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lone-changelings-journal · 1 year ago

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Fairytales often talk about great heroes. Shining knights in armour riding atop their valiant steed. People who run headfirst into danger, defeat the bad guys, rescue the innocent. Stories like these always talk people like this up to be heroes. But they never talk about the hell it is actually being in a position like this.

I am not saying I’m a hero. Far from it, actually. I don’t feel like I’ve done some valiant act, I don’t feel like I’ve done anything good. All I feel right now is nauseous. I’ve already thrown up, but I don’t think my body is done tormenting me. Gods… Why… This is horrible. I… Don’t want to have to do this anymore. Well, I want to help Morr. I want to stop these people from hurting others. Seeing the realm fall into the hands of some lich king is something I can’t stand for. But the stories never talk about how heroes become heroes. They never talk about how it feels to take the life of another, even if that person is evil. At the end of the day stories like those are more about what a person did, not how they felt about doing it. I can’t help but wonder how many heroes of the past felt sickened by their own actions. Again, though. I don’t feel like a hero. The public certainly wouldn’t see us as such. Todays actions are ones I’d rather forget…

At first things started out normal. Almost exciting, in a way. Like yeah I was nervous about breaking back in to the cult’s hideout, but we were going to be valiant heroes! We were going to stop these cultists from raising the dead. Anyone would commend an action like that. We all sat down and discussed what we knew about what was going on. I told everyone about the Lieutenant and showed them the runes I’d drawn. Taelia was even able to decipher them. She said that they were unholy in nature, but also that they were very poorly crafted. She even speculated that there was a decent chance the revival would fail due to this, though she also said we shouldn’t bank on that. Which everyone agreed with.

But that’s when it all went wrong. We continued on with our discussion and Taelia made it clear that… Well… Some people’s minds can’t be changed. Especially people so radicalized in their beliefs that they’d go as far as creating an entirely new spell to revive a dead man. The cultists down in that cave… Had to be defeated. Permanently. If we let them go, they’d just regroup and try this again. She said we had to… Get rid of thim. We… Had to kill them. That was already bad, but what made it worse was everyone elses reaction to the idea. Dandelion didn’t really like the idea, but he said it had to be done and went on a rant about all the people we’d save by doing this. Kor’aas just… Didn’t care at all. His only comment was that it needed to be done, so it was going to be done. He had no emotion in his voice at all. It was as if we’d asked him what he wanted for dinner or something.

I… I understand that sometimes the ideal option isn’t always possible. Ideally I’d have liked to just… I don’t even know. When I think of stopping something like this my mind goes to ruining it so badly that it’s given up on. When I first got here I guess I thought I’d go in, deface the runes, steal some of the ritual’s ingredients or spell components or whatever, and then the cult would just give up. I’m a goddamned fool. Taelia is right. If I would have done that they’d have just cleaned everything up, get more components, and try again. No amount of destruction or defacement would sway them. Still… Evil or not, they’re people! It’s easy to wish death upon someone, but when you’re faced with making that a reality you’re forced to put into perspective how horrific of a task it really is…

I’m not getting into the details of the fight. I can’t. My stomach is already tied up in knots and I’m feeling sicker just thinking about it. Me, Dandelion, and Kor’aas are all better fighters from a distance. Dandelion and I both use spells, though his spells are very different than mine. Kor’aas uses a bow and arrow. Taelia was the only one who got up close and personal with our adversaries. I can only imagine how she’s feeling right now. God… At least shooting from afar means you don’t have to see them. But she stabbed one of the cultists right in the back and kept on going… There’s no way she isn’t scared by that, right? Or am I just… Pathetic? I feel like I am. Sitting here now, with everything over and done with, it seems I’m the only one in the group who still… Uh… Is affected by it all. The others are preparing dinner. Kor’aas is out hunting, Dandelion is tuning his guitar. And I’m sitting here trying not to throw up again.

The worst part was that Umbra couldn’t come with me. She’s too large to fit inside the little hole we found yesterday, and while she is able to meld into the shadows she’s very limited by this ability. Uh… Let me see… I drew it out here. She has to be able to mostly fit inside of a shadow to dip down into it. She can’t just touch a shadow, she has to be at least 70% enveloped by it. Once she’s fully inside the shadow she can fit into any sized shadow, which would have allowed her to get into the little hole. With how the lighting was both times we were there (top image) there was no trail leading to the hole, so there was no way for her to squeeze in. She was able to fit parts of her body into the hole, but not enough to meld into the darkness inside. If the light was more like the second picture she could have gotten inside with ease. I guess we could have waited until the sun was at the right angle, but we didn’t have the time to. By the time the light was in the perfect position th cult could have been done with their plans. So.. She stayed behind again… I really wish she didn’t, though.

This time when we got down to the main room of the cave the runes were all glowing. They were dripping with necromatic energy which felt horrible to be around. This ugly green light bathed the room, and I could feel with the amount of energy they were giving off SOMETHING was underway and that something was getting close to being finished. When Taelia realized this she ran ahead by herself. Not out of nowhere. I forgot to mention we discussed stealing some arrows from the storage area for Kor’aas since he was out. I’m… Pretty sure the arrows they had in storage were his to begin with. Still, she went in alone. If she’d have been caught it would have been three against one, and the priestess was… Very difficult even with all of us…

Thankfully she didn’t do anything rash. I don’t really know what she did, but once the rest of us got to the meeting room I think it was we all attacked and she came out of nowhere and took everyone by surprise. It… was a bloodbath… And I got hurt the worst out of anyone in the group. I don’t know why, but the priestess seemingly had everyone target me. She kept counterspelling anything I tried to do while one of her lackeys kept hitting me with magic missile. It hurt so badly. It still hurts. Taelia has healing magic and she patched me up a little when everything was over, but her healing didn’t fully heal my wounds. It just closed the open wounds and stopped them from bleeding more. I can feel they aren’t fully healed, but I don’t want her to waste any more magic on me. Stuff like that is valuable. I’ll survive, so she shouldn’t have to bother.

Gods, the end of the fight was worse than the fight itself. Taelia kept the priestess alive and pinned her to the ground so we could question her. That pissed Kor’aas off because he said she wasn’t worth interrogating. He said their bodies had been corrupted and poisoned by their magic. They had been literally twisted into some dark creatures via magic. He kept insisting that anyone willing to deface their own body like this didn’t fear death and wouldn’t bother answering any of our questions because why would they? No one agreed with him though, and he got mad and yelled at us for being naive before leaving to scrub the remains of their runes off the walls.

Taelia did most of the interrogating. I couldn’t bear to watch and I think Dandelion was too stunned to really do anything. We did get some useful information out of her though. Basically, this cave had some crystal thing in it. We have the crystal with us now. Apparently this crystal is somehow tied to the Forgotten King’s soul. It’s shattered and the piece we have is one of many. But if they can get enough of them they could use the power of this thing to free him from the plane of shadows, which she kept calling the “Shadowfell”. I don’t know if that’s the right name for the place. Morr never called it that. Then again… Morr doesn’t really care about names or using them properly. Anyway, the one we have was the only one they knew the location of and the whole reason they wanted this lieutenant revived was to learn the locations of the other ones. She also let it slip that the crystal was somewhere in the cave. That’s when the questions stopped.

The priestess started ranting once we were done. Something about how their master had given them three tasks to ensure his revival and how he would protect them under the new order or something. Honestly, she was speaking nonsense. Dandelion started taunting her by calling the crystal a phallus and how she was…. Sucking off her king with it, or something crude like that… Taelia told him off and, uh… I won’t describe it. I turned away so I wouldn’t have to watch. The priestess is no longer with us. She told us as much as we were going to get out of her, and like everyone said… She’d just try again if she was let go… I can still hear it…

After that we went and found Kor’aas. He cleaned the runes up pretty fast. They were gone by the time we finished up. Dandelion and Taelia explained it to him while I sat down and tried to settle my stomach. That’s when I threw up. Taelia was really concerned and kept asking me all these questions I couldn’t focus on. I don’t remember most of that conversation. All I know is by the end of it she healed my wounds and we all began walking deeper into the cave to find the crystal we’d heard about.

This cave is horribly deep. The longer we walked the more natural and untouched it became. Most of the upper cave had been cleared out and had some infrastructure placed in it. But deeper in there was rubble and moss and insects skittering around. At the bottom we found this crack in the wall that was glowing bright with arcane energy. I took a peek inside and saw the crystal. It was on some ancient pedestal surrounded by candles that somehow hadn’t burnt out. The flames looked magical. None of us could fit through the wall though.

We spent a few minutes discussing different ways to chip away at the wall when suddenly Dandelion pulled out his guitar again and strummed it hard. As he did the entire room began to shake violently. Rocks were falling from the ceiling and the ground cracked. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, I thought the cave was going to collapse. It kind of did, in a way. Whatever spell he cast caused the ground to shake enough to tear open the crack in the wall and collapse it. The wall fell down and the candles went out and there was dust all in the air. Kor’aas started yelling, talking about how he’d almost caved us in and how reckless Dandelion was. It was awful, but I guess I kind of understand.

Then the shadows came. It was… Strange… When the lights went out the entire room filled with these dark shadowy creatures, exactly like the ones in the deeper part of the Wildwoods. They just watched us bicker and giggled every now and then. It seemed they were more curious than anything, but everyone else was freaked out and Taelia said they were a “dark omen” and that we needed to be careful. I don’t entirely agree with that. I mean… Umbra is kind of one of them. She’s not an omen. She’s just like anyone else, just with more dog instincts. I didn’t feel the same unease as everyone else, so I just walked over and took the crystal off the pedestal. Bad idea.

The shadows didn’t like me doing that. All of them got panicked and grabbed me by… Er… Well, everywhere. Once they had hold of me they dragged me into the air enough so my feet couldn’t touch the ground. Everyone tried pulling me down but it was no use, so I just handed the crystal back to the shadows so they’d let me go. They did. They also seemed very surprised that I dropped the crystal so willingly. I guess Taelia was surprised by this as well, because once I was free she told us to give her some space so she could speak with them. I couldn’t hear her conversation, but when everything was over the shadows thanked us all for not killing them and said we were free to take the crystal so long as we left and didn’t come back. I wasn’t aware they were able to talk. Makes me wonder if the ones in the woods can as well…

But yeah… Now we’re back at camp and we have the crystal and I’m all alone to deal with my thoughts, hence me writing this right now. Umbra isn’t here. Dandelion made me a spell scroll with one of the blank scrolls we took from the storage room and I used that to relay everything that’s happened over the past two days to Morr. I don’t know what spell he made, but once it was cast and Morr knew it was me contacting her she had her own magic take over communication.

Morr seems concerned by the fact that some random people who work for a merchant’s guild know about the Forgotten King. She gave me the OK to go with them back to South City so I could meet Tyvar. We talked quite a bit. It was… Nice. Talking to Morr makes me feel like everything is going to be okay. I don’t know why. Her voice is just… Nice, I guess. I don’t know. But we talked for a good half hour. She says she’s glad I found a group I get along with, even if the circumstances around it are sketchy at best. She also gave me a bit of a better cover story so that I won’t get interrogated again. If anyone at the merchants guild asks how I know about the Forgotten King I’m supposed to tell them that I’ve heard whispers of it from some of Morr’s academic colleagues. She also said to make it clear no one believes these rumors and that I was simply investigating out of curiosity. Aside from that, she found my alchemist story to be fine and she said it’d be foolish to change my story now after already telling it to the group.

Morr also had no idea this crystal existed, but she is relieved we have it. She said she was going to start looking into leads on her end as to where the other crystals might be. The good thing is, with how long this cult has apparently been active the fact they only just now found this crystal means we’ve bought a LOT of time. Like… Months to years. So we have plenty of time to learn and grow and get stronger. Seems we’ve stopped the storm from coming and the waters are set to be clear for a good long time. Hopefully that means this will be my last cult job for awhile. I REALLY hope that’s the case. If every job is gonna be like this one… I don’t think I can do it…

We left off with Morr telling me to learn more about the merchant guild everyone works for and to gather as much information as possible in South City. I promised I would, but I also asked if there was an easier way for me to contact her because I really REALLY don’t want to go back there alone. She said she could get something for me, and had me send Umbra to pick it up. I wasn’t too comfortable doing that, but she insisted that Umbra would be back by morning and I trust Morr. So… That’s where I am now.

It’s like five o’clock right now. Everyone is getting ready for the long trip tomorrow and everything feels… Too normal… I don’t understand how everyone can act so normal after everything that just happened. It doesn’t make sense! How can they all just… Be over it so fast! Guh, I feel sick again. I need to stop. I just need to stop thinking. I want to just turn my mind off and forget. That’s what I’m best at anyway. Forgetting…

#lonechangeling #remythechangeling #dungeonsanddragons #faerun #roleplay #lonechangelingsjournal #creative writing #journal entry #fiction

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vegalocity · 4 years ago

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The Tinkerer (Red Groom AU)

It took me a hot second to decide who i wanted to be Miracle Max because there was no way I WASN'T gonna put that scene in this AU

I decided on Syntax bc the other spiders haven't shown up yet and so why not

The house was little more than a glorified workshop; there were shelves of research notes and half finished odds and ends puled up on an open wall near the back, and Xiaojiao was unsure of whether they should be approaching the front door or coming in through the workshop area. Especially since the front door had a very clear 'No Longer In Business' sign hanging from it.

All the same it seemed like Sandy had all the confidence in the world in this 'Tinkerer' as he was known. As his usual grin didn't waver as he shifted his grip on the Not-Monkey King's body and approached the front door. Xiaojiao fell into step beside him of course, and upon Sandy's polite knock stationed herself between her friend and the question of what will be coming next.

A small peek window opened and Xiaojiao was suddenly making eye contact with a pair of very bright green eyes, nearly bioluminescent in their vibrancy, surrounded by a pale purple complexion not unlike the late Spider Queen's.

“We're closed.” The Demon stated firmly.

“Are you The Tinkerer?” She asked in reply.

The demon at the door snarled with a mouth of sharp teeth. “I was. And thank you for reminding me of what that wretched Prince did to my reputation, Why don't you throw a handful of dirt in my face while you're at it! Scram.” he shut the peek window. And Xiaojiao was far less polite when she knocked.

“I said beat it! Or I'm calling the brute squad.” The Tinkerer opened the little window again and glared her down, but Sandy leaned in at the offer.

“I'm on the brute squad.” he waved.

“You are the brute squad.” The Tinkerer agreed.

“Look, we heard you were one of the best healers in the region with your experiments and we're in desperate need.” Xiaojiao tried again.

“What part of 'was' did you not understand? Past tense. I'm Not in that business anymore. Besides-” He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Why would you want a disgraced tinkerer to have a look at whoever you've got in mind anyway? I might kill them.” he said that last part in a mocking tone, clearly imitating the Prince in the false posh accent. The only thing stronger then The Tinkerer's sarcasm seemed to be his bitterness.

“He's already dead?” She tried one last time, and this time the Tinkerer seemed interested. He leaned forward a bit to peer at the Not-Monkey King.

“He is, hm?” He paused for a second, eyes flicking into nothing as he thought something over, before eventually shrugging. “Sure, bring him in. I'll take a look.”

The little home indeed was as small as the door implied, and in the living space there was in fact an extra door that lead to the outside workshop area.

Scanning the room for anything flat enough to lay the Not-Monkey King down on, Xiaojiao eventually started to clear the table of books—and there were many books in this house.

“Careful with those!” The Tinkerer chided but as she turned to hand them off instead of a more average demon aggravated and ready to take the tomes from her, she was met with a pair of metallic prongs infront of her, not dissimilar to the legs of a spider demon, and peering to the side a bit she saw that indeed, they were sprouting from The Tinkerer's back.

...Huh... Spider Queen had let on that she was the only spider demon in the area, to think there was another of her kind so nearby without her knowledge before she'd died... The Tinkerer's spider legs sprouted from his back which WAS a little odd since she'd always been told the hips were the usual area for spider legs, but he was using the other pair to better arrange the table for Sandy to put Not-Monkey King down onto it, so it didn't seem like they were a hindrance. She placed the books in the spare two prongs and said tomes were carefully deposited on an empty chair.

The Tinkerer strode over to the body and hemmed and hawed for a moment. “Well I've certainly seen worse.” He continued to prod at the body, and the running clock began to hold over Xiaojiao's head.

“Sir we're in a rush here-”

“Never rush a scientist, Miss.” The Tinkerer responded evenly. “Nothing makes an experiment go wrong quicker than rushing the scientist.” He fretted over the body a little longer, and his attention was on the corpse still as he spoke again.

“So how much is this worth to you both?”

“All we've got is Sixty-five.”

The Tinkerer scoffed. “I never work for so little.” He paused for a moment, considering. “Except for that one time, but that was a very noble cause.”

Xiaojiao thought fast “Sir this is a noble cause.” Though no one ever said she was any good at improvising. “His wife cannot leave the house after the accident, children on the brink of starvation-”

The Tinkerer was unmoved. “You're not a gifted liar, are you?”

Fine, if she couldn't make this happen with sympathy she may as well tell the truth. “I need him to help me avenge my father. Murdered these last ten years-”

“Your first story was better.” The Tinkerer cut her off with a scoff. “Probably owes you money, doesn't he?” he turned away from the body to rummage through a crate of strange looking devices. “Now where did I put the- Ah.” He pulled out a pump looking thing. “Well if you're not going to be giving me a straight answer I'll ask him myself.” Her thoughts spluttered for a moment.

“He-... He's dead he can't speak-”

The Tinkerer chuckled. “Oh, so now you're the expert, miss?” he shook his head. “No, your friend here is only mostly dead.” He began to turn a few knobs on the device before gently prying the Not-Monkey King's mouth open. “There's a very distinct difference between mostly dead and all dead you see.” He began to turn the crank on the device and slowly the Not-Monkey King's chest began to inflate. “If he were all dead there'd only be one thing to do.”

“What would that be?”

The Tinkerer smirked “Go through his pockets and see if there's anything worth selling. But Mostly Dead, is Slightly Alive. So there's far more options.”

Soon enough he stopped turning the crank and lifted the device from the Not-Monkey King's mouth. After handing the device off to Sandy, whom helpfully carefully set it back inside the box, the Tinkerer leaned in close to the body.

“Hey! Hello in there! Hey- What's so important? You got anything here worth living for?” he then placed both hands and two of his spider legs onto the Not-Monkey King's chest and pushed.

At first the wheezing noise didn't sound like much of anything, but then Xiaojiao was able to make out-

“'True Love'! You heard him!” She leaned forward to examine the body herself for a moment, but other than the faintest moving of his words, the Not-Monkey King remained still. And peeking back up at the Tinkerer he looked pale, mauve skin suddenly more of a sickly lavender. “You couldn't ask for a more noble cause than that, sir.”

“Well Miss, true love certainly would be a noble cause of all noble causes.” He agreed, before blinking once and shaking his head. “But that's not what he said! I've been hearing mostly dead groans for the better side of thirty years now, and I know 'To blave' when I hear it.” He waved a hand dismissively as he turned away from her. “And since you seem like those whom may not know 'To Blave' is an archaic way to say 'to bluff'. So here's my read on things, you lot were gambling on something or another and he was cheating so-”

“Oh for the love of- You CanNOT be serious, Syntax!” a raspy voice piped up, and emerging from one of the small rooms was another spider demon, this one looking far more traditional, with the obvious mandibles and four green eyes instead of The Tinkerer's two.

“Huntsman I am in the middle of something can you just-”

“You're in the middle of making yourself look like an obstinate fool that's what you're in the middle of!” The other spider, Huntsman, approached and grabbed The Tinkerer (Syntax apparently) by the arm. “What kind of coward has my brother turned into that he can't even say the truth when he refuses to do what he poured his life's work into?!”

“You have no idea what you're talking about-”

“You head him,You know what he said-” Huntsman turned to the two of them and were it not for the sadistic gleam in his eye Xiaojiao would have thought he was honestly trying to help them. More likely he just wanted to see his brother squirm. “He's turned into a coward ever since the prince fired him! He's been stuck in a rut for months now!”

“Hey! You said you wouldn't bring that up! You swore you'd let that drop!” The Tinkerer's voice went shrill with anger, and the smirk on Huntsman's face widened, showing off his far more pronounced fangs.

“What? That you got fired? You got fired!” and then in a routine Xiaojiao would more expect out of a play than from a pair of fully grown brothers, Huntsman began to chase Syntax around the little room, loudly crowing 'Fired' over and over again while Syntax made vague noises of distress. Eventually Huntsman got hold of his brother again, and this time he maybe actually looked concerned.

“What would mother say if she saw you puttering about like this?! You know how much she went on about 'True Love' and all that ilk! And Sure Goliath was the only one who ever believed her, but you don't even have the decency to say why you won't help?!” Syntax had his hands clapped over his ears and seemed to be trying to loudly tune Huntsman's words out. “What, one good for nothing Prince gives you the boot and you don't have a reputation anymore?! Where in the world did your Spider Pride run off to because sure as anything else it ain't here anymore!” Wait he meant THIS prince, right?

“This man is Red Son's lover!” she cut in. “If you heal him he'll stop at nothing to stop the Prince's wedding!”

That gave both spider brothers pause, and something sparked to life behind Syntax's expression, he took a step away from his brother and leaned over the Not-Monkey King's body to lean in close to Xiaojiao.

“Hold on, hold on. I heal him and the Prince suffers?”

Xiaojiao leaned in and shot him as big a smirk as she could muster. “What's more humiliating than having your groom run off on the day of your wedding? He'd be mortified.” Syntax smiled back at her, and cackled.

“Now that is a noble cause.” a pair of his spider legs rummaged through the bin again before pulling out a set of adjustable glasses. “Give me the sixty-five, I'm on the job.”

“You're welcome.” Huntsman sarcastically called out before sitting down in a nearby chair and crossing his legs.

Sandy seemed to take an interest in him, wandering over beside the spider and striking up conversation, but Xiaojiao had her eyes on the Tinkerer, and her hopes.

–

“So that's gonna heal him up?”

“Something along those lines. He'll be more alive than he is now.” By this point all three of them were leaned in watching The Tinkerer put his last touches on the cure pill.

“Huh, chocolate coating and everything” Huntsman chiming in every so often for color commentary. “Of course you're enough of a petty bastard to pull out all the stops for revenge.”

“You should wait about fifteen minutes so everything's got time to settle.” Syntax continued as though he hadn't spoken, finishing up the pill and sliding it into a leather pouch. “Oh, and don't let him go swimming for awhile, about an hour or so.” He handed the pouch to Xiaojiao whom quickly slid it into her pocket, and Sandy lifted the body beneath his arm again.

“Thank you so much for this Tinkerer.”

Syntax rolled his eyes. “Just make sure someone sees the Prince suffering so you can send me a letter detailing it.”

And then they were off.

“Don't die!” Huntsman called out as they left.

“Have fun storming the castle!” Syntax added on.

–

“Think it'll work?”

“Do I look like a miracle worker to you?”

–

But soon enough they were at the mouth of the mountain entrance. A small wall the only separating Xiaojiao, Sandy, and their only hope from what was supposed to be about 30 demons.

Key word, 'supposed to'.

“Xiaojiao there's at least sixty men there.”

“What?!” She hissed and poked her head out the side to confirm Sandy's observation. And sure enough-

“I could probably take about ten on my own, how about you my friend?”

“Twenty, assuming we're fighting to incapacitate.” Sandy added on very carefully.

“Damn it all.” She hissed. Before glancing back down at the body. “Well, no matter, we've got him. He'll think of something.”

“Has it been fifteen minutes?”

“We can't afford to wait any longer. The wedding's in half an hour!” She shuffled with the body until he was propped up against the wall and took the pill out.

It slid down his throat quickly and concisely, possibly aided by whatever swallowing reflex remained in his mostly-dead state.

“How long do we have to wait, before we know the experiment works?”

“Your guess is as good as mine-” A voice between them interrupted Xiaojiao

“I'll tear you both apart! I'll take you both together-!” Sandy covered the Not-Monkey King's mouth to cut off his desperate threats.

“I guess not very long.”

“Hey, glad to see you awake!” She went for the friendly approach, he seemed sympathetic to her plight when they were about to duel after all-

When Sandy uncovered his mouth the man remained quiet. “Why won't my arms move?” he finally settled on.

“You've been mostly dead all day, friend.” Sandy calmly explained, Xiaojiao quickly adding on that they'd taken him to The Tinkerer to heal him up before Sandy cut back in.

“You know I feel kinda bad just calling you 'The Man in Black' in my head, but now that we know you're human it feels kinda weird to call you Monkey King too, so do you happen to have a name for us to call you by?”

The man paused again glancing between the two of them. “... Who are you two? Are we still enemies?” He glanced behind him. “Why am I resting on this wall?” but the his expression hardened over. “Where's Red Son?!”

“Okay I can explain-” Wait- “...No there's too much. Let me sum it up, but Sandy's right I'm gonna need that name first.”

"Xiaotian. Now tell me.”

“Well Xiaotian, Red Son's marrying the prince in about half an hour, so what we've got to do is break in, stop the wedding, steal your fire demon back, and make our escape. After I kill the Six Eared Macaque.”

Xiaotian's expression tightened and his fingers began to twitch nervously.

“I'll admit that doesn't leave a lot of time for hesitating.”

“Oh hey Xiaotian! You just wiggled your fingers!” Sandy chirped. “That's great!”

“I've still got something resembling the immortality Monkey King loaned me I guess.” Xiaotian agreed. “What are we facing against?”

“One mountain entrance, guarded by sixty demons.” She grabbed hold of his shoulders and lifted him just enough that his head lolled back and he could see the gate.

“Okay, what do WE have?”

“Your mind, my sword, Sandy's muscle.” …. well that sounded pathetic now that she said it outloud-

“That's it? That's pathetic."... but he didn't have to SAY it-

"Maybe if I had a WEEK I could think of a plan but this?” he shook his head slightly.

“Hey! You shook your head too! You're getting better!” Sandy was clearly nervous, with how bright and sunny he was trying to be. Xiaotian tilted his head to the side just enough to turn to see him.

“Your strength, my mind, and her sword against sixty men to stop the love of my life from getting married and then assassinated by a power hungry tyrant-to-be and you think a little head jiggle is worth celebrating?” He hissed and Xiaojiao was about to throw out a hand in Sandy's deference, but as usual the implied insult did little to dampen Sandy's hard earned chill.

“I mean I'd hardly consider it asking for a lot to have a little more to work with! if we had a wheelbarrow that would be something!”

Wait...

“Sandy what did we do with that Wheelbarrow those demon twins had?”

“I think we just left it there after they ran off.”

Xiaotian's expression pinched. “Why didn't you mention that earlier?” But nonetheless she could see the gears beginning to turn in his head. “Ugh... Maybe if we had a dark cloak I could do that plan but-”

“Yeah no, sorry about that, friend.” But Sandy it seemed had other ideas.

“Will this work?” a long dark cloak was pulled from behind him.

“W-... Where did you get that?”

“At the Tinkerer's! That Huntsman guy said it was made for his brother but it was too big and it fit me, so he said I should just take it!”

“Alright alright. Long Xiaojiao was it?”

“Just Xiaojiao is fine.”

“Can you pluck one of my hairs for me and hold it up?”

“Uhhh?”

“Trust me.”

So she curled a finger around a strand of hair and plucked it from Xiaotian's head before holding it up before him.

He blew gently on the piece and directed her to toss it forward.

There was a shower of golden sparks and the hair had turned into a staff much like the one he'd been wielding when they'd met.

“Alright help me up and I'll explain things.” It was a bit of a struggle, Xiaotian had to be sandwiched between Xiaojiao and Sandy “Can one of you attach that to my back?” Sandy reached down and did so.

“You can't even lift it!” Xiaojiao huffed.

“Yeah but they don't know that.” Xiaotian countered, and... she didn't have a counterargument. “So it's going to be a mess when we start this whole thing, one problem after another-”

“I'll say.” She huffed. “I've got three off the top of my head, when we're inside how do I find the Macaque, when I'm done with him how do I find you again, and when I find you again how do we all escape?”

Sandy whom had been basically holding Xiaotian's head up for him during this exchange, tilted the man's head to rest against his chest. “Come on Xiaojiao, lay off the guy, he's had a hard day.”

“Right, Sorry.”

Sandy bobbed Xiaotian's head in an approximation of a nod.

“Hey Xiaojiao?”

“What is it?”

“I hope we win.”

#Red groom AU #Monkie Kid #LMK #Qi Xiaotian #Long Xiaojiao #lmk Sandy #lmk Syntax #lmk Huntsman #mk Sandy #Princess bride Au #Spicynoodleshipping #Vega writes stories too

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deborahdeshoftim5779 · 4 years ago

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BBC Merlin 4x05: His Father’s Son

Here's a round-up of my main observations from BBC Merlin's "His Father's Son" (4x05).

1- MERLIN AS A KNIGHT

I have to admit that Merlin as a sorcerer and trusted adviser appeals to me the most, but I did write a lengthy post analysing how Arthur had turned Merlin into an excellent fighter. This refutes claims that Merlin gave more to Arthur than he received in return.

At the beginning of 4x05, we see Merlin selected to play a new role: that of knight. How did this come about? Arthur Pendragon is best known for his skills as a warrior, but he deserves more credit for his military tactics. These destroy the popular yet false idea that he is unintelligent. More on the latter in a forthcoming post.

One of Arthur’s favourite tactics is using decoys. Previous examples of him using decoys include: The Castle of Fyrien (3x07), when Arthur used Merlin as a decoy to entrap Cenred’s soldiers; Aithusa (4x04), when Arthur used himself as a decoy to get Sir Percival to safety; Arthur’s Bane Part 2 (5x02), when Arthur uses Merlin as a decoy to enrage the slave traders before they escape-- by far my favourite example.

All things considered, I don’t think it takes long for Arthur to choose Merlin. Furthermore, this decision may have taken place before they reached their selected location, as Agravaine later mentions a previous attack by Caerleon on the border. This choice demonstrates that Arthur has higher confidence in Merlin's abilities than he does of in his knights-- else he would have chosen them. We must conclude that Merlin is Arthur's best fighter, though at first glance, we wonder why an unarmed man follows trained knights into battle.

Merlin is sharp, fast, has high stamina, and is incredibly resourceful. Most of all, however, he is incredibly brave. In fact, when rewatching 1x02, I was surprised to see Arthur acknowledge that Merlin was "braver than you look." This despite Arthur’s frustration that Merlin did not try hard enough during practice ("Come on, Merlin: I've got a tournament to win!").

What’s more, in that same episode, Merlin complains about his first day, but later on, we see his fascination wth the ongoing tournament. Then he admitted to Gaius that working for Arthur (in the context of said tournament) "isn't totally horrible all the time." It took one day for him to change his opinion!

Sure, Merlin would continue to treat the fighting as pointless violence, and Arthur as having nothing more in his head than a desire to knock "the seven bells" out of other people (3x04). However, even in 1x02, when he applauds Arthur's fighting, his actions tell a different story. We associate this habit of liking something whilst pretending otherwise to Arthur, yet Merlin has it as well.

As I have said before, Merlin and Arthur have profound differences, yet are profoundly alike.

2- MERLIN AS A SERVANT

It comes as no surprise that Merlin would return to serving after the beginning of 4x05. However, what that change represents sets the tone for this entire episode: Arthur dismissing Merlin's counsel repeatedly in favour of listening to his uncle.

When Arthur says, "so please, stick to what you do know," you have to wonder whether Merlin remembered being entrusted with the role of knight. Now, Arthur puts him back in his place.

Here's another example: "My conscience is clean, which is more than I can say for my room, so just... do your job, will you?" Yet just yesterday, that job involved Merlin risking his life against enemy forces by dressing as a knight.

By the way, you can tell that Arthur doesn’t believe his own excuses, because he keeps using the passive voice to justify killing Caerleon: “...a show of strength was necessary… an example had to be made… My conscience is clean…”

Merlin’s face after Arthur claims he doesn’t need anyone is self-explanatory.

3- NEW THOUGHTS ON ANNIS

Is Queen Annis a good person? Actually, no.

First of all, she knows and approves of her husband invading foreign kingdoms to plunder their wealth. Such invasions naturally cost not only the lives of Arthur's men, but her own, too.

Furthermore, despite accepting Arthur's offer of a fight by single combat, she is prepared to cheat by enlisting Morgana's power. Perhaps if Arthur had died, too, she would have felt some remorse. Yet she still takes a monumental risk with Arthur's life in blatant violation of the knight's code. One has to wonder about her reaction had Camelot plotted against her armies in the same way.

Then we have Annis calmly ordering Merlin’s execution without giving him a chance to explain himself. The lack of emotion in her voice suggests she has done this before.

Speaking of cruelty, Annis’ champion seems to enjoy inflicting pain on his enemies, yet the Queen claims that he “served my husband well.” I dread to think what she means by “served”.

I will also note that Queen Annis disdains magic, referring to Morgana as “witch”. As I have said before, Uther did not begin prejudice against magic; sorcerers were disliked and feared elsewhere, too, including by those who disliked Uther. Many sorcerers caused this prejudice by engaging in manipulative, violent, and wicked deeds.

Examples include High Priestesses using Fomorrohs to enslave people’s minds (4x06); Cornelius Sigan using his power to change day into night and acquire vast wealth (2x01); sorcerers using special blades to murder people (3x04), and so on.

None of this takes away from Annis’ complexity, nor does it undermine her immense humility when she accepts defeat and withdraws from Camelot. After all, much of Annis' rage and desire for vengeance stems from intense grief over Caerleon's death, so we can assume her marriage was a happy one.

Forgiving the man who destroyed her domestic happiness (as well as leaving her people without a king) shows tremendous nobility on Annis’ part. I think Arthur sees that, for he is always humble and respectful before her.

4- LONG LIVE THE KING

Few people respect Arthur more than Merlin. So when he doesn’t join in with cries of “Long live the king!”, you know something is wrong.

5- CONTROL YOUR FEAR

Episode 4x03 has a hilarious scene where a drunk Arthur claims he isn’t even a little bit scared, because, “I’m a warrior. You learn to control your fear.” Then Arthur walks smack bang into a pillar. Never fails to make me laugh. Minus the drunkenness, Arthur was telling the truth about controlling his fear.

You can see this at least twice in this episode: first, when he sees how many men Annis has brought against Camelot, and secondly, when he sees the size of Annis’ giant. In both cases, Arthur harnesses his fear into determination, which is another sign of a great warrior.

Next up, we have a fascinating scene where Arthur watches his men joking by the fire. It's a great way of showing Arthur’s care for these men, as well as his guilt that impending war will end their lives. In a sense, Arthur has to control his fear yet again.

6- TRUST IN MERLIN

After the above scene, Gwaine asks Merlin if Arthur is all right, and the fact that Merlin can describe Arthur's feelings without even questioning the King once again shows the unique nature of their friendship. Merlin sees Arthur's expression, and he just knows. And Gwaine knows that, hence why he does not question the King himself.

Listen to the silence after Merlin's response. Nobody questions Merlin's judgement: they just reflect. Given the way Arthur has repeatedly dismissed Merlin's advance in favour of his uncle, I think he could have learned something from his own knights.

I wonder whether the knights would ask Merlin something about Arthur in this way, whenever the king was absent. In ancient kingdoms, kings had advisers, and in order to earn the monarch's favour, you spoke to the latter first. Did Merlin ever play that role for the knights?

7- MERLIN’S IDIOCY

Now, I have a problem with Merlin telling Arthur that 1)- he would have taken any other option but to face war with Annis, and 2)- his decision to kill Caerleon “was made in the best interests of Camelot.”

Sorry, but it wasn’t. Merlin knows that. I understand that he has to rally Arthur’s spirits so that they can win against Annis, but I am glad that Arthur knows full well he has done wrong. Both Merlin and many fans do not give Arthur enough credit for recognising his own errors.

However, even these foolishly optimistic statements pale in comparison to Merlin's reckless and self-righteous interference when Arthur negotiates with Queen Annis. I burst out laughing when he trips and falls headlong into the tent, a metaphor for his impetuousness.

Merlin eavesdrops outside Annis’ tent, gets caught (so he didn't conceal himself), and then has the audacity to say, “Sorry about this!” to Arthur! Not only that, he got angry over being called a “simple-minded fool”, when he couldn’t even walk in a straight line to follow the king, got himself caught and almost killed by enemy soldiers, and made Arthur look as though he were double-crossing Annis!

I completely agree with Arthur’s anger: “Oh, I was being kind, believe me: you almost got me killed in there!” Correct. Merlin simply could not trust that Arthur knew what he was doing, and decided to interfere. Instead of apologising for getting Arthur into trouble, Merlin remains on the defensive, claiming without evidence that Arthur was “doing a pretty good job of that yourself!”

This is untrue. Arthur surrendered himself to Annis’ men. The most injury he received was a slap. He asked a favour. That isn’t risking your life. In fact, Arthur was trying to save lives, and if Merlin had been listening properly (or just stayed in bed), he would have seen that. Only after Merlin’s sudden entrance did Arthur face serious danger from Annis.

Now, Merlin’s explanation for this is, “I’m your friend! I was looking out for you.” I don’t doubt it. But once again, Arthur is right: “I appreciate that in your very confused way, you’re only trying to help, but please: don’t do it again.”

Condescending? Of course. But this time it was Merlin who provoked him into this anger.

8- MORGANA

Despite all her power, Morgana still has to defer to non-magical kings and queens. After all, she requires their military assistance to take over Camelot.

You can also see how Queen Annis detects Morgana’s hatred, greed, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and bloodlust. In one glance, Queen Annis begins questioning the wisdom of working with a sorceress she does not trust, not least on account of Morgana being a sorceress.

In fact, Arthur’s prowess as a warrior impresses her more: “You have as much to lose as I if Arthur wins…” Fascinating scene.

9- THANK YOU, OLD FRIEND

It’s ironic that arguably the best scene in 4x05 begins by showcasing Arthur’s cynicism. No guesses why Arthur did not tell Merlin about breaking off his relationship with Gwen earlier. That speaks volumes. If he had told Merlin, I think they would have had an argument similar to that of 4x11.

Only when Arthur realises that he may die does he ask Merlin to pass his ring onto Gwen with an apology. You can see the guilt etched onto his face as he refuses to make eye contact. Interestingly, Merlin does not ask any further questions.

Arthur’s entrusting Merlin to look after Gwen in the event of his death says a lot. For example, that ring is technically royal property, yet Arthur gives it to a servant for safe-keeping, rather than his next-of-kin, Agravaine. Despite claiming to need his uncle’s advice, Arthur will not trust Agravaine with such duties. Has Arthur made a medieval will or testament? Obviously, I have no idea, however, this episode already shows Arthur’s reliance on Merlin to deal with family matters.

Another interesting aspect to this scene is Merlin’s silence after Arthur makes an indisputable point. This dispels any idea that Merlin’s advice was always correct. On several occasions, Merlin had to defer to Arthur’s judgement, because he saw the truth and wisdom behind it. “I don’t know what will happen. But for the first time since I became king, I know in my heart I’ve made the right decision.”

Got to love Arthur’s half-amused, “You’re not about to start crying on me, are you?” He expects Merlin to be either in good spirits or confident, because that is how he, too, remains confident. Arthur is an optimist, yet Merlin becomes a pessimist, so the king must pull Merlin together with light and yet serious teasing.

Needless to say, Arthur calling Merlin “old friend” implies that they have been friends for a long time. So why do some fans still think that Arthur had trouble admitting that Merlin was his friend? Also, the word “old” in this context can imply reliability, constancy. Arthur chose that word to describe Merlin’s value, as well as the length of their friendship.

The great thing about Arthur is that while he makes some serious errors, when he does repent, he does so well. Not only does Arthur graciously thank Merlin for his concern, but he makes it clear to Agravaine that he relies on Merlin’s judgement prior to entering battle. This supports my earlier statement that Merlin is Arthur’s best fighter, as well as right-hand man; Arthur does not leave for the fight until Merlin has confirmed his readiness.

On top of this, Arthur later admits that he might be a cabbage head. “I should have listened to you, Merlin. Just this once, I think you were right-- even if you are the worst servant in the five kingdoms!”

By implication, Agravaine is wrong. Arthur won’t say that, of course, but we saw Merlin’s sound advice competing with Agravaine’s lies for this entire episode. We can only conclude that regardless of what he says, Arthur trusts Merlin more than members of his own family.

And this is a theme which will continue and grow for the remainder of Season 4.

FURTHER POINTS:

Merlin’s fighting skills

Paradoxes of Arthur and Merlin’s friendship

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skrivarmelodi · 4 years ago

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Now AOT is over...

So, I read the final chapter of Attack On Titan and there are a lot of thoughts and feelings. But overall I'm pleased with the whole story and the ending. I trusted Isayama and he didn't disappoint me.

There are certain things I'd like to go into detail about Levi, Ymir, Mikasa, Eren etc and certain moments during the story.

So if anyone cares here we go. (warning, this got long and contains spoilers for chapter 139 and obviouisly the whole story!)

First, Ymir Fritz, Eren, and Mikasa.

The more we got to know Ymir, the more we knew about her circumstances and how it all started, the more I asked myself, why she doesn’t simply stop all of the misery, if she can and, obviously, has the power to do so (chapter 122).

I thought, perhaps, because she loves King Fritz so much, after all, she sacrificed herself in order to protect him (which I didn’t like at all, because he was a shitty person). But then I wasn't sure if Isayama would use 'love' in such a way. He did and it's nothing new but it's something we can all understand. Love is good, but it can also be something bad, something toxic, and Ymir was most likely a slave of her own feelings because she didn't know better. Her life was miserable until she got the power to become a Titan and gave birth to the daughters of the king. But as you can see, at the beginning of chapter 122 she watches a couple getting married and that was what she wanted too. To be loved. This was the love she knew and the love she protected and believed that was true love (most likely) because she didn't know a different kind of love.

When Eren told her, that she can decide and asked her to give him the power he needs, it didn’t sit well with me. I guess because I never connected Eren to have any romantic feelings (though I guessed so much when it comes to Mikasa and he simply wanted to be cool or something). But AOT in itself doesn’t display love in the way we usually see, that became very clear to me with each new chapter. And love is not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about AOT.

Now about Eren.

Oh boy, look at that. When Eren slowly became the villain I liked the idea but at the same time I was questioning it. It simply made no sense to me why he would want to kill everyone and yet care so deeply about his friends. Also, Isayama is not that sort of person to let his characters act out of character. Whatever the characters I agreed with it because that was how Isayama created them. That's why, when it came out that Eren was able to see the past, present, and future, I thought he probably saw a way to stop all of this and protect his friends. Isayama played us good, when Eren was rude towards Mikasa and Armin and then the rumbling came, but I constantly thought 'No, there must be more to it'. And yeah, Eren saw a possible future because everything was unclear to him and he grabbed that chance and took it.

Remember in the first season, when Eren, Levi, and Levi's squad were fighting against the female titan and that Eren has to decide what he should do and what not? That he has to accept the consequences? Yeah, Eren did that and he knew it was bad but it was the way he believed in and saw, even if it meant to kill 80% of humanity (what the...) and sacrifice his own life. I don't see Eren as a hero nor as a villain. But he definitely acted on his own free will and accepted the consequences.

Now about Mikasa.

Well, I'll be honest, I was never a fan of Mikasa. I didn't like how she was solely focused on Eren and didn't seem to have her own goals that were not connected to Eren. I simply didn't like that and Eren wasn't my favourite either, but I love their development. The moment I started to feel sorry for her was when Eren said he hated her. You see, I get it, I understand why Mikasa is the way she is and I'm simply no fan of this 'I do everything for you, fuck everyone else' especially not in a world like AOT, I also understand the Ackermann Bond (I ship Eruri after all). So I was really pissed at Eren to stomp on her feelings like that because, no matter how much I like or dislike a person, you don't treat them the way Eren did (also toward Armin). From that moment on, I enjoyed her development and when she cut off Eren's head I was sad and happy for her.

So, in many ways, Mikasa is like Ymir, or rather, Ymir is like Mikasa, but on a whole different level. Mikasa, who devoted herself to Eren, just like Ymir did to King Fritz, saw that what he was doing was wrong and she decided to stop him. She loves him still, of course, but she was able to do what Ymir couldn't and she did it for the greater good. Because there is more than Eren, there are more people who deserve to live. I did like that and also that her action was the eye-opener for Ymir. It doesn't change the way Mikasa feels about Eren, and that's okay, but she was willing to kill the person she loves more than anything because it was the right thing to do. Ymir simply couldn't do what Mikasa did because she didn't know better.

About Levi, Erwin's death, Armin saving humanity, Berthold wasn't supposed to die, and just some thoughts about AOT in general.

Now, I do ship Levi and Erwin together and I was sure Levi would die and meet Erwin in the afterlife and then Isayama would out them (haha). But I'm just happy that Levi survived and is now the adopted uncle of Gabi and Falco. He's my favorite character and a lot of things would have ended badly without him. For me, he and Erwin and their squad represented not only a strong force and saviours but also how you probably have to be in order to survive/handle a world like AOT.

So I was shocked, at first, when Levi saw Erwin and the others because I thought he would die, but when the tear ran down his cheek, I could feel how everything fell of his shoulders. Levi never cried, never had time to mourn his comrades because he understood the world they were living in and that he needed to keep on moving. I never considered him as someone cold because he clearly wasn't. But he also never cried and seeing that... finally. And I'm sure he cried some more after everything. I thought he would cry (he was close to though and perhaps did when he was alone) when Erwin died because that fucking broke him.

Their relationship fascinated me even before I started to ship them but it broke my fucking heart when Erwin died too.

And here we come to the part about Armin and Bertholg.

I was so pissed that Armin survived and even more when things just became worse. I thought, in AOT, you can't solve everything through talking. It worked during certain critical moments, yes, but it simply isn't the main key for everything when it comes to the world of AOT.

So, I never understood why Armin had to survive and not Erwin and it became more and more confusing for me as the story continued because Armin, clearly, is not Erwin and he doesn't have what Erwin has. I don't know if things would have been better with Erwin being in charge, but he would have definitely done something while Armin didn't know what to do. Sure, he is younger than Erwin, doesn't have the experience as Erwin does and in his core he is very different, and that's totally fine. Armin is fine the way he is, but during the story. I constantly found myself thinking: 'With Erwin and his mind, we wouldn't be in such a situation'. I once read somewhere that Levi and Erwin are too smart to be fooled by, for example, Yelena. I can't help but agree.

And today, when I read the final chapter and Eren said 'Berthold wasn't supposed to die on that day' and also, that he couldn't see the past and future as separated paths but everything at once I thought, that this is Isayama giving us his version but there are also many many other ways this story could go. Which is, for me, such a sweet and grateful message. We are free to choose our path (fanfiction/fanart etc) and to create a different story, but this AOT version is his version and how he imagined it, or rather, how Eren saw one possible happy end.

I'm still certain with Erwin around things would have been different, better even, but I understand Eren too. I guess, he didn't only choose Armin because he knew things would have a happy ending for his friends. He also choose Armin because of personal feelings. I wonder what would have happened if Berthold survived, was there also a happy end but without Armin? And perhaps without the rumbling? I think it's nice that Isayama did this and that he, basically, points at a different way but it's up to us.

Now, the rumbling is over and so is the power of the titans and in such a world, someone like Armin is the right person to be in. Now it's all about talking, having a proper conversation, creating relationships through words. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Erwin would have been able to do that as well, but Armin is much more diplomatic than Erwin because he doesn't want to fight or kill, it's really the last option for him. Erwin on the other hand wouldn't hesitate, and someone like him was important for the world before the rumbling was over.

Now some general thoughts about AOT now that it's over.

Okay, so, I watched tons of Anime when I was a teenager and the best thing for me was Death Note. But after Death Note I found nothing that really interested me and a lot of weird stuff. I don't know, it simply wasn't for me. However, I continued reading my yaoi Mangas and even studied Japanese for a year. Then, I did hear about Attack on Titan but I was so used to shitty Anime that I thought it would be shitty too (the next best thing I found was Yuri on Ice). However, a friend of mine gave me the first season and I thought, well, why not. I was so wrong and through AOT I found my way back to Anime.

It's not just the story, not just the art-style I like, it's Isayama and his brain I enjoy so much. I'm a very logical person and I like it when stories and things make sense and are connected from the beginning till the end and when it never feels forced but natural, true, loyal to the characters and the world they created. I don't know how he does it but I'm so grateful for AOT and that he decided to share this amazing story with us (even though it was fucking painful and my poor Levi). It's really been a while for me to find a story that caught me like Death Note did many years ago.

So, ありがとう、Isayama-San!

But I'd love to know more about the Ackermans and Levi and perhaps we'll get a book like Answers etc later. That would be great.

#attack on titan #snk #shingeki no kyojin #eruri #Levi ackerman #Erwin Smith #ch139 spoilers #mikasa ackerman #eren jaeger

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echoghost1 · 4 years ago

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Fool's Errand

Word Count: 2033 For: @five-rivers

Summary: It had been hours since Danny flew off to fight Pariah Dark and Vlad took it upon himself to see what was taking the boy so long.

You can read it on AO3 or down below the cut

Edit: I added a summary

Vlad had been flying for hours but he finally found what he had been searching for. There, sitting on the edge of one of the many floating isles, was his prize.

The boy below him perked up just as he had started his descent. Vlad did his best to quell the surge of jealousy of the boy’s near precognisant perception of other ghosts.

He landed with a grimace all the same.

“There you are, boy. Is there any reason you’ve made me search for you?”

“I didn’t make you do anything.” came his snarky reply.

Vlad crossed his arms and waited for the boy to get up.

He made no attempt to move.

“Do I seriously have to ask you to come with me?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Daniel bit his lip and averted his gaze, “I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I mean I can’t! Just what that means, Can not. Unable. It isn’t happening!”

Vlad rolled his eyes, “There’s no need to get hysterical, Daniel.”

The boy huffed in annoyance, “You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew what happened.”

“Then enlighten me.”

Daniel was quiet for a moment as he pondered his options. “You act like I’m just loitering or something. As if I wouldn’t leave on my own. Somehow the idea of me being stuck here hadn’t crossed your mind.” He chuckled to himself but his small grin was quickly replaced by solemn defeat.

"You know, the funny thing is, for so long I thought you knew everything there was to know about being a ghost. But all you know is how to use your powers in the human world. You don't know anything about the ghost world."

Vlad tried to refute that, but Daniel continued.

"You spent so much time trying to win me over, trying to get me to join you when there was a ghostly solution all along."

Vlad was confused, but also intrigued.

"The need for family doesn't go away when you become a ghost. The only problem is that ghosts can't have kids like humans, like the living can. They can adopt though."

"Adopt?"

"Yeah. I've been adopted."

Vlad was not at all thrilled to be given an explanation that only further confused him. He made sure to make it clear that he did not like what little he was told.

“Fine! You want the story? I’ll give you a story!” Daniel shouted in frustration as he got to his feet, “Once upon a time, there was a greedy blue vampire who thought taking things that weren’t his was a good idea.”

Vlad was irritated that he was now forced to listen to this fairy tale version of events, but he kept quiet. If this was the only way to get to the truth then he could handle these childish antics.

“Of course, it wasn’t, and he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Since he was a coward he ran away before anything could happen to him.”

“Hey!” Vlad was a lot of things, but he was not a coward. He just knew the wisdom of a strategic retreat. He made sure to say as much.

Daniel took a breath to regain what little composure he had before continuing, “Anyway, his problems followed him and the weight of the whole world fell to one boy. That boy took it upon himself to don a suit of armor that granted great power, but it was cursed. The wearer would have their life force slowly taken away the longer they wore it. The boy knew the risks but did it anyway. He donned the poisonous armor and went headfirst into the fray. He faced the enraged king alone. He wasn’t sure if he would be strong enough to win,” the boy’s voice hitched as he finished, “even with the armor.” He gently floated back down to the crag below them in silence. “His only hope was that even if he didn’t win, the king would lose first.”

The weight of his words finally settled and Vlad took the opportunity to land on the ground beside him. He hadn’t realized the boy came here thinking this was a suicide mission.

Which, on further reflection, was a logical conclusion to come to.

“I didn’t realize,” Vlad hesitated unsure how to articulate what he was feeling. “I didn’t think that this would happen.” he finished knowing it wasn’t enough.

“Because heaven forbid you have to deal with the consequence of your actions,” Daniel replied sarcastically.

Vlad couldn’t think of a retort and just let the words settle into his skin like a barb.

The pair was quiet for some time before Daniel spoke again, “It isn’t all bad I guess.”

“Oh?” He was curious about the boy’s view on the situation. Especially after how he recounted recent events.

“Well, he says that he won’t be running around trying to take over everything. Said he just wants to stabilize his area first and,” Daniel hesitated and looked away while rubbing the back of his neck, “and he says he wants to focus on me.” Daniel chuckled nervously, “Which is super weird right? Who would have guessed the best way to calm down a tyrannical ruler was to make him a dad.”

Vlad wasn’t sure anyone would have guessed that. Ever.

Now that he wasn’t stressed from his long flight, or agitated by Daniel’s behavior, he finally noticed that there were some subtle changes to the boy’s appearance.

He was still in his ghost form, which made sense given their current location, but it wasn’t exactly the same.

Daniel caught him staring and followed his gaze. “Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that.”

“You forgot?”

“I had a lot on my mind, alright? I was recently in a high-stakes battle for my life and then I wake up to find I’ve been ghost adopted! Sorry, my aesthetics weren’t higher on my list of things to be freaking out about!”

“I was merely asking,” Vlad commented with an insuppressible eye-roll.

“Whatever.” the teen waved him off, “I think it’s because I’m still wearing the armor.”

“You think you might be wearing the Ecto-Skeleton?”

“Well it’s not as bulky or obvious, but I still kind of feel that buzz like when I was wearing it. And you know,” He turned his hand around both to examine it and show it off, “my gloves are gauntlets now, so there’s that.”

The gloves did appear to be gauntlets. The fingers were covered in jointed plates instead of the previous fabric. His gloves weren’t the only thing that changed. His boots and belt, which before were just as white as his hair, were now more silver, they seemed to cast a slight metallic gleam from the light of their ghost forms. His boots were also sporting metallic shin guards with a neon green skull detailed onto the knee. The skull looked exactly like the one that adorned the ring of rage. It even had those menacing red eyes.

“I think I got the suit to match him.” he turned to look up at Vlad, “you know how he has the ring and the crown? I think I got the suit.”

“The suit became a ghostly artifact?” Vlad asked but maybe the boy was on to something. It could be possible for someone as powerful enough to call themselves ‘the king of all ghosts’ could make artifacts. Or perhaps it had to do with this adoption thing?

He still wasn’t entirely convinced if that was a thing. Because if it was, he surely would have found out about it before now.

“Should I give it a name?”

“What?”

“The suit? Should I give it a name? I mean, it only seems fair.”

“How about ‘the Armor of Light’?” a deep voice suggested from behind them.

The two turned in surprise but Daniel was the first to speak. “Oh! Hi dad!”

Then he muttered more to himself, “I didn’t know you could sneak up on me like that.”

Pariah towered over them and laughed. Thankfully it wasn’t a cruel laugh. It was actually amused. “Don’t worry my child, I believe that is only because we are so close. It would be like detecting yourself, would it not?”

Daniel thought about it for a moment, “I suppose so.” he looked back up to his towering counterpart, “Still weird though.”

Vlad found it odd how relaxed the boy was with the king he had just recently tried to beat into submission. Maybe the adoption thing was real?

He did just call him ‘dad’, didn’t he.

“Come, let us go back to the Keep. It’s getting late and young ones such as yourself shouldn’t be so far unguarded.”

Daniel floated upward and sat on the right-hand shoulder of the king as if that was the most natural place for him to be, “How can you even tell time here? There’s no sun or moon. Just green swirly void.”

Pariah shook his head clearly very amused with the boy’s antics, “I can teach you later.”

“Wait there is a way? Do watches work here?”

“Some do, but not always in the way you would think.”

Daniel did not hide his confusion at that statement and Vlad didn’t blame him. It was weirdly cryptic. Perhaps he was referring to some time-keeping ghost or something?

As much as Vlad found watching the two interact interesting he wasn’t exactly pleased about being completely ignored. So he cleared his throat hoping to get some actual information out of the king.

The king turned to face him, “You’re still here?”

Vlad tried very hard to not be offended by that, “I was just about to go, your majesty, but I had a quick question.”

Pariah crossed his arms as he waited for Vlad to continue.

“The boy claims you have adopted him? Is that true?”

“Are you implying he’s a liar?”

“I-uh, no!” Vlad stammered as he tried to think of what to say next, “It’s just he likes to play pranks. To jest. I meant no disrespect.”

Daniel laughed at that. “He’s not wrong. I do enjoy a good joke.” his expression turned serious again, “But I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

Pariah placed a hand up to comfort the boy. If the king wasn’t so large or if Daniel wasn’t so small, the gesture would have looked like a hand on the knee, as it was, Pariah’s hand covered all of the boy’s lower half.

“This gives me an idea.” the king spoke before picking Daniel up from his perch and whispering something into his ear.

The boy’s face went from curious, to interested, to downright devilish.

Whatever was being discussed probably wasn’t going to spell good news for Vlad. He started to slowly float backward away from the conspiring royals.

The thought stopped him in his tracks. Daniel was royalty now. Vlad gently landed on the edge of the island again.

If he played his cards right, maybe he could get what he was after. It would probably take much longer than he had originally anticipated, but Vlad knew how to be patient. He knew how to play the long game.

Pariah turned back to face Vlad, “Ah good you didn’t slip away after all. I have a proposition for you.”

“That’s very generous of you, sire,” Vlad said making sure to show that he could play nice.

“It is. Considering the damage you have caused, you’re getting off fairly easily.”

Vlad audibly gulped at the thinly veiled threat. “Thank you. I am honored to receive this offering.”

“So, do you accept?” he said and the look in his eye implied that rejection of the offer was not something Vlad would enjoy.

“Of course!”

The second he uttered those two words Vlad regretted every single choice in his miserable life that led to this moment.

Daniel was ecstatic with his response as he floated playfully while he clapped with glee.

That most certainly meant he had made an egregious error.

“For the man foolish enough to try and overthrow me, what better role than to entertain me and my son as the royal court jester.”

#phic phight #phic phight 21 #five-rivers #Danny Phantom #ghost adoption

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starlightsearches · 4 years ago

Text

Scoundrel

So my inbox decided to delete every request that I had, but lucky for me I actually copied them all down this time! Here’s three requests that I’ve combined into one story, hope you all love it!

Anonymous asked: Lol you reblogged a head cannon from @historymiss about kylo and his “scoundrel” skills and it is just so funny to think about, I’d love to read a fic by you about it. Maybe reader is some type of smuggler being hunted down by the first order and they get away but not before they impress each other with shady skills?

Anonymous asked: Ooh! How about a prompt? “It’s a hobby of mine to prove you wrong” reader to kylo?

Anonymous asked: kylo x reader “is that blood?” “... no?”

Requests are closed ✨

Kylo Ren x Reader (no pronouns)

Warnings: some angst, language, mentions of sex pollen 😏, mild horniness, not a happy ending 🙁

There's no light at all in your hiding place, just the hard press of metal against your spine and the sound of your own breathing. You close your eyes, not that it changes the much, fill your lungs as quietly as you can manage and then hold your breath, listening closely to the sounds of footsteps as they move past you, the modulated mumbles of storm troopers as they head towards the exit of your ship. It's not easy to track their movements just by sound, but you don't think they found your stash, thank gods. If they all get off your fucking ship, you can be on your way in no time.

"Search completed, sir. No sign of the fugitives." You can just barely hear one of the troopers report to some silent supervisor, and your mind catches on the last word. Fugitives? Who were they looking for? Some people would pay a lot of credits for information like that. Despite its chaotic beginnings, today could still be a lucky one. You press your ear closer to the false wall that you hide behind, furrowing your brow in concentration.

"Complete searches of the rest of the ships, they’re here somewhere," there's a second voice now, and as soon as you hear it, ice floods your veins. You'd recognize that voice anywhere. Shit.

Your previous confidence in your hiding place leaves immediately, but you can't move, your sense of self-preservation still convinced that he might slip up this time. You're startled from that delusion almost immediately by a loud pounding sound, and then the panel covering your little shelter gives way to blinding light.

You land on your hands and knees with a loud smack, the impact driving spikes of pain through your bones. Someone—a trooper you assume—is on you immediately, yanking your hands behind your back. As soon as your eyes adjust, he's in your line of sight, filling your view with an expansive blackness.

"You again," he's crouched down beside you, the words almost quiet enough to be a whisper, and said with a kind of reverence that might only exist in your imagination. It's been a long time since you last saw Kylo Ren, but it feels like no time at all.

"We can't keep meeting like this, Commander," you reply, coating your words in a healthy level of sarcasm to hide any trembling that could break through, "People might think that you're in love with me."

He doesn't respond, because he never does, but he lifts his hand to your face, rubbing his thumb roughly against your cheek, the seam of his glove scraping against your skin. "Is that blood?" he asks in the same even tone, raising his hand to eye level; you can just barely make out the dark red smear against the black leather.

" ... No?" And then after a beat, "well, it's not mine." Nothing changes in the man before you, but you hear a modulated snicker from behind, and the trooper mutters an apology when Ren shoots him what you have to assume would be a glare if you could see the face behind his mask.

"Search them," Kylo Ren stands to his full height, and you follow close behind, yanked to your feet unceremoniously by the trooper. Some might find this situation humiliating, being cuffed and patted down on your own ship, but you're able to ignore it rather easily, choosing instead to keep your eyes trained on Ren. He returns your stare, his arms crossed tight over his broad chest, fingers flexing rhythmically against the swell of his biceps. No, being handled like this doesn't bother you at all, but you think it might bother him.

Your weapons are removed one by one, and it's a few minutes before the trooper is satisfied, attaching the cuffs to your wrists and giving you one final shove to signal the end of his search. "Should I take them back to the command shuttle?"

Ren stays silent, and your mind kicks in to lightspeed as you try to come up with a plan. If they got you off this ship, your chances of escape would diminish greatly. You'd need to stay aboard, but how? Fighting both of them wouldn't be an option, especially not weaponless. You'll have to make this up as you go and hope things play out in your favor.

"Leave the prisoner with me for interrogation," he says to the trooper, and you stifle a sigh of relief, "I'll need to search the ship again." You try to keep your emotions in check as you watch the trooper walk towards the exit, following him around the corner and out the door with your eyes. It's just you and Ren now. You could make this work.

He breaks the silence as soon as you're alone, plucking the thoughts right out of your head, "you're not going to escape."

"That's funny, I think you said that the last time we ran into each other," you keep your reply light, your tone laden with a healthy dose of mockery so he won't look any deeper. It's not easy to play tricks on a man with powers like his, which is why you've got to keep him distracted, uncomfortable. After all, this is your arena—he'll have to play by your rules.

He takes you by the shoulder, pushing you further into the ship with a shove that's probably meant to be harsh, but there's no heat behind it. "You can't get away from me," he says, more emphatically. His fingers press deeper into your shoulder, a heavy grip to emphasize his point, like that’s all it would take to keep you with him. He should really know better by now.

You shrug out of his grasp with a little twist, turning to face him in the small corridor, chest to chest, your bound arms sandwiched between you, your own reflection staring back at you through the eyes of his helmet. "I wouldn't count on it, Commander. It's become a hobby of mine to prove you wrong." Your voice is barely a whisper, the heat of your breath creating little clouds of fog on his mask—you're closer than most would dare to be. It's dangerous, the way you get in his space, dangerous how you challenge him, but gods, do you like it.

He chooses to ignore you again, refusing to take the bait, and instead continues his path down the hall, pulling you towards the cargo hold. It's mostly empty right now, with a few scattered transport bins littering the corners—just empty enough to fool any asshole who might try to poke their nose into your business.

"What are you hauling?" Ren asks, unconvinced by your sparse collection, searching the hold with slow, methodical movements.

"I don't know if you could tell, but I'm actually between jobs at the moment," you kick a crate of broken blasters to sell your lie, but it's clear he's not convinced as he walks the length of the hold, searching for any signs of hidden compartments. You take the chance to look around, as well, seeing if there’s anything that might aid your escape, or at least help you get the damn binders off. It’s a waste of time—there’s nothing in here for you, and even if there was, you wouldn’t be able to get to it without Ren noticing. You look back at him, just for a moment, checking to see if he’s distracted enough to ignore your scheming. By then it’s too late—you hear the sound of the panel lifting first, and it's only a second before he's opening the crate hidden beneath, too quick for the cry that rips from your chest but gets caught on the way out.

"Spice, really?" He reaches a gloved hand towards the container of the innocuous-looking yellow powder and your heart threatens to leap out of your throat, your feet moving towards him of their own accord.

"Don't touch that!" The words finally break free as you throw yourself at him—you don't really have a choice. The impact is hard, hard enough to upset his balance as he stumbles backward, catching you in his grasp, his hands gripping at your shoulders to steady you, too. You’re anchored in his arms, but your breathing is coming hard and fast, the adrenaline making home in your veins even if the danger has passed.

"Afraid I might contaminate your supply?" he whispers the question, the words coming low and mocking through the modulator in his helmet. He thinks it's his turn to get under your skin.

"That's not spice," you say, breathing hard, panic still coursing. "It's a highly potent kind of pollen used to, uh, stimulate arousal. Getting even the smallest amount of it on your skin or in your lungs can create an effect that lasts for weeks." He goes still against you, solid as stone, but you can feel his heartbeat running rampant through his body as he realizes the meaning of your words. Neither of you dare to move, afraid of worsening your already precarious situation, even though you’re well out of reach of the container. The tension has sucked all the air from the room and you stutter, trying to bring it back, "there's a king in the Kazyk sector who pays me good money to haul it for him."

"Is it contraband?" His gaze flits from you back to the powder, and then back again. Even though you can't see them, the pressure of his eyes weighs on you, bringing a heat to your cheeks.

"Depends on who you ask. It is expensive, highly coveted, and notoriously hard to transport. It can cause . . . complications when moved, if you're not careful."

"Complications?" You feel yourself flush, your entire body uncomfortably warm—the temperature control on your ship must be malfunctioning. It's only made worse by your proximity to Ren; you can feel his heat passing through the thick fabric he wears, smothering you.

"Do I need to spell it out for you, Commander?" You had wanted to mock him again, using his title like that, but the whisper that leaves your parted lips is absent of any ridicule, your words so soft and wanton that it sends a shiver up your own spine. You can't help but wonder if he's blushing under the mask—if his thoughts are currently consumed, like yours are, by images of bodies intertwined, heady moans passed between parted lips, his hands—ungloved—exploring every inch of you . . .

Your wrists tug against their restraints, unbidden. It's a good thing that you're still cuffed, because if they weren't, you're not sure what would stop you peeling back those layers he wears, taking off that stupid helmet, finally revealing his face. What would he look like, laid bare before you? What would it feel like to be encircled in his arms with nothing between you but desire?

You ball your fists, fingernails pressing crescents into your palms as you try to remove these thoughts from your mind, forcing yourself out of his grasp with a sharp tug, trying to breathe again. Gods, what is wrong with you? Some of the pollen must have gotten into the air and made its way into your system. You turn back, hoping to confirm your theory, but the little pile of yellow powder sits undisturbed, and the air in the cargo hold is heavy and still.

"Just put the lid back on it. I'm not hauling anything else," you command, and to your surprise, Ren obeys, replacing the cover on the container gently so as to not disturb the powder beneath. He grabs you again, by the arm this time so that he can keep his distance, thank gods, not that it helps you cool off—the heat stays trapped beneath your skin for much longer than you’d care to admit.

He takes you through the rest of the ship, stopping occasionally to open one of the many hidden storage compartments scattered throughout, cracking locks, breaking codes seemingly without even trying. He finds all of them—even the ones you made yourself, ones you were sure nobody would be able to locate without your help. It doesn't matter anyway; you were telling the truth before. You're not hauling anything else.

You lean against the wall, watching as he rips away the edge of another panel in the floor, finding it empty, and you roll your eyes. "Not to be a dick, but can't people like you just feel if I'm harboring fugitives on my ship?" He looks up at you, and you hope he can’t see the way you’re still shaking, hope he can’t feel any of the shame you’re trying so desperately to hide. You need him off your ship—no more complications, no more interference.

"People like me?" he asks, with the slightest hint of laughter, just barely detectable behind the modulation. So he does feel it—your embarrassment, the leftover yearning that you can’t seem to elude.

You roll your eyes again, as if the movement itself could create the nonchalance you’re trying so hard to mimic. You want to be annoyed at him. You want to be unaffected, cool despite what just happened. But it’s not working. "You know what I mean. Couldn't you just sense them?"

"I know you're not hiding the people we're searching for,” he admits, sliding the floor panel back in place, “and I found all of these- "he gestures vaguely down the hall, the evidence of his handiwork littered along the corridor "-on my own." It’s hard to be sure when you can’t see his face, but you think he might be smug about it all.

You furrow your brow, thoughts humming, trying to piece together this interaction in a way that makes sense. When that fails, you resort to mockery.

“. . . So you've been ripping my whole ship apart for what? Just to show off?” Your heart jumps when you see him freeze—the physical changes slight, but not beyond your notice—a slow smile spreading across your face. You’ve got him now.

“You are trying to show off, aren’t you? I have to admit it, I’m impressed,” he stays where he is as you move closer, the visor of his mask trained on you, his muscles taut like he’s ready to run. Who would have thought that, in this scenario, you’d be the dominant one?

“That’s not-” he stutters—you can hear it through the vocoder, and you laugh, just a short, breathy thing. You shouldn’t let yourself get distracted from the goal at hand, but this is much more fun.

“No need to be embarrassed, I tend to have that effect on people. Everybody loves a scoundrel.” You flash him a cheeky smile, and he bristles, folding his arms over his chest again and standing to his full height. You can see the tension in him, practically pulling him apart. He wants to run from you. He wants to stay.

“Not me,” he says like he wants to believe it, but you can’t miss the way his voice shakes.

“You especially, Commander. The Order and its people are far too proper for someone like you. There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.”

The silence that follows your words fills the space, leaving little room for air. Maybe you’re hallucinating, but he might inch closer, his fingers twitching, maybe to reach for the latches in his helmet, maybe to bury them in your hair.

The sound of pounding footsteps against the durasteel floor shocks the breath back into your lungs, but even as the trooper dashes into view, Ren doesn’t pull away.

“Sir, there’s a problem,” the trooper huffs, and after a pause, Ren rips his eyes away from you. The trooper hesitates, now, realizing that he’s barged in on what probably looks to him like a private moment. “Uh, there’s a small band of Resistance fighters attacking the troops, we believe they’re here for the fugitives.”

Ren’s immediately on the move, his cloak snapping from the speed of his departure, and you and the trooper glance at each other for a moment before they follow after Ren, and you do too, curious to see the commotion. Despite his limited headstart, Ren seems to have vanished from the corridors of your ship, no trace of him at all, the only sounds echoing through the hallway coming from your own footsteps and the soft jingle of the trooper’s movements.

The jingling. You’re almost to the door before you realize what that sound means, and you want to smack yourself. You can see the keys now, out of the corner of your eye. Escape had never been closer, and you almost missed it. You choose to ignore the voice in the back of your mind that reminds you about what had caused you to become so distracted. You don’t have time to think about it now. You have a plan.

The trooper startles when you yelp, tripping over nothing before you go sprawling, landing on the floor with a clang. You watch him from the ground as he stares back at you, hesitant, glancing towards the exit before his eyes fall to you again.

“A little help?” You sell it, make it look like a struggle as you try and fail to find your feet, but the trooper still doesn’t move just yet, and you resist the urge to roll your eyes. Then he takes the bait.

“Thanks,” you mumble under your breath, falling into him as he pulls you to your feet, bracing yourself against the duraplast of his uniform before pulling the keys from his belt with a deft tug and tucking them into your palm.

He doesn’t even notice, running as soon as you're stable, and you follow behind, spinning the key in your palms angling it just right until you hear the snap of release. You catch the cuffs, trying to limit the noise they make as they fall from your sore and stiff wrists. You’re free.

The trooper exits the ship immediately, off to help his comrades, but Ren is still by the door, deflecting the odd blaster fire. Most of the fighting is far past your ship, on the other side of the yard, but one or two stragglers have decided to aim his way. You watch from around the corner, listen as the sounds of fired shots ends with strangled cries. You move in behind him, getting close, holding the cuffs in place as best you can.

“Looks like the fight has moved on without you,” you announce your presence, and he turns to look at you, but your eyes are on the saber, burning bright and wicked by his side. “Impressive, but not very useful long range. Blasters are more . . . versatile.”

He gives you a hard look—a searching look—before raising his hand, the fingers flexing in his gloves. Your blaster, the one the trooper pulled off of you earlier, nudges past you on its way to his hand and you jump out of the way, hardly noticing the smooth movement with which he fires, the bodies dropping even from this range as he shoots into the crowd with perfect accuracy.

You’ve never seen him in action like this before. Despite the number of times you had come face to mask with Kylo Ren, he’s never used his powers on you. Something about the realization is frightening.

“We need to leave,” he says, interrupting your thoughts, “back to my shuttle.” He’s looking at you again, head inclined, like it’s a question instead of a demand. And the stupidest part of you wants to go. You force that part of yourself to be quiet.

He deactivates his saber, drops your blaster and reaches for you, his hand stretched out the same way it had only a few moments ago, but there’s none of the same power behind it; you still feel the pull.

“I know,” he says, and the cuffs fall from your hands because there’s no point in hiding anymore, “but . . .you still could-” he swallows hard enough for you to hear through the modulator, “-we still could . . .”

You walk towards him, your footsteps slow and even and he trembles, his fingers shaking again for an entirely different reason, and they don’t stop, not when they meet your waist, not when your hands grip both sides of his helmet, trying to find a hold against the cold metal.

“I’ll tell you what, Commander,” you say with a whisper, pulling him closer, close enough to rest your forehead against his, “I’ll go with you . . . the next time you catch me.”

It’s a smooth movement, unexpected—first you pull him close, pressing a kiss to the front of his mask, imagining the way his lips must be flushing in response, imagining what it would be like without the ridiculous apparatus in the way. He’s unbalanced, a little surprised, and when you push him back he doesn’t anticipate it, falling, flailing, until he lands with a thud in the soft mud outside of your ship.

“Until next time, Commander!” you call down to him as the hatch lifts, running to the cockpit as fast as your legs will carry you. You’re in a panic as you start up the ship, a shake in your hands that makes it hard to hit the right controls but you don’t stop until you hit lightspeed, trying your hardest to breathe.

You plug in the right coordinates and sit back in the pilot’s chair, brushing your hand across your cheek, picking up the stray moisture that lingers there. You don’t remember when the tears started. You’re not sure how to stop. It seems like today isn’t your lucky day after all.

#kylo ren x reader #kylo ren x you #kylo ren fanfic #kylo ren #my writing #requests #anons #historymiss

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five-rivers · 5 years ago

Text

Obstacles

Based on a prompt by @kinglazrus! A Phic Phight Phic! (Yes, I know I already did this prompt. I had two ideas.)

Before Danny even opened his eyes, he knew he was about to have a bad day. This was primarily because he wasn't in his nice, comfortable bed, which was where he last remembered being. No. Right now he was propped up against a cold, hard wall.

He was also gagged, with something extensive that went all the way into his nose and throat and rested uncomfortably against his vocal cords. Not that it was resting comfortably against any other part of his face or mouth. His jaw had been forced all the way open and everything aches.

This lead to a number of conclusions: One, he had, yet again, been kidnapped, and, two, his current kidnappers are probably aware of his ghost powers. Otherwise, they wouldn't see the need for such an elaborate gag.

Danny believed he was also tied up or chained, but, due to sensory fatigue and his general disinclination to open his eyes or otherwise move, he hadn't checked yet.

He really hated being kidnapped. He was also sleep deprived. His kidnappers could wait.

(Or were those the drugs talking? He had to assume he was drugged, to get him here.)

"Hey!" hissed a sharp, male voice. "Hey, kid!"

Apparently, his kidnappers didn't agree. Ugh. On top of everything, he had to get rude kidnappers. Couldn't he get polite kidnappers for once? The kind that would treat him like an honored guest, except for letting him leave? Or who at least would let him have a bed? He'd still hate it, of course, but he'd be more comfortable while plotting his escape.

"Kid!" said the voice, more urgently.

Jeez. Couldn't they wait? Danny wasn't going anywhere. That they knew about, anyway. Since, obviously, he wasn't going to stay here. For long. Hopefully.

Something jangled and the voice grunted. Internally, Danny rolled his eyes. What were they even doing? Worst kidnapping ever. Zero out of five stars. Would not repeat.

Must be a new kidnapper, then. Didn't know the ropes. He giggled internally. It was better when kidnappers didn't know the ropes. That meant they were easier to untie.

Actually, wait. That jangle... That sounded disturbingly like someone else in chains.

Great. So he had a kidnapping buddy. A kidnapee buddy? Whatever. A fellow victim. Yay. Joy. Someone Danny would have to rescue without revealing his secret. At least, the voice sounded human.

The guy had probably never been kidnapped before. Most humans hadn't been. Danny didn't know about ghosts. Ghosts got up to some weird stuff in ghost land.

Ghost land. Wow. These guys had really laid on the drugs, huh?

If he were alone, Danny would would have pretended to sleep until the drugs completely wore off and he could think clearly and move properly. But he wasn't alone. He needed to know what and who he was working with.

He forced his eyes open, despite how heavy and sticky they felt. What he could see, that is, nothing, didn't change. He blinked, several times, then shook his head. This revealed that, in addition to the gag, he had been blindfolded. Also, he had been right about being chained up. There was a collar around his neck. He reached up, but the chains shackled to his wrists weren't long enough for him to reach.

Well, Danny officially hated this.

"Hey, hey, kid, don't panic, don't panic. Breathe in, breathe out, okay?"

Danny rolled his eyes. He wasn't panicking.

"If you can understand me, uh, nod, or something."

Not the best way of communicating, but, whatever. He didn't have a lot of options. He nodded.

"Good, good. So, uh, you're probably wondering what's going on."

Danny nodded, and tried to point at his face.

"Well, they've got sort of a mask over your whole face, kind of like that one movie, you know, with the French king? Except yours has a hole where your mouth is, and I guess you can feel that, because it looks like it's going in to your mouth. Yeah. And no eye holes. And from my side of the room, it looks like it's locked on, from behind."

The man stopped. If Danny had use of his vocal cords, he would have groaned. While he had wanted to know what was on his face, that wasn't all he wanted to know, and, honestly, that should have been immediately obvious.

This guy wasn't very good at being kidnapped.

Danny rotated his hand in a gesture he hoped would be interpreted as 'continue.' His wrist chafed on the inside of the cuff.

"Anyway, the people who have us... They aren't people. Are you from Amity Park?"

Danny nodded. He already knew where this was going.

"Thank god. I was worried you'd think I was crazy. We've been kidnapped by ghosts. Don't worry, though! I'm a GIW agent! We're trained to fight ghosts!"

The guy, the actual Guy, the agent, kept going on about how he'd rescue them, or how the GIW would come and get them and fight off all the evil, kidnapping ghosts, but Danny was too busy trying to keep his heart rate under control to pay attention.

Danny could handle being kidnapped. He had done it before. But escaping with a GIW agent? Without blowing his secret? That was a different story, and he suspected it was one his kidnappers were fully aware of.

His jaw clenched painfully hard around the gag, but he couldn't relax his muscles. He was aware that he was shaking.

A single, presumably tied up, GIW could scare him this much when the prospect of being kidnapped by unknown ghosts hadn't fazed him at all. It was hilariously pathetic.

The GIW agent, judging by his continued reassurances as to the prowess of the GIW, hadn't noticed Danny's panic. Good. Great. Perfect. At least he was oblivious.

Danny felt the ghost coming, icy mist clouding his lungs, long before the agent saw anything. It was obvious when the agent did see something, because he stopped talking in the middle of a sentence about how 'the GIW are looking for us even now!'

Reassuring. Not.

Something creaked, high-pitched enough for him to hunch his shoulders around his sensitive ears. A door opening? A swirl of air seemed to confirm that.

He hated this so much. He didn't even have his go-to coping mechanism: sarcasm. Well, he had internal sarcasm, but that just wasn't the same.

It would also be a lot easier to figure out how to escape if he could see.

The ghost wasn't walking, didn't make any sound or move the air, but Danny could still track their silent presence moving around the room. Just a perk of being him. Well, that and his ghost sense.

The ghost began speaking, but not in English. "Do not be so afraid, little one," she said in a ghostly language that had always reminded Danny of spiders. Ghostly claws skimmed the soft skin beneath his chin, and he tilted his head up, reflexively, away from the touch. "I swear on my own grave and the Black River, we will do you no damage we cannot repair."

Reassuring. Not. Wow. This ghost and the GIW agent were much more similar than one might think on first... listen? Not sight. Well, probably sight, too, unless this ghost was a Walker lookalike, but Danny couldn't exactly confirm that right now.

"You may have deduced by now that the fool is here to prevent you from fighting your way free. We know you are clever." The claws poked him again, and he leaned away farther, pressing the top of his head into the wall.

"Hey!" said the agent. "Leave the kid alone! Pick on someone your own size!"

The ghost ignored him. "While we have no quarrel with you, we require your presence. At the end, we shall return you to your home, and, should you desire it, we shall return the fool as well." She was pushing against Danny's chin with the back of her claws, pushing his head as far back as it could go. The collar pushed sharply against the nape of his neck. He squirmed. "This, we promise."

Then she dumped something down his throat. At least, he really hoped it was something she 'dumped' as in, from a bottle, rather than, say, for example, drool, but Danny couldn't exactly tell, either way. All he knew was that something liquid had hit the back of his throat, and now he was choking and sputtering, trying not to inhale it. He didn't have much choice about swallowing it.

His throat and the back of his nose burned. He wheezed, gasping for breath that, strictly speaking, he didn't need, and tipped sideways. He caught on the collar's chain and nearly strangled himself, but the ghost had mercy and pulled him back upright.

"Cooperate," said the ghost, "this will all be over soon."

There was a tug on his collar from the other direction and a clank. Was there a chain on the front of the collar? He tried, weakly, to twitch away. The chain went taught.

This was not ideal.

"It's okay, it's okay, kid," said the agent. "The ghost- it's just chaining us together, that's all. I think."

Abruptly, the chains attaching Danny to the wall vanished. The chain on the front of the collar tugged him forward, and he almost toppled. Not 'just chaining them together,' then. Why did he have to be stuck with this guy? Why not someone actually useful? Like Mr. Lancer? Or Tucker's mom? Heck, he'd take Dash. At least Dash would have his back if he found out Danny was Phantom.

The chain tugged up, and Danny struggled to his feet which were, predictably, asleep. His knees felt weird. He was tugged forward, slowly, but insistently. It took a few seconds for Danny to register what was happening.

The ghost was using the chain as a leash, leading him, and presumably the agent, out of the room. His shoulder hit something warm and alive, and he almost fell, but a pair of human hands steadied him.

"Sorry, kid," muttered the agent. "I don't know what's going on. The ghost came in and talked in that gibberish before, but this is the first time I've been out since I woke up."

Danny focused on not falling, after that. He didn't want the agent to touch him again.

This was humiliating.

(Also, what had the ghost put down his throat? He'd been thinking 'drug,' but he didn't feel any different. Yet.)

The air grew warmer as they walked down hallways and navigated up stairs. Hisses and whispers of ghostly speech caught on Danny's ears, but the snippets he caught weren't enough to explain anything to him. The few he could interpret were about housekeeping and cleaning.

Then they passed through a doorway into a room where the air was hot, wet, and floral. A greenhouse? A solarium? A garden? A jungle? It didn't smell as earthy as Sam's greenhouse, the odor was... sharper, more chemical, but Danny knew Sam liked to keep her plants as natural as possible. It might not mean anything.

Beneath his feet, though, the floor was tile, smooth and glazed. That didn't strike him as something that would be used in a greenhouse, or even a garden. Definitely not a jungle. Although... ghosts were weird. They often blended natural and unnatural in ways humans wouldn't.

"You know what you must do," said the ghost.

"Yes, mistress," answered a chorus of ghostly voice, both male and female.

He was pulled forward one last time and suddenly there were hands on him. Many hands, tugging at his clothes.

"Hey!" said the agent. "What is this? What are you doing? I'm not going in there! I'm perfectly- I'm perfectly clean! No bath! Back off!"

There was a great tug on Danny's neck and he went sprawling. The ghosts hissed.

"Oh, hell, kid, I'm sorry, I- stop touching me!"

Danny reached up and grabbed a section of chain, giving himself a little slack. The ghosts converged on him again, and he froze, tensing for signs that he was about to get beaten up.

Instead, they started to cut away his clothes, which was bad in a completely different and terrifying way. The agent loudly protested similar treatment.

"For your bath," said one of the ghosts.

Oh, that made it so much better. Except it didn't. What the heck did these ghosts want him for that required a bath?

The bath was- Well, it was a bath. A bath where he couldn't see or close his mouth or nose. A bath where he had to let a bunch of people who had kidnapped him touch him. A bath where he was increasingly affected by whatever drug he had been given. He could feel parts of his mind going soft and docile, feel his ghost-child instinct to submit to adult ghosts unexpectedly kick into gear.

Worse, the bath attendants apparently thought he was funny, or cute, or something. They kept giggling. Danny wanted nothing to do with it.

Except... the drug apparently had yet to reach its full effect, and, gradually, Danny found that he did. He wanted them to be happy. He wanted them to like him.

At least, parts of him did. The rest was furious.

Eventually, he was toweled off and brought back to the GIW agent, whom he had all but forgotten.

"Damn, kid, whatever drug they gave you really did a number on you, huh?" he asked.

Danny couldn't exactly respond. They were led away, back inside the building, where it was dry, and they were dressed. At least, Danny was dressed, and in something that felt thin and gauzy. Then they were moved yet again.

At some point, Danny wasn't sure when, what with the gag and blindfold, the first ghost came back. Danny was starting to have trouble understanding words They all felt like they were underwater, and he was becoming very unsteady on his feet, even without being pulled along.

The ghost, the first ghost, was touching him, tracing over his bones, mumbling things. He tried to hold still. He really did.

Something new was dumped down his throat, and his legs abruptly decided that they weren't going to support his weight anymore. He dropped to the floor, taking the agent with him.

"Follow the lights," said the ghost. "Find the sun. There is a key in the crawlspace."

Then she left. She left him alone.

Alone with the agent. Which was bad bad bad bad bad.

The agent came closer, and Danny hissed, but he couldn't exactly fight back in his current state. Soon, the agent had him pinned, and he was doing something to the gag and blindfold, and it hurt every time the piece in his throat moved.

But then- it was gone. The agent had, somehow, managed to remove it. The blindfold followed shortly after. Danny spent several long seconds just breathing and blinking, adjusting to his newfound freedom and returned senses.

Being able to see grounded him in reality somewhat. He sat up, only vaguely listening to the agent. The room they were in was cavernous and dark, lit only by a dim chain of lights on the ground that incongruously reminded him of the floor lights at a movie theater. They lead into a tunnel at the far end of the room and out of sight.

Well, now he knew where he was. He groaned.

"Kid? Are you alright?"

"No," said Danny, hoarsely. He decided not to ask the agent's name, because then the agent would ask for his. He looked the agent up and down. "They gave you a knife?"

"Yeah," said the agent, frowning at the sleek metal thing.

The reflections made Danny's eyes hurt. This was a bad trip. He never wanted to take drugs, especially these drugs, ever again.

"You should get rid of it," said Danny, recalling some of the 'rules' this particular ghostly ritual had.

"It's our only weapon."

"Do you really trust something a ghost gave you?" Danny said, trying to inject disgust into his tone. It worked too well and almost gagged. "It's probably cursed. Why else would they give it to you?"

The agent, as expected, tossed the knife away like it had suddenly turned into a snake.

Danny swallowed hard, fighting back a wave of dizziness. He could feel his ghost half sparkling under his skin, and the impulse to do what the nice lady from before said beating with his heart. The darkness crawled with herringbone patterns, pointing on.

"Okay," said the agent. "Okay. So, we've got to get out of here, and I don't fancy taking the path they've lit up for us, so let's feel around, see if there's anything off to the sides." He stood up, dragging Danny with him.

"We've gotta follow the lights," said Danny. He swayed. "They're-" he coughed. "My parents research ghost legends, and I think I know what this is."

"Right, you're the Fenton kid, aren't you?"

Danny shrugged. Figures the guy would know.

"Well, what is it?"

"They want us to find the sun." Danny blinked hard as a memory of light blinded him. "A sun. Their sun. They want us, probably me, really, to find their sun. Because it's their new year. It goes to sleep. Beddy-bye." He yawned.

"Stay awake," said the agent.

Danny shook himself. "They want us to wake it up."

"And the bath is because...?"

"Ritual puri-purification," said Danny, stumbling over the word. "The drugs, too, I guess. We need to be clean, or we'll be burnt up and they'll send someone else." He rubbed his eyes. Speaking of ritual purity, would his status as a half ghost keep him from actually attaining that?

It didn't matter. The drugs in his system were driving him on. His bones were practically vibrating with them. He had to go. He had to follow the lights.

He stumbled forward and tugged on the chain. The agent obviously didn't want to come, but just as obviously there weren't all that many choices. He followed.

It was hard to follow the little lights. They hovered, intangible, just above the ground and made all of the shadows weird. Danny wished he could summon an ectolight, but his fingernails hurt and the agent was right behind him. Stalking him. Waiting for him to trip up.

They reached a wall studded with lights. "We have to go over," said Danny, craning back his head.

The agent grunted unhappily. "I'll boost you up, but don't go over the side or we'll both be strangled."

"Uhuh," said Danny. He didn't need to breathe.

It might have tempted him, at the top of the wall, to go over and get rid of the agent. He wasn't sure. It could have just been the drugs talking. It could have been the call of the void. He didn't know, and he felt so guilty that the weight of it bore him into a hunch and turned the agent's words into gibberish.

There were other obstacles, beyond the agent, beyond the wall. There was a glowing river full of skeletal fish. A field of mushrooms with purple-glowing gills. A monster that chased them until they passed through a door to small for it.

The lights led to a tiny hole, barely large enough for Danny to crawl through. A green-yellow light flickered in the depths.

The agent started to curse. "I can't fit in there," he finish, finally.

"I can," said Danny. "That's why they want children, I guess."

"This chain isn't long enough."

"There's a key in the tunnel," said Danny.

"How do you know?" the agent sounded suspicious.

"The ghost lady whispered it to me," said Danny. He didn't really want to see her again. He was fairly certain that the drug was still running strong in his system, and that he would be ludicrously pliant with whatever an adult ghost, any adult ghost, told him to do at the moment.

He didn't want to see their sun, either. They were probably a ghost in their own right. A powerful one.

But he did want that key.

"No," said the agent, shaking his head. "There has to be another way. This is a trap. Like the knife." He started backing away.

Danny dove for the tunnel.

He got about a quarter of the way down when the agent found the presence of mind to haul him back with the chain. Danny grabbed it with both hands and braced himself against the walls of the tunnel. He could see the glimmer of a key, less than an arm's reach away.

He pulled, reaching, trying to get it. Despite his best efforts, the collar dug painfully into his neck. The agent was shouting but he was under water again. Danny didn't care. He wanted that key.

He got it.

Finding the key hole was a whole other ordeal, but he got that, too, and then he was free. He shot down the tunnel, into-

Sunlight.

He froze. There was a giant, burning skeleton in the cave in front of him. Its bones were an incandescent white. It had curled into a ball. Sleeping.

This was the sun.

Danny could leave, now, though. He could phase through the floor, now that the collar was gone. He could go home and forget about the agent. Physically speaking.

Mentally? That was another story.

Besides, he was in the drugs grip again, and didn't he want to talk to the nice adult?

He shuffled closer to the sun skeleton. It felt hot, but not unbearably so. As he drew closer, he had to squeeze his eyes shut against the light. He reached out, and put his hand on one of the skeleton's bones.

The sun woke instantly.

The celebratory feast was one of the most bizarre events Danny had ever attended, and not just because he was high on ghost drugs. An unconscious GIW agent chained in the corner and a living 'sun' as the guest of honor had that effect, he supposed. Not to mention everyone's insistence on feeding him by hand.

At least he would be able to go home after this.

He hoped.

#danny phantom #phic phight #phic phight 2020

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rossodelgiorno · 4 years ago

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2020/ Chain of Fools

2020 was the year I adopted a boiler suit and gas mask as a daily uniform. The world had gone into a global lockdown to combat the COVID19 virus which meant we were only allowed to leave our house for essential reasons such as grocery shopping and exercise. When outside, we were government mandated to wear face masks to prevent the spread of the disease. They made me feel like a muzzled dog and I resented no longer being able to smile with strangers on the street. Feeling like a prisoner in his own home and under extreme stress from job insecurity, my boyfriend Jake’s amphetamine addiction began to spiral out of control.

As a result of Jake’s addiction, we had accidentally befriended a posse of drug dealers and prostitutes- bonded by our love of having a good time and a general disregard for consequence. We met Dani through a call girl friend of mine who had realised the difficulty of making a living through writing online fashion content. Dani had big brown eyes, fat, botoxed lips and dressed only in high end labels like Gucci and Balmain. Born into a wealthy family, she had acquired a taste for expensive things but lacked the work ethic to maintain this taste without selling her body for sex. Dani began to visit more throughout the lockdown to deliver Jake drugs, hidden in a bag of a groceries. One night, she played Carole King on our old vinyl player, while Jake rolled us a joint to share. I flirted with them both, knowing that it would lead to a threesome. We smoked Jake’s joint, snorted lines of cocaine off each other and then took turns going down on each other.

A week later, Dani introduced us to a crew of “script kiddies”- long haired, internet hackers with a love of mumble rap, cryptocurrency and ketamine. I made cocktails for everyone and established that one of these kids shared a mutual friend with Jake. They seemed fascinated by the genuine sexual chemistry between myself, Jake and Dani and expressed gratitude for our generous hospitality. Eventually I came to the conclusion that by associating us with this crowd, Dani had managed to successfully pray on the vulnerable- trusting junkies like us who were lax with internet security and keen for a good time. In retrospect, I wish I had known that Dani was a hustler at heart- making money in any way she could without considering the impact of her choices. At the time however, I felt like we were fully living life in the moment- something I was certain would bring me happiness, meaning and didn’t question her motives for a moment.

Ella, Dani’s best friend, had a boyish pixie cut, high cheekbones and was tall and slim. She had gradually joined in on our shenanigans, along with Mark, a dealer with a steady supply of the best gear available north of the river. We all hung out together in our plant-filled, converted warehouse listening to electronic music and sharing stories about our favourite mind-altering substances. My stories were consistently focused on MDMA. As a notoriously private person, I’d discovered MDMA helped me open up and allowed me to dance, free of fear of judgement. It had also helped Jake open up about the sexual abuse he experienced as child, a fact I doubted would have ever come up without the influence of a truth serum and something which I was certain had driven him to substance abuse in the first place.

While we laughed, chatted and danced with Dani and Mark, Ella, who claimed to be a part time poet and part-time model, entered a viral script virus onto our wireless network by requesting our wifi password. Something we provided willingly, without second thought. This meant remote access to every digital device we owned and access to all stored personal information including scanned copies of our passports and birth certificates.

The issue with Mark, despite his criminal lifestyle, was that he was excellent company. Intelligent, engaging and a DJ in his spare time- we thrived off his love of hip hop and old-school funk. Similarly, he thrived off our property location in the Inner North- close to his regular customers and discrete enough from the prying eyes of authority. We welcomed him into our home with open arms, deprived of social contact through social distancing practices enforced by the pandemic. We held COVID19 illegal gatherings where we got high off Mark’s supply, enjoyed each other’s company while Ella hacked our electronic identities. When you’re lonely, it doesn’t really matter if others are using you and you’re using them. As long as everyone is filling a clearly defined role, the maladaptive social ecosystem continues to function.

It’s unclear exactly how many international drug smuggling routes were established using our stolen online identities before Jake clued on that something wasn’t right. He told me that he had been locked out of his email account, that the speed of his phone had slowed and that he could hear clicking noises during his phone calls. He was certain that his was a breach of online security and started to question the motives of our new friends. I wrote him off as crazy, blaming his excessive use of amphetamines and the psychological effect of social isolation. I was determined to keep my online identity public, obsessed by the idea of becoming the next millennial therapist and too blinded by Dani’s beauty to believe that she would want to harm us in any way.

Eventually Jake’s distress became too extreme to ignore and he shook me violently one night, yelling at me to believe what I had assumed was a paranoid conspiracy theory. A sinking feeling in my gut became apparent when he started to coherently piece together his concerns about his online security issues. I realized that my sense of reality had been clouded by my lust for Dani and by a dark depression that had developed through my work as an essential worker during a pandemic. Based on Jake’s erratic behaviour, I knew we had to get out of the warehouse immediately, but I had no idea where to go and was fearful of drawing attention to any law-breaking activity when police presence was so prominent.

We agreed to seek refuge with our friends Trish and Rick, former 90s British ravers who had channeled their drug-fuelled benders into successful and respectable careers. I called them panicked that night, shaking and rambling about what had happened. Without hesitancy, Trish told us to come over right away. Rick’s brother back in the UK had recently killed himself and they were struggling too. Trish and Rick lived in an affluent area in the inner East which meant we needed to blend in quickly through a disguise of expensive athleisure and an almost painful sense of normality. It appeared that our efforts at disguise were successful and it seemed to result in freedom from any unusual online activity on our devices. We bought new phones, changed our phone numbers, email addresses and disconnected from the outside world for an entire week. We spoke about going to the police, however we both agreed that this would place us at too much risk to the criminal world to be a viable option.

When your online identity is stolen, you quickly start to daydream what it would be like to steal someone else’s identity. For example, what exactly would you do with those proceeds of crime? Which tropical island would you escape to, what designer clothes would you wear, which car would you drive? I quickly became entranced and jealous at the thought of this fantasy life, but then spent time reflecting on my own morality and these feelings subsided. Instead, an intense anger developed at the thought of others taking advantage of Jake and his mental illness. High on a sense of ethical superiority and new found fury, I decided to employ my favourite psychological defense mechanism, repression, to cope with my latest traumas. May you rest in peace, memory, I said to myself before engaging in my daily mediation ritual.

While repressing my consciousness, I also began to focus on the importance of social support. I knew this shit was important but didn’t fully understand until Trish brushed my hair one night, my arms too frail from fear and stress to function. Trish and Rick played familiar Britpop, drank tea and encouraged us to embrace the therapeutic benefits of music through use of the guitar and keyboard that we had brought to their house. We took turns cooking for each other, played board games and counselled each other through each personal problems, one at a time.

Jake and I stayed with Trish and Rick for two weeks until we could establish an exit plan from the city. We migrated to rural Victoria like many other Melbournians, traumatized by the lockdown. The pace in the country was slow yet calming and people genuinely seemed to care about your welfare when they inquired “How you going, mate?” After such an extended period of social isolation, many of us forgot how to interact with others. We valued and craved human connection more than ever, and yet we seemed scared of what we might connect with. We continued to develop our own deformed version of sign language to communicate through the face masks and focused on re-developing social skills that had been lost through extended disconnection.

Jake and I continued to battle through the challenges of online identity theft and the consequences of his addiction issues. Jake’s substance use had subsided substantially without the influence of Mark and Dani and we eventually adjusted to living normal, routine driven lifestyles. He had cycled through periods of problematic use before, however I still felt somewhat shell shocked by the intensity of his most recent relapse. However, one day late in December I found myself wandering through the tranquility of the Otways, fully freed from the constraints of the lockdown which had finally lifted and contemplating my progress in life since leaving this place as a teenager. The rainforest sounds were vivid and the smells of the ocean salty in my nostrils. I wasn’t where I had planned to end the year 2020, but I was alive and I had Jake. And for that, I felt eternally grateful.

Rosso Del Giorno

Your journey starts here.

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POLITICS

Inslee announces vaccination incentives

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#2020 shortstory addiction

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lildevyl · 5 years ago

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BlankGamePlays

Summary: Ethan finds himself face to face with one of Mark’s older Egos, that became reborn thanks to the Community, the Author. And he gives Ethan a choice, become something incredible or continue to be the “Nobody Sidekick” of the Channel and just be “Mark’s Friend.”

TW: Mention of abuse, physical injuries, hospital, hostage, imply domestic like abuse. Based on the Unnus Annus video “Mark Punish Ethan.”

@dezzydynamite, @weirdmixofweirdness, Don’t kill me! But yes, I did finally write and post it!!! Based on this post!

(Ethan’s House)

“Mark” entered Ethan’s house, and smiled like he usually did, getting ready to shoot today’s video. He had everything set up, for the “shoot” and was just waiting for Ethan to finish his cup of coffee. It didn’t take long. Ethan literally downed it in almost one gulp and then headed out with “Mark” to finish up recording. That was until Ethan started to feel uneasy, and very dizzy. Geez, he needs to lighten up on the sugar or something. The next thing Ethan saw was “Mark” coming over to him as he laid on the ground.

“Wakey, wakey!” “Mark,” said as he pulled the bag off of Ethan’s head. They were in a room with one of the lights turned on and a camera right behind “Mark.” But something seemed off.

Ethan groggily came too. “Mark?”

“No, not quite, but then again I wouldn’t expect you to know me. Or remember me,” “Mark” said sadly. “You see Ethan, I’m one of Mark’s older Egos. Well, I was but thanks to the Community I’m back now.”

It took Ethan a moment or two, racking his brain about Mark’s Egos. He’s met them all, hasn’t he? Older Ego? Let’s think for a minute. It’s not Darkiplier, not Wilford, not Dr. Iplier, not the Host, or Bim, or King. Then who? Mark brought back a lot of the older Egos in Markiplier TV. Hell, it took Amy, Tyler and himself to convince Mark to bring back some of them, because of the tie and memories from Cyndago. Wait, Cyndago. Mark, did a few sketches with them. Including . . . Oh, hell no! It couldn’t be! Ethan looked around and sure enough, there was a pen set and journal-like book.

“I know who you are,” Ethan said with his breath hitching in his throat. He just hoped that he didn’t sound scared.

“You do?”

“Yes,” Ethan answered. “You’re the Author, but how are you here? I thought . . . I thought that you - faded?”

“Oh, I did. That’s how the Host came to be. The original me became the Host when my story ended. But there weren’t enough people in the Community to keep me alive at the time. And sadly Mark thought that I wasn’t important enough to be included in his little “through back sketch” when he brought back all of his old Egos. Yet, he included the Host,” the Author stated.

“Ironically, it’s the Community that’s the reason why I’m here again. You see Ethan, us Egos we depend on two things. One, we depend on our Creator to remember us and two we depend on the Community to remember us. Now, for some of us, all we need is the Community. But in some cases, rare cases like myself, if an Ego fades but the Community, in general, gives that Ego enough attention and love. Then that Ego can in a way be reborn.” The Author answered giving Ethan a calculated look.

“Then why are you here? In my house?” Ethan asked hoping that Mark started to come by or at least started to wonder what was going on. Ethan had a bad feeling and didn’t like his options. He vaguely remembers the Author and what he can do.

“Well, that’s easy Ethan.” The Author turned around to where the pen set and the journal sat and picked both of them up. He turned around and faced Ethan. “I want to help you.” The Author smiled.

Ethan was at a loss for words. Help him? Help him with what? As far as Ethan was concerned he had a nice life. His YouTube Channel was doing well. He and Mark decided to start a Channel together and they both agreed to delete at the end because it’s the journey that is most important. He had a girlfriend that he was in love with, has a nice house and Spencer is a great pet. Ethan couldn’t wrap his brain around what the Author was implying. What did Ethan need help with?

“I see that you’re confused here,” the Author began. “You see Ethan, I want to help you by having you be something more.” The Author smiled, now he has Ethan’s attention. “Ethan, what do you want more than anything else? Do you want to be your own person, be more confident? Finally, getting to that one million subs? Finally being taken seriously?”

Ethan didn’t say anything because yeah. He has thought about that! Doing YouTube for seven years and he hasn’t hit the one million sub count yet. He wanted to be more confident because let’s face it. He wasn’t exactly the most confident when it came to Mark or Sean or Bob or Wade.

“I see that I got your attention. Let me, put it this way, Ethan. Do you really want to stay in Mark’s shadow? Always being the “Sidekick '' and nothing more? Oh, don’t look at me like that! You know it’s true!” The Author turned around grabbed an iPad off the desk and brought up Tumblr and a few other Social Medias.

There, were posts saying “If I hadn’t done that backflip then I might never be here today.” Mark and Ethan announce Unnus Annus their new Channel, Mark with all the reporters and microphone, and Ethan just has one microphone and no reporters. More and more, memes like that. More and more posts saying if Ethan had never been on Mark’s pannel or done that backflip, then no one would have known who he was. It was like the whole PewDiePie shoutout all over again, with Sean! To say it didn’t get on Ethan’s nerves nor did it get to him. Ethan would be lying through his teeth because yeah it hurt!!!!

It hurts that Mark has twenty-five million subs when he and Mark have been doing this at the same time! It hurts that Sean has close twenty-four million subs! It hurts that Bob and Wade have over one million and two million subs and he barely has that million sub count! And for many fans and reporters to literally cast him off, push him aside and say that Unnus Annus was Mark’s Channel? That he didn’t belong?!

Ethan closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Something wasn’t right. Why was he thinking like this? Why was he acting like this? He didn’t actually think like that, did he?

The Author smiled, ah so he was getting to Ethan. Perfect. Maybe with a little more pushing, he’ll finally get his revenge on Mark and the Community for, ever forgetting about him!

“I can help you, Ethan, for a price,” the Author bargained.

“What kind of price?” Ethan asked not realizing that his eyes darkened.

“Helping me get back at Mark,” the Author answered. “Think about Ethan. You can finally be the YouTuber that you want to be! I can help you with that! You can finally hit one million subs, be confident, not be remembered as “That Guy that did backflip.” Aren’t you tired Ethan? Of always being the “Sidekick” that no one really cares about? Aren’t you tired of Mark getting all the glory and you have nothing to show for it? Why should Mark have twenty-five million subs and you barely have one million? You’ve been doing YouTube a lot longer if not roughly the same time. And speaking of which, isn’t Sean about to hit twenty-four million subs here? Or how about Bob? He’s what already past one million subs. Wade has over two million subs. And Tyler is close to one million on Twitch. And yet, here you are, seven nearly eight years later and not even one million subs. Just the “Sidekick” in the Unnus Annus Channel. Just Mark’s friend.”

The Author smirked. Oh, yes, just a bit more pushing, he almost has Ethan. He just needs to break him a little more.

“It’s up to Ethan. Do you want to be the man that you always wanted to be? Or do you just want to continue to be the “Sidekick?” Just Mark’s friend? I can help you.”

“H-how?” Ethan asked barely above a whisper.

“I’m not as powerful as I once was but see this book and pen set. It was from when I was originally created. In it, you can write whatever you want, pour your heart and soul into it and should come true. And in many ways make it look like it’s real. To the point of even fooling a doctor until the page is torn. Then it’s like nothing had ever happened. Let me, bring the more confident, bolder, even darker side, out of you so you can take on the world. And in return, you help get back at Mark. It doesn’t have to be something as crazy as to what Dark’s got planned. Just something to teach Mark a lesson about taking his friends for granted.”

(Ethan’s House)

Mark raced over to Ethan’s house not caring for one minute about the traffic laws. His friend was in danger! Ethan never showed up for the shoot that they were to going to do today. Mark at first thought that Ethan either forgot about the shoot because of something he was doing on his own Channel or something might have come up. He left a couple of voice mails but he didn’t really think it was a big deal at the time. But that was before, he saw the “New Unnus Annus” Video. Mark’s heart practically stopped at what he saw. Someone, another Ego, pretended to be Mark and was beating up Ethan!

Silver Shepard was with him in the passenger side of his car. Mark thought it was best if Silver was with him instead of flying over. No need to get the people of Los Angles talking about seeing a Super Hero when Silver technically shouldn’t really exist in their world! Mark was so hoping that Silver would help him!

He knew that Silver and a few others had every right to hold a major grudge against him when Mark decided to “Cancel” the Egos. Basically, Mark stopped making videos with them, because after what happened with Cyndago. Mark just couldn’t take it! So, he stopped making those kinds of videos. It wasn’t until Amy, Tyler, and Ethan had suggested with Markiplier TV to bring back some of the old Egos for the fans.

Luckily for Mark, Silver didn’t hold a grudge against him. And after Mark had explained the whole situation and the reason why he decided to do all that. Silver forgave him and understood why Mark did what he did. But not all the Egos had the same outlook. Unfortunately, Mark had his suspicions on who it might be but he just hoped that he was wrong and that he wasn’t too late!

When Mark and Silver both arrived at Ethan’s House, Mark wasted no time and ran to the front door. Calling Ethan’s name and looking in every room he could possibly think of!

“Over here, Mark!” Silver Shepard called.

Mark ran over to where Silver called from and Mark stopped dead in the doorway when he the shape that Ethan was in. Ethan was lying in a chair, bust lip, bleeding from the mouth, black eyes, all kinds of scraps and cuts litter his face. Ethan made a noise, flinching away from Silver. But what truly broke Mark’s heart was when he entered the room, Ethan made a noise between a cry and a moan. As if he was scared of Mark.

“Ethan, it’s me. It’s Mark! I won’t hurt you, Ethan. What happened? Who did this to you?” Mark tried to console his friend.

Silver did his best to hoist Ethan up without aggravating any of his injuries. “Mark, we need to get him to Dr. Iplier.” Silver stated. It looked like he needed to take charge, for both Mark and Ethan’s sake.

“You’re right, Silver,” Mark agreed.

(Dr. Iplier’s Clinic)

Ethan lied in the hospital bed in Dr. Iplier’s bed. He wasn’t sure how, but somehow they manage to get him to Egopacalpse and into Dr. Iplier’s Clinic. Ethan wasn’t sure if he was happy or mad at that. It’s not that he minded Dr. Iplier. He was one of Ethan’s favorite Egos that Mark did. He had a lot of fun playing the patient when they brought that character back. It was the fact that Dr. Iplier’s Clinic was too close to Iplier Manson. Now, called Ego Inc. And Darkiplier was there.

But Ethan didn’t really pay much attention. His mind kept going back to the - could he even call it a conversation? With the Author and the offer that he made. Ethan wasn’t what to think about that. So, he just lied in bed waiting for Dr. Iplier to come and let him, checkout. Ethan won’t admit this, but he hated hospitals!

“Alright, Ethan, I checked everything over. You’re going to need to take it easy for a while. I mean it! No high-stress levels at all! I already spoke to Mark and he said that you guys already have some backup videos that can be posted until your one hundred percent. So, please take it easy!” Dr. Iplier instructed.

“No problem doc!” Ethan reassured waiting for Mark to come and get him to take him home.

“All set Ethan?” Mark asked grabbing Ethan’s things and waiting for Ethan.

“Yeah, get me outta here!”

(Ethan’s House)

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and just sank into his couch. Home. He was home! Nice cozy, simple home! Ethan still couldn’t believe what had happened, but then again a part of him could. He was just glad to get out of that damn clinic! It had nothing to do with Dr. Iplier, he wasn’t that bad of a doctor. But Ethan just can’t stand hospitals!

Ethan’s head shot up when he heard someone approaching. He smiled when he saw who it was.

“I held up my end of the bargain. Are you going to hold up yours?” Ethan asked.

The Author smiled and handed Ethan the book and pen set. “It’s all yours! All you have to do is give it a drop of your blood and it will be fully custom to you and you only!” The Author told Ethan.

Ethan smiled. He took out the one page that described everything that happened in the video and all his injuries. Ethan ripped it out of the book and then torn it to shreds. Within seconds, Ethan felt and looked like nothing had ever happened to him. He took one end of the pens and pricked his finger and let a drop of his blood drop onto the book. It glowed for a minute until it resets. Ethan then smiled, with his eyes completely black as gave his full undivided attention to the Author.

“What’s our next move?”

==========

Tagging: @d-structive, @weirdmixofweirdness, @juju-on-that-yeet, @septic-dr-schneep, @reverseblackholeofwords, @m4delin, @fischyplier, @isa-ghost, @a-humble-narcissus

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stormcrawler75 · 6 years ago

Note

Arranged Marriage with Logan and Patton? Logan being terrified ("I am not panicking! I do not feel!") and refusing to admit it to Patton because he is literally the only thing holding his kingdom up, and if this marriage does not work, his kingdom will collapse? He's so scared and overwhelmed that he just suppresses all emotion until maybe Patton takes him on an innocent date and Logan breaks down and basically begging for Pat to just tell him what to do, it is exhausting to constantly guess.

New Beginnings

Thank you so much to @sanders-trash-4ever for editing and proofreading this for me! And thank you to @lilcutekittykat for letting me bounce ideas off of her and giving me ideas for fluff. And thanks to @bleepblopbloop56 for helping me come up with names some of the characters! You guys are the best!

Summary: Logan is trying his best to deal with his arranged marriage the best he can. His Kingdom depends on it.

Characters: Logan, Roman, Roman, Virgil, & Deceit (Named Daniel here)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan’s hands were shaking, which didn’t make sense. Really, he shouldn’t be as nervous as he was now. It was only his entire Kingdom on the line.

He straightened up when he saw his Husband (Logan had a Husband, that thought still made his stomach turn) and bowed to his King. “M’Lord. You summoned me?”

King Patton Hart smiled happily at Logan and held out his arm. “I’ve told you, Logan, call me Patton.”

Logan took his arm and prayed that the King wouldn’t be able to feel his sweaty palm through his gloves. “Apologies,” he murmured. “It is difficult for me to remember.” Just the thought of calling the King by his given name made him feel lightheaded.

After all, he didn’t know what could make the King change his mind about their marriage, and it was imperative that Logan didn’t screw this up. His Kingdom was bankrupt because of his late parents and it was only Hart’s money that was keeping the Kingdom of Crofters afloat. Logan, as the second eldest Prince, had been married off, and he couldn’t afford to have Patton discard him because he was such a terrible Husband. His older brother Daniel was already married to his Knight, Sir Roman, and his younger brother Virgil was much too young at the age of ten. No, Logan knew what he had been saying yes to when Daniel had approached him with the idea of this arranged marriage. He could be a good Husband.

It would’ve helped though if King Hart would just give him some clue on what a good Husband was. It had been two months and so far, Logan felt like tearing his hair out in frustration and mounting fear. King Hart had been nothing but kind and a perfect gentleman, not even taking Logan on his wedding night because of Hart Traditions of marriage did not require it as other cultures did. Logan didn’t know what to do anymore.

“That’s okay,” King Hart hummed. He started to lead Logan down through the Castle’s hallways. He smiled at Logan and asked, “I got a letter from King Daniel today. He and Prince Virgil asked if they could come for a visit during the Summer festival.”

Logan’s heart stopped for a beat at the thought of seeing his brothers again. The last time he had seen Daniel was at the wedding when he had given Logan away. His older brother had looked at him with regret but Logan had understood why he didn’t stop the wedding. This was their only option and they both knew it.

And Virgil, oh Virgil. Virgil hadn’t been able to come to the wedding because of a rather stubborn illness he had had at the time so it’s been even longer since he had seen his baby brother. What he wouldn’t give to hold the child in his arms and tell him the stories that they both enjoyed so much.

“Will they be coming, M’L-Patton?” Logan asked haltingly.

“Of course,” King Hart gasped, making Logan’s pulse beat faster. “They’re your family, of course they’ll be coming.” He brightened. “Besides, I haven’t been able to meet Prince Virgil yet and I’ve so many good things about the kiddo!”

“He is a very smart boy,” Logan said carefully. “The last I heard though, he was still bedridden with his sickness. I’m still waiting to hear how he’s doing now.”

King Hart’s lips pulled back down into a frown. “I hope he’ll be well soon. I’d hate for the poor boy to miss the festival because he’s still sick.”

Logan nodded and smiled when he thought about how Virgil would react to the hustle and bustle of the Kingdom of Hart. He would probably cling to Logan’s cape the entire time, being the terribly shy and sweet boy he was. The entire Kingdom of Crofters adored him and Logan had no doubt that the Kingdom of Hart would as well.

“He has always been a sickly boy,” Logan explained. He felt himself relax as he spoke about his brother. Virgil was a safe topic, one where he didn’t have to think too much about whether or not that he was being a good Husband. “The Healers didn’t think that he would make it past his fifth birthday but,” Logan smiled proudly, “he did. He may be sickly but he is determined to live.”

“Oh, he must be so brave,” King Hart gushed. “I can’t wait to meet him!”

Logan thought of Virgil, sweet Virgil, meeting the man who held their Kingdom in his hands and his mouth went dry. He forced himself to say, “I have no doubt that Virgil would love to meet you.” He paused, looked around, and furrowed his eyebrows. “Where are we? I don’t think I’ve been in this part of the Castle before.”

King Hart beamed at him. “Well, I thought that since we haven’t had any time together recently because of meetings and other things we could go out for a little date!”

It felt like all of the air in Logan’s lungs disappeared, leaving him breathless and floundering. A date? Oh no, this was simply terrible. He didn’t even know what it meant to be a good Husband and now King Hart was tossing him into a date and Logan would have to do his best or his Kingdom and family would suffer.

“A date?” Logan questioned, voice sounding small even to him. King Hart’s face fell at his tone and Logan forced himself to sound more upbeat. “That sounds amazing. May I ask where we’ll be going?”

King Hart stopped and placed his other hand on Logan’s shoulder. “We don’t have to go if you’re not feeling up to it,” he assured him. “We can go another time if you’d like.”

Logan mentally smacked himself. He was ruining this. He couldn’t sound meek and scared, though that was exactly how he felt. “No, no. I look forward to whatever you’ve prepared.“ He smiled and adjusted his glasses.

He must be a better actor than he originally thought because King Hart seemed to buy it. “If you’re sure,” The King said, giving Logan a once over before he continued down the hallway. “It’s nothing special or overwhelming. I just remembered that you haven’t been given a tour of our gardens yet which is a crime with how long you’ve been here!”

Logan let the King’s rambling wash over him as they exited the Castle and walked into the most beautiful gardens that Logan had ever seen. Even Daniel hadn’t been able to grow gardens this gorgeous and his brother had the greenest thumb in their Kingdom. “What beautiful flowers,” he breathed, leaning down to take a closer look at one of the flower beds. “Simply gorgeous.”

“My cousin Thomas tends to them for me,” King Hart said with a hint of pride in his voice. “He grows the most beautiful flowers. He’s my head gardener.”

“He does a great job,” Logan praised. He glanced up and froze when he saw that there were gardeners around, all staring at them. He couldn’t read their expressions and a shiver went down Logan’s spine. Were they upset? Was he doing something wrong?

“Logan?” King Hart’s voice startled him and Logan flinched away, drawing his hands to his chest. No, no, no. He was ruining this. He needed to be good but he didn’t know how to be good. He couldn’t do this and now everything was ruined.

“C’mere.” Logan was led to one of the various tables and was gently pushed into one of the chairs. King Hart cupped one of Logan’s hands in both of his and squeezed it. “Breathe with me, Logan. You’re okay.”

Logan closed his eyes to hide the tears burning in them. “What do you want from me?” He whispered helplessly.

“Logan-”

“I’ve tried everything!” Logan sobbed. Tears leaked out from behind his closed eyes and he started to tremble with the strength of his sobs. The dam that all of his fears had been hiding behind had cracked, and everything behind it was rushing out in massive waves. “I’ve tried to be good but I don’t know how! Please, please just tell me what you want!”

“I don’t want anything from you,” King Hart cried. He leaned closer from his own chair and said, “Logan, tell me what you’re talking about, please!”

Logan cracked his eyes open to glare wetly at his Husband. Any chance at saving this marriage was ruined so why try and act like a proper Husband now? “Do not take me for a fool,” he hissed. “I know that this marriage was arranged to save my Kingdom. I’ve tried to please you but I don’t know how and now, now I’ve ruined it.” his face crumbled and he begged, “Please if you still allow me to stay here after this, tell me what to do. I’ll do it, I swear.”

King Hart’s eyes were misty with tears of his own and he shook his head. “Logan, Sweetheart, no! No, I’m not going to throw you out!” He reached out and cupped Logan’s cheek. “Yes, the arrangement was made to save your Kingdom but, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have feelings for you.”

Logan’s heart stopped and he stared at King Hart with wide eyes. “What?”

“I’m not going to say I love you,” King Hart said softly. “I don’t, not yet at least. But, oh Logan, I do greatly enjoy your company. More so than I do anyone else’s. I’d like nothing more than for the two of us to have a sort of relationship. It doesn’t have to be a romantic relationship. I’d be honoured to be your friend.”

“You are telling the truth?” Logan asked a hint of desperation to his voice.

“Of course,” King Hart promised. His thumb brushed Logan’s cheekbone gently. “Have you been worrying about this the whole time?” Logan’s face must have shown his answer because King Hart sighed, “Oh, Logan.” He squeezed Logan’s hand. “Maybe we can start over?”

Logan blinked as hope sparked in his chest, easing his fear. “Start over?”

King Hart nodded. He pulled back, removing his hands from Logan, and then held one to Logan. “Hello! I’m King Patton Hart of the Hart Kingdom but you can call me Patton! I know that we’re married but do you want to be my friend?”

Logan chuckled and took Patton’s hand. “It would be my pleasure. I am Prince Logan of the Kingdom of Crofters. I look forward to getting to know you, Patton.”

Patton grinned and bounced in his chair. “Me too!” He smiled and leaned over to a flower brush, picking a flower and holding it out to Logan. Logan felt himself soften at the beautiful flower and took it from Patton’s hands.

“A Yellow Daffodil,” he mused, rolling the flower’s stem between his thumb and forefinger. “I believe that it represents new beginnings.”

“It does,” Patton said, a soft and gentle smile on his lips. Logan matched his smile and brought the flower up to tuck behind his ear. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and his eyes.

A new beginning sounded nice.

“Could we speak more of that festival you were telling me about?” Logan asked. He shifted his chair a little closer to Patton. “I’d like nothing more than to be able to tell Virgil all about it once he comes to visit. He loves to hear stories and while I don’t know much about the festival, I’ve heard that there’s quite a story behind it.”

Patton nodded eagerly. He waved his hand at one of the servants hanging near the exits and called, “Could you get us some tea and cakes, please?” The servant nodded, bowed, and walked away. Logan glanced around the gardens and saw that the gardeners were giving him sympathetic, kind smiles. His cheeks warmed but he smiled back.

His attention was turned back to Patton when the King said cheerfully, “It’s a bit of a story so we’ll need some refreshments to go along with it. The festival dates back centuries to when the first Hart stepped foot into this land.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel kept his eyes forward as he walked through the Throne room. His Husband walked beside him with his head held up high with pride and the Crofter’s Sigil sewn on his left breast. Virgil was in his wheelchair and being pushed by Daniel himself. His dear brother may be mostly healed from his most recent sickness but he had been left weak and wasn’t up to walking just yet.

The people of Hart were looking at them in open curiosity, more than a few gawking at the birthmark around Daniel’s eye, but Daniel paid them no mind. He was much more concerned with the man in front of him, the one he hadn’t seen in three months now. Standing at the right hand of King Hart with, from Daniel could tell, no injuries, was his little brother.

Oh, Daniel had missed Logan. He wanted nothing more than to rush forward and pull Logan into a tight hug. And, judging from the way Virgil was leaning forward, he wasn’t the only one. But they had appearances to hold up. So he stopped about a meter in front of them and inclined his head. “King Hart. Thank you for inviting us to your lovely city.”

King Hart smiled and nodded back. “I’m glad that you were able to join us during our festivities, King Crofters.” He gestured to a side door. “Would you and your family join me and Prince Logan for a private dinner?”

Daniel nodded and followed King Hart to the side door, keeping his eyes on Logan all the while. His brother looked healthy and even happy all Daniel had ever hoped for Logan. But, how much of this was a facade and how much of it was true?

King Hart held open the door for them all and as soon as the door was closed and they were alone, Daniel found himself with an arm full of Logan. “I’ve missed you,” Logan murmured, burying his face in Daniel’s shoulder.

Daniel hugged Logan tightly and whispered, “I’ve missed you too,” he said. “So much.”

Roman clapped a hand on Logan’s back and grinned at the younger man. “It’s been boring in the Castle without our resident bookworm around.”

Logan chuckled and pulled away. “Well, I just find it sad that there isn’t anyone else around to force you to read more than once a year.”

“I read plenty,” Roman protested hotly.

Daniel chuckled and he found that it was mirrored by the Royal standing by the door. He quickly turned to King Hart but faltered when the other King grinned brightly at him. “I’m so glad that you’re here! Logan’s been telling me so much about you!”

“Good things, I hope, King Hart,” Daniel said lightly. He glanced at Logan and relaxed when he saw that his brother was looking at King Hart with a fond smile on his face. It seemed that he didn’t have much to worry about after all.

King Hart pouted and shook his head. “Please, enough of that King Hart stuff. Call me Patton.” His eyes drifted to the youngest Crofter sibling and he perked up. “And this must be Virgil!”

The most recent sickness had left Virgil pale, skinnier than he had been before, and with bags under his eyes. He looked tiny in his wheelchair, delicate and breakable. Most hesitated to even breath wrong on the little Prince in case it sent him into a coughing fit.

But that didn’t stop Virgil from holding out a shaking hand and saying boldly, “It’s nice to meet you, King Hart.”

Patton crouched down and took Virgil’s shaking hand in his own steady one. “It’s a pleasure,” he said warmly. “Logan’s been telling me so much about you, Virgil. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time.”

Logan replaced Patton’s spot in front of Virgil the moment Virgil’s hand was released and cupped Virgil’s cheeks. “You look peaky,” he muttered. “Patton, I don’t suppose that you could make Virgil some of that tea you made me a few days ago for my throat? It may do Virgil a world of good.”

“I’d love to,” Patton beamed.

“Excellent,” Logan said, pulling Virgil out of the wheelchair and into his arms. Daniel went to stop him but Virgil was already looping his arms around Logan’s neck and didn’t look like he was going to be letting go anytime soon. And Logan didn’t look like he was going to be putting his younger brother down after being separated from him for so long. So he just sighed fondly at his brothers and leaned back into his Love’s arms.

“I don’t suppose I could be so bold to ask for some tea as well?” Roman asked with a boyish grin. “It was a rather long trip here.”

Patton straightened up and frowned. “You were supposed to be given refreshments the moment you arrived! Oh, I’m so sorry, you all come with me and I’ll get some tea for you all. Come, come!”

Daniel found himself being led down into a cozy little tearoom with plush armchairs, couches, and other beautiful furniture. Patton stood up on his toes and pressed a kiss to Logan’s cheek. “I’ll be right back!” He left the room, presumably to go find a servant to get them some tea. Which gave Daniel time to talk to his brother.

“Logan,” Daniel said urgently the moment that the door was closed. “Tell me the truth. Are you safe here?”

Logan looked up in confusion from where he was making himself and Virgil comfy on the couch. “Of course I am, Daniel.”

“You can tell us if you aren’t,” Roman assured him. He sat down on the other side of Logan and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll get you out of here, figure out another way to save the Kingdom.”

Virgil looked up at Logan from where he was leaning against his side. “I could marry Remy,” he offered.

Logan held up his hands and shook his head. “I assure you all, I’m fine. Patton and I are getting along perfectly and he has been a perfect gentleman. He hasn’t pushed me or anything of the like. There is no need for any rescue attempt.”

Daniel sat on the coffee table in front of his brothers. He searched Logan’s face for any hint of a lie and relaxed when he saw none. “You’re happy here?” He asked softly. “You’re safe?”

Because that was all he had ever wanted for his brothers. It had broken his heart when he had to give Logan away and the thought that Logan had found happiness was more than Daniel could have ever hoped for.

“I am,” Logan promised. He reached out and took Daniel’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “I promise you, I am happy here. Patton treats me well.”

All of the fears that had been festering in Daniel since Logan’s marriage ebbed at Logan’s words and he smiled at his brother. “Good,” he said softly. “Now, that we’ve taken care of that,” he looked down to Virgil, “what was that about marrying Remy?”

Roman leaned around Logan and grinned teasingly at the youngest Prince. “Aww, does our baby emo Prince have a crush on the Kingdom of Slumber’s little Crown Prince? Isn’t he already betrothed to some Scribe in training? Emmy or something like that?”

“His name is Emile,” Virgil scowled. “And Remy said that he could marry us both. He said that he’s gonna ask Daniel for permission when we all turn eighteen.”

Daniel could already feel a growing headache on the horizon and thanked the Gods that Virgil, Remy, and Emile were only ten. He had eight years before he had to deal with anyone asking for his baby brother’s hand. Far too soon in Daniel’s permission.

“Solely Daniel?” Logan asked with a teasing lilt in his voice. “Really, I hope that he intends to ask for my permission as well.”

“And mine!” Roman cried, a wide grin stretching across his face. He brandished an imaginary sword in the air. “I shall challenge him to a mighty duel to see if he and this Emile are worthy of our little Prince’s hand!”

“Stop it,” Virgil whined, smacking at Roman’s hand. The small family all burst into laughter and Logan pulled Virgil flush against his side. Daniel sat back on the table and smiled fondly at his Husband and brothers. He had worried that this marriage would ruin Logan but it had seemed to have given his brother room to thrive instead.

Patton returned a few minutes later with a tray of Green tea, Ginger Tea, and a plate full of cakes for them all. Daniel accepted a mug of tea and watched Patton fuss over Virgil and listened to the other King as he started to tell the story of their festival.

Yes, this was far better then Daniel could ever hope for.

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#sanders side fic #logicality #roceit #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #arranged marriage au #kingdom au #storm writes

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duhragonball · 4 years ago

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (130/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[10 October, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

Luffa's star-yacht, the Emerald Eye was constructed as a civilian pleasure craft, but under her ownership it now served as the de facto flagship of the interstellar Federation she had created. As a Super Saiyan, she had little need for fleets or armaments in battle, but she needed the transportation to get her from one battlefield to another. The current war against a cult of alchemically-enhanced Saiyans had kept her very busy. When she wasn't liberating a Federation planet from Jindan cultists, she was recuperating from her wounds or traveling to her next battle. Today, she was en route to a conference with the Federation's civilian and military leaders to discuss the situation. In preparation for this, she contacted her allies in the field to compare notes. The dining room of her yacht had a set of video conference monitors. Luffa sat alone at the table, scooping reheated pottage from a large bowl and eating it with her bare hand while they spoke.

"I've fought this rock creature thing on a dozen different planets by now," Luffa said. "All of them were attacked by Jindan Saiyans beforehand. I think their mission was to prepare those worlds for whatever magic trick he's using. Whatever it is, it assumes the form of King Rehval, Seltiss' father, and it talks like him too. I've gotten pretty good at fighting them, but they're too strong for most of our forces. Katem might do okay on his own, and maybe a few dozen of Seltiss's troops could figure something out, but your fleet wouldn't stand a chance, Marshall."

To Luffa's left, a screen showed Seltiss, leader of the Saiyan Free Company, with Xibuyas. They were teenagers, and uncomfortable with Luffa for a number of reasons, not the least of which was her claim to be Xibuyas' mother. But Luffa was rather accustomed to making other people uncomfortable. To her right, Marshall Ryba Booth sat at a desk in one of his fleets' command ship. Physically unimpressive, Booth's only real power lay in his political savvy and his sway over the Federation's military.

"And how do we stop him?" Booth asked. "The Saiyan invaders have been difficult enough to handle without some indestructible rock creature backing them up."

"The one thing in our favor is that he only seems to be able to manifest himself in one place at a time," Luffa said. "So far, he only seems to be using this power to draw me away from his underlings. That tells me his main objective is something he needs his troops to accomplish. Maybe he wants them to take something from the planets he's been sending them to, or he wants to conquer and hold territory. His rock body can't move from place to place, or he'd do it himself."

"What's to stop him from destroying Federation planets?" Booth asked. "He has more than enough power. Even his weakest soldiers could do it."

"It's not a small thing, destroying a planet, Marshall," Luffa said. "I'll let the kids explain it, and we'll see if they learned anything."

Xibuyas opened his mouth to object to Luffa's tone, but Seltiss spoke first, and he remained quiet. "You're right, Marshall," Seltiss said. "It doesn't take a Super Saiyan to blow up a planet. I could do it, and I'm not nearly as strong as Luffa or Xibuyas. I know some Saiyans who are weaker than I am, and they still have the raw power to damage a planet's crust. That wouldn't cause it to explode, but it'd still be enough to render it uninhabitable. But most Saiyans know better than to use that much power carelessly. Tactically speaking, it just isn't worth it."

Luffa smirked with approval. "Very good. Your turn, Katem. Why's it a bad idea?"

"My name is Xibuyas, and I didn't come here to play your games," Xibuyas grumbled.

"Oh, chill out, Xibuyas," Seltiss said. "Just answer the question."

He sighed and did as she said. "Everything a Saiyan needs is on a planet," he began. "Food, air, water, the light of a full moon. Oh, there's battle to be had in space, but no one wants to be cooped up in a starship, afraid to cut loose for fear of wrecking their own life support system. Planets are sturdy enough to support the Saiyan lifestyle. They're too valuable to destroy. Only a fool would annihilate one without a very good reason."

"Well done," Luffa said. "Rehval's a coward, and a bastard, and a lot of other things, but he's not stupid enough to tear down a potential resource. If nothing else, he knows we have to stretch our forces pretty thin to defend the Federation. If he starts blowing up our planets, he'll make it easier for us to defend the ones that are left."

"My father still thinks of himself as a cosmopolitan head of state," Seltiss said. "I don't understand why he's taken this aggressive posture, but I'm sure he plans to advance his standing in the galactic community. He might conquer your Federation, or weaken its influence, but if he destroys it, he'll only be proving that he's a rampaging monster. He would be undermining everything that the Rehval Dyansty has been trying to do for the Saiyan people."

"No, it's worse than that," Luffa said. "Your father's got some kind of god complex now. It's not just about good standing in galactic politics. Now, he wants people to worship him. Either way, he can't blow up all the little people, or there won't be anyone around to thank him for it later."

"Can you defeat him, Luffa?" Booth asked.

"I managed to knock those rock bodies of his around pretty good," Luffa said. "The trouble is that he can just abandon it and move on. Make another one someplace else. I can't hurt him unless I find his real body, and that could be anywhere."

"Well, his followers won't tell us," Xibuyas groused. "I've interrogated plenty of them, and it's always the same result. They'd sooner die than betray him."

"There must be some limit to his power," Seltiss said. "His base must be close to Federation space for him to animate all these creatures."

"Even if that were true, it's still too big an area to search," Luffa said. "And we can't commit our forces to look for him because we're stuck on the defensive. Our only option is to whittle away at his goons. But it's the only option he's given us, so it must mean we're playing into his hands. The whole thing's pretty damned annoying."

"Which is why the Federation Council has ordered this conference," Booth said. He rested his elbows on his desk and steepled his hands. "It's been almost eight months, and if there really is no end in sight, then we need to plan ahead for a prolonged conflict."

"A waste of time," Xibuyas muttered. "We should be fighting, not wasting time with a gaggle of bureaucrats!"

"Oh, I agree," Booth said, "but this is what happens when wars grow old. Strategy gives way to policy, and the public has to be reassured that this is all worth doing."

"Cheer up, boy," Luffa said to Xibuyas. "You and I can spar a little if you get bored."

He winced with disgust at the suggestion, and Luffa grinned with satisfaction. King Rehval had raised him to hate her, and he still did, even after he had turned against the king. Teasing the young man was the closest thing they had to a relationship.

"We ought to think about how to search for my father," Seltiss argued. "I agree that we can't spare the ships, but there has to be some way to track down his base. Until we do, we're just treading water."

"What are thinking, Seltiss?" Luffa asked. "Hire a few bounty hunters to snoop around?"

"It's worth a try, right?" Seltiss said with a shrug. "They don't even need to find anything, just as long as they can point us in the right direction."

It pleased Luffa to have Seltiss on her side. Rehval had turned her son against her, so turning his daughter against him seemed appropriate. The girl was too interested in fashion and poise for Luffa's liking. Her bright pink hair dye and pressed suit coat made it hard to tell she was a Saiyan teenager, but she made up for it with her skills as a leader.

While they were talking, a crewman entered Booth's room and whispered something to him. "Hold that thought, ladies," Booth said as he began tapping buttons on his computer. "I've just received reports that a Saiyan surrendered to a patrol ship near Qongoding. He was dressed in the same red uniform the Jindan cult uses."

"Surrendered?" Xibuyas asked in disbelief.

"That fortuneteller of yours didn't say anything about this, did she?" Seltiss asked Luffa.

"No," Luffa said, "but Dotz can't predict everything, and she's been focusing on attacks. If this guy turned himself in without a fight... Where is he now, Booth?"

"On his way to you, apparently," Booth said. "He kept insisting he has vital information, but he refuses to talk to anyone until he sees you, in person. So the captain decided to grant his wish."

They all looked at one another for a moment, and Luffa finally said: "I think I'll be a little late to that conference."

*******

[12 October, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

So far, Guwar's plan had worked. Knowing as much as he did about the Jindan Cult's tactics, it was easy for him to enter Federation space without running into any invasion ships that might have tried to stop him. The trickier part was avoiding the Federation's Saiyan allies. Guwar had heard that bands of Saiyan mercenaries had joined the Federation cause, but he hadn't expected there to be so many of them. It gave him a shred of hope that King Rehval could be stopped, but it also made it harder to enter Federation space. He was certain that a Federation patrol would accept his surrender, but a Saiyan would show him no mercy at all.

And so, he couldn't truly relax until he was aboard Luffa's ship. Once the patrol ship took him into custody, they rendezvoused with her star-yacht, and a blue-skinned woman crossed over via a docking tunnel. Instead of leading him back to the yacht, she studied him carefully, without a word of explanation.

"Haven't I seen you before?" Guwar asked.

"I doubt it," she said.

"I'm sure of it," Guwar said. "The eyepatch, the red hair... I wouldn't just forget--"

"He's clean," she suddenly said. "I'm bringing him aboard."

It was then that he noticed the earpiece in her left ear, and he realized she was talking to her ship. Then she put a gun to his lower back and nudged him to lead the way through the docking tunnel. As they walked, he finally realized where he had seen her before. That bar on that planet where he first ran into Treekul and Endive. Endive had disguised herself as Luffa, and Treekul had been dressed up as a blue alien with red hair. It was all part of some test to see if Guwar could be trusted before they recruited him in the quest to find the Jindan Cult. He suddenly remembered that Lesseri, the third woman in their gang, had actually trained under Luffa for a short time, and she must have based Treekul's disguise on this alien.

It all felt like ancient history, but it must have only been a few months ago. He had lost track of time since joining the cult, but he was sure it couldn't have been that long ago. It hurt him to think of the others. He had harbored a certain affection for Treekul and Endive, and he had only recently learned that they each felt the same way about him. And now that he finally knew, he would probably never see either of them again. Well, it saved him the trouble of having to choose one of them, he thought bitterly. He disliked Lesseri, but he had no idea what had happened to her, and that bothered him more than he cared to admit to himself. For all he knew she was long dead, another martyr sent to the Federation to die in King Rehval's pointless war.

Though he knew it wasn't fair, he resented this blue alien woman for reminding him of all of this. He supposed that Lesseri's little test had failed. At long last, he had chosen to betray them to Luffa after all.

"In here," the woman said as she led him to a small room.

He noticed the word "brig" on the door, though the lavish accommodations made him wonder if he had misread the sign. There were two rooms which might qualify as holding cells, and each of them had a fake plant and a magazine rack. The whole thing looked more like a waiting room than a jail.

"I guess even rich people have to put their unruly guests someplace, huh?" Guwar said. The woman didn't reply. She just nudged him into one of the cells and activated a force field to seal him inside. Even in his weakened condition, Guwar expected that he could break through the field, or even smash through the walls around it. The woman seemed to agree with his assessment, which was why she kept her plasma pistol trained on him while they waited.

A few minutes later, Luffa entered the room. She ignored Guwar and spoke with the blue woman instead. Guwar wasn't surprised by any of this. This sort of treatment was what interrogations were made of. They would do whatever it took to rattle him and shake his self-confidence. What bothered him instead was how much shorter and younger Luffa looked in person. There were bandages wrapped around her shoulders and arms, and bruises on her face. He knew that she had the ability to transform back and forth from her glowing golden form, but she looked so normal right now. Almost pathetic.

This was the miracle warrior he had risked everything to find?

"I'll take it from here," Luffa said, and the blue woman left them alone. Luffa found a chair and shoved it in front of Guwar's cell before taking a seat. She didn't say anything at first. She just stared at Guwar, like a bird-of-prey regarding its next meal.

"I know where he is," Guwar said. "That's all you wanted to know, isn't it? The last time we met, you were chasing me because you thought I knew something about Rehval. Well now I actually do, and I'll tell you all about it."

"Nagaoka, right?" Luffa said. "I've never heard of it, but that's where you want me to go, isn't it?"

"You already knew?" Guwar asked, somewhat anxiously.

"The patrol crew who brought you here? They went over your ship's computer core," Luffa explained. "I was talking to them while you were moving into your new 'quarters.' Now, I'm pretty sure you could rip your way out of that cell, but I think you're smart enough to know what'll happen to you if you try to leave."

"I know things that weren't in the computer," Guwar said. He hadn't counted on anyone to backtrack his navigation logs, and suddenly he began to realize how expendable his life would be once he revealed all his secrets. "I was part of his cult. He shared the Jindan power with me. He took the power away from me when I left, but I know how it works, and how to deal with it. I can help you plan your attack, but you need to move quickly! He thinks he's invincible, but if he finds out you know where he is, he could pack up and move to a new hiding place--"

"Why should I believe you, Guwar?" Luffa asked. "You don't have much credibility where I'm concerned."

"I risked my life to come here!" Guwar exclaimed. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"Sure it does," Luffa said. "It means you're more afraid. Something's got you so scared that you'd rather risk flying into a war zone and turning yourself in to me. You figure if you give me some intel on my enemies, I'll protect you, instead of turning you into a red stain on the ground. But being desperate doesn't help your credibility. Kind of the opposite, really."

"I don't believe this!" Guwar snapped. "The last time we met, you were chasing me across the universe for information on Rehval that I didn't even have! Now I'm coming to you with his exact location and you threaten me?"

"Let's say I believe you," Luffa reasoned. "Most likely, you ran to Rehval because you thought he could save you from me. Now, you're running to me because you're afraid of him. That makes you a coward, Guwar, no matter how you slice it. Right now, I'm disgusted to breathe the same air as you."

She made a derisive snort as she crossed her arms, and waited to see how he reacted. The fearful look on his face was no surprise to her, but then his expression shifted, and he looked more insulted than afraid. And then she was surprised to see a flicker of defiance in his eyes.

"No," he said. "I don't buy it. That holier-than-thou act of yours doesn't wash with me."

"Really?" Luffa asked.

"If I'm so offensive to your presence, if you're so confident that you can get along without my help, then you would have killed me already. You can still kill me right now, so what's stopping you?"

"Suppose you tell me," Luffa replied.

"You're the one who's desperate, Luffa," Guwar said. "I can see it in your eyes. For all your power and majesty, you want to end this war more than Rehval does. That's why he's using attrition tactics against you. He knows you care about the people who live in the Federation, and that you can't stand the mounting civilian casualties. Oh, you may be an invincible warrior, but no matter how inevitable your victory is, you won't be able to bring back the war dead. You need a way to end this conflict quickly, and the only way to do that is to take the fight to Rehval, and this 'coward' you're looking at is the only lead you have."

Luffa glared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Then, at last, she jumped out of her chair. For a split-second, he expected her to tear through the force field and rip him to pieces. Instead, she simply laughed, which somehow felt almost as terrifying.

"Well, I guess you've got a little spine left after all, haven't you?" she said. "There might be hope for you yet, Guwar."

"Please," he said wearily. "You have to listen to me. You've got to believe me."

"Oh, I will, Guwar," Luffa said ominously. "I just need to confirm something first. You say you were part of Rehval's cult, but I can't sense the Jindan power in you."

"I already told you," he said, "it was taken from me when I turned against him."

"Sure, and I can sense how much weaker it's made you," Luffa said. "But that could just mean you've gone soft without any battles to fight. No, there's only one way to be sure you really were part of his cult, and I was kind of hoping you'd admit you were lying to me so that I wouldn't have to check." With that, she shut off the force field and stepped into his cell.

"What are you doing?" Guwar tried to ask, but before he could finish the question, Luffa planted his hand on his face and concentrated.

"Rehval fixed up his goons with something called the 'Mindworm'," she said. "It keeps telepathic beings from reading their minds. The last time I ran into it, it felt like I poured hot spices into my skull. So if you're only pretending to be in with the cult, I'll see it in your thoughts. But if you really joined Rehval's side, then you should still be... Aaaah!"

She released him and staggered backward as she grimaced in pain. Guwar stepped towards her, unsure how to proceed, but Luffa waved her hand in a wide, awkward sweep, producing enough of a ki force to knock him away from her and onto the floor.

"You idiot!" he shouted. "The Mindworm is a booby trap! Even a brief exposure to it will put you into a coma!"

It had never occurred to him to warn her about the Mindworm. He didn't think she would do anything so impulsive, so reckless, and now she was seconds away from becoming a vegetable. To think he had pinned all of his hopes onto this stupid girl! He had begun to wonder if she might really be a Saiyan messiah after all. Against King Rehval, anything less wouldn't be enough to save their species. But no, she was no better than the rest of them, and when she fell, there would be nothing in the universe that could protect him...

"Wrrrrrrong," Luffa growled through clenched teeth. "I told you I encountered this once beforrrre, and it didn't stop me thennnnnn..."

She screamed, and then balled her fists and tensed her body until she was transformed. She couldn't see Guwar with her eyes closed, but she could smell his fear and sense him scooting across the floor in a feeble attempt to put some distance between them. He didn't have to worry, but Luffa saw no pressing need to tell him that. Instead, she focused on the battle that mattered, and as she turned her immense power inward, she began battering her hands against her head and chest.

"I'm... not just another pretty face!" she snarled. "Creeps like you think they can get the drop on me once in a while, and that somehow proves I'm not so tough after all. But there's more to being 'invincible' than just winning lots of fights. It's about... unngh... about taking the worst shots... and finding ways to overcome them!"

She cried out one more time and when the light of her aura subsided, she opened her eyes and stood before Guwar completely composed. The effects of the Mindworm lingered, but she had dispelled them much more quickly than before.

"There," she said, still maintaining her glowing golden form. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe I should try that again some time and use a stopwatch to track how long it takes me to shrug it off."

"You... you...!" Guwar babbled. Luffa shook her head and walked towards him. Before he could try to scramble away, she grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up over her head.

"Oh, calm down," she said. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not while there's a chance that you could be useful to us. Even if you are lying to me, there's no doubt that you've been involved with the cult."

"I'm not lying!" Guwar pleaded. "I can prove what I'm saying, I swear it!"

"Good for you," Luffa grumbled. "Because you're going to get your chance. I may not be able to interrogate you telepathically, but Marshall Booth has all sorts of people working for him who know a lot of creative ways to get information out of people."

She tossed him into a nearby chair and chuckled as he nearly fell over.

"Welcome to the Federation, Guwar," she said. "It might be an unpleasant stay at first, but if you give me Rehval, I promise we'll make it up to you later..."

NEXT: To Win the Peace

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #super saiyan #luffa #zatte #xibuyas #seltiss #guwar #ryba booth

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kayteewritessteve · 6 years ago

Text

Love and War - 3/16

Description: In a harsh medieval world, you set out on a perilous quest that will lead you onto a forbidden land. A land ruled and controlled by a ruthless Warlord King, one who does not look favourably upon trespassers of any kind, and punishes all with an iron fist. You may not know exactly where this quest will end, but what you do know is you will forever be altered by it. And that knowledge alone is what truly terrifies you the most.

Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 4,220 ish.

Pairing: Medieval!Steve Rogers x Reader.

Rating: PG for now. May become 18+ later.

Warnings: Violence. Curse words. Mentions of fears and potentially brutal medieval tactics. Most likely more to come down the road. Please don’t let these warnings scare you too much, give the story a try before you judge it.

A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader, so I do proudly own all the errors and this story, so there’s that.

“Alright, so everyone knows the plan?” You ask quietly, not wanting the guard to hear you.

“Yes,” Wanda says back.

“Yeah,” Piet replies. “Though, I will just put it out there that I think this is a horrible plan, but it’s really all we’ve got at the moment.”

“Oh shhh,” you hiss, “have some faith, you negative nelly.”

He chuckles and murmurs something playfully that you don’t quite hear, but don’t really care to hear either.

“Okay, it’s go time,” you whisper then raise your voice to yell, “excuse me? Guard?”

You notice Wanda move up against the cell door wall, hiding herself in the shadows as best as she can. And then, she slowly starts to vanish before your eyes, using her magic to make herself disappear. She can’t make anyone else vanish, or stay that way for long, but you just need her to hold it for a few minutes. At most.

“Hellooooo! Guard!” You continue to yell, hearing his heavy footsteps coming towards you now.

“What are you hollering about, wench?” He asks gruffly once he reaches the cell door.

“I seem to have lost my cellmate,” you point out, innocently.

His eyes widen slightly as he looks around the small area, “where the hell did she go?”

“Ya know? I’m not entirely sure,” you glance around and then shrug. “One minute she was here, then the next poof,” you wave your hands around with a flourish, “gone.”

“A witch!?” He snaps, clearly angry now, “they didn’t mention you lot were witches.”

“Oh, I’m not a witch,” you shake your head, vehemently, “if I was, don’t you think I’d have escaped with her?”

“Back up,” he commands, ignoring your question, and you comply, reaching the back wall of the cell as his keys jingle and he unlocks the cell door.

“Stay right there,” he orders, “if you so much as move a muscle, you won’t like what happens to you.”

“Don’t move, got it,” you nod.

He comes towards you, pulling shackles off his belt as he does, clearly he plans to restrain you so he can check the cell over. But just as he is about to reach you, Wanda appears and jumps on his back, putting him in a steadfast chokehold. And then you spring into action, you lunge forward and kick him right where the sun don’t shine, causing him to hunch forward as he drops to his knees. Wanda still secured tightly around his neck, he tries to fight back, but you use all your weight to keep his arms down and away from reaching your sister.

After a few tense moments of struggle, he finally slows and then drops forward with a thud, unconscious. Wanda detaches herself from him and then you grab his weapon as she grabs his keys. You both quickly exit the cell, locking the guard inside and then go to release Pietro. Once his cell door is open you all share a quick group hug and then hastily make your way towards the tunnel door.

Pietro motions for you both to hang back, and then takes the guards weapon from you and opens the giant wood door. Poking his head out to look both ways before he motions for both of you to follow him.

You make your way into the tunnel, and head back towards the large iron doors. This will be the hard part, dealing with the two guards on the other side.

After a few moments you reach the doors, and Wanda closes her eyes and focuses her mind. You aren’t entirely sure what she can see, or do in this state, but you have faith she will give you the window you all need.

After a silent and tense moment, she snaps open her eyes and goes to pull the doors open. Pietro and you quickly moving to help her, as the three of you pull with everything you have, hearing the same creaking sound as the doors open.

You glance out and don’t see a guard in sight, turning to give Wanda a curious look but she waves a dismissive hand, murmuring, “I’ll tell you later.” And huh, turns out, this was actually not the hard part after all. Go figure.

The three of you venture out the doors, pulling them closed behind you, as to not alert any passers by before you can get far enough away. Then you all head into the dense woods, knowing that taking a path isn’t an option currently. You quickly and quietly move away from the Kings city, wanting to put as much distance between yourselves and it, as fast as you can.

Your heart is pounding again, your legs ache from the day you’ve already had. Something in you is telling you to stay, begging you to go back, but you ignore it. You push on, knowing that if you did go back, you’d surely die. There was no sugar coating that. But then why does every step feel painful? Every additional pace making your heart scream out to stop. To turn around. To go back. You shake your head, now is not the time to listen to your foolish heart.

You all run for a while, putting some good distance between yourselves and the city, enough distance that finally Pietro believes it’s safe to stop for a bit. To rest. And your aching lungs want to thank him. They want to jump out of your body and bow down at his feet.

You’re exhausted, utterly and truly spent. Your whole body hurts, even your fingers ache. You just want your comfy bed and your sketchbook. Though you’re sure you wouldn’t even be able to draw at the moment. Not with how much both your mind and body, pulsate with pain.

“We will rest here for a moment, but then we have to continue on,” Pietro says as he sits down on a stump. “They will figure out we are gone soon, and then they will come searching for us. We can’t risk staying in one place for too long.”

You nod, as you pant heavily and slump down on a fallen tree. “I was not built for this,” you mumble breathlessly.

Wanda giggles and Pietro shakes his head, chuckling, “that you weren’t. But we love you just the way you are. Sluggish and pesky.”

“Sluggish!?” You gasp trying to pretend to be offended, but then you burst out laughing, quickly slamming a hand over your mouth to muffle the sound. You shouldn’t be so loud right now, but you couldn’t have prevented the laugh even if you’d tried. You and Pietro both knew you are neither sluggish, nor pesky, but this is what he did. He messed with you. This is just the relationship you both have, you sass each other but it’s all out of love. “This coming from the witless trespass—“

Your words are cut off by a deep earth rumbling howl, one that strikes fear into your very soul. You have no clue what would even cause a howl that loud, or that menacing, but what you do know is, you do not want to hang around to find out. The howl is then followed by loud shouting of in the distance, and you instantly realize they are on to you. They know you all escaped and now they are searching for you.

“How could they have figured out we were gone so quickly?” You whisper glancing at the other two as you all quickly stand up.

But neither of them seem to have the answer to that, and then you all begin to run in the opposite direction from which the howl and voices originated. Your body instantly trying to protest every step, but fear keeps you moving.

Though not as fast as Pietro, but he has always been much, much faster than Wanda and yourself. However, it doesn’t help matters at all that you are both currently wearing these damned skirts! The two of you should have each warn a pair of Pietro’s trousers, what were you both thinking!? Coming to this Godsforsaken place in skirts! Damned fools!

“Come on you two, we have to pick up the pace,” he says as he slows down and waves a hurrying hand.

“We are trying,” you say through your heavy breaths.

You hear commotion getting louder behind you, but refuse to look back. You don’t want to know what is currently chasing you. You don’t want to risk tripping if you aren’t watching exactly where you’re going.

The heavy sounds of ...hooves? No! Paws! The heavy muffled sounds of large paws hitting the soft ground is what you hear next. And there is a lot of them. Way more than you could ever stand to fight off. Whatever it is behind you, you do not want to face it. Not even a little.

Your mind kicks up a thought and you almost shutter in horror. A half breed army, man by day, beast by night. Oh Gods, maybe that rumour is actually true. A loud growl echoes through the forest, bouncing off the trees and causing every muscle in your body to tense up, instantly. As if the growl is controlling your physical body, telling it to stop running, and what's worse is it wants to freaking listen. Your body wants to halt entirely, and face the damned beast. It’s actually begging you to.

Though you just keep pushing yourself forward, ignoring the inner urges coursing through you, but finding each step even harder than the last. What with your body trying so desperately to deter your escape. To prevent you from getting away. From getting to freedom.

You glance up and ahead, seeing Pietro and Wanda about 6-7 yards in front, you know they wouldn’t willingly leave you behind. So they clearly haven’t glanced back yet to realize they’ve started to lose you. Their bodies just don’t seem as affected by all of this as yours currently is.

A howl off to the right has your eyes snapping that direction, but you can’t see anything, it’s just too dark, the moonlight unable to penetrate the think canopy in most places.

But then, a large mass running alongside you through the dense trees catches your eye, and on instinct you veer left. Hoping that you can escape whatever it is.

“Y/N!!” You hear your siblings both yell and you look up to find them, but can no longer see them, and that only makes you panic more. Where did they go? You just saw them mere moments ago. You couldn’t have gone that far off course!

Another growl rips from behind you, this time much, much closer. You know it will be on you soon. The end is near for you. You just hope that Wanda and Pietro can escape, can get to safety, that’s all you pray for now. You are truly doomed, but maybe they aren’t.

And just as you are entering a small clearing in the woods, something large—extremely large—collides with your back, knocking you on to your stomach on the ground. A massive weight landing on you, though not enough to crush you, but definitely enough to render you immobile. You clench your eyes shut, too afraid to look, while feeling the heavy panting of something’s warm breath hitting the back of your neck. You feel the weight lift off you, just as something large and warm slips under your stomach and flips you onto your back.

But you still refuse to look, to petrified to even peak at the beast above you. A deep, menacing growl reverberates through you and it feels like a warning. Like it is telling you not to move, or something—you obviously don’t speak wild beast so you really have no clue. But just in case, you decide it best to not move a muscle, for fear of only angering the thing more.

Another deep, rumbling growl rips from above you and this time your eyes involuntarily snap open, only to lock onto an eerie glowing set of blue eyes. If you weren’t so damned terrified, you might have even found them breathtaking. Entrancing even. You’d love to draw them, though you probably wouldn’t be able to do them justice, as eyes are not your strong suit. You find yourself just staring into them now, you could easily get lost in these beautiful blue eyes—what are you even saying?! This thing is about to make you dinner and you’re admiring its eyes?! Give your head a shake, woman!

You tear your eyes away from the piercing, glowing blue orbs and drop them lower, taking in the sharp white teeth gleaming in the moonlight at you. The long snout connected to a body covered in thick, coarse golden flax coloured fur. Instantly you know exactly what it is, it’s a wolf. And a freaking huge one at that. Larger than any animal you’ve ever seen before. You can tell that even if you were standing up, it would still tower over you, on all fours. And what’s worse, is that it probably still would be, even if it was slouching. This thing could easily eat you in 4 bites, max.

A huff noise, accompanied by a gust of air hitting your face causes you to furrow your brows and flick your eyes back up to meet the beasts. Why hasn’t it killed you yet? What is it waiting for?

Then, for some unknown reason, the beast starts to step back, removing itself from over top of you. And in a complete daze you sit up as it does, entirely lost as to what is happening right now. But more curious about what is to come.

The sound of a branch snapping startles you and the beast’s head snaps to the left, towards where the noise came from. Then it hunches down low in a defensive stance as it’s hackles rise, causing the wolf to look even larger than it did before. Which is hard to believe is even possible. And then it growls deeply, the sound causing every muscle in your body to tense up once again. You vaguely hear the sound of retreating steps over your heart, which is once again pounding in your ears, but then the beast relaxes, huffing once more before it sits at your feet, just staring at you. Watching you.

What is going on? Why is it just looking at you? What does it want? You go to stand up but just as you reach your full height, your legs give out, sending you plummeting to the floor. But before you make contact with the ground, you feel something brush up against your side, and then a large furry neck is tucked under your right arm, helping to slowly lower you back down to the ground. And once you’re settled, it pulls away, going back to sitting in front of you, just staring once again.

Before you can even think about it you mumble a, “thank you.” Instantly realizing you are talking to a freaking wild animal. Though oddly enough, it nods back at you. But you had to have imagined that? You must be hallucinating now. Or maybe, you’re actually dead. Because there is no way this giant wolf can actually understand you, right?

The rumour said they were beasts by night and men by day, so maybe somewhere in there, there is actually a man, one who can actually understand you. It sounds ridiculous and farfetched, but then again, it hasn’t killed you yet. And on top of that you swear to the Gods that it truly nodded in response to you.

Though the only way to find out is to test that theory. You make eye contact with the massive blue eyed wolf and then ask quietly, “can you understand me?”

And you honestly almost fall over when the wolf nods its head, again in response to you. You are talking to a wild animal right now, what are the freaking odds? “Are you—are you going to kill me?”

It tilts its head to the side, inspecting you for a moment, then huffs loudly and shakes its head. As if it’s frustrated by you? Seriously? “Then if not, may I leave?”

You go to stand again but a deep warning growl erupts from the large wolf and you halt your movements instantly. Lowering yourself back down slowly, as not to piss it off again.

But now, as you sit in complete deafening silence, with only the sounds of the woods around you, a stream running off in the distance, crickets chirping, and an owl hooting, you realize again that your legs ache.

Though it’s more than an ache, now that the adrenaline is wearing off, your legs feel severely cramped and your right thigh muscle is throbbing and pulsing uncomfortably. While your lower left leg now stings from your sweat entering all the scraps from your earlier tumble.

And your breathing is still crazy and erratic, though your heart has slowed down a little now, not beating at such a rapid pace anymore. You just continue to sit in the intense silence, while this wolf thing just watches you. Studies you. Every small twitch of your fingers, or quiver of your lip, or twitch of your leg from the pain. It just keeps its eyes on all of it. Not missing anything.

It’s rather nerve wracking, if you’re being honest, just having this predator stare at you, as if you are the most interesting thing in the world. Or maybe it’s looking at you more like you’re dinner, like you are the meal that will help sustain its life for a little while longer.

As the minutes tick on slowly, agonizingly slow, you become more frustrated. More antsy. Why are you just sitting here, still and unmoving? What does this beast want with you? And where are Wanda and Pietro? Did they get captured as well? Are they also just sitting around being watched by some other massive, intimidating beast?

“P-please,” you stutter out, “just let me go, I promise to never come back. If you—if you just let me—“

The beast growls at you again, abruptly stopping your words in your throat. And then it stands up and the threatening pose it gets into is not a friendly one. Not even close. It’s hackles are up again and it’s baring it’s large teeth at you. But then, it turns it’s massive head and looks to the right, just as you hear footsteps in the distance the beast moves towards you.

You flinch away, thinking it’s going to attack you, but instead it towers over your smaller, still sitting form. It stands sideways, directly over your legs. Your face almost pushed into the side of it’s stomach, and everything in you is telling you to reach up and pet the damned thing. To run your fingers through it’s golden fur, but you fight that urge and instead focus on whoever—or whatever—is coming towards you now.

And then you see it—or him, rather—a large, ridiculously large, man appears from the tree line, coming towards you both. The wolf growls menacingly and the man kneels down and bows his head. You are utterly confused as to what is going on right now. You just glance back and forth, between the man and the wolf—who’s still hovering directly over you. And then the wolf visibly relaxes, and a moment later the man stands back up right, to his full height and then cautiously steps towards you.

And it’s then that you notice he has something in his hands, you squint your eyes trying to make out what it is in the dark. Is it...rags? Blankets? Clothes? You can’t overly tell, but the man holds them out for the wolf, who takes them in his mouth and then looks at you, locking eyes and you can almost see a warning in the beautiful glowing blue orbs. Something tells you to stay put, some weird force making you acutely aware that you are not to move a muscle. You nod, not entirely sure why, but figuring it wants you to agree to it’s terms. Whatever they are—That is, if it even gave you any terms in the first place.

Then, strangely enough, it nods back once, and steps away from you. Slowly removing it’s body from above you, and taking it’s warmth along with it. You shiver as the cold air surrounds you again and just watch as the beast vanishes into the dense tree line.

You glance up at the man, he looks even larger now that he is up close, and clearly your spot still sitting on the ground, isn’t helping that at all. You give him a once over, noticing he is rather handsome, with shoulder length brown hair, that is twisted into a bun at the back of his head. However, a few parts of his hair have fallen loose and hang down on his face and shoulders. Your eyes then flick over his face, before locking onto his crystal blue/grey eyes. And you instantly realize that you are just openly staring at this man, and he knows it. If the smug smirks now on his lips is anything to go by. That causes heat to rise in your cheeks and you quickly glance away, looking down at your hands to hide your embarrassment.

The silence is, once again, deafening. The man hasn’t said a word, nor has the wolf returned and you still have no clue what is currently going on. Nor do you know what you should be doing in this moment. Do you beg for your life? Plead that they let you go? Ask where Wanda and Pietro are, if they are okay? Oh Gods, please let them be alive and safe. That’s all you ask.

“Am I—am I going back to the cell?” You go to ask, but it comes out a quiet whimper, lost in the wind, and you aren’t sure if the man actually heard you. But then he scoffs and shakes his head, as if your question is stupid and ridiculous. Though he doesn’t offer you anything else, not even a one worded response. So either he doesn’t actually know your fate, or he is just refusing to tell you.

Either way, all you want is to go home, to be in your cosy room. Wrapped up in a throw blanket and lounging on your bed as you draw the world around you. But you know deep down that even if you do live, you will never see your little room again. Nor get to just lounge in it, drawing.

Rustling bushes and footsteps draw your attention up and you see another huge man enter the clearing, this one even bigger then the one currently next to you. But this one, this one takes your breath away, instantly. He is stunning, in every way imaginable. All hard muscle, broad shoulders, and slim waist.

But then as he nears you, you notice his chiselled jaw line, one that could probably cut diamonds, and then his luscious golden locks, that you instantly have the urge to run your fingers through, it just looks so soft, so fluffy, so damned touchable. But as your eyes travel down lower, you notice his piercing blue eyes, and you completely freeze. They are the exact same eyes as the wolf, that much you know for sure.

‘An army of half breeds, men by day, beasts by night’. Oh Gods, that rumour is actually true. These men are clearly half breeds. You side eye the brunette, giving him a more thorough once over. But that doesn’t really give you much to go on, you honestly can’t be sure if he is a half breed or not. But you know the blonde is for sure. He was the wolf who caught you, and now stands before you in all his rugged, manly glory. Your eyes flick back to him and your heart skips a beat as you realize he is still studying you intently.

“Can you walk?” The large blonde asks, gruffly. His voice deep and penetrating. Like nothing you’ve ever heard before, it’s like his massive body only stands to amplify his voice, ten fold. You figure he could easily command a room full of men with just his voice alone.

“I-I think so,” you reply.

“Then stand up,” his deep voice now commands, and it sends a shiver down your spine. You nod quickly and slowly push yourself up onto your wobbling legs. Unsure if they will be able to hold all of your weight, but you don’t want to anger this man. Something deep inside you aches just at the thought of upsetting him. At the thought of causing him any more grief than you already have.

But just as you reach your full height, which is still a few feet shorter than the two men, you start to feel light headed. Black spots start to appear all throughout your vision, causing you to glance around, as if to look directly at them. But every time you aim your sight at a new spot, it vanishes and then reappears somewhere else. The movement of your eyes only stands to make you more dizzy.

You know what’s to come, you know you’re about to faint and you try to warn the men, you try to tell them. You’re eyes lock onto the beautiful, entrancing blue ones again as you manage to whisper out, “I think I’m about—“

But the words end there, dying in your throat, as your vision starts to turn fully black now, and you feel the momentum of your body plummeting to the ground. With no chance to prevent it, or to protect yourself, all you can hope is that you don’t hit your head once you meet the forest floor. The last thought to cross your mind is, ‘Please Gods, let me land softly’.

And then the world disappears into a lonely, dark and cold abyss.

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

@hopefulmoonobject @caps-lockdown @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @tessvillegas @boxofteenageideas @wangdeasang @giggleberts @casuallydarktiger @theonelittleone @agentbadbitch @ratwrites @starrystellars @bandsandanimefreak @rockyroadthepastryarchy @lovvliies @cuffski @icesoccerer @alwaysright4 @lilsthethrills @imdiegohargreeves @zombiepotterfour @mu-mu-rs @ledandan1244 @straightforwardly @denzmallows @xremember-me-notx @gwynethjodie @lollipopdomination @capstopavenger @jemimah-b99 @rcvenqers @justkending @marvel13princess @alagalaska @silent-loucidity @sabertooth-potato @pies-wands-and-more @interstellarmess @gabriella69816 @phantom-soilder @wordlesscaptain @captain-hammer-of-asgard @starstucknature @pixieferry @viarogers

#au fanfiction #fanfiction #long post #long read #marvel au #marvel fanfiction #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #love and war #chapter 3 #medival!steve rogers x reader #medieval!steve rogers #medieval au #fantasy!steve rogers #fantasy au #stace rogers au #marvel

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jokertrap-ran · 6 years ago

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Dance with Devils -Charming Book- Vol.1 Kaginuki (Arlond) Rem アクマに囁かれ魅了されるCD 「Dance with Devils -Charming Book-」 Vol.1 レム

*Commissioned by @awomansplaceisshapinghistory, Thank you! *Spoiler free: Translations under cut

Commissions are still open!

Track 1:

Are you progressing well with your homework? Heh, my apologies. It seems like I’ve startled you. I’ve actually just arrived. I heard from Urie that you were studying really hard in the library. Still, that must be a really hard problem you’re working on for you to not notice me enter the library.

I see. How about you let me take a little look at it. Hmm...This one’s right. And this one’s correct too. It’s pretty well done. It should be easier to solve if you tweak the formulas and the method a little. Although, I must say that it might take a while to do so. How about trying it out? Very well. Then let’s first start off by revising the formula. In this case, we have Sin X+ Cosine X and we should use this formula first. Your face’s looking a little red. Are you alright there? Ah...So you’re embarrassed? Seems like you’re still unable to get used to me being this close even after all this time. There’s no need for you to apologize. It’s not like I’m lecturing you about it or anything. Besides, you’re very lovely when embarrassed. How about you let me see that face of yours even more clearly? You don’t have to try to escape. There’s no one else here other than us two. There’s nothing to be ashamed about at all.

Heh. Even the nape of your neck has turned red. You’re as sweet-smelling as ever. It tempts me to leave my mark right here. One that claims you as mine. Did I go a little too far for your comfort? Don’t be so mad. I wasn’t just teasing you about it. I was just acting part-ways to my desire as I really do find you lovable. It’s just that...I simply withdrew because the sound of my own heartbeat was starting to sound a little deafening to my own ears. That aside, I apologize for getting in the way of your homework. Now then, you should just continue on with it. Don’t mind me. I’ll teach you the formula I was talking about earlier another time. Hm? Did I break your concentration? At times like this, you should sing. When you do, the stars sparkle bright, the days get brighter and warmth seeps into every crevice it can possibly find! I do sing often whenever I feel down or on rather gloomy days of my own.

...I guess this method doesn’t seem to be suited for you after all. Then...How about reading a book? Shiki did say that we got a couple of shipments here recently and that there were a few rather interesting picks. If I remember correctly, he said that they were all slotted in at the bookshelves in the far back. I’ll guide you there. Here, your hand if you may.

That’s strange. They’re all books with nothing interesting to note at all. Exactly what does Shiki find interesting in these tomes? Hm? What’s the matter? You can’t open that book? Let me see. Well, there doesn’t seem to be a keyhole or anything from what I can see. But I certainly can’t open it either. Was this what Shiki meant when he said that there was a rather interesting book here?

Ngh! This presence! This is the feeling of magic...It can’t be! Is this a magic book!? It flipped open of its own accord! This magic book has a consciousness of its own!? I was tricked! This is bad!

Track 2:

...Ngh...Where am I…? Are you alright!? I see that you’ve awoken. Are you hurt? Do you feel unwell anywhere at all? Haa, thank god for that. If anything were to happen to you, I…

Since when did you change out into that dress? My attire has changed as well...Is this attire change also due to that magic book’s power? Still, I must say that these are pretty well made. It’s pretty much what one gets from a large amount of monetary investment to get it made. You look utterly stunning in a dress. This light sky blue colour really does bring out the colour of your skin. Right, I’d gladly take my time to admire your current state of...dress, but we’ll have to leave that for later. We’re currently in a strange situation that I’m unable to wrap my head around. We have to first gather some information and get a grasp on the situation we’re in.

As far as I can see, this room probably belongs to someone with a high social status. That, I can tell from the amount of branded, high quality things decorating this place. They’re all old...Antiques, maybe, but they’re all very well-maintained and well cared for. But that’s still not nearly enough information. Let’s get out of this room and see what else we can find outside. You should wait inside here just as a precaution. I’ll head on out alone first-

Wha-!? What’s this noise? Where is it coming from? Words are forming on the walls. “The Naked King”? Is this a title of sorts?

“Long, long ago, in a land far away, there lived a king who absolutely adored clothes. One day, the king bought a set of rare clothes that would seem to be transparent when fools laid their eyes upon it.

And this, the king decided to wear that set of precious, priceless clothes to the procession. He had decided to show and flaunt his new attire.”

Hm? The words on the wall have disappeared...That was certainly the work of magic. Could it be that...I see. I have just managed to finally get a grasp of the situation we’re currently in. We’re probably in a realm within the magic book itself. There’s no other reason for us being here otherwise.

Yes, that’s right. The magic book I picked up back in the library reacted to my own and activated because of that. In other words, this magic book is acting on its own accord. Which can be considered to be a pretty bad situation.

Ah. Speaking of “The Naked King”...Is that the title of that door there? If that’s so...Then that means that there are more doors like this within the magic book. Which means...We’re both currently within that very same story. Hm...Perhaps that’s why our attires were swapped out as well. That dress that seemed to be perfectly fitted and tailored for you...Just like one perfectly suited for a royalty of court. And...the king who supposedly stands tall beside you. That’s supposed to me, isn’t it? I’m still unsure of what the magic book’s motives are but I’m sure that we’ll be released from this realm so long as we manage to see this tale through.

We should be fine if we go along with the flow of things and wait for it all to conclude.

No, it’s just...Well, I’m not too familiar with human tales. Is “The Naked King” a popular story? I was made to dress like a king and am expected to play an active role in this tale?

Ngh!? You mean, I have to walk in front of my subjects stark naked in the end!? Me? Naked? There’s no way I can do that! No...But, that’s also one of the conditions I have to fulfil in order to get us out of this realm created by that book! But still, to parade around in my birthday suit in front of the masses...No, wait! But that means that I’ll be completely exposed- I can’t let her see me in that state, what if she gets mentally scarred by it!? But wait, that’s still rather fortunate-

...I’ve set my heart out. If it’s to protect you, I’ll become naked if that’s what it takes!!

Ah! I see...There’s also a possibility where we could search for other methods to get through this predicament just like you say. Heh. As expected of my lover indeed. Calm and collected even in times like this and coming to the most logical conclusions. Well then, let’s keep the option of me prancing around stark naked as our last resort. And till then...Let’s search for other ways to get through this by hook or by crook.

Track 3:

Our acting of being the Queen and King aside, I really never thought that things would end up this way. Indeed, I did enjoy myself as well. Although, I’d say that the reason for that is probably different from yours. The king and the king...I’m glad that we’re acting and being treated like a married couple. Heh, seems like you didn’t notice that at all. In this world we’re currently in, we aren’t just lovers but we’re instead, husband and wife. It’s an important fact for our acting to work out as well. That’s why...You can come closer to me. This should be obvious, given that we’re married now. You don’t have to look away to hide your face. The sunset here is so bright that I wouldn’t know if your cheeks or ears were red.

I feel like relishing in the moment right now and forgetting all about our current predicament. I feel like staying here forever, with you, as beautiful as you are. Along with this magnificent, dazzling garden. Gazing at the sunset forever and ever…

What’s the matter? Of course, I don’t mind if you wish to take a break. Did that tire you out? Me? There’s no way I’d be tired with such simple things. Even if I were a king in this story we’re currently playing out, I’d say that my job as the student council president is much more hectic and busy. Now then, I’d love to stay and chat with you, but we’ve really got to get back and sort out all this new information we’ve acquired from the past few days.

From what we’ve gathered from our inspections of the area, the areas not depicted in the story itself along with the rest of the world aside from the court and the castle do not exist. As I’m sure that you’ve witnessed yourself. In other words, even if there was a way out, it would most certainly be within the castle itself or the court areas here. And also...Regarding the words that we saw on the wall, new words form whenever the sun rises. I’m sure that’s proof that the story as proceeding onwards. As further proof of that, the ceremony preparations are also proceeding smoothly. And...There’s also the fact that every other person or being residing here besides us are all creations of that magic book. They all have forms and look human enough but they’re only capable of one-liners and the same repetitive words. Of course, it’s expected since they’re people who only exist within the book, but...We still do not know if they’ll eventually evolve to hold their own wills and thoughts. And...While I’ve managed to grasp a couple of things about this world we’re currently in, I’m still facing a dead-end in regards to its connection to our world.

Haa...Please don’t look so uneasy. We certainly don’t have a single clue right now, but I’ll definitely find a way for us to return back to our old world. I swear to save you and get you out of here even if this body of mine crumbles and fails. Why? Don’t you want to return to our old world? Heh. I see, so that’s it. You’re right. It won’t do at all if we don’t make it out together. What have I...I can’t believe that I even uttered those words. It seems like I’ve had a short lapse of memory. The sun will be setting soon. We should get back to the castle before it gets cold out. Here, come.

Heh. That’s a rather long sigh. I suppose you’re tired as well. We did walk out about the area quite a bit so you should really get a good night’s rest. Still...There are still a lot of things that we have yet to discover in this castle. We should go for a round around the castle’s rooms tomorrow morning. We might find out a little more. Come on then, we should turn in for the day since we have an early start tomorrow. I never expected us to be teleported into a world within the magic book but I’m glad for the fact that we’re together, at least.

Don’t just sit there, hurry and come under here. Heh. Won’t you stop distancing yourself from me? I won’t do anything. Come on, come here. Your adorable when flustered but you should really get used to sleeping together with me. Because we’ll eventually end up sleeping together like this anyway.

Hugging you close like this...letting myself relax with you in this manner fills we with a power that even I can’t explain. Plus, that brother of yours will never find his way here. I do feel bad for your only other family but it feels good to be monopolizing you all to myself. You’re mine for now. Only mine. Heh, have I surprised you? I apologize. How about I seek permission from you from now on? First...I wish to kiss this shell of your ear which has turned a lovely shade of red, may I? When will you deliver your reply? If you keep mum for this long, even I find it hard to hold myself back. Yes, alright. Next...Your neck with it’s absolutely delectable scent. Indulge me? Well, I’m troubled even if you tell me to do whatever I wish. I can hear my heartbeat so very loudly in my ears. I apologize for disturbing your sleep. I didn’t intend to do so but, it’s just that your very presence within the confines of my arms right now is such an honor. That’s right. This isn’t anything special at all considering our circumstances here. But even if it’s a given for such a thing to happen, that doesn;t change the fact that it brings me happiness. Still, I’d feel bad for keeping you from your sleep. I’d continue holding onto you so you can just fall asleep like that. That’s right, how about I stroke your head? Doing this calms me as well.

Heh. It seems like you’re clearly enjoying it. Just looking at you makes me feel sleepy as well. Come on then, close your eyes. Yes, good night.

Already asleep, huh. You must have been more worn out than you initially thought. What an adorable look you have on while sleeping. I wonder what you’re dreaming of right now? I do hope that it’s a good dream…

I have to hurry and find a way for us to get out of here before it’s too late. I’ll definitely save you. Even if my power fails me, I swear to get you out. Good night and sweet dreams.

Track 4:

This is the only place in the castle that we’ve yet to get a proper look at. There’s only 3 days left till the ceremony. It would be great if we had a couple of clues under our wing right about now- Mngh!? It’s great that you’re willing to hold my hand of your own accord right now but it’s a little troubling to have you yanking me along this hard!

No, I don’t mind. I know how you must feel right now. Besides worrying about whether we’re able to return to our world, you’re also worried about your mother and your brother, aren’t you? It’ll cause quite a big fuss back in our world if you’ve been missing for a couple of days as well. But don’t worry! There’s no way of telling that time flows the same inside of the book as it is in the outside world. There’s also a high chance that naught but a few minutes have passed in the real world. I suppose no one has noticed you missing yet. Although, I dare say that I can’t say the same for how much you miss your mother and brother and your yearning to find a way out as soon as possible.

It’s great to see that you’re a little less uneasy about things right now. I wish for you to rely on me if something were to crop up. I want to ease the uneasiness and worry you might be feeling to the best of my abilities if possibly. It’s also to protect that smile of yours. Yes, that’s right. I wish to be able to rely on you as well, if anything were to crop up and it calls for that.

Hm? What is it? This magic book’s motive? Well, that’s...No, I can’t say anything for sure. I apologize for being unable to answer your query. Rather than that, we should resume our search. We have to find clues about ways to return back to our original world as well.

This room’s really different from the others, considering how dusty it is inside. Plus it’s also pitch-black inside and I can’t really see much of anything. Perhaps it’s because of the absence of a light source other than the light coming from the very entrance itself. There probably wasn’t much life here or anyone living here for that matter. Still, even if that were the case...There seems to be quite the amount of personal possessions in here. I wonder if it was a warehouse or a storage room of sorts?

There’s a candle and a wick over here. Which means that...As I thought, there are matches here. If we have these...Alright. This works. Oh, that’s...Of course, I would have lit it up in just a moment with my magic but I simply used the match because it was simply lying there, just within reach. Putting that aside, we’re now able to get a clear view of the room now that we’ve lit up the candle. Indeed, it’s a mix of various items and trinkets. Other personal items left here would be...clothes? Was this someone’s living quarters? It as written in this story that the king did love clothes, but...there are quite a number of femenine clothing here. Hm? DId you manage to find something?

This is...No matter how you look at it, this surely can’t be an article of clothing from this world. It’s similar to the type of clothes you’d usually wear. But this one in particular seems closer to what we demons use. And from the age of this cloth, I’d say that it’s pretty old. Looking at the other outfits here, however, tells me that the people who were wearing them were all from different timelines. Hmm…I don’t know. I can’t make much out of this despite how we’re the only two who are supposed to be in this world right now. I see! Oh, no, it’s nothing. We should inspect everything in this room for now. There might perhaps be clues leading to our way back. There seems to be a collection of books over here. They seem much more valued than the clothes over there.

What’s the matter? Why are you silent? Are you shaking? This room certainly has an ill-feeling vibe around it. Everything is left out in a place like this, without any form of order. It’s very weird. Plus, it’s starting to get colder inside here. Maybe it’s because the sun’s setting? I’m sure you’re shaking because of the cold. I think this would calm you down a little but...We can stay like that for a while. I won’t leave your side if it calms you down. Your hand has gotten pretty chilly to the touch as well. You might lose all sense of touch to the numbness that’ll start to set in. It should start to warm up if I join your hand with mine. Heh. You don’t have to worry about me. It’s harder on me if I left you feeling all cold like that without doing anything. Has the feeling returned to your hands yet? I see, that’s good to hear. It still feels a little cold to the touch though. I’ll light up the fireplace once we return to our room. You can rest there for a while and I’ll stay there with you in front of the fireplace. I’m glad to see that you’re starting to feel a little less tense about all these. I won’t let anything happen or hurt you while I’m around. Even if anything were to happen, I...Ah, I apologize, It seems like I was gripping you a little too hard.

Hm? Something fell. This is...A magical amulet? Yeah. A magical amulet hold a stone that magic can be stored within. There isn’t any trace of magic left in this thing since it’s been down here for so long. RIght. If I were to place my magic into this...Ngh!

It should light up. This is proof that there’s magic within the stone. You can try touching it. I’m pretty sure you must be surprised at how it’s warm to the touch. Within the confines of this stone dwells a flame. A fire made from my magic is burning within its depths. If you hold onto this, I’m sure you’ll be able to watch your footing even if you’re surrounded by pitch-black darkness. Here, let me clasp it around your neck. Come closer. The fact that my magic’s together with you means that I’m with you. This magical amulet will definitely protect you if anything were to happen.

Ngh! My apologies, I seem to be rather tired today. Don’t look so worried, this isn’t an issue at all. Still, won;t you let me stay within your arms for a while more. It feels really comfortable here. Thank you, but...It’s pathetic of me to be showing you such a weak side. I can rely on you anytime? I wish for the same as well. If that’s the case...Will you hear me out on this one selfish request of mine? If you could hold onto me tighter? I want to ingrain your warmth and the feeling of you into my memory. Yes, thank you.

Track 5:

It’s finally the day of the ceremony. And it turns out that we never did find any leads on both ends. Hm? You’re asking me if I’m alright? In what sense do you mean? Heh. I’m as normal as I can be as far as you can see. Any exhaustion you see on my being is because of the through inspection we did of every nook and cranny in this place. There’s no need for you to worry. What’s with that all of a sudden? Of course I’ll be appearing out there in front of the masses today. There’s no other way back to the real world for us if I do not.

We never did find another method to get out of this realm. There’s no other choice. Still, it would be great if the story did end just like the tale of “The Naked King” and all I had to do was to follow it through just as how it was written out to be. No, it’s nothing at all.

Oh? This sound...It seems like the story has a continuation. “The day of the ceremony had finally arrived. The invisible clothing that was made and fitted from the king was brought into his very chambers, clothing that would look invisible to fools.”

I see. So the clothes are supposed to be within this box? The story won’t continue if I don’t open it. Let’s see. W-What’s the meaning of this? This is the school’s uniform! Why would they be returning me my clothes now of all times? What is their objective? Are they aiming for something? Wait! You shouldn’t carelessly touch it! Ngh!

T-This-!! I see...They’re vicious! To think that they’ll forcibly suck out all the magic from my being just right before the story’s end! It seems like the ending I did predict was actually true. I kept quiet about it because I didn’t want to cause you worry but it seems like the end objective of this magic book is to suck out all the life source and the magic of the humans and demons alike it has trapped within itself. Do you remember the copious amounts of clothes we found back in that room? They were all remnants of this book’s past victims. And with that large amount of physical remnants left behind...I dare say that this book’s been living for just as long, preying on beings. And the same goes for me as well, my magic has been gradually sucked out from my being the longer I stay. Ngh! There were complications but this accursed book’s aim had always been me, a demon. Still, I never would have thought that it wanted that much of my powers and that was the price I had to pay. If this goes on, it’ll steal all of my power from me before we can even get to the ending of this story. It came here to take the rest of my powers away, disguised as that pile of clothing! The king that loved clothes...This magic book uses clothes as it’s way of preying on the people and it does seem rather effective. Bait...That’s why it’s giving us our uniforms now of all times. Sorry for keeping mum about it. But you looked uneasy just by being ensnared and trapped by this book. I couldn’t let you down and cause you more unease than I already did.

Ugh! It finally showed it’s true form! I’m sure that every other being in this castle’s the same as well, meant to impede and stop us in our path. It intends to end me with its own proverbial hands. The door’s locked for now, but it’ll eventually break from that amount of pressure being placed upon it. We were too late!? If it’s come down to this, then--Flames!

I don’t know how long I can hold them back with my remaining magic. I;ve managed to knock it down for now but it won’t always stay down. It’ll rear back for another attack again after a while.

We don’t have the time to spare till it gets back up so let’s hurry and move to a bigger room!

That scuffle we had earlier has drained more of my magic than I thought it would. It wouldn’t be strange if I’m unable to hold my ground any longer. No, it’s useless. There’s no exit out of this world we’re trapped in. We’re just cornered rats right now with nowhere to run.

It’ll be alright. I won’t let them hurt you no matter what. I’ll definitely- That’s right. I won’t let you hurt a single hair on her head. No matter what I have to do, no matter what ends I have to go to.

Heh. Hear me out. There’s one other way out. Yes, I mean it. So just leave everything to me and stay put.

Magic book! I’m sure you can hear me! It seems like you were unable to suck out all of my magic even with your last attempt at it. A pity, really, but I still have magic left within me! I’m sure you must want it. This magic that runs through my veins. The magic of the Arlond family that’s so rare and highly priced! Listen well! I’ll give you this magic of mine and even this body if you wish! But in exchange, you’ll have to return her back to our original world!

I understand and appreciate your sentiments. But there is and will be no meaning to this life of mine if you’re not back there in one piece. Please, don’t stop me. I apologize. There’s no other option here. No matter what the repercussions may be, I only wish to save you. Yes...I thought that we’d be returning back to our world together. But I’m sure even you know that there’s no other way to this right now. The thought of us being separated had never once crossed my mind. But I wish to save you just as much as that very same sentiment. I beg of you to please understand me. I simply wish to save the person that I love.

Do you understand? If so, then...W-Why? All of the sudden...There’s no meaning to you being alive if I’m not there? Am I...I’m...Such an important existence in your life as well? ...No...I see. It wasn’t as if I forgot but for us...We can’t put the other at stake. We promised to get out of here together, alive. That’s right. Heh...Yeah. Even if I managed to get you out in one piece, I’m sure that you’ll come back looking for me just to get me out. I can’t let you do something like that. Very well, I’ll have to prepare myself if that’s the case. That’s right, we’re getting out of here! No matter what we have to do!

Sorry but I’ve decided against giving you the rest of my magic! If you want it, you’ll just have to come and get it!!

Humph. Of course you’d take up the challenge. This is also partially your fault for keeping us trapped in here. There’s no need to fear you, there’s no way I’d do so no matter how long you keep us trapped in here! Slow! Fla--

Ngh--!

It seems like I’m unable to even summon my sword out anymore...How can I defeat it without my sword? It’ll be alright. I’ll bring it down one way or another! I’m sure that’ll be possibly if I hardness all of my remaining magic! Yes! That’s it! The magical amulet, the flames I granted you! There’s no doubt that what’s inside it is the physical form of my magic! If I utilize the magic within...Listen well, I want you to break that amulet upon my signal. Can you do it? Yeah, I’ll be relying on you.

Now, come at me whenever you please! We’re prepared for you! Now!! All of the flames are within my grasp! You’ll burn into nothingness with this! Rest assured, this flame is one of mine. It’s my magic so you’ll be fine so long as you stay within my arms. We should be able to get back to our world once it turns into ash. Could I hold you tighter? I want to be certain of the feeling of you in my arms. I can’t believe that I tried to give up something of such importance, currently residing in my arms. This foolishness of mine will only ever happen this one time and will never be spoken of henceforth again. However, I won’t ever let you go again. Yes, I mean it. No matter what happens, I vowed to stay by your side till the very end.

Track 6:

Haa...We’ve finally managed to come back. Can you get up? Here, take my hand. It seems like time hasn’t passed here while we were stuck in that book, just like I predicted. It’s not even sunset yet. The magic book’s turning to ash...Of course, that’s how it reaches its end.

At least there’ll be no more victims who’d fall prey to this book any longer. Besides, my powers are back to normal as well. Still...To think that Shiki would even bring in such a dangerous book. He might have inserted it to the pile, thinking that it was an interesting book, but...I’ll still have to give him a sharp telling off for his actions this time room. But for now, rather than rattling his ear off...There’s something I have to do. And that is...Hugging you as such. Even I was surprised to hear you say that you wouldn’t return to this realm alone. Perhaps it was your bleeding wounds...I thought that I wouldn’t be able to save you.

But still, we’ve managed to return to this realm in a full piece together. It’s only because you were so stubborn back there, pouring your entire being into telling me how you really feel. Heh, there’s no need to be modest at all. If it weren’t for your words, I’m sure that I wouldn’t even be standing here with you right now. I’m really...fortunate to have such a brave and affectionate lover like you. Hm? Me? ...But I don’t remember myself ever being reckless?

Eh? Right...I did keep the fact that my magic was all but sucked into oblivion to myself but that was only so that I wouldn’t make you feel uneasy. And...I was willing to sacrifice myself to that accursed tome so long as it meant that you would make it out safely…

I apologize. I didn’t mean to upset you. I swear that I’ll never try to face things alone by myself anymore. I promise to stay by your side and serve as your protector.

No- I just thought that a kiss was needed to seal a vow during times like this? Still...I never thought that such a simple action of mine would elicit such an adorable response from you. I’m so relieved right now that my own heartbeat is pounding in my ears.

It was just a simple, small kiss. And yet here you are, turning all red again. Please don’t run away. I want to feel you. Staying in such close proximity like this makes me feel at peace. Yeah...Didn’t I say so earlier as well? That even if something’s a given, it still doesn’t change the fact that it brings me happiness I won’t ever let you out of the cage of my arms. I love you and I’ll stay by your side, from now on and forever.

#Dance With Devils #Dance With Devils Charming Book #Kaginuki Rem #Arlond Rem #Saito Souma #Rejet #Otome #Drama CD #Translations #commissions #comission #Translation comission

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delicrieux · 6 years ago

Photo

pairing: kane x f!mc

fandom: playchoices, the elementalists

summary: she joins him.

warnings: uh… age gap i guess??

words: 2.8k (and i oop-)

author’s note: i thanos snapped. so a lot of people wanted to join kane so im giving that chance now with a dash of good old fashioned manipulation and sum romance. is kane still the villain? oh yea. does he actually like the mc?? up to you. i left this on a very pb like dramatic cliffhanger. will most likely not have a continuation unless TE disappoints me again lol ALSO! i recommend reading foreverland first.

tags: @tilliesmarshall - @somegdchoices - @lastfirstcupcake - @peach-space -@magicpijama - @zodiacsign1

feedback is always appreciated xoxo

masterlist | buy me coffee☕

Weeks passed and there was no word of him, not a hushed whisper in the night, or even a gentle caress of spring wind in the morning. He had faded into smoke, melted into the world, into everything and nothing, and she couldn’t feel his presence and it frightened her more than she could admit. Her friends talked and joked and even Atlas came around to the idea of their mother – it is no doubt due to (Name)’s perseverance and exuberant energy – and her grades were up and all was just so swell except that he was missing. She knew she warned him against writing; she knew that showing himself would be terribly stupid. Yet she still expected him to just pop out from a corner one day and swoop her into his arms while they laughed and the whole world was nothing but chaos around them. That didn’t happen.

Nothing happened. She began to wonder was their encounter that night even real.

And then one morning she awoke early, too early, in a perplexed dream state that urged her to leave the dorm. The sun was rising, golden-orange and pretty, and her room was glowing in gentle spring colours, warm, soft, the contours of it blurry, misty even. In clumsy, sleepy steps and rubbing her eyes she stalked to her door, opening it, intending to get a glass of water, though as she stepped through the threshold a deep, inky darkness greeted her, and tiles were replaced by tall tickling grass and the night held two alien moons in it. The air was fresh and a breeze danced around her unruly, playful, familiar, though seemingly ancient. She stood at the foot of a hill, a faraway figure sitting at the very top watching the stars. (Name)’s heart jumped to her throat and she climbed closer, though she was slow and heavy as if someone was forcing her away.

But in the twin moonlight she saw the stranger’s face. Disbelieve washed over her like a freezing wave of seawater. The woman resembled her and Atlas, her eyes, melancholic and dazed, gazed somewhere beyond this world. She did not see (Name) standing just ways below and her lips moved softly, her voice carried by the wind, “You absolute fool, wayward.” Her voice struck cord within (Name), “I cannot believe you would…do such terrible things. I almost do not want to believe them.” Theia tilted her head down to the earth she sat on, her gaze forlorn and her hand moving to touch the grass, “I almost don’t, old friend. “ A ghost of a smile played on her lips for the briefest moment before her face scrunched into worry, “I was going to tell you. Someday. I figured I had all the time in the world to do so, but I suppose that I…” She trailed off, “I saw…I know…I…One day you will meet two very beautiful and capable women. A day far far away from now. I don’t know how, or why, or if my visions are true, but you will. And once you do I want you to remember this. And I want you to promise me that you will do everything in your power to protect them. To never hurt them. And to bring them back to me.”

The wind blew past, ruffling her hair, as if in response to her request. Teary eyed she smiled, and her smile could have rivalled that of the sun, “You are the last person I should trust with this, Hurricane. But you are the only one I do.”

(Name) blinked and she found herself in her dorm, standing still by the couches, the clock ticking in her ears. She looked around, heart hammering in her chest, sweat collecting on her forehead, yet there was nothing that resembled her dream. Her mother’s face lingered in memory before it too became a ghastly blur. Just her voice, bell like and endlessly pleasant, foretold of …what? A prophecy? It was a silly thing to believe, but did she have a choice in the matter? She decided to tell Atlas once the girl awakes.

But something kept her from opening her mouth. At breakfast she stole glances at her sister, and she appeared as indifferent as she always did. And as their group was leaving, the last group to exit, and her friends continued onwards while she glanced back behind her, confusion making her frown. In her seat sat a letter which’s parchment she could not mistake for anyone else’s. She smiled with an exhale of bated breath, quickly exclaiming how she forgot something and rushed back before the doors closed. It sounded fake to her the reasoning. But no one suspected anything. Not now, nor when she came back from foreverland, either.

She hid the letter in her room and hid it well and continued her day as if nothing happened.

All went wrong in evening.

(Name) pales at the sight – Shreya stands tall and angry, her hands grasping Kane’s letter, eyes set ablaze from hate. She holds the letter up and (Name)’s eyes follow it, “Tell me this isn’t what I think it is.” Her voice is of contained anger, hot and harsh. (Name)’s expression must betray her because Shreya drops the letter onto the coffee table bitterly, crosses her arms over her chest, “I knew it.” She states, “I knew there was something wrong. I knew it since you came back from ‘clearing your head’. I knew you were hiding something, but this…” She shakes her head, momentarily struck by sadness, “I thought we’re friends. I thought you trust us…Clearly, I was wrong.”

“Shreya—“

“I get it. You know, I get it. He’s charming. And powerful. And yeah, he could use a makeover or ten, but I get the appeal.” She continues as if not hearing her name being called, “But he’s dangerous. And he’s vile and wicked and he is using you.”

(Name) holds her hands up in defence, successfully shushing her worried friend, “It looks really bad, I’m aware. But please listen to me. He’s really…not what you think he is.” Her eyes travel to the letter, a small, fond smile slipping on her lips as she takes a seat on the couch. Shreya continues to watch her, “He’s silly. And he likes to laugh. And he tells me the truth. He is the only one that tells me the truth.”

“He is manipulating you, you absolute dumbass.” Shreya cries in frustration, plopping down next to her, grabbing the letter and waving it in front of her eyes, “He is trying to turn you against us. Did you forget that he invaded the school? Nearly choked our professors? Hurt Atlas? Did he magickally forget to explain himself for all of that, or did you wilfully chose to ignore it?”

“He made a mistake. I know. But it’s different for him. Shreya he is…not of this world. Alma isn’t, either. You think she would think twice about enabling someone if they got in her way? They are something different all together. They see the world differently. They see the bigger picture.”

“Then don’t involve yourself with them. Either of them. They both give me the creeps.” She adds, more to herself.

“All Alma has done is frighten us. She forbade me to learn illusionary magick and she made me practice Blood magick in order to save Atlas because she almost killed her.” (Name) catches Shreya’s gaze, locks it fiercely.

“But Kane isn’t a valid option.” Shreya’s hands land on (Name)’s, squeezing softly, her eyes struck with worry, “I’ve seen that look before. You used to look at…” She whispers a name, near breathless, glancing away, “…the same way. And I’m not stupid. I know this runs deeper than friendship.”

“I…” (Name)’s voice dies in her throat, her odd dream resurfacing, “I think we…I think we were meant to meet.”

She tells Shreya of the morning she awoke to find herself trapped within a memory. Of how she saw her mother perched atop of the hill, telling stories of times that were and times that will be. All the while Shreya listened saying nothing. Her eyes were guarded and anxious and she had trouble believing it was not just another trick meant to weaken (Name). Alas, she caved in with a sigh and shoved the letter into (Name)’s hands.

“Open it.” She mutters and notes how (Name) smiles gratefully at her, fingers working quickly to peel off the wax. Shreya watches over the girl’s shoulder before she falls back into the couch, disappointed. (Name) glances at her, “Can’t read it. The letters swim.” She comments bitterly.

“Oh…” is all (Name) utters dumbly, “Guess he was serious when he said he doesn’t like sharing.”

“What?!”

-*-

The game of Thief was going great, as great as it can go faced with such a competent albeit pompous foe. One second the world was ablaze and she was having trouble breathing, ash dyeing her skin grey, as Griffin shouted commands, Zeph laughed somewhere hidden, the enemy team’s flag safe in her grasp. But then the scenery morphed and momentarily she was short of breath; the fire and the scorching air turned damp and cool and gravel stuck to her skin.

The sky is dark here, where ever this is, and she quickly jumps on her feet, on guard, ready to defend or attack – depends on what kind of game the Frost King deems necessary to play. But something is…off. She turns around and the fields sway from wind like sea at midnight. The road to nowhere continues onward into ambiguity, swallowed by fog. Though in her line of vision she sees a silhouette, one that approaches in a lazy step and she already knows who it is. Kane emerges from the mist like a wayward God, powerful and breath-taking. For a heartbeat she thinks it is an illusion; twisted, sinister, made to confuse her and she tightens her hold on the flags. But then an idea dawns onto her: she knows of no one perfect at illusionary magick from the Gildegraive’s team, nor should they know of who Kane is. She exhales unevenly, her heart jumping to her throat from excitement.

She is, despite the misconception, not an idiot. He would not pluck her from a game, even if he desired to see her so desperately, and the look in his eyes – violet, gem-esque, so pretty – betrays of something, though what she only has a hunch of. She knows why she is here and strangely enough she does not mind, “You need it.” She says before he can open his mouth. “The Sun Crystal.”

Normally he is easier to read, or perhaps he built that image for her, though now she is unable to know what he is thinking. Perhaps it is her new found taste for the finer, grander things, or the ever present want for a bit of mischief, or maybe she finally realises just how powerful she is, but she gives him a smile, feathery and genuine, “I’ll get it.” She says in a sing like tone, making him freeze, “I’ll get the Sun Crystal for you. That’s why I’m here, aren’t I? You didn’t even send an invitation.” She wags her finger at him, “Tsk-tsk-tsk. Naughty.”

To her relief he laughs, “You are too clever for your own good, (Name).” When he composes himself, a proud smile curls on his lips and he motions for her to approach him, which in a spring, quick step she does, “Though I must admit, I figured we are past proper invitations.” She falls into his embrace, and he hugs her tightly, “That would be…entirely too predictable, no?”

She tilts her head upwards, locks his gaze with her own, “If you think I will ask you to take me out to the movies, you are entirely mistaken.” She leans in, captures his lips in a teasing kiss, “That would be no fun.”

“No, no fun at all.”

“They will know I disappeared, though.” She lectures as they break apart, which she is not entirely fond of, “You picked a terrible time.”

He hooks a loose strand of hair over her ear, pinching her chin playfully, “You are the master of illusions now. Or have you not been practicing? Tsk-tsk-tsk. Naughty.” Her cheeks flare up with heat, and her throat shakes, mind drawing blank. She glares at him and he laughs again, with his arm motioning to the vast fields, “All yours, my dear.”

She has doubted herself many times. She has questioned her choices, though all of that seemed to change quite a while ago. While she can’t pin point when did this confidence started to grow within her, she feels none of her previous dark thoughts clouding her mind. With a steady breath she locates her magick – the sun, so foreign in this bleak, eerie place – and it glows within her, seeps through her skin, smells like flowers and pollen mixing with light summer breeze. Her eyes close and she concentrates, imagines herself, her every quirk, every awkward smile, every languid movement. And when she opens her eyes again, a mirror image of her stands just ways away, the resemblance uncanny and if not for the blank look trapped within her eyes (Name) would think that Atlas jumped into this world wearing a different hairdo.

(Name) looks at Kane, who regards her clone mildly impressed, seizes her up and down for any errors. (Name) smacks his chest; he raises a brow, “…Jealous?” He asks amused.

“In your dreams, Hurricane.” She misses the slight narrow of his eyes at the nickname, now focusing back on the illusion, “Can you…send her-me-…it back?” Her simulacrum is gone with a snap of his fingers. She turns to him, frowning as he watches her with an inquisitive gaze, “What?”

“Why did you call me that?”

All the tension in the air seems to dissipate and she feels a bit like her old self again, energetic and giddy, “Oh! Well, about that, I actually had this really weird dream about my mom and stuff and she was calling you all sorts of names like Wayward and Hurricane and I guess it just slipped my mind is all.” She explains in one breath making him snort. She stops to catch her breath, now thoughtful, “She also mentioned that…she knew you were going to meet me. And Atlas. Us both.”

“Ah.” He nods in agreement, his arm snaking around her waist and pulling her closer, “I do recall Theia and her prophecies. Most of them were laughably untrue. Though…This one…Always had the feeling it was destined to happen.” He finishes in a lower, honey-coated tone.

“Then…does that mean--?”

“Yes. We are unavoidable.”

This time he kisses her and her eyes shut obediently, overtaken by his raw desire and the scorching heat of his touch. The world goes in vertigo; the air contorts from cold to warm and fragrant; instead of harsh gravel she feels feather-soft sheets tickle her skin pleasantly, his weight resting atop her. Her hands run in his hair and his hat yet again helplessly falls off, forgotten somewhere by the foot of the bed in this unfamiliar, dream-esque place. His lips roam to the side of her jaw, then her neck, and her eyes snap open as her whole body tingles. The ceiling spins and bites her tongue when he finds a particularly sensitive spot. She can feel him smile, enjoying this perhaps too much. Her fingers tug on his locks and he releases a sound that is low and dangerous and boundlessly delicious.

“The game will end soon.” She reminds, breathless, alluring, arching into his touch like a helpless flower. He merely hums against her skin, not too interested, “Do you want the crystal or not?” She wonders aloud, if only to tease him.

“I want you.”

He halts his movements suddenly, and fear stills her beating heart: had he taken her taunting seriously? She almost wants to whine, but when he finds her gaze his eyes twinkle with mirth, “Alas, you are a terrible tease.” He whispers, his lips grazing the side of her cheek, “Don’t take too long.”

She is plunged yet again as if into water, and her body goes in shivers once she finds herself back at Perderghast, terribly confused and undeniably hot. Irritation picks at the back of her throat in bitterness, yet time is of the essence, and he always was impulsive. She falls into step, at first somewhat slow and then picks up pace, lastly rushing to the Sun-Att classroom with a wicked grin. She wonders if her friends had figured out that the one occupying her spot is nothing but an illusion, or had it already melted? Will they be angry? Will they laugh? She would laugh. Then again, she had acquired a bizarre sense of humour recently.

She reaches the classroom and throws the door open, stumbling in and shielding her eyes from the blinding light. Her smile is immediately wiped from her face.

“Alma?” She questions, uncertain at first, her eyes narrowing with suspicion at the looming figure of the Blood Source watching (Name) with a displeased, ruthless look, “What are you doing here?”

thank you for reading! xx

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