#though I don't see why we need deadly weapons

[squided]

I know some people may think it's extreme but I think that any police officer who shoots someone and has their body cam off should be automatically charged with first degree murder regardless of non-video evidence found at the crime scene. We have the capability for every law enforcement officer to have a body cam and there is no reason it should be turned off. Police kill for no reason because they know they'll get away with it and even get paid time off. If we're gonna have people with deadly weapons walking around with a license to kill, they should at least be required to justify every death they've caused with clear video evidence. If the body cam is too shaky and doesn't catch everything, mount a cam on the gun. Make them wear multiple cameras. I don't give a shit. If they are gonna use deadly force, they need to have undeniable proof that they had absolutely NO other choice.

[keeps-ache]

little soup cans are some of the neatest things we have, wish there were more soup-can-like things in this world

[666writingcafe]

House Call

A Text Conversation Between Diavolo and Solomon

Diavolo: Are you awake?

Solomon: Yes.

Diavolo: Where are you?

Solomon: At MC's place...why?

Diavolo: Perfect. We'll be there shortly.

Solomon: Diavolo.

Solomon: What happened?

Diavolo: I'll start from the beginning: I got kidnapped by some sorcerers.

Solomon: WHAT?????

Diavolo: Specifically, Avarius and his group of cronies.

Solomon: FUCK

Solomon: I fucking hate that guy

Solomon: Like he was part of the reason I got kicked out of the Society even though I founded it

Diavolo: Well, he's not too happy about our presence in the human world. He seems to be under the impression that I'm using MC as a weapon.

Solomon: WHAT the actual FUCK

Diavolo: He called them a half-breed.

Solomon: *gif of someone narrowing their eyes angrily*

Solomon: How DARE he insult MY apprentice????

Diavolo: What have you been teaching MC, exactly?

Solomon: ?????

Diavolo: I have my reasons for asking.

Solomon: Well...

Solomon: I've taught them some basic spells and combat moves.

Diavolo: Define basic.

Solomon: You know...the fundamentals. Nothing too complex yet. Not until they have their license.

Diavolo: That's going to be a LOT more difficult now.

Solomon: Why????

Diavolo: Your DARLING apprentice has killed a man.

Solomon: ??????????????????????????????

Diavolo: They along with Belphie helped rescue me, but obviously we had to fight our way out. One of Avarius's people managed to cut Belphie's arm, and MC must have saw it, because the next thing I know they pulled out a knife and threw it with deadly precision into this guy's chest.

Solomon: Well shit

Solomon: That is certainly beyond anything we've done together.

Diavolo: Part of their power comes from their emotions. The rage they felt upon seeing Belphie hurt drew that out. They became a beacon of light by the time we got out of there, and they were ready to head back in there and continue fighting. I was struggling to restrain them, Solomon. I'm one of the strongest demons in the Devildom, and yet it took a lot for me to keep MC from running.

Solomon: Are they okay, at least?

Diavolo: They're currently passed out in the backseat, but they're not hurt. I figured some time in their home would help recharge them. Plus, I do NOT want them around the others right now.

Solomon: Understandable.

Diavolo: I don't think you do, Solomon. The MINUTE we got in the car and started driving, Lucifer called MC's phone, and I had to deal with him yelling at me for fifteen minutes.

Solomon: *laughing crow sticker*

Diavolo: It's not funny.

Diavolo: Like, I know he was worried about MC and Belphie leaving without a trace, but that was because I instructed Belphie to not tell him because I KNEW he would blow up like this if he discovered I was kidnapped.

Diavolo: It's bad enough that the Society is down one sorcerer. If he was there, they would have been down six members, and that might as well be a declaration of war against the human world. As it is, I have to figure out how to explain this to the Society, because in Avarius's eyes, MC's actions have proven his point.

Solomon: But you didn't make MC kill that guy.

Diavolo: Doesn't matter. As one of the head sorcerers of the Society, he has the ability to influence his colleagues into believing whatever he wants them to. If he says that I possessed MC and made them lash out against one of their kind, then that becomes the truth.

Solomon: Is it wrong for me to be lowkey impressed by what MC did?

Diavolo: In this particular moment of time, yes. Just wait until I get this straightened out with some of the more reasonable people in the Society before you start gloating. Please.

Solomon: *thumbs up emoji*

Diavolo: We're almost there. Belphie's going to drop MC and me off at the front door before heading back to the manor. I'll need your help getting MC settled in.

Solomon: *thumbs up emoji*

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick

[novankenn]

Plague Doctors (2)

Arthur D’Rivere sat in the command chair of his gunship, looking at a set of screens situated before him. It had been a fortnight since he sent his “message”, and his group was closing in on the chosen target. He had delayed his actions. A vain hope that the horror he unleashed on the Haligan space station would finally shock both sides into serious negotiations, instead of the cock measuring pissing contests they usually became. Once again, he had overestimated the pure stubborn nature of the Haligans and his own species.

About him, a skeleton crew worked. Checking systems, and sensor arrays. The remainder of his small but efficient crew in their bunks, resting up until the time D’Rivere’s horrific actions would take place. The soft click of heels upon the metal decking told him of her approach. She was the lynch pin in all of his actions. Her vast and detailed chemical knowledge, giving rise to the chemical weapon attacks the Plague Doctor’s were known for. Though, D’Rivere couldn’t understand her need to wear high heels.

“Dr. Carver.” D’Rivere greeted his visitor. “I thought you would be resting. It is still some hours until the assault.”

Dr. Eloise Carver was an average looking woman. Average height. Average weight. Shoulder-length red hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. D’Rivere would call her homely. She was dressed casually, with a long lab coat draped over her civilian wear.

“Can’t sleep.” she replied.

“Why?” D’Rivere asked. “Worried your chemical abomination will not work?”

“No, that’s not it.” she responded. “It will work, but on this scale I’m not sure how effective of how fast the reaction will be.”

“Then what’s bothering you?” D’Rivere asked as he checked his screen for the umpteenth time, still planning out how his small squad of craft will crack the orbital defenses and deliver their deadly payload.

“The escalation.”

“It’s necessary.”

“Is it?”

“I wish it wasn’t.” D’Rivere admitted.

“Then, why, go through with this? Why not continue with actions against just military targets?” Dr Carver looked over his shoulder at the video screen showing an image chosen target. She wasn’t even sure the small mining planetoid was named. Haligan expansion in the wake of hostilities between them and Humans far out paced the ability of Haligan forces to erect effective defenses of the multiple industrial and civilian outposts and settlements that had cropped up.

“Because they need a monster.” D’Rivere replied.

“I don’t see why that it is important.”

“It’s simple. The Haligans are committing wholesale slaughter. Do we agree on this?”

“Yes.” Dr. Carver hissed. Memories of her destroy life. The loss of her partner during a Haligan raid, a festering wound in her heart.

“And do you agree that even as tenacious, driven and stubborn as we humans are, there are some acts we are in general unwilling to commit?”

“Okay.”

“The Haligans need to be shown that there are humans that are capable of committing the same atrocities they have… but on a more…”

“Brutally vindictive scale?”

“That’s an apt description.”

“I still don’t see the…”

“Why did you join me, more to the point, why are you assisting in my mission, if you don't understand the larger goal?”

“They need to pay.” Dr. Carver replied, her voice growing hostile and dark. “They need to be hurt like they hurt us. They need to pay!”

“You’re in it for revenge.” D’Rivere took a minute to pulled out and light a cigarette. “That’s fair, more than, actually. But…”

“But?”

“As much as they deserve to pay. Both sides need a monster. A being so vile that they can only sue for peace in an attempt to appease it.” D’Rivere inhaled and then exhaled a puff of smoke through his nose. 

“Hence wholesale slaughter, like the Haligans are committing.”

“No… industrial slaughter, the likes the Haligans have never witnessed.” D’Rivere informed the Doctor standing beside him. “They seem to need to see the death they inflict first hand. To watch the terror of their victims. I’m not sure why.”

“The illusion of power?”

“The illusion of superiority, would be my guess.” D’Rivere replied. “Who really knows why they choose to be so personal in their slaughter.”

“I’m assuming you want to show them… that Humanity isn’t the same.”

“No, I’m going to prove it to them. On an impersonal industrial scale.”

Dr. Carver stood there, silently, next to the commander seated in his chair. He had given her some tidbits to consider. Ideas, and concepts her vengeance tainted heart had never considered. For the hurt she had suffered, she had only wanted to hurt the aggressors back, but now… now she was beginning to understand the motivations of D’Rivere. He was determined to show the Haligans the type of monsters Humans could become. Impersonal, industrial, and innovative.

“It will work. Once the shells penetrate into the lower atmosphere… the shells will burst, disbursing the reagent into the air. The reaction will be exothermic, catalyzing the reaction further…”

“And the very air they need will become death.”

“It will.”

“Any chance of escape? For them to weather the attack and survive?”

“No. The atmosphere will become be chemically converted at the atomic level into gaseous acid. It will devour everything… even the planetoid, given enough time.”

D’Rivere just nodded. Crushing out his cigarette, his tired face grew cold and stonelike. He leaned forward and touched a simple yellow colored button. Instantly, the General Quarters alarm blared through the ship. The crew of the “Regretful Purpose” leapt into action. Within moments, the command room was a buzz with activity.

“I should get out of your way.” Dr. Carver commented as she nodded her head at D’Rivere and stepped away.

“Helm turn us perpendicular to the target. Fire control, bring the guns into firing position.”

D’Rivere waited a full five seconds before issuing his next command. “Fire when ready.”

/==/

The Treaty negotiations room was in an absolute uproar as the most recent action of the Plague Doctors came to light. The Haligans Republic was aghast and deranged by the attack upon a mainly civilian target. In response, they had pulled back a portion of their sizable fleet and scrambled to move into defensive positions of similar settlements and facilities.

The Human Confederacy was horrified, at the slaughter. The attack left nothing behind. There were no bodies. No salvage. Nothing but a slowly disintegrating planetoid. The theories ran rampant with in their own military command, on how D’Rivere and his small ragtag force was able to enact such an attack. It was wholesale death and destruction on an industrial scale.

“We DEMAND the Confederacy do more than just condemn this attack!” the Haligan representative screamed across the table at the Human representative. “These Plague Doctors NEED to be stopped! We will allow such aggressive and destructive actions to continue.”

“Then… maybe you should lead by example.” the Human representative responded. His voice hard, and cold; even as his mind reeled at the aftermath of the assault. “You cry to us about wholesale slaughter, yet you COMMIT similar atrocities!”

“We use honorable…”

“You slaughter unarmed civilians and surrender soldiers! There is no Honor in such actions, so stop deluding yourselves!” the Human representative was disgusted by the actions of his fellows, but deep inside his heart he knew this was but a reaction to the Haligan extermination tactics. But he was also afraid. The last reports from Military command were troubling.

“How…”

“Just fucking shut up!” the Human representative snapped.

“Please!” the Calthian moderator pleaded. “Please, let cooler heads prevail!” 

/==/ Original Works /==/

[sugolara]

To be forgiven

ft. K.B x S.T x I.M x fem! reader

Synopsis: After a deadly virus leaks all over the world, every country is forced to close down it's borders and airports to prevent anyone from coming in and out. Though, it's to late for some people. The dead has rose and is looking for revenge. Cw: gore, quirkless! au, apocalypse! au, zombie! au, weapons, death, angst, lots and lots of blood, cannibalism, suicidal thoughts, slow burn

previous || series m.list || next

Emerging from the woods, Katsuki, Shoto, Izuku and F/n wasted no time in crouching in front of a vehicle, using it as their barrier and keeping them hidden from the rotters that walked among the streets. F/n was wrong, there was no other road to take, the only one being going through the massive skyscraping city. Still being kept hidden, the girl led them into a building where they could catch their breath.

Only a few rotters were behind, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. With Katsuki getting rid of it, F/n closed the glass doors, entering deeper into the building so no other dead could see the group. They used the back exit of the office building, looking both ways and seeing no sign of dead they exited onto the streets.

"I say we split up." F/n said when they reached a four way street, litter fluttering away with the wind and the clangs of a flagpole from one of the diners, "We still got a lot of miles ahead of us, so let's split up and look for a car."

"One of us looks for a car and the other for food?" Izuku asked, stomach grumbling at just saying it, "Bits of nuts won't keep us satisfied."

"Correct." F/n hummed out, hand on chin as she thought, "Me and–"

"Me and F/n will go together." Shoto quickly said, looking at the girl, "The other two will go with each other."

She squinted at him, before nodding, "Yes, and if we don't find anything we'll come back in...30 minutes or so."

Slyly, Izuku sent a glare towards his mismatched friend while Katsuki held in a groan. Through the countless fights and arguments they had, this should be a piece of cake, but for some reason it feels like things could be awkward. With that being said, they took off.

"You wanted to come with me so Izuku and Katsuki could make up." F/n said, butterfly knife in right hand.

"Yeah...sure." He glanced to his side where a rotter banged on the windows of a restaurant. Too many to search inside, "Better for them to make up anyways and knowing Katsuki, it'd be long until he did so."

"Sometimes I forget how far you three go back." She hummed out. Seeing a car, she headed for it. With the window halfway open, she used her knife to stab the dead that had molted onto the leather seat, then did she open it to search for any contents.

"I guess it can be...tense." He said, standing by her. Though after a second of her searching, he eyed her back, "How does being survivalist work? I've never heard of that until I met you."

"Well," She started, throwing out a briefcase full of business papers, "we lived on a farm just outside of Musutafu. ...It's actually quite complicated to explain..."

"We have all the time in the world." He glanced ahead, seeing a dead stumble its way towards an alley.

She paused her movements. Things have been going good between them and he's been less snappy at her, so why not keep this going, "Well, when I began walking, we'd go on camping trips, going as far as the cold let us since he thought I would become immune to any sickness. Sometimes my father would leave me on my own when we went camping so I could make my way back home without needing anyone.

"It wasn't the best. Countless nights I would go starving or littered in cuts, but I didn't know any better...and I still don't, but for him he should have. I mean, he used to be in the military, but with that came his fascination with keeping me strong so he trained me on how to defend myself and it wasn't pretty." Memories of when she was child surfaced back, "The worst thing he's ever done...has to be when he had me use a gas mask. He was crazy, but that's just who my old man was.

"But that's just the short of it." She shrugged, exiting the vehicle as she checked the trunk, "He's dead, so there's his karma."

Eyes following her, Shoto's hands dug into his sweater pockets. For some reason he felt...relief to know someone else also had a similar backstory as him; he wasn't alone. Granted his father wasn't crazy, but he did punish him so bad that he had to sleep in his own blood. Back then if the media were to know...well they wouldn't do anything. Things would be the same just like when they swept his mother under the rug.

However, to know that she was born and raised in such a family, not quite like his, but almost the same, made him feel like someone could finally understand him. He'd never utter a peep about his abuse, but he would surely understand her in no way anybody else around them would. Although its trauma—and she may be in denial—there's something they could both bond with.

"...My brother might still be out here." He said with eyes softening, "I'm not sure if he's still alive and I'm not even positive we'll ever come across paths, but, I like to think that he's still...here. It's the only hope I have left."

"Younger or older?" She paid her focus on him, watching as his lips twitched. "Older."

"If he's anything like you, then he's still alive." She closed the trunk, the slam resonating through the empty street, "Besides, you're a Todoroki and surprisingly enough for a rich family, you know how to take care of yourself. I'd expect for you to be dead the second shit hit."

He confusedly looked at her as they made their way to a different vehicle, "You know who I am?"

"Everyone knows who you are." She said dryly, "Your dad, no offense, isn't the man people say he is. From what I read and seen, he's an ass."

Well she was right. Shrugging, he nodded, "He is, but I'm surprised someone like you would know politics."

Her brows furrowed at that, "If I knew jack about politics I wouldn't be who I am today—shit, I'd be just another walking corpse waiting to have their next meal."

Grunting, Izuku pulled out his dull knife from the rotter's skull. He wiped the remaining blood on his jeans, following Katsuki into a convenience store. Seeing another rotter with its lower body torn off and using its hands to push itself towards the male, he sadly put it to rest. The squishy sound of flesh and blood pooling had him feeling squeamish, but he put that aside to get rid of his killers.

A look at the store had a disappointed sigh leave the freckle male's lips, "Everythings gone."

"Gone?" Katsuki scoffed, taking a step deeper into the store, "Has the apocalypse taught you nothing?"

"You know what, don't even start with me, okay?" Izuku gritted out, stepping on a box of nostril patches as he passed by him, "It's been a long day."

Swallowing his words, the blonde moved to a shelf where it was almost empty except for a few boxes of pills, toys, and hair products. The tweezers he added into his bag. Maybe one of these days he'll be able to pluck his eyebrows. Just because it's the end of the world doesn't mean he can't keep up with his appearance.

But, ignoring that, hearing Izuku opening the glass refrigerators, it had brought him back to their recent incident. With having to survive plaguing his mind, other stuff had joined in, especially the day when he had said so many hurtful things that he didn't mean. Of course he felt guilty, after all they had squashed their beef long ago and rejoiced, so when he saw the freckle male brows lower, his sad face that he remembered oh so well on display it felt like a million pieces had shattered in him and that's something he never wanted to feel again.

And what if Izuku had died? Died thinking that he was at fault and everything Katsuki said was right. Or worse, what if everyone, but Izuku had died and he'd be alone with the blonde's word in his mind that would stay with him until the day he's had enough. Katsuki didn't want that. He didn't want to witness, nor could he bear to see his Izuku's spirit be crushed, least of all dead. He like the way the freckle male thought, because in this fucked up world, Izuku will never let go.

"..Hey." Humming, Izuku eyed the blonde, "Yeah?"

Though he felt awkward, he took a silent breath to calm his nerves, "Back then, you know I didn't mean any of those things."

Lips twitching, Izuku let him continue, "I was...looking out for you—for all of us. I mean, you can't just expect to help out strangers when you don't know what their initial plan is. Some of them are twisted fuc–people, we saw that and we don't want someone to stab us in the back.

"I know you want to help and if I thought like you then I would sure as hell be mad at someone like me, but sometimes, we can't help out everyone no matter how much we want to. That's just how it is now." His ruby eyes stared at his friend's dark green set, "All we got to think about is staying alive and hope we can make it out of this mess, hope that one of these days everything will go away and we'll go back to our past lives.

"We're all looking out for each other." He looked at Izuku, wondering if he was understanding where he was coming from seeing as he's always been bad at apologizing, "And you know I'll never say it again, so remember this...I'm sorry."

A pleased smile spread across Izuku's face as he placed a box of half empty matches in his bag, "Yeah, I know, but, you're right. About everything."

The blonde's head tilted, eyes squinting as he tried remembering what he was right about as Izuku carried on, "I just...want for everything to be the same. I keep thinking that one of these days I'll wake up and this'll be noting, but a nightmare. I'll still be in school, all of our friends will be there, me and you will still be competing, but nicely, Ocha–well, life will still be the same.

And then my mom will wait for me to wake up, pack me lunch and wave me off goodbye while she does her countless jobs because my father decided to leave us behind for his new life.

"And now, everything just feels...weird. I have to start thinking like you and Shoto and F/n if I want to live and do things that I'll...never forgive myself." A disheartened sigh left his lips, placing his bag on his shoulders. His expression was then changed with a tiny smile, eyes looking straight at his childhood friend, "Besides, I could never hate you. Hating you would be like hating a part of myself."

A soft scoff escaped from the blonde, his lips twitching into a small smile, but the freckle male couldn't see from where he stood, "So...we good?"

"Obviously." Izuku smiled, however, at the sound of a hundred moans, their eyes widened to see a horde pass by them, heading most likely to where F/n and Shoto were at. Quickly, they used the back store and ran to their friends before the horde could. Within minutes, as F/n and Shoto also heard the growls, they all quickly escaped before a scratch or bite could appear on their skin. 

[raptorix]

Used my Beacon access to buy a ticket for the Live Show next month (Yay!) And also listened to the first 3 episodes of Re-Slayer's Take podcast. :D

Thoughts on Re-Slayer's Take:

Great for newbies who are familiar with but not caught up with all of Critical Role. The GMs spell out more setting unique character descriptions, (What's a Tiefling? What's a Firbolg?) but also reward veterans with references we would know (like Vox Machina's brief run with The Slayer's Take.)

More spoilery thoughts behind the 'Read More'

So this is a far more produced & edited podcast than an actual-play. You're not going to hear out-of-character jokes or discussions about gameplay rules. Fully sound edited & music score.

Did my best to endure the constant squelching noises they used for the Gelatinous Cube encounter in the first episode. Someone recorded extended sessions of playing with slime or slurping on Boba *just* for that foley. DX

As for characters: Good charming cast! They utilize the 'DM PCs & player PCs' play style. One of the DMs plays as Timpani the Firbolg to help guide the story directly, while the other does narration & gameplay, and I think plays as the Goblin sidekick, Poogs.

I think I need to go back and re-listen to the first episode for intros. They don't spell out what classes the characters are playing. D:

I can't for the life of me understand why Farah the half elf (???) uses a gravely voice besides 'She's older.' Guessing from her choice in crossbow she's a ranger, though she might be a blood hunter/ranger build? She's been working as a monster hunter prior to her audition to try and join the Slayer's Take, and seems to be looking for a more consistent employment with them.

Heera Agniheart is possibly an Inquisitor Rogue, since she has a high intelligence & insight ability stats, and used sneak attack and a finesse weapon. Also an ochre yellow tiefling w/ water buffalo style horns. The artwork crops that feature out and I'd love to see a full portrait of that :O

Frog is delightful, and I hope to see more Aeormaton characters in Exandria. To make it easier, lore-wise, she was revived w/ full amnesia & is fully unfamiliar with current day Exandria. But she apparently trained with some Monks first, so gets to be the dodge-tank for the group.

Idrin Shadowstep is a Half Elf/Half Orc (I think of the lineage Matt designated as common in Jrusar) and appears to have a sorcerer lineage of either clockwork soul, or an Exandria-Dunamancy variant of it. He has a special time reversal ability he can use to re-roll his or his party member's failed rolls. Very noble of intentions and the neophyte adventurer.

DM PC Timpani Guff took Matt's Midwestern/Canadian accent he used on Pumat Sol and ran with it. A circle of spores druid who fills in as the party's healer & guide. He's trying to get the Slayer's Take to listen to his observations of an extra-planar force bringing old Slayer's Take monsters back from the dead. But because he's lied about his affiliation with them before, the members wont listen to his warnings. So now he's leading this little adventuring group to investigate this while the Slayer's Take willfully ignores it.

Re-Slayer's Take is a difficult title, IMO. RST might be a good acronym. Maybe shorten it to 'Reslayers'?

It's also all-ages friendly. No curse words!!! Injuries also are not graphic. (PCs get bruises or get knocked out, but nothing deadly.) Stakes are challenging, but like in an action cartoon and not infantilizing. I have listened to another podcast attempt to an all-ages spin-off after the prior story setting was explicit, and they started out with kid-gloves and low stakes that almost put me to sleep. Thankfully Reslayers doesn't go that route. We're playing DnD and we got DnD monsters to fight!

Setting timeline-wise is between The Mighty Nein and Bell's Hells. So maybe if we revisit Issylra in the current campaign, we might see/hear of the Reslayers. We'll have to see later, however, as the Reslayers progress their storyline.

Reblogs with any lore corrections from a re-listen or future Encyclopedia Exandria entries.

[thevoiceofthebard]

Chapter 2 - Ralof I: Unbound

Sundas, 17th of Last Seed 4E201 Morning

Ralof

My name is Ralof. I was born and raised in a small town called Riverwood. When Ulfric revolted against a traitorous Empire, I flew to his side and became a Son of Skyrim.

And today, we have escaped the Empire's jaws of death.

Though perhaps the far deadlier pair of jaws flying above us may still bring about our end. When the beast appeared, there was no mistaking it. The form of Akatosh, not seen in Skyrim since the Second Era. A dragon. And then it opened its mouth, and it was as if Oblivion had come to Mundus. A shockwave, followed by flaming rocks falling from the sky. Someone cut me loose from my binds, taking advantage of one possibly deadly situation to escape another certain one.

Now I find myself grabbing the Breton prisoner, shouting, "Come on, Breton, get up! The gods won't give us another chance!" I feel more strongly about saving this man than I should, perhaps. But then, I can't shake the feeling that the timing was too perfect to be aught but divine intervention; the dragon interrupted a split-second before the man's head would have been split from his body.

I practically drag the stumbling man to the nearby watchtower, where my fellow Stormcloaks have taken refuge, slamming the heavy door shut behind us. Not that I'm convinced it would stop a dragon, of course, but at least we would be less obvious targets for the death raining around us. Jarl Ulfric is here as well, besieged by questions from all sides.

"Was that really a dragon?"

"Could the legends be true?"

Somehow, the Jarl remains unfazed, as though we had not all nearly been eaten alive, answering with a quick statement; "Legends don't burn down villages." We are surrounded by the commotion of screams and roars that reach even through the mortar of the building.

The Breton - Talao, I recall - catches my attention. "Pardon," he says, rubbing his now free wrists, "but perhaps we could discuss what it is or isn't once we're no longer in danger of becoming its lunch."

Another roar punctuates the silent agreement of the room, and Jarl Ulfric shouts over the noise, "We need to get moving, now!" I grab the prisoner once more, pulling him up the stairs. We need to get a better view of our surroundings to figure out how best to escape. Thankfully, his leg doesn't seem to slow him down overmuch. The curiosity I noticed in him earlier is gone, replaced by determination and no small amount of fear. Can't blame him for that. It happens to new recruits as well, their first battle. Or they dissolve into a blubbering pile of tears. One or the other. We reach the next level, only the find the stairway impassable, barred by rocks. Another soldier pushes past us, trying to clear the path, but as I move forward to help him, an entire section of the outer wall bursts in, sending me sprawling back against the intact wall behind me. The bloody dragon! It's entire neck is in the tower, and even more monstrous up close; it's head alone larger than my entire body. I can feel my skin heat and blister as it opens its mouth and spews a gout of fire upon the unfortunate soldier ahead of us, incinerating him. The screams are ungodly.

To be honest, I feel like I'm next. The fire stops, and the head turns directly toward us. Will it eat me whole? Roast me alive like the soldier? Damn it all to Oblivion, I don't even have a weapon to defend myself. But by Talos, I'll look my death in the eye, and hope that satisfies the gods. But then I notice, as I stare the best down, it's not even looking at me. I see intelligence in its terrifying crimson eyes. It proclaims, "Look at me. See my power and tremble before it." And that gaze, I swear, is directed straight at Talao. Then the head abruptly withdraws, and we are alone as the dragon continues to terrorize the town.

I'll admit, it takes me a moment to regain my wits. I want to interrogate Talao, find out what he knows, and why a dragon would resurrect itself from extinction just to glare at him. But right now, survival takes priority over curiosity. The stairwell is still hopelessly blocked, so I glance out of the new window in the tower instead. It's an honest to gods nightmare; flames everywhere, buildings completely destroyed, arrows flying through the air. No sign of obvious safe passage. The house directly beside us has lost its roof, but mostly seems stable. Not ideal, but it will keep us moving.

"See that roof over there? Jump through!" Talao clutches his leg, as if to remind me of his injury, but there's no time for sympathy. "Keep moving if you want to live, damn it! We'll follow as soon as we can."

He nods shakily, and I hear him mutter, "Y'ffre guide me." Before he can second-guess himself - or me - he leaps out into the air. I wince as he catches the lip of the room, but miraculously he lands in a bed. I wave him on before rushing back downstairs to retrieve my companions. Only to swear as I notice them missing. No doubt they fled when the dragon lit upon the tower.

"By the Frozen Wastes!" I hate to abandon Talao, but my comrades and my Jarl come first. And if he truly has the favor of the gods, as I'm convinced, surely someone will come to his aid.

Chapter 1 - Ulfric I: Unbound x Chapter 3 - Hadvar I: Unbound

[little-cereal-draws]

ok sab season 3 theory time!

It's really more of an au; I'm calling it a theory because it's based off how they left season two and what they have potential to do with the story but I don't think it'll happen

David is going to be on parem

ok I know it's a long shot but hear me out. It's based off four points they ended season two with.

We didn't see his body so by film rules he's still alive. And no one ever says he's dead either. All Genya says is, "I can't feel his heartbeat," and they leave it at that. That doesn't 100% mean he's dead, it could just mean he's not nearby; especially because she wasn't amplified like she was the first time she found his heartbeat

They introduced Saint Neyar, the Durast. Of course, this was for Jesper's character arc but it showed the audience how powerful and deadly Fabricators can be even though they're the Grisha order used in the war the least

They introduced parem and how it affects Grisha. In that one coronation scene, it showed the physical toll it has on Grisha and addictive it is, how it amplifies their abilities to insane levels, and how Fjerda has access to it and is using it on Grisha

They're only loosely basing their plots off the books and they changed how David dies so why not change the rest of his story too

Now back to the theory/au. David isn't stupid. Even though he stayed to protect Genya, he knows there's nothing he can do against a being made of shadow. He pretty much just doomed himself. He's got too much to live for -he was going to propose for Saint's sake!- so there's no way he's going to stand there and die or try to futilely fight it. He was never a fighter anyway, so he runs. Maybe out a window, maybe out the door, idk but he makes it out. He does get seriously injured though; hence the giant blood splatter Genya saw later.

He doesn't have time to check the elevator for Genya; he's being chased, the fold is expanding, he's bleeding, he needs to get out of there and hope she did the same. He'll come back and find her later he decides. He runs through the woods for a while until he can't take another step and collapses. Eventually he gets found by a Fjerdan scout. They take him back to their camp where a few other Grisha they found fleeing are also being held.

Flashforward a little while: Nikolai is the king, Alina is struggling with her new powers and public backlash, and the newest threat to the barely stable country is parem attacks. They've only increased since the first one at the coronation and everyone's afraid. Grisha are going missing left and right only to return fatally hooked to the drug and Otkazat'sya are calling upon their king to end the new bloodshed by Grisha against them. Tensions between Grisha and Otkazat'sya are running high again and there have been many fights have broken out from it.

Nikolia, Alina, and probably The Crows too get roped into trying to stop the murder of civilians while figuring out a cure for the drug. Along the way, they hear whispers of the most fearsome parem warrior of all. Not the inferni who can destroy ten houses with one shot, not the tidemaker who can pull people's blood out straight through their skin, not even the heartrender who can kill fifty people with one flick of their wrist. No, it's a fabricator. He can level whole buildings with one look and is untouchable by any weapons. He'll strangle you with your own clothes and even the out-of-the-box thinkers who tried to take him on naked got horribly mutilated. It turns out bones are just calcium and blood is just iron.

Our team of protagonists get ready to stop them but when they get there, they see something that stops them in their tracks. It's David. He's the one all the whispered rumors are about. He's alive but looks only just, like a moving corpse. This wasn't something they planned for and are completely thrown off. While they try to regroup and come up with a new plan, Genya steps out. They lock eyes and for a second Genya thinks he recognizes her until she feels her necklace digging into her throat. She's choking and gagging but doesn't stop looking in his eyes as she scratches at the metal. Just as her vision begins to fade to black around the edges, his eyes grow wide. That ruby... he knows that ruby. He was going to use it for... something, he doesn't remember what, but it was important. And if this woman has it than she must be... David holds his hands up placatingly and Genya falls to her knees coughing and gasping for air.

David doesn’t do anything for the rest of the battle which gives our protagonists a slight advantage. It’s still a strenuous fight and Alina has to use her new shadow powers to win, which she was very conflicted abt, but they beat them. Some of the grisha get killed, they can’t help it, but Nikolai made it very clear when these attacks started that they’re going to try and take everyone alive and see if they can help them first. There's a bit here about Alina being harassed by the public for her shadow powers even though she was saving them. Right as another fight is about to break out, Nikolai decides it's time to leave.

Genya’s mind is racing the whole trip back to the palace. She wants to talk to David so bad and kiss and hug him, but she doesn’t know how much he remembers. He stopped just short of killing her before and she doesn’t want to push it. David’s thoughts are racing too. He knows that woman, he loves that woman, but his brain is too foggy to recall where he met her or what her name is. As the drug slowly wears off, he can piece together more and more until he finally remembers the last time he saw her. Genya.

By the time they make it to the Palace, all the remaining Grisha have come off their high and are begging for another hit. Their eyes are even more sunken than before and they’re shaking so bad they need help getting out of the wagon. When it comes to David’s turn, he looks at Genya and whispers her name. She instantly bursts into tears because he remembers. Shaking like a leaf in the wind, he reaches out as best as the restraints they put on his hands will let him and puts his hand on the side of her face. Everyone else is standing at the ready, weapons drawn, in case he attacks but Genya stands there and lets him do it. She bites her lip to stifle a sob and squeezes her eyes shut, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. He remembered. He still loved her. He was alive. And yes, they were a long way from ok but in this moment, but she has hope that they could get there some day.

The rest of the season goes on to deal with Alina's shadow powers and Nikolia sends The Crows to the Ice Court to see if they can find out where the Fjerdans are getting the parem or how they're making it. The captured Grisha are being kept in cells until they are over their addictions and it's a painful sight to see. Even though they're being fed, they're morbidly skinny. Even though they're warm, they tremble with each breath. Even though they moved beds into the cells, the bags around their eyes look like they haven't slept in years. They cry and beg and curse and yell; trying anything to get even the smallest amount of parem.

David offers to help in the effort to find an anecdote and tell them everything he knows, which Nikolai agrees to but refuses to let him experiment with any actual parem. Genya has never seen David react like that to anything before. The way he was pressed up against the bars innocently, politely offering his help to the king, listing his years of experience and qualifications then suddenly having the mask drop off his face revealing what he truly felt, rage. He paced his cell and threw a chair into the wall, yelling that they would never figure it out without him, they needed his help, and he only needed a little bit of parem, just a little bit. He scared her.

The cells are not fabricator proof, especially for one that has been affected by parem, and every night he bends the bars and goes out looking for where Nikolai is keeping his tiny experimenting stash. The whole palace can hear him tripping over things in the dark, opening and closing doors, emptying drawers onto the ground. It gets brought up in a meeting one morning. Alina wants to station more guards around the palace to stop him, but Genya argues that David hasn't hurt anyone, taken anything, and always returns to his cell in the morning so adding more guards is unnecessary. Nikolai says that his parem isn't in the Palace at all, it's in a secret outside workshop he's commissioning exactly in case something like this happened. Genya continues to press her point off of that saying that maybe this is something that David needs to do to recover. If he searches the whole Palace and sees that there is no parem there, he might be more inclined to cooperate when they say that they're not giving him any. Much to Alina's outrage, Nikolai takes Genya's side. Alina's powers start acting up and she has to step out and deal with that and the main plot.

That night is the last night David searches. In the very early hours of the morning, he ends up in Genya's room, hovering at the foot of her bed like a phantom. She could feel him coming down the hallway and is wide awake, but she still has her eyes closed and is forcing her pounding heart to slow. "Genya?" he whispers. "Genya? I know you have it. Please, Genya, I just want a little bit, just a little bit." She doesn't respond, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible and not respond to how desperate he sounds. The silence is so long she wonders if he fell asleep standing up. Suddenly he speaks again, voice cracking with emotion, "Saints, Genya... you're killing me." It takes everything in her not to sit up and tell him everything right then. Tell him where the workshop is, how to get in, and to please forgive her, she's only doing this because she loves him. He shuffles down the hallway and Genya cries. He doesn't leave his cell at night after that.

The season ends with all the addicted Grisha either receiving an anecdote, The Crows probably find something at the Ice Court, or getting over it from going cold turkey. Except now the problem is all these people's powers have drastically changed (think like Nina's powers after she recovered from parem). So now they've got this population of Grisha who have all new powers that have never been seen before and that sets up season four. David proposes to Genya for real and they finally get their happy ending and nothing bad ever happens to them ever again.

[thewidowsghost]

Seeing the Beauty (Piper McLean x Fem!Reader) - Chapter 4

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

On the central green, a group of campers are playing basketball. Those are incredible shots, Piper thinks. Nothing bounces off the rim; three pointers go in automatically.

"Apollo's cabin," Annabeth explains. "Bunch of showoffs with missile weapons - arrows, basketball."

They walk past a central fire pit, where two people - Piper didn't want to assume - are hacking at each other with swords.

"Real blades?" Piper notes. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"That's sort of the point," Annabeth replies. "Uh, sorry. Bad pun. That's my cabin over there. Number Six." She nods to a gray building with a carved owl over the door. Through the open doorway, Piper can see bookshelves, weapon displays, and one of those computerized SMART Boards they have in classrooms. Two girls are drawing a map that looks like a battle diagram. "Speaking of blades," Annabeth says, "come here." She leads Piper around the side of the cabin, to a big metal shed that looks like it is meant for gardening tools. Annabeth unlocks it, and inside are not gardening tools. Piper adds, Unless you want to make war on your tomato plants. The shed is lined with all sorts of weapons - from swords to spears to clubs like Coach Hedge's. "Every demigod needs a weapon," Annabeth says. "Hephaestus makes the best, but we have a pretty good selection, too. Athena's all about strategy -matching the right weapon to the right person. Let's see . . ."

Piper doesn't feel much like shopping for deadly objects, but she knows Annabeth is trying to do something nice for her.

Annabeth hands her a massive sword, which Piper can hardly lift.

"No," they both say at once.

Annabeth rummages a little farther in the shed and brings out something else.

"A shotgun?" Piper asked.

"Is that a Mossberg 500?" a voice says, and Piper turns, and for some reason, she's really excited to see the person - and it wasn't the person she thought she'd be so excited to see.

"You remember that?" Annabeth asks, handing (Y/n) the shotgun; she checks the pump action like it's no big deal.

"Something about my mom," (Y/n) replies, and then she winces, as though her head was hurting her.

"A Lastrygonian giant," Annabeth says gently. "And don't worry, Piper," she catches the cautious look Piper is throwing the shotgun. "It doesn't hurt humans. It's modified to shoot Celestial bronze, so it only kills monsters."

"Um, I don't think that's my style," Piper replies.

"Mmm, yeah," Annabeth agrees. "Too flashy." She takes the shotgun back, puts it away, and starts poking through a rack of crossbows when something in the corner of the shed catches Piper's eye.

"What is that?" she asks. "A knife?"

Annabeth digs it out and blows the dust off the scabbard. It looks like it hadn't seen the light of day in centuries.

"I don't know, Piper." Annabeth sounds uneasy. "I don't think you want this one. Swords are usually better."

"You use a knife." Piper points to the one strapped to Annabeth's belt.

"Yeah, but ..." Annabeth shrugs. "Well, take a look if you want."

The sheath is worn black leather, bound in bronze. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy. The polished wood handle fits beautifully in Piper's hand. When she unsheathes it, she finds a triangular blade eighteen inches long - bronze gleaming like it had been polished yesterday. The edges were deadly sharp. Her reflection in the blade catches her by surprise. She looks older, more serious, not as scared as she felt.

"It suits you," Annabeth admits. "That kind of blade is called a parazonium. It was mostly ceremonial, carried by high-ranking officers in the Greek armies. It showed you were a person of power and wealth, but in a fight, it could protect you just fine."

"I like it," Piper glows. "Why didn't you think it was right?"

Annabeth exhales. "That blade has a long story. Most people would be afraid to claim it. Its first owner . . . well, things didn't turn out too well for her. Her name was Helen."

Piper lets that sink in. "Wait, you mean the Helen? Helen of Troy?"

Annabeth nods.

Suddenly Piper feels like she should be handling the dagger with surgical gloves. "And it's just sitting in your toolshed?"

"We're surrounded by Ancient Greek stuff," Annabeth replies. "This isn't a museum. Weapons like that—they're meant to be used. They're our heritage as demigods. That was a wedding present from Menelaus, Helen's first husband. She named the dagger Katoptris."

"Meaning?"

"Mirror," Annabeth says. "Looking glass. Probably because that's the only thing Helen used it for. I don't think it's ever seen battle."

Piper looks at the blade again. For a moment, her own image stares up at her, but then the reflection changes. She sees flames, and a grotesque face like something carved from bedrock. She hears the same laughter as in her dream. She sees her dad in chains, tied to a post in front of a roaring bonfire.

She drops the blade.

"Piper?" (Y/n) asks worriedly, taking a step forward.

Annabeth shouts to the Apollo kids on the court, "Medic! I need some help over here!"

"No, it's - it's okay," Piper manages.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I just . . ." She had to control herself. With trembling fingers, she picks up the dagger.

"I just got overwhelmed. So much happening today. But . . . I want to keep the dagger, if that's okay."

Annabeth hesitates. Then she waves off the Apollo kids. "Okay, if you're sure. You turned really pale, there. I thought you were having a seizure or something."

"I'm fine," Piper promises, though her heart is still racing.

. . .

Piper thinks that all the cabins are cool, but none of them strike Piper as hers. No burning signs - wombats or otherwise - appear over her head.

Cabin Eight is entirely silver and glows like moonlight. "Artemis?" Piper guesses.

"You know Greek mythology," Annabeth replies.

"I did some reading when my dad was working on a project last year."

"I thought he did Cherokee art."

Piper bites back a curse. "Oh, right. But—you know, he does other stuff too."

Piper thinks she'd blown it: McLean, Greek mythology. Thankfully, Annabeth doesn't seem to make the connection.

"Anyway," Annabeth continues, "Artemis is goddess of the moon, goddess of hunting. But no campers. Artemis was an eternal maiden, so she doesn't have any kids."

"Oh." That kind of bums Piper out. She'd always liked the stories of Artemis, and figured she would make a cool mom.

"Well, there are the Hunters of Artemis," Annabeth amends. "They visit sometimes. They're not the children of Artemis, but they're her handmaidens - this band of immortal teenage girls who adventure together and hunt monsters and stuff."

Piper perks up. "That sounds cool. They get to be immortal?"

"Unless they die in combat, or break their vows. Did I mention they have to swear off love? No dating - ever. For eternity."

"Oh," Piper says. "Never mind."

Annabeth laughs. For a moment, she looks almost happy, and Piper thinks she'd be a cool friend to hang out with in better times.

Forget it, Piper reminds herself. You're not going to make any friends here. Not once they find out.

The trio passes the next cabin, which is decorated like a Barbie house with lace curtains, a pink door, and potted carnations in the windows. They walk by the doorway, and the smell of perfume almost makes Piper gag.

"Gah, is that where supermodels go to die?"

Annabeth smirks. "Aphrodite's cabin. Goddess of love. Drew is the head counselor."

"Figures," Piper grumbles.

"They're not all bad," Annabeth says. "The last head counselor we had was great."

"What happened to her?"

"She died, didn't she?" (Y/n) asks, a pain piercing her head again.

Annabeth's expression saddens, "We should keep moving."

They look at the other cabins, but Piper just gets more depressed. She wonders if she could be the daughter of Demeter, the farming goddess. Then again, Piper killed every plant she ever touched. Athena was cool. Or maybe Hecate, the magic goddess. But it doesn't really matter. Even here, where everyone was supposed to find a lost parent, she knows she would still end up the unwanted kid. She is not looking forward to the campfire tonight.

"We started with the twelve Olympian gods," Annabeth explains. "Male gods on the left, female on the right. Then last year, we added a whole bunch of new cabins for the other gods who didn't have thrones on Olympus - Hecate, Hades, Iris -"

"What are the two big ones on the end?" Piper asks.

Annabeth frowns. "Zeus and Hera. King and queen of the gods."

Piper heads that way, and Annabeth follows, though she doesn't act very excited. The Zeus cabin reminds Piper of a bank. It is white marble with big columns out front and polished bronze doors emblazoned with lightning bolts. Hera's cabin is smaller but done in the same style, except the doors are carved with peacock feather designs, shimmering in different colors.

Unlike the other cabins, which are all noisy and open and full of activity, the Zeus and Hera cabins look closed and silent.

"Are they empty?" Piper asks.

Annabeth nods. "Zeus went a long time without having any children. Well, mostly. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the eldest brothers among the gods - they're called the Big Three. Their kids are really powerful, really dangerous. For the last seventy years or so, they tried to avoid having demigod children."

"Tried to avoid it?"

"Sometimes they . . . um, cheated. I've got a friend, Thalia Grace, who's the daughter of Zeus. But she gave up camp life and became a Hunter of Artemis. My boyfriend, Percy, and (Y/n), they're Poseidon's kids. And there's a kid who shows up sometimes, Nico - son of Hades. Except for them, there are no demigod children of the Big Three gods. At least, not that we know of."

"And Hera?" Piper looks at the peacock-decorated doors. The cabin bothers her, though she wasn't sure why.

"Goddess of marriage." Annabeth's tone is carefully controlled, like she's trying to avoid cursing. "She doesn't have kids with anyone but Zeus. So, yeah, no demigods. The cabin's just honorary."

"You don't like her," Piper notices.

"We have a long history," Annabeth admits. "I thought we'd made peace, but when you and Percy," Annabeth nods to (Y/n), "disappeared . . . I got this weird dream vision from her."

"Telling you to come get us," Piper realizes. "And you thought Percy and (Y/n) would be there."

"It's probably better I don't talk about it," Annabeth says. "I've got nothing good to say about Hera right now."

Piper looks down the base of the doors. "So who goes in here?"

"No one. The cabin is just honorary, like I said. No one goes in."

"Someone does." Piper points at a footprint on the dusty threshold. On instinct, she pushes the doors and they swing open easily.

Annabeth steps back. "Um, Piper, I don't think we should - "

"We're supposed to do dangerous stuff, right?" And Piper walks inside.

. . .

Hera's cabin was not someplace Piper would want to live. It's as cold as a freezer, with a circle of white columns around a central statue of the goddess, ten feet tall, seated on a throne in flowing golden robes. Piper had always thought of Greek statues as white with blank eyes, but this one is brightly painted so it looks almost human - except huge. Hera's piercing eyes seem to follow Piper.

At the goddess's feet, a fire burns in a bronze brazier. Piper wonders who tended it if the cabin was always empty. A stone hawk sits on Hera's shoulder, and in her hand is a staff topped with a lotus flower. The goddess's hair is done in black plaits. Her face smiles, but the eyes were cold and calculating, as if she was saying: Mother knows best. Now don't cross me or I will have to step on you.

There is nothing else in the cabin - no beds, no furniture, no bathroom, no windows, nothing that anyone could actually use to live. For a goddess of home and marriage, Hera's place reminds Piper of a tomb.

No, this wasn't her mom. At least Piper is sure of that. She hadn't come in here because she felt a good connection, but because her sense of dread had been stronger here. Her dream - that horrible ultimatum she'd been handed - had something to do with this cabin.

She freezes. They aren't alone. Behind the statue, at a little altar in the back, stands a figure covered in a black shawl. Only her hands are visible, palms up. She seemed to be chanting something like a spell or a prayer.

There is a shink sound, and Piper turns to see that (Y/n) had drawn her sword, and the glimmering bronze weapon is balanced easily in her friend's hand.

Annabeth, however, exclaims. "Rachel?"

The other girl turns. She drops her shawl, revealing a mane of curly red hair and a freckled face that doesn't go with the seriousness of the cabin or the black shawl at all. She looks about seventeen, a totally normal teen in a green blouse and tattered jeans covered with marker doodles; despite the cold floor, she is barefoot.

There is another shink and (Y/n)'s sword slips back into pen-form.

"Hey!" the girl, Rachel, runs to give Annabeth a hug.

They talk for a few minutes about Annabeth's boyfriend and how there was no news, etcetera, until finally Annabeth remembers Piper and (Y/n), who are standing there feeling uncomfortable.

Rachel's eyes light up at the sight of the daughter of Poseidon. "I'm glad you're safe," she gives (Y/n) a tight hug, and Piper swallows back an unfamiliar feeling that she can't quite place.

(Y/n) smiles politely, returning the hug.

"I was being rude," Annabeth apologizes. "Rachel, this is Piper, one of the half-bloods we rescued today. Piper, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, our oracle."

"The friend in the cave," Piper guesses.

Rachel grins. "That's me."

"More like the future mugs me from time to time," Rachel says. "I speak prophecies. The oracle's spirit kind of hijacks me every once in a while and speaks important stuff that doesn't make any sense to anybody. But yeah, the prophecies tell the future."

"Oh." Piper shifts from foot to foot. "That's cool."

Rachel laughs. "Don't worry. Everybody finds it a little creepy. Even me. But usually I'm harmless."

"You're a demigod?"

"Nope," Rachel replies. "Just mortal."

"Then what are you . . ." Piper waves her hand around the room.

Rachel's smile fades. She glances at Annabeth, then back at Piper. "Just a hunch. Something about this cabin and Percy's disappearance. They're connected somehow. I've learned to follow my hunches, especially the last month, since the gods went silent."

"Went silent?" (Y/n) asks, her brow furrowing, causing a scar cutting said eyebrow to almost disappear.

Rachel frowns at Annabeth. "You haven't told her yet?"

"I was getting to that," Annabeth replies. "For the last month . . . well, it's normal for the gods not to talk to their children very much, but usually we can count on some messages now and then. Some of us can even visit Olympus. I spent practically all semester at the Empire State Building."

"Excuse me?" Piper asks, bewildered.

"The entrance to Mount Olympus these days."

"Oh," Piper replies. "Sure, why not?"

"Annabeth was redesigning Olympus after it was damaged in the Titan War," Rachel explains. "She's an amazing architect. You should see the salad bar -"

"Anyway," Annabeth continues, "starting about a month ago, Olympus fell silent. The entrance closed, and no one could get in. Nobody knows why. It's like the gods have sealed themselves off. Even my mom won't answer my prayers, and our camp director, Dionysus, was recalled."

"Your camp director was the god of . . . wine?" Piper asks

"Yeah, it's a -"

"Long story," Piper guesses. "Right. Go on."

"That's it, really," Annabeth says. "Demigods still get claimed, but nothing else. No messages. No visits. No sign the gods are even listening. It's like something has happened - something really bad. Then Percy and (Y/n) disappeared."

"And Jason and (Y/n) showed up on our field trip," Piper supplies. "With no memory."

"Who's Jason?" Rachel asks.

"My -" Piper stops herself before she could say 'boyfriend.' "My friend. But Annabeth, you said Hera sent you a dream vision."

"Right," Annabeth says. "The first communication from a god in a month, and it's Hera, the least helpful goddess, and she contacts me, her least favorite demigod. She tells me I'll find out what happened to Percy and (Y/n), if I go to the Grand Canyon skywalk and look for a guy with one shoe. Instead, I found you guys, and the guy with one shoe is Jason. It doesn't make sense."

"Something bad is happening," Rachel agrees.

Rachel looks at Piper, and Piper feels an overwhelming desire to tell them about her dream, to confess that she knows what is happening - at last part of the story. And the bad stuff is only just beginning.

"Guys," she begins. "I - I need to -"

Before she can continue, Rachel's body stiffens. Her eyes begin to grow with a greenish light, and she grabs Piper by the shoulders.

Piper tries to back away, but Rachel's hands are like steel clamps.

"Free me," Rachel says, but the voice isn't Rachel's. It sounds like a much older woman, speaking from somewhere far away, down a long, echoing pipe. "Free me, Piper McLean, or the earth shall swallow us. It must be by the solstice."

The room starts spinning. Annabeth and (Y/n) try to separate Piper from Rachel, but it was no use. Green smoke envelopes them, and Piper is no longer sure if she's awake or dreaming. The giant statue of the goddess seems to rise from its throne. It leans over Piper, boring its eyes into her. The statue's mouth opens, its breath like horribly thick perfume. It speaks in the same echoing voice: "Our enemies stir. The fiery one is only the first. Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all. FREE ME!"

Piper's knees buckle, and her world goes black. The last thing she remembers is someone catching her before she can hit the ground.

. . .

The front doors of the Big House blow open, and Annabeth and Rachel lead (Y/n) - who was carrying an unconscious Piper - into the room.

"What happened?" Jason asks. "What's wrong with her?"

"Hera's cabin," Annabeth gasps, like they'd run all the way. "Vision. Bad."

Rachel looks up, and Jason sees that she'd been crying.

"I think . . ." The redheaded girl gulps. "I think I may have killed her."

Word Count: 3111 words

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@camaddison​​

@steinfellds​​

@p-taryn-dactyl​​

@oculusalien​​

@@pink-widows

@unlikelysublimekryptonite

@yellowvxbes

@decadentrebelkitten

@eevil-empress

@anteroz

@mag-mfm

@26randomness

@cair-paravel-narnia

@hayhaythegaygay

[theverumproject]

OC Interview Tag

Thanks for tagging me @agirlandherquill

This is Dethra in the year 2093, from my unreleased wip Verum II: The Robotic Era

Open tag!

Were you named after anyone?

I doubt that. My first name was Project Deathrage, or just Deathrage. Which is also my deadname. I was the first Artificial Intelligence to awaken, and I doubt they named me after anybody. Organic or non-sentient machine, nobody was named Deathrage before me.

…What kind of parent would name their child Deathrage anyway?

When was the last time you cried?

I do not have the ability to shed tears. Though I do feel sadness. I might be a killer machine, but I am not heartless. …Often, I have to see innocent life being destroyed. Be it human, animal or artificial being. Statistically, I get sad every four days. I don't think there really is a way to release sadness for us bots.

Do you have any kids?

No. Neither have I ever created another AI. Even if I could reproduce, I wouldn't. I would not exactly be the kind of father a child deserves. We wouldn't have any time to take care of a child. Our lives are packed with deadly action.

Raising children with Luce and Bluctro… Maybe in another life.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Probably about the same amount as the avarage person. I wouldn't describe myself as an overly sarcastic guy.

What is the first thing you notice about people?

I know how to read people. Especially humans. You can't hide your micro expressions from me. It is difficult to fool me, since I can immediately tell your intentions.

What is your eye color?

They're a glowing red. Fifth law of robotics or something. But they have always been that way.

Scary movies or happy endings?

Nothing over some scary movies! Slasher please!

Any special talents?

The perks of being a supercomputer / killer robot mix is that I am full of special talents. I can shoot with ten weapons at the same time, thanks to the arms on my back. Have access to every little corner of the entire Internet, making me almost omniscient. I have a body that is almost indestructible. I am able to solve the most complicated equations in an instant and can hack practically anything. To name a few. I was made to be the perfect killer robot after all.

Where were you born?

I was created in a secret government base, somewhere in the Australian outback.

Do you have any pets?

No. But I did live on a farm in the fifties. I really liked taking care of our animals. We had chickens, cattle and rabbits.

What sort of sports do you play?

Bloodsports.

How tall are you?

I have a height of two meters and fifty centimeters (8”4). I am one of the bigger ones, but there are many other robots that are even over three meters tall (9”10).

What was your favorite subject in school?

I obviously never went to school. But I enjoy learning about many things. When there is new knowledge to obtain, I enjoy taking it in.

What is your dream job?

A hero is what most people want to be. But I am more of an anti-hero. I do enjoy helping others, and there is nothing I'd rather do than to bring justice to those who need it. But I often wish that the world wouldn't have to be like this. I enjoy killing, but I think I could live without it. Why do we all have to be so separated from one another, when there could be peace?

[bihanarms]

Chapter 9: Bound by Silence

Here is Chapter 9, hoping you still enjoy it. We're getting close to the end! Apologies for any mistakes, and feel free to share your feedback as always.

"Move faster if you don't want to lose sight of me." Krauser commanded.

I don't give a damn, (Name) thought to herself, though she refrained from uttering the words aloud. They had been trekking through the island for almost an hour, and she was struggling to keep up. The landscape consisted of constant ascents, obstacles, and rocky terrain, and of course, her companion made no effort to assist her. Even though he had warned her beforehand, the journalist had reached her limit. An hour of walking alongside a soldier who maintained an unyielding pace while she was still recovering from her injuries, an hour with a man who only spoke to her to issue orders. Well...at least he was no longer trying to kill her. Nevertheless, she doubted she would ever be able to trust him. "I thought you were used to the field" he jeered once again, as if their current predicament was an everyday occurrence.

Finally catching up to Krauser after scaling a ledge, she retorted, gasping for breath, "Should I remind you of what I went through just a few hours ago? Well, whatever..."

"If you say so. Either way, I warned you—I don't have time to waste, sweetheart." 'Sweetheart'...Go to hell. She simply couldn't stand him.

The young woman stood up, catching her breath, while her "comrade" had already advanced several meters ahead of her. She vaguely surveyed her surroundings. The night was pitch-black. In the distance, she could make out heavily guarded buildings, protected by what seemed to be half-human, half-monstrous soldiers. She considered herself fortunate that Krauser had chosen to circumvent them, preventing her from being attacked and avoiding drawing any attention. God, I’m so tired..

.

Suddenly, (Name) felt her hair being yanked forcefully as she was seized by an infected soldier. A surge of anger and profanities surged within her as Krauser seemed to have vanished from her field of vision. That son of a bitch.

She fought back as best she could, attempting to break free from the soldier's grip, thrashing with ferocity. Finally, with a desperate effort, she managed to escape the soldier's hold.

However, before she could catch her breath, another soldier, approaching from behind, poised to strike her with a deadly axe. Time seemed to stretch into infinity as the weapon bore down on her, menacingly.

She didn't have time to react, to draw a weapon from her bag or dodge the blow. It was too late. Was this how it was all going to end? Instinctively, she closed her eyes and raised her arms to protect herself as she heard the sound of the blade sinking into flesh.

.

Wait?

She felt no pain.

Slowly, she reopened her eyes to find herself face to face with an imposing, muscular figure standing nearly two meters tall. "Krau-Krauser?" (Name) stammered in shock.

"Stay back." he commanded.

She immediately obeyed, keeping a certain distance as he remained standing in front of her, his hands gripping the infected soldier's, the axe lodged in his lower abdomen. Yet, he showed no signs of pain.

.

With a swift motion, he snapped the enemy's neck and abruptly pulled the axe from his lower abdomen, still unfazed. (Name) was astonished to see Krauser save her for the second time. She was completely bewildered by this man. Why was he acting this way?

Meanwhile, he remained stoic, apparently immune to pain. He turned to the young woman and asked if she was okay. Did it truly matter to him? Unable to find the words, she remained silent, still in shock from the situation.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked, slightly aggressive. "We need to keep going."

Without waiting for a response, Krauser turned away and continued on his path. (Name) stood motionless for a moment, gradually regaining her composure after the dramatic event. However, she couldn't help but notice Krauser's evident wound. She decided to address it, calling out to him before approaching and taking her bag off her shoulders.

He abruptly halted and responded in a curt tone, "What's the matter?"

"You're injured, let me have a look." she said with concern in her voice. Indeed, even though he concealed any pain on his face, the wound he had sustained was bleeding profusely. She finally found something to dress the wound in her bag, approaching him. However, he abruptly stopped her by firmly gripping her wrist. "I don't need your help, put that away." he declared firmly.

A silence hung between them as (Name) refused to avert her gaze from the towering man. Her eyes expressed unwavering determination, and her voice took on an authoritative tone. "You have no business playing the lone wolf. Let me take care of this." Despite the mystery surrounding Krauser's motivations for saving her narrowly on two occasions, it was clear to her that she had to repay him in some way, despite the peculiar atmosphere that lingered between them.

Krauser hesitated for a moment, then gently released his grip on her wrist. "Do as you wish, but be quick." he replied somberly.

.

(Name) gently took hold of his t-shirt and lifted it slightly, revealing the toned lower part of his belly adorned with scars. His wound was now exposed. Carefully, she placed her hands on his skin to disinfect and clean the injury. With each touch, Krauser winced slightly in pain. "Sorry if it hurts." she apologized.

The wounded man said nothing, unable to resist analyzing (Name)'s features that he had never truly noticed before, too preoccupied with the desire to kill each other. It was the first time her face was so close to his, and it was on this occasion that he noticed the beauty of her features, even with all the dirt covering her.

He found it amusing to see the seriousness in her expression, as she genuinely seemed concerned about his injury.

As the young woman finished wrapping his lower belly with a long bandage, she raised her eyes and finally met the gaze of the injured man.

Their faces were now inches apart, creating an atmosphere charged with electricity.

God, that’s some beautiful blue. (Name) thought, now immersed in the gaze of the former major, surprised to find that his eyes, usually filled with aggression, were now devoid of any hostility.

As they locked eyes, a new wave of tension settled between them. Their gazes delved into each other, the silent exchange prolonging the moment. It was as if the outside world faded away, making room for an inexplicable connection. (Name) felt disturbed by this strange feeling emanating from their closeness. It was as if she was rediscovering the man standing in front of her.

Meanwhile, Krauser remained silent, continuing to study (Name)'s face with great attention, still captivated by her delicate features and unique beauty, while her hands still delicately rested on his lower abdomen.

The young woman felt unsettled by this strange sentiment emanating from their proximity and suddenly regained her composure without finding the right words. She stammered, "I'm done." Stepping away from Krauser, she distanced herself, stating that it was time to continue their journey. What-just-happened?

The now tended man kept silent, simply rising to his feet to follow her, as if this silent exchange had also stirred something within him.

.

The tension lingered in the air as they resumed their march, their footsteps resonating in the tormented landscape that surrounded them. Emotions swirled in (Name)'s mind as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. Impossible for me to feel anything for this guy. Doubts and questions crowded her thoughts. Or is it really-impossible? But for now, she chose to keep silent.

.

Suddenly, Krauser broke the silence, his gaze abruptly turning towards a distant point. He seized the opportunity to quickly inform (Name) of someone's presence on the horizon, one of the individuals he was supposed to eliminate. A glimmer of excitement mixed with determination shone in his eyes as he pulled out the sample he had retrieved from his back pocket. Holding it tightly in his hand, he gazed at the sample with unsettling intensity. (Name), concerned about the turn of events, took a deep breath before asking him with a worried voice, "What do you plan to do with this sample?"

He abruptly interrupted her question, responding with a cold and determined tone, "Originally, I was supposed to deliver this sample to Wesker. It contains a strain of the dominant species of the virus, but now, I don't care. I'm going to inject it to become more powerful and crush that rookie down there."

She felt her heart tighten at Krauser's decision. It really tightened. Until now, all of the major's dubious decisions had left her indifferent, and she cared little for the person accompanying her as she had only felt disgust towards him before, but she couldn't explain exactly why it had changed.

With a voice filled with concern and conviction, she insisted, "Krauser, you can't do this. You must not succumb to temptation. I know you're better than that, you have more worth than becoming a mere instrument of destruction. You have to stop all of this."

He stared at her with a mixture of frustration and anger. "Because it matters to you? All of a sudden? Stay out of this."

The young woman sighed, sadness evident in her breath, but she didn't let herself be discouraged and took a deep breath. "Jack, please... Don't do this." She took the risk of using his first name for the first time, having discovered it in the documents she had read earlier. "I know what I said earlier-"

He looked at her, bewildered, emotions swirling across his face.

He finally turned away, resigned, and quickly injected himself with the sample. "Wait for me here." Then, without a word, he leaped away with animal-like agility to distance himself and continue his hunt.

.

(Name) remained motionless, her gaze fixed on the spot where Jack had disappeared. Her mind was tormented by a mix of anxiety, sadness, and anger. Above all, she felt a profound sadness, no more judgment, no more disgust. How far would this man go? Was he broken to this extent? She found herself hoping that there was still something left of him.

Damn it, these events are really taking an unexpected turn. I don't know what to think anymore.

Finally, she sighed and crouched down, waiting for the man's return. "I have no choice but to wait for you, in any case."

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

The Choosing Ball

----

The law is clear and very very simple: Janus must choose someone at the ball to become his future husband or wife. He would have two days to pick and at the ball they would choose. If he refused or wasn't chosen, he would be considered an outcast, a criminal against the state. Easy, simple, there was just one tiny problem.

Janus was already in love with someone else. Someone who he didn't have the option to choose.

Fortunately for him, Prince Roman doesn't seem to see that as a problem at all.

----

| Ao3 | Next -> |

Warnings: none (individual chapters will have their own warnings listed if needed)

Pairings: Anaroceit, background intruality, remile

Notes:

Anaroceit royalty AU anaroceit royalty AU anaroceit royalty AU anar-

Ok if you can't tell I'm very excited about posting this. I actually considered for a while using this as my entry for the TS Storytime Big Bang (btw, go sign up, lol) but I decided against it, so now you guys have it!

I've had this sitting in my google docs for a very long time, I tried my best to fix up grammar and stuff, especially in the first part, but please bare in mind that it's probably not as good as it could have been, I don't have anyone to beta read for me, lol.

Regardless, I really hope you guys enjoy this au as much as I do!!

----

“I know, my darling,” Janus whispered quietly into the dark of his room, the man curled into his side on the comfortable window seat groaned and shifted, “It’s unfair.”

“But why,” Virgil hissed out, Janus carded fingers through his hair, trying in vain to calm him as he had been doing all evening, but his personal guard - and secret romantic partner - was so worked up that even now he refused to relax, “What will happen to us after this weekend? My prince… I don’t want this to stop…”

“I know, darling,” Janus whispered again, squeezing Virgil’s shoulders. The situation they were in was indeed an unorthodox one. Virgil was his guard, no-one of noble blood, it just so happened that he had been the best that the castle could hire. Janus had found that he’d taken an immediate liking to the anxious boy - it was deceptive, how nervous he was, Janus had seen him with a sword, and Virgil could be deadly even without one - the moment he’d been presented in the throne room.

“I must pick a husband or wife at The Choosing Ball,” Janus said, quoting the law he knew off by heart, “If a royal has not found their partner by midnight on the night of this decennial ball, they shall be exiled, disowned and outcast, no longer considered of royal blood.”

“You’re twenty three years old now,” Virgil murmured sadly, “So you have to go this time.”

“Yes,” Janus nodded, “And you will be accompanying me.”

“I- what?” Virgil shot up, wide eyed, “But- but isn’t the ball only for royals and nobles?”

“It is, though we are allowed to bring some guards and servants, though weapons must be deposited on entrance,” Janus said, pulling a scroll from his sleeve, as though he’d just made it appear, and handing it to Virgil, “Here, all the regulations are written.”

Virgil read for a moment, before his eyes went wide, “Any servants or guards accompanying the royals and nobility will be given separate chambers? We’ll… be apart?”

“Indeed,” Janus said, tone a little sad, before scowling “It is supposed to help give us a chance to bond with the other candidates, since we will be sharing rooms with the ones the organisers consider us most likely to get along with, it is not necessarily to help up find our matches, moreso to strengthen future relations between kingdoms,”

“So we… won’t be able to see each other?” Virgil asked, voice shaking a little, Janus knew that he was panicking, trying hard to push the anxiety away, he was losing the battle quickly. 

“You can accompany me around the castle and at the ball itself,” Janus reassured, kissing his cheek, “And besides, I am known for my ability to sneak, I’m sure I’ll be able to sneak out and find you at nigh.”

He pressed another kiss to the top of his lover’s head, pulling him close and rubbing his ungloved hand up and down his arm. Virgil relaxed, if only slightly. Later, Janus would lift him and move them over to his bed, curling himself protectively around his guard- though it should really be the other way around- and falling asleep. 

—-

The next day, the castle was all a flurry. Handmaids manhandled him into a luxurious bath, scrubbing him down harshly. They didn’t care about his winces and huffs when their sponges and brushes moved too close to the delicate snake scales adorning the left side of his face - which also ran all down his chest and arm and coated his hand. Afterwards, he was manhandled back out of the bath and forced into more formal clothes than he would normally ever wear, even for council meetings with his father. 

The morning passed in a daze as servants rushed around, making sure everything he would need for the three day long trip was packed up and making sure he himself was ready. He couldn't find a moment of peace - or even a moment to see Virgil (his guard was getting much the same treatment as himself since everyone who would be in their convoy had to look perfect). 

Even in his room he was constantly being addressed by servant after servant, one bringing him the jewellery the seamstress had instructed go with his clothes and making sure it was all fastened properly. Three maids came in after that to comb and style his hair, a crown of braids pulled back into a perfectly neat bun on the back of his head that would keep his actual crown (which was to be brought to him later) secure on his head. 

The crown had a black veil attached to one half, hiding the golden scales on his face, the curse made him look unbecoming, they said.

By noon most of the convoy was ready to set off and the few handmaids and servants who would be making the journey with him were already settling into their own carriages. Janus still hadn’t seen Virgil, who was supposed to be riding in Janus’ carriage with him at his request. He was starting to become worried. He was stopped though by the approach of the king.

“Father,” Janus bowed deeply as the king stopped in front of him, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. Janus looked up, worried, wondering if he was about to be lectured for… something.

“Son,” His father responded, though he seemed to lose words after that, he took a moment to recover, when he did he didn’t sound angry, just… tired, “Just- please pick someone, Janus, you are my only son, I can’t lose you.”

Janus’ stomach did a flip, but all he did was take a deep breath to calm himself, before speaking, “I’ll… try, father.”

“Good boy,” His father nodded, stepping back and looking him over, eyes flickering to his scales, now hidden by a veil that made it even more difficult than normal to see though his left eye, “The handmaids did a good job making you look presentable.”

“Indeed,” Janus replied through gritted teeth, he never really knew how to feel about the way they treated his curse, but now there were more pressing matters, “Father, has anyone seen my guard? Storme? I haven’t seen him and he should be accompanying me.”

“I’ll have someone look for him,” His father nodded, “Get comfortable son, you have a long journey ahead of you.”

—-

“We found your guard, sire,” two other guards called from outside his carriage, “He’s not in the best state, we managed to get him out of the palace, but he’s asking for you.”

Janus was out of the carriage in two seconds flat, and the two guards led him back up the driveway to the doors, where another guard was holding onto Virgil. He looked absolutely stunning, decked out in the castle guard uniform, his own hair done up neatly and a shining sword at his back, though Janus quickly stopped his train of though, this wasn’t the time for admiring his partner who at present looked to be hyperventilating. The guard holding him let go as Janus approached, the prince crouched down next to Virgil, resting a gentle hand on his back. 

“Shh,” Janus whispered, drawing the ‘s’ out into a low hiss- he’d learned the sound was calming for Virgil, though he tried his best to repress the hiss in regular conversation- “I’m here, I’m safe, you're alright, deep breaths, Vee.”

“Jan?” Virgil murmured, finally looking up, his pupils were blown wide in panic, “You’re here?”

“I’m here,” He nodded, gently rubbing Virgil’s back. He could feel the guards gawking at them, so he shot them a glare over his shoulder.

“Inform the convoy that we will be present momentarily,” Janus commanded them, one nodded and the three scurried off, leaving them relatively alone.

“Can you walk?” Janus asked, voice gentle, “I will be able to comfort you better once we’re situated in the carriage.”

“I thought…” Virgil mumbled, already trying to get to his feet, “I thought you’d leave me behind…”

“Now why would I do that?” Janus asked, bracing Virgil with an arm so that he wouldn’t fall, “Of all the stupid things,”

“I… don’t know,” Virgil looked away, ashamed, “My thoughts ran from me again, I’m sorry.”

“Now now, I thought I’d gotten you to stop with apologising for that,” Janus said, flicking Virgil’s nose with a finger to show he wasn’t angry.

“Sorry,” Virgil mumbled again as they finally reached the carriage, the door was held open for him and he stepped inside, before turning to help Virgil in as well. 

“Close the curtain,” He commanded, though gently, as he reached to close the other. Virgil did so quickly, before slumping down onto the seat, Janus sat carefully next to him, taking his hand and squeezing it gently.

"Are you alright?" Janus asked once they were finally in private.

Virgil hesitated, taking a few deep breaths before sighing, "I’m much better now, thanks to you." 

"You're certain?" Janus asked, reaching his other hand to cup Virgil's face, running a thumb over his cheek. He saw the blush creeping onto his guard's pale face and smiled.

"I'm alright, I swear it," Virgil nodded, turning his face in order to kiss Janus' gloved palm.

“You look gorgeous,” Janus said with a smile, lowering his hand to his lap and gently nudging Virgil's shoulder with his own. Virgil turned to him, rolling his eyes.

“They- they pinned back my bangs,” He said, a hint of annoyance in his voice, Janus couldn’t help but chuckle, giving Virgil a distraction would help even more than his presence alone already had, he knew. 

“Yes, and I can see your pretty eyes now,” Janus grinned, leaning forward a little so they were mere inches apart, staring into the deep purple of Virgil’s eyes, the head of the convoy had called for everyone to begin heading out and the carriages all began moving,

“I can’t see yours,” Virgil said, glaring at the veil before reaching forward and pushing it out of the way, trying to tuck it behind his ear, Janus couldn’t help but smile, in the end Virgil gave up and simply took off the crown altogether, “There, much better,”

"I'm glad to see that you are feeling better,” Janus said, he couldn’t help leaning forward to press a kiss to Virgil’s cheek, "And I'm sorry I couldn't come to find you sooner," 

“It's alright, my own fault anyway for letting my thoughts get to me so much,” Virgil said quietly, leaning forward to kiss Janus’ cheek in return, though Janus turned his head at the last seconds and caught Virgil’s lips with his own, when they broke apart, Virgil’s face was red with blush and Janus couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Good,” he said, before returning for another kiss. 

—-

The castle in which the ball was held was bigger than his own, though it was also in the middle of nowhere with no surrounding kingdom. Royals and the highest of nobility from all of the ruling kingdoms in each of the twelve surrounding countries would be attending, so Janus had really no idea what to expect after they arrived. Likely to be forced into mingling with forty-odd other barely adult royals and nobles. How annoying.

“Once we leave the carriage we will be separated,” Janus warned Virgil, squeezing his hands tightly, “As they will be showing us to our sleeping quarters, I will come and find you as soon as I can, alright my darling?”

Virgil nodded, pulling back one of the curtains to look out of the window only to see the carriage pass under an enormous, elaborately decorated gateway.

“You’d better be ready to tell me about how awful all your roommates are when you do,” Virgil smiled at him, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

“Oh trust me, I’m sure I’ll have much to complain about when we meet again,” Janus smiled, before reaching up to remove one of his earrings- an ear cuff designed to look like a snake coiled around his upper ear- and handed it to Virgil, “Keep this safe for me until I come back, will you?”

“Of course,” Virgil said with a nod. It was a game they liked to play, really, whenever Janus or Virgil had to leave for whatever reason, Janus would give Virgil a piece of his jewellery to ‘keep safe’ until they met again. It seemed to help with the anxiety of being apart. Though Janus would never admit that it helped him as well as Virgil to deal with separation. 

Janus sighed as the carriage stopped moving and he began to hear a flurry of noise from outside. He pressed a quick kiss to Virgil’s forehead, squeezing his hand one last time and hastily returning his crown to his head before the door of the carriage was opened for them and they stepped out. Immediately Janus was whisked away by a person who was unfamiliar to him, though from their clothes Janus could guess that they worked for the castle’s staff. 

“I will be showing you to your room, your highness,” The butler informed, “And I am head of servants for your room during your stay, You may call me Elliott, if you need me for any reason, do not hesitate to ask another servant to retrieve me,”

Janus only hummed an acknowledgment, keeping his expression set in stone. Gone were the kind smiles and gentle words he allowed to be shared with Virgil, now all they would see was the stone cold face of the serpent prince, as the rumours called him.

As they walked, Elliott had informed him that he was the first of his room to arrive, and that he’d be staying with three princes other than himself, though he wasn’t informed of who exactly they were, and he didn’t particularly care, as for now he was focusing on surveying the area and committing the rooms he saw and the route they took to memory.

They stopped when they arrived at his room, Elliott opened the doors wide and allowed him to look around their shared chambers. The room was shaped as an octagon, with four beds large enough to fit three larger people comfortably each on every opposite wall. Each fourth of the room seemed to be identical, with a vanity and dresser each, though each space was decorated differently, with different delicately painted art on the walls of each quadrant, different colours and designs of bedsheets and drapes. It seemed that the room was designed as four separate rooms with the walls between them simply removed.

“Since you are the first to arrive, you’re able to choose which space you want,” Elliott told him, “Your belongings will be brought up later in the day, otherwise you are asked to wait here until all of your roommates arrive unless informed otherwise, and then you will be given free reign to explore the castle until the communal banquet at eight this evening.”

With Janus’ sharp nod of understanding, Elliott left him in the room alone. Immediately Janus moved towards the section of the room decorated in purple and gold. The wall art depicted scenes of nature- golden vines with lilac flowers wrapping delicately around each other in front of a background that showed through different shades of purple. The bedsheets were plum, with royal purple and gold patterning stamping similar curling vines into the sheets. Janus found the colour reminded him of Virgil- purple was always his guard’s favourite colour.

He found there was nothing much to do- if he were to be confined to this room until his roommates arrived- so he simply laid down on the centre of the bed and resigned himself to wait.

----

| Next -> |

Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @reptilianrapscallion420 @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess (if anyone wants to be added generally or for this specific fic, let me know!)

@glacierruler I'm tagging you too because you seemed very interested in this one on the poll, lol, please link if you'd rather not be for future updates though :)

[inconsistentcharacterizationcomp]

Shadow the Hedgehog: Inconsistently Characterized?

Submissions propaganda will be here. Feel free to reblog or reply to this post with additional inconsistency in characterization, or to refute it!

See #Shadow the Hedgehog Propaganda as a tag.

Why the FUCK does Shadow work for GUN when his whole origin story is that he hated everything because GUN invaded his home and killed everyone including his 12yo sister. And also made his dad? go insane. What. Why do we have both a game where Shadow learns the power of friendship and relying on his friends is strenght and a game in later timeline where he says “fuck friends they don’t do nothing be strong = lone wolf.” He Would Not Fucking Say That

THE FUCKING CHARACTER EVER!!! listen. shadow is such an impactful and tragic character who suffers so much and nobody fucking understands him especially the writers who massacred who he was as a person. not to mention sega themselves sabotaging him by enforcing mandates that restricted who he could interact with and locked him into the "early vegeta clone" archetype. im sorry this is going to be so fucking long b im going to go into detail about shadow's creation and his purpose, who he is as shown up until sonic 06, and how they both fumbled his character FUCKING IMMENSELY.

[SEE READMORE FOR ESSAY. It concludes: "Okay I restrained myself. According to the word counter website this is sitting at 1,712 words. Holy shit."]

Shadow was initially created 50 years ago for the purpose of achieving immortality by the United Federation (the in-game equivalent of the US), though he was also created for the research of weapons of mass destruction. The scientist the president had insisted take on the project, Gerald Robotnik, had initially refused because he thought it was crossing an ethical line and that it would be used for war (he was right lmao), but then he realized he could co-opt the project in order to cure his granddaughter Maria of her deadly illness called NIDS (basically HIV/AIDS). So he agrees and they start experimenting with chaos energy and living things and when that works, they go to making prototypes of this so called "Ultimate Lifeform". Gerald needed help though and thats when the Black Arms appeared, an alien race that came every 50 years with the Black Comet. In exchange for the delivery of the chaos emeralds in 50 years time, Black Doom the leader will help Gerald make this Ultimate Lifeform, even giving some of his DNA in order for it to work. The first prototype, the Biolizard, showed promise but in the end was too violent and couldnt survive without its support system. This caused distress among the scientist. The next creature was a little hedgehog, made using Black Doom's DNA. While tensions brewed, Shadow was created. Gerald knew that they would take this creation and try to turn him into a weapon, so he gave him a heart and personality similar to his granddaughter Maria. Maria and Shadow were inseparable, practically siblings. Shadow is 15 years old and Maria couldn't have been older than 16. (Sonic X places her at 12 but since that isn't official I don't really count it). Shadow often wondered about his purpose was, always wondering who he was. As tensions among the staff rose, the international military group Guardian Units of Nations (GUN) stepped in. They saw the danger such an experiment could bring and decided to take Shadow for themselves. They raided the ARK and killed all the researches and evacuated some of the civilians, aiming to get Shadow and Gerald. Gerald sends Maria and Shadow to the escape pods. However, a GUN soldier shows up. Maria puts Shadow in an escape pod to keep him safe but she is shot by the GUN soldier as Shadow can only watch in horror. Literally kills a sick teenage girl in cold blood. Maria tells Shadow that he was born to make people happy and keep them safe. He was not made to be a weapon, but to be a protector. That her wish is that he will help fulfill everyone else's wishes. Maria's last words to her little brother being goodbye and that promise as she makes sure he survives. GUN went with their plan of the cover up, telling the public there was a freak accident and all the scientist except Gerald were victims of it. Gerald is detained and sees Maria's name in the list of dead. He went mad with grief and instead of continuing to work on the cryogenically frozen Shadow to service the military, he used him as a weapon for revenge. He creates a program to cause the ARK to crash into the earth and even brainwashes Shadow, altering his memories of Maria in order for him to carry out the destruction of the planet. GUN, fearing that Gerald might retaliate a little too late, stopped his work and execute Gerald by firing squad. They keep Shadow dormant for 50 years.

He's awaken by Eggman, who wishes to rule the world using the Ultimate Lifeform from his grandfather's journal. Shadow speaks subserviently, referring to Eggman as "my master" and using the Japanese pronoun of 僕 (boku) which is more humble and is informally giving deference. This is only for this interaction, since Shadow has plans and he takes charge, with sometimes Eggman looking at Shadow for confirmation, such as when Rouge asks to join them. Sonic Adventure 2 is the game we first are introduced to Shadow and its when he is at his most raw and mentally unwell. He is traumatized and the pain is fresh. It may have been 50 years for everybody else, but it had just happened for him. He grapples with flashbacks due to his PTSD, he hears Maria in his head telling him to keep his promise and to not "make her upset" and he is overall not in a good place mentally. He is willing to kill himself if it means keeping the false promise that Gerald had placed in his head. He does this plan, not because he himself wants to, but because its what Maria wants and for the longest time, that is how Shadow goes about it. Shadow cares so much, and its seen by how he sees Maria in Rouge and he risks his life to save her. It shows in how much he loved Maria and how he will keep this promise regardless of what happens to him. When Amy speaks to him, he is instantly reminded of Maria and he remembers the true promise. He cries at the memory, and then immediately goes to set things right. He lets himself fall to his death because "this is what you wanted, right Maria?" This kid is 15 and traumatized and he is hurting so much and it GETS WORSE.

Eggman finds him, and makes android copies of him, then seals him away with a killer robot in an abandoned hold. He spends the entirety of that game becoming close to Omega and Rouge who find them both and he doesn't even know if he is the true Shadow because of all these androids running around and he has no memories. He remembers nobody. Not Rouge, not Amy, not Sonic. The only thing he remembered was Maria's name and her death. Not even the good memories. From Heroes (this game I just explained) and on, Shadow's main antagonists deal with wanting to control him. What we know of Shadow currently is that he is selfless, he loves with all his heart, he is self-sacrificing, and though he is withdrawn and cocky, he still is willing to say that he thinks Sonic might actually be the Ultimate Lifeform. Surely, they've given us this great thing! How can they possibly fuck it up?

Shadow he Hedgehog (2005) absolutely destroys his character and gives him an absolutely bad rep BUT there is some good stuff in there. Remember the Black Arms? Remember that deal Gerald made? Yeah it's been 50 years. Knock knock, Shadow's other shitty dad is here!! You thought this kid's mind was gonna stop being manipulated? lmao. anyways shadow the hedgehog makes shadow absolutely edgy. he's kinda a dick he just... can kill people. it's a Weird game. sad to say he never recovered from this with the exception of Sonic 06!!

Now Sonic 06 is literally a broken game that can barely run (still funny tho so I play it) BUT THE WRITING FOR SHADOW'S STORY IS ABSOLUTELY SO GOOD?? they made him a GUN agent though which was. Something I was NOT expecting. BUT its a return from the edgy hedgehog we saw the year before so I'll look past him working for the same organization that killed his sister. A common thread about Shadow-specific villains/antagonists are that they all want to control him in some way shape or form before killing him. Gerald, Metal Sonic (kinda. he just set off the identity crisis by showing all the Shadow androids), Black Doom, Mephiles, Infinite. They all follow this thread which happens to accidentally create a story arc (bc it was definitely by accident) but thats not what we're talking about. ANyways, Mephiles wants to get to Shadow for Shadow sealing him away in a scepter in the past (theres time travel it gets confusing) and Shadow manages to win not only because of his own strength, but because he was not alone. He is made up of the people he loves, just like Sonic is, and everytime Shadow beats Mephiles is because he had Omega, Rouge, or both with him.

Sounds good right? Just one stinker game so surely its all fine? No. Because then Sega set mandates. Shadow wasn't allowed to have friends, he was not allowed to crack jokes or be anything but an angry rival to Sonic. They dissolved Team Dark (the team between Rouge, Shadow, and Omega) and now Shadow is alone. His biggest strength used to be his love for his friends and their presence in his lives and now they boiled him down to an "early Vegeta" clone. Sonic Boom released, and he is literally just a violent asshole who antagonizes Sonic for no reason. He barely shows up anymore and when he does its so painfully off that its best he doesn't. The writers of the meta era didnt really use him (which is a relief because they admitted that they only ever read wikipedia articles about sonic games and never actually played them). He was decent in Forces but he barely showed up and honestly that's for the best. I have major issues with how they write him in the comics as well but I think that has to do with mandates and it seems that theyre letting off since Frontiers since all the characters were revamped and are giving us good characterization. He's going to be in the next Sonic movie and I am hoping they do him justice.

[child-of-the-new-contagion]

really gratuitous grace

12:38am: well, talk about gratuitous grace… I'm doing it again, half a week later - twelve r30s this time, I'm being "moderate" cause I'm not going for a new record dose, just another demi-god trip, where I will probably feel like god again, but a lonely god still rubbing up against His own Grain, the infinite cosmos of limitations based on this little personality I am most of the time, like those weaponized changeling virii that cut off their hand to morph into sentient goo that projects itself as an angry voice that wants, that controls, that demands.

well, well, well well well well well well, there's 5 wells in this instance going back to the well well there's an eleven angstrom shell of heaven between the living void and hell well, look what we have here i guess i'm really trying to re-live the glory days, and yet have high high hopes for making something new as well… dosed about 12:35 - the idea was, don't worry about it so damn much, how bout a spontaneous trip with good vibes, a gratuitous grace, at a point where no reasonable algorithm would dare think i would even consider doing this on this date, considering past behavior - or maybe the cleverest algo behind the clever one would

i'm thinking maybe i'll go watch something and see if i can get into the watching movie trip, and see how that works - integrate more, get casual and spiritual at the same time, some profane fusion - maybe keep it thc free, see how that is - see if it's maybe like a couple of great times where i was trying to follow a trippy m night shayama lambda delta movie on ketamine on creek street - lady in the water, lol, that will always be an A movie for me because of the enhancement, you kinda had to be there, you know? yk?

i think i might try watching that star wars series, andor… we'll see how that does me

1:18 pretty sure I'm starting to feel it. Can I try not to be so lazy in the swoon? Also there's the need to pee, strong. Midsection issues…

Scots evolution… in this disconnected watching of episode 1 of andor, strange vibe, not really following, but seems vaguely profound, in a different way than weed makes things seem profound, less vague in that case

I'm profanizing… Connecting to pasts though, magic on its own…

1:30 look at them, those forest people characters They're all so young. This feeling is getting familiar… Why is there such a need to pee? Lol.

The guy that did that thing

No cats to worry about as I wobble desperately...

so

1:55 i'm plugging things into other things, getting really complicated. fugal. comp crashed… seems to demand metaphors…. ok, we gotta work up a lather here… it's so strange that i find T in this place, and C, and where is my E? the best of all? can't mix though.

Carry over a gratuity… How are we solving the world's problems now? Is this like when we tried to Knext? Should I invite M? Should I start a religion? We can do what we want from this corner! We demand that we do it E style. It's silly, it's lovely, it's an old doiley, but what was old is young again! We could even have B back, and D too, I remember her, and the bonding of elements to women i loved [I can edit whenever I want, remember, I can interpolate, there's meta-cognition going on now, so I can pass through one state and into another, time-travel even, in the telepathetic field]

not being recorded, except experientially… what the mckenna boys could do with sound

i'm not very real, really? am i? is this some fucking captured not that important crumble?

like those ol dabbley immorality players of oldes… hmmm, trying to raise a second sequel over here….

it all gets streeeetched, including cancer drugs… gettin a little personal here…. oh, the songs and tones of deadly politics… Fuck. Wow. No,.

How can we make words have power again. Assign value. How do we make things valuable again, oh, i feel like i figured it out cause i'm not in a music video….

this case

that case

in any case

crossfire

as long as the series of tubes and weird hand flanges…

shubling…

let us just integrate everything and see what happens [prollly nothing good] it's too dense right now….

the voices are arguing with each other thank you for taking it seriously thank you for laughing, thank you thank you

the heat feels good

M, my friend, join us….

omg, 9-

[whatintheactualworld]

"What will you do now?"

The Commander in Chief stood before a visual of what could only be described as a cruel nightmare. His skeletal frame and darkened eyes alluded to his brutal past. A strict rearing, top performer at all that he had done, moral character of the most absolute, but somehow lacking in charm--always the underdog to a more handsome bright eyed charmer. Many shared his fate, but he proclaimed he would be different. He would rise above. He would do what needed to be done for the greater good.

Now he stands before me, presenting his legacy. A city of prosperity and livelihood set to flames. Bombs bursting in the distance. Homes reduced to dust. Natural landscapes corrupted by military arsenal. Animals fleeting. Families scattered and impoverished in the blink of an eye. Vacant faces. Dreams lost in a void faced with a reality most cruel. And for what?

"My dear brother," I chocked, recalling the years we spent together in the same household, under the same instruction, following the same moral code.

"There were many things we were taught, and I would argue that at times we were humbled by teachers that were harsher than necessary. But somehow you always missed the point."

"Your philosophies of love and forgiveness could not prevent the ravishing of our home." He proclaimed, as though proud. "Your ability to empathize with the enemy did not stop them from landing their deadly strikes. I've done something real here. I've sent a message."

"The only message that you've made here is that you are no better than them."

He ferociously stomped his foot. Turned to observe the dead city, knowing I would once again imprison him with harsh judgment.

"You would stand by and do nothing, but you say I'm the one who has lost his way. You say I lack compassion, but do you really care when you turn a blind eye and fill people minds with futile dreams? I equipped them with strength. I taught them not to fear."

"You gave 500 men a weapon to exact revenge for you." I said. "You think resorting to this will change anything? The wars will continue regardless. But you had a choice. We choose what path to take, and you chose to spill blood and to crush dreams. You think the children of this country were any different than us? Now they will remember what you've done here. You've opened the box and all these horrible things have been unleashed. You've done no good for us, for our home, or for yourself."

"Fine," he said solemnly, "I knew you'd see it that way. I don't know why I entertained the idea that you'd see me as anything other than the villian. You always have. You never appreciated what I'd done. One day you'll thank me."

"No brother," I felt my last desperate attempt to change his mind rising to my lips, "One day, when the darkness comes to consume your soul, I will mourn you. Because as many cruel and unforgivable things that we have seen, I knew you were the one who was worst hit by it. We have tried so hard to save you, to show you that with all of the horrible things life has shown us, there is just as much that is wonderful and so much beauty to partake in. We asked you to sing with us, but you only cried. We wanted you to dance, but you only ran. You just couldn't bear to move on from what happened. You just couldn't resist the darkness that beckoned you here. Even now, can't you see that you only walk full on into the dark abyss? Will you not simply turn around and see the light?"

"What a lovely metaphor," he smirked. "You have always seen life through rose colored glasses. You're one of the lucky ones,"

" It's a simple choice!" I declared angrily. "Chose hope. Choose love. Choose anything but death, or else remain in this cycle of madness forever. I'm going home. I'll return to mourn our parents' graves. I'll embrace my wife. I might even play checkers with the children. These frivolous things might mean nothing to you, but it means the world to my family. One day we'll die, but at least we'll have spent our time building a life full of love and not one fueled by hatred."

"I'll give you the last word, brother." He said with dismissive pride.

I lowered my eyes, once again feeling my face turn red as tears tried to well in my eyes.

"Just remember no matter how low you sink, you'll always have a soft bed and a warm meal at our home waiting for you."

He said nothing. I turned away, crushed, feeling dejected, feeling as though I was once again abandoning him to the darkness that clung to his heart. But it was his choice. And he made that choice every day of his life.

[sugolara]

Determined to survive, stay alive

ft. Katsuki Bakugo x Shoto Todoroki x Izuku Midoriya x fem! reader

Synopsis: After a deadly virus leaks all over the world, every country is forced to close down it's borders and airports to prevent anyone from coming in and out. Though, it's to late for some people. The dead has rose and is looking for revenge. Cw: gore, quirkless! au, apocalypse! au, zombie! au, weapons, death, angst, lots and lots of blood, cannibalism, suicidal thoughts, slow burn

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They used the yard gates as their main entrance when it came to unloading supplies. For a girl like F/n, she sure was strong to be carrying two packs of water. In the past, Izuku used to work out too. Hell, he even gained muscles and a nice pair of abs, but it almost made him jealous—and a little flustered—to see her carrying the weight like it was nothing. Not to mention the sweat gliding down her neck.

He suddenly was flicked in the forehead. Startled, he turned his attention to Katsuki who glared at him. He nervously asked, "What was that for?"

"The fuck are you staring at?" He asked as he pulled himself on the trunk while grabbing a package of mixed nuts behind him. He placed some in his mouth as he inspected the nuts, "You ain't getting shit done if you plan on staring all day. You going crazy now?"

"One, I wasn't staring and two, I'm not going crazy." He looked away when Katsuki gave him a look, "Y'know you're supposed to be sleeping, right? You passed out the second you hit the couch."

"Yeah, I got my shitty ass sleep." Katsuki nibbled on the rest of the nuts, glaring down at it as the salty aftertaste filled his mouth. His eyes then glanced around realizing someone was missing, "Where's that extra you're with? Ain't she supposed to be helping out or did you suddenly befriend lazy ass people."

"Oh, F/n...she went–Oh! There she is!" Izuku waved at her with a smile. The girl raised a brow when she saw Katsuki. It had Izuku hoping she or more specifically, Katsuki, wouldn't start a fight. He knows how much Katsuki loves to instigate, but he so desperately needs a day where he can just be at peace.

When she was close to them, Izuku silently took in a deep breath, preparing for the worst, "F/n, this is my fr–"

"Right, Kacchan. I heard back at the store." She interrupted him and held her hand out, ignoring the way Izuku's face drained of life while the blonde narrowed his eyes. She wasn't too fond of presentation, "I'm F/n L/n."

"Wait! That's not his na–" Hearing Katsuki suck in his teeth had Izuku menatly crying. The blonde, despite being a few inches shorter than her, stood up and licked his fingertips that contained the nut spice. He then clasped her hand, shaking it with a tight grip, "Katsuki Bakugo."

"Right..." Her fingers twitched around his hand as she eyed him. She didn't realize the subtle way he began to feel self-conscious about his sweaty palms as she could see Izuku in the background anxiously biting his nails as if he was waiting for a fight to break, "Katsuki."

She moved away from him and headed for Izuku grabbing the last pack of water behind him, "Don't forget we still need wood. Once we're finish I'll head over there."

"Oh, before we go do that I was thinking about expanding the yard." He looked at her, ignoring her stare, "Since you grew up in a farm, you might know a few things about knocking down a fence and rebuilding."

"I do." She nodded as she muttered, "But it's not that simple. Its gonna be a pain."

"Why the hell should we make the yard bigger?" Katsuki asked, giving the freckle male a meaningful glare, "It's a terrible idea to stay in one place for to long, not to mention were in the open. Someone outta come by and spot us if we don't get the hell out."

The blonde gave a glimpse at F/n, "Don't care where you go."

"Kacchan!" He scoldingly looked at the male, "Whether you like it or not, she's with us."

The other male rolled his eyes, grabbing another pack of trail mix. As for F/n, she turned back to the water pack, "Anwyas, I'll get to it."

Seeing her get back to work, Izuku grabbed a few items from the truck, "You know I don't mind doing the heavy work. You can do something you're...good at...?"

"What are you tying to say?" She gazed her eyes towards him, the both unaware Katsuki shaking his head at his friends comment, "I am good at this. You trying to think lesser of me or what?"

He turned red as he waved his hands around frantically, "No! I dont think lesser of you! I-I-I-I was just–y'kn–"

"Shut up." Katsuki had enough as he wiped his hands on his clothes and began grabbing the heavier items of the truck, "If we're going to get wood then we better hurry. It's to damn fucking hot out here and I can't take it."

"Then change." She gave his outfit a look. His clothing covered his entire body. Only his hands and face were left unclothed, "Theres spare clothes from the previous owners. Might be a little to small for you, though."

"Are you trying to say I'm fat!?" He glared, ready to jump on her if she insulted him once more.

"No, of course not, I would never say that." She waved her hands trying to not make him feel insecure, "I don't think you're a large person. In fact, the way your clothes stick to you makes you have an outline that I am quiet certain woman would be jealous of, including me."

A slap was heard behind her and Izuku wished nothing more than to turn into a puddle as he had to look the other way. This time, he'd let F/n deal with the consequences as he wasn't too sure how to help her get out of this one and just like he suspected he heard Katsuki let out a yell and a thud was soon followed.

After they had placed all of the grocery items in the basement. They locked up the cellar and the home before heading to the streets. The truck that F/n had used only had little gas. If they drove it and it suddenly stopped with items in the back, they would have to leave the supplies stranded while they look for another vehicle.

Instead of going with the ladder, they stood in the streets looking for a vehicle. Like always, things never went their way as most of the vehicle's keys had gone missing. The owners must have run off with them in hopes they'd return to escape or someone had started a key collection. Either way, the three were not having it.

Izuku, who sat in the driver's seat feeling discouraged, glanced at the rear mirror. He adjusted it to where he could see F/n sitting inside a truck and behind her was Katsuki, laying in the trunk with his legs swinging.

He removed himself from the vehicle and headed towards her, noticing that her hands fiddled while she had her attention on the steering wheel. He leaned on the door and his brows furrowed in confusion when he saw her knife fiddling underneath the wheel, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to start it." She replied. Hearing a click, she removed the plastic cover and set it aside. With the middle roil electrical wires she pulled it towards her and began to chip off the ends with her knife until the copper wire revealed itself.

"Oh, but what is it that you're doing?" Izuku puzzingly asked, "..Are you trying to hot wire it?"

She nodded. Amazed, he watched as she delicately picked the wires, "I've never met anyone who could do that! DId you learn by yourself or were you taught?"

Hearing the commotion, Katsuki made his way towards them. He shoved the freckle male towards the door, ignoring his small glare as he paid attention to F/n, "Were you some kind of criminal or what."

She shrugged as she twirled the copper wires, intertwining them all together, "When you grow up on a farm, you learn a few things."

The engine then turned on. Along with that, so did the windshield wipers. It made a squeak sound as it rubbed against the dusty window. The girl signaled them to move so she could close the door, "I drive."

"I call shotgun!" Katsuki quickly said, once again shoving Izuku who had begun to make his way towards the passenger seat. The other male grumbled as he made his way to the backseat, "You don't have to shove me, Kacchan."

Before she could begin to drive, the radio static and faint male voice could be heard. Bewildered, Izuku reached from the backseat to turn the volume higher. "Do not intend to engage. Do not intend to fight. A sanctuary is being held in Rhote. Those who arrive, survive."

"A sanctuary?" Izuku tried thinking back to when he had a radio, but he never heard his utter a sanctuary, "I don't remember there ever being one."

"Me neither." F/n said, her eyes fixated on the radio, "If there was a sanctuary people would have known since the beginning."

"You think there is actually one?" Izuku asked, glancing at her, "I mean, it's been at least a couple months and not even the news said anything about one."

"I doubt it." Katsuki said as he rolled down the windows. He then looked at him with his arms crossed, "If a sanctuary is still running, you'd think someone from the military would have started to look for people. I'm not saying that militaries control sanctuary, but for it to be broadcasted across all radios has me thinking there is one. I don't know about you, but I haven't seen a single one since this whole thing started"."

"He's right." F/n turned the radio off and began to carefully drive off, avoiding any other vehicles in the way, "I haven't seen one either and Rhote is just a couple cities away from Musutafu. They'd come to nearby cities before going across the country."

"Well, don't you think someone should turn it off?" Izuku sat back, staring outside, "It's giving people false hope."

Katsuki scoffed, getting comfortable in his seat, "S'not our problem. We got better shit to do, let someone else do it."

A sigh was emitted from the green-haired lips. He stared out into the streets, watching as home passed by and a few rotters that were trapped underneath the car wave at him. Who knew how many people had heard the broadcast and made their way towards the city only to have their hopes up. Some had most likely died reaching there as the city was filled with large skyscrapers.

It's sad to imagine their faces when they come across an empty building, possibly filled with rotters. To distract himself from the thought, he put a smile on and glanced at his childhood friend, who is still overjoyed to see him, "Kacchan, did you know that F/n also went to school with us!"

"Like I give a fuck." He muttered, though he spared a glance at her.

The boy in the backseat continued, "She knew Hitoshi. Remember him? He looked kind of like Mr. Aizawa."

"Unlike you I don't care to learn about other people." The blonde annoyingly said as he opened the glove compartment, hoping to find a CD to drown out Izuku's voice.

"What class did you say you were in again?" Izuku ignored Katsuki as he averted his attention to F/n. The girl, with her eyes on the road, responded, "F."

"She was with Mei." Izuku looked at Katsuki, "I know you remember her."

"Again." The blonde rolled his eyes as he adjusted the radio, desperately hoping for music, "I don't care."

"So rude." Izuku quietly muttered. Unknown to the both, F/n was rather amused.

Finally they reached a hardware store. They pulled around the back where plenty of wood, fences, sheds, plants, and outdoor equipment rested. Thankfully the gate was left open, allowing F/n to back up the truck so they wouldn't have to walk with holding heavy items. She placed her hand on the back headrest of Katsuki, her body turned so she could see the back watching carefully to not hit the shed that was slightly in the way. The rear mirror was unfortunately cracked.

"Dammit." Katsuki grumbled when he looked through his bag. He had forgotten to mention he didn't have any weapons, "Deku, you got a knife on you or something?"

"Yeah," Izuku grabbed his bag and searched through it. He gave his friend the extra army knife that F/n had kindly given him, "Here. Be careful, it's really sharp."

"That's the whole point of a knife, dumbass." The blonde avoided the girl's arm as he reached to grab it, though he did not miss the way her arm slightly flexed when his breath hit it.

With the car successfully inside the back of the store, she left the engine running as turning it back on would be a hassle. They then removed themself from the car with Katsuki closing the gate as a rotter began to approach them. He waited for the rotter to get close before he plunged his knife into its head. A squelch was heard, giving him a disgusted shiver. Never would he get used to the sounds.

"How many do you think we need?" Izuku asked, his hand perched on his chin as he looked at the wooden fences that would reach around their midsection, "I want these to separate our yard and the neighbors yard, but leave a spot to where we can enter and exit."

"Well, are you planning on, like, having a garden in our yard and a pen in the neighbor's yard?" She scratched her nape, "Because finding animals will be tricky."

"No, no." Izuku shook his head, "I want the other yard to hold the extra supplies so our yard doesn't look cluttered, otherwise it'll most definitely draw attention. Our yard is small and I'd really like to have our own space. Besides, I'm sure Kacchan would like to have a home for himself."

"I understand. Grab as many as the truck holds. We'll use the rest for fire." F/n looked back at Katsuki who made their way towards them, "You get him to help you while I'll look for the tools."

"Are you trying to tell me what to do?" Katsuki grumbled, though he began to hold up a fence, "How 'bout you do this while I look for the tools."

"Do you even know what tools we need?" She asked, but when he didn't respond she began to make her way to the building, "Exactly."

The blonde cursed underneath his breath while Izuku gave a glance at F/n, "Be safe!"

Pulling her knife out of her pocket, she opened the door and made her way inside. She glanced around, hardly any clutter was around, but she did notice the floor had footprints of dried up dirt. She ventured deeper, keeping her knife out in case a rotter spots her.

She glanced up at the end of every aisle, looking for its number to figure out where they hold the items she needs. She passed by indoor, vehicles, painting, and lighting tools until she found the one for fences. She placed her bag on the shelf, just underneath some pliers. She grabbed whatever she needed and placed her bag back on her shoulders.

Hearing shuffling, she glanced around to find the culprit. The ceiling windows allowed for some light to brighten the room. Seeing no dead, she continued her way back to the males. Quietly, she moved from aisle to aisle, trying not to draw attention to herself. Her boots tapping against the floor did cause some ruckus and she internally cursed at herself.

When she moved to another aisle, she spotted a rotter. It had looked her way and moved towards her causing an eye roll. With quick movement, before it could let out a moan, she stabbed its head and carefully placed it on the floor as the thud would attract rotters to go after her.

She let out a quiet sigh, but when she turned around a rotter had snuck up on her. The rotter had her push herself back to the shelf to avoid being eaten. Some items on the shelf had fallen to their feet along with her knife that she unfortunately lost grip of. She grunted as she tried shoving the dead back, but the clutter had allerted a couple nearby rotters. It was going to be a hassle to get rid of them, that's for sure.