#oc: Fate Aria

[denalilunamoonsshenanigans]

I need to draw my MLP ocs more often. as per usual, i make a version of Denali in any universe and this is Fate Aria. a custom species that lives in the far far north. Her species is deceptively a lot bigger than the average pony, and Fate is on the smaller side. I have been calling them Moongardians, as they are from Moongard, a village i made up for story purposes. Distant relatives to Crystal ponies, so their fur sparkles and shines like fresh snowfall, rather than being crystalized. i have a solid design for Unicorn Moongardians, as most of them are unicorns, but i am open to the idea of adding Pegasus ponies and earth ponies to the mix. i need to redraw the reference for Fate and many others that already exist for this species.

[simplegenius042]

Music Wednesday, Last Line/s & Understand My Group/Found Family In 5 Minutes Meme

Tagged by @cassietrn @noodlecupcakes and @imogenkol

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @aceghosts @direwombat @voidika @la-grosse-patate @inafieldofdaisies @adelaidedrubman @shellibisshe @josephseedismyfather @icecutioner @derelictheretic @shallow-gravy @strangefable @statichvm @josephslittledeputy @cloudofbutterflies92 @skoll-sun-eater @carlosoliveiraa @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @raresvtm @softtidesworld @starsandskies @ladyoriza @florbelles @minilev @yokobai @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @justasmolbard and @alypink + anyone who'd like to join.

Music for The UnTitledverse, Last Line's for three A Radioactive Calamity Of Love, Bombs & Gore WIPs and lastly an "Understand My Group" Meme for characters in my Wings And Horns WIP. You can listen, read and use the template of the meme that is under the cut:

More about the Walking Fate series. This series somewhat sticks to the compliance of canon, but there are times where it diverges. Mostly in regards to characters and their arcs and survival (or death), plus some plot elements being replaced/repurposed. There's about five planned "seasons", with four of them taking the canon compliance route while the fifth is an original plot. I'm also treating Walkers with more respect; they're pretty much a death sentence if anyone is unprepared for them, or god forbid, come across a Herd. Malcrum and Clementine's relationship is in no means meant to impede on the canon relationships she forms and that impact her, it is meant to be an additional and interesting idea to explore her character, especially with the inherent tragedy that ties them together and how it affects her character going forward (as well as my first time writing a relationship like this type in The UnTitledverse, which compared to its predecessors, is a story that doesn't resolve the tragedy with reconciliation between Malcrum and Clementine, emphasising the bitter nature of this bittersweet series). The tragic turn this relationship is of neither parties fault; it was simply bad luck. Malcrum, while separated from Clem and the group, happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time, picking up the wrong object, where his mind would (mostly) be fried and lose his agency/autonomy. Forced to watch a shell of himself harm, and at times, kill those he had come to care for or would have never wanted to do so to in the first place. The only person truly at fault here is not even in the series; that being Edward Carmine, for creating a device that probably violates more than what OSHA is concerned about. The series follows a theme of the power of resilience. Persisting in spite of the odds. Succeeding against adversity. Going to great lengths and trials to not only survive, but find a place to live. Which is why I chose this song for this series:

"I am flesh and I am bone Rise up, ting-ting, like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting-ting, like glitter Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter and gold Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter

Do you walk in the valley of kings? Do you walk in the shadow of men Who sold their lives for a dream? Do you ponder the manner of things In the dark? The dark, the dark, the dark

I am flesh and I am bone I'll rise, ting-ting, like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting-ting, like glitter Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter and gold Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter

Do you walk in the meadow of spring? Do you talk to the animals? Do you hold their lives from a string? Do you ponder the manner of things In the dark? The dark, the dark, the dark

I am flesh and I am bone I'll rise, ting-ting, like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting-ting, like glitter I am flesh and I am bone I'll rise, ting-ting, like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting-ting, like glitter

'Cause everybody in the backroom's spinnin' out Don't remember what you're asking for And everybody in the front room's trippin' out You left your bottle at the door

'Cause everybody in the backroom's spinnin' out Don't remember what you're asking for And everybody in the front room's trippin' out You left your bottle at the door

I am flesh and I am bone I'll rise, ting-ting, like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting-ting, like glitter Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter and gold Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter and gold Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah Like glitter."

Here are Last Line/s for three WIPs from my Fallout series A Radioactive Calamity Of Love, Bombs & Gore. Each are labelled down below:

THE WATERS OF LIFE FLOW (FALLOUT 3)

His red lenses constricted as he focused on the super mutants patrolling the fortress. If the Vault-Tec data was to be considered correct, Vault 87 was in the heart of the lions den. Ore stood up, huffing out his breathing valve as his knees made a sickening creak. He stretched in preparation for his one-man assault, outstretching a palm to feel the nuclear residue of radiation through his palms.

He hummed in satisfaction as he felt the fatigue drift away from the exposure, far more alert and energized. Flame started to spark in his palms, summoning his fire so he may weld it into a more effective weapon against the FEV rejects he would - what was the word Ress used? "Pulverize"? Yeah, that's it - would enjoy pulverizing to cinders.

THE HOUSE ON TOP (FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS)

Her gaze shifted to the only man who was distinct compared to the group he lead. His ugly checkered suit hurt her retinas, just as his smug confidence enraged her. She wanted to break it, but Ryder settled with giving the man a silent glare as she continued to dig her own grave with bound hands.

WHAT HAPPENED TO VAULT NUMBER 76? (FALLOUT 76)

In spite of being enamored by the surge of energy that intoxicated his senses, the Matthias did share his own agreement with his venn's grim words; something changed in this world. A defilement to its nature, though healing from wounds that occurred long since they both last visited, can still be felt in the present. The drunken haze of atomic residue which threatened to become absorbed in Talos' material body was all he needed to know that an unnatural shift took place.

He glanced to his fellow traveler, his closest venn, and noticed a spark in the crevices of his eyes; blazing rings that looped around their orbs with a fury he had not seen in the Arcane Urias since his only loss to a fellow venn a decamillennium ago. Talos could tell Urias held an unsatisfied opinion on this unexpected change, but his offense to it was interfering with the focus he needed kept on his disguise. Talos would have to interfere, less they be found out as inhuman.

Not that there would be any significant consequence a humanite could inflict upon them should they be found out. Fragility was merely a concept to the Matthias and the Arcane, unburdened by the weakness that haunted the "dominant" species of this world.

And lastly a meme for the four main characters of my Wings And Horns WIP. Now to explain, they aren't technically a found family/group (at least, not when the pairs are together), they just happen to run in to each other so many times. Metatron and Azriel are partnered up to work together to preserve the Soulmate System, with Azriel supposed to be nothing more than a cadet aiding the Archangel, while with Xiang and Jezebel, Xiang is a demon from the Sloth Ring of Hell, who had adopted Jezebel, whose a Sinner's Soul of a damned girl (for unjustified reasons no less). These two pairs are in fact rivals in their opposing missions to protect and break the Soulmate System respectively.

[Image Reference Credits: Art of Archangel Metatron that I found posted on Quora and Kagetane Hiruko from Black Bullet]

Here's a blank template below:

[eldritchamy]

What the shit. Fighting a god in hand to hand combat as a gold dragon using immovable rods goes so fucking hard and it’s the backstory for a character that’s just in the main backstory???????? AMY???

You know how a lot of people, when making DND characters, make the mistake of having their level 1 PC have an elaborate backstory where they're super badass and already recognized as a hero?

When I made Ash I did the opposite. Her backstory is elaborate, yes, but in very mundane ways that inform her personality and how she perceives the world around her, and build up the logic of how she makes decisions.

I made everyone AROUND my PC a super powerful character who had done incredible things, and I gave Ash anxiety about it.

She feels, constantly, that she is inadequate by comparison. Her entire frame of reference is shaped by a bunch of women in her life that are outstandingly powerful, and she's just a quiet girl who makes leather goods and sells them for a living. She thinks of herself as the NPC in other people's more impressive lives.

Her mother, Lailah, is a nearly seven foot tall divine warrior created in Elysium to destroy Pit Fiends. She's an angel of lightning built like an MMA fighter, and she wields a weapon like piece of a lightning bolt (not stylized, I mean a real, glowing crackling arc of electricity that she holds like a staff and can be used like anything from a polearm to a spear to a whip, and when thrown it acts like a Lightning Bolt spell). She is built, both narratively and in game stats, to be an unkillable holy destroyer, capable of fighting MULTIPLE PIT FIENDS simultaneously, and winning. She's a CR 10+ magical creature (she's a homebrewed mix of Deva and Erinyes stat blocks with some unique flavor) with eighteen class levels, 16 in Zealot Barbarian and 2 in Fighter. She has a strength of 27 and a constitution of 25. She's designed to deal HUGE amounts of damage, tank unfathomable amounts in turn, NOT DROP WHEN SHE HITS ZERO HITPOINTS, and keep swinging until every devil in her way is a pile of dust, then use bonus action Second Wind to bring herself back above 0 so she doesn't incur the auto-death caveat on Zealot Barbarian's Rage Beyond Death ability. One of her attuned items is also the very simple uncommon item "Periapt of Wound Closure" which automatically stabilizes you at the start of your turn, thereby resetting the death saving throws she would theoretically have to make each time she gets hit below 0. Also, as an angel, she's innately immune to auto-death effects like Power Word Kill, which closes almost all loopholes that get around her build. She is UNSPEAKABLY badass. I ran a simulated round of combat with her once, and she could potentially one-shot a CR 15 Skittering Horror (228 HP) in a single turn. Her theoretical maximum damage output is like, 456 damage in a turn (granted this assumes all crits and rolling max damage).

So that's Ash's mom.

Aria is interesting. She was always strongly attuned to the forces of nature, and her magic grew quickly. Where Ash grew up with someone she knew would always be there to protect her from anything, Aria did NOT have that safety net, and spent her formative years learning to be more self-sufficient in terms of relying on her own power. So eventually she got sucked into an adventuring party consisting of herself (a tiefling Witch subclass with very strong druid flavor), a tiefling zealot barbarian, and a couple of elf twins who were an Arcana cleric and a Celestial Warlock. Sometime after they had made a name for themselves, they were tasked with stopping a suspected fledgling vampire who had been kidnapping girls and killing a bunch of people. When they arrived, they met Cass, who was very much NOT a new vampire. She was almost 150 years old and had been protecting women from abusers and overzealous debt collectors, and things had gotten a little messy with one or two of them, leading to a lot more attention than she normally got. They start off fighting Cass (Aria polymorphs herself into a dire wolf and lunges directly for the throat, which Cass found amusing and impressive) but realize in the banter that Cass wasn't the real problem, and she ends up being a sort of a lesson for the group in terms of whose word they trust and who they take jobs from (YES THE BACKSTORY'S BACKSTORY HAS NARRATIVE ARCS AND MORAL LESSONS THAT LEAD TO LONG TERM CHARACTER GROWTH OKAY I CAN'T HELP MYSELF). Cass, having a particular rapport with Aria, ends up joining their party as a dhampir Soulknife Rogue/Shadow Monk.

Yes, that's all backstory that I made up for an imaginary campaign that exists entirely as a set piece for Aria as one of Ash's story NPCs. This doesn't even touch on the fact that I liked Cass so much as a character that I gave HER an entire backstory of her own. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM.

Anyway the team only makes a bigger name for themselves for handling things that other groups can't. Eventually, they just happen to be in the Tenth District when the War of the Spark happens (major established event in the MTG canon), and I basically added some extra "scenes" to it that didn't violate existing canon so I could have that be the climax of their imaginary campaign. One of Aria's partners was a new planeswalker at the time and her spark got harvested by the Dreadhorde, specifically by the god eternal Bontu.

Gods in Magic The Gathering aren't honestly that special? They don't seem to have THAT much power, all things considered. Ravnica's gods are mostly powerful magical animals, and in the most recent Magic Story one of their gods (Anzrag the Quake Mole) was captured in an "evidence capsule" (basically Magic's version of a Pokeball). The most powerful god in MTG is probably the Ur Dragon honestly, unless you count the Eldrazi, but that's a whole other conversation since neither of those actually have the "God" creature type.

Anyway, Bontu was one of the gods of Amonket (basically a plane based on ancient Egypt), which had been conquered by an Elder Dragon planeswalker named Nichol Bolas. HE was the one who actually killed all but one of Amonket's gods, and then another planeswalker named Liliana Vess (extremely powerful necromancer) raised them as zombies for his army, because Bolas had a ton of complicated leverage over her (magical contract that he could invoke to kill her if she betrayed him). So Bontu was a god zombie.

Here's a reference:

Well, Aria was a level 18 Witch at this point since this was the climax of their campaign, so she had access to the Shapechange spell, a 9th level transmutation that lets you become any creature with a challenge rating equal or lower than your character level. And the best candidate for that was an Adult Gold Dragon (CR 17). So Aria goes full berserk and stands up on her dragon hind legs and picks a fight with a dead god that she's determined to make deader, and has a Godzilla vs King Ghidorah standoff with her.

So how do you fight a god that can suck your soul out and instantly kill you with a single touch? You don't let it touch you.

What Aria did was basically inspired by this gif of a Wildebeest trying to charge at a lion:

Or this:

And to be clear, yes, I'm saying Aria was the lion in that situation. She basically did a big dragon threat display to get Bontu's attention, and used the Gold Dragon's weakening breath to give Bontu disadvantage on Strength checks and saves. Bontu charged at her, and at the last second Aria dropped to the ground and then shot back up, clamped her teeth around the god's throat, and used her weight to throw Bontu around and knock her off balance, and her superior strength to grab her by the wrists and wrestled her to the ground so she couldn't get a grip on Aria. She had every part of the god that could have killed her pinned, and used the claws of her wings to pull Bontu's armor apart and tear at everything she could reach while thrashing her around. It was Fen, the Arcana cleric, who thought to use Immovable rods to pin Bontu down so that even if Aria lost her grip, Bontu wouldn't be able to immediately one-shot any of them. So Athena (barbarian) and Cass (rogue/monk) as the two martial classes were the ones who got close enough to handle that while Fen and her sister (Gwen) used whatever holy magic they could to help from a distance.

Now CASS had a problem, because she's a DEX based martial class, not a strength based one. She needed a boost to be able to get this job done. So she drank some of Bontu's blood from one of the wounds Aria had left on her arm to give herself a burst of strength. Except. She had to get real close to do that. And Bontu managed to get a loose grip on her, and tried to suck out her soul.

The magic that makes Cass what she is is very old and very powerful. It binds her soul to her body in a much stronger way than any living creature, fusing the two together to prevent her from dying (i.e. by having her soul separated from her body; Cass can recover from almost any conceivable physical injury as long as there's life energy, in the form of blood, for the magic that keeps her alive to feed on and maintain the seal between her body and her soul). BECAUSE SHE WAS FEEDING ON THE BLOOD OF A GOD AT THE TIME, the magic holding her together basically fought against the magic that was trying to rip her soul out, and it had enough fuel to hold on until Aria's thrashing forced Bontu to let go. So Cass survived the Elderspell thanks to a very weird and unrepeatable set of circumstances (which allows something narratively impressive and legendary to happen without being gamebreakingly overpowered and violating the established rules of the world).

Because of how her magic draws energy from other things, though, there was a side effect: she also accidentally took in one of the planeswalker sparks that Bontu had harvested. So when Cass had healed enough for her soul to no longer be dislocated, her spark activated and she became a Planeswalker. (I imagine a soul is connected to a body mostly through the nervous system, because that's how a brain holds consciousness in it, so a "dislocated" soul is like something glued to every nerve ending in your body being pulled on with an enormous amount of force, trying to sever that connection; imagine trying to pull yourself off the ground when every nerve ending in your body is superglued to the floor by something akin to the Strong Nuclear Force. It SUCKED.)

The team ended up being forced to retreat because of Cass' injuries, so Aria didn't actually manage to kill Bontu personally (or die trying, which in her grief-rage she was fully open to). Right about this time, my bottle scene ends and Magic canon comes back into play: Liliana betrays Bolas and turns the Dreadhorde against him, and Bontu ends up being the one who bites him and rips out HIS spark. Due to the enormous rush of energy of consuming all of Bolas' stolen Planeswalker sparks (tl;dr he was trying to become a god), and with the added bit of lore that it was Aria's team that heavily injured Bontu just prior to this, Bontu exploded in the process.

This resulted in Ravnica playing a game of telephone in the chaotic aftermath of the War. Aria fought a god. She's still alive and that god is dead. Rumors spread and now Aria is misremembered as the one who killed Bontu. Half the plane thinks of her as the "god killer." All she wanted was to avenge her lover or die trying.

Neither outcome happened, and now she's credited with the very thing she sees as her greatest failure. And that trauma has haunted her ever since.

[lovehollyberry]

FE Oc Week: Day 2

Relationships

Part II

Aria

Leo

After losing her home to a fire, a young Aria was left alone. Unsure of what to do, she wandered Nohr for a period of time before finding herself at the capital. It was there in Windmire that she met Leo. Aria, who was immediately smitten with Leo, leaped out to protect him from an assassination attempt. Although young, she was formidable and took down the attacker swiftly. Seeing her skill, Leo decided to take her as his retainer.  During the concubine wars, Aria would stay by Leo’s side as often as possible to protect him. Her closeness with the Prince earned her quite a few enemies, and horrible rumors soon spread. Despite it all, Aria wouldn’t hesitate to do anything for him. Even if it meant withstanding harsh gossip, difficult training, and sleepless nights, she would endure it, because she loved him.

Niles

As Leo’s retainers, Aria and Niles spend quite a bit of time with one another, often being sent on missions together. Initially a work relationship, they began to bond over their devotion to Leo. During their conversations they would find out that they have more in common than they first thought. Over time, their relationship would evolve into a friendship. At night, the two of them can be found gazing up at the night sky. They like to sit in silence, enjoying the peace and one another’s company. Sometimes, Aria’s light humming can be heard. However, they often butt heads when it comes to Niles’s crude and sadistic behavior. Aria always reprimands him when he says profane things in her presence. Niles, on the other hand, finds it quite amusing how flustered he can make her by saying such salacious things to her.

Odin

When Odin first appeared, Aria did not trust him. His odd character and the way he spoke made her wary of him. Once Odin became another one of Leo’s retainers her suspicions began to quell. By spending more time with him, she was able to learn of the caring and sincere part of Odin beyond the theatrics. Initially hesitant, she grew to trust and respect him, seeing him as a friend and ally she can rely on. Although she still cannot understand everything he says.

Amélie

Mirae

Despite being Mirae’s retainer, Amélie and Mirae are like sisters. They’ve known each other since childhood and were practically raised together. No matter what happens they know they can count on one another, and would do anything for the other. They often can be found singing together, creating sweet melodies that fill the air. Mirae, due to her shyness, has difficulty approaching and conversing with people. Oftentimes she will panic and shut herself away. Worried for her friend, Amélie comforts her and helps her through her anxiety. Amélie does her best to support Mirae, giving her the courage to put herself out there and talk with others. Amélie, in her appearance of being sweet and calm, tends to hide her more negative feelings. Because of their close friendship, Mirae is one of the only people she feels comfortable expressing her full emotions to. Mirae is always willing to listen to her friend, and remind her that her feelings are valid.

Mirae

Alfred

Mirae was promised to Alfred at a young age. A decision made because of the young prince’s condition. It took a while for them to finally meet, having only exchanged letters to one another. When that day came, Mirae found herself flooded deep with worry. What if the prince was mean and cold? What if he was a philanderer? Secretive? Cruel? The thoughts kept invading her mind. Worse, she would have to rule alongside him. Mirae had enough trouble asking someone to pass the salt, she had know idea how she would command a kingdom. Luckily, her fears were put to rest when she saw him. He was charming, if not a little dopey. Alfred ran toward her, handing her a large bouquet of flowers. It was so large in fact, she couldn't hold the entire thing. Her grasp on it slipped and she ended up covered in flowers. Mirae immediately grew embarrassed over her own clumsiness. She began to apologize profusely for ruining the bouquet he had gifted her. Tears swelling up in her eyes, she bowed her head in shame. Alfred, of course, wasn’t angry. Instead he grabbed one of the flowers, and brushing the hair that had fallen in her face aside, placed the flower in her hair.  “It’s alright,” He had said to her reassuringly. “I think you look rather pretty with the flowers in your hair, like a fairy princess!” Mirae stared at him before tears started rolling down her face. Alfred panicked, “Did I say something wrong?” he asked, concerned. She shook her head, smiling at him.  She started, unsure how to express how she felt. “No, um, I…” Mirae felt fortunate to be marrying someone as kind hearted as him. Steading her breath she tried again, “Thank you.”

Celine

As soon to be sister-in-laws, Mirae and Celine have gotten to know each other well. They enjoy spending time together chatting over some tea and cookies. Topics of their conversations range from the current happenings of Firene to exotic flowers of other regions. They both share in worry for Alfred’s health and concerns for the future. But, together vow to work towards a brighter, peaceful future for Elyos.

Amélie

see Mirae under Amélie

[lazulisocinfodump]

My OCs Undertale Soul Traits :D

Arlee Secco - Strongest trait: Red (Determination) - Weakest trait: Cyan (Patience)

Aria Secco - Strongest trait: Green (kindness) - Weakest trait: Yellow (Justice)

Clione Haster - Strongest Trait: Integrity (Dark Blue) - Weakest trait: Red (Determination)

Rona Faramund - Strongest trait: Orange (Bravery) [with Yellow/Justice a close second] - Weakest trait: Cyan (Patience)

[itsastridsart]

Otp 31

Threads

The red thread of fate is a Japanese romantic legend. It's similar to the idea of a soulmate, and states that people destined to meet each other are connected by an invisible red thread tied to their pinky fingers. The thread can become tangled, stretched, or contracted, but it can never break.

But for Aria and nightmare they are bonded by black threads which means, the ones enemies who are alive

Enemies but in love is what it says, since Aria is the guardian of light, able to cast white light and nightmare being her opposite.

Yet they hated each other when they met, then became friends and now are in love

[exitpursuedbyavulcan]

The Silver Dragon (21)

The Library

Daemon confronts his daughter.

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x OC (Daemon and Rhea's daughter)

Warnings: Violence

Series Masterlist - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Arianwyn hardly made it out of Maegor’s Holdfast before her legs failed her, and she collapsed against a wall, frozen in her fear. She hung her head between her knees as she dragged a hand through her hair, not caring when she thoroughly dismantled the braided bun Baela had created no more than an hour earlier.

How had everything gone so wrong?

Only minutes ago, she had been sitting with Aemond, her hand on his thigh and his eye on her lips, feeling as though nothing else mattered.

Now, she was sure it would be the last time she saw him smile for a long while, if not forever. Daemon would not forgive his words nor how he had easily dispatched Jace, and certainly not his open display of affection towards her. Her father would do everything in his power to keep them apart. Even when she was of age, he would fight against her happiness with everything he had.

“Aria!” Aemond’s voice echoing through the hall stopped her from spiraling further into paranoia and despair. She stood to grab onto him as he crashed into her, holding her tight to his chest as though he would never let her go.

His voice strained with desperation as he whispered into her hair. “Aria, I am so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just got so angry, and I should have known better. I should have…”

Arianwyn shook her head into his chest, failing to stop his blustering as he pressed kiss after kiss onto her hair.

“I won’t let him hurt you, I promise. I’ll stand guard outside your bedchamber myself. I’ll – ”

“Aemond, please, I have to tell you something.”

“Anything, Aria.”

“I…” she held back her tears just long enough to bite out, “I’m leaving. Tonight.”

Silence.

It had not felt real until it left her lips, she realized. The child still in her that had once loved reading fairy tales with Aemond was hoping for some kind of miracle, something to give her a happy ending and take away all her fears. Even as she packed her bag with Brynna and practiced opening the hidden door again and again until she knew exactly where to press the keystone, it felt like a faraway dream.

It had not been real until Aemond knew.

He stared at the wall, blinking furiously. “You said you wouldn’t leave me again.”

She pulled away, gazing up at him with eyes full of determination and regret. “I don’t want to, Aemond. Please believe me. But I must.”

“Daemon is forcing you back to Dragonstone? When did he – ”

“It is not that, Aemond.” She shook her head, unable to find the words to explain.

“Then why?” It sounded almost like an accusation.

“Because Daemon will never allow me to stay here, and I would rather die than return to Dragonstone.”

Aemond went unnaturally still, his eye focused and intense like a gathering storm. He raised a hand to Arianwyn’s cheek, his hold at once firm and gentle. “Aria… where are you going?”

“There are tunnels throughout the castle,” she explained. “Rhaenys showed me. Brynna and I will use them tonight, as will Ser Warren. We’ll go to Runestone, and I will hide until I am of age and Daemon holds no more power over me.”

Aemond scoffed, though his eye shone with angry tears. “A stupid plan. Runestone is the first place he’ll look for you. He will have you within a month, if not sooner.”

“Then I will hide someplace else!” Arianwyn hissed, not wanting to raise her voice for fear of being discovered with his arms around her, holding her like a lover. “But I cannot stay here, and I cannot return to Dragonstone. If he can’t whore me out to some brutish old lord before he tires of my presence, he will kill me, Aemond! Especially after…”

She did not need to finish her thought. Aemond averted his gaze, his blind side facing her, and she knew he understood he had all but sealed her fate with his words at dinner.

“Let me come with you,” he begged. “Ser Warren can’t protect you alone, but I can help him. I can help you stay safe.”

Arianwyn smiled sadly. It would be like one of the stories they read together, the prince and his lady running away together, but that was not the story that would be told. “I wish you could,” she said, fighting back tears. “I really do. But he would only say that you stole me away and paint you as the villain. I will not allow that.”

She placed her hand atop his, leaning forward until their foreheads touched and the tips of their noses bumped together. “I will come back. I swear it. And when I do...”

Her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned forward to kiss him at last. But in the heartbeat before their lips touched, Aemond sharply pulled back. When Arianwyn opened her eyes, she found him looking not at her but at the man prowling down the hall.

Daemon. With a scowl on his face and death in his eyes.

Not her death, she knew, but Aemond’s. His death would cause her more pain than her own, and Daemon would know it. She couldn’t let that happen – would not.

Arianwyn’s heart pounded hard and slow, the urge to defend and protect rising within her as it had in that tunnel on Driftmark so long ago. Bunching Aemond’s jacket in her hands, she pushed him away from her. “Run!”

Aemond ignored Aria’s order to run, instead taking up a defensive stance before her. The gods themselves could not stop him from protecting what was his.

Even as Daemon came ever closer, Aria pulled at his arms, growling, “If you don’t run this instant, I shall hate you for the rest of my life.”

His nostrils flared. How could she say such a thing? How could she hate him for doing what was right? How could she hate him if she were dead?

Some small part of his rational mind broke through his primal rage, and he remembered why he had resisted killing Daemon only moments ago. He needed a witness. Someone to testify that the killing was justified. That he was not a villain who slew his kin without righteous cause.

Aria alone would not suffice – her tumultuous relationship with her father too well known. Perhaps if it was his mother or grandsire on the throne, he could expect leniency in his punishment. For even then, he would be punished. He had to be. Too many already thought him the villain for his family to wholly prevent it.

But he could no longer feel sure that it would be his mother or grandsire on the throne, not when the king had risen to come to the defense of his whore daughter. Surely he would do the same for his rouge brother.

No, Aemond could not do this alone.

Fortunately, there were other men in the Red Keep with unimpeachable honor and a loyalty to Aria that nearly matched his own. With a last helpless glance at his love, Aemond kissed her temple before bolting down the hall to fetch them.

Watching Aemond flee felt like watching one of her limbs be severed from her body, but Arianwyn steeled herself as she faced her father. Surely, he would not kill her now, not when Aemond had witnessed him approaching his daughter with such rage and his wife had only just pledged them to peace in their family.

She realized the pledge meant nothing to Daemon when he wrapped his hand around her throat and thrust her head back into the hard stone wall so hard her ears rung, and his nails sank into her skin deep enough that a single droplet of crimson blood slid down her neck.

Rather than fear for her life or pray to the gods to save her, all Arianwyn could do was wonder whether the blood would stain her beautiful gown.

“Are you not capable of keeping your godsdamned legs closed for that one-eyed fool for a single hour, you hateful little slut?” Daemon hissed. The sour smell of wine lingered on his breath. He tightened his grip on her neck until she had nowhere to look but into his wrathful eyes.

Still, Arianwyn felt no fear.

She had lived for so long consumed by fear for what her father may do to her. Throughout her childhood, she dreaded his continued indifference toward her. Then she shrank from his anger, his keen hatred. The way that, with a single word, he could destroy her happiness. And now that he was poised to kill her, she felt nothing.

Strange.

With a surge of confidence, she smiled at Daemon, a dark laugh escaping her lips. “A trait I seem to have inherited from you, dear father.”

“Hold your tongue, or you may lose it,” he snarled, pushing her further into the wall. But the chill in the rough stone only invigorated her – it matched the ice in her veins.

“Like Vaemond Velaryon lost his?” she taunted, all too aware that with each word, she was baiting a dangerous beast. “If you can’t manage to hit your mark with Valyrian steel, how do you expect to hurt me when you are unarmed?”

The muscles in her neck strained painfully as Daemon growled, raising his arm to push her higher and higher against the wall until she had to rise to her toes to escape the pressure. With every excruciating moment, she was amazed that her head did not simply fall from her shoulders.

“Your bitch mother displayed a similar wit,” he jeered, cocking his head as a dark haze crossed his eyes. He was silent for a moment before a vile sneer crossed his lips. “It did not last long.”

At that, something in Arianwyn’s heart snapped, like a sudden crack tearing through a great glacier, and something far more dangerous than even a dragon slipped through – her endless, ageless rage. The same rage that ran in Daemon’s veins finally awoke inside her and spilled into her own.

“Which mother would that be?” she asked with a voice as sickeningly sweet as candied lemons. “The one you killed, the one you neglected, or the one you are now using for her throne?”

Then, without thought but with a speed that surprised even her, she reached into her skirts and pulled out Brynna’s embroidery shears. Clamping the blades together in her fist, she plunged the tip into Daemon’s hand – into the soft, vulnerable flesh between his forefinger and thumb. She struck with such force that the shears pierced all the way through, stopping only when she felt the steel bite against her own skin.

Daemon roared in pain, jumping back and releasing his hold on Arianwyn.

Her slippers had barely hit the floor before she was running as fast as her trembling legs would take her through the dark halls of the castle.

There were twelve other men in the Red Keep with unimpeachable honor and unwavering loyalty to Aria, and Aemond vowed to fall at Ser Westerling’s feet to thank him for assigning them quarters near the Holdfast.

The Bronze Guard, they called themselves, to reflect the color of the house they served and the armor they wore. Twelve Valemen hand-selected by the Regent of Runestone to protect his cousin and lady while she was raised away from her homeland.

Half the company had been with Aria since she left the Vale, and were as much family to her and Aemond was. Even those who joined while she was in King’s Landing or on Dragonstone were fiercely loyal to her. That much was clear when Aemond burst into the common room of their chambers and every man jolted to attention, their eyes on him.

It was their captain, Ser Warren Crayne, who stepped forward. He was planning to escape the keep with Aria that night, which likely explained why he was uncharacteristically not armored. His black eyes scanned Aemond’s face, then flitted to the empty hall behind him, and his already harsh face hardened. “Where is she?”

All Aemond had to say was, “Daemon,” and every man lept to his feet.

Those that were armored drew their swords as they fell into formation behind Aemond and Ser Warren, who had taken his own blade from where it sat atop a canvas rucksack - his provisions for his planned flight. Those that were only in their gambesons, or even their nightclothes, took up whatever was closest, be it a sword, a dagger, or in the case of one knight Aemond hadn’t yet met, a fire poker.

Thus, thirteen men began marching through the halls of the Red Keep, all with one, singular purpose: to save Aria.

She did not know where she was going, for h, soeeled with shock at what she had done, and tears stung her blurring eyes. She was running on pure instinct, though her mind screamed at her from far away to somehow make it back to her rooms, to where Brynna and Ser Warren were waiting for her.

Then, she tripped.

She went tumbling to the floor. Her left slipper came off as she skidded to a halt, her now-scuffed hands breaking her fall.

From the distance, she could hear footsteps coming toward her.

At that moment, she recalled a fairy tale she and Aemond had once read. A wayward shoe had led a Valyrian Prince to his lost Princess.

But Arianwyn was not in a fairy tale.

No, this was a monster story.

She would not allow something as absurd as a lost shoe to lead her vengeful father to her. Instead, she tore her other slipper off her foot and grabbed the other from the floor as she began to run again. Once she came to an intersection of corridors, she threw the shoes down one hall and turned to run in the opposite direction.

Her lungs burned as she ran further and further, past the limits of her aching muscles. She did not stop until the sound of footsteps had faded, and she reached two large oaken doors.

The library doors.

How had she gotten here? She was supposed to go to her rooms, not here. She knew she should turn back and return to her rooms, her packed bag, and the tunnel that led to her freedom.

Still, she found her hand drifting over the great brass doorknobs. The library was as much her home as anywhere else in the world. It was a place of safety, though it could not protect her forever. But perhaps it could shelter her for a little while, just long enough for Daemon to abandon his search for her.

Aria hadn’t been in the hall where Aemond last saw her. Neither had Daemon. But there were dark drops of blood on the ground where she had stood.

Whoever’s blood it was, it left no trail to follow. Instead, Aemond and the Bronze Guard fanned out to search every possible route from that hall to Aria’s rooms. It had been Ser Rody Tollett who found her discarded slippers. But it was Aemond who realized they were a ruse.

The slippers were too far apart from each other to have fallen from her feet, they had been thrown. The answer to why came from Ser Christor Hardyng, who had been with Aemond and Aria when they first read the old story of the Valyrian princess who lost her shoes.So, they followed the opposite hall, fanning out again until Aemond came to a pair of great oaken doors, still slightly ajar.

When he slipped inside, the library was eerily quiet.

She had to be here.

For Aemond and Aria, this had beena place of ultimate comfort. The place they had spent countless nights together, eagerly devouring knowledge by the same dim candlelight. This was the place they had always been able to cheer each other, even on their darkest days. This library was sacred to them. More than any other place, this was their home.

With a quick gesture with the hand still holding her slippers, Aemond signaled for Ser Warren and two of the knights he hadn’t met to fan out and search for her among the stacks. Though if she were here, he knew precisely where she would be. Holding his sword at the ready, Aemond carefully and quietly made his way through the sprawling rows of shelves.

Past the oldest and most prestigious tomes chained in place near the doors to impress foreign visitors. Past the religious texts his mother had ordered moved to the forefront only a few years ago. Past the most flattering histories of each noble house, hand-selected by their loyal Maesters over the years.

They had explored the entire library, yes. But there was one place that was theirs.

There she was.

Beneath the shelves of their precious alcove, the walls lined with the surviving histories and legends of Old Valyria, Aria sat under their table, crying softly as she read the large book in her lap.

Silently, Aemond sheathed his sword and approached, setting her slippers atop the table before crouching to face her. His heart wrenched in agony when he beheld the two trails of freshly dried blood running down her neck and the already bruising skin beneath her jaw.

“Aria?” he called gently.

Her silver eyes snapped to him in fear, but they softened when she saw him. She smiled at him, even as her tears continued to fall.

He stared at her wounds. Daemon had hurt her. “What happened?”

Following his gaze, she brought her hand to her neck as if she had forgotten the blood that lay there. “Oh,” she whispered, her voice raw. “I stabbed him.”

“You what?” Aemond asked in disbelief. He could hardly imagine her hurting anyone, let alone stabbing them. Though he supposed if she was going to stab someone, it would be Daemon.

Wiping the half-dried blood from her hand onto her dress, she stared distantly across the library hall. “He was choking me. And he insulted my mother. So, I stabbed him.”

Aemond could not help the pride that rose in his chest nor the breathless laugh that escaped his lips. “With what?”

Aria’s face lit with mischief, but her lips wobbled. “Brynna’s embroidery shears.”

“Is Daemon alive?” he asked, afraid of what her answer might be.

She nodded, sadness again taking over her features. “It was only his hand.” She shook her head and patted the ground next to her. “Come join me.”

“I’m afraid I’m too tall now. Will you come out?”

She frowned slightly and shrank away from him, clutching the book to her chest. Tears came again to her eyes. She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. But it was too late, the dam had broken.

“He will kill me, Aemond,” she whispered through her tears. “After what I did, he won’t care what the court may think. He won’t even care about losing me as a bargaining chip. He just wants me dead.” A sob escaped her, and she clapped her hands over her ears and began shaking her head back and forth, faster and faster. It was how she banished nightmares when they were children.

Discarding his sword, Aemond fell to his knees and crawled under the table, his spine hitting it’s underside painfully with every movement. But it didn’t matter, he just needed to get to Aria. She was crying, shaking, breaking, and he needed to hold her together.

He took her in his arms when he reached her and she curled into a ball against his chest. If he could only hold her tight enough, maybe he could keep her from shattering. For if she broke…

“He’s going to kill me,” she said against his shoulder. “He’s going to kill me. He’s going to kill me.”

She repeated those awful words again and again, as if they were the only ones she knew. No amount of his sushing quieted her. His gentle swaying did not stop her desperate, gasping breaths. Not even his fingers threading through her hair calmed her.

He had to do something, he -

An idea floated through Aemond’s mind. He was about to dismiss it as simply the fanciful notion of the lovesick boy he had once been. But when he truly considered it, he realized it could be the answer to all Aria’s woes.

“No. He won’t.” He grinned openly. “Daemon only holds such power over you because you are his daughter, and you are not yet of age.”

She turned her eyes down as he spoke, but he cupped her chin and raised her eyes to his. He knew it wasn’t fair, but she needed to hear the truth.

“You are a woman. Until you, at last, become the Lady of Runestone, you are powerless.”

Arianwyn scowled. “Yes, I know, Aemond. But – “

“Marry me.”

[yeonkiebaybee]

Place In Me | Chapter 1

Pairing: Yoongi x OC

Summary: After much convincing, Aria’s friends finally convince her to go to the club they’ve been trying to drag her to for who knows how long at this point, resulting in her meeting someone who changes her life in many unexpected ways.

WC: 3,215

Tags/Warnings: Drinking/alcohol mentions, sexual stories/mentions, gun mention, it is mentioned that Aria is a Dancer If Ya Catch My Drift, swearing, mention of cheating

Authors note: hi!!! long time lurker, first fic!!! pls let me know if i missed anything in the tags!! post divider from @cafekitsune !!! hope you enjoy!! lmk if i need more warnings or anything!!!

Deep down, I knew going to the club my friend's had been begging me to go to was a terrible idea. I just never knew why.

    The cream colored camisole dress I was wearing made me feel good, yeah, but also so.. vulnerable. All my friends agreed it was my best dress and went 'beautifully' with my red hair, I just... felt funny. "It's just pre-clubbing nerves, babe," Aera shrugs. "I felt like that too my first time. But you'll love it there, I promise." She shares a glance with me through the mirror I was scrutinizing myself with and gave my shoulder a squeeze before heading over to the door to get her heels on.

    "Definitely wear sneakers or some shit, no one will care. Heels on your first night is hell." She calls from the doorway. "Got it," I chuckle, walking over to meet her in my entryway. I slip on my comfiest flats and make sure everything needed is in my little purse, giving Aera a thumbs up before she texts our other friends we were waiting on to come get us.

    "Oh, shit, Jackson and Nari already here," She laughs. She grabs a hold of my hand and we exit my apartment, me triple checking I lock the door behind me before following Aera down the stairs, anxiety seeping through to my fingertips. Aera holds the door open, letting me slide in first to the window behind Jackson. Aera gets in and sits in the middle, our thighs touching, even though we're not picking up anyone else. She squeezes my thigh before greeting everyone. I give them a small, "Hey," and Jackson starts driving. I don't pay too much attention to the conversation but I pick up on their excitement for this club, as it's apparently the best with the hottest people and the best security and the best drinks, and I can feel their enthusiasm pouring into me, perking me up.

    I join the conversation at some point, asking about some stories. Aera apparently had the 'absolute best dick of her life' and has since been trying to find him again since she forgot to ask for his name. Jackson met a really pretty guy named Jimin who he's been head over heels for since, and he's there every time Jackson decides to go, so he's convinced it's fate. Nari met a few guys, one she actually slept with which was a surprise, but she's hung up on this one girl she met last week who said she was going to be here tonight, which is like, half the reason we're all going anyway. The other reason is they're all convinced a good dick appointment will fix me, and if not that, at least a careless night of drinking and dancing could wash away a little of the despair I've been feeling after my breakup.

    "Maybe I'll find someone who won't cheat on me" I chuckle, pause, then shake my head. "Nah, that's asking too much from a guy at a club," I joke, everyone laughing with me. "Damn straight," Jackson agrees. "I may be simping for Jimin over here, but I know better than to expect anything real from him," He says lightheartedly. Behind his facade though, I can tell he's still a little hurt and I feel for him. I send him a knowing smile through the rear view and Aera and Nari take over the conversation.

    We're parking down the street in mere minutes and I feel my nerves start gearing up but I push them down this time, determined to have a good night. I follow my little group to the line and internally groan at the line ahead of us. "You guys really wait here forever for some drinks and hot people?" I ask. Jackson chuckles. "No, sweetheart, trust me. Give it a few minutes." I sigh and nod, Nari picking up conversation with me about school to pass the time while Jackson and Aera talk about their hunt for their men.

    And, as Jackson predicted, I hear an unfamiliar voice calling out for Jackson. I look over and see a handsome, slim guy with silver hair. He approaches and they give each other the up-down before sharing a short kiss. Jimin's eyes immediately land on me. "Oh, is this the sweet girl you were telling me about last time?" He looks at Jackson, he nods.

    "Figured she could come along this time. Cool with you?" My friend asks. Jimin nods and smiles at my friend, at our group, then directly at me. "Come with me," The silver haired siren beckons us and we all follow like loyal subjects. I can see why Jackson likes him. He definitely puts people in a trance, I could feel the pull. We walk up to the bouncer and without any question, we're let in. My eyes widen slightly but I'm distracted by the surprise, shock replacing it.

    The club is.. really fucking cool. Red and blue lights, some pinks ones here and there where I assume are the VIP areas, noticing the velvet ropes brightened by the pink. "Jimin's a VIP," Aera whispers to me, wiggling her eyebrows when I look up at her. "God damn, J knows how to pick 'em," I whisper back, earning a laugh. "Fuck yeah he does!" She grabs my hand and we go to grab drinks when Jimin stops us and tells us he can handle it. The girls and I raise our eyebrows at each other when his back is turned and we continue to follow him to one of the bigger VIP sections. Another security guard holds open the rope once he sees Jimin approaching and it makes me wonder what he does and just how often he's here.

    I'm startled from my thoughts by Aera's sharp gasp and a hard jab to my side. "Oh, what?!" I whisper harshly. She smirks at me. "He's here," She whispers back, nodding in the direction she's looking, gesturing for me to look without being too obvious and I do, and I can see what she meant by every description she gave us of him. His hair is slicked back and he's... in a suit? Weird, but okay. I take him in, feeling something flutter in my chest. When I look at his scar, I find him looking back at Aera— or.. me? I can't tell. It feels and looks like direct eye contact but there's no way I'm the one the really hot guy is smirking at. And I'm proven right when Aera struts up to him and his eyes leave mine to drink her in, blatantly checking her out and automatically slinking an arm around her waist. The little fire in me dies and I settle next to Nari, who's sitting next to one of the men but is searching for her girl while he's very clearly talking to her and very clearly interested in her. I chuckle to myself.

    "What was your name again, sweet girl?" Jimin calls out to me from across the lounge, grabbing everyone's attention. I feel my face turn red. "Aria!" I yell back, hoping he heard me over the music. He smiles and nods. "Nice to meet you, Aria!"

    And then a deep, unexpected voice speaks up. "Your name's really similar to Aera's." I look over and spot her playing with his hair while sitting on his lap, his arm around her waist but not paying her any mind. "Is that why you two are friends?" He asks, face neutral. I nod. "Yeah, actually. We sat next to each other on our first day of sophomore year, laughed at our names, and have been inseparable since," I chuckle, recalling the memory. He nods, keeping his gaze on me, practically neglecting my friend. I feel a burn of anger in my chest at him for treating her like that, but maybe that's just him, I conclude, since she does not seem to have a care in the world of what's going on around her.

    "Aria! What's your poison?" Jimin asks after pulling away from my friends' neck. "Just some Soju is fine," I shrug. He nods before getting up to ask a guy to get us drinks before sitting back down next to J, their attention solely on each other. The drinks arrive shortly and I call out a 'Thanks,' to Jimin that he waves off. As I sip on my drink, the other five men in the lounge catch my eye and I glance over each of them. They're all drinking and talking, definitely older than us, and they seem so.. serious. Like they're here for business. But I get no time to dwell on it when Nari and Aera pull me up and into the empty space between the lounge and the ropes for our favorite song. I'm not much of a dancer aside from my line of work but I let the alcohol I'd been sipping on win, letting myself be carefree. "If you girls want to take it to the dance floor, we'll let you back in when you're done," One of the men who's names I don't know tells us. I look to Jimin and he nods. "Go have fun!" He calls out.

    "You're the best, Jimin!" Aera smiles. "See you soon, Yoongi!"

    So that's his name, I think to myself. We get a couple waves goodbye while I get dragged onto the dance floor but we stay near the edge, no doubt that Aera wants to give Yoongi a show. I lose myself in my friends, in the music, in the alcohol, in the feeling of being finally single. I cheer with my friends when the next song happens to also be our favorite. In the middle of the song, Aera pulls me from behind to press against her front, our bodies moving to the music against each other.

    "You should show off some moves from work, you're getting a lot of stares, and those guys are hot!" Aera yells into my ear. Nari hears and nods, grinning mischievously at me. I giggle, Aera taking my hand and twirling me before wrapping her arms around my waist, making sure I'm facing the lounge while we keep dancing. "See for yourself, babygirl!"

    And there are definitely stares. A little too many of them. But the only one that catches my eye is Yoongi, and this time, I can tell it's me because when my face falls, I see the twitch of his lips curling into the most subtle smirk, the first real facial expression he's had since we came into the lounge. I almost freeze in place but Nari gets between us and grinds on me and I'm distracted again, laughing and joining in on her antics. I twirl Nari around and take her hand, pulling off a few moves from work that I showed her to try for her next shift at our club. She gets the hint and joins me and Aera cheers, making us laugh.

    We dance for a couple more songs before Aera decides she feels needy and we head back to the lounge but before we enter, Aera pulls me aside and signals for Nari to follow. "You know, Yoongi's been staring at you a lot tonight," She starts and my face falls. She laughs. "I'm not mad, babe. Honestly, I'm excited. Yeah, I've been looking for him, but you deserve a Yoongi experience. Why don't you go for it?" She smiles at me. Nari does as well. "Dude, Aria, if Aera is letting you take the best guy she's ever had, you need to fucking take that. Okay?"

    I chuckle nervously. "I don't know.. I really don't think he—"

    Aera cuts me off. "Yes, he would. You know what, I got you. Don't worry about it." She pats my head and Nari giggles excitedly. I sigh playfully and follow them back into the lounge but before I can take my previous seat, Aera takes my hand and we walk over to Yoongi. He raises an eyebrow at us.

    "Hey, Yoongi, I have to go to the bathroom, can you watch over this one? I promise she only bites when you ask," She smiles and I smack her arm playfully. "Aera!" I scold. Yoongi laughs.

    "Sure thing. Come here, sweetheart," He beckons and my heart skips. Aera giggles and waves us bye. I stay standing, looking out at Aera's back as she's leaving, not knowing what to do. Until he grabs my hand and pulls me down into his lap. I stumble a bit so I fix myself, straddling him. My eyes widen and I finally get an actual movement from his face as he smiles at me. "Hi, pretty girl. You having fun?"

    The pet name leaves me dumbfounded and I have the will myself not to let my jaw drop and I hope to whatever god is out there that he can't hear how hard my heart is beating. Unable to speak, I nod. It earns another low chuckle from him. "Good, good. Quite a show you put on over there. You dance?" I nod. "In the way I'm thinking or in a studio?"

    I swallow. "Both," I finally speak up.

    "Ahh, she speaks! There you are." He teases, leaning back, his hands moving from my own to my knees, resting them there. My heart rate spikes at the feeling, the warmth of his hands making me shiver. He notices and rubs circles with his thumbs onto my knees. "You nervous, sweetheart?" He asks. I chew nervously on my bottom lip, shaking my head 'no' despite the swell of anxious excitement coursing through me. "Good."

    We're interrupted by Aera's hands on my shoulders. "I need to take Nari home, she is gone," She laughs. "You good here?" And I look at her worried, both for Nari and myself. She smiles before turning to Yoongi. "You good to take her home, Yoongi?" He nods and smiles at her, then at me. I feel a chill run up my spine. Aera pats my shoulder, whispering in my ear, "You'll text me?" She stands back up when I nod and I get off of Yoongi, sitting next to him to watch them go, noting that Jimin and Jackson and a majority of the guys were gone, save for two others who seemed to be preoccupied with a serious topic. I feel Yoongi grab my legs and pull them onto his lap which makes me look at him again.

    "What else do you do?" He asks softly, the noise more muffled being at the very back. I shrug. "I go to school for writing, dance to pay off school. This is uh.. my first time out in a very long time." I look at his hands as I'm speaking, how they're resting on my shins, thumbs rubbing circles into my calves. He must really like doing that. Maybe it's his way of fidgeting. "Glad I let Jimin convince me to come tonight, then." He runs a hand through his hair, looking out at the club before looking back at me. "Wanna see something cool, pretty girl?"

    I feel my face grow red again and I nod, moving my legs off of him. He pats my knee before standing up holding his hand out for me and I take it, his hand keeping his grip on mine as he leads me through the back of the club. We stop at an elevator hidden behind an 'EMPLOYEE ONLY' door, and I wonder to myself how he knows about and has access to this. Once in the elevator, he presses the button to the top floor and leans against the wall, using our intertwined hands to pull me close and lays his free hand on my waist. "How come you haven't been out in so long?" He asks gently, his voice smooth. Hearing it without any extra noise does something to me.

    "I had a boyfriend." I state plainly.

    "But not anymore?"

    I shake my head, 'no'.

    "Why not?" He raises an eyebrow.

    "He.. cheated." I look away from him, unsure of why I told him and feeling a little embarrassed.

    "What a fucking loser," He scoffs. "You're a fucking knockout. He just couldn't control himself, love. I can tell just by fucking looking at you that it had nothing to do with you."

    My face grows red once more at his words and I look at him again. "I— thank you."

    He waves me off. "No need to thank me, sweetheart. It's just the truth."

    The doors open and he leads me down the empty, dim hallway to a door at the end and he opens it to reveal the roof. "Holy shit," I blurt out, the sudden gush of air waking me up a little. "How the hell do you have access to this?" I laugh, now leading the way to the edge, letting go of his hand. I lean over the concrete railing, looking down at the city below. "This is insane!!" I yell.

    I don't feel or hear him so I turn around only to find him incredibly close, approaching me. He spins me back around to face the city before wrapping his arms around my waist, his chin on my shoulder. "I have my ways," He mumbles. We stay silent for a while, enjoying the night. When the wind picks up I shiver and he straightens up.

    "I know a place where you can stay nice and warm, if you'd like," He whispers into my ear, hands rubbing my arms. He starts leaving slow, gentle kisses under my ear and I shiver again, unsure if it's because of him, the cold, or both. I feel my anxiety getting the best of me and I lean away from his touch.

    "I— I'm sorry.. I think I should go home, actually.." I sigh, looking at him to try to gauge his reaction. His face is unmoving. He nods. "That's okay, sweetheart. Want me to call you a cab?"

    My eyes widen a little. "Oh, that's incredibly sweet, but I'll be fine—"

    He shakes his head, waving me off again. "Nonsense, least I can do. Come on," He grabs my hand again, grip a little rough this time and leads me back down, not really looking at or touching me this time. My heart sinks. Was saying no a bad idea? His hand stays in mind as he leads me to the front door. "Vehicles a black Toyota highlander, drivers name is Wonsik. You'll be okay?" I nod and kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Yoongi. See you around?"

    He just smirks, holding the door open for me to leave. I wave bye and spot the car he mentioned immediately. I walk up to the passenger door and knock gently. The driver rolls it down. "Aria?" He asks. I nod. "Wonsik?" He nods. I smile and get in the back, telling him my address which is about twenty minutes from here.

    But when the turn for my street comes up, we keep going forward and I instantly feel sick. And then I hear the locks. And then I feel the gun pressed to the side of my head.

[shiorihyugawrites]

Tides of Fate

In a world where powerful creatures known as sirens come to the shores of Paradis, the scouts are thrust into an unexpected alliance—one that is sealed through an ancient and seductive bonding ritual. Each siren has chosen a mate, and through their connection, the scouts are granted extraordinary powers.

As the bonds grow Mikasa’s jealousy threatens to unravel her. But the real danger lies not just in broken hearts, but in the lurking threat of Marley and those who seek to capture the sirens for their gain.

Power, desire, and duty collide, forcing the Scouts to navigate new emotions and alliances in ways they never imagined. Through danger, love, and sacrifice, the tides of fate will decide if their world will rise or fall. (Eren, Levi, Floch, Jean, Armin, Connie, Bertholdt, Reiner x OCs

Chapter 48: The Price of Freedom, the Promise of Peace

The silence in the aftermath of battle weighed heavily as the scouts regrouped, exchanging weary nods and silent glances. Their mission had shifted. The next phase—the reason they had fought so fiercely—was to free the captured sirens, Marley’s prisoners forced into unnatural bonds for their soldiers’ gain. Their path took them deep into Liberio’s military district, to the hidden underground facilities that intelligence reports had indicated were holding sites. Each of the scouts moved with grim determination, led by Levi, whose resolve was as solid as ever despite his visible injuries.

Levi’s voice was low but authoritative as he addressed the scouts and sirens accompanying him. “Keep your eyes open and stay alert. These facilities are heavily guarded. We don’t know what kind of conditions we’ll find them in.”

Eren, still catching his breath from the recent battle, exchanged a solemn look with Luna, who stayed close by his side. She gave a slight nod, her gaze determined. Even with her injuries, she knew she had to be there when they rescued the sirens. “We’re ready,” she said, and he could feel the strength behind her words. He knew that freeing these sirens mattered deeply to her and the other sirens who had fought alongside them.

The scouts moved down a series of narrow corridors, each turn taking them deeper underground. The air was damp and heavy, and the further they went, the more unsettling the atmosphere became. The once-sterile walls were now streaked with grime, and the harsh smell of antiseptics mingled with the faint, metallic tang of blood. This was no place for any creature, let alone sirens stripped of their freedom.

Finally, they reached a reinforced steel door, guarded by a handful of Marleyan soldiers. The guards’ eyes widened at the sight of the scouts and their siren allies, clearly unprepared for a full assault this deep in their facility. Before the soldiers could sound any alarms, Levi signaled for his team to advance. With swift, deadly precision, the scouts incapacitated the guards, their movements seamless from years of combat training together.

Aria stepped forward, her eyes fierce as she examined the thick door before them. “This must be it,” she murmured. The sirens’ collective presence felt like a beacon, a promise of safety that reached beyond the door.

Hange approached the control panel beside the door, her brow furrowing as she tried to override the lock. “Let’s see… should be straightforward, but they’ve definitely got this on a high-security setting,” she muttered, fingers moving deftly over the keys. A soft click, and then the door gave a low, metallic groan as it slid open.

The scouts stepped back as the door slowly revealed a dark, cramped room beyond. Levi entered first, followed closely by Luna, Aria, and the other sirens. The sight that awaited them made their stomachs twist.

There, huddled in the shadows, were more than three dozen sirens, shackled and barely clothed, their eyes hollow and wary. The dim lighting revealed bruises and scars, signs of mistreatment and neglect. Some of the sirens flinched at the sudden light, raising their bound hands to shield themselves, while others turned away, as if unable to process what was happening.

“Oh god…” Armin whispered, his voice choked with horror. He had seen many things on the battlefield, but nothing like this—nothing that felt so inherently wrong. His hands clenched into fists as he looked at their sunken eyes and frail forms.

Luna’s eyes filled with sorrow and rage. She stepped forward, her voice trembling but gentle. “You’re safe now,” she said, her words barely above a whisper. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

The sirens huddled closer to each other, confusion etched across their faces. They were terrified, too scarred by their experiences to immediately trust these newcomers. They’d learned to associate every figure who entered that room with pain and suffering.

Seeing their fear, Levi stepped back, motioning for Luna, Aria, and the other sirens to take the lead. He knew that only familiar faces could begin to break through the walls these sirens had built around themselves.

Luna took a deep breath and stepped forward with Aria, Sera, and Bria close behind. They moved slowly, their hands held out to show they meant no harm. “We’re here to help you,” Luna continued, her voice steady and soft. “We’re sirens too. We’ve come to bring you to safety, back to Paradis.”

At the word “sirens,” a few of the captives lifted their heads, their eyes widening as recognition began to dawn. They scanned the faces before them, realizing for the first time that the women standing in front of them were indeed sirens like them, not their captors or tormentors.

A frail, young siren at the front, no older than twenty, lifted her shackled hands slightly. “You… you’re really here to save us?” Her voice trembled, thick with disbelief.

Luna nodded, her own eyes welling up as she met the young siren’s gaze. “Yes. We’re taking you away from here. You won’t have to endure this anymore.”

Another siren, her face gaunt and eyes hardened from suffering, looked around the room. “But… the soldiers, they…” Her voice broke as she struggled to find the words. “They forced us to… they made us bond with them.”

Bria stepped forward, her voice gentle but fierce. “You’re free from that now. The ones who hurt you are gone, and no one here will force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

The sirens exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from fear to cautious hope. One by one, they allowed themselves to believe, to trust that maybe, after all this time, they had found salvation.

Hange, who had been watching from the back, spoke up. “We’ll get you out of those chains. Just give us a moment.” She turned to Levi and signaled to the other scouts. “Let’s get these shackles off them.”

Levi nodded, his face set in a grim expression as he helped distribute tools to break the sirens’ chains. As the scouts worked, Luna, Aria, and the others comforted the captives, offering reassuring touches and quiet words of encouragement.

One of the older sirens, her face lined with weariness, finally met Luna’s gaze. “We… we didn’t think anyone would come,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “We thought we’d be trapped here until we… until we were no longer useful.”

Luna placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her eyes filled with empathy. “You’re not alone anymore,” she said softly. “We’re going to get you to safety, to a place where no one can hurt you ever again.”

As the last of the shackles were removed, the freed sirens exchanged hesitant smiles and whispers, the reality of their rescue slowly sinking in. Some cried, others clung to each other, and a few simply stared in shock, still processing the fact that they were finally free.

Levi, his expression steely, gave a nod to the scouts. “Let’s move. We’re not out of here yet, and Marley isn’t going to be happy when they realize what’s happened.”

The sirens stood, some leaning on each other for support as they gathered the strength to follow. They looked to Luna, Aria, and the other sirens from Paradis as their guides, their protectors. The trust was fragile, but it was there, a faint glimmer of hope in their eyes.

As they made their way back through the corridors, Levi glanced over at Aria, his face softening slightly. She caught his gaze, giving him a small nod of gratitude and understanding. They had fought for this—for the freedom of those who had been forced into bonds they hadn’t chosen. This was more than a mission; it was justice.

In the distance, Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and the others waited, their expressions resolute as they prepared to escort the rescued sirens to safety. Eren’s gaze softened when he saw Luna, pride and relief in his eyes as he watched her lead the captives forward.

Armin looked at the freed sirens with a gentle smile. “We’ll protect you. You’re safe now.”

Mikasa nodded, her expression softened by the sight of their fragile, traumatized faces. “You won’t have to go back there. Ever.”

The scouts moved with a mixture of urgency and relief as they led the freed sirens from the underground holding cells up to the airship, where medical support was already waiting. The once-silent halls of the facility now echoed with footsteps, murmured reassurances, and the quiet sobs of sirens who were still processing their newfound freedom.

“Careful now,” Hange said gently, guiding one of the more fragile sirens, a woman with a haunted expression and deep cuts along her arms. “We’ll get you somewhere safe—somewhere they can’t reach you.” Her voice was steady, as if assuring herself as much as the woman in front of her.

Levi moved alongside them, eyes scanning their surroundings. Even with the battle raging, he remained vigilant, his gaze flicking over every corner and shadow. “Let’s keep moving,” he said sharply to the scouts. “We’re still deep in enemy territory.”

As they neared the airship, a quiet murmur rippled through the crowd of freed sirens. Standing at the entrance were the other sirens from the sanctuary and Caspia, Melody, Solara, and Rue—alongside a few remaining scouts. The freed sirens’ eyes widened with recognition and relief, and many staggered forward as if drawn by an invisible pull toward the other sirens. The sanctuary sirens opened their arms, drawing them into gentle embraces, murmuring words of comfort and reassurance.

Solara stepped forward, her gaze intense yet soft. She touched the shoulder of one trembling young siren who looked up at her with tear-streaked cheeks. “You’re safe now,” Solara whispered. “You’ll never have to see those soldiers again.”

The young siren let out a shaky breath, nodding, her eyes brimming with gratitude and disbelief.

As the sirens began to settle onto the airship, Hange coordinated with the medics, ensuring each siren received attention for their injuries. “I want every wound checked,” she instructed, her voice ringing with authority. “And make sure they’re hydrated—God knows what they’ve been through.”

Rue moved to help with a few of the injured, her own expression mirroring the compassion she felt. She glanced up to see Reiner standing nearby, watching her with a worried expression. He met her gaze and gave a small nod, his eyes filled with relief to see her helping the others, though his concern hadn’t lessened.

“Reiner,” Rue said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “Be careful.”

“I will,” he promised, squeezing her hand gently. He knew his next mission would be dangerous, but seeing Rue safe gave him the strength he needed.

Bertholdt, Jean, and Connie soon joined Reiner, each of them prepared for what was next. They exchanged determined looks, understanding their mission without needing to say much. They were tasked with hunting down any remaining siren hunters—no matter where they might be hiding.

Jean slung his gear over his shoulder and gave Connie a nod. “We finish this here. No one gets away.”

“Right,” Connie replied, his usual lightheartedness replaced by a steely resolve. “They’re not laying a hand on any more of them.”

As Reiner, Bertholdt, Jean, and Connie set off on their mission, Levi turned to Hange, Armin, Mikasa, and Eren. “Time to take the final step,” he said, his voice grim and focused. “The Marleyan generals will try to run, but we’re not letting them get away.”

Eren’s fists clenched, his eyes narrowed with determination. “They’re cornered,” he muttered. “They have nowhere to go. It’s time they face the consequences.”

The group moved out, weaving through the devastated Marleyan compound. The echoes of previous battles lingered around them—the smell of smoke, the shattered buildings, and the silence of an empire brought to its knees. Each step they took was a reminder of the destruction they’d wrought, but it was also a reminder of the lives Marley had destroyed in their relentless pursuit of power.

As they neared the war room, Armin glanced at the others, his usually thoughtful expression replaced by a hardened resolve. “They know we’re coming,” he murmured. “They must be desperate now.”

Levi’s face was impassive, though his eyes blazed with determination. “Desperate men make stupid mistakes. That’s what we’re counting on.”

The entrance to the war room loomed before them, and they could hear hurried footsteps and panicked voices on the other side. The Marleyan generals, it seemed, were already preparing to flee. Levi glanced back at the others, nodding silently as he took the lead.

With a swift kick, Levi forced the door open, his presence radiating danger as he stepped into the room. The Marleyan generals froze, their faces drained of color as they saw the scouts standing before them, weapons drawn and expressions merciless.

“Going somewhere?” Levi’s voice was low, but the threat in it was unmistakable.

One of the generals stammered, his eyes darting toward the open window as if considering escape. But Mikasa moved in front of him, her stance as solid as a wall. “You’re not getting away,” she said coldly, her gaze piercing.

Eren stepped forward, his expression a mixture of fury and satisfaction. “Your naval fleet is gone. Your soldiers surrendered. You’ve lost everything.”

The head general, his face twisted with anger and fear, spat at the floor, his voice trembling. “You… you devils don’t understand! Marley is a force that can’t be destroyed by a few rebellious soldiers!”

Armin, calm but resolute, replied, “It’s over. Marley’s reign ends today.” He glanced around the room, his eyes flickering with sympathy for the captured sirens, who were finally safe. “You’ve caused so much suffering. It’s time to answer for it.”

Hange’s eyes gleamed as she looked at the generals, her voice sharp and uncompromising. “We’re not here for revenge. We’re here for justice.”

Another general sneered, struggling to muster his pride despite the obvious fear in his eyes. “And you think you’ll find justice by slaughtering us? Marley’s legacy will live on. Others will rise to take our place.”

Levi’s patience was wearing thin, and he took a menacing step forward. “This isn’t a negotiation. You can surrender now and spare yourselves the pain. Or you can resist and see what happens.”

The generals exchanged panicked glances, their confidence faltering under Levi’s glare. One by one, the realization dawned on them—they were outmatched, and any attempt at resistance would be futile.

Finally, one of them dropped his weapon, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “We surrender,” he murmured, his voice hollow.

Hange stood at the forefront, her posture firm, eyes blazing with the unmistakable fire of conviction. Surrender was not enough; she wanted more than just words of capitulation from these men.

“Your verbal surrender means little to us,” Hange began, her voice sharp and unyielding. “If we leave here with only empty promises, nothing stops Marley from rearming, rebuilding, and attacking Paradis again, or resuming their vile practices against the sirens. No—if we are to have peace, it must be formalized, signed, and sealed.”

One of the Marleyan generals glared at her, his lips pursed in defiance. “And what do you expect of us? To grovel before you? To hand over our sovereignty?”

Hange didn’t waver, stepping closer, her expression one of steely resolve. “I expect you to understand that this is the price of the atrocities Marley has committed. You have raided, enslaved, and tortured. Not just humans, but the sirens who sought peace beneath the sea, whom you forced into bonds and treated as tools. Your empire has taken without consequence, but those days are over. We are demanding reparations for the damage you’ve caused—to Paradis and to the sirens.”

The room went silent, each Marleyan general exchanging uneasy glances. They were aware of the precarious situation they were in. Their forces were decimated, their fleet destroyed, and their once-feared titan shifters lay defeated. They had no choice but to accept the terms of the scouts and Paradis.

One of the generals clenched his fists, jaw tight, but he spoke up with resignation. “Very well. Marley will send a delegation to Paradis within the next few weeks. We’ll draft the formal terms of peace and reparations. You’ll have your treaty.”

Hange nodded, her gaze steady, though a flicker of relief softened her features. “Good. Make sure that delegation arrives, or there will be consequences.” She glanced toward Levi, who had been silently watching, his piercing gaze promising that he, too, would be waiting for any sign of duplicity from Marley.

With the terms set and the peace treaty agreed upon, the scouts made their way back to the airship. The Marleyan generals and soldiers watched in silence as the scouts, the victors of this grueling battle, left their empire behind.

As the scouts boarded the airship, a sea of faces greeted them—faces of the freed sirens who now filled the vessel, nearly two hundred of them in total. Many were exhausted, their expressions etched with fear, hope, and uncertainty. They huddled together, some in small groups, others leaning on each other for comfort, still adjusting to the idea that they were free.

Luna, standing at the forefront of her pod, looked over the assembled sirens with a gentle but determined expression. She glanced to her side, where Aria, Bria, Rue, Caspia, Solara, Sera, and Melody stood beside her, each one of them sharing in her conviction.

Luna cleared her throat, her voice rising above the hum of the airship’s engines. “To all of you who have suffered under Marley’s rule, who have been hunted, enslaved, and forced into unnatural bonds—we are here to tell you that your suffering is over. You are free now. You will never have to live in fear again.”

The sirens looked at her, some with tears in their eyes, others with disbelief. Aria stepped forward, her voice warm and inviting. “In Paradis, there is sanctuary. You’ll find peace there, and protection. We’ve fought to make it a place where no one will harm you again.”

Bria, her hand resting reassuringly on one of the younger sirens, added, “You’re not alone. We’ll be with you every step of the way. And you’ll be safe.”

A murmur of gratitude and relief rippled through the sirens. Some exchanged glances of hesitant hope, while others reached out to hold hands, feeling the warmth of unity and freedom for the first time in years.

Among the scouts, Eren watched Luna with admiration. His face softened as he took in her strength and grace, the way she had stepped into her role as a leader not just for her pod but for all the sirens. He walked over to her, reaching out to hold her hand, his eyes filled with pride. “You did it, Luna. You’re leading them to something better.”

Luna turned to him, her gaze unwavering. “We did it, Eren. This wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. I’m grateful—for everything.”

Nearby, Levi observed Aria, his protective instincts barely suppressed. He was exhausted, his injured knee still throbbing, but seeing her alive, strong, and encouraging the freed sirens, filled him with a fierce sense of pride. When Aria noticed him, she stepped over and took his hand, her fingers warm and grounding against his skin.

“You held up your end,” she whispered, her eyes filled with affection. “Now it’s time for us to look forward.”

Levi squeezed her hand, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah. But I’ll be watching, just in case Marley forgets their promises.”

The airship began its journey back to Paradis, the night sky stretching out before them as a vast, uncharted future. Inside, the scouts and sirens settled into a quiet peace, knowing that the horrors of Marley were now behind them. As they crossed the ocean, Hange, Armin, and the rest of the scouts took turns checking on the sirens, ensuring they had food, water, and any medical attention they needed.

Hours later, as dawn began to light the horizon, the faint outline of Paradis came into view. The relief on the sirens’ faces was palpable. Many of them leaned closer to the windows, their eyes wide as they took in the sight of their new home—a sanctuary where they would be safe, loved, and protected.

Once they landed, the sirens disembarked, greeted by a warm welcome from the people of Paradis. Luna, Aria, Bria, Rue, Caspia, Solara, Sera, and Melody led the freed sirens into the waters of Paradis, their movements graceful and filled with purpose. They whispered words of encouragement, guiding the freed sirens into the gentle waves, where they could finally feel the comforting embrace of the ocean.

Standing on the shore, the scouts watched as the sirens disappeared beneath the surface, knowing that they had fulfilled a promise—one that went beyond their own survival and reached into the very heart of what it meant to protect and to save.

Levi, his gaze locked on the water, felt Aria’s hand slip into his. He glanced at her, a rare softness in his expression. “We did what we set out to do,” he murmured, almost to himself.

Aria leaned her head against his shoulder, her voice a whisper. “And now they can live freely. Thanks to you, to all of you.”

In the days that followed, the sirens integrated into the waters of Paradis, forming a new community alongside the scouts and people of the island. There was still much work to be done—rebuilding, healing, and navigating the aftermath of war—but they faced it together, bound by a shared vision of peace and protection.

And as the sun set over Paradis each night, the sirens’ song could be heard, a hauntingly beautiful melody that filled the air, a reminder of their resilience, and the bonds they had forged through hardship and hope.

…

In the peaceful lull that had settled over Paradis, a feeling of stability emerged as word spread that the long-feared Marleyans had finally conceded defeat. For the first time in their history, Paradis and the sirens held a semblance of peace—a fragile balance, but peace nonetheless.

Two weeks had passed since the climactic battle that left the Marleyan forces in shambles and a fresh treaty on the horizon. The once-hostile shores of Paradis, previously guarded and wary, now welcomed the waves with a new purpose. Sirens swam freely, occasionally approaching the shoreline, their shimmering tails and gliding movements a mesmerizing sight for the curious eyes of Paradis’ citizens. For the people of the island, it was as though the myth had become reality, but now it was their reality, and there was beauty in it.

In the capital square, bustling with soldiers, scouts, and civilians alike, people began to gather as they caught sight of an approaching convoy of Marleyan ships. This wasn’t an invasion fleet, though—this was Marley’s delegation. Armin, Hange, and Levi stood waiting at the gates, all with a different purpose in their gaze. Eren and Mikasa stood further back, observing closely, prepared to leap in if needed.

The Marleyan diplomats, dressed in muted, formal uniforms, carried an air of reluctant submission. Their eyes were wary, and they cast uneasy glances at the sirens visible near the docks. Luna, Aria, and the rest of their pod, joined by a few newly arrived sirens, floated just off the shore, watching the Marleyans with keen, unblinking eyes.

One of the leading Marleyan diplomats, an older man with graying hair and a stiff gait, cleared his throat, preparing to address Hange and the Paradis officials.

Hange stepped forward, crossing her arms. “You’re here to fulfill your obligations,” she stated bluntly, her eyes sharp. “This isn’t a mere handshake. I expect you to make good on Marley’s promises for peace and reparations.”

The diplomat shifted, visibly uncomfortable under her steady gaze. “Yes, we understand,” he replied, his voice low. “We’re here to sign the treaty as agreed. Marley acknowledges the… the sovereignty of Paradis and its protection over the sirens.”

Luna’s pod watched from the water, their presence silent but potent. Levi, standing beside Hange, kept his eyes locked on the Marleyan delegation, his expression unreadable.

Hange took a step closer to the diplomat. “Good. Because Paradis isn’t interested in half-measures. You’ll officially recognize our waters as a sanctuary for all sirens, and we expect full reparations for the destruction Marley caused.” Her voice was steady, each word carrying weight. “We’ve all sacrificed more than enough for this.”

The diplomat nodded, his gaze momentarily dropping to the ground. “Our leaders understand,” he murmured, voice tight. “We… we will honor this agreement, as outlined.”

Armin joined the conversation, his tone gentler but no less firm. “And you understand that should Marley fail to uphold its end, there will be consequences,” he said. “This treaty means nothing without action.”

There was a long silence as the Marleyans processed the gravity of their situation. The official pulled out a scroll—the treaty—and extended it toward Hange. She took it, her eyes scanning the document, ensuring every clause, every word, was exactly as discussed.

Finally, she nodded, satisfied. “Good,” she said, her voice quieter but resolute. “Then let’s make history.”

The diplomat handed her a pen with trembling fingers, and Hange signed her name in bold strokes at the treaty’s end. Then, the Marleyan diplomat did the same, each letter of his name etched in resignation. With the final stroke, the treaty was sealed.

As the scroll was rolled up, an air of relief settled over the group, yet tension still lingered like a shadow. The past couldn’t be erased, and both sides knew it.

The sirens in the water exchanged glances, their eyes meeting with silent understanding. Luna’s gaze lingered on Eren, who was standing a bit apart from the others, and she gave him a nod, one that he returned with a faint but genuine smile. They knew that peace wasn’t guaranteed, but this was a start—a fragile, delicate beginning.

Luna turned to the other sirens gathered beside her. “This is our home now,” she said softly. “We’re safe here. We’re welcome.”

Aria drifted closer to the shore, her gaze fixed on Levi. There was pride in her eyes, mixed with relief. “We’ve fought for this,” she said to him, her voice barely carrying over the waves. “And now we can finally start to live.”

Levi’s expression softened as he watched her. “Yeah,” he replied gruffly, though the tenderness in his gaze spoke volumes. “We can.”

As the Marleyan delegates prepared to leave, Hange, Armin, and the rest of the scouts turned to watch the ships depart. The crowd began to disperse, whispers of cautious hope filling the air. The sirens slipped back beneath the waves, gliding toward deeper waters to reclaim their sanctuary, now with a sense of freedom they hadn’t felt in generations.

In the days that followed, life in Paradis began to adapt to the sirens’ presence. Scouts and soldiers continued their routines, but now, the coastline was filled with life—shimmering tails and graceful dives, siren voices blending with the sounds of waves, a gentle reminder of the peace they’d all fought so hard to secure.

And, as promised, the sirens came and went freely. For the people of Paradis, this coexistence was new, strange, but as time passed, acceptance grew, and the sirens became a natural part of the island’s life—a new chapter in a story that, just weeks prior, had seemed impossible.

For the scouts and the sirens, this was more than just a truce. It was a chance to rebuild, to heal, and to find hope again.

…

A few days later Levi was sitting on the shore with Aria nestled comfortably in his lap, found himself slowly accepting this new reality—a reality where he didn’t have to plan the next attack, anticipate the next loss, or fight tooth and nail for survival. For the first time, the thought of peace didn’t feel like a distant, unreachable dream.

Aria’s hands slipped through his hair, her fingers light and teasing as she braided a few strands and undid them again, a smile tugging at her lips. Levi, still nursing an ache in his knee, leaned back slightly, letting himself relax. He could feel the sand beneath him, cool and gritty against his fingers, and the rhythmic crash of waves was almost hypnotic.

“You look so serious,” Aria murmured, tilting her head to meet his gaze. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Levi glanced down, smirking faintly. “Just thinking… hard to believe we’ve actually won.” He let out a low sigh, his eyes distant. “After everything we went through… it’s over. At least, for now.”

Aria’s face softened as she took in his words. She knew what it meant for him, the weight of so many years of battle and loss finally lifting, even if just a bit. She brushed a hand gently against his cheek, her thumb tracing the faint scar that ran along his jawline. “You deserve to breathe, Levi,” she whispered. “To rest.”

He leaned into her touch, and for a moment, they were silent, both wrapped in the quiet relief of having survived. But soon, Aria’s mischievous smile returned, her eyes glinting with something playful.

“So, Captain,” she purred, her fingers resuming their gentle play in his hair. “What’s next for the famed Levi Ackerman, now that he’s got the chance to retire?” She leaned in close, her voice a murmur. “Maybe you’d consider giving me a few babies?”

Levi choked, caught off guard, and his serious demeanor cracked as he gave her an incredulous look. “Babies?” he repeated, brow arched, though he could see the teasing gleam in her eyes.

Aria chuckled, entirely unbothered by his surprise. “Yes, babies,” she replied smoothly. “I’m serious, Levi. I think we’d make some beautiful kids. Don’t you?”

He let out a huff, though he couldn’t hide the way his lips twitched into a small smile. “Beautiful? You think a kid with my scowl and your attitude’s gonna be easy to deal with?”

Aria laughed, her head falling back as she took in the sight of him, so relaxed and unguarded. “Come on, Ackerman, you don’t think they’d be little angels?” She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Imagine it… little versions of you running around, scowling and training with those intense eyes of yours.”

A strange warmth settled over him at her words. The idea was… strange, something he hadn’t really allowed himself to imagine. But here, with Aria in his arms and the weight of battle finally lifting, he found himself thinking of it. Maybe, just maybe, he could have that—a family, a life not defined by war. His hand moved up to touch her cheek, his thumb brushing her skin as he looked at her with an intensity she knew well.

“You really want that?” he asked, voice low and serious, his gaze never leaving hers.

She nodded, her own gaze softening. “Yes, Levi. I do.” Her fingers drifted to rest over his heart. “We’ve both lost so much. I want to build something with you, something that’s ours… something that’s real.”

He swallowed, a flood of emotion rushing through him, and his hand moved to clasp hers, a silent answer in his firm grip. They stayed like that for a moment, eyes locked, each understanding what lay behind the other’s gaze. Slowly, he leaned in, capturing her lips in a kiss that spoke volumes—a kiss that held promises, hopes, and dreams of a future he hadn’t dared to think about until now.

…

A short distance away, Luna and Eren were floating in the water, bathed in the gentle glow of the fading sun. Eren’s arms were wrapped around her as they drifted, his fingers tracing idle patterns along her waist. Luna, resting her head against his shoulder, felt the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, each beat a reminder of their survival.

“You know,” she murmured, breaking the comfortable silence, “I thought about you every day while we were away. Wondering if I’d come back and see you again.”

Eren tightened his hold on her, his eyes intense as he met her gaze. “I never doubted it,” he replied, his voice filled with conviction. “You’re stronger than anyone gives you credit for, Luna. And I… I don’t want to lose you. Not now, not ever.”

Luna smiled, reaching up to press a kiss to his cheek. “You won’t,” she assured him. “We have a future, Eren. One we’re going to fight for.”

He smiled, his eyes softening as he leaned down to capture her lips in a tender kiss, the salty sea air mingling with the warmth between them.

…

Nearby, Floch and Bria stood at the water’s edge, Bria laughing as Floch tried, and failed, to keep his balance in the shallow waves. She splashed him playfully, her laughter ringing out, and Floch grinned, pulling her into his arms and twirling her around.

“I can’t believe it,” he said breathlessly, his eyes bright. “We really did it, Bria. We won.”

She leaned in, pressing her forehead to his. “And we get to start over. Together.”

He held her close, his gaze filled with unspoken promises, and she smiled, knowing they had a lifetime ahead of them.

…

Elsewhere along the shoreline, Reiner held Rue close, his hands moving gently along her shoulders as if grounding himself in her presence. Rue, her eyes closed, took a deep breath, savoring the feeling of safety and warmth that Reiner’s embrace brought.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, his voice tinged with concern.

She nodded, her hands reaching up to rest over his. “More than okay. We’re here, together. That’s all I need.”

Reiner smiled, a rare, genuine expression that softened his usual stoic features. “Then that’s what I’ll give you. Whatever it takes.”

They shared a quiet kiss, their embrace a promise to protect each other through whatever lay ahead.

…

Further down the shore, Jean and Solara sat on a cluster of rocks, watching the waves roll in. Solara’s hand was intertwined with Jean’s, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Do you think things will stay peaceful?” she asked, her voice quiet.

Jean looked down at her, a soft smile on his lips. “I think we’ll make sure of it. We’ve been through too much to let anything ruin this.”

Solara smiled, squeezing his hand. “Then I’m with you, Jean. Whatever comes next, we’ll face it together.”

…

Connie and Caspia were splashing around in the water, both laughing as they playfully shoved each other under the waves. Connie grinned, his eyes alight with joy as he watched Caspia’s laughter.

“You’re pretty good at this whole ‘relaxing’ thing,” he teased.

Caspia rolled her eyes, but her smile was warm. “Only with you, Connie. Only with you.”

…

Armin and Melody stood on the shoreline, holding hands as they watched the waves crash against the rocks. Melody glanced up at him, her expression thoughtful.

“Do you ever think about the future?” she asked softly.

Armin looked at her, his gaze warm and steady. “All the time. And I want you there with me, Melody. Every step of the way.”

She smiled, her heart swelling with affection, and they leaned in, sharing a gentle, lingering kiss.

…

Bertholdt and Sera were seated a bit further up the shore, close enough to the water to feel the spray on their faces. Bertholdt’s arm was wrapped around Sera, his thumb gently rubbing circles on her shoulder as they sat in comfortable silence.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” he murmured. “To finally have a chance to live peacefully.”

Sera looked up at him, her eyes soft. “It’s what we’ve fought for, Bertholdt. And now, it’s our time to enjoy it.”

They shared a smile, knowing that they’d come a long way to reach this moment.

…

The sun dipped lower on the horizon, casting a warm golden glow over the couples scattered along the shore. They were a mix of scouts and sirens, of humans and legends, united by a shared struggle and a hard-won peace. For now, they could relax, laugh, and dream of a future not defined by fear and loss.

As the final rays of sunlight faded, Levi held Aria a little tighter, her words about children echoing in his mind. The idea was unfamiliar, even strange, but he found himself considering it. For once, he had a chance to think about life beyond survival.

And as he looked around, seeing his comrades and their mates enjoying the rare peace they’d earned, Levi felt something close to hope settle in his chest.

~

Masterlist | Patreon

Join my Taglist

Note: I am three chapters ahead on patreon:)

Tags: @Datshittuebrat @xngelsau @ackermansbest @anything4yoongi @852853 @blmcd57110 @may-machin @Estella-novella

[fox-actually]

OC Obsessed! Whether they are mine or yours. But here is a lil' something on all of them! All characters based from Hogwarts Legacy are 18+. Taking a page from other creators to have a place where I can toss out HC's and lore I want to use in my writing.

Arianna Blackbriar: A pureblood Slytherin princess from the British Royal family and a witch. Bubbly, friendly, outgoing yet reserved in upper-class social settings. Bi-curious but prefes men, wants to be liked by everyone. Being forced by her family to be in an arranged marriage, but she is in love with her bodyguard. She wants to run away and do more with her life than family lineage. She loves fossils and sneaking out at night. Nicknames: Aria, Ari, Princess, Divine

Ashton Blackbriar: Separate AU from Aria and not related. A pureblood Slytherin prince from the Royal family and a wizard. Charismatic reserved, stoic, secretly wants everyone to like him. Bi, but prefers men in private, but with women in public due to his status and being forced into an arranged marriage. He wrestles being one way in public and another in private with the man he is in love with. He loves crystals and smoking weed. Nicknames: Ash, Handsome, Silverspoon(not in an endearing way)

Albion Hale: An orphan whose family was killed by werewolves around age 6. Covered in scars, he survived and found his way to Hogsmead, where the owner of Honeydukes adopted him. In a cruel twist of fate, he was turned into a werewolf, but his transformations were successfully and unknowingly suppressed by the mysterious professor. Carefree, easy-going, loves giving hugs, and almost always without a shirt. This Hufflepuff started Hogwarts in his 5th year and is a bit behind when it comes to his magical ability's, focusing on taking over his father's store and becoming a professional chef. He has found the love of his life and can't wait to spend the rest of his life with her. He took odd jobs as a bodyguard and is covered in tattoos. Nicknames: Al, poppa bear

Mason Bishop: 1 of 6 brothers and sisters, the youngest, this Gryffindor jock is nothing but a good time. Happy, cheeky, prank pulling, awesome Quidditch player, and overall sweet dork. Has mommy issues being the baby of the family. He will try and make anyone laugh, loves making new friends, and is over all a sweet guy and not your typical jock. New to love in all shapes and forms, his first real girlfriend is about to make him a man, already puppy sick in love with her; Mason will do anything to make her happy. He will try anything once and is a pretty good cook.

Tessa Davenport: A transfer from Australia, an Animagus, taking the form of a rare pink manta-ray. Sorted into Hufflepuff, she is a loud and feisty short woman. Super athletic, loves surfing, swimming, fire baton throwing/dancing. Her accent quickly caught the attention of her fellow classmates. With two older brothers, she grew up a tom-boy who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty but always cleans up nicely for events. Still getting used to her new surroundings, she has developed strong feelings for another transfer student, and he seems to return those affections.

The Professor-Darien Steele: This Gryffindor alumni has mysteriously returned the night Albion Hale was "bitten" by a werewolf. Experimenting on Al to suppress his transformations. Darien is master at potions, transfiguration, and deception. His only reason to return to Hogwarts is to research the rare power known as ancient magic, experiment on students with magic and alchemy. He has learned many secrets and keeps them in his back pocket for a rainy day of blackmail. He seems to be everywhere and gives off a charming eerie vibe. Every time you see him, he always physically looks a bit different or has become an entirely new person. Wonder why that is?

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC F/AotW - Nov 26 - Dec 2, 2023

✒️= Fanfic | 📱= Text Fics/Edits | 🎨= Fanart Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+ 🏳️‍🌈 = LGBTQIA | 🌟= Holidays 2023

BLADES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW

CRIMES OF PASSION

Calypso Rose NB!MC Fanart 🎨🏳️‍🌈 by @treesinboxes

New Traditions ✒️🏳️‍🌈🌟| Trystan Thorne x F!MC, others - @jerzwriter

Of Intangible Worth ✒️🏳️‍🌈| Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @inlocusmads

Trystan x F!MC Holiday Art 🎨🌟by @bayleedraws-sometimesx

IMMORTAL DESIRES

Gabe Adalhard Fanart 🎨by @hydn-jpg

Prom ✒️| Cas Harlow x MC x Gabe Adalhard - @omgjasminesimone

Snow in Crimson, Starlight in Gold ✒️Ⓜ️🏳️‍🌈| m! cas harlow x m!gabe adalhard x nb!mc - @aria-ashryver Chapter 37: In With the New

IT LIVES IN THE WOODS

Another Sun Will Rise ✒️🏳️‍🌈| Dan Pierce x F!MC, OC - @aallotarenunelma

NIGHTBOUND

Bound by Fate (Series) ✒️| Nik Ryder x F!MC - @ladylamrian Chapter 3: A Blast From The Past

OPEN HEART

PERFECT MATCH

Holiday Shopping ✒️🌟| Hayden Young x F!MC - @rosepetals1

THE ROYAL ROMANCE

A Balad to No One ✒️| Hana Lee - @lorirwritesfanfic

Cordonian Karaoke: Christmas Edition ✒️🌟| Liam Rys, Drake Walker, etc. - @angelasscribbles

The Fairytale Ball ✒️| Liam Rys x MC - @lorirwritesfanfic

Forevermore (Series) ✒️| Liam Rys x MC - @khoicesbyk Chapter 2: The Family Rys, Part 1 Chapter 2: The Family Rys, Part 2

The Lantern Festival 🎨| Liam Rys x MC by @/artbyainna (IG) (C: @tessa-liam)

Smoke & Mirrors (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️| Liam Rys x MC - @tessa-liam Chapter 11: The Lantern Festival

Vancross (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️| Liam Rys x OC - @ao719 Chapter 20: One Step Forward, Two Steps to Hell

[deludeddreammer]

Azriel/OC Fanfic

ACOTAR/HarryPotter AU Azriel/ OC Character from HP World

Darkness reigns. Aria, the most powerful witch of her generation, finds herself pulled through a dimensional rift and deposited at the feet of Azriel, jaded spymaster of the Night Court.

Azriel, numbed by a world ravaged by war, feels a flicker of something stir within him as he recognizes the spark of power in this mysterious visitor. Thrust together by fate, Aria and Azriel must navigate a perilous new reality, unravel the secrets of her arrival, and face the unknown together

Status: Ongoing

[redrawthecolorlessworld]

Ref Sheets Masterpost (or something like that idk)

This post compiles all of the ref sheets i've done, categorized between Rhymix, Epidemic Stellaria, and Reality Haxxors, plus a misc section for ref sheets that don't fit in either category, for the sake of easier accessibility, in case anyone needs them.

The ref sheets have their own tag too, yes, but I'd rather link them all in this post to make things easier. This post might be incomplete because I didn't include the old ref sheets of characters I'm going to redesign. So yeah. More ref sheets will be added over time~

All will be under the cut! :)

———

1. Rhymix:

- Glory Road, Lumine, and Ray redesigns + Lorn

- Stasis

- Aremia

- Lucas

- Lady

- Tempestissimo's second design

- Compiled ref sheets 1-10

- Compiled ref sheets 11-20

- Compiled ref sheets 21-30

- Compiled ref sheets 31-40

- Compiled ref sheets 41-50

- Compiled ref sheets 51-60

- Compiled ref sheets 61-67

- Destonio redesigns

- Upshift

- DRG

- Alxaid

- Ionostream

- Aleph redesign

- Mantis redesign

- Astra Walkthrough

- World Fragments III

- Chronicle

- Ars Cantate redesign

- Pandora Paradox

- Aegleseeker's second design

- Trojan redesign

- Hikaru redesign

- ultradiaxon-N3 redesign

- Felys revision

- Hivemind and Hivemind Interlinked

- Chronomia

- Perfect

- Fate "redesigns" (not really redesigns but you get it right)

- Destr0yer

- Credits

- Colorless

- Lea

- Pamolia second design redesign

- Crave Wave

- Terabyte redesign

- Mope Mope

- Mayoeru ref sheet revision (I only changed the name written on the drawing)

- Trap Crow

- Aria (Aremia redesign + rename)

- Pandora Paradox redesign

- Particle Arts

- Inverted World

- Suito

- Ling Hao Cheliang (or just Ling)

- Ether Strike (redesign) and Ether Second

- Primeval Texture (In the past...)

- Nhelv

- Random

- D3D3D3 redesign

- Colorless (redesign? second design? i also dfk)

- Cybernetic Vampire (redesign)

- Testify (redesign)

- World Vanquisher

- Amazing Mighty (redesign? second design? i don't care right now, i'm gonna commit arson /nsrs)

- Miaya (second design)

- Upshift (redesign)

- Momento (redesign)

- Eternity (redesign)

- Aleph-0 (second design)

- Destonio (second design revision + third design) (first design where? into oblivion for now)

- Convergence

- Defection

- Infinite Strife

- Frey

- Horizon Blue and Bloody Marquis

- The 90's Decision

- Pure

- solips (my keyboard STILL won't let me put in the right o. smh)

- Vulcanus

- Particle Arts (redesign)

- Colorless (redesign? third design? i'm gonna dunk paint on myself)

- Saint or Sinner

- Tsunagite (redesign 2)

- Bake no Hana

- Primeval Texture (fourth design redesign) (hopefully the last fucking one)

- MVURBD & Cosmogyral

- Third Sun

- Deus Judicium

- Restricted Access, Rondo of the 3ND, and [NWAD] (+ extra CyberVamp LMAO)

- Deicide

2. Epidemic Stellaria:

- Breach of Faith and Eleazar

- Satomi Miura

3. Reality Haxxors:

- Compiled Arthesia Vignetta and Tyler Morrison ref sheets

- Alex Vignetta

- Arisa

- The Minase twins

- Arthesia Vignetta (redesign)

- Arthesia Vignetta(?)

3. Miscellaneous:

- Arthesia Vignetta (Persona ver.)

- A bunch of LobCorp people

- Aster (LobCorp)

- Raspberry (old oc redesign)

- A.rcaea and R.otaeno gijinka designs or whatever idk i fucking hate myself for this

- Arthesia (LobCorp ver.)

[gensokyogarden]

With the loss of some of my oc icon folders I am considering possible changes in face claims for them. Currently on the docket are Summer and Sora. Particularly since Sora's FC didn't have many icons in the first place.

For Summer I am considering Andromeda from Fate because, like Summer, she has the blonde hair tan skin combo while also having things vaguely reminiscent of fairy wings.

For Sora I am considering either Hinata from the Boruto manga because I think she fits both the demure shy look and has the funky eyes. Or this VTuber girl I see Aria post images of sometimes(TM) who has the black and white hair thing that Sora is meant to have and also has funky eyes. Though I am concerned she looks too confident.

So yes, much to consider. The battle for the face.

[lovehollyberry]

✨🦇Vampire Aria🦇✨

Some art I drew last year for Halloween!

The artwork is inspired by Fire Emblem Heroes unit artwork and her outfit is inspired by a certain Nohrian prince. I like to imagine she’d be a flying staff unit in FEH.

The special effects took me forever😅

[citadelredlightdistrict]

Muses: Female/Futa/Loli

(These muses ARE females, remember muns must be 18+ to interact. All characters in RPs must be fictional.)

Adventure Time: Marceline, Princess Bubblegum

American Dragon Jake Long: Rose, Susan Long, Haley Long

Arcane: Powder/Jinx, Vi

Avatar the Last Airbender: Katara, Azula, Ty Lee

Ben 10: Gwen Tennyson

Bofuri: Maple, Sally

Danny Phantom: Dani Phantom, Sam Manson, Jaz Fenton

DC: Starfire, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Harley Quinn

Dragon Prince: Rayla, Claudia, Ellis, Ava, Aanya

Fate/Stay: Artoria Pendragon

Final Fantasy: Tifa Lockheart, Aerith

Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss: Loona, Millie, Beelzebub, Mrs. Mayberry, Octavia, Charlie Morningstar, Emily, Stella

Mario: Princess Peach, Bowsette

Marvel: Gwen Stacy, Susan Storm (Invisible Woman)

Mass Effect: Tali Zora Vas'Normandy, Miranda Lawson, Liara T'soni, EDI, Aria T'loak

MHA: Froppy, Ururaka, Momo, Toru, Miruko

Naruto/Boruto: Hinata, Tsunade, Sakura

OC: Tink, Dew, Loti, Samael Silverquill

Pokemon: Misty, May, Dawn, Juliana, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny

Ratchet and Clank: Rivet, Kit

RWBY: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Nora, Salem, Glinda Goodwitch, Pyrha

SAO: Suguha "Leafa", Yui, Asuna

Spyro: Elora

Star Wars: Ahsoka Tano

Transformers Prime: Arcee, Airachnid, June Darby

Undertale/Deltarune: Toriel Dreemur

Overwatch: Tracer, Widowmaker