#road to castle attack
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reidrum · 5 months ago
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castling | s.r.
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A/N: another deeply self indulgent hurt comfort angst who’s surprised
i wrote this kinda fast so if it’s messy and cheesy sorry :/
cw: gn!reader (pls lmk if i missed something that doesn’t make it gn), hurt comfort, mentions of depression, ambiguous sadness, trivialization of chess, inaccurate chess jargon?, spencer is a darling
summary: in which reader finds it hard to open up and communicate their feelings with spencer, so he comes up with an idea to help
wc: 1.4k
not proofread sry
reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated! <3
_______________________________________________
It started during a game of chess, when Spencer was showing you different special moves.
“It’s called castling, the idea is that you move the king two spaces towards the rook and then switch their places to allow more protection for your king than if it was in the center.”
“Why would you want to move the king towards the outside, that seems counterintuitive.”
“Smart girl, that’s a good question,” he says fondly, “It’s kind of a last ditch effort in a sense, the rook is essentially expendable but the castling moves the king out of the line from key pieces like the other king and queen.”
“So, it’s like a rescue mission.”
He smiles, “Like a rescue mission.”
You smile back and continue with your next move. Spencer watches you in earnest as you deliberate the best plan of attack, even though he knows he’s gonna let you win by the end anyway.
“How was your day today?” He watches your demeanor change quickly, your shoulders sagging slightly and your eyebrows furrowing. He knew the answer, he’s a great observant and even more so when it comes to you.
“It was
fine.”
“Just fine?” he challenges, moving his bishop.
You nod and move your knight. You’re waiting for him to move his next piece when you realize he’s not looking at the board anymore.
Looking up you see hazel eyes staring right back at you, “Sweetheart,”
“Spencer, don’t.”
He sighs, “You know,” he moves his pawn, “this isn't the first time that you’ve had a hard time communicating with me how you feel.”
A deep sigh leaves you now, it had always been a struggle for you to show emotion so openly to those you love, mainly Spencer. You just didn’t want to worry him with the throes of your mind, and while Spencer appreciated the sentiment he reminded you repeatedly that he’s there for you through it all and just really wants you to take advantage of that.
“I just want to help you, angel.” he says softly, “I can’t do that if you don’t let me in. You don’t even have to tell me what’s wrong, just that something is wrong.”
Tears well up in your eyes, “I know Spence. I—It’s just, saying out loud that I’m—whatever—makes it real. A—And then you get so worried and I get more anxious—“
“Hey. It’s my job to worry about you. Because I love you,” he places his hands on yours, “But, I was thinking what if we had a code word or something, just a single word, and you can say it or text me or anything and I’ll know that you’re not feeling well.”
Your face softens at his proposal. The irony you face is that your brain has convinced you healing can be done alone, that if you’re the one who fucked up the road you should be the one to repair it. While you know logically healing is more effective when you have support, it doesn’t make it any easier for you to accept the help you need, that Spencer feels you deserve.
“I think
that’s a good idea.”
“Yeah?” he replies, “Do you want to pick the word?”
You think about it for a few minutes. You don’t want to do a silly word like banana or chicken, you want something that maybe doesn’t sound serious but would still convey the intent of the code word.
“Does castling work?” you offer softly.
Spencer’s face morphs into something you can’t quite decipher, but to him it’s a mix of adoration, love, and pure empathy for you. He’s just so touched by the fact you want to use that word, after just discussing the significance of that move. It’s an honor that you trust him enough to be your protecting rook.
“Yeah, that’s perfect angel.”
You give a small nod, “Check.”
___
You knew he wouldn’t judge you, that’s the whole reason you came up with this system. It felt like an emergency contact, which it was, but in a “How bad is too bad before I call?” type of way.
Laid down in your bed, you stared at the glow of your phone with your messages with Spencer open. Your thumbs hovered over the keyboard, daring you to make a move.
Nothing even really happened today, it was just one of those periods where you were in a funk. The voices that lingered in your brain fed you disguised truths and cynicism, and it was hard to feel afloat with support when you couldn’t even tell what was pulling you down.
It didn’t matter though, your tear stained cheeks and puffy red eyes amongst the disarray of your room which satirically matched the chaos in your mind were proof enough that maybe, you weren’t okay.
In this moment it would be stupidly easy to ignore it all and wallow in your own sorrow—Spencer was away on a case and you didn’t know when he was coming back.
So in a leap of faith, or perhaps a lapse in judgment, your thumbs twiddle a message out and press send.
castling
You toss your phone aside and try to avoid thinking about it. He’s probably busy, they’re on a case so he’s probably drawing out the geographical maps or maybe he’s on a raid or maybe he’s—DING.
Cautiously grabbing your phone, you slide the notification.
I’m on the plane, going to land in about an hour or so. I need to make one stop and then I’ll come straight to you, okay?
You stare through the blurriness of your eyes caused by your tears, the words blending together. Before the guilt of texting him and making him aware of your depressed state sinks in, another text comes through.
I love you. See you soon, angel.
Another choked sob releases from your throat, and you put the phone down before any more emotions try to infiltrate you. At some point you end up falling asleep on the bed, your body curled in on itself from the lack of warmth a nice blanket or Spencer could’ve provided.
You’re only stirred awake when you feel a soothing sensation on your head, long nimble yet intentional fingers sifting through your hair. You attempt to open your eyes through the thin crust it’s formed from crying so much, and you’re squinting for the first few moments of vision before registering the human in front of you.
“Hi honey.” Spencer whispers softly as you come to.
“Spence
when did you
”
“Just a couple minutes ago,” the hand in your hair comes to rest on your jaw, “How are you feeling?”
Tired eyes finally meet his brown ones and find nothing but reassurance and concern.
Oh. You’ve worried him now.
The last string of resolve snaps as your face crumbles in and you mutter out apologies mixed in with sniffles and sobs. Spencer moves from his knelt position in front of you to slide in next to you on the bed. He gingerly gathers you in his arms and tucks you into his side whispering it’s okay and you’re safe and i’m here.
After a few long minutes your breathing evens out. “You came.” you sniffled.
He pulls back to look at you with watered eyes, “You called. I’m so proud of you.”
You mumble under your breath, “I didn’t even do anything.”
Spencer shakes his head and tucks you right back in place, feeling the floppy fringe of his hair tickling your forehead, “I know a version of you that would’ve held it all in by yourself. Thank you for letting me be here for you.”
You turn your head into his chest further, letting the hot tears and snot stain his nice button up. His hands rub trails up and down your back, his head bent down to your ear whispering sweet nothings to you. With Spencer delicately taking your defenses down maybe you can finally admit to yourself that you were just too soft for all of it.
“Where did you have to stop by?” you wonder.
He smiles and readjusts you against his body, “I picked up Thai food,” “And some candy, sour of course. And there may be a Snoopy stuffie as well because it reminded me of you.”
You feel a different weight on your heart, not one that’s constricting but one that’s embracing, comforting. In a life where you’ve rarely felt taken care of, or even being worthy of that care, you know with certainty that Spencer would never let you go a day without knowing how much love and care you deserve.
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chvoswxtch · 1 year ago
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desire
pairing: frank castle x fem!reader
summary: now that the defenders of freedom had been caught, what's next for you and frank?
warnings: swearing, angst, mentions of alcohol & grief, explicit sexual content (minors dni)
word count: 8.1k
a/n: the one you've all been waiting for. as always, feedback is welcomed/appreciated!
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Considering the fact that your place was still an active crime scene and Homeland still needed to track down the rest of Steven’s dipshit goons to ensure there would be no more threats or attacks, Dinah wanted to take you to a safe house until the investigation was finished.
Frank, however, was not having any of that shit.
It was admittedly an ego boost watching Dinah and Frank lock into a heated staring contest while arguing about who got protective custody of you, and definitely amusing. But eventually, she gave into the stubborn brick wall that was Frank Castle, threw her hands up in total exasperation that was followed by a colorful string of adjectives thrown his way, and that was how you found yourself once again on the road with Frank. 
Initially when you noticed that Frank was driving in the direction outside of the city, perplexment weaved between your brows, but he quickly set your curiosity straight as soon as he noticed it blanketing your features. He didn’t even give you a chance to voice your inquisitions before explaining that he was taking you somewhere safe that no one else knew about.
That knowledge filled you with a bubbling sense of giddiness because getting to stay with Frank at his apartment was one thing, but getting to stay with him in a place that sounded private and secluded? Yeah, that was more than okay with you. 
The longer Frank drove, the more drastic the scenery changed, passing by in a blurry film reel on the other side of the passenger window. The clamorous and bustling streets of the concrete city faded away slowly and soon settled into quiet black asphalt that shrank to one lane on either side of the road. The millions of inhabitants of New York City seemed to melt away into the horizon in the rear view mirror of Frank’s truck, leaving the two of you the only souls for miles. The trees became more and more dense, creating opaque patches of foliage in golden ochre, rusty ginger, and spiced cranberry. In that moment, sitting in the passenger seat was the most at peace you had felt in almost seven months since the whole had nightmare began, and a lot of that peace had everything to do with the man in the driver’s seat absentmindedly tapping his fingers against the steering wheel to the Bruce Springsteen CD currently playing.
After about two hours of driving and light conversation, Frank turned off the asphalt road onto an unmarked dirt path, and you turned your head to stare over at him in half-hearted suspicion while lifting a brow in silent questioning.
“You know, if you kept me alive this long just to murder me in the middle of the woods, that’s some serious dedication.”
Without missing a beat, Frank let out a dry chuckle.
“If I was gonna kill ya, I woulda started switchin’ your coffee out with decaf a long time ago.”
It was always a struggle not to laugh at Frank’s dry sense of humor. You tried not to give him the satisfaction of your amusement, but you found yourself giving in more and more lately. Letting out an overly dramatic sharp gasp while staring at him in exaggerated faux horror, you reached over and lightly smacked your palm against his firm bicep. 
“That is the most evil form of torture I have ever heard.”
Frank snickered deviantly, clearly pleased with himself, and the relaxed grin on his soft lips was stretched so wide that his lifted cheeks caused his eyes to crinkle in delight. For a moment, your breath caught in your throat at the sight. It never failed to render you speechless just how much lighter Frank looked when he smiled. Happiness looked so achingly beautiful on him. Every time you silently observed him, you always learned something new about Frank. He had deep set creases softly feathering around the edges of his eye sockets, proof that Frank had once been a man that smiled and laughed as easily as he breathed. You sincerely hoped that version of him that he seemed to keep buried so deeply was steadily rising back to the surface, and that these ephemeral glimpses you got would soon become permanent.
The gilded stream of midday light cast a velvet glow on Frank’s softened features, leaving you so completely entranced that you hadn’t even noticed the lack of motion when he parked his truck. 
“We’re here.”
The gruff alert of Frank’s voice induced you out of your bewitchment, and it was then that you suddenly noticed the quaint one story cabin nestled a few feet away in front of you.
It was composed of wood in a rich shade of burnt umber, and topped with a forest green downward v-shaped roof. There were a few worn steps leading up to an enclosed porch that appeared to snugly wrap around the cabin entirely, and two large square glass windows on either side of the front door that was painted the same shade of green as the roof. The curtains were drawn so you couldn’t see inside, but from the outside it looked incredibly cozy.
When you got out of the car, you noticed there wasn’t anything around at all but thick woods, and you silently wondered just how far back they went. There didn’t appear to be anyone or anything around for miles, and the only sounds you could hear were birds chirping and the worn wooden steps creaking under the weight of Frank’s heavy black boots. 
“Wow. Billy offers one hell of a retirement plan.” 
Following up the steps behind Frank’s large frame, a glimpse of black flashed in your peripheral vision, and you noticed there were security cameras installed on the left and right corners of the roof, along with what looked to be several motion detector lights along the top perimeter. Knowing Frank, there were probably far more around the entire cabin, and probably even hidden in the trees as well.
Frank paused for a moment at your comment, his dark brown eyes glossing over your presence at his right before taking in the sight of his own cabin like it was the first time he had ever seen it. 
“Nah, s’just somethin’ I never got ‘round to finishin’ ‘til a few months ago. Almost forgot ‘bout it. It was s’posed to be a surprise project for my-” 
The second Frank cut himself off, his body language changed entirely. His relaxed posture instantly stiffened, causing him to stand rigidly at his full height while his shoulders squared to their broadened width. The former calm expression he wore turned to stone right before your very eyes and he clenched his jaw in such a harsh line you could hear his teeth grind. Frank was intensely staring directly through the small six panel window that was in the top middle of the front door, like there was something on the other side that only he could see. 
Before you could react, he abruptly unlocked the front door and pushed it open with his left hand, clearing his throat and vaguely gesturing with his index finger before turning away to descend the stairs without giving you so much as a second glance.
“I’ll uh get the bags. Room at the end of the hall on the right is yours.”
The haunted look in Frank’s eyes reminded you of the night of the gala when he had told you that he had lost his wife. It was almost the exact same one. The thought briefly crossed your mind that he meant to say it had been a surprise project for her, but you quickly put it to rest. Frank clearly didn’t want to elaborate on the subject, and you knew better than to push. The best thing to do was give him his space and let him come to you if he wanted to. Still, it didn’t stop the journalist in you from running wild with questions, and also filling you with a slight sense of guilt that you were about to share a space with Frank that was meant to be something sacred and special between him and his wife.
»»———  ———««
The room at the end of the hall ended up being the master bedroom, to which you protested heavily against taking, but ultimately ended up being an argument you lost because Frank played dirty and distracted you with the delectable scent of homemade pasta sauce and a wine glass that was filled to the brim with bubbly pink.
While you sat at the kitchen island and sipped at your now half empty glass, you studied Frank with a narrowed gaze. A part of you was annoyed with him and yourself at how easily you fell into the trap he set. He knew you well enough to know Italian food was your weakness and that you were more compliant after being fed. But a bigger part of you was completely mesmerized by the way he gracefully navigated the open kitchen. 
There was a furrow of concentration nestled between his thick brows while he precisely measured specific spices to add to the saucepan that was layered with ruby sauce that he had garnished with freshly cut oregano and parsley. On the far back left burner was a boiling pot of penne pasta, and in front of that was a skillet of ground meat Frank had added diced onion and garlic to along with several other seasonings. He shifted between each pan with a quiet elegance that captivated you, and simultaneously irritated you, because there didn’t seem to be a damn thing the man couldn’t do.
“So you’ve been a secret chef this entire time and didn’t tell me?”
“You didn’t ask.”
Rolling your eyes at his quick retort, you cocked your head to the side slightly and focused on the way his back muscles strained against the fabric of the black henley he wore.
“I’m pretty sure I would’ve had an easier time getting nuclear launch codes from the Russian government than ever getting a straight answer out of you.”
Frank snorted at that, throwing you a quick humored glance over his broad shoulder.
“Hey, I give you answers.”
“Oh yeah, after nearly five months of stonewalling me. I didn’t even know what you did before becoming a bodyguard until you told me, what, a week and a half ago?”
Frank lifted one of his thick brows while turning his body slightly towards you.
“You never read my personnel file?”
Glancing down at your wine glass, you clicked your tongue against the inside of your cheek and gave a subtle shake of your head.
“Homeland wouldn’t let me have it.”
“And you let that stop you?”
There was a hint of tease in Frank’s deep voice, and you lifted your gaze to squint at him in annoyance noticing the cheeky smirk curling at the edge of his mouth.
“I’m a journalist, Frank. Not a hacker.”
“Ah, don’t give me that shit. That may be your job but it ain’t all you are. Besides, you’re a goddamn force to be reckoned with and a pain in the ass when you don’t get your way.”
A mischievous smirk slipped across your lips while you brought your glass up to your mouth, looking at Frank innocently over the rim.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Frank’s eyes seemed to wander over your face, stopping at the way the rim of the glass settled against your bottom lip, and when he met your eyes again, they were subtly darkened with that look that sent a tingle down your spine.
He silently stared at you for only a second longer before giving a slight nod, and you caught the wry smile slipping over his lips as he turned back to face the stove.
“Whatever ya say, sweetheart.”
You weren’t exactly sure what the source was of the heat you currently felt blooming in your cheeks: the wine you had consumed, the aroma of the fresh chili pepper Frank had just added to the sauce, or the way he had just looked at you.
Attempting to redirect your impure thoughts before the liquid courage could make you bold enough to voice them, you looked for something to distract yourself with. With your chin in your palm, you glanced down at the rouge tinted liquid and lazily swished it around in your wine glass. A thought quickly popped into your head that caused you to let out a soft snort.
“I didn’t take you as a rosĂ© guy.”
Frank adjusted the heat on the sauce to a low simmer before turning to face you fully, wiping his large hands off on a sage green rag before tossing it over his right shoulder. He took a step over towards the island you were sitting at and wrapped his long fingers around his own wine glass, which looked ludicrously tiny in his hand, and took a long purposeful swig before licking his lips and arching one of his dark brows. 
“What? This is good shit.”
Reaching for the half empty bottle sitting on the island, you let out a soft laugh and went in for a refill. The relaxing effects of the wine had clearly already reached your brain, and before it could catch up with your mouth, you blurted out your next question like it couldn’t possibly ruin the mood.
“Was this your wife’s favorite?”
Frank didn’t clam up like you had expected given his behavior earlier. Instead, he glanced down at the glass in his hand for a moment before shaking his head with a tiny smile gracing the curve of his lips.
“Nah, friend of mine’s wife got me into this stuff.”
Frank took a moment to stare down into the glass, as if there was a fond memory appearing in the bubbles. Clearing his throat, he took another large swig of the wine and set the nearly empty glass down on the island.
“She uh
she liked white wine.”
For some reason, Frank’s casual admission sent a flush of velour warmth through you. Whatever barrier that had prevented Frank from speaking freely earlier seemed to be somewhat dismantled, and this was the first time he had ever spoken voluntarily about his wife that hadn’t left a heavy fog of grief lingering over either of you. A tender smile stretched across your lips as you lifted your glass up in a silent toast.
“My kinda woman. What was her favorite?”
Frank leaned over the island on his elbows, holding the delicate glass in both of his strong hands. The amber lighting in the kitchen made his eyes look like swirls of melted chocolate, and you resisted the urge to lean in closer when he finally looked at you with a faint smile tugging at the left edge of his mouth.
“Pinot Grigio.”
A huge grin stretched across your lips at his answer, and you shook your head faintly as you light heartedly pointed your right index finger towards Frank and lifted your glass to your lips.
“Oh I bet I could’ve easily converted her to a sauvignon blanc girl. There’s this brand from Chile that makes the best blanc, and she would’ve loved it.”
For a moment Frank simply observed you in silent fondness. When you set your glass down, his eyes flickered to his own, and he made a quiet noise of recognition in his throat before speaking quietly.
“She woulda liked you.”
That single sentiment held more weight and significant meaning to you than anything anyone else had ever said to you. A tight lump formed in your throat as those words echoed in your head, and you felt the overwhelming urge to make this intimate moment just as special for Frank, but with the alcohol in your system you couldn’t convey your feelings as eloquently.
“My mom would’ve annoyed you.”
Frank immediately started howling with laughter, turning his head to look at you with squinted eyes in incredulous amusement.
“What?”
“I mean she would have loved you, no doubt about that, but she probably would’ve annoyed you. And definitely hit on you. She was like me, only she had way less of a filter and absolutely zero shame. I think my being nosey and stubborn was genetic, but she took it to a whole other level. Did you know I used to be really quiet?”
Frank’s thick brows lifted in surprise, but you didn’t give him a chance to respond. The rosĂ© was acting as a truth serum, and you couldn’t stop yourself from rambling.
“I was. I was very quiet, and extremely cautious, compliments of my careless mother. She wasn’t really careless, I mean she loved me, she was just a bit reckless, but not in a bad way. Like not a I-need-therapy-for-the-rest-of-my-life way but more of a she-had-me-at-sixteen-and-we-grew-up-together way. You know that I was such a bookworm that she practically begged me to be rebellious and hang out with someone other than her or the local librarian? And she’s the whole reason I wanted to go to Columbia, because she wanted to go to Columbia, but you can’t go to Columbia with a baby and no high school degree, and I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, and I probably should have shut up ten minutes ago, but anyway my mom would’ve liked you but definitely annoyed you more than me.”
Those newfound beloved crinkles were once again decorating Frank’s eyes as he chuckled heartily at your rambling. He downed the rest of his own wine before setting the empty glass down, flashing you a crooked grin as he loosely gestured in your direction with his chin.
“I’m sure I woulda liked Lorelai just as much as I do you.”
There was a skip in your heart’s rhythm, partly because he finally admitted that he liked you as a person, but more so when you realized that Frank remembered your mother’s name. It tugged at your heartstrings, because it was such a simple gesture, but also because it reminded you just how much you missed your mother. 
“I forget sometimes.”
Frank tilted his head to the side slightly when your soft voice settled in the space between the two of you, and his playful grin slowly vanished as he watched while you stared blankly down into your glass, clearly lost in your own thoughts.
“Forget what?”
“That she’s gone.”
There was a slight tremble to your voice as you looked up at Frank with a miniscule sad smile. The empathy in his eyes was almost too much to bear, and you had to look away to keep your composure from crumbling. Turning your head to the left, you took a moment to observe the layout and minimalist decor in the kitchen while letting out a shaky exhale.
“Sometimes I go to call her
just
on my way home from work, you know? Just to talk to her, hear the latest small town gossip, tell her about the latest coffee shop I’ve found that she absolutely has to try when she comes to visit next. There’s even been times I’ve left her voicemails. I’ll be so wrapped up in something and wanna vent to her, and then I’ll start to wonder why she hasn’t called back yet, and then it’ll just
hit me.”
Frank stayed quiet while he listened sympathetically, and the entire cabin was silent apart from the quiet sizzling coming from the stovetop until you gently spoke up again.
“Do you forget too?”
Finally looking over at Frank again, you watched as he lighty dragged his palm down the lower half of his face. While he glanced down at the smooth mahogany countertop, he clasped his large hands together while still resting on his elbows.
“I don’t forget she’s gone, but I uh
I’ve started forgettin’ things. I can’t remember what her perfume smelled like
or what her favorite song was. I can hear it sometimes, ya’know? Every now and then I get these
bits and pieces. Sometimes I can hear her hummin’ it in the kitchen, but it ain’t long enough to remember what song it was, ya’know? Everythin’ started gettin’ fuzzy
and I remember more things I wanna forget than things I actually wanna remember.”
There was a stretch of silence where neither of you spoke. Eventually, Frank straightened up and turned his back to you to walk back over towards the stove. Even though you knew it might not be the right time to ask, there was a question that had been burning in the back of your mind since the night of the gala.
“Frank?”
He hummed quietly in response, turning his head slightly to look at you over his shoulder as he gave you his full attention.
“What was her name?”
The softness of your question clearly caught him off guard, and you could see the hesitation lingering in Frank’s eyes. Worried that you had crossed the line and completely ruined the moment, you were about to hastily backtrack and tell him that he didn’t have to answer when Frank let out a deep exhale through his large nose, touching his index and middle finger over his chest most likely where his wedding band sat beneath his shirt.
“Maria.”
A minuscule smile covered the edge of your mouth as you tilted your head slightly to the side and tried out her name on your tongue.
“Maria. Is this her recipe?”
Frank's eyes flickered over towards the pans and the pot of boiling pasta that were still on the stove. After a moment, he nodded his head and turned his attention back to you with a tender look in his eyes.
“Penne all'Arrabbiata con Manzo. Her grandmother was Sicilian, just like my parents were. She made this every time I came home from a tour.”
The significance and sentiment behind the recipe Frank was cooking made your heart feel like it was going to burst out of your ribcage. Quickly topping off Frank’s empty glass with more wine, you carefully got down from the bar stool that you were sitting on and rounded the island to make your way over to Frank. As you offered him the half full glass of wine, Frank’s eyes flickered curiously between it and your own gaze while his large hand reached out to wrap his fingers around the glass. Smiling softly up at him, you lifted your own glass slightly in the air.
“Well then, to Maria.”
There was a sudden luminescence to Frank’s warm brown eyes, but you didn’t get a chance to study it long before he nodded slightly and his lips stretched faintly into a tiny smile as he delicately clinked his glass against yours and repeated your toast in a more delicate volume of his deep voice.
“To Maria.”
»»———  ———««
“You’re fired.”
Hearty laughter boomed from deep within Frank’s chest and echoed over the crackling firewood currently blazing. He adjusted his position on the couch a few inches away from you, his features highlighted due to the radiant flames cascading from the fireplace in a contorted expression of skepticism and entertainment.
“What? Why?”
“I have known you for seven months, Castle. Seven. Months. And I’m just now finding out you have the culinary skills of a five star chef. Unacceptable. Unforgivable. I’m calling Billy first thing in the morning.”
You couldn’t hardly get through your own sentence without bursting into a fit of laughter, and Frank was in no better shape as he threw his head back against the couch and clutched at his chest with his hand that wasn’t holding his third glass of wine. There were nearly three empty bottles between the two of you forgotten on the dining table, and this was the most loose you had ever seen Frank. Maybe you should get him tipsy more often.
“You can’t fire me.”
“And why not?”
“Cause I ain’t assigned to you no more, brat.”
While Frank teased you nonchalantly as he sipped at his glass and watched the flames dance across the firewood, his words instantly sobered you up. He was right. The Defenders of Freedom had been caught, Steven was facing trial, and there was no reason for Frank to stick around anymore. It was a revelation you had been trying to ignore for the past twenty-four hours. A wave of uncertainty crashed over you in that moment. What would happen between you and Frank? When would he get assigned to someone else? Would that take him far away from you? How long could you stay in this little bubble outside reality?
Glancing down at the wounds in your palm that had steadily begun to heal, you lightly traced your thumb over the raised irritated edges as a thought suddenly flashed across your mind.
“I never thanked you.”
Even though your voice was barely above a whisper, Frank caught it, and he turned his head to look at you intently with slightly confused brows.
“For what?”
Closing your eyes for a moment, you shook your head faintly before looking back at Frank with subtle remorse.
“For everything you’ve done for me. For saving my life, more than once, and-”
Frank instantly brushed off your gratitude with a shake of his own head, reaching over to place his glass of wine on the coffee table in front of the couch.
“It’s my job-”
“No. Your job was to keep me safe, but you did so much more than that. You dealt with all of my shit, fixed every problem I created, and even when Homeland pulled you away, you still showed up for me. Frank, I would be dead if it wasn’t for you. You saved me from those guys at the bar, you saved me from Cavella and Walker, and
you’re still saving me, even now. I could’ve gone to a safe house with Dinah, but you brought me here, even though I’m not your problem anymore-”
Frank reached for your glass of wine and firmly set it on the coffee table, effectively catching your attention while he started almost directly into your soul with a serious expression.
“Hey, you have never been a problem. Ever. You got that?”
There were so many emotions that had been simmering beneath the surface for seven months that you hadn’t been processing, and now they seemed to be rising to a level you could no longer ignore. The verity in Frank’s voice nearly had tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, and you just wanted answers. Why did he care so much? Why was he still protecting you? Why were you here right now?
“Frank
you could’ve walked away. There were so many times you could’ve walked away. Why
why did you stay?”
A substantial weight felt like it had finally been lifted off your chest as you asked the one question that had been lingering in your bones for weeks now. Although that weight was replaced by a lead filled sense of dread while you waited with anxious anticipation for a response, knowing was better than not knowing. 
Frank’s deep brown eyes stared so fiercely into your own, that you felt vulnerably stripped bare despite the clothing covering your body. When he reached his left hand over to place on your jean clad thigh, he grasped it firmly and leaned in just close enough so that you couldn’t escape the enrapture of his gaze.
“I want you to listen to me, right now. I’m always gonna keep you safe, you got that? Job or no job.”
The intensity burning in his eyes and the dropped octave of his rough voice nearly stunned you silent. Your lips parted slightly as if to speak, but your fogged brain struggled to form a coherent sentence. This was the closest you had been to Frank since you had climbed onto his lap in his truck, and you were fighting so hard to not let history repeat itself. But that look
that one goddamn look you could never decipher was roaring fervently in his gaze again, and you were going absolutely mad not knowing what it meant.
Before you even realized what you were doing, you found yourself leaning in closer, staring deeply into Frank’s warm brown eyes with a pleading look reflected in your own desperate stare. You wanted to know why. You needed to know why. And you were begging Frank for a confession that wasn’t encrypted.
“Why?”
“Because you’re mine to protect.”
The possessiveness that dripped from Frank’s low voice had you abruptly clenching your thighs together, trapping his thick fingers between your weakened knees. If he minded the entrapment at all, he didn’t show it. The blaze of the fireplace was no longer what had the temperature steadily rising within your body, and you couldn’t tear your eyes away from Frank’s vigorous and unwavering stare. Your mouth suddenly felt dry, and even though you had a million questions clamoring through your brain, all you could manage to get out in a hoarse whisper was one you needed confirmation on.
“I am?”
Frank retracted his large hand from your thigh, raising it up slowly to carefully grab your face. A few of his long fingers curled around the back of your neck while his index and middle finger rested along the underside of your jaw, and his thumb pressed lightly against your chin. His heated gaze dropped to your lips momentarily before flickering back up to meet your eyes, and that fire in them was burning bright enough for God herself to see.
“You’re goddamn right.”
Without another word, Frank pulled you in for a searing kiss, pressing his soft lips against yours tentatively but with enough passion to make his answer crystal clear. A delicate noise of surprise sounded in the back of your throat, and for a moment you nearly stopped breathing. If that first kiss in Frank’s truck was a rare comet bursting across the sky, this one felt like a supernova erupting in a kaleidoscope of colors and stardust exploding across the expanse of the universe.
Even as he retracted his lips just a bit to stare deeply into your eyes to gauge your reaction, his hand gently cradling your face kept you firmly in place. All you could do was stare at Frank in complete stupefaction. Your lips were fervently tingling and your body felt like it had been struck by lightning. Frank’s eyes were searching yours for an answer he seemed to desperately need judging by the way his other hand lightly squeezed at your waist.
“If I’m crossin’ a line, you gotta tell me now. Cause I can’t go back, sweetheart.”
The tender emotion entwined within his words nearly made it sound like Frank was begging for your answer, and suddenly it all clicked. You could never figure it out before, but now as you stared at him in complete wonder and paid close attention to his display of vulnerability, you were finally able to decode that cryptic look in Frank’s eyes.
Desire.
“I don’t wanna go back.”
That breathless confession was all Frank needed, and he seemed to groan in relief when you surged forward to capture his lips with renewed vigor. Frank was so much more engaged in this kiss, and you took that as a good sign to give in to every single temptation. Before you could even think about climbing onto his lap, Frank was three steps ahead of you, and his large hands were firmly gripping onto your hips and effortlessly pulling you over to straddle his hips. Frank’s hands were everywhere; kneading at your denim covered thighs, gripping tightly onto your waist, carding his fingers through your hair and grasping at the back of your head to keep you as close as physically possible.
You cupped his face firmly in your hands and seductively swiped your tongue along his bottom lip begging for entrance, causing a low growl to resonate from deep within Frank’s chest, and his large hands suddenly squeezed your ass tightly through your jeans while you moaned when his taste met your tongue. The taste of Frank was much sharper this time, and you felt far more intoxicated by him than the three bottles of wine the two of you had consumed together.
Even with your chest pressed firmly against his own, it felt like you couldn’t physically be close enough. You wanted to be entirely consumed by Frank, to completely melt into the warmth of his skin and breathe his essence into your lungs. The synchronization of your lips and tongues molding together was impeccable, and the world outside ceased to exist while the two of you began to unravel one another.
An overwhelming surge of impatience had you nearly shredding his black henley with your nails while you fervently shoved it up his toned chest, eagerly caressing the scarred canvas of his tan skin with your fingertips like you had been daydreaming about doing since that night in the motel. He didn’t hesitate to teasingly brush his thumbs along the sliver of exposed skin above your hips before pushing your shirt up your waist and over your head. While you tore it off quickly and carelessly discarded it behind you, Frank dove in to attach his lips to the sensitive skin on your neck, dragging his warm and wet tongue along the column of it before gently biting down on the juncture above your collarbone.
A soft moan slipped past your lips and you instinctively rocked your hips against Frank’s lap, coaxing a deep grunt from his chest. He left a searing trail of kisses along your shoulder, the rough pads of his fingers softly tugging the straps of your bra down your arms before splaying both of his large hands against your lower back to pull you further against his own chest. Frank nuzzled his large nose along your neck and whispered huskily into your ear.
“This alright?”
“Yes.”
Unfiltered lust clouded your vision a deep shade of crimson, and you blindly clawed at Frank’s belt while he continued his blazing path of kisses along your jawline and down your neck towards your chest. All of a sudden, his large hands clasped around your wrists gently to halt your movements, and he pulled back a bit to stare deeply into your eyes while panting slightly.
“Sweetheart, there ain’t no rush.”
“Frank, please.”
The desperate plea that sounded from your lips seemed to ignite a brand new fire within Frank, and your consent shredded that last strand of hesitation that was holding him back. He placed his large hands against your ass and lifted you effortlessly in the air, and you wrapped your legs tightly around his waist. Frank easily navigated around the coffee table and slowly knelt down on the fluffy cream colored rug in front of the fireplace, carefully laying you down onto your back. This time when you tugged the leather of his belt away from the buckle, he didn’t stop you, and instead his own deft fingers made lightning work in ridding you of your own jeans.
Slipping one of his hands underneath your back, he easily unhooked your bra with his thumb and index finger, and the second your bare chest was exposed to him, Frank firmly grasped one of your breasts in his calloused hand and took your peaked nipple into his mouth. Your lips parted widely feeling the jolt of pleasure that had you arching your back slightly when he swirled his warm tongue around the sensitive and stiff bud while gently sinking his teeth into the flesh of your breast. 
The sensation elicited a series of breathless whimpers to leave your mouth, and Frank grunted lowly in response as you rolled your hips upwards in search of friction, feeling the heavy heat of his hardened cock against your lower stomach through the thin cotton of his briefs. It was a marvel you hadn’t flooded the cabin with how turned on you currently were, and this wasn’t even scratching the surface of what Frank was going to do to you. You gripped at his bulging biceps, his broad shoulders, dark tufts of his disheveled hair, anything you could get your hands on to keep him close to you. 
Frank began to slowly descend your body, placing his hands firmly on your sides while leaving warm and wet open mouthed kisses down your stomach, even licking a teasing bold stripe above your belly button. The sight alone nearly made your eyes roll into the back of your head and caused you to whine softly, knowing exactly where his next destination was. But as much as you wanted to have Frank’s mouth on you, and God did you want it, you weren’t sure you could stand another second of not knowing what it felt like to have him inside you.
After he slipped your panties down your legs and tossed them aside, you gave his messy cropped curls a gentle tug to get his attention before he could spread your thighs and settle his broad shoulders between the apex of them. Frank glanced up to meet your gaze, his warm brown eyes nearly as black as the coffee he’d consumed this morning due to how wide his pupils were blown open. The hunger eclipsing them caused you to shudder, and you took a mental image of the sight of him nearly naked between your thighs staring at you like a ravenous wolf salivating at the sight of a vulnerable lamb.
“Please, Frank
I need you. I wanna feel you now
please.”
The two of you seemed to be stuck in the same conundrum, caught in tandem between wanting to savor the moment you had both waited so long for, and also wanting to give into the impulses of your magnetizing desire.
As much as you could see in his hungry expression that he wanted to take his time, to devour you slowly and worship every inch of you, the distress dripping from your breathless plea triggered his own raging need, and he silently obeyed while moving upwards again to hover over your body, capturing your lips in a deeply passionate kiss while you ardently pushed his briefs down his hips and off completely. Frank settled between your hips, displacing his heavy body weight by supporting himself on his forearms that were locked on either side of your head. You were completely caged in and at his mercy beneath him, but that was exactly where you wanted to be. 
Frank searched your gaze ardently once again for any sign of hesitation, his dark eyes roaming up and down your face before his tongue quickly darted out to wet his lips.
“We can call it here, ya’know? No hard feelin’s. I can-”
Reaching a hand up to gently hold the side of his face, you placed your thumb against his plump lips to cut off the velvet timbre of his whisper.
“Frank, I want this. I want you. But if you don’t-”
“I do. You got no idea how much I do. But
I want it to be right, yeah?”
A gentle smile covered your lips while gazing up at him in complete adoration.
“Doesn’t this feel right?”
Frank’s eyes flickered between your own and he subtly nodded his head, glancing down at your lips briefly before looking directly into your eyes again.
“Yeah
yeah it does.”
Frank leaned in to capture your lips in a sensual kiss, and the second he nudged the blunt head of his thick cock within your entrance, a sharp gasp flew past your lips and it felt like all the wind had been knocked right out of your lungs. He groaned quietly and nuzzled his large nose against the column of your neck, firmly grasping at your thigh and pulling your leg up and around his waist while he pushed in deeper slowly, one inch at a time.
While your nails instinctively dug fiercely into the muscle of his shoulders, no doubt leaving deep maroon crescent shaped indentations behind, Frank paused for a moment and snaked his hand down between your bodies, lightly brushing the rough pad of his thumb in lazy circles over your clit to help your body relax. You had been soaked through your panties from the moment your lips met, but Frank’s girth wasn’t one your walls had accommodated before, and he did his best to ease the sting of the burning stretch with stimulated pleasure.
“Frank
”
As soon as your hips connected completely and Frank was fully nestled within your tight heat, your eyes nearly rolled into the back of your head, and your jaw became completely unhinged as you let out a smooth legato moan. You felt Frank’s body tense above you while he buried his face into your neck, letting out a quiet hiss as he breathed out a shaky deep exhale.
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, sweetheart.”
“Oh my God
Frank-”
“I know baby, I know. Gimme a second.”
You don’t know how long it was before Frank finally started moving his hips. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. All you knew was that you had never felt so full and so complete in your entire life. 
Letting out a quiet shudder, Frank slowly retracted his hips just a bit before cresting against you once again like a gentle tide. He removed his face from your neck so he could stare down into your eyes to watch your face, and you gazed up at him with wide-eyed passion and marvel. You brought your other leg up to also wrap around his waist and wrapped your arms securely around his neck, trapping Frank against your body just as much as you were beneath his. 
Frank reached between your chests with his right hand and gripped his wedding band between his thumb and index finger, tossing it and the chain over his back so there was nothing separating the two of you, just his heated skin pressed firmly against yours. Bringing your hands upwards, your trembling fingers weaved through his hair, tugging somewhat roughly at the messy cropped dark strands on top of his head when he began to languidly increase his pace.
It was like you couldn’t speak. Your mouth hung open while you stared up into Frank’s warm brown eyes that seemed to gleam from the amber glow of the fire, but nothing came out except echoes of the pleasure he handcrafted. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from him, watching in awe as his plump lips parted from panting heavily, his eyes becoming hooded from streams of ecstasy racing through his bloodstream. He gazed down into your eyes in complete adoration, gently stroking his index and middle finger down your cheekbone delicately as you stared up at him with parted lips and pleading eyes. 
Frank brought his left hand up to gently brush your hair away from your forehead, cradling the back of your head while his right one came up once again to gently grab your face. Although this time, his index finger rested along your jawline while his thumb and other fingers laced around your throat carefully, which nearly sent you into a frenzy. He leaned in to teasingly slip his tongue into your mouth, kissing you with such ferocity as if he craved the very breath in your lungs.
Frank vacillated his hips repeatedly against your own in a steady rhythm, but with a meticulous precision that revealed new depths with your body even you weren’t aware of. Every sensual thrust wound that tense coil within you tighter and tighter, and it was only a matter of time before you erupted into gratified pieces of confetti. Reaching a shaky hand up to grip onto the back of his neck, your fingertips vibrated as they brushed over the close shaven hair on the back of his head, and you pulled him down forcefully for another deeply passionate kiss. 
Only when your lungs began to burn due to lack of oxygen did you finally break apart. He leaned in to press his forehead against yours, gazing so deeply into your eyes you swore he could see right into your soul. You stared back up into Frank’s eyes as yours became glossy due to the overwhelming sensation of pleasure you were experiencing. His coarse grunts and reverberating groans echoing in your ears had your toes curling, and as your mouth hung open in silent begging, you nodded swiftly with an expression that let Frank know you felt it too.
“Please
please
”
That familiar bubble of euphoria was starting to expand wider and wider within your lower belly and you weren’t sure how much longer you had before it burst. The way Frank fit perfectly within your body was unlike anything you had ever experienced before, and you were stuck on the cusp of never wanting it to end, but also wanting to see just how far it could go. You had never been with someone that seemed to be so finely in tune with your body, or that genuinely cared about your satisfaction, but Frank was treating your pussy as if he had designed it specifically for himself. The realization of knowing you wouldn’t have to finish yourself off later like you had to with your exes was a welcomed relief, but not knowing what brink of indulgence Frank was about to catapult you over was exhilarating. 
“Frank
Frank
”
“S’alright, baby, I know. Let me have it, yeah? C’mon baby, let go for me.”
A soft whimper slipped past your lips. You were so close, and God you wanted so badly to jump head first into the free fall. But a tiny part of you felt frustrated because you wanted to witness Frank free fall too. You wanted to see him let go, hear his praises of your name, and be coherent enough to feel Frank lose himself.
But you would have to wait your turn, because Frank was sending you barreling towards the edge of an orgasm with every punctual and powerful snap of his hips, and you had no choice but to surrender to the heat of his body enveloping yours in a cocoon of pure warmth and safety. 
Frank grabbed both of your smaller hands and laced your fingers together, giving them a tight squeeze as a tangible reminder he was right there with you. He pinned them gently on the soft rug above your head, his pace becoming a bit sloppy as he began to lose his own composure. 
“Look at me, sweetheart. Let me see them pretty eyes, c’mon. Let me see ‘em.”
You struggled to keep your eyes open until you physically couldn’t, wanting to witness every second of Frank’s own impending climax contorting his features as he fought to control himself until you were ready to let go. 
“There ya go, attagirl. Let go for me, sweetheart. S’alright, let me have it, yeah?”
A symphony of his name played from your lips at a steady crescendo until it filled the entirety of the cabin, and all at once a flash of white exploded behind your eyes as you free fell through space and time, floating in a cloud composed of Frank’s honeyed praises of your name and delicate sweet nothings. You’d given yourself powerful orgasms before but you had never felt something so intense as the delectation Frank created. It felt like you were floating between the astral space between Heaven and Earth, and you weren’t sure you could find your way back to your physical body again.
There was a faint amber glow flickering across your closed lids, and as you slipped in and out of coherence, you felt soft lips delicately pressing against your forehead and the edge of rough fingers gently stroking along your cheekbone lovingly. You didn’t want to move, you weren’t even sure if you could, but there was one thing you did want.
“Frank?”
The voice that resonated in your ears was fuzzy and distant, and it didn’t even sound like it belonged to you. A strong pair of arms wrapped securely around you, pulling you in from your stranded orbit closer towards where you were meant to be, and Frank’s soothing gruff voice quietly dripped a sacred promise into your ear.
“M’here.”
The hypnotic lullaby of his heart’s rhythm tethered you back to the dreamlike reality of Frank holding you against his chest, and that was all you needed to slip away under the blanket of stars that were dancing behind your eyes.
tags: @thyme-in-a-bubble @day-dreaming-goddess @messymissy @itwasthereaminuteago @strawberry1042 @queenofthenoobs @wanda2themax @xcastawayherosx @avengerstower-houseplant @stevenknightmarc @ponyosmom35 @babygal-babygal @wellwwhynot @oldermenaremyreligion @combustiblemeow @tired-night-owl @fairykiss32 @danzer8705 @calkissed @fxckahs-blog @lemon-world1 @polskiperson @imperihoe @v4leoftears @harperdoodle @spideyvibez @joalslibrary @cherry-berry-ollie @sorrowfulfragmentation @kdogreads @sumo-b98 @blackhawkfanatic @gloryekaterina @whistle1whistle @starbritestarlite @callmebrooklynbabes @hallway5 @scarletfvckingwitch @bifuriouslatina @soupyspence @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @wonwoosthetic @linguist-breakaribecca @nerdytreeflower @mrs-bellingham @smhnxdiii @s3riou2 @slavic-empress
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jamieontheroof · 9 months ago
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Random things I noticed while playing What Remains Of Edith Finch
There was a poster of the cannery that Lewis worked at on the boat.
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2. Edith Jr wears what appears to be an engagement on a necklace. Whether this is her ring or her mothers is not mentioned.
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3. At the start of the game, Milton's missing posters are EVERYWHERE. There is even a giant pile of them in a nearby lake.
4. The dragon slide that crushed and killed Sven is still outside.
5. As you walk toward the house, the music gets louder.
6. The swing that Calvin flew off decades ago is still looped around the branch.
7. There was a spare peep hole in the garage that didn't have any names or dates on it.
8. At multiple points throughout the game you can hear a train in the background, despite the fact that the train tracks are clearly destroyed.
9. There are multiple pots throughout the Finch house that looks like they have eyes.
10. One of the books the Finches possessed was 'King in Yellow', a book known for making anyone who read it insane.
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11. The house sounds alive, or like there are people constantly moving around it.
12. Walters bedroom is painted with both ocean and train designs. One of the paintings is the old house that Odin tried to bring to America.
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13. There are drag marks on the ground of Walters bedroom (most likely made when his drawers were taken out of his room.)
14. The entrance to the tunnels is hidden by a book called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a classic sci-fi story about a sea monster.
15. Molly's room is filled entirely with animal books.
16. There is a jelly fish on Molly's bed (possible connection to the monster??).
17. Molly has a chalkboard in her bedroom where she is a princess in an underwater castle and Sven is about to get attacked by a sea monster (slightly resembling the dragon slide).
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18. As shark!Molly starts falling down the cliff, she passes a road where headlights are briefly scene.
19. When the monster gets back to Molly's room, the window that cat!Molly jumped through is still open.
20. There are still Christmas decorations in Molly's room.
21. The curse is 500 years old. That is a lot of dead people.
22. In Odin's viewfinder, it states "His [Odin's] daughter, Edie, is already dreaming of new Finch house" showing that even though her own father died not even a week ago, Edie has already moved on.
23. The house is filled head to toe with books about death, including two that Odin wrote.
24. Sven's shrine does not have a log painting like the rest of the family. His portrait is painted on a simple canvas.
25. Edie has a number of strange tapes in her room including one titled "conspiracy now".
26. The toys from Gregory's final bath are still in the bathroom.
27. There is an old bottle of alcohol in the bathroom bin.
28. A lot of Sam's photos are based on Calvin (a swing, astronauts).
29. All of Milton's drawings are based on the death. (Molly = cat, Barbara = pumpkin)
30. There are cigarettes and gin on Sam's side of the room he shared with Calvin.
31. Calvin already had bruises, Band-Aids and a cast on his leg when he died.
32. Sam blames himself for challenging Calvin.
33. In the story, Calvin doesn't fall. He keeps flying.
34. Barbara's birthday cake is still in her room.
35. Barbara is holding crutches in her portrait.
36. There are totem-esc styles statues of both Calvin and Molly
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37. Barbara's outfit is over the railing.
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This is the same way the Hook-Man falls
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38. "Performance of her life" can also mean that it is the performance she is known for.
39. There are spare portrait logs in the basement.
40. There is a fake window in the basement.
41. Edie's grave is finished despite her dying and then nobody else going to the house.
42. There is no grave for Milton.
43. Lewis' grave has a crown on it.
44. There are times wear it seems like you can hear sobbing (this one may just be me).
45. There is a box of Kay's old stuff in Sam's bedroom.
46. Odin has a park named after him.
47. This isn't a fact but I think this may be one of the funniest photos of the game (LIKE SIR? YOUR DAUGHTER IS SOBBING!).
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48. Both Calvin and Dawn are on Sam's shrine.
49. Gus has a skateboard over his name.
50. Gregory has the soap bottle from his final bath in his shrine.
51. The music cuts out when Gregory isn't moving.
52. Same also blames himself for Gregory.
53. Gus never met his step mother.
54. Gus was crushed by the (totem) statues of his deceased relatives.
55. Dawn's light switch is the only one on
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56. Most of the rules are about past deaths. (No playing outside without permission : Calvin, No answering door for strangers : Barbara, No messes after dark : Molly (???)).
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57. Milton's garden has a castle (reference to the Unfinished Swan)
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58. There is a small Sanjay shrine in the classroom
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59. Edith JR did an assignment on her family history.
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60. Lewis drew on his desk.
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61. There is no death date for Milton on his peephole.
62. Edith JR wrote Milton's death date as 2003 (the year he disappeared).
63. The door from the flip book is in Milton's room.
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64. Lewis' dream Palace is decorated with fish.
65. The gnomes scattered around the house are outside the original house in Edie's story.
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66. The credits roll in reverse order.
AND THAT'S IT!! I had a few others I thought didn't need to go in.
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lovenpeace-pkmn · 1 month ago
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Good morning to the audinos from work and no one else
#anthea post
( 2 notes )
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🩋queen-bellelbas-tits Follow
Beautifly and dustox. Once close in childhood, but their paths in life diverged due to their natures, leaving them to forever wonder what could have been. This, too, is yuri
( 265 notes )
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đŸŽȘredfogoferror Follow
Forever thinking about Todd Snap's photos from Team Plasma's attack on the League
đŸŽȘredfogoferror Follow
This guy was just some random wildlife photographer who happened, by complete coincidence, to take a job documenting the Pokémon living on and around Victory Road the day of the attack. And instead of reacting to a hugeass castle appearing like a normal person, the absolute madlad just shrugged and kept going about his job, landing us shots like this:
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//scans courtesy of @poketcg-art; art by Naoki Saito, Akira Komayama, and Masakazu Fukuda
( 4831 notes )
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đŸ§¶drop-spinda Follow
The latest dye batch turned out great you guys! Waiting to get home to get some good pictures but I can't wait to show you. I should've gotten a wooloo years ago, their wool is so much easier to work with than mareep. Ily Buttercup <3
#crafters on rotomblr #wooloo
( 12 notes )
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🏀zenzangoose Follow
Are we ever gonna talk about the fact that Macro Cosmos made their own Type: Null, or...?
🐜 fossilmaniacdudley Follow
This again? That was debunked ages ago. Where would Macro Cosmos have even gotten the plans to replicate it?
🏀zenzangoose Follow
Oh, yeah, I'm sure you have no ulterior motives here, *checks notes* former Macro Cosmos scientist
( 30 notes )
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🩋queen-bellelbas-tits reblogged
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🩉sinister-arrowraid Follow
just saw Big Monster: Revenge of Mechavolcarona. Spoilers under the cut, but let me just say I am not impressed by the direction the franchise is taking.
keep reading
( 602 notes )
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🎑futurekantochampion Follow
guys help my arcanine just ACTUALLY ate my homework what do i do my teacher's never gonna believe this
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firestorm09890 · 3 months ago
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I was idly and sort of jokingly thinking that if I’m going to write a Zexion and Saïx rivalry they need to have matching symbolism somewhere and so I thought “Saïx is moon-coded, does Zexion have any celestial body symbolism?” and the answer is YES ACTUALLY, he’s associated with meteors. They don’t appear in Chain of Memories, but they’re part of his desperation move in kh2, it’s his Limit Break in 358/2 Days, it’s the attack on certain Zexion medals in KHUx, and it’s the attack that his card gives in Dark Road; overall, it’s the one consistency across his incredibly varied movesets.
so then I thought “man, I need to draw Zexion with some meteors, that’d be cool
”
then I remembered that in kingdom hearts as a whole, meteor showers are signs that a world’s borders have fallen, and it's become more susceptible to heartless, which, in kh1 at least, meant it was only a matter of time before the world's heart was devoured and it fell into darkness completely.
and then what Ansem says in Secret Report #2... (emphasis mine) "Spurred on by my youngest apprentice, Ienzo, I constructed a massive laboratory in the basement of my castle"...
not necessarily the catalyst, but a sign of the beginning of the end. Ienzo, Zexion, shooting stars and meteor showers, lost innocence, signs of wishes turned into signs of destruction. His quotes during the Meteor Mirage limit break are "You think you can be forgiven?!" and "You've brought it upon yourself!" I'm sure he's fine and likewise I'm also fine I'm normal I can be trusted with this symbolism
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devildomwriter · 5 months ago
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Ten Manga I Think They’d Enjoy
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Lucifer
He likes manga that reads like classic literature, dark stories, mysteries, psychological stories, and occasionally something sweet or cute
Monster, Devilman, Children of the Sea, A Country Without Humans, Doomsday With My Dog, Island in a Puddle, Erased, For the Kid I Saw In My Dreams, Innocent, Shonen Note
Mammon
He likes stories involving his personal hobbies like working on cars, gambling, etc. he also enjoys funny stories and secretly cute romances or relatable romances
The Brave-Tuber, Call of the Night, Fruits Basket, Life Lessons With Uramichi Oniisan, Initial D, Fairy Tail, Chio’s School Road, Gambling Apocolypse, Kakeguri, Prince Freya
Leviathan
Leviathan loves everything but he’s especially a fan of gaming manga, magical girls, monster girls, isekai, and the classics
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Black Butler, Berserk, Darling in the Franxx, Dragon Goes House Hunting, I Want to Be A Wall, The Great Snake’s Bride, Puella Magi Madoka, Sailor Moon, Magical Girl Incident
Satan
Satan loves manga that reads like classical literature but he also loves stories about cats, dark mysteries, psychological stories and ones with characters he finds relatable
Chi’s Sweet Home, Ascendance of a Bookworm, Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten, Evil Secret Society of Cats, I Am a Cat Barista, Case Closed, Night of the Living Cat, Natsume’s Book of Friends, Summertime Rendering, The Promised Neverland
Asmodeus
Asmodeus mostly enjoys romance whether it’s cute and fluffy or extremely erotic
Ouran High School Host Club, Lovesick Ellie, Monster Musume, MADK, Yarichin Bitch Club, Cherry Magic!, Dick Fight Island, Sweat and Soap, Shiori’s Diary, Nina the Starry Bride
Beelzebub
Beelzebub is a big fan of manga involving food but he also enjoys a good action adventure and sports manga
Food Wars, Delicious in Dungeon, Farming Life in Another World, Mashle, Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite, Starving Anonymous, Something’s Wrong With Us, Eyeshield 21, Kaiju No 8, Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill
Belphegor
Belphegor likes stories with relatable characters which can be hard to find but he also loves adventures, horror, and Slice of life; he’s a little all over the place
Sleep Princess in the Demon’s Castle, The Girl From the Other-side, Hell’s Paradise, Mieruko-Chan, Tokyo Aliens, Shibuya Goldfish, Non Non Biyori, Kemono Jihen, Beyond the Clouds, Laid Back Camp
Solomon
Solomon loves compelling narratives, dark psychological stories, stories that take a deeper look a humanity and immortality, and one’s that involves demons/angels/sorcerers. He does also love cat books like Satan
Death Note, Creepy Cat, No Longer Human, Devils and Realist, Frieren, Made in Abyss, Mao, Sakamoto Days, A School Frozen in Time, Stein’s Gate, Happiness
Thirteen
Thirteen is a little all over the place, she likes to see what’s popular but she also enjoys slashers, one’s that take a closer look at death and spirits, and dark romance
Elfen Lied, Attack on Titan, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Momo the Blood Taker, Assassination Classroom, Can’t Stop Cursing You, Love of Kill, Angels of Death, Vampire Knight, Toilet Bound Hanako Kun
Simeon
Simeon enjoys reading manga that have some religious aspects, he likes ones about authors since they are relatable, and he enjoys some random ones here and there that are cute or funny. He’s also a sucker for a pure romance
Heaven’s Design Team, Gabriel Dropout, The King’s Beast, Merman in My Tub, My Girlfriend’s Child, A Sign of Affection, Tsubaki Chou Lonely Planet, An Incurable Case of Love, Monthly Girl’s Nozaki Kun, Perfect World
Raphael
Raphael canonically likes coming of age sports dramas. I believe he’s also he amused by one’s involving ant Christian aspects about angels and demons, heaven and hell. He also enjoys one’s that include his hobbies like security, military, and anything to do with fashion
Blue Lock, Haikyu, Blue Exorcist, Vatican Miracle Examiner, Maiden of the Needle, My Dress Up Darling, Not Sew Wicked Step Mother, Witch Hat Atelier, A Bride’s Story, Wind Breaker
Luke
Luke loves to try everything but his books are monitored to make sure he doesn’t stumble upon anything inappropriate for his age ana angel status. He loves ones about food, animals, adventure, and a good slice of life or 4-panel.
Happy Happy Clover, Yuzu the Pet Vet, Yotsuba&!, Sui and Tai-Chan, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Dinosaur Sanctuary, Kitchen Princess, Astro Boy, Naruto
Michael
Michael enjoys funny books, one’s that take a closer look at humanity and war, classical adaptations, and one’s involving angels and demons.
Spy X Family, Maximum Ride, Takane and Hana, Obey Me! The Comic, Mr Villain’s Day Off, Hetalia: Axis Powers, Les Miserables, Apothecary Diaries, Deer King, Yona of the Dawn
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles likes books that involve history, nobility, prestigious jobs, mystery, and equestrian sports. He also enjoys one’s about demons and servants.
From the Red Fog, Derby Queen, The Elusive Samurai, Imperfect Girl, Peach Boy Riverside, The Splendid Work of the Monster Maid, Tales of the Kingdom, Tokyo Ghoul, Noragami, The Rose of Versailles
Barbatos
Barbatos prefers books that are dark and disturbing as well as insightful books on time, immortality, grief, morality vs law, etc.
Phantom Tales of the Night, My Dear Curse Casting Vampiress, A Silent Voice, Orange, Moriarty the Patriot, Nicola Traveling Around the Demon World, Royal Tutor, Usatoki Rhetoric, The Valiant Must Fall, To Your Eternity
Diavolo
Diavolo absolutely loves cute family manga, funny manga, one’s that involve demons and angels, cute romances, and exciting action and adventure. He isn’t picky and will read anything if it’s been recommended to him.
Wolf Childen, Earthian, The Devil is a Part-Timer, Seraph of the End, Mama Akuma, Little Devils, Cells at Work, Snow White With Red Hair, The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions, Azumanga Diaoh
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will80sbyers · 6 months ago
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My speculation over the teaser!! Part One!
Spoilers
So let's start from the end lmao
El is in the Upside Down fighting something/someone and I'm deeply confused on if these are pants or a shirt, I think I was right and these are pants tho lol
anyway I think this will be around ep. 2 or 3 and the talk on the roof happens before this maybe ? unless it's some kind of vision
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Vecna approaching, it could be the same scene, but I'm not sure because Vecna looks like he's inside a place not outside (?) could be wrong
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Castle Byers is in ep. 1 I think this may be a nightmare/ vision Will has, idk it's giving nightmare, also @grandmags thinks this may be Will in his costume of the s4 finale
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but this could be a different scene of Castle Byers irl (?)
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Dustin going to Eddie's grave ep. 1, I think he gets attacked by the bullies here, I think Chance is present too or at least I think it's him
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Ep. 1 at school 1987, Dustin gets attacked by the bullies before classes start, probably by Andy the one with the hat, and they destroy his shirt, he goes to Eddie's grave after school and gets attacked there too ?
Mike and Will go to the radio station and accompany Holly for a piece of the road, Lucas probably goes to Max at the hospital
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these are all from the same sequences at least timewise
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I think they are running to Dustin when he's being attacked, maybe before lunch?
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I'm not sure about this moment because Lucas is dressed differently but Dustin has the shirt ripped... I think here they are the actors running lines more than anything also bc Gaten has his glasses on lol but this could be a moment where before going away from school they talk in the woods, because of the other screenshots where Will is having a vision - this may be before they divide and go to other places in ep. 1
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this is the actual scene, Will is having a vision of some kind, parallel to s2 and to chrissy's vision probably? I'd say ep. 1
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I think this may be ep. 2 (?) it's after they go to school because Dustin has the shirt ripped ( I think this happens at school bc we have a pic of him with the shirt ripped there, they get bullied) and they see each other at the radio station, something must have happened, I think Robin is the one near Nancy, and Nancy is dressed as the candy striper so maybe she's working at the hospital to help (?) or she needed to go there for some reason... Dustin looks like someone beat him up so I think the bullies at the cemetery beat him up and then after that he goes to the radio station
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we have the rainbow room taken over by the upside down
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the tunnels under the farm
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Ep. 4 I think from the colours it's a scene in Mike's basement, it could be a vision, we already had a better frame of this from something Ross posted, I'm gonna try to link the other posts after I finish this one so y'all can see what I'm talking about
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This is Lucas that for some reason is inside the Mansion of that family, it looks like the interior, and we had another pic from paps where you can kinda see him inside, maybe ep.3
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from how Jonathan is dressed I think he's either not doing anything / working at the radio station or he's attending art classes in a college? he's dressed weirdly idk like a art college student trying to be cool... I think Jancy may be broken up at this point?
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Holly, I think she just came home from school, and she's watching a monster attack Karen ? She seems wet too idk why... anyway this is ep. 1 or 2 probably
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Holly is having visions / dreams or the lights flicker because a demogorgon has arrived ? maybe this is before she goes to see what's happening and Karen gets attacked, also like... Holly biggest queer ally lmaoooo everything is rainbow room themed... ep. 1 probably
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not sure about what this is about, maybe El visiting Max at the hospital in a vision? I'm not sure of where she is, but she looks sad, maybe this is what she's looking at in her mind in the roof with the bandana before Mike arrives to talk in ep. 1/2 ?
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I think Joyce and Robin are trying to figure out how to make the radio or the lights in the radio station work? probably ep. 1 or 2 - not sure of when this is temporally speaking in the timeline, maybe they have a blackout and go to check?
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Steve in the UD, ep. 4 or after ep.4 ? It seems they end up there in that episode and Steve looks hurt
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this is before ep-4, I think maybe ep. 3 they are at the mansion and go there with the car and they still have the antenna outside of the car which it should mean they haven't fallen yet... I don't think it's the moment in which they fall because Dustin is not there
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Episode 4 ? at the farm, Erica and Derek must know each other like the spoilers said, tbh I hope they are not romantic but just friends... Robin, Mike, Will and many others should be there too all together
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I'll continue in another post and link the posts that make me think this! just speculation from the bts pics we have!!
Part two
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darkbluekies · 2 years ago
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Catch the queen
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yandere!king OC x fem reader
Summary: you're fleeing the evil king and hide in the village, hoping to blend in before you can run away for real. Edmund loses his mind and decides to lure you out with fire.
Warnings: yandere, arson, knives, harassment, drunk men, isolation, behading, corpses, a bit of Stockholm symdrome, hints of abuse, name calling
Word count: 4k.
Edmund’s arms are like suffocating cages. Everytime his hands touch you, you lose the ability to breathe. His kisses feel like fire and burn your skin every time they press against you. You can’t take it anymore. You don’t want to be his pretty doll. 
You have nothing planned, but you know that you need to be quiet and run the fastest you possibly can. 
Quietly, you get out of his arms. They’re difficult to bend off of you, but finally, they loosen up. You’re careful not to step on any creaky floor planks as you try to dress yourself. Covering yourself in a dark blue cloak and your body in a warm dress is normally a hard task, but near impossible now that you have to look over your shoulder and try to make your trembling hands cooperate. You grab your dagger, a gift from Edmund. He wants you to be able to protect yourself if he’s ever away from you. 
Edmund twists and turns in bed. He never stays still unless he holds you in his arms. You have to get out of here before he realizes that you're no longer in his embrace. Guards are walking through the mighty corridors, but you do your best to avoid them all and sink into dark corners when they pass by. Heart beating loudly in your ears. A part of you regrets ever trying to leave. They’ll notice you soon enough and then you’ll have to get down on your bare knees and beg forgiveness from Edmund. He’ll revel in it and you can’t stand seeing that satisfied smirk on his face when he once again gets what he wants. 
Finally. Finally, you manage to leave the castle. A fresh breeze hits your face. WIthout looking back, you run. But where? The forest is deep and dangerous at night. Thieves hide where to get away from the royal knights. If they noticed you, you'd be their hostage. Edmund would get you back to every price and you'd be right back where you started. You have to blend in to get away. You have to go to the village. 
It’s late at night and you doubt that anyone is up to help you. No lights are shining in the windows and all doors are locked. The streets are as empty as the grave. You pull the cloak closer to your body. What should you do? It’s not safe to be out on the countryside roads during the night. You can’t leave the village in the middle of the night and even if you do, the chances of your legs giving up before you reach another is too big to take. 
You run through the dark alleyways, looking for somewhere to spend the night. Tomorrow morning when the sun rises, you’ll move on. It’s dangerous to stay in the same kingdom as Edmund. He’ll find you too quickly. 
You find a barn where you decide to spend the night. Carefully, you lay down in the hay and grass, making yourself comfortable. You shiver at the cold air and hug yourself to keep yourself warm. It takes an hour until you finally fall asleep. 
Drunken male voices wake you up a while later. 
“Oh, look at this”, one slurs. “A woman. Let’s have some fun.”
You freeze and reach for the dagger Edmund’s given you, ready to go to attack. 
“What’s a pretty lady doing here?” another one asks, sounding just as drunk. He hiccups. “Did we get a blessing? Oh, we’re so lucky.”
You hurry up from your hiding place and try to make a run for it, but the two men grab you. 
“Don’t leave yet”, they purr drunkenly. “We’re not done yet.”
You breathe out in stress and give the men deadly glares. Something clears up in their dull eyes. 
“Holy shit, it’s the queen!” one of them gasps. 
They’ll have to let you go now, you think. 
“We’re really lucky then”, the other one says. 
You sigh and squeeze your eyes shut. Quickly, you kick the man in front of you and stab the one behind you with your dagger, leaving it behind. The two of them grunt and fall down on the dirty floor. You run for your life out of the barn and into the dark village. The men run behind you and you know that you have to get away before they find you again. You duck into someone’s backyard and hide behind a bush. The two men run past you. You gulp. Is this how things will be from now on? You sniffle and hide your face in your cloak’s sleeve. 
“Why are you crying?” a tiny voice asks. 
You look up and see a little boy hugging a teddy bear. He’s standing in front of you. You hadn’t seen him, he blends into the night air. 
“I’m scared” you whisper and force a smile. “Do you live here?”
The boy nods.
“I’m sorry for trespassing. I needed to hide from those bad men who followed me.”
“Are you really the queen?”
“Yes.”
“Why aren’t you in the castle?”
You wipe your tears carefully. 
“I’m playing hide and seek with the king”, you whisper. “I can’t let him find me or he’ll win.”
“I can help you!”
You smile slightly and caress the little boy’s cheek. 
“I can’t let you get involved”, you sniffle. “The king is a sore loser, he’ll be mad if someone helps me. He’ll think I’m cheating.”
In more ways than one. 
“I’m not a sore loser!” the boy smiles. 
“That’s good”, you say. “Edmund could learn from you.”
“I want to be king one day!”
“I think you should be one. You seem like a smart king.”
“Leon, who are you talking to?” a female voice asks from the back door. “You should be sleeping!”
“Mom, mom! The queen is here!”
“Leon, don’t lie-”
You stand up and the woman gasps. She’s wearing a brown, cheap dress with her head in a messy bun. 
“Y-Your majesty!” she stutters and bows. “Leon, go inside.”
The little boy runs past his mother and leaves you with his mother. The woman hurries over to you. 
“Your majesty, why are you here?” she asks. “Are you alright?”
“I’m 
 I’m hiding”, you whisper. “I have to get away from here.”
“Do you need anything? Can I get you something? Are you hungry?”
You can feel your stomach rumble slightly and nod shyly. The woman smiles and nods at the back door. 
“Come here, I’ll get you something to eat.”
You follow the woman into the little house and into an even smaller kitchen. She walks over to the stove and starts to prepare something that smells like childhood. In a few minutes she places a bowl of hot porridge on the table in front of you. You take a spoonful.
“I apologize if it’s bad”, she says nervously. “I know that you’re used to high class dishes.”
“No, I like it. It reminds me of my mothers cooking. I miss that.”
Leon runs over to the table. You pet his hair with a smile. The woman sends him to bed. 
“Why are you up?” you ask the mother. “It’s late 
”
“I know”, she sighs sadly. “But I get so worried when my husband is out and about. I can’t go to sleep before he’s home. It seems to disrupt Leon too. He insists on staying up with me, but I’d rather not have him see his father’s state.”
“How old is he?”
“Four.”
“He’s adorable.”
“My queen, can you tell me why you’re out hiding? Has something happened?” She shakes her head. “Forgive me for asking. I shouldn’t.”
“It’s okay. It’s just 
 some things. All you need to know is that I have to get away from here.”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know, I’m not sure yet. Away from here. I can’t go to my parents either. I don’t know where I should go. But I’ll figure it out. In time.”
“Stay here for the night. We’ll figure something out tomorrow.”
“Thank you, you’re too kind.”
Despite the woman’s kindness, you have a hard time falling asleep. What will Edmund think when he wakes up? What will he do?
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The bed feels oddly cold for the both of you to be here. He feels around after you, but can’t feel another body. Quickly, he opens his eyes and looks around. Where are you?
“Y/N?” he asks. “Where are you?”
No answer. He gets up from the bed quicker than a cat getting scared. 
“Y/N, answer me!” he says, growing nervous. “Don’t hide!”
When he doesn’t get an answer again, he freezes. You haven’t escaped, have you? He’d like to think that you know better. Edmund barges up from his bed and out into the mighty corridors. He shouts at the guards to collect the knights and prepare his horse. He’ll find you. And if you refuse to show, or if someone is hiding you 
 they'll feel his wrath. His plan will make sure you never dare to go against him like this ever again. 
With no trace and no idea where you could be hiding, they decide to do the most practical thing in this situation. They ride into the village, gaining all of the people's attention.The king stops his horse right by his secretary’s and looks over the crowd that has gathered to see what has made the king come down to them. You’re none of the spectators. The king’s secretary holds up a piece of paper and a megaphone-looking thing in front of his face to make sure that everyone will hear him. 
“Tonight, the queen ran away from the castle!” the secretary says loudly. “We suspect that she is hiding among you somewhere and that one of you is shielding her. If you don’t give her back in an hour, we will burn this village to the ground in our hunt for his wife. Now the king would like to say a few words.”
He backs away, letting Edmund take the spotlight.
"Y/N, you better come out!" Edmund shouts with a gaze running among the crowd. “Don't be stupid and sacrifice so many innocent lives just because you are afraid! You don't have to be afraid, my queen! I will never hurt you! You can trust me! We belong together and it’s about time you accept that!” He turns to his secretary and lowers his voice. “I’m going to kill the one hiding her from me.”
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You can’t hear him, you have no idea of what he’s planning. You’re sleeping soundly in the bed you’ve gotten. When you wake up, it’s too late.
“Wait, what’s going on?” you ask as you see people run past the window.
You can see a layer of thick, black smoke covering the sky. A flame is spreading among the houses. 
“We have to leave!” the woman shouts and picks up Leon in her arms. “Your majesty, come with us, we’ll shield you!”
You follow her out into the chaos. People are screaming and crying and running for their lives. You get pushed left to right as the big crowd flees. Heat is hitting you in the face in an uncomfortable manner. It’s hard to breathe. 
“Knights!” Leon gasps in awe. “And the king!”
You freeze and turn around, seeing the royal horses. You can glimpse Edward on his white lady. Without a second doubt, you move closer into the overpacked crowd. You look around, seeing the two men from yesterday. 
“There’s the whore!” they shout. 
You look at the little boy in his mothers arms and gulp. 
“I have to go”, you say quickly to them and caress Leon’s head. “I’ll find you later. Now you have to hurry!”
“Are you sure, your majesty?” the mother asks. 
You nod and give them a push in the other direction. “Hurry!”
They leave. You start to run in another direction before the men can catch up to you. You run into a less packed alleyway. They corner you against a burning wall.
“You fucking bitch”, one of them hisses and presses your dagger against your neck. “You don’t shove your knife into me and think you can get away with it! I don’t care who the fuck you are, I’ll make sure you never dare to try to do this again!”
“This fire is your fault, you fucking bitch”, the other growls. “You’ve ruined our entire livelihood! You’re so fucking selfish.”
You kick the man in front of you between his legs and run. The other man trips over his friend, giving you a bit of an advantage. You end up on an empty street. You stop when you see the white horse a few meters in front of you. You want to run, but the mere sight of him makes you paralyzed.
“W-What have you done?” you gasp. “Look around!”
“I had to get you to show yourself one way or another”, he says calmly. “No one told me where you were. I gave them an hour to give you to me or I’d burn down their little village.” He shrugs. “Yet they didn’t 
 so all of this are the consequences of trying to hide you from me. It’s not my fault the peasants disobeyed me.”
Tears start to run down your cheeks. Is all of this your fault? If only you had known about his idiotic idea, you could have stopped it. 
Edmund jumps down from his horse and opens his arms. 
“Come here, my love”, he says softly. “You have nowhere to run. Why don’t you just do yourself a favor and return to me?  You can’t hide from me in the end. Be a good girl, alright?”
“I’m scared, Edmund”, you admit through your sobs. You’re not sure what you’re more afraid of — him or the men following you.
“I know, my love, I know.” He gulps. “Come into my arms. I’ll protect you. I’ll make sure that everything will be okay, alright?”
You hesitate. It’s so tempting to run into his arms and let him take control again. These have been a couple of terrifying hours and you don’t want them to continue. You want a roof over your head again and the safety of having your necessities met again. Staying out on the street won’t be safe.
“It won’t matter where you go, I’ll always find you”, Edmund continues. “Your righteous place is with me. You have to understand that. We married — you belong to me by law. You can’t just run away from me like this. Come here, my queen, let me hold you.”
An immense exhaustion creeps into your body. You’ve been in survival mode for hours by now, your fight is over, you can’t win against Edmund. You look around. If you stay here any longer, you’ll start to burn and people will get even more hurt. All of this is your fault. Everyone will blame you for this. You won’t be safe here. All you want is to relax and have someone else take care of everything 
 but Edmund’s not a good person. If you go back, he’ll punish you. But maybe that’s better than having an entire village after you, wanting you dead for burning down their houses? You look over to Edmund, at his soft, loving eyes. You run over to him, into his strong arms. He wraps his arms around you tightly and you sob into his shoulder. If everyone hates you for the fire 
 you know that he will still be on your side. He’ll always be by your side.
“Don’t cry, my love, it hurts me so”, he whispers into your ear and holds you tightly. “Everything will be okay now.” He pulls back, cups your cheeks frantically and gives your lips a desperate kiss. He presses his own against yours, moving faster than you can keep up with. “Fuck, I always feel like a drunken man when I’m with you.”
Speaking of drunken men, your fan club is back. You look over your shoulder with a small whimper. However, you’re not as scared anymore. Not when you have the king’s strong arms wrapped around you. Edmund notices something. 
“Y/N, why do they have your dagger?” he asks suspiciously as his grip on you tightens. 
You press yourself close to him without thinking and he clenches his jaw before tightening his arms around you in a protective manner. 
“Don’t worry, my dear”, he says coldly. “I’ll kill them for touching you.”
He pulls out his sword as his knights ride over. 
“Make sure Y/N doesn’t leave”, he says and gives you to the closest knight. “I’m going to take care of these men.”
Edmund runs after the two men with his sword raised. The knight who holds you helps you up on Edmund’s horse. 
“Your majesty”, he says. “We need to move out of here before the fire traps us. I’ll lead your horse.”
You hug the white horse’s neck as the knights lead you through the destroyed village, out of the danger zone. You can’t watch it. 
Edmund’s soon back. The two men are in chains and led by some knights. Edmund holds your dagger in his hands before placing it together with his sword. 
“Are you hurt, my love?” he asks worriedly and stands by the horse. “You have a mark on your throat. Did they try to hurt you?”
You nod slowly. Edmund turns to the two men with his own fire burning in his eyes. 
“How fucking dare you think that you could touch my wife?!” he growls and slaps one of them as hard as he can. “You fucking left a mark on my wife!”
He spits at their feet before walking back to his horse and jumps up in front of you. He forces your hands to hug his waist. You rest your cheek on his back to hide your crying face. Edmund caresses your intertwined hands over his stomach and rides over to his knights.
“Don’t cry, my dear”, he whispers softly over his shoulder. “You’re safe now.” He turns to his knights and his voice goes cold. “I got what I came for. Let’s go back.”
“What about the village, your majesty?” a knight asks. 
“Pour some water on it.”
Without saying anything more, the king rides away. He holds one of his hands over yours to comfort your sobs. He lifts one of your hands to his lips and gives it kisses. 
“You’ve must been so scared among all of those horrible, horrible people”, he says over his shoulder. “Don’t worry though, Y/N, you’re never going out into the real world again. Never again, you hear me?”
You nod against his shoulder. You’re not sure that the people would even want you back into their village after this. 
He stops the horse out on the castle’s front yard and helps you down by your waist. Some maids run out to meet you and Edmund hesitates giving you to them. 
“Give her a bath”, he demands. “I can only imagine all the fleas and bacterias she has gotten. She smells like smoke. When she’s done, take her into our chamber and make sure she stays there. I’ll talk to her later.”
He gives you to the maids who pull you inside the castle and gives you the hottest bath you’ve ever encountered. You’re sure your skin is melting off. They dress you in the finest of silk and lead you to your shared chamber. You sit down in the bed, waiting for Edmund to come back. He enters the room thirty minutes later.
“I’m not going to let you off the hook”, he says and pulls up his sleeves. 
“I won’t run away again, Edmund, I promise”, you whine in fear. “Please-”
“Shh, darling, I don’t think you have the right to shout at me. Not after the hell you’ve put me through. You should be happy that I don’t behead you together with the two dogs who thought they could touch what's mine!” He runs his veiny hand through his dark hair. “I’m going to give you two punishments. One, watch the beheading-”
“I refuse-”
“Shut up, Y/N. Two, you are going to spend three days in the tower with me.”
The tower is like the dungeons just without the rats and prisoners. You gulps.
“You’re going to learn how much of the things you have here is thanks to me, my love”, Edmund says. “Every piece of clothing you own, every day you spend under my roof, every bite of food you get 
 is thanks to me. When I’m not there, you have nothing and you get chased by disgusting men like those two in the dungeons. After our little vacation to the tower, you’ll understand. Get up, we have a beheading to watch.”
He pulls you with him to the balcony with a cramping hold. The two men are put on display out on the castle’s front yard and they’re facing you. Edmund stands beside you like a stone. 
“Please don’t!” one of the men shouts in desperation. “Please, we’re sorry!”
“Sorry, my ass”, you mutter. 
Edmund chuckles and kisses your temple. 
“Your majesty, please, you met my son!” one of them shouts. “Leon!”
You frown, feelings suddenly shifting. Leon 

“Please, don’t deprive him of a father!”
“Edmund 
”, you whisper sadly. 
“He was going to deprive me of a wife”, Edmund answers coldly. “He’s going to die.”
“But he has a son, Edmund! I know he’s an asshole, but-”
“Do you want him to set an example for his son, hm? Do you want him to treat his wife the way he treated you?”
You think of the nice lady who helped you and her adorable little son. You’ve given them enough problems. If you let this man go back to them 
 
“You’re right”, you whisper firmly. “Kill them.”
“That’s my girl.”
Edmund shouts for the guards to end the men's pathetic lives. You watch with hate in your eyes. Leon and his mother will never hurt again and they’ll not be able to harass any more girls in the village. 
“Now we don’t have to worry about them anymore, my dear”, Edmund says when the corpses get pulled off the ground. “Let’s go to the tower now.”
“So you can indoctrinate me?” you mutter sarcastically. 
“Exactly.”
He pulls you by the arm with him through the castle’s mighty corridors. He walks behind you up the spiral stone stairs to the tower’s little room. If you stop or slow down, he gives you a small push. 
“Move those little legs for me, pretty”, he encourages you. “We’re not there yet.”
“But there’s so many stairs”, you complain.
“You ran all the way down to the village with those legs, you can walk a couple of stairs.”
You reach the rounded room in what feels like an hour. You sink down into a sitting position on the old, wooden floor. Edmund chuckles at you. 
“You need to grow some muscles, my dear”, he says and then frowns. “Or don’t. The weaker you are, the less I have to worry about you running away again.”
You look around in the room, noticing that it’s completely empty. 
“As you can see”, Edmund says and closes the wooden plugs over the window. “There is nothing here. If you want to be comfortable and not sit on the floor, you’ll have to sit in my lap. If you want food, you’ll have to ask me so I can get it for you and if you’re cold, you’ll have to cuddle up to me. Any questions?”
You’re about to give him a sassy remark, but hold back. It won’t end well for you if you do. 
“Good girl”, Edmund smirks and sneaks his arms around your waist. “Now let’s enjoy each other's company, hm?”
This will be the death of you.
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anxiousapplepie · 20 days ago
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Haiiiiiii again <3
I come asking questions!! And sharing ideas!!! About pre loop/loop position in Dormont this time since i dont Think everyone will be standing/doing the same same thing considering their roles. Im categorising them by Travelers btw
From what i feel about them, in Traveler!Mirabelle au Isabeau'd be actually staring at the house north of Dormont, with that old person on the bench from the start! Assessing risks, getting a good look at how much stuff changed, etc., while Bonnie and Siffrin both stay at the shop, ensuring that Siffrin doesn't forget anything and getting exactly what needed. Odile is... Unclear, but i think it's Really, Really funny if someone from the party stayed near Favor Tree at all times in every au, so she goes there, i think.
In Traveler!Isabeau tho i think Odile'd be in the east of the town, asking questions to locals. The blind one maybe? Mirabelle would be at the shop, but turned to a different shelf i think, while Bonnie runs around after running one near the Change God statue. Maybe theyre the one fetching Isabeau too. Siffrin is studying the Favor Tree, standing near that rock the original Isa was using, although more Sitting near it than actually Standing, with a pile of books larger than he's tall while up. They'd preferred to do this near the library, for all the books accessible, but theres too much noise so! Theyre here now.
Traveler!Bonnie finds Isabeau exactly there, actually. Nose deep in the book that yields exactly nothing, but he's trying. Mirabelle is venting off frustration in the east doing drills, so she's away from the main busy road and doesn't hurt anyone on accident. Odile is the the only one at the shop, paralleling the original, but now she's a lot more wary and is actually sitting on that singular chair in the room. There's no one at the Favor Tree Siffrin is sleeping in the roots of the Favor Tree. I thought about him sleeping On the thing, but i dont think Loop would appreciate that much so Bonnie (or maybe someone else?) will need to Rudely Awaken them from his dedicated Cat Nap and Cruelty Say They Need To Go. Unbelievable. Jail for them for 1000 years.
The last one is Traveler!Odile and i keep forgetting who is who there, but Bonnie is in the east? I think? Like HM!Odile before, but instead of Adults they're chatting with Kids. Isabeau is shopping while Siffrin is relaxing on the bench near the library, or maybe doing stretches. It's never clear with them, but if Isa walked out he'd die from looking at some of those positions alone. Mirabelle is now the one to stay at the Favor Tree for the same reason as Researcher!Siffrin before, but instead of studying the tree itself, she's reading the Curse Of ChatĂšau Castle. God i hope i wrote that right.
The only thing that never, Never changes is that the travelers wake up in the meadow south of Dormont. What had lead them there in the first place is up in the air, - desire for solitude, silence, or else, - but they will always wake on the grass, staring up, lying awake until someone goes to fetch them. Always alone.
Anddd thats it really. Loop is another constant that never changes, as they're always at the Favor Tree, but the others run wild. I have no good way to end this ask so have this ᘛ⁠⁐̀⁠ᕐ⁠ᐷ
*hand waves to all of the above in a shower of sparkles and glitter* BEHOLD! A bunch of things I didn't have to spend time and energy thinking about! :D I obviously can't spend time zooming in with my magnifying glass like "LET ME TELL YOU MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS!!!" for every single roleswap character (the urge is so powerful and strong tho you have no idea) but I will say the overall these vibes are solid and I can get behind most of them! I HAVE thought about the reasons why every Traveler is in the field, though: T!Bonnie is in the field practicing their craft attacks (and being a broody pre-teen) T!Isabeau was exploring the outskirts of town, walking through some of the woods and checking out nearby landmarks - coming back to the field after his excursion T!Odile might be editing the book she's been writing about HM!Bonnie or just double-checking some facts from a different familytale she's borrowing from a step-sibling T!Mirabelle has been camping out in that field literally all day. Hiding from no-one special or particular why would you ask her that You are insane for gathering all these ideas into one big ask and ngl it intimidated me a lot/positive
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gliphyartfan · 4 months ago
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@yanderelinkeduniverse @stars-for-thought @imprisioned-in-the-hole @screaming-until-god-hears-me @crestfallenmermaidan @ice-cream-writes-stuff @linked-heroes @eternadreeblissa
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ïżœïżœïżœHi :D
(As always, thank you Yandy for the advice. đŸ„čđŸ„čđŸ„čđŸ„čđŸ„č)
Okie Dokie! Time to grow this bread into a sandwich!
(HAHAHA! I queued this so i could catch a certain friend off guard with a randomly timed post~ You know who you are missy~! Also imma be sleeping in, i wuv you? đŸ„č)
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It began as nothing more than idle curiosity.
Whispers of a wanderer, who seemed to appear wherever monsters were slain.
Tales passed from traveler to traveler, trickling into villages like a strange current. At first, the stories were nothing more than entertainment—a young soul battling hordes of beasts sounded like the stuff of fairy tales, and the people, insulated in their small hamlets, hardly gave it a second thought.
“They’ve been seen by the dead forests near the mountains,” a young woman said one day, her voice a little too loud, a little too eager. “They say the bodies of monsters are strewn across the path they walks.”
Another woman chimed in, her voice hushed but with the kind of excitement that comes from having something new to share. “I’ve heard the same. A merchant passed through not long ago and claimed he saw the aftermath—bodies mangled, monsters torn apart, and not a soul in sight but one person who merely walked away.”
An old man sitting nearby scoffed, whittling a piece of wood as he listened to their chatter. “And the merchant just happened to be wandering through such dangerous lands, did he? More likely, he’s spinning stories to lighten your pockets.”
The first woman bristled. “It was near one of the main roads to Castle Town! You know as well as anyone how bad it’s gotten out there, what with all the rising monster attacks!”
The old man spat onto the ground. “So we’re meant to believe a single person has been wandering the wilderness, killing monsters for no reason? at all? Appeared out of nowhere, slaying hundreds, then vanishing to appear somewhere else? What next? Will the gods themselves descending to pat them on the back?”
A few of the villagers glanced toward the argument, but quickly averted their eyes, pretending not to listen. They didn’t want to get involved. Not in this. The rumors had been growing more persistent lately, and with them, something darker—an unease, like a shadow creeping closer.
Despite the arguments to the contrary, the stories refused to fade. In fact, they spread—spreading like wildfire from one village to the next, whispered by travelers passing through, by farmers returning from the markets.
At first, it was always the same—a wanderer with a sword, fighting monsters. But over time, the stories shifted slightly. The monsters were no longer the only ones falling to the mysterious wanderer’s blade.
The rumors became darker.
Now, there were whispers of men slain, bandits cut down as mercilessly as the beasts. Some even claimed it wasn’t simply bandits, but ordinary travelers who had crossed their path. And the wanderer—always just one person, faceless, nameless—never stepped foot in the villages. They never appeared in the markets or by the wells. No one had ever actually seen them properly, or at least, no one wanted to admit they had.
“Such a person’s never come through here,” the villagers would say when a traveler asked. “Not once.”
And yet
 as the stories persisted, as the fear crept into their voices, some began to contradict themselves. “I’ve seen them,” one of their own might exclaim in a moment of nervous excitement. “It was at the edge of the village, just for a second. They passed by the old road near the woods.”
But no one wanted to admit the dread that twisted in their stomachs. No one wanted to acknowledge the silent fear that settled in their bones whenever they heard of this wanderer. So they waved it off, forcing laughter, pretending the tale of the slayer didn’t chill them to the core.
“Bah, you saw nothing,” the old man would scoff again, though this time, his hands shook as he whittled. “It’s just travelers talking. You lot are too easily swayed by gossip.”
But even he couldn’t explain why the stories never seemed to stop. Why, even in the most remote corners of the land, the whispers were the same. Villages miles apart, separated by rivers and mountains, somehow all spoke of the same person.
A wanderer no one had ever truly seen upclose.
But one they all slowly grew to fear.
And they feared most of all that one day, he would come to their homes. They feared what would happen if that person came too close—if the stories, after all this time, were not just stories



——
——



Their stomach growled, sharp and insistent, echoing louder than the wind that howled through the mountains. They gone too long without food, too long without proper rest.
For days, weeks, perhaps, They had survived on scraps found in the wild, gnawing on whatever edible plants they could find, but it wasn’t enough. (There was never enough in these poisoned lands.) Not anymore.
Their supplies had run dry days ago. The bag slung across their back was light, too light for any sensible traveler. Their lips were dry, their limbs heavy, but they kept walking. Always walking. Always wandering towards their next location,
The nearby village was close now, maybe half a day away.



they didn’t want to go there.
Didn’t want to face people, to hear the loudness, the gossip, the looks.
They never did, not anymore. It was easier staying in the wilderness, always on the move. But hunger gnawed at them, dragging them toward the edges of civilization.
The monsters had been thinning out in this area, their numbers dwindling after they swept through the mountains. The monsters would inevitably return. They always did.
They didn’t care about any of that, their mind was set on one thing: food.
(Oh
 to be back in the bountiful fields and forests of other times. To gaze into the sea of green and know plentiful food and fresh clean water was bountiful and untainted.)
Their steps quickened as they neared the village. They hated this part, being around people. So they would get what they needed and leave. That was all.
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—-
“Today, a wanderer is walking towards town from the north side! Guardsman says it’s a single person in a cloak, carrying a sword on their back.”
The words spread through the village like wildfire. The people had heard that the guard had seen him from a distance, a lone figure making their way toward them from the mountains. Conversations hushed, children were pulled back into their homes.
A few curious villagers lingered by the entrance, pretending to go about their day but keeping a close eye on the road. When the person arrived, they noticed their clothes were heavily travel-worn and stained with dark splotches, their face obscured by a cloak, but the sword strapped to their back gleamed in the sunlight.
No one wanted to be the first to approach.
—
—
They walked with purpose, ignoring the stares, the muttered suspicions. They made their way to the village’s small market, looking for food, something to ease the gnawing hunger in their gut.
Their footsteps were heavy, each one dragging them closer to their destination. The familiar pull of hunger clawed at their insides, twisting their stomach in knots.
As much as they wanted to avoid people, to slip by unnoticed, the ache in their belly wouldn’t let them.
The village was small, unremarkable, the kind they preferred.
They had kept their head down as they entered, walking toward the market stalls that lined the dusty road. No one spoke to the visitor as they passed, but no doubt the visitor could feel the eyes on their back, the whispers barely contained as the visitor passed.
“Do you think that’s the one who killed those travelers near the mountains?”
“I can’t tell
aren’t they a bit too young looking?.”
“I can certainly tell you that sword doesn’t look like it’s simply for show. It’s stained red at the handle.”
The visitor stopped in front of a stall selling bread and dried meats. The man behind the counter was older, his skin weathered from years in the sun.
He barely looked up at first, busy wrapping a loaf of bread for another customer. When he did, he seemed unimpressed by the cloaked figure standing before him, just another traveler passing through.
But then they reached up, pulling back their hood.
The old man froze, his hands stilling over the goods on his counter. The boy’s face was young—far too young (as young as his own grandchild
) to be traveling alone with a mere sword on his back.
For a moment, the man blinked, unsure if he was seeing things correctly. He opened his mouth to speak, to ask where the boy’s parents were, but the words never came out.
It wasn’t the youth that gave him pause. It was the look in the boy’s eyes.
Dark, heavy, burdened by something much older than his years. The kind of look you only saw in soldiers or those who had lived through nightmares. A look that shouldn’t belong to someone so young.
The old man swallowed hard, choosing his next words carefully. “What
 what can I get for you?”
The boy’s eyes flickered to the food laid out on the stall. “Bread,” he said, his voice quiet, soft, but firm. “And dried meat, if you have any.”
The old man nodded slowly, still taken aback. Such a young boy.
He slowly reached for a loaf and a strip of dried meat, wrapping them in cloth before handing them over.
The boy reached into his pocket, pulling out a few rupees and placing them on the counter.
His hand was steady, but the old man noticed how thin his fingers were, how the veins stood out beneath his pale skin.
“Are
 you’re traveling alone?” the old man asked, unable to help himself.
The boy looked up, his gaze meeting the old man’s for the briefest moment before dropping back to the food in his hands. “Yes.”
The old man hesitated, wanting to ask more, but something stopped him.
That look—he couldn’t shake it. He didn’t know what the boy had seen, what he had been through, but it was clear enough that the boy didn’t want to talk about it. Not to a complete stranger. So he let it go.
“Well,” the old man said, clearing his throat, “safe travels, then.”
The boy gave a nod, pulling his hood back up before turning and walking away, the whispers behind him growing louder as he moved through the market.
As he continued down the road, passing more stalls, a man suddenly stepped forward, blocking his path. He was broad shouldered and rough around the edges, from his state of dress, he was a guard in this village.
His expression hardened with suspicion. The villagers nearby quieted, turning their attention to the scene unfolding before them.
“You there,” the man called out, his voice gruff. His eyes narrowed, scanning the cloaked figure up and down. “You the wanderer everyone’s been talking about? The one slaying beasts
 and men around these parts?”
The boy didn’t stop right away, his pace slowing only as he came to a halt just a few feet from the man. His face was half-shadowed beneath the hood he’d just pulled back up, and the weight of his gaze was unreadable as it fell on the man blocking his path.
He tilted his head slightly, as though considering the question. His voice, when he spoke, was soft. Unconcerned. “Am I who you’re looking for?”
The man’s scowl deepened. “Don’t play coy, boy. People talk of a wanderer who has been leaving bodies behind wherever he walks.”
The young boy blinked, slowly, his expression unreadable beneath the quiet calm that seemed to settle around him like a heavy fog.
He didn’t flinch, didn’t bristle at the accusation. He merely stared at the man for a moment, his voice soft when he spoke again. “And if I am?”
A murmur rippled through the crowd that had begun to gather, villagers shifting uncomfortably as they watched the exchange. The man before him, however, remained rigid.
“Then I’ve heard well about you. The rumors going around that you’ve killed not just monsters, but people. Merchants and travelers. Is that true?”
The boy stopped, his gaze lifting slowly from beneath his hood to meet the man’s eyes. He didn’t answer right away, but the air around him seemed to thicken, the tension palpable. More villagers gathered around, drawn in by the confrontation.
“You
knew someone I killed, then?” the boy asked, his voice quiet but steady.
The man took a step forward, jabbing a finger in Hyrule’s direction. “They say you killed a merchant not far from here.”
Hyrule blinked slowly, his face impassive as he absorbed the man’s words. He didn’t flinch at the accusation, nor did he show any sign of fear or guilt. His voice, when he spoke, was soft and steady. “Was he
someone worth recalling?”
The man’s nostrils flared. “Don’t play dumb with me!” he snapped. “He was a good man. A friend of mine, and I want answers, boy.”
“I killed many.” The boy replied, no change to his soft tone, “So perhaps I am who you seek.”
“So you admit you killed him!” The man exclaimed, “Why? What reason could you possibly have to murder an innocent man?”
“I have no reason to kill an innocent man.” He answered.
The boy remained quiet for a moment, his gaze drifting past the man, as if lost in thought. Then, with the same quiet calm, he spoke again. “He wasn’t innocent.”
The man took a moment to register what he said, eyes widening in shock. “
What?” His face turned red with anger.
“What do you mean he wasn’t innocent?!? He has done so much and I’ve known him for years-“
“He raped a woman.”
That once sentence silenced the entire area.
Many paling, several covering their mouths in horror.
The man’s red face immediately turning white as he registered what was said.
“He dared commit such an atrocity against a woman. Took from her what wasn’t his to take. I killed him for it.”
The boy’s eyes slowly returned to the man’s, his voice still soft, still unwavering.
“Would you still call him innocent now?”
The crowd gasped, whispers rippling through the gathered villagers. The man’s face twisted in disbelief, shaking his head violently. “No
 no, you’re lying!” he shouted, his voice rising. “He wouldn’t do something like that! He was a good man!”
The boy’s gaze didn’t waver, the weight of his words settling in the air with finality. “He was a rapist,” he said quietly, everyone who heard him flinching from the declaration. “And I killed him for it.”
The man took a stumbling step back, his face contorted with rage and denial. “You
 you can’t just say that! You don’t get to decide who lives and dies, you are a BOY! He was my friend!”
The boy’s expression remained calm, his voice never rising. “I didn’t make the decision. He did. When he forced himself on her. I simply responded as I should.”
For a moment, the man looked as though he might lash out, his fists trembling at his sides. But before he could do anything, a woman’s voice cut through the tense silence.
“Is it true?” Both boy and man looked at her.
“Did that friend of his truly
 deflower a lass against her will?” She asked again.
“He did.” He answered, more whispers erupting from the crowd.
“If it’s true,” the woman said, stepping forward from the crowd, “then
then he deserved it!”
“WHAT?!?”
The man turned to her, his face a mask of disbelief. “You
 you’re defending this? Defending him?”
“Aren’t you defending a vile man?” The woman said, crossing her arms, her eyes hard as she stared back at him as he stuttered to come up with a response. “If that friend of yours truly defiled a woman like this boy says, then he got what was coming to him.”
More murmurs spread through the crowd, this time in agreement. Some of the women nodded, their expressions grim but resolute. The man looked around, his face twisting as he searched for support, but found none.
“This
 this can’t be happening,” he muttered, his voice breaking slightly. “He wouldn’t..we
we was friends
since we was kids
”
Many in the crowd looked at the man in sympathy. Such news was never handled well. Especially when it involved someone you were close to.
The young boy stood there, silent, watching the man’s reaction with the same calm detachment. The man’s shoulders sagged in defeat, but he wasn’t ready to give up. “It
doesn’t matter. You still killed him. We’ll have to report this.”
Before he could take step forward, the boy spoke up, “No. You won’t.”
The man froze, turning back to face the boy, disbelief flickering in his eyes. “What?”
The boy didn’t move, his gaze still fixed on the man. “You won’t report this.”
There was no malice in his voice, no threat. Just a calm, quiet certainty that sent a ripple of unease through the gathered crowd.
The villagers shifted uncomfortably, murmurs of confusion spreading like wildfire, but no one dared to step forward.
The man’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
The boy’s calm, unhurried tone seemed to strip the anger from him, leaving only the shock and disbelief that he was grappling with. He shook his head, almost as if trying to shake off the weight of the boy’s words. “I— H..How dare you..I have to report this!”
“No,” the boy repeated, his soft-spoken voice steady, unnervingly gentle. “You don’t. You now know what he did, and can now shun him for it. Just as everyone else already has.”
The man faltered, his hands trembling as they hung limply at his sides. His face was flushed, beads of sweat trickling down his temple, but he said nothing. He could find no words to respond, not as the weight of what had been revealed pressed down on him.
The boy’s eyes, still shadowed beneath his hood, locked onto the man’s.
There was no smile on his face, yet there was something unsettling about the way he looked at the man, something that didn’t belong on a face so young. It was a look that was far too old, far too experienced, for the boy it was attached to.
“Leave this matter behind,” the boy said quietly, his voice carrying an eerie finality. “He made his choice. Now you must make yours.”
The man’s breath caught in his throat. He glanced around at the villagers, but once more found no help in their faces. Some nodded slowly, others looked away. It was clear to them now—whether they liked it or not, the truth had been spoken. The boy, this
wanderer
wasn’t lying, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. And the man, deep down, knew it too.
Perhaps that was why he couldn’t accept it.
For a long, agonizing moment, the man stood there, caught between denial and the heavy reality settling over him. Then, slowly, with a pained expression, he backed away.
“He was
 my friend,” the man muttered again, but his voice was weak, trembling. He turned away, shoulders sagging as he disappeared into the crowd.
The boy watched him go, his eyes following the hunched figure as it faded from view. For a moment, there was silence.
Then, almost to himself, the boy spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, yet clear enough for those closest to hear.
“
A different choice this time.”
He tilted his head slightly, as though considering something unseen, his gaze distant. His expression remained calm, though a flicker of something passed through his eyes.
The villagers, still unnerved by the exchange, glanced at one another, puzzled by his words but too hesitant to ask.
The boy smiled once more, soft, faint and fleeting, as he turned away from the villagers. He said nothing more, leaving them to wonder what he meant as he continued down the path, walking back into the now silent marketplace as if the confrontation had never happened at all.
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——
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“She must be beautiful,” whispered a small voice.
“Is she kind?” asked another, their soft, lilting tone drifting through the air like a breeze.
“Warm, too?” A third chimed in, fluttering closer to where the boy sat.
Hyrule, seated in the shallow waters of the fairy fountain, barely stirred at their questions. His thin form leaned back against a moss-covered stone, his cloak discarded beside him, revealing how frail and slight he truly had become.
The waters gently lapped against him, cool and clear, while tiny glowing fairies circled above, their curiosity as constant as their light.
“She is,” he murmured, his voice low and calm, answering their questions with a softness that matched the quiet of the fountain.
In his hand, a cloth moved slowly over the blade of his sword, wiping away the dried blood that clung to the steel. The crimson stains mixed with the water, turning it a faint pink before dispersing into nothing.
“And her eyes?” one of the fairies asked, fluttering down to rest near his shoulder, their wings glittering in the soft light of the fountain. “Are they as kind as yours?”
Hyrule’s lips quirked ever so slightly, a faint smile ghosting over his features. “They are
 far more kinder.”
The fairies giggled softly at his response, their voices like tinkling bells as they flitted around him, never straying too far from the boy.
But beneath the peaceful scene, there was an unspoken heaviness that lingered in the air—something that clung to him like the blood on his sword, even as he cleaned it away.
“She must be someone very amazing,” one of the fairies whispered, hovering in front of him, their eyes wide and curious. “For you to feel so happy at the thought of her.”
“She is,” he said again, quieter this time. His eyes remained focused on his blade, his movements slow and methodical, as if the task of cleaning the blood from it was all that mattered in the moment.
The fairies, sensing the weight of his thoughts, quieted for a time, simply fluttering around him as he worked. The fountain’s waters shimmered with their light, casting soft reflections on his face, but nothing could soften the sharpness in his eyes.
A sharpness that didn’t belong on someone so young.
Eventually, one of the fairies drifted closer, their tiny voice softer now, hesitant. “Do you ever
 rest?”
Hyrule paused, his hand stilling as the last of the blood was wiped clean from his blade. He set the sword down beside him, resting it against the stone, the cloth now stained with the evidence of his earlier fight.
“I do,” he replied softly, leaning his head back to stare up at the sky above, visible through the break in the canopy. “When I can.”
The fairies fluttered around him again, their delicate wings catching the light as they moved. They didn’t press him further, sensing that, for now, the questions down that path had reached their end.
And as Hyrule sat in the waters of the fairy fountain, his eyes distant and his form thin and tired, the quiet companionship of the fairies was all that filled the stillness around him.
One of the fairies flitted closer, their glow bright as they hovered near his face. "Tell us more about her," they asked softly, their voice full of innocent curiosity. "What is she like?"
Hyrule’s eyes softened, the hand resting on his sword going still as he leaned his head back against the stone. His voice, when he spoke, was quiet, reverent, almost worshipful.
“She’s
 so incredible,” he began, his tone gentle, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the memory. “Kinder than anyone I’ve ever known. She doesn’t judge, no matter who she meets, or what they’ve been through. There’s this warmth about her—like she carries a light inside, something that draws people in without her even trying.”
The fairies hovered close, their wings slowing as they listened intently, captivated by the way his voice softened when he spoke of her.
“She has this way of smiling,” he continued, eyes drifting closed as he recalled the image of her in his mind. “It’s not just her lips that smile, but her eyes, too. It’s like... she can see through all the darkness and still find something good. She makes you believe in things—hope, love, a future.”
His voice wavered slightly, though his expression remained calm. “She’s very brave, too. So much stronger than she thinks. No matter how hard things get, she never gives up. She keeps going, keeps fighting, even
even when the world feels like it’s falling apart around she
she
”
Hyrule’s lips curved into a soft smile, his eyes still closed as he let himself remember her—the sound of her laughter, the way her presence alone could make the harshest days feel bearable.
For a moment, it felt like she was there, right beside him.
That the tragedies that had happened ceased to exist.
But when he finally opened his eyes, that smile faltered. The fairies were still there, their soft glow reflecting in the water, but she was not.
The sadness crept into his gaze, and his smile turned hollow as the weight of reality settled in. She wasn’t there. Not in this moment. Not in this place.
“She’s not here,” he murmured, more to himself than to the fairies. His voice was still soft, still gentle, but there was a deep ache hidden beneath those words.
“Oh to be young and in love
”
The Great Fairy glided toward Hyrule, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she observed him resting in the water. Her gaze lingered on his face, soft yet intense as he cleaned his blade, the blood from battle slowly fading away. Her voice, as gentle as a breeze, curled around him like a caress.
“It’s rare, little halfling,” she said, her smile warm, “to see someone so completely in love. Your heart sings for her in a way that most mortals can only dream of.”
Hyrule looked up, his expression calm and peaceful. He paused in his movements, letting the cloth hang loosely in his hand as he met her gaze. “She’s
 everything,” he whispered, his tone reverent. “More than anyone could ever be. She’s kind, strong, beautiful. There’s nothing she lacks because even what she considers an flaw is perfect to me.”
The Great Fairy hummed, circling him slowly, her fairies fluttering around him with excitement, their tiny lights dancing in celebration of his devotion. “She sounds like the perfect mate,” the Great Fairy mused, her voice dipping into a playful tone. “Someone worthy of such fierce love and loyalty.”
Hyrule’s smile softened, “She is. And I’ll make sure she knows it every day.” His eyes brightening, I never want to give her a reason to hate me. When we reunite, she’ll be so loved, so cared for, that the thought of leaving won’t even cross her mind.”
The Great Fairy tilted her head, observing him with interest, but not an ounce of concern. Where humans would have been unnerved by his intensity, to the fae, such passion was only natural. The fairies swirled around him in delight, their wings buzzing as they echoed the Great Fairy’s sentiments. “A perfect mate,” they sang in unison, giggling in the air.
They swirled around him, their excitement clear. “Introduce her to us!” one of them chimed, their tiny voices buzzing around him. “We want to meet her!”
Another chimed in, “She must be so lovely! So kind!”
Hyrule’s expression softened, his gaze turning inward as he thought of (y/n). “She is... more than lovely. She’s warm, gentle. She’s strong, even when she doesn’t realize it. When she smiles... it’s like the sun after a storm.”
His voice grew quieter, reverent, as though speaking of her was akin to prayer. The fairies fluttered in close, their excitement building as he continued.
“She doesn’t know how special she is,” he added softly, closing his eyes as if savoring the image of her in his mind. “But I do. I’ll never let her feel unwanted or alone. I’ll always be there, making sure she’s safe. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her by my side.”
The Great Fairy leaned in closer, her tone teasing but gentle. “Such devotion
 it’s admirable, little halfling. Perhaps you’ll truly bring her here one day, so we can meet this girl who has captured your heart so completely?”
Hyrule’s smile grew as he closed his eyes, as though he could see (y/n) standing before him in that very moment. “Of course I will,” he said softly, opening his eyes again, though the faint sadness lingered when she wasn’t truly there. “You’ll love her, I know you will. She deserves to meet you, and you deserve to meet someone so
 perfect.”
The Great Fairy’s eyes sparkled with amusement, her voice coy. “And what of your sword brothers? From what you’ve spoke, their desires are the same as yours. They, too, wish to claim her heart, don’t they?”
Hyrule’s peaceful expression didn’t falter, “They do. And I understand that. I’m willing to share a place in her heart, as long as they’ve learned their lesson. We all want the same thing, after all—her happiness.”
The Great Fairy chuckled, a sound like chiming bells, full of mischief and curiosity. “But, little one, what would you do if they haven’t learned? If they were to stand in your way?”
Hyrule’s eyes gleamed, his smile gentle but his words weren’t, “If they haven’t learned
 I’ll slaughter them. Every single one. And I’ll protect her on my own.” He said so easily, so casually, like talking about the weather.
The Great Fairy threw her head back and laughed, her voice exuberant and full of joy. Her fairies mirrored her glee, spinning and fluttering in the air in a celebratory dance, their wings glowing brighter as they reveled in the intensity of their great mother’s happiness. To them, Hyrule’s devotion was nothing but pure, powerful, and natural.
“Ah, such love!” the Great Fairy exclaimed, her eyes alight with delight. “It’s been far too long since I’ve seen a love like yours, little halfling. A love that burns with such beautiful, sublime passion.”
The fairies circled around him, their voices giggling and singing as they celebrated his devotion, as though his words were a promise of something sacred. And to the fae, it was.
“Introduce her to us!” they begged, their voices filled with excitement.
Hyrule chuckled softly, his expression serene as he nodded. “I will, little sisters. It’s only natural to introduce someone as incredible as her to my family. One day. You’ll see just like I did
she’s perfect.”
The Great Fairy reached out, her fingers gently brushing against his cheek in a gesture of affection. “We look forward to it, little one. We’ll be waiting eagerly to celebrate your eventual union with such an amazing soul!”
And with that, the fairies continued their joyful flight around him, giggling and cheering louder at the future where they would meet her, while Hyrule sat by the fountain waters at peace, sword forgotten beside him, lost in thoughts of her, his smile soft, though touched by a quiet darkness.
——
——
Hyrule leaned against a tree by the edge of the forest, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath.
Rain poured down, soaking his clothes and matting his hair to his forehead, droplets of water streaming down his face. His sword hung loosely from his hand, the blade gleaming dully in the gray light, dripping with rain and something darker.
The river rushed nearby, its waters swollen from the storm, roaring in the quiet of the evening.
He glanced down at his soaked clothes, water pooling around his boots, but he paid little attention to the discomfort.
The rain masked everything—his exhaustion, the faint ache in his limbs, even the weight of his thoughts. But it couldn’t wash away the simmering feelings just beneath the surface.
The sound of the rushing river mixed with the steady downpour, the constant hum of the forest alive around him despite the storm.
He tilted his head back, feeling the rain on his face, his eyes half-lidded in thought.
Everything had felt strange since he had woken up in the past, as though he was constantly walking through a dream he could never quite escape.
“I miss them,” he murmured, his voice carrying only as far as the tree he leaned against. “My brothers
the only ones who I felt safe with
for so long... And yet
” His lips curved upward, a smile too soft for the words that followed. “Sometimes, I dream of stealing her away
to punish them
 for their failure to keep her safe.”
He laughed lightly, as if the thought were as harmless as the falling rain, warm despite the darkness that laced his words.
“It’s strange,” he murmured into the storm, his voice barely louder than the patter of rain on leaves. “How everything’s felt
 off.” His words were soft, but they carried an unsettling warmth, as if these thoughts were nothing out of the ordinary.
Hyrule tilted his head back, eyes closing briefly as he let the rain run over his face.
His eyes fluttered open, and there was a softness in his gaze, a calmness that made the words all the more disturbing. “But
 I understand now. It’s over. What happened in that time is done, and I can’t change it. All I can do is make up for my failures and create newer memories...”
He pushed himself off the tree and took a few steps toward the riverbank, the rain still pouring down. “And when we’re all together again, it’ll be perfect. We’ll savor our reunion with her.”
There was a pause, as if he was savoring the thought, before he continued, almost as if speaking to the river itself. “But first, I need to clear this land of threats as best as i can. Gather enough wealth
Build a place that’s safe for her. I have to be ready. We all do.”
The rain fell freely from the darkened skies above, the evening air thick with moisture.
His voice, soft and wistful, carried through the trees, but it wasn’t clear who he was speaking to.
“Yet I can’t help but acknowledge how much it’s been quite the experience
walking a similar yet different path..”
Hyrule's voice echoed softly through the night, his tone distant, almost thoughtful.
“Ever since I woke up in the past, everything has felt... off. Like the world’s just a little tilted. Nothing feels right, but I suppose it’s what happens when you’re given another chance.”
He sighed softly, his words warm despite the unsettling nature of his thoughts.
“And still as much as i want to reunite with them, i still wish to hurt them too..”
He shifted his weight slightly, eyes distant as he spoke to the figure before him, “To wrap my hands around the handle go my blade and cut them down as they cry out in pain
.To make them pay for failing to protect her, for letting her be taken from us. But, it’s not hate, not really.”
His voice carried a calm warmth that made the words unsettling. He spoke as if discussing a pleasant memory, not something so dark and twisted. “It’s strange, isn’t it? Wanting to hurt them but still loving them. I could never hate them forever. It simply wasn’t entirely their fault, after all.”
Hyrule let out a small sigh, almost wistful. “But I did truly hate them for a while. I hated them for not being strong enough, for not being fast enough... for not being better and keeping her safe.” He chuckled softly, as if the thought amused him. “But now, that time has passed and reversed, erased except the memories I hold
 It’s not just their fault we failed. It’s mine as well. And I’ll make up for it.”
He hummed.
“But that’s natural, isn’t it? Wanting to punish them
 To punish myself, for failing her.” He chuckled lightly, almost as if he were reminiscing about fond memories. “I hated them for a while. For a long while, actually. But it’s all over now. I know that. I understand that, and I have to atone for my own failures.”
He tilted his head slightly, staring off into the dark, rain-slicked forest as if imagining something far away. “When we find her again, everything will be different. We’ll savor every moment of our reunion, all of us together again. She’ll be safe with us. And it’ll be... perfect.”
Hyrule’s expression darkened, though the gentle smile on his face remained. “But before that, I have to finish things here. I need to clear out every threat in this place, amass enough wealth to give her a safe life, to build something beautiful amidst all this cursed and poisoned land. A place where she can live peacefully. A place where my sword brothers and I can keep her safe.”
He sighed, finally lowering his gaze to the figure at his feet. The rain had formed a pool around the man, blood mixing with the water, his body slumped against the roots of an old tree. His eyes, wide and filled with terror, locked onto Hyrule’s as he listened helplessly.
“I need to make sure that I’m ready for her. Ready for all of us to reunite
”
Hyrule crouched down, his eyes soft, almost regretful as he looked at the man. “Funny, isn’t it? You walked away from me in the market that day, made a different choice than last time. But it seems some things are inevitable
 this little scene between us is happening sooner rather than later.”
He shook his head, amused. “Seems some things never change,” Hyrule said softly, almost regretfully. “You made a different choice again. Last time, you tried to burn me alive. Now, you pushed me toward rushing water. It’s a shame
 I thought I might have more time before this.”
The man’s eyes flickered, desperate, but no words came. Hyrule’s smile was gentle as he crouched down beside him, the rain dripping from his hair. “I mean
 to use you as another way to bond with my sword brothers
but I suppose we can’t always get what we want.”
He reached out, touching the man’s wet cheek in a gesture that seemed almost compassionate. “I can only hope we can bond over another tainted soul.” Hyrule sighed sadly, his voice soft with genuine regret.
“I really was hoping to do this again with the others. It was such a lovely bonding experience that time...”
The man tried to respond, but all that came out was a garbled, pathetic sound—his severed tongue preventing any real words. Hyrule gave him a pitying look, then slowly unsheathed his sword.
With one swift, clean motion, he cut off the man’s head, watching for several moments as his eyes fluttered, his face twitching until there was no movement left.
Hyrule waited for a long moment, staring into the lifeless eyes of the man, almost as if searching for something.
When there was nothing left to see, Hyrule stood up, sheathing his blade once more.
As Hyrule turned to leave, his gaze fell on a crown of flowers lying discarded in the mud, half-crushed by the struggle. The delicate petals were wilted, the once vibrant colors dulled by the rain and dirt.
He had been working on it when the man from the market snuck up on him.
He knelt beside it, picking up the ruined crown with gentle fingers, his eyes softening as a memory stirred.
He could almost see her, in that memory sitting in front of him, laughing as she showed him how to weave the flowers together, her hands guiding his clumsy attempts with infinite patience.
The warmth in her eyes, the sound of her voice—he had cherished every second of it. And now, this small, fragile thing, this crown, had been ruined.
It had been so long since he made one

He had assumed she would always be there to re-teach him

A deep sadness filled him, his heart aching as he held the crushed flowers. "She spent so much time teaching me," he whispered softly, his voice barely audible over the rain. "And now it’s ruined
 he ruined it." His fingers tightened slightly around the crown, but not enough to damage it further.
As Hyrule pocketed the ruined flower crown, his steps slowed, his thoughts swirling with the same intensity as the fairies around him.
The rain drummed a steady rhythm on the leaves overhead, but his mind was elsewhere—drifting back to the quiet afternoons with her, back when things felt simpler. He could almost feel her hands guiding his as he fumbled with the stems, hear the soft way she teased him when he struggled to braid them just right.
His heart clenched at the thought. "I’ll make her another," he thought, trying to push away the sadness creeping in. But the moment was gone, ruined by the man lying lifeless in the mud. "If only he hadn’t tried to stop me," Hyrule mused. "I could’ve remembered everything clearly... made it perfect for her."
His gaze flicked back to the body, the severed tongue, the empty, lifeless eyes staring into nothingness.
Hyrule sighed, the heaviness in his chest growing. "I wanted to remember every detail, for her." His fingers brushed against the flower crown in his pocket, fragile and ruined, much like the memory it had been tied to. "I’ll make up for it. For everything."
The fairies' laughter danced around him, pulling him from his thoughts, and he straightened. "For her
 I'll make it all perfect," he promised silently, his eyes narrowing as he left the body behind.
The fairies flitted around him, their soft glow casting a faint light over his rain-soaked form. They giggled and chimed, but there was no malice in their joy.
He cast one last glance at the man’s lifeless body, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face before he turned and began to walk away, leaving the corpse where it laid as he walked back into the storm.
The fairies’ chimes danced in the air as they continued to follow and swirl around him in delight, their soft laughter filling the air as the rain fell heavier, blending with the sound of the wind, rushing water and rustling leaves.
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librarygarten · 18 days ago
Text
BotW Link x Lynel Hunter! Reader
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I think we as a community are sleeping on the fact that BotW is a post-apocalypse. The settlements are few and far-between, most NPCs we meet on the road are being attacked by monsters, and more than one quest is a villager asking for help because they can’t deal with Calamity Ganon’s forces. So, what if Reader had to grow up in that world? How would they deal with the horrors? TW: mentions of death and disease, canon-typical violence
The world was broken. It had been broken long before you had been born. The dark clouds hanging over Hyrule Castle, the wandering machines, the monsters– all merely symptoms of the sickness plaguing the land. The elderly would occasionally tell you of a time before. When there was a princess and a knight. Champions to watch over the people.
Whoever they were, they had failed.
Growing up, your little town was relatively safe. Monsters didn’t venture too close, but they were always too close for comfort. The forest just below your village was home to more than a few Bokoblins and Moblins, not to mention the giant structure some other monsters had cobbled together just over the horizon. It was almost comical, how much their little fort looked like a tree house. But they were not to be trifled with.
Then the clouds over the castle got darker
 and the monsters more numerous. Your quaint little village became less and less safe. Traveling to the next village over, which used to be relatively safe, if a bit stressful, was practically a suicide mission now. It would have been okay, you think, if nothing else had happened.
But then people got sick.
Really sick.
Maybe it was another curse of the land. Maybe it was punishment from the goddesses. Whatever the case, people were dying. You were lucky; you were still young when you got sick. A few weeks of shivering, coughing, sweating, and crying later, and you had the strength to get out of bed. Your parents weren’t as lucky. You took care of them as best as you could, but you could still hardly reach the stove to boil water for dinner.
You still aren’t sure which was worse: burying them that spring, or waiting all winter for the ground to thaw.
The rest of the adults fared about as well. Eventually, the sickness burned itself out. Nobody left to infect. Over the course of a year, you had become a village of orphans. The children who survived were weak, but did their best to put the pieces back together. But it quickly became apparent you didn’t have enough supplies. The gardens had been planted too late. The monsters were getting closer.
With no other options, you hugged your friends goodbye and set out on the road, praying to the merciless goddess that you would make it to the next village. That was years ago.
You snapped out of your own thoughts, focusing instead on the task at hand: the hulking beast that had been threatening the local Zora. The damned thing had electric arrows. It was almost like the beast had been perfectly selected to threaten the city below.
No time to think about what kind of divine wrath had placed it here. It swung its sword, and you jumped out of the way just in time. It swung again and you flipped over the blade. The monster roared, its mouth beginning to glow with flame.
Perfect.
You quickly take out your bow, firing an arrow directly at the thing’s face. It slumped forward, temporarily stunned. You ran forward, plunging your blade into its head. The creature let out a horrible death cry before collapsing into a pile of black goop and purple smoke.
“Stay dead, you stupid Lynel.” You kick the last of the black sludge, scattering it in the grass. You know it’s unlikely. It’s only a matter of time before another Blood Moon brings it back. But for now, the Zora should be safe.
You start walking back down the mountain, pulling your hood closer to shield from the pouring rain, but it’s no use. Vah Ruta’s rain was inescapable. You watch your footing as you walk, the muddy ground slippery beneath your feet. Perhaps it would be best to stay the night at the inn in Zora’s domain.
Glancing up, you’re surprised to see another Hylian. His armor makes him look like a Zora. He seems equally surprised to see you. You suppose you are covered in Lynel guts. You give him a polite wave, making a mental note to bathe before checking into the inn. He gives a hesitant wave back. You turn, continuing your path down the mountain.
At the inn, you hear the Zoras excitedly gossiping. Apparently, the centuries-dead princess’ lover had returned. Thinking nothing of it, you pay for a bed and set out at first light. Curiously, there was no rain that day.
The next time you see him is a few weeks later. You had been tracking a Lynel, this time near the base of Mount Lanayru. It manages to get a few good hits on you before you take it down. As you patch yourself up, making sure to stay out of sight of the Lizalfos in the area, you feel the ground beneath you shake. Looking at the mountain, darkness seems to erupt from it, spewing down the sides and straight towards your location. As it nears, you realize it’s not darkness– it’s a dragon, flying down the mountain at breakneck speeds. It’s covered in slime and eyeballs. You watch as the young man, around your age, dives off a nearby cliff and takes aim, hitting the goop. The dragon flies back up the mountain, and he lands near where you sit. Well, land is a strong word. He folds up his paraglider and just kind of.. faceplants into the dirt.
He looks at you. He looks at the Lynel bits still covering the ground. He looks back at you. You raise an eyebrow at him. Looking at him now, you can see his face and arms are covered in scars. Well, maybe scars wasn’t the right word. It looked like half his body had been burnt by a guardian laser and healed. His clothes were absolutely filthy, to say nothing of the smell.
He looks like he’s about to say something, but the dragon roars, snapping his attention back to it. He sprints after the beast, trying to hit the goop with an arrow once again. You decide to leave the dragon to the professional(?) and begin the long hike to the nearest village. If you hurry, you might make it before dark.
Hateno was surprisingly nice. The dye shop guy was
 a bit strange. And apparently there was a mad scientist living up the hill. But other than that, it was nice. It almost made you wish you could stay. But you had things to do.
“Two arrow bundles, please.” You tell the shopkeeper. As you pack them in your bag, you hear the door behind you open. The shopkeeper greets the new customer. You look up. It’s the crazy guy that fought the dragon. He was sporting multiple new bruises and cuts across his face and arms. Before you can think, you blurt out “Dude, what happened to you?”
“Uhhh, sledding accident?” The blond scratches the back of his head nervously.
“Oh, that’s our Link!” The shopkeeper laughs, bundling up the newcomer's purchase and handing it to the boy. “He goes away for weeks at a time and comes back with the craziest stories. Did you know he’s gone to Hyrule Field?”
“Isn’t that place a death trap? There’s guardians everywhere.” You look at this ‘Link’ guy. He looks like he weighs four pounds soaking wet with shoes on. Definitely not someone you would imagine taking on a guardian. Then again, he apparently survived his encounter with the dragon on Lanayru.
“I mean, it was a bit tricky. But once you have the right equipment, it’s pretty easy to reflect the lasers back at them.” He smiles awkwardly under your gaze.
“Reflect the lasers back at them?” You cross your arms, unconvinced. “They break most shields in one hit. Two if you’re lucky. What kind of equipment could you possibly have to deal with them?”
“Just my shield.” Link looks puzzled. “I got it from inside the castle. Maybe it’s made better than the shields you’ve been using?”
“I’m sorry you went INSIDE the castle?” You scoff. “Nobody goes in there and makes it out. Hardly anyone even makes it to the gate.”
“Well, I did.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” You roll your eyes. This guy sure was full of it. Sure, he had shot a dragon. But there was no way he had been inside the castle. The darkness inside. The monsters roaming everywhere. It was simply impossible.
“Fine.” Link suddenly grabs your arm, clearly annoyed. You don’t even have time to react as he pulls a device from his hip and hits the surface. You see a light surround you and suddenly you’re standing on a circular platform. There’s some sort of structure behind you. But that’s not what has your attention. The field in front of you, dotted with small patches of trees

“What the HECK?” You exclaim, twisting out of his grip. “How are we at Hyrule Field? It’s days away from Hateno!”
“Magic?” He shrugs, and you can feel your blood pressure rising. “Anyway, wait here. I can take you back after I show you.” He takes off sprinting into the field.
“What the– ARE YOU INSANE!?” You yell, but he’s long gone. You watch where he disappeared for a few moments. Did he just leave you here? Okay, surely there wouldn’t be too many guardians between here and the road. There were enough trees you could hide behind, if need be. Just as you’re about to walk away, you see Link sprint out of the tree line.
With a guardian hot on his tail.
He waves excitedly at you as the machine powers up its laser. Welp, that settles it. This guy is clinically insane. Carrying his corpse back to Hateno would be impractical, but the village would surely appreciate some memento. Maybe after the guardian leaves you can take his sword? Or that tablet he had at his hip? You watch as the guardian fires at him. He holds up his shield
 and the laser bounces off, hitting the ground a few feet away from you. The guardian fires again, and this time Link swings out his arm as the laser connects with the shield. The robot explodes.
“See!” Link runs over to you, ignoring the pile of guardian pieces. “Believe me now?”
Your jaw is still on the floor. Snapping your mouth closed, it takes a moment for you to process what you just saw. He killed a guardian. He killed a GUARDIAN. Which means he wasn’t lying about going inside the castle.
“You’re insane.” You laugh, finally able to speak. “How are you not dead, yet?”
“What can I say? I’m simply that good.” He puffs his chest out, clearly proud at proving his abilities to you.
“I saw you faceplant while fighting that dragon.” You giggle as his shoulders droop.
“Right. You saw that.” Blush creeps up his cheeks, dusting them a very cute shade of pink. Suddenly, he gets a confused look on his face. “Wait. What were you doing there?”
“There’s a Lynel that lives near the base of the mountain.” You shrug, as if that’s an explanation. Link waits for you to say more, but you don’t. Instead, you start walking southwest. You’ve got a vague idea of where you are, and you have a job to do.
“W-wait!” He yelps. When you don’t stop walking he falls in step beside you. “I can take you back to Hateno. You don’t have to walk.”
“Nah.” You wave your hand. “I’ve actually got stuff to do in the area. You saved me some travel time with your
 whatever that was.”
“Like what?” He tilts his head, curious.
“Like that.” You stop walking. In front of you is a bridge, and beyond that, a giant colosseum. The walls are half-collapsed, and a black goopy substance clings to parts of the exterior.
“You’re not going in there, are you?” He looks worried.
“Of course I am.” You drop your bag, knowing it would slow you down too much.
“Umm, I would advise against that? There’s a bunch of monsters inside, and I’m not saying you can’t handle yourself, but it’s just that-” You ignore him and walk into the arena. The Lynel notices you almost immediately and brings its weapon down on the ground, sending a shockwave out in all directions. You backflip out of its range just in time, knocking an arrow as you do so. Before you land, you fire, hitting the beast directly in the face. It roars and rushes towards you, but you step out of the way just in time. You can feel yourself falling into the familiar patterns. Dodge. Strike. Parry.
The beast falls without much fanfare. It simply dissolves into darkness, like all the others do. You turn to collect your bag, and see Link, his mouth hanging open like a fish.
“You can close your mouth, pretty boy.” You chuckle as he snaps his jaw shut. “Why do you look so surprised? You killed a guardian not even ten minutes ago.”
“That was awesome.” He has stars in his eyes. You walk down the road and he follows behind you. “How did you learn to do that?”
“I’ve been doing it for years. Just trial and error. And a lot of healing potions.”
“Years?” He seems surprised. “You can’t be much older than me.”
“What is this? An interrogation?” You roll your eyes.
“Sorry. It’s just–” he pauses, and you can see the blush creep back up his cheeks. “I’ve hardly seen anyone on the roads. And when they do travel, half the time I have to save them from Bokoblins. And you handled that Lynel like it was nothing.”
“Yeah, most people don’t travel, genius.” You wave your hand dismissively. “Too many monsters nowadays. Have you been living under a rock or something?”
“Uhh, not necessarily.” He looks confused. “Maybe? Technically?”
“Do you really not know?” You look him over. He seems well-traveled, if a bit dirty.
“Know what?”
“Dude, where have you been in the past couple of years?” You turn around, pointing towards the castle as you walk backwards. “Couple years ago, the clouds around the castle started growing. The elders all told us it was a bad omen. Course, nobody paid attention until the monsters started multiplying. The towns got less safe. And Blood Moons started happening.”
“Oh. It hasn’t always been like this?”
“Nah. When I was a kid traveling between towns was relatively safe.” You turn back around and look towards the setting sun. Crap. You hadn’t realized how late it was getting. You weren’t going to make it to the stable in time.
“So the monsters are getting stronger?” Link glances back at the castle. There’s something in his gaze you can’t quite decipher.
“Yeah. And bolder. Used to be they wouldn’t get too close to settlements. Now they’ll set up camp within sight of village gates.” You shrug.
“Then why were you going after Lynels? They don’t go near towns. I’ve only ever seen them in the wild.” 
“Those places weren’t always in the middle of nowhere. Lynels are super territorial. If their numbers aren’t controlled, they’ll fight over territory and drive each other closer to villages.” You veer off the path, deciding this patch of trees would be good enough to rest by. The skeletons that rose from the ground were too much of a hassle to deal with. And you were tired.
“Why did you start hunting monsters, though?” He follows you into the small forest.
“Why do you ask so many questions?”
“Sorry.”
“My turn.” You sit cross legged on the ground, leaning your head against your arm. “How come you didn’t know the monsters were getting worse? You from overseas or something?”
“No. I’m from Hyrule.” He puts up his hands defensively. “I’ve just been in a coma for
 a while.”
“Coma? Dang.” You pull some food out of your bag and offer some to him. He takes it. “Well, I’m not sure how things were before you went under, but now we have a little something called personal hygiene. You should try it out sometime.”
You laugh and he looks down at his clothes, as if only now realizing how filthy they are. He raises his arm and sniffs.
“I don’t smell that bad, do I?” he asks.
“Like an Octorok ate you and spit you out.”
“Aw, man.” His shoulders slump, and you have to suppress a giggle.
“Don’t worry, man. It’s nothing some soap and water can’t fix.” You smirk and take a bite of your food. It’s not the greatest, but it’s one of the few foods that travel well.
“I guess. I’ve been so busy I guess I hadn’t noticed.” He grimaces and takes a bite of his own portion. His frown deepens, but if he has an issue with your food he doesn’t say anything.
“Busy with what?” You ask. “Fighting dragons?”
“I was freeing that dragon, thank you very much.”
“Freeing it from what? This life?”
“No!” Link crosses his arms. “I was shooting Ganon’s Malice off it. Now it’s free and can fly around, just like Dinarri and Farosh!”
“Ganon? Don’t tell me you believe those fairy tales.” You snicker. He doesn’t seem to find it funny.
“Fairy tales?” He looks offended. “Calamity Ganon is in the castle right now! Zelda’s been sealing him for the last century!”
“Sure. And Santa comes down your chimney each year.” You scoff.
“How can you not believe me? There are still people alive who remember the calamity!” He’s yelling now. He sure did take it personally.
“Those are just stories grandparents tell kids to get them to behave.” You make your hands into claws, as if telling a spooky story. “You know, ‘Ooh you better eat your vegetables or else Ganon will get you!’”
“What about the champions? Don’t tell me you think they’re fake, too!”
“Of course they existed. I’ve been around Zora’s domain. I know their princess died in Vah Ruta or whatever.” You shrug. “The royal family lost control of their robots and tons of people died. The champions failed to protect their people and perished like almost everyone else. But that’s history.”
“DON’T TALK ABOUT THEM LIKE THAT!” Link slams his hands down and lean towards you threateningly. You lean away, shocked by his outburst. His expression softens as he backs away. His next words are whispered, almost too quiet to hear. “They were heroes. They gave their lives to stop Calamity Ganon. We never could have predicted he would take control of the divine beasts and guardians.” He pushes the bangs out of his face, ruffling his hair in the process.
“I’m sorry ‘we’???” You’re not sure what he’s on about.
Link doesn’t look at you. His bangs fall back in his face, covering his eyes. Without meeting your gaze, he unsheathes his sword.
“Is that–?” You don’t finish your question. The sword has a faint glow, but you can also feel the pure power radiating off of it. There’s only one sword that could be. But that was just a story. A myth that came about after the world fell apart 100 years ago. Surely, this was a trick. Or a strange coincidence?
No. Don’t be foolish. The proof was right in front of you.
Link swings the sword around, putting it back in its sheath. He stands up without another word.
“Hey-!” You jump up. He starts walking away, back to the road, and you need to jog to catch up to him. “Wait up! You can’t just drop that info and leave!”
“I’ve got stuff to do.” He says coldly.
“Yeah, no shit!” You can’t believe it. This was the hero everyone said had failed 100 years ago? Where had he been all this time? Why wasn’t he vanquishing evil or whatever? “If you’re the hero, castle’s in the other direction, my guy! Rescue the princess or whatever and the monster problems we’ve been dealing with will clear up.”
“It’s not that simple.” His hands ball into fists.
“Uhh, pretty sure that blade’s supposed to defeat Calamity Ganon. Go in. Slice his face. Problem solved.”
“I can’t do that yet.” He groans.
“Why not? You’ve got the sword. I saw you fight a dragon and a guardian.” You motion towards the place he had fought the guardian. It’s out of sight now, a few hills between you and the fallen machine, but your point still stands.
“I died! Okay?” Link points to the great plateau. Its cliffs cast a dark shadow in the moonlight. “I spent a century in the Shrine of Resurrection recovering from my last fight against Calamity Ganon. I still haven’t recovered all of my missing memories from before! Without the Divine Beasts, there’s no way I’m winning.”
“Is that what you were doing at Zora’s domain the first time I saw you?” You gasp. “You’re the reason Vah Ruta stopped spouting water everywhere!”
“Yes? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have two more Divine Beasts to free.” He walks faster down the road, trying to put distance between you two. You match his pace.
“You’ll be going after Vah Naboris, right? The Gerudo Desert is this way.” He doesn’t respond. You keep talking. “I don’t usually go into the desert, but some of the Gerudo keep me updated on the Lynels living in the mountains over there. Vah Naboris has been kicking up a sandstorm. With lightning. The only way to get close to it would be to use the Gerudo chief’s lightning-proof hat.”
“Great. I’ll do that.”
“You’ll be turned away at the gate. Gerudo only let women in their city.” You smile smugly. “Let me help.”
“What? Why would I want your help?” Link side-eyes you. “You called my friends and me failures.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” You wince. “But what you’re doing is going to save Hyrule. No more Blood Moons. No more monster attacks. Let me help.”
He’s silent for a long time. You continue walking with him. Then, he smiles. He’s not quite sure why, but you remind him of someone.
“Goddesses, you’re stubborn. Fine.”
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sircantus · 1 month ago
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For your runaway prince wilbur, assuming Phil's the king, would Tommy be part of the rebels therefore on the way of Techno wanting to burn it down or would he be a prince as well?? I'm very curious about the au in general honestly so if you've brainstormed anything else I'd love to hear it!! If you want to ofc
Ok so the au is basically that Wilbur feels very suffocated and alone as a prince and wishes for the free life of being a nobody while playing songs on the road and one day he’s like fuck it im gonna go chase the dream and he runs off from home thinking “eh no one will need me all that much techno is the heir and tommy will be a spare so off i go!” And so he goes tries a life out of the royal environment and surprise to no one he is shit at it but honestly hes never been more alive
And in the meanwhile Phil, the king, who has been kinda really distant and busy lately, checks in with his kids at last and then is like. Oh god im missing one. Why am i missing one. And then both techno and tommy (who had ALSO been busy with their own duties and hardly ever checked up on wil) are like WHAT DO YOU MEAN HES MISSING SURELY WE JUST SAW HIM??
Anyhow wilbur somewhat gets his feet underneath him and learns how to support himself. He still feels a grudge tho for that whole distant royal family stuff so he makes a few songs venting about it to which the people take as “yeah the royal family DOESNT care about us common people you have a point! Hate those guys ugh rich people” Wilbur is at first like wait no thats not the point but people are liking his music here so he kinda rolls with it and starts getting a decent audience who enjoy his music
So now he’s getting these little concerts where he just disses the royal family sometimes and has people rallying around dissing the crown, and word of that reaches the castle of course so phil, still busy with trying to track down his LOST CHILD without causing mass panic to the kingdom is like “techno go take care of that for me” and so techno does. And then finds wil. And is like “i blame everyone here for the fact you went missing and gave me a heart attack for several months” Tommy is entirely on the side of burning the place down. Bro wants blood. Wilbur has to shake his brothers by the shoulders like “PLEASE refrain” and theyre like “:( but they took you from us >:( its treason”
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magnais · 25 days ago
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The more shit changed outside the castle walls, the more glaringly Krovs stayed the same. Magnai found that comforting, in a strange way. Same over-the-top furnishings, same massive outline against the mountains that made him feel like he was sieging the place all over again every time the varcolac travelled that long road up the hill. Some of the same people. That was what kept him coming back, wasn't it? Couldn't trust the many faces coming in and out of the castle doors to stay consistent, no matter how ancient. Couldn't trust the standards of the castle itself not to change either.
Plenty of stories still reached a hunter's ears out in the field, from Krovs and from without, failed attacks and successful promotions and interesting acquisitions. Magnai was mulling those stories over as the night crept up on him, gazing out over the distant snowy peaks from his perch on one of the gardens' benches. He kept an arm slung over the back of the bench, one leg squared to prop his ankle up on the opposite knee, rolling his cigar between two fingers. Stories only revealed so much. To start picking them apart, he needed their characters.
"Cold night," Magnai remarked at the sound of footsteps on the gravel path, a moment's pause before the hybrid slanted his eyes sideways to confirm his guest. His expression changed very little, but there was satisfaction in that stern gaze. Glad to see the servants at least cared enough to play fetch when they were bidden. "I won't keep you long. Just wanted to ask a couple questions..."
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@krovscastlestarters
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syndrossi · 2 months ago
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Resonant Trick or Treat Fill #14: Ser Kelwyn's first impressions
The sight of a dragon flying overhead was rare. In all his years in the Saltpans, Kelwyn could recall half a dozen such flights, each of them humbling to behold. The first two had been the king and queen’s mounts, bronze and silver, some three decades ago. Another two had passed overhead years later, Prince Aemon and Prince Baelon, with the famed Vhagar casting a shadow wide enough to swallow entire houses. Prince Aemon’s mount, the much smaller Caraxes, had seemed a child in comparison.
All dragon sightings since had been the Blood Wyrm, his size growing with the years, though his rider had changed. With Prince Daemon wed to Lady Royce of Runestone, it was not so surprising that his path might occasionally cross over the Saltpans.
This time, however, the Blood Wyrm approached from the northwest, circling slowly. And sharp-eyed guardsmen atop the towers of the Castle Cox had reported signs of smoke—then a small group approaching on foot.
Lord Cox was a canny man who had done much to improve his family’s standing since his father had earned his title supporting King Jaehaerys against Maegor the Cruel. He had swiftly concluded that Prince Daemon must be on foot, perhaps wounded, with company—and the household had set a frenetic pace making preparations for his expected arrival.
And so Kelwyn had been summoned to meet the prince on the road, along with young Ser Stennic, to render any necessary aid. They rode at a brisk pace, Stennic’s neck craning upward every few seconds to take in the dragon flying overhead. Kelwyn did not blame him. They were closer to the dragon than most men would ever be in their lifetime.
As they drew closer to the group on foot, it became clear that Prince Daemon was in the company of children, and Kelwyn wracked his memory for whether the prince had any of his own. He did not think so, but with the way the sun glinted pale silver off the crown of one child’s head, he was beginning to doubt himself.
The other child was injured, he soon realized, the cloth of a splint light against his arm. Prince Daemon was clearly keeping his pace slow so as not to tax the child. Kelwyn glanced past them, to the smoke in the distance.
What happened? Who would dare attack a Targaryen child, much less with his father’s dragon nearby?
When he and Stennic were finally upon them, it was clear that something truly harrowing had transpired. Both children were pale and wary-eyed beneath streaks of soot, their clothing burned in places, though they appeared to have escaped any burns themselves. The dark-haired child’s expression tugged at his heart, one of determination worn thin by pain, the clench of his jaw better suited to a wounded soldier than an innocent child.
Prince Daemon, meanwhile, had the bearing of a man nearing some threshold. One arm held a cloth-wrapped bundle, while his free hand hovered near the hilt of his sword, as though he might draw upon any who drew too close. His hair, even braided, was dull and tangled, suggesting that he had been on the road—or air, Kelwyn supposed—for days on end, without stopping.
Whatever had happened, this would require a delicate touch.
“My prince,” Kelwyn said with a bow from atop his horse. “Lord Cox bids you welcome to the Saltpans, and eagerly extends the hospitality of his keep to you.”
Prince Daemon looked them over, some of that tension easing, though not wholly. “A traitor to the crown rode in this direction, by name of Marten Crayne,” he said tersely. “He kidnapped my sons and fled at my approach. If he has entered the town, I would have him arrested.” He looked toward the pale-haired child. “Can you describe the man?”
A kidnapping? Kelwyn quickly gathered his reeling wits at the revelation, though he was freshly caught off guard by the young prince’s comprehensive description, rattled off with a composure many grown knights would envy. And that after having been rescued from captivity!
Stennic hastened back to the town to carry word of the fleeing kidnapper and his ship. Kelwyn remained behind, unwilling to leave their three unexpected royal guests unguarded after so heinous a plot. Prince Daemon remained on edge, even as he detailed his needs. Kelwyn knew Lord Cox would already be preparing appropriate chambers, and the maester could be spurred into action as soon as they arrived. 
They were still fifteen minutes away on foot, and Prince Daemon had turned down his offer to lend him his horse. His elder son, Jon, had suffered broken ribs during his captivity and could not ride.
So that is why he is not on dragonback. Kelwyn looked up at the red dragon overhead, flying vigilant circles around them. He shook his head then. What lowlife would strike a royal child hard enough to crack ribs?
His offer to take the other child, Raymar, was also refused. Raymar did not appear injured, but the mere suggestion had caused Prince Daemon to reach for the child instinctively. The tale emerged during the walk to town, of the week the young princes had spent as captives of this Marten Crayne, and Prince Daemon’s frantic search from the air.
Thank the gods they were not taken from the Saltpans. Whichever lord had been careless enough in his guard to allow the boys to be taken would surely find himself the target of the king’s displeasure.
The children spoke little after Raymar’s lengthy report, their exhaustion plain. Kelwyn hoped they had suffered no other indignities at the hands of their kidnapper. He would have expected tears and whimpers at the end of such an ordeal, not this eerie, stoic silence.
Kelwyn would have dismissed it as Targaryen strangeness, except that Prince Daemon seemed worried as well, filling the quiet with soothing words, promises of a warm meal and a hot bath, a soft bed. That his voice could be so gentle when his eyes held murder was a feat in itself.
When word arrived that the Dancing Myr had fled ahead of word arriving to detain them, Prince Daemon’s jaw clenched, as though he were swallowing a scream. Overhead, his dragon let out a threatening roar, audible even within the walls of the castle.
Kelwyn found himself in the role of chosen protector, tasked with finding three other worthy souls to stand vigil outside Lady Cox’s former bedchamber. He caught only glimpses of the young princes, the most startling one when the bundle Raymar had carried in his arms throughout the walk, which had been partly obscured by cloth, had been unwrapped to reveal a dragon egg, which Prince Daemon had helped him set beside the fire. And not just one—there was another that must have been what Prince Daemon had been holding in his other arm.
A royal kidnapping, a dragon rescue, and now Castle Cox plays host to three princes and two dragon eggs. It was as though he had stumbled into a minstrel’s song, and Kelwyn had the feeling that the intrigues would not stop there, which meant that his protection would have to extend beyond merely the physical. The attacks on incoming ravens took on a sinister new implication.
The children may not have been kidnapped from here, but we were almost certainly the kidnapper’s intended destination to spirit them away by ship.
Lord Cox’s page was kept busy all throughout the evening as Kelwyn coordinated the search for the fleeing ship, along with any sailors who might have remained behind, while keeping half an eye on the door to the room, which saw servants passing through frequently early on as their royal visitors were fed, then provided baths.
Kelwyn looked in at one point, after the bath water had been lugged away from the large tub, and immediately found himself fixed by a wild stare from Prince Daemon, who had moved a chair near the doorway to set up a watch of his own.
“Is there anything you require, my prince?” Kelwyn asked, keeping his voice low. Glancing past the prince, he could see the two children settled into one of the beds, the blankets pulled up over them. And his gaze could not help but be drawn to the oval shapes of the dragon eggs, dark in front of the fire.
“I shall keep watch from within,” Prince Daemon said, settling back in his chair. His hair was still wild and tangled. He must not have availed himself of the bath. And although he had washed his face, it only made clearer the lines of weariness, the shadows beneath his eyes.
His nerves balance upon the edge of a knife.
From what the prince had shared after supper, it was little wonder. Kelwyn could still scarcely believe that Lady Royce, renowned for her honor and justice, could have carried out such a bold treason. She had not even hidden her children far from where anyone would look—they had been passed off as her own nephews, orphans at the Gates of the Moon.
The king’s brother had lost his wife and learned that he was a father and that his sons had been kidnapped all in a single day. By the looks of it, he had hardly slept since. And after such tireless searching, to find that they had been mistreated so

“We shall let no one through this door,” Kelwyn said, bowing his head.
The words barely seemed to reach Prince Daemon, only a slow nod confirming he had heard them at all, and Kelwyn drew the door to a gentle close.
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aryamistwood · 6 months ago
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Erissa's Dolls (ALL LOCATIONS)
SPOILER'S AHEAD! If you don't want any hints about today's story update, keep scrolling! If you need help, well, keep reading!
There is no particular order you need to collect these, but I've tried to group them in a way that makes a decent path if you want to repeat collecting them daily
SOUTH HOOF
The Life Warden Tree
MOORLAND
Doyle's Abby
Pyramid Runestone at Camp Jorvik
Mrs. Holdsworth's house outside the left fence
NILMER'S HIGHLAND
By the Circus tent
EPONA
The path leading to Guardian's Dale, just before the campfire
Side of the road by Old Dew's Farm going towards Mirror Marshes where we faced off against the Dark Riders and Anne opened the portal
Near the Sunflowers going towards Fort Maria Library
JORVIK STABLES
In the sunflower field where Erissa attacked Maya
FORGOTTEN FIELDS
The NEW Life Warden Tree
GOLDENLEAVES/HILLS
The gate to Pi's Swamp
SILVERGLADE
By the castle
VALEDALE
Along the Silversong River where we opened the blackholes with Anne
Outside the Secret Stone Circle
VALLEY OF THE HIDDEN DINOSAUR
At the path blocker to Ashland
WILDWOODS
At the Sentinel Tree (Erissa's Prison)
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goodqueenaly · 28 days ago
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Hello and I hope you are well. Not sure if this is a weird question but, putting aside the Red Wedding, do you think Robb and Jeyne’s marriage would have had any long term implications for the Westerlands in Robb’s campaign or kingdom? Obviously Robb and Catelyn didn’t know about Sybell communicating with Tywin but I wonder if they saw the Westerlings as politically exiled from the Westerlands, or that they could expect a continued involvement in that region?
As Robb, Catelyn, and the Lannister faction all realized, the Westerlings might be charitably described as minor players in Westerlands politico-dynastic scene. Catelyn’s first reaction to hearing that Robb brought Westerlings with him back on his western campaign was that the family was “[a] minor house sworn to the Lannisters”. While Robb tried to defend his new wife’s blue-blood credentials (perhaps, though unconsciously, just like his aunt Lyanna), he also glumly admitted that Jeyne’s martial dowry was comprised of no more than “fifty” swords and “[a] dozen knights”. Tyrion was himself so stunned that Robb “threw away the Freys for 
 [sic]” that “[w]ords failed him” - a reflection of how comparatively poor and unimportant the Westerlings were among aristocrats. Indeed, as Tyrion thereafter reflected, “[t]he Westerlings were old blood” but “had more pride than power”, as their “mines had failed years ago, their best lands had been sold off or lost, and the Crag was more ruin than stronghold”. Worse (certainly in the eyes of the violently classist Tywin and Kevan), the current generation of Westerlings was (again, according to them) tainted by the “doubtful blood” of Sybell Spicer’s foreign and mercantile family origins. Small wonder that Tyrion concluded that “[t]he Westerlings stood to lose everything here; their lands, their castle, their very lives” - an assumption only proven wrong here by the treachery already in motion which had been planned between Sybell and Tywin.
The relatively minor standing of the Westerlings in the Westerlands aristocracy only compounded what both Robb’s and Tywin’s camps saw as the political folly of the Young Wolf’s marriage to Jeyne. As he and Brynden Tully hotly lectured Edmure in the same chapter in which Catelyn learned of her son’s marriage, Robb’s plan in the Westerlands was “to run Lord Tywin a merry chase up and down the coast, then slip behind him to take up a strong defensive position athwart the gold road”, forcing Tywin either to “come at us there” and “[pay] a grievous price” or “not attack” and be “trapped in the west, a thousand leagues from where he needed to be”. The end goal, in Robb’s mind, was to allow “Lord Stannis 
 to fall upon King’s Landing”, thereby “rid[ding] us of Joffrey, the queen, and the Imp in one red stroke”, ultimately allowing Robb “to make a peace” with the new Baratheon government. Robb was not trying to conquer the Westerlands, or bring it as an imperial province under the direwolf banner; his campaign in the west had the specific end of fatally undermining the Baratheon-Lannister regime, the better to position his own government for treating with the Iron Throne as Robb returned to the North to retake his home.
So Robb, as he and those around him judged, neither should have wanted nor would have benefited from a politico-nuptial association with the Westerlings. As comparatively poor aristocrats with only a good name and ancient credentials (contaminated, in the eyes of deeply classist Westerosi, by Lord Gawen’s marriage to a spicemonger’s granddaughter), the Westerlings could not offer Robb the wealth or political strength necessary to defy the Baratheon-Lannister regime on their own (as Catelyn ruefully mused, wondering why, if Robb “had to fall into a woman's arms 
 why couldn't they have been Margaery Tyrell's?”). As the new in-laws of the Young Wolf, notorious (and notoriously successful) rebel against the Baratheon-Lannister regime, the Westerlings would have (Sybell’s plotting notwithstanding) expected no aid or mercy from their Lannister overlords, or their similarly sworn neighbors, from the marriage. As landholders in the Westerlands, the Westerlings represented a tie to a region Robb had already militarily retreated from, to which he had no strategic incentive to return. So far as anyone could see, Robb had wed only for his heart (or, more crudely, his lust) rather than his head; the Westerlings gained him nothing either immediately or for the future.
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