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celestialarchon · 3 years

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The Celestial Archon

Chapter Two: The Moonlight Phenomenon

Genshin Impact x F! Reader

Warnings: major Genshin Impact Spoilers! Possible grammar errors.

Tag list: To Be Added. (sorry it needed to be published!)

With the return of a mysterious archon, celebrations began! The night was filled with laughter, food, and memories being made. One person was amiss during the celebration, Mona still found herself unsettled and unable to be as excited as the others. An eerie feeling of unrest and anxiety has settled over our esteemed astrologist as our beloved heroes celebrate.

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“I’ve finally found you,” Mona’s intense astrology session was interrupted by a cheery high pitched voice.

“Hello, Seraphim.” Mona turned to greet the beautiful woman.

She nearly gasped as the woman walked in, her hair now styled and her eyes shining brighter than before, the mysterious tattoos seemed to have faded and though she was still striking she looked far more human than before. The Celestial Archon merely smiled at the woman’s surprise and stepped towards her, hand out.

“We should talk, my child. Fate had brought us together, an astrologist with a water vision instead of a celestial vision is strange enough.” The woman was calm but not cold as Mona took her hand.

Mona was warm as the gentle archon interlocked their fingers and led her to the corner of the room, sinking down into a comfy chair and pointing at the one next to her. Disappointment creeped up in the astrologist as her idol released her hand. It was quickly replaced with embarrassment and a soft flush across her cheeks. Mona was wholeheartedly captured by the mystery goddess.

“I’m sure you’re aware,” The bright eyes goddess sighed, “That my arrival in Teyvat has stirred up some trouble.”

Mona frowned slightly, “There was already trouble, your sudden appearance is not the cause of it.”

“That’s good, but I still feel that my presence is going to stir the pot a bit. I am connected to all the stars and spaces of this world, I can feel and see things so deeply and I am well aware that there are challenges coming. It’s annoying in some ways.” Her eyes were distant again.

Words were lost on Mona for a moment. She couldn’t begin to imagine how stressful it was to feel so deeply, to constantly be overwhelmed by information and one’s connection to the world. Every piece of text written about the Celestial Archon was very vague. Information on the god of stars was hard to find and many details had been lost, yet one thing seemed to stay the same in ever piece of information Mona had consumed.

Even when the world was teeming with elemental energy and gods were far more common, the goddess of the sky, Seraphim, was an oddity. Before the Archon war, Seraphim was a lone wolf being without many ties. The last god of stars kept to herself and had no desire to interfere with the other’s problems, despite knowing so much of them. It was incredibly lonely and sad.

“You said it’s strange that I have a water vision,” Mona finally spoke.

“Yes,” The archon clicked her tongue, “Had I been around, somebody like you would’ve received a vision from me. However, you did not receive one of my visions and ultimately that should’ve impacted your abilities over astrology but it did not. You are quite the gifted character, aren’t you Miss Mona?”

Mona’s face was tomato red at the words of the beloved celestial archon, “I am honored to be complimented by the goddess of stars.”

“You’re very formal,” The starry eyed goddess laughed.

“Excuse me,” the two were interrupted by none other than the acting grandmaster, “I would like a word with the Lady of the Stars.”

Mona was hesitant, not wanting her idol to slip away but nodded and escorted the woman to the door. She was a bit dissatisfied with the conversation they’d had, wanting to know more and more of her long awaited god. The woman turned back to Mona, eyes twinkling, and embraced her. The normally level headed and somewhat haughty astrologist stiffened in shock but returned the warm hug. A sigh escaped Mona’s mouth, but she didn’t mind. The goddess was warm and something about her affection put Mona at peace.

“I am so lucky that somebody as beautiful and gifted as you awaited my return, Mona Megistus. Until we meet again, my darling.” The woman’s grasp around Mona tightened as she whispered in her ear.

The water mage watched as the strange goddess gracefully glided away with Jean. She was ethereal with the moonlight filtering in from tall windows, her skin illuminated as she hung on to every word Jean said. Even the confident and ever busy acting grandmaster found butterflies swarming her abdomen at the sight of the goddess. Jean felt as if she could be swept away by the young woman.

A part of Jean felt guilty for several reasons. As acting grand master, it was her duty to know about the citizens of Mond, it was her duty to work without personal emotions interfering, and her duty to oversee the safety of all the wind borne citizens. The Celestial Archon was challenging all of these duties. It was only natural for an astrologist to be obsessed with a god of stars, and Jean had interrupted the conversation. The Dandelion Knight couldn’t help but feel an innocent sort of crush on the goddess, she was kind and beautiful and she really seemed to want to get to know everyone. Ultimately, Jean was also aware of the danger a new archon posed.

Even so, the beautiful knight couldn’t help but want to push all those thoughts aside and capture the attention of the goddess for hours. She shook off that thought, attempting to focus on her duty as Mondstat’s respected Grand Master. Jean explained the general politics of the city of freedom and the individual jobs of the knights of favonious. She even went as far as to explain the adventurer’s guild and the recent trouble with Storm Terror. The Celestial Archon hung on to every word, nodding and asking occasional questions.

Jean took the time to explain the place they were in, a place between Mondstat and Liyue, and the teleport points that marked both countries. She was diligent and had already prepared some documents for the 8th Archon, maps and other things needed in the world. Jean had even communicated with others to ensure each safe place for the archon was marked. The allied domain was the middle ground, but Mondstat welcomed the new Archon with a living place and much to do. Liyue had also prepared a small home in the city for her.

The archon stared in wonder at the map. The knights of Favonious had prepared a room for her in their own head quarters, even the esteemed Tycoon had set aside a room. Wangshuu Inn welcomed her and Liyue Harbor gave her quarters close to Rex Lapis. Small notes were written for her, both Xiao and Diluc noted the stars were best seen from where they were while the traveler and Paimon had starred their favorite places to eat.

“Ah, Master Jean.” The Goddess spoke slowly, bowing.

“Please, Seraphim, there’s no reason to be so formal!” Jean’s voice rose nervously, “You are an archon after all.”

“Yes, that’s true. You do not serve me though, please refer to me as my chosen name. Formalities aren’t my taste much.” The Archon remarked bashfully.

Jean nodded, rose dusting her cheeks.

“I,” The Archon sighed, “Really need an open space so I can, uh, deal with my weapon situation.”

“Oh, oh!” Realization hit Jean.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Jean babbled nervously, “Here let us go out to the cliffs, it should be okay, right?”

“Mhm,” The goddess followed the knight to the exit.

Aether and Paimon were also by the exit, turning at the sound of approaching foot steps. Aether grinned and waved at the Celestial Archon, she waved back and beamed. Paimon immediately took off, throwing herself into the Archons arms as the woman giggled. Jean’s face was priceless, attempting to process how this small otherworldly creature could just tackle and archon without shame.

Aether and his companion followed the two women, curious about the weapon another archon would wield. The group made their way to the edge of the cliff, the stars seeming extra bright and the moon full. The goddess lowered herself, feet on the lush grass and put her hand forth, palm out. Swiftly, she struck the air in front of her with her pointer finger, an unfamiliar constellation connecting at each point.

“Return to your master, Destroyer of Divinity.” Her words were clear and calm.

The constellation burst into a ray of white light, Aether covered his eyes as Paimon whined. Darkness fell again and he opened his eyes, gasping at the sight in front of him. The goddess held a long weapon close to her body, above her shoulder was a large opalescent curved blade, below the hip on the opposite side, another shimmering curved blade could be seen. No weapon in Teyvat was even similar.

“I-Is is that a scythe?!” Jean sputtered.

“Aha, well yes,” The goddess blushed at their reactions, “Destroyer of Divinity is an unusual weapon, meant to slice through dimensional and spatial barriers. I didn’t mean to shock you.”

Aether stood, mouth agape, “Even its name is terrifying! What the hell?”

“Ahahaha,” the archon continued to laugh nervously, “Well, its existence is basically to bring judgement from the heavens upon those deserving so yeah it’s a bit intimidating.”

Aether nearly screamed. How could she say something so casually?

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The traveler was feeling a bit nervous, as anybody would if an Archon decided to tag along for their daily commissions. Paimon and the Celestial Archon chattered away as Aether spoke to the Katheryne in Liyue. It did not help that the three had left before the others awoke and the Celestial Archon had left a note declaring it as a “friendly date.”

The last thing Aether wanted was to piss off literally any of the adepti, the Geo Archon himself, and even Jean who had taken a very noticeable interest in the goddess. A cloud seemed to look over the blonde but Paimon didn’t notice. The eighth Archon gave the teenager a sympathetic smile and put her hand on his shoulder, attempting to ease his nerves. Only one thing could make the situation worse, and unfortunately that particular thing was heading straight towards Aether.

“Let’s run,” Aether grabbed the startled archon’s wrist and dragged her to the teleport point nearby, ignoring the calls of a certain troublesome individual.

The archon chuckled, “I didn’t know daily commissions would be so exciting!”

Aether smiled sheepishly and let go of her wrist, trying to focus on which commission to start with. He was distracted by a sudden commotion, people yelled out as a hooded figure darted past the trio. Liyue Harbor’s guards thundered after the thief, knocking the poor panicked goddess off her feet.

The eight archon shut her eyes and prepared for the impact of the fall, but was yanked back by a pair of strong arms.

“Hey, girlie. Hold still.” A charming voice said.

The goddess watched as the lanky ginger haired man moved forward and shot an arrow, narrowly missing all the guard and hitting the suspicious character in the back. Aether’s eyes were filled with shock and panic at the sight of the man. Immediately, the goddess side stepped away from her hero, on high alert.

“Now,” He turned to her beaming, “What exactly is such a beautiful young lady doing with this kiddo?”

Her starry eyes met his azure eyes, “I’m just a new adventurer from Mondstat, learning the ropes from the best.”

“Hmm?” His gaze was questioning, “Well then, I’m Childe. Number 11 of the Fatui Harbingers. We should definitely get to know each other.”

The goddess moved to Aether in a quick swift movement. Suddenly, she wanted very much to escape Liyue Harbor. The Fatui were trouble, the goddess was new to the era but even she knew that they were dangerous. It was one of the first matters addressed at her arrival. She no longer knew the Cryo Archon, and this Tsarita sounded troubling.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” an annoyed voice chimed in, averting the red head’s attention.

A shorter man with a large hat and ominous aura stood behind the tall harbinger. Aether tensed up and the goddess wrapped her arm around his shoulder. Slowly, the trio made their escape at the expense of Childe. The older harbinger was chewing the younger man out for flirting and wasting time, both harbingers bickered as the traveler and his companions fled.

“You shouldn’t be wasting time on trying to get laid you, fool.” Scaramouche scowled, still ripping into his subordinate. “Especially not that woman, even from a mile away I can tell she’s trouble. You’re a harbinger not a host, get your shit together, Tartaglia.”

Childe smirked, looking down on his superior, “So you noticed her, too. I wonder what someone like that is doing with my favorite traveler.”

“We should alert the Tsarita of that girl,” Scaramouche mumbled, avoiding the earlier comment.

“I actually agree,” Childe’s eyes narrowed, “I was hoping to see for myself what she is, but that kid stopped me of course. There’s something strange about her but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe I can charm it out of her?”

Scaramouche slapped his comrades back, “Let’s go you useless fucking playboy.”

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Wangshuu Inn looked beautiful and the aroma of food was far too enticing. Aether sighed as he watched his small, chubby companion chase after the eighth archon. The woman was supposed to be divine, yet in some ways he reminded her of a puppy or a kitten. She was somewhat moody with her affections and spacey like a kitten may be, and still somehow clingy and energetic like a puppy.

Luckily for the two, Aether had a commission from Verr Goldet. The blonde tried to maintain composure as he saw a familiar dark haired yaksha speaking with the Inn Keeper, not wanting to admit he’d accidentally led the Fatui straight to the Archon. The traveler watched in fascination and amusement as Verr’s face twisted from composed to horrified when Xiao was knocked over by the goddess. The conqueror of demons merely grunted and stood back up, clutching the ethereal woman to his chest.

Xiao’s eyes were cold as they met Aether’s, clearly annoyed with the boy, but his expression softened at the yawning goddess in his arms. Once again, the traveler was overcome with curiosity at her behavior. Only moments ago the woman was bubbly and hyper, now her eyes were fluttering and she was snuggling up to one of the most dangerous beings in Teyvat. Without a word, the tattooed man spun around and carried the goddess upstairs.

“I’m here for your com-“ Aether began.

“Who was that?!” Verr Goldet burst out, “I’ve never seen Adeptus Xiao so damn agreeable. What just happened? Is this a dream?”

Paimon giggled, “He loooooves her! That person is the one we told you about before! Even Xiao can’t be in a bad mood around her, it’s amazing!”

“Oh,” Verr blushed at Paimon’s words, “She’s that person? No wonder he’s been so restless.”

“Wait, restless?” Aether questioned.

Verr Sighed and beckoned the two to a guest free area. The two followed her into a small back room, exchanging glances. The boss lady pulled out an old book and brushed the dust away. Aether and Paimon peered down at the book, puzzled by its appearance. It was a dark leather with carvings of the moon and clouds on the front.

Carefully, Verr flipped the book open and turned it to the two. Paimon shot up, shrieking. The book looked like a book you’d find in a library but was strange. Instead of ongoing text, the pages had scraps and pieces stuck on the pages with various notes scribbled around. Verr turned to the first page, placing her middle finger at the beginning text and giving Aether and expectant look. The traveler leaned down and began to read the text.

“The moonlight phenomenon: Legend of Liyue.

It is said that there was once a ruler of the stars, one who ruled over the sky as the Gods rule over our land. When tides of war overcame Liyue, Rex Lapis sought out the monarch of the sky to form a contract.

Seraphim granted Rex Lapis the moonlight phenomenon. Liyue’s skies were never to dim even on the darkest of nights, the moon and stars would remain as guides for Liyue always. It is said that this contract assisted in bringing the evil gods to their doom, the sky illuminating the way to victory for Liyue and all of Teyvat.”

Verr flipped the page as Aether exhaled trying to wrap his mind around the strange passage.

“The Contract: Seraphim and Rex Lapis.

The circumstances of the moonlight phenomenon still remain unknown. It is an ancient mystery that many still attempt to solve, what exactly did the Geo Archon barter for his people?

Nobody knows, still. However, the most common theories are that the contract has not been fulfilled or that there was no contract to begin with. Many believe that Rex Lapis and Seraphim were secret lovers, and this was Seraphim’s gift to her beloved. Others hypothesize that Seraphim’s wish was never fulfilled, as her death sealed the victory for The Seven Archons.”

Aether shuddered. People in Liyue believe that The Celestial Archon died in the Archon war? Verr flipped to a page in the middle of the book.

“Liyue’s Priestess Seraphim

It is said that a woman with eyes vast like the galaxy beyond and mysterious astrological powers once enchanted all of Liyue.

Seraphim, the last Celestial wielder was Liyue’s last hope. Though she is not honored as an archon, she is known vaguely as a priestess. The woman who captured the attention of the archon’s themselves and was adored by the Adepti. Few remain, but Liyue’s legends claim that the priestess of the stars was the lover of Rex Lapis, the lover of the Vigilant Yaksha, or the lover another adepti.

Even fewer discuss the devastation that occurred when she fell from grace. Her death was the catalyst of the only known battle between Liyue’s very own Archon, The Anemo Archon and his people, and the Adepti. A lesser known battle that almost forced both Mondstat and Liyue into Civil Wars.

When the dust settled, all that stood was the full moon. Many Adepti still honor the priestess under the moonlight by fighting evil spirits and demons.”

Aether’s eyes widened at Verr. She solemnly shook her head as the traveler’s face fell. Xiao, Ganyu, Zhongli, Venti, all of them suffered so terribly. It was confusing to the boy that every text described the Celestial Archon as deceased. His head began to hurt from the information. Verr sighed and led him back out.

“Once you finish commissions, why don’t you two stay here? I’ll prepare a room for you,” The boss was sympathetic.

Aether grimaced but nodded, leading Paimon out to finish their duties.

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Somewhere in the shadows of Wangshuu Inn crept a Fatui agent, slipping away as the traveler set out. The shadowy figure grinned at the piece of paper in their hand.

“Protected by the traveler and the Adepti. Master Childe will be interested in this,” His eyes were dark as he approached his fellow Fatui agents, “She could be very useful to us, this (Y/N).”

The suspicious shadows began to slink away, overcome with desire to inform their boss of the new information. Only a few feet away, a strange creature ducked down to avoid being seen by the agents, fidgeting.

“The angel is here!” The creature shrieked as the cult like group left it’s sight, “(Y/N) will be ours.”

#genshin impact #genshin impact xiao #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #albedo x reader #genshin impact albedo #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact smut #genshin impact zhongli #genshin liyue #Celestial Archon Series #genshin jean #master diluc #genshin kaeya #genshin childe #scaramouche x reader #genshin impact signora #genshin impact fatui

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kylorengarbagedump · 4 years

Text

Little Bird: Chapter 41

Read on AO3. Part 40 here. Part 42 here.

Summary: You need Kylo Ren to understand. He needs you to understand, too.

Words: 3900

Warnings: an attempt at emotions

Characters: Kylo Ren x Handmaid!Reader

A/N: Is this angst? Is this how you write angst? Is it angsty enough? Hahaha.

Thank you all very much for reading. Only four chapters left, and I am honestly terrified! Haha. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, I tend to like the ones where I can attempt something new. I want the emotional beats to feel correct.

I love y'all very very much. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

You were awake.

Your bed was stone, a slab that poked through your flesh into the bone, forcing adjustments between tired sighs. Even though this movement exhausted you, you found it impossible to sleep.

It couldn’t have been the baby. After all, it was blueberry-sized at this stage, a time when most women didn’t even know they were pregnant. And it couldn’t have been pain, as most of it had subsided, or faded to a pleasant, ambient hum in your nerves, far more comforting than distressing. It couldn’t have been hunger, either--at least not anymore. Sneaking food from the kitchen after sunset had quelled your raging stomach.

But you still found it impossible to sleep.

It was obvious, of course, why you couldn’t, but it was a memory you wanted to avoid processing. Johana’s tattered voice, gleaming tears, her admission--I give up, you won--played in your head like a busted cassette tape, rewinding with a sickening click every five seconds. Your Commander’s decision, his cruelty, that remained unprocessed too, a willing rejection of his apparent reckless obsession. You would not, could not consider just how deep, how desperate this obsession was, would and could not consider the urgency of its terrible course.

If you considered it too long, you would feel its twin, the ache in your blood, the silver pulse of your own mirrored need--and know its depth and its desperation as easily as you knew to breathe.

You sat up in a sigh. Beyond your porthole window, the quarter-moon was an opal shimmer over the garden, and the only stirring residents outside were crickets, grasses shifting with the whispered wind. If you were going to be awake and miserable, you could at least gaze into something other than your own empty ceiling--so you rolled out of bed with a groan, deciding bare feet and a nightgown were plenty appropriate for a time where you planned for no one else to see you.

On your tip-toes, the creak of wood could be mistaken for the settling of an old home, your fingers skimming the walls for stability while you crept down the steps and through the darkened halls. You weren’t sure what time it was, but you knew your Commander to be a man of little sleep and littler compromise--seeing him was the last thing you wanted at this moment. When you reached the back door, you held your breath, flipping the lock and easing the knob to the left, prying it open, only to be greeted with a huge black shadow.

“Jesus Christ!” You bit a scream between your teeth, stumbling back--as your vision focused, heat rushed you. It was a Knight Templar. “Um. Hello.”

“What are you doing here?” This was Ushar again--you recognized his voice from earlier--and you relaxed, slightly. Your awkward moment with him was already addressed. “You’re not permitted to leave the premises.”

Another sigh escaped you, and you crossed your arms. You would’ve felt more embarrassed to be only in your nightgown if he hadn’t already seen everything else.

“I’m not leaving,” you replied. “I just want to be outside for a second.”

Ushar glanced into the garden, then back to you. Or at least, you thought he did. Helmet and all of that. “It’s late. The Commander will expect you to be sleeping.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t really care about that right now.” You went to push past him, and he side-stepped to follow you. “Oh, come on,” you said, “why are you even here? He’s home, he shouldn’t need you.”

“We’re on duty until his meeting with the Council tomorrow.”

You blinked. “Oh. I thought all of that was today.”

He shook his head. “Preparation. Tomorrow is execution.” A pause. “Figuratively speaking.”

Dread sank its tiny teeth into your stomach. “Or maybe literally, knowing him.”

Ushar cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said. “Well.”

Silence settled between you. Strange, to speak with a man who had, less than 24 hours ago, stood in a circlejerk to spatter you with sperm, and stranger still to converse casually with him about the fact that your mutual Commander’s preferred solution to any issue was to blow its brains out.

“Well.” You cleared your throat, too, as if this would ease the tension in any meaningful way. “Look. I just want to walk around the garden a little bit. You can stand and watch me the whole time.” Half-grinning, you held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh. Um. Boy Scouts?” Your shoulders sagged. More heat at your face. Perhaps the strangest thing of all was the reminder that anything and everything familiar had been razed like a forest by Gilead’s flame. “They were like. A thing. Before…”

“Never heard of them.” Ushar paused, and pivoted to the side. “Go ahead. Don’t be long.”

“Thank you.”

Pinching your lips between your teeth, you slipped outside, neglecting the stone pathway and cutting into the grass. The little blades were fuzzy at your feet, wedging between your toes, and the air cleaned your lungs, the sky a lonely galaxy beyond the hedges and the yard. Gold twinkle lightning bugs flickered between the flowers, hovered above the pond, the sole source of light outside of the sterling moon and stars. You peeked over your shoulder at your sentinel--but he was motionless, observing you in silence.

Your feet carried you past the bench into the mini-maze, catching sight of the birdfeeder, the bag of seed. The Marthas hadn’t gotten to it, yet--not that they would have had time to--and in its day and a half of neglect, the bag had toppled over, spewing seed onto the ground, the feeder abandoned in two pieces by its side. It seemed almost rude, now, to see this mess and decide it was a job for someone else. With a shrug, you strode over, heaved the bag onto its bottom and started scooping handfuls of tiny kernels, dumping them back in.

They spilled like water through your fingers, raining onto your feet and the dirt--you seemed no closer to your goal with the next scoop than you had with the one previous. Another one, and another, and still the seed scattered, palms empty before you reached the bag. Sighing, you gave up, choosing instead to grab the feeder and pop on its top. As you gathered both halves in your hands, the backdoor opened, and you froze.

“Where is she.”

Your throat thickened. You dropped the feeder. He was here.

“She’s beyond the hedges, sir,” Ushar replied. “She just--”

Scuffing soles on stone cut him off, storming toward you--and you remained, unflinching. Even if you wanted to run, there was nowhere for you to go.

Kylo charged the corner into the maze, still dressed in black, his shirt unbuttoned low enough to expose his clavicles, which you hated to acknowledge. At the sight of you, he stalled, capturing you in his gaze, focusing on your figure, curves draped in your white nightgown, your breasts unbound, your hair wild vines over your shoulders. He swallowed, air rolling through him, attention drifting to your face. The muscle under his eye fluttered, his fists furled.

“You weren’t in your room.”

You knew hadn’t imagined it--the tremor in his voice, the quiver at his chin. He didn’t sound angry. He sounded scared.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Kylo took a single step--the distance between you seemed at once too great and too smothering, and he stopped, drawing a long breath through his nose. He stared, held it, chest rising, then released it, hands relaxing as he exhaled. His gaze slid to the hedge, tracing the woven ropes of leaves through the trimmed branches, wandering to the grass and landing there. The crickets hummed in the void. You would’ve asked why he had headed to your room if he hadn’t made the answer so plain to your eyes.

“The first time we met here,” he began, “I said I wanted to know you.”

You offered a slight shrug. “We’ve definitely become more familiar.”

“I do know you.” He glanced up. “I know that there’s a part of you that wants to stay.”

“Really.” Frowning, you shifted on your feet, ignoring the warmth at your cheeks. “You know that.”

Kylo stole a step. “Yes.” Another, and another. “I do know that.” Two more, and his long legs had brought him within arm’s length, his pupils wide in the night. “Because there’s a part of me that wants to leave.”

Oxygen escaped you, and you shook your head, averting your gaze. Crackled embers glowed in your heart; given his hesitations, his strangled frustrations, and your own inability to find resolve, this had been a part of him you’d already known. But to hear it from his mouth, given life on his lips, it was palpable. Tangible. You met his eyes again, paralyzed by their power--they were endless, brimming with emotion even you yourself had never been asked to name.

For a second, you forgot to speak, wondering how you could snatch this moment like spun glass in the air. Then you stepped closer, and grabbed his large, strong hand.

“Then why don’t we?” you murmured. “We can go. Just be. We can forget all of this.”

Kylo fled--for only a millimeter--before steeling himself, curling his hand around yours, and bringing it up to his face. He examined your thumb--now scabbed, but still sore, and stroked it with his own. Satisfied, he wove his fingers between yours, pulled you to his chest.

“All of this,” he said, “is under my control, now. I can keep you safe.” His other hand cupped your cheek, fingers coasting over your skin. “Make you want for nothing.”

Staring into him, into the vortex of his gaze, you tried to swallow the thickening desire to admit the only thing you did not want him to know.

“You keep saying that,” you replied, tugging his hand from your face. “But as long as I’m in Gilead, I will never want for nothing.”

His hand squeezed yours. “There’s more I need to do.”

You shook your head again. “Well, even if you could make that happen--”

“I can.”

“Even if you could.” You unwound your grip from his, stepping away. “What about everyone else?” The Resistance, the car chase, Poe’s head, Snoke’s mansion, the dress, the party, Tera Jackson, the Widows, the Wives, Johana--all dangled above your brain, a broken mobile composed of the casualties of your affair. “It’s not enough, it’s not fair to change my life when it makes everyone else suffer,” you said. “Why not just live a life where you don’t have anything you need to change?”

He raised a brow, as if he hadn’t understood the question. “Because I need to.”

You sighed. “But why?”

Kylo’s gaze broke from yours, aiming beyond you as his tongue traced his teeth in thought. A soft exhale, and his attention returned. “The world was flawed, before Gilead.”

“Gilead has only made the world more flawed.”

He grumbled. “Do you understand what happens to those without direction?” he asked. “Without order?” You were silent, waiting for him to continue--he speared you with his stare. “Chaos.” A tension in his throat. “Suffering.”

“Those without direction…” Head tilting, you searched his face. Puzzle pieces shifted close, edges locking--his rage, the graveyard, his terror, his Wife’s own words. “If the world wasn’t flawed, you wouldn’t have been abandoned,” you said. “That’s what you think.”

His eye twitched, jaw rigid. “It made sense.” Blowing air through his nose, he paced around you, fingers curling in and out of fists. “Snoke made sense. At first.” He huffed. “But he was just as flawed.” Steady and still, you watched him, watched his thoughts race through his mind, watched while he struggled to match them with words he had never had to speak. “Only I understand the consequences of chaos. Only I have the capability to perfect this.”

It emptied you, his hopelessness, his resignation that the only way out of his depthless hatred was to drown it in a void of control. You knew another way--knew it was nested within the words you couldn’t say.

You sighed. “You think that will fix it?” you asked, folding your arms over your chest. “You think that will make you satisfied? More whole?”

Kylo rounded, shoulders pinned back, a predatory curve to his spine. “Were you satisfied with life before Gilead?” he asked. “The loneliness. The uncertainty.” He drew closer, trapping you in his gaze. “Falling asleep empty. Waking up in agony.” Inches from you, he clutched your shoulder, turning you toward him, brushing your hair to your back. “I know your life, little bird.” His hand pinched your chin, his tone tinged with ire. “I know it because it was mine.”

Heat flashed through your spine. “It still is your life,” you growled, swatting his wrist and backing away, “you’re still miserable. And it’s still my life too, and it will be as long as you keep me!”

“You’re miserable,” he said, following you step for step. “You are the one who said you wanted all of me.” He was chasing you, stalking you as you retreated further into the maze, eyes rimmed gold in anguish. “And now you want to leave. Like everyone else.”

Your heart fractured. “Kylo--”

“I will end the Council if I need to.” He was black-winged in the moon’s shadow, a luminous Lucifer. “I will tear out every tongue that threatens your life if it will keep you here.”

A branch caught your sleeve, and you stumbled for only a moment, chin stiff. The threat was not hollow, but it was equally not wise. In his wrath, Kylo Ren did not believe there was a fight he could lose. In your sanity, you did not believe there was even a fight to be had.

“You can't do that. You know you can't.” A curly finger of the maze tugged you into the vines--you shrugged it off. “You know you won't be able to keep me safe forever.” There was no cease to his advance, no glimmer of cessation. “Johana is right.” The words flew from your mouth in a bid to convince him. “The Council won't stand by this. There's no such thing as divorce--”

“I don’t care.”

“--there’s no such thing as living with your Handmaid, I mean, do you expect us to get married--”

“I don’t care!”

Rapt in his gaze, you stumbled again, back flush with a wall of leaves, and Kylo consumed you, a silhouette against the sky, swallowing your sight. One hand grasped your wrist, the other pressed to your cheek, his palm smooth, your skin hot at his touch. You resisted the urge to melt into it.

“I want you,” he breathed, your name a ghost on his tongue. “I need you.” His lips trembled. “You are the only thing that makes sense.”

You were trembling too, quaking as you struggled to restrain the inevitability forming in your throat. Kylo Ren had been your Commander, the architect of your suffering. And he had been the only one in over three years to stir you, save you, see you--to care if you lived or died, to truly and genuinely desire not just your mouth, but the thoughts that came with it.

He had found you. You didn’t want to be lost again.

“I want you, too.” You nuzzled his hand, and he led you closer. “I need you, too.”

Kylo gathered you against his body, the hand at your wrist sneaking to caress your back, his fingers carding through your hair. There was no vacancy in his eyes; they were flooded, overflowing with warmth, with worship. You felt it--the thump of that silver pulse, the genesis of a clandestine reality you wanted, with every screaming cell in your body, to speak into existence--felt its weight as an echo on his tongue. His lips parted, his focus falling over your face.

Words would damn you. So you thrust your hands in his hair and pulled him into a kiss instead.

He enveloped you, mouth meeting yours as if it’d been years, a tender groan cresting in his chest while his grip clung to you, seeking your flesh through cloth. Humming in bliss, you sketched over his scalp with your nails, basking when he gasped and shivered at your touch, your tongue slipping past his teeth and sliding over his own. He moaned into you, pressing you to his frame, breaking off only to kiss you again, lips touching once, twice, before his full, plush mouth massaged yours and his tongue returned. There was no fury, no primal insistence--Kylo cradled you and contained you, held you like a man who was terrified to lose you, terrified to let you go.

Soft lips skimmed yours, and he stepped between your legs, pressure digging the hedges into your back. You whimpered in shock--he stopped and snatched you to his heaving chest, seeking the origin of your pain. It almost made you laugh, this protective urge, when you still bore the bruises and bumps from the previous night. Grinning, you eased away, catching his face in your hand and forcing him to meet your gaze. His eyes swam, spinning oceans, eager and alive. Your breath hitched. It left your mouth without even trying.

“I don’t want to leave you,” you said. “Leave with me.”

Kylo paused--you could almost see his mind reeling--as he stared at you. His chest fell with dejected air, and he held you closer, tighter. A strong hand returned, cupping your face again. His head offered the tiniest shake.

“It’s too late.”

Your heart fractured further. “No, it’s not.”

His hold left you, then, comfort torn like skin from your bones when he stepped back. In summer air, you froze, icy without his embrace.

“What I’ve done…” He glanced to the side, pacing away, steps taking him a slow circle while he gazed into the corners of the mini-maze. “What I’ve done cannot be undone.” Looking back to you, the knot in his throat bobbed. “Even if I wanted it.” His hands clenched, unclenched, and he approached you again. “If I leave,” he said, “it won’t be with you. I will be arrested.” The severity in his expression petrified you. “Or I will be dead.”

Perhaps, in the back of your head, you’d always known this, always known that escape was not a simple solution for a Commander, and certainly not a man like Kylo Ren. But to hear him acknowledge it too, to seal himself to his own inexorable conclusion--it decimated you.

“Oh,” you said, as it was the only sound you could make for a moment. “War crimes.”

Kylo’s head dipped in acknowledgement. “Yes.” A pause, and he turned, thoughts cast across the yard, before swiveling back to you. “To stay is the only way,” he said. “For you to be mine.” He gestured to the garden. “For this to be ours.”

You frowned. “Ours?”

His hand dove into his pocket, plucked his wallet free. Stone-faced, he flipped it open, fished into the slot and produced a folded piece of paper, presenting it to you as an answer. Cocking a brow, you pinched an edge, looking between him and the little note as you unfolded it.

One corner was swathed in smooth, swooping ink, the opposite end festering with wobbly attempts at leaved-lines. In the middle, they met, blooming into a tiny Eden--beautiful, borne from the hallowed recognition that suffocated, unspoken between your mouths.

“Kylo…” Chin quivering, you suppressed a laugh. “You think,” you said, “after all of this, what I want is, is… to what, control this with you?”

“No.” His tone was serious. Sincere. “You want freedom. You want me.” Stepping toward you, he took your hand, dwarfing it in his own. The heat of his body choked you. “But we don't get to choose what we're owed, little bird. Destiny decides it for us.” His attention flitted to you and the drawing. “I know what roles we are meant to fulfill. This is not just mine.” His gaze bored into you, chaining you in a plea. “It’s yours.”

Kylo Ren did not want to leave. He wanted you with him. In power. In whatever capacity he decided.

The offer was not only disappointing, it was insulting. To think you would want to stay in a land where you’d watched women hang, to remain in a nation where, without him, you could never hope to survive. No matter what route you chose, with him, you lost. There would be no agency for you in a world where you reigned standing on cadavers. And for your child--there was no purity coming home to a burial ground.

You glanced at the drawing, mapping it to memory, imagining it in his pocket while he met with Council members, ferreted threats, worked late into the night--pictured it tucked away at his hip in the Audi, stowed somewhere safe on the Buzzard when he was with his men. And your fractured heart splintered into scarlet shards.

Meeting his eyes, you shook him free, taking the sheet in two hands. Without a blink, you shredded it in half, layered it, ripped again. You caged him in your stare, unflinching, as you turned the paper into flakes, tear by tear, and littered them across the grass. Kylo watched, carved from redwood: large and flushed and eerily still, until his gaze dropped to the ground. He was speechless--and the inevitable words burgeoned, a tangled mass in your throat again. This time, you said them.

“I hate you.”

His eyes snapped to yours, struck black with horror--but before he could think to respond, or you could take it back, you fled, sprinting through the maze with your nightgown hiked to your knees.

There was no sound behind you, not even the crunch of boots, and you were grateful for it, grateful as you skipped past the pond and up the stone path, as Ushar veered to the side, as you pounded the halls and up the steps to the annex. You were grateful that you hated Kylo Ren, grateful that it would not hurt when you rended him from your heart, grateful that whatever route you chose, without him, you’d win.

It was gratitude, certainly, you felt when you opened the door to your room, an empty hole and empty bed. It was gratitude, too, that flooded you when you collapsed onto the mattress with a groan, and gratitude that stung your sight, flowed past your cheeks, stained your pillowcase. Thank God, thank God you hated Kylo Ren, thank God he was so easy to hate, thank God you would not ache when you left him behind, made a home without him, or gave birth to his child.

A tiny knock on your door. You stopped, cries arrested in your chest, as you cranked your neck to the threshold. Were it not for this timid request for permission, you would’ve ignored it in belief it was the only person you did not want to see. Clearing your throat, you straightened and hopped onto your feet, wiping your face clear--not of tears, but gratitude--while you turned the knob and cracked it open an inch.

Johana, cloaked in a frilly blue robe, stood anxious in the hall. Her face twitched with fear, her eyes stark, her mouth tight. In silence, she held out her fist, and opened her palm.

The switchblade.

#kylo ren smut #kylo ren x reader #kylo x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo ren #kylo trash #little bird #handmaid au #fanfiction problems #i am so sorryyyyy

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tomokahiroshi · 4 years

Text

"Sure, I'll get going."

Moving to the exit, he waves.

"See you later then."

"Likewise, dear Captain."

The moment he's a good distance away, the woman snaps her finger and the sound echoes throughout the empty library.

"Coast clear."

And from a corner close by, a girl of green hair with glasses peeks out.

The Assistant Alchemist, Sucrose.

"Th- Thank you, this... this should be sufficient."

Humming, Lisa nods with a smile.

"Yes, dear, it should be."

What a day it is today.

It doesn't take long for the man to spot their Outrider at the entrance of their Headquarters, alongside the Honorary Knight.

"Yo."

Grinning slightly, he raises his hand in greeting.

"What's up?"

"There you are!"

Amber waves in response, while the Traveler by her side wordlessly nods in acknowledgement.

"We spotted something in Windrise today!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

The tanned man hums, folding his arms.

"Do tell me about it."

After a while of explaining, he decides to join the duo in taking a look at the odd "thing" they saw by the Statue of The Seven's side.

A doll-like creature, small and has the ability to levitate.

It's nothing like what they've ever seen before.

To make it more complicated, said creature also seems to have a will of its own and constantly dodges their attempts on getting a hold of it.

Their little game of chase goes on until dusk, only then did they lose track of the poor thing and decide to return to the Headquarters.

Throughout the duration of it, however, the man has to admit that it's rather entertaining.

And nostalgic, since he used to play that kind of game with...

`"Catch me if you can!"

"Challenge accepted!"`

The sound of their laughter in those distant days still ring clearly in his ears, echoes of a pleasant childhood he knows he doesn't deserve.

"Sheesh, it was so fast."

Amber huffs on their way back.

"And small too, which makes grabbing it all the more difficult."

"You can't blame it, really."

Paimon, the Honorary Knight's floating companion, comments.

"When some strangers just suddenly show up and try to get a hold of you, of course you run."

"That's right."

Kaeya hums, holding his chin in thought.

"Besides, I'm sure I at least managed to tell what kind of thing it was."

At this, the brunette turns to him immediately.

"You did? That's fast!"

"Of course."

Smirking, he continues.

"It's an elemental being, a wisp amongst Mondstadt's thousand winds."

And once again, a remark catches him off-guard.

"You're amazing, Sir Kaeya!"

The Outrider did not just-

"I'm glad we have you within the Knights' ranks!"

Oh Barbatos, his face must have looked so ridiculous that it caused both Amber herself and the Traveler to stare when they finally took notice of it.

"Kaeya?"

Paimon waves a hand in front of his eyes.

"Helloooo?"

Maybe his smile literally froze on his face, though.

"He's acting weird..."

Amber mumbles.

"Well, at least we're here now."

Indeed, they're currently standing just before the entrance of the Knights of Favonius' Headquarters.

The sky, painted in fiery orange of the setting sun, reminds the man of someone's eyes.

Orbs that shine with burning passion, an unrelenting desire to protect this land with everything this person has.

A tug on his sleeve brings him back to reality, looking to the side to find their Honorary Knight smiling up at him.

The third thing is...

Why is everyone suddenly so hard to read?

From the ones he met early morning to those he met in the late afternoon, they're all so...

Unpredictable.

And Amber beams at him, taking his right hand as the Traveler had his left.

Then they lead him inside together.

His heart skips a beat once the large doors open, revealing the rest of Ordo Favonius along with colorful decorations.

As well as a gigantic "Happy Birthday" hanging from the ceiling.

"Happy birthday, big bro Kaeya!!"

Klee comes jumping down from a hovering flower - Albedo's, he notes - and throws various cute-looking things, which he's sure are explosives.

Although when they do blow up, it's all confetti and glitter.

So this is why Jean agreed...

The two by his sides quickly let go of his hands as the small girl falls right into his arms, giggling.

"Yay!! The new formula worked!"

"Splendidly."

Lisa chuckles, snapping her fingers and the lights go out.

"Time for the cake."

At this, he sees a cart being pushed out by Noelle and candles illuminate the area.

On it lays a cake of three layers, each of a different color.

Ocean blue, ice blue and white, from top to bottom.

"Please make a wish, Sir Kaeya."

Along with the maid's smile, he makes out everyone else's in the dimly lit lobby.

Ah... a birthday wish.

Smiling back at them, he nods.

But what should he wish for, really?

They went through the trouble to organize a party for him right under his nose and it is rather impressive how they've managed, if he were to be honest.

He knows the birth date is always on one's profile when they apply for a job, but he didn't expect them to pay that any mind.

Especially when it's his.

He hadn't celebrated it in years, after that event took place.

...

He would be lying if he said there was nothing he wanted to wish for, though.

`"Happy birthday!"`

The image of a young boy, smiling brightly as he handed Kaeya a gift.

That had been the first time someone threw a birthday party for him.

Chuckling, the tanned man moves to blow the candles as his wish comes to mind.

A childish dream he still believed in.

The girl in his arms cheer when everybody's applause resounds, light flickering back on with another snap of the librarian's fingers.

"On behalf of every knight within Ordo Favonius, I thank you for your contribution in maintaining the peace of our city."

Jean steps forward, a hand on her heart as she speaks.

"We hope that you enjoy your time here, as well as allowing this place to become your second home."

The warmth in his chest intensifies, a feeling he hadn't felt for so long.

And the woman smiles.

"Everyone, let us say it together."

From the shy Assistant Alchemist to the outgoing Outrider, from the strict Acting Grand Master to the friendly Honorary Knight, from the rarely seen Chief Alchemist to the ever-present Apprentice Knight, from the graceful Librarian to the explosive Spark Knight.

All of them, with bright smiles, go on and-

"Happy birthday, Kaeya!"

Even if his eyes feel a bit like burning right now, the man grins back at them.

"Thank you, all of you."

He doesn't think he deserves it.

Yet as he feels their sincere affection and gratitude, he can't push them away.

Perhaps... for this occasion, he'll allow himself to be honest once more.

When stars fill the night sky and the moon ascends to its peak, the Cavalry Captain leans onto the railing of the small balcony as the party goes on inside the building.

He wonders if... it could have been this way, if none of the horrible events a few years back happened.

Other than throwing a party for him, Sucrose gave him quite a pleasant surprise by being able to make untesils somewhat "alive". Perhaps that was why she needed them this morning, so they could easily move around for everyone to use.

The girl's bio-alchemy skills are getting better and better, as expected of someone working alongside Mondstadt's best alchemist.

Well, she had potential anyway.

That said-

"... Having some time to yourself?"

He pauses upon hearing the voice.

This can't be-

"That is to be expected, you've never been a big fan of parties despite your eccentric nature."

Whipping his head to the source of the voice, he finds a familiar redhead sitting on the railing to the side - a leg on it and one dangling - away from people's view, in a black cloak he hadn't seen for so long.

"You..."

His voice comes out barely audible, like a faint whisper of utter disbelief.

"Why..."

"I want nothing to do with the Knights of Favonius."

The other sighs, glancing at him.

"But since it is a special day, I'll make an exception."

At that, the tanned man goes silent.

An exception? For...

"Before you even get to that, stop."

Currently masked, the redhead only waves him over.

"Come here."

That mask is different, not the same one he used before.

Considering what it was for, it isn't hard to understand why the other abandoned it along with "that".

Confused but curious, he does as he was told and stops in his tracks upon seeing the offered hand.

"... Diluc?"

At the mention of his name, the other averts his gaze.

"Hurry, we don't have all night."

Smirking, Kaeya finally takes the hand and chuckles quietly.

"Where are you taking me, O Nocturnal Guardian of Mondstadt?"

"... You'll see soon enough."

In quick succession, the redhead pulls the man closer to himself and sweeps him off of his feet using his leg.

The smirk on the Cavalry Captain's face immediately gets replaced by a look of surprise due to the sudden bridal carry and in turn, the Darknight Hero's lips quirk up slightly.

"Mond's Knight of Ice."

#post #text #genshin impact #kaeya alberich #diluc ragnvindr #jean gunnhildr #lisa minci #noelle #amber #the traveler #klee #albedo #sucrose #venti

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mirkwoodshewolf · 4 years

Text

Guardian of creatures; AU! Queen x oc female x reader Chap. 7.1

*Author’s note*

Hey guys well do I have an update for you now this chapter is PRETTY LONG so I apologize in advance, which is why this chapter has been broken up into 2 parts. Now I would like to thank some users who have helped me with the face cast decision in each of the family members and I think it’s safe to say for certain characters some of you will already get (hehehe). Now like I said this is a lot because it contains background info on our two main leads John and Serafina and now for the warnings.

WARNINGS: Fluff, angst, child abuse (WHICH I THINK IS VILE which is why I’ve put a trigger warning in my taglist below so anyone with that blocked from their suggestions may not be able to read this chapter).

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queensdivas

@queen-paladin

@dancingcoolcat

@geek-and-proud

@queendeakyy

@kinole009x

@wormzteef

___________________________________________________________

Chapter 7

The truth of Serafina Black and John Deacon

*May 28th. Nighttime 3rd Person POV*

It was a full moon tonight; the spring wind softly blew against the trees outside and across the grand lake which rippled in the wind’s direction. Inside the manor however was a different story.

At around 1:30am, the walls began to tremble, almost as if it were crying. The moving pictures soon became fearful as they felt their portrait homes shaking with the walls. The wooden snake décor along the stairs was now hiding itself down on the ground trembling in fear. The lights soon came on one by one down a certain hallway and a long snake like tail slowly slithered down the hallway.

Freddie had come up from the basement, sensing and knowing just exactly what was behind the house acting like this, especially since this wasn’t the first time to happen. He slowly continued down the hallway and faint whispers from the pictures began to echo out.

“Back to bed. All of you. Stop gawking and back to bed. Come on now back to bed.” He told the pictures as he slithered past them till he saw Brian standing at the last door. When the Naga now stood beside the Elf lord, Brian opened the door and inside they saw the culprit behind the house’s anxiety.

Lying in her bed was Serafina, tossing and turning as her whole body was caked in sweat. Whimpering frightenedly like a lost puppy.

“This is the worst I’ve seen her.” Brian whispered softly.

“It’s another big milestone this year Brian. Those are always the hardest for her.” Freddie merely replied. “As always do not let John come into this room, and also keep our Knight away from this wing. They don’t need to see her like this.” Freddie soon slithered into the master bedroom of John and Serafina.

When the tip of his tail entered the room, Brian closed the door and stood guard of it.

Inside the dark bedroom, Freddie slowly slithered towards Serafina, all the while looking at the walls as they began to burn and boil up like sores.

He then stared at the young witch who was still tossing and turning, trapped in her own mind like a caged animal. His forked tongue tasting the air as he could literally taste the heat in the room as well as Serafina’s fear and anxiety rising higher than he ever saw before.

When he got right up to her bed, his hand slowly reached out for her and as he touched her wrist, he was suddenly hit with a vision. All around him he saw nothing but fire. A blazing hot fire surrounding a cozy little home.

He also heard various levels of screaming. Ranging from ages of either a full grown men, women, young adult men and even small children. They were filled with nothing but pain and sorrow.

Flashes of green lights also shot up at him and Freddie knew all to well just what that green light meant.

As Serafina kept whimpering and panting away, Freddie tried to call out to her trying to get her to snap out of her nightmare. Then with one final call, he managed to get Serafina to wake up and the both of them were now gasping for air. Freddie lying across Serafina’s legs exhausted from the vision he had seen while she looked up and saw Freddie lying before her.

“I—I s-saw it. I could…..feel their pain…….hear their screaming.” She choked out frightenedly. Freddie composed himself and stood beside her.

“It was only a dream.”

“No. It was a memory. Like your visions I—could see everything. Feel. Everything.”

“Visions like mine have dire consequences. Now you are indeed the most powerful witch I have ever known, your powers of the mind alone can convince anyone—”

“No Freddie it’s not my powers, I know what it is. Just like last year these memories continue to burn into my brain. And they’re getting worse!” she pleaded to the Naga. “I thought the Hydra test cured me of this.”

“It did. Instead of degrading yourself with your guilt every day you’ve only resorted to doing it once a year. And you know it wasn’t you’re……”

“You don’t know what it’s like to be the last of your family by murder! To know that you were forced to stay alive while your own family dies!”

“Actually, I do.” Freddie told her in a low, serious but velvet-like voice. The young witch looked at the Naga as he continued, “For the very same bloodline that took your family away from you, took mine as well. One man, slaughtered my entire race. And I was forced to live with that.”

Serafina’s eyes filled with tears as she lay back down, her back facing Freddie and her hand clenching her pillow.

“I should never have let John take me away from home.” She whimpered out as tears dripped down her face. There was a moment of silence in the room, except for the faint sobs that came out of Serafina’s lips. She soon felt coils beginning to wrap around her. She was taken out from her blanket and soon found herself wrapped up in Freddie’s coil.

Instead of squeezing her nearly to death like he’s done to millions of others in the past, he kept a comforting embrace around her as he now wrapped his arms around her. Holding her like a parent holds a crying child. Looking down at her, he could see that she had now mentally reverted to the frightened child she once was when she first had to deal with this.

“Being the last of your family is a lonely, dark path.” He gently cupped the side of her face while the tip of his tail tucked the strands of hair that stuck to her face out of her eyes. “You will learn why it was you that survived. And when you do……you will know peacccce.”

She looked up at Freddie and saw as his eyes began to shift in a hypnotic pattern.

“You can mourn in the morning. For now, ssssshhhut your eyes. Ssssslip into sssilent ssslumber.” her eyes slowly began drooping tiredly as she couldn’t look away from Freddie’s gaze. Finally her eyes shut and the house was now at ease.

Freddie kept her in his coils for the rest of the night and stood guard over his young red witch. He looked out of the balcony up to the stars and for the first time in what felt like eons, a single tear slipped down Freddie’s face as he stared at a specific constellation in the sky.

*2nd Person POV. The next morning*

After you wake up and make up the bed, you walk down the stairs to see that for the first time since you moved in, breakfast hadn’t been made. In fact no one was in the kitchen.

“Serafina? John?” you walk through the house but in each room you could see that no one was there. “Hello?” you then go out into the backyard. Thinking that maybe they could be in the gardens, after all it was a beautiful day today for gardening.

“(Y/n)?” you turn around and there stood Brian. His face looked shocked to see you out here in the garden.

“Brian there you are. Where’s everyone else? Was there another problem at the club?” you ask him.

“N-no. No. I—I thought you had your internship today?”

“I only work Monday through Friday. Today’s Saturday Brian.”

“Bollocks.” He muttered.

“Is—everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. No need to worry your head dear one.” He tried his best to assure you.

“Great cause I was hoping Serafina could teach me how to do some transfiguration. John told me she was always the best at it and even taught him. I’ve always wanted to change into my favorite animal. Where is she?”

“Umm (Y/n). I don’t think today’s a good day for a magic lesson. Let alone the rest of the week for that matter.” He muttered the last part.

“Why?” you question with a tilt of your head. Brian looked towards the gardens and sighed heavily.

“We didn’t want you to see this but…..there’s no use in hiding it.”

“Hiding what? Brian you’re starting to scare me here.”

“There’s no need to be frightened mellon. But just promise me that when we find Serafina you won’t speak a word to her. In fact don’t even let your presences be known to her.” His tone that always filled you with warmth and comfort now gave you anxiety.

He places a hand to your shoulder and guides you deep into the garden. Further than you ever went before until your eye caught the sight of Serafina and Roger standing close together under a large willow tree.

Play video

Roger had an arm wrapped around Serafina but this didn’t seem like Roger trying to make a pass at her. It was almost like he was trying to comfort her or something. Brian presses his finger to his lips as he gestures for you both to move closer. You both crouch down behind the shrubs and through the green curtains of the willow you could see Serafina in a state you had never seen her before. Normally she always appeared motherly, welcoming, and caring to those around her. Like she was the kind of woman who would never betray your trust or break you down.

But all that stood before you now was a shell of the woman she was. Her red eyes were now red with shedded as well as unshed tears. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere as she just stood there frozen in time in that broken state of hers.

Roger tried his best whether nuzzling her or even giving her a comforting kiss to get her to snap out of it. But she was long gone. Lost in her mind.

You turn to Brian confused and sad wanting to ask why Serafina was this upset but he once again pressed his finger to his lips before pointing back towards them. It was then John soon arrived at the Willow tree. His expression solemn and eyes full of regret as he stared at his wife.

Roger turned to John and glared at him but before he could do anything, that’s when Serafina turned to John. Her expression never changing as she stared at him with solemn, broken eyes. Roger backed off as John slowly walked towards her.

The couple stood silently before each other. Not one of them saying a word. It was then John fell to his knees, his head bowing in shame before Serafina. He stayed in that position and you watched as Serafina just looked down at him.

She then raised her hand up and a red beam of light started to form from her palm as she looked like she was about to strike John down. Your heart began to race with anxiety, was she really gonna strike him when he was unarmed? Not even wanting to fight? And why did John seem to want this to happen?

But when you saw Serafina’s hand tremble and shake you knew then she wouldn’t do it. And it was only confirmed when she closed her hand into a fist before turning away from John as more tears seeped down her face. Her biting her tongue to keep from sobbing.

That’s when Roger came back, this time in his horse form. Serafina wrapped her arms around Roger’s powerful stallion neck and he lowered his head onto her shoulder.

You and Brian were now back at the mansion in the living room. A cup of tea was in your hand as Brian prepared himself his usual cup of wine.

“I’ve never knew Serafina could be so broken like that.” You muttered solemnly.

“She tries to keep her optimistic and motherly nature. But on this day, she can’t help herself. Be thankful she’s only managed to keep it for this day. When I first met her, she was like that almost every day.” Brian said before taking a sip of his wine.

“What happened to her that made her so broken?”

“Today is the 900th anniversary of the day she and I had something in common.” Freddie’s voice spoke up. You quickly turn and surprisingly for the first time since you’ve been here, Freddie had come out from the cave of the basement and was now slithering towards you all.

“And what is that?” you ask the Naga.

“To tell you that would take forever. But if you wish to truly know, follow me and you will see what I’ve seen.” He slithered away. You turn to Brian completely confused.

“Does he always speak like that?”

“Nagas always love to speak in riddle-like manner. It’s just their nature. But you should go with him. He can tell you more than even I ever could.”

“You really think I should go with him?” he nodded. You let out a whine as you stand up and you muttered. “I don’t want to though! He nearly killed me last time I was alone with him.”

“But he didn’t. Trust me if Freddie really wanted to kill you, he’d never let you know.” Brian said sternly before trailing off in a darker tone.

Swallowing the last bit of your tea you set the cup down and walk in the general direction that Freddie had slithered off to. You heard his voice in your head telling him to come up to the attic.

When you got there, all around there were additional shelves filled with even more ancient trinkets, spell books, weapons, and even some wizard photographs (apparently when wizards take pictures with a camera, the pictures move about in that moment in time).

You then see Freddie standing right before a beautiful fountain. The bottom of it was pure stone and trailing up towards the top was an intwining pattern that resembled tree branches twisting and turning over each other. A silver bowl encompassed the top part of the fountain, shining as bright as a star in the sky.

“A gift of the Eldar. Brian’s grandmother’s mirror. This shows you things that were, things that are, and some things…..that have not yet come to pass.”

“Is this how you see the future?”

“I’ve been seeing the fates of all creatures long before this fountain was created. But when Brian was able to bring this along, with a little bit of my magical knowledge, I helped improve on just what this fountain can do.” He pulled out a tall silver pitcher and poured the water that was inside it into the fountain, while with his tail, it reached over to one of the shelves and took out a small vile with barely a quarter of what looked like water.

“What’s in there?” you ask him. He put the pitcher down and took the vile from his tail and responded.

“The key to you seeing what all has been in the lives of your teachers. This my darling, are the tears of Serafina Rhea Black and John Richard Deacon.” He then opened the vile and tilted it over the fountain and soon the two teardrops fell into the fountain.

He turned to you and gestures towards the fountain. Slowly you walk towards the fountain and look at Freddie. He gives you a soft nod telling you to look into the fountain. You look down at the water to see ripples forming and expanding throughout the entire fountain. Smoke began to form from within the water and all of a sudden it felt like you were being pulled in.

It was so fast and so quick you almost didn’t even know what was happening. Until finally you landed before a large forest. The sun was shining high above the sky, birds were chirping and flying about through the forest trees. Suddenly you heard the sound of a child’s giggle.

Coming out from the trees was a young girl around 5-6 years old. She had very long black hair, right about to her mid-back and she was chasing a butterfly. Her bright brown eyes gleaming with child-like innocence as she chased after the butterfly.

“Hey wait! Come back! I just wanna play!” she called out to the butterfly before chasing after it once more. For some reason this child looked familiar to you but you couldn’t place your finger on it.

“She looks different. Especially to how you know her now but it is her.” Freddie’s voice said beside you. You look to him before turning back to the little girl. Your eyes widening in realization!

“Wait that’s….that’s Serafina!?”

“Indeed it is.”

“But her hair’s not red, nor are her eyes.”

“All will be explained further on. Keep watching. This was the day that changed both their lives forever.” You both continue to watch as little Serafina run after the butterfly before crouching down in the tall grass as it now landed on a boulder before her.

“The mighty huntress……has cornered her prey.” Serafina whispered lowly. You watch as gets into pouncing position and she leaps over the grass but over shoots her mark and soon knocks into someone.

A boy around a year or 2 older than her. He had short brown hair but there was no mistaking from those eyes of his. That mix of blueish grey, this was John Deacon as a little boy. The two of them rolled around till Serafina ended up on top of him and the two of them groaned in pain.

“Sorry. I—get a little enthusiastic when I chase after butterflies.” Serafina apologized. You saw as little John Deacon just stared up at little Serafina in pure awe.

Like she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen.

A light blush blossoming across his chubby face.

“What’s wrong? Can’t you talk?” little John’s stunned face continued to grow redder. “Hey, I don’t bite.” Serafina told him assuringly before getting off of him. “My name’s Serafina. What’s your name kid?”

“Pretty.” You hear him whisper.

“Pretty? What kind of a weird name is that?” Serafina asked with a tilt of her head.

“Wha? No. No I mean……my-my name is-it’s I meant to say. John. My name is John Deacon.”

“You’re part of the Deacon family!? My daddy says I need to be careful around you.” she said stunned before trailing off lowly. You watched as John’s expression grew sad and he lowered his head in shame. And you thought you saw tears in his eyes but that’s when Serafina suddenly exclaimed. “I like you!”

“What? But didn’t you hear my last name?”

“Yeah I did. My cousins Fred and George Weasley say that they’re stuck up trolls that don’t know how to have fun. But you seem like you do.” She then poked him in the chest before jumping back from him. “Tag you’re it!”

She jumped in circles around John who just looked at her confused.

“What are you doing?”

“Wizard tag. I tagged you now you gotta come tag me!” Serafina giggled happily as she continued to hop around him. “C’mon don’t you know how to play?” when John looked down once again, Serafina stopped hopping and stood in front of him. “Ohh.” She said solemnly.

“Mother and Father don’t allow fun.” Serafina then began to ponder for a moment before she exclaimed.

“I got it!” she took his hand and dragged him out of the forest.

“Wh-where are we going?”

“To the masters of fun. They’ll show you how to have fun!” they soon disappeared from sight.

You and Freddie stood there and you say to him.

“She was pretty resilient as a child wasn’t she?”

“Serafina always did want to get her way. And being the only child from her mother and father she did get that. But it was a good thing she persisted in wanting to being friends with John. His family is……to put it lightly. Not a great bunch of characters.” The scene then faded away into smoke and now you stood before a large mansion of some kind.

Unlike the mansion you currently lived at, this one was dark and gloomy. Hardly any light came in through the windows (even though they stood as high as the ceiling). A large fireplace was to your right and up above you a large diamond crystal chandelier.

Suddenly coming around the corner was John who looked much older this time (roughly around 11 or 12 years old) but you watched in horror as a woman dragged him by his ear before tossing him down to the ground and she hissed out.

She seemed to be around her 40’s maybe 50’s and wore a long black raggedy dress with a black corset around it. Her hair was dark brown like John’s, and it reminded you of Brian’s to a degree but her hair was almost unkept and madded around her face like a rat’s nest. What really frightened you the most were her eyes.

Her dark brown eyes that almost appeared black were just wide with insanity. Even the most insane person that had ever been convicted and had those same crazed eyes couldn’t compare to the eyes of the woman before you.

“You’ve been with that filthy half-blood again weren’t you?”

“No I—”

“DON’T LIE TO ME!!!” she screamed at him. Hearing her voice was like hearing nails running down a chalkboard. It almost made your ears bleed and send fear up your spine. “You know it’s never good to lie to mummy Johnny boy.” Whoa wait what? This crazed psychotic woman was John’s mother?!

You turn to Freddie, your eyes filled with shock and he nodded once to you.

“So why don’t you tell me again, were you with that filthy half-blood?” she hissed at her son’s face all the while holding a knife!? A freaking knife at her own child!

“What is with all the shouting now Bellatrix?” a deep baritone voice echoed through the walls. Soon a very tall and lean man soon came into the picture. His posture showed that he held great status and power with his hands behind his back as he slowly walked towards the woman known as Bellatrix and John. He had long platinum blonde hair that went down to his back and piercing blue eyes.

“Ask your son Ronan. I caught him gallivanting with that insult of a witch Serafina Black!” Ronan soon turned to his son. John fearfully turned to his father who only looked down at him like he was an insect.

“And what were you doing together?” he asked John. When John refused to answer his father all he got was a hard slap across the face sending him to the ground.

Alright that’s it! You race towards John’s father to tackle him to the ground when Freddie’s tail wrapped around your waist.

“Let go of me I’ve got to help him! They can’t do this to him this is child abuse Freddie!”

“These are the shadows of things that have been. The past cannot be altered nor changed not even erased. No matter how much we try to bury it.” You slump down and watch helplessly as John tries to pick himself back up.

“They were skipping along holding hands making lovey-dovey eyes at each other. And I even saw John give Serafina a thistle.” Soon a young teenager that almost resembled his father to a T said as he came strutting in the manor. “Honestly it made me feel sick to my stomach.”

“Well done Draco.” Bellatrix whispered to the teenager’s ear almost seductively. You made a disgusted face as you turn to Freddie, questions buzzing through your mind like a swarm of bees.

“His older brother Draco. And Bellatrix is incapably of showing real motherly love as you can see. She’s unquenched by her bloodlust and any love she may try to show comes out as lust. Like for her eldest son whom she molded into the perfect killing machine.”

“How could John have remained the type of person he is today with a family like that? If that had been me I would’ve been locked away in some asylum or thrown in prison for the crimes I would’ve committed.”

“I think you already know the answer to that.” Freddie told you. You pondered and pondered till it finally came to you.

“Serafina.” He nodded and the world around you vanished once again into smoke and a new picture was formed.

This time however it was a large field in front of you. Nothing but green as far as the eye could see. A little farm was just to the corner and you could hear the sounds of horses, cows, chickens, ducks and pigs. When you turned around you saw what looked like a stack of houses on top of one another.

Wooden and all with many doors, windows and finally the stereotypical triangle-shaped roof with a little chimney on top. The sun was high above the sky on this beautiful sunny day but there wasn’t any people around or showing up yet.

“Where are we?”

“Welcome to the Burrow. The home of Serafina and her entire family.”

“Just how big is her family to live in a house like that?”

“Remember darling they’re wizards. Not everything is as it seems.” Suddenly something landed behind the two of you and drove right through you both. You at first were startled as you tried to make sure you were still there but then you remembered what Freddie said. That this was in the past and nothing could see or hear us, so it would make sense that nothing could really touch you.

“There they are right on time.” Freddie said. “This happened the next morning after what you just witnessed.” The carriage soon came to a stop and coming out of it was Serafina and John along with two teenage boys.

Identical twins with the brightest red hair you had ever seen on anyone else. It came down just short of their shoulders and they grabbed John’s stuff from the carriage while Serafina checked John over before taking his hand and leading him towards the Burrow. The four young wizards walked quietly towards the house when you turned to Freddie.

“Go see.” You follow behind them and when you entered inside, it was like visiting a cozy cottage. Antiques of pottery stacked along the shelves, a cute little table was set up with a plate of biscuits at the center. And of course like Freddie said the house did seem to be bigger on the inside.

Not as big as John’s manor home but it was homey enough. Like being wrapped up in warm hugs homey with enough space to walk about.

“Do you think it’d be alright if we had some of these?” Serafina whispered.

“Yeah mum will never know.” whispered one of the twins. The three of them take the biscuits but Serafina grabs two and hands one to John.

“I—know it’s not much. But it’s home.”

“I’ve been here before Serafina. And I love it every time I come here. Thanks for getting me out of there.” He reached out and took the biscuit from her hand but allowed his fingers to linger on her hand a bit longer which made Serafina blush.

Oh my god how can these two kids be sooo cute together!? It was then you heard the sound of frantic footsteps and soon coming out from the corner of the stairs was a stout woman with long ginger hair. Her eyes slightly narrowed as she spoke with a shrill in her voice.

“Where have you been!?” immediately Serafina and the twins hid their helpings of biscuits behind their backs as they stared like a deer in headlights at the woman before them. When her eyes turned to John, they softened up and she came around as she spoke in a real motherly voice. “Oh John. How wonderful to have you back dear.” She then turned her attention back to Serafina and the boys, her hands at her hips as she lectured them. “Beds empty! No note! Carriage gone! You could’ve died! You could’ve been seen! Of course I don’t blame you John dear.” She spoke softly to John.

Her face then turned immediately concerned as she saw the bruising around John’s face.

“Oh, dear what happened to your face?” she walked up to John and cupped the side of his face, gently stroking the bruise which made him softly hiss in pain.

“He hit him again Aunt Molly. And they put bars on his window.” The twins nodded in agreement. Molly continued to look John over and sighed.

“Alright, I’ll overlook this just this once. But be thankful I’m not your father cause otherwise you’ll have bars up your window Serafina Black.” The twins stared down at Serafina wide-eyed. “Come now John. Little bit of healing and then time for a spot of breakfast.” Serafina’s aunt guided John to another part of the room when her voice suddenly called back. “And you three put those biscuits back on the plate less you get the swaddle!”

Immediately you saw Serafina and the twins put their biscuits back on the plate and race back up the stairs.

As the scene went on you watched as Serafina’s aunt pampered John at the table telling him to tuck in as a large breakfast was now being set down along the table.

Another set of footsteps came walking down the stairs and soon a beautiful young woman with the same ginger hair color and honey brown colored eyes came down and she said.

“Molly have you seen my wand?” she asked in a warm, soft voice.

“Yes sister it was on the cat.” Molly told the young woman. When she saw John sitting beside Serafina at the table, her eyes slowly widened in fear.

“Hello Mrs. Black.” John greeted her with a smile. Wait so was this…….Serafina’s mom? No wonder where she got her beautiful looks from, this woman was beautiful. Ethereal almost like an angel.

“Young lord Deacon. What-what-what a surprise to see you here.” She then immediately raced off out of the kitchen.

“Did I do something wrong?” John asked confused.

“Don’t worry about my mum. She’s always been freaked out a lot lately. In fact I think it was around the time we met. But I wouldn’t worry about that. She can sometimes act a little crazy at times. This one time Fred and George slipped this garden snake into her pillow and she refused to sleep in her bed for a month. My dad was not pleased about that.”

“Now, now Serafina don’t go insulting your mother like that. She loves you and you know it.” Her aunt Molly lectured her.

“Morning everyone!” a man’s voice called out. Soon coming through you was a stout man wearing the a green cloak and the traditional pointy wizard hat on top of his head. It was the same color of dark green as his cloak but was worn down after probably years of being worn.

“Morning dad! Uncle Arthur! Arthur!” you heard everyone in the room chorus out.

“What a night! Nine raids. Nine!” the man known as Arthur said excitedly as he crossed across the kitchen to set his stuff down and take off his cloak and hat.

“Raids?” John questioned to Serafina. She swallowed her food and said.

“You remember John, my uncle works with the Ministry of magic. In the Muggle artifacts office.”

“He loves muggles.” Said one of the twins that was with Serafina earlier.

“Thinks they’re fascinating.” The other twin joined in. Arthur went up to his wife and kissed her cheek before taking his seat at the head of the table.

“Well now,” Arthur said as he took his seat. When he took notice of John sitting next to him he said, “Oh well John Deacon welcome back lad.”

“Morning Mr. Weasley. Hope I didn’t come at a bad time.”

“Nonsense. Besides I was wondering when your next visit would be, when did he get here?” Arthur waved off nonchalantly before digging into his breakfast.

“This morning.” Molly answered as she turned around from the oven. “Your sons and niece flew that enchanted carriage of yours to Leicester and back last night.”

“Did you really?” Arthur said in awe. He then turned to his twin boys and asked enthusiastically, “How’d it go? Was it…..” as the twins began to talk over about how it worked out well, their mother stepped into the conversation.

“Arthur!” Molly scolded him as she slapped his arm and giving him a lecturing look.

“I mean……that was very wrong of you children! Very wrong indeed!” Arthur said in his best lecturing voice.

You saw as John and Serafina look at each other before smiling secretly at each other holding in their laughter. Now that you’ve got more questions you stepped outside the house to see Freddie right by the pigpen.

“No wonder where she got her motherly side from. She’s almost exactly like her aunt. Serafina’s got a great family.” You heard Freddie softly laugh before it grew and he was now laughing hysterically.

“Great? Great is a loose term when describing families.”

“Well at least they treated John like one of their own. They were way better nurturers than his poor excuse of parents!” you exclaim at the Naga.

“That is true but Serafina’s parents weren’t any better than John’s were. I assume you’ve met her mother in there correct?” your anger faded as you say outloud.

“She did seem pretty freaked out about John. And Serafina said that it happened right after they met when they were little. So what is this really a Romeo and Juliet situation?”

“To a degree. It’s not so much as rivalry families. When one of John’s many great grandfather’s became the Sorcerer supreme, he sought out a hierarchy based line. In which Pureblood were respected and revered almost like Gods, while everyone else of either Half-blood or hybrid blood, in their case anyone born with a muggle parent, were deemed less worthy. But if you had a certain skill set then you were seen with a slight more advantage than the other families. But only by much.”

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maaaddiexo · 4 years

Text

Chapter Two

Arthur Pendragon

Series: The Black Spear

Mainlist | Serieslist | CHAPTER THREE

A land lost to fire and magic but never forgotten.

A girl once of noble blood.

A boy blind to his own luxury.

---

Y/N thought she understood how the Pendragons worked. How their minds worked and how they ruled Camelot. She was wrong. She was sure that she and Clarice would be thrown in the dungeons for concealing her true identity and hiding all these years. Instead, a party was being thrown in her honour.

As time went by, Y/N couldn’t stop staring at her reflection in the large mirror. A stranger stared back. Soft hair pulled back into an intricate braid. Red gown decorated with jewels dripping like blood. Painted red lips. And a crown on her head that felt foreign.

“Well, I suppose I look the part.”

Clarice appeared in the mirror’s image. “You look beautiful. They’ll love you.”

“I’m not so sure about that. By all means, they expect a princess tonight. But the only nobility left in me is the blood that runs through my veins. I’m not a princess anymore.”

Clarice rested her hand on Y/N’s shoulder. “And there is nothing wrong with that. If these people respect you, they will let you remain as you are.”

“And if they don’t?”

“The others are hidden within the woods. They will not turn their backs to you. Just like the first time fourteen years ago. We don’t care about the blood that runs through your veins. It is your actions that matter to us. And you have proven yourself to us time and time again. You have nothing to prove to these people because they aren’t your people. They haven’t been for a long time.”

Y/N sniffled. “You are right. But they will not feel the same. I cannot be myself out there. I must be someone I once was. Someone I barely remember.”

“I’ll be at your side the entire night. I promise.”

True to her word, Clarice stayed with Y/N as she endured alienating stares and hushed whispers upon her arrival. By the time they reached the King, Prince Arthur, and the Kings ward, Lady Morgana, Y/N was exhausted.

When she curtsied, she stumbled. “I apologize, Your Highness. It appears I overestimated myself. I thought I was feeling better.”

“Don’t worry. Lord Byron drains us all of life,” Lady Morgana said with a twinkle in her eyes as she referred to the man Y/N had quite literally just escaped from. “A glass of wine and I’m sure you’ll be fine again.”

“Arthur? Would you be so kind?” The King asked, though it wasn’t a question. His son nodded and offered his arm to Y/N. Copying the wives and their husbands, Y/N wrapped her hand around his arm, ignoring the feeling of muscle and sinew beneath the sleeves of his shirt.

“I’m afraid not even the best wine can bring back the life Lord Byron sucked out of you,” Arthur said as a servant handed him two golden goblets with sparkling red wine.

“Lord Byron was simply the last of it. Don’t take offence, Sire, but it’s the party that is causing my tired and foul mood.”

“A while ago, I would have been offended. But in the few months that Merlin has been my servant, he has humbled me by calling me a prat, a clotpole, and a dollop head – whatever that means.”

Y/N giggled as they walked the grounds. Slowly, the noises of the party faded and they went deeper into the maze-like garden. “Merlin has quite a spine.”

“Yes, he does. And if he can have a spine then you can surely get through the night. Especially once you’ve tried the wine and spend the rest of the night hiding out here.”

“Where exactly is ‘here’?”

Arthur led them to a stone bench beside a pond. Lily pads decorated the calm water. “I used to love mazes. One day, my father had one made for me. It’s no longer a maze – I know it like the back of my hand – but I still enjoy coming out here. It’s the one place I can truly think. And the view’s not half bad.”

Y/N looked around. All she could see were hedges. “What view?”

Warm fingers touched her chin and tilted it up towards the sky. Far above them, hundreds of stars twinkled in the clear night sky. The moon was full and bright. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought when I told my father I wanted to sleep out here.”

Y/N laughed. “How old were you?”

“Ten. He said no.”

“What is he like as a King?”

“Strict but fair. He upholds the law…maybe even when he shouldn’t. When it isn’t fair. But that’s what it’s like to rule a kingdom. From what I heard, your kingdom was quite peaceful. People were very happy.”

“And yet they weren’t spared from the darkness of this world.”

“You could change that.”

Y/N turned sharply to Arthur. “What?”

The Prince fidgeted. “What if…you were to extend your stay here at Camelot? Indefinitely.”

“Why would I do that? This isn’t my home.”

“It could be. You could learn from Lady Morgana and a tutor about how to be a princess once again. This is where you belong.”

Y/N bristled at Arthur’s last few words. This wasn’t her home and this wasn’t where she belonged. She belonged in the mountains. Free. If Arthur thought she belonged in Camelot than he didn’t know her nor was he listening to her. “If I wanted to be a princess again, I would have come forward a long time ago. I don’t remember much before the attack, but I do remember all the rules and being told what to do. Tell me, Sire. Do you feel free here?”

Arthur hesitated. “Not always, no.”

“If I were to stay here, I would have to pretend to be someone I no longer am. I’d be miserable.”

“Just think about it.”

Y/N sighed, ready to tell Arthur she didn’t need to think about it because her mind was already made up when they were interrupted.

“Y/N!” Clarice came running around the corner, fear in her eyes. “Something is wrong.”

“What is it?” Arthur asked.

“They wouldn’t tell me. Someone came in and went straight for the King. I didn’t hear what he said but the King told him to sound the warning bell.”

“Either someone’s gotten out or someone is trying to get in,” Arthur explained.

“But isn’t everybody important at the party?” Y/N asked.

“Yes. So intruders it is. The knights will scramble but they may not have enough time. Come on.”

Halfway through running back through the maze, Y/N had to ditch her shoes; she wasn’t used to high heels nonetheless running in them.

“Father!” Arthur shouted. “What’s going on?”

“Invaders to the west. Looks like Suron’s men. They’ve completely bypassed the town - didn’t even touch them. We’ve got maybe five minutes before they breach the citadel gates.”

#merlin #camelot #arthur pendragon #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon fanfiction #merlin imagine #camelot imagine #camelot fanfiction #love #romance #adventure #fantasy #king arthur #prince arthur

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stardancerluv · 4 years

Text

A Knight and a Princess’s Heart Entwine

Part Eight

Summary: Curiousity leads to interesting developments

The two of you took off the day from exploring your future lands. Unsure, and worried about the stranger you encountered the two of you stayed in the clearing.

Luckily, the day had stayed dry and warm. Sitting, against the wheels of the wagon Elmont, fell fast asleep ar some point. You stayed beside him, since you had brought your book, you read it. For your part, you had wanted to sleep but could not for some reason.

Growing restless, sat and looked over Elmont. Your fingers ran through his soft hair. He only made a soft sound so you felt brave. Taking one of his hands you took off his gloves. You held you hand to his. His was so much larger, had such strength. You brought it to your cheek. You sighed and closed your eyes.

You brought his hand to where you felt your heart. “You will always have my heart.” You whispered and putting his hand in his lap, you pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and got up. Stretching, you looked at his dagger wondering if you should bring it with you.

You pressed your lips together. You were being silly, no one would be all the way here. Giving, Elmont a look you smiled, he needed to sleep.

Looking around you smiled, everything was so lovely. There were flowers and off you saw a deer, it had such a regal stance. Continuing further in you spotted saw a lovely pond you were so amazing. On its surface were lily pads with the most beautiful flowers.

Completely, enchanted by the scene since it reminded you a fairytale you decided to take a small dip. Going over to where there were some rocks, you pulled off your gloves then boots and dress. With just an under shirt and under wear on, you dipped a toe in. It was cool.

So you wadded a little out so you could get used to it. The warm weather it would be refreshing. Finally, you waded out further and then further still. Sighing contently you wadded around. It felt so good. Dipping your head back to relished looking up at the clear blue sky, especially since the day before the clouds had been have gray and heavy. Finding a rock to stand on in the water you gently drew a lily pad close and inhaled deeply. It had such a sweet aroma.

******

Stirring, part of him feeling something different Elmont woke up. Blinking, he rubbed an eye and stretched. “Y/N,” he mumbled.

Finally, opening his eyes he noticed one of his gloves were off and he didn’t see you anywhere. When he stood, with his hand on his dagger his glove fell to the ground. He picked it up. Feeling, warm he shed the other glove and put them in one it his pockets.

Calling out your name, he looked around but you were no where to be seen. When you didn’t answer, unease knotted in his stomach. There were no signs of a struggle and that your book was closed and sitting near where he been it made him wonder.

Knowing, how you always had a very strong sense of curiosity be decided to venture into the forest. Looking, carefully he soon caught your movements or at least he hoped they were.

Hearing, a splash he stopped and lingered along the trees. He slowly drew close. Stopped, the knot of fear in his stomach became immediately undone as he watched you in the water. You were swimming and doing tricks where only your bare legs stuck out. You were like the fairy creatures, his mom would tell him about at bedtime.

You impossibly more beautiful in your chemise swimming around. The delight in seeing you like this was so strong. He down right made him breathless. His stomach was filled with knots of pleasure.

Not wishing, to scare you he began to think of how to walk to you. So as not to scare you, he had thoughts of walking and then arriving but louder.

Stepping back, he stepped right onto a a branch. He could literally watched you stopped and your eyes grew in fear.

“My precious sun, it’s me. I came looking for you.” He finally announced and came from the trees.

From, that water you gave a positively radiant smile. “Hi Elmont.” You stood up and saw more then he ever intended. He felt rooted where he stood. “Join me! The water is a little cold but then it feel so good. Elmont?” You tilted you head to one side. You splashed him. The water certainly felt cold but it also did feel good. He smiled and was brought back from the surprise of seeing, well so much of you. All that remained was his underwear.

“Oh, yes! Ok!” Seeing where you placed your clothes, soon he was shedding his cloak, his tunic, breeches and soon boots; he then made you place them beside yours.

Went right in, and he immediately shivered and called out with brought a burst of laugher from you.

“Oh...Elmont, My precious moon I told you it was cold.” You went over to him.

“This is not cold...it is freezing.” You gave a soft look, and then he sighed as he felt your arms go around him. He stilled, and inhaled sharply.

“Are you ok?” You had was warm on his cheek.

Shivering, he nodded. In his head, images of laying with you, filled his mind. They were strong. He could taste his need to be close with you.

He moved from his arms. He wasn’t very happy with these thoughts. “Did you ahh,” he was at a lost for words. “Smell these lilies?” Walking, past you to the lilies, what he saw come over your face could only be interpreted as maybe hurt or confusion. That honestly stung. But this growing desire to lay with you was very strong.

Getting used to the water, he fully immersed himself before standing closer to the lilies. “Have you smelled these yet?” He tried to giving one of his easy going smiles.

“I have. They smell very nice.” Your voice was chipped as you spoke to his back.

He felt each word. “So they smell as good as you?” He smiled at you over his shoulder.

Seeing, the hurt and how it tinged your eyes he finally decided to go over to you. Easily he wrapped his arms around you. You mouth took a grim line.

“My little sun, you’re upset with me aren’t you?”

You sighed. “Yes.”

“Little sun, you want me to be honest with you always right?”

“Yes.”

“Now, what I am going to tell me you may not want to hear.”

“Look, I am on my cusp of being wed to someone I do not care to meet or be wed to what could you tell me that is worse then that?”

He nodded. “Yes, I can’t imagine what you have been feeling in your heart.” He swallowed. “Ok, well when I woke up and found you gone, I went looking.”

“I didn’t go far.”

He nodded. “Right. But I still had to look.” He reached up and began loosing the brain that held your hair in place.

Your hands went up. “What are you doing?”

He smiled. “I’ve always been fond of this being down, indulge me?”

“For you, Elmont I can do that.” You sighed then after drifting your hands in the water you finally wrapped your arms around him.

He smiled, that was the girl he met he mused seeing it down. “So, alright. I finally found you.”

“Elmont, why are you being so strange?”

“I never felt what I am about to tell you.”

“Oh!” You soften. “My dear moon, you know that you can tell me anything.”

He nodded, damn he mused. He really hoped it would be ok. He couldn’t drag this out any longer.

“When I first saw you well, I saw pretty much all of you.” He looked past you. This was almost harder then fighting giants. “Well, watching you, I really should call you my water fairy with all the things I saw you doing.”

You giggled. “You saw that?”

“Yes, it was wonderful to see.”

“Oh, I am so sure.” Gently, you pushed him and he captured your hands and held them to him.

He leaned and kissed your knuckles. “My sweet sun, my sweet water fairy.”

“Oh, Elmont.” You sighed.”

“When I saw you as you were.” He met your eyes, there was no going back now. “I wanted to lay with you. I wanted, I want to lay with you like a man does with a woman he cares for. Or as does when he loves a woman, like I love you.”

As you looked at him, all you did was blink your eyes.

“Is that everything, Elmont?”

“Yes.”

“So the day when we had to dry off you didn’t sneak any glances. The day we dried our clothes when we fell into the lake?”

“Only, a few.” He blushed, he could actually feel the heat fill his cheeks.

“Good, because I sneaked a few of you as well.” You admitted and your cheeks like his grew rosier. “And Elmont?”

“Yes.” Worry, entered his heart once again.

“I want you to.” Your voice was soft and gentle like the rest of you. He couldn’t have possibly heard what he thought he heard. “I want to lay with you like a man and a woman do.”

You reached up and let your fingers drift through his wet strands.

“Y/N, if we do and your husband were to fond out he could kill me and you. Or he could toss the two of us to a oubliette.”

“Yes, well I didn’t choose to marry him.”

“But my sweet sun.”

“I know ladies don’t chose who they marry.”

“Well, yes but..”

“What about Isabelle and Jack?”

“That is an exception.”

“Why can’t I, can’t we be the exception?” You cried, tears finally came from your eyes. “Lay with me Elmont.”

“Oh, my sweet heart, my sun.” His breath was strangled as he tried to inhale.

@shantellorraine @darling-i-read-it @gothamsbatman @johallzy @rosionis @mylifeisbasedonashow @unfilteredmoonchild

#a knight and a princess’s heart entwine #part 8 #elmont x y/n #elmont x you #elmont x reader #elmont imagine #elmont fanfiction #jack the giant slayer fanfiction #jack the giant slayer #ewan mcgregor #elmont

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pinnithin-writes · 3 years

Text

Good Jokes

Chapter 8

The group gathered their affairs in order before heading back into the halls of Black Mesa. Gordon informed Benrey that he was allowed to tag along with them - a formality, really, as he’d be tagging along regardless - while Dr. Coomer took it upon himself to clear the canyon walls and have a look at what lay beyond. If there was any chance they could scamper out of hell by trekking through the desert, he’d let them know.

The scientist returned with nothing but a haunted expression on his face. “Well, Gordon,” he said, “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

“Why - what’s up there?” Gordon rested his hands on his waist in question. “How many hours of walking d’you think-”

“There’s nothing there,” Coomer intoned flatly.

Gordon exchanged a glance with Bubby. “What? Like, there’s no land?” he asked. “There’s gotta be like-”

Dr. Coomer interrupted again, staring him down insistently. “There’s nothing. There.”

Tommy was pretty certain that by “nothing,” Coomer meant hundreds of miles of dust and scrubland. Gordon, however, took it a little more literally than that.

“What if Black Mesa’s all there is?” he ventured, fear edging into his voice. “What if this is it?”

Tommy was about to tell him that this was probably not the case, and that Dr. Coomer was likely just caught off guard by the crushing reality of being in New Mexico in general, but before he could open his mouth, Bubby spoke up.

“Then we kill everyone and take it for ourselves,” he said with a shrug. He turned and headed for the blast doors without waiting for an answer from the others.

One by one, the team followed him, giving a farewell to the open sky before plunging back into the facility. Gordon was the last to go, and Tommy saw him let out a pained exhale as he cast one last glance at the stars.

“Man, I hope we make it out of here,” he said softly, and in that moment he looked so small, so vulnerable under the moon’s uncaring glow that Tommy almost broke apart just laying eyes on him.

Gordon turned. Caught him staring. He offered Tommy a weak, hasty smile, pieced together by whatever small shred of willpower he had left. “Let’s go,” he told him.

They went. More enemies were waiting for them on the other side, which they dutifully eliminated. They skirted a massive launch pad and entered the bunker adjacent to it, clearing the rooms one by one. Tommy pulled his weight and took out soldiers mechanically alongside his teammates. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to get the scent of blood out of his clothes.

This appeared to be the control building for the launch pad outside, with the two points of interest being a computer lab and the control room itself. Gordon tried unsuccessfully to connect to the internet on one of the consoles, frustratedly tacking away at the keys while Benrey drawled some joke about editing his death into a Wikipedia article. While admittedly hilarious, Tommy wasn’t about to give the entity the satisfaction of laughing at something that was just a thinly veiled threat.

Gordon finally gave up trying to gain a signal on the computer. “I’m done with this,” he sighed. “Let’s leave.”

“I don’t understand, they must’ve been slacking off,” Tommy commented at Gordon’s back as he passed by him. “All of these computers are just looking at pictures of lettuce.”

Gordon’s footsteps faltered as he let out a snicker. He turned back to Tommy, showing off that pretty smile that still sprang readily to the surface, despite everything. “And I can’t seem to change the page they’re on,” he chuckled, whisking his hand across one of the keyboards as he played along.

The intercom interrupted their banter, announcing that the rocket was ready for launch. That was odd, Tommy thought, none of them had primed the launch sequence. At least, not that he could recall. Wait, where was Bubby?

Rushing to the control room, they arrived just in time to see the domed nose of the rocket thundering out of the bunker. Gordon threw the blast doors closed and everyone crowded around the window to watch. Distantly, Tommy could see a small figure clinging to the hull of the aircraft.

A familiar voice hollered outside. “My dream comes true! I’m leaving this world!”

Holy shit. Bubby didn’t even get inside the rocket.

“Crazy son of a bitch,” Gordon murmured in awe, eyes tracking the missile’s upward climb.

Beside Tommy, Dr. Coomer clutched at his face. “Bubby, no!” he cried, his voice thin with distress. “There’s nothing out there!”

Only the teeth-rattling rumble of the rocket could be heard for a while as they all watched it disappear into the sky. Silence fell. Gordon was stunned, blinking heavily out the blast door window, while Benrey sat a ways off on the console, looking bored. Dr. Coomer was holding onto himself, an elbow clutched in each hand, with a mournful expression on his face. His concern for Bubby was touching, and Tommy didn’t know how to delicately inform him that his friend had likely incinerated in the earth’s atmosphere and would reappear within minutes.

And reappear he did, crashing into the room with an elated declaration of, “Gordon! I was in outer space!”

Gordon whirled, startled. “You’re - no, you-”

“Bubby!” Coomer elbowed past Gordon. “Is that you?”

Bubby rushed to meet him. “Yes! Dr. Coomer,” he replied, pulling the other man into a tight embrace.

Tommy lanced a brows-raised look at Benrey, who had idly been watching the whole exchange from his perch on the console. When did that happen? he mouthed.

The entity caught his gaze. When did what happen? he mouthed back churlishly.

Tommy made a discontented noise in the back of his throat and shook his head.

Gordon was rubbing the side of his face with one hand, looking utterly spent. “I vote… we rest here, because that’s gotta be just sleep deprivation at this point, right?” he tossed a weary gesture toward Bubby. “And we can lock this place up with all the doors... This is a good place to rest. I think we need to call it a day.”

After making a thorough rotation of the compound, securely locking and barricading the entrances, the team settled down to sleep. Dr. Coomer volunteered to take the first watch, propping himself up against the computer console to wait, while the others picked out spots on the floor. Tommy didn’t feel very comfortable letting his guard down in any room Benrey inhabited, choosing instead to remain upright and awake in case the entity tried anything. It wasn’t like he needed to sleep, anyway.

Gordon, exhausted, had no qualms of his own. “Goodnight, Benrey,” he yawned, sprawling out on the tile. “Goodnight, Bubby. Goodnight, Tommy.”

The hair on the back of Tommy’s neck suddenly prickled in a familiar way. Someone was nearby. Someone he knew.

“Goodnight, Tommy,” Gordon repeated drowsily.

Tommy cast him a distracted look, briefly meeting his half-lidded, sleepy gaze. Oh, wow. What a pleasant sight, seeing him all soft around the edges like that. Was Gordon waiting for Tommy to wish him goodnight back? That was nice, but...

“I don’t need to sleep yet,” he responded with some hesitance.

“Now, Tommy, we’ve discussed this,” Coomer asserted, even though they hadn’t. “It’s important to get your rest.”

Gordon abruptly propped up on his elbows, eyes bright and alert as they fixed on something past Tommy’s shoulder. Tommy followed his gaze, just barely catching a tall man in a crisp suit disappearing around the corner.

Gordon was up in a blink. “Stay here,” he told them, waving a hand as he strode quickly after the figure.

Shit. Tommy scrambled to his feet and followed him. Gordon’s pace was so brisk that Tommy barely rounded the corner in time to catch him exchanging words with his father. His tone was sharp, interrogative. His father responded, smooth and even. Tommy stood back with hands in the pockets of his slacks. He didn’t dare interrupt.

Drained as he was, Gordon eventually turned away from the shimmering mirage that was Tommy’s father. “It’s not real,” he muttered, shouldering past Tommy to return to the control room. “It’s not real.”

Tommy watched him go, then flicked his gaze to the man at the other end of the computer lab. “Hey, Dad.”

His father raised a casual hand, and Tommy felt a wave of energy bubble outward to surround them. The screensavers froze on the nearby computers. The hands on the wall clock stuck fast. Tommy let it wash over him, grateful for the stillness.

“Hello, Thomas,” his father smiled, stepping closer, smooth as glass. “I trust you’re doing well.”

Tommy raised and dropped his shoulders in a shrug. “Well, I mean, I am. Sorta. But things are getting real scary in here.”

“Nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure.” his father said, tilting his head mildly as he surveyed his son. His eyes were a contradiction, cold as outer space, burning like a dying star. Lesser men would wilt under such a gaze, but Tommy had been raised by it. Found it familiar.

“Ye - sure. I’m... yeah,” he answered carefully. “A little more information would be nice, though.”

His father arched an eyebrow delicately. “Tommy, this is an unprecedented occurrence, there’s only so much that I know, and even less that I can share with you.”

Tommy was aware. This wasn’t his first time being a piece in one of his father’s chess games, and while he was rarely a pawn, it didn’t feel much better to be a knight or a rook, either. All of the pieces were kept in the dark, and the less they knew, the less likely they were to deviate from their assigned roles. He understood why his father did it this way, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

At least Tommy knew it was a game, and he got to choose whether he played along. That put him leagues ahead of the others, who had no idea their actions were all predicted and planned beforehand. Their sense of control was fabricated, and every step they took toward their own goals was furthering the ends of another.

Tommy was sorely tempted to tap out, call it quits, tell his father, stop, this is too much, I want out. That option was always available to him, to blink out of the plane until this all blew over. Leave the team, fully capable of taking care of themselves, high and dry.

But.

“Why are you watching Mr. Freeman?” Tommy asked, folding his arms more as a self-soothing gesture than an act of confrontation.

A smile flickered across his father’s face. “He plays a critical part in making sure this disaster is mitigated.”

He suspected as much, but the truth still made his shoulders sag. “He just wants to go home, I think,” he said quietly.

“You are fond of him,” his father answered.

It wasn't a question, and Tommy didn’t deny it. “He’s... the only person here who seems to care,” he explained, and he heard his own voice shake even as he said it.

“So you can see why I chose him.”

Tommy let out a frustrated noise. “He’s just one guy.”

“How fortunate, then,” his father said, “that he has you.”

Tommy fell silent. His father had hand-picked his messiah, and, as planned, Tommy couldn’t bring himself to leave Gordon behind. He would walk with him every step of the way, wherever his path took him. Tommy wished desperately that he could see himself as Gordon’s protector, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just leading the guy like a lamb to the slaughter.

He raised his eyes to meet his father’s as he watched Tommy patiently. They were a striking visage, a warped mirror of one another as they stood face to face in the frozen computer room. Tommy in his lab coat and dress shoes, wrinkled and haggard, stained with blood. His father, crisp and sleek in his business suit, calm and composed as he always was. Tommy wondered if he’d ever look like that. He wasn’t even sure he really wanted to.

His father heaved a sigh that shivered the silence around them. “I will tell you this, Tommy,” he said. “Tomorrow will be particularly difficult for both of you. I trust you will make the right decision.”

That advice was maddeningly vague. The past 48 hours had been pretty fucking difficult as they were. What, besides infantrymen, extraterrestrials, and the environmental hazards lurking in Black Mesa, could his father feel compelled to warn him about?

“Wait,” Tommy stretched out a hand as his father began to warp out of the room. “Difficult how?”

But the clock was ticking again. He was already gone.

Chapter 7 <-----> Chapter 9

#ink #fanfiction #good jokes #part of my endeavor to relocate all my ao3 work #guns #violence #blood #hlvrai

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skybiome · 5 years

Text

Net Outcome

a fic for @mine-sara-sp‘s shadow au! I’m not quite sure if everything lines up with the pre-established fics, so if something doesn’t quite match im sorry

Wels and Biffa were fighting along one of the beaches near the shopping district. They were simply going through the motions of crossing blades, not really talking. All of their focus was on the spar at hand.

With the shadow update and everything that happened as a result, the knight and cyborg hadn't had much time to catch up.

As the sunset over the horizon, Biffa unceremoniously decided that practice would be over at the foot of the statue of hermity, and tripped Wels. He held the point of his sword at the knight’s throat. After a moment, Biffa pointed the sword elseward and offered his friend a hand instead. Wels took it confidently and Biffa pulled him to his feet.

The two struck up a conversation as they walked down to the edge of the water. Wels pulled a checkered blanket out of his inventory and spread it out on the sand. Biffa set a cake on the blanket and Wels handed him a bowl of rabbit stew. Golden carrots may be the most efficient food, but sometimes it was nice to eat a variety of different foods.

Wels set his empty bowl on the blanket and glanced at Biffa before turning to look towards the ocean. He took a deep breath. “Biffa, do you like the shadow update? Like genuinely, do you think it's good?”

Biffa tried to choke down the stew in the mouth to say something, but Wels purposely spoke when his friend had a mouth full of food.

He chuckled at his friend. “And I don’t mean that in a smart-alecky “What is good?” kind of way. I mean do you think that this update will have a net positive in the outcome? For the server?”

Biffa managed to swallow the remains of his food and pounded his chest and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to speak, but then thought for a second and closed it again. After a minute, he spoke.

“Did you bring me out here for an intervention, Wels?”

“I’m not really sure. I think I just kind of want to talk. We haven’t had the opportunity to lately.”

“Then let’s talk about you. What’s your shadow been up to? Paladin, right?” Biffa cut a slice from the cake, put it on a plate with silverware, and held it out to Wels.

The knight took and cake but just set it in his lap. “Yeah, he goes by Paladin. The Vex shadows took an early liking to him, and just kind of kidnapped him, I think. He’s died a few times.” Wels laughed at something quietly. “And every time he has, the Vex shadows have found me and had me re-summon him.”

Biffa looked alarmed at that news. “Do they just, kidnap you?”

“Sort of?” Wels shrugged and turned towards Biffa. “They don’t keep me or anything. Scar’s shadow normally just flies me to the shadow temple and has me summon him. Then he picks up Paladin and leaves me in the temple. The first couple of times Paladin tried to fight Scar’s shadow, but lately, he seems more begrudging about it. He doesn’t actively fight Scar’s shadow anymore.”

While Wels was talking, Biffa cut his own piece from a cake. “Have the Vex shadows died much?”

“I don’t think so. They can’t talk very well and also act kind of, animalistic isn’ really the right word.” Wels made a motion with his hands as he tried to think. “They act very instinctually. Base urges and all that. Dragons would probably be a pretty apt comparison.”

Biffa gave Wels a questioning look through another mouthful of cake.

The knight took his fork and poked at the cake while he continued to talk. “They have a literal hoard, inside Scar’s volcano. They’ve basically kicked him out of it at this point. I think Scar has snuck in there a few times and he says that there are literally piles of diamond and gold and emerald blocks.”

“How did Scar, of all people, get in there, get out, and proceed to tell the story?” Biffa’s voice clearly conveyed his disbelief.

Wels snorted at his friend’s incredulous tone. “I don’t think he got out alive. Still, I’m scared to think of what could happen if Scar’s and Cub’s shadows got stronger, smarter. I know what Scar’s shadow has died a couple of times. And every time, Cub’s shadow made Scar resummon his shadow.”

Biffa smirked. “I doubt threats would work on Cub.”

“And you’d be right.” Wels looked away from Biffa and towards the moon that was climbing into the night sky.

“Cub’s shadow has only died twice once. The second time it did, Scar’s shadow dragged Cub off to the shadow temple and tried to get him to resummon his friend. Paladin was there too, but Cub refused to summon his shadow and Scar’s shadow killed him in a rage. A few weeks later, Cub finally resummoned his shadow because Scar’s shadow was, I guess lost, is the best way to put it.”

That drew Biffa’s attention. Wels continued to talk towards the ocean.

“For the first few days, he was livid. He attacked everyone but Paladin on sight. He broke a few buildings as well. After that, he apparently refused to leave the hoard and buried himself in his riches. Paladin eventually went to talk to Cub and managed to convince him to resummon his shadow for half a stack of diamonds blocks because Paladin couldn’t stand Scar’s shadow sulking for any longer. Cub agreed and went with Paladin to summon his shadow with an empty inventory. His shadow killed him on sight. A couple of days later, a chest with half a stack of diamond blocks showed up on the ConCorp front lawn along with a note that said: “From Shiny”.”

After Wel finished talking, he took a bite of his cake, waiting for Biffa to say something. When his friend doesn’t speak, Wels sighs.

“We have two shadows that are codependent hoarders, one that enjoys torturing people, several that just enjoy causing chaos, and one whose only goal seems to be gaining as much power as quickly as possible.”

Biffa could tell that that comment was aimed at him. At Apex.

“There are three, maybe four shadows that could be considered beneficial, and I don’t think I would 1 out of 5 a success.”

A moment later, Biffa asked, “Who are the beneficial shadows?”

“What?” Wels looked back at his friend, genuinely caught off guard by the question.

Biffa repeated his question. “Who are the beneficial shadows?”

As Wels stared at him, Biffa took another bite of cake. He had asked a question, and now he wanted an answer.

“Um, the main one is Murmur, Mumbo’s shadow. He’s probably the only one who could actually be described as helpful. The other ones would be Doc’s shadow, Killjoy, and Chill.”

Biffa raised an eyebrow at the name “Killjoy” and smiled when Wels snorted at his expression.

“Doc’s shadow is more scared than beneficial and Killjoy doesn’t like it when shadows mess with someone except their summoner, so he spends most of his time with Joe. And the Joe Hills Difference seems to be mildly contagious.” Wels laughed quietly at his own joke and Biffa smiled through another bite of cake.

“Chill is more than happy to just, well Chill, most of the time. As long as she’s with Iskall’s shadow, she’s happy.”

The knight’s expression fell again, and he took another bite of cake and spoke through it.

“I don’t know, Biffa. The shadows are meant to be a way to duplicate items, but I don’t know if the damage they cause is worth it.”

The two were quiet for a moment, eating cake with the moon still rising in the sky.

Biffa swallowed his bite a cake past the lump in his throat and began to speak.

“I think-”

But he was quickly cut off as a neon blue shape grabbed Wels off the blanket and took off over the ocean. Biffa immediately stood up and put on his elytra. Even at the current distance, Biffa could see that the flying figure was holding Wels by what looked like the wrist. As he lit firework after firework to take off, he watched the figure let go of Wels, still over the water.

---

Wels gasped for air as he got the wind knocked out of him. Scar’s shadow had dropped the knight and grabbed him again to get a better grip. Now, he was being held under the armpits instead of by the arm. As a result, his head was right near the Vex’s. And Scar’s shadow was visibly distraught.

Neon blue tears were leaking from its eyes and ambiently around it, it sounded like someone had set a radio from static. Wels could see several bright blue gashes on the shadow’s arms.

“They’re gone.”

The shadow spoke and caught Wels off guard. “What?”

The shadow’s grip tightened around the knight’s chest. But it didn’t seem aggressive or even intentional.

“The hoard was… They’re…” The shadow seemed frustrated with its inability to speak. Normally it wasn’t an issue, as Cub’s shadow would finish the sentences. But Cub’s shadow wasn’t there to finish the sentences.

“Were you attacked?”

This wasn’t the first trans-oceanic flight, but on none of the others did the shadow strike up a conversation. Before it was almost professional, like Wels was just a step necessary to retrieving Paladin.

“Yes. Shiny is gone. Avarice is gone. Everything…”

“Who is Shiny? Who is Avarice?” When Wels had asked Cub about his experiences with his own shadow, he had mentioned a note from someone named Shiny. But Wels had never heard of someone named Avarice.

The shadow was quiet for a moment. When it spoke there were long pauses as it tried to find the words it wanted. “You… are Shiny. But not… you. Avarice is… is… Avarice is…”

The shadow was even more distraught now. Wels rested his hand over one of the shadow’s in a show that he hoped was placating.

It must have worked, as the shadow finished its sentence.

“Avarice is… my brother.”

Wels finally connected that dots that Shiny must be Paladin. And that meant that Avarice was…

“Is Avarice Cub’s shadow?”

Scar’s shadow didn’t speak but did nod its head.

“Do you have a name?”

“Keloid.”

If the shadow hadn’t been crying, Wels almost would have said that it sounded proud to have a name.

“That’s a nice name. Who gave it to you?”

It was a long pause before Keloid spoke, and Wels guessed that the pause was to think of what to say.

“Hills gave to Shiny. While ago. Shiny gave to me and us.”

Joe had given Paladin the ideas for the Vex names and Paladin had given those names to the Vex.

Wels watched the ocean below pass for a moment. The shadow was flying faster than Wels bet anyone had ever gone on elytra. Even with the small conversation, Keloid seemed to have calmed down and the buzzing noise had gotten quieter.

“Keloid, are you going to be alright?”

When Keloid spoke, he sounded very small.

“I can’t be alone. Not again.”

#im really happy how this came out!#shadow au #my writing #welsknight #biffa

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castillo-adrian · 4 years

Text

The War, Act I.

Scene 1.

Moonlight spilled through the colourful mosaic of the cathedral, illuminating the statue of Saint Luke Adrian had been staring for the better part of the last five minutes. The assassin sat in silence, remembering the old prayer his mother had taught him.

Padre Nuestro, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.

Whatever sins his soul needed to be scrubbed off, killing the enemies Adrian didn’t consider as such. The choice to do wrong wasn’t his. He was a weapon, and Andrew’s command was the trigger. The Frenchman had no qualms stripping lungs of their breath, but lately, he’d be doing more than that. Since ascending within the Rutherford ranks, he knew he had become more than just a deadly weapon.

The guilt, however, remained absent.

Perhaps Adrian actually believed with each dying St. Clair, France would be better off. Perhaps he needed to tell himself this story to sleep better at night.

The faint click of the heels caught his attention.

“Sévérine. Long time no see,” he spoke in his native French.

“I could’ve done with even longer,” the commandant was radiating hatred.

“Sit.”

She obliged, reluctantly.

“I don’t need to remind you what happens if you change your mind.”

“How can you live with yourself?” Sévérine hissed through gritted teeth, “It’s not enough you’re a traitor, you have to turn me into one, too…”

“Please,” Adrian sighed, “is your foolish loyalty to glorified drug dealers worth enough to sacrifice your life?”

She could try to run, but she’d never outrun him. They both knew that.

“There’s a fountain in the left corner, near the main entrance, I’ll pull him away right before midnight, as you instructed. Just…” Sévérine let out a long, painful sigh, “don’t let him suffer for too long.”

“Only long enough to create a distraction,” he rose to his feet. The moon had hidden in the clouds and the sky had turned ominously dark.

“I’ll do what needs to be done,” spat the woman, voicing the fears lodged somewhere in the labyrinth of carefully constructed little boxes in his mind, “but Adrian, you’re not fooling anyone with your ‘I’m just a weapon’ bullshit. Not anymore. You’ve become a fucking engine behind the machine.”

Scene 2.

In the basement of the club Sisyphos, Adrian walked the team through the plan once again. The Russians showed more discipline than he’d expected. Something, the assassin thought, had to do with their leader’s surprise appearance, more than likely.

“I can’t stress this enough,” Adrian looked with an unwavering gaze at Maksim on their way to the Kingdom, “no going off the script.”

The Russian nodded, but it did little to reassure Adrian still.

“There is a high probability some important figures will be in attendance, people we do not want to get mixed up in this,” he added as one last argument before their vehicles reached the destination.

“I assure you, Mr. Castillo, our men have more work ethic and discipline than people give them credit for. All they need is proper motivation,” Svetlana Vorshevsky’s eyes glinted.

Like hell he’d be trusting the Russians without a backup plan, though. Amara and a couple of other of his mentees had been stationed on a nearby rooftop, in case some idiot Russian decided to do something stupid and needed to be taken off of the chessboard.

The chess pieces were almost entirely made up of Russians, save for the two Rutherford assassins: Medea and Adrian, both of them operating from the shadows, three lieutenants, to be Adrian’s ears and eyes during the attack and Isla and Thomas tasked with overseeing the fireworks arrangement. Even though basically all of the Rutherford lieutenants and loyalists had been eager to join in on the action, especially after what had happened to Jai, their instruction was clear: be stationed a couple blocks away and only intervene if by some miracle the Russians managed to fuck up what he’d meticulously planned for months, from making literally every single person involved memorise the hotel blueprints to timing and mapping their exact location during the attack, he made sure to leave no room for error.

They had been at war and this would be the first battle.

Tomorrow, the French Organisation would wake up with at least one St. Clair short and in the very midst of the mob war.

Tomorrow, London, though, would wake up to another HCA attack – another act of terrorism by Russian radical group, attacking high society event in the heart of their city.

Adrian wondered, just how much of a hold Konstantin Vorshevsky had over the Russian president that he agreed to pin the whole thing on him with no hesitation. Arkady Kurylenko seemed quite amused even by Adrian’s Russian flag fireworks idea when he first presented it.

But the excitement the Vorshevsky loyalists involved expressed once Adrian laid out his plans to target not one, but two St. Clair family members, almost disgusted him. Pure, animalistic joy. Good, when and if the time came, he’d be sure to remind them it was in London and with the Rutherford alliance that they achieved what they’d been trying and failing to do for years.

Scene 3.

Everything had served its purpose. The fireworks - both distraction and disguise.

Distract Fran, and then turn his death into a distraction in itself to take out the most important figure on the chessboard - the Queen.

As he fired three gunshots at Fran St. Clair it was not his intention to kill him on the spot. Adrian aimed precisely to ensure the head of Launceston would have just enough life in him to live a few minutes longer, a few minutes enough to crawl towards the main stage, cause the distraction and die.

It all happened within a matter of minutes.

As Fran drew his final breath, another round of the fireworks went off, and the Russian Rook took out the French Queen.

The pawns, knights, and bishops fell one by one.

The war was far from over, that much Adrian knew, but this round had been won.

Checkmate.

#plot drop pt 4 #nothing new just filling in some blanks

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plutoandpolaris · 5 years

Text

Fantasy AU: To the Stars

Summary: Jackie’s childhood was relatively comfortable, but even still he dreamt of something more beyond the borders of his little village. Dreaming of something, however, doesn’t mean you’re prepared for it.

Warnings: Animal attacks, Animal death.

The mill was a small one, situated on the top of the hill overlooking the coastal village. His father would be up before the sun to harvest the grain and begin the grinding process, while his mother gathered the sacks and prepared the last week’s bread to be sold in the market.

Jackie was usually the last one to rise, although his father often woke him earlier to help him with the harvest on days where the abundance was high.

It was a hearty summer that year, his thirteenth birthday only a short week away, but even still he woke each day to his father banging his scythe against the base of the stairs to wake him up.

“Grain’s not going to harvest itself!”

While the mill was often stocked with grain from other nearby farmers who dropped it off to be ground, Jackie’s family had their own grain field, though small, to provide a little extra harvest for the bread they’d sell.

Each farmer also owed his family a small portion of their grain for the use of their mill, meaning that bread or porridge was often on the menu for quite literally every single meal. He didn’t mind though, it was one of those things you got used to.

For his birthday, his mother would always make him a pie from the berries that grew at the edge of the forests around the village. It was a special thing, she barely had time to make something so extravagant. They’d even get meat sometimes, a small cut of lamb maybe, that she’d make last down to the very last scrap.

His elder brothers had all moved out and gotten jobs of their own, on their own farms with their own families, leaving only Jackie and his two younger sisters, six and eight years old.

Usually, he was stuck on field duty with his mother (or father, if it was his week) while his sisters learned how to bake the bread or were sent on simple chores around the mill. Jackie’s father refused to make them do fieldwork until they were at least ten, he didn’t want them to hurt themselves on the sickles.

So that left Jackie with much of the field duties alongside one or both of the adults. It was backbreaking work, especially since he was too small to use a full-sized scythe yet, but the constant repetition of the swinging and tying had become comforting to him. Familiar.

If his parents were feeling nice that day, they’d let him off a little early and let him go down into the village and play with the other kids. They’d pretend to be valorous knights, jousting with branches off of the trees and pushing each other into the freezing water on the coast.

It was a simple life. A good life.

Yet still, every morning he’d watch the ships out on the ocean with their bright crimson sails and wish, if only for a moment, that he could go with them. See the world outside of his little kingdom. Visit the distant shrouded islands out there in the surf, only visible on the clearest days. Hitch a ride on one of the trading wagons and see where it would take him, see the faraway places the weary merchants hailed from.

But he was not a merchant. Or a sailor, or a knight. He was Jackie, son of the miller, destined to own the mill in his parents stead and live a comfortable yet dull life grinding grain until his bones ached and creaked like the old wooden rafters of the windmill.

It almost felt selfish, in a way, to wish for more when what he had was a miracle in it of itself. His family was well off, whole and relatively happy. He lived in seclusion away from the war-torn highlands of the north, shielded from them by the vast desert. The Dire had spared the village for yet another winter. What more could he need?

And so he relegated himself to his destiny.

But still, every so often he’d awaken to a clear night a lot like this one, and hear the dappled sky call to him from the confines of his second-floor bedroom.

He tossed and turned in his bed, the woolen sheets scratchy and uncomfortable instead of the usual comfort they brought him. The heat had made it hard to sleep, and eventually he gave up trying, instead opting to slip out of bed to get some fresh air.

He was careful to keep his feet light as he made his way down, to avoid the groaning wood waking up the rest of his family. He slipped out the door into the cool summer night, relaxing a little now that he was far out of earshot as he jogged down a short way to their family stable.

It was nothing extravagant, a small wooden hut with two corrals, enough for the family’s two horses. An older dark brown mare named Brinta, and Jackie’s favorite, Marsaron, the black stallion they’d bought at auction to pull their wagon since Brinta was getting a little old for it.

He gave them a short greeting, patting Marsaron gently on the nose before saddling him up. It was difficult, considering Marsaron’s draft horse stature, but Jackie managed to clamor atop him nevertheless. He gave the boy a derisive snort as if to say:

Are you really doing what I think you’re doing?

Jackie forged on, riding Marsaron along the top of the hills surrounding the village until the windmill was but a vague silhouette in the darkness. It was a peaceful night, the air cool against his overheated skin, the soft glow of the still lit lanterns down in the valley giving the village an almost ghostly appearance. Late at night, when the world was asleep and it was just Jackie and his steed under the silver gaze of the moon, he could almost imagine himself as one of the great heroes of legend, on his way to his next victory.

He stopped at the edge of a cliffside overlooking the ocean, half dismounting half falling off of Marsaron’s back as he brought the horse to a stop. Pulling out a rope from Marsaron’s saddlebag, Jackie tied him to a nearby tree, leaving a few carrots nearby as thanks for the ride.

The cliff was a sheer drop into the rocky coast below, the sea spray peppering his face as he approached the edge. Taking special care not to get too close, Jackie took a seat a few feet from it, the grass soft and wet with dew that soaked into the thin cloth of his nightclothes.

The sky was dark and endless above him, not a cloud in sight, the moon full and bright and the stars twinkling down at him as if in greeting. His family wasn’t the most religious, save for the occasional few coins dropped at Silva’s altar for a good coming harvest, but Jackie could almost imagine the glowing eyes of Lune looking down at him from the dark canopy of the night sky. Watching over him, in a way.

A low growl startled him out of his musings, echoing out from the dark forest behind him. He whipped around, only to come face to face with a pair of wolves, inching their way out of the forest, beady eyes twinkling in the darkness. A third followed farther behind, its gaze transfixed on Marsaron.

Jackie jumped to his feet, eyes darting around for something to use as a weapon, but there was nothing. The wolves suddenly sprung forth in a burst of speed, the third latching onto Marsaron’s back while the other two came for Jackie.

Marsaron bucked and squealed, managing to dislodge his attacker and land a strong kick to its midsection. The wolf went flying into a nearby tree with a sharp crack, scrambling to its feet and scampering back the way it came.

One of the wolves came barreling into Jackie, knocking him onto his back dangerously close to the cliff's edge while its jaws snapped at his throat.

He held it back by its neck, hands sinking into its tough fur as he fended it off with all his strength. The other wolf was fast approaching, and Jackie knew he couldn’t fight both at once. He screamed and cried for help as the wolf atop him got closer and closer to closing its jaws around his neck.

Then, with a sudden burst of adrenaline he pushed, shoving the wolf off of him with all his might, sending it careening off the cliff into the tumultuous waves below. He heard a sharp bark and a distant splash as it hit the water, but that was the least of his worries as the last wolf circled him, not scared off by the fates of its brethren.

He took one last step backward, his heel flush against the edge of the cliff, praying to every single god he knew of as the beast edged closer and closer. He shut his eyes, bracing himself-

“Jackie!”

He looked up, bewildered, as an arrow plunged into the wolf’s skull, sending it tumbling to the ground where it then laid still. On the crest of the hill was Jackie’s mother, bow in hand.

She dismounted Brinta and rushed to him, scooping him up into a bone-crushing hug. She held it for a short few moments before pulling back, terror and concern melting into anger.

“What were you thinking?! You could’ve been hurt or worse! I rush out here thinking someone’s stolen Marsaron and I see you-“ She trailed off, eyes landing on the bloody cuts and scrapes covering Jackie’s arms and chest from the wolves’ claws.

She sighed, kneeling down to examine the wounds closer.

“We need to get these looked at. Come on.”

She turned, untying Marsaron and handing him the lead while she took Brinta’s reins.

The walk back was slow and uncomfortable, anxiety radiating off of Jackie as he pondered all the ways his parents could punish him for almost getting himself killed.

He eventually found the courage to break the silence.

“Are you going to tell Father?”

She paused. letting out another sigh.

“No. No use getting him worked up, he’s been stressed enough as of late.” Turning to him again, her tone hardened. “But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Every day this week I want you out in those fields. You’re going to be doing all of the harvesting and grinding yourself. I could be much harder on you, but I figure the wolves were enough of a lesson.”

They continued walking, but he could see the tension drain out of her the farther they got from the cliff. Her eyes were lined with dark circles, pure exhaustion coming off of her in waves, and Jackie began to feel extraordinarily guilty about making her come out and rescue him in the middle of the night on top of everything else she did day to day.

She seemed to sense the guilty expression on his face. Her eyes softened.

“If I’m being honest though, I was wondering when you’d start getting into trouble. Your brothers were little devils when they were your age.”

“Really?”

All of Jackie’s older brothers were nearly adults by the time he was born, he didn’t get to see them much.

“Oh yes, definitely. Lysan once broke his arm wrestling the neighbor’s hogs, had to have it in a sling for months. Or Kyrie, he somehow managed to get himself stuck on top of one of the windmill blades and your father had to climb up there to get him down. Took all day.”

She laughed, Jackie giggling along with her. Imagining Lysan wrestling a pig was a mental image he never thought he’d have, but it put his stoic older brother in a slightly different light.

“I used to get into all sorts of trouble when I was young too. I have a feeling it’s in our blood.”

He looked up at her, into blue eyes so much like his own, and felt inclined to believe her.

He had no idea how right she really was.

So that's that! This isn’t the most exciting addition to the AU, but I just wanted to chill with something easy and give some insight into Jackie’s childhood. I hope you all enjoyed it anyway.

(Taglist)

@egopocalypse @shadowsinyoursoul @epicfangirl01 @kitnkas @mijako98 @anothermarkiplierfan @iris-the-asparagus @bunchofdoodlesinspace @spicydanhowell @ekhoecho @awkward-bullshit @amockingbirdslament @acuriousquail @hollenka99

Please let me know if you would like to be added or taken off. Thanks!

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jackieboy man #jacksepticeye au #jackieboy man fanfiction #pluto's fantasy au #pluto's writings

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roseamongroses · 5 years

Text

Antithesis (4): “these are a few of my favorite things”

Summary: For their Junior project, Roman is unceremoniously paired with Dmitri.

He’s hardly interacted with the guy, a strange occurrence since Virgil has had a weird/unexplained hate-hate relationship with him since middle-school. But it isn’t like he’s complaining. Dmitri’s cute, he compliments Roman, and damn can he paint.So Roman may or may not catch feelings, and he may not be wiling to uncatch them anytime soon.

–Dmitri returns the sentiment.

[General Warnings:] Misgendering, Past Misgendering, Past Bullying, Mild Sexual Content, implied emotional abuse, Cursing[Tags/mood:] highschool au, project troupe, fluff and angst but its all good, chat fic, teen stress, its flordia no snow we die like men[Pairing:] Roceit (Roman Sanders/ Deceit Sanders), hinted future/possible logince/roloceit/loceit [Characters] Roman Sanders/Deceit (Dmitri) Sanders, Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders, Patton Sanders, Remy (Sleep) Sanders, Nate Sanders, Dragon Witch (Diana)

(1)(2)(3) (4) (5)

Rem: im sorry patton but no, absolutely not, unfriended, blocked, deleted

Patton: :( But I’m right tho

Rem: the day i accept that is the day i wilingingly give up my crop tops for a sensible polo shirts, cargo shorts, boat shoes, and white socks

Ro: patton hon is he being mean? do i need to get rid of him?

Rem: IVE KNOWN YOU LONGER, SINCE WE WERE BUT BABS , I SHOULD BE HIGHER ON THAT PRIORITY LIST BUCKO

Rem: plus you wont be all knight in shining armor once you find out patton thinks flordia is apart of the south (™)

Ro: …..

Ro: patton you’re blocked.

Patt: D:

V: sorry im never anti patton, you fake friend

V:I mean he’s not technically wrong?

V: the redneck culture does exist here, we have relatively similar dialects, similar weather

Patt: !!!!

Ro: patt the day i actually block you is the day the moon does like it does in umbrella academy, but v you’re on thin fucking ice

V: bitch i broke the ice years ago, you only unblocked me cause mom told you to

Rem: spOILERS

Ro: shhhh

Ro: and the GRACE PERIOD WAS OVER LAST YEAR YOU OLD MAN

Rem: I TAKE MY TIME OK

Ro: excuses excuses

V: so im assuming i won this arguement for patt right?

Ro: no. and like legit v that only applies to like,,,,parts of flordia,,,the northern part mainly but like only parts

Ro: flordia might be similar but like,,,,it's historically, culturally, geographically, and politically different then other states that are called southern states,,, t

Ro: just asked a southern boy bout it he said, “fuck no, it's a spanish colony,”

V:what about Texas huH

Ro: Texas was a whole ass country at one point, texas still acts like it’s a country, Texas is whatever Texas wants to be

V: I wish I could annex myself from this class work

Lo: God, mood.

---

“Oh, I could kiss you,” Roman said, as soon as Dmitri turned around to hand him the icecream cone. The stand was small, the old lady running it, giving them a cheerful goodbye.

When Dmitri said the museum wasn’t stuffy, it was quite literally outside. Seashell decorated pathways stretched and weaved through elaborate gardens.

Everywhere was a sight to behold, from the blossom of flowers dripping every color imaginable to trees that might as well have been sprawling giants, often dipping into the path way in a tangled, ivies creeping up it's weathered branches. In the midsts of it all, sculptures were effortlessly woven into the park, abstract student projects and places of memory creating almost a cohesive story amongst the beautiful chaos.

“Dee, when I said take me anywhere,” Roman licked his ice cream greedily, “I thought we’d go to like a starbucks- not a park more attractive than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

“So the way to your heart is food and pretty things?” Dmitri smiled.

“You bet your ass it is,” Roman said, leading them down a trail with less people, “My first crush was on this dude who gave me a seashell, I went home and told Momma and Mom I wanted marriage.”

Dmitri sipped his own water, “Do you still have it?”

“Of course, it was a gift, ” Roman hummed, “‘Bout cried when I got it,” He looked up to see Dmitri staring at him, “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Dmitri didn’t look away, “No, you just don’t have the right to be so fuckin’ adorable.” He said as if fact.

“How is me being a a hoarding goblin adorable?” Roman said, suddenly very conscious that he did not in fact want Dmitri to stop looking at him, but also very much aware that he might combust if Dmitri didn’t stop.

“Huh, are you embarrassed again?” Dmitri laughed, voice pleasant. “My aunt never keeps anything I gave her, it’s nice that you do...” He explained.

“Oh.”

—-

<3BestofMoms<3: Ro, do we need anything at the store?

R: v sent a list through notes this morning

<3BestofMoms<3: Okay, found it, thanks <3

R: np <3

<3BestofMoms<3: Are you going to be back for dinner or is that boy gunna be hogging you all day? I'm not quite sure he has earned the gift that is all day roman time

R:mommmm

<3BestofMoms<3: :)

---

As the sun stretched across the sky, the two had wandered into the more shadowed parts of the park. Roman’s initial giddiness slipping in a more lethargic satisfaction as he explored as much as he could, Dmitri’s eagerness to show him around and introduce him to the park’s employees hardly faltering.

Dmitri glanced at the time, “You ready to head back?”

Roman was crouched, admiring the tiny statues of walking fish, “No, I want to live here,” he said, “But why? Does she need you to do something?” He fumbled with the buttons of his shirt as he stood up, because dammit, clothes are hard and the sun is hot, okay?

“No, she thinks I’m studying for a class I told her I dropped, ” He said, “You just seem tired.”

“I am no--” Roman scrunched his nose, “The fuck, Dmitri, I am tired.” he narrowed his eyes, “How did you know that, I didn’t even know that.”

Dmtir made a show of looking Roman up and down, “I just knew,” He did not elaborate, and Roman made a sound that was vaguely alarmed in nature.

“V was right, you’re the worst, won’t even teach me your fancy magic tricks,” Roman grumbled, taking Dmitri's hand, and tucking himself under their arm.

“Somebody's grumpy, you sure you don’t want me to take you home?”

“I’m sure,” Roman, swayed a bit, “We don’t even need to stay here...”

He sighed, “I don’t know you seem pretty….”

“Dm-itri,” Roman murmured slow, with a half smile, and Dmitri’s mouth dried.

“Roman…”

“Please?”

“You’re practically falling over yourself,” Dmitri said, “You know we can always come back?”

Roman’s eyes perked up at that, “It's a date.” he said, and Dmitri couldn’t stop himself from flushing and looking away.

He liked that a bit too much.

!!!taglist!!!

@daflangstlairde

#Roman Sanders #Deceit Sanders #Sympathetic Deceit #Patton Sanders #Remy Sanders #Virgil Sanders Mentioned #Sanders Sides #sanders sides fanfiction #roceit #romantic roceit #cursing #crossposted #Antithesis

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chemicalmagecraft · 5 years

Text

The Gamer Hero, Deku Chapter12

A/N: Thank you BlindSwordsmanNaru and Ultimate Pervy Sage for answering my question.

xoxoxo

I trembled with excitement. We were boarding a bus that would take us to an off-campus facility designed to train us in rescue scenarios. Sure, the combat training was pretty cool, but the first time I ever saw All Might, what made me really want to be a hero, was a video of his debut, which was a rescue operation where he single-handedly saved one hundred people. And here we were going to learn how to do that! Why wouldn't I be excited? Plus I was wearing my hero costume again! "Everyone please gather in two single file lines!" Iida said. He was really taking his duty as class rep seriously. Though I suppose that is why I made his class rep... We got on the bus, which, it seemed, wasn't exactly the kind that Iida was expecting when he made us form lines.

"I like being straightforward and saying what comes to mind," Asui, who was sitting next to me, said. "Midoriya."

"Yes, Asui?"

"Call me Tsu," she corrected. "I'm going to be blunt. Your Limit Break power reminds me of All Might."

"Yeah, that's right!" Kirishima said. "It's super manly!"

I gulped. She was really perceptive, wasn't she? Luckily, I'd prepared an explanation for it that didn't involve One For All. "It might look like it, but I think it works differently from All Might's Quirk," I lied. "I call it Limit Break, but really it's just me using a skill I got for getting all of my stats above fifty."

"So your Quirk gives you special powers for increasing your stats?" Tsu asked.

"Y-yeah. I only got one skill for each individual stat, but they each made the stat I got them from work better, I guess is a good way to say it. And the WIS skill was what gave me access to all four elements."

Tsu nodded. "Sounds useful. How does Limit Break work, exactly?"

I winced internally. It looked like I couldn't just distract her away... "It isn't exactly like the traditional video game limit break, but I wanted to keep with the video game theme because my Quirk gave it to me. The way it works is that I have a second MP bar that just... doesn't have an upper limit. That's not to say that I have infinite power, but whenever my actual MP bar is full, the second bar stockpiles MP for later use. I can't use the second bar to fully power any skill, but I can use it for part of the cost. What makes it really powerful, though, is that I can use it to power up not just skills but STR and DEX too. Of course, the reason I don't use it all the time is that there's some backlash from using it." I put my hand my head. "Of course, my Quirk makes damage just a number, but I don't really want to find out what happens if my HP reaches zero..."

"I think it's pretty awesome!" Kirishima said. "It's super flashy too, unlike my Hardening." He demonstrated his Quirk by hardening his arm.

"I think your Quirk is awesome too," I said. "It's the sort of Quirk that could be really useful in pro hero work."

"Yeah," he sighed, "but I'm not that sure I'll be too popular... You've gotta factor in how cool it looks in the pro hero biz."

"My Quirk is pro-level in strength and flashiness!" Aoyama offered.

"Yeah," Mina said, "but it also gives you killer stomach aches..."

"Oui..." he sighed.

"If you're talking about flashiness and strength, the kings of that in 1-A have to be Todoroki and Bakugou," Tsu added. Kacchan perked up a bit on hearing his name.

"If I had to pick one of those two for a popularity contest, though, I'd have to pick Bakugou," Uraraka said. "They're both pretty standoffish at first, but if you get past that Bakugou's kind of a nice guy."

Kacchan blushed a little and turned to face the window. Pyra appeared next to him and said, "That's 'Kacchan' for thank you."

"SHUT UP!" Kacchan yelled at Pyra. "And how the hell are you physical? I didn't summon you!"

"Speaking of elementals," Tokoyami said with a slight grin. "Would you like to see mine, Midoriya?"

I smiled. "Of course!"

From Tokoyami's cloak a dark haze emerged, taking the form of a young boy in black, bird-themed armor, a basic elemental. It looked like he had a sword and shield behind his wing-shaped cloak. His eyes were red, with black sclera. "My name is Corvo," he said.

"My elemental is a dark knight," Tokoyami said proudly. Corvo demonstrated his power by radiating some darkness despite physics saying that that was impossible.

"Hey, I got an elemental too!" Uraraka exclaimed. A purple-and-blue glow formed from the air next to her, condensing from gravity itself to form a young girl. Much like Blaise, her skin was midnight-black, but she also had sky-blue patches on her cheeks. Her eyes, or at least what I think were her eyes, were a solid yellow. Her blue hair, pulled vaguely into pigtails, was nebulous and glittered with stars. She wore a simple purple dress with a crescent moon on the center.

"Hi," she muttered. I didn't see it much but I think her tongue was also yellow...

"Her name's Nebula," Uraraka offered. "She's a little shy. I'd show you guys what she can do, but we're in a bus and I'd rather not flip us over or destroy the suspension..."

Iida nodded. "A wise decision. Perhaps she'll get her time to shine at the training facility. I certainly heard a lot from my brother on how useful gravity manipulation could be after I told him about your Quirk. By the way, you might receive an internship offer from Team Idaten sometime in the near future."

"I also made an elemental!" exclaimed Hagakure. A light shined from her invisible hands, and from that light came a girl in a silver-colored sundress. Her hair and the fur on her foxlike ears and tail were the same silver color. The only thing on her that wasn't silver was her white, fluffy scarf. "Isn't she cute?" Hagakure asked.

"Hi, everyone!" the elemental exclaimed with a blinding smile. "My name's Lucy!"

"Man, I wish I had an elemental," Tsu said. "Even without the whole 'manipulating the elements' bit, you guys have friends that you can summon at any time."

I Observed her. "Actually, Tsu, it looks like you have water affinity, which means you should be able to summon a water elemental."

"Oh. Cool. Thanks, Midoriya."

"We're here," Aizawa said, then the bus stopped. "Everyone out."

Outside of the bus, a person in what looked like a marshmallowy space suit was waiting for us. "I'm glad you're all here," they said. "I can't wait to show you my facility."

"Ohmigoshit'sThirteen!" Uraraka shouted, stars in her eyes. "They're one of my favorite heroes!"

"Thanks! Uraraka, right?"

"THIRTEEN KNOWS MY NAME!" She started searching herself for something. "Oh man I wish I had something for you to sign and a pen to sign it on!"

"Um... isn't it a little rude to ask someone for an autograph when you've just met?" Nebula asked quietly.

"Thank you for your concern, random small child that I've been told is actually some sort of elemental spirit, but I actually really like meeting fans. If you find something to sign, I'd love to sign it for you."

I pulled a piece of cardstock paper and a pen out of my inventory. "Don't worry, Uraraka, I made sure to put multiple sixty-four stacks of multiple different kinds of paper in my inventory just in case someone needed paper. Or to eject at villains like a poorly-managed sylladex."

Uraraka gladly took the paper and pen from me. "You're a literal angel, Deku! I'll make sure to make it up to you somehow." She gleefully got Thirteen to sign it, but then just stared at it. "Crud, what am I going to do with this?"

"I can hold on to it for you," I offered.

"Great," Aizawa-sensei said dully. "Glad that we got that sorted out. Now unless anyone else wants an autograph, let's go inside.

xoxoxo

"I designed this facility to simulate several disasters heroes might need to help out in," Thirteen said as they showed us the various disaster areas of the facility. "I call it the 'Unforeseen Simulations Joint.'"

"So it's Universal Studios Japan?" multiple members of the class muttered at once.

"No, that was not at all a factor in the naming," Thirteen said in a flat tone that made me feel like they weren't telling the truth. "In fact I only learned of the existence of that place after I named it." Oh look at that, Observe implied that they were lying.

"Thirteen, where's All Might?" Aizawa-sensei asked. "Did he forget about this and schedule an interview or something?"

"Oh, uhhh... I need to speak to you about something over here," Thirteen said. They took him out of earshot of us and said something that involved them holding up three fingers. I heard a few small pops to the tune of Shave and a Haircut, the sign Kacchan came up with to ask me to invite him to party.

Kacchan: dumbass used up his time for the day didnt he

Kacchan: and stop changing my name to kacchan deku

He wasted no time in PMing me.

Deku: Hey, I set my name to Deku, didn't I?

Deku: And yeah that's probably what happened. I saw something about him stopping some villains on his way to work.

Kacchan: shouldnt he be getting better? youve been using your healing spell on him every fucking day

Thirteen started giving a cool speech about their Quirk, Black Hole, and how Quirks could be very dangerous if misused. It was nice, but I also had to focus on PMing Kacchan.

Deku: It's not that simple. For one thing, Healing Hands isn't that strong, all things considered. Yes, it's a very good spell, but I'm pretty sure that I'd still have trouble healing anything much worse than a light fracture.

Deku: Second, All Might's time went down a lot after giving me his Quirk. I think he's still stockpiling MP, but it seems he's doing it less. Eventually, even if I make him be in even better condition than before AFO, I think he's still going to run out of power.

The BGM shut off, as did the USJ's lights. I noticed some sort of black mist coming from the fountain in the center of the facility, and it seemed I wasn't the only one. A man with powder blue hair and disembodied hands clamped all over his body emerged from the mist, followed by a crowd of other people.

Death on Two Legs

LV 61

Shigaraki Tomura

At level twenty-three, he was thirty-eight levels higher than me. And over the mist, there was another title.

Purple Haze

LV 57

Watanabe Kurogiri

"Hey, I didn't think we were starting already," Kirishima said. "Who are those guys anyway?" The BGM came back, but... that wasn't feel-good field trip training music. That was ominous music.

"Everyone get back," Aizawa-sensei barked.

"I don't recognize all of their names," I said, "but a lot of them are actual villains." I was especially worried by the giant, black-skinned, bird-looking man with an exposed brain standing next to Shigaraki.

LV?

Nomu

There was just something... off... about him. And I couldn't Observe him, which was offputting considering how the only other people that applied to were high-ranking pro heroes.

"I see Thirteen and Erasor Head," I think it was that Watanabe guy that the deep voice was coming from. "Odd. All Might should be here."

"Aw, and I brought a whole raid party for him," Shigaraki complained. "Let's hope he comes out when the kids start dying."

Aizawa's capture scarf unfurled. "Thirteen, protect the students and contact the main campus."

"It seems one of them has a Quirk that is blocking the sensors," Todoroki said. "With how prepared they are, I doubt we'll just be able to call for help."

"Good catch, Todoroki. Kaminari and Midoriya, you two have powers or equipment that can be used to contact others. Use them. I'll hold them off."

"But how?" I asked. "Your Quirk is best used in ambush or one-on-one fights."

"A hero can't just glide by doing what their Quirk is best at." With that bit of wisdom, he was off. He took out three long-range-type Quirk users before they even realized what had happened. I instantly became a lot less worried for him and joined my classmates in running like hell.

"You're not going anywhere," Watanabe said as he rose from the floor. Or a portal on the floor, according to Fuckery Detection. "We are the League of Villains," he monologued. "Pardon the imposition, but we have come to murder the symbol of peace." His misty body spread out. "I hope you don't mind too terribly."

"LIKE HELL WE DON'T!" Kacchan screamed as he and Kirishima charged Watanabe. Smoke from an explosion clouded them from our sight.

"A commendable effort," Watanabe said as the smoke cleared, revealing him to be relatively unharmed, "but if you persist in your endeavors, I fear you'll both wind up dead."

"Get back, you two!" Thirteen yelled.

A chuckle emanated from Watanabe's body. "Don't worry, Thirteen. You won't have to worry about that soon enough. After all, my job in this operation is to scatter you all to the four winds!" With that, he exploded into a thick purple haze that engulfed us all. After a few moments of disorientation and a sudden change to my minimap, I found myself in the air over what looked like a lake.

"Ah, crud."

xoxoxo

A/N: I know Corviknight isn't dark- or ghost-type, but it honestly fit Tokoyami better than anything else I could think of (including Murkrow) and I really like the idea of a corvid-themed dark knight. And the reason why I wanted to know whether Uraraka would play Sun or Moon, by the way, was to decide whether Nebula would eventually "evolve" into Solgaleo or Lunala. The answer is Lunala, as seen by Nebula's dress having the Derse crescent moon. And finally, Hagakure got a shiny Eevee. But what will this Eevee evolve into? That's for me to know and you to find out.

Oh and by the way, I don't suppose you guys could suggest any hundred-stat skills? Spoiler alert, but Izuku may or may not finally be dropping some Skill Points and I only have like a few that I've thought of. That would be very much appreciated.

#The Gamer Hero Deku #Gamer Hero Deku #GHD CH12 #fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #bnha

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killingmebtob · 5 years

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His Angel // Jung Ilhoon

Author: @killingmebtob // Chi

Title: His Angel

Characters: Jung Ilhoon

Author’s Note: Requested by a beloved Ilhoon stan

Summary: Ilhoon’s favorite person is getting married, how will he take it?

---

PRESENT DAY

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the groom and the bride,” the emcee announced in front of the crowd of people who wore their best formal outfits of cream and black.

Everyone looked their best and they all seemed to sparkle, literally and figuratively, with how their faces were painted with pure bliss and pride.

Everyone looked their best but no one could compare to the couple that entered the hall.

The groom, dressed in velvet black suit, walked with a spring in his steps. Wrapped around his arm is the hand of a lady: the flower of the night, the bride. She wore a pure white gown that shamed the lilies of the valley. The smile she had on was her most beautiful one. She smiled like she had never done so in the past.

She smiled like an angel.

She is an angel.

Ilhoon admitted that to himself a dozen times already. Even now as he stood amongst the crowd and applauded the couple who’ll start their lives as the half of each other. He might always get the nickname ‘Angel’ but in real life, his sister is the real one.

He couldn’t believe that this day has finally arrived. He still vividly remembers how his sister dropped the bomb on him. It was just a few months ago but it felt like it was only yesterday.

A FEW MONTHS AGO

“Hoonie,” Ilhoon heard the familiar voice of his sister before she poked her head inside his composing room where he was busy working on a new track for his group.

He turned around and saw her standing on the doorway with a paper bag in her arms.

“Movie?” She asked as she smiled like a child.

He knew what it meant—she wanted to watch a movie with him. It was something that they do during weekends.

I can finish this tomorrow, Ilhoon thought. With that, he nodded and headed out to the living room with his sister.

They already knew which movie to watch. They loved watching old movies. Not the extremely old ones but those that their parents loved to watch when they were just teenagers.

“Ahh she’s so pretty,” his sister remarked. She gazed lovingly to the actress on the screen as she laid on the couch, her feet perched on Ilhoon’s lap.

Ilhoon laughed incredulously, “You think that’s pretty?” He crossed his arms in pride, “I’m prettier when I dress up like a girl.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun. Sometimes, I wish that you were born as a girl instead then maybe you’d say, Ahh, she’s really pretty. You’re right. I wish we could be like that,”

Ilhoon flicked her toes with his fingers. “Is that so? Huh!”

“Ow!” She playfully kicked his hips in return.

“You kick like a horse. What kind of girl kicks a man like that?”

“Man?” She laughed as she sat up. “Who said that? You are still a boy. My little baby brother,” she said, tapping her brother’s head.

He pushed his sister’s hand away from his head. “I am a grown up man. I'm not a baby anymore. Please don’t be confused just because I have a baby face,” he said haughtily.

She narrowed his eyes at him disapprovingly, “You’re really going to push that, huh?”

“I will because it’s true. My skin is many times better than yours. You can check it yourself,” he leaned closer so that his sister could check his face.

She did look at his brother’s face closely and admitted with a sigh, “You’re right. Mine has been through too much stress lately.” She touched her own face as she said this.

Ilhoon shook his head like he just heard a small child confess to her sins. “That’s what you get when you don’t wash your face before going to bed,”

“I can’t help it. I’m too busy these days. I don’t have the energy to go through the whole 10 steps ritual before going to bed,”

Ilhoon clucked his tongue and looked at his sister. “If that is so, looks like there’s no choice. I’ll do it for you,”

Her face lit up, “You will?”

He nodded.

A few minutes later, the movie was forgotten. Ilhoon knelt on the floor while applying cream on his sister’s face who resumed her position, lounging on their couch.

“Don’t put anything on my lips,” she said.

“I will if you keep on talking,” Ilhoon threatened.

“How on earth did my sweet little brother become someone like you?” She tried not to open her mouth while speaking.

“You’re speaking gibberish. I can’t understand you,” he said even though he clearly heard her. He was just teasing her.

He focused on applying the cream to the entirety of her face like what he usually does to his own.

“There,” he finally said. “Now, let’s put these cucumber slices on your eyes and don’t talk,”

“How long will I stay like this?” She asked.

“Just a few minutes. I said don’t talk,”

“Can you at least sing for me?” His sister requested with a smile.

He rolled his eyes, “You know that I don’t sing that well.”

“Just sing, please. Just until we take the cream off my face.”

He sighed in defeat and cleared his throat to prepare himself. He chose Sea of Love by Fly to The Sky. Ilhoon’s voice filled the whole living room.

For the moon, by the sea

You leave the seashore

Until all the tears are dry (Until they're all dry)

Love will still be waiting I won't know why (I won't know why)

Now I'll go back to you

You won't know when there is a world without you

Still there is time for me to be whole

Meet me...

“You really have a pretty voice,” his sister said with a smile when he finished the song.

“No more requests, okay? You should pay me next time,” he teased, “Or better yet, get married and have your husband sing for you and apply facial cream on your face.” It had been a joke between them siblings. He would always push his sister to get married saying that he can’t get married if she doesn’t.

Usually, his sister would just shrug and say that he’ll stay as an old maid and have Ilhoon take care of her until they get old. But she didn’t say that. In fact, she didn’t say anything at all.

There was only silence for a few seconds until his sister spoke again.

“He asked me to marry him,” she suddenly said.

Ilhoon was taken aback by her words. He wasn’t expecting it. He couldn’t even form any words in his mouth.

“I said yes,” she stated when she didn’t get any response from him.

When he still didn’t say anything, she sat up and removed the cucumber slices from her eyes. She saw Ilhoon sitting on the floor, looking down. She couldn’t tell what was in his mind that time.

“Did you tell Mom and Dad?” He asked, still not looking up.

“You’re the first person I told about it,” she said.

Ilhoon nodded but he still couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea of his sister getting married. He knew it would come. She’s at the right age to start a family. He just haven’t thought about how would he react to it. He was so used to being with her that it somehow felt empty thinking that someone will take her away from him.

Ilhoon knew that he would no longer be his sister’s priority. She would no longer be always available when he needs her. She would have to take care of her husband and their family in the future. He would go further down her list of priorities as years pass by. He knew it was selfish of him to think that way but he couldn’t help it. She was right. He still is her baby brother and he isn’t ready to let go of his sister.

Ilhoon finally looked up and met his sister’s eyes. He suddenly felt like a little kid again, looking up to his big sister as he cried when he wounded his knees in the playground.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked. “You’ve just met him a year ago. Are you sure that you are doing the right thing?” He was worried and he thought that maybe she was just being too rash with her decisions. He thought, What if she is making the wrong choice? What if she ends up being hurt?

The moment that Ilhoon looked her in the eye, she knew what was going on in his mind. Both of them have always had a connection ever since they were little. They do not need to say much to tell the other know what they want or what they don’t. Of course, their relationship was like any other siblings’. They fought a lot even when they were older. But at the end of the day, both of them knew that they have each other’s back no matter what.

She took Ilhoon’s hand and held it between hers. She couldn’t believe how time flew by. It seemed like just yesterday when she held the same hands and they were really small. Now, they belong to a man who has established his life and has a great career. She was always proud of her brother—her little baby brother.

“I am sure about this,” she assured him. “Trust me,”

Ilhoon looked at her and studied her face. Then, he nodded.

Not many words passed between them but they both knew each other’s message.

PRESENT DAY

The usual ceremony during the wedding reception was done. There were messages for the newly wed and some other stuff. But Ilhoon knew that those were not enough. He came up with a plan. After the father and daughter dance, he proposed that he would like to have a dance with the bride.

His sister was surprised as she wasn’t expecting it.

Ilhoon stood up and went to the newly wed’s table to ask the bride for a dance. She smiled, bowed, and gave her hand to her brother. Both of them walked to the dance floor and positioned themselves.

When the first notes of the song played, she laughed incredulously.

“Really?” She asked as they started to dance. “Out of all the songs in the world, you chose the most common one?”

Ilhoon smiled as the song You’ve Got A Friend played. “It’s a nice song,”

He sang along when the chorus came.

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall

All you’ve got to do is call

And I’ll be there

You’ve got a friend

She rested her face on his brother’s chest as they danced. “You know that you will always be my baby brother, right?”

He nodded, “I know.”

Tears started to stream from their eyes but they were both smiling.

Ilhoon knew that his sister was happy and that was more than enough for him.

For many years, he had been her knight in shining armor. He protected her and cared for her even if there were many times when he bullied her. However, it was time to grow up and let another man be the knight in shining armor in her life. He would still be there for her. He thought as he smiled at her, ‘Now there will be one more person protecting my angel.’

#btob #btob imagines #ilhoon imagines #jung ilhoon #btob ilhoon #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #ilhoon scenarios #btob ilhoon imagines #btob ilhoon scenarios

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mrslittletall · 6 years

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Title: Keeping it together (Chapter 5) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Dusk of Oolacile Word Count: 1.651 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328084/chapters/38965976 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/179866314029/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-4

Summary: In which there are nightmares and a talk with the princess.

He was surrounded by darkness. No, this couldn't be just called darkness... the area he found himself in was literally pitch black. But why could he still see the shine of his golden armour then? He felt at a loss. Was there even a point walking into a direction if he didn't even knew where he was? Still contemplating his options, Ornstein suddenly noticed a familiar figure, the shine of a silver armour as bright as his own golden armour.

“Artorias.”, he called out and started walking first, then running. “I am so glad to see you, do you know where we are?”

Artorias didn't answer, just stood there, with his back turned to Ornstein. “Artorias?”, Ornstein asked. The run to him felt like it lasted an eternity. “Is everything alright...?” He finally reached Artorias and extended a hand to touch his shoulder, but his hand didn't touch solid armour... it felt like he was touching some kind of goo.

“Artorias, what is wrong with you?”, Ornstein shouted out. “That isn't normal, we have to get out here and get you to a healer, quick.” Artorias still didn't answer, instead, his whole frame started to drip and slowly melt until it was one with the pitch black darkness they were surrounded by. Ornstein only stood here, frozen in horror.

The next thing he knew, was that he awoke in a cold sweat, heart pounding in his chest, wheezing and with a stomach that felt like it tried to turn around. Ornstein regretted for the fraction of a second that he hadn't took the offer on the bucket earlier and found himself in the outhouse moments later, puking out whatever food had been left in him, but it mostly felt like bile. That was when it all came back to him.

The message, that Artorias had fallen in battle, the trip to Oolacile, that Ciaran had told him that Artorias had failed, the image of his corpse.

Yeah, that must have been it, that image had produced the nightmare. Ornstein stayed a while longer at the outhouse, not trusting his stomach. After a while, he left it and realized that it was still in the middle of the night, the moon was high up and it would be a few hours till sunrise. It would be best if he would get some more sleep.

Ornstein returned to the bed, lying on his back. He closed his eyes, trying to not think about anything, but he could still feel the lingering nausea. He grabbed for the jar of water at the night stand and took a few sips, hoping that it would subdue the nausea. While he was lying there, waiting for his stomach to calm down, his thoughts started to spiral.

Had there been anything he could have done to prevent the death of Artorias?

What had been his options? Ornstein had not only stayed in Anor Londo because in its current state it had been better for the silver knights and the citizens to have their captain around, but also because Artorias had explicitly stated that he could take this mission alone. In fact, Artorias was the only one who had made a covenant that enabled him to traverse the darkness and who had a sword which would hurt creature of the darkness immensely. Ornstein could have followed him to this mission, sure, but... what would have been the chances of him not getting corrupted too? He and Artorias both contained parts of the light soul in their body, they were extremely in danger to get swallowed by the dark. Artorias had taken that risk and lost. If Ornstein had followed him, he probably could have suffered the exact same fate. And thinking about not only Artorias but him too in a berserk rage, made him shudder. He doubted that anyone, not even an determined Undead would have been able to stop the force of both of them at once.

Ornstein felt another bout of bile rising and quickly drank a bit of water to suppress it. So, going with Artorias on that mission wouldn't have done any good, but maybe he shouldn't had let Artorias go in the first place? Knowing how dangerous the abyss could be for them, he could have easily ordered him to stay in the cathedral. But he also knew two things. First, that they just couldn't let the people of Oolacile face this crisis alone and second, that Artorias surely wouldn't have accepted an order like this. He would have gone anyway, even if that meant to face Ornstein's wrath.

No, he couldn't have done that. Ornstein took another big gulp from the jar of water, the nausea still was there and he really didn't want to throw up anymore. Was there another option he hadn't thought about yet? What if he had followed Artorias like Ciaran did? But what should he have told him? That he had a bad feeling and Artorias better shouldn't go to the very mission he had assigned to? It probably would have made him look like he had paranoia. And if he had followed Artorias and arrived when he already had been in his corrupted state? He would have been obliged to put Artorias out of his misery, meaning, he would have been obliged to kill his friend. This thought made Ornstein shiver. He turned around to lay on his side and grabbed for his usual extra pillow, only that it wasn't there. Right, he wasn't in his room in Anor Londo, that was a guest room in Princess Dusk's mansion. The shivering got stronger, he felt helpless, he felt guilty, he knew that he had another breakdown. Ornstein curled up and waited, waited for it to pass, close to tears, just wishing that someone would hold him, hating how weak he felt. “Keep it together...”, he murmured.

After a while he managed to calm down. He made a mental note to ask for some extra pillows for the next night. He also contemplated to maybe get some of the medicine Princess Dusk had mentioned, his nausea hadn't subdued at all and he felt like he still could throw up anytime. He didn't want to wake anybody though and it would probably go away soon, so he grabbed the water once again instead and realized that it was almost empty, only a few drops remained. He drank them anyway and noticed two things.

First, that the sun started to get up and second, that he really needed to go. With a sigh, he got up, hoping that his stomach wouldn't turn upside down. It didn't make any sense trying to hold it in, his last break had been too long ago and he had managed to drink a whole jar of water in a pretty short time. Luckily, his stomach decided to keep his contents to itself and Ornstein went to the outhouse to relieve himself.

After he was done, he decided that it wouldn't make any sense for him trying to get some sleep anymore. He went back into the guest room to get dressed. He picked up a brush, brushed his hair until he got stuck at a particular unruly curl and just put his hair in the usual ponytail before putting on his armour minus the helmet, he intended to get some fresh air in the garden until the rest of the mansion would be awake. When he was searching for a nice place to sit down and maybe just watch the sunrise, he stumbled upon Princess Dusk, who was staring up in the sky with a melancholy expression. At the sound of his metal footsteps, she winced and jerked her head in his direction.

“Oh, it's you, Sir Ornstein. You are awake early.”, she said.

“The same could be said about you, milady.”, Ornstein said and added in almost a whisper: “I had trouble sleeping...”

“The same could be said for me.”, Dusk whispered, hugging her legs, staring into a distance. “Ever since this incident...”

It hit Ornstein like a brick. How could he have been so insensitive? He sat down next to Dusk. “I am sorry.”, he said. He wondered if the princess faked her smile to not worry people just like he kept up his composure?

“Please don't worry.”, Dusk said. “I am safe now and we have to thank Sir Artorias for this.” She smiled at him, but Ornstein had great trouble smiling back, remembering the tale from yesterday, he felt like he was more grimacing then smiling.

“Yes, he truly was a great hero...”, Ornstein whispered, staring at the ground. It felt so wrong, lying about this. Even though Ornstein was used about lying or withholding the truth, Artorias had always been honest and thinking about him like that just felt plain wrong. Princess Dusk didn't answer anymore and so the both sat together in silence until the sun was up high enough for the mansion to spark to life. The princess got up.

“Sir Ornstein, would you like to join me and my maiden for breakfast? You haven't eaten anything yesterday evening and surely must be hungry.”, she asked.

The sheer thought of eating made Ornstein's stomach twist and he had to try his best to swallow the rising bile back down. “I am sorry.”, he said. “But I think I can't stomach anything right now.”

“Are you still feeling sick? I can get you some medicine if you like.”, Dusk asked, but Ornstein shook his head.

“No, thank you, I am sure it will go away shortly... I just... can't eat anything right now, sorry to disappoint you.”

“Hm, but would you maybe fine with at least drink a cup of tea with us?”, Dusk asked further.

Ornstein considered this. “I think... that should be possible.”, he answered. (Author's note: Just accept that medicine, dear ^^) Next chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/180350106064/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-6

#dark souls #fanfiction #dragon slayer ornstein #dusk of oolacile #littlewritesstuff #dusk has some issues herself #both of them have

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