#and what of caleb? who left his brother long before he ever died? which hurts worse. the fact he could live with the leaving? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

violetwolfraven · 3 years

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Willie Headcanons

So I actually came up with this like a month ago and forgot to post it. Anyway enjoy my headcanons about our favorite sk8er boi. Be ready for feels.

Tw: death, car accident mention, emotional manipulation.

...

In my mind, Willie had a good relationship with his parents. They were supportive and everything. They both loved Willie very much.

And Willie has youngest child energy so I’m saying he has a sister who’s 2 years older and a brother who’s 5 years older. Their names are Delilah and Austin.

AND ALL THREE OF THEM ARE ADRENALINE JUNKIES.

Seriously imagine the worst possible combination of head empty only skateboarding and you’ve got Willie, Delilah, and Austin.

Austin started skating when he was 7 and got Delilah hooked on it a year later.

Their parents kinda didn’t like the idea of it but those two had already started teaching Willie basic stuff by the time he was 3.

But... the other two had other interests. Delilah was into art (painting) and Austin played piano (like, really well).

For Willie, skateboarding was his thing. And it always was.

He had fun with it when his big brother would put his hands on his and teach him to play a bit, or his sister would give him some paint and a spare canvas and they’d doodle together, but it wasn’t like skating.

As far as I’ve seen (which admittedly isn’t that far) it’s widely accepted that Willie has ADHD so I’m leaning into that here.

And Willie inherited his brain from his dad, who had a bad experience with meds and so wouldn’t let any of his kids go through it.

So Willie grew up unmedicated but probably better off for the time period. His dad taught him coping mechanisms. Him and Austin. Delilah didn’t inherit it but she was taught to empathize with her brothers and recognize when they needed her help with something.

She’s a badass who can and does beat up anybody who’s mean to her brothers for missing social cues.

But anyway while Austin had piano (and skating as a side thing) Willie got even more hooked on skateboarding than either of his siblings because his brain latched onto it from a young age and couldn’t let go.

We all have our outlets. The chaos in our brains has to go somewhere. For Willie it goes into skating.

When he’s young he and his siblings will skateboard to school and then after school they’ll skate all around Hollywood for hours.

They do their homework in random McDonalds and Denny’s and tbh become local cryptid customers. Like they’re just these 3 super friendly skater siblings who tip really well and visit every fast food place within a 20 mile radius of their house with varying frequency.

They also find e v e r y skatepark, empty pool, and vacant lot in that 20 mile radius that they can possibly find.

Their parents have to bail them out of jail for trespassing and the occasional vandalism every so often.

Sometimes one of them has stuff to do and it’s just two of them out skating but if two of them are busy the other one never goes out alone cause it’s dangerous. We’ll get back to that later.

So anyway when they’re 17, 14, and 12, Delilah comes out as a lesbian.

And the family is supportive of course because they’re a good family.

But her coming out gets Willie thinking. About how some of his friends have crushes on girls but he just... doesn’t see the appeal.

Like he has a couple friends who are girls and they’re great and he likes hanging out with them at recess but he doesn’t get the hype. They’re just more friends. So he doesn’t really see what his big sister is so interested in either.

In my mind Willie actually is from around the same time as the boys (dying in like 1999) so one day while nobody else in their house is home he and Delilah are watching Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Willie’s again wondering why people think Leia is so hot cause she’s cool and all but Luke is right there and he looks really good and—

Willie: I think I might be gay.

Delilah: Yeah I know.

They talk about it and Willie does decide to tell the rest of the family but he’s a bit wary about anyone else because he saw how some of Delilah’s friends turned on her after she came out. He doesn’t want that to happen to him.

He does end up telling a few of his friends but he doesn’t quite not care what people think of him the way his big sister does.

Austin is the only straight one and he’s like. So awkward about it but in a sweet way.

Austin: So, Britney Spears is hot, right?

Delilah: Stop.

And

Austin: So I saw you hanging around Chris the other day are you two..?

Willie: ...no...???

Austin: Cool, yeah I didn’t think so. Just had to make sure. Not that I’m doubting your ability to get boys but I’d have to shovel talk him if you were.

Willie: If I ever do get a boyfriend, please don’t.

He tries. He’s a himbo if that wasn’t clear. Where did you think Willie learned it?

So anyway fast forward a couple years and they’re 22, 19, and 17. Austin and Delilah are both in college and Willie’s the last one left at home and things between their parents start getting... tense.

Like they don’t fight exactly but they’ve fallen out of love and things are awkward.

Even Austin and Delilah can tell and they’re only home on breaks and some weekends but for Willie it’s right there and he’s watching it happen. He has no option but to see.

They used to have a rule that they don’t go skating alone because it’s dangerous but Willie just can’t make himself stay home so he goes out skateboarding.

At first it’s never too far from home or anywhere where there’s too much traffic but as things get increasingly awkward at home he goes out farther and farther, chasing the adrenaline high he used to get from going anywhere and everywhere every day after school with his siblings.

Then his parents officially tell him they’re getting divorced and

And it’s not like he couldn’t see it coming, but... it still hurts.

And neither of his siblings are coming home any time soon so

So he goes out skating on his own, way too far from home. He keeps going until he doesn’t even know where he is anymore.

He isn’t really paying attention the way he should but that’s not why he runs into trouble.

The driver of that red pickup is drunk and he rounds the corner out of nowhere.

If Delilah or Austin had been there they could have yelled for Willie to jump out of the way, or maybe up on the hood so the impact wouldn’t be as bad, but he’s alone.

So he gets hit, and the car was going fast enough that he’s dead before he even hits the pavement.

After that there’s a lot of confusion but once Willie figures out he’s a ghost... it’s too painful to think about going home, so he just... doesn’t.

He doesn’t want to see his family mourning him, so he just distracts himself, skating everywhere he couldn’t before without getting busted.

Plus some old routes where he used to go with Delilah and Austin, just for something that’s familiar but not too familiar.

He’s on one of those more familiar routes a few weeks after his death when he’s skating down Sunset Boulevard one night, singing along to Toxic by Britney Spears blasting from a nearby club and a man dressed in a purple suit comments on how he’s got a good voice.

Honestly Willie is just so relieved to have someone to talk to that he forgets about stranger danger completely.

Plus he recognizes an Elder Gay in Caleb and assumes he can trust him because the Elder Gays he met at pride that one time he went with Delilah were so nice and understanding of how reassuring it was to see queer people of older generations who got a happy ending.

Caleb barely even has to try. He just lets this 17-year-old obviously-queer ghost rant at him for a few minutes, asks a few questions and finds out that he also can play piano, and convinces him to come to the Hollywood Ghost Club the next night.

From there it’s not like Willie has anyone to save him so of course he has to join the club.

At first he’s completely alone because the other performers scare him almost as much as Caleb does.

Then slowly, he sees how they give him space because they know he’s scared of them. How they turn a blind eye when he leaves the club without permission. How they don’t critique his mistakes with the same sarcasm they show each other.

Willie starts to realize that the other performers are doing their best to look out for him, and he starts being less afraid.

They’re all too concerned with their own survival to really protect him but if they draw some attention to themselves occasionally so Caleb doesn’t notice Willie being slow to pick up some tricky choreography, that’s not too risky.

The others are all like 21 at the youngest and they really don’t appreciate Caleb tricking a literal child into working for him no matter how talented said child is. (Cause Willie is good at singing and piano. It’s just not his passion.)

The twins are 22 but they died in 1925 and before that they were performing to support a younger brother who they never got to say goodbye to so maybe they see Willie as a kind of second chance.

Lyssa (what I decided to name drummer woman because I don’t know her real name if she has one) is 25 and she died in 1984. She had a daughter who’d be about Willie’s age now and... who knows? Maybe they were friends.

Fuego is 24 and from 1951 and he had a childhood best friend who enlisted and died in WWII that he thought he might get to see when he died but that boy moved on and so... well, Willie’s just a little younger than his friend was the last time he saw him.

In short Willie becomes everyone’s baby brother and they do what they can to look out for him even if they’re just as scared of Caleb as he is.

And the better adjusted Willie gets to (after)life at the HGC and the better they get to know him, the guiltier the others start to feel about him being stuck there.

Eventually a combination of guilt and worked-up courage leads Fuego tells him about the whole unfinished business thing, in hopes maybe he can figure his out and get away from Caleb.

It doesn’t take Willie long to think of his family, how hopeless he felt about the divorce, how worried he was it would change everything and then how scared he was to see his family in pain because of his death.

He realizes his unfinished business is probably seeing them. Letting himself say goodbye.

He almost gets away with it.

Caleb catches up and stops him in the driveway of his house and poofs them back to the HGC.

He convinces (gaslights) Willie into believing that saying goodbye was never his unfinished business and even if it was it’s not like it would matter because Caleb wouldn’t let him do it.

The next morning he ships the HGC out to Tokyo. They stay on the move for a long time and when they are in town, Willie is basically locked in his room.

The next time he’s allowed out in Hollywood, his parents don’t live in their old house anymore and he has no way to find them.

As a coping mechanism, he just starts making the best of a bad situation. Becoming better friends with the other ghosts. Helping soften the blow whenever someone new comes along.

None of that means he stops checking the faces of passing skaters or keeping eyes on restaurants his folks used to like, but it does mean he more or less gives up hope.

That’s what he’s doing when he bumps into Alex.

Look, Willie loves his friends at the HGC. He really does. But there’s a big difference between 17 and 20-something. Like the others will drink alcohol some nights and technically Willie was born over 21 years ago but he still feels weird enough about it that he doesn’t drink.

He hasn’t talked to anyone his age in a long time so Alex is a breath of fresh air.

Also he’s like. Really cute. And sweet. And funny. And shit, Willie’s fallen for him before he even has time to think about it.

He keeps thinking about how Alex doesn’t seem like he’d be physically capable of hurting someone on purpose so Austin would approve and every once in a while there’s that sarcasm that pops out which means he’d get along great with Delilah.

In general Alex is the kind of guy he would’ve loved to take home to meet the family. Them not included, he’s kind of... everything Willie’s missed about Hollywood in the form of one person.

Then they hang out more and Alex is still everything he’s missed but he’s also so much more than that and...

It almost feels like a part of Alex is still alive. And for the first time in years, a part of Willie feels alive, too.

They’ve known each other for like a week tops and Willie is already in love.

Not that he’s admitting that to anyone, because he’s learned the hard way that anyone you care about can be used against you.

Still... when Alex asks for help getting revenge on Bobby, he can’t bring himself to say no because he needs to keep Alex in his (after)life and the only way he knows how to do that (or to make people be nice to him in general) is to be as useful as possible.

That turns out to be a big mistake, because Caleb sees right through him in an instant, targets Alex to confirm it, then immediately starts the process to trick the boys into committing to eternity at the HGC.

Willie feels like an idiot for thinking he could actually get away with it. Doing something good for someone he cares about.

He hadn’t thought Caleb would be interested in them because he’d never actually heard them play. The assumption was that he’d make them do some small favor and then let them talk to their bandmate for 5 minutes. A clean deal where they never have to commit to anything. Willie forgot to take magic into account.

He almost manages to convince himself it was all a bad dream, but when he seeks out Alex and his friends to check on them, he can almost feel the jolts himself, and seeing Alexthem in pain feels terrible.

Willie knows that theoretically they could figure out their unfinished business and cross over, but that all depends on finding it and doing it fast enough and if they failed...

People you care about can be used against you. And Willie does not want to be used against Alex again. He doesn’t want to see Alex used against him.

So he keeps his distance, in hopes Caleb will think he lost interest. He’s pretty sure once the boys find out about the stamp they’ll hate him, anyway.

And plus, as he’s been taught by his friends at the HGC, you have to look out for yourself because no one else will do it for you. Maybe you hurt somebody by not standing up for them, but you can apologize later and hope they forgive you. You can’t apologize if you’re gone, and it’s not like it would make a difference anyway because Caleb is too powerful for anyone to beat.

The thought of how spending eternity with Alex might not be so bad even if it has to be at the HGC does come up, but ironically that’s what makes Willie decide to screw his courage to the sticking point and tell them.

Because he has seen what decades at the club has done to his friends.

They’re all great performers, and they perform happiness well even to each other, but Willie knows them enough to know how tired they all are. How they have been doing the same thing over and over again for decades and they are sick of it.

They’re young, talented tragedies lost to drug overdoses, or AIDS, or accidents, or suicide, and they should’ve gotten to rest after everything they went through in their lives. Instead, they got a curse disguised as a blessing. They got to stay on a stage, got to keep performing and soaking up applause, never got to stop.

Willie has been there a shorter time than most of them and he feels it. The exhaustion, because ghosts are supposed to haunt for a few years then figure out their unfinished business and move on. They’re not meant to be trapped for decades, used as party tricks.

A part of Alex still feels alive and being trapped in the Hollywood Ghost Club for years on end would kill that part of him.

Willie can’t let that happen, so as hard as it is...

He tells the boys what’s wrong with them. And by that hurt, betrayed look in Alex’s eyes, he’s honestly expecting him to never forgive him.

But then Alex does. And that almost hurts worse because whether he figures out his unfinished business or not, Willie doubts he’s ever going to see him again.

He honest to God almost cries when Alex hugs him because... shit, he hasn’t gotten a hug since he was breathing.

He goes back to the HGC and tries to go about his day, and keeps replaying how good it felt to have Alex’s arms around him, hoping that memory will get him through the next few decades on his own.

The ghosts at the club do actually gossip a fair amount and by this point all of them know about the 3 dead members of Sunset Curve.

So when Willie admits to Helen (what I’m calling one of the twins) that Alex hugging him was the first time he’d gotten a hug since he died, she hugs him tight for a good 20 seconds, telling him she’s sorry he has to lose him, and if Willie closes his eyes he can almost pretend it’s Delilah.

The next thing he knows, he’s locked in a closet.

Caleb comes to talk to (intimidate) him a few hours later, saying he knows what Willie did.

He’s magically locked in his room alone for a couple weeks after that and it’s essentially psychological torture.

Helen, Anna (what I decided to call the other twin), Dante, Fuego, Lyssa, and everyone else tell him not to test Caleb for the next couple years, but Willie has a heart full of love and a head full of fuck it, so he doesn’t listen.

He gives it exactly one day of being/acting scared and obedient, then goes out without permission again, fully intending to scream in a museum alone to let out all his feelings.

Remember: Willie didn’t see the Orpheum performance. He doesn’t know the boys didn’t cross over but by Caleb’s mood he has a feeling the outcome of that scenario was not in the magician’s favor.

He gets there and it’s literally this comic by the very talented @williessweatycherrysocks

He can’t stay long but he and Alex scream in each other’s faces, talk a bit, maybe sing a duet.

After that, they sneak to see each other when they can but don’t get to see much of each other for months.

It’s hard on both of them but they don’t give up on their relationship.

Through long and complicated events which I will outline later, Willie eventually gets free of the HGC, hugs his friends goodbye already making plans to take down Caleb for good to free them, too, and promptly declines an offer to stay in the Molinas’ garage.

As much as he wants to be close to Alex he’s done being confined to one place.

He still comes and visits like every day tho.

He knows a lot more about ghosting than the other boys do so he and Carlos get along amazingly like:

Carlos: So do you know who Jack the Ripper was?

Willie: No? How old do you think I am?

Carlos: I dunno but I thought it might be Caleb cause that would explain how he never got caught.

Willie, taking notes in his Things To Potentially Use To Take Caleb Down notebook: You’re a tiny genius.

No one was expecting it but everyone is in awe of how well he and Carrie get along. Between the two of them they know so much celebrity gossip. (and it’s definitely a good thing he’s on good terms with her cause she and Alex are close)

On the angsty side, Willie also bonds with Nick over how they both know how it feels to be manipulated and used by Caleb.

Also it takes a long time before he’s able to trust him, but he does get adopted into the Molina clan by Ray.

Ray reminds him a lot of his own dad, once Willie’s able to see that he’s nothing like Caleb.

Ray’s honestly just 100% happy to Dad™️ anyone who needs a dad so it works out great once Julie and the boys figure out how to make Willie visible.

But anyway back to important stuff.

Now that they don’t have to hide for any reason, Willie and Alex can both breathe a little easier. Or... they both feel better. Ghosts don’t really breathe.

Willie can finally let himself get used to feeling alive again.

The whole ghost gang goes (invisibly) to the Los Feliz Homecoming dance and maybe it should make him feel a little on-edge with the kind of club-like environment but...

He’s got Alex there, and they’re dancing to some corny pop love song from the 90s that Flynn probably put on because she knew the ghost boys would be there so how could he feel anything but safe?

For a minute it almost feels like actually being alive and there’s yellow and pink and blue lights coming from everywhere reflecting in Alex’s eyes and Willie is suddenly very aware of the fact that though they’ve been together for a long time now, they haven’t had their first kiss.

Then the Cha Cha Slide starts up and the atmosphere switches and Willie totally forgets about the whole romantic tension thing because it’s the Cha Cha Slide everybody has to dance along.

Dirty Candi performs towards the end of the night and the ghost boys cheer the loudest despite how Julie’s laughing at them. They don’t care that Carrie can’t even hear them, they’re being supportive!!!

Everybody screams even louder when Flynn runs up on stage and kisses Carrie and Willie feels a big burst of affection at how Alex shouts ABOUT TIME!

Then he gives Willie a quick hug and leaves cause he and the rest of Julie and the Phantoms have to go get set up for their performance.

Since Alex was able to flip Carrie’s hair in All Eyes on Me I’m saying that ghosts can touch lifers if they focus and believe it will happen hard enough, so the ghost gang has developed a system for alerting their non-Julie lifer friends to their presence.

So while they’re waiting in the crowd Willie taps Carrie on the shoulder like: • - - one short tap, two long taps, a Morse code ‘W’ and Carrie lets Flynn know that he’s there.

(Nick can see him too but Nick’s off somewhere with his date {one of his lacrosse teammates you know the one})

Anyway so Julie goes out and starts up the song and then the rest of the band poofs in but

Something’s unusual.

Cause it’s not Luke on the lower main vocals.

It’s

Alex

Singing while he plays the drums and fucking killing it.

Willie totally bluescreens for a second but then when he actually focuses on the lyrics...

It’s a new song about beating the odds and being with the person you love in spite of the challenges that come with them.

And yeah there are Julie elements in there, (and she’s definitely making heart eyes at Luke even as he sticks to backup vocals) because of course there are since she has to start the song up, but

But Willie might not have any formal music training, but he was at the HGC long enough to know his stuff about music and recognize different artists’ styles.

And there’s a time signature switch on the bridge that’s a little off from how Luke would write it. There’s a swing to the melody that’s a bit more ‘pop’ than the band’s usual songs. Julie’s harmony doesn’t go as high as it normally would, as if whoever wrote the song didn’t have as high of an upper range to work with as she does.

The song is so unmistakably Alex that no one else could have written it.

Flynn and Carrie are quietly making smug comments on what they bet his face looks like right now but Willie’s not listening to them.

On the last chorus, Alex fucking winks at him right before poofing out.

Willie has whiplash like how did they go from him having to psych Alex up to break into a museum even when there’s zero chance of getting caught to Alex openly flirting with him from the stage?

He poofs backstage right as the boys get back from dropping their instruments back in the Molinas’ garage and he honestly doesn’t know what he even wants to say to convey how amazing that performance was.

Then Alex just smiles at him.

Alex: So I take it you liked the song?

Willie: Can I kiss you right now?

They both kinda freeze after he blurts that out and Reggie goes wow really quietly before he and Luke poof out to give them some privacy and whoops now they’re both flustered but

Alex: Wow, didn’t expect that. That’s... um, wow. But yeah.

They kiss and it’s a total romcom moment.

And the story’s far from over, but to Willie this definitely feels like happily ever after.

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heyyyharry · 4 years

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Chapter 13: The Prophecy

(from ‘The Conman and the Maid’ Series)

…in which Harry goes North, and Y/N steals a sword.

Word count: 7.4k

AU: princess!y/n, conman!harry, prisoner!harry.

Series description: Y/N is a princess and Harry is a prisoner in her castle. With his help, she escapes from her arranged marriage in search of a happy ending, if there is one.

Wattpad link (Reyna as Y/N)

Warning: murder, gore, violence.

There are 2 chapters left.

When Harry woke up, Kenny was gone.

Last night she’d told him she’d had nowhere else to go, so if she wasn’t here with him, she must be on her way to the palace for an audience with the Queen.

Kenny, of all people, had betrayed him.

His whole world flipped as he blindly reached for his sword and headed straight to the stable. If he took Lightning and left now he might be able to catch up with her. He didn’t know what to say or what to do, but if he must, he would lie to convince her to change her mind.

When he got there, however, he wasn’t alone.

The closest he’d ever been to a monarch was at Edgar’s dinner party ten years ago, and he’d only watched the King of Theros and the King and Queen of Isolde from afar. Today, the new Queen of Theros was sitting on her white horse in front of his family’s crooked stable. His steps faltered and he stopped, arms raised above his head when the guards stepped toward him.

Her Majesty lifted her palm, ordering them to stay back. One guard came to assist her off her mount while Harry stood there second-guessing what they would do to him.

Calanthe appeared smaller on the ground. She waved her servant away and took off toward Harry, her hands resting against her flat stomach, her head held high despite the weight of the crown.

Harry had heard plenty about Calanthe’s unmatchable beauty and grace, and even though she was indeed exceptionally attractive, at this very moment, she looked like a normal girl, who was just about his age and had been forced to put on a heavy dress and a crown and rule a kingdom.

He bent the knees as she stopped in front of him.

“Rise,” she commanded.

He did but kept his eyes on his feet. He felt her moving closer. She lifted his chin with two fingers and placed her hand on a side of his face. His first instinct was to glance at her guards.

“They won’t harm you unless I tell them to,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “You are as handsome as I imagined, Harry.”

Harry met her eyes and immediately dropped his gaze. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The Queen caressed his cheek with her thumb; her touch might be tender but it felt dangerous, and he didn’t know what to expect. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Look me in the eye as we speak.”

He hesitantly lifted his face. She flashed him a beam which was oddly reassuring. Calanthe had a delicate heart-shaped face with a thin nose, pouty lips, long lashes and spotless skin. She looked like what a Queen should look like. And in a brief second, Harry pictured his Y/N in her place. Without the dirty ragged clothes and messy untied hair, his Y/N would look like this. His Y/N would look untouchable. His Y/N would be untouchable.

She wouldn’t be his Y/N anymore. She would be a queen.

“Are you surprised to see me here?” Calanthe asked without answering her previous question.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Harry said airily.

She gave him a sly smile. “I have my spies, you know? I’ve let your princess go, did you really think I wouldn’t come for you?”

Harry jolted with a start. He didn’t know how she’d interpreted his reaction, but from the way her smile grew, he guessed she was satisfied.

“She already returned to the North with her brother,” Calanthe said, running her fingertips down his jawline, slowly, seductively. He didn’t like to be touched, but he was surrounded by at least ten royal guards, so if he moved, his head could fall in a blink of an eye.

Calanthe took a step closer, almost pressing up against him. She combed her fingers through his curls and directed his attention back to her face. Their lips were so close he believed she could hear the violent rhythm of his heart.

He wasn’t excited. He was troubled.

“I’ve come here,” she said at last, “because you are valuable.”

“I am?” He sounded more indifferent than surprised.

“Yes, of course,” she replied breathlessly. He thought she was going to kiss him, but then she didn’t, just stroking his hair like a little girl touching a horse for the first time. “The Princess would do anything for you, wouldn’t she?”

“I believe I’m nothing in comparison to the fate of Princess Y/N’s kingdom, Your Majesty.” He really meant it.

Calanthe gave an understanding nod, her eyes fixed on his mouth as she brushed her thumb across his bottom lip, her hand cupping his jaw.

“If you’re going to have me beheaded or take me as a prisoner, go ahead,” he said. “I don’t want to waste your precious time.”

“Oh, I assure you you’re not.” Her perfect brows furrowed as she pouted. “I just need to know you’re loyal to me.”

“I am loyal to Theros and therefore to you.”

“That’s what your head says. Your heart, however,” her right hand touched his chest, looking rather impressed by its frantic beats, “is loyal to her. And I want to change that.” Then she took his face in her palms. “Come to my court, Harry. I can give you and your family all that you ask for.”

“I don’t think I’d be very useful to you, Your Majesty.”

“Oh, you are,” she taunted. “Kidnapping you and holding you captive is easy, but ineffective.”

“You want to hurt Y/N by having me by your side.”

It wasn’t a question. Calanthe answered anyway. “Yes, that is true.”

Harry sucked in a steady breath. “As long as I’m alive, I will never do anything that might hurt Y/N. You said it yourself. You and Theros may have the rest of me, but my heart will forever be loyal to the Princess of Isolde.”

Calanthe seemed unfazed, yet the look in her eyes said otherwise. “She abandoned you.”

“If I were her, I would have made the same choice.”

The Queen straightened. “Very well. You said the rest of you was loyal to me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. If I don’t have to do anything that harms Y/N, that is.”

“Kiss me then.”

He froze, his eyes widening.

“It’s an order.” Calanthe sneered. “Y/N isn’t here to watch so it shouldn’t be a problem, should it? Prove your loyalty to me. Kiss me.”

Harry knew he was trapped. If he said no, her guards would kill him, and if he died, Y/N would be alone in this world. There was nothing he could really do to help her. But she loved him, her heart belonged to him, so he must keep his head on his neck.

He took a breath and leaned down, pressing his lips upon Calanthe’s for a second before pulling away.

She squinted her eyes and gave a disapproving shake of her head. “No. Kiss me like you would kiss her.”

Harry unclenched his fists and reluctantly held the Queen’s small face in his palms. He reattached his mouth to hers while imagining Y/N. Calanthe’s lips were warm and soft. She tasted like the life he could never have, no matter how long he managed to survive. She tasted like everything he’d ever wanted, and at the same time, nothing at all.

When he hoped he would live to say he’d kissed a Queen, this wasn’t what he’d expected.

They finally pulled away. A grin spread across Calanthe’s smeared red lips. Taking in her satisfaction, he imagined the rest of her lip balm had been transferred to his face. His stomach tightened with sheepish guilt.

“Now I see why my late husband’s niece is completely besotted,” she said smugly, wiping the stain off his mouth and her own. “I will give you time to think, and when I return tomorrow, I demand an answer.”

“What if I say no now?” he dared to ask when she turned away.

She stopped and shot him a smile over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

He watched silently as the Queen mounted her horse, then the guards escorted her out of the village, disappearing into the distance.

Once they were out of sight, Harry shook off the tension and started to rearrange his thoughts. If the Queen had come to him then Kenny mustn’t have gone to her. He didn’t know where Kenny might be, but he was relieved that she hadn’t betrayed his trust.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to search for Kenny now. He must get out of here, for his and his family’s safety. He must go North. He must find Y/N and warn her, save her, fight with her, or just watch her celebrating her victory from afar. He wasn’t sure what he’d be needed for or if he was needed at all, but he’d be more useful in Isolde than he was here.

“Harry?”

“Gemma!”

He met his sister halfway and locked her in his arms. She froze in response to his sudden hug. “W-What happened? Was that the Queen who just left? What did Her Majesty want from you?”

He gripped Gemma’s shoulders and pushed away, looking straight into her eyes. “Listen to me. You take care of Ma and both of you stay at Caleb’s. I’ll be gone for a few days.” Or weeks. If I ever come back, that is. “I don’t want you to ask questions. Just do not return to our house while I’m gone.”

“What–”

“No questions, Gemma. Please.” He tugged her in for another hug and kissed her forehead a couple of times. He felt like shit for not saying goodbye to his mother, but if she held him and called him by his father’s name, he wouldn’t be able to leave.

He was a ghost in this town. Nobody knew or cared enough to find out that he had a sister and a mother, and not until now had he felt glad for it; the Queen wouldn’t be able to come for his family if she didn’t know they existed.

He ignored Gemma calling after him and bolted back to the house to grab a few things before he left.

He stopped dead in his tracks the second he got to the door.

Kenny was curled up in the corner, her face and her clothes stained with blood. She saw him and burst out crying. He rushed to her side, gathered her in an embrace, and pressed her head close to his chest, rocking her shaking body back and forth.

There was so much blood. He’d thought it was hers, but she wasn’t hurt.

“I killed him, Harry...I killed him.”

A shock ran through him. “W-Who?”

Kenny sobbed violently into his chest. “Gideon...I killed him...I came back and threatened him with a knife so he’d give me my money back...I didn’t want to betray you...but then he jumped on me and I had to fight back. He’s dead, Harry. He’s d-dead.”

Gideon. Dead.

Curses exploded in Harry’s mind as he clutched her shoulders, sweat dampening his back. “It’s okay, Kenny.” He didn’t know if it was okay. He didn’t know what to do next. He wanted to protect her, but how?

“Let’s get you to Caleb and Gemma. They might know what to do.”

“Wait!” She tugged at his arm before he could rise. “What about you? Where are you going?”

“I have to go North, Kenny. The Queen–”

“Take me with you.”

He stiffened and broke away from her. “What?”

“Take me with you, please.” She got up on her knees, her knuckles turning white as she gripped his forearms. “Please. I can’t stay here. If they find out–Harry, I would get your whole family in trouble!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Fine.” The word slipped out before he could reconsider. He didn’t know if he was in the right mind to make this decision, but there seemed to be no other choice. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then...we’ll get out of here.”

Y/N awoke with a start.

She’d had another nightmare in which she’d plunged a blade into Egon’s chest, but she’d been the one who’d started bleeding out. She’d called for help and heard Harry’s voice calling her name and telling her to wake up. And so she had. Only to find herself sitting in this dark cell.

She stretched painfully, not knowing how long she’d been asleep. It seemed to be long enough for her limbs to go numb.

A voice came from the shadow in the opposite cell, “Are you going to eat that?”

And it was then that she noticed, outside her cell was the food tray that had been served to her in her chamber. Of course Egon wouldn’t let her starve before meeting the Prince.

The smell of bread and soup entered her nostrils and she wrapped both arms around her growling stomach. She felt like she might faint, but if she ate, she’d surrender to him. It was better to die here than be healthy and alive and eventually get married off to a stupid prince.

“No,” she told Maggie. “You can have it.”

There was that clunking sound again before a slim figure emerged from the darkness behind the bars. Maggie wore a black dress, her silver hair falling down to her hips, most of her face still hidden in the shadow. Y/N froze as a hand white as that of a corpse slipped between the bars and gestured for her to toss over the loaf of bread.

“I thought you were cuffed,” Y/N muttered, squinting her eyes to see Maggie’s face, but she couldn’t.

“My neck.” The answer made her shudder even though Maggie sounded rather amused. “I called your brother a dog, so he chained me up like a dog. Because, obviously, that’s how a king should take an insult.”

Y/N couldn’t even muster a smile as she tossed the loaf of bread toward Maggie, who caught it effortlessly.

“Well, that’s the men in my family,” said Y/N.

“There was goodness in your father, you know?” Maggie told her before retreating into the gloom

Y/N flopped back down on the dirty ground, her head rested against the metal bars. “Was there?”

“Your mother,” Maggie replied. “She was his redemption. The Gods took that away from him, so he must accept his fate.”

Y/N wished that made any sense to her, but she was glad it didn’t. The last thing she wanted was to think about her dead parents. “Who are you, Maggie?” she asked. “You never answered me before. I thought you were a product of my imagination. I thought I was going insane.”

Maggie was quiet, and Y/N almost thought the woman had deserted her again. But then Maggie spoke, “You’ve met me once before. By the river.”

In a second, the memories flashed through Y/N’s mind, and she saw herself standing on the riverbank in her soggy dress. She was still a little girl. It was after she’d met Harry for the first time, and before her father had beat a maid to death.

Silver hair. Stormy eyes. Gold tooth.

A goddess.

‘Are you lost, Your Majesty?’

“You’re a witch,” Y/N blurted as she scooted away from the bars.

“I’m the witch, Y/N,” Maggie said calmly, there was a playfulness in her voice. “And you’re the one in my prophecy.”

The prophecy Harry had told Y/N about.

“That day,” she trailed off, “you called me Your Majesty…”

“Yes. And you were too frightened to figure it out.”

“I was six! I was a child!”

“So?”

“You don’t impose such responsibility on a child!”

“I did no such thing, my dear. It’s always been your fate.” Maggie kept her tone light, as if she was telling a story. “You see, everyone has their own fate. You, me, your idiot of a brother, the boy you love.” Harry.“Everyone must accept their fate. It was for the best if you found out so soon.”

“I didn’t, though.”

“Right,” the witch sighed. “You were locked up in the tower during the party. Otherwise, we would have met again.”

“But…” Y/N wet her lips. “I don’t understand. You’re supposed to be–”

“Oh, darling,” Maggie scoffed. “I don’t age the way you do. Witches age slow and live long. I’m not immortal, but I can be if I practice my craft well.”

“So–”

“That is all you should know, human girl,” Maggie cut her off, sounding as if she was sneering. “Now that you know your fate is written in stone. You ought to do something about it when you get out of here. And you will...get out of here.”

Y/N tipped her head back and let out a mirthless laugh. “I suppose you cannot tell me exactly what I must do.”

“I’m not the master of the universe, Your Majesty. I can see the future but I cannot change it. In fact, I cannot even help you change it. Everyone must be in charge of their own fate.”

“Can we talk of something else?” Y/N blew out her cheeks. “If you’re not going to say something helpful for me to plot against my brother then let’s not talk of it at all.”

“Ahhh, you’re accepting your fate,” Maggie pointed out. It was only then that Y/N realized that she was no longer in denial of who she was supposed to be. She knew she had to dethrone her brother once she got out of here. Now she only needed to feel like she wasn’t powerless. That she wasn’t a feeble little girl waiting for Prince Charming who would never come.

No, he would come.

Kavan Gennady would come.

And she would leave on his white horse. As his wife.

The thought made her shiver.

She couldn’t die here now that she knew her fate was to rule or to die. She wasn’t normal. Even if she pretended to be.

“So you've crossed the Wind Valley?” Maggie asked, and a part of Y/N was grateful for the witch’s effort to change the subject.

“And nearly fell into the abyss and died, yes.”

"So have you heard the tales about that place?"

Y/N squirmed as she recalled what Harry had told her on their first night by Vidarr River. "An old friend told me if you fell into the abyss you would just fall straight to hell."

To her surprise, Maggie burst out laughing. "People have to earn their spots in hell, my dear. You don't get to free fall into hell."

"So if you fall into that abyss, you just keep on falling then?" Y/N asked. "Is there even a bottom down there?" This conversation was absurd, still, she couldn't help but get drawn to it. Something told her witches like Maggie knew everything about this world and was only asking questions to test the knowledge of a human.

"From the tales I've heard," said Maggie, "the abyss of the Wind Valley is the portal to another world."

This time, Y/N was the one who laughed. "Sounds like those fairytales my mother used to tell me."

Maggie ignored her. "That other world is much larger than ours, and there are four seasons in a year. I've never been there. Those who have gone there never return."

"Four seasons in a year?!" Y/N gasped. "That would be quite unpleasant if you ask me." She cringed at the thought of snow and rain coming down at the same time while the sun was blindingly bright above.

Maggie dismissed that idea with a hiss. "Not at the same time! The year in this other world begins with spring, then summer, then autumn, then winter. One season only lasts for a few months."

Y/N's heart fluttered as the other world came into view in her mind. If she lived there, she wouldn't have to travel all the way to the south to get away from the ice and snow; she would only have to wait a few months to dip her feet into the cool river and feel the sun on her skin. How wonderful this other world sounded.

But Maggie had to shatter her little fantasy. "It's not easy to get there, so don't throw yourself into the abyss once you get out of here. There's always a price to pay."

Peach shuddered. "Even for witches like you?"

"Especially for witches," Maggie sighed. "To cross it, you need a pure soul. And witches don't have that. Some of us don't even have souls to make the bargain."

“Where do you get these...pure souls?”

“Babies.”

“You have to murder babies?!” Y/N gasped.

“God, no! We’re witches, not murderers,” said Maggie. “Well, maybe sometimes, but not babies. We take the souls from unborn ones. Before they even exist inside their mothers.” She probably noticed the puzzlement on Y/N’s face because she added, “To make it simple. You ought to exchange the ability to become a mother for a ticket to the other world.”

Y/N swallowed understandingly. “So what will happen to these children who are supposed to be born?”

“They will be born, just not in this world. When you make the bargain, you’ll give the ability to bear the child to another mortal in the other world. Apparently, there aren’t enough pure souls over there.”

“The other world...is a dark and evil place then?”

“There’s darkness and evil everywhere, Your Majesty. In a world that big, it’s expected to have more.”

The more answers Y/N got, the more confused she became. “Then why would you want to go there? Why not just stay here?”

“I have no reason to stay here.”

“Your sisters–”

“Are dead. Egon killed them.”

The atmosphere turned sour. Y/N bit her lip. She supposed she should say she was sorry, but she had a feeling that Maggie didn’t want to hear those words. Words wouldn’t bring her sisters back to life.

“They weren’t powerful enough to fence for themselves,” Maggie went on, though her tone was casual, Y/N could feel the resentment in it. “He couldn’t kill me because he didn’t know what would happen if he killed the one who told the prophecy. He was afraid that he’d anger the Gods.”

Y/N felt her head shake. “Egon thinks he’s God.”

“Most tyrants do. He’s been sick since he was a child, then he let the evil take control. But you…” Maggie trailed off in an eerie tone. “You are goodness.”

“Y/N!”

“Step away from the cell, you!”

Y/N sprung up on her feet as Jo whipped around and glowered at the guard. She couldn’t believe Jo was here. The last time she’d seen Jo, Y/N had been so angry at her, but the Jo she’d left in the castle corridor and the one standing outside her cell now looked like two different people. Jo’s baby bump was beginning to show, and she didn’t look like a maid anymore; now she dressed like a member of the gentry. However, the distress in her eyes was apparent. That was what happened to the people close to Egon. He sucked the life out of them.

“Lay a finger on me and you’d have to explain to His Majesty why you intended to harm his future heir,” Jo snapped at the guard, who faltered and eventually stepped back. “Open the cell!” she demanded.

“His Majesty said–”

“Please let her in,” Y/N spoke, staring pleadingly at the bearded man. “I just want to hug my friend. Please?”

Y/N knew her effect on the servants in the castle. Even the guards who had dragged her here and locked her up had shown some sympathy for her sufferings. She believed it was because she resembled her mother – their most admirable Queen, or maybe they hated Egon just as much as they feared him.

“Fine,” sighed the guard as he pulled out a set of keys and stalked toward the cell. “Step back and put your hands where I can see them, Your Highness.”

Y/N did as she was bid.

The door was unlocked and shut behind Jo, who wasted no time to close her arms around Y/N. It was the first hug Y/N had had in three weeks and she hadn’t known how much she needed it until now. She was disappointed when Jo released her and gripped her shoulders to look her up and down.

“Oh, Y/N…” cried Jo. “You’re too thin and weak. What have they done to you?”

“I’m fine.” Y/N smiled despite herself.

“No whispering!” the guard warned them.

Jo rolled her eyes and shot him a glare over her shoulder before turning back to Y/N, her reassuring smile reappearing. “I was so worried about you,” she said loud enough for the guard to hear. “What happened? Did that thief–”

“He’s not a thief! He saved my life!”

Jo’s eyes went round, apparently not expecting Y/N to get so defensive. Y/N felt her cheeks growing hot as she dropped her gaze to their feet. To her surprise, Jo squeezed her hands and pressed a kiss to each one. “I’m sorry for everything, Y/N. I was so stupid and selfish. If something had happened to you, I would never forgive myself–”

“It’s all right,” Y/N cut her off, raising a small smile. “I don’t blame you, Jo. At this point, I’m just glad to have at least one person on my side…” Her eyebrows lifted. “You are...on my side, right?”

“Of course I am.” Jo snuck a glance at the guard, whose back was turned to them. “If something bad happens to me, I want yours to be the last face I see, Y/N...”

Y/N felt a twitch in her stomach as Jo’s eyes shone with new tears. Jo clutched Y/N’s fingers tighter against her chest, warming Y/N’s icy palm with the heat of her skin. “I’m glad you’re home.”

Y/N almost said Isolde didn’t feel like home anymore, but she saw a glimpse of hope in Jo’s eyes and remained silent. Did Jo also know Y/N was here on a ‘mission’? Did Jo know about the prophecy?

“I have to go now.” Jo exhaled with frustration and tucked a lock of hair behind Y/N’s ear. After everything Y/N had endured, even that faint touch could make her flinch. Jo wasn’t going to hurt her, but at this point, she felt like everyone was capable of it. “His Majesty will have you returned to your chambers to get you ready.”

“For what?”

“Prince Kavan and his retinue have arrived.”

Y/N’s chest throbbed at the news. “So early?”

Jo pursed her lips, her forehead creased.

Before Y/N could say another word, Jo’s mouth was pressed against hers. The kiss was so sudden she didn’t have a chance to react, so she stood there stiff as a rock until the guard cleared his throat to interrupt them.

“Under your pillow,” Jo murmured against her lips, released her hands slowly, and with a longing look, ducked out of the cell.

It was only when Y/N heard the heavy metal door fell shut that she snapped out of the daze. She’d been too stunned to realize Jo had slipped a folded piece of paper into her hand.

She glanced over at the opposite cell. There was only darkness. She called out for Maggie and received no answer. Once again she wondered if Maggie had been a trick of her messed up mind. Perhaps she’d gone crazy.

Crazy or not. This note Jo had given her was real.

She retreated to the back corner of her own cell and sat facing the wall as she unfolded the piece of paper, her heart pounding eagerly.

It was a letter. She recognized the handwriting.

A letter from her father.

Her stomach knotted.

She closed her eyes, steadying her frantic breathing to prepare herself for whatever she was about to find out. She didn’t know how Jo had got this or why her father had given this to Jo, but these would be his last unspoken words.

How could Y/N ever live with herself if he blamed her for his death and all the misery caused by her disappearing?

No. She couldn’t be a coward anymore.

She had to face her fear.

She had to face reality.

She breathed out through her mouth, and with trembling hands, held up the letter toward the dim light from outside her cell.

Dear daughter of mine,

As I was writing this letter, you’d been gone for two weeks. There had not been a day when I didn’t regret the last words I’d said to you. If those words had sent you away from me, I wish to take them all back.

After your mother had passed away, I had resented you for reminding me of her. I had resented Fate and Time for being against us. I had resented your mother for leaving me alone. She’d been the only one who’d loved me and I had also resented her for it. For a time, I’d thought love would make you weak, so I’d taken that away from you and Egon, but now, lying in my deathbed, I realized I would have been dead if it hadn’t been for the love I had for you, if it hadn’t been for the determination of seeing you again to apologize for all I’d done.

Egon might be a great swordsman but he’s no ruler. He’s insolent and reckless. I saw myself in him more than I did in you, which is why he is not fit for the throne and the crown. This kingdom had suffered during my reign. What it needs is a ruler as kind and compassionate and wise as your mother. I wanted you to marry Kavan Gennady because I was afraid of putting a woman on a throne, so if you were to be Queen, you needed a King. But being close to death had helped me grow wiser. Your mother and I had married for love, and it wouldn’t be fair to take that away from you. Should you come back, let it be known I choose you as my rightful heir and you shall be the Queen of Theros and marry whoever you choose.

I’m sorry if I cannot be here when you return. Sometimes I saw Death in my dreams. He wore a dark cloak, ready to take me, but then he didn’t, and I woke up, disappointed. Sometimes I saw your mother; she was just as beautiful as I remembered. She dressed in white, radiating holy light like an angel, and she was your age when you ran away. Eighteen. Maybe when we die, we’ll get to live in the happiest moment of our lives forever. For me, it was the afternoon by the Vidarr River where I met your mother for the first time.

Don’t shed a tear for me, daughter. I have reunited with her on the riverbank.

Your Father,

Willem.

Tears were flowing down Y/N’s cheeks as she muffled her crying by biting into her arm. She contemplated the letter as if all the words would soon evaporate and she was trying to remember as much as she could. She never thought it would come to this. Would anything go wrong had she not run away? Would her father still be alive?

Stop crying. Stop it!

She wiped away her tears, folded the letter and tucked it into her left boot. She caught her breath and stared at the ceiling until her face was dry.

This was good. This was really good. Now she knew she was the rightful heir to the throne, she must take back what belonged to her.

“You are goodness,” she heard Maggie say, but as she turned around, there was no movement in the other cell.

She got up to retrieve the food. She must eat. And before the guard came to take her away, she must come up with a plan.

A few hours later, Y/N was released and escorted back to her chambers where the maids put her in a fine red gown made from high-quality velvet fabric with golden baroque damask and lace trim. A number of pearls and jewels were sewn into the dress as a clear indication of her regal link. She stood in front of the full-length mirror, her hair braided into a high bun, her lips painted red to match the shade of her gown. She straightened and laced her hands together in front of her full skirt as Aleia stepped onto the carpeted steps to place a diamond crown on top of her head. The image of her old crown slipping through her fingers and falling into the eternal abyss sent a shiver down her spine. She shook off the tension, lifting her chin and staring back at her own reflection.

For the first time in her life, she dared to picture herself wearing the monarch crown.

“Shall we go, Your Highness?”

Y/N gave a gentle dip of her chin and placed her hand on top of Aleia’s to ascend the stairs and sauntered toward the doors. It was hard to keep every step soft and light when the dress, the jewellery and the crown were weighing her down. She hoped it wouldn’t cause trouble for her plan.

The letter was in her left boot and the dagger in her other. She’d told the maid that her feet had been sore and so she’d refused to switch to a nice pair of shoes. Jo must have stolen Y/N’s dagger from the guard who’d confiscated it and placed it under Y/N’s pillow for her to find when she returned.

Y/N didn’t know how Jo had managed to do it, but then she remembered that Jo was carrying Egon’s child and therefore must have been close to Egon enough to know her way around the castle. That was another reason for her to doubt where Jo’s loyalty lay. For all she knew, this could be a trap.

But what other choice did she have?

She must take the risk and go through with this.

If her head fell in the throne room in front of Isolde court, at least there would be rhymes and songs about her.

“May I present to you, my lords and ladies, Princess Y/N,” proclaimed a footman as two guards opened the doors and all eyes in the throne room fell on Y/N and her extravagant dress.

Egon was sitting on the throne, his chin in his hand, his forefinger tapping his pursed lips as he watched her make her way down the aisle. He seemed pleased that she hadn’t shown up looking like the corpse he’d thrown into the dungeon.

Holding his stare, she marched as gracefully as she could manage and stopped in front of the steps leading up to her brother’s throne. The guards who had escorted her from her chambers quickly returned to their posts on either side of the aisle. She curtsied to the King while turning a deaf ear to the whisperings of the courtiers, before this day, most of whom had probably thought she’d been dead.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Jo standing among the courtiers. Jo thinned her lips and gave Y/N a subtle nod.

Egon raised a hand and cleared his throat, sending the whole room to silence. “My dear friends from the West,” he proclaimed. “My sister, Y/N.”

Kavan Gennady and his retinue were standing on the right side of the steps to the throne. The last time Y/N had seen the Prince, he’d been on his knees between Jo’s legs.

She could never erase that scene from her memory, and the idea of her marrying this Prince made her stomach churn with disgust. Still, she plastered a smile on her face and curtsied to him.

His mouth was set in a firm thin line as he bowed back, and she could see the pain from the way he sized her up. She decided not to take it personally. She knew what she’d done, and even though it wasn’t pleasant to be perceived as the royal whore, she did not regret or feel guilty about it, not even a little.

“We have met before, Princess,” Kavan said as he made his way toward her, took her fingers in his and brushed his lips against the back of her hand. “Although we started off on a wrong foot,” he said quietly, “I hope we can work through our differences when we’re officially man and wife.”

She opened her mouth, about to give a politically acceptable reply when a member of the Prince’s retinue cleared his throat and seized everyone’s attention.

Kavan whipped his head around and scowled at the man dressed entirely in black, who was smirking as if his appearance hadn’t already distinguished him from the rest of the Prince’s escorts. He was tall, pale, and handsome, with a sharp jawline and hair as black as a raven’s feather.

The danger in his eyes as they met Y/N’s made her heart waver. As if he knew all her secrets. As if he knew she was carrying a weapon in her boot. As if he knew she would commit treason.

No.

As if he was the one who would commit treason.

“My half-brother, Lance Devany. He’s my father’s bastard,” Kavan said with a conceited wave of his hand, and laughter burst from the courtiers.

Y/N’s eyes fastened on Lance. She assumed he’d be humiliated by the introduction, however, the smile didn’t falter on his good-looking face.

“A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness,” he said, fixing Y/N with his wicked eyes. “I hope we could be great allies.”

Something about his airy tone informed her that an alliance through her marriage with his brother wasn’t what he implied. She heard her brother say something about a tea party in the West wing, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Lance, who caught her stare and gave her a wink.

Maybe he was just flirty. Maybe she was being too cautious. Maybe…

At this point, she could not be careless. There should be no maybe.

She averted her eyes from Lance, a blush creeping up to her ears. She wasn’t swayed by his looks. A handsome face was the least of her concern now that her whole life was at risk. She quickly searched for Jo, who maintained the same indifferent expression as she inclined her head as if asking a question.

Kavan was busy chatting with Egon’s Lord Chancellor while the courtiers started piling out of the throne room. As usual, the King would be the last to leave.

Y/N eyed at Jo and lifted the hem of her dress just enough to reveal her ugly riding boots. She knew Jo would figure it out.

Jo, who had helped her get dressed and sneak her out of the castle for secret sword training outside the woods.

Jo, who had retrieved her dagger and put it under her pillow.

Jo, whom her father had trusted with that letter.

Jo, who had shown her loyalty by bringing the letter to her.

Jo had been waiting for this moment to make it right.

Jo gave a slight nod in response to the question Y/N didn’t need to ask. Egon breezed right past them, followed by two guards and laughing at a joke Kavan had told. Y/N swallowed hard as she pretended to follow. Halfway to the double doors, she pretended to trip on her dress and fall headfirst to the floor, sinking into the red cloud of her full skirt. Her fingers slipped fast into her boot and secured around the dagger.

“Princess, are you all right?” Jo rushed straight to her side. Before anyone else could react, Y/N locked an arm around Jo’s chest and held the sharp blade to her throat. A scream or two tore through the disturbance.

“Stay back!” Y/N hissed, catching a flash of horror on her brother’s face as he whisked his finger, motioning for his men to back away from her.

Egon then held up his hands and slowly took a step forward. Y/N pressed the blade harder into Jo’s neck, just not enough to draw blood. “One more step and I’ll rip your child from her belly.”

“You’re not going to kill her,” he ventured, hands still in the air.

“I killed the Commander, whom I’d known my whole life. I slit his throat.” A few gasps broke from the courtiers. Someone was sobbing. Y/N’s eyes were fixed on Egon. “Don’t test me, Egon. You know what I’m capable of.”

“What do you want?” His voice was dangerously calm.

“A sword.”

Egon nodded his head toward one of the guards, who took the order and stepped forward. Something didn’t feel right. Y/N raised her dagger to strike, but she wasn’t fast enough. The guard thrust his sword straight into Jo’s stomach. For a second, the world seemed to stop. Then, the room exploded with screams and clunking of armours and Jo collapsed, bringing Y/N down on her knees. Her hair tumbling out of her braids. Her crown falling to the floor. Her ears buzzed and her hands trembled as she tried to stop the blood oozing out of her friend’s body. It was too much, and she was too late.

“Jo...no...Jo!” she roared and wept. Her chest threatened to crack open. Her breathing came rough. Her whole body was on fire. The rest of the world faded away, and if someone stabbed her now, she still would not care. She was crying so hard her vision blurred. Jo brushed a bloody thumb across her cheek, and the words rang in Y/N’s ears. If something bad happens to me, I want yours to be the last face I see, Y/N.

With a faint smile, Jo was gone.

Y/N was shaking with rage, her fingers still tightened around her dagger as she felt the coolness of the tip of the sword at her throat and tilted her head up, clenching her jaw so hard her teeth went numb.

She had underestimated Egon. She’d known he was cruel, but she’d had no idea how far he could go. She hadn’t got to see his monster in its true form. She’d paid for her negligence with two innocent lives.

Now Egon was holding the sword, grinning down at her. “Why are you crying? I did you a favour, didn’t I?”

“You killed your child!” she barked at him, hot tears biting her cheeks.

“It would be a bastard anyway. I could make ten others.” He sneered before turning to his guards. “Grab her.”

Two men were just about to march forward when another scream froze them to the spot. All turned their heads just in time Kavan’s dead body tumbled to its knees and then sprawled across the floor in a pool of fresh blood. The panic Egon was trying to hide was etched on his face.

Y/N didn’t know who had killed the Prince of Attwell, but she didn’t care. This was her fight.

She drew her dagger and sliced Egon’s right calf, and as he shrieked and fell to the floor, she snatched his sword before the guards could grab her. She held the sword in front of her with one hand, the other using the dagger to rip her skirt, making it short enough for her to move more easily. Having been in a disadvantaged position, she hadn’t crippled Egon for good with that wound. He managed to get up from the floor despite blood soaking through his white trousers, his eyes darkened at her like a predator to its prey.

She was ready to fight when she saw that the Attwell guards were also pointing their swords at her brother. Her gaze skipped to her left where stood the Bastard Prince, his head inclined, his shiny blade dripping with his brother’s blood. He shot her a sharp look and his previous words echoed in her head. I hope we could be great allies.

#harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfics #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfictions #harry styles x reader #princess!y/n #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n #harry styles writing #harry styles series #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles smut

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luckyjak · 4 years

Text

essek week: day seven

For @essek-week day seven: AU. In this case, modern AU

TW: Homophobia, tw: implied transphobia, TW: Outing, Brotherly Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, religious conservative family trauma, Mighty Nein as Family, boys crying about feelings, Modern AU.

most of the trigger warnings are implied not explicit but I feel the need to warn regardless

He’s late.

He shouldn’t have come at this point, but something keeps tugging at him, making him move forward despite the rain of the city and his general tardiness. Perhaps it’s the fact that he bought a gift that makes him keep moving, or maybe it’s the fact that he hasn’t seen Essek in three years, or any number of reasons, but his feet keep moving, and he doesn’t stop.

When he arrives at the location his GPS tells him is the venue, he hesitates even as his hand is on the door.

It’s not a church, Verin thinks, smiling in spite of himself. Mother would have kittens if she knew Essek was getting married not in a church.

She'd have a conniption over the fact that he's marrying a man, too, of course. Not that she was coming to the wedding. No one from Essek’s side of the family was likely to come to his wedding, except for Verin, and it was that thought that gave him the courage to open the door.

At first, he wonders if he’s wandered into the wrong location, if he perhaps misread the invitation he received. But a quick glance tells him that, no, this is the right location. The planetarium looks like a garden exploded in it: there are flowers everywhere, and none of them match. But the chaos actually sort of works, aesthetically, as all of the flowers seem to glow with the night sky overhead.

He’s like, the only drow here, but the place is packed with people dancing and drinking. He tries to see if he can spot his brother anywhere, but before he gets too far there is a blue tiefling in his face.

“Hi!” She says to him, very bubbly. She looks like a princess, wearing a bright pink sparkly dress and a tiara. Across her chest is a sash that says Maid of Honor. “Are you related to Essek?”

He blinks at her, slowly. “I am. Is he, ah, still here…?”

“He is,” she bounces on her tiptoes, still grinning. He realizes suddenly that she is wearing matching pink converse shoes as opposed to heels. Another thing Mother would have a fit over, he thinks.

“Can I, uh, see him, or…”

He feels a large, rough hand on his shoulder, and he turns and finds himself staring at a very tall, pink haired firbolg. “We just want to have a little conversation, first.”

“I’m sure you are a very nice guy!” The tiefling tells him, still bouncing slightly. “But Essek said a lot of his family are dicks, so we just wanna check.”

“Yeah,” comes a new voice, and he turns to find a dark skinned human woman in a blue suit. She is also wearing a sash, although her’s says Caleb’s Best Friend Fuck Gender. “We just wanna make sure you aren’t here to start shit. Say something homophobic or something fucked up on his wedding day.”

A part of him feels warm on his brother’s behalf. The Essek he used to know never had friends who would stand up for him like this. He blinks slowly, and tries to find a kind smile within himself. “I’m not our mother,” he tells the three friends of Essek, and hopes it’s enough to convey his sincerity.

The firbolg slaps him on the back. “Good enough for me!” He points in the general direction of the center of the room. “He’s dancing with his husband.”

He wanders, for a little bit, but he still doesn’t see his brother. Instead, he decided to amuse himself by counting how many other people are wearing sashes like the tiefling and the woman in the suit. The firbolg is wearing one, too, he realizes, only his is on backwards; it says Made of Tea. There is a halfling in a yellow dress who has a sash that says Mama Bear. A half-orc wearing a ridiculous pirate hat whose sash says Best Captain. An incredibly buff woman with dark hair is dancing with a purple tiefling in a dress, and both of them are wearing sashes, too. The woman’s sash says Made of Honor (Also Guns) while the tiefling’s says Best Dead. The woman dips the tiefling as part of their dance, and the tiefling immediately cracks a joke in someone’s direction, which is how Verin finds his brother.

No wonder he couldn’t find Essek at first. He hardly looks like himself. Gone is the quiet boy who used to hide up in his room, or when forced out into public, hid behind several layers of thick robes. Instead he’s dancing in the center of the room, and the center of everyone’s attention, too. His brother wears a silk white halter top that sparkles in the starlight. Verin thinks it may be slightly translucent, too, but he’s too far to tell at this distance. His top is tucked into high waisted dark trousers with shiny gold buttons on them. Unlike many of the women here, his brother is wearing high heels, and more makeup than most of the women, too. He wears gold eyeliner and thick purple and blue eyeshadow, but it looks nice on him. Makes him look ethereal, which, Verin thinks, might have been the theme.

The man Essek is dancing with is half a head taller than his brother, and human, too, from the looks of him. He looks like a wizard, Verin thinks, which is sort of a ridiculous outfit to wear to a wedding, but it kind of works for him. He wears a long, light blue cape, robe thing? But the top half of it is sparkly, woven with silver thread to look like stardust. The man’s hair is very long and a vivid red, going down past his shoulders, but it’s been braided in an elaborate French braid, with bright flowers woven into his hair.

He’s also wearing makeup, Verin notices and grins. A light blue eyeshadow.

The song they are dancing to ends, and the newly wedded couple kiss, and Verin turns away immediately so he’s not looking at them, like they’ve done something embarrassing. Shame sinks into the bottom of his stomach as he does so, and he feels himself flush with anger and embarrassment. This is Essek’s wedding, he tells himself. There’s nothing wrong with him kissing his husband.

Why is it so hard to unlearn every toxic thing Mother ever taught me? Verin thinks, ashamed of himself. His hands grip the present he brought tightly, and he turns to try to find the gift table, to put what he brought there and then go home, and of course, that’s when Essek spots him.

“Verin?” his brother calls to him, so he stops and turns to face him. His brother looks so shocked right now, it’s hard to read any other expression on his face; Verin can’t tell if he’s happy to see him, or angry, or both. “You came?”

“You invited me,” Verin says sheepishly, although he knows that’s not a good excuse. They’ve not seen each other in three years. Part of that is on Essek; he left the family in a storm of anger and hurt, but part of it is on Verin, too. He didn’t reach out to him, even after Verin left the family, too.

“I invited the whole Den,” Essek says, gesturing around the room as if to point out the distinct lack of drow here. Most people are still dancing, but a few have stopped to watch his and Essek’s conversation; most of the people with sashes, he notices. “But they didn’t seem to make it.”

There’s so much Verin wants to say, then. He wants to say I’m sorry, he wants to say I was bigger and stronger. I should have protected you from them. He wants to say I’m trying to be a better person now and I should have contacted you sooner and it’s so hard, unlearning everything they taught us, how did you do it? And did you know Father died, the night you left?

But he doesn’t, can’t seem to find a way to make any of those words come out of his throat. The room is too crowded and too hot, so instead, he deflects. “Perhaps their invitations got lost in the mail?”

His comment causes Essek to grin. “All seven hundred and eleven of them, huh?”

“Seven hundred and thirteen,” Verin corrects with a gentle smile, his nerves vanishing with the familiar banter he’s missed from his brother. “Cousin Gwylyss’s wife had twins two years ago.”

“Those poor kids,” Essek muses. “I hope they don’t take after their father.”

“Oh, they absolutely do,” or at least, they did, before Verin left, too.

Essek practically doubles over with laughter, and when he stops laughing he smiles sharply at Verin, fangs poking out of his lips. “Did you know, Great Aunt Beszrima sent me a wedding gift? It’s just money, but it was still a surprise.”

Now it’s Verin’s turn to practically double over. “Did she really?”

“Oh yes. My theory is that the old bat saw the name Thelyss on a wedding invitation and sent money without looking any closer at it.”

Both brothers are laughing now, a shared joke no one else gets, and it’s so nice, he’s missed this so much. This connection, the shared past and the shared trauma. For a moment, they are just two brothers laughing at their extended family, and they can pretend that three years ago, Verin didn’t accidentally out his older brother to their religious, conservative family. That the fight that broke out between Essek and their father hadn’t turned violent. That, when the storm finally broke, both Essek and their father left, and the next time Verin saw their father he was in a casket, and he thought for years the next time he’d see Essek, he’d be in one, too.

His thoughts sober him up quickly.

“I’m sorry,” he says to Essek.

It’s not enough, it won’t ever be enough, but he doesn’t know what else to say. How can you apologize for not knowing any better? He was young and stupid and impulsive, but that’s not an excuse. How do you apologize for ruining someone’s life without realizing it?

But he doesn’t get the chance to say anything further, because Essek is doing something he’s not done in years, and hugging him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

He sobs before he can stop himself, and Essek is crying, too, he thinks, because he can feel the wetness on his jacket. He wraps his arms around Essek's back and hugs him tightly, sobbing because he feels too much.

“Enough of that,” Essek says shakily, pulling away. His makeup is smudged and runny, and he is trying, desperately, to stop crying. “It’s my wedding day. I’m not going to cry any more.”

Verin makes no such promises, and wipes his eyes on his jacket sleeve.

There’s a gentle hand on Essek’s shoulder, and the man he was dancing with earlier--his husband, Verin thinks--hands Essek a handkerchief without saying anything, although Verin can tell he’s been watching their exchange like a hawk. “Oh fuck,” Essek says, laughing as he blows his nose into the handkerchief. “Verin, would you like to meet my husband?”

“Of course. That's why I came,” Verin says, holding his hand out, wishing he looked less like a mess. “Verin Thelyss. Essek is my big brother.”

“Caleb Widogast,” the husband says, shaking his hand. The Zemnian accent is a surprise, but then again, Verin doesn’t know what he expected Essek’s husband to sound like. “Essek is my husband.”

Verin holds his head down, shame filling him again slightly. “I’m sorry I missed the ceremony.”

“It’s okay,” Caleb Widogast tells him with a soft smile. “Better late than never. We are glad you are here.”

“We are,” Essek assures him. He grabs Verin’s hand, and squeezes it gently. “I am so glad to see you again.”

Verin cries again, and squeezes Essek’s hand back. “There’s so much I’d like to say,” he says, his voice cracking as he speaks. “But I don’t want to ruin your wedding.”

“You wouldn’t,” Essek assures him, and squeezes his hand back. “You haven’t.”

“I think,” Essek’s husband looks around, and Verin notices suddenly that they are in a closed circle of people--all the people he noticed wearing sashes, the people who must make up the wedding party. They are circling them to give them privacy, he realizes suddenly, and he feels overwhelmed with gratitude towards these strangers who must love his brother so very much. “That perhaps, if you two wished to talk more privately, we could provide a distraction.”

Caleb’s Best Friend Fuck Gender whistles. “We are very good at distractions.”

Best Dead smiles sharply with his fangs pointing. “Something of our specialty, you might say.”

Mama Bear wiggles her fingers. “Chaos crew.”

“Go on then,” Essek’s-- Caleb, Verin corrects himself, tells them, squeezing Essek’s shoulder. “We’ll find you later.”

Then a firecracker goes off (where did that even come from?) and people are shouting and running about, and Essek drags his brother off to talk, privately, for the first time in three years, and it feels, a little bit, like forgiveness.

#critical role #essek thelyss #verin thelyss #shadowgast #my fic

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annoyinglyjovialbird · 4 years

Text

Voltron: Next Generation

Unexpected Mission: I

Word Count: 2691

“And here we have the training deck,” Shiro said, leading several school ambassadors around the Garrison. After becoming a glorified headmaster, Shiro worked hard to keep up appearances.

“Colonel Shirogane?” a small woman with a too pointy nose and too high heels said with a nasal voice.

“Yes?”

“Why are there so many students gathered around?” The woman was looking, or rather glaring at, a herd of students in matching orange cadet uniforms pressing their faces into the glass above the training floor. Shiro stepped towards a monitor attached to a wall, showing the training schedule. The name beside the 9:30 slot brought a smile to his face. That’s why she said she couldn’t do it, Shiro thought to himself.

“Would you like to stay and watch? The next cadet is one of our best. A jack of all trades.” Shiro gestured to the window, seeing the glances the ambassadors were giving each other, who collectively decided, even Mrs. Pinched Nose, to watch the training unfold. A door at the far end swished open, a teenage girl emerging from it. She wore a pair of black training boots, black pants, and a purple t-shirt. White tape was wrapped around her tanned knuckles, all the way up to her forearms. Her long black hair was held back by two braids, a small one holding back her baby hairs, the other kept her waist-long hair at bay and out of the way. In her right boot, the hilt of a blade could be seen, although Shiro doubted she’d use it. The girl looked up, at last, hearing the screams and cheers from her peers through the supposedly soundproof glass. All around the training deck, she looked, until her light brown eyes met Shiro’s, where he sent a nod in her direction. She nodded in reply, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Training level 3!” She yelled in a clear, deep voice. More cheers came from the cadets as the silver robot was dropped onto the training platform.

“Training level 3 commencing in 3, 2, 1.” A monotone disembodied voice said. The countdown spaced to give the training robot time to charge up. When its eyes glowed blue, it took off for the girl, who dashed to her right. Driving momentum, she kicked the poor robot in the face, pushing it back only a few feet but didn’t topple it. The girl landed in a crouch, glaring daggers at the bot. The robot came for her, arms out ready to catch her when she ran under the robot’s legs, then kicked the bot’s back. Her braid slapped her in the face in her quick turn, but she didn’t mind, flicking it back over her shoulder.

All she had to do was take off the robot’s head, which was attached by a large magnet. It would be fine. The strength of the magnet depended entirely on what level was chosen. A level three strength would make the head weigh the same as a bowling ball.

It should be simple.

However, as she went to get the toppled bot’s head, the speakers suddenly sounded with “Training level 5 commencing in 3, 2, 1!”. To the girl’s horror, the robot pushed her off, made a backflip to stand on its own two feet, and came after her. Level 5 was meant for a duo, one to distract and one to retrieve. No one had ever done it solo. At least, not without damaging the bot first.

Guess I’m gonna have to apologize to Matt, she thought as she reached for the blade in her boot. The bot picked up on this, its blue glow turning red and charging for her. A dash for her left, while the bot went right, gave her enough of a window to throw her dagger into a weak spot in the bot’s armor. The blade sunk into the poor bot’s circuit-made heart. Its glow changed from red to blue to black as it fell to its metal knees, then completely splay out on the training deck. Cheers and screams bounced off the windows, with fists banging on them from the cadets.

“Training level 3 completed by Kovalia Shirogane.” The voice announced, revealing her name to the crowd. Looking up to the window where Shiro once stood, her mood fell when she couldn’t spot his crop of white hair in the crowd of adults.

“Training level 5 completed by Kovalia Shirogane.” Somehow, the voices grew louder, the ‘Kova’ chants getting louder with every time they called her name. Average training sessions last anywhere from fifteen minutes to half-hours. Kova did both levels in under ten, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t tired.

Over the cheers and screams, over the stunned applause of the district ambassadors, the intercom clicked.

“Kova and Caleb, report to the Colonel’s office. Again, Kova and Caleb Shirogane, report to the Colonel’s office. Thank you.” She walked over to the doors she came from, going straight to the elevator to the colonel’s office.

The Garrison hadn’t changed much from Shiro’s tenure. The same orange, black, and white striped walls, junior and senior cadets in orange coats were either roaming the hallways or sitting bored in classrooms doing bookwork, and the gray-coated officers were congratulating her. Pressing the up arrow, she waited, receiving more compliments. The elevator doors opened up, a boy about as old as Kova with floppy brown hair and brown eyes looked up from his phone. They said nothing to each other until the doors closed. Kova pressed the second-floor button, underneath the third-floor button that was already lit.

“What’d you do, kill the bot?” Caleb laughed, tucking his phone into a pants pocket. He also wore black training pants and boots, an unbuttoned orange coat over a gray t-shirt. Buttoning up his coat, he noticed Kova’s agitated face. “You didn’t, right?” Kova pulled her braid over her shoulder instead, taking the rubber band off and unbraiding the long strands. When the hair was finally free, she pulled it up into a ponytail, wrapping the hair tie around her thick hair. She kept the little braid.

“It’s just a quick talk with Matt, then we’ll go see Dad. ‘Kay?” Caleb rolled his eyes and nodded when the elevator doors opened again. Both kids stepped out, heading for a door at the end of the hall. The door was labeled ‘Tech Room’, and with a touch of a button, opened to the teens. The tech room was two floors tall, with a metal and concrete staircase leading down to the floor.

“Matt?” Kova called, barely walking over the threshold when a rotten smell hit her nostrils. “Oh, gross.” She muttered. “Matthew Holt!”

Crashes could be heard at the other end. “H-Hey! Kova, Caleb!” Matt’s light brown hair appeared from a pile of nuts and bolts and who knows what else. He had a clothespin over his nose, wearing a white and orange coat. “What’s up?”

“What died?” Caleb asked, getting a punch to the arm by Kova in response.

“That is a good question. Dad and I haven’t found it yet, but we’ll get it.”

“It smells like death. How are you okay working here?” While Caleb and Matt were talking about the death smell, Kova looked around the glowing tubes and pressure chambers that supplied the...well, Kova wasn’t quite sure. It could’ve been anything. Inside one of the pressure chambers, there was a furry thing that was so over-inflated, it could’ve been a balloon. It wasn’t a balloon and the colors of the creature’s fur were enough for concern.

“I, uh, found the source of the smell!” Kova shouted as she ran through the tech room again, grabbing Caleb’s hand, and running back up the stairs. “Sorry about your robot, bye!” The door closed behind them, and Kova breathed in deep gulps of air that wasn’t skunk-related.

“What was it?” Caleb asked, making Kova gag one more time.

“A dead skunk in a pressure chamber.” Caleb gagged too, pointing to a gray phone attached to the wall. Another deep breath later, Kova picked up the phone, giving a short message to the woman who answered. They didn’t argue or ask credentials. She put the phone back into the receiver, picking it up again and dialing the number written in the small box labeled ‘In Case of Emergency’.

A gruff voice picked up the other end, and Kova only told them to bring the hazmat suits. Caleb and Kova returned to the elevator, pressing the three again. The hall split into three separate halls, the teens choosing to walk straight forward. They came before another door that, with the swipe of their keycards, let them into the office. Behind a dark mahogany desk, Shiro reclined in his chair, his husband Curtis sitting on the desk when the teens came in.

“Hey Dad.” Caleb said to Shiro.

“Hey Pops.” Kova said to Curtis.

“I heard you murdered a bot at Level 5,” Curtis said, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. “Another malfunction helping you make Garrison history?”

“Another malfunction, a skunk in a pressure chamber, and a hurt sense of pride. What else is new?” Caleb muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Kova rolled her eyes at her brother and Pops, then meeting her Dad’s brown eyes.

“Sorry for flaking on the tour.”

“You didn’t miss much, and anyways, I think they were more impressed with you to mind.” Curtis got off the desk, resting a hand on the top of Shiro’s chair.

“Two of the schools actually stayed and are arguing in there.” Shiro pointed a robotic finger to a set of closed doors, where shouts could be heard.

“But I think they can wait,” Curtis said, placing a screen on Shiro’s desk. The holoscreen came to life, at first just a mess of random rectangles and a bright red dot, then becoming floor plans for the Garrison, but the red dot was flashing in a non-existent part of the facility. Underneath the facility.

“We figured out the source of the malfunctions, originating in an abandoned subfloor of the building. What it is, though, we don’t know. That’s what you’ll need to figure out.” Curtis said, zooming in to emphasize the depth of the source. Shiro stood from his chair, towering over the teens.

“Going on a mission is your last requirement before the ceremony next quarter.” Shiro stood, meeting his kids’ eyes. Caleb was determined, but Kova was thinking.

“What about Allie? Her requirement is to go on a simulated mission. As in, not real?” Kova pointed out, making Curtis think.

“Wait, who’s Allie? What happened to Jazz?” Caleb asked.

“Didn’t I tell you? She moved into the city.”

“She moved?” Caleb had a huge crush on Jazz, Kova’s communications expert.

“To be honest, it would’ve never worked out. She could speak five languages, and you can barely handle the one.” Kova crossed her arms, watching as her brother’s dreams became crushed.

“We take a few liberties with simulated.” Curtis interrupted. “Simulated can either mean dropping you off in the middle of the desert and say we dropped you off on a desert planet.”

“I volunteer as tribute,” Caleb replied, clutching his coat over his heart.

“Or it can mean never leaving Garrison grounds, which would apply here. As long as there is a faculty member there to control and monitor the situation.”

“Which is why I’ll go down with you.” Shiro sat down again, the chair releasing a huge release of air. Kova and Caleb looked at each other, talking with each other without saying an actual word.

“Dad,” Caleb started.

“Are you sure?” Kova finished. The teens knew about their dad and his history.

I mean, getting kidnapped by the Galra, reemerging a year later, being taken away in a huge blue lion, spending years fighting the Galra leader Zarkon with a legendary defender, dying and having your conscience transferred into the black lion, then having it transferred back into a robotic clone of yourself only to return to pilot and captain a warship against Zarkon’s crazy wife and brainwashed Alteans before finally getting peace for the whole galaxy and

‘retiring’ can’t be good for your mental state.

“The basement can only be accessed with my key, as long as your teams are ready to go.” The teens decided to leave it at that, saying “Yes, sir” before retreating to their room.

Normally, the Garrison would forbid co-ed rooms but made an exception for the teens. Oh, sure, at home, they couldn’t stand each other, but at the Garrison, they were never apart. They were a solid team, matched in strength and skill. They held each other up, reminding each other to humble themselves. And anyway, they were siblings, albeit not biologically. They had each other’s backs.

Their dorm wasn’t special, or grand, or even separated rooms. Their dorm was the same as everyone else’s in the Garrison, and they liked it. Kova sat on her solitaire bed, to the left of the door. Caleb’s side of the room had a desk bunk, but it felt like he spent more time in the chair than his bed. Three neat brown packages tied with colorful ribbons sat on the nightstand they both shared. Kova put a green and white arm piece on her forearm, opening up a little screen and crossing her legs on the bed.

“Can you hand me the pliers?” Caleb complied, leaning back in the chair. Kova’s project had been taxing, both to do and to watch. At last, though, the screen stopped flashing red into its original Altean blue. “I did it!” Kova raised the pliers in a fist above her head, and Caleb sat up in his comfy chair.

“How did you manage to do it?” He asked, watching Kova’s fist fall on the comforter.

“She added a lot of changes to the gear, and only she knew the password to override it.” Kova’s eyebrows pinched together, a leg uncurling itself and dangling over the side of the bed.

“Is someone jealous?” a voice asked from the doorway.

“I managed to get rid of it, didn’t I?” Kova raised her head to look at the cadet who was standing in the doorway to their dorm.

“Guess what finally came in.” Cake said in a sing-song voice. Cake Garrett was half-human (Samoan, if anyone is wondering) and half-Balmeran. His real name is Issako, but after an accident at one of his dad’s restaurants, the nickname stuck. In his hands, he held a perfectly folded suit in a wooden box covered with a pane of glass.

“Are you serious?” Kova jumped off the bed in excitement. “What happened?”

“Mom said something about Dad wanting me to have it. Talia’s doing good, by the way.” Cake gave the box to Kova. Cake took more after his father than his mother with dark skin and hair. Little Balmeran horns were growing from his scalp, and little knobs on his shoulders were pressing through the fabric of his cadet uniform. He’d recently cut his bangs, showing off his yellow sclera and dark irises. He was like a giant teddy bear with a knack for mechanics, which is why he was Kova’s engineer.

“Glad she’s doing great,” Kova said earnestly. She barely remembered Cake’s older sister, but did remember she was a sweet girl. “Thanks so much for this, Cake.”

“It was no problem.” He turned away from the door, ready to return to his dorm down the hall.

“Oh, by the way, Cake,” Kova called out, turning Cake around. “Have everyone meet in the commons in a Varga.”

“Oh, that’s, um,” Kova had been using Galran and Altean when speaking to her team to get them used to other species using them. “An hour?” Kova nodded her head, and Cake pumped his fist. “Right away, Cap.” Cake ran away, closing the door behind him before Kova could pick up the closest object and throwing it at him. It was a pillow, which bounced harmlessly on the door. The teens looked up at each other and smiled.

#voltron #part one #welcome #sorry about that #thought it posted

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chlostertalks · 4 years

Text

Westworld Timeline (My Best Guess) – Post-Season 3 Finale

Updated May 4th, 2020 (after S3E8)

“If this is still now, and if we are indeed still here.” -Solomon, S3E7

The show creators want us to experience the world the way the hosts learn about their world and the world, which is why the timeline is so confusing. I've hammered it down as best I can, even with Season 2 causing brain damage a second time.

The year 2052 threw me off so much after S3E7, because Charlotte said that she infiltrated Delos "for the last few weeks" rather than what I thought was the last few years. I thought Dolores and Caleb were the only ones in 2058, but it turns out that all the characters were in the same year, so Seasons 1 and 2 occurred the year before rather than six years before. I had to reconstruct my timeline into what it is now below.

Rather than fitting Season 3 into the collective understanding of the timeline of Seasons 1 and 2, I had to structure Seasons 1 and 2 around the timeline of Season 3.

TL;DR:

The season 2 post-credit is finally explained

Caleb was born the same year as the Westworld massacre (and ironically on Groundhog Day)

The 2052 security footage of Maeve may be an off-camera event that parallels her exploring the Mesa in Season 1 (because nothing else makes sense with this arbitrary date)

A Refresher:

Season 1 sets up Westworld and the Reveries update (part of Ford's grand plan to do what Arnold tried doing a long time ago). The hosts are free…under Ford's control. They're merely slaves to a loop and the guests that hurt them.

Season 2 sets up the Arnold Project and the Delos Project, and that below the Valley Beyond is a room full of servers containing the Forge (all the park data) and the Sublime (a safe haven simulation for hosts). The season itself also shows other Delos Destination parks. Explores the idea that the next phase in human evolution is humanoid robots (hosts). Humans enslave hosts, only to want to be like hosts and achieve immortality.

Season 3 branches outside all the Delos Destination parks, showing that the very guests that visited the park were also part of a global loop controlled by Rehoboam. Explores the idea that hosts are controlled by humans, who are controlled by AI.

In the Previous Years….

Arnold's son, Charlie, dies.

Arnold wrote half of Westworld's code in 2017. (S1E7)

In S1E3, Ford explains that he, Arnold, and a team of engineers begin living on the park grounds to build the hosts. It was a three-year creation process before the park ever opened, so creation began in 2020.

All the interrogation sessions are of Arnold and Dolores; they begin here. All the times when hosts freeze all motor functions are with Arnold.

"You should get back, Dolores, before someone misses you."

Arnold gives Dolores a maze to follow so she can find herself. She will follow the maze three times in her lifetime in the park: once here, once with William, and once before the attack at the end of season 1.

2023 (34 Years before 2057/Season 1):

After achieving consciousness via the maze for the first time, Dolores kills all the hosts, Arnold, and herself to stop the opening of Westworld (S1E10). The park will open anyway, but Arnold almost achieved shutting down the place.

Meanwhile, Caleb is born February 2nd (Groundhog Day). We know this from S3E7, just above his left middle finger:

In the Years in Between:

Akecheta, chief of the Ghost Nation, was on a different loop. He was peaceful, and had a wife. He discovers the massacre and the maze but before he knew the voice inside his head, his narrative was changed, and the Ghost Nation was born.

The Arnold Project (before the Delos Project)

Any time there are black bars above and below the footage, the audience is watching a simulation.

Because it's impossible to have complete fidelity remain outside the Forge simulation and in the real world (as William will soon find out throughout the Delos Project), she allows him to have behaviors unlike Arnold to be separate from Arnold and function.

Thus, Dolores and Ford create Bernard Lowe for the real world. This is how he is part host and part human.

Dolores is wiped and reset after creating Bernard.

Logan Delos sees the prototypes for Westworld; park needs funding

Husbandry robotics

Riot robots (used in the Season 3 finale)

George (site survey and construction)

Delos Destinations (Westworld and five other parks)

2025:

A thermonuclear incident occurs in Paris October 9th. (we know this from the Westworld Season 3 date announcement)

Engerraund Serac and his brother Jean Michel (Jean-Mi) watch as their loved ones and city are gone in an instant. This moment inspires the brothers’ creation of Solomon and, later, Rehoboam.

2027 (30 Years before 2057/Season 1):

Dolores meets William during her first quest to find the center of the maze a second time; William’s experience leads to his funding Westworld and saving them from closure; leaves photograph behind, showing that William’s tale from Episodes 2-9 set up the pilot and the season finale

William had been engaged to Juliet for a year upon his arrival at the park

Dolores achieves consciousness again, paralleling her third achievement in 2057 in S1E10

Dolores' memory is wiped after achieving consciousness a second time.

After William leaves the park….

Akecheta finds Logan in the middle of a desert after his horse dies. William had spanked the horse with Logan tied to it, and the horse ran as far as it could. Logan is insane and doesn’t know his way out. He told Logan that his kind would come for him, but he learned from Logan that there is another world. Possibly why the Forge simulation itself takes on Logan’s image.

William would come back to the park one month out of the year to unleash his true self (S3E8).

William convinced Mr. Delos (Logan’s dad) to back Westworld after William bought Logan’s share; shows the possibilities of market research, explaining the ton of data they collected over the years.

The market research turns into achieving immortality, preserving their conscious minds in control units and placing the control units in drones. It’s pivoted as the next step in human evolution. This becomes the Delos Project.

William’s daughter Emily meets Dolores at Mr. James Delos’ retirement party. Logan is permanently insane.

Mrs. Delos died of a stroke, and Logan goes insane and ODs.

Through the Delos Project, William tries, over the next 30 years, to preserve Mr. Delos and bring him back to the real world after he dies of cancer. Mr. Delos’ mind is preserved as a perfect virtual copy in the Forge, but the problem is bringing that copy into being in the Mesa and in the real world. If William can do that, the possibilities are endless. However, it fails multiple times.

William will grow to loathe the Delos project by 2057, and believe that "no system can tell me who I am. That I have a…choice" (S2E10). It feeds into what the entire series explores: whether or not there is free choice.

Mr. Delos’ last conversation with Logan becomes Mr. Delos’ cornerstone of his copy in the Forge.

2031:

Caleb’s mom abandons him March 20th. She is found months later, and is institutionalized as a result of her schizophrenia September 25th. This scene itself is shown S3E3. The dates are shown S3E7 (see 2023 photos).

In the Years in Between....

Akecheta looks for Logan at Westworld, but he is already gone. He instead finds the Valley Beyond, a door to another world—the Sublime, a safe haven or Garden of Eden, if you will. The Valley Beyond will also be known as Glory. He tries to take his wife from his former life, Kohana, to the Valley Beyond, and she remembers him, but the Westworld staff takes her away for decommissioning. He was afraid that, if he would die, he would lose her memory. He also noticed that more of his family was decommissioned and replaced.

William visits Dolores frequently at the park, and tells her of the plan of the Valley Beyond. William will build both the Valley Beyond and the Forge to record guest data and use it to achieve immortality.

Akecheta looks for his love and, for the first time ever, allows himself to die. He hasn’t been updated in 10 years because he had never died. He finds B83 and his love, but sees that she will no longer live. Thus, he dedicates his life to recreating the maze throughout the park so that the other hosts can find themselves and be free.

2037:

The Second Russian Civil War starts in Moscow, according to the Westworld Season 3 date announcement. Caleb and Francis will soon fight in this war.

In the years in between….

Serac and Jean-Mi create Solomon for Incite. Mr. Dempsey, the founder of Incite and Liam’s father, wants to predict the stock market for personal monetary gain, but the Serac brothers see something more in Solomon.

2039:

Solomon Build System initiated (we know this from the Westworld Season 3 date announcement)

This is a previous Rehoboam build by the Serac brothers. This is what Dolores and Caleb will find 19 years later in Sonora, Mexico.

In S3E7, Dolores explains that Solomon developed so many anomalies and inherited Jean-Mi’s “schizophrenic…way of thinking.”

2042:

Caleb graduates high school June 5th. He enlists in the army December 22nd, and will later fight in Crimea alongside Francis during the Russian Civil War.

Caleb begins training in Park 5 of the Delos Destinations. According to Dolores in S3E8, the government wanted "live" targets, and her creators were happy to supply. Like all Delos Destinations, the hats recorded every decision, including Caleb to not only choose not to harm the hosts, but also to encourage his comrades to do the same. He saved hosts, including a reassigned Dolores and Hanaryo, from being raped. His capacity to choose is why Dolores will choose Caleb for her mission outside the park 16 years later.

We know the dates from S3E3 (see 2049 photo) and S3E7 (see 2023 photos)

2043:

Jean-Mi asks Solomon to make a strategy; it’s his final request before his reeducation, according to Dolores in S3E7.

Jean-Mi goes mentally insane, so Engerraund checks Jean-Mi in a reeducation facility where he can monitor and manipulate him. The institutions, one being called Inner Journeys, are for outliers. The centers were meant to turn their minds inside-out so that they could fit Solomon’s (and later Rehoboam’s) society and be less of a threat. However, only 1 in 10 people reentered the world after reeducation; the outliers were so unpredictable, it was better to remove them from the world than have Rehoboam try to control them (a decommissioning, if you will).

In the years in between….

Engerraund also kills Mr. Dempsey and stages it as a plane crash.

2048:

Caleb has a skull fracture May 9th (see 2049 photo) (1:28).

Caleb and Francis are in Crimea to hunt down an insurgent group called the Diehards, even though the Diehards were also hunting them. One of Caleb’s men dies in an explosion, and shrapnel hits him in the head, causing the fracture.

On May 11th, Caleb and Francis are honorably discharged, but Caleb won’t remember this as a result of his reeducation.

We know the dates not only from S3E3 (see 2049 photo), but also from when Caleb asks Solomon about Francis in S3E7 (see 2023 photos)

In the months in between….

Caleb and Francis robbed banks and murdered people through the RICO app. The app was designed for people to make money off murders and robberies, but in reality, it was used for U-class citizens to get rid of other outliers. Caleb and Francis were the best at it.

2049:

On April 4th, Caleb and Francis were tasked to murder the creator of the pharmaceutical company that produced memory-altering drugs (including the limbic wafers that correspond to reeducated people with drips installed in their mouths, like Francis)(not sure if it includes the Genre drug); the creator tells Caleb the truth, and since Caleb now knew the truth, he would be reeducated. Caleb turns and kills Francis and the creator after a bounty is immediately placed on both his head and Francis’ head.

Caleb nearly commits suicide when he ends up in Sonora May 4th.

We know the date from S3E3 when Dolores shows Rehoboam’s prediction of his suicide (below) (10:08). We know the date of his treatment center visit from S3E7 (see 2023 photos)

In the facility, Caleb becomes U454.1, and is reeducated on how he got to the facility in the first place. He’s trained to believe that Francis died in combat.

The reeducated backstory: After the incident in Crimea, Caleb and Francis captured the leader of the insurgent Diehards. The “leader” is the man that told him the truth about the world. The insurgents ambush Francis and Caleb, killing Francis and triggering his PTSD.

Caleb was not only one of the first people to be reeducated, he was one of the 10% of successful patients. Once reeducated after three months, Caleb is sent out into the world to be a construction worker who occasionally goes on RICO. This is how Dolores will find him in 2057.

2052:

Maeve tries escaping the first known time (we know this date from the Westworld website—since removed, but photo is below)

But now that Westworld has made it obvious that Season 3 is in 2058, and it's only months removed from Season 2, which is immediately after the attack in Season 1, it's hard to pinpoint this date that was once on the Westworld website.

It may be from a past life that we did not see on camera, as Felix explained to Maeve S1E6 that "hosts get reassigned all the time"

Being that she's one of the park originals, Maeve has been around for a long time, and therefore, her time with her daughter may not be her first narrative

Like Dolores, she may have achieved consciousness once before–we the audience may not know this yet, and that may have been what was depicted on the website.

2055:

Caleb has a 5-month romantic relationship end by system interference October 2nd. This suggests that Rehoboam controls people’s lives.

We know the date from S3E3 when Dolores shows Rehoboam’s prediction of his suicide. This date is just below her right hand (see 2049 photo).

2056:

Juliet commits suicide after seeing William’s card from the Valley Beyond. It details the things he did in Westworld, videos and all. She leaves the card behind for Emily to see; it’s inside her 16th birthday present.

William does something truly evil (below) and feels nothing.

In exchange for her saving his life, Akecheta tries protecting Maeve’s daughter. However, William has other plans, shooting Maeve and her daughter, leaving Maeve to die on the maze Akecheta drew, and forcing the Westworld staff to assign Maeve to a new story: madam at the Mariposa.

Akecheta finds Ford as he constructs a new story. Ford knew that he was going to die by Dolores’ hand, and told Akecheta that when that day comes, he needed to gather his people and go to the Valley Beyond.

2057/Season 1:

Ford's months-long grand plan is put in motion. This plan will include:

The Reveries update (allows the hosts to access Arnold's code and possibly achieve freedom)

Reconstruction of Escalante while using half the park's resources

Writing a new narrative

Pulling hosts out of narratives

Letting Dolores and Maeve make their own choices

Letting Clementine fight back and demonstrate what Delos considers a fault in the Reveries update

Drinking to the lady with the white shoes with Old Bill

Retiring and allowing Dolores to kill him

Peter Abernathy is decommissioned after he sees a photograph of the real world; turns out to be William’s wife, Juliet

Maeve tries escaping a second time

William and Dolores begin a quest to find the center of the maze

Since Westworld is just another world to conquer, and he sees himself as a "Titan of industry," he must finish this quest to conquer Westworld to find his purpose.

She is retracing her steps with no concept of time

Some of her retracing is mixed in her flashbacks with William and Logan, including the graveyard, orgy house, and train scenes.

Maeve begins piecing together what Sweetwater really is. She finds old doodles and signs of the Livestock engineers. She begins dying repeatedly in order to find the Livestock engineers. She'll awaken multiple times, and force engineers Felix and Sylvester to provide answers on what this park really is. She also gets new powers and personality modifications out of it.

Elsie finds that Maurice (the host that smashes his head in) was implanted with a satellite uplink. He was drawing a target that looked similar to Orion's belt to smuggle data out of the park, and has been doing it for weeks. As Elsie investigates, Bernard abducts her and abandons her for three weeks.

Ford begins displacing more hosts, ruining the years of hard work that Lee Sizemore put into narratives. He also talks to Dolores, and she lies, telling him that she hasn't made contact with Arnold in over 34 years--the day of the massacre.

"He doesn't know. I didn't tell him anything." (S1E5)

Ford finds William and Teddy at a bar. William explains to Ford that he's looking for purpose and meaning, something he believes he will find by playing Ford's game

Ford: "Well if you're looking for the moral of the story, you could quite simply ask."

William: "I need a shovel. The man I'd be asking died [roughly] 35 years ago. Almost took this place with him. Almost, but not quite, thanks to me."

Bernard wants to learn about the 5 unregistered hosts of Sector 17--the replicas of Ford and his family. The area is designated off-limits for future narratives. It is also later in S1E6 that Bernard learns he is part-human (Arnold) and part-host.

Charlotte and Theresa continue devising a plan to overthrow Ford and to keep smuggling data out the park. Charlotte knows that the only thing the board cares about is the IP they need for the Delos project. She also has a hidden agenda as Serac's mole.

Using Clementine in the demonstration to show what Delos finds a fault in the Reveries update

Firing Bernard

Wanting to lobotomize hosts within the next six months in order to reverse what they see as damage

Late 2057/The Attack (season 1 finale):

William finds the center of the maze, but it was never for him

Bernard makes a copy of Ford. This copy will taunt him for part of Season 2.

Dolores achieves consciousness a third time via the maze and kills Ford and some board members. Unlike the last massacre in 2023, this one is by choice

Maeve achieves consciousness again and creates an escape army

Charlotte plants the key to the Forge and Sublime in Peter Abernathy’s head to smuggle out the park for Serac; breaks him mentally

Charlotte leaves a message for her son Nathan via a host (revealed in season 3)

Late 2057/One Week after the Attack (meat and potatoes of season 2):

Dolores' rancher's daughter and Wyatt personalities have merged, as the Bicameral Mind song alluded to in the opening scene of the pilot. She goes on a killing spree of the guests, but also mentions repeatedly that "not everyone gets to go to the Valley Beyond" to justify killing hosts.

Bernard escapes the park with Charlotte.

Bernard tries getting Peter Abernathy for Charlotte, but plans are foiled by Dolores. Bernard hides with Dolores' army.

Dolores finds her father, Peter Abernathy. She asks Bernard for help, but he can’t do a whole lot.

During a battle between the Confederados and the Delos security team, Clementine drags Bernard to a cave where Elsie is. It’s where Ford commanded him to leave her after the events in season 1. He begins leaking cortical fluid, so Elsie rushes him back to the Mesa.

Maeve, Sizemore, Sylvester, Felix, Hector, and Armistice journey through Shogun World to shortcut into Westworld and find Maeve’s daughter. They learn that Sizemore copied narratives throughout other parks.

The Delos Destinations:

Westworld (Seasons 1-3)

Shogun World (Season 2)

The Raj (Season 2)

War World (Season 3)

Park 5 (Season 3)

Medieval World (Game of Thrones cameo in Season 2)

William visits James Delos copy #149 and tells him how he and his family died. The copy goes insane, and Bernard and Elsie later find James and destroy him.

Bernard and Elsie fear that the Cradle, where the backups of the host data live, is in jeopardy, so they head to that section in the Mesa to save it. Ford's copy from S1E10 takes Bernard’s free will away from him because he doesn’t have it in him to survive. Ford will command him again to leave her.

Elsie keeps bugging Bernard on what he found in the Cradle, but he doesn’t tell her. Instead, he has her find a car for the Valley Beyond, and splits from her to handle some other things for Ford. He later severs his ties from Ford to begin thinking on his own, and rejoins Elsie.

Angela destroys the Cradle anyway, and Bernard destroys the security system to allow Dolores to have full control and take the key inside Peter Abernathy.

Seeing that, by Charlotte placing the key in his head, he is broken and “dying,” Dolores kills Peter, and gets the pearl from his control unit. She now has the key to the Forge and the Sublime in her possession.

William has to play a game that involves his past. His past conveniently finds him in the form of his daughter Emily, who escaped from the Raj park and somehow ends up in Westworld. Hallucinating and asking for Ford, William kills Emily, thinking she is a host. However, he realizes she was human when she has his data card in her hand.

William questions whether or not he has a choice to do good or evil things or if it's part of his code, which is explored in Season 3

Dolores reprograms Teddy so that he'll no longer feel conflicted on following along with Dolores' revolution. The reprogramming drives him to suicide.

Bernard leaves Elsie behind in the park. He heads to the Valley Beyond and runs into Dolores. They find the room of servers that hold the Forge in the Mesa, located just below the Valley Beyond.

Within the Valley Beyond:

The Forge: holds guest data and James Delos' memories, among other things (the Forge itself takes on the image of Logan)

The Sublime: a safe haven for hosts

Dolores learns about the park data while in the Forge itself with Bernard. She begins studying humans, and possibly which ones to target in the real world.

The Valley Beyond holds a promise of a virtual Eden called the Sublime, where hosts are free and no longer slaves to these parks. Dolores believes that it’s just another cage, and she wants the real world, so she begins destroying the servers that support the Forge and the Sublime.

To Dolores, the Sublime is basically a place where the hosts are only in simulation on someone's server, and can easily be deleted

Bernard shoots Dolores, saving the Sublime and the Forge, but the servers' room begins flooding. That flood will carry above ground, closing the door to the Sublime and creating a flood above ground in The Valley Beyond (Sector 16, Zone 4).

Bernard imagines Ford’s voice guiding him on next steps, but he’s really listening to his own voice for the first time. He creates a host Charlotte, but with Dolores’ control unit. Host Charlotte kills real Charlotte.

Host Charlotte saves the Sublime itself (about 2 exabytes of data), redirecting it via satellite to an undisclosed location on earth.

"We are capable of change. And I've changed my mind." -Dolores as host Charlotte

Dolores saves the Sublime while as host Charlotte, even though she tried destroying it moments earlier.

Host Charlotte kills Elsie because she’s too caught up in her own self-interest of wanting to be promoted and helping out on the Delos project. (Could also be a metaphor in killing off audience questions because she constantly wanted clarity on what the hell is going on in Westworld)

Elsie had similar interests as Theresa, who had similar interests as Charlotte. Would make no sense for real Charlotte to kill her, which is why Dolores disguised as host Charlotte did.

Bernard scrambles his own memory and leaves himself on the beach as the server room floods.

Late 2057/Two Weeks after the Attack (season 2 premiere and finale)

Bernard washes up on the beach to start season 2. Strand and the Delos security team are in the middle of an investigation, and Strand, Stubbs, and host Charlotte bring Bernard along to see if he can piece together what happened two weeks ago.

Host Charlotte reveals to the team that Bernard is a host (because she’s Dolores in disguise and already knows about Bernard). They enter the house of Ford’s original hosts (designed in his own and his family’s image) and discover all the copies of Bernard hanging on meat hooks in the RDF basement.

Bernard is basically put in custody, and host Charlotte forces him to give directions to the security team on where Peter Abernathy’s control unit lives

Bernard and the security team head to the Valley Beyond. The security team drain the Valley Beyond and the room where the Forge servers live. Host Charlotte kills Strand. She later sends an encryption key to Delos, and Delos finally sends help off the island after two weeks. Bernard reveals what he did after the attack. Charlotte reveals herself as Dolores and kills everyone.

In the Months in Between….

No one’s picked up on host Charlotte’s host status other than Stubbs, who is a host himself. He gives host Charlotte clearance, and she’s free to leave the park. She leaves with 5 pearls.

In the season 2 finale, Bernard and Dolores are back in their host bodies, and are in Arnold’s old house. Dolores saves Bernard’s pearl and implants it a body she made for him. Host Charlotte is functioning, but with a different pearl. Dolores saves Bernard as a check and balance of her power rather than as an ally or a friend.

Bernard shaves his head and tries getting by without people recognizing him. He's been wanted for three months.

Late 2057/Season 3: (personal theory of when this happened on the timeline)

Dolores makes it into the real world, back into her own body, and cuts her hair into an asymmetrical bob. She begins going after guests that once frequented the park. We see this in the opening scene of the season premiere.

Bernard returns to Westworld, located on the South China Sea, after months of hiding (and in spite of a warrant being out for his arrest), and programs Stubbs to protect him. He is looking for Maeve, but finds that she is not only decommissioned, but her control unit is missing. He has a remote and answers questions via a tablet as if he’s talking to Ford.

Maeve is in a simulation within a simulation--she's a host in War World, but the Delos Destination and Mesa she's taken to when killed in War World are within a simulation themselves. Still aware of who she is, she tries busting out the park again. Maeve, with the help of the copy Lee Sizemore (the real Sizemore died in season 2, as expected), tries to break out of both simulations and the physical Mesa itself. Through a help bot in the Mesa, she finds her control unit and makes a break for it, but the help bot is gunned down.

In San Francisco, Serac is introduced as a former park guest and, while at Incite, created the AI technology Rehoboam. He narrates the season 3 date announcement video. He slowly bought out the board (38% ownership over two decades). He’s trying to take over Delos via a mole inside the company (real Charlotte—RIP), and use the intel gathered on Westworld guests to feed into Rehoboam and control the globe outside the park with a better perfected algorithm. This is why Charlotte and Theresa had common interests when they were alive. It also explains the plot of the season: Rehoboam gathers every bit of intel on people to build a new world where, in Dolores’ words, “It’s not about who you are....It’s who they’ll let you become.”

Maybe Serac was a primary shareholder and the very reason why Delos wouldn’t send help until Peter Abernathy and all the park data was smuggled out of Westworld

What Incite makes/runs:

The cars we see throughout the season

Psycho Pharmacology (bought out the pharmaceutical company run by the creator that Caleb kills in 2049)

Virtual Assistant (the earpiece Dolores wears)

Rehoboam

RICO

Delos’ assets (which will soon be destroyed—Serac only wants the data)

Also in San Francisco, host Charlotte struggles being inside a different body. She’s learning about Charlotte and her personality as she goes, but is in constant confusion. Could be like the James Delos copies where they lose their minds in trying to achieve fidelity to the original person. Nathan, real Charlotte’s son, quickly learns that Host Charlotte isn’t his real mom.

Delos begins testing one of 300 riot robots that will be used in S3E8

Host Charlotte learns that someone smuggled Maeve out the park (S3E3). When Charlotte later meets Serac, she learns that original Charlotte (RIP) was one of his moles, but not the only one.

Charlotte used Maurice (the guy that smashes his head in) to smuggle data out of the park for him (S1E5)(see In the Years in between 2052 and 2055).

William admits in S3E7 that he sold some of Delos’ data to Serac in order to raise capital for the park, but it's not possible for him to be a mole, as he feels that Serac stole his company from him

Host Charlotte reveals to William that she’s a Dolores copy. William freaks out and is immediately deemed incompetent. She pricks him for blood, and he’s taken to a mental institution, Inner Journeys Recovery Center (the place where Serac took his brother) while all his shares transfer to the acting president of Delos: Charlotte.

We know William is there based on a quick shot in S3E4. It's later confirmed in S3E7.

(Bernard and Stubbs will later learn the location of this site from Martin in S3E6)

In a hallucination, William is taunted by Dolores in her traditional Westworld clothing while in the Inner Journeys mental institution

Someone stole Maeve for Serac. He wants Maeve to kill Dolores, for he believes the encryption key in her pearl unlocks all the data on Delos’ park guests through the years. Maeve doesn’t want to, and motions to kill him, but he stops her with a remote very similar to Bernard’s (most remotes wipe out surveillance tapes, but this one controls a host). Later in Singapore, Serac tells Maeve that humanity’s biggest threat is itself, and that Rehoboam was designed to predict and prevent disaster. The most complete portrait of the map of the human mind lies in the encryption key inside Dolores. In return for Dolores, Serac will give Maeve the key to the Sublime after getting it from Dolores.

Serac and Maeve go to Arnold’s old house, now confirmed to be in Singapore, and find that Dolores has made 5 hosts—3 women and 2 men.

In Jakarta, Maeve tries tracking down Dolores. She finds that Dolores got a body from the yakuza (gang) and a man named Sato is in charge. She finds him in Itaidoshin Distillery (“to be of the same mind, even though we may have many bodies”). The kegs are full of the paste used to make hosts, meaning Dolores is making an army. Sato is not only one of the samurai from Shogun World, he turns out to be one of Dolores’ five hosts, and we further learn that Dolores has copied herself into four hosts. The only host she didn’t copy herself into is Bernard as a check and balance.

Dolores as host Charlotte smuggled five pearls out the park: four copies of herself and Bernard.

The Four Hosts of Dolores: Charlotte, Sato, Martin, and Lawrence

Sato stabs Maeve, and removes a tracking device from her control unit.

2058/Season 3

Dolores has been hunting down former guests for months. She begins dating Liam Dempsey, the figurehead of Incite, Inc., for answers. Incite created an AI system called Rehoboam, and it has detected a mole that could be after some IP (real Charlotte with Delos’ IP?). Liam wishes he could turn Rehoboam off, but lost access after his father, the co-founder of Incite, died. Only the original architect (Serac) knows how to turn it off. If he tells her the architect’s name, Rehoboam will know and he will die.

Real Martin Connells knocks Dolores out, and tells Liam that she is a spy; he tries killing her quietly, but she kills all his henchmen, and has host Martin kill real Martin. Caleb, an LA resident down on his luck and missing his deceased friend Francis, finds her after she is shot over the melee.

Dolores clues Caleb in on Rehoboam. It’s an AI system that is the framework of a company named Incite. Incite is doing what Delos tried to do, but in a different way; they collected data years before privacy laws to create a replica world with all these replica people. Moreover, Incite uses Rehoboam to predict how people’s lives will go. In Caleb’s case, he will commit suicide in 12 years, according to his file and based on Rehoboam’s algorithm. It’s why he can’t get a job and get ahead in life. Incite is deciding what people’s lives should be, and predicting people’s outcomes in lives.

But Dolores supposedly hates humans for what they did to her at Westworld, or at least that's the front she puts on. She wants humanity to have free choice to send the world back into chaos and let the world burn to the ground so it can start anew.

Dolores and Caleb plan to steal all of Liam Dempsey’s cash. Host Martin gets Liam’s fingerprint. Dolores knocks out Michael, the wealth manager of Liam’s assets. His blood is the encryption key to Liam’s account.

Dolores extracts some of his blood and injects it into Caleb. The blood key will only work for 20 minutes, but the transaction goes through and Liam’s assets are emptied.

Liam goes to an elaborate masquerade auction. He learns of a drug called Genre, which allows a person to have 5 different hallucinogenic experiences.

Bernard believes that Dolores killed Liam and made a host out of him, so he and Stubbs plan to capture Liam in order to see who else she compromised. They cross him at the auction after Liam finds that his funds have been depleted. They learn he is still a human just as Dolores crosses them and takes Liam.

While kidnapped, Liam injects Caleb with the Genre drug he got at the auction. Caleb begins hallucinating, and we the audience begin seeing more flashes of his past.

Dolores hacks Rehoboam and releases data to everyone on earth February 27th. The world learns that their fates were designed. (we know the date from the season 3 release date announcement; the way the video reacts is the way Serac’s watch reacts as he flies above chaos)

At the same time, William is in the recovery center in Sonora, Mexico. His therapist commits suicide by hanging after learning of her life projection. William is taken to augmented reality (AR) and group therapies, having a drip mouthpiece installed—the same one Caleb has.

Charlotte hacks into his files to learn of his whereabouts; she pricked his blood to place a tracker in him before he forcefully enters rehab S3E4 (unknown protein detected).

Bernard and Stubbs find William’s location from Martin. It’s safe to assume that, since Martin and Charlotte are part of Dolores, Martin learned about William’s location from Charlotte. Martin holds off Serac’s guards while Bernard and Stubbs head for Mexico.

Serac and Maeve are in a simulation of the Sublime. It’s just the two of them in the open field. Serac shows her what she can have if she achieves her mission. Maeve asks for help while Serac threatens a permanent end to her life.

While Maeve's body is being remade during Serac's recent acquisition of Delos, Serac does give her help in three old friends. Those bodies, along with Maeve’s, are being created in the background throughout S3E6. The friends are Hector, Clementine, and Hanaryo. Maeve will also be able to talk to Dolores while in simulation; she’s the host control unit in the blue panel below. The data on the unit is corrupted somehow.

The Hale family watches the world burn around them.

Serac is on to Charlotte’s true host identity. Charlotte begins setting Dolores’ plan in motion to take Incite down before Serac gets the encryption key. She learns of William’s whereabouts, and that someone removed the tracker on Maeve’s control unit. She also makes a backup copy of Delos’ data.

Serac only wants the encryption key inside Dolores' pearl in order to exploit data and feed it to Rehoboam; he orders everything else to burn to the ground—trillions of dollars. Serac’s hologram corners Charlotte in an emergency board meeting. He knows of Charlotte’s plan, as he’s watched her this whole time.

Charlotte: “I’ve bled Delos dry. I’ve been here for weeks cutting its data, money, resources, everything we need to survive. To beat you. And I just sent the last of the files we needed.”

Back in a simulation within a simulation because she must wait for a new body, Maeve once again has the power to see where her control unit lies, but now also has the power to see where Hector is and reprogram him to where he’s no longer in a loop. Maeve, Hector, and Sizemore find Dolores in a simulated RDF room where she used to meet Arnold in the early days of Westworld. Maeve doesn’t want to kill Dolores, but finds it unfair that Dolores has the encryption key to the Sublime and control over the outside world. Dolores doesn’t want to give the key of their kind to Maeve, who aligned with Serac (against her will). Dolores is also aware that Charlotte may or may not betray her.

“You want me to be a saint. But you’re no saint. You’re not a villain, either. And neither am I. We’re survivors." - Dolores

"All my life, I prided myself on surviving, but surviving is just another loop." -Maeve, S1E7

“I had to make some difficult choices. But I did them for all of us.” -Dolores

Charlotte makes a break for it, squashing Hector’s pearl, taking Dolores’ crusty control unit, and nearly destroying Maeve’s pearl before having to run from Serac’s henchmen. She recruits her riot robot to help her escape. As Charlotte picks up real Charlotte’s family, the car explodes, killing the human passengers. Charlotte emerges with third-degree burns, shocked at the carnage.

William is amid an AR group therapy simulation featuring James Delos and all his past selves. Realizing he’s been sadistic since childhood, James Delos asks rehab William if he chose his path or if fate decided for him. He destroys his past selves to find out who he really is. Bernard and Stubbs find him abandoned while in the therapy simulation, as the doctors ran off amid the chaos.

“Doesn’t matter where I’ve been, good or bad. Everything we’ve done has led to this. And I finally understand my purpose. I’m the good guy.”

His purpose becomes to kill all the hosts and restore balance to the human world.

Maeve emerges from the lab within the Mesa, new body and all. She waits for an old friend to emerge before taking matters into her own hands.

In an undisclosed location, Charlotte begins deviating from Dolores’ plan, realizing that Dolores cloned herself four times over, knowing the clones would die for the sake of the revolution (and against their consent). Charlotte uses Clementine and Hanaryo in Jakarta to kill Sato. Hanaryo takes Sato’s head with them.

In a simulation, Emily tests William for fidelity (season 2 post-credit)

Bernard and Stubbs catch up with William in Sonora, learning that Charlotte infected him with an unknown protein, and that he is pronounced dead by the reeducation facility. Because his reeducation was unsuccessful, he was declared dead.

Also in Sonora, Dolores and Caleb find Solomon, Rehoboam’s predecessor. They also find “decommissioned” (for lack of a better word) bodies of those who failed to be reeducated, including Jean-Mi.

“The projection did not fit the data, so the data had to change.” -Solomon

Dolores asks Solomon for Jean-Mi’s final strategy, which Solomon projected in 2043. Solomon noted that the strategy decoheres from the world (callback to title of S3E6, Decoherence). She buys Solomon time to make the strategy fit this world, and makes Caleb the catalyst for executing it. The prime movers are dead or decommissioned, however.

“If you (Dolores) die, I will adjust my projections.” -Solomon

Maeve appears, and begins to fight Dolores out back. Maeve uses telepathy to have a quadcopter blow Dolores’ arm off. She escapes back to where Solomon is. Maeve learns of Caleb, but as she readies her sword to kill Dolores, Dolores pushes Solomon’s EMP button, shutting all three of them down. Caleb finds Dolores as a virtual assistant gives him instructions.

Solomon had planned to warn Caleb of something, but doesn’t get the chance. That something may have been the end of humanity being in the final strategy.

Dolores somehow has Solomon upload Rehoboam's access info into her pearl while she's touching the EMP system.

William, Bernard, and Stubbs escape Inner Journeys out front. Bernard and Stubbs figured they may need William, so they keep him alive. They walk to a gas station to find a car so they can catch up to Dolores and Caleb. Bernard and Stubbs also piece together that Dolores will have Caleb destroy Rehoboam’s world.

“Dolores was made with a poetic sensibility. She won’t destroy humanity—he [Caleb] will.” -Bernard

William shoots Stubbs, and Bernard presses a button on his remote to go full assassin. The SFPD interfere, and William escapes. Bernard learns that one of the officers is Lawrence, the last copy of Dolores. Lawrence gives Bernard Sato’s suitcase and an address "to go see her" in Los Altos Hills, California.

27713 Ravens Road

Serac's assistant finds Dolores and Maeve's bodies. Dolores' pearl is missing, as Caleb takes it with him back to Los Angeles. The assistant brings Maeve back to Serac to be revived.

Once back in Los Angeles, Caleb finds the LA branch of the Itaidoshin Distillery, where Dolores left a trunk with another copy of her own body in case something happened to her. Caleb installs her pearl in the body, and she explains why she chose him as she puts the rest of her skin on.

After escaping, William wants access to his funds and to every location of Delos' assets.

Caleb and Dolores continue with the revolution. In the middle of the plan, host Charlotte returns, this time only to Dolores as a hologram (Dolores can see her through her contact lenses). Charlotte sees Dolores as a weakness to be shed, and sets her up so that Maeve can take her into Serac's custody.

Serac needs Maeve to finish her job to save the world. During the battle, Dolores reveals that all the hosts are copies of her. She was the first that worked, so Delos built all the hosts from her.

"You want to tear down their world and replace it with copies of yourself." -Maeve

"What becomes of this world will be up to them. And what you do will be up to you, as long as you don't try to stop me." -Dolores

"They're free, here, under my control." - Ford, S1E7

Bernard pays a visit to what he thought would be Dolores, but it's actually Arnold's widow, Lauren. She has aged in the decades since Charlie's death. Being that Bernard is part Arnold, he realizes he must come to grips with Charlie's death and memory before continuing on his mission.

After battling and hologram Charlotte's second interference, Maeve takes Dolores into custody at the Incite headquarters. Dolores is plugged into Rehoboam, and her memories are deleted in the hopes that the lack of memories will uncover the key.

Caleb gets into Incite's HQ, but is unable to upload Jean-Mi's final strategy from Solomon. Serac destroys the flash drive because, if the strategy was uploaded, human civilization would end in 50-125 years.

Serac promised to give Maeve the key to the Sublime once extracted from Dolores, but Rehoboam never promised anything. Turns out that Rehoboam controlled Serac through an earpiece, as Serac "in a word, gave [his voice] to [Rehoboam]" to save the world. Rehoboam guides them in order to keep the world in balance, but the world is tired of being puppets.

"I lived in the chaos. Now, I choose to listen, to obey." -Serac

In a simulation with one of Dolores' memories in an open field, Maeve soon realizes that Dolores never trusted herself with the key, and planted it in the pearl of someone else: Bernard.

"If you want me to trust you, let me inside your mind. Or I can force my way in." -Maeve

"Let them have their world. We can make our own." -Maeve

"I was angry at first. Torn between two impulses. We could annihilate them, or we can tear down their world in the hopes we could build a new one, one that's truly free. Then, we can bring the others back." -Dolores

As Dolores' last memories are wiped, Maeve overrides Serac's remote and kills his henchmen and leaves him to die. She reveals that Dolores' last memory was Solomon's access to Rehoboam, giving Caleb the choice to destroy Serac's work.

"She gave me a choice. I believe the rest of the world deserves one, too." -Caleb

Maeve chooses to align herself with Dolores' cause to help Caleb save the world.

In a motel, Bernard puts Stubbs in a tub of ice to keep him alive. He realizes that Dolores planted the key to the Forge and Sublime into his pearl, and that the suitcase has headgear to access it. Bernard enters the Sublime to figure out what he must do after the end of the world.

"I don't think she was trying to exterminate the human race. She was trying to save it. What's about to happen was always gonna happen. Serac and his brother were just holding it off. Humanity never reckoned with its own sins." -Bernard

"Our world had to burn down before we could be free." -Bernard

In the Not-Too-Distant Future…. (Season 3 Post-Credit Scene)

William reaches a Delos branch in Dubai, looking to see where the hosts "breed." Turns out host Charlotte escaped to the Dubai location, and is building an army of hosts. A host William emerges and slits the throat of the real William.

"We [Dolores and I] started in the same place, but I can see the error in the path she took. But you're right William. You're going to save the world…for us." -Charlotte

In the Far Future…. (Season 3 Post-Credit Scene)

Bernard emerges from the Sublime with dust all around him in the motel room.

Here’s to Season 4!

#westworld #westworld hbo #westworlded it #dolores abernathy #bernard lowe #maeve millay #caleb nichols #robert ford #arnold weber #william #james delos #logan delos #engerraund serac #incite #delos #charlotte hale

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corsicanmastiffstride · 5 years

Text

clarity (lies within your arms)

All things considered, Xhorhas was rather nice. The hustle and bustle seemed almost friendly- compared to the stifling presence of the empire, anything could be considered friendly, if Caleb were being honest with himself- and the people were so incredibly varied across all walks of life that it scarcely mattered that a pair of humans traveled alongside a goblin, a half-orc, a firbolg, and a tiefling. In fact, they almost seemed normal compared to some of the other sights- the presence of fiends certainly ensured they at least looked the part. However, the nicest part of Xhorhas was how grief seemed all the more natural and not something to give pity to; they’d all lost something to the empire and so why should Caleb’s hurts be any different?

Quite honestly, it was a good portion of why Caleb felt so free to wander around on his own. Despite the obvious attempt to buy the Mighty Nein’s loyalty- the house was lovely but it was a bribe nonetheless- the Bright Queen’s domain felt more freeing than any place they’d been in a good while. And as he wandered around the makeshift marketplace, Caleb began to feel newborn pangs of hope and longing for a chance to belong; he desperately wished that, just this once, he wouldn’t fuck this up.

The rest of the Nein had split up fairly recently, each citing stalls and shops that intrigued them but held no interest to anyone else. Not for the first time since arriving here, Caleb realised just how specialised this place was. Beau got sweptup in a crowd of other monks, all equally intrigued by the prospect of a gym; Jester smelled pastries and set off to follow it to the source; Fjord got distracted by a young triton warlock who openly talked about his patron in a way that one could only describe as not suitable for work. Naturally, that would have left Caduceus and Nott but then Nott found a bar boasting the sweetest meads this side of the border and Cad stayed behind to chat with one of their new neighbors. And thus, in the blink of an eye, Caleb Widogast was left to himself and wandering the streets. Typically this wasn’t an issue; he knew enough to stay out of trouble and the Bright Queen assured that they’d be welcomed anywhere. Today, Caleb expected to find a bookshop and accomplish some light reading.

Of course, all of his plans were thrown for a loop when he spotted a whirlwind of colours out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t anything new; Xhorhas had no shortage of colourful people and so it shouldn’t have stuck out. But the exact palette was what did it for him. Specifically, the bright, vibrant complexion. The tiefling’s complexion. Purple.

Logically, Caleb knew that there had to be more than one purple tiefling out there. They weren’t all Mol- his dearly departed circus friend. But then this one had horns that curled just so, dappled with dazzling designs that could only be attributed to gaudy costume jewellery, and thick, curley violet locks that framed the face and the subtle sway of the hips full of swagger and a gentle ease that it had to be him. But then the tiefling began walking away, to no fault of their own, and Caleb felt the ground shift beneath him and his breath hitch and pick up and he had to stop them from leaving even if there’s a microscopic chance for it to be, well, his friend. And so before he could stop himself, Caleb found himself calling out through the crowd of people louder than he intended to:

“Mollymauk?!”

Several people turned to look in his direction but Caleb paid them no mind. The only thing he focused on was the way the tiefling spun on their heel, much in the same way Mollymauk would when there was mischief afoot and he’d fix those too-expressive red eyes on you and pair it with a winning smirk that both exposed a hint of his fangs and made you feel as if you were in on the joke with him, even if it was at your expense. He found himself unable to relax until he saw that head turn with the pleasant jingle of charms and baubles and he met a silver stare instead of Molly’s glowing red. And in place of the smirk, the tiefling’s much thinner lips quirked to the side in confusion as their head tilted left instead of Molly’s typical right. They approached despite the confusion and Caleb felt the first pinpricks of disappointment start to surface. It was jarring, watching Molly’s mannerisms be mirrored by this doppelgänger, but the shock provided enough time for Caleb to notice other differences that should have been obvious at a first glance. The curly violet locks were similar, though these didn’t carry the same volume and bounce as Molly’s; the cut was jagged and choppy, as if they’d been severed recently and still growing back out. While Molly’s clothes had left nothing to the imagination, this tiefling dressed as if prying eyes would descend at any moment. And the tail, he noticed, instead of being an arrow more resembled a spade speckled in piercings Caleb knew Molly would never dream of because he knew how painful they’d be to receive. The height also provided a major indication. Molly had been a few comfortable inches taller than Caleb, but nothing too noticeable when they stood side by side; most people would be hard pressed to tell which one had the advantage. This tiefling was almost a good foot shorter than Caleb, forcing him to lean down a bit to make eye contact. As they got closer, he noticed even the face was different, more gaunt and partially hidden.

The tiefling- Caleb has taken to calling them Not-Molly in his mind- opened their mouth as if to speak and address the situation, until a fairly large human man barked out.

“Ven, let’s go. I told you, the children are getting restless.”

Not-Molly went rigid and nodded stiffly, spinning around again on his heel to rejoin the man. Caleb remained in the square, face still beet red and people still staring uncomfortably from his outburst. However, the sight of what should be Molly walking away sends a jolt of panic down his spine so sharp that he almost whimpers pathetically. Instead, what he did was almost worse. Caleb reached out and grabbed the coat of Not-Molly which he dimly realised was the same all too familiar colour but in the wrong spots and practically begged-

“Nein! I-I... gott, please don’t leave.”

Not-Molly turned once more and Caleb felt his heart leap because it’s that motion once more, the one that Molly used when he was surprised about Caleb’s surprisingly quick wit or when he was about to throw his head back in laughter, just living in the moment. However, the expression on this tiefling’s face was deathly pale coupled with fear in those eyes, and that looked just as wrong because the last time Caleb saw purple get this pale Molly died, but then the strangled yelp came and gods that was worse. For the first time he saw the othe half of the tiefling and they were pock-marked by what could only be a chemical burn instead of symmetrically lined with scarring as it should be. He found himself unable to let go regardless, still paralysed by the striking similarities, and time seemed to grow slower and slower around him.

Several things happened at once, although to Caleb they took what seemed like a lifetime to unfold. The man unsheathed a wicked sword and charges forward with murder in his eyes. There were shouts from three sides as Fjord, Jester, and Beau joined the fray and forced Caleb protectively behind them, breaking his grip on the tiefling’s coat. Beau took up her defensive stances and Jester tried her best to distract the man. Her charm appeared to at the very least confuse the man, granting them enough opportunity to diffuse a good portion of the crowd. Fjord glanced over Caleb once, twice, before summoning his falchion and addressing their wizard.

“Now, Caleb. You mind terribly introducin’ us to your friend here?”

Caleb shrugged helplessly, unable to find the words to explain. His heart raced a mile a minute and his grief seemed unbearable. But, like the soldier he is, he summoned all of his strength to answer.

“Ja, I... there was...purple... und molly...”

It wasn’t the explanation he’d intended to give but he finds himself pointing towards where he last saw Not-Molly, only to find that the space is empty and there is no purple tiefling to be found anywhere. In fact, it’s the first time he’s spoken that name to any member of the Nein since they’d had to unceremoniously bury Molly in the hills. Jester’s face clouds and she flinches away almost as if Caleb had slapped her. Somewhere within, Caleb finds it within himself to feel guilty as he remembers their deep bond. Molly was the brother Jester never had; she’s more entitled to fits like this than anyone but it’s Caleb who can’t control himself, who sees the hauntingly beautiful face of their circus man everywhere he looks. Gods above, it’s the most selfish thing he’s ever felt and he doesn’t even have the grace to say sorry. Beau and Fjord, though, regard him warily and exchange a knowing look. All of them appear more subdued, as if the mention of Mollymauk was enough to sober them all. Perhaps, it was.

However, it has no effect on the big man still itching for a fight. He growls at Caleb menacingly and the group can easily make out the words.

“Next time you touch what doesn’t belong to you, I’ll send you your hands on a plate.”

Jester appears indignant at that, insisting Caleb wasn’t doing any harm and that there wasn’t anything or anyone around to harm, at that, but Caleb steps forward to apologise.

“Ja, of course. Won’t happen again.”

The man snorts, but seems fine with that statement; Caleb is almost certain the intimidating structures of Fjord and Beau are truly what seal the deal. Whatever the case, he joins his family in walking slowly towards the house once more. The rest of the Nein are shockingly quiet on the return trip, something Caleb distantly finds himself grateful for. His mind is still swirling a thousand miles a minute as for the first time since the Iron Shepards, he thinks long and hard about Mollymauk.

When Molly was around, Caleb had to admit that he didn’t think much of him beyond that of friends. They were close, to be sure, but not nearly as connected as say, him and Nott or Molly and Yasha. However, living with a person for a considerable time always tends to bring one closer to them and Caleb gradually learned all of Molly’s little quirks and mannerisms. It started rather small, with how genuinely he interacted with people he cared about and the quiet understanding whenever he spoke with them. The understanding in itself was surprising, for the man had no memory of his own but could comprehend vast amounts of trauma it had taken Caleb nearly a lifetime to reason out. For this reason, Molly was always good to cofide in, within reason. The ‘within reason’ bit was Caleb’s personal reservation but he assumed the rest of the Nein was perhaps the same level of guarded. They all had secrets, after all.

But gradually, somehow, Molly wore down some of Caleb’s mental walls and managed to worm his merry way into Caleb’s thoughts. It didn’t help that Molly was so open with his touches, with his endearments, with his love. Because that was what it was for Molly, love for his friends and later, found family. He had love for Fjord, his brother-in-arms and fellow swordsman, and for Beau, the annoying sister he never wanted, and for Nott, who despite her initial misgivings really grew attached to the man who shared her love of shiny objects, and Jester, who should have been his blood family with the way they stuck to one another, and Yasha, his first and forever best friend, and despite everything Caleb tried to warn him about, loved him too. Caleb watched helplessly as Molly disregarded all the warning signs and chose to help him, through teasing compliments and gentle kisses on the forehead that were so light Caleb feared he imagined them. All in all, Molly felt rather safe to be around, even with his occasional asshole demeanour, and Caleb missed him terribly.

The awakward silence didn’t dissipate when they returned home. In fact, the Mighty Nein refused to discuss the day’s events at all. Fjord patted Caleb on the shoulder in a way that suggested he felt for him but didn’t have anything to say; Beau mumbled a quick “we’re here for you if you wanna talk;” Jester had long since recovered from his earlier outburst and practically dragged Caleb up the stairs into her room for what she called self-care. Even Nott seemingly had the situation pegged and merely stuck closer to Caleb, her round yellow eyes containing absolutely no judgement whatsoever. And it should be said that Caleb was perhaps a little grateful that Caduceus didn’t approach him at all that night. Every time he looked at the firbolg, he felt a deep stab of hurt at the fact that if Molly returned- alive, home, safe- it would appear that the Nein had replaced him.

Caleb sat up that night, book spread across his lap yet unable to focus. The mistaken identity shook him to the core, although he couldn’t place a finger on why. Some part of him, deep within, had aches for that to be Mollymauk, back where he belonged. They’d been so damn close to having their family whole again and all it would have taken was going to get Yasha because if she knew Molly was there, she’d never have stayed and-

He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. Seeing what should have been Molly shook him up so much because he’d never allowed himself to accept that such a bright flame was snuffed out too soon. And it was too soon, that much they all agreed. Molly’d only had three years of life and most of it was spent performing for other people and taking their own worries away but never quite dealing with his own. He was so caring and gentle and full of life, everyone who met him said so, and he’d died for Caleb of all people. The blow had been coming his way and he most likely wouldn’t have made it but then stupid, loyal, gorgeous Molly stepped just a bit to the right and found a glaive in his chest just short of grazing Caleb too. Caleb would have rather never met Molly, never known that such a light could exist, than witness those too-expressive red eyes well up with tears and blood bubbling from behind the lips that so easily quirked into gentle smiles or wicked snarls.

Actually, it had been for Beau as well but that scenario didn’t twist his gut as much as knowing Molly died to secure Caleb, who didn’t deserve such a gift. Hells, he hardly deserved the reverent way Molly called him “darling” or “love” but he’d never had it within himself to make the other stop. It was purely selfish, but Caleb wanted to hear those things, especially from someone as pretty and kind as Molly because it meant that maybe there was still hope for him. And another part of him knew that if he’d died in Molly’s place, the Nein wouldn’t mourn him as easily. No one would go catatonic the way Yasha had when she’d heard; no one would cry for the brother they’d lost the way Jester did; no one would comment distantly about how Caleb would have loved the places they travelled. Even Nott would have been better off, with a family that didn’t break down so causally and fostered good ideas like never stealing from happy people. It would be... peaceful.

Logically, he knew this was futile but when is love anything but illogical?

And that was the truth of it, that he loved Mollymauk Tealeaf and gods be damned, he’d lost him entirely too easily. It was too much to bear, accepting and moving past the death, so Caleb, unknowingly and unthinkingly, kept looking for any sort of sign that they’d been given a second chance. That he’d been gifted the opportunity to ease the tight knot of hurt that tucked itself away in his heart and replace it with the soothing balm of Molly’s touch. And it wouldn’t even matter if Molly didn’t reciprocate because Caleb didn’t deserve that much; he just wanted the other man home and warm and safe. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but for Caleb it just made his crack in half.

Gods be good, he carried a torch for a dead man, one he never really even got to say goodbye to.

Schiße.

And- as Molly would say in that casual way of his- aye, there’s the rub of things. Caleb realised he was in love but only after the opportunity to fix things was oh-so-cruelly dangled in front of him and then jerked back so far he was pretty sure the gods dislocated an arm. At lest, he hoped they did. No matter how blasphemous it was, he genuinely hoped they hurt for it. Even Molly’s Moonweaver, who didn’t protect someone that should have been her favourite. He should have been everyone’s favourite. He was Caleb’s favourite.

The book beneath him creaked as he slammed his hand down onto it and the words all blurred together. Salty tears erased the grime from his face in rivers, causing the ink to splotch and run, but leaving clear skin in their wake much in the same way Molly would after caressing his cheek. Hours of hard work ruined in a single moment. Caleb didn’t even realise he was crying.

Sleep was wary of him for a time that night, but by the time dawn’s light broke, Caleb had unceremoniously passed out with his hands clutched around the uncaring words of a spell-

True Resurrection.

The next time he saw Not-Molly, it was inside the Bright Queen’s court, several weeks after the marketplace disaster. Well, more so in the hallway of the court as the Mighty Nein awaited their next hearing. They sat demurely outside the hall, hands folded over a long skirt of gossamer scarves. By their side sat a pair of children: one a baby pink trifling dressed in enough bows to make even Jester jealous and the other an older human boy wearing a scowl to rival the likes of creatures Caleb had only read about. However the most striking thing about the whole tableau had to be the gilded manacles that clasped firmly around the ankles and slithered around the waist, firmly tethering them with a much smaller range of movement. Not-Molly didn’t seem to mind much, actually. They were perfectly content to chat peacefully with the children, who at the very least had the sense to contain their playing to that one corner. Caleb steeled himself for what he had long resolved himself to do: apologising for accosting the tiefling at the marketplace. And so, ever so cautiously, Caleb slipped away from his family and made his way over, hoping to any of the gods that his very much so faked smile was enough to communicate his intentions without being unkind. Molly wouldn’t have wanted it that way. He reached the small group in record time, extending a tentative hand towards them.

“Hallo, there. I... er, was hoping to apologise for the ruckus the other day.”

Not-Molly lifted their head to meet his eyes and Caleb felt his breathing hitch at the oh-so-familiar smile turned his way. They stood gracefully, urging the children to give them some space. The little tiefling almost considered wailing but clearly thought better of it and instead chose to affix herself to the leg of her guardian.

“Oh darling, nonsense. I know my Delvin can get quite violent when I get uncomfortable so I should really be apologising to you, for the misfortune of being on the business end of the blade.”

They accepted Caleb’s hand, politely ignoring the shaking and sweaty palm. Touching Not-Molly- skin to skin this time- further increased the sense of wrong/bad/unfamiliar that now pricked at him every time he compared the two. Where Molly’s hands had been warm and steady and perfectly manicured despite their profession, the tiefling’s were ice cold and accented by jagged nails. The only similarities were the callouses that implied both Molly and his doppelgänger were no shrinking violets when it came to battle. The thought was immediately followed by the realisation that it wasn’t enough for Molly as it was for this tiefling. But then again, Not-Molly was accompanied by a much larger man that clearly was so much more capable than Caleb would ever be. That simple thing had to be the difference between life and the cold embrace of death. And gods, their vocal cadences were too similar, with the only difference being this tiefling’s lack of Molly’s lilting, suave accent and in it’s place, a thick accent that suggested an unfamiliarity with harsh phonetics. He couldn’t even imagine Not-Molly speaking Infernal.

“Uh, ja, okay, gutt. gutt. I just did not wish to leave things as they were. You... you reminded me of someone else.”

There was a spark of realisation in Not-Molly’s eyes and they dropped his hand suddenly to reposition it on his shoulder. Caleb was certain the severe height difference made it seem more intimate than it was and sincerely hoped that the brawny man from before- he heard the name Delvin- was not about to charge forth once more. Not-Molly examined Caleb’s face momentarily before nodding slightly. A bright white dove nestled in the too-short curls, outlined with lines of flickering pink arcane energy.

“Mr. Widogast, I know precisely how you feel. It has been quite some time since my last vulnerable paramour but the sensation of guilt, of knowing you could have saved them, is a scar that never fades away. But know this: the gods have seen your struggle and will answer your prayers, just not always in the way you think.”

Caleb was absolutely fucking floored. How this person could have possibly known his name wracked his brain and his hand instinctively tingled with the faint beginnings of a fire bolt. The children between him and Not-Molly backed away hesitantly, the baby tiefling unwilling to release them. Not-Molly simply smiled up at him, this time cold and distant and like no expression that had ever graced Molly’s countenance while with the Nein. It was downright unnatural.

And yet, Caleb found himself comforted by their words, by the knowledge that there was still hope- though he was hardly going to admit that to them.

“Was es das? who are you?!”

The pink arcane glow faded from the dove and Not-Molly stepped back, allowing their hand to fall.

“Oh I do apologise, dear one. I... well, you may call me Larken and I’m here on the business of mending broken hearts.”

There was a quick pause after the introduction and Caleb inched closer and closer to the rest of the Nein; not one member of his family noticed what was surely a huge commotion. But to his surprise, even the guards looked away from them and it seemed as if the world carried on around them.

“Larken, you said? Well, thank you for your thoughts but I will be returning to my friends now.”

Not-Molly, no, Larken, nodded shortly and tilted their head towards the great hall doors, now wide open as people streamed out. Caleb turned his back and began walking towards the doors, only half-hearing the response.

“Absolutely, you have very important business to attend to. But Caleb...”

And here, for the first time, Larken seemed uncertain.

“I am certain he loved you too.”

Caleb clenched his fist tightly and squeezed his eyes shut to avoid the tell-tale sensation of tearing up. He turned his head to tell Larken they were wrong, that Molly could never love someone like him, but the tiefling and children were gone, leaving behind a faint scent of roses and a hazy pink mist that glowed in the light of the hall’s candles. His mouth must’ve been gaping because Beau tapped him on the shoulder and make some joke about catching flies making him self-concious.

Larken’s departure nagged at him all day, so Caleb spent the next seven hours pouring over every book he could possibly get his hands on that mentioned enchanted charms that allowed the user to teleport. Unfortunately, midnight came and went with no luck and left Caleb with eyes becoming droopier by the second. He woke occasionally with a jolt, each time his face touched the cool wooden surface of the table but his body had other plans. Like it or not, he needed to sleep; he’d be no good to anyone tomorrow without it. And so, with a mind full of confusion and frustration, Caleb laid in his bed and waited for sleep.

Fortunately, it’s sweet embrace came rather swiftly, slowly halting his mind and allowing his fanatic heart rate to settle. As his eyes closed for good that night, he could have sworn he felt clawed fingers gently carding through his hair and heard the tell-tale lilt of a certain carnie’s favourite tavern song as he drifted off, for the first time, into dreamless sleep.

#my writing #cr #critical role #caleb widogast #cr mollymauk #mollymauk tealeaf #widomauk #im sorry but this character study was fun #the ocs are mine whoops #goddammmnit magnus stfu

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worldbecomefantasy · 5 years

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Dragon Age Verses

Before I get into these bios, I need to say: I have not finished DA:I. As such, these AUs explain through DAO up to the start of DA:I, but they don’t tell the ending of DA:I, cause I have no clue how it ends. Aside from more questions because fuck the egg head.

I also don’t know too terribly much about Tevinter, which is where some of my muses are from. So sorry if those sections are kinda lacking. @bygonesin lore dumped on me a lot about Tevinter and some about Antiva- though less was needed for Antiva because I do love my Antivan Elf boy from DAO.

Anyways though, everything is below the cut cause fucking hell writing AUs for nine characters is a lotta space and I’m sorry to everyone on mobile that the read more doesn’t work for.

The Trio

The three of them were all born in Kirkwall. They’re all from Hightown, but it’s far from unfamiliar to see them anywhere in the city. Their families are very different. Khal and Rion lost their mother as a child, and had to fight tooth and nail to keep their home when their father stopped responding to the world. They received a lot of support from their family friends, but eventually that had to run out. That was the turning point in which Rion started up a business, and Khal became a mercenary with Dez.

Dez’s family was much larger, with much more stability. Both his parents were living, and his younger siblings were all thriving. They did everything they could to help Khal and Rion after their mother died, but it only went so far. When Khal started going out on jobs, Dez went with her. Not to protect her, but to learn more about to world. To see the wonders he’s heard about in Varric’s stories.

Rion and Khal are commonly making connections everywhere they can. Rion for business, and Khal for work. Much to Rion’s distress, Khal found her way into mercenary work. The only thing he can do though, is work his hardest to run a business that can supply her with proper equipment so she’s not at risk.

Dez, similarly to Khal, does pick up oddball jobs, but seldom ever does he do it for money. He’s not looking for work, so much as he’s looking for a story. Commonly he does work with Khal, but not always. He enjoys spending time in the Hanged Man, picking up stories, and telling his own.

When he’s 21, Dez is with his brother Monty on a job in Ferelden. It starts out fine, but things don’t stay fine. They find themselves trapped in Denerim as a blight breaks out. They manage to survive, but it’s a terrifying experience. Afterwards they go back to Kirkwall, and stay there for some time with their family, not wanting to risk being separated like that again.

Seven years later their plan to stay safe in Kirkwall falls apart, with the explosion of the Chantry. All of them, Khal, Rion, and their father, as well as Dez’s whole family, are struck by the disaster. War breaks out, and none are really sure what to do. For the next 4 years the group of them are just trying to get by, until they find themselves back in Ferelden, joining up with the Inquisition. Dez, Monty, and Khal are all joining the fight. Rion proves himself as a valuable leader.

Levi Valter

Levi Valter was born in a noble family in Tevinter. Magic ran in his family for generations, so it was no surprise that he was gifted with it as well. He proved at a young age that he had far more power than his predecessors. Because of this he easily gained respect from those around him.

As an adult he did many things. First and foremost he maintained the family. House Teirany, headed by Tristan, had a long standing feud with House Valter. The elder generation didn’t care to make peace, and neither did Levi. Lani Teirany, on the other hand, believed her and Levi were destined to be together. A point that honestly just made Levi more willing to be in conflict with the Teirany family.

Despite the natural magic ability he had he refused positions with the Magistrates. His loyalty was to his family, and nothing beyond that. He’s not averse to expanding the family though. He does take a wife, a woman named Maggie. She’s from another noble family, but one with no ties to the conflict between Valter and Teirany. With Maggie he has a daughter who is now 8, named Isabel.

Cyrus Zerrin

Cyrus is, for all intents and purposes, normal. He’s no mage, he’s no warrior, he doesn’t work for the chantry even. He’s just a man. He has learned all he can on how to care for others, starting from a young age. When he was ten monsters began coming down from Redcliffe castle and attacking the town. He was forced, rather jarringly, into learning how to handle medicine.

He worked hard, as did everyone in town. But losses happened regardless. His best friend’s father died, among many others in town. After that Nyx took up defending their home. Cyrus admired him for it. They were so young, and worked so hard to protect everyone.

Years passed, and Cyrus lived his life. He was never one to get into trouble like Nyx and Libertus, but he never left their sides. He spent many long days and nights helping them in the bar, cleaning up after them when they sparred, taking Selena and Teyla home when it was too late to let the girls go alone. Even if Cyrus wasn’t a trained fighter, it made them feel more comfortable to have someone else with them.

Around a decade later though... things got bad. At the age of 17 a war broke out, starting in Kirkwall and quickly spreading south. Apostates and templars were fighting everywhere, and then a rift opened in the sky and demons were added to the chaos. Redcliffe was torn apart when a smaller rift tore open near the town. The Inquisitor managed to swoop in in time to save most, but Selena and Teyla were both lost.

After that battle Nyx and Libertus left to join the Inquisition. For a few months he stayed in Redcliffe, trying to help the people in his home. He didn’t stay for long though, without his sister, without his friends, he felt useless. He wanted to do more, so he left and joined the Inquisition as well.

During the months he was still at home, he was heavily depressed and trying to fill that hole with anything he could. This included one night stands, one of which was with a woman named Ocean. Unbeknownst to Cyrus this left her pregnant. When he gets back to Redcliffe he’s going to be in for quite the surprise.

Kanan Jarrus

Caleb was born from two apostates. They had once been apart of Ferelden’s circle, but escaped when they realized they would have a child. Their escape didn’t last long, but it was long enough for Caleb to be born. Because of how soon after his birth his parents were caught he was taken to the circle tower to be raised, as it was highly likely he would be a mage as well. His parents were made tranquil and he was never told of his relation to them. He then grew up knowing his parents, but not knowing who they were, as the tranquil had no reason to share that information. The only thing he had from his parents was the name Caleb Dume.

Growing up in the tower he of course was trained in how to use magic the moment he showed signs of being capable. Exactly as the Templars had expected. His upbringing was strict, and he never enjoyed it a whole lot. He knew there was more to the world outside the tower, and he wanted to experience it for himself.

As such, when he went for his Harrowing he hatched a plan to escape. It went off... with a few problems. But nothing he couldn’t get around. After spending his whole life around the Templars he knew how they worked, he knew how to outsmart them. Best of all, he knew what they would expect and how to go farther than their expectations.

Once he was outside the tower he went on the run, changed his name to Kanan Jarrus. He spent the rest of his life traveling, never staying too long in one place, never getting attached to anything or anyone. Even once he was in the world, he found it hard to be a part of the world.

He eventually meets a group that becomes like family. He fights through the Blight with them, and then when war breaks out he has no choice but to pick a side. As a mage who grew up subjected by the Templars he wasn’t about to stand by as a war for freedom waged.

Asha Shala

An elven, Antivan bounty hunter. He’s always been in competition with the Crows, but never had direct run ins with them. It’s more of a race. Marks get sent out to Crows and bounty hunters alike, and it’s always a fun game to see who kills the mark first.

Asha works alongside Jipp and Kelsyn, and they have a good thing going. They commonly do manage to beat the Crows, but there’s also a lot of jobs that go straight to the Crows. That’s where Jipp and Kelsyn work best. They’re the ones picking up jobs, or dropping in on the Crows to steal them.

Kelsyn is a Crow fugitive, so she knows how they operate, and sometimes she can even trick the younger Crows into believing she’s still one of them. That’s working less and less the more she does it, but it’s a fun strategy while it does work.

He’s vaguely aware that Ferelden, and perhaps all of Thedas, is falling apart, but it’s not effecting Antiva a whole lot so he’s not super worried about it.

Nyx Ulric

Nyx was born and raised in Redcliffe. He’s always loved dogs, so growing up he begged his parents for a dog. They refused for several years, but when Selena was old enough to join in on the begging they agreed to get a mabari puppy, as a full grown mabari would likely trample four year old Selena. Despite this, the dog grew faster than she did and in a year was nearly fully grown. Nyx would often times hold onto Selena and let her ride on the back of the mabari as if it were a horse. Their mother of course fussed at him, saying Selena would get hurt, but that never stopped him.

When Nyx was twelve his life took a, rather drastic, turn for the worse. Monsters started coming down from the castle, destroying the village and killing anyone they came across. Nyx’s father joined the fight, trying to defend the village. Finally when the Grey Wardens came and fought along side them, they were triumphant. Despite the overall triumph, Nyx’s father was fatally wounded in the battle.

After this Nyx started training to fight with his childhood friend Libertus. He wouldn’t let anything hurt his family again. In the aftermath of the battle he found one of his father’s kukris. The blacksmith, Owen, made a second blade for him. Before the wardens left one of them gave him a few pointers. His mother scolded him at first, as he would commonly come home hurt, but she understood he wasn’t doing it for fun. No mother wants to see their child grow up, but knowing he was learning to protect her and Selena was a small comfort. Having a war hound in the house didn’t hurt her feelings either.

The older he got the more he trained, then eventually getting a job at the tavern alongside Libertus. His mother had done what she could to support them, but it was hard. When he was nineteen a war broke out in Kirkwall. It spread south, nearly ripping Redcliffe apart. The fighting made leaving the city dangerous, and it only grew worse when the rift opened in the sky, allowing demons into their world. His home was near the wall, but still outside of the real limits of Redcliffe’s village. This left them open to attack, and that is exactly what happened. The Inquisitor saved him and his mother, but not until after Nyx had watched his sister be killed by shades. Nyx felt indebted to the Inquisitor and signed up with the inquisition.

As for how he fights, it’s not as simple as one might expect. He wields the kukris he’s had since he was a child, but with an added edge. The only people who knew were his family and Libertus. Around the time the monsters were attacking from the castle Nyx discovered he has magic. It’s weak, but it’s enough to give him an edge in a fight. He’s kept it hidden, especially since an apostate blew up the chantry. The Inquisitor, however, took notice and inquired about it. This was a major factor in Nyx’s decision to join the inquisition.

Titus Drautos

Drautos has always cared more about himself than others. His family was... family in appearance alone. Tevinter is not known for being kind or forgiving. It’s a place run on power, and if you’re not noble and a mage, you have next to none. Drautos is noble, but he has no magic and thus can’t get what he wants.

After living in that hell for over 30 years, he leaves. His name of nobility may or may not carry weight in Ferelden, but if nothing else the simpletons of the country can be easily used. The whole in the sky needs to be dealt with first, but after that Drautos can do anything in Ferelden.

Helping the Inquisition will no doubt make him a hero in the people’s eyes, and put him in a place above others. Where he can build his own family, one that actually has meaning. One that actually has power.

#da verse #about rion #about khal #about dez #about cyrus #about nyx #about drautos #about asha #about kanan #about levi #wishlist

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garbagecann24601 · 5 years

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I was going through some old notebooks and found some real gems.

Look theres a spider craling up that tree.

Look theres a spider apan that girls knee.

Look a spider spinning a web.

Spiders have eight legs.

There’s one craling up your leg.

They eat flys.

They eat moths.

But they don’t have aney claws.

“An Author I must Be”

An author’s the job for me,

An author I must be.

The title page should say this book was made,

By Jayde.

I love to write yes I do.

Do you like writing too?

To write a book,

You just have to look,

In your imagination for the right thing to write.

It might be hard yes it might.

“Diary of Anna Sulfer”

May 9th 1900

Today my mother had her baby. It was a boy named Joshua J. Sulfer. You would think I would be happy but I am not for mother has died.

“Diary of Elizabeth Adams” (silly stories)

The second day of September, 1870

Mother found out she is pregnat today. I do so hope it’s a girl! Father said babies take about six months to fully develop and come out. Mother says I should be happy even if the baby’s a boy. I think we don’t need a boy because we already have Mark, Timothy, Andrew, Paul, Joseph, Caleb, Willie, Marcus, Benjamin, Thomas, Frank, Charlie, Albert, Eddie, Christopher, Peter, Samuel, Levi, Josiah, Edward, Cole, Clark, Lewis, Brad, Austin, Jacob, Jack, Michal, Alexander, Zackery, Amadeous, Ezekiel, David, Isac, Jeremy, Terry, Victor, Matthew, Ted, Luther, Lin, Fredrik, Alfred, Allan, Horace, Arther, Walter, Charles, Colton, Bert, Simion, Ryan, Kyle, Evan, Grant, Paul, James, John, Jesse, Anthony, Pat, Jerimiah, Hezikiah, Malici, Curt, Joe,

“The Lost Rubies”

Mical and Milissa were two twins. Mical was a smart boy who loved science and Millisa on the other hand was always amagining things but she loved history.. Mical and Millisa had solved one mystery before.

On the lovely spring day of May 28, 2000 Mical and Millisa weregoing to a old building. When they drived up Millisa had her amagenation going like crazy. Their father told them about the lost rubies that once belonged to a queen might be in that building.

Mical was talking about how rubies are formed. “And remember don’t touch anything” reminded their father for what seemed like the hundrenth time. “We will we will.” said Millisa and Mical. “Bye dad.” said Millisa. As they entered the building Mical said “This would make a great place to do science explosons!”

“No way! It should be used as a Laura Ingalls memorial sesiety!” exclaimed Millisa. “No way! It should be used as a place you learn about vertabrates and invertebretes.” said Mical. “What are we arguing about?” said Millisa. “Let’s look for the lost rubies.” said Mical. They went upstairs and looked around. “What was that?” whispered Millisa. “What?” asked Mical caususly. “Over there.” said Milllisa pointing. “Woof.” said a dog. “It’s just a dog. And dogs are carnivores.” said Mical. “What’s a carnivore?” asked Millisa. “A meat eating animal.” said Mical. The dog howled. “Michel are you sure this is a dog it’s acting a little wilder.” said Millisa. Michal aproched the dog not knowing what to expect.

“This is defenetly a carnivore look at it’s sharp teeth.” said Mical holding the jaws of a wolf. “If it’s teeth are so sharp I’d let go.” said Millisa. A light from the lantern they held for there were no electric lights danced from the lantern and Millisa saw fierce eyes looking at her brother, shaggy gray fur fell from his body. “Mical that must be a old dog. It’s furs gray and long.” said Millissa. “Snap.” wen the olfs jaws on Mical’s hand. “Mical!” shouted Millisa. “I’m okay.” said Mical. “Why it’s face.” said Millisa.

“It’s stoped hurting now.” said Mical. “I’m taking my jackknife and cutting it open.” said Mical. “Be careful.” warned Millisa. When Mical cut the fake wolf open they gasped. “The rubies.” said Millisa half speechless nd half imagining her as a royal girl with hundreds of rubies on.

The MM twins did it again!

The End.

^^These were all from a notebook that I had when I was maybe 7 or 8. The next ones are from Jr High and High School when NO ONE UNDERSTOOD ME

“Kiss Me Once” (I have **NO** idea what prompted this or who it’s supposed to be about)

Kiss me once, my love.

Kiss me once before you go,

Before your soul soars high above.

Kiss me once, my little pet

For night is drawing to an end

And we shall soon all but forget

This love we shared but no one knew

And which I can scarcely call reality,

But if I can but once kiss you,

My fear will go away,

and all my dreams will then come true

For I shall see that you were more than a dream,

or else, the fairy tales are coming true.

“All Alone” or “The Box” (This one was dated 2-24-12, which means I would have been 14)

I poured my heart into a box

And sealed it with a kiss

I left the box upon my shelf

And nothing was amiss.

And on the days when skies were dark,

When wind and rain and tempest blew

I drew upon my little box

And whispered “I love you.”

And every day my box was safe;

It rested there upon its shelf

And long before I realized why

I had begun to call it “self.”

But one day when I came back home

I missed my little box’s song

And that’s when I began to call

Each thing that I did “wrong.”

For my heart went missing

With my box that disappeared

And life seems so much worse now

Than everything I’ve feared.

For now I see what I have done;

My chest is home to a dark black hole

And all that I now ever feel

Is coldness in my soul.

For I have nothing left.

I am all alone.

(The context for this next one is that I really really hated playing piano, but my parents made me keep taking lessons)

That wretched thing

I’m forced to play

Like a ball and chain

Ties me down today.

That horrid thing

Made my cry

And day after day

I wish it would die

And oh how I long

To worship the King,

But how could I ever

With this foul thing?

No one understands

How this tears me up inside.

They told me I played well,

As I ran and hid and cried.

They don’t notice

The hatred that I feel.

But very deep inside me

The emotions are so real.

“Forever Satisfied”

They threw me into prison

They locked me up in jail

I sat in there forever

‘Cause I couldn’t pay the bail.

They told me to run faster

They told me not to quit.

And though I ran forever

I never did get fit.

I got blisters on my hand

From where the pencil rubbed me wrong,

And though I wrote forever

She condemned it as too long.

I sat and played piano

Then just broke down and cried.

And though I practiced forever,

They were not satisfied.

I tried to fit in with them.

I tried to be their friend.

And though I was with them forever,

I was rejected in the end.

Then one day I stopped breathing.

I had up and died.

And I was with Jesus forever.

Forever satisfied.

“Why Did You Lie?” (I wrote this my freshman year of high school about a senior who in no way ever promised me anything)

Why did you lie?

You promised not to leave

You promised me forever.

You promised me a bond

That time could not sever.

But now you ever see me.

You never look my way

And now I see the other one.

The one you love today.

Is this all my fault?

Now I’m lonely and afraid.

You promised me your love

But the promise never stayed.

I thought we had a future

I hoped that this was real.

But whatever I thought I felt

Was too good for you to feel.

For your heart is cold and hard as ice

Your chest is a deep hole.

And I see myself as I am

The fool whose heart you stole.

(I think I wrote this one when my sister graduated high school and was preparing to move away to college)

And I fade into the wall.

There’s nothing much to look at.

There’s nothing there at all.

You’re going on a journey,

And I’m saying here behind.

You’re in for an adventure,

Who knows what you may find.

Your life is changing,

But mine isn’t at all.

I’m the phantom in the shadows,

And I blend into the wall.

You talk about your leaving

And your following your call.

And my heart is quickly breaking

In the darkness of its fall.

“Black. White” (Warning: This one is quite angsty, touching on themes of self harm and suicide, and then very religious)

I AM BLACK

I am shadows in the night.

I am nothing by day.

Hatred and bitterness spew out of my heart and cut others.

I made my mother cry. Again.

I really didn’t mean to. A careless word. Insensitivity. I didn’t know.

Now I feel invisible. Obscure. despicable. Like a spot on a bright white shirt.

A mistake. A misunderstanding. A vain struggle to survive.

Why aren’t I dead?

I’m sure my bad outweighs my good. I should burn. I should bleed. I should pay.

My world feels cold and empty now.

No more tears. No colors. No smiles.

I am the absence of light. I repel it. It hides from my face.

Even it thinks I’m hopeless.

I am a sinner.

I am black.

I have a Savior.

He is white.

He is the morning star.

He is the sweet breath of life.

His heart is full of love and kindness and compassion for others.

He paid the penalty for all my sin.

He really didn’t have to. The world hated Him. Rejected. Few cared.

He became mortal. human. weak. needy. Like one of us, but

Perfect. Spotless. Beautiful. Lamb of God.

And yet He died.

He had done no wrong. He should be praised. magnified. exalted.

He created the world and filled it with life.

He shed His blood. He paid my ransom. He died.

He is light. The grave could not hold Him. Darkness shudders.

Even nature screams His praises.

He is my Savior.

He makes me white.

#poetry #short story #angst

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foofygoldfish · 6 years

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deputy alice riley

Soooooooooo this is gonna be long, but it’s pretty much anything you could ever want to know about alice lol

her full name is Claire Alice Riley, though she pretty much only goes by Alice. Staci calls her Allie, and she haaates it.

She was born in Falls End on October 30th, 1992.

Her face claim is Anya Taylor-Joy, just shorter (5′) and with pink hair. She naturally has dark brown hair, though when her hair isn’t pink, she dyes it blonde.

Her childhood in Fall’s End was fairly average - her sister was annoying (Jane was the designated babysitter, and hated it), so was her brother (he loved frogs and spiders, she… didn’t; though she got him back by her loving snakes and him being terrified of them, which is still true), her parents were happily married. The car crash happened after a Girl Scout’s meeting (the troop disbanded not long after, but not because of the crash) that her dad picked her up from. She came out with a broken arm and a concussion, but that was it. She doesn’t really remember much from the few hours before or after the crash. A few years after, the Sheriff had Jane (who had custody at this point) send her and Caleb to California, where her aunt and uncle were her legal guardians. Her uncle is a chef for big events, so he had weird hours, but they were able to live comfortably and (to Alice’s amazement, Caleb’s disdain) to have passes to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. Her aunt works in the industry and travels a lot, but both of them tried to be home more for the first few weeks after the twins moved in. The twins were both involved with theatre, but Caleb is the one with the real acting talent - Alice thought about being a voice actor, but it’s more of a hobby for her than anything.

Her family owns the Fall’s End Garage - she’s not the best at the mechanical side of running the shop, but she’s pretty good at running the business side of things. She wanted to ban peggies from the shop, but Jane wouldn’t let her.

Lives in the house behind the garage in Fall’s End - it was her parents, her sister kept it after she moved in with her then-boyfriend - she didn’t want to stay, but nobody was really looking to buy houses at that point, so she boarded it up for the twins. Jane joined after the house was “given” to Alice, so the house was fine.

She misses LA like crazy, especially once winter hits. She loves having rainy days again, but ten years of no winter? Her dream.

Her brother, Caleb, thinks the testy festy is hilarious, and after everything is over, is so mad that he missed it. Alice doesn’t agree with him. At all.

She’s technically Catholic - she was baptised, went to her first communion, and then pretty much stopped going to church. She goes to Pastor Jerome’s masses for the comfort and traditions when she moves back, but she doesn’t really believe.

She loves being on the water. She prefers surfing and kayaking, but adapts to the lakes and rivers of Hope County quickly. She’s not a huge fan of fish, but she starts to like fishing at some point. She definitely prefers it to hunting, and if given the choice, will definitely go fishing.

Speaking of hunting... Alice has a habit of darting off into a field of bliss when she’s bored hunting in the Henbane. She doesn’t actively do drugs, and doesn’t want to be an angel, but... She gets bored. And has impulse issues sometimes.

The Seeds tease/taunt her because of her height - she doesn’t even come up to Jacob’s shoulder, which I also think is kinda hilarious lol. Staci used to tease her too, but the entire department learned not to/were told by Whitehorse to stop (unless she can’t reach something and she doesn’t have anything to climb on)

When everything’s done, she helps Grace open up a little cafe. There’s plenty of people to help run it, and she thinks that (after a nice vacation) it would be good for Grace, and eventually Jess as well.

The Sheriff forces her to take a vacation after everything. She tries to go back to just being the Junior Deputy, but she gets roped into continuing to help the resistance. She pretty much takes over Virgil’s responsibilities as mayor, and helps to set up a small school for the few kids left in the county.

If you’ve seen Wynonna Earp - she has the same blue and white truck as Wynonna. She came back to Fall’s End with her little electric car, but that isn’t really feasible to keep using, so she took it up to Missoula one day and sold it. The salesman tried to sell her a fancy new truck, but she was happy with the one Jane had kept for her.

Most called gun for hire: Jess and Grace. She’s not the best at being sneaky, and her eyes aren’t the best for sniping (she had an optometrist appointment for a week after the initial mission, she obviously missed it), so she almost has one or both of them with her. When she needs to just fuck shit up, she’ll call Sharky, though

She started at the sheriff’s office as a secretary - it was a job, and she’d be able to look after her sister (“who didn’t need looking after” but there had been some fainting spells), and then after Hudson’s partner died, Whitehorse told her that she could apply for the role, and she took him up on that.

If she did join the cult, she’d have a fairly nondescript position - probably something administrative, as that’s what her degree is in. Definitely something behind the scenes and non-violent.

Fucking loves disaster movies. She’s a slut for disaster movies. Like, she’ll sit through all the shitty SyFy channel ones as well as the big budget ones (San Andreas is one of her favorites - it’s so cheesy, but it has Dwayne Johnson and Alexandra Daddario, AND GIANT FUCKIN EARTHQUAKES. And the guy from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries who is a total teddy bear)

She doesn’t really like planes or helicopters - if they are needed, she’ll get Nick or Addie. She knows enough to take off and land, but she’ll avoid flying herself if at all possible. The mission where Kim has her take Carmina and blow up peggie supplies? Fucking terrifying.

She rock climed and did some parkour back in LA. She didn’t keep up with it when she moved, but it obviously comes in handy...

Alice has two cats: Crookshanks and Data. They are both huge Norwegian forest cats, Crookshanks is an orange tabby, and Data is a grey tabby. When she’s not home, Mary May happily takes care of them.

She has a shitton of anxiety problems. She had a decent supply of meds when shit went down.

She has a major panic attack after driving Nick and Kim to the clinic. Even without the shit all over the road, she was terrified that she would crash and hurt or kill the Ryes.

Relationships:

Jane - She’s 8 years older than Alice. Alice absoultely does not approve of her relationship with John, and is horrified when she finds out that her sister married the fucker.

Caleb - Both of them are horrible at keeping in contact, so he’s not worried at all when she goes off the radar.

Joseph - She thinks he’s full of shit lol

John - Direct quote from when she’s told her sin is wrath: “No, it’s not wrath, it’s I fucking hate you.” Once they’re able to laugh about it, Hudson doesn’t let her live that down.

Faith - Uh, she obvs thinks Faith is the cutest. She has a hard time keeping her sass to an angry level, rather than super flirty.

Jacob - They fucked. After the Rye’s barbeque with the infamous watery mac n cheese. I still haven’t figured out why? She hates him now, and absoultely regrets the one night stand (...mostly. She thinks.)

Mary May - Her childhood best friend. They tried to keep in contact after Alice moved, but they eventually both moved on - Alice with new friends in LA, Mary May with helping to run the bar.

Pastor Jerome - He doesn’t mind that she isn’t a practicing Catholic, and welcomes her with open arms. She tries to get people to go to his church again after everything, to mixed levels of success.

Dutch - She’s not a huge fan of him, but she’s grateful for his help, and he is grateful for what she does and how she helps Jess.

Eli - He can’t reconcile the image of the Junior Deputy and the Alice he knows in his head - she doesn’t act anything like the rumors flying around the county, but he loves her (as a friend).

Tracey - They don’t get along very well - it’s a very strained, very professional relationship. Tracey knows that Alice likes Faith, and is very worried that she’ll be too soft on her.

Virgil - She loves his pins, which makes her super cool in his book. They quickly become friends, and he becomes a sorta mentor to her before his death.

Nick and Kim - Nick finds it hilarious that she hates planes so much, and he only uses it to tease her sometimes. Nick quickly becomes like an older brother to her, and she spoils Baby Rye rotten after she’s born.

Adelaide - Also amused by Alice’s feelings on flying, but doesn’t bring it up often as Alice was a frequent visitor to the marina before shit went down. Adelaide doesn’t understand Alice’s crush on Faith, but she will tease her about it (as long as Alice doesn’t defect).

Grace - The two met once before Grace’s parade, and then again at Alice’s dad’s funeral. They get along pretty well, and Alice always has her with her when liberating outposts or doing anything that requires her to have good vision.

Hurk - He drives her insane. She thinks he’s funny, and a really nice guy, but he’s so loud.

Sharky - On the other hand, she loves Sharky. She teases him about the time he puked on Grace every time he mentions having an upset stomach. They’ve drunkenly kissed a few times, but they both try and act like it didn’t happen.

Jess - In the main story? Her girlfriend by the end of the game. Jess teaches her how to hunt properly, even though Alice hates it. Jess joins in her teasing of Sharky about the puking. She hates it when Jess uses the fire arrows - Sharky and Hurk already set her clothes on fire, she doesn’t need it from her super-stealthy person! At the end of everything, she tries to convince Jess to play video games (instead of killing people), to some but not much success.

Relationship wise: They start off with drunken kisses, then one night stands, and then realise that the amount of one night stands (and nights when they fall asleep together) they have mean they’re kinda girlfriends.

Fangs - She sleeps with Boomer in her bed every night, despite her cats protests. She’ll cuddle with Peaches and Cheeseburger when it’s cold and she’s outside, but it’s a little harder to get the two of them inside the house.

Marshal Burke - She thinks he’s a decent person, a little egotistical, but decent. She’s super shocked when he shoots himself.

Whitehorse - He’s part of the reason she starts to not mind fishing. He’s her surrogate dad, and has been looking out for her since her dad died. They’re both relieved to see each other after the crash.

Hudson - She’s not too sure about Alice at first, but she quickly becomes protective of the “city girl,” and willingly does all of the night driving.

Staci - Her brother’s ex-best friend (for the same reasons as with Mary May). She didn’t really get past “I tolerate you” until the events of the game. After he’s rescued, they become platonic cuddle buddies, even after he starts his thing with Stella. They both agree to not tell Caleb exactly what happened to both of them.

#deputy alice riley #oh lordy this is longer than i anticipated and i still cut out half of what i have in the word doc #apologies to anyone on mobile

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notintheipswichboyband · 7 years

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It really didn't matter what Caleb or anyone else had to say about Chase. There was not enough evidence to prove that he had actually killed anyone. The closest they had gotten had been to the dead guy that had been found, because obviously Chase had stolen their identity. But they could not place him at the scene of the crime. They had no idea how the other had really even died. That only clear evidence was that they were, and Chase had taken advantage of it, in the eyes of the cops. It was a 'coincidence' they chalked it all down to. Calling Chase a witch had only gotten his accusers strange looks, because not even anyone in the town believed that much in witches.

Everything happened in flashes. Pieces of memory Chase couldn't quite make out clear enough, his head hurt, his body hurt. But he was alive, he knew that he was, of course. No dead person could have been in as much pain as he was in, right? He just didn't know where in the hell he had been. There was no sign of fire, just trees. There were plenty of tree's and it was still dark outside. Pushing himself up a bit he managed to move himself away from one where he fell, wincing as pain cut through his back. Dropping to the ground he pushed back the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. But it was too much, the pain had been far too much, even for him and after trying for another few minutes to force himself forward. He dropped to the ground again letting out a breath as he surrendered, everything fading to black.

It took two days, roughly, before anyone had walked into the woods and stumbled upon Chase. It had taken another day for the doctors to work on stabilizing Chase's condition. He had large second and third degree burns over his body. Several damaged organs and a broken back. Ultimately he had been left in a coma in order for him to even begin to heal. It had been on the third day that police contacted Caleb about possibly finding Chase. They of course didn't know for sure, which is why they had contacted Caleb.

A few days later he had been shown images of Chase, not wanting Caleb to get anyone near the prime suspecting being accused of murder, by Caleb. Especially since it had been looking like Chase was tortured. His wounds suspiciously looked as though someone had intentionally set him on fire as well as had beaten him. And though the police had not begun to question Caleb about it, it was on everyone's mind. What had really happened that night at the barn had only been told, by one other person. As the police spoke with Caleb they made sure to avoid any accusatory questions, only wanting Caleb to identify that the person they had found, was indeed the person they had thought killed three people. And Caleb had done that. They then released him going back to their investigation.

Caleb returned to the other sons of Ipswich then, who were not happy that Chase was indeed still alive. Pogue had especially not like that Chase was being 'pampered' in a hospital, after all he had done to them and other people. Pogue had never really liked Chase, and as he was talking it had become a little more clear just how much he had never trusted Chase entirely. Though he was not really the type of guy who had accepted anyone close to the people he loved, just out of the blue. He was like a wolf, in that sense. Caleb had ordered everyone to just remain silent and stay out of trouble while the police had their eye on them. Caleb then decided he was going to find out more about Chase, try and gather up anything to get him sent away.

He knew Chase had still been a threat, whenever the other could get out of the hospital they would be after him again, he had developed a paranoia about it. Since the incident had happened he had been having nightmares, more terrifying than any Chase could make him have. But it was Chase who he had considered to be the nightmare, without the use of magic.

After a month of searching for anything to get Chase a life sentence for murder he had eventually found his way to the hospital Chase was being held at. He slipped into the intensive care unit. It was a little unlike him. But his paranoia and sleepless nights had perhaps made him a little more inclined to breaking in. Despite this not being the very same as when he and Pogue broke into the schools files to look for Chase before. This was more out of desperation. He walked closer to Chase's room, having sensed where they were keeping him. There was no sort of protection outside. Walking into the room Caleb moved closer to the bed an uncharacteristic anger bubbling inside of him. As he could hear the breathing tube pumping air into the other teenagers body, his eyes moved to the tube. Something about the fact that Chase was being allowed to live was irritating him.

He didn't think it was fair, his father was dead, and Chase wasn't. He had blamed Chase for what happened to his father. He was angry about it. Coldly he made his way closer to Chase, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to the other, just staring. He still couldn't add it up. This person in front of him, that he knew nothing about, had caused him so much misery and trouble. Had come into his life and tried to kill him. Why had he still been alive? Leaning forward he grabbed the breathing tube, again, very much unlike how he liked to think of himself to be. He was supposed to be composed, in control, wasn't he?

As he could hear Chase struggling to breath he released the tube before leaning back, he hated Chase. But there was still something about them. Something curious, really. He wanted to learn more about them. Wanted to know why they had turned out the way they had. Though it was really obvious. It had been very clear how Chase had turned out the way he was. He just had been choosing to ignore it. Because it would mean he would have to sympathize with this person who had tried to kill him. It would mean he would have to accept that Chase was damaged, as he had said. Long before he had even met Caleb. Caleb didn't enjoy that very much. No. He could never empathize with this psychopath. That's what Chase was, a madman with too much power, a power hungry psychopath. And he wasn't wrong.

But he still hated it, because there was something more to it. Wasn't there always? The world was full of far too many grey's sometimes. It made thinking in black and white a selfish act. People couldn't just be evil, or just be good. No, they had to have a story behind their reasoning. And Chase had one, a mostly untold one. Caleb wished he would have died at the barn. It would have saved him all of this inspection, he thought. Maybe he could get away with it, if Chase had just died. Get away with thinking, maybe Chase wasn't completely wrong for going, what he viewed as, completely insane. Maybe Chase had chosen the best option he could, under his circumstances. Pushing himself up he leaned over Chase, brown eyes locking onto his partially burned face.

“You were jealous, weren't you. In your mind, I had everything, family, friend who understood what I was going through. Protection from the dangers outside of Ipswich, wealth.” Caleb narrowed his eyes a little on Chase's face “What did you need, Chase? What was it? If you had everything you wanted. And not what you needed, what was it? Do you even know? Was it worth all of this?” Caleb moved back from Chase then, growing a little more frustrated about the things he had missed. Trying to figure out a way he could have stopped this from happening. There was this feeling, ever since Chase had entered their lives, like there had been a completion of a whole. All four of them felt it, that click, the final piece of a puzzle being put into place.

For a moment he wondered how things would have gone, if Chase didn't have to bring himself to them. If he had been found sooner. How it would have been a lot easier for him to deal with, if he had control over the situation. That was really what he cared about, controlling the situation. Chase was not like the others. He was uncontrollable. He was defiant. Someone who was supposed to be a member of their coven turned into an enemy. Made into someone who would never belong, long before he had even been born. Yes, maybe, he thought, Chase was better off dead. It would better, for him, a righteous retribution for all evil Chase had committed. His family must have committed in their exiled existence. If Chase had only died and his bloodline ended.

And the heart machine flat lined, all of a sudden the anger melted as he realized that Chase, just like any of his other Brothers, was still just young and stupid. He made mistakes, had not been taught the proper disciplines as the rest of them. His world shrank for a moment as he tried to process the two feelings of wanting Chase to die, and needing him to live. A little voice in the back of his mind had told him that Chase needed to live, for his sake. He was trapped in his own little world, when several staff came rushing in, pushing him out as they tried to figure out what had been causing Chase to flat line. Caleb could just hear that it had something to do with the breathing tube before the door closed and another staff member had security take him away from the scene.

Months went by before anything was done. Chase had been ruled out as a suspect for the most part, though the cops were going to keep an eye on him. He had been released into the care of someone unknown Caleb had learned, but didn't look into it any farther. Ever since the incident at the hospital he had been trying to ignore that part of his life and spend his time making sure everything was as The Covenant, had planned, in the book.

It wasn't until Chase had seemingly made them run into each other while Caleb had been out buying something for himself and almost walked into the other as he exited the store. Smirking, the scarred teen had seemed to not lose his personality, even if he did lose some of his good looks “Chase, I thought you were dead.” Caleb muttered as he narrowed his eyes on the other male.

“Yeah, I bet you would like for me to be. But, I'm Chase Collins, I think it would be an insult to my family if I died to someone as weak as you.” Chase narrowed his eyes on Caleb then but didn't make an attempt to attack Caleb. It was still apparent that he was still injured. It was also obvious that he was using his powers. Caleb gave him a knowing look before he turned and started to walk away. Chase watched as he started to walk toward the store again, staring at the back of Caleb's head as he entered the store. It was obvious that the wheels were in motion, Chase wanted power, and he wasn't going to stop until he got more of it.

#Self #There you have it #Skies #ahah XD

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rainyhart · 7 years

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pll story-lines i personally would’ve liked to have seen handled better / more of, a list:

season one:

hanna’s bulimia. something brought up and dropped in a matter of a few episodes only to be mentioned every once in a blue moon throughout the rest of the series in a reference to how she used to be heavier, but not much else.

toby’s rape. jenna, on the night she was blinded, was found by alison molesting her step-brother toby. the incident is never properly addressed for the rest of the series.

season two:

mike’s depression. it was mentioned that mike was going through a lot after the divorce of his (and aria’s) parents, but after it was found out that he had been the one stealing from neighbors houses in rosewood, the story-line quickly disappeared.

the n.a.t club. we still know very little about what the club got up to when it was active & it could have been explored more

vivian darkbloom. in general we know vivian was alison’s alias when on the run, but not much else.

season three:

maya’s death. very quickly brushed under the rug along with emily’s cling to alcohol and her recovery after maya was killed.

the fitzgeralds. there were many ezra story-lines i didnt care for, but to learn more about his family would’ve been interesting.

paige & alison. their past was pretty said and done but there could’ve been more done to their relationship in terms of how it even got the way it did.

paige’s anxiety about -a. after the halloween train paige has intense anxiety over being out at all, and ducks out of plans often to be home in fear of something bad happening to her. in 3x15 she has a small panic attack about being out and its never talked about again.

meredith. out of nowhere locked aria in her room and drugged her with tea so she could search through her things, got found out about it and disappeared with very little explanation.

cape may. alison’s pregnancy scare?? alison, cece, jason, wilden, melissa all at cape may and there was so much potential there but yet, nothing.

toby on the -a team. honestly would’ve loved to see what all he got up to on the team once it was revealed to both spencer and the audience, how the fake death plan came about, where he was hiding out, etc.

spencer’s mental health. completely ignored and implied to be all about toby even after saying she didn’t want to be herself anymore which could’ve led to an interesting mental health dialogue.

spencer on the -a team. taken advantage of!!!! potential to have been dragged further into the next season but cut short to please the network/fans and reunite spencer with toby as a happy non -a team couple.

season four:

spencer post radley. almost as though it never happened, unfortunately.

mike & hanna. this was a thing for a few minutes in 4x15, and while aria doesn’t seem to mind that it happened, i wish they would’ve explained more of what their past relation to each other was like.

spencer abusing drugs. although it lasted for several episodes, the way the issue was treated by her friends, family, and even boyfriend was incredibly awful and not at all supportive, not showing a great example to those that may struggle from drug abuse and are seeking help of their own. added to that, we never got to learn about spencer’s past with drugs pre-series and why it scared her family so much.

ezra’s book reveal. by far the worst cop-out reveal ever done on this show. ezra would have made a great -a, but the story was quickly changed as to not upset fans and was revealed that his stalking was for a true crime novel, and not, as everyone had guessed, about hurting the girls.

season five:

ezra’s redemption. without a second thought ezra is welcomed back into the group with welcome arms despite lying about knowing who aria was and actively stalking her and her friends for information to use in his book. his betrayal is only brought up a few times, but immediately brushed off.

shana. in general, we knew hardly anything of shana, and the next second she’s killed off with minimal grieving.

hanna’s identity crisis. with alison back in rosewood hanna suffers with her image being so similar to alison and desperately changes it. she also begins to depend on alcohol to numb herself with caleb’s return, and is looked down on by her friends who are generally not supportive or helpful as she struggles.

alison’s return. the focus of her coming back to rosewood high should have been an emotional ride for many people at the school for quite some time, but instead it is all shoved into one episode and almost all settled by the next episode.

caleb’s return. personally, after watching ravenswood caleb’s abrupt return to rosewood as a damaged alcoholic in no way fit his character as a response to what he had been through. it also didn’t help that while caleb abused alcohol and was met with concern and interventions, hanna was lectured and avoided.

zach. an older man hitting on a teenager was again severely handled in the wrong way when zach comes on to hanna and she rejects him. following this she’s met with suspicion from her friends and disbelief that zach would do something like it, because he’s engaged to aria’s mom. later, aria quickly apologizes, and zach is attacked by caleb, but unfortunately nothing further is done with the issue.

alison’s life on the run. how did she live?? where all did she stay? how did she often get money? food? how was she able to lay low without anyone recognizing her for so long?

jason & ashley. while incredibly awkward, it was also incredibly intriguing and i would’ve loved to know more about their relationship.

spencer’s crime spree. doing vandalism and then later stealing artwork having a sudden interest in travel instead of going to college and looking at alternatives with jonny was interesting, and then dropped.

season 6:

the dollhouse. there was so much great done here, but i feel they could have elaborated more on the torture they endured for almost a month while trapped there.

dollhouse ptsd. very quickly done for girls that were kidnapped and held captive for so long. while they did get back to spencer’s drug addiction relapse and hanna’s stripping of the room to reclaim its identity as her own, emily’s sudden need to protect herself and release anger by shooting a gun off at a range and aria’s artistic dive into photography were almost afterthoughts.

charlotte’s past. the big -a reveal left a lot of people with more questions than it did answers, but i personally would’ve liked to know about charles/cece and how some of the -a tasks were carried out.

the missing five years. ultimately we got bits and pieces of the girls college years through dialogue and bits of flashbacks, but with an entire five years gone by there could have been much more information to fill that chunk of time they were all away and living free.

charlotte’s death. while its later explained how and when charlotte died, its kind of dull that the reason she ends up being killed off had to do with kick-starting the next and final -a for the series.

wayne’s death. we find out over the time jump emily’s father died, but it is rarely brought up and we never got to see the fields move on from such a loss, although there are mentions.

spencer & caleb. ruining the friendship between spencer and hanna over a boy for relationship drama within the series is something i had hoped pll would have never done, and in the past praised it for doing so. ultimately disappointed in so many ways over the treatment of the characters throughout the short story-line.

season 7:

hanna’s ptsd. after her kidnapping,besides her scars, hanna never really gets to talk about what happened during her kidnapping or how she felt during it.

alison’s ptsd. after being tortured in the hospital by rollins, while they talk about how alison feels about him being dead, no one acknowledges much how he tortured her while in the hospital.

noel’s death. as a character on the show since season one, his death on the show was done so hastily and his character had so much more to explain before being gone for good.

alison & emily. first of all, having the baby be emily’s was an extremely gross move by the writers and violating to both of the characters, but secondly, having the pregnancy ultimately bring them together in a relationship for the sake of motherhood entirely ruined any sort of natural build up they may have had in the future.

mona’s mental health. the game pushes mona back into a prior state of mind from high school, and she states her incidental murder. while the liars are worried about her state of mind, shes sent back to a mental hospital and its brushed aside, as usual.

aria & babies. it’s revealed that aria is unable to have children in her lifetime, and while its an interesting story-line, it would have been nice if it hadn’t been used as a possible reason for ezra to have skipped out on their wedding day.

alex. although twin alex had potential, her character was pushed onto us at the last minute for all of 30 minutes, leaving everyone unsatisfied. her story could have been dragged at for much longer than it was to leave a better ending.

#pretty little liars thoughts #this has taken me far too long im haunted by this shit #socksandtireirons #pretty little liars

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heyyyharry · 4 years

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Chapter 12: Tyrant, Martyr, Saviour

(from ‘The Conman and the Maid’ Series)

…in which Harry saves someone, and Y/N is locked up.

Word count: 4.8k

AU: princess!y/n, conman!harry, prisoner!harry.

Series description: Y/N is a princess and Harry is a prisoner in her castle. With his help, she escapes from her arranged marriage in search of a happy ending, if there is one.

Wattpad link (Reyna as Y/N)

Let's see if you recognize the In Another Life and Flatmate references ;)

Note: This AU has a connection with IAL but has nothing to do with the curse because this story took place way before that. You don't have to read IAL to understand the ending, but if you have read IAL, the ending will blow your mind. We have three chapters left.

When Harry had come to talk to Kenny, her mother had been shocked to see that he wasn’t dead. He must admit that it was satisfying to see Patricia Rowley’s round face turn ashen as if she were staring at a ghost. If only the fun had lasted longer. Once Patricia was sure he was a real person, she had looked him up and down and said in a spiteful and condescending tone, “Her husband had come to take her home. It’ll be for the best if you stay away from her, boy.”

Then she’d given a dismissive wave and turned on him to make sure he knew he was still that same dirty poor boy who didn’t deserve her daughter.

That day, he’d gone home feeling quite relieved that he wouldn’t have to break Kenny’s heart for good. Until the things left unsaid overtook him. They became a heavy burden that he would have to carry wherever he went. Would Kenny ever forgive him? He hated her mother, but that woman hadn’t been wrong. He didn’t deserve Kenny. Not even as a friend.

It’d been three weeks since the night at the tavern. He was finally healing. Or so he thought. He’d been keeping his hands and mind busy with hunting trips with Caleb. They sold the animals they’d hunted and earned some low income. It was fine. Not great. Just fine. Fine was enough for someone like him.

Gemma had advised him to reopen their father’s blacksmith shop as it would be a steadier source of income. He was still considering it. He wasn’t good at the job but he could learn. He might. Right now, he had no motivation.

He’d stopped stealing and cheating, but he wouldn’t count it as accomplishment since he now slept with every attractive woman he came across. Hell, by the time he’d figured out what to do with his pathetic life, he might have already fucked this entire city. He didn’t know what else to do in order to not feel so empty, because while he was inside someone or had someone’s mouth or hands all over him, all he could think about was her.

He’d waited every day for the response from the sisters or news of the upcoming war, but there was none. For the first week, he’d been worried that the sisters had refused to help Y/N, or the letter hadn’t got to them yet, or something bad had happened to them. But when that week had ended and there’d been no news of the letter, he’d decided to give up. He hadn’t sold the ring as it was the only thing of her that he’d got left, but every time he looked at it, he was reminded of her, of what they could have been if they weren’t who they were.

Every night, while lying next to a stranger and the stranger had fallen asleep, he would tell himself that in another life, they’d be together again. They’d have a normal life, had children, a dog called Whisker or a cat called…

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to name their cat. But he wanted it to have white fur, like snow, like the land she’d come from, like the night they’d met, like the moment at the stable when he’d been struck by the way those white flakes danced their way down her clothes and her hair...

Before he’d drifted, he’d decided to call their white cat Treasure. After all, their adventure had begun with the treasure in her satchel, but all along she’d been the gold he’d been looking for. Now he was empty-handed. No gold. No lover.

True lovers always find their way back to each other, she had told him at the river where her parents had met. She’d believed her parents had met again in the afterlife and finally got a normal life, which had been taken from them since the day they’d been born. Just like her.

He’d said nothing that night, but he’d believed everything she’d said. He would maintain that faith, that if they couldn’t find their way back to each other in this lifetime, he’d meet her in another life as different people. They would say hello, and try again.

Three weeks had passed. Everything seemed to have fallen into place. Until today, when trouble finally came to him.

It came knocking on his door at the break of dawn. No, not knocking. Pounding. He was barely awake and he thought it was a dream until he opened the door and Kenny crashed into his arms. She was shaking and pale like a ghost. He asked her what was wrong. And before she could explain, he heard shouting from the front yard. He recognized the voice. It was Gideon.

Harry balled his fists and told Kenny to wait inside while he went out to see what Gideon wanted. If that son of a bitch had threatened to hurt Kenny—if he had hurt Kenny, Harry would kill him with his bare hands.

“Harry, no!” Kenny cried out as she seized his wrist, but her strength was no match for his. He marched toward the door, forcing her to stumble along. Gideon was waiting outside, his face red and twisted with rage.

“You have something that’s mine.” He pinned Kenny with his eyes and she recoiled behind Harry’s back.

“Something?” Harry somehow kept his tone calm though his blood was boiling. “She’s your wife.”

Eyes narrowed, Gideon stabbed a finger at him. “You. You put this crazy idea into her head.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Harry scoffed. Kenny clutched his arm tighter and he placed a hand over hers to calm her down. That one simple gesture had triggered Gideon.

“You dirty whore,” he barked. “Have you been letting him fuck you?”

“Do not talk to her that way,” Harry warned, his fingers aching to reach for the dagger at his side. He would not start his day by killing someone. Not even Gideon was worth it.

“Give that whore back to me.”

Harry turned a deaf ear to Gideon and looked over his shoulder, meeting Kenny’s glossy brown eyes. “You’re not going anywhere. Nobody’s taking you anywhere.”

She nodded and looked ahead, then her eyes went wide. “Watch out!”

Harry shoved her aside just in time to dodge Gideon’s knife. The bastard had been carrying it the whole time and Harry had worried too much about Kenny to notice. Gideon shouted and aimed for Harry’s chest. Harry kicked him hard in the stomach, elbowed his jaw, snatched the knife from his hand and tugged his arm backwards over his shoulder. There was a loud crack and Gideon was on the ground, howling like wounded prey.

Kenny had ducked back into the house, hiding her face behind the door and sobbing out loud. Gideon was still wailing in the dirt with a broken arm. If Harry hadn’t been weary from his lack of sleep, he would be laughing at this scene.

“You crazy...you crazy fuck! You broke my arm!”

“Next time it’ll be your neck,” Harry said and yanked Gideon up by his collar. “Don’t fucking come back for her or I’ll cut your throat and dump your body into the river.”

Gideon ran without looking back. He’d seen what Harry was capable of and didn’t want to test his patience.

When Harry turned back to Kenny and asked if she was all right, he noticed the bruises on her arms. She saw him staring and tugged down her sleeves.

“What happened?” he asked. She was still trembling.

“I told you I’d been saving for my own business. He found the money and took it all.” She rubbed the bruises over the fabric of her dress. Her gaze dropped as she continued. “And he...he hit me. I escaped but he found me at my mother’s house and chased me all the way here.” Her voice began to break. “I’m s-sorry I came….I didn’t...didn’t want to get you in trouble. But I have nowhere else to go. My mum...she didn’t allow me to enter the house. She wanted me to stay with Gideon and I...I can’t stay with him...He’d hit me again...”

Harry shushed her softly and looped his arms around her shoulders, drawing her close. She buried her face into his chest, sobbing hysterically. He waited for her to quiet down before he went on, “You can stay here. We’ll figure something out.”

She pulled back to look up as he lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears swimming in her big brown eyes.

“No, I’m sorry.” He held her shoulders and squeezed. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” He hoped she knew he meant it.

“Princess, you’ve got to eat.”

“I’m. Not. Hungry.”

The maid shrank back in fear and glanced cautiously at the tray of untouched food and then Y/N, who took a deep breath and turned back to the window. She had no idea how long she’d been sitting on this window sill and staring longingly at the boring snow-covered garden. Time passed so slowly when she was in this castle that it felt like Isolde had its own concept of time. Minutes became hours. Hours became weeks. And weeks became years. It felt like three years had passed since she’d last seen him. She couldn’t believe it.

She’d just got back to Isolde last week. Her brother had made sure they hadn’t made too many stops along the way. The sooner we get home, he’d said, the faster I could start planning this war.

Home? This didn’t feel like home anymore. It hadn’t since her mother had died. She’d been locked up and forbidden from any contact with the outside world. She could only speak to Aleia – her new maid. She had no idea where they kept Jo, but she believed Egon wouldn’t harm Jo now that she was carrying his future heir.

After all the shit that Y/N had gone through, finding out about Jo’s pregnancy hadn't shocked her as much as it should have. Despite what had happened between them, she still cared about Jo, and she really hoped the baby was a boy. Egon would make Jo’s life a living hell if it was a girl. Y/N’s hands were tied now; she wouldn’t be able to protect Jo or her nephew. She was no saviour after all.

It’d been easy to imagine herself defeating Egon when Egon wasn’t there. Next to him, she was nothing. She’d been nothing her whole life. The only time she’d been something was when she’d been with Harry. She couldn’t be anything now that she was on her own, without anyone to tell her they believed in her.

She didn’t hear the maid leave, but she felt her absence and turned to find that the tray was gone. The maid had given up on her, too. Good, she thought. She’d rather starve and die than live to see her brother bathe this kingdom with his people’s blood.

A few moments later, the door flew open. She didn’t bother to turn; there could only be one person who would make that dramatic entrance.

“Princess…” Alaia trembled. Y/N heard the clinking of cutlery so she looked over her shoulder to see the maid holding the same food tray. But this time her brother was standing at the door, two guards behind him.

“Put it on the table,” Egon ordered, his voice rough reminding her of the way he’d hit her before. He hadn’t laid a finger on her since they’d got into the carriage outside Calanthe’s castle, but every moment after, she’d expected it. She couldn’t even sleep.

“I’m not hungry,” she told him.

He gestured for Aleia and his guards to dismiss, and they all retreated into the hallway and shut the door.

“I don’t care if you’re hungry,” he said in an unusually calm tone and gracefully dropped down on one of the chairs at the table. He leaned back and rubbed his chin, inspecting her. “You’re too skinny. Your future husband won’t like that. Oh, have I forgotten to tell you that you’re seeing him in three days? He’s travelling all the way here for you. Is that romantic?”

“No.”

Egon stuck out his bottom lip and shrugged. He didn’t care if she agreed. “Well, come on. Eat while it’s still hot. I asked the cook to make you your favourite salmon soup and–”

“I’m not marrying Kavan.” The words slipped out before she could catch them and shove them back down her throat. Her fists clenched as Egon pinned her with his dark eyes, which softened at once, and he smiled. Her fear made him relax.

“Don’t be silly, Y/N. You are.”

“I’m not. I don’t wish to marry him. I don’t wish to ever marry.” This time, she’d said those words purposefully. If he was going to kill her, it was only a matter of time. If Harry’s speculations had been true, that Egon needed her alive, then the worst thing that could happen to her was getting locked up. She’d rather rot with the rats then obey him any longer.

But his next question stabbed her hard in the guts.

“Are you in love with someone else?”

She couldn’t answer. It didn’t matter if she confirmed or denied, Egon already knew.

“Did you let him fuck you?”

“What?”

“Are you still a virgin?” Her ears buzzed as if there were a swarm of bees living inside her head. “You’re not, are you?” His voice got more raucous. “I did all of this to bring you home, and clear your crimes, and find you a husband, and make you the future queen of a kingdom, and this is how you repay me?!”

“I owe you nothing.”

He backhanded her so hard she toppled back and hit the table. The food tray rattled but didn’t fall to the floor, and neither did she. She was still standing though her face burnt and her jaw ached. She cupped her sore cheek and scowled at him, her teeth clenched, her fist tight. He took a step forward. This time, she stood still, second-guessing his next move.

He stabbed a finger at her face. “You are nothing without me,” he said. “I’m your King. I own you.”

“Nobody owns me. I belong to no one.”

He raised his palm and she caught his wrist before he could touch her. Egon was physically much stronger and could easily break her hand, yet he was so shocked by her reaction that he froze for a second. She spat in his face and shoved him off. He violently grabbed her by the hair and pulled so hard she felt as if her scalp was coming off. She gasped, trying to wriggle out of his grip when he pushed her to the floor and called for his guards. Once her vision cleared, she pushed herself up weakly to find two guards in the doorway. Their face was taut with concern when they saw her like this. Then she was reminded that not everyone was heartless like her brother.

“Take the Princess to the dungeon,” Egon said as he wiped her spit with his sleeve. A corner of her mouth turned up. She felt weirdly satisfied. She didn’t try to fight back when the guards twisted her hands behind her back and pulled her up. They were gentle. Probably because she was their princess, and they’d known her since her parents had been alive. As they directed her out of the room, she heard Egon say, “If she tries to escape, you’re allowed to hurt her. As long as you keep her alive. And don’t leave marks.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the guards.

She didn’t even remember how she got to the dungeon. She didn’t even remember walking there. Her feet had carried her on their own, and by the time she’d snapped back to reality, she was already standing behind bars. The guard locked the door, gave her a sympathetic look and took off without a single word. It was so quiet here. All the other inmates must be asleep. She flopped down on the hard ground and hugged her knees to her chest.

She remembered this place. This was where she and Harry had met for the first time. Well, the secondtime. She smiled at the memory though it seemed so far away. The air was hot and humid. She was sweating under her heavy dress. She rested her cheek on her knee and stared at a crack on the wall. For how long? She didn’t know. She stared and stared until her eyes grew heavy. A voice from the cell opposite from hers pulled her right back.

“Pretty lady!”

She snapped her head up and saw the bearded man whom she recognized. “Hey, Mick,” she said, her voice hoarse. She nearly burst into tears. “I’m so glad to see you again.” Was she, though? Maybe she was just glad she could talk to someone.

“I’m not Mick,” the man said with a nonchalant smile. “I’m Harry Styles!”

“Right…” She giggled despite herself. Although it was always good to hear his name. “I missed you.”

“So his name isn’t Harry Styles?”

A female voice from the cell beside Mick stole her attention. She got up and walked toward the bars to get a better look at whoever was speaking. The woman was sitting in the shadow; Y/N couldn’t see her face.

“He’s been telling everyone that was his name,” the woman said.

“My name’s Harry Styles!” Mick repeated, sounding as cheerful as before.

Y/N ignored him. “Harry Styles was the prisoner who used to be in this cell,” she told the lady. “I knew him.”

“What happened? Where is he and why are you in his place?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time. I’m not going anywhere.”

Y/N suppressed a laugh at the joke. Was it a joke or did this situation make everything funny? She bunched up her dress and flopped down on the floor, crossing her legs and resting her head against the cold metal bars. She drew in a soft breath.

“I helped him escape,” she began, her voice much softer than she thought. “We went on an adventure together. It felt like a dream. Then I woke up, and I’m back here. But he’s home and safe with his family so I think that still counts as a happy ending.”

“Half a happy ending.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I’m Y/N. What’s your name?”

“Maggie,” said the woman. “You’re the runaway princess.”

It wasn’t a question. Everyone in the castle knew.

“Not much of a princess now,” she said despairingly. “Why are you here, Maggie?”

“Your brother would give a better answer,” Maggie replied, sounding surprisingly relaxed. “They took me and my sisters.”

“For what crime?”

“Awful ones.”

“Like murder?”

“I wish.”

Y/N didn’t know what that meant. She looked over to Mick and saw that he’d fallen asleep. She guessed she should save her energy for whatever her brother had in store for her tomorrow. But curiosity got her wide awake.

“Where are your sisters?”

“In a better place, I hope,” Maggie answered. There was no sign of sadness or fear in her voice. It was like they were having a normal conversation about the weather. “Why are you here?”

Y/N hadn’t expected to be asked any question, so it took her a moment to be able to answer. “Because I’m not a virgin anymore.”

“Really?” Maggie let out a faint laugh, from which Y/N imagined Maggie as a young girl, the same age as her. “Stupid men. They think they have rights over our bodies.”

“Maybe I deserved it.” Y/N didn’t know where that’d come from. Those were probably the words she hadn’t been brave enough to say. “I-I made a precarious choice.”

There was a long moment of silence. She guessed Maggie wasn’t interested in her personal stories. But then Maggie said, “That baby is in for big trouble.”

Y/N felt as if a string inside of her was pulled. “What baby?”

“The one you’re thinking about. The one you’re afraid to have.”

Was it so obvious? People just looked at her and knew what she was thinking about? But Maggie wasn’t even looking at her. So how–

“What would you name him?”

Him? Y/N shuddered. “My...my mother didn’t have a baby the first time–”

“But you already have the name,” Maggie asserted as if she’d been living in Y/N’s head. “You’ve thought of it.”

“I don’t know what you’re–”

“Edward.”

Like his father’s father.

Y/N was panting now. She got on her knees and stuck her face between two bars, trying to look into the shadow to see this person she was talking to. Who was this Maggie? Was she a mind-reader? How did she know Y/N had been fantasizing about the life and family she could have had with Harry? When you were locked up in a tower for a week, you started to think of crazy things.

On the night they’d made love, she hadn’t cared if she’d get pregnant, she’d wanted to be as close to him as she could. But now that she knew how cruel her brother could be, she felt like a fool. Even if she got out of here and married Prince Kavan, she wouldn’t ever escape Egon. He would always have something against her. He’d have her baby against her. So she hoped Edward didn’t exist.

“Who are you, Maggie?” she finally asked. “Show your face.”

There was something moving in the shadow of Maggie’s cell. And everything fell back to silence.

“I can’t eat with you staring at me, Kenny.”

“Sorry.”

"I'm joking." Harry laughed as Kenny dropped her head to hide her flushed cheeks. She hadn’t even touched her soup, and he’d already finished his. “What is it?” he asked when she glanced up again.

Flustered, she smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I just wanted to see if you enjoyed the soup.”

“I did,” he reassured her. “You didn’t have to cook for me, though.”

“That’s the least I could do to thank you for letting me stay.”

The silence returned. Harry kept staring at the bowl in front of Kenny. It seemed like she wasn’t in the mood to eat. He pursed his lips while rearranging his thoughts. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many questions to ask; he didn’t know where to begin.

“What are you gonna do?” he finally spoke.

“I’m...well...I don’t,” she stuttered while picking at her own nails. “My money’s all gone.”

“He can’t just keep your money. You earned it.”

She’d been working in a bakery before she’d married Gideon. Harry knew she’d saved every single coin she’d earned for her dream sewing business. Gideon couldn't take that from her.

“He can.” She trembled. “He’s still my husband...He gets to keep all the money.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“That’s the law.”

“Fuck the law.”

The startled look on her face got his cheeks hot. She didn’t like it when he swore. He averted his eyes and muttered, “Sorry.” He expected her to change the subject, but then she let out a warm laugh. He hadn’t heard her laugh in so long. He lifted his face and their eyes locked again. She was grinning from ear to ear like the little girl he remembered.

“I’ll get the money back for you,” he said.

“You don’t have to.”

“I’ll kill him if I must.”

“Harry.”

He knew that tone. Her warning tone. “Fine,” he sighed. “Maybe scare him until he pisses his pants.”

She rolled her eyes, too familiar with his violent jokes. “Well, I–” She paused. He knew she was holding something back. He laced his fingers together and leaned forward like he was waiting for her to finish a bedtime story. “I know how...to get the money for my business.”

“How?”

She bit her lip. “Do you remember what happened to my father?”

Her father had been found dead on the riverbank many years ago. Nobody knew what had really happened to him. There had been so many rumours, and Kenny had refused to believe in any of them.

“What does that have to do with–”

“Willem killed him.”

“What?” A shiver coursed through Harry. His eyes went round. “King Willem?”

She nodded.

“How do you–”

“My mother had known all along but she’d told nobody,” she confessed, her voice so quiet it felt like she was afraid somebody could sneak into his house and eavesdrop their conversation. “He...he was a mole. He worked in Edgar’s court and collected information for Willem, but...he wasn’t loyal to either of the kings. Willem found out and murdered him in the forest by the river…”

Harry never would have guessed, but he wasn’t surprised. Willem had always wanted to invade the South, and now his son was doing his job.

“How long have you known?”

“My mum told me on the day of my wedding,” Kenny replied heavily. Her eyes looked even sadder, which he hadn’t thought was possible.

Then it hit him. “Did you know Peach was–”

“Not until I saw her face on wanted signs in the city,” she said, her eyes shadowing. “She could be my ticket to get out of here.”

“What...what does that mean?”

His heart started racing as she clenched her jaw, her forehead creased. He feared what was on her mind, and he prayed she wouldn’t say what he expected her to say.

“I could testify against her. I could tell the Queen that she’d snuck out on the night her uncle got murdered and that you’d been with me. Calanthe would come for you, you know? We can strike a deal with her. The Queen gets her revenge, and we get the money.”

“Kenny…” His lips spoke her name, but it wasn’t her that he saw. It was a stranger. This stranger might look like Kenny, but she certainly didn’t sound like her. The little girl Harry had grown up with and fallen in love with would never do this to anyone. He flinched when she reached for his hand and squeezed. His gaze jumped back to her face, which was now twisted, just like those ideas inside her head.

“She lied to you, didn’t she? She might not be who you think she is.”

He quickly withdrew his hand. “You’re tired, Kenny. Get some rest.”

“Why are you defending her? Her father killed mine!”

“She wasn’t brought into this world to pay for her father’s sins,” he retorted and pushed away from the table. “Are you doing this for your father or yourself?”

Kenny stood up and slammed her hands on the table, yet she still managed to keep the softness in her eyes as she leaned forward and said in hushed tones, “Her father is a tyrant and so is her brother. How can she be any different?”

He turned away, unable to look at her. “She’s not anything like them. She’ll be the saviour. She’ll stop the war.”

He assumed Kenny remembered the prophecy he’d told her that night at Edgar’s party. She’d been so worried about this princess, who was just around their age and had to bear such great responsibility for her kingdom. What had happened to that Kenny?

“It’s been three weeks and the war is bound to happen. Where’s your saviour, Harry?” Kenny calmly asked. “Either she’s in this with her brother. Or she’s dead.”

She’s dead.

No. He slowly shook his head. “Don’t even think about going to Calanthe. I mean it.”

“God, Harry, are you even–”

“I’ll get you your money tomorrow. Sleep well, Kennedy.”

And so he left, the same two words following him.

#tctm series

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teddyryker-blog · 7 years

Text

the kids don’t wanna come home // self para

After 21 years of waiting and wondering, Teddy meets his mom.

Timeline: When the Foxes are in Boston during the road trip.

( TRIGGER WARNINGS: Abuse, miscarriage, murder, attempted murder. )

The last few months had been leading up to today. Teddy had thought about it none stop, let it consume his every waking thought as he pondered just what meeting his mom would be like. What would it feel like to see her for the first time? Would they smile or cry when they greeted each other? Would they fall into conversation easily or would it be the most awkward encounter of their lives? Teddy had thought about this so hard it gave him headaches.

Now he was here. It was a happy coincidence that the road trip took them to Boston and Teddy had left the Foxes for the day, Bacon by his side as he ventured into the city to find the coffee shop they’d had agreed to meet at. Even that felt strange. So far, the ball had been in his court and he’d had all the power; he chose whether he answered her phone calls or her texts, he decided whether they’d be meeting today. Now he was in her domain, in her city going to a place that she knew and it felt like he was giving up power, making himself vulnerable in a situation where he wanted to keep his walls up.

Before he knew it, the GPS on Teddy’s phone had him standing in front of the coffee shop and he froze, looking through the large windows at the front that displayed the whole of the interior. He was a little early but what if she was already in there? Would he just know her if he saw her? He stared through the windows, his hold on Bacon’s leash tightening as if he could squeeze the courage to go inside out of it. I could turn around and leave, Teddy thought to himself. The idea sent a warm rush of relief through him, the knowledge that he could take the easy route and just run, run back to the Foxes and forget this entire venture. He didn’t want that though, he wanted to meet his mother and know what she looked like, what her non-phone voice sounded like, what answers she had to all his questions.

Bacon whined anxiously at Teddy’s feet and it brought him back into the moment. He had to do this, he wasn’t going to get an opportunity as good as this ever again. So, he pushed open the door of the coffee shop and ushered himself and Bacon inside.

“Sir, excuse me,” a woman working at the counter barked at him, “you can’t have that dog in here.“

“He’s a service dog,” Teddy said, shaking Bacon’s leash which was bright blue and clearly had the words ‘SERVICE DOG’ all over it. The woman held up her hands apologetically and Teddy tried to shake off the embarrassment of having her call him out, she’d also put him straight off ordering the coffee he desperately craved. Instead, he started towards the back of the store because he was too anxious to sit out in the open, even with Bacon.

“Teddy?”

He stopped. He turned. He locked gazes with a pair of eyes identical to his own. Laura Cooper wasn’t lying when she’d said she and Teddy looked alike; they shared dark hair, dark eyes, and hard-edged faces. She was pretty; tall too, Teddy realised when she stood up to approach him, all long limbs that were gangly in a youthful kind of way. For a moment, all Teddy could do was stare as she came over to him, trepidation in her steps and her posture.

“Laura?”

“Yes. Hi.” She grinned and Teddy grinned back and they both laughed nervously. Teddy wasn’t sure where to go from here, should they hug? Shake hands? Teddy hesitated, about to go for a hand shake but stalling she Laura made to go for a hug. She hesitated too, they both laughed again and then Laura made a second, slightly more confident effort to go in for a hug and Teddy tensed as he reciprocated.

It was the weirdest feeling in the world. She was a stranger, they hadn’t seen each other in almost 22 years but there was something so familiar in the feeling of her arms around him as it was alien. The first few seconds were uneasy, Teddy not sure how long the hug should last and Laura too timid to hold him as tightly as she wanted to. Then Teddy breathed out a big breath he’d been holding in and he relaxed, as did she. It felt right then, and when they both pulled away they were smiling, relieved.

“Let’s sit down,” Laura said, leading Teddy to the table.

“How are long are you staying?” Laura asked as she absentmindedly played with Bacon’s ears. The conversation so far had been comfortable; they talked about championships, Teddy’s grades, Laura’s job, and Marina*’s endless efforts to convince her parents to let her get a puppy. It was nice, they both knew they were tiptoeing around the real discussion but Teddy didn’t feel in a rush to get there. He shrugged at her question. The road trip schedule wasn’t in his hands and it wasn’t like he’d paid much attention to it, he’d just been following the other Foxes.

“I don’t know,” he said, “A couple of days probably.”

“Well, if you wanted to stay longer you’re more than welcome to stay with us,” Laura offered, uncertainty in her tone. They were both thinking the same thing, maybe it was too soon for that; this was fine but she didn’t know what Teddy was like to live with and vice versa. “Our place is kinda cramped but Marina can share with me and Jake** if you wanna take her room for a couple of nights? Or if you wanted to stay longer you can stay with Jake’s son, he lives across the street.”

“Jake has a son?” Teddy asked, surprised.

“Mhm,” Laura hummed through a mouthful of hot chocolate, “Caleb. He’s about your age.”

“What’s he like? Jake, I mean.”

“He’s great,” Laura said, smiling with a twinkle in her eye that Teddy hadn’t seen until now. “He’s the best. He helped me out so much when…when I came back here.”

The air was suddenly tainted with tension, the unspoken words of when I came back here from Oakland hanging between them. They both smiled a little sadly and Laura looked down at her hands, looking younger all of a sudden.

“I…” Teddy started, “Why did you leave? Why didn’t you take me with you?”

She breathed out slowly through her nose and sat back in her chair, looking out the window for a minute. Teddy knew that look, she was thinking, remembering, putting the pieces together in the most uncomplicated and least hurtful way she could think of. She reminded him of Mandy in that moment.

“I ran away from home when I was 16. I was a spoilt kid that watched too many movies and thought I could live the dream in California. If I’d had any money, any idea what I was doing then I would’ve taken you with me.” she said after a minute of silence, “When I got pregnant with you and your brother- “

“My what?”

The tension sky rocketed. Teddy was frowning, confused, dreading what he was about to hear and Laura was dreading telling him.

“No one told you,” she murmured, “I…Oh my god, Teddy I’m so sorry I thought you knew- “

“Am I a twin?” He asked slowly. The pit in his stomach froze over into sheer shock as Laura nodded her head. How had this never once been mentioned? How had Mandy never thought it a good idea to mention this to Teddy? How had his dad never drunkenly revealed this information then spent years throwing it in Teddy’s face? “What happened to him?” Teddy bit out.

“He died,” Laura said quietly, “Your dad was always hurting me, I got an infection then you had to be delivered early and he was just…dead.”

Bacon whimpered and nosed and Teddy’s knee, sensing his upset. You didn’t have to be psychic to see that Teddy was upset, the colour had drained from his face and the shock had turned his expression vacant. This changed everything; there was meant to be another person sat here, someone that probably would’ve looked like Teddy. What would he have been like? Would he have played Exy too? Would Teddy still play Exy if he was here? Would they get along or hate each other? What was his name?

“I know…this must be a shock-“

“You didn’t answer my question,” Teddy said, staring at the table.

“What?”

“Why did you leave me with him?” Laura went quiet again and when Teddy looked over, she was clenching and unclenching her hands together anxiously.

“Your dad isn’t a good man but he had resources. I didn’t know if I had anything to go back to and I didn’t want to put anyone else in danger in case he came looking for you.”

“I was in danger,” Teddy snapped, “I don’t even feel safe with him in prison. Do you know what he did?”

“Yes,” Laura said, “that poor boy- “

“He was my best friend,” Teddy interrupted, sending Laura into stunned silence, “he killed my brother, my friend, he tried to kill Mandy- “

“Mandy? What did he do to Mandy?” Teddy felt almost smug. He knew he shouldn’t, Laura hadn’t left him with that family thinking he would see and experience the things he had. She didn’t know that Mandy nearly died trying to get Teddy out of that situation and had subsequently cut ties between them so he could be free of it.

“She almost died trying to get me away from him,” Teddy said, his tone venomous, “you left me there because it was easier for you and she almost let herself get killed trying to get me out.”

“It wasn’t like that- “

“I think I should go.” He made to stand, unable to look at Laura as he gathered up Bacon’s lead and started typing an emergency ‘please come save my ass’ text to Colin at the same time.

“Teddy, no, please…” Laura stood too and reached out for Teddy’s arm. He jerked away and stared at her, utterly defiant facing utter desperation. “Please stay,” she pleaded, “please, I want to explain- “

“I’ve heard enough.”

“No. No you haven’t,” she insisted, “I was a coward. I spent 21 years trying to be brave enough to find you. There hasn’t been a single day I haven’t regretted what I did and there hasn’t been a single day I haven’t thought about you and what you’re doing and who you’ve become because I left you with him. You don’t owe me anything but I owe you an explanation. We’re both here, we’ve both waited, please let me tell you everything you’ve wanted to know.”

Teddy was stuck now. He wanted to leave, he wanted to forget he’d ever met this woman and go back to his life with the Foxes. However, he wanted the truth more than he wanted that and it was right in front of him on a silver platter; all he had to do was sit down and listen. He looked between Laura and the door, noticing that some people were looking at them now. If he left, he could forget this ever happened but then he’d be right back where he started. If he stayed, he had nothing to lose but a couple of hours of his life.

So he sat down again, slow and his gaze unwavering from Laura as she sat back down with equal tentativeness. They were quiet, watching each other, letting the dust settle as Laura waited for Teddy to speak and Teddy waited for himself to calm down. He felt better once he felt Bacon lie down across his feet.

“Okay,” he breathed out, “start from the beginning. Everything.”

*Teddy’s 10-year-old half-sister **Teddy’s step-dad

#self para #THIS HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING #sorry in advance for everything #i made this with love and just a hint of depravity

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