#the moment she draws her sword the world stops for a second

[ayaraki]

[indecisivemuch]

hii first of all luv the username cause as a libra rising, samedt ;-; i'd like to make a request for a luke x f!reader fic pls!! um, so they're best friends, and luke decides to confess to r by giving her gifts, letters, trinkets, etc. with hints about his identity, but she doesn't know who they're from. so she asks for luke's help to find out about the identity of her secret admirer. but what if there's like a mistaken identity and she thinks it's someone from the hermes cabin (maybe chris? or one of the stoll brothers idk) and luke's just all pouty but nonchalant or something, but deep down he's like 'how do i even make her see' or something (while also second guessing that maybe he shouldn't confess it's him) like fluff with tiny angst :>

Message in a Bottle

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Reader

Summary: You got a secret admirer and recruited Luke to help you find out who they are...ignoring the most obvious option (Fluff, angst, best friends to lovers, happy ending)

Note: I'm so sorry for the six month hiatus. It wasn't by choice, I swear 😭. So many bad things kept happening that prevented me from writing (is this the writers curse people kept talking about?). Also, the request wanted only a sprinkle of angst, but I kinda got out of hand with it I think 😭 (sorry).

Word count: 4.4k (whoops)

You’ve always thought that too much of something is bad. Yet, ever since the day your life intertwined with Luke Castellan’s, you weren’t very sure about that anymore. 

The two of you arrived at camp around the same time, entering a friendship that felt like hitting the jackpot. Your early days together were something that you both treasured dearly. Every time you thought a certain time period would someday be reminisced as the golden days of your friendships, new things would come, and top it off. 

However, golden skies were soon evaded by clouds of pink hues. You found yourself noticing and appreciating small details you haven’t noticed before about your best friend. Initially, you acknowledged the growing feeling but decided that they better remain as footnotes in chapters of your life. However, fate’s design was different to your plans, because two years later, here you were: you looked at him almost in the same way a fool would look at the world with rose-colored glasses (but then again, maybe it was because you have learned to embrace and adore his flaws).

“Luke!”

The Hermes cabin counselor snapped his head towards the sound of your voice, eyes straying from his duty of the hour. A smile began forming on his face as you came to view, almost like he has always been programmed to do so. There was a certain spring in your steps. Moments like these made Luke feel like he was a minimalist because your happiness was somehow enough to guarantee his own. 

You situated yourself next to Luke on the ground, not minding the dirt.

“Hey now, I’m meant to be watching these kids train, don’t come over and distract me,” the Hermes cabin counselor warned, though he didn’t move his eyes away from you. He simply couldn’t.

Everything about you served as a distraction to him. From the soft smirk gracing your lips to the innocent tilting of your head. Every little detail about you was captivating and was equally capable of drawing his attention away from wherever it was meant to be. 

In fact, his attention issue around you was getting rather shameless because his friends have begun picking up on it and started teasing him for it. Personally, Luke doesn’t think it was his fault. His eyes just happen to draw to you in every room like second nature, while his mind short-circuited every time you were near. 

Maybe, and just maybe being rational and able to function properly has stopped being his forte…at least whenever you were around.

Your eyes moved to the group of kids that were only going to be at camp for the summer. From the looks of it, Luke has just assigned them to practice sword fighting in pairs. You then glanced back at your best friend, discreetly drinking in the sight of him. 

No doubt he did his fair share of demonstration before letting these kids go off on their own, because right now, his face was slightly flushed, veins evident on his forearm while the familiar orange shirt clung onto his body with glistening sweat.

You shook away the non-platonic thoughts and teased him, “Oh, come on, you wouldn’t pass up on talking to me. You adore me too much.” 

Damn right, he does. Luke could feel his cheeks heat up again.

“Fine. What are you here for, firecracker?”

“I got another gift,” you informed, presenting the bracelet in your hand. 

For the past month, you have been receiving small letters and gifts. This time it was a handmade bracelet with beads of your favorite colors, as well as charms that represented some of your hobbies and favorite things. It was clear that your anonymous admirer had put a lot of thought into such a small item. However, as always, there were no identities attached to it, leaving you clueless about the person behind these gestures.

Luke took your hand in his, eying the accessory that perfectly fitted your wrist. He started toying with the beads around your wrist that were shining in your favorite color.

The boy’s gaze flicked from the object to you, catching your soft and warm look. Gods, if you kept looking at him like that, he might just actually stop thinking logically. He could practically feel a confession lingering behind his lips, threatening to spew the second his ropes of restraint died.

“Anyway, I came here with an idea,” you broke the silence. “What if I try to find out who this person is? I mean, some of these gifts are quite specific. They seem to know my favorite color, flowers, and things I like. Surely, it wouldn’t be that hard to narrow it down and figure it out?”

Something shifted in your best friend’s behavior and you could feel it. There was a slight flustering look on Luke’s face as he avoided eye contact with you. It was rather strange to see the Hermes cabin counselor so fidgety. Luke has always been confident and composed, and you’d often be the one to humble down his playful cocky remarks. Half-way through looking at his behavior, you began speaking:

“You…”

Luke could feel the blood draining from his face at your facial expression, his face paling despite how flushed he was seconds ago from demonstrating sword fighting. The boy tried to regain his composure, though his attempt at seeming nonchalant failed as you touched his arm. Did you—

“You can be my inside man, talk to these guys to see if they’d slip up or something like that.” 

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Luke hastily replied, clearing his throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did that come across as a suggestion? I hate to break it to you but being best friends means you sorta have to participate in my schemes,” your lips curled as Luke grunted at your words. 

“Yeah, but—”

“Luke, please…it’ll be fun,” he almost scoffed at your words and unconvincing argument. Clearly, the two of you had different definitions of fun. Just as he opened his mouth to reject your idea again, his eyes caught yours. You were looking at him in such an eager and heart-warming gaze that it made him forget what he was intending to say.

Ah, there was no denying anymore. Being rational and able to function properly has truly stopped being his forte.

“Fine,” Luke uttered, the word pricking his tongue as regret started kicking in as he accepted being your accomplice. This decision could only come back to bite him in the ass. He watched as you quickly celebrated his lack of restraint.

“Ah, you gave in quite quickly,” you jabbed.

“Shut up.”

Oh, you were going to be the death of him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two days have passed since you got Luke to agree to help you find your secret admirer. Though, the boy must say, the last forty eight hours have been slightly comedic for him, watching you trying to track down your secret admirer…

While the real sender of those gifts was right beside you, nodding along to your every word. 

Luke’s mind trailed to the origin of this “secret admirer” idea. He started it as a way to abate the urge of straight-up blurting out how love-struck he was with his own best friend, while also testing out the waters before finally confessing his feelings for you. 

Though it was slightly amusing how the idea led him to where he was right at that moment. The Hermes cabin counselor zoned out as he pretended to speak to another boy you thought was behind those sweet gifts and letters. 

Luke used to have those feelings under rein, but self-repression only caused it to grow exponentially. Initially, the Hermes cabin counselor dismissed those beyond friendly thoughts, thinking they would eventually fizzle away. However, against his predictions, this fondness towards you became a sort of companion to him for three long years. 

Not only that, years of excessively burying these feelings six feet underground also came back to bite him in the ass because instead of having his feelings under control, they now have the upper hand. 

Sometimes he felt like a puppet, while his feelings plucked the strings. His facial expressions were forever cursed to be sculpted in raw yearning whenever around you, having no choice over how he reacts to everything related to you.

But it didn’t matter, because he was going to finally confess soon.

Luke almost burst out laughing at the way you were standing in anticipation, waiting for his intel on the most recent candidate. It was entertaining, to say the least, pretending to engage in investigative conversation before heading back to you, shaking his head in feigned disappointment. 

However, it didn’t take long before the Hermes cabin counselor started feeling sour.

Just as he made it back to your side, he watched as you started talking again, already discussing the next guy you thought might have done these things that Luke himself came up with. He eyed your in sync footsteps with a heavy heart. Despite the matching movement, he somehow still felt eternally behind. Luke was so close, yet so far away, and never quite able to grasp onto your ever moving attention. 

Did you not consider him as an option at all? Did you truly not see him as anything other than a good friend? It started stinging him knowing you were considering all these other guys as potential candidates — the faces that now haunt him in his sleep, poisoning his mind with an acidic jealousy that was eating away his common senses and fueling immoral thoughts. 

Soon enough, that same jealousy seared his mind with this overwhelming self-doubt. Luke’s foot started feeling cold at the thought of confessing. Gods, he never thought the same security behind anonymity would now make him feel desperate to be seen by you. 

“Maybe I should give up,” you concluded, mindlessly staring ahead. Your attention elsewhere gave Clarisse and Chris an opportunity to send each other knowing looks. The two have been watching you run around in circles on a goose hunt, not knowing to look right behind at the sulking figure that was trailing after you. 

Your distracted state also meant you didn’t notice the moping human situated beside you. However, hearing your declaration of ending your chase, Luke saw a window of opportunity. Maybe now was finally the time to be truthful. After all, if he doesn’t tell you, then how will you know and see him? Luke’s momentary motivation carried him through waves of dejection.

“Y/N, I need to tell you something,” Luke blurted out without much more thought or preparation, and his tone made you fully turn to him. Just as words finally formed and the boy opened his mouth to tell you—

“Hey Y/N, can I talk to you privately?” Somebody interrupted. Your eyes didn’t leave Luke immediately, but when you saw your best friend’s momentum had faltered, you turned to the stranger. It was another Hermes boy, somebody who you’ve seen around. You politely agreed and left with him. 

“So, I heard you’ve been looking for the person who’s been giving you anonymous gifts. And well, it’s your lucky day, 'cause…” the boy stared you up and down while you subconsciously took a small step back when he leaned forward. “...I’ve decided to come forward and reveal myself.”

“Okay…well, prove it” you squinted. Though your skepticism didn’t make the Hermes boy in front of you falter. Clearly, he expected this.

“The first thing you were given was a note, and…the two most recent gifts were a cassette tape and a bracelet — which was made from beads of your favorite color and charms like…” you zoned out as the boy started listing out some of your favorite activities that were indeed the charms on your bracelet. You fiddled with the bracelet that you had purposefully hidden out of his view right behind your back.

There was a pinch in your heart that signaled the last bit of hope dying. 

Oh…so Luke really wasn’t your secret admirer.

You internally scoffed at yourself. You should have known right after he said yes to helping you out with finding your secret admirer — which was originally an idea used as bait to determine if Luke was the sender or not, because if it was really him then he wouldn’t have agreed to help you out with this. However, not only did your best friend agree without much convincing from you, but he had seemed so nonchalant and unaffected as you named all these boys you wanted him to talk to. 

Perhaps this secret admirer thing was something good. Somebody has shown interest and their actions have been nothing but sweet. Those letters contained words that were eternally bound to your memories, even altering the way you view yourself for the better. Maybe you could get to know this person and move on from hopelessly crushing on your best friend.  

Halfway through, you realize you were so engulfed in your thoughts that you have zoned out to half of the things the Hermes boy was saying, and merely caught onto the last bit of his speech:

“...thinking maybe we could go on a date and get to know each other more tonight?”

Your stomach churned again, yet you nodded your head.

Move on. Move on. Move on. Move on. 

Your friends gave you questioning looks when you got back to where they were, clearly curious about what you were pulled away for.

“So…that was my secret admirer, and I’m going on a date with him tonight,” you hoped you sounded more enthusiastic than you were feeling. You tried convincing yourself at least it was good knowing definitely how your best friend actually felt about you. Quickly sitting down, you kept your eyes on Clarisse, knowing if you even looked over at Luke, he’d be able to tell straight away that something was wrong.

Your lack of focus also meant you didn’t think much of the quiet murmur from your best friend: “Sorry, I just remember I need to do something.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You looked at yourself in the mirror one last time. It was now the afternoon and you just finished getting ready for your date. As you were leaving, you spotted a note at the foot of your cabin. Seeing your name written on the paper, you picked it up while eying it peculiarly.

“You could be the one that I love, 

I could be the one that you dream of,

Message in a bottle is all I can do, 

Standing here hoping it gets to you.”

Your gut feeling stirred, hitting you with waves of higher certainty over suspicions you have previously had and denied.

Those lyrics were directly associated with a memory from summer two years ago. 

Luke and you were sitting by the campfire when he asked what your favorite song was. You told him the name and mentioned you hadn’t listened to it in a while because using technology devices with signals were dangerous for Demigods. The conversation slipped your mind but clearly loitered in your best friend’s mind, because two months later while on your way back to camp from your quest together, he gifted you a tape player along with a cassette of said song along with others that you liked.

You blinked away the image of you leaning on Luke’s shoulder while the two of you listened to the song together on the train back to camp.

You re-read the note again while shaking your head. Perhaps it was a coincidence. Perhaps, that Hermes boy knew the song and it was also one of his favorites. Perhaps—

Your hand started trembling around the paper. Your eyes landed on one small detail in the note: a particular handwriting choice. The rest of it matched with previous notes, but there was one singular scribbling feature you’ve never seen used before. 

Everything came crashing down and your internal eternal cycle of excuses and denial shattered.

You ran. It didn’t matter that it was raining and your attire was getting soaked. It didn’t matter at all because you were frustrated and confused. In other instances, you would have been elated at the possibility of mutual affection, but in that moment, exasperation blinded you from sensibility. 

If what you have concluded was true, then why on Earth would he allow you to go on a date with a person who stole credit for things they didn’t do? This whole time, he made you feel like a fool — for waiting that long and having hope after all that time; for asking the person you were looking for to hunt them down with you; for sulking despite having what you thought was a good opportunity to come along; for borderline going on a date with an imposter; and for not seeing it all along that it was him. 

“It’s you, isn’t it?” you called out.

Despite the rain, you could see your best friend’s figure stiffened before turning around to face you. The boy stood with his hands behind his back, not yet daring to look at you. 

“The “th”. You connected the cross in the ‘t’ directly to the ‘h’,” you presented the note in your hand, pointing specifically at the slip up that Luke had made in the latest note, not caring of the raindrops that were hitting the paper. “It’s how I write it, and you started writing it the same way a year after we got to know each other because you liked the way it looked,” you pressed further.

The expression on Luke’s face painted your theory into the truth of the situation. You felt your hand slightly shaking at the revelation.

“Why? You left anonymous gifts and notes and watched me put on this hunt — which by the way, was for you. And didn’t even say anything when a guy lied and said he was my secret admirer? Is this one big cruel prank?”

“No—”

“Oh! Well then, surely at one point in this whole thing, you felt like you should just tell me?” 

“I was going to.”

“Then where were you when I was just about to head out with that fraud? Maybe if you really liked me and really cared for me, like all those damn notes say, you would have fought for m—”

“I did,” Luke finally raised his voice, his face briefly hardened in an attempt to convey his desperation. His chest heaved, and the way it did almost made you think the anger radiating off every inch of his skin right then was directed towards you. But it wasn’t, and he knew you knew. 

“I confronted him right after he claimed that he was the one who gave you all those things.” 

Invisible ivies rooted your foot to the ground. You gulped, trying to digest the information you were given. However, it finally sunk in when Luke’s hands appeared from behind his back. It was then that you could see the bandage wrapped around his knuckles. Your breath hiccuped in both flattery and worry at the implication of what he had done. The darkness behind those deep hazel-brown orbs reflected a certain side of your best friend that you hadn’t seen before. Although, part of you felt like you wouldn’t mind it.

It made Luke’s blood boil knowing what he dedicated to you from the bottom of his heart was spoiled by ill intentions. Luke should have known better than to carelessly write all the letters and craft those gifts right on his bunk bed, rather than discreetly. 

Once again, the Hermes cabin counselor was pulled back to memories from an hour ago. The way the other boy shot remarks at Luke’s lack of precautions, boasting his wrong-doings like someone incapable of having a guilty conscience. Luke's jaw tightened as the image of the sly smirk on the other Hermes boy's face flashed in his mind, but a wave of satisfaction ran through him as he recalled how quickly that smirk was wiped away by his own fist.

They might be brothers by a fraction, but blood or not, that boy was dead to Luke the second he tried tricking you.

“And no, I wouldn’t have let you go out with a fraudster. Never,” Luke’s eyes softened. “And in case it’s not implied enough: I like you…a lot. I was going to confess but then this guy came along lying,” Luke could feel that tremor returning once more to his fist. He hated that something he built, from scratch, on the foundation of sincerity was momentarily tainted by the hands of a spineless liar. Not only that, he hated witnessing somebody so dear to him getting deceived in such a tasteless manner.

“I also…didn’t want to get hurt. It was starting to seem like you would ever consider me as more than just a friend with the way you were listing out all these other guys. So for a bit there I was considering just keeping quiet…forever” he confessed, eyes now straying away from you and down to his shoes.

You observed your best friend through a new perspective. So your initial suspicions were true. You had thought it was him because all the things you have received hinted to somebody who knew you so well, and who else at camp but Luke knew this many things about you. But ultimately, another part of you — the proclaimed “logical” side — has hyper-analyzed every split second you two have shared and deemed that Luke has not given any true signs of interest in you beyond as a friend. Thus, you dismissed the thought of Luke being your secret admirer.

You know now to trust your gut feelings more.

“Oh, Luke Castellan, you dumb ass…” you spoke softly underneath your breath, but you knew he heard you perfectly clearly from the way he slightly peered up. Your heart almost shattered at the dejected look on your best friend’s face and the thought of him burying his feelings eternally. You sure as hell would not allow that to be this timeline.

“I’ve liked you ever since the day you went out of your way and gave me that first cassette tape,” the marveled look on Luke’s face over your confession made you continue, “I guess I should have known it was you…cause gift giving has always been your love language.” It seemed like the boy was too stunned and struck frozen. However, his shell-shock state didn’t last long, because soon, your best friend’s gaze reverted back to the way he has always looked at you, only slightly more intense.

Your eyes fluttered at the sight of Luke Castellan in front of you at that moment. You were finally able to see the effect you’ve always had on him. The way his lips hung slightly agape, eyes dilated in such a way you were no longer able to see their usual color anymore, chest slightly heaving despite lack of physical reasons for such a reaction. You almost wanted to hit yourself for being such a fool and not spotting these details sooner. 

“Now, Castellan…you have two options,” you stepped closer to him, leaving an appropriate amount of personal space in between. “You either kiss me or—”

Luke grabbed your wrist with his uninjured hand and pulled you in. The same hand-guided your arms around his neck while also effectively eliminating the remaining distance between you two. 

Without hesitation, he kissed you.

Likewise, you returned the action without a second thought. You frankly didn’t care about the rain that was soaking the both of you. Kissing Luke felt like such a natural act that it felt simply like diving home. The way he held you made you feel like you were a national treasure he was so afraid of losing. Gods, you don’t think you mind doing this ever so often.

Though, there was a certain urgency in the way Luke kissed you, as if afraid you’d either vanish or you’d change your mind. You pressed your lips harder against his, hoping he’d understand you didn’t intend on leaving or having a change of heart.

A grunt escaped his throat as you kissed him harder. Oh, Luke Castellan already knew he was in immense trouble. He knew almost immediately that the concerning number of thoughts he had about you each day would only increase tenfold from this day on. He wondered if you could taste all of his unspoken words. If kissing you felt like this, he might as well sign away his heart, body, and mind to you. In fact, he’d sign anything you put in front of him without even considering the fine prints. 

Luke slowly backed you against a tree, giving you a bit of support to lean against whilst shielding the both of you from the heavy rain. He smiled into the kiss as you hummed at his action, feeling it echo against his lips. His heart tugged, almost leaping out of his chest when your hands made their way to both sides of his face, cupping it intently like holding something yours. Yours. Fuck, he loved the sound of that. 

You were the first to break the kiss. The both of you gasped for air while maintaining eye contact. The close-up view of his intense gaze drove your cheeks rosy. You could not help but admire the way his locks of wet curly hair clung onto his forehead, while raindrops fell from his face, some following the length of his eyelashes before falling — Oh, the way he glanced down at your lips at that second made you feel almost like you had the power to convince him into anything at the moment. 

“You’re my best friend…” he broke the silence.

“Mhm.”

“...but what if I want you to be more than that?”

“I can be both,” Luke’s lips broke out into a smile, and you mirrored his facial expression. He leaned his forehead against yours whilst softly rubbing his thumb soothingly against your waist.

“I’m not against that.” 

As a larger grin broke out on your lips, Luke’s eyes further softened. He realized right there and then that anything you wanted, he would not be against it. A breath of relief quietly escaped beneath Luke’s breath. He could not wait for whatever was in store for the both of you in the future.

Good thing his messages in a bottle did get to you.

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

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[novaursa]

Fire's Legacy

- Summary: A few moons after he came for you, Maegor finally took you as his under eyes of the Old Gods of Valyria. And it didn't take long for you to find yourself with his child. Now it's the time to bring that innocent life into the world of fire and blood, and all you can do is pray it lives.

- Paring: niece!reader/Maegor I Targaryen

- Note: This short story follows the events of Fire and Blood.

- Rating: Mature 16+

- Next part: bloodline

- Tag(s): @sachaa-ff @alyssa-dayne @oxymakestheworldgoround

- A/N: Unplanned post.

The day began like any other in the Red Keep, the sun casting a dull haze over the court. You could feel the weight of your pregnancy pressing against your body, every step a reminder of the life you carried within you. The maesters had said it would still be weeks, but something inside told you otherwise. You sensed it in the way your belly tightened, the sharp twinges that had begun early in the morning.

It was Maegor’s presence that both comforted and unnerved you. He had been a dark storm ever since you were taken as his wife, fierce and relentless in his possession of you. His touch was often rough, claiming, but there were moments, brief as they were, where you saw something softer flicker in his eyes. But softness had no place in Maegor's world, not now, not when he held the Iron Throne in a grasp as unyielding as dragonsteel.

He was seated on the dais, the Blackfyre sword at his side, when the pains became unbearable. You could not stop the gasp that tore from your throat, sharp and urgent. Maegor’s head snapped toward you immediately, the room around you falling into a hush. His dark eyes narrowed in on you, assessing, as you pressed a hand to your belly.

“It is time,” you whispered, breathless, and the realization hit you both at once.

The maesters scrambled to their feet, rushing to assist you, but Maegor rose faster, his steps heavy and purposeful as he closed the distance between you. He dismissed the maesters with a growl, sweeping you into his arms. His grip was fierce, but there was an underlying protectiveness you had rarely seen in him before.

“Visenya,” Maegor barked, his voice carrying through the hall.

The queen dowager appeared as if summoned by the very gods themselves, her face calm but her eyes sharp. She had always been an imposing figure, her silent strength a constant presence in Maegor’s life. She regarded you with a knowing look as Maegor carried you toward your chambers, her hands deftly organizing the chaos around her.

Once inside the room, Maegor set you down carefully, though his hands lingered on your arms, his gaze intense. He didn’t say a word, but you could feel the command in his posture. You would survive this, for him, for the child you carried.

Visenya took charge with an efficiency that belied her age, directing the midwives and maesters with curt nods and gestures. Maegor, however, refused to leave your side. His hand found yours, gripping tightly as the labor began in earnest. He watched with a burning intensity as each contraction wracked your body, his jaw set as though he could command the pain to cease by sheer will alone.

Hours passed, the agony becoming nearly unbearable, but you could feel the moment drawing closer. Maegor's face never wavered, though you could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his eyes darkened with each scream that left your lips.

Then, suddenly, it happened. The first babe emerged, a healthy, wailing boy. The midwife handed the squirming child to Maegor, and for a moment, he simply stared, his face a mixture of disbelief and pride. His firstborn son.

“Your heir,” Visenya whispered, a rare softness in her voice as she looked upon the boy.

But before the moment could settle, another wave of pain crashed through you. The midwives rushed back into position, their hands working swiftly, and then, just as swiftly as the first, a second child came forth—a girl, strong and full of life.

“Twins,” one of the maesters muttered, astonished.

Maegor was silent, but the weight of the moment pressed down on the room. He held his son in one arm and, when the midwives offered, took his daughter in the other. His face, hard as stone and as fierce as the dragon he was, betrayed nothing at first. Then, slowly, a rare, dangerous smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Two,” he said, his voice low, reverberating with something primal. “Two strong babes.”

Visenya’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she looked between you and the twins. “It seems the gods favor you after all, Maegor,” she remarked, though there was a glint in her eye that spoke of more than just familial pride. She approached, inspecting the babes as if they were her own creations, her approval unspoken but seen.

You, exhausted beyond measure, watched through bleary eyes as Maegor gazed upon his children, the weight of what had happened finally settling over him. He turned his attention to you, his expression unreadable, but there was something new in his gaze—a fierce possessiveness, yes, but also a deeper, quieter pride.

“You have given me a dynasty,” he murmured, low enough for only you to hear. “You will be remembered as the mother of dragons.”

And in that moment, you knew—whatever fears you had before, whatever doubts—Maegor had truly claimed you, not just as his wife, but as the mother of his legacy. The realm might tremble under his rule, but here, in this room, Maegor Targaryen had found something he valued even more than power.

His family.

[nothingbutsweetwords]

ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ'ꜱ ꜱᴏɴ, ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ'ꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ

ᴀᴇᴍᴏɴᴅ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ!ɴɪᴇᴄᴇ

"ʏᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ꜱᴛʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ʟᴀᴛᴇʟʏ, ʏᴇᴀʜ, ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ..."

Word count: 3,800.

Fandom: House of the Dragon.

Pairing: Aemond x Reader!Velaryon!Niece.

MEETING — 1. Her.

Her legs, without any command and with an unstoppable perseverance, set off through the labyrinthine corridors of the red keep towards her mother's chambers long before the phrase fully reached her ears, the one she had so longed for: "The baby has been born, my princess."

Her family was her most loved treasure and when her mother announced the big news, time seemed to slow down. She couldn't wait to have that baby in her arms and cherish every second the gods, those she fervently prayed to, would allow her to spend with him.

Every night, in silent supplications, she repeated to any who would listen: "Please, let him be born healthy. Please, take care of my mother."

Rhaenyra painfully held in her heart the memory of her mother Aemma's early departure from the world. She wanted to shield her little ones from all fear and anguish, so she didn't dwell on details about that traumatic episode, one that, despite the years, remained as a deep and open wound. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop the whispers, those that seeped into her daughter's ears, creating such intense fear that she barely had room to breathe during those long nine months.

She felt a smile so wide it would ache her cheeks later and feet that weren't fast enough. Upon reaching the large wooden door, she took a few seconds to take a deep breath, calm her racing nerves, and finally push it open with determination.

Her entrance went unnoticed, as all eyes in the room were on the small human being now peacefully resting in her father's arms.

Except hers, no, those were on the woman sitting on the couch. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, her hair tousled and a tired expression adorned her face; yet never, in her short years on this earth, had she seen her so beautiful.

"Mother" she murmured almost voicelessly, taking her hands in hers and seeking her gaze. She felt her eyes sting, tears threatening to spill, and a lump forming in her throat. She wanted to speak again, but her voice got lost along the way. Fortunately, it wasn't necessary; Rhaenyra knew her as well as herself and could read her like an open book.

"My love, please, have no fear, we are okay" with those simple words, her lungs filled with air, swelling her chest. She let out a sigh, laden with relief, laden with love. She could only nod in response.

"Sister, look!" Jacaerys exclaimed, drawing her attention. He lifted the lid of the large steel chest, releasing steam and revealing a dragon egg. 

"We choose an egg for the baby" Lucerys added.

"That looks like the perfect one, brothers" she said with a smile, though a bittersweet taste filled her mouth. Unlike her brothers, her own egg had never hatched, a disappointment she carried permanently with her, though she tried not to show it in these moments of happiness.

"I let Luke choose" he said, she messed up the younger one's hair and planted a kiss on his head.

"Thank you, Jace."

"Not every day an egg leaves the dragonpit, my princess, I thought it best to escort the lads" intervened Harwin Strong, adorned in his imposing armor and golden cloak. It didn't surprise her seeing him there; in fact, despite having a different last name, she considered him part of her family.

He was her protector, who always escorted her to her room, pampered her with luxurious books, and listened attentively to every word she said. She had more memories of him than of her own father, but she didn't complain; she knew he was a busy man. Harwin had tried to teach her the art of the sword, insisting on the importance of knowing how to defend herself, but she always found herself more interested in books. Besides, she had the feeling that he would never neglect watching her back.

"Laenor and I thank you, Commander" she heard her mother say.

"Father, may I see it?" she asked. Laenor knelt down, allowing the three of them to meet the new member of the family. It only took one look for him to completely captivate her. She mentally swore that nothing would ever harm him as long as she breathed. "What a fine knight you are going to make, eh?"

"Another boy, I heard" Harwin cleared his throat. "Might I?" he asked, seeking her mother's approval. She thought she saw a glimpse of the same relief that filled her eyes.

"Ser Harwin wishes to be introduced to Joffrey" she said, smiling. Upon hearing that name, her lips formed another smile. Of course, she would have been equally happy if it were a girl, but she was glad to still be the only one. It had its advantages.

"Of course" Laenor agreed. Rising, he gently placed Joffrey in Harwin's arms.

"Joffrey, is it?" her father nodded in agreement to the question.

"Mother, please may I hold Joffrey?" she asked excitedly, reaching out her arms towards him. A futile attempt, of course, the man in front of her easily doubled her height.

"No, mother, let me go first! I'm the strongest, I won't let him fall!" her twin brother vociferated.

"I won't let him fall either!" she countered.

Her younger brother joined in the pleas, arguing that he had the right because he was the youngest. Soon, the words melded into an indistinguishable uproar, as all three clamored in unison.

"No, no, no" her father hastened as Harwin turned his back to them, trying to prevent the disturbances from reaching the ears of the newborn.

"I think you left your septa waiting, my little lady, and back to the dragon pit for you two, before they send out a search party" he ushered the three younger ones out of the room, and gently pushed their shoulders, guiding them down the hallway. First, towards the room she had left only minutes ago, where her septa awaited along with Helaena, her mother's younger sister.

Her father left her at the door, and the expression on her face, the one she believed she was successfully hiding, betrayed her. Laenor crouched down to her height, gently taking her cheeks in his hands, making her look at him.

"You know, Leana had an egg that didn't hatch... and she didn't ride a dragon until she was five and ten. Now she rides Vhagar," he tried to cheer her up, "your time will come, dear daughter, I promise."

She was filled with hope at her father's promises. He always had the right words. She thanked the man she loved so much with a kiss on the cheek, and now with renewed energy, she entered the room.

Despite the repeated complaints from the septa, they remained on the floor; she leaned her back against the wall, while Helaena rested her head on her legs. She explored the pages of the book while playing with her hair, and when a passage caught her attention, she read it aloud to her aunt, who entertained herself by watching a long insect walk on her hands. They didn't share the same interests, not even could it be said that they understood each other, but they enjoyed each other's company and were grateful of having another princess of almost the same age as a confidante.

"This one has 60 rings and two pairs of legs on each. That's 240" remarked Helaena.

"Yes, you're right, I think... Did you know that Vhagar is 170 years old?" she responded, her eyes widening at the new information. "That's exceptional."

"The last ring doesn't have legs," Helaena pointed out, overlooking her niece, more interested in the insect "it has eyes, though I don't believe it can see."

She furrowed her brow. "Why is that so?"

"It's beyond our understanding."

She didn't know how much time they had spent in that position, but when she shifted her attention from the book due to noises approaching from the corridors, she noticed that the septa had already left and in her place was Alicent. The new companion was sitting a few meters away from them, holding a cup of tea and with her gaze lost in the window.

Suddenly, two king’s guards burst into the room, each holding one of Aemond's arms, alarming her.

"Your Grace" they left without waiting for any response, closing the doors behind them.

"Aemond, what have you done?" Alicent approached him quickly, scrutinizing him, and exclaimed exasperatedly while gripping his shoulders firmly, "after how many times you’ve been warned, must I have you confined to your chambers?"

"They made me do it!" the young prince shouted in his defense.

"As if you needed encouragement. Your obsession with those beasts goes beyond understanding" she furrowed her brow again upon noticing the same phrase that had come out of Helaena's mouth minutes ago.

Returning her attention to the argument in front of her, she noted that the prince's platinum hair and his green garments were stained black. Realization fell into her, she widened her eyes, astonished. Had he really ventured into the dragon pit? Alone?

"They gave me a pig!"

"A what?" the queen asked.

"They said they found a dragon for me, but it was a pig" detailed, his voice breaking slightly.

She knew Aegon and she knew her brothers, and even though she was certain the last two had only been pawns used in the prank, a mixture of anger and disappointment washed over her. How could they tease and deceive the good prince in such a way? Worse still, with something that was also the cause of her tears.

"If he wants one, he'll have to close one eye" the princess beside her said, her gaze still fixed on the tiny entity. She spoke loud enough for only her to hear.

Her words were puzzling, and she didn't know how to interpret them. They could either indicate that she was still in her little world or suggest something deeper; it wouldn't be the first time for either option. She had heard her say... things before; at first, they seemed like mere nonsensical words, and suddenly something happened, something that reminded her of her words, something that led her to believe that her aunt had some kind of magic. No one had paid much attention to her when she shared her theory, dismissing it with disdain, saying they were just coincidences. But to her, it seemed like more than mere chance connections.

"Everyone laughed" Aemond murmured, trying to hide his sadness. Her anger now replaced by deep empathy. Alicent wrapped her arms around him, stroking his back.

The prince looked just as distressed as he left the hug and walked away as he did when he entered. It reminded her of her own feelings of desolation and loneliness, and she thought that there was no one in the kingdom who could understand her like he did. Not really.

She always had a special connection with Jace, a twin connection, as they enjoyed calling it. They understood each other with just looks, laughed at the same jokes, and shared the same tastes, except for the obvious; he loved his sword, she preferred her books. On the other hand, Luke had always been her little and spoiled one, her sweet and innocent child. That's why the situation had affected her so much. She didn't believe her brothers had meant to hurt Aemond, but they did anyway. They were insensitive, and she didn't want to see them grow up like Aegon, who with his character showed that he didn't know the true meaning of consequences.

It had been a few days since the incident in the pit and the birth of her brother, who was under the care of Diana, her mother's lady-in-waiting.

She tried not to lift her gaze from her plate and ate in silence, ignoring her brothers, offering them only monosyllabic responses. She was furious and intended to make it obvious. She huffed in frustration, trying to get her mother's attention so she could bring up the issue to the table.

"My dear, what troubles your mind?" she heard her mother ask as she gave her arm a gentle squeeze.

"Mother, have you heard about the incident in the dragon pit?" noticing her mother's concerned and confused look, she hurried to reassure her, "no one is hurt... not physically, at least."

"What happened?" her mother looked inquisitively at her sons, their heads looking down, ashamed.

"Jace, Luke, and Aegon played a prank on Prince Aemond. They told him they had a dragon for him and gave him a pig with wings, they even named it! Pink Dread." The children couldn't contain their laughter at the memory, which only made her angrier.

"Is that true?" her mother asked, wiping the smile from both their faces. It wasn't common to hear her upset or see her with a serious expression.

"It was just a joke!" Jace tried to justify.

"Aegon planned it!" Luke interjected.

"I don't want to hear justifications" she silenced them. "What if that joke had been towards your sister? Would you still be laughing?"

"It's different" Jace muttered, while Luke's lip trembled in a pout.

"No, it's not. Tomorrow during training, you will offer the appropriate apologies. From the heart. Aemond is family, and we must look out for each other. Isn't that so?"

"Yes, mother" they chorused, serious and repentant.

"Now you may retire to your chambers and think about what you've done," their mother pronounced, and before they could respond, she added, "no complaints." They nodded and left in silence.

"I think Aemond could use some kind words, don't you agree?" Rhaenyra suggested minutes later, breaking the silence. She responded with a smile, thanking her for understanding the importance of this to her. "Who better than you to do it?" She rose from her seat and embraced her gently, for she could see her still in pain. She planted a kiss on her forehead, the kind she cherished so much.

"Rest, mother. I'll ask the maester to make you some tea."

She smiled after hearing her daughter, thinking that any pain felt and to be felt would be an insignificant price to pay considering all she had gained. Jace, the next heir to the throne, who would reign with peace and intelligence; Luke and Joffrey, who would be the greatest and most honorable knights; and her daughter, her eternal and sweet companion.

There was no need to ask questions; she knew where to find him. A few floors up was the library, her second room, her refuge, where the world became a little quieter and she could transport herself to other times, places and lives.

She ascended the long stairs quickly, and within minutes, she stood at the door. This hallway had always been one of the least traveled, practically deserted, except for them and the king’s guards. It seemed there weren't many avid readers in the keep.

They used to be at opposite ends of the table, immersed in each of their books. She had always wanted to talk to him, ask him what he was reading and maybe ask him to teach her High Valyrian. However, she never did; she had been too shy in his presence, and Aemond's distant form didn't help. Perhaps he was shy like her.

Or perhaps he simply didn't want to talk to her.

She tried to push those thoughts to the back of her mind as she entered the library. She smiled to herself when she saw she hadn't been wrong.

"Good morrow, uncle" she announced her arrival as she headed to the usual shelf and picked up the book she had left halfway through a few days ago.

"Good morrow, niece" he responded with his usual seriousness.

She walked to the table and hesitated. Should she sit closer to him this time? She didn't want to invade his space, but she also didn't believe that a conversation should start at a distance.

She arrived at the table before deciding and stood there for a few seconds. She ended up placing her book at the usual spot and sat down, feeling uncomfortable.

Why was she feeling this way? She wasn't the one who played a distasteful joke, besides, he was family; they had grown up together in the castle, it shouldn't be so difficult.

Suddenly, she felt warmth engulf her when she noticed Aemond looking at her, puzzled. With the book still closed, her cheeks turned red as she realized she had been staring at him all this time, lost in her thoughts. She mentally cursed herself and searched for the page she was on. He looked away, not saying a word.

Her mother had asked her to talk to him and she had really wanted to, so she didn't understand why she found it so hard to approach him.

She audibly sighed and abruptly closed her book. He did the same seconds later. As always.

It was curious; every time they were here, they seemed… united, connected in their readings; when she finished, he did too, shortly after. They put away their books, and he walked to the exit, hurriedly, and then held the door, patiently waiting for her to exit. They parted ways upon reaching the floor of their chambers, all without exchanging a word other than greetings or thanks.

The king and the queen did a good job with him and Helaena. She couldn't say the same about Aegon, unfortunately.

She knew it was only a matter of seconds before he got up from his chair, so, with her book in hand, marched towards him.

Aemond furrowed his brow; he didn't seem upset, rather bewildered by the new proximity when she took the seat to his right and opened her book again, an action he imitated seconds later.

She found it impossible to read; she observed the page, but the words blurred together as her mind was occupied with something else. How should she start? It was clear they had something in common. Two things, in fact. Long conversations weren't necessary to know it, so she ventured there.

She cleared her throat, trying to get his attention, without success. Then, timidly, she placed her hand on his, causing an immediate reaction.

He remained still, stunned by her movements. He just looked at her, with eyes wider than usual. It was then that she realized how different they were from the rest of their family. Her grandsire, her mother, Aegon, Helaena, they all had eyes as clear as the sky on a sunny day. But not him, his were darker, bluer, with a trace of purple in them. As deep as the sea, and as beautiful as a sapphire. His hair was straighter, platinum, and even softer, she would dare to say.

How she wished to have the Targaryen attributes, just as distinctive as they were beautiful. Another one of her biggest insecurities and sorrows. It wasn't uncommon for people to be surprised when they saw her and her siblings next to their parents, as they hadn't inherited such beauty. They were equally pale, but with a tumultuous mane, full of curls, of the darkest black and eyes sometimes green, sometimes brown.

Once again, she felt the red fill her cheeks, her gaze lost in him as her thoughts swirled.

"Do you know that my father's sister also had an unhatched egg? Just like us," she said, softly, looking him in the eyes and trying to comfort him, "now she's the rider of Vhagar, the oldest, largest, and most feared dragon in the entire kingdom." 

She waited for a response that didn't come. "I like to believe that our wait will be rewarded, don't you?" then added. He only nodded, almost imperceptibly, without taking his eyes off hers, "I wanted to apologize."

Now with a confused look, Aemond finally decided to respond, "why?"

"They shouldn't have done it... It was cruel." Understanding dawned on him.

"No need to apologize for something that you did not do, niece." She couldn't help but smile at his words. Was he always so serious and formal? She thought he was like an adult trapped in the body of a little boy. An old soul.

"Can I ask you something?" she inquired.

"Yes, of course."

"Did you really enter the dragon pit? Alone?" she asked, curious. She noticed his face changing, a smirk of pride forming, his lips curling up into a small smile as he straightened up in his chair, now more upright.

"Yes, I did."

"Did you see any?"

"Yes, but it was too dark to know which one..." he began, with a spark in his eyes, and noticing her attentive gaze, he decided to continue "it throwed fire in my direction" he added, her eyes wider than before, conveying her astonishment.

"Gods! You must have been so terrified."

"Not really" he simply responded.

"That was... you're incredibly brave, my prince. I wouldn't have had the courage" she said and received a wide smile in return. She had never called him "my prince" before and she had never seen him smile.

She continued to listen attentively. No history book had ever excited her as much as the prince's adventures, and seeing him so enthusiastic about telling them filled her chest with something she didn't know how to name. Something warm. She liked it.

Despite it being their first real conversation, and the first time they looked each other in the eyes, there was a mutual understanding, a connection, different, special. One that went beyond being dragonless riders or relatives raised under the same roof.

It seemed to her that only a few minutes had passed when she felt a knock on the doors and a voice announcing that it was supper time and Alicent awaited for her son's presence. Both of them showed disappointment at the interruption; he seemed to have so much more to say and she hadn't had enough of his words. She thought she could listen to him for the rest of her days.

"Forgive me, niece, I must have tired your ears," he said before standing up, "and I didn't ask about your stories; you must think me rude." His words elicited a laugh from her lips, as it couldn't be further from the truth.

"Not at all, I would have liked to keep listening to you. Besides, I don't have stories as brave as yours, and I wouldn't want to bore you to exhaustion" she replied.

Once they had put the books back in their place, they walked to the door.

"I do not think that's possible" Aemond communicated with his hand on the doorknob. There was silence as they descended the stairs with the guards behind them.

"Goodnight, my princess" he said once they reached the floor, calling her that way for the first time.

"Goodnight, my prince."

"Perhaps tomorrow we could... continue?" It came out almost as a whisper from Aemond's lips. A smile on hers.

"Nothing would make me happier."

[hadesnumber1daughter]

Pretty like the sun

Pairing: Percy Jackson x Apollo daughter OC (she classes as an oc cause I gave her a name but you can just read it like your name or Y/N if you want, I just feel better when I'm writing and the characters have names :)

Summary: Percy has always felt something for you, something that you had felt aswell. These quests of life and death finally knocked some sense into you two.

Warnings: Blood, Pain, Agony, Violence, Weapons, Wounds, Wound treating, Curse words, Oblivious idiots, Fluff, Angsty??, Sexual tension, Mutual pining, Almost death, Non-Canon, Hugs, Kisses, Holding hands, Ooc Percy??? Cerberus as a violent dog (ik she isnt really but this is my imagine so idc), Not proof-read, GUT-WRENCHING LOVE, IDK how i wrote this considering I've never been in a relationship OR have ever had an actual crush in my 16 sad years of life

Words: 6.3k

Notes: This is my first imagine so I'm sorry if its bad😭😭. Also if anyone would be willing to give me a few pointers when it comes to working this app as a creator please do cause, yeah I've been using this app for years but I have no idea how to use it when it comes to posting things. I would be very grateful. ❤️❤️❤️. Also, if anyone wants to request something else for me to write I would love to write something for either Percy or Luke, I'll probably make a list of people who I'm willing to write for later today cause it is 10am rn and I haven't slept so I'll just go bed after this 😭😭😭

As soon as percy got handed this quest, with Grover being part of the cloven council and Annabeth being gone to spend time with her family, Percy knew his immediate first choice would be Aurora, there was no doubt about it. The Apollo girl had a spark about her that has drawn him in the second he laid eyes on her.

He had deemed it because she was a daughter of Apollo so there would always be some sort of light that would draw him in, but he hasnt been very sure of that for a very long time. Every time he laid eyes on her, it felt as though time stood still and she was the only source of light and happiness in this dark, gloomy world. 

They had became extremely close when he first came to camp, she taught him the ropes in archery as to put it plainly, he was absolutely shit at it. He had no aim and his stance was awful, in her own words.

When she first said that to him, he wanted to throw her in a dumpster, but then he saw her, he properly saw her. He didnt know what Aphrodite looked like, but he was sure she would be a spitting image of the girl. He was even more sure that she was a daughter of Aphrodite but instead she was not, which made sense as to why she was hanging around the archery booth. From that day forward, she helped him freshen his archery skills, and he helped her with her sword skills.

He has never understood why she wouldnt ask Luke as he was the best swords-man and would probably be a better trainer. However, when he brough it up to her one time her cheeks flushed the tiniest bit and she stated how she was helping him, so he should do that same.

That's how they have ended up here. In the middle of nowhere, trying to find and 'kill' a beast that has been accidently lost and let out from the underworld and send it back. Although quests always have 3 people on them, the oracle specifically stated that this was only a 2 person job. Percy had never been so sure in picking Aurora at that moment in time. 

🌊

"Are you sure we are going the right way Perce, I swear I've seen this tree 3 times already" Aurora stated this time taking a dagger and marking said tree with an X so if they do cross it again, she would be right.

"You never trust my navigation skills sunshine, why is that, is it cause you always get lost in my eyes" he says turning to look at her with a smug smile on his face. The girl abruptly stopped at his turn and could feel the blood rush to her cheeks in that moment, her honey-brown eyes immediately locked with his water coloured eyes and she broke the gaze, not letting him have the satisfaction of being right.

"You wish seaweed brain" she muttered and walked past him knocking into his shoulder in the process which led to him letting out a dramatic gasp.

"That hurts sunshine. Where are you going, it's getting dark, we should stop, set up camp and get some rest so we can re-think and re-strategize." The girl slowly stops her steps and turns her back to the boy who is standing there leaning against a tree with his arms crossed giving her a cocky glance that makes her want to die and kill him at the same time. 

The two had a stand-off for a bit before one decided to speak up.

"As long as I don't have to scavenge this creepy forest for wood then its fine by me" the girl said walking back to him while his eyes following her every movement till she was a few steps away from him. The girl went to grab something from her pocket with her left hand and with her right, she grabbed the boys arms and dragged her hand down it, to his hand which automatically opened up. She placed something cold into it with her left hand.

He looked at her and she had a glint in her eyes he hadn't seen for the past 12 hours, looking to his palm, he was a coin. Not just any ordinary coin or ordinary drachma. It was a coin from sea life, the one coin they give to one another which can be used for many thing, they talked it over before the quest. The coin can only be used for 2 things during this quest, to make sure the other doesnt die, or the person who has been handed the coin has to do what the person giving the coin wants no matter what.

He looked up at her with a confused look but seeing the mischief in her eyes gave enough away. Sighing he pocketed the coin and stepped away from the tree which only left 3 steps in-between the two. 

"What do you want me to do" not even bothering arguing.

"I want to see you fail at making a fire" she said just giving him the brightest smile, basically oozing sunlight from her. The boy felt like a deer stuck in headlights in that moment, he almost forgot the reason for her heavenly smile. He wanted to tell her he loved her right there and then, that he could never get enough of her, that he searched for her in every room he ever walked into, that she was the one and only constant source of light in his life, that she was the sun and he would orbit her in every universe no matter how close he got, no matter how much it destroyed him. He was utterly inconsolable without her. He loved her.

"Aurora" the boy started to say, in a serious tone which immediately made the girl's smile falter as she looked into his eyes, he didnt need to say anything. His eyes spoke more words than he would have liked, enough for the girl to get the message and understand him. All of the glances, the subtle touches, the comfort of each other like no other. She felt and understood it all. 

He was about of continue when a roar sounded, echoing in all directions and rustling the trees. The two could hear the howl of Cerberus all around them. Percy immediately uncapped riptide while Aurora unclasped her bracelet which turned into a bow and an unlimited supply of arrows. 

The both circled back to back, covering each others blind spot like muscle memory. They could feel the ground shake with each step the otherworldly creature took. 

"How are we going to do this?" the girl asked while keeping an eye on all of her surroundings. 

"You distract with your arrows as they are long-range and while she's focused on you, I'll go for the kill shot"

"She can't die" she could feel him rolling her eyes as the words left her mouth.

"You know what I mean" 

They could hear the low growl from the side of them. The three-headed beast emerged in all its glory with its 6 menacing eyes ready to rip these two teens to shreds and send the wrong beings in this equation to the underworld. Percy turned to stand next to Aurora and the girl grabbed his hand and squeezed to which he immediately responded. There were many unspoken words that had been said in the past 10 minutes and this was another addition 'dont die, be safe, come back to me'.

Slipping through her fingers, his hand left hers and quietly stalked away before the beast could get any idea there were 2 of them. Wishing the best for the boy, she instantly got the dogs attention by shooting an arrow at the middle head's nose. 

It did not like that.

They all barked at once and got ready to run at the girl. She didn't like to admit it but she was fucking terrified. Cerberus ran at her and she leapt to the side and ran as fast as she could not looking back until she could feel he's a little away from her. She got another arrow ready in her bow and blindly shot it behind her. 

She heard a small whimper which brought a smirk to her face but that was immediately wiped away as she heard the barking intensify. Hiding behind a tree the girl caught her breaths and looked for the hound and she couldnt spot it or Percy. She got another arrow ready and looked behind the tree once again but was faced with the thing she was hunting. 

Fear spread to every part of her body and she had no time to brace the impact as the dog clawed the tree which in return clawed her. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as she was flung into another tree. The bark from the destroyed tree splintered her, her head hit against a tree on impact and the large gash on her side felt like a fire that was melting her skin off. The girl felt her breath stick in her throat, she felt as though she was dying as immense pain filled her and black spots invaded her vision. Only one other thing was on her mind.

Percy.

The ocean eyed boy lost sight of Cerberus immediately as it began to chase Aurora, his Aurora. He followed as fast as he could not wanting anything bad to happen to the girl he loved before he got any chance to be with her, to confess and to just live a life content with his feelings. 

As he heard, the whoosh of Aurora's arrows increase, he could feel himself being uncapable of keeping up with the beast from the underworld and he cursed himself for it. He lost sight of Cerberus and it scared him, it was too quiet. He couldn't hear the creature or the girl he loved. 

His heartbeat quickened as he looked all around him trying to see a glimpse of either of them. 

Then all blood drain out of his face when he heard the one sound he wished he did not have to hear, ever. Aurora's scream made his heart almost leap out of his chest. He didnt know what to do, he didnt know where she was, he couldnt see the hound, its his fault, she going to die because of him. 

She most certainly is going to die if you dont get a fucking move on, that one voice in his head said. And he pushed all the doubts to the back of his head and focused on 2 things. Defeating Cerberus and finding Aurora. 

He could hear the three-headed dogs footsteps and instantly ran to it. It didnt see him coming and it's tail was on the ground so he didnt the best thing he could think of. He ran up the tail onto the body of the beast.

This elicited loud barking from the beast and Percy could only do one thing. Repeatedly stab the dog until it dissolved. 

Now... admittedly, this was not a good strategy. It was fucking awful. There was no thought to his stabs, they all just angered the beast and considering she was quite resistance to stabs, it wasnt helping. He was just tiring himself out. 

He then has the genius idea of stabbing the beast in the eye, or eyes. He started with the left head. The beast let out a large whimper, and stumbled which cause the boy to almost loose his grip on it. He wasnt going to stop now, he needed to send Cerberus back and get to Aurora.

Aurora. Her scream was echoing in his mind. Bouncing around his skull like he has no brain inside, only her gut-wrenching scream.

He subtly shook his head. As much as he was dreading where she was and if she was okay. He needed to secure Cerberus and he needed all attention to so it as fast a possible to get back to his sunshine.

He then stabbed riptide into both the right heads eyes. Percy knew what to expect this time so he braced himself and held on as tight as he could. He could not fail now. He was too close.

The dog slumped onto the floor which made percy's last task much more easier. With agility and caution the boy leapt onto the middle head and punctured the eyes out which evoked a whimper which made the boy feel bad for the animal and it slowly turned to dust. 

In an instant the boy caught his breath and his mind raced with only one thing. 

Aurora.

"Aurora! Sunshine! Where are you?" The boy felt as though he could not breathe. His head was spinning trying to find her in the mountains of trees and in the darkness of this forest, he has never needed to see her more now than any other time. 

"Aurora! Please if you can hear me make a sound! Anything so I know you're alive" He would never leave her. He would die before he left her to rot in these woods. He would never be able to face the guilt and loss.

"Please! Say SOMETHING" he could feel himself getting frustrated. "HELP! SOMEONE, ANYONE" tears welded in his eyes trying to find her. 

There was a rustle of leaves from the left side behind him. He was running to the sound before it even registered in the back of his mind. He kept hearing the rustling and a small whimper. 

He saw a faint glow of light behind a tree and he held his breath for the sight that was to come. He skidded to a stop and fell on his knees infront of her.

His heart dropped to his stomach when he saw her. Her face was significantly paler than when he left her and she had a wood splinter sticking out of her thigh and worst of all, the 4 claw marks across her abdomen with blood everywhere, it seemed to have stopped pouring, but it was a nauseating sight to see. He didnt know what to do. 

"Aurora, darling, open your eyes" his hands reached her cheeks and his thumb rubbed circled on her cheek and his two fingers made their way to her neck to check her pulse. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse. It was faint but not too faint to the point it would slip too far out of his grasp. 

He reached for his bag on his back to get some first aid supplies, ambrosia and nectar for the girl, when she let out a pained gasp.

The girl had barely an recollection of anything, the only thing on her mind at the moment was the immense pain shooting through her whole body, It felt like she was on fire and couldnt breathe. She wanted to die.

Then her vision cleared and she saw the golden haired boy looked at her like she was the only thing in the whole world, he held so much worry in his eyes that she thought for a second if she was already dead and it was her spirit seeing his reaction to her death.

"Gods, Aurora, you're okay. You had be so worried, I was terrified, I cannot lose you. If I lost you I would lose myself" The boy held one hand to her cheek while speaking so intently to her.

In that one moment she could feel his stare, like clockwork, bubble something inside of her. It almost made her forget why she was on the ground, why she could taste something metallic in the back of her mouth, why she couldnt move her right leg. It almost took it away. Almost.

That fire spread throughout her body again and she couldnt stop the wail that left her mouth. The pain was nauseating. A flood of curses left Percy's mouth as he grabbed the bottle of nectar and opened it.

"Okay, sunshine, I know you're in a lot of pain but I'm going to give you some nectar, you need to drink it but you need to sit up a little straighter." The girl immediately shook her head as a no in response to the boy. 

"I know. The amount of times we've both had to do it but you know deep down that its the only thing that will fix it." The girl tried to harden her stare at the boy but she was too weak to even look at him properly.

"O-okay, but... I can't" she inhaled sharply as she tried to move the slightest bit. She didn't have to finish her sentence for the boy to understand what she was trying to say. He took one his flannel button ups from his bag, scrunched it up and gave it to her. She could only give him a confused look.

"Put it in your mouth, bite down hard cause I'm gonna move you into the right position and its gonna be a pain. I'm sorry sunshine but I have to." She took it with her shaking hands and was about to put it in her mouth when she smelt it, sea salt and musk, then the girl really looked at what the item of clothing was. 

"this is yours" she said in a hoarse voice, looking up at him, confusion plastered all over her features.

"Well I dont exactly know where your bag is so next best thing." he gave her a weak smile and moved closer to her but she weakly grabbed his hand.

"I'm scared" she whispered so pathetically but the boy understood, he knew her. He knew that he needed to keep talking to her, to make sure he is doing something close enough to her for her to know that she's still alive. 

He only interlaced their fingers and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. 

"I won't let go, I promise. You aren't leaving me, not after everything we have been through together" the girl's eyes welled with tears but she nodded and stuffed her mouth with Percy's flannel. 

He wrapped his arms around her from the side, where he was sitting and placed a kiss in the hair before counting down.

"3...2..." the boy didnt get to 1 before he pulled her up so she was sitting not laying down and with the movement came muffled screams and tears that flowed down the girls face. He was whispering sweet nothings in her ear as she lent into him and he repeatedly kissed her hair or forehead. 

"I'm sorry sunshine, I really am. When you're all better I promise you can hit me" he tried to uplift her but she could barely hear him. Her body shook and agony filled her every sense. He couldn't even express the guilt and regret he felt for the girl, immediately grabbing the nectar, and slowly taking his flannel out of her mouth. 

"You're doing great sweetheart" he says while slowly pouring the nectar into her mouth. Her head is resting against his shoulder as she swallows the drink down in small sips. After she drank it, Percy put it away and the girl began to close her eyes.

"Hey, hey, sunshine you can't be doing that right now. Come on I need to patch you up and then we need to get back to camp, I'll call blackjack. I know how much you like riding on him" he lifts her head off his shoulder and places her on the tree, but this time sitting up so he has easy access to her abdomen. 

She opened one eye and slightly smiled at the boy.

"You're gonna call blackjack?" the girl asked a bit delirious but seemingly in less pain. This brought a instant smile to him as he let out a chuckle, nodding his head while grabbing gauze and 2 bandage rolls.

"I promise I will, but you have to make sure to keep fighting okay. Once this is over, I have something special to tell you" He came loser to the girl and her breath slowed for a moment. 

He looked at her abdomen and a thought crossed his head that made blood rush to his cheeks, he was thankful the girl was delirious and it was dark or else he would simply wallow away. He cleared his throat and looked back up to the girl.

"I'm going to have to cut your shirt off so I can access the cuts and clean them properly" he looked into her eyes once but couldnt face her after that.

"okay" she whispered in return, locking her eyes onto his every move. 

The boy went back into his bag and grabbed a pair of scissors then faced the girl again. He could feel her watchful eyes on him the entire time and he hated to say it but that small voice in the back of his head was wishing she was a bit more delirious right now so he wasnt under her scrutiny while undressing her. Clearing his throat again, he begins to speak.

"Just tell me when to slow down or when to stop, if it gets too painful for you and I'll stop and slow down, okay" he looked to her for reassurance and an okay, to which she nodded.

He didn't know how to position himself so he just opted for kneeling next to her, facing her. He then grabbed the scissors and started to cut her top. Starting from the bottom to the top. As he reached the first claw mark the girl hissed as the shirt was stuck to the wound due to all the dried blood. Percy automatically stopped what he was doing. 

"No, no, keep going, don't stop now otherwise we will never get this done and I can't go back to camp cause I'll be dead" her honey-brown eyes were glossed with tears and the boy just wanted to hold her in his arms until the end of time in a place where they aren't fighting monsters all the damn time and in a place where they can settle down, have fun and just enjoy their life like regular teenagers.

"Don't say that so casually, you are not going to die. Not when you have me. Not when I'll always be here for you, patching you up, nursing you back to health forever. I will never in a million years let you die. I swear on the river Styx." 

She couldn't say anything to him, he will always render her speechless. She just nodded her head as tears cascaded down her cheeks to which he wiped away and placed a kiss on her forehead. Feeling the warmth off eachother brought a sense of peace to them that no one else could ever fill. 

He finished wiping her tears away and then continued cutting her shirt away from the wound. Every time she hissed, winced or flinched, the boy had the overwhelming urge to stop everything he was doing as long as it stopped bring her more pain. Whenever this would happen, the girl would softly squeeze his knee, as her hand was resting there to make sure he was still close to her and was still okay and breathing. 

This reassured him immensely but it did not stop him from the guilt that was drowning him. This would not have happened if it wasn't for him. She would not be in this position right now if he just chose someone else to go on the quest with. She had almost died due to his decision making. He chose her, he told her the plan, the plan that put her straight into danger, he didnt even second guess his choice, he put her into the battlefield without even asking her properly. Whatever he said went. 

The boy had not realised that during his intense self-loathing session, he zoned out and stopped the task at hand.

"Perce?" the girl asked while bringing her hand from his knee to his bicep. "Are you okay? whats going on in your kelp filled brain?" she said with a half smile as the boy looked up at her.

"Nothing, its okay. Just zoned out for a sec" he replied in an instant, looked away from her and continued to cut her shirt away. He was almost at her breasts and he could feel himself getting a bit hot. Obviously, there was no reason to in this situation but just being so close and intimate to her in a non sexual way made him flustered, he couldn't even imagine of it was in a sex- STOP. He shouted at his brain.

She let out a whimper of pain and a few laboured breaths as Percy carefully peeled her shirt of off the biggest wound she had. Her hand squeezed his knee harder than he would have liked her to but it didnt matter, not anymore, not when he caused this, not when he was the reason for her pain. 

He finally got it off the biggest cut and last cut and now he just had to cut the rest of the shirt off. No big deal right?

WRONG. 

The boy was telling himself to suck it up and just cut the rest of her shirt off but he was flustered. It was times like this that made him remember he was just a boy. He was just a boy with a silly crush. Except it isnt a 'silly crush' he was utterly in love with the girl. He tried to clear his head and at the same time, cleared his throat while he cut higher. 

He could feel her eyes watching him, he could feel how fast her heart was racing and he could feel how fast his own was racing. It was as though their hearts were in sync. Every beat was the same. 

Yes the girl felt flustered in this situation, she also couldn't help but want to tease the boy she loved. The girl had always grown up with a life where she never 'loved' anyone, not truly. To her love was always a very strong word in her dictionary but whatever she felt for Percy Jackson it was so powerful she felt as though she needed a word more meaningful than love. 

A word that expressed how everytime she thought of him, that specific memory of him will be branded in her brain forever to the point where even Hera could never make her forget him or forget the way he makes her feel.

He makes her feel alive, the most alive shes every felt in her 16 years of life.

"Are you blushing water boy?" the girl asked him with a half smile on her face and eyes half opened as she felt a sharp pain run through her, while also trying to control her own breathing at the same time. Percy didn't respond, he only kept cutting her shirt off, fingers lightly brushing over the material of her bra. 

She held her breath when he did that, whether it was on purpose of not, the feeling it sent through her body made her want to repeatedly bash her head against a solid wall while ripping her eyes out... in a good way of course. 

Percy finally cut her shirt fully off and it just slid down her arms and bunched at the bottom, near the tree. She felt exposed and could feel the goosebumps on her exposed skin. Percy didn't waste any time and grabbed a clean towel and his water bottle.

Before he could drenched it in water, she stopped him by kicking him with her uncompromised leg to indicate he needed to stop. This instantly stopped him and caused him to look at her. 

"Give me the water bottle before you soak the towel, if the water is warm it will work better and not hurt as much so i'll just heat it up" Percy thought about it for a second before he retaliated.

"You already aren't well enough to get off the ground, how on earth are you going to make it back to camp if you drain yourself of more energy. I know its going to hurt but it will either way, but getting you back to camp is the priority at the moment" Percy didnt want to say those words to the girl, he felt so bad for her and he couldn't help but blame himself. And when he looked into her eyes, like really looked into her eyes after he said that, he wished he could take it back.

Just looking at her made him want to give into her. 

"I can take it, I promise, I'll be okay enough to get back to camp, but I'm telling you now Percy, if I feel anymore extreme pain, I will just end up passing out. Please just let me do this." she tried to move closer to the boy but forgot about the fact that she literally could not move a single inch without his help. 

This just lead the boy to wrap his arm around her back and lent her against the tree again. He looked at her with a stern look.

"Okay, you win. But you have to promise on the river Styx that you will preserve every other bit of your energy for the ride back home." 

"I swear on the River Styx that I will preserve every other bit of my energy for the ride back to camp" He gave her one last look before giving her the water bottle. She focused some most of her energy to her hands and they started to glow. She took the bottle from percy's hand and he could feel the warmth radiate off of her. 

He looked at her in awe but if anyone else was there they would have told you that the boy was love struck. She opened her eyes and made sure to not boil the water. As it was simmering, she gave the bottle back to the boy and he instantly uncapped it and poured the, now warm, water onto the towel. 

"This is going to hurt... a lot, and by a lot i mean a lot, you might want to brace yourself" the boy said as he gave his flannel back to her and some ambrosia for her to eat before they start the painful part of fixing her up.

Aurora took both and muttered a small thanks under her breath before eating the ambrosia which was very pleasant to chew and then stuffed percy's flannel in her mouth again. She felt so weird but if she didnt and someone heard her scream bloody murder, they would get caught and the police would want them... again.

His ocean blue eyes met her honey eyes and he shared a look of regret and guilt before he wiped the dried blood away, starting from the bottom of her abdomen. She instantly clenched her jaw and recoiled as agony ran through her and her hand immediately shot out to grab Percy's wrist in a painfully tight hold to stop him from further cleaning the wounds that caused her pain.

"Sunshine, I know its painful, but I have to do this, I'm going to do this as fast and gently as I can but I will have to be rough at times" he gently takes his freehand to clasp over hers and took it of him and intertwined them while speaking to her. 

In his favour, it seemed that the energy it took the girl to warm the water up finally caught up with her as her hand lost most of its grip and her eyes closed slightly. He chuckled slightly and placed her hand back down next to her before continuing what he was doing.

He carefully but efficiently cleaned the areas surrounding her wounds while she was rejuvenating. He would hear muffled noises from time to time but other than that she was essentially knocked out. As he finished she seemed to feel less tired and her eyes opened wider than they did before.

"I'm almost finished sunshine, did you like your nap?" the boy questioned with a smirk but deep down he was glad that she kept her promise and she would have enough energy to go back to camp.

The girl nodded and looked at her abdomen. It was really clean and the wounds were barely bleeding anymore but she was fucking freezing. She shivered a little bit and percy could tell instantly.

"I've just got to bandage you up then you can put a jumper on. Okay?" he reassured her while taking the sterile dressing, he placed it over the 4 slashes and began to unwrap the dressing to bandage her up.

They both soon found the position to be quite awkward. 

Percy needed to bandage her whole abdomen which needed him to wrap the dressing over her back but she was lent up against the tree without a shirt on and unable to move to do it herself. He stopped to think of a good way to do this.

"Okay, I've got it. I'll lean you up against me and bandage your abdomen from behind." The girl thought for a bit before she agreed and the boy got up so he was only seen in her peripheral vision. He hooked his arms under hers and moved her along the ground to sit inbetween his legs. The position felt very compromising for both of them but it needed to be done.

She could feel his warm breath on her cold neck and she felt the urge to pass away because if thats how she passed, she would not mind. She held her breath as Percy begun wrapping her abdomen, she could barely feel the pain cause all she could think about and feel was him.

His breath on her neck, his fingers brushing her skin, how carefully he was handling her, like she would break at the wrong touch. He was everything she wanted, everything she needed. Everything they both deserved.

He quickly finished wrapping her up and he mentally called Blackjack from where ever he was right now. Before he could move or start to get things sorted he just looked at Aurora. She was peaceful. She looked ethereal under the moonlight, though she did look better under direct sunlight.

He decided to just stay still for a bit and wrapped an arms around the girl loosely as to not injure or hurt her more. They just needed some rest, no matter how long or short it was.

Both Aurora and Percy could hear the flap of Blackjacks wings so he quickly moved the girl back to lean against the tree while he packed everything away. Not before making sure to torniquet the girls leg where the wood piece was still protruding out of it. He made the decision before to not take it out as they both did not know how severe the injury underneath it was.

Percy grabbed a warm, woolly jumper from his bag and a blanket and gave both items to the girl before zipping it up.

"I'm going to find your bag and your bracelet before we leave, and before you say anything. I'm going to call Blackjack here to be with you before I look for them" he stated as he got up.

"Thanks a lot Perce, but before you look, how am I meant to put this jumper on without raising my arms and disrupting my bandages" Percy felt like an idiot. He dropped his bag back on the ground and knelt next to her carefully putting the jumper through one arms hole, then the next, then her head through.

Percy would never admit it there and then but he always loved when the girl would wear his clothes. It sent a warm fuzzy feeling through him knowing she was wearing his clothes, especially when she was willingly wearing his clothes. 

Similarly, Aurora would never admit it there but having Percy help her get changed into his clothes and help clean her up made her fall even more in love with him if that was even possible. She felt as though she was just falling into deep pit everytime he did anything for her or even just looked her way. 

He finished by wrapping her up in the blanket and chuckled when he saw how she looked... Exactly like a burrito. 

Blackjack came down and the girls eyes instantly widened at the sight of the creature. To which the boy just smiled at. Before he left to retrieve her bag and bracelet which were very easy to find. He quickly arrived back to the girl and Pegasus and was met with an adorable sight.

The Pegasus was on the floor next to the girl and was almost hugging her with its wing. Percy didnt think he could fall in love with the girl again but she has gone and proved him wrong, like always. 

"I've got your things sunshine, and I know its going to hurt but I'm going to have to pick you up to put you on Blackjack. Is that okay?" He knelt next to her and she nodded.

He wrapped an arm around her back and one under her knees, making sure not to hit the piece of wood and picked the girl up, quite easily, bridal style. It make them both feel fuzzy and warm inside. Even blackjack could feel the warmth.

He placed her sitting on the Pegasus so she would be infront of him when he got on. He then grabbed both of their bags and got onto blackjack himself. 

"You'd normally need to hold on tight to blackjack but I'll hold you okay? Just rest" The boy whispered in her ear as he gave her a peck on her cheek while she slowly drifted off and leaned her head back onto the boy's shoulder.

"Blackjack, No crazy flying today. We aren't at war today, its a rest day. Just take us back to camp, quick but not to the point we normally fly." Blackjacks reply left Percy with pink staining his cheeks and they made their way back to camp.

______________________________________________________________

OH MY FUCKING DAYS, I AM NEVER WRITING ANYTHING THIS LONG AGAIN

(such a fucking lie)

But I have to honest, apart from the small mental breakdowns. This was really fun to write. I love these two soo much.

When I went into this, I wanted to actually get them back to camp and I wanted them to confess but it was getting tooooooo long for that so if anyone wants a part 2, I'll gladly make it. Please dont critique me too much, this is still my first imagine 😭😭😭

I LOVE YOU ALL ❤️❤️❤️

unless you piss me off

[ganondoodle]

more ideas for the new totk rewrite (rewrite + villain rauru);

(zelda has the shiekah stone, link has an imperfect imitation of it that lacks its abilities from botw but can still make photos, has the map and teleport- since they lack the knowldge of how to make shiekah stones they tried to make one that at least has these basic function for you- it explains you not having its abilites anymore and works with zelda being gone for the first half of the game)

once you aquire all normal engima stones, the last one before the mid point unlocks, its the yiga one bc you gotta figure out first that they have one and since you can do the others in any order its to prevent you from doing the gerudo one last bc

once you are only missing zeldas and ganondorfs stone, rauru tells you to go back to the starting area bc from there he can get enough power to seek out exactly where they are- you do it and its ... in gerudo town

when you go there, the gerudo are suddendly hostile towards you, and are telling you that you are helping the wrong one- rauru of course says that ganondorf must have went to them and riled them up against you, they are his people after all (and evil stays in the family, right?), at the very least here youd notice something is off-

so he tasks you with infiltrating the city, you fight the gerudo until you reach Riju and Ganondorf (who is now in restored gerudo appearance), Riju again tries to tell you to not fight and listen to her but at this point raurus influence is too strong, he makes you keep going until she is forced to draw her weapons on you, but Ganondorf takes her to the side and says he will confront you, bc you will not listen- she begrudgingly agrees and ganondorf takes you to an arena to fight;

the fight is like an actual boss battle, once you defeat him the second phase takes you to the underground (still working on the details as to how) once you beat this one too, a cutscene starts, as you land the last hit and he gets staggered rauru takes control over your hand and throws the master sword (it wasnt broken at the start) to land the final fatal blow, rauru apologizes and says he only did it bc the moment was too perfect-

then, either that laserbeam thing or a shiekah stone ability breaks the wall and zelda storms into the arena, yelling at you to stop what you are doing (gan didnt want her to be in the same room when he fights you bc then rauru had both missing stones right there- but she couldnt not intervene once it was clear ganondorf was losing) she starts to try and explain what is happening but rauru takes ahold of you and you attack zelda to get her stone, she draws her dagger she carries for self defense but stops bc its .. link shed have to attack, at the same time ganondorf rips the mastersword out of his chest and lunges to intervene but rauru uses the hookshot like ability of his arm to stop him and grabs onto the stone on his forehead, his claws ripping both stone and its golden socket violently away- he has aquired both of their stones now- ganondorf falls to the ground and his body start to disintegrate into green magic, your tattoos start to disappear and your arm too as rauru quickly rebuild his own body, he throws zelda to the side of the arena and takes you to a strange dimension of nothing but another arena lined with statues of rauru, floating in a greenish void with sonau magic patterns slowly moving around

a fight starts, the mastersword lies on the ground here and ccan pick it up, but you have lost your right arm, and are hurt, your hearts empty and you cannot heal, you cant wield it with your left arm, much less in this condition, rauru gives a little villain speech, thanking you for what you did and telling you his grand idea to make your world into the one he had back in the day, a world full of light with no shadows to be found and no fights to break out as all are united under him and his holy rule, you he launches an attack every now and then but does so jokingly, you are much too weak to properly fight him, you can try to attack but the end of his health bar isnt even visible; once his speech ends you are throw out of his arena, you have served your purpose

back to were you were, you see zelda running to you, the room in which you are in starts to crumble in green light, changing form into something else, but black out

once you reawaken you are in a bed with zelda and purah in the room, a bodiless voice greets you, but its not rauru, you have a shiekah prosthetic arm now, still a little malfunctioning as you dont know how to use it yet, zelda comes over and a longer cutscene starts in which she tells you what happened in the time you collected the enigma stones

after you woke both rauru and ganondorf up at the start of the game gan took her away, she tried to fight him, scared by what just happened and by his withered look, but he i able to explain that rauru was attempting to get the stone she now has, and his too, in this condition he cant fight, his stone has been drained of alot of power over the centuries of shiekah tech drawing power from it first, the one rauru had- and now zelda, isnt as drained, rauru wont confront them immediately either as he is surely planning to reclaim all his lost power now- they both stayed in the underground, swtiching places over and over to prevent rauru from locating them vie zeldas shiekah stone, which is harder for him to do when in the udnerground too- they form a plan to counter raurus, ganondorf takes time to regain his strength (the roots all in the underground are him reaching around to regain it faster) since in this mummy like appearance no one would even try to listen to anything, and he will not let zelda out alone, the risk would be too great by the time link aquired the last stone that wasnt theirs, ganondorf had regained enough to rebuild his former body, they both approach gerudo town, where else would they go, these are his people and with zelda surely they will listen- and after alot of shock and confusion (zelda is fine and saying link is helping the wrong one?? there is a GERUDO MAN THAT SAYS HE WAS ONCE THEIR KING????) they do listen and agree to help them out- which is why they were hostile towards link at the end there

the land, your home, is slowly changing into something else, like its ground is reversing in time and sprouting strange structures you hadnt seen before, monsters are less now and those that persists are not hostile, there are new hostile creatures you have never seen before

rauru is reforming the land into what he beliefs it should be, and it needs to be stopped

purah and the gang tm explain to you what your new shiekah arm can do, its mostly the same as raurus did as they tried to imitate it, you are having trouble adjustign to it though and wielding a weapon is hard, this is way different after all- and then suddendly ganondorfs spirit appears (scaring the shit out of anyone but zelda whos just happy he isnt fully gone .. even if he lost his body) who says hes gonna help you out with it, he resides in the shiekah arm now bc he wont just let rauru do whatever he wants after spending such a long time being held captive and trying to break free; hes helping you to work with it (so you dont have an actual big set back in progress) and helps out as another ally- you can call him for help or advice and joins cutscenes or when interesting things are discovered, and also convinces the yiga to side with them for now too

zelda is now your permanent companion while ganondorf is another but it spirit form

(theres a bit of trouble when zelda learns he is responsible for the calamity and what it did, after which he refuses to appear when called for a while, but they both agree they need to work together if rauru is to be stopped)

[ender1821]

(back on my shiny duo brainrotting time, featuring Secret Life 9AM Pearl!)

— — —

It was a beautiful day out. Autumn had arrived in its wonderful grace, bringing nice but not too breezy afternoons and picturesque views of the forests that stretched beyond the world’s borders. The scenery was simply too breathtaking to not—

“What are you doing?”

Pearl perks up from the sketch pad she had on her lap, discovering that Gem had approached her.

“Just a lil’ doodling.” Pearl answers, using the pencil in her hand to point to her work-in-progress.

Gem quirks an eyebrow up at the reply, trying to have a glance at the picture before questioning her friend more. “Really? Right here?”

Pearl looks around. Well, she couldn’t really see what’s wrong with having a break in front of her mound, unless Gem was referring to the whole…game situation. In that case, she supposes it’s a fair query.

“Inspiration waits for no man, GeminiTay!” Pearl puffs out her chest, as though her declaration was meant for more than just Gem, but for the whole world.

Unfazed by Pearl’s theatrics, Gem sighs, “I knew I should’ve stopped Jimmy from calling you Shakespeare.”

With that, any attempt Pearl made at refocusing on her drawing were thrown out the window, and she took Gem’s words as a challenge.

“Why, doth thee not hold the same enthusiasm for the arts as I?” Pearl set aside her pencil, then mimicked holding a skull in her palm, preparing to monologue to thin air if Gem doesn’t stop her.

“Weirdo.” Gem giggles at the grand gestures Pearl made.

“Oh, you love it.” Pearl waves off the remark without a thought. It never gets old, and Pearl’s sure that Gem must’ve called her that a hundred times by now.

Just as Pearl expected, Gem lets out another fond sigh before taking a seat next to Pearl. Out of the corner of her eye, Pearl catches Gem trying to hide a smile.

Pearl returns to working on her sketch soon after, pausing for a second when she feels a weight press onto her shoulder. Gem was leaning on her to get a better view of the sketch pad, and as she shuffled closer, the unmistakable scent of pumpkins and flowers wafted into the air. Pearl makes a mental note to add more orange shades to the final picture.

The sketch at the moment is of the fields of sunflowers scattered around the grass fields of where the Mounders chose to set up camp at. Nothing too out of the ordinary, which is exactly what Pearl needs after days of chaos, all in the hopes of completing secret tasks.

“It looks pretty.” Gem breathes out after a brief lapse of silence between the two.

“Aw, thank you!” Pearl cranes her neck slightly to look at Gem. It doesn’t take long before she snorts and captures Gem’s attention, wondering what Pearl found worthy of laughing at.

Pearl points to the sunflowers. “They match your eyes.”

Gem pushes herself off of Pearl with an offended scrunch of her eyebrows. Her hand hovers dangerously close to the diamond sword she kept sheathed beside her waist. “Remind me again, can yellows kill greens? Because I’m really tempted to right now.”

There’s an amused flicker in Pearl’s face, and she clutches her chest with a horribly faked expression of terror. “Ooh no, am I being threatened by the great GeminiSlay?”

“Dork.” Gem huffs and rolls her eyes, moving to rest her arms on the ground below instead.

Pearl replies with a toothy grin.

[livsoulsecrets]

Annabeth&Percy Fic - Nothing in the world belongs to me, but my love mine, all mine

Summary:

Annabeth in the aftermath of Luke’s betrayal, dealing with all she lost and finding some solace in what she gained.

““I just wanted to ask you something,” he started, looking to her once more, “and you can call me stupid for that, really, and I’ll probably deserve it, but… Are you okay?”

Annabeth couldn’t help it. She smiled.

“You’re right. It’s stupid,” she agreed.”

Read on AO3.

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Annabeth didn’t sleep at all that first night.

She stayed awake in her bed for many hours, even after Malcolm lost his battle to sleep in his armchair across from her.

It had been kind of him to insist on keeping her company after the news about Luke’s betrayal spread through Camp, but there was not much he could do to make things better.

Annabeth did like her siblings and felt like most of them cared about her as well, but she had never felt close to them, not in the way she did with Luke.

She sometimes envied the easy camaraderie the Hermes Cabin shared, the clear affection Apollo’s children showed each other with such ease, or even the ferocious rivalry Ares’ kids had with one another.

Athena’s offspring were much more contained. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust one another. It was simply that they fended for themselves most of the time. They were too attached to their own tastes and beliefs, used to looking after themselves, and very introspective, so much so that it left little for them to bond over, unlike the other campers.

That was why her bond with Luke had always been so precious and permanent, unlike any others. Maybe it was because most of the other kids in her cabin left when summer was over, and Luke stayed all year-round. Perhaps their journey to Camp Half-Blood had just knitted them together in a way the rest of her siblings just couldn’t comprehend.

Before, when she thought of a brother, someone who was trustworthy and kind, she would think of Luke and his sword, cutting through a horde of monsters with one hand while the other held her behind him, protecting her with his own body. She would remember the nights they spent with Thalia around an improvised fire, huddled together for warmth, telling stories until the sun came up.

Now, for as long as she lived, when she thought of a brother, Annabeth would be reminded of Luke’s betrayal. She would be brought back to the exact moment Luke’s eyes flickered in anger as he attacked Percy, his sword descending into him and drawing blood.

Up until that point, she had been frozen, begging all the gods for the scene before her to be a deception, a misunderstanding. Only when Percy fell, clutching his arm against his chest, and grunted in pain did Annabeth snap out of her denial.

All she had was a split second to decide what to do. Who would she protect? Her brother, the hero that she had spent the last five years looking up to? Or the boy she met just a few weeks ago, who was as reckless as he was kind?

She threw the knife Luke had gifted her years ago with the precision he had taught her to have. It landed right across the expanse of his sword, just in time to stop him from slicing into Percy.

The memories came back in full force, and she pushed herself out of bed, desperate to get away from them. She looked out the window and found the sun had already come out.

She changed quickly and left her cabin in a hurry, not knowing where she should go. So, Annabeth just walked aimlessly, avoiding the sight of the packed Hermes Cabin.

She found herself near the lake and was surprised to find she was not the only one seeking its company.

Percy was standing near the riverbank in his orange camp shirt and jeans. She approached him slowly and silently. “Couldn’t sleep?” Annabeth asked once she was close enough to be heard.

Percy startled, turning to face her with a hand over his heart. When he recognized it was just her behind him, Percy lowered his hand with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, long night,” he replied.

She shook her head, crossing the distance between them. “I get it. Same here.”

They remained quiet for some moments, just staring over the expanse of the camp’s lake, shoulder to shoulder.

She felt Percy sneaking glances at her every once in a while, which didn’t help her overwhelmed mind calm down. “Just say it,” she urged finally.

Percy’s cheeks burned scarlet when he was caught in his act, but he was as stubborn as ever when he deflected her question with another, “Say what?”

“That you’re sorry,” she answered, “that you can’t believe Luke could do this, and I should have known it was him sooner–”

His eyes widened. “I wasn’t going to say any of that.”

She turned to face him now, arching an eyebrow in a silent challenge. “What did you want to say, then?”

Percy shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, averting his gaze for a moment. Annabeth thought she saw some whirlpools forming in the river, but she didn’t have a chance to ask if they were a consequence of Percy’s troubled mind as he started talking again.

“I just wanted to ask you something,” he started, looking to her once more, “and you can call me stupid for that, really, and I’ll probably deserve it, but… Are you okay?”

Annabeth couldn’t help it. She smiled.

“You’re right. It’s stupid,” she agreed. Percy flinched but didn’t seem surprised by her answer. “But thanks for asking, anyway.”

He managed a small smile in return at that. “Sure.”

Annabeth didn’t give him an answer, as she couldn’t even tell how she really felt, but it was enough that he had asked.

“Is your arm okay?”

Percy seemed a bit lost at the sudden change of topic but managed to shake his head. “It’s alright. I took a swim before going to bed, so it helped.”

She nodded her understanding, and they remained quiet for some minutes, just looking at the horizon as the sun climbed higher and higher in the sky.

“Can you help me with something?” Percy blurted out after a while.

She tilted her head and asked, “With what?”

“I wanted to train today. I feel like I’ll need it in the future, you know?” He kept his gaze on her, but it was clear he was nervous.

She knew Percy was dancing around the tricky subject of Luke’s absence, but that request just made it more apparent.

Percy had only ever trained with Luke before. And the reason he would need to train more than ever was Luke’s alliance to Kronos.

The pain that sparkled inside her at those reminders was nonetheless curbed by the satisfaction Percy had come to her to try and mend the gaps Luke left in his life.

He was trusting her to guide him through uncharted territory, seemingly unaware that she was just as clueless as him.

Here was Percy, asking her to train him, to teach him how to fight a friend turned foe. He still believed she had all the answers, even now.

It should terrify her to have that much trust placed upon herself, but it didn’t. For all the people who cultivated high expectations of her — her own mother with her fragile pride, her siblings with their firm belief she was perfect, even Quiron with his cryptic comments, Percy was the only one who seemed to only ever expect Annabeth to be herself.

And, to him, she was someone who could be trusted to find the answers to every problem in the world if she decided it was worth her time.

“I mean, just if you have some free time, like, if you don’t mind,” he added, taking her silence as a negative.

“I don’t mind.” Annabeth cut him off before he descended into nervous mumbling. “Let’s start it now. We still have time until breakfast.”

Percy smiled hesitantly at her, but his grin grew a bit wider when she rolled her eyes at him. It seemed awfully silly of him that he truly believed she wouldn’t spare him all the help he needed to survive after all they had been through.

She started walking towards the training area without looking back at him.

Annabeth still didn’t know how to even start preparing for what was to come or how to live with the gaping hole Luke left behind in their lives.

Her mind often worked on seven different fronts at once every time a problem arose, coming at it from every angle.

That’s what kept her up all night yesterday, and that’s what gave her the push to follow Percy and Luke into the woods when she realized something was off about Luke’s plan.

It had saved her countless times but also drained her in many others.

So, when she picked a celestial bronze sword from the camp’s collection and turned to face Percy, who was already uncapping Riptide, it was a pleasant surprise to find her mind narrowing down to the present moment. Her exhaustion and fear slipped away as she focused on the battle ahead.

Fighting demanded all her concentration, even if it was just training with a friend. It seemed to be the same for Percy, as he aligned his shoulders properly and took a deep breath.

“Ready?” she asked her friend, and the word no longer sounded foreign in her mind when she associated it with Percy.

“Born ready,” he said, as unserious as ever.

She was glad to see that, despite the burden the last few weeks had placed on his shoulders, Percy was still the same maddening boy she observed drooling in his sleep.

Annabeth plunged forward at the same time Percy did, and their swords screeched against one another. She pushed against him and dove, freeing herself from the lock.

Percy chased her when Annabeth was upright again, Riptide slicing in a curt arc that she had a hard time intercepting.

Percy was grinning now, and she had to shove an elbow into his side to distract him, both to gain her some time to attack back and to hide her own smile.

They had both lost so much, but it seemed they had gained something back as well.

“Focus, Seaweed Brain,” she mocked, and lunged at him again.

[insomniasymphony]

Delico's Nursery And The Embrace Of Flames

Attention, this is a 9 chapter long story. This here is chapter 1. If you want to read the rest of this story, please consider bookmarking the story on AO3. Maybe leave Kudos there too!

Rating: For this Chapter: Teens and up audience. For the whole story: Explicit Warnings: This chapter - None ; This story - choose not to warn Pair: Dali x Gerhard!

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Screams filled the streets. The carriage shook with loud neighing, stopped abruptly and while Angelico clutched the door with his small hands, whimpering, Gerhard pushed the other open with his foot – one hand on the hilt of his sword. He leapt out in a single movement, only hearing the dominant clacking of his boots on the stone floor in the background, and let his gaze wander.

Humans and vampires chased past him, throwing his senses into an unruly turmoil. Pressing his lips tightly together, Gerhard ventured a step forward – not too far from the carriage in which his son rested – and darted a glance at the coachman, whose wide-open eyes hung lifelessly on the horizon.

“Hey, what happened?” Still, Gerhard shouted over to his coachman as if there was a chance of an answer. A tingling sensation under his skin made his forehead sweat. Too much was happening between the panicked crowd and this motionless man.

Without further ado, he clicked his tongue. Then he took a step to the side and grabbed the first woman he passed by the upper arm. The shock travelling through her body reached into his bones as he asked, “What happened?”

He was probably too loud, too bossy, asking too much of a frightened figure who stared at him wide-eyed and wriggled, trying to escape his grip. She looked over her shoulder twice, then followed a few others with her eyes before tearing herself away from him. “Run, we all have to run away!”

“From what?!”

“There’s a monster,” she shouted back at him. “He’s murdered five ... humans or vampires ... I don’t know anymore!” Her sounds resembled the desperate screeching of an animal. “He’s going to kill us all!”

Before Gerhard could ask any more questions, she started moving again, following the other figures as they ran off, infecting other passers-by like a running fox. So he retreated to the carriage. Mouth twisted, he scrutinised each one as the picture in his head slowly came together.

If they were all running away, it had to be a vampire. In the end, his race was still stronger than humans with their fragile lives. They were faster, more merciless, more dangerous in every way – and yet, five victims remained remarkable.

For a moment, he associated the confusion with the TRUMP case; a daring attempt to draw attention in one direction to distract from something else. An absurd thought, considering the secretive movement of these maniacs under normal circumstances. What was going on here?

“You aristocrats are prettier up close.”

Whispers nestled against Gerhard’s ears, sending a shiver down his spine and spinning his body around almost automatically. Simultaneously, he swung his sword – almost blind to the overwhelming feeling of surging panic – and plunged the blade into the body of a crookedly grinning man. Sharp teeth dug into the stranger’s lower lip, blood trickled down his chin. The rest was covered by a black hood pulled down low.

For a second, not another muscle in Gerhard moved. Only the stranger’s grin burnt itself into his senses, blocking out the world. He realised too late when the stranger raised his hand, took a breath and in the next blink of an eye blew a handful of powder into his face with his bloody breath.

Surprised, Gerhard gasped for air, constricted by the sudden scratching of his throat. A cough overcame him, stabbing through his body. Meanwhile, the blade slipped out of the stranger’s waist, leaving nothing but billowing blackness – an ugly construct of viscous black water that refused to splash to the ground. His fingers trembled, detaching themselves from the handle. The steel thundered to the ground. Saliva collected and ran down his chin. Gerhard tried to swallow several times, but failed due to the tightness of his throat. In a flash, he put his hands to his neck, searching for stability, while a slightly bitter flavour spread across his tongue. Behind it was a strangely stale flavour combined with a gentle sweetness. A kind of sugar he thought he could smell.

He breathed through his open mouth for a few seconds until he thought he could swallow again. Then he ran the back of his hand over his mouth. Saliva seeped through the white gloves, leaving dark stains he stared down for a second. His head was spinning. Every thought he tried to grasp ran through his mind like sand, and when he raised his eyes, the stranger was gone. The panic of the crowd slowly subsided in the background.

“Father...?”

The tearful question reaching him tore at his mind. Far too frantically, Gerhard jerked his head towards the carriage. Angelico stood at the door, ready to jump out or stumble back inside. The stranger had disappeared. Part of him wanted to hug that little blond mop of hair tightly to him. The rest took a stance and a deep breath.

“Get back in the carriage!” It was too dangerous to let his son out in this confusion – in the middle of an incident lying before him, both, finalised and unconquered.

There was nothing he could do.

Still, he dragged himself to the carriage door to close it before walking up to the coachman and grabbing him by the arm. With one pull, he tore the man from his seat, caught him, and set him down on the ground. The coldness of his skin, the lack of life in his eyes – he didn’t need to check to be sure of his death.

He carefully dragged the body over to the wall of a house – contrary to every honourable act of a nobleman. Bile bubbled up his throat. If he went to Dali now and sent word from there, someone else would take care of this body. Someone would take care of this forfeited life. Someone other than him.

Swaying, Gerhard heaved himself onto the coach seat. The reins lay light as a feather in his hands, a little like his sword, which he could no longer feel on his hip and whose relevance diminished with every breath he took. Immediately afterwards, he chased the horses ahead at a fast gallop along the road. The clatter of hooves thundered in his ears, reminiscent of thunderstorms and pouring rain – and somewhere in between, Gerhard thought he could taste drowsiness. A draining feeling that forced his soul out of his body, ready to fuel unknown pleasures.

He clung tighter to the leather straps, his gaze fixed on the brown stallions. For almost an eternity, the muscular movements of the animals burned themselves into his mind. Then the nausea spilled over. His stomach turned, the high died down, and clarity settled in. Lips tight, Gerhard swallowed the bile until the Delico estate came into view and the nausea faded as he passed through the heavy double gates.

However, progress didn’t get any easier. Gerhard’s legs wobbled as he dismounted and stumbled to the carriage door to let Angelico out. His son’s whimpering had still not subsided, and it didn’t stop even when he harshly urged him to follow and not dawdle. Meanwhile, the servants who hurriedly came to meet him gazed in silent astonishment, and it was only within Delico’s four walls that a hint of relief settled over Gerhard’s shoulders.

Weakness swept over him, paralysing the muscles in his body and casting reality in a new light. His breath rolled heavily over his lips as he bumped his shoulder against the wall. Sweat stood on his forehead, making him swallow drily; and if he hadn’t known better, he would have returned home. But there was nothing wrong with him. The powder punished him with after-effects, combined with lingering shock and unwanted surprise. Sensations that would pass as soon as he could rest for a few minutes.

“Father...” Angelico’s small hands plucked at his black coat and although he wanted to answer, his throat felt too parched to make a sound.

He had to swallow a few times before he found his voice again. “Bring Angelico to the others. I assume Dali is in the library?”

He always was, ever since they’d started looking into the TRUMP-related mission. He usually did the research there when Dino reviewed files and documents from past cases.

“But Father ... what about you?”

His gaze briefly wandered to Angelico. “I have work to do and now leave.”

It was strange. His voice always sounded too brash when he reprimanded Angelico, and yet in those seconds, it almost seemed as if he had added a gentle undertone. Even though he wasn’t allowed to show any weakness towards his son. He had to set an example of how a proud man of nobility should behave. Courageous and strong and determined, so that Angelico would one day be a boy who wouldn’t bring dishonour to the House of Fra.

“Master Delico is, as you mentioned, in the library, sir. Would you like someone to accompany you?”

Gerhard waved it off in a flash. “I’ll find the way.”

Since they had made this house their headquarters for this case, he knew almost every goddamn corridor by heart. That made the walk up to the heavy double swings almost short, and as Gerhard pushed powerlessly against the wood, it almost refused to open. It took nearly two breaths to get inside and discover Dali at first glance.

“Goldilocks! You’re ... late?” Dali’s humour turned to mischievous seriousness far too quickly. “What happened? Had a rough ride?”

Gerhard dragged his heavy feet to the red upholstered armchair, where he sat down with a gasp.

“I ran into a mass panic on the way here.” He ran a hand over his face, barely noticing.

“They said someone had killed five victims – of uncertain origin, probably vampires – and in a careless moment, someone blew a powder in my face.”

“A powder? Poison?”

He shook his head. “No poison. No big deal. It seems to have been a drug that makes its victims dizzy.”

“And the attacker?”

“I hit him with my sword. Then he disappeared.”

“That’s why it’s not in its sheath.”

A brief tension dug into the pit of Gerhard’s stomach before he glanced at his belt, where the sword and sheath usually hung. He must have left it there.

“Damn...” His fingertips ran over the empty leather. “Besides, my coachman is dead.”

“Then maybe you should pass this news on to the agency before any more panic breaks out.” Dali’s brows lifted. “You probably left him lying around, too.”

“I took care of it properly!” Gerhard countered sharply. “Shouldn’t you be wondering whether the whole thing is connected to the TRUMP case?”

“Ah, yes, certainly.” He lifted the book in his hands. “History lesson for today. I was actually going to get Henrique to do it, but his love of history is so immense he chose to play with the twins.” He sighed dramatically. “In the meantime, Dino’s files are growing over his head. So when you’re ready, you’re welcome to make yourself useful.”

Snorting, Gerhard averted his eyes. Dali didn’t bother to show any kind of tact. For him, gimmicks were at least as meaningless as extravagant words and useless game pieces. Sometimes Gerhard wanted to believe that he was a friend. But the murder of Dali’s wife – his blade in the body of this near stranger who was nothing more than a victim of circumstance – probably made him a pawn as well.

All too slowly, his gaze fixed once more on Dali – on the slender figure of a man whose pitch-black hair had a strange lustre. It seemed disorganised, a little jumbled, strangely wayward, and yet he could hardly imagine Dali any other way; different from all the years they had worked together. Gerhard swallowed. It had been years in which he had appreciated this man. His skill, his intelligence, his ability to overcome every obstacle as if it didn’t exist. Just like then – just like the day when Frieda had left with a smile on her lips and Gerhard had hoped to experience ridicule and hatred in order to smother the blossoming affection under the veil of a broken, even fickle friendship.

His gaze slid carefully over Dali’s bare forearms, over the slender fingers that were skilfully leafing through one book. Then, all at once, up to his thin lips, which had curled into a half-smile – deeply immersed in the writings of historical memories.

He had looked at Dali like this before. Two years ago, somewhere between doors and hinges of another mission that had made Dali laugh. Gerhard remembered how much he had shouted at him that day to take something seriously for once. But Dali had never given a damn about his opinion or his excessive temperament. Without further ado, Gerhard lowered his eyelids. He wasn’t quick-tempered. He just took things much more seriously than Dali would ever see them. And perhaps that was the reason, at some point, why he had begun to prefer being near his friend to his own home. Or even his wife.

He licked his lips gently before tearing himself away from Dali. Dwelling on past events wasn’t the answer. It shouldn’t matter. In the end, they had both walked down the aisle at some point – with women – and had brought children into the world. The Delicos and the Fras had gone their separate ways, hadn’t mixed or mingled, because there had been no way to turn rivals into a true unit. That also meant he was done with it. With his feelings, with that warmth in his chest whenever he saw Dali, and also with the thought of ever getting closer to those unknown lips.

Still, his hands clenched into fists. The hazy confusion in his head was gone, his body felt better, and he saw things clearly – undistorted and sharp, as he always did. And when he looked at Dali again, the former warmth of that time settled under his skin like a sea of flames.

Longing flared up, joined with the heat of the day when he had tried to confront Dali; when he had tried to find out whether Dali hated him for Frieda’s murder. It connected with the hunger he had suppressed for years and danced with the tingling of seconds gone by which he believed he had finally smothered. Somewhere between the sheets, his wife’s legs, and the damn paperwork of his missions. It seemed as if all those boundaries, all those temptations, would evaporate in a single breath. What remained was desire.

Everything in Gerhard wanted to get up and embrace Dali. His black hair would probably glide through his fingers like silk and his body would replace the shallow coldness of his skin with barely perceptible warmth after a few minutes. His breath would flit over Gerhard’s lips and perhaps they would kiss. The only thing he had to do was reach out and grab the white fabric on his body. He just had to-

“Gerhard?”

Blinking several times, Gerhard’s gaze fell on his gloved fingers, which had stretched out in Dali’s direction. The armchair was a few steps behind him and Dali’s proximity was no longer just an idea in the middle of confused thoughts.

“Is everything all right?” Raising his brows, Dali tilted his head.

“If you’re feeling better, you could take over here. Ul will surely wake up in a minute and-“

A rumble coursed through the shelf as Gerhard slammed his hand against the wood, trapping Dali between himself and the writings of days gone by. His friend’s eyes widened. His delicate mouth opened, but there were no words. Only a disorganised silence forced its way between them – so oppressive that Gerhard heard himself swallow.

“I want you.” A simple statement. Not a question. Almost a command.

“Are you sure you’re all right? Or have you taken to making poor jokes lately?” Restrained laughter overcame Dali, emanating from his body like a sweet hum that, for the first time in all these years, didn’t drive Gerhard mad. Not directly.

Instead, he grabbed the book in the other man’s hands, removed the leather cover from his grip and threw it over his shoulder straight onto the round table, on which at least another twenty books were piled. Then he pressed his other hand against the shelf next to Dali’s head and leant down slightly towards him. Those few centimetres separating them seemed like the last hurdle between affection and forbidden touches.

Meanwhile, Dali’s eyelids drooped slightly, making his dark eyes appear even darker. “Gerhard, stop that.”

Was there a gentle tremor in his voice, a sound of pleasure that lured Gerhard without making it clear? He didn’t know. His body automatically took a stance, ready to let Dali go. For just a moment, his arms lowered and his friend threatened to disappear. Dali’s narrow sideways glance, a demanding, light-coloured expression, however, conveyed something else. Just at shoulder height, resistance twitched through Gerhard’s body. In a flash, he grabbed Dali by the arm, pushed him back against the shelf – books thundered to the floor – and leant forward.

The sweet smell of blood entered Gerhard’s nose, played around his senses, swept them clean, inviting him to savour it, so he opened his mouth. In the background, he heard Dali’s protest, his hands against his chest, but not enough force to push him away. But Gerhard let go, put his head back far enough to look at Dali and drowned in the other man’s grey-black eyes.

“It’s against the rules to bite someone,” Dali hissed. “You know that. Unless you’re planning to control me. Since when are you a rule-breaker? Usually, you’re practically the ultimate lapdog of your superiors.”

An amused snort escaped Gerhard’s lips. In the next blink, he brought a hand to his mouth, gently bit into a corner of the fabric, and pulled off the glove. He gave up. For once, he wanted to give up, surrender to the warmth and fulfil his desire. Maybe then it would stop burning. Maybe then he could finally breathe more freely without having to worry every other time he met Dali about what might have been if he had found the courage to break the rules long before they had both walked down the aisle.

As he placed a hand on Dali’s chest and carefully ran it along the fabric, Gerhard thought he was losing himself for the first time. “It’s a single rule. A single law that forbids me to be close to a man.” He leaned forward again, burying his nose in Dali’s black hair and inhaling the smell of warm milk and caramel.

“A law to keep our race alive because we have become mortal and weak.”

Dali’s chest rose and fell under Gerhard’s hand; a life that coloured this moment strangely real, so he lowered his head, the dark strands down to Dali’s neck.

“Gerhard!” This time Dali twitched noticeably, pushing so hard against Gerhard’s chest that his breath squeezed forcedly over his lips. “You’re no longer free!”

One second.

A single moment in which Gerhard grabbed him by the wrists and squeezed the soft flesh to the bone. A gasp came over the other; pleasure in Gerhard’s ears. He pressed him harder against the shelf, his mouth wide open.

In the next breath, he tasted blood. He even thought he could taste it long before he had penetrated Dali’s skin. A metallic sweetness spread across his tongue, eliciting a choked sound from his partner. Perhaps it was pleasure; a hint of understanding causing Dali’s resistance to collapse.

Without further ado, Gerhard removed his teeth from Dali’s flesh and licked over the injury, leaving a trail of saliva that he ran up to his ear. His voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re no longer free either.”

The answer was silence. Calm in which Gerhard rested his forehead against the wood of the shelf and closed his eyes. “Only until this mission is over. After that ... I’ll let you go.”

“What’s got into you? It can’t be reason...”

Soundless laughter rolled off Gerhard’s tongue, unheard, lost in the skirmish between them. Dali was right. What had come over him? Why was he overcome by everything he had buried so fiercely? Why today? Why at all?

Why?

“I ... want to know what it’s like.” His hand slid down Dali’s chest until it rested on his hip.

“Ever since then, I’ve wanted-“

“I was told to bring this here.”

With a leap, Gerhard put distance between himself and Dali – his friend’s flushed cheeks conveying shame, perhaps even favour between stress and distress – before whirling around. Theodore stood in the doorway, one door barely open. His gaze was fixed on them. A bit as if he’d been there all along.

“Documents that will help us on our mission?” Slowly, Dali pushed himself off the shelf.

Theodore nodded. “Father said there’s a consistent pattern here of vampires suddenly losing their minds after coming into contact with someone strange.” He placed the files on the table, not giving Gerhard a glance. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Dali. “Do you want me to give him a message?”

A gentle shake of the head on Dali’s part ended the conversation between them and yet he accompanied Theodore out of the door, leading him into the corridor like a small child. He would probably devote himself to his own children now – he would feed Ul and give Raphael his attention. In between, he would forget about Gerhard. Probably.

Clenching his teeth, he savoured the taste of blood on his tongue a little longer before swallowing and balling his hands into fists.

Dali wouldn’t forget him. He would replay the seconds he had experienced constantly in his head and remember where the gentle pain in his neck had come from. After all, he had enjoyed it despite all the resistance.

Gerhard wasn’t imagining any of this.

He surely wasn’t.

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A Chance Encounter - Constantine Short Story

There's still some time left on the poll but Constantine is clearly going to win (big shocker lol). Here is the first short story I ever wrote for Patreon and for Next in Line. I hope you enjoy <3

Warning: violence, blood, death, war

The world spins as Constantine flies from his horse. A kaleidoscope of blue, gold, red, and black swirls in his vision. Until it's just black. The sounds of the battlefield have been replaced by ringing. A groan escapes his lips as he tries to push himself up with his left hand while his right-hand searches for the hilt of his sword.

“Looking for this, little Knight?”

A bead of sweat rolls down the side of his face. He stumbles up and turns around, his icy blue gaze landing on an Arandale soldier who grins as he spins the missing sword. Constantine blinks several times, hoping the world will stop spinning.

It does after a few seconds and he spits, blood landing on the ground around him. Even after all this time, he hasn’t gotten used to the way iron tastes. “Wouldn’t be much of an Elite Guard Knight if I need that to kick your sorry ass,” he growls at the soldier.

The soldier’s eyes narrow, rage rolling off him in waves. He sticks the Kinght’s sword in the ground, drawing his own from his hip. “Let’s put that theory to the test,” he replies, a smug smirk on his face.

Constantine takes a deep breath, tuning out the sounds of the war around him. Until he can no longer hear the clashing of swords or the dying cries of his comrades. He sends a silent prayer to Gaia. This could not be the moment before his death. He would not allow it.

The thud of the other soldier’s footsteps float to Constantine’s ears as the soldier moves toward him and throws his weight into his sword, but the Knight moves at the last moment, leaving both of them off balance on this foreign land.

And although the young Knight was larger than this other man, he was still nimble enough to kick the soldier’s hand, knocking the sword to the ground. The soldier lent down to retrieve his sword, but Constantine grabbed the man’s outstretched arm, locking it in place as he wrapped his other arm around the soldier’s neck.

The man struggled, his gasping echoing in the air around the pair. He desperately sought to fight the Knight’s arm away with his free one but it wasn’t long until Constantine had control of both arms and held them behind the soldier’s back. Then came the sound of snapping and the soldier’s neck went limp.

Constantine drops the body and hurries to retrieve his sword before looking around the bloody field in search of his horse. He finds her, her eyes fluttering as she tries to fight the inevitable. An agonized sigh leaves his lips as he kneels in front of her, his steel in one hand. “I’m sorry, girl,” he whispers as he runs his free hand through her mane. Nausea rises in his throat but he pushes it down.

He stands and swiftly plunges his sword through her chest. Then he turns on his heels and strides away. This was far from over and he knew that to linger even a moment on the pain of the necessary deed was to invite death.

One slain enemy after another turns into hours until finally, the light begins to give way to the night. The sounds of the dying are less frequent now. Still present but if he closes his eyes at the right time, he could have the illusion of peace. And he did just that as he embraced the shadow of a tree. But a strangled screech causes his eyes to snap open. Flames fill his vision as he rushes toward the sound.

A pair of distraught eyes meet him across the wall of flames. Two soldiers are circling a young man. Constantine runs through the flames, his armor and speed protecting him for the most part, although his cloak succumbs to the flames. The boy’s eyes widen in surprise and one of the soldiers turns to look, their eyes landing on the Knight.

They smirk as they turn their body toward him. Constantine wastes no time attempting a blow. But it falls short. As the minutes tick by, the sound of the growing flames knot his stomach. He glances over to see the boy barely holding off the other soldier, who towers over him. The Knight clenches his jaw as he directs his attention back to the one in front of him. He parries a strike, arms aching. But this is no time to think of rest. Or his next slumber will be eternal.

A surge of adrenaline propels him forward and the tip of his sword plunges through the neck of his opponent. He moves around the body, heart pounding in his ears.

The boy stumbles from the weight of the enemy’s weapon coming down on his sword and he falls to the ground. The soldier moves in for the final blow but Constantine intervenes from the side, knocking the sword out the soldier’s hand and then shouldering him hard in the chest. The Knight takes advantage of the soldier falling to the ground and sticks a hand out to the boy.

But just as the boy stands, the Arandale soldier grabs a dagger from his boot and plunges it into Constantine’s abdomen, in a place of weakness that his cloak previously kept hidden from view. He drops to one of his knees, a hand pressed against the gushing blood.

The boy gasps, eyes wide as he watches the Knight’s blood spilling over his fingers. Constantine swallows, only able to hear his heart in overdrive as he grabs his dropped sword with his other hand and thrusts it behind him without looking.

It makes contact with the soldier’s stomach. Constantine looks into the boy’s eyes. “End this.”

The boy’s eyes widen and he looks behind the Knight, at the struggling soldier who is preparing a final blow of his own.

“Now,” Constantine growls.

The boy heeds his command, tears rolling down his cheeks as he parries the soldier’s swing before his shaking fingers tighten around the hilt and drive it into his heart.

The Knight looks over his shoulder, a groan escaping his lips. He watches as blood pools around the fallen body. When he’s certain the chest is not rising, he uses his free hand to push himself up and turns to the boy, whose face is full of anguish.

Constantine sighs, remembering his first kill. And his second. And his third. And how it took years for him to stop seeing the faces of each new one when he closes his eyes at night. But there are still many faces he cannot forget. He puts a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What’s your name?” he asks gently.

The boy blinks and turns to look at him. “James…just James. And yours, Sir?”

The Knight smiles a little. “Just Constantine is fine, James.”

James nods and then looks back at the body before turning his gaze back to the Knight. “Thank you for saving my life.” Before Constantine can respond, James' eyes move to his bloody hand. “Let’s not linger, you need medical attention.”

“We should find some horses,” Constantine supplies.

“Okay, I’ll lead the way,” James says.

The Knight chuckles. “Sure you know your way back to camp?”

James’ lips twitch. “I’m not an imbecile.”

“Hmph.”

James rolls his eyes and starts walking in the direction of camp. They stick to the shadows until they come across two Arandale soldiers resting with their horses. After a successful sneak attack, the two ride off toward Castelon’s camp.

A sigh escapes Constantine’s lips as his vision begins to blur. James looks over at the Knight, his brow knitted. “Just a bit longer, okay?”

“Yeah,” Constantine responds, his voice weaker than he intends.

A few agonizing minutes later they come to a stop. Constantine lets out a grunt as his feet hit the ground. James wraps an arm around him and insists that Constantine lean on him. “You sure?”

James huffs. “Yes, I’m sure. Do I really look that weak?!” Constantine’s lips twitch, but James cut him off before he can respond. “You know what? Don’t even answer that.”

“James! There you are.”

An authoritative voice grabs their attention. Constantine’s breath catches in his throat when his eyes land on the crown sitting atop the man’s graying hair. The Knight pulls away from James and drops to one knee, biting his lip to contain the pain as he sticks his sword in the ground. “Your Majesty,” he says, voice dripping in awe as he stares at the sandy ground.

“I see you’ve met my son,” the King says. Constantine’s head snaps up and his eyes land on James. Both shock and pride surge through him. He had protected his future King. And not many could say the same.

James smiles at Constantine as he grabs his arm and pulls him up. “Save me would be more accurate, father.”

The King beams at the Knight and gives him an enthusiastic clap on the shoulder. “Then we shall drink in my tent tonight,” he announces, before taking his leave.

After escorting Constantine to the field hospital, James refuses to leave his side and waits for the doctor to tend to his wounds. “You don’t have to stay, Your Highness,” the Knight tells him.

James chuckles. “I wouldn’t dare leave my hero behind. Besides, my father wants to drink with you after this.”

Constantine glances at the Prince. When he decided to become a Knight, he never imagined that he would ever cross paths with his King, or his future King for that matter. He’d only hoped to raise his station in life by fighting for his kingdom. “I assumed he was only being polite, Your Highness.”

James grins. “My father doesn’t do ‘just polite.’ And the Highness stuff gets old real fast, stop it, would you?”

The Knight shakes his head and turns his gaze away from the Prince. “As you wish…”

A couple hours later, James and Constantine are walking toward the King’s tent. The doctor had advised Constantine to rest because he’d lost so much blood. But he couldn’t do that. When would he ever again have the opportunity to drink with his King? He only hoped he wouldn’t pass out from exhaustion. The other Knights would never let him live it down if that was the case.

But he needn’t worry about that - because the night was only full of ale and stories of Castelon’s royal family. A few hours where he forgot there was a war waiting to be waged again when Aurora rose the sun.

The King laughs and takes a sip of his ale. “That’s the perils of twins, Constantine. They gang up on you! Keep that in mind in case you ever have children.”

The skin around Constantine’s eyes crinkles as he takes another sip from his own mug. “I shall heed your words, Your Majesty.”

“Please,” James says, “my father over exaggerates. Besides, being a twin is the best thing about life.”

Constantine raises an eyebrow. “And why do you say that?” he asks. The King’s eyes bore into James.

James looks down into this mug, a small smile on his young face. “Because I have someone to fight for and to live for.”

Silence wraps around Constantine as he considers the Prince’s words. He’d heard that siblings could be protective of one another, but he was an only child so he didn’t know what that felt like. But there’s something else about James’ words that leaves him questioning the meaning. “But don’t you have the throne to fight for? To live for?”

James glances up from the drink, his expressionless eyes meeting the Knight’s curious blue ones. “The throne is only meant for us to die for, my dear hero.”

My Patreon is currently paused due to my focus on completing chapter 2 so it's not possible to subscribe at this time.

[marbere]

This is weird, but I was bored so...

Words: 1465

G

I wouldn't get angry if someone decides to use it as a prompt or smt.

---

Damian...

His footsteps echoed. His path was relatively long and he would be alone, completely alone if it weren't for the person who was waiting for him at the bottom of what was a cave. A deep cave with rock stairs and uneven walls, barely lit by torches that seemed that they'd go out at any moment due to the humidity.

Damian...

Damian stopped, sensing movement to the side of the road, only to notice a few rats eating the carcass of some other animal. He frowned. How he'd gotten there was a mystery. His body had taken him to that hidden place between different corridors and under many keys. A place that only his grandfather had access to and a place that he hadn't been interested in at all.

Until that moment.

The voice in his head stopped repeating his name as he stopped in front of the only other person. A woman, clearly, from the non-conservative attire she was wearing. Her arms were held back by chains that disappeared into the darkness. Her eyes were closed and Damian might have thought she was dead, or at least in very bad shape, if it weren't for the smile she flashed as she lifted her head.

If it weren't for the fact that his grandfather had no interest in such practices and for the enormous amount of energy and power that she radiated, he would think that she was simply some kind of slave. Because even after so much training and meditation, Damian could still feel a certain attraction to her.

Or was he attracted to her because of her power? He couldn't tell. After all, it could be the same kind of power that had brought him here.

"Damian Al Ghul," she said, not missing an opportunity to meet his gaze. The violet of her eyes almost getting lost in the darkness of the cave.

Damian watched her in silence for a few seconds, narrowing his eyes.

"So you were the one who brought me here," he concluded, ready to draw his sword.

But she shook her head, the chains jangling rhythmically.

"You came here of your own free will."

"We both know that's not true," he replied, finally drawing his sword and pointing it at the woman, leaving its edge only an inch from her thin, pale neck. "I don't know who or what you are, but I don't like having my mind messed with."

She shrugged and leaned her head toward the sword, not afraid of cutting herself. Not afraid of him or his actions.

"I doubt anyone would," she said mockingly, only to exhale at his silence. "I just wanted to meet the next head of the League of Assassins. That pseudo-demon Ra's should retire by now—"

"Watch your mouth," Damian cut her off, though she didn't seem to heed his threats, so he soon found himself putting his sword away again. She watched him closely, almost disappointed, and he had to ask; "Why am I here?"

She smiled at him once again. And if she wasn't chained up, she'd probably be making flashy gestures like someone giving a political speech.

"My name is Raven, daughter of Trigon, the one who gives power to the Lazarus Pit… and like I said, I just wanted to meet the one who will command the imbeciles who made a contract with my unloved father."

Damian frowned. If his grandfather held her captive for any reason, it was probably because she kept disrespecting him.

Although the words she spat out with hate did not go unnoticed.

"My grandfather wants to save the world and all of us who follow him also wish for a better one. Imbeciles are those who do not understand such a noble purpose and only dedicate themselves to destroying it more and more."

Damian turned around. He didn't even know why he had said all that, since it was of no importance to a demon. And it was not important to him to be understood.

He had wasted his time going there, even if at least he no longer heard her voice in his mind.

Taking only two steps back, she spoke again;

"Do you want a better world, Damian Al Ghul?"

He stopped. He for some reason did it, and it wasn't out of interest in what she was saying. His hands and his feet, even his head were stopped by a greater force. Like when someone is paralyzed with fear, even though he wasn't scared at all.

This demon woman had more power than they had used to hold her.

"I do," he replied, not seeing why not.

And she said something that he didn't expect at all.

"Why don't you sign a contract with me then?"

Damian turned his head slightly. Raven, daughter of Trigon, looked serious, even though she was flashing an enticing smile.

"If you really are the heir, then it would only be speeding things up," she explained, slowly getting to her feet. Damian watched carefully as the chains silently exploded and they fell, disappearing to the cave floor.

What did she mean by that? He wasn't exactly sure. His Grandfather hadn't told him anything about it.

Raven walked towards him, circling him and positioning herself in front of him.

Damian clenched his fists as she reached a hand up to his cheek. If her goal was to seduce him, he couldn't help but feel a hint of curiosity as to how she would go about it. However, when her fingers were about to brush his skin, a spark —literally— caused her to step back.

Damian could only see the sparks of it, but soon his eyes met Raven's, just before she directed her gaze to her hand. She opened and closed her affected hand, frowning.

"You're protected. Too bad," she said, and though Damian hadn't exactly been trained to read people, the disappointment in her words was obvious.

Raven exhaled, moving past him and returning to where she had been before.

"He is ready to dispose of you at any time."

Only then did Damian realize that whatever had held him still was gone, and the chains on the demon's arms reappeared as if they had never been destroyed.

With narrowed eyes, he wondered if what had just happened was real, or just an illusion. But he decided not to give it so much importance.

"If your intention is to make me doubt my grandfather, you won't," he clarified. "I am his heir. Together we will make this world a better place."

"And yet he still doesn't give you your due power," the demon shrugged.

Damian frowned, but soon took a deep breath to calm himself. That was what the demons did: they deceived. She wanted to tempt him. Tempt him so that he would fall into her trap and do what she asked.

But if it was so, then she didn't seem very angry at his refusal. Rather it seemed like she had expected it.

"Worry not, then," Raven told him. "Either way you'll never be like your grandfather."

If she was trying to annoy him, she wasn't succeeding either.

However, Damian still asked:

"What?"

And she smiled at him… sincerely and perhaps sympathetically. Call him crazy, but Damian felt it that way. He felt it that way because it was a kind of smile he never saw around there. "For you possess something that he'll never have. A heart."

And he blinked, confused, only to frown.

A heart?

Was she crazy?

If his grandfather didn't possess a heart, then why the hell had he created the league and given such a purpose? It was stupid.

But before he could voice his objection, Raven cut him off, as if she knew what he had thought. As if his face had given it away no matter how expressionless he had kept it.

"If you don't believe me, you should go to this place…" she moved her hands and something got… into his brain? Damian couldn't think of a better way to put it. Like when they entered an address into a search application or a coordinate into a computer. He didn't know where that place was, but he knew how to get there.

He didn't like having his mind messed with.

But Raven just shrugged again, only to smile alluringly afterwards.

"I will be waiting."

And as if those words had been a command, Damian woke up. Shaken, tired… not really, but with the feeling that he had come a long way and with the intention of going on another.

He frowned. Raven...

It hadn't been a dream. None of it had been. He still knew where she was sending him.

And though his distrustful nature opposed it, his curiosity guided him.

He'd go.

[brendathedoodler]

Can you tell us about Wild's adventure in the AS au?

Gladly!

From Wild’s point of view, his adventure began the day he woke up without his memories. He was staring up at the treeline of Faron woods, aching from head to toe, and completely alone.

At least, he thought he was alone.

Fi appeared behind him, giving him the fight of a lifetime. Nowadays Wild finds the memory of drawing Fi on herself to be pretty funny, but in the moment he’d been too stressed and confused to find anything funny.

Fi knew that her master losing his memories could be devastating for everyone, and she immediately tried to teach him the things he’d need to know to complete his journey.

Wild had no interest in literally anything she said and instead tried running away from her. He wanted no part of her lessons, so Fi tried another approach. Several failed attempts later (which involved a lot of chasing Wild around and accomplishing nothing), she finally decided to just observe him. She was getting nowhere, and she’d need to gather data on his behavior to determine how best to aid him.

Wild was cautious of her, but now that she wasn’t actively chasing him, he relaxed and proceeded to prowl around Faron woods curiously on his hands and knees. He did all sorts of things, observing plants, bugs, birds, and at one point attempting to dig in the dirt.

Fi watched Wild as though he were a problem to solve. A derailed train that just needed to get back on track. The fact that he seemed to recognize nothing and barely interacted with the world like a human made her worry. This didn’t seem like the sort of thing that could simply be fixed, especially not in the time limit they had.

A deku-baba popping up out of the ground made her concern skyrocket. She called for him to dodge but Wild ignored her. He didn’t see it as a threat and ended up getting bitten. This seemed to make something click in place, as Wild leapt to his feet, unsheathed his sword, and sliced the creature apart like the trained knight he was. Muscle memory didn’t fail him; his fighting stance was perfect and his strike true.

Perhaps not all was lost.

Though after it was defeated Wild immediately returned to crawling around on all fours (or three, seeing as one hand was injured and he kept it off the ground).

Fi continued observing. Wild was curious about the world around him, but as soon as a threat came up, he was on his feet and fighting as if he hadn’t been spending the entire day crawling around like an animal.

As night fell, Fi dared approach him once more. He didn’t run, but he did seem on edge.

Seeing as he was curious, she determined that it would be most advantageous to try and teach him things. She’d start with what he was interested in, and once he stopped running from her, she could move on to the more important things.

She plucked a leaf off a tree and offered it to him, telling him simply what it was. He took it from her, and then just stared at her. She plucked a few pieces of grass and told him what it was, and he took those too. Wild quickly caught on and began pointing to various things for her to name, and eventually she described more about it once she determined he was both receptive to her words and able to understand her (something she’d been unsure of, since he’d made no attempt to communicate with her in any way).

Before he went to sleep, she showed him how to bandage up his injury from earlier. He allowed her to lead his hands and show him what needed to be done.

The second day of Wild’s adventure was better. Wild was more keen on walking on his two feet, though Fi wasn’t entirely sure what had spurred this change on. She continued to rattle off facts when he pointed to things, and she attempted to subtly lead him towards their first goal. His own natural curiosity aided her greatly, and he went through the woods, clearing it of monsters. She taught him the words of the different fighting techniques, as well as the names of various enemies.

That night he investigated her, curiously touching her cloak and hair, and easily accepting her explanation that she was the spirit of the sword. He also listened to her explain her purpose and their mission, though Fi couldn’t tell what he felt about it.

Day three she managed to get him to go into the sacred grounds, but he hissed at Impa and ran off. Nothing Fi said would convince him to go back. Not until Wild’s loftwing flew down. Thankfully it seemed that Wild’s loftwing was more receptive to Fi’s explanation than Wild was, and with both of their encouragement they got him to actually talk to Impa (without hissing at her). He was eager to save Flora, not out of any sort of familiarity (the two hadn’t even liked each other in the past), but because he hated the idea of someone being in danger when he could do something to help.

The days passed, and the world became more familiar to Wild. There was still a lot missing, but he was continuing on his quest. Fi and his loftwing became essential companions for him, helping to bring him some sort of assurance when things got overwhelming or confusing, and also helping him get where he needed.

Approaching the first dungeon and realizing that his loftwing wouldn’t be able to enter with him ended up being a major roadblock. By that I mean Fi spent 3 hours trying to convince him to go in without his bird.

Anyway, Wild was a goddamn mess by the time he showed up at the first Ghirahim fight. Mud and grass stains on his pants, twigs and leaves tangled in his hair, dirt under his fingernails, and scrapes all over from his shenanigans. Ghirahim laughed in his face.

Anyway, Wild’s first words ended up being “what the fuck” after Ghirahim licked his ear.

After defeating Ghirahim, it was time to go to Skyloft. He took a bath in the river to look a little more presentable for the people there, and then they were off.

Wild was excited to see it. An island above the sky sounded incredible. As they passed the cloud barrier, Wild took in the sight of Skyloft. The thin air felt familiar in his lungs, and the wind on his face felt like the most natural thing in the world.

The peace was shattered when he landed and was immediately swarmed with people. He immediately attempted to turn around and leap back off Skyloft, but his loftwing stopped him.

Revali was the one who pushed through the crowd, demanding to know why Wild had vanished and where Flora was. At this point words still didn’t come naturally to Wild, so it wasn’t until well into Revali’s rant that he finally admitted he had no idea who he (or anyone else gathered) was.

They brought him to the doctor, and the only reason he didn’t try to escape was because his loftwing was right by his side. He wished Fi’s physical form was too, but her blade on his back brought him comfort at least.

They couldn’t find anything wrong with him, no reason why he wouldn’t remember anything. Mipha was the one tending to him, and she tried everything she knew to try and help, but it did nothing. Wild tried to bolt as soon as she said he was physically fine, but she insisted on accompanying him. He reluctantly accepted.

Mipha’s home was fascinating to explore, and he eagerly poked around at the various items, pointing them out like he’d do to Fi. It took awhile before she understood what he meant (much to his frustration).

As nice as it was, he had a mission to complete. He intended to sneak out that night, but was caught by Sidon as he left the house. Sidon’s firm hand on his wrist kept him from escaping, and finally Wild explained that he was so determined to leave because he wanted to save “the girl”.

It made perfect sense to Sidon. Of course he wanted to save Zelda, she’d been the one who’d vanished with him. He convinced Wild to stay the night at least, so that he’d be well rested in the morning. Besides, that way he’d be able to shop at the market for supplies. Mipha wasn’t happy about letting him go, but did agree. It was clear they couldn’t stop him, the least they could do was help him on his way.

It was the first step towards making Skyloft seem a little less intimidating. He continued on his journey.

Those are the main events that change from LU Sky’s story to AS Wild’s, at least what I have fleshed out. Throughout most of it he begins to recover. He finds his voice again (and becomes quite the chatterbox), he starts to unconsciously remember small things (like the name of a fruit he used to love, how to treat a bug bite, etc), and he slowly starts to find his new identity and becomes more confident with it as his adventure progresses.

There are other events, like taking each of the next gen champions on their own adventures down on the surface. There’s fighting the imprisoned alongside Revali, the moment he meets Zelda and she apologizes for how she’d doomed him (though Wild didn’t hold it against her), and then the final battle against Demise.

With not a memory to his name, Wild slew Demise, but didn’t escape the curse he uttered in his final breath.

[all-the-cliches-lwa]

Akko and the Claiomh Solais

Sooooo, remember 6 years ago on day 6 of the first Dianakko week, the prompt was Crossover/AU, and I wrote, what I affectionately call, my generic fantasy au? No? Well, Ahahahaha.

Welcome to my generic fantasy au! (This’ll be the only full “chapter” I post here, I cannot format this for tumblr every single chapter)

Summary: For the past decade, the country of Luna Nova has been under siege by the Umbra, a centuries-old threat that was once sealed by the hero Chariot and her legendary blade, the Claiomh Solais, which now lay dormant in the port city of Brook-Haven awaiting its next wielder.   Drawn by tales she’s read in legends since she was little, Akko travels to the country of Luna Nova to set off on her very own adventure. She is about to get far more than she bargained for.

AO3 Links:

Prologue

Chapter 1

Prologue:

Thunderous roars exploded across the canyon as two forces collided. With each clash, boulders crashed down onto the ground from the surrounding mountainous walls. With every strike, plumes of dust and gravel erupted into the air. 

Shockwave after shockwave echoed through the mountains as the battle between these two titans continued. With each passing second, the very walls surrounding them crumbled, and the deafening sounds of their struggle somehow grew louder, more powerful, seemingly without end. 

Until finally, they stopped. 

As the dust began to settle, the two figures could be seen in the distance, separated by a tiny stream.

On the right, there was a being covered in shadow, the area beneath their feet covered in an inky darkness. 

On the left, there was a being down on one knee. They were obscured by an almost blinding light, and their only discernible features were fiery red hair and a sword, adorned with green gems, in their right hand. 

In this moment of silence, nothing dared to move. Nothing dared to risk drawing either being’s attention. 

The earth, the air, even time itself seemed to freeze in place. 

And then, a bellowing laugh burst from the shadowed figure, and the world once again began to move. 

Suddenly, the mountain walls once again began to collapse. Gusts of wind filled the canyon. The skies darkened. Bolts of lightning streaked through the clouds before striking down on the earth. 

And in this moment, the one covered in light looked down to the ground beneath them. As the world around them continued to fall apart, a small bead of water fell from their face...

And an ear-splitting scream erupted from their throat. 

The air crackled as the being’s light began to grow, began to intensify. The gems on their sword shined with their own dazzling green rays, and their hair burst into flames. 

In an instant, it seemed as if this light would threaten to consume everything. 

However, as quickly as the light had grown, it vanished, leaving nothing in its place.

The shadowed figure suddenly started scrambling around the mountainside, frantically searching for any sign of their rival, but it was all for naught. 

Without warning, a red streak of light bolted across the battlefield and struck them, and a blinding pillar of light burst up from the ground, overwhelming the world with its brilliance.

______________________________________________________________

“Atsuko,” a soft voice called out. “Atsuko, wake up. The darkness. It’s stirring.”

Unfortunately, it was left unanswered. 

Undeterred, the voice continued its call. However, the light that had engulfed the world began to dim to darkness, and as the light continued to disappear, so too did the voice.

“Atsuko… Atsuko, wake up,” the voice repeated, now barely managing a whisper. 

Despite its efforts, it was, once again, met with silence.

“Please Atsuko, wake up. It’s almost time,” the whisper pleaded.  

“Mmmmm. I-I’ll wake… up in a li… little bit,” a groggy voice finally replied. Its owner, “Atsuko”, shifted her head on her table and blocked her ears with her hands. 

“Atsuko, you must wake up,” the voice once again repeated, and continued to repeat, determined to wake the girl from her slumber.

“Atsuko”

“Atsuko… wake up”

“Atsuko”

“Atsuko!”

“Just… five more minutes…” Atsuko groaned, pressing her hands more firmly against her ears.

“Wha- Five minutes… oh deities. ATSUKO WAKE UP!!” a voice screamed, and Atsuko’s chair was kicked down from beneath her.

“Ow!” Atsuko yelped as she crashed onto the floor. She whipped her head up and was met with purple eyes glaring down at her. “What was that for, Avery?!”

“What do you mean ‘what was that for’? You were supposed to take your shift on the pier half an hour ago! And where do I find you instead? In the watchtower, taking a nap!”

“It’s not my fault!” Atsuko whined. “It’s not like anything even happens until five.” Atsuko lifted herself up from the ground and winced as she moved to wipe the dust off her pants. She then made her way to the holster and broadsword hanging from the wall. “Besides, you’ve been here a while, right? If it was so important, why didn’t you make sure I got up earlier?”

“Earlier?” Avery raised a brow. “I just got here right now. Like a minute ago.”

“Huh?” Atsuko stopped and turned back towards Avery. “Wait, you weren’t the one whispering at me to wake up?”

“What? Whispering? I yelled the second I-” Avery stopped and shook her head. “-you know what, doesn’t matter.” She immediately pointed to the door. “Head out now, Atsuko. Before I have you written up again.”

Instantly, Atsuko’s eyes bulged, and she quickly fell to her knees.

“Wait, not again!” Atsuko cried. “I can’t take another hour of Finnelan yelling at me! It’d be the fourth time this week! Pleeeease don’t tell her!”

“Then go! Now.”

“I’m going, I’m going!” Atsuko sputtered out as she struggled to fasten the holster around her waist. The moment she finished, she swiped a lamp and a book from the table and rushed out of the room. 

However, before heading down the stairs, she slowly peeked her head through the door. “Oh, and uh… you know you can just call me Akko, right…?” Atsuko—or Akko, as she preferred—asked.

“Out!” 

“Bye!” Akko yelped as she fled from the door, dashing her way down the watchtower towards her station at the pier.

Please Continue Reading Chapter 1 on AO3

[finalskies]

Heir’s favorite posts of 2022

It’s that time of year again: the end. So I get to talk about my favorite things I posted. It’s funny, I feel like I really didn’t draw that much more than last year, and I certainly didn’t get any better. If anything, I’ve probably regressed. But even then, in these past few months I’ve probably felt more joy about drawing than I have in a long time. In a way, it feels like I’ve removed all my expectations for myself and I just... I just get to draw whatever I want, and it doesn’t matter if it looks sucky to me. “Face didn’t come out right? That’s fine, it still looks cute. It doesn’t look as good as it used to? No worries, you’ve done it before and you’ll do it once more. And even if you don’t, you can still have fun with it and make people happy.”

Maybe I’m just finally done with being mean to myself about my drawings. Maybe I just wanna draw cute/silly stuff for my friends. Because, as I’ve said before, you don’t have to be great and powerful to make something that makes a great and powerful difference in someone’s day. Anyway...

Ol’ Reliable Applejack. This is one of the first drawings I made with my new tablet, and the first one that made me think “Okay... I can still do this.” Even before my bestest most favorite tablet broke, I hadn’t been feeling the whole “drawing” thing in awhile. As simple as this looks, it felt like a real turning point.

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Internet Fuzz Queens. As a very young child, I had this idea in my head that all my favorite cartoon characters lived in a community together and they would hang out and stuff. This is was an extremely self-indulgent comic that required specific knowledge of four different fandoms, and I want to do more like it. I love my blorbos and I want to see them hang out together.

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Angel Byrd. My OC turned space kangaroo in my Scum and Villainy campaign. I’m glad I got to give her a little more pizzazz. I forgot to mention it in the original post, but the reason her dress has a tummy window is because she’s planning on smuggling museum artifacts in her pouch lol. We’re actually doing the second part of the heist tomorrow, wish us luck!

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Kaysee Cadet! A character I made for a dnd Humblewood campaign. I really love how this came out. Ultimately I did settle on the orange fur, but maybe I’ll do something with that black fur design at some point. Gawd I’ve grown really attached to this character. They’re autistic, and they’re not native to the setting of the campaign, so “common” isn’t their first language. It’s been really difficult for them to navigate the world, and some people have been quite cruel to her, including her own family. All she wants is love, and they try SO HARD to help people despite everything, and we’re getting to the part in the campaign where the party transitions from “ragtag group of weirdos forced together” to “found family.” But tragedy struck in the last session of the year, and now it’s more of a “darkest hour” moment. And I’m just... I love my blorbos, especially the ones I made up ;_;

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Give Trans Girls Swords. Winter is this lovely artist’s sheep fursona. I’d been wanting to draw them for awhile, she has such an appealing design. This was so fun to draw, I love making things for friends and also giving trans girls swords.

I really want to make my own fursona one of these days...

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 Miss Pie’s Monsters. It was... so nice to see the monster gang again. MPM is absolutely one of those projects that I never stopped thinking about, never lost hope that I could finish it one day, even those it’s been years since its last real update. I’m happy with myself for sticking to the update schedule I promised, even if I was calling it close sometimes lol. I hope people liked seeing them again. And to the people that I know liked seeing them again: first, I love u, I hope I can continue to update it in the coming year. I can’t wait to reveal who the Captain of the guard really is.

Stay fantastic, I hope we all have a better 2023. Or at the very least, make it through it together. <3

[swiftscion]

✢⁎. pride of isaach - hero drabble (541 words)

A memory:

Defeat stains the coliseum. Along its floors, over its walls--the rippling tide of red sees no end. Iron mixes with silver, and wood and bodily pus to create a stench so foul it can only be compared to death. It's metal and rotting bone. Disgusting. Arenas aren't pretty; the only decor for bloodsports is the blood itself. And the bodies it belongs to aren't quite dead, but without adequate healing, they may as well be. Their lives hang on only by a thread.

Larcei's scissor-blade had been stopped by the voice of an overseer, mere moments from snipping away another human life.

That would be the sixth. Death will not find her here, not while she has so much to lose, and even more to gain. Until the famed technique of her home is known across the continent, until she can be recognized as Ayra's rightful kin, until even the stars in the sky can be chained down and brought back to her, she will continue. Forge onward, and find gold and glory in equal measure. Glory, which will serve as the foundation for the future. Gold, which will be marched upon to meet her destiny. Each acts as a vital step for uncovering her legacy, and finally--finally--embracing the shadow she clings to.

It's all for her. Every battle is for real, every swipe of the sword intent on severing a neck.

The warrior files away, his legs barely carrying him to his barracks. Larcei is allowed to recuperate. Her breath draws in haggard splits, heaving as it struggles beneath the strain on her body. She piles on so much, outmaneuvering and outclashing her opponents. Every stellar swing of Astra takes a minute's worth of breathing to catch up to, once the battle is all said and done. It's like capturing a wildfire inside a bottle, and only letting the smoke rise after the flames have burned.

She thinks she might buckle. The ichor dripping down her neck is the only cool sensation she feels in a world of heat.

But the seventh enters: a general armed with a sterling blade. It is half her height, and nearly twice her width--capable of easily cleaving her in two. But it's slow. Its broad strokes leave open windows to vault over. "Nothin' I can't handle," she tells herself, holding out her mother's Brave Sword to match. Defiance has returned to her, its wellspring of strength helping her forget all that screams at her to stop. Her legs, her arms--her heart beating three times a second. They all fall silent to the beast awakening within. It's at its strongest with its back against the wall.

"You hear that?! You're NOTHING!!"

A flash of white, and she surges forth. Larcei is the first off her feet--naturally--and will be the one to set the pace for the fight. She hopes, for the general's sake, that he can keep up. Because a comet comes full circle in its orbit; miss her, and she'll be sure to remind you of who she is.

And where she's from. This is the pride of Isaach, the will of Od--the star in the sky that burns brightest. Come too close, and even a suit of armor will melt like candlewax.

[heretic-altias]

FFXIVWrite Day 13 - Check

Gonna preface this one with a TW for self harm. It's not like. depression self harm, it's very much for a cause, but a man does stab himself so yeah. World's worst checklist on how to save your dragon. Absolutely not approved by the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.

Don’t know my characters? Here’s a basic breakdown to help you out!

~

Kito’s entire plan had led up to this moment. He desperately focused on Twintania’s presence in his mind, hoping their connection would be enough to draw her his way.

He’d been horrified to learn what had happened when he’d finally returned from the First. She had just flown off one day with no warning. Her thoughts had seemed muddled and strange, and she wasn’t shielded from him as she usually was for both of their sanities. It was only talking with the Scions altogether that they had worked out what had happened. 

Like her mother Tiamat, Twintania had been tempered from the start. But her link to Kito had more than likely allowed his blessing of light to shield her from its influence. With him on the First and their connection weakened, she’d been vulnerable to the call of Lunar Bahamut when Fandaniel summoned him.

The theory was once they freed her, Kito’s blessing should shield her again as if she had it too. As long as they stayed in the same world anyway.

But doing that required subduing an ancient and powerful dragon long enough to cure her tempering.

Kito had a plan though. A terrible one. One the Scions didn’t know the entirety of. But a plan nonetheless. 

He mentally ticked the boxes in his mind as it progressed.

Step One: Get into the same area as Twintania. 

Check. He stood on the battlefield in the desert, dragons and soldiers clashing all around him. Fandaniel had made this step easy with his attack.

Step Two: Hope Kito’s mental link was still strong enough to draw Twintania near him and the Scions even while she was tempered.

That was what he was waiting for, but he could tell it was working. He could sense her presence approaching. But he waited until he could see her in the sky above him.

Check.

The Scions knew this much. But all they knew of step three was his assurance that he could bring her down long enough for them to save her.

“Stand back” he warned them, moving forward himself. Both to keep them safe when a dragon fell from the sky and make sure they couldn’t stop his next move.

He rolled up a sleeve and examined his left arm. A blot of ink was left in just the right spot as he’d planned it. He knew both his own and Twintania’s anatomy well enough.

Step Three: Drive a knife into the perfect spot in his arm to pain her wing and bring her down.

The idea had stemmed from the idea that when they didn’t block each other out they could literally feel each other’s pain. Twintania couldn’t block him out right now, the tempering gripped her too strongly for her to be aware of that. It was only his mental block protecting them both from that right now.

He dropped it and was made aware of painful gashes on her underbelly. She’d already met the wrong end of a sword.

At least this next wound wouldn’t be hers.

The Scions finally realized what was about to happen as the knife came into their view, gleaming in the sunlight.

“Kito, don’t you dare!” Alisaie shouted, charging forward.

Before she could stop him, he drove the knife into his arm, blood instantly wetting the blade and tumbling down his arm.

But his plan worked. Twintania’s left wing jerked as if it had been stabbed, and she tumbled from the sky with a screech of pain. Kito couldn’t risk throwing the block back up yet though, there was too much of a chance of her realigning herself. So he felt the impact in his bones as she hit the ground hard, hard enough where he fell over himself.

Check.

She had landed only ilms away from him, most likely only not crushing him on sheer last second instinct. It seemed even in this state she was somewhat aware their lives were tied together.

“Now!” Kito yelled, hoping the Scions were still focused enough to get the job done. 

“You’ll be ok. I promise” he whispered to the dragon as he heard their footsteps approach.

Luckily, the Scions were still unphased after his stunt. Being stabbed hurt, and he really didn’t want to have to repeat the act. Not that anyone would let him.

He wasn’t worried. He’d specifically plotted out the spot to be one that would be non fatal to him while also hitting a point that would mess up Twintania’s flight. But gods it still hurt, and he instinctively clutched the wound. The bloody knife lay forgotten on the ground. It didn’t matter though. The last step was the Scions’ job.

Step 4: Bind her down with magicks before she can recover and cure her tempering so she comes to her senses.

Kito could see they stuck to it, but rather than helping them Alphinaud stopped by his side.

“You are aware we need to fight a battle when this is done, aren’t you?” Alphinuad questioned as he got to work healing the injury.

“Good thing I know some good healers then” Kito answered back as he mentally threw up that mental block again. He didn’t need to share Twintania’s pain anymore, and he felt instantly more alert, no longer feeling like he’d dropped from the sky.

Alphinaud just shook his head and continued until the bloody wound was gone, the sticky drying blood the only sign it had ever been there.

Kito stood up and fixed his sleeve before resolving to stand guard while the Scions worked.

He felt it the moment the tempering broke. Twintania’s mind seemed to recede into its usual corner of his being as she regained control, only to shove itself straight back into his awareness as her memories caught up.

YOU FOOL! She roared directly into Kito’s mind, hauling herself to her feet and stomping up to him with a growl.

It worked, didn’t it? He grinned at her.

He didn’t need to tell her how much he’d missed her or how worried he’d been for her. They were connected, she would always know how he felt.

The Scions gathered around them as well, and Kito held up a hand before they could say anything.

“I know. It was a stupid plan. I’m already being yelled at for it by the dragon in my head, so you guys don’t have to bother” Kito assured them.

Alisaie seemed to be seething with rage, but that was her normal reaction to poor decision making. The others just looked thoughtful.

“I’ve never seen anything like that. It was fascinating. Don’t ever repeat it, but it was certainly something to watch. It was as if you’d both been struck simultaneously” Y’shtola commented.

“He has grown bolder in our time apart. Not wiser. But bolder” Twintania added.

Kito could feel the anger at the risk he took radiating from her. But he could handle her never forgiving him if it meant not losing her.

And to think she hadn’t even liked him at first.

“I hate to interrupt your musings, but I do believe we have a battle to win” Thancred called, gesturing to their surroundings.

Mother flies once more. She calls us to battle, and we shall answer, Twintania told Kito, crouching so he could climb onto her back.

She does. We convinced her to fly again Kito told her as they took flight.

I did not think it possible, back upon Azys Lla. But you, little mortal, always make the impossible happen it would seem Twintania sighed.

She was grateful he’d cared enough to save her. Angry at how he’d done it. But warmed by the fact he had nonetheless.

Now lets see how many of your siblings we can save Kito declared, brandishing his greatsword.

And off they flew, fighting together once again.