#everyone is alive and mostly functional but GOD is life still an ordeal with them all

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

Okay, so Gregory ends up with like what, eight grandkids? Klavier, Sebastian, Kay, Pearl, Trucy, Athena, Apollo, and sort of Simon. Yeah like eight. What is his opinion on these baby lawyers that keep showing up in his house? (Bonus: Ray's opinions on them.)

At its core this AU is actually “Gregory accidentally adopts two family’s worth of children, has no idea how it happened” and I love it. By the time Mia and Maya return from Kurain like “so our aunt tried to kill us/frame us for murder and we stole took custody of our little cousin” Gregory is like “well this might as well happen, let me know if you ever need any help”. He figures Pearl will be the closest he ever has to a grandchild because both his actual kids are gay workaholics. He accepts this. 

Like by that point Gregory has already actually adopted Franziska, had Larry and Phoenix hanging around so long that they’re basically family, had Ray decide that he’s family, laid claim to Maya as another child, and Ema is also chilling around the house all the time. This man has so many wayward children and Maya is probably where he realizes that this is just going to keep happening. This is what his life is: Mia’s in the hospital in a coma, the blame for who attacked her is pinballing around the group, Maya has just been let off the hook and now Diego is the accused with Phoenix as some sort of accomplice (since they were the two that went to confront White) and Miles goes and picks Maya up from the detention center and brings her home to Gregory since what else is she supposed to do, go home to Mia’s empty apartment? And Gregory takes one look at this girl, Franziska’s age, eyes all red and puffy from crying, having gone through hell of finding her sister nearly dead and being accused of it, clinging to Miles’ arm because he more than anyone can sympathize with her situation, and he’s like “okay I guess I have another daughter now” and she just crashes there until Mia recovers. 

And then later, when Lana is arrested, Ema goes to Mia for help since she knows in law school they were friends “intellectually attracted” dated for a while and Mia’s like “if you don’t want to stay at your sister’s apartment alone, my place doesn’t have any space since Maya’s here from Kurain currently, but I know a man who might be willing to take you” and Ema crashes at Gregory’s until Lana is acquitted. She and Franziska hit it off and Gregory is really very glad that Franziska is making some friends her own age, because really until Ema and Maya, Franziska’s only friends are Miles, Phoenix, and Larry.

By Pearl it’s just habit, like hey here’s another kid we’re adding to this family.

Kay and Sebastian never actually crash at the house - Kay loudly and aggressively follows Franziska home and declares them family, and Gregory kind of has no idea what to do with his chaotic crow daughter. He appreciates her ambition but is not subtle at trying to channel her toward anything more legitimate than “Great Thief." 

Sebastian gets kind of overwhelmed by Fran’s giant and extremely supportive family, so he’s more on the side and doesn’t integrate himself so well with everyone besides Franziska, Kay, Ema, and Ray, but he notices that Fran is not subtly foisting her dad on him as a replacement dad. He doesn’t know how to respond to this. Gregory meanwhile is also like "Franziska I see what you’re doing, I guess I’m his father now” and even when Sebastian doesn’t come around for a while - he’s kind of afraid of being rejected by Fran’s family of brilliant lawyers even though she assures him that they all have accepted Larry - Gregory and Ray are always asking Franziska about how he’s doing and she makes sure that Sebastian knows they are checking in on him.

Gregory loves Trucy. He loves his new granddaughter. His happiness at having his own grandchild - “Father, you know that she is Phoenix’s daughter, not mine, and he and I aren’t together, you know that?” “Miles, she obviously thinks of you as her father. Don’t let her down. She’s my granddaughter” - almost outweighs the amount he wants to lecture Phoenix about the follies of taking in a child when you don’t know how to raise a child and when you also don’t have a way of supporting yourself let alone a child. (Everyone else lectures Phoenix very much so it’s fine that Gregory doesn’t. It’s not like he’s not getting lectured.) 

Ray is absolutely baffled by everything Phoenix is doing but he loves Trucy and he and Trucy are Cool Hat Bros and they go hat shopping a lot and he is in the front-row seats at her magic shows whenever he possibly can. He’ll rearrange whatever commitments he can and he will also brag about her to everyone, he’s like “my super-cool niece is an amazing magician and everyone should come to all her shows ever.”

I feel like Apollo might remind Gregory of Ray when he was younger, a little - loud and eager to learn. He doesn’t spend that much time with Apollo, though; the one who does is Ray. Ray takes a shine to Apollo and takes up a mentor role to him. Apollo is, honestly, unsure whether he works at the Wright Anything Agency or the Edgeworth Law Offices, and this question of who is his boss is one off the less pressing questions that associating with the Edgeworth-Fey extended family gives him. Apollo is honestly overwhelmed by all of these people who are barging into his life and there are so many of them and for a kid who grew up an orphan, with no one, he has no idea what to make of whatever’s going on here.

Gregory loves all of these baby idiots who keep stumbling into his life and he insists that everyone gather together for dinner fairly frequently - I think it probably goes from once every two weeks to once a month to “once a month and we have no idea who’s gonna be there on any evening” because trying to wrangle so many lawyers together in the same place at the same time is quite difficult. 

The first time Apollo comes to a family dinner is because Trucy drags him and he doesn’t quite realize what he’s in for but he does know “Isn’t it kinda weird to go to dinner with my boss’ family at my boss’ dad’s house?” and Trucy says “It’s only weird if you make it weird, Polly” and Apollo pretty much decides this is probably still one of the most normal things that’s happened to him since he met Phoenix so he rolls with it. And I feel like probably only half the family is there, like him and Trucy, Phoenix, Miles, Franziska, Ray, Gregory, and Misty, and Apollo’s like “oh this is a manageable amount of people” and then the next time, everyone is there and he’s like “oh god what is this”.

Athena and Simon I’ll comment on once I figure out their place in this AU, but no one has any idea what to make of Klavier. Like? Apollo and Trucy talk about him occasionally, before That Trial, and then after they’re all pretty assured that he’s not corrupt and is a good kid, but Franziska never really mentions him until one day she shows up late to dinner with Klavier in tow and the only person she warned in advance was Apollo, who’s like “holy shit I kind of thought you were kidding when you texted me that,” and while everyone’s boggling at the fact that Franziska brought her hated rival home she’s just like “hey we’re keeping this one”.

[alovesongshewrote]

Almost A Thousand Years - Wizard Underground | Hisirdoux Casperan

Plot:  You’ve known Hisirdoux Casperan for almost a thousand years.  You’ve hated him for almost a thousand years.  And for almost a thousand years, you’ve been cursed to feel each others pain.  But somewhere in that time, things changed.  [Hisirdoux Casperan x Mostly Gender Neutral but Probably Female Presenting Based on How Historical Men Treat Them!Reader]

Word Count:  7,579

Warnings: Canonical Character Death!! (and torture) 

A/N:  buckle up kiddos, it’s about to get angsty.  the gif does not match the energy at all, but it’s from the episode so,  yeeeeet

Taglist:  @furblrwurblr @rainningdoom @fluffydmonkey @blondie0458 @sitherin-mxschief @jinxedleo @lawlesshedgehog @einahpetsyarcip @dolphincommander @sorrels-scribbling @anxious-stitcher @alive-and-afraid @animedweeb333 @douxiesdamsel @saroski05 @justarandomhoman @tales-of-hisirdoux​ @blixeon​​ @yagirlcheesely​

When the green cleared, the sky looked more or less the same.  Dark, stars, clouds.  It was clear you were home though, both from Douxie saying so and the immediate urge you had to murder him.  Well, you couldn’t say you weren’t expecting it, but it still sucked.  The drive to end Douxie’s life was always a real mood killer whether or not you were expecting it.

“Welcome back to the twenty-first century!”

“Ah!  Sweet pollution!  How I missed you!”  Steve choked as he inhaled a lungful of said filthy air.  Normally, that wouldn’t be a great thing, but you were sort of thankful for it this time.  It distracted Douxie from the whimper that left your lips, from the way you sank to the ground, clinging to the railings, struggling against yourself.  This was Not Fun.

Steve, however, was still having a wonderful time, “Heh!  And reception!!  Hot dang!  So many messages.”

From the high-pitched chimes that rang out through the air, you could only guess that Steve was looking at his phone.  You couldn’t really see at the moment due to the sudden and blinding pain in your stomach.  That was new!  You weren’t really sure why that was happening, or how Douxie didn’t feel it, but it probably had to do with the Arcane Order and your lack of homicide!

Across the ship, Jim let out a scream, the shard in his chest glowing red and sinking deeper.  Fucking lovely.  That was two of you in shard related pain.  What was next, you losing control and killing not only Douxie but everyone on this damn ship?  Another wave of pain rolled through you, which brought an end to your sarcastic thinking.  At this rate, that outcome looked less and less insane by the minute.  You bit your lip in a silent prayer that nothing else would go wrong.  Then Camelot fell out of the sky.

“Oh, shit.”

Douxie’s words shocked you enough for you to open your eyes and look at him.

“D-Douxie, you-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m sorry, hang on tight, love!”

You did as instructed as your wizard flew the ship towards the falling castle, pulling up right beside it at what appeared to be the perfect time.

“Need a lift?”

“Douxie!” you could hear Toby’s voice, but you couldn’t see him.  The momentary release granted to you by shock had worn off, and now all you had left was the pain.  You shut your eyes and kept them closed, focusing on not passing out, or committing murder, or passing away.  Actually, that last one might not have been so bad.  At least it would end your suffering and the threat you were to others.  That wasn’t going to happen though.

You could hear Archie now, the familiar’s voice was… well, familiar, and it was comforting to you, in an odd way, “But you’re trapped in the past!”

“Not anymore!”

“Took you long enough.  We have much to talk about.  Like- them?”  you didn’t have to see Merlin to know he was talking about you, and in your current state, you were indeed worthy of conversation.  You were curled into a ball, shoved against the rails of the ship and trying your damnedest not to cry.  You felt like shit, you probably looked like shit, and Merlin didn't even like you in the first place, so yeah, you were something worth mentioning.

“D-don’t worry,” you choked out, “I’m fine.  Focus- on Jim.”

Douxie did not want to focus on Jim.  He didn’t want to focus on anything except for you at that exact moment.  What was happening to you?  Why was the love of his life doubled over and in obvious pain when he barely felt a thing?  More than anything Douxie wanted to help you.  He wanted to make the pain stop, and he wanted to hold you close and make sure you were okay, but Jim, unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the pov, had perfect dramatic timing.  

The poor boy let out a groan, the shard glowing red once again, and causing everyone more concern.  You knew there was no way in hell he could have heard what you said, and the groan was probably because Aarrrgh, Toby and Blinky had all boarded the ship which made it move a bit, but you liked to think he was on your side.  

You could hear Toby scream something that sounded like a question, and you knew that Merlin replied, but there was only one voice that mattered to you.  He said your name, sounding scared and anxious.  It broke your heart, but you said nothing.  You didn’t want him to notice you any more than he already had, because if he did, he would try to help, and that meant getting close to you, and if he did that he’d probably receive a broken neck for his troubles.  Nobody wanted that. Least of all you.

“I-I’m getting everyone home safe, as promised.”

Merlin said something else, and you felt another shift as something, or rather, someone, landed on the ship.  A small squeak left you, you couldn’t help it.  Everything just hurt so bad, and you honestly didn’t know how Douxie wasn’t feeling it.  You were thankful for that, of course, you’d never wish for him to be in pain, ever, but this was just so intense!  You could barely function, you just had to keep breathing, hoping that the next inhale would somehow end the pain.  

Another series of squeaks and gasps escaped you as Douxie maneuvered the ship through a field of castle-shaped debris.  In any other situation, you’d have complimented him, but at that moment, you were trying to avoid causing anyone any bodily harm.  It was difficult while you were flying, but as soon as you landed, things got wayyyy harder.

Douxie approached you cautiously, not wanting to hurt you and not wanting to trigger anything that might make you hurt him.  The rest of the squad had jumped off the ship, so for it was just you and your wizard.  For all intents and purposes, you were alone with the person you’d been sent to kill.  There was nothing stopping you.  His hands were raised in surrender for god’s sake.  Why was he making this so difficult?

“Douxie, you need to go.”

“I- no, I’m not leaving you, we have to go, we have to get somewhere safe-”

“No, you need to- just get off the ship, I’ll join you in a second.”  

That was a total lie, of course, but he didn’t need to know that.  He didn’t seem to register it, either.  He just looked at you sadly before taking a step back.

“We’ll fix this.  I promise you, we’ll fix this.  I’m not going to let anything else hurt you.”

You tried to laugh, but the attempt was pathetic, “I know.”

And then he was gone.  You could hear Jim screaming somewhere in the night.  The sound drowned everything out, submerging you in a sea of guilt.  That kid had suffered through so much, and now this.  You knew his pain.  He didn’t deserve this, and there was nothing you could do to save him.

Douxie was going through the same motions.  You were in pain, you didn’t deserve it, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.  Not yet, anyway.  He was bound and determined to help you, to end the nightmare you were living in.  And it was indeed, your nightmare.  He couldn’t feel a thing, even after centuries of sharing your pain.  Even now, he could still feel the ache of your cracked ribs, but there was nothing beyond that.  He didn’t know what was happening to you, or why, but he knew it terrified him.  If this, whatever it was, took you from him, he didn’t know what he would do.  He couldn’t stand to lose you.  Not after all of this.  Even as he spoke with Merlin, his thoughts never left you.  The image of you curled around yourself, face contorted with pain, lips bleeding as you bit them to stay silent, would haunt him for the rest of his days.

You, however, were haunted by something else.

“Nari, come back to us and finish the work you have begun!”

“You misunderstand our grand vision.”

Oh, fuck.  

You pulled yourself up, desperately clinging to the rail, pausing every time your vision went white.  You weren’t sure yet whether you were going to run away or fight, but the first thing you needed to do was hide.  If you chose to run, they couldn’t see you.  If they did, they would chase you, capture you, and torture you again.  If you chose to fight, you wanted the element of surprise.  So, yeah.  Hiding was a good plan.  

You threw yourself over the edge of the ship.  It was not graceful in the slightest, but no one saw, so it worked out well enough.  Your plan was going according to plan, even if everything hurt and you longed for the sweet release of death.  You let yourself lean on the ship for a second, closing your eyes against the pain.  The cold metal stung where it met your skin.  It sucked.  Everything sucked.  This whole Order ordeal sucked.  You wanted to go home.  But where even was home?  Right, it was the black-haired wizard boy with the shitty dye job who you’d loved for years.  

A green light flashed on the other side of the ship, and you knew you had to make a choice.  Either run, and keep running, the same thing you’d been doing since you escaped your life as a spy, or stay and fight.  Run or go back to the start of your story and change the meaning.  To fight, not for Gunmar and an eternal night, but to protect the people you loved, the town you lived in, and the punk wizard who owned your heart.  Yeah, no.  That choice was already made for you.  It had been for almost a thousand years.

Without a sound, you dragged yourself around the ship and waited for the right moment.  It came faster than you’d expected, but that wasn’t a huge deal.  You snuck behind the green Knight, and when he demanded surrender, you struck him with your sword.  He stumbled forward for a second, and that was it.  The only solid hit you made in that fight.  Ah, the element of surprise, everyone’s favourite element.

You ducked as the Knight's sword sliced at your throat.  Your movements were delayed by a few seconds, but you couldn’t focus on that right now.  You just had to keep going.  

Your sword clashed with his, once, twice, a third time, and on that third, you were sent flying back.  You scrambled to your feet just in time for another attack, this one accompanied by words.  Whether it was a monologue or a taunt you couldn’t tell.  Your brain was focused on not dying.  You heard him call you a traitor, and a servant before he declared that your soul was his.  You didn’t have a smart response for that, so you just kept fighting.

Up, down, side, dodge, sweep the leg, parry, twist left, over and over again.  You were almost on autopilot, one hand still clutching your busted ribs, the other doing its best to keep you alive.  There was no coherent thought, just adrenaline and movement.  Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, select start.  Jeep, dodge, ram him with your face, or whatever the hell else kept you alive.  There was nothing left but basic instinct and training that you’d never forgotten.  This was your fight.  And you weren’t actually that bad for someone who was half-dead.  At least, you weren’t until the Green Knight knocked the sword from your hand and grabbed you by the throat.  

Everything went numb.  Your vision was lighter as if a filter covered the world making everything bright and hard to look at.  You heard everything and nothing at the same time.  It was all… dull.  Like you were hearing the battle from somewhere far away.  Douxie screamed something that you couldn’t make out, there was a muffled guitar riff, another scream, someone calling you a traitor, and- wait.  What in the fresh hell was that?  Did someone just fucking roar?

You were dropped, and you rolled out of the way just in time to see a troll you’d never met charge at the Knight.  You sat still for a minute, struck dumb by this turn of events.  Then you felt yourself freeze, ice creeping into your veins as you realized what was going on.  You couldn’t hear Jim screaming anymore.  You looked back to the ship.  He wasn’t there.  That left one, probably unreasonable explanation.  The new troll was Jim.  Fuck.

Pulling yourself to your knees, you took another look at your friends, gathered by the ship.  It looked, for a moment, like Douxie or Claire would run into the fight.  You couldn’t let that happen.  So, you did the one thing you could think of, the one thing that would keep them out of this.  You stabbed yourself in the leg.  It wasn’t a big stab, just a little one.  Just enough to convince Douxie that you’d lost control and were now out for his blood.  It didn’t work as well as you’d hoped.  You could see your wizard fall to one knee.  His eyes met yours, and for one second, everything was still.  He was there, and you were here, and you were both alive, but on opposite sides of this battle.  That’s how it had always been.  Maybe that’s how it was always supposed to be.  You were back at the start again.  A scared kid on the wrong side, clinging to what little light you had left.  There were tears in your eyes.  You don’t know how they got there.  Maybe it was the stab wound, but you didn’t really believe that.  Taking a deep breath, you shook your head.  He saw you.  He stood.  And then they were gone.

You smiled, for a second, despite the tears streaming down your face.  They were safe, for now.  They had a chance.  Your momentary peace didn’t last long.  Holding his sword above him, the Knight took control of Jim, the red light that ran through his veins turned green, leaving the troll on his hands and knees.  At the same time, the pain in your stomach subsided, allowing you to stand, finally.  You readied your own blade, but before anything could be accomplished, the Knight turned to you.  For once, you could hear what he was saying.

“Attack and the beast dies.”

There was no other choice.  You couldn’t let anything bad happen to Jim.  You lowered your weapon just as Bellroc jumped from the castle and landed in front of you.

“Take them with us,” you flinched back at their voice.  That sound only brought back memories that you would rather forget.  Fear took you, and you allowed the Green Knight to grab your shoulder and guide you back to the castle.  This was not going to be fun.

Speaking of things that weren’t fun, Douxie was having the worst possible time right now.  After hiding in an alley, making his way to Hex Tech, and dealing with a less than pleased Zoe (which involved explaining that he had found you, found out exactly why you left, and lost you again,) he was more than a little bit tired, which was fair.  To make matters worse, his leg stopped hurting somewhere between the field and the alleyway.  You were on the Order’s ship.  They had you, and god knows what they could do to you without him knowing.  Quite honestly, Douxie was beyond terrified at this point.  He wasn’t really sure what he was.  In any other circumstance, he may have been paralyzed by pure fear and anxiety, but someone had to keep Claire from murdering Merlin, so paralysis was a no go.  He was sure he’d have time for a nice mental breakdown later, after you were safe.  For now, he would focus on keeping the peace, making sure nothing got broken, and forming a plan to get you and Jim home.

You were playing the same game with a different set of pieces.  You stayed silent and obedient, making yourself as small as possible to avoid taking up space and pissing off your captors.  No matter how panicked you were, you maintained an aura of calm for both your sake and Jim’s.  You couldn’t let your emotions slip.  Not here, not now.  Not that any of your efforts were doing much good.  You still flinched with every quick movement, bit your lip whenever someone got too loud.  This was not a good situation, and you were straight-up not having a good time.  It only got worse with the resurrection of Morgana.  It was all too loud, too bright, too- too familiar.  This was too close to what happened the last time you were here, and you were terrified.  

Your hands were cold.  You tried to focus on that, but for the life of you, you couldn't stop thinking about every bad thing that happened to you within these walls.  Someone was yelling, someone else screaming, and you couldn’t tell whether it was real, or if it was a memory.  You didn’t even care that the Green Knight was the old king.  You just wanted to leave, but for now, against all odds, you had to stay calm.  It was not working.  At all.  Especially when the room turned on you.

“And as for you, treasonous witch,” y’know, that wasn’t a very original take coming from a primordial ice god.  You were honestly a little disappointed.  In terms of torture, Skrael had always been a bit more creative.  Perhaps, subconsciously, you’d expected that to carry over.  It didn’t.  In any other situation, you would’ve told him to get some new material, but Bellroc swiftly prevented that by throwing you into the center of the room.  You hit the ground hard.  Hard enough to blur your vision and clear your mind, but there was no time to process the pain.

“You have failed us,” the flaming demigod’s voice darted from high tones to low ones, sending a chill down your spine.  If Bellroc was angry enough to lose control of their voice, you were beyond screwed.

Both demigods drew nearer to you, looming over your damaged figure, “You will pay for this.”

You winced, preparing for the burn of ice or fire on your skin, but no impact came.  Instead, you felt a harsh tug on your hair as Bellroc forced you to face them.  Both demigods looked way too calm, though you could feel their anger, a flaming riot beneath their skin despite their icy exteriors.  Their rage alone was almost enough to hurt, but what came next was worse.

“You are much too fond of that wizard apprentice… we will make sure he suffers for all of your mistakes.”

You felt yourself shaking as Skrael rasped out the threat, but you didn’t have much more time to react before you were thrown into a wall.  That was where their fun began.

Douxie was having a significantly better time than you, but that didn’t mean he was enjoying himself. Over the sounds of Blinky cursing autocorrect, Merlin and Claire were having a battle of ideologies right in front of my metaphorical salad.  The audacity.  This, of course, was not easy on your wizard.  His friend wanted to find a way to save her boyfriend.  His mentor wanted to move forward and run away.  Douxie also wanted to save Jim and you, but Merlin made a good argument about the fate of the universe and how if they didn’t leave now everyone would die.  That argument, however, was not enough to erase the memory of your face from his mind.  He still saw that image, you, distorted with pain and struggle every time he closed his eyes.  The fighting only made things worse; especially when Merlin decided to put that face on screens around the room, side by side with Jim’s new troll form.  I don’t know why he thought that was a good idea, but it was Not helping Douxie.

“James Lake and (Y/N) (L/N) are corrupted, gone!  They cannot be brought back!”

“Or you’re just too stubborn to try!”

“Please, you both have solid points!”  he could hear the stress and fear in his own voice.  Good.  Maybe it would make the universe feel bad for him and it would just… throw you through a window at him or something.  He didn’t know or care at that point.  He was too tired for this and too awake for it at the same time.  His eyes hurt.  His jaw hurt.  Everything hurt except his leg which was just another reminder of how much he missed you.  God, he was having an awful day, and it was going to get worse.

“I will not jeopardize the mortal plane for one troll and one wayward witch!”

“It’s what they’d do for us!”

“And look where that got them!” This outburst from his former Master frustrated Douxie enough to make him slam his head into the nearest flat surface and keep it there.

“What!?” Claire exclaimed, the screens around the room went black, your face and Jim’s hidden from view.  It would’ve been a relief if Douxie had looked up to see it. “Come on, back me up here.  Anybody?  Archie?  Douxie?”

He heard the question in her voice.  Will you stand up for your significant other, Casperan?  Or will you fail them again?  He let out a strangled groan to answer the question.

Archie’s answer was more dignified, “Don’t look at me, cats don’t have the right to vote.  Neither do dragons.  Yet.”

The familiar’s body glowed gold for a minute as he changed forms.  It was only a second of shining light, but it was enough to give Douxie an idea.

“Wait a tick.  I know a way we can rescue Jim and (Y/N) without risking the world!”

“Is that so?”

“How?”

“If it works, it will be quite the little magic trick.”

And it would indeed be quite the little magic trick.  Risking life and limb to save you and Jim would be one hell of a feat, but if there was anyone who could pull it off, it was this specific team.  At least, that’s what Douxie told himself.  He had to.  He had to pretend there was hope and focus on the plan.  If he didn’t, his thoughts drifted to you, to what the Order could be doing to you, and that persistent question in his mind, the one that asked if you were alive at all.  You had to be.  You had to.  There wasn’t another option, though Douxie found, as he boarded the small ship, that fear was building in his chest.  A sense of dread surrounding what exactly they would find, lying still on the floor of the Order’s base.

Douxie was shaken from the hell in his head when Merlin spoke, something about being concerned with the plan and heading into a lion’s den.  Your wizard was growing tired of this.

“You gave me a staff because you trusted me, right?  So, trust me.”

“Very well.  I stand by your decision… wizard.”

The comment was shrugged off by its intended audience, “Everyone knows what they need to do.  If we pull this off, we’ll get our friends back.”

In his head, Douxie begged whatever godly forces were out there (that were Not Arcane Order aligned) that they would get their friends back in once piece, safe and sound; though as the lights of the Order’s ship shone in his face, blinding him, he knew that wouldn’t be the case.  Oh well.

“Arcane Order!” the ship shifted to face him, a sign that someone was listening, “We’re here to barter!”

The skull moved down through the air, clicking and groaning as it’s jaw dropped to form an entrance, or at least something close to one.  Douxie cast a glance back to his comrades, “And that means, ‘Come in.’”

“Wait, we’re flying into the bitey devil castle?” Steve asked incredulously, pointing at said bitey devil castle.  Douxie nodded and flew them into the bitey devil castle.  Bitey devil castle.  I want one.

Steve, however, would not agree with that sentiment.  Fear crossed over the teen’s face as their ship drew nearer to the larger craft.  He shook so much while exiting the boat that he just fell over.  Douxie, Merlin and Not-Nari failed to notice or maybe failed to care.  Either way, Steve had an opinion on all of this.  He did not like it, “Uh, this is supes dumb.  Like, even I know it’s dumb and we’re still gonna go inside?”

If you had been in your right mind and entering the skull with them, you would have agreed, 100%.  Unfortunately, you were not that.  Instead, you were deeper inside the horror-show palace, writhing with pain and unable to think clearly.  That sucked for you, but honestly, you were starting to get used to it.

 Douxie, however, was not used to nor prepared for the sudden pain that hit him like a wall of bricks as soon as he entered the Order’s den.  It started off intense, matching the pain you felt exactly, but it faded fast until it was a dull throb in the back of his mind.  They’d hurt you.  They’d hurt and maybe killed you because you didn’t kill him fast enough.  That thought, that fact was going to haunt him for the rest of his days.  He could already feel his breath coming faster, his chest rising and falling rapidly and leading him to disaster if he didn’t control it.  To avoid having a panic attack, your wizard took in his surroundings.  

The lair was, as many good evil lairs are, made of stone and lit light blue with moonlight.  It was quiet, empty, so much so that Douxie had to mention the overwhelming silence just to hear something.  Merlin did not respond.  At least, not to him.

“Good evening, Skrael.”

The ice demigod appeared in a twister of ice and sleet.  If he was anything other than an ice demigod, it would have been very uncomfortable, but alas, Skrael’s gotta Skrael, and that included monologuing in his chilling and creepy voice, “Surrendering already?  I was hoping for a little more cat and mouse.”

Douxie was suddenly very uncomfortable knowing that this was the company you were trapped with during your ten-year absence.  That this was all you’d heard for a decade.  Douxie wondered, for a moment, against his will, what exactly they’d said to you in the past ten years.  What horrors had you heard?  

The wondering only got worse when Bellroc decided to jump in with a threat of their own.  It was a classic, “You will be rewarded with a quick and painful death,” but Bellroc’s intimidating and ever-changing voice added a new level to the threat, something that most other villains lack.  The Green Knight didn’t even make a threat, he just growled like a basic bitch.  

Merlin didn’t care though.  Basic bitches or otherwise, he got straight to business, “A fight here will end poorly for all of us.  We seek a truce,” the old wizard turned to his apprentice and nodded.  It was time for someone who did care about basic bitches.

“Good evening, doers of evil and ancient terrors.  We have a proposal: a trade.  One of yours for one of ours,” Douxie moved forwards and back again, his lanky-ass limbs swishing through the air, trying to illustrate his point.  It was super effective.

“Our missing third in exchange for your troll mongrel?”

“You would give up your only advantage?  What does this gain you?”  both Bellroc and Skrael sounded confused, the perfect conditions for a lengthy explanation that would hopefully buy Claire all the time she needed to get Jim and you out safely. 

Douxie took a short breath, “Yes, well, an excellent question, one that requires a long, thoughtful, time-consuming answer.  Come on, Claire.”

Somewhere above your friends, your pain began to subside.  It wasn’t much, but it was enough for you to stand and make your way over to Jim.  You knew that it wasn’t really your boy, and you knew that he wouldn’t respond, but you made an attempt to speak with him anyway.  You owed him that much.

“Hey there, kid.”

He grunted and moved away from you, retreating into the darkness, “Woah, woah, woah, easy buddy, just- try and stay in one spot for me-” your voice caught in your throat as another wave of agony rolled through you.  If you didn’t know any better, you’d say the face of your old friend almost looked concerned.

You brought yourself back up, and a little gasp escaped you as the pain subsided.  You were okay for the moment, but you didn’t know how long that would last.  It was time to talk as fast as you could.

“Jim, honey, I need you to listen to me.  I know how hard this is.  I know what it’s like, trust me.  But we- we have to fight this.  You have a life to live, kiddo.  You need to get back to Claire, to Toby and the rest of them, and I-” you cut yourself off before you could say you needed to get home, to get to Douxie.  As much as you loved Jim, he was under the Order’s control.  They’d already threatened your wizard’s life, you didn’t need them knowing exactly how much he meant to you.  However, magic be damned, you had to get through to the boy inside this monstrous shell, “I know it’s hard, Jim, but I’m fighting this with you.  Neither of us are alone.”

He growled at you but didn’t respond outside of that.  It was time to be persistent. 

“I know.  But I need you to come back.  I need-” once again, you couldn’t say what you were thinking.  You couldn’t tell him that you needed proof, something to believe in that could maybe restore the last of your faith.  You needed to know that there was hope, that you could come back from this.  Jim Lake was one of the bravest and strongest kids you knew.  He’d been through so much, and in comparison to your age, he was just a baby.  If anyone could fight this, it would be him, and if he couldn’t, you weren’t sure if you could.  You drew a shaky breath before you continued, “I need you to come back, for Claire, Toby, your mom, for yourself.  You deserve better than this.”

He growled again, burrowing deeper into his hiding place.  You bit your lip, thinking of what to say next, but you were interrupted.  Someone was coming.  Now you needed to hide.

It wasn’t a member of the Order as you’d suspected.  Instead, Claire portaled into the room.  You had no idea how she got in here, but seeing her was better than seeing the alternative.  You stayed hidden while she spoke to Jim, almost feeling like you were intruding.  At least he actually talked to her.  You watched, hidden in shadows while she tried to coax him into leaving with her.  You stayed silent, which became a little more difficult when a sharp pain shot up your side.  You bit your lip to avoid crying out, but nothing could prevent the gasp that escaped you when you realized exactly where that pain had come from.  If it wasn’t yours, then that meant it was Douxie’s.  Douxie was somewhere in the castle.  

That thought drove a deep, unyielding fear straight into your heart.  You had to get to him, to protect him from the Order, curses and shards be damned.  You jumped from your hiding place, causing the briefest of distractions to Claire, Jim, and Morgana, who had joined the fray while you weren’t watching.  You paid them no mind, though.  Claire could portal out of here, Morgana could more than take care of herself, and Jim was Bellroc and Skrael’s new favourite weapon.  They would be okay.  But you?  If the sudden sharp pain in your back meant anything, you had somewhere else to be.

The first thing you saw was Jim, clinging to the ceiling above your wizard, ready to pounce.  You would have attacked him if your vision hadn’t gone green.  At first, you thought it was Merlin, trying in vain to protect Douxie, but then you realized exactly what was happening to you.  And that was much worse. 

Here, in close quarters with both the Green Knight and Douxie, the drive to kill your love had increased exponentially.  Your mind clouded with bloodlust, your hands seized your sword.  Before your eyes, you saw vivid flashes of green and red.  It didn’t take you long to realize that the red was his blood.  Or, it was supposed to be.  At any other time, these visions would have destroyed you, but at the moment they only added fuel to a raging fire; one that had gone out long ago but somehow burned anew in your chest.  For a moment, there was nothing but hate and rage towards the person you loved the most in this world.  For a moment, you feed yourself.

And it only got worse from there.  You leapt clear across the room, grabbing Douxie and putting your blade to his throat.  At the same time, Jim jumped down from the corner of the roof he’d been hiding in and collected Archie and Merlin, holding them at bay.  Out of all the things you’d been through, you decided that this was probably the worst.  You were so close, so close to killing him.  To ending his life, wiping his existence from this earth.  You could see the horror on Archie’s face, and on Merlin’s, for that matter.  You couldn’t see Douxie, but you could feel what he felt.  Betrayal, heartbreak, and fear.  So much fear.   He was afraid of you.  

If you went through with this, no one would ever forgive you, and you couldn’t blame them, but their scorn would be nothing compared to what you’d do to yourself.

You were vaguely aware of your surroundings.  Of Clarie and Steve getting themselves frozen, and of the ultimatum offered to Merlin.

“We propose new terms,” Bellroc said, their voice much calmer now that they were in control.

“Give us Nari, or he dies,” Skrael pointed towards you.  You could hear Archie yowling, Merlin yelling something and Douxie apologizing.  In any other situation, you would wonder what he was apologizing for.  Was it for trusting you?  For what, in his opinion, must've been failing his mentor and Master?  You had so many questions, but the answers didn’t matter.  You weren’t in any other situation.  You were there, in the Order’s castle faced with an ultimatum of your own.  Kill Douxie, the love of your life and the person you trusted more than anything, or fight to save him.  The answer to that question was clear.  You closed your eyes.  

The visions didn’t stop.  You tried to stop everything your body was doing, to drop your sword and free him, but you couldn’t seem to let go.  You bit your lip, tearing your skin with the effort, tears already coming to your eyes.

That’s when it started to hurt.  

Excruciating, agonizing white-hot pain spread across your body from deep inside your core.  You’d been hurt before, hell, you’d been tortured not much earlier, but this was beyond anything you had ever suffered through.  You dug your nails into Douxie’s shoulder, whimpering, slightly.  Your hand was clenched around the hilt of your blade, knuckles white, hands shaking.  It was all you could do to keep from screaming.  Your entire body felt like it was burning and freezing all at once.  The smell of blood and acid hung in the air.  The taste of metal stung your mouth.  Your muscles seized and relaxed in waves.  Tears collected in the corners of your eyes as your poor body battled against itself.  You strained against yourself, whispering apologies into the back of Douxie’s hoodie.  Your words, however, twisted into a mixed groan and scream.  Your mind went blank, and for a moment, you were nothing.  

The world was a void.  A painful, painful void.  You couldn’t focus on anything.  You ignored Merlin, his fight for Douxie’s life and his escape from Jim.  You paid no mind to the blasts of green magic and Bellroc’s frustrated screaming.  You couldn’t give any of it a second thought.  Instead, you kept going, locked in a battle of your own.  You had to keep breathing through the pain, to take back control.  And Douxie noticed.

“(Y/N),” his voice was low, and maybe a little broken, “(Y/N), I know you’re in there.  You don’t want to do this, you won’t- you can fight this.  You have to fight this.  Please, come back to me.” 

A gasp escaped you as the pain heightened, reaching a brand new peak.  You were 90% sure you were about to die.  You dropped your sword, and stumbled back, falling away from your wizard.  

For a second, there was nothing.  Then you opened your eyes.

And you felt everything.

For that second, for that one moment, you felt the world sink into place.  The pain was gone, and you didn’t want to kill any of your loved ones, and you were okay.  All you saw were hazel eyes.  It was all you needed to see.

But it was just a moment.  It didn’t last.  You felt a tug somewhere in you, within your magic, and you turned just in time to watch Merlin get stabbed.  

You’d never been close to the old wizard.  It was just how things turned out.  You were a spy and traitor and he was, well, Merlin.  There weren’t too many opportunities for bonding between you.  But you had to admit to yourself, you did care for the old fool.  He’d taken you on as an apprentice all those years ago, and even if you didn’t count it as a ‘real’ apprenticeship, it was.  He taught you about a side of magic you’d never known before, and for that, you had to be thankful.  And Douxie.  Oh, god, Douxie.  You knew how much the old wizard meant to him.  Merlin was his teacher, his mentor, the man who’d saved his life all those years ago and, in a sense, saved yours.  Almost a thousand years ago, Merlin had bonded you to that boy and given you the best thing in your life.  The two of you had your differences, but you would be forever in his debt.

Which is why you screamed as the blade tore through him.  You found yourself reaching out as he was thrown back to the earth, as if you could do anything to stop it.  You felt yourself go numb.  Douxie had a slightly more emotional reaction.

You braced yourself against a storm of blue magic, radiating from your wizard.  You stood, still as stone, while Jim, the Order, the Knight and Morgana (who’d joined the party at the most dramatic time possible) were blown back.  As soon as they were out of commission, you grabbed Archie, scooping the familiar into your arms.  In any other situation, the cat would have been fine with this, but at that moment, he struggled.  Archie frantically tried to escape your hold, motivated by an intense drive to get to Douxie’s side, to support him in whatever way he could.  You felt the same way.  

You took a step towards your wizard, but before you could get to him, he turned.  His eyes were glowing.  Blue.  He yelled for you to run, to get away from there, but you were frozen in place by a force you couldn’t name.  The difference in his magic, in his soul, could not go unnoticed.  He was stronger, somehow, and it stopped you.  The light behind his eyes sent a shock through your system.  Douxie was never one to use offensive spells on you outside of a full-on fight, but he was out of time and out of options.  He threw you and Archie towards the others, calling out another “Get out of here!” before breaking a window and flying out of it.  You didn’t even have time to process that.  You just did as you were told, jumping through a shadow portal without a second thought. 

Earth was colder than you remembered it.  

But then again, maybe that was just a side-effect of travelling by shadow portal.

The most likely option, though, was that it had something to do with the scene before you.

Merlin was on the ground.  He looked smaller, weaker than you’d ever seen him before.  That thought on its own was horrifying.  Merlin was the definitive master wizard.  He was the strongest of your kind, your leader, in a sense.  He was everything a good wizard was supposed to be.  And you could feel him dying.

You weren’t the only one.

“-Hold still.  I can fix this, I-I-I can fix this-”

I can fix this.

I can fix this.

You’d heard that one before.   

You’d heard that one a lot, actually.  If Douxie had a catchphrase outside of kid-friendly swears, it would probably be “I can fix this.”

He was always so determined to keep everyone safe and to prove himself.  Every mess he found himself in, he’d insist that he could fix it.  He could fix time.  He could fix your broken heart.  He could fix the world one day if he wanted to.

But you weren’t sure he could actually fix this.  

You took a small step forward, releasing Archie from your hold.  Douxie said nothing, at least not to you.  He kept repeating those words, over and over again.  You could hear him start to lose hope.

“Douxie-”

“(Y/N), help me, please.  You have to help me save him- we can fix this.  I can-”

“Stop, Hisirdoux,”  Merlin’s voice brought your attention back to him, “No one can.  Do not blame yourself.”

You took a few more steps forward before kneeling at Merlin’s other side.  The part of you that was trained in medicine, a part of you that you were almost surprised to still possess after today, took in Merlin’s injuries.  You hated to admit it, but he was right.  There was no hope here.  Dread settled in your stomach as you realized these wounds, and therefore this death, were, in some way, your fault.

 “I’m sorry.  I should have listened to-” you stole a quick glance at Douxie.  He was doing as well as one might expect.

“No, no.  I’m sorry,” the old wizard winced and you put a hand on his shoulder, using what little power you had left to ease his pain.  It would not save him, but it might make passing a little more peaceful.  He nodded at you, the most approval you’d ever received from the old man, before he continued, “I spent a lifetime serving the wrong master, trying to save this world.”

“You can’t!  You’re Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time!”  Douxie collapsed onto Merlin, and you could tell from the small tremors that ran through him that he was crying.  The old wizard put a hand on his back, trying to comfort him.  You felt tears spring to your own eyes.  You could feel his pain.  You’d known it yourself, centuries ago.  Merlin offered a hand to you.  You took it.

“Merlin- master, I’m so sorry,”  you were only whispering, but you know he heard.  They both did.

“I saw a glimmer of greatness, of what you could become,” he moved his hand to Douxie’s face, “And the greatest thing I ever accomplished was saving you,” he brought the hand holding yours to hold Douxie’s.  You felt your wizard take a shaky breath.

“I’ll try and make you proud.”

“You already have… son.”

And he was gone.  Merlin was… gone.

You hadn’t realized you were crying until then.

“No, no, no, you can’t go!” you pulled back as your wizard cried out, your hands covering your mouth, catching your tears as he pulled his mentor closer to him.  His voice lowered to a whisper, “No, please.  I’m not ready.”

And then Merlin was ash, dust in the wind, a pattern dispersed.

“Douxie, I’m so sorry,” Claire said as she, Steve and Archie crossed the clearing you’d landed in.  Claire went to Douxie’s side, Steve went to yours.  It wasn’t much, but it was some comfort in this uncertain world.

“I-I can’t believe he’s gone,” Archie nudged a little closer to Douxie as he spoke. 

And he was right.  With a final gust of wind, Merlin left you, leaving behind a thick, leather-bound book.  His grimoire.  Your last hope.

“What is that?”  Steve asked as Douxie picked up the book, clutching it to his chest.

“It’s all we have left to guide us,” he stood, “Other than that… we’re on our own.”

He was right.  You were more alone than you realized.  More than you had been for the last few hundred years.

[funkymbtifiction]

The Walking Dead: Glenn Rhee [INFJ]

UNOFFICIAL TYPING BY: anonymous

Introverted Intuition (Ni): Glenn is a sentimental at heart, who likes to keep objects that symbolize his values and the people in his life that he loves. When Hershel gives him a pocket watch, he keeps it with him all the time afterwards. At first, he doesn’t totally understand what it means, but when he asks for Hershel’s blessing to marry Maggie, he tells him that it is a symbol of the fact that their time alive could suddenly end at any moment because they are living in the zombie apocalypse, so their future is uncertain. When he finds out that Maggie is pregnant with their first child, Glenn feels afraid at first because he knows that Lori died giving birth, and his wife was the one to deliver the baby for her. However, he overcomes his fears when they get separated again in season four, realizing they can’t just be afraid to be alive, and comes to see having a child as a wonderful opportunity to build a family with Maggie. Although he is not a very religious person, or one who has ever claimed to believe in god at all, Glenn has been seen praying to god in on some occasions of great desperation and fear, and he tells Maggie that he’ll “find her” from beyond the grave, so he does seem to feel some sort of faith in a higher power and believe that there is life beyond death, even if he’s not totally certain of what that exactly entails. This last part of his Ni-dom function works in tandem with his Fe-aux function, but Glenn often intuitively sees things in other people that they don’t see in themselves. For instance, he sees that Maggie has a lot more strength to survive on her own than she initially believes herself to be capable of, and he helps her come to realize this when they fall in love. He takes a high-risk chance on helping Tara because he needs her help to find Maggie, and some instinct deep inside him tells him that she is a good person worth helping. Surprisingly, Glenn is right, and the two become best friends.

Extroverted Feeling (Fe): Glenn is by far one of the most remarkably caring, ethical, loving, and selfless members of the main cast. However, in spite of his good nature, his strength to do the right thing, fight back adversity, and survive the apocalypse do not really come from any sort of self-reliant internal strength, an internalized set of personal values, or a ‘gut’ feeling of the moment based ethical decision-making process, like an Fi-type. No, Glenn’s good nature and strength are based around the feelings of other people. He doesn’t learn to fight back adversity, and stick up for himself until he finds the strength to do so through true love with Maggie by starting a relationship and family with her. Before that, he was essentially the main group’s errand boy and “walker bait,” but Maggie’s love made him realize that lhis life was actually worth fighting for again. He spares the lives of most people, even if they are acting like jerks, like Nicholas, because he knows that in another life that they were good people, who would have done the same thing for him. He knows that everyone is just trying to survive in the apocalypse, and that the people who act like cowards in this world, probably weren’t that way before the world went to shit. Even though it greatly angers and saddens him, he is willing to forgive the cowardice of the Alexandrian people that he takes on supply runs with him when they leave other people in their group behind when they are hurt or stuck in compromising situations that will slow the rest of the group down because he wants to believe that humanity can change for the better. Glenn finally kills living people for the first time in the series in season six when he absolutely has to do so in the Savior’s camp for the sake of defending his group, and he is seriously uncomfortable about having to do it because he cries the whole time. Although he is willing to forgive the people who hurt him, he refuses to forgive the people who hurt Maggie, and/or anyone else in his group, who he is close to. He refused to forgive Merle, not because he hurt him and took him to the Governor, but because he also took Maggie to the Governor, “a man, who humiliated her and terrorized her,” and Glenn “cares more about her than he does himself.” He even goes through a reckless period of wanting to get revenge on the Governor for terrorizing and humiliating Maggie in S3 afterwards. Glenn also has an amazing ability to see, predict, and bring out all of the potential for good things hidden underneath other people’s fears, insecurities, and temptations to make the wrong choices, like with Rick, Daryl, Maggie, and Tara. This is his primary Ni-Fe functions working together in tandem.

Introverted Thinking (Ti) In Glenn’s debut episode of the series in S1, he shows Rick and the rest of his group in Atlanta a map that he has created, which show all of the exits and tunnels under the sewers of the city that are (mostly) clear of zombies. He has created a system that can help them all escape through the sewer system. He quickly figured out how to hot-wire a car, and siphon gas from others when he needed it. At this point in the series, he is not very adept at fighting off walkers, or at sticking up for himself, but he seems to have survived as long as he has with his fairly strong ability to use internal logic. Still, Glenn’s Ti-function is in the weaker half of his stack of cognitive functions as an INFJ, so that means that it also sometimes comes out unhealthily at moments of self-hatred and self-doubt. He analyzes the things that he should have said and done in a situation with other people involved beforehand, but didn’t do at the time because he was too afraid, or not fast enough, and blames himself. In season two, Glenn blames himself for freezing up in a shootout with two outsiders, and not doing anything to help Rick, Daryl, and Hershel fight them back in the bar, even though he knew they were also armed at the time. Although it is never directly stated or shown outright in the series, there is strong evidence that Glenn unfairly blames himself for not being able to save Noah from those walkers that devoured him right in front of him in that revolving door, given the fact that he really did try his best to reach out to him and save his life before it was too late, and looking at just how upset he was over the whole ordeal afterwards.

Extroverted Sensing (Se): Extroverted sensing (Se) is the weakest of Glenn’s main cognitive functions as an INFJ, but it can be seen in his character in several moments throughout the series. Sure, Glenn never became the grizzled, ruthless, and dangerously threatening zombie apocalypse adversity killing-machine warriors that Daryl and particularly Rick became in the series, but he still adapted the necessary physical aggression and strength to fight back and survive adversity in the apocalypse pretty impressively. A big part of that is thanks to his Se-inferior function. He gave Merle a bloody nose when he was tied down to a chair, and getting beaten up by him. He successfully fought off a walker, while he was duct-taped and tied down to a chair in season three when he and Maggie got kidnapped by Merle and taken to the Governor by him. He was the main group’s primary supply runner throughout most of the series because he was well-known to be “quick on his feet,” and being really good at getting out of tough compromising life-or-death situations. He punched Abraham, a big, beefy, and strong former military seargeant, in the face, and actually almost beat him before they got pulled apart. Still, like I said before, Glenn’s Se function is the weakest of his four main cognitive functions as an INFJ, which means that it has often come out in moments throughout the series when he is unhealthily stuck in an Fe-Se loop. For instance, in S3, he goes through a reckless phase, after he and Maggie get kidnapped by the Governor, and their relationship starts to show some strain when Glenn finds out that Maggie took off her shirt because the Governor threatened for her to do it, or he would cut off Glenn’s hand. After this point in the series, Glenn goes through a bit of a reckless, vengeful, and blindly self-destructive Fe-Se loop phase. He tries to talk Michonne into teaming up with him to go and kill the Governor to get back at him for humiliating and terrorizing Maggie by sexually assaulting her. He gets frustrated when Hershel advises Rick and the rest of the group to keep Glenn away from the Governor and Woodbury for the time being because he is afraid that he is going to get himself and everyone around him killed with his blindly reckless anger and lust for vengeance. When the group listens to Hershel, and leave Glenn behind because they are afraid  that he could be a danger to himself and those in his group, he aggressively bludgeons a walker to death in his frustration. After the group convinces Glenn that they can’t just kill the Governor outright, he takes out his remaining frustration one last time against Merle albeit too aggressively when he tries to leave the prison to go and kill the Governor without the others’ permission, and then he starts to let go of his anger, makes up with Maggie, and come out of his Fe-Se loop.