#give him a month and a seige and try again

[mayor-david-prentiss]

of all the heart options in the hansry romance, i think my personal fav is the first one in the italian job, just bc it's so obviously henry trying to get across the fact he has feelings for hans and hans gets the message loud and clear and fucking sidesteps out of the way.

[and-claudia]

His Heir pt 17 (Darth Maul x pregnant! reader)

Masterlist Here

Taglist Here

Warnings: SMUT!, minors dni, 18+ only!!, PinV sex, riding, cockwarming, negative body images, (no Qi'ra to deal with in this one!!)

Word Count: 2420

(this gif does things to me that are not appropriate for the internet, said the girl that just wrote smut for y'all to read)

A/n: my grammerly wasn't working so if there's any major typos, I apologize (also there's a note at the end)

That night I had all my burgundy dresses brought to Maul’s quarters for him to help me pick one to wear the next day. While I hadn’t actually begun to show, I was bloated and it caused some of my tighter dresses to fit weirdly, and my breast had gotten a bit bigger, making some dresses too tight up top. I had tried some on the day before and got frustrated before giving up. 

“Okay, where should we start?” Maul asked, seeing all the dresses laid out across his bed. 

“I don’t even know. I am so scared none of them will fit me right.” I sighed, running my hand across the silky fabric of the one closest to me. 

The realization that in another month or so, none of my work clothes or formal gowns would fit was hitting me very suddenly. Although I had been excited to start showing, the recent bloating had been making me suddenly start dreading it. Maul had gotten nearly all of my gowns for me, a few were ones I brought with me from Mandalore, and now all of them were about to become useless. 

“I’m sure they’ll look just fine dear.” Maul said gently as he reached to pick one up by the hanger, “Why don’t you start with this one?” He suggested. 

I nodded and he walked with it over to the refresher door where he hung it up on the hook. Then as he worked on undoing the laces on the back, I began taking off my work clothes. Once he had it undone he took it off the hanger and brought it over to me. I took it and carefulling stepped into it then pulled it up my body. It was okay, a little snug, but not unbearable. 

“This one could work.” I said as Maul came up to carefully lace it back up. 

“It’s a lovely gown…but you don’t seem to love it.” He comentetd, looking up into my eyes through the mirror. 

“I don’t… it’s one I brought with me from Mandalore. Satine had it made for me… It was never quite my style, but she met me half way with the color.” I explained.

Maul nodded, “Well, lets try another one. If all else fails, we can come back to this one.” He said, beginning to take it off of me. 

The next one was a mistake to even try one to begin with. It formfitting. By the grace of the maker, I managed to get it on, and zipped up. But the moment I saw what it looked like on me I wanted it off. I somehow looked both just bloated, and pregnant at the same time. 

“I don’t want to give anyone any fuel to start rumors about it just yet.” I said, turning around so Maul could undo the zipper. 

The third dress would have been fine if I had an actual bump already. Otherwise it looked like I was pregnant and was just trying to hide it. I was quickly loosing hope. 

The next three dresses weren’t of any luck either, and now we only had one left. It was one Maul had made for me after he came back after the Seige of Mandalore. It was beautiful, probably my favorite dress ever. Part of me didn’t even want to try it on because I just knew it wouldn’t fit. 

Maul saw me staring at the dress and stepped over to me. 

“Everything alright, dear?” He asked gently. 

I shook my head, as tears gathered along my lashline. I tried to blink them away but it wouldn’t work. Maul stepped in front of me, blocking my view of where the dress was hung and collected me in his arms. 

“May I?” He asked, pulling away some and raising his hand up. 

I knew he was asking to look inside my mind. He only ever did it if I was upset and didn’t want to talk about it. He also always asked permission before doing so. 

I nodded slightly before hugging him once again. My head was resting against his chest, my arms around his torso while he held me with hand on my lower back and his other coming up beside my head. 

I could feel him using the force to probe around my thoughts until he found the one he was looking for. And when he did his shoulder slouched. He pulled out of my mind and dropped his hand to hold me closer. His lips pressed to my hairline. 

“Yn you are so beautiful, the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. The moment I first saw you, taking care of Savage at the Death Watch camp, I was blown away by your beatuy. Every day when I see you in the halls here in the compound I have to remind myself that staring is rude, but how could I stop? You’re simply too breathtaking to ignore. You are beautiful, Yn.” His voice was gentle as he whispered to me. 

“I don’t feel like it.” I whispered back, not even picking my head up off his chest, “And I’m not even showing yet, just bloated. What happens in seven months? I’ll be huge… I defiently won’t be beautiful then.” I picked my head up, “So please, Maul, don’t lie to me.” 

His face fell at my words and he leaned down to rest his forehead against mine as he brought his hands to cup my cheeks.

“I’m not… Let me show you, Please.” 

He pulled away ever so slightly, only to bring his lips to mine gently. I kissed him back. I could taste the salt from my tears mixing with the taste of his mouth. We hadn’t kissed since I had taken the pregnancy test. 

His tongue gently brushed over my body lip and I didn’t hesitate to let him in. Unlike the others times we had madeout, he wasn’t aggressively asserting his dominance or taking control. He was being so soft, so gentle and so delicate. 

He slowly pulled away but kept his hands where they were and gently wiped the few remaining tears off my cheeks. 

“Will you let me show you?” 

“Yes.” my response was more of a breath than a whisper, but he heard it. 

His lips were on mine once again, just as gentle as before and he gently began to walk us back towards his bed. Once we were beside it, he stopped and pulled away from me once again. He removed his tunic and dropped it over to the side. Then he reached forward and grasped to tie to the silk dressing robe I had been wearing between trying on dresses. A small nod of my head was enough to tell him to romve it. Carefully, he untied it, letting it fall open slightly. He smiled slightly to himself as my bare skin was slowly being revealed to him. It made my cheeks heat up slightly. Then, he was carefully slipping the material off one of my shoulders. The action caused one of my breast to be exposed to the cool air of his room. Maul held the sleeve up about a third of the way down my arm with one hand while his other went to my other arm to do the same thing. Now, with both my breast exposed to him, he wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he was staring, admiring them.

“Those are beautiful.” He commented before leaning forward to give me a kiss. 

He brought the robed down the rest of the way and let it drop to my feet. He removed his bottoms before turning to sit on the bed, then he took my hand and guided me to straddle his lap as he leaned back slightly to rest against the headboard. His hands then returned to rest on my waist. 

“Your waist is beautiful.” He gave me another kiss. 

His hands slid down my sides to my hips. 

“Your hips are beautiful.”

Another kiss. His hands slid down to my thighs. 

“Your thighs are beautiful.” 

Another kiss, though this one lasted longer. I soon realized it was a distraction when i felt one of his hands move across my clit. 

“Your pussy is beautiful.” This time his tone was a bit more playful, clearly trying to get a smile out of me. It worked, and I smiled shyly, trying to turn my head away from him. 

“Come on, love. Don’t hide from me.” He brought his othr hand up to my cheek and gently turned me to look back at him. 

“You are beautiful. Every inch of you.” He said. 

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his and as I did, my hands went to his shoulders for ballance. Then I lifted myself up o my knees, hinting to him that I was ready for him. Without breaking the kiss, he used one of his hands to line him felf up at my entrance. I broke the kiss as I slowly sunk myself down onto his length and a moan escapped my lips. Maul’s head dropped back as well and his hands went to my hips to help me sink down even further. 

I stayed there for a moment, catching my breath and getting used to the stretch. 

“Are you okay?” Maul asked gently. 

I nodded my head, “Yeah, just been a while.” I said truthfully. 

He pressed a kiss to my lips gently, “Too long.” He agreed. 

I gave a small nod before raising myself up once again then back down as I slowly began riding him. Maul’s hands stayed on my hips helping me set a a good pace. His eyes never stopped roaming my body. Since I had his grip on my hips, I took one of my hands off of his shoulders and brought it down to begin rubbing my clit. 

This time, it was my head that dropped back in pleasure and I heard Maul let out a small groan at the sight before him. His hips thrusted up a few times as I came slid back down. 

“Darling, I don’t think I’ll last much longer, looking at you like this.” He said, his voice was slightly ragged. 

“Shit…” I mumbled, I could feel myself teetering over the edge. 

I sped up my pace on my clit and of my movements up and down. 

“Maul…” His name slipped through my lips in a moan. 

“It’s alright, love, let go.” He encouraged gently. 

It was all I needed to fall over the edge of pure bliss. My wals tightened around him, and I leaned forward, catching myself just barely with my hands on his shoulders. Maul continued thrusting up into me, chasing his own release. 

“Yn,” He moaned my named as he released his load deep inside of me. 

I hadn’t even realized it but tears were falling from my eyes, but Maul was quick to notice.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized, going to lift me off of his lap, to get him out of me. 

“No, please… I’m okay.” I stopped him, “I’ve just missed this… ca- can I stay, please?” 

The moment the words left my lips, I was embarrassed by the request. But before I got the chance to back track Maul was speaking up. 

“Of course.” He said, his hand coming up to the back of my heand and gently pulling me forward. 

My face was buried in his neck as he held me tight. He was steel sheathed within my walls as my eyes grew heavier and heavier. I really should have gotten off and gone to clean myself up, but I was too comfortable. 

“Go to sleep, darling. I’ll get you cleaned up, don’t worry.” Maul said gently as his hand began rubbing my back which was making it even more difficult to keep my eyes open. 

Eventually the battle against sleep was lost and my eyes slipped closed. But before they did I swore I heard something. It could have been a dream already forming on the edge of my unconscious imagination, or perhaps it was real, but I swear I heard purring. 

Maul’s PoV

Once Yn was asleep I stayed where I was for a bit longer before slowly and carefully lifting her up of me and slipping out of her. I gently laid her down beside me on the bed and got up to go get what I needed to clean her up. While I was in the refresher, I grabbed my bathrobe off of its hook and put it on before going back out to clean her up. 

As I worked, she stirred slightly. I didn’t want her to wake up so I used the force to gently ease her into a deeper sleep. As I wrapped up a knocked sounded from the front door of my quarters. Quietly, I got up and went to answer it. 

“This just arrived, Lord Maul.” A droid said, holding up a garment bag. 

I gave a small nod, before taking it. I had a dress made for Yn once she agreed to be announced as Mand'alor and had decided what color she wanted to wear. I hadn’t said anything earlier because I wasn’t sure if it would arrive on time. 

I quietly took it out of the garment bag in the living room to reduce the risk of waking her up with the rustling. It was more beautiful than I had ever imagined. It was perfect for her. I stood and walked back into my room where I hung it up on the refresher door. Yn would be able to see it in the morning. 

My robe was discarded on the floor beside the other side of the bed before I pulled the blankets back and clmibed in beside Yn. Even in her sleep, she must have felt my presence and she began to inch closer to me. I tried to be delicate as I pulled her closer to me and rested her head against my chest. 

“I love you, Maul.” 

Her words were a mumbled slur, but I swear that is what she said and my hearts stopped for a moment. I wasn’t sure if she was actually saying it, or if she was dreaming and talking in her sleep. Nonetheless, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

“I love you too, Yn.” 

My confession fell upon deaf ears as my eyes closed and allowed myself to fall asleep with her in my arms. 

A/n: Just a PSA, from me to you. I know this part was about having negative body image while pregnant, but I know this can happen to anyone, at anytime. I just wanted to remind everyone that you are beautiful, because you are you. I myself have struggled a lot with my own body image recently because I am not as active as I was in high school so I've put on a few pounds, and it's been hard for me. But writing this chapter made me remember that I am beautiful in the skin I am in. And I wanted to leave this here as a reminder to any one else that may be dealing with a similar issue. You ARE beautiful.

@fan-g0rl @mxkyrie @onceuponanightmareisawme @lothiriel9 @wordsfromshona @kgbtardis @wondermia69 @mh073099 @ktrivia @fifithexeno @perseny @justalittletomato @pomiotszatana @ameliachastain @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @its-me-meg @kbarnes-2001@bluusugar @happyheartsss @clairebear1621 @rljart @xxxqueenlaufeysonxxxxo @lilallybug

[alexhogh7137]

The Battle Between Love and Fire-

Ivar the Boneless × Reader

Chapter Thirty-Five Part One

Chapter Thirty-Five Part Two: The Seige of Wessex England

Word Count 4.9k

Warnings: mentions of blood and death, angst

The Morning Of~

Ivar did not sleep well, he figures that he only got two hours of sleep. But still, his head is in the right place and he is more than prepared to give you the justice today that you so rightfully deserve. Is he concerned, yes. Is there a possibility that they could be going into a trap, yes. Is he worried for your safety, most definitely. Nonetheless, today must be done for the wellbeing of all of your futures. A future cannot be guaranteed until your father's head is on a spike. So there he is, in bed with you tangled up in his limbs. He is focusing on every perfections and imperfections of you. Oh how he loves you. 

You begin to toss and turn while he massages yours skin with his fingertips. His rough yet soft skin gives you the best chills of satisfaction. You begin to hum, making Ivar smirk proudly.

Ivar "Princess.." he whispered.

"Hmm?"

Ivar "We have to get out of bed." The way he was touching you, made you forget completely that today was the day of the siege. And your stomach began to turn into knots almost instantly at the thought of seeing your father. So you rise up from your place in Ivar's arms and plant your head in your palms. The warm fur blankets cover your bare chest but your back is fully exposed to your husband. So he takes it upon himself to rub your back for you. 

Ivar "I know babe.."

"I completely forgot. How could I forget, it's my battle?"

Ivar "Your mind blocked out the thought. It is not a bad thing, my love." You sigh, "But we have to get out of bed."

"Yeah..yes of course." You begin to move but Ivar grabs your arm closest to him and pulls you to him. He rises from his pillow and grabs your cheeks to kiss your lips for a good moment. His kiss is like heaven on earth. 

"I don't want that to be our last kis-"

Ivar "Hey, do not think such a thing. Do you understand me?" You nod with tears in your eyes, "We will live to see another day, my love. Alright? Do not worry."

You sniffle, "Do you wish to hear something crazy?"

Ivar "What type of crazy, hmm?"

"I am officially 4 months.."

Ivar smiles, "That is...wonderful my love."

"I should start to feel her move..even kick!"

Ivar "Oh my sweet, that is wonderful news."

"I can't wait to feel her little feet. She has grown so much over the last few days."

Ivar "She certainly has, our little warrior." You lean into Ivar's side as he holds you and your belly. This moment is special for multiple reasons: today marks not only your strong will to overthrow your father but it is also the day that starts the next chapter of your pregnancy, Ivar is getting to share this moment with you and you feel so lucky to be his wife. 

"I love you, Ivar Lothbrok."

Ivar "And I love you Y/L." Soon after, Ivar got out of bed and got his armor on and left yours and his chamber room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next one to come in while you are getting your armor on is Hvitserk. Ivar wanted the armor to be underneath your black dress, that way you are even more protected. When you see Hvitserk, he looks like he has been crying all night long.

Hvitserk "Hey." His voice is rough and coarse. You find yourself not being able to speak, due to your throat burning and the tears that fill up in your eyelids. He notices your sudden change in behavior and walks up to you and just holds you firmly in his arms. 

"I am so scared, Hvitserk."

Hvitserk "I know, I know."

"I can-can't lose you..I can't lose any of you!" You start hyperventilating.

Hvitserk "Hey, hey, Y/n..you have to breathe, c'mon..breathe in...and out. In...and out." You do as he tells you and your breathing begins to steady itself. "Good. Now you listen to me, I have a reason to fight. I have a reason to live. So what I need you to do, is fight with everything that you have and live..do you hear me?" You nod, "Because you are what is keeping me alive..you and our daughter. So I need you to stay strong and turn your fear into power. I know how strong you are, and I know how powerful you are. So do not let him win, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Hvitserk "I love you, do you hear me?"

"I love you Hvitserk." He leans down and kisses your lips quickly, before your maidens came back in to help you further with your armor.

"My queen, we must finish."

"Y-yes of course." You say as you wipe away your tears and pick your head back up. 

Hvitserk "I'll leave you be to get finished, and hey, you make her as safe as possible, y'here?"

"Of course. That is my duty." He nods and walks out the door. You try to pound into your head everything you can possibly think of that will power you, give you the strength you need to face your father. 

"I am going to place an extra layer of armor over your belly, my queen."

"Hmm? Oh thank you sweetheart. That is kind of you." She nods as she places an extra layer. You have to admit, it feels good to be wearing armor again. It makes you feel a sense of dignity and honor to be a warrior and a queen. 

When you walk out of your chambers, there is no one in your home. Everyone is out, preparing to leave Kattegat and head to Wessex. You are almost proud to see your people come together and fight for you and for your justice. That is, until Rollo comes into the house.

Rollo "Ah, my queen!"

"Hello Rollo."

Rollo "I must say, you look incredible but where is your armor? Are you-"

"Yes, I am fighting. Ivar insisted on the armor being inside of my clothing for more protection."

Rollo "Huh..I have never heard of such a thing."

"I think it is brilliant. Now shouldn't you be with your men, Rollo?"

Rollo "My men are all in order, my queen."

"Good, that is good isn't it?"

Rollo "Oh yes."

"And my husband is.."

Rollo "With his brother's."

"...and where are his brothers?"

Rollo "By the tents...by the ships." You nod and walk away from him. He really gets under your skin, not as much as your father used too, but deep enough to enrage you fairly quickly. "Oh and my queen!" You stop just a few inches out of the door, "May the gods be with you." You smirked and left the house. You do not know if he meant that as an insult or if he was sincere. No matter, you know that the gods are with you and your people. You can feel their strong presence. 

…

You look around and find Ubbe with Torvi at first. She is holding little Ragnar in her arms as her daughter clings to Ubbe's hip. She must be so worried for her father's return to Kattegat. 

Torvi "When are you leaving?"

Ubbe "As soon as we can. I promise to make it back to you and the children."

Torvi nods, "I love you." 

Ubbe "So much." He kissed her and watched her walk away, finding you walking towards them. Torvi stops in her tracks when she spots you. You can tell that she is holding back tears as you get closer and closer to your dearest friend.

Torvi "Oh my queen."

"You don't have to call me that-"

Torvi "Oh but I do..uhh." she sighs.

"What."

Torvi sniffled and bursted into tears, "You should not have to fight as pregnant as you are..!" You walk closer to her and cup her cheeks.

"I am not fighting at nine months, Torvi. I have to fight my own battle.."

Torvi nods, "I know. I am so very proud of you Y/n. You are a strong and courageous women and shield maiden. I am so lucky to call you my friend." You cry then and pull her into your arms for a warm embrace. Little Ragnar starts to cry, from seeing his mother so sad you can imagine. 

Torvi "Oh shh shh-"

"Go on, go inside and get your kids warm. I will see you tonight."

Torvi "I better."

"You will, I love you."

Torvi "I love you back-"

"Are you fighting!?" Her daughter screamed as she grabbed my hand. You kneel down and get down to her level so that you can look at her fully as you speak to the little girl.

"Why yes I am."

"Why!? You are queen!" She stammered.

"And that is why I am fighting. A queen has many duties, little one. And one of those duties is to fight alongside the king."

"Will you be back?" Ubbe has joined his wife's side and listens to his daughter's cries and fears.

"Of course I will. I would not want to leave Kattegat without a queen."

"You are the best one.."

"I'm sorry?"

"Best queen...ma'am." You look up at Ubbe who is fighting back tears of his own. 

"Thank you, beautiful. You make me so proud to be your queen. Now go on, go with your mother and get warm." Torvi takes her hand and leads her to the house as Ubbe pulls you in his arms. 

Ubbe grunts, "I have never felt less Viking before in my entire life.."

"Why do you say that?"

Ubbe snickers, "Because I have never cried as much as I have been since the death of my parents, princess." You listen, "I want you to know that I am so happy to be your brother...even though it is not by blood, I am still your brother and I will always protect you."

"Thank you Ubbe, that means so much to me." He nods and leads you towards Ivar and Hvitserk, who are sitting on a stump, sharpening their swords.

Ivar "There you are." 

"How is our army?"

Ivar "They are ready, my love. We were all just waiting for you."

Hvitserk "Should we all..um..take a moment before we head out?"

Ivar "What are you talking about?"

Hvitserk "I mean a moment of us all being together..we are going to be separated on the field-"

Ubbe "Yes," he clears his throat, "that sounds like a good idea brother." Ivar pulls you into his side, Hvitserk next to you and Ubbe next to Ivar, then you all stand together and have a moment of silence before the chaos. The calm before the storm, some might say.

Ivar "I uhm, I know I've never said it to you..my brother's. But I love you, believe it or not, I do. And I am sorry for not saying it enough or at all before now but just know that I do.."

Ubbe takes his shoulder and places his head upon his, "And we love you, little brother." Hvitserk kisses your hair before grabbing his sword and walking aboard one of the ships. Ubbe swiftly does the same and then Ivar looks at you for a second before connecting his lips to yours.

Ivar "I love you."

"I love you."

Ivar "Forever."

"And always. I will be flying above you.."

Ivar "Good, go on." You walk towards your three beasts and get upon Ryuu. Ivar does not command the ships to leave until he sees Ryuu begin to fly. As soon as him and his army, along with Rollo and his army, started sailing, his fury began and all he saw was red. That bastard king of England's reign will come to an end on this day, Ivar will make certain of that.

...

As you fly above your husband's ship, you see how large your army is in full perspective. You can't help but look at everyone and smile in absolute disbelief that this battle can be won. Then you look up at the sky and through the clouds and whisper to yourself, "I'm going to make you proud mother, I promise. Be with me. Be with me. Be with me." Neith looks over at you as she flies parallel to you. She talks to you with her eyes and says, 'she is mother, she is with us always.'

"Yes she is, baby. Now..let's go avenge her!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mid-day~

When your home comes into view, your expectations were that you would tremble with fear, that you would want to call off this attack. But no, your first thought is to burn it all to the ground. Leave no one alive. See the kingdom of Wessex be nothing but a pile of ash. Maybe that is what you will do, if you feel like it is necessary.

When Ivar see's the kingdom, he asks himself, 'where are you hiding?' He searches every corner that he can get his eyes on but he sees no one. Not even a civilian, why?

Hvitserk "Where is-"

Ivar "I don't know."

Ubbe "We could be going into a trap, brothers…"

Ivar clenches his jaw, "If so, we will push right through them. If anyone dies today, it is the bastard who calls himself king." Ivar ends up commanding Rollo to go ahead of them in case it is indeed a trap, he does not want his warriors to get the blunt of the attack. You make your dragons hover above your warriors ships to wait it out. And that is something caught your eye: two large slingshots being pulled close to the gates. 

"Ivar!" He looks up at you, "Now!" He looks at you for a second longer and then looks forward and sees an army coming out of every entrance. 

Ivar "Forward!" You didn't take a moment to think before you fly towards the enemy. You didn't have to command your dragons to fire at the weaponry that your father was attempting to fire, they did it themselves.

You have taught them well. As your dragon's burn every inch of the ground, along with some warriors, you search the castle's borders in search of your best friend. That is until you hear the screams of two thousand warriors, drawing their swords for a war that they would not win. Ivar's mind is scattered. He sees his uncle's warriors getting slaughtered at the entrance, his wife in the air, and his brother's killing warriors who have reached the boat.

He makes a quick decision to get him and his men off of the ships and onto land: that way, they are stable enough to kill the way that they have been trained. You see your husband and his brother's get off the ship and onto the land. All at the same time you see your father holding onto your best friend by her throat. You witness too many things all at once, first it makes you terrified,

but then it enrages you and all you see is red and fire. You command Ryuu to fire your father's surroundings but leave him and your friend unscathed. 

"My daughter!! Welcome home!!" He hollered from the ground. 

"Let her go!"

"Why would I do such a thing? How could I be so clumsy? She betrayed me!"

"And you betrayed your daughter! All of those years of torment, when all you had to do was be a loving father..a loving king!"

"It is better to be feared than loved Y/n!"

Thyra "Long live the queen!" And before you could speak, he took out his sword and slit your best friend's throat right before your eyes. You scream out in pain as you watch her fall to the ground, choking on her own blood before she soon joins Valhalla. Eldr flies down to the ground, takes your father in his mouth and flings him over the castle. If he survives the fall and the puncture wounds from your son's teeth, then you will get the chance to make him suffer for everything he has put you through. Your friend's death sealed his fate. He will suffer an agonizing death. Ivar hears your screams, he hears your whimpers but he does not know why you are screaming. There is a hill blocking his view of what you are hovering over. His mind races and makes the decision to wall his way over to you. White Hair stays close to Ivar, killing everyone that comes in contact with Ivar. But you see, Ivar is a king and he knows how to fight. He knows how to kill in one strike, and he does just that. 

Ryuu lands and you get off of him, walking towards your friend's body. You hold her head in your lap and mourn her for what feels like hours. And repeat aloud, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I am so sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't save you!" You feel a hand over your shoulder and you quickly take out your dagger to strike the man who has a hold of you, but before you pierce his skin, you realize it is not the enemy, it is your husband. 

Ivar "My love, it's me hey..it's me!" You drop your dagger and fall into your husband's lap. He holds you for a moment before White Hair tells you that you have to move to somewhere safe. 

Ivar "In the castle, go!" Once you are inside, you fall to the floor in grief. "You couldn't save her, my love."

"I promised her, Ivar. When we were kids, I promised her that I would always protect her!" You said out of breath.

Ivar "And you did just that, Y/n. Up until now, you did protect her. It was her time to join the gods. There is nothing that could have stopped that."

"I want his head.on.a.spike." 

Ivar chuckles, "Oh his head will be displayed as a monument for the people of Wessex. I will make sure of that, now we must go out there and fight. Are you with me?"

"Always."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hvitserk is in his own zone. He is killing left and right. He feels like he is unstoppable. He has never killed so many men in all of his life. And that is being said when he has been in more battles than he can count with his fingers. But he has a mission, and that mission involves you. Therefore, he takes it very personally. 

Ubbe "Where is Ivar?" He yelled when he realized that he had lost him in the midst of battle.

Hvitserk "More importantly, where is the queen?!" Ubbe looks up and finds your dragon's circling over the castle, so he puts two and two together and figures that you have to be close by. 

Ubbe "The castle, let's go!"

They kill as they walk, not stopping for anything. They have to get to you, you have to be protected. When he finds you, you are fighting multiple men at once and so is Ivar. White Hair is battling his own men and he is struggling. 

Hvitserk "Help White Hair, I'll help Y/n!" He screamed. Ubbe does just that, helping White Hair off the bloodied ground and back on his feet. While Hvitserk butchers your warriors who would just not give up. Once they are dead, Ivar looks over at his brother and thanks him with his eyes. 

"Thyra is dead." 

Hvitserk "She-"

"My father killed her." You move your head and gesture for Hvitserk to look behind you, where her body still lays. Once he saw her, he apologizes for your loss. 

"He will die today, I am not leaving Wessex until I have him in my grasp."

Ubbe "WHERE IS THE KING?!" He hollered in a grizzley voice. You try to answer but a warrior comes up and knocks you to the ground with his shield. Everyone is caught off guard and your boys immediately kill and decapitate the warrior that knocked you off your feet. You fall so hard that you bump your head, and your vision goes blurry. You look around and make out your boys killing that warrior, but what they are doing is very unclear. You look up and see your dragon's fire down at the warriors who are attempting to burn down your ships. Dirt is being flung onto your face and your eyes struggle to stay open. 

When your eyes finally reopen, you see Hvitserk carrying you into the castle. When he places you down, you see Ivar dragging your father's body into the castle. Ubbe, Rollo, White Hair and Rollo's personal guard are at the door, blocking anyone from coming in. 

"How long was I out?"

Hvitserk "Long enough for Ivar to find the bastard and get him here."

Ivar "Honey, are you alright? Does anything hurt?"

"I'm going to have a little lump from the fall but I am alright. Is the battle over?"

Ivar smiles, "They have surrendered, my queen." Your emotions overflow in your head, making you cry out tears of joy and victory. That is until you see your father, clinging to life and bleeding on the marble floors of this kingdom. You get up and walk over to the man and kneel before him. 

"Look at me, old man." He does not, "LOOK AT ME!" He jolts and looks up at his daughter. "Just answer me one thing. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you kill Thyra? Wh-why her?"

He coughs up blood as he laughs, "She made me do it."

"All she did was be my friend. And all you did was kill an innocent woman."

"I .. I am sorry, little one."

"Sorry, SORRY?" You take out your dagger and hold it to his chest. "You are not sorry. You are NEVER sorry. You are only saying what I want you to hear..so I spare your life. Isn't that right dad?"

"I have given you life. HAVE I NOT? I have given you the gift of magical creatures. HAVE I NOT?!" You take a step back from him and begin to tremble. 

"You have given me those things father, that is true. But you have taken more things than you have given." He scuffs, "Do you not remember what you did to me as a child?"

"What thing's-"

"I was just a child," you choked on your tears, "I was just a little girl and you treated me like a grown woman!" Hvitserk holds onto the small of your back in attempts to comfort you. "I almost died, Father!"

"I wouldn't have let you died, stupid girl." He coughed, "You were far more valuable to me alive then dead." Ivar takes a few steps forward and lowers his torso so that he can look the man in the eyes. 

Ivar "You watch your mouth," he growled, "before I remove your tongue." He spat. 

"How does it feel to lose your kingdom to your daughter, hmm?" You said with your head held high. 

He snickers, "Who said that I didn't let you win, little one?" 

Ivar "My love, if you do not kill him, I will. I have had enough of his mouth."

"You think I am weak? You think I cannot kill him myself?"

Ivar "No, no not at all. I admire your strength. But allowing him to talk, allows him to slither his way back into your head." You know that he is right. So you pull your three men aside while Rollo and his men watch over the king. 

"I think that we should prolong his death. He is already dying. Eldr's teeth pierced through his armor. You can hear his breathing starting to fade-"

Hvitserk "What are you saying?"

"I am saying...I want his death to be as horrific and agonizing as possible, for what he did to me and my family."

Ivar "So what would you say we do?"

"Bring him back with us, place him in the cave that your guards put me in when I first arrived. Ivar, if we starve him, remove his clothing so he feels the bitterness of winter on his skin...his death will be long and painful. He will beg for mercy." 

Ubbe "He would beg for mercy.."

Hvitserk "And the cold will prolong his death. He will freeze from the inside if we do this."

Ivar "Good. And I will spend some quality time with my father-in-law..make sure he is enjoying his stay." He smirked. You know that Ivar meant that he would torture the man, and you love the sound of that. Sickening as it sounds for a daughter to say that about her father, if anyone deserves torture, its your father. "I am proud of you, my beautiful wife." He kisses your forehead before turning to White Hair. 

Ivar "Prepare a ship! He is coming with us."

"No! No, no! Just kill me, PLEASE! Y/n, please!" He pleaded.

"Oh don't worry father, you will. Just not how you would like. Or should I say, how you would demand to die." You lean down to your father once more, "You are going to love Kattegat father, especially where you will be staying. It is just like the dungeon you and king Harald placed me in to wither away and die. Take him!" He begged and pleaded, he even apologized multiple times before White Hair placed him in the boat. 

When you walk out of the doors, your best friend's body is still on the ground by the front entrance. 

"I will bring her with me as well. I wish to give her the proper burial."

Hvitserk "Which ship do you wish for her to be on, princess?"

"Not a ship. Neith will bring her home. Just help me get her up there..please." He nods. Him and Ubbe swiftly got her on Neith's back and she flew off into the horizon. When you get out of the castle with Ivar by your side, you hear your name being chanted. You look up at Ivar with a confused look on your face, but all he has on his face is a pure, soft smile. 

"They are thanking you, my love. You saved them from their ruler." Before you know it, the people of Wessex are before you and kneeling in praise. Among them, you spot Thyra's mother. Shs is bowing to you herself with just gratitude that it takes you aback. You walk towards her, take her hand in yours and beg for her to rise. 

"Thank you for saving this kingdom, my sweet girl."

"I..I don't know what to say. I couldn't save your daught-" 

"You have saved her life in more ways than one, Y/n. She loved you more than you could have ever known. Do not blame yourself for this tragedy. Because she was ready to move on to the next life." You burst into tears and she pulled you into a warm embrace as she cried with you. When she pulls back, she cups your cheeks and kisses your forehead. 

"Thank you for saving this kingdom."

"I um..my dragon is taking her back to Kattegat, that is my husband and I's kingdom..I wish to give her a proper burial. You are more than welcome to join us, I know that she would want for you to be there." She nods and smiles.

"I would like that very much. Thank you. Thank you so much." You nod and turn around and find your husband standing close by, talking to the people. You introduce her to Ivar and explain to him that she will be joining them for the ceremony. 

Ivar "You are more than welcome into our home miss-"

"Helga."

Ivar "Helga. Such a beautiful name."

Helga "Thank you kindly."

Ivar "This is my brother Ubbe, he will show you to our ships. We will join you shortly." 

Ubbe "This way." She nods and takes Ubbe's arm. When she walked off with him, Ivar took your hand and rubbed it softly. Your bodies are splattered with blood but neither of you care.

"I can't believe she thanked me even though she lost her daughter today.."

Ivar "She knows that even though she lost her daughter, she gained a safe kingdom today."

"But who is to rule? My mother did not bare a son and I rule with you.."

Ivar "We will figure it out, my sweet. But right now, let's go home." You agreed and got into the ship with Ivar and Hvitserk while you let your two dragon's fly above. Today was a success. The kingdom of Wessex is technically under your rule. But you still have unfinished business to take care of. And that is your father. But sure enough, he will pay for what he has done and then you will finally be able to rest. 

Ivar "Come here, my love. Rest now. You have done your duty as queen and shield maiden. Close your eyes," you rest your head on his shoulder, "I've got you. We will wake you when we are home. I love you."

"Love you." You mumbled. You did not realize how exhausted you were until your adrenaline died down and you were in Ivar's arms. Hvitserk sits down in front of you two and breathed out in relief that the battle was won and that they were all together and heading back to Kattegat. 

@hvitserkmarcosource @youbloodymadgenius @ivarsgoddess @a-mess-of-fandoms @heavenly1927 @saldelys @conaionaru @readsalot73 @herestherealproblem

[djinmer4]

Matchmaking for the Greater Evil (1/4)

Inspired by: https://mdzskinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/841.html?thread=120649#cmt120649

~~~~~~~

It starts during the Sunshot Campaign.

Jiang Wanyin is, barring Chifeng-zun himself, the most powerful and enthusiastic supporter of taking down the Wen Sect.  His drive attracts rogues and new cultivators like flies to honey, then he trains Jiang Sect’s new recruits to standards that impress even Nie Minjue.  He’s a hurricane on the battlefield, aggressively clearing out the enemy with floods of purple-clad soldiers, swift passes of Sandu, and burning strikes of Zidian.

Unfortunately, he’s a hurricane off the battlefield too.  He’s far, far too aggressive, plunging deep into Wen territory, forcing their other allies to race to catch up to him, driving his men into exhaustion, never retreating no matter the tactical situation.  Only Sect Leader Nie is spared his acid tongue, probably because Nie Mingjue’s the only person on their side that Jiang Wanyin actually respects.  Being the most frequent relayer of other’s orders to slow down, halt or even retreat, Meng Yao experiences the brunt of Sect Leader Jiang’s displeasure and the man is rapidly becoming a massive headache for him.

He hopes that when Wei Wuxian is finally found again, that it will calm some of the younger man’s temper, but unfortunately the recovery of Jiang Sect’s First Disciple seems to spur Jiang Wanyin to even greater heights of aggression.  The only silver lining, in this case, is that with the corpses doing a great deal of the heavy lifting, the Jiang Sect soldiers are finally getting from the constant battle and are no longer in so much danger of burn-out.

Reprieve comes from an unlikely source.  Nie Huiasang, like many other Qinghe non-combatants, has been sent to the Cloud Recesses, but he’s not letting that stop him from assisting.  He’s taken over most of Meng Yao’s former quartermaster duties and compiling reports from the territories they conquer.  Nothing that directly impacts the front, that’s still going to Meng Yao’s desk, but stuff about destroyed infrastructure and population, things they are going to need to know after the war is over and rebuilding has begun.  It mostly keeps the younger Nie away from the frontlines, but he occasionally accompanies dispatch and supply caravans in order to get a bet picture of the front and carry sensitive messages.

One such trip brings him to a Jiang war camp . . . with orders for Jiang Wanyin to retreat back up the valley and help Lan Wangji secure another Supervisory Office.  The orders come from Lan Quiren.

Meng Yao suppresses a wince, then steps up to shield the Young Master from Jiang Wanyin’s temper.  But to his surprise, Jiang Wanyin grumbles and shouts but does in fact order his men to pack up and prepare to retreat.  And without any prompting or coaxing from anyone else!  It’s such a surprise, he barely registers when A-Sang latches onto him and complains about being dragged to this horrid place and not being able to see Da-Ge before having to go back to the Cloud Recesses again.

Huiasang doesn’t come with orders for Sect Leader Jiang very often and Meng Yao ends up defecting to the Wens halfway through the war, but each and every time he does, Meng Yao observes the same pattern.  Jiang Wanyin will complain and shout and yell about losing ground, but he’ll automatically comply without needing Meng Yao or Lan Wangji breathing down his neck.  Even the quality of his shouting is different, still as loud as ever but without the bitter edge that indicates he’s about to attack the messenger for not giving him the orders to push, push and keep pushing ahead.  Huaisang complains too, but given that Jiang Wanyin never lays a hand on him, Meng Yao considers it a pretty big statement of how tolerant the Jiang Sect Leader is with his former classmate.  Meng Yao hasn’t been attacked either, but Meng Yao has had a lifetime of experience calming angry people and he knows it’s happened to other messengers.

It continues after the Seige at the Burial Mounds.  The Jin Sect is at its wit’s end, trying to dislodge Sect Leader Jiang from haunting (Lady Jin’s words, not Guanyao’s) Carp Tower.  Despite being concerned with rebuilding his own Sect, the man shows up religiously every month to check in on his nephew.  Finally, after that first year, Nie Huiasang makes the suggestion that they send little Jing Ling to Lotus Pier, to be raised by his uncle.  Jin Guanyao happily seizes upon the idea.  With his own marriage to Quin Su coming up and her pregnancy, having Jin Ling potentially be Lotus Pier’s heir rather than Carp Tower got him out of the way neatly.

He half expects Nie Huiasang to be back within the week, complaining about Jiang’s harsh behavior, but the boy sticks it out for six whole months, before being called back to Qinghe by his brother.  It’s the start of Huiasang’s busy traveling schedule for the next few years, shuffling back and forth between Qinghe, Lanling, and Yunmeng, carrying messages and observations to each of them.  Xingchen even jokes that Huiasang should add Gusu to his travel route, otherwise the only time he ever sees the younger is when the Lan Sect Leader visits Lanling.

It doesn’t last.  When Jin Rulan is five and Jin Rusong is four, Jin Guanyao brings up the ideas of the watchtowers, and certain elements take revenge by targeting Rusong.  Someone needs to tell Sect Leader Jiang that he will no longer have exclusive custody of Jin Ling, but there are no more couriers in Carp Tower willing to go to Yunmeng and this is not the type of thing that can be sent via spiritual messenger or one of Huiasang’s birds.  Out of options, he sends Huiasang himself and prays that he’s not sending his little brother to his death.

To his surprise, A-Sang comes back intact with Jin Ling, dressed in Yunmeng purple, a small army of Jiang Sect cultivators, and Jiang Wanyin himself.  The walking headache is as vicious as ever, not willing to let his only remaining relative out of his control.  It’s a strenuous week of negotiation that makes him contemplate the murder of all the involved parties more than once, but a compromise is finally hashed out, with Jin Ling to spend half of each year at Carp Tower and the other half at Lotus Pier, at least until either Jin Guanshan, Jin Guanyao or Jiang Wanyin produces another viable heir.  Jin Guanyao celebrates by getting blackout drunk with Huiasang.

That solidifies Nie Huiasang’s position in his schemes.  No matter what skills the boy does or does not demonstrate, the one consistency is that he has become Lanling’s unofficial messenger to Yunmeng.  Need to impose new tariffs on weapons?  Huiasang gets sent.  Jing Ling fought with his classmates again?  A-Sang, Lotus Pier is lovely at this time, please paint a picture of it for Quin Su.  Jin Guanshan just died, and Jin Ling’s going to have another stay another month at Lanling for the funeral?  Take this gift with my compliments to Sect Leader Jiang, and feel free to say for the entire month.  Just make sure you’re back in time to escort Jin Ling to his uncle.

The only time he doesn’t send A-Sang anywhere is just after Da-Ge was put to rest.  There are few things that could possibly be more upsetting during the mourning period than dealing with Sect Leader Jiang and Jin Guanyao isn’t cruel if he doesn’t have to be.  Huiasang begs off attending the next two Cultivator Conferences and Jin Guanyao gladly takes up the responsibility of inter-sect relations for the Unclean Realm, it’s the least he could do for his little brother.  And when he finds out Jiang Wanyin had barged into Huiasang’s seclusion, he takes the journey to Lotus Pier himself to chew out the other Sect Leader.  After all, if Jiang Wanyin is actually interested in Huiasang, he should have the decency to go through Huiasang’s protectors.

(Really, the only thing that could be worse is if Huiasang found out what really happened.) 

[redpandapanic8]

The origin of the Master sword

So I’m playing through Breath of The Wild again and Something Impa said that made me really think about the origin of the Master Sword and Beginning of the Legend of Zelda.

She said “The warrior with the sword that possessed the soul of a hero and the princess with the blood of the goddess”

so with that In mind, I posit a theory, some of which is based on information from the games and other part of which i am taking creative liberty.

~~

Long ago, before any mortal being existed, there was the Goddess Hylia.  Hylia created the world, and in a lnd that was infused with magic. It was a peaceful land and as time passed and many mortal races began to Journey to this Land for its magic as well as it bountiful lands.

Among these races were the Hylians, name so for their likeness in appearance to Hylia as well as their dedication to the goddess. they named the Land Hyrule to honor the goddess and her gifts to the land.

Their worship flattered the goddess and she often found herself watching them as they progressed over the decades.

Also among these races were a magical race born of the pure magic of the land called the Korok. These magical creatures were able to use and harness the magic of the land.

As the years passed, Hylia found herself often watching the land of Hyrule and Hylians as then went about their lives. she watch them grow from a small group, to a tribe, to many villages that spread across the plains, until a time came where they had grown into a sizable kingdom. The kingdom was beginning to have diplomatic dealings with the parts of Hyrule that belonged to the other races that had also settled there. The King, a wise and kind leader who sought peace was looking for a few knights to be his guardsmen. He made an announcement for all able bodied and capable youngings to train and try out for the royal guard, which he had decided would be a a small group of six. big enough to discourage neredowells but not large enough to make the neighboring people nervous.

Hylia watched as the king began the task of searching for the knights that would become his royal guard. Young boys and girls and fighters of all races came to train for the chance to protect the king.

As Hylia watched the candidates train for weeks and weeks, a single warrior caught her eye. He was not particularly strong or large, and not once during his weeks of training had he spoken a word, but despite his silence, Hylia could hear louder than any words, the courage in his heart.

The goddess soon found her days consumed with watching the small warrior train and silently routing him on in his endeavors. The small warrior, knowing his size and strength were lacking spent hours outside of training  honing his skills. In the woods by where he lived he would practice nonstop until dawn. these actions tugged heavily at the Goddess’ heart and soon she found herself infatuated with the young warrior. She would regularly watch him practice from a distance, hidden by trees and magic.

But one evening, As the goddess watch the small warrior train, he vanished from her sight, as she turned to leave she found that it was she who was now being watched. But how? There was no way that the people on the land should be able to see her outside of the Koroks.

The goddess knew she should run, it wasn’t good for mortals to see her, but she had been watching the small warrior for weeks. She had thought of talking to him, knowing more about his life. Would he be angry that she had watched him?

But no, the small Warrior was not angry. He instead, put forth his hand to hear, as if they were equals. Did He not know she was?

She reached out and took his hand. he shook it as if to introduce himself. what he did next took her by surprise. He placed a spare sword in her hand and then backed up into a defensive position. And while he never Spoke, The goddess heard clearly, “If you're here, then youre gonna spar with me”.

The goddess stood dumbfounded for a moment but he tapped his sword against the one in her hands and she felt something inside her rise up. She gripped the sword and soon she and the Small Warrior were sparring.

They continued this routine, She would meet him in the woods at sundown and spar with him. through this practice the warrior and the Goddess began to grow close and soon fell in love with each, but neither spoke of it, for they felt it improper for a Goddess to love a mortal.

Soon, the time came for The King to choose his royal guard and the same courage that had drawn the attention of the Goddess to the small warrior and drawn the eye of the king. the Small warrior was chosen, along with a handful of others, to be a knight in the kings royal guard.

however many candidates were turned away, among them was the kings son, The Prince Ganon. embarassed the prince soon began to resent the king. His heart craved power and strength and his father had seen that and wanted to humble him. But the prince only grew more bitter.

The Small warrior in excitement ran to meet the Goddess at their spot. She was waiting there for him with a girt. A special sword, blessed by her magic to never break or lose its shine. A gift to celebrate his success. In their excitement they embraced, and from there, there was no denying the love they had for each other.

Months passed and the couple met regularly while the small warrior’s courage made him stand out and the king soon took a liking to him, requesting him as a personal body guard and this infuriated the prince. Ganon was filled with thoughts of jealousy and greed. How could his father prefer this small silent nobody to him. what did this small warrior have that he, a prince, didn't.

So Ganon, secretly followed the the small Warrior home and saw that he was meeting with the Goddess.

That how he had beaten Ganon, he had cheated, the goddess had given him power. That is what Ganon thought. So he returned to the castle and began to research the magic of the land. he was going to take the power he deserved and if the goddess wasn’t going to give it to him, he would take him himself. Ganon found a passage about the korok and their natural connection to the magic of the land.

So Ganon gather a few of the strongest of those rejected by the king and fed their bitter hearts with lies of betrayal and cheating. He then led them into the domain of the koroks and laid seige against them, he demanded of them a secret to gain power. They knew of a way, that could make him and his followers more powerful and immortal, but it at the cost of part of their souls.

Blinded by rage and hatred, Ganon and his men did not care. they took the power and slaughter many korok stealing their magic. The more magic they consumed the less human they became. Ganon became a horrific beast and the men who he had brought with him became wicked goblin like creatures.

They left the korok domain in ruins and headed back to the kingdom to seek out their revenge.

They devastated the Land and attacked people indiscriminately, their senses of right and wrong completely gone.

Ganons beastly figure loomed over the castle as he demanded to see his father. He demanded that the king give up the small warrior and he give up his thrown. the king refused. this angered Ganon. Even now, with all his power, his father would still choose the little warrior. How could he not see his strength? It was that dam goddess blessing. that must be it. He told the king this much, said the warrior was a fraud. his power wasn't his, it came from the goddess. Ganon turned and saw the sun beginning to set and decreed to destroy the goddess, that then they would all see the warriors true weakness.

The warrior, who had been standing by the king, felt fear grip his heart as Ganon’s beastly form turned with a wicked grin towards his home and woods where he met the Goddess.

The warrior began to run when the king stopped him. the king gave the warrior his fastest horse. The king and the kings guard all vowed to stall Ganon as long as they could. the warrior nodded gratefully and took off to save his love.

he urged the horse forward with all his heart, hoping that his love for the goddess would move him magically forward.

Thanks to the aid of the king and his Guard, The Small warrior barely made it before ganon. he faced the Goddess and the joy on her face from seeing soon vanished as she saw the fear on his. he ran to her and held for just a moment before ganon appeared. The warrior turned to face the beast.

And the warrior, as he yelled at the goddess to run, tightly gripped the sword she had made him and charged at ganon.

he fought courageously but ganon’s power was too much, and as the warrior tired, ganon struck a fatal blow. ganon laughed as the life drained from the warrior, boasting of his own immortality as another sign of how his power was greater.

the goddess, who could not run and leave her love to die, ran to the dying warrior. She gripped his hand and cried.he smiles at her, whispering three words before passing away. But in her grief and anger, the goddess’ power began to swell. hylia took the sword she had made for her love and with her power, she infused the last remnant of his soul within the sword. The soul, created by the goddess and powered by warriors courageous soul, began to glow and as it glowed, it’s light began to reach out and touch ganons dark and beastly form in the night. Ganon felt his power stagger in the light of it’s blade.

The goddess hylia knew you couldn’t kill and imortal, but she also know that you could weaken them enough that they would no longer be able to manifest a physical form.

So with sword in hand, the goddess remember all of the sparring her and the warrior had done together, the joy those moments had brought her, and with her love and pain guiding her, she swung hard and fast at the beast Ganon. With ever strike, she beat him back and she be him down. Her power, having grown so strong, she had grown to the same massive size the beast, and all other mortals could see her. the king and his guard, empowered by the light of the Goddess and her sword, began to push back ganons monstrous men.

With a final swipe, the goddess struck ganon down and with no soul to hold his physical form together he evaporated into dark dust. as he vanished, his monsters began to fall one by one and vanish as well.

Exhausted from the fight, the goddess began to shrink back down and collapsed.

The and his men,now permantly able to see the goddess, took her to the castle and waited to for to awake.

When she awoke she assured them that ganon was not dead, he had just been sealed away by the power of the sword and the goddess. He would rise again once he had regained his strength. but not in their life times.

The Goddess then confides in the king that she is with Child, but that the child will take enough of her power, that she too will no longer be able to take a physical form. The king assured her, he would raise the child as if they were his own. She assured him that the power would stay dormant and be passed down from mother to daughter, so that when Ganon did return, the child could help seal him away again. and while she wouldnt be able to have a physical form, she would dtill have enough power to influence and guide the ancestor tasked with sealing ganon away again.

The korok decided that their knowledge of the land’s magic was too powerful for any mortal to have so they created a magical labyrinth that would cause any who enter it would immediately walk back out or get lost. They also agreed to keep the sword infused with the warriors soul there, where only one who was chosen by the sword could retrieve it. they assured the Goddess that when the time came, the sword would choose a hero to wield it and to stand by the side of her ancestor in order to seal away ganon. with this knowledge, the goddess gladly gave her power up to protect the land the land she had made.

A baby girl was born with golden blonde hair and sea blue eyes. the king honored his promise to Goddess, never telling the princess of her origin, and he passed, the princess inherited the kingdom. Beginning a long line of royalty blessed by the goddesss. In their rule, the kingdom grew and flourished. So large and prosperous that all but a chosen few forgot the truth of what happen. these chosen people named themselves the sheikah and hold it their duty to pass down the essential knowledge needed to defeat ganon.

~~~~

wow this was a lot longer than i expected. anyways this is basically just a short fanfic more then it an actual fanthrory. But i definatley think something similar to this happened. at least in the BOTW universe.

[disabledrunner5]

Canton and Runner Five relationship Headcannons:

Because I realised I hadn’t done enough of these even though it’s been like 20 missions since Canton Five died (I’m on S3M19). Also this is a long one so he prepared:

Canton Five was the second person to ever meet Runner Five. I’m talking even before the apocalypse.

Because Canton Five, aka Joel Bright, is Five’s dad.

Five and Canton’s relationship was a really close one, pre apocalypse. Five actually got on better with her dad than her mum (partly because her mum was constantly worrying about her and being overly worried about her when her dad was treating her like a normal child) but that didn’t mean Five didn’t love her mum as well.

The two of them were a team.

He was the one who encouraged her to pursue acting when she got a taste of it when she was eight. (Probably because he was in a band in uni that was semi-professional and he gave up that life to have kids and always had a soft spot for the arts despite being a history teacher).

Canton was probably the most encouraging parent EVER!

Taught her to not let anything get in her way, even her physical and invisible disabilities.

The apocalypse happened and they were separated as she assumed her dad had been killed from what she saw on the kitchen, when in fact he’d just been knocked unconscious by her zombified mum and had a nasty cut on his head from the fall.

Five ends up in Mullins, thanks to her uncle (her dad’s brother thankfully happened to be in the area when the apocalypse happened and rescued Five and her younger brother and took them to Mullins where he was scheduled to be transferred to the next week, being a high ranking officer and therefore had clearance to do that) and Canton ended up in New Canton pretty quickly after banding with a couple of survivors after somehow escaping his zombie infested Villiage without being bitten and became runner Five.

Canton spoke highly of his kids at New Canton, thinking they had both died in the outbreak, and he did have friends there (Lem and Archie), although he doesn’t agree with most of New Canton’s methods and he was actually planning to defect to Abel after Chris Mcshell (another of his friends he made at New Canton) does it but he’s on the advisory council so it’s a bit more difficult to defect.

The two Runner Five’s had several almost run ins with each other (during the 5 and 10K runs in S1).

Until the 20K runs.

Where they meet for the first time in months and it took all Canton’s power not to just pull his daughter into a hug and never let go, even when she clearly didn’t want to let on that they know each other for some reason he didn’t know (she was still terrified that Van Ark would catch on, and do something- even back then, Five was extremely cautious and concerned about Van Ark)

Archie, Maxine and Sara still catch that they’re father and daughter pretty quickly though, especially since Canton actually muttered Five’s name under his breath when he met her and it’s pretty obvious when you see them side by side.

Canton is surprised to find that Five is selective mute because she was not before Z-Day, just extremely socially awkward due to her autism.

Like with Sam, Canton’s one of the people she finds it eay to physically talk with as in she can actually make words when she talks to him. Because you know, she’s his daughter.

He’s distraught to find out that his youngest didn’t make it past the first few weeks of the apocalypse but it’s kind of confirming what he thought had happened to both of his kids.

Canton figures pretty quickly that Five belongs at Abel. He sees how her face lights up like a Christmas tree when she’s with Sara and Maxine and when she sees the gates of Abel. So he makes it a note to try and defect ASAP so that he can be with his daughter. Doesn’t tell anyone about this plan though.

Then Abel township gets blown up. And he’s the one who convinces the council to let Five stay, citing there’s no proof she was the one with Lem’s earpiece.

Father daughter arguments in those weeks are fairly frequent because Five is traumatised and is assuming her friends are dead for like a week. And Canton is trying his best but in his daughters eyes he doesn’t understand.

“Alicia Emily Bright! You need to listen to the advisory council”

“Don’t call me that! And no I don’t- they‘re the ones that allowed the zombie attack to happen! They seiged Abel!”

“Five, sweetheart, it’s okay to be upset and angry, I know exactly how you feel but don’t take it out on people who are trying to help-”

“Help? How are you helping? How is anyone helping? You didn’t watch your home get blown up by a rocket launcher and watch all your friends die!”

They always apologise pretty quickly though.

When Five is reunited with Sam and the rest of the gang, Canton Five doesn’t witness it as he’s preparing for the London mission the next morning.

Before he goes to London, Canton promises Five that he’ll ask to move to Abel once he’s back from London so that they can be a proper family and made her promise not to get into ANY more trouble whilst he was away. (Also he really wanted to meet this Sam Yao bloke she’s been on about since she arrived at New Canton).

He gave Archie a envelope to give to Five in case he didn’t come back, it was his last wish. Archie let Jamie know about it in case she didn’t come back from a run.

Five tells Sam that her dad’s Canton Five after the first mission of series 2. He’s overly happy that Five still has family left although he was probably a bit worried that she’d leave Abel when Canton returned.

Canton’s last thought before he died was about his family.

Meanwhile, whilst her dad’s in London Five’s dealing with; almost being murdered by Nadia, Archie dying, being captured by Van Ark, experimented on, Sara dying and Simon betraying them.

But the only reason why she’s carrying on and hasn’t properly broken from the trauma is that she actually has hope that she can make it out alive because her dad is still alive and she can actually see a future with her and him, together again as a team.

then she adds Scraps the puppy to that future when she finds him.

She adds Sam to that list eventually after they get together when she arrives home from destroying Van Ark. and she actually can’t wait to introduce him do her dad.

Then the mission with Paula happens.

Five goes into shock when she finds out from Tony what happened to her dad, until she’s writing the report for Amelia, and Sam comes into check on her, then she just starts crying before she even realises it’s happening.

Paula takes over writing the report, much to Amelia’s displeasure and Sam spends the entire rest of the day and night comforting and holding Five in the comms shack away from any interruptions as she just lets it all out (luckily, Jack and Eugene had finished broadcasting Radio Abel by then or trying to anyway so they didn’t have to find somewhere else).

Jamie gives Five the envelope in the end.

Inside was a video tape recording from her dad and a her mother’s silver crucifix chain.

She now wears that chain on her neck everywhere.

Her and Sam listened to the video recording in Comms the night after Canton Five’s memorial, over some chocolate (a stash of Curily Wirlies and Dairy Milk bars) and with Scraps the Jack Russel Terrier laying at their feet.

And while I won’t go into what it said (I’ll do that in a fic), it told Five to keep living for him and to not let him down.

And five’s not going to let her dad down, wherever he may be.

[darweaniedraws]

Things Left Unsaid, Chapter 7: The Date

So I’m finally updating, and instead of a final chapter, we have a part 1 of the final chapter! It just felt like the right place to end it, so hopefully, the real last part to this fic will be up next week. 

“It's been a few months since the Seige and Oliver needs to ask Felicity and important question.”

Please enjoy!

Read on AO3 or under the cut!

Oliver

To say it’s been an eventful year would be an understatement. Then again, the same could be said for the last seven years of Oliver’s life.

In the aftermath of Slade’s siege on Starling City, things have calmed down. Well, as much as they can for Team Arrow (not that Oliver ever calls them that). Not even a month after they left Slade in his cell on Lian Yu, Felicity had been kidnapped by Sebastian Blood’s lackey Clint Hogue, who paraded around in Blood’s old skull mask claiming to be the new Brother Blood.

Oliver never thought he’d experience so much panic so soon after Slade, but once again, he was proven wrong. It’s only due to their soul bond, which grows stronger every day, that Oliver hadn’t gone off the rails and had the abilities to rescue her. The constant anxiety he felt since Hogue took Felicity disappeared the second she was safe.

Now, a little more than four months later, Oliver is another kind of anxious. Today is the day Oliver is going to ask Felicity Smoak, his soulmate, out on a date. To be honest, he’s been working up the courage to ask her for weeks now.

Despite how distant they were up until they defeated Slade, Oliver and Felicity have grown even closer than before their blowout. Between their nights in the foundry and their study sessions to make him a business mogul, they’ve had the time to talk things out.

The two of them had spent an entire night after her kidnapping going over what went wrong between the two of them. Oliver’s fear of being close to people. His blatant disregard for his soulmark in favor of his sexual desires. His reluctance to share his suspicions about their connection. Felicity’s fear of letting people, especially him, in. Her disregard for her soulmark in favor of saving herself from potential heartbreak. Her reluctance to share her knowledge of their marks to anyone, most especially Oliver. It was a few hours, a few glasses of wine, and a few (or more) tears on both their parts. Even when their words opened up a few old and more recent wounds again, it was a much-needed conversation. And after that, that familiar pulse of their marks signaled that the two of them would be back on track sometime soon.

Hopefully, that time is now.

Today, Oliver waits in front of Verdant for Felicity to arrive from her job at Tech Village, another thing Oliver feels guilty about when it comes to her. Before they’d left the foundry last night, Diggle gave Oliver the final push he needed to finally ask Felicity out. Oliver doesn’t think he’s been so nervous in his life.

As he leans against Verdant’s outer walls, Oliver folds his arms over his chest to keep himself from fidgeting too much. Felicity surely feels his anxiety seeping through their bond if the slight confusion coming from her side is evidence of anything.

Oliver feels her closeness before he spots her red Mini Cooper down the road. His heart beats quicker as she drives past him into the parking lot. When Felicity parks, Oliver takes a deep breath to calm himself before catching up to her as she heads down to the foundry.

“Hey, hey!” he greets, jogging to her side. “How was work?”

She gives him a quick once-over before she answers, displaying her concern and confusion about his nervousness. Felicity, much to his relief, chooses to ignore it and answer his question. “It is not work,” she clarifies, heat filling her eyes to show her dislike for her tech retail job. “It is a soul-crushing exercise in misery that offers health and dental. Suffice it to say, I am highly motivated to convince the board to sell you back the company.”

Oliver can tell she’s on a ramble, so he nods his head and lets her continue, her presence and tendency to babble actually calming his nerves.

“Unfortunately, you don’t have the qualifications to run Queen Consolidated. But what you do have is passion.” She lays a hand on his arm, causing their marks to pulse. It happens often now when they touch, yet it never stops Oliver from enjoying the warm feeling that spreads through his body when it happens. Felicity briefly pauses before continuing, “You care about the company and the people that work there. That’s what you have to get across to them. Speak from the heart.”

With that, Felicity pats Oliver’s chest and walks ahead toward the foundry entrance.

Oliver doesn’t follow.

Speak from the heart, she said.

It’s now or never.

“Felicity?”

She stops and turns around to face him, her bright blue eyes blinking up at him. For a second Oliver’s anxiety returns, but he sucks it back up before he loses his resolve.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

Instead of the excitement or pity Oliver expects to feel from Felicity, he feels exasperation.

What?

“I’m being serious here, Oliver,” Felicity almost sighs.

She doesn’t register he’s trying to ask her out, Oliver realizes. He is a little disappointed, but in all honesty, it makes sense. For the past couple of months, they have been spending a lot of time together, dinners included. But this dinner will be something more than those other dinners. Oliver just has to make sure Felicity knows that.

“So am I,” Oliver replies, his face sobering up to convey how serious he is.

He feels a sudden wave of hope, and Oliver knows it’s not just from him. Felicity blinks up at him again, slightly bewildered.

“I don’t want to read too much into this,” she admits as she steps closer to him and into babble territory, “but are you asking me out on a date? Like an actual date? Like a date-date?”

For some reason, the word “date” has Oliver clamming up again. “Sure–I mean… The implication being with dinner that you–”

Is Felicity’s babbling contagious?

“Usually I’m the one that talks in sentence fragments…”

Oliver watches Felicity breathe in and hold as she waits for Oliver to clarify himself.

This is their moment. The moment Oliver tells Felicity that he’s ready for the next step in their relationship, not just as soulmates, but also as two people who care about each other very much.

Oliver doesn’t realize he’s been holding his breath too He chuckles, amused at his own anxiety. It’s a simple question. One he knows Felicity’s answer to now. Because sometimes their bond won’t let them hide anything.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

Felicity’s eyes light up.

“Yes.”

Felicity

She’s going on a date with Oliver Queen.

She, Felicity Megan Smoak, is going on a date with Oliver fracking Queen.

Felicity is nervous. So incredibly nervous. Oliver really isn’t helping at all. She can feel that he’s just as nervous as she is.

They’d both been so excited in the hours leading up to Felicity getting off work and Oliver headed to finish off the rest of his Arrow business so he could end it early for their dinner. But once Felicity began getting ready, it just sparked an onslaught of nervous energy, nearly ruining her makeup. She’d resorted to taking a couple benzos to calm her (and indirectly Oliver’s) anxiety.

It’s not that she’s nervous about the actual date. No. They’ve been through too much and have spent too many dinners together to be worried about the date itself.

No. She worries for that the date means. What the date will mean for their future.

Sure. The two of them have worked hard to regain and strengthen their friendship through long overdue talks, movie nights, and kicking bad guy ass. But that’s all they’ve established so far as soulmates. Friendship. Besides Diggle and Roy, working his way up there, Oliver is the closest friend she has.

She doesn’t doubt that their marks connect them to each other forever. What she doubts is just how much they are connected. Could they really be more than friends? It could all be chalked up to Felicity’s insecurities when it comes to Oliver Queen and romantic relationships. She’d rather not think about the whole mess between the Lance sisters and the Tommy-Laurel-Oliver love triangle from Oliver’s first year back, but those are two instances from Oliver’s past that fuels Felicity’s doubt over their soul bond.

Felicity is just not completely sure she can trust their bond. Don’t get her wrong. She trusts Oliver with her life. She’s just not entirely sure she can trust him with her heart. Not until she knows that he’s all in.

Felicity knows she plays a part in the schism that struck their bond a few months back. But she’d been burned by Oliver too many times now to forget about all the hurt he’s caused. To let of it all.

Still, Oliver– the both of them, really–have come a long way. Once they reestablished their friendship that one night after her kidnapping earlier that summer, they ended the night with a new hope and the promise of Big Belly Burger the next day. Now they’re the closest they’ve ever been. Daresay, the two of them may have gotten a little flirty, if the snide comments from John and Roy are anything to go by.

When Oliver asked her out, her heart fluttered in a way it hasn’t in a long time. Right then, she knew that it’s time for them to move past all the pain. It’s time for them to move on and start something new.

However, that little voice of doubt in the back of Felicity’s head keeps whispering in her ear. Will Oliver truly be her soulmate? Can they really move past the lies and secrets? Who’s to say something similar won’t happen again and her heart gets more broken than the first time?

All these thoughts have Felicity so incredibly anxious, especially after she finishes getting ready. She really hopes Oliver isn’t receiving too much of that on his end of their bond.

Fortunately, Felicity had the hindsight to call a cab to take her to the restaurant, fully knowing her nerves would get the best of her. The fact that, as she leaves her townhouse, Oliver’s nerves seem to pick up as well proves to Felicity that she isn’t the only worried one.

What a pair they make.

Oliver

When Oliver arrives at the restaurant, he takes a moment to look at his date. Oliver has seen Felicity dressed up before, given all the QC events they’ve had to attend during his time as CEO, but he’s never seen her dressed up for him. Not until now.

God, she’s beautiful.

Rarely does Felicity wear her hair down. The one time he asked about it, she told him that she hates constantly moving her hair out of her face when she works. However, tonight is not about business. Her long blonde hair cascades over her shoulders in gentle waves.

Over her body is a flattering red dress. The skirt is longer than usual (not that Oliver spends a lot of time thinking about Felicity’s skirts), but because the red number fits tightly to accentuate her curves, Oliver doesn’t mind at all.

Felicity doesn’t notice Oliver, or maybe she chooses not to, for a few seconds. But when she looks up, it’s like the world stops. For a moment, it’s just the two of them, their marks pulsing in sync.

Looking at her now, Oliver can feel that only good things can come out of this night.

Felicity stands as he approaches their table and they greet each other with a hug.

“Hi,” he greets slightly shyly.

“Hi,” she replies in a similar meek manner.

It’s only slightly awkward.

The two of them have been projecting each other’s anxiety over this date for the past couple hours. It’s painfully obvious when he struggles to talk about his past and when she babbles on about how often he has his shirt off.

Oliver didn’t mind that one so much.

Not quite ready to go into his return to Lian Yu and Russia, Oliver stops his story at Hong Kong. Oliver clams up at the thought of his last couple years away, when he had turned into one of the darkest versions of himself.

He fidgets, not able to continue. “I’m sorry… I’m just a little out of my element.

In order to focus, he stares intently at the empty table space in front of him, empty because they’ve been talking too much to even glance at their menus. Felicity must sense his hesitation, whether by the look on his face or through their bond, because she reaches for his hand resting on the table. Oliver lifts his head and finds her comforting smile, immediately calming him.

Oliver nods at her in thanks and continues, “The entire time I was gone I could never… completely trust someone.”

He keeps eye contact with her, watching the concern grow in her eyes and a frown appear on her face.

Still, Oliver continues. “And when that goes on for so long, you stop seeing people for people. You see threats… or targets.”

At the last word, Felicity’s hand tightens around his own. Because of what he’s about to say next, Oliver couldn’t appreciate how much she cares for him more.

“And when I decided to come home,” Felicity’s eyes widen, but thankfully, she seems to store that information for later, “I just didn’t know how to turn that part of me off.”

For a second, Oliver feels ashamed. Since he was stranded on Lian Yu and up until now, Oliver has done unspeakable things. He’s killed and he’s tortured. He’s lied and he’s conned. But when that second is over, Oliver looks straight into Felicity’s eyes and remembers both of the first times he met Felicity. First, the dark-haired goth girl who wouldn’t take any of his bullshit. Then, and this he dubs the most important one, the calculating blonde who still wouldn’t take any of his bullshit.

Before he knows it, the corners of his lips lift up into a reminiscent smile. “And then I walked into your office…”

Felicity’s smile grows once again, matching his own nostalgic one. That one little smile encourages him to keep going.

“You were the first person I could see as a person,” he explains as he squeezes Felicity’s fingers. Oliver remembers the bright lights of her old IT office, her light pink blouse, the low ponytail she used to sport, the glasses she still wears, though they are forgone for tonight… Oliver shakes his head so he doesn’t get too lost in his memories. “There was just something about you.”

Oliver isn’t the only one walking down memory lane. Somewhat frustrated with her past self, Felicity shakes her head and scratches the side of her face in embarrassment. “Yeah, I was chewing on a pen.”

“It was red.”

Those three little words cause her face to light up. Felicity’s smile widens and she seems almost speechless. Hopefully, what Oliver says next won’t ruin the moment.

“Do you remember when I told you that because of what we do, I didn’t think that I could be with someone that I…” Oliver stutters, because now the thought of being without Felicity terrifies him, “... that I could really care about?”

Oliver feels the flash of hurt and disappointment Felicity feels when she remembers his words. Her smile disappears, but Oliver is quick to bring it back.

“So maybe I was wrong.”

At those words, Felicity’s smile comes back. Their marks pulse again.

Staring into each other’s eyes now, with matching smiles and pulsing soul marks, Oliver knows that things between them will be just fine.

Until they aren’t.

Oliver hears the RPG as soon as it launches. He doesn’t even think as he knocks the table away and throws himself at Felicity, gathering her into his arms and covering as much of her body as possible.

The rocket grenade blasts through the restaurant. He and Felicity are on the ground before he knows what’s happening. The explosion knocks everyone and everything in the restaurant. The blast rings through Oliver’s ears before his vision blacks out.

“Felicity…”

[little-lion-rampant-blog]

Autobiography by Alexander Hamilton

“My Dear Sir

Some days since I received with great pleasure your letter of the 10th. of March. The mark, it affords, of your kind attention, and the particular account it gives me of so many relations in Scotland are extremely gratifying to me. You no doubt have understood that my fathers affairs at a very early day went to wreck; so as to have rendered his situation during the greatest part of his life far from eligible. This state of things occasionned a separation between him and me, when I was very young, and threw me upon the bounty of my mothers relations, some of whom were then wealthy, though by vicissitudes to which human affairs are so liable, they have been since much reduced and broken up. Myself at about sixteen came to this Country. Having always had a strong propensity to literary pursuits, by a course of steady and laborious exertion, I was able, by the age of Ninteen to qualify myself for the degree of Batchelor of Arts in the College of New York, and to lay a foundation, by preparatory study, for the future profession of the law.

The American Revolution supervened. My principles led me to take part in it. At nineteen I entered into the American army as Captain of Artillery. Shortly after, I became by his invitation Aide De Camp to General Washington, in which station, I served till the commencement of that Campaign which ended with the seige of York, in Virginia, and the Capture of Cornwallis’s Army. This Campaign I made at the head of a corps of light infantry, with which I was present at the seige of York and engaged in some interesting operations.

At the period of the peace with Great Britain, I found myself a member of Congress by appointment of the legislature of this state.

After the peace, I settled in the City of New York in the practice of the law; and was in a very lucrative course of practice, when the derangement of our public affairs, by the feebleness of the general confederation, drew me again reluctantly into public life. I became a member of the Convention which framed the present Constitution of the U States; and having taken part in this measure, I conceived myself to be under an obligation to lend my aid towards putting the machine in some regular motion. Hence I did not hesitate to accept the offer of President Washington to undertake the office of Secretary of the Treasury.

In that office, I met with many intrinsic difficulties, and many artificial ones proceeding from passions, not very worthy, common to human nature, and which act with peculiar force in republics. The object, however, was effected, of establishing public credit and introducing order into the finances.

Public Office in this Country has few attractions. The pecuniary emolument is so inconsiderable as too amount to a sacrifice to any man who can employ his time with advantage in any liberal profession. The opportunity of doing good, from the jealousy of power and the spirit of faction, is too small in any station to warrant a long continuance of private sacrifices. The enterprises of party had so far succeeded as materially to weaken the necessary influence and energy of the Executive Authority, and so far diminish the power of doing good in that department as greatly to take the motives which a virtuous man might have for making sacrifices. The prospect was even bad for gratifying in future the love of Fame, if that passion was to be the spring of action.

The Union of these motives, with the reflections of prudence in relation to a growing family, determined me as soon as my plan had attained a certain maturity to withdraw from Office. This I did by a resignation about two years since; when I resumed the profession of the law in the City of New York under every advantage I could desire.

It is a pleasing reflection to me that since the commencement of my connection with General Washington to the present time, I have possessed a flattering share of his confidence and friendship.

Having given you a brief sketch of my political career, I proceed to some further family details.

In the year 1780 I married the second daughter of General Schuyler, a Gentleman of one of the best families of this Country; of large fortune and no less personal and public consequence. It is impossible to be happier than I am in a wife and I have five Children, four sons and a daughter, the eldest a son somewhat passed fifteen, who all promise well, as far as their years permit and yield me much satisfaction. Though I have been too much in public life to be wealthy, my situation is extremely comfortable and leaves me nothing to wish but a continuance of health. With this blessing, the profits of my profession and other prospects authorise an expectation of such addition to my resources as will render the eve of life, easy and agreeable; so far as may depend on this consideration.

It is now several months since I have heared from my father who continued at the Island of St Vincents. My anxiety at this silence would be greater than it is, were it not for the considerable interruption and precariousness of intercourse, which is produced by the War.

I have strongly pressed the old Gentleman to come to reside with me, which would afford him every enjoyment of which his advanced age is capable. But he has declined it on the ground that the advice of his Physicians leads him to fear that the change of Climate would be fatal to him. The next thing for me is, in proportion to my means to endeavour to increase his comforts where he is.

It will give me the greatest pleasure to receive your son Robert at my house in New York and still more to be of use to him; to which end my recommendation and interest will not be wanting, and, I hope, not unavailing. It is my intention to embrace the Opening which your letter affords me to extend intercourse with my relations in your Country, which will be a new source of satisfaction to me.”

- Alexander Hamilton to William Hamilton, May 2, 1797 (Founders Online)

So, this is probably the closest thing we'll have to an autobiography from Alexander Hamilton.

Some highlights and my thoughts:

- Hamilton, for Christ’s sake, stop excusing your deadbeat father. He. Abandoned. Your. Family! No excuse in the world for that. - It’s a wonder why he even bothers with the Hamilton family. He’s actually better off taking his mother’s surname instead for all the good his father and his family has done him. - Although, it’s cute that he refers to his father as the “Old Gentleman” (18th century equivalent of “old man”?). - Hamilton complaining about his low salary rate during his stint as the Secretary of Treasury. - Also, holding an office in the government? Don’t do it unless you’re stinkin’ rich. It will bankrupt you otherwise. - His actual daddies (George Washington and Philip Schuyler, not that useless waste of oxygen James Hamilton) also get glowing reviews in this letter. Good to see him finally thawing towards G. Wash as he's describing his relationship with him (or possibly name dropping. IDK). - His absolute joy about being the pater familias (“It is impossible to be happier than I am in a wife and I have five Children…”) is just so heartwarming <3.<br> - TBH, this reads like more like a resume rather than a short autobiography. Like, you don’t have to try too hard, Hammy! They heard all about you over there in Scotland, why do you think your uncle wrote your letter asking for a favor from you in the first place?? They never even attempted to contact you until you got famous, you know.

[gerechtsein-blog]

HEADCANON; CHARACTERIZATION

Long and rambling characterization headcanons under the cut! This is half for my benefit to get back in the mindset of writing him, but also so you can get a bit of a glimpse of how I see/write him. Note that (as the tags say) I’m gonna be discussing some heavy shit re: his time in the Circle. But then again, this is Dragon Age, we’re all used to Heavy Shit. Warnings are still there though!

The main reason Anders probably ended up such a rebellious escape artist in the Circle is that he knew freedom beforehand. He hadn’t been taken to the Tower until he was 12 -- he’d known his parents, known fresh air and sunshine, known the simple joy of running around in the grass all day and knowing you were free. He knew all of it, and then he was dragged off, away from home and family and freedom, and locked up. Treated like a prisoner, less than human, just because of a talent he was born with, something completely out of his control.

The first few times he tried to escape, he genuinely just wanted to go home -- no ulterior motives, nothing but a scared kid wanting to see his mom again. After the third time...they locked him in the cellars for a few weeks as punishment, and that’s when it all changed. Being alone for weeks, in the dark and cold and damp, tormented by the Templars who could do anything they wanted down there without being seen...that’s when it started making him angry. After that, he didn’t just want to go home, he wanted to get out. Going home was an option, but he didn’t care about thinking that far anymore. All he wanted was to get out of there.

His friends -- Amell, Jowan, Karl (oh, Karl) were the only ones that even kept him from doing something even more stupid and reckless than he had already. They were the ones that talked him out of bed on his bad days, took the dagger from his hand and bandaged his wrists, kept him smiling and reminding him that he could smile. They kept him from doing anything too reckless to escape, though they couldn’t quite keep him from trying altogether -- couldn’t stop him from swimming the lake, which he didn’t regret even if he had a cold for the next two weeks.

And then they sent Karl away. Karl, his first kiss, his first love, his first time (well, his first consensual time) -- gone. He stayed in bed for a week, but then he tried to escape again. He managed to get further than he ever had, but in return he spent months alone in the dark and damp save for the Templars who came to ‘teach him lessons’ that left him bruised and bloody and sore.

His next escape attempt involved him accidentally-on-purpose injuring three Templars (the worst of his tormentors, in fact) and the punishment was solitary for an entire year. He had been angry and afraid before, but that year almost broke him. He tried to kill himself when he got out of that dark, cold hell -- but his friends saved him, and convinced him to try one more time. Just one more time. That became almost a mantra to keep Anders sane in the year it took to prepare. The only thing he had to keep going through it all.

And then he did escape, finally, and he made it to the Wardens. 

For the first few weeks, he thought he was dreaming or hallucinating -- this couldn’t be real. After nearly two decades, had he finally actually won? Apparently he had. It scared him a little at first, and he wasn’t entirely happy with the cost of his freedom -- I mean, the nightmares and probable early, horrific death weren’t his ideal -- but he longer he spent in Vigil’s Keep, the more he found he didn’t mind.

He was free. He had everything he wanted. A warm bed, good food, fresh air and sunshine, the ability to walk to Amaranthine and have a good lay or buy an apple or just interact with people. And (something he’d never realized he wanted) he belonged somewhere. Not just because he was a mage, something he’d never chosen to be, but because he was Anders.

Though...beneath that hesitant contentment and tentative joy, that anger was still there. At the world for treating him like it had, for treating mages like it did. They didn’t deserve the Circles, the abuse, the torment, the stigma and the fear. They were people. At the time -- rationally enough -- he blamed the Templars for everything. The Circles weren’t the problem; he’d seen what scared people did to mages, and he’d seen what untaught mages did to people -- the Circles protected mages from the ignorant masses and taught them how to use their talents, that’s what they were supposed to do. It was the Templars that made the Circles into hellish prisons. So he hated the Templars with a burning passion he hid beneath smiles and jokes and humor.

And, he thought, what was the point? He was free. If he tried to do anything about it, he wouldn’t be anymore. He was just one man, what the hell could he do? All he wanted was to hold on to his own freedom with all his might, cling to it and the pleasures of life as his own man. Ignore his anger and pain and just appreciate what he’d finally managed to find. There were plenty of other mages being vocal. He didn’t need to do anything.

And then came Justice.

He’d really disliked the spirit at first, constantly urging him to do something, fight the injustice he’d experienced, et cetera. The thing wouldn’t take the hint -- he just wanted to be left alone, he didn’t want to be a freedom fighter! Let someone else do it. Not him. 

But after the Seige, after he went to the Circle to visit and was followed back by a Templar...it wasn’t that Justice started making more sense. It was just...maybe part of it was the spirit influencing him deliberately, maybe part of it was his own fear and desperation and yes, anger, making him contemplate something he’d never wanted before, but -- two became one, he became an abomination, and he fled the Wardens.

The first and clearest memory he had after the initial shock wore off was disgust. Disgust at himself for the way he’d acted, for just skipping off to be selfish and put his hands over his ears and eyes while other mages suffered. He couldn’t be sure if that was him feeling it or Justice, but it didn’t matter.

After that, it became slowly harder to tell what was ‘Anders’ and what was ‘Justice’ -- and the realization that the anger and pain he carried with him was affecting the spirit, his friend, was...difficult. But he ran from that, like he was so good at doing. He could control it! He had it handled! Justice was his friend! Putting his head in the sand as always, ignoring the inconvenient truths.

He ignored the signs, too -- ignored when Justice told him to stop doing this, stop doing that, you don’t need this, that’s a distraction, ignored it when he slowly stopped eating, sleeping, visiting his friends at the Hanged Man...ignored when he stopped really fighting his anger, because by that time couldn’t tell who was thinking what anymore, truly believed that giving anything less than everything he was was selfish, and being repulsed at the idea of returning to that selfishness.

So he gave in to his anger, gave into the voice in his head, let it rule him when he didn’t even know who Anders was anymore. Let his anger blind him to reason, blind him to his former rationality, blind him to his friends’ concern and hurt and disappointment, and blind him to what he was doing. He couldn’t see anything but the cause -- refused to see his faults and his wrongdoing, and refused to see anything was wrong, because he was good at running.

Until he could finally see clearly -- he had a moment of perfect clarity, and that was when he was standing in the ashes of the Chantry and he realized what he’d done, what he’d caused, and what this meant for mages across Thedas.

Anger and fervor turned to horror and shame -- disgust at his past selfishness became disgust at his present extremism. What had he done? He’d run away from the idea that there was anything wrong, and now it had all been ruined.

He wanted Hawke to kill him -- though part of him hoped Fenris would do it, because that would be fitting -- he wanted it. He nearly begged for it. But they didn’t. They made him live. They wouldn’t let him run away from what he’d done; he had to live and face it.

So he lives, and he hates himself. For being a coward who runs and hides from anything wrong until it all blows up in his face, for being so arrogant that he thought he could be better and stronger than all the other abominations before him, for betraying his best friends in the world and hurting them like he had, for ruining everything he was fighting for -- for letting his anger and pain control him, and for letting Justice influence him to the point where he’d lost Anders along the way.

He lives and he doesn’t know what to do anymore. Run and hide again? Cower away from his mistakes? The idea is painful and bitter, but what else is there to do? Throwing himself at the mercy of the Church won’t fix anything -- he broke the dam, and his death won’t patch the flood. So he’s lost. Lost and guilty and not knowing what to do, needing to pick up the pieces of himself that got swallowed by the Cause.

[swaglexander-the-great]

Hey!!!! Dumb question but what exactly is the Iliad?

THE ILIAD: A SUMMARY

The Short Version: A yarn about blokes getting shitmixed in a war over Miss Hellenic Beauty Champion because some gods thought it would be a Lol.

The Long Version: A Homeric epic poem passed down through spoken word over generations that was penned down in about 800 BC. In the mythological timeline, it ends the Age of Heroes (by wasting them all). It covers the Greek seige of Troy, a whole lotta gods Messing With Shit, a Poseidon who needs anger management, a few hundred names and lots of General Epicness ft Diomedes and Patroklus. Sit back my buddy, let’s go through a quick summary of the books.

Book 1: Apollo ghettoblasts the Greeks with Pain because Agamemescunt kidnapped his priestess Chryseis. Being a douchebag, Agadouchebag Mr Steals Yo Girl from Achilles, which leads to in͟ten̛şȩ ͟śul͜ki͢n̶g͡ . Achilles’ divine Ma brokers a deal with the Zeus goose (not literally thank goodness, although it’s a definite possibility) so that the Greeks won’t win until they realize how fucked they are without Achilles and go crawling back to him for help.

Book 2: Zeus messes with Agafuckface by telling him to attack Troy. Agamemhoe messes with Zeus by telling his entire army to fuck off back to Greece. Odysseus, with Athena’s help, uses his wicked ol’ tongue to lick  Agaiceheart back into  shape (not literally, although very possible in Ancient Greece). There are 31 paragraphs of names about Greeks and 16 paragraphs of names about Trojans going to war. The epic story continues.

Book 3: The armies meet. Memealaus (sorry, Menelaus) and Paris decide to have a 1v1 to end this shindig. Paris is saved by Aphrodite and a cloud because he is a Weak Bitch, so we gear up for another 9 years and 11 months of war. Helen tells Aphrodite to go fuck Paris herself if she likes him so much, but Aphrodite threatens Godly Bitch Revenge is Helen ever talks back to her like that again.

Book 4: Menelaus gets grazed by an arrow. Like a football player with a stubbed toe, this means war. He also apparently had ‘shapely thighs and fair ankles’. Watch out for the Zeus eagle, boi. Fighting commences. Diomedes appears. He is awesome, as usual. We continue to the next chapter.

Book 5: Pretty much an entire chapter about Diomedes being a son of a gun and killing fucking everything thanks to Athena. A dude called Sthenelus gets a rock hard boner watching all of this. Aeneas thinks it’s a good idea to take on Diomedes. Mistake. Big Mama Aphrodite has to save him, also with a cloud. Diomedes hasn’t quite reached Critical Awesome yet, so he stabs Ares and Aphrodite as well. Hera calls Ares a little bitch and we carry on.

Book 6: Just a lot of death really. Diomedes was going to kill a bloke, but they realize they are family friends, so just do a little swapsie of armour. Hector gives Paris a spray for being a cowardly little bitch, Paris agrees, and they set off for battle.

Book 7: Hector decides to 1v1 and get this over with. Menelaus tries to accept, but his wingmen Restrain Him. Ajax gets picked out of a hat to fight, but after a bit of a tussle it gets dark, so the fighting pair give each other presents and go home for the night. The next day, they all take a holiday from fighting and the Greeks build a wall. Poseidon is triggered. (reason here.)

Book 8: Due to Poseidon being triggered, Zeus forbids any godly interference on both sides of the war. Hera and Poseidon bitch about Zeus as the Greeks get casually wreckt by the Trojans, but decide not to act on it. Lucky for the Greeks, the Trojans decide sleeping is better than winning, so leave off for the night.

Book 9: The Greeks hit Fuck It and decide to grovel to Achilles for help. Before they do, Diomedes gives Agasaggytitnon a spray for being a douchebag, and everyone agrees that he is indeed a douchebag. Sthenelus probably pops another boner. Back in the tent with the power pair, Achilles and Patroklus, Patroklus tries to be the polite bf to the pleading Greeks, but Achilles is still thinks Agamoomoo called him a ‘vile tramp’ so refuses to help. The drama continues.

Book 10: Odysseus and BAMF Diomedes go on a sneak mission and  heroically stab the Trojans in their sleep. They also heroically steal some horses. The epic heroism continues.

Book 11: Hector takes a leaf out of Diomedes’ book and decides to shitmix the Greeks. He successfully shitmixes the Greeks, giving Agamugface a well-deserved arm wound. Paris shoots Diomedes in the foot, but Diomedes literally does not give a shit. Some random dude gives Odysseus a bit of a stab, Ajax gets Confused By Zeus but survives, but things still look Grim. Sweetheart Patroklus sees the Grimness and decides to try and use his wiles to break Achilles out of his Uber Sulk.

Book 12: The Trojans continue to roadhaul the Greeks, which will come back to bite Hector, but we do meet a dude called Thootes. He doesn’t do shit, but his name is great. There is graphic violence, and the Trojans go to chuck a Greek ship on the barbie. 

Book 13: Poseidon rises from the sea, back being a buddy to the Greeks now the his great enemy The Triggering Greek Wall has been overcome.There is a shit ton of fighting wherein the Greeks do well and Poseidon is happy because he’s getting vengeance for his other traumatic wall experience.

Book 14: Hera sees Poseidon disobeying Zeus and getting sweet wall vengeance and while probably thinking she married the wrong brother, decides to use Titty Distraction so that the Greeks don’t get chucked on the Trojan barbie. Titty Distraction predictably works A+ and the Trojans get slightly shat on with gratuitous eyeball violence. Hector gets hit by a rock and almost has the most anticlimactic death since Amycus, who suffered death by Elbow Punch.

Book 15: Zeus wakes, calls Hera a scurvy knave and tells Poseidon to Fight Him. Poseidon does not want to Fight Him, so melts back into the ocean and stops helping the Greeks. Apollo resurrects Hector from his rock to the face and the Trojans joyously return to their mission to barbeque the Greek ships.

Book 16: Honeyboo Patroklus (still on his way to Achilles since Book 11) sees Apollo and his Brojans on the warpath and breaks Achilles’ heart with Man Tears. While Achilles and Patbroklus have a very, very long, heartfelt conversation, the Trojans start to toast the Greek ships. Achilles gives (yes gives) Patroklus his armour and tells him to fuck shit up, but not to win without him. Fighting commences, we discover the word hurly-burly, Sarpedon dies in a shower of Zeus-induced blood rain and Patroklus becomes Diomedes 2.0 until he is gang bashed by Hector, Apollo, a literal god, and some awkward random called Euphorbus. Sasstroklus delivers a final fuck you, pulls the finger at all three of his killers and blazes it down to Hades.

Book 17: Hector takes Achilles’ armour off Patroklus, marking him as target #1 for the Sulk King. The Trojans and the Greeks spend an entire chapter having a tug of war with Patroklus’ body. Ajax and Menelaus comment mildly on how Zeus is helping out the Trojans, and the god shines a bit of sunlight in chagrin for being called out. The Greeks win the tug of war thanks to Double Ajax Tactics.

Book 18: In which Achilles goes nuts. Everybody has a cry because Patroklus was a Swell Guy (seriously,as swell as a Hawaiian surf that guy). Achilles goes and therapy-screams at the Trojans, who see the mad bloke and back the fuck off -  rightfully so, as Achilles is planning some good old human sacrifice to his dead ‘rider’ Patroklus. Meanwhile, Hephaestus quick-smelts some smashing new armour for Achilles with his household robots.

Book 19: Achilles gets dolled up for battle. Agadickbutt and Odysseus try to placate the madman with gifts, including Briseis, the dame Agamemnope stole from Achilles, but Achilles’ quota of fucks has run out indefinitely. He saddles up and gets ready to fuck up his bae killer.

Book 20: Zeus R͡ELE҉ASE͜S̵ ͝T̀H͜E͡ ́ǴO̷D͞S͝ and lets them play for whichever team they like, so long as Achilles doesn’t sack Troy just quite yet. It’s probably a friendly game similar to football in god terms. Athena invents the spear boomerang, Hera and Poseidon do some casual sunbathing, while Achilles paints the town red rather literally. 

Book 21: Achilles finds men too weak and decides to take on a literal river (Scamander). Achilles realizes this was A̴ B̸ad ̶I͜de͟a͡and decides he’ll stick to men. We’re not sure whether Diomedes would have backed off from a river, but I guess we’ll never know. Apollo saves a dude called Agenor from Achilles molestation and in doing so also saves the Brojans. The epic story continues.

Book 22: Apollo says surprise Achilles, tricked ya into chasing me boi, I’m immortal. Achilles stares him dead in the eye for a full minute then says ‘fuck you’ and rides off back to Troy. Hector decides it’s time for another 1v1, but at the last minute considers that this idea was insane and fuckin legs it. Achilles chases Hector around the wall of Troy three times presumably to this soundtrack. Hector finally stops to fight, and thanks to the Athena Spear Boomerangᵀᴹ, Achilles avenges his Patroklus. Hector performs the minor miracle of talking whilst having a spear sticking out of his throat before he dies, then Troy’s hero gets roadhauled and everyone is Sad. 

Book 23: Ghost Patroklus pays Achilles a visit, like a sexy Obi wan Kenobi and tells Achilles to bury him already. Patghostklus also beseeches that their bones be laid (ha) together when Achilles inevitably gets fucked on by Fate. Achilles says of course bby I was gonna do that anyway, and tries to make out with a ghost, but this isn’t a Whoopi Goldberg type deal, so Patroghost gets sent back down under. They put the fun in funeral by having games and giving out toasters and such as prizes.

Book 24 (The End): After ‘yearning after the might and manfulness of Patroklus’, Achilles continues to roadhaul Hector until Apollo gives his fam a spray about the dishonour of it. Hera says he’s only mortal scum so who gives a fuck and Zeus says chill wife and commands Achilles to RE̵L͘E̡A̷S͢E ̴T́HȨ H̀ȨC̕T̵O̷R͡ (sorry I can’t help it). With Hermes as a bodyguard, Priam (Hector’s dad) goes to get the body back. Achilles and Priam have a man-cry bonding moment over Dead Loved Ones, Hector is whisked off to be buried and there ends the Iliad! There’s none of the ankle-shooting, wooden-horse-building shenanigans in there, they all come in later texts such as the Aeneid and Ovid, although I still can’t find the exact text where Achilles gets shot. If y’all know, send me the link ;)  I fucking found it nvm

Anyhoo, that was…Jeez, that was The Iliad (aka the longest post in existence). Well, my retold, abridged more slightly less serious version.It’s definitely worth a read, if you can get past all the names!

Check out more Greek Stories here :D

[potorgaret--inactive]

Day 119 / Apr 28

2 Kings 23-25

Josiah's Reforms and Pharoah 猫: Josiah gathersall the elders of Judah and reads this law book to them He promises to God that he'll follow every single law, and he makes a covenant Josiah orders all the things for Ba'al and Asherah out of the temple He burned all those things and then dumped them in Kidron He murdered every pagan priest in Judah He tears down every Asherah pole He breaks down the houses of the male shrine prostitutes He broke down every high place He destroyed Topheth, where people used to sacrifice to Moloch He takes away the sun god's horses Josiah destroys every pagan thing Solomon made He crusades across Israel as well, murdering every pagan priest and destroying those golden calves that Jeroboam I put up in Bethel and Dan Remember Prophet A from 1 Kings 13? Josiah makes sure that no one disturbs his bones

Josiah also re-institutes the Passover, which hadn't been held since Moses died, even David didn't know about it He kills every witch, wizard, magician, etc.

In those days, Pharoah Necoh, hereafter refered to as Neko, went up against Assyria Josiah goes to see Neko, but he gets murdered in Megiddo; his son Jehoahaz takes his place Jehoahaz only rules for 3 months, but that was enough time to revert to paganism Neko imprisoned him and made Josiah's other son Eliakim the king Jehoiakim (fmr. Eliakim) raises taxes in order to pay Neko's tribute Jehoiakim reigned for 11 years and he was nothing like Josiah

Here comes Nebuchadnezzar II: In Jehoiakim's days, Neb came from Babylon and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years Then he rebelled against Neb, and for this God sent wave after wave of foreign invasion Jehoiakim eventually dies and his son Jehoiachin takes over The Babylonians had beaten Egypt as well, so there was no help coming from the south Babylon seiged Jerusalem and eventually the royal family came out and surrendered He took every precious thing, even the golden things Solomon had made In o-chinchin's days, Neb sacked all of Jerusalem and plundered it, vandalized it even Neb takes away several thousand from Jerusalem as captive, even Jehoiachin Nebuchadnezzar II takes Josiah's other other son, Mattaniah, renames him Zedekiah and makes him king Zedekiah ruled for 11 years and he would be the last king of Judah[1] Eventually, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar II

25: In Zedekiah's 9th year, Neb seiges Jerusalem again and this seige lasts for two years The famine makes life a living hell Zedekiah and soldiers try to escape through a backdoor, but the Babylonians were all around the city and they caught him They killed his sons right in front of him, then they blinded him and then carried him to Babylon in chains Nebuzaradan, Nebuchadnezzar's captain, demolishes the city and carries away the useful materials to Babylon He appoints Shaphan's grandson Gedaliah as governer over what farmers were left Babylon ransacks and destroys the First Temple and carry everything away to Babylon Nebuchadnezzar has all the Temple officials killed After a few months under his rule, a guy named Ishmael kills Gedaliah

All this time, Jehoiachin was in captivity, and in his 37th year, his fortune turns The new Babylonian king, Evilmerodach, frees Jehoiachin and gives him a seat at the king's table Jehoiachin gets a steady ration and allowance for the rest of his days

AND THUS ENDS THE DEUTERONOMISTIC HISTORY, RECOUNTING THE DOWNFALL OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AFTER THE DEATH OF MOSES.

1: the next time that region would be ruled by natives would be nearly 400 years later, under the Maccabees. Some of the empires that have had territory in this land since the Iron Age include: Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Macedon, Selucia, Rome, Various Caliphates, Byzantium, Crusader Kingdoms, Turkish Empires (Seljuk, Ottoman), and Britain.

we start potentially the most boring book in the entire bible tomorrow

"Commit your deeds to Yahweh, and your plans shall succeed." Proverbs 16:3 WEB

[the-phyrexian-is-a-part-timer]

Fanwalker Bio: Xelos Vekka (re-cont.)

Part three in something that was just supposed to be one post. Oh boy.

As Xelos and the others on the ship fall, he notices the island in it’s entirety. The entire back and sides are blocked by a mountain range, leaving the only beaches on the side they were coming to. The rest of the island his a heavy jungle. The shape is not unlike a stretched crescent. The crew, and the ship following, land far into the jungle. While most are dead, injured, or incapacitated, Xelos, Ampelio, and 5 others survive mostly unscathed. Almost immediately they are surrounded. One all sides and up in the trees, elves with weapons are posted and ready. Immediately, the only commanding officer starts a fire with a flash of magic and Xelos using his own makes it surround the party on all but one escape to give them cover. After brief skirmish and a interparty discussion, all besides the officer give up. They are taken to the elves wooden citadel, a huge tree woven with magic to create a nigh impenetrable building. All of them are thrown in the prison. While trying to figure out a way to escape, one of the other survivors who was not captured comes and convinces the elves to let them free, but with some stipulations. The first is that they may never enter the forest thicket again, only to take the main trails on the island. The second is to investigate whatever made that shockwave that destroyed the invasion fleet. They are to report back within a week or all the survivors will be no more. As all agree, they are let free and are escorted out of the forest and towards the beach, from there they try to make plans and see what the others can do.

There were only 4 others besides Xelos and Ampelio who were capable and willing to start looking for the cause of their misfortune(besides their country). Bojack was a half-horse half-man who can “hear the trees” and see the flow of magic. Vee was a dark-elf practised in canetimancy, the magic to subtly influence others with sound. Ulfgar was a dwarven soldier before the civil war who sided with the opposition. Percival was a beginning apprentice to a magical entity who still has ties to the magic his master wields.

With help from Bojack and Percival, the group heads towards their best guess at what it may be, some large magical energy off towards the west side of the island. As they get to a cave entrance, they are attacked by a griffin. The battle is fierce, as the griffin is both large and resistant to the magic thrown against it. After Ulfgar is able to land a substantial blow, the officer from before shows up. His armor is missing in places and he is bleeding but alive. The griffin, seemingly furious at Ulfgar but unable to retaliate, kills the officer and leaves.

No one mourns him.

They enter the cave where deep within they find a magical gem. They take it and hurry back to the citadel to report their findings. Apparently that gem, when they found it, stopped masking another strong source of magic that is on the island. As they are given more time to gather the next source, it too was guarded by a magic creature and was again a gem, this time a different color. This process continues until they have 6 gems, all the colors of the primary and secondary colors. The last one they uncover also leads the reveal of another source of power on the island, one far more powerful than the rest. As they go to it, it leads them on a hike into the mountains to a hidden grove with a mansion in it. They use the gems to open the gate to allow them to enter the mansion and its surroundings. While exploring the outside, they come across a fountain with 7 notches it it. Percival and Xelos study it and determine that 6 of the notches are for the gems and the last one is for some sphere like object. They leave it alone, as Bojack says that it is not the source of the magic. They enter the mansion and Bojack continues to lead them through. They enter a room and almost immediately the door behind slams shut. In front of them is an female elf dressed in hooded robes and carrying a large staff with a white orb on the end. The elf demands to know why they are there and who sent them, questioning them on their actions during their stay on the island. Seemingly frustrated because they didn’t tell her what she wanted, she goes to kill them. Using magic reversed engineered from their previous captors to subdue spellcasters, the party stabs into her little pieces of sigiled metal to hopefully bring her down. It does, but not to the extent they were hoping for. The aftermath of the battle is brutal. Everyone in the group is beaten and scarred, Percival succumbing to his wounds. The room they were in is fried, water logged, and frozen. The sorceress, her name never known to them, a mess of blood and flesh with bits of metal sticking into her entire front in part thanks to Xelos. They take their time returning to the citadel. Explaining the situation and the events that transpired, the elves say their servitude is over. When asked about the gems, though, the group says they are nothing more than a way to mask and redirect the magical energy the magician in the mansion had. The group returns to the mansion and places the gems and the orb in the right place in the fountain. Nothing sees to happen inside the mansion grounds. Outside, though, the entire scenery changes. 

They are in a different sort of woods than before, in a different climate even. They check their surroundings and see a road heading off from in front of the mansion towards a town far away. The group checks the mansion again to see if anything else had changed, but nothing has. As they explore the mansion more, the find a chest withing a bird cage in the lower levels.  Wanting to know what’s inside, they open it up only to unleash a smoking bat like demon out which starts heading towards the town. The chase after it and try to fend it away from the town. Water, it seems clears the smoke away from it’s body, allowing things to hit it for a short time until it “regrows”. Not knowing any aquamancy, they check the town to see if anyone does. In the bar, they meet an aquamancer by the name of Solty who claims to be a decendant of a water god. Seemingly a bit unstable, but still their only chance, they recruit him to hunt down the beast. After about of month of tracking, helped greatly by Bojack, they ambush it and lead the demon to a river. There, they destroy it.

For about a year, the party continues to help out the town and try to find out how the fountain works. One day, after a string of kidnappings causes Ampelio to go missing, the party directly intervenes with strong suggestion from Xelos. Bojack lead them to a cave system with a pool of water at the end. Sensing the presence of something big and evil, Bojack warns the rest of the party. Solty and Xelos combine their energies to purify the water before they continue. After a few moments, a large centipede like being crashes out of the water. It runs past the group, obviously trying to escape out of the water as it scalds the creature. Xelos uses his sword and plunges it through the monster, keeping it pinned with its body still partially submerged. The group quickly makes work of the abomination and start exploring the pool. They soon find a underwater tunnel leading to a cavern where the creature had made its nest. Among the things in their is a pile of body parts and gear. Among the roughage, Xelos finds his son’s gear and a few of his scales. At age 40, Xelos mourns the loss of his son.

The trek back to the village and then home is all a blur. The staking of Ampelios’ grave is crystal clear. The next two month, though, are an indecipherable haze of alcohol. When Xelos finally becomes sober, he realizes he’s on a boat. The rest of the group is with him, with a new companion. Apparently, the mansion was burned down and the group recruited a gnome mechanist and wizard to help them figure out the gems. He has been tagging along, apparently. The group is just escorting him home now. When they get there, the gnome turns heel and seals them all in a chamber. He tries to sacrifice them in a ritual to gain power, sending his robotic minions to subdue them. The destroy the minions, and capture the gnome only for the room to quake and heave. The room splits in two and lava starts pooling at the bottom of it. Desperate, they free the gnome and work to dig themselves out of the cavern. In the calamity, Ulfgar loses a leg and a few toes and Vee an eye. Taking as many people as they can, they board their boat and sail away from the erupting island.

With the gnome now a servant. Xelos begins to force him to make replacement limbs for the injured. He also starts forcing the gnome to give him tutelage into the darker arts of magic. As the voyage progresses, Xelos starts treating the injuries of other with less sympathy and more experimentation. He works towards finding some semblance of immortality so he loses no one again. The gnome, seeing his progress, gives his most into the work, delighted to have another doing work like his. They group, after going through a storm and fighting off a sea monster, find an island in the center of said storm. Going onto it, they find a cave system with signs of civilization. In it, they end up finding another mansion hidden withing a large chamber. It’s identical to the first, except it seems to be more of an empty shell. They try the fountain out at this one and are transported to a city. Within a few hours, the “Queen” of the city comes to their mansion and puts it under seige. After taking care of her guards, she is all that remains. It seems, though, she is a sorcerer just like the elf from before. Projectiles are of no use against her, magic barely effects her. To stall time, the gnome uses a spell that phases her out of existence for a while. The group then makes a plan. Using the same anti-magic sigils from the first time around with a few added features, they make a binding circle to lower her resistances. When she phases back, the circle seals her and they use a spell to polymorph her into a chicken, which they kill. A large amount of energy is released when they do, and her mortal form returns to normal. They see an orb on her body that resembles the white orb but it’s black. Grabbing it, Bojack starts energizing. To try and save him, everybody else in the party grabs onto the orb to divert the current of energy. What ends up happening, though, is a huge explosion of energy and they all die.

Well, technically.

When the light fades they are beings of pure energy. None of them knows how much time passes, for they have lost the concept of it. Their bodies are as amorphous as thought and they drift in emptiness. Some time later they all feel a tug, they are being pulled back to mortal form. It takes years, something they are now becoming knowledgeable on again, before they return.

When they do, they are naked and the party is split, with some in an area wet and some in a desert. When they meet up, they realize two things. The first is the form they had in the ethereal state is the form they came back in. Xelos himself resembled a taller version of his younger self, with an extra thumb on each hand opposite from the first. Vee became and the gnome became more human-ish women. Ulfgar became a giant. Solty remained the same. The second thing they realized is that they can’t feel magic. They met in an underground human settlement and thus go to the library to research what is with this place after they get dressed and reaquainted. Apparently 3000 years ago, the gods left. With them, most magic did too. The only magic that did work was the runes of the world, symbols that when you will power through them they work magic. It’s only used in basic thing nowdays, as most magic creature also died out and humanity had relied more on their scientific advancements. The humans come in contact(or raise) a race of buglike creatures. The bugs, while being more physically and martially  strong, protected the humans, the humans fed and took care of infrastructure for the bugs. This worked well until the humans found a way to fend for themselves and stopped providing for the bugs. Outraged, the bugs and humans raged war on each other until the humans were banished underground and the world above withered into dust. While researching into the runes and finding a place in this strange new world, the group hears a siren. Seeing soldiers run towards the outskirts of the city, they follow. This leads them to come face to face with the bugs. Large humanoid insects that look like a cross between a grasshopper and an ant. With martial prowess leagues ahead of the soldiers their, the group makes quick work of the intruders with nothing but staffs before more soldiers need to arrive. The group is taken before the high chairwoman of the human settlement. The party is amazed at what they see. Hanging around the neck of the chairwoman is the white orb. Eager to try and find out more about what happened to this world and how to “fix” it, they agree to join the human military to help destroy the last bug warcity.

Preparations are made. Two weeks of them getting accustomed to the new weaponry, technology, and trying to learn runes and about “life energy” is side by side with the entire human city seemingly packing up. At the end of two weeks, the human city rises out of the ground and starts walking towards the bug warcity. When they get close to it, they launch an attack. After boarding the bug city, they fight their way through the lower decks and into the engine rooms of it, melting them down one by one. After ransacking the bug city and killing all the ones aboard, Xelos take some of the bug eggs and smuggles them onto the human warcity. When they return, weird things start to happen.

During the night, they are ambushed by a faceless figure who dissolves when he dies. They keep getting followed and stalked by more of them, though when they look back to them faces appear. They find that everyone on their platoon who helped them with the bug attack has been murdered. Finding a rune in a book that helps with showing hidden things, they put on glasses treated with the rune and see the faceless are everywhere. Trying to act nonchalant about it, they go to the chief guardsman of the city try and get someone to help. Unfortunately, he’s in on it and they have to escape the police station and hide in the lower levels of the city. They play a little guerrilla warfare against the faceless to no avail. Finally, in one all out attempt to do some good out of all of it, they plan to escape the city with the chairwoman. Xelos sets up the bug eggs he got in one of the artificial habitats on the city and they go for the plan. It immediately backfires, as she is in on it too. They narrowly escape the city and head in a sandsailer towards a structure in the distance. It leads to an abandoned city that has fresh vegetation, if not rude. They find a house with a tunnel in it and start trekking through the tunnel. Eventually they hear a roar. Barreling towards them is a huge wurm. Knowing they are going to die, with no way to stop the wurm, Xelos throws some canisters of flammable gas and poisonous gas towards the gaping maw of the wurm and shoots it. In the fireball that kills the wurm, his spark ignites and he planeswalks away.

Wow, really going to make this four parts. Ok then, tomorrow definitely the final part. Goodnight

[supervictoriagarcialove-blog]

12/09/98

    6:21 AM

    Why am I slacking off on my today pages?

    So hi. I've been getting in trouble lately. I've been a bad girl! I am forbidden to see Bryan ever again. Why, you ask?

    A couple days ago, he called me up and asked if I wanted to see a movie. This was after I had told him my feelings for him, so I was real happy that what I told him didn't ruin our friendship. We decided to see The Seige. After he picked me up, he asked me if I wanted to get drunk. I said yes, so he stopped by a liquor store, bought a bottle of everclear, and something called rumple minz. I wasn't planning on him drinking any of it, but he ended up guzzling a lot of it. I should have said no to him buying any booze, because he's trying to stop drinking. But I thought, "What the hell, he probably won't get too drunk."

    We consumed the 2 bottles. Well, I should say he. I wasn't drunk, but he seemed like he was. I asked him if I needed to drive, and he said yes. He said he wanted to go to Arc Lanes bowling alley, so I drove there. We sat on the back of his car for a few minutes when we got there. He started acting really silly, and talking to random people about random things. He told me to give him the bottle of everclear. It had a little bit left in it. I said no. He said, "One of us is going to drink it, me or you." So I said, "No, neither of us is going to" and I poured it out on the parking lot. He looked at me for a moment, and said, "Find a ride home" and walked in the building. I sat outside and waited, knowing he would change his mind and come back out. Sure enough, 5 minutes later, he did. He told me to get in the car.

    I drove home. He laid his head on my shoulder and passed out. When I got home, I dragged him into my house, and put him in my bed. My mom wasn't home yet, because she was babysitting Elijah at Nusha's house. She walked in about an hour later, and I told her what had happened. She's like "Fuck this bullshit" but she didn't make him leave. So I slept on the couch. In the morning, she went into my room and told him to leave or she would call the police. She got really shitty with him. Which I can understand, to an extent, but I couldn't understand why she was so pissed at me. What else was I supposed to do? He was passed out drunk! I wasn't going to let him drive himself home. I guess I could have let him sleep in his car, or called his parents to come pick him up, but I thought it would just be easiest to let him sleep in my bed.

    So I'm not allowed to see him anymore. When I went on AOL the next day, he IM'd me and told me to call him when I turned 18. Which is in exactly 2 months, by the way. So he stopped talking to me, and I thought that was going to be it til I turned 18. But later on that night, he IM'd me, saying he just couldn't help talking to me, I'm so mature. How nice. I'm telling you, the boy has feelings for me. Why else would he want to sleep in my bed with me, and talk to me after being threatened with legal action if he ever even said my name. Today, he's like, "Walk down to Thorton's gas station, I really want to see you." He said he was just kidding when he said that, but that must mean something. What the fuck, I really shouldn't be doing this, because he already told me that he doesn't feel anything towards me, like I do him. But it sure seems like he does.

    I IM'd Dave the other night. I said: "If you're not interested in dating, I would rather you just tell me instead of not calling and not talking to me." He's like, "I've been really sick, and work is hectic, I don't want to seriously date." I'm like, "I didn't say anything about serious." I was about to ask him if it was because we had sex on the first date, but it said that he had signed off. Goddamnit! What the fuck? I don't get it. I really don't. He acted like he liked me so much when we were together. He called me beautiful, sexy, attractive, FOR FUCK'S SAKE HE BOUGHT ME LINGERIE! I don't get it. Why is it, that when it comes to men, I fuck up? I don't realize that I fuck up, but I sure as hell seem to do it a lot!

    This is what I think is happening here. I go out, meet these people, and fuck them because I like the attention, the sex, and just the fact that I'm close to someone. I become fuck buddies with them, and friends, and then I start having feelings towards them. But, there is nothing I can do about that, because they don't feel the same way, apparently because I slept with them so soon. I thought everything was going to be fine with Dave, because I had told him I wanted to start over, and forget that we ever had sex. I was going to continue to fuck Bryan, until me and Dave's relationship got serious. Does that make sense? But now that it seems that Dave is out of the picture, I want Bryan. Good lord. I need to get my hormones under control.

    Onto lighter news...oh dear god. This is crazy. okay, remember when I guessed Ryon's password, and it was Tina? He got a new account. I found it through the member directory. So I'm thinking, "Let's see if the dumbass is stupid enough to put Thompson as the password." Thompson is Tina's last name. Guess what. I am not shitting you. His password was Thompson. Good fucking lord, that boy needs to get a brain. I changed his password to dipshit, and put embarassing stuff in his profile. The next day, I tried to get onto the account, but it said wrong password, so I went on my account, and looked at the profile, and it was back to normal. I went on Jon's account, and had a luverly chat with him. I pretended like I was someone else at first, then told him it was me, and watched him spaz.

    Bryan plays Urge Overkill in his car. He also plays Rosa Oarks by Outkast. I'm reeling.