#That mod is so insanely good I am dying without it

[seafoam-taide]

when is long enough for me to reinstall my major expansion mods to stardew valley without them being very annoyingly incongruent with the update bc I miss sdv expanded so much it is unreal

[dzpenumbra]

5/24/23

4AM again. Something always distracts me around these hours. Usually creative stuff. And I just go into that trance-like state, The Zone...

No complaints on that today, I decided to do another abstract ink drawing. It's been a while since I've done one. I'm not really minding this rotation from skull to ink drawing to beads. It works for me.

I strung the yellow beads onto the original hemp string I had reserved for them, but it's too short. I'm gonna prep another one tomorrow. But I also ran into another issue... the beads are kinda... tacky. Like...not like aesthetically tacky, I'm sure someone will like them... but like... physically tacky. Like... sticky. And I know it's the Mod Podge. So... I gotta figure out what to do about that, because that's gonna be a hard sell and doesn't really make me look good. I'll do some research tomorrow.

I woke up to a super vivid image today. It was just a dog's face, staring directly into my eyes, big pupils, big grin. And it was very dreamlike. If you've ever done acid... well, I only did once, but I remember vividly that peoples' faces started to look really cartoonish and... almost clown-like. It was very memorable, very unique and distinct, and this distortion of features felt very similar to that. And I'm like 90% sure it was my dog. And that was really tough. A year ago, this was the last... two weeks of her life. It still blows my mind that it's been an entire year. I still haven't adjusted. I feel bad because like... so much of my journal here has been talking about my cat. And I love her very much too, don't get me wrong. But I feel like my cat getting sick and dying kinda... I haven't given my dog's memory enough attention. And I miss the fuck out of her. My lock screen on my phone is still this picture I took when I was at the retreat place trying to get off of meds... and we were out in the driveway walking in the snow, and our footprint paths crossed, and I took a picture of that. My skate shoe imprints and her paw prints.

Again... it's that... I wish I could be nostalgic. I haven't looked backwards in time nostalgically in so long. In fact, I met someone on here a while back that was like... all about nostalgia. Which I envied, honestly. For the better half of a decade, I haven't really been able to look backwards in time without this deep feeling of dread and doom and shame cropping up. I can barely look through my photos on my phone. It's tough. And... I think it's just emotional overload. It started once I got off of meds. I think I just got really used to living without emotions, or with deeply subdued emotions... and then I had to completely re-learn how to be a sensitive person again. I don't know, it's my best theory so far.

So yeah, I don't want to dwell on grieving too much tonight. I will be doing plenty next week. I just wanted to bring that up because it was really resonant, to start your day with such a vividly powerful spirit staring you directly in the eyes. It was literally the second I woke up, like... I have really bad eyesight, and this like... static overlay on my vision... so like... when I woke up it was just this insanely vivid dog staring me in the eyes and then my eyes opened and there was the blurry fuzzy backdrop of the wood ceiling and windows with the afterimage of this dog over it and it faded. Like afterimages from looking at a light or something. It was really surreal, a very powerful moment to start the day with.

I was planning on doing groceries today, but I fucked around on Risk of Rain 2 while eating breakfast for too long and I missed the delivery window. I am still kinda kicking myself over that, but I have the delivery placed for tomorrow afternoon, so I'll just do it then. All's well that ends well. I put basil and green bean seeds on the shopping list, no clue if they'll actually get them, but it'd be chill if they did.

My plants are doing really well. My tomato is huge, almost a foot and a half tall now. The chili isn't that far behind. My philodendrons are finally starting to grow roots, and some are coming in pretty quick. The transplanted moss is in the terracotta Zen garden thing, and it's doing fine.

I got some granola and yogurt for breakfast and thawed some frozen mixed berries to have with it in the sun on the windowsill. When I finally bit into one of the blackberries, I got a mouthful of seeds. And I was just like... "oh... this gives me a very interesting idea." I know I've run across blackberries in the wild before, and they're very tasty. I know they live in my climate, and they grow like weeds. I was curious if the seeds could survive being frozen. And I searched online, and not only can blackberry seeds survive being frozen, they actually require being frozen and thawed to trigger germination. So... I spent a good chunk of the morning spitting seeds into a jar. I took the plastic grubhub container that had the moss growing in it, I poked some drainage holes and added a layer of potting soil. I put about half the seeds in there, and soaked the other half in water overnight - because some sites were suggesting soaking, some weren't. So... I guess we'll see if that turns into anything! If it does work, I likely won't get any fruit this year, but it's an investment in the future, you know?

I've got a nice little garden coming along here. :)

And... I think that's pretty much it.

OH. I was going to do a Tarot reading today. God, I keep forgetting shit lately. -_- Might as well do that now. I kinda fell out of the habit, but I honestly would really like to have that in my arsenal of things to offer people. Let's give it a whirl.

The question I'm asking is... "where am I going with my social life?" I'm doing a 3-card spread. The first position - Past - is: VIII - Strength, upright. (Overcoming fear, mastery of emotions through equilibrium and inner strength) The second position - Present - is: Page of Swords, inverted. (Childlike awe and wonder, epiphany. Encountering wisdom but unable to process it.  Keen intellect, strong will, but lacks context and experience.) The third position - Future - is: XVIII - The Moon, upright. (Fluctuation, change.  Ambiguity, inability to clearly distinguish things.  Easy to misperceive objects or intentions. Easy to lose your step and be deceived.)

So... not all good news, but very helpful all-in-all. Let me try to stitch this together. So... in the Past... I had relied on my composure, my control of my emotions, in social endeavors - either through naïve bravery, a self-imposed "I'm cool, I don't care" attitude, or benzodiazepines. Often a mixture of several.

And, following that thread to Present... I hit disfunction... chaos... through deep realizations and insights, through my pursuit of knowledge and inspiration. Which is very true. My social life completely fell apart when I was swan-diving into the abyss of the Unconscious and deeply struggled to process or apply what I was discovering, and when I reached out for support socially... it destroyed my social network outright.

And... following that thread to the potential Future... change is coming. A-doyyy. Change is always coming... But Moon-change can be... reality bending, in my experience. Dream-like, surreal. So... this feels... cautionary. Maybe I'm being anxious? Maybe this is illuminating exactly what my anxieties are? I am very cautious of misperceiving situations or misreading people who do not mean me well, as in... assuming the best of those who mean me harm. I have been destroyed by that in the past several times, and Strength had me bullheadedly just look right past it, or try to "suck it up" and "be a good guy and immediately forgive and pretend it never happened". Being deceived. Ugh. Yeah, the Moon looks cool in concept, like... ooOOOooOo the Moooon, spooky, how cooool. But... as much as I like the mind-bendy psychological horror shit in theory... when it starts happening in real life... not a fan...

Sooo, stitching it all together... In the past, I relied on my inner strength, my willpower and emotional centering, to make me a rock for people. And when I reached a point where I shifted into a new phase of life, and unlocked a wealth of insight about myself and the world, this turned my social life upside down. And moving forward, I'm heading toward a world that is often not what it seems. My lack of trust... while hindering... may be well-founded. My guide on this recommends not making any big life changes when The Moon is present, because things in moonlight often look very different in daylight.

And my history, even recent history, has proven this very correct. I tend to idealize and see the very best in everyone... and then end up with two giant buckets of goat bones in my house that I don't know what to do with, a week after my dog died. You know, shit like that. And... I don't really know what to do to get better at reading those situations and reacting properly, so... I guess that's what I could be focusing on.

Cool, that actually gives me some direction, and a lot of insight. Glad I took the time to do that. It's definitely time to go to bed now, it's already light out.

Better vibes to end on? The yellow beads are done! (ish... i need to research the stickiness.) And I also have a batch of orange-red ones that are ready to work on, too!

[luimagines]

It’s late. I should be asleep. *promptly types this in your inbox* For the Vai Clothes Anons, our dear beloved mod; Pinky and for every Twilight Simp out there. *blows kiss* Ignore all the copious self indulgence.

He hadn’t meant to. He really really really hadn’t meant to.

It all started with those awful wonderful vai clothes Wild had lent out. He hadn’t known you were changing behind that tree, he swears. All he knew was you were standing behind the tree, there was a brief rustle of fabric and a flash of skin before he whipped his head away from you so fast, his neck cracked.

“Wolfie? Are you ok?” He’d barely heard you ask, mind too occupied by the flash of soft skin he’d seen.

He shook his head and planted himself with his back to you to give you privacy. It was an accident, was all. No need to get worked up.

Later, Twilight would pin point that moment as the exact moment Hylia or Farore or some other deity had decided to take notice of his embarrassment and laugh.

———

The next time he saw more of you than you intended was when it was just you and him in wolf form. Monster guts had spilt all over your tunic and you plucked at it in disgust. Twilight had been too busy sniffing the air to really take any concern over it when he heard more fabric slid and a wet thump.

He turned his head on instinct and found you with both your over tunic and under tunic off and miles of soft, delicate skin on display for him. He could see the muscle move as you crouched over you bag and pulled out another set of tunics. You looked up and grinned at him.

Twilight felt faint as you approached him and ruffled the fur between his ears.

“Well done. You are such a good boy. Just let me put this on and we’ll go find the others. I bet you don’t want a super stinky friend travelling with you.” You said, a soft coo in your voice.

It took all the strength he had to turn away from the bare belly right in front of his nose and pretend to be interested in a tree as you put your tunics back on.

He had to take some very deep breaths and didn’t make eye contact with you that night when he was back on two legs.

———

The third time was his own fault admittedly. Twilight had gotten distracted with playing in the shallows of a slow river while taking a moment to himself. It was nice travelling in a group but he needed a minute or two to himself every so often as they all did.

“Having fun, lovely?” An amused voice called out and he nearly tripped over his own paws when he saw you with your boots off nearby.

Once recovered, he barked happily and splashed some more in the shallows. He was just a happy Wolfie right now. Nothing to see here, nope. (He knew none of the others in the know would ever let him live it but it was making you smile and that was enough.)

Just as he got deep enough to cover his legs without going swimming, he was suddenly splashed from an unexpected source.

Snapping his fangs in surprise, he turned to face whatever it was and was once again greeted with soft bare skin. Only this time the only thing he couldn’t see was the really important bits still covered by your underwear.

Oh sweet Farore, grant him strength. You were in your underwear.

You laughed, bright and loud, and he swore the sun grew brighter for it. But still that was a lot of skin.

You splashed him again and Twilight prayed he could focus on the emerging splash fight and less on the fact he could see exactly how much the sparring practice with the others was effecting you.

He barely spoke to you that night.

———

The last time was the final straw. You had gone missing for half an hour and while Time hadn’t been worried, merely giving his protégé a smug look, Twilight had shifted and gone looking for you.

Big mistake. Big big big mistake.

He found you.

You were fine. Perfectly fine!

You were also very very very naked.

Naked and wet.

Did he mention you were naked?

Of course most people are naked and wet when they bathe. That’s how it done.

But you were very very naked and that was a lot of bare skin and he’s never seen your hair flat like that and oh Hylia, kill him now, was that your-

“Wolfie!” You cried in glee.

Twilight startled so hard, he tripped on his paws and fell into the little pond with you. There was a moment of shock and water before strong arms wrapped themselves around him and helped him back on to the bank.

“Wolfie?! Are you okay, lovely? It’s okay. It’s okay.” Hands ran down his back as he hacked up the small amount of water he’d inhaled. He looked up and choked again. You were out of the water, on full display and looking very worried.

Twilight made the tactical decision there and then. He ran back to camp and refused to speak to anyone for the rest of the day.

———

You were ignoring him. He’d hadn’t notice for a few days, but the image of you bathing was just starting to fade and he felt like he could actually talk to you again without that being his first thought when he’d finally noticed you not making eye contact.

You avoided him for the whole day, ducking into other conversations and weaving though the group. You even risked egging an argument with Legend to avoid him and that’s when Twilight realised.

You knew.

———

“Can I talk to you?” It took Twilight all the courage he had (and some not so little encouragement from Wild, Time and Warriors of all people) and spoke to you that night.

You blinked up at him startled, your bright eyes shining from the lamplight. Eyes that adverted quickly.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Privately. Please.” He clenched his fists, opening and closing them nervously.

The movement caught your eye and you reluctantly got to your feet, trailing after him out of the inn they were stay at in the middle of nowhere and behind the building that backed into the forest. It was a full moon and clear so he could still see your face.

You both stood in silence before you opened your mouth. “Twi, wha-“

I am so sorry!!!” He burst out. He couldn’t take it any more. He hadn’t meant to and now you’d figured it out and thought he was a pervert! (A part of him wondered why it was the pervert thing the worried him more than the shadow magic discovery thing).

You jumped. “What?”

He buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for it to happen! I swear! I tried to look away and give you privacy each time!”

You frowned in confusion and you reached out to pull his hands away from his face. “What are you-“

“The fact I saw you naked! I saw you bathing and that time with the monsters and the vai clothes and when we had a splash fight and you were naked and I saw.” He let you pull his hands away only to run it through his hair and tug on it.

You froze. “Twilight. The only one who was there for all that was Wolfie. How’d you… Sweet Courage! You’re Wolfie?!??”

Twilight froze as well as you gaped at him. Ah. “You didn’t know?”

“No!”

Twilight swallowed heavily. So you hadn’t avoided him cause you found out he was Wolfie. Not that that mattered any more cause you did now.

“I’m sorry.” He said weakly. You just stared at him. “I really am! It’s just you were alway so happy to see me and I like your smile and your really attractive and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that no matter how much I liked looking and, oh Farore that makes it sound worse and I just really like…” he started to ramble, the words just spilling all over the place as he foolishly confessed every though he’d had about you from your utterly adorable bed head to the way you smiled to your wonderful personality.

Eventually, you pressed a hand over his mouth. “So you’re Wolfie.”

He nodded. Goddesses he hoped you could still be friends. He’d had his heart broken once, twice would be fine. He’d be fine.

“You liked seeing me naked.”

Again he nodded. He slumped down. There was no way you’d want to stay friends with him now. Who’d want to be friends with a pervert anyway?

The hand moved from his mouth, trailing lightly across his lips, down his neck and rested on his collar. He looked up and saw determination written all over your face with a dark look in your eyes.

“Well then. I hope you don’t mind if the reverse happens at some point.” You plucked daringly at the collar. “After all, I want to see if my dreams were right about you.” It wasn’t darkness in your eyes, it was heat.

Heat Twilight felt fill his own expression as his confidence soared. His hands carefully rested on your waist and he felt the soft skin he’d been dying to sink his teeth into ever since that day with the vai clothes.

“Oh and Twi.”

He was a little focused on the fact you’d slipped his hands over his shoulders and were squeezing them.

Your expression softened although the heat stayed. “I like you too.”

He couldn’t help himself and pulled you flush against him, growling.

Your eyes blew wide with heat and surprise. You pressed firmly against him and started breathing heavily as you clutched his biceps and oh, this was going to be fun.

I have no words.

Insanity.

Truly.

You've killed me.

[notyouraverageeldaryafan]

World Building part 1/5

The History of the Fae World

Hello and welcome to the first post dedicated to explaining how I would rewrite Eldarya! You can find the context to this post here. Before I begin here is your kind reminder that this is just my opinion and that it is subjective and that my version/AU is not better than the original or any other version for that matter, feel free to disagree and even tell me how wrong I am as long as you remain kind and polite. I will assume you are familiar with the game’s plot and so these posts will contain spoilers.

Let’s start with one of the core problems of this game, the world building. The game glosses over it, vaguely explaining it and seldom utilizes it in the plot. The team had a few good ideas, such as the war between the dragons and the aengels and it’s aftermath, but also they fail to take into account some of their decisions and their consequences. I am referring to the fact that the ritual was not completed and thus the food grown on Eldarya isn’t nutritional, it’s interesting in theory but the application is sloppy considering they have to constantly steal food from Earth but are unable to bring the main character back home. I will try to rewrite this origin story as well as a bit more of this world’s history, trying to make it as interesting but without it having so many consequences that are just making things less fun. (warning: this is unnecessarily long) 

The creation:

The birth of Christ was but a few centuries away: humanity was slowly learning how to write, faes were worshiped like gods and everyone lived in harmony. All was good and dandy until The Oracle (yes, the one in the Crystal) foretells a grim future. The Oracle was but a young witch back then, someone very similar to the Oracle of Delphi who could see into the future. She began to tell of a world where there’s only God who’s word is law and where fear of the unknown pushes humanity to persecute and abuse of faes (aka Christianity and unholy amount of persecution they led against witches and pagans). This of course was terrifying to the current leaders of the faes and, despite having some doubts, they still decided to act upon this prophecy. The Oracle offered the solution, the creation of a new world, an escape, so that, if things get out of control, the faes can just escape to this world and close the gates towards Earth guarantying their safety. 

All that was required was to complete a century long ritual, led by none other than the Oracle, where three of the mightiest faes species will have to sacrifice themselves in order to use the power within them to create this new world. These species symbolize what this new world should be like: the Dragons represent its power and might, the Phoenix, its immortality and fairness, the Aengels, its generosity and beauty. But there was a catch. The Oracle was using part of the power released by this sacrifice to become more powerful herself, unbeknownst to the others. Her Apprentice ended up discovering her secret and told the sacrificed about it. They decided to trap her during the last ritual inside of a giant crystal so that she may not use her new found powers against them in the future. And so they did, The Oracle found herself eaten by blue crystals where she stood and as she understood what was happening to her, she cursed this new world that she built: pieces of her Crystal will make faes go insane with greed and power, forcing them on killing sprees, that as much as they will try to keep the crystal in one piece, it will shatter, poisoning the inhabitants reminding them of her wrath. Dumbfounded, the remaining faes didn’t know what to do now, afraid of going in this new and now completed world, none wanting to go insane. The Apprentice stepped up, promising she knew how to appease her late master and thus control the intensity of this curse. 

Thus began something known as the First Wave, only a few thousand faes left for this new world they have created, to understand if it was truly dangerous, led by the Apprentice and much later by her reincarnations. Among these faes were the Original Three (the Dragons, Aengels and Phoenix) who each claimed one of the four main continents, the last one going to The Apprentice and her followers (you can find more details about the geography of this new world here [yet to be written]). At first, the Crystal was easy to control and the cases of Corrupted Faes were few and far between but it couldn’t last forever. (cf:The Fall of the Mightiest and The Return of The Oracle, found below) 

The War between the Dragons and the Aengels, also known as the Rise of the Mightiest:

The Ritual has left the Original Three weak and far less in numbers than they used to be. The Apprentice decided to give up the continent she was assigned, preferring to dedicate her life to dealing with the Oracle than to rule land. Both the Dragons and the Aengels wished to take this now ‘vacant’ continent for themselves. They were unable to compromise lands both wanting the land in its entirety. A war began between the two, The War of The Mighty Two. Meanwhile the Phoenix decided to remain true to their principals and remained neutral and fair, not taking part in this quarrel. They ended up regretting this much later. The war stretched for a couple of centuries until the Aengels disappeared completely from the face of this new world, declaring the Dragons victors and rulers of now three of the four main continents. Thus the Dragons began to change history, changing the name of the Aengels into Daemons and antagonizing them in history books. The Phoenix let them do so out of fear but also because they were afraid of losing their neutral stance. 

Special thanks to @partyinnevarra for helping me perfect this section and giving me the idea for the better reason behind the War between The Dragons and the Aengels, thanks again for your help <3

The Fall of the Mightiest and The Return of the Oracle:

In some sort of divine karma, the Dragons themselves suffered greatly. The Crystal, who had been quiet until then, awoke. The Oracle, who is theorized to have a conscious, waited until the new world was at its weakest to attack. The Dragons were the main victims of the First Corruption, going insane with power and destroying the world they promised to protect. The local faes were overwhelmed and called upon the faes that had remained on Earth to help them, mostly Dragons that have stayed behind. This was know as the Second Wave, starting around the fall of the roman empire and ending around the middle of the Dark Ages. The on-going fight with the Corrupted lasted less of a millennium and is to this day the longest cycle of Corruption to date. It is also good to know that back then, the faes weren’t sure how to fight these Corrupted, even more so that they used to be their saviors and were the strongest faes at the time. 

The easiest way to deal with the Corrupted was to kill them and take the piece of Crystal from their cadavers in order for it not to spread. It was the way that was prioritized for it was the most straight forward one (this technique is still used to this day). Another way is to trap the Corrupted in objects or caves or what-not, anything that can potentially contain something, but it required a lot of skill and maana and thus was deemed too costly (more on how that works here [yet to be written]) (this can also be an interesting villain for an episode, maybe a Dragon from the Dark-Ages trapped in ice or something else being freed by a villain or something) (this technique also explains the monster that could eat knowledge that was released by the main character in one of the episode). The last and perhaps the most efficient way of dealing with the Corrupted is through the Apprentice’s divine powers. The reincarnation of The Apprentice can extract the Crystal piece out of the Corrupted without harming them, this is called the Purification, but it is energy consuming and, well, there has only been 4 reincarnated at a time for thousands of Corrupted, so it is still considered the last viable option. (more information about how the Reincarnated work go here [yet to be written])

The First Corruption led to the almost complete extinction of the Dragons. On one side they were Corrupted and killed, on the other they fought against their brothers to extract the Crystal from them. The few Dragons left on Earth were hunted for sport by the likes of Arthur and his knights. A few unhatched eggs were saved and are kept by the Phoenix, in hopes that one day they will be able to save their species but there have been many debates surrounding the subject, mainly because of the fear that if the Dragons were to return, the Crystal might target them again. 

Aengels, Daemons and The Divine:

The Aengels were not all gone, a few escaped to Earth while the rest went into hiding. The ones on Earth quickly abused the then growing Christianism, becoming the known angels and demons. Despite that, they couldn’t hide from the witch hunts and the industrialization and either disappeared or returned to the fae world during the Final Wave. 

The Final Wave and The Second Corruption:

After the last of the Dragons disappeared, the First Corruption calmed down, the exact details aren’t clear, mostly because the faes that survived were few and traumatized. It took one full century for this new world to heal and for the faes on Earth to figure out that maybe, living in the fear of being Corrupted is better than dying at the hands of angry mods. Because, you guessed it, the Inquisition began followed by the witch hunts as well as the colonization of most of Earth which meant that even the places that were still considered “safe” (places that respected their legends and magical creatures, co-habiting, I’m thinking mostly of native tribes) started being invaded. Thus the last of the faes left Earth and joined the fae world, though a few remained but not enough to be worth being considered. The Second Corruption happened soon after the Final Wave and lasted less than two centuries. This time, everything was managed better, mostly because of the creation of the Guards (one of which the story takes place in), military bases meant to regulate the “bigger” Crystals and be able to predict the amount of Corruption, usually a Reincarnated accompanies the Guard members. 

The Third Corruption:

After a few centuries of moderate silence where the Corrupted were present but not the worst of threats, the Oracle awoke again. And it is at this moment the actual story starts. 

Nota bene:

This version of their history won’t be told to the heroine until much later in the game. At first, she will believe the story the Dragons have crafted, the version where Daemons are the villains and deserved what happened to them. The Oracle is also not seen as the villain for most of the game, mostly because the Oracle and the Crystal are seen as two different entities in the faes’ consciousness. The Oracle is seen as a helping hand, sometimes even worshipped as the goddess of this new world. The Apprentice and her reincarnations pushed forward this deification in an attempt to calm her late master’s wrath, maybe being seen as the goddess she always wanted to be would sooth her (spoilers: it doesn’t). All of this history being hidden would work greatly in the game’s over-arcing theme of lies vs. truths (it’s a theme that was present in the original material: just look at how many things the Guard hides from the protagonist even in A New Era where she is their savior). The fact that most of the faes population believed a lie ties in perfectly into the theme without making characters that the player is supposed to like and sometimes romance lie to the protagonist’s face (idk why for some reason beemoov keeps making their LIs lie to their main character, no one in 2021 finds that hot anymore, not that i think anyone ever found it hot in the first place, also you don’t need to have people lie to each other to create drama pls beemoov im sick of it) (sorry for the rant xD)

Wow!! I’m actually done... this was way to long, thank you so much for reading so far if you did. This is way too fun tho, wish I could do something more with this than just throw it in the void that is tumblr. Oh well. Next time, I’ll try to tackle the gameplay and the dreaded maana system.

Thanks again and have a good day!

[houseswolo]

Day 3 - 'Tis The Season To Be Thirsting

The reveals are running a couple days late thanks to our mods getting lost in finishing @nanowrimo (HUGE PROPS to everyone who participated!) - stick with us, we have some awesome people in store!

"Stand with me, Rey"

@my-jedi-life

(Twitter: @MyJediLife | Ao3: MyJediLife)

What got you into Star Wars?

I was 3 when I saw ANH at the drive in with my family. It's my earliest memory. Fast forward 40 years or so, when my best friend Jennifer decided we were watching SW together online. When I saw Adam's face, I was gone all over again... my obsession came roaring back.

What made you a Reylo? Lightbulb moment!

Honestly... I think I became hardcore Reylo with the hand touch.

Why do you write / make art?

Because I have these idiots in my brain telling me to write their stories, and if I don't I may go insane.

The Object of your Thirst…

CLYDE LOGAN. (Or Adam Driver in all other forms)

Which Adam look do you like the best?

Umm.. his Clyde look. Long hair, scruff... goatee and stache.

Which Adam avatar/ role do you like the best?

It's me, people. Clyde Logan.

Which part of Adam do you like the best? 

His hair - NO - his lips - WAIT - his eyes... everything. I choose everything.

Favorite Star Wars Movie

The Last Jedi

What do you like to write / draw / paint the most?

Reylogan. Soulmates is a close second.

Your TRoS Prediction

Bendemption by Kylo Ren dying to help get rid of Palpy, and being brought back by some very familiar Force Ghosts as Ben Solo... ending with him and Rey and a binary sunset.

If you were an aesthetic... (colors, images, feels....)

Angst, swirls of dark greens, purples and black.

If you were a candy bar, what would your name be?

Sweet & Nutty

What's your ideal environment for writing / creating? 

On my couch, headphones on and music cranked up high.

Are you a dom or sub? 

Sub?

What's the most exotic/wierd place you've gotten intimate?

In the back of a 1966 Volare in a state park.

What's your kink?

Adam Driver

Use three words to describe yourself.

Loyal, creative, loving

Meaning behind your nick / ID name

I am living my best Jedi life? I have no idea. It just sounded cool.

Are you a big spoon or little spoon?

Little spoon.

Do you like it rough or soft? 

Both?

Favorite toy

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

Favorite fic you read

Forbidden by koderenn, Cable Guy by littlemistake, LWABOC by diasterisms, Unravel Me by UnderTheCancerMoon

Favorite fic you wrote or favorite art you made

River Deep, Mountain High

Favorite SW character besides Kylo and Rey

From the EU: Jacen & Jaina Solo. Maz Kanata and the Mandalorian from Canon.

———

@thoseindarkness

(Twitter: @thoseindarkness | Ao3: thoseindarkness)

What got you into Star Wars?

My Mom when I was a baby, though TLJ brought me into the fandom and publishing fics.

What made you a Reylo? Lightbulb moment!

All the amazing and detailed meta that I saw on Tumblr after TLJ. When I went for re-watches in the theater I wondered how I'd missed all those sexual overtones the first time around.

Why do you write / make art?

Because the voices in my head would drive me crazy if I didn't let them out to play.

The Object of your thirst...

Kylo Ren (in the mask), Ben Solo (out of it), Rey, Hux, Poe, Rose, Holdo. I'm an equal opportunity thirsty.

Which Adam look do you like the best?

That 70's running shoot he did. That's how I like him, lean and wiry, not buff. He's got a great build for it.

Which Adam avatar/ role do you like the best?

Tie between Ben and Phillip Altman.

Which part of Adam do you like the best? 

The way his jowls wrinkle when he's emoting.

Favorite Star Wars Movie

Movie: Rogue One. Story: Rebels.

What do you like to write / draw / paint the most?

The real world in every messy, ugly, complicated detail. I think the idea of literature as pure escapism is flawed. I like to show the world as it is and then reveal the beauty in the imperfections. There cannot be light without darkness.

Your TRoS Prediction

I'm not getting my hopes up for anything and can't wait for it to be over. That's when the story group can have the reigns back and start pumping out all the stories that will backfill what really happened in the 30 years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. That's what I'm most looking forward to.

If you were an aesthetic... (colors, images, feels....)

I think my username says it all. 😘

If you were a candy bar, what would your name be?

I don't know what it would be called, but it would have dark chocolate, Nutella and raspberry.

What's your ideal environment for writing / creating? 

At my desk at home, one of my comfy hoodies on, a cup of coffee, some good mood music, and a Reylo fic prompt.

Are you a dom or sub? 

Lifelong switch.

What's the most exotic/wierd place you've gotten intimate?

You're going to have to define exotic/weird. I've gotten intimate in semi-public and group settings. I once went through a tollbooth topless while being fondled. Does that count?

(HS: Hells yeah, that counts 😆)

What's your kink?

An inquisitive mind. Not kidding. That will turn me on faster than anything else could.

Use three words to describe yourself.

those in darkness

Meaning behind your nick / ID name

In high school I liked to come up with AIM screen names by creating these evocative incomplete sentences. Like quoting song lyrics without the songs. "thoseindarkness" was one of those names. I liked it so much I've kept it all these years and it's always been either a nerd or writing aligned username for me.

Are you a big spoon or little spoon?

Lifelong switch.

Do you like it rough or soft? 

Yes, please.

Favorite toy

The goat 🐐

Favorite fic you read

Very tough call between Wanting by Minkel23, Score by SpaceWaffleHouseTM, and Requiem for a Monster by roane. They are all *very* different.

Favorite fic you wrote or favorite art you made

All the ones I haven't shared yet. Particularly the canon post-TRoS story I've been sitting on since TJL came out.

Favorite SW character besides Kylo and Rey

Kanan mother fucking Jarrus! Since this is a thirst highlight I may as well tell you... I would do such naughty things to that man. Or have Hera do them for me. 🖤

———

Meet the other Thristies!

Thirst Order Advent Calendar Day:

1 | 2

cc: @tazwren @deadlikemoi @drnucleus @ashtyntaytertot @lostinqueue-ffa @my-jedi-life @shestoolazytologin @kaybohls @nite0wl29 @cosmo-gonika @wilsonthinks66 @roguesinside @areylofan @3todream3 @koderenn @queenoferebor @thereylowritingden @housedadam @house-crylo @houseplaidam

[dbphantom]

What build/gear did you use to be able to get through wotan so fast with zane? I'm a zane main and I just keep constantly dying before I can even get to wotan

Yes! Hi! This is the post I made about it on reddit (sorry, reddit lol), my build/gear's in the imgur links. If you don't like reddit here's the direct imgur links: Valkyries. Wotan.

I got a really powerful anointed brainstormer that I think helped a lot (does lots of damage when chaining to enemies bc of the way the anoint works). If you're on pc, I'm happy to share some of the gear I have (I am BingHasWings on the epic games store) That shotgun being able to crit + Calm Cool Collected + clone constantly dying helps a lot because I have a lot of 'on ASE' anoints, but still want my barrier up. So I give my clone (I named him Blane because he's blue Zane) the Frozen Heart shield and let him freeze people for me when he dies, which replenishes my barrier. I will say to be careful with the brainstormer because I swear that thing has chained off me more than once when I run into the beams it makes and downed me. Also because your pc may melt (not actually) if it can't handle the particle effects. Mine can't handle them in multi-player because it's already struggling with the other players and my frames start dropping like you wouldn't believe.

The Valkyrie fight was incredibly difficult (I would honestly argue more so than Wotan, not sure why... Smaller arena perhaps) bc I had to be patient with the approach (which I am not normally lol) because of my action skill timing. I was in a voice call which kind of distracted/helped me because I was fine with running away from danger and playing it safe instead of rushing in and talking through my actions helped me stay aware of everything I was doing. I haven't been able to replicate it and it took me since the Takedown came out to be able to do it once so I know it is h a r d. I get close and then I screw it up by running head first into the danger zone lol I think now that I've done it before, I'm trying to rush through it because I know it's possible? and that's not helping my case. It took me about 30 minutes to kill the Valkyries and 23ish to kill Wotan (weird but true). So I think I would say if you're struggling with the Valks to play it as safe as humanly possible and stay on the move at all times. Hide behind walls and keep your distance especially against the electricity one. If she starts spawning those electric puddles you gotta dead sprint away or it's over. Those things do insane damage, like stormchucker heavies. Alternate action skills so you always have Salvation going if you can (your survivability with that skill alone should keep you alive even through the electric puddles). I would prioritize gear (class mods, relics) with action skill cooldown rate buffs- honestly the hardest part of the Takedown for me is not dishing out enough damage, it's being too squishy! I feel bad for Fl4k mains :(. I got my barrier down to about 6 seconds of cooldown (it does slightly depend on shield capacity due to the Guardian Rank skill, so I'd say like 6-10s) and it is still sometimes not enough!

As for the mobs, usually I take them down with my Maggie. Blane is there only to freeze them by dying and proc my damage buffs (sorry bro). If they're all bunched up I use my brainstormer bc it chews through large groups. The worst enemies are the hounds, deathspheres, and heavies. I have an Atlas qsystem that I use on the spheres. I usually target them while they're frozen due to my shield or a few well-placed crits then unleash the tracking bullets. It helps because wow those things are fast. The hounds are similarly the worst because of how much they move. Freezing them helps a bunch if you can. The heavies normally don't die by the brainstormer (tho I do use them to stack chains if they're in a group) and generally force me to swap to my Maggie. I remember on the bridge I had Blane out, he died instantly but his death explosion with the Frozen Heart froze everyone and proced CCC for me, keeping my barrier up. And I realized if I froze another person right as they thawed, that Blane came back immediately. So I just spammed him and kept my barrier up and slooooowly walked across the bridge, killing/freezing people all the way. It was the most badass thing I'd ever done lol

I hope that helped! Hang in there friend, you got this 💪💪💪💪

P.S: If you're strugging with the kraken, you can freeze him with the Frozen Heart shield (and brain freeze, but that's harder). I kill every other mob enemy in the area and then equip my Infiltrator class mod and alternate my action skills, breaking my shield each time I do. He can't stay unfrozen long enough to hurt me, it's kinda funny. Plus, the barrier is immune to his missile attacks if you don't pick it up. And if you're struggling with the death spheres, you can freeze them with the Frozen Heart shield, too. I usually spawn Blane in and let him take damage and use him as a portable ice bomb. It is very helpful because then he will also proc ASE anointments and I deal more damage (plus I can reactivate my kill skills quicker). Also also, if you're struggling with ammo, equip a cutpurse relic and a facepuncher and shoot someone once. Generally I run past the ratch and take out the turrets, then kill all the Maliwan baddies. The spheres/hounds will target the ratch when they spawn in so use that to your advantage (means they're not damaging you!) and leave the ratch alive.

On a slight tangent, I am betting that Zane's new DLC class mod will help immensely with future runs of the Takedown if you're getting it and/or still struggling with the Takedown when it comes out [SPOILERS] mainly because the kill skill proc on gun damage will open up a lot of possibilities. I think it is 5% chance on each hit, but I do wonder how it interacts with multipellet guns... But yeah getting Salvation going without having to worry about action skills will be very, very nice. I love that skill. And the bonus 25% kill skill efficiency will help soooo much. Am kinda sad it's buffing Playing Dirty again, since we already have the executor mod, but what can ya do. Those bonuses make up for it for sure. Plus it's possible we'll only need +2 in playing dirty now... Further tests are necessary... Hmmmm-

Agh sorry I didn't expect this to get so long. Good luck!!! You got this!

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

okay this isn’t a theory at all but I wanted to talk about my 3 Zane builds... because I can and nobody can stop me ahahahahaha

I used this site: https://bl3skills.com/

so far they have Zane, Amara, and Moze available so you should 100% go check it out cuz the creator is doing god’s work and also making builds is fun

the kill skill build im probably going to use mainly on single player:

the reason it's a kill skill build is because the capstone for Hitman (Death Follows Close) is insanely powerful when you consider the Seein’ Red skill. That is, the Seein’ Red skill allows you to activate all your kill skills whenever you activate ur action skill. And Death Follows Close gives every killskill a 40% buff and +4 seconds. which is insane (I spent like an hour just doing the math for all my builds lol). This will be using Zoomer and the Clone, where Zoomer’s got both Bad Dose (radiation damage and movement speed/fire rate buffs for Zane) and Static Shield (if possible bc idk if u can take parallel augments- drains enemy shields and replenishes Zane’s (if not, we’ll take Winter’s Drone which does cryo damage)) and the Clone has Schadenfreude (when the clone takes damage, Zane’s shield is regened) and Which One’s Real (enemies will aggro the clone more often after teleporting - because we want our clone alive and taking aggro for as long as possible- if not possible then we’ll take Binary System in replacement of Schadenfreude). 

this is probably going to be my crowd control build. It likely won’t be outputting a huge amount of damage but if there’s a lot of people and i’m being overwhelmed i imagine the quick action skill charges and the increased movement speed will help a lot

which leads me to the omgwth build that i am v proud of:

This one is my kamikaze build because when I’m playing with friends I like to do dumb shit, and dumb shit includes running into a fight im most definitely not going to win without dying. I take inspiration from suicide psychos.

so basically I’m gonna use the barrier and clone. The idea is to deploy both action skills at once (and pick up the barrier), then run into battle screaming shooting at enemies through the shield. Hopefully at this point I’ll have picked up a nova shield and, i think you can see where this is going, then I can run into the middle of a bunch of enemies and as the barrier’s timer runs out and my shield depletes, teleport out using the clone once the nova hits (we don’t want to be there too long or else our clone’s timer might run out, which is why I didn’t go for Hearty Stock) and let my shields recharge in preparation to do it all over again.

an explanation for a few skills that may make you go “why??”: i chose Really Expensive Jacket over Futility Belt bc the latter is a kill skill, while REJ is always active- a -50% duration of DoT’s is REALLY good, especially if i get DoTed before i teleport, then the shields immediately recharging after i teleport (Quick Breather) won’t take effect because they’ll instantly be knocked out again. Also Zane screams a LOT when he’s on fire and I’m good. I’m good. As for why I chose Duct Tape Mod, I wanna see if it works with the Infinity. if it does, then my god. that’s glorious. Am also hoping it fires a grenade with your grenade mod attached. If it does, then it will likely take from ur stock, which is another reason to have Pocket Full of Grenades. if it doesn’t, then it’s a vanilla grenade and I don’t think that will take from the stock (that’d be kinda shitty), and, hey, free booms.

The barrier stays active for 9 seconds (12.6 with both action skills active) and the clone stays active for 18 (25.2 with both skills active- not sure how this will work when one action skill runs out). The reason I got Violent Momentum is because bullet damage is boosted by the barrier (+20%) and that’s an additional straight +30% gun damage on top of that without any speed boosts as we “run” into battle, but, even better, I’ll be using the Charged Relay (bonus speed!) and Deterrence Field (touch the shield as i zoom towards you and get zapped asshole) augments for the barrier. We’ll also have the skill Supersonic Man, which will maximize our movement speed when the barrier is up. Which is exactly what we want. And, of course, the clone will have Binary System (cryo nova on teleport) and Dopplebanger (booms whenever the action skill ends). because we want to maximize the amount of boom happening at the very end of this maneuver. 

The reason we’re going for grenade regen here (Pocket Full of Grenades) is because we want our clone to be a big strong boy so he can tank and output damage for us before going boom, since after we teleport to relative safety we’re going to need to let our shields regen. Binary System will cause a cryo explosion and Dopplebanger will cause a fire explosion, not the mention the skill that drops a ‘free’ grenade when the clone is killed (wondering if that stacks with Dopplebanger or not). without the Death Follows Close skill, we need to rely on the base 15%/s grenade recharge rate, so that leaves us with about 120% of a grenade 8 seconds after we kill an enemy. and, hopefully, with the way this build is gonna work, minimum 3 grenades before the next time our clone is summonable (with Adrenaline we get a 20.8 long second recharge rate w/ our clone and a 14.8 recharge rate w/ our barrier- 3 grenades would take ~24 seconds with max efficiency) and our shield is fully charged (not factoring grenade drops from enemies here)

Oh, also, my clone is getting a rocket launcher. because that’d be really funny with a +51% fire rate and +33% damage (not to mention the +10% damage from swapping places). If my nova shield burst won’t kill ‘em, then the cryo nova could, if the cryo nova doesn’t, then the rocket launcher could, and if the rocket launcher doesn’t, then the fiery explosion of death might! 

... or the grenade, depending on if i detonate the clone or it gets killed before i’m able to. We’ll see.

my turtle kwami build (that’s a protection build for those of you who don’t miraculous ladybug) for when i think i'm gonna get absolutely fucked without shields and/or I wanna snipe:

focus on cryo sniping and surviving mostly. i love cryo but uh im not the safety/surviving type so i am slightly disappointed it’s merged so far into his barrier tree. Thankfully, i don’t mind sniping/supporting my teammates every once in a while so it’s not a problem, i can get my cryo fix lol. i still prefer pretending this is Jackass the Video Game tho

anyway we don’t care much about increasing shield capacity because if things go according to plan we’ll have the barrier up most of the time (base barrier recharge is 18 seconds, it will become 14.4 seconds) and tbh capacity doesn’t matter much if our shields don’t regen fast enough. also if we’re using amp shields for sniping, then we want the charge rate to be as fast as possible for that as well. We’re also focused on health regen for surviving bc snipers are squishy and we might not be able to get out of danger fast enough so we wanna healthgate, so we got both Rise to the Occasion and Salvation

We’re also using Confident Competence and Nerves of Steel to maximize our sniping potential. To maximize Cryo stuff, we’ve chosen the skills Best Served Cold and Cold Bore. The reason I want to maximize cryo stuff is because of Calm, Cool, n Collected which is fucking amazing, and on a sniper where the duration or recharge of ur action skill can be fully reset? BEAUTIFUL. (even though I’m not big on the Under Cover tree, CCaC is one of my favorite skills. Holy shit is this awesome). Cryo is also great on a sniper in general, as frozen enemies can’t dodge you spamming their crit spot.

We’re also going to get Seein’ Red so activating an action skill will set off all kill skills. These kill skills include Futility Belt (all elemental damage is set to non-elemental damage- basically a 22% damage reduction to all damage for 8 seconds), Salvation (weapons grant life steal for 20% damage (which is AMAZING) for 8 seconds), and Cool Hand (increases reload speed). The reason we’re aiming for reload speed is because we wanted Almighty Ordnance and getting Praemunitus wouldn’t let us do that, so we take the second best thing to magazine size.

Our augmentations will be Nanites or Some Shite (health regen, reload speed (synergizes with Cool Hand) and shield recharge delay (amp shield)) and Redistribution (increased gun damage by +9% for 3s whenever the shield takes damage). For Zoomer, we’re gonna take Winter’s Drone (in hopes that will still proc Calm, Cool, and Collected- if not, well, cryo is brilliant for snipers anyway) and Almighty Ordnance (for long distance missile damage. I was thinking this plus whenever Zoomer drops a grenade (which will be a singularity grenade) will be absolutely amazing).

anyway, if it wasn’t obvious enough, im maining Zane and i'm going to have a great fuckin time yeet

im hoping i’ll be able to min/max further with class mods and artifacts. I get the feeling Zane’s class mods will allow him faster recharge rate for one action skill (either depending on slot or whichever tree the mod buffs most). Artifacts are apparently going to buff movement types, which I’m REALLY excited for. I hope I can get some cryo damage going with my slams/sliding.

I am also very much considering a Hyperion and Tediore build for my kamikaze build until I get max level, then we’ll see which legendaries i need to grind in order to maximize chaos with my gear as well. Idk what kinda rocket launcher i’d get though. maybe something Maliwan... ooo you know what, do the CoV make rocket launchers? I’d love to see how the heat mechanic plays with the clone getting a copy of your current gun...

EDIT: edited to add links to each build.

[fallforcs]

Set Fire To The Darkness

Art by: @nicole-nikla

Author: @celestial-fire-writer

Summary: Princess Emma of Misthaven has been the Dark One for ten lonely years, hiding away in her castle from the rest of the world, trying to find a way to destroy the darkness. One day, Prince Killian of Camelot seeks her out, hoping that she can save his dying brother. Emma, knowing Camelot is the best place to defeat the darkness, agrees, and the unlikely duo set off on an adventure together, comprised of trials, battles, family and true love.

Rating and reason for the rating: T, for mild violence.

Triggers: Mentioned death of minor characters, brief description of anxiety/panic attacks.

A/N: I’m so happy to finally be sharing my FFCS story! I loved working on this fic and I hope everyone will enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’d like to thank the mods for creating this lovely event and for helping out so much. Thank you!

Shout out to @snidgetsafan for beta reading some of my story although she was busy, thanks a lot! Thank you, @demisexualemmaswan for beta reading the rest, and at such short notice too! And many thanks to my artist who made such a beautiful banner for my story!! I absolutely love it, it’s amazing!

“Killian, are you out of your mind?”

Killian, the prince of Camelot, winces at the sheer incredulity in Belle’s voice. In all the years he’s known the lovely librarian, he’s never heard her so much as raise her voice or lose her temper or even sound particularly frustrated.

Until now.

“Belle, I know it sounds insane-” he tries, but she cuts him off abruptly.

“Insane is one word for it. Do you honestly think Liam is going to agree to this plan?”

Killian frowns. “He won’t be agreeing to anything, because I won’t be telling him.”

The war between Snow White and the Evil Queen has been going on for nigh three decades now. Camelot has been aligned with Misthaven and they are against the Queen as well, despite all her efforts to lure them over to her side. Liam, Killian’s brother and the king of Camelot, remained firm in his decision to ally themselves with Misthaven.

Five years ago, the Queen staged an uncalled for, unprovoked attack on Killian and his fiancée, Milah. Killian had lost his hand and Milah, her life. Fueled with rage on the behalf of his brother and his dead fiancée, Liam promptly declared war against the Queen.

This led them to the situation they are in right now.

Liam is bedridden, poisoned by the Queen, and only has a few weeks to live.

None of the best healers and sorcerers in the land could do anything to help Liam. When all of their attempts failed, Killian and Belle began their own research, working desperately to find a way to save him.

While searching through the many texts on magical ailments and cures in the library, Killian has come across a legend about of the most powerful being to ever live:

The Dark One, a mighty magician who has the power to alter the laws of magic itself.

Or so the legend told.

Belle is vehemently against this plan.

“Seeking out dark magic is never a good idea, Killian,” she insists, nervously wringing her hands. “And the Dark Ones are known for their penchant for making deals. Trust me, that is one price you do not want to pay.”

“We’ve run out of options, lass,” Killian says forcefully. “Liam only has a few weeks to live and I don’t plan on sitting around and waiting for him to die.”

“And you think I am?” Belle asks shrilly, and the pure hurt in her voice makes Killian flinch. He knows that Belle and Liam have had feelings for each other for quite a while now, although both are too stubborn to admit it. When Liam was poisoned, Belle was beside herself with grief, spending the few hours she wasn’t slaving in the library with Liam, trying to raise his spirits and hiding her worry from him. “I want to save Liam as much as you do! But if we resort to seeking out the Dark One, we’re liable to be killed and we’re not much good to Liam dead, are we?”

Killian nods slowly. “You’re right,” he says, and Belle almost sighs in relief but his next words throw her for a loop, “That’s why I’m going alone.”

“Killian, you could die!”

“If I’m trying to save my brother, then so be it I’m happy to,” Killian says resolutely. “And if I fail, I have faith that you will find a way to save him instead.”

Belle is quiet for a long minute and Killian wonders if he’ll have to try harder to convince her. But then she speaks, her tone resigned,

“You’ll need supplies for your journey.”

“I’ll pack them up myself,” Killian assures her, inwardly sighing in relief that he doesn’t have to resort to drastic measures. “In the meanwhile, could you please scrounge up any information you can get about the Dark One?”

Belle nods. “That I can do. When will you leave?”

“At night. No one must know about this save for you and me. I suspect that there are spies of the Queen among our court members. We cannot risk any of this getting back to her.”

“Agreed,” Belle says grimly before another thought occurs to her. “What shall I tell Liam?”

Killian shrugs. ‘I’m sure you’ll think of something. The castle of the Dark One, according to the maps I referred to, lies between the borders of Misthaven and Camelot. With luck, I should be back within four days.”

“You’re really doing this,” Belle says, exhaling loudly.

“Aye, that I am.”

“Just…just be careful.”

“Always am,” Killian says, but Belle simply narrows her eyes at him. Relenting with a sigh, he nods.

“I promise. Take care of Liam for me.”

Belle only nods. Killian accepts it, knowing that he’s leaving his brother in good hands.

It’s a two day journey to the Dark One’s castle.

Killian travels through most of the night, stopping to rest for only a few hours before he starts again. By the time he reaches the castle, he is immensely exhausted from the journey; yet triumphant that he has finally made it.

Now the next step is actually confronting the Dark One.

Belle had told him that the previous Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, had been killed ten years earlier. Not much is known about the current Dark One.

They only know that the she is a woman, who has kept to herself for the past decade, rarely coming out of the castle. Killian finds this strange, wondering why a being of such great power would choose to lurk in the shadows, instead of using her power to command nations and make the people of the world bow to her.

According to the texts he’s read, whoever kills the Dark One is doomed to take on the darkness next. Killian wonders if killing the Dark One was an accident, if this woman did not want the power at all and so is hiding away from the rest of the world. He can certainly sympathize if that’s the case. Of course, it then begs the question as to whether she will even help him now.

She has to. Killian does not want to think about what would happen if he lost his brother. He knows tragedy quite intimately, having lost his father to illness seven years prior; as well as his love and hand to the Queen’s Black Knights two years later. He cannot lose his brother. Even if it means resorting to dark magic, he will save him.

Killian enters the castle cautiously, his hand on the hilt of his sword and his prosthetic tucked behind his back, out of habit. It’s a huge, formidable fortress; the doors opening into a large, elaborate room which is covered with layers of dust, books and all manner of trinkets strewn about a large table in the center. In a dark corner, there lie the remains of what might have once been a spinning wheel, but the object is now destroyed beyond recognition.

A flash of gold catches his eye. Killian approaches the table and picks up a dream catcher that perches on the pile of books. A shudder wracks through him and he quickly drops it. He might not have too much experience with dark magic, but he can tell that the dream catcher is absolutely soaked in it.

Belle was right, this is a terrible idea.

But it’s too late to turn back now.

The doors at the back of the room swing open with a bang and Killian spins around, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. A woman strides into the room and pauses when she spots him, her eyes narrowing. Killian knows without a doubt, at this moment, that she is the Dark One.

She doesn’t look evil. Her face is hard and her posture stiff but she doesn’t seem menacing, only defensive. Her silvery hair is gathered in a severe bun at the nape of her neck, and she wears a long, sweeping dress of midnight black, a cutlass at her side. Killian takes a hesitant step forward, letting his hand fall from his sword.

“What do you want?” the Dark One asks. She sounds almost bored. Her voice is soft, yet seems to echo in the silence of the castle. Killian stares at her blankly for a moment before he recollects himself.

“My name is Killian. I am the prince of Camelot,” he says, a little surprised at how steady his voice sounds. “I…heard that you are a being of great magical power. I have come to seek your help.”

The Dark One simply watches him, her brow creased. After a long moment, she sighs and turns away.

“Seek help elsewhere. I’m not interested.”

Panic blooms in Killian’s chest.

“No, wait! Please,” She glances back at him, raising a brow at his frantic plea. “It’s my brother, the King. He’s been poisoned. By the Evil Queen,” For some reason, the green of her eyes blackens with anger at the mention of the Queen and her hands curl into fists. “He only has a few weeks to live, and he needs help. None of the sorcerers or healers in my kingdom have been able to help. Please, I’m begging you, help him,” Killian’s voice cracks. “He’s all I have.”

Silence reigns as the Dark One thinks his request over. When she finally speaks, her voice is curiously sympathetic.

“You’re the prince of Camelot, you said?”

Killian nods. “Indeed.”

“Tell me, does a wizard named Merlin reside there?”

He frowns, perturbed by at the strange question. “No, he died many years ago.”

The Dark One lets out a harsh sigh, and then glances to the side, a dark scowl crossing her face. Killian follows her gaze but can see nothing.

“Some of his spell books remain,” he offers. “If that could be of any use to you…”

It’s true that the spell books remain, but they are also treasures of Camelot, treasures that only Liam himself has access to. Killian knows his brother will be furious with him, but it will be worth it.

She looks back at him. “Then let us make…a deal,” She speaks the words almost reluctantly, glancing to her side again. “I’ll come with you to Camelot and help your brother, and you allow me access to Merlin’s spell books.”

“Deal,” Killian says instantly and her lips tug into a slow smirk. She crosses the space between them, the heels of her boots clicking against the floor. Killian swallows and resists the urge to back away. Her very presence radiates power and might, and it dazzles him.

The Dark One snaps her fingers and a large scroll appears, hovering in the air. She hands him a quill, and Killian takes it hesitantly, his fingers brushing against her cool skin.

“Sign on the dotted line,” she says smoothly.

Liam is going to kill me , Killian thinks wryly as he signs. When he draws away, the parchment glows gold and vanishes.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” the Dark One drawls. “Shall we, then?”

“Wait,” Killian stops her. “You haven’t told me your name yet.”

An odd expression flashes across her face and for a moment she looks strangely vulnerable.

“…Emma,” She says at last, slowly, as if she’s not used to saying it. “My name is Emma.”

A beautiful name, Killian thinks and then hastily shakes the thought away. The Dark One, no, Emma strides past him to the entrance and he quickly follows, thinking that she is dangerous; not just for the darkness flowing through her veins but for the strange effect she has on him.

Frankly speaking, Emma thinks this is a terrible idea.

When the Prince of Camelot, Killian, he said his name was, showed up on her doorstep begging for help, Emma’s first instinct was to turn him away. She has no use for random people who come hoping to gain from her powers, nor does she have any desire to use said powers. It’s been ten years since she became the Dark One, and in those ten years, she’d refrained from using her magic as much as possible.

Possible being the keyword.

Dark magic is like a drug. It entices you at every step, luring you in despite your best efforts to stay away. And if you use even a little, even if it’s just a tiny spark to light a candle, that’s it. It’s hopelessly addicting and even the smallest taste leaves you thirsting for more. Even the simple act of conjuring the scroll for Killian to sign had caused an itch under her skin, a terrible urge to use more and more of it.

Emma was born with light magic flowing through her veins, being the product of True Love. The very idea of giving into the darkness she had been cursed with had disgusted her, and she refrained for as long as she could. But in the end it had been too much; the darkness that was always flickering in the corner of her eye tempted her to the point when she eventually gave in, and there was no turning back.

Still, she stubbornly tried to resist. Ignoring the temptations of the darkness as best as she could, she kept from using magic as much as she could. Giving it up altogether was impossible, but resisting and struggling as much as possible… well, that Emma could do.

Once, she was a princess.

Once, she was the beloved of Misthaven, the heiress to the throne, the warrior princess who grew up with a sword in her hand and who joined the fight against the Evil Queen when she was merely eighteen, much to her parents’ protests. The Queen had almost won when she had teamed up with Rumplestilkskin to defeat them, but Emma had had a plan. A rather stupid plan, when she thinks about it now, but a plan, nonetheless.

On the day of the battle, she stole away and to Rumplestiltskin’s castle to find the dagger she knew could control him, thinking that that would be the first step to ending the war.

The dagger could control Rumplestilkskin. That was the extent of her knowledge.

Emma found the dagger, rode back to the battlefield to see Rumplestilkskin standing over the broken, battered body of her little brother, Leo. She had snapped.

Giving into pure rage and hatred, she had driven the dagger through his chest. As she did, Leo’s body vanished in a wisp of smoke, Emma realizing too late that his death was a trick and her vengeance was for nothing. However, her revelation was too late and she was consumed by the darkness.

Now, she is the Dark One.

Even now, she has futile dreams of one day defeating the darkness, of vanquishing it for good and going home. For she cannot return as she is now, cannot face her parents as the Dark One, cannot bear to see the horror and disgust that will surely be there in their faces when they lay their eyes on her. The darkness taunts her, telling her that it is a pipe dream, that what she wants can never be accomplished, that she should simply give up.

But Emma is nothing if not stubborn.

Through the numerous texts and books in the castle, she learned that Camelot is the place where the darkness was born and that the wizard Merlin was the only one who was ever thought to be capable of defeating it.

If Camelot is the place where the darkness was born, then surely it can be the place where it can be defeated.

And having access to Merlin’s spell books will make it all the easier.

Hence her reason for agreeing to Killian’s request.

(And perhaps she sympathizes with him because she knows what it’s like to lose a loved one to the Evil Queen. Emma has suffered much at the Queen’s hands, both directly and indirectly and she has no desire to see another suffer as well.)

It’s still a terrible idea, though.

“We’ll be traveling through the woods,” Killian says, breaking her out of her thoughts. “It’s easier than traveling through the towns. The Queen’s spies are all over the place and I’d rather not have her acquainted with my plans.”

“Fine by me,” Emma says shortly. She definitely prefers the woods to the towns. It’s been almost a decade since she has been in the company of actual, breathing human beings who didn’t approach her for reasons beyond wanting her power, and getting used to being around one person is hard enough, let alone towns and villages of them.

Though she’ll probably have to get used to it pretty quick once they arrive in Camelot.

This is really a terrible idea , Emma thinks with a stifled groan.

She glances at the man walking beside her curiously. Unlike most people who had dared to approach her, he had been quite calm and fearless when he had asked for her help. At first glance, one wouldn’t think that he’s a prince. The clothes he wears are quite plain - although that may be more out of a desire to go unnoticed than anything else and he doesn’t seem to have the stuck-up, snobbish nature that most royals have.

Of course, as a former princess herself (because Emma refuses to think of herself as a princess anymore, not after she practically abandoned her kingdom.) Emma really doesn’t have much room to talk. Her parents had always taught her to be kind and respectful to her subordinates, but the other royals at court didn’t always share their views.

Emma has always been good at reading people, a skill that seems to have been sharpened when she became the Dark One. However, she can’t quite get a read on Killian. He seems perfectly normal at first glance, but there are shadows in his eyes and a quiet tension in his shoulders as if he carries the weight of the world upon them. Again, Emma can’t help but sympathize.

“Why do you want Merlin’s spell books?”

Emma looks up at the question to see Killian studying her curiously as they walk through the woods. “You are the Dark One and you have plenty of magic at your disposal. Why would you need any more?”

“Light and dark magic are quite different,” Emma replies. “This has to do with, let’s say…a personal project of mine.”

“You could easily tear apart Camelot and take the books by force, if you wanted to,” Killian points out. “Why make a deal?”

“I may be the Dark One, but I still have honor,” Emma says sharply and he has the grace to look abashed at her words. “I wouldn’t simply hurt innocents to get what I want.”

“My apologies,” Killian says quietly. “I didn’t mean to assume, I just…haven’t had very good experiences with people of your kind.”

“Welcome to the club,” Emma says wryly. Killian gives her a long look before speaking again.

“Regina…the Evil Queen…what did she do to you?”

Emma stiffens at his question. “What makes you think she did anything?”

“When I mentioned her before, you grew angry,” Killian says and Emma reels, stunned at his perception. “Surely she did something to incur your wrath?”

Emma looks away, unwilling to answer. Killian catches on, thankfully and doesn’t push the issue.

They continue to travel in silence.

Whatever Killian had expected the Dark One to be like, it certainly wasn’t this .

Frankly, his mind had conjured up all sorts of terrifying images of monsters and demons cloaked in darkness with insincere voices and harsh deals. Instead, he has found a guarded, somber woman with haunted eyes and clenched fists. She seems to have a vendetta for some reason against the Evil Queen and Killian finds that he can hardly blame her for that.

The Queen has stolen from him, too.

Of course, Emma doesn’t tell him why she hates the Queen. Which is understandable, of course-she obviously isn’t the type who trusts easily or spills her secrets in the blink of an eye.

They trudge through the woods in silence and Killian stops only at sundown.

“Emma?” He ventures and she whips around to look at him, her eyes widening in shock, and Killian is confused for a moment before he realizes that he used her name for the first time. His heart pangs with sympathy, and he wonders just how long it has been since anyone called her by name.

“What is it?” Emma asks after a beat, a strange, soft note in her voice that sends a shiver down his spine. Trying to ignore the feeling, he continues.

“We should stop for the night and get some rest. We can continue at dawn.”

“Oh…right, of course.”

Killian frowns at the pause; it’s as if she never even considered the fact that they might have to rest at one point. Perhaps she doesn’t tire easily? Or pushes herself too hard? She certainly seems like the type.

Why does he care, anyway?

They find an empty clearing, and Killian offers his satchel to Emma, telling her to pick freely from his stash of food while he starts a fire. Soon enough, they are sitting on opposite sides of the camp, eating some of the meat pasties from Killian’s stash, an awkward silence hanging between them.

After his meal, Killian pulls out his flask and offers it to her, hoping to break the strained quiet. “Rum?”

Emma quirks an eyebrow, but accepts it anyway. “Are you sure you’re a prince and not a pirate?” she asks dryly and Killian chuckles.

“Perhaps I’m a bit of both.” He had never been an orthodox prince anyway, always preferring the taverns and the open seas to his castle. Before Father’s death, he’d been lax in his duties, serving as a great source of frustration for Father and Liam. Killian had sobered up quite a bit after his father’s sudden death, but it wasn’t until after losing Milah that he threw himself into his princely duties; especially duties that pertained to winning the war against the Queen. He’d once thirsted for outright vengeance, but Liam and Belle had talked him down, serving as voices of reason to break through the anger and sorrow that had surrounded him.

“We should get to bed,” Killian says presently. “We need to be well rested if we are to leave at dawn.”

“Sleep,” Emma tells him, her voice quiet. “I’ll keep watch.”

Killian opens his mouth to protest-they are a quite a way from the villages within the domain of the Queen, and it would be ungentlemanly on his part to let her keep watch while he rests - but something in her face makes him stop, and he instead agrees reluctantly.

“If you’re certain.”

She gives him a terse nod and he obeys her wishes, lying down on his side with his back to her before he closes his eyes.

Sleep does not come easily to him that night. Whenever Killian turns, subtly, to glance at Emma, he finds her curled up under a tree, fiddling with an unfinished dream catcher, her movements fevered and hasty as she hurries to complete it. Her eyes are almost black with the shadows that lurk in them and her fingers tremble from time to time, causing the twine she’s weaving to slip out of her hand, eliciting a curse from her before she returns to her task.

The flames have burned down to mere embers by the time Killian slips into a restless slumber, full of dream catchers and Milah’s laughing eyes and darkness swallowed by fire.

The nights are really the worst, Emma reflects, as the sky blushes pink with the early light of dawn. If there’s one thing she misses about being mortal, it is sleep. It has been a decade since she has slept, or even felt that physical need to sleep, for that matter. She has been spending the nights by weaving dream catchers and immersing herself in memories of the past, in hopes of chasing away that darkness that always lurks by her side.

It never works.

With a sigh, Emma tucks the finished dream catcher away into a pocket of her dress and grimaces at the sight of her fingers, rubbed raw from the twine she had been weaving all night. The marks will disappear soon, but Emma hates the thought of Killian noticing and asking her about it; as he undoubtedly will.

Emma absently rubs at the marks on her hands, flinching when the darkness cackles.

Go on, dearie, vanish them away. After all, you don’t want him to see you for what you truly are: a monster.

Shut up, Emma thinks savagely, magic sparking under her skin with the force of her anger.

As if on cue, Killian stirs and Emma draws back her magic, breathing in deeply as she tries to calm herself.

He sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes and gives her a lopsided smile. “Good morning, love.”

Emma raises a brow at the endearment and says nothing, but warmth builds in her chest.

The darkness hisses in disapproval, and retreats.

Killian takes an apple out of his satchel and offers it to Emma, but she declines, wrinkling her nose. Ten years as an immortal being, and she still isn’t quite comfortable around apples.

Well, given her family history, it’s understandable.

Killian looks puzzled at her aversion, but lets it go, taking a bite out of the apple.

“Why did you not sleep last night?” he asks casually, and Emma sighs, having expected him to ask.

“Dark Ones don’t sleep,” she replies shortly and rises, brushing leaves off her dress. “We should get a move on.”

“As you wish.”

While they continue travelling, Killian keeps up a light stream of conversation, Emma’s replies and comments are few and far in between, but she enjoys listening to him speak. It’s been a long time since she was given the comfort of good company, and even the small talk that the prince makes is welcome.

Killian speaks of his brother often, clear admiration and love in his voice when he does. Through what he tells her of him, Emma finds herself respecting Liam, he sounds like a good and honorable man. Killian does not say why Camelot is at war with the Evil Queen, however, a shadow crossing his face at the very mention of it. Emma doesn’t ask, knowing from experience that some things are just too painful to talk about.

The pleasant time comes to an end soon, as the sound of heavy footsteps clamoring through the forest makes them pause and look at each other in dismay.

“Black Knights,” Killian says grimly and they both draw their swords.

There are about a dozen of them and the leader gives Killian an ugly smirk. “Well, if it isn’t the Prince of Camelot. Far from home, aren’t you? And who is your…companion?”

He leers at Emma and she gives him a smile that is all teeth and no humor. Killian remains defiantly silent, his knuckles turning white as he grips his sword tighter.

The leader nods at the other knights. “Kill them.”

The knights may be well trained, but they are no match for them. Killian is a skilled swordsman, Emma notices, disarming the first who charges at him and running the second through. Emma, on the other hand, steadfastly ignores the darkness that whispers to her, tempting her to use her magic to kill them all and instead wields her cutlass to either disarm or wound them so they are unable to get up. She only kills the ones who arm persistent; shuddering as every drop of blood spilled adds another black patch to her already darkened heart.

Emma has killed before, of course. Not too long after she became the Dark One, Black Knights of the Queen came to her castle, looking for answers about what had happened to Rumplestiltskin. When they found that the new Dark One was actually the Princess of Misthaven, they had laughed cruelly, taunting her even as she tried to ignore them.

“The Crown Princess has gone dark,” One of them taunted. “I wonder how the people of Misthaven would react to this. They would surely turn on Snow White and Prince Charming, and the Queen would win.”

Emma snapped.

Before she knew it, she was striding across the expanse of floor to him and he got little warning before she plunged her hand into his chest and took a hold of his heart. He let out a cry of pain and his fellow knights gasped in fear.

Emma ripped her hand out, clutching the beating organ as the knight gripped at his chest, staring at her with fearful eyes.

‘Go ahead,’ the darkness whispered. ‘Crush it.’

“No,” Emma mumbled blankly, gazing down at the heart, her hand trembling. “I can’t.”

‘Yes, you can,’ the darkness hissed. ‘He deserves it. He deserves to die.’

Emma’s grip around the heart tightened, and the knight let out a pained gasp as he collapsed to the floor, begging for mercy. She ignored him, her gaze focused on the darkness that hovered at her side, encouraging her.

‘If you let him live-let them live, they will tell the kingdom about what happened to you. They will turn on your parents and the Evil Queen will have the opportunity to kill them. Is that what you want?’

“No!” Emma gasped out, her voice tortured. “I can’t let them die!”

‘Then do it. Crush his heart.’

“If I kill him, I will become just like him. Like Regina.”

‘It’s not murder, dearie, it’s an execution,’ the darkness tempted. ‘Think about the many he must have killed while serving the Queen. It’s what he deserves.’

“You deserve to die,” Emma told the knight, mindlessly parroting the darkness’ words as she squeezed the heart tighter. The knight screamed in pain and rasped out broken pleas.

“Mercy, please! I’ll do anything-“

He abruptly cut off as the life faded from him and his body hit the floor. Emma stood still, gazing at the dust seeping from between her fingers.

The other knights made to move, to run away. Emma spun around, her hardened gaze freezing them in place.

‘Don’t show them any mercy,’ the darkness said. ‘Kill them.’

Emma raised her hand and twisted it. Suddenly, the knights were clutching at their necks, struggling for air as an unseen pressure curbed any of their attempts to draw in breath. Emma held it up for a few minutes until they collapsed to the floor, dead.

‘Very good, dearie,’ the darkness said, before promptly vanishing.

The dull crimson haze that had covered Emma’s vision disappeared as well and she gasped, staring at the bodies that lay around her in horror.

“No. No! What have I done?!”

Her knees weakened, and she sank to the ground, drawing in harsh, labored breaths. “No….” She muttered, as darkness engulfed her. When it vanished, the gold of her hair had faded to silver, her skin had become unnaturally pale and the armor and breeches she’d worn before had turned to a leathery costume of stark black.

At that moment, Emma knew (and the darkness never failed to reassure her of it) that there was no going back.

Killian lets out a sharp hiss of pain, rousing Emma from her memories, and she whips around to see him gingerly brushing his prosthetic across his right shoulder, blood seeping through the thin material of his shirt. The knight who injured him raises his sword, preparing to lop off his head and an urgent bolt of panic rushes through Emma. She hastily waves her hand, and the knight flies into a tree and promptly falls unconscious.

The other guards, stunned by Emma’s display of magic, take to their heels and flee.

Killian sinks down onto a log and with a bit of struggle, manages to lift the sleeve of his shirt with his prosthetic, inspecting the wound with a grimace. Emma hovers awkwardly. The wound isn’t too deep, but it looks nasty. And painful.

“I could, uh, heal it. If you want,” Emma says hesitantly. Killian glances up at her, looking rather surprised at the offer, and shakes his head.

“There’s no need, love. I…noticed that you were rather averse to using your magic during the fight. I don’t want you to needlessly use it on my behalf.”

Emma’s heart does a little flip in her chest, so startled and touched is she at his perception. She sits down next to him and offers him a genuine smile.

“It’s no problem. Really.”

Killian’s cheeks tinge crimson and he ducks his head shyly, holding out his arm. Emma takes his hand in hers, pretending not to notice the shiver that wracks through his body at the contact. She pauses momentarily, shutting her eyes. She knows she’s already promised to heal Killian’s brother, but this, somehow, is different. It shouldn’t be, really. But it is, and the thought of messing it up frightens her far more than the thought of failing to heal his brother does.

“It’s alright,” Killian murmurs gently and Emma opens her eyes in shock. He smiles up at her gently. “I trust you.”

Emma’s heart stutters painfully in her chest at his words and without another thought, the magic flows through her body. Killian lets out a gasp as the wound closes smoothly, not even leaving a scar. Emma smiles in triumph, withdrawing her hand.

“Thank you,” Killian says gratefully. Emma gives him a short, jerky nod, her fingers still tingling from where she touched him (and not from the magic) and glances down at his arm, her attention diverted by the crimson tattoo that decorates it.

“Who’s Milah, on the tattoo?”

The warmth in Killian’s eyes vanishes, and he quickly stands, yanking down the sleeve of his shirt to cover the tattoo. “No one,” He says quietly, sheathing his sword and slinging his bag over his shoulder. Emma stands as well, realizing his aversion to discussing the topic.

“We’d better get a move on,” Killian continues, avoiding her gaze. “If we move fast, any knights that are still around won’t be able to catch up.”

“Right, let’s go.”

When night falls, they are only a few hours away from Camelot. They stop and set up camp as they did the night before, and Killian glances at Emma as he lights the fire.

She has not spoken since he dismissed her question about the tattoo. Killian sighs as he thinks of it…the knowledge of what had happened five years ago is so common in Camelot that no one has questioned him about it in a long while. Emma’s question came as a shock, and his first instinct was to shut her down completely, the wound left by Milah’s passing still raw and bleeding; even the loss of his hand not comparing to it.

Killian looks at Emma again. He fears that he might have offended her by his silence on the topic. He’s not sure why he cares about her opinion of him so much. It’s true that she’s the key to saving his brother, but it’s much more than that. She’s not the cold, ruthless demon he had pictured in his mind, but instead a rather complex woman; a witch who avoids using her magic, who remains awake during the night and weaves dream catchers. She healed his wound like it was nothing, and her touch had sent flames shooting up his arm. She carries the weight of the world upon her shoulders and her eyes are full of old pain and buried hopes.

“Emma?” He begins tentatively and she looks over at him, raising her eyebrows in silent question. “I apologize for being short with you earlier, it’s just that-“

“It’s alright,” Emma interjects. “I brought up a painful topic. I apologize for that.”

“How do you know it’s painful?” Killian asks defensively. Emma smiles wryly.

“You’re something of an open book,” She says simply. “And it takes one to know one.”

“You lost someone?”

Emma nods. “A lot of someones, actually,” She says. Killian’s heart pangs in sympathy.

“Milah was my fiancée,” He begins haltingly. “She was killed by the Queen’s black knights,” Killian holds up his prosthetic. “It’s how I got this.”

He expects to see pity in her face, but finds nothing but a quiet understanding. “I’m sorry,” Emma says sincerely.

They remain in companionable silence, after that, the only sounds being the crackling of the fire and the occasional snapping of a twig. It feels like they are closer, somehow, as if at least one of the many walls that stand between them has been broken down. Killian finds himself drifting off soon, and the last thing he hears is Emma’s whispered ‘goodnight’ before he falls into a deep slumber.

Emma does not weave her dream catchers that night.

Instead, she thinks of things she hasn’t allowed herself to ponder for a long time. She thinks of the way her mother’s brow crinkled every time she laughed, of how her father lovingly cradled the back of her head every time he hugged her and of the way she and Leo would run around the castle, staging mock sword fights and driving the staff to near distraction.

She thinks of Killian and the gentleness of his smile when he told her he trusted her.

She thinks of the way using her magic had felt right , for once, when she wielded it to vanish away Killian’s wound.

And for once, the darkness remains silent.

The next day, they reach Camelot by noon.

Emma swallows apprehensively at the large number of guards and courtiers waiting at the gates to greet them, or rather, to greet Killian.

Killian, as if sensing her discomfort, slips his hand into hers and squeezes reassuringly. Emma glances up at him sharply, his touch sending heat through her body.

Killian retracts his hand and gives her a last smile; just as a dark haired woman comes running out of the gates and towards them.

“Killian!” She hugs him tightly, and Emma takes a step back, irrational jealousy flaring in her gut. Is she his lover? Or his wife, perhaps? He’d never mentioned having one, though.

“ Belle ,” Killian grunts. “I can’t breathe, lass.”

The woman, Belle, draws away slightly and sniffs. “I was worried,” she says. “Can you blame me?”

Belle glances past Killian at Emma and her eyes widen. “Is that-“

Killian releases her and nods. “Aye. Emma-” he turns to her. “This is Belle, the castle’s librarian. Belle, Emma.”

“You succeeded,” Belle breathes, a large grin lighting up her face.

“Did you doubt I would?” Killian teases and then his eyes grow serious. “How’s Liam?”

“Not good,” Belle says somberly. “He’s finding it hard to even stand, now. And he’s worried about you.”

Killian rolls his eyes. “Of course he is,” He mutters, but there’s affection in his voice. “Bloody idiot won’t even worry about himself. Well, there’s no time to waste,” he nods to Emma. “Shall we?”

“Of course.”

Belle looks nervous. “Uh, maybe I should talk to him first. He’s not going to be happy that you, uh-” She glances hesitantly at Emma.

“Brought the Dark One into his home?” Emma finishes for her, dryly, and Belle flinches, as if waiting for Emma to blow up in her face. When she does nothing of the sort, Belle looks visibly relieved and leads them into the castle.

“Wait here,” she tells them when they stop outside the king’s chambers and slips into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Emma and Killian wait in awkward silence and she catches him wincing when the sound of raised voices reach their ears. They hear Belle’s voice, soft and pleading; and then a noise of assent before Belle exits the room, looking harried.

“I take it my brother isn’t exactly an ideal patient?” Killian asks with a forced grin. Belle looks unamused.

“He wants to talk to you,” She informs him and Killian nods, glancing back at Emma.

“Go ahead,” Emma tells him. “I’ll be fine.”

Killian smiles and Belle narrows her eyes, looking back and forth between them sharply. Emma ignores her curious gaze, but feels heat creeping up her neck.

Killian casts her one final glance before entering the room.

“Hello, Liam,” Killian greets his brother with forced levity, his heart sinking at the sight of Liam’s condition. His brother is gaunt and pale, black veins from the poison creeping up his arms.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with you?”

Well, at least it seems like Liam still has his temper.

“Liam-” Killian begins, but is abruptly interrupted.

“You brought the Dark One into our castle?”

Liam speaks the words with disgust and Killian feels a sharp jolt of anger rush through him. He forces it down, trying to maintain his calm.

“It’s the only way to save you.”

Liam scoffs and Killian flinches at the harsh sound. “By resorting to dark magic? Aye, sounds like a wonderful plan.”

“I’d rather use dark magic than watch you die,” Killian snaps defiantly and Liam’s eyes flash.

“After all that we’ve suffered-“ He begins lowly. “After all that you’ve suffered because of dark magic-shouldn’t you be disgusted at the very idea of seeking it out for help?”

“Any magic that could be used to save your life could never be dark,” Killian says passionately and Liam seems to soften slightly at that. But the next moment, he’s protesting again.

“And the Dark One , at that, Killian…do you know how dangerous that is? He could have killed you.”

“She, actually.”

“What?”

“The Dark One is a woman.”

Liam raises his eyebrows at that, but continues. “Regardless, how do we know that we can trust her?”

“You can trust me ,” Killian says steadily. “You can trust me that she’s not lying, that she really is ready to help you.”

Liam regards him in silence for a long moment and then sighs in relent. “Very well, you can send her in.”

Killian nods, relieved, but before he can call Emma in, Liam stops him. “Wait. I know that the Dark One makes deals. What did you promise her in return?”

Killian shifts uncomfortably, reaching up to scratch behind his ear. “Ah…about that…”

“Spit it out, Killian.”

“I promised her access to Merlin’s spell books.”

“You did what ?!”

“Alright, I’m calling her in,” Killian says quickly, ignoring Liam’s outraged protests. He hurries to the door to open it and ushers Emma in, smiling weakly when she raises a brow at him.

“Good to see you’re still alive. I heard shouting.”

“Right as rain, love,” Killian promises, and over Emma’s shoulder, sees Belle’s eyebrows disappear into her hairline. “Come on in,” He mumbles hastily, blushing.

Emma notices, and smirks at his embarrassment before sweeping past him into the room.

Liam pushes himself up on his pillows and tries to look as intimidating as possible, but Emma doesn’t look the least bit fazed by the effect.

“Hello,” She says softly. “My name is Emma, I’m-“

“I know who you are, Dark One ,” Liam says tersely and Killian groans, wanting to punch his brother. Emma looks unaffected.

“I was going to say that I’m here to save your sorry ass,” Emma says calmly, and next to Killian, Belle chokes. “But it’s nice to see how grateful you are.”

Liam goes red at the chastisement and Killian struggles not to laugh, reflecting that Emma really doesn’t seem to give a damn about whether they’re royalty or not. Then again, she is the Dark One; she has no reason to be intimidated by them when she could easily snap their necks in the fraction of a second.

For some reason, that really doesn’t bother him at all.

“My apologies,” Liam mutters, and Emma makes a noise of dismissal, moving closer to the bed. She observes his condition in silence, the inky veins travelling up from his arm, disappearing into the sleeve of his shirt. The veins on his chest are obscured by his clothing, but can be seen inching up from the collar of his shirt, dangerously close to reaching his face.

Emma releases a deep breath. “Alright,” she murmurs. She positions her hand over Liam’s chest, slowly rotating it, stretching and motioning her fingers as if to draw something out. Emma’s arm shimmers a bright gold and Killian stares, transfixed, unable to look away.

This may be dark magic, but it also may be hands down the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

Beside Killian, Belle squeezes her eyes shut, clasping her hands together; as if sending up a silent prayer.

Liam’s body glows, and a ripple of magic pulses through the room, nearly knocking Killian and Belle off their feet. Liam gasps in shock as the veins marring his skin vanish, the color returning to his cheeks and the strength to his limbs.

Killian sags in relief and before he can even say or do anything, Belle rushes past him to the bed, practically collapsing on it as she flings her arms around Liam. His eyes widen in pleasure, and he draws her closer, pressing a kiss to her head.

Emma backs away from them, looking visibly exhausted. Killian lays a tentative hand on her shoulder, smiling at her gratefully.

“Thank you, Emma.”

“No problem,” Emma says brusquely, but her pale face flushes, her mouth curving into a pleased smile.

Killian feels the oddest urge to kiss that smile from her lips.

Coughing, he hastily backs away, just in time as Liam and Belle part from their embrace.

Liam stands up and offers Emma a courteous smile. “I owe you my life, milady.”

“There’s the gratitude,” Emma quips and Liam has the grace to look abashed. “It’s no big deal,” She continues. “As long as your brother there follows up on our deal, of course,” She gives Killian a pointed stare.

Belle looks confused. “Wait, what deal?”

“Access to Merlin’s spell books in exchange for the King’s recovery,” Emma says breezily and Killian shifts uncomfortably under Belle’s incredulous stare. “That’s the deal we made.”

“I’ll retrieve the spell books for you,” Liam says briskly. “Belle, would you escort Lady Emma to the library? Killian, you should accompany them.”

Killian sees Emma’s lips twitch into a knowing smile, clearly understanding that Liam wants him to go along for Belle’s safety. Thankfully, Emma doesn’t seem insulted by Liam’s lack of trust in her, only amused.

Before they leave, Liam strides up to Killian and hugs him. “Thank you, little brother,” he murmurs. “I was right to trust your judgment.”

“ Younger brother,” Killian corrects him, but he can’t hold back his delighted smile.

“It’s quite the collection you have here,” Emma remarks when they step into the castle’s expansive library. “Do you manage this all by yourself?”

The question is directed to Belle, who flushes.

“I have help, of course,” She stammers, still clearly intimidated by Emma. “But mostly, yes.”

Emma hums in reply. The library in the castle of the Dark One was possibly as expansive as this one, but that had more of texts concerning dark magic and ancient spells. Most of the books had been dangerous, even; the spells written in them could be blown off the page and towards a target. The library itself had been dark, musty and unorganized; and the airy, bright and neat room in this castle is a stark contrast to it.

Belle goes to arrange something at the counter, and Emma and Killian find a table at the back and settle down.

“So,” Emma begins casually. “How long has Camelot been at war with the Evil Queen?”

“About five years, now,” Killian replies. “Why?”

“Just curious,” Emma mumbles, picking at the sleeve of her dress. Killian clearly doesn’t buy it, and opens his mouth to question her further, but is interrupted as Liam appears with the spell books. Emma’s eyes light up at the sight of them. There are only a couple of them, but they could be the first step to finally defeating the darkness.

The darkness cackles in amusement. Quite naïve of you, dearie , it sneers. Haven’t you learnt by now? The darkness cannot be vanquished; you’re wasting your time with this little endeavor. Your time could be spent in a better way, like taking revenge on the Queen for all that she has done.

Emma firmly ignores the darkness, clenching her fists under the table in an attempt to curb the prickling under her skin.

“These are all of them,” Liam says, setting them down on the table. “But it’s getting quite late. I asked the servants to prepare a room for you, so perhaps you could rest for the night instead.”

“Thank you,” Emma says, deciding against mentioning that she really doesn’t need rest. “That’s very kind of you.”

“You’re welcome,” Liam says and turns to Killian. “There’s a Council Meeting. Your presence is required.”

“I just got back,” Killian protests but Liam just gives him a stern, no-nonsense look and he sighs and acquiesces, rising to his feet.

“I’ll see you later,” He tells Emma with a rueful smile and she nods, ignoring Liam’s suspicious frown.

The room that has been prepared for Emma is large spacious, a huge, four poster bed by the window as well as a desk, a vanity and a wardrobe. It’s not unlike Emma’s own bedroom back when she used to be a princess, and for a minute, she aches with homesickness, wishing for nothing but to go back to those simpler times.

The wardrobe has been furnished with clothes as well, most of them beautiful dresses of bright colors, ranging from cotton to satin. Emma ignores them completely, finding a grey silk nightgown and putting it on. She has no intention of sleeping, of course, but it’s far more comfortable than her black dress.

Emma sits at the desk with one of Merlin’s spell books open, a roll of parchment next to it. This particular book is in a foreign language, but thankfully, during her time as the Dark One, she dedicated a lot of her time to learning new languages. This one is a bit trickier than most, but Emma sets her quill to the parchment determinedly, ready to do whatever it takes to get some answers.

As the hours pass, the light dims and the shadows lengthen. Just as Emma flicks her wrist to light the lamps in her room, there’s a knock on her door. She rolls up the parchment and tucks into the book before going to the door to open it.

It’s Killian.

“Good evening,” he greets. “I just wanted to see if everything’s alright with your room.”

“Its fine,” Emma assures him. “Your brother is very kind,” Killian looks a bit awkward, standing in the doorway, and she steps aside. “Would you like to come in?”

Killian looks startled. “I’m not sure that would be appropriate.”

Emma rolls her eyes. “I’m not inviting you in for anything inappropriate, just so we can talk more comfortably.”

Killian gives her rakish grin, though the effect of it is lessened by his flushed face. “I wouldn’t object to….more pleasurable activities, milady.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Emma says dryly although she is rather surprised that he even tried to flirt with her. He’s never made an advance before. Still, it must be easier now that he doesn’t have the threat of his brother’s death hanging over him. “Come on in.”

They sit side by side on the huge bed and talk about many things and Killian asks her how the progress with the book is coming along.

“Slowly,” Emma says. “But I know I’ll get through soon.”

“Why do you want those books?” Killian asks. It’s not the first time he’s asked her this and Emma isn’t surprised, knowing her never bought her lies before. Still, she doesn’t tell him the truth.

The Dark One lies, the Dark One tricks.

“Why every great wizard does,” She says offhandedly. “To gain more power.”

“You don’t even like using your power,” Killian points out.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be using it to level your kingdom,” Emma says acidly, her temper getting the best of her. Killian looks taken aback.

“I know you wouldn’t do that,” He speaks the words which so much certainty that it makes her heart ache. Emma ducks her head, feeling guilty.

“Sorry,” she mumbles. Killian waves it away.

“S’alright, Emma.”

He lingers a bit more than is strictly necessary, talking about such mundane things that Emma wonders if he’s doing it on purpose to spend more time with her. Then she shoots the idea down, not wanting to explore that line of thought now. Or ever.

Killian chuckles, dragging Emma out her musings and she looks at him inquiringly. “What?”

“Nothing,” He says with a grin. “I was just thinking that if Liam knew I were here, he’d certainly kill me.”

Emma frowns. “Why?”

“Well, it’s not very gentlemanly to be in a lady’s quarters at night.”

Emma snorts. “Aren’t you the type of prince who prefers the taverns and towns over the comfort of his own castle?” She’d know. She was the same.

“A rake I may be, but I still believe in good form,” Killian insists. “And as for a lady such as yourself-“

Emma cuts him off. “I’m not a lady,” She says shortly. “I’m the Dark One.”

“You may be the Dark One, but you are still a woman,” Killian murmurs, his eyes sweeping over her form in a manner that leaves her pulse racing. “And a breathtakingly beautiful woman, at that.”

Emma swallows, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. Suddenly the large, spacious room feels far too small, the respectable space they had put between them suddenly not enough. She searches his eyes for the lie, but finds nothing but sincerity.

Her eyes flicker to his mouth, then, and the irrational urge to haul him into a kiss startles her out of her daze.

“I think it’s time you go,” Emma breathes, curling her hands into fists so she doesn’t give into the temptation of touching him. Killian nods slowly, seemingly as dazed as she is.

“Right. Of course.” He rises and holds her gaze for a long moment before giving her a short bow. “Goodnight, milady.”

Killian leaves the room quickly and Emma allows herself to collapse on the bed, drawing in her breaths harshly.

What the hell had just happened?

When Killian is done with his duties the next day, he goes straight to the library to see Emma. Belle barely acknowledges him when he enters, practically buried in a pile of books.

He finds Emma at the back, writing on a parchment while referring the books scattered on the table. Killian sits down from across her, waiting patiently for her to finish.

Finally, Emma sets down her quill and looks at him expectantly. “What?”

“Good morning to you too, Emma,” Killian chuckles, a little relieved to see that she doesn’t seem to be bothered in the least about the moment they had shared the night before.

Looking back on it, Killian honestly doesn’t know what he was thinking. Going into her rooms in the first place had been a bad idea. Calling her beautiful an almost kissing her, for Killian is sure that if she had not asked him to leave he would have definitely kissed her-was an even worse idea.

But Emma had looked so relaxed, the nightgown she wore giving her a younger, girlish appearance, that Killian had let any rational thought fly out of the window.

“Good morning,” Emma replies. “Now then, what did you want?”

“As charming as ever, I see,” Killian teases. Emma actually laughs, as if enjoying an inside joke, and the sound is like music to Killian’s ears. “I simply wanted the pleasure of your company.”

“Don’t you have Council Meetings and princely duties?”

“Done,” Killian gives her a mock pout. “Are you truly that eager to get rid of me?”

Emma huffs, looking amused. “Fine, you can stay. Just don’t disturb me.”

“As you wish, milady.”

Killian busies himself with an administrative text, but ends up not paying much attention to it; constantly distracted by the curve of Emma’s jaw, the way she frowns in frustration upon encountering something particularly trying, the few strands of hair that slip out of her normally immaculate bun when she rakes her fingers through it in frustration.

Bloody hell, Killian thinks, forcing his gaze away from her and back to his book. I’ve got to stop this.

Emma sets down her quill after a while, rubbing at her tired eyes with a groan.

“Alright, love?” Killian asks in concern, the text forgotten.

“Yeah…just…this isn’t exactly easy,” Emma sighs. “I’m getting there, but…..” she rotates her neck, wincing at the tension.

Before Killian can think twice, he gets up and moves to stand behind her. Emma twists in her seat to look at him.

“What are you doing?”

“I thought I’d help you relax,” Killian murmurs. The dress she’s wearing today exposes her back and shoulders and when Killian ghosts his palm over the bare skin, Emma stiffens momentarily at the contact.

“Is this okay?” Killian asks tentatively. Emma hesitates for a moment and nods.

Encouraged by her assent, Killian settles his hand at the base of her neck and begins to gently knead at the muscles, slowly easing out the knots. Emma lets her head fall back with a soft groan of approval. Killian freezes at the sound, heat rushing to his cheeks, but continues with his task, forcing himself not to react to the little sounds she makes.

Killian rubs at her shoulders next, massaging until he feels all the tension seep out. He then moves to gently toy with her hair, twisting and weaving the strands that have escaped her up do.

He should move away. He really should, it’s probably the gentlemanly thing to do, but Killian doesn’t and Emma doesn’t tell him to, either, her eyes closed in content.

She is like a siren, Killian thinks, rousing feelings and desires that he has not felt in a long time, causing his broken heart to beat again.

He wants to kiss her, right at the spot where her pulse flutters in her neck, to map out the freckles dotting her skin with his lips and teeth, to draw out those intoxicating sounds from her again and again.

Killian lets out a barely audible groan at his own thoughts. What is this woman-this beautiful, mysterious woman-doing to him? He hasn’t felt such a swift, powerful attraction to anyone in so long, no, not since Milah-

Milah.

The reminder of his lost love is like a swift punch to the gut. Killian steps back from Emma like he’s been burned, eliciting a small noise of confusion from her as she turns to look at him.

“I-I’m sorry,” Killian gasps out, his mind whirling, the very thought of Milah sending flaming agony and guilt through his veins. “I-I have to go.”

Before Emma can say a word, Killian turns and strides out of the library.

Emma knows that she has been starved of physical affection for a long time, but this is just insane.

As she slowly got to know Killian over the past few days, it quickly became obvious that he was a very physically affectionate person, casual with his touches.

Every touch sets her off, causing an intense buzz in her veins. His touch shouldn’t affect her this much, but it does, heat flaring in her stomach at the slightest brush of skin against skin. And as for Killian’s gentle way of easing the tension from her shoulders, it had left her positively addicted. Every rational part of Emma’s brain screamed at her to get away, but she was helpless to move. Killian might be a mere mortal, but he has still bested her.

But then Killian had sharply pulled away, leaving the library with stammered apologies. Emma sits at her table quietly, her work abandoned as she tries to figure out the reason for his hasty departure.

He probably came to his senses, dearie, the darkness taunts. He must’ve finally realized that it’s the Dark One he’s dallying with, not a normal woman.

“He doesn’t think that,” Emma mutters aloud, digging her nails into her palm until she draws blood. The wounds vanish instantly, but the sting of the act remains. Then Killian’s words from the previous night come rushing back to her.

“You may be the Dark One, but you’re still a woman.”

He wasn’t lying….was he? Emma’s ability to detect lies has always been uncanny, since long before she became the Dark One, but her emotions always tend to cloud her judgment.

They were merely pretty words, the darkness says immediately. Don’t believe a thing of what he says. You know better than that. Everybody lies. Everybody leaves. There’s no use getting attached.

The darkness is probably right, Emma thinks.

Everybody leaves. Everything good vanishes.

Killian is no exception.

Knowing she won’t get any more work done, not now, Emma gathers up her notes and storms out of the library, ignoring all the fascinated courtiers and maidservants who stop to gaze at her as she passes them by. She sighs in relief when she reaches the solitude of her chambers, slamming the door shut.

Emma hates this. She hates caring so much about what Killian thinks, about whether he’s lying to her or not, about him. She hates the burn of rejection in her gut when he left her hastily. And Emma hates the longing she feels for him to return, to make her smile with his small talk and attempts at flirting.

And she absolutely hates the acute pain in her heart at the thought of him just being someone who leaves her in the end.

Killian escapes the castle for a while and rides to his favorite spot to think, a cliff that overlooks the sea. The sight of the waves crashing over the rocks and the ships in the harbor and the sea gulls flitting around the cliffs calms his heart slightly, the pain ebbing to a dull ache.

What was he thinking?

To be harboring such romantic thoughts about a woman is surely a dishonor to Milah’s memory. When she died, he’d sworn to himself to remain faithful to her memory forever, to never love again.

And the worst part is that Killian doesn’t even know if this is love. With Milah, it had been easy. He’d fallen hard and fast and knew without a doubt what his feelings towards her were.

But with Emma, it’s different.

He knows that his heart beats faster whenever she’s around, that a rare laugh or smile from her builds an indescribable warmth in his chest, that he always wants to seek her out and be by her side, that he wants to chase away the shadows in her eyes and the sadness in her heart.

But he doesn’t know if he loves her.

And that’s probably the worst thing out of this whole mess, not knowing .

Light footsteps sound behind him and before Killian can turn, Belle appears by his side suddenly, offering him a kind smile as she sits down.

“Everything okay?”

Perceptive as ever. Killian lies, trying to play it off as nothing. “Of course, lass.”

Belle hums in disbelief, clearly not buying it. “Uh huh. Then why did I see you leave the library as quickly as you did? Not to mention, Emma did the exact same thing not too long after.”

Killian curses inwardly, knowing that he must’ve hurt or offended her with his abrupt departure. He can deal with her hating him, but he can’t stand the thought of her being hurt because of him.

There it is again.

“You’re falling for her, aren’t you?” Belle asks knowingly. Killian stiffens.

“ Belle -” he pleads. “Don’t.”

Belle crosses her arms and looks at him expectantly. “Don’t what?”

“Just don’t,” Killian says shortly. “I can’t fall in love with her.”

“Why in the world not?” Belle demands.

“Milah. I’d be dishonoring her memory-“

“That’s utter crap and you know it,” Belle snaps and Killian blinks in surprise at her curse. “You know Milah would want you to be happy, not wasting away like this.”

“Wasting away?” Killian repeats indignantly.

“ Yes. That’s exactly what you’re doing, shutting the world out, even Liam and I at times and not allowing yourself to fall in love.”

When Killian says nothing, instead staring at the horizon, Belle sighs and reaches over to take his hand.

“You deserve this, Killian. You deserve a second chance at love.”

“I-”

“Just because you’re falling in love again doesn’t mean you’re loving Milah any less,” Belle says patiently. “You’re honoring her memory by moving on.”

Killian simply nods, absently brushing his prosthetic over the tattoo on his arm. Belle sighs, and pulls him into a one armed hug.

“Come on,” She says presently. “We should get back to the castle.”

The next day, Emma is back working in the library again. Belle throws her an odd look when she enters, but quickly covers it with a welcoming smile. A little puzzled by it but deciding to brush it off, Emma returns to the books.

A passage in one of Merlin’s books makes her pause. The word ‘Excalibur’ is mentioned, along with a theory about it being a weapon with the ability to destroy the darkness.

Excitement surges through Emma, her heart racing and she quickly flips through the pages. Sure enough, Merlin has written the details of how the darkness came to be. The first to be tethered to it was a woman named Nimue and Merlin broke the sword Excalibur in half, using one half to create the Dark One dagger, which he tied the darkness to. The other half of Excalibur was set in a stone, not too far away from Camelot, only to be drawn out by its rightful owner.

Emma closes the book and leans back, thinking. If only she could get her hands on this ‘Excalibur’ and translate the rest of Merlin’s works, then maybe, just maybe she could finally destroy the darkness.

Of course, there is the problem of finding Excalibur. And according to what Merlin wrote, only the rightful owner of the sword could draw it out of the stone. Emma isn’t quite sure as to what that means. Does that mean the Dark One, as the dagger that controls her is the other half of Excalibur. Or is the meaning a little more traditional, the rightful owner being someone of great courage and a true heart?

If that is the case, then all is in vain, Emma thinks a little bitterly. After all, she has none of those things.

Still, it’s a start.

Emma rises and hurries to Belle, who is sorting out books at the counter. “Are there any books on magical artifacts here?”

Belle nods. “Yes, anything in particular?”

Emma hesitates before she answers. “Anything that mentions the sword Excalibur.”

Belle looks skeptical. “Excalibur’s only a myth,” she points out. “Are you sure that’s what you’re looking for?”

“ Yes ,” Emma says impatiently. The darkness is hissing in disapproval and she can feel it struggling for dominance, to try and quell her desire to destroy it. Magic threatens to seep from her hands and Emma clenches them into fists, ignoring the burn.

Belle, thankfully, doesn’t seem to notice and is about to agree to her request when the doors to the library slam open.

The young librarian swings around with a scowl, ready to scold whoever it is but falls short when she sees Liam and Killian stride in, looking tense.

Emma carefully averts her gaze from Killian’s, clenching her fists even tighter as the darkness continues to struggle.

“What’s wrong?” Belle asks worriedly, her gaze darting between them. Liam and Killian share a glance before the older brother speaks.

“Bad news,” Liam admits, quiet fury in his voice. “Misthaven has been overtaken by the Evil Queen.”

Liam’s words, while said under a calm façade, absolutely knock the breath out of Emma. She staggers back, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, her vision blurring.

Oh God. Oh God.

“Are you certain?” Next to her, Belle is speaking frantically, but Emma barely hears it.

Then Killian speaks, his voice strained and it’s enough to break Emma out of her daze. “I’m afraid so, lass.”

“The King and Queen,” Emma says suddenly, through gritted teeth and the other three glance up at her in surprise. “Are the King and Queen, the royal family, are they still-“Her voice cracks and a shudder wracks through her. “Are they still alive?”

“We-we don’t know,” Killian answers slowly, his eyes narrowed in confusion. “They are nowhere to be found, apparently, they might have gone into hiding…“

And then the dam breaks.

Suddenly there’s a crash, and then chairs and tables are upturned, decorations hanging from the ceilings are shattered and the shelves shake ominously, books falling to the floor.

Belle lets out a little shriek, Liam stumbles back, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword.

Killian, astonishingly enough (when will he stop surprising her?) takes a step forward. “Emma, what’s wrong?”

Emma clasps her hands together desperately, as if that will stop her magic from going out of control and her gaze darts around, flitting from Belle’s fearful eyes to Liam’s distrustful ones and back to Killian again, to the gentleness in his face and she breaks and for the first time in a decade, she feels like she might break down into sobs then and there.

“I can’t-“ she chokes out because it’s hard to breathe and her family might be dead and-

And then Emma does what she does best, and runs.

When Emma runs out of the room, leaving chaos in her wake, Killian hesitates only for a moment before following, ignoring Liam’s calls, faintly hearing the sounds of him and Belle arguing as he moves further away from the library.

“He can’t, she’s dangerous , she might do something-”

“No, she isn’t. Not to him, at least. Let him go to her, Liam.”

Killian finds Emma soon enough, huddled in a stairwell, her skirt hiked up as she hugs her knees to her chest, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Killian’s heart hurts at the sight.

“Oh, Emma.”

She glances up sharply and then shakes her head fervently as he comes closer. “No, don’t. Don’t. I might hurt you, Killian, you can’t-“

“You won’t hurt me,” Killian insists, kneeling down before her. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“ Damnit Killian-“

“I mean it,” Killian says. “I could never be afraid of you, love.”

Emma actually shrinks away at the endearment and Killian’s heart sinks, but he plows on.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

Emma remains silent for a long time, stubbornly picking at the hem of her skirt before she finally gives in.

“I told you my name was Emma, when we met,” she begins haltingly and Killian frowns, confused, but doesn’t interrupt. “That was the truth, but I also didn’t tell you something else. I’m actuallyPrincess Emma, daughter of Queen Snow White and King David.”

Killian’s jaw drops as he struggles to process the information.

Bloody hell.

“I-everyone thought the princess was dead,” He splutters out. Emma lets out a harsh, humorless laugh that makes him wince.

“As you can see, the truth is far worse,” She mutters and Killian wants to refute it, tell her she’s wrong, but Emma continues.

“Nobody knows the truth. Not even my parents.”

“What happened, love?” Killian asks, almost dreading the answer.

Emma sighs and averts her gaze. “It was Rumplestiltskin,” she murmurs. “The previous Dark One. He tricked me into thinking he killed my little brother Leo.

“There is a powerful dagger that can control the Dark One. It is also the only object capable of killing the Dark One. I knew that at the time…I just didn’t know that whoever kills the Dark One is next in line.”

“And you killed him to get revenge,” Killian guesses. He hurts for her, wants nothing more than to take her in his arms and comfort her, but knows she will never allow it. He settles for simply reaching for her hand, not taking it in hers, but simply drawing soothing circles over the skin.

Emma gazes at the movement of his fingers, seemingly fascinated before answering. “Yeah. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

“I’m sorry,” Killian whispers. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that. No one should.”

Emma nods. “If my family is dead-” she begins.

“They aren’t,” Killian says firmly. Emma laughs bitterly.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Call it hope. Or optimism. Or something.”

“You sound like my mother.”

“A wise woman, to be sure.”

Emma laughs again, but this time it’s not forced, and it’s like music to Killian’s ears.

“Our army is preparing for battle,” He says presently. “We leave at dawn tomorrow.”

“I’ll fight with you,” Emma says immediately and Killian smiles.

“I’d expect no less, love.”

He almost says my love and holds himself back at the last moment, instead giving her a last smile before he goes back to the library to explain things to Liam and Belle.

And hopes selfishly, for a day when he might be allowed to call her his.

“Rest up well,” Liam tells Killian as they exit the Council Room that evening. “We have a long day tomorrow.”

Killian acquiesces with a nod. Liam had softened a bit after hearing Emma’s story and did not hold the incident in the library against her, much to Killian’s relief. They went to the Council Room to discuss battle plans after that, and two hours later, are finally done.

After wishing his brother good night, Killian heads straight to Emma’s chambers, not even hesitating before he knocks. Emma opens the door, and his heart practically stops at the sight of her. She’s wearing a silvery dress that clings to her figure, the sleeves belling out elegantly and her hair is braided loosely, draped over her shoulder.

 “Eyes up here,” Emma teases when he takes a little too long to recover and Killian coughs, embarrassed.

“Sorry, love.”

“No problem. Was there something you needed?”

“Actually yes,” He extends his hand to her. “If you would come with me, there’s something I’d like to show you.”

Emma raises a brow at this but agrees readily enough.

“You know, if you just told me where we’re going, I could easily poof us there,” Emma says as Killian leads his mare out of her stall. He chuckles.

“Call me old fashioned, but I prefer this method of travel better,” Killian teases and Emma huffs. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy it,” He continues. “Shall we?”

Emma hoists herself up behind him and he can hear the smile in her voice when she speaks. “Lead the way, then.”

They ride away and to a meadow Killian had discovered a few years ago blooming with middlemist roses. Emma lets out an audible gasp when they arrive and dismounts from the horse, looking around in wonder. Killian grins in triumph.

“ Wow . Killian, this is-it’s beautiful ,” she says, awed. “It doesn’t look quite real.”

“There’s still beauty in the world, Emma,” Killian says. He takes her hand in his, interlacing their fingers together as he leads her out into the field. “All you have to do is look for it.”

Emma smiles at him gratefully. “Thank you. For bringing me here, I mean.”

“You’re most welcome,” Killian bends to pluck a flower and moves closer to Emma, tenderly tucking it behind her ear. Her cheeks flush, the same pale pink of the middlemist rose. “ Lovely ,” He murmurs, gently stroking her face; her eyes falling half-shut at the caress.

They remain there in silence for a while, standing far closer than is appropriate and Killian takes Emma’s hand again.

“I’m afraid,” she says suddenly and Killian glances down at her, his brow creasing in confusion.

“Of what?”

“Of facing my parents,” Emma says softly, barely a whisper. “I don’t want them to see what I’ve turned into. A monster .”

Killian flinches at the self loathing in her voice and squeezes her hand tighter. “You’re not a monster, Emma.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t know. The things I’ve done, Killian-“

“I don’t need to know,” he says firmly. “I see you . The woman who saved my brother when he lay at death’s door. Who healed my wound without a second’s thought in the forest. Who saved me from the Black Knight that tried to kill me.”

When Emma says nothing, Killian continues, determined to get her to see what he does. “After all of that, how could you call yourself a monster? You’re not. And your family will see that, too.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they’re your family and they’ll always love you, no matter what you’ve done.”

Emma meets his gaze, tilting her head to one side. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

Killian nods. “I’ve done a lot of foolish things, Emma. When Milah died, I was consumed by rage and hatred for the Evil Queen. I tried to seek revenge, but it only resulted in endangering Liam and Belle. Yet, after all that, they forgave me.”

“This is different, though.”

“It doesn’t matter. They will forgive you.”

Emma nods shakily. Suddenly, she says,

“Merlin’s spell books. I was lying to you about why I wanted them.”

“Aye, I gathered as much.”

“I’m…hoping to destroy the darkness.”

Killian looks at her in shock and she continues. “I know that the darkness was first born in Camelot, and that Merlin had something to do with it. That’s why I wanted the books.”

“Because you think he might have a way to destroy it,” Killian guesses.

“Yeah. I think I might have had a breakthrough, but there’s still a lot more to be done.”

“You’ll do it,” The conviction in his voice makes her look up at him in surprise.

“You think so?”

“I’ve yet to see you fail.”

Emma says nothing, seemingly at a loss for words. She simply holds his gaze, her green eyes brighter than ever.

Then she pulls him closer, pressing their joined hands to his chest as she kisses him.

Killian stills in shock for a moment, before closing his eyes and responding in kind. The kiss is sweet and tender, tasting like gratitude and affection. Emma sweeps her tongue over his lips and he lets out a soft sigh of pleasure, opening for her.

When they have to part for breath, Killian moves to kiss her cheeks, the curve of her jaw, the hollow of her throat. He can’t get enough of her, Killian thinks, as he presses an open mouthed kiss to her pulse point, teeth scraping over skin. Emma lets out a little, keening moan at his ministrations and drags him up to kiss her again.

“ Emma ,” Killian murmurs against her lips. If there was any doubt before, it has all vanished. He knows what this is. “Emma, I-“

“Shh,” she interrupts, cutting him off with a kiss. Killian groans against her mouth, cradling the back of her head as he pulls her into him.

“ Later ,” Emma promises, pressing a kiss against his jaw. Killian struggles for a moment before giving in.

“Fine. Later, then.”

The next day, they prepare to leave Camelot by the early light of dawn.

Belle is to remain behind, and Emma watches from the sidelines as she says goodbye to Liam and Killian. Belle hugs Killian fiercely, murmuring something in his ear that makes him flush in embarrassment before releasing him. Emma idly wonders what it is. She doesn’t feel jealous, knowing quite well that Belle has eyes only for the older of the brothers and even if she didn’t, from what happened the previous night, Emma has it on pretty good authority that Killian’s feelings for herself go way beyond platonic.

“ Emma, I- ”

There was no doubting as to what he was going to say. It scares Emma, but also leaves her with unspeakable joy, warmth flooding her at the thought that Killian is capable of loving her despite what she is.

But there are more important things to worry about.

Like the war. And the Evil Queen. And her family.

A low murmur ripples through the air and Emma glances up to see that Belle has shocked the entire crowd waiting to see them off, and the army, by pulling Liam into a fervent kiss. Emma can’t help but grin at the sight.

Liam seems just as shocked, but returns it with equal fervor.

Killian is grinning like the Cheshire Cat at the sight.

Then they ride away from Camelot, the mood becoming somber once more at the reminder of the grim battle ahead.

Misthaven is in chaos.

Now that the Evil Queen has taken over the castle, the common people don’t seem to be satisfied with sitting back and waiting for the battle to be over. They have joined it, instead, fighting against the Queen’s knights ruthlessly, wielding pitchforks and axes. Although the Black Knights are well versed in combat as compared to the peasants, they are hopelessly outnumbered.

The army of Camelot waits at the border, awaiting Liam’s orders.

“It’s clear that the Queen has employed most of her army in eliminating the rogue warriors outside the castle,” Killian begins.

“Which means the castle will be left unprotected,” Emma finishes. “We can sneak in, rescue my parents and take the Queen by surprise. The rest of the soldiers can take out her army, so she’ll be left defenseless. ”

“Except for her magic,” Liam points out.

“I think you’re forgetting that you have an extremely powerful sorceress on your side,” Emma says dryly. “Leave Regina to me. I’ll deal with her. She has a lot to answer for.”

Yes, you can finally kill her , the darkness suggests.

No one’s killing anyone, Emma retorts inwardly. Get out of my head.

And much to her astonishment, the darkness retreats.

Emma doesn’t dwell on it, returning to the discussion. “There are underground passages that lead into the dungeons. I can guide you through them. Regina has most likely imprisoned my family there.”

Liam thinks it over for a minute before nodding. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll go give the soldiers their orders.”

He walks away and Emma is about to follow, but is stopped by Killian.

“Wait, love.”

“What is it?”

In response, Killian tugs a chain over his head, one that she hasn’t noticed before, except for the previous night, because it’s always hidden beneath his clothes. There’s a beautiful ring attached to it, silver with a crimson stone set in the metal. Emma’s breath catches.

“You’re not gonna get down on one knee, are you?” she jokes weakly. Killian doesn’t smile, looking solemn.

“This ring belonged to Liam,” He begins. “Given to him by our father. Liam gave it to me when he became King. It’s what’s kept me alive, all these years.”

Emma glances up at him sharply.

Killian presses it into her palm, curling her fingers over it. “I want you to have it, love.”

“I can’t die today, Killian,” Emma says gently. “I’m immortal.”

Killian exhales. “The Dark One is immortal. But the strong, brave lass I know- you aren’t. Keep it, Emma.”

“What will protect you, then?” Emma asks.

Killian grins at her. “I have you by my side, love. What more protection do I need?”

Overcome by emotion, Emma leans into him, pressing her forehead to his, shutting her eyes. In a few minutes, they go into battle, to face possible death.

But for now, they can have this.

I love you , Emma thinks, but doesn’t dare to say it aloud.

The underground passage leading to the dungeons is exactly as Emma remembers and she guides Liam and Killian through the twisting, maze-like pathways with little difficulty. There are a few of the Queen’s guards stationed there, much to their surprise, but Emma makes short work of them, knocking them unconscious with her magic.

Liam looks impressed. “Nice work, milady.”

Emma nods in thanks and hides a grin. Liam’s opinion of her has bettered considerably and she can’t say she’s disliking it too much.

Everything abruptly goes to hell then, as the sound of running reaches their ears and before they can react, or do anything, a dark haired man rounds the corner, catching hold of Killian and holding a knife to his throat.

“Killian!” Liam draws his sword, but the man presses the knife hard enough to draw blood.

“Don’t even think about it,” he warns. Emma snarls wordlessly, raising her hand to dispose of him, when something makes her pause.

The man looks strangely familiar, his defiant glare and the blue of his eyes tugging at a long lost memory.

Then he looks at her and lets out a cry.

“Emma?!”

And that’s when Emma instantly knows.

“Leo?” she croaks out, her eyes watering. Leo promptly lets go of Killian and runs to her, embracing her tightly. Tears flow down Emma’s cheeks as she hugs him back. It’s her little brother, who’s all grown up now.

“Gods, Emma,” he mutters into her hair. “We thought you were dead.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Leo pulls back to take a good look at her. “What happened to you, Emma?”

Terror seizes her, she knows that this is the moment of truth. But there’s no point lying now. She can’t .

“Because they’re your family and they’ll always love you, no matter what you’ve done.”

The memory of Killian’s words gives her a boost of courage and she swallows before answering.

“I turned into the Dark One,” Emma says steadily. “Rumplestiltskin, he tricked me into thinking he murdered you and I-“

“Oh, Emma.”

And then Leo is hugging her once more and Emma cries again, because Killian was right and he doesn’t hate her, and-

“You’re all grown up now,” Emma says with a half laugh, half sob. Leo snorts, drawing away.

“It’s been ten years, sis.” he glances at Killian and Liam and frowns. “But who are they?”

The brothers, who had been watching the reunion in silence (Killian smiling proudly all through it) look at each other before Liam answers.

“I’m King Liam of Camelot. And this is Killian, my brother.”

Leo’s eyes widen and he lets out a sheepish laugh. “Oh, you’re our allies. My apologies, I thought you were part of the Queen’s army.”

“Speaking of,” Emma says anxiously. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

Leo sobers. “Regina captured them. I managed to get away, thankfully, and I’m here looking for them.”

“So are we.”

“There are more Black Knights stationed further in the dungeons, guarding them.”

“Not a problem,” Emma says, her eyes hard. “I can take them out. Are there any more in the castle?”

“Yeah, but not many,” Leo replies.

Emma nods and turns to Killian and Liam. “You two should go take care of the rest of the knights. Leo and I will find my parents and after that, I’ll go face Regina.”

Killian looks upset at the idea. “Emma-”

“ Please ,” Emma says quietly. “This is something I have to do.”

Killian holds her gaze for a long moment before nodding. “Alright.”

“Let’s be off then,” Liam says. “You stay safe, milady.”

Emma grins and nods. But before they go, Killian hastily turns to pull her into a lingering kiss. Forgetting about their audience, Emma clings to him desperately, tears burning at her eyes.

“Come home to me,” she murmurs against his lips when they part.

It’s not quite an I love you , but it will do for now.

“I will.” Killian vows.

And like that, he’s gone.

“What was all of that about?” Leo demands as they run further into the dungeons.

“Shut up,” is all Emma says, but she’s smiling, clutching at the chain around her neck.

The Black Knights guarding the cell Emma’s parents are trapped in barely get a warning before she knocks them unconscious with a blast of her magic. Leo whistles, impressed.

Snow and David come running to the bars and when they see Emma, expressions of pure shock appear on their faces.

“ Emma? ” Snow breathes, as if barely able to believe what she’s seeing.

Emma melts the bars with a wave of her hand and then she’s running into her parents arms, the tears coming back in full force as her mother tackles her into a bear hug and her father cradles the back of her head, kissing her forehead tenderly. Leo joins the embrace, slinging his arm over Emma’s shoulders.

“We thought you were dead,” David whispers brokenly. Emma nods guiltily.

“I’m so sorry,” she says and then recounts her tale again.

When Emma finishes, her parents are crying as they pull her to them again.

“We’re so sorry we weren’t there for you, Emma,” Snow murmurs, clinging to her daughter like she might disappear any moment.

Emma shakes her head. “It was my fault for not seeking you out before. I just-“ her voice breaks. “I was so afraid that you’d despise me,” she confesses.

Snow cups her cheeks in her hands. “Emma, you are our daughter,” she says firmly. “Never think for a moment that we do not love you.”

When their tears have been dried, David finally asks,

“Did you come here by yourself?”

“No, she came with Camelot’s army,” Leo says wryly.

“Camelot?” Snow questions. “I know they’re our allies, but how on earth did you get affiliated with them?”

“It’s a long story,” Emma says quickly. “We really don’t have the time-“

“You could at least tell them that you’re engaged,” Leo butts in. Emma splutters and David’s face turns purple.

“Engaged?!” He demands, outraged. Emma tosses her brother a furious glare.

“We’re not engaged! Where did you even get that idea?”

“What’s the ring around your neck for, then?”

“What it is , is none of your business,” Emma retorts smartly. “Killian-“

Snow gasps loudly. “ Killian ? The Prince of Camelot is courting you?”

“We’re not courting,” Emma says defensively. “And anyway, don’t we have more important things to discuss right now? Like ending this war once and for all?”

Her parents sober up instantly at that. “Right, of course,” David says. “What’s your plan, Emma?”

“I’m going up against Regina,” Before they can protest, Emma holds up a hand. “I’m not taking no for an answer. We all know that I’m the only one capable of facing her right now.”

“We can be back up,” Snow argues, but Emma disagrees.

“Liam and Killian will need help with the rest of the Black Knights. You three can to that. I’m facing Regina alone.”

Snow and David clearly realize that there’s no point arguing with her, and sigh and relent.

“Be careful,” David says softly.

Emma smiles. “Always am.”

“That’s all, I think,” Killian says as he pulls his sword out of the body of the last knight, grimacing at the blood that coats the steel. Next to him, Liam nods, exhausted.

“Aye. What now?”

Before Killian can reply, they hear the sound of footsteps and swing around. A tall woman with steel grey hair, dressed in black, with a wicked smirk on her face strides into the hallway.

The Evil Queen.

“You,” Killian snarls and Liam holds him back, just barely.

“Hello, little prince,” Regina mocks, but her smile disappears when she sees Liam, angry confusion replacing it. “How are you-you should be dead-”

“Unfortunately for you, I’m not,” Liam says with a grim smile. “Perhaps this time you’ll fight fair, Your Majesty.”

“Oh, how naïve of you,” Regina practically purrs. “I never fight fair.”

Before Liam can blink, she snaps her fingers and suddenly he is bound by an invisible force, unable to budge an inch. Regina moves towards Killian swiftly and plunges her hand into his chest. He lets out a cry of pain, his head slumping forward.

“No!” Liam shouts in panic, desperately fighting against his bonds.

But before Regina can rip Killian’s heart out, a shockwave of magic pulses through the room and the Queen is thrown to the floor. Killian gasps in relief, clutching at his chest and then looks upwards.

It’s Emma.

She walks towards Regina, eyes black with anger, the air around her crackling with magic, looking like an avenging angel ready to destroy whatever stands in her path.

Regina looks up at her, eyes narrowing in uncertainty. “Who are-”

“You should’ve done your research first, Regina,” Emma says coldly. “Then maybe you would’ve known better than to touch what is mine .”

The possessiveness of her tone sends a sharp thrill through Killian.

Regina stands up, studying her carefully. “You’re the Dark One, aren’t you? Rumple-”

“I killed him, ten years ago.”

“Who are you?”

Emma bares her teeth. “Guess.”

Recognition dawns over Regina. “You’re Snow’s daughter, aren’t you,” her face twists in a sneer. “Well, well. I do wonder how your mother took the news of her daughter going dark.”

Emma ignores her taunts. “I’m not here to talk, Regina. I’m here to defeat you, so let’s get on with it.”

Regina snorts. “Please. You might be the Dark One but I can tell you never bothered training your magic. You’re no match for me.”

“Well then, let’s test that theory, shall we?”

Without further warning, Emma draws back her hands and emits twin bolts of grey light, sending them straight towards Regina. The older woman stumbles back, but quickly regains her footing, conjuring fireballs to throw at Emma.

Emma dodges them nimbly, the last one singeing her hair, but she barely flinches at it, attacking again.

The fight continues like this for what seem like hours to Killian but in reality are only a few minutes. Regina begins to get visibly tired, her earlier boasts falling flat as the Dark One’s magic proves to be superior to hers. Hope flares brightly in Killian’s chest, thinking that they might win.

But he thought too soon.

“You’re good, Dark One,” Regina sneers between pants. “But you made a mistake.”

Emma raises a brow.

“You revealed your weakness.”

And before Emma can do anything, Regina swings around, and sends a greenish-black bolt of magic towards Killian. It hits him squarely in the chest and he collapses to the ground.

The last sounds he hears are Emma and Liam’s panicked voices calling his name before everything fades to darkness.

“No! What have you done?!”

Emma gazes at Killian’s unmoving body in horror. Her magic threatens to fly out of control again, pure fear coursing through her veins.

Regina chuckles and thrusts her hand out and suddenly, Emma crashes into the wall. She slumps down on the floor, raising her hand gingerly to the blood that flows down her forehead.

“I may not be able to kill you, but I can at least incapacitate you,” Regina says, stalking over to Emma. At that moment, Snow and David enter the scene, but neither women notice them.

Emma pushes herself up with some difficulty. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Regina,” She waves her hand and blasts her back, and before the Queen can stand again, restrains her with magic.

“You can’t run now,” Emma snarls, towering over the woman.

Regina laughs mockingly. “Are you going to kill me?”

Yes, the darkness insists. Make her suffer for all that she has done.

“Your parents will despise you, you know,” Regina continues. “They do so hate the idea of killing. And you’re the exact same. Dark One or not, you won’t do it.”

Do it, the darkness commands, it’s voice rising to a high shriek. Don’t go back to being nothing .

“You’re nothing,” Regina hisses. “You’ll never be able to protect them. Any of them.”

Something in Emma snaps. The weight of the ring against her chest burns and all the memories of being too weak to fight the darkness, of losing control wash over her, and-

“I am not nothing!” Emma growls , her hands clenching into fists until her knuckles turn white. “I was never nothing! I don’t need to kill you to prove a point. I will never turn into what you are. I amstronger than you ever will be!”

Emma reaches into her pocket and pulls out a black leather cuff. Regina glances at it, and her eyes widen in fear.

“I won’t kill you,” Emma says. “But I will make sure you never hurt anyone again.”

And in a swift motion, she clamps the cuff over Regina’s wrist.

Abruptly, the magic holding Liam down vanishes and he stumbles forward. Emma backs away from Regina and into the arms of her parents and Leo.

“You did it, Emma,” Snow praises. “Oh, we’re so proud of you.”

Emma gives her a weak, watery smile and then glances at Killian, her eyes widening. She runs to him, kneeling beside his prone form.

“What’s going on?” Emma looks up frantically at Liam’s stricken face. “All of Regina’s spells were cancelled, he should’ve woken up, too.”

She reaches over to feel his pulse and it’s like a punch to the gut when there’s nothing.

“ No,” Emma whispers. Behind her, her parents are murmuring sympathies, but she ignores it, shaking him desperately.

“Killian, please,” she begs. “Please, come back to me.”

“Can’t you do anything?” Liam demands, his voice shaking. “Your magic-”

“I don’t even know what’s wrong with him.” Emma says brokenly.

There’s a terrible pain eating at her heart, so dreadful, that Emma can barely hold herself up, slumped over Killian’s body; her breaths coming out in heaving pants.

She never told him she loved him .

The thought just sends a fresh wave of agony through her and Emma sobs like she never has before, clutching at the lapels of his coat as she begs him to come back to her.

“I love you,” Emma whispers and as a last, desperate resort, she presses her lips to his.

For a moment, nothing happens.

Then a wave of pure love rushes through her, nearly knocking her over. Emma barely has the time to register to startled gasps of the others before her vision turns a dazzling white, light magic swirling around her.

When she opens her eyes again, the darkness is gone and Killian wakes with a gasp.

It’s a flood of warmth and magic that jerks Killian into wakefulness, his eyes flying open as he gasps for breath. He sees Emma immediately and lets out a low cry of surprise.

The silver of her hair has turned to gold, silky waves that spill down her shoulders and chest. The black dress she’d worn previously has transformed into garments of pure white.

She looks like an angel .

“Emma,” Killian breathes, reaching up to cup her cheek. She lets out a little, relieved cry, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Killian,” Emma says. “I-I thought you were-”

“I’m fine, darling,” He reassures her immediately. “I didn’t mean to make you worry,” Killian sits up, gazing at her in wonder. “Wha-What happened?”

Emma looks down at herself, then, as if not having noticed her transformation before. Her voice shakes when she speaks.

“The darkness,” Emma whispers in awe. “It’s gone .”

“Gone?” Killian repeats. “How?”

“True Love’s kiss,” Emma realizes. “When I kissed you, it broke the curse, and-”

The breath flies out of Killian’s lungs. “True love?” he croaks.

Emma meets his gaze and smiles, gently brushing her knuckles over his cheek. “I love you,” she says simply. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it before, I-”

Killian doesn’t let her finish, pulling her into her arms, burying his face in her hair. “I love you, too,” He says, his voice muffled. “And you have nothing to apologize for, my love.”

Emma wraps her arms around him tightly, holding to him as if she fears he’ll disappear any moment. “I didn’t need Merlin’s help to defeat the darkness, in the end,” she says, sounding awed. “I didn’t even need Excalibur. All I needed to do was open my heart to love.”

Killian chuckles, drawing away. “I told you you’d do it, Emma.”

Emma laughs, a pure, delighted sound before she pulls him into a kiss. And this time, when Killian kisses her, it feels like coming home and the darkness and walls which separated them have finally been vanquished.

When she releases him, Liam embraces him, calling him a ‘bloody idiot’ and ordering him to never nearly get himself killed like that again.

(“I’m the King, you know. You have to obey my orders.” “Whatever you say, brother.”)

Emma is in the arms of her family, all of them laughing and crying at the same time as they cling to each other. Snow then moves to hug Killian and Liam, thanking them profusely for their help. David shakes Killian’s hand, thanking him gruffly for ridding Emma of the darkness. In the background, Leo elbows Emma slyly and she scowls at him in response.

When Camelot’s army comes back, victorious and Regina is locked away in the dungeons, Emma turns to Killian, grinning brightly.

“I’m glad I met you, Killian,” she says, brushing her lips against the corner of his mouth. Killian turns so he can kiss her properly, relishing in the sound of her pleased moan when his tongue slides over hers.

He breaks away, and rests his forehead against hers.

“I’m glad I met you, too, love.”

Fin

[askskyllakoriga]

Homestuck/Hiveswap Troll OCs: High-bloods

Fraiyia Emrose

Fraiyia is a indigo-blood that you don’t want to mess with. If Ushrm the low-blood of an assassin, Fraiyia would be the high-blood quality of one. She is the most feared of all indigo-bloods and one of the best assassins among all high-bloods. Fraiyia is hardcore bitch who has almost no feelings when she kills her victims and such. From that mindset of being an descendant of the Executioner Darkleer, Fraiyia is in full debt with the high-bloods and the empire. Fun fact about Fraiyia is that she had a rough life. She and her matesprite (an olive-blood) were among the best assassin duo many sweeps ago. The olive-blood suddenly became a head figure of the resistance and the Emporer wanted his head. So the empire hired Frayiya to kill him, without knowing that it was her matesprite. By the time she ended up assassinating him, her heart melted into pain and despair. Not only she killed her true love, but also almost got killed by their moiral, Ushrm. Since then, Ushrm seeks vengeance for the death of his best friend. From this, Fraiyia has been hiding in the shadows and more cautious about her work. She’s in a Kismesissitude with Zirmia. Zirmia met her at her most vulnerable state and wanted to help. But cause her hard-core attitude, she shrugs him off every time he tries to offer. Fraiyia’s quirk is having an “X” at the beginning of a sentence and a “>” at the end of one. It represents an arrow which is her primary weapon for assassinating. Example: FE: XFor the love of fuck!> XIf I have to hear that olive-blood say one more thing about “being one with Alternia” shit, I will cut my own bulge out!> Fraiyia has been poisoned by the high-blood system and has been confused and driven to insanity for the rest of her sweeps.  

Usmuyu Skizit

Usmuyu is not a happy clown, nor a bad one. She has problems like every troll in Alternia, but she has been on the left side of things. Being a pure purple-blood seems to be relaxing and all, but its full of blood, murdering clowns who’re super religious. Usmuyu is beyond the murder level, you know better to even not look at her or even meet her. Because she will cull you out of enjoyment and madness. Usmuyu’s story is tragic, however. She was in a abusive, matesprite relationship since she was little by another purple-blood. He would make her do pale stuff all the time and beat her when she tries to fight back. They would often go to clown church 24/7 without eating and such. A sweep ago, Usmuyu culled him in his sleep and broke free from hell. She then went on a murder rampage and almost got herself culled. A violet-blood named Reactod saw Usmuyu at her most vulnerable state and decided to take care of her. She lives under Reactod’s basement still recovering from the bloodshed that she spilled. Usmuyu’s quirk is having her words be in backward in one sentence and forward in the other, and vise-virsa. Example: US: !rekcufrehtom ees nac tahw rof tihs dna doog lla s'ti kniht uoY But I can tell that you’re nothing but a fucking pile of shit, you hear me! It’s hard to see Usmuyu, but fans of the community really love the clowns. And what’s better than a killer clown, but a killer clown that is not a killer clown stereotype.         

Reactod Drasix

Reactod’s symbol means that he’s a medicine. He has magical powers alright, to heal. You see, Reactod is a doctor and a special one indeed. From being among a high-blood and a sea dweller, he has a soft spot to low-bloods. More like a low-blood sympathizer in some causes. He just wants to heal any troll and such. It’s illegal for a high-blood doctor to work on and heal low-bloods, the actions that will be taken will be automatic culling. To prevent this from happening, Reactod has a secret, underground hospital that he runs at nighttime. After his real job at a high-blood hospital, he comes down to the underground one and helps take care of injured and sick low-bloods that were attacked by other trolls or drones. It’s often stressful job for Reactod, he risking his entire life to save others and could be caught at any time. Cause of this, he’s often tired and beyond stressed out at this point. Not only that, but he has a crazy, clown girl in the basement of his hive. Reactod founded Usmuyu and has been taking care of her sense. What can I say, not all violet-bloods are often wizards, assholes, or both? Reactod dose it for the common good of Alternian medicine. His quirk is each time the letter has a “D” or an “R” in it, they’res a dot next to it. As a doctor, you know? Example: Dr. RD: I can car.e less if they find. me and culled. me. I am just d.oing it for. the common good. of myself and every t.roll on this planet. When he fails to cure some troll and they end up dying, he would often drink heavily from his misery.               

Phiyio Nartic

Phiyio is one crazy fish lady. She’s a psychopath that who’s a part of the royal family. Luckily she’ll never be the next ruler, but she has no care about that. She wants to be a pop star. She loves to sing and can be quiet crazy sometimes. Crazy in a good way too, she has deep feelings for her DJ friend Glowmex and would do anything to help her golden-blood pal out. She’s crazy enough to kill her own lucuses and replace it with a troll who’s being held captive by their own will. Yeah, she’s a crazy bitch but is often humble enough to be true to her goal and quadrants. She has no other emotions other than mental personality, so that's much about her. For some reason, she hates lime-bloods. Ever since she was a wiggler she was told that all lime-bloods are descendent of the Suffering and each one must be culled. So if you were Ushrm, you might want to try running away from her. Phiyio’s quirk relates her sign as well. It's replacing every “E” with a “3” and an “~” and “>” next to it. She also makes emojis and such as well Example: PN: Oh golly! 3:0c You might n3~>3~>d to g3~>t h3~>lp. Lucky for you w3~>ird on3~>, I am th3~> right troll to s3~>3~>k out that h3~>lp. Blub Blub 3:3u~<3 Phiyio has some emotion rollercoaster in her head and we can all agree on that one.           

Outline Art and Written by the mod @mammalmecha4

Harassment to the artwork, writing, and ocs is prohibited. Feel free to draw fan-art and such. Message for more information, outfits, and such. Hope you enjoy!

Low-Blood OCs

Mid-Blood OCs

[mediocreronpas]

Kiibo, Nagito, Korekiyo, and Ouma with an apathetic and silent Ultimate Psycologist.

I made Kiibo’s a bit longer than the others...

- Mod Teruteru

Kiibo

- After meeting you, he ended up looking up the basics of psychology.

- You make insane and malfunctioning humans, sane?

- When he asked you this, you just turned and nodded at him.

- He didn’t really get how though.

- So he asked you to give him a session.

- You couldn’t do that without an appointment.

- He ended up paying for an appointment just so he could get the point.

- When he sat down on the comfortable couch, you sat on yours and tried sneaking to your point.

- “How about we start with how your friends treat you.”

- You kept speaking with him on how he had some good friends, a few robophobics that bother him, then he started and immediately stopped talking about this very kind...and beautiful/handsome...a-and wonderful...A-Ah! I-I meant that he shut his mouth about them!

- Then you pounced.

- “What about you being a robot? Would you rather be a human boy instead of how you are now?”

- Kiibo froze up.

- “I...I-I…”

- You looked into his eyes, trying to be as open as possible. You knew that this was usually an untouched subject.

- But he ended up cracking a sad smile.

- “It is something that bothers me a lot. I like being a robot and all, but I sometimes wonder whether or not my friends would like me better if I was human. Though they do make it pretty clear that they're fine with who I am, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be a normal human boy.”

- “Why don’t we continue on that topic then?”

- ~

- After his session, Kiibo got a good sense of what you do.

- He also likes how much you talked that whole time, seeing that you usually stay quiet during most of your outings together.

- He insisted on paying for another session.

- Getting alone time with you was very nice.

Nagito Komaeda

- You were actually recommended to him as a psychologist and coping mechanism when he was in middle school after...you probably know what.

- It was strange to him, a middle schooler being a fully trained psychologist.

- Which was part of why he didn’t get an appointment. Not that it would help him anyway.

- But years later, he saw your face again, older and less emote.

- It kind of amazed him to be a bit honest.

- So he decided to try and make conversation.

- The only time you got really interested in the conversation was when he said that his hair wasn't dyed.

- “Really? Does your family have a line of white hair or do you think that this is the result of some kind of trauma? Would you mind telling it to me in my office sometime?”

- That is the most you've talked this whole conversation.

- He guesses that the Ultimate Psychologist would actually be interested in was psychology. I mean it makes sense.

- But your silent most of the time anyway, so he'll try talking to you more often about it.

- ...just to hear your voice…

Korekiyo Shinguji

- The way you don't talk or show emotion very often has always been very intriguing to him.

- It wasn't that you were shy or felt you needed to bottle up your emotions to be a good psychologist,

- that was the way you acted naturally.

- So in a bit of irony, he was the one to poke and prod you with questions.

- You were supposed to be the psychologist around here.

- But you answer them none the less, even if you decide to use the least amount of words as possible.

- Which was fine with him, as long as you could both keep the conversation up.

Kokichi Ouma

- At first he thought your silence was booooooooring…

- But when he was around you, his interest was peaked with the little things you would mention on a rare occasion.

- So he tried squeezing as many words out of you as he could.

- He did this by doing things that would force you to react.

- Like coming out from the ceiling with ropes all 'Mission Impossible’ style.

- Or putting a picture of himself in a book of yours, or a snack that he figured out how to reseal without you knowing.

- As long as he could get the slightest flinch or confused look from you, he felt super accomplished.

- You kind or just ignored his antics as much as you could without giving them much thought anyway.

- Ouma kept hanging around you though, just cause he liked you.

[hogwartswelcomesyou]

The Mods Discuss: Severus Snape

Tory: Okay, so first off, I would start with this contention – Snape is a prick, but he’s done some noble things. And more importantly, those traits do not have to be mutually exclusive. 

Star: To me, you can like a character, and still loathe them as a person. Snape in the real world would make me really angry, and he is completely evil, but as a character, he is incredibly well written, super complex and very flawed, but also has a lot of strengths. He’s done some very awful things, but he has also done some good. To me though, the bad outweighs the good.

Tory: Me personally, I wouldn’t say he’s evil – just completely and totally selfish. He has a very narrow and shallow world-view, and that means that he has an underdeveloped sense of empathy for others. I’ve known people like that, and they can definitely be frustrating. I guess it comes down to the question: is a good action done for a bad reason still good?

Star: bullying loads of students and exposing Lupin as a lycanthrope isn’t evil to you? Lupin was never able to find a job after that, and his assigning the paper on werewolves meant Lupin had to read essays from his students describing how to kill him, and he was likely overrun with panic of a student working it out. He also told Voldemort he didn’t care about Harry or James, so long as Lily lived, which is giving Voldy PERMISSION to kill a toddler, who has done nothing to him. As awful as it is, I can kind of understand his willingness to give up James, seeing James was awful to him at least the one time, but LETTING SOMEONE MURDER A BABY? And to answer you Tory, I don’t think so. If there is 0 other option and you absolutely must do something bad to achieve a good end, it’s not as bad, but if you do it out of laziness or inability to think ahead, then no.

Tory: Well, admittedly, the only one who actually finished the werewolf essay was Hermione, but that’s beside the point. I guess for me I personally have difficulty labeling someone as “evil” unless they are beyond redemption or any shred of goodness. Voldemort is evil. Bellatrix is evil. Umbridge is evil. Snape is a piss-poor excuse of a human being, capable of great cruelty and spite, but he also had the ability to love and was capable of great courage and selflessness. I guess for me I just see “evil” as an all-black term, with no potential for moral grayness – and Snape I do see as a gray character. 

Star: okay, so he’s not quite on the level of Umbridge or Voldy, but I still think he’s a gutless person. The fact that Neville is more scared of Snape than Bellatrix (the woman who tortured his parents into insanity!!), says a lot to me. And when it comes to Snape and Lily, i think for him it was more obsession and idolization of a person, I really don’t think it was love. And even if only ONE student completed the essay, he still had to read his best student who could have worked it out and turned him in, explaining how best to kill him, which would scare me silly. 

Tori: I’m also not comfortable labeling someone as evil, but for different reasons. ‘Evil’ is a subjective term that people can manipulate to fit their desires. In everyone’s eyes, the other person is evil. I do understand that there are characters, such as Voldemort, who are written to be the embodiment of evil. However, there were also circumstances that were beyond his control in the first place. (Ex: he had no capability to love.) To me, Snape is not an evil character. He certainly is not good, as we see him time and time again be emotionally abusive to students. I also agree with Star, I don’t think he actually loved Lily, but rather was infatuated with her. Love is an active choice, and Snape actively turned his back on Lily, the people she cared for, and the things that mattered to her. It was only until he realized that his choices were going to lead to her death that he felt remorse. Snape is not a good guy; he’s a jerk with some childish grudges that he needs to learn to let go. He’s also not completely bad either; he’s able to see the error of his ways. I think we as a fandom should stop trying to paint him as absolutely heroic or demonic, and just let him be the multi-faceted complex character that he was. He was man who made very bad decisions, and attempted to atone for them. 

Jinxy: I agree with Tori and Tory. I think that Snape definitely is a morally gray character who truly isn’t evil, but isn’t really good either. He does some awful things, he does some not-so-awful things. He recognizes that he did some bad things, but he was also the person who decided to make those decisions in the first place. He was very cruel to Harry for most of the series, and he’s driven heavily by his feud with James and feelings(?) for Lily. He does some seriously not okay stuff, but we do slowly see him try to correct his wrongdoings. I don’t like Snape as a person, he truly is cruel and mean, no matter what he does to try and fix it. But, as a character, he is one of the most intriguing, complex, characters that I have seen, which is something that I think that the fandom needs to recognize more. Someone can be a terrible person, and still be an interesting, complex character!

MoMo: Snape will always drive me insane. I was never a huge fan of him. He was rude and let his emotions control him and that’s not something I can find myself admiring. However, I’ve seen many arguments supporting his actions due to his past, and not just based upon his desire for Lily; he was abused, and everyone copes with abuse differently. On top of that, he’s sometimes interpreted as a creep, because of how he felt for Lily, but is it really so unreasonable? When she said she didn’t have romantic feelings for him and asked for him to back off, that’s exactly what he did. All he wanted was a friend, and that’s exactly what he never got. I’d be bitter too.

Boudica: Snape…..I definitely have no love for the man. While I support the efforts that where made for the Order where great. Overwhelming it’s a hard no. Everyone who’s ever been abused has a choice to make. How will I move on from my own trauma? Will I break the cycle or continue it? At nearly every point where he could have he didn’t. Color me not impressed.

Tori: I think we’ve come to an agreement that Snape definitely isn’t a good guy. I suppose it boils down to your interpretation of evil. 

Tory: I think that’s fair. To change gears slightly, I actually find the debate about whether or not Snape loved Lily quite compelling. I personally am in the middle – he definitely did not always put Lily’s feelings first, but he did still put a lot on the line solely out of devotion to her and her cause. Coming from someone who has people in my family who love me despite also consistently being self-centered and completely ignorant about my wishes, I could believe that someone can love another person while also not fully understanding everything love entails. And I could also believe that one’s definition of love can change. As an example, Darth Vader tries at first to coax Luke to the Dark Side so they can “rule the galaxy together as father and son” – I would argue in Vader’s self-focused, Dark-Side-corrupted head, he is showing love for his son, because he wants them on the same side, rather than as enemies. Later, however, he learns the true meaning of love when he sacrifices himself to save Luke. Even my own father has tried to pressure me into certain career paths out of misguided love. So I do feel like love can be expressed badly or not always fully understood.

Squish: Hm…Honestly I think everyone has these stages when it comes to Harry Potter (about Snape). The first stage would be hating him because you’ve only read some of the books and you may think he’s evil. The second, would be thinking he’s the hero of the whole thing, which may be true in some way (barely but okay). Finally, realizing that even though he did some good towards the end, he was a total creep who never got over his childhood crush. He even went so far to abuse her son because he reminded Snape of the man she truly loved. I’m sorry if I’m being harsh, but I really don’t like Snape as a character. It’s been brought to my attention of what it might’ve been like if Harry was a female, maybe looking more like Lily. I’m not saying that he would’ve gone as far as what you may be thinking now, but like… imagine. Me personally, think Snape is very messed up as a whole. He even only really helped when he was dying, by the way.

Tori: I think you can definitely care about someone without loving them. Love is not a feeling, it’s a choice, and I think one thing JK Rowling definitely did was challenge the notion of love, and make us analyze whether or not the relationships in Harry Potter were OK. Yes, I think Snape cared about Lily, but he didn’t love her because he never respected her. Respect is the key of any relationship. If you don’t have it, it’s not healthy. 

Jinxy: Maybe it wasn’t love but more of a lust? Desire? Obsession? Long after she dies, he still brings her up. He never really moves on from her, and I think that that’s really unhealthy, both for him and his mental health and for their relationship. I’ll wrap this up by pointing towards that one famous quote: “If you love something, let it go […]” Snape really doesn't do that, does he?

What are your thoughts on Snape? Tell us below! And feel free to let us know if there are other things in the HP universe that you would like to see us discuss! 

[entergamingxp]

Gears Tactics Achievements List Has Been Officially Revealed

April 8, 2020 2:44 PM EST

You can now start preparing to collect all 1000 Gamescore with the full list of Achievements revealed for Gears Tactics on PC.

Coming off the release of Gears 5 this past fall, Microsoft and The Coalition have plenty more in store for fans of the acclaimed shooter series. Specifically, later this month will bring the arrival of Gears Tactics, a strategy game spin-off set before the events of the first Gears of War, and now you can prepare for what’s ahead in the game with its full list of Achievements that you can claim.

Ahead of the game’s release later this month, Microsoft has revealed the full list of Achievements that players will find in Gears Tactics. As with most other Xbox games, Gears Tactics has a full 1000 Gamerscore up for the taking spread across 50 Achievements. The majority of the Achievements seem tied to completing objectives and missions in the campaign, along with some speciality accomplishments for certain difficulties or tasked.

For a closer look at what to expect from Gears Tactics‘ Achievemnts, you can find the full list down below. Note: if you want to go into the game spoiler-free, I would probably recommend waiting until you start the game.

From what we know of the game so far, Gears Tactics takes the traditional cover-based shooting mechanics of the Gears of War series and infuses it with turn-based strategy gameplay in the vein of XCOM. Hopefully this combination turns out just as good as chocolate and peanut butter, and we only have a few more weeks to find out if that’s the case. If you’re in it for the story, Gears Tactics takes place 12 years before the events of the original Gears of War and will mainly follow Gabe Diaz, the father of Gears 5‘s lead character, Kait Diaz.

Gears Tactics will release for PC on April 28, 2020, with the game to arrive on Xbox systems later this year. For a closer look at the game, you can check out a new video from Microsoft above that highlights what to expect from the Gears strategy game spin-off.

Achievement Name Achievement Description Points World on Fire Secret Achievement 5 Hell of a shot Secret Achievement 10 The bigger they are, the harder they fall Secret Achievement 10 Maybe too much spine… Secret Achievement 10 Broken hand, broken heart Secret Achievement 20 Dead men tell no tales Secret Achievement 20 Champion of Vasgar Complete all Campaign Acts (any difficulty). 40 Hero of Vasgar Complete all Campaign Acts on Experienced or Insane difficulty. 60 Savior of Vasgar Complete all Campaign Acts on Insane difficulty. 80 Smash! Complete a Sabotage side mission 10 Fortuna Audaces Sequitur Complete a Scavenger Run side mission 10 Everyone stay cool, this is a robbery! Complete a Control side mission 10 Stronger Together Complete a Rescue side mission 10 We’re in the endgame now Complete a Veteran Mission. 10 I could do this all day Complete 20 Veteran Missions. 30 Grubslayer Kill 10 enemies. 10 Grubslaughter Kill 1000 enemies. 20 Grubpocalypse Kill 10000 enemies. 50 Tactics! Perform a chainsaw execution. 5 Tick Tick Tick … Kill an enemy with a Ticker explosion 5 Boom! Kill 100 enemies with Ticker explosions 30 Legen (wait for it)… Upgrade one primary weapon with all Legendary mods. 20 …dary! Upgrade each Hero’s primary weapon with all Legendary mods. 40 I am Ironman Complete the Campaign on any difficulty with Ironman mode enabled 10 God-like Complete 20 missions without any of your units dying or being downed. 20 Immortal Complete 100 missions without any of your units dying or being downed. 40 I never miss Hit a target with 10% or less chance to hit. 10 Happy Killmore Close an Emergence Hole by kicking a Ticker into it. 10 I’ve got your ‘BOOM’ right here! Kill a Boomer with a boomshot. 10 The path of the righteous man Complete a mission without any of your units dying or being downed. 10 BOGO Kill an enemy, AND an enemy behind it, with a single burst of bullets. 10 Trick Shot Get 4 kills with a single Torque Bow shot. 10 Demolition Expert Close an Emergence Hole before any enemies have emerged. 10 High Noon Complete a mission by only dealing damage with Snub Pistols. 30 Ain’t no one like me, ‘cept me! Complete a mission on Insane difficulty with a single soldier. 30 Immortal Legion Complete the campaign on Insane difficulty without a single unit dying. 50 Seriously Tactical Earn Grubpocalypse, Immortal Legion, I Could Do This All Day and Boom! 100 Check out the big brain on Brett! Kill 5 enemies with a single Overwatch action. 10 Piñata Kill a single unit that has taken damage from each Gear on the mission. 10 Snafu Heal an enemy unit with a Stim Grenade. 5 Aw man, I shot Marvin in the face. Down a Gear with friendly fire. 5 Oh, I’m sorry, did I break your concentration? Interrupt an enemy Overwatch with a Disrupting Shot from the Snub Pistol. 5 We should have shotguns for this… Complete a Veteran Mission with all Scout units. 10 Backdoor Man Kill 6 targets with a single Rampage, after coming out of Cloak. 10 Three Count Hit with 3 Explosive Shots while having maximum Anchored bonus in a single turn. 10 Trouble in Paradise Empower a Teamworked unit and gain 3 AP from their kills. 10 Midnight Hour Gain AP from the Avenger skill, then use a Rage shot to kill the unit that caused your AP gain. 10 Up Up Down Down Use Alpha and Omega twice each in the same turn. 10 The Big Ending Revive a Scout with Stim ability and then use that Scout to kill at least 5 enemies with Rampage. 20 Great vengeance and furious anger… Breached 3 enemies and killed one of each with Precision Shot, Reckless Shot and Double Shot. 20

April 8, 2020 2:44 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/04/gears-tactics-achievements-list-has-been-officially-revealed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gears-tactics-achievements-list-has-been-officially-revealed

[resin-elves]

So about that update

Thank goodness Tumblr actually allows me to use the space bar on text posts. What’s up with it not letting me on photosets? But anyway. I’ve been very inactive here on Tumblr for quite a while, so I feel right now is a good time for an update about my crew. No photos because the last thing I want right now is to fight Tumblr AGAIN. Sorry :’D So, going in order of arrival...

Haruka is still pretty much the same. I haven’t been doing much with her because I’m starting to question if I want to keep her in the body she’s in right now. Besides, she looks so cute in the pose I left her now that she has a stand, I don’t have the heart to change it. I’ve also been considering the idea of just flat out reshelling the character entirely, getting a different body for this head and doing something else with her. But that’s gonna take time and money so we’ll see.

Teiwa has that pretty new outfit and new staff I made for the triathlon, so there’s that! I’ve also recently had to glue her eyelashes back on and I did a good job, if I do say so myself. They’re sturdier now. Other than that she’s pretty much the same.

Saga is trying to drive me insane. I hadn’t been doing anything with the doll ever since she arrived, so recently I changed her clothes to see if it’d help. I then started changing her character around a little bit to see if that got me more excited to work on her, and it did, except now she outgrew her shell before I could even customize it. ‘orz Only now I’m super in love with the character so I really wanna get her a new shell. I’m selling her body to hopefully help with that (or trying to at least, you know how it goes in this hobby), and fingers crossed that I get some money for my birthday in December so I can possibly order her new shell then. I’m a little unsure on what doll I want for her, because I have this idea I really love but it involves a mod, so I wanna see if I find something that fits what I want without needing mods first, because I don’t wanna have to send her abroad... But I might have to. In the meantime, the head currently known as Saga is away in a box for safe keeping while I figure out what to do with her. I don’t want to sell the whole doll at once because she was limited and the closest thing to a grail I’ve had so far, so I’m scared I’ll regret it if I sell her.

Pinguinho is fine and wonderful as always, though he’s full of chips on his blushing, poor thing. He came with me to the US in June and I documented his adventures there on my Instagram, if anyone would like to see.

Natsumi and Haya are still pretty much the same. I only have one body for the two of them and not enough willpower to keep switching them around, so Natsumi gets to be out all the time and Haya gets to sit in a box with ex-Saga’s head. Another part of me says I should invest in a body for her before buying a new Saga, but eeeeeh we’ll see.

Loki arrived at my friend’s house on the same day as I did, haha. He’s my first (non-penguin) boy and he’s really special, though I wish his body was more fun to pose. But I knew what I was getting into when I picked this sculpt. He was dyed by Psiiconic and then blushed and faceupped by Mirrorada, so that’s pretty damn awesome. He only has a super simple quick outfit I made him for the triathlon so far, but fingers crossed I can remedy that soon. He also has the first wig I ever made, which is kinda ugly but hey, it’s my first and I’m reasonably proud of it. Someday I’ll give him the photoshoot he deserves.

Gelinho is my Snowman from Doll Chateau and he arrived at my friend’s sometime during the trip as well. I had never thought I’d love a DC doll but look where we are. Sadly I can’t get him to stand on his own for the life of me (I didn’t have high hopes of doing so, but...), and the stand I bought for him has been on the way for a good two months now thanks to an infuriating situation with the post office. Don’t even get me started. So he kinda just exists for now. :’D

I also have a little Roron faceplate I bought for faceup practice. She doesn’t have a name, or a body, or even a headback for that matter, but that’s okay. She’s also smaller than my other (humanoid) dolls but she’s so cute and I’ve wanted a Unoa forever so there’s that. I’ll probably want to get her complete someday.

Mikiko, aka Miki, is my very first vinyl doll. She’s a Dollfie Dream Sister with the type 06 head that I bought at the Volks booth at Anime Expo while I was in the US. She still needs smaller eyes, the right hair, a faceup and more clothes (because I want to drown her in adorable outfits), but she’s super cute already.

I’ve also done a group order on Alice’s Collections (aforementioned package with the doll stands) that includes two little Paper & Sakura birds that I have been in love with since ever and am so excited to finally get my hands on. <333 I got one with a faceup and one without, I plan to customize the blank one to look like my late cockatiel, Billy. Still not sure what I’ll call the other one.

Last but not least, I also placed an order for a Blackbox Mochi, which I’d been waiting to go on preorder since early this year so I’m very glad I was able to afford her when that happened! She should be shipping sometime this month or next, if the estimate from Angelesque is right. Fingers crossed! Her tentative name is Orihime, but I’m still figuring that and her character out. She’s coming in blank so I’ll have to figure out how I want her customized, too.

So that’s the crew as of today! It’s amazing how big my collection has gotten. I don’t think I ever expected this when I first joined the hobby (maybe a little bit). I look forward to seeing how it continues to grow. :D