#let me believe in it and don't be harpies thanks | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kasagia · 4 months ago

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Dancing with the devil IV

Pairing: Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem! royal!reader Summary: Unknowingly, you fall into a trap from which it will be difficult to get out. The only solution seems to be to make a pact with the devil himself. A devil who seems all too happy to finally get his hands on you. Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen's Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~Main Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~ PART III ~•♤♤♤•~ PART V ~•♤♤♤•~

“It's a refreshing change. Don't you think, Y/N?” Your friend inquires as you sit on the windowsill, gazing out at the landscape of Kaitain.

You hum, nodding your head, keeping your watchful gaze on the ramp where the next ships are landing. A shiver runs through you as you recognise the familiar black Harkonnen orb. Whoever designed their ships must have worked hard to even make them look... disquieting. Y/F/N notices what you are staring at.

"Don't worry." You comfort her and hold her hand. "I won't let you marry that brute. There is no worse fate than being Harkonnen's wife."

"It's not that… just if it was someone else. Na-Baron, for example." You tense slightly at her mention of Feyd. Your eyes follow hers, and you notice her staring at him longingly as he walks out, surrounded by his soldiers. You feel bile rising in your throat.

"Na-Baron?" You ask stupidly, trying to ignore the sudden, unexpected feeling of jealousy. Which, of course, was a pure act of stupidity on your part. Because how could you be jealous of Harkonnen? And yet, you felt like gouging out your friend's eyes for staring at your Feyd for too long.

"He... isn't that bad at all. Despite what they say about him. He cared about me there - on Giedi Prime. In their crazy way... but thanks to him, the stay there wasn't so... terrible." You tense up and roll your eyes at her words.

As if there could be angels on Giedi Prime. As if HE could be something more than the cunning devil who breaks hearts, takes the souls and lives of innocent people. As if he could be something more than a bloodthirsty sadist raised by the most disgusting man who ever lived.

"Believe me, it's just a facade. The moment you let your guard down, he will show you his true colors. And this is a far cry from the image of his personality he painted in your head. He wants you to consider him your ally. This way, it will be easier for him to use you for his own benefits. Spying on his brother or something like that, I'm not sure yet. Maybe he's also looking for sexual release after his harpies are dead?"

"Y/N!"

"What? I'm just thinking out loud." You reply with a shrug. Your gaze remains focused on Na-Baron. Princess Irulan welcomes him and his brother rather reluctantly. She behaved quite similarly towards you. Except for her special coldness and malice reserved for you, to which you had become accustomed by now.

"You must know him very well to see through his intentions so quickly. I also remember that as children you were often in the company of him, Paul Atreides and Princess Irulan."

You flinch when Na-Baron's gaze suddenly turns to the palace. But you know it's impossible for him to recognise your silhouette among the palace's many windows... or at least you hoped so. Regardless, you decide not to tempt fate and walk away from the window, turning around to face your friend.

"That was a long time ago."

"But you must know him very well. Or at least the child he was."

"Trust me, he was never a child." You reply, pouring yourself a glass of wine. You don't want to tell her anything else.

You don't want to explain to her exactly when Feyd lost his childhood, when he stopped being your friend and the boy you played with, when you lost him, when the place of the charming boy from Lankiveil was taken by the bloodthirsty, psychopathic, brutal Na-Baron of Giedi Prime. Because only you knew the Prince of Lankiveil. And the memory of him will follow you to your grave.

Because you knew there was no salvation for him, that the boy you gave your heart to was dead, and his murderer was none other than the Baron. And all you have left of him is a shell. The one he gave you and the shell of who he once was were a living and painful reminder of what you lost because of the Baron and Princess Irulan. And because of your own fear.

"I'm bored." You tell Feyd as you sit next to each other in the feast hall.

Your parents, his brother, and his uncle are celebrating with the other great families the birth of the Emperor's (another) daughter, and you and the rest of the children are forced to attend the event until your maids take you away.

And this has been going on for you for ages.

"Act like a lady and don't whine." Feyd responds to you, rolling his eyes at you slightly. You punch his arm, causing him to gasp and look at you indignantly.

"Act like a child and don't talk to me like you're my mother."

"What do you want to do?" He sighs, shaking his head at you.

If he had to list his weaknesses, you would definitely be the first of them on his list. He was always waiting for the moment where he could free himself from Giedi Prime and his uncle's gaze to spend a few minutes with you. You gave him... a sense of freedom. With you, he didn't have to worry about how he acted—whether he was too soft or too lenient.

He could have just been a child for a while—a boy from Lankiveil he had almost forgotten about. A boy you seemed to like quite a lot. And he tried his hardest to show you that he was still able to find in himself nooks and crannies that weren't polluted by the Baron. Mentally and physically.

"To sleep. But I don't have my teddy bear and blanket." Feyd tries his best not to laugh, but he allows his mouth to open slightly, making sure to keep it closed.

He didn't want to scare you with his black teeth—an addition recently introduced on Baron's orders. Feyd couldn't quite get used to them yet. He remembered breaking all the mirrors in his chambers the first day he saw his new row of black teeth. Over time, however, he got used to them, like everything else on Giedi Prime.

"What?" You ask as he stares at you for a few too many seconds or minutes. Feyd clears his throat and manages to lower the corner of his mouth.

"Nothing. I may be not as soft as your precious teddy bear and blanket, but I can keep you warm. And my cloak is... possibly the coziest thing I have." He answers awkwardly, already taking off his coat. He wraps it around you without waiting for your response, remaining in his black military armor.

He knows that the next day he will have scrapes and bruises from too tight armor. He should have gotten a bigger one a long time ago, but the Baron seemed to insist that Feyd keep his old clothes for as long as he could.

"You allow me to nuzzle up to you?" You ask, surprised, as he wraps his arm around you.

Feyd didn't particularly like physical contact; sometimes he flinched when someone's skin touched his—a reaction he tried to hide. However, apart from you, there was one other person who also noticed it. And while Feyd should have hated the Atreides, he would remain forever grateful to Letto Atreides, who had invited him to spend the summer with his son, you, and Princess Irulan shortly after Rabban and he had moved to Giedi Prime. It was the best summer of his life since leaving Lankivieil. A moment of respite.

However, with you, sometimes he could afford to feel your body a little closer to him. Most of all, he WANTED to feel your body press against his. Which, over the years spent on Giedi Prime, was a very rare, even unheard of feeling for him.

"I allow you to rest on me and take a nap. My mother... my mother did this a lot with my father when she was pregnant and had to sit in on these meetings." Feyd says he has vague memories of his mother being pregnant with her third child and how his father acted towards her—before all hell broke loose on Lankiveil, when he could still be... normal.

"But I am not pregnant. And we are not married." You point it out maliciously, but your head is already falling onto his shoulder. You wrap your hand around his waist and snuggle into him. Feyd suppresses a blush as you unconsciously nuzzle his neck and inhale his scent. You were too innocent to know what it did, and he was too tainted for his body not to react to it. Despite everything, he controls himself and holds you, making sure you don't fall out of your chair.

"But you are tired, aren't you?" He hums against your ear, fully aware that you're about to drift off into his arms. And that he would rather kill himself than let anyone take you away from him.

"I am. And I also never miss a chance to hug you, my grumpy Na-Baron." He furrows his hairless eyebrows, unconsciously tracing patterns on your arm with his finger. He relaxes, seeing that his uncle has left the party. So did the young servant who served him. A shiver runs through him, but he ignores it. His focus is on you. On your slow breathing, on your smell, on your warmth, on how perfect you feel next to him, as if you were his missing half. And Feyd allows himself to believe for a moment that this may be the case—that you are truly written in the stars for him.

"I am not grumpy." He says, rolling his eyes at your taunt and completely ignoring Princess Irulan's glare from across the room.

"You are. Like those funny green creature from Paul's book. You know, the old one with weird pictures."

If Feyd could, he would forbid you from meeting Atreides. Unfortunately, your parents seemed to insist on this special closeness to this family. And you loved reading. Same as Paul. Feyd's only consolation was that when Atreides didn't have a book in his hand, he lost any interest in you. Unlike him. He had your attention, regardless of what he was doing or what he might be giving you at that moment.

"Sleep." He mumbles and presses a kiss to your tample.

"Don't tell me what to do. I am not your wife." You mumble, half asleep, but you give in to him anyway and fall asleep on him. You press your cheek against his shoulder, and he begins to worry that his hard armour might accidentally leave a scratch on your cheek. He gently lifts your head and places his hand under your cheek to make sure you don't feel any sharp, protruding metal decorations.

"You are not... but you will be." He promises, fully convinced that you're already asleep and don't hear his little promise. He tightens his hand around you and listens to your calm breathing and heartbeat, wishing that he could listen to this beautiful music every day. Not only during boring balls that you both hate.

You sigh, wiping the sweat from your forehead. Your maid gives you a horrified look as you lunge at the mannequin in the training room. Stabbing the puppet several times with your blade, taking out your frustration and energy on him.

When you feel the air moving behind you and the added presence, you don't hesitate. You turn around, your blade colliding with Feyd's, and glare at him in response to his cocky smirk.

"I see that old habits die hard. Why don't you accept a real challenge instead of taking out your anger at this motionless pile of threads?"

"Why don't you do it instead of tormenting Atreides' drugged soldiers? At least I don't get dirty while playing with my motionless pile. Not like you." You say, stepping away from him. You let the hand with your dagger fall as you walk over to the table for a drink of water. You freeze, feeling the cool tip of his steel against your throat.

"How many times have I told you not to turn your back on your opponent? Besides..." He steps closer, his chest pressing against your back as he leans in to whisper in your ear. "Did you have the same fun with my harpies? Didn't you want to get dirty, and that's why you chose poison to kill them? And you accuse me of being a bloodthirsty, jealous beast... I guess we're more alike than you want to admit, my little, beautiful, dangerous, jealous swan."

"I… I have no idea what you're talking about." You whisper, tensing in his arms. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice that you're alone in the room. He must have gotten your maid out of there somehow. You suddenly feel very vulnerable.

"You do not have? And that's funny. So why did I find a poison in your things the day after they died and just before your departure?" You frown and push his hand with the blade away from you. You turn to look him in the eye, too surprised by his accusation to do anything but say the truth.

"I have no idea. Whatever happened to them, it wasn't me. You know very well that I wouldn't kill anyone." This clearly catches him off guard, and you feel offended that he could be so sure that you took someone's life just because they had the opportunity to fuck him. You roll your eyes at him in annoyance and raise your blade in challenge. You might as well exercise a little while he does his investigation.

"Well… after all, swans don't like getting their beautiful feathers dirty with blood… but who else could do it?" He responds, dodging and blocking all your attacks.

You work harder, jumping away from him and trying to break through his protective shield. You sigh as you manage to get the blade close to his skin, but no telltale shield appears around him. The son of a bitch didn't even put his shield on when fighting you. No one could piss you off and humiliate you at the same time more than him.

"I don't know. I don't care." You growl, pushing against him and trying to draw his black blood at all costs.

You manage to kick him in the stomach, but when he falls, he drags you with him. You land on top of him, but he quickly changes your positions and pins you to the floor beneath him, keeping your wrists in a tight grip as he presses his blade to your neck.

"Do you? Doesn't it make you jealous just thinking that someone could be madly in love with me enough to get rid of the women who give me pleasure? What if you're next on my secret, deadly admirer's little list?" He whispers in your ear, and you shiver as he bites his lobe. He throws his blade aside, his other hand lazily exploring your body, abusing your breast as he squeezes it tightly and digs his fingers into it.

"We have no connections." You moan as his lips move to your jawline. He sucks gently, leaving no trace except a trail of his black saliva as it moves to your exposed neck.

"Not in public. But in the quiet of the night, in your gardens, of my corridors, of the halls of this palace—all these places remember many of our connections."

Unfortunately, he is just as stubborn, maybe even more stubborn than you, and he will do anything to prove that he is right. You gasp, biting your lip, as his hand goes under the fabric of your pants. Your traitorous pussy welcomes his fingers like a permanent resident. You tighten around him, and he chuckles lightly, feeling you already wet. You dig your knee into his stomach, trying to fight back, but he just positions himself between your legs, casually pushing your leg away as if it were just an intrusive, insignificant obstacle to getting what he wants.

"And yet you run from one man to another… but it's my fingers that fill you while you wait for someone to put a ring on your pretty feathers, my little swan." He mumbles against your neck.

You shiver as he pushes his fingers deeper into you, his cold metal Na-Baron signet teasing your warm, wet walls, only making you clench tighter around him.

His hips grind against you madly, his hard length pressing into your thigh as you moan softly, trying miserably to keep from making any grinding sound when all you want to do is feel him deep inside you, splitting you open for him.

"And you… you're pathetic for always looking for me and coming back." You respond, feeling your pleasure building within you. You grind away from him, angling his fingers just right, deciding that since you were already in this position, you might as well show him that you were using him and not him using you. After all, you were always the one who came, not him.

"I am." Surprisingly, he nods, caressing your clit with his thumb as the rest of his fingers penetrate you mercilessly. "And you come pathetically beautiful with my name on your swollen lips. We are both humiliating each other. And we both love it." And that's exactly when he pushes you over the edge. You lift up and connect your lips in a kiss to stop yourself from screaming his name, knowing full well that the guards are outside and could… really guess what happened between you behind closed doors.

You admit to yourself that you loved his plush, soft, full lips on yours, the way he caressed yours, the way his tongue slipped in unnoticed, you loved kissing him. His kisses made you more addicted to him than the orgasms he gave you. That's why you made sure you had them very rarely. Because no one else's mouth has ever given you as much pleasure as his.

In the frenzy of the kiss, he releases your wrist and cups his hand around your cheek. You sigh, biting his lower lip. This is the only warning you give him before you plunge your dagger into his back.

He screams as your blade pierces his skin. Your fingertips are sticky with his thick, black blood, but you don't care. You look him straight in the eyes and rip the dagger from his body, giving him another wave of pain.

"How many times have I told you to never let your guard down?" You ask, using the exact same tone he used as soon as he held the knife to your neck.

You push him away from you and stand up, straightening your clothes a little. He laughs hoarsely and shakes his head in disbelief, still looking at you and ignoring the burning pain in his back. He had wounds worse than a swan's bite.

He comes to you on his knees and takes your fingers into his mouth, sucking his black blood from them and never taking his eyes off you. You dig your fingers into the skin of his pale scalp and tilt his head back, breathing quickly as you melt into the gaze of his cold, oceanic irises and dilated pupils. You can't fucking believe he got so turned on by your stabbing. And that you, too, felt hot again.

"You are sick." You whisper as he lets your fingers pull out with a loud pop. His now gray saliva had replaced his black blood.

"Just like you."

Before you can deny it, the door to the training room creaks loudly. You pull Feyd up, forcing him to stand up, and you wipe his saliva off your fingers on your shirt.

"Michael. You always know when to come. Na-Baron and I were training and unfortunately he got injured."

"Yhm... very unfortunately." Feyd mumbles sarcastically. When you go to Michael, you step on Feyd's foot. You pretend it never happened and join the man's side. He smiles at you, his two-toned eyes hypnotising you for a moment, and a huge smile appears on your lips. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Feyd frowning. There is no better feeling than rubbing salt into someone's wound.

"Always here for you, my love." He says and places a kiss on your forehead. "You should go to the healers, Na-Baron. We wouldn't want such a small wound to do a serious harm to your health. After all, soon we will be celebrating... important events." Michael says this and wraps his arms around my waist, pressing me against him.

"Of course." Feyd growls and nods. He walks away, leaving the two of us alone in the training room, and closes the door loudly behind him.

"He insisted that I train with him. Believe me, I would never…"

"When you will be my wife I won't allow you to do such things." He interrupts your attempt to explain himself and takes your dagger, which is covered in Feyd's blood, from you. He throws it into a box of various weapons and turns back to you.

"Excuse me?" You ask, both surprised and annoyed by his condescending behavior.

"No worry, sweetheart. You are still learning." You feel like he slapped you. He treats you so condescendingly, as if you meant absolutely nothing, as if your opinion was not important to him at all. This sudden change surprises you and makes you even more nervous. However, you cannot understand the reason for his sudden rude behavior. Was it jealousy?

"You know usually women after such a... blunt statment doesn't marry the man who said it."

"Oh, you think you will have a choice?" He asks mockingly and plays with your hair, fixing your hairstyle to his liking. You push his hands away from you and glare at him furiously.

"Won't I?" You ask defiantly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"After my people attack your home planet? I don't think so."

"I beg you pardon?" You ask, completely shocked. He lazily, casually reaches for your chin and lifts it to look at you closely.

Your brain races like crazy, trying to ignore the fatigue in your muscles from fighting the Na-Baron as you wonder if he's just joking with you or if he really means what he said. A shiver passes through you when his fingertip brushes against your cheek.

"I told you. I want to achieve something. To prove myself in the eyes of the emperor. As we speak, my troops are boarding the ships on my home planet. Tomorrow morning, your father will receive notice of the start of war with my country. And you, darling, you will be a beautiful spoil of war. The proof of my greatness."

"You... all those meetings with me on my home planet... you didn't want to marry me; you wanted to explore and review our fortifications and the training of our soldiers. Test the ground before sending your men on my land."

"Your father's lands. You may be smart, honey, but you're only a woman. All you have is a title and a royal pussy. Although your mind and beauty are a dangerous combination. Maybe I should make you my wife instead of a concubine?"

"You… you can't… you won't." You shake your head, trying to deny what he just said. He couldn't just take everything from you, your whole life.

You try to control your emotions and not give him the satisfaction of completely destroying your world. He makes you feel so guilty; after all, you were actually the one who let him onto your planet and showed him around all the places he wanted. How could you be so stupid and naive? How could you not sense that he was more interested in your military and the weak points of your planet than in you?

"Oh, honey... don't insult your own intelligence now. You know very well that I can. You have nothing. No allies, no strong friend. I am your only serious admirer since Atreides. You're lucky I'm a gentleman. I will not touch you until your land, crown, and title are officially mine. And I will give you a good future. You could always end up in a brothel. Don't be a brat and appreciate it, my beautiful war booty."

His touch burns you in an unpleasant way. You want to bite off his hand, but you need to get more information from him to prepare some kind of action plan. You need to lower his guard just as he lowered yours.

"Why are you doing this? If you had married me, you would have had it anyway. Without any war."

"I told you. I want to prove my worth. To achieve something. In small steps. First, I will conquer one planet, then another. You have the honour of being my first conquest. And who knows? Maybe you'll even become empress by my side. Now smile nicely, darling. Your depressed face is ruining my mood."

So you smile. You put on a good face for a bad game and try to control your anger and despair. Because what can you do with them now? Nothing at all. You needed a different approach. Better. Smarter. You couldn't just give up your future without a fight; let him take over your country and do what he wanted to you. If you were going to be someone's property, wife, trophy, or whatever, you wanted to decide who it would be.

Michael was wrong. You had one secret ally who was much stronger than him. But you know very well that asking him for help will cost you a lot. Unfortunately, you were not in a good situation. You were in a hopeless position. So it required you to take desperate, risky, and embarrassing measures. This required making a pact with the devil himself.

" I need to talk with you." You say this as soon as the door opens for you, before you change your mind and run away. You tug at the sleeve of your silk robe and stare pleadingly into the ocean irises before you.

"At this time? What do I owe this pleasure to?" He mocks you, crossing his arms over his bare chest. You swallow, looking away from his muscles and back into his eyes.

"Feyd. Please." You say this seriously, looking around to make sure no one sees you at his door. He tenses a little, hearing the desperation in your voice. Wordlessly, he moves to the side, allowing you to step inside.

He closes the door behind you, and you shudder as you realise there's no going back. You close your eyes, taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm down. Feyd furrows his hairless eyebrows at your condition. He walks over to you and tentatively places a hand on your shoulder, not used to comforting... anyone. Not since the two of you were kids.

"Y/N. What happened?"

"I need your help." You reply and move away from him. Feyd sees you trying your hardest to control your emotions. The same way that even though he's happy about your late-night visit and the sight of you in that skimpy robe, you look terrified and disgusted that you have to be here.

"Y/N..."

"Michael wants to attack my home planet and dethrone my father. In the process, make me his whore or wife. He's not sure yet." You interrupt him and blurt it out before he says anything else.

This stuns Feyd for a moment as he takes in this new information. He would have smiled at the mockery and anger in your voice if his blood hadn't boiled at the thought that you could belong to anyone other than him. That anyone else would have the right to touch you like he did and has long dreamed of doing even more.

"Your duke that you've been parading around with and admiring for the last few months? The same one you hug and cling to at every recent party?"

"Yes."

"The one you gave the right to hold you and kiss you?"

"Yes."

"The one..."

"YES! This one!" You interrupt him, annoyed and embarrassed. You sigh, rubbing your eyes, and realise that screaming at him and venting your anger isn't the best idea right now if you want to ask for his favour. "Please, help me."

"And what I can do? You chose your fiancé. Or a lover. Whatever. What do you want me to do? Fight with him for your hand? And then get rejected by you? Thrown away when you don't need me anymore?" He mocks you, turning his back on you. He pours himself a glass of wine and sips it leisurely, making no move to turn towards you.

"Feyd. Please. I beg you. I... my people can't die just because of the whim of some man." You say, your voice cracking. Your throat burns from the dryness, and tears suddenly appear in your eyes. This is a very strange phenomenon considering that you have been crying for the last three hours in your chambers.

Your sniffling makes Feyd involuntarily turn back to you. This is a bad move. His heart clenches uncomfortably at the sight of your watery eyes and red nose. He wants to take you in his arms, run his hand through your hair tenderly, and sink into your touch.

"You know very well, little swan, that this is how most wars start. By the whim of one man." Feyd says, crossing his arms over his chest to somehow keep from touching you, from taking you in his arms and burying his face in your hair, whispering comforting words in your ear. He had to play this... unique opportunity well. If he won't have you willingly, he might as well have you by trick.

"I will do everything." He does everything not to smile, not to immediately make his demands. He has been waiting so long to have you that a few minutes more won't do a big difference to him.

"So get ready for the husband of your own choosing." He says icily, acting unfazed, as if the mere thought of someone else having you didn't make him want to murder every man who ever had the chance to touch you.

As if he didn't dream at night of having you by his side, of arguing with you every day, of having you with him forever on Giedi Prime, sitting on the throne next to him and being as terrifying as he is.

"Feyd..." You mumble and walk over to him. Feyd tenses, controlling all his muscles, stopping them from making the slightest movement towards you.

He watches your every move carefully as you approach him. The air between you is thick and full of tension. He swallows when you come within his reach and tries his best not to even touch you with his fingertip. However, all his control is put to the test when you stand directly in front of him and lean towards him.

Feyd clenches his fists tightly, so tightly that he feels the blood slowly seeping from where his nails dig into his abalaster skin. The familiar scent of you and your favourite perfume reaches his nostrils, and Feyd does the stupidest thing he can do at that moment. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply into your sweet, seductive scent.

"You can have me. Right now. Wherever you want. However you want. Wouldn't you like to? All you have to do is order some troops to my home planet and scare off Michael's army." You whisper into his ear, brushing your lips against his lobe. Feyd holds his breath as your lips trace his jawline and up to his neck, where you begin to kiss and suck his skin.

Feyd stands frozen, unable to move, allowing you to do whatever you want with him. He sighs as your two long, delicate hands slip under his black robe and caress his chest. His heart is racing as you play with his nipples, pinching them and twisting them in your fingers as you work tirelessly to leave as many marks on his neck as possible. He grunts, trying to stifle a groan as he feels his manhood respond to your caresses and begin to harden painfully.

He reaches for your hips and pulls you closer to him, and Feyd would probably give in to his desires if he didn't feel you tense up under his touch. He sighs and musters all his willpower to grab your arms and pull you away from him.

"You can't just... kiss me, come into my chambers dressed like that at this hour, and demand such things from me when all you show me is hatred and loathing. Don't act like a whore. I won't fall for it. I… not when I know you don't mean anything that you are doing right now." He says this without meeting your eyes, somehow unable to see your reaction. He lets go of you, as if touching you hurts him, and walks to the other side of his chamber, escaping to the balcony.

A cold breeze hits his skin. He sighs, gripping the railings tightly and holding on to them with all his might, as if crushing the marble in his hands would bring his full self-control back.

It doesn't take a minute for your scent to hit his nostrils again.

"And how I should act?! What do you think I can do?!" You shout after him, walking towards him. Feyd tenses, sensing your presence behind him, but makes no move to turn towards you. You sigh in defeat, and Feyd thinks you've given up when suddenly he hears your shaky voice and your pure panic as you try to convince him to help you one last time. "My people will die tomorrow morning, I… I'm begging you. Please, I will do anything, Feyd. Whatever you want."

"Then marry me." He replies, his back still turned to you as he stares into the distance at the Kaitain hills in front of him.

Even though he can't see your face, he can clearly hear the gasp of shock you let out. He imagines your beautiful, full lips falling open, your eyes widening, and you holding your breath as you process his words. He knew that this was the only way for now to ensure his right to you—to make a claim. He had too little time to try to change your opinion of him.

When you're finally "safely his", then Feyd can try to fight for your affections and prove that he is not the monster you think he is. For now, your anger will have to be enough for him. But he would eventually melt it. You loved him once; when you were kids, he might try to make you feel this way about him again.

"What?" You ask, shocked. Feyd slowly turns towards you, and this time he takes a step closer to you, making you both breathe the same air again.

"You have two options. You can agree to... your Michael's terms, marry him and be his property for the rest of your life... or you will marry me and I will protect you, your parents and your people from anyone's invasion." He replies calmly and unfazed, keeping his hands behind his back.

"And be yours property for the rest of my life?" You ask mockingly, almost furiously, with that gleam of mischief in your eyes that Feyd loved so much. This was his little swan. Finally.

It might have been nice to have your mouth and hands on him, but in your case, he didn't want forced submission. He wanted just that blazing fire that captivated him, where he could burn himself if he made one wrong move. He wanted it all... even if he had to gently steer you down the right path—down the altar to him and only him.

"Don't pretend to be so disgusted. We both know how you love some... aspects of being my property. A moment ago you were begging me, saying you would do whatever I wanted. Marry me then. What would you say?"

"I... you know I have no other optiom... neither time to assure I will have any other option. But we also know that I don't trust you and never will." He nods, knowing full well that trust will be the last thing he gets from you. But if Feyd valued anything in life, it was his honor.

"You have my word. I will protect your people as mine. Even better. My uncle or brother or I will never order to attack your home planet. You would became one of our closest ally and thus ensure your country the safety against anyone's invasion. It's a win win situation."

"And how you will win?"

"I will get you." He replies with a shrug, as if it were an obvious reward.

He sees the gears in your head turning as you silently consider all the consequences and benefits of marrying him. He knew clearly that this wasn't what you wanted, that your search for a husband was supposed to be completely different, that he was probably the last man you wanted as a husband, from whom you wanted a nice ring, whose planet you wanted to move to, but Feyd had been waiting for you for so long; he did so much to have you that the circumstances of your marriage didn't really matter to him anymore.

"You will get bored of me. You can't love or trust, not trully or neither can be loved or trusted by anyone else. You know that what's going on between us won't be sexy anymore when it will be no longer forbidden." Your words somehow hurt him more than the worst wound he received. He grunts, clenching his fists behind him, waiting for the unexpected, unpleasant lump in his throat to subside so he can somehow respond to your blasphemous words.

"That's how you see your future husband?" He finally asks, glad that he managed to keep his voice from shaking.

"I didn't say yes to anything yet."

"But we both know you will. You have tied hands. And we both know that you can't dance with them for a long, before you fall." His comment makes you even more furious. Feyd does his best not to smirk at your flushed cheeks and pursed lips. Oh, how he wanted to kiss those lips so much…

"Yes... but you can put chains on them instead of ropes and I will be even worse tied." You respond calmly, carefully analysing his words, looking for a trap—a hidden intention behind his actions beyond his obvious desire to marry you.

"I guess you have to take a risk." He replies calmly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hmm. Such a convinient situation for you." You mutter, crossing your arms. His eyes automatically fall on the valley of your breasts, but he quickly tries to return his attention to your eyes. If everything goes his way, he'll soon be able to caress every inch of your body he wants.

"Very much. I got to call you my wife and all I have to do is to scare away some lord's family who shouldn't even touch you in the first place."

"I decide who touch me." You say, angry that he hasn't even put a ring on your finger yet, and he's already forbidding you from doing something.

"Not for long I guess."

He sees you biting your lip in anger. You take a step towards him, and Feyd thinks you're going to slap him, but you do something completely different. You cup his cheek in your hand and lean in to whisper in his ear:

"I hate you so much. With whole my heart. If you think this will somehow change my opinion of you, you are wrong. I feel exactly the same about you, and maybe even worse things than what I told you on Giedi Prime. You are the baron's spoiled nephew who only has to snap his fingers to get something. I hate you and I will hate you forever, no matter what you do, no matter how well you fuck me, how good or bad of a husband you are, my feelings towards you will remain the same as they are now." And with that, you press your lips to his, sealing your promise with a sudden, unexpected kiss.

Feyd moans into your mouth, feeling himself start to get hard again, which should be absurd in this situation, but he remembers times when he was aroused by… worse things.

"Is that a yes?" He asks, swallowing thickly as your lips leave his—too quickly for Feyd to enjoy the taste and softness of them.

"What the fuck do you think I can do in this situation?" You growl at him angrily, at which he smiles, unable to stop himself, showing you his row of black teeth. Surprisingly, you don't tremble in fear or disgust.

"I want to hear it."

"And I want a decent proposal." You reply in return, forever trying to argue with him.

You're surprised when he walks past you and goes back to his room. You stand alone on the balcony for a moment, taking a shaky breath and staring at the stars in the sky, wondering how the hell you ended up in this situation. Just a week ago, the idea of marrying Feyd would have seemed completely absurd to you.

You freeze in shock when he comes back with a small black box and actually kneels down in front of you.

"Y/N Y/L/N. The darkness of my life, the bane of my existence, the ghostly apparition that haunts my dreams, the heartless witch, the murderous siren, the deceptive nymph leading me to my death, will you do me an honour of beeing my wife and let me fuck our heirs into you?"

You would have smiled at this if his icy blue eyes weren't piercing through yours and carefully analysing your every little reaction. You don't even look at the ring he's offering you—a ring he clearly must be wearing somewhere close to himself. Your heart is racing, despite the fact that this isn't exactly the proposal you wanted. Despite everything, it is... in a strange and twisted way, a nice feeling.

"You could try better." You finally reply in a hoarse voice, suddenly aware of how dry your throat is.

"I am waiting for an answer." He growls, really waiting for your response.

If it weren't for the nature of the whole situation, you'd actually think it was cute. The way the most dangerous man in the world kneels before you, asking for your hand. You sigh, mentally preparing yourself before signing a pact with the devil.

"With great disgust and reluctance: yes."

"Yes what?"

"Haven't you already had your fun?" You ask, frowning furiously. He bites his tongue to keep from giggling, absolutely loving to tease you.

"I didn't even start, my little swan." You roll your eyes at him and look at him expectantly, sticking out your hand. But he makes no move to put the ring on it. You decide not to fight him on this one matter.

"Yes. I will marry you, Feyd-Rautha."

You can see from his face that he is remembering these words and that he is taking a mental picture of this moment. He takes the ring out of the box and, with unusual gentleness for him, takes your hand in his and slides the metal onto your finger.

The ring is nice. Made of white gold, its eyelet is a black onyx stone, which is held by engraved flowers on a metal ring. It was… astonishingly beautiful and thoughtful. And not as big as you assumed it would be. Y/F/N got a ring with a gemstone on half of her finger. You're surprised Feyd didn't give you something similar.

"There. Was that so hard?"

It's a tricky question. Because, as much as that ring weighed on your finger, you couldn't admit that you hated the whole idea of marrying him with all your heart. After all, you could do worse than him... right?

Taglist for Feyd: @avidreader73

Taglist for DWTD: @iloved1lfs0 @heartarianagran @hueanhdang @barnes70stark @forgedfromthestars

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crimeronan · 7 months ago

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falin's harpy form is Bangin. as i'm sure everyone is already aware. i'm sure everyone who's been telling me to read dungeon meshi has been waiting with bated breath for me to discover just how bangin falin's harpy form is, so rest assured: Wowza. I'd Like To Thank The Academy,

anyway. i'm pretty sure too much plot and drama and murder-horror is gonna get in the way for this to happen, but there's a canon divergence in my head where falin and laois get into a huge shouting match not long after this high-stakes harpy fight because laois is like "if you hadn't saved me then I'D be the one with the sickass harpy form, i can't believe you let yourself get eaten and you DON'T EVEN HAVE A VORE KINK" and falin is like "......YOU ARE AN INSANE PERSON??? I'D TELL YOU TO GO TO HELL IF YOU WOULDN'T THINK IT'S HEAVEN.....??"

#though i should note this read on laois is based on knowing several spoilers about his arc. i'm not being apollo or anything #that said i know very little about falin's arc or personality thus far. i just know she's a fuckoff powerful magician with a bangin #harpy form. sitting here furiously taking notes about how i need to make both devin and nova weirder and scarier.#so chances are falin would not fucking say this under any circumstances.#but let me shitpost about sibling relationships. before i meet her as a nice girl who probably doesn't yell at people #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #laois #falin #i'm not gonna liveblog the entire thing i'm just gonna make text posts when i have something exceptionally stupid to say.

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candyskiez · 1 year ago

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just realizing I never posted this here so oops but yall wanna know one of my favorite things about belos' death scene?

thats not how curses work.

no, seriously. that's not how curses work at all.

let me explain. the curse hurting others is very specifically characterized as a fear response. the owl beast is reminded of the collector abducting them by the sudden flash of the party popper. they perceive "danger danger danger DANGER" and attack dell, thinking they're about to be hurt again. not maliciously, but because they're absolutely terrified for their life and all they can see dell as is a threat. the raven beast comes out when lilith is under severe emotional turmoil because it interprets distress as meaning Danger, time to fight or run.

curses are not malicious. they are heightened emotional responses and not calculated in any way shape or form whatsoever. the only time it's calculated is becoming harpy eda or harpy lilith, and that's when they accept the curse as part of them. not some horrific evil force dead set on ruining their life. but a fractured part of them thats terrified, just like them.

we see SOME times where belos loses control over the curse. I honestly believe it's the palisman trying to fight back against belos, honestly. because it's when something happens they don't want. belos talking about the day of unity? they're in his head. they know what that means and they're terrified for their witches. desperately trying to break out. collector brings up that he can hardly keep his human shape from all the palisman he eats? palisman reminded of their trauma, fighting against him again. those are times he loses control.

allow me to emphasize that.

there is a very strong difference between eda and lilith losing control of their curses, and what belos chooses to do.

a very important thing about hunting palismen is that it let's us see what belos looks like when he actually loses control of the curse at the beginning. thanks to this, we know that what he pulls at the end of the episode? completely calculated. he doesn't look nearly as in pain or uncomposed. he *chose* to hurt his nephew.

another very, VERY important thing?

curses do not force you to plan an elaborate genocide.

him killing his brother in cold blood? choice. him making grimwalkers? choice. him planning genocide? choice. him manipulating everyone around him? choice. him emotionally and physically abusing children under his care? choice. him being a bigoted piece of shit? all choice, buddy!

I do not mean this as "born evil", I mean this as belos chose to become irredeemable. nobody forced him to. none of the palismen, none of the curse, none of the people who wronged them- at the end of the day, he made his choice.

and he had the nerve to claim he was forced into it. forced to be a monster for his own conscious and calculated decisions, and blamed his victims all the while.

he had it coming.

(this is probably incoherent. I apologize in advance.)

#toh spoilers #the owl house spoilers #owl house spoilers #philip wittebane #emperor belos #belos toh #toh belos #tw abuse #abuse tw #eda clawthorne #the owl house #toh #owl house #candy meta

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hanafubukki · 3 months ago

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Hello hello I just saw that you answered my ask about royalty!Yuu x Lilia (I was distracted by fields of mistria and delico's nursery) and I'm surprised that not only you but a lot of other people liked it 🥹

I saw someone talking in the tags and wanna add on some extra stuff:

-Even if Malmal becomes king Lilia still outranks him because Lilia is now emperor consort akskshddhsjn

-Yuu's world has magic, the magic however relies less on tools and more on biology and training (sorta like bending in avatar) it also has magical creatures (dragons, kelpies,harpies,etc)

-Succession depends on if the young monarch is capable of taming said creatures or not, if they pass the test only then can they start taking classes for subjects that will help them run the empire

-The moment the worlds merged all Yuu's friends started interrogating them about their past and status and Yuu is looking at them like that one hamster meme with the sad violin

"you've been royalty this whole time and never made a fuss about the way you're being treated in that dorm?"

"I didn't think it'd matter since this is a different world 🥺"

-I HC that since the world of twst has many monarchies and a nobility system it also has special laws for how students with royal status must be treated to enable both respect and neutrality

-The moment Yuu's status was publicly shared both sides of the the worlds went insane because on Yuu's side it was believed that Yuu, the people's monarch, was kidnapped but now there's an announcement for their upcoming engagement????? That will be followed by a wedding then coronation???? And on the twst side there's this new empire that has tamed dragons and other beasts that LITERALLY CAME OUT OF NOWHERE and has foreign magic right next door, but don't worry because apparently the monarch is going to marry some Fae???? so everything is fine

"there goes my freedom.."

"Dude- uh.. your highness, with all due respect, shouldn't you worry more about your side starting a war if you don't set the record straight? They seem very on edge."

"It's fine just call me Yuu as you always have, Ace. No there won't be a war, I already sent a message so a small delegation will arrive and I'll explain to them"

"does that mean we won't see you anymore?"

"of course not Deuce, I'll still be here and I'll fight to finish my studies... I just need to prepare what I'll tell them. I can't let them know about- oh my goodness! Lilia! I can never let them know about him as is!"

"why not?"

"From what I've seen this world believes in true love... My family does not and never will. Lilia could make a good marriage candidate because he's a retired general, but I can never let them know that he courted me. My family holds the sentiment that love clouds judgement and if you try to rule your empire with rose tinted glasses you'll be blind to any faults your partner would make at the expense of the people."

"I see, then Ace and I as well as our friends can help you guys out! We'll relay they message to Cater so he can tell Lilia and be on watch for any posts that could out you guys. You can count on us!"

"You guys would do that? Thank you so much. We just have to keep it up until the wedding because royal marriages are difficult to annul so it can't be contested, And seeing how I'm drowning in letters, they probably will speed through the wedding to get to the coronation "

"we'll let them know"

"wait if you guys got married does that make silver a prince?"

"Ace!"

"okay okay! I'm coming! Yeesh"

"Can't believe you're relying on those idiots"

"Be nice Grim. If they do as they say you'll be the ring bearer aaand you'll have more tuna than you could ever dream of"

"oooh I'm sold! Wait if I'm the ring guy then who's the flower person?"

"that'll be Sebek"

"oh you're mean hehehe"

Aaaaa this was an ooc mess but I really wanted to infodump

[referring to this ask]

Hello Empress Anonie 💚🌺💕

I'm happy many other's enjoyed your ask 💕💚 It's so cute. Also, Yessss another one who love's Delico Nursery 🥰💕 I haven't played fields of mistra but have friends who love it.

Going to call you empress anonie 💕💚

Yuu: My status means nothing, treat me the same.

Also Yuu: Shit, my love life needs to be a secret.

😂😂😂 Sebek is the flower boy is so cute. I can imagine him not knowing how to treat yuu either after the revelation too.

Silver is a prince....well, everyone thought he was always princely lolol

#answered #🌺empress anon🌺#Anonie ask #hanas yunniverse

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ominous-feychild · 4 months ago

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✦ HEIGHT COMPARISON ✦

Thanks for the tag, @yourpenpaldee!

RULES:

Use this site to compare the heights of your OCs.

I'm not going to lie, I have mixed feelings about this tag, haha. I mean, it was pretty fun in a lot of ways! But the website was also laggy and, uh... diverse body types and stuff? Definitely not, whoops.

On a more positive note! I decided on the colors for each of these characters a while ago, and this is also a cool way so show them off! Tell me what you think of everyone's colors, and if I did a good job making them distinct from one another!

(The amount of my characters I saw related to blue without even realizing it... I had to move some to shades of purple!!!)

SUN AND SHADOW

This one was disappointing in body types both for ridiculous reasons (why no harpy for poor Crow? 😂) aaaand... a lot more valid ones. Like, okay, there wasn't a single icon for a person with a cane. Not even for a thin one! So instead we just got Soren with his hands in his pockets.

THE ARCANE RIFTS

Large cast, sorry guys! 😂 Believe it or not, I actually made a separate one with a few more of the characters if you guys want me to post it separately! I just didn't want to crowd this post up any more than it already will be, haha.

Gene is a smol boy, both from genetics (😉) and malnutrition, whoops. Although they won't show up in the Arcane Rifts (or... not any time soon? 👀), I have a lot of Gene's family built out and they're all pretty short, haha. So it was a given he would be, too! Thennnnn there was also the "no option for a cane" thing. 😑

Adilzhan, on the other hand, has always been planned out to be gigantic, haha. If there were any harpy icons, I could've done one for him and shown another reason this man is considered to be hulking! Dude's terrifying, I love him. 10/10.

This is the kids' fully-grown heights btw! Obviously seven-year-old Gene isn't 5'3, haha. He'll only be that tall later into book 2.

RISING FROM THE ASHES

Another place the lack of diverse icons reallllly didn't vibe well with me, oops. Guqayya wears a headscarf for religious reasons, but there weren't any avatars with it and, well... idk, maybe she's not a real person, but I really don't like having anything representing her without one.

Sammy, on the other hand? Great, 10/10, haha. One of the Things™ about him is that he looks much younger than he actually is, and one of the ways that shows is in his height! He's actually 15, though, he just absolutely does not look it, haha. Poor kid.

Also it greatly amuses me that not only is Caron not that tall (meanwhile his son towers above him), but Guqayya is taller than him. Cranky old healer lady ftw am I right?

(More seriously, it amuses me because he's a super intimidating presence. Tbh he's got a lot of muscle--though he hides it under loose-fitting clothes--and he's got a lot of other factors that makes him more intimidating. Like, famous and known to lead a knight's college for one. But also he's got a generally very collected manner, doesn't really show his emotions, and--oh, right. Is powerful enough magically that he radiates an aura of power, haha. Still! It's so funny to picture that in an otherwise almost average-height man! I think it's not done that often tbh.)

ALL MAIN CHARACTERS

Aaaand the actual main characters of each of the stories! (Well, technically minus the MCs of the later books of tAR, but that's not really relevant, so--)

Turns out my MCs tend to be kinda short, haha. Oh, well! I think I did a great job diversifying the colors for them, though, so hopefully it'll be easy to distinguish when I start making posts about them again!

Despite the lack of diversity, I did mostly have fun with this tag! It's interesting looking at the characters' heights actually put side-to-side visually like this--I've never gotten to see it before, haha.

Also, this might've let me mess with the numerical heights to better match those that I saw visually occurring between the characters... I'm not that great at converting numbers to distance in my mind. The aphantasia doesn't help, whoops.

I'm proud that it seems I've done a decent job of varying the heights and generally making them accurate to irl averages, though!

Tagging (gently!!!): @the-golden-comet @darkandstormydolls @the-letterbox-archives @illarian-rambling @wyked-ao3

@ath3alin @mysticstarlightduck + open tags!!!

Gorgeous divider by @saradika!

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houseoflibra · 6 months ago

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Saint Seiya: Dark Wing Chapter 34: The Vessels and the Souls of the Specters

Page 1

Page 2

Seirim: - Hah hah! - Hahahah!! - A powerful cosmo has come together! - I offer myself as sacrifice. - The sabbath is complete!!

Page 3

Seirim: - And now the new world - Lord Demiurgos wishes for...!! - Hah hah hah hah!

Page 4

Yoruhime: - ...

Chunfeng: - Lady Pandora!

Page 5

Yoruhime: - I wonder... - I think sabbaths - were witches' rituals. - And what's with that card?... - This night - is not over yet...

Page 6

Yoruhime: - Celestial Wailing Star Harpy, - well done. - That was a magnificent fight.

Chunfeng: - Ah, no! - I was only doing my job as a Specter!

Yoruhime: - Now that the barrier is broken, - let's regroup with Wyvern and Sphinx.

Page 7

Chunfeng: - Huh... - Even Lord Wyvern couldn't defeat that, huh?...

Shoichiro & Soujiro: - Woooooh! - Huh?!

Page 8

Shoichiro & Soujiro: - Whoa!...

Soujiro: - Ow... - The barrier just vanished?

Shoichiro: - Which means... - ...someone defeated the King of Diamonds Seirim?

Soujiro: - I hope so.

Page 9

Eulalia: - (Anyone there?...) - (I can't stand up, all my bones are a mess.)

Soujiro: - ?! - Sorry, Sho! I've gotta go!

Shoichiro: - Soujiro?!

Page 10

Shoichiro: - So Saints can jump from a height like this... - (I never tried it...) - (...but maybe I can do it too?...) - (What the—?!) - (What's this tremendous presence?!...) - (It looks like it's not over yet... No...) - (This is something) - (even more terrifying?!...) - Ah!

Page 11

Yoruhime: - Shoichiro!

Shoichiro: - You're all here!...

Yoruhime: - I'm glad you're okay, - Shoichiro.

Shoichiro: - I've been here with Soujiro. - We were trapped by an enemy called Seirim.

Charlotte: - That enemy was just defeated.

Chunfeng: - (Ahem!) - That's right!

Page 12

Chunfeng: - I, the Wailing Star Harpy, - totally beat her!!

Shoichiro: - (Oh!...) - Chunfeng! - That's amazing! - Then you saved me. - Thank you!

Chunfeng: - (Heheheh!) Go on! - Praise me some more!

Shoichiro: - How did you do it? - That was really amazing, Chunfeng!

Page 13

Esther: - Sorry I'm always late.

Yoruhime: - (Heart thumping) - Celestial Beast Star Sphinx Esther! - You showed up out of nowhere.

Esther: - By the way, I found something lying around the school building. - The Celestial Noble Star Gryphon…

Page 14

Esther: - We were looking for people - who could be vessels for his cosmo and such.

Yoruhime: - (Heart thumping) - Thank you... Esther. - Who is he?

Esther: - His name is Lucas Hagen. - Here.

ID card: Grade: 3, Class: A Full name: Lucas Hagen

Page 15

Shoichiro: - Lucas?!

Yoruhime: - He called himself Celestial Noble Star Gryphon Minos. - We came across him too.

Shoichiro: - Lucas...

Yoruhime: - It looked like he was defeated in battle against the Scorpio Gold Saint, - and his fierce soul fell into slumber.

Page 16

Esther: - I administered him first aid. - His life was saved, but...

Shoichiro: - But?...

Esther: - To be honest, he was seriously injured, - so I don't think he'll be waking up anytime soon.

Shoichiro: - Lucas... - I don't believe it... - How could this happen?...

Page 17

Shoichiro: - Besides... - He called himself Gryphon "Minos"? - Not "Lucas"? What does that mean?...

Yoruhime: - While I was using Pandora's cosmo, - I remembered a few things. - "Minos" was the name of a Specter... - in a previous Holy War, - possibly from a different time and space.

Page 18

Shoichiro: - (Shudder) - The name - of a Specter... - (Then...) - (...within my Surplice...)

Page 19

Chunfeng: - Maybe... - Our Surplices hold - the memories of our soul's cosmo. - I felt those memories too.

Page 20

Charlotte: - Minos looked at us and said, - "you don't belong to the Underworld Army I'm familiar with." - And - he also referred to his body as "this vessel".

Shoichiro: - So Lucas is the Celestial Noble Star Gryphon, - but he was possessed by this "Minos"?

Yoruhime & Charlotte: - (Nod)

Page 21

Yoruhime: - In essence, - "Specters" - are people who have mastered a strong cosmo, - and are elligible to become a "vessel" - for the memories in the cosmo that resides inside the Surplices.

Page 22

Yoruhime: - They awaken - as their previous selves, deprived of their heart and soul.

Charlotte & Shoichiro: - What?...

Pages 23 + 24

Yoruhime: - Bearing the same soul, - they fight the endless Holy War of the gods over and over again. - That's the true nature of Specters.

Page 25

Shoichiro: - So that's why... - ...Lucas called himself a "vessel"?...

Yoruhime: - When I awoke - as Pandora... - the knowledge of loyalty - towards Lord Hades and towards the Twin Gods - was instilled in my heart.

Shoichiro: - (Gulp)

Yoruhime: - Perhaps that's what it means to be a Specter...

Page 26

Yoruhime: - Through the power of Lord Hades, - the souls that dwell in the Surplices get reincarnated. - You see, that's the system. - Hmm… - However, in this Holy War, - Lord Hades and Athena have barely any cosmo. - As a result, we "vessels"... - ...still retain our own will.

Page 27

Yoruhime: - I assume this was likely also orchestrated - by the False God Demiurgos. - He's been manipulating souls and reincarnation itself - just to turn us into pawns - in his own play.

Chunfeng: - Well… - Despite that…

Page 28

Chunfeng: - ...I'm happy - that we're all fellow Specters now!

Esther: - Hmm… - I wonder if in the last Holy War and in those different time-spaces - the Specters were an army of beautiful girls like us.

Shoichiro: - (Uhhhh…?)

Chunfeng: - Well... - The Wailing Star Harpy that I felt - had like an aura of a tough handsome man. - (Like this...)

Page 29

Chunfeng: - (Huh??) - Which means... - If that's true - would I have become a handsome guy?!

Yoruhime: - Well, the gender... - ...who knows? - (Hmmm...)

Shoichiro: - (Uh...) - (Personally, I'd be happy if there were a few more male Specters...) - (Sigh...) - Maybe that ferocious side of me - comes from the will of the original Wyvern's soul... - But both "he" and I...

Page 30

Shoichiro: - ...want to protect the Lady Pandora. - I think we both share that same strong feeling.

Yoruhime: - Oh...

Charlotte & Chunfeng & Esther: - (Oh, would you look at that!...)

Page 31

Yoruhime: - (Gulp!) - In that case, there's nothing to worry about. - I'm counting on you, Celestial Fierce Star Wyvern. - Anyway! - It's too soon to relax. - That Clown, - the King of Diamonds Seirim, mentioned the word "sabbath", didn't she? - Her goal was that sabbath, - To successfully complete some kind of ritual.

Page 32

Yoruhime: - This large-scale - nasty battle using the Gryphon's soul must have been for that purpose too. - Be sure to stay vigilant.

Charlotte & Chunfeng & Esther: - Yes!

Shoichiro: - (There's a foul) - (sensation in the black wind.)

Page 33

Shoichiro: - (I'm sure) - (something) - (is not right...)

To be continued...

#saint seiya #dark wing #saint seiya dark wing #scripts

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pyromaniacbibliophile · 2 months ago

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Tempus Est

Just posted first chapter of my new fanfic Tempus Est! (Ao3)

Summary:

War changes adults, changes people, changes futures. Magic changes people too.

Leaves green-eyed boys where they aren't wanted

Makes the youngest boy constantly forgotten

Gets clever girls bullied

Mocks wild-eyed seers who have seen death too young

Forces 'precious' daughters into feminine moulds

Abuses heirs who don't show magic obviously.

And when those boys find a pack

When those boys make themselves remembered

When those girls harden like diamond and decide to show them all

When those girls use their visions like a cloak and call ravens from branches

When those girls crack their moulds and fight back

When those boys channel their magic into carniverous and poisonous plants

Then…

(First chapter below the cut)

HP (freak)

are you mad

freak

you don't belong

go and talk to the trees

go and howl at the stars, wolf-boy

wild boy

we don't want you here

sleep outside boy

we don't want a freak in our house

sleep with the wild animals for all we care

join a pack, freak-boy

only no-one wants you, do they?

If they don't want me so be it/they can bleed

____________________

RW (forgotten)

what's the matter afraid of spiders

they were only playing, percy

my name's not percy

then run along bill

i don't care what you do, brother, play chess for all i care

rook d2. you lose, red-head

knight c4. you lose, carrot

queen d7, you lose, brother

tough luck. i must get back to my work, fred

i'm not fred

pawn f8. i win

bishop c1, i win

queen a6, i win

only they still don't know my name

I'll make them remember my name

____________

HG (swot)

why don't you read a book, nerd

teacher's pet

swot

bushy hair

miss you can't keep doing this

let others have their turn

why when i know better

detention

that's nice sweetie

it's been four hours they didn't even notice

locked in the library overnight?

mum dad i'm home i'm sorry i worried you

what was that darling?

have you been somewhere

if your books are so good why don't you marry them

I'll show them what books can do

_____________

LL (loony)

loony

freak

have you seen her eyes

spaced out

high

i heard her father was a -

i heard her mother is a -

do you want to be friends?

no thanks crazy

why would anyone be friends with you

go and find some birds in the forest maybe they'll like you

hello

i was told birds might like me

they were probably wrong

no-one likes me

kra-ka-caw?

oh! hello

mummy?

no, sweetheart

no mummy now

hello ravens

my mummy died you know

you did say so i know

but i didn't want to believe you

I'll listen to you now (and maybe they'll be sorry they mocked us)

________________

GW (darling)

oh darling

of course you can't play with the boys

you're a girl

girls learn to sew

and cook

and take care of the family

your brothers are not you

you're the only girl, sweetheart

you have to be good

oh of course, madam

wouldn't want to offend perfect princessie

by bringing mud everywhere

of course, our neat little sis

darling why is there a knife in here

why are you bleeding

oh darling.

the pain made things sharper

stopped me crying

she doesn't say

i slipped mummy

i was trying to cook

in your room?

oh darling

darling quidditch is for boys

but the harpies

are uncouth scarlet women who never had an education

you are my precious little girl

you won't be like them

if you want to play quidditch so much sis

just sneak out at night

oh but mummy's darling princess would never

wouldn't she?

I will. And then they won't call me darling again

_____________

NL (squib)

what are you?

a disappointment gran

yes you are

you should have been more like my frank

it's your fault he's like that

and you can't even honour his memory

by being a decent wizard

spending all your time in those greenhouses

good for nothing

what can plants do

other than kill you a thousand ways then heal you a thousand ways

he doesn't say

nothing gran

nothing. just like you. nothing

your father would be so disappointed

he was a great wizard fought bravely

you are not even a wizard

can you even do magic

just a squib aug

better to throw him out a window

if he's a wizard he'll be fine

oh so you are a wizard after all

still pathetic

your father was great

i doubt you'll get a hogwarts letter

may as well start learning muggle stuff, eh algie

stick with your plants squib

Oh I will. (Then you'll learn what plants can do)

_________________________

#harry potter fandom #harry potter #hermione granger #ron weasley #luna lovegood #neville longbottom #ginny weasley #bamf ginny #bamf harry #grey trio #dark trio #slytherin harry potter

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sirenemale · 6 months ago

Note

💋🖼🗺 WARRIORS ASK GAME BEAM

THANK YOU FOR INDULGING MEEEEE

💋 : is there any ships out there you absolutely hate for genuinely no good reason at all. like its not problematic in the slightest, if anything it's one of the better ones, you just cannot bring yourself to enjoy it

I dont think there's any that make me see red or anything, just a lot that are really really nothing imo. I think there's a lot of kinda just for fun or sweet ships that don't really have enough chemistry for me to care abt, which is so fine I just like dynamicsss. Then again a lot of that is down to a lot of wc characters being kinda blank slates (esp side characters) i can buy into most things if someone is insane enough abt their headcannons for it.

WAIT I'm lying,and hollyleaf and fallenleaves. I think he's boring!!! he should've been more toxic genuinely. This also stemms from me being a giant hollyleaf head and liking her being a bit of a bad person, I don't really see why this relationship with some super patient ghost guy would really make her turn around on anything. She had multiple patient people in her life yknow. I think him being clingy, desperate not to lose the only cat to see him on decades, would be way more interesting. Maybe she's being eaten alive by guilt, bc she's contradicted everything she believed in and is trying to justify it to ease her own stress. And fallenleaves is like overly forgiving of it to the point it upsets her. I also just think her narrative turn around was too easy and she wasn't really taken to task by anyone which is disappointing. Like I hate the idea of Holly's turn around being in part to a pseudo ghost boyfriend who's nice to her and her learning mother hood hard bc nursing a fox cub ect. I want it to come from herself and admitting to what she chose to do in her spiral. I think part tof what really gets to her is others disappointment, and silence, and like leafpool in the berries scene where she's got this controlled kinda disappointment and grief. Like hollyleaf wants a bigger reaction to rally against to justify her own extremity but she isn't getting it. Ashfur is someone who gave that to her. she wants to be a bigger victim than she was, she can't take the idea that everything was always out of control and starclan never had anyone's interests in mind. Not just her. Or that others suffered more than her (leaf and squirrel). Idk I think having some guy try to justify it to her to keep her with him would really force her to hear how it sounds.

Also most of this is like part canon remembering and part like, projection and fan interpretation bc wc stuff is a fascinating melting pot of Nostalgia and canon, and headcanon more than any fandom I've seen before. Partly bc the maps and animations create a soft canon that ppl get into instead of the books. I'm trying to write an essay abt ittttt. I also kinda have this pet theory abt hollyleaf being written in the same veign as male characters in the series where their emotional turmoil is used to demean, punish and flanderize female characters (leafpool and squirrelflight in this circumstance) and I think it's interesting. As well as her never being really held to account for how she treated anyone, she's allowed to keep hating her mothers, she got away with murder and attempted murder ect. She also was allowed to be ambitious and never had a mate which r both things Erin's almost never let female characters do without making them into like evil hag harpies ect. I'm very interested in breaking down their specific gender Flanderization bc it's such a clear pattern they use in the books over and over bc they hate women a LOT.

Anyway I told you these would be long. I like hollyleaf regular amounts

🖼 : first amv/pmv you ever watched?

Fuckkkk. Mr brightside was a really defining one for me. I don't remember the first but duckfeathers, gamakichisora, silverwolfynight and ryulovestsute were surely there.

🗺 : first map you ever watched?

This also wasn't the first but this had such a foul grip on me. I almost wrote an essay abt it when I was like 10 or 11 or something. I wasn't allowed to bc when we handed in our song choices for review the teacher told me it was about suicide and I had no clue I was like it's actually about warrior cats. (Songs and their wc amv or map were basically 1 to 1 for me)

youtube

#smiles #warrior cats

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austenpoppy · 1 year ago

Text

Nightfall: at dusk - Prologue: Night monsters

Ao3 link: Nightfall : at dusk - Chapter 1 - Austenpoppy - Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling [Archive of Our Own]

Fanfiction.net link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14301937/1/Nightfall-At-Dusk

Summary:

2001. Ron and Harry are working hard at the Auror Academy to become full-fledged Aurors, while Hermione is trying to find her place in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and Ginny is training with the Holyhead Harpies. Everybody is trying to overcome what happened in the war to focus on building a better future, and life seems easier than it has ever been. However, darkness is looming on the horizon as Muggleborn and Half-Blood wizards and witches disappear before being found out weeks later, their dead bodies having been experimented upon. Meanwhile, Ron has more and more trouble dealing with the aftermath of what happened with the locket...

I can't believe I'm actually starting to post this. This is going to be the first fanfiction I publish, but it is a gigantic project that I have started years ago, when I was barely out of high school - and it's very close to my heart. It all began in a rather boring geography class in 2017 (I'm sorry, Mr. D, I can't say I care about mussel culture in Thailand) where I had let my imagination wander, doing one of my favourite hobbies: inventing stories with one of my favourite characters of all time (in case that was not clear, I'm talking about Ron). I was thinking about one scene from one of my favourite childhood movies (the fantastic "Azur and Asmar" by Michel Ocelot) and I was replacing the characters from the animation film with Harry and Ron, imagining how they could have ended up in that situation and what could happen after.

The entire universe of Nightfall was born from this one scene alone.

If you start this journey with me, my fellow Internet friend, this is going to be a long, very long ride. The story is so huge I divided it into three parts, each of which have their own "arcs" so to speak. The good thing is that I know exactly where I'm going, and I can assure you that considering there are already six years of work put into this project I am not likely to ever abandon it. You should rather feel sorry for my dear friend and beta Vivithefolle who not only had to hear me talk about this project for years, but also had to read some chapters in complete disorder, with some notes from me to explain the context or background information. Thank you so much, Vivi, you motivated me to write at a time you were my only reader and I had this crazy idea I would write all the chapters before publishing them (no this did not work out, but no one can accuse me of being impatient... six freaking years of work...).

However I want to be clear and honest to my potential readers: this is not going to be a happy-go-lucky story by any stretch of the imagination. I am going to write about mature and sometimes very dark subjects, even though if you know me, you may have guessed I rather like humour and am not really fond of cynical and hopeless works. I, however, am a sadist, as you will have the displeasure to discover once you see how I treat Ron (I'm joking, I'm joking...or am I ?). I don't want to say too much, but let's just say people who came here for a feel-good story without any angst will be thoroughly disappointed.

As a side note, I consider this work to be canon-compliant, given that I only consider the seven original books as canon and take what J. K. Rowling wrote on Pottermore with a grain of salt; but "Nightfall" is not my headcanon of what happened after the war either. Consider it more like an evil twin of my actual headcanon.

Now let me introduce you to the world of "Nightfall", or the story that has been living rent free in my head nearly everyday for the past few years. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it, and I'm proud and extremely touched to present you with my first published fanfiction (I also feel very self-conscious, but I guess that was to be expected).

Disclaimer: All characters and events depicted in the original book series belong to J.K. Rowling. Most unfortunately.

Trigger warnings for this chapter: graphic depictions of violence, disturbing imagery

(See the end of the work for more notes).

Prologue : Night monsters

Sunday 7th January, 2001 - 2 am.

It was a very cold night. Thaddeus gripped the pants of his cloak tighter against himself, trying to warm himself up as best as he could. As he exhaled loudly, his breath came out in a silvery steam before disappearing. His lips were chapped, and he could feel the cracks on them that would probably end up bleeding.

He found himself thinking wistfully of the warm bed in which his wife was waiting for him at home. Images of himself with his head going deep into his soft pillow, pulling back his fluffy blankets over his body, and kissing Magdalene goodnight before going to sleep with a contented smile on his face flooded his mind. He fidgeted, feeling irritation slowly rising inside him. How long would he have to wait?

Magdalene was certainly trying to fight off sleep until he came back, though she was most likely too groggy to last long – Calder, who had turned three in November, was in his oppositional phase and was exhausting them both. Thaddeus had been in the Auror Task Force for more than twenty years, and Magdalene had been his wife for well over fifteen years now, but she still worried almost as much as she did back when they started dating.

She worried even more those days considering what had been happening lately. Eight wizards and witches had vanished in the last month and a half in mysterious circumstances; two of them had ended up dead, their corpses dropped in random places all over the United Kingdom. And to top it off, all of the missing people had either been Muggleborn or Half-Blood, something that the media had been quick to point out.

Of course, worried whispers had emerged ever since Fidvi Khokhar, the second victim, had disappeared, and those whispers had grown louder and louder every time another person had gone missing. A collective shiver had taken over the wizarding community, that was paralyzed with fear at the idea that somehow, You-Know-Who had managed to come back from the dead yet again.

About two weeks earlier, when Conri Hartnett's body had been found five hundred miles away from the place he had last been seen, stupor had seized Aurors and civils alike. Of course, everyone had felt very sorry for his family, though nobody had ever doubted that the former Unspeakable had been killed - there was even a strange relief that had gone hand in hand with the discovery of the corpse, since victims of Death Eater who had disappeared were very rarely found.

Yet, despite this small relief, horror and fright had quickly made their way into everybody's hearts at the knowledge that Hartnett's body had been experimented upon. Thaddeus had not seen the body himself, and photographs of the corpse had been forbidden despite outcries from scoops-hungry journalists, but he had heard other Aurors shiver while recounting the tale in the common room.

The picture those Aurors had painted was the kind that you only saw in the most terrible nightmares. Hartnett's fingers, hands, arms, legs and foot had apparently disappeared, replaced instead with translucid tentacles reminiscent of a jellyfish. Meanwhile, his head had taken up a more cubic-shaped form, while his hair had completely fallen off. Furthermore, the rest of his body had been covered with a bad rash. The Aurors who were at the crime scene had said you could barely make out the place the human body ended and the jellyfish started, as if the two were one and the same.

Really Thaddeus couldn't imagine much more terrible fate. The Auror department had not even allowed Hartnett's family to see the body, let alone get it back for a proper funeral. As of now the scientific team was still trying to figure out what had happened to Hartnett exactly. So far the only things they were sure about were that the kind of jellyfish Hartnett had been merged with was a species of the family Oceaniidae, and that dark magic had been involved in the twisted process of Transfiguration.

Two days after Hartnett, another body had been found in Cardiff. This one, too, had been awfully disfigured. After a bit of investigation, it had turned out to be Donovan Kovalenko, a British Ukrainian citizen who had worked as a secretary in the Ukrainian embassy until his disappearance, and the last person to have disappeared.

Unlike Bartnett, he had not been blended with a jellyfish, but with a bowhead whale. His face had been completely unrecognizable, and it was only because of a very specific birthmark that the scientific team had been able to identify the body.

Just like with Bartnett, Kovalenko's transfigured corpse had been found very far away from the place he had last been seen, since the Ukrainian embassy was based in London. What was more, he had also been found in a completely different region than Bartnett, whose body had been discovered in a little town in Scotland, Tobermory.

All in all, Thaddeus thought with a shudder, there was something really dark going on, but no one could tell whether this was the work of a serial killer, of Pureblood fanatics, of a human trafficking ring, or something else entirely.

Thaddeus didn't think Magdalene had any reason to fret today, though. If the situation he'd been required to deal with had been dangerous, he wouldn't be hanging around waiting for the Hit wizard on duty to come and let him know what was going on. It was probably some kind of drunk wizard who'd destroyed public property thinking Trolls were attacking him. Two months ago he'd arrested a man who had been bothering a neighbourhood in London, believing himself to be Celestina Warbeck. The fella had sung all night with a croaky falsetto voice that seemed immune to the most powerful Silencios.

Merlin, he hated being the reserve Auror at night, but he needed the extra money.

Just as his mind was going to go down a rather dark route he was nonetheless accustomed to, he noticed a familiar figure coming right toward him, looking grim. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Harvey?" he asked as they showed each other their Auror badges and checked each other's identity. "What're you doing here?"

"Nasty business, Thaddeus", Harvey replied sombrely, shaking his head, while Thaddeus followed him. "A young witch who was on her way home after a party stumbled upon the body of Lucinda Backstreet. Lynn's team is already on the crime scene."

Immediately, Thaddeus felt his shoulders slump, and his heart constricted. It was going to be a long night. Magdalene's eyes would give up the fight against sleep well before he would be able to go home, and the first thing he would do when he did go back to his house wouldn't be to kiss his children or wife but take a huge glass of Firewhisky.

Lucinda Backstreet was one of the eight people who had disappeared in the last weeks. A young girl from Bristol, enthusiastic and passionate about the protection of magical animals. One day she had left her home to go to the weekly meeting of her club dedicated to the defense of the rights of magical creatures, and then nobody had ever seen her again. Her disappearance had really caused a stir nationwide. Not only was she the youngest victim, but her father, Cyneric Backstreet, was a well-known businessman who had made a fortune selling transportable strongboxes that were charmed to repel most common spells.

Walking toward her corpse reminded Thaddeus as to why some days he thought that he should find another job.

Neither Harvey nor he were speaking, and the only sounds that could be heard were that of their boots on gravel. After a few minutes spent in silence, they finally approached the crime scene. Thaddeus noticed that a few members of the scientific team were already there, looking for evidence and preparing the body for transport, including the Team Leader of the scientific team herself, Auror Lynn Oliver. Thaddeus gave a nod in her direction, which she answered grimly.

Thaddeus looked around for familiar faces, and he saw Monica and Griffiths acknowledge his presence with a small wave, though they quickly got back to what they were doing, both of their faces incredibly serious.

When Thaddeus finally laid eyes on Lucinda's body, he felt himself repress a gag and he had to quickly avert his eyes. The young girl was spread out on the pavement, her face turned toward the starry night. Her expression would give Thaddeus nightmares for months. Her mouth was contorted in pain, her cheeks were tear-stained, and her glassy eyes were wide open in terror, telling a story of terrible suffering.

Though her face and chest had remained human, her stretched-out arms had been turned into something else, just like the previous victims. This time, as far as Thaddeus could tell, the monsters responsible for the murders had tried to turn Lucinda into some sort of part-Phoenix creature. While the shape of her arms was visible, they had been saddled with very big wings, covered in those unmistakable red feathers typical of Phoenixes. Some of them had seemingly burnt, as they had turned black and were emitting a dark smoke that Thaddeus instinctively backed away from.

Lucinda's hands were still present, but her fingers had elongated, and were contracted, as if she had had a seizure. Her legs, too, had been partially Transfigured. Thaddeus could see feathers coming out from under her pants, that had clearly been buttoned up hastily, and her feet had been turned into sharp talons, onto which no shoe could be put, though her shoes had still been put beside her body.

"I can't believe I'll have to be the one who'll tell Cyneric Backstreet that his daughter is dead, and that her death was clearly not a quick, painless one", sighed Harvey next to Thaddeus.

"Is that why you arrived at the crime scene before me?" Thaddeus asked, his voice laced with sympathy as he looked up at Harvey. "The emergency code for the missing persons' case?"

"Yeah, I was the one from my squad on duty tonight", Harvey replied, his breath turning into vapor as he exhaled. "The witness fortunately remembered it, and I received the signal thirty minutes ago. Right now Gallaway is taking her deposition."

Harvey jutted his chin toward a young woman, who couldn't be older than twenty-five and was in a clear state of great agitation. She was standing a few feet away from the crime scene, and was talking to a black-haired Auror in uniform that Thaddeus had only met a few times.

Thaddeus crouched down to look at Lucinda. He could not imagine the horrors she must have been through, and he shuddered as he thought of her father, who had openly wept in the Aurors' Office when he had been told there were few chances that Lucinda was alive after the first two bodies had been found.

As a father himself, Thaddeus could barely bear to think about that happening to his own children. Lucinda's face was so youthful that it was just plain wrong to imagine her doing anything other than laughing with her friends, complaining that she had too much homework, or giving animated speeches about endangered species.

Feeling dejected, Thaddeus turned his face toward Harvey and declared quietly: "Poor girl. She wasn't even seventeen."

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

He was stuck on a chair in the tent and felt dirty. He looked down at his hands. He had been so sure he had cleaned them several times before, yet they looked filthy, dusty - all those adjectives finishing with a - y that applied to him because he was such a terrible person.

"Nothing will ever wipe your hands off your betrayal. It's too late. But has there been a time when you were at their level? Has there ever been a time when you were worth their brightness? No, and you know it. You're a dark creature, Ron Weasley, with even darker and hideous thoughts. I have seen your heart, and it is black. You have tried to keep your jealousy and your mediocrity hidden, you have tried to ignore the calls of your inner nature, but hear me out - you have failed."

"Do you see them? They are outside, in the sun, in the light. They shine very brightly, don't they, Ron? Their skins glow, their eyes sparkle, their smiles warm up everything around them. Do you see how much happier the world seems to be with them in it? Birds sing again, flowers are blooming, and Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are the stars the sky was waiting for."

“You are in the dark, and you will remain in the dark. You are seated in dust because you are nothing more than dust yourself. Actually, to be perfectly honest, your surroundings were welcoming and comfortable until you showed up and sat down in this chair. Crazy how you spoil everything around you. See, here, the tissue the tent is made of is quickly falling into pieces. Your mere presence is enough to destroy what is around you... Unless the objects you are surrounded by somehow feel how evil you are, and they'd rather turn to dust than stay with you any longer. Choose which hypothesis you prefer."

"Aaaah, they're coming your way. I will never understand why they decided to keep you with them, despite your darkness. But I will never understand real kindness either, so I will drop the subject. It was your redemption, Ronald. They were your redemption. You could have atoned for your sins. You could have let them crush you so they would climb higher and finally reach the sky where they belong. You could have done something useful for a change. Yet you spoiled your only opportunity. You spoiled everything, as usual."

"Now you're not even worthy enough to be a footboard for them to climb. You are just dust on their shoes. Dust, dust, dust. They will be so happy to wipe this dirt off their shoes. Even coming near you dampens their spirits. Their smiles are less warm, their eyes are less bright, their skins a lot paler. So are you going to spoil them, Ronald, like you did with the tent, or will they finally beat you and turn you into dust? Given how furious they look, I bet it's the latter."

He felt cold. Harry and Hermione were looking at him with a freezing glare and a scornful snarl at their lips. He shivered. And swallowed. He knew he had fucked everything up. He knew he deserved their anger and more. He just didn't want them to be upset over this, over him and his stupidity. And if he was honest with himself, it was also terrifying to be on the receiving end of their hatred.

"Listen", he choked, "I-I can't say how sorry I am, because no word will ever be enough. I am also...I am also so happy that you accepted to take me back to help you. I promise I won't be a bother. Don't mind me. I'll just do what you need me to do and disappear from your lives forever after if-if that's what you want. Please don't throw me out !"

But Harry and Hermione were not listening to him. Their freezing glare had turned into a flaming and scalding hot look and they were burning him. He was very hot. He was sweating. He felt drops falling on his face. The locket was weighing on his chest. It was so heavy. It hurt. He felt like he was melting.

He looked down at his hands again. He was actually melting. The skin of his fingers was going brown and was softening; small drops began to fall on the floor of the tent. Ploc, Ploc. They were forming a puddle and it looked like mud. In fact, he was sure it was mud. He wanted to yell, but he couldn't. His face was already melting, joining the puddle on the floor.

Ron woke up with a start and sat up, gasping for air. It had been a nightmare. Just a fucking nightmare. He ran a hand across his face, shivering from head to toe, and felt wetness on his cheeks. Fuck it, he had once again been crying in his sleep. It was the fourth time in seven days. Even as a child Ron hadn't been that much of a wuss, even though George liked to remind him that he'd kept taking refuge into one of his brothers' beds (or Ginny's) whenever he was scared, and that until he was eight.

It wouldn't matter as much if he had been crying for anything else. Not that he preferred the other nightmares, mind you, but he just felt pathetic for turning into a sobbing mess all because he'd been too weak to resist an effing necklace. Harry was particularly affected by Dementors. Nothing less than Bellatrix Lestrange could make Hermione truly terrified. Ginny, who had been possessed by a diary, didn't flinch at the mere presence of a book.

But him ? Ron could already imagine George making grand gestures wherever he went: "Alas, my dear Sirs, gentlemen, thou shall make place for the delicate Ronniekins in his worn-out PJs, for he fainted when the dreaded locket came into his dainty view. Please bring the smelling salts while we're fanning his pasty white and freckled face and he's letting out little whines of distress. He's the king of wimps, thou see, and he can't bear the sight of lockets, less he be crying like a famished baby !"

Yeah. George'd be the kind of asshole who'd offer him a pacifier if he knew what kind of nightmares was making Ron cry in his sleep.

Ron looked down at his hands, the real ones this time. Goddammit, they were still shaking. Bloody frickity freakering fuck, he thought as he closed his eyes in frustration, why did he have no control over his own body? Why did he have to act like he was a ninety-something-old buffer who needed help to take a piss?

Why did he have to ask himself stupid questions that nobody would answer?

Even though the bedroom was completely silent at this hour of the night, Ron could still hear his heart thumping madly in his ears, and despite himself he couldn't help but feel like the locket was still whistling behind him, making his skin crawl. Sweat was running down his back and had already soaked his armpits, and yet for some reason he was cold, goosebumps erupting all over his flesh.

And he still had this impression of someone hissing near him, and the room was closing on him, and his pyjama top was glued to his skin, and he didn't like the way the sheets were trapping his legs, preventing him from moving... Unable to bear the situation any longer and feeling like he was suffocating, Ron yanked the sheets off his part of the bed and got up quickly, before pulling his sticky pyjama top over his head and throwing it on the ground.

He took his wand and started walking toward the door, though he couldn't help himself and stopped to throw a glance at Hermione once he was in the doorframe. She was sleeping peacefully, her wild brown curls framing her head like some kind of fairy tale princess. The moonlight was lighting up her beautiful face, and she had a contented smile that almost made him want to go back to bed to kiss it.

Leaving the bedroom, Ron crossed the corridor and went into the small kitchen of the flat, and immediately put water into the kettle to make himself tea. He cast a heating charm on the kettle, took his favourite mug, and put a teabag in it. Waiting for the water to boil, he put his outstretched arms on the counter and sighed, his head lowered toward the sink.

It was the third time in a week that he'd had a nightmare about the locket. It wasn't surprising per say, because it was January and it was always around this time of the year that Ron had the most vivid nightmares in regard to the locket, but it still sucked. Especially because it'd been three years already, and some part of Ron had - foolishly - hoped that the nightmares and his locket-related terror would have subsided by now.

But nope, he mused as he stared at the happy light brown dog on the mug running around and chasing a butterfly. He still had dreams in which he could feel the heavy weight of the locket on his chest, preventing him from breathing. In which he was trapped in an endless stream of dark thoughts echoed by the locket's whispers, reminding him of all the times he had felt worthless. In which he kept leaving the tent as Harry's scornful stares and Hermione's cries followed him even after he woke up.

At the same time, he knew the nightmares were the last thing he deserved for ever having walked out on Harry and Hermione. He'd never been good enough for them in the first place, but deserting them when they needed him most was irredeemable, something that the locket, whether it be through his nightmares or flashes, kept reminding him of.

At this moment a whistling sound made Ron's heart do a somersault before he realized that it was only the kettle boiling. He poured the hot water into his mug, added two and a half sugar cubes to his drink, steeped the teabags in the water, and as he adopted the same waiting position as before his thoughts went back to the place he had among his two best friends.

He was thankful Harry and Hermione still wanted him in their lives, and somehow he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, when they'd wake up and realize he'd been nothing but a cock-up all this time. Truth be told, part of Ron had to pinch himself every morning when he was reminded that Hermione wanted to be with him, of all people, and that he got to be an Auror Trainee with Harry, who still thought Ron had his back.

So he'd keep trying to enjoy every moment while it lasted. It was not always easy, because every little thing seemed to remind him of a memory in which he'd fucked up or that showed how insignificant he was. Yet Ron had learned to cast the memories aside in order to focus on more important things, like his family, Harry, Hermione, his other friends, or his studies. The hardest part in all this was to not let his useless feelings get in the way of things.

Ron could say with some pride that he'd grown way better at dismissing his gross feelings of jealousy and insecurity compared to when he was a teenager. Sure, sometimes he slipped up because he was still a moron, he pondered as he turned a spoon inside his mug. But all in all, so far he had managed to keep his selfish desires in check - mostly.

He kept making efforts to show others, and more particularly Harry and Hermione, that he had changed. For that he needed to make sure they didn't notice he still had the same old feelings, or at least he needed to let them know that those feelings would never be a burden to them again. Of course sometimes they couldn't help but notice a few things, like this time Ron had casually let slip that he thought Hermione often favoured Harry over him and it had ended up in a huge row with Hermione as she yelled he was just being a possessive jealous sod trying to stifle her. Or this time he had jokingly told Harry he was Mum's favourite and Harry, disturbed, had replied that however important Mrs. Weasley was in his life, she was not his mother. Harry had been weird for days after that, all because of Ron, his stupid mouth and his stupid brain.

That was the reason why he made sure no one knew the extent of the mess he had in his head. While he had never been a great liar, he tried not to be too specific if someone asked him what was wrong, he tried to take their attention away from whatever face he was making, he tried to dismiss his reactions whenever they were related to this pathetic sticky, stinky magma of insecurity inside him.

And it was somewhat working, but for how long would it last?

Right as his mood was turning as bitter as the tea he had brewed, considering he had let the teabag steep for more than ten minutes, he heard footsteps coming in his direction. He didn't bother to take his wand or even turn around. Ron would recognize Hermione's light but determined steps anywhere.

She entered the kitchen and stopped in the hallway for a few seconds, before walking toward him and enveloping him from behind. Even though she had wrapped a warm nightgown around her, her hands were still cold on his chest. Yet he didn't mind. The contact of her skin on his, the touch of her curls and cheek on his back made everything better, and despite himself he closed his eyes for a brief instant, savouring the moment.

"A nightmare again ?" she asked in a low voice.

"Yeah..." Ron admitted with a sigh. "I didn't want to wake you up, but I needed to get up."

"It's okay", Hermione replied in a reassuring tone. "But I'm starting to get worried. You've had many nightmares in the last three weeks and haven't been able to sleep properly even though you have exams coming up. Perhaps you should see a healer to get a Sleeping potion ?" she added anxiously.

"Not until I really have to", he retorted firmly. "We've already had far too many problems with Sleeping potions, I don't want to risk it. Besides, I'd have to tell the Auror Academy's specialist Healer about it and I'd like to avoid it if I can."

"I know", Hermione sighed. "I'm just worried about you. You always seem to get so stressed out before your exams at the Auror Academy, even worse than I've ever been at Hogwarts. I wished you would stop doubting yourself so much."

Ron did not reply, but he squeezed Hermione's hands that were still clasped on his chest, right next to his heart. It was strange how the people around him seemed to know him so well while at the same time not knowing anything about the exact reasons that were making him upset.

"What can I say ?" He finally acknowledged after a few moments of silence, though he hoped his tone appeared casual. "You can't change old habits with a wave of your wand. I guess it's hard for me to think I won't fuck up somewhere. But you shouldn't worry about me", he added gently. Go back to sleep."

"I woke up because you were not beside me in the bed, I'm not going back in there without you", she retorted assertively.

"I'm gonna lose the debate if I try to argue, won't I ?" Ron snorted.

"Of course you would lose, I'm more stubborn than you", she said confidently, and Ron could feel that she was sporting a small smile.

"Even if that were true, which remains to be seen, that's nothing to boast about, Miss Granger", he tutted in a fake formal voice. "I've been told that I'm more stubborn than a brooding mule having been raised by Harry, so imagine what could be worse than that... Apart from Harry himself, of course."

Ron felt Hermione shake behind him as she laughed heartily. He could not help but feel a surge of pride at having made her laugh after having made her worry for no good reason. Being able to make Hermione laugh as much as possible was one of his goals in life, and the sound of her laughter was one of the things he cherished most.

"I love you", she said fondly, as if it was the only logical answer to his antics.

At that, Ron turned around, and it was his turn to envelop Hermione in his arms, her smaller body fitting perfectly with his own. He kissed the top of her head, her brown curls tickling his face, before putting his chin on top of the mass of her unruly hair.

"I love you too", he whispered, and he hoped she could not detect how emotional he was.

He was glad that she could not see his face in the dark kitchen that was only lit up by the moonbeams that went through the main window. If she had, she would have seen in his eyes, of which Hermione always said they could never lie, the one thing that kept playing on a loop in his head but that was stuck in his throat.

I don't deserve you.

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Notes:

I suppose I should add a bit of information concerning my own vision of the Wizarding World that may seem surprising in future chapters:

1. I rather like to think the wizarding community is not small. I consider that there are hundreds of thousands, or even millions of wizards and witches in the United Kingdom, scattered in many different cities and villages.

2. For the same reason, I do not think Hogwarts is the sole magical school of the entire United Kingdom. It is the most reputed one, but I imagine there are thousands of smaller schools everywhere, allowing for people who do not want their children to go to a boarding school to learn magic and to learn how to control their powers nonetheless.

3. Only old wizards and witches actually dress in robes the way one would picture a typical wizard robe. I have my own ideas of what wizarding fashion is.

#hp #hp fanfiction #ron weasley #hermione granger #angst #mystery #psychological trauma #look this is my first published fanfiction #i feel like a young child showing their bizarre drawing to adults

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citrusreadstoa · 2 years ago

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Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 41 (SPOILERS)

"If anyone sees a bronze spleen about yea big, please let me know!" I don't know what a bronze spleen looks like. I don't even know what a regular spleen looks like. Just looked it up. Looks like a blob. Could not tell it apart from any other blob-shaped organ if you held a crossbow to my head.

"I haven't seen Agamethus since before the battle." NOOOO Brieanna's gone! One can only hope he returned to the Underworld.

"But the next new moon is in only five nights" FUCK. THIS. SHIT. They can hardly make it across the country in five days, let alone stop another mini-pocalypse. Is a plane an option? Will it even make enough of a difference with a time frame this short?

"The changeling lord... that's gotta be my homeboy Frank Zhang." So I made a good choice not systematically going through every search result for "Greek mythology shapeshifter." Nothing would have made me guess Frank Zhang. Man, he and Nico are getting the coolest epithets in prophecies. Nico gets "the ghost king" and "the angel who holds the key to endless death" and now Frank gets "the changeling lord." The freaking CHANGELING LORD. What? I'm not jealous.

"Ella the harpy" OH. Oh, the Sybilline books. Well, now the progress they've made is definitely going to be burned. Our only hope is that they can hastily make a decoy that gets burned instead. Either way, as long as Ella is still alive, it'll be fine.

"We have to find the Teumessian Fox." What is this fox and why is it so important. "I was tempted to ask Meg to order me to slap myself, just to make sure I wasn't stuck in a nightmare." What is this fox and what makes it so nightmarish. And why can't Apollo just slap himself without being ordered to?

"how many cities the Teumessian Fox had leveled in ancient times" So I should imagine a fox the size of Meilin Lee's mom's red panda in Turning Red?

"That's copacetic . . . You've done enough for us, T." COPACETIC (adj.): in excellent order Thank you, Leo, for respecting Thalia and the Hunters' time and aid.

"Yeah, but with three passengers" Yeah, but even with two passengers less or no passengers at all, even with no monster attacks, that's not gonna cut six weeks into five days, especially with three times the distance to cover.

"I'll just enroll late for the spring semester!" Um, Leo, you're gonna throw your girlfriend into mortal high school without anyone to help her adjust? I don't see this playing out well.

"I believe that refers to the Erythraean Sybil, another ancient Oracle." Different from the Sybil who wrote the Sybilline books? Oh no, we have another Rhea and Rhea Silvia. I hate when this happens. So we're gonna get a crossword prophecy. Now, that I'm looking forward to.

"I'll find us one." Does Meg have connections with some nature spirits?

"Who wants carrot cake with blowtorched meringue for dessert?" Me! I do!

"We'll ride them for a while, recondition them, then find a safe place to release them where they can live in peace." I'm glad we got the ostrich closure.

"ah... the competition." Lmao the competition

"Exactly. Different manifestations of the same truth." Right. So the truth being that the sun rises in the east, travels across the sky creating daytime, and sets in the west to make way for night. Each culture arrives at that truth in a different way, but the end result is the same: Sun rises, makes daytime, Sun sets.

"When you're out west, if you get to L.A., my brother Jason is there." . . . "I will check on them . . . And send your love." Oh, Thalia. Sweet Thalia. Oh, no.

"Oh, how I missed my sister. 'Give her my best.'" Please let this man see his sister. This is just cruel now.

"Happy foxhunting." Yeah, is this fox going to show up in the coming books? I want to see it bulldoze a town.

"heading west as if chasing the crescent moon." That's an epic exit. I bet Apollo wishes he could chase the crescent moon with them to go see his sister. Please let this man see his sister. Petition, anyone?

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therockymarrow · 2 years ago

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Funeral Pyres (a short dnd campaign)

Hello Hello,

It's been a while since we've gotten the chance to play together. Still, I need to start scratching together a short campaign for whenever we're able to once again battle beasts and burdens.

This is the first post of this new campaign, which I'm planning to run over a 2 or 3 1-hour-long sessions. The players have busy lives, so we unfortunately can never play long... but here's the story so far and possible stuff to think over.

As always this will be a messy stew of ideas that may or may not be refined and re-defined over the coming days.

Thanks for your patience, and if you find this with an unfinished ending I do apologize. Anyways let's get to it.

General Overview and Outline:

"You have been invited to a funeral of a former great king Morvak, leader of the island of Cretaros. The large island is lush with life, known for it's warm climate, exports of wine, and uniquely less-human population*. It is considered a haven for many who would otherwise be judged in the larger world.

You somehow know Morvak's son Momuk, who was the one to send out invitations. Whether a childhood friend or an ex-lover (I won't judge) - or perhaps an old ally of Morvak's - you have secured an invitation to the festival of remembrance being held in the king's honor.

However, details of the king's death are few and as you make a steady approach aboard a ship bound for Cretaros you can't help but feel a creeping feeling of unease. One thing anyone would know of Morvak was that he was a champion, a warrior and the idea that a simple death awaited him can not sit right with you.

*(think 30% humans, the rest are creatures like minotaurs, satyrs, maybe even throw in some npcs of more peculiar lineages like harpies or medusa's if you're down with that)

Notes Before starting:

Momuk was the Minotaur from the Prison Break one-shot I posted forever ago - I did this so my players would have an easy-in for how they know him. I can make him a page/synopsis to attach here at some point if anyone wants.

This is - clearly - a Greek style setting, but feel free to fuse it up with whatever vibe. Story-wise I don't think it will concave if the setting is a western instead of something.

Players Don't need to be invited to the funeral - at least not for how I'm running it. Maybe your knight or bard just wanted to pay their respects but don't know anyone, or perhaps your rogue or cleric know a bit more of what's going on than they're lead everyone to believe. That can definitely lead to some interesting storytelling.

Anyway thanks for sticking with me, I will update this as I come up with ideas. Next post for it will either be Momuk's info page or Session 1 notes and ideas.

#dnd campaign #mini campaign #dnd notes #dnd #dungeons and dragons #funrl pyre camp

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twelvemonkeyswere · 2 years ago

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Due to the new year, I hadn't had a chance to check my mentions, and let me say thank you so much for typing all this up, it made me smile so much. I'm really glad you found my post informative and fun and that you love Jurassic Park as much as I do and honestly thank you, you've flattered me immensely.

As I was reading your post I was getting ready to reply saying that since I wrote this post I managed to read the actual novel!!!! And even I had to google the word "Hupia" when I found it because sadly the Hupia is not part of our culture at all, but you figured that out yourself.

It's one of the (honestly few) things Michael Crichton included in the story that isn't Costa Rican at all. As you yourself said, it's a Taíno legend, which means Puerto Rico and maybe other Caribbean islands. Costa Rica is often confused with Puerto Rico but I seriously doubt this was a slip up, since the book actually has a shit-ton of research behind it, and it actually addresses some of issues and has some of the solutions I proposed for the movies. I think it was probably intentional since he couldn't find something that served the narrative he wanted and settled for the Hupia.

I made a twitter thread some months ago as I reacted to the audiobook in case you're curious! I typed as I listened and as I did house chores so it's not the neatest but just in case! I let the hupia thing slip honestly because I also cannot think of any similar creature or myth that can be used for this purpose either. There might be a bird-god somewhere in the local native myths, maybe the Bribrí or Cabécar cultures, but I don't know enough about these peoples and their religions and cosmologies to give you a satisfying answer.

For example, with a quick google search I confirmed the harpy eagle is an important figure here, even if it's not a god. For the Bribrí, it's an important creature because it helped Sibö in his search to help humankind, but the Cabécar believe it's evil since they have a myth these eagles eat people. And this is a Birbrí representation of such an eagle:

(taken from this post in Spanish, the pendant is stored in the Jade Museum, which is a beautiful museum and I love it)

I think using a representation of this kind could work for a dino, since they're described as bird-like, and the connection could be easily made. But even if these could be worked into the narrative, they are not widespread beliefs or myths around here, and are more recognizable to the closed indigenous communities they belong to than to the general population. The Bribrí also have a general category of demon called the bé, but I don't know how they are represented. I think if someone like Crichton wanted to use something like this he would have had to make up a myth or legend himself and include that as part of the world building of the story. I wouldn't have been opposed at all to such a solution, but he probably wanted to keep it as realistic as possible, so he likely borrowed the legend from Puerto Rico thinking it would feel latino enough, it's pretty widespread so it makes sense it would have migrated here, and that at least it was real. This is me just speculating, of course.

Descriptions of locations and the health care system as well as political and economic details about Costa Rica are all spot on in the novel given the time and place of its production, and it makes me incredibly happy to know so much care and effort came into the creation of this universe. The novel goes into great lengths to depict Costa Rica as a lively and complex country full of people, people from all walks of life and with all kinds of problems and types of expertise. Doing this enhances the novel so much imo because then when the danger of the dinos is more evident, it's not just the island and the USA folks in it that are in danger, but the people of Costa Rica and, by extension, the people of the world as well.

It's an awesome book and I've already talked so much about it. Thank you so much, @jurassicpark45, for asking and for engaging with the story and with my post as much or more as I did, really appreciate it.

A list of inaccuracies about Costa Rica in the Jurassic Park movie franchise, from a Costa Rican who adores Jurassic Park:

Famously, the capital of Costa Rica--San José--isn't nowhere near the coast

Rancheras aren't blasted very often at restaurants either. Rancheras are more a Mexican tradition.

Costa Rica has a strict policy about protecting national parks. Our most famous island, which is pretty far away from the mainland, is Coco's Island. It's uninhabited except for the park rangers, no civilian visitors are ever allowed to protect the integrity of the island. The only way five islands that big remained uninhabited in Costa Rican territory is if they had been part of a national park, too. INGen wouldn't have been able to purchase the islands at all in the first place.

In that same vein, a possible solution, narrative-wise, would be for INGen to involve the government of Costa Rica from the get-go, and get special permission to develop a biodiversity protection program in the island as well as their own thing. Quid pro quo. This sounds way more plausible than Costa Rica just selling WHOLE islands to some gringos (Costa Rica sells bits--sometimes BIG bits, against every moral--but not whole islands).

Also, INGen would have at least one Costa Rican nagging them about paperwork and bureaucracy at all times.

In addition, all of Costa Rica's coastline is by law public space, which means nobody can legally own it, even if they own the land immediately behind the beach. Locals would have been, if not living, at least regularly visiting the islands before and after INGen was established there, esp if they had caught wind that it was meant to be an amusement park. Ellie and Alan wouldn't have been with half a foot on the ground when a guy would have strolled with his copos stand to offer them some.

Costa Rica doesn't have sequoias nor could it have any. I have no idea where The Lost World thought it was set in but it def was not Costa Rica!!!

Same energy as Jurassic World having a fucking mosasaurus eating a very much endagendered white shark. As a nation we already have a lot of problems with corruption from officials and people fighting against shark finning. Allowing a MOSASAURUS to live within Costa Rican seas AND to eat a white shark is not even fantasy, it's straight up delusion*.

Most of the employees at both the early Jurassic Park and then in Jurassic World are from the USA. I have no idea where those guys live or how often they travel to the mainland or who handles their residencies and social securities. It's more common for gringo-owned companies in the country (think hotels) to have admin staff be gringos too but the rest being locals.

Costa Rica has a strict anti-military presence policy in its territory, which means it doesn't even allow military ships to dock in its international ports or military aircraft to fly over the country, with *very few* exceptions. Ellie, as much as I love her, wouldn't have been able to send the USA military to the island to rescue Alan & co. in JP 3. It's more likely a rescue party from the government of CR had been issued and provided.

Similarly, I don't imagine the Costa Rican government prepared to trap the dinosaurs left by INGen, but I can perfectly imagine them asking for help from bigger nations to help catch the animals before the island's ecology was ruined. They would probably try to seize the creatures and lots of discussion would've gone into what the hell to do with them. They would probably have demanded INGen itself to arrange and perform the logistics of the extraction. I just mean INGen would not have JUST sat there without consequences because they "owned" the island.

However, the fact Jurassic World is a small niche of rich gringos once it's open **is** the most factual part of Jurassic World because there's no way a local could have afforded the prices in that park. Tourism is mostly for foreigners and it is always like that!

Nobody ever says "pura vida", not even once.

#jurassic park #this was awesome thank you

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tenitchyfingers · 6 years ago

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OH SO THEY ARE CASUALLY ON A NAME BASIS WITHOUT HONORIFICS

SO CLEARLY THEY GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND HANG OUT A LOT

THIS MEANS THAT SOUGISA IS CANON

#free!#sounagi #sougisa #nagisou #free! spoilers #oh fuck off i know that's not how it works #i stan one of the most underrated pairs in this entire show #let me believe in it and don't be harpies thanks #......he said 'nagisa' gkjgggn

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sor-vette · 3 years ago

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Do you know how gloves fit each other? {drabble}

Behold the dreadful effects of simping, gentlemen

• type: Yoongi x reader • genre/about: crack, fluff

• tagging: @moon-write @mintkims @pinkcherrybombs

• masterlist

• a/n: thanks to @skyys-universe for the prompt, hope you like even though it turned out quite differently than planned

Have you ever seen the sky split open? Or perhaps oceans rise? Anything that you thought was impossible, that a higher power or an apocalyptic event had to create with whatever number of hands they had? Because Namjoon had, and it's the form of Min Yoongi giggling and tucking a strand of hair behind his ear like an infatuated schoolchild.

"That's unnatural," Jimin whispers, horrified at the pink on his friend's cheeks beginning to burn brighter. "That's… He's possessed by a demon, there's no other way."

"Maybe the demon was Yoongi, and they exorcised him and now that thing is the original Yoongi," Jin supposes, proceeding to prod the pink flamingo in his cocktail.

"Behold the dreadful effects of simping, gentlemen," Taehyung shakes his head mournfully as they are forced to watch their fearsome Yoongi melt into a puddle of heart-shaped goo, all because a certain bartender graced him with a reply.

"I think it's cute," Hoseok shrugged, happily observing Yoongi grow more joyful as the evening passed. "Sure, he's bankrupt from coming here every chance he gets, but it's still cute."

The night ends with them having to pry Yoongi's serenading figure from your bar top after he promises to return once he was done being kidnapped.

"Well, it was nice to catch up guys," Namjoon sighs as his taxi arrived. "Let's not fall out of touch."

"Let's not," Jin agrees, patting him on the back. Inebriated, soft laughter rises behind them and upon looking, they find Yoongi hunched over by the sidewalk, glued to his phone.

"I'm going to hurl," Jimin backs away, disgusted. They all part, reprimanding Yoongi for once again ignoring them the whole evening, leaving Hoseok to deal with his roommate.

"Come on, let's go," Hoseok grabs his friend's elbow and tugs the simpering mess upright. His phone lights up again and as Hoseok glances down, he sees Yoongi's cheeks turn red.

From: 🖤

Remember, you owe 100 000 ₩

"They're hounding you for bill and you're laughing," Hoseok mutters in disbelief, but then he notices the message that has this poor sap giggling at the stars.

Drink some water and sleep well 💋

"They kissed me," Yoongi breathes, somehow winded, as he sways back and forth in Hoseok's hold. "They kissed me!"

It's 8:30 in the morning and Hoseok is sleeping peacefully, he's gliding on a cloud among cherubs who suspiciously look like Jimin when suddenly they turn into harpies (that look like mad Jimin) and he wakes up to a startling, terrified screaming.

Disorientated, he finds himself on the floor, tailbone - most likely broken. He rushes through the doors into their small living room and finds Yoongi yelling into a pillow.

"Good morning," Hoseok greets him smoothly. "What the fuck?"

Yoongi takes the pillow off his face, grimacing like he's about to vomit. Then flops on the carpet, shrivelling up all without saying a word.

Perhaps Jimin was right, and he was indeed possessed. Hoseok takes a cautious step closer and notices Yoongi's phone unlocked on the sofa.

To: 🖤

Heeeeyyyyyy babbbbbbyyy

I donnnt havvej moneuv Im broke 😞 byf I can pay u 😏

U WANNA MARRY ME

CAUSE I WANT TO

marry u not me

I just thinn we are God fit

*good fit

Ure like a pair of jeans I liek

wait no

Dyou know how gloves fit each other

Yheres a right and a left oen

Thats why they a pair

Unless someone has 1 hand guss they don't need 2 then…

I jus really really like u

I canbt say it unless I'm dbnk but I'm broke right now so I'll just havev to saygbit

Wihkd you like to go out with me?

Don't u thinj we fit eacb other?

We have so muc fun when we together

Not that kind 😳 or maybe 🤤🥴

You're hust…. I neve r believed that there is someone like another half of em

*me

But u complete me and I think I compete u

*complete

U r imperfectly perfect

U know I only ever go there for u

Pls I have a u shaped hole in my heart 😣

Okkaauy immm sleeping now

Goodnight

After a five minute pause, comes the last line.

Holly's gonna love u 🖤

Hoseok, at this point in Yoongi's texts, had managed to get some snacks and was quite eagerly munching on them while reading, with a half-amused smirk.

"Yes, that is quite embarrassing."

Yoongi falls quiet and with down-turned shoulders rises from the floor.

"Where did you put my sword? I must kill myself immediately to preserve honour."

"Yeah, there's no honour to preserve," Hoseok scratches at his chin, giving the texts one more read.

Yoongi hides his face in his palms and lets out a mortified groan.

A new text message appears in the chat.

From: 🖤

So… are you still alive after this?

Without hesitation, knowing that Yoongi would actually fall on a sword more agreeably than face you, Hoseok types out a message.

Barely. He's close to passing - Yoongi's roommate, Hobi ☺️

Hmm, fair.

Listen, if you can tolerate him even a little bit could you please do this snivelling mess a favour and go out with him?

Is Holly his daughter?... He said Holly will like me

Oh, Holly's his dog. He's as sappy for him as he's for you.

That sure is flattering.

Hoseok glances up at Yoongi who was shuffling towards the bathroom ponderously eyeing the toaster all the way.

Do you like Yoongi?

I do… so if you could tell him that I'd be happy to meet him, that'd be great

Thank you!! We'll get you a lot of presents for your wedding

Sweet. I want a mini-fridge

Sorted, my friend

Hoseok goes into the bathroom, faintly making out Yoongi's crouching figure underneath the water torrent and after putting his phone down on the counter, leaves the room.

Fifteen minutes later, a body falls on the bathroom floor and there comes a meek, whimpering little "ouch."

#yoongi x reader #yoongi x y/n #yoongi x you #yoongi drabble #bts crack #bts drabble #yoongi fluff

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roaring-letters · 3 years ago

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Harpy x Female Reader (Part 1)

(EDIT: I'm no longer super satisfied with this as it's been a couple of years since I wrote it and I feel I've grown a lot as a writer since then. I'm hoping to rewrite this first and only part (so far) of the story sometime in the future. I have so many monster stories I want to get out there, but I wanna get this one done first as it's the first I ever attempted! I'm leaving this post up but I'll likely eventually make a new one with the rewritten version. If you still chose to read this one though, thank you so much! ^_^)

Summary: You are having a nice evening at home until a loud noise makes you go investigate outside, where you find a wounded harpy. You offer her your aid, not knowing that you are about to find out about some strange events.

Words: about 5700

Warning for description of injuries, but nothing too graphic. Nothing explicit in this part!

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You are taking a sip from your mug when you hear it. A snapping sound loud enough to cut through the noise of the storm raging outside. You nearly spill your steaming drink on yourself, and you instinctively look outside your window to try and find the source. Though visibility isn't great, you catch a big shadow hurling to the ground just at the edge of the woods behind your house. Alarmed, you squint for any movement, but the silhouette blends in with the vegetation. You have no idea what could have snapped a branch that violently or why, and if you think logically about it, it might just be an animal that got startled by the rain and miscalculated where they could step safely, but… the size of the shadow makes you think it could have been someone. And now that the idea has occurred to you, you know you won't be able to sleep that night if you don't at least check that it isn't.

So you set your drink aside, and tell Benny, your brown Labrador, to stay put while you go investigate. You don't want him running ahead in case he might spook whatever it is that you saw just now.

You call from a distance as you get closer, but receive no answer.

Frowning, you keep advancing until you are a couple of steps from the bushes and able to peek over them. That's when you see her, your eyes going wide. You nearly can't believe it. You can't really make out details right now, but you can definitely see two enormous wings spread on the mud, and a very humanoid looking figure right under them tangled in the vegetation. An actual harpy. You'd never seen one before in person. And you aren't too happy that the first one is trapped under a huge branch, no doubt the source of the sound you heard.

She looks at you apprehensively, even through the obvious pain in her features. You swallow and kneel beside her slowly, making sure your raincoat doesn't slip.

"Shit… What- what happened? How hurt are you?" you stutter out. No time to waste when one of those wings is at such an angle.

Something similar to a low hiss comes from the harpy. "Who... are you?"

"The owner of the house back there" you say, pointing over your shoulder. "I can help you there, so you won't be in the rain. I'll call you an ambulance and-"

"No!" The harpy snaps at you then winces at the movement. "No- no doctors, no ambulance. I- They'll find me..."

"Find you?" You frown confused. "Who?"

The harpy grimaces but doesn't respond. You sigh.

"...Will you let me help you at least? To my house I mean" you quickly add.

"..." She groans and shifts under her weight. "Not- not much of an option, is there?"

You glance around quickly at the dense forest and soaked soil, and shake your head. "No, not really. Sorry...".

She grits her teeth, and shakes her head in a futile attempt to clear some water from her face. "...Fine"

You hastily get on moving the branch. It's heavier than it looks and you have very poor traction on the mud, but you manage to roll it off. The harpy hisses as you work, and you apologize when you jostle her too much. Once the weight is off her, you carefully try to maneuver her so she's leaning on you. It takes you a moment to figure out where to grab her as her arms are part of her wings, but placing one of them over your shoulders seems to do the trick. She doesn't weigh a lot, and though she grunts in pain a couple of times, you succeed in dislodging her from the thick mud and lead her back to your home.

Benny barks nervously at the stranger, intimidated by her height and extension of her wings. The harpy looks at him warily, but you assure her he won't attack her. You shush him and command him to go sit while you lead her to your living room, laying her down on the couch. You are no expert on wings, but you are pretty sure the angle at which one of them is bending is not natural at all. You also can see several cuts and a bleeding wound just on the harpy's shoulder.

You hurry to get your emergency kit, a bottle of clean water, a towel and a thick wool cover. Just when you are returning you hear a pop and then a shriek and you run back to the living room. Her face is scrunched up in pain and her good arm- or arm-wing?- is clutching at the other one, which now looks much less twisted. You quickly understand she must have just popped back whatever was out of place, but you shudder thinking of how much it must have hurt.

You hurry back to her side, trying not to falter at the way her sharp brown eyes narrow at you. Up close, you can see she's shivering.

"I-" she pauses, her voice strained. "You need to- to immobilize my wing…"

Sitting down in what little space is left on the couch, you follow her directions to do so, wrapping it in a pattern that follows the shape of an eight. It takes a bit, but the relief in her features is apparent once the wing can't be shaken around. She relaxes slightly against the couch's back. You quickly move on to the wound on the shoulder, which isn't bleeding as bad as you thought, but still looks bad, and clearly stained her short sleeveless top a while ago. Examining it closely, it's a deep cut you know for sure is beyond your first aid basic knowledge.

"We should disinfect this" you tell her, getting the little bottle out of the kit. She looks at it apprehensively, but nods at you. Glancing down at the sharp talons in which her legs end, you hope she's not the type to lash out unintentionally when in pain. Swallowing, you pour some of it on a piece of gauze and press it on the wound. The harpy hisses out curses a couple of times, her eyes clenching shut, but no sharp claws fly towards your torso, so you take that as a good sign. You use some medical tape to try and help the wound close. The shape of it doesn't seem quite like the other cuts, you notice.

"...How did this happen?" You ask her, as you place a bandage around her shoulder to cover the wound.

"I was stabbed"

You look at her scandalized. "Stabbed?! You- Someone tried to kill you?!"

She huffs a laugh at your expression. "Not kill me, I imagine" she shrugs, then regrets the movement judging by her expression. "But nothing I can't handle."

"Shouldn't we call the police?"

"No." She says firmly. "This is my business only. I don't trust them either way…"

You look at her and blink. "Um, I know they're not the most effective institution, but this is still something that should be reported, no?"

"What and have the news of where I am going around all of a sudden because some asshole couldn't keep their trap shut? No, thank you"

Your eyes narrow at her, your hands stopping for a moment to assess her reaction. "You- you're not a criminal, are you? Why are you hiding?"

She rolls her eyes at you. "No. I'm not. But I'd rather certain people just leave me alone. Are you done with your game of 20 questions?"

Not really, but you press your lips tightly, thinking perhaps you are pushing too much. You're a bit afraid you are getting involved in something beyond your control, so perhaps it is for the best that you don't dig into it too much. You treat the remaining wounds pretty quickly, since none of them require any stitches or more tape. The silence that stretches is awkward and you both make an effort not to stare at each other too much.

Finally, it seems you are done. Some of the feathers covering her from her waist down are ruffled and broken but she assures you her legs are unharmed. After checking one last time that you didn't miss anything, you stand up and go to put the kit away. When you come back, you find her staring suspiciously at the windows. You make sure your steps are loud and clear, not wanting to startle her.

"Hey, um, would you... like to use the shower?" You ask gently.

She tilts her head questioningly... then looks at her muddied self and sighs.

"Sure. I could use a shower"

She stands up carefully, hissing as her wounds stretch slightly with the movement. She grimaces when she looks back at the space she had just occupied. "Sorry about your couch…"

The cushions are filthy and half of it is soaked by now, but you just sigh and shake your head. "Don't worry about it. It's very old anyways. Come on, I'll show you where the bathroom is."

You lead her upstairs into your room. Your weariness over what has happened so far prevents you from really caring about the messiness. You give her the basic idea of the specifics of how your shower functions and provide her with a washcloth. You're about to leave her to it when she taps your shoulder.

"Wait… Uh, I need your help with one last thing…"

You turn and nod at her to continue.

She turns around, so her back is facing you. "Er… I need some help taking this off. Kind of hard with only one arm" she says, referring to her top. You see that it wraps around her, and it's tied tightly at the back, kind of like a corset. Her only piece of clothing, apart from a belt with a few pouches attached to it.

"Oh, um, of course..." you step closer and reach for the laces.

"You sure? I know humans are… particular about nudity."

"I mean, yeah, most of us aren't too comfortable just being naked in front of strangers or vice versa," you say a little awkwardly. "But you need help, so it's fine."

It actually takes you a minute to untie the piece of clothing. You guess it has to be this secure if it's what they use for flying. You prevail in the end, and the top, wet and filthy with mud, is dropped on the tiles. When she makes the motion to turn around you avert your gaze quickly. She clearly catches this, as you hear her snort.

"Thank you, er…" a beat of silence. "We haven't really introduced ourselves, have we?"

"Oh… no, now that you mention it" you nod, your attention on the towel rack.

"Well, since you've already undressed me I think I would like to know your name."

You can hear the humor in her voice and though you blush slightly at her comment, you laugh all the same and tell her your name.

"Kath" she offers back.

You smile a little and nod. "It's nice to meet you, Kath. I'll let you get cleaned and I'll see if I have anything you can wear, alright? Give me a shout if you need anything"

"Sure. Thanks."

You exit the bathroom, and go to your closet. You're sure you have a top that might work for her. A light blue one that ties around the back of the neck and then around the middle back. No sleeves, so she won't have to try and fit her wings through. You never used it, since crop tops were never really your style, but you're glad you kept it after it was gifted to you. You leave it on the bed, then head back downstairs to figure out what to do with the couch.

It turns out that the most you can do is take the cushions and place them near the washer to rinse later, then get the hair dryer and use it on the rest of the couch, which thankfully was spared from the mud for the most part. As you mindlessly dry your couch, you finally have a moment to truly think about what just happened.

Your first thought is that this is such a ridiculous situation. Your second thought is that you are not a doctor and should probably convince Kath to go to one. Your third thought is that it's very suspicious she doesn't want a doctor or to be found and you really, really hope you didn't just invite a wanted criminal into your house, regardless of what she said before. You sigh and shake your head, deciding the couch will finish drying off overnight and instead you mop the mud off the floor. Eventually you hear Kath calling you from upstairs, and you head up to see what she needs.

You open the door and peek inside the room.

"Hey," she says "I think this will fit well enough but, uh, I need help to tie it"

You can see she has loosely placed the top you left her on her chest, but, as you realize you should have thought of, the straps remain untied.

"Oh, yeah, sorry" you step into the room and move behind her. "Let me help you with that"

As you secure the piece of clothing, you get a chance to appreciate her now clean feathers. What you had thought was hair when you first saw her, is actually a group of long feathers that fall back from her scalp, their color a very light grey, almost white, that darkens gradually until the tips turn black. The outer part of her wings and tail are a very dark grey with white bands pattering them, and what you can see of her exposed back has some clearly defined muscles, probably a product of flying. You can also see that the feathers on her legs and the underside of the wings are a very clean white.

"All ready" you tell her once you're done.

She turns to look at you and regards you for a second.

"Well… Now what?"

You frown confused. "Uh, what?"

"Now what?" She repeats, sitting on your bed. Her face twitches in pain at some of the movement. "You brought me here, treated my wounds, cleaned me up"

"You took care of that last part…" you mumble.

"So, now what?" She says, ignoring your comment.

"Well…" you shuffle slightly in your place, wondering how you are the one that is standing awkwardly in your own damn room and she's just calmly looking at you with a broken arm while leaning on a stranger's bed. "I might ask you the same. You are the one that was hurt. Speaking of which… how did, uh, how did all that happen?"

She observes you carefully. "Why?"

"Wha- what do you mean why?!" You shoot back exasperated. "I literally brought someone I don't know into my house because you seemed like you were in trouble and you just expect me to treat it like an everyday occurrence? I- you mentioned someone would find you, so am I not justified in wanting to know who this someone is in case they decide to come to my home looking for you?"

She scowls, but doesn't refute your point. "I'm pretty sure I managed to shake them off, you aren't in any danger if it's what you're worried about"

"Then… why not go to a doctor? If you're no longer concerned about being followed"

"Ugh, I don't want this reported to the news. It always ends up happening and I don't want my face to be all over TV and give them a chance to track me down"

"But who is tracking you down?" You press.

"I- Look, I don't know who they are exactly, I just know they stabbed me, then kept following me and that's enough for me to want to keep a low profile for a while. I have my suspicions, but…"

You raise an eyebrow. "But…?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "Never mind."

You can't say you like the sound of that, but she does seem alright, even if guarded. Which is fair considering what she just went through. You would be wary and exhausted too. And as if she was in synchrony with your thoughts, Kath yawns widely, her sharp teeth visible for a moment before she politely covers her mouth.

"Fuck, I'm tired." She says, eyeing your pillows longingly. "Know of any cheap motels near here? It's kind of in the middle of nowhere, so I'm not familiar with the area. I lost track of where I was flying, to tell the truth."

"Not any particularly close by, no" You answer thoughtfully "Where were you trying to go?"

She shrugs, winces, and frowns seemingly at how she keeps forgetting about her wing.

"Hell, if I know, I just saw the dark clouds and used them to hide so they couldn't follow me anymore. Next thing I know, it's all forest and I've been flying for hours." She smiles bitterly. "I have a bad tendency to fly until I can't anymore without noticing, so when I finally saw the edge of the forest I tried to descend slowly. Aaaand my wings decided they'd have enough. I crashed against a tree and you know the rest".

"Geez… I'm sorry you've been through all that" You head to your closet, making a decision. "Um, I don't have a car, so I can't ride you to the city, and though there's a bus stop nearby, the last bus of the day already passed by a while ago. Walking is out of the question considering what you've told me and you can't fly so…" You take out a couple of blankets and an extra pillow. She looks at you surprised.

"You'd let me stay the night?"

"I mean, I do have an extra room I barely use. Well, it's a bit cluttered since I just put whatever I don't need in there…" You admit, a bit embarrassed. "But it does have a bed, and if I move a couple of things here and there, it shouldn't feel too cramped? Only if you want to of course"

Kath looks at the darkness outside the window, thinking for a bit, then back at you and gives a small but genuine smile. You return it.

"Not much of an option, is there?" She says, standing up. "Thank you, truly. You didn't have to do all this"

You shake your head. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I could help. Come on, I'll show you to the room."

You apologize once again for the clutter, but it's not overly dusty, and the bed sheets are clean. She gets settled pretty quickly, and you're sure she's out by the time you leave the room. Now that all the excitement of the night has worn off, you are feeling quite drained as well. You head down to wash and put away the mug you'd abandoned before. Then you call Benny up to your room, who happily curls at the foot of your bed. You change into your favorite pajamas, and finally lie down to rest. You surprise yourself thinking of Kath's intense eyes just before drifting off.

-------

The next morning, it takes you a couple of minutes after getting up before you remember your visitor. It's until you're halfway through sleepily washing your teeth that the events of last night come back to you. You stare at the mirror for a moment before deciding that whatever happens now is the problem of future you and present you just wants a nice breakfast. You almost convince yourself it must have been a dream until you go downstairs and find Kath already up in your living room. She greets you with a nod when she notices you.

"Uh, hi." You say automatically. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, well enough," she says.

"Ah, good, good…"

An awkward silence falls between the two of you, but you are still hungry, so you break it by offering her some breakfast. She seems to hesitate, but accepts your offer. You make sure Benny also has a full plate before sitting at the table and joining Kath.

"So, how's your arm?" You ask conversationally.

"Hurts a bit. But it should heal in a week or so." She says between bites. "Same goes for the wound"

"Do you need some… painkillers or something?" You aren't sure if non humans can take the same meds you can, but you figured you could ask. She shakes her head and tells you it's fine, though.

You nod and you both focus on finishing your plates. Benny takes advantage of the moment to sniff Kath around, which she doesn't seem to mind. He spooks a little when she stretches the feathers of her tail but is eventually satisfied and wanders off somewhere else.

"Seems he doesn't dislike me at least" Kath comments watching him go.

"Oh, he's really sweet, honestly. He's just only ever been around humans, but give him a treat and he'll love you forever." You chuckle.

"Eh, better not to get him attached since I'm going soon," she smiles.

"Oh, speaking of which," you say as you pick up the plates. "What are you planning on doing now?"

"You mentioned a city, didn't you?" She leans back and looks at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. "I might go there. Stay somewhere while my wing is like this. I should also contact my family to warn them about what happened. Don't want any fucks going after them too."

"I see…" you still have your questions about that, but you don't want to press her when she already isn't too willing to speak about it. You are still a stranger after all. "Say, would you like me to go with you? I know you probably can find your way, but I do have to buy some groceries this week, and I might as well do it today"

She makes a motion to shrug but stops herself in time. "Do what you want. I could use a bit of a guide, though, so I wouldn't mind"

"Alright then," you smile. "Let me just get ready and we can go".

Before you both head to the bus stop, Kath expresses annoyance at the fact that since she's obviously bandaged it's going to draw attention anyways, so you lend her a hooded coat that you use for chilly days. It's pretty big, and while it might be kind of hot for the day, it covers her neatly even if the sleeves go unused. You make sure Benny has plenty of water, then the both of you go grab the bus towards the city. Kath still gets some looks, as harpies are just not that common around these parts, but lots of non humans do live in the more rural areas, so you two are quickly forgotten as two more passengers. You don't talk during the trip, your attention mainly on the passing trees outside the window. You do catch Kath glancing at you occasionally through her reflection though. You wonder what she's thinking.

You arrive a while later, and first guide Kath to some places she might want to stay at. The city mainly caters to human needs but some places are suited to many other species, and you've heard good things about a couple of them. She chooses one of the smaller places. A family business, you think. A nice faun at the front desk checks her in, and she takes out her card from one of the pockets of her belt to pay. Once that's done, you offer to show her around a little, just in case she wants to eat out or not stay cooped up in her room in general. She accepts and off you both go. She looks around in awe at some of the taller buildings as you walk.

"Never been to the city?" You ask her when she falls a couple of steps behind you while staring at an office building.

"Huh? Oh, well, only once in a while. I usually prefer open spaces" she admits. "Cities tend to be too cramped for my taste. Although I'd like to land on one of these to look at the view."

"Heh, you'd have to find a building owner that hasn't put a sign for flying species not to land on their precious private property" you tell her, pulling her along. "Something about it being a bad public image to have people walking on their roofs."

"How much is that rule actually respected?"

You smile. "Never. It drives them crazy. Not like the police ever even wastes its time trying to arrest anyone for it, mind you"

Kath laughs. "Can you imagine? Running all the way up only to see the 'criminal' flying away in the distance"

You laugh as well. Kath and you spend some time devicing different scenarios in which officers try increasingly ridiculous ways to get to the top of a building and stop monsters from making a quick stop on roofs, including climbing up the side of the structure, using an ultra long ladder, or your favorite, shooting themselves out of a canon while screaming "Sir, you're trespassing! I'm going to have to ask you to leeeeeave!"

By the time you've reached a small restaurant, you are laughing freely and conversation comes easily. Kath seems the most relaxed you've seen her since you found her yesterday. Deciding to eat there, you pick a table near the window.

"Hey" Kath starts once you've placed your orders. "Uh, I wanted to apologize…"

You tilt your head confused. "Apologize? What for?"

"I realize I was a bit short with you" she says, averting her eyes and scratching her cheek. "You were making fair questions, while still trying to help and I was just snapping at you…"

You shake your head. "I appreciate the apology, but you don't have to. You just went through something tough, so I don't blame you"

"Even so, I feel like I should at least say sorry… and thank you, again. You could have just sent me on my way, but you chose to do a lot more." She gives you a beautiful smile and you can't help but grin back. "I'd be licking my wounds still if it wasn't for you"

"Oh, stop it" you chuckle. "Oh, but talking about wounds, if you do change your mind, there's a clinic near here, just at the next corner actually. It's a pretty discreet place."

"Don't think I will, but thanks for the suggestion."

"Worth a shot" you shrug. "I think it might be worth your time since I'm not exactly a professional. Might help you heal faster."

"You did a good job in my opinion" she says looking at her bandaged wing. "It hasn't bothered me at all since yesterday."

"I'd still feel better if you got an x-ray… just to be sure…" you sigh. "Or at least a check up to make sure you didn't get an infection, or…"

She raises an eyebrow at you. "I swear, I'll be fine. I just want to be as cautious as possible."

"But…" you lower your voice and lean closer. "Would whoever attacked you really be able to track you through a random local clinic?"

"..." She sighs and lowers her voice as well. "Look, you seem trustworthy, so I guess I can tell you. There's a… rumor. Well, more like a warning." She takes her phone out of one of her belt pouches and looks for something on it. "Not many people are in on it, mainly non human species, although some human authorities are looking into it."

She finds what she's looking for and turns her phone towards you so you can look at it. There's a list of names and photos of people of a great variety of species. You look at her for clarification.

"There's been a lot of… incidents reported. Crime is always a thing, of course, but a lot of folks think they are connected, somehow. Something about lots of similarities. There's been disappearances reported and all. Scary stuff. Non-humans seem to be targeted in particular, but there are enough reports from humans to know they're not picky. Those of us who suspect it is not just individual incidents think it must be a crime ring or some shit like that. " She frowns. "I think the people that attacked me are part of the guys behind it all."

You gasp, covering your mouth in horror. "What?! But- but you said you shook them off right?"

"I'm pretty sure, yeah… but they got my name. I was trying to sell my house, so obviously people would want to see it before buying. I knew about the rumors, but didn't think anything would happen. After all, multiple people could come to check the house right? Not much room for planning a kidnapping or something in those circumstances. Well, obviously I was wrong." She says bitterly. "I was showing them the garden and suddenly they jumped me. I got away easily, but fuck, I was freaked out. I flew away following the road, but I spotted a car that seemed to go everywhere I went and that's when I just couldn't stop anywhere anymore, so I hid in the clouds."

"That's... horrible…" you say, giving her a sad look. You can only imagine the fear of it all.

"Yeah, and I know I've heard these guys are supposedly pretty good at tracking down people to finish the job. Some believe they're in a position of power or hiding as normal workers in different areas, so I don't want to leave a paper trail until they lose interest or something." She shakes her head then rests it on the table.

"I'm so sorry, Kath…" you say quietly, feeling terrible for the position she's in. "Is… is there anything I can do?"

She looks at you with those sharp eyes, then lifts her head and smiles. "You've done enough. I just need to watch myself for a while."

"I just don't understand how nothing has been done about this…"

"Nothing has been proven. Police where I'm from are dismissing things as weird coincidences" she scrunches her face in disgust. "If you ask me, I think they're either incompetent or someone is paying them to do nothing about it."

"Even so…"

Your conversation is cut short by the arrival of your lunch, and you both silently agree to drop the topic. You eat quietly, mulling over this new information. Are these incidents countrywide? Is Kath even safe to stay alone?

She notices your mood and tries to stir conversation into lighter topics. You appreciate it and follow her lead. When lunch is done, you sigh and tell her you should go get your groceries now. She once again thanks you for what you did for her, and wishes you a nice rest of the day.

You bite your lip, and look at her a bit shyly.

"Um, can we exchange numbers? I know we didn't meet that long ago, but with everything that you told me… I mean, I know I have no right to demand you let me check in on you or anything, but I'd… like to know you are safe and…" you trail off not daring to look her in the eye, and feeling like you are overstepping more and more with each word. You try to backtrack. "Er, nevermind, uh, I should go…" you stand up but Kath calling your name stops you in your tracks. You turn to look at her, your cheeks red with embarrassment. Her head is propped up on her hand, and she's giving you an amused smile.

"I wouldn't mind having your number" she says, with that same humorous tone she had used when you'd helped her in the bathroom. You let out a relieved chuckle, glad you weren't butting in where you weren't wanted.. You exchange contacts and she promises to keep you updated on what she'll do next. You leave the restaurant feeling strangely content. Kath's situation was worrying, but you are very glad you got to meet her, and even more so that you can talk to her again. It gives you a nice feeling, and you keep smiling softly as you do your shopping. You still think perhaps you are being too overbearing when you barely know each other, and decide it's best you at least wait to text her a day or two.

Turns out you don't have to wait that long. While you're on the bus on the way back home, you receive a message.

"Hey, dummy. You totally forgot about the things you lent me. You seriously were just going to let me have them forever if I hadn't given you my number?"

You smack your forehead. That's right. Perhaps you should have thought about that while you were with her. You didn't care about the top, but you would have missed the coat terribly.

"Whoops, you're right! I'll have to go pick them up! I'm working all day the next two days though, so do you mind holding onto them for me?"

"Not at all. Let me know when you're coming and we can meet up."

"Sure thing! Thanks!"

She sends you a thumbs up and you find yourself smiling again. You really do like Kath. You're a solitary person by choice, but you enjoyed today a lot, conversations about weird groups of criminals notwithstanding. Putting your phone away, you decide perhaps it would be ok to ask her how she has settled at the motel tomorrow morning.

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

Here it is! My very first story for the exo community! If there’s anything you think I should add to the format, please do tell me! Let me know what you think and thank you for reading!

#exophilia #harpies #harpy x human #harpy x female reader #harpy x reader #monster #my stories #monsters #monster x human

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