’s eyebrows rose. “Is that…even possible?” Blue asked.

“Well he has found the other three so, yes,” Baiya answered.

The villagers exchanged a glance and Illana frowned. “Maybe that was what that woman from the other day was looking for as well?”

“Woman?” Loa repeated.

“The day before yesterday, a strange woman arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, and was asking about ruins or sacred places just the same as you lot…” Illana sighed. “We told her we knew of nothing outside of the cave and she left after inspecting it.”

“Did she say what her name was?” Phay asked.

“What did she look like?” Kira followed immediately after.

“No name,” Blue answered, “And she was tall, tan, and had long dark hair. Pretty but not especially unique. I could pick her out if I saw her again but describing her is…”

“Did she have a wooden staff?” Pangu cut them off.

“I…yes, actually.”

“Ashoka,” Phay said with a scowl.

It was strange, Pangu thought, if she was following in the footsteps of her fellow disciples, she would have waited around the Oasis or started to attack it. Perhaps she was waiting at the actual spot or even in the spirit world if she was allowed to enter it.

“We need to hurry then,” he said what was on everyone’s minds.

They finished eating, thanked Illana and Blue for the help, and then headed north with their guards up. There, at least, were not many places for Ashoka to hide and ambush them but that fact did not ease any of the tension away.

“I think we are far enough,” Pangu said as he felt a pulse under his feet. Whatever monument had been there to commemorate Salamander was long swallowed by sand and time.

“So, do you think she is in the spirit world…?” Baiya asked, sounding unsure.

“I can only guess so.”

Kira shrugged. “If she is then that, at least, makes her more reasonable than that little bitch from Kyrie who held Raine’s family hostage and the old dude who attacked Gnoma.”

“She will not go easy on us though,” Phay pointed out.

“You keep back then,” Loa told her. “Let my brother and Kira handle it.”

The lord frowned but gave a small nod. Pangu would also make sure she did not rush into a fight but, first, he had to summon the portal into the other world.

Kira headed through first, followed by the women and Baiya waited for Pangu.

“I have to go last so I can close it,” he explained and gestured for his partner to go on ahead.

But, Baiya held out his hand. “Together then?”

Pangu chuckled and accused, “Are you nervous, Baiya?”

“No,” he rejected the idea immediately, “Can I not just want to hold your hand?”

With another laugh, Pangu set his hand on top and held on, letting himself be partly pulled through the shimmering door.

“Um…Pangu,” Kira’s concerned voice reached him as soon as he stepped through.

The scenery on the other side was far different than the sea of sand they had parted from. There was still sand, sure, but a lot less of it and some grass grew in sparse patches. A few flowers, even, poked through with bright, vibrant leaves.

Sandstone, polished and sculpted, stood tall and blocked out the gleam of the sun. Pillars and open archways formed a circular structure that the wind blew through made a soft whistling sound.

They were already inside of the building, just at the entrance, and, in the center of the barren floor was what would have once been a sealing stone. It was black like the others but it was cracked open and the pieces littered the ground just as all the others had once the Great Spirit within had been freed.

“We…have a problem,” Kira finished, not taking his eyes off of the stone.

“What…?” Pangu released Baiya’s hand and made his way to the front of the group. “How? Ashoka does not have miasma how could she…? Where is she…?”

“Decidedly, not here,” Phay answered with a frown.

“What do we do?” Loa looked around at everyone, mainly Kira and Pangu.

“I…I don’t know.” Pangu’s heart beat like a war drum and he swallowed hard. Had Tiandi freed Salamander before he could in an effort to get some form of upper hand? Or just to foil their plans? It was the only way he could think that Ashoka could have, possibly, released the seal on her own. There were too many questions and not nearly enough clues to form answers.

“Should we just head back and tell Shakti the bad news?” Baiya did not seem fond of the plan, even as he said it.

“Well, we can assume Ashoka had something to do with this, right?” Phay started to pace, her eyes glued to the shattered stone.

“I would say so,” Kira agreed.

“And she has now left,” Phay pointed out the obvious once more. “But where would she have gone?”

“We are assuming the freeing of Salamander went smoothly?” Pangu asked, having a guiding feeling in his gut. The spirits had all been rather friendly save Gnome who was more tired than anything. Yet, despite his experiences so far, he felt the spirit most closely associated with Agni would have a more fiery temperament—though it might have just been an unfair assumption.

Loa agreed though, “It is strange that someone working for Tiandi could convince a Great Spirit to cooperate.”

“We cannot rule out the possibility that Salamander is being controlled by Tiandi directly,” Baiya said and Pangu felt ill immediately.

“Let us assume things are going well for Ashoka,” Phay resumed her speculation, “Would she return to Merra or, possibly, her uncle in Phaos?”

“I think that really depends on how the unsealing went,” Pangu all but mumbled.

“Maybe we should just check out Phaos regardless?” Kira suggested with a shrug. “The lord there was pretty laid back. If nothing else we could get some information and maybe ask for his help for later.”

“Yes but, if Lord Agni San Jurou’s loyalties are already with his niece then we will find ourselves sorely outnumbered upon arrival. That is too precarious for my liking.” Phay continued pacing. “We, instead, know we have an ally in Lord Cid Xun Gupta, up in Cidney. While it was not our first priority, with Salamander now absent, it may be best to head on over.”

“Lord Xun could know something as well,” Loa said, hopeful.

Phay’s gaze snapped up at everyone and, while it was not ideal and the situation really began to sink in, no one could think of anything better.

“Alright.” Pangu nodded. “To Cidney then.”

#the xiang chronicles #my novel #my writing

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elokian · 3 months ago

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Elokian's worst fear, as he'd been forced to confront within the game prism, wasn't losing Robin. To that he'd find a way to get through as he'd learned how to weather difficult storms many years ago. What the Azure couldn't survive was losing Robin's love. Just the mere thought that they no longer stepped in sync threw Elokian off his game and made him move in ways unexpected even to himself. Robin meant the world to him, more than his gold or reputation. More than the violence that got his blood pumping or the massive flagship that struck fear into the hearts of the bravest men upon sight. Robin was his treasure, and the boy had been ever since he slipped his hand inside Elokian's.

He was never a father nor had he tried to be, but everyone in the crew could see how much their captain's mood lifted in those moments of serenity he spent with his boy. Tossing Robin in the air as his fathers did him, teaching him how to wield a knife, goading him into eating sour fruit, singing to him at night: these were the memories that kept Elokian grounded. Those were his treasures, but the luster they held would greatly diminished without Robin's love being an aspect of the present.

"I'm sorry, alright? I love you too, Rob. I love you so much that I've been feeling like a madman knowing you're not on my side. Say what you will, but you aren't on my side right now and I'm lost without you. I don't have anyone else I can rely on. You're my compass, my boy. I don't mean to give up, but I can't carry on alone. I was born to be a captain, a leader, someone who's only uplifted by the support of those who put their faith in me. And yours is shaking."

Robin's outburst hurt to hear. It was impossible to know what words were genuine and what was brought on by his incensed demonic nature, but there were feelings he'd clearly been keeping to himself until now. "Centuries I spent on the tides building my armada into what it is today. Centuries, so when I returned to find what was mine plundered by my first mate, something broke within me. Suddenly, I became a monolith and my crew became my enemy. I couldn't see anything besides my need to reclaim my title. I knew I had to let Avalon go to truly live up to my namesake, but that meant setting things right."

Elokian's road to reclaiming his title of Neptune was cruel and bloody, but he was merciless because he had no other choice. The elvhen captain of Neptune's Fleet was a common tale across Taravel, so anyone who joined his former first mate in his betrayal did so knowing the risks. "The laws of raiders are absolute. If I didn't get even, I'd be seen as weak. We are the most free because we make our own choices. Your father chose to rob me when I was in another realm to sate his own greed. Your mother chose to follow him and remain loyal to her captain until the end. Neither were victims and ultimately they chose the life over you. So deal."

It may have been harsh, but so was every other aspect of their reality. Pirates didn't have the option of playing make-believe, but still their world wasn't all black and white. "I'd be stupid to not consider that you'd betray me the same as they did, but use your goddamn head Robin. I've killed children before and it's likely I'll do so again. If I was really concerned about treachery from your end I would've cut you down decades ago just like your parents. There'd be no need for me to "keep an eye on you", you fucking idiot." Elokian took Robin's face in his hands and held the cambion tight still, forcing him to spill his rage while looking his captain in the eye.

"My choice was different. There stood a boy too young to understand what was happening around him. He had hell and seafoam in his veins, born to lead a pirate's life. I could've spared him the hardships being a raider would bring, but I didn't have the heart to end him. It was because of his eyes. It wasn't turning my back on Avalon that changed me, it was the way that boy took my hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world. From that day on, all I ever wanted was to do right by him. Robin, I didn't raise you as some test or a gamble to see if you'd one day stab me in the back. Hells, it wasn't even because I knew your mother would want you to experience the freedom of raider life despite how she met her end. I took your hand for me, because I needed something new to live for. That's you, Robin. You're my legacy."

There was a sadness to the lift in Elokain's smile. The future may have been uncertain, but it never felt bleak to him. Robin was his hope, always had been. It hurt that the cambion even had to question that, but it changed nothing for Elokian. "Sorry, but it's just the natural flow that the younger toss the elder beneath the waves. I won't outlive you, not as I am, and I'm fine with that. Retell my stories, sell off my ships, once Neptune's Fleet is yours you can do what you want with it. But ruining my legacy is impossible because that's what you are. Robin, not a day has gone by that I've regretted saving you. Sure I've always kept a watchful eye on you, but not out of fear. I've trusted you wholly and I always will. From the moment I reached out my hand and you took it, all I've ever wanted was to see you thrive as a pirate."

Robin's rage only faltered momentarily when Elokian brought them closer. It was a bond they only shared, perhaps always would, but he was still struggling. He would always have that streak within him, laced with the Blight, with the darkness that he always fought against. The Stars, the stars would lead the way, but what happened when a star burnt out? Stars were lies, they always were; what they were seeing had to be something that died a long time ago, and perhaps this was where Robin dimmed, where the last bit of hope within him became stagnant.

Elokian had removed himself from his extended life, from his life within Avalon, all for this ship. And his legacy. Robin knew this, it wasn't a shock to him, but still – to know Elokian stayed for such a thing he deemed important? The cambion would never understand it. Once again, however, Elo's words rang true. He didn't really know him, did he? Robin had grown up on stories, all the different stories Elokian had told him. The Elvhen couldn't lie, it was only recently that he'd become Silver, so the lies could come forth finally. But he'd never considered that Elokian would lie to him. It hadn't crossed his mind.

To Robin, Elokian hung the moon. He'd watched him, copied him – as all children did – grown up and found a home in the only place he ever really truly knew. His eyes stopped their red glow, the horns slowly retracting into messy blonde curls. In his gaze simply remained sorrow.

"I never wanted that, all I needed was you – and the fucking truth. I love you, Elokian. It's you and me, if you die –" Uncertainty was the killer of faith, the killer of hope, and Robin had easily fallen victim to it. Perhaps it wasn't his fault, but the cambion would hold onto that fact, the fact that Elokian had thought that this was the way to do it. He was holding on to Elokian's wrist, like it was the only stability he'd ever want, until the words kept flowing. They didn't seem to stop, and while Robin wasn't dense, he wanted to think of every possibility. This had never been one of them. The story was pieced together in his head now, he'd seen it – his mother and his father, the witch and the demon – the captain – except he never really was the captain. Violence was no stranger to Robin, and he, it, but this sort made him sick.

There was so much to process, and Elokian didn't really stop. The story finished the way Robin was expecting it to, and the cambion felt sick. If anything, he was sure that he would've emptied anything in his stomach right then and there on the ground. It was like the ship being blown out from beneath him, thinking back to Elokian's trial within the game – it was the same feeling. A sinking ship, and Robin could only push their contact away once more. He took a step back, and another – "So you just...kept me?" His voice sounded foreign to himself, "You killed them, and you kept me so I couldn't do the same. Go ahead, finish it – finish what you started. You don't think I'll just do the same? Or – no, no you do." Robin had always found it curious as to why he wasn't First Mate; perhaps age, or the fact that he had....twenty nine years in Caribella and on the ship. He was an artificer, he held magic beneath his palms, and still – Elokian didn't trust him.

Pieces of the puzzle snapped into place, all the missing ones of the great Azure that was just myth to Robin. He'd defended the other plenty of times, that there was a reason to violence, "You do think I will. You don't trust me." All that talk about Robin being the one Elo trusted above all, the one he'd ensure there was a legacy for; it sounded like placation spoken for a child. "If he got what he deserved, then she didn't. And you know it. You fucking know it." He wouldn't budge on this; wasn't that what Elokian would want as well? Loyalty to the end, if it was the only truth they knew. Robin's truth, until moments ago, would've been that Elokian was his captain. He'd die before anything else happened to the Elvhen.

"You did it, then," Robin's voice was quieter. There was a lot of information to process, too much for him to maybe lash out anymore about. A demon would be a demon, Elokian had said to never take from someone who could harm you, or kill you, and perhaps the demon had thought he could evade what the High Elvhen could do. "You trapped me; congratulations. I can't leave and – you know I wouldn't kill you, you made sure of that – when did you even decide I was worth the effort?" He was certain it wasn't Elokian's great desire to become a parental figure the moment he saw a child. There was more to it, and it was obvious.

"Great fucking job, Elokian. Your legacy will live on, just you and the name of your ship. And I'll be here. A loyal crewmember. And when you die, there'll be no one left to speak your name with any sort of fucking awe. Because I'll ruin it. I'll ruin it before you're even cold in the ground." Robin's words were filled with vitriol, but there wasn't a lot of heart behind it. He couldn't do that to Elokian, most likely wouldn't, but it was the only threat he could think of. "Because that's all you care about. And if I'm lucky, I'll fucking die first on this gods forsaken ship, and I won't have to hear about the death of the great Azure." There was pain in discovering that the one he trusted with his life had always held it in his palm. It had never been Robin's to give away in the first place, because it'd been Elokian's choice to spare him, to watch him, to decide that maybe one day he wouldn't be a threat.

#robin ☠ 001 #robinxofxstars #⌛ neptunalia #✥ lysara

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adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy · 2 years ago

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Ik for a fact if vampy was at bbs parents house and they were just sitting on the couch and vampy pulls her into him to give her a forehead kiss and one of her annoying little 12 year old cousins tells them to get a room vampys clapping back with the most obscure roast all while giving his bb back scratches snsjjsjajajzbs

Y/N would be cradled into his side on the couch, her legs tucked away against his torso and her head resting on his chest. Harry drags his nails soothingly up and down Y/N’s back, pressing tender little pecks all over her forehead and eyelids, murmuring sweet nothings in her ear while nosing tenderly over her cheek and temple.

All of the sudden, a grating, high-pitched voice pierces the air from their left, full of utter disgust and ridicule. “Ewww! Get a room!”

Harry’s response comes as a reflex, with no hesitation or mercy whatsoever, his tone deadpan and sharp. “Get some hair on your chin.”

The entire room breaks into howls and snickers as the rest of the kids lose their minds at his witty comeback, and the praise— no matter how immature— nudges a smug, crooked grin onto the vampire’s lips. Kids are always so easy to entertain, and they make for the most loyal, devoted fans. Their affinity for cruel jokes and mutual bullying is why they’ve quickly become his favorite allies, and his most adored audience. He’d had all of Y/N’s little cousins wrapped around his pinky within the first thirty minutes of meeting them, and to say he’s pleased with the payoff is an understatement.

Y/N’s voice cuts over the laughter and goading, full of scolding shock. “Harry!”

Harry glances down at his girlfriend’s appalled face, but one look tells him she’s hardly upset. She’s glaring at him with furrowed brows and a faint frown, but it’s pretty obvious she’s trying to fight off a smile of her own. Her twitching lips and the crackling mirth behind her eyes makes that more than evident.

The immortal raises an eyebrow daringly, pushing his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he appraises her coyly. “What? The little maggot was asking for it!”

“I’m not a maggot!” The boy pipes up pettily, sticking his tongue out at Harry for emphasis, rubbing at his chin almost comfortingly as if to ease the pain of the older man’s retort.

“My mistake. Do you feel like ‘roach’ would be a more suitable title?”

The group’s collective giggles rise in volume, and Harry can’t stop himself from joining in this time around. Y/N falls victim to his mocking, as well, seen in how she suddenly bursts into laughter, and then immediately slaps her hand over her mouth to stifle her betrayal.

She shakes her head up at him in a chastising manner, though it holds amusement more than anything. “You can’t even spare a twelve year old, can you?”

“If he can dish it out, he needs to be prepared to take it in return. Just ‘cause I’m above them in a literal sense doesn’t mean I’m above them metaphorically. Stooping down to their level is way more fun, anyways.”

“Great. I’m dating a snotty little asshole.”

“Correction: you’re dating the respected leader of the pack.”

#ysijwa!ask #ysijwa!blurb

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spell-cleaver · 2 years ago

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Day 18: False Death

(And Day 30: Failure)

@angstober

Warnings: Second person narration, very creepy thoughts from Palpatine, possession, etc.

Vader steps into your throne room when the red guards allow him to and kneels at your feet. The benevolent smile you fix onto your face isn’t unfamiliar anymore: you thought you had finished with it once the galaxy was yours, twenty-five years ago, but you find that Vader responds to it far better than cruelty, when serving this master.

He is a dark stain on your luxurious red carpet. You notice with a slight curl of your lip that he had not bothered cleaning the mud from his boots before entering and has soiled the hall of your power with his own unkemptness, but you dismiss it. You have all the resources in the galaxy with which to clean it. But the undying loyalty of Lord Vader is something not so easy to maintain.

Historically, at least. Now, you find it almost boring how little a challenge it is.

“What is it, Lord Vader?” you ask. It is clear something is bothering him. He never managed to hide his emotions, mask or not. Not from you.

He keeps his head bowed. “The threat has been neutralised,” he says. “Chandrila’s population are pacified. We have many Rebels in custody, but more are dead.”

“Good. Civilian casualties?”

“The Rebels refused to withdraw, and Chandrila’s leaders did not see reason. We were forced to bomb the capital.”

“Anything left?”

“Imperial troops were evacuated, as were any valuable resources. The quarries nearby were left untouched.”

“Only the residential city was harmed?”

He senses the satisfaction in your voice and perks up. Dares to lift his head slightly to look at you, but your glare sends him cowering back down again. He knows his place, after all he has done.

“All civilians and civilian leaders were destroyed,” he confirms.

“Good. With our Death Star still in construction, I rely on you to remind planets what we can do.” You smirk, glancing over at the person chained to the floor to the right of your throne. The carpet does not extend that far: she sits on cold, black marble, shot through with white streaks like the light that has always threatened Vader’s darkness. You gave up on eliminating that light two years ago. Now, you harness it. “It’s a shame they forget Alderaan so quickly.”

Princess Leia meets your gaze levelly and coolly, but her composure does not fool you. Her eyes are rimmed with red and bloodshot. You wonder how long it will take before they turn gold.

“Alderaan will never be forgotten, Your Highness.” She spits out the title. You give her a gracious smile, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

“Your work has been amazing.” You turn back towards him, still kneeling penitently at your leisure. You stand from your throne and walk down the steps from the dais to lay a hand, small and tanned, on his large black shoulder. It is easy to sense how he leans into that touch, craves it like the oxygen his respirator feeds him. Just to cement the effect, you let him raise his helmet to look at you and smile at him. “Thank you, Father. I wouldn’t be able to do it without you.”

You can sense the watery smile he is giving you in return. His pride—for you—booms through the Force. Princess Leia scoffs.

The solution to eternal life, eternal power, and eternal control over the Force’s Chosen One was so simple, in the end. Skywalker waltzed right into your trap. You could not have baited it better, with those white-marble cracks running through Vader’s heart, calling him like a moth to the flame. It did not even take much goading to make him snap on the bridge of Death Star II: only a few hundred deaths beyond the viewport and the imminent demise of the rebellion, the impenetrability of his father’s loyalty, and his realisation that he had nothing to lose.

He had everything to lose.

You would have ordered Vader to defend you, if Skywalker tried to strike you down. But you changed your mind just in time. You could sense his rage, how his shields were coming undone. He was so focused on his father; he cared little for you. You are not even sure he knew you were Force-sensitive until your head had parted with your shoulders, and you were blinking up at Lord Vader with new eyes, younger eyes, with his distant voice screaming at the back of your head.

He did not scream for much longer. You took care of that. You took care of him; now, he is yours. Even if that gambit cost you your second Death Star, it was undoubtedly worth it. A third will be built; in the meantime, the Rebels’ morale has shattered beyond repair to see their hero become their enemy.

Vader’s gaze, pathetically blue behind his eye plates, stops staring into your young face and turns to glare at Princess Leia for her impertinence, half rising. “Luke—” he says.

“Father,” you say gently, putting a hand on his arm. Really, he revisits this issue every time. It grates. “It’s alright.” You have Skywalker’s speech patterns and accent down perfectly, by now. Not that Vader spent enough time with his actual son to know the difference. If he were forced to choose, right now, his real son or his fake one, you are reasonably certain he would choose you.

You are the son he has had the last two happy years with. You are the son who makes him proud. You are not the Rebel he regretted.

“She is not a threat,” you continue. “I tolerate her. Leave her be.”

Princess Leia’s muttered yet almost makes you laugh out loud. What an insolent girl—you understand why she and Vader’s upstart son got along. But she will come around eventually.

You wouldn’t have bothered having her captured were it not for rumours of the lightsaber. Princess Leia, seen at various Rebel strikes wielding a white lightsaber that she cut down loyal Imperial men with. You had been curious. And when you met her fully, with the power and sensitivity Skywalker’s body affords you, you knew it was a worthy instinct to indulge. Princess Leia’s Force-sensitivity, heretofore utterly unnoticed, rivals all but Vader’s. Skywalker’s included.

Another body? That would be a difficult fight, indeed; she would be ready for you, unlike Skywalker. But she has been here for nine months, kneeling beside you, trying to tug at heartstrings her friend no longer controls, and having long, long conversations. You are wearing her down. It is only a matter of time. And if you can turn her to the dark side, train her…

Well. The defection of Princess Leia would shatter the Rebellion almost beyond repair. But she and Skywalker always were close, according to your spies. If you turned her so thoroughly you could make her your empress? Not only would you have a powerful, loyal servant, one whose very existence undermines the Rebellion’s, but any offspring of Skywalker and Princess Leia would be incalculably strong. And a child’s mind could be moulded to allow you to control it from its first day in the galaxy.

It could take years. You are aware of this. But you are both young, and as a long-term plan, it seems worth the wait. If Princess Leia fails, Jade is still loyal to you. She would serve the same purpose excellently, even if her Force potential is a candle next to Princess Leia’s star.

You do not think you will need that, though. Princess Leia still listens to you. She is convinced that her friend can be reached, that Vader has done something to him. Skywalker’s faith in his friends was mutual, you see, and mutually foolish. You will use Princess Leia’s against her, as well.

“She disrespects you,” Vader growls. “Luke, I will not tolerate anyone who does not adore you.”

Princess Leia adores Luke Skywalker. She will grow to adore the emperor he has become.

You affect a sad smile, like a boy whose friend has decided to shun him. “I understand,” you admit in his shy, hesitant tone. “I deserve—”

“You do not.” Vader glares at her. “Do not allow her to make you doubt yourself. She will not undermine you. You give her control over you she does not deserve.”

“Father, do you think I’m blinded by my affection for my friends?” You let it come out biting.

“Yes, my son.”

He is so blinded by his love for his son that he does not realise his son is gone. Again, you try not to laugh. You turn away instead.

“I love you, Leia,” you tell her, walking back up the steps to her side. “You understand why I’m doing this?” You reach out a hand to her cheek. “I have to—”

She bites your finger. You jerk back, but the blood isn’t yours, and Princess Leia is choking, anyway. Vader marches forwards, his fist squeezing tightly, and tears weep from Princess Leia’s eyes as she claws at her throat.

“Stop, Father,” you said. Then— “Lord Vader, I order you to stop!”

He doesn’t, so you stop him. The burst of lightning that erupts from your hands does the trick. He cowers back.

You crouch in front of Princess Leia. “Are you alright?” You have always been excellent at faking concern.

She glares at you. “I know who you are,” she whispers.

“Your friend.”

“You are not my friend. You tried to destroy him.” Her throat is hoarse, raspy, but she keeps choking out her vendetta. “But Luke. Luke. I know you’re in there.”

This does not bother you. Princess Leia knows just how effective Imperial brainwashing has been in the past, how they have turned loyal Rebels against them. She is simply seething with denial that it could happen to a friend who was hers.

“Leave, Father,” you order, turning away from her. The ice in your tone brooks no argument. Lord Vader, hopelessly obedient to the son whose love he craves, leaves. You settle back onto your throne; only now do you let yourself smile.

All is proceeding perfectly. Vader’s fanatical devotion succeeds even your wildest dreams. If Princess Leia is resorting to such ridiculous claims already, she is clearly close to breaking. The galaxy is yours. It will not be long before that grip is utterly unquestionable. It will not be long before your eternal reign is assured.

This is where you are wrong.

Princess Leia still kneels on the floor beside you, the black dress you make her wear as an inverse copy of her Alderaanian Senate gown pooling around her like ink, and she watches you more closely than you can understand. She sees you smile. She sees your manipulations. But, most importantly of all, Princess Leia can see the only thing in the galaxy that you cannot. My sister can see me.

Do you think you can crush my soul?

Do you think I am gone?

And do you really think that you would have so thoroughly fooled my father into thinking that you were me if he could not sense me here, still lurking in the corner of my own mind, wholly aware and untouched?

You are not the great actor or manipulator you think you are. Your overconfidence is your weakness. I have been here for two years. I have seen how you operate. It has been slow, painstaking work, but I am coiled in every cell, every nerve, every brain signal, and soon I will be able to take back what you have stolen. And then I will use this throne you have given me to set your empire on fire.

You have failed, Your Highness.

I am a Jedi, and I will soon be set free.

#angstober #angstober 2022 #my writing #random words on a page #luke skywalker #sheev palpatine #darth vader #leia organa

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epicspheal · 3 years ago

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Heya! I hope your doing well!

Ever since swsh gave the rivals something to do after the fact( something that I believe only happened to Blue), I can't help but think of the rivals prior who haven't. What do you think they end up doing? I know that Blue ends up becoming a gym leader, but would still be interesting what you plan for him too! :3

Hi there @ihopethisendswell! So actually, it's the norm typically for the rivals to have something to do, even if it's just continuing being a roaming trainers. Being a roaming trainer is still just as valid of a career path as other routes given the way the Pokemon world works, it's just not as solid of a career path as say gym leader or research assistant. Pokemon Sword and Shield is one of the only main games that really puts emphasis on the rivals' alternate careers paths as part of the plot outside of the gen 5 games. So like you have Blue who becomes gym leader and also helps his grandpa with his research by still be a roaming trainer (much to the frustration of anyone trying to challenge his gym). By the time of Sun and Moon/USUM he has ditched the gym to become battle facility which ultimately given his status as a former champion ends up being a much more fitting role. Granted he needed that time as a gym leader as long standing humbling exercise so it wasn't a bad call at all. Then we have Silver, who remains a roaming trainer, though he kind of mainly sticks around the Dragon's Den because he really wants to avenge that loss to Lance and show how much he has changed. Then we have Brendan/May (when not the protagonist) who end up going back to being full time assistants professor Birch. Wally on the other hand, is much like Silver in that he continue to be a roaming trainer, with him staying around the Battle Resort in ORAS with him eventually going to the Battle Tree by the time the SM/USUM events occur.

Barry also follows the roaming trainer route with him staying Stark Mountain in Diamond/Pearl and with Platinum he hangs around the Survival area.

Gen 5 is where the rival's future goals get the most attention, and was the best well done (SwSh in my opinion failed hard on the rival's goals bar Klara and Avery's). Bianca is still my favorite "how to do a future career path" ending in the entirety of series which is she really doesn't know. She ends up taking up a position as Professor's Juniper's assistant. However it's this linefrom Bianca in Pokemon Black 2/White 2 that I really enjoyed:

"Actually, I'm not sure being a professor's assistant is really what I want to do... But when I do the work, I have lots and lots of fun!" I really appreciated that they allowed Bianca to have doubts that this is her final career path. She's still a child and I can remember when I was her age (God, I sound so old) how many career paths I thought about in that time frame...and only one of those comes even remotely close to what I'm attempting to go back to school for. I liked how she's just trying to things and aiming for experiences while not trying to commit herself to one specific path. Now obviously this could theoretically be true for any number of the rivals as with the exception of Blue (and Wally although for some odd reason they didn't give him an aged up model considering he'd be just as old as Red and Blue are) we don't see them as adults and their ambitions could very well have indeed changed over the years. Then you have Cheren who after that scolding from Alder really begins to question his pursuit of strength and what he really wants to do. Cue 2 years later in BW2 where we see him as the Aspertia City gym leader as well a lecturer at the trainer's school. Fitting as it shows his desire and capabilities as a trainer but also allowing a more concrete goal than just pursuing strength but actually overseeing the future generations. And Hugh, another one of my favorite characters, concludes his story arc on forgiveness (since he had absolutely none for Team Plasma at the beginning of the story) ends up a roaming trainer but also helping the good side Team Plasma in Driftveil City reunite Pokemon that were stolen during the events of Black/White to their original trainers. So he has a goal and really touching one I might add, one of the few that doesn't revolve around battling or researching.

Then there's the XY rivals who were admittedly the most shafted. They all pretty much end up as roaming trainers except for Trevor who already had the aim of completing the Pokedex for Professor Sycamore and he continues to do so.

The no specific aim works the best, in my opinion, for Shauna as she really didn't have much of a goal to begin with outside of travelling/making memories, and much like I said with Bianca, it's okay for characters to not have a specific end game (although I personally see Bianca's route as better as although she isn't quite sure what she wants to do, she does take initiative and actively pursue a goal to gain experience and see if it's for her).

Serena/Calem (again when not the protag) having no set aim also works because they were most competitive of the group and continuing to be a trainer makes sense, but since they get hardly any development it just feels hollow and not satisfying. At least with characters like Wally, Silver and Barry who are roaming they all went through some major development. Lack of major development plus no end game just makes Serena and Calem unfortunately just not stand out.

Then Tierno...poor Tierno. He's my favorite XY character and I hate that screwed over so poorly. He actually a goal but the game doesn't allow us to see how a dance team would work. Kalos really could've benefitted from a Pokemon Contest/Musical like sidequest where Tierno shines in. So him being a roaming trainer is just...meh.

Now moving on to Gen 7 and best boy Hau (Hau's up there with Blue and Leon as one of my favorite Pokemon characters PERIOD). In both Sun and Moon and USUM he's a roaming trainer but I argue that Sun and Moon actually wrapped up his character better, despite USUM giving him much more in the way of development. By that I mean he explicitly mentions to the player that he wants become strong enough to find his father who fled Alola because the pressure of being the Kahuna's son was too much. So yeah he is still just a regular trainer, but he does have an explicit goal that goes beyond just trying to continue to measure up to the player. He also helps to train the reforming Team Skull grunts in the art of Alolan SuMo. In USUM this is erased for a more generic roaming trainer scenario unfortunately. Gladion's fate also changes depending on what version of the Gen 7 games you play. With Sun and Moon he ends up taking over as Aether's president but also still trains on the side as he is one of the challengers that can come for your title in the post game. In Ultra Sun and Moon he actually takes the "I'm going to Kanto" route instead of Lillie although he actually back and is essentially a roaming trainer since Lusamine's villainy was nerfed and therefore allowed to stay as Aether's president

Then there's Trace who ends up champion then loses it, but keeps on going in this endless circle of trying to reclaim it from the player. And then finally the Gen 8 rivals where we have Bede, Marnie, Klara and Avery all become gym leaders and Hop is a professor. Despite this cast having the most focus on their future paths since the gen 5 rivals I don't think they were done that well. Like Klara and Avery's worked, really well and they're probably the only rivals bar Trace and Blue who actually their goals (with them actually maintaining there dream status because their goal didn't involve becoming champion).

I've talked about Hop's on this post before but the lack of genuine foreshadowing just made his sudden declaration of wanting to be a Pokemon Professor just come out of nowhere. And honestly considering the fact that he had just come out of a depressive stage and still hadn't quite addressed his idolization issues I think he would've been served better with the Bianca route where yes he becomes Sonia's assistant, but it's clear that he's still trying to find his new path and that he's just open to trying out research rather than making a rather bold claim that this was his new career path. Either that or do better in the foreshadowing where he shows he has a much clearer interest in academia but feels like he needs to be a champion like his brother.

Then there's Marnie who I've also stated was kind of screwed over. Because she made it rather clear to Piers she didn't want to be gym leader (which makes sense given that she saw how that position screwed over older brother that she admires). She's pretty much doing this because she still has the motivation to save her hometown which is extremely admirable and mature. But also it's sad, like if she didn't have to do this, would she honestly still be gym leader. I think not, at least not immediately. Considering that gym challengers can still compete on the big stage with the champion's cup rematches and some even can be invited to the Galarian Stars Tournament, I think if I had of written that I would've focused on how with Leon as the head of MC he's going to actually work with Spikemuth to revitalize without shouldering the responsibility on one single person, especially a minor. And let her be a roaming trainer and live for herself and not continue to be Spikemuth's martyr.

Then there's Bede who quite vocally states when crashing the Champion's Cup that he was ready to retire. Like poor boy goes from being used as Rose's wishing star collector and fall boy to Opal's reirement plan. Like yes it's great that Opal actually remembers his name and gives him a support system and teaches him some discipline. But still it's kind of sad as he was very much okay with retiring but more or less gets goaded into staying because of the stadium audience.

So this post got way longer than I what it was going to be but hey that happens. But yeah too long don't read, all of the rivals do have a goal, even if a lot of them end up as roaming trainers. If I'm honest in most cases (bar the gen 6 rivals because they lacked developent) the roaming trainer thing works. Because they're kids and they still have their whole lives ahead of them and they don't need to have concrete job just yet. Especially because in some cases the concrete plan just doesn't always fit the character. It works best when it feels like an organic part of the story and not just trying to wrap things up for the sake of wrapping things up.

Finally, to answer your question about how I deal with Blue. Well in my Pokeverse (dubbed cactusverse in case you see me refer to my AU as this), I tend to be fairly canon compliant to the games. So after he loses his champion title to Red he becomes Viridian gym leader, slightly patches things up with grandfather by helping with the research and eventuallya head of the Battle Tree as an adult once he gains the Battle Legend Status (which is an actual legitimate title in cactusverse held currently only by him, Red and Leaf, although one of my OCs gets this designation as well). So nothing that really deviates from canon except for some offscreen events. Basically the battle legend status is bestowed if a major event happens that is taken care of by an already established powerful trainer. So there's a rather major plot thing the Kanto Trio gets involved in that once they take care of gives them their status.

Also for cactusverse there's the whole issue of the Viridian City gym. So it eventually it gets passed down to Trace as Blue has shown that he's become a bit too powerful to be a gym leader. He was honestly when he first got it probably still a bit overkill for an 8th gym leader, but he also really needed an attitude adjustment. And with Lance being a far better father figure to him than Oak could ever dream of, with the help of Agatha tried to rein in his egotistical and self important ways by giving him the position. Which worked very well. Still in cactusverse there's rules on the win percentage a gym can have and that's determined by position. Win too many for your rank and you get moved, vice versa if you lose too many, and sometimes you might even lose your position. The first and last gym leaders are always the most at risk of losing their status. This actually happens to Wallace, Iris and eventually Raihan because they just end up exceeding the strength of most challengers who try to challenge them. Hence why all three of them end up champions at some point cactusverse (Raihan does not become Galar's champion, but Johto's champion since I really like the idea of him spreading his wings beyong Galar).

Blue between the time of BW2 and SM had ended up getting to a point that no one had gotten a gym badge off of him in a couple of years which is unacceptable by league standards and he would've gotten booted out sooner had Lance not personally asked my OC Terra to come kick his butt and get a badge off of him. And cue possibly the most iconic and brutal gym battles to have ever gone down in a region of outside of Galar because two heartbroken champion tier trainers, who broke each other's heart is a recipe for a frightening battle. Lance happened to referree that match and might be a little traumatized. Terra won and he was able to give out his last badge before Red came back from his latest global trip and said let's go to Alola.

#rival blue #rival marnie #rival hop #rival bede #rival silver #rival wally #rival barry #rival bianca #rival cheren #rival hugh #rival hau #rival gladion #ask epic spheal #rival klara #rival avery #rival trace

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harley-style · 4 years ago

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DREAM SMP Swap AU

Dream = Wilbur : Dream comes into the server to help these two kids who are trying to stir shit up -- why not, right? He's got a fondness for chaos but also very protective and caring over his friends. VERY FOND OF TUBBO. To the point of.. well, brotherhood. Wilbur = Dream : He had a vision, to create a place where people could emancipate -- he's not above being the bad guy to keep that ideal in place. He's charming and self-confident and isn't afraid to use blackmail or get all up in your business. Has dirt on everyone but Dream. Constantly threatens secrets but subtle, yanno? Again, very charming, very persuasive.

Tubbo = Tommy : Still very sweet, but Big Crime often comes out to play more often than not. Also a huge trouble magnet, tried to start a...Honey smuggling empire? For some fucking reason, despite its innocent sounding plan, is a threat to Wilbur's land but no one has any idea why. Tommy = Tubbo : Tommy has an innate fucking fixation on music discs. He's got Cat and Mellohi personally. He dreams of starting up a music cafe/music area...? He and Dream get along swimmingly, Dream actually gifts Tommy a few music discs too, but also pins Tommy with the name discount Dave Strider.

Fundy = Eret : Was convinced earlier on by Wilbur to continue his 'legacy' and ideals. Fundy further grows into a neutral party, doing things only when it benefits him. Is the traitor from the first war. Eret = Fundy : Gets far too involved with stuff and the only way out is if he wiggles through the restraints on him. Yes that's metaphorical.

JSchlatt = Technoblade : Assists through uses of contracts and business deals. Like, hello, Tubbo's Honey smuggling business? He and Dream make an agreement, he supplies Dream and Tubbo with shit, and Dream does favors for Schlatt. Technoblade = Jschlatt : Anarchy lmfao. Was actually brought on by Wilbur in secret. Acted as a benefactor for Dream before turning around and causing chaos in the land Dream Tubbo and Tommy built. Blood for the blood god, only the strongest gets to the top kind of government. There's always fucking pitfights. Oops.

Philza = Callahan : Largely uninvolved in the events, mostly just there to supervise Wilbur, Tommy and Techno. Duh. Callahan = Philza : Has personal history with Dream, tries to convince him not to do the thing that could hurt everyone else. Minimally succeeds.

Alyssa = Niki : Ready to defend her home and her family. Niki = Alyssa : Neutral, but ready to back Wilbur up if need be.

Sapnap = Bad : Arsonist, goes around and burns shit whenever he wants to. His base is a Nether inspired fortress. Also, he has to deal with a Nether problem in reference to the Red Vine problem from the original SMP. Hotlands? LMFAO Bad = Sapnap : Helps when asked. Started out on Wilbur's side, as a favor, but slowly shifts neutral due to the conflict between factions.

Karl = Skeppy : Gets held hostage? That's what preoccupies Sapnap's time. He suddenly disappeears or gets trapped in a cell. Skeppy = Karl : Runs around doing supply runs. Gets his friends into various stints to try and settle the conflict through friendly rivalry and competition. It doesn't always work.

George = Ranboo : Unlike original Ranboo, George is highly unsympathetic and needs concrete fucking facts before he acts, and that kind of backfires on him in the end. As a favor to Dream (how many favors is Dream involved in honestly) he runs messages back and forth from Tubbo to Tommy. Ranboo = George : Largely uninvolved in the conflict, like Niki, but unlike OG George, is not absent. He's just there to assist. One of the most innocent and purest people on the SMP, knows when to keep his head down. When his house burns down, he doesn't really believe its Tubbo who did it -- he knows the kid has been framed because he'd been WITH him at the time, but Wilbur pressures him to admit it.

Quackity = Punz : Wilbur's loyal paid henchman. Quackity will cause shit for the appropriate price, he's not exceptionally picky. That stunt he did as Mexican Dream was great and everyone in L'Manberg loved it. Punz = Quackity : One of the best fighters under Techno. Has more morals, but keeps them secretly. Very good at hiding his true intentions/feelings.

(sorry about the other characters not being on here, i dont know them enough to make swaps, or dont know who they'd make a good swap with. Swap who you wanna swap though! i'd like to hear your take on this matter! HEADCANONS ACCEPTED TOO AT THIS POINT EVERYTHING HERE IS FROM WHAT I REMEMBER AND MY HEADCANONS)

PLOT

-Wilbur starts the SMP with Niki, slowly invites others like Ranboo, Tommy, and Tubbo.

-Tubbo expresses a desire to Fuck Shit Up and Tommy says they can get Dream, he's an expert at getting away.

-Dream is extremely protective of them both. Tubbo more than Tommy but that's fine because Tommy is largely independent.

-Tubbo gets in the weirdest shit but Tommy can roll with the punches really quickly.

-Wilbur gets tired of their crap and burns down Tubbo's establishment. It's like the Disc Wars except it's the Great Honey War. Bee War? Basically he's tired of Tubbo hogging all the Honey related expenditures.

-Dream gets the idea to make a honey smuggling empire, as a joke, but Tubbo is Big Crime and he's going with it. Tommy just wants chaos, and he was getting bored tbh.

-Eventually the Honey thing turns into Resource management, so Tubbo Dream and Tommy have a hold on all major supplies

-Shit happens and Dream, Tubbo, Tommy, Eret, Sam, Fundy and Alyssa establish an independent nation. Dunno what to call it bc the server is called the L'manberg SMP so....

-The fight for indepencence still happens. Instead of 'Green boy' Wilbur is named 'E-boy'. Dream still says "WE HAVE NO MERCY FOR YOU" when Wil calls for a ceasefire negotiation, but Wilbur does threaten the nation saying "If there is no white flag by tomorrow, then you can kiss your sorry little arses good bye. That's my final warning."

-Turns out Fundy's been secretly funneling information to Wilbur in exchange for the safety of his friends, and also because Wilbur's his dad....uhm. Also! He and Dream are circling each other and others are like "OH MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE DEAD RINGERS FOR QUEERPLATONIC MATES JUST MARRY ALREADY" bc I like FundyWasTaken but others might not and its okay, we'll label it as platonic, but can be read otherwise depending on your tastes. But for this, it's very close platonic.

-Wilbur goads Tommy into a fight, as brothers do, but Tubbo steps in and Wilbur fucking jumps at the chance.

-This is the start of Dream's descent into madness. No one fucking threatens or pulls one of his friends like that. Denied. It's still subtle though, so he's okay for now.

-Tubbo and Wilbur face off. When Tubbo pulls back bc he genuinely doesn't want to hurt anyone, Wilbur takes the chance and beats him.

-Tubbo, however, makes a deal. Let their nation stand on its own, and he'll give up the Resource Empire he started. Wilbur accepts, with the condition that they unify their alliance with a...marriage? So basically, political marriage between Wilbur's heir, Fundy, and Dream, the leader of the revolution.

-YEAH I WENT THERE THIS IS VALID

-They're strained at first, but Dream and Fundy slowly mend their relationship post-betrayal.

-Fast forward a few months later. The Nation doesn't really have a leader, as per the agreement, but it does have a representative. All decisions are made via majority votes, and that decision is voiced by the rep and sub-rep, Dream and Tubbo respectively. Tommy's just there to have a good time and causes chaos as per usual.

-Enter Technoblade. He's been called in by Wilbur to...ah. Dismantle a little...nation. Sounds right up his alley. But he asks Wilbur to wait and see what happens.

-Tommy and Dream get the idea to hold a tournament to celebrate their independence, an all out brawl for everyone to kick back and relieve stress. There. That's where Techno comes in.

-He gets Punz to join him after like, being paid (ofc) and they fucking dominate the tournament. Dream's about to congratulate them but Techno turns the fuck around and declares his right to rule the nation. If anyone wants to fight him for the title, they're welcome to try.

-Dream loses another life to Techno trying and failing to fight it. He and a few others lost their first life sometime elsewhere? I guess? Probably by being blown up by Wilbur, idk.

-Tubbo and Dream are chased out by people who reluctantly follow Techno's orders, and Tommy, torn between his friends and his brothers, stays behind. Oh jeezus.

-Since Techno is a fighting GOD, no one's able to usurp him to make things turn back to normal. But Dream is smart, and knows Wilbur's 100% behind this. Fundy kind of knew but didn't do shit about it, which is why Dream rejects Fundy's offer of sanctuary. He can't be sure his husband will stay on his side, after all. It's nothing personal.

-Dream and Tubbo hide away somewhere, probably not a ravine but?? A mountain or something? They manage to get Sam away enough to ask him to build a super cool Redstone contraption thing that opens for them. ooooo.

-I'm not good at names but for the sake of jokes I'm gonna call their land the 'Bee's Knees' bc at some point Tubbo finds a fuckton of Hives hanging from Trees. Bee Mountain if Dream's feeling especially salty.

-SPEAKING OF DREAM. his insanity is on course now, it's slowly eating away at him and in fear of hurting Tubbo he's slowly distancing himself away. Tubbo's like what's wrong but Dream can't answer -- he doesn't know what's wrong with himself either.

-Tubbo and Dream need to go back and confront Techno, but they can't wait for long else Techno's going to obliterate everyone and their extra lives. They call Schlatt in.

-Schlatt's a pure business man and draws up a contract. He'll aid them in terms of supplies, but most of the revolution is on them. They agree.

-Tommy is actually really fucking good at lying and skirting around what he reveals to Dream and tubbo as a spy that Techno would have believed him if he didnt' know his brother. and Wilbur's warnings, of course. That results in Techno just being fucking done with Tommy's bullshit and plans his execution in another tournament? I guess?

-It doesn't go like the festival. First of all, Schlatt can't fight for shit, so why would Techno call him up the stage? No, Schlatt fights dirty. techno doesn't set much rules so theres no rule against poisoning Tommy quick and easy before the fight. Tommy loses another life and is on his last. Tubbo is spitting mad, but Schlatt points out that nothing in the contract covered this, so he's free to do as necessary. Tubbo is stopped by Dream who, at this point, is just overtaken by the need to one-up Techno.

-Also, Wilbur's been slowly persuading Dream to just. Let go. Let the monster inside of him free, he 'deserves it'. By the end of it all, Dream does. He snaps and lets loose the monster crying for blood inside him.

-Callahan is left to convince his old friend not to do it. In a moment of clarity, Dream stares on in horror of what he'd done. In his rage he managed to deplete ALL of Techno's lives (not really but shhhh), cause massive bloodshed, and terrified everyone in the process. He asks Callahan to kill him. Callahan does.

-Yes we'll get to Ghost Dream eventually.

-Anyway, Schlatt still does the Wither plan, because, uh, Drunken Rage. He was so stressed out from the ensuing conflict that he's like "LETS JUST FINISH THE REST OF YOU. THERE WILL BE NO CONFLICT IF YOU ARENT THERE TO FIGHT."

-and then he uses the line from the Lego movie on Tubbo like "Oh, Tubbster. It's nothing personal. It's just Business(tm)".

-Schlatt still dies of stroke. He does come back as a ghost though, that's one main difference.

-After everything's said and done, and the dust has settled, everyone decides to disband the nation, and just live their lives. like, they're done, wilbur, they get your point, jfc, let them rest.

-but uhhhh someone frames tubbo for setting fire to ranboo's (the server sweetheart) house. wilbur immediately decides to exile tubbo in 'anger'. acutally, he wants tommy and tubbo separated.

-tommy's not standing for it though, he fucking fights his way until wilbur threatens him and tubbo's like YES FINE OKAY I'LL AGREE TO BEING EXILED STOP THREATENING YOUR BROTHER

-tubbo's exile arc is not as sad as tommy's, but rather very tense because wilbur keeps riling tubbo up and taunting him. he still keeps contact with tommy though because they arent going to be separated just like that. no way. tubbo just gets a little more mad and gets short tempered like a lot.

-ranboo's not even that mad about it, he knows tubbo would never burn his house, there was a conspiracy on board and even if there wasn't he's like "arent yall overreacting its just a house, didnt you all do this like before the first war even began, what even (also, ranboo was WITH tubbo at the time of his house allegedly being set on fire. Not that he'll admit to it, because he and tubbo made that agreement long before)

-eventually he finds out that wilbur just wanted to pin the blame on tubbo to make him leave, and ranboo's like "IM DONE WITH YOUR CRAP WILLBUR STOP HURTING THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT" and leaves

-with the nation gone, people started to solidify their groups. sapnap and karl deal with their own thing, quackity still runs errands for wilbur, george is the main person ferrying messages from tubbo to tommy back and forth, etc.

-there's a funeral for dream, ofc, fundy arranged it. all of dream's shit was hidden because fundy doesnt want wilbur to get it.

-niki's still there managing her bakeshop but doubles as an informant for wilbur because she's well liked within the server

-ghost dream is present and he's a chaotic troll who mostly hangs around tommy. he's really hyper active and is always on the move, you can never catch him sitting still for like, 5 minutes

THAT"S ALL I HAVE FOR MY SMP SWAP AU PLEASE BE GENTLE I DONT HAVE TIME TO GET ALL THE FACTS STRAIGHT FROM THE OG SMP qwq

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tumbledfreckles · 4 years ago

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Closer

A Blackinnon Bridgerton AU

Read below or on AO3

"Stare into my eyes."

She looked up in apprehension. Caught on his eyes and held there, like a fly in a web. They were soft now, gentle. Like he was trying to prevent her from spooking. She did her best to block out the noise of the ballroom, the revel makers, the dancers around them.

As if she could forget that everyone was staring at them.

He squeezed the hand he held. A light pressure on her fingers she wouldn't have thought him capable of when they had first met. Only a short number of weeks ago, in the presence of her childhood friend, his now brother. A smile graced his lips, one of encouragement, meant only for her. She followed the motion of his eyes and curtsied as he bowed.

"Closer."

The hand on her waist made her breath catch in her throat. Her hand fell to the crook of his elbow, before sliding up to his shoulder. He pulled her toward him, until she was against him, so close the heat of his body scorched through her dress. She'd never been this close to a man before.

"If this is to work, they must believe that we are madly in love."

His words reminded her that this was a ruse. An act. A game of make believe with the highest of stakes, her future life.

As they started through the moves of the dance, her head was swarmed with the memories of less than an hour before. Memories of fear and revulsion, followed by anger and apprehension, and then, in the unlikeliest of forms, came hope.

He had happened upon her moments after she'd punched Lockhart, straight in the face, for trying to force himself on her. In the dark of the garden she'd only had time to thank her lucky stars her brothers had taught her how to hit someone properly, and that she hadn't broken her thumb.

She hadn't had a chance to even contemplate the precariousness of her situation when he emerged from the darkness.

"Bravo. He had that one coming to him."

Sirius Black. The Duke of Grimmauld.

The handsome rake who hadn't been seen for years. The untimely death and disappearance of his brother, rumoured to be linked to the rise of Lord Voldemort, had seen the Duke, then still a teenager, flee overseas some years ago. The passing of his father, the transfer of the title, had seen his reluctant return. He had begrudgingly taken over management of the estates and land attached to the Dukedom but had yet to be seen in the presence of his family.

Tonight Marlene had found out why.

"Are you alright?"

Marlene was staring down at the unconscious buffoon at her feet, still not processing the events of the last few minutes.

An argument with her childhood friend turned guardian, a misplaced agreement to marry said buffoon, the eyes of the party guests on her had sent Marlene out in the garden. She had wanted a few moments alone. To gather her thoughts, regain her countenance, come up with a plan to quietly extract herself from a less than desirable engagement.

Now she stood, mere moments from the darkest part of the garden, seconds from ruining her reputation with two men.

"I am fine. Just fine. Oh God, what am I going to do?"

"Marry me, Miss McKinnon," the perhaps not quite unconscious Lord Gilderoy Lockhart groaned from the ground.

"Romantic, I am sure," the Duke curled his lip in disgust. "I hope you have not said yes."

"Of course not," Marlene spat the answer, as she rubbed her knuckles.

"Oh good. Can I kick him then?"

"Do whatever you would like. I need to figure out what I am going to do," Marlene paced back and forth, wringing her hands.

"It can not be all that bad," the Duke may have given Lockhart a few nudges with his toe, based on the sounds that came from the ground.

"Says a man who does not need to find a husband."

"Thankfully no, I do not. But I can not imagine that you would have such trouble, a beautiful woman such as yourself."

"I was not having any trouble, at all," Marlene tried to ignore the flush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks at his words. He'd stated it more like a fact than a compliment. She shouldn't let it get to her head. "Until that damn Lady Bettledown started spreading her ridiculous gossip sheet around."

"Ah, yes. I have seen that devil of a woman all but pronouncing you a spinster, taking joy in knocking down the season prize diamond. Chased your suitors away, has she?"

"I beg that you would not jest, Your Grace. At least not about my life. Which is what she trifles with."

"You seem too sensible a woman to care for marriage so much."

"My family is gone, I am the last of the McKinnons. But a woman can not inherit property, nor wealth. Friends, the Potters, as you well know, have taken me in out of the goodness of their heart. But that can not last forever. I can not be a burden to my friends. And so I must marry."

"How practical."

"Indeed," she took a breath. In for a penny, she thought. "But if I must marry, I want the one thing that my parents had."

"A fancy wedding?"

"Love," her sharp reply pulled the laughter from his words, his face. "I want to marry for love. It is my life after all. So I beg that you do not jest with it."

"My apologies, Miss. I do tend to use humour as a reflex. But, regrettably, Bettledown's words have been a damn thorn in my side, as well."

"Surely a Duke such as yourself does not need to bother with what is written about him in the gossip sheets," Marlene's disbelief carried a strong note of sarcasm.

"My dear Miss McKinnon, I despise to tell you that the meddling Bettledown has all but issued a challenge to my family. By announcing my return to polite society, she has all but challenged them to find me a wife. One who is suitable for their needs."

"And what are their needs?"

"Someone who shares their beliefs. Beliefs that I do not adhere to. Beliefs that I am, in fact, disgusted by. They think that if I was wed to someone who follows their way of life, then they would convince me to change my ideals, to theirs."

"Are they right? Could that happen?"

The Duke laughed bitterly, "Definitely not. I have too strong a character to be changed by a woman."

"Of course," though he oozed charm, and was undoubtedly handsome, the cool dismissal of a woman as someone to listen to turned Marlene off him. Or it would have, had she ever even considered him a prospect.

"Well," she took several steps backwards, towards the ballroom and the party that had suffocated her. "I would appreciate it if you could mention this no one, and I will leave you to your… whatever it was that you were doing."

She turned to go, eager to escape, to forget that the man she might yet still have to marry lay prostrate on the floor, yet to rouse fully. It was only as she placed a foot onto the first step up to the manor that his voice stopped her.

"We could use each other, you know," the Dukes's voice was careful. Considered.

Marlene turned back, slow, hesitant. "What do you mean?"

"You need to find a husband. Someone much more agreeable and suited to you than this pathetic sod," he aimed another kick toward the lifeless Lockhart.

"How could you help with that?"

He was on her in three long strides. She stiffened as he stepped into her space. Closer than was proper. Close enough that anyone entering the garden would assume the worst and she would be compromised. Her virtue, her value, diminished.

And yet, she did not step back.

"I could make you seem desirable," the Duke reached out, softly tucking a lock that had come free from her coiffed hair back behind her ear. "If you were on my arm, it would bring you to the attention of other men. You could have your pick of the most eligible bachelors."

Marlene tried not exhale audibly as his hand dropped from where it had caressed her skin, his fingertips trailing across her neck. "And how could I help you?"

"You are from an old family, Miss McKinnon. While you may be the last left of them, and the man my family sees as their leader is most likely responsible for that, you are still from an old family that in many ways represents what they value."

"I would never - I could never," Marlene was stopped by his placating hand on her wrist.

"I know," he stroked gently. "And that is why I know I can trust you in this. Why you can trust me. If I knew nothing else about you, your disdain for the values that my family holds most dear would be enough."

She stared at him for long moments, trying to read his indecipherable gaze. Eventually, she nodded for him to continue.

"By courting you, my family will believe I am bending to their will. By beginning a relationship with you, I will get what I desperately crave."

"And what is that?" Marlene felt her teeth sink into her lip at the end of her words. His eyes followed the movement. She was nervous for his answer. What could a man like the Duke want so badly he would come up with a such a scheme?

"Freedom," the word fell from his lips like honey. He spoke it reverently. Honestly.

She believed him.

"So, your plan is that we will form an attachment? We will pretend to court, in order to give you the space and peace that you so desire, and in doing so, make me desirable enough that I could attract the attentions of a Prince, should one appear?"

"That is my plan. I only have one condition," the Duke's lips curved into a smile. It spoke of mischief, of humour that was kept well hidden under his usually dark, disdainful countenance.

"And what is that?"

"You must not fall in love with me."

He was goading her. Marlene could see it plainly across his face. It made his eyes dance. She fought to maintain her temper. To wipe the smug look off his face.

"I am more concerned that you will fall in love with me. You have already commented on how pretty you find me."

She succeeded in her mission, the smirk was gone, but the darker flare in his eyes left her feeling even less safe than she had before.

"I believe I said you were beautiful," his tone sent a shiver down her spine. "So we have an agreement?"

He held out his hand toward her. She looked at it and then looked back at him.

"Yes," she placed her hand in his. "We have an agreement."

That was how she'd come to re-enter the party on the Duke's arm. How they walked slowly, but purposefully through the throngs of finely dressed attendees to the dance floor, just as the band moved to strike up a new number. Whispers and nudges followed them across the room. Marlene was unused to such attention and would have stumbled if not for the Duke's reassuring presence at her side.

And so they danced. Stepping and skipping perfectly as if this wasn’t their first dance together. Eyes only on each other. Her hand gripped his shoulder, fingers pressing into the firm muscle she found there. His hands, one warm and solid on her waist, the other enclosing hers were her lifeline. Every time she felt overwhelmed and her gaze started to slip, he brought her back with a squeeze, his thumb rubbing back and forth.

The music swelled and then slowed, as did their movements. When they came to a stop, instead of moving back, as protocol dictated and society expected, he moved forward. His lips fell to her ear, so close she could feel his breath as he spoke.

"Well done, Miss McKinnon. Act one complete."

#blackinnon #blackinnon bridgerton AU #sirius black #marlene mckinnon #fake dating #marauder era #freckles writes #because who isn't obsessed with bridgerton #because who hasn't watched it 17 times

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jq37 · 5 years ago

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The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 6 Chaos in the Cathedral

Candians v. The World

As sure as the sun rises and sets every day, a D&D session that starts with the DM telling everyone he loves them is a D&D session that’s going to end in tragedy.

We begin with the stakes as dire as they’ve ever been. The PCs are in the Cathedral with 7 Tartguard and none of their other allies. Amethar has just been excommunicated from the church for adultery, stripped of his title, and ordered seized as--technically speaking--Candia is now at war with the rest of the Concord. They are surrounded on all sides, outnumbered, and there’s no easy way out.

And Jet decides to charge the Pontifex.

She grabs her water dagger (8d6 to Candians, 4d6 to everyone else, plus the poison cocktail Amethar suffered and only 1 Use--clearing up Keradin’s statement about there being 3 daggers) and says, “I’d rather be a bastard than a fool who believes in a bulb.” If she wants war, the Rocks family will bring it. She provokes an opportunity attack from Bonathan (the french fries fighter) but Theo blocks it and joins in on the heresy with a, “Fuck the Bulb!” The Pontifex screams as she takes 28 damage--though she burns a legendary resistance (which she apparently has) to avoid the poison effects.

War dog Amethar immediately starts looking for exits. He hears the guards on the other side lock the big, main door and he sees that there are these big, glass windows, but they are reinforced with crossbars that need to be broken for anyone except maaaaaybe the kids to squeeze through. He yells for the Tartguard to hold off the Imperial soldiers before running up to Jet and begging for her to cooperate for once in her life. “Please, do not die for me.” He physically picks her up and--on a Nat 20--throws her right up to a ledge where one of the big windows are. Once she’s up there, she sees that there are priest-archers in hiding, waiting to snipe them.

(Emily/Jet: You don’t have to worry about me.)

(Ally/Liam: We’re fucked. We’re absolutely fucked.)

The archers go, getting a shot at all three kids, including Nat 20 on Jet for an arrow in the back.

Liam (after considering an entirely different course of action that gets ret-conned away) Hunters Mark’s Bonathan and crossbows him. As he does, a familiar figure rounds the corner--Keradin, unshackled and bearing his mace.

“Witch. Is that the spell you cast on me?”

He goes to town, dealing a full 31 points of damage, bringing Liam down to 6. Theo also takes a beating this round, getting 27 points of damage from Plumbeline.

Lapin at first tries to goad Basha into joining the fight against the church by prodding at his pride but only a Nat 20 would entice him to take that bait and Zac doesn’t hit it. He did however hit a Nat 20 last week to find out more info about the Bulb and Brennan gives him the first piece of info now: The magic of the Bulb isn’t different from the magic of the Sugarplum Fairy. Power is power. A warlock is a cleric is a warlock. It’s a difference of semantics. With the rest of his turn, he casts Fly on Theo so he can get the kids up to the window and he stands in front of Liam to protect him (tossing him 2d6 of healing).

“I misjudged you,” says Theo.

“Oh, shut up,” says Lapin.

Ruby, twinning as always, decides to also attack the Pontifex, doing 28 damage with her grasping arrow (which also forces the Pontifex to stay in place or take damage).

On his turn, Theo (who is under strict orders from Amethar to save his kids) gets both Liam and Ruby up to the window--and still has the time to flip off the whole church and say, “Long live the Sweetening Path.”

The Chaos Continues

The knights attack Amethar. Amethar attacks the Pontifex. Grissini, filled with grim determination, attacks the Tartguard (5 go down). Jet chucks a crossbow priest off the ledge.

Amethar grapples the Pontifex and declares, “I have your leader. Will you not defend her?” But on a 9 Intimidation check, everyone can hear the panic in his voice. Fine. Reckless attack: 14 damage. Onionpatch, weedy though he is, is able to break the grapple on his turn.

Liam tries to break the bars on the window--which Brennan has stressed several times is a very high DC to hit (Liam would need a Nat 20) and needs to take at least 20 damage at a time for it to stick at all--but doesn’t do it.

Keradin rains down blows on Lapin, the pretender, and Lapin goes down (the Fly spell on Theo going down at the same time). As he goes down, he has the second revelation about the Bulb gleaned from his Nat 20 from last session: the Bulb exists and it is powerful but it is mindless. It’s a pure source of power with no agenda or wants or desires. They’re worshiping a battery or a nuclear reactor. He rolls a death save. Failure.

Ruby gets out her rope, gives one end to Theo, then uses Mage Hand (which is invisible but, in reflection, can be seen as her Aunt Lazuli’s hand) to send the other half down to Amethar before casting Fog Cloud to make him harder to hit.

Theo tries to drag Amethar up with the rope, but Amethar hasn’t had the chance to grab it yet so it just slips his grasp. He tries to break the bars on the window but fails. He wants to Compel Duel with Keradin to take the heat off Lapin, but he’s out of range.

The Pontifex heals herself, undoing many turns of effort. Amethar takes 9 points of damage from various knights. The remaining Tartguard go down. A Ceresian soldier tries to hit the prone Lapin but rolls a 1 and a 2, missing him entirely (somehow).

Jet--who, as you might have guessed, has been very “Not Without my Father” all battle despite Amethar’s orders--attacks one of the priests and then uses her Maneuvering Attack ability to let Amethar move half his movement without provoking Opportunity Attacks--an ability that works despite the lack of line of sight caused by Ruby’s protective Fog Cloud.

Amethar climbs the rope and gets to work on the window--hitting both times but only doing damage on the second. He does 22 points of damage but the bars have 30 HP so it’s gonna take another hit. The priest fighting Jet tries to disengage but her Sentinel ability activates and she slices him through, dead.

Liam sends Preston down to help Lapin with his death saves and then unsuccessfully tries to break the bars. Keradin immediately starts wailing on Preston and does 28 points of damage, dropping him.

Lapin has his second death save. Failure.

Ruby tries to attack the bars but fails. She tries unshackle Manta Ray Jack (who was chained and tortured to get Amethar’s secret last episode) and fails even harder on double Nat 1s.

Brennan throws the gang a bone and says that the bars will now break on a 19 or 20 since Amethar weakened them and, what do you know, on his very next attempt, Theo rolls a 19. BAM, he rushes the window and immediately falls out. Jet grabs Liam and jumps out, taking most of the falling damage herself. Amethar throws Ruby out the window, looks back at Lapin’s body, then jumps out himself. Theo catches him, negating the damage that would have dropped him.

Lapin’s Big Day (Part 3)

Lapin is left alone in the church, Preston’s body still beside him, the Pontifex and Keradin above him, consciousness slipping away. He has one last death save and, on a 20, he’ll pop back up to 1 HP and get a turn. It’s absolutely his only chance. He rolls.

13, for the rabbit whose luck has run out.

He does an Insight check on the Pontifex and, on a 14, he gets the sense that she doesn’t know the true nature of the Bulb and she doesn’t care. She just cares about power.

“Heretic, apostate, warlock of the Sugarplum Fairy. You mock all that which is bright and shining. Do you have any last words?”

And, legend to the end, Lapin says, “The Bulb cares for no one.”

The Pontifex tells Keradin to end it but, before he does, Lapin hears a voice in his ear.

“They wouldn’t have survived this without you. My final wish is for you to come home.”

And Keradin dashes Lapin across the stone of the cathedral.

In Memoriam

I knew last week that I would be writing a eulogy for a piece of candy today, but I had my money on the wrong piece of candy (or pieces of candy rather).

Lapin had the most to lose in this fight, and the easiest out. He was still, at least on paper, aligned with the church. He could have just hung back and let the others escape while he did nothing or sent an Eldritch Blast flying that purposefully missed its mark. There was a path out of this for Lapin in simply doing less.

But he didn’t. He had exactly one proper turn all fight and he used that turn to turn the tide of the entire encounter. If he doesn’t step up to protect Liam, Liam absolutely drops. If he doesn’t cast Fly on Theo, Ruby and Jet are screwed. If Ruby and Jet can’t get that Fog Cloud/Maneuvering Attack double team, Amethar is screwed. He saved everyone. He’s *always* saved everyone. That is the entire story of Lapin in this game. The grumpy but loyal bastard whose last words to the party are, “Oh shut up,” when he’s told he’s been misjudged.

Lapin’s game was cut tragically short but, man, did he cram so many epic moments into the time he was given. From single-handedly keeping Ruby and Amethar up during the Ambush to his skillful manipulation of damn near everyone he came into contact with at the Tournament and then his heroic sacrifice in this ep, and getting to meet death with defiance for his enemy and praise from his patron.

Many mid-campaign deaths are unceremonial and just kinda random, like in real life, but Lapin’s death really did have a poetry and a sense of closure to it. He was told he needed to protect the Rocks family. He was told boldness would be required. He said if anyone found out about him he would die. Check, check, and check. And death even came for him on the third fight--I absolutely live and die by the rule of three and, apparently, so does Lapin.

To die in the stronghold of the church he infiltrated, secret out, more knowledge about the inner machinations of the religion than possibly even the Pontifex herself, secure in the thought that with his death, he bought his charges enough time to make a run for it is, I think, a lot more closure than a lot of characters get. That’s a full arc.

Plus, he got one more sick one-liner for the road.

And, let’s not forget, our baby boy Peppermint Preston who fell taking blows meant for Lapin, sent down by Liam who earlier that week was convinced that Lapin hated him. It seems like a waste, but that’s only because it’s how the dice shook out. How badass would it have been if he’d drawn the attacks and Keradin had whiffed them or if Preston had dropped, but Lapin had rolled a Nat 20, popped back up, scooped him, and left--healing him on the way out? It could have been great.

But it wasn’t. It was just brutal.

So, RIP to our boys. May they be doing shots with the Sugarplum Fairy in Candy Heaven.

Things I’m Concerned About

The Candians were pretty screwed no matter what they did in this episode, but man they truly decided to burn all their bridges with all the F the church talk, blatant magic, and attacking the Pontifex. They are fully terrorists at this point.

None of their people (besides the Tartguard) were in the church when this happened. What happens to them? Do they have time to alert them? Are they all just dead?

I wish Jet hadn’t used that knife on the Pontifex. Like, it’s the least of their worries but not only was it a waste, it makes it seem like the attack on Amethar was a false flag which would also make the attack on the road seem like even MORE of a false flag. That was tactically Not Good.

Because of the way the information was tortured out of Manta Ray Jack (sidenote--are they, like, gonna kill him?), it seems like the Candians might still have allies in the Dairy Islands (as in, they know the Candians were railroaded and didn’t attack first) but this is such a crappy position to put someone in and the Dairy Islands are already weak. Plus, there’s at least one known bad actor there. Who knows who can be trusted at this point?

Where do they even go from here? The rest of the map is at war with them. If they can make it home, war will follow them there too. What is the victory condition here? Dismantling the entire church? If so, yikes.

And, speaking of, the church was really wilding out just having Keradin come out to fight the PCs. Does this mean he’s off the hook? Alfredi too? It seems like they very well might be now that their actions can be retroactively “justified”. Still curious about whether they were working under the church’s direct orders or doing their own shady thing that happened to align with the church’s goals.

THEY HAVE NO HEALER. Like, unless Zac’s next character is also a healer, the party is now in the most precarious position they’ve ever been in with no healer. Hands down, the worst person who could have gone down, party comp-speaking.

Five More Things

There’s a rule in law school called the laugh test and it says that, before you make an argument, say it out loud and see if you can get through it without laughing. And there’s a part in this episode where Siobhan is proposing some BS but I don’t even know what it was because she just fully breaks herself and can’t get through it, and that’s the best illustration of that rule I’ve ever seen in practice. And, while we’re here, the other two A+ Siobhan moments this episode were her face at her double Nat 1s, and, to Lou for reminding Brennan that attacks on him get advantage, “You’re a good man. I’m gonna miss you so much.”

Man, how painful is it that Lapin got to see into the Matrix and figure out the Bulb and then he had the knowledge immediately die with him? Absolutely brutal.

The tension at the table this episode. The ominous music that felt bad until it would cut out completely, which was infinitely worse. The burying of heads into hands and leaning on each other for support. This episode was a LOT. I can’t IMAGINE having been at that table. And I had a week to make my peace with the idea that someone was most likely gonna die. To have to deal with this right on the heels of last ep? Geez.

Hearing on Adventuring Party how Zac planned to have Lapin give a bad guy speech and Thunderstep out with Liam if Initiative had shook out differently really makes it hit home how D&D is really about those in the moment things you can’t control. This could have been a very different encounter but was Jet supposed to NOT try and stab the Pontifex? Of course not, she HAD to. She’s JET. And she got to set the tone of the fight because she rolled highest.

Can you imagine if Amethar had jumped out the window, taken that damage, and just dropped? And failed his death saves? And they had no healer?

Just as a final note, I have to give major props to the whole cast for this episode. We’ve known that this was the “actions have consequences” season since it was announced, but this is really the first time we’ve really gotten to see the extent of the consequences and everyone handled it very well--the PCs staying true to character, even it wasn’t optimal, but still playing smart, and Brennan for facilitating such emotionally difficult scenes. This is peak D&D y’all.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #a crown of candy #a crown of candy spoilers #the royal report

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pauldron-pieces · 4 years ago

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Rumon 'Crushjaw' Thaerskaine's Backstory: Rearmed

Fandom: Dungeons And Dragons (5E)

Pairing: N/A, Crushjaw-centric

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: This is a hypothetical scenario featuring original characters in a world created by my Dungeon Master. As usual, this is non-canon and I own nothing aside from intellectual properties specifically attached to Crushjaw. This installment is mechanically unsound in a multitude of ways and ignores certain important lore facets. Trigger warnings are listed inside. Enjoy!

Taglist: @sporadic-fics and @cookiethewriter!

Inspired By: Black Hill: Low Force

[Crushjaw is a level zero barbarian, and his appearance can be found here.]

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains multiple triggering scenes including semi-graphic depictions of gore and mentions of bile/vomit. Reader discretion is advised. Stay safe!]

He would have loved to claim he had been goaded into it. Would have loved to say that it wasn't his fault or explain that it hadn't happened like he remembered. Except Rumon knew all too well that responsibility didn't work like that. His memory may be faulty, but the proof was in Krae's testimony.

Himself and his childhood friend Krae had both been interested in the same individual from a neighboring clan, the two of them butting heads over the object of their affections more than once. So of course when Krae came to him with news of an enormous ogre that had set up its stomping grounds near one of their trade routes, Rumon fairly leaped at the opportunity to fight the beast and claim victory over it. After all, what better way to prove his worth and earn a name from the clan leader than with an act of heroism?

Krae naturally came along, saying that he feared the ogre may be too tall an order for even Rumon to handle. This just made Rumon all the more determined to manage the creature single handedly.

They set up camp near where Krae claimed to have spotted the beast, the two goliaths joking and swapping drinks from a canteen of strong spirits. Truly, until both of them had set their sights on the same person, they had been brothers in all but blood. Rumon still regarded Krae as such, trusting to a fault, and thusly he missed the shifty glances the older goliath kept aiming at the treeline while the sun set.

"Come, Rumon! The moon is high. With its light, surely we shall find the ogre." Krae had cajoled after Rumon was fairly drunk, "unless, of course, you are afraid of a night hunt?"

"I fear nothing!" Rumon had boasted, "the gods are with me this night. You shall witness my triumph, Krae!"

Bold words. His grandmatron had always said that pride went before a fall.

Rumon recalled very little of the hunt after that, his memory muddied with drink. Despite Krae's insistence that the moonlight was sufficient, Rumon's recollections were oddly dim. He vaguely remembered stumbling around beneath the thick spruce canopy, his warhammer clumsy in his hands.

He remembered swinging with all his might and striking something that gave under the assault, the liquor Krae had plied him with steeling his ringing blows to something that rivaled even Varandur's mountain shapers.

He remembered when the weight of his weapon suddenly vanished, and there was a rancid gust of seethingly-hot air that blew his hair to the side. The roar was strange to his ear, far-off and faded. Emptiness rang too loud for him to hear as he wondered where his weapon had gone.

Rumon remembered realizing that he was flat on his stomach on the ground.

Where the memory became razor-sharp once more was when he tried to push himself up onto his elbows, and found his body woefully unbalanced. The goliath searched for the source of the problem and quickly located it, the sight of what was left of his mangled right arm more than enough to jerk him back to stark sobriety.

It had been severed at the elbow, though the term was a bit too kind for the injury. The appendage looked more as though it had been crushed with something that might have had an edge at one point.

Rumon had raised his eyes, mind grinding to a halt when he spotted his warhammer several yards away with his right hand still gripping the haft. Past that, along a trail marked by shattered tree trunks, slumped an enormous ogre clutching a slab of a sword. It seemed closer to a chunk of masonry than a true weapon, and Rumon's stomach had churned as he realized what had happened.

Mercifully, the agony had struck him and he promptly vomited before losing consciousness.

×+×

Gods only knew how long he had slept after that. It was a miracle he had even made it back to their healer; apparently Krae had all but carried him home. The embarrassment from that instance alone would have been enough to kill Rumon, never mind the fact that his dominant arm was now nothing but a bandaged stump.

The grandmatron would have none of it though, her craggy face somehow even more stern when Rumon managed to finally rouse himself.

"You have been named Crushjaw, little pebble. A worthy title." Her tone was icy. "I have gone through much trouble to save you. I am indebted to our chieftain."

Crushjaw. Rumon's face fairly burned with shame. "The ogre-?"

"Krae slew the beast. He brought one of its tusks back as proof. The chieftain was quite flattered by his offering, praising Krae for his accomplishment and naming him Tuskclaimer. As for his name for you..." The matron bowed her head, her expression one of grief.

"Grandma…"

"Don't you grandma me, little pebble!" The elderly goliath erupted, glaring fiercely at Rumon. Her eyes filled with tears as she went on, "you are anathema now, dear Rumon. Once you are able to walk, the clan leader has declared that you are to leave. I am no longer your grandmother. This place is no longer your home."

"'Leave'?" Rumon repeated stupidly. It felt as though everything was crashing down around him, his mind racing to comprehend. Their clan hadn't had an expulsion in his entire lifetime, wariness and confidence found too equally amongst their ranks. Compounding his confusion was the claim that Krae had killed the ogre. Rumon had been certain... "I understand." He said finally. "I am unworthy of your kindness. Thank you."

He couldn't comprehend why his grandmother wept harder at his acceptance. This was the way it had always been.

×+×

Crushjaw.

It certainly felt as though he was being crushed to death. Loneliness was a miserable traveling companion.

Rumon, very nearly unable to fend for himself, resorted to setting small game snares in the uncharted wilds. It was a child's way of hunting, but he was too hungry to be bothered by the prick to his already-bruised pride.

The few people he did encounter seemed overly wary of him. After all, a one-armed, exiled goliath would be the type to resort to petty theft.

But he wasn't a threat. He had never been a threat before, aside from just being large. Rumon couldn't understand the sudden shift in demeanor; he couldn't possibly fathom the air of desperation that his injury gave off.

It began to get easier when the weather cooled, the bulk of the thick cloak from his grandmother concealing his missing arm. The wound had not healed prettily, but Rumon knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. He hadn't died. That was all he could hope for.

He wandered alone for most of the cold times, his only companions the booming pines that fractured from the weight of the ice and snow. His thoughts had a habit of straying to Krae, and he wondered what had truly transpired that evening more than he would care to admit. Had he imagined killing the ogre? Was his mind that addled by the strength of the drink they had shared?

Surely Krae wouldn't have lied. Nothing good ever came of lying or taking the credit for someone else's accomplishments. Rumon eventually settled on the assumption that his memory must have been faulty.

After that, the whole world seemed a gray and unforgiving place, and the goliath could feel himself fading into something of the same type. Something ragged and harsh, no longer a proud warrior but a lamed animal with a crushed jaw.

That is, until the day he encountered an old elf hanging by the leg from his horse's saddle.

"You there!" The elven man shouted once he seemed to notice the large individual sauntering up through the trunks of barren maples. "Don't suppose you'd be able to lend me a hand?"

Rumon, for whatever reason, found himself throwing his mantle back over his shoulder to reveal the stump of his arm. "Good thing you only need one hand, sirrah. It's all I have to offer." He remarked.

The elf nearly died of laughter, already beet-red in the face from being stuck hanging upside down for so long. To Rumon's shock however, when he circled around the horse to help the elf dislodge himself, he realized that the leg that wasn't caught in the stirrups was severed at the knee. The fellow's pant leg was neatly pinned at the joint, padding sewn into the area as if to mimic a kneecap.

Before Rumon could say anything though, the wiry elf explained, "I lost my leg a few miles back, and this damned animal dragged me along until she got bored. Don't suppose you can accompany me a little ways until I relocate it? Thing is worth its weight in gold."

The goliath easily hefted the older fellow into the saddle before his words caught up with him. "You...lost your leg?" Rumon blinked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I was unaware that elves could regrow limbs."

The elf looked at him a little sideways, muttering something about still waters running deep before he just shook his head and laughed, "no son, it's a genuine Chuck original. A fake leg."

A fake leg. Rumon seized the horse's bridle, desperation giving his voice a new level of gravel as he begged for more information. The elf shrewdly bargained with him: in exchange for help in reclaiming his prosthetic, he would gladly share what information he had.

"My name is Shawell." The elf introduced himself. "And you are…?"

Rumon hesitated for a moment. "Crushjaw." If people were to know his name, they would serve as a reminder of his foolhardy pride. A constant warning to heed in the future.

"Pleasure to meet you, Crush." Shawell tugged on the reins, turning his mare back in the direction he had come from. "We'd better hurry. We'll lose the daylight."

Crush. Rumon cracked his first smile in months, positioning himself on the elf's left side to steady him in the saddle.

#rumon 'crushjaw' thaerskaine #crushjaw #dungeons and dragons #dnd 5e #I play one type of character #the friend who can help #goliath character #dnd goliath #dnd character #he's going to love his friends A Lot #canon-typical violence #I can't wait for this #dnd barbarian #barbarian backstory

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battletowered · 4 years ago

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Commemoration

Headcanon Drabble in Leon’s “ more severe darkest day au ” verse which I’m reposting and bringing forward to this blog from the archive for the anniversary.

TW: Deals with mourning and major character death.

One year.

It’s hard for him to believe. Leon still fully expects that one of these times when his phone buzzes that his face is going to flash up on screen. That he’s going to get a call and hear him asking to want to meet up and battle or grab some lunch together. He knows it’s impossible. He knows that’s never a call he’s going to get. He could delete the contact. Give himself some kind of finality but… there’s a photo that he’d taken himself attached to that contact. Smiling wide and bright– a genuine one and not just one for the camera. One of the ones that had too much teeth because he was laughing as Leon tried to get his phone back.

His phone has never been so quiet as it has in the past year. It’s been a hard adjustment.

He’d visited this morning. Left two huge bouquets of mixed flowers because there was too much slate grey. Boring, Raihan would have called it, and Raihan deserved something as vibrant as he is… was. The headstone is modest, situated between two cypress trees. It was hard to believe they were already getting so big. Leon had spared no expense on his flowers– sweetpea, rainflowers, carnations, tulips, canterbury bells and most importantly snapdragons, because he knew that the ones named after his favorite type would have made him smile the most.

He’d gone early because Leon doesn’t think he can bring himself to face Raihan’s family. He knows they don’t blame him. They must have told him a thousand times the day of the funeral, though he can’t say he really remembers all that much from that day. Those two weeks following Eternatus’ capture were encapsulated in an ugly grey smear in his memory.

He remembers searing pain in his ribs. Feeling hollow– like something had dug a hole through his stomach. He remembers feeling like he was going to collapse a lot. He remembers the way that his head pounded to the beat of a deafeningly cheering crowd the day he lost his title.

But he barely remembered his own best friend’s funeral. What a joke. How fitting that the self-absorbed champion would have been more concerned with himself and his title during the time he should have been saying goodbye. He’d heard a million reasons why it wasn’t his fault– as if he didn’t already know that. That there was nothing Leon would have been able to do to stop Raihan from trying to protect Hammerlocke because it was his home. It’s still his home.

It feels like one failure among hundreds. Sometimes he still wonders, though, if maybe he could have. If he had just said something different. Would anything have changed if Leon hadn’t stubbornly insisted that he would be fine, but Raihan’s duty was to protect the people of Hammerlocke because they needed him.

They still need him. But he wasn’t here anymore.

That was why Leon was here, actually. At least that’s why he’d lingered after visiting the grave.

He’d assumed that the city would hold sour memories for him. Sure, it did, but not nearly so severely as Leon had expected they’d be. There was something almost inspiring about it, actually, because Hammerlocke had come together and healed the physical scars left by Eternatus. They had held on and healed, and it gave Leon the hope that he would be able to do the same. His mother had always told him that he was named after Dandelions for a reason. There was nothing more stubborn than a weed, the little plants that would keep existing in spite of everything in the world working against them. Perhaps if Leon could do that– just keep existing against everything going against him– then maybe he’d be able to shake that feeling that something was missing.

It would work. He’d made it work before. It had to work. He had no other option. The world wasn’t going to stop and wait on him to piece himself back together. The world didn’t end just because Leon felt like it was.

Still, Leon can see the city is in mourning. Or he might be projecting his own, soured mood. Either way people have been giving him space, and the streets have been so quiet. He appreciates it, honestly. It’s hard to put on a strong face, even on a good day. He won’t let himself cry in public, though he knows his face is red and swollen from doing just that earlier this morning. His eyes and head hurt, but his tears seemed to have dried up for now.

That’s a good thing anyway. He doesn’t want people to worry about him. He’ll be fine.

There’s a huff of breath, and Leon suddenly is reminded that he’d let Charizard out of her ball to help him along. She ceases his forward motion with a gentle, broad wing. He’s so glad she’s good at not getting turned around. She knows the right direction– something Leon can’t manage when he’s not spacing out and irritated. Leon looks up, relieved to see the battlements of the castle already repaired, though just the sight gives him a woozy feeling.

He hears rather than sees it coming as he looks up toward the top of the battlements, the sharp, melodic sound of wings splitting through air just a fraction of a second before he’s slammed into bodily. He teeters, barely managing to keep his footing as he struggles with the momentum, laughing breathlessly.

“Flygon!” There’s the panicked call of Sebastian as he winds his way down the staircases of the castle as fast as his legs will take him. Camilla and Aria follow in tow, though pause to wave at Leon as Sebastian rushes to come help pry the excited Pokemon off of Leon. Leon’s still laughing, though. He can’t help it with the way the large dragon type is nuzzling against him and demanding he pet along it’s head.

-_-_-_-

For a while it’s hard to bring himself to be sad– he’s buried in Pokemon who want his attention. Raihan’s team were always excited to see him, even if he’d just visited them less than a month ago. He likes to come check on them, mostly because he knows how hard it can be for any Pokemon to adjust to sudden change but especially so dragon types. It goes unsaid, of course, that there were other reasons he liked to see them. It always pleased him to see them happy and relaxed.

For a while Leon had been chatting with the Gym Trainers about nothing at all really– at least it was nothing at all to him anymore. Mostly about the league– trying to figure out what to do with the Gym and the adjustments and whether the gym would be capable of returning to the major league or if it should be stepped back while they searched for a new leader.

It’s not hard to tell they miss him. No one has said it, but Leon is perceptive, so they don’t have to. They skirt around outright saying what they know is true– that he’s gone and that it’s been hard to make the adjustment to move on because they’d lost such a force of personality. He knows because he’d seen them mirror his shock and fear and sorrow a year ago. He’d seen them mourning, too.

Now that they’d run out of safe topics to talk about, they’ve lapsed into silence. They just share their spaces on the pitch while they watch the Pokemon mill about. Sandaconda has curled up in Leon’s lap to sleep and Goodra has become a fixture at his side. She’s soaking his coat through with her goo, but Leon doesn’t mind it because she’s coddling him in a way that’s frighteningly similar to the way people do to baby pokemon.

“You should take them with you.”

It was like it all shattered in an instant. Just with those words. Leon’s head jerks upwards in Aria’s direction, blinking slowly as if the statement had confused him. As the realization sinks in, his eyes widen the way a wild pokemon’s might. Aria merely adjusts her glasses on her nose and averts her gaze.

“…You mean Raihan’s pokemon?” Leon lingers on each word. He wants to clarify it even if it’s perfectly obvious what she’s referring to.

“Yes”

“Are they…. Really being that rowdy here?” Leon ventures, meaning for it to sound like a joke. As if to punctuate his discomfort, a nervous laugh slips through his mouth. Sandaconda stirs in his lap because he’s halted his stroking over the Pokemon’s scales.

“That’s not what I… what we mean.” Aria sighs, sounding resigned already. She seems to consider her words carefully before she continues. “We’ve… The Gym Leaders and I have been speaking about it. We’re not trying to just pawn them off on you but… they really do seem to be their happiest when you’re here Cham– Leon.”

Leon would like to keep staring at the grass on the stadium field, but he finds his gaze being drawn up to where Flygon and Charizard are play-fighting with one another. Then to where Duraludon and Gigalith have taken advantage of the warm weather to nap in a patch of sunlight. To where Torkoal and Turtonator are quietly crunching on some snacks just outside of Leon’s direct reach. He can’t say that they look particularly happier than they do any other time he’s seen then, but he supposes he wouldn’t know because he’s only ever seen them in his own presence.

Still… It feels wrong in a way. Those are Raihan’s pokemon. His rival’s pokemon. His stomach twists at the realization that it’s not like he can ask Raihan because he’s not here to say. The idea hurts.

“I shouldn’t.” Leon’s voice is so thin that he doesn’t even recognize it as his own. His throat is tight around this lump that’s forming, and he can feel the pressure at the bridge of his nose that happens right before he’s going to cry. He can’t– not here.

“Why not?” Camilla answers this time. Her tone isn’t condescending or judgemental or goading, just an honest question. Leon doesn’t answer, and so she continues. “You’ve had plenty of experience raising dragon types. They know you well. Just… look at them? Goodra has been sitting with you since you got here and Flygon nearly bowled you over because he was so excited to see you this morning.”

Tight. His throat is so tight it hurts, and ever so slightly Leon’s begun to tremble with the effort to keep his emotions wrapped up within his body.

“It’s not that I don’t think I can. I love them… I’d love to raise them but…” Leon hesitated, not sure what words to use. Speaking about his feelings had never been his strong suit. What is he even trying to say?

That bringing them in means finally having to accept that he’s gone? That there is no more Rival’s team because there was no more Rival. That it feels wrong to take his Pokemon because some deep part of him thinks that he’d never be able to be as good to them as Raihan was because he adored them. That he’d spent years and years watching Raihan with them to know they loved him just as much.

He knows what it means. It means realizing that the Pokemon that he’d watched Raihan raise– some even from eggs– had lost so much a year ago too. They’d lost their guide. They’d lost their best friend just like Leon had. Leon could take them but he didn’t think he’d ever fill those shoes the way that Raihan did.

“I don’t think I’m ready yet. If… I take them in, I want to make sure I can give them the life they deserve.” It’s raw. Entirely too raw the way the words come out, and it feels like something is digging thorns into his chest as he manages to force them out. He leaves ‘the life Raihan would have wanted for them’ out because he knows it doesn’t need to be said. Somehow Leon would have guessed that if anyone could relate to his feelings, it would have been the gym trainers.

They’d been kind enough to give him space the first time he’d come to see Raihan’s team. When he’d cried helplessly and clung to Flygon and Duraludon for an hour while the tar has wormed its way out of his system and the realization sunk in that he was actually gone and that it wasn’t just a bad dream caused by the pain medicine from the hospital. He was sure they knew.

“I’m… planning on moving. I would want to move first, to make sure they have the space they need to run and play. I don’t have that luxury right now in Wyndon. They need exercise. I want to make sure I can take care of them properly and do right by them.”

“But… you’d consider it?”

“Mmm.” Leon hums because he can’t talk anymore without the dam breaking. Leon nods, though, so they know he will, indeed, consider it. There’s more than what he’s said too. So much more. He wants to feel stable. He wants to know that he’s not going to look at Raihan’s team and feel the urge to cry as much as he does now, because he misses him. He wants to make sure they don’t come into a home only to be stressed by Leon’s own baggage. Sandaconda presses it’s snout into the warmth of his hand, and it’s enough to shake loose the somber laugh that’s caught in his throat. “I don’t think I could ever actually add them to my team. I’m pretty sure Raihan would come back and haunt me for stealing his weather strategy.”

They lapse back into silence for a long moment. The quiet is deafening even around the sound of Goodra cooing and the soft crunch of Pokemon eating. Even around the groans of Charizard and the song-like beating of Flygon’s wings and the two wrestle around each other. Leon sighs, and leans back a little more against Goodra.

“Thank you.” Leon’s gaze darted up again toward the others. Aria mumbled it, but the other two nodded their agreement. “It’s been… hard on them being separated among the three of us and… We really do think it’s what he would have wanted for them.”

It’s those words that do it. Leon could swear he feels his frayed emotions snap as he raises a frantic hand to try and stem the flow of tears which are already coming. Goodra, finally picking up on his trembling now that he’s leaned against her more, fusses with him, tucking his body under her neck and letting out a bubbling coo.

Leon’s heart wrenches in his chest and he feels sick at the stressed flipping of his stomach. He hiccups to try and breath around the rock that’s sitting in his throat but it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be able to will the tears away this time so he’s left to feebly wipe at them with the sleeves of his coat. He’s a cup that’s been overfilled, and now that the tension has given out his emotions are leaking out.

“I know.” It’s all that Leon can manage before his throat tightens too much for him to speak.

#ooc || off the clock #Drabbles || Written Histories #queue #Verse || Mourn with the moon and the stars up above

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chibivesicle · 4 years ago

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Golden Kamuy 244 & 245. The players continue to converge on something.

Chapters 244 and 245 are clearly set up chapters for the next ‘big’ thing that is going to happen in the manga.

I am happy to see that Sofia has returned and has made her way to Otaru! The chapter starts out with a flashback from when Sofia met Gansoku and Svetlana. She was able to learn that they met Asirpa after Kiro was killed and that she wanted to return to Otaru to visit her Huci.

She’s made it to the port town with her men and she’s come prepared with rifles. They have some Vetterli M1881′s so not the newest tech compared to the type 38s that the 27th has. What I love is that in a few panels her compassion and love for her men is so clear.

When she is told that another man has collapsed due to nutritional deficiencies like scurvy and beriberi, she will find a doctor to take care of them. Scurvy is a result of a vitamin C deficiency as it prevents proper crosslinking of collagen fibers.

Beriberi is comes from a result of eating overly refined or simple food. It was actually a huge problem for the early modern Japanese military as people shifted from eating brown rice (less processed more nutritional value) to white rice (empty calories to an extent). But I digress, the important thing here is that Sofia will make sure her men are well!

The action shifts to Tsukishima and Koito. They are playing a game called Menko (I’ll just roll with it) and Tsukishima seems to be taking it very seriously.

Since I pretty much know nothing about this nor if this is a proper activity for a young officer and a Sergent that is over 30, I will defer to Sei Kobiyama. Sei seems to indicate that they are acting like young children and this likely was started by Koito. Here are a series of comments on what this could mean.

I am going to agree with Sei Kobiyama’s take on this. Koito is holding onto a childish activity and it likely is how he wants others to spoil him like his older brother did. Tsukishima seems to be happy that he won back a card and Koito smacks him with another card in anger. He is acting like a brat, since he could do this with his brother who, previously, we estimated would have been the same age as Tsukishima.

Koito is seething (but he is also a very competitive man) and he tries to goad Tsukishima into going easy on him for not playing politics to help those ‘above’ him advance their own careers and in turn his own.

Tsukishima then instinctively feels something that activates his sense of danger. As he turns it reveals - Sofia! She’s so angry as they both seem confused as they see her.

She then turns away and it is interesting that Koito asks Tsukishima if he knows her He admits that he doesn’t know her, but his instinct tells Koito to stay away from her as she seems dangerous.

I wonder if this is foreshadowing to an eventual Koito and Sofia meet up. Long ago (in meta terms) I had really wanted Sofia to meet Koito and to have a discussion on how to lead men. This was also based on the fact that all officers speak foreign languages and we still don’t know which one Koito knows. He doesn’t know Russian like Tsukishima, Ogata or Tsurumi. As @goldenkamuyhunting and Merdopseudo have pointed out, the Japanese government followed the French for many things including military organization. We also know that Koito got his motorized tricycle from France. It seems that he should speak French and we know for a fact that Sofia can speak French.

What is important is we finally learn more about what Sofia saw during Kiro’s last stand. Sure enough, she knows that Koito and Tsukishima were directly involved in his death, what is interesting is the wound from Tanigaki isn’t considered . . .

But unlike Koito, or Tanigaki, or Sugimoto, she does not rush in to attack them. Instead, she controls her emotions and continues to look for a doctor for her ill men and learn how to meet up with Asirpa. This means that Asirpa’s comment on the ice floe was correct. Sofia will find her when she will need/want to. Sofia - she’s one of the best leaders in the entire series. Educated, compassionate, competent, understanding of many different sides! What is clear is that she will play a role in the tiger curse on Koito/Tsukishima and hopefully Tanigaki. Sorry Tanigaki, I never respected your quest for revenge when Inkarmat lived and gave birth to a daughter as well.

Tsukishima then tells Koito that they now have orders to head to Sapporo from Otaru and to wait for Tsurumi’s arrival. Koito seems nervous and almost hesitant as he doesn’t respond. Tsukishima seems worried as he speaks before Koito has a menko card he made with Tsurumi. Those are some decent drawing skills there Koito, and the poppies in the background are a nice touch if I say so myself.

Koito’s face seems conflicted here. I’ll willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that Koito’s former Tsurumi obsession has become a facade that he must maintain. I mean, if all of a sudden when Koito were to meet him post-injury and not fanboy Tsurumi, Tsurumi would be even more suspicious. I hope Koito is trying to move forward, yet still sort things out.

The action in the chapter then goes to Sapporo where Toni and Ushiyama are out and about. Ushiyama hears Ueji as he’s trying to do something bad to a kid. All in all, Ueji is not a character that I like. I was cringing the entire time he was talking to the young boy about finding his lost dog. I don’t care about his serial killer personal philosophy so I’m just ignoring most of the information about him.

Instead, we learn about the enjoyment he gets out of disappointing others. This comes from a random comment by Boutarou. We learn that Boutarou had an aunt, but she was a proper lady and ashamed of his actions as a relative.

It is clear that Boutarou did have an aunt like this as he wanted her to visit him. Ushiyama later tells him that he never saw this woman who looked like his aunt. So the sightings of her were a fabrication by Ueji, but the fact that he was disappointed to know it was a lie tells us that he did have an aunt at some point in time.

It just lets us know that Ueji lives on others disappointments. We know that Boutarou’s aunt never visited and it hurt him to realize that she didn’t care for him.

The chapter goes back to the boy finding his dog decapitated, the head in Ueji’s box and he then begins to strangle the boy to death.

Yay!

Okay, so that was clearly sarcasm, but thankfully Ushiyama appears and is ready to destroy Ueji.

Chapter 245 has a full color title page featuring Ariko, Kikuta and Tsurumi.

Tsurumi is clearly a reference to religious imagery as a Virgin Mary stand in. A beam of sunlight beams on him with his hands held up in prayer. As a recovering catholic, I didn’t even need to think twice about what this is showing with Tsurumi in a field of rifles.

As the title is that this is the town of reunions, it refers to Ariko and Kikuta; I wonder if this means they will be playing a greater role in future events? I am guessing this color title page will become important as the Sapporo arc continues more.

The chapter starts out with Ushiyama saving the small boy as he calls out Ueji. Noda serves us several pages of Ushiyama being, well Ushiyama. Briefly distracted by a ploy about a woman’s breasts from Ueji isn’t quite enough to allow him to escape and he gets face planted with due to his braided hair. Ushiyama rips out some of his hair and seems less than deterred. After taking quite a beating, Ueji tries to beg his way out of the punishment.

He tries to tempt Ushiyama with something amazing that has to do with the gold, yet it pretty much falls on deaf ears. Ushiyama’s translated reply of “sure, sure” doesn’t really give him much confidence.

It is clear by Ueji’s statement that things aren’t fun with Ushiyama, means he’s never been able to bewitch him with his silver tongue unlike other convicts. He flees the best he can, but Ushiyama is a tank. He walks through a wall and continues undeterred catching the attention of Kadokura and Hijikata.

Of course the reunion is about to happen as Sugimoto, Asirpa, Shiraishi, Boutarou and Vasily are enjoying some curry at the restaurant that they previously visited in Sapporo. I have to admit it is adorable that Boutarou has his hair tied up all proper for dinner and Vasily looks like Simo Hayha with his face uncovered. Sugimoto knocks his spoon over and as he bends over misses Ueji tossed through the wall by Ushiyama.

Despite all of the commotion, Boutarou is able to keep his bowl of curry and continue eating through the action, while somehow a bowl lands perfectly on Shiraishi’s head. The side eye that Vasily is giving Boutarou is clearly some silent Slavic judgement.

One clearly does not come between Boutarou and a meal. Asirpa is beyond happy to see Ushiyama as she is almost in tears at the reappearance of her professor penis.

Due to the shock the bowl falls off of Shiraishi’s head and Sugimoto is all of a sudden more concerned as if Ushiyama is nearby, he knows Hijikata can’t be far behind.

And Hijikata isn’t too keen on Sugimoto as he’s really a hindrance to Hijikata’s quest for the gold to create his Republic of Ezo. So being the tactician (and ass) that he is, Hijikata goes all out to take out Sugimoto.

Many readers of the manga are always upset when other characters attack Sugimoto, but out of the entire cast he is the biggest impediment to all the factions getting the gold. He is the least loyal; he has swapped sides from himself with Asirpa, to working with Hijikata to working for Tsurumi and now he’s back to himself and Asirpa. Keep in mind that he also was willing to sell Asirpa out to Tsurumi for 200 yen was pretty low. He has always been the brute force for the group he’s been in and all of his plans and assumptions are frequently incorrect or just really bad ideas. Pretty much the best thing that Sugimoto has done during the entire manga is to make sure to rescue Shiraishi from the 27th as he has been pretty smart at figuring things out and sticking with Asirpa.

Even as a huge Ogata fan, I’d state that him saving Ogata to only try to kill Ogata at the hospital was a terrible idea as Ogata has his own agenda, complicating the quest for the gold. If Sugimoto thought tactically, he should have let Ogata die on the ice floe. Sugimoto thinks Ogata is a wildcat just stirring shit up, but really the person who stirs up the most shit is Sugimoto himself.

Noda gives us several pages of nonstop action as the two of them fight intensely. Even though Sugimoto stabs Hijikata in the arm with his bayonet the man is undeterred and he has to block his sword with the bayonet.

Hijikata is just trying to do what didn’t happen at Abashiri, removing Sugimoto from the battle for the gold and gaining Asirpa.

Interestingly, Ushiyama is the one who restrains Sugimoto in an attempt to bring calm and logic to the situation. Very interesting to see Ushiyama using his head in this situation! This is definitely a low blow towards Sugimoto, Ushiyama is thinking more than he is.

Shiraishi and Asirpa join in trying to bring level-headed discussion as Asirpa is the one who calls for talking things over. She obviously doesn’t want to see conflict between any of these men and Shiraishi always favors retreat over conflict.

Hijikata appears calm and collected while Sugimoto seems to lose it as he just makes a random sound as his pupils almost roll up into his head and his scarf flutters in his ‘anger’ wind indoors. I say this is one of those moments where Sugimoto really just goes into beserker mode and decides his best option is to take Ushiyama. Now, seriously Ushiyama has judo skills that are even better than Sugimoto’s and it isn’t that he’s protecting Asirpa at this point. Instead, he’s ignoring everything that is being said to him and he goes on to judo roll Ushiyama into the floorboards.

But this is Ushiyama we are talking about, so he pops up with little effort and returns the favor to Sugimoto and the chapter ends.

I really don’t have any major comments on these two chapters. They have confirmed that Ueji is one of the most vile of the convicts, a child killer and also he wants to disappoint other convicts by hurting them through believable lies. I look forward to his death at the hands of someone in the cast.

Hijikata definitely has stepped up his game and it is clear that he sees Sugimoto as the biggest fly in the ointment. He set him up at Abashiri, we don’t know what else he was told by Ogata and honestly, he likely doesn’t care what is the truth or not. I personally think Hijikata likely appreciated Ogata’s attempt to snipe Sugimoto, since it would take him out of the game. Ogata killing Sugimoto would have been a bonus for both Hijikata and Tsurumi. If Sugimoto looks for sympathy from Hijikata’s group due to Ogata’s actions he likely won’t get it. Plus, Hijikata has always kept Ogata away from things as I’m waiting for him to reveal that he knew Ogata and Kiro were working together.

This really shows how under-equipped team Sugimoto is. Tsurumi has the resources of the 27th as well as the blind eye towards him from central. Hijikata has his own group with a wide range of resources and some buy in from the locals (not great though). Sugimoto has his stubbornness and if it weren’t for Shiraishi and Asirpa he’d be in rough shape in the quest for the gold. The fact that Shiraishi and Asirpa are telling him to talk means they see what situation they are in and the disadvantage that they have in the entire affair.

This reunion is clearly going to force Sugimoto and Asirpa into working with Hijikata again instead of his crazy idea of swooping in to steal the skins. I look forward to the next chapter to see what happens next.

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #asirpa #sugimoto saichi #Shiraishi Yoshitake #ushiyama tatsuma #tsurumi tokushirou #koito otonoshin #tsukishima hajime #sofia golden hand #sofia #hijikata toshizo #boutarou the pirate #kiroranke #ogata hyakunosuke

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 4 years ago

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Motorcycle Race

Has a bit of Mick and Lisa friendship. Takes place between Rogue Air and Family of Rogues. "Okay peoples let's get this party started!!!!!" Shawna shouted in the middle of the crowd in Saints & Sinners.

Mark Axel, and Hartley burst in quickly behind her. Mark's small hurricanes blew the door hinges off and people ran screaming out. Mick, Leonard and Lisa dragged behind.

"I can't believe we're robbing this place." Leonard muttered disgustedly as the crowds pushed and ran past them.

"Aww c'mon on Lenny. It's Shawna's birthday let her rob S&S if she wants to. Besides look at all the wallets people are leaving around." Lisa grinned as another patron ran away screaming, not noticing Lisa's hand dipping into her pocket as she ran past her. "I already got 7!"

Leonard shook his head with his usual "Why-in-hell-am-I-related-to-you-and-why-did-I-agree-to-this-stupidity" sigh.

Lisa rolled her eyes, he was the one who created the group who wanted to do said stupidity. He was the one that had wanted to get more villains to go against the Scarlet Speedster, and now they were stuck with them.

It all had started when Shawna came to the warehouse with a bunch of shopping bags, announcing that no one should go to her room tonight because it was her birthday. Then Axel came up with the idea that they should celebrate. And with Rogues, what better way to celebrate than by filling their pockets with cash, jewelry and other stuff they got for free. Shawna insisted on Saints & Sinners because she wanted to crash at the bar so off they went.

Lenny hadn't wanted to go, but Lisa had goaded him to it because what would it look like if the leader of the Rogues was so noticeably absent from a theft.

"Like he is the only sane one, so that's why he's the leader" He drawled. He ended up going anyway because he didn't want anyone to end up in jail before going on their next heist.

Lisa had to admit, she had been against the idea of having more in the Rogues besides the three of them. Sort of an exclusivity. But it had been generally okay. Mark and Axel were all over her when Lenny wasn't around and it was nice to be so pampered and admired.

Despite his lovesick gazes, Axel was the jokester and she thought he was the best one to hang out with. who wouldn't love a buy who stole the cold gun, freezed the hallway and started sledding races. She didn't know quite what to think of Mark and Hartley they mostly stood to each other or by themselves. But as long as they didn't mess up her life with whatever inner angst they were holding up she didn't care.

Shawna was fun to be around, it was nice to have another girl in villainy and they sometimes compared notes on Cisco and made fun of him and the other Rogues when they went clubbing. But she also had a sneaking suspicion that she had been using her powers to get into her room, and steal her make up which was not cool at all. She had stolen those Clinique bottles through her own hard work and she wasn't going to share. The place was finally clear, the owner of the bar stared at them through widened eyes. He looked like he was going to stand his ground but one glare from Mick sent him scurrying off.

“Best day ever" Shawna sighed satisfied sipping her bottle of vodka she took from the bar. Axel and Hartley were jamming up the cash register and Mark seemed to be trying to take off the disco ball with his mind.

"So how long do we get to crash before the police arrive?" Mick asked absent-mindedl, lighting a cigarette.

"10, 8 minutes or so" Leonard said checking his watch.

"Cool we stay here until last second and then off out" Shawna grinned, as she spotted a sequined purse lying under one of the tables.

"Maybe you can but we can't." Mark said, looking at the locked front door.

“Oh yeah, it must suck that you have to leave early because you're not fast enough to outrun the cops" Shawna mock-pouted "Poor baby.”

"I can out-run the cops anytime I want.”Hartley shot back.

“No way, your stick legs can't outrun a snail" Axel jeered.

“Yes I can" Hartley shoved him. "No way" Shawna called out.

"Forget running, best way to go is by motorcycle" Mick said.

"And that title is held by me" Lisa added.

“Please" Mick snorted.

"Please what?" Lisa scowled.

"I'm the one that actually taught you how to drive fast. No way you can beat the master." Mick smirked. It was true. Len had been the one that taught her to drive car, how to drive a motorcycle, how to repair the, but Mick was the one that taught her how to drive fast ad dangerously. They used to drive around Central, breaking all kinds of speed limits.

"Mick, stop talking drunk and be serious.” Lisa snorted.

“Guys, I have the perfect way to solve this" Shawna grinned.

"Beer" Mark said helpfully.”

“Yes, that and we race on it." Shawna suggested. The Rogues stared at each other and ran out of S&S. They headed to the old dump yard at the edge of the skate park, and took some bicycles lying around while Leonard, Mick, and Lisa took their own motorcycles. "Okay first up,” Lisa announced "You four go race starting at the half pipe, to S&S and back again. Then Mick and I will go, winner race winners." Leonard just settled down at the park bench watching them intently.

“Do we get to use our powers?" Hartley asked eagerly.

"Of course" Lisa purred "What fun would it be if we didn't?"

The four got on their bikes, and glared at the lights of S&S and the police cars in the distance.

"Ready, set go!" Lisa called Axel started up the fight by setting off parachute bombs at Shawna who was up front, she disappeared just as the bombs hit the ground.

Which made Mark and Hartley scramble off balance into some trees. Mark fought back as lightning blast out of the sky, making Axel zig-zag into the street.

"SHIT!! Biker coming through" he yelled as car honked and barreled toward him. Shawna reappeared once more in front but was soon overpowered by Hartley when he aimed his sonic gloves at the ground. The whole race sorta crumbled after that.

They got so distracted with fighting each other that jumped off their motorcycle and use their powers and combat skills in a four way fight.

"Guess we can get started then," Mick commented. “Done" Lisa pulled on her helmet, and crouched on her golden motorcycle "See you at the finish line old man" Lisa crowed.

Mick grunted. Leonard placed their guns next to him and called out "Start!”

It had been fast and furious, without the added distraction of firing fireballs me gold at each other they swerved precisely and smoothly across the streets. Lisa sorely tempted to drive over by him and hit him against the curb, but one thing she re breed from racing him years ago that knocking out you're opponent also made sure you slowed down too.

They made it to S&S and we're greeted by the police, and the owner. "Yes, they helped rob the place!"

"Drive back, drive back, tactical retreat" Mick shouted at her, she didn't need to be told twice.

She zig zagged as people always said to do if you don't want to get shot by the police. She certainly didn't want to today and in this outfit. The blood would stain the chiffon for sure. She heard the squeal of tires blowing out, and cursed to see her motorcycle tire with a bullet in it. Mick was a little ways ahead of her, already getting dragged off by the police officers.

She shook her head, dejectedly and let them cuff her without a fight. Without a gun, against their many many holsters, it didn't seem worth it.

As she got shoved in with Mick, he huffed on yet another cigarette dangling from his mouth. "Ya know your brother is gonna killed us."

“He could kill Shawna... She was the one with the whole birthday robbery idea and then the motorcycle race." Lisa said, "This is not worth getting killed over. If anything he would kill you for screwing me.”

She was thinking of Leonard's ever present threat, to murder anyone, especially partners having sexual relations with her.

"He wouldn't kill me" Mick said, carelessly.

"Really?" Lisa added doubtfully, she knew Mick was like Leonard's closest and only friend but she didn't think their friendship extended that far. Hell, he said that Mick was the last person he wanted her having sex with. “I believe his exact words were, If you think one impure thought about her I will catastrate you, boil your nuts and burn you alive." Mick said thoughtfully as Lisa stared at him in horror, with more than just the threat in mind

“Did you like me?" She would never admit but she had a crush on Mick for a few months when she was 14. Nothing big, and it was before she knew the extent of his craziness. All she knew was that he had a car with license, had wicked prison tattoos, and an intriguing deep guttural voice. It went away after awhile but never once did she think Mick would have looked at her the same way.

"I just saw you in a one of your evening dresses, and happened to compliment your rack out loud. That was it." Mick said. “That explains it" Lisa smiled, "And you and I dating. Never. I don't go for balding, old men."

"I don't go for idiotic train wrecks" Mick retorted.

They settled to an easy silence before she broke it again, “So what do you think of the whole Rogues thing?"

“Worst plan ever. A guy who can make thunderstorms whenever he cries, a disappearing act that thinks robbing S&S is big game, a dumbass engineer with parental issues, and a daddy's boy with bombs. Len couldn't pick up someone cool and useful like someone who could control minds, or an assassin." Mick snorted.

“Let’s face it. The original three of us pulled off more cons than we did with the rest." Lisa agreed.

"Well we're stuck with them for now. It'll be like our own reality TV mess." Mick snorted.

"I bet I could get Shawna in a fight with Mark over the bathroom and then have Axel and Hartley making out in the closet in no time." Lisa smiled, mischevious thoughts running through her mind.

"Mark and Hartley in the closet? I bet Mark and Hartley. In Leonard's office" Mick corrected.

“You're on. I can't wait to see Lenny's face when that happens" Lisa grinned.

"After we get out of this, we're going for another round though" Mick added.

"You want to get beaten by me twice?" “I was way ahead of you before the cops came." Mick sneered.

"You have proof?" "I don't need proof, I'm better motorcyclist than you'll ever be. I was back then and I am now.” Mick snarled. "Things changed, Rory. I'm number one now." Lisa glared back at him.

“Things haven't changed that much, Glider. You still need to learn how to zig zag without getting shot, don't you think for a second you're not the same kid that I had to drive to school and help with...with Brazilian waxing" Mick said, with a rare smile at the memory.

Leonard had forced Mick to go to her wax appointment with her when he got stuck at a job with Lewis. It had been a hard ordeal for both of them, and Mick ended up with a broken wrist. "It was my first time, and you wouldn't let me hold your.."

The truck stopped with a halt, and Shawna appeared in front of them. "You're anti-heroes of the day have arrived" she cheered, opening the door and pushing them out. They fell to the ground, "Would you mind, uncuffing us first" Lisa spit dirt out of her mouth.

“Oh of course!" "Here let me help!" Mark and Axel scrambled to uncuff her.

“A little help here" Mick hissed, jingling his cuffs, as Leonard rolled his eyes to help. “That's enough for tonight" Leonard used his stern, leader tone and gestured to the motorcycles waiting at the bench.

"You head out, we have a score to settle" Lisa said, and winked at Mick. “Yeah Goldie wants to get her ass kicked.

"Don't get so cocky, Rory" Lisa smiled, revved her engine and the two roared off to the pipeline.

#mick rory #heatwave #golden glider #lisa snart #captain cold #leonard snart #the flash #the rogues #shawna beaz #peek a boo #weather wizard #pied piper #trickster #my fanfiction #my fanfic

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buymethesea · 5 years ago

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dear @ask-kitchenwitchsanji! i was your secret santa for the @opsecretsanta2019 exchange and i’ve come to finally bring your gift (finally!). first, of all i want to apologize for the delay and wish you happy holidays and a happy new year. all the best for this coming decade ✨✨ for your gift, i wrote fic and i ended up going with the prompts of near death experience and angst, because that’s my jam too, and boy let me tell you, this one really ran away from me. i had a lot of fun writing and hope you enjoy it as well.

title: brave face characters: sanji, zoro, mentions of the rest of the straw hats. summary: actions have consequenses and zoro’s had enough. or, sanji puts his life in danger. again. words: 3 623 a/n: discussions of canon-typical violence and its more realistic consequences/death.

”What’s your problem, huh?”

Sanji blinks. Or he tries to, but his head hurts too much for the motion to be anything more than a slight wince.

Wait.

His head hurts?

Why?

What the fuck is going on? Did someone say something?

Fuck, it hurts.

---

”What’s your problem, Cook?”

There’s that voice again. Zoro.

Sanji grimaces. Of all the goddamn things in the world to wake up to-- He’s too fucking tired for this.

Shit, it really hurts all over. He must have been done in real good in their latest fight. Sanji grunts, tries to open his eyes. Slowly, his head is already pounding as it is. It takes a moment for his vision to clear, but sure enough he’s in the infirmary and the mosshead is sitting at the side of his bed. Gross.

Sanji moves his mouth. His lips are dry.

”What are you doing here?” he says. Tries to say. It’s annoying how hoarse his voice sounds, how weak. He must have been out of it for a good while.

Zoro doesn’t answer. Sanji would ask him again, but he’s too tired to bother and either way something is…off about the swordsman. The furrow of his brows, the set of his shoulders. It’s enough to unnerve Sanji, so he asks, has to ask:

“Is something wrong? Are the others okay?”

For some reason, that was the wrong thing to say because Zoro stands up abruptly, the look on his face mean as he replies:

“Look who’s talking.”

Normally that would be enough to goad Sanji into a fight but the shithead has a point. He’s too tired. He can barely keep his eyes open as is.

Zoro grunts and starts moving towards the door

“Everyone else is fine. I’m getting Chopper. Try to stay awake until he’s had a look at you, idiot,” he says and his voice is all even and quiet as he talks. Weird.

Try as he might it’s fucking hard, keeping his eyes open and Sanji feels himself drift back into nothingness.

---

Third time’s the charm.

Sure, everything still fucking hurts when Sanji wakes but the fog clogging his head is slowly starting to clear.

“You have a real problem, you know?” Zoro’s voice comes from the side of the bed and Sanji wants to scream.

He turns his head (slowly, slowly) to glare at the swordsman.

“Hey fuckhead, you really got nothing better to do than torment me?” Sanji says and while the edge is missing from his voice at least it doesn’t give up on him in the middle of the sentence. Small steps and all that. “Last I knew the infirmary belonged to Chopper.”

Zoro grimaces, the look on his face harsh.

“Even doctors need to sleep. Wasn’t doing him any good, fretting over you every hour.”

Sanji’s mouth clamps shut. After a moments struggle, his compulsion to antagonize Zoro loses out to his increasing need to understand what the fuck is going on and what the hell happened to him. He starts out easy.

“What time is it?”

“Early morning, rest of the crew’s still asleep,” Zoro answers. “I’m on watch.”

“Sure,” Sanji says, and it takes all his willpower to not comment on the fact that the swordsman had apparently been spending his shift in the infirmary instead of the crow’s nest. There was probably a reason for that.

Sanji wets his lips. As he starts coming back to his body it dawns on him just how bad shape he’s in. All this from a fight? While he’s not sure exactly what happened, he remembers the skirmish and the small crew of two-bit marines they’d run into. None of the usual big guns that were after them, just some local division leader too high on his own supply to realize just how outmatched him and his men were.

It just doesn’t add up. From what Sanji can tell he’s been knocked out for a good while, and the crew had been worried enough to assign him a watch. And he feels like pure shit. His body feels weak, his limbs sluggish and heavy. Loathe as he is to admit it, Sanji doubts he could get out of bed on his own. His head hurts and, even worse than that, his chest aches. Not just the pain from broken ribs – that he recognizes – but his insides feel raw, irritated. Like his airways have been filled with broken glass, like something chafes with every breath he takes.

“What happened?” Sanji asks.

“You drowned,” Zoro says.

Huh?

“Stop fucking around,” Sanji grits out.

“I’m not. You drowned.”

“Hey shithead, does it look like I’m in the mood for jokes?” Sanji shouts, “How the fuck would I drown?!”

Sanji doesn’t get an answer to that question. Right then the door is slammed open by Chopper who manages to look both rushed and newly awake, the hat on his head askew and his eyes wide-open.

“Sanji! You’re up,” their small doctor exclaims and then he pauses. Any other time and Sanji would have found it funny, the way Chopper’s face gave away the exact moment he took in the scene he’d walked into.

“Are you fighting?” Chopper asks, immediately he transforming into his man-form and getting between them. “But Zoro, you promised!” he berates as he drags the swordsman out from the infirmary.

“Yeah, yeah, apologies,” Zoro says, reaching up to straighten out the hat on Chopper’s head as he’s being shooed away. “The moron’s all yours, Doc.”

---

With only Chopper left in the room with him, Sanji isn’t quite sure what to say. He can’t say he cares very much for the sickbed, and unlike the rest of the knobheads on their crew it’s not very often his injuries are bad enough to keep him confined. There are exceptions, sure, but overall this is a foreign experience.

“How are you doing?”

Chopper is the first to speak, expertly stepping into his role and Sanji has to smile.

“I’m fine,” he reassures, “Should be back on my feet in no time.”

So what, his body hurts. He’s alive and there’s no reason that anyone should have to worry about him.

“Don’t doubt that for a second,” Chopper replies as he comes closer. “Is it really that difficult, to rest up properly for once?” he wonders and it’s only when Chopper steps up right by the bed that Sanji notices just how wobbly a smile their little reindeer is sporting.

Sanji stays quiet while he’s examined from top to bottom. He doesn’t doubt Chopper’s capabilities, or intentions, but something about the whole thing seems—excessive and it makes his skin crawl.

“Hey,” he starts, keeping his voice to a gentle murmur so as to not startle Chopper while he’s drawing blood. “Everything good?”

Chopper hums, absorbed enough in his work that he doesn’t look up. “I’d need the results from your blood samples to make sure, and it still too early to rule out neurological damage…” he trails off, brain finally catching up to what he’d let slip. “Not that I’m too worried! Everything seems fine so far so you don’t need to worry either, okay?”

Sanji finds himself fidgeting, his fingers running over the small band-aid on the inside of his elbow.

“Of course not,” he says finally.

---

To his absolute dismay Sanji is prescribed further bedrest and Chopper expressively forbids him from returning to his duties in the kitchen. Sanji protests to the best of his ability, expecting to get some type of support from the rest of crew. But to his surprise there was only approval of Chopper’s decision, and Sanji realizes all hope is lost when he turns to his captain and Luffy’s face is been serious, as if he’d tried to think long and hard on the matter. "You need to rest up first Sanji. Captain's orders!"

Effectively barred from the kitchen and told to rest, there’s not much left from Sanji’s usual routine to occupy himself with. He sleeps a lot, and it’s not like it’s possible to be truly alone on a ship like theirs. Luffy seems to have made it his personal mission to fill Sanji in on whatever idiocy he and Usopp have come up with during the day, and Robin, bless her, has taken to dropping by with books from the library. One afternoon, Nami had cleared out space for herself at Chopper’s desk to work on her maps muttering something about the deck being too noisy ,and Brook keeps sticking his head in and asking for suggestions on what to play next, wandering off but somehow always straying close enough that Sanji can hear the music too.

Still, the days are long and the nights even longer, and so when the ship is quiet and dark, Sanji broods.

It’s starting to catch up with him, the strangeness of the situation and his mind is filled with thoughts he’d rather not linger on. Like the relief on the faces of the crew that morning when he’d first woken up, when they’d filed in one after another with that same expression on their faces and that same weight leaving their shoulders as they caught sight of him. Like the state of his body, still so goddamn tired and worn.

‘You drowned’ Zoro had said and Sanji still doesn’t know what that means.

---

One night it all gets a little too much. Desperate to get a moment’s reprieve from the noise inside his head Sanji listens and waits. On the other side of the infirmary door the crew of the Sunny are slowly but surely settling for the night and finally the ship is silent. Sanji knows that Luffy has the first watch of the night which just means that their captain will be sleeping in the crow’s nest instead of in the men’s cabin, and so Sanji only looks around once before he steps out from the infirmary onto the deck.

It’s cold.

What was it Nami-san had said yesterday, they’d entered the climate zone of an Autumn island? It’s been a second since Sanji’s shivered like this, but wrapped in one of the blankets from his sickbed the chill against his skin makes him feel alive. He breathes in, holds the air, exhales. Fuck, he could really use a cigarette right now.

Sanji stands outside for a good while watching the sea and tasting the salt in the air. Some self-medication, he thinks to himself and snickers.

Next is the galley. He’s not stupid enough to go against doctor’s orders and try to cook something, but a cup of tea that he’s brewed himself, getting the stand in front of the stove and soak in the heat. He thinks that’d do him good.

So of course, because the universe hates him, he opens the door to the galley and steps inside only to find that he’s not alone. The lights are off but moonlight streams through the portholes and by the table Zoro is drinking.

Sanji stands by the threshold and curses the world.

Zoro looks up from his drink, his face infuriatingly stoic as he opens his stupid mouth.

“You’re not supposed to be here. Chopper’s gonna have your head.”

Sanji grits his teeth. Maybe it’s just as well that he’s not smoking, he would have bit through his cigarette by now otherwise.

“Shut up,” he mutters as he makes his way to the stove. It’s not worth it, starting a fight. Besides…”You’d snitch on me, mosshead?”

Zoro grunts and takes another swig from his bottle. It’s the good sake that Sanji had hid way back in the pantry. He imagines not much is left out of that stock.

Sanji inhales slowly and turns away. No fighting, he repeats inside his head like a mantra as he prepares his tea. It’s not worth it.

To his great disappointment Zoro's still sitting there when he turns back. He scowls as he takes a seat at the table but makes sure put his cup down gently.

He takes a sip, closes his eyes. Despite the unwanted presence on the other side of the table he feels himself relax. Why wouldn’t he? The galley is his domain, his second skin. Fuck, as much as he needed fresh air, this is it. Inside the galley, the heart of the ship, he’s okay.

When he opens his eyes he finds Zoro staring at him and at once the smile on his face drops. This fucker. The mosshead isn’t even drinking anymore. The bottle’s empty, his arms are crossed over his chest, the expression on his face unreadable as he keeps. Fucking. Staring.

Sanji’s had enough.

“What’s your problem?” he says and he tries to keep his voice calm, neutral. His voice is still raspy, even though it’s been days since he woke up.

Zoro face hardens.

“That’s my question.” He leans forward to rest an elbow on the table. “Actually, I've been asking you for a while now but no dice.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sanji wants to say. Unfortunately, he remembers the mosshead glued to his side in the infirmary, asking that one question with various degrees of rudeness attached. But that had only been until he’d woken up properly. The idiot sure had been making himself scarce since then.

“I have no idea what your taking about?” he says instead.

It takes a while for Zoro to respond, finally he says:

“Do you remember what happened?”

Sanji glares.

“No,” he admits finally. As much as he hates it he realizes at once what Zoro means and that this is his best shot at finally getting some answers.

“You drowned—” Zoro starts but Sanji interrupts him at once. He’s not here to listen to bullshit.

“Talk sense, mosshead. Start from the beginning.”

There’s no way I drowned.

It’s Zoro’s turn to glare, but if looks could kill Sanji would be burning in hell a hundred times over so he ignores him.

Then – finally – Zoro starts talking.

“We were about to leave the latest island when a bunch of marines ambushed us. The usual weaklings”

Sanji nods. That much he remembers, it had only been him, Luffy and the mosshead fighting while the others prepared the ship to set sail, stowing away their shopping and what not. It’s after that shit gets blurry.

“Well, their captain was apparently the ambitious type, had invested in all this advanced weaponry. Out of the norm on a small base like this one but still no different from the shit we’d run into before. We thought.” Zoro goes on speaking, his voice the usual drone but something about it is still unnerving, maybe it’s because Sanji knows that something ends up going south.

“So he kept going on about all his toys, you know the type, but then he mentioned something kinda troublesome. Some genius had come up the idea to combine those seastone nets of theirs with a bazooka or whatever. He said that, the marine captain, and aimed at Luffy.”

“Luffy didn’t notice, he was fighting some martial artist and he’s never been the type to listen twice to weaklings. But you did, Cook,” Zoro says, his face serious as he stares at Sanji. And Sanji realizes that that strange undercurrent to Zoro’s voice is rage.

“You heard the guy,” he continues, “and instead of shouting out a warning or kicking Luffy out of the way and dodging, you took the hit for him and was sent flying into the sea. And sure, you’re good swimmer but that net knocked the air out of you, and in the blink of an eye you were sinking. ‘S not like you can kick you’re way out of seastone, either.”

Sanji swallows. Not his greatest moment, but still.

“Big deal, someone got me out, right?”

Zoro’s not amused.

“You see, Cook. It took a moment, since both Luffy and I were busy with our own fights and that idiot is useless in the water anyway. But sure I jumped in after you and by the time I got you out the marines were done with. But seastone’s heavy, it slowed me down.”

Sanji’s stunned. That’s an unexpected confession, coming from the swordsman. It makes him uncomfortable.

“Called for Chopper when I got out because you weren’t responding. Think you swallowed a decent amount of water. He wanted to start compressions, you know, but seastone’s a bitch. It took you a while to free you, especially since four out of the crew couldn’t even help out.”

“You weren’t breathing when we finally got you free from the net. Chopper couldn’t find at pulse. You drowned.”

Sanji’s stomach churns. “Then what?” He manages to choke out.

Zoro shrugs. “Chopper started compressions, tried to get you breathing. The others helped him move you to the infirmary, and I guess they got you going after a couple of minutes. I’m not sure. I was trying to calm Luffy down."

“Why,” Sanji whispers.

“He would have killed those marines otherwise.”

Sanji runs his hands through his hair. He doesn’t want to look at the Zoro right now.

Fuck. The grip on his hair tightens. All this while he’d imagined all kinds of scenarios and yet the truth is worse than anythings he's managed to conjure up. He wants to accuse the other of lying, of making things up to fuck with him, but he knows Zoro’s not the type. Not even Usopp would lie about something like this. He feels bile at the back of his throat.

No wonder then. That he’d been feeling like shit. That the others had been looking at him like something fragile and precious. That Zoro was furious with him.

Speak of the devil.

“I’m gonna ask you again, Cook. What’s you problem?”

Sanji wants to laugh. Fuck this guy really, for choosing to do this now while his mind was still reeling.

“I don’t have a problem.”

“Then, why'd you take that hit in Luffy’s place instead of getting him out of the way?”

“Fuck if I know. I was just trying to save him. You would have done it too.”

Zoro sneers, the look on his face meaner than ever.

“Wrong. Anyone of us in the crew would have saved him, sure. Only you would put your sorry ass at risk, because you’re the only here with a death-wish.”

Sanji sees red.

“Like you’re the one to talk,” he spits out. “After Thriller Bark.”

“I was never going to die.”

Sanji stands up and it’s only the vertigo from rising so suddenly that stops him from kicking the swordsman through the wall. The hypocrisy is enough to throw all his senses awry.

“I was there, remember? I heard you offer your head in Luffy’s place!”

Sanji’’s self-aware enough to admit he’s the hotheaded type of guy. He doesn’t know how he finds it within himself to still keep a respectable volume.

Zoro grinds his teeth. Looking at him properly, Sanji can spot all these signs that tell him the calm Zoro’s projecting is a façade. The tense posture, the unnatural clench of his jaw. Suddenly Sanji’s tired, the fight running off him like water. He wishes they could just fight it out, cut through the tension with swords and kicks, without uttering a single world. Instead they’ve been reduced to this. It’s not like them.

“I remember,” Zoro says. “I know what I said, but unlike you I had the resolve to not die. Kuma was never gonna kill me.”

Sanji sits back down. He wants a smoke. He wants to not be here.

“You’re saying I would have died, and that’s why you knocked me out,” Sanji can’t help the resentment that colors his voice.

“Yes.”

“Because I’m weak.”

“Yes.”

There it is. It took two years but there it is. An admission.

“Don’t get me wrong, idiot. I’m not taking about your fighting ability, in that sense you’re as strong as any,” Sanji gets the distinct feeling that saying this out loud is like pulling teeth for Zoro. “But you’re fine with sacrificing your life, and that makes you weak.”

Sanji bites the inside of his cheek.

“That’s not true,” he counters but finds his voice unconvincing. He blames the early hour. The state of his body. Anything.

It would take a hundred years before he’d admit that Zoro has a point.

Zoro shakes his head and for a brief moment the mask is off. Instead of stern, he just looks weary and in the moonlit galley the shadows under his eyes are pronounced.

“I don’t how to get through to you,” he says and Sanji’s reminded of how young he is. How young they both are when it comes to the grand scheme of things; despite how much they’ve been through. But the moment passes and Zoro stands up.

Sanji realizes he missed his chance, but he not sure for what, and maybe that’s for the better.

“One more thing.” Zoro stops by the doorway, not even bothering to look back. “You’re not putting the crew through this again.”

The door falls shut behind him and Sanji is alone.

He leans his head back to stare at the ceiling.

Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do then?

Sure, this one was unecessary, but Sanji knows the sea is cruel. He's not naive enough to think that their little crew, however much they mean to him, are special enough to coast by without coming across tragedy or hardships. And maybe that means that somewhere deep down, unconsciously, he'd promised himself that when the time comes it's him and not them. Never them.

He'll just have to be smarter about it.

#opsecretsanta2019 #opfanfic #sanji #roronoa zoro #cross-posting to ao3 in a bit #this was so much fun #thank you for organizing!#one piece

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tahnex · 5 years ago

Text

Road to Graduation

Hi, so this is the first chapter of a new RWBY fic. I’m stuck in quarantine with time on my hands, an idea, and decided screw it, let’s write a RWBY fic. A very quick bit of background, this is canon-compliant until after the Volume 7 finale, then it goes its own way. The first two chapters are mostly setting the scene and giving some background for the following story, so apologies if they’re a bit long, and a little heavy on dialogue and exposition, but there’s a fair bit that needs to be explained.

(Also the title is currently temporary, I’m pretty bad at titles and this was the first idea that came into my head that sounds decent enough).

Anybody who wants to be like a beta reader or give any reviews or anything is REALLY welcome to do so! I don’t have one at the minute, so it might be a little rough around the edges. Any, click below for the actual chapter!

It’s been a month since they fought Salem. A month since Ozpin had taken over Oscar’s body and, with a little help from Ruby’s silver eyes, wounded Salem enough to force her into the Winter Vault, with Penny sealing it, and Salem, away. Tyrian had been recaptured and, whilst in a fury at Salem being sealed, was goading the Ace Ops with how many people he had killed in the fight, and accidentally let slip he’d also killed Clover. Robyn Hill had used her semblance on both Qrow and, under heavy restraints, Tyrian, proving Qrow’s innocence and his release. The CCT towers are slowly being set up again, and a message was sent to Vacuo to make sure they didn’t try to open the Summer Vault, along with a promise to Beacon that the Atlesian Military would send help to rid Vale and Beacon of the Grimm that were plaguing the city and old Academy grounds, including the Wyvern Grimm clinging to Beacon Tower. Once the two kingdoms worked together, and nearly the full might of the Atlesian military was brought to bear, the Grimm surrounding Beacon were forced back and Beacon returned to the way it was two years or so ago.

Following that, a rather awkward conversation took place in Atlas tower, involving the now General Winter Schnee, Team RWBY and JNR, and with Professor Goodwitch on call from Beacon.

“What do you mean our licenses were revoked?!” Yang slammed her hands down on the table.

Winter sighed, “Former General Ironwood revoked your licenses when you declined to support his plan to save Atlas. I’ve…”

“You mean when we refused to let him sacrifice the whole of Mantle and the people in it.” Blake retorted, glaring at Winter.

Winter met Blake’s stare for a beat before continuing, “As I was saying, I’ve tried to reinstate the licenses, as well as issue you new permanent ones, however when he revoked the licenses he blocked all seven of you from being granted a license by anyone with Atlesian authority, including military and the council.”

Ruby turned to the scroll with Professor Goodwitch on, “Professor? Is there anything you can do?”

Professor Goodwitch’s voice came through the scroll, slightly crackly as the CCT system was not back up to its prior strength, “Atlas is the only country who can produce Huntsmen licenses without graduating at an academy. Without returning to an academy, completing your education, and then graduating, we cannot grant you your licenses.”

At this nearly everyone looked crestfallen. “So, despite everything that’s happened, there’s nothing you can do? We helped to defeat Salem! Surely that should count for SOMETHING!” Jaune yelled.

Professor Goodwitch sighed, “I appreciate your frustration Mr Arc, and the whole of Vytal is thankful for your assistance in defeating Salem…”

“Not that they’ll ever know about it” muttered Blake.

“Thank you for your comments Miss Belladonna, but considering the panic you all saw in Mantle and the amount of Grimm it brought, would you really wish that on the rest of Vytal when they learned of an immortal Queen of the Grimm that is trying to destroy humanity?” Professor Goodwitch replied sharply, “Even if she is sealed away, it would still bring panic and Grimm, leading to loss of life.”

Blake looked down embarrassed and Yang glared at the scroll.

“Back to your point Mr Arc, I’ve spoken to the council members in Vale, and informed them that your absence from all of the Academies was approved by Professor Ozpin before his death, and your recent efforts were part of an extended mission, watched over by Qrow Branwen. Fortunately, news of his mistaken arrest, which I WILL be speaking to you about General, did not reach Vale. I have convinced them that due to the success of your highly secret mission, your entire second year, for all of you, was passed.”

“Is that really all you can do?” Ruby said quietly.

“Yes Miss Rose. That is all I can do.” Even to most of the people in the room Professor Goodwitch sounded tired, and possibly even a little sad.

Everyone looked at each other, slightly unsure of what to do or say until Ren spoke up “So what happens now?”

“If you all still wish to graduate and become professional Huntsmen and Huntresses, you are welcome to return to Beacon to complete your training there, starting in your third year. I’ll give you until 5pm tomorrow to decide. Since the disaster of the last Vytal Festival the council is trying to keep a much closer eye on Beacon, so I have to tell them what is happening with you seven at their next meeting tomorrow.”

Ruby looked back to the scroll “And if we refuse?”

“Then you will not become legal Huntsmen and Huntresses.”

There were a few moments of silence before Winter spoke up, “You can go back to your rooms now to discuss this. It’s the best option you have.”

Taking her not so subtle hint to leave, the two teams left the room, but not before hearing Professor Goodwitch turn her attention to Winter, “Now, would you please be so kind as to explain not only why the hell you put out a warrant for Qrow’s arrest, but also why you then followed through with it?” Any further words were cut off by the doors sealing behind them. Ruby and Yang glanced at each other grinning slightly, they’d been on the receiving end of one of Professor Goodwitch’s scolding, more than once for Yang, and knew how bad it could be.

It wasn’t long before they reached their rooms and split into their respective teams.

Ruby and Blake sat on the beds, with Weiss and Yang taking chairs opposite their respective partners, Yang spinning hers round to sit backwards.

“Well Ruby? What do we do?” Blake asked.

Ruby looked to them all in turn, “What do you guys WANT to do? I know I’m the leader of our team, but I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to…”

Weiss was the first to reply, “Personally, my vote is to graduate and become a Huntress. My only other option would be to take over the Schnee Dust Company, but I don’t want to do that, in fact I want nothing to do with it. I’m done with Atlas; Ironwood was the last straw.”

Yang looked to Blake before facing Ruby “I don’t know Rubes, to be honest I’m not happy with the whole situation, if they do this to us now, what’s to say something else won’t happen again in the future? I’m not sure about returning to Beacon, but I want us to stay together as a team.”

Blake looked at Yang directly whilst saying “I want to stay as a team, so I’ll follow you guys.” Yang smiled in response.

Ruby looked down at the ground for a moment, “All I’ve ever wanted was to be a Huntress. To help people. If the only way to do that is to go back to Beacon and graduate, then I would do that. But being together as a team is more important. We got split up once before, that’s not happening again.” She looked at the time on her scroll “It’s getting late, we’ll sleep on it and see what we think tomorrow.”

The others nodded their agreement and got ready for bed. Across the hall, JNR was having a similar discussion.

“What happens now Jaune?” Nora looked to her team leader.

“I don’t know Nora, I don’t know.” Jaune sat down on his bed heavily.

“Me and Ren have nowhere else to go, we don’t have a family or home to return to, it’s just us three now. So, we’ll follow you where you go.” Nora looked to Ren for reassurance, slipping her hand into his, and he nodded.

“Thanks you guys,” Jaune smiled at them both, “To be honest, returning to some kind of, I don’t know, normal life would be good you know? Finishing school and actually having something to show for everything we’ve done would be good. Plus, I could kinda do with a bit more training,” he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Then back to school we go,” Ren said quietly.

The next day they all met up in Winter’s office. Professor Goodwitch was on call from Beacon again, “Well, have you all come to a decision?”

Ruby and Jaune looked at each other and nodded. The two teams had discussed it over breakfast that morning. “Looks like you’re going to have to put up with our team again Professor,” Ruby smiled.

“And ours.” Jaune chimed in after Ruby.

“Good. Pack your things, you’ll be on the next flight to Vale, it leaves tonight.” Winter nodded at them all.

“Mr Arc? If you, Miss Valkyrie and Mr Ren could all remain for a moment, there is something we need to discuss with you three.” Professor Goodwitch said.

Jaune looked at Ruby and said, “Go on, we’ll catch up to you.” Ruby looked a little confused but nodded and led her team out the door. “Yes Professor? What is it?” Jaune turned back to the scroll.

Team RWBY reached their room and packed their things, Weiss double checking to make sure they’d left nothing behind, before heading to the landing platform, finding someone waiting for them. “Hey kiddo, looks like you’re hitching a ride back to Vale with me.”

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby sprinted to give Qrow a tight hug. “I was worried about you” Ruby whispered into his coat. Yang came up behind Ruby and gave her uncle a hug as well, whilst Weiss and Blake stood back a little, not sure what they should do.

“I’m alright, just tired of this cold.” Qrow said, looking to the door as it slid open to reveal Winter standing in the doorway.

“Weiss. Come here.”

Weiss breathed out before turning to walk to her older sister. “Yes Winter?”

They walked to one side of the doorway and Winter stood awkwardly for a moment before replying, “I’m glad you decided to continue your education.” They were silent for a moment before she continued “Now that Father is in custody, and will never touch our family again, I will…see what I can do to help Mother,” she motioned to Qrow with her head, “If that alcoholic idiot over there can drag himself to sobriety, I will see what I can do to help Mother achieve the same.”

Weiss almost couldn’t believe what she was about say considering how he had treated her but… ”And Whitley.”

Winter looked a little surprised at Weiss.

“He was always closer to Father than us or Mother. He will need support as well. Especially as he is now the heir and will take over the company.” Weiss swallowed hard, wanting to say the words before she changed her mind.

Winter looked solemn for a moment, “Yes, we all neglected him, and Father took him completely under his influence. I will try to help him as well, but I suspect Klein will be better able to help Whitley than me.”

Weiss smiled at the memory of her friend and former butler and, seeing the members of Team JNR come out into the air said, “This will be goodbye then sister.”

“Yes, it will be.” Winter nodded, before Weiss grabbed her in an impromptu hug. Winter hesitated for a moment before smiling slightly and returning it. “Try to write or call more often too.”

“I will” Weiss smiled at her sister, before turning and walking back to her team.

Qrow looked up at her arrival, nodded curtly to Winter, then turned, slipped his hands in his pockets and walked up the ramp onto the aircraft. Winter sighed, shook her head, then stood to attention as the others waved goodbye and followed Qrow up the ramp and back to Vale.

Ruby lingered slightly before continuing into the aircraft, a little upset Penny hadn’t come to see them off, but the ever-energetic girl had left on a mission from Winter a week ago and wouldn’t return for a few more days. Sitting down with the rest of her team opposite Qrow and JNR she heard Weiss ask Jaune “What did Professor Goodwitch want to speak with you about?”

Jaune looked slightly awkward and Nora a little cross, whilst Ren remained relatively impassive as always. “She said when we arrive, we need to go to her office and speak with her straight away, just the three of us. She didn’t say anything else.” Weiss and Blake suspected something wasn’t being said but decided that the others would tell them in time, and for now, all they wanted to do was lean back and rest. Just before closing her eyes to sleep Ruby noticed Qrow leaning back, eyes closed trying to sleep, but with a glimmer of green in his right hand.

After arriving at Beacon, they all wearily climbed out the aircraft, Yang and Ruby giving long hugs to Qrow, before he walked off, raising a hand to say goodbye. The seven climbed up the steps to the main doors, not noticing there was someone standing next to Professor Goodwitch.

“Salutations friends!”

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