#she thinks everyone should give gilgamesh attention

[healingagoddess]

When no one listens

Request: Maybe something thenamesh?? I don't know something cute and fluffy and the other eternals are so done with them - by anon, thank you so so much 🖤

Warnings: English is not my first language.

Pairing: Thena/Gilgamesh

Words: 792

It is not an everyday thing to find Gilgamesh and Thena so close resting against each other. So, it is hard to pay attention to Ajak’s instructions as two very tired warriors snuggle in the back.

“Stop.” Thena threatens Kingo from afar with her stare.

“I should say the same thing,” he replies back, body fully turning towards them. “What is this that’s going on?”

She looks away and back to Ajak, ignoring him.

At some point during Ajak’s speech Thena rests her head against Gil’s shoulder earning the attention of Druig and Phastos, who just stare at each other like they are in the office.

“You see it too, right?” Asked Kingo.

“Uh,” Phastos takes a moment to think, but is cut off by Ajak.

“Are you guys even listening?” She speaks directly to everyone in the left corner which consist of Kingo, Phastos, and Druig. “What was I talking about?” She asks at their silence.

Kingo and Druig look at each other waiting for the other to talk as Phastos stutters to form an answer to no veil.

“You are talking about the re-distribution of the teams to travel overseas in the search of deviants.” Thena replies from her place attached to Gil’s rib.

Makkari frowns at her with a discerting look, and Sersi just looks marveled.

“Thank you, Thena; but I was talking to the corner on the left.” She gives them a stern look.

It is enough to make them stop, but it has now gained the attention of Sprite. She uses an illusion of herself sitting at the front listening to Ajak, while she walks invisible in the direction of Gilgamesh and Thena. She takes note of how they are holding hands, and how Gil’s thumb is brushing against Thena’s. Just when she is about to prank Gil tickling him with an invisible feather she hears Ajak calling out her name.

“Sprite, I hope you are not using an illusion again to escape. This is a very important matter.” Ajak talks like a mother with a warning tone.

Sprite hurries back to her place. “Sorry, Ajak.” She knows Ajak can detect her better than anyone, a special ability of the prime eternal.

At some point Gil starts to snooze nodding his head not fully asleep, and Thena wraps her arms around him to support him against her own shoulder like a mother would hold a child close. This has now caused distress between the eternals, even Ikaris is looking at them every now and then. Even Ajak blinked a few times in their direction, like trying to see if she was seeing right or it was one of Sprite’s illusions to stop her speech.

Kingo is fully turned towards them, ignoring Ajak right in front of her salad. The salad being a very cozy Gilgamesh and Thena. Phastos’ jaw has almost dropped to the floor, he keeps looking back and forth between Ajak and them. Druig is seeking comfort with Makkari, trying to ignore the scene, but it doesn’t help when the speedster is also occasionally looking at them and trying to gossip with Phastos and Kingo from afar. Sprite joined the corner on the left trying to get a more discreet glimpse of the two strong eternals in the other corner. At this point Sersi is just completely distracted by Ikaris standing next to her at the right side of the hall.

“I’m going to do it.” Mumbles Druig.

“I-” Phastos stutters. “It would be better if-” He struggles to find the right words. “You know what? Do as you please.”

“Don’t mind control them in front of Ajak.” Sprite intervenes.

“Gil?” They all hear Thena’s whispers. “My feet are cold.”

Gil soon takes her feet into his hands and between them to warm them up.

“Okay!” Kingo declares loudly as everyone else starts to complain, disrupting Ajak’s speech. They all get up shaking their head as Ajak looks at them confused.

“And where do you all think you are going?” She asks as they start to leave.

“We don’t even get cold.” Complains Phastos on their way out.

“Nice talk, Ajak. I might throw up.” Druig says.

“This has been the weirdest experience ever.” Sprite says. “I hope it never repeats.”

“What is going on?” Sersi asks as she follows them out.

Ajak shakes her head as she takes a deep breath trying to keep her cool. Her eyes fall on two very exhausted eternals on the right corner that stare right back at her not even one bit of guilt in their faces.

“So, are we dismissed?” Asks Gil.

“Just go.” Ajak says so done for the day.

But she can’t help but smile as she sees them walk out together; hand in hand.

[lovelyfanatical]

I Get a Sugar Rush Whenever I’m With You - Chapter 4.1

Happy mid-week/The Marvels teaser trailer day, fellow Drukkari stans! We have made it to the next chapter! If you missed the end of the last one, you can find it here, or start over from the beginning here. You can also find me on AO3! Now that Bread Week is done, we're moving on to '70s Week (in honor of Eternals comics debuting in the decade)! Without further ado, here's the next installment of Drukkari in the Great British Bake Off!

True to her word, Detective Makkari had done her self-assigned homework on both Thena and Gilgamesh, and she happily informed Druig of her findings. This one had proven more of a challenge, as neither party posted very often on social media. That said, Makkari had discovered that Thena worked as a stunt coordinator, Gil was a Taekwondo instructor, and neither appeared to be in a long-term relationship. She was now determined to get them together, and Druig was going to help her (he’d been commanded to, but even if it was a request, he would’ve said yes).

That said, as he surreptitiously watched them on the morning of the fourth week, he didn’t really think either Thena or Gil needed their help. Druig hadn’t been paying them much attention outside of judgment time, which was when the judges would heap praises on Gil’s dishes and awkwardly deliver their criticisms under Thena’s steely gaze. Now that he was actively observing them, however, they almost seemed like old friends. When the cameras were far away, Thena was still quiet and composed, but not cold like she was during judging. And when Gil was around, the walls came down and she’d smile and laugh. As for Gil, he seemed to get along with everyone, whether he was giving words of encouragement to Phastos or teasing Sprite. But he seemed to have a soft spot for Thena, a certain familiarity that Druig couldn’t quite place.

He relayed this to Makkari on the shuttle ride to the tent, but for a moment, all she did was stare at him with a bewildered expression. Finally, he asked, What?

You got all that from watching them for ten minutes this morning? she asked in return.

It was more than ten, you were just late, he replied with a teasing smirk.

Very well, Watson. But we’ll need more evidence before we can draw any solid conclusions, she said matter-of-factly.

Agreed, Sherlock, he affirmed.

Just then, he was distracted by Sersi waving at them. Taking a breath, she slowly signed and mouthed, Are you talking about Gilgamesh and Thena?

Makkari smiled and responded, Yes.

Sersi’s face lit up as she continued, I think they’re cute together.

Us too! Makkari replied, motioning toward herself and Druig. And just like that, Sersi became the Lestrade to their Holmes and Watson.

-

Despite her excellent sleuthing work, Makkari didn’t actually have a plan to get Thena and Gilgamesh together. As such, she, Druig, and now Sersi merely continued to observe the two throughout the day. While Druig had been able to glean quite a bit from their earlier interactions, it was a different story in the tent. With the cameras rolling, both were quietly focused on the task at hand (he should be, too, Druig mentally reminded himself). Their stations weren’t that close to each other, which wasn’t conducive to them interacting. Thena was certainly the more stoic of the two, tending to keep to herself until called upon to share. In contrast, Gil liked to exchange banter with his neighboring competitors whenever he found himself with downtime. Though Thena was still concentrating on baking, Druig thought he noticed a hint of a smile on her face as Gil cracked jokes with Sprite.

The observation continued into lunch, or at least as much as it could with all their friends now practicing their signing with Makkari. They also had to get Kingo up to speed – or so they thought.

“I have to say, I’m surprised you didn’t pick up on it sooner,” he told Makkari, a response she hadn’t anticipated, based on her dropped jaw. Kingo started to laugh but instead yelped when Makkari threw a berry at him. Druig stifled his laughter, as did Dane and Sersi.

Are you insulting my observational skills, Kingo?

“What? It’s not that hard to see, although I’ve had a lot more time to watch them now that I’m out of the competition,” he explained. “But I mean, just look at them.”

Thena and Gilgamesh were eating with Phastos and Sprite. While the latter two got into a debate about different milk substitutes, Gil shared a knowing smile with Thena, which she returned even as the debate grew snarkier. It was like the rest of the world had ceased to exist to them.

While Sersi and Dane were still looking away, Kingo added, I guess you were too distracted by those two.

Makkari rolled her eyes as she added, Fine, it is pretty obvious now that we’ve been watching them for a few hours.

“I still think there’s something more,” Druig added quietly. “Something we’re missing.”

“What, like they’re secretly dating already?” Kingo asked.

“Maybe, or something else.”

I agree. It’s almost like they knew each other from before, Makkari replied. But I couldn’t find anything in my research indicating they did.

“Makkari, have you been snooping?” Ajak asked accusingly. Makkari only smiled sheepishly in response. Kingo chimed in, “There’s no real harm in it. We’re not stalkers.”

“It’s not our business, though, is it? Jeez, is this all you three have been talking about in secret?” she said, motioning to Makkari, Druig, and Kingo.

“Well, if we told you, it wouldn’t be much of a secret,” Druig added with a cheeky grin. “And if I recall correctly, you enjoyed the gossip as much as everyone else.”

“Get a life!” Ajak responded exasperatedly. The rest of the table erupted into giggles as Makkari and Druig fist-bumped. Ajak waved them off and continued, “Gossip is one thing. Getting involved is quite another. It’s better to stay out of it.”

Okay, mother, Makkari said with an exaggerated sigh. I promise not to interfere with Gilgamesh and Thena’s already blossoming relationship.

“Thank you,” Ajak replied, equally exaggerated. After a moment, she then added, “Wait, did you call me mother?”

“To be fair, I think we’ve all thought about it at least once,” Kingo chimed in. Ajak’s jaw dropped as the others burst out laughing once again.

“Just because I’m older than the rest of you doesn’t make me the mom friend!” she cried.

“You are the wisest of us, Ajak,” Druig piped up. She rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

“I believe the kids would say she has the brain cell,” Dane added.

“I don’t even know what that means, which I guess only proves you all right,” Ajak conceded with a sigh. “Well, I couldn’t ask for a better group of younger bakers to mother.”

The group let out a collective, “Awww.”

-

To all the mom friends! Also hope you enjoy Detective Makkari's latest case, aka background Thenamesh. Let me know if you did!

Part 12

[sacredharlot]

“It’s good to hear that His Majesty the King is still so popular, even in this era!”

[callsign-fox]

Reunion - Druig

Pairing: druig x female!reader/eternal

You haven’t seen him since that dreadful day he left you behind and now you have to convince him to help you on a suicide mission.

___________________________________

It had been five hundred years.

Five hundred years since the last time I stood alongside my entire family.

Five hundred years since we all fought together to eradicate the deviants from earth.

Five hundred years since I last saw him.

When I stepped out of the Harvard physics building two days ago I did not expect to see my fellow Eternals standing on the terrace waiting for me. After an hour of listening to Sersi and Ikaris deliver the most difficult news I’ve ever received in my existence, we were on the move to acquire the rest of our motley crew.

Now, Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Thena, Gilgamesh, and I slowly made our way up a dirt trail into a tiny wooden village hidden deep in the Amazon.

I turned to Thena who walked in step beside me, “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been dreading this moment.”

“I’m quite excited,” she said, smirking in my direction. That was when I noticed she was cradling an abnormally large iguana.

I rolled my eyes, “Thanks Thena.”

The inhabitants of the village all looked at us with confusion. In their defense, we were all dressed in modern day attire while they seemed to be stuck in the 19th century.

I could hear Sprite speaking with someone in Spanish, asking them if they knew where we could find our friend.

“Somos amigos de la…universidad.”

I laughed at Sprites' lie and spun around right as the villager’s eyes began to glow.

“Hello Sprite.”

My heart started to race as the doors to the chapel opened behind us and Druig stepped out. Although it had been five hundred years, at this moment it felt as if no time had passed.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled, “I've missed you all.”

We all moved closer to where he stood, Sersi ahead of us all since she would be the one to break the bad news to him. I reached out with my mind and latched on to him. It was an immediate flood of emotions; anger, sadness, grief, and fear. I began to alter his emotions from afar, but unfortunately my abilities worked best when I was in contact with the person I was altering. I could easily pull him closer to me, but I thought it would be better for everyone if we kept our distance. Right as I was about to dissolve the negative emotions I felt an overwhelming amount of joy and love push through. That’s when I realized his eyes were on me.

“What are you all doing here?”

Sersi was the first to speak. “We need your help.”  

She paused and looked at me for help knowing the news she was about to give him may set him off.

He finally moved his gaze from me to Sersi, an annoyed look on his face, “She’s already in my head so go on with whatever you have to say.”

I looked up at him and my heart began to ache. He hated when I was in his head.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ikaris clench his fists. Before further conflict arose I was able to alter his emotions to leave him more relaxed. His palms went flat and his shoulders slowly began to slouch. We did not need a fight between the two of them right now. I didn’t care what was going on or how powerful Ikaris was, I’d take him down before he could even blink in Druigs direction.

Sersi nodded in my direction and then turned her attention back to Druig, “Ajak is dead, and Arishem lied to all of us about…everything. About our mission here, about our entire existence.”

Druigs expression did not change. We all stood in silence waiting for his reaction. Being as I was still connected to him, I can feel that his emotions haven't changed.

This time, Ikaris spoke, “We should discuss this further but I think it’s best we go somewhere more private, as a family.”

As Druig stood silently on the chapel steps I thought back to that horrible day five hundred years ago. Not only was it the last time that I saw him, but it was the last time I saw every member of my family. After thousands of years together, he was gone. He shattered my heart into a million pieces. I hated him for so long, I wasn’t sure if I could ever forgive him. We were gods, immortal, but in that moment of heartbreak I never felt so mortal. Yet after all that, all I wanted to do was feel his touch.

“Fine. Make yourselves at home.”

~~~~~~~

Sprite and I sat beside each other watching Druig as he soaked in all the information Sersi just gave him.

“This is taking a lot longer than we had anticipated.” Sprite whispered. “We still have to find Phastos and Makkari.”

“Do we even know where they are?” I asked, keeping an eye on the current conversation between Kingo and Druig.

“Kingo claims he knows where Phastos is, and once we have the Domo Phastos can locate Makkari.”

“Ikaris! Missed you.” Druig shouted, his voice echoing in the small room. “You gonna threaten me, or charm me.”

“There is a third option if you’d prefer that.” Ikaris snapped back, his fists clenched once again.

Druig didn’t flinch, “It must be heartbreaking that you’re not mothers favorite.”

Sprite nudged me and gestured toward Ikaris and Druig, “Can you do something about this?”

I took in a deep breath and with a flick of my wrist pulled all the negativity and anger from the room in one swoop. I was close enough to the two of them for it to work almost as effectively as if I was touching them. Everyone looked to me but I stood up and fixed my attention on Druig.

“Enough. Are you going to help us or what because we can’t stay here. The emergence can happen at any moment and we still need to find Phastos and Makkari. This is serious Druig!”

He took a step toward me leaving barely a foot between us, “I’ll tell you what’s serious. I’ve just been told I’ve been sent on a suicide mission for the past 7,000 years and that my entire existence is a lie.”

I took a step away from him not wanting my emotions to take control of me.

His features softened as he took in my weakened appearance, “Excuse me for not giving a shit about your plan right now”

“Druig!” Gilgamesh shouted from the front of the room, Thena still sitting quietly by his side.

“Leave, stay. You’re all welcome if you do decide to stay.” Druig began making his way toward the exit but right before he reached it he spun around and gestured in my direction. “I’d like to speak with you…” he glanced around the room quickly but landed back on me, “Alone.”

Part 2 ---> here!

[maddyteller]

Double Mindedness - Part II.

Druig x fem! reader

Warning : Contains some spoilers, tw death, abandonnent, little violence. Some fluff (a bit sad though). Not very happy but it will come, I promise !

Summary : After finding the love of your life, are you ready to face your destiny ? Facing sometimes the hardest punishment, the loss of a loved one.

Note : English is not my first language and I still make any mistakes. I write on English for practice so please bear with me ! Don't hesitate to correct me and enjoy (:

Amazon - Present day

"This is... a forest ? Druig the forest man. Little remix of Tarzan and seeing as we have Jane with us it shouldn't take too long to find him. Right Y/N ?" Sprite makes the whole group laugh, as always. Thena can't help but smile and I have to admit that I might have laughed. A little. Only a little. Stunned by the landscape before us, I don't really pay attention to where I'm stepping. "Y/N watch out you're going to-" "Fuck !" I crunch my nose under the pain that is taking over my entire right leg, the brambles are still clinging to me and I have to admit I'm holding back tears as best I can, it hurts like hell. "Remind me why I came here !"

Gilgamesh helps me out of the quagmire, my leg well scraped and I drop into his arms. "What's the idea of putting on a dress to come here Y/N ?" "I don't know but... I... I think I'm going to die... goodbye." I played my part to perfection all the way through, my eyes closed, my hand placed on my forehead dramatically. I make my friends laugh in turn, which relaxes the charged atmosphere a little more. Gilgamesh straightens me up and we try to get back on our way, being careful not to hurt me a second time. "Why put on a dress for him ? It's not like he left you behind without a word." Ikaris's words come out dry and sharp so I decide to answer him in the same way "I think you're cheeky for someone who left without giving any news." a heavy silence falls on us, nobody dares to answer anything.

"I think you're beautiful Y/N." I lay my eyes on Gilgamesh's smiling face, who definitely understood that Ikaris' remark had just hurt my feelings. "I agree." Thena and Gilgamesh look at each other with a small knowing smile. I always wonder what I would have done without them. I wouldn't know how to thank them for all they have done for me. They are my family more than my friends.

Soon we arrive in the heart of a small village, quite calm and harmonious. More or less intrigued looks are on us, as if they had not seen a stranger for a long time. While Sprite tries to get some information to find Druig, I look at a little girl, sitting, calm, watching us with curiosity. If there's one thing that can calm me down, it's children. I wave to her, say hello and smile. "You came quickly. I really didn't expect to see you here now." that voice.

My body tenses, I don't move, not wanting to be noticed. If I could go unnoticed by the way that would be great ! I hide as I can behind Kingo, in passing my eyes pass unhappily on Druig. How does he always look so beautiful and charismatic. "My beautiful girl... you always think so loudly." I feel his blue eyes staring at me, which makes me blush almost immediately, as his gaze travels over my body I feel strangely weak, his eyebrows furrowing when he sees that I've hurt myself. "Come in. I believe you have some things to tell me."

Sersi looks at Druig, trying to see how much what she has just told him may have hurt or affected him. She realises that it's not exactly easy to take in and that Ajak's death affects everyone, even Druig. "Why would I agree to help you?" "For.... to save the world? Isn't that a good reason?" he doesn't answer Sersi's question, which annoys Ikaris, who makes it known. "We're leaving. We don't need him, Sersi. We'll find another way." "Ikaris, this is not really time to be a difficult child, you know.” I can't help but speak up, which I should have avoided. The tone rises very quickly between them. No one really listens to each other anymore and Druig ends up leaving, annoyed and irritated by our presence, announcing bad news.

Kingo stands up, trying to convince Sersi to let Druig think about it, to give him some time.Tired of all the commotion I silently leave this pretty chapel. I venture into the forest while being careful, I really don't want to get hurt again, this is not the time. When I finally find him, with my back to me, facing a sumptuous lake, I feel his anger piercing me with full force, if dealing with my own emotions is a concept that escapes me, dealing with those of others is within my grasp. If I want to talk to him, I'm not going to have the choice of taking that anger away. If Arishem gave me the power to control emotions, I might as well use it once in a while.

I move closer to him and gently let my hand slide down his forearm before entwining my fingers with his. "I've always hated that you control my emotions. But if it allows me to hold your hand, I don't really have a problem with it anymore." I smile at him, trying to back away, to take my hand from his but he holds me back, never looking at me. "Do you think Sersi's idea is the best idea ever?" "You have another idea?" "No. Not really. I don't really know if I care about any of this either."

I look up to the skies, tired of his stubbornness, "I don't want to leave, I like it here. I like its landscapes, its beauty, its weaknesses. I don't want to start all over again, to forget, to no longer know how much I love you all. They need you, Dru. I need you." I look out to the horizon and admire the beautiful sunset. "Take time to think about it, just a little. I know it's not easy for you either. Even if you don't show it." I finally let go of his hand. I don't really expect an answer, so I leave to join the others.

As I arrive back in the centre of the small village, I find my friends ready to listen to one of Sprite's most beautiful stories, Thena's. Sersi beckons me to join her "I love Sprite's stories, I've missed them." I smile at my friend "Me too." Once the Sprite stuff is over I look around for Druig but can't find him, instead I come across a rather angry Ikaris. "Are you sulking? Stop sulking." "Druig can sulk and I can't?" "Druig sulks because that's all he does. Druig sucks. Come on." I hold out my hand to my friend, which he finally grasps.

"Ajak...? Ajak!" I rush towards her, sliding on the ice. Her body is cold, grey, empty of all energy. "Ajak... oh my God..." I try to look around for help, but nothing. "Help! Please!" my crying doesn't stop. I hear a noise that makes me look up. "What the..."

"Y/N? Y/N are you okay?" the voice of Ikaris brings me back to the present moment, a little confused I smile nervously quickly removing my hand from his. "Yes, yes I'm fine! I'm just a little tired, travelling and all that... I'll go and rest for a bit." I offer him a not very convincing smile, I must admit. I walk away, in incomprehension. What just happened? "Since when have you been able to access Ikaris' memories?" I gasp, letting out a small cry of fright. "What the hell is wrong with you! I was close to dying there Druig!" I hear him laugh, his laughter making me, tender. Damn it Y/N this is not the time. "It's not funny! You look like a psychopath like that, hiding in the dark...."

"I saw what just happened with Ikaris, I saw what you saw, since when can you access other people's memories?" "First of all I don't know what you're talking about and second of all who told you that you could walk around in my mind like it was yours?" "You. It's not my fault that your mind is always so tame when it comes to me Darling. If only you could be as docile as he is..." I roll my eyes. "It's not like you like me to give you a hard time. I didn't know it was a memory. I've never done this before... I just held his hand. But... it definitely doesn't make sense. Why would he have a memory like that?"

Druig stares at me, as if to make me understand something that seems so obvious to him. "No. No it can't be, don't even try to say it." "You never thought he could have-" "Shhh. No, no, no, no and no. He would never do that for the simple reason that it's not possible, that's all." "You're getting agitated." "Of course I'm getting agitated Druig you are implying that Ikaris could have killed Ajak, do you realize what you are saying? Of course I'm getting agitated." what if he's right? I feel a wave of uncontrollable anxiety sweep over me.

Everything gets mixed up in my head and I don't know how to separate the real from the absurd. "Who wants honey, must suffer from the stings of bees" these words take me back centuries. While we were Ajak and I admired the starry sky, I confided to him for the first time my love for Druig. The only person who knows it, I confide in her my fear of being hurt and therefore that I didn't want to make the first move but that I still wanted to live a beautiful love story and these are Ajak's words that night. Who wants honey, must suffer from bee stings. "It was because of Ajak that I confided in you." "I know. And it is because of you that I learned to love the outside world."

Nothing could spoil this moment, maybe it was time to confide, to talk about the past. Nothing was supposed to ruin this moment, but that was far too easy, wasn't it? Ready to give myself up once and for all, I feel a feeling of revenge come over me, I don't really understand where it comes from until I see a deviant heading straight for us. Without thinking I throw myself on Druig, creating an energy field, protecting us momentarily from the deviant. Everything happens very quickly and in an instant we are both alone. "The village..." as we arrive at the main square, it's chaotic.

My first instinct is to protect the children who are the most vulnerable. Creating an energy shield around us. I get everyone to safety, as much as I can. "Y/N!" I turn around when I hear Gilgamesh call out to me, I don't have time to realize that a deviant is coming right at me that Gilgamesh intervenes, risking his life. I run towards him trying to help him as I can but I am far from being a warrior. I find myself propelled to the ground with my face turned towards my friend, Ikaris takes the deviant farther into the forest, finally giving the village some respite.

I get up with difficulty, running towards Gilgamesh, lying on the ground. "Hey... get up, I'll help you... get up.." no response, just a small smile only. "Y/N..." "I'm here... come.... I will help you. Get up. I'll help you. Stand up. Please..." I caress his face, my tears burning my skin as he just let out his last breath. "No... no please no... please don't leave me! Don't leave me! "I scream. I scream my anger, my pain, my sadness, I scream my regrets, I scream my remorse. "Y/N... " Thena's hands rest on my shoulders.

All around the fire, no one speaks, only a villager, saying a prayer in Spanish in memory of Gilgamesh. Thena's cries reach my ears. My heart becomes a little bit heavier. I start to cry again, unable to contain it. "My love... come here." Druig wraps his arms around me and I rest my head against his chest, my eyes closed. His warmth and scent reassure me so much. His presence makes me feel good.

In the early morning, Thena deposits the ashes of our dear friend in the lake. Asleep against Druig's chest, the first rays of the sun caress my face and wake me up. "I missed you so much Dru... don't ever leave. Ever again." "My beautiful princess... I won't leave again. I promise. I will come with you. We'll find Phastos and we'll stop the emergence. For earth, for Gilgamesh. Rest a little longer, love... I've got you."

Part two is a bit longer but I loved writing it. It's a bit of a mess but I hope you'll like it anyway and I would probably do a part three if you want. 🦋

[blueroan-equestrian]

Little Green Monster part 1

Request: Can i ask for a dark! Druig with an eternal reader? She is always affectionate with all of them but he's always been possessive and clingy over her and doesn't like to share her affection with the others

(Y/n) let down her force field that was protecting the city from the diviants. Gilgamesh and Thena came back with triumphant smiles while Sersi walked back with Kingo and Icarus looking tired and Makkari was perky as ever. Druig, Ajak, Sprite and Phastos had stayed behind with me. I greeted them warmly before we all went back to the place that we would be residing. I knew Druig would be in a mood as he usually was after a mission like this. I think he felt left out as he rarely got to use his powers, unlike the rest of us.

So often I would take him out for a walk after so he could have some attention but this diviant took a while to take down and I was worn out from exerting myself. He pouted but didn’t argue when I told him I needed to sleep. I had fallen asleep in my little bed alone but when I woke up in the middle of the night I felt as if I was being watched. I sat up and looked around seeing a dark figure in the corner. I turned invisible and got out of bed and went to go find Druig. I went into his room but it was empty so I went and woke up Phastos my other best friend.

He rubbed his eyes, “What’s wrong (y/n)?”

“Someone is in my room can I stay with you tonight?”

He scooted over and I climbed into bed with him. In the morning Druig was in a worse mood. But of course he refused to talk about it. So I went about my day, no use letting him drag my mood down if he wasn’t going to talk about it. I went into town to get some supplies for the group and as I do Druig approaches me. I give him a smile but he doesn’t return it, in fact he scowled. “You going to tell me what’s wrong now?”

He fidgeted at first but then asked, “Do you like Phastos?”

“He is one of my best friends.” I shrugged.

Druig didn’t like this answer, “What? You’re best friend?”

“Yeah, you and him. Both of you are my best friends.” I chirped completely missing the jealousy in his voice.

He nodded but didn’t say anything just began to follow me though the streets holding whatever I handed to him. Going back it was becoming more obvious that Druig was upset. Once everything was squared away I pulled him aside and demanded he tell me what he was so grouchy about.

“I… I…. Went to talk to you last night… but I scared you and you went to Phastos room.”

“I went to your room first.” I argued, “But you weren’t there, why didn’t you say something?”

“I scared you…”

I pinched my brows together trying to understand what was happening. He was in my room standing in the corner of my room but he said he was trying to talk to me but it was dark and he made no attempt to do actually communicate with me. He had stayed in the shadows. It just didn’t make any sense. And his story was like a cover up.

I walked with him back to camp and began to put away and prepare food. Druig watched from the small kitchen table. I tried to ignore it but he glared at anyone who came into the kitchen to talk to me. It absolutely irked me. “Druig it looks like I forgot to pick up some eggs could you please go get some?” I asked trying to just get him out.

Once gone Phastos came in, “Boy is in a mood today, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s been really clingy and possessive. He glares at everyone who even dares to look at me.”

Phastos laughed, “Maybe you should take him out for some mommy and Druig time.”

I couldn’t help but laugh too, “Maybe I should.”

…

Druig and I went apple picking and one of the local men that was there started flirting with me. Druig got closer to me like he was trying to claim his territory. “Druig, you need to stop acting like you have a claim on me. If you want a stake on me you got to do better than just glaring at other people!” I barked exasperated by his behavior.

@mrsbarnes107th

Part 2

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Four: War (Gladiolus x Reader) Chapter Ten

From the ledge with the campsite, the path ahead is a ramp running up the face of the cliffside. It appears to be made of wood that has long-since rotted, but is able to still support their weight. Using the wooden ramps, they ascended the cliffside. While proceeding up the ramps, Gladio questioned the marshal. "How long has it been since you undertook the Trial? Thirty years or so?"

"Give or take. I was a lot younger than you are-and far less experienced. It's a wonder I even made it out alive," Cor said.

"This place look familiar to you?"

"Vaguely. The younger me had little mind for taking in the sights."

Before long, Gladio, (Y/n), and Cor reach additional wooden pathways, which they follow to a stone path along the cliffside. From there, they reach the entrance to another cavern within the cliff wall. However, the path was blocked by a flock of wyverns and a few bulettes. The marshal and War readied their weapons, leaping into battle.

The Horseman noticed the shield had yet to summon his greatsword and went to question him, but she watched in stunned silence as he walked over to a destroyed cement pillar and picked it up. She lowered her blade the moment Gladio swung the cement column at the bulette she was fighting against. She shook her head with a sigh. "Show off..."

"Heard that," Gladio chortled slightly, going after another cement column.

After disposing of the creatures, the trio proceed into the cavern. Not far into the cave, they came across another talisman and a wall similar to the one from earlier. Gladio recognized the layout. "Another trial chamber."

"And another chance for the warriors to impart their wisdom," Cor added. "It won't come easy, though-you'll have to earn it."

(Y/n) shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, I'm sure you can handle whatever's inside. Just make sure you come back in one piece."

"You worried about me, firecracker?" Gladio asked with a smug expression.

She folded her arms across her chest with a glower. "Just get your ass moving..."

Gladio knew it was still difficult for the Horseman to speak her true feelings and opted to drop the subject. He proceeds to the new trial chamber in the same manner as the previous one, leaving Cor and (Y/n) behind. The two watched the shield cross a stone bridge spanning the divide of the Taelpar Crag. Once taking a few steps onto the bridge, they noticed a fiery winged creature target him.

Cor watched closely as the enkidu targeted Gladio. (Y/n) did the same, but her attention was drawn away from the fight when they heard the voices of souls echo around them.

"How many moons has it been?" One soul asked.

"Since our last visitor? Far more than I can count," another soul replied.

"Let us see how our latest challenger will fare."

War's attention was drawn away from the fight when she sensed an all-too-familiar presence nearby. She looked around, trying to locate the only being that reeked of rotting flesh. She remained where she stood, knowing she couldn't enter the trial chamber until Gladio dealt with the enkidu. She didn't want to risk him losing his chance to obtain the power he desperately seeks.

Cor noticed her tense form and grave expression. Unlike her, he couldn't sense the dullahan's presence or smell the foul odor it emitted. "What seems to be the problem?"

"The dullahan..." She looked around the area. "It's nearby." Remaining where she was, she continued to search for the monster while Gladio fought his own battle.

Eventually, Gladio defeats the enkidu and proceeds across the bridge. He climbs through a fissure in the cliff wall to enter a stone chamber housing the next power shrine. Akin in design to the first, Gladio proceeds to acquire the power within the second shrine.

"Venture forth, Young Warrior, bearing our hopes and dreams," a soul said, addressing the brute. The shrine vanishes in the same fashion as the first, and the wall beyond it likewise splits and slides open as before. "Look ahead, for the Shield of the King must safeguard our future."

"Leave it to me," Gladio replied.

Cor and (Y/n) rejoin him and they proceed on ahead, battling more spirits dwelling in Taelpar Crag. During their fight, another soul spoke to the shield. "The skills shared by these souls have been passed down for generations. The Shield of the King would do well to put them to good use."

Moving forward, they reached a dead end. More souls appeared, standing against the trio. They struggled against the barrage of enemies, combining their attacks to take them down.

After defeating all the enemies in the room, an exit back to the cliffside is revealed as part of the wall splits and slides open. Before they continued down the path, Gladio glanced at the Horseman. "You're tenser than usual. What's the problem?"

(Y/n) was silent for a few seconds before answering. "The dullahan's somewhere in the area. I never expected it to be down here since no humans live here."

"Can you think of any other reason why it would be down here?" Cor questioned.

"I can think of a couple. One possibility is this is where it's hidden its head. The other is it wishes to harvest the power dwelling here."

"And how would it do that?" Gladio inquired.

"By consuming Gilgamesh."

"Impossible," the marshal denied.

"It may be, but that won't stop it from trying."

"And what if it succeeds?" The shield wondered.

"It'll be even more of a pain in the ass to defeat," she sighed. "Worst case, it will be my downfall."

"Then we better stop it before it reaches Gilgamesh."

The group makes their way down the path and step out onto a ledge within the gorge. Locating a wooden ramp leading around the cliffside, another soul speaks to Gladio. "Thousands set foot on these grounds, all of them fools unprepared for the dangers lurking within. They all meet with the same fate-as will you."

"I don't think so," Gladio retorts.

"Think what you may, but I know otherwise. The Lucis you call home is nothing like the Lucis I once served. Your age has forgotten the horrors of war, coddled by the king and drunk off the complacency of peace. No Shield worthy of defending the True King could be born from such depravity."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he remarked sarcastically.

"Look at the bright side: everyone loves an underdog," Cor said.

The trio proceed across the wooden path, then down another series of wooden ramps, eventually coming to a second stone bridge spanning the chasm. Several large creatures are on the bridge, one being a bandersnatch.

Gladio summoned his greatsword. "Aww. A warm welcome, just for me."

(Y/n) conjured her sword and set her sights on the bandersnatch. Gladio and Cor dealt with the other enemies before helping the Horseman. With their combined strengths, they were able to handle the immense beast.

With the bridge now clear, they could proceed forth. However, the redhead froze when the rancid odor of the dullahan was much stronger than before. The moment she turned around, she spotted the monster as it rode across the bridge. She quickly summoned her crimson-bladed sword, but she was shocked when it rode past her. It was targeting Gladio.

Acting quickly, she tossed her blade and warped, appearing right next to the shield. Using her entire body, she pushed him out of harm's way just as the dullahan used its whip. She swung her sword, deflecting it before it could wrap around her neck. While the dullahan retracted its whip, (Y/n) addresses her companions. "I'll keep it occupied. Go on ahead without me."

"No way in hell you're facing that thing by yourself," Gladio hissed. "Remember what happened last time?"

"I won't let this thing be the reason you fail the trials," she snapped back. "Get moving, Gladio."

Before the shield could retort, Cor spoke up. "Your fight is elsewhere, Gladio. Remember why you're here."

"I know why I'm here," he snarled.

"Then don't get sidetracked."

Just then, the dullahan charged toward Gladio a second time. It used its whip to try and decapitate him, but (Y/n) jumped in front of him. The whip impaled her in the abdomen, causing her to shriek out in pain. She grabbed the spine whip with gritted teeth and used all her strength to yank the monster off its horse. Unfortunately, her actions not only caused it to fall off its steed but also the bridge.

Because of the whip's sharp tip lodged through her gut, she was dragged off the bridge alongside the dullahan. She heard Gladio shout her name as she plummeted deeper into Taelpar Crag. She removed the whip from her abdomen, kicking the dullahan in the chest at the same time. Using her armiger, she attacked the monster and managed to pin it to the cliffside with numerous of swords and javelins. Using a few more weapons, she made sure it couldn't move a muscle. Knowing she couldn't kill it without its head, she could only keep it trapped for a short time.

Detecting the summoning orb in Gladio's possession, (Y/n) dispelled the armiger and teleported. The dullahan screeched out as her body vanished, its cry echoing throughout Taelpar Crag.

Teleporting to the campsite located at the Steps of Solace, the Horseman pressed a hand against her bleeding abdomen. Gladio rushes to her aid when noticing the blood seeping through her fingers. He offered her one of the potions he found earlier, but she pushed it away. "No, keep it. You might need it later."

"I can spare one," he said. Crushing the bottle, he watched as her body radiated with a pale green light. He looked down at her wound and saw it was healed. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine. Thanks," she stated.

Cor stood up and approached the two. "It seems you were right, War. The dullahan is after power."

"Not surprised. Since Gilgamesh is a more difficult target to deal with, its decided to go after Gladio," (Y/n) explained. "But I've managed to get it off our trail for a short while."

"If that's the case, we should get moving."

Gladio placed a hand on the girl's back. "You ready?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

From the campsite, Gladio, (Y/n), and Cor enter another cavern passageway within the cliff face. Deeper into the cavern, they heard the soul's voice again. "He who protects the king...must boast muscle and mettle, both finely tempered. Should he lack either, the Shield will shatter."

Shortly thereafter, the trio came to a wall upon which a demon-like entity manifests. Known as an inannaduru, it was accompanied by soul of fortitude enemies. Cor and (Y/n) focused their efforts on the smaller enemies while Gladio targeted the inannaduru.

Within minutes, all the adversaries were dead. Once the inannaduru is defeated, its body discorporated and the wall it had been bonded to shatters. "The penultimate trial awaits. Prove to them you're prepared to serve as the Shield of the Chosen King," Cor said.

Soon thereafter, the trio locate the next trial chamber. Gladio unseals the third trial chamber and enters. Like with the previous chambers, (Y/n) and Cor remained behind. The redhead crouched down, feeling slightly weak from the blood loss earlier. The marshal noticed her slightly pale complexion. "So that was the dullahan you mentioned. Never have I've seen such a creature."

"I would be more surprised if you had. Dullahans are only found in the Inner Sanctum. They're a pain in the ass to deal with. Luckily, only one escaped," she said. "Let's just hope Gladio finishes with these trials before it breaks free."

"You think Gladio couldn't handle the dullahan himself?"

"If he survives the encounter with Gilgamesh, I'm sure he could. But for now, I refuse to let any mortal face that monster even with me at their side."

Cor stared into her (e/c) eyes. "Now I understand."

Her brows knitted together. "You understand what?"

"It's not that you don't trust mortals. You don't trust yourself to protect them when in fact you have the power to do so. Why's that?"

She sorrowfully looked away. "I, myself, couldn't protect my own people. Truth be told, my hands are tainted with the blood of the innocent and I no longer trust myself to protect anyone. What right do I have to protect someone with my bloodied past?"

"You learn from the mistakes you made in the past. It's how one grows and changes. From what I can tell, you have changed which means you've learned from some of your mistakes. Keep that up and you'll be able to trust yourself once again."

She lifted her head. "Have you been talking to my sisters?"

"Not recently," Cor answered.

"I see..."

"Why do you ask?"

"Nothing in particular."

Once Gladio completed the third trial, Cor and (Y/n) rejoined him just in time to see the wall located behind the shrine split and slide open. "Nice work," Cor complimented. "Maybe you've got what it takes after all."

"Maybe, but it ain't for you or me to decide," Gladio responded.

"True-and the Blademaster is a more formidable foe than any you've faced thus far."

Venturing through the new opening, the group finds another campsite. (Y/n) held out her hand, igniting the wood that was located in the campfire. While Gladio and Cor rested, she ventured a little ways away from the campsite. Sniffing the air, she could no longer smell the dullahan's presence. She wondered if it had escaped, knowing it wouldn't be able to gain the power it seeks, or if it was waiting to ambush them later on.

After spending some time prowling the area, she returned to the campsite to see Gladio and Cor were ready to move on. They made their way down another series of wooden ramps and heard more souls talking to Gladio. "Come here to die, have you?"

"You looking to die again?" The shield sneered confidently.

"You amuse but do not impress. You lack his conviction," the soul said.

"Whose?"

"He who traversed these caves some thirty years ago. Turning a deaf ear to our wails and wishes, he proceeded unfazed, eyes ever forward. Yet he proved powerless before the general, cast out in defeat. If even he could not succeed, I see no hope for you."

"That guy must've left quite an impression...when he landed flat on his face," Cor said.

"Even the most graceful have small hiccups here and there," (Y/n) stated.

"Indeed, they do."

Making their way down to yet one more ledge, Gladio, War, and Cor soon find themselves at a sealed wall in the cliff face. Unlike previous trial chambers, this one is sealed with rock growth. The marshal stands before the wall and raises his katana. He unsheathes the blade slightly and the rock growth barring the entrance dissipates. Cor sheathes his katana once more and lowers the weapon. He speaks to Gladio without turning to look at him. "Clarus would've tried to stop you, you know-just like he tried to stop me all those years ago."

"How come?" He inquired.

"Because one aspiring to the role of King's Shield can stake his life for none but his liege-not even for himself." The marshal turns to face the brute. ""Do you dare risk all for naught in return?" His words stayed with me. And he was right: I barely made it back with nothing to show for it."

"So, you gonna stop me?"

Cor shook his head. "No, I won't. But I will warn you one last time of the danger you're about to face-just like your father warned me. Once you set foot through that door, there's no turning back-and no one to help you if you fall. One false step, and it may prove your last."

Gladio takes a couple of steps forward. "I'll be fine. Maybe I'll come back with a souvenir." He then turns towards (Y/n). "You're unusually quiet, firecracker. You worried about me?"

"I'm a pretty good actor, you know. Pay me a thousand gil and I'll pretend to be worried about you," she retorts with a grin. It then morphed into a gentle smile, which was a rare sight to behold. She strolled up to him and playfully punched his arm. "In all seriousness, I know you'll be fine. You made it this far. I know you can do this."

Gladio smiled back at her. He placed his hand on top of her head. "Y'know, you should smile more often. It really does make you a hundred more times beautiful."

War was taken aback at the compliment. Although caught off guard, she couldn't help but laugh. "You're seriously flirting at a time like this?"

"I call it "telling the truth," not flirting."

"Uh-huh, sure." The Horseman places her hand on his bare chest, providing him with one last healing incantation. "You've quite the adversary ahead. It'd be rude to keep him waiting."

"Thanks for the healing." Gladio removes his hand from her head. "Wait for me, (Y/n)."

"I'll be right here when you come back."

With one final smile, Gladio enters the chamber to face Gilgamesh. "Just come back alive. Be safe, Gladio," Cor said before the shield was gone.

Even when Gladio was out of sight, War kept her gaze focused in the direction he vanished. "He will, Marshal."

[fuwafuwamedb]

Hesitant Next Steps (Cu, Rin, Hakuno, Gilgamesh)

He had no intention of becoming the fool’s fool.

The whiskey on the counter clinked, the ice within adjusting as the water dribbled down the side. The bartender was looking his way, but Gilgamesh returned the look with one of his own. His hand moved to the buttons of his cheetah print, unbuttoning the jacket and leaving his chest beneath exposed to the room.

The ogling wasn’t going down.

The women nearby, promiscuous if the men hanging like lace around their arms were any sign at all, were shifting. He could feel the gazes, stroking down his every outline as he gave the room a cursory glance.

The point of this trip was to get away from his thoughts. He was not one who needed to dwell on the sentimental and the trivial. Tonight’s argument had been a venture into both those things.

“Goldielocks,” the blue haired man greeted.

“Top me off, Blues Brother,” Gilgamesh told the fool sitting next to him.

“Ain’t working tonight.” Cu Chulainn waved a hand to the bartender down the way, pulling his cigarettes from his pocket and moving to stick one in his mouth.

Gilgamesh leaned in, wrapping his mouth around the filter and tugging it out with his mouth. His hands pulled a lighter from the bar counter, flicking it and finding Cu leaning in and lighting his own cigarette before he could do his own.

“These taste like shit,” Gil complained.

“Yeah, well- Bachelor bartender’s wages. You get what you get. Tip your barkeeps better.”

He can’t help the snort that escapes him at that. The man was making enough. He had that woman around him all the time as well.

At the thought, he looks to his drink again, removing his cigarette and blowing out the smoke so he can sip at the drink.

“Where’s your woman?”

“Where’s yours?” the man counters.

A ballsy question from someone sitting around and smoking in a bar with him. The drag he takes from the cigarette feels long, longer than one would normally take before he looks to Cu Chulainn beside him. He blows out a cloud of smoke in the man’s direction.

With that cloud, he shrugs.

“No doubt worrying about frivolous things.”

“She heard about Gudako then?”

The name leaves a bad taste in his mouth to hear. The red head simply had to get herself engaged and announce it to Hakuno and Rin. The ring had been large, the promises from the fool even larger. There had been talk about having a family. There had been promises of seeing the world and doing all kinds of things, but Hakuno had been focused only on one thing: the promise of love.

She had asked for him to talk about how he felt. She’d insisted on it, quite a few times, until they had gotten into the debacle that had sent him into the world of debauchery.

“Rin came home and asked where our relationship was going,” Cu Chulainn told him, taking a drag of his cigarette and looking to the bottles behind the bar. “She was askin’ if I had thought about getting a ring or doing anything to ‘make up’ for stealing her heart away. I tried to get her to talk about her feelings and confess properly, but eh. She’s still being a child.”

“I am not here to listen to your problems.”

“Sucks when you can’t have someone be honest about these things. It’s like- where’s the point in dating someone who can’t even handle holding your hand in public or telling you that they care about you?”

He really isn’t in the mood for this.

“If she could say it, that’d be somethin’, you know? Instead I’m reminding everyone that she does care, just privately. People are so damn noisy though. ‘She must not care much if she can’t show it.’”

“I don’t care, Celt.”

“Should just end things already,” Cu tells him. “It’s not like there’s a lack of people out there. That cook down the way has been eyein’ me. Might be fun to hop back over to the other side of the fence again. I like it both ways.”

“You’d leave that fool over something as stupid as not showing you off to people?”

He doesn’t care.

It’s none of his business what this idiot decides to do. He has his own shit going on. Hakuno would never dare to turn away from him for one of those fools who drool over her magazine photo shoots.

“A person can only take being a secret for so long.”

“How much do you need to be shown off? What the hell kind of relationship do you want?”

Cu snorts, raising a brow at him. “I ain’t askin’ for a billboard, Goldielocks. I’m askin’ for her to be able to sit next to me from time to time when we go out without finicking with what I’m wearin’. I’m asking for her to take a chance and do something I enjoy, just because she wants to be next to me. I’m always at her things. I’m always going along with her plans and her outfits and things.”

The man dares to nudge at him.

“I haven’t seen any of my Hawaiian shirts since I started dating her. I don’t mind too much, but it would be nice to see some compromising. I can start over from scratch though. Get a few shirts from the market, start my wardrobe over. Find someone new.”

Damn the man.

He can’t stop thinking. Getting up, Gil knocks back the glass on the counter and tosses a couple bills down without paying attention. He has to leave.

The rain is starting to fall now as he heads through the dreary paths. The lights flicker and the noises of cars honking and zooming passed can be heard. He pulls the back of his jacket up a bit and curses his decision to leave.

Each light seems to last a thousand years, each step taking him only mere centimeters closer to his goal. People around him seem to be complicit in this dump and run mood, complaining and fighting as he tries to cut corners on the pathway back to his condo.

The building looms off in the distance before him. These seas of asphalt and neon are growing around him, rising higher as the schools of cars swim passed him in the rainfall. It’s like he can’t breathe out in these streets anymore. His eyes are lingering on the shoreline of a sidewalk, checking for the brunette amongst the throngs of grey figures.

And then there’s the bright lobby of his building, the doorman giving him a nod as he enters.

Under normal circumstances, a situation that would have never arose, but he must have looked pathetic.

He feels it as he finds the elevator doors closing to reveal his appearance.

The room bings.

The golden, reflective doors open.

Hakuno herself stands before him, looking at him with wide eyes and her coat on. Her hands are holding onto his umbrella as she realizes he’s before her.

“Gil-“

They’ve spoken enough.

Gilgamesh moves into their home and wraps his arms around her, stealing her right off her feet and carrying her to the bedroom. His mouth seals against her own, claiming it as he feels her hands drop something and hold onto his shoulders.

“Mmph-Gil!”

Hakuno pushes at him, but he stops her words with his own.

“Stay by my side.”

“What… Gil,” Hakuno stares at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I will permit one plain outfit in my wardrobe, so long as I can adorn one necklace and bracelet,” he tells her. “And I will consider going to the Ozymandias gallery next month and taking you as my public plus one.”

“Y-you will?”

“But you must do something for me.”

Her frown is back. He’s always liked her little bemused look, but this is not it. He finds himself pulling her along towards their room, shedding his jacket to the floor on his way.

“You have to wear your engagement ring when we go,” he tells her. “People should be able to see that you’re mine.”

Her lips press to his, her mouth claiming him better than it had when they first confessed. He can feel the energy coming off her, leaving him to all but laugh as they reach the bedroom.

He’ll get a ring later. For now, he has engagement sex to enjoy.

-

“Damn, good tips tonight,” Cu shakes his head as he sees his brother collect the large tip from Gilgamesh. 

“Mhmm.”

“I ain’t really ditching Rin,” he tells him. “I just know Rin and Gil have that same pattern of not showing shit. Figured it’d help someone.”

His brother’s eyes drift to him and then to the cigarettes, the one from Gil ditching it in an ashtray and the one from him, which still hung from his lips.

“...Don’t tell Rin.”

“Don’t have to.”

Cu sighs, glancing back with the apologies and excuses ready in his head. He’s almost prepared to argue when he sees the drowned rat of a woman on the other side of the room. Those blue eyes look around for a moment before seeing him. Her heels click dangerously on the floors a moment before she stumbles into his arms.

Her sobbing face pressing to his chest is enough. 

He can’t help but to laugh a little, noting the bright green shirt poking out from the top and bottom of her coat. 

She was wearing his favorite shirt.

“Come on, Rinny. I think it’s time we went home.”

[razorblade180]

Twin Snowflakes pt19: Skill, Sickness, and Skirts

Four hours into the day and no incident at school. So far so good, Summer thought to herself. It was pretty weird to be at school knowing Nick wasn’t around. The two never really saw much of each other anyways, but it was weird nonetheless. Summer sat quietly in the nurse's office with papers on her lap and a text book in her hand; the typical set up. Classroom temperatures and an abundance of not so nice peers made for a very dreadful school environment most days. It wasn’t all bad. Quiet time for most of the day was nice. Nobody or no one to bug her. Until the door swung open and Veronica disrupted the vibe.

“Yo Princess.” The girl said in a good mood. Veronica actually didn’t sound insufferable right from the jump. That nickname was still annoying though. “Do I have to pay you to use my name regularly?”

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I don’t care about your money. It will never influence me. Eliza said I might find you in here. I thought she was joking but I should’ve known this is totally a thing you’d do.” Veronica looked around the sterile environment, devoid of anything interesting. “I’m supposed to be nice to you, but it’s shit like this that brings my opinion of you crashing down.”

“Whatever.” Summer groaned, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like it was high to begin with. Why are you even in here?”

Veronica took a seat on the bed next to her. She reached for one of those sticks nurses pressed down on people’s tongue and started scratching her nails along the edges. “For you obviously. I gotta be around a student council member and Eliza is taking a test. PE is your next class isn’t it?” The stick finally snapped from the friction. “Might as well try and be active and see the school. Being in one room all day is boring.”

Summer didn’t like anything she just heard. The worst class with Veronica? Why was life this cruel. She was a good girl, yet a trail came day after day to test her. “Umm you should rethink that. Valerie is in my class.Plus it can get annoyingly loud.” A cheap deterrent but Summer had to try something.

Veronica shrugged. “So? I’ll just stay away from that jock. Also I’m no stranger to crowds and microphones. That’s my life too, remember? I know how to adjust accordingly.

Summer frowned as she gathered her papers. “But-” Veronica put a finger over her lips to silence her. The girl slowly removed said finger and started putting Summer’s stuff away.

“We can make this suck, or we can make it tolerable. Let’s just both try not to step on each other’s toes and get through 90 minutes together, fair?” Veronica put Summer’s thing over the petite girl’s shoulder then got her on her feet. The slightly forceful push out the door made Summer yelp? “Why are we leaving now!?”

“Because I can phase us through the locker room door and get us changed before anybody shows up.”

“W...wait, you care about things like that? But you’re so….” Summer leaned further back to press against Veronica’s boobs. “Filled out.”

Veronica hit the girl on the head. Summer couldn’t help but notice the slight blush that appeared. “Don’t be so dense.” Veronica protested. “Just because I’m hot doesn’t mean I like stripping down to my underwear in front of others. And honestly, what’s with everyone and tits!?” She ranted, clearly passionate about the subject. “Nothing is fun about back pain. I also don’t need a bunch of entitled snobs staring at my ears and tails like I’m an exotic zoo animal. Changing early avoids most of that.”

“You eventually have to change again though.”

“I don’t have any classes so I’m not in a rush. I’ll just wait for everyone to leave or change someplace else.” Veronica looked at Summer annoyed. “Can you start actually walking or am I going to have to keep pushing?” Summer leaned forward and out of the way. She wasn’t expecting Veronica to hate changing almost as much as herself. They really did share a similar annoyance towards school. For different reasons of course. Kids looked at her scars and snickered. If Veronica felt like a zoo animal, then Summer felt like a freak show at a circus. That’s what those stares felt like anyways. Summer took Veronica by the hand and sped up.

Veronica jolted. Being grabbed like that was a pet peeve.“Hey! What’s with the pulling!?” Summer looked back at her and stuck her tongue out. “Don’t be pushy if you can’t take it. We’re gonna take a shortcut. It’s not like you really know where you’re going anyways.” Veronica mumbled under her breath. Admittedly she had this coming. Veronica had no choice but to listen.

xxxx

Back at home, Weiss was having her own set of problems in the form of her overzealous son. She had just walked in on him out of bed and reaching for his sword. Granted, he was looking leagues better than he was this morning, but that’s what medicine does! It didn’t mean he was actually better! Weiss put down the tray holding his lunch and medicine. “Am I going to have to get the black wig?” She crossed her arms and gave him the infamous mom look.

Nick gulped. Bleiss wasn’t a person to bargain with. “Let’s not be hasty hehehe.” His nervous laughter made his voice crack slightly. “I’m feeling so much better and staying in bed all day is boring, so I thought some light training…”

“That’s partly why you’re sick!” His mother exclaimed. “Your body needs proper rest.” Nick pumped his fist in the air and boasts, “My body has rested! I’m an Arc after all.”

Weiss remained unconvinced, giving him a look of judgement. Nick let out a defeated sigh. “Come on mom, I have to do something. I feel like I’m right at the cusp of a breakthrough. King of the Hill is mine this year, I can feel it.” Nick looked at his hands with excitement and frustration. He wiggled each finger before clenching his fist. “I just need to push a little more. Somehow.” He looked at his mother who was still judging him.

Weiss could tell he wasn’t bluffing, and neither was that video from the physical exam. What Nick did was beyond impressive and exceeded what she was doing at his age. It was also rocky as hell. There were multiple areas in his fighting style that needed severe ironing out. “It’s moments like these I think karma is playing with me. Winter had a difficult time reeling me in whenever I wanted to train too.” Weiss laughed a little, remembering those simpler times. They weren’t all fun and games but she cherished them wholeheartedly. “If you’re going to train then I’m going to be overseeing it and you’ll follow my rules.”

Nick’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “Seriously, the two of us!? Aren’t you busy?” Weiss shook her head. “I’m here taking care of you aren’t I? If we’re doing this then you should know swordplay isn’t the focus. You sir need to pay more attention to glyphs.” She pointed at him in shock. “I can’t have a son of mine slack off in a technique that’s built into his very DNA.”

It stung a bit to hear that but that’s because she wasn’t wrong. Nick knew compared to everyone else his glyphs were lackluster, especially to Summer. Her combinations and skill made him think she was constantly going through dust ratios in her head like an encyclopedia. “Well then, that took the wind out of my sails.” He slumped over.

“Practice makes perfect. Meet me in the garden in half an hour. Eat and take your meds before then.Also wear something warm.” Weiss said as she left.

“Yes ma’am.” Nicholas flopped onto his bed. At least it was better than doing nothing at all.

Thirty minutes went by in no time at all. Nicholas approached his mother wearing warmer clothes than his pajamas. He had chosen to wear some sleeping thermals over lounging sweatpants while his upper body was warmed by a thick gray hoodie. Normally the cold wasn’t a problem, but being sick made things a little harsher. The two stood on one of the four walkways that made the giant square garden. In the middle was a decently sized hedge maze that was surrounded by tea tables and various kinds of foliage. Apparently this was his grandmother’s favorite spot. Tea wasn’t her beverage of choice though. If it was then maybe she wouldn’t have drunken herself to an early grave.

Nick shook away the depressing thoughts. Weiss was doing the same by the way she briefly zoned out until Nick moved. He clapped his hands together. “So, what’s on the agenda?”

“Your video tells a lot about you. Constructing swords is a skill you don’t need to work on. It’s clear you got that down.”

Nick smiled proudly. “I didn’t get the nickname Gilgamesh for nothing.”

“That name also tells everyone just how bad you are at long distance and anything that isn’t directly connected to swordplay.” Weiss pointed out.

His smile turned sheepish, the pride snuffed out. “So I’m guessing that’s today’s lesson?”

“You’re half right.” Weiss grabbed his blade, Mort Froide, and placed it in his left hand. She was lucky her son was ambidextrous. His passion for dual wielding was to thank for that. She positioned his left foot forward and his right foot back; adding a slight bend to his left leg. “We’re going to put your body in positions that are normally opposite to what you’re used to. Do you know why?”

“Versatility? That way I can do sword and semblance skills with either hand?”

“Not only that, but to strengthen them and let you feel the difference in performance. Naturally you’re right handed, which means casting glyphs and swordplay is inherently going to be better on that side. Casting glyphs for you usually involves your left. It’s made it well trained, but it also means you’re rarely performing them as strong as you could be. Make a wall with your right and then with your left.”

Nick extended his middle and pointer finger while flicking his wrist up. A generic glyph formed in front of them in a second that was wide enough to cover both of them. He switched to his left to try the same. The delay was about a second longer and half of Weiss’s body was exposed. Not only that, the glyph looked slightly dimmer. He had never noticed the difference.

“Woah….who knew?”

“Your sister.” Weiss jabbed at him. “Not only is the size and speed different, but I guarantee that right handed casting can take and deal more damage. A helpful tip for Valerie. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a subconscious amount of effort and aura going more into the left one too, but you’ve done it for so long that I doubt the difference is hindering you. Just something to keep in mind.”

Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster and slipped in lightning dust. “Our swords, like any other weapon, are conduits for our aura. Using our semblance with them is second nature and having both hands to perform glyphs by having them on the sword provides more power behind it. It’s not always viable unfortunately.”

“I know. Making the quantity and quality of swords around me helps when I do the stance you taught me. The one where you kneel and stab into the ground.” He twirled his sword once before taking a knee, piercing the ground as a demonstration. “I have the fundamentals understood. It’s the concentration I’m lacking I guess.”

Weiss agreed. “Believe me, it’s challenging. You can get to the level of focus, but you take too long to reach that point. Which brings us back to our lesson today. She handed him vials of lightning and fire dust. “You’re going to practice a practical technique, and an impractical one. The first one is time dilation.” Weiss could see her son’s face turn to despair, making her laugh. “Haha don’t worry, I’ll help you through it.”

“Mom we’ve been down this road before. It ended with me constantly getting shocked. I didn’t even pull it off.”

Weiss remembered that day. Nick couldn’t touch anything with static cling for hours. “Hey you’re a little older now. Asking that much of you was definitely on me. If you can learn to use it, then your swordplay automatically becomes better. Quick attacks are already your forte. Having this without Summer’s help will elevate you. Especially if you’re dual wielding.”

Nick couldn’t deny any of that. Time dilation was a move that would be perfect. Too bad he sucked! It was one of the few things he had no progress in. It was essentially the beginning of deep diving of advanced glyphs. “What’s the second lesson?”

Weiss pointed to the maze. “The infamous candle test!” She said b like an announcer almost.

It was one rough reveal after another. “No! I’m going to burn everything!” Nick wasn’t being a defeatist, but realistic.

The candle test was the epitome of a fire hazard. It was a difficult way of working on control and concentration to an obsessive degree. The objective was to light the candles set up on the inside of the maze as fast as possible by using their semblance. At novice level, a person goes through the maze lighting them one by one. That way control was the main focus. A step above that is to stand in the center and send tiny embers to each candle. That requires more concentration on directing the fire while controlling the output from the very start. A level beyond that was to do it from the balcony. That way you can see all the candles, but now you have wind to worry about. The flames needed to be strong enough to reach the candle while being perfectly on course so plants burn. Finally, there was lighting all the candles from the ground level from the outside of the maze. Nick could only get through the first two levels. Summer does the fourth option for fun…

“Mom, there’s no way you’re expecting me to do option four well, right?” He cautioned. “You’ll be putting out a lot of fires.”

“That’s fine. That’s what practice is all about. Repetition will make it easier because I’ll keep the candles in the same area I always do. Even if you get marginally better at this, then you’ve progressed more than you will realize.” Weiss rested her hand on Nick's shoulder. It was relieving to know that her child could still act his age. She probably shouldn’t be happy to see him nervous, but she was. “Think of it like this. Let’s say you can get past level three of the candle test in about three minutes. A level of control and concentration that swift will make everything you can already do faster.” Weiss put her sword down and held her hand palm up. A glyph suddenly formed then burst into a flash of light.

Nick closed his eyes briefly. Only to open them again to see a Sphinx the size of himself standing next to his mother.

“It’ll also bring you steps closer to everything you can’t do yet.” Weiss petted her creation. “That thing you did with your gigas is really impressive. It would be a tragedy if you couldn’t pull it off in intense, solo combat.”

Now he was fired up. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he pulled off what he did during the fight with the Paladin, but he did know that it would be a game changer if he could call upon it at will. If he could even be a fourth of what he was that day then he’d have a useful crutch. If getting to that point meant doing what he was bad at, then there was no time for whining. Nick placed a vial of lightning dust into the hilt of Mort Froide. “Let’s get to work then! Valerie won’t know what hit her!”

xxxx

“Why am I so bad at this!” Nicholas shouted off of the balcony. He had been doing the candle test for about two hours now. Time dilation was tricky but the basis of it was something Nick had the hang of, so they switched gears to this. A thing he couldn’t handle even if he had extra arms.

Weiss finished putting out the flames on the slightest burnt maze. At least it was warm enough outside to not need a coat. Both of them had switched to tank tops. “Give it one more good try, then we’ll take another break.” She encouraged enthusiastically. “Don’t worry about speed right now. Focus on concentration and control.”

“Okay…” Nick took a deep breath and got back into position. This time with his sword in his right hand. He raised it to the sky to make a fire glyph then brought it down in front of him.

“Might want to angle it a little higher. Have it arch through the air.” Nick followed hire instructions accordingly. He had twelve candles he needed to light . All in separate spots. The middle of the glowed brighter as a flame ignited. It grew more and more in size before the flame wrapped around itself to make a fireball. Concentration. Nick pulled his sword back and assessed his targets. He split the fireball into twelve smaller ones that went to the edge of the glyph like a clock face. This was control.

Beads of sweat ran down his from the heat and training, that was more rigorous than he thought it would be. “Aim and….” Nick thrusts his blade forward to send them flying. All twelve were on track this time thanks to Weiss’s advice, but only eight of them landed on their targets sadly. The other four fizzled out half way there. The boy groaned, irritated with his progress. Weiss could understand that. Between her family and Jaune, there wasn’t a soul around who didn’t strive for perfection in training.Nick went to raid his sword again but it was quickly pushed down by Weiss’s.

“Uh uh, break time.” She tossed him a towel for him to wipe his face, and screamed if he needed to. She did i that sometimes in moments like these. On the bright side, nothing was on fire that shouldn’t be. “I know this won’t mean much coming from your mom and all, but I think you’re doing pretty well.”

“What are you talking about?” Nick said, wiping his face clean of sweat and ash. “That means a lot. You’re the best at this mom.” He smiled which made Weiss smile. “Maybe I can ask Summer for insight when she gets home.”

“While you’re at it you should probably ask for singing practice with her since she talked you into a duet.”

Nick shuddered at the thought. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I’m not well enough to deal with the critiques of an idol that loves the stage more than breathing.” Summer was a nice girl most of the time. Not to mention reserved, but that changed drastically when it came to singing, Veronica, Shiva, and the heat of battle. Maybe it had something to do with adrenaline? She did enjoy snowboarding after all. “I think I’ll practice singing with you instead. It’ll be less trouble.”

“You’re just afraid of greatness.” Called out at Sumner from behind them. Her folks turned around in shock to see her standing there. “What? Lose track of time? Schools over.” Her attention was brought to her tired twin. Summer did not expect him to be training on a sick day, nor did it make her feel good about how she spent her time. Yet again, Nick was slowly widening the gap between them. This time it was in something she was good at. “How many candles?” She asked, mainly to boost her own ego.

“Eight. Not nearly as good as you.” He said in earnest. “Mind showing me how it’s done?” Weiss handed Summer her sword hilt first.

Great, now she felt a little guilty. Here she was happy to have a leg up on him and he praised her without reason. Summer grabbed her mother’s sword. “No offense Nick, but I can’t put how to do this into words. I just...get it.” She peeked over the edge to see the candles, then stepped back far enough to not see them at all. A fire glyph formed in front of her and with a flick of her wrist, one huge fireball shot up into the sky. It reached over the middle of the maze before bursting into twelve flames that landed right on the candle. Summer gave back her mother’s sword and walked away feeling accomplished. “Just keep at it!” She shouted.

Nick grabbed the tip of his towel and grunted into it. “No effort at all. It’s like she waved it like wand and the rest worked itself out.”

“I hope you know that you don’t have to reach that level of fluidity? Summer has a knack for glyphs the same way you have one for swordplay. Not that either of you are particularly bad at either if I do say so myself.”

“Hard to say that after today.” Nick mumbled, looking at the lit candles. “Hey? If Summer is so good at this then why can’t she summon more than a limb or two?”

“Well to put it simply, summoning requires a lot more than skill. Passion, need, you gotta put your all into it. You’ve done it before. Both of you did at the exam. What were you feeling?”

“Good question.” He sat down and crossed his arms, reflecting on the moment. “Desperate? I stopped thinking about myself and the test for a moment. All I wanted to do was make sure Valerie and Summer were safe, then poof. Next think I know I’m in armor.”

“Anything else?” Weiss was intrigued. She must’ve rewatched the final five minutes of that video at least a dozen times by now.

“Well after they were safe I wanted to end the fight as fast as possible. Huh, I wanted to win no matter what. Then I blacked out.”

Weiss has done that before. She couldn’t count how many times it’s been her vs a grimm that had hurt a teammate and all she wanted to do was strike it down. “I want you to keep that feeling in mind for awhile. Try and understand those emotions so you can use them whenever.”

“I’ll try. Who knows, maybe one day I can win a match against you.”

“Ha! Graduate from an academy first and become a pro first.” Weiss ruffled her child’s wild hair, making him laugh. “Don’t expect me to hold back either. You’re getting everything. From dragons to behemoths!”

The two kept laughing and enjoying their time together that they didn’t even notice Veronica had entered the room. A piece of her didn’t want to interrupt. Not just before seeing Nick laugh was pretty freaking adorable, but because both of them were way more in shape than she realized. Nick was still growing so that made sense, but Weiss!? Veronica wasn’t sure if she paid attention to Weiss’s arms but. They were cut! No wonder her own parents gush over her. It was hard to believe she pushed out twins. Veronica also took note of the lingering embers and fire dust in the air that surrounded the mother and sun. She’ll try to remember it for her fire and ice clothing design. Could be useful.

Veronica finally spoke up. “I take it you’re feeling better?” Her voice finally catches their attention.

Both of them look at her then gasp. Veronica stood before them wearing a white and blue cheerleader outfit. The skirt altered colors while the half shirt was white with blue stitches and Nick’s school name on the chest. The girl swayed side to side with pompoms in her hands. A smug smile spread on her face as her ears and tail bounced to her little dance.

“Sup!” Veronica sang, enjoying the reaction. Weiss and Nick looked at each other, then back at her. “I was gone for a day!” Nick exclaimed. “How did all of this happen?”

Veronica snickered, thinking about gym class. “I’ll tell you about it later.” She spun around for fun.

“Having fun?” Weiss smiled. “I guess today wasn’t like yesterday?”

“Nope!” Veronica cheered. “Are you feeling better? I can tell your breathing is still a little shaky and your heart rate is off.”

Weiss went back into mom mode. “Nick, are you still exhaust- uhh Nick?” The boy didn’t respond. He had spaced out watching Veronica. It took a minute to realize but the moment Veronica noticed that his gaze was on the swaying skirt and torso, her face got a little more smug. Not to mention red. Weiss bopped her son in the head to snap him back to reality. “Whatcha looking at?” She said with a smirk.

Nick’s brain finally started working again and noticed the faces staring at him. He immediately turned red and looked at the ground. “Sorry, I totally didn’t mean to...ya know.” Their laughter only made him redder.

“Well what do you know? The knightly prince is just like any other high school boy. Honestly if it weren’t for Valerie I’d assume you swing the other way sometimes.” Veronica joked, catching Nick off guard.

“Hey! Who would think that?”

Weiss rubbed her chin. “You do complain and avoid so many other girls.”

“Don’t agree with her! You did the same with rich boys!” He countered. Nick then remembered his mother had told him that she’s flirted with her own teammates countless times. “Actually...forget what I just said.”

“Yeah you were about to set yourself up.” If Weiss had her black wig then she wouldn’t think twice of letting certain escapades with Yang and Blake slip. Just for a good laugh. “Seriously, you okay?”

“Totally, can we keep going? I wanna try just a little longer.”

Veronica spoke up again. “Actually I was hoping to steal you away for awhile. I still need actual measurements for your clothes. If that’s not a problem. Summer already did hers.” She added for extra effect.

Weiss thought that was a good day. “I don’t mind cutting the lesson short soon. Give him like another twenty minutes. In the meantime you can unwind for school.” Veronica’s eyes got big. “Okay!” She did a backflip and phased through the floor where she should’ve landed. Suddenly it made sense how she might’ve been put on the team. Harriet lives for flare. A confident gymnast that always lands on her feet and is pretty well known would add to the tournament festivities while potentially beating out the school cheer teams.

“That woman really likes winning.” Nick thought to himself. “Alright, back to the grindstone!” He stood up with renewed vigor. Or whatever you would call a second win whenever you had a cold. He had twenty minutes so he was going to make them count. “That outfit would go to waste if I lose. Can’t have that.” There was something about the way he thought that made Weiss happy. He might be her child, but phrases like that were very Ruby like. He was just so sweet and turning into a fine young man. She couldn’t help but wrap her arms around him and hold him close. “I love you so much.”

Nick’s face was turning red again as he hugged his mother. In truth he could spend the remainder of training time like this in complete satisfaction. “I love you too.”

xxxx

Across the manor, Yang was paying her daughter a visit. Or least she intended to, but somehow she wound up peeking through the crack door of Vee’s room as the girl admires herself in the cheerleader uniform; doing generic poses and the occasional giggle. That came to an end however when Yang was caught in the mirror reflection with a cheeky smile on her face.

“Gah! Ma!!” Veronica said flustered beyond belief. Yang could only let out a hardy laugh as she entered the room. “Sorry not sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She said, hugging her embarrassed daughter. Yang was actually surprised Veronica let her hug her on the first try. Usually Yang’s arms would pass right through her.

“Well well well, somebody is in a good mood, and for obvious reasons.” Yang tugged at the uniform. “And you said nothing good would come out of school.”

Veronica playfully rolled her eyes. “Okay fine, today was pretty alright. Happy now?”

“I’m happy you’re happy.” Yang kissed her cheek and stared into the mirror with her. “We didn’t talk much after you came home yesterday or this morning. Holding up? Careful not to eat too much meat.Not that I mind, but you’ll be upset with yourself if you do.”

“Yeah I know. I’ve been pacing myself today. I’ll probably have a salad or something for dinner. Haven’t figured it out.”

Yang took it upon herself to sit at the edge of Veronica’s bed while her daughter started putting school stuff away. “You know I bet Nick would find it interesting to see the difference between starved and apex.”

The comment made Veronica cringe. She wouldn’t know how to feel if anyone saw her like that again, let alone Nick. “Let’s not test that theory. Acting like that in Atlas of all places wouldn’t do well for human and faunus relations. Speaking of which…” She pulled out her scroll and tossed it to Yang with a tab of herself on it.

Yang read the headline. “Menagerie’s Favorite Daughter Spotted in Atlas.” The picture itself wasn’t recent. It was Veronica on top of a car with a megaphone during one of many protests. Yang liked this picture a lot. Veronica had a fist raised in the air as people chanted with her and waved signs against an intense sunset. She looked powerful. “I guess they know now. Not that they wouldn’t with all the help you’re providing for the twins.”

“That’s true. I just don’t want people hassling me. I’m here to do my own thing, focus on my designs. Spend time with Nick…” she mumbled that last part. Yang heard it anyways. You would think a faunus with amazing hearing would know how to whisper. “How much does Nick know about your situation?” She asked.

“Are you referring to my physical situation, or my social one?” She hated that she had to clarify. Technically Veronica could think of three, but mentioning the third one would be a long conversation she didn’t want to have with anyone. She had it handled anyways. “Socially, I haven’t said anything much. Physically, I clarified things you told him behind my back.”

Yang had managed to forget about the part where she did that. “Oh yeah? I guess that’s a decent amount.”

“Not even going to deny that last part?”

“Nope!” Yang put her hands behind her head and walked around a bit. This always helped her think. “I’m not gonna apologize either for being concerned either. My options were your crush or the girl you’ve argued with since you were four. You don’t confide in me with everything and gods know that I couldn’t ask you to tell someone. You’d throw a fit!”

To say her options were limited was an understatement. Veronica could see that. It still felt invasive.Then again, that’s what parents are. “Point taken, even if I don’t like it.”

“Glad you can see it my way. Letting Summer know would be nice too. Friends knowing your struggles can be therapeutic.”

“We’re not friends.” Veronica aggressively stated, a slight amount of attitude came. “Being friends with a girl like her would only piss me off. I’ll be civil and nothing more!” She scoffed. Yang threw up her arms in jest. “If that’s what you want. I suppose I’ll settle for Nick knowing.” A devious thought came into her mind. “Better hope he doesn’t ask about heat.” Yang wasted no time bolting out of the room as Veronica got a deep blush and started shouting, her mind flustered.

“He doesn’t have to know about that! And you better not bring it up!!” That conversation didn’t have to exist. Those answers will be kept to herself even if it meant gluing her mouth shut. After that remark, Veronica desperately needed to cool off. Time for a shower.

xxxx

Turns out twenty minutes wasn’t that much time for Nick to make any further improvements. Disappointed, he walked down the hallway towards Veronica. He hadn’t been in that room since she showed up. He assumed it had to look like a boutique by now. Nick turned the counter and bumped into his sister unexpectedly on the way there. Summer had ditched the uniform in favor of an oversized ‘Boop!” shirt and sweatpants. Her studio headphones hung around her neck while her hands held two journals and a pencil. Nick knew this attire. Summer was in what he called, ‘Lyrical Mode.’

“Writing a new song?” He tried to peek at the journals but Summer pulled them closer to her chest. “Yes, and so much more.” She stated defensively. “Oscar thought I should try expressing more of my, let’s say inner feelings. I’m not really sure how it will be received though when it’s done. Piecing it together lyrically has been rough.” Summer looked down to read what she had and sighed. “Fortunately this one is more for me. Tournament wise I have a few ideas of previous covers people might like.”

Nick could tell Summer was deep in thought about this. She wouldn’t win awards if her choices in music weren't meticulously planned. “Well if anyone can pull off this halftime show and make it amazing, it’s you. But I hope you remember that we’re still in the tournament; can’t burn before our matches.” He reminded her as he chuckled nervously.

Summer pursed her lips and studied that chuckle. “Don’t worry, I won’t wear you down. Just get healthy and work on relaxing your jaw when you hold a note.” Summer patted his shoulder and went on her way. “Dad and I will be in the music room.”

“Hold on!” Nick shouted. “How did Veronica get a cheerleader uniform?”

Summer laughed. “Haha! I’m sure she’ll want to tell the story.” Now Nick was even more interested and sped off to the room. Summer stopped and turned around. “Wait, Veronica just got out of-” Summer didn’t speak fast enough.

Nick didn’t stop to think about knocking first. He simply walked in on Veronica wearing a shirt, only a shirt. If Nick thought the skirt was distracting then this was a full blown diversion. The purple shirt stopped right around her thighs and showed off her toned legs. Any movement could easily start showing a bit too much. The two teens said nothing; they just stared right at each other in shock. Nick slowly backed away while closing the door, then started walking away.

Summer shook her head at her idiot brother. “I know it’s our house but how’d you forget to knock?” She didn’t get an answer. He waved her off in embarrassment of his foolish screw up.

Veronica came running out of the room, black shorts appropriately around her person. “Wait!” she got down all fours and pounced once across the hallway, diving right through Nick and blocking his path. His blush was as red as her own. “I walk around like that at home, but I’m not home, so… oops.”

Nick couldn’t believe it. Why was she apologizing!? “No no, that uhh, that one’s on me.” He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Knocking was invented for a reason. Sorry.”

“It’s cool. Well I mean it’s not cool! But you know I uhh...it’s not like I’m…” Veronica had no idea what she was saying. “Mad, I’m not mad” her tail pointed back to her room. “Anyways, ready?”

“Y-Yeah hehe.” Step by step they eventually made their way through the hall again at a good pace. Summer could only write in her other journal, then one made for her feelings.

“Journal entry number 117: Some days it feels like I’m the least awkward person in the room. A very staggering feat to say the least.”

Part 18

[secret-engima]

Does Cor ever get his explanation for the way the KG reacted before they showed up? And does anyone ever try to warn Cor that he’s in danger from the Glaive, and/or some old granny warning about being stolen away only for her equally old neighbor to start snapping back about it being a fine old tradition eventually tips him off about fey wives. Child soldier Cor asks Clarus for details but all distracted Clarus says is kidnap marriages illegal. Which, not help? Amissa, halp, need tactical info

Anonymous said: How protect royals from never heard of fey things? Just, the terrible irony of Amissa, who *has got* to have been to worlds where Fey Exist, having actual wards and defenses she whips out, and Galahad warding the Citadel and the royal family against Fey influences while the rest of Lucis is convinced that they are fey. And that Doesn’t Help, what are the scary people protecting against? And it turns out some *work* against daemons. Couples with the ‘hiding from monsters’ Glaive/kid convo...

Me: This is all INCREDIBLY hilarious thank you. To answer your question, if you mean the “hissing, snarling, Treed yeeting himself onto a lamppost” thing ... not for a long time no. They politely ignore his confused look and he’s not QUITE sure how to bring up the “yeah why were you glaives losing your minds at civilians for random hand gestures?” thing. He might TRY to question it but he just gets shifty-eyed looks and a vague “It’s a Galahdian thing” answer that really doesn't help (They don’t quite trust Cor yet, don’t want to give the game away but also don’t want to run him off so...).

So, no one who knows who Cor is is going to warn him away from the Glaives, because he’s COR THE IMMORTAL. If he wants to flirt with death by interacting with them then if anyone can get away with it it’s him. But other people who just see a nice young man being led around by a woman that seems to appear and disappear from/into thin air....

One of the old servants or something TOTALLY tries to warn him about being stolen away. Or if there’s a moment Amissa lets go of his hand and ducks away for a minute, a granny might flag him down and warm him about being careful lest he be “stolen away as a feyling husband”, but then another granny cackles that he is CLEARLY looking to get snatched so let the boy have his fun, to which a third retorts that it is NO LAUGHING MATTER and what if he gets snatched by a Darkling rather than a Higher Fey and by the time Amissa returns Cor has discreetly escaped the cluster of screeching grandmothers all arguing over something he doesn’t quite understand beyond apparently there are groups of people out STEALING other people for marriage purposes? Or maybe not people but some kind of creature? Are they daemons? He must investigate.

He asks Clarus and Clarus immediately dismisses the notion of fey and tells Cor that kidnapping marriages are illegal. This doesn’t help, because Cor threw hands with Gilgamesh. If anyone is willing to believe that fey exist and kidnap handsome/powerful men for husbands it’s him.

So after careful consideration, he TOTALLY DOES approach Amissa and the glaive for help warding against Fey, because these are wild Jungle People, if anyone knows about the Old Ways and Old Creatures it will be them. Amissa was unaware that Fey were a Thing in this universe, but she’s been in enough weird (and yes, fey-inhabited) universes to roll with it and she breaks out the wards she used around the camp when they were kiddos in the jungle and the glaives break out the ones their parents taught them before the Fall and soon the glaives can be glimpsed EVERYWHERE in the Citadel, slapping ornate paper tags high up on things and leaving little braided ropes along window sills and there’s a point where Regis happens to glance up (read: roll his eyes) during a council meeting and.... there is Titus. Solemnly lurking on the ceiling painting arcane symbols in what MIGHT BE BLOOD on his ceiling??? (it’s not blood, it’s a special blessed red dye mixed with the ground up dust of those magic-holding stones near Havens, the dye is meant to ward off monsters/daemons of Ill Intent while attracting good spirits of blessing and health and it actually works on the daemon front, Titus knows from experience).

Regis dismisses his council rather abruptly, then when he’s alone with Clarus and Titus-on-the-ceiling he asks (a touch shrilly) WHY Titus is painting arcane symbols on his ceiling and Titus innocently explains that these are anti-daemon wards and that they were ordered to put up warding measures by Marshal Cor.

Regis thinks of all the extra whispering the servants have been doing lately, the little braided and dyed ropes that are on the window-sills of ALL the windows now and the tiny paper tags way high up on doors/pillars/furniture and ... sighs. Heavily.

Cor refuses to back down from his stance of letting the Galahdians set up their wards and Clarus REGRETS not paying more attention to Cor’s “fey that steal husbands” questions because now Cor has the bit in his teeth and a literal army of enablers. There’s no stopping this.

The servants know without being snarled at by the glaives to NOT TOUCH THE WARDS. They clean around them, very, very carefully. The rumors vary from “we’re all gonna die” to “there must be ANOTHER FEY CLAN out there in Insomnia now and the Galahdians are warding their chosen territory to keep them out”. Those who agree with the second rumor often wonder ... how much WORSE is this other fey clan that the Marshal and the King are allowing the Galahdians to set up these defensive measures??? Should everyone panicc????

[x-avavarts-x]

A Knight For The Light

A final fantasy fanfiction for my oc and her family.

Characters: Cor Leonis, Laura lucis caelum (my oc), Gilgamesh the blade master.

Warning:

 My national language is not English. I apologize for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Sorry, my network is so weak and I can't insert photos.

Summary:

When your flesh and blood are mixed with pain and you are nurtured with it, you dedicate your whole being to those who were trying to improve your suffering by touching their love. What's wrong with you? It does hurt to lose these loved ones, even thinking about it bothers you. At that time .. you grab everything to stop the destiny .. like a bird stuck in a cage and trying for freedom, you knock yourself on the door and the wall to find a way ... and if you find it. Nothing can stop you, even if it is a God!

Part:15

She runs to the trees so that she doesn't lose Ventus. She didn't want to fall back. She twisted the point warped a few times to get to Ventus. Her breath was heavy and her lungs were burning with heat, but Laura ran with all her might because she knew Ventus was going to show her something, and Ventus ... had nothing but Dariolus to show her! There were still a few meters between Ventus and Laura when Ventus stood between the trees. The tension shone brightly with the red light, and suddenly, with a wave of red light, the awfulness of his, Gilgamesh appeared in front of Laura! Surprised by his tall stature, he stood like Gilgamesh, the myth of battle and loyalty! Her long, well-groomed eyebrows twitched with a frown, and the women's breaths stared at Blade master awesomeness:

"You .. ??"

Laura said ... without any respect, and in return Gilgamesh answered, without any respect too!!

"Usually I don't go to caelum family! It is my duty to calling my children to evaluate their loyalty! But now .. you are my addressee .. Laura Lucis Caelum!"

The grin on Laura's lips moved to the left of her face, her head turned to the same side, and she stared at the forest that shone under the golden and red light of the setting sun:

" Did you come and tell me to fight with you so that I can get your power?"

The grin was the guest of Gilgamesh's lips this time. He removed his mask from his face and stared at Laura. Her long white hair was moved by the wind, which caused her hat to fall back a little and hit of her head on fall to his shoulders! His strong, serious voice forced Laura to look at him:

"I can't accompany you. My soul is connected to Bahamut and I have no power over it! But you made Somnus' heart happy, and it's valuable to me because you want to do a job that my generation should have done."

Laura's gaze was fixed on Gilgamesh face, Laura was the only one who could see her face, after Somnus and Ardyn. She turned her head to the sides and answered without looking at h:

" I'm not thanking you .. I'm fighting to save Noctis and my father! Also ... Somnus!"

Gilgamesh lowered his head so he could stare into Laura's eyes. He smiled half-heartedly and answered in a firm but eloquent voice:

"A strong motivation in your path illuminates your victory ... but you can't do it alone .. If you came out, your husband wouldn't be exposed to darkness, little queen!"

Remember what happened in Gralia washed Laura's frown off her face. She lowered her head and took a deep breath:

"Fortunately, I was able to open the crystal in time, but you are right .. My companions are in the dark .. and I cannot defend them alone .."

She raised her head again and stared at  Gilgamesh so she could speak better. Eye contact motivated Laura to speak:

"But I started this way .. I can't let my loved ones be in danger! I don't want to lose anyone else!"

Gilgamesh stood up straight again. He raised his head and looked at Laura. He smiled proudly and stood in the bright strands of red light that surrounded him:

" I don't want to be deprived of the battle to save my king, so I will give half of my immortality to your shield! A warrior without a shield can't fight well !!"

Gilgamesh's body shone so brightly that Laura had to step back to protect her eyes and hold her hand in front of them! Out of the bright red light that turned a little white, Ventus was released, but it wasn't just Ventus. A man was still standing in the light!!

Just like an explosion, the light went out! Laura's eyes opened quickly and she stared at where Gilgamesh was standing! Dario .. While the tension was still shining, he was standing in front of Laura. Laura's eyes stared in disbelief at Dario's body. The sworn face was still unpainted and his eyes were closed. When the light went out, Dario's body fell to the ground. Concern filled Laura's heart and she reached Dario with a point warp. Taking him, she didn't let his dear friend's body hit the ground. She slowly laid it on the ground:

"Do you hear me?

Dario's sleepy face and cold body had doubled over Laura, she couldn't help but laugh at the joy of being alive or shedding tears over his death. Slowly he stroked Dario's messy hair and suddenly shouted at him:

"Dario !!"

Laura did this, because she always woke Dario like that, waiting for Dariolus to open his eyes and send a firm pull to his face! But that didn't happen. Laura's gaze was fixed on Ventus' golden eyes. Because that angry eagle was always waiting for Dario to wake up, or at least tell Laura that he was alive! But don't hesitate!

That didn't stop Laura from losing hope. She locked Dariolus' hands on his shoulders, and as she got up, she pulled Dariolus on her shoulders so that she could carry the camp. Dario was tall and heavy! Laura couldn't lift Dario at all Italy, who had lifted Loqi. But she wanted to take him to the camp herself.

"Get up, asshole! Does my back hurt?"

Laura said as she tried to rely on Gilgamesh's words. Laura was alive with hope. Especially now that the crisis is over. Until he endured Dario to camp on her weak shoulders. She was breathing but he kept going.

As soon as she arrived at the camp, Cor was staying in front of the tenth. He didn't know who the man on his wife's weak shoulders was. He ran towards her with a frown that was always between his eyebrows, running because he was worried about Laura:

"Laura?"

Cor's voice calmed Laura's heart. He stood up and turned his head towards her beloved husband, smiled and pointed to Dario:

"Help me take him to the tent. It's so heavy!"

For a moment, Cor's eyes fell colorlessly, he was shocked to see Dariolus' face, but his face did not show any of the feelings he had at that moment. He took Dariolus' arm and pulled it towards himself so that his weight would not be on Laura's body. Dariolus' cold body showed that he was not alive. But why was Laura so happy to see a corpse? He looked away from Dario and stared at his wife to see why Laura was doing this. But Laura hurried to the main tent:

" Let him be lay, he needs to rest !!"

Cor's thoughts are terribly messed up! Laura was worried about a corpse !! He looked around to see the reaction of the others! Everyone stared at Laura in surprise! He was arranging the bed for Dariolus while everyone knew Dario was dead !! And Laura's attention was on a shocking corpse. Cor, he was worried, he felt that Laura's soul had been hit so hard that Laura had lost her mind! He put Dario on the bed.

He straightened his back and turned to Laura to say something, but Laura's eyes were fixed on Dario! Laura's faint smile was on her lips. At that moment, Cor was just worried .. he was scared .. he was so scared that Laura would lose like this! He slowly grabbed Laura's arms and pulled her to the other side of the tent. Laura's gaze finally parted from Dario and she stared at her husband.

" I haven't put a blanket on Dario's body yet. He doesn't like to sleep without a blanket!"

Cor frowned for a moment, barely wiping them away because he didn't want to inject his worries into Laura with frown and anger. At that moment, he had to gently close the wound that had formed on Laura's mentality. He stroked her hair and tried to keep his tone as kind as possible:

"Dear ... he's dead! It doesn't touch anything! No need for a blanket!"

"He didn't die !!"

Laura shouted at this! Laura's screams caused the glaives to watch in groups of two or three.

"Calm down, Laura. Pls! I know you went through difficult circumstances, but please be calm!"

It was a quiet, Cor's voice trying to calm Laura down. But Laura...she put her finger on Cor's chest and pushed him back:

"This is not related to you !! Try to be careful with your work so that you don't fall into that stare scourge again! Because I no longer have access to the crystal to save you! Now leave me alone!!"

Unlike a few moments ago, Laura's voice was not loud. She didn't want to break Cor's personality in front of others and she also didn't want others to understand him! Laura's stare was Cor, he didn't mind, he didn't get angry because she was right. He left the tent to start his night hunt by organizing the glaives! Laura wanted to leave him alone. Laura's frown disappeared and she worried. It wasn't his fault that he thought Laura was crazy! He didn't know anything! He shouldn't have been treated like that !!

"Cor?!"

Once again, it was Laura's voice that rose. Cor turned to his wife. His face was as cold as ever and he preferred to be quiet! Laura reached out to him and stood in front of him.

" Give me your ring!"

The request to return the ring for Cor was a strong slap in his face. With a pause, he took the ring and handed it to Laura. He wondered if Laura had been hurt so much that she even wanted to end her marriage. He did not object to Laura, returned the ring, and wanted to go. But his katana that was locked in his hand was pulled by Laura! He stood up and turned back to Laura!

She let go of Katana and then held the ring between her two hands, her eyes closed and the tension gleaming with blue light. Her two-colored hair was partially suspended and shone with blue light:

" I don't want what happened to happen again! I can't be with you to take care of you. You are all of me, Cor ... Your loss is equal to my death!"

With Laura's words, that blue light also faded. He opened his eyes, which shone with pink light, and also parted his hands and took the ring. After blinking a few times, her eyes returned to their previous position, she took Cor's hand with her other hand and give the ring to her Immortal again!

Cor looks at the ring that shone with a little light:

"what have you done?"

"Now my force is protecting you. Whether against darkness or against any other danger!"

Laura's answer was accompanied by a kiss. She kissed Cor's lips deeply, Cor's eyes were full of love, love for Laura. He took her between his arms and kissed her forehead. Because he knew Laura loved kisses without lust! And she saw a kiss on the forehead as a pure kiss of love! He held Laura in his arms for a moment and then parted:

" I'm going to look for my job Laura, take care of yourself !!"

"Is this an order?"

Laura said with a laugh! Cor's smile was just a mask. Because his whole mind was distracted by Laura's behavior. He kissed her forehead again and parted from her.

"see you soon."

Cor said this and walked away from Laura. Laura's gaze was fixed on the man whose greatest fear in her life was losing him.

She lowered her head and slowly returned to the tent. No one was inside the camp except for two wounded glaives. She poured herself some coffee and stood in front of Dariolus' body. She drank some coffee and thought, suddenly a strange and dangerous thought came to her mind! If Dario is alive, as Gilgamesh said, then he must wake up with the plan that Laura drew at that moment! She could have done that plan now, but he would rather do it when Cor comes back! She drank some of her coffee again and looked at her phone, which was ringing on the Cor's table, frowned, and walked over to it! Seeing the Noctis number, she answered without hesitation. She wanted to talk, but Noctis's voice soon became louder in her ear:

" Do you think I can reach the crystal before I die?"

Laura frowned, not out of anger but out of sadness. She lowered her head, placed her cup on the table, and smiled faintly:

"Listen carefully to what I'm saying."

Noctis's gaze was fixed on the ground. In front of his father's sword, he leaned against the wall, sat down, and hugged himself:

"Do you want to instruct me? Like what Gladio and Ignis do?"

"no, my dear!! You know, I don't like instructing at all ... I hate giving false hopes!"

" So what do you want to say?"

"You will not die ... You will open the crystal, you will return and you will reunite the National Army of Lucis, under your flag we will fight against darkness. I will try my best to reach your goal.

"Laura ..!"

Noctis's voice forced Laura to be silent. But her silence was not appropriate for Noctis, so she replied:

"Say my cat!"

"Ignis ... he went blind because of me !!"

Laura turned her gaze towards Dario and stared at him, but her audience was still her brother, who was in a difficult mood!

"Ignis was blind, but Dario died! I promise you that when the battle is over, we will turn his eyes to him!

"R u sure?"

The smile painted Laura's lips:

"Of course!! I know one person who can do it easily!"

"Hearing your voice calms me down, Laura ... I feel scared I feel meaningless .. You are always careful!"

"Your feelings are right! I'm not with you now in appearance .. but my soul is completely involved in your existence ... rest assured that even if you die, I will exchange my life for you to return to life .. just ... remember one thing .."

Laura's pure interest calmed the horror that the darkness and the bitter events of Alissa had caused to Noctis. He got up and stood up. He took his father's sword in his hand and replied:

"What!"

"Breathe and walk firmly, this is not your whole life, your point .. this is just a part of your life That will end soon! I promise you!"

Laura, like the rest of the people around Noctis ... was trustworthy. They seem to have a cold relationship! But Noctis had a strong emotional attachment to Laura! Laura also loved her brother, although she suffered a lot because of him, she could never take revenge on that little boy!

"Thank you for answering me .. I have to go!"

"I'm waiting to see you .."

The call was cut off and Laura stared at her phone's background.

The sun shines the last rays of light on the Eos. Soon was a guest of clouds that prevented light from passing through. From the night Laura spoke to Noctis until now, there has been no news of her. Because Noctis had left the land of Eos, and darkness was now the guest of this land. Laura had fallen asleep in a tent waiting for Noctis and had just arrived with travelers from Gralia. None of them had a smile on their face. Prompto sat down at the command table and waved his legs as he hung. Crying puts so much pressure on his throat that he couldn't soothe his sobs! He turned on his camera and suddenly burst into tears when he saw Noctis' photo. The sound of Prompto's cry made Gladio angry. He turned his head towards him and spoke to him in a nervous voice trying not to get up:

"When Laura wakes up, will you tell her?"

"No! I'm not saying I can't talk !!"

"So shut up so we can get out of here. Then cry as much as you want."

Poor Prompto just nodded, unaware that Laura had noticed! She raised her head from Dario's body and turned to them:

"What a disaster for Noctis!"

"The Crystal has imprisoned him .. !!"

Ignis was the one answering Laura. Laura's gaze turned to Ignis. He was sad to see his wounded face, but nothing came to her face except frown! She got up and went to calm her mind with a cup of hot coffee:

"Are you all okay?"

Crystal's gaze fixed on the ground became a little tearier. She raised her head and stared at Laura to answer:

"Only Luna needs a break!"

Laura turned to Luna, finding her helplessly in Loqi's arms. Slowly he turned to her and stared into her half-open eyes:

"what has happened..!"

"Noctis went beyond to gain enough strength. The length of his absence is unknown, but as you can see ... darkness reigns! We lost our sun."

Luna's answer silenced Laura. She was still frowning. Now Noctis was with Bahamut. He had to hurry to keep it. She raised her head and looked at Noctis' friends. She tried to thank them with a short speech!

"You have been with Noctis for years and he has been by your side. I understand the feelings you have in his absence. What happened should have happened. But fate will be like sweet honey. Go and get energy in the absence of the Noctis, because when he comes back ... you have to serve him in the way of governing ... Thank you all guys ..!"

She turned her head towards Ignis and continued:

"Especially you, Ignis ..."

Ignis's blind eyes were soaked with tears. The man was very self-conscious in controlling his emotions, but ... now it was as if he was crying, which was stronger than Ignis 'will. Ignis' tears devoured everyone because he understood how much deeper this pain was than before! Laura's gaze was still on Ignis, but now her audience was Loqi:

"I want you to take Ignis to Aurora Loqi .. I know she can restore Ignis' vision. She has knowledge."

Loqi stared at Laura. He just obeyed, so he could take Luna to safety. He realized that Luna was dying and that Crystal was the one who kept her alive. He returned to his ship. Crystal and Ignis follow in the footsteps of Loqi and Luna after respecting the great family of caelum. Lunafreya knew that Laura was going to go to war with Bahamut. She didn't want to leave her alone in this way because she had the same task as Oracle of Noctis. He raised his head and stared at Loqi's serious face:

"Put me down, Loqi!"

Lunafreya's sentence surprised Loqi. He stood up slowly and stared into the eyes of the girl he loved:

"what do you wanna do?"

"I have to talk to the Princess."

[attackonari]

Take What is Mine (GilHaku)

Wolf Queen Hakuno AU Apologies for the late update. ToC: Part One

                                                      Chapter 2

I watch as my new mate breathes softly after a night of mating. I caress my belly at the thought of pups. They’ll be strong no doubt. Quite a few times he tried to get the upper hand and trap me, but it was to no avail. It was quite the challenge to make him moan loudly. To think I would have had to bring out my claws. However it is a new day and not one person in this kingdom is idle. I’ve already dressed in my daily wear and am ready to join the hunters for the food for tonight's feast. 

I lean over my mate and kiss him deeply. Time to wake up mate. I watch as his eyes flutter open and his face leans into the kiss. As fun as this is, the time of the day is wasting away. I pull back and throw my mate’s stuff on the bed.

“Dearest mate, get dressed. Today we go hunting,” with that I walk out of the room. 

“Mon-” I shut the door and begin walking to the Main Atrium. Sakura is most likely waiting...and rubbing her temples. I do tell one of the attendants that when he walks out to show him to the atrium. 

“Understood Alpha.”

Upon reaching the Main Atrium, I see Sakura and a few other advisors speaking with some of the citizens. Looks like there’s no need for me to intervene unless it’s something dire. Walking up to Sakura I hear her relay her instructions to the Builder’s Pack. 

“Don’t go any higher. Try to find a new Great Tree that can hold up to the power of growing younglings,” she stated to the Pack head. He walked away with a nod to me. Nodding back I turn to Sakura and begin walking with her to the weapons rack. 

“So, last night was a roaring success if I don’t say so myself.”

“Alpha, this will bite you in the ass,” Sakura sighed holding out a tablet for me to sign. I give her a questioning look. 

“Approval for a new training hall in a new great tree. The Builder Pack wants to keep males and females separated for a few years. It seems some young males cannot keep their paws to themselves.”

I frown. The females should be able to fight them off.

“Denied we cannot build within another Great Tree with no real need to. Extra training for the females. If they cannot beat off sniffling fools then they will be walked all over when they find mates.”

“Understood Alpha,” she gives the tablet to her assistant. 

I look at the weapon rack closely. What to choose...what to choose. It is when I’m taking a spear and testing out its sturdiness that I hear a loud voice arguing with the attendant I asked to show my mate this way. Well, he’s arguing and she’s fending him off. 

“You will tell me where I am woman! Do you know who I am?”

It wouldn’t do to let her continue taking his abuse, not that it is much. 

“My Prisoner. My Mate. Mine.”

The Atrium falls silent, all eyes on us. I stare straight into red eyes and walk right up to him. I thrust the spear into his hands, my gaze never leaving his. 

“Today,” my voice resounds in the Atrium, “we will hunt! And you, dear mate, will join our hunting pack. Do show me what you can do...after all, I’m sure those muscles are not for show.”

I turn and begin walking away. His face had a nice expression of indignation on it. Good.

“Woman!”

“Sakura,” I pause.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“Do make sure the King is suitably prepared for the hunt,” I pause peeking over my shoulder at him and smirk. 

A snap of fingers, a tired sigh, and an “Alpha, are you sure?” sounded by me. The King was surrounded by various attendants, all giggling females.

“What are-”

A rip sounded out in the atrium. Some of the guards snickering.

“ENOUGH!”

The giggling stopped. The hall fell silent. 

“Unhand me mongrel!”

A muscled body pushed through the attendants, blond hair covering a face full of rage. The furs had been ripped from his body. He was as bare as nature intended. Heavy footsteps bounded to the forms of Sakura and I. 

“You! Mongrel Beastwoman! Where have you brought me!?”

I could only blink, my eyes focusing on his collar bone, and then looking straight into his eyes.

“Do you not know who I am!?”

Sakura spoke up from next to me, “Alpha…”

Oh, it seems I had subconsciously began to pant. It’s not my fault, his rage smells so good. 

“I am Gilgamesh! The King-”

“Of Nothing.”

“How dare you mongrel!”

His arrogant attitude needs some adjusting. This is no longer his Uruk. A cow could rule the kingdom of humans for all I care. This ex-king, he is no longer for the humans. 

“How dare I,” I smirk, “Oh, I dare, Gilgamesh, King of Nothing.” I walk closer to his face. However, I ensure my voice can be heard by all present. 

“I dare. Just like your hunters dare to overhunt our forest. Just like your hunters dare to kill our young. So yes. I dare. I dare to steal the leader of the Human Pack. I dare to steal the King of Uruk. But,” I pause knowing I have everyone’s attention on us, “you are here now,” I caress his face with my hands, “and you are no king. Not any longer.”

I push my face close to his. I hear a sharp breath from Sakura. I couldn’t help it. This human is just too good. Too good looking. Too good smelling. Too good everything. He doesn’t need to know that. 

“You are here now. You are my mate. And you,” I take a spear from an attendant that walked up, “will HUNT,” I growl at the end. I grab his throat in my hand and reaffirm my bite, breaking skin and lapping at his blood. I hear a few young guards howl and can’t help but smirk. Looking at his face, his indignation leaving him speechless, his mouth making a mockery of the fish in the rivers. The spear I grabbed earlier, I thrust once again into his hands and begin to walk away. 

“Sakura,” I pause, “when he is finished, bring him to the Hunting Tree. We have wasted enough time.”

“Yes, Alpha…” I can hear her rubbing her temples.

I leave the Main Atrium, licking the last bit of his blood from my lips. Mmm.

[madie-evelyn-blog]

Why I Left Christianity

Growing up in East Texas meant that for 25 years of my life, I genuinely thought that Christianity was the one true religion and that Jesus was a real, living, breathing force b/c practically every single person around me believed the same thing.

It didn’t matter that these beliefs often conflicted with my understanding of science and humanity. I would use the excuse of ‘well God knows best so it’s not for us to understand’.

But things began to change when I started meeting friends who were atheists, LGBTQ+, Wiccan, pagan, Buddhists, agnostic.. I took a step outside of my bubble out of curiosity and unknowingly kicked off my journey out of the church.

And then I realized I was transgender.

I didn’t have all of the following thoughts in one “a-HA!” moment but little by little, as I pried into the religion I was raised on, I began to see contradictions, blatant bigotry, historical inaccuracies, elements carried over from older religions etc etc. Once the snowball began picking up speed, it turned into an avalanche and I knew that I could never go back.

Here are those thoughts:

This is what an abuser sounds like: If you give others more attention/affection than you give me & if I’m not the center of your life 24/7, I will NEVER accept you or grant you ‘salvation’.

But remember, I love you!!

Also, don’t forget, what YOU want for your life and what YOU feel you need for yourself are not as important as what I want. Serve the church. Serve ME. But don’t question me.

I’m right. You don’t need to understand why, just accept it.

If you leave the faith, you were never a ‘true’ Christian. True Christians follow my Word and believe what they’re told b/c only MY words are true. Everyone else is trying to deceive you.

(even though there’s no evidence that the Bible is the actual or inspired word of a deity, instead of words that were a) written by men who believed the Sun orbited the Earth & had no understanding of science, biology, psychology etc and b) reflect the culture and norms of the time. If modern society & culture seem to conflict with the Bible, maybe the problem is the Bible, not modern society.)

They want to separate me from you. DON’T TRUST THEM. Get away from them if you need to.

If something in my Word makes you uncomfortable, just say ‘only God understands’ and think on it no more. If I command something, it’s just, not ‘immoral’ or ‘evil’. Your human minds can’t understand my will or reasoning so DON’T.

My Word surpasses all understanding. No human discovery or scientific, geological or historical evidence will ever be enough to prove me wrong. It doesn’t matter if it was written by men. I inspired it. Don’t ask for evidence, just believe.

Sure, the flood story was copied directly from the epic of Gilgamesh & almost every major tenet of Christianity was borrowed from Judaism, ancient Canaanite & Babylonian religions, Zoroastrianism, a religion that predates even Islam, etc., BUT.. I am the only God that’s true. My Word is the only one that’s correct. Don’t question it.

Yes, I commanded my followers to murder men & children, kidnap & rape women, burn down the homes and villages of my ‘enemies’ in the past but I made a ‘new covenant’, remember?

It was necessary so MY people could thrive. MY will was correct. Don’t question it.

Sure, I didn’t give Adam or Eve the ability to understand ‘good & evil’ but Eve STILL ate the apple, so humanity should be punished for the rest of time b/c of her choice! It’s not MY fault that she didn’t know any better. She was tempted with knowledge of the world as it is and I couldn’t have that.

What happens to Buddhists, Muslims, Native Americans, Hindus, Wiccans, Pagans, Atheists, indigenous tribes & people who never had a chance to hear my word? That’s for me to decide. Don’t think about it. Stop.

Why would I send gay, lesbian, trans etc people to hell if I, as you say, ‘created them that way’? You say it’s ‘sociopathic’ that I would ‘create someone a certain way but only accept them if they turn against their true nature’ but show how little you understand me & MY will.

How can you know for sure that I am the only true God and that all of the others are false & nonexistent? How can you know I’m real, even though you’ve never spoken directly to me (or vice versa), you’ve never seen me & I’ve never actually been proven in any capacity to exist?

How do you know I’m not just a manifestation of humanity’s desire to make sense of its’ own mortality or a way for those in power to control others?

Human understanding won’t give you the truth. Just believe. Don’t question it.

People will tell you that the feelings and emotions you experience are just your mind ‘doing what it’s supposed to do’ and that your instincts are there b/c of evolution, natural chemical reactions & learned responses b/c of how you were raised..

Don’t believe them. Your emotions are me speaking to you. Everything that happens in your life is because of me. All of those little coincidences are because of me. I am responsible for your successes and failures. Without me, you’ll forever be empty.

How come Atheists and others from every walk of life seem to be completely content, happy with themselves and their lives, and full of passion and vitality? Because they’re not ‘truly happy’. They’ve never experienced MY love. Only I can give true meaning to your life.

Love me. Obey me. Don’t question me. If you turn your back on me, you’ll burn for eternity. But remember, I am a loving & pure God! I’ll always be there for you. Until you turn your back on me.

I’m not holding you hostage. Only I have the answers you seek. Live how I tell you to live. It doesn’t matter if it feels like ‘torture’ to you. It doesn’t matter if you think my standards are putting you through immense mental & emotional pain.

Only my way is right. By following me, you will glorify me. Your life is not about you. It’s about me. I created you to worship me. I’m not vain. I’m not unjust.

Don’t listen to science. Don’t listen to reason. Don’t be so open minded that your brain falls out. Don’t think too much. Don’t ask certain questions. Just accept. Remember, I love you and want the best for you.

[randomly-random-jen]

Fate in a Bottle

A Girl Genius Fanfic

When Gil left for university, he knew it would be filled with wondrous new experiences. He just never thought he'd be trapped in a room with a dozen students, Tarvek Sturmvoraus, and a mysterious bottle on the floor.

Part of a series of stories that don’t necessarily fit in canon: Kisses That Never Happened 

2,164 words | [PG-13]

“Okay, mes cheris,” Colette said, clapping her hands, “everyone take a seat in a circle—it’s time to play a game.” She went around the room, closing the curtains and tossing pillows onto the floor.

The other students giggled and got comfortable. Gil just stood there, confused. Across the room, Tarvek looked equally baffled.

“Come on, boys, don’t be shy.”

Colette’s words were soft and friendly, but there was an edge of an order to them, and no one argued with the Master’s daughter. Gil dutifully plopped down on a pillow. Tarvek took a little more convincing by the hushed but tense conversation he had with Colette. Eventually, he sat, too. Colette always got her way. He definitely didn’t look happy about it, though. Or maybe it was just Gil he was unhappy with because he hadn’t stopped glaring across the circle since he entered the room a few minutes after Gil.

Gil swallowed hard and turned his attention to the game, trying to suss out the rules before they started. The group of about twenty students, equal numbers of boys and girls, gathered in the circle on their pillows. An empty glass bottle sat in the center of the circle. Gil couldn’t guess what it was for.

Colette took center stage. “All right people, settle down. Settle down!” The noise instantly ceased causing Colette to smile. “All right, you know the rules, so let’s keep this fair. No drama-”

Gil slowly raised his hand, knowing he was probably going to regret this but needing to know the answer more. 

Colette paused her instructions. “Yes, Gilgamesh?”

“Um, I don’t actually know the rules.”

That got a laugh out of everyone in the circle. Except Tarvek. His eyes just narrowed, jaw set tight. Gil sunk down on his pillow and tried to look like none of it bothered him, but inside, he was instantly back in Castle Wulfenbach being laughed at by the other kids for not knowing the simplest things. Or just for existing in some cases.

The girl sitting next to him, Alexia, giggled. “You don’t know how to play spin-the-bottle? Where are you from?”

“Maybe he’s from Mars,” said another girl Gil didn’t know.

Gil frowned at his feet in front of him—his heart in his throat as the childhood flashbacks intensified. He pushed down all the hurt and humiliation then mumbled, “I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up.”

Alexia looked away, her cheeks tinting pink. Gil sighed and considered leaving to save himself anymore indignity. Of course, he’d have to see these same people in class and around campus so it wouldn’t really matter.

“Actually, Colette, I’d like to know the rules as well,” Tarvek said over the growing laughter. “This isn’t exactly a game I learned in all of my schooling at Sturmhalten.”

Gil glanced up at him, thankful, but quickly looked away from the angry intensity in Tarvek’s eyes. He should have left when he had the chance.

Colette clapped for everyone’s attention again. “I said no drama. Gil and Tarvek shouldn’t be shamed for their ignorance. It’s not their fault they’re completely socially stunted.” More whispers but these were less insulting. Gil relaxed some. Tarvek seemed less amused by Colette’s brush off.

“So this is spin-the-bottle,” Colette continued, picking up the bottle. “When it’s your turn, you spin it like this.” She gave it a twist then waited until it stopped, pointing at Gustavo. The boy flushed as dark as Tarvek’s hair. Colette smiled then knelt in front of him. “And then you kiss.”

Gil was sure Gustavo might actually faint when she pecked his lips. Gil himself blushed despite how chaste it was. This was a kissing game! He’d heard of them on Castle Wulfenbach but had never been invited to play. He was suddenly rethinking his fleeing options. People were laughing at his discomfort again, but he was too nervous to notice.

Colette ignored them all. “And now it’s Gus’ turn to spin. Now the rules—there’s no refusing the kiss. Lips and cheeks are fair game, but we’re going to laugh if you choose the cheek because we’re not babies.” Everyone giggled.

“Wait,” Gustavo said, hand on the bottle, “what if it lands on another boy?”

“Then you kiss,” said Colette, eyelashes batting in innocence. “No drama, got it?”

He sighed then spun the bottle as Colette took her seat. Lucky for him, it landed on Janette who quickly bounced across the circle to give him a quick kiss. And so it went. Gil watched as the other students took their turns. Alexia tapped his leg then handed him a bottle of wine which he eagerly took a slug from. That bottle went around almost as often as the spinning one.

Gil had gotten three sips of wine before the bottle landed on him. He swallowed hard as Celeste coyly signaled him over with a finger. She was sitting right next to Tarvek. Gil sighed inwardly then crawled over the bottle and leaned in to kiss Celeste. Only she didn’t allow the simple peck like most of the others. Her fingers twisted in his hair, holding him in place long enough for him to taste the fruity gloss on her lips—strawberry.

He stumbled back when she finally let go and barely registered the catcalls. He blinked in surprise then caught Tarvek glaring at him. He quickly made his way back to his pillow. Alexia punched him playfully on the shoulder and passed the wine—a new bottle. He took a swig and spun the bottle on the floor, landing on Iliana, three spots over.

Several rounds later, the free-flowing wine was starting to loosen Gil up, and he actually found himself enjoying the party when Colette suddenly grabbed the bottle as it spun on Lester’s turn. She stood in front of Tarvek with the wine she’d snatched from Misha. “Take it,” she said in that soft yet commanding way she had.

Tarvek stared up at her. “I don’t drink alcohol.”

“Oh, honey, no one believes that. You are stiff as a board and we’re among friends. Loosen up.”

Tarvek crossed his arms, resolutely.

“Come on, Tarvek. It’s just for fun. You do know what fun is, right.”

Gil cringed. How could Colette be so cruel when moments ago she’d saved Gil from utter social destruction? “He doesn’t have to drink if he doesn’t want to,” Gil said without thinking. Maybe he should cut back on the wine himself.

Tarvek turned his scowl on Gil. “I don’t need your help.” He grabbed the bottle and swallowed several gulps before handing it to Celeste.

Colette looked between them, brow furrowed then turned back to Tarvek. “Good, now it’s your turn.”

“Hey,” Lester protested, but Aimee sitting next to him kissed him on the cheek to shut him up.

Tarvek’s hand hesitated over the bottle a moment before he took a deep breath and spun it, landing on Colette. She smiled brightly. 

“See how that works.”

They both crawled to the center and kissed softly. Gil felt a sudden twist in his chest he couldn’t place and looked away. After that, the bottle of wine went around a few more times. Everyone got a lot louder and rowdier with the kissing. Colette landed on Celeste and got the same treatment Gil had only Colette seemed to appreciate the approach a lot more. Then poor Gustavo landed on Peter and reluctantly pecked him on the cheek. Everyone threw bits of their snacks at him. Gustavo only shrugged as he retook his place and Peter spun.

Eventually, the bottle pointed back at Gil, getting him a kiss from Alexia who even blushed. Gil bit his lip as he picked up the bottle. He’d had more than enough wine to loosen his inhibitions and was already considering who he might get to kiss next. Celeste waved and now Gil was blushing, but then he made the mistake at glancing at Tarvek who for once didn’t look angry, just resigned. To what Gil had no idea—Tarvek looked away before he could figure it out.

Gil spun and waited as the bottle settled on Rosa-maria sitting on Tarvek’s other side. Or he thought. He blinked and the bottle suddenly pointed at Tarvek instead. His entire nervous system seized up. He couldn’t breathe or swallow or move. The only thing working was his heart that was beating right out of his chest. Tarvek just stared at the bottle like he expected it to jump up and bite him. 

On one side, Celeste pouted, on the other, Rosa-maria folded her hands in her lap and innocently looked anywhere but at Gil. He frowned, glanced at the equally innocent look on Colette’s face and his heart sank. This was a set-up. Why would she do that? He thought Colette was his friend. Colette glared at him and jerked her chin towards Tarvek. Gil shook his head. This was going to end badly. If Tarvek didn’t take a swing at him, he’d be surprised.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss.” The chant started softly to his right but grew. No one had refused a kiss yet. What did he do? If only Tarvek would give him a clue—preferably one that didn’t end with Tarvek’s fist in Gil’s face.

Finally, Tarvek looked up, but instead of the anger Gil expected to see, there was just sad confusion. His chest clenched, he never wanted to see Tarvek make that face ever again.

Colette cleared her throat and nodded towards Tarvek again. Gil had to do something. Slowly, he crawled across the space. He guessed he’d leave it up to Tarvek to accept or reject him. The whole thing was eating him alive, and it settled dully in his gut. He stopped a foot from Tarvek and tried to catch his eye.

Just tell me what to do!

Tarvek bit his lip before finally meeting Gil’s gaze, but now Gil couldn’t stop looking at Tarvek’s mouth. He finally forced his eyes back to Tarvek’s. How much time had passed? He couldn’t hear anything but the rush of blood inside his own head. Tarvek swallowed hard. Gil had never seen him look so uncertain, and in that moment, Gil had never felt so utterly sure of what he wanted to do. Before he could think better of it, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Tarvek’s.

They were plump and soft just like they looked and tasted vaguely of the wine and salty crackers they’d been eating. Gil waited for Tarvek to react, but he did nothing, and it was almost as painful as if he’d physically punched him.

Five more seconds, Gil gave himself. Five more seconds to relish the feel of Tarvek this close before he let reality back in.

Five.

Four.

Three.

He took a deep breath, readying himself.

Two.

Disappointment sunk his heart into his toes.

One

Gil pulled away, feeling like an idiot, but Tarvek’s hand shot out, grabbing his shirt, pulling him close again. This kiss was nothing like any of the other kisses he’d seen that night. Tarvek was rough and greedy and was that his tongue? Whoa. And Gil refused to let Tarvek feel that agonizing disappointment he’d been crushed with moments ago, letting his fingers slide into Tarvek’s hair.

He wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted, but Gil was out of breath when they finally separated. All around them, people hooted and whistled their approval, Colette loudest of all. Tarvek’s pupils were shot, and he stared at Gil, mouth partly open. Gil wondered if he looked just as dumbfounded.

“Finally,” Colette shouted, jumping to her feet. “Now that that’s over maybe we can go have some real fun.”

The other students started to get up. Gil vaguely registered Ana-maria and Colette exchanging thumb’s up. Definitely a set-up. Gil wasn’t sure if he cared anymore. Everyone was ignoring them as they picked up pillows and snack bowls, laughing and chattering about whatever. Gil didn’t care. He couldn’t stop staring at Tarvek, waiting for him to do something. Anything. Even hit him.

He took a deep breath. “Tarvek?”

Tarvek suddenly blinked, eyes darting away. For a second, Gil’s heart sank, but then Tarvek looked back, determination in his eyes.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” he whispered.

Gil couldn’t have been more surprised. “But you hate me.”

Tarvek snorted. “In my experience, love and hate aren’t mutually exclusive.”

They both seemed to realize the meaning of Tarvek’s words at the same time. Their eyes got big then a smirk slid onto Gil’s face. “You lov-”

Tarvek shut him up with another kiss as Colette flipped off the lights and shut the door behind the exiting students.

Nobody saw Gil and Tarvek again until classes on Monday where they both tried to pretend they weren’t just holding hands as they slipped into the room.

[fictionstuff]

Fate Series

Plot: https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/6605

Fate/stay night (2006) + Fate/Stay Night UBW Episodes: 24 + 26

Main Characters: Shirou Emiya Saber Rin Tohsaka Archer Lancer Gilgamesh

The Fate series is one of my favourites, it features about everything I could wish for. I never played the actual game, so I can't say much about that or compare, but I don't think that's entirely necessary, if you tend to read more about what you've seen, because no way can an anime convey everything a game can. It simply doesn't have the time and while 24 or 26 episodes aren't short, i'd love to have seen more.

The story is almost always the complete same in every fate anime. It's about the Holy Grail War, about an artifact that can grant you any wish. Participants in this war are called „masters“ while they each have a „servant“ a holy spirit summoned from the past. It's about life & death, a game of survival, survival of the fittest, but there are many many twists and people with different motives and wishes. It actually never gets boring.

While the original Deen animation from 2006 and UBW from way later aren't the same anime, I'm still going to be talking about both, because they're from the same universe, with the same main characters, but different routes from the original game. I definitely recommend to start with the older animation, because it provides the ground work. UBW just neglects what everyone should already know, because Deen already provided countless information with their version in 2006.

It's about legends, mystical beings and magic... and we follow Emiya's footsteps in this war and really, he's not even halfway a good main character. Something like common sense is only aqcuired very late in the Deen version and while he's a much better character in UBW, he's still quite foolish and his motivation to save everything and everyone gets tiresome, because he's not as strong as many other characters in here, but it's nothing that would make me stop watching. Emiya only gets dragged into the war by accident (or maybe fate?), having accidentally watched a fight between servants and of course, he's been spotted by Lancer, one of the best servants in the goddamn universe (I just can't unlike him... :c)

With this kind of set up, the end can easily be predicted. Emiya has to win, but the actual journey is much more exciting than I would have thought. Every character gets a decent amount of screen time and while there are three main routes, every route tells you more about all the characters in here. I still have to watch the last route, cause I will wait for all three films to be out, before I even intend to get myself involved. Otherwise the waiting will get the best of me and I hate that. I am about as impatient as I can be.

Unlike Emiya, who's a little nut, we have many other great characters!!! There's Rin, a very strong and kind of „tsundere“ girl, who knows magic and whose servant is from the archer class. Archer is about the... biggest twist in the whole anime. He's so unlike Emiya, that it's rather ironic. I don't want to spoil the fun though, I just loved the twist to bits. We do have other great servants, Lancer, as mentioned, who sadly doesn't have the biggest role but it was enough time to watch him grow and make his own decisions. Another pretty servant is Gilgamesh, but I never truly knew what to think about, other than that he's just incredibly hot and cool, but also one of the strongest servants, a very dangerous one, a god.

While the Deen version has a decent kind of design, animation, UBW will knock you right off your socks. Best animation ever from ufotable, no doubt. This goes for Zero as well. UBW features a different route from the Deen version and honestly, to watch the story develop differently just because of one or two different choices is just so amazing to watch. Fate remains one of the best series up to date.

Points: 9.5/10

Fate/Zero Episodes: 25

Main Characters: Kiritsugu Emiya (Saber) Irisviel von Einzbern Kirei Kotomine (Assassin) Tokiomi Tohsaka (Archer) Waver Velvet (Rider)

Zero is the prequel of f/sn. It's 1st in chronoligical order and yet I wouldn't want anyone to watch this first. It makes much more sense to watch Deen and UBW firstly, while Deen definitely has be watched before Zero. It gives you a much better view of everything in the past and things in f/sn start to make much more sense once you watch Zero, it's just much more fun to follow the events in the past to know how everything happened, because you know what happened, but you don't know how it all came to be.

Zero features a wide range of characters again and believe me, this Emiya is a much better protagonist. He's the adoptive father of Shirou Emiya, the main protag of f/sn. He's a ruthless assassin and he's got strong beliefs and follows them through without hesitation. Sometimes I didn't know whether to think of him as good or bad, neither did Saber, but I know that I loved watching his story and that he's damn badass character.

Zero seems overall much more mature than f/sn, it features less teenagers. Most masters are adults, but they still want the grail nonetheless, maybe even more than the people in f/sn. Zero is the answer to all your problems in the sequel, believe me. Each of the masters here also learn from their servants, they're actually everything the masters want to be or always wanted to be. Waver and Rider are the best examples for that.

If you did watch the sequel, then you know what the end of Zero will be, but everything leading up to that point, of the chaos, will have you excited, ready to just keep watching until it's over. Saber is still the very strong Artoria Pendragon, as in f/sn, but the archer class is taken over by Gilgamesh, a the servant of Rin's father. Just watching everything find its way to the sequel was so very enjoyable, that I'd love to watch it again some time.

The thing about fate is that even the Antagonists are important factors and get their time to shine or make you shudder in despair. Zero also fetures great designs and beautiful, splendid animations by ufotable, so even if you're not into the story, it's still way too beautiful to not give it some of your attention.

Points: 9.5/10

Fate/Apocrypha Episodes: 25

Now onto a part of the series that I am not that fond of, for various reasons. It differs from the original fate series. In here we have two main fractions fighting each other and once one has won, these allies will be fighting one another for the grail. We have a new class here, Ruler, our dear Saber look-a-like, but Saber is of course once again part of the story. I feel like it's a vital part of every show by now. Anyhow, Ruler watches over the war (it feels like a game honestly) and only steps in when she deems it to be necessary.

We have a whole lot of information dumping at the beginning, because Apocrypha acts like f/sn never happened, like it's not part of the same universe. There are waaaay too many characters in here and half of them don't even get one second of the screen time. They die waaaaay too quickly, there's barely a chance to get to know them or why they're even fighting. Instead the focus is one our main protagonist Sieg, a homunculus that should've been a tool in the war for the grail. While I did want to like Sieg, the anime didn't give me much of an opportunity, because Sieg goes through something akin to a development, but changes way too quickly and goes out to save the world with Ruler. The romance in here just didn't sit right with me, it felt forced countless of times.

The big twists in the anime happen within the second half, which can be considered the better half. It gets much more interesting from there on and finally they shed some light on the antagonist, who's a pretty fleshed out cool guy. Sadly they rushed the ending and while the fight was fun to watch, it left too many questions unanswered and that's not something I like. At all.

Points: 6.7/10

Fate/extra

Plot: A technological hell masquerading as paradise, Tsukimihara Academy is an artificial high school that serves as the setting for the next Holy Grail War. Created by the Moon Cell computer, the school is inhabited by Earth-projected souls who have even the slightest aptitude for being a "Master." Of these 256 souls, 128 will be chosen for the main tournament and granted a Servant. With all of the Masters selected, the Academy activates a purge, targeting the remaining lifeforms for elimination. Awakening in a pool of his own blood, Hakuno Kishinami refuses to die. Fueled by unknown feelings of hatred, he vows to fight for survival. As he struggles to escape from a relentless pursuer, he finds a crimson blade plunged into the ground; and by pulling it out, Hakuno summons his own Servant, Saber, who instantly destroys his pursuer in a flurry of rose petals. With his newfound power, Hakuno must now begin his journey to Moon Cell's core, the Angelica Cage. There, he will unveil the reason for this artificial world and the secrets of his own blood-soaked past. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Episodes: 10+3

Points: 5.75/10

I've always been a fan of the Fate universe, especially the main line (FSN/FZ) but the recent additions to the universe (apocrypha and extra) are not at all exciting for someone who has no prior knowledge to the source material. I do have the game for the switch, but I haven't touched it until now. Once I have the time I shall play it through and then get to experience the whole story. Extra takes place in an alternate timeline, it's a war like setup by a computer and the characters are partakers in the war inside of what seems to be an endless tower with many different floors. The setting is regrettably not explained in detail, which makes it hard to grasp, because I was confused for at least 13 episodes, before I read up on the terms they used, but that still left me mostly in the dust about the entire plot.

Our main character is Hakuno, who is sadly not much of an exciting protagonist. His servant is Saber, who is perhaps more interesting, but there's no further development to both of them. Hakuno is much of an oddball, more like an anti-hero. He has no clear cutting motivation for taking part in the war except for wanting to survive. The chemistry and the philosophical conversations between them is interesting and sometimes even funny, but that's until episode 3 or 4 where it starts getting kind of boring.

We have no real supporting cast either. There are masters and servants on every floor, but they're vanishing as quickly as they appeared, because the whole plot is mostly about fighting, surviving and ascending to end the computer. Most characters are only used to bring the story along honestly, they serve no further purpose and there's hardly any feelings you can develop for characters that barely have 10 minutes of screen time before dying.

The story line is completely confusing to me, honestly. It's not that I am completely new to the universe, but maybe playing the game is essential to understanding the setting and the characters, because the fighting scenes are well done, although I am not a big fan of shaft.

Fate/extra has been a complete disappointment for me, hence I can only give it 6 points.

[strangcrdoctor]

∞Okay last one for the night because I am really tired and very ready for bed but I’ve gotta get in my Avengers commentary because I have to start off tomorrow on a clean slate and ready to go. Thus, here we are.

1. In lieu of only post Infinity War MCU canon, Loki’s rhetoric at the very beginning of The Avengers sounds a fucking lot like Maw’s. In the initial scenes when he’s fresh off the Tesseract Express his words and way of speaking sound nothing like his own. Even comparing his speeches at the outset of the movie versus the one he makes in Stuttgart, the tones and focuses of them are very different. (IE the first speech focuses on the “powers at be” versus the Stuttgart speech focusing on Loki’s personal opinions of humanity which are more and more developed throughout the film.) But it struck me that these first scenes are precisely on-cue for someone tortured and brainwashed by, say, The Black Order. 2. Given I literally just watched the first Captain America yesterday, I find Cap’s “old fashioned” comment about the stars and stripes on his uniform to be both sad and interesting. Especially given the context that comparatively Cap hasn’t been “up” for very long, one particular comment made to him by Schmidt literally moments before he went into the ice stands out. Schmidt says that through the Tesseract he glimpsed the future, and that there were no flags. In the America and world Steve wakes up to, compared to the world of the 1940s that claim of Schmidt’s could very suddenly appear to be true, which would be understandably uncomfortable for someone like Steve who is usually determined and quick on his feet but at such a staggering disadvantage because of the gap between his mindset and that of his contemporaries which are more varied than he necessarily knows how to quantify right at the outset. Watching his progress throughout the MCU in light of that is interesting, but that one moment of introspection about the utility of the “stars and stripes” is a uniquely postmodern comment coming from a pre-modern/modern man. 3. Okay so this intrigues me now that we have the Guardians and pretty much the entire universe in play in the MCU, but what “greater worlds,” exactly, was the Tesseract supposed to unveil? True the Tesseract is the space stone and verifiably can open portals to everywhere and anywhere in the universe, but Loki specifically makes the claim that the Tesseract can open up access to “greater worlds,” and I’m honestly still not entirely sure what precise reference this was supposed to be making. Because Thanos barely might have arguably needed the Tesseract to get to the planet the Soul Stone was on, but even so that’s a connection that still somehow feels like a stretch. So my question is, what if they meaning the Black Order or Thanos or possibly even Loki needed the Tesseract to get at something else? Somewhere else? Then again, this particular slip might just be Whedon’s doing and not necessarily be reflective of the culmination of the MCU up to this point so IDK. 4. I’m not going to lie, I’ve found it fascinating from day one that The Avengers very openly plays with godhood, to the point that I’m genuinely not sure if they’re reifying it in the MCU or tinkering with it. I mean obviously in the later movies this theme is less stressed because the tinkering patently takes precedence, but it’s still cool to me that there are both scripted and visual imagery that tie in multicultural interpretations of godhood. Fury mentions the burial rites of the Pharaohs within the first ten minutes of the film, Loki commits a human sacrifice on a Babylonian bull altar straight from Gilgamesh era in Stuttgart, Cap makes a comment about how his singular god does and does not dress after Natasha herself labels Thor and Loki as gods, and Fury unashamedly labels Thor as a god when they release the Tesseract to his custody. And while a bit ham-fisted, the correlation between theism and the bleeding-edge demand to acknowledge the reality of the universe is still pretty neat guys. 5. The old man in Stuttgart because no FUCK. If any of y’all think that my Germanist ass won’t get misty-eyed and choked-up during this scene, you’re wrong. 6. Okay so I’ll premise this by saying that I haven’t cross-checked the official script because frankly... yeah frankly I don’t want to be wrong and I really can’t hear anything but what I believe to be my interpretation of the line even though I know what the other fan alternatives have been. But when Thor and Loki are arguing on the mountaintop, when Loki says that he, “Was and should be ---,” my hearing of it instead of having been “Was and should be king,” is “Was and should be killed.” And while I’ll bow to whatever official record claims otherwise, I like my hearing better so there. (Also... there’s zero hint of Hiddleston’s palate producing a “g” sound in that sentence but I’ll put my inner linguist away and leave it at that.) 7. In light of that scene, though, when Loki and Thor are arguing is one of the first moments when Loki actually sounds like himself after the Stuttgart scene? Prior to that point the only times we see Loki is when he’s marshaling his human troops and getting policed by those lording over him. In all of those initial scenes Loki feels... very un-Loki to me. Not because Loki isn’t a bastard (hint: he is), but because his motivations and justifications are vague and not seemingly personally motivated, which is what Loki is to a fault. Post-Stuttgart, however, and the personal element seems to return for him because of some reason or another. (IE I have theories but you can read your own into it.) 8. Let it never be said that Thor is a dull bulb. Yeah it’s still sort of unclear how Thor got to Earth (though nothing is unclear about why Thor is pissed), but Thor does walk in with more than enough information to be frankly a little surprising. Bless Heimdall and all that, but seriously the fact that Thor knows about the Chitauri but doesn’t know other things casts an interesting focus on what he was told by Odin and Heimdall before going. Most importantly, though, even from conversing with Loki for a few minutes, Thor is attentive enough to pick up on some of what Loki isn’t saying. Such as, just who showed Loki how to use the Tesseract and all the things Loki claims to be motivated by. Equally interestingly, Loki specifically refuses to answer that question. 9. I feel bad for Fury for sleeping in a den of vipers for so long - though I do like the build-up from the first Avengers into the following issues with HYDRA corruption - but in ways more important to the immediate issue in the first Avengers, Fury might be a shady bitch but he is not an idiot. Because while everyone else was having pissing contests and not trusting one another, Fury was not trusting the person that deserved to be trusted the least, which isn’t just good leadership, but is good spycraft. 10. As established later in the MCU, it’s exceedingly clever that even in the first Avengers there are scenes when even without a “wielder” present, the Mind Stone - as-yet unidentified as such in the MCU - can be seen manipulating those in its vicinity such as in the lab where the biggest catfight in the history of the MCU breaks out. I mean. Until CA:CW... 11. Steve Rogers, poor cinnamon roll, unexpectedly served at dinner instead of breakfast, who cracks jokes about technology he really isn’t that bad at as “seeming to run on some kind of electricity.” Bless. Though really that internal console, while doing complicated shit, is definitely not any more or less visually complicated than the interior of a radio relay which Steve definitely dealt with in his day but kudos for the humor bb, A+. 12. Still one of the strongest and most harrowing lines ever said in the MCU in my opinion: “We are NOT soldiers.” Know why? Because they aren’t. Hell, the only ones among them that are soldiers - and some by slim and emergency-driven margins - are Steve, Bucky, Rhodey, and Sam. The rest of them are brilliant, gifted, and tortured civilians trying to do the right thing. And to Tony Stark above all else, that means something. That means that they didn’t get training to deal with this shit. They didn’t choose for this to be their lives, necessarily. And above all, they don’t deserve to die. And even though Tony knows Coulson is a SHIELD agent, Tony still considers him a person before a disposable “soldier.” 13. Mother-fucking Marvel give me an entire series devoted to my Hawk Guy I need him. You have so much to work with and yet you’re so good at squandering him. I hate it. 14. In light of how bad NYC got fucked up, it’s honestly no wonder Jessica Jones has a drinking problem because I would too even without the personal loss, experimentation, and emotional maladjustment. 15. IN WHAT FUCKING POST-9/11 WORLD DO BUSINESS BUILDINGS NOT HAVE VERY STRICT EVACUATION PLANS. SERIOUSLY. I am a little mad that there are morons ogling out of office building windows when frankly that shit wouldn’t fly. Even on fucking 9/11 that shit didn’t fly and if you think NYC is less paranoid because 9/11 was a decade prior to this movie coming out, you’re wrong. Everyone remembers, and city evacuation ordinances will sure as hell never forget either. Come on Marvel. 16. As a point of interest my grandmother - who also went to see The Avengers with me when it was in theaters but not at the midnight showing like my mom - was 84 at the time and still sat through the whole thing with a bucket full of popcorn to herself, and her favorite moment to this day is when the Hulk tosses Loki around like a rag doll. She’s 90 now, and the Hulk is still her favorite character. 17. Mother-Fuckin Nick Fury will cock-block your nuclear strike with a bazooka because he thinks you’re that dumb. Do not test Nick Fury’s willingness to be Extra (TM) . You will lose. 18. Real talk, though, I’m really curious about whether the Chitauri actually are a hive mind race or, is it their technology that runs of a hive mind link? Because the armor at least on the giant toothy space whale monstrosities does not look organic - it looks implanted. The Chitauri foot soldiers also seem to have a unique biologically based interface with their weapons, armor, and technology in general, which begs the question of whether their biometric matrix is just somehow more inclined toward shared-existence technologies, or whether they self-engineered themselves into a corner by relying on said technologies too much. Seriously guys I have questions and why won’t Marvel give me answers. 19. As a final send-off, this is the first time Tony has ever driven an Acura in the MCU and I refuse to believe it’s not because of the Avengers “A” aesthetic. Tony is canonically an Audi man. Fight me on this.

Okay I’m seriously done for now it’s 1 AM and I need to sleep I have 4 more movies to get through tomorrow. I’ll be up and around and at my shit again in the morn.∞