#scetches were better

[shtoproishoditemae]

Drew this instead of doing homework🙄 University starts in five days im gonna get killed

Whatever

[zelda-the-sacred-realm]

I love the way you've designed Midna! are there any scetches of a full character design for her?

I'm glad you like my Midna design, I currently have only the front view ready, the rest were drafts that are not super understandable so I prefer to finish them and publish this page in full later.

But the front view is already complete enough to better understand her design. When I have finished the rest I will definitely publish it!

Thanks for the request and I hope you like it! 💖🥰

[quicksilverdrabbles]

Hunter: *staring at an empty snare dangling from a branch* Another snare looted without a sound.

Hunter (2): How many does that make this week?

Hunter: Fifth? And it's only Middas.

Hunter (2): Wolves, I reckon.

Hunter: You’d think wolves were too stupid to go near our traps. Couldn’t be a bear either, we set repellent. Whatever it is, it's been evading all our traps.

Hunter (2): Think someone’s been taking our kills?

Hunter: Ain’t no bandits ‘round these parts.

Hunter (2): You never know. Damn vagrants are everywhere these days.

*Distant Howling*

Hunter: Well I’ll be damned, maybe it really is wolves.

Hunter (2): Hm… *looks over at the empty snare* What say we set up a different sort of trap?

Hunter: … Go on.

~

Hunter: This better work, for the kill we’re wasting on this.

Hunter (2): Better to waste one kill than lose every other kill in the hold to this beast. Now shut it, here it comes.

*The hunters watch as a small, solid white wolf stalks through the undergrowth, sniffing around before spotting the dead elk caught in the snare high above its head*

Hunter: A white wolf? Wait, what if it’s a Beast of Hircine?

Hunter (2): Hircine’s children make their own kills, not steal them, ye dolt.

*The wolf’s ears perk up at the sound of voices, lowering its head and staring straight into the bushes where the hunters are hiding, trying to decide if it had actually heard anything or not. After a moment, it directs its attention back to the elk, cocking its head to the side as it debates on how to get it down*

Hunter: Are we sure this is even the same wolf? It doesn’t look like it knows how to get it down.

Hunter (2): Just wait, for Gods’ sake.

*In a flash of light, the wolf disappears, replaced by a small sparrow, which flies up to the branch holding the snare. The sparrow becomes a squirrel and begins munching away at the rope*

Hunter: … Are you seeing what I’m seeing?

Hunter (2): I don’t even know what I’m seeing.

*With a quiet snap, the rope comes loose and the elk drops to the ground in a heap. The first hunter starts like he’s about to leave the bush, but the second stops him. The squirrel clambers back down the tree and resumes its original form of a wolf, grabbing a leg of the elk in its jaw and beginning to drag it away*

Hunter: *trying to jerk free of his partner’s grip* It’s getting away with our kill!

Hunter (2): *yanks him back* Wait! We don’t know what that thing is! For all we know, it could turn into a sabre cat and then we’d be in trouble.

Hunter: But-!

*As the wolf passes a tree, its form is replaced with a small, humanoid figure completely covered in furs and mud, dragging the elk through the forest slowly. Soft, fearful whispers fall from their mouth as they try to escape*

???: I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…

Hunter (2): Huh? It became a kid..

Hunter: Should we grab it?

Hunter (2): Mm.. Wait here. *stands and walks out of the bush towards the child*

Hunter: What?! What about what you just-

Hunter (2): Oi, ‘scuse me-

???: *gasps, head darting up and staring at the man in fear. Bright turquoise eyes pierce through the man before she turns and darts off, abandoning the elk and disappearing behind a tree*

Hunter (2): Lass..? H-Hey wait, we’re not gonna hurt ya’!

*The hunter runs after the shifter, trying to follow as she becomes a small white mouse scrambling through the undergrowth*

Hunter: Oh, for the love of-.. Oi, Scetch! Wait up!

~

*The forest gives way to the valleys of The Reach as Scetch follows the mouse until she is cornered at a river’s edge*

Scetch: *out of breath, almost too tired to keep following her* Stop already! I keep saying I’m not gonna hurt ye!

*The mouse skitters in a few different directions before finally giving up and shifting back into a girl, crouched on the ground and staring up at the man in fear*

???: P-Please don’t- I’m sorry, I didn’t want to take your f-food but I don’t know how to hunt and-

Scetch: Wasn’ my food, anyways. *hunches over and tries to regain his breath* Jeez, yer a quick one.

Hunter: Scetch! *running a few yards behind, noticeably out of breath and stamina*

Scetch: Ah, Periel. Hold now, lad, we don’t want to hurt her.

Periel: Maybe you don’t! She’s been stealing our hard earned kills!

Scetch: All we were gonna do was sell ‘em. She doesn’ know how to hunt. *focuses on the girl again, jolting when he sees tears streaming down her cheeks and clearing the mud caked on her face* Gods, yer filthy. On your own, lass?

*The girl whimpers, taking a step back and shrieking when the dirt beneath her heel crumbles into the river below*

Periel: Ay, watch it! *runs forward and grabs her arm, pulling her away from the river. Her hood falls off at the motion, revealing pale blue hair and long pointed ears*

???: NO! Let me go, please!

Periel: Calm down already, for Gods’ sake!

*She freezes at his angry tone, closing her eyes tight like she’s expecting to be hit*

Scetch: *rubbing at his temples with a frustrated expression* Divines save me. Periel, let her go. *steps forward as his partner backs away, kneeling down to be eye level with the girl* Aye there, lass. Sorry for scaring you. Name’s Scetch. And yours?

???: *opens her eyes, shrinking in on herself as the man gets closer* A- *hic-* A-Aris…

Scetch: Aye, beautiful name for a beautiful lass. Live around here?

Aris: … I-I don’t know..

Scetch: Any family?

Aris: *looks down at the ground, sniffling quietly* M-Mama.. But I.. I-I don’t know.. Where she is.. She left.. A long time ago. Before winter started. S-She said she would be back before our crops died but then they died and she didn’t come back and there wasn’t any food left for me to eat so I panicked and starting thinking she might not come back-

Periel: Hey now, calm yourself, lass. Breathe.

Aris: *takes a deep breath, exhaling with a soft sob* I-I came to look for her.. But I’ve.. never been outside before.. And I don’t know where she went. A-And I was hungry.. I saw dead things in the trees, hung by ropes. I didn’t think it belonged to anyone until I saw you in the forest.. I-I’m sorry..

Scetch: *exchanges a glance with Periel before looking back at Aris* No harm done, lass. Most prey we catch in those snares was to sell, anyways. We ain’t going hungry for that.

Aris: S-Sell..?

Periel: You’ve never been outside at all, you said?

Aris: N-Not outside the grove where me and Mama lived.. And I.. d-don’t remember how to get back.

Periel: Well that’s a problem, innit.

Scetch: Sure is. *looks up at the dusk sky, noting the sun dipping low to the west* How ‘bout this, lass. We’re goin’ to Helgen in few days’ time. We can ask around for your mother there.

Aris: H… Helgen? *looks between the two hunters nervously* Will.. there be Nords there?

Scetch: Nords?

Aris: Mama says.. Nords are dangerous. Kill everything they don’t like.

Periel: Hah! Depending on the Hold, she’s not wrong.

Scetch: There’ll be Nords. But they ain’t much the killing type. We’ll keep ye safe.

Aris: *frowns* … You promise?

Periel: *chuckles, reaching forward and ruffling her hair gently* We promise.

Scetch: Let’s get back to camp before it gets too

dark. We’ll get some proper food in ye, lass.

Aris: O-Okay..! *stands straight, adjusting her hood back over her head* I’ve only eaten leeks for months.

Periel: Egh, sounds horrible. How ‘bout some’a my famous beef stew?

Scetch: It’s hardly edible, much less famous.

Periel: You just have poor taste! It’s impossible for a Breton to make bad food!

Scetch: Keep tellin’ yerself that.

Aris: *walking between the two hunters as they bicker on the way back to their camp, her gaze darting between the two depending on who was speaking. Her gloved hands fidget nervously in front of her*

Periel: Oh, and by the way… *turns his gaze down towards Aris* I don’t mean to be rude, kid, but what sort of elf are you? I had you figured for a Wood Elf until I saw your hair.

Aris: O-Oh, um… *she reaches up and pulls her hood further over her head* I’m not allowed to say. Mama says people don’t like us.

Scetch: High Elf?

Aris: No..

Periel: Dark Elf?

Aris: No..?

Scetch: Well that’s all the elves I know in Skyrim.

Unless you’re a Maormer. Although it’s typically Maormer that hate everyone else, from what I know. *laughs, patting her hooded head* Alright, keep yer secrets. Is that why yer covered in mud?

Aris: K-Kind of.. The mud makes it easier to hide.. Things see me easier without it.

Periel: Figures. Your hair alone is as bright as the stars.

Aris: Mm…

Scetch: Ah, well, let’s keep moving. Get some food in ye before we figure out what to do next, yeah?

Aris: … Okay.

[thefandomtraveler]

Everything I liked about Shadow and Bone season 2 (warning: much comments about the crows + fangirling about the cast):

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2!!!

- first off all the new characters are amazing, I'm in love with Nikolai, still not over how perfect Jack is as Wylan, and Tolya and Tamar were so god damn cool I can't

- also everyone looked so good

- loved the whole part where they were in Bhez Ju (and the story about Sankta Neyar)

- Freddy Carter I bow down to you that performance was amazing, seriously I couldn't picture a better kaz

- also Daisy was so good too, like I was crying everytime she was on screen

- and basically everyone else, I'm so amazed by this whole cast, they really all brought these characters to life

- while wesper pining is like one of my favourite things in the books, i still really enjoyed what they did in the show

- just Wylan looking at Jesper like he is the only person that matters

- Jesper's reaction to Wylan playing piano had me smiling like an idiot

- AND THE KISS i gasped so loud... i was giggling and kicking my feet in the air and had to replay the scene

- also kanej was everything this season, we got so many scenes from the books and more (really glad they didn't kiss, though... netflix really had me worried at some points that it would happen)

- Nina Zenik was amazing the whole time, just her comments and looks whenever Kaz was being an idiot

- helnik had me in chokehold

- Kaz' reaction at wesper kissing was so funny (also not him cockblocking them in the morning, a really Kaz thing to do + Jesper's "No!" had me rolling)

- "I kinda like your face." just let me die here and now

- Tolya talking about poetry and him helping wesper

- Jesper realizing he HAS met Wylan before, only when he was LAYING ON TOP OF HIM... in the middle of a FIGHT

- Wylan talking about butterflies while everyone is dying, please he just wanted to tell Jesper they are so cute

- Jesper meeting his mother again I CRIED

- just Kaz' whole backstory, already hung on every page when I read it, my emotions were all over the place seeing it on screen

- Kaz talking to Pekka Rollins, just that whole performance deserves an Oscar thank you

- literally every fight scene

- first meeting of Nikolai and Kaz/Jesper (and Kaz figuring Nikolai out SO FAST and him side eyeing Jesper)

- Jesper calling Kaz his brother... this show wants me dead

- Nina and Inej friendship

- Jesper in a Kilt for like half of the season

- Nikolai revealing who he really is had me on the floor, i love that man so much (also Alina punching him in the face for keeping it a secret lol)

- Alina being a badass queen. That's it.

- felt so bad for Mal this season, my man was really going through it damn

- Ben Barnes' performance as the darkling was so good, but we already knew that

- Genya and David had my heart... I was already emotional every time they were on screen together but when Genya found the ruby and the scetch of the ring I was bawling my eyes out

- everytime Genya and Alina hugged

- Tamar and Nadia just being happy lesbians in the background, good for them (wish we would have seen more of them)

- just every Tolya and Tamar interaction (especially the hug when Tolya came back), also wished we could have seen more them

- Jesper hugging Inej and twirling her around (they are best friends i love them so much)

- the whole sequence of Alina and Mal at the end destroying the fold

- Matthias seeing the wolves and feeding them + the scene at the end where he doesn't fight against them and they stand next to him instead

- the difference between Nina telling everyone Matthias is the love of her life and him being in hellgate, having the worst time of his life, because he hates her but also really doesn't

- Inej killing the shadow monsters with the sword (what a queen)

- Zoya just being herself

- "And how will you have me?", that whole scene had me holding my breath....

- "I will have you without your armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I won't have you at all." screaming into my pillow

- Jesper shouting "That's my man!" when Wylan threw the bomb at the shadow monsters (+ him saying that they don't have to put a label on it just after realizing what he said)

- Jesper trying to figure out how to get things right with Wylan (and failing rip)

- Wylan and Jesper standing in the background holding eachother after they talk and make things right

- Wylan trying to hide the fact that he is the son of one of the richest man in Ketterdam

- and him trying to convince Kaz that it isn't Alby's fault, who his father is because Wylan knows how that feels

- Genya looking for David's heartbeat

- David telling Genya she does not need to be fixed

- Baghra casually breaking out of her prison, because really, what did Kirigan thought? Leaving her and Genya without a supervisor and assuming she would sit still in her cage... really wasn't his smartest move

- "Someday, someone is going to sweep you off your feet so hard, you won't know what hit you." / "I could fix him." I can't WAIT for Zoyalai (if we ever get another season)

- Jordie and little Kaz 🥺

- Nina getting waffles and Kaz giving her a look of pure confusion

- also their whole interaction at the tea shop

- Inej not being able to leave Kaz after him panicking

- Wylan telling the others he wants to know the plan too and then crossing his arms (i'm sorry babes all you do is looking adorable we need to work on that one)

- "You guard against pain. You guard against joy. But when you allow yourself to be blindsided by love... two hearts make a universe" her whole speech had me in tears

- Neyar and Jesper's talk about his powers and that he has a lot to catch up to

- over all him slowly accepting who he is and not wanting to hide anything (including Wylan)

- Wesper healthy communication is all I needed actually, they mean so much to me you don't understand

- Wylan and Jesper breaking into that landhouse and pretending to want to fix the piano

- Nina getting the information about the office so easily and Kaz being impressed (i love her)

- Wylan looking away whenever he smiles

- "What you did back there, made you a Crow" and "When was the last time you ate"... Kaz Brekker you aren't beating those dad crow allegations

- the moment when you think Nina actually betrayed Kaz but then realise it was the plan all along because obviously, it's Kaz Brekker

- Tolya and Nina bonding over food (mood)

- Wylan being so offended when Jepser calls him a total stranger (i'd be too tbf)

- "Are you worried about me Jesper Fahey?"

- the scene of Baghra and Kirigan where she sacrifices herself (I really like that this scene shows that there is still something human about the Darkling)

- "My demolitions expert." / "Expert? I mean, yes, expert." Never change Wylan

- Nikolai and Dominik bromance

- Tolya and Tamar knowing the other is there and alive by their necklaces

- Jesper embracing his grisha powers

- Inej and Zoya fighting together is something I didn't know I needed

- the five of crows joke

- the parallel of Matthias seeing Nina in the beginning of the season and ignoring her vs both of them screaming eachother's names while being dragged away at the end

- Mal and Nikolai just getting along and trusting eachother

- the teasers about Jurda Parem, the ice-court heist and Sankta Lizabeta

[thecatfarm]

So, is the ability to draw talent, or skill?

I actually know it's not talent, for the following reason:

I've had this debate with an acquaintance that insisted I have talent he did not posess. He proceeded to try and prove this by showing me a scetch of some boats he did a few days back, saying "see how horrible they are? I have 0 talent, as opposed to you".

I couldn't contain my laughter. The boats he thought were horrid, and proof of his no talentness? They looked EXACTLY THE SAME as the boats I had drawn, 20 years before, when I was just starting out drawing. Like, literally, exactly the same.

I found my early boats and showed him. He was baffled.

The "talent" he was observing, wasn't an innate skill -it was the *20 years* I've spent, between then and now, drawing again, and again, and again, until my boats started looking better, and better.

I keep saying: what people think is talent is, instead, the brain liking the feeling of drawing, and doing it again and again, until, unavoidably, skills develop, that, to the outside observer, look like talent.

And, that skill can be honed by doing other stuff than drawing, too, like, consuming other art, observing nature up close, enjoying the feeling of touching/playing with paint (even if you dont actually paint/draw with them), training your hand-eye coordination (by playing video games, even), learning composition through filmmaking/photography, learning anatomy by being a medic/doctor -and myriads of other ways.

We can all do it.

It just takes a lot of time.

[undertaleiinspiration]

You were my everything and all that you did was make me f*cking sad

Scetch, maybe I'm even making an animation out of it? I certainly have something in mind (click Pic for better quality)

[midava]

Gojo Satoru x reader

The last thing you think of was how you get into this situation. Not that you must destroy a curse, but your whole team was dead. Their blood everywhere: at the walls, floor, curse and you.

Now running to find strategic place to attack the curse. The cursed creature was right behind you, trying to catch in one of its hands wich it succesed by grabing your wrist. Really thight grip appeard on your whole hand causing you to stop runing and kick in the curse to try get away from it.

Your hand was half way of its mouth. You start harder to kick and punch in try to weakned the curse, but it was futile fight for you. Everyone you can count on was now dead and you are only by yourself.

The curse throw you on floor. Now the creature is on you. Its mouth few cenitmetres away from your head, still trying to get closer to bite, but this bite will be last thing you will remeber when it does.

The kicks were too weak to hit the creature well to made it to go back of. With your free hand you reach for your knife for the worst cases, guess this one of this cases.

With the last strenght you had you stabbed its palm when it reached for your hand do grab it. Your knife was stabbed in its palm trough. Some dark luqid wich was imitating blood was now on your face and uniform.

The crearture squaled in pain and one hand was gone from your body, now was on a row a whole creature. When it was focused on the stabbled palm and kife in it you punch its jaw really hard. That hard you heard crack of its jaw bone and teeths.

Now it was down off you, running to find some hide away from you, but the noice was quickly gone... too quicky, you didn´t want to belive that the curse hide in five seconds.

Standing up and scetching your back from previous harsh treatment made your body support it on a wall. When you straighten up to find in lie dead on the floor. Eyes trying to find any clue saw someones legs.

When you look up to see who it is made your eyes wide. Long posture standing with confidence, blindfold on mans eyes, white hair up. Gojo sensei take down the curse.

,,I walk trough and heard some screams here and then i was here seeing you on the floor with curse on you. It was really incerdible fight Y/n," smirk appered on his face like it was some kind of compliment."

Confuse from Gojo being here turned into sadness. Tears run down your cheeks, sobbing at memory of your team. ,,H-how you can say this after what it did to my team?!" scream only made sadness into anger. Anger on yourslef... and Gojo.

He realized this isn´t time for teasing. He slowly walk to you, but you didn´t notice that. You were to focused on things what you could do and what you didn´t. Angry scream was out of your mouth while your fist was ready hit the wall next to you, but it did hit something different.

It hit Gojos shoulder. You look up at him with scared look on your face. His blidfold was down, his ocean blue eyes were on you, but they were full of... full of understanding like he know this from his own experience.

He hugged you, with no try to resist him. ,,I know how this feels, but regret doesn´t help and being angry at your self either," you sobbet at his words: ,,So what I am suppsed to do when i let my team die?" New tears formed in your eyes, but they soaced in Gojos shirt.

He breathed in before answering: ,,Good and only way is deal with it," You wanted say something aganst his words, but he doesn´t let you. ,,I know it hurts and it can took some time, but trust me. When you deal with that, everting will be a little bit better,"

You let your tears soac again in his shirt. He uses his ability to teleport get you out of that place. Now in front of your room at jujutsu high you two stand. Gojo still hugging you. He took you inside.

Putting you slowly on your chair. He thought that you would want to be alone, but your reaction surprise him... pleasently surprise him. Thight grib on his shirt letting no excuse for him to leave you. ,,Please I don´t want to be alone now,´´ Your voice was like a whisper.

He sighed, but he was glad that you want his company: ,,Don´t worry I stay when you want to," his arms hugged you. All night he was up trying to calm you. At early mornong hours you fall asleep from exhaustion, but it wasn´t only that. Gojo made you feel safe after you nearly died on mission.

It doesn´t seem like, but he cares about you and now he is gonna make sure that you are always going on missions with him, because he can always protect you. Thats why he is the strongest. He is strongest for you.

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

Authors note: Hii, like always I hope you enjoy this oneshot!<3 Please write in the comments some of your ideas or wishes on some specific characters.

With love, Mantao.

[esmedalma]

What are your favorite asoiaf arts you’ve done?

Oh, it was fun going through my old stuff for this ask.

This Catelyn/Lysa piece is one of my personal favorites and it's one of the two of my own drawings that are hanging on my wall:

It's got almost everything I like to draw: red hair, water and leaves. Both of their hair represents their demise in some way, Catelyn with the scars on her face and throat and Lysa's madness (and there's the mockingbird).

Others that I like, this Sansa one is an unusual style for me.

Loved drawing these for the fashions. Arianne's outfit is based on Persian clothing, Margaery's on Italian Renaissance, her hairdress was the reason for the drawing.

I also like this old Elia & Rhaenys one:

And this recent one for Elia Week, she's one of those characters I pretty much always want to draw happy.

This one for Sansa Week was one of the quickest things I've drawn that I have posted here. I pretty much drew it as I went on in one sitting, so if I could change something on it, it would be the top small windows. But as I was drawing them, the big windows were supposed to have some geometrical patterns (then Jaehaerys and Alysanne, until I had a thought about the Vale).

I'm also very fond of the Sansa & Arya drawing for Inktober last year, especially since the original got stained. One of the reasons to keep an artblog, so I'll have my scetches stored in better conditions.

Now that I have these two side by side I can see I've made some progress with my backgrounds. I used to hate doing them and I have that generic snowfall in many of my drawings because of it :D

I'll use up the tumblr picture limit and end with a happy Sansa & Jeyne. I remember thinking while drawing this one that does Westeros even have the concept of angels. Maybe they are making snow harpies.

[bthump]

All right, the results of the “should berserk continue” survey are in.

Honestly lol I found myself nodding along to all of these responses, even the ones that contradict the other ones. Everyone’s made great points here. Thanks for answering anon’s question!

@silver-haired-dreams

I’d love it to continue tbh. I would just hope the staff followed whatever Miura had planned. The exhibit had an interview with Miura where he talked about his plans for the end of Berserk (with the RPG group ending and Guts facing Griffith several times and Skullknight as well (!!!) ) so it’s clear Miura knew the ending (I mean any creative writer involved in a long form story most likely has a plan for how the story will end.) It really depends how they can best avoid bias with the characterizations. I think his assistants were people Miura entrusted and they shared his vision. They weren’t randoms he found off the street. Another thing I’ve heard suggested is to bring on Mori, Miura’s lifelong best friend who he based Guts and Griffith’s relationship on. Apparently they talked every week and Miura would tell him in detail his plans for Berserk. I’d rather have someone who understood Miura as a person and his characters (with actual writing talent) than any random mangaka. I think the assistants are very capable with the art and releases might even speed up if they take over.

***

@deselegant asked:

i'm pretty much on the same page as you regarding the continuation of berserk. like, having more content and also reaching the end of the story would be great, but at the same time there's the looming possibility the assistants would misunderstand the characters and that could impact heavily on the outcome of the manga and also fandom's perception of the characters (i know that ship has already sailed, but y'know, maybe it could get worse. especially now we've ended on a positive(? at least in my opinion) note and the fandom was actually having productive conversation). it is a pity we don't know if miura left notes, bc maybe the assistants would continue writing the story in a way that most of the fandom would like, which means (shudder) guts, casca & mb ending up as a happy, boring family. like, not even a bittersweet ending. also, the art probably would take a hit without miura there to storyboard it, and the way miura drew the manga was v important to the storytelling of berserk.

regardless, even if it did continue, i wouldn't think of anything beyond this last chapter as canon, bc it wasn't written by miura (maybe unless they were following a script left by him), and i imagine (hope) the rest of the fandom wouldn't as well, so there's that.

***

Anonymous asked:

Follower here! I'm... Fine with them continuing it. I'd prefer if they didn't, honestly a lot of Berserk was Miura's writing and I worry if a new Mangaka, Or an assistant continuing things, would be able to preserve that. It's ultimately up to them, and they would know Miura's wishes better than I would.

However if they do, I don't think I'm going to consider anything after this canon, or at least not fully canon in the same way.

***

Anonymous asked:

My ideal to be honest would be the release of some sort of manuscript or other piece of writing where Miura scetched out his ideas for the rest of the story. I do not want another artist to continue the manga. It just feels weird, never liked it when reading the last books of The Wheel of Time which another author had written after the original author had died.

***

Anonymous asked:

re: berserk continuing i honestly kinda dont want it to now. it's sure as fuck not a satisfying or conclusive ending but i just feel like it was so tonally appropriate as an ending considering the circumstance. griffith meets with guts and casca and is able to feel "warmth" one last time, but he can't keep it, and he comes out of it bereft, longing for something he'll never have again, maybe not quite ready to say goodbye just yet after all. but we know he has no choice, it's already over. which is admittedly pretty fucking close to how i was feeling the whole time to be honest lol. it's perfect

***

Anonymous asked:

I think that I'd be okay w/ Berserk continuing if Kouji Mori did the writing. He's Miura life-long best friend, a mangaka (I haven't read his works but apparently they're p good?) and a consultant for Berserk, and Miura based Griffith and Guts' relationship on their friendship. Him and Miura talked all the time and he probably has the best understanding of Miura's vision for the manga. Also ngl it'd be kinda poetic if Berserk was written by the two people behind Griffith and Guts.

[shivanessa]

"Peter I want you to draw me, wearing this."

Peter's eyes were still focused on the obscene large diamond in his hand.

"Allright."

Tony watched him from the side, his eyes sliding over the jawline to Peter's slightly parted lips. 

"Wearing only this…" 

The young man blinked. When his gaze met Tony's the jewel in his hand was forgotten, replaced by a way more tempting sight. Suddenly Peter was aware how close they were, Tony right next to him, so close that his breath ghosted over the younger man's face. 

He swallowed. 

When Tony laid down on the sofa Peter had placed in the middle of the room for better light, he was a tad nervous. It wasn't that he had never been naked in front of somebody else before. But to show himself to Peter, to be aware that he wasn't young anymore, it was… difficult. But Peter, as soon as his scetching material was at hand, transformed from a slightly flustered young man to an professional. His eyes that slid over Tony's frame weren't lewd or lascivious, but studying a piece of art. 

"Put your hand above your head. Yeah… like that."

Tony's breath caught in his throat. His lips were so dry under Peter's intense gaze and he wetted them nervously. Then the scratching of coal on paper indicated that he was to hold his position. 

His eyes met Peter's from time to time, but the young artist wasn't really seeing him. Or maybe he saw him like nobody else had ever before. Truly him. With all his flaws and sharp angles. And still… his eyes had this reverent gaze, as if he was pinning down true beauty to the page. For the first time in ages Tony felt a slight blush on his cheeks. 

'What are you doing to me, Peter Parker?' 

For this boy he was willing to throw his previous life over board. 

[screechingtrashcalzonewombat]

"Apopalictic Astral Asending" Reavaluate disassociate my self worth...

The galaxies have birthed an uncontrollable being ....

I've feel as tho Ive seen myself split in two ..

Witch side do u wanna see if ur lucky I'll let you choose .

Cause in the end I loose..

One of hate one of love could both be from up above..

Or down below ...

I've began to show signs of delusions as half my mind goes an tells me it's only mild confusion. As my body fights my brain an heart to escape theys terrible illusions.

Yet the other half tries to start a fusion of body an mind an all the suddently my thoughts are no longer mine..

But a evil so Divine that its wound it's way threw time itself I've fealt the damage the energy dealt. I've yelped in anquish an pain been stuck for 7 long years in the rain with nothing to gain .. I can barely fathom to explain im not fully on earth I'm on another astral plane but i fear i flew out of my lane I've gone insane never wanted fame Ever fealt like bat man I mean oops Bruce Wayne. Nah fuck hes spoiled a wet rat infact I'm more like hulk duck when I'm near i wearly see I'm drowning inside my mind but no one can hear my dear I fear I've lost control again but cant compute I've been booted out of the system I've clawed hit an kicked to try to get to the top but i outta of known I've been ripped an thrown from my throne ive been shown what this beast can do but who woulda thought a demon bought my soul ..a jackal a goul.....you'll see me shift into numbness I suposse it was my own dumbness for being to open now cause of me my body an mind are broken an stole. as I weep an shutter an i try to speak but only stutter I found myself weak in defeat ....as ik this demon reaching its peak will plunder an pillage the town I've found I'm bound to this beast nowhere to run not north south or east I can run it will feast on my soul until the end of time ..

For diamonds cannot compare to the rarity of a soul nor a bowl of Ruby's an jems rolled in gold .....

A bold statement you say........

.. theres no ray of light here they stole it away buried it in your mind but how can u define being locked trapped in yourself ...

You've dealt your own fate ...

Wanting ansers u dint deserve ..

Did you like your just dessert's...no?

Dose it hurt ..... After you itll kill children's childhood freinds like bernie & eart ....whent bizzirk an bashed there brains makeing bloody rains

curking on everyone with cutlery forks an knifes* slice *cook big bird with chives after I've shanked him 900 times... 100 more woulda been devine serve him drink to dry alone cooked an ripped him to the bone but not quite alone u may not be home inside but u can still watch...I thought I taught u better than to close ur eyes dont beg or look surprised look away an I'll adopt another stray to do the same a slow sweet death cure's my hunger anyway

.the wines innocents blood bitter sweet to the taste of the tounge

no one thought it capable I seemed...looked ...so young..

They dint know it had just begun it wasn't me but the evil half committing crime with glee an fleeing repetavidly revealingly images to my mind of times & crimes so sickening I thought I'd die forever scetched seered into my mind .binded with no power as one towers over you using your power you cowar for how dose one define the disasbalment of there an every defined mind while ur inner demon dines on flesh making a mess of your vessel you cant even wrestle your way to the light to stay only break down in defeat that your so far away you've became an internal mess cant even stand on ur feet the beast has u chained in defeat u cry an apologize looking for answers as of how to stop.....an then...you hear a voice .." you outta stayed silent instead of talk back. U shouldn't of complained do u still think ur life used to be pain...... . Ur a sack of shit ur wit is less than that of an ant not to rant but I'm not done yet I have ur soul now I'm never letting go no no no I have plenty more so much to show many souls to reap an emotions to subdue after all u said yes.....

...did you forget ur the one who started this.

mess ......you dressed your mind with fantasy an fiction word to the wise never mess with other worldly friction an your itching for a way out but I doubt ull get there before the end of time .after all you had a devil an an angel on ur shoulder an you chose wrong this time. Only took 666 times but I'm patient an always waiting for 6 years hating an burning flesh waiting for a prayer a call after all Lucifer was once an angel an the most beautiful you just dint get to see from what angle he had beauty wrath an determination but u humans resulted in his isolation incarsorason. So now we will end up being humanity's enialation when were done there entire selves with evaporate for the demons have released self hate to pro create creatures in confidence we annihilate the fate of the human race at least the trace slight like us able to bust threw dementions so weve mentioned a start to find the inordinary soul an heart ......humanity was doomed from the start.. you stole our purpose our reason to be......humans sit in sin an glee.

Your humanitys Pride is overbearing never genuinely caring ..

Greed is sweeping the nation its reached ever state an it's got a hot heaping plate of corruption for mankind's consumption greed is grotesque in its steps of the darkest quest to corupt ur mind an want. .want..want until that's all you are is wanting more

Lusting over losely draped garments you've tarnished ur soul .

Envy of what you do not posses but for all you know that information an life would make you a mess but ud still test ur envious tendencies.....

Glutton glutton what have you gained it's not knowledge no for it's to plain rather glutton uve found a urge that wont go away....

Wrath an vengeance blood draw too no one stops till some dies him or you....

Sloth last but not least cant forget you cause uuuh wait what that fuck do u do....you sleep an sulk sit slither out of simple tasks an that's why ur not 1st no ur last like humanity just ask ....

So soon the day will draw near the the number 4 is what you should fear our dear old freinds were sending up for a visit so they can reddit ur fate for each a horse an a trait the first out the door with bow in hand riding a white horse with bow in hand

..

Conquest the start of the final test leading the restthere dark version of light on a white stallion he leads the way an soon will follow hades anyway.

War was next on a red steed he rode prepared to purge an quench new blood for the wars an battels would just begin brother against brother an close of kin witch to win?

Famine foe of all on a black horse with the courses hair so fair merely bone but dont let his appearance fool you hes for he is full devouring your greed taking away everything you want or need an now ur rationed to nearly starvation stretching farther than destination world wide sensation...

Pleage reaper of souls slowly apears steadly trotting riding a very sickly steed looking pale an almost gruesome green with sores an sickness best keep a distance. For he shall be the bringer of death an reap you all one by one to the four you shall fall...

Will you be spared are you true....

Are you happy with your life what did you do...?

Rapture no you still must die.....

Say good by to this earthy chapter theres so much more that manifest after.

But only your earthly husk must rust an fall your all energy of grate mass....

It's time to take the task of self evolvment an enjoy an enlightened installment

this world was just step wrench ur third eye wide open an accept the token of eternal life.

Grinded it to atoms a flash of dust all together ur a self fulfilling must memory pass u in a rush.....

. sudently ur bodysuit is gone ....

But it dint felt like it quite belonged.

You were 7 grams of light matter to be exact an sudently you've cracked the atmosphere ..steering energetic waves my metal psyche caves to the new information flying threw stars consolations.

Suddently speeding at the sound of light the stratosphere seems to disapear ..

My fear is gonewithout a trace an freedom transferred in its place

but am waved in infatuation to find out about out true destination...

Restoration of the soul the goal of a higher self being achieved as I crash into the sun 1500°

I feel a warmth like no other each being hues of light I might of missed earth if not I heard a voice but a mental push no need for speech just thinking it shall be done said by the the brightest in the sun.

Rejoice at last but ur journeys yet to pass ..

This is merely were you start ....

Our flames grew high with frantic waves not wanting to give up the new life we were just gave

Suddenly our flames grew dim as we felt a swirling deep from withn sudently the surface of the sun turned to tin an bent in a cracked an caved with itself our time an space sending us ascending in alignment the same assignment.

Because the sun has begun to change ina twisted way a black hole some could say.

As all of our astral beings were ripped an tore apart at the seams we all merged an formed one all knowing creative being an sudently everything I've know has little matter I'm past a point of human chatter i understand infinity the holy trinity I down in the milky way an experienced every life I've relived it twice I've spliced my genetics into over 2000 million beings I've seen good an bad in between experienced every tragedy to build my strength an studyd every thesis an theory thread an chain nearly drove my vessel insane even took knifes threw my veins in anger yet it failed I was just a trailer.ive seen love hate an anger

Comprehension compasing many others I have love an understanding past many beings there anger seems to brush by me cause I'm with 2000 souls an minds that have formed one to reach a state I can medidate in the milky way an force your negative away .

Our astral self has accumulated complete power an understanding by costuming to our full potential our old body's merely a rental.

Gentle at first then bursted into power showered in knowledge I know now much that I wondered before but now I want more an I've thought till I an 2000 shared beings head hurt cause my girth of knowledge will now never be enough it's tough cause now I must find .... how to ascend again but for now i must defend my vast mind defind crime ...?

Keeping 2000 vast voices locked away so I can focus an try to learn anyway leaning in to vast places is I the 1st 2nd or 3rd or other many plains I cant quiet place I'm traveling threw them all searching for everything I couldn't before .

This life isent like the countless other this life I like it has interesting teathers

I've surpass Angel's an there feathers an vison of a hawk.

I've surpass demonds and there demonic temping talk ..

I've walked on water as I was ripped apart an I felt my self rebuilt every cell of my being got hit with rods of power lightning not even myself can fight me god like abilities the universe as built in me theres ben a spiritual shift a tilt in me somthing generations of DNA sprawled out in a numerical display my old life experiences is the price I pay so that I can be god even if only for a day

I think I'll sit an think somewere in the outter spink of the universe I've cursed myself with knowledge an now I'm aware step into my astral space....

If you dare...

[she-is-tim]

I love hating you | Elu enemies to lovers AU | Ch. 12

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Lucas is an angry, closeted and frustrated gay teenager, while Eliott is the handsome, smart and popular guy in school. They hate each other… but not forever.

Long time no see

Eliott heard the front door open, but he wasn’t going to pay any sort of attention to it. It was probably Lucille coming home from grocery shopping, She will probably yell at him again for smoking, but it’s the only thing that helps him through this shit. He blew out a large cloud of smoke, tearing his eyes from the drawings on the coffee table. Countless scetches of sad and scared hedgehogs. He wanted to rip out his own heart and throw it into the trash, so it wouldn’t be so damn difficult. Tears started to roll down on his cheeks and he kicked into the table, making some of the papers fall on the floor. 

“Looks like someone’s grumpy.” he heard a voice from the entrance of the living room. He lazily turned his head, just to face with Sofiane. He could feel another knife stabbing right into his heart, spreading guilt all around his body. He haven’t talked to his best friend since days, he couldn’t even tell what day it was today. 

“Hey.” that was all he could say, closing his eyes and leaning back on the couch, taking another drag from his joint. 

“Long time no see, huh?” the boy walked in and coughed a little, inhaling some of the smoke that was floating around. “Jesus, how can you stay alive in here?”

“What do you want, Sofiane?” he asked now a bit more irritated than he actually planned, but he needed no babysitter to look out for him. 

“I came to talk.” he explained and tried to took a deep breath which ended up in coughing again. He went to the window, opening it just enough to let the smoke leave the room. Eliott made an unpleasant noise, but didn’t get up to close the door. He was too tired and high to move from the couch. He liked to imagine that Lucas was there next to him, saying stupid stuff and complaining about the music he was playing. There was no music of course, but Eliott had a wild imagination, especially when it came to his beloved boy. 

“So you’re not gonna talk to me now?” Sofiane asked and flopped down to the armchair across from Eliott. He looked at the ceiling and putting the blunt in the ashtray. 

“Talk about what?” he asked, voice hoarse from all the smoking, eyes just slightly burning. “About how I fucked up? About how I scared the only person I love the most?” he was almost yelling now, feeling the tears building up, but he couldn’t let them overflow. Sofiane’s face turned into a painful grimace, seeing his friend like this made him worried and sad.

“You didn’t fuck it up, Eliott.” he sighed after a few minutes of silence, looking at the drawings on the table. “You have to talk to him.” he said seriously.

“No, I can’t.” he shook his head and pulled up his legs, wrapping his arms around his knees. “What I have to do is staying away from him.” 

“Are you serious right now?” he raised his eyebrows, looking concerned. 

Eliott rolled his eyes at his reaction. He can’t understand, he doesn’t know how it feels when you have no control over your actions, when things happen and you snap out, hurting the people you love in the process. He can’t let Lucas deal with all of that. He already had a mentally ill mother, he shouldn’t be dealing with another one. They are both young, their life just started, Lucas will be able to move on, maybe even fall in love with a guy that deserves him, a guy he deserves. Someone he could count on, he could rely on. Someone he doesn’t have to worry about every single day. Someone who is not gonna leave the hotel room in the middle of the night, completely naked. 

“I talked to him, you know.” Sofiane said after realizing that his friend won’t be answering his question. This catched the boy’s attention and snapped his head up from the drawings, looking straight at Sofiane. His eyes were red, traced of dried tears showing on his face, his pupils were so wide the blue was barely visible around it.

“To Lucas?” he asked, barely noticing his own voice, it was distant and different.

“Yeah, to Lucas.” Sofiane sighed, rubbing his temple with two fingers now. His friend gave him a headache sometimes, but he knew that it wasn’t completely his fault, so he just let it slide. “He is not well...”

“You say that, but I saw the stuff on instagram.” Eliott cut him off quickly, grabbing his joint again, lighting with a match, because he couldn’t find his lighter. “He will be fine. He is already fine without me.” he explained, exhaling in the smoke, letting it fill his lungs and burning his throat. He closed his eyes as he let it out, enjoying the little numbness tht already started to take over his body.

“Come on, Eliott! You are going to judge someone’s mood by their insta updates?” he asked, leaning forward and placing his forearms on his knees. “I spoke to him, okay? And he is not okay. It was a dick move to block him everywhere.” 

“You don’t get to tell me what is a dick move, okay?” he raised his voice now, his fingers closing around the still lit up joint, not caring that it was burning his palm. “I am not gonna risk everything! I’m not falling into the rabbit hole!” he continued and slammed his fist on the table. Sofiane looked at him, not even startling to his sudden violence.

“Yeah? I think you’re pretty late with that falling, Eliott.” Sofiane said on a serious tone. “I know you since a long time now, I’ve seen how you and Sophie got together, how you were acting around her...” he started and waved his hands to hush the other one when he tried to say something. “I saw you falling apart after what she did. Then you got back up, it took you a long time, but then I noticed the sparks in your eyes. It was similar to how you looked when you dated Sophie, but not the same. You were truly happy. And the way you talked to us about Lucas... That was something new.” he said, a soft smile appearing on his face. “I was glad, because you two seemed to be a perfect match and I still haven’t changed my mind about that. You are stubborn, not able to let go the past and move on completely. Not able to accept that there are people out there who are not going to leave you just because you’re bipolar.” 

Silence fell on them as Sofiane finished his monologue. Eliott closed his eyes and dropped the ruined joint into the ashtray, now slightly feeling the pain where it burned his palm. He wanted to believe his friend so badly, but his brain kept screaming at him, that he have to stay away from Lucas, that he will just ruin his life. Everything he felt for him couldn’t protect the boy from what he is, a mess, a burden to everyone. He could see on their faces. His parents, Lucille, Sofiane. All of them were tired, worried, scared. Even after weeks passed since his last episode, they were still watching over him, like he would cut his veins open anytime. He can’t let Lucas turn into someone like that. Not when he had other options in his life. 

Eliott was both happy and devastated when he saw the post Lucas made. He obviously blocked the boy on insta, but he wasn’t logged in on his laptop, which meant that he could check his profile without any problems. And he did that since he got out of his bed somewhere around tuesday evening. Since then he didn’t go back to his room, no matter how many times Lucille begged him to. He was staying on the couch, curled up, smoking and crying. Sometimes he grabbed a paper, pencils and drew another hedgehog, throwing on the table alongside the others. But he always checked Lucas’ instagram, until he saw his new picture with Yann. He felt both relief and a knife going deep into his heart, twisting a couple times to hurt even more. He smacked his laptop shut and tossed it to one of the armchairs, not touching it since. 

He looked at his friend, who was just sitting there in silence, hands resting on his lap and his eyes gazing at the window. It was both endearing and annoying how Sofiane just didn’t leave right after that damned speech. He wanted to kick him out, but deep inside he liked to have someone around. Someone that wasn’t his overprotective sister. 

His best friend’s presence was always filling his mind with calmness and he felt safe with him. Sofiane always made sure that Eliott has anything he needs to be better. When they were younger and they were fighting over something, it was always him taking the first move to make peace. And it was always Eliott who felt the worst, because how could he be mad at such a sunshine like Sofiane. Maybe that’s why he was so jealous when Lucas was alone with him in the Youth Center. He was afraid that the boy would see that there are much more better guys are out there, guys way better than Eliott. But Lucas chose him, multiple times and he really wanted to believe that things will be working, he was in love so much, he didn’t realize that he was slipping. Then shit happened and he ruined everything. 

He groaned and grabbed his hair, pulling it as hard as he could, screaming his lungs out as he slipped from the couch down to the floor. Tears rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably. He closes his eyes, not wanting to deal with anything, fingers still holding onto his locks. His lungs are burning, but he can’t stop screaming. Not even when a warm body gets down to him, scooping him up into a tight hug. He lets his hair go and instead he grabs Sofiane’s shirt, burying his face into the crook of his neck, screaming and crying at the same time. 

It took him hours to calm down, but Sofiane didn’t leave him for one second, he kept his arms around Eliott’s slim body, protecting him. His panic started to ease slowly, but his fingers were still gripping into his best friend’s shirt, not wanting to let go anytime soon. He sobbed into his chest, trying to speak, but he couldn’t, his throat was so sore and his lungs were burning so bad that he couldn’t force out a single word. Instead he just made quiet noises, closing his eyes. Sofiane let out a soft sigh and moved his hand up and down on Eliott’s back, rubbing it gently, which was actually really calming. 

Another thirty minutes later Eliott was fully calm, just resting his head on Sofiane’s shoulder, breathing slowly. His hands slipped off of his shirt now just hanging by his sides. They were still sitting on the floor.

“Do you need anything?” Sofiane asked now softly, hoping to get an answer. The boy cleared his throat, swallowing a couple times.

“Some water.” he whispered, his voice was still kinda gone, so that was the best he could force out. His friend nodded, picking him up from the ground now and putting him down on the couch like he was a porcelain doll. Eliott both hated and liked to be handle like that. 

“I’ll be right back.” he said with a soft smile, walking to the kitchen now. 

Eliott tried to find a comfortable position, his legs were hanging over the armrest of the couch, so his head can be placed on the other armrest. He both hated and loved this couch. This was his safe place when he couldn’t stand staying in his room anymore. And it was filled with so much memories. Lucas sitting at the piano, playing silly songs, Lucas sitting on his lap and kissing his face everywhere, Lucas sleeping in the armchair with a textbook on his chest. Lucas snorring loudly after that horrible party, looking like a real dumbass while sleeping and Eliott still thought that he was the most beautiful human being he had ever seen in his life. 

Sofiane came back with a bottle of water and a bright smile on his face. It was annoying how much of a fucking sunshine he could be within second. His face lit up even to the slightest of good things. It could be helpful when Eliott felt sad, being around such a positive person, but on his depressed periods, he could hate having him around. Right now he felt neutral. Just grabbing the water and chugging up half the bottle. Feeling already refreshed thanks to it. 

“Feeling better?” Sofiane asked, sitting down in the armchair again.

“Can you put on some music?” Eliott asked now, ignoring the question completely and pointed at the bluetooth speaker on the bookshelf. 

“Sure thing.” he said smiling and looked for a spotify playlist to start. It had some soft songs, instrumental, light rock, pop, anything that was chill. Eliott kinda liked it, so he just put down the water bottle and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off into the darkness, falling asleep slowly.

Eliott was staring at the picture for almost ten minutes now and honestly, he wanted to bash his head into the keyboard of his laptop. Seeing how fine Lucas was already made his heart hurt even more. He knew that this was the best for the boy and that he was the one who pushed Lucas away, but he still had any rights to be upset, especially cause he missed everyone from the flat. He missed his evening games with Mika, their movie nights with everyone, Lisa’s soft complains when he and Lucas was making out on the couch. But he missed Lucas more than anything. His soft touches, his voice, his hugs and just being around him. Eliott felt like he is drowning, dark clouds surrounding him, trying to suffocate him. 

He sighed and closed his laptop angrily, grabbing a scetchbook and starting to draw. This time he wasn’t going to make another hedgehog doodle, but one with a raccoon. He had to put his feelings on paper, to get rid of them. It was his way to express himself and to help coping with the burning pain that was eating up his heart. He tried a lot of times, but somehow he couldn’t grab into the feeling that surrounded him. It was hard to describe and even harder to draw. He tried to put on some music, smoking a cigarette, but it didn’t really help. He got mad and threw the scetchbook across the room, letting it land on the floor. 

He hated how tidy everything was. Lucille kept cleaning up, throwing out the crumpled papers, beer bottles, emptying the ashtray and shit like that. At least he was glad that she wasn’t being nosy and trying to hide his cigarettes this time. She learned her lessons and Eliott wasn’t a kid anymore, he was already 18. 

An hour later, like a lightning struck he knew what he had to draw, so he fetched another scetchbook, hence the other one was still lying on the floor too far from him to even try to get to it and he started to draw. When he was done, he was struggling whether he should put it on instagram or not, but his depressed mind wanted to shout at the world that it’s their fault he’s feeling bad. He took a deep breath, taking a photo of the drawing, editing it a little and then uploading it to his insta with no caption. 

He couldn’t remember when he fell back asleep again, but he woke up to a nice melody. First it was like it’s coming from far away, like a distant sound, but as he got more conscious, the melody got louder and louder. He could recognize that it was piano music and he wanted to kill the person that dared to put that on while he was so depressed. Both Lucille and Sofiane knew how much he wanted to avoid listening to piano, since it only reminded him of Lucas. Another few agonizing minutes he wanted to just get up and turn off the music, but as he opened his eyes and looked to the side, he saw someone sitting at the piano.

First he didn’t believe his eyes, he thought that this is just a dream, so he let himself enjoy the view. He could notice that beautiful, messy hair anytime, even from behind. Lucas was wearing dark jeans and a dark grey shirt. He didn’t look at Eliott, he was busy playing a beautiful melody which made the tall boy’s heart beat faster. He could feel all the emotions the boy was trying to show with his play. It was so passionate, slow but somehow still fast, romantic and endearing. It was just full of love and Eliott couldn’t believe that this was reality. 

He slowly sat on up the couch, watching his beloved boy running his fingers on the piano keys, making beautiful sounds with it. His heart was beating faster. He haven’t seen Lucas since that doomed saturday and it was so unreal. He was still so beautiful, his hair seemed soft like always, the veins popped through his skin as he played and Eliott was stunned by them. He had a sudden urge to reach out and touch them, but he got startled when the boy finished playing and turned around. He was just a little surprised to see that Eliott was awake, then a soft smile appeared on his face.

“You know what this music is called?” he asked softly, without greeting, just into the middle. Eliott liked that a lot, he had to admit. 

“No.” he mumbled and rubbed his eyes a little, making sure that this is, in fact the reality. “Could you tell me?” he asked on a surprisingly soft tone. That’s why he didn’t wanted to meet him, because he couldn’t push him away when he was basically melting in his presence. A playful smirk appeared on the short boy’s face, hitting Eliott right in the heart. 

“It’s called I love you.” he said proudly, turning his whole body towards Eliott and he seemed a bit more shy, some redness appearing on his cheeks. “You know why I played this piece?” he asked and Eliott swallowed, trying to control his fast breathing and wiping his sweaty hands in his black sweatpants. He couldn’t force out a word, so he just decided to shook his head. Lucas sighed and looked down at his hands that were resting in his lap, then he looked at Eliott. “Because I love you.” he said seriously now, his blue eyes full of determination and something else. Eliott’s heart skipped a beat, or even two, he didn’t know, but tears started to build up in his eyes.

“I love you too.” he whispered, which made the other boy smile at him brightly.

Guys! I can’t tell you enough how much I love all of you and appreciate all the nice messages, all the likes and comments I get from you because of this story. Sadly this one is getting to its end, but I hope you guys will bear with me in the future. I have some ideas and I really hope you will love them. Bisous

[officialleehadan]

Shadows in the Darkness

”This is a terrible idea,” Orrin said, and raised his flashlight. His footsteps  echoed loudly off the walls that closed in around them. “Remind me why we’re doing this again?

“Because we need help,” Neela said. Her light was clipped to her belt, and, unlike him, she wasn’t struggling with the rubble-littered floor. “And we’ll find help, here. Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“We might also get eaten.”

Orrin glared back over his shoulder, and immediately tripped over a chunk of fallen stone. Neela laughed at him, soft voice almost loud as the echoes seemed to go on and on into the empty darkness around them.

If the need wasn’t so great, maybe they wouldn’t be down here at all. Deep in the forgotten tomb of weapons only held in the oldest memories. Searching for hope.

But the need was great. In fact, the need eclipsed nearly everything, including Orrin’s own life, if it came to that.

The trolls were rising like an unstoppable tide.

For centuries, the Courts slept, tucked away in Underhill where nobody would bother them. Of course, someone found the way in now and then, but that was rare, and everyone waived it off as simple imaginings.

But then there was war. Centuries of it. Devastating nuclear war that leveled entire countries and left humanity a gasping shadow of its former glory.

And in the sudden, empty, silence, the Faerie Court woke back up.

Trolls prowled the great, radioactive ruins that used to be cities. The Court held wild dances in forgotten parks, until tiny glowing spotted mushrooms covered the half-dead grass. Elves reclaimed the mountains, and defended the few healthy patches of forest until no one dared to chance those well-protected borders.

But the world was still poisoned from the wars, and pockets of radiation lingered here and there, invisible, and terrible.

The most delicate of the Court felt it first. The beauty and the magic of the Faeries met with radiation, pooled like tar, and twisted. It made them cruel, and harsh. More likely to curse than bless, and fond of the worst sort of mischief.

It did worse to the trolls, who relished the mutation of radiation poisoning and preferred to den in the worst of the hotspots.

“I don’t want to get eaten,” Orrin muttered, and tried in vain to get a better look at where they were going. “What’s even down here?”

His voice suddenly carried much farther than it had before as the tunnel, he thought it was a tunnel anyway, opened up into a vast hall. His small light wasn’t nearly strong enough to fill the immense chamber.

“I am down here.”

The voice growled out of the darkness and echoed off the distant walls until it seemed to come from everywhere. It was male, and deep even before it began to echo, and sounded like a furnace that had been overheated far beyond its capacity.

Orrin yelped and stumbled backwards, crashed into Neela, and took them both to the concrete floor.

The beams of their lights bounced around as they struggled to detangle themselves from each other. Orrin scrambled back to his feet and grabbed for his fallen flashlight.

When he looked up again, it was to a massive, bronze-scaled head hovering twenty feet above him.

A dragon.

There were always rumors that the dragons came back with the rest of the Faerie community, but no one had seen one in centuries.

They were supposed to be a myth. Lost to time, never to be seen again if they had ever existed at all.

He was going to kill Neela, if they susrived this.

“Greetings, Great One,” Orrin stammered and scetched something like a bow, although it seemed somewhat pointless when faced by the head of a creature that had to be absolutely massive, if that giant head was anything to go on. “We come seeking aid.”

“Well well,” the dragon hummed, with a fire-flavored laugh behind great, sword-like teeth. “Straight to the point, aren’t we?”

“What he means,” Neela elbowed Orrin aside none-too-gently and took a knee in front of the dragon they could barely see. “Is that your great strength is our only hope for salvation. We come before you, begging you to intervene on our behalf.”

“Little part-blood,” the dragon said, and tilted his head from side to side like a bird to examine them from every angle. “How come you here? I chose this den with purpose.”

“The story of you was passed to me by my mother, and she learned it from hers,” Neela said, perfectly still, like she knew the dragon might bite her if she dared to even breathe. “And her mother remembered the Long Ago, before the Court retreated into Underhill and great wings still blotted out the sun.”

“Pretty words,” the dragon chuckled. The echoes rustled loudly as scales dragged over concrete and threw sparks into the pitch-black hall. Air boomed around them as the dragon moved and his head vanished from Orrin’s small light. “But how come you here?”

+++

Uncollected Fantasy:

Below the Fog

Glitter Bold

God-Touched Tide

Into the Darkness

Turn Me

Wolf Moon

Blood Moon

Hallowed Halls Memorial

A Kiss to Heal a Broken Heart

Cursebroken

Build a House of Paper

Unspoken Words

Imagine Reality (Patreon-Only)

Between Lives

Moon War

+++

More Stories!

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[shikkearu]

Irreplaceable Part 18: Dear Valentine

Perona snorted unhappy and Mihawk chuckled. They were looking at a poor attempt of a teddy bear. Perona was practising her sewing skills like there was no tomorrow. She was anxious to try making patterns of her own and her scetch book was filling with clothes designs, but for now she was content trying out pre-made patterns. But she did still try adding her own quirks and they always didn't go according to plan, thus the horrid looking teddy bear.

- "Don't laugh at him, can't you see he's had a rough life." A fake tear escaped Peronas eye. - "Wasn't he just born?" - "Yes, but he's already been laughed at and Zoro rejected him."

Zoro turned when hearing his name, but when he saw the adults still play with the thing, he went back to his own game with the tiger he had gotten from Ace. Zoro really seemed to like tigers. If there was anything with the right kind of stripes he would happily yell "tiger" and point at the thing. Even a striped dog that walked past the house sometimes was a tiger for him. He had been extremely happy when Perona had one day stopped the walker to meet Zoro, the dogs biggest fan.

"Tigel. Tigel. Tigel."

He had been chanting happily and pawed the fur on the dogs back.

- "I will love this bear like my own child." Perona lifted the teddy up. - "Technically he is your child." Mihawk hummed. - "Horo horo! True. My beautiful creation." She looked at the teddy proudly.

Mihawk took hold of it's paws and waved them at Perona.

- "Mistress," he croaked, "Whyy did you create me?" - "Oh, that voice is most uncute." - "Mi~stress!" He chuckled near the end, unable to keep his face. - "Shut up."

Perona laughed and squeezed the bear against her chest. She looked at Mihawk gleefully: - "You've ruined my teddy bear now." - "He'll be silent most of the time." - "He better."

Perona looked at the teddy and then spoke softly. - "I think I know what I want to study." Mihawk looked at her expectantly. - "I want to become a clothes designer. Feels kinda right at the moment." - "Have you looked for any schools, yet?" - "There's one in here so of course I'll aim for that one, but there's a few others I'll try to get in. They're just a bit too far away so moving closer would be required." - "Do your best and we'll see then what we'll do."

Mihawk sounded encouraging and it made her happy. She really liked him and maybe he would consider moving with her and Zoro if it came to that. She was sure he would. So she leaned against him humming happily.

- "I'm going to do my best."

But he backed of slightly and she looked at him questioning.

- "We need to set boundaries." He said quietly. - "What, so suddenly?" She was caught completely by surprise. She had thought they had found them already. - "I- Sometimes you just go too far with how you touch me. It makes me uncomfortable." - "You hate it?" - "No and yes." Mihawk let out a long sigh. "If you haven't noticed I'm not too fond of being touched." - "So touching is out of question." - "No. How do I put it. Uh. Sometimes it's nice, but sometimes it's too sudden or too close and it makes me uncomfortable. I just want you to understand that you need to somehow have my consent. If I push you away, don't try to hug me harder." - "I'm sorry." - "It's not your fault, I should have been more straight with you from the beginning." - "What stopped you?" - "I guess I was just scared."

Perona was baffled. Mihawk had been scared, but of what?

- "Umm, of what exactly?" - "I didn't want you to hurt more than you already did."

She looked at him and sighed. Mihawk worried so much over her and Zoros well being when she didn't give him the same amount of care. She'll do better in the future.

- "You've really been looking out for me all this time." - "You're important to me." - "You're important to me too." Perona said quietly and then looked shyly at him. "Can I hug you?"

Mihawk opened up his arms. Gently Perona wrapped her arms around him and pressed her head against his shoulder while Mihawk answered her hug just as gently.

- "I'm really lonely. I miss him all the time and touching you helps me to forget momentarily." She whimpered. - "I know, but I don't want to be a replacement for him. It's not a healthy thing to do and it affects us both negatively. How can you process your grief if you hide from it?"

Perona couldn't answer that. She wanted to protest, but he was right. How can they move on if she keeps on comparing Mihawk to him, use Mihawk as a substitute for him. If she's going to touch Mihawk, it should be because it's him and not the lingering similarity he has to his son. She would respect Mihawks wish, but the idea felt extremely lonely to her. She had been her husband's Perona for so long, she didn't know how to be by herself anymore. It scared her.

- "It's scary." - "You'll be fine." Mihawk petted her hair and back as an attempt to comfort her. "Maybe not straight away, but eventually you will be."

Perona squeezed him a bit tighter and felt slightly happy. They both might have been selfish back then, but moving in together had been the best decision for them all. To have someone who shares your pain and supports you, was extremely important.

- "Thank you for being here with me." Perona wiped a few tears as they separated. "I would be worse off with out you."

Mihawk nodded and smiled. He felt the same way of her.

Zoro rose up and fumbled over to them. He grabbed onto Mihawks leg. - "Howshe." - "You want to play Horsie?" Mihawk asked from him. - "Howsie!" He jumped a bit excited.

Mihawk lifted him up on his knee and started to bounce him up and down while holding him. Zoro squealed and laughed happily.

- "Hopoti hopoti hoi. Hopoti hoijaa." Mihawk riddled as he bounced the small child.

He enjoyed these moments with Zoro just as much and maybe a bit more as the boy did.

Perona looked at the two smiling. She excused herself and gathered her things. She went to her and Zoros room. She thought about what had just happened and thinking about support groups made her remember Trafalgar Law. She had not contacted him after they had met, something about him scared her. But now she thought, that maybe it was because of her husband's passing that he had been that way. She knew how negatively it had affected the people around her and Law had looked so miserable back then. So maybe by talking with her, Law could process his own feelings better. She could be support for him.

Perona opened her phone and started to write.

- "Hey, this is Roronoa Perona. I know it's been a while back that we last met, but if you still want to message me I'm open for conversation."

She hit send and it didn't take long for her to see him start to write back.

- "Hey, Perona! I'm really happy you've decided to message me. Did you have nice holidays?" - "I spend it with family. It was great. I met Absalom and he says you've been asking about me." - "Sorry, I was kind of desperate to talk to you and didn't have your number." - "Alright, so what did you want to talk about?" - "I just want to know you better." - "Sure, I would appreciate knowing you better as well. You've been a bit freaky." - "Sorry about that." - "No problem."

They talked of their backgrounds. She learned that Laws parents had been doctors so it was what had made him interested in becoming one too. But when he had been eight, they and his little sister had died in a hospital fire while he had been at school. That had caused him to go into a downswing and had been a difficult child, just like Perona had been. When he was around ten, he had been adopted by a cop and his more than weird family. Though he had done his best to be hard to deal with, his adoptive father had just shrugged it off and eventually won Law over. But not long after, he had been killed in line of duty. Though he had been part of Laws life only a short time it had made Law become more determined in his pursue to become a doctor.

While she chatted with him, she dug into the requirements and tests for the schools of her choice. She started to look for reference on what to expect and how she could prepare in advance. She could see Mihawk pass by with Zoro following him closely. For a moment he stopped and looked at her then smiled before moving on. She felt happy and was determined to make him proud of her.

----

It was a blizzard and Perona was outside for the second time plowing the yard free of snow. The wind was cold and the snow hit her face constantly. The snow piles just kept on growing and the weather casts promised for even more snow. When she was done she returned inside. Zoro was taking a nap so Perona had some time for herself. She messaged to Law again. Just asking how his day was.

- "Feeling down. Corazon died on a snowy day like this."

She sent him some comforting words, but everything feels a bit lame when you do it via messages.

- "Sorry if I'm not much of a comfort right now." - "Don't worry. Just being able to tell someone about things like this helps."

Perona picked up a commercial to look if there was any good deals. One spread was completely dedicated to Valentines Day. It was pink and red with white lace design adverting various chocolates and quick to give presents for your best friend or lover.

Perona sighed and flip the page. She did not get excited of Valentines Day. Even if it could be fun to send gifts to her friends, it felt pointless without her husband.

----

- "Happy Valentines Day, Perona."

He was grinning and held a huge bouquet of red, white and pink roses. She took the roses from him and invited him into her apartment. She took a vase for the flowers and placed them on the floor.

- "The floor? Should I be offended?" He chuckled.

Perona snorted and rolled her eyes at the remark. There was absolutely no space for the flowers in her tiny crammed up apartment and he knew it perfectly well. He grasped her by the hips and pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck deepening the kiss. When she felt his hands move under her blouse she stopped and poked his nose.

- "If you think a couple of roses will get you into my pants, you're very mistaken." - "I don't." He laughed and grinned.

His hand went to his pocket and he pulled out two tickets which she quickly snatched from his hand. She looked at them and slowly started to smile broadly.

- "You remembered." - "Of course. How could I forget your favourite band?" - "These must have cost a fortune. The roses too." - "Only the best for my girl."

This time she went in for a kiss.

----

Perona messaged Law again, lamenting how lonely Valentines Day would be.

- "Want to spend it with me?"

No she didn't. She didn't want to think of the possibility of Law reaching for her body again, when in reality it should be her husband touching her.

- "No thanks. I think I'll spend it at home. Maybe visit the grave."

Perona flicked back to the Valentines day ad and looked at it for a moment. She started to write on her phone again. She quickly spaced through the rest of the pages, but there was nothing of interest. After making a quick inventory at the kitchen she wrote more. A list of things for Mihawk to buy before getting back home. She hit send and went to look through the window at the front yard. The snowing had gotten even thicker and she would have to plow it before Mihawk got home.

Noisily Zoro started to call for her. He had woken from his nap a bit early so he was grumpy and hungry. Perona went to pick him up. He held to her neck huffing angrily. Perona sighed slightly. When Zoro was grumpy like this there was no way for her to just put him into his chair to wait. It would instantly turn into full blown out tantrum. With her free hand Perona started to pick up the things needed to make his formula. Zoro seemed to calm down a bit when he realized she was making his drink and started to slowly knead her hair with his fingers. Good thing she had her hair on a braid so Zoro couldn't get it tangled. Soon the formula was ready and after it had cooled down Perona sat down handing the bottle to Zoro who started to hungrily suck it. A small bling informed Perona that she had received a message.

- "Where do you need new letter paper? There's some in the study." Mihawks job had ended so he could answer her back. - "I want the cute stuff, not plain and boring white. Some cute stickers too." - "Anything else?" - "Nothing aside from what I previously wrote."

Perona was just about to set her phone down, when she had an idea.

Zoro was finished with his bottle so she set him down. Full tummy quickly calmed Zoro down. He was still a bit grumpy and started to follow his mother while she looked for something. When she couldn't find anything inside she quickly put on some clothes to go out. Carefully she closed the backdoor after making sure Zoro wouldn't be stuffing his fingers in between. He huffed angrily and shouted behind the door for her to come back. Outside the snow storm was still raging and Perona took heavy steps on the thick snow while trying to get to the small shed around the corner of the house, tactically out of sight. It wasn't as badly covered with snow as she feared so it didn't take a lot of work to get inside. The air smelled dry and earthy as she looked around. She picked up a red ceramic flower pot. It was perfect. With the pot in hand she went back her own steps. Once inside she quickly tore her shoes off and poured snow out of them. Zoro was pleased to have her back, but got quickly curious of the snow. He took some of the snow to inspect it, before quickly eating it.

- "That's gross, Zoro." Perona chuckled while taking off her clothes.

Zoro picked up more snow and looked as it melted on his hand. His eyes were round and he pointed his wet hand towards her. Snow inside the house would always make Zoro wonder, no matter how many times he saw it melt.

- "Snow still melts to water when warmed."

Zoro shook his hand and grabbed onto Peronas legs. He had accidentally stepped onto the water and was now shaking his foot while leaning onto her.

- "Did your feet get wet?" Perona petted his head before picking him up. "Lets go change your socks."

----

Perona was busy playing with Zoro and had lost track of time. He was starting to get interested in simple puzzles though most of the time he wasn't quite able to solve them. Perona didn't solve them for him, it was important to let him figure it out by himself. She did however do it silly and keep on failing herself. Eventually Zoro managed to solve one by accident and Perona erupted into a cheer.

- "You're so smart! Mommy couldn't solve it, but you could. You're so amazing Zoro."

Zoro first looked at her baffled, but when she kept on cheering for him and pointing at the solved puzzle, he finally got it and started to laugh. He kept on resolving the puzzle and every time Perona cheered for him. Eventually she did point to another slot.

- "Can you try solve that one for Mommy?" She took one of the pieces and tried putting it in failing on purpose. "This one is hard."

She tried a couple of times more and Zoro took one of the pieces himself and tried to put it in. He did end up solving that one too and was extremely happy to receive praise from his mother. He laughed happily and went to hug her, closing his eyes content. He fumbled a bit until he was sitting on her lap facing her. They were still embracing each other warmly.

- "Do you want to continue playing?" Perona picked a puzzle piece and put it on it's place since Zoro wasn't looking.

Zoro didn't really answer her question, just sighed content in her arms. Perona smiled and petted his hair. Her hand was securely on his back keeping him on her lap as she started to pick up puzzle pieces putting them back in. The door opened and Perona turned her head to see Mihawk slightly covered with snow holding two bags of groceries. While busy with Zoro she had forgotten about the snow storm and snow work waiting to be done. She heard the snow plow drive past the house surely leaving a wall before their drive way.

- "Good I got back before the plow." Mihawk remarked and walked into the living room putting down the bags near Perona. - "I'm sorry. I got so distracted with Zoro I forgot to do the plowing." - "Hmm, it's okay. Looked like you've done it earlier today." He picked his phone from his pocket. - "It's been snowing like hell today and it doesn't seem to calm down. I can go do the plowing now." - "No need. I'm already dressed up anyway."

He lifted his phone to take a picture and Perona smiled a little bit while holding Zoro.

- "I'll call this one 'Zoro solved The Puzzle'." Mihawk smiled and put his phone away. - "What's 'The Puzzle'?" - "The puzzle of love." He chuckled. "You can put the groceries away while I do the snow work."

Perona stood up while still holding Zoro. He peeked a little at Mihawk before reaching out with his hand.

- "Pappa." He happily called out while waving his out stretched hand. - "Good day to you too." Mihawk smiled and shook Zoros small hand before going back outside.

Zoro went back to nuzzling Perona who huffed a little bit as she lifted one bag with her free hand. She wondered how long she would be able to carry him with just one arm.

----

Mihawk had finished his work and brushed the snow off of himself before going inside. The wind had calmed down, but the snowflakes were big and heavy. If it kept snowing like that all night it would be hellish to plow the snow in the morning. He put off his outdoor clothes and loosened his tie, that had been bothering him all the time it took him to get back home and plow the snow. He threw it on the counter and started to unbutton his shirt. Halfway through he stopped and breathed deeply. Of all the things he had to suffer for his work, ties must be the worst.

He quickly made his way to the kitchen where Perona was writing something on one of the letter papers. He had not been sure if she would like the pastel floral design, but it seemed that at least it was passing enough. Zoro was sitting in his high chair and was nibbling on some bread with butter on top.

- "What are you writing?" Mihawk leaned over to Perona who squeaked and covered the paper with her hands. - "Don't look."

He hummed amused and started to look around on what to cook for dinner.

- "It's a bit silly, so please don't laugh." Perona said quietly looking at Mihawk. He nodded and started cooking. - "It's a love letter I guess. I'm just writing here what has happened and how I've been feeling." - "What are you going to do with it?"

Perona was silent and looked out the window. Mihawk took some quick noodles and frozen vegetables among some meat. He was going to make a wok of sort.

- "I'm going to visit the grave on Valentines Day and -uh- send it to him." - "Do you want me and Zoro there too?" - "No, it's a bit embarrassing." Perona shook her head. "But I wouldn't mind getting a ride there." - "Alright."

For a while only the sizzling of Mihawks pan could be heard.

- "I've been thinking..." Mihawk started. "Do you have a drivers license?" - "I do, but I haven't driven in a while. Years in fact." - "I think it might be a good idea to practice a little when the roads get better. Then you wouldn't need to rely on me as much."

Perona puffed her cheeks and looked at him disapprovingly. He made it sound like she was burdening him. He saw her disapproval and shook his head.

- "It's for your independence and privacy. I do like to drive you around, but you could go somewhere by yourself if you wanted and you wouldn't even need to tell me." - "Would you get me my own car?" She sneered. - "Maybe in due time. What do you think?" - "It's not a bad idea." - "Thought so. For instance you could go with Zoro to Moria. I don't think he would mind if I didn't always come with you two." - "Hmm? I think he likes you." - "I know, but there's still some of that awkwardness between us." - "I guess." Perona sighed in agreement.

It didn't take long for Mihawk to be ready. He gave Zoro just a little bit of the food since he had just eaten. He sat down by the table to eat while Perona got some for herself. She tasted the food and pouted a bit.

- "It's not good?" Mihawk was slightly worried by her expression. - "No, it's heavenly." Her brows burrowed. "It's unfair how you can be such a good cook." - "Years of practice." - "Not fair. Your son was good too." - "He learned from the best." - "You're so full of yourself. Didn't your father teach you?"

From the mention of his father Mihawks expression darkened a little.

- "No, self-taught." - "Really? That's amazing."

Perona did notice, but as usual chose not to dig into it as Mihawk seemed to have lost his mood for talking, choosing to instead surf on his phone. He would open up on his own and it could take awhile, but she didn't mind waiting for him. Though not forever. She didn't trust in forever anymore. She looked outside. It was pitch black, but she could barely see that the snow was still falling as it hit the window.

- "I wonder if this will be a long winter."

----

The whole winter had been the coldest in years and had the most snow too. Mihawk was wiping snow off of his car as it had been snowing once again. Perona chuckled and he looked at her with a questioning look.

- "Just thought that the world might be mourning his death too." - "Hmm. That would be nice." - "Though he wasn't that good at recycling. Maybe he and Mother Earth were having a secret relationship." She laughed. - "No, he was like Hancock when it came to love. Near obsessive." - "That sounds scary." - "I guess it depends. He and Hancock are the type of people to get completely consumed by their love, though they were smart enough not to do anything stupid like stalking." As he said it Mihawk stiffened for a moment before sighing loudly. "Though not letting go of something that hurts you just because you love it was pretty stupid of her."

Mihawk went to get Zoro while Perona sat in the car holding a small bag. She didn't know if he had noticed, but it applied to them too in a sense. They were still clinging to a memory of a person and chose to be hurt rather than try to stop remembering him. It was stupid from a logical point of view, but very reasonable and human in the end. She didn't say anything when Mihawk returned and put Zoro on his seat. She looked at him carefully and came to the conclusion that the thought had not crossed his mind.

Once they were at the cemetery Mihawk turned to look at Perona.

- "Are you sure you don't want us to come there?" - "You can, but I'll stay a bit behind after. It's really awkward."

She couldn't deny Mihawk or Zoro the right to visit the grave since they had drove all the way there. They hadn't taken Zoros stroller, but Mihawk wasn't bothered to carry him and Zoro did walk most of the way by himself anyway. They stayed at the grave for a while. Perona put some new candles and lit them. It had been a bit hard to get to the grave because the walkways were a bit blocked by the snow even if it was a well looked after cemetery. Mihawk didn't say a word, just looked sternly at the grave stone. After a moment of silence, he nodded to Perona and left with Zoro to wait in the car. She made sure that they were far away enough and then pulled the ceramic pot and the thick envelope from her bag. She placed the pot on the grave and the letter in it. She closed her eyes and waited a bit and then set the letter in flames. It burned only a small moment leaving just a little bit of ashes after it. She took the pot and dusted it, letting the ashes fall on the grave and be picket up by the wind. She put the pot in a small plastic bag before putting it back in her bag. She felt stupid, but it had also felt relieving to do it. She had written so much and it felt good to get some of those thoughts and feelings onto paper and this way there was no fear of anyone reading it, just her husband.

She walked back and sat in the car. Mihawk could smell the smoke on her. He didn't say anything, but it was clear to him that Perona had burnt that letter she had spent so long making. She seemed calm and serene so it must have been good for her.

Mihawk chuckled.

The idea was silly, but sometimes it was the silly things that helped the most. Though he was not going try it out himself anytime soon.

[we-were-legends]

“Champion’s dawn”

Chapter 28 - “Past is always next to you”

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Oropher managed with his duties enough to show up on the meeting he set up with his cousins. If anything unexpected would happen, he delegated Saida to take care of it - it will serve her well to keep training her confidence all the more that he planned to give under her command next regiment that would be established in the future. Also, it would lighten up Taranir who had far too much matters to take care of.

From what he knew, Celeborn would be on the meeting as well. Faineth said she will take care of Nimloth so Galathil won't have to worry about his daughter and Arvellon didn't have any duties that evening so they were all free to spend this time together. It was quite a long time since they met up for a simple talk, as cousins first and foremost, with no status between them and different ranks that they held. Arvellon asked them to talk more about their family, this closest one and more distant. More than likely all of them will discover things they didn't know of before. Maybe they will even speak about Amdír who lurked somewhere in Menegroth. Their talk will probably end on entirely different matter than it was meant to be, but none of them would care. Just the thing that they could speak together in peace was enough.

The King gave an order to stand down and soldiers could breath down with relief. They were not anymore in constant vigilance, tough they could not rest that easily – at every time they could be summoned and send on patrol duty as the warg riders and scouts still were seen inside the territory of Doriath. Nonetheless, the army and its commanders breathed down in relief and as for now Oropher had more loose schedule. He made sure to dispose the orders for his soldiers equally so none of them would be overwhelmed. He took the pile of work off Taranir's soldiers and disposed others to take care of it, but Taranir had talent to find himself work to do. Oropher will truly have to banish his friend from the fields so he would get his rest.

After busy afternoon, Oropher decided to make his way to the library where he hoped he would find some kind of chronicle that would help in storytelling they planned for Arvellon. Maybe he will gather few old scrolls and who knows, maybe there will be something interested written in there.

Oropher never truly cared to deepen his knowledge on possible relations his family had with other Houses. For sure he knew House Elmo was tied with House Talagan, as Faineth belonged to side branch of this House and she was a wife of Galathil. Arradis was of House Laegon, she was the oldest daughter of Lord Belegon who was a brother to Lord Laegon, the Head of the House. Beside this, House of Elmo was of course tied with House Silevon by Oropher's mother, Iveril, who was the oldest daughter of Lord Silevon, the head of the House. But beside this, Oropher never embeded himself in knowledge who was his cousin once or twice removed, who was his distant uncle or aunt. Tough Erthor always told him that he should be aware of that, Oropher couldn't bring himself to read about this.

However, what interested him far more was knowledge about his mother about whom his father didn't want to speak about much. Erthor always spoke about her with fondness, his soft voice kindled with love and longing as well. Their marriage was not arranged - Erthor and Iveril loved each other truly, tough many would think that such different spirits won't indulge in deep feeling. But beside few facts that Oropher already knew, Erthor was reluctant to speak about his wife and Oropher didn't want to push it. The same matter was with Celeborn and Galathil who didn't want to burden their father with questions about their own mother. They prefered to choose their father's well being than press the matter than would make them come back to fond, but also tragic memories. Still, since their Elders didn't wish to share their knowledge, they will take care of it themselves or at least that was the plan they had.

When Oropher reached the library who could barely remember the time he had been there. It was that long time ago and he almost forgot where to find what he was looking for. He wandered between the book cases and tables with presented tomes and Oropher glanced at them briefly. Beautifully ornamented letters were presented wonderfully on white paper. Text, written in black atrament, was well visible, but Oropher didn't know how someone could sit and write whole day. Tough scribes were pationate about their work and it was thanks to them that they could all marvel in tomes and chronicles in the library.

After a bit of searching he seemed to find the right place, or so he thought. Oropher entered the rusty area of the library that looked as if was barely used. Now he was not that sure that this was a part of the library he was looking for, but he decided to give it a try.

Beside the talk about which Arvellon ask them about, Oropher still felt a need to know more about the Golodhrim, especially since he learned about the distant family relation between him and Artanis. She said she had brothers and cousins, who knows, maybe knowledge about them is somewhere here?

What Oropher noticed first was a great tome which was open at the neatly made family tree. On the left side there was a tree of thr House of Elwë which was not very branched. There was Elwë, of course, and there were his brothers Olwë and Elmo written next to him to show the family relation, but the main connection was between Elwë and Melian and on the lower branch there was placed their only child – their daughter Luthien.

On the right page there was a family tree of the House of Elmo. As on the tree before, there was Elmo and his brothers as family, but there was no connection to Elmo's wife, as if she had never existed. This was a known tree to him which was officially presented everywhere. Oropher looked on the lower branch of the tree. There was his father and his two uncles, but only Arradis, the wife of Edwethon, was included in the tree, neither Oropher's mother was there and neither was Galathil's and Celeborn's mother. This family tree was surely very simplified and it was not what Oropher was looking for.

Oropher left the tome and scanned the scrolls and tomes on the nearby shelf. Truly, nothing of interest, some of them were not even titled, most likely being scetches or simple notes.

Maybe finally he will find something useful to show Arvellon, tough he doubted he will find anything of use that concerned the Golodhrim. Most of the things in the library will reach the times during the March when Finwë lead his people to the West. And if anything, Finwë had his first son born in Aman, later on probably more followed which made impossible for the Sindar to know more about those family trees. And he doubted there will be anything of use about Olwë as well.

Then his eye cought a tome binded in light animal skin. It was quite a big one and it was placed on the separate round table. It was covered in webs and dust and Oropher didn't blow at it as it would rise up to the air and choke him. Instead he cleaned the tome with a sleeve and after it was more presentable he opened to see the first page.

There was still dust inside the tome and pages were covered in a bit of grey. Many pages were jagged and colors used to decorate the letters blanked almost completly. This tome must have been made quite long time ago and surely it was a thing of beauty in its days of glory.

The first page showed Elwë, Elmo, Olwë and Nowë. The names were binded to each other and long description below stated of their family ties and went as far in the past as during the March and even before it. Oropher scanned the text briefly. Olwë lead those who wished to follow him to the West, but many of the Edhil stayed behind with Elmo and together they awaited the return of Elwë. Nowë, after long wait, decided to follow Olwë, but when he arrived to the Sea it was too late for him and his people to reach the West.

Oropher left the long text and instead he glanced at the right page. There were well made drafts of elves there and tough they were not colored it was easy to see the resemblance.

Elwë has not changed at all. He had this same braids in hair which he rarely changed. The draft brought up well the look in his eyes and noble face. He was smiling delicately and unlike the other elves that were presented in those drafts, Elwë had light in his eyes. The only one of the Edhil who had been to the Blessed Realm and despite seeing its beauty he this decided to stay behind in the land where he awakened.

Olwë's eyes were full of song. Oropher had no clue how it was even possible to see it from the simple painting, but that was the first thought he had about his distant uncle. And his hair were much lighter, almost perl like, which was well presented in shading. Oropher wondered if Olwë liked to sing.

Elmo held the same peace as Erthor did. He had a single braid of the right side of his head that fell down his arm. His eyes seemed focused somewhere far away as if he was looking for something. His grandfather must have been a humble elf and loyal one. During Elwë's absence he was the one to take charge and care about the well being of his people, but when Elwë was back he gave away his leadership freely. And Elwë never forgot this - Elmo was always dearest to him. Oropher regretted he could not remember his grandfather better, but he was but a small child when he was gone.

Nowë resembled Olwë the most. But instead of the song, there were voices of the sea in his eyes. Nowë seemed to stare in the ocean and far away on the horizon. Oropher didn't know much about this elf, from time to time he heard about him, but neither he cared much to know more about him. He seemed a bit distant.

He turned the page. There was only more text and Oropher just looked through it briefly. The description of March, of the Darkness and the tragedy of those who were lost to it. It went on and on through countless pages until finally Oropher encountered another family tree. It was Elwë with Melian and Luthien. The ruling family of Doriath and the history of how Elwë and Melian met in the forests of Neldoreth. And how they came back to lead their people. No one was truly sure how it happened, so Oropher took it more as a legend that the actual story. Elwë probably told nobody what happened between him and his wife during the long time of their absence and probably no one will even know this.

The next despription concerned the building of Menegroth and the hard times before the city was build. The times where there was no Girdle. Oropher was a grown child when it began and he remembered the slow progress of building the city. By the time it was finished he was in late years of his adolescent age.

Oropher turned more pages. He still encountered no information about the Golodhrim or something more about Olwë and he lost hope that he will. If he truly wished to know more about it, he will probably have to ask Melian about it as she had insight in thing hidden from others.

Then he turned one more page there was family tree of House Elmo. Oropher glanced at it interested. It was not simplified as the previous one, but it was neither the one that could be found in the Palace wing of their family. Maybe this would be something that he could take and show not only Arvellon, but his cousins as well. Oropher looked at the tip of the tree.

The name of Elmo witnessed on the top of the tree and next to him was placed his wife, Oropher's grandmother about whom he had no memories, not even tiny ones. As for his grandfather he could say some things or remember simple details as the shade of his eyes, but about his grandmother he could say nothing and he realized he didn't even know her name. Until now.

Acharn.

Oropher frowned feeling a needle of anxiousness stinging his side. There were elves named strongly after warriors or war, or after powerful nature phenomenon. But the name Vengeance rose a wind of unrest.

He quickly looked on the lower branch trying to run down the thoughts that raced through his mind. As expected there was his uncle Edwethon with his wife Arradis and their two sons were written below them – Amdír and Arvellon.

There was Galadhon with his beloved wife Túrel. He traced her name with fingers a bit with longing. He was not that small child when Túrel was gone and Oropher held many memories about his aunt. He also knew how severly Galadhon took her loss. He never spoke about her, never mentioned her. Even to his own sons. Galadhon gave Oropher his own sword – Mountain Grass with which he lead the army of Sindar to war, but Túrel's sword Galadhon held close to heart and no one else will ever wield it again. He noticed a loose paper that almost fell down to the ground and he cought it before it did. There was his aunt Túrel - delicately waved chestnut hair that curled around her face. She had a small scar on chin that gave her only more expression and her eyes could hold many emotions.

Oropher sighted a bit remembering his aunt. Túrel was a warrior as Galadhon, addictionally she was a falconer and she always had at least one eagle at her side. Oropher briefly remembered the old bird that served well on her side and since then retired, resting in special place that she made for him. Oropher to this day remembered how feathers felt like and the patience of the bird each time someone touched him.

Túrel gave up her warrior's duties willingly to take care of her children, tough when the time came she resumed her duties as much as she could. Oropher remembered she often helped Arradis in taking care of them and when she was around there was no diddling. Túrel was much sharper than Arradis and didn't let them fool her or stringing a cord. Some would say that her spirit was too strong to be a good mother, that she was too much of a warrior and she won't develop needed responsibility to take care of her children and sooner or later she will regret giving up her warrior's life.

If anything all of that made her stronger. Her motherhood was to be compared to bear's one. Woe to the one that threatened any of her family.

Oropher missed her. And he could only imagine how Galathil and Celeborn missed their own mother all the more than Galadhon didn't want to speak a single word about her. But they never pressed this matter knowing better than doing so. Some wounds were too deep to mend.

Oropher turned his eyes to the last branch. There was his father Erthor, the oldest son of Elmo and current Head of their House. Next to him was his wife and Oropher's mother, Iveril of House Silevon and below them was Oropher and next to him was another name written – Rivelil.

Oropher frowned deeply and he scanned the family tree once more. There was no mistake tough, he and Rivelil were connected in line as brother and sister.

He took his hand away as if the tome burnt him all of sudden. Oropher almost took a step back, his eyes run back and forth once more reading the tree closely. Then he looked at the text written below it, but he could barely focus on the letters as his mind was overwhelmed by racing thoughts.

His mother was lost and no one knew what happened to her. Iveril never reached Menegoth, she never entered the forests of Doriath. That's what he knew, that's what he was always told. He never dared to doubt this story, there were many after all who were taken by Darkness and never returned.

The text stated about the history of their House and Oropher passed by it briefly. The oldest of their generation Celeborn was described to have hair like starlight of the Royal House, in face he was much like his father, but traces of his grandmother could be seen in him as well. Amdír, the second oldest had Acharn's hair, dark like midnight sky. Galathil had eyes like the Blessed Waters and Oropher had their grandmother's green eyes.

Oropher's eyes narrowed at the fragment that he just found. Iveril the Fair of House Silevon bore two children to the House of Elmo – a son and a daughter, the text stated. Oropher Erthorion, green-eyed child with grey-silvery hair and Riveril Erthoriel with azure blue eyes and hair of silk in shade of light silver.

The lone thought that he had a sister was too much to even dare to think about. Then what happened to her? Was she lost just as their mother?

He scanned the text further, finally finding what concerned his own, closest family. The time and place of their birth, some needless paragraphs that just took place and the further Oropher waded into this the more he feared of what he will find.

Iveril took her daughter and along with House Silevon she followed the people of Olwë to the west, leaving her husband and son behind.

This time Oropher stepped away from the tome, his mind silenced as everything fell into place. His mother was not lost. She was not dead. She left to the West taking only his sister.

Not thinking much Oropher pushed the pages back at the family tree and grabbed the tome taking it with himself. It was not heavy and he lifted it with ease.

He had not stopped until he reached the apartments of his family. He passed by the great ornamented door sculptured into a tree and walked into the main first room, spacy enough to gather almost all the court. Small vases were placed near the walls and different flowers were placed in them. He never truly payed attention, but those flowers blossomed during all the seasons.

Oropher halted sharply before the huge fireplace where flames rose up steadily, but as soon as he stopped in frot of them the flames kindled as if sensing his unease. However, he looked up to stare at the canvas that presented House of Elmo.

It was simplified as the ones he saw before in the library, painted with utmost care, shining proudly with colors. As for now, Oropher and his cousins witnessed as the youngest generation on the branches, but there was place below them left for those who will come next in line. Oropher's eyes narrowed with forceful anger.

He didn't know himself if he wanted explanation or he just wanted to show what he though about keeping such things away from him. What his father did, what his Elders did, was not wise. It was unforgivable and they will see it once he will be done with them.

Rivelil. This was a name of his sister he had never met. For all his life he didn't even know she existed. His mother took her away and followed her own House to the West, leaving behind him and her husband. And his father had a nerve to hide it from him. For all this time, during all their meetings, everytime he asked about this, his father had a nerve to lie in cold blood, right in his eyes. As had everyone – his uncles, his aunts, he could be sure even Elwe knew about this, Melian as well. And after what they did they believed they had a right to tell him what was wrong and what was right?

'Oropher?'

A call reached him from behind and it was unbelievable luck for it was his Erthor who just walked inside the room. He was in his usual elegant robes and since he was in their family's apartments the meeting of the Council must have ended. Erthor held usual warmth and kindness in his eyes, nothing that Oropher felt right now.

Oropher turned to his father, but his eyes held no understanding nor remorse. Rising anger formed in a threacherous cloud, ready anytime to explode. Once it will, Oropher knew he won't hold himself.

Erthor faltered as he looked at him and his father knew immediately that Oropher's anger was directed at him. First lack of understanding turned into dismay as Erthor glanced at the tome in Oropher's hands as if he knew what his son already saw there.

'You though that I will never find out?' Oropher asked tough he expected no answer. 'What else have you kept away from me?'

He threw the book forward and it fell to the ground with a thud on the wooden floor, but Oropher kept his eyes fixed on his father who stared down at the tome that was opened on the pages showing the family tree of the House of Elmo. The dismay in his silver eyes only rose up when he looked up on his son.

'Everything you told me was a lie!' Oropher growled savagely as anger reached his heart and overwhelmed it. It was mixed with misunderstanding, grudge and disbelief. How could his father even think about keeping such thing away from him? 'Everytime I asked you about this you lied! Can you even say how many times you did that?!'

Erthor stared at him with strange incredulity, fright and something else, but Oropher had none of it. Deep regret was also visible in Erthor's eyes, but Oropher felt no guilt or remorse about putting his father in such state. Nothing Erthor will do would make this situation any easier. And Oropher could easily say that his father didn't know what to say which fired up Oropher even more.

Galadhon stepped into the area probably driven by his strong voice and aggitation that was happening. He sweeped the spacy room with silvery-blue eyes and he glanced from Oropher to Erthor until his sight finally layed upon the tome that layed on the floor.

'You all hid it well, even my uncles lied to me right in the eyes!' Oropher called loudly keeping his father under his fiery eyes. He won't hold down, not this time. 'Have you forced them to stay silent or you plotted this all together?!'

'It's not a place to speak of this.' Galadhon said, but his voice was not usual commanding one. It was this time him who tried to bring calm between them, but in vain.

'I am not talking to you!' Oropher growled at his uncle turning flaming green eyes at him for brief moment, but then he looked back at his father. All of sudden he remembered the pleasant time they spend together after he came back from the land of Lammoth. Even then, even then his father didn't bring himself to speak with him about this. Oropher have unhealthy feeling that every memory he had with his father was like in a crooked mirror. There was always something between them. 'Why you never told me?!'

Erthor was silent still and sorrow made his eyes darker, but Oropher felt no pity. The dismay of his father was nothing to what Oropher felt now. The disbelief that his father could even hide such a thing from him was unimaginable. They were no longer a members of Royal House Elmo as they stood in front of each other. Oropher spoke his regret to his father, not the Head of the House.

'Why you never told me?!' he repeated louder as the storm rose above the sky. 'How could you even think about keeping it for yourself?! How could you even do that?!'

'Oropher, let's talk this through. Calmly.' Galadhon tried again, but he turned to his uncle in well know sharpness that always put others on edge. His calm was long gone and he had enough of their ways. Now it was his turn to show them what he though about it.

'Do you know what I think about your gracious advice?'

Before he even thought about it he reached out and grabbed the canvas that proudly hunged above the fireplace and with to remorse he brought it down. It fell down loudly peeling away from the ceiling and as it fell it brough down vases, pots and torches – all of this hit the wooden floor with great noise, but Oropher grabbed as much canvas as he could and threw it into the flames. The fire rose up burning the painting quickly and brutally. Specific smell of scorching paint rose up in the room and the flames got out of the fireplace smoking the walls around dark. Oropher turned from the fire to look at his father, his eyes cought red shade of the flames and boiled with ire.

'You didn't see fit to tell me that I had a sister? Or that my mother left me?' he asked and his cold voice contrasted well with fury in his eyes.

She only cared to take my sister with her and you took me under your care out of pity? I wasn't enough for my mother to deserve her love?

'I know what you think. None of it is true.' Erthor said, but appaling fright mirrored in his voice, as if he saw Oropher's thoughts.

The flames hissed feeding upon the prey that was given so freely. It devouered eagerly wathever was in its touch and yet so many stared into them in awe.

'Allow me to decide myself what to think about it, because I can no longer count on you with that.' Oropher said and he realized that it was not a lone anger lingering above the clouds in his heart. There was appaling sadness as well and he barely remembered time when he had felt such sorrow. 'If I am such a burden to you then maybe I should have followed Amdir. Then you would have finally no children to worry about.'

As soon as he said it he regretted it. He knew he was wrong to say it, that he put down his father even more with this. He lowered his eyes to not see how it broke Erthor's heart while at the same time he just didn't want to look at his father. He moved from his place, passing by his father in fast pace, leaving the still flaming carnage behind him.

'Oropher, please-' there was such desperation in Erthor's voice that Oropher's heart scrunched up, but he had not stopped at his father's bidding and he kept walking down the corridor.

Damn them all! They had impudence to speak to him of truthfulness, loyalty and responsibility, of justice and right. This is what they wanted and what they demanded from every member of the House of Elmo. Did they do the same towards him? Have they kept their loyalty towards him?

Oropher growled angered. They didn't! This felt like betrayeal and stinged just the same. He believed in them and they broke this trust. There was no excuse for that. Who were they to show him the way? How dare they make choices for him and choose what was right and good for him? What they were trying to do? To protect him, to shield him from this knowledge? They had no right to-

Oropher bumped with someone and only then he focus up from his wrathful thoughts. Without a word of apologise nor a look back he wanted to pass by the elf, but he was cought and turned back to face the one he bumped into. He did as he was bidded to, but he turned more like a wolf that didn't wish to be touched. Furious grimace on his face made him hope that this someone will back off.

Galathil run eyes over his face and he held him tighly by the uniform not letting him to step away. Oropher should have expected that this will be someone familiar who dared to treat him so and Oropher backed down from lashing out at his cousin. He tried to get away from him, but Galathil held him firmly keeping him in place.

'You are shook up.' Galathil said and there was a deep frown on his forehead. Oropher turned away, but Galathil knew him well and he could see what was hidden beneath his anger.

'I argued with father.' he said blankly hoping that Galathil will let go, at the same time knowing that he hoped in vain. He should have knew better than that Galathil will leave him be. 'I am just angry, that's all.'

'You are not angry, but anxious and depressed. It was long since I saw you like this.' his cousin said and he no longer held him tighly by uniform, instead he cought Oropher's arms and caressed them in comforting gesture. It made things only worse as his throat started to hurt from the mix of feelings that rised in him. 'What happened?'

Oropher closed his eyes and clinged to Galathil holding to the coat on his back. Whatever will happen he can always count on his cousins. They will never betray him and they will always stand by his side.

'I'm messed up.' Oropher said quietly. 'I need to talk to you. And Celeborn. Arvellon must hear this as well.'

'Let's go to my place.' Galathil said and Oropher let himself be lead away. His cousin will never fool him, he won't betray his trust and Oropher knew he could follow him blindly.

[fanworldbuildingfun]

I may only be two bureaus in, but I think that’s not the case? So far it seems like they were abandoned because the Brotherhood was withdrawing from the Isles

Just went to check - and yep. With Roman Empire leaving Brittania, the region was deemed too destabilized and the Brotherhood withdrew from it. The notes also indicate they believe they have acted rashly and undermined the Empire there too indistriminately, and thus cause the fall to come too swiftly

So technically, one may argue that these locations are more likely to have been undiscovered. See - even if you consider that Eivor found/unlocked some of them, they still remained undetected for a long time. But that’s just the British bureaus of Roman branch But one may make an argument there were other places that have been abandoned due to various political reasons

I do see your point though. Britain - and a lot of other European countries, at that - have the living space at premium cause there is only so much territory. So unless the ruins are located somewhere in the national park area, they would likely have been built over. But! 

One would be assuming the people building the place would inform relevant authorities that they found something interesting. When it comes to older buildings, esp those built before modern standards of construction were implemented, the chance of old building being integrated / used as hidey hole were more likely than now. 

(Mind, this may or may not be me under impression from all those old restoration videos that had old tunnels uncovered in them that led to nearest castle, etc)

Again, I agree on the point that laxer countries would be easier to hide in, but I would argue against island countries. For the sheer reason of: the supplies would be much harder to aquire without raising suspicions. Depending on size of island they would be coming in by boat or plane, and at semi-established intervals, so if there is a sudden change to the demand (as would be, if a Brotherhood or somethins is established) with no visible reason as to why, it would be easier to trace So either the island needs to be large enough to be able to mostly support itself with agriculture / animal husbandry, pr it would be better for the country of choice to be on the continent. Ground deliveries are harder to trace (esp if it’s personal transport and not GPS-ed trucks)

Oh. Oh now that you have raised the option of underground, I am having callbacks to Derinkuyu in Turkey. Can it be that Desmond could have found something like that? At its height, the underground network could host thousands of people + cattle. And hey. It was HUGE

And hey, we can mix in everything together and have @twitcherpated​ idea mixed in with what we scetched out: Desmond’s Eagle Vision can point him in direction of old abandoned house that just happens to have built over an entrance to an old underground city? (I’m sorry but I am also laughing over how “Green Energy” this place would have to be to remain undetected. Or just to work with the fact a lot of the people in there either don’t have legal entities or aren’t in good enough financial standing to explain how they can afford so much energy etc and where it goes. So imagine using underground river with generators, some kind of septic tanks or the like to get rid of waste, composting, growing mushrooms etc etc)

Okay we have so many cases of Isu places surviving, but how about discovering old Assassin bureaus? Imagine if Desmond managed to slip away from US period. Unless we are talking some English speaking country, finding a place may be hard so imagine Desmond just... Managing to locate previously undiscovered Bureau. And given how Brittania Bureaus look like in Valhalla? Let's pretend banners/furniture survives. And so Desmond moves in (and then ends up getting novices ofc)

I mean, it's possible, yes, but the main reason why the bureaus aren't a big part of the modern day Assassins is because of the Great Purge. A lot of the bureaus/safe houses were taken out by Abstergo and what remained were abandoned. It's possible they'd find a bureau they can use but, at the same time, they would never be sure if those bureaus would be safe from Abstergo. Chances are, Abstergo probably has a record of all past bureaus they know of.

That's why modern Assassins from small groups call cells. They believe small groups would have a higher chance to slip away from Abstergo's eyes and they were always on the move. I think the only current modern-day equivalent to a bureau still being used is Gavin Bank's ship.

if we are talking about Desmond deciding to have his own base:

Masyaf is out of the question. It's too well known and under Abstergo control

Alamut is out as well. It's pretty much a tourist destination (although, tour guide company owner could probably be a good cover?)

Villa Auditore is also out as Abstergo knows about it

Considering Lucy's true allegiance, they probably know about Tiber Island too

Davenport Homestead was too out in the open

This meant... it had to be something smaller maybe?

Or underground...

Like the underground area underneath Sofia's bookshop maybe?

Wait.

Underground?

That's hard to get to unless one was an experienced Assassin...

One that only Assassins know about...

One that Abstergo probably wouldn't think of or didn't know because it wasn't that important in Ezio's memories.

The Assassin's Tombs.