#to act as a bodyguard for a walking war crime?

[kirionmywaywardson]

Is this anything?

[foxymoxynoona]

To Kill A King: Cast and Scene

Banner and line break by @awrkives

To help with reading To Kill A King, here is a reference page. There are a lot of characters and since it’s an in progress story, I know it can be hard to keep things straight in between updates. I’ll occasionally update this with newly added characters or newly-discovered information about them. -- Story Masterlist --

The Kim Family, all branches

Donggun Kim, King - divisive as a leader, given to excess and outbursts of harsh treatment since the death of his wife but a competent ruler in enough ways he hasn’t been overthrown. Yet. Everyone is kinda thinking about it though. A volatile, mercurial father at best.

So-yeon Kim, Queen, Deceased. Seokjin’s mother who died when Seokjin was thirteen. They had a close relationship and she was beloved as a queen.

Seok-ho Kim, Royal Prince, Deceased. Seokjin’s 8-years-elder brother, died five years ago during the Therepin Border Skirmishes. A natural born leader with a successful military career until his death at 32.

Seokjin Kim, Royal Prince. 29, heir to the throne after his father’s death.

Lady Zselyke Kim, 39. The only daughter of King Donggun’s deceased younger brother. She has functioned in many ways, though without recognition, as the lady of the house since Queen So-yeon’s death.

Byeonggun Kim, Commander. King Donggun’s youngest (and only living) brother. The commander of Yeonhalbi’s military, rumored to have committed war crimes during the border wars. He is married but has no children. 

Namjoon Kim, 28. From a lesser branch of the Kim line which settled in Therepin and Sartia many generations ago. His mother Landa Kim is a Baroness and his uncle Gregor Kim sits on the Therepin Council. 

Mindeulle Kim, 22. Namjoon’s beloved younger sister, she has convinced her parents to let her come to Priva to befriend Nasimiyu and look for a husband.

The Dabo Family

Hamisi Dabo, Prince. Ruler of Marvono, he dotes on his daughters but has high expectations for how they dedicate their lives to serving the greater good. He is blackmailing Dulce for her assistance in getting his daughter onto the Yeonhalbi throne as a widowed Queen.

Simisola Dabo, Princess. Nasimiyu’s mother. Loves her daughters deeply, mediates and guides when necessary but expects her daughters to learn to walk on their own.

Nasimiyu Dabo, Princess, 26. The youngest of Hamisi’s three daughters, betrothed to Seokjin for the last three years. She has strong ambitions and progressive ideas for what kind of queen she wants to be, largely due to frustrations and boredom with her own life. At home she was the most rebellious sister.

Two elder sisters, each married with children, not met.

The Inner Circle

Dulce, 27. Originally from Paloma, she’s been working as an assassin for hire for many years. She and Nasimiyu met in a tavern where Nasimiyu used to sneak off to visit and have been in a sort-of-relationship since then. After “an incident,” her existence and occupation were discovered by Nasimiyu’s parents, and she’s been blackmailed into acting as Nasimiyu’s handmaid to help gather intel to ultimately kill Prince Seokjin and King Donggun.

Taehyung Kim, 26. The only living son of the handmaid of the late Queen So-yeon, he currently works as a stablehand in the palace under the protection of Seokjin. He is known to be a bit wild, restless, and dissatisfied with his position in life, not to mention those swirling rumors around his parentage.

Jimin Park, 26. Jimin serves as Seokjin’s valet and, in many ways, right hand. He is always on hand to guide and assist, incredibly capable, and easily charms those around him. He’s originally from Destin and happy to tell anyone who’ll listen about his luck in making it to Seokjin’s side.

Jungkook Jeon, 25. Seokjin’s favorite of his bodyguards. Jungkook’s father was a bodyguard for King Donggun and died protecting him, so Queen So-yeon saw to Jungkook’s education. Originally he was in the military but remained close to Seokjin and after saving him in an attempt on his life, was allowed to be hired as a bodyguard despite his young age. Despite his casual, flirty appearance, he appears to be very good at what he does.

Hoseok Jung, 28. Hoseok’s father was the main tutor for both Seokjin and the late Seok-ho and educated/trained his son into the role as well. Hoseok does his best to keep Seokjin on the proper path and loves nothing more than a successful social event.

Yoongi Min, 29. Yoongi is a talented cook working in the palace, around whom the prince and his inner circle often gather in the evenings to cook and chat. He has some ambitions to make it to head cook but also sometimes can’t be bothered. Seokjin knows he spent some of his younger years as a political activist and protestor, including some time spent in Marvono, but this is not known to anyone else.

The Court (Not everyone but notable members)

Miss Lidmila Aukem, 20. The only daughter of the Aukem family. Young and full of admiration for Nasimiyu. Very strong sense of justice, fairness, and propriety. Her mother Sukhdeep was a close friend of Queen So-yeon’s; they sent each other flowers from their gardens weekly, and Lidmila clearly hopes to have a similar friendship with Nasimiyu.

Miss Çiğdem Quincy, 20. Slightly more rebellious than the other girls, Çiğdem is direct and loves some good gossip. She is easily bored of pampered life, probably why she has been so enamored of her secret Therepin penpal for the last year.

Miss Afua Trevis, 21. A total romantic, Afua is known for saying just the wrong thing or really putting her foot in it, though her intentions are good. 

Miss Tasa, 22. Another friend of the young women, a little older but not yet matched with anyone.

Lady Anne Lapointe, elderly. An antiquated old woman who favors tradition and is strict in her expectations of the royal family.

Lord Téo Ascanio, 20-something. A young lord who goes on the hunt with Seokjin and Nasimiyu.

Lord Jothi Harker, 20-something. Another young lord who goes on the hunt with Seokjin and Nasimiyu. He’s the one who shot the deer but was too cowardly to fetch it.

The Household

Master Drin, Seokjin’s arms trainer. A former soldier, he now trains nobles in combat and drinks a little too much in his freetime.

Edmund. One of Seokjin’s three main bodyguards.

Master Boutros, a “game master” who lives in the caves and tends to the animals there.

The Nation of Yeonhalbi

The Nation of Yeonhalbi is comprised of several provinces, each governed by a local ruler who owes fealty to the royal family of Yeonhalbi, which conquered these territories many generations ago. Some provinces do have unrest around this governance. In recent history, the border wars along Therepin, Minsk, and Destin's led to great bloodshed and an effort to squash the questions around whom exactly was fighting whom.

Priva, the capital province and seaside capitol city. Major industry is fishing.

Destin, a very poor region that lacks natural resources to self-sustain, mainly focused on livestock. 

Paloma, the most distant region, mostly very poor mountain villages in between farmlands. Lots of small cottage industry, livestock, and farming. Massacres at the time of conquering decades ago left it hobbled and quiet as a principality.

Marvono. A wealthy region, very educated, warm weather year-round. Medicine is one of the strongest industries.

Rinsk. Area with many mountains and desserts, focused on mining and ore-works, very wealthy cities due to the mineral deposits.

Sartia. Incredibly wealthy, mild-weather principality and closeby islands. The vacation destination of the wealthy thanks to beautiful coasts. Easy living for most social classes, very focused on education and the arts.

Therepin. Conservative principality, the most religious of them all. Has a royal family that’s largely for show; a religious “council” does the actual ruling.

-- Story Masterlist --

[arty-chase]

Graveyard Siblings (4)

I am sorry for not posting in a while. School is a total bitch. Here is part 4 of a fic that is not a fic.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)

-------

Tall Marinette.(I admit I might be projecting a little here.)

One day, she took out something from someplace high and the whole family realized that ‘holy shit when did you get so tall?’

Bonus if Jason comes back from a long mission and had a wtf moment because she was wearing 6-inch-heels and met his eyes with them on.

“Pixie?!”

------

You know how Bruce has the identity of Matches Malone to infiltrate the Gotham Underground.

While Jason does the drug deals more street crime stuff, Maria uses an excuse of being the representative for Red Hood excuse to mingle with the rich people who does crime on the side (Penguin), she uses it to go to black market auctions and buy some of the lost miraculouses which got into the hands of black market dealers.

Jason knows about it and acts as her ‘bodyguard’ anytime he can or sends one of his henchmen to be one with a death threat if she gets a single scratch on her.

Bruce is unaware of this. Or is he?

------

Mari helps with running WE since she is a little less busy with the vigilante side of things.

It started with Tim panicking about deadlines and Mari offering to help, to Bruce and Tim bullying the board to have her as co-CEO.

She has to be that and head of Afterlife. So she is very busy. Doesn’t know about what comes next….

------

Somehow the class comes to Gotham for a trip. It has been 3 years since her death.

Mari has changed her appearance since the day she left Paris. She has highlights in her hair after a ‘sibling bonding day’ with Jason. Her hair is kept short for convenience and not in pigtails. Along with her tall height and more confident aura, she is almost unrecognizable.

She rides a motorcycle too.

The class waits in the lobby for the tour and in walks this badass woman with aviator sunglasses, leather jacket and designer clothes which was all MT brand, making a lot of people swoon.

She takes off her glasses and walks past the class. Checking stuff on her phone and sipping coffee in her other hand.

She seems familiar but they couldn’t figure out why. (All except Chloe, Alix and Felix who are snickering in the background.)

Lila sees her and comments on how she must be a criminal with the way she dresses. (Lila internally freaks out because were her eyes messing with her? Because she looked a little like Marinette. Also jealous of the new arrival for stealing all the attention.) Alya takes the bait and calls security to ‘arrest’ her.

They just laugh. The class doesn’t understand, speaking in confused French.

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

“I am Maria Todd-Wayne, also known as designer MT. CEO of Afterlife and co-CEO of the very company you are in. I am allowed in here. Don’t judge a book by its cover.” she said in perfect French.

“But Lila told us you can’t speak French.”

“Who?”

“Lila Rossi, your friend. She told us that you and MT were dating.”

“Me dating myself. Okay I love myself because self-love is a thing but that is a whole other level. MT are my initials. Anyone who has a brain could have figured that out or at the very least do a Google search. I am not sure where your friend got that notion.”

“Hey, Bean, come on. We have a long day ahead of us.” Tim reminded her.

“Goodbye but cease the rumours or you would be escorted off the premises.”

As they rode up the elevator, “Tim, why are they here?”

“They are the lucky winners of the Wayne Enterprise Young Prodigies Contest. Why, Maria?”

“Lucky, huh.” She muttered under her breath. She might as well tell him. They are the Bats and they will find out anyway. “They are from my old class, the one you know…”

“Oh. Want me to send them back? I can do that if they are making you uncomfortable.”

“Nah. Too much to deal with. And it is unfair to send them back over a petty grudge. Besides, I could have some fun.”

“Anything that Bruce and I should be worried about?”

“I swear no killing. Just because Jason came back from the dead, hell-bent on killing. Doesn’t mean I am too.���

“Cool, just don’t do any property damage or traumatize our employees.”

“I might need you to erase some footage later and tell Bruce about this.”

“Some brownies, my favourite coffee cake, the ‘special’ brew and you have yourself a deal.”

-----

So basically she just showed up around where the class was ‘by coincidence’.

Talk to a few people and take them out of earshot of the rest of the class.

End the conversation by saying a few things only they and her would know. Insides jokes and secrets. (I pick her old childhood friends like, Nino, Kim and maybe Sabrina)

Uses Trixx to turn into a walking dead version of her 15-year old self and disappears as they freak out about how she knew that secret/story.

Freaks them out further by appearing again in front of the whole class and pretending not to know their previous conversation.

Mari manages to get Lila alone.

I should also say that Lila thought that her curse was making her see MT as Marinette.

It terrifies Lila when she finds out that MT is actually Marinette, not dead but alive after all this time and apparently living the high life she wanted. This fact made the Italian swell up with jealousy.

“I hope you are not lying about me again, Lila Rossi. Like you always do.”

“What do you want with me? I swear I didn’t say anything else about you.”

“Aw, Lila. Don’t recognize me?”

Maria flickers and Ladybug is in her place and later, the Marinette that appeared in her bedroom and back to normal.

“You! How? Why are you here? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Why not? I mean you did take away nearly all my friends, my parents and made my life a living hell. If you think about it, I am just repaying you the same favor. How are the others? Treating you well?”

“What did you do to me, you bitch?”

“I just put a curse on you. The ghosts of your past will haunt you until you stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop Lying, Liar. They all feed and grow in power from your lies. I wonder what would happen in a few years if you kept this up.”

“You think you can get away with this. This is war and I have already beaten you once.”

“Oh Rossi. This isn’t a war. It’s a death sentence.” With that she disappears.

Lila tries to tell her class that MT is actually Marinette. She is met with crazy looks. Some of them look like they want to believe her but don't because they don’t want to look crazy too.

Oh. Adrien wasn’t on the trip because his mother didn’t want him to go to the crime capital of America although the crime rate has gone down a little due to Hellbat curing some of the city’s bad energy..

Right after Lila told the class about MT, Scarecrow came to steal some Wayne tech and the class got caught in the crossfire. So later, it was brushed off as Lila seeing things due to the fear toxins.

-----

Joker made the mistake of kidnapping her. Once was enough to never try that again.

(It involved the use of nearly all of the Miraculouses, old and new. He was thoroughly humiliated at the end of it and his picture by the time Hellbat was done with him was on the Batfam’s Christmas Card. Like I said she doesn’t kill but making them beg for death was okay.)

It coincided with Jason’s Birthday and the video of the incident was ‘the best birthday present ever.’ The uncensored version was watched at the next undead siblings bonding day. Damian included.

After hearing a few rumours about what happened, most criminals were glad for Hellbat’s rare appearances. (which happens once a month and during really busy time of the year)

There was a time where Penguin was carrying out one of their plans and when Hellbat showed up, all of their thugs surrendered instantly. (No Batman did not pout at the fact that this French girl was more imitating than him.)

Scarecrow used his newest batch of fear toxin on her during the first year after she died.

He was astounded to see her still standing and she later proceeded to beat the crap out of him while being under the toxin’s influences.

He has tried to stay out of her way since then.

She saw Scarecrow as Hawkmoth and said a lot of things in French which scared everyone because she said it with so much hate, anger and in a very menacing tone that everyone is like ‘I am not touching this.’

It took Red Hood and Nightwing to restrain her from further beating Scarecrow up.

He was one of the people who sympathised with the Joker after the Incident.

The next was Riddler being so arrogant in his plans and managed to get Hellbat and Spoiler into a death trap.

“You know I have a few regrets in life. And my final one is that I got captured and am now going to get killed by a walking fashion disaster.”

“Hey! I made this myself. I will have, you know.”

“You have a brilliant mind but no sense of fashion at all. When I get out of here, I am going to burn that thing with you in it, for your crimes against fashion.”

“What is wrong with it?”

Cue a lot of roasting of Riddler’s costume and Spoiler adding more fuel to the fire.

They manage to escape while Riddler is crying on the floor, having an existential crisis.

The thing was no one knows why Riddler was silent the entire week after encountering Hellbat and crying when anyone mentions it.

They now think Hellbat is the scariest one in the Batfamily, second to Batman and tied with Black Bat/Orphan.

The few who find out what really happened in the warehouse that night. Blackmail material on the Riddler.

Three ( four if you count Penguin) of Gotham’s biggest villains of the Rogues Gallery scared of Bats’ newest addition. Hellbat was not someone they wanted to mess with.

---------

Magic crisis stuff. Like a world ending event thing. Dr. Fate says they need the Miraculous jewels but the last mention of them had been in Paris a few years ago and had vanished since then.

Costantine looked at Batman. “You know who you have to call.”

Batman calls Hellbat. Who hasn’t been introduced yet to the JL.

“Ah. Bats. Not that I question your authority or anything but how can your newest ‘ward’ help us?”

She takes off her helmet and reveals her face and more importantly, her earrings.

Tikki comes out of her hiding place.

“I am the current Guardian of the Miracle Box and wielder of the Ladybug miraculous during Hawkmoth’s reign in Paris a few years ago. Any other Questions?”

“Oh great Guardian. Tikki. It is an honour to meet you.”-Wonder Woman, who else.

“You too, Princess Diana. Pass on my regards to your mother.”-Tikki

A huge face-off and the big evil is defeated.

WW asks abt HM and gives a horrified face at the end of her story. Nearly everyone who eavesdropped on the conversation was.

"Forgive me, Guardian for not aiding you in your hour of need.”

“It’s okay. I understand that there are other crises, world-ending ones that JL have to take care of. I am better now. Mostly.”

“I doubt it with those revenge schemes I found lying around. But she is getting there with her therapist.”-Batman

“I hate you, Dad.”

“Did you just call him Dad?”

“No….”

“Do you see me as a father figure?”

“I see you as a nuisance with how nosy you are with my personal business. So you are more of a bother figure.”

“I see you as part of the family too, Daughter.” (Got that reference anyone?)

“Jason was the one who adopted me.”

“Legally you are adopted by me.”

Maria with Pikachu surprised face because nobody told her that. “My life is a lie.”

-------

(Part 5)

[rockislandadultreads]

Sci-Fi Book Recs: Cyberpunk

Machinehood by S.B. Divya

Welga Ramirez, executive bodyguard and ex-special forces, is about to retire early when her client is killed in front of her. It’s 2095 and people don’t usually die from violence. Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive, but allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy. Daily doses protect against designer diseases, flow enhances focus, zips and buffs enhance physical strength and speed, and juvers speed the healing process. All that changes when Welga’s client is killed by The Machinehood, a new and mysterious terrorist group that has simultaneously attacked several major pill funders. The Machinehood operatives seem to be part human, part machine, something the world has never seen. They issue an ultimatum: stop all pill production in one week. Global panic ensues as pill production slows and many become ill. Thousands destroy their bots in fear of a strong AI takeover. But the US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy. One that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight. Welga, determined to take down the Machinehood, is pulled back into intelligence work by the government that betrayed her. But who are the Machinehood and what do they really want? A thought-provoking novel that asks: if we won’t see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?

Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older

It's been twenty years and two election cycles since Information, a powerful search engine monopoly, pioneered the switch from warring nation-states to global micro-democracy. The corporate coalition party Heritage has won the last two elections. With another election on the horizon, the Supermajority is in tight contention, and everything's on the line. With power comes corruption. For Ken, this is his chance to do right by the idealistic Policy1st party and get a steady job in the big leagues. For Domaine, the election represents another staging ground in his ongoing struggle against the pax democratica. For Mishima, a dangerous Information operative, the whole situation is a puzzle: how do you keep the wheels running on the biggest political experiment of all time, when so many have so much to gain?

Repo Virtual by Corey J. White

The city of Neo Songdo is a Russian doll of realities -- augmented and virtual spaces anchored in the weight of the real. The smart city is designed to be read by machine vision while people see only the augmented facade of the corporate ideal. At night the stars are obscured by an intergalactic virtual war being waged by millions of players, while on the streets below people are forced to beg, steal, and hustle to survive. Enter Julius Dax, online repoman and real-life thief. He's been hired for a special job: stealing an unknown object from a reclusive tech billionaire. But when he finds out he's stolen the first sentient AI, his payday gets a lot more complicated.

Liquid Cool: The Cyberpunk Detective Series by Austin Dragon

Liquid Cool is the debut cyberpunk detective series! It’s cyberpunk re-imagined—science fiction meets the detective thriller in an ever-rainy world of colossal skyscrapers. Hover-cars fly above in the dark, bustling skies and gray people walk below on the grimy, flashy streets of this “neon jungle.” Metropolis isn’t a bad place, but it isn’t a good one either. Uber-governments and mega-corporations fight for control of the super-city, but so does crime. We were introduced to Liquid Cool , by the free prequel short, These Mean Streets, Darkly . We met an average woman, Carol—hardworking and decent in every way—only to have her daughter kidnapped by the psycho cyborg Red Rabbit. Can Police Central find the girl in time—alive? And is it really another senseless act of random violence in the fifty-million-plus super-city? This story continues…and there are so many more. For the first time, we meet our private eye (and unlikely hero), Cruz in a super-city where there are a million victims and perpetrators. Welcome to the high-tech, low-life world of Liquid Cool. But watch out for tech-tricksters, analog hustlers, and digital gangsters—psychos, samurais, and cyborgs aplenty—they may want your money, or your life, more than you do.

[fantasticstoryteller]

New Dynasty Chapter 28

“Oopsy-daisy!” Deadpool said as he shook the body off his katana. The katana he had to then throw to the side since it was bent in the middle.

[I told you not to get them from that vendor. He clearly didn’t know what he was doing.]

{Ugh—his guts are all over our feet.}

Deadpool laughed maniacally, twirled, and shot the next four enemies. Then he looked around, slightly disappointed that there weren’t any more to kill.

[That was what, five bodyguards plus target? It was too easy.]

{There’s someone behind us.}

Deadpool whirled again, gun raised to the head of a young man. The man had white streaks in his orange hair, was dressed in an impeccable suit, and looked nervous. Deadpool didn’t take the nervous part personally—most people were when they talked to him. The young man had both hands raised and part of Deadpool sighed with regret that he wasn’t going to be able to kill the young man. He had two rules: kill no one unarmed and not trying to kill him (unless he was being paid insanely well for it) and two: no children—ever. There was not enough money in the world to make him consider killing a child.

The young man swallowed hard. “I’ve—I’ve heard a lot about you Deadpool.”

Deadpool shrugged without moving the gun. “People have. People talk. People die,” he said simply. “It’s all in good fun, I mean money. I mean money and fun.” He giggled.

The young man looked unnerved. Most people did after talking to Deadpool for a few minutes. “Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about.” The young man swallowed again. “I want to hire you to kill someone for me.”

“Oh? Who is that?”

“Spiderman.”

[Who the fuck is that?]

{Eh, forget. Let’s just kill this fucker.}

“Now now, we can’t kill him,” Deadpool said reasonably. “After all, he’s going to pay us to kill someone else.”

[And just what are you going to do with more money? Buy another shitty sword?]

“I’ll spend my money how I want it!” snarled Deadpool. The young man took a step back. “So, mister—uh—what’s your name?”

“Osborn. Norman Osborn.”

“Well Normie,” Deadpool said as he slipped his gun back into its holster. “We maybe have a deal.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe. I have no fucking clue who Spiderman man, and I don’t kill kids.” He picked up the bent katana and sighed. “White’s right,” he muttered, “cheap ass sword. I bet the bastard wasn’t even a real smith.”

[We can always kill him on the way out of town.]

“So you’re going to do research?” Normie sounds surprised—astonished even.

“Oh yeah. Don’t get your panties in a twist,” he told the man. He swung the katana a few times.

{I don’t think it’ll work if we straighten it.}

“Shouldn’t have bent in the first fucking place,” grouched Deadpool as he lumbered off. He walked right off the roof, died, healed, and kept going. Once he reached his place (a real dump, but he didn’t care enough to clean up), he got on his computer (a state-of-the-art laptop because who wants to look at grainy porn), and started researching Spiderman.

According to the inter-web, he he, the spider has only been around for about six months, was both credited for stopping a terrorist organization and cited as the menace behind the organization, and basically did hero stuff. Like one of those stick-in-the-ass Avengers he occasionally ran into. Oh, and he had a blog. Wait—Spiderman had a blog?

Curious he began browsing it. The thing had several different threads; one of them was a rant thread about his villains—yadda yadda yawn—another was about food—was there anything the spider didn’t eat? Not that Deadpool was one to judge—but the third one caught his eye. It was about “everyday heroes.” A clerk spotting a runaway some money for milk (bet she never saw that money again), an officer helping a kid, off the clock, with homework, a gang leader rescuing a kitten from a tree—weird random shit. And Deadpool knew random.

[Oh, that should be our new catchphrase!]

Then Deadpool came across a recent post, and stared for a moment.

I’ve been hearing a lot about a mercenary known as Deadpool. I’ve heard that he’s got no morals, is certifiably insane, and has a larger kill count than the last world war. If you read this Deadpool, I want to tell you something: Don’t kill in my city.

{That’s practically an invitation!}

[Don’t go. It might be a trap.]

“With this shit? No way.” Deadpool jumped up and grinned. “We’re going to New York City!”

[We’re not really going to not kill people, right? Just because a blog said so?]

^^^

Of course, Deadpool hadn’t expected a group of thugs to meet him on one of the buildings. “Osborn ain’t happy with you ‘Pool,” one of them sneered. He flipped out a switchblade—an honest to God switchblade—against Deadpool. “We’re here to kill you.”

“Fellas,” Deadpool said, “I’m flattered—I really am, but have you actually thought this through?”

[His face looks like a gorilla’s ass!]

{Do you think he knows that?}

“No, I don’t think he knows his face looks like a gorilla’s ass, but I’ll ask. Hey flat-face! Did you know your face looks like a gorilla’s ass?” The man’s face suffused with rage and he lunged forwards to attack Deadpool—only to be pulled back by a thick, white strand. Deadpool watched, fascinated, as a figure in a blue and red suit with a white spiderweb symbol on the chest began wrapping the man in the threads.

“Holy shit! It’s Spiderman!” One of the goons crept up behind Deadpool and he landed a punch—that deformed the man’s face.

[What’s that jaw made of, glass?]

“Hey Spidey! I haven’t killed anyone in your city!” He noticed the man on the ground, not moving. “Oh, shit, you are still alive, aren’t you? Don’t make a liar out of me!” He yanked the man on the ground, pulled him up to his ear, and listened. He heard the unmistakable sound of air rushing through tubes. “Yup, still alive,” Deadpool said with satisfaction letting the other man drop to the rooftop.

Spiderman rose from a crouch and looked over at Deadpool. Unlike Deadpool, his mask wasn’t emotive, so Deadpool couldn't tell what Spiderman was thinking. “You must be Deadpool,” Spiderman said.

[He knows who we are!]

{Of course he does! He practically invited us!}

[We’re still going to kill him, aren’t we?]

{Are you nuts? He just saved us!}

[Yeah—but we didn’t need saving.]

{Not like he knows that!}

Deadpool just beamed at Spiderman. “Yes I am!” he said. “And I haven’t killed anyone in your city!” Spiderman walked over to Deadpool.

{I don’t think he’s happy.}

[We should just kill him now!]

Spiderman reached out, and gently touched Deadpool’s shoulder. “Good job,” he said.

[Did—did he just praise us? For not killing people?]

{Not for not killing people, weren’t you listening? For not killing people in his city!}

[Still a first either way.]

“Bank robbery,” muttered Spiderman looking away from Deadpool. “At this time of night?” he asked.

Deadpool couldn't see the hero frown, but could hear it in his voice. Deadpool bounced and clapped his hands. “Oh! Let me come too! I want to help too!” he said.

[He’s not going to want our help, dipshit.]

{Look, just because he invited us to the city doesn’t mean he wants our help.}

“All right,” Spiderman said grudgingly, “but let me call someone first.” He pulled out a phone, flipped it open (seriously, who still has a flip-phone in this day and age) and began to dial.

“A cabbie? A helicopter? Your lady friend?”

“Police,” Spiderman said vaguely.

[Say what now?]

{Eh, if he tries to have us arrested we can just kill him. We were hired to do that anyway.}

Deadpool listened to Spiderman request both police and an ambulance for a criminal that was severely injured during the capture procedure. Then the spider closed the phone and tucked it into the suit—and there wasn’t even a bulge to indicate where it came from. “Holy shit, and they say I’m amazing. Well, never twice, but holy shit! Where, in that tightness, did you put a pocket?”

“Are you going to be like this the whole way?” demanded Spiderman. “Because, if you are, you can find your own way to the bank.” He rattled off an address.

[Holy—not only did he not call the cops on us, but he’s still letting us tag along!]

{I don’t think we can kill him now. Maybe Osborn? But not in this city.}

The spider had long since swung off. “Guys,” Deadpool said, “this nice thing—it’s only an act. I’ll kill him when he slips.” He grinned. “But until then—let’s see where this takes us!” He pulled out a grappling hook and fired it at the next building over so that he could swing like the spider towards the robbery.

^^^

The act didn’t fade. Spiderman not only let Deadpool patrol with him to help the police stop crime (although that was difficult in itself—trusting the police) he frequently thanked the merc for his help. It was—strange. Nice, but—strange. People had never really thanked him before—not even the few people he knew who could listen to him without getting nervous.

That was another odd thing about Spiderman—he didn’t get nervous around Deadpool, not like other people did. Hell, just the other night a criminal had turned, seen Deadpool right beside Spiderman and literally wet his pants right there in fear. It was a given response—a normal response. Deadpool was having trouble with Spiderman’s lack of response.

The blog was fun though. At first he hadn’t thought twice about it, posting about the night’s patrol under the rant section (and was oddly pleased that he wasn’t one of the people Spiderman ranted about)—until Spiderman began responding to his posts which was—frankly terrifying. He wasn’t sure why it made him nervous.

And that day he was reading “Everyday Heroes” to see—himself. A post about how Deadpool, notorious mercenary and cold-blooded killer, waded into thick, NYC traffic to save a kitten that had somehow ended up in the middle of the street. The post was, like all the others in the Everyday Heroes section, short and sweet.

Only thing was, that incident happened in the broad light of day, and Spiderman had been nowhere around.

{He did tell us that he sees more than we think he does.} Yellow sounded anxious.

[He’s making us feel again. That’s never good. We should just kill him and forget this whole thing.]

But—Deadpool didn’t want to kill Spiderman. Hanging out with Spiderman was fun. The hero would laugh at his jokes, praised him for not killing people (in New York City), and thank Deadpool for his help. It was nice, it was fun, and he didn’t want it to end yet.

[You’re right. We should wait to kill him until after he hates us.]

{Spiderman isn’t going to hate us!}

[Everyone hates us; just give it time.]

Deadpool, alone in his crappy apartment (because, again—immortal and who cares), nodded. He would do that. White was right—everyone hated him eventually, and he could enjoy hanging out with the spider until he hated Deadpool too. Then he could kill him.

^^^

It wasn’t until the capture of the giant green lizard that Deadpool realized that Spiderman—Spiderman wasn’t going to hate him. In fact, Spiderman was worried about Deadpool, about how casual Deadpool was with his own life. Staring at the ranting spider the mercenary came to an odd—and yet right—conclusion: Spiderman—cared. Spiderman cared more about Deadpool’s life than anyone else—including Deadpool. It was heartwarming, it was wonderful—and it was terrifying.

[Well, we can’t kill him now.]

Spiderman’s rant ran down and Deadpool frantically searched for something to change the subject. “You hungry? I know a great Mexican place—open twenty-four hours!”

Spiderman stared at Deadpool for a moment in silence.

{I don’t think he’s happy with us.}

[Let’s kill him now!]

Finally the hero heaved a huge sigh. “Yeah, sure. Why not?” he asked. The two of them walked to the restaurant, leaving the human that used to be a giant lizard in a box in the alley. They made the walk in silence, they ordered—and Spiderman pulled out his phone and started texting.

“Who are you texting?” asked Deadpool as he helped himself to some of the complimentary nachos.

“Mrs. Conner. We’ve worked out a system; I’m letting her know he turned again and where to pick him up.”

Deadpool stared at Spiderman, as if he hadn’t seen the hero before. “Spidey—are you helping someone avoid the police?”

“Do you honestly think he’ll get the help he needs in prison?” Spiderman demanded. “Besides,” he added as the waitress (sadly, one of those that won’t serve alcohol without a photo ID) brought them their drinks, “he didn’t hurt anyone and honestly? That company deserves a little cosmetic damage. Maybe then people might see them for the monsters they really are.” Spiderman pushed his mask up to his nose and took a sip of the carbonated beverage.

“You should put that on your blog,” Deadpool said. He too, had pushed up his mask. Spiderman either pretended not to see—or really didn’t care.

[Don’t kid yourself—he’s being polite. Besides, it’s dark in here. It’s dark everywhere the two of you go to eat.]

{Maybe. He actually seems to like us.}

Deadpool watched the lower half of Spiderman’s face twist in a grimace. “I really just want to focus on more positive things in that blog.” He gave a tiny smile.

“Like saving kittens in traffic?” Deadpool’s voice was harder than he meant it to be.

The slight smile faded. “Do you mind?” he asked. “If you do, I’ll pull it off.”

[Whoa. He’s offering to change his blog for us!]

{Forget killing him; you should marry him!}

“Eh, no, it’s fine,” he assured the young hero. While Spiderman had never given Deadpool an age it was clear the hero was young. Possibly even young enough to make him qualified for the “no children” rule—although Deadpool was kind of hoping not. The waitress brought their food and walked quickly away. “I was just surprised. I didn’t see you anywhere around at the time.”

Spiderman smiled again. “I told you,” he said calmly, “I see more than you think I do.”

Deadpool couldn't let it go. “Then what about the ones that don’t have a good reason for what they do?” he asked thinking back to the days, not that long ago, when he was one of those people. “What if they can’t change?”

The white eyes of the Spiderman suit met his calmly and the hero shrugged. “What if they can?” he asked.

^^^

A few days later he got a tip about a man he’d been chasing around the globe—and was on a bridge, at twilight, waiting.

{This might not be the best idea. Isn’t Spiderman waiting for us to patrol?}

[It’s Francis! We can’t let that bastard get away with what he did to us!]

“No,” Deadpool said, suit tight over scarred skin as memories of screams and pain washed over him for a moment. “We can’t.”

{We can’t kill him in the city! Spiderman trusts us!}

[Easy—we knock him out, take him outside the limits, and then kill him. Then we’re still not killing someone in the city and we can kill Francis.]

{I think Spiderman might object to that logic.}

[Then we kill him too.]

“We’re not killing Spiderman,” Deadpool muttered as the car his informant had told him about came into the street. “But we are,” he added grimly before getting into position to jump, “going to kill Francis.” He jumped into the car on the street below.

Something unexpected happened after he landed on the car. Several other cars, nearby, braked and then surrounded him in a circle as he felt an odd stinging sensation in his neck. He reached up and pulled out—a dart with a plunger?

“Poor Wade,” said the smooth voice of Deadpool’s most hated enemy. The British accent almost brought back waking nightmares of torture. “Did you really think it would be that easy to kill me? I’m far smarter than you think.” The tall man with his shaved head and hallow eyes stepped out of the car and grinned down at Deadpool.

Deadpool tried to focus—but the world was bleeding into color.

“Did you think you destroyed everything in the facility?” asked Francis, sounding warmly amused. “Oh, we still have all your data—and not even your healing factor can save you now.” Francis strode forward and gripped Deadpool’s chin—and Deadpool couldn't move. His arms were coated in lead. “This time,” the man said savagely, “you will become a perfect little mindless slave.”

There were yells, shouts, and gunfire. Francis pulled his hand away and Deadpool collapsed as the ground turned into a mass of technicolor bubbles with teeth. Teeth that wanted to rip into Deadpool—to rip him apart.

“Deadpool?” asked a familiar voice. ‘Oh, shit!”

[Not like…Spidey…to swear.]

{Ow.}

Deadpool’s world dissolved into nightmares. He had no idea how long they taunted him, haunting him. Making him live through the torture again. To watch his best friend, his only friend (before Spiderman) die again.

He knew when the nightmares stopped though. He could hear birds chirping nearby. He opened his eyes—to see a young man—no, a young teenage boy—right next to him. He froze as he tried desperately to remember how this had happened.

The boy groaned slightly, opened brilliant amber eyes, and then leaned forward to place his cool, smooth forehead against Deadpool’s own.

[Oh my God! He’s touching our skin!]

{Where’s the mask? Where’s the mask?}

Deadpool—was frozen. He knew his face was hideous and that he looked like some kind of old school movie monster. What if the boy realized it? Where had the boy come from? And where was Deadpool for that matter?

“Good,” murmured the boy in satisfaction. “Your fever broke.”

“Fever?” asked Deadpool. He hadn’t had a fever since—not since the first time he saw Francis. Not since his healing factor had kicked in. Since he stopped being able to die.

The boy didn’t answer him, but rolled over and off the bed. “Aunt May,” he called as he padded from the room, “his fever broke!”

“What fever?” asked Deadpool again, his voice harsh and raspy. He rolled over, only to collapse back against the bed panting. His limbs felt like weak, overcooked noodles. “What happened?” he asked.

[Had something to do with that damn dart.]

{Weasel gave us up!}

Deadpool felt a brief wave of anger at the bartender/informant—that quickly drained away. Of course Weasel had given Deadpool up the same way that Deadpool would have done the same to Weasel if their positions had been reversed. Deadpool couldn't hate him for that.

[I’ll hate him for all three of us then.]

An old woman, dressed in a button-down the front blue blouse with faded blue jeans, came into the room and looked at Deadpool, mouth pressed into a thin line and eyes narrowed. “So you’re finally back with us. Well, Deadpool or whatever you call yourself, get dressed.” She gestured to a chair with clothes on it. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”

[Who is she to give us orders?]

{Where are we? And why do we feel weak?}

“Good question,” muttered Deadpool. He looked up as the boy entered the room again. “Where am I?”

“My house,” the boy said calmly, as if he carried injured mercenaries into his home every day. Maybe he did. “I didn’t know where you lived and you needed help.” The boy frowned. “Aunt May used to be a nurse, so I thought—well, she knew what to do.”

“Wait,” said Deadpool, confused. “What?”

The boy blinked those huge amber eyes and then grinned. “Sorry,” he said, “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Peter Parker. Also,” he added with a sly twinkle, “known as Spiderman.”

Deadpool stared for a moment. What—Spiderman—here? Spiderman willingly took Deadpool home? “How—how did you know I was on that bridge?” he asked warily.

“I keep telling you that I see more than you think I do,” the boy—Peter responded.

And Deadpool realized where he’d seen that face before. When he’d waded into traffic to save that kitten, that face had been on the sidewalk, watching him as he verbally abused the drivers who would run over a helpless little animal because they were in a hurry, Peter had been one of the faces in the crowd. One of the few weren’t being exasperated with him. “You were there,” he said wonderingly, “that day I saved the kitten. But—I didn’t—I didn’t notice you.”

Peter, instead of taking offense, merely chuckled. “It’s an art to be unnoticeable,” he said. “I’ve been perfecting it for years.”

Deadpool laughed a little breathlessly. He started to hold out a scarred hand, and hesitated.

[He’s already seen us.]

{And he’s not making gagging noises!}

Deadpool swallowed and held out his hand. “Wade,” he said introducing himself for the first time since the torture. “Wade Wilson.”

Peter gently took Wade’s hand, and then helped the man stand up. Wade wasn’t surprised—on one of their patrols he’d seen Spiderman lift and toss a huge concrete pillar from a parking garage that collapsed. Wade was more surprised by the fact he needed help getting dressed—since the healing factor kicked in he hadn’t been weak for longer than it took for him to come back to life. He also needed help getting down the stairs to the table—which was set with homemade waffles, fake maple syrup, and bowls of fresh fruit next to tall glasses of juice.

It was a better meal than anything Wade had seen in years. “Thank you,” he said as Peter helped him into a seat.

The old woman—Aunt May—watched him with narrowed eyes for a moment. “I understand,” she said looking at him, “that you’re the reason Peter has decided to come clean about his—extra curricular activities.” Peter winced.

“I had no idea he was going to be there,” Wade protested.

“Of course you didn’t,” said the woman. “You don’t understand,” she said, “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I’m saying that Peter has finally found a reason to talk to me again.”

Peter winced. “Aunt May—” he began.

“Yes, I know—you were trying to protect me.” She snorted. “I have a better chance of not being in danger if I know that there is danger!”

Peter shrank slightly. “Yes, Aunt May.”

She snorted. “Reckless child,” she muttered affectionately. The three of them sat down together and ate.

The experience was—novel. The closest thing Wade had to compare to it was those late night meals he grabbed with Spiderman. Prior to that Wade hadn’t had a meal in company—a meal eaten with another person—since before the torture.

And no one at this table wanted to kill Wade, or torture him, or hurt him. It was—new.

Near the end of the meal Peter spoke up. “About that—man,” he said grimly, “that shot you with the dart. Francis.” Oddly enough Peter made the name sound like a curse and Wade looked up warily. Bright, amber eyes met his and he said grimly, “I told him he had twenty-four hours to get out of my city.”

“Don’t kill in my city.”

Peter was giving Wade permission to go after Francis and finish the man off.

“That’s nice,” said Aunt May blithely, reminding both of them of her presence. “Peter, take the dishes to the sink and then take garbage. I want that bin by the curb for them to pick up.” Peter kissed his aunt on the cheek as he gathered the dishes and left the room. “He’s a good boy. We raised him well,” she said absently before turning to face Wade again. “As for you,” she said grimly. “You like him.”

It wasn’t a question, and Wade didn’t respond to it.

“If you kill that man, and I’m not going to say he doesn’t deserve to to die after the nightmares you had—”

What had Wade said in his sleep? How much did they know? He stared at the old woman and realized—she’d never tell him.

“—but if you kill him you will change the relationship you are building with that boy forever. Be prepared for that,” she said firmly as Peter came back into the kitchen.

^^^

A few weeks later saw Wade completely healed.

[Don’t you think it’s odd that we’re not calling ourselves Deadpool anymore?]

{No more odd than the fact we’re calling Spidey Petey.}

He found himself in Weasel’s bar, and if he’d had any doubts about the man’s information the way the bartender went completely white at the mere sight of him showing up would have killed them.

[I still say we should kill him.]

{Not in Peter’s city.}

[Eh.]

“Dead—Deadpool,” Weasel stammered. “How—how are you buddy?” He swallowed.

“A lot better than our mutual friend Francis wants me to be,” Deadpool said as he sat on one of the bar stools. He leaned on his elbows on the bar and looked over the bartender who looked nervous.

“I’m sorry man,” the bartender said. “I didn’t want—it’s nothing personal.”

Deadpool smiled. “Oh, I know,” he said cheerfully. “The same way I know that if our positions were reversed I would do the same thing. No, I came here because you’re going to do me a favor.”

“A favor?” asked Weasel.

“Nothing you haven’t done before. You’re just going to spread some information—for me this time.”

“And what—information would that be?” asked Weasel nervously.

“Anyone who tries to go after Spiderman will have to go through me.”

Wade never did leave the city to hunt down Francis. After all, if Deadpool left New York—then who would protect Spiderman?

[hysterialevi]

Eitr | Chapter 10

Fanfic summary: In an alternate universe where the Raven Clan is wiped out, Sigurd ends up being rescued by the son of a Saxon ealdorman, and is tasked with being the boy’s new bodyguard. Upon meeting the boy’s father however, Sigurd soon realizes that the ealdorman is responsible for his clan’s destruction, and secretly plans for revenge while hiding behind the guise of a Norse pagan turned Christian.

Point of view: third-person

Pairing: Sigurd Styrbjornson x Male OC

Author’s note: Thanks for being patient with me guys. I know I’ve been sucking ass in terms of getting these chapters out at a frequent rate, but I really appreciate you all being so understanding with me. Hope you enjoy this part, and thanks again for the support.

This story is also on AO3 | Previous chapter | Next chapter

ONE WEEK LATER

ELMENHAM, THE LONGHOUSE

Oswald threw an incredulous stare at Eivor upon hearing the news, unable to deny the doubt that was settling into his mind.

“The ealdorman of Wedenscire did this?” He asked. “Are you certain?”

Eivor shrugged, fidgeting with his axe as he relaxed in a chair.

“That’s what Gjuki tells me. There is still much information to be uncovered when it comes to the nature of this ambush, but based on what he has brought to me so far, I think it’s safe to assume that Aegenwulf was involved with the attack at the very least.”

The king placed his hands on his hips and began to pace around the room. “I just... I find it difficult to believe that he would act so brazenly -- especially in the middle of a war, no less. Aegenwulf has never been fond of the Danes, that is true, but he is a man of honor; a man of God. If he truly is behind the attack on Ravensthorpe, why would he do such a thing? What reason could he have to treat your people in such a way?”

Eivor sighed, tracing the edge of his blade. “I do not yet know, but his crimes go beyond what happened at Ravensthorpe. He also has my brother.”

That caught Oswald’s attention. “Aegenwulf has Sigurd? Is he holding him prisoner?”

“Not officially, but he may as well be. I have only heard fragments of the entire situation in Forangal, but Gjuki tells me Sigurd is slowly being brainwashed. He bears their sigil, and raises a blade in the ealdorman’s name. He obeys Aegenwulf’s every word, and apparently, has expressed some hesitation in terms of going along with my plans to assault the fortress. There are even whispers that he might convert to Christianity soon. They are turning him into a thrall.”

The Saxon king shook his head in sympathy, gazing blankly at the floor. “I’m... so sorry, Eivor. You’ve made it quite clear how much Sigurd means to you. I can’t imagine what it’s like watching a loved one lose sense of who they are. I wish I could make all this go away with a snap of my fingers, but we’ll need more men if we are to breach the walls of Forangal Castle.”

Eivor rose from his seat, sliding his axe back into its sheathe. “Have no fear, Oswald. We will have the forces we need soon enough. I have just finished securing an alliance in Eurvicscire. A couple more, and we should be ready to get Sigurd back.”

“Good. In the meantime, I will do all I can to prepare. A fragile peace hangs over East Anglia, but if there’s any chance we can save your brother, I’ll be there when you call for me. So will Valdis.”

“Thank you, Oswald.” Eivor said sincerely. “I know I’m asking a lot, but if we don’t rescue Sigurd from Forangal, he could end up dead. Or worse.”

“I understand. This is not something we can simply let go. If Aegenwulf really is at the heart of all this, we must bring him to justice. He has the blood of many innocents on his hands, and that cannot go unpunished.”

Oswald strolled back to his throne, finally having a seat after a long day of work.

“Carry on with your plans, Eivor. I will inform Valdis of what is to come. In the meantime, do your best to keep your head high. I know these are trying times, but Sigurd is going to need your strength if his situation is truly as bad as Gjuki reports.”

Eivor gave him a nod, making his way out of the longhouse. “I know, Oswald. And I will. I’m not giving up on him yet.”

~~~~~~~~~~

THAT NIGHT

FORANGAL CASTLE, SIGURD’S CHAMBERS

Dragging a small stone along the edge of his sword, Sigurd sharpened the blade underneath the pale moonlight as he sat by the window, continuously checking to see if Gjuki had lit the brazier yet.

It had been about a week or so ever since he began searching for Algar’s hidden crypt, and with no further updates to inform Sigurd of what was going on, the man couldn’t deny that he was starting to grow anxious.

What if something had happened to Gjuki? What if he had been caught? What if all this was for nothing? What would he do?

The last thing Sigurd wanted was to think about the possible outcomes that could arise if their plan was foiled, but the thoughts continued to creep into his mind regardless. There were so many risks at hand and so many lives to consider, that he was beginning to wonder if all their effort was doomed to end in futility.

After all, they were heavily outnumbered in this part of England. Aside from Gjuki and his men, Sigurd really had no one else to rely on in Wedenscire. Of course, he had the support of Aegenwulf’s children to back him up, but in the face of true monarchy, he doubted that their approval of him would mean much to the ealdorman in the end.

Still, he supposed there was no use in worrying until he had a solid reason to believe something was amiss. Gjuki had already proven himself to be a skilled warrior in the past, and with Eivor waiting just beyond the horizon to bring Aegenwulf to justice, Sigurd remained confident in the fact that they would reunite someday.

Though, of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t frightened.

“...Sigurd?” A man suddenly said from behind the door, their gruff voice muffled by its material. “Are you in there?”

The viking placed his sword down and walked over to the entrance, straightening his tunic along the way.

“One moment.”

Swinging the door open with a firm pull, Sigurd paused in surprise when he saw an unexpected face greeting him from the other side, admittedly confused about their presence here.

“Thegn Raedan?” He said. “Is there something you need?”

The nobleman took a moment to observe the Norse in front of him, flicking his eyes up and down.

“So...” Raedan replied quietly, not wanting to wake Forangal’s people, “you’re Sigurd the Lone-Wolf. I apologize for the abrupt visit -- especially at such a late hour -- but I wanted to speak with you face-to-face. After all, I don’t think you and I have had the chance to sit down and have a proper conversation yet, have we?”

“No, we haven’t.”

The Saxon quirked a brow at him. “...May I come in?”

Sigurd stepped to the side, allowing him entry. “Of course, my lord.”

Walking into the dimly-lit chamber, Raedan strolled towards the window and leaned against the wall beside it, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword as Sigurd closed the door behind him.

“So,” the viking said, “what did you wish to speak about?”

Raedan was quiet for a second. “...Well, a few things. But mainly, my wife. Moira. You’ve met her a handful of times by now, haven’t you? I know she’s been giving you some trouble since we first arrived, and I’m sorry about that. She is a good woman, but she’s also very protective. And I fear that the history between our people and yours has been anything but peaceful.”

The viking crossed his arms. “I assume her distrust towards me isn’t without reason.”

The Saxon nodded. “And you’d be correct. I’ll spare you the details, but... just know that she lost her own mother to the vikings. Many years ago. It’s the main reason her father arranged a marriage between the two of us. He wanted to secure an alliance with my family in order to drive the Danes out of their lands. It worked in the end... but at a great cost.”

Sigurd’s tone softened with empathy. “...I’m sorry to hear that. I know how it feels.”

“I imagine we all do, nowadays. Unfortunately. It’s rare to find someone who has evaded the tragedy of this war, and even rarer to find someone who hasn’t been changed by it. But I digress...”

Raedan approached Sigurd, lowering his voice so that it was barely above a whisper.

“May I ask you something, Lone Wolf?”

The Norseman nodded. “Certainly.”

“...From what I understand, you’re quite close to Aegenwulf, aren’t you?”

Sigurd shook his head. “Not particularly, no. In fact, I hardly know anything about him.”

“Is that so? Well, I must admit, that’s somewhat of a surprise. I simply assumed you were friends since he’s allowed you to stay here. Most Danes that cross paths with Aegenwulf end up with a severed head.”

“It was mostly his children who influenced his decision to spare me,” Sigurd explained. “Initially, Aegenwulf was going to have me executed.”

Raedan chuckled softly. “Ah, yes. That’s more what I expected. Still, it doesn’t sound like the Aegenwulf I knew all those years ago. He’s always been a stern bastard, mind you, but... I feel as if he’s changed lately. And not for the better.”

Sigurd recalled what Edric told him. “Well, he did lose one of his sons.”

“Aye. Gareth. I heard about that. Such a horrible death, and one that I fear has left Aegenwulf in a perpetual state of despair. He always puts on a smile when he’s around me, but I can’t help but feel as if it’s no more than a facade.”

The viking picked up on his tone. “You’re worried about him?”

“I am. That’s why I came to you. I hate to talk about a man behind his back, but I thought you might know something that could help. Seems he’s keeping secrets from everyone these days, though.”

Sigurd couldn’t hide the sharpness in his voice. “Not everyone.”

“Oh? You have someone in mind?”

The Norseman sighed out of hesitance, somewhat reluctant to answer the question. Part of him trusted Raedan to handle information like this with an objective mind -- he seemed quite rational, after all -- but the other part regretted saying anything in the first place.

Still, he wondered if it’d be best if someone from outside of Forangal knew the reality of the situation. Sigurd wasn’t willing to open up to Raedan about everything just yet, but... maybe it could’ve helped if one of Aegenwulf’s oldest allies had the gist of what was going on.

He only prayed he wasn’t wrong.

“...It’s Algar.” Sigurd finally confessed.

Raedan furrowed his brow. “Algar? You mean Aegenwulf’s housecarl? What about him? Have you noticed anything strange?”

“Nothing specific,” he lied, “but it doesn’t take much to see that he’s influencing Aegenwulf’s way of thinking -- and not in a good way.”

Strangely enough, the other man didn’t seem too shocked. “Yes... I’ve heard the folks in this castle whispering about him. Edric’s mentioned him a few times as well. I get the impression that no one here is really fond of him, and now I’m starting to suspect there’s more to it than mere speculation.”

“Indeed. Everyone I’ve met so far has called him a snake. Perhaps it’d be worth keeping an eye on him--” 

Sigurd came to an abrupt pause, suddenly noticing a lone flame glowing in the distance. It appeared to be coming from the pier just as Gjuki said it would, and he could’ve sworn he saw someone moving around in the shadows.

It must’ve been him.

“Sigurd?” Raedan said, pulling the viking from his thoughts. “Is... everything alright?”

The bodyguard brought his gaze back to the nobleman, quickly conjuring up an excuse.

“Erm, f-forgive me, my lord. I hate to cut our conversation short, but I just remembered I have an important matter to take care of. I’m afraid it can’t wait. If you’ll excuse me...”

Raedan nodded, giving him a casual wave. “Of course, Sigurd. Do what you must, and thank you for lending your ear to this old dog. I’ll keep in mind what you said about Algar, and I think we’d both do best to observe his every move. In the meantime, keep Aegenwulf’s children safe, understand? I don’t know what’s going on with his housecarl, but those little rascals don’t deserve any harm.”

“Understood. You have my word.”

The Saxon began heading for the exit, satisfied with the information he gathered. “Very good. I’ll see myself off, then. Take care of yourself, Lone Wolf. This place is far from safe, and I fear it’ll stay that way for quite some time.” He gave him one last glance. 

“Until we meet again.”

~~~~~~~~~~

A FEW MINUTES LATER

THE PIER

Tugging his hood further down his face, Sigurd stuck to the path as he navigated his way through the darkness, doing his best to stay concealed in the overwhelming blackness of the night.

So far, he had yet to notice anyone tailing him through the wilderness, and the foliage around him remained calm with inactivity, but he couldn’t seem to fight off the sense of dread that was crawling underneath his skin.

It just felt... ominous out here. There was too much silence; too much stillness. The world was devoid of any life during this time of day, and it didn’t reflect the same atmosphere Sigurd experienced when he went hunting with Edric at all. 

Perhaps it was just nerves, he thought. The night always seemed to draw out a certain type of fear from people’s hearts, and the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be out here in the first place certainly didn’t help.

His mind may have been racing with about a thousand different thoughts at the moment, what with all the anxiety that was building up in his chest, but he had to remind himself to stay calm.

Panicking would only make him stand out more after all, and he couldn’t afford to be caught.

“...Gjuki?” Sigurd whispered cautiously, quietly approaching the pier as he stepped into the brazier’s circle of light. “Gjuki, are you there?”

There was no response.

“Gjuki,” He repeated a bit louder, starting to grow concerned. “It’s me, Sigurd. You can come out.”

Still, he received no answer.

Where was that damned bard? He wondered. Had Gjuki been forced to flee prematurely due to some sort of threat? Or had Sigurd simply mistaken this flame as his signal?

He assumed the fire had been lit by Gjuki, considering that this pier was abandoned. No one else had any reason to make use of this place, and the timing of its appearance had to be more than just a coincidence. 

Though, in spite of all that, the bard remained nowhere to be seen. There was no trace of Gjuki lying around the vicinity, and if Sigurd looked closely enough at the wooden floor of the pier, he could’ve sworn he saw some type of red liquid staining its surface.

Wait a minute. 

Was that...?

“Hello, Lone Wolf.”

Whirling around at the sudden voice, Sigurd barely had any time to react before he felt the sharp sting of an armored fist bashing him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

He heard a group of footsteps swarming him as soon as he hit the floor, and within the blink of an eye, a pair of men had grabbed him by the arms, restraining him in their grasp.

“Hold him down!” A familiar voice bellowed over the commotion.

Sigurd struggled violently in their grip and desperately attempted to break free, only to receive a firm kick to the stomach. His head was still spinning from the initial punch, and now, his organs felt as if they were about to climb up his throat too.

“Stay still!” One of the men barked, shoving Sigurd’s face into the ground as he bent the man’s arms behind his back. But the viking wasn’t done fighting yet.

Despite being somewhat dazed from the attack, Sigurd wrestled even harder with the guards and let out an aggressive grunt, trying to weaken their grasp.

Before he could resist their seizure any further however, a metallic scrape suddenly reached his ears, forcing him to bring his attention to the dagger that was now kissing the flesh on his throat.

“Move one more muscle,” his captor hissed, “and I’ll plant this little beauty straight through your eye.”

Sigurd glared at the man on the other side of the blade, instantly recognizing their face.

“...Algar.”

The housecarl grinned widely, leaning in closer to him as he pulled his hood back. “Well, well. If it isn’t the blue-eyed demon. I had a feeling you would turn up sooner or later, Sigurd. I’m so glad to see you again.”

Sigurd ignored the man’s taunts, focused entirely on the absence of his friend. “Where’s Gjuki? What have you done with him?”

Algar raised a brow. “Oh, you mean the bard? There’s no need to worry about him, mate. I assure you, he’s receiving the exact treatment he deserves.” 

The viking glowered at the malevolence in his tone, horrified to imagine what Gjuki could’ve been going through at the moment.

“I’ll kill you for this, you dog...!” Sigurd growled through clenched teeth.

The Saxon offered nothing but a chuckle in response. “You’ve certainly got a fire in you, Lone Wolf. There’s no denying that. I almost... respect it in a way. But unfortunately, I doubt you’ll be doing anything in your position.”

Algar grabbed Sigurd by the hair, yanking his head upwards from the ground with a hard tug. 

“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t figure out what you and your friend were doing? How blind do you think I am? I warned you what would happen if you defied me, Sigurd, but it seems my threats fell on deaf ears. A shame, really, seeing as how you would’ve made a great warrior. All you had to do was follow our fucking orders. Now though, I’m afraid your fate rests in Aegenwulf’s hands.”

Algar let go of the viking’s hair and stood up from the ground, giving his men a series of commands.

“Tie him up, and bring him back to the castle. I’ll inform the ealdorman of what has transpired here. In the meantime, make sure this one stays put in the dungeons. I don’t want him to see even a sliver of sunlight until Aegenwulf permits it.”

“Right away, sir.” They answered in unison.

“Good. Then our business here is concluded. Oh, and Sigurd?” Algar shot a smirk at him. “Have no fear. I’ll personally see to it that your friend Edric hears of this. Can’t wait to see what he thinks.”

Sheathing his weapon, Algar swiftly walked over to his horse and prepared to return to the castle, dousing the brazier’s fire with a splash of water from the river.

Meanwhile, his men wrapped a cloth around Sigurd’s mouth and secured him with an abundance of ropes, ensuring that the man couldn’t move. Afterwards, they hauled him up from the ground and threw him over the back of one of their mounts, rendering him completely defenseless.

Sigurd was terrified right now. He had no idea what Algar intended to do with him, nor if Aegenwulf would spare him a second time -- and considering the fact that Gjuki could’ve been dead, he assumed he had lost his only chance to discover what the housecarl was doing behind closed doors.

Everything was going to hell. 

Not only would he be a prisoner of Algar’s now, his identity would also be exposed to everyone in Forangal. They would learn his real name, and finally hear the truth of his cryptic background. Edric would believe that his clan was responsible for the death of his brother, and the trust that they had built thus far would crumble into ash.

Blood of Tyr, Sigurd thought to himself. What on earth had done? Would he even survive this next week?

How was he going to contact Eivor now? Were Gjuki’s people aware of what was happening? Surely, Eivor would realize something was amiss with the bard’s disappearance. 

Or perhaps... he would just assume they were dead. Hope was in short supply nowadays due to everything going on in the war, and it wasn’t much of a stretch to believe that Sigurd had been killed whilst in the hands of Saxon enemies. Eivor probably had many other things to worry about at the moment, and the viking could only pray that his brother would be vigilant enough to notice that something had gone wrong.

Otherwise... Sigurd didn’t know what else he would do. There weren’t many chances to escape in a situation like this, and the odds were heavily stacked against him. 

Right now, his only option seemed to be compliance. He imagined his stay with Algar would simply worsen if he fought back, and any defiance would’ve surely swayed Aegenwulf towards a less forgiving approach.

Edric was the one person who had any hope of changing the ealdorman’s mind, and just like before, Sigurd had no choice but to rely on the young man’s help.

He was the only one who could’ve saved him now, and unless his view of the viking changed after hearing Algar’s report, Sigurd hoped he would be able to see reason. 

There was something deeper connecting the two of them, and now, after all this time, he would finally see for himself if it ever actually meant anything.

[warsmith-38]

How I would do RWBY pt. 2

Season Two

Emerald and Mercury go to book store.

Try intimidating ex-White Fang owner.

He’s tense, but not impressed.

Adam walks in.

He shits himself.

Tries fighting.

Dies. Painfully might I add.

Emerald and Mercury banter. Adam just seems bored.

Cinder (teenaged, not adult) scolds them for 86ing the guy in such a public and possibly trackable way.

Adam assures them that they weren’t seen. He has practice in that sort of thing.

Torchwick is annoyed at working with these people but at least he’s getting paid a mint.

Cinder says that, with all of the stolen dust, phase two of plan can to be started soon.

Neo give her a look of ‘get over yourself, you chuunibyou.��

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

More guests arrive.

Ironwood talks with Ozpin about world affairs.

Grimm populations and attacks are getting worse, but are still manageable.

Says that he has brought plenty of extra security in the form of Penny and a big amount of security robots and mechs.

More bonding scenes because reasons.

RWBY + JNPR have food fight because funny.

Velvet and Blake are closer than earlier and give little ‘anti-racism’ classes for Weiss.

Blake is friendlier with everyone now that she knows they wouldn’t kill her since she’s a faunus.

Ruby has taken on the role of mechanic for everyone’s weapons.

Jaune dominates wargaming night.

Ren and Fox try to help Ruby with her hand-to-hand skills (Yang is not a great teacher of such things)

Scene of properly meeting team SSSN.

Nice guys, but a little too uncoordinated in style.

Ruby ends up having a frustrated breakdown.

Gives WBY speech of how they have to get involved and screw the people telling them to sit down and let them handle the problem instead.

Blake is the first to go along with what she’s saying.

Yang and Weiss argue that this is not a good idea, saying that this sounds like Ruby just wants to go play vigilante again.

Blake says that Ruby has a point, nothing will get accomplished if they sit around doing nothing.

Weiss is the one that cracks next. Agrees that the authorities aren’t exactly inspiring confidence since the run in with Torchwick.

Yang finally gives in, if only to make sure Ruby doesn’t get herself murdered.

Ruby, in her excitement to actually be doing something, rushes out the door to get snacks and runs into someone.

That someone is Cinder.

Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and disguised Neo (Team CEMN (Cinnamon (work with me here))) keep up the façade of Haven guests from canon.

Ruby almost immediately starts gushing over their cool weapons before being reined in by WBY.

Emerald pickpocket’s Weiss’ wallet and snags rich girl’s cash before putting it back.

Mercury and Yang have a very clear stare-down of ‘punching vs kicking, who will win?’

Neo and Blake…stare at each other (Adam is Blake’s Rival/Foil. Blake v. Neo is just pair the spares).

RWBY has made new friends. (The poor dears)

RWBY start their investigation.

Team SSSN turns up to help at the last minute.

Okay, sure, free help.

Blake and Sun try to find local White Fang schmucks.

Scarlet and Sage go off to do random shit.

Yang drags Neptune to Junior’s club to check the pulse of the criminal element of the city.

Ruby and Weiss dig up information at library place-thing.

They encounter Penny on the way.

Penny acts weird(er) and tries to bolt off.

Weiss agrees that Penny is suspicious as hell and, with all the happenings, that means that she could be a potential lead.

She lets Ruby go after her while she about her investigating alone.

Penny reveals to Ruby that she’s a mechanical maiden (Persona 3 is best Persona).

Ruby is VERY interested now.

Ruby already liked her as a person and now she knows that Penny is a person who is also a weapon.

Zero downsides.

Penny, happy to be accepted, let’s slip that she knows some crazy stuff is happening in the world.

Says that that’s why she was allowed to come to the tournament, as extra back up just in case.

Says that the communications tower is the most obvious target but might not be the actual target.

Can’t elaborate further because of Ciel and her bodyguards showing up.

Ciel gives Ruby the third degree on encouraging Penny’s truant behavior.

Ruby gives her the finger.

Ciel takes Penny away and Ruby gets back to work.

Weiss gets whatever information about the White Fang and Torchwick that isn’t classified, and a little that is, transferred to her.

Her older sister is a high ranker in the military and her father bankrolled a good chunk of said military.

Ain’t nepotism a bitch?

Yang and Neptune come up empty handed, but Yang got to pick another fight at the club before the cops showed up so she’s all good.

Neptune thinks that that’s all Yang went there to do in the first place.

Scarlet and Sage get captured by the White Fang. (They said they had fresh cookies, what were S + S going to do, say no?)

Blake leads Sun along a trail of breadcrumbs to a White Fang hideout.

Sees a recruitment rally going on.

Blake has a heart attack seeing who’s giving a speech.

It’s Adam.

Speech is an emotional call to arms against the cruelty of humanity.

Crowd is skeptical but still listening.

Reveals his brand.

Crowd is now enthusiastic to sign up for the White Fang.

Adam reveals newly stolen war-mech.

Says that they’ll test its power by executing Scarlet and Sage.

Blake spoils his moment by covertly revealing that Roman is the pilot of said mech (Neo is co-pilot).

Crowd turns against Adam for his hypocrisy.

Adam cheeses it.

Roman takes it on himself to attack Blake and Sun.

Scarlet and Sage are freed and take on the rowdy crowd.

While running, Blake and Sun encounter RWY and Neptune.

Sun and Neptune get good hits in but are btfo’d.

Scarlet and Sage find them and all is good for team SSSN.

RWBY has quasi-rematch against Roman + Neo.

Fight goes well.

Team CFVY shows up and stomps the mech.

Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again!

RWBY celebrates a fight well won.

CFVY are pissed that RWBY would do something so dangerous and make them promise not to do things like this again.

RWBY lies through their collective teeth about not doing it again.

Get put on probation anyway.

Pyrrha and Jaune are having a moment together before Jaune ruins it.

Jaune admits that he lied and cheated his way into school due to impatience and lack of immediate combat skills.

He confesses all of this out of guilt and plans to turn himself in.

Pyrrha is actually rather angry at him.

1. for cheating to get what everyone else fought tooth and nail to earn the right to and 2. Putting the rest of his team at risk due to his inability to keep up with them in a fight and for associating them with a cheater/liar.

Not to mention lying to her face.

Says good riddance.

Cardin overhears and blackmails him into doing what he says or else he’ll narc on him and say that NPR knew and thus were complicit in the crime.

Jaune goes along with it while creating plan to oust Cardin and get him kicked from school.

Has conversation with Ren and Nora, both of whom are pissed at him.

Of course Pyrrha told them.

Jaune tells them that he knows he’s a piece of shit but also has Cardin to deal with.

Ren and Nora begrudgingly agree to help him get rid of Cardin.

Tells them his plan.

Plan proceeds to fail and Jaune ends up fighting all of CRDL alone.

Loses.

Grimm outside of their power-level shows up.

Jaune’s quick thinking and tactics get it killed.

Cardin is grateful and promises to keep quiet about blackmail. Even means it too.

CRDL is never a real issue again due to them actually realizing that it’s a very cuntish thing to bully the guy and/or the friends of the guy who actively saved their lives.

Jaune plans to give one last apology to his team before he turns himself in.

NPR say that they deliberated amongst themselves.

They have decided that Jaune doesn’t get to take the easy way out.

His penance is to train his ass off, night and day, to catch up to them on the physical level.

Jaune’s role is to be the strategist and that it’s his job to make plans that keep them all alive.

If he fucks up, they work his ass harder until he doesn’t fuck up.

They haven’t fully forgiven him, but they’re giving him a chance because they genuinely like him.

Jaune is touched by their compassion and promises make up for his mistakes.

Sparring day in class.

Jaune has match against disguised Neo.

Neo wins but Jaune starts to have suspicions.

Pyrrha and Mercury spar.

Pyrrha wins but Mercury now has valuable data on her overall fighting style and semblance usage.

Cinder and Ruby are last match of the class.

Cinder has fire powers as a semblance.

Has second semblance giving her bullet time.

Bullet time doesn’t work all that well against Ruby because of her super-speed.

Ruby gets some pretty good hits in. Kinda kicking Cinder’s ass.

Cinder then decides she’s done playing nice and goes on full offensive. Even starts to scare the crowd.

Times up!

Due to technicality, Ruby won the fight.

Aura cohesion (health bars) Cinder:48% Ruby:51%

Emerald and Mercury are blue in the face with fear of what Cinder might do, having officially lost a fight.

Cinder helps Ruby up, apologizes for going overboard, and offers to buy Ruby lunch the next day.

Ruby happily agrees to hang out with her newest friend.

Cinder later explodes at her hideout and incinerates a White Fang member that got a little too close.

Adam pretends to care. Doesn’t actually.

Ruby and Cinder become shockingly good friends (as far as Ruby is concerned).

Cinder explains the concept of a second semblance, confirming to Ruby that she’s a ten-percenter.

It’s somewhat rare, but it’s common enough that people know how it works and why it unlocks.

Great emotional duress.

She was raised in an orphanage that REALLY sucked.

She awakened both semblances pretty quickly and was snatched up by the authorities as soon as possible to be a huntress.

She’s mostly lying about the details but there is still the base truth.

Ruby tells her that she lost one of her parents too.

Summer just didn’t come home one day, being told she was killed in the line of duty by a lucky grimm.

She’s always thought that there’s more to this story, but doesn’t have the means to follow up just yet.

It’s part of why Ruby wants to be a huntress, to do her best to make sure that some other kid never experiences that kind of loss because of the grimm.

Cinder tells her that that’s not the worst motivation. (she means it more than she thinks)

Since Blake saw Adam at the rally she has become obsessed with analyzing all the data gotten during investigation.

RWY is worried.

Yang talks to her about it, giving the speech about her mother and the problems with obsession.

Blake talks about how dangerous she knows Adam to be. Is vastly terrified of him.

Yang reassures her that the team can handle that punkass.

4 on 1, let him try it. They’ll put the boots to him. Medium style.

Blake reluctantly snaps out of her funk.

Dance comes.

Everyone’s having a good time.

Pyrrha decides to properly forgive Jaune.

They kiss and, after a wacky JNPR argument because funny, so do Ren and Nora.

Insert the cool JNPR dance scene here.

Ruby is happy for her friends but notices some bullshit going on near the comm. tower.

Cinder is infiltrating it wearing something that actually makes it difficult to tell who it is.

Makes a big show of knocking the guards unconscious.

Places real obvious hacking device onto console.

Ruby comes in and shoots at her.

Cinder pops smoke and disappears.

Authorities arrive and (as far as they can tell) disable the hacking device.

Ruby is given a commendation for her actions and her team is taken off probation from earlier.

Upper echelon is pleased that enemy plot was foiled.

Exactly as the bad guys wanted.

Ozpin presses the doubt button.

Teams gets chaperone assignments.

JNPR requested a special Grimm bounty mission.

RWBY gets put on simple observation mission.

JNPR spends time tracking and eventually fighting nuckelavee grimm with Prof. Port.

Ren comes to terms with fighting the grimm that killed his parents.

Y’know, sub-plot stuff to relieve some main plot tension.

RWBY is sent with Dr. Oobleck into ruins to observe and document the growth rate of the non-hostile presence of the local *loud snoring*.

Actually sent near suspected White Fang supply depot with hope that they uncover it and fix problems.

Find it fairly easily after a little bonding moment or two with everyone.

Torchwick and Adam are in charge of train depot. (Torchwick gets the train, Adam gets the depot)

Ruby goes in on her own because she was told not to do things like that.

Ruby gets double-teamed by Roman and Adam. Neo watches like a little shithead.

Ruby fights like a demon but still gets bested.

Adam says that he is now bored and leaves Roman to finish up.

Oobleck and WBY show up.

Roman starts the train, tries to cheese it.

RWBY + Oobleck board the train.

Yang fights Neo.

Weiss fights masked White Fang member (later revealed to be Ilia).

Ruby and Blake fight Torchwick.

Oobleck fights the stormtroopers.

Neo, the crafty, dodgy, dexterity style, sly-bitch, kicks Yang, the brutish and blunt boxer, in the ass.

Raven pops up through a portal.

Neo am-scrays after almost getting her shit pushed in.

Raven says a scant few things to Yang and leaves her a trinket and a map, telling her to follow it when she can before leaving.

Weiss wins her fight.

Blake and Ruby kick Roman’s ass.

Discover train is full of dust explosives to blow up a chunk of Vale and let the grimm through in droves.

Was originally intended to be deployed before explosion but Roman decides ‘fuck it’ and tries to turn it into a kamikaze run at the last minute out of spite.

Oobleck disconnects the explosive cars.

Train still rams hole into central Vale.

Grimm incursion.

RWBY fights as best they can.

Almost get overrun when Teams CFVY, SSSN, and CEMN show up to help.

CEMN only involved because evil plan failed and they want to try and clean up any possible evidence.

Neo (in disguise) tries not to be obvious that she’s still tired from earlier.

Horde battle with large hydra (or something) grimm being final boss of season.

They kill it, of course.

After the battle RWBY thinks that the problem is more or less solved.

Adam is still loose but his plan is foiled and his co-conspirator, Roman, is in prison.

All they have to do is hunt him down.

If he’s going to try something, it’ll be at the tournament. RWBY will have an extra eye open during.

JNPR returns triumphant from their mission and wonders what the hell happened while they were gone.

Cinder is livid that plan-A failed and they lost their best chance to kill Ozpin.

Yeah, their plan is to fuck up Vale and get and chance to kill Ozpin.

Is reassured by the mysterious figure she’s talking to (Salem) that plans can change and still succeed.

Adam is looking through security footage taken from depot.

Sees Blake.

He smiles.

Season two done.

[sanoiro]

Lucifer 5x04 - The Mega Meta

This episode, the one all the cast and writers praised turned out to be the most challenging for the audience. Several hated it mainly for interrupting the flow of S5P1 whilst introducing a ‘weak’ story for Lucifer’s ring. Others loved it for all the meta, the concealed trivia and details that exist in that episode. 

In my opinion 5x04 took it’s time to warm up to my heart and therefore today it’s time to write a meta on it. I’ll try to cover all the bases and if I miss something I apologise! 

This meta will analyse, lines, settings, songs hopefully with the order they appear in the episode, as well as hints that it gives us for P2, the end of the series and many more things. 

The credits open to Lucifer whistling as per Netflix’s subtitles ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’

A song of about a man waiting for his train as he gets a shoe shine. The lyrics reveal at the end that a girl is waiting him at his destination and that he intents to marry her and settle... A good foreshadowing about Lucifer no? Especially after the S3 game night fiasco...  

There's gonna be a certain party at the station Satin and lace, I used to call funny face She's gonna cry until I tell her that I'll never roam

By the way what’s this obsession over daggers and them killing people? Didn’t we have enough with the Flaming Sword in S2? 

Trixie: Has it ever killed anyone?

Let’s keep it that way kid... Although I doubt it. 

Now take a moment to realise that Lucifer was in Hell for thousands of years. He hasn’t had sex since his relationship with Eve and for his last night on Earth he prefers to play a game of Monopoly with Trixie and only when she turns him down Lucifer suggests getting a drink at LUX always in her company. That’s progress...

It also busts all claims of Lucifer being a sex obsessed maniac. 

The year is 1946...

WW2 is over and we find Lucifer in a new setting, a familiar one where through the episode we see that he has not just visited again but he is frequent visitor around that time. Just a few years later after all he was seen through Kinley’s photos in Nazi Germany. Now we know it was because apparently he owns a castle there, in the Austrian Alps... Not exactly in mint condition after the war though... 

By the way the castle that corresponds to that 22 bedroom description Lucifer gives is Schloss Ernegg Castle which belongs to the same family since the 17th century and it’s in great condition. Actually it operates as a hotel! 

The Hurry plays as we see Ellis strolling the WB New York area of the lot. Great old ones were shot there.. Like The Big Sleep (1946) staring Bogart and Bacall which was shot in 1944, reshot some parts in 1945 but was released after all the ‘proper’ war time movies were released first. 

A bit like this episode The Big Sleep carries ‘process of a criminal investigation, not its results’. Also around that time we have The Killers coming out, The Killers is important to mention as aside from being based on a story by Hemingway who was in Cuba in 1946 not in New York as Lucifer claims, it was directed by Robert :. Siodmak made most of the Hollywood’s noir classics and was always faithful to the doomed attraction which would always resolve to a nihilistic conclusion... (Thank you wiki! :P)

The connection to Lucifer, between the lines and the off hand comments like Hemingway is that noir films were based on the German Expressionism in cinema, and one of the most prominent figure for the US was that one German director Robert Siodmak. 

The purpose of the above information is in order to tell you that a black & whte effect and a crime story is not what makes a noir episode. The writers were faithful to the core of noir. Entrapment, flashbacks, narration. The tropes of murder, jealousy, backstabbing and crime is also there, easy to replicate after all for sure. A dead man walking and ‘selective’ amnesia is also convenient... 

Triumph and tragedy can be found and lost in the maze of the cities and in questionable establishments... Like in bars... 

Moving on!

The credits open and we listen to The Hurry Up played by The Heath And His Orchestra. Dear Heath was British not an American. A subtle nod to Ellis probably as the leading man. But here is the thing Heath was the performer not the composer of that piece. The composer was Kenny Graham (Again British) and probably that piece was written after 1958 but anyways it’s an inconsistency we (-I-) can certainly live with!

Lucifer and Lilith last meeting was at around 1770 (Marie Antoinette was born in 1755) now whether in Austria or France who knows....  I would assume that Lucifer stayed in Austria until WW2 as aside from the wars and other issues it had a great cultural field for him to explore such as literature, music and lacked the brashness of the new-founded then US (1776). 

Tiny issue here... Moctezuma (The 2nd) who Lilith claims to have met died in 1520, a bit after Cortés arrived in what we know today as Mexico so we can assume that Lilith travelled between the New World and Europe until Lucifer found her in New York in 1946. 

Lilith in a relationship with Tommy Stomponato who owned the club, she probably influenced him enough to name it ‘The Garden’ as se admits to Gertie later in the episode, she really loved that Garden hence why she took a small part of it with her. 

Now the name Tommy Stomponato is directly influenced by Johnny Stomponato part and bodyguard of the Cohen Mafia boss Mickey Cohen. Now funny thing he was stabbed by Lana Turner’s (Hollywood star) daughter Cheryl Crane... That remind us a bit of Gertie as she yes both were stabbed by a woman but both were not prosecuted. The first as Lilith didn’t want Gertie to lose the limited time she had with her husband and Cheryl because she claimed self-defense. 

The first time we see Lesley Ann as Lilith she sings ‘I want to be evil’ originally performed at the debut of Eartha Kitt and first released in 1953. It is considered brilliant for it’s feminism and ‘video clip’ starring Kitt... 

It’s a song that carries Lilith’s agony which even Eve carried. The need for freedom, the need to break the chains of what they should be and what we see that even Maze carries throughout the series. It’s a song that reaffirms that betrayal towards God, Adam and Lucifer in Maze’s case is not an act of evilness but the need of these women to re-sculpture themselves without aid or instructions. In Kitt’s case it was social conformity. Also Johnnie Ray was the ‘guy who cries’ aside from his hit song in 1951 ‘Cry’ him crying after his wedding was received with mixed feelings I believe from the press and his fans. 

Now we see that crime for Lucifer was fun and again he wanted to Laugh with Hemingway who again in 1946 was not in New York but had just starting to write his novel ‘Garden of Eden (published posthumously in 1986) and it explored the reversal of gender roles a bit like this Lucifer episode does. 

So Lucifer accepts the case of finding the ring but needs help. Jack Monroe is the one that can help him and the name is inspired probably by Iowa’s born Jack Monroe Marvel character who lived in New York, fought the Nazi (See Jack talking about the Battle of the Bulge), sidekick to Captain America - in a way - and ended up shot and killed. The character had many cliche detective phrases. But that’s mostly a likely speculation :P 

Now as Jack goes to talk to the ‘rat’ Lucifer comments on Gertie serving him a drink ‘Just what the doctor ordered’ an obvious connection to Harris playing Dr Linda. 

A nice prop is the machine gun over the bar an alleged gift from Al Capone who had been arrested 17 years earlier and died in 1947.

Thanks for listening, XOXO A. Capone

Now Lucky Larry who ends up dead is wearing an eyepatch probably a nod to another great director of noir films and of german expressionism in cinematography Fritz Lang. 

At that point we have the talk between Lucifer and Jack concerning the laters problem with his wife.  The story as everyone has noticed is a parallel with the issue that Lucifer and Chloe never begun on an equal ground. Someone had manipulated them and in both cases both parties suffered. Both men were manipulated by someone over them in hierarchy and both stood on a dilemma on how to proceed. It took Lucifer over 60 years to realise how difficult it was to leave and even then in 2x14 he returned. 

 As Jack and Lucifer get to Willy’s mansion all the paintings depict him as a great warrior in all possible eras. As Napoleon, Fritz of Austro-Hungarian Empire, Henry the 8th, Ivan, and that armour I believe it was from Carlomagne?

Also Hannibal crossing the Alps? 

The little sausages are self-explenatory for the character and perhaps the lilies in his house a connection to the episode and the P1′s plot. 

Lucifer checking the armour’s genital protector? Priceless :P As was Willy’s connection to Dan. 

Now something that always make me wonder is why Lilith calls God Adam’s father as if she never considered him her own. At the same time she gives us a big hint there. She never walked away she was ‘sent’ away. 

Gertie reveals there that her husband was wounded at the Guadalcanal campaign which ended in 1943 meaning that Bill was unresponsive for about three years at that point. The good news is that Bill seems to have been inspired by Bill Lentsch. Lentsch wrote a memoir called My Story and then adapted under the Title Hope For Wounded Warriors.

As a wounded warrior, Bill Lentsch knows the frustrating feelings of apparent helplessness and hopelessness. A sea-going Marine on the cruiser USS Vincennes at the beginning of World War II, he was a "hot shell catcher". The story of Bill's survival when the Vincennes sank is a story of miracles. In contrast, the story of his post-war rehabilitation and readjustment to civilian life, including a bad marriage {Sanoiro: At this point we have a differentiation but you never know}, contains more than its share of dark pages and the consequences of poor choices. Contemplating the option of murder, then suicide, was a vivid reality. Thankfully, the story of his later years brings hope and inspiration as Bill shares his personal journey of discovery.

Meanwhile the investigation continues.  In the apartment we see pigeon cages a rather popular hobby back then in New York and not just for the messages they transported. Also do notice the WB water tower in the back. Iconic!

Lucifer finds a cuban cigar. Romeo y Juliet. The meta here obvious bit nonetheless important to our main love story. 

With Stomponato dead we have a chance to delve a bit to Egyptian mythology. 

First the missing heart. The main organ that according to ancient Egyptians held the answer of how well you had done while you lived and what you deserved after death. It was measured and a conclusion sent you to afterlife or to damnation. 

Second the Anubis mask. He was the God of Death who oversaw the heart weighting process. The colour black symbolised the Nile’s sand and thus regeneration as the river was a symbol of life. Anubis was adopted by Isis

Third the Eye of Horus. The Eye of Horus was used as a sign of prosperity and protection, derived from the myth of Isis and Osiris. This symbol has an astonishing connection between neuroanatomical structure and function.  

That’s the basics but you can go further from there if you want to just remember that Egyptian deities hold an Ankh the symbol and work of life. 

In 504 we learn that death is final, there is no eternal life. It cannot be given as a commodity, the ring cannot help so I would focus more on the stone itself and if Lilith’s immortality is used then it will not be used as it is in my opinion but more about that later on. 

The shop sacred eye and the high priest take us back to two episodes of S1. First in 1x07 - Wingman where the high priest parallels the auctioner who was ready to sell everything of ‘supernatural’ worth knowing they were mostly garbage to make money. Second 1x12 - #TeamLucifer the satanic high priest who had said ‘-the Devil ain't gonna buy me an Aston Martin’. In 504 the High Priest wanted a Pontiac. 

Lucifer comment on Tutankhamun loving the pre-sacrificed bloody heart might have to do with the Egyptian mythology that  If a heart during the scaling was judged to be not pure, Ammit (female demon/god) would devour it, and the person undergoing judgment would not allowed to continue their afterlife journey.

One of the best lines delivered in this episode is also foreshadowing P2 in my opinion and why not some bts but not clear or definite ones. 

In the modern age, we are taught to fear death. But the ancients understood that death... is power. - High Priest (Lucifer 5x04)

It is why I always say that death is not the last frontier in our series and as such it should be taken neither as the final chapter to an individual’s story nor as irreversible (with the right collaterals always) somehow. Although you cannot cheat death forever, this is the beauty of our story. Death is valued just as much as life. 

As such as we are in the High Priest ‘office’ it is not accidental we see the Tree of Life (See my Tree of Life Meta *Here*). The designs are Celtic around the mirroring tree of Life in what we can assume is in Life and Death is as vibrant and ‘alive’ in both sides. 

1) triskelion: meaning the three legs, is an ancient pre-celtic symbol that can be traced to the bronze era. It symbolises the holy trinity in Christianism but also the inner and outer world of spirits. As you can tell it holds a variety of meanings and even if it is just there, picked in random from the WB prop house we should note that it also symbolises the trinity of life, death and rebirth as well as the trinity of the transition of womanhood. The Triple Goddess: maiden, mother and the (older?) wise woman. 

For this meta we will take the trinity of life, death and rebirth as well as elevate it to the transition of our lead characters. Chloe as a young woman, a mother and now a ‘wise’ older and more mature woman. Lucifer as the young rebel, a struggling with maturity and responsibility man and what he may become by the end of S5 without shedding any of his prior roles and identities. Only this time his identities no longer ‘stain’ him. 

2) Knotted symbol - Eternal knot: We see them in many cultures and religions in Buddhism they represent birth, death and rebirth. In the inside we see Solmon’s Knot a symbol of immortality and eternity but some also parallel it to Lover’s Knot (See True Lover’s Knot), an ancient symbol of commitment and love. From this keep the eternal part of the symbolism which is often depicted in jewish cemeteries. 

3) Celtic Cross: They are said to be based on some cases to the Egyptian Ankh (See Coptic Crosses), some also allege the design in the combination of the Christian cross and the pagan sun disk. 

4) The Celtic Tree of Life: For this I take what is written in this site

The tree represents rebirth. Trees were said to guard the land and acted as a doorway into the spirit world.

The Tree of Life connects the lower and upper worlds as its roots grow far down while its branches reach high. The tree trunk connects both of these worlds to the Earth’s plane. It was with this connection of worlds, that it was said that people are able communicate with the gods in the heavens using the Tree of Life.

Tree of Life knots symbolize the branches and roots of a tree which are woven together with no end to show how the cycle of life is continuous.

Through the second part of the episode I was always looking at Lucifer’s tie. I might be wrong but it reminded me a lot of gears, with a heart and clocks on it. Essentially the clock is ticking... in more ways that one as well as for Lilith but give me some more lines before I return to this meta point.

As Lucifer asks how humans believe her ring makes her immortal she ends her story with the line:

“I survive, and... somebody writes it on a stone tablet. You know how these things start.”

For me that was always a direct reference to the Favourite Son deal we had with the book in episode 2x17. As Lucifer said in 2x18 when Chloe asked whether his Dad said that Amenadiel was His favourite, Lucifer replies: 

In so many Sumerian words. 

Later on in S3 (3x14) Lucifer tells to Cain that Amenadiel is the favourite when he asks him as: 

But the quick version: a book said it, so it must be true.

To be honest this re-occurring mentioning makes me hold to my belief that something was translated wrong there...

As the 5x04 sceheme to get the ring back is underway Lilith looks at Jack & Shirley’s interaction which is interesting not because it’s when Lilith starts to perhaps thinking of retiring her immortality but because a very special question comes to mind. 

Michael knew the ring’s story. He claimed that he was the one who manipulated Lucifer into having his vacation, but his vacation just ‘happened’ to be at the same time Chloe was on Earth? 

Here is a speculative meta. 

Lilith asks Lucifer if he ever connected with anyone emotionally to which he replies: 

Absolutely not. It would take a literal miracle for me to want something like that, and I'm fairly certain my father's not handing those out anymore.

It makes you wonder whether Michael was around listening, planning carefully his next moves. That that’s how he knew the ring’s story, or how he may have plotted Chloe’s miraculous birth by manipulating God. 

At this point everything is possible but we should never forget that God at that point is still powerful and omniscience so Michael might be only alf of the explanation why Chloe is on Earth as a key for Michael to take down his brother and materialise his other plans. The other half is only known by God but will he be willing to share in P2 or even in S6 if he appears there? 

Lesley-Ann as Lilith starts to sing ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ a song written over the songwritter’s (Ira Gershwin) wedding anniversary, a true love song on many levels written in 1926 and featured in the Brodway Musical ‘Hey, Kay!’. 

The musical’s plot is about an engaged womaniser falls in love with Kay and the song after lots of thought was placed to reveal to the audience of Kay’s realising that she is in love with the male lead, womaniser Jimmy. 

We will never perhaps know if by imminence to Lilith’s first song lyrics, Lilith to a point was in love with Lucifer and held on to hope until she surrendered everything for a normal life not wanting to wait for the impossible. Of course that’s just one interpretation not a hard conviction of mine. 

An analysis of the song writes: 

When first composing this piece, the Gershwin brothers tried to capture the feeling of safety (and love) that everybody longs to have. The addition of the doll (a doll was added as the listener of the song in the rehearsals and stayed in the show) only enhanced the childlike, vulnerable side of the song that was being hinted at in lyrics such as, “I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the woods.”

Although many artists sing this like a love song, its first performance, directed at a doll, gave the piece an aura of safety not usually present in romantic songs.

Perhaps that safety should be also attributed here. Lilith still has her safety still holding on to her immortality knowing though that she will surrender it. Lucifer is unaware he one day will surrender his willingly because he fell in love. 

In the end they both carry the vulnerability of needing someone to understand and love them. No matter how cynical we find both Lilith and Lucifer with his brutal Caligula orgy comments, they both crave about someone. Both have lost hope to their Shepard aka God/Dad.

 Perhaps I’m wrong on my first impression with Lilith and her affection towards Lucifer. Perhaps they both are the prodigal children, lost in the woods wishing for someone to finally take care of them but no longer hoping for one, until Lilith takes the leap. Lucifer will need almost 80 more years and Chloe Decker to let someone take care of him. 

Perhaps that’s why they do a duet on the lyrics:

Someone who'll watch over me

I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood I know I could, always be good To one who'll watch over me

And the case is back to move the episode forward and enter the present Lucifer Trixie interlude and ‘Forget it Trix. It’s Chinatown!’

That line was the most obvious one as it comes from the more recent noir movie with Bogart and Chinatown (1974).  In the movie aside from the mystery plot Evelyn - the mother eventually dies, the twist is that of an abuse which led to her daughter/sister’s birth and although that does not fit our serie’s plot the death of the main lady might. All a speculation so do not be dishearten remember all the above and this is not an S&S it’s a meta :P 

After all Lucifer’s line goes back to the complex dealings in Chinatown and how understanding something fully is not always feasible. 

Interesting is also how Lucifer shots, albeit the foot not the leg, of willy to prove Willy is not immortal. Like Chloe did to him in 1x04 and to Michael in 5x02. Jewelry is not going to save anyone. Big words but you know me. I believe in other provisions or actions even if they include the ring. 

We all die, Lily. And that's okay. Truth is... I'd rather die today trying to save the man I love... than live forever without him.

The past, the present and perhaps the future?

The case is resolved and Jack follows Shirley to Des Moines (Capital of Iowa). That’s an inner joke as Joe Henderson is from Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa. 

Before Jack follows her remember that Shirley had asked more from him when he told her to be careful. A bit like Chloe in the evidence room in 5x08. If some have watched unconditional love then you might remember the scene where Kathy Bates tells to her husband played by Dan Aykroyd that him telling her ‘I love you was never a condition but at that point it now was. Similar to what we saw Chloe asking from Lucifer. A foreshadowing perhaps that eventually Lucifer will follow Chloe. 

Now two things. Lucifer in episode 504 prepares their game night. He is now comfortable and even enjoying their game nights, he find himself right where he wants to be without being fearful of being dull. He is a shoe and that’s fine. 

When Trixie asks Lucifer whether Jack and Shirley had a happy ending he tells her probably not as they moved to Des Moines meaning it was a boring move between New York and Iowa in general. Iowa and Des Moines have been used several times in jokes by the way due to Henderson. 

Now back to Lucifer, at that point he does not see that sometimes sacrifices that lead to ‘boring’ lives are the best outcome and happiness is not equal to excitement but he is a slowly maturing Devil... 

That part can help us to analyse the end of the story from 1946. 

Lucifer says: Once you do this, there's no going back.

This implies that whether you surrender your immortality or gain it -for the second I’m quite doubtful it can be done on the same terms - it is forever. No going back. 

Lilith’s next words reveal a broken woman who gets her Hail Mary and hopes for the best. As a parent she offered her children the best place to never realise they are lacking but Lucifer by bringing Maze to earth undid that as Maze slowly reaches her potential, learning there is a different way. God’s words echo since 3x26.

So was Lucifer a kindergarten guardian for Lilith? In a way yes but Lucifer in 5x04 understood Lilith’s logic. In their distorted image of how you can break an individual, the Lilims seemed safe from Lucifer’s and Lilith’s fates. Cast out, punished, unloved, lonely and in an unspoken despair to connect but too afraid to try again until Lilith tried again. The end of 504 showed she didn’t succeed o find what she was looking for. We have no way of knowing if we will see her again in P2 but it’s probable. 

Lilith kisses Lucifer goodbye, making me once again wonder if a part of her did had feelings for him and wishes him back to enjoy the rest of his life as if somehow she knew, although she couldn’t. 

The story ends here and perhaps the clock starts ticking for Lucifer through Michael. Perhaps the planning started with Penelope and John that were meant to be born, get married but not have children and then Chloe came along. But that’s just a theory...

And before the screen fades to dark, Lilith walks away with Lucifer standing in the middle of the street and we listen to ‘This Is Ours’ by Peter Sivo’s Band (1946-1961).

This is Ours lyrics are the words of a man which mystify me. For me it is a song that gives us a couple together after a very long time that reconnects. It was a meant to be couple but the past had to happen. He had to get married, for both of them to live apart their own lives until one day they get back together and now they can be together. There is no sadness, there is relief, contentment. 

Several say that How I Met Your Mother had an awful ending. If you have not watched it and want to please stop here but know that I believe that the ending was just right. 

In How I Met Your Mother, the lead (father) marries the mother of his children but it is revealed that she eventually dies and some years later he starts telling them a story that lasts ten years as all aspects of it in his belief is about how he met their mother. His daughter interrupts him saying that no it’s about how he met the woman he wants to be together now. They all know that the Mother was loved and was the One but in this life there is more, there are second chances because life happens and it’s not a bad thing and the time in between is as joyful as the future despite of the tragedies in between. 

So a part of me wonders if Deckerstar will go a bit through that to a point. 

Forget the past, for this is ours...

The thing is that a bittersweet ending gives as a possibility and then we are left wondering past that. 

Trixie: I bet Jack and Shirley talked the whole bus ride and fixed everything. Lucifer: Yes. Yes, perhaps they did.

After all they did move to Des Moines... After that we can only guess. 

[bellemorte180]

Just Good Business Chapter Five

Caroline Salvatore, married into one of New York's most brutal crime families.

Niklaus Mikaelson, a notorious mob boss who is hell bent on taking down the Slavatores.

It's an affair for the ages.

Warning: There is graphic descriptions of violence below.

Chapter Five

Caroline woke lazily. It had been a long time since she had such a good night’s sleep. She stretched and felt the silk sheets graze over her naked body. She sat up slowly and looked around the room. She was alone in the bed and pouted slightly. She never had the chance to sleep in the same bed as Klaus and was looking forward to waking up next to him.

Apparently, he had other ideas.

She turned and searched for her purse; noticing that it was still on the floor from the night before. Caroline laid down on her stomach, not wanting to leave the bed, and reached for it. She struggled for a moment and eventually pulled it to her. Once she had ahold of it, she dug through it and pulled her phone from it. It was dead. She pulled the charger out of her purse and plugged it into the wall; attaching it to her phone and letting it sit to charge

She pulled herself from the bed and picked up Klaus’s Henley he wore the night before, slipping it over her head. She walked into Klaus’s bathroom. It was the same bathroom with the big round tub she sat in with Klaus nearly four months ago, plotting Stefan’s demise. Everything changed that night. No longer were they in the middle of some trifling affair; Stefan started a war he could not win the moment he left bruises on her.

Caroline shook herself from those thoughts and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess; her curls were twisted and knotted. She ran her fingers through her hair in hopes of claiming the mess. Once done, she searched Klaus’s medicine cabinet and pulled out his toothpaste. She picked up his brush and cleaned her teeth. Once done, she spit into the skin and wiped off her face. She was going to have to ask him about picking up some everyday supplies for her.

She leaned against the counter; looking at herself and she noticed that for the first time in a very long time, she woke smiling. The woman in front of her was happy. Yes, she cheated on her husband with someone who was just as despicable as him; but this man never laid a hand on her. Never forced himself inside her or made her wonder if jumping of a skyscraper would be better than being alive.

And Klaus was the father of her child.

The thought of her pregnancy made Caroline smile. She placed her hand on her stomach, biting her lips. Before a few days ago, she never even considered the fact that she was pregnant. Her period was not consistent and with the stress she was under, she assumed that was why she had not gotten it. She suffered no real typical pregnancy symptoms, no nausea or vomiting to make her mind wonder to that possibility. If it was not for the doctor’s confirmation and seeing it firsthand, she would not have believed it.

Pulling herself from her musings, Caroline headed back into the bedroom and walked back to her phone. It had enough of a charge for her to scroll through it. She winced at the amount of text messages from Stefan demanding to know where she was. He called her multiple times and it appeared that Enzo is MIA as well. He would have to be.

Its past 11 Caroline, where are you? Caroline. Home. Now. You better get the fuck home now. Why is your phone off? Where are you? Why the fuck can’t I track you? Did you run off with your bodyguard? How fucking cliché.

Most of the messages where the same. Threats of bodily injury and harassment. She would have to show Klaus these and groaned at the thought. Stefan also left a couple of voicemails, vocalizing his anger. Once these would have scared the shit out of her, but she no longer felt any fear from him. Perhaps it was foolish, but it was how she felt. She was not going to let her husband stand in the way of her happiness. If that meant she was going to have to lay low for a while, Caroline was willing to do that. On impulse, Caroline opened the string of text messages and replied.

I’m leaving you Stefan. I’m not coming home.

She hit send and placed the phone on the bedside table, allowing it to charge. Caroline stood up from the bed and walked out; hearing her ringtone go off. She just kept walking, listing to the tone fade away in the bedroom. She knew that he would continue to call but there was no point in picking up. It wouldn’t end well.

She found Klaus in his home office, looking at his screen intently. She admired him for a moment as he worked; she liked the way his eye crinkled just slightly when he appeared annoyed or how he squinted at the screen to see something better; or how his lips curled up when something distasteful appeared. Upon that look, Caroline’s sense of hearing registered what the noise from his computer was. It was moaning, the slapping of skin and cries of pleasure.

“Is this going to be our life together? Me waking up to an empty bed only to find you watching porn?” Caroline teased and Klaus’s eyes turned to her. His eyes took in the sight of her, messy hair, wearing his Henley and bare legs. He gazed at her completely unashamed and Caroline couldn’t help but bask in his desire.

“Yes.” Klaus replied in a bland tone as though he was talking about the weather. “You’ve found out my dirty little secret. I’m a porn addict.”

Caroline snorted at that. Porn would be the least of Caroline’s worries given that he commits murder on a regular basis. Klaus held out his hand and she made her way around his desk; Klaus pulling her onto his lap. Caroline took a good look at what was on the screen and crinkled her nose.

“Ugh.” It was frame after frame of various positions and sex acts of Stefan and Elena. She knew that there were cameras littered around the mansion, but she never actually considered the fact that she would have to see them having sex on screen. She saw it once in person and that was more than enough for her.

“Trust me Sweetheart, there is nothing arousing about this in the slightest.” He leaned down and kissed her head. He held her tightly as though to remind himself that she had finally come home to him. “I would have much rather have stayed in bed with you, waking you up slowly. I thought about it.”

“What stopped you?”

“You looked peaceful.” His tone was soft, and he could not help but kiss her forehead again. “You finally appeared ready to rest after everything you had been through; I didn’t want to disturb that.” Caroline gave him a warm smile and leaned up to kiss his lips. “Besides, you are the woman carrying my child and you must get your relaxation.”

“Oh no. You’re not going to be an overbearing father-to-be are you? I’m pregnant not an invalid.” Caroline asked in mock outrage. Klaus just shrugged; giving her a dimpled smile. He was going to be. Caroline could tell. “So, you dragged yourself out of bed to watch my husband have sex with his sister-in-law?”

“I’m working.” Caroline cocked her eyebrow and he rolled his eyes at her. “This ends now. I’m done waiting for Elijah and the feds to bring a case against Stefan. It’s been dragged out for months because Alaric Saltzman is to damn good at his job. I’m going back to the very beginning. To our first plan.”

“Turn brother against brother.” She whispered. She looked towards the screen and realized what he was doing. “You’re compiling them. All the videos of Stefan and Elena, and you’re going to send them too Damon.”

“Yes.”

“When are you sending it?” Caroline asked. For so long, her focus had been getting out of that house. Gaining the courage to walk-away and take back control of her life. Sitting in Klaus’s lap, she realized that she could have left sooner; that she didn’t need to get in the middle of this war by becoming involved with Klaus. It would have been hell and Stefan most likely would have tried to track her down, but she could have done it. She could have run far and wide. It just was not that simple. Yes. She hated Stefan. Yes. She was terrified of him. Yes. He did terrible things to her; but for a long time, she thought she deserved nothing better.

She thought that there was nothing else out there for her.

Until Klaus helped her pick up those pieces. He showed her what it meant to be loved. How she wasn’t just some trophy to be won and that she could be a strong woman, standing on her own two feet. Yes, she jumped from one mob boss to another, but if she told Klaus she wanted to walk across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope, he would cheer her on the entire time. It just took the life now growing inside her to wake her up to that fact. She would kill anyone who tried to hurt this child.

“Not sure, yet. Elijah is coming over this morning to come up with the best course of action.” Caroline bit her lip, she had a feeling that Elijah was going to try and talk them out of sending the videos to Damon. Damon was unpredictable and while she knew he would lose his mind to learn that his wife was unfaithful, Caroline was just unsure exactly what lengths he would be willing to go to. “I told him. About the baby I mean.”

“Oh? And what did he say?”

“I think you’ll find, Sweetheart, that when it comes to Elijah, the one thing he cares about above all is family.” Klaus replied, he placed his hand on her stomach and left it there. “This child is not only have us Caroline, Elijah will burn the world down before anyone tries to hurt our baby. And if something were to happen to me...”

“Don’t.”

“Caroline, listen. Please.” His tone was serious and his gaze soft. “I’m not immortal, love. If something were to go wrong and something were to happen to me, you take our baby and you run to Elijah. He will ensure your safety. He secured passage for Rebekah in order to keep her safe from Stefan and Damon, he will do the same for you.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, not wanting to hear this. “We failed with Kol. We won’t fail again.”

“You didn’t fail Klaus.” Caroline whispered. “So, Elijah is happy to be getting a new family member?” Klaus nodded and Caroline smiled. He returned to the screen, muting the sound but continued compiling the images. She curled up in his lap and just let herself relax in his arms. She couldn’t help but look at the screen to see Stefan’s face. “Stefan has been blowing up my phone.”

“That is not surprising.” Klaus replied. “I would not be surprised if he has men roaming the city looking for you. Those friends you have…those spoiled little rich girls you see on occasion.”

“Haley and Aurora?”

“Yes. Them.” Klaus waved his hand, dismissing their names. “He probably sent men to their houses and tore it apart. He probably went to your childhood home also to see if you went back there. Trust me love, he is searching and won’t stop until he finds you.” Caroline felt a shiver run down her spine. “He won’t find you, Sweetheart. I won’t let him, but it does mean you might have to stay in the penthouse for a small while.”

“Okay.” Klaus looked down at her in surprise. He was expecting more of a fight, but she just smiled. “I don’t like it. I spent years being a prisoner in my own home, I don’t want to have to do it again, but this isn’t just about me. Like you said. We have a baby to protect.” Klaus’s smile melted Caroline’s heart and she couldn’t help but kiss him. “Although, you might need to have some clothes and other stuff brought here because I can only wear the same pair of jeans and your Henley’s for so long.”

“That can be arranged.”

“And…I might have texted Stefan.” Klaus’s body froze and his eyes darkened. “I told him that I was leaving him and that I wasn’t coming back. Then I walked away, and I have no idea what he said. Probably threating me or something.” Klaus pulled her closer. She knew that he would not like the idea of her speaking to Stefan, but she felt like she needed to do it.

“No matter. He won’t find you.” Klaus’s resolve was final and absolute. Caroline nodded and stood from his lap. He pouted slightly when she pulled away.

“Don’t pout. I’m going to shower before Elijah shows up.” She leaned down and kissed him again before walking out of the office. She padded barefoot through the penthouse, feeling more at home than she had in a very long time. She entered the bedroom that she assumed she would begin sharing with Klaus and went into the bathroom; ignoring her phone that was still ringing.

Once she was done in the shower, Caroline went to the dresser. She did have a few items there, mostly lingerie that Klaus bought her. There were a few other items, a couple of tank-top and a jacket, that would last her a few days, but she would have to get more. She pulled out a pair of racy red panties and slipped them on. She pulled on the matching bra before pulling on her jeans from the day before. She walked over to Klaus’s closet and pulled out a grey Henley.

Klaus could deal with her stealing his shirts for a bit.

She grabbed her phone, which was fully charged, and checked it. Stefan called her nearly thirty-six times and the number of messages he sent her were ungodly. She rolled her eyes and pocketed the phone. As she left the bedroom, running her hands through her damp curls, Caroline could hear voices coming from the kitchen. Klaus and Elijah were sitting at the kitchen counter, Elijah drinking a cup of coffee; listening to his brother speak.

“That is reckless Nikaus. The last thing we want is the Salvatore’s to be able to trace your location back to his penthouse.” Elijah reasoned. Klaus scowled but nodded. Elijah turned to Caroline and gave her a warm smile. “Hello Mrs. Sal-“Klaus hissed at his brother for the address. “Caroline. I believe congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you.” She pulled a cup out of the cabinet and went to the coffeemaker and poured herself a cup. She turned to see both Klaus and Elijah’s eyes on her, watching her. She narrowed her eyes at them and put her hands on her hips. “Oh no. I may be pregnant, but one cup of coffee is not going to hurt me or the baby, so if either of you try and take this from me, there will be hell to pay.”

“We said nothing, love.”

“And keep it that way.” Caroline muttered and felt the phone in her back pocket vibrate. She pulled it out again and groaned. Stefan was calling her again. She declined the call and turned her phone on silent. “I need a new number.” She tossed the offending phone on the counter. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Elijah and I were discussing the manner of how the videos should delivered. I was just going to send them off in an email and let the pieces fall where they may, but Elijah believes that they should be mailed but that leaves room for them falling into the wrong hands. Or Elena checking the mail and coming across them first.”

“Can emails be encrypted?”

“It’s possible yes.”

Caroline paused, thinking. There were so many possibilities and while their goal was to turn Damon against Stefan, that would only be a temporary solution. It would only get rid of half the problem; but only if Damon acted as they predicted he would. Once that storm blows over and Damon is left standing, then what? She understood that Elijah was only trying to protect them for what comes at that point. While Damon would be distracted with the news of his wife and brother’s betrayal, they did not want him to have information that could potentially be an issue later on.

“I have an idea.” Caroline replied and the two of them looked at her. She sat her coffee cup on the counter and picked up her phone. “I’ll send them. This phone is encrypted, and Klaus ensured that it can’t be traced. If anything, it will bounce back to my old phone because the number is still the same. Damon already knows my email address, so it won’t be coming from an unexpected source.”

“Would he even check an email if you sent one?” Elijah asked.

“Probably not. Although, they are out looking for me so it’s possible he might.” Caroline paused and thought. “But what if I tell him to check it.” Klaus began shaking his head, as though he did not want her to have anything to do with either of the Salvatore brothers anymore. “Hear me out. I call him. He probably will answer because Stefan is on a wild goose chase looking for me. I will not come in physical contact with him and he will be so focused on the email, that he won’t even be worried about me.”

“I see why you like her brother. She has quick mind.” Elijah gave her a rare smile. Klaus still looked unsure but there was a hint of pride behind his eyes. “We should do it sooner rather than later. Caroline, are you sure you want to involve yourself in this?”

“I’m already involved.” Caroline looked at them both. “Damon will assume I am a heartbroken wife who is confessing her husband’s affair with his wife. He isn’t going to think that I am connected to Klaus. That way when the time comes to take down Damon, which will be easier once Stefan is out of the way, he won’t see you coming. He won’t suspect my involvement with you.”

“Very well. Shall we?” Elijah stood, buttoning his suit jacket as he did. Caroline nodded. Klaus picked up Caroline’s phone and held out his hand. The two linked their fingers together and headed towards his office, Caroline enjoying her coffee as they went; Elijah trailing behind them.

Klaus scrolled through the messages from Stefan and Caroline could see his features grow darker. Message after message were threats of what he would do to her when he got his hands on her. She could tell that the images of her bruised body were flashing through Klaus’s mind. She squeezed his hand to remind him that she was there with him, safe and despite the chaos, she was happy.

Stefan’s name flashed up on the screen again and Klaus quickly ignored it. He went into Stefan’s contact information and blocked the number so at least the messages and calls would stop. There was no point in putting Caroline through that harassment; it served no purpose. Klaus thought that once this was all done, Caroline would have to get a new number and start fresh. Once they entered the office, Klaus handed Caroline her phone and went behind his desk. Caroline moved to sit on the edge of the desk while Elijah made himself comfortable in one of the other chairs.

Klaus typed away on his computer and after a moment, Caroline heard a notification go off; informing her that she had an email. Klaus sent her the file that contained Stefan and Elena’s sex videos and Caroline scowled at how massive it was. She quickly downloaded it onto her phone and deleted the email; and for good measure, erased it from her trash bin as well. She also did a quick password change to be safe incase Stefan decided to try and hack her email. Once done, she opened up a new email and composed one to Damon, attaching the video now stored on her phone.

“Ready love?”

“As I’ll ever be. I guess.” Caroline pulled up Damon’s contact information and hovered over it. She rarely ever called him. In the last few months, Stefan had been monitoring her text messages, phone calls and emails to ensure that she didn’t reach out to Damon at all. Even if she wanted to speak with Damon, Stefan made it nearly impossible for her to do so. After a deep breath, Caroline dialed Damon’s number; putting the call onto speakerphone. She listened to the phone ring a few seconds before Damon’s voice came onto the lie.

“You really are asking to be punished, Blondie.” Damon answered, his voice having that hint of sarcasm that he was known for. “You do realize that Stefan has a man hunt out for you right now? I just left that feisty red-heads house. She bit me.”

“Good for Aurora. Did you leave her alive?” It was cruel, Caroline knew, but she felt no remorse if Aurora met a tragic end at Damon’s hands. She wasn’t exactly a good friend nor were they close. The ‘friendship’ she shared with both Aurora and Haley were superficial and lacked depth; something Stefan liked about them. They posed no risk but still showed the world that Caroline had a life; a façade.

“She isn’t our concern right now.” Caroline rolled her eyes. “Listen. Tell me where you are. I’ll come and get you and maybe I can keep Stefan from putting you in the hospital. The longer you hold out, the worse his temper will be.”

“I’m not coming home Damon. Stop looking. You won’t find me.”

“Give us time.” Damon chuckled. “If you don’t want to be found, why are you calling?”

“It’s a curtesy call. That’s all.” Caroline flashed a look to Klaus; whose eyes were black and dark. “I’ll make this quick. A few months ago, when Stefan lost control and cracked one of my ribs and chocked me. I lied to you. It wasn’t because I was out with a friend all night. It was because I caught Stefan in bed with your wife.” Caroline could hear how still Damon went on the other line. “Stefan and Elena have been having an affair for months and I figured you should know.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Caroline replied. She quickly typed on her phone and sent off the email. “Check your email Damon and you will see how honest I’m being. Do what you will with the information. I’m just the messenger.” She could hear Damon typing on his phone and she assumed he was pulling up her email. “Goodbye Damon. Stop looking for me.”

With that, Caroline hung up the phone. Both Klaus and Elijah sat back in their chairs with nothing to say. There really was not much to do at that point. They made their move and now it was time see Damon’s reaction. It could be instantaneous, or it could take days. While she could predict that Stefan would act on impulse, Damon was a wild card. He could act immediately or stew on the information for days.

“I’ll keep men eyeing Damon’s home in case he goes after Elena first.” Klaus replied. “I’ll monitor the security feed to see if Damon come to seek out Stefan.” He paused thinking. “Perhaps we should have them tailed? Damon is smart enough to know when he is being followed but with this, he may not care.”

“I can put a few agents on them both, with instructions not to intervene if the two would clash.” Elijah replied. “They already know that the FBI is investigating them, therefore it would not come as a surprise if they are noticed.” Klaus nodded and Elijah pulled out his phone, sending off message after message. “Now I supposed we wait.”

It took longer than Caroline expected for Damon to react. Days passed and they heard nothing from any of the men that were tailing either Stefan or Damon. Stefan was searching every inch of New York looking for Caroline. However, she did not leave the penthouse; pleased at the fact that Klaus had balconies and rooftop access if she felt the need to go outside.

Klaus had a minion shop for Caroline and by the next day, she had an entire new wardrobe, bathroom supplies and essentially moved into the penthouse with Klaus. She even made an offhand comment about adding a few throw pillows and fluffy blankets to the living room; those were ordered and delivered before the week was out. Klaus wanted her to make herself at home and she did.

It was the following Sunday night that she was curled up on the sofa; the fire going and buried under one of the blankets Klaus bought that they heard something. She was staring at the ultrasound in her hand, imagining their child running around the penthouse. She thought on whether or not she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom or do something else with her life. Stefan never allowed her to have a job or finish college. Klaus would want to her to follow her dreams and she let her head wonder at the possibilities.

“Caroline.” Klaus replied, his head peeking out from his office. He waved for her to follow him. She pushed the blanket of off her and made her way into Klaus’s office. He had been taking the surveillance of her old home seriously. While he still went into the office, in order to keep up appearances, he spent more time at the penthouse with Caroline than he had previously. During the hours that he could not be watching the cameras, he had someone do it for him; either Elijah, an agent or even Enzo.

When she entered the office, she moved around the desk and saw her old living room. It looked messy and trashed, probably from Stefan’s temper. She could see bottles and bottles of alcohol littering the floor. Beyond the shot the camera provided, Caroline could not see much more. Stefan and Elena were in the middle of the room arguing about something. Klaus turned the sound up and the two of them to hear their conversation.

“He knows Stefan. I don’t know how he figured it out. He has been acting off for days. I caught him today tearing through my things. He took my phone and read everything” Elena stated urgently. “We need to go. Now. Pack a bag and let’s go.”

“I can’t!” Stefan stated, pointing at the ankle monitor.

“Cut it the fuck off!” Elena whispered harshly. “Once Damon gets ahold of us, the feds will be the last thing we have to worry about.”

“It’s not the fed, Elena. Its Klaus. He is the one doing this.”

“Fuck Klaus. Pack a bag and let’s go.”

“Do you really think that wise Elena?” Both Stefan and Elena’s heads whipped around. Neither Klaus nor Caroline could see him, but Damon’s voice was unmistakable, and Elena’s terrified face told them exactly what they wanted to know. “We were not done with our discussion Elena; a wife should not run out on her husband.”

“Damon…”

“Then again, a wife does not fuck her husband’s brother. I didn’t believe it at first when I learned of your affair, but the proof was undeniable.” The words were biting and harsh. Elena froze in place. “Cortez, do me a favor and escort my wife to the car. Keep her there. I need to have a word with my brother.” A man who Caroline recognized as someone who worked close with Damon came on screen. Elena backed up slowly. Stefan stepped in front of her, but Cortez continued to approach.

“Maddox.”

Maddox stepped into the frame and quickly pulled Stefan away from Elena, allowing Cortez to grab Elena. She started streaming and hitting Cortez. She bit his arm and in response, Cortez slapped her across the face with enough force that she stumbled to the side. Stefan tried to move but Maddox, who was bigger than Stefan, grabbed him by the throat, holding him in place. Cortez picked Elena up from floor and tossed her over his shoulder, carrying her from the room while she kicked and screamed. Once Elena’s screams died down, Caroline could hear a shuffle on the auto and Damon appeared on screen, carrying two of her dining room chairs, placing them across from one another and what appeared to be a golfing bag. Damon sat down, crossed his legs and looked at his brother.

“Have a seat Stefan.” Maddox roughly forced Stefan into the chair that Damon sat across from him. “I spent the last view days watching you fuck my wife in various locations in this house.” Damon drawled slowly. “Then, I talked with your men. Maddox here was more than happy to tell me all the times he saw Elena come and go from this house; without me.”

“Maddox works for me.”

“Not anymore. I offered him three times what you pay him to help me with our discussion.” Damon replied. He motioned to Maddox, who moved off screen only to appear seconds later with a large bag in his hand. “Now, Maddox has been itching to do more field work. No more guard duty but the problem is, he needs practice. I figured that now would be the perfect time for him to gain experience.”

“Is this your game? You’re going to torture me?” Stefan replied. Maddox reached for Stefan’s coat and pulled it off, along with his shirt. He did not move, instead keeping his eyes on his brother at all times. Neither were willing to flinch.

“I’m not. Maddox is.” Damon motioned for Maddox to open his bag. He pulled out some kind of can, shook it and then pulled out a lighter. Maddox looked at Stefan thoughtfully before setting clicking the lighter and spraying the can. A burst of flame appeared, and Stefan screamed, deep burns appearing on the side of his chest. It went on for several minutes; Maddox burning various parts of Stefan’s body. “When did it start? The affair.”

“Fuck you.”

And thus, began the interrogation. Damon would ask question after question regarding his relationship with Elena. Stefan would refuse to answer, and Maddox would start to burn him. Once Maddox grew tired of the smell of burning flesh, he switched to sharp wooden picks. He inserted the small picks under Stefan nail’s, pulling upwards until a nail was completely ripped off. Damon would ask other questions and if Stefan’s answer was not sufficient, Maddox would rip another nail. Eventually Stefan had no nails let and Maddox switched to knives…and then blunt objects. Damon never took his eyes away from his brother.

Caroline watched the screen, unable to take her eyes away from him. Klaus slipped his hands into hers, never letting go. Part of him wanted to pull her away and shield her eyes but he knew she needed to witness this. So, instead he stayed silent, watching as Caroline took in every scene before them. She didn’t blink or move. She stood there with her shoulder’s back and an unreadable expression on her face. Her free hand still clutching the ultrasound picture.

“Stop.” Damon’s voice commanded. Maddox withdrew the knife he was using to cut a large gash over his chest, slicing open the burns on his chest. Damon stood from his chair. He opened the golf bag and pulled out a golf club. “Remember how dad loved to golf? Every Sunday, like clockwork we would go to the course. Remember how you killed him? Your very first kill was our father. I still remember looking at his detached head. I buried his body. I covered for you. And how do you repay me? You fuck my wife.”

With the last word, Damon swung the golf club; hitting Stefan on the side of the face. Blood spat from his mouth, splattering across the white leather couch Caroline purchased after her wedding. With one swing, it was like a tsunami crashed into land for the first time. Damon let loose. Swing after swing, hit after hit; Damon would not let up. Stefan fell to the ground and Damon continued to beat him with the golf club. When he stopped, Damon looked down at his brother and spat on him. He tossed the club to the side and walked away, never looking back at his brother as he left the house. At first, Caroline thought that Stefan had died right there, but when his body twitched, and he pulled himself up slightly; she was surprised.

“He isn’t dead.”

“No but he will be. An hour, maybe two.”

“Take me to him.” Caroline stated and Klaus blanched. He was about to protest when Caroline held up her hand. “Take me to him. I won’t be alone if you come with me, but I need to see him.” She sucked in a breath. “I need to tell him that it was me. That I was the one who put him in that position. I want to be the last person he sees when he dies, knowing that I was responsible. I want to watch him die.”

Klaus looked unsure of himself; thoughts going back and forth about what the right answer was. He wanted to keep her from Stefan at all cost, even during his final hours of life, but he knew that Caroline would go without him; and he would never stop her from anything. He would prefer to be with her instead of her going alone.

“Okay.”

The drive through the city was quiet and Klaus did what he could to avoid most of the traffic. It was snowing and Caroline could not help but think how beautiful it was. There was an almost romantic feel to it, in a way. Caroline got married during a winter snowstorm in the middle of January almost two years prior and seeing how the marriage was ending; she felt that the snow was fitting.

When they reached the mansion she once viewed as a prison, she couldn’t help but notice how dead it looked. Not a single light could be seen through the windows. The front door was kicked down and it honestly amazed Caroline that the place was not swarming with police. Then again, the house was huge and the distance between the houses were significant. When she entered the house, the foyer seemed like it always had; cold.

“Please, stay here. He can’t hurt me.” Caroline placed a hand on Klaus’s chest and pleaded with him. “If I need you, I’ll let you know.”

“I’ll be right through the archway, no farther.” Caroline nodded, agreeing to the compromise. He did not want to put her in danger but understood that she needed to do this. She turned from him and made her way into the living room. Unlike the foyer, the living room was destroyed. It was far worse in person than on computer monitor. Beside the liquor bottles and general mess, it appears that Stefan must have flown into a rage when Elena told him that Damon knew about their affair. He must have torn the room apart. The chairs were in the same place as they were when Damon had Maddox torture Stefan. The man in question was resting against the sofa, having propped himself up; unable to go any further. Caroline strolled over to the chair Damon had previously occupied, stepping over debris and bottles as she went, and sat down; looking at Stefan.

“Hello Stefan.” Her voice was gentle but there was a layered mirth behind it. Stefan was worse for wear. His injuries were far worse up close than she expected. Parts of his skin were covered in blisters from Maddox’s flames and there were at least a dozen gashes cut deep into his skin. He was covered in dry blood; some of which was seeping out of his mouth. His eyes held a slight glaze to them, but he was focused completely on her. “That looks like it hurts.”

“What do you want?”

“Can’t a wife come check on her husband?” That caused Stefan to give a humorless laugh, which was followed but the grabbing of his abdomen; almost tumbling over in pain. “In truth, I came back because I have a confession to make.” Stefan looked like he didn’t really care about whatever Caroline had to say, and that made the moment almost sweeter. She was the last person he wanted to be with when he died. “I’ve been having an affair.”

“Let me guess, the bodyguard?” Stefan coughed out. She could tell he wanted to roll his eyes but was in too much pain to do so. “I’ve suspected that the two of you were sleeping together. Always using him when you left. Figured sticking you with multiple guards would stop that. If I discovered for sure, I was going to kill the both of you and be done.”

“It wasn’t Enzo. He covered for me, but I’ve never had sex with him.” Caroline replied, a wicked smile graced her lips. She wanted to see the look on his face when he realized the gravity of his foolish mistake. Stefan underestimated her and Caroline that no one would do so ever again. “Ask me who I’ve been sleeping with.”

“Honestly, I don’t care.” Stefan replied. Caroline stood from her chair and knelt down beside him. She viewed a gash that ran over a burn mark. She reached out and pressed her nail into it. She twisted it, feeling the blood surge around her finger. Stefan locked his jaw, trying to prevent himself from screaming. Caroline enjoyed the sight of him suffering from the pain she caused him.

“Ask me who I have been sleeping with.”

“Who have you been fucking Caroline?”

“Klaus Mikaelson.”

That visceral reaction Stefan tossed her was worth every second of the misery she suffered at his hands. Stefan jerked towards her and she jumped back slightly; a look of triumph on her face. Stefan was huffing and blistering, blood spurting from his lips. His eyes held a fire inside that would have terrified Caroline if Stefan was in his right form.

“You bitch.”

“It’s hitting you isn’t it? All those times you and Damon discussed your plans in front of me. Letting details slip here or there? I heard it all. You thought I was empty headed and weak. No. I listened to everything. Remembered everything.” Caroline sat back down in the chair and crossed her legs. “We’ve been sleeping together for at least ten months. The first time he fucked me was in his office, after I told him you were in love with Elena.”

“Elena and I were not together ten months ago.”

“No. But I knew you loved her. All those times you whispered her name in my ear? I figured it out. I told him that the way to take you down was to drive a wedge between you and Damon, using Elena. And then I took my dress off for him and let him fuck me just because I knew it would piss you off.” She cocked her head. “I’m pregnant and you’re going to die. Elena most likely is going to die. Klaus will hunt Damon down, and he too will die. The Mikaelson family lives and grows inside me, while the rest of yours die. I win Stefan.”

With that, Caroline watched him. He couldn’t speak and she could tell that he was in agony. His breathing started laboring and she knew it would be soon. Stefan tried to look away from her, but Caroline would lean bend down and make him look at her. She was going to be the last thing he saw on this earth. It didn’t take long; less than an hour after she arrived did Stefan take his last breath. His eyes glassed over and soon there was nothing left.

And just like that, Caroline became a widow.

She stood from her chair, giving Stefan’s body one last look before turning and heading back out to the foyer. Klaus was still there, leaning against the wall; a proud smirk on his lips. She knew that he heard every word. Not being able to help herself, she walked over to him and pulled him into an embrace. She kissed him deeply, pouring every ounce of relief, passion and bloodlust she felt in that moment. Klaus understood what she needed.

“I’m done here.” She whispered when their lips broke apart. “Take me home.”

[sm0ak-queen]

Spotlight Saturday - Part 2

This is part 2 of my Jaime/Brienne fic recs. You can find part 1 here. If you’re stuck at home right now and looking for something to keep you distracted these fics are a good place to start.

Multi-Chapters

Title: Briana Tart Undercover Author: @ladyinredfics​ Rating: E Word Count: 19,749 Chapters: 8 Tags: Modern AU, Bodyguards Summary: Brienne of Tarth, bodyguard to the Westerosi elite, loves her job. That it leaves her little free time to pursue a personal life is a perk, not problem, until a mix-up at the local coffee shop opens up new possibilities with the coworker who fascinates and frustrates her most.

Title: Bright Lights  Author: lionheartedghost Rating: T Word Count: 23,300 Chapters: 10 Tags: Modern AU, Actors AU Summary: Brienne Tarth finally gets her acting break when she's cast as a detective in new crime drama 'Crowns'. What she doesn't count on is her producer's arrogant brother Jaime Lannister being cast as her partner.

Title: On the Night’s Watch Author: Miss_M Rating: M Word Count:105,820 Chapters: 26 Tags: Modern AU, Police Procedural Summary: Detective Brienne Tarth transfers to the King’s Landing Police Department and is assigned to permanent nightshift duty: the Night’s Watch, where careers go to die. As if that weren’t bad enough, her new partner is the infamous Jaime Lannister. When they land a time-sensitive missing person case, trusting each other is the only way they might solve the mystery.

Title: With All Your Faults Author: @seaspiritwrites​ Rating: M Word Count: 140,326 Chapters: 37 Tags: Baseball AU, 1940s Summary: In 1943, small-town slugger Brienne Tarth is recruited to play for Tywin Lannister’s newest business venture: the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. There, she meets Jaime, a maimed former Major League pitcher who’s been talked into managing one of his father’s teams. She can't stand her arrogant coach, and he is definitely not interested in his annoyingly principled star player. They don't like each other at all, really...until they do.

Title: This Is The One Author: disappointed_turtle Rating: Not Rated Word Count: 32,329 Chapters: 8 Tags: Modern AU Summary: Jaime, Brienne, football, feminism, friendship, dogs, cake, sex. Good things, basically. No one is getting crushed by bricks after a wildly unbelievable 'relapse' in this 

Title: I never knew home until I found your hands Author: @shipping-receiving​ Rating: E Word Count: 60,294 Chapters: 16 [WIP] Tags: Modern AU, Office AU Summary: A woman punches a man at an office party. This is the story of how they fall in love.

Title: She's Beauty, She's Grace (She'll Punch You In The Face) Author: @slipsthrufingers​ Rating: T Word Count: 49,826 Chapters: 13 [WIP] Tags: Modern AU, Miss Congeniality AU Summary: When the Miss Westeros pageant receives a terrorist threat, Agent Brienne Tarth finds herself in the most difficult deep cover she's ever been: beauty queen. As if her job isn't already hard enough, now she has to do it in heels and a ballgown.

Title: Your Mouth is Poison, Your Mouth is Wine Author: LSquared80 Rating: M Word Count: 19,085 Chapters: 5 [WIP] Tags: Modern AU, Cat and mouse game Summary: A painting is stolen from a prominent Westeros museum. After Jaime Lannister makes a donation to take its place, insurance investigator Brienne Tarth becomes convinced he had something to do with the theft.

One-Shots

Title: A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action Please Author: @sapphiresandsunlight​ Rating: T Word Count: 6,869 Tags: Book-Canon, Canon Continuation, Hyle Hunt POV Summary: Everyone who's anyone knows you can't shack up at the Quiet Isle if you're not married. So, Brienne's posse of Dudely Hangers-On decides to do the next-best thing, and set up camp right outside her door for an all-night jam sesh. What could go wrong?

Title: I will always hold you close, but I will learn to let you go Author: @angel-deux-writes​ Rating: T Word Count: 12,343 Tags: Canon Divergence, Season 8 AU Summary: Jaime is gravely wounded in the battle against the dead. When he thinks he's dying, he kisses Brienne. After, he heals, kept asleep with milk of the poppy. Brienne worries about what will happen when he wakes up.

Title: Of babies and misunderstandings Author: Apple_Queen Rating: T Word Count: 5,148 Tags: Modern AU, Meet-Cute Summary: The last thing Jaime expected when Tyrion persuaded him to take his nephew to a baby sensory class was that he would end up with the world's most inappropriate crush, and on a woman most people would describe as ugly no less...

Title: The Other Side of the Sky  Author: @hardlyfatal​ Rating: T Word Count: 8,002 Tags: Canon Divergent, Fix-It Summary: Bran came awake one morning and said, “Huh.”It had been a long time since he had had a proper greendream, separate from what visions the crow permitted him– certainly not in the two years since he had assumed the throne of the six kingdoms. He sat there and thought hard about it, waving off the servant come to help him wash and dress, until there was a knock at the door. Bran knew who it would be. “Enter, Lord Commander.”

Title: The Unicorn Incident Author: @ajoblotofjunk​ Rating: E Word Count: 14,183 Tags: Modern AU, Fantasy Summary: Catelyn needs a unicorn horn. Jaime knows where one is. Brienne is the only virgin she trusts to go with him. Time for a road trip!

Series

Title: Jaime Lannister Investigations Author: ShirleyAnn66 Rating: M Word Count: 166, 842 Works: 13 Tags: Modern AU, Private Investigators, Remington Steele AU Summary: The great detective, Jaime Lannister? He doesn’t exist. I invented him. It was working like a charm—until the day he walked in, with his green eyes and mysterious past.

Title: The battlefield between us Author: @robotsdance​ Rating: E Word Count: 20,147 Works: 2 Tags: Canon Divergence, Secret Marriage Summary: “I missed you,” Brienne says like she’s admitting something else, and Jaime wants to say it back to her in exactly the same way: loaded with all of the things they’re not saying. Let that truth settle between them, unsaid but at least somewhat spoken. That could be enough. To share that quiet understanding with Brienne, here, alone together in the middle of the woods, in the middle of a war, in which one of them will be on the losing side. That could be enough. I missed you too. Brienne would understand. What Jaime says instead is “Marry me.”

Title: Works and Days Author: Mussimm Rating: E Word Count: 25,396 Works: 7  Tags: Canon Divergent Summary: Post-canon ficlet series

[mikauzoran]

Ask Game: Mikau’s Headcanons - This Should Be a Drinking Game

Anonymous asked:

5&6

Thank you for the ask! ^.^

(The questions are from this list. So far I’ve done five, six, eleven, and fifteen.)

5. What’s your favorite headcanon you use in fics?

Oh my gosh. There are so many headcanons. XD I was actually just thinking last night that I needed to compile a list and turn it into a drinking game or something. 

Take a sip of tea every time:

1. Félix is Adrien’s older brother (eight years older). He left home at sixteen, married Marinette’s cousin Bridgette, and now lives in Marseille where he’s a homicide detective. Bri runs her own bakery. They have a daughter named Noëlle and a son on the way. Fé used to play the violin competitively growing up, and Adrien learned to play Danse Macabre and the first movement of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata from him.

2. Émilie was a stage actress, and Adrien used to do the child roles in whatever production she was in, so he grew up backstage and going to the theatre to see his mum a lot. Her signature role was Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. When Gabriel and Émilie met going to high school in Marseille, she was performing Viola and dragged him into being on the costume crew for the school play once she discovered he was an aspiring fashion designer.

3. Adrien decides to pursue a career in acting. He misses performing from when he did it with his mum when he was a kid, and it makes him feel connected to her. He likes getting to portray all kinds of different people and experiencing what it’s like to be someone else. It’s a safe space for him to experience emotions since expressing emotions was frowned upon in his home growing up. The roles he really wants to play are Jean Valjean from Les Mis, the Phantom from Phantom of the Opera, Elphaba from Wicked, and Viola from Twelfth Night.

4. Adrien is originally left-handed but has learned to be ambidextrous. This is my hill to die on, and you can fight me over it. ^w^ It’s probably just production error/the creators not really caring, but I’ve noticed several times in canon where Adrien has been shown doing things left-handed. (I mean, he uses his right hand for things too, but...) In Origins, when he’s walking to class and signing autographs left and right, he does so with his left hand. In Marchand de Sable/Sandman when he’s doing homework in his room, his writing supplies are on his left side. (I just want some left-handed representation. Is that too much to ask? ;-;)

5. Adrien is biromantic asexual. Even when I pair him with Marinette, he’s never not bi. I don’t always write him as ace; sometimes he’s bisexual in my works, but I could see canon Adrien as ace.

6. Adrien’s comfort foods are mint tea and salad. When he was little, when he or  Émilie had a bad day, she would kick the kitchen staff out of the kitchen, and they would make a big salad and some mint tea and enjoy it together. Now that she’s gone, he has mint tea and/or salad when he’s feeling down, and it’s comforting because it reminds him of his mother.

7. Adrien is a total anime nerd. He grew up relatively isolated from the outside world, so he learned about life and “normal”/“acceptable” human behaviour from Disney movies and anime. He’s always wanted to be a Disney princess and a magical girl. He was really inspired by Disney and anime protagonists who overcame the difficulties in their lives to achieve their dreams and find happiness and love. He has a lot of strong, female role models, starting with his mum, so he tends to identify with female characters more strongly than male characters.

8. Adrien is a polyglot. Obviously, he knows French, and he’s learned English because it’s required. Chinese lessons are canonical. He taught himself Japanese so that he could read manga and watch anime in the original (and pass it off as “studying”). He also speaks Russian (see “9″ below). He doesn’t speak Italian, but he has a passing familiarity with the language. He knows some phrases from opera from watching it himself and his mum’s career. He has some of his favourite portions memorized. He can insult someone’s sartorial choices in Italian from listening to his father do so on trips to Milan for business, and he knows survival phrases, but he can’t actually construct sentences or have conversations. He just hasn’t invested himself in it.

9. Adrien’s bodyguard’s name is Victor (really Viktor, but he uses the French spelling to fit in). He’s originally from Russia and still has family there. The reason why he doesn’t speak is because, even though he understands French just fine, he’s self-conscious about speaking it because of his accent. He’s also afraid to make mistakes, especially in front of Gabriel who is not a patient or tolerant man. Victor taught Adrien Russian, so now they can speak together, and no one knows what they’re saying. (Nathalie has picked up a little bit here and there, but not enough to have conversations.) Victor calls Adrien Adrianka. (It’s the Russian diminutive.)

10. Nathalie speaks a little bit of Mandarin Chinese. Her tones are so-so, but she can get her point across. She learned from listening in on Adrien’s lessons so that she could make sure he stayed on top of his curriculum. When Adrien has to miss Chinese lessons on short notice, Adrien’s teacher works with Nathalie instead.

11. Luka loves all music, not just rock or punk like we’ve seen on the show. I mean, the guy is portrayed as music being his whole life, right? He came to music through rock and roll because that’s what he was exposed to through his mother and her music career, but if you dig into the music and look at its history, where it came from, what inspired it, you start wandering back through time until you get to the big names of classical concert music. Luka is an inquisitive, thoughtful guy. I can see him digging into the roots of the music he grew up with and finding all sorts of cool influences. I can see him learning about and experimenting with different types/genres of music.

12. In university, Luka studies Literature with an emphasis on nineteenth and twentieth century Russia. Why? Below is excerpted from my response to a comment asking about this point.

Especially in the nineteenth century during the height of Romanticism, a lot of literary elements and themes made their way into classical music. Program music uses literary texts as a base and illustrates the story with music. Composers drew from the Russian literary tradition as well, particularly in opera. Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades is based on Pushkin's short story, and I just found out a month ago that Shostakovich turned Gogol's short story The Nose into an opera. In the arts, one thing always leads to another. It's like looking up something on Wikipedia. Two hours later you've become an expert on botany or Balkan folk dance. I think Luka would dig into the sources of inspiration for the music he was consuming in order to better understand the works and as a means of getting inspiration himself.

So that's why Russian Literature. I think he'd eventually find his way to it through music. Then, once you find Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, you really get sucked in. For me, those two have such a way of depicting real human beings and what it means to be human. They really get at deeper human truths. Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment, and The Idiot really capture that essence for me. (War and Peace too to some extent, but not as much as the other three.) I think Luka would really be drawn to Russian literature too and come to love it for itself apart from the musical inspiration he was able to derive from it.

13. In his teens, Luka takes more of an interesting in the piano and falls in love with the violin. He adds piano and violin performance majors halfway through university and ends up becoming a professional solo pianist as well as a first violin with the Orchestre de Paris.

14. Luka wears reading glasses. I don’t think I’ve used this one much. Actually, I can’t find where I’ve used this at all. :/ Well. I suppose there will be no tea drinking at this time for this headcanon. ^.^;

15. Luka has tattoos. I don’t think I’ve gotten around to this one yet either. Adrien and Luka talk about possible tattoo ideas in Chapter Four of Nachtmusik, but... At any rate, the full extent of the tattoos would be a stylized snake on his pelvis, Odin’s raven’s on his shoulder blades, a stylized snake bracelet under his regular bracelets, and a Chat Noir paw print under his ring. So far the paw print is the only one that I’m one hundred percent positive that will happen. The stylized snake on the pelvis is pretty up there too because in the Jabberwocky/Daisy universe I was going to have Adrien and Marinette squabbling over Luka, and Adrien was going to say that he bet Marinette hadn’t seen Luka’s snake tattoo. When Marinette asks Luka where he has a snake tattoo and learns how low on Luka’s stomach it is, she’s left wondering what’s going on between Adrien and Luka. I’m undecided about the ravens and the snake bracelet.

16. The children are always named Hugo, Louis, and Emma, but the birth order depends upon the pairing. Lukadrienette have Hugo (biologically Luka’s), Emma (Adrien’s), and then Louis (Adrien’s). Lukadrien have Emma (Luka and Rose’s), Louis (Adrien and Rose’s), and then Hugo (Adrien and Juleka’s). Adrienette have Louis, Hugo, and then Emma.

Which is your favourite of my headcanons? Which one would you like to see more of? Did I miss any? ^.^;

[abalonetea]

updated character list, because i’m procrastinating Work and also I've made major changes since the last one, woops

                                                    Adele Adler  

the handler, the woman in charge. She runs relay between all four teams, doling out missions, handling issues that arrive on and off base, and acting as go between for the Teams and the Council. she’s supposed to keep her distance between them, and had managed that for all the teams before now, but…the men are growing on her! she has a surprising soft spot for most of them, and finds herself more and more willing to turn blind eyes on their shenanigans.

_-_

                                                  West Team

                                                   Jeremy - Speedster

a rough upstart from the streets of Los Angeles. he spent nearly six years bouncing from city to city, and did a very large stint running drugs for a prominent crime organization. with hands that have been broken more than a few times and a serious case of ADHD, paired with a short temper and a habit of fighting dirty, he’s a firecracker out on the field.

                                              Joshua - Sharpshooter

born in Roturoa, but more often found in the wilds away from other people. if it moves, he’s been paid to hunt it before. perpetually tired and with a bad eye from an old shooting injury, it can sometimes be surprising that he’s so fierce out on the field. especially when it comes to people bothering what’s his.

                                                   Feliciano - Rouge

served in the Iradium War just outside of Rome, briefly, and made a living as a bodyguard for a while. he’s used to being neither seen or heard as a result, and it’s led to a very slow process in finding a place for himself on the team. that being said, he’s got a fondness for making poorly timed jokes on the field, directly before stabbing an opponent in the neck.

                                                     Lukas - Techie

a former teacher at the SPFOT, where he created the original prototype for prosthetic limbs fueled by iradium. knows more about the strange element than anyone else, and found himself working for the GSC after being framed for the murder of a former colleague. you’ll often find him building devices that will stop him from having to get involved with hand in hand combat.

                                                     Deiter - Doctor 

after losing everything that he owned during WW2, Deiter found himself working as a black market doctor, trading treatment for food and places to stay. extremely fond of the team that he has now, and very invested in making sure that they consistently come back in one piece - despite the occasional code disruptions that occur.

                                                     Jamie - General

from a small town to the fields of the Iradium War, he’s been fighting from the moment he had the chance. close contact with constant iradum boom’s have left him with some pretty bad hearing loss, and a strong dislike for explosives work. excels in planning and finding the strong points in his comrades.

_-_

                                                     East Team

                                                     Scout - Scout

grew up in Boston, where he was raised by a single mother, with five younger siblings. between the ADHD and the dyslexia, he’s lacking in confidence, and making up for it in bluster. a proud owner of pigeon wings, an iradium baseball bat, and a true master at sleight of hands, including coin tricks.

                                                     Jane - Guard

a former soldier in WW2, who came away from the fight with some hearing issues. very loud and a little too blunt for most people’s likings. has eagle wings, but one of them’s broken and held in place with a handmade strap. takes great pride in his job. very good at sewing, and gets a kick out of Scout’s jokes even if he won’t admit it.

                                                    Corentin - Thief

 he was drafted into the Korean War, where he served a grueling eight months before being attacked by military trained dog-horses and sent home. a chronic insomniac who never settled back into civilian life, and has an abysmally childish sense of humor. usually tasked with cooking meals on his team. lovebird wings.

                                                    Ollie - Arsonist

a firebug from Daytona who was picked up by Seamus, and not Adele. really wants to do his job well and not fuck things up, but has a case of chronic bad luck. paired up with Scout, they become the gruesome twosome, and cause prank-Hell for the rest of the team. collects lighters. sparrow wings.

                                                    Seamus - Gunner

an alcoholic with a penchant for creating updated guns, and a fondness for loud music. he/s a great cook but never bothers with it. got caught in a car bomb when he was younger, and has pretty bad back issues now. Ollie’s proving to be good for him. great skua wings. (subclass - Builder)

                                                    Sasha - Healer

a doctor with a love for guns, and a history with a cult in Siberia. she’s an optimistic person, though large crowds make her a little nervous. has more common sense than the ret of her team mates put together, drinks vodka in her tea, and has vulture wings. heavily linked to a hypothetical angel of death. (subclass - gun enthusiast)

_-_

                                                    North Team

                                                    Tony - Runner 

local loudmouth of North team. you cannot pay this boy to be quiet, and he’s both stupid as a bag of bricks and also incredibly intelligent. from New York, where he had a lovely stint robbing the Italian mafia blind with his husband, Rizzo, until they were both shot up and picked up by Adele. part of a modern day bonnie and clyde.

                                                    Rizzo - Demolitions Expert

pretty adorable if you can get past the fact that he’s incredibly crass and has no filter between mind and mouth. Hopelessly in love with his husband, even if no one else realizes they’re married. he will burn water if you let him cook, so maybe best if you don’t.

                                                    Loto - Archer

from the Louisiana bayous, and great with a cross bow. has an old coonhound-horse that sleeps in bed with him, but who Loto claims to hate. often forgets that he needs to actually go to the kitchen and get food, and that the food he needs is easily available.

                                                     Braeburn - Mechanic

the longest running member of any of the active teams. has a prosthetic arm. really fond of sweet tea, and has more idea of what’s going on than he’s willing to let on. bound up in so many contracts, it’s literally woven into his Intent.

                                                    (N/A - Medic)

                                                    (N/A - Assassin)

_-_

                                                    South Team

                                                    Elias - Soldier

a big softy, under all that gruffness. a pretty shy guy, and any kindness will make him flustered. was pulled into a unit of winged soldiers for the Iradium War on a technicality. spent four years traveling around the states with BJ. has a severe case of HEARTsickness. greater frigate wings.

                                                    BJ - Hurricane 

left an abusive home at fourteen and has been on the streets since. took a contract with GSC to get Elias medical treatment. dyslexic, and often described by his team as “being a lot”. a baseball enthusiast from Orlando, who’s basically Florida Man with hummingbird wings.

                                                    Olek - Firepower 

can probably punch you hard enough to get a KO, but fights with an Iradium powered flare-gun that does serious damage. from Russia, with a strict I won’t tell you anything about my past policy, and a bizarre fondness for bears. great at giving hugs when you’re down. curly goose wings.

                                                    Jakob - Maker 

has a highly advanced prosthetic eye. losing the vision in his other eye. the guy who picked up BJ and Elias. has a real morality struggle between the job he does, and his own views on Mercy. probably needs a hug more than he lets on. rhode island red wings.

                                                    Jules - Spy

one of the longest lasting members of the Compass teams. served in WW2, and the Iradium War. genderfluid, and doesn’t remember their real name. walks a thin line between being distant and flirtatious as fuck, with the bad habit of falling asleep while he’s smoking. used to have cardinal wings

                                                    Gabe - Hunter

a former worker on an Alaskan fishing boat, he’s a remarkable shot with a rifle and can catch most anything in traps including humans. head strong and doesn’t take direction well. falcon wings. (sub class - Field Medic)

[tagamantra]

panginoon, the ganglords of biringan

Biringan is the City of Cities, but it was once a holy city. It was once a city of pilgrimage, a city of the greatest knoweable magics and sorceries. It was the home of the Infinite Spirits, of the bathala, of the ever-present engkanto.

Of course, that all changed when the Trinity came. They came and changed what Biringan was. They came and made Biringan their unholy capital. Now, despite being under a Kingdom “ruled” by its own people, Biringan has fallen into wicked crime and has become a dreaded cesspool of villainy.

The City of Biringan is too big to be confined to words and descriptions, and so I will only go and describe some of its people. Perhaps the most infamous among them are the Panginoon. 

The term Panginoon used to be used for the leaders of a group of datu in a certain region before the invasion of Trinitarian powers. After the coming of the Trinitarian powers, the term had been co-opted to be used to describe the Trinity themselves. When they left, the term was taken back again by the natives, but this time by the criminals, who used the term to refer to their boss. Poon is the shortened term.

The Panginoon, funnily enough, act the most similar to the pre-colonial datu in the Archipelago. Most of them have a primary trade and their own defining feature. They have built up a community for themselves within the horrid archipelago-within-an-archipelago of Biringan, which they call their haop, which at this point is synonymous with “gang”. Their “territory” is known as their “banwa”.  

When I went and met a Panginoon, a young gwapo named Poon Balo Balyante, I found that he was surprisingly human. He was kind, unassuming, and wanted his people to treat me with respect as they would any random visitor in his territory, which he called his banwa. This was also an ancient term. One that he said was “removed from us by the Invaders” and replaced with “a single nation”. That nation being the Perlesensya Kingdom. The Perlesensya Kingdom being, as he said, “nothing but a new name for the colony”.

And in truth: the ganglords of Biringan have treated their people in a much better light than the Guwardya Sibil or the Pamahalaan. Now, of course, I have never said that the Pamahalaan has been doing a good job of governing the nation, that is for sure, but it has really come to light here that there is another way. And with that light came hope, even for the seven souls within me that slide smoothly into an ever-sinking despair.

As I immersed into their community--which is almost always found in the dregs, in the stacks, in the squatter areas and lungsods of Biringan--the more I found that they live peacefully among themselves. Of course, at first, I was suprised, but that is because of my inherent privilege and prejudice against the “ganglords of Biringan”. As I walked through their sluice streets flanked by crumbling kubo-towers--that is, nipa huts stacked on top of each other to create a sort of vertical apartment complex--the more I saw that they had a thriving inner economy. The people that they had within knew each other: the panday ng baril--gunsmith--knew the panadero, the one selling bread from the bakery. The tindera who sold goods from outside Biringan knew intimately who the son of the cook of the nearby karinderya was. It was an interconnected community, all of whom looked up to Poon Balo Balyante for leadership.

“It is the greatest fault and the greatest boon,” said Balo. “Boon because they are united and they work together. Fault because they still think me higher than them, when in truth we are all equal.”

What a strangely forward-thinking man.

Now I am not saying that all Panginoon think like this. This is evidenced by the sudden attack from a rival haop governed by Poon Ashara Gigulod, who was said to have been the greatest leader in her lungsod. They attacked and tried to raze down the banwa of Poon Balo, but through their coordinated efforts, actions, and the greatness of the Poon’s sandig, or supporters, they were able to fight back. Not wanting to be dead weight, I helped in fending off the attackers. Panginoon like Ashara were termed “pamalpagan”, Panginoon where were autocaratic and oppressive, and enjoyed too much the power that they had. They functioned like a microcosm of the troubles of the current Kingdom, living their lives as autocrats and dictators, and treating their subjects as vassals or peasants.

Poon Balo meanwhile--and apparently a host of other Panginoon--treated their people like followers instead.

Ah yes, the sandig. It is common knowledge to know that Panginoon have their own merry band of supporters, known as their sandig. They are either usually close blood relatives of the Poon, or the friends of the Poon that they themselves have handpicked. 

The sandig is made up of four different roles:

- The Atubang was the one who worked as the Poon’s chief minister or counselor. - The Paragahin acted as his steward or majordomo or secretary of the Poon. - The Bilanggo acted as the Poon’s chief sheriff, who he walked around with as his bodyguard. The bilanggo’s house became the Panginoon’s personal jail for those that have committed atrocities against haop, being called the bilanggoan. - The Paratawag acted as the Panginoon’s chief messenger, relaying the messages and decrees of the Panginoon across all of the banwa.

That was most of what I had learned before I had to leave due to rising tensions. The haop are scattered all across Biringan, and not all of them are made of tao people. However, it is important to note that one should remove presuppositions and assumptions about this people: they may very well be the ones to be able to save Perlesensya from its dictatorial, neocolonial government.

Here are a few more Panginoon that I have since visited and listed down. You will have to assemble them on your own, however: I have applied a Gulo kulam to make sure that if this book were ever to fall into Kingdom hands, they will not be able to make it out in any capacity. 

Panginoon and Haop Generator

When generating a Panginoon and Haop, keep in mind what their role in the world is, or where they can be found. Additionally, if you’re using the Gods and Chains, make sure to write them down as Gods/Chains/Hatreds if they are those.

To figure out their name, combine [Made-up name] with [Filipino/Spanish sounding surname].

Panginoon are known to be stylish, especially in Biringan. Choose one or two to figure out their looks: They wear a red pudong, a kind of war turban; they wear flamboyant clothing; they wear clothing fit for an emperor or a king; they solely wear the trappings of the Trinity Continents; they are never seen without their iconic full-body armor; they are never seen, only their palanquin and their silhouette; they ride upon a the back of a giant crocodile; they have chosen a single color as the only color on every article of clothing; make one or two of your own:

Panginoon come into their power for a reason. To find out what that reason is, roll 1d6 and half the result, rounded down.

1. Merit. The Panginoon came into power because they have shown their leadership skills and talents in front of a crowd of oppressed people, or have shown their skills before the previous Panginoon, causing the people of the haop to jockey for them to become the next Panginoon. 2. Blood. Some haop keep the primitive monarchy system of yesteryear, and thus believe that only those with the bloodline of the Panginoon (which they call Dugong-Bughaw, blueblood) should be allowed to rule over them. 3. Usurpation. The previous Panginoon was a horrible leader, or maybe too weak to stop the coming of the next one. The current Panginoon became the Poon of the haop because they were more powerful than the one that came before, and thus usurped their throne from them.

Panginoon have dispositions that influence how they govern their haop and how their haop sees them. Roll 1d6.

1. Kind and Benevolent. The haop are a good bunch, a community of people that only want to get by. 2. Rebellious and Revolutionary. The haop and the Panginoon are actively trying to change Biringan for the better. 3. Autocratic. The haop live in fear of their Panginoon, and the Panginoon gets money and support from the Guwardya Sibil themselves. 4. Uncaring and Aloof. The haop are more or less free due to their Panginoon not caring too much about them. However this has led into fragmentation and recurring uprisings within the haop. 5. Familial. The haop treats each other similarly to a family, and thus have become intensely xenophobic and have implemented a rigid social hierarchy and revenge system. 6. Gluttonous. The Panginoon only cares about money and power. Not inherently autocratic, but close enough, especially if they make deals with the Pamahalaan and the Guwardya Sibil to get even more money and power to stomp on their haop.

Finally, each Panginoon is filled with a burning desire. Make one of your own or roll 1d6.

1. Money. The Panginoon seeks out money, perhaps to support their family or to enrich themself, or some other secret motive. 2. Power. The Panginoon seeks out power, control over others. Perhaps to create more opportunities or to stamp them out and to be the only one ruling over them all, or some other secret motive. 3. Change. The Panginoon seeks change in the Pamahalaan, or in society at large, and thus has scorunged up his own microcosm of society to enact this change. 4. Overthrow. The Panginoon seeks not only change, but the ousting of the one upon the throne of the Pamahalaan. 5. Technology. The Panginoon has a penchant for strange doodads and has created or inherited their haop for the sole intention of getting more things to tinker with. 6. Fulfill Responsibility. They inherited this haop, or chose to be its leader, because they want to fulfill the responsibility of being a leader and helping those that would follow him.

The aeshetics of a Panginoon’s haop is influenced by the Panginoon themself. Distinct aesthetics are important: it’s to signal when they have arrived. Figure out their haop aesthetics and looks, choose one or two: they wear red bandanas, they always have identical pairs of black pants, they have piercings on their tragus, they have their hair dyed to peroxide blonde, they sport glowing tattoos on their collarbones, they wear a certain color of jacket as their uniform, make one or two of your own: 

Graffiti’d to the sides of large buildings, fallen titan skeletons, or armors of killed gods, as well as maybe stitched onto their flags, sails, or hoodies. Figure out their haop insignia, choose one: The head of a binturong, a circular serpent, a crocodile, a twisting river, a mountain that pierces the heavens, make one one:

Next, find out what their trade is, if anything. To find out their trade, roll 1d6.

1. Manual Labor. They trade in people and labor brought about with those people. There are many folk in Biringan searching for jobs, and with the oppressive system in place by the Trinity and the Kingdom, manual labor does not sound so bad. State what labor they trade: 2. Drugs. They trade in drugs, psychedelics, and other illegal contraband. This is arguably the most dangerous one, since the Kingdom has had a recent crackdown on drug trade. State what kind of drug they trade: 3. Food and Crop. They trade in foodstuffs and crops and other things framed from the Probinsyas, since the Kingdom insists on importing materials from the Continents and not buying from their own Archipelago. State what kind of Food they trade: 4. Iron and other Minerals. More minerals from outside Biringan, or perhaps from outside the Archipelago, which they also export or give to local forgeries. Iron is a much coveted mineral in the archipelago, especially by Panday. State what kind of Mineral they trade: 5. Diwata. Physics does not work the same in Sansinukob as in other universes. In fact, there is no physics. The diwata, the elemental god spirits that live within all things, are the things that grant things their inherent quality. People fall down to the earth because there are earth diwata within the earth. Thus, the Industrialization of Biringan has centered around the slavery of the diwata. Electricity supplied through lightning diwata, light through fire diwata, and more. State what kind of diwata they trade: 6. Piracy. Their main trade is coming in and stealing from the other trades. They get a lot of money from this, but they are frequently the targets of revenge raids. Don’t state what they pirate, they pirate everything.

Gangs especially are vulnerable to problems. To find out what their current problem is, roll 1d6.

1. A Rival Haop. A rival haop is seeking to overthrow them. 2. A Panginoon Grudge. A panginoon, whether it be of the haop or an enemy haop, has a grudge that they wish to solve right now. 3. The Guwardya Sibil. The Guwardya Sibil, sent of course by the Pamahalaan, is coming to stop their operations, or are actively trying to stop their operations. 4. Their Trade Source is dwindling. The Pamahalaan is actively endangering their source of trade and income. 5. The Panginoon is dead. The Panginoon has been killed, but the haop does not know yet. It will be only a matter of time before the news gets out. 6. The Panginoon is Not Fit. The Panginoon is deemed incompetent, or useless, or too evil for the haop, and they wish to replace them.

These are all you need for the basic trappings of a haop. Figure out where they can be found on your city, and then let the rest of play figure out what happens to them as it goes along. It will be important to make them feel, to the players, like they’ve been there for a long time, so ramp up the rumors about the haop and what they’re most well known for. If you wish to find out what they’re well known for, you can roll another 1d6.

1. Their Trade. They are most well known for their trade and the good or bad it brings. 2. Their Panginoon. Their Panginoon is infamous, and rumors of them killing or cavorting with other Panginoon spread around. 3. Their being puppets. This haop is famously rumoured to be the puppets of the Pamahalaan used to keep the people in line. Whether this is true or not is up to the table and the game. 4. Their Aesthetics. They are most well known for their notable aesthetic sense which can be found everywhere near their bawna’s vicinity. 5. Their Good Will. This haop is known for helping the people out, especially int heir harshest times of need or when the Pamahalaan is being their usual useless self. 6. Their Ferocity. This haop is known for their horrible and brutal practices that scare those in the vicinity of their haop.

This should be enough to round up your own haop and Panginoon in Biringan. Of course, this is not the be-all and end-all. Every table will be different, it’s up to you how you want to use these tools in your own Lie.

[cotar-game]

Crown of Thorns and Roses

Welp. Time got away from me. This summer was pretty busy, between helping at a kids camp, my birthday, and my brother going away to college, but I'm finally gathering my fledgling courage and posting the info about the game.

The Plot:

You play as the Heir to the Kingdom of Artherius, a small, landlocked country hedged by mountains, save a small sea gifted by ancient laws traqnscending the kingdoms that sprawl across the vast continent. Peace ruled your country, up until 6 years ago, when the entrances throught he mountains to your country were blocked off by landslides, cutting off all those who called Artherius home, rom the rest of the world.

Your father called for militaristic action, saying the borders of the land were closed, and all those who tried to enter would be slain. It was a bloody time, where those with family still in Artherius, or were merely visiting, tried to escape, all to meet the their deaths at the hand of a deadly light that would kill those near it, leaving no trace of a body.

Artherius descends into a land of the lawless and fear for the common people. Years pass, and as your 21st birthday rolls around, you realize your father, King only in name, has no intention of handing the throne over to you. It is up to you to discover why your father has descended into such madness, repair your fractured land, and prepare for the darkness that is lurking beyond your borders.

Or, perhaps you intend to join the darkness, and watch your entire world burn around you. It's your choice, really.

TW: Mentions of slavery, crimes, abuse, violence, abandonment issues, war, blood, etc.

The Romances/Companions:

There are 7 romanceable characters (3 male, 2 female, 2 nonbinary), with up to 3 possible poly romances in the works.

Seeren: The Court Mage.

     A rather shy elven woman, she has been a close friend and confidant to the MC ever since she was brought the castle to train in magic at the tender age of 10. She quickly grew in skill, overtaking her master's job as court mage when the older man passed. She is accomplished in many types of magic, and dabbles in alchemy. It is her magic and potions that keep the MC healthy and sane.

Eshad: The Djinn in the Bottle.

     The MC goes exploring in the cavernous basements of the castle they call home, and discover a rather unusual lamp sitting in a hidden corner of one fo the locked rooms. It is in that moment they meet Eshad, a rather disgruntled Djinn who has been imprisoned there for 2000 years. The MC has only one wish, and would rather not be killed by a poorly worded wish. So Eshad must stay at their side until they make their wish.

Astha: The Captain of the Guard.

    Astha is no shy noble woman. A dragonborn, she is descended from the very beasts that once ruled this world, and she bows to no one, no matter who they might be. She is powerful, and she knows it. She has trained for the position of the Captain since before she could walk, all in preparation to take the mantle from the her Aunt. As she will be tasked with keeping watch of the current Heir, she keeps a professional distance, merely observing them. But she knows more than she will ever let on.

Aenon: The Captive Royal.

    Aenon was visting from ont of the neighboring countries, acting as ambassador to settle a long standing cold war between the two people, the humans and the mer folk. They were within the castle walls when the borders were closed. They, alongside their entourage, were quickly brought before the king, who informed them they were to act as hostages. Aenon was locked within their quarters where they have remained to this day, waiting for everything to end.

Kida: The Rebel Servant.

    A rather bright Naga, he joined the fledgling resistance that former not long after the borders were closed, and the formerly beloved king turned tyrannical. He was tasked to infiltrate the castle to gather information, and to keep a rather close eye on the Heir. The MC will sometimes see him lurking in the corner, simply watching them. If it comes down to it, Kida has orders to slay the Heir to help end the tyrannical royal family's reign.

Kiyoshi: The Spy.

    A young kitsune who is a close friend to the MC, is a person of quick wit and even quicker on their feet, acts as a page in the castle, but simply does many jobs. They are fast to deny they are anything more than a simple servant, but with a twinkle in their eye that says there is more to that story than they are saying. The MC may count Kiyoshi as a confidant but the kitsune's allegiance isn't to the king, but to another.

Vanerith: The Bodyguard.

     Vanerith was rescued from a roaming slave auction by the Heir, and in the ensuing chaos was bonded to them in a horrible accident. Vanterith, unable to leave the MC's side, has taken on the role of bodyguard, as this is what he feels he does best: protect and shield. He is rather quiet for his kind, tending to wander close to the MC and never wandering, wholly focused on playing his role. As if he is too used to it...

[kariachi]

So, some royal au that was supposed to go in an entirely different direction. Have some Kevin kin giving more than half a shit

~~

There was a reason Kevin had fled the Empire. He didn’t want a fuss made over him, he didn’t want the vast responsibility that fluttered before his eyes, he didn’t trust his luck, he trusted those people too much, he wasn’t anything special. But no, no not even running off back to his home mudball, keeping so many secrets, kept things from biting him in the ass.

How many times was he going to have to be rescued from cages in his life? The ransom angle had been new- generally it was Argit saving him from slavers not a whole team saving him from standard brand dickwaffles- but it was still old trauma looping back on itself. If he was never held against his will again it would be too damn soon.

Worse, they hadn’t gotten to him before the ransomers had sent word out to his kin- a stupid plan, really, the Empire didn’t take well with people stealing any Osmosians, even if he’d been a nobody it would’ve been a death sentence- which meant he was having to deal with everything. With the Tennysons finding out, with his family tracking him down, with his fucking trauma, everything. He was too old and tired for this!

“Kevin?” He didn’t want visitors, but his grandmother didn’t bother to so much as knock before she was walking into his bedroom. “I’ve been speaking with Argit.” He’d been hovering, the same way he did whenever things like this happened. The Erinaen had only been away from him long to gut his kidnappers (something the Tennysons had been too busy with him to notice and still didn’t know about)  and to act as a go between for Kevin and his kin, once his grandmother had been satisfied there was no physical damage.

“And?” Argit wanted to go back. He’d been nothing but against leaving in the first place, always looking for security for them and with a deep-seated love of luxury. Kevin trusted him with his life, no matter what bullshit went down between them, but there was an aching part of him that was worried…

“He says you don’t want to come back yet,” his grandmother said, lifting the fear that his closest ally had admitted to being on their side, “says you have things you need to work out.” He did, but they were nothing to do with this. He’d left because everyone had been treating him like someone important and it was a lie.

(“You’re right, you’d be something special even if you were the least important, most noxious creature in the galaxy, but it’s a bitch getting people to understand that so you’ll forgive me for being willing to go along with this.”)

“I want to stay here,” Kevin replied. She just stared at him, face and build too much like his own (“Even if you weren’t Mendevin’s, you look too much like the High General to not be kin”) before sitting down on his bed. An iridescent grey ribbon- the color of the Imperial Clan- was carefully removed from her pocket, and she reached out to begin braiding it into his hair.

He made sure not to flinch away.

“I won’t force you to leave,” she said, Kevin hear the ‘but’ in her tone, “but if you’re staying it’s under my rules.” Never one for orders, his hackles raised. “Your cousin Kitha will stay out here to look after you until you’re of age, you’ll be receiving a monthly allowance until I say otherwise, and, since according to Argit things like that kidnapping happen to you often, you’re to be assigned a bodyguard.”

Kevin gaped, eyes blown wide, and was prevented from backing away only by the firm grip on his hair.

“Okay, first off,” he said, “I don’t need anybody looking after me-”

“You’re a child, with years of growing left to you, you will be looked after.”

“-I don’t need charity-”

“I’m your mother, I can give you however much money I please on whatever schedule I please, especially since you’re a still a child.”

“-and I sure as fuck don’t need a bodyguard!” Tying off the braid, his grandmother let go and immediately cupped his face in her hands before he could move away.

“Kevin, beloved, youngest son of mine, when you were found you were wandering damn near homeless, committing crimes to survive, bearing farming scars. We find you again and just look at the state of you. Fighting wars, doing the Plumbers’ work-” the tone there was a million shades of sour- “battered and bruised and farmed and you. are. a. child. I know you’ve worked hard, I know you can take are of yourself but you shouldn’t have to. You don’t have to.” She brushed some hair behind his ear.

“You should be having fun, getting an education, finding what you want to make of yourself from a position of safety. Not fighting wars and taking the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders.” She didn’t get it. It all sounded nice, but it was a fucking pipedream and she just didn’t get it-

“The Tennysons-”

“Just because their clan expects them to be adults before their time,” she growled, anger flashing across her face- she really did look so much like him, “doesn’t mean the same is true for you.” The rage faded quickly, replaced with a wistful expression as she ran a thumb over his cheekbone. “You trailed Vaca for over a week when you first came home, when’s the last time you sat and made something?”

He’d been as fascinated by the traditional arts as he’d been wary of everything else when he’d been brought to the Imperial Lands, throwing himself into his uncle’s unfamiliar artistry had been an easy distraction. A welcome one. He’d always loved the arts, but only poetry had been a viable option when he and Argit had wandered. It was the only viable option right now, when he had so little free time that wasn’t overtaken by the Tennysons or Argit and had to choose between reading and crafts. At least poetry he could compose in his head while he was working on other things.

“I’ve been busy,” he answered.

“Well not anymore,” she replied. With a sigh she dropped her hands, leaning back to look him over. “You’re too young to be so scarred, it’s a failure on the part of our clan that you are.” When he met her eyes, there was fire in them.

“We will not fail you again.”

[draconia-bsd]

FkuMori- New Year's Kiss

Hey, hi, hello, I have no justification for writing somethig so painfully long, but I hope you like it @vanafloria ♡ uwu

Crimson sunlight barged through the forest of skyscrapers and motels, allowing only a few remaining rays to stumble in a wide white office of a new clinic center, meeting their end either on a tidy desk or on a spotless lab coat of dr. Mori. He owned and managed the whole complex for barely eight months now, and despite it seeming out of place, the surrounding neighbourhood warmly welcomed this new branch of the health industry. Before its arrival, small gangs had a habbit of housebreaking and robbing the entire area, spreading fear amongst its residents and ultimately leading to a decay in economy, which most considered beyond repair. Yet, thanks to the generous heart of this ex war doctor, these problems were solved in the shortest possible time, leading quite a large number of people into an almost religious worship of his being. Fully aware of the fact, Mori dedicated vast amounts of energy in maintaining his public image- as long as the ordinary people were happy with his honey-glazed mask and dulcet words no problems will be caused, they will act as sheep following their shepherd through the fog. This logic, however, was not something he shared with his employees, more precisely his bodyguard, Fukuzawa- a man roughly his own age, but of strong stature. He oftentimes communicated in such a blunt and harsh manner that Mori felt obliged to step in the conversation for the tensions to settle. It was exhausting, especially after explaining him the meaning of his actions numerous times, but in the end, he couldn't afford better. Not only from a materialistic standpoint, but also because Fukuzawa was the best man in his line of work, rising up almost to a level of legend. Even upon a mere mention of his nickname, "The Silver Wolf", most of the underworld's bravest members would quiver, for the man's natural bloodthirst was a force colder and more ruthless than a Russian winter. He was far too valuable for Mori to dismiss and leave in another person's grasp.

In spite of this minor problem though, the business ran precisely as intended. The whole area became a neutral zone after doctor himself spread the word of his refusal to associate with the law enforcement. Sure, he faced hardships and doubt at first, but being spared and trusted by the two biggest crime organisations in town helped significantly. Everyone he knew now thought he was just a simple man who wanted to help people, which, in a way, wasn't even that far from the truth. Thinking about this, Mori didn't even realise he neglected his work until the phone-alarm notified him it was time for his lunchbreak. Feeling only slight discomfort about the matter, he swiftly he draped himself within his feather jacket and headed straight to the nearby bakery. Having stepped outside, his eyes narrowed due to the force of a razor sharp wind jolting his hair, leaving him with a view field wide just enough to get him to the desired destination. The bakery was small, albeit tastefully decorated. It possessed a rustic aesthetic, with its wooden, dark amber walls and shelves that blended so well with them it would be impossible to imagine one without the other, alongside two big square windows, one placed next to the door and the other on the West wall, allowing sunlight to highlight all of the beauty inside. Naturally, as it was Christmas time, decorations added to the aesthetics too, making even the baked goods taste more delicious than usual.

Upon entering, Mori fixed his hair and stepped into the line for making orders. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to get, but the queue was long enough for him to comfortably decide, or so he thought. Suddenly, an old woman came up to him and started a smalltalk asking him about the clinic and poking fun at his hair that he "ought to shorten". This was all an everyday occurrence to which he had gotten used to, up until one question.

"So, how will you spend the New Year's eve, dear?" she said with genuine curiosity.

"Oh, as usual, I shall occupy myself with work." the doctor replied and he truly did mean it. Over time holidays lost their value to him, and while a necessity in this society, he did not enjoy them for the most part, as he felt even more empty during those times, thus trying not to pay them too much attention was the best possible solution.

"Oooh." mumbled the lady "That's noble, but it must be terribly lonely, especially after having spent Christmas at work as well."

Admittedly, Mori was stunned by her bluntness, but he couldn't deny her words, even with his employees by his side, he felt the same as always during this time period. Still, he had to reply with something, so he conveniently used the exact thing he was thinking about for inspiration.

"Don't worry, Fukuzawa will be with me. After all, we are like brothers." he exclaimed, but for some reason didn't understand why he only mentioned this one man.

While they could surely be brothers by age, there wasn't much, apart from his skills, that dazzled him about Fukuzawa. So, brushing this off as a simple element of chitchatting, he continued to talk to the lady until he took his order and left the bakery, sprinting back to his office.

Having walked so fast he almost had difficulty maintaining a normal breathing pattern, he stopped in the entry room to gain some strength. It was now noticeably warmer compared ti the outside, but still, he felt no need to take off his jacked as he felt winter might bite down to his bones. Sitting there like a student in the school yard, he started thinking about his words once again. This time he had the freedom to explore all the possibilities, and an interesting idea occured to him. Mori then finished his meal as usual and headed back to his office, having a few buissnes partners already waiting for him. Unon greeting them politely,he called on Fukuzawa to guard the room until the meeting was over.

...

As dawn neared it's peak, the doctors hands lost their usual composure and craved for a resting place to stop their fatigue caused tremor, but contrary to his body's wishes, Mori took care of his equipment, changed his clothes and ramained to wait for the new shift to start. He didn't have to do this, obviously, but a part of him thought it was right and he hadn't done anything like that in a while. His mind was absent as he gazed into the rising Sun, mesmerised by it's colours and the flickering snow contrasting it. Losing track of time, and eventually his consciousness, the next thing amethyst eyes saw were white strands of hair shimmering next to them, appearing so light and soft they may have been unreal for all Mori knew. This fascination could have continued, but soon a deep voice broke off the illusion and reality came back into place. Fukuzawa was arched over his employer, looking at the weak body with concern.

"Shouldn't you go home and rest properly?" he asked as the younger man shook from his drowse and offered a hand to help him get out of his chair.

It took him quite a while to voice his answer, but nevertheless, Mori agreed with this and the two decided to head towards their homes together. However unusual it may seem, this isn't the first time they travelled together, it happened every once in a while and they would often engage in awkward conversations during it, but lately their communication improved (partially because of their debates about the neighbourhoods residents) so it was definitely a nice opportunity to snatch. Mori freezed as soon as he stepped outside, giving him a subjective feeling that his eyebags suddenly became a few shades darker. Jokingly commenting on this, he was greeted with an attempt of a reply "That's why you shouldn't wear jackets inside." and a smile. Fukuzawa may have been older, but he was definitely the one who had to learn when it came to these things. Still, Mori didn't mind his bodyguard's awkwardness when it was directed at him. He could never pinpoint the exact emotion he felt at those moments, but he knew it was something warm and for a long time he didn't think anything of it, but as of yesterday he became quite keen on exploring it, so he lead the conversation further until the blue eyes had lost their usual harshness. It is true that most of the trip had already passed by that point, but at least it was worthy. Now was the right time to ask:

"Say, what are your plans for the New Year's eve?" Mori continued with his usual tone.

"I assume I will spend it working." Fukuzawa replied coldly, retrieving to his natural attitude.

"Well if that's so, wouldn't you like to make me company during the countdown? It's not like we will leave the clinic, but it's nice to celebrate a bit, no?"

"I- I would have to agree, but what about the patients or the lurking danger?" the silver haired man asked with a serious voices , averting his sky blue orbs to his side.

"Hmm, a few drunks here and there shouldn't be much of a problem. I've had these experiences before, you know?" Mori proclaimed in a pensive tone.

"I don't see anything wrong with it then." Fukuzawa said, much to Mori's delight.

As planned, two men parted ways soon after, heading for their respective homes for a good rest, but somehow neither felt tired anymore.

...

Before coming to his clinic that evening, Mori stoped by an acquaintance's shop at the back of an alley near the town center. The man was a smuggling genius, holding seven mass storages, both in and out of the city, filled with opiates of various kinds, but at this small shop he brought only the finest of alcohol- be it original or fake, he had it all, oftentimes so well matched in characteristics that the drink's authenticity was for the consumer to evaluate. Despite this tho, he would never put Mori in the said position, for he owed him greatly. The store itself had two levels, the lower being almost twice as big as the one above, but nonetheless well-equipped with rare finds. Overall aesthetic was quite modern, filled with various shades grey as well as few metallic surfaces (shelves and the register most notably), but it would've been extremely bland if there werent a few pop art paintings hanging on the walls and bringing some actual colour in the room. Not really how most would imagine a liquor store, but it possessed a certain charm, especially for upstart people who stood in awe upon entering, with greedy eyes drinking from every bottle they recognized from a magazine they read before that one party in order to impress a lovely nobleman. But unlike these people, Mori wasn't all that impressed by this space, he already set his goal and this was simply the best way to fulfil it. He followed his acquaintance to a certain part of the store and upon a short wait, the man came back with what the doctor wanted- a bottle of Highland Park '68 . With a delighted smirk on his face Mori expressed his gratefulness and exchanged a few business related ideas with the smuggler.

Having put the bottle of expensive whisky in his bag, he set for the clinic, arriving earlier than usual although there wasn't much he planned to do but sorting some paperwork. Emerged in work, time flew by and before he knew it the clock hit nine, marking the beginning of Fukuzawa's work hours. Forseeably, he arrived on time and made his presence known to Mori immediately. Though his tone and words were professional, there were hints of insecurity behind them as he didn't quite know how to hold himself that night. As it is only natural, the dark haired man noticed this and decided to put his plan to action. Dramatically proclaiming his exhaustion, Mori suggested they both take a glass of whisky and without hesitation Fukuzawa accepted this offer. After all, the Silver Wolf was no stranger to alcohol, most notably spirits. He didn't know exactly why he liked this type of liquor to such an extent, but he never concerned himself with that question- the taste and the high was all that mattered, and surprisingly, this drink possessed both of the said qualities. Sitting in chairs, much like a doctor and a patient would, they sipped their drinks slowly, expressing thoughts of it's taste, colour and scent, but other than that the conversation seemed to end, making the whole situation awkward for a short while- until the rush of alcohol hit them. It did require two glasses of whisky, but it was worthy, as Fukuzawa relaxed significantly after every sip he took. Mori wasn't much of a drinker himself, so seeing this big, strong man getting tipsy before him was a pleasant surprise, and not only that, but his cheeks were slightly red emphasizing his blue eyes to the point where Mori had to put extreme effort not to stare at their beauty. Instead, the doctor started talking about their common mentor- Natsume Soseki. This proved to be a good topic of choice as Fukuzawa lead the story of their meeting and later anecdotes from trainings. Like the one time his sensei tried to catch a butterfly with his bare hands, or the time he casually lounged not on the regular sitting area of the couch but on it's back. This made Mori laugh more than he had imagined, to the point his abdominal muscles hurt, actually. This reminded him of his experience with Natsume-sensei, so naturally, he decided to share his discovery of the mentors unreasonably big collection of cardboard boxes.

Stories of their mentor soon turned into jokes, but after continuous use of whisky, the conversation took a more serious turn. They didn't remember how they got to the topic of loneliness, but it was obvious neither of them particularly enjoyed the subject.

"Loneliness increases inner strength and individuality, but our human nature is always there to chain our improvement." Fukuzawa claimed.

"Isn't it also in our human nature to adapt and evolve? While it is necessary, is it truly the only way we can help our growth? After all, even plants die if watered too much, don't they?" the younger man replied, but was met with silence.

"Well, it is New Year's eve after all, we shouldn't be talking about such things!" Mori added in a silvery voice, putting his usual smile on.

Forcing a smile on his face, the older of the two extended his arm to get his glass "If that's the case, why don't you pour me another one, doctor?"

Almost mechanically doing as he was asked, Mori suddenly remembered "Ah, wait!" he exclaimed as he jerked the bottle "It's not midnight yet, we should wait for the countdown, look how little we have left!"

Blue orbs focused on the bottle and blinked in surprise "Wow, that much? I mean, we drank that much."

Mori laughed to this reaction and fell off his chair from the force he used to nod his head, which in response caused Fukuzawa to snort as he lent him a helping hand. As expected from a drunk person though, the fallen didn't get up, but instead pulled the the other one down with him. With both of them on the floor now, they continued giggling like a pair of teenagers smoking behind their school, hoping not to get caught. It was strange how well they can get along, given the chance. As they sat next to each other, Fukuzawa took Mori's hand without a word and moved it close to him, causing the other man to blush, but before he could do anything the Silver Wolf narrowed his eyes and drew his head close to the handwatch to examine it.

"Two more minutes until countdown!" he said as he turned around to face Mori, who at this point had a perplexed look on his face and was only able to utter an "oh".

Fukuzawa then quickly crawled to the table an brought the bottle to a still confused doctor.

"Eh and the glasses?" Mori asked.

"Ugh. Who cares." the other replied with a sigh.

With their eyes fixed on the watch, these two anxiously waited for the final ten seconds. It seemed that time passed much slower now that they stopped talking, but that didn't really bother Mori. He could feel the pressure of his head leaning against the other and soft white hair caressing his cheek- in a way, he even wanted this to continue. Alas, the time they waited for came and both of them counted until zero, but before doctor wished his bodyguard a happy New Year, Fukuzawa was already taking a sup of the old whisky. It was unlike his usual, compound self, to disrespect a custom, but he was extremely drunk by this point, so the younger man took it as such. Sensing that the time is right, he started gently removing the bottle from Fukuzawa's mouth, advising him not to swallow the drink as he cupped the confused man's face and moved his own body close to his, giving him a deep and slow kiss. It was bitter and it burned, but he would give anything to do it over and over again.

"Happy New Year." he said weakly upon breaking the kiss and catching his breath.

"Yeah. You too." a flustered Fukuzawa replied, still in shock over what had just happened.

After remaining in the same position for a few seconds, Mori decided to back away, thinking this was all a bad idea to begin with, but as he was about to move, he felt strong arms holding him back and draging him even closer to them.

"Mmm? What?" he asked teasingly, but his lips were locked in a kiss before he knew it.

Who coud have guessed such passion laid behind those cold blue eyes? Those who seemed so detached and out of reach, slowly luring him into lust day by day... are they even the same as these fierce, devine eyes before him? Mori wondered, but that was a question that had to wait for the next day. All he craved now was to be liberated from his bottled up desires, and his saviour was ready.