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sunderwight · 10 months ago

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TSCTIR-inspired SVSSS AU.

Shen Yuan was just a regular (ehhh kind of) nerd when the invasions began, monsters and dungeons started showing up, and people started "awakening" as RPG-style superheroes with special abilities, enhanced strength/speed/etc, and ranked classifications.

Shen Yuan's older brother awakens as S-classes. His younger sister awakens as an S-class. Shen Yuan?

F-class.

Of course, chronically ill Shen Yuan told himself he wasn't really expecting any different. But there have been people who have awakened as higher classes despite their own lifelong health problems or disabilities, and in many cases awakening cured them, and so he'd hoped...

Well. It doesn't matter what he'd hoped.

The worst part isn't even that he's not some badass dungeon-delver himself (even though he is wildly curious about all the strange monsters and beasts and demons that have been turning up), the worst part is that his siblings have all but left him in the dust. They aren't just busy, he can tell that they've increasingly been avoiding him, until virtually the only time they speak to him is when they catch him trying to go into a dungeon again and then yell at him about it.

(Of course, his siblings have been increasingly aware of the danger SY is in whenever he's in proximity to them, but no one ever accused the Shen family of having strong communication skills...)

Nonetheless, if there is some possible way for Shen Yuan to increase his rank, he won't find it staying at home. And there are too many mysteries to investigate to just keep himself out of it, even if that would be more sensible. So, Shen Yuan arranges to be on various low-level dungeon teams. Often among the more questionable, misguided ones being attempted by the newly-awakened or by people who are just desperate to try and get some kind of windfall. Dungeons are dangerous, but a lucky item drop can still make someone more money in a minute than they could otherwise earn in a year. It's through these jobs that Shen Yuan meets fellow F-class Shang Qinghua, whose motives for entering the dungeons are definitely more financial than academic.

This is also how Shen Yuan ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, in a dungeon that has suddenly gone from low-level to a high-level boss, fleeing for his life. Just when it seems like he's about to become mincemeat, his older brother (Shen Jiu) shows up and takes on the dungeon boss. But it's too much for a lone S-class, even one as determined and vicious as SJ, and Shen Yuan can only watch in horror as his brother is killed by the terrifyingly powerful and weirdly beautiful Heavenly Demon Boss.

But the reason SY survived the initial assault, when no one else did, is thanks to his hidden ability. Which temporarily grants him the powers of anyone he has a bond with who has just died, x2. Previously, he had his bacon saved by Shang Qinghua's traumatic death, and when Shen Jiu dies, SY gains enough power to actually take down this mysterious Heavenly Demon boss.

It's a hollow victory. His brother is dead. His friend is dead. Even the boss monster seems inexplicably tragic to him somehow.

And why did SJ show up anyway? Between his siblings, Shen Yuan thought that his brother had grown the most distant from him, that he even hated him now! Why couldn't he have just... stayed away...?

Despite the traumatic horror of these events, killing the boss monster grants Shen Yuan a boon. It isn't a "raise people from the dead" boon, but it does permit time travel! In fact it seems kind of emphatic on that point, like something has gone really horribly wrong with reality and the world is struggling to hold itself together now somehow. Though that could also just be because Shen Yuan's world is struggling to hold itself together...?

Regardless, this new entity called "the system" refuses to let Shen Yuan go back to a point in time before he awakened, or before the dungeons appeared. But he can go back to a point before his brother died, which is definitely good enough. Accept, accept! Who has time to read the terms & conditions? Whatever it is he'll deal with it! Just send him as far back in time as he can go!

As such, Shen Yuan's memories are sent back five years in time. Along with him go a bunch of weird new unlocked abilities, and the system menu, which demands he fulfill certain tasks and complete certain quests as a stipulation of the time travel boon. Succeed, and he gets more rewards to help him keep himself and his loved ones alive. Fail, and he'll be rebooted back to the bad ending, except to the moment before the Heavenly Demon boss died but without any of his power boosts.

So maybe Shen Yuan should have read the fine print.

Though, even if he had, he still would have made the same choice.

Back five years in the past, he's got some thinking to do. Five years is a decent chunk of time. His siblings have both awoken, and begun distancing themselves from him, but their positions are still pretty different. Shen Jiu and his childhood friend Yue Qi had a falling-out over something (they wouldn't say what) at this point in time. Shen Jiu signed on with the Qiu Collective, one of the initial rich adventuring guilds that hired people to go into dungeons. But the Qiu Collective was corrupt even by the standards of a lot of dungeon-oriented corporations, and though Shen Yuan was never made privy to the details, he knew they mistreated Shen Jiu badly and that there were a lot of investigations. The collective ultimately went under when their office was destroyed by a rogue rampaging monster, after an undiscovered dungeon opened nearby. Dungeons that open but aren't found are especially dangerous, as the threat levels will steadily increase without anyone to clear them out, until the result is a dungeon break -- monsters escaping the dungeon and emerging in the normal world, causing havoc and Godzilla-style rampages.

According to the official reports, that was what caused the destruction of the Qiu Collective's head office and the death of their CEO.

Yue Qi, on the other hand, joined the Cang Qiong guild, which had fared a little better over the five year span. Yue Qi eventually even took over the guild, and after the Qiu Collective went under, Shen Jiu made up with him enough to join him there. Shen Yuan had hoped they would reconcile and maybe even answer some of his calls, but things remained strained between all of them even afterwards.

Shen Ying, his little sister, was sheltered and trained by their older brother until she was old enough to join Cang Qiong as well, but despite being S-rank, her youth and inexperience kept her more on the sidelines. Shen Yuan had thought they might bond over being kept out of the loop, but his last conversation with his sister had made it clear that as far as she was concerned, he was still world's away from her level.

(Read: Shen Ying told him he should keep away from dangerous things, was clumsy about it, and unwittingly fed some of Shen Yuan's worst insecurities.)

On top of that, though, was another consideration:

Luo Binghe.

Among the guilds that could rival Cang Qiong five years hence, the biggest one was Demon Path. Luo Binghe would start out as a member of Cang Qiong guild, recruited shortly after awakening. Shen Yuan had thought he was pretty cool, actually, but there was some bad blood between Luo Binghe and Shen Jiu, and it got bad enough that when Luo Binghe made his solo break he got Shen Jiu embroiled in some kind of legal investigation (something about the wrongful death of another guild member) on his way out. Demon Realm and Cang Qiong remained thoroughly at odds afterwards, and things only got worse when Demon Realm surpassed Cang Qiong's count of S-rank members, and conducted a successful merger with Huan Hua guild. That is, until Luo Binghe just mysteriously vanished altogether from the public eye.

Though Luo Binghe of course wasn't the dungeon boss that actually killed Shen Jiu, he had certainly been trying to destroy him before Shen Yuan reset the timeline.

But going five years back in time... Luo Binghe had been a prodigy, the youngest to become a guild leader. Five years hence, he'd be around twenty years old.

Which means that right now, thanks to the rewind, he is fourteen or fifteen years old and hasn't even awakened yet.

It would be possible to take him out of the equation altogether.

Then, there's Liu Qingge. An S-rank who died in a dungeon under suspicious circumstances, which provided the crux of the investigation into Shen Jiu. He and Shen Jiu had also never gotten along, although once again no one had confided the details to him. Shen Yuan refused to believe that his brother had actually murdered Liu Qingge, though. If Shen Jiu was going to murder someone he'd be a lot less obvious about it.

But it would probably be better if Liu Qingge didn't die at all.

Lastly, there's the matter of Shang Qinghua.

According to Shen Yuan's mental math, Shang Qinghua won't have awoken his abilities yet either. Five years into the future, extensive research and several regrettable moves on the part of various governments and guilds would reveal that even though it was supposedly impossible to increase someone's rank after awakening, how a person awoke their abilities could have a great deal of impact on their rank.

Shang Qinghua was a textbook example of a bad awakening. His skills were mostly oriented towards stealth and item drop bonuses, but his awakening had been violent, prompted by a shady center that promised people an avenue to adventure and riches only to use mortal terror to trigger the awakening process. Being in extreme danger would work fine for those with combat skills, but wasn't so good for everyone else. A lot of people had their awakening stunted by such early methods, which were not only a bad way to go about it but also traumatic to boot.

Shen Yuan has a suspicion that someone like Shang Qinghua would actually be incredibly valuable for stealth missions and item farming, if only he'd awoken at full potential. Instead, he'd struggled to make anything of his abilities due to his lack of durability or access to the kind of high-level items that would compensate for it.

Gathering all this foresight, Shen Yuan sets about altering the future to protect his siblings.

Step one: find Luo Binghe.

Shen Yuan's initial thought was to just kind of, nudge Luo Binghe towards something different from Cang Qiong altogether. Maybe if he started out with Huan Hua guild, he could contain all his trouble there. But when he finds him, Binghe is in a bad situation. The kid's living in foster care with abusive caretakers, his adoptive mother has recently died, and he's waiting tables and picking up trash instead of going to school. His clothes are threadbare, he's too skinny, and he looks like he's been beaten.

Between a rocky introduction and an attack from a Moon Python Rhinoceros thanks to a nearby dungeon break, Shen Yuan manages to convince Luo Binghe to hire him as his agent (fee = 0% of all Binghe's dungeon earnings plus 0% from contracts), and determinedly takes over. The System seems to wildly approve of it.

Creepy. And suspicious.

But Binghe is actually a total sweetheart, as it happens, to the point where Shen Yuan can't imagine what inspired the enmity between him and Shen Jiu. This kid truly is a diamond in the rough. He just needed a little help and some actual guidance, that's all!

With Binghe on the road to a less antagonistic fate, the next most chronologically urgent item on the list is Shang Qinghua. Shen Yuan has a new ability that lets him awaken people to their full potential, and his chosen guinea pig is his own formerly deceased bro. Somehow, awakening Shang Qinghua's abilities ends up involving a near-miss with rescuing him from debt collectors, and running into (and rescuing) the S-class Mobei Jun, who had joined Demon Realm as Luo Binghe's subordinate back in the original timeline.

It's actually quite fortuitous, though, because Shang Qinghua's treasure-hunter and stealth abilities are best suited to him being accompanied by a high-ranking hunter who can pick up the physical slack. Shen Yuan had been thinking that at least awakening Shang Qinghua as a D-rank would make him durable enough to handle some dungeons without turning to sketchy organizations for back-up, but with Mobei Jun, the ice prince can ferry the man right to the most valuable loot!

Shen Yuan's on a roll!

He discovers that some of his new abilities have utility as beast-taming skills, and tackles several dungeons successfully with the help of Luo Binghe, Shang Qinghua, and Mobei Jun. They even manage to rescue A-class Sha Hualing from a sticky situation, and Shen Yuan learns that his abilities can, in fact, help other awakened level up their own rank (previously believed impossible). With enough of his influence, Sha Hualing could become S-rank one day.

But of course, it can't be too easy.

When Shen Yuan moves to intervene with the dungeon break that wiped out the Qiu Collective, and seemed to start all the controversies against his brother, he instead finds that there is no dungeon at all. Yet, clearly some kind of attack on the building is underway.

He finds out why when he comes across his brother in a fugue state, murdering his way through his own guild.

Turns out, most S-ranks creep people out. Most average people can barely tolerate being around them even before they awaken. But afterwards? Their oppressive auras and sheer strength tend to trigger everyone's flight-or-fight reflex. Shen Yuan never noticed, because he's grown up surrounded by S-ranks his whole life. Even upon watching Shen Jiu kill the Qiu members, Shen Yuan's chief source of upset is that they were apparently treating his brother so badly that they inspired a murder spree from someone ordinarily much more calculating and clever than that.

Apparently, Shen Yuan should have been taking the opportunity to move against them a lot sooner, rather than just mitigating the whole supposed dungeon-break disaster and then investigating after. His own fault. He thought that keeping his distance would help his siblings, but clearly, letting them hoard their secrets and do whatever they think is best isn't the way to go either.

Does he even know what's really happening with his sister? Or to Yue Qi over at Cang Qiong? At this point in time, his friend had stopped contacting him altogether for several months in a row. When he came back, he was definitely more subdued and even more distant than he had been before. And that's the same guild that Shen Jiu and Shen Ying will eventually join as well, presumably with its own skeletons packed into the closet.

Shen Yuan's going to have to adjust a lot of his plans, it seems.

But first -- he's got a murder spree to help cover up, and an older brother to take home and, uh. Calm down. Or something?

Damn. Maybe Shen Jiu did kill Liu Qingge on purpose. He's going to have to thoroughly figure that situation out too, if he wants to handle it right...

#svsss #bingqiu #scum villain's self saving system #scum villain #long post #the system: your assignment is to bond with as many s-rank people as possible #shen yuan: I don't have time for that I'm too busy bonding with all these people who happen to be s-rank

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vienssunshine · 1 year ago

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Thoughts on soft dom noritoshi kamo?

I’m a sucker for him and it’s like no one else relates AHH

author’s note: He does not get enough love!! I remember seeing him in the anime and being like, wait, why is no one obsessed with him?

Noritoshi is incredibly picky about his lover. His spouse needs to be perfect if he’s going to become the head of the Kamo clan. There’s been many women of other distinguished clans his family has tried to set him up with, but no one stuck out to him. No one ever has. That is, until you transferred to Kyoto’s Jujutsu High.

You’re a new student that’s old enough to be a third-year like him, but you’ve been bumped down to a second-year as your sorcery powers awakened a little later than usual.

In hopes of not getting you killed on your first mission, Utahime assigns a student to mentor you. She chooses the most responsible and level-headed of the young sorcerers: Noritoshi Kamo.

He’s a student she can trust, someone she knows will be able to help you navigate the confusing world of Jujutsu and blossom into a formidable sorcerer. Only, she hasn’t accounted for one thing: Noritoshi has developed a crush on you.

That little fact makes it hard for Noritoshi to spend so much alone time with you, which it feels like is all he does. He studies with you, eats with you, reads with you. Training with you is the worst of it all, he has trouble remembering to check your form rather than check out your body when you try out a new move for him.

It was especially terrible when you asked him to go on a walk during the sunset, to discuss the new concepts you’ve been learning with him, of course. Though, all he could think of was how much he wanted to do this with you every evening for the rest of his life.

He’s noticed that you seem to enjoy his company, too. You have a habit of tugging on the draping fabric of his uniform’s sleeves when you’re trying to convince him to do something with you, which is pretty much all the time.

It’s what you’re doing now, looking up at him with your pretty eyes and trying to get him to follow you.

“C’mon,” you whine, “I have a question about a cursed tool I saw.”

He has some time before his next class starts, and also finds it difficult to deny a pretty girl like yourself, so he agrees and follows you to the weapons room.

Though, when you arrive, you close the door behind you, leaning against it and watching him with a heavy gaze.

Noritoshi looks around the dark room with walls of blades and blunt objects. “Is there something you wanted me to help you with?” he asks, like the good mentor he is.

“Yes, there is,” you respond, voice silken. You tug at your uniform, allowing the top of your shirt to come loose and expose your skin to the light of the lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

It takes him a second, but Noritoshi steps forward. He wants to make sure that he’s not confusing his dreams with reality or misunderstanding what you’re saying. “Tell me how I can help,” he says.

You give him a bashful smile, playing with the opened collar of your uniform. “I want you to touch me, Noritoshi.”

“So clear with your words,” he says, bringing a hand up to your warm face, stroking your cheek, “I’ve been teaching you well.”

You nod, a tingly feeling sparking in your stomach.

“I could teach you more, y’know,” he says, tilting his head and leaning forward so his lips ghost the shell of your ear, “but you would have to be a really good listener. Can you do that for me?”

“Mhmm,” you say, arms wrapping around his broad shoulders.

“Alright,” he says, hands unbuttoning your top further, “Then I’m going to teach you how it feels to be fucked by a Kamo.”

#jjk smut #noritoshi kamo #noritoshi smut #noritoshi x reader #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk noritoshi

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paulyenvol6 · 1 month ago

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Byka Atroksia (Chapter 16)

Contains: smut, oral (m receiving), manipulation, power imbalance, Daemon being an asshole, dirty talk, dom-sub dynamic, possessiveness, praising

Wordcount: ~3.94k

Masterlist of this story

The next few days you couldn't help but miss Daemon.

He was around you, that wasn't the problem but he was simply… your uncle again and nothing more. It wasn't even awkward or uncomfortable between you, you were laughing, talking, but he didn't take you up to his room again, didn't push you into the small council chambers to engage in inappropriate behaviour again, he was just Daemon again.

You desired him. Desired his hands on your body and the worst thing was probably that you didn't know where the two of you were standing. He had rejected you, yes, but then he had fucked you in the gardens of the red keep and now…? You just didn't know what the current state was. Was the most recent intercourse only a relapse and he still actually didn't want you? Or did he want you but just didn't have the time or energy to be with you? You didn't know and it drove you crazy.

But three days after Daemon had beheaded the Prince of Dorne in the throne room a new issue shocked the red keep. Niclas Tully, hand of the king was found dead in his chambers. A young handmaiden had found him on the floor with his eyes widened and her scream had awakened the whole castle at the crack of dawn. Guards had entered the room and escorted the disturbed girl while others alarmed the grand maester. Niclas Tully was brought into the maesters chambers and grand maester Daaran examined his body. It was still warm, he hadn't been dead for a long time and after only few hours rumours circulated around the keep. Some said he was poisoned, some that he chocked on his wine. But when Viserys visited the dead body of his long and dear friend, Daaran looked at the corpse with pity.

"I believe it was a Stroke, your grace. There is no sign of any external harm he might have experienced."

"But the word that is flying around the castle…", Viserys had hinted at but his grand maester had shook his head.

"I don't believe it was poison, your grace. I can't be sure but I couldn't find anything that would suggest it."

So Niclas Tully was buried in the tradition of his house and you sensed how hard it hit your father. He had been his friend and advisor since he had been a little boy. He was the second son of Lord Jeffary Tully and grew up as a ward of Lord Weyn Lannister, the previous hand of the king to Jaehaerys Targaryen, Viserys' grandsire. Niclas was a couple of years older than him and had treated him like a younger brother to guide and help him, as Viserys and Daemon had lost both their parents early. Even so far that Viserys had made him his hand when he ascended the iron throne and ever since that day nothing had changed about his trust in his friend.

Four days the King stayed in his rooms to mourn for Niclas Tully while Rhaenyra and you tried your very best to be there for your father and on the fifth day a council meeting was held.

All of the lords of the small council gathered around the King and as Commander of the City Watch Daemon attended as well.

"My lords. Sit." They took their seats around the table and Viserys cleared his throat.

"This great tragedy has left us all shaken and in disbelief… and yet the crown must look to the future." The lords glared down at their hands and everyone looked affected.

"I have to choose a new loyal hand to advice and stand at my side faithfully and by all hopes someone who will prove himself as wise as the late Lord Niclas Tully. The gods bless him."

Some lords exchanged looks and Daemon raised his chin slightly. He leaned back in his chair and watched Viserys thoughtful. Of course it had crossed his mind. He would be a saint, a godly person with no sinful thought inside his head not to have thought about the new hand when it had been announced that Niclas Tully had passed. And as Daemon was far away from being a saint, he had wondered if perhaps his brother would make him his hand at last. His words in the gardens a moon ago at least might have hinted at it.

"It is a honourable position and I call myself lucky to have a trustworthy council of wise and loyal men." It was so silent in the room that one could have heard a pin drop.

"I have decided to name the Lord Ellion of House Banefort as my hand. You have proven yourself loyal and I know that I can trust your judgement. You have adviced me during the wars by the Saltcliffe and even while being pressured from the outside you have stayed by my side and did what you believed to be best for the crown."

Lord Ellion rose from his chair and bowed his head.

"Your Grace. This is an honour. I thank you and swear to protect and advice you to my best knowledge and understanding."

"I know that you will, Ellion.", Viserys smiled.

Meanwhile Daemon clenched his fists and looked at the table. A smile, that had nothing warm or gentle in it played around his lips and his eyes spit fire. And yet the King's brother didn't say anything. He waited. Waited to hear all the congratulations from the other lords, inwardly laughed about them and how they acted as if they were happy for Ellion even though they had wished to be in this very position a few minutes ago. Daemon himself didn't say a word of congratulations but the king didn't notice it.

Then the meeting was over and his brother excused himself so the lords of the council one by one left the room until Daemon was the only person left. Daemon, the King's brother. The person that was supposed to be hand. In his mind at least. When Viserys had been crowned Protector of the realm Daemon obviously hadn't expected his brother to name him his hand. Back then Viserys hadn't trusted him.

Fear was probably a more fitting word. He had thought of his little brother as fire that destroyed everything that he touched and rather wanted him far away from King's Landing. And yet he had loved him, even Daemon couldn't disagree to that. He had loved and feared him at the same time so when Niclas Tully was named his hand Daemon hadn't been surprised.

But now, he was furious. Did Viserys even stand behind what he had said to him in the gardens? He had told him that he trusted his brother now, that he was happy about their relationship and now he had just had the perfect opportunity to show him that he actually meant it by making him hand. But no, instead he gave this position to Ellion, a fool of a warrior.

Daemon breathed heavily, shaken by rage, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He felt a little pathetic to still sit here in the small council chamber but didn't feel like leaving the room. Deep inside, Daemon felt hurt but he would never admit it to himself. Once again Viserys abondened him, avoided and distrusted him. Why couldn't he really face him for once in his life? Daemon had nothing but supported and helped him the last months, what else did he want him to do until he would see that he was loyal to the crown? Daemon felt manipulated, weak, angry and humiliated. And Daemon was a person who was driven by his emotions and temper.

So he would get back at his brother for it. He had sworn to himself not to touch you again and yes, he had already broken that oath in the gardens of the red keep. But only minutes afterwards he had told himself again to let this be the last time and not discredit his brother one more time.

Now he didn't care anymore. He felt powerless after feeling rejected by Viserys and now he wanted to regain power. And who was more suitable for that than you? He wanted to have control over something and feel powerful. And he wanted to hurt Viserys so badly. He wanted him to suffer and make him feel like he was losing something as well. Like something was taken from him just like Viserys denied him power and a place at his side over and over again.

And he knew exactly how to satisfy his raging and restless mind. Not even by telling his brother about his doings with you, no, it was tempting to do it, just to see his face when he told Viserys, but he knew how you would react to it and even in his raging temper there was something left inside of him that was aware of your needs and well-being.

But still, the thought of bedding you while being aware who or better whose daughter it was he was sullying gave Daemon a strange satisfaction. Though Viserys wouldn't even know about it Daemon's breath calmed down when he thought about what power he had over his brother by being with you, Viserys' daughter. How he dishonoured him, weakened him.

Of course it would be a lie if he claimed that he had only bedded you for the first time to provoke Viserys or to feel powerful. Back then he definitely had wanted to discredit his brother as well (because even though their relationship had already been improved back then Daemon still had felt a deeply rooted anger and hurt which couldn't be so easily removed only because Viserys had listened to his advice for once. Only recently when Viserys had spoken to him in the gardens Daemon had actually wanted to treat his brother with honour and respect as well which was why he had sworn to himself not to touch you again) but he also hadn't been lying when he had said that he desired you.

Because it was true that after the stepstones he had felt the craving to feel a woman't touch and what man wouldn't have wanted to spend the night with someone like you? He had felt eager to claim you and also to toy with you, his innocent sweet niece. Daemon had always liked you and felt the need to care for you and had felt especially drawn to you when you started to become a woman at the age of 15. Way more than he had felt attracted to Rhaenyra.

And Daemon was the kind of person that acted out of temper and desire.

He hadn't cared about anything but his lust and satisfaction and only after or better during the act had realized how good it felt to feel power over his brother like that. That was when he had realized that he felt so pleased knowing that he was sullying his brother's daughter and being aware of what an incredibly dishonour it was to Viserys. Stealing something from his brother that was so dear to him after having felt humiliated and neglected all those years. Old feelings and long forgotten moments of experiencing indignity had come to the surface again and the following anger at his brother had been changed to satisfaction when thinking about what he had done by deflowering you.

And yet in the moment he had mainly acted out of want and greed for your maiden body rather than having a great and complex laid out plan. Because that simply wasn't Daemon's nature.

Daemon inhaled deeply and his fury was now overshadowed with complacency and excitement. He had the power to get back at Viserys. He knew that he had you entirely under his control and you were yearning for his attention. You were craving him and perhaps Daemon would continue to use your devotion to him not only to lay with someone he felt attracted to, satisfied his needs and obeyed him but also to feel like he was hurting and disgracing his brother, who he dispised so much right now.

Daemon's head was still heated when he returned to his chambers and he quickly opened the window to get some fresh air. Once he had done this, he sat down on a chair and exhaled loudly. It only crossed his upset mind now that perhaps you were not so keen to lay with Daemon at the moment. You had been harmed, kissed and touched against your will and obviously your uncle knew that something like that left scars. So he didn't know whether you wanted him or not, didn't know if you felt comfortable laying with a man at this moment. He didn't know that you were in your bed chambers right now, dreaming of his touch.

~~~~~~~~~~

After three days you couldn't live with this uncertainty and with your desire anymore and so you made a plan. You knew that there would be a small council meeting in the afternoon and you knew that Daemon would attend it.

So while he was away, you swiftly sneaked into his room while there were no guards in sight and sat on his bed. After a while you were terribly bored but you told yourself that it would be worth it and in a matter of minutes you'd have clarity. You waited and waited, looked around in your uncle's room, looked at the books next to his bed and then finally the door opened.

Daemon frowned when he saw you and quickly closed the door.

"Niece.", he said and walked towards you. He rested his hands on his hips and lifted his eyebrows. "What is this about?"

You smiled with glistening eyes and sitting on the bed looked up to him. Then, without answering him you dropped to your knees without breaking the eye contact.

"Vhaela.", he whispered and you could see his face tense.

"Please.", you just whispered and rested your hands on his thighs. "Please. Let me.", you begged him and if the situation had been any different you would've felt pathetic. Begging a man to bury his cock in your mouth…

Daemon took hold of your chin and made you look up to him.

"I thought after what happened you might not be so eager to...", he began but you shook your head.

"I want you, Daemon. I really do."

You saw his breath going faster and he smirked.

"Oh my sweet niece. Dropping on your knees in front of me. You should've known what it would do to me.", he said and you smiled widely.

Daemon's eyes were flashing and then he hastily opened his trousers to free his cock. He exhaled loudly while looking at you and palmed his cock. You wanted to wrap your hand around him but he denied you and pushed your hand away.

"Open.", he simply breathed and you did as he had told you. Daemon rubbed the tip of his cock over your lips and then slowly pushed into your mouth. Feeling you around him made him throw his head back and he quickly grabbed the back of your head.

"Oh fuck.", he moaned and took a fistful of your hair to control your movements. You tried your best to relax your throat and felt him going deeper with every thrust. His hand made you move in rythm with his hips and soon enough your nose was close to his pubic hair.

But this time you felt it was easier not to choke and not to let his cock trigger your gagging reflex. You stayed calm and enjoyed his heavy cock in your mouth. And the noises Daemon made… You loved hearing him like that and you knew you would always get on your knees for him to listen to this.

"Sweet owl.", he moaned and watched your pretty face while his cock entered your mouth over and over again. "Look at me. Come on."

You obeyed him and the two of you made eye contact.

"Yes.", Daemon moaned. "Sweet little girl, looking so fucking good on your knees for me."

You supported yourself by holding on to his thighs and gave him full control. You gave yourself entirely to him, let yourself fall because you trusted him. Let him thrust in your mouth the way he wanted to, let him move your head the way he wanted to. Yes, even though you knew that every person in your life, probably even Daemon himself would tell you not to, you trusted him. You wanted to submit to him, please him, obey him, give him control.

Why, you didn't know. You knew that Rhaenyra would never have these thoughts. She wouldn't let someone else take control over her and order her around because she wanted to be the one in control. She wanted to be independent and not blindly obey to someone. You simply didn't know why you were different to your sister in that way. Why did you have this need to please? Why did you want to be turned into a thoughtless mess and let Daemon take you the way he wanted. Why did you want to follow his orders and give yourself to him?

Maybe because it was easy? This whole situation wasn't easy at all but being on your knees for him? Getting fucked against the wall? That was easy. You felt like for a second someone else took the responsibility for your life and for this brief moment your mind and body could rest. Because Daemon was there to take care of you and for a moment you could just turn your mind off if you simply submitted to him. The only thing you had to do was obey him and then everything would turn out to be fine. Your mind was at ease and you liked giving away control. And gods, when he said that you were good for him. It made the butterflies in your belly fly and your cheeks turn red. You liked hearing him praise you. When he told you that you were pretty or that you were taking his orders so well. It made a firework explode inside of you.

You could feel that his movements in your mouth became sloppy and he was close to releasing. With every push he exhaled heavily and had his mouth slightly open while looking down to you.

"Fuck…", he breathed and you felt his grip in your hair possessively tighten. "My good little girl."

These were exactly the kinds of words you wanted to hear out of his mouth and they motivated you to please him even more. You twirled your tongue around his tip which was hard because of his fast pace but they were effective because Daemon moaned loudly.

"Seven hells.", he growled and then finally emptied himself in your throat. By now you really liked the salty taste of his seed and swallowed every drop with pleasure. Daemon buried his fingers inside your hair and breathed uncontrolled and loudly while still having his eyes on you, who by now looked at his torso while licking him clean. His heart was beating fastly and he tried to calm himself.

Sweat was covering his forehead and Daemon felt a mixture between satisfaction, peace and possessiveness over you. You were driving him mad with these big eyes and your pretty face. The way you looked on your knees… And he didn't even want to start with the rest of your body, your sweet cunt that tasted like just the right mixture of salty and sweet. Your little tits, your pearky, pink nipples. Your full and soft lips, these soft thighs and your sweet voice…

Daemon wanted to worship you and possess you at the same time. He wanted to own you, claim you, be the only person in your world and at the same time put you on a pedestal to pray to you. You were sweet, delicate, precious and he wanted to have you. All the time.

There were no thoughts of his brother inside his head right now. No trace of doubt or regret, no, how could he feel like this was wrong and he was betraying his brother when your mouth felt that good around his cock. He didn't care about Viserys at this moment. He enjoyed you too much. And the funny thing was that even if Daemon felt like he was betraying his brother, it would be exactly what he wanted.

This was exactly what he wanted. Claiming his brother's daughter behind his back and feeling like finally he had power over something; you and especially Viserys. He had you, his brother's youngest daughter on your knees for him, begging for him to insert himself in your mouth. Begging for his attention. It filled him with satisfaction and smugness to the brim.

Daemon decided that he would continue to take you to his room in the nights. And he knew that he wouldn't manage to live without this anyway. Without having you wrapped around his cock and your cunt on display for him. And so he had no intention on trying it. He still didn't know what would happen when his brother would one day betroth you to some lord but he didn't care about this right now neither. He just looked down to you with a wide smirk on his lips and felt you lick his cock clean.

Once you were done you pulled off him and smiled at him proudly. Some of his seed was sticking to the corner of your mouth, your eyes were glistening and your hair was messy from his hand inside it.

Daemon's smirk intensed. "Get up.", he whispered and so you did.

Daemon leaned down to kiss you on your lips and you wrapped your arms around his back. His hand laid on your waist and his fingers gently caressed your skin through your gown. For some reason you both felt so peaceful right now. You hadn't even released and yet you were relaxed and… satisfied. Neither of you even initiated another sexual activity because you just felt like it wouldn't fit the moment.

Daemon just held you close to his body and devoured your heated cheeks and neck with kisses on your skin until he pulled away after a few moments.

"Mhmmm.", he mumbled and his thumb ran over the area under your eye. You smiled at him and then Daemon took a step back from you to adjust his clothes. You watched him happily and after he was finished he pressed another kiss on your lips.

"I have to go now.", he whispered. "I'd like to be with you but I really have to go to Caraxes and fly to meet Cordell."

You frowned. "Who's that?", you asked.

"It's about… It's about sheep." You chuckled loudly and Daemon grinned as well.

"Yes, I know, very funny. Caraxes needs food and he now and then… takes what he wants. Cordell has complained about it many times and now your father sent me to apologise on behalf of the crown."

You smirked and caressed his cheek. "I understand."

"I'd take you with me, little owl.", Daemon whispered and toyed with a loose strand of your hair. "But his farm is no place for you."

You nodded. "It's fine. I'll just go to Rhaenyra or take a stroll through the gardens."

He kissed you on your forehead one last time and then walked out of the door.

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mika-no-sekai-blog · 6 months ago

Text

Word count: 2500+

Warnings: nightmares; mentions of wounds, blood, trauma; Tamlin kind of breaks down (let's be honest: he needed a breaking point. That male holds everything in for too long🫂, but...)

Part XXIII | Part XXV

Night after night you woke up with a scream, covered in cold sweat. Your mind played games with you, bringing out the worst of the moments of your life, pushing you to live through them over and over again, twisting them in the most horrific ways.

It left you so disoriented that at first, you didn't know where you were or that it was already over. The only comforting and grounding thing that brought you every time back, was his hand rubbing on your back and his voice whispering you soothing words.

Every night awakened by your nightmares Tamlin slipped into your room, under your blanket and gently held you until you calmed down and eventually fell asleep again. His closeness, that sturdy presence, always lulled you into the dreamless slumber. You felt safe with him. He was like an ageless, indestructible stone that even the worst of the nightmares couldn't penetrate through.

Little you knew that he himself couldn't sleep, haunted by his own nightmares. That he waited every night, afraid to close his eyes, and welcomed any opportunity that would give him a reason to be with you in the same room, same bed and to hold you close. Your petite body in his arms was all he needed to feel at ease and sleep soundly.

Mornings were the most embarrassing for you, but you would lie if you said that you didn't enjoy them the best. Waking up so close to his broad, strong and very bare chest, surrounded by his calming scent, made your heart pounding hard, blood rushing to your cheeks. You knew he was awake because his heart echoed yours, matching with its speed. He certainly knew you were awake as well, but it took some time until he released you pretending to be just waking up.

You didn't mention it nor the reason that brought him to your bed and he did so, too. Thankfully, you had time to only exchange a brief greeting before Lucien came with some food and called for you. He never said a word about you two coming down side by side, although all his thoughts were written all over his face accompanied by knowing grin. You couldn't and didn't even want to imagine what he thought that you two did at night in your room. It was already hard to look him straight in the eye.

Tamlin grew stronger every day, but it wasn't before he got back to his original shape that his powers slowly began to return. Lucien waited a few more days and then he declared that it was the time for him to return back to his friends and to his duties. You were sad that you had to bid him goodbye even thought he promised to check on you two every few days.

Except of your brother's everyday visit and Lucien's occasional stop by, your life returned to its former ordinariness. In the morning you woke up, made breakfast with Tamlin's assistance and went for a walk. As before, Tamlin carried a basket for you while you collected different herbs, mushrooms and berries in it or you two sat by the river fishing.

You noticed that Tamlin was avoiding turning into his beast form and when he decided to go on hunt, he did so on foot with bow and dagger. He once again became a quiet companion lost in his thoughts, his smile became rare, sad and never reached his eyes. You wondered what caused that, but you fell right back into your previous habit of not asking each other things, not until the other one decided to share it.

He seemed to be especially distressed when your brother appeared on your threshold. The two of them were avoiding each other, never speaking a single word, not even exchanged a simple greeting. You preferred to stay outside with your brother and sit under the trees while talking, but when it rained you had to stay inside. At such times Tamlin always retreated to your room and returned only after Rhys was gone.

Rhysand, ever loving and protective brother, never forgot to check on you.

"You look tired. Did you sleep well?"

His words snapped you from your thoughts about Tamlin. You couldn't help it, but you worried about him and wondered what he was doing all alone now.

It was beautiful sunny day and sweet scent of blooming flowers wafted through the air. You were seated under huge tree, your backs rested against its trunk.

You smiled as best as you could. "I slept well. I guess I'm just tired and need more rest."

His eyes narrowed on you. "Do you again have nightmares? You know you can talk with me about anything." Suddenly he straightened up with wide eyes and sharp inhale as if only now something occurred to him. Then he glared at your cottage.

"I hope that he doesn't touch you or I will-"

"Rhysand!" You blushed fiercely.

He threw up his hands dramatically. "What? I'm your brother. I have a right to worry. He is a male and lives alone with you in the forest."

"But it doesn't give you a right to-to poke your nose into my privacy."

Frowning he rolled his eyes and crossed arms on his chest.

"But did he try anything?" he tried it again after few moments of silence.

You gaped at him in disbelief. "No!"

"You would tell me if-"

You hid your face in your palms. "Mother spare me," you grunted under your breath.

Rhysand grumbled something, but at least he stopped snooping into things that had nothing to do with him.

That day you were glad when he finally handed you a basket with your favourite pastries and fruits and left.

His questions made you think about the strange tingling sensation you felt every time Tamlin was too close or touched you. You still weren't ready to recognise your feelings and face them. With your newfound memories and everything that happened, it was too much for you at the moment, no need to say you were scared it would be just one-sided. Moreover Tamlin needed time to heal and you were afraid that your feelings, especially if they were unwanted, would only add to his already heavy burden.

With heart still pounding hard, you marched in and slammed the door shut behind you little bit too harshly. You left the basket on the table and angrily sat down in your armchair.

Tamlin poked head out from under the staircase where he was seated on his bed. His expression was tense but otherwise unreadable.

Carefully observing you he stood up and came closer. He got down on one knee next to you. Hesitantly, he reached for your hand. He sought out your touch after every Rhys' visit as if he needed a reassurance you were still here. It was so sweet, but at the same time the gesture was breaking your heart into pieces.

You squeezed his hand and tried to smile.

"Something happened?"

You shook your head. "Everything's alright. I'm just..a bit upset, I guess."

"Did he say something to you?"

"Not really. He was in a bit of a grouchy mood today."

He nodded, his eyes sliding to your lap. Ever since he turned back, he retained certain animal needs. Resting his head on your lap while being caressed, was one of them.

You breathed out deeply, already feeling better, and pulled him closer. Corners of his mouth turned upwards, emerald eyes shining bright. Making himself comfortable, Tamlin wrapped arms around you and closed his eyes. As soon as your hand touched golden strands of his hair, playing with them, his tense shoulders relaxed.

You stayed like this until both of you felt better.

The day slowly began to turn into night, the forest outside the window darkened. It was time to prepare a supper.

Without a word, Tamlin stood up together with you and helped you to wash the veggies and then mix ingredients in the pot.

You were cleaning and cutting veggies and gradually adding them to the pot. You were cutting carrot when a knife in your hand slipped and cut finger of your left hand. It wasn't a deep cut, but still some blood welled up and dropped on a cutting board. You'd never felt nauseous or had any problem when you saw blood, especially your own, but this time it was different.

You froze, watching another drop of blood sliding down your finger.

Drop

Screams of dying Fae echoed in your ears.

Drop

Stones painted crimson red, streams of blood running in between.

Drop

Your mother's last cry.

Drop

Your wings tossed into a dirt.

Drop drop drop

All your senses shut down at once, room went dark. You didn't know what happened afterwards.

Next thing you saw, was a canopy of green leaves disappearing in the darkness above your head, strong arms held you firmly.

"It's okay. You are safe here. Nobody's going to hurt you ever again. I won't allow it. Everything's fine now," a deep voice whispered soothingly into your ear.

Tamlin held you, rocking with you back and forth, repeating the reassuring words over and over again. One of his hands was gently combing through your hair, the other one was holding some fabric wrapped around your finger.

You blinked, trying to focus. "What happened? Why are we outside?"

His emerald eyes found yours, kind smile tried to beat over the pain, hide it.

"You cut your finger. It's nothing serious, I guess it's already healed."

You knew it was healed as well as you knew he sped up the process.

"But why are we outside?"

He looked away from you, his expression guarded. "You screamed and ran away."

You looked around, only now noticing the lack of the light. Your cottage was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm fast, but it took me some time to catch up with you."

"I'm so sorry," you tried to sit up, but he wouldn't let you. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't apologise. I'm the one responsible for this. You suffer just because I was weak. I'm so sorry for this, Y/N. I wanted to apologise much sooner, but I didn't know where to start.."

"Tamlin," you whispered, reaching out your free hand to his face, but he shook his head dismissively.

"I'm responsible for everything bad that happened to you, yet you.. you showed me nothing but kindness.. you even saved me.. twice.. I don't deserve you.. any of this."

It was too dark even for your eyes, but you could swear you saw tears in his eyes before he closed them, turning away from you.

"Tamlin.. how can you say something like that. You saved my life. If it wasn't for you I would die that day. I'm alive just thanks to you."

He shook his head again. "You don't know everything.. You should really hate me.."

"No, I couldn't possibly."

He suddenly turned back to you, his hard gaze piercing you. You could feel tips of his claws poking your flesh. He heaved with effort to control himself, his anger. His arms slightly trembled. "But you should. If I wasn't such a weakling I could have stood up to my father and returned for you that night. But I didn't."

Shaking your head you opened your mouth to speak, but he wouldn't let you.

"When they returned I knew instantly they're up to something. I could feel unfamiliar scent on my father, saw him coming out from dungeon after hours being there. I overheard them talking about getting back with this, letting Night Court's High Lord suffer. I knew they had somebody down there, somebody important, but I didn't have guts to go there, not until I became High Lord. I found proof of you being there for who knows how long. Blood, bandages, medicines. If I wanted to I could have followed your smell, I could have found you centuries earlier. Yet I decided to do nothing. Nothing!"

He spatted each word out with such a self hate that your head was spinning. A single tear rolled down your cheek. You were at loss for words. He watched you with those cold eyes, waiting for your sentence.

However all you could say was, "Did you know it was me?"

His jaw clenched, claws fully sliding out. "No," he said, his voice hard. "I only found out when Rhysand appeared here on Solstice claiming you are his sister."

You swallowed hard while trying to sort your thoughts.

"But nevertheless, your pain, your fear, everything. I caused it. I." He beat his chest desperately, claws cutting through his shirt and skin. He ignored it all, eyes on you, pleading. When you didn't say anything, he pleaded more. "Say something. Tell me how much you hate me. Shout at me. Send me away. Command me to leave and never return back. Tell me you want me pay for that. Tell me you want to see me dead. Anything. Just say something already."

His voice finally broke with a sob. At this point both of you were crying.

You caressed his cheek. "I can't.. I don't feel any of those things.. I can't hate you because I-.."

"You what, Y/N," he sobbed, heaving heavily. His eyes dimly shone in the darkness.

Your palms started to sweat. You weren't ready for this, but you couldn't back off now. Tamlin was waiting for your answer as if his life depended on it.

"Because you what..?"

You swallowed, mouth suddenly as dry as sand of Summer Court. Your heart hammered in your chest.

"Because I," you stuttered. "I like you." Your voice was hardly more than rustle of leaves in the distance, but he heard it, anyway.

Tamlin whined like a wounded animal and squeezing shirt on his chest, he bent over, hiding his face in skirt folds on your lap. His shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

You were shocked, unsure what to do. Your heart hurt, shattered with rejection. Because this was rejection, wasn't it. You wanted to cry hard, scream even, but you couldn't. Not here, not in front of him.

His claws slowly slid back in. With still hidden face he reached around your waist, pulling you closer and closer until you hardly could breathe.

"Thanks Mother," he breathed out into your legs. "I couldn't live if you said you hate me."

"What?" You weren't sure if you understood it correctly. Wasn't it rejection after all? Was he actually glad?

"I need you, Y/N. More than I need air," he said lowly, his voice muffled by your skirt. "Please.. don't leave me anymore."

"I won't," you whispered your promise, still not fully comprehending the sudden twist of the events. His mood twists were so confusing. One moment he was angry, full of self-hate, next one he pleaded for mercy.

All you had was a small bud of hope, warming up your insides. The tiny piece of hope that he and you.. that maybe one day there could be something, that maybe.. maybe your feelings wouldn't be completely unrequited.

Little you knew that those three simple words and your promise started a chain of great changes that could eventually lead to your own version of happily ever after.

Note: I'm not sure about this ending and honestly the more I reread it, the more I hate it. However, when I try to rewrite it, it ends up being even worse.. Seriously I thought about not posting this until I sort it out somehow, but weeks later I'm still at loss here. It's frustrating 😭

Also I didn't plan for Tamlin to break down. It was supposed to be a calm conversation, clearing things etc., but he decided he wants to shout and have some self-loathing moment here. I told him it was a bad idea. If only he would listened to me, it would be easier😮‍💨

Taglist:

@impossibelle @sevikas-whore @b0xerdancer @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @tele86 @mybestfriendmademe @nocasdatsgay @yunloyal @nebarious @isabiss @st0rmyt @lilah-asteria @ubigaia @paleidiot @acourtofimagines @harahettania @talesofadragon @ceoofyearning

#english isnt my first language #tamlin fanfiction #tamlin x reader #tamlin acotar #tamlin #pro tamlin #acosf #acotar #acotar x reader #sarah j maas #rhysand #lucien vanserra

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xerith-42 · 4 months ago

Text

Techno and Wilbur not being brothers is so important to me you have no idea

Because them being Tommy's older brothers doesn't actually ever overlap. Wilbur acts as Tommy's brother through most of the stuff with L'Manburg, for better and usually for worse. Then once he's gone and Tommy's lost everyone he finds a new older brother in Techno.

Techno and Wilbur aren't brothers though. When they interacted they were friends at best, and tense at worst. Even if their goals do eventually line up, Wilbur still stabs Techno in the back. He promised destruction for Manberg, before setting up Tommy as a potential leader. He said he was down with anarchy but failed to properly condemn the very governments Technoblade's anarchy-based morality is centered around.

He realized that governments were the cause of all of his problems, but failed to see the bigger picture in regards to how L'Manburg had hurt everyone on the server. One of Wilbur's consistent problems is a failure to see how his actions effect those around him, or to act with a blatant disregard for consequences. And at the point that Technoblade came into his life, there wasn't really much hope for them to ever be the family they could've been.

Wilbur never cared about Techno as a person. He just saw him as

The Blade

An Anarchist

The Revolution

Wilbur knew that without Technoblade he didn't have a revolution and yet he was still willing to disregard Techno's fundamental ideals because he was too narrow minded to see anything else. Too focused on how L'Manburg hurt him, his L'Manburg, and the damage it caused his life. He barely thought of how Techno would feel in regards to his decision.

Techno's just another person Wilbur managed to burn before his death. He wasn't the last.

And when Tommy shows up in the floorboards of Techno's house a month later, after L'Manberg has exiled him and Techno has nearly lost everything to tyranny, and he has a hope that maybe this time things will be better. Tommy's young, still learning, and he's been through a lot at the hands of corrupt men wielding power.

Maybe this time Techno can have someone agree with his ideals and actually stick to it.

He humors Tommy, shelters him, but treats him as he'd treat anybody. Tommy's a nuisance, and Techno might yell at him for taking his stuff for the third time this week, but he'll never kick Tommy out. Not after he's been abandoned to this extent. Not after Tommy has suffered the hand he was nearly dealt at his botched execution.

Techno almost lost everything. Tommy did lose everything.

Techno becomes an older brother figure to a scared and grieving and traumatized Tommy, a wounded child grasping onto the last straws of normalcy he has as he watches everything he's ever known slip through his finger tips. Techno is willing to take Wilbur's place, to act as a role model to Tommy during hard times. To stay strong and teach him important values to carry through future hardships in life. Techno wants so badly for Tommy to be a proper younger brother to him.

And then he makes the same mistake his brother made.

Tommy disregards Techno.

In his desperate attempt to hold onto those strands of normalcy Tommy reaches for something he's always known in favor of the potential chaos of Techno. Tommy is trying to stick to what he knows, what he used to have, to Tubbo, to his discs, to anything that reminds him of all he's lost so he can feel like he has it back. He fails to see that Techno could have been a source of that familiarity, that Techno was trying to be the island of stability while he was crashing in the waves.

Instead Tommy takes Tubbo's outstretched hand and climbs into the lifeboat they've always been floating in together, not realizing that in doing so he has awakened a great storm that will leave him with less than he had before.

In the immediate comfort of familiarity Tommy fails to realize the consequences of his own actions, and proves that in spite of all the posturing he's done about changing, about growing, about being a bigger and better man, he's a frightened child with the worst habits of his family.

When Tommy stabs Techno in the back, he reopens an old wound

After all, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it

#Hahaaaa I've got the DSMP on the brain lets goooooo #I love talking about this sibling tragedy it's one of my favorites #truly one of the sibling tragedies of all time #oh fuck i don't know how to tag in this fandom #okay I can do this #dsmp #ctommy #cwilbur #ctechno #bedrock bros #dream smp #is there a silly nickname for wilbur and tommy I'm forgetting?#crime boys #knew they had to have one #dsmpblr #well i can't think of anything else to tag

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martialartslover7 · 21 days ago

Text

Anko awakens her Snake Sage Mode

Ever since Sasuke's departure from the village, one year had long since passed. And the former Anbu member, Anko Mitarashi, has ventured into the mountains to reach the feared and infamous Ryūchi Caves. Completely on her own, needing to complete her training, as she planned on unlocking the Snake Sage mode. On her own volition.

This decision came with many contributing factors.

For one, she blamed herself for Sasuke leaving in the first place, because she knew how her former teacher, Orochimaru, ticked. She knew him, almost TOO well. The warning signs were all over, especially after Itachi's return into his younger brother's life, and now, she bore the guilt of feeling as if she didn't do enough to help. Made even worse by how attached she has grown to the young Uchiha, especially during his rehab after the first rounds of the Chunin exams, while training with him, with Kakashi playing a big, supporting role, while she did her best to keep the Curse Mark in-check, even with the applied seal. Making her feel like she hadn't just lost another loved one, but a part of her soul with him, too. The irony of that last phrase still left her stunned, given how she and Sasuke had shared the exact same Curse Mark. It feels poetic, in a morbid way.

For another, she made a promise to Kakashi. A blood-driven vow, to be exact.

Having worked in the ranks of the Anbu for years, much like him, she is more than aware, of the pure, unfiltered misery of those, that had joined this organization, in hopes of embracing said misery to use it for the greater good... ...or at least, that's what they all told themselves.

In the end, she and the Hatake are one of the same breed: Tormented souls, haunted by the judgmental voices of those, who had wronged them, for things they had no control over.

Essentially, much like Kakashi, at one point, she had also taken a look, at least once, deep into the abyss, and worst of all, being more than aware, of him having not only lost his father to slander and public scrutiny, but also his best friend, the love of his life, and his sensei. And as such, Anko made him a promise, one that shall last for a lifetime:

...She will never leave his side. She will defeat Death himself.

And the only way to keep her end of the bargain, is to attain the Snake Sage mode. Which is exactly why she just arrived at the Ryūchi Caves, to prove herself worthy of such immense power.

Thick fog enveloped her, as she entered the tunnel, her eyes closed, feeling more than ready to outplay Death himself, by "following in her teacher's footsteps", except...

...she is not going to fail.

She thought to herself:

"This is it... If I succeed at the trials given to me, and survive the bite from the Snake Sage, then I should be golden... Heh, I can't fail now, can I? After all..."

She began caressing the Curse Mark on her neck, smirking to herself, by thinking:

"...just this once, my former teacher shall prove himself useful for SOMETHING. His DNA may give me the edge I need, to bust out of this joint with flying colors."

The first trial came up. And normally, Anko would be cracking jokes to ease the tension, but just this once, she couldn't afford to. This will become the ultimate test of all her abilities. And she knew these tasks will be relentless.

She could hear the White Snake Sage talking to her through the fog...

"Are you an intruder...? Or shall you prove yourself worthy of the trials, lying right ahead? One shall test your mind and body, one shall test your mental fortitude, and the last... shall be a test of faith... ...are you up for the challenge?"

This challenge caused the serpent lady to smirk, as she was more than ready. She knew this wasn't going to be a walk through the park, but, she came into this, knowing full well, she may never make it out alive. But the thought of mastering what his own teacher couldn't even accomplish, and returning home, being finally capable of maintaining that promise given to the one man she cherished so deeply...

...it gave her a level of courage she had deemed impossible. In fact, it would seem, Naruto's attitude was starting to rub off on her too, as she cracks her neck, and allows her trenchcoat to fly right behind her, telling the sage:

"...I have never felt readier. I know someone came before me, but unlike that waste of space, I shall ace these trials! Bring it on, ya old hag!"

"Very well. You have been warned..."

And though the fog made it difficult to make out, Anko could definitely sense the chakra signature of one giant serpent approaching. She knew of it, because this was the same snake that Orochimaru once summoned to fight the other Sannin...

...Manda.

The ill-tempered, purple-black serpent approached Anko, sensing his summoning master's chakra signature inside her body, through the Curse Mark.

Needless to say, this battle ended up demanding way more of Anko than she initially bargained for. Manda repeatedly managed to land destructive hits on her with his sturdy form, but thanks to a blood injection that she got provided with by Tsunade, she could heal up immediately, with enough time to spare and put this giant reptile in its place. But it took quite a while, and time and time again, she ended up struggling to gain the upper hand...

...until she grabbed Kakashi's katana, which she had borrowed for this mission, needing something to defend herself. And though he hasn't used this blade in forever, it still did its job quite reliably. It hasn't gotten dull yet. As they fought for what felt like days to her, in the end, by a hair, she managed to land fatal cuts on the snake, forcing it to retreat.

"I am impressed...! You shall have this victory, but rest assured... it won't become any easier from here on... until we meet again...!"

Said Manda, as he retreated back into the tunnels, leaving a badly injured Anko behind, who was covered in bruises all over, her shin protectors being badly damaged and scratched, and her having needed her trenchcoat to create a diversion, leaving her in only her fishnet shirt.

But she was alive. That was one trial down, and two more to go...

As she ventured deeper into the caves, a Genjutsu was being cast by the fog, as she heard all the voices of those she had failed in her lifetime, ranging from Hiruzen, Kakashi, Rin, Sasuke, Naruto, Kurenai and one voice came forth the loudest...

...Orochimaru. Who would taunt her by speaking to her through the fog, his silhouette following her with every step:

"Anko... My poor, dear Anko... You really shouldn't have betrayed me. You were meant for greatness... And now, look at you. You're a shinobi, without purpose. Without goals. Or ambitions. You are living an existence that is not even worth calling a "life". Drinking yourself to sleep, every night, just to silence mine, and the voices of all those kids you had witnessed becoming mutated weapons for my cause... What a shame. You could have become my best asset. I could have given you more power, and now, you are being outdone by an Uchiha... How does that feel to you? Having outlived your uses?"

But Anko's mind was still very much sound. She wasn't ready to give up just yet. In spite of her glaring injuries, and her gradually depleting stamina, she couldn't stop. She had to put an end to her training. This goal was way too tempting for her to reach, nothing else mattered. A special type of feeling, indeed. And as such, her only response to these taunts were:

"Oh, put a sock in it, Orochimaru... You know what sets us apart? ...I didn't sell my soul to the devil, unlike you. You gave up your humanity, knowing full well, that "life means nothing". Then allow me to do the honors for you... I shall become the antithesis to your nonsensical "ideology"... That, for all I care, shall leave an everlasting reminder on your personally carved tombstone, carved by yours truly, that: Abandon your morals, and everything you hold dear, you lose, before the fight even starts. I freed myself... and when the time comes, I will gladly be there, when it means bringing Sasuke back home, where he belongs. And if not that, at least... I will ace this test, unlike you... How about that...?!"

She kept on walking, fearlessly. Bruised, but not beaten.

The next trial tested her intellect. She stopped in front of a stone gate, with diamond shards lying on the ground in front of her. With the gate itself being locked up with a bunch of holes that needed to be filled with the diamond pieces, close to her feet.

Needless to say, despite being more airheaded than most, she was far from braindead, and surprisingly, she aced this test with relative ease compared to most, who came before her. ...Even at the special hurdle, where she realized, she needed to break a few diamonds in half to make the final symbol come together, in pieces. But that ended up proving to be a piece of cake for her.

And then...

...the final test, is standing right before her. She went up the massive stairs in front of her, gulping along the way, sensing a terrifying, oppressive presence, directly ahead. And once she realized who was waiting for her at the top, being met with the appearance of an old, yet giant white serpent, she could not lie...

...this presence truly made her shiver in her boots. She said it:

"This must be the White Snake Sage... I have actually done it..."

But this wasn't the time to be taking a break. The final test shall be the most demanding of them all. And it became clear, once the snake slithered closer, in a very bone-chilling, almost creepy way, speaking to her directly, piercing through her subconscious:

"Well done. I am surprised you made it this far. But unfortunately for you, your trial isn't over just yet. The final hurdle for you to overcome, in order to reach new heights, a new plane of existence... is me."

Anko made it more than clear, she was ready. She came this far, she won't be faltering now. And the saying goes, "never underestimate someone, who has nothing left to lose". That saying always rang true for her and Kakashi, she is doing all this for him.

"I am still in this...! Bring it, I am ready for whatever you got in mind...! Not like anything else is waiting for me back home, this was my best...!"

"Then, let's begin..."

Her giant snake head leaned towards the Anbu member, driving one of its teeth into her body...

...and the very moment that happened, Anko felt herself going insane. The venom potency in that one tooth was so immense, she felt her body getting crushed half to death, like she was in the middle of a balancing act, on a tightrope, while carrying a mountain on her back. Everything was getting downright chaotic now, she lost all sense of time, or spatial awareness, she saw her own body melting, and all of the absolute worst sensations a human body can experience... She felt it all. In just one brief moment, and it felt like forever in its duration. She burned, she froze, she drowned, all those painful ways a person could possibly die, it all came at once...

...her agonizing shrieks filled the tunnels, and in the real world, the white snake was almost ready to consume her completely...

...but then, just when Anko was about to allow the madness to consume her...

...the seal over her Curse Mark busts apart, as this condensed nature chakra began engulfing her, giving her a whole new surge in strength and resilience, she needed to rely on Orochimaru, just this once, no matter how ill it made her feel to her stomach, using this power...

...But she had to, as, in her mind, all she could see were the memories she had made with Rin, Kurenai, Hiruzen, Sasuke, Naruto and most of all...

...Kakashi.

All those people were her lifeline, the true remainder of her body, mind, soul and... her heart.

She realized, she didn't want to survive.

She wanted to LIVE.

She wants to continue living, for all of them. They are the reason why she is still here.

With tears forming in her eyes, as she allowed the Curse Mark to spread its markings all over her body, she remembered what she had once told Kakashi, not too long after Sasuke left the village:

FLASHBACK

(Image done by wintermaiden11 from DeviantArt)

They were at the riverside in Konoha, as Anko stared into the waters, from the sand back. With Kakashi right next to her, as she tells him, full of sorrow, knowing that Sasuke's departure affected him more than anyone else, and as such, she makes a vow, in that moment:

Anko: "Kakashi... Even with your mask one, I can tell how badly Sasuke's departure is messing with your mind. Don't even start denying it. I am telling you something, I am done. With all of this..."

Kakashi: "What do you mean...?"

Anko stuffs her hands into her trench coats' pockets, looking pretty resigned and exhausted.

Anko: "I am done... living in fear of my own life... Orochimaru is going to destroy Sasuke's life even further, and even if we find him, what good will it do? His ambitions and personal priorities won't change. I am not saying you should give up searching for him, but all I am saying is: Sasuke didn't leave, because he hated you all. On the contrary, he left, because he loved you all. And I bet, after you told him how much you lost yourself, I think it might have driven him even further to become stronger. Even if it meant approaching the wrong people for that. Remember, you're not the only one who knows an Uchiha, I know how they tick..."

Kakashi: "...!"

Anko: "So, no... Waiting for Sasuke is not optimal anymore. For the absolute worst case scenario, we have to prepare ourselves. Whatever my former teacher has in-store for him, it can't be good, and we cannot get a proper read on him, so I say... Let's have some faith in Sasuke that he will make it out of there, relatively unscathed. I believe in him. He is stronger than most people give him credit for."

Then, Kakashi noticed a tear running down Anko's cheek, from the right, and he felt his heart sinking, knowing she is just acting tough like usual, when deep down, she wants to scream in agony over this loss. She truly loved Sasuke, like a little brother that she always wanted to have. And bearing the knowledge, he is now training under the same man to have ruined hers and countless other lives... It truly messed her up.

Kakashi: "Anko..."

His only visible eye closed, as he truly felt her pain, in that moment. He knew how attached Anko had grown to the Uchiha kid, despite their Anbu lifestyle having clearly prohibited this type of personal connection. He jokingly teases her by going:

Kakashi: "Heh... I never would have thought, the day would arrive, when you actually began caring about something way bigger than just dango... ...well, I'll be damned, even I am quite shocked at myself... For years, I had spent burying those feelings deep inside the treasury, but those damned brats left me second-guessing... ...Why does being human have to be so painful...?"

Anko: "I am right with you on that... And that's why..."

She tenderly caresses his right arm with her left hand, which slipped out of her pocket, before allowing to slowly travel down to his right hand...

...as their fingers intertwined, in mutual acknowledgment of their shared grievances with the family they had managed to garner, even with their past still haunting them. And firmly states to Kakashi, with the tears still running down her face:

Anko: "...I shall become that one person, whom you will never have to fear losing in battle, ever again... ...Kakashi."

The Copy Ninja didn't say anything... His silence was more than clear to her: This promise may have reached him.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Feeling a surge of power and confidence overwriting her consciousness, she breaks free of the poison, and just lets the Curse Mark absorb all this power for her, creating a "tunnel" for her body to slowly draw in the essence of the White Snake Sage. Since the mark provided her with the same DNA layer as that of her former sensei, it should be more than enough to make the absorption process a lot more tolerable. And before getting swallowed whole, she uses her strength to lift up her mouth, using the Curse Mark as a stamina booster, and rolling out of her, as she felt the temporary power surge returning to the mark on her neck...

...but the fact of the matter is: She survived the worst of the trials. And deep inside, she got a very warm, tingly feeling. Meaning, the transfusion proved successful.

The White Snake Sage then turned from her snake form, into that of an elderly human lady, smiling at the young woman, who was still kneeling in front of her, stating:

"Impressive... You actually succeeded in all of the given trials, my child. You gazed down into the abyss, and survived. My deepest of respects to you. From now on, you shall bear my power... And I will see to it, that you are going to tame it for your own. What do you have to say to that...?"

Her chest heaving, with her breathing long and heavy, her eyes ended up remaining obscured by her sweat-soaked bangs, but despite this miserable experience, her lips curled into a smirk. As she states:

"I say... That's good... Why, very good, actually... Do you wanna know why...?"

And once she lifted her head, we could clearly see a purple eyeshadow...

...and once she opened her eyes, her irises having gone from brown to golden, only deepening her own smirk, feeling truly accomplished now.

"...I am a proud, sore loser. Thanks for the gift... "grandma".”

Welp, pardon me for being late, but...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANKO!

This one is for you. And at long last, I finally got the time to be writing something epic for her. And here you go, when she goes Snake Sage mode, this is how she looks like. This is my gift to her. A well-deserved power boost.

Also, while writing this story, I was listening to this. It just fit the occasion, and the situation Anko was in. As she fought, not to survive, to keep on living for both the dead, and the living.

youtube

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chihoshisai · 8 months ago

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Nothing Twisted

Sukuna x Reader

warnings : masochist reader implied, choking, power imbalance // wc : 1,057

“What do you want from me?” Sukuna inquired, his voice devoid of emotions yet not without a hint of arrogance.

You gulped, having always found Sukuna both menacing and enticing — from the cold layer that glazed his eyes, the markings that adorned his rugged body and the manner in which he regarded people as even lower than insects. To think that such a being could exist alongside your insignificant self fascinated you.

Eyes inches away from the ground as you kneeled per his earlier command, you fixated your gaze upon your hands, cold sweat dripping from every inch of your body like a waterfall. As you watched your bodily fluid drip from your nose to form a poodle upon the tiles of his mansion — in which he had allowed you to work as a servant — the thought that he might sever your head for the simple act of soiling his floor increased the fearful reaction of your body.

Until today, tirelessly working your limbs, you relinquished in every opportunity granted to admire him from afar like a shy maiden — too afraid to speak or interact with the object of your infatuation as it would be deemed improper. And because your head would roll if the tiniest sound ever escaped your lips unprompted.

You were not to speak unless spoken to.

With that in mind, you pondered over your answer — what would be appropriate for the most horrifying curse user of the Heian Era to allow you to keep the measly life you had been granted thus far ? Countless times you had imagined what a conversation with such a being would be, and many times did you perceive it unfolding under the deluded impression that there was even an ounce of kindness in the man.

But reality was cruel, and so was Sukuna. Your heart had gotten ahead of itself, being blinded by his undeniable beauty. Now that you pitifully were about to kiss the ground, your fight or flight system manifested how foolish those feelings had been, frivolous even, almost bringing you to tears. Despite all that, his voice sounded like honey to your ears, enticing, inviting, leaving you wondering whether something had awakened in you due to the fear or if your mind had already lost it.

Enough dwelling, your thoughts screamed throughout your body, accelerating your heart and further increasing your erratic breathing. Remaining silent for too long would also spell your doom.

“I want nothing,” you answered with a clear voice, lips shaking as you distracted yourself by the sight of your soiled fingernails.

“Do you think I haven’t noticed how you’ve been secretly looking at me?” He insisted.

Clenching your teeth in embarrassment after hearing that you’ve been found out, you lowered your head furthermore. “I want nothing,” you repeated.

“How boring,” Sukuna said, his tone unchanging.

It was enough to convince yourself that you were safe, from death, from him — though temporarily — from danger as a whole. But, as you had been facing the ground all this time, you hadn’t taken notice of his change of movement, how without a sound, he got closer to you almost like snow falling on the ground. Until the moment his lean fingers nestled on your cheek, making their way to your chin and raising it up so you could face him. The unforeseen contact, foreign to your skin and somewhat threatening froze you. His eyes, the color of blood, deprived of any emotions alongside his placid smile made you realize how far gone he was from being human.

The proximity didn’t stop your ridiculous heart from skipping a beat, and you felt thankful that your sweat filled face didn’t seem to visibly bother him.

“I’ll keep you alive because you do your job well,” Sukuna spoke arrogantly, his fingers slightly tilting your head up. His remark reduced the rate of your heartbeat, and your tensed up muscles relaxed feeling that the worst had passed. But the man was twisted — he grinned, somewhat ominously and your eyes widened in fear as though they had just beared witness to all the evil in the world.

“Humans feel more motivated when they are rewarded and praised for their work,” Sukuna began, his fingers sliding down your throat, “I’ll reward you so you can keep going a bit longer.”

The feeling of your breath being caught at your throat, almost unable to exit your parted lips surprisingly rejoiced your body. Even your heart accelerated in anticipation whilst your very being hung on Sukuna’s last word, awaiting for him to act.

There were many things that you had come to learn after serving under Sukuna, and one of them was to instinctively let your arms limp by your side — fighting the urge to grip him, to feel more of him — as there was no forgiving any attempt at touching this otherworldly being.

The sight Sukuna saw must have pleased him, since he brought your trapped neck close enough to land an aggressive kiss. Ruthlessly. That’s how he treated you, firming his grip on your neck and restraining your ability to breathe even more whilst biting your lips to the point the iron taste of blood filled your mouth. He devoured you.

Dizzy, but still maintaining control over your body, you fought desperately to refrain from trying to rip apart the fingers that obstructed your throat. The many daydreams you had throughout the past did include one too many kisses exchanged with Sukuna, but this was far beyond your imagination. Life was dwindling out of you, and with cloudy thoughts, it was impossible to tell whether you enjoyed it or not. Simply, you consoled yourself with the idea that at the very least, his touch would remain on your body for a while. A memento from a sadistic moment shared together.

Blood dripped from the corner of your mouth, mingled with saliva as Sukuna pulled back to allow air to flow in your lungs. Once again, the ground filled your vision, as your body dropped to the floor, coughing erratically.

“Now go back to work,�� his commanding words echoed through your mind. Keeping your crouched position, you promptly exited the room without so much as uttering a single word, let alone tempt a glance in the direction of the man who would continue to be the source of your twisted infatuation.

#sukuna x reader #sukuna ryomen #sukuna x you #ryomen sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna x you #sukuna ryoumen x reader #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk x gender neutral reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujustu kaisen x you #jjk fanfic #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #ao3 fanfic #jjk ao3

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casual-praxis · 1 month ago

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Imagine a villainess isekai, but with a vidow twist

Got your attention? Great! So picture this, the plot of the Four Swords manga, but it's some dating sim-type game that's blown up in the modern world. In theory, you'd be playing as Zelda who managed to avoid capture and travel with the colors which are presumably still Link split into pieces.

Of course, you'd have your typical romance routes with each of them, on top of the neutral route which is more of a "power of friendship saves the day" type deal (as well as a "harem" ending that has them fuse back into Link by the end of it), all while dealing with Shadow as a recurring villain, our technical "villainess" in this scenario.

But here's the twist: Vio is the one who got isekai'd.

Instead of becoming the villain, he's become one of the four* love interests for the protagonist--although he's completely uninterested in her or any of the others. He'd actually only played through the game once in his previous life, and even then he didn't really remember if he managed to romance anyone, never mind finish the game.

He was pretty confused when he suddenly awakened his memories while standing in the Four Sword Sanctuary, having just successfully driven off Shadow for the first time with the others. And with that revelation came several thoughts in quick succession.

Namely, "Oh, that's why I never beat the game."

The villain, who had several moments of introspection and a fully fleshed-out character arc, hadn't been a romance option. Not even a dlc or secret route. Which in Vio's (totally not dramatic) opinion, made the game basically unplayable.

So of course he was going to have to fix that himself. Plot be damned, he was going to end up with Shadow or die trying.

Cue up the fourth-wall-breaking shenanigans and hilarity that ensues from someone not at all trying to blend in with the world around them. Vio quickly goes from being the "smart one" to the "unhinged one" as he mumbles to himself about event flags and route points.

He's got a whole notebook dedicated to the most nonsensical gibberish such as "how many times I've talked to x person" and "how long until chapter 4." When prompted about the tallies on the first page, Vio merely shrugs and says he's keeping track of their shadow. Whatever that means.

I like to think the forest scene would be pretty much reversed from the manga canon and instead have Vio be the pursuer. Like, he's just shaking Shadow by the shoulders and rambling. Something like, "I know everything about you and I will kill anyone you want me to. Please allow me to join you."

Shadow, of course, doesn't know whether to be flustered or freaked out, so he settles on the happy middle ground of "lowkey kinda into it."

Within the dating sim's original story, anyone Zelda was on the route for would be the one to meet with Shadow, and she would show up last minute to help fight him off (so no betrayal scene would ever occur). Meanwhile here, Vio takes the first chance he gets to bail on the narrative and begin his plans of total Shadow domination (take that as you will).

Vio ends up being more of a threat than Shadow, on account of his vague story knowledge and general lack of care towards anyone that isn't Shadow (if he's going to be put into a game's world, he's going to treat it as such). He's totally down for overthrowing the big bads, murdering anyone in his way, and ruling the ruined world at Shadow's side. But luckily, Shadow does still have his character development arc, and manages to negate the worst of the damage before it's unfixable.

Whether or not they switch sides or just keep doing what they're doing on a slightly less destructive scale is anyone's guess, I haven't thought that far ahead. This may or may not have been completely incomprehensible, Grammerly has lit the whole thing up in yellow (orange?).

Unrepentantly unhinged Vio is a good flavor. It pairs nicely with "somehow has the moral compass" Shadow. They're an odd pair, but as time goes on, it becomes pretty apparent that they're equally obsessed with each other. This can only end well.

#bonus: one or more of the colors are also isekai'd #they know vio is horribly off script they just also don't care #maybe busy with their own love quest #zelda has a secret route with either erune or malon #i like to think she's on that route for this #four swords #vio link #shadow link #vidow #au idea #rambling

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lady-quen · 30 days ago

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Verse: The Hound, The Haggard, and the Haunted

Posting an initial version of the lore being cooked between myself, @rostomanologist and @commanderteag ! The context will pretty much be necessary to understand most of the humor oscillating between these chucklefucks :) Chaos plant trio is a thing now.

The Dawnborn Maelmordha and Duskborn Kimarse have known one another since approximately 1320 AE as saplings, at least until Mael's Wyld Hunt and Kima's run-in with the Inquest ensured no further contact. The two wouldn't properly meet again until sometime after 1330 AE, during Commander Maelmordha's Elonian campaigns.

Owing to his death at the hands of Balthazar, Mael, now a lich, struggles with controlling his Diabolist powers, opting to utilize sealing tattoos and enchanted chains to stall the demon essence from consuming his soul. It was after the conflict with the War God that Maelmordha and Kimarse met again, the latter traveling in the area out of curiosity about the Awakened Inquest rampaging in Tyria.

The so-called Thanatologist caught onto the "deal" with the Pact Commander rather quickly and, armed with potential blackmail material, figured it most beneficial for them both to engage in a contract. An undying subject for the death scholar and possible help with his condition for the Commander, especially with Kimarse's Revenant former acquaintance in the picture - Noereen, haunted by the spectre of a legendary White Mantle well-versed in bloodstone magics. A bloodstone collar could be forged to act as a magic buffer, but a sample was required, and, well, with most equipment simply dissolving within the Commander's chest portal and the man himself being unable to perform the procedure, Kimarse thought it best to ward her left hand, plunge it in and hope for the best. She managed to pull out the demon core now replacing the Commander's heart for study, but lost the appendage to extreme frostbite. A tradeoff, just like Tyr lost his hand in the jaws of Fenrir - in order to apply Gleipnir.

Enter Maolmuire, a formidable Mesmer with an unsettling connection to the Dream and the sword Caladbolg.

Maolmuire of the Noon, awakened approximately 1330 AE, is a member of a cycle which suffered malformations following the Pale Mother's injury at the claws of the Shadow of the Dragon. Born with a warped right arm and a pair of wings, he stands out from his fellow sylvari, but what happened to his corporeal form is scarcely his only affliction. His connection to the Dream far too strong to the point of being unable to separate his own memories from those of its denizens, Maol's waking and sleeping moments alike are dominated by the three Knights of the Thorn: the Valiant Riannoc, the Marshal Trahearne, and the Commander, Maelmordha. The three personalities blend within him, and a destiny laid out by the Astral Ward itself sends him on a quest into the desert to find the Commander. With expert mesmeric magic, he is able to infiltrate even the Order of Shadows until he eventually confronts the Commander, now a different beast altogether than the pre-death image which yet remained of him inside the Dream.

In spite of being walking reminders of one another's worst traumas, Maelmordha and Maolmuire work together, with the former's condition and ever-fresh grief for the Pact Marshal making the burden of the lich-slaying Caladbolg infinitely heavy. Following the campaign against Palawa Joko, he attempts to return the sword, only to be met with rejection - for now. Indeed, it isn't long before the Mother receives a mysterious vision and nominates the Fourth Knight, who happens to be none other than Maolmuire himself.

The three keep in contact and work together in the future, out of selfless and selfish reasons alike.

#About the Commander #everyone will need their own loretags here I think! for now using my general one #Maelmordha #Kimarse #Maolmuire #pof spoilers #lws4 spoilers #also maolmuire's dream mesmer-revenant thing liam is absolutely COOKING #gw2 rp #gw2 #ah well may as well go into main tags

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jaredxenoengage · 5 months ago

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Have you ever noticed that Alear and the Four Royals acts as a Five Man Band? The story may not show that well, but their gameplay, nations and represented Emblems demonstrate that they are this trope perfectly. Veyle acts as the Sixth Ranger (actually 11th Hour Ranger). They best represent this trope as well because Alear, the Royals and Veyle are the only playable characters that can’t die on Classic Mode (oh and Vander too, but he’s just a mentor kind of guy).

The Five Man Band is among one my favorite tropes in media. Why? IDK why, it just is. I used to be a Power Rangers fan, five is usually among the highest these teams get to. In which case it becomes a Three plus two scenario where a Power Trio becomes a Five Man Band (Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder, and Jungle Fury come to mind).

I bring up this trope to talk about Fire Emblem Engage specifically, Alear, and the Four Primary Royals fit this trope. And it’s not just in team composition, IMO, the Emblems they are best known for (specifically in the Prologue cutscene) best give idea on why they fit the role in the team.

Alear the The Hero/Leader of the team; because obviously they are the Fire Emblem Lord, they are the Divine Dragon: the only one who can summon the Emblems who can save the world from the Fell Dragon. And just like any other Fire Emblem Lord in the franchise, if they are defeated, it’s a game over. Pretty typical Fire Emblem knowledge.

Alear’s most common Emblem is Marth. Marth is the first ever Fire Emblem Lord in the franchise, the idealistic leader that his loved ones trust and follows. Marth is the first of many sword wielding heroes in the franchise. Swords are a very common weapon type for heroes (Micaiah is the only Emblem in the main game that canonically never uses swords).

Alfred is the Lancer. Who usually acts a foil to the Hero/Leader, usually is their first/best friend/companion, and/or is the first to question any decision the leader/hero makes. Not every character of the archetype has to be a rival or a jerk (or in most cases both), Alfred is one of those examples. Alfred is the first Royal to join. Firene has the closest ties with Lumera, and Alfred appears in more cutscenes than any other Royal in the game. (Double points for having Lances as his primary weapon type).

The Emblem he uses in the Prologue is Lucina. Lucina is the not the central protagonist of Awakening, Chrom is. Even still, Lucina is a character who acts as an emotional foil to Chrom. More importantly, Lucina is the descendant of Marth, who happens to be Alear’s most associated Emblem.

Diamant is the big guy/muscle of Alear’s team. Brodia is the Kingdom of Might after all. Diamant is the most physically imposing with his main stats being his HP, Strength and Defense. Diamant is also the tallest and oldest member of the team (age being 25, Alfred is 21, Ivy is 20, Timerra is 18 and Alear is physically 17).

Diamant’s national Emblem is Roy, who gives Sword Power as an inheritance skill that allows Diamant to hit harder with a sword, but at the cost of avoid. Rise Above (Emblem Roy’s Engage skill) increases his level and stats along with them. Ironically, Roy was 15 years old in his games, Diamant is the oldest Royal, yet Roy is one of the younger FE lords next to Leif.

Next is Ivy, befitting of Elusia’s title of the Kingdom of Knowledge, she is the smart girl. Ivy has gone to school and was at the top of her class. (Studying is also one of her hobbies and likes items regarding them) Ivy is the most level headed of the Royals. Ivy is the only member of this main team that uses magic, and her ability to fly and heal is invaluable in a Fire Emblem game.

Ivy is associated with two Emblems rather than one. Lyn (the Emblem entrusted to Elusia) has the ability to summon doubles that can be used to distract the enemy. While Leif is an Emblem that switches between your current weapons it best suit the situation (often for the worst, unfortunately). It’s also worth noting that Soren is the DLC Emblem entrusted to Alt. Elusia. Soren is the Tactician of the Greil Mercenaries.

Finally, Timerra acts the emotional core to the team as the heart. Despite being far more politically savvy than what her peppy personality might suggest, she still is a genuine mood-maker in her supports where she attempts to get Ivy to open up and give perspective to Diamant on their ways of leading their countries. Her Queendom represents Freedom and is a very accepting person.

Her Emblem is Ike, and even if people mainly see him as a snarky guy, Ike is a very compassionate person. I mean, Ike would have to be a nice guy if he is the only person Soren is unfailingly kind to and is devoted to above everyone else. Ike’s Resolve (pun intended) is the thing that keeps the Greil Mercenaries from falling apart after his father’s death. Gameplay wise, Timerra with Ike act as a Critical Hit fighter with Wrath and Sandstorm. It takes a lot of effort and a bit of luck to make the most of her.

And finally, Veyle rounds out the team as the Sixth Ranger (doubles as 11th Hour Ranger, she is the last recruit in the main game). Sixth Rangers often comes joining in the team after a rivalry dispute and or brainwashing (Tommy Oliver (trope namer) and Zuko from Avatar comes to mind), Veyle is no exception. Veyle is the only other Non DLC Dragon units in the game. Most Sixth Rangers often (like the Red Ranger) have a power no other Ranger does.

Veyle doesn’t have a designated Emblem outside of Marth (who her evil self used, and she has boss dialogue with Emblem Marth in his Paralogue), but I consider Emblem Alear to be the closest thing Veyle will get to a designated Emblem. Her evil self also wears Alear’s Ring in the bad ending.

The major difference between Alear’s team, and the Four Hounds led by EVeyle is that the Hounds were already formed long before the story began. Alear and the Four Royals don’t officially form until more than halfway through Engage’s main story chapters. And yet these guys became a real team where the Hounds failed.

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jgroffdaily · 6 months ago

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Interview by Jake Nevis, photos by Jenny Anderson - excerpts:

For Groff in particular, who’s earned a Tony Award nomination for his swaggering turn as the prodigious composer Franklin Shepard, the experience of starring in Merrily We Roll Along is provoking a tender sort of reappraisal of the wide-eyed, closeted 20-something who arrived on Broadway two decades ago in Spring Awakening, tending his own dreams. “There’s so many powerful parallels and I’m feeling the opportunity to release a lot of the tension I was holding at that time,” he told me earlier this month over coffee in Greenwich Village (just before showing face at a Tony’s luncheon). “This character feels like an exorcism of the lightest and darkest parts of myself.” With easy candor—and a charm not dissimilar to the kind he demonstrates in the role—Groff opened up about learning to live without shame and what Looking, the polarizing HBO series he starred in from 2014 to 2016, taught him about show business.

JAKE NEVINS: Hey, Jonathan. Congrats on your Tony nomination.

JONATHON GROFF: Thank you so much.

NEVINS: That’s exciting. How do you feel?

GROFF: Oh my god, I feel super emotional. I’ve been crying a lot these days. Last time I was nominated was during Hamilton, which was like seven or eight years ago. And I wasn’t in the show when the nominations happened. I had left to do a TV show. So this is the first time since Spring Awakening that I’ve experienced the intensity of awards season on Broadway while being in the show. I’m having a lot of flashbacks to being 22 years old.

NEVINS: What were your first encounters with Merrily in particular?

GROFF: Gideon Glick, who was in Spring Awakening with me, sent a text to the Spring Awakening text chain saying, “This documentary came out called The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened. And it’s devastating and beautiful, and it reminded me so much of us. You all have to go see it.” So I watched the documentary about Merrily that Lonny Price made and was blown away by it. At the Hollywood Bowl, I had done Sondheim on Sondheim, where I sang the role of Frank in “Opening Doors” and Jesse Tyler Ferguson did “Franklin Shepard, Inc.,” so I knew the songs from there. Funny enough, we had just finished our Spring Awakening reunion concert, which was in the fall of 2021, and we were making a documentary about the concert and about the show. The Merrily doc was a big inspiration for that because of how they went back and forth and showed them as kids and showed them as adults. And then in January 2022, me and Jim Carnahan, who cast me in Spring Awakening 16 years before, were in a film club during COVID. After we saw 8½ at the Film Forum in January 2022, he said to me, “We’re going to come to you with an offer for Frank in Merrily We Roll Along. Do you know the show?” And I was like, “I know pieces of it, but I don’t know the show.” Maria’s production in London was on YouTube, so I watched it and I died for it. I just thought it was fucking genius, never having seen it and obviously knowing from the documentary that the show was originally a flop. So it took six months between January and June 2022 for us to figure out the dates. Dan [Radcliffe] was already attached to play Charley, and then Lindsay [Mendez] came on, and then we were off and running.

[Jonathan on reactions to Looking] And I was like, “Whoa.” That was when I started to learn the art of walking with an open heart and also protecting myself.

NEVINS: What does that look like?

GROFF: It’s like, having empathy and respect for the haters and honoring them and understanding that that opinion can exist and I can still be in my lane and express myself. Just because someone says it’s terrible doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth making.

NEVINS: Well, I’ll leave you with this. What’s the status of your inner voice? By all accounts, you’re living your dream, but I don’t want to draw any conclusions.

GROFF: This feels like it’s been a rebirth, a bit of a renaissance, and a release. It’s like I’m re-experiencing what I experienced when I was 22 with Spring Awakening, but now as a flashback, which is what Merrily is about. I moved to New York in 2004, 20 years ago. This show takes place over the course of 20 years. It’s about three friends. Spring Awakening was about these three characters. There’s so many powerful parallels and I’m feeling the opportunity to release a lot of the tension I was holding at that time. It feels like this opportunity to tap back into that 20-year-old I was and release all of the baggage from that time. I’m feeling more like myself than I ever have. This character feels like an exorcism of the lightest and darkest parts of myself.

NEVINS: An exorcism that ends with a Tony, hopefully

GROFF: Oh my god.

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