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mimic-from-the-lab · 1 year

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Blood and Ruins: Chapter 12

Also found on Ao3.

Summary:

Uzi is stifled in a life underground, no way forward in a world that had already broken spectacularly but not allowed to explore what ruins are left. She wants to make her own way but doesn’t have a clue on what that really means. What monsters are there really out there? N knows them a little too well and they terrify him. - Set on earth. Ex futuristic-ish world, apocalyptic. Where the world was broken apart due to bio-flesh monsters, normal life fell apart and the population is scattered in far smaller towns and underground cities after a mass death. There are still scattered parts of old tech of the modern world as a way to fight back if it can be put back together. - Biohorror vampires for the disassembly drones and normal humans for workers.

— Chapter 1 —

--- All Chapters ---

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Word count: 3852

Chapter 12

Uzi hit her head down on her table, a clang of metal came from the loose screws sitting in a mug. She grabbed at her hair, groaning out in annoyance before looking up at the gutted remains of her gun.

It had been days, nothing she seemed to do was making it any better. Arguably she needed more parts, having to find them out in the wastes but she wasn’t likely to have the time to unless she started to cut class. That would be the next few days if she was to have something by the time she met up with N again but it should be easy to avoid him before then.

Or, she could go hunting through the old weapon manufacturer section. As run down and deserted as it was. She sat up at this, at the temptation. She would need to keep away from the guards that briefly come through or scare them away, also avoid the chance of one of the other sections hearing her. She leaned back, thinking it over. Her dad wouldn’t be back in a while, time to get out there and mess around maybe even some testing.

She pushed herself out of her chair, catching it with her foot behind her before it fell over. She didn't need to worry about the noise but it was still smart to avoid making it. She just needed some food before she went. Headed out to the kitchen she swung open the door of the fridge.

She was going to grab a box till she saw the message on the side.

“For all you do for our safety” A heart decorated the message. She just rolled her eyes and grabbed a different one.

Sitting down with it cold, she barely got some of it in before ending up playing with it. Looking around the apartment with a frown. It was well after school by then, her father was likely staying out somewhere or hanging out with his friends by the gates.

She dropped her fork with a sigh, some sort of feeling bubbling up. Ones she didn’t want to unpack at the moment, so it was time to leave.

The hallways of her apartment block were relatively empty, a few kids played a ball game in the main hallway just before the stairs that exited out. The main hall was the closest thing to a public place there. Large bulbs of “sun” lights fell from the roof of the area as well as an open area that sat there replacing the space of a few apartments. The older and adults of the kids hung out there as someone was cooking food on the one stove.

‘Ah Uzi,’ came out a call and Uzi seized for a moment before turning to look over. A small group of older people sat around a picnic table, a game of chess sat in the middle. One of them had turned to look at her as the others stopped talking to take note. ‘I feel like I haven’t seen you since you were just learning to walk.’

Came the voice of one of the men, he was smiling but Uzi didn’t really know who he was, besides being a neighbour and always seeming to be in the communal area. She didn’t have to worry about a response for long before another man next to him leaned over with a frown.

‘Dear, leave the poor girl alone. Can’t you see that she is trying to get somewhere important,’ he said and the other looked back about to argue. ‘You’re disturbing her.’

‘But we should disturb her, girl has absolutely no people skills and it sure doesn’t help her place in the colony,’ came the voice of the only woman there, her husband next to her looked to Uzi in apology.

‘Your eyes must be gone if you can’t see that the girl is still standing there,’ came the second man in a huff. ‘You spend all your time on those little things and no one will mourn you when you die. She is a rather smart kid I'll have you know.’

Uzi frowned at that and looked at him again. She was sure that he had been her first teacher, maybe when they started to show all the jobs. Had been rather supportive of her weapon making dreams.

‘Go on,’ he said and that was Uzi’e que to turn and head up the steps. The afternoon into night time held little traffic on the main roads. Work and schools well over. This was the time for the small business and free time to do as you want.

If she could just get past the population of the colony without any other disturbances then it would-

‘Hey, Uzi,’ called out a voice and she froze. -be perfect.

She looked over with a snap, not wanting to be stopped anymore.

It was Thad, looking across the area showed an eat out place that had tables out front. What made her frown wasn’t Thad himself but the small crowd with him.

Within the group sat Lizzy and Doll, many of the others hadn’t noticed but the two of them looked over right away. She watched as Lizzy grinned and leaned over to Doll.

‘Ugh why do you have to be cousins with her,’ Lizzy sneared and Doll narrowed her eyes.

‘You already know that she isn’t actually related to me,’ she said her announce brought out her accent far more, she cursed out a few russian words. Only some that Uzi still understood. ‘So think of something new to complain about her with me.’

Lizzy just rolled her eyes but left it to look back to the group they were with.

From the years of knowing the two of them, Lizzy was just someone bored with her life and can only find joy in others' misery as Doll was full of misery herself.

Doll and Uzi used to be close friends before her parents were killed and she became fully miserable. Uzi was rather sure Doll blamed her for their deaths but had no idea on why and Doll hardly regarded her anymore to explain. But she joined forces with Lizzy and spread misery onto others, that was bad enough to become a bully.

The main reason Uzi started to hate her besides the sudden uncaring.

Everyone called her the weird one but they all scramble to be friends with Doll, maybe it was the help of Lizzy but still. Uzi had always had an odd feeling about Doll, or maybe it had developed later she couldn’t remember anymore, but it was a feeling that she should both trust and fear her. Like looking at some creature that was far more dangerous than at first glance but she had never actually experienced anything bad from her besides the indifference. And from what she could remember of Yeva, she was nothing like that. Off but nice.

Thad had crossed the distance to get to her, bringing Uzi out of her mind.

‘I have to always wonder, why do you bother with any of them?’ Uzi said and Thad looked back in apology. About to speak and stopped as soon as she narrowed her eyes.

‘Don’t tell me it's because of family, that doesn’t explain the others and not Doll,’ she said.

‘I was going to say, because we are meant to be meeting up for group projects, and that's going well.’ Thad looked back at the group and slumped a bit.

‘Told you to join me, you don’t have to help everyone else,’ Uzi said and rolled her eyes.

‘You told me to leave you alone and to dump the others,’ he said and Uzi looked at him. ‘You said nothing about grouping up, you did mention grovelling.’

‘And that was an out, you should have taken it,’ she huffed and turned to leave. ‘Now I got places to be, important work you know.’ Thad perked up a bit.

‘If you’re going to the weaponry section I heard that manufacturing is trying to salvage something from one of the original machines,’ he spoke up and Uzi turned right back around to face him. ‘I am guessing your dad didn’t mention it.’ He rubbed at his hands as she watched her face heat up.

‘How dare they, that's history,’ she snapped out. ‘I’ll need it in the future, whatever it is.’ she turned again and started to run, trying not to shove past others.

‘Don’t get caught,’ Thad could only call out, he watched her go till she disappeared behind a group of people. He could only sigh and come back to the group.

‘You have got to stop talking to her,’ Lizzy spoke out, playing with the straw of her drink as he came to sit back down. ‘You can’t be friends with everyone and she so doesn’t treat you right.’

‘She is rough, that's fine,’ Thad said, Doll just drank and didn’t add anything, not even when Thad looked to her for something. He just sat back leaving them all in silence.

Uzi knew that the colony wanted to gut the old sections, it slowly happened as time went, to pull parts out of others to make the ones being used lasted longer. At the expense of other machines. So years ago she made it a mission to make sure others didn’t think to explore the sections she wanted, she rigged areas to help scare others away. Be it teenagers looking to explore or the maintenance section, it did risk the structural integrity but better that then a team come through and remove parts as they fixed a section.

The rumours were that someone was living there, either some beast from the outside or an immortal being. It was perfect, as long as the series of traps and scares worked then no one was going to show up.

Now she was worried that some of them could have stopped working or someone saw through them. She should hurry her way to the area.

Uzi knew that the sections she wanted to get to were restricted, not fully sealed away as there were doors with simple locks and while she could steal the keys it could be noticed that someone had entered. Which is why she was headed for some ventilation, it was everywhere and you needed it to keep everyone underground able to breath. They could be locked but no one would think to use them, other than her and with her map of the ventilation system that she had in her mind she could go almost anywhere she needed though them. As long as she can fit the gaps.

She did her best to head into the storage closet, without anyone's notice, which was easy enough as the room sat between the warehouses and the woodworking sections. Not much traffic as most of the workforce is beyond that in manufacturing, woodworking is in one half of the warehouses but they have the least air pollutants.

Inside was just the simple clean up tools for the walkways. Nothing interesting, nothing besides the vent grate door that was against the wall by the roof.

Using the shelving in the room was easy to get to sit on top and shuffle the grate open.

Uzi had to pull out her flashlight from her side pocket of her bag.

There was nothing but the dark in front of her. Practically a void but with a light source on she was able to see the way ahead if a bit creepy, she started to get down to her knees to start to crawl her way in.

Making sure to close the vent door behind her, the space just giving her enough room to turn around in it.

A few intersections, a turn or two and up a slope and she knew that she had entered above the area. She just wished there was an easier way then to crawl as slow as she was.

When she got far enough, knowing where she was with a thought, stopped at the gap in front of her. The grate for it had fallen off some time ago, having been opened years ago thanks to her and collecting dust somewhere on the ground.

Since all the power was cut off, emergency lights used to work till the power grid was reworked and the place was fully cut off. It was simply cut, she found the wire they had disconnected and if she wanted to, could just fix it. For now, she had a torch.

She shone the light down to look and found the pile of crates, they had been stacked in place when the place had been abandoned. Purely by chance a perfect ladder down and far safer than any other jump. It was also past the doorway, safe from anyone noticing or thinking someone was using it. Uzi’s knees hurt from crawling through the vents and needed to get down to stretch.

She had to trust the drop down, landing on the old box that acted as the first step.

It was only a climb down to the ground. Checking the area with her light beam.

The abandoned sections of the city were just as abandoned as she remembered, the light of her flashlight barely stretched to the far walls. The dust below kicked up to welcome her to the area. She knew, somewhat, where she needed to go. The old map she had found once appeared in her mind to help her navigate.

A few lefts and a straight and she should be in the storage area, where the manufactured parts had been stocked up for assembly.

Most of it wasn’t anything she wanted or needed, the base shape and workings came out of there but the whole point as to why she needed to go out was for the stuff that the colony had used up early on or never made themselves. Like anything related to the energy power and regulators. Both normally found outside.

The warehouse was the one place, a chance for things she could have missed. If there had been a computer that had been used for stock management, it had long been taken and used elsewhere. So anything that was made or still around would need to be looked for manually.

There was a chance for there to be some unopened boxes in the higher areas, she looked up with a quick swallow. Climbing wasn’t exactly her forte. She needed to find something to use or risk falling.

Uzi could look for something as she checked on the traps, they needed a look over either way, maybe a change in placements were needed as well.

She left, back tracking a bit to find the first.

Simple creation that activated by a simple pressure plate that rattled cans in a smaller vent system nearby. Making the sounds echo off into the area making it double in sound by the network. She stepped on it and it activated with ease. Filling the room with overlapping rattles.

She liked the placement of it, not a direct path in but if someone turned early on it should work well. She moved on.

She slowly went around the area, hitting all the different pathing before getting back to the main storage. All of that area was the last lines of defence before getting to the real machinery at the far end. Most of the rooms in the early sections were for meetings or planning and a mini kitchen with a dining area. The storage area sat after with assembly being along this area before the machinery ran the full end with some testing area. The layout had something to do with safety and fire risks.

All her traps were sound or movement based, things to scare or unnerve people as they explored. Hopefully making them run before realising that some of them repeated or just sound and no one is seen.

If gunpowder wasn't both a pain to make and even more so to set up often, then she would be making fireworks and explosions to make sure no one ever came back.

Uzi was checking on one that shifted something up on a shelf, it had worked once. At her test it no longer made the correct distance and the motor seized, Uzi wasn’t sure when it could have stopped or how. Could be a piece broke inside or dust clogged it up. She could climb up the easy stack of crates, waste her night with it or just bring back a new one later and replace it.

Uzi heard a sound, a repeating sound. Making her tilt her head to hear it better.

She heard steps, not quite headed for her. Seeming to walk without purpose. She flicked her torch off, making sure to hide her. She couldn’t stop her throat from seizing as the area turned pitch black. She didn't have to wait long before light slowly showed in the distance.

Making her realise rather quickly there was nowhere to hide. She was standing in the middle of the shelving area, she looked around as the small light started to filter in. Sure there were some boxes littered about and she could hide between them but that won't stop someone from turning and looking. Hiding behind one big one was the only way it would work if you moved around it.

Nearby was also a pipe leaned up against a bracket of the shelving, a perfect weapon if she needed. Though using it on someone would be bad. It was bad enough if she was seen and reported, but being reported and having had attacked someone was even more so. It would just be used for scaring. A quick yell and a slap into metal.

She just needed to stay still and stay hidden.

A trap that was meant to scrap along a metal pipe on the wall rang out, this didn’t seem to deter whoever was coming, instead had them look around and at the trap itself. She tried not to flinch away as the light was searching about again. She went back behind the crate, only able to wait.

She held the pipe ready to defend if need be. It was more to make herself feel better.

She waited as the figure came into the area she was in, they were looking around still. She held her breath, till she noticed the familiar hair and cap on their head.

‘Thad?’ Uzi spoke out, she held the pipe in her hands tight. He twisted around and shone the light on her in surprise. Effectively blinding her as she hissed out and raised her arms.

‘Oh sorry,’ he said and flicked the light away. Uzi understood right away what she had done to N, it was a efficient torture method. No wonder it worked so well.

Thad looked around for a moment, looking back at the area he had come from.

‘Hey didn’t you make something like that in the fourth grade?’ Thad asked out in amusement. Uzi looked at him in confusion, she understood that he was talking about the trap he triggered earlier but her confusion came from something else.

‘What are you going here?’ she asked instead, only then getting up with the help of the pipe.

‘Came to help, the assignment work wasn’t really happening, so,’ he said and shrugged.

‘How did you get in here?’

‘Front door, I would love to know how you managed it though, it was still locked,’ he said and Uzi felt herself heat up.

‘This is why I don’t want you involved,’ she snapped out. ‘You just came without asking first and you came through the most obvious way.’ Thad watched in worry. ‘I got in through the vents, especially since no one is supposed to be in here.’

‘Oh,’ was all Thad could say, Uzi turned away in frustration.

Silence held for a time, Thad looked down to the dusty ground as Uzi sighed. She couldn’t actually be angry at him.

‘Why do you want to help me so badly?’ Uzi asked and looked at him again.

He could only shrug in response.

‘No, I want a real answer,’ she said and held up the pipe to point it at him.

Thad looked down on it, his mouth opened a few times before sighing. She lowered the pipe end back to the ground. Its sudden metal tang got him to look at her.

‘You know what you want to do,’ he said, Uzi looked at him with a slight eye narrow but let him continue. He took in a breath and crossed an arm over himself to grab near his shoulder.

‘Lizzy already has her apprenticeship with the clothing section, Brad will be able to get into the metal works easy, and Chad’s happy to be a hauler,’ Thad said and crossed his arms fully. ‘I can’t help the colony with dancing and playing sports and nothing else seems right and I want to do something proper.’

Uzi’s gaze softened.

‘Fighting monsters and guns isn’t really your thing either,’ she could only say and saw him squeeze his eyes for a moment before shaking his head and perking up.

‘But I can at least help to find your thing as I wait for mine.’

She exhaled and looked around.

‘Fine you can help me with this part,’ she said and he started to smile wider. ‘But not everything or all the time. Understand?’

‘Perfectly,’ he said, relaxing into a more natural smile. Uzi couldn’t help but to mirror it for a bit.

‘Since you are so fit, how about seeing what is in the higher levels?’ she asked and Thad looked up the shelving.

‘I can do that,’ he said with a nod before making a face and looking back at her. ‘What are we looking for?’

‘I’ll explain as we look, this isn’t going to be quick or easy,’ she said and he nodded again.

Next>

#murder drones fanfic #murder drones #murder drones au #my writing #mywork #au blood and ruin #blood and ruin chapter

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i-am-bitterly-jittery · 2 years

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On Death’s Doorstep (pt 16/?)

[<<First],,,,[<Prev],[Next>] [ODD Masterlist]

Word Count: 2206

Rating: Teen

Pairings: none in this part, Anxceit overall

Warnings: superhero stuff, manipulation (cuz that’s like Janus’s whole power), might have sworn idk

~~~START~~~

Villains were more active on nights and weekends, that was just a fact, so Remy liked to be ready on Friday and Saturday nights in case anything went down. Which meant sneaking out of either of her parents’ homes early and either hanging out in her secret hideout, patrolling the city, or — as she was doing tonight — having a little fun.

Urban exploring was one of her favorite hobbies, and in a city with an active villain population, there were a considerable number of abandoned and condemned locations.

This Saturday night found her exploring a decrepit five-story apartment building in a pretty rundown neighborhood not far from her own abandoned building. There were rumors that this building was haunted, and that malevolent spirits chased away anyone who dared to trespass. She’d heard tell that the few people who actually managed to get into the building (it was boarded up pretty tight) reported hearing strange noises, and seeing apparitions of shadow men following them through the rooms.

And really, was Remy supposed to just hear those rumors and not check it out?

The windows and door on the first floor were all boarded up as promised, but the windows on the third floor looked pretty promising; besides, anybody could access the ground floor, it was the upper floors that were the most interesting — at least in Remy’s mind they were.

She could just fly right up to the windows, but as ever, she wanted to try and preserve her identity as much as possible, even when her surroundings seemed deserted. Instead, Remy walked around to the side of the building where she found an old and rusted fire escape. The ladder was too high off the ground for a normal person to be able to jump to it, but of course a normal person couldn’t fly like she could.

Remy made a jump for the ladder and propelled herself up far enough to look like she’d just barely made it. She continued to use her powers to keep her weight off of the fire escape (who knew whether or not it could actually hold her weight at this point, not to mention the noise it would make even if it could hold her) as she climbed up to the third floor.

The window had seen better days, but it still slid open when Remy tried.

The inside of the building was dark, but she couldn’t hear any noises from inside, so the only thing left to do was to go in.

“Hey there demons,” she whispered under her breath (if there were actual people in the building, she wouldn’t want them to hear her). “It’s me, ya girl.”

<(^_^)>

What was it with weirdos ruining Janus’s alone time?

They had once again been relaxing on the front steps of their building — just like they had been when Virgil first showed up on their doorstep — when some random girl just walked right up to the building.

Now, this wasn’t an unheard-of occurrence, and Janus had scared away their fair share of people who thought they could explore the cool, dilapidated — rumored to be haunted — building; but this girl didn’t even try the front door or any of the first story windows.

No, she went straight for the fire escape.

The ladder for the fire escape was high up. No one could have made the jump to reach it, not even a professional basketball player… but she did.

That had Janus on high alert. The girl must have powers.

(And now that they were thinking about it, she kinda looked like that hero girl — Sandman — except with a different hairstyle, and no sunglasses. Her jacket might have been the same, but it was zipped up instead of open as Sandman usually wore it.)

Immediately they started using their mental illusion powers on her and followed her up the fire escape using the hidden ladder attached directly to the wall. She would only see what they wanted her to see — an old, condemned building — while themself and the others would still be able to see everything as it actually was. It would also give them some control over what she could hear, only her own breathing and footsteps, no one else’s.

The building is old and abandoned, they told her, there’s no one here but you and some rats.

They managed to reach the open window just as she pulled herself through. Hopefully the proximity alarms would alert the others to their guest’s presence, as Janus would be too busy making sure she stayed out of trouble to alert them all themself.

<(^_^)>

The only light was the ambient light coming in through the windows, and since the windows near Remy were facing the alley, there wasn’t much ambient light to be had. She had a flashlight though.

The walls and floors had seen better days, but otherwise, the room she found herself in wasn’t too awful. It was probably a living room once, going by the size and openness of it — not to mention the plain, rectangular coffee table in the middle of it. Along the wall to her left were three doors, to her right was a smooth wall, and in front of her, the room stretched on.

She shone her flashlight straight ahead and caught sight of some half-broken kitchen cabinets and a gap where a fridge would go. Beside the kitchen was another space where two wooden chairs sat — the ghosts of a dining area perhaps.

On the other side of the kitchen, along the wall around where the kitchen area and living area met, there was another door. This one, Remy hypothesized, led out of the apartment.

She directed her attention back to the wall with the three doors — the only part of this apartment that didn’t seem to be completely open-concept — only to find that there were only two doors. Curious, she could have sworn there were three doors.

She swung her flashlight back around, maybe she’d seen another door nearby and gotten confused, but no, there were two doors to her left, and one to her right.

There were no other doors in the apartment.

Huh, must be a trick of the light then. Maybe the light coming in from a window had seemed like a door upon first glance.

(Or maybe it was ghosts.)

Careful to avoid the holes in the floor, Remy made her way over to the nearer door, hoping to find either the bedroom or the bathroom.

<(^_^)>

“She can’t hear us,” Janus assured Virgil once more. “I wouldn’t recommend talking too much or too loudly, but my mental illusions work on sound.”

“She’s going for the bedroom!” Virgil hissed, flapping his arm at the teenager who’d somehow climbed through the window and was now wandering around the third-floor apartment as if she hadn’t interrupted Virgil while he was watching TV. How was this not a major concern?

Even if she hadn’t seemed to register that Virgil was there at all — which made much more sense once Janus had climbed through the window after her — that didn’t mean her presence wasn’t a problem.

“Don’t worry,” Janus replied, much too calmly for Virgil’s taste. “She can’t see the bedroom door. Once she opens the closet, she’ll see a bedroom, but she won’t see the real bedroom, or know that Patton — or either of us — are here at all. She doesn’t even know that the lights are on.”

That was true. She kept shining her flashlight around as though it could possibly make the well-lit apartment any more visible. She’d even shined it right in Virgil’s eyes once.

“Is this normal?” Virgil demanded.

“Relatively. Though most trespassers don’t make it past the first floor. This one, though, seems to be full of surprises.”

Supervillains, Virgil thought incredulously.

<(^_^)>

The first door led into a spacious, empty room, which Remy guessed must have been the bedroom. Wallpaper flaking off of walls, and three hangers still hanging in the wide-open closet on the other side of the room were the only things of note in the room.

It would have been a nice space once. This whole apartment would have been.

Remy wondered what had caused this building to become abandoned. Structural issues? Pests? A villain attack perhaps? Whatever it was, it had left the building in fairly good shape, if someone bought it — unless the issue was structural — they could probably renovate it easily enough.

She left the bedroom and tried the second door. There was nothing interesting in the bedroom, no reason to explore deeper.

As one could assume, behind door number two was a bathroom. The vanity was gone, leaving only a sink basin and piping behind. The door to the shower was missing as well, and the tiles left behind were cracked. The gorgeous — albeit filthy — claw-footed tub still remained, as did the toilet, but the hint of movement coming from within the bathtub discouraged Remy from investigating further.

She did not need to make enemies out of any rats that might be around.

Instead, she decided to investigate the kitchen, see if the previous owners had left anything interesting behind.

<(^_^)>

“Can’t you just… get rid of her, or something?” Roman asked, he and his sister having joined Janus and Virgil in watching the city’s new superhero blindly root around Virgil’s apartment.

“Yeah,” Remus agreed. “Don’t we get people like this all the time?”

“Keep your voices down,” Janus hissed. They could manipulate what Sandman could hear, but it was easier to leave the sounds she should hear if they were just filtering out other quiet noises. “And I can’t just scare her off, she’s a superhero! She can fight back!”

“So, what? Are we just gonna wait for her to leave on her own?” Remus asked, sounding bored by the prospect.

“We could kidnap her,” Roman suggested.

“We’re not kidnapping her; we have enough heroes in his house without adding this one to the mix!”

Janus shot Virgil an apologetic glance, but he just waved them off. “No, I get it. I did this to myself.”

“I have a suggestion,” Logan said suddenly, startling the others and almost causing Janus to lose their grip on Sandman’s reality.

“Where in the name of all things Disney did you come from!?” Roman demanded dramatically, but thankfully quietly.

“The window was already open,” Logan shrugged. “I believe the easier way to quickly lure this hero out of our building is for one of us to go be villainous. It is her self-imposed duty to stop us, after all.”

Remy was just finishing up her tour of the third floor — all the cabinets in the kitchen had been disappointingly empty — when a new alert went off on her phone. Gemini had been spotted at a jewelry store just six blocks from her location.

Show time.

Quickly, she pulled her sunglasses out of her pocket and took off, quickly braiding her hair as she went.

The building had, as far as she could tell from this one story, been pretty boring. The only thing she’d experienced that even resembled a haunting was the door that seemed to have disappeared — though that could have easily been her own imagination, it had been dark, and flashlights didn’t provide the most consistent light source.

No, she probably wouldn’t go back to that building. There was an abandoned mansion on the other side of town that was rumored to be home to a vampire; she’d explore there next.

For now, there was a would-be jewel thief (thieves?) that needed her attention.

<(^_^)>

“You’re not going to go after her, are you?” Virgil asked as he watched Sandman jump out the window.

Her exit had been confirmation of her identity, and Virgil worried what four super-villains, who had had ample time to observe the hero’s clear face, would do. There was no doubt in his mind that Dr. Frankenstein would be able to quickly match a name to the face.

They had all been pretty nice to him and Patton so far, but didn’t exactly pose a threat to them, not anymore.

“We will not,” Janus swore. “You have my word.”

Frankenstein said nothing.

Virgil wasn’t sure what to think. On the one hand, Janus hadn’t lied to Virgil at any point during his stay, but one the other hand, Janus was still a supervillain, and Sandman was a hero who was standing in the way of their goals... Whatever their goals were.

Virgil glanced at Dr. Frankenstein, but the man’s blacked out goggles and blank face offered him no insight into the man’s thoughts.

After another moment of silent deliberation, Frankenstein turned on his heels and walked out of the apartment — using the actual door this time.

“Don’t worry,” Janus assured him in the wake of the older man’s exit. “As long as she poses no threat to our secret identities, none of us will threaten her secret identity.”

“You better not.” Virgil was truly in no position to issue threats, but Sandman was young and — as far as he could tell — under no one’s control but her own; he would be damned if he didn’t do everything in his power — and attempted several things outside of his power — to protect her.

~~~END~~~

Lol back in pt 1 I said there would be at least 2 more parts. I was right, but I definitely meant for this to be a shorter fic

I also said in pt 15 that there were two more parts in this arc, but SIKE! This section will last at least through pt 18 (next part is Logan pov, and then — spoiler alert — Thomas pov, then we move on the section 3, aka ‘The Thing™’

ODD taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @knight-shives @misunderstood-shadowling @lost-in-thought-20 @remy-the-lemon-berry @jinxcrafter @apinkline2715 @gothfoxx @donutsarepartybagels @xoaningout @meganmoneky14

#sanders sides #ts sanders sides #remy sanders #janus sanders #virgil sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #on death’s doorstep #superhero au #future anxceit #thursday writes #my writing #sanders sides fanfiction

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violent-optimism · 3 years

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Why Twilight Princess is the Best Zelda Game (To Me!)

Hey ya’ll,

I know I don’t really talk about video games that much. I really should though! Video Games have been a huge part of my life for pretty much as long as I can remember.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a game that means so much to me I can scarcely put it into words. I was 10 years old when this game came out, the perfect age in my opinion. I think if I had been any older or younger it might have slipped past my radar. Despite the game being rated T for Teen, my parents got it for me and my sister anyway which I think is pretty fucking rad.

Not that we really knew what we were in for, of course. I was just a kid. I didn’t read game reviews yet, and I didn’t have any friends who had played this game so I couldn’t ask them about it either. When we first popped that disc in and were brought to the main menu, we had absolutely NO idea just what kind of ride we were in for or how just how much this game would impact us.

Another thing I’d like to mention was how this game was introduced into my life at the perfect time. My sister and I had just moved schools. We were the new kids, and we had a lot of trouble adjusting and fitting in. There was definitely some teasing, maybe even some bullying. I don’t remember much from those days to be honest. But you know what I do remember? Playing Twilight Princess. This game was the perfect distraction from my crappy school life, and in a time where my sister and I barely had any friends, it was so comforting. We’ve always been close, but I think we bonded a lot over this game.

If you’re a gamer, you know this feeling; the feeling when you are currently playing a game that is just so fun, so amazing, so utterly addicting in the best possible way; that when you’re away from it it’s all you can think about. I distinctly remember my Dad installing the new TV which meant no Twilight Princess for a day or so. I was SO impatient and I just couldn’t wait for him to be done so I could continue playing it.

Even though I’ve now played Twilight Princess so many times that I could basically play it with my eyes closed (maybe lol) I still remember experiencing some of the best moments of the game for the very first time; running around Ordon Village, finding Midna, beating the first dungeon, finding out that GANONDORF was in the game! (Remember I had no way of knowing this at the time). Every big moment, every discovery, every heart-wrenching cut scene, it all felt so real and so important at the time. In a lot of ways, it still is.

Okay, so that’s the personal part. A bit long-winded, I know. I just thought it was important to include for this essay. But what is it about Twilight Princess that makes it so special? Why do I love it so much even after 15 years? (God that makes me feel old). This list isn’t really in a particular order but I will definitely be covering a lot of the BIG reasons why I adore this game so much. Oh, and in case you’re a little late to the party, there will be spoilers. Let’s go!

Darker and More Mature:

There’s something really enticing about being a kid, and witnessing something in a movie, video game, etc. that you know you probably shouldn’t have watched but you did anyway. Not only is Twilight Princess the only Zelda game to date that is Rated T (I’m pretty sure anyway), but it has some seriously dark and disturbing moments throughout the story; including one VERY creepy cut scene about halfway through the game that still haunts me a little to this day. Beyond that, you’ve got painful transformation sequences, characters being stabbed, characters sacrificing themselves, and a scene where I’m pretty sure Ganondorf’s neck just gets fucking broken. I can go on, but the point is this Zelda game does not screw around when it comes to showing intense moments and it’s all the better for it. I never felt the game went too far with it, but let’s say Twilight Princess definitely earned its T rating.

Wolf Form:

I’m sure people who haven’t even played TP know that this is probably the biggest defining feature. In this game, Link gains the ability to turn into a Wolf! I know some people might consider these parts of the game to be boring and not as fun, but I have always disagreed with that notion. I think it’s a really cool and out of the box way to break the somewhat repetitive gameplay of traditional Zelda games. There’s more of a puzzle-solving element to these Wolf sections, and I for one find it very satisfying to collect the Tears of Light. Turning into your Wolf form becomes essential, especially towards the latter half of the game when you need to complete tasks that you couldn’t normally do as a human. Plus…Wolf Link is pretty darn cute! His design is awesome too.

MIDNA!!!:

And speaking of Wolf Link, around the same time Link gains this ability he also meets a character who (in my opinion) is THE BEST Zelda sidekick/companion across all the games. She’s not annoying, she’s not boring; Midna is a 3-Dimensional, fully fleshed out character that plays a crucial role in the story. I can’t imagine anyone playing this game and NOT getting attached to Midna. I know I certainly did. In the first half of the game you don’t really know that much about her, but she is certainly helpful gameplay-wise and doesn’t just give you the same useless hint over and over. Plus, the SASS! My God, Midna is so sassy I love her so much. I love how she grows and changes and becomes a better person by the end of the story. Midna really deserves her own game!

A Beautiful Game:

Now obviously this doesn’t just apply to Twilight Princess. Most Zelda games are very beautiful, especially the more modern ones such as Breath of the Wild. However, there is something about the specific beauty of Twilight Princess that just takes my breath away. The scenery is just gorgeous everywhere you go. Ordon Village is beautiful, Hyrule Field is stunning, Snowpeak is captivating, the Fishing Hole is serene, you get the picture. And to top it all off, Twilight Princess STILL looks beautiful even after all these years. The graphics have aged really well which is certainly no hindrance. As a kid I always wished that some of the locations were real, and honestly, I still kinda do.

Best version of Ganondorf:

It’s funny; I don’t normally root for villains. I tend to gravitate towards more heroic characters or characters that are more similar to me. Ganondorf is certainly the exception; specifically the Ganondorf that we see in Twilight Princess. I remember being SO EXCITED when he first appeared in a cut scene after Arbiter’s Grounds. I don’t know if it’s the way he was introduced, the raspy laugh, or his character design, but I LOVE Ganondorf in this game. He is just so bad-ass, so cool, my only wish is that we saw a little bit more of him in TP. Regardless, every time he shows up in the game, he is a formidable and dominating screen presence. And I feel no shame whatsoever admitting that 10 year old Sam developed a massive crush on this Ganondorf. Is that weird? I dunno, but either way he is just so cool as well as a fantastic addition to an already perfect game.

The Soundtrack:

Again, it’s not unusual for a Zelda game to have a really fantastic soundtrack. The series has always had amazing music since the very first game. However, the music in Twilight Princess continues to entrance me even to this day. The Main Menu theme? Amazing. Midna’s theme? Amazing. Lake Hylia? Amazing. And don’t even get me started on those beautiful Wolf Songs you sing throughout the game. It’s just a beautiful soundtrack. To say it’s nostalgic for me is a massive understatement.

Dungeon Design:

Unsurprisingly, most Zelda games tend to recycle the same temple themes over and over again. You got your forest temple, your fire temple, water, desert, time, etc. These are definitely present in Twilight Princess, but there’s something about the way they’re designed and the way you move through them that just feels so unique and wonderful. I won’t name them but I’ve played other Zelda games where the dungeons felt like a horrible, tedious chore. With TP, I never felt that was the case. Every Dungeon is packed full of secrets, with plenty of interesting set pieces to explore. Even the water temple (YES, the Water Temple!) is enjoyable to play through. The Dungeons have tons of replay value as well, meaning that you can return later and find special items that you weren’t able to access before.

And just as a fun bonus, here’s my top nine list for the Twilight Princess Dungeon’s:

9) City in the Sky

8) Palace of Twilight

7) Hyrule Castle

6) Temple of Time

5) Lakebed Temple

4) Forest Temple

3) Snowpeak Ruins

2) Goron Mines

1) Arbiter’s Grounds

And that about wraps it up, folks! Sorry this was such a long essay, I had so much to say. It is, after all, my favourite video game ever. Of course it’s not technically perfect and it definitely has some flaws. But you know what? It’s perfect to me, and I’ll never get sick of it.

Thank you so much for reading! :) Listen to this track of the opening theme and tell me you don’t feel it in your SOUL!!!

youtube

#zelda #twilight princess #game review #my thoughts

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himluv · 4 years

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Inevitable Update

Fuck it. We’re celebrating up in this bitch. HAVE SOME SMUT! (Set directly after Never Again).

Reminder, you can read Inevitable from the beginning here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21998044

They walked back to the forward base in silence. Varric and Dorian walked ahead of them, close enough to defend in case of a threat, but far enough to afford the couple some privacy if they wanted to talk.

Riallan did not want to talk. After her visit to the Fade, her body was exhausted, her heart weary. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, twining and tangling in whirlwind fashion, too fast to keep up with. The Nightmare, the Divine, Alistair, the tombstones. One after another, endlessly circling and pulling her under. The only thing keeping her head above water was Solas’ fingers laced through hers.

He walked in silence beside her, closer than he normally would. His hand was warm and dry, like the desert at night, and focusing on his skin against hers calmed her somewhat. She dreaded reaching the forward camp, when all eyes would be on her and he would let go of her hand to vanish into the background.

Except, he didn’t.

He glanced at her as they entered the camp, checking to see if she was ready to face the Inquisition. She nodded that she was, and when she loosened her grip on his hand, his tightened.

He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a fleeting kiss to the back. “Come,” he said, the word all the encouragement she needed. They stepped into the forward base side by side, hand in hand, and she took all the silent strength he offered.

Soldiers nodded to her, their eyes flicking to Solas, to their hands intertwined, and then back. There were gasps, whispers, money exchanged hands as bets were settled, but there was no outrage. No condemnation at the two apostates. And there was no outcry, no demands for her time or her attention. It was as if Solas were a barrier between her and the Inquisition forces.

Still, the relief was palpable as Solas raised the flap to her tent and followed after her. She had done all she could that night. Let the Inquisition fend for itself for one evening. Let the mantle of Inquisitor fall from her shoulders. Let her just be Riallan for a little while.

Solas lit the candles with a careless gesture. “Are you hungry?” He asked as he helped her unbuckle her armor. It wasn’t a task she truly needed help with, but his hands seemed unable to be far from her.

She knew she should be hungry, but she wasn’t. She shook her head.

Concern flickered across his face, but he nodded.

Once free of her armor and dressed in her customary leggings and oversized tunic, she sank onto the pile of blankets in the center of her tent. Normally, her field tent had just enough room for their two bedrolls and their supplies, but the Inquisitor’s tent in a forward base demanded something much more grand. She had a cot in one corner, a desk in another, and even a wash basin and mirror along one canvas wall. The first thing she had done the night before was lay out her bedroll and the bedding from the cot onto the floor. She would be much more comfortable there, even after all these months sleeping in a bed in Skyhold.

“Would it be too much to ask for a bath?” She smiled, meaning the words as a joke.

Solas frowned down at her. “Perhaps in a desert, vhenan. I can inquire with—“

She took his wrist in her hand. “I was kidding.” She chuckled, but it wasn’t as heartfelt as usual. “Lie down with me?”

His mouth smiled but that little crease in his brow never moved.

She tugged on his hand and he sank to sit cross-legged in front of her. “Stop worrying,” she said.

“I cannot.” The candlelight lent his face a warm glow, playing across the long slope of his nose. “I worry about you, Ria. No matter how hard I try.”

She looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry, Solas. I needed you to stay, I —“ His palm, warm and dry against her cheek stopped her.

“I do not blame you, vhenan.” A little frown, that crease in his brow deepened. “You made the right decision. Even if I could not see it at the time.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He shook his head, once and so softly, more to himself than to her. “I fear we are well past the time where either of us could hope to avoid heartache.” His tone was light, offsetting the grim words, but his eyes carried a different weight now. A familiar one. He held her gaze as his thumb traced her jaw and then her lower lip.

She kissed him, swift and sudden. She expected to surprise him, but Solas met her desire, his fingers grasping the back of her neck and drawing her into him. Riallan’s hands roamed, bunching in his tunic, scraping his scalp, tracing an ear. And with every touch, every little gasp she pulled from him, it felt like her blood had set aflame.

She let out a little yelp as his hands moved to lift her onto his lap. He laughed, low and breathy against her neck and Riallan’s head spun. She dropped her head back, bit her lip, and sighed as his mouth explored every inch of her throat.

“Is this real?” She asked.

“Yes, vhenan.” That throaty chuckle again. It was such a rare and beautiful sound.

She rolled her hips against him and a wave of heat crashed over her at his moan. He pulled her closer, his fingers digging into her hips. She grabbed at his shirt, slow at first, but he didn’t protest as she lifted the hem. Instead he obliged her, raising his arms to let her pull the tunic over his head.

This was new territory for them. They occasionally helped each other out of their armor, saw and felt bare skin when one of them needed healing, but this feverish removal of clothing? Only in her dreams.

But she wasn't dreaming, not this time. The fire of his touch proved that. His hands, those long, artist’s fingers, crept beneath her tunic to rove over her skin. It was the most forward he’d been since that afternoon in the Forbidden Oasis. Not that there had been much time alone for them since then. But still, it’d been weeks of heated glances, lingering touches, and too brief kisses. She needed this.

Especially after the day they’d had.

It seemed, for once, that Solas agreed. Usually he was so hesitant, unwilling to initiate contact beyond a kiss here and there. But tonight he felt resolute, desperate even. And that worried her. As badly as she wanted this, wanted him, this wasn’t like him.

Riallan pulled back, her hands on each side of his face. His eyes were dark, pupils blown wide to leave the barest fringe of sea grey around them. His lips were bright, even against the flush of his face in the candlelight. He looked amazing, suddenly so real beneath her touch.

“Vhenan?” He blinked. “Is something wrong?”

“Are you sure?” She ran a hand through her hair. “We’ve never… We haven’t — I just want you to be sure.” She was an idiot. She had stopped them so she could babble half sentences and ruin the entire mood? Riallan sighed and looked down at their laps.

Gentle fingers lifted her chin. “I am certain, Ria,” he said. He kissed her cheek. “I thought the worst today.” His lips pressed to the other side of her face. “And all I could think was that the last words I ever spoke to you were in anger.” A brush of his mouth against her forehead. “That your last memory of me would not be one of love.” His voice was low, rough and fragile.

She shuddered at the sound, at the emotion, a display so rare for Solas.

He kissed her, his mouth tender against hers. There was no rush, no desperate heat, just longing and need and relief. She melted against him, her arms looping around his neck as she deepened the kiss. They went slower, relishing in one in other, in the fact that they both still lived.

Impossibly.

With sure fingers, Solas tugged at the hem of her tunic, and once it was off and tossed across the tent, any lingering doubts Riallan had went with it. He did not hesitate. His touch was firm, decisive. He knew what he wanted and he would have it, if she would let him.

She gasped when his hands found the edges of her breast band. She had longed for this, for him to be so bold, to feel his hands on every inch of her skin. But now that the moment was here, she couldn’t seem to believe it was real.

And then the breast band was gone, tossed aside like her tunic, and his mouth moved to her chest. Her world narrowed to where his tongue pressed against her flesh, how good it felt, how his merest touch suffused her entire body with warmth.

He released her, the air suddenly cool against her skin. “I would make amends,” he said. The emotion in his words was still there, but something dark thrilled in his voice. A promise. “Isalan sera na aron tuelan.”

She didn’t understand everything he said. Something about lust and touch and the Creators. But she didn’t need to understand. She got the meaning just fine: he would make up for lost time. She nodded, she wasn’t really capable of more than that at the moment, and kissed him.

His tongue met hers, explored her mouth, teased her lips, as he tilted her back and laid her onto the blankets. Then his mouth traveled. Down her chin, her jaw, trailed along her throat to pause at each breast. A flick of his tongue on each nipple made her arch and writhe, and the smile he graced her with was utterly predatory.

It had been too long since a partner had made her feel this desired. Too long since she had craved someone as much as she craved him.

Her leggings went next, his stare transfixed as she wiggled her hips free of them. His touch was slow, reverent. Fingertips blazed along the tail of her vallaslin, claiming the territory as his. Marveling at the shiver that rolled through her. Solas’ eyes soaked her in, watched her every movement as if he could draw his pleasure simply from the sight of her.

“Please.” The word was a hush of breath on her tongue.

He smirked, all wonder replaced with stark hunger. His touch ghosted along her skin, those eyes watching for her frustration, glinting when she caught her lip between her teeth. Riallan closed her eyes and focused on the feel of those hands on her body, the casual touch that ventured up her thigh until it was intimate enough to make her moan.

“People will hear, vhenan,” he said. There was a smile in his voice.

“Let them.”

He hummed at that and then pulled her small clothes down her legs. More rapid-fire elvhen, too fast to catch, too low to hear, his breath against her skin as he bent down to press featherlight kisses up her leg. Then Riallan’s world went white as he tasted her for the first time.

She’d dreamed of this moment. Fantasized. But neither had ever captured the worship in his eyes. The shiver of elvhen that poured from his lips, spoken in reverence against her most sensitive places. The tremble of his fingertips where they bit into her hips.

Heat swirled low in her belly, spiraled, taut and desperate. “Solas.”

He hummed against her and smiled at her gasp.

“I — Fenedhis, emma lath, I…” Her eyelids fluttered, her sight flickering from the dark brown of the canvas above her, the flash of candlelight, the spread of the wolfish grin on his face as she fell apart around him.

She shuddered and shook, heat and light crashing through her in delicious waves until it was all she knew.

Solas sat back and watched blissful agony wash over his vhenan’s face, consumed by the sight. The smell of her arousal overwhelmed him, the taste of her thick and cloying on his tongue. For the first time in his long life, a lover had conquered him completely. In that moment there were no Elvhen besides her. No Elvhenan to restore. No betrayed kin haunting his every step. There was simply Riallan.

He had not felt so free in millennia.

As her trembling eased, Solas trailed one hand across her skin to resume the work of his tongue. Tiny touches, light and wondering. Asking, was she ready to continue? The whimpers that came with each flick of his fingertip were answer enough.

And yet his hands hesitated at the lacings of his breeches.

This was the final piece. The last barrier he had built up between them, his heart’s last remaining defense. She would never know whole truth of him, he vowed then never to be Fen’Harel when he was with her, but that didn’t mean those truths wouldn’t belong to her. If he did this, if he succumbed to the desire decimating them both, he would surrender his every truth at her feet. If he relinquished his burdens, she would take them up, whether she knew it or not.

“Solas?”

Dark eyes stared up at him, wide and wanting and worried. For once he couldn’t bring himself to allay her fears. In the dim, flickering light of her tent, he was guileless and raw, nothing more than her apostate lover. Nothing more than that name on her lips.

“Let me help,” she said. Riallan sat up, delicate fingers on his lacings, twining with his until they worked together to remove this last obstacle between them. The breeches slid off his hips and she made to lie back, but his hand on hers rooted her in place. He kissed her fingertips, her palm, her wrist and the crease of her elbow, guiding her down with each press of his lips.

He breathed his love against the crook of her neck, tasted the salt-sweet warmth of her and relished the tiny gasp, the curve of her body against his. She made it painfully clear that she wanted him, needed him, and at last he admitted that he needed her too.

For months he had lied to himself, had denied her touches and her skin and the heat of her body pressed to his. He’d believed it was in her best interest to maintain his distance, even after he’d declared his affection. That it would protect her in the long run. But he knew now that was just another selfish excuse.

He was merely protecting himself, as ever.

But after watching her die, again, he couldn’t bear to imagine spending this night alone. He wanted to taste every inch of her, to know her body with his every sense and to let her know him in turn.

“Please.” The word fell from her lips, a chant, breathless and needy. He caught the word on his tongue, pressed his mouth to hers and relished in the heat of her kiss. Her nails bit into his hips, begging him closer.

Solas obliged her.

He stifled a moan and watched her eyelids flutter. Her lips parted, the heat blossomed on her cheeks for once not from embarrassment but from pleasure. Yet again he was struck by how real she was under his hands. Riallan was vibrant, visceral and all-consuming. She tethered him to this world in a way he had never known, in a way he didn’t think he could ever un-know.

His hands roamed, as if they hoped to map every inch of her body in the course of one evening. He moved gently at first. There was no need to rush, he reminded himself. There was time, for now. For this.

But Riallan had different ideas.

Her hands pulled him close, urged and pleaded, guided and instructed how she wanted to be loved. Solas had never known a lover so confident — love-making in Elvhenan was a languorous thing, much like everything else — and Riallan’s urgency thrilled him.

He’d thought to go slow, to cherish this moment, but as she moved with him she moaned and bit her lip and looked absolutely devastating in her passion. A millennium alone was far too long to withstand such perfection.

So, he gave her what she wanted. He worshiped at her altar, whispered his truths in elvhen so fast she could never understand. He gave her everything he had to give, body and spirit.

And though it terrified him, it was the sweetest surrender.

#riallan lavellan #solavellan #solas #dragon age #celebrate da4 sneak peak

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rzeqvrtz · 3 years

Photo

&&. cauldron above, ( saria young ) was just spotted in the fae lands — word has it ( she ) is affiliated with ( the winter court ). ( she ) is a(n) ( 70 / appears 21 ) year old ( lesser fae ). it’s been said that ( she ) resembles ( freya mavor ). ( she ) has been said to be ( friendly & earnest ) but also quite ( shy & clumsy ). ( she ) is currently serving as ( tatiana valentina’s handmaiden ).

~*{ run, doe eyes }*~

full name: saria elizabeth young

born: september 27th | libra

aesthetics: oversized sweaters, new spring buds, freckles that look like constellations, the smell of old books, barefeet, hidden glances, longing looks, red cheeks, pastel pink, fresh baked goods, nervous giggles, sleeping in until noon, clean laundry, gardenia flowers, hummingbird kisses

basic physical stats: 5’4 | gold-blonde hair | blue eyes |

distinctive features: freckles | full breasted | curly hair

notable connections: arielle deerling, hazar korkmaz, the spring court, the valentina family, the winter court

wings

biography:

It is not often that the Lesser Fae of Astralis are anything other than what their name entails; lesser than the other great fae species on the magical continent, living their lives peacefully together and one with nature. But, from time to time, fate throws the normal out into the wind. A twist of fate is what began the lonely life of Saria Young, starting with her mother and father.

Both of Saria’s parents were lesser fae, but it was her mother who belonged to a family who existed slightly higher than the rest. Lesser fae lived together in sprawling towns and villages across the Courts of Astralis, and her mother’s family was no different, yet her grandfather had managed to make a name for himself within their commune only several miles away from Deerling Castle and the Avalon City. A cutthroat man with little regard for the struggles of others, he quite literally fell into a fortune when he happened upon a dragon’s cave lair some three hundred years ago while out exploring Cloverwood Forrest, though he did not slay the dragon himself. Rather, the dragon appeared to have passed on to the next life because of old age. Her grandfather took all the gold and jewels he could carry and brought it back to the small home he shared with his wife. With their new found wealth, Saria’s grandfather and grandmother quickly invested in trade and commerce, and over the next several decades, would become one of those few lesser fae who were able to climb the social ladder. Though her grandparents would never be close to the status of a lord or lady, they were still influential merchants all the same, and her grandfather would eventually become something of a local legend and leader of their small village.

After their wealth and life had become solidified, Saria’s mother was born — a picture of sunshine golden curls, freckled skin, and soft spoken brown eyes. As she was a daughter born into somewhat better circumstances than other lesser fae like her, Saria’s grandparents expected her to marry someone who was not lesser fae, instead setting their sights on the other, more renowned species of Astralis fae. But it is not uncommon for children to rebel against parents who try to plan their child’s life for them — and while it is from she who Saria gets her shyness and gentle charm, her mother could not help but rebel, though not intentionally. Once upon a time, a handsome lesser fae man with crystal blue eyes hailing from the Winter Court happened upon their village.

Their love would not last. Rather, it was nothing but a game to the strange man — he seduced the young blonde over several weeks, and when they finally shared a night beneath the constellations together in the warm embrace of Spring, he was gone the next morning without a trace. Heart broken and ashamed that she had been tricked into giving herself to someone who did not love her, Saria’s mother finally agreed to do as her parents willed. But before she could be married, she soon discovered she was pregnant. Saria’s grandparents locked her away in the hopes that nobody would notice, that they could be rid of the bastard child born of lust, and eventually marry their daughter to the fae of their choosing.

Saria’s mother became ill during her pregnancy, and though the midwives thought they would lose the child, the mother was lost instead. Just as Saria took her first breath, her mother took her last. Her grandparents were heartbroken. Saria might have had an easy life, might have grown up with a loving family to call her own… Saria looked so much like her mother that her grandparents considered raising her as their own. But soon, Saria would open her eyes for the first time, and that imaginary life was shattered. Blue eyes, like her father — crystal blue eyes that ruined the illusion that Saria might be the daughter that they had lost.

Her grandfather ordered their servants to get rid of her — but her grandmother knew what that might entail, and behind her husband’s back and surly the opposite of what he wanted, and in her guilt she paid the servant to find a place where Saria might grow up happy. That is how Saria Young arrived in Avalon City, left in a swaddle of fabric outside the entrance to the kitchens of Deerling Castle, and where she would grow from child into young woman.

Saria’s childhood was not an easy one — though her fellow servants in Deerling Castle were kind, it could not be helped that Saria was an outsider. The other servants her age thought her strange because of her shyness, and she had never been good at making friends — her voice would shake whenever she tried, and try as she might to run and play with the servant’s children her own age, she was too small to keep up and too meek to participate in their banter. Many had a hand in raising her, but none of them ever truly considered her family — there were many nights where Saria tucked herself into bed, and many more where she fell asleep wondering about the family who had left her behind.

Once she was old enough, Saria became a kitchen wench in the kitchens. Though she was not at all a fine cook, she found solace in baking every sweet under the Spring sun. In the kitchens, she could hide herself away and clean the pots and pans, and use the ovens once everybody had fallen asleep. It was in these years that Saria would grow from an awkward teenager — a phase that seemed to last well past her 50th birthday — into a beautiful young woman. Over time, Saria had managed to make true friends within the castle… including a handsome knight whom made her cheeks warm and her heart flutter. Finally, the cook — one of many who had helped raised her, and the closest thing she had to a father figure despite that their relationship consisted mostly of his chastising — decided Saria’s skills would be better used elsewhere.

This was how Saria became a chambermaid to none other than Princess Arielle Deerling — a ray of sunshine who Saria was several decades older than. Saria had always had something of a softspot for the young princess — it was Saria who knew her favorite sweets for desert despite not yet having met her — because she knew what it was like to grow up without a mother. Saria did her best to make the princess as comfortable as possible, quickly learning how to fluff her overstuffed pillows and arrange her luxurious duvet just so. As Arielle quickly grew into a beautiful young nymph right before Saria’s very eyes, they became close friends — and though her elder brothers Ares and Apollo made Saria extremely nervous with their womanizing ways, nothing made Saria happier than watching the Deerling siblings interact and laugh with one another. For a decade, Saria remained in Arielle’s service, and it was no surprise that the two were fast friends. During this ten or so years as a chambermaid, Saria was happier than she’d ever been in the kitchens, despite that she would still sneak away in the night and return in the morning covered in flour.

Saria was perfectly content to spend the rest of her life as a servant to the princess, but even though she had no complaints about her life, Saria could not help but wonder about her own family and what might have been. Who was her mother? Did she look like her? Was her father a brave knight like the one she watched so closely with a racing heart? These questions simmered and simmered in her golden-curled head, until she finally gained the courage to ask the cook what he might know of her past. The cook was not able to tell her much, instead directing her to the woman who had found her outside the castle; the one who had taken her from her grandparent’s servant. Knowing Saria would come asking one day, she told her what little information she could. Her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father was nowhere to be found… but she had kept up with rumors over the years, and was able to find out that he was a lesser fae of the Winter Court. With this new information, Saria could not help that her curiosity grew until it was a tremendous force that would not leave her mind.

It was no surprise that Princess Arielle could tell something was bothering her friend. Saria would eventually tell her of her thoughts of her father — supposedly living and the only true family she had in the world. Excitable as always, Arielle eagerly declared that it was Saria’s destiny to find him. During her service to Arielle, Saria had met the High Lord and Princess of the Winter Court, Viktor and Tatiana Valentina. Though she would be sad to see her go, Arielle encouraged her to travel to the Winter Court and work as a handmaid for the Winter princess. Mortified, Saria tried to turn down the idea. How could she work for Tataiana, when secretly she had been watching Viktor for years? They had only spoken briefly, of course — nothing like the conversations she had with her knight, though he had left Deerling Castle — but…

But Viktor Valentina was a dream, one that constantly visited her in the night as she slept. A man she always asked after in the softest voice possible, checking her reflection in polished silver each time she knew he would be visiting Spring. She loved her knight, though she did not know the complications of their relationship until much later, but Viktor? Viktor was always kind to her, with his dark eyes and curly dark hair… the man she wished would fall in love with her, just like in the stories of common girls and princes finding their hearts were one.

Despite insisting she remain, it was not long before Arielle secured her new employment. Everything happened in such a whirlwind after that. One minute, Saria was basking in the glow of Spring, and the next, she was packing her meager belongings and arriving in Matovaya Zemlya with her delicate hummingbird wings tucked into warm furs. She has only been a citizen of the Winter Court for a short time — a handmaid, now, and working all the more closer with the man of her dreams — and doing all she can to find her father… but Saria has a secret that she is too embarrassed to reveal, and believes her goal might be unachievable. How can she find any written proof of her father’s whereabouts in Winter when she was never taught to read?

Though her time in Winter has not been long, Saria is determined to prove her worth to the Valentinas; specifically to Princess Tatiana. The Princess, closer to her age than Arielle, is certainly a handful, though Saria has always enjoyed her visits with Arielle. Saria has vowed to be the best she can be because of Arielle’s kindness, and hopes that she and Tatiana can become just as close; the friendship has already begun to blossom, and Saria — despite her initial reluctance — is thrilled to be a member of her household. Fate is a fickle thing, and somehow, a lesser fae commoner — a servant in every form — has managed to gain the trust of not one, but two giggly, excitable, and eternally kind princesses. Though she has left the Spring Court behind, little does she know, familiar faces run wild in her new frosted home...

#~*{ morganite -- about }*~#~*{ morganite -- saria young }*~#ahqintro

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morningfears · 5 years

Text

Back Home

Rating: PG-13 (Blink and you’ll miss it homophobia, some swearing)

Summary: Calum and Elizabeth are going to Hangout with Michael and Crystal in Gulf Shores, Alabama. However, they’ve decided to make a stop in Elizabeth’s hometown, first. Calum gets to see firsthand what growing up in the middle of nowhere was like and, while he’s at it, ask her parents for her hand in marriage.

Word Count: 7k

Calum watched as sunlight filtered through the thick growth of trees lining the road and into the car, illuminating Elizabeth’s face as they drove along a seemingly deserted back road in some tiny Alabama town he didn’t remember the name of. Her eyes, a beautiful green that he hoped their children would someday inherit, were hidden beneath a pair of sunglasses she’d stolen from him but he could clearly see how she was feeling from the smile on her lips and the way that she relaxed in the driver’s seat.

They were on their way to her parents’ house, located in an even tinier Alabama town, where they planned to spend a few days before joining Michael and Crystal in Gulf Shores for the Hangout Festival. It was a new experience for him, he’d never been to either her hometown or Hangout, but he found himself looking forward to it. He found himself looking forward to the blistering heat (“It’s actually not that bad yet,” she’d told him as they packed their bags, “it’s only hit ninety once this week.”) and the solitude she’d described when telling him about growing up in the middle of the woods. But his excitement was nothing compared to hers.

Elizabeth had always been vocal about her dislike of southern politics, southern hypocrisy, southern weather (“It can’t make up it’s damn mind! One day, it’s eighty degrees and sunshine. The next, it’s thirty and you’ve got snow flurries. But maybe that’s just April,” she’d once said, and Calum had never forgotten it), and her own accent - one that Calum could hear but just barely - but he knew she missed certain things. She missed the food - her mother’s, specifically - and some of the people. She missed being able to smile at someone as she walked down the sidewalk and not get a funny look in return. She missed manners, being expected to say hello and ask how someone was doing when she walked into a shop, and not getting a dirty look if she called someone over the age of thirty ma’am.

But, more than anything, she missed her family.

Though Calum and Elizabeth had been together for nearly three years, he’d only met her parents once. It was at her college graduation, less than a year into their relationship, and the meeting was fine. Her parents, while polite, didn’t exactly love him right off the bat. They hadn’t cared how well the band was doing, that he’d made a career out of music and that it was going well, nor did they care about how much he already loved their daughter. He was different, a musician that didn’t look anything like the sweet southern boy her mother had always imagined she’d marry, and that was enough for them to write him off as a novelty.

They imagined that Elizabeth would grow tired of Calum after a while, that she’d get tired of the long, lonely nights while he was away on tour, and that she would begin to see things from their point of view. They imagined that she would tire of California, that her southern roots were planted just deep enough, and that she would tire of Calum and return home to them. But, so far, she hadn’t.

And Calum desperately hoped that she never would.

While her parents had accepted her desire to stay in California and to keep Calum in her life - her mother even liked him, enough to bake him a loaf of bread that apparently no one else in her family liked - there was a bit of a rift. Calum’s parents traveled to see him every so often (and he packed up to see them when he could) but Elizabeth’s parents didn’t like to travel. She told him once that her mother was so afraid of flying that even a Xanax couldn’t calm her enough to get on a flight and that she was such an awful car passenger that a twenty-nine hour drive, even. with regular stops, might actually kill her. They’d only been to California once, to see her graduate, and that had been such an ordeal that Elizabeth never asked again.

Her schedule, while freer now that she’d finished school, was less flexible than his own. She had work, a job that required her to stay in Los Angeles most of the time, and that made going home (as well as joining him on tour) next to impossible. She went home for big holidays, Christmas and Thanksgiving, but even that was starting to become difficult as she and Calum began to intertwine their lives.

She hadn’t been home since November - they’d spent Christmas with his family in Australia - and was beyond homesick. Most of the meals she made were recipes her mother talked her through over FaceTime so when Michael and Crystal asked him if they would want to join them for a week in Gulf Shores, Calum jumped at the opportunity to surprise his homesick girlfriend. He worked with her boss - a lovely woman from, coincidentally, Georgia, who had become more like a mentor than a boss - to get her a week of vacation. He called her mom and asked her if it would be alright for them to stay for a weekend before they headed to the beach (of course, she was so excited that she cried and Calum didn’t quite understand half of her words through her accent but he felt the love). And he managed to keep their final destination a secret until they landed in Mobile.

Just before they landed in Mobile, when the pilot announced their destination, the look on Elizabeth’s face was more than enough to make Calum’s year. He took a picture of it, just to remember the look of awe and love she’d given him, before he kissed her and confirmed that they were headed to see her parents. He told her, as they navigated the airport and headed toward the car rental, that they would be spending the weekend with them before heading down to Gulf Shores to spend a few days exploring and experiencing Hangout.

He was certain the smile hadn’t disappeared since.

Although he’d offered to drive, Elizabeth refused to let him behind the wheel. Calum normally drove on their outings - mostly because he was a much calmer driver than her and knew how to handle Los Angeles traffic without having a minor panic attack - but she’d been insistent. The closest airport to her parents’ house was in Mobile and the quickest route took them through a maze of backroads that, according to her and Michael (who had gotten lost on more than one occasion during his trips down south), didn’t appear on either Apple or Google Maps. Elizabeth, however, knew the route like the back of her hand and was comfortable navigating the winding curves and deserted country roads.

“Did you go to Mobile a lot as a kid?” Calum asked, his voice breaking the silence for the first time since they’d left the city limits. He’d been content to just look, to soak it all in, and apparently, so had she. It was like she was recommitting the entire route to memory and he didn’t want to disturb her. However, he was curious and, with her, he never let his questions go unasked.

“Not really,” she hummed, glancing over at him for a moment before returning her gaze to the road beyond the windshield. “It’s almost a three hour drive. It wasn’t a big deal to make the trip but it was more special occasion, you know? We came down here to get dresses for formals and, like, my prom dress. I came with my grandparents some because my paw-paw went to the doctor down here. He took me to Hot Topic for the first time and my mom swears I haven’t been normal since.”

Calum grinned at that, both at the casual use of ‘paw-paw’ (something he knew she hated saying because of the obviousness of it’s origin and the way it seemed to draw out her accent) and the mental image of a pre-teen Elizabeth exploring Hot Topic for the first time. There were pieces of her, bits of her past, that he had never seen. They were never intentionally hidden, it wasn’t as if she locked them away and refused to show them to him, but they were just things that didn’t really come up in the course of their daily lives. Memories of childhood, old habits that had long since been forgotten, seemed to return to her as they drove through the curved roads and he was looking forward to getting know who she was before she moved to LA.

The drive passed far quicker than either imagined it would. Calum watched Elizabeth’s face more often than he watched the scenery pass them by but both were equally captivating. She pointed out certain buildings, little shops or restaurants, that she’d visited as a child. She informed him when they left one town and entered another. She made him promise they could stop by a diner, a little building that looked like it could only fit about five people at a time, on their way back to Gulf Shores (they would make the return trip, the same way they’d just come, and drive through Mobile to get there), as well as made him promise they could stop and get ice cream at a farmer’s market that would apparently ruin his desire to eat any other ice cream ever again.

It was endearing, seeing her so excited for such small things, and Calum decided that he would do whatever she wanted, stop wherever she wanted, just to see the carefree smile she’d been sporting since they stepped out of the airport remain on her lips.

The closer they got to her hometown, the more relaxed she grew in the driver’s seat. She smiled as she pointed out her high school (“It sucked. I hated every moment of it, but it still feels nice seeing the building, you know?”) and the one gas station in her hometown. Calum smiled as he imagined her driving these very roads as a teenager, singing along to All Time Low and wholeheartedly agreeing with the pop punk standard of needing to leave her hometown. He marveled at the lack of traffic lights, at the lack of buildings, and grew more and more astonished the farther they got from her high school. She’d told him she grew up in the middle of nowhere, far away from civilization, but he thought she was joking. However, as he realized that he could count on one hand the number of buildings they’d seen since leaving the city limits of the town closest to her home, he realized that that wasn’t the case at all.

But it was nice, in an odd sort of way. It felt serene, like a quiet place where you could disconnect from the world, and Calum wondered what it was like to grow up here.

“It was miserable,” Elizabeth answered candidly when he asked. “The nearest grocery store is twenty minutes away, if you’re speeding, and they don’t even have half of what you need. It’s just the essentials, really, like milk and bread and stuff. If you wanted anything good, like ice cream or candy or snacks, you’d have to go to Walmart. The closest Walmart, the only place where you can get stuff like dish soap and good shampoo - well, as good as Dove is, I guess - and toothpaste that doesn’t cost six bucks a tube is forty-five minutes away. The nearest hospital is an hour away. Same with the nearest mall, movie theater, bowling alley… The list goes on. There wasn’t much to do here as a kid. You just kind of exist, you know? I played outside al to as a kid. Shocking, I know,” she added, grinning in Calum’s direction as she caught the surprised look on his face.

He couldn’t imagine Elizabeth, the girl who hated her hands being dirty more than anything else, playing outside in the southern heat. He almost asked what her neighbors were like, what the other kids in her neighborhood were like, when she added, “I didn’t have neighbors so I just kind of had to entertain myself. It was lonely and boring.”

Calum watched as she focused on a turn she was making, down a road just off the main highway, and he imagined that they were getting closer to her parents’ house. “Do you miss anything about it?” he asked, his voice soft as he watched her bring one hand up to play with the butterfly pendant laying against her skin. “Other than your family and the dogs, of course.”

“Of course,” she laughed as she glanced at him and smiled. She paused for a moment, as if to think about it, before she shrugged. “Not really,” she hummed as she returned her gaze to the road ahead. “I mean, I miss the food but if I really want it, I can make most things myself. The only thing I haven’t mastered yet is collards and I think that’s just because I can’t get good ones in LA. I miss the quiet sometimes, mostly when I’m trying to sleep, and being able to see the stars but I love living in an actual city with things to do and places to go. Yeah, some stores are still twenty minutes from our house but if I really need something, I can get it from somewhere else. And, I mean, I love the diversity of the city. I didn’t know anything about other cultures, about other people, when I moved to LA and it’s been amazing to see it all and to see how open everyone is to new things. I mean, yeah, I hate some things about LA and it’s a different world for me, for sure, but, at the end of the day, it’s home now.”

Calum nodded his understanding at that. He realized that she loved being surrounded by options. She loved having the ability to get in the car and go get coffee or just go to Target if she felt like it and her hometown wasn’t exactly the most stimulating place he’d ever found himself. Everything looked as if it had seen better days, decades ago, and he didn’t begrudge her not wanting to return for good. However, he was glad that he was getting the opportunity to at least spend a weekend in the middle of nowhere with her and that joy was only magnified as they approached a small dirt road that he quickly realized housed her parents’ home.

“Am I going to get to hear your southern accent?” he asked, an excited lilt to his voice as they drove down a tree lined dirt road, careful not to hit the rocks and tree limbs that cluttered it. “It’s so faint now,” he reminded her. She, like him, had adapted to Los Angeles and he accent had faded. It was still there, more so than his own, but it only truly appeared when she was angry or excited or exceptionally tired and unable to control her speech pattern. It was faint and Calum missed it. He thought it was cute, he liked the way it sounded when she said his name, but he knew it had been a source of annoyance for her when she first arrived in the city. He also knew that she herself wasn’t very fond of it so she didn’t lament its loss at all.

“Probably. At least, it’ll be thicker here than it is in LA,” she confirmed with a sigh, not at all pleased by the thought. “I try not to control my voice so much around my family. I just talk, I guess. But I still don’t get why you like it so much. It’s gross. And, besides, you’ll get tired of the southern twang real quick with my family. I’ll provide translation services if necessary.”

Calum laughed at the deadpan comment and nodded his appreciation. She knew how much trouble he had understanding her mother sometimes (usually when she was angry and ranting during a phone call) and had warned him that the rest of her family - with the exception of her brother - was worse. The accents grew thicker and thicker, harder and harder to understand, and she herself sometimes found it difficult to navigate a conversation. But Calum was looking forward to seeing her at ease among members of her family and grew excited as he spotted a comfortable white house looming in the distance.

“Here we are,” she informed him with a smile, her cheeks round and pink (from the heat or excitement, he couldn’t tell) and her teeth on display, as she caught sight of the cars parked out front. “Holy shit, everyone is here.”

Everyone seemed to be an understatement. There were several cars, all parked in front of her parents’ home, and Calum couldn’t even begin to guess who had appeared to greet her. Her mother had told him that her brother, his wife, and their children would be there to greet them. He also imagined that her nana would be there. However, he couldn’t fathom who else her mother could have invited. But, as Elizabeth put the car in park, a horde of teenagers, all in their mid to late teens, rushed out of the front door, down the steps, and swarmed the car.

“Lizzie, you’re home,” one girl with blonde hair and braces cheered as Elizabeth climbed out of the car. Though she looked to be about sixteen, she stood several inches taller than Elizabeth and dwarfed her as she pulled her into a hug. “I missed you! I have so much to tell you. I got a car! I can drive now. And a boyfriend! You went to high school with his brother, Austin.”

“Let her go, May,” another of the girls, this one shorter than Elizabeth and decidedly the oldest of the group, urged as she shoved her arms between the pair, “I want to hug her.” She wrapped her arms around Elizabeth’s waist and pouted up at her as she said, “Lizzie, I start college in August. I’m going to LSU and I don’t know what to do. Help me!”

“She’s my aunt!” A high pitched voice squeaked as a short girl with glasses and braces that bore a clear family resemblance to Elizabeth shoved through the others. “Aunt Lizzie!”

“Hey, guys,” she laughed, clearly overwhelmed by the affection as she struggled to fully climb out of the car. “It’s good to see you all, too. What are y’all doing here?”

“We waited to have maw maw’s birthday party today so we could celebrate that, you being home, and me graduating high school all at once. Oh my god, is that a boy? Lizzie has a boyfriend!” the second girl, whose name Calum still didn’t know, yelled as she caught sight of him climbing out of the car. He offered her a smile, amused by the apparent novelty of Elizabeth bringing someone home, and waved at her before he reached back into the car to grab his bag. “Lizzie’s never brought anyone home before,” she told Calum as he walked around the car to stand at Elizabeth’s side. “We thought she was a lesbian but just didn’t want to tell us.”

“Oh my god, Haley,” Elizabeth groaned as she reached out and nudged the shorter girl away from her. “Go away. All of you, go inside. I’ll be there in a second.” When the girls turned and began running back toward the house, Elizabeth groaned and turned to bury her face in the crook of Calum’s neck. “Jesus, fuck. This is why I never brought anyone home,” she deadpanned as she glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. “I’m going to go ahead and apologize for everything that’s about to happen.”

Calum, who was struggling to hold back his laughter, shook his head at her statement. “Don’t worry about it,” he assured her with a smile as he leaned in to press a kiss to the crown of her head. “Family can be embarrassing but, at the end of the day, they love you and want to see you happy.” He paused for a moment, thinking about the comment the girl had made, before he asked, “Before we go in, they don’t know you’re bi, do they?”

“No,” she sighed as she removed herself from his grasp and opened the back door to grab her own bag from the seat. “They… I don’t know. I can’t tell them and, I mean, right now, it doesn’t matter. But, no. There are a lot of things they don’t know about me. I didn’t realize you’d be thrown to the wolves on the very first night so I’m going to apologize again for anything they say that’s offensive. I’ve tried so many times to educate them but it’s so tiring when they don’t want to learn, you know? My mom tries, sometimes, but it’s easier to just pretend for a few days than keep pounding my head against a brick wall.”

Calum wasn’t sure what he could say to that statement and he knew that, sometimes, all she needed was a hand to hold. So, instead of putting his foot in his mouth, he gripped her hand in his and brought it to his mouth to place a gentle kiss against the back. When she shot him a halfhearted smile, he squeezed it a little tighter and said, “Lead the way, love.”

Though Calum had been overwhelmed by the barrage of teenage girls that bombarded the car, they were nothing compared to the barrage of adults that swarmed them as they entered the house. He held Elizabeth’s bag and watched as, one by one, adult after adult wrapped Elizabeth in hugs and shouted variations of, “Lizzie Belle!” He stood off to the side, a small smile on his face, as he watched them tell her how proud they were of her for finding a life in Los Angeles or how beautiful she looked. It was sweet, an onslaught of love, but he imagined that she was incredibly uncomfortable with the outpouring of compliments as she thanked everyone. She didn’t like to be the center of attention, not when there were so many sets of eyes on her, but he could tell that she was glad to be at home as she hugged her nana and held on tight.

“Here, let me help you with that,” a voice called over the din of the living room and Calum glanced over to meet the eyes of a man he recognized as her older brother. The family resemblance wasn’t very strong - likely due to their different fathers - but he could see bits and pieces of Elizabeth in him. They had the same dark, wavy hair (though her brothers had started graying) and kind smile but that was where the similarity ended. Her brother, slightly taller than Calum and significantly bigger, looked as if he spent a good deal of his time outdoors and was covered with tattoos.

“Thanks,” Calum said as he handed the bag to Elizabeth’s brother and followed him through the small path he’d carved behind the crowd of relatives. “Calum,” he introduced, holding his hand out as they entered a long hallway, “nice to meet you.”

“Josh,” he returned as he shook Calum’s hand before gesturing to a room with a closed door, “this is Lizzie’s room. Y’all’ll be in here.” Josh dropped the bag onto Elizabeth’s bed and Calum followed suit before he paused to glance around the room.

The room was exactly what he’d imagined it would be. The curtains were black and red with a light blocking curtain behind them. The queen sized bed was tall, so tall that Elizabeth needed a step-stool to climb onto it, and covered with a black duvet with white polka dots and nearly a million pillows at the head. Posters covered every inch of the walls and Calum spotted All Time Low, Green Day, and even a few One Direction posters thrown into the mix. A bookshelf rested in one corner and was filled to the brim with books, CDs, DVDs, and old trinkets. He spotted a stack of yearbooks on the top shelf and decided that his night was going to spent combing through her memories.

As Calum lost himself in exploring her bedroom, he didn’t realize that a small velvet box had fallen out of his bag. He’d tucked it into the pocket for safety but it jostled loose when he tossed the bag onto the bed and hit the floor with a thud. As he ran his fingers along the CDs littering her bookshelf, stopping and grinning when he came across their self-titled album - something he was absolutely going to tease Elizabeth about having later - Josh bent down to pick it up.

“You know, Lizzie’s never really been a jewelry person but, from the way she talks about you, I can see her being alright with wearing this.”

Calum turned, surprised as he had forgotten that Josh was still in the room, and blinked as he stared at the box in his hand. He didn’t know what to say. He’d been planning on asking her parents for permission, something he knew she thought was old-fashioned but a sweet gesture, and was mildly terrified of the response he was going to get. However, as Josh smiled at him and held the box out to him, Calum felt a small bit of ease wash over him.

“You think?” he asked as he shoved the box back into his bag and ensured that it wouldn’t fall out again. “I don’t - I know we’ve just met but I…” He paused, unsure of what he should say to him, before he simply stated, “I really love her.”

“I figured,” he nodded as he took a seat on the edge of her bed and jerked his head in the direction of the living room. “Anyone willing to put up with all this has to be in love. Momma said you were the one who called and asked if y’all could come down,” Josh said as he glanced toward the door of the room. “Lizzie doesn’t get to come home much so it meant a lot that you called and set this up for her. Momma’s hard to get through to sometimes. She doesn’t think anyone’s good enough for her kids, especially when they keep them so far away from home, but that made her happy. That gave her a reason to like you. I don’t think they’ll say no, if that’s what you’re after. But, you do know that Lizzie won’t care what they say, right?”

Calum was floored to hear Josh speak so candidly about their mother. Elizabeth was never so open about it. She rarely spoke about the bad with her family - only when she really needed to convey the importance of something - but he knew that there was a tension that he would need to overcome where her family was concerned. He was more of afraid of their denial than hers but to hear Josh predict that they would approve made his heartbeat calm and the tension in his shoulders ease.

“I know,” he laughed as he imagined Elizabeth raging against a denial from her parents. She was an adult, she was free to do as she pleased, and if she wanted to marry Calum, she would. However, having that approval was more of a symbolic gesture that Calum hoped would extend an olive branch to her parents and assure them that he wasn’t trying to steal their daughter or keep her from seeing them. He opened his mouth to thank Josh when footsteps interrupted him.

He glanced up to see Elizabeth step into the room with a small child in her arms, no older than two, and Calum felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. “There you are,” she hummed as she glanced at Calum and gave him a smile before she turned her attention to her brother. “Dad’s looking for you. They’re getting the crawfish ready to put out. They need some more hands.”

“Alright,” he sighed as he stood from the bed and clapped Calum on the shoulder. “Nice meeting you, man. We’ll have a beer later, talk some more. Lizzie says you’re in a band. I wanna know about your music,” he said before he leaned in and wrapped an arm around Elizabeth’s waist and pressed a kiss to the baby’s head. “Hey, girl. Good to see you. Don’t drop my child, please.”

“Like I would,” Elizabeth huffed as she nudged her brother away from her. “You literally threw me across a room as a baby. I’m clearly not the one anyone needs to be concerned about. Isn’t that right, Sawyer?” The baby in her arms cooed, grinning up at her, and Josh rolled his eyes as he let go.

“Keep bringing up the past, damn. Can’t let anyone make any mistakes around here,” he grumbled playfully as he left the room and left Calum, Elizabeth, and Sawyer alone.

“Sorry for letting him steal you,” she apologized as she stepped closer to him and smiled when he reached out to offer the baby his finger. “I try desperately hard to keep anyone I like away from him. When I was twelve, he called out this guy I had a crush on on Facebook and the guy never spoke to me again. He was, uh, a little… overprotective?” She paused, glancing down at the baby in her arms, before she cooed at her. “You’re gonna have such tough time dating, honey. He’s gonna give your dates the ultimate interrogation and it’s not going to end well for anyone involved.”

Calum laughed as Elizabeth pouted at the baby and felt his heart melt as he watched them interact. He’d been thinking a lot lately, about children and marriage and the future, and every image of the future he got, Elizabeth was in it. He wanted her to be the one walking down the aisle to meet him. He wanted her to be the one to carry his children. He wanted her to be the one he grew old with. He wanted her, then and forever, and it made his heart ache in the best way to see her look so happy holding a small child.

“You look beautiful like that,” Calum breathed before he could stop himself. When Elizabeth rolled her eyes, brushing him off with a comment about how much she’d been sweating from the sweltering heat, he shook his head. “You always look beautiful but you look even more so holding the baby,” he elaborated, smiling as she glanced down at the giggling girl in her arms. “It looks natural.”

“It’s taken us a few times to get this right,” she hummed as she tickled Sawyer and grinned at her. “She threw up on me the first few times I held her. But we’re good now, right, honey?” When Sawyer cooed at her, reaching out to tug at her hair, Elizabeth smiled and glanced at Calum. When she met his amused glance, she grinned and shook her head. “I know what you meant, bub. It’s nice. I’ve thought about it and I want it - children, a family - with you. I’m sure there are other things we need to work on before that but I want that.”

“I do, too,” Calum confirmed with a grin as he leaned over to press a soft kiss to her cheek. When the baby slapped at his chest, he laughed and pulled away from Elizabeth with a grin, “But maybe now isn’t the best time to talk about our family plans, huh?”

“Nope,” she agreed with a smile, “not when there’s a cranky little lady that needs her mom and two adults that need beer and crawfish.”

Calum quickly found himself in the backyard, passed around by relatives as Elizabeth introduced him to each one. Her mother, who had been finishing frosting a red velvet cake, grinned when she spotted him and nudged an uncle that Calum had already forgotten the name of out of the way. He was almost surprised at the hug he received, the affection was a little startling, but he decided not to question it as Elizabeth’s mother wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.

“Thank you,” she said as the others around them dispersed to give them a moment to talk. “My Belle doesn’t get to come home much and she’s always so worried about taking off so I’m so glad you convinced her to come home for a little bit. I’ve missed my baby. And it’s good to see you again. I haven’t seen you in nearly two years. I miss your hair,” she laughed as she pointed out the buzz cut he’d gotten recently.

“Lizzie does, too,” he laughed as he rubbed a hand over the bleached hair on top of his head. “She liked playing with it while we were watching TV,” he added quickly, afraid of how the first part of his sentence sounded. “I’m glad that everyone was able to come. She’s missed everyone.”

“She has,” her mom nodded as she glanced around the backyard and smiled as she caught sight of Elizabeth sitting with the girls and chatting animatedly about whatever topic they’d gotten started on. “Everyone’s missed her. It’s not the same without her here but she’s happy in LA. You make her happy. I’m glad that y’all have each other,” her mother told him with a smile and Calum breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the sincerity in her tone. He was afraid that Josh had misread the situation, that he wasn’t nearly as favored as he imagined he was, but to hear her say that eased the nerves he felt in the pit of his stomach. However, they quickly returned as she turned to face him and said, “Josh said you had something you wanted to ask us?”

Calum blinked, surprised he was being put on the spot so quickly, and nodded slowly. “I, uh, yeah. But it can wait. It’s fine.”

Her mother smiled at him and Calum could see the understanding on her face. “If it’s what I think you want to ask, I’d prefer you didn’t. The answer is yes, by the way, from both of us. But we still want to hear your proposal.”

Calum laughed as he found himself being dragged into the house by Elizabeth’s parents. Her brother and grandmother — whose opinion really, truly mattered — followed them into the laundry room (the only room that seemed to be empty) and listened carefully as Calum asked for permission and detailed the proposal he had planned in Gulf Shores.

The rest of the weekend seemed to pass in a blur. Elizabeth taught Calum how to eat crawfish - her brother showed him how to suck the head, though he didn’t imagine he would be giving that a try - and her maw maw taught him how to shell butterbeans and peas as they sat in the shade of a pecan tree and worked on seven five-gallon buckets of peas and beans. They took him to a fish camp, an old cabin-like building in the middle of nowhere that made the best friend fish he’d ever had, and showed him the river where they went tubing when Elizabeth and Josh were young. And on their last night, he and Elizabeth sat on her parent’s front porch with a bucket of peas a piece and watched as the dusty afternoon turned to night.

“I’m really glad you did this,” she hummed as she glanced away from the bucket in front of her and over at Calum. “I never thought I’d say this but maybe all I needed was to come home and shell peas for a few days.”

Calum, whose fingers were sore and stained from the hulls, couldn’t imagine having spent every summer in this fashion but it was a nice glimpse into her world and he agreed. It had been restful, something of a recharge, and he found himself grateful for the experience. “It’s been nice,” Calum agreed with a smile as he watched her work for a moment. “It’s been good to see you in your element. I know that this isn’t your life anymore but it was nice to see where you come from.”

“I’m glad it didn’t send you running for the hills,” she teased as she tossed a hull into the bucket and shook her head. “You know, if you’d told me as a kid that I would move to LA, I wouldn’t have believed you. But if you’d have said that I’d move to LA, find someone as amazing as you, fall in love, and then bring you home someday to show you what my life was like before? I would’ve called you insane. But it felt right. Letting you in, letting you see this part of my life. It felt… it felt like it was time, you know?”

Calum reached out to squeeze Elizabeth’s hand but said nothing as they continued to shell their peas. If he’d spoken, he would’ve poured his heart out to her. He would’ve confessed just how much he loved her, just how much she meant to him, and would’ve ended up proposing on her parents’ front porch. Instead, he let his touch convey everything he wanted to say and hoped that would last them until they made it to the beach.

Saying goodbye was a rough affair. Elizabeth’s mother and nana cried. Her father held onto her for so long that her mother had to pull them apart. They all made her promise to visit again soon and sent them on their way with enough food to feed an army. Elizabeth let Calum drive on the return trip and watched as he navigated the streets she regarded with a fondness that she never imagined she would feel. She felt bittersweet, glad to have gone home but sad to be leaving, and hoped that the festival would cheer her mood.

However, what she was met with was something far greater than she expected.

As they arrived at the beach house she, Calum, Michael, and Crystal would share for the weekend, she was under the impression that they’d arrived before Michael and Crystal. However, as they entered the house to find it decorated with photos from her and Calum’s relationship as well as flowers, she realized that she was wrong. They’d been in, long enough to help Calum set up his surprise, and were waiting somewhere in the city for Calum to make his move. It didn’t click, not at first, what the point of the set up was. But as she dropped her bag and began to look at each of the photos, it soon dawned on her.

“Calum,” she began, her voice quiet as she turned to him, only to see him on one knee behind her. “Oh, fuck.”

At her exclamation, Calum laughed and held his hand out for her to grab. “Come here,” he laughed, smiling as she stepped closer to him and allowed him to hold her hand in his. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while and even spending a weekend shelling peas can’t deter me,” Calum teased as he glanced up at her. Her hand rested over her mouth, her fingers shaking as she watched him open the small velvet box to reveal a beautiful ring. “I love you, so much. Whenever I imagine the future, I imagine you in it. I want it all with you. I want to have a family with you, I want to grow old with you. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life by your side. I love you, Lizzie. Will you marry me?”

Elizabeth, though she imagined the proposal was coming, couldn’t speak. Instead, she nodded her agreement and kneeled onto the floor to wrap her arms around Calum’s neck. He laughed, relief and joy bubbling in his chest, as he wrapped his own arms around her waist and held her tight against his chest. He held her there for a moment, relishing in the moment, before he pulled away just enough to press a kiss to her lips. “I love you,” he breathed against them, his eyes shining with joy as he moved to place the ring on her finger, “I can’t wait for forever with you.”

“Forever isn’t long enough when I’m with you, Hood,” she quipped, her smile bright and her eyes glittering with unshed tears as she pressed her lips to his once more. “I love you, Cal. Thank you for being the most amazing man and for loving me the way you do.”

Calum knew that the future was rapidly approaching. He knew that, no matter how far away it seemed, everything would change in the blink of an eye. But with Elizabeth by his side, with her hand in his, he imagined that he could tackle whatever the universe threw at him.

And as they sat on the back patio, curled up together on a lounge chair and looking out at the water with Michael and Crystal to their left and the sound of pre-Hangout revelry to their right, Calum couldn’t think of any other place he’d rather be.

____________________________________________________

Author’s Note: This is literally just seven thousand words of self-indulgent bullshit. I don’t know. I felt it and I’ve wanted to do this for a while. It wouldn’t leave me alone so I spent my day alternating between this and Rose Tattoo. Also, with tag lists I lowkey feel like I’m annoying people if I tag them (which is the point, I know) but tell me if you don’t want to be tagged in everything. Anyway. I need to write something for Ash now. I’m, like, in an Ash mood.

Tag List (like this post or message me if you want to be added! If you don’t want to be tagged in everything, just let me know): @toolazymyguy , @irwinkitten , @jamieebabiee , @glittersluke , @spicycal , @lusbaby , @everyscarisahealingplace, @brokenvirtualheartcollector , @if-it-rains-it-pours, @blisshemmings , @calumscalm , @lovemenowseemenever , @ijutreallylovezebras , @rhiannonmichelle , @p0laroidpictures , @tomscuddles , @loverofmineluke , @harrytreatspeoplewithkindnesss , @blueviiolence , @loveroflrh , @empathycth , @luckyduckydoo , @tobefalling , @bandsandbooksaremykink , @watch-how-she-burns , @megz1985 , @wokeupinaustralia , @lucidlrh , @canterburyfiction , @cal-is-not-on-branding , @jaacknaano , @findingliam-o , @idk-who-i-am-anymore1 , @sammyrenae68 , @flowerthug ,

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aboveallarescuer · 4 years

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Dany is (relatively) frugal and modest

As I was rereading ASOIAF, I made it my goal to compile all* the book passages demonstrating either certain key attributes of Daenerys Targaryen (e.g. that she's compassionate and smart) or aspects of hers that are usually overstated (e.g. that she's ambitious and prophecy-driven). Doing such a task may seem exaggerated, but I'd argue it's not, for many, many misconceptions about Dany have become widespread in light of the show's final season's events (and even before).

It must be acknowledged that it can be tricky to reference, say, ADWD passages to counter-argument how she was depicted in season eight (which allegedly follows ADOS events). Dany will have had plenty of character development in the span of two books. However, whatever happens to Dany in the next two books, I would argue that there is more than enough material to conclude that her show counterpart was made to fall for flaws that she (for the most part) never had and actions that she (for the most part) would never take. (and that's not even considering the double standards and the contradictions with what had been shown from show!Dany up until then, but that's obviously out of the scope of these lists)

Another objection to the purpose of these lists is that Game of Thrones is different from A Song of Ice and Fire and should be analyzed on its own, which is a fair point. However, the show is also an adaptation of these books, which begs the questions: why did they change Dany's character? Why did they overfocus on negative traits of hers or depicted them as negative when they weren't supposed to be or gave her negative traits that were never hers to begin with? Another fact that undermines the show=/=books argument is that most people think that the show's ending will be the books', albeit only in broad strokes and in different circumstances. As a result, people's perception of Dany is inevitably influenced by the show, which is a shame.

I hope these lists can be useful for whoever wants to find book passages to defend (or even simply explore different facets of) Dany's character in metas or conversations.

*Well, at least all the passages that I could find in her chapters, which is no guarantee that the effort was perfectly executed, but I did my best.

Also, people could interpret certain passages differently and then come up with a different collection of passages if they ever attempted to make one, so I'm not saying that this list is completely objective (nor that there could ever be one).

Also, some passages have been cut short according to whether they were, IMO, relevant to the specific topic of the list they're in, so the context surrounding them may not always be clear (always read the books and use asearchoficeandfire). Many of them appear in different lists, sometimes fully referenced, sometimes not.

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To justify the existence of this list, let's see examples of widespread opinions that I feel misrepresent Daenerys Targaryen:

Even when Daenerys was kidnapped by a then-hostile Dothraki in season 6, she didn’t look this disheveled. In fact, her hair and outfit were impeccable in the face of relentless desert grit and threatened imprisonment in the Dosh Khaleen. Dany, a woman who has believed she was fated for greatness since birth, has never let herself look anything but perfect. That is, until now. (x)

Dany has not believed she was fated for greatness neither since birth nor as of ADWD. This meta and these lists make it clear enough. But this list is about something else: has Dany "never let herself look anything but perfect"? I would argue that the books tell a very different story.

NOTE: There are few moments in AGOT because Dany is among the Dothraki, so several behaviors that could be considered "frugal" and "modest" are normalized. In other books, she's among other nobles, which highlights these particular traits of her.

A Dance with Dragons

ADWD Daenerys X

The sun was hot this morning, the sky blue and cloudless. That was good. Dany’s clothes were hardly more than rags, and offered little in the way of warmth. One of her sandals had slipped off during her wild flight from Meereen and she had left the other up by Drogon’s cave, preferring to go barefoot rather than half-shod. Her tokar and veils she had abandoned in the pit, and her linen undertunic had never been made to withstand the hot days and cold nights of the Dothraki sea. Sweat and grass and dirt had stained it, and Dany had torn a strip off the hem to make a bandage for her shin. I must look a ragged thing, and starved, she thought, but if the days stay warm, I will not freeze.

Hers had been a lonely sojourn, and for most of it she had been hurt and hungry ... yet despite it all she had been strangely happy here. A few aches, an empty belly, chills by night ... what does it matter when you can fly? I would do it all again.

The sun grew hotter as it rose, and before long her head was pounding. Dany’s hair was growing out again, but slowly. “I need a hat,” she said aloud. Up on Dragonstone she had tried to make one for herself, weaving stalks of grass together as she had seen Dothraki women do during her time with Drogo, but either she was using the wrong sort of grass or she simply lacked the necessary skill. Her hats all fell to pieces in her hands. Try again, she told herself. You will do better the next time. You are the blood of the dragon, you can make a hat. She tried and tried, but her last attempt had been no more successful than her first.

Once I dreamed of flying, she thought, and now I’ve flown, and dream of stealing eggs. That made her laugh. “Men are mad and gods are madder,” she told the grass, and the grass murmured its agreement.

Dany wedged herself into that corner, making a nest of sorts by tearing up handfuls of the grass that grew around the ruins. She was very tired, and fresh blisters had appeared on both her feet, including a matched set upon her pinky toes. It must be from the way I walk, she thought, giggling.

She wondered how the ants had managed to climb over it and find her. To them these tumbledown stones must loom as huge as the Wall of Westeros. The biggest wall in all the world, her brother Viserys used to say, as proud as if he’d built it himself.

Viserys told her tales of knights so poor that they had to sleep beneath the ancient hedges that grew along the byways of the Seven Kingdoms. Dany would have given much and more for a nice thick hedge. Preferably one without an anthill.

Dany, starved, slid off his back and ate with him, ripping chunks of smoking meat from the dead horse with bare, burned hands. In Meereen I was a queen in silk, nibbling on stuffed dates and honeyed lamb, she remembered. What would my noble husband think if he could see me now? Hizdahr would be horrified, no doubt. But Daario ...

Daario would laugh, carve off a hunk of horsemeat with his arakh, and squat down to eat beside her.

ADWD Daenerys IX

Behind her, Reznak leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Magnificence, hear how they love you!”

No, she knew, they love their mortal art.

ADWD Daenerys VII

Reznak mo Reznak bowed and beamed. “Magnificence, every day you grow more beautiful. I think the prospect of your wedding has given you a glow. Oh, my shining queen!”

Dany sighed.

She sat upon her cushions, listening, one foot jiggling with impatience.

Dany envied the Dothraki maids their loose sandsilk trousers and painted vests. They would be much cooler than her in her tokar, with its heavy fringe of baby pearls. “Help me wind this round myself, please. I cannot manage all these pearls by myself.”

“The day is too hot to be shut up in a palanquin,” said Dany. “Have my silver saddled. I would not go to my lord husband upon the backs of bearers.”

“Your Grace,” said Missandei, “this one is so sorry, but you cannot ride in a tokar.”

The little scribe was right, as she so often was. The tokar was not a garment meant for horseback. Dany made a face. “As you say. Not the palanquin, though. I would suffocate behind those drapes. Have them ready a sedan chair.” If she must wear her floppy ears, let all the rabbits see her.

ADWD Daenerys VI

The bride is dressed in dark red veils above a tokar of white silk, fringed with baby pearls.”

The queen of the rabbits must not be wed without her floppy ears. “All those pearls will make me rattle when I walk.”

“Daenerys, my queen, I will gladly wash you from head to heel if that is what I must do to be your king and consort.”

“To be my king and consort, you need only bring me peace.[”]

Dany hurried off, calling for her handmaids. She would not welcome her captain home in a tokar. In the end she tried a dozen gowns before she found one she liked, but she refused the crown that Jhiqui offered her.

ADWD Daenerys IV

Oft have I heard that yours is the blood of Aegon the Conqueror, Jaehaerys the Wise, and Daeron the Dragon. The noble Hizdahr is of the blood of Mazdhan the Magnificent, Hazrak the Handsome, and Zharaq the Liberator.”

“His forebears are as dead as mine. Will Hizdahr raise their shades to defend Meereen against its enemies? I need a man with ships and swords. You offer me ancestors.”

“Bright queen,” he said, “you have grown more beautiful in my absence. How is this thing possible?”

The queen was accustomed to such praise, yet somehow the compliment meant more coming from Daario than from the likes of Reznak, Xaro, or Hizdahr.

ADWD Daenerys III

“Let us speak instead of love, of dreams and desire and Daenerys, the fairest woman in this world. I am drunk with the sight of you.”

She was no stranger to the overblown courtesies of Qarth. “If you are drunk, blame the wine.”

ADWD Daenerys II

Dany seated herself on a cushion, crossed her legs, and gazed up at him.

ADWD Daenerys I

The tokar was a master’s garment, a sign of wealth and power.

Dany had wanted to ban the tokar when she took Meereen, but her advisors had convinced her otherwise. “The Mother of Dragons must don the tokar or be forever hated,” warned the Green Grace, Galazza Galare. “In the wools of Westeros or a gown of Myrish lace, Your Radiance shall forever remain a stranger amongst us, a grotesque outlander, a barbarian conqueror. Meereen’s queen must be a lady of Old Ghis.” Brown Ben Plumm, the captain of the Second Sons, had put it more succinctly. “Man wants to be the king o’ the rabbits, he best wear a pair o’ floppy ears.”

The slippers the Butcher King had sent her had grown too uncomfortable. Dany kicked them off and sat with one foot tucked beneath her and the other swinging back and forth. It was not a very regal pose, but she was tired of being regal. The crown had given her a headache, and her buttocks had gone to sleep.

In the afternoon a sculptor came, proposing to replace the head of the great bronze harpy in the Plaza of Purification with one cast in Dany’s image. She denied him with as much courtesy as she could muster.

As Dany stood, her tokar began to slip. She caught it and tugged it back in place.

A Storm of Swords

ASOS Daenerys VI

Her audience chamber was on the level below, an echoing high-ceilinged room with walls of purple marble. It was a chilly place for all its grandeur. There had been a throne there, a fantastic thing of carved and gilded wood in the shape of a savage harpy. She had taken one long look and commanded it be broken up for firewood. “I will not sit in the harpy’s lap,” she told them. Instead she sat upon a simple ebony bench. It served, though she had heard the Meereenese muttering that it did not befit a queen.

Her bloodriders were waiting for her. Silver bells tinkled in their oiled braids, and they wore the gold and jewels of dead men. Meereen had been rich beyond imagining. Even her sellswords seemed sated, at least for now.

ASOS Daenerys V

“I must have this city,” she told them, sitting crosslegged on a pile of cushions, her dragons all about her.

ASOS Daenerys IV

Dany sat crosslegged on a cushion, and Viserion spread his white-and-gold wings and flapped to her side.

“Do all the Yunkai’i whine so over a singed tokar? I shall buy you a new one ... if you deliver up your slaves within three days. Elsewise, Drogon shall give you a warmer kiss.”

When the old man came, she was curled up inside her hrakkar pelt, whose musty smell still reminded her of Drogo.

ASOS Daenerys I

The narrow sea was often stormy, and Dany had crossed it half a hundred times as a girl, running from one Free City to the next half a step ahead of the Usurper’s hired knives. She loved the sea. She liked the sharp salty smell of the air, and the vastness of horizons bounded only by a vault of azure sky above. It made her feel small, but free as well. She liked the dolphins that sometimes swam along beside Balerion, slicing through the waves like silvery spears, and the flying fish they glimpsed now and again. She even liked the sailors, with all their songs and stories. Once on a voyage to Braavos, as she’d watched the crew wrestle down a great green sail in a rising gale, she had even thought how fine it would be to be a sailor.

But later that night, as Balerion plunged onward through the dark and Dany sat crosslegged on her bunk in the captain’s cabin, feeding her dragons—“Even upon the sea,” Groleo had said, so graciously, “queens take precedence over captains”—a sharp knock came upon the door.

[...] Dany pulled up a coverlet and tucked it in under her arms. She was naked, and had not expected a caller at this hour.

A Clash of Kings

ACOK Daenerys V

She was breaking her fast on a bowl of cold shrimp-and-persimmon soup when Irri brought her a Qartheen gown, an airy confection of ivory samite patterned with seed pearls. “Take it away,” Dany said. “The docks are no place for lady’s finery.”

"I have won no victories," she tried telling her handmaid when the bell tinkled softly.

Jhiqui disagreed. "You burned the maegi in their house of dust and sent their souls to hell."

That was Drogon's victory, not mine, Dany wanted to say, but she held her tongue. The Dothraki would esteem her all the more for a few bells in her hair.

“I regret if we caused you alarm. If truth be told, we were not certain, we expected someone more ... more ...”

“Regal?” Dany laughed. She had no dragon with her, and her raiment was hardly queenly.

ACOK Daenerys III

Rhaegal hissed and dug sharp black claws into her bare shoulder as Dany stretched out a hand for the wine. Wincing, she shifted him to her other shoulder, where he could claw her gown instead of her skin.

“Weep, weep, for the treachery of men.”

Dany would sooner have wept for her gold. The bribes she’d tendered to Mathos Mallarawan, Wendello Qar Deeth, and Egon Emeros the Exquisite might have bought her a ship, or hired a score of sellswords.

The crown was the only offering she’d kept. The rest she sold, to gather the wealth she had wasted on the Pureborn.

“Did I not give you an army, sweetest of women? A thousand knights, each in shining armor.”

The armor had been made of silver and gold, the knights of jade and beryl and onyx and tourmaline, of amber and opal and amethyst, each as tall as her little finger. “A thousand lovely knights,” she said, “but not the sort my enemies need fear. And my bullocks cannot carry me across the water[”]

“The Milk Men shun him. Khaleesi, do you see the girl in the felt hat? There, behind the fat priest. She is a—”

“—cutpurse,” finished Dany. She was no pampered lady, blind to such things. She had seen cutpurses aplenty in the streets of the Free Cities, during the years she’d spent with her brother, running from the Usurper’s hired knives.

“No trick,” a woman said in the Common Tongue.

Dany had not noticed Quaithe in the crowd, yet there she stood, eyes wet and shiny behind the implacable red lacquer mask. “What mean you, my lady?”

“Half a year gone, that man could scarcely wake fire from dragonglass. He had some small skill with powders and wildfire, sufficient to entrance a crowd while his cutpurses did their work. He could walk across hot coals and make burning roses bloom in the air, but he could no more aspire to climb the fiery ladder than a common fisherman could hope to catch a kraken in his nets.”

[...] “And now?”

“And now his powers grow, Khaleesi. And you are the cause of it.”

“Me?” She laughed. “How could that be?”

The woman stepped closer and lay two fingers on Dany’s wrist. “You are the Mother of Dragons, are you not?”

ACOK Daenerys I

“I fear no ghosts. Dragons are more powerful than ghosts.” And figs are more important.

A Game of Thrones

AGOT Daenerys III

“You dare!” he screamed at her. “You give commands to me? To me?” He vaulted off the horse, stumbling as he landed. His face was flushed as he struggled back to his feet. He grabbed her, shook her. “Have you forgotten who you are? Look at you. Look at you!”

Dany did not need to look. She was barefoot, with oiled hair, wearing Dothraki riding leathers and a painted vest given her as a bride gift. She looked as though she belonged here.

AGOT Daenerys II

Other gifts she was given in plenty by other Dothraki: slippers and jewels and silver rings for her hair, medallion belts and painted vests and soft furs, sandsilks and jars of scent, needles and feathers and tiny bottles of purple glass, and a gown made from the skin of a thousand mice. "A handsome gift, Khaleesi," Magister Illyrio said of the last, after he had told her what it was. "Most lucky." The gifts mounted up around her in great piles, more gifts than she could possibly imagine, more gifts than she could want or use.

AGOT Daenerys I

“We will have it all back someday, sweet sister,” he would promise her. Sometimes his hands shook when he talked about it. “The jewels and the silks, Dragonstone and King’s Landing, the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms, all they have taken from us, we will have it back.” Viserys lived for that day. All that Daenerys wanted back was the big house with the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she had never known.

When he was gone, Dany went to her window and looked out wistfully on the waters of the bay. The square brick towers of Pentos were black silhouettes outlined against the setting sun. Dany could hear the singing of the red priests as they lit their night fires and the shouts of ragged children playing games beyond the walls of the estate. For a moment she wished she could be out there with them, barefoot and breathless and dressed in tatters, with no past and no future and no feast to attend at Khal Drogo's manse.

#daenerys targaryen #valyrianscrolls #a dance with dragons #a storm of swords #a clash of kings #a game of thrones #dany passages

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fuwafuwamedb · 4 years

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The Mummy Pt 5 (Hakuno, Gilgamesh)

Previously: One , Two, Three, Four

___

As much as she expected the boat to whisk them off into adventure, leaving the great city of Cairo behind them, the ferry was anything but quick. Hakuno found herself settling her bags into her room, her eyes drifting to the man placed in the adjoining room, and then she scurried for the safety of the side deck.

Books were her solace today.

The sweet fragrance of ancient wisdom and dried ink came wafting up lightly alongside the cool breeze of the air. The sunrise, so beautiful nearby, was gifted the great expanse of Cairo. Smoke stacks gave dark shadows to those clean skies. Honks and beeps from the motor cars were gracing the air, ruining the far off mystery vibes that the city could have been still giving off a bit with its older buildings.

Oh, but who was she kidding.

Taking a minute to watch the city continue to pass, she knew she was drifting through the same wishful thinking that so many went through when delving into the intrigue and mystery of the ancients.

No great epiphany could bring back ancient towers and charismatic pharaohs.

No science or archeology was going to let them fully understand the words that these ancient people had set down in stone.

Wishing for such things was exactly what drove so many out of the desert sands.

Her peers often drifted to own museums in Europe or elsewhere. They settled themselves down for preserving what was found in these very wild areas so that children could dream and adults could marvel without the pains of understanding the magnitude of what lay before them.

A few pictures, from what she had heard, would be taken now of artifacts so that future members of society could appreciate the art. The great invention of the camera was becoming slightly more commonplace, allowing for librarians and explorers to record their work in more than just text. Soon, perhaps they would be able to make hieroglyphic works with pictures, conveying emotions and words without a single word!

A soft laugh came to her at that.

She resumed her reading.

Or rather- Hakuno did her best to continue reading.

It was hard to focus, all things considered.

Gilgamesh had been arrested. He’d been locked up and the man, Kirei, had said that he would pay to see the man hang. Did that mean that Gilgamesh was someone to be wary of?

Sure, he was strong. His grip was like a vice, holding her tightly when he’d…

When he’d…

Hakuno pressed a couple fingers to her lips, her eyes drifting to the sandy landscape now.

She wasn’t enamored. No, not in the slightest. When she had gone home, she hadn’t been thinking of long haired blonds breaking through bars or climbing out of hanging courtyards. Her mind hadn’t been on the golden haired man curling those fingers into a fist and bopping the man, Kirei, straight in the face.

He’d just had to kiss her, hadn’t he?

Why bother?

It wasn’t like he had been like some kind of muscled Adonis or anything. He hadn’t been looking anything like he did now. Kissing her didn’t gain favor, not when she was more married to the work she did. He could have just said Hamunaptra and she would have been throwing money like a fool.

The promise of being able to move further in life towards her goals and be able to help those who helped her…

The sun was crossing the skies as the ship drifted through the river. The camels here and there that roamed free were moving faster than this damn ferry, but, what was one to do?

“I don’t like him.”

She had to say it aloud. Just once.

There was nothing about that strange, snakelike gaze of his that had interested her. There was nothing about that blond hair that had looked touchable this morning. He hadn’t had a face that was-

“It was just a kiss,” Hakuno growled, ducking her face into her book a bit more.

One kiss.

That was it.

Maybe he’d been trying to bite her or kill her with his mouth or something. He’d gone feral and decided to use the only weapon he had at his disposal.

That was it.

There was a vizier in one of her readings that had gone that insane. It certainly wasn’t out of the question if the man had been privy to noxious fumes or something.

“Here you are.”

The sun had sunk over the horizon. The lights of the ferry were going now, a server giving her a light dinner before the man now stood before her.

“You haven’t eaten much.”

“I was refreshing myself on some details on Hamunaptra.”

And thinking. Mostly thinking.

The blond nodded a bit, rolling out a-

“Did I miss something? Are we going into a war for a pharaoh or something?” Hakuno held up one of the pistols, almost afraid to even touch the trigger lest the thing go off.

“There’s evil out there.”

“Evil?” Was he serious right now?

Hakuno shook her head at the man. He was feeding that insanity plea her mind had been providing him.

“Well, you can enjoy…finding evil. I’m going to find a book.”

Gilgamesh glanced at the book in her lap.

“Not this one, obviously.” Hakuno closed it, pulling her dinner over to herself and taking a few bites before continuing. “I want to find a very ancient artifact and book. Although, Enkidu considers it more of just another treasure.”

“I bet they do,” Gilgamesh purred, settling into the seat across from her. His pistol’s chamber was spun as he loaded the weapon. “What’s their relevance to you again?”

“They’re my sibling. And, anyway, if you’re going to be helping, I do have to tell you to behave around him and myself-“

“Still mad about me kissing you or something?”

She faltered.

Was it obvious?

“I-I mean, I guess you could call that a kiss…”

He paused. “You guess?”

Hakuno nodded.

This was good. Leave him understanding that the work came first. His pleasure-seeking activities could be done with others. She wouldn’t think about it.

“Kissing normally is a two-way practice, not something thrown onto another person suddenly and without good reason… But since you want to talk about that,” Hakuno glanced his way, keeping her fork and food close for the excuse of not being able to respond because of eating. “Why did you kiss me?”

The man glanced at her a moment before shrugging. His attention went back to his pistols.

And then-

“I don’t know. Seemed entertaining at the time. You amused me enough that I figured I was gonna die, I might as well steal one last piece of pleasure before seeing the next life.”

…

Hakuno stared at him.

Her book was shut. Her legs lifted her up, carrying her passed him as she tried her best not to think of what that idiot had just said. She wouldn’t bother.

Gods, she’d been thinking about him all damned day!

“Hey! Where are you going?!”

“Good night, Gilgamesh,” Hakuno growled, biting her lip to keep from saying a word more.

Dick was a good word for him right now.

Asshole would also work.

Maybe throwing him and his pistols overboard to find that great evil in the waters of the Nile-

You need him, Hakuno, she reminded herself. Walk away.

She didn’t stop until she reached the doors to the inside of the ferry. Even then, her only goal was going straight to her room.

Fuck that guy.

#drabble #drabbles

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frstbiitten · 5 years

Text

tw: child abuse mention, violence & death mention

Everything seems too quiet, there is no sound that can break that much-needed and sought-after peace, the simple noise of the waves has been suppressed by nothingness itself, just like the wind between the rocks. The sea invites to enter in it one step and then another, what can be beyond? Perhaps a hidden treasure, a desert island, monsters hungry for more ships lost in the storm. There weren’t enough minutes to think exactly about what was there, too much to explore and recognize. The sun gradually sinks into the ocean as well, it hides in it until it is the right moment to re-emerge. She also wanted to go to accompany the sun, she wanted to see how much mystery there was down there, amid the deep water and the danger of the unknown. She could find something more beautiful among the deep waters, her mind returned to her body after playing with the clouds for a few seconds, her eyes distracted in the dance of dark oranges and blues of the waves, a beautiful morfing kaleidoscope.

Maybe if she refocused too much on the rest of the people around her, she might stop hearing that cooing, she needed a distraction. Her eyes, two young aquamarines still search for something to do while she stays in the shade under the pier, among the sands and rocks the young woman had put together an ideal place to live without anyone bothering her. She had become someone nameless, one more homeless person looking for food and a place to sleep. This was her house now, it has been for a few years, if someone dared to go too far into her cave, she would not hesitate to defend herself from all those searching for troubles or those who are too curious.

The night falls, she spies on the surroundings like a predator looking for her prey, aiming to find more leftovers from some food before it goes to waste, or at best, money. Damn, it's very populated tonight. She leaves her hiding place from the shadows of the pier, moves like an insect among the rocks to be able to escape them, her body draws enough attention to stand out from any crowd. The girl chose to wait for people to leave, but didn't want to stay and wait until the beach was abandoned. The sand-filled broken shoes were what she could wear now, only had those by the time found them among piles of garbage that no one needed anymore, abandoned, someone unconsciously gave her a gift.

She wasn't so far from the source of the noises in the ambient, bright lights and storefronts with things that only she could dream of having. Having... she had nothing, was there anything she could call 'her own'? Oh no, no, not a single thing out there belongs to her, her soul is the only thing that accompanies her and this foreign body that has mutated as much as her life itself. The bright lights stain her being with pale colors, making her look almost as identical to a ghost that has left this earth unfairly, sees the world move from here to there, people with bags or talking to each other, children running or jumping, old people taken from the hands as they talk about better times, but even they go too fast to be able to be listened carefully to what they say. The girl takes a second, not to think but to let go for a moment from reality even for a few minutes, just a few minutes, it always works enough to make her forget that she roams between this world of mortals and she is no more special than these humans around her, they all have something she doesn't, and the other way around as well. Still, she was out of focus in the overall picture, with the cold stuck inside of her bones, waiting patiently.

So, it waited, it’s better that it remains sheltered there until it was necessary, but to say that she had control over it is a big lie that even she could not believe. Her name no longer belongs to her, only one voice last mentioned it and that voice was forever frozen in the past, that's where it has to be. The girl knew that one day, again, that outburst of rage and adrenaline would come back, it would be exalted enough to bring the winter down on some unlucky, wretched soul. For now, it's a spell she can't master.

Her nights went that way, getting lost in the middle of the crowd, looking for food or asking for some money, hopefully, some stranger would give her a few dollars although lately, it has become a habit to receive a few coins. The hunger was constant, her legs trembled from time to time and she had to stop after a few minutes because of the dizziness that was caused by being surrounded by people and the deafening noises. The children scream too loudly, people walk too fast, the elderly have started arguing about who knows what, hears small dogs attempting to be threatening once they see her pass and bark too loud to be ignored. Speakers, voices, screams, music that becomes noise, constant banging, figures moving in lines of all kinds, listened to each one at the same time, increased suddenly until they became an intense conglomerate of a strenuous orchestra, a fatal white noise in the middle of the night. Those were her nights and none of them were special.

And so those were her nights a few weeks ago.

16, stupid 16. With the spirit full of despair, the body painted with dark bruises all over, her skin of moonlight was an ideal canvas for the bloodstains and rivers of carmine that dripped from above the line between her skin and where her white hair begins. She was accustomed to violence, tried to avoid it but this time she got to this point of being placed under the spotlight. There were screams, screams and shouts full of euphoria. Barely remembered anything, what did the girl who hit her look like? She remembered the fog falling before her eyes, was dense and could barely see her rival. It was Amateur’s Night, it meant that anyone could enter the ring like nothing and earn some coins in exchange for a brutal murder under the eyes of strangers. Who were they? How did she get here? Inside the hustle and bustle of a few nights ago, she was able to listen to a conversation that attracted her attention. Male voices spoke about a couple of girls who beat themselves enough until one of them 'gave up' and he had earned a large sum of money, inviting the other to go there later to appreciate the 'show' together... if he wanted to. That stranger accepted his friend's suggestion. She, on the other hand, decided to follow them, they first entered a restaurant, were drunk in a matter of minutes but functional enough to walk many, many blocks to a place that looked nothing like what she knew.

Yes, violence appealed to her. The girl knew they wouldn't let her in, even lesser were the chances to get inside with those rags she wears all the time. They went through narrow alleys, neon lights illuminated the pavement, the ponds of dark water became more noticeable and even if they reflected the reds and greens of the lights, nothing took away the horrendous smell of rot, as if something had died nearby. More people appeared in their way, they did look at her, they did saw the way that her eyes would perch on them, as the light painted her face pale with furious red and melancholic blue, she lost sight of them in the middle of a crowd in front of a building she had never seen before. She was lucky this second time. The first time she followed these two men she could not see clearly was happening inside of the building, from the outside it looked like a terrible nightclub, but if one listened attentively, further down and a little to the right, you could hear more than just loud music, listening to the hits, relentless hits, some came and went like lightning against the earth, loud and incessant. She listened to female voices insulting each other, threatened to kill each other, said things she never dared say!

It was for a few coins, a few stupid coins she would then use in something to eat. She didn't have proper gloves, 'Amateur’s Night', means you come into the cage with what you're wearing. Before returning to that place that memorized the road repeatedly, the girl tried to appear as presentable as she could, tied her hair in a ponytail that ended looking completely messy. Oh, but she had everything a little more planned, she had stolen an identity card from someone who might be old enough to allow her to enter -it was a feat that almost cost her own skin- she knew they wouldn't admit a desperate girl into the cage, the face might confuse whoever is in charge, incredibly, they did let her pass.

But a detail escaped away from her. She had to kill her rival. The woman had more years in her body and lamented when the cold of the young girl’s soul made contact with the body of that anonymous woman. She knew well that no one had bet on the girl who seemed to have wallowed in the garbage, the other gave the impression to have more experience but the same level of despair as her. It all happened too fast. Now she rests inside of the bathroom, sitting on the broken tiles of the room in lousy lighting, a solitary blue light provided companionship to her while she uses a borrowed towel. What has she done exactly to have blood all over? Her knuckles were darkened and there was almost no skin on them, that woman may have realized that the girl was not normal and died not without giving a taste of her ability. The girl rose from the ground, holding onto the sink to find the so much needed balance, her face might not have been ruined but she still had doubts about those minutes when she lost control.

She let out a quiet sob, no, she couldn't cry now. What would her mother say if she could hear to her sobbing like a stray dog? Could recall a second of that time in which she dared to cry in front of her mother and a red burning sensation appeared out of nowhere on her cheek caused by the palm of her hand, remorseful of her emotional act, preferred to hide that grief that lingered inside of her heart, swallowing saliva like never before. Almost as much as now, when the fingers of her cold hands look brittle, paler than before and with remnants of frost on the fingertips. She submerged the towel under the tap water stream, perhaps it was not the freshest water of all but helped her to ginger up enough to continue the work of removing the remaining bloodstains. Both of her eyes were saved by a miracle from taking any blows, muscles felt like freed from an invisible prison, she feared of admitting that she had liked to be under the spotlight. Heard banging on the door of the bathroom and a 'can I pass?' from a male voice.

"What do you want?" Her voice sounded more demanding than usual as she turned around, considering she barely uttered a word during the day. That voice belonged to a young man, perhaps a few years older than her, maybe he is just in his twenties, could not see well who he was because of the blue light on the wall of the entrance, distorted the image enough to accentuate the shadows projected on his visage. Could identify the dark wavy hair, maybe his eyes were blue or green, the girl couldn't see him well, he was dressed like any other guy who attends these type of 'spectacles', perhaps the most notorious thing about him was his perfume of attractive essence and the cigar smoke coming out of his mouth as if he was a fire dragon resting in his cave.

"I have to admit, it's been a long time since I've seen a rookie put up a fight like that in the cage, you left lots of dude with their mouths open." Maintained some distance, enough to be seen clearer by the girl, his aura was... as enigmatic as his presence. "None of these people have such a cool power like yours."

"The truth is that... I don't know what I did in there." Sorrow stuffs every word that she pronounces, though she could not avoid feeling some pride in his words. Still, the girl would remain serious, holding the towel between her cold hands. Firmly, though she was afraid of not knowing what was going on.

"My name is Lewis, I've been looking for someone with such cold blood in their fighting style so I can give them a hand, I know this is all very hasty and maybe someone missed to mention the part where you'd have to kill your opponent, but look... You taught a lesson to all those who have belittled you." He spoke in a calm voice, not making many movements with his hands, except with the two fingers that kept the cigarette between them, it was almost imperceptible, drawing the smoke raising from it in a zig-zag line.

"I swear I didn't know, I never imagined that I'd have to do that, I would have preferred not to! I swear!" She had this awful regret filling her high-pitched voice, although her voice had recently begun to sound more severe and almost gravelly.

"I know sweetheart, I know, but look... you may feel sorry for yourself now, but how about trying a second time later? Once you're healed enough you can come back, plus, you just won a hell of a fight, a lot of the bets that went to the other girl now belong to you. Imagine what you could do if you could earn more... maybe you could start with some new clothes, right?"

It sounded tempting, could come back again when she ran out of money and fight on another Amateur’s Night, meanwhile, she could learn from watching the other fighters, better appreciate the large picture and apprehend from it. Lewis had a positive argument between his hands, that's what she wanted. She liked what he offered.

“Okay... I’ll do it.”

"Excellent. And now this is my last offer, which guarantees you a greater acceptance among these crazy sadistic assholes, you’ll get so many benefits: I could be something like your manager, guiding you with your training when it comes to fighting and select your rivals better in the future." This Lewis guy stayed in his own spot all the time, made eye contact with her enough to recognize that he was facing a girl younger than the rest of the ones normally sees in the cage, if others found out that she was underage it could start a scandal of such magnitudes that could attract unwanted attention. Although he had thought about it a lot before entering the part where the fighters go to take a break, he had never seen such power in front of him, could be in front of a gold mine right now. "What I mean is, if you want, you can have a little more support by your side, and who knows, move forward like an official fighter."

What else could she lose at this point?

Still trying to assimilate what just happened with the other woman, her throat was dry and felt nauseous but maintained her cool, weren’t you the one who promised to not kill anybody else? Well, was there any other solution for her right now? Negative, the road of her life was so cloudy before her that she could not see the horizon through the dense mist. This was one of those 'take it or leave it' situations... Take it, take it, take it.

"I think if it would be the best, I still don't know anything about this and what happened there was..." It was no coincidence that she is breathing right now while a group of men in dark jackets took care of the body, where would it end now? "I still don't understand what happened, but yes, I want to work with you."

The voice did not break at any time besides of not being in the best condition, Lewis had many questions to ask her, they would have time for that of course, now it was just a matter of time for her to recover. But he needed to ask her one last question.

"Tell me what is your name? Did you forget to enunciate it before entering? ”

She did not forget about it, but only she preferred to not mention it out loud, perhaps so she would forget in the near future like the girl she left behind in the apartment, she and that girl were no longer the same. She shook her head from one side to the other softly, he sighed tiredly in return, well, he would have to invent a nickname of a hurry, for now, he only came up with one.

“¿Snowflake? ¿Do you like that one?”

No, she didn’t like it at all... however, she accepted it.

#((idk how to tag this yet))#((so I'm gonna tag this as the simplest way possible))#novel #((that's it))#((and yes is gonna go downhill from here))#violence tw #child abuse mention tw #death mention tw

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yehet-me-up · 6 years

Text

Boiling Point

Pairing: Jongin x reader (female)

Genre: dude idk, soft and romantic... stripper AU?!

Rating: (M) for language and sexual themes/situations

Word Count: 4,179

Summary: In the year you’ve been working at the Elxyion Male Revue you’ve somehow managed to not date, or anything else, with any of your incredibly hot co-workers. But then a new dancer starts who makes you break all your rules.

A/N: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY/CHRISTMAS @gingersaysjump ILY BAE <333 😉 😉 😉

The lights on the strip dazzle you, as they always do.

A hum of pleasure courses through you on your walk to work. In the year you’ve lived here Vegas has never failed to capture your imagination.

The city seems to rise as night falls. While the rest of the world closes its doors and falls asleep, Vegas wakes from its slumber and comes alive.

A faint breeze blows in off the desert and teases the edges of your dress. The material brushes against your thighs, already slightly damp in the persistent heat. It impresses you the way the blazing sun from the day lingers well on into the night, mixes with alcohol and music and skin, and infuses the city with an electric pulse that doesn’t burn off until dawn.

Something is coming, you think to yourself abruptly. You draw your lip between your teeth and work at it while you ponder what it could be.

Call it intuition, fate, whatever you want - it’s there, and it’s always guided you.

Whatever is coming, you’ll handle it, you tell yourself and shrug absently, releasing your lip.

Oh how wrong you are.

The club is in full preparation mode when you arrive. Kat the bar manager waves at you before her announcer boyfriend Chanyeol resumes what appears to be a very thorough exploration of her mouth with his tongue.

A man with cat-like eyes gives you a nod, his lips pulling back into what would be a smirk on a more arrogant man. The costume manager is fitting him for a military outfit that looks downright deadly and that familiar coil of heat grows in your core as you meet Minseok’s gaze.

You lift your hand in greeting, thankfully slipping through the curtain on the far side of the room to head into the staff lounge. He’s been flirting with you for weeks. Making eye contact every time he brought someone on stage to dance with, grinding his hips into that night’s bachelorette or birthday girl so you knew that he wasn’t just tempting you.

He wanted you to know exactly how good it would be if you finally let him fuck you.

For weeks he’s been letting his hand linger on your lower back when you all leave together at the end of the night. Giving you knowing looks at staff meetings. Hinting at things, but not acting on them; slowly working down your defenses.

But for now you’ve remained strong.

There’s always a buzz around the Elyxion Male Revue on Friday nights. Big crowds. Sweat. Screaming women going insane with each new inch of skin revealed by the dancers.

But, more importantly for you, Friday nights bring excellent tips.

You lift your purse over your head and slip it in your locker. Suddenly you feel a chin press to your shoulder.

‘Are you ready to die, my friend?’ says the cheerful voice.

Turning you raise a brow at your friend Sarah, you fight a smile as she gives you her giddy I know something you don’t know look.

‘What?’

‘Oh come on, ask me,’ she teases, humming.

‘You know I’m not going to ask, so you might as well just tell me,’ you deadpan, pulling your apron from your locker.

‘Ugh, fine. Ruin my fun,’ she says, dropping the charade. ‘Or maybe I won’t tell you, and I’ll get to watch you melt with no warning.’

‘Are you talking about the new military number?’ you ask. ‘Old news. I saw Min being fitted when I came in. Plus, did you forget I work on Sundays when they practice their new routines?’

She makes a sound like a buzzer. ‘Nope. Try again.’

You turn and fold your arms, leveling her with your most serious stare and finally she relents.

‘Oh fine. You’re lucky I love you,’ she says, stepping closer. Something about the mischievous twinkle in her eyes causes the forewarning in the pit of your stomach to come alive again.

‘There’s a new dancer starting,’ she says nonchalantly.

Your brows pull together. ‘Okay... and? We get new dancers all the time, how is that news?’

‘Remember that show we watched last month? That dance competition we binged?’

‘I remember you turning it into a drinking game and almost passing out halfway through the first episode.’

She rolls her eyes and laughs. ‘Yes. That one. Well, I have it on news from a secret source that your favorite dancer just accepted a job here and will be here tomorrow to watch the show.’

Images flood your mind - a downright sinful expression on an angelic face. Hip thrusts revealing swaths of tanned, sweat-covered skin. An artistry of movement that somehow stirred both your heart and your desire.

A groan falls from your lips. ‘Oh, shit.’

Sarah’s eyes light up and she gives you finger guns. ‘There it is!’

‘Kim Jongin is going to be dancing here?’ you ask, desperate to seek clarification.

‘You got it, babe,’ she says, pulling her hair back into a low ponytail and turning to leave. ‘Get ready to burn.’

For a moment you watch her weave through the crowd of dancers, assistants, servers, and bartenders and feel your life tilt off balance.

‘Helloooo ladieeees and welcome to Elyxion, the number one male revue on the strip, out-thrusting Chippendale’s and Thunder From Down Under six nights a week. Are you ready to get this party started?’ Chanyeol’s voice booms over the speakers and the packed crowd goes wild.

You chuckle to yourself and bend down to take a woman’s drink order over the ecstatic screams of the crowd.

The sound of a fire alarm goes off through the room and you quickly write down the drink and move toward the bar.

‘Uh oh, ladies. I think there might be…’ Chanyeol’s joyful voice strings along the crowd, playing perfectly to the mix of fantasy and reality they came here for.

He walks across the stage, lifting his hand to his ear. ‘A FIRE IN THE BUILDING.’

The lights in the room drop just as you come to stand next to Kat at the bar. The two of you share an amused look and turn to watch the first performance.

Minseok always starts the show with the first solo - a firefighter number. Something about his combination of devastatingly hotness and his warm and reassuring presence sets the tone for the evening.

You discreetly deliver drinks to the tables during his dance.

His stare practically bores a hole in the back of your head and you know he’s hoping you’ll make eye contact. It’s a game you both enjoy playing, but there’s something missing tonight.

For some reason when you finally relent, as you always do, and watch him essentially dry hump the bachelorette on stage to Nelly’s ‘Hot in Herre’ you don’t feel the same electricity you once did.

With a confused shake of your head you carry on with the evening, laughing with the bar staff and other waiters, dancing along to the music when you can’t resist, and wondering what it is about the mere mention of Jongin that threw you off your groove.

The mid-afternoon line in Starbucks drags, sapping your energy. You step from foot to foot, eyeing the man at the front of the line who is placing what appears to be a million orders at once.

All you want is caffeine, but apparently Saturday is going to put you through hell to get it. After a long Friday night and with another wild night ahead of you, Saturdays always feel like three days in one.

With a sigh you raise your hand and begin to work your thumb into a kink in your neck. A buzzing in your pocket draws your attention. You pull out your phone and glance at the text on the screen.

Sarah 2:15pm dead woman walking

Sarah 2:15pm hope you’re ready for tonight ;)

Y/N 2:16pm you stop that now

Sarah 2:16pm nope, can’t make me

Sarah 2:16pm muahahahaha

You laugh to yourself and slide the phone back in the pocket of your dress.

Finally the man of a million orders moves to the side and the line moves forward.

The heat in Vegas is an insistent, unrelenting beast. It tugs at your hair, plays along the line of your neck, trails down your spine, refusing to let you find relief. If the club wasn’t air conditioned you’d be willing to bet women of all ages would literally pass out from the combination of masculine sexuality and heat in the air.

It’s especially hot in this goddamn Starbucks because the constant crush of bodies refuses to let the door stay closed and do its job of keeping this place cool.

A group of teenagers brushes past you. One of the boys reaches around to tickle the girl next to him and she jolts in surprise, crashing into you and throwing you backward - directly into the person behind you.

Strong hands wrap around your body, keeping you upright.

‘Shit, I’m so sorry,’ the girl says, reaching out a hand in your direction.

You wave her off with a smile. ‘No harm, no foul. It’s crowded as hell in here.’

She looks relieved and the hoard of youths finally departs, leaving you to turn and thank your rescuer.

Only years of customer service jobs and a practiced ability to control your reactions keeps you from dropping your mouth in shock.

The man behind you is none other than Kim Jongin himself, even more handsome in person in low slung jeans and a plain black button-up shirt. He finally removes his fingers from their hold on your upper arms and instantly you want to ask him to put them back.

‘Are you all right?’ he asks, low voice cascading across your skin.

You shake your head to clear it and give him a warm smile. ‘Yes, thanks to you.’

He laughs. ‘No problem. I’m not used to Starbucks’ being so crowded, but then again I’ve never visited one in Vegas.’

‘I know, right? Vegas is a universe unto itself. No normal rules apply.’

The line slides forward and you take a few steps up before turning back to him. When you do you see that he’s nonchalantly taking a look at your tanned legs showed to perfection by the skirt you’re wearing.

Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be, you think, lips twitching in amusement.

‘See something you like?’

He lifts his eyes to meet yours. Were he another man he might look apologetic, chastised, or maybe make a pass at you, a bold statement claiming you as his own possession to admire.

But he surprises you.

‘Sorry, that was rude of me - checking you out before I even ask your name.’

A boyish smile graces his lips accompanied by the seductive lift of one brow. A heat that has nothing to do with the high temperatures outside sweeps through you.

Warning bells go through your mind. Your commitment to not date people you work with. A hard-learned lesson not to be swept up by men who seem too good to be true rushes to your consciousness.

But unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at things, you’ve never been one to heed warnings.

The moment stretches on, neither of you breaking eye contact. There’s something in his irises, playing around his expression you can’t place. An attraction, sure. Playfulness, definitely. You decide to call it purity, someone who is exactly who he presents himself to be - no bullshit or facade, a rarity in Vegas.

You are well and truly fucked. And he didn’t even have to take your clothes off.

‘Well. Are you going to ask?’ you say, giving him your best flirtatious smile.

His brows crease adorably. ‘Ask what?’

The line moves forward and you’re finally to the register. Delight courses through you. Leaning forward you pause a few inches from his ear, looking at him through your lashes. ‘My name.’

He laughs, a bright warm sound, as unrestrained and un-self-conscious as the rest of him while you place your order.

When you step aside he’s got his phone out, holding it up to you with your name saved, making you laugh. Damn, you’d given your name to the barista.

‘How about a number to go with the name?’

Your lips pull back into a lopsided smirk. ‘I don’t think you’ll need it.’

He looks confused again. Somehow, your drink is already ready, the barista at the end of the bar calling your name.

‘I work at Elyxion,’ you say, joy and mischief infusing your words.

He chuckles, looking down at his feet. Another man might have asked questions, been off-put by the clear disparity of information between the two of you. But once again he surprises you, merely lifting a shoulder and turning to place his order.

‘I’ll see tonight.’

‘See you there... Jongin,’ you draw out the syllable, earning another laugh from him as you weave your way outside through the crowd.

The buzz in the club is even higher than normal when you arrive. Something about Jongin’s upcoming appearance has pushed everyone to operate at an even higher level. Costume staff, servers, even some of the strippers themselves - all seem to be trying extra hard tonight.

You laugh to yourself as you get ready, already surrendered to whatever the night will bring.

When you show up to the pre-opening staff huddle you find Jongin easily, his silver hair shining even in the low light of the prep room. When he sees you he gives you a wink before turning to listen to your general manager Junmyeon give the rundown for the show tonight.

He introduces Jongin and everyone welcomes him, the words passing through your mind without your notice. You’re far too distracted by the low cut shirt he’s wearing as you shamelessly check him out.

He catches you watching and smothers a laugh, raising an eyebrow as if to say fair is fair.

You mouth ‘at least I know your name’ to him and his eyes crinkle at the corner as he tries not to laugh.

The huddle breaks up and Junmyeon claps a hand on Jongin’s shoulder, steering him backstage to watch the show.

Unfortunately you only catch glimpses of him throughout the night as you serve drinks. He watches the routines with focus, mimicking the moves subtly in almost real time.

You find him like a homing beacon every time you serve on the far side of the room. And every time you walk back to the bar you run your hand along your neck, simultaneously cursing and thanking God for bringing this man into your orbit.

Sunday is everyone’s Friday, blessedly. A final show to close out the week and then a long day off on Mondays for everyone to rest and recover.

After two full days of weekend high the building is always nice and empty when you arrive for your shift. Sunday afternoons you and Kat do all the weekly tasks like inventory and ordering and bookkeeping in between yawning and drowning yourselves in coffee.

Jongin arrives just after two in an obscenely arousing pair of gray sweatpants and a black tank top. He waves to you and Kat while chatting with some of the other performers before heading onstage.

You do your best to not watch his rehearsal, avoiding the way you can see every line of his body as he practices the choreography.

‘Those goddamn hip thrusts,’ you mutter, glancing away as if he’s the sun, too bright and hot to look at without being burned in some way.

‘What was that?’ Kat asks, but the look on her face lets you know that she’s aware of not only what you said, but also what you meant.

You stick your tongue out at her and kneel down to intently count the glassware behind the bar.

‘That’s what I thought.’

After the last of the group numbers is through a DJ Khaled song starts, low and dangerous, and you feel it in your gut that this is the song they’ve chosen for Jongin’s solo dance.

‘Fuck,’ you sigh.

‘He’s dancing right now isn’t he,’ you ask with a wince, looking up at Kat.

She’s got her arms folded, leaning back against the bar. She tilts her head and whistles. ‘He sure is, my friend.’

‘Double fuck,’ you laugh to yourself.

‘You really should be watching this.’

‘Nope. No. Definitely not,’ you say decisively. ‘No dating people I work with. Or anything else for that matter, no matter how sweet and charming and incredible at dancing they are.’

She laughs. ‘Honey, I think you might want to make an exception.’

You narrow your eyes at her and go back to counting, standing and turning your back on the stage to work on the liquors.

‘You know that works better when you practice on a real person!’ Kat calls out, startling you.

‘What are you doing?!’

When you turn you see Sehun the choreographer rolling his eyes in amusement and Jongin on the floor, raised up on his arms smiling at you.

Kat gives you a satisfied grin. ‘Trust me.’

Jongin stands, resting his hands on his hips. Even from this distance you can see his chest rise and fall with his breathing, the sweat that shines on his chest and arms.

He stares you down, raising that damn brow in challenge. ‘Are you volunteering?’

She practically shoves you forward, taking the inventory list from your hands. ‘Yes, she is.’

You curse under your breath and smooth your hair behind your ears while you walk. Just what you need, to burn alive with lust while half your co-workers watch.

‘Hold You Down’ starts over again, the bass from the speakers thrumming through your veins.

In all the months you’ve worked here you could count on one hand the number of times you’ve been on stage. And you knew decidedly how many times you’ve been on stage in this context - none.

From here the bright lights of the stage make it hard to see the rest of the room, or even backstage. The spotlights create a bubble that exists only for you and Jongin. You assume the position on the chair set up at center stage, bracing your hands and grasping the edges of the chair for dear life.

With his eyes fixed on yours he moves in time to the beat, drawing his lip into his mouth and biting down as he takes off his shirt with aching slowness.

Once it’s free he steps up to you, bringing his face a breath from yours. He bends down, running his hands up your thighs to grasp your hips. You almost whine at how goddamn good he looks staring up at you, his head inches from where you want him the most, if you’re honest with yourself.

In one fluid motion he cups your thighs and lifts you onto his shoulders, your legs over him and your crotch directly in his face. You scream and laugh, grasping the back of his head in your hands to avoid falling. He gives you a wink that only you can see and your shake your head in amusement.

The chorus kicks in, fast and sensual, and he shifts you, spinning you into a bridal style hold.

He moves again, laying you on the floor before tearing off his pants and crawling over you, a hungry look on his face that makes you clench your thighs together.

You’re so captivated by his expression you hardly see what he’s doing with his body. But oh, how you feel it.

His thighs press against yours as he grinds himself into you, balancing the line all male dancers have to between giving the lucky chosen woman what she wants but maintaining enough professional distance to avoid coming on too strong.

Too bad, I want you closer you think, surprising yourself.

He finally finishes and helps you up. From the way he’s breathing heavily and watching you, you know he was thinking the same thing. He thanks you and you walk back to the bar as best as you can without passing out.

‘So, how was it?’ Kat asks.

‘I’m going to need a cold shower as soon as I get home,’ you sigh. ‘Or more batteries for my vibrator.’

Kat laughs, clapping you on the shoulder. ‘Or you could just fuck him. The man is umm literally drooling on you.’

You lift your eyes skyward, praying for divine assitance.

It goes on like this for days.

Lunches at the taco joint down the street, laughing about tales from your previous jobs and his wild career. Dancing together when the group goes out after work to hit the strip on Thursday night.

Flirting with Jongin is a dangerous game you can’t help but play.

Perhaps its resisting fate, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the feeling in your chest when he brushes your hair behind your ear one night.

Or perhaps it’s logic, warning you away from what could be disastrous for your sanity. For life as you know it. Watching him grind on other women on stage makes jealousy and possession rise in your chest like a hungry wolf, in a way it never did for Minseok.

It disturbs you how fast this man has blotted out the rest of your life, and you can’t figure out how to feel about it.

Sunday arrives and once again you watch Jongin dance, feeling like you might combust at any moment from a combination of lust and need and … something decidedly softer.

You take a break as lunch arrives and head to the back room to check your phone. You turn while scrolling through instagram, bumping into a solid form.

This time when Jongin’s arms keep you upright you’re inches from his face. The smell of his cologne and his sweat, the devilish smile on his lips, makes you almost whine out loud.

‘Hey,’ you start with a laugh, but you can’t bring yourself to move.

‘Hey,’ he repeats with a smirk.

Blessedly the back room is empty. You can hear Minseok and Chanyeol laughing distantly and you know they’re entertaining the group while everyone eats. Leaving the two of you all alone back here, for better or worse.

In the silence he lifts his hands to cradle your jaw, his thumbs sweeping across your cheeks. With a sigh you finally succumb to this thing between you, resting your face against his hand and closing your eyes.

‘I love what we have right now, but I don’t just want to flirt with you,’ he says softly. ‘And I’m not just trying to sleep with you, I want more.’

Once again he surprises you with his guilelessness, speaking the truth with no hint of shame. He waits until you open your eyes to continue.

‘I want you to be mine. Will you let me take you for dinner tomorrow?’

Your heart feels like it turns into liquid butter. You shrug and say, ‘Okay.’

‘Okay?’ he asks, confusion once again turning his face boyish and adorable.

You laugh and drop your hands to hold onto his hips. ‘Okay.’

You nod. Simple as that. Perhaps you knew the day you met him that this is where things would lead. Or maybe it’s just that Vegas magic. Either way, you’ll take it.

He smiles in response, wrapping his arms around you, pulling your face into his neck and sighing in satisfaction.

A moment later he pulls back, cupping your neck with his hand and pressing his lips to yours without waiting any longer. He kisses softer than you’d expect from his dancing. Steadily working his mouth against yours until you relax and soften in his arms.

You move your hands to his neck, tangling them in his hair and gently tugging on his lower lip. He grins against you, sliding his tongue along the seam of your lips seeking entrance.

His hands slide down your sides, trailing heat in their wake, heading for your hips. You moan into his mouth as his strong hands slip under the edge of your shirt and caress the skin of your lower back.

The two of you kiss for what feels like days in the quiet, dark back room. Days could have passed and you wouldn’t have even noticed. Eventually he pulls back and gives you a grin.

After a beat you speak. ‘Okay, but could we do both the sex and the relationship, I’m about to die from how badly I want you.’

He laughs against your hair, a low sound that surrounds you. Pulling his head back he meets your gaze, heat evident in his expression.

Slowly he presses you against the wall, his arousal clearly evident against your thigh.

‘Come with me,’ he says with a suggestive raise of his brows, clasping your hand in his.

‘More than happy to,’ you quip, earning you another laugh from him as he leads you into one of the changing rooms.

#kpopwonderlandtag #kpopwritingnet #kwriterskollection #exosnet #jongin x reader #jongin fanfic #jongin scenario #jongin imagine #exo x reader #exo fanfic #exo imagine #exo scenario #kim jongin x reader #jongin #exo au

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kagetsukai · 5 years

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Drops of Satina: Day 18 - Distance

Raphael Trevelyan belongs to @out-of-the-embers

Excerpts of correspondence between Hannah and Raphael as they travel around Thedas and miss each other terribly.

Words: 2048 || Read on AO3

My Darling Hannah,

My life is agony. Whoever decided that Western Approach was a good place to inhabit was mad and I would like some words with them. It’s incredibly dry here and the temperature never stay the same for more than a few hours. Some days it’s terribly hot and other days I have to wear my jacket for warmth. It’s insane. And let’s not mention all the sand; it must’ve seeped into every crevice of my body and no matter how hard I try, I can’t get rid of it. I long for a bath, but that won’t happen until we’ve reached our next destination. At least Varric understands and commiserates with me.

I miss you dearly. I know it’s only been a week since the last time I saw you, but it feels so much longer than that. I really miss our daily walks around the gardens - it’s made even more acute by the fact that there’s almost no plant-life around here. I did come across a flowering deathroot and picked a few buds to send with this letter. Didn’t you mention once how purple was your favorite color? I hope you like them.

Are you well? Were you able to travel safely? I do trust Cullen and his men, but I can’t help worry about you; there’s too many horrible people who do awful things just for a laugh. I hope to hear from you soon, because I desperately need to know you’re alright.

Yours, Raphael

=============================

Dearest Raphael,

I must confess, your dramatic depictions of the Western Approach had me giggling like an idiot. Surely, it can’t be that bad? I’ve never been to a real desert so I can’t say if I agree with your description, but I do hope you got to have a better time than what you’ve described. If not, I’m sorry for your discomfort. If it makes you feel better, I really appreciated the deathroot flowers you’ve sent me - did you know they are hallucinogenic and are used by some as a form of intoxicant? I caught someone eyeing the petals, so I had to hide them in my engineering journals. I hope you don’t mind.

To answer your questions, I am well. As much as I’m thrilled to be out of Skyhold and seeing the world, I desperately miss my own bed. I forgot how much I hate sleeping in tents. That being said, I’m currently in Caer Bronach to look into repairs to the castle, so at least I get to sleep in one of the rooms here. I’m amazed how much lack of proper maintenance can put such a young stronghold into immediate decrepitude. I got to inspect other Fereldan places as well, but I doubt you care to read about it - this isn’t an official report after all. The most important part is that I’m almost done with Inquisition properties here and I’ll be traveling to the other side of Frostbacks soon. Judging by how angry Lily got over the bridge in Exalted Plains, I’m sure to find a doozy.

I will admit, I can’t wait to be done with all inspections so I can be back in Skyhold and awaiting your swift return. I never considered myself the waiting type, so I place all the blame squarely on your shoulders; considering you have strong and capable shoulders, I’m sure you can handle it. I miss you terribly, too. I just don’t have a reason to laugh as much when you’re not around to do dumb things at the most inappropriate times. I also miss having you around during mealtimes - things just don’t taste the same without you adding your salted garlic paste. And really, I just miss your kisses. Your kisses are the best.

Hannah

[added in a rushed scribble]

Ps. Chargers just arrived with summons to go directly to Western Approach. They are to escort me to Griffon Wing Keep so I can oversee urgent repairs and construction of a bridge through some horribly noxious area. If I’m lucky, I’ll see you there - I cannot wait.

=============================

My Darling Hannah,

I tried to postpone our departure from the Griffon Wing Keep until you’ve arrived, but Lily would not be convinced. Logically, I understand that the sooner we’re done exploring western Orlais the sooner we can be back in Skyhold, but my heart wanted the gratification of seeing you immediately. I hope you received the note I left for you with Rylen; he was terribly amused by it and poked fun at me, that cheeky bastard.

We’re in the Forbidden Oasis and it could not be more different from the Western Approach. It’s still technically in the middle of a desert, but this place has canyons shaded from the sun where all sorts of waterfalls and verdant pools sit in a warm shade. I took the liberty to soak in one of them and it was glorious. I wonder if you’d like it here. According to Lily there isn’t anything to build so she won’t be requesting your presence, which I’m sad about, but perhaps it’s for the better; I loathe the thought of you traveling through the desert. Still, I miss you dearly. It’s been entirely too long since I’ve seen you last and I’m starting to suspect it will be even longer before I see you again. This expedition is shaping up to be long and arduous. I just hope you’re well.

With all my kisses, Raphael

=============================

Dearest Raphael,

Thank you for the lovely note you left me at the Griffon Wing Keep; it brought a smile to my face. Granted, Rylen decided to be a little shit and make fun of me for my reaction, but he changed his tune once I reminded him he’s just a man and can feel pain just like the rest of us. Perhaps I shouldn’t have kicked his balls, but maybe he’ll learn the lesson quicker that way.

Anyway, I now understand why you hated Western Approach so much. This place is so dry, my face has turned into a prune! By the time you see me again, I’ll have aged 20 years and I’ll no longer look youthful; I hope you’re prepared to court a grandmother, because that’s how I will look from now on. At least the area is interesting and should keep me occupied for a while.

Speaking of which, I know I had originally estimated it would only take me a month to attend to everything, but with the exploration of the Western Approach and increased workload, I doubt I’ll make it back to Skyhold anytime soon. Just judging by my initial sketches, I’ll have to stay here for an extra month to make sure everything is done correctly; who knows if something else doesn’t crop up while we work. I hear Lily might be returning to the Griffon Wing Keep at a later date so maybe I’ll get to see you here instead of Skyhold? I would very much like that. As much as I enjoy Rylen and Krem for company, I terribly miss having you around. Can you imagine having a date on the dunes? Sand would get everywhere, I’m certain, but I’d still enjoy it.

I’d like to thank you for all the little flowers you’ve sent with the last letter. They are so pretty! They’ve joined all of the other blooms I keep in my journal and now, whenever I open it, they make me think of you. And they still have the scent! They’re wonderful, so thank you once again.

I hope you’re well and you continue to be well. I cannot wait to see you next, because I miss you dearly and it’s horrible how long I have to be without you. Maybe fates will bring us together soon.

Yours, Hannah

=============================

My Darling Hannah

It’s been a while since my last letter, because we’ve been slowly exploring the entirety of the Hissing Wastes and haven’t been back to the main camp in what feels like an age. Yes, you read that right. Hissing. Wastes. In case the name isn’t a good enough clue, the place is an even larger desert than the Western Approach with even less friendly flora or fauna. The wind blows at extreme speeds and everything is so grey and muted, I think I’m sad just from looking outside my tent at night. I suppose it’s an important spot to the Inquisition, though in my humble opinion, I’d just let it fall by the wayside. Why does Lily have to be the one to look at this stuff? Can’t we send some archaeologists to excavate the dwarven ruins? I suggested that once and Lily only got annoyed with me. I thought it was a good idea, but oh well.

I wonder if you’re still at the Griffon Wing Keep. Judging by my count, you’re probably done with your work and heading back to Skyhold as we speak, though I do hope you are still there when we arrive later this week. Maybe that way we could escort you back home? I’d love that, I won’t lie. I miss you so damn much. Normally I don’t mind traipsing around Thedas with Lily, but being away from home is really difficult this time; not only it’s a longer trip than any before, but I now have a reason to want to return. I wish all of this was over already, so I wouldn’t have to travel so much. I miss our daily chats. I miss you.

Always yours, Raphael

=============================

My Dearest Raphael,

I miss you, desperately. It’s been too long since we’ve kissed or held each other or even talked, and I’m going a little crazy from this clutching feeling in my chest I associate with not having you around. I hate the fact that we’re apart and there isn’t much we can do about it. I cannot wait to be back at Skyhold with you, so we can go back to some semblance of normalcy. I’m done with being on the road and constantly sleeping in a bed that isn’t my own. I’m done and I want to go home.

Instead of Skyhold, I’m in Exalted Plains. When Lily first told me of how Master Wardell completely neglected his duties when constructing this bridge, I hadn’t expected this level of incompetence. I mean, it’s a functional bridge, but with the kind of resources we are given, he should have been able to repair this gap properly and in no time. Thankfully, the team I already have here is hard-working and not afraid of challenges. Once I draw up new plans and divide up the responsibilities, all work will be done fast. I hate that I have to once again clean up Wardell’s messes, but it can’t be helped. At least this is the last of it.

I hope you are well. I hope you are taking care of yourself. I hope to see you soon.

Yours, Hannah

=============================

My Darling Hannah,

We are on our way home. We just passed through Exalted Plains and I got to admire your handiwork in person - you’ve done a fantastic job here, dearest. Lily is also happy with the results, but I’m sure she’ll want to thank you in person, so I’ll let her speak for herself. Still, I’m proud of you. This bridge and what you’ve done in the Western Approach proves that you are the right person for the job and I’m so glad you are finally recognized for your hard work.

I will see you soon, my darling, and I cannot wait. Lily wants to stop by Emprise du Lion to take care of some dragons, but once we’re done, we’re coming home. I cannot wait to see your beautiful face again. I miss you so fucking much. We will be together soon.

Forever yours, Raphael

=============================

Raphael,

I came back to Skyhold two days ago and I am thrilled beyond words to finally have my own bed back. I cannot wait to have you back as well. I spoke to Leliana and she said you should be home within a week, so I won’t be making this letter long. I miss you and I’m looking forward to seeing you again. Be safe.

Yours, Hannah

#fanfiction #dragon age #da:i #drops of satina #may-hem #female OC #male Trevelyan #Hannah of Highever #Raphael Trevelyan #Hannah/Raphael #correspondence #letters #they miss each other so much #fluff #I was dying while writing this #it's so fluffy I could die #cuteness ahoy!

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whimsiesofanerdgirl · 5 years

Text

Choose Your Own Adventure | Spooky Edition

October is here and you know what that means…GIMMEH ALL THE SPOOKY BOOKS!!!

We all know that Fall is THE season for reading, I don’t make up the rules. I just go with it.

It’s the first official month of coziness, hoodies, the best smelling candles, leaves changing, watching scary movies, and reading all those atmospheric books you’ve been saving up for the best time of the year! :)

I thought it would be fun to make a list of different spooky books depending on your preference so I categorized them because I like organizing book lists. I should have a plaque for it. Seriously.

So read on to get scary, spooky, and paranormal recommended reads. Then go get yourself the book and hunker down under a fluffy blanket and read to your heart’s content. <3

GHOSTS, HAUNTINGS, & THE DEAD

The Mediator series by Meg Cabot

Synopsis:

Suze is a mediator -- a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind ... and Suze happens to be in the way.

I loved reading these when I was in high school, but I still need to finish reading them all. It’s an oldie and a goodie! Plus, Suze has a good looking ghost named Jesse haunting her bedroom so there’s that too. ;)

Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent

Synopsis:

She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.

I heard so much hype about this series, mostly positive things, but have yet to actually read it off my TBR. The ratings range from 3.5+ to 4ish stars so it must be good!

The Fade by Demitria Lunetta

Synopsis:

We don't want to disappear. We want to be found. Something terrible happened in her basement. Haley can feel it. Four girls went missing several years ago, and the police never solved the case. But Haley know the missing girls were murdered. How else can she explain the hostile presence in her house? The ghostly girls need something from her. And unless Haley can figure out what they want...she might be next.

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

Synopsis:

Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it. Take this as a warning: if you are not able or willing to control yourself, it will not only be you who suffers the consequences but those around you, as well. New Oldbury, 1821 In the wake of a scandal, the Montrose family and their three daughters—Catherine, Lydia, and Emeline—flee Boston for their new country home, Willow Hall. The estate seems sleepy and idyllic. But a subtle menace creeps into the atmosphere, remnants of a dark history that call to Lydia, and to the youngest, Emeline. All three daughters will be irrevocably changed by what follows, but none more than Lydia, who must draw on a power she never knew she possessed if she wants to protect those she loves. For Willow Hall’s secrets will rise, in the end…

Haunting Emma series by Lee Nichols

Synopsis:

When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian?her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern?and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.

After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore?except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.

The Soul Seekers series by Alyson Noel

Synopsis:

Until now, he's existed only in her dreams - but fate is about to bring them together. I shove through the crowd, knocking into girls and bouncing off boys, until one in particular catches me, steadies me. I feel so secure, so at home in his arms. I melt against his chest-lift my gaze to meet his. Gasping when I stare into a pair of icy blue eyes banded by brilliant flecks of gold that shine like kaleidoscopes, reflecting my image thousands of times. The boy from my dream. The one who died in my arms. Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter’s sanity, Daire’s mother sends her to live with the grandmother she’s never met. A woman who recognizes the visions for what they truly are—the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker—one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead. There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness her mystical powers. But it’s when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, that her whole world is shaken to its core. Now Daire is forced to discover if Dace is the one guy she's meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.

This is another series I need to finish! I got through book 3, but it definitely kept my attention. I haven’t read a lot of books about Native American rituals and I found it so fascinating in this series. Not to mention the cute boy and spirit walking!

HORROR

The Last ApprenticeI series by Joseph Delaney

Synopsis:

For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried—some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice.

I’ve never read this series though I have watched the movie which I enjoyed. From what I’ve heard from my hubby it’s a super freaky book series and to be honest the book covers confirm that for me!

The Archived series by Victoria Schwab

Synopsis:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive. Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall. In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

The strange thing about this series is that I never heard much about it online. I came across it randomly scouring Goodreads one day last year or so. Victoria Schwab is basically the dark fantasy queen in the online YA community which is partially the reason I put it on my TBR list. Recently it’s been in the news that we will be getting a TV series for it on the CW so boys and girls bump this up on your TBR so you don’t miss out!

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs

Synopsis:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

If this book is anything like the movie it is FREAKY! I’d give this 5 out of 5 stars for the scary factor. You’ve been forewarned.

The Missing Season by Gillian French

Synopsis:

Whenever another kid goes missing in October, the Pender kids know what is really behind it: a horrific monster out in the marshes they have named the Mumbler. That’s what Clara’s new crew tells her when she moves to town: Bree and Sage, who take her under their wing; spirited Trace, who has taken the lead on this year’s Halloween prank war; and magnetic Kincaid, whose devil-may-care attitude and air of mystery are impossible for Clara to resist. Clara doesn’t actually believe in the Mumbler. But as Halloween gets closer and tensions build in the town, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there really is something dark and dangerous in Pender, lurking in the shadows, waiting to bring the stories to life.

His Hideous Heart by 13 YA Authors / Edited by Dahlia Adler

Synopsis:

Thirteen of YA’s most celebrated names reimagine Edgar Allan Poe’s most surprising, unsettling, and popular tales for a new generation. Edgar Allan Poe may be a hundred and fifty years beyond this world, but the themes of his beloved works have much in common with modern young adult fiction. Whether the stories are familiar to readers or discovered for the first time, readers will revel in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales, and how they’ve been brought to life in 13 unique and unforgettable ways. Contributors include Kendare Blake (reimagining “Metzengerstein”), Rin Chupeco (“The Murders in the Rue Morge”), Lamar Giles (“The Oval Portrait”), Tessa Gratton (“Annabel Lee”), Tiffany D. Jackson (“The Cask of Amontillado”), Stephanie Kuehn (“The Tell-Tale Heart”), Emily Lloyd-Jones (“The Purloined Letter”), Hillary Monahan (“The Masque of the Red Death”), Marieke Nijkamp (“Hop-Frog”), Caleb Roehrig (“The Pit and the Pendulum”), and Fran Wilde (“The Fall of the House of Usher”).

The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale

Synopsis:

A girl with a secret talent must save her village from the encroaching darkness in this haunting and deeply satisfying tale. Alys was seven when the soul eaters came to her village. These soul eaters, twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly morphed into something not quite human, devour human souls. Alys, and all the other children, were spared—and they were sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where good and evil are as fundamental as the nursery rhymes children sing. Fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think it is. And neither is Alys. Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul.

This has probably been one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read, but I’ve also never read Stephen King soooo take that however you’d like. Might want to read this one in the day time to be on the safe side.

VAMPIRES

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Synopsis:

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret. When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface. At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.

There has been soooo much hype around this one and yes, it’s on my TBR. If you’re into Vampire Diaries this sounds like a great read for you!

Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz

Synopsis:

When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires. The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society. The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapated mansion. Schuyler is a loner...and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

I remember reading this yeeears ago when it first came out and now all I can think of is Gossip Girl, but with vampires.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Synopsis:

There had not been any trouble out at the lake in years. Sunshine just needed a spot where she could be alone with her thoughts for a minute. But then the vampires found her . . . Now, chained and imprisoned in a once-beautiful decaying mansion, alone but for the vampire, Constantine, shackled next to her, Sunshine realizes that she must call on her own hidden strength if she is to survive. But Constantine is not what she expected of a vampire, and soon Sunshine discovers that it is he who needs her, more than either of them know. Originally published as an adult novel, but now in YA for the first time, Sunshine is an alluring and captivating vampire story one that will ensnare fans of paranormals everywhere.

I loved this book! If you’re in the mood for something fresh in the vampire genre you should check it out. Plus, I HIGHLY recommend Robin McKinley in general. She has absolutely amazing fairy tale retellings!

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

Synopsis:

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. In the first book of the Twilight Saga, internationally bestselling author Stephenie Meyer introduces Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, a pair of star-crossed lovers whose forbidden relationship ripens against the backdrop of small-town suspicion and a mysterious coven of vampires. This is a love story with bite.

What kind of list would this be without the Twilight saga? If you haven’t heard of this before, have you been living under a rock? It’s a great story that pulls you in - you’ve got your historical fiction back story, folklore, vampires, romance, love triangle further in the series if you’re into that kinda thing (yes, I am).

Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

Synopsis:

Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies . . . Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them. After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger . . . and the Strigoi are always close by. Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever . . .

This was another vampire teenage sensation of its time. I have yet to get around to reading this (I’m looking at you TBR pile…and there’s this thing called new releases, sigh), but from what I’ve heard many people enjoyed it in the online community. It’s only right that we all get a taste of this!

House of Night series by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Synopsis:

After a Vampire Tracker Marks her with a crescent moon on her forehead, 16-year-old Zoey Redbird enters the House of Night and learns that she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx and has affinities for all five elements: Air, Fire Water, Earth and Spirit. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite club, is mis-using her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny – with a little help from her new vampyre friends (or Nerd Herd, as Aphrodite calls them).

This is what I’d call another popular staple of the vampire era (which tbh I feel like vamps are coming back - YESH). I’d say these were as big as the Twilight series though they must not have gotten enough hype to get its own movie series or TV show. I loved the mix of different races and magic, it wasn’t just about vampires. If you’re feeling vampires and want different elements you should give it a shot.

SHAPESHIFTERS

The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

Synopsis:

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...

This is an adult paranormal romance series, but my god…I LOOOOOVE IT WITH A PASSION! This is literally in my top 5 faves and for good reason. There are a multitude of creatures/races and I really love that aspect along with the fact that it’s an urban fantasy. Patricia Briggs writes so well that you’ll think that the story is based off real events and feel like you’re inside the story itself. It’s got werewolves, skinwalkers, vampires, fae, and other races as well. If you want to immerse yourself into the paranormal universe this is the series you’re looking for.

Shifters series by Rachel Vincent

Synopsis:

There are only eight breeding female werecats left... And I'm one of them. I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds. Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked. I'd been warned about Strays — werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared. This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back... for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever — and whoever — I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays — 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them...

Rachel Vincent is a phenomenal writer. She has written both YA and adult series though I haven’t read any of her YA books, I was entranced with her Shifters series. The way she writes her characters and you can really feel the intensity of the relationships between them. I highly recommend this series if you love the shapeshifter genre.

Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer

Synopsis:

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice? "A finely-wrought compelling tale of romance and treachery..." -Cynthia Leitich Smith (New York Times bestselling author of Eternal and Tantalize)

The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater

Synopsis:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

This isn’t your usual werewolf story. If I remember correctly, werewolves in this series have a genetic mutation that causes them to shift when the weather turns colder and appear to turn more wolf than man. This was a lovely trilogy of romance and if you read reviews on Goodreads you’ll find many others agree. The twist on shapeshifters and simple romantic relationship between Grace and Sam will have you rooting for them on page one.

Otherkin series by Nina Berry

Synopsis:

Dez is a good girl who does as she's told and tries not to be noticed. Then she rescues a boy from a cage, and he tells her secrets about herself. Now inside her burns a darkness that will transform her. Everything is about to change--and neither Caleb, nor the Otherkin, nor those who hunt them, are prepared for what Dez will unleash.

The Harbinger series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers. When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…

Gargoyle shapeshifters? YES! COUNT ME IN! I loved the animated show Gargoyles. *smiles fondly of childhood memories* If you know of any other gargoyle shapeshifter stories please leave them down in the comments for me to check out!!!

WITCHES & WIZARDS

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Synopsis:

Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry. Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined. Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.

What kind of monster would I be if I didn’t include the Harry Potter books!?!?!?! The PERFECT mood for Halloween, autumn, and the upcoming holidays… I love the fact that J.K. Rowling writes those holidays into the story because it adds just the right amount of extra magic into them, not to mention witches and wizards! I will always recommend these because they helped me get into reading when I was a young-in.

The Black Witch Chronicles series by Laurie Forest

Synopsis:

A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining. Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else. When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother’s legacy. But she soon realizes that the university, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is a treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch. As evil looms on the horizon and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, everything Elloren thought she knew will be challenged and torn away. Her best hope of survival may be among the most unlikely band of misfits…if only she can find the courage to trust those she’s been taught to hate and fear.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Synopsis:

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman. For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic...

I’ve never read the book, but the movie is my absolute favorite to watch for Halloween (besides the obvious and popular Hocus Pocus). If you’re in the mood for some good old fashioned witchy fun go buy or loan it out from your local library!

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Synopsis:

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow… Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under. Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into. Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters. But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

Sweep series by Cate Tiernan

Synopsis:

Includes: Book 1 - Book of Shadows Book 2 - The Coven Book 3 - Blood Witch The first three Sweep books bound into one gorgeous edition at a fabulous price! Morgan Rowlands never thought she was anything other than a typical sixteen-year-old girl. But when she meets Cal, a captivatingly handsome coven leader, she makes a discover that turns her whole world upside down: she is a witch, descended from an ancient and powerful line. And so is Cal. Their connection is immediate and unbreakable; Cal teases out Morgan's power, her love, her magick. But Morgan discovers too soon that her powers are strong-- almost too powerful to control. And she begins to suspect that Cal may be keeping secrets from her . . . secrets that could destroy them both.

I NEED TO GET MY HANDS ON VOLUME TWO! I really enjoyed volume 1 because it took me back to my high school days and plus it enlightened me on the practice of Wicca. Some people tend to be turned off by the teenage drama, but that’s kind of a given when it comes to most high school related books. If you can get past that I think it has a lot of information on Wiccan spirituality if you’re interested in learning more or to dip your toes in.

Wicked series by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

Synopsis:

Complete text of Witch and Curse in a single volume. Holly Cathers's world shatters when her parents are killed in a terrible accident. Wrenched from her home in San Francisco, she is sent to Seattle to live with her relatives, Aunt Marie-Claire and her twin cousins, Amanda and Nicole. In her new home, Holly's sorrow and grief soon give way to bewilderment at the strange incidents going on around her. Such as how any wish she whispers to her cat seems to come true. Or the way a friend is injured after a freak attack from a vicious falcon. And there's the undeniable, magnetic attraction to a boy Holly barely knows. Holly, Amanda, and Nicole are about to be launced into a dark legacy of witches, secrets, and alliances, where ancient magics yield dangerous results. The girls will assume their roles in an intergenerational feud beyond their wildest imaginations...and in doing so, will attempt to fulfill their shared destiny.

It’s been so long since I’ve read this series, but watch out! I feel like these books were a lot darker and heavier than your average YA witch book.

ZOMBIES

Dread Nation series by Justina Ireland

Synopsis:

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations. But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Zombies and the historical reimagining of the Civil War. What more could you want? Also, why haven’t I read this one yet!?! I completely forgot about this being on my TBR and then remembered when making this list. *makes a mental note*

Rot & Ruin series by Jonathan Maberry

Synopsis:

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

Something Strange and Deadly series by Susan Dennard

Synopsis:

There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . . Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper: The Dead are rising in Philadelphia. And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother. Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

I just…UGH, this series hit me in the FEELS! OKAY!?! These books had me coming back for more and I found myself devastated when I finished the trilogy. T_T But please read them! This story deserves to be heard!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth series by Carrie Ryan

Synopsis:

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

The Hollows series by Amanda Hocking

Synopsis:

This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door. Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Warm Bodies series by Isaac Marion

Synopsis:

Now a major motion picture from Summit Entertainment. R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization. And then he meets a girl. First as his captive, then his reluctant guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn't want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

A unique twist on the usual zombies take over the world trope. This is the story of a zombie who falls in love with a human. Can they make the relationship work?

DEMONS

Lady Helen series by Alison Goodman

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Eon and Eona; a Regency adventure series starring a stylish and intrepid Buffy-esque demon-hunter London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall's presentation to the queen, one of her family's housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

OMG. THIS IS THE BOOK SERIES I DIDN’T KNOW I NEEDED IN MY LIFE. I’ve always loved the rebellious girl in historical fiction trope and tbh this upped the goodness on so many levels. It kinda gives me Pride and Prejudice vibes, but with demons and demon hunting!

The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd

Synopsis:

When Dee Moreno makes a deal with a demon—her heart in exchange for an escape from a disastrous home life—she finds the trade may have been more than she bargained for. And becoming “heartless” is only the beginning. What lies ahead is a nightmare far bigger, far more monstrous than anything she could have ever imagined. With reality turned on its head, Dee has only a group of other deal-making teens to keep her grounded, including the charming but secretive James Lancer. And as something grows between them amid an otherworldy ordeal, Dee begins to wonder: Can she give someone her heart when it’s no longer hers to give?

Another trope I love are bargains! How will the trade made between her and the demon backfire?

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo series by F.C. Yee

Synopsis:

Genie Lo is one among droves of Ivy-hopeful overachievers in her sleepy Bay Area suburb. You know, the type who wins. When she’s not crushing it at volleyball or hitting the books, Genie is typically working on how to crack the elusive Harvard entry code. But when her hometown comes under siege from hellspawn straight out of Chinese folklore, her priorities are dramatically rearranged. Enter Quentin Sun, a mysterious new kid in class who becomes Genie’s self-appointed guide to battling demons. While Genie knows Quentin only as an attractive transfer student with an oddly formal command of the English language, in another reality he is Sun Wukong, the mythological Monkey King incarnate—right down to the furry tale and penchant for peaches. Suddenly, acing the SATs is the least of Genie’s worries. The fates of her friends, family, and the entire Bay Area all depend on her summoning an inner power that Quentin assures her is strong enough to level the very gates of Heaven. But every second Genie spends tapping into the secret of her true nature is a second in which the lives of her loved ones hang in the balance.

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Synopsis:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

It’s nice to read this series since you can actually watch it as a movie or the TV series. I’ve heard pros and cons to the movie/TV adaptations, but I’ve heard so many great things about the books. I only ever read the first book and never got around to reading the rest. My sister and her husband enjoyed the heck out of them so much that he proposed to her by putting the ring in the book. *SQUEEE*

Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor

Synopsis:

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Another book I’ve heard a lot of hype around and have yet to read. I REALLY NEED TO GET AROUND TO READING THESE because they sound like they’re right up my alley!

Kingdom on Fire series by Jessica Cluess

Synopsis:

I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer. The prophesied one. Or am I? Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she is brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves?

DARK FAE

The Hazel Wood series by Melissa Albert

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.” Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

I read an e-galley of this before it had published and all I could think was this was creepy and different from the typical fae story. It wasn’t just about a manipulative fae race, the woods moved and shifted and left you disoriented which explains why most don’t come back at all…

Song of the Dryad by Natalia Leigh

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Barclay is still haunted by an encounter she had eight years ago – a run-in with a fairy beast that had eyes like witchlight and a taste for flesh. Charlotte has avoided the Greenwood ever since, pretending fairies don’t exist and choosing instead to focus her energies on graduating from high school and perfecting her audition piece for the Bellini Institute. However, everything changes when her mom goes missing, kidnapped by the fairies that haunt the forest behind Charlotte’s home. When Charlotte’s search for her mom leads her into the fairy realm, she discovers that she hails from a line of Shrine Keepers – humans tasked with maintaining ancient fairy shrines. Charlotte’s family has failed their duties to the fae, and now she has no choice but to strike a deal with the dryad, an ancient and powerful tree nymph responsible for her mom’s disappearance. But the dryad only gives her a month to complete her task: retrieve five stolen fairy stones and return them to the ancient fairy shrine. If she doesn’t return the stones in time, the dryad has threatened to imprison another of Charlotte’s loved ones. Charlotte dives into a world as magical as it is deadly, coming face-to-face with fairy creatures that never get mentioned in the story books – including the creature that haunts her dreams. She must embrace her task and conquer her fears, or else she’ll never see her mom again.

This newer fae novel has a rating of 4+ on Goodreads and is a great edition to your urban fantasy collection if you’re trying to read more Indie books.

House of Furies by Madeleine Roux

Synopsis:

After escaping a harsh school where punishment was the lesson of the day, seventeen-year-old Louisa Ditton is thrilled to find employment as a maid at a boarding house. But soon after her arrival at Coldthistle House, Louisa begins to realize that the house’s mysterious owner, Mr. Morningside, is providing much more than lodging for his guests. Far from a place of rest, the house is a place of judgment, and Mr. Morningside and his unusual staff are meant to execute their own justice on those who are past being saved. Louisa begins to fear for a young man named Lee who is not like the other guests. He is charismatic and kind, and Louisa knows that it may be up to her to save him from an untimely judgment. But in this house of distortions and lies, how can Louisa be sure whom to trust?

For some odd reason I didn’t see a lot of hype around these series and then all of a sudden I started to hear about it a little more online. When I first came across it on Goodreads what intrigued me most was the idea of this Mr. Morningside taking it upon himself to deliver justice to evil and sinful guests. And I had been on the fence a little while whether to read it or not until I finally learned from someone in the reviews that had mentioned fae being in it. Pretty much anything fae you can count me in to reading it. I can never get enough! Thanks to Wunderkind PR who provided the trilogy to me to read and talk about it with you all I am grateful to have added it to my personal fae collection! It definitely had a different twist to the usual fae stories I’ve read in the past, being as it is a historical fiction and a mystery with a touch of horror. I recommend this to anyone else who has a similar taste for fae reads and is in the mood for a series that brings something new to the genre!

Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter

Synopsis:

Seductive. Cruel. Bored. Be wary of… Prince and his fairy courtiers are staggeringly beautiful, unrelentingly cruel, and exhausted by the tedium of the centuries ― until they meet foster-siblings Josh and Ksenia. Drawn in by their vivid emotions, undying love for each other, and passion for life, Prince will stop at nothing to possess them. First seduced and then entrapped by the fairies, Josh and Ksenia learn that the fairies' otherworldly gifts come at a terrible price ― and they must risk everything in order to reclaim their freedom.

Another great sounding edition to add to your faerie TBR list! *makes another reminder that I need to read this one still* Based on the cover I can assume this is another horror fae mix.

The Falconer series by Elizabeth May

Synopsis:

One girl's nightmare is this girl's faery tale She's a stunner. Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty. She's a liar. But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them. She's a murderer. Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother. She's a Falconer. The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder—but she'll have to save the world first. The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.

This was the first fae book I ever picked up that was mixed in with historical fiction and tbh it has made me spoiled! Now I feel the lack of historical fae genre and Elizabeth May is to blame. Not only is this a historical fiction, but it has some steampunk flair to add to the fae mix.

Modern Faerie Tales series by Holly Black

Synopsis:

Welcome to the realm of very scary faeries! Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death.

If I remember correctly this was one of the first fae stories I ever picked up and I fell in love with them instantly! Holly Black is known as the “Faerie Queen” and for good reason. She’s able to weave beautifully poetic words and surreal worlds it’s as if you’re living and breathing them. I hope you pick these up if you’ve never read them and if you have, maybe it’s time for a reread!

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did putting it together! Are there any books you think you’ll pick up soon? Let me know in the comments of any good ones I missed! :)

Until next time!

xoxo Whimsies of a Nerd Girl

10 Horror Romance Books

#Fall #Fall Reads #Halloween #Halloween Reads #Spooky Reads #Horror #Paranormal

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