#army of thieves cast

[letaliabane]

First Meeting of Valet!SimonRiley and Maid!Reader

Downton Abbey was one of the most well-known houses in England that belonged to aristocrat and war Captain, Lord Johnathon Price. Born in money, and married into even more money to the beautiful Liliana Montel from America. To pay off his father's debts, or that's what the press says anyway. They have three young daughters: Mary, Edith, and Sybil.

But of course, there was more than meets the eye about the great Downton Abbey. It is run by Butler Kyle Garrick, head housekeeper Kate Laswell, and an army of footmen, ladies' maids, housemaids, hallboys, and even more staff!

This included you, Y/N, a housemaid who had worked at the house for over two years. Coming from a middle-class background you were put into work very young, and after many years in and out of service, found yourself working at Downton.

'You have very good references, I can see that. And from the details a very hard worker! I expect you to keep that up when you take your place here at Downton Abbey.' You remembered Ms Laswell saying sternly, but with a small smile at the end of her interview.

You had just finished making the beds up for the three sisters with some of the other housemaids, making your way down through the servant's walkways to put the sheets in the laundry.

However on the way down, at the bottom of the staircase, a stranger stood with a briefcase in hand.

A tall, broad man dressed from top to bottom in black, a thick overcoat over a suit, shoes polished and shining the daylight that poured through the windows. What was more intriguing was the mask he wore over the bottom half of his face, seemingly made of metal. And then there were his eyes, a piercing electrified blue, like when lightning strikes a storming sky.

'Who are you?' Gwen, lady's maid to her ladyship, asked suddenly appearing at your side. A blunt woman, not very friendly to any of the other staff. Well, except for first footman Phillip Graves, they were as thick as thieves.

The stranger's eyes moved from her to you, silently taking you both in, as if analysing who you were.

'Mr Riley, I'm the new valet.' The soft but deep rumbling of his voice caught you off guard momentarily.

'The new valet?' The lady's maid gawked, barely holding her scoff back.

You couldn't couldn't help but glance at her in annoyance. From tone alone, she could tell Gwen was already casting judgment upon the man. In society, valets were known as 'a gentleman's gentleman', smart, and even good-looking. Rather than that, there were sure to be stares of ridicule due to the mask.

When no one else spoke, you plucked up the courage, folding the bedding under one arm before reaching out to him. 'I'm Y/N, the head housemaid.'

It was as if he was stunned at the sight of your reached-out hand, looking between your face to your hand. Just as you reconsidered your greeting, he took your hand into his grasp, shaking it with a gentle, almost careful grip.

'How do you do?'

You gave him a smile before pulling away, nodding to the door on your right. 'If you just go through this door the housekeeper Ms Laswell will take care of you.'

He nodded, 'Thank you.'

Picking up his suitcase, he steps past the other ladies, taking one more look at you, his eyes almost speaking a thousand words before disappearing out of sight.

Throughout the day you heard mutterings from the staff.

'What is with the mask?'

'Who thought to hire him?!'

'Surely there was someone else more suitable for the job ...'

They all loved gossip, but also a good jealous rant about not getting the position themselves. You found they could sometimes be so cruel.

Later that day at luncheon, Mr Garrick lectured the new valet about his new role in front of the whole staff.

'If you find yourself tongue-tied in the presence of His Lordship, I can only assure you that his patience will allow you to perform your duties correctly!' He stated as he sat himself at the head of the dining table.

'Of course,' Mr Riley quietly replied.

'Riley! My dear fellow!' The familiar bellow had all the staff on their feet.

Lord Price stood at the entrance to the servant's dining hall. He was dressed in his usual day attire of a suit, casual, but smart. It wasn't often his lordship made his way into the downstairs area of the house.

'My apologies I should have realised you were all having luncheon! Please sit!' He said as he walked around the table, moving to Mr Riley's side. 'But I just had to greet my old comrade in arms.'

The Butler's head snapped up, and an immediate silence fell over the table, all eyes moving to the men who clasped hands, John smiling towards the valet as they muttered greetings to one another. It wasn't too long before John left, not without apologising once more for his disturbance.

When silence remained, Mr Riley looked around, and you couldn't help but chuckle to yourself as he said. 'Well ... none of you ever asked.'

Call of Duty Masterlist I wrote this at 2am don't judge me bahahah.

I decided to keep the name of the home Downton Abbey (Had no idea what else to call it but if anyone comes up with anything please feel free to send it through!) Also kept the daughter's names the same as the show because I'm lazy lol. And if you any more ideas about this story please feel free to send them through!

[caius-hhhhhh]

corruption arc Charlie…… 🤤

drabble of a backstory below the cut. Angst, tragedy, character death, the villains win, sad things happening to characters you like.

She’s filled with potential that I could guide…

One of the things that I like most about Charlie and Alastor’s relationship is that they’re equally stubborn and equally convinced that their own perspectives are correct. So I think it’s really unlikely that Alastor would ever convince Charlie that redemption is a lost cause, or that her subjects do deserve their punishments. (I also don’t think that she’d begin to crack down on who does and who does not deserve redemption and punish those who don’t; first off, that’s catholic, and second, that’s really not the type of character she is.) Rather, I think that he’d work with her ideology, and — through a combination of both gentle persuasion and stoking her disillusionment — convince Charlie to lean into her anger, her protectiveness, and her power. How dare they. How dare they treat her subjects this badly, how dare they cast her subjects’ lives aside in order to save their own, how dare they position themselves above us when we’ve never actually been all that different. A corrupted Charlie would not turn on her subjects; she would turn on the systems that subjugated them in the first place.

Starting with her father. Who allowed the exterminations to happen. Who believed his subjects to be worthless, who sacrificed their lives in order to save hers. She will not repeat his mistakes. She will right his wrongs, and will provide her kingdom with the righteous vindication it is owed. She will accomplish what he could not. Heaven’s fear was of an uprising amongst the Sinners, that their power would grow far greater than the divine, and that their fury would disrupt the holy rule that had governed all of existence since it was nothing but dust? They were right to fear her people. The system doesn’t work? Let’s change it. She doesn’t have Lucifer’s restraint, nor his baggage. She is not afraid of Heaven’s wrath; Heaven should be afraid of her. She already knows how to kill Archangels.

I wasn’t intending this to be radiobelle; I think Alastor is more “royal advisor whispering conspiratorially in his Queen’s ear” rather than her consort. But they are definitely closer here than they were when the Hotel first began. They have exchanged a number of equal deals by this point, she’s served him, he’s served her; they’re thick as thieves! Charlie’s loyalty, more than her power, has allowed Alastor to step far above and beyond the petty little Overlords he once tussled with. They’re not worth his time any more — a usurper in all but name, he has much bigger fish to fry now. His freedom is fucking delectable, he salivates at its taste.

He’s relieved to return to his old duties as Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Someone needs to replace the Devil, after all! The idea that Hell is a playground, a reprieve from consequences, a space where you are free to let your worst inhibitions take over — that stops here. Yes, of course, we need bodies to fill our army for the upcoming war; but if we’re to succeed, we can’t just be sending cattle to slaughter. We need strong, indomitable, bloodthirsty warriors to raze the holy grounds. But we cannot allow lawlessness to rule our ranks. What if someone were to slip through the cracks, and seek to snatch Her Majesty’s power? After all, he himself remains a mere Sinner, and look at what he managed to accomplish. He’s only looking out for Charlie’s best interests; taking care of what she still does not have the stomach for. And, as much as he does miss cooking for himself… the royal chefs really do know their way around a choice cut!

Vaggie misses the old Charlie. The dreams she once believed in with all her heart, they’re just dust in the wind now. The woman she swore her life to isn’t even visible in the sparkle of her eyes; every time Vaggie looks at her, she just remembers what they once had, what they could have had, and what she really wanted to have happen.

If she was any stronger of a person, Vaggie would have left by now. Gone where, she doesn’t know, but she would have left. But she’s not a person anymore. Her whole worth is defined by what she is to Charlie, what she can do for Charlie, where she is in Charlie’s world. So here she stays: the fight gone out of her eyes, the love she once shared only a distant memory, her oath silver-solid and unbreakable. She has no other choice left.

Here’s my initial design sketch, since I know some people like to see it

[bitchfitch]

For a nobleman of any rank, the only relationship more politically influencial than a marriage that he could forge was that of mentor and apprentice.

The right wife, might, give him a lifetime of alliance with her family and heirs to succeed him or to marry off to other families to forge further alliances, but the right apprentice would give him a direct line into any family, village, town, country even, that that apprentice might someday lead. The Right apprentice might even prove a worthy heir without the mess blood ties brought. A son killing his father is crowned king, an apprentice knows he can do nothing to his mentor without the community turning on him in an instant.

The right apprentice wouldn't have an unfit older brother that needed done away with first.

The elder demon prince had spent many of his days dreaming of who he would want for his apprentice. A strapping young lad who was clever and brave and as ruthless as he. A boy who took after his heart and would find the beauty in conquest and glory in brutal battle. Strong with a sword, he had to be a match for Pavo himself so he'd feel no shame should the apprentice betray him.

The Cristatus clan, Pavo's own home and current top of the pile with their leader reigning as Demon King, was the obvious source for a boy of a like heart, but there was no point in making an allyship within the people he was already prince of.

He cast his net wider, his father was nearing the end of his life and Pavo wanted his apprentice under his wing before a crown made him too busy to dedicate proper time to making a warrior.

The Galluses, proud as any Cristatus but scrappy in their unrefinement. A boy from their ranks would jump to meet Pavo's expectations just to stay in the luxury of the Cristatus' wealth. His loyalty guaranteed by the nature of his clans need for protection and resources. Little did they offer politically besides bodies to fill the front lines of a battle with, but the image of him as a king for the downtrodden would be worth as much as any proper alliance.

The Ocellatta, Gorgeous artisans with their lands bursting with gems and precious metals. The boy they'd give would be worthless as a warrior, smug and brave with no strength or common sense, but the wealth and trade and beautiful people with their beautiful things would make the creature worth it. Their army was bought and not raised. Expensive yes, but convenient should he need to turn on his apprentices home. He could pay more, and make the boy watch as it all burned.

The Coraxes were shadow bound cowards. Snively assassin's who struck from the shadows and hid behind their mountainous home. Traitors, thieves, conniving, as weak in will as they were in body. Their mountains bursting with silver and rich with gold. Their territory a barrier to conquests of further flung riches.

Their lord a wannabe queen who was biding her time for a single moment of weakness that could allow her strike to be as quick as it was decisive in the fate of their looming war.

It was her, Lady Corvus of the Corax who stood before Prince Pavo the day he'd accept his apprentice.

He'd heard many descriptions of her. Lean with antler like horns and a whip tail that cut light itself. Her shadows so thick that all light that touched her skin vanished into her darkness. He could tell you nothing of her even as his younger brother directed his attention the right way with a hand on the back of his arm.

The silver mirror prosthetic eyes that granted Pavo the vision he hadn't been born with were miracles of magic he'd boast about till the day he died, but they always failed to show him what was hidden and all a Corax did was hide.

"Prince Pavo," her voice was that metered and courtly thing nobles who were ashamed of the blood on their hands used.

"Lady Corax," he returned with the drawl the finer demons hated to hear on their soon to be leaders voice.

Her carriage stood proud behind her, the door open and moving in such a way that implied another of her ilk was bent over the seat and attempting to convince the boy of the hour out from the shadows within.

"He's a bit shy. Clever though." She keeps her tone despite the dawning embarrassment both were being forced to endure.

Pavo shot a look over his shoulder to the company of his warriors and their apprentices behind him. The Coraxes made it look like they came alone, just a family with a handmaid and a driver, but not one of them believed there weren't Coraxes hiding in every shadow along the edges of the clearing between their lands that they'd chosen for this meeting.

The shriek of a child being torn from perceived safety was what pulled his attention back the right way.

The panicked thing thrashed in invisible to Pavo arms, his face streaked with tears.

Every demon stood a little straighter, the smell was what changed their tone from amusement to curious hunger.

The boy was perfectly visible. No shadows clung to him. His skin was flushed but deathly grey, his hair a sort of ink black that Pavo had never seen in the light of day. His eyes though were brown where the whites weren't cried red.

He was too young to have horns, too tiny to be a demon 10 years of age, his whipping tail too short to be seen beyond his skirts. A man who couldn't see color wouldn't have hesitated a second to call him completely human.

The boy lunged to wrap his arms around his mother's legs as soon as he was set down, Pavo imagined he had his face hidden in her skirts from the perspective of everyone else.

He scowled, Truthahn pinched his arm to remind him to keep his temper.

"Esti, this is Prince Pavo, he is to be your master," she pushed him away from her with a hand on his shoulder, her claws making the fabric of his robe pull and drape as she half picked him up to turn him.

"Esti, what a unique name," Pavo crouched down to bring his face near Esti's eye level, the boy flinched away from him. He'd maim Corvus for this slight. He admired her initiative, but to use a child as bait was a crime he'd not forget.

The halfbred bastard son shook. His expression said it all. He knew he'd been brought here so his death may justify a war. A walking martyr too young to have ever had a choice in it.

"It's great joy to finally meet you. I've waited to have an apprentice of my own for many years," he spoke loud and clearly as he held his hand out, the gesture being taken as slowly as he could as to not spook Esti further. Corvus wanted to see her son slaughtered, and he refused to give her so much as a frown of disappointment in the boy. "It'd be an honor to have the privilege to train you, if you'll have me as your mentor." He wished he could see Corvus's face, he hoped the boy could.

Esti's round eyes were wide, the moment not aligning with the terror he'd carried to this meeting. He looked at Pavo's hand like it might be a bear trap.

"Don't be rude, Esti," Corvus warned, the barely there note of irritation was enough to make Pavo break and grin.

"He's making a big decision. Be patient with him," Truthahn spoke for him.

Esti looked between the two Cristatus brothers, they must look like holy men out of a fairy tale to him.

They were magnificent even by demon standards. Tall and broad, their garb cut to show the heavy muscle they carried. The color of summer sun's bronze warmth with hair of the richest gemstone purple. Jewelry dripping from their horns to their ankles. Truthan with his neatly folded wings and Pavo with his mirrors for eyes.

Esti who came from a land of grey, of deception and betrayal by his own kin, reached his hand to take Pavo's.

"I- uhm," his voice was small, his every muscle tense and shaking as he waited for the trap to spring shut. "I- I - it's an uhm, honor to be uhm- Thank you. For uh, accepting m-me as your ap-rentice."

He hadn't even been coached on what to say should Pavo welcome him. Not a single scrap of silver had been spared to put a thin ring on any of his fingers. No leather for his belt, His very sandals looked as inexpensive and thin soled as could be managed.

Pavo gripped his hand tight to hold him still, and pushed a bracelet worth more than the carriage Esti had arrived in onto the boys wrist. It wasn't part of either of their customs, but it was a necessity to point out how dismissive Esti's own kin had been of him.

"It's official now," Pavo gave the boy a reassuring smile before dragging him forward and off of his feet. He weighed next to nothing, even less than Pavo had anticipated as he hefted Esti up to sit on the shelf his shoulder. Pavo turned to his men a triumphant gesture to show off their newest member.

"Greet him! My apprentice, Esti now of the Cristatus clan!" He was glad he didn't need to coax them any further, the cheering ruptured through the group. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Esti cling to the bracelet instead of the hand on his thigh that kept him safe from falling off. His priority to protect the gift he'd been given over his own body in that moment of shocked joy being such a pathetic instinct that it had Pavo promising to himself the boy would think of his home clan as savages by the summer's end when compared to the grace and glory of his mentor's.

The Coraxes left with as little fanfare as they had arrived. Drifting away while the party to celebrate their unwanted eldest son swelled.

Music and fine food cooked at the village and wine carried by their human servants. The comradery of brothers in battle if not blood filling the forest.

Esti to his credit handled the attention well for a child who'd clearly never so much as been allowed to stand in the corner of a proper revel. Still that manifested as him sitting with a look of war shock under the cover of Pavo's cloak. His small frame hidden easily by his new mentor's bulk.

Slowly the wave of warriors and apprentices that came to greet and introduce themselves to the brown eyed shadow under their prince's arm tapered off. Slower then did the party settle into the rhythm of conversation and relaxation.

The servants cleaned around the demons I preparation for setting up camp for the night, the boy who hadn't spoken a single word since his mother left cowered from them just as strongly as he did the warriors that came to chat as old friends with his mentor.

Gallo, a warrior Pavo had picked from a surrendering army himself, sat on the other side of him, his apprentice off following one of the human servant girls around the camp. The two older men watched the hopeful Cockrel shadow her every step. His smile warm his tongue heavy with promises made light by the wine.

"Ah don't judge the chick," Gallo thumped Pavo's shoulder. "Surely even you remember being young and opportunistic."

"I remember it well. Just as well as I remember never understanding the appeal of a human as anything other than a meal."

"A fuck and breakfast in bed, what more could you want?" Gallo joked. "He's got his airheaded reason you know. I think your little hatchling's got him thinking."

"A first for him?"

"Shut it, your highness. No, no, the boy saw how quick everyone was to start playing so much nicer with you. He's not getting a good demoness to nest with him, so he's thinking he's going to get human to do it and let his brothers do the work of raising up the next generation while he and whichever girl he can sweet talk into it make their fortune selling meat,"

"Is this his new attempt at business?" Pavo sighed. Cockerel wasn't a warrior by any definition. Never would be either, but he thought himself clever enough to make it as head of a merchant empire should he be able to get enough capital to start his ventures with.

"It's his best yet, to be honest," Gallo shrugged, he was right, to an extent, because this was the first time he had an idea for a product instead of vague promises of what the product would be.

"He's looking to get a human bred by him so he can sell off his own as meat."

"Hm hm, I give it oh, a week before he breaks and just chews her open."

"Stop him."

"He's showing initiative -"

"He can show initiative with your heard instead of mine. As is the beasts aren't producing enough for slaughter. I'm not loosing a good and healthy-" The fearful sob from his other side was enough to remind him of Esti's presence. "This is done. Stop him. For the time being no half breeds will be permitted in our flock. My apprentice doesn't need anyone learning a preference for that kind of meat."

"Wait- You're seriously keeping that thing?" Gallo reached aroumd him to grab the cloak away from Esti's back.

Pavo didn't hesitate. He grabbed his friend by the front of his neck and jerked him off of the fallen log they'd been sat on and onto the ground before it. Pavo stood to bring his entire wait down on the soft of Gallo's gut, his heel planted just below to concave of the man's ribs. Gallo hacked and gasped, his claws scrambling at the metal armor over Pavo's boot.

"Apologize to him," Pavo snarled, glad to have had someone volunteer to be the example for the others.

"I'm sorry-" Gallo's words cut off with the crunch of his ribs breaking from the lowest point on his sternum.

"For and to who?"

"Esti- Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm sorry-"

"For?" Pavo lifted his boot to bring it down again with the same force as before,

"For - for-" Gallo struggled to find his error amidst his pain, his air being forced from his lungs with every stomp. "For ask-ing if you'd keep him."

"Esti," Pavo drove his heel down once more before turning to the boy, "Has he earned your mercy?"

Esti looked at him like he were a god in the flesh. Like his act of impulsive violence was divine intervention.

He opened his mouth, a merciful confirmation on his lips, before those human brown eyes lit with the realization of the power he held.

"No, he hasn't, Master."

Pavo's pride could light the fires for a year with how hot it burned.

Gallo snarled at the disgrace of having a halfbred child handed his fate. He struck out to attempt to grab for Esti's leg but Esti, for all his fear, was an agile creature. He moved out of the way with the grace the Coraxes were known for. Perching on the balls of his feet on a rotten branch so thin it should've broken the second someone breathed near it.

"What does he need to do to earn it?"

"Uhm- Cockrel. Cockrel will have his punishment."

"Leave him out of this!"

"No. Y-you insulted Pavo's apprentice, shouldn't- uhm- you suffer the same?" he stops, his confidence wavered, he looked to Pavo for guidance.

"Ah, a clever thing isn't he, hm? He's right. To my face, you dared to imply I'd let harm befall my own apprentice. You must surely be willing to see such happen to yours to even think it a possibility for mine," Pavo stepped off of him, finding Cockerel staring wide eyed from the the crowd that had congregated to watch the show.

Pavo beckons him over, the boy had to be shoved forward by warriors with more common sense than Gallo.

"Please-" Gallo fought to his knees, Pavo had no qualms kicking the side of his head to knock him back down.

The boy rushed to stand between his mentor and Pavo, he held his head high. He shook with fear. Weaselly as he was, Pavo had to admit the boy was a loyal sort.

"What was it, you were going to imply I should let happen to Esti?" Pavo strutted, the fear around him feeding into his sense of showmanship.

"He's a halfbred- I thought you wouldn't stand for the insult of Corvus pretending he was a worth offer."

"Hmm." Pavo hummed, he drew his hunting knife from where it was tucked into his belt and held its handle out to Esti. "Four I think. One for the presumption, one for attempting to touch you, one for attempting to harm you, and one for being too cowardly to fight for his right to take a punishment instead of his apprentice."

Esti took the knife, it was massive in his tiny hands, "Four? F-Four what, Master?"

"Four of something. Whatever you deem Cockerel should take for his mentor's crimes."

Esti nodded, he pushed the bracelet up his forearm until it looped over his elbow. Pavo made a note to teach the boy to not be so precious about things getting bloody.

"Y-your hand, please," Esti's foot steps barely disturbed the soil as he approached the older boy, "Either," he clarified.

"He's a swordsman- he'll have no use to your mentor without his -"

"Six," Pavo interrupted, "If that one keeps talking you will take the whole hand."

Cockerel screwed his eyes shut holding his hand out with his fingers splayed.

Esti wrapped one small hand around one thick finger, the edge of the blade placed under the edge of a claw. He looked to Pavo again seeking approval like a pup. He got it with a nod.

Cockerel couldn't muffle his pained scream, the blade cut clean. Taking his claw and the tip of his finger with a single, unskilled motion.

Esti stared at the dripping wound, a nudge on his shoulder from Pavo being enough to send him after the next. Cockerel fell to his knees, he still stood taller than Esti, his other hand gripping his wrist as he swore and bit back screams through the pain.

Two, three, four more, and the hand before him was declawed in its entirety. Esti didn't give the demon a moment of mercy, or in his mercy he aimed to make this as quick as he could, he grabbed for the other hand and took the claw off it's thumb before Cockerel could even lift his head.

Esti stepped back and to Pavo's side the second the deed was done. All his bravado being pulled under his nervous nature seconds after the act was done. Pavo ruffled his hair with all the affection a demon could muster for another. It was a clever choice. Painful and scarring, but unlikely to be permanent. The boy's claws would grow back, and with the right care, might even be just as straight when they do.

"There. Next time I will decide his punishment, and I won't show nearly as much grace as Esti has today." Pavo dismissed them with a wave of his hand, taking his seat and holding his cloak up for Esti to return to hiding beneath its cover. An offer Esti took as gratefully as he did quickly.

Gallo half carried Cockerel away, smartly keeping his mouth shut until they were far from Pavo's hearing.

He felt Esti attempt to return the knife to its sheath on Pavo's hip, but he stopped him with a hand on his. "That's yours now. The weapon you drew your first blood with is a special thing. May it serve you as faithfully as it served me."

"You already gave me the bracelet -"

"I did," Pavo unclipped another from his own wrist and grabbed Esti's to put it on him, "I'm giving you that one too, and the knife, and the sheath with it's belt when I can remove it without loosing my robes."

Esti gawked, he was really good at that. It made this new game of showing him how a noble boy should be treated so much more entertaining.

"I- Thank you, thank you, of course, b-but why?"

"Why what?"

"I don't mean to be rude but uh- he was right. I-m not worth uh any of this. Not anything."

"Hm," Pavo reached behind his own neck to unclasp a heavy beaded necklace. It would look comical around the column of Esti's neck, as it nearly hung down to hips. "I've decided you are."

"But- why?"

"Because Corvus says your not," he shrugs, "You will learn this quick, but I don't enjoy being told what to do and I don't like people thinking they can play my worst traits to their advantage. Corvus did both when she put you before me."

"She thought y-you'd kill me."

"Hm hm, and I'm glad she did. I might have actually done it if she didn't want me to."

He can tell that was the wrong thing to say within a second of the silence between them dawning. "You're safe, is the point. Don't give me a reason to decide I'm better off with you dead, and I'll protect you like you were my own blood. Understand?"

Esti nods, "Yeah, I uh, I think I do."

[gollancz]

We are thrilled and delighted to reveal the cover for HIGH VAULTAGE, the first novel from @victoriocity, coming in 2024.

1887. London, but not as you know it. The sprawling, chaotic metropolis of Even Greater London spreads across the southern half of England. The immense Tower casts electricity through the sky, powering the mind-boggling mechanisms of the city. The engineer-army of Isambard Kingdom Brunel swarms across the capital, building, demolishing, and rebuilding whatever they see fit. Queen Victoria is recovering nicely from her eleventh assassination, ruling with the dignity that comes from striking terror into anyone who sees the unholy union of human and machine that one has become. And at the heart of all this sits the country's first Private Investigation Agency. Archibald Fleet (formerly of Scotland Yard, currently administratively deceased) and Clara Entwhistle (formerly of Harrogate, currently intermittent crime journalist) hoped things would pick up quickly for their new enterprise. No-one is taking them seriously, but their break will come soon. Definitely. Probably. Meanwhile, police are baffled by a series of impossible bank robberies. With no trace left of the thieves, and nothing to connect each break-in to the next, their resources are absorbed by the case. Which means that when a woman witnesses a kidnapping, Fleet-Entwhistle Private Investigations is the only place she can turn for help. They're more than happy to oblige! But why would this man be a target for kidnappers? As Clara and Fleet dig into the mystery, things go deeper than they could ever have anticipated . . .

Pre-order here!

Can't wait until next year? Check out the phenomenal, hilarious podcast.

[justforbooks]

Joe Don Baker

Character actor nominated for a Bafta for Edge of Darkness who played another CIA spook in two Bond films

Although Joe Don Baker, who has died aged 89, was one of Hollywood’s most accomplished character actors, he came to prominence as a star in the wildly successful B movie Walking Tall (1973). He played Buford Pusser, a former wrestler who returns home to Tennessee and, armed with a baseball bat, battles the Dixie mafia who have taken control of his town. Directed on the cheap by Phil Karlson, the $500,000 film grossed over $40m. “It touched a vigilante nerve in everyone who would like to do in the bad guys but doesn’t have the power,” Baker explained in a 1991 interview.

Tall and powerfully built, Baker had a broad smile and Texas drawl that could convey an aura of menace, but also suggested sharp intelligence, something that served him well in what may have been his best role, as the flamboyant CIA agent Darius Jedburgh in the TV miniseries Edge of Darkness (1985), for which he was nominated for a Bafta as best actor; he lost to the series’ star Bob Peck. “I would have done that all my life … and been happy,” he said. The director, Martin Campbell, agreed, and a decade later cast him in the James Bond movie GoldenEye (1995), where he virtually reprised Jedburgh, as Jack Wade, in brilliant contrast to Pierce Brosnan’s Bond. He was Wade again in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and had already played a megalomaniacal Bond villain in The Living Daylights (1987).

Even without Walking Tall, 1973 should have already established Baker’s talents beyond Buford Pusser. That year he also shone in two films that have become neo-noir classics, though they were overshadowed at the time by blockbusters such as The Godfather. Both involved professional thieves who unknowingly steal from banks that are fronts for the mob. In Charley Varrick, Baker played Molly, the hitman sent to get the money back from Walter Matthau’s Varrick. In The Outfit, based on a Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) novel, Baker played Robert Duvall’s partner Cody, who runs a diner between heists, as they seek revenge against Robert Ryan’s mob.

Although he starred in his next film, the forgettable Golden Needles (1974), he was typecast as Pusser-type tough guys in two 1975 movies; Framed, which was Karlson’s final film, and Andrew McLaglen’s one-dimensionally violent Mitchell.

Baker took a long road into acting. He was born in Groesbeck, Texas, near Waco, where his father, Doyle, ran a gas station. His mother, Edna (nee McDonald), died when Joe Don was 12, and he was raised by an aunt. He was captain of the gridiron team in high school, and won a scholarship to North Texas State University in Denton. He graduated with a degree in business administration, but he decided he wanted to become an actor after getting a part in a student play during his senior year.

He served for two years in the army, then headed to New York and joined the Actors Studio, passing his audition because, “I listened … what you’re supposed to do when you act is listen.” He appeared in two notable Broadway productions: Marathon 33, a play written by the actor June Havoc about Depression-era dance marathons; and James Baldwin’s Blues For Mr Charlie, which was directed by Burgess Meredith.

Moving to Los Angeles, Baker made his television debut in 1965, in Honey West, which starred Anne Francis as a glamorous detective. He kept busy with westerns such as Gunsmoke and Bonanza, and crime shows, including Judd for the Defense and The Mod Squad. He was uncredited in his first film, Cool Hand Luke (1967), but was notable in Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969). He played with Telly Savalas and Francis as the title character in the TV movie Mongo’s Back in Town, but finally hit pay dirt as Steve McQueen’s brother in Sam Peckinpah’s rodeo drama, Junior Bonner (1972).

Baker moved on to TV roles and smaller films. In 1978 he starred in a TV movie version of Robert Daley’s police novel, To Kill a Cop, which became a series, Eischied (AKA Chief of Detectives). He played a Jimmy Hoffa-like union boss in the 1980 TV movie Power. His cameo as a Babe Ruth figure, the Whammer, being bested by Robert Redford, was a highlight of Barry Levinson’s 1984 baseball film based on Bernard Malamud’s The Natural. The following year, he was a corrupt police chief facing Chevy Chase in Fletch.

While Carroll O’Connor was recovering from illness, he took the starring role in four episodes of the TV series In the Heat of the Night. He was excellent as the private investigator hired by Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear (1991) and played a number of flamboyant public figures in TV films: Senator Joe McCarthy in Citizen Cohn (1992); the celebrity lawyer Gerry Spence in The Siege at Ruby Ridge (1996) and the Alabama governor Big Jim Folsom in the miniseries George Wallace (1997).

He was the farmer holding off aliens with a shotgun in Mars Attacks! (1996) and stole scenes from James Caan’s Phillip Marlowe playing his corrupt father-in-law in Poodle Springs (1998). He played the Louisiana congressman Hale Boggs in The Commission (2003), about the dealings of the Warren commission investigating the JFK assassination. His final role came in a neo-noir reminiscent of his two great roles of 1973, Mud (2012), starring Matthew McConaughey.

Baker’s 1969 marriage, to Maria Dolores “Marlo” Rivero-Torres, ended in divorce in 1980.

🔔 Joe Don Baker, actor, born 12 February 1936; died 7 May 2025

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[theoutcastrogue]

"True, we have got into the habit of admiring colossal bandits, whose opulence is revered by the entire world, yet whose existence, once we stop to examine it, proves to be one long crime repeated ad infinitum, but those same bandits are heaped with glory, honors, and power, their crimes are hallowed by the law of the land, whereas, as far back in history as the eye can see? and history, as you know, is my business? everything conspires to show that a venial theft, especially of inglorious foodstuffs, such as bread crusts, ham, or cheese, unfailingly subjects its perpetrator to irreparable opprobium, the categoric condemnation of the community, major punishment, automatic dishonor, and inexpiable shame, and this for two reasons, first because the perpetrator of such an offense is usually poor, which in itself connotes basic unworthiness, and secondly because his act implies, as it were, a tacit reproach to the community. A poor man's theft is seen as a malicious attempt at individual redress ... Where would we be? Note accordingly that in all countries the penalties for petty theft are extremely severe, not only as a means of defending society, but also as a stern admonition to the unfortunate to know their place, stick to their caste, and behave themselves, joyfully resigned to go on dying of hunger and misery down through the centuries for ever and ever ... Until today, however, petty thieves enjoyed one advantage in the Republic, they were denied the honor of bearing patriotic arms. But that's all over now, tomorrow I, a thief, will resume my place in the army ... Such are the orders."

— Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night (1932)

[laughingphoenixleader]

Merrical + soulmate au, please!!!

Jedi are easy to spot if they’re traveling alone.

That’s why they’re so easy to hunt.

Which is pretty inconvenient if you happen to be a Jedi.

Anyone non-Force sensitive has colorless eyes, unless they’re currently with their soulmate. That’s when their eyes gain color, and when the two are separated, only a sliver of their eyes remain vibrant.

Cal’s bright green eyes are basically a “kill me” sign slapped onto his face for everyone to see. Jedi are born with eyes filled with color. It’s their kyber crystals that’re said to change color when they find their person. Or, at least, that’s the rumor. It had gotten especially juicy when someone had spotted Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber glowing bright blue in a fight to save Senator Amidala, whose eyes had recently changed to hold a sliver of a suspiciously similar blue.

That’s why, when Cal’s lightsaber sprouts from its blade in a blaze of brilliant green, he can only stare. Its usual snow colored hue is nowhere to be seen.

“S-stand aside,” Cal stammers to her. His soulmate? This woman who’s glaring at her with murder in her eyes? Of all people?

“No,” she snaps firmly. “He was right about you.”

She clearly has no idea what this means. To be fair, it’s a secret only Jedi are supposed to know. But given by how many holodramas feature Jedi with brightly-colored sabers, it’s not a well-kept one. But Nightsisters don’t seem the type to sit around and watch holodramas.

“Who…what?” Cal asks, eyes flicking from his blade to the woman who changed its color.

“Jedi are thieves and selfish liars who bring nothing but death,” she spits out the words, venom pouring from her tone. She definitely doesn’t know what just happened.

“Back off,” Cal warns her, trying to instill steel into his voice. Jedi aren’t allowed to care about soulmates, anyway. It doesn’t matter. But the lightsaber in his hand that’s casting everything in a shade of lime begs to differ. “If you attack me again, I’ll strike you down.”

Would I? With this new development?

Cal honestly has no idea.

“Oh, I won’t do a thing,” the Nightsister replies, voice matter-of-fact and cold, the threat within them obvious. “But my murdered sisters…they will have their revenge.”

And sparks in the exact same shade of green, where they had been silver before, fly from her fingertips. An expression of confusion twists her face, and Cal has this crazy thought that maybe it’s similar to the one he had earlier.

She stares at her fingers for a moment, the green mist still dancing across them, her eyebrows drawn together incredulously. Then her head whips up, her eyes locking onto Cal’s. They’re full of shock and disbelief. “You…” her voice trails off. Her dark eyes narrow. “Wasn’t your lightsaber—“ she spits out the word— “colorless before?”

Cal nods, his suspicion actually gaining some traction. “Same with your magick, right?”

The look on her face answers that question. Then she shakes her head. “This changes nothing,” the Nightsister declares, tone sharp.

“…Are you sure?” Cal asks, doubt coloring his tone like she’s colored his lightsaber.

“I am sure,” she replies, fire returning to her expression and jade magick heading from her fingers to the hanging pods that Cal has a really bad feeling about. “You will pay for the deaths of my sisters.”

“I had nothing to do with that, you know!” Cal calls out, but she’s already disappeared, leaving behind an emerging zombie army.

“Well, this is romantic,” Cal mutters dryly, then jumps into battle.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Stuart Martin the latest Scottish actor rumoured to be connected with the highly coveted 007 role.

Stuart Martin, is a leading Scottish actor, and the latest actor rumoured to be connected with the highly coveted James Bond role, and will continue to make headlines. Stuart hails from Ayr, Burns country, on the West Coast of Scotland, an hour south of Glasgow. He studied drama at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS)

Best known for playing a leading role in both films in the epic Netflix ‘Rebel Moon’ series directed by Zack Snyder, ‘A Child of Fire’ (2023) and ‘The Scargiver’ (2024) in which he played Den. Babylon, Jamestown, Crossing Lines (2015) – Game of Thrones (2014) Medici: Masters of Florence and Miss Scarlet and The Duke. He has recently been announced as a leading cast member in the new Channel 4 crime thriller series 'In Flight' which will be released in 2025.

Richard Madden as Cosimo de Medici (he is on the right in the second picture) Stuart Martin as Lorenzo de Medici is on the left.

In 2016 playing the leading role of Lorenzo de Medici in the first series of Netflix’s Renaissance drama ‘Medici��, starring opposite Richard Madden. Interestingly, both actors are on the list of contention' to become the first Scottish Bond since the legendary Sean Connery.

Apparently impressed Eon Productions owners Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who produce the Bond films his tough guy role of Bradley Cage in Zack Snyder’s 2021 heist comedy “Army of Thieves” which has sparked the Bond interest, thanks to his impressive shoot out scenes which involved throwing himself at vehicles in high-octane stunts.

Stuart Martin is 39 years old, and six foot two, this makes him the exact height Sean Connery was when he played Bond. And at just shy of 40, he's the perfect age. But, Still, This is a rumour, We won't know for sure who the next James Bond is until EON and Amazon make the official announcement.

It's hard to miss the fact that Scotland is full of experienced actors, and above line talent in order to create sustainable characters at the moment. But, For now, the possibility of Stuart Martin feels not only plausible but a classic choice, too.

Posted 5th February 2025

#StuartMartin

[world-of-fire-and-flight]

It's To Sway a Flame's Cover Reveal Day🔥🎉

Learn more about the Tempting Thieves collection at Tempting Thieves.com Preorder TSAF at authorbrs.com/flame

A common thief. The kingdom’s protector. And the stone that could damn them all.

Tasked with stealing a powerful artifact from the formidable archduke of Kordouva, Adelaide is forced to balance her conscience against her need for survival. When she’s threatened by the Master of Thieves herself, Adelaide swallows her guilt and focuses on her mission, desperate to provide the only medication that can keep her mother alive. But can she weave a lie careful enough to keep her safe yet convincing enough to get close to the archduke to steal the Eye of Behelwer?

Archduke Gavin Hughes does not know the luxury of rest. The sworn protector of Kordouva and closest advisor to the king, Gavin must now safeguard the most dangerous artifact of all: the Eye of Behelwer. With his investigation into the years-long string of thefts stalled, he devises a plan to draw the thief out of hiding—after all, what better way to catch a thief than to become their target?

Thrust into each other’s lives, Adelaide and Gavin soon realize neither is at all who they seemed. As they grow closer, so too does the threat of the Eye falling into the wrong hands. When Mistress Scrabs and her powerful new alliance threatens more than Adelaide’s family, can the pair come together in time to save Kordouva or will Penumbra’s Army cast a shadow over the country once more?

To Sway a Flame is Book Seven in the Tempting Thieves Collection.

Tempting Thieves is a multi-author romantasy collection featuring cunning thieves who outsmart relentless hunters, steal forbidden treasures, and find love along the way. With enemies-to-lovers tension, slow-burn longing, forced proximity, secret identities, only one bed, and grumpy/sunshine dynamics, every story delivers an irresistible fantasy escape. Perfect for fans of forbidden romance, morally gray heroes, daring rogues, and clean yet sizzling chemistry. Each book in the collection is a standalone. Read in any order.

About To Sway a Flame:

Releasing May 16, 2025, To Sway a Flame is a sweet dual-POV slow-burn romance where he falls first.

TSAF captures the vibes of happily ever afters, fantasy, and cozy Hallmark movies🥰

What to Expect in To Sway a Flame:

✨ Slow-burn romance ✨ Fake dating ✨ Thief x Nobility ✨ Found Family ✨ Magic ✨ “Who did this to you?” ✨ He falls first ✨ Cozy romance ✨ A dash of mystery ✨ A bit of action/adventure

Find all the details about the Tempting Thieves collection at TemptingThieves.com or preorder To Sway a Flame at authorbrs.com/flame.

[sfaccountant]

~STORY TIME~

For centuries the bat ponies - also known as thestrals - lived in exile after the failed usurpation of Nightmare Moon. During the failed revolution of the Lunar Princess they had been her most eager supporters, and they filled the armies of the usurper as the conflict spread and chaos spilled across the land. Their allegiance was not entirely natural. They had been used as pawns by the Nightmare and in particular by the Moon Mages, a cult of unicorns that practiced dark magic and sought to bring the Nightmare to ascendance. These rogue unicorns taught resentment and spread their bizarre beliefs to the thestrals, segregated as they were from the other ponies who walked in the daylight. After Celestia's victory the Moon Mages remained hidden, but the bat ponies were not. To Equestria, they were uncivilized agitators at best, and the soldiers of the enemy at worst.

The Moon Mages had a plot to bring about the Nightmare's return early, however, and ressurect their ancient rebellion.

That plot involved the creation of the Elements of Destruction, terrible weapons wrought from Harmony's own power and twisted to their malicious end.

With the dark Elements, they would free Nightmare Moon, overthrow Celestia, and rule Equestria under the blessed blanket of Eternal Night. The 6 strongest thestral tribes were told to capture dark spirits as sacrifices to this end: The Shad, a clan of skilled infiltrators and assassins. The Dark Hearts, a group of well-heeled blood drinkers (who didn't take very well to being cast out of civilized equine society). The Haunt, a clan known for their shamans who communed with the spirits. The Eisenwing, black-furred thestrals who were tight-knit, clever, and industrious. The Bloodeborne, the largest tribe, who bred and trained a vast host of warrior mares. And another clan that had a degenerative ocular disease and tended to change their tribe's name a lot.

The ritual was completed, and the Elements were created: large, twisted fruits that took with it the last of the dark tree's magic and vitality. But before the Moon Mages could call back the Nightmare, the Bloodborne turned on them.

Their Queen, Norn, had nurtured a deep hatred of Nightmare Moon for her failure and the thestrals' subsequent exile. She knew that should the revolution of the night begin again, the bat ponies would be called upon to serve as the Nightmare's foot soldiers once more, and countless thestrals would suffer for her victory. Norn didn't care for this, so when the Elements were complete, she murdered the Headmistress, Starsong Ebony, and ate the fruit that had been born of her tribe's spirit: the Element of Carnage.

Five Elements of Destruction remained: The Element of Shadows, the Element of Malice, the Element of Pain, the Element of Terror, and the Element of Deception. They ostensibly belonged to the thestral tribes, but none were so reckless as Norn to eat them. The tribes were confused, felt cheated and betrayed, and feared what the splintering of their strength would do for their struggle against Equestria.

The remaining Elements of Destruction were sealed away, and a prophecy issued by the Moon Mages: For when the Nightmare's long sentence was over, her most worthy servants should partake of those cursed fruits and become her champions, heralding Eternal Night and bringing justice to the cruelly exiled ponies and ruthlessly prosecuted cultists.

The plot was set, and the Moon Mages prepared to wait out the Nightmare's sentence, but a thousand years, alas, is a LONG time.

The tribes could not endure, and the Moon Mages only helped so much. There were wars, famines, schisms, raids, plagues, and disasters. The thestrals dared not reach out to Equestria for aid, although many thestrals made a habit of raiding and burglarizing Equestrian villages at night. So it was that the reputation of the thestrals as soldiers of darkness faded, and their modern reputation as thugs, thieves, and bandits was established.

By the time Nightmare Moon was free again, the Shad had splintered hopelessly and become a gang of lowly thieves. The Dark Hearts had given over their clan to immortal monsters, their leaders infected with undead vampirism and promising power to those who would serve as thralls and partners. The Eisenwing had been scattered by constant conflicts with Equestria and other neighbors, their clan brought again and again to the brink of extinction. The Haunt were almost totally wiped out by a magical disaster; of their own making, Equestria's, or the Moon Mages none will say. And the tribe of blind thestrals took on a hundred new names, surviving mainly as brutes and killers for hire as their legacy faded, again and again, into irrelevance.

It was from this motley herd that Penumbra Shard attempted to assemble the fated warriors, reaching out to them in dreams to summon them to the ancient barrows.

Dusk Blade.

Nacht.

Neuron Dialect.

Gloom Fang.

Banshee.

Names unknown to Equestria. But with the conclusion of the prophecy and the onset of Eternal Night, their names would become a curse among all the ponies that had dared to defy the darkness.

But prophecies are fragile things.

Plans have snags. Timelines fail. And yet again the power of darkness faltered before the light.

The Nightmare was purified before the chosen thestrals ever tasted the cursed fruits. The Moon Mages were eventually killed or imprisoned once their treachery was exposed. The bat ponies have been welcomed to Equestria proper, their ancient crimes faded into myth. The "chosen" ponies lead their soldiers in nightly patrols over Canterlot, protecting its sleeping citizen from criminals and miscreants. Most of them, at least.

And that is the story of the Cult of Lunar Ascendance. An embarrassing, little-known footnote in the history of the Nightmare's defeat. A tale of tremendous hubris and forgotten magic, and terrible artifacts buried in the wastes, never to be seen again.

Those who know anything more of the Elements are imprisoned or dead, and Equestria is all too happy to let such detestable weapons rot in whatever loathsome vault they were sealed in. A failure of a weapon for a war that was over before it began.

May they never see the light of Celestia's sun.

(Art by Rozmed, Glumarkoj, and Loom)

[deathemayor]

vocaloid x fire emblem crossover au casting

vocaloid kingdom (?? i might rename the main factions)

the goody-two-shoes blue kingdom, populated by you guessed it characters who originated or later appeared as software for VOCALOID. in a hypothetical game scenario, utau characters who later got commercial voicebanks on vocaloid would be enemy units you can talk to and recruit on your side

miku: princess of the vocaloid kingdom and successor to the late queen saki. she is naive, a little headstrong, and woefully unprepared for what war has in store for both her and her people. she will do her best though. of course, having blue hair and main character privilege, she is the lord!

(sweet) ann: miku's royal knight, bodyguard, and mentor. a paladin powerhouse, that's right she's the jagen (will indeed fall off late in the hypothetical game scenario). because she was the first and only voicebank released on vocaloid 2 before miku :3

ling and longya: two sibling cavaliers sent to assist in miku's retreat from her kingdom after being attacked by the utau kingdom. naturally their red/green color schemes mean they're the christmas cavaliers :) (they're kinda the only duo with the red/green color scheme to work haha). joined from another company last minute, they're new to working with miku and don't know her as well (they sure will get to know her now that this war is underway)

rin and len: twin nobles who were raised alongside miku like siblings. both are studying the magical arts; rin is an upbeat albeit ditzy cleric, while len is a shrewd and antisocial mage. rin went into the healing arts because she thought it would be easier. and yes, they both die in one hit.

kaito and meiko: peasant villagers that miku and her team help out along the way of their adventure. they're childhood besties who jump at the opportunity to both fight for their country and see the world while they're at it. meiko is an axe fighter who kinda sucks and kaito is an archer who sucks even more (kaito embodying the "early game archer that sucks ass" archetype is specifically a reference to his software being a commercial failure on release 😇)

lily, gumi, and una: the pegasus sisters! gumi joins first and is a solid early flier (and while i have drawn zero art for all of them, i like the idea of her actually wearing goggles while riding around, even if it might not fit the traditional fe aesthetic). una is an enthusiastic trainee unit (an "est") with a lot of potential. lily joins last as a falcon knight

gakupo: a swordmaster searching for gumi, not knowing she fucked off to go fight in war. probably has an obscure recruitment method (think stephan from PoR because i'm very tellius-pilled at the moment)

luka: another mentor figure of miku's who joins later (class is a valkyrie cuz that feels right). idk i don't have an intricate story/meta role for her this was very vibes based

(big) al: ann's ex-spouse raising their kid (oliver i'll get to him later) in a small village. he ventures out to find their second kid who ran off with a shady band of thieves and eventually crosses paths with miku's team. class is probably great knight

oliver, yuki, and ryuto: suicidal ally civilians, probably have to protect them for a reward. the reward being

kiyoteru: a nothingburger farmer also in need of protection, and uncle of yuki. if certain conditions are met he will join the army as a trainee unit (a donnel-type with crazy ass growths). i am entertained by the idea of a trainee archetype being a guy who had a very average job before the war and is discovering his true potential in conquest....

miki: idk what class she'd be (i need to refrain from making every pretty lady a mage but she might be a mage) but she is a traveler in search of her missing brother. she tags along with miku's army to fulfill her mission

yohioloid, flower, fukase, and pico (AKA the meme squad i guess minus oliver): a band of amateur thieves who steal to help the needy. lead by fukase, a mercenary. flower is a thief and serves as the crew's spy/scout, yohio is another thief who enjoys lockpicking and larceny, and pico is an archer

leon and lola: the founding divine dragons of the continent, eternally slumbering after putting it in balance. maybe in the mythology they have different names lol. i like to imagine if for plot circumstances they seemingly disappeared and are now stealthily living in human forms with the names leon and lola. miriam serves as the main saint of their church

ia: i dont knowwww maybe she could be a dragon too she's kind of giving me sleepy dragon type. one is a long-lost sister of hers perchance

now for the dancer, i am torn between tianyi and avanna. tianyi is probably another divine spirit who can reinvigorate others through song (and may have a connection to ling and longya in some form), while avanna's base design is just textbook Bard. if i wanna go with avanna as the action refresher idk what class/role tianyi would play

neru: a scrappy myrmidon who joins miku's army due to her secret admiration for the princess. irredeemably terrible stat spread but probably has funny character interactions/generally endearing, the quintessential meme unit. forum posts would be made both deriding her f-tier usability and claiming she is the best unit in the game

lightning round of other major characters who i cant think of actual story for, i just think these classes would fit

maika: troubadour / seeu: light mage / yukari: armor knight / mayu: berserker / rana: okay i know she's una's bestie but i dont knowwww i guess mage for now / iroha: BEAST UNIT HAHAHA / dex and dana: other beast units, probably can only get one of the two based on route splits

vy2 is a legendary sword whereas vy1 is a legendary tome. lol

utau alliance

a collection of noble houses, one of the most notable being tei sukone. evil big bad RED nation. tei seeks to eradicate the vocaloid kingdom in her quest for domination.

tei: the one that leads the charge against the vocaloid kingdom. a knight general, secretly the dark Problem Dragon gathering power

ritsu: tei's right-hand general. a shaman capable of animating sticks and stones into battle-ready soldiers. these soldiers make up the main force of canon fodder that is morally okay for the main characters to kill (/joke)

defoko: ritsu's strongest creation, incapable of feeling emotion, and a force to be reckoned with. idk what class she'd be but that's her story role

(adachi) rei: a defective prototype of ritsu's, among the first of her creations. also don't know what class she'd be in. capable of independent thought and longs for love, which is why ritsu scorns her. may defect and join miku's team if certain conditions are met and she learns to live as a normal girl

teto: another one of tei's trusted generals. she is a wyvern lord who butts heads with miku frequently. later on, she will fully defect and join miku's cause when she realizes her home nation has gone bad and must stop tei. when affiliated with team utau/the enemy nation she wears black armor, and when she turns good she wears white armor (hehehe funny reference)

aiko: pegasus knight on the enemy side because Balloon Sound hehe

ruko: they strike me as a wyvern lord too tbh! another significant general of tei's, they were very close to teto and are hurt to see her defect to the other side. may have a very sad conversation if they have to battle each other :,) ruko is too loyal to tei to defect so they must fight waaaah

renri: a sympathetic boss fought along the way, wishing to flee utau for a quiet life but is enlisted in tei's cause regardless

Your Fave Utau I Didn't Mention Is A Boss Character! ^w^

synthv kingdom (??? i'm bad with names leave me alone)

might not exclusively encompass characters appearing on synthv but i know synthv characters best (sorry kafu i Don't Know What To Do With You). a neutral ally nation that gets caught in the middle of the conflict. miku tries to enlist their aid in the war

eleanor: the queen, probably one mission where you have to protect her from an invasion. not much of a fighter (but when i eventually pen this design i'm gonna draw her with a sword regardless), becomes a benefactor of miku's cause after being protected

starry court (solaria/asterian/saros/nyl): can you tell i really like these guys. they are the queen's four riders and most decorated knights in her army. solaria is a bow knight, asterian is a paladin, saros is a falcon knight, and nyl is a dark flier (LET ME FUCKING COOOK i really wanna make these designs real)

anri: the queen's most loyal servant. i know intelligent systems is probably never gonna bring the maid class back. but i will!!!! anri is the maid (maybe andi/her brother is a butler as well)

okay tbh i have less ideas for the characters of this side because most of them would be fan designs, maybe i'll cook something up. i put a lot of brain cells in everyone else so cut me some slack

bonus: kandyloid is anna. i will not be taking further questions...

that's all bye

[cagemasterfantasy]

Paladin: Oath of Vengeance (5.5e)

The Oath of Vengeance is a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed grievously evil acts. When evil armies slaughter helpless villagers, when a tyrant defies the will of the gods, when a thieves’ guild grows too violent and powerful, when a dragon rampages through the countryside—at times like these, paladins arise and swear an Oath of Vengeance to set right what has gone wrong.

Show the wicked no mercy

Fight injustice and its causes

Aid those harmed by injustice

Level 3 Oath of Vengeance spells: The magic of your oath ensures you always have certain spells ready when you reach a Paladin level specified below, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.

Level 3: Bane and Hunter's Mark

Level 5: Hold Person and Misty Step

Level 9: Haste and Protection from Energy

Level 13: Banishment and Dimension Door

Level 17: Hold Monster and Scrying

Level 3 Vow of Enmity: As a Bonus Action, you can expend one use of your Channel Divinity to utter a vow of enmity against a creature you can see within 30 feet of yourself. You gain Advantage on attack rolls against the creature for 1 minute.

If the creature drops to 0 Hit Points before the vow ends, you can transfer the vow to a different creature within 30 feet of yourself (no action required). You can make this transfer no more than once per turn.

Level 7 Relentless Avenger: Your supernatural focus helps you close off a foe’s retreat. When you hit a creature with an Opportunity Attack, you can reduce the creature’s Speed to 0, and you can then move up to half your Speed as part of the same Reaction. This movement doesn’t provoke Opportunity Attacks.

Level 15 Soul of Vengeance: Immediately after a creature under the effect of Vow of Enmity hits or misses with an attack, you can use your Reaction to make a melee attack against that creature if it’s within range.

Level 20 Avenging Angel: As a Bonus Action, you can imbue your Aura of Protection with holy power, granting the following benefits for 1 hour or until you end them as a Bonus Action:

Flight: You sprout spectral wings on your back. You have a Fly Speed equal to your Speed and can Hover.

Frightful Aura: Whenever an enemy starts its turn in the aura, that creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have the Frightened condition for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. Attack rolls against the Frightened creature have Advantage.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a Long Rest. You can also restore your use of it by expending a 5th-level spell slot (no action required).

Spells

Bane is a level 1 Enchantment spell for Bard Cleric and Wizard. Casting Time is 1 action. Range is 30 feet. Requires a Verbal and Somatic component and spell ingredient is a drop of blood. Duration is concentration up to 1 minute.

Up to three creatures of your choice that you can see within range must each make a Charisma saving throw. Whenever a target that fails this save makes an attack roll or a saving throw before the spell ends, the target must subtract 1d4 from the attack roll or save. Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot: You can target one additional creature for each spell slot level above 1.

Hunter's Mark is a level 1 Divination spell unique to Ranger. Casting Time is a Bonus Action Range is 90 feet Requires a Verbal Component Duration is Concentration up to 1 hour.

You magically mark one creature you can see within range as your quarry. Until the spell ends, you deal an extra 1d6 Force damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack roll. You also have Advantage on any Perception or Survival check you make to find it. If the target drops to 0 Hit Points before this spell ends, you can use a Bonus Action to mark a new creature you can see within range. Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot: Your Concentration can last longer with a spell slot of level 3-4 (up to 8 hours) or 5+ (up to 24 hours).

Hold Person is a level 2 Enchantment spell is Bard Cleric Druid Sorcerer Warlock and Wizard. Casting Time is 1 action Range is 60 feet Requires a Verbal and Somatic Component and Spell Ingredient is a straight piece of Iron. Duration is Concentration up to 1 minute.

Choose a Humanoid that you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have the Paralyzed condition for the duration. At the end of each of its turns, the target repeats the save, ending the spell on itself on a success. Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot: You can target one additional Humanoid for each spell slot level above 2.

Misty Step is a level 2 Conjuration Spell for Sorcerer Warlock and Wizard. Casting Time is 1 Bonus Action Range is Self Requires a Verbal Component Duration is Instantaneous.

Briefly surrounded by silvery mist, you teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see.

Haste is a level 3 Transmutation spell for Sorcerer and Wizard. Casting Time is 1 Action Range 30 feet Requires a Verbal and Somatic Component Spell Ingredient a shaving of licorice root. Duration is Concentration up to 1 minute.

Choose a willing creature that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, the target's Speed is doubled, it gains a +2 bonus to Armor Class, it has Advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and it gains an additional action on each of its turns. That action can be used to take only the Attack (one attack only), Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Utilize action. When the spell ends, the target is Incapacitated and has a Speed of 0 until the end of its next turn, as a wave of lethargy washes over it.

Protection From Energy is a level 3 Abjuration spell for Cleric Druid Ranger Sorcerer and Wizard. Casting Time is 1 action Range is Touch Requires a Verbal and Somatic component Duration is Concentration up to 1 hour.

For the duration, the willing creature you touch has Resistance to one damage type of your choice: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder.

Banishment is a level 4 Abjuration spell for Cleric Paladin Sorcerer Warlock and Wizard. Casting Time is 1 action Range is 30 feet Requires a Verbal and Somatic Component and Spell Ingredient is a Pentacle Duration is Concentration up to 1 minute.

One creature that you can see within range must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be transported to a harmless demiplane for the duration. While there, the target has the Incapacitated condition. When the spell ends, the target reappears in the space it left or in the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied. If the target is an Aberration, a Celestial, an Elemental, a Fey, or a Fiend, the target doesn't return if the spell lasts for 1 minute. The target is instead transported to a random location on a plane (DM's choice) associated with its creature type. Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot: You can target one additional creature for each spell slot level above 4.

Dimension Door is a level 4 Conjuration spell for Bard Sorcerer Warlock and Wizard Casting Time is 1 action Range is 500 feet Requires a Verbal Component Duration is Instantaneous.

You teleport to a location within range. You arrive at exactly the spot desired. It can be a place you can see, one you can visualize, or one you can describe by stating distance and direction, such as "200 feet straight downward" or "300 feet upward to the northwest at a 45-degree angle." You can also teleport one willing creature. The creature must be within 5 feet of you when you teleport, and it teleports to a space within 5 feet of your destination space. If you, the other creature, or both would arrive in a space occupied by a creature or completely filled by one or more objects, you and any creature traveling with you each take 4d6 Force damage, and the teleportation fails.

Hold Monster is a level 5 Enchantment spell for Bard Sorcerer Warlock and Wizard. Casting Time is 1 action Range is 90 feet Requires a Verbal and Somatic component and spell ingredient is a straight piece of iron Duration is Concentration up to 1 minute.

Choose a creature that you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be Paralyzed for the duration. At the end of each of its turns, the target repeats the save, ending the spell on itself on a success. Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot: You can target one additional creature for each spell slot level above 5.

Scrying is a level 5 Divination spell for Bard Cleric Druid Warlock and Wizard. Casting TIme is 10 minutes Range is self Requires a Verbal and Somatic component and spell ingredient is a focus worth at least 1000 gold pieces such as a crystal ball mirror or water filled font Duration is concentration up to 10 minutes.

You can see and hear a creature you choose that is on the same plane of existence as you. The target makes a Wisdom saving throw, which is modified (see below) by how well you know the target and the sort of physical connection you have to it. The target doesn’t know what it is making the save against, only that it feels uneasy.

Secondhand (heard of the target): +5

Firsthand (met the target): +0

Extensive (know the target well): -5

If you have a picture or other likeness: -2

If you have a Garment or other possession: -4

If you have a body part lock of hair or bit of nail: -10 On a successful save, the target isn’t affected, and you can’t use this spell on it again for 24 hours. On a failed save, the spell creates an Invisible, intangible sensor within 10 feet of the target. You can see and hear through the sensor as if you were there. The sensor moves with the target, remaining within 10 feet of it for the duration. If something can see the sensor, it appears as a luminous orb about the size of your fist. Instead of targeting a creature, you can target a location you have seen. When you do so, the sensor appears at that location and doesn’t move.

@doodl3

[leafkingofbirds]

WIP Wednesday

Boundless Chapter 4: The Midnight Market

“Nice trick,” Jack mutters when he realizes why he can see rain, but no longer feel it.

“But no more of them,” Opal warns, giving Kieran a stern look of warning. “Piddling little tricks are innocent enough - Fae are too conceited to let their boots be muddied or rain to mess their hair, and those inside this place will expect such vain use of magic. But the creatures who rule the Midnight Market do so with an iron fist. No pun intended.” Her glittering eyes narrow, and Kieran can see she is all business now. “Let me do the talking. I shouldn’t have to tell you that you’d best not bring any of that princely nonsense through those doors, as they won’t take kindly to being ordered about.”

“Are the walls set with iron?” Ella asks, innocently.

“No,” Kieran answers. “They do not need it. I shall still have use of my magic, and no one would expect a Fae to go around without the convenience of magic. But you and I must be wise not to show our true power here.” 

“Quite right,” Opal says. “No one behind these walls cares that you are a prince, except for how they might use that to their own advantage. You are not their liege, and they have sworn nothing to you. The Daggers’ allegiance is to coin and to themselves, only.” 

“You mentioned the Daggers before,” Ella asks, casting her gaze above them to the shadowy guards. There is no moon in the sodden sky, and the only light comes from oily lanterns swaying precariously in the angry wind. “Why are we supposed to be so afraid of them? Who are they?”

Kieran sighs. “They are infamous. Nigh untouchable. I know only rumors and myth. But they rule this place, true enough, and no one has yet found a way to stop them. At best, we keep them at bay. There is a reason one may only access the Market from our realm but one night per year.”

Opal begins digging around in the pack in her side, drawing out bundles that seem far too large for such a small pack to contain them. These she pushes into Jack's and Oleander’s arms, much to their dismay.

“Everyone knows that thieves run this place? Then why hasn’t anyone shut it down?” Ella asks, folding her arms over her chest before Opal gives her a large bundle as well. 

“My great-grandfather tried, once,” Kieran says. “And had his head removed from his body and displayed upon a pike on this very wall for his trouble. The Fae Courts do not have authority here. I might as well raise an army to take on the dragon lords, for all the good it would do.”

The look on Ella’s face is so alien. Instead of fear or surprise, there’s anger. Determination.

And Kieran realizes that he no longer needs an army. He has her. 

“And it’s not only Fae who frequent this place,” Jack says. “There are portals in many different lands that allow the flow of trade in every direction. In Fae, the door is open but once a year…but in other lands, the doors are practically wide open.”

“All roads lead to commerce,” Oleander mutters dryly. 

Opal shoves a burlap-wrapped sack in Kieran’s hands, rather brusquely, and Kierean scowls at her. “I am not your packhorse, Opal.”

She flashes shimmering teeth at him once, briefly, in the darkness. “Oh, yes, you are. My stubborn, princely mule. All of you, now, follow my lead, off we get!”

“So does the market itself travel, or is it like a waystation between realms–?” Ella continues, her curiosity still unsated.

“We’re all out of time for questions, petal.” Opal snaps her fingers and produces her invitation, motioning them forward impatiently toward the great wooden door. “Come now, and keep quiet.”

[knightleon64]

A Flame Rekindled Chapter I: The Soldier’s Dilemma

The streets of Port Albion thrummed with life, the sounds of merchants’ calls and laborers’ grunts filling the air. Nathaniel Ashcroft moved through the crowd, his polished boots clicking sharply against the cobblestones. His crimson coat, trimmed with gold, demanded attention, yet the people’s gaze was one of silent contempt.

“Another lapdog of the king,” one muttered, his voice dripping with disdain. “How many villages must burn before the army is satisfied?”

Nathaniel paid no mind to the murmurs, his expression impassive as he made his way toward the officers’ quarters near the governor’s mansion. Inside, the familiar scent of polished wood and aged wine greeted him, as did the flickering flames in the hearth, casting long shadows on the walls.

“Captain Ashcroft,” Edmund Fairfax greeted, his voice rich with ease as he lounged before the grand fireplace. “The governor’s hosting a ball tonight. Will you be in attendance?”

Nathaniel’s jaw tightened, the mention of the ball stirring unease. The “victories” reported to him were steeped in blood—villages burned, families scattered. “I have no taste for such frivolities,” he replied, his voice as cold as the stone beneath his boots.

Fairfax’s smile faltered, but his tone remained firm. “Sentiment has no place in our duty. These rebels are naught but thieves. We bring order.”

“Order?” Nathaniel repeated bitterly. “Or tyranny, dressed as order?”

Fairfax’s gaze turned sharp. “Loyalty to the crown is not optional. Mind your words, Nathaniel.”

Later, in his quarters, Nathaniel sat in silence, the book On the Rights of Man resting heavily in his hands. The words seemed to leap off the page: “All men are born free and equal in rights.” He stared at them, the doubt creeping into his mind, wondering if his duty had led him into the shadow of tyranny.

[the-bar-sinister]

Bleeding, Broken, Mended (44059 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 8/?

Summary: Law is certain that he was 'rescued' just so Doflamingo could kill him himself, but Doffy has other plans. As far as he's concerned, Law's decade-long quest for revenge was nothing more than a sad misunderstanding. He wants to remind Law how things used to be. He wants to find a way to bring Law back into the fold-- back to him-- forever.

catch up here

-

"So how did you and Law meet, if you don't mind my asking?" Doffy regarded the bear mink with curiosity as they paced through the corridors of the ship. Bepo had been silent thus far, but Doffy needed a distraction from his nagging anxiety about the 'chat' between Trebol and Law, and his worry that he might feel a tug at the string he'd left on Law at any moment.

Bepo looked up at him with an unreadable expression, and shrugged. "We met when we were kids. He rescued me when I was being… bullied."

"Bullied, right," Doffy nodded. It sounded like 'bullied' might be a soft word for 'attacked'. He had a hunch the reason, too, if he knew people. "What were you being bullied for?"

"For being a bear."

The expected answer. Human nature was all too predictable. Reject and destroy the 'other'. Put those who are lower than you in their 'place' to stay comfortable in your own position.

"I hope you know no one in my family is going to bully you for something like that."

Doffy's whole family was made up of the low, the wretched, the broken; the reviled who had been rejected by society, or who had rejected society themselves. He gathered them all into his arms and raised them up; his beloved army of the damned serving their king the fallen saint. 

The 'heavenly demon' they called him— and he was. He knew first hand how fragile one's 'place' in the world was, and he got a sick, thrilling satisfaction out of thumbing his nose at his former peers by raising the wretched and low up above their 'station'. His royal blood had cast him out into the gutter to die, so he had made royals instead out of urchins and thieves.

A bear would fit right in.

"I know you're trying to get Law to come back to your crew. Or family. Whatever."

He chuckled. So Law had already told his surviving crewmates— or at least this one— about his proposal. Well, he hadn't expected him to keep it a secret.

"And what do you think of that?"

Bepo regarded him with another inscrutable look, his ears flattened. "I'm reserving judgment for now. But I trust my captain. I'd follow him to the bottom of the sea."

Doffy smiled very widely. "You're a loyal person. I admire that very much, and I'm sure Law appreciates it."

"Law's amazing," Bepo said, pausing mid stride to stare intently at Doflamingo. "And I am loyal. Which is why if he says we follow you, we follow you. And if he says you die, you die."

"I'll keep that in mind." He felt a laugh burst deep from his chest, and as he caught his breath he followed the sensation of the slim silvery thread from its origin point to its terminus. He could feel it wrapped around Law's warm wrist. 

He admitted to Bepo, "I'm hoping there won't be any more bloodshed between us."

-

Bepo had a sour feeling in his stomach when he arrived with Doflamingo into the crowded galley where the rest of 'the family' was lingering over the dregs of coffee and the last scraps of breakfast. 

He stood back, listening while Doflamingo was telling the motley assortment of pirates that there would be a meeting soon, and that Law would be in attendance. He did notice that they were being instructed to 'be respectful– or at least restrain any hostility'. 

Doflamingo wagged a finger at them. "I'm asking you this as your beloved young master, okay? There is a chance that Law might be coming back to the family, and if he does, I want you to accept him."

There were a variety of reactions, some of them shocked, or apparently irritated, but no one directly contradicted the 'young master'. Bepo caught Komurasaki's eye– she was seated at the table next to that other girl, Baby 5– but he couldn't tell what she was thinking, or if she'd known about Doflamingo's intention before now. Her expression was completely composed.

Bepo, meanwhile, felt like he was walking on quicksand. He'd been worried about Law since the warlord plan and Punk Hazard. He'd been on suicide watch on him since after Dressrosa. Bepo had always suspected that Law had no plans to live past the enactment of his revenge in Cora's name, and he was pretty sure when they met back up afterward that the only thing that had stopped his captain from slipping away already was Straw Hat's influence, for which Bepo was grateful.

But even right away, Bepo had been able to see the cracks. Law was a man who had lived only for one purpose, for blood and revenge, and that purpose was gone.

When the ship had gone down, when they had lost the crew, Bepo had fully expected to have to physically stop Law from throwing himself right back in the ocean with the rest of the Heart Pirates if he got the chance. 

He wouldn't have even been able to blame him for trying. The loss of their crew, the people they'd spent the last decade of their lives with, was devastating. Bepo couldn't even properly grapple with it. He felt numb and confused. Bepo had never been as close with the rest of the crew as he had been with Law, but they were still people he knew. He kept expecting to turn around and hear Shachi making obnoxious bear puns at him.

But instead they were here. Among people that Bepo had never met, and only known as enemies for as long as he'd known Law. Enemies who had admittedly so far been entirely pleasant enough to be around. 

Enemies who wanted Law to join them.

And he was pretty sure that Law was actually, seriously considering it. 

Bepo wasn't sure he was going to try to stop him. Hell. He was pretty sure the only alternative involved watching Law for the rest of his life to make sure he didn't pitch himself into the sea, until he was so tired of watching he was ready to join him. Even if they did end up joining up with the Straw Hats, or the Kid Pirates or something.

All of the fight, and drive and direction had gone out of Law after Dressrosa. Bepo hadn't expected the person to help him with that might be the same one he'd had spent a decade with Law trying to destroy— but he was willing to concede after everything he'd heard, that made there was a chance he would be. It was an insane idea, but the situation they were in was insane. 

He didn't know what other kind of chance they had. So he'd do what he always had. Follow his captain's lead, and help him keep his head above water. No matter what.

-

After Doffy's announcement the family broke up into little clusters in and around the galley, no one wanting to go very far before the meeting began. Doffy himself got pulled aside by Violet. Baby 5 meanwhile had Bepo looming over her; the bear mink having shuffled over presumably to talk to Komurasaki. 

Baby 5 had to lean her head back to look up at him, her eyes wide under the sideswept bangs of her hair. "Wa–hey there, big guy." she grinned up at him as she poked her meal around with her fork.

She'd sat by Komurasaki pretty much instantly, the two of them having come from Baby's cabin together where she'd been staying and chattering sleepily back and forth till breakfast and coffee woke them up enough to function.

What started as curiosity about the girl from Wano was swiftly starting to spiral into a sort of attachment that Baby 5 was …somewhat…familiar with. Doffy's sudden announcement interrupted one of Baby 5's stories, a tale about the first assassination gig she ever succeeded in, and stopped her and everyone else in their tracks.

Law was going to be attending the family meeting, just like old times. It wasn't official but…it sounded like there was a chance the traitor had seen the light and decided to come home. Baby was too dumbstruck to say a word as she overheard some of the other reactions explode around her.

Sugar curled into herself, and Baby 5 overheard her murmuring what sounded like a soft , one sided conversation to herself, overhearing the name 'Monet'. Derringer had cackled, loudly wondering why they couldn't get it out of their system with a fight, only to be scooped into a calming hug by a pensive seeming Giolla.

And Baby 5 stared into space until Bepo's shadow loomed in her view enough to draw her attention up to him.

Komurasaki tilted her head up like Baby 5 and smiled at Bepo. "Good morning. Can I ask where Law is?"

"He's with one of the leaders. Trebol, I think?" the bear said softly. He hesitated a moment and the Baby 5 watched him grab one of the few remaining slices of toast from the table and cover it with jam.

Baby 5 stretched in her seat with a laugh. "If he's with Tre, he's in good hands. Trebol's probably givin' him a lecture or something. Law used to get lectures from him all the time, like the pain in the ass he is."

Or drowning him in glue, but the way Doffy was acting…it was probably just the former. 

Komurasaki cocked her head. "Oh, lectures? I'm curious about what kind."

If she was curious about the development Doffy had spoken about— about Law possibly returning to the family, she didn't show it. She seemed like she was always composed, even the night before when she'd been laughing at Baby 5's gossip and old stories.

"All kinds of lectures. Trebol kinda worked as our schoolteacher when we were kids, you know? He taught us math, how to read…how to cheat and kill, the basics of economy and all sorts of stuff. But Law always slacked off so he'd get the ol' Trebol lectures constantly."

She snickered raspilly, pouring herself more coffee. "Law! You're too reckless! Law you're going to get yourself killed! Law, if you want to make something of yourself in the family you'd…and on and on and on." 

"His schooling sounds a little like mine, on reflection," Komurasaki laughed softly. "I also learned similar skills."

"Huh." Bepo had finished his toast and was licking jam off his claws. Strangely enough, Baby 5 found the bear mink easier to read than Komurasaki was. He seemed troubled.

"Not surprising to me, Saki! I mean, you grew up in the underground too. Makes sense the skillsets are more or less the same." She turned her attention to Bepo. "...you worried, Beps?" 

Bepo looked down at her with surprise, as if he'd been caught at something. "No?" It seemed more like a question than an answer. "What would I be worried about?"

"The family meeting, maybe? Law getting lectured to death? Being surrounded by a bunch of half-insane gangsters?" Baby 5 counted off her fingertips. "My jokes. Any number of things." 

"I guess," the bear grumbled. "I hope you don't mind me saying but this whole thing is weird."

Baby 5 leaned back, her chair tipping on two legs as she picked her teeth with the tip of a knife that had previously been her forefinger. 

"I mean, I'm gonna be honest, Beps. It's weird for us too. We were pretty sure none of us would ever see Law again...and if we DID he'd have just replaced our heads with bombs or something and killed us all." 

"Yeah." Bepo nodded. He seemed to be eying another slice of toast. "I mean, that's kind of what I expected, too. But, this isn't like I imagined at all. Law… I don't think he even wanted us to ever meet you all, even in combat."

Baby reached out and scooped a piece, one of the last, before offering it to him with a sharp huff of breath. 

"...he was probably worried you guys would have sense and see that we ain't the demons he liked to make us out to be. When he came back, we were all happy to see him until …" Her jaw set, and she glowered at the table. "---until he spit in our faces and tried to tear the family apart." 

Bepo quietly took the toast from her, covering it with jam again as he grumbled. "I don't want to speak for the captain, but… he seems like he doesn't really like how things went with that."

Komurasaki glanced at him. "Is he really considering…" she motioned around the table.

Bepo shrugged. "I don't want to speak for the captain."

Baby 5 bit her lip, leaning on her hands with a thoughtful frown written on her face. Law—she hadn't even gotten the chance to really talk with him again. Law, her peer, her friend— the man everyone joked would be the one person Doflamingo wouldn't have killed for trying to marry her.

She was furious with him, but at the same time…at the same time she couldn't stop herself from hoping that it was true. Maybe Law would come home again, and everything would go back to the way it used to be. 

-

After his little announcement, Violet had pulled Doffy off into a corner and he had let her do it, despite part of him wanting to linger and listen to the reactions of everyone at the breakfast table. It was probably better not to worry about it for now though. He was already worrying about what would happen if he felt a tug on the string he'd left on Law. He didn't need to split his concentration too much. Not with the hangover still lingering.

He needed more coffee.

He leaned on the arch of the doorway between the galley and the corridor, hands in his pockets, and grinned at Violet. "What's the word, Vi?"

Violet smiled up at him, half leaned against his chest as she waved her hand. "Oh, quite a lot. I've managed to pick up quite a few tidbits almost as interesting as what's happening here with Trafalgar." 

"Almost, eh? I have to admit, I'm curious about your thoughts on that."

Violet had been one of the few family members who hadn't protested when Doffy had fished Law and company out of the sea, and that was no real surprise. Not only had Vi joined them after Law had been long gone— there was no betrayal to sting— but Violet herself had been in a similar position not long ago. When Law had shaken up Dressrosa, Vi had enacted her own betrayal and nearly left the family in the lurch.

But she'd come back. She had come back. Even though her 'side'--- her blood family— had won, she had ultimately chosen the Donquixote family instead.

She smiled at him, that same subtle and mysterious smile she often wore when she was playing around with little secrets of her own. She leaned a little more firmly against his chest as she purred. 

"I'm thinking of starting a betting pool on how long it takes Law to crack and join up again. I may have taken a little peek inside his mind…I think I could walk away with the pot on this one." She chuckled, low and alluringly sonorous. "...I think it's interesting to note how even us wretched traitors can't seem to stay away."

Doffy put his arm around her shoulders and chuckled. "It's the 'evil charisma'," he said, parroting a news article from back in the day that the family had passed around for a while. "You looked into his mind, though? Naughty Vi— do I get a preview?"

Violet's power was unsettling sometimes, knowing she could see straight through him. Straight through anyone. Into his mind. Into his heart. When he'd faced her that day in Dressrosa, when she'd turned on him, he thought she must have seen something there that disgusted her. That she must have been disgusted with him the entire time she'd known him. That he'd been a fool to allow her into his family instead of having her shot as a menace.

But she had come back.

Her arms looped around his hips. 

"If you ask nicely, I'd be happy to share, Doffy."

Her smile was angelic…but she was anything but. 'Twisted by her devil fruit', she'd said once to him, during a late night drinking and talking about power. Maybe that had been why she couldn't really leave. 

Twisted by the devil fruit. Maybe being able to know so much could drive you mad. The idea of knowing exactly what Law was thinking was too much.

"Just tell me if he's actually considering it. Please."

"Strongly," she purred up at him with a wink, her dark hair half fallen in her face. "...when I start the betting pool I'm going to surprise everyone with my dark horse bet on exactly how long it'll be." 

Doflamingo's stomach lurched and he felt the grin on his face widen involuntarily. Not if, but how long. Maybe it really was like he'd said to Vergo in the dark last night— Law wanted to come back. He just needed time to process.

"I'll keep myself out of the betting pool then," he giggled. He reached out and brushed her hair out of her face for her, tucking it behind her hair and adjusting her hair pin."Alright, we'd better talk about these less interesting things."

"A shame, I could gossip about this all night" Violet purred. "...first, the unruly lout Blackbeard has made it back to his home base." 

"Better for us than having him prowling all over the damned sea around here," Doffy grumbled. "He needs to be dealt with, soon."

When they got back to Cross Guild it was going to be one of the first things he brought up to Crocodile and the other. Blackbeard was clearly as much of a threat to all of them as he was to the Marines.

"Indeed…but it's a highly defended location. I know you're interested in taking him out for the good of Cross Guild, but unless we can substantially weaken him, he'll have the upper hand." Violet seemed to read his mind…maybe she did. Maybe she couldn't help it. "But for the moment he's not our problem." 

Doffy grimaced at the idea that they potentially had worse problems than Blackbeard. He had enough on his mind right now. Thinking of it, he mentally followed the sensation of the thread from his fingers to Law. It was still slack. Thankfully.

"Alright, what's our problem?"

"Not exactly a problem as much as a curiosity…" Violet put her finger to her lips. "Transponder snails the world over have been hijacked with a repeating signal. It's crossing the grand line to every sea, little by little, with an invitation to the island of Elegia and the channel of a homing beacon…"

She smiled wryly "...to see a concert by a musician named 'Uta'." 

Violet certainly didn't need her power to see the way that Doffy's mood abruptly shifted. His wary hesitation was immediately shoved aside by curious glee.

"You're kidding! An Uta concert?"

Maybe Doffy had a bearing to suggest at the meeting after all.

-

It was a miracle. Law was still reeling over how well the conversation with Trebol had gone. He'd gotten his powers back— he'd even made the man smile and laugh genuinely for the first time in over a decade.

That– that simple victory shouldn't have brought him as much joy as it did. He wouldn't examine that right now. As he rounded the corner he was surprised to see of all people, Viola…Violet. Violet and Doflamingo lingering in the doorway with her draped practically against him as she grinned up at him.

"Exciting, isn't it?" She said without taking her eyes off of Doflamingo. "...and hello Law. I see you and Trebol didn't kill one another."

"Somehow we didn't. Strange days, wouldn't you say, Violet?" Trebol chuckled. "He tried to murder me with his sass of course. But that's… forgivable."

Doflamingo grinned at Law from over Violet's head. He looked very pleased with himself. Like the cat that had gotten the canary. 

"Manners was never Law's strong suit, Trebol. I'm just glad that I didn't have to rush back from my conversation to play mediator."

Law felt an almost teasing tug on his wrist– and then the sensation of the thread vanished.

Violet chuckled warmly. "Very, very strange days. Not that I'm one to talk."

Law flushed, rubbing his wrist with a huff. "It's not like anyone ever taught me 'em. Manners, I mean. And I had to give the old man something, or he'd think you'd picked up the wrong guy."

Doffy laughed. "Law, I don't think there's any mistaking you. Now come on, let's get this meeting going before we waste the whole day."

They made their way into the galley where everyone was taking seats around the mostly empty table. He caught sight of Bepo and Komurasaki coming over from a sink full of dishes, along with Baby 5. Had his crewmen already been put to work by the Donquixote family, or were they just making conversation?

Aside from the two of them, the table was packed with faces he hadn't seen outside of combat for 13 years.

Diamante was there, smoking a habitual cigarette and finishing a cup of coffee. Pica was next to him, rolling a stone back and forth through his thick fingers. He was shorter, and leaner than he had been in Dressrosa, still clearly not having regained all the mass he'd shed in the aftermath of that battle. Giolla was there too, and Derringer, and Vergo. And Sugar.

There were some people missing…He couldn't help but wonder if they'd died, or simply fled when they thought the family was finished.

The sting of guilt rolled through him again, and Violet seemed to look at him knowingly for a moment before he dropped himself into a chair beside Bepo. For some reason Baby 5 intercepted the seat near Komurasaki before he could get there…and for some reason she stuck out her tongue like she'd won something.

The expressions around the table were mixed…from curious and amused from the likes of Derringer and Vergo, to Sugar's death glare…it was clear he was still a controversial guest at the table. 

Sugar. It was a good thing that Law would be able to resist her power with his haki, or he might really be in trouble, and none of the family, not even Doffy, would have been the wiser.

As Doflamingo sat down at the head of the table, and Trebol at his left, Bepo scooted his own chair closer to Law.

"You okay, captain?" he asked in a quiet voice that barely carried over the rest of the murmurs at the table.

Law nodded and whispered back as the family started their overtures of conversation. "...surprisingly, yeah. Trebol was pissed at me, but we worked it out. Convinced him that I wasn't gonna hurt Doflamingo again. He still thinks I'm a dumbass kid, though." 

"I heard he used to be your teacher."

Law chuckled softly "yeah…he was. He held a ridiculous little class where he taught us shit like how to manage a black market deal, and math. In the same day." Memories of that classroom came easy…Baby 5's constant attempts to be the best student in the room, Buffalo slacking off worse than him, Trebol's weird little laugh and his lectures of 'expectations'.

They were fonder than he anticipated.

At the head of the table, Doffy rested his chin on his hand. "Alright, fam— and guests— I'm sure you're all wondering what this meeting is about, and the answer is, our heading. We started this little journey hunting marine bounties, but I admit, we got a little sidetracked.

"You don't say!" Derringer called out above the chuckles and murmurs of agreement. "I've only ruined one pair of heels with marine blood!"

Law snorted softly. The kid really had turned out to be a delightful little psychopath, didn't he? Still…that was their goal huh? Out on the seas hunting marines.

"And what a shame, you brought so many," Doffy laughed, slapping the table lightly. "But I have a hunch where some more marines might show up soon, thanks to Vi here. And if they don't, there's a few good reasons to visit anyway."

Diamante chuckled. "You're winding us up, Doffy."

"Maybe a little."

Sugar turned her glare from Law for a moment to tilt her head at Doflamingo, her voice soft as always. "Is it one of the naval bases?"

Violet closed her eyes, smiling broadly. "Not quite. I happened to pick up some rather …fun…news." 

"Here's a surprise for you," Doffy giggled. "You all know Uta, right?"

There were mixed reactions of surprise and interest as Doflamingo announced that the destination he had in mind was… some kind of concert put on by a famous and reclusive singer. One that Doffy himself was apparently a fan of. The tone dials on his desk that Law had seen at dinner had been hers.

Sugar and Derringer seemed to be fans as well, having practically leapt out of their seats at the mention of her.

Giolla tilted her head to the side, laughing cheerfully "And here I thought she'd never show her face…she IS a famous recluse after all. I wonder what's drawn her into the light."

Law blinked, looking over at Bepo and Komurasaki before glancing back at Doflamingo. "...you're gonna steer us towards…some random singer's concert?"

"If it makes you more curious…Sir Crocodile and his contingent of Cross Guild swerved abruptly to visit. Makes me wonder just why a man like that's gotten interested." Violet raised her finger and spoke up.

Komurasaki– she looked merely bemused by the whole thing. Bepo on the other hand, was wide eyed, and Law almost immediately remembered why, as he leaned in and hissed a whisper to him.

"Captain, Uta's that singer I told you about."

"...the one who's been releasin' songs over transponder snail? The really bubbly sounding one that you played a bunch of times for me." Law glanced between Bepo and Doflamingo.

That, he had to admit, was a commonality he didn't expect between them. Being fans of the same weirdly mysterious musical artist. Bepo, it seemed, hadn't expected it either, and he glanced hesitantly at the smiling Doflamingo as well.

"Cross Guild will be there too," Doffy chuckled. "I never thought I'd see Croccy at a concert. Oh that reminds me, Law, you said you were headed to the end of the Grand Line before all this, didn't you?"

That certainly got some of the family's attention. All eyes were on Law again.

Law leaned on his hand, every set of eyes on him as he chuckled low under his breath. "Yeah. I am. I promised Straw Hat that we'd compete to see who got there first. We said we'd meet up there." 

"It's an open secret in Cross Guild that Buggy the Clown is trying to push Crocodile to do the same thing," Doffy said, leaning on his hand. "Interesting, don't you think?"

"...Buggy the fucking Clown wants to go to the end of the Grand Line?" Law snorted. "...you know what, I'll buy that. yeah, that's interesting as hell."

Sugar huffed. "He's strong. And people follow him." she murmured softly under her breath. "He'll probably succeed in convincing Crocodile." 

Law noticed Doffy glance over at Violet as he said, "I agree, I think it's only a question of when. So, with all that in mind, I think we should follow this mysterious signal. After all, we have three reasons for it. One, the marines might show up to shut down the party. Two, we regroup with Crocodile and find out if Buggy's got him by the balls yet. And three, if all else fails, it could be the concert of a lifetime."

Trebol waved a hand. "Far be it from me to cast doubt when the young master has a goal in mind." Law felt his gaze linger on him for a moment.

Law rubbed his neck, feeling the weight of the stares as he nodded. 

"I think that makes sense…it's a rally point if nothing else, and one that'll be pretty good for morale. I mean— I'm not exactly a fan or nothin'---but her music's interesting to say the least." 

Bepo gave him a wide polar bear smile in response to that.

But he was sure the question on everyone's mind was 'when is Law going to disembark'. "Hey, Doffy. What's your plan if Buggy HAS got him by the balls?" he continued. 

Doflamingo wagged a finger. "Well, you can bet your ass I'm not planning to let the rest of Cross Guild do something like that without me and mine involved. We wouldn't want to miss out, now would we?"

"Sail to the end of the Grand Line," Diamante said, puffing on his cigarette. "People've been talking about that since we were still kids, practically."

Vergo nodded, finally speaking up for the first time during the meeting. "sure have. It's a pretty crazy goal. Not gonna lie…been wondering what was out there, myself."

Giolla laughed, her hand covering her widely smiling lips. "it would make a one of a kind painting if we found our way there, wouldn't it?"

Law raised his eyebrow. "...so you'd be headed the same way I intended to head." 

Doffy smiled across the table at him, his chin resting on his hands, framed as always by the feathery bulk of his coat. "Sounds like we might be. Is that going to be a problem, Law?"

Baby 5 leaned over the table, pointing at him with a wicked grin plastered on her face. "It'd better not be a problem, 'Law D Water Trafalgar', unless the problem is you're worried we're gonna get there first!"

Law snorted softly "....sure, yeah, that's what I'm scared of Baby 5." 

At the mention of his full name, Law noticed Bepo watching Doflamingo intently. But Doffy… didn't really react at all. He just chuckled.

"Well, Law? Now's the time to raise an objection if there's going to be a problem. Even if you're a guest at the table, I'm curious to hear what you have to say."

Even if he was just a guest at the table. His lips twitched into a half smile. As if they didn't all already know what Doflamingo offered him. If he took it…if. He'd be more than just a guest with an opinion.

He noticed Violet smirking at him from across the table, one hand near her eye in a v-shape , the eye itself seeming to peer right through him.

"I think that works out nicely." he finally said. 

"Perfect," Doffy purred. "Then we'll lay in our course."

-

As the meeting broke up, Law found himself still somewhat the center of attention. Doffy himself had left the room with the executives; he could hear them talking outside briefly, but not what they were saying. A few of the others however, lingered and seemed to be trying to get his attention, or decide what to say.

Ever bold, Baby 5 was the first one to approach without hesitation. She sauntered right up and jabbed him in the chest with her fingertip. 

"You know, you've been hanging around this ship for three days and the most you've said to me was 'ooooh, helloo Baby 5.'. How's that for a greeting to your childhood best friend! Your girl next door!"

Law stared at her for a moment, and then half turned to try to slip away. Sadly, Sugar was in his path, staring him down with her good and doll-like eye, the other milky and visibly damaged as ever. 

Bepo and Komurasaki were flanking him from behind on either side, but he still felt trapped by the two girls.

"Oh dear," he heard Komurasaki mutter in a tone he was growing increasingly confident in identifying as masked enthusiasm.

He was also getting increasingly confident that Komurasaki was a woman who liked a good live drama. And the Donquixote Family was providing.

"I'm glad to see you. I don't know what you want me to say here, Baby...you've grown?" Law drawled. He glanced at Sugar, "and you haven't?"

Baby 5 puffed out her cheeks "Of course I've grown, idiot. It's been 13 damn years. I was SO excited to hear all about you when you were rampaging around the Grand Line— and then we see one another and you didn't even say hi?"

Sugar took a step forward, her hand half raised as she inched closer to him "...can't grow. Yet. Maybe after my awakening." 

"Captain?" Bepo asked softly, glancing back and forth between the two girls. "Uh…."

He was obviously trying to figure out what the plan was. Law was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Between his 'childhood friend'...one of his closest, he was forced to admit, and the sister of the girl he'd killed.

Was she trying to turn him into a toy? I wouldn't work. He'd fought off Doc Q's weird viruses, he could fight off Sugar's toy curse. "...don't worry, Bepo." he said tensely "they're just laying into me. I knew this was comin'." 

Komurasaki meanwhile had gotten distracted. Or maybe she was trying to distract Sugar for him. It was unclear. "You can't grow? Oh… is it because of a devil fruit?"

Sugar grabbed the hem of Law's coat, hanging onto it with a serious nod. She must have just been trying to keep a hold of him, rather than turn him into a toy— or Komurasaki had successfully distracted her.

"Uh huh," She murmured "I ate the Hobby-Hobby fruit. Let's me turn people into toys…but it turned me into one too. I'm a doll." She held up her arm, where the doll joint was visible at the elbow. "I can eat, I can sleep…but I can't grow. I'm 22 years old." 

"My goodness, I never would have guessed how close to the same age we are," Komursaki said sweetly. "You know there are probably lots of girls who would envy you. On Wano, it's considered very charming to look like a doll."

That sealed it— Komurasaki was running interference for him. Probably.

Bepo meanwhile looked between Baby 5 and Law, again, still unsure what to make of the situation despite his reassurances.

"Charming to look like a doll…" Sugar tilted her head to the side. "do you want to look like one, then?" 

"Me? Not particularly, but let me tell you about this Oiran I knew in Wano…"

Baby 5 prodded Law's side with her fingertip again, huffing. "why's Bepo look like he's about to pick you up and run? Law…I MISSED you , moron. And then when you came back what happened?"

"I stabbed you all in the back and self-destructed," Law drawled. "..look…Baby. Baby 5. I didn't wanna hurt you, I'm sorry." 

Bepo once again looked between the two of them.

"We almost died, Law," Baby chided, "Your little stunt nearly got the survivors sent to Impel Down to be tortured to death. And on top of that you…"

He glanced at Bepo with a weary smile, before it softened as he glanced at Baby 5. "I know, Baby…and you can ask Doffy, you can ask Trebol…I feel like shit over it. And I am sorry, I can't make excuses but I can try and make it up to you, okay?" 

Sugar tugged his coat, her expression strange for a moment. 

Komurasaki had paused in her little story, also watching and listening to the scene, albeit with possibly less worry and more curiosity than Bepo.

Law's brow furrowed as he looked in her cloudy eyes. There was an expression in there that was more …recently familiar…than he expected to see. 

It reminds me of Monet. But they're sisters, of course the–no, well…they're sisters by circumstance, not blood.

"You've got a lot to make up for, 'Traffy'," she started, giving Law a start when she used Luffy's nickname for him. Had she ever heard it? Had she seen him in Dressrosa? His brow furrowed as she continued in her deadpan voice, "...but I think you'll manage it. Welcome home." 

[casbooks]

Book 62 of 2024 (★★★★★)

Title: The Phantom Patrol Authors: James R. Benn

Series: 19 of Billy Boyle WWII ISBN: 9781641295437 Rating: ★★★★★

Subject: Books.Fiction.Military.WW2.James Benn, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.WW2.Fiction.James Benn

Description: An investigation into a gang of Nazi-affiliated art thieves leads Billy Boyle and his comrades directly into the line of fire at the catastrophic Battle of the Bulge. Winter 1944: Months after the Liberation of France, ex-Boston cop Billy Boyle finds himself in a Paris reeling from the carnage it has endured but hopeful that an end to war is in sight. When Billy finds a rare piece of artwork after a tense shoot-out in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, he thinks it could be connected to the Syndicat du Renard, a shadowy network of Nazi sympathizers known to be smuggling stolen artwork out of France. Trailing the Syndicat, Billy discovers that someone with a high level of communications clearance—someone in the Phantom regiment of the British Army—may be using his position to aid the thieves. Billy, determined to stop the abettor, heads up to the frontlines where he experiences a last-ditch battle against overwhelming odds. There, the ruinous Battle of the Bulge unfurls in the Ardennes Forest. Can Billy and his team survive the bracing onslaught and return the stolen artwork to its rightful protectors?

My Review: Yet another great Billy Boyle book!

I'm always delighted to see who he brings into each story and this one had such a fascinating mix of characters that kept popping up!

The case this time was a little bit of a swirling ball of confusion at times, and when it felt like it went off the rails, or tacked on, or even had a bit of a deus ex machina weirdness to it, Benn was able to really find a way to make it work into the whole overarching narrative. It was also really nice to see dead ends in the case, things that seemed major turning into something minor/inconsequential. Authors rarely due this for brevity's sake and yet it's really what investigators spend most of their time on!

One thing that Benn does really well is convey the feelings and emotional toll incidents have on a single subject and wide spread. Previously broaching the topics of the Holocaust and the Katyn Forest massacre, this book once again shows the horrors of the Holocaust in a new way, as well as torturing Boyle with more and more of the worst historical experiences the war had to offer.

For those familiar with the war, there are certain names - people and places - that are mentioned throughout the book that foreshadow the later chapters events. And while you may know what is coming, trust that Benn does a great job covering them and their importance.

Overall, it was a great read, with a great cast of characters, a lot of different places, scenes, and events. The case wasn't the best, but it fit the overall narrative in an interesting way, and there are some real gut wrenching moments that hit pretty hard - everything you want in a book like this!