#i really hope people don't mind me mentioning the horses

[eddiemunsons-missingnipple]

It's not so bad? | EM

Pairing: Eddie munson x reader

Summary: You and Eddie have your first very big fight.

Warnings: angst, mention of sex but nothing happens. Slight hurt/comfort towards the end. Mean!Eddie, Eddie calls the reader a bitch and it's alluded that he says worse things, but it's not described. Toxic relationship.

Word count: 1.1k

A/n: probably a little shorter than I wanted. I haven't written anything in over a month, so I'm trying to get back into it again. Divider made by me.

Not proofread 18+ no minors

The trailer was quiet now except for the low hum of Eddie's a/c in the window. You were curled up on his side with your head on his chest. He was fast asleep now, but you couldn't.

Not after what transpired just a few hours ago. Your eyes still burned, and your heart still ached a little. You both said your sorrys, but there was something still lingering inside of you. Even though he was the main one apologizing since you truly did nothing wrong.

The way he screamed at you and got in your face. You never said a word back. You just let him unleash what he had pent up inside him. You tried to walk away, but he just followed you. Spewing hurtful things again and again.

You kept telling yourself it was the alcohol mixed with anger that made him this way. Even though in the back of your mind, it felt like he had been waiting for this opportunity to tell you how he really felt.

The moment his voice kept raising octave after octave and his face flushed red with anger. You knew there was no point in fighting back, so you just took it. Hoping he'd give up and leave you alone. You guys have fought before, but it was nothing like this. You've never been scared of him.

Until he backed you up into a corner and just laid into you. You shrunk down desperately, trying to make yourself as small as possible. The smell of various types of alcohol on his breath filled your nose.

He called you all sorts of names "bitch", "dumb" and various other hurtful insults. He grabbed you roughly by the arm to stop you from leaving and so you were forced to listen to him berate you. Any moment now, you were waiting for the cops to show up. You were sure the neighbors could hear him and would call them.

You didn't know accepting a free drink from a guy at the bar Eddie was performing in would set him off. Apparently, the guy is a long-time rival of his. Someone Eddie seriously hates, and Eddie doesn't usually hate anyone. He dislikes people, yes, but he doesn't hate them.

You noticed something was up when we marched over to you and downed the drink himself. You didn't get a chance to take a small sip of it. He barely even looked your way when he did it. Then the next thing you remember is being pulled to the van, and that's when the shouting started. Each word that came from his mouth was laced with so much venom.

"You're really fucking dumb you know that."

"You're such a bitch I don't even know why I give you the time of day."

"You're lucky someone like me even looked twice at someone like you."

Those lines still rang in your head even now as you're curled up next to him. He did eventually calm down. You guessed once the last bit of alcohol wore off, and he sobered up. Maybe when his voice became horse and he couldn't scream anymore is when he decided to stop.

The moment he was done, his face immediately softened. He wasn't mad anymore, but you were still upset. You still wondered if his voice didn't give out, would he still be yelling at you right now. He tried to pull you to him at first but you resisted.

He shushed you as he rubbed your back, and you eventually caved and melted into his arms. You cried in his chest as he hugged you to him tighter. When you noticed, his body was lightly shaking. You pulled back to see tears streaming down his face.

His voice croaked. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"You know I didn't mean any of that stuff," i said, right?" His voice is soft, and his touch is gentle.

You gave a weak smile "yeah I know you didn't it's okay."

You both stood there in the hallway by his room in eachothers arms for what felt like hours. Neither one of you said a word too tired to even talk it out yet.

You just wanted to sleep, and you wanted to be okay. He always made everything okay, and now it's feels different. You feel embarrassed, and you feel as though something is still lingering in the air.

Like there is more to say, but you're too afraid to ask. Eventually, you both somehow make it to bed. Your mind is groggy, and your anxiety is still high. You can't even remember getting undressed and into bed with him.

You tossed and turned all night long while Eddie was fast asleep. His arm draped around you, keeping you locked in close to him. You remember him wanting to have sex but you rejected him opting to just cuddle instead.

Eddie was fine with that. He seemed a little hurt, but he's never pressured you to do something you didn't want to. You felt guilty for rejecting him. There was just something there that stopped you. This lingering presence that you can't even describe.

You were hoping it would be gone by morning, but you're still sensing it. Maybe it was the lack of communication you were so used to having with him. Maybe it was the mean things he said that somehow confirmed your insecurities. Eddie told you he didn't mean them, but you just couldn't shake that,"What if?"

Now you're just laying here on his chest, counting his heartbeats. The feeling of sadness still consuming you. You want him to wake up and have everything back to normal again. You also don't want him to wake up because you're too embarrassed to face him.

Eddie stirs a bit in his sleep, but he doesn't move away from you. Instead, he manages to pull you closer to him. You can feel him squeeze your hip and give it a light little tap. His eyes slowly open as you pretend to still be sleeping.

You heard him groan a bit and cough, probably from the pain in his throat now. He stretches out, and you can hear the little pops his toes make when he cracks them.

You notice tell he's trying his best not to disturb your sleep. Each movement he makes is thought out and careful as he does it. He's trying his best not to startle you awake. He feels bad about how he treated you earlier tonight, but he's not as remorseful as you think. He loves you so much and didn't ever want to hurt you like this. But he couldn't control his temper with you any longer. The alcohol in his system didn't help either.

Does he regret how he went about it? Yes. Did he feel like this fight was a long time coming? He sure did. Next time, he might try to go about it differently if he ever caught you doing something like that again. He knows he can't control his emotions well, and sadly, this time, you were on the receiving end of his anger.

"I love you so much." Eddie spoke in a very raspy horse whipser. He kissed your temple and very slowly got out of bed. He didn't want to wake you at all.

That little moment is enough reassurance you needed. He does still love you. He didn't mean what he said to you last night. You hear the shower turn on and his muffled voice humming through the thin walls. Slowly but surely, everything felt normal again. Even if you haven't spoken yet.

That uneasy feeling you had before was gone immediately. Well, that's what you're trying to convince yourself anyway. His cracked voice singing from the bathroom as he showers calms your mind. Eventually, sleep finally takes over you, and you know everything is going to be okay.

But maybe not.

The shower turning off grabs your attention. You could hear him slowly creeping back into the bedroom, trying not to wake you up. You're in and out one minute you're calm the next you're not. You think you're fine but are you really? Eddie got right back into bed and pulled you in close again. His arm holding you tight against his chest.

He leans forward, pressing yet another kiss to your temple before whispering, "Stop being sad, sweetheart. You love me, and I love you more."

[flowering-thought]

A part two cause I couldn't help myself <3

I wasn't sure how to name Ganon's horse as there wasn't really an official name so there were two options of Phantom or Galloughs as both names have been mentioned when it comes to his steed so I just went with Phantom-

Also including a love triangle???? Square??? Uh well, would it be a square?? Technically, since it's a couple who wants the reader and Ganon who wants the reader, I would imagine it to be a triangle and not a square? Ah who knows at this point 🕳👩‍🦯

The last note is that I'm making Ganondorf around 8 feet or 240 cm. There are way too many things about his height to make sense of so I'll just go with this.

But for real, I had a lot of fun writing the first part, so here's the second one! Also this ended up way longer than I was expecting 🧍‍♀️

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

WARNING - MINORS DNI

AFAB reader and reader is described as feminine and chubby/plus sized.

Yandere themes, mentions of stalking, Virgin reader, smut, oral (female receiving), cunnilingus, fingering, slight breeding kink???,

Yandere Ganondorf x Archeologist Reader (part two)

The throne room went silent. The acceptance of the proposal nearly made Zelda faint, her hand holding onto the side of Sonia's throne for support.

"So long as this will keep the peace I will accept. I don't want any more bloodshed or any more fighting. If a marriage between the Gerudo and Hylians can keep peace I am willing." You started, bring your hands together before taking a deep breath.

"But you must know that I myself am not a distant relative of royalty. Zelda is but I myself am not. So any benefits regarding that are void. I don't think it would be fair to lie about it." You stated, finishing everything you wanted to say.

Ganondorf was surprised at the revelation but not by much. He had suspected something, as you were far different from both Sonia and Zelda in quite a bit of aspects. But even his warriors agreed before the meeting that even if you were not of distant royalty, it wouldn't matter.

Once Rauru had heard the statement he was hoping that Ganondorfs greed would prevent him from marrying anyone who was not of royal descent as marrying a Hylian already sounded out of character for the Gerudo King.

But when he didn't see him falter he gripped the arm of his throne and held back from speaking as Ganondorf spoke up, "Your intelligence, beauty, and kindness are what make you valuable to not only me but also my tribe. I can guarantee peace and your happiness as well my lady.".

Rauru and Sonia gave each other a knowing look before looking to Zelda, hoping she may be able to talk you out of this foolishness. But she could only give them a shake of her head, her eyes falling on your figure. That look in your eyes settled everything.

Even before they came to the past there were times where you were incredibly stubborn. Moments where you wouldn't step down from something, especially if you had your mind set on it. And even if you yourself had doubts, you would rarely stop. And the look in your eyes was the exact look you had when you dug your heels down and Zelda doubted she could stop you.

Ganon had a giant smile on his face, a light chuckle escaping his throat as he quickly approached you and held you up by your arms, twirling you around in the air with him.

You let out a squeal, realizing just how tall he was as he lifted you over his head slightly. You definitely did not want to be dropped by this man. He had to at least be the size of a small building...

But he quickly stopped twirling you upon realizing your fear of being so high and then brought you close to give your forehead a light kiss. "Thank you, my love, I guarantee you won't regret this."

The sudden term of affection and closeness startled you, causing a bit of blush to adorn your cheeks before he set you down, his head turning to face Rauru.

"It looks as though the Gerudo and Hylian people will be joined with this marriage. I and my warriors were planning to leave in three days. We hope to bring Y/n along so we can plan our wedding together." He states, the echo of his voice roaming through the hall only added further irritation to the king of Hyrule.

Unfortunately, Rauru can not object in public to this marriage. On the surface, it's a good deal. He and his people are guaranteed peace and what would be decent trading for different kinds of fabrics and ores. But deep down, he knew it wouldn't last. Especially since he and Sonia desired to keep you for as long as possible. They had their own plans on how to win your affections, and yet Ganondorf had ruined everything.

Rauru only gave a nod, letting Ganondorf walk you out of the hall.

Sonia turned to look at Rauru, tears forming in her eyes as she grabbed his hand, "What do we do? We can't let her go to a man like that! Much less marry him!" She cries, Zelda, coming to soothe Sonia, silently wishing that Ganondorf would just leave you here at least so she could have more time to try and convince you of how much of a bad idea this was.

As the throne room remained tense, Ganondorf walked with you to the common room where his warriors dwelled, many of the women beamed with smiles when delivered the good news.

While Ganondorf was congratulated, you were surrounded by the tall Gerudo women before being patted on the shoulder. They gave you big smiles and brought you to sit down at a table.

"We are so glad he chose you! You may not be as tall and strong as we are, but his majesty told of us your love for the desert and about your intellect so we are very happy!" One spoke, another set their arm to rest on the table before leaning in a bit, "And you have such soft-looking skin! Undoubtedly you'd be very lovely to hug at night. I'm sure you feel nice and warm for his majesty.".

You could only get embarrassed at their words before laughing awkwardly. The Gerudo sure were extroverted and talkative. Yes, you were more of an introvert, but you found the women's boisterous laughter and big smiles fun to be around.

Ganon meanwhile had pulled out a scroll, laying it on the table, slowly laying it to spread across with what looked to be a layout of sorts.

"This is the plan for the palace, and hopefully, the village that will surround it. Building in the desert is difficult but my tribe has found a spring where the water flows freely. Some of what you told us about how to build and where to build has been very helpful as many of the times we stay in tents or huts made from different types of animal hides." He states.

"I was hoping you could tell me more. I want our wedding ceremony to be held when the palace is built so we could have a proper home to live in." He adds, sitting next to you, keeping his legs on the floor so he would be at eye level with you.

He wanted your input. This would be your home just as it would be his. He wanted a solid home that would hold up and luckily you knew different ways.

You excitedly began forming a proper list of materials to put the palace together, even giving ideas on steady gates for when the village would be made. You gave ideas on how to get the white dye for the tiles to put on the roof and tried your best to think of ways that would be the most efficient and worth it, wracking up the knowledge you've culminated and putting it to use.

You were hoping that by creating a steady environment for the Gerudo tribe and creating a home, the future would not turn out to be too horrible. And that Ganondorf hopefully wouldn't turn out to be the great evil that wants to destroy the kingdom of Hyrule.

And so with that Ganon had sent a messenger bird off with the scroll before returning to sit next to you.

"I didn't prepare a ring." He mutters, a light scowl reaching his lips as he realized his mistake. You put your hand over one of his before smiling, "I'm sure you weren't exactly thinking you'd be in this situation so don't be too hard on yourself. I'm not that picky." You add.

You didn't know much about the wedding traditions of the Gerudo. From what you knew, they didn't marry often, only going outside of the tribe to find someone to have a child with, and some rarely settling outside of the tribe.

And with one male born once every 100 years you didn't know a lot about how that male would choose his bride or even if he chose one. And you never knew if they had children. Information on the Gerudo was harder to get and you tended to focus more on the land whenever you went there, always curious about the desert beyond where the Gerudo stayed.

It's also how you knew about how they built their main village and how they did their best to insulate and keep their people from getting dehydrated in the desert heat.

You knew at this point in time they had yet to build the village since you asked around. You didn't know exactly how far back you and Zelda had traveled but you did know that it was far enough that most villages looked far different than they did in the future.

And because of that you couldn't help but want to help them build it. Even if it meant changing the future wasn't that the point? To prevent certain things from happening?

You didn't want to think about it, shaking your head to rid your thoughts ad you focused on the present.

Ganondorf had gone to prepare for departing, making sure the horses had enough supplies and making sure to pack enough for the long trip back.

It was going to take at least three days of travel, finding that he didn't want to push you too hard just to make it back quicker.

He knew the Gerudo, especially the warriors he brought back, were stronger than the average Hylian. And while he knew his warriors could handle a rough ride back with no breaks, he didn't want to put you through that and risk causing you to fall ill.

When you left to your room to pack your things, bringing along several notebooks where you had written knowledge that you've kept over the years, things you had a harder time remembering all written in a code you developed just for yourself.

It wasn't until the last day that Zelda, Sonia, and Rauru entered your chamber, all with concerned looks on their face. You knew for sure they would try to stop you at any cost if you had told them before the meeting three days ago, but they couldn't cancel it now.

Rauru stayed near the door as Sonia and Zelda approached you. Zelda was the first one to speak, "Are you sure about this Y/n? This really doesn't seem like a good idea. We have no clue what that man is planning!".

You made sure that the cloth bag was well organized, beginning to put the buttons through the buttonhole, ensuring that nothing would slip from the bag after it is closed. You were listening to Zelda go on about the dangers but the moment your bag was closed you went to make sure that there were some you could change into before you left in the morning lying on top of your bag that now rested on a chair.

"Zelda I know you don't think this is a good idea, just as I know that both Sonia and Rauru are willing to let relations with the Gerudo sour. But this is a chance to change the future!" You started, turning to face them, holding your hands together to prevent them from knowing how anxious you truly were.

You squeezed your own fist, your brows furrowed in slight frustration, "I don't know what Link may be dealing with in the future. But couldn't there be a possibility to prevent a tragedy from happening? We both know what happens to the founding Kingdom of Hyrule Zelda. We warned them but it's possible that may not change the fate of the kingdom.".

"So by trying to keep the peace between Ganondorf, who may be the start of the tragedy, and the kingdom of Hyrule, shouldn't that be the priority?" You asked.

Sonia stepped up beside Zelda, her posture straightened and her eyes showing the slight frustration she felt, "I understand you wish to change things but it's possible things may not change. There's the possibility that there's no way to change the future as the events that happen now shape your future. Or the possibility that changing the future could make both you and Zelda disappear from the present." She claimed.

Sonia stepped closer to you, putting a hand on your shoulder and the other to hold your cheek, "Listen Y/n, if you could change the future, that could mean that you would be stuck here and Zelda would go back to her life unknown to what had happened. If things were to go south and you were stuck here, you could be in danger or worse. If you were stuck here and in a place where I or Rauru cannot protect you then you would be the only one to suffer." She insists, putting her forehead to yours as she held you close.

Rauru stepped away from the door and closer to you, pulling Sonia a little bit away as he put his hand on your other shoulder. A certain red-haired male came close to the door about to knock till he realized it was slightly open.

"Me and Sonia care about you. We don't want to see you hurt. The Gerudo will be fine without you. And Ganondorf is a rough individual. A man who has hurt and killed others. And the desert is a rough place where the day is sweltering and the nights with a harsh chill. It is not a place for a fragile Hylian like you." He claims, his eyes narrowing as though to try and scare you out of your decision.

Their words reminded you of how one would talk to a child about the dangers of the world. It irritated you so you took a step away from the royal couple, not realizing the slight possessive look in their eyes turned to one of desire for something they needed to control.

"The desert can be harsh for those that don't understand it. But I've been there! I've done my research and learned. I can help the Gerudo people and maybe they won't resent the harsh nature of the desert much when they can finally dwell in it without worry." You said, determination adorned your face as you stared straight at the three.

"As for Ganondorf, so long as I'm useful and don't get in the way I'm sure I will be fine. While I'm not sure if he loves me or not, I don't think he's a bad man. I'm sure he had to do things to protect his tribe that he wouldn't have had to do if he wasn't born into the role of King. Unless he does something heinous in front of me or there is proof I won't consider him some monster." You finish, putting your foot down on the matter.

Zelda tried to talk again but you wouldn't listen, grabbing a towel so you could prepare a bath. Sonia was visibly upset but Rauru knew they couldn't change your mind, they would need to come up with another solution so he convinced Sonia and Zelda to return to their quarters and he felt regretful as he too left.

There were no traces of the Gerudo King by the time they had left your chambers, but he was quite content with what he heard.

He knew you were far too kind, especially if the rumors about him didn't sway you away from him. But he would need to fix the misunderstanding about his marriage to you.

He needed to make sure you understood that he loved you. He wouldn't marry just because it was beneficial to his tribe. Occasionally, he had trysts with some women of his tribe but they were never candidates to stand by his side.

He wouldn't marry if it wasn't you. No one else would bare his children, and no one else would ever lie in his bed other than you. Once he had you, he wasn't letting go.

And when he finally had you in his territory he would make sure you knew he loved you. He would never want you to think he didn't.

The night was unbearably silent for many in the Hyrule castle. Some had hoped that the Gerudo would attack so that a single person would know their intentions weren't pure. And others had hoped for the night to go by faster, having a desire to return home and help improve it so they wouldn't have to worry about their people any longer.

And as morning came, you brushed your hair, made sure everything was in your two bags, and went to the stables where most of the Gerudo already were, along with the three Hylian Royals that hated to see you go but wanted to at least see you off.

Zelda looked like she would cry, and Sonia stayed in place. Rauru was always the most visibly calm out of the three, but if you looked closely at his eyes, you'd see just how upset he was.

Ganondorf was preparing his horse along with the rest of the Gerudo warriors, his face visibly lit up when he saw you enter the courtyard next to the stables.

"Little Vai! You made it just on time." He said happily, leaning down to get the two bags you had in your hands. He thought you'd have more possessions but didn't question it as he went to latch it onto his horse, which you notice is far larger than any horse you had seen.

While Ganondorf made sure everyone was set to go, you turned to face the Hylian Royals.

Zelda looked upset but you simply embraced her tightly, your head resting on her shoulder as you let out a small sigh, "I know you don't agree, but please don't resent me for this. You and Link are my best friends. I don't know what I'd do without you. That's why let's hope everything goes well, okay?" You asked, trying not to tear up.

You didn't have any family in the future of Hyrule. Your parents had died due to some monsters long ago and you were taken in by Purah as you lived in Hateno Village. Purah was your family, and when you had grown close to Link you finally felt like you had a friend. Link was someone who could share the loneliness you felt.

And when Zelda came along you felt as though you could share your interests with her. So you didn't want her to be so upset.

Zelda nodded silently, you could hear soft sniffles come from her as she held you back just as tightly. You two eventually let go, Zelda gave you what looked to be a book wrapped in a ribbon.

"It's a gift. I'll be attending your wedding of course! But for now, just stay safe, and I know you get bored without too many things to read, so hopefully, you'll enjoy this."

You smiled softly, giving her another hug before you finally faced Rauru and Sonia.

They both looked a bit disappointed, but Sonia couldn't hold back and hugged you tightly, Rauru following just as quickly. It felt so warm and nice to be wrapped in their embrace, and you hugged them both with one arm.

Rauru came close to your ear and whispered, "If he does anything you don't like or tries to hurt you, we'll do anything to get you back here okay? Press the button on this if anything happens and you want to come back. This place will always be a home you can come back to." He said, placing a small Zonai device into your pocket carefully. You reached down into the pocket of the robes you wore, feeling the metal in your hand.

You could feel the slight bump of the button and marks engraved into the metal. You were sure you'd never need to use it but nodded to give Rauru some peace of mind.

They both let you go, Sonia reached a bit to leave a soft kiss on your forehead and gave you a small smile before she let go of you. Sonia didn't think she could say anything without revealing how upset she was so she remained quiet.

Finally, you could set off.

"Ready?" Ganondorf asked, looking down at you. His hand reached out to you after you placed both the device and book into one of your bags. And you took it, nearly squealing when he placed his hands on your hips and put you onto his horse, quickly mounting it afterward.

"Wait! I'm riding with you?" You asked, a little surprised. You had learned horseriding from Link and honestly hadn't expected to ride with Ganondorf.

He let out a soft chuckle, softly patting your head, "My horse's name is Phantom. She's big and strong. She's the only one I trust to carry both you and me. Now hold on tight my love.". With that he took off, his warriors following behind.

He didn't go as fast as he would have normally, not wanting the ride to be too rough for you. Leaving the Great Plateau was relatively easy, with the gate opening and finally setting off past the founding kingdom of Hyrule.

You held onto Phantom, your hands holding onto the edge of the saddle, not wanting to pull on her mane. You could feel Ganondorf behind you, his size doubling yours made you feel like you were completely engulfed by the man.

But you could still feel the wind rush against your cheeks, watching the sights as you travel. Finally, after crossing the bridge to make it to Gerudo Canyon, everyone stopped, setting up a small camp so everyone could rest.

A small tent was set up for you to rest in, one of the warriors smiling as they made sure you had some water to drink set by the cot for you.

The last thing you saw as the tent closed was Ganondorfs' broad back sitting near the entrance of your tent.

You really tried to sleep, but all the excitement about the journey kept you up.

You slowly peeked your head out of the tent, leaning a bit to find the Gerudo King seemingly asleep, sitting cross-legged and his arms crossed.

It looked uncomfortable to sleep like that. You gazed at the couple of scars you could see across his body, and then peered up at his face, taking in his features for a bit.

You knew that if they had really wanted to they could have made the trip back to their home in a day. Especially with how strong the Gerudo were, there was no doubt in your mind that Ganondorf had taken your health and safety into consideration.

It seemed foolish but you took an extra blanket from your tent and slowly wrapped it around his shoulders, standing up on your toes to make sure it would stay before leaving a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." You whispered, before heading back inside your tent, finally ready to rest for the night.

But of course, the beloved Gerudo King had been awake the whole time, always on alert unless within his own safe space in his village. He touched his cheek, and the biggest grin formed on his face.

Oh, how he adored you.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

The next day and night passed, the final day of travel leaving you slightly exhausted with all the riding that you were doing. You felt a bit guilty for ill you felt. But you tried your best to keep quiet the whole time, not wanting to become a bigger inconvenience.

Finally, the party of warriors arrived at Gerudo village, the vast desert surrounding the village and a natural spring forming an oasis.

And you got to see the progress that everyone had done due to your instructions. A couple of houses were built as practice and the main outline of what seemed to be a palace was completely dug out.

Soon after you met a lot of the people within the village, and many children ran around, and in certain areas, warriors practiced or had mock battles.

It was fun to learn more about the people you'd be living among. And like the blink of an eye, a month passed, and you helped the villagers learn techniques to help make houses while Ganondorf was busy with other things.

You and Ganondorf had hardly any time to see each other, occasionally having a meal together. You both prepared for the wedding and for the palace to be completed.

It honestly didn't take long for the palace to be completed either, the knowledge you had helped it go faster and smoother. Plus it was fun to plan out where certain rooms would go. You also helped plan out areas for the village, several more houses being built since you asked for the team that was building the palace to be split up so more people could have houses quickly.

Luckily, Ganondorf agreed with that. It made the village grow, and some people had made lovely white tiles, with blue, green, and yellow tiles mixed in. A couple of the children had some fun and painted the tiles with flowers or different symbols.

You sat on the floor with them, decorating some tiles and painting some regular ones so there would be enough for the next batch.

And while you sat there, surrounded by laughing children who enjoyed your stories and also enjoyed telling you jokes they had learned, you were being watched by Ganondorf. There was a smile on his face as he watched you smile with the children.

A part of him was trying to get things as done as possible, knowing that if a rough sandstorm came, it could seriously affect their progress and the lives of his people. But the other part of him enjoyed this feeling of peace that came with your existence. It made him spend a bit more time on wedding preparations so you two could be wed already.

The palace was nearly finished, and the perfect-sized butte (a/n a butte is like a mesa but smaller!) that contained a spring of what seemed to be a never-ending flow of water was perfect to dig into for the formation of the palace, large arches carved to let fresh air in and slowly building the houses surrounding it.

He didn't know much about decor so he left it to you and the other Gerudo women, some teasing about how big the bed would need to be in the bedroom.

Luckily, he got to trade with more Hylian people for goods and seeds since word of an alliance between the kingdoms was formed. It also made it easier for the Gerudo women to wander through Hyrule in search of a husband or a man to have a child with.

Everything was going to plan. It meant he could start on his other plan to slowly get certain royal Hylians riled up.

He wasn't a fool, he knew how King Rauru and Queen Sonia looked at you. While Zelda had an obsessive sort of friendship with you, he could tell the other two had different interests.

The desire to possess you and never let you go was something he shared in common with the Hylian Royals. But he also deeply enjoyed watching you have fun with the people of his tribe. And he could tell his people were fond of you. You were highly intelligent but didn't show it off as if you knew everything. You told them stories and wanted to hear his people's stories in return, gaining knowledge just as much as you gave it out.

You weren't arrogant or a snob, and you would gently guide those that needed help. And you even asked for help when you needed it. If you were struggling with something or wanted an opinion on something you would ask. And for that, it made it easy to approach you.

The children adored you and so did everyone. The women liked to style your hair, some complementing your figure and how pretty you looked in their traditional clothing.

And you carried a light umbrella made by some of the children around since they didn't think you were used to the desert sun quite yet and insisted you carry it around.

And he loved it. Ganondorf loved that the people enjoyed you almost as much as he did. Despite not getting to see you, he made sure the guards he ordered to follow you would tell him about your day, and when he got to eat meals with you, he loved seeing you enjoy the meal and how you would tell him about aspects of the week or day you enjoyed.

And just like that, more time passed. Four months have passed since you arrived, and it was time for the wedding.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

The village was bustling with life, palm trees planted for shade and decor for a grand wedding to be held in the throne room of the palace.

Everyone was invited. Including those of the different lands, not just the Hylians. The Rito, Zora, and the Goron as well.

Everyone had arrived, and surprising to you was that both Rauru and Sonia had joined Zelda in coming to the wedding for the large celebration.

And in a separate room, you were adorned in fine white silk, gold bagels, and a golden headband partially covered by a white veil adorned with intricate embroidery.

You felt nervous, the pants you wore and the top you wore showed off a lot of skin, and you had yet to see Zelda and you needed someone to talk to about how nervous you felt to marry.

Gold bangles and golden anklets, golden earrings, and fine jewels. White silk and the sounds of women chatting joyfully. Everything felt heavy and you couldn't help but pace the room slightly, trying not to chew on your lip or else the makeup that had been applied to your lips would be smeared.

And when you heard a knock on the door you nearly jumped, completely startled till you invited whoever it was in, only to see Zelda there.

You smiled happily, raising your arms to hug her tightly, "Oh I'm so glad you came! I was so worried you wouldn't make it. Please I just need you to distract me 'cause I feel like my heart could burst out of my chest." You say, leading her to a sitting area where the two of you could talk.

Zelda took in how you looked, finding that you looked incredibly beautiful adorned with jewelry and fine silks, getting to see much more than she usually got to see with the clothing most Hylians wore.

Zelda put on a smile, gently rubbing your lower back in hopes to calm your nerves. "It looks like everything has been going well! Everything looks great over here and it nearly looks as stable as the Gerudo of the future! Have things with you and Ganondorf been going well?" She asked, hoping to distract you with conversation.

At that question you raised your hand and shook it, implying a so-so hand signal. "It's so great here! But both of us have been busy and we haven't really gotten to talk or know each other better. Except at meals, but oftentimes, he lets me ramble about all sorts of things and I've realized I've never really asked about him or how he feels." You say, looking down at your lap to fiddle with your hands.

Zelda looks at you slightly concerned but tries to mask it, not wanting to ruin your day even if she wasn't really happy about the wedding she didn't want you to hate her.

"Perhaps after this day, things will change. I'm sure you two will finally have the time to relax after this no?" She says. And you found her to be right. Things were slowing down and this wedding was the last big thing going on in the village.

You and Zelda talked until it was time for the ceremony to start.

Zelda returned to Rauru and Sonia to tell them about your concerns and if you looked healthy.

All the tribes sat in their own respective areas, and the Hylian King and Queen sat with Zelda next to them, both of them having their stomachs churn at the thought of you getting married.

But before they could fall deeper into their thoughts, the large figure of Ganondorf came to the front of the room, a priest already there, the space around the throne room decorated with white silks embroidered with golden thread.

That's one thing the Gerudo would always have an abundance of. Their gems and the purity of their metals are amazing. It's why trading with them had been far more satisfying for the Hylains recently.

But Rauru didn't care about the situation between them. He wanted you back where you belonged, by his and Sonias' side.

Honestly, he wasn't sure when the obsession started. Maybe it was the way you would be so talkative and bring a certain warmth to every room you walked into. Or the way he got to see Sonia's eyes light up when you would come to spend time with them.

It was one night when Rauru was restless in bed, Sonia laying by his side and she started to speak, "I think I want her to stay with us.". She turned on her side to face him, Rauru turning slightly to look at her.

"Something about her is so comforting. She takes in everything about others and the world around her. She's so kind and wonderful. A little stubborn but I enjoy her company so much I fear as though I'm betraying you. And yet I find myself wanting her here, between the both of us." She whispers, her voice nearly trembling as if speaking of the topic would make a city crumble.

Rauru gave Sonia a small kiss before putting his hand on her cheek, "I feel the same way, my love. It's okay. I do not feel betrayed just as you know I would never betray you. We can have her together no? To share and be ours and to be hers. It will take some time but I'm sure it will happen." He states, assuring his beloved wife that everything will be fine, already envisioning their child accepting you as another parent and possibly welcoming another chid. That night they slept in each other's arms before eventually, Ganondorf would come to whisk you away.

Shaken out of his reminiscing, he notices everyone begin to look back, your figure becoming clear, draped in fine gold jewelry and white silk. The veil with traditional Gerudo embroidery made with fine golden threads.

He couldn't help but clench his jaw at the sight. He couldn't help but think that this should have never happened. It should have been you dressed in fine silks, strewn about the bed, your head in Sonia's lap while Rauru finishes up a little reading.

And yet he couldn't stop this. But he reminded himself to be patient. After all he had a plan.

And yet there you were, walking slowly, anxiously holding a bouquet of what looked to be violets, a flower you chose even though this kind grew mostly on the cliffside, it was one of your favorites for its tenacity to grow in rougher areas.

It was the one thing that was more difficult to get for the wedding ceremony but Ganondorf assured you it wouldn't be a problem.

And when you finally made it to the altar, where Ganondorf stood, you looked up at his face to see the biggest smile you had ever seen. He looked so genuinely happy you were wondering if you truly meant something to him.

But you ignored that thought, trying to enjoy the moment. Marriage was something that you didn't think you'd be doing again. You wanted to enjoy it so you gave him a soft smile, the priest started his words, a traditional speech used to tie the groom and bride to each other.

When asked if he would care for you, Ganondorf smiled and said "Yes.". In return so did you, the words leaving your lips just as sure as when you accepted his proposal of marriage.

There were cheers heard and before you could even blink you were held tightly before given a kiss on your lips, realizing that it was Ganondorf, your now husband who was kissing you. You kissed back and gently wrapped an arm around him despite not being able to come close to his size.

He finally pulled apart, lifting you up and twirling you around, just as happy as he was when you accepted his proposal. Ganondorf looked at you like you were his world.

As soon as that was said and done, the celebration started, and all sorts of Gerudo women around the village gathered to drink, eat, and dance. The Zora and Rito enjoyed dancing as well, the Goron were more curious about the structure and differences in food compared to the Gerudo and sat with some asking questions.

But the Hylians that came were just as happily dancing away, all except for the Royal couple who ate silently, mostly the King and Queen holding tension as they watched you sit on Ganondorfs lap, your cheeks adorned with a blush that nearly reached the tips of your ears.

You were being hand fed, trying to claim that you were full and Ganondorf would try to feed you just one last bite of fruit.

And honestly? Ganondorf was loving every second of your attention. He loved the way your eyes looked up at him and how beautiful you looked dressed in fine jewelry and silk.

He couldn't help but give you another kiss, smiling as he set down the bowl of fruit and brought you close. When he pulled back he loved seeing your face scrunch up and your eyes open a bit to face him again.

It wasn't until he decided to stand up and pull you to the dance floor that you finally let loose of your fear and nerves, a bright smile adorning your lips as you danced with him, other Gerudo women joining you.

You were happy as you watched the women dance, trying to learn from them and copy their movements, Ganondorf moving along with you, the crowd smiling and cheering as they watched their King and now Queen dance, the music in the background adding nicely to the scene.

It was so lovely that no one could notice a couple distraught Hylian nobles who looked on with envy.

The night carried on, growing colder as the night reached its peak, and Ganondorf and you prepared to sleep. While Ganondorf was slightly nervous, the urge to have you in his arms made his heart ache.

But you were in a dressing room right next to your shared chambers, a Gerudo woman known as Inesa had been by your side for your stay here, helping you get used to customs and advising you carefully. And tonight she was insisting on a sheer fabric that you told her covered absolutely nothing.

Inesa only shook her head and motioned for you to get dressed after shoving the piece of what you could only call lingerie into your hands, "Trust me, the wedding night is when you want to be teasing while also showing the most. He'll long for more after that! And I'm sure his majesty would love to see you in that." She assured, quickly leaving the room so you couldn't continue to protest.

You found yourself giving in, adorning the sheer garment and slowly opening the door, peeking out to see if Ganondorf was already asleep.

And he definitely was not, sitting on the edge of the very large bed and you knew he was probably waiting for you. The bed was one of the things Ganondorf had told you that he would handle. And you were glad because you knew his large frame would be a nightmare for anyone to try and fit a bed for.

The bed had its own platform, fine silks and cotton with all sorts of fabric filled the bed, pillows covered most of the headboard and you could have sworn the bed could be as big as a house back in your village.

You take a deep breath before walking out, looking down as you stride right to the bed and sit down next to him.

You couldn't look at his face, and he was eerily silent, his hand clenching into a fist as his cheeks lit aflame. You were about to look up but he quickly covered your eyes.

"You look amazing my love. I just need a moment to take you in and compose myself." He claimed, trying to look anywhere other than your soft skin and how nicely the sheer fabric looked on your figure.

When he finally felt a little in control of his impulse to rut into you like an animal he slowly tilted your chin up, focusing your gaze on him. He kept eye contact with you before putting a hand on your hip.

"I want you. I want all of you. I didn't ask to marry you just out of benefit but something about you called to me like a legend of treasure beckoning an adventurer." He claimed, his large hand resting on your hip, his thumb brushing back and forth on your bare skin. "But I don't wish to force you to do something with a man you don't even love. So if I have your permission, is it alright if I go further? To please you?" He asks, his voice making you melt as you nod, his eyes gazing at you telling you he wants a verbal answer.

You knew that you were worried about whether he loved you or not due to the fact you had already fallen for him, his rough nature but kind smiles and protective demeanor winning you over.

"Yes" Is all he needed to pick you up, spreading your thighs against his lap, lifting you up a bit to leave sloppy kisses against your neck. You kept your hands against his torso, his chest right against your palms.

You could feel his heartbeat right under your hands, a strong and fast heartbeat as he stood up with you in his arms, rearranging himself on the bed and flinging off the sheer fabric to show you in all your glory.

You attempted to reach for the clasp that held his robes, but it was too far up on his shoulder to reach. Ganondorf let out a chuckle before undoing the clasp himself, his robes discarded and his pants discarded as well.

His loincloth was the only thing preventing you from seeing his cock but you didn't need to see the whole thing to see the massive bulge straining against the cloth. You nervously gulped, taking a deep breath as anxiety pooled in your stomach.

Ganondorf noticed the change and smiled before laying another kiss on your forehead. "Don't worry my love. I'm not so cruel to force you on me right away. I'll take my time with you my little vai." He claimed, embarrassment running through you at his words.

He carefully pulled pillows for you to lay on, your plump thighs spread out to show your lovely garden to him.

He loved the way you shivered as he laid down, his head below yours and his lips right in front of your lower lips, the soft breath teasing you as you squirmed. He couldn't help but take it all in.

The sight of you in front of him was something he wanted to be seared into his mind. Your nervous gaze, how your arms came together to hold your chest, and the slight tremble in your thighs to hold back the urge to close your legs.

He soon wrapped his arms around your thighs, keeping them spread and close to him. He knew that his size would be too much, so isn't it better to please and prep his wife for what was to come?

Before you could even ask him to stop staring like a man deprived of water he gently licked a stripe against your lower lips, his tongue stopping on your clit before wrapping his lips around the small bud.

Frightened by the sudden pleasure, the urge to close your legs became stronger but his arms stayed steady, no amount of force you could muster would compare to his strength.

He gently parted your lower lips, gently licking up all the nectar coming from your cunt. Ganondorf could feel his cock ache from the taste, a slight groan leaving his lips before he reached to suck your clit again.

The gasps and slight moans that leave your lips only egg him on. He feels you lightly run your fingers through his hair, his long hair slowly getting grasped by your fingers. Light groans escaped his lips when you would tug, the sounds vibrating a bit against your clit.

It wasn't long till he slowly pushed his tongue inside you, his tongue large enough to stretch your delicate walls. His nose buried against your clit, the pleasure too much as you cum, your thighs squeezing more against his arms, and your fingers grasping his hair tighter.

He felt you cum around his tongue, his cock leaking and escaping through the side to rest against the sheets.

You looked down, tears filling your eyes from pleasure you hadn't received before. He smiled, rubbing your clit with his thumb lightly to check your sensitivity, noticing the slight pull against his thumb.

He carefully gathers your slick around his middle finger, gazing down at your pussy before looking at your face. "I have to prep you, darling. It might hurt and if it hurts too much tell me and I'll stop okay?" He says, emphasizing that he'll stop at any point you need.

You nod and he carefully teases your entrance, slowly pushing the tip of his finger in, watching your face for any sign of discomfort. He made sure to trim his nails before the wedding. He never wants to cause you harm, arranging things in the background carefully.

He slowly thrusts that finger till he feels the hymen, and carefully he breaks it, watching your brows furrow at the sudden pain. He carefully waits a minute, waiting even if you didn't say anything he doesn't want to risk it.

Ganondorf then slowly starts to thrust his finger, slowly gaining confidence as you start to enjoy it, noticing the small amount of blood on his fingers but such a thing never bothered him. He uses his other hand to rest his thumb on your clit, eventually adding another finger to stretch you open.

He sometimes rubs your clit, especially when he adds a third finger, noticing how much your entrance refuses to budge as easily as it did with only two. He leans down again to gently suck your clit, trying to reach that perfect spot and after a bit he finally finds it, watching your hips jerk when he presses his fingers against that special spot.

He watches you fall into pleasure and reaches down to palm his cock, his slick leaking against the sheets and he could nearly cum just from the taste of your cunt lingering on his tongue.

He couldn't help but groan, his cock aching but he continued to stretch you. You could feel the burn that came with your entrance being stretched but you could also feel it turn to pleasure, the right spot being hit with every thrust, his fingers teasing you, and the groans you heard only adding to how much you desired him.

"It's okay.." You whispered, your eyes finding his as you attempted to relax your thighs. "I want you Gan." was all you could muster to say. And that's all he needed as he gently lined up his cock to your entrance.

You thought he had stretched you but now you were wondering if that was enough. His 11-inch monstrosity was so thick you doubted you could wrap your hand around it. But you shook off your anxious thoughts, anticipating him to thrust it in but he slowly teased your cunt, the tip of his cock brushing against your entrance all the way up to your clit and back.

He reached to the bedside, a decorated pitcher in his hands before oil spilled on his hands. The oil warmed up in his hands before lathering it on his cock. Letting his fingers trail a bit of oil on your lower lips and teased your entrance.

Ganondorf slowly edged himself inside you, the stretch making you grab the sheets. His torso kept your thighs spread, his left hand holding himself up by your waist and his right hand holding his cock. He could feel your hand reach for his wrist, holding on tightly as tears slowly fell down your cheeks.

He could barely get inside, only about two inches in before he pulled out, only to enter again.

He carefully thrust, getting slightly deeper each time, groans spilling out of his mouth continually before he bit his lip. He couldn't stand it anymore, his cock ached and he kept still inside of you.

He could only get to about five inches, his cock straining as he started to pump the rest of his cock, his other hand reaching to brush against your clit.

He would enter you fully one day, but right now he needed you. And before you knew it you came again, your walls sucking him and his continuous pumps bringing him right to the edge and came.

His cum filled you, giving you a sensation you had never experienced.

You both came down from your high, Ganondorf pulling out and looking down, watching his seed spill out of you made him give into the urge to gently finger it back inside, his desire to breed you just as strong as his desire to have you.

He watched you, your eyes fluttering and your form relaxing into the pillows underneath you. He couldn't help but smile, rubbing your hips softly and leaving a kiss on your cheek. He left to grab a wet cloth, coming back to your sleeping form. He gently wiped your body so you wouldn't wake up too uncomfortable.

While he really wanted to stay in bed with you, he had some plans to complete, leaving his chambers heavily guarded as he approached the meeting place of a letter that was supposed to make it to you.

And there in the cold desert night stood Rauru, his demeanor unshaken as he laid his eyes on the Gerudo King.

Rauru only shook his head, a chuckle of disbelief leaving his throat. Anyone could notice the clear disgust he held for the man in front of him. Yet Ganondorf only kept a sly grin on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would be a very meaningful conversation, but my wife and I were busy." He stated, emphasizing the word wife. Oh, how he loved how Raurus' face twisted and his brows furrowed.

"Cut the nonsense Ganondorf. I never wanted you to marry Y/n. She shouldn't be with a wretched man like you." He states, stepping closer, "And I'm sure you know that. She needs stability, a place where she can thrive and learn all she wants to learn. Not with a man like you who would monopolize her." he finishes.

Ganondorf can only laugh, a hand reaching to cover his mouth to prevent him from being too loud to alert the guards. As much as he trusted them, he'd rather only a few know about the rivalry between the Gerudo King and the Royals of Hyrule, all of them vying for your love and affection.

"I'm sorry to say but I have not monopolized her in the slightest! I have encouraged her to get close to those in the village and do as she pleases. She's free to roam with a guard at her side just as she did inside your castle. Except I let her roam the village instead of staying cooped up inside the castle hm?" He sneers, his eyes narrowing at the Zonai King.

He steps closer, his back straightening, "And not to mention, she chose me." he adds.

"She chose to trust me, to marry me!" He exclaims, smiling before staring at the man in front of him, keeping eye contact for his next sentence, "And she chose to lay with me.".

At that, the Rauru rose his fist but Ganondorf put his hand up, bringing his finger to his lips to indicate silence, "I wouldn't attack here. What would she think if one of the people she trusted started to destroy the work she had done for others? Not to mention, after such a joyous occasion?" he mocked.

He turned his back to the Zonai King, opening the door back into the hall, "Now if you'll excuse me, nights are cold here in the desert and I don't want my queen to grow cold without my presence.".

Ganondorf walked back to your shared chambers, seeing you slightly stir awake. He laid with you under the sheets, coming close to you, a hand resting on your hip.

"Gan?" you questioned, gazing up at him slightly fatigued at all that had happened during the day and night. He let out a hum, moving a bit of hair out of your face to gaze upon your beauty. "Tell me more about you. I want to know of your greatest joy and your greatest sorrow." you said.

At that, he smiled, and some part of the night was spent whispering stories about each others' memories and fears. a slight cold wind blowing through the cold desert night.

Yet it was always so warm within Ganondorfs' arms.

[greenwitchfromthewoods]

broken trust. [part 5] l Joel Miller

Summary:  you used to be very close, but he broke your heart, now your paths have crossed again

Warnings: +18, angst, swearing, mentioning about sex, violence, blood, crying, guns

A/N: this part is finished this way and not otherwise, because I'm preparing an epilogue. I have to! this part seemed too long to me. I hope you will spend a few nice minutes reading my scribbles. a few people mentioned tagging - @vickie5446 @dreamtofus @missladym1981 @hiroikegawa 🖤 

[PART 3]

A murmur went through the hall and people stared at Tommy uneasily. This wasn't good news. When all the patrols returned to Jackson, one group didn’t bring you good information..

"It's not a big group." Tommy continued ignoring the quiet discussions. "Four, maybe five men. They're armed. Michael and Alex have been watching them for a while."

"They don't seem friendly, dude." Michael, the man with the longer gray beard shook his head. "I think it's the ones from the group we ran into a while ago."

Tommy looked at Joel standing nearby.

"He means the ones you and Ellie met a while ago." He explained. "Y/N, you were very lucky you ran into each other back then."

You threw a quick glance at Joel. He must have been thinking the same thing you were. You were very lucky.

"We need to get our car back before they get to it. I know you're fresh off patrol, I understand if any of you want to back out." the men immediately gave their consent to leave Jackson again "Alright then. We'll meet at the main gate in an hour. Check the weapons. If we succeed, it'll be a quick thing."

People started to leave and only a few, like you, remained in the pub. You had nowhere to go, except to just glance at your empty apartment, so you stayed to drink some warm coffee and rest.

"You were very lucky." Tommy approached you "When you found Joel and Ellie."

"Yeah, I guess." you replied, turning the warm mug over in your hands "One of them gave me a hard time anyway. I don't know how I couldn’t have guessed that there might be more of them."

"You couldn't have helped it." the man sighed "Besides, you found Joel, and for that I will always be grateful." he looked towards his brother, who was sipping whiskey at a long bar "How did the patrol go? Do you get along?"

"It's complicated." you replied, forcing a smile.

"My brother can be complicated." Tommy looked at you carefully after a moment. "Y/N, are you sure you want to come with us? You can stay, no one will hold it against you. You look tired."

"It's fine. I want to go. After all, it was our car."

Tommy nodded and patted you on the shoulder, then went to the next group of men.

Despite trying to smile, you felt every muscle in your body. The patrol had worn you out not only physically. 

On the way back, you and Joel barely spoke. You felt that some chapter had ended between you, but you weren't sure what awaited you next. However, you didn't feel as many bad emotions as before. All the anger and sadness had spilled out on Joel in that forest, and he accepted it, feeling that he deserved it all.

A familiar touch on your back brought your thoughts back to Jackson. Joel stood by you as if unsure that what he was doing was the right thing by approaching you at all.

"It's time," he said calmly. "If you wanted to stay..."

"No, I'm ready." You finished your cold coffee and quickly stood up. "And you? Are you feeling okay?"

He nodded, but a faint smile appeared on his lips. Something had changed between you.

It was already dusk and it had gotten really cold. You were walking through the forest, divided into smaller groups. A few people had horses. You, however, felt more confident on your own feet. Tommy and Joel, and a few other riders weren’t far from you. Everything was going well. You walked between trees more carefully and slowly approached the place where you had left your car.

"I feel safer knowing that there are guards left in Jackson too." the man walking near you muttered.

In your mind, you agreed with him. You couldn't leave Jackson without protection. Everyone, however, was counting on you to return quickly and without any major problems.

You heard a strange crack behind you and turned around, aiming your gun.

"Ellie?!" you hissed, noticing a familiar face in the increasingly dim light. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I'm going with you." the girl replied, pulling her gun out of her belt.

"Joel knows?" you asked, but you already knew the answer. "Of course not! Ellie! He'll kill you and then me! Go back to Jackson!"

"Y/N, we're so far away that it would be stupid to send me there alone." the girl noticed, smiling slyly. "I'll stay with you. I'm safe here, with you."

You shook your head in disbelief. You knew Ellie was right. You couldn't let her go to the city alone.

"You're going right next to me, do you understand?"

She nodded and followed you like a shadow.

Now your nerves were strained to the limit. Every sound, every clatter, made your heart beat faster. However, you calmly reached the edge of the forest and saw a car abandoned in the middle of the road.

Everything looked normal. There were no infected nearby, and the vehicle seemed untouched since your escape.

"What are we waiting for?" whispered Ellie after a few minutes when, despite everything, you didn't come out of the trees.

"We're waiting for the signal." You answered her quietly, "Look."

On the other side, someone flashed a small flashlight at you. It was Tommy signaling that the opposite side of the road was safe.

"Can we go now?" Ellie was excited.

"I think so. But..."

"The last one at the car is a stinking egg!"

You didn't have time to catch her. Your fingers only brushed her jacket when the girl ran out of the forest and headed towards the car. Your heart froze for a split second, and then you ran after her with all your might.

"Ellie! Stop!" you hissed.

But you noticed immediately that something was wrong. A strange movement on your left side, it wasn't any infected.

"Ellie!" you shouted after the girl.

That made her look over her shoulder. She slowed down, and you reached out your hand towards her, and then several things happened at once.

A loud gunshot echoed through the quiet area, you ran into Ellie and fell to the ground with her, hiding her under your body, and then you heard the bang of more gunshots.

You tried not to move, afraid that whatever you did would lead to the girl getting hurt. You wouldn't forgive yourself for that, and you couldn't look Joel in the face.

You heard the pounding of hooves, screams, and more gunshots. Tommy's distinct voice, calling out to everyone. After a few minutes, everything seemed to quiet down.

You slid off Ellie and rolled onto your back, exhausted. The girl stood up and that's when you noticed it. Her pale face was terrified and her hands...

"Ellie! Is that blood?" you gasped out "Are you hurt?!"

The girl shook her head and her lips barely moved.

"Y/N... That's not my blood." she whispered.

You didn't understand her words at first. Not her blood? Then whose blood was it?

And then you understood. You looked at your side where a dark stain was growing with every passing moment.

"Shit!"

The adrenaline in your blood effectively minimized the feeling of pain, but when you realized what had happened, everything was more intense.

"We have to stop the bleeding!" the girl whispered. "Like Doc said! We have to put pressure on it!"

When she put her hands on your side you writhed in pain, moaning.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N! I'm so sorry!" Ellie whimpered "Joel! Joel!"

But it wasn't Joel who heard her voice.

"It was worth waiting for you." a male voice boomed from behind the car "I knew someone would come for that car! Now they'll have to talk to me if they want you alive."

The man was pointing a gun at you. He was tall and bulky, he must have been hiding in the car so neither of you saw him. You quickly grabbed Ellie's arm to hide her behind you.

The man's eyes wandered from Ellie to you. He was desperate, and you couldn't do anything being wounded. You lost your gun the moment you threw yourself at Ellie, and she had your blood on her hands.

"Listen, this won't do you any good..." you started slowly, trying to calm him down and buy some time "Our group is bigger..."

"Shut up, bitch!" the gun aimed at you "If they want to get their ladies, they'll have to fucking talk to me!"

It was a second before a dark silhouette appeared behind him, in an instant the man hit his head on the hood of the car, and then again and again. The gun fell from his hand, and Ellie quickly ran up to pick it up from the asphalt.

The man's bloody face didn't even flinch as he fell to the ground.

"Joel!" Ellie squealed at the sight of him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" he growled angrily, but he noticed the traces of blood on her hands and face. "Did you..."

"Not me!" she interrupted quickly.

When his gaze fell on you, Joel could have sworn his heart had stopped beating.

"Joel..."

That was all you could stutter as he ran up to you. You hissed in pain as he moved your hands away, touching the still bleeding wound. You saw the fear in his eyes, but his decisions were quick and precise.

He picked you up and headed towards the car. Ellie quickly opened the door for him and put you inside, then she sat in the back.

"Joel? What happened?" Tommy rode up to the car on his horse, looking around nervously. "Is that Y/N?!"

"He shot her!" Joel growled, reaching under the keys lying in the glove compartment and turning on the engine.

"Take her to Jackson! We'll take care of the rest!"

The car started off with a screech. Ellie dug out the first aid kit from under the seat and pulled out a bandage, the same one you gave Joel a while ago. She leaned over, pressing it against your side, you groaned loudly in pain.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she stuttered quickly, but didn't stop pressing.

"What the fuck were you doing there?!" Joel snapped, throwing a quick look at you. "You were supposed to stay in Jackson!"

"Leave it." you groaned. "She's fine..."

"Yeah, but you're pouring blood on the passenger seat!"

The car jumped on the bumps in the road and your scream of pain filled the interior. Joel didn't say a word, focusing on the road. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that he was surprised it hadn't broken yet.

When he saw the gates of the town, he blinked his lights a few times and the doors opened, letting him inside so that he didn't even have to slow down much. The car stopped only in front of the clinic.

"Y/N?"

"I'm fine." you replied, although your eyes closed every now and then.

Doc was surprised when the clinic doors opened with a bang and Joel stood there with you helpless in his arms.

"Help her."

That was all he could say. Doc pointed to the bed, then quickly rolled up your shirt. You groaned and writhed in pain. His fingers touched your bleeding wound, trying to determine its size.

"I think it missed the most important organs." Doc muttered after a moment. "But I'll have to open it and pull the bullet out."

The door opened again and Ellie went inside. The sight must have been terrible, because the girl's face was pale as snow and she barely managed to mumble:

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Run for Mrs. Waltz!" Doc ordered her quickly. "I need help!"

The girl nodded and quickly ran out of the building. Doc went to the cabinet, starting to prepare the tools for the surgery.

"Joel..."

Your voice was weak, but he reacted instantly. He grabbed your blood-stained hand, and with the other he stroked your hair.

"It's okay, baby. You're safe." He said, feeling something stab painfully into his heart, and his mind screaming that he was lying to himself "I know it hurts. But it's gonna be okay, Doc will help you."

"I'm not scared, Joel..." your voice was barely audible. "I'm with you, I'm not scared..."

When you closed your eyes, time stopped.

The sink was full of red-tinged water. He stared at it as if hypnotized. The steamy bathroom was silent and the silence was in his head too. He just stared at something that used to be a part of you.

If someone ever asked him what happened after Doc made the decision to operate, Joel wouldn't be able to recall that moment. Everything was like a fog.

He knew he was sitting in the waiting room completely frozen, staring at his bloody hands. He didn't notice Ellie sitting on the other side of the room with her legs pulled up on the chair, as quiet as ever.

He didn't remember Tommy, who had appeared out of breath with the information that only the man Joel wanted to beat had survived.

He just sat there feeling that if he heard bad news, what was left of his heart would shatter into a thousand pieces.

After more than an hour, Doc appeared. His apron was covered in your blood too. He spoke strange words, Joel wasn't sure if he even understood them.

"Is she alive?" he asked finally.

"Yes, she is." Doc nodded. "Her body is very weak, but she is alive. You brought her in at the last moment, Joel. You saved her."

But he didn't feel it. He saw you through the open door, lying unconscious in the bed, and tears came to his eyes. Doc patted him on the shoulder, suggesting that he go home, wash up, and rest. There was nothing more he could do for you.

Joel put on clean clothes and then simply fell onto the bed and fell asleep in an instant. He had no dreams. He didn't even know how long he had been asleep. The weak, slowly setting sun filled his bedroom and for a moment he even forgot about everything that had happened the previous night. He came to the conclusion that he must have slept the whole day.

Ellie didn't wake him up, though. She left him a meal on the table before she left the house.

He found her some time later in the clinic.

"Hi." she said quietly, dipped a cloth in a bowl of water..

"What are you doing?" he asked, approaching the bed.

"I couldn't look at how dirty she was." the girl replied, wiping your hands with the cloth. "Doc said she had a good night. He gave her antibiotics just in case. But he thinks she'll be okay."

Joel nodded. It all seemed simply unreal to him. He guessed that Ellie felt guilty. If it weren't for her reckless behavior, you wouldn't be lying unconscious now. So she did what she could. He noticed a small bouquet of the last wildflowers on the table, she had to pick them for you.

"Joel, I didn't want her to get hurt..." the girl's voice was trembling. "I was stupid, I know that. Y/N just wanted to stop me. She didn't want anything to happen to me..."

"Yeah, I know that." he replied, even though he wanted to spill everything that was on his mind at that moment to Ellie "She'll feel better soon, you'll see."

The girl nodded and rubbed her reddened eyes with her hand. 

"Go get some rest." He mumbled, approaching her and placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'll finish this for you."

She nodded again. She squeezed your hand one more time and left, leaving him alone.

Joel sat down in her place, soaked a cloth in warm water and looked at your face. You looked like you were sleeping, and in reality, you must have been. The medication Doc gave you must have been pretty strong.

"Hi." He greeted you quietly and reached for your hand.

It was a wonderful feeling to feel your warm skin in his hand. He kissed the back of it. A sense of guilt grew in his heart. He wanted to protect you from all the evil in the world so much, and now you were lying unconscious when they had barely torn you from the clutches of death.

He felt guilty for everything and what had led to this situation. When he lied to you the first time and when he had tried so clumsily to get you back when you were on edge not knowing what to do. All his actions and decisions had led to this. He was devastated, tired and didn't know what to do next.

He adored you like this and in such moments. Totally drunk on him. Your body was subservient to his pressure and touch. His cock buried deep inside you, sweet moans leaving your lips with every exhale.

Your fingers intertwined above your head, his face hidden close to your neck. You felt his breath on your skin, so hot that it almost burned you.

"I'm so close..." you moaned, feeling his every thrust clearly "Joel, please..."

"What are you asking for, love? Tell me..."

His voice was so quiet and calm. He had been fucking you for a long time, he had given himself time to play with you, like a predator with its prey. You had already come twice and your body was sensitive to his every move and touch.

"Let me... I can't take it anymore, I want to come..." you replied, feeling his lips gently sucking the skin on your neck "You're torturing me."

"Me?" he laughed quietly "Oh, honey... I guess you didn't see yourself. So beautiful, and just mine..."

"Too much whiskey, Joel!" you laughed "A little more and I'll think you've fallen in love with me!"

Your gazes met. His beautiful brown eyes stared at you as if he wanted to tell you something. But his lips refused to obey him. Or maybe you didn't want to hear it? Such things were not reasonable in QZ.

Of course, there were families in Boston, but it wasn't the same as many years ago. There was little laughter on the streets or couples walking hand in hand. Feelings were carefully hidden within the four walls of rooms. They were safe there.

So it was better not to name anything. Live day by day, enjoy what you had. You knew that you were close to him, that he wanted to protect you and take care of you. You did the same to him. It felt good, it felt safe.

His hips moved, and his cock hit exactly the place you needed. You closed your eyes and bit your lip, sighing quietly.

"Joel?"

"Yeah, baby..."

"Joel?" your voice was so quiet and calm "Joel..."

Something strange was happening. He could feel it on himself. A strange feeling like something was moving through his hair, slowly and gently. Joel opened his sleepy eyes.

"Hi."

Your voice was weak and barely audible, but it was yours. He could see your lips moving, familiar eyes looking at him with concern. It was your hand stroking his hair.

"Hi, baby." he replied, lifting his head from his arms that were lying on your bed. "I must have fallen asleep."

"I should say your snoring woke me up."

"How are you feeling?" Joel took your hand tenderly and kissed it. "I'll call Doc."

"I’m fine. How's Ellie?"

"She's okay, although she was worried about you. I had to throw her out of here because she would have been sitting here all day."

"Oh, I see." you smiled weakly. "And no one told you to leave?"

"They wouldn't have made it."

"Mhm. Joel? Thank you." You saw him frown in surprise "Thank you. I'm alive thanks to you."

"Don't say that." He shook his head "You would have survived, you're strong. The strongest person I know."

"Oh, yeah!" You laughed quietly "I would have crawled to the car and operated on myself with a pocket knife." You squeezed his hand tighter "I really thank you, Joel."

He smiled, his face brightening.

[epilogue]

☆☆☆

Thank you for your time.

[kasagia]

Familiar flame

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova/General Kirigan/The Darkling x fem!Grisha! reader Summary: Aleksander lost his Y/N the day he created the fold. The king's soldiers killed his one true love in front of his eyes. His despair and anger led to the creation of a dark fold. After centuries, Aleksander meets a girl identical to his beloved… her reincarnation. Will he be able to restore your memories? Could he get you back after centuries of mourning you? Or maybe Aleksander finally lost his mind... Nonsense from me: This is request from @morrigan-crowmwell I hope that you like it! ♡♡ And I'm veeeery excited to write your next request! (and to publish it soon ♡♡) P.S. I'm sorry it took me ages again, luckily I'll have a lot more free time now, so I promise it'll get better. 😅 Warning(s): references to reincarnation; Aleksander misses the reader and can't resist her (even if she doesn't remember him); the reader is a bit hysterical; the reader behaves like a little child spoiled by Aleksander; the reader has Aleksander wrapped around her little finger, but he doesn't care; the reader has a panic attack and hyperventilation; de@th mentions; NOT CHECKED grammatically and so on - I wanted to publish it as soon as possible Word count: 9,4k Taglist: @aoi-targaryen @morrigan-crowmwell

"So many centuries on this earth, and you're still a naive, hopeless romantic. Tell me how do you do it, boy?"

Baghra taunted him without even looking up from her dinner. Aleksander growled, irritated by her lack of interest. He slammed his fist on the table, drawing the unfazed woman's attention to him.

"It's true, I saw her! It was her!"

"Aleksander... you must move on." Darkling snorted, jumping up as if burned from his chair. Baghra followed her son as he ran out of her hut, not giving up. If they both had something in common, it was their great stubbornness. "How many times have you seen this girl? You have to realize that she's not coming back. Y/N is dead, Aleksander. For hundreds of years."

"She is here! I danced with her month ago at the ball, you can't tell me I didn't because I remember her face perfectly. It is etched in my mind more permanently than any other memory."

"You wanted an answer to your question. Here it is. There is no such thing as reincarnation, the reappearance of someone on this world. We die once, Aleksander. Once and successfully. So whoever you met yesterday, even with a face that looks like her, is not Y/N. So you'd better leave the innocent girl alone."

The Darkling laughed bitterly, shaking his head. His mother would never see him as more than a small, quick-tempered, silly boy. He should get used to it after all these years.

"You think I'd come to you with this if she was just one of the faces like her? Me and my people have been watching her for a month now, ever since some snobbish nobleman's daughter came back to the palace and turned out to be the only woman I ever cared about in this saint-damn world. It must be her. I don't know how, why, and honestly, I don't care as long as it's really her. Neither should you - as far as I remember you cared for her more than for me."

"Aleksander. I know you loved her, but you have to let her go. People just don't rise from the grave." she tried to reason with him. But he knew better.

It must be you. Somehow the Saints took pity on his tortured soul and returned you to him, and he wasn't going to stay further away from you than necessary.

He will have you again in his life, arms, and bed.

No matter what he has to sacrifice to restore your memories.

"Just as they don't live forever, and yet we do." he growled as he mounted his horse and galloped back towards the Little Palace. He was in for a long night spent in his library, poring over books. If Baghra didn't want to help him, he would find the answer himself.

"You stupid boy..." Baghra snorted, shaking her head in disappointment.

Your death was both the worst and best thing for her son. You would never live as long as they did - your death would have come anyway, just in a less bloody way. Ordinary people were fragile, and their lives were shorter—one breath of Baghra or Aleksander equaled thousands of them. She had no idea why her son was so stubborn about getting you back, even though you were truly reborn. Aleksander would lose you again. Even he couldn't fight death itself and go against nature in such a matter... or so Baghra hoped.

The boundaries that Aleksander wouldn't cross in your name were practically nonexistent.

And she would be afraid of him more with you by his side - the most powerful Etherealki woman this earth has ever seen… a tribrid with the powers of Squaller, Inferni and Tidemaker.

~•♤♤♤•~

It all started a month ago.

Aleksander was at another of the king's balls, circulating among the generals of the First Army, trying to win their favor and consent to a slight modification of their plans. For his and Grishas' benefit, of course.

He would never have guessed that a conversation with General Petrova, the king's irritating, faithful soldier, would bring him more than a headache. It was usually with him that the Darkling had his greatest disputes during war councils.

However, while the general caused him the most trouble of all in the king's court, he was one of the few who respected the Darkling not for his powers, which instilled fear among other soldiers, but for the sake of his tactical, sound thinking.

Never in his life would Aleksander have thought that General Petrova's daughter would be a faithful doppelgänger of his long-dead beloved.

He was stunned as soon as he saw you enter the room.

Anywhere, even on his deathbed, he would have recognised that mischievous twinkle in your eyes whenever you were given full attention. You were a vision. Apparition. A fairy tale that was etched forever in his memory.

And he may have lived many lives, met millions of ordinary people and thousands of Grishas, but this face, the face of his loved one, whom he only met in his sweet dreams and darkest nightmares, had never ever flashed a second of his hundreds-year life. There were no humans even close to your beauty...

And then, after hundreds of years of sorrow, pain, and grief, he saw you again. He was again enchanted by your mesmerising eyes, your sweet, mischievous smile, your tempting lips... He let himself be lost for a while in the view of his beloved before questions started to cross his mind.

How? When? Who is she? From where? Could it really be you? Hundreds of years in pain, only for you to walk casually one day to one of the balls of a king whose ancestor killed you?

Aleksander didn't even notice when you approached him and General Petrova. But YOUR voice, his Y/N's voice, definitely brought him back into the world. Like a strong, vicious slap.

"Father. It was definitely too long." Aleksander almost broke down there. Being so close to someone who looked like you, hearing your voice again in REALITY, smelling the perfume so damn well know to him - the same one which made him lose his mind ages ago for you...

"General Kirigan. My daughter, Y/N. Y/N. General Kirigan, commander of the Second Army." your careful gaze finally met his. And Aleksander was gone.

Saints save him… even those bloody, fucking eyes he would die for were the same….

"It's a pleasure to meet you, General Kirigan." Aleksander couldn't do anything else but reach for your hand and kiss it—something he'd also dreamed of a thousand times, but in his dreams you only used his true, real name. "Your fame extends to the farthest reaches of Ravka. I am glad to see the legendary Darkling with my own eyes." Aleksander shivered as his title spilled out of your mouth. Not with mockery or insult or fear, but flatteringly, strongly… He had to control himself. It wasn't his Y/N… unless…

"I think these aren't very… flattering stories."

"You'd be surprised, General…" Aleksander could feel himself melting under her attentive gaze. The number of long-buried emotions overwhelmed him. And he himself felt his long-forgotten, dead, cold heart come to life again under each of your charming smiles, warm tone of voice, and enticing looks.

Now that he had had the opportunity to look at her more closely, he noticed all the (perfectly familiar) small details.

The way your hair was styled—so that a few strands stand out from your perfectly styled hairstyle, no long earrings, only small pearls that your hair would be harder to get into, delicate jewellery, not flashy like most women's, jewellery that instead of testifying to your wealth emphasised your beauty.

You seemed so familiar to him…

"Do you dance, General?" your question snapped him out of his mind about HIS Y/N.

He didn't dance on such occasions. Never. But he would be damned if he didn't try to find out how far your resemblance to his Y/N goes.

"If you wish, Lady Petrova." he replied with a charming smile, reverting to his image of a confident general of the Second Army.

"Please..." she grabbed his hand. The touch of her delicate skin against his rough made him shiver uncontrollably. He was putty in your hands... but he would be cursed if he let go, if he loses again the one thing that holds him firmly in this world. "Call me Y/N."

"Y/N." he mumbled, leading her to the dance floor. He gripped her securely around the waist, pulling her close enough to be considered appropriate. "I'm dying to see how this one's ends."

"Not only you… general." you peeked at him over those beautifully painted eyelids, biting your lips lightly. Reincarnation, doppelgänger, or real you, you always had to tease him, you always challenged him. And he was more than willing to play that game with you again… even if he wasn't holding his Y/N in his arms.

"Please..." he turned you around to pull you back to his chest. He smiled, remembering how those Y/E/C irises were the only thing that mattered to him hundreds of years ago… he marveled at how they still enchanted him. And having you in his arms again, so close he could smell your scent again… it made him dizzy. "Call me Aleksander." he whispered into your ear, getting close enough not to touch you but to feel the warmth of your cheek against his.

Was it wise to tell you his name? Absolutely not. Did he regret giving himself up to this moment? The answer came to him after a few seconds.

"Aleksander..." your soft whisper made him shiver. The old memories, the ones he tried to bury in his mind, the ones that were both sweetly blissful and devastating, came back to him. Foolish hope rose in him the moment your brow furrowed as if you, too, recognized the significance of what had just happened.

If he'd had any doubts before, he definitely knew now... he was cursed. And he didn't care enough to break this spell you put on him.

~•♤♤♤•~

"Y/N! Rise and shine, you lazy ass!" you groaned, covering your head with a pillow.

"Go away demon. It's too early for anything." you mumbled, snuggling into my comfy bed. You snorted in surprise when suddenly your friend threw herself on your bed and brutally tore the pillow off your head, laughing like a madwoman. "Y/F/N!"

"What have you been dreaming about?" she asked with a sly smile.

"About nothing." you muttered as you got out of bed and walked over to your closet to pick out your outfit for today.

"Yes? Is that why I found you grinning like a psychopath in love and mumbling someone's name? Is there some poor guy you finally like? Who could it be? A soldier? Maybe a nobleman?" you huffed in amusement as you walked out from the wardrobe.

"I haven't gone crazy yet. The world will burn before I voluntarily muzzle myself with marriage."

"Doesn't change the fact that someone caught your eye, does it?" she inquired with a curious smirk.

"Let's go, you hopeless romantic. I believe you dragged me out of bed over that very exciting tea time with the queen." you sighed, knowing full well that this meeting would give you a terrible headache.

"We're going to suffer together, sweetie. But cheer up. Genya will be there. You've liked her company lately, haven't you?"

"She's too good for these royal assholes." you replied, taking her arm and walking out of your room towards the palace gardens.

During that month, you quickly fit into the role you had to play at court. And thanks to your numerous travels, you managed to win enough favour with the queen to become a permanent member of her "group of snobbish noblewomen". You also met Genya, Grisha, an angel among the palace demons who was rather unpopular at court… well, at least not when the queen didn't need her Grisha's skills.

The meeting with the queen dragged on as usual, you couldn't help but wander your mind to your today's dream interrupted by Y/F/N.

"Aleksander!" you laughed, punching him lightly in the chest. "Stop teasing me."

"I don't do anything, milaya." he replied smiling innocently which made you snort. You crossed your arms and gave him a meaningful look.

You were in the little library at his house. (By the way, it's a miracle that he and Baghra found a place for their books in such a tiny hut.) You tried to get to one of the books on the upper shelves, but Aleks had other plans. He stood in front of you, and every time you stood on tiptoe to reach the book, he took the opportunity to grab your waist and pull you into a kiss.

"You do not?" you asked, trying to get to the book, but Aleksander caught your lips in a kiss again. "Aleksander!" you huffed, punching him in the chest with a laugh. "Your mother will kill me if I don't at least start reading this book." you complained, laughing at the smug man. He was so childish sometimes... You squealed as Aleksander suddenly grabbed your waist and pulled you close, burying his nose in your hair.

"I am more than strong enough to protect moya milaya from my bloodthirsty mother." he whispered, placing a tender kiss on your temple.

"Aleksander." you moaned as he moved his lips to your neck. You ran your hand through his hair, giving in to the feeling for a moment, until you remembered what you were supposed to do today. "How about a compromise?"you asked, taking his attention away from your neck for a moment.

"A compromise? And how do you want to negotiate your freedom, lapushka?"

"I'm not blind. I see you're clingier than usual today. Of course you won't let me out of your arms, which I can't really say I'm complaining about… But since I'm about to spend the rest of the day on your lap or in your arms, then you could at least read me the book Baghra told me to learn by heart." he was thinking, rubbing his nose against yours.

"I think I can accept it." you squealed in surprise as he picked you up bridal style, lifting you up so you could reach the book you needed. "But I reserve the right to give you some breaks. As your beloved I've got to make sure my little tribrid doesn't overwork herself." you giggled, making his smile of satisfaction only grow wider.

"What a good and caring lover you are, Aleksander." you teased, knowing full well what the study breaks were for… or rather, for whom.

"Have you ever doubted it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, the sparkle of amusement in his dark eyes only made your mood more up. You loved seeing him so happy, carefree.

"No. Never." you whispered, kissing him with all your love and tenderness…

Such nonsense dreams have plagued you almost every time since you met the general. Visions of his younger self and yours, as if the two of you lived together hundreds of years ago. It also didn't help your plan that, for some strange reason, you felt this... attraction, this desire to be close to him.

You didn't know where your sudden fondness for the Darkling came from, but one thing was certain. You had to get rid of it. And that's before your father presents the king with plans to permanently disband the Second Army and return all the Grishas to the slave system. You couldn't give in to some stupid feeling towards their general... not when everything you and your father had worked for was coming to an end.

"Lady Petrova. You're surprisingly quiet today." the queen has distracted you from the thoughts that have plagued you for weeks. You put on your learned, polite smile.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I'm not feeling well today. I think I have a slight migraine, but it should pass soon, Your Highness."

"You look paler than usual… Genya, lady Y/F/N. Take lady Y/N to the healers." you had to do your best to keep the frown from appearing on your face. This old witch…

"Your Grace." instead, you bowed to the queen and walked away with the two women at your side. You didn't speak to Genya until you were sure you were out of earshot of anyone other than the three of you. "I'm fine, Genya. I just had to get out of there."

"Then I should thank you for saving me from there too." she replied with a smile as tired as yours. "But the queen was right. You looked a little pale earlier. Are you sure everything's okay? I can improve your appearance and cover up those little dark circles under your eyes if you want."

"No need, sweetheart. But if you somehow have power over dreams, it would be really helpful." you joked, knowing full well that Grisha are incapable of entering other people's dreams… though you doubted it after the general's face haunted you at night in those strange dreams.

"It would be great to be able to do that."

"Anyway, thank you, Genya. You can hide somewhere in the palace. You deserve some time off." the woman nodded to you and headed towards the Grand Palace, leaving you and Y/F/N alone in the gardens.

"Okay, what's the matter? What are you dreaming about that you can't sleep? And why are you hanging around Grishas and Darkling lately? You want to settle him down or something?" your friend asked annoyed. You looked around, making sure you two were still alone.

"I'm not going to settle him down. My father wanted me to take care of our strong, dark general. After all, what's the best way to steer a man who doesn't care about anyone but his people, than an affair with a pretty, nobel woman?" you asked with a cunning smile.

You preferred to keep your strange dreams to yourself… at least until you were sure it was just a stupid figment of your imagination and growing teenage crush on a dark general.

"I don't quite understand… so what exactly are you doing with him?" she asked, growing suspicious as you headed towards the Little Palace.

"It's just a game. I charm him with my beauty, spend time with him, and so on, which makes him less interested in the war, and I don't have to put up with my father's complaining about me finally getting married. I serve both Ravka and my own interests. Isn't it wonderful?"

"You'll get burned. Be careful with him. He's a Darkling. If he finds out…" she warned you, slightly scared. You snorted, shaking your head. You looked around one more time before whispering conspiratorially to her.

"Then what will he do to me? It's in his interest to keep our little affair as a secret, the dignity of a man and all that crap won't let him seek revenge openly - he'll only embarrass himself even more. I'm perfectly safe." you replied confidently as you left the gardens. You smiled. According to your plan, the general should leave his palace right now to meet the council. It was your job to make sure he didn't get there… well, at least not for the most part.

"If you say so… But you have to admit, even you, that he's hot."

"That's true... which only makes it more interesting..." you saw Kirigan coming out of the Little Palace with one of his loyal dogs by his side... Ivan or the other, you couldn't remember. You smiled slyly, sensing a good opportunity. "Excuse me."

You didn't waste any time. You immediately approached the general, inwardly triumphant with the smile he sent you as soon as he saw you… the grimace on his companion's face was also the reason for your good mood.

"Lady Petrova."

"General Kirigan. So you do occasionally leave the Little Palace."

"Indeed it happens sometimes." he smiles back at your teasing, keeping his distracting dark eyes on you.

"Then I can't pass up this opportunity to take you anywhere other than the path leading to the Grand Palace or the gardens. It's a beautiful day for a ride, don't you think? Perhaps you could accompany me?"

"Actually…"

"It's a wonderful idea. Ivan, could you get our horses ready?" the general interrupted his Girsha. You lowered your head, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from smiling victoriously. As Ivan passed you, you stepped closer to the general and turned your careful gaze back to him.

"He doesn't like me very much, does he?" you asked, catching the arm he offered you as you two walked to the stables together. "Your gruff companion." you added seeing his confused look.

The general snorted, placing his hand over yours, which made you shiver uncontrollably. You internally chastised yourself for such a… pathetic reaction to his little touch.

"Ivan is… specific." he finally replied making you chuckle.

"I saw the look he gave me when I took you away from him, like I was stealing his favorite cuddly toy." Kirigan snorted, which made you smile. You felt how your cheeks redden involuntarily at the sound of his laughter. "You don't have to always defend your people at all costs, General. Well, at least not in such a case." you replied with a smirk.

"Ivan is a good soldier and comrade… he can be funny once you get to know him."

"Then I guess you find volcra hilarious too."

"And maybe one or two of the queen's nobles." you gave him an offended look, placing your hand over your heart in a hurt gesture.

"Ouch. That's good that my company at least gives you some fun. It must be really hard to always be that grave, grumpy, dark general."

"Surely it can be lonely sometimes." his thoughtful, sombre statement ruined the fun atmosphere between you two.

For a brief moment, you could see the familiar twinkle of grief in his eyes before he hid it behind his mask of indifference. You knew that feeling. Especially after being transferred to different courts so many times. You had to master your emotions to perfection… especially the feeling of loneliness that was getting worse every day.

"Well, that's good that I have enough time to play a foolish, wayward, snobbish noble around you… maybe you won't feel so lonely, anymore." you joked, not knowing if you were saying it out of a duty to get close to him or from the depths of your completely lost and confused heart, which always acted like that near him.

"You're not the worst noblewoman I've ever met." the amused note returned to his voice, as did the twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Maybe you just didn't know me good enough?" you asked, stopping by the stables and letting go of his arm.

"Maybe..." he replied thoughtfully, not letting go of your hand.

You turned back to him. Your gaze lingered on your joined hands for a moment, until you shifted your confused gaze to him.

The moment your eyes met his, any questions you wanted to ask him escaped your mind. You could only stare blankly into his eyes. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you flashed an image of the younger Aleksander you dreamed of... the exact same one who was giving you an affectionate look like the general was doing now.

"Aleksander." you whispered, not even realising when the idea of saying his name popped into your head.

You were besotted, too mesmerised by the dark irises that stared at you like some saint, like you were all he ever wanted to look at for the rest of his life, to think of anything other than getting closer to him.

And the worst of it all was that you had no idea how you knew the smell of his cologne and why it reminded you of home, of safety. Or why he seemed so familiar to you…

"Yes, milaya?" you trembled. You knew he felt it; you knew he saw how you reacted to the nickname his younger version gives you every night in your dreams… and although it reminded you of something only a close person could say to their beloved, for the hell you didn't know what it meant or how he knew about it. But before you could answer something (or take the one little step that lasted between you and him to feel his lips on yours), Ivan arrived with your horses. "Thank you, Ivan." the general cleared his throat. You could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn't happy about being interrupted either.

"General. Let me remind you that in two hours…"

"Postpone all my appointments. I'll be unavailable." you couldn't help but send Ivan a victorious smile from behind Kirigan's shoulder, which made heartrender wince. Aleksander turned to glance at you, and you gave him a nice, polite smile, making sure the flash of malice disappeared from your eyes. The man shifted his confused looks to Ivan. "I'll be back tonight. Lady Petrova needs an escort."

"Of course, General, have a nice trip."

"Thank you, Ivan."

You gave Grisha a fleeting glance and malicious smile before you and Aleksander left the palace grounds. Ivan has tried to stop the general from joining you more than once this month... he has failed miserably each time. Seeing Grisha grumpier than usual was another advantage of your quest... besides being with Aleksander.

"Wanna race?!" you shouted, not giving him time to answer as you galloped your horse along, laughing as the general chased after you.

~•♤♤♤•~

"Forgotten fountain in the middle of the forest? I didn't think you knew such romantic places, general." you said with a teasing smile as you dismounted from your horses.

"You find it romantic?" he asked, throwing an amused glance over his shoulder as he tossed out the branches in the fountain. You smiled, internally laughing at how the great general commanding the entire Second Army was preparing the atmosphere for your pseudo date.

"Oh, don't tease me. You know what I meant. It's amazing that with your work schedule you have time to wander around and find places like this."

"You do realize I have free time sometimes, right?"

"Rearranging figures on a war table is no leisure time, General." Kirigan snorted, shaking his head in amusement. You smiled as you walked over to the fountain to stand next to him. Only then did you see what was so amazing about her that the general brought you here. It was dedicated to the Black Heretic. "Wait… that's your ancestor's story, isn't it?"

"You know it just from those old pictures?" he asked, apparently impressed with your knowledge, to which you snorted indignantly.

"Of course. Every child in Ravka know his story... well, or at least they should. To be honest, I'm not sure how ignorant the other nobles are, but I hope they're not that bad after all. But I'm guessing you didn't bring me here for a history lesson, did you?"

"When I was a boy, I used to run away and hide here once I realised I was the descendant of the most hated Grisha in Ravka. I've come here to throw a coin and make a wish in the fountain that I could be anyone else."

"A dangerous wish." I murmured as I looked at the pictures on the fountain to avoid his scrutinising gaze. "You never know what fate may befall you. It may turn out that things weren't so bad after all." I replied, remembering all the stories of noblewomen I had the opportunity to know... not all of them lived wonderful, fairy-tale lives. At least not the ones with powdered bruises.

"I devoted my life to undoing the greatest sin of my forbear. But I never seen this as a solution. Only as a reminder of the problem. They always need someone to blame."

"Every story needs a villain." you replied, sitting on the edge of the fountain, facing the general. "Sometimes it happens that there are several of them in one, if we look at the matter from the perspective of someone else. So forgive me if I say that I don't consider your ancestor to be evil incarnate."

"Why wouldn't you?" he asked curiously, walking over to you and sitting across from you.

"Every coin has two sides. Maybe he created a fold; maybe he wanted more power, but no one ever told it from his side. Maybe he wasn't the only villain in this story. Also, I don't believe in a golden hero and a vicious villain fighting doggedly against each other. There are no pure black or white people; we are all grey in our own way." you said, dipping your hand in the water, playing with it, and making small waves with your hand movements.

You glanced at the general, noticing that he was closely watching as you played with the water. You furrowed your brow, not knowing what so interesting he sees in this childish behaviour.

"And how gray are you?" his question snapped you out of your thoughts. You shrugged, still running your fingers through the water.

"I think I still have a long way to go to find out."

"What if I already know?" you frowned as you looked at him, which turned out to be your worst mistake. His dark eyes were to be your undoing…

You felt it again. This need to be close to him, this bond between you and him that was formed from the moment your eyes met in the ballroom a month ago. You were supposed to be his undoing, the downfall of the great, black general... so far, he's been the one who's been messing with your mind effectively, making you doubt everything your father ever taught you about your superiority over the Grishas. And you played the role Kirigan expected of you, like a foolish, naive girl.

"And how would you know that?" you whispered, cursing yourself for the obvious weakness in your voice.

Kirigan placed his hand on yours, the one you used to lean on at the fountain. His touch sent that weird feeling into your chest and made you shiver uncontrollably again. You were losing control… and the worst part was that you didn't mind at all.

"I feel like I've known you and waited for you my whole life. As if you were long lost part of me, which finally came back." you couldn't get rid of that terrible feeling of déjà vu that came over you after his words.

Somewhere in the back of your mind and deep in your heart, you had the feeling—no, you were SURE—that you had been in this situation before. That he once held your hand, telling you that you were destined to be together and that the stars, fate, destiny, saints, gods, or whoever was watching over you were responsible for bringing your souls together.

But it was impossible. You didn't know him before, you couldn't. You've never been to the king's palace until now…

However, everything ceased to matter the moment he leaned in, crossing the short distance between you and catching your lips in a kiss.

You gasped in surprise, your only warning being his tighter grip on your hand, which you only noticed after his soft lips gently pressed against yours. However, you had the sense to return his kiss, deepening it just as you felt Aleksander about to pull away from you.

He grabbed your waist tightly with one arm, pulling you to him, but he never let go of his firm grip on your hand.

You groaned, sinking into the so damn familiar closeness of his body against yours, taking in every ounce of his warmth and scent. But it was his gentle biting on your bottom lip that made you forget anything other than his lips on yours and let yourself get completely lost in the moment. You took your hand out of the water, grabbing the back of his head to get as close to him as possible, when suddenly a huge wave of cold, chilly water splashed you.

You gasped, breaking away from Kirigan. You sighed as cool water dripped from your hair onto your already-soaked dress that was sticking to your skin. You shifted your confused gaze to the equally wet man in front of you, who stared at you with an incomprehensible, fascinated twinkle in his eye.

"What have just happened?" you gasped, glancing at the now empty fountain.

"Are you asking about our kiss or the fact that you just demonstrated tidemaker's abilities?"

"What? No. I can't be Grisha. I…"

"Have you ever been tested, milaya?" he asked softly, so calmly he almost managed to calm your frantically beating heart. But you couldn't shake the feeling of panic rising within you. All plans would go to hell if you turned out to be… one of THEM.

"You know perfectly well what it is like among the nobles. They would rather kill or throw away a child with such powers." you replied, marvelling at how you managed to sound cold and emotionless despite your growing fear.

Kirigan frowned, obviously dissatisfied with your ability to cover up your emotions. What you didn't know was that your eyes betrayed all your emotions to him. He'd stared at them for so long that it would be impossible for him now not to be able to read your emotions.

"Well… it's always better to know, isn't it?" you stared at him for a moment before you nodded uncertainly, swallowing nervously. You couldn't be Grisha. That… whatever happened, it couldn't be it. "May I?" he made sure, pointing to the sleeve of your dress. You nodded silently.

For a moment, the world stops. It's just you and the general, who, with unusual delicacy for him, rolls up the sleeve of your wet dress and uses his sharp-pointed ring to cut your skin.

You're both shocked and oddly excited to see the water gushing out and the hot fire coming from where he cut your skin. Suddenly, a wind rises around you, drying you both and blowing some of the leaves off the trees into the empty fountain. You freeze, feeling the dormant power coursing through your veins, which the general's touch awakens with incredible ease.

It's like he's bringing to life a version of yourself you don't know...

"You are a Grisha. Etherealki Tribrid to be precise." he says, breaking the silence between you. You raise your confused gaze back to him, noticing that he's still studying your face. Weighing, evaluating, expecting something, and having hope so clearly written in his dark eyes that for a moment you are at a loss for words.

"You… you don't seem surprised." you manage to get out of you. You are terrified of your weakness right now. But with the general staring at you with such... tenderness and longing, you're not sure which of you has put your heart in more danger. You just don't know what caused this sudden, overt display of affection for you.

"I felt your power. Only someone special could carry such a huge amount of energy. You and I are going to change the world, Y/N."

"But… I can't… no one can know about this. Please, Aleksander." you pleaded in a panic, gripping his hand tightly. "Promise me that this will stay between us. If my father finds out about this… if the court finds out… Please, Aleksander." the man was staring at you. Apparently, the prospect of having a tribrid in his army was too tempting for him to just forget what had happened here. You had to convince him otherwise. "Wouldn't it be better if it stayed between us? You could train me yourself. Secretly teach me how to use… this. Wouldn't it be better to have a secret weapon? Someone who can be summoned to the battlefield if needed and used as an element of surprise?"

"I don't want to use you." he growled, wrinkling his nose as he realized how sharp his words had come out. "I want you to be my equal, Y/N. But fine. We'll keep everything that happened here to ourselves. You'll come to my office every night so we can train."

"Every night? You want to cause a scandal, General?" you ask, regaining your ability to joke and banter.

For now, you hide all your doubts, fear and greyness that your life will change irreversibly in the back of your head. You allow yourself to get lost in the general's eyes for a while before returning to real life… before you have to decide what to do about the "Grishas case", knowing your newfound abilities now.

"Do you care?" you know what he's asking you, but he doesn't know how many different meanings his question has for you. And you're afraid that once he finds out about your plan against him and against his people, he'll stop looking at you with that... adoration in his eyes. Because, for some strange reason, you want him to look at you like that.

"No…" you replied, moving your gaze between his mouth and eyes. "I guess not."

~•♤♤♤•~

"I can't believe it! How did you know that was my favorite dish?!" I ask him after another grueling session of our training as he returns with a dinner brought to his door by servants.

"I have my ways." he responds, laughing as you practically pounce on the food ravenously. You didn't realize that using Grisha's powers was so… exhausting.

"Just like my allergy to the awful pollen that's out now, what particular, specific type of tea do I like, and what books do I prefer to read? What's next? Just hand me my favourite flowers and tell me it's pure case?" you laugh over your plate, glancing at him briefly. The general blushes slightly and clears his throat awkwardly. "Oh, Saints, you do have flowers for me, don't you?" you asked as a little smirk started to form on your face.

"It seems to you, vain little tribrid." you tremble at his words, and that sick feeling of deja vu follows you every time his damn dark irises pierce your soul. If he wanted you to go crazy, you're sure he was well on his way to making it happen.

Aleksander, on the other hand, stared longingly at you, searching for any trace of recognition in your eyes. How many times in those training sessions has he wished your memories of living with him would come back to you? He didn't know. Ever since he made sure you displayed the powers of virtually all ethereals, he's spent countless sleepless nights in his bed dreaming of the moment you'll whisper that damn nickname you love for him.

But nothing like that was coming.

Instead, he had to fight this urge to kiss you to death, to hold you forever in his safe arms where nothing could hurt you. He had to fight his longing for your slightest touch, your tender gaze, and the unconditional love you had. And with each passing day, he cursed himself for his inability to remember the life you two had spent together.

He was desperate enough to talk to his mother about it. He went to her as soon as he was sure it was really you to brag about his hunch and victory over her judgement. And complain about your innate ability to spite him and not remember him when he worked so hard to make it happen.

"If it's not her, then explain to me how she's already ruining all my plans and is getting on my nerves?" he asked, raising an inquiring eyebrow at Baghra.

"Just because you have a natural bad luck with women doesn't mean Y/N is back from the dead." she replied ironically, not even looking up at him.

"It is her. And when I prove it, forget about seeing her, because I won't let you."

"I'm not a spoiled child, General." you laugh back, snapping him out of his thoughts as cool water hits his chest. He raises an eyebrow at you, failing to keep an amused smile from spreading across his lips.

Saints, how he wants to kiss that malicious smirk off your alluring lips. But he has to be careful with you. He has to control himself. He can't lose you or scare you away now, not when he's so close to getting HIS Y/N back.

"You're definitely acting like one." he replies teasingly as he takes out the flowers hidden behind his back and hands them to you.

You sigh in shock before another heart-melting smile appears on your lips. You dip your nose in the flowers, and Aleksander tries to remember this moment forever. The silent hope that you will remember one of the many times he gave you those special flowers you loved bursts into unwillingness in his chest.

"Please, as if you don't like to spoil me…" you just reply teasingly, reminding him how fate was never on his side. It would be impossible for him to just get you back like that.

"I'd throw all the jewels in the world at your feet just to see that beautiful, wide smile spread across your lips." you tremble under his heavy, intent gaze, feeling him ignite that familiar, strange fire inside you, calling for him.

The answer to his confession just slipped out of your mouth as a whisper.

"You don't need jewels to make me smile like a fool in love."

Aleksander flinched as he recognised the words you said to him—the exact same words you used in response to his confession hundreds of years ago. You liked torturing him with it. Remind him of stolen moments with you in the woods, away from the king's men, his mother, and other envious people too scared of your abilities to see you as anything more than a dangerous monster. You loved throwing him into the past, while you stuck hard to what was happening now. At times like this, he promised himself that once he had you back, he would never let you go. He won't be that weak to let someone take you from him again.

You, in turn, watched him bewildered as another vision/memory flashed before your eyes. His warm lips on your wind-cold skin, his whispered promises in your ear as he held you close to him, his shadows dancing around you, shielding anyone from seeing you two.

That memory revived in your mind as the general's lips met yours.

Kissing him, enjoying the firm grip around your waist, you had those strange visions again. You were beginning to wonder if the general had seen through your cunning plan and decided to punish you by driving you crazy with these supposed memories.

But you didn't want to do anything about it. Not when he felt so good against you.

You kiss him greedily, tangling your hands in his hair and pulling him closer to you. He picks you up, placing you on his war table. Your hands travel up his shoulders to the buttons of his kefta and his to the strings of your corset at the back of your dress...

Just then, a loud knock interrupts you.

You laugh in disbelief that they're bothering you again. Aleksander smiles, biting his lip as he looks at you with amusement in his eyes. How he missed your sincere, carefree laugh.

"Go see what it is." you whisper to him as you slide off the table to stand on your own feet. Aleksander smirks mischievously and leans in to steal a kiss from you. You giggle as you push him away and whisper a softly "go".

You blush, feeling like a teenager caught kissing a boy. And you have a very strange feeling that this has happened before...

"Aleksander!" you squeal, laughing as quietly as you can. "Someone will see us!" you reprimand him by tapping him lightly in the chest.

"Only if you keep being so loud. Besides, how can you blame me for wanting to kiss my beautiful beloved after weeks apart?"

"Your secret beloved I would like to point out. Baghra and my parents will kill us if they find us here." you remind him, only smiling wider as his grip tightens around your waist.

"They'll have to go through my shadows first… that gives us enough time to escape."

"Well, well, what a cunning boyfriend I have. I like that plan of yours." I whisper into his lips, teasing him, as I move away each time he wants to kiss me.

"Y/N?" Aleksander's whisper and his gentle grip on my shoulder pulls me out of my memories. "Everything's all right?" he looks at you with concern in his eyes and something else, something like longing mixed with hope. You have no idea what it could be.

NO. I have strange visions of you where you love and need me more than anything in this world. I have dreams of a reality where it's just us, too busy loving ourselves to see anything else or care about all the problems in the world. And I have a feeling that I'm going to go crazy if you once again arouse in me that feeling of familiarity and fire that for some unknown reason cries out desperately for your slightest touch and affection. - you think.

"I'm fine, just thought of something. What did Ivan want from you?" I ask with a gentle smile.

"I have to go now. The First Army soldiers and my Grishas have reportedly gotten into some kind of fight. I need to investigate it."

You freeze, knowing full well what's going on. Your and your father's plan. Kirigan is about to get into the middle of a fight caused by the people of the first army (actually hired by your father's thugs). A fight with a general defending his people in the main role will start, which your father and the king are supposed to come across by "pure accident". You were supposed to let him get into your trap.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't worry, it's probably some stupid skirmish." he assures you, but you know better. You know that once he goes there, he will be banished at best for suspicion of treason and wanting to start a rebellion - rumours your father is now spreading to the king.

Your brain screams for you to let it go. You were Grisha, but people like you would never accept you; you knew that. And the nobles would kick you out if they found out about your powers; it was safer for you to get rid of the general, the only person who knew about your abilities.

But your stupid heart already bled at the thought of putting Aleksander in danger and being the cause of his downfall—the thing you were supposed to be so proud of only a few months ago.

"Wait!" you scream, reaching for his hand before he steps away from you. You lost. You lost the war with the devil and sold him your heart and the soul he had anyway, since he kissed you at the fountain, since he started appearing in your dreams as a strange vision of an alternate world where you live with him as his. A vision you desperately wanted to come true. "Please don't go."

"Why?" he asks, placing his hands gently on your shoulders.

"I... you can't... trap... my father... and king... they..." you hyperventilate, tears welling up in your eyes uncontrollably, and an indescribably great feeling of unease seizes you, making it a huge challenge to take even the slightest breath.

Suddenly, all you hear is a buzzing in your ears. Slowly, your knees weaken, and you fall straight into the waiting arms of Aleksander, who looks like he's screaming something. You are enveloped in blissful darkness.

But before you lose your consciousness one thought runs through your mind.

What the hell did I did?

~•♤♤♤•~

You opened your eyes. It was dawn. You were in a clearing near some castle ruins. There were a lot of soldiers around you.

You slowly got up on your elbows and lifted yourself off the ground. You tried to push your way through the crowd of soldiers, but as soon as your arm was about to touch one of them, you felt yourself walking through it. You froze in place.

The sound of Aleksander's voice snapped you out of your daze. You walked forward, passing through the soldiers as you reached the stairs of the palace ruins.

It was a younger version of him, exactly the one you saw in your dreams. But this time it wasn't a pleasant dream. The love in his eyes was replaced by pure fear and fury.

You turned to where he was staring and gasped as you spotted a beaten, bloodied version of yourself held by one of the king's soldiers.

"Surrender. Or your girl will die." Aleksander stared at the younger version of you, trying to make eye contact with you, making sure you were still holding on to your life for him, despite the gruesome state you were in. "This one was brave. She was willing to die than reveal your hiding place. Fortunately, we got another, weaker one. Now, you better hurry before that bitch bleeds to death."

Tears began to form in Aleksander's eyes. He raised his trembling hands in surrender. You lifted your head with difficulty, watching him.

Then all hell broke loose. You set a soldier on fire and started a great fire. You tried to approach Aleksander and he came to you, but the soldiers around you were faster. One of them caught you; the rest kept Aleksander, who was struggling with all his strength, from rushing to your rescue and summoning his shadows. The soldier drew his dagger.

Your eyes and Aleksander's did not separate for a moment. Desperation and fear were reflected in his eyes, which met your gaze full of sadness and fear for his life.

"Aleksander, I love you-AGH!" you tell him when a soldier pierces your heart with a dagger in front of your beloved.

"Y/N!" Aleksander screams, tears in his eyes obscuring his vision at your last breath and your last look at him. He is overcome with rage, grief, and frustration so great that he can do nothing but scream.

His scream proves deadly. Deadly for his enemies.

His grief, desperation, and tremendous pain piercing his heart and seeing his beloved Y/N die raised within him a power so great that it covered the world in the darkness of his shadow.

And so the fold is born.

And Aleksander remains utterly alone in his darkness.

~•♤♤♤•~

You jump out of bed, screaming. You just saw yourself die... but it wasn't you, was it? It's just your twisted imagination. Aleksander couldn't... couldn't create the fold. The Black Heretic lived hundreds of years before you; it couldn't be true. It's just your sick imagination. You kept telling yourself.

You looked around the room, recognising that you were in the general's bedroom. You changed out of his black shirt, which you don't know who put you in, and left the bedroom in a hurry. You didn't know how Aleksander would treat you after he found out about your father's plan, and he certainly did after your panic attack in his war room. You also didn't want to risk getting caught in the general's chamber.

You were about to leave Aleksander's chamber, but someone's hand grabbed your arm tightly and covered your mouth. You tried to wriggle out of his attacker's grip, but in vain. Fortunately, the stranger let you go as soon as you entered one of the secret passages of the Little Palace.

You turned around, freezing as you came face to face with the woman haunting your dreams…

"Who are you?" you whispered in horror, recognizing the woman as the light from her torch illuminated her face.

"It doesn't matter. You need to get out of here as soon as possible." she grabbed your hand again in a strong, bruising grip, but this time you managed to pull away from her.

"Who the hell are you?! Why am I dreaming about you and some Aleksander?! How do I know you, Baghra?!"

"Hush for the saints! We're not far from his room." she tried to silence you, fearing that at any moment you would bring Aleksander back to his chambers here.

"Whose room? General's? What does he have to do with it? What the hell is going on here?!"

"Shut up you stupid girl before he comes here. I'm trying to save you."

"Saved me from what? I don't need a hero, thank you very much. All I want to know is why I'm having these fucking visions about you. Who are you? Why am I having some weird flashbacks about you from hundreds of years ago?" you ask, tired of it all, trying to finally get to the truth, whatever it may be.

"Aleksander was right… it's true. It's really you." she says in shock, eyeing you closely as you use all your powers in anger, summoning both fire, water and a light breeze in the deserted secret passage.

"Aleksander? Which one? Kirigan or some other? Answer me for the love of saints!" you scream at her, feeling like you're about to lose your mind at any moment.

"Child, there is only one Aleksander. My son. Aleksander Morozova. Black Heretic. General Kirigan and many other names he's taken since you died."

"What? What are you talking about? It's impossible, a Black Heretic lived hundreds of years ago… wait. Since I died? What do you mean by since I die?" the vision you just had haunts you again. Your blood, Alexander's screams. Screams of people turned by his grief, anger and rage into volcra as he creates a fold...

"You real name is Y/N…"

"BAGHRA!" Aleksander's furious scream echoes through the deserted corridor. He walks over to me faster than I can blink and stands between me and his supposed mother. "Go away."

"Aleksander..." she begins in a serious tone, but one dark look from the general keeps her silent. Never, not even during their worst quarrels, had he dared to oppose her so openly, so hostilely.

"I said... Go. Away." Baghra looks at you. Half in disappointment, half in fear, knowing full well the reason why her son is ready to use his shadows on her.

She lets go. This time. She knows full well he can't bring back your memories anyway. Or at least she hopes so.

Shee leaves you alone in a dark corridor. Aleksander slowly turns to you and reaches for you, but you pull away before his fingertips even try to touch you. He freezes. He watches you fearfully, afraid of what Baghra might have told you to make you so disgusted by his small touch.

"Don't take a step further. Why do I know you? Why did YOU know me before anything started between us? What the hell is this all about?!"

"Y/N... you need to calm down." he tries to calm you down as he sees you gasping for breath again. He reaches out to touch your cheek tenderly but you jump away from him. The fire begins to slowly circulate around your hands as you unknowingly summon it.

"DO NOT TOUCH ME! Who are you? Who are you to me? That's true? Are you a Black Heretic? What is going on here?!" you scream, you feel an indescribable power flowing through you that you are unable to control, a flood of emotions floods your mind, and your powers go out of control as a great wind rises and the corridor begins to slowly fill with water. The fire in your hands grows bigger, more alive, more uncontrollable.

"My milaya, please... try to calm down for me." he says, taking a step towards you with his hands up so you can see his every little move, every attempt to touch you.

"What am I?" you whisper, your tears flow freely, the water begins to rise faster and faster, the wind is so great that it blows both his and your hair and his black kefta in all directions, and the living fire from your hands prevents him from approaching you without risk of burning himself. But Aleksander doesn't care.

He wades towards you through the water that comes up to his hips and cups your face with both hands, forcing you to look him in the eyes. As soon as his skin touches yours, everything stops. The wind stops blowing, the fire disappears, and the water stops at a constant level. It is quiet. Eerily silent as you stare at him in a daze, tears dripping from your eyes into the makeshift river you created in the hallway.

"You know who you are. Just reach for it. Please, come back to me, Y/N Y/L/N. Moya milaya, moya lapushka..." he pleads, resting his forehead against yours.

You close your eyes. The flood of vivid memories makes your head hurt, but as soon as all the images are gone from your eyes, you open them to look into those familiar dark irises that pierce through you. And you cry with relief, finally knowing perfectly well how you know him, why you associate him with home, peace, love, unconditional devotion.

"Sasha?" you whisper, afraid you've gone completely insane, that it's all a nasty, twisted figment of your imagination.

And Aleksander sighs with relief hearing that damn diminutive he missed so much.

"It's me. My beloved Y/N. My life. My Light. My tribrid. You are finally here." he takes you in his arms as tears flow freely down your cheeks. You snuggle into him, your nose brushing his neck as you inhale the damn good smell of his perfume. Aleksander buries his nose in your hair, trying to hold back tears as he trembles uncontrollably. He finally had you. After hundreds of years, months of torture where he had you at his fingertips but couldn't touch you properly, you were finally with him. "Eya fyela chi." he whispers in old Ravkan, making you laugh in relief.

"I love you too, Sasha. I promise I'm not going anywhere anymore. Nobody and nothing will take me away from you."

"Brave of you to think I'd let you go anywhere. You stay by my side. Forever. I won't waste such a wonderful gift from the saints, my little flame." he says, kissing your temple.

You shiver for the first time enjoying the familiar feeling of love and warmth that comes with this tender gesture, often repeated by him in the past.

He leaned in, catching your lips in a passionate, long-awaited kiss. And you couldn't do anything other than enjoy the taste of his lips on yours and how you could create new memories with him without the old ones attacking you with every touch he made. You are no longer an intruder in your own body. And the unknown fire calling for him turned into the familiar flame of love.

[zzoomacroom]

Retired amnesia Dream + coma Hob for WIP ask game please 🥺🥺🥺

Thank you for the ask! @linzod asked about this one too, and I'm super excited about it! I only have it outlined so far, but I'm hoping to write it once I'm done with the mpreg fic.

So Murphy is just some guy, as far as he knows. He's an artist, and he's kind of a shut-in with no friends and no life to speak of. He starts having really vivid dreams that, unbeknownst to him, are showing him memories of his past life. He also keeps having these recurring dreams where he meets with this guy named Hob who seems really familiar and keeps telling Murphy that he's real, he's been looking for him, he's trapped in the Dreaming and he needs Murphy to find him in the waking world. Murphy doesn't believe any of it, thinks his unconscious mind made the whole thing up, and he's like, "great, I'm so lonely that my sleeping mind made me an imaginary friend." But then he keeps finding clues suggesting that Hob is telling the truth. He goes to the White Horse and, even though it's abandoned and boarded up, he recognizes it from his dreams. He also maybe finds mentions of Hob in historical texts, the drawing of them from the 1789 meeting, etc. So now he understands that it's all true, and he has to find Hob and hopefully regain his memories in the process.

Now I'm going to put what's happening from Hob's perspective under the cut, because it's a plot twist that would be revealed later in the story.

So how did they end up in this situation? Well, after the Wake, Hob became more unhinged than ever and couldn't accept that Dream was dead. So he planned to do a whole "Dream of a Thousand Cats" style thing and have a thousand people dream that Morpheus is alive again. But in order to organize and orchestrate this whole plan, Hob puts himself into a magically induced coma so he can stay in the Dreaming and make sure the plan works. But once it does, he finds himself stuck there. The mysterious and sketchy person he hired to put him into this coma has disappeared, and now he's trapped with no way to wake up. Morpheus keeps finding him when he dreams, so Hob is overjoyed about that but heartbroken that Morpheus doesn't remember him and doesn't believe any of his dreams are real. Eventually, Morpheus finds Hob in the waking world, wakes him up, gets his memories back, and they live happily ever after.

I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that this fic will also feature Death, Delirium, Daniel, Lucienne, Matthew, Johanna Constantine and Mad Hettie.

Hopefully I'll actually be able to get it written before too long 😭

[it-happened-one-fic]

Hi! How are you?

I have an interesting request: "3

Can I request Baizhu with a half-adeptus reader (male, but , if you want, you can use gn) .

This is the story of a young Baizhu who saves a little bird from bullies. The bird, blind in one eye, recovered from severe wounds. The bird became a friend for Baizhu. Then... The bird suddenly flew away to freedom. Baizhu matured and became a doctor. Suddenly, a reader (blind in one eye) comes to “Bubu” and becomes an assistant for Baizhu. The reader loves to pamper Baizhu in all things and will complete even difficult tasks. The reader cares for Baizhu and truly loves him. As a result, they fall in love❤

The phrase will do here“You saved me when I was dying. You gave me the meaning of life. You helped me not to lose faith in the kindness of people...”(sorry about my bad Inglis... )

Hello Anon, I'm doing well, thank you! Also, don't worry about you English, you did a wonderful job with your request! I must confess that I wonder if you also write since you came up with such a complete plot for your request! Either way, I wrote this with a gender neutral reader since I'm not really comfortable writing a male reader, I hope you don't mind since you mentioned I could. I hope you enjoy!

Waiting - Baizhu

Type: Gender-neutral reader/ half-adepti reader/ fluff/ request

Word count: 959

Baizhu didn’t really know how long ago it was that he’d rescued a bird from a group of cruel youth that were toying with it. But watching Qiqi as she stared at finches with such gentle fascination reminded him of this little friend.

The bird had been blind in one eye, and its wounds had been severe. But he’d carefully cared for it. Feeding it and bandaging its injuries. Teaching it to fly once more, even though it had lost one of its bright little eyes.

It had been such a cheerful little bird. Always tweeting merrily and singing its lovely little song as it had perched on his shoulder. 

Back then, he’d thought it would be his eternal friend, by his side till the very end. But it had flown away. Abandoning him for the freedom of the blue skies.

It was after that that Baizhu had become a doctor and met Changsheng, but he never forgot that little bird that had been his first patient.

And perhaps that was why he had immediately recalled the little bird when you’d shown up one day at Bubu Pharmacy and become his assistant.

Just like that little bird, you were blind in one eye and eternally cheerful. You would hum to yourself as you worked, adding an easygoing joy to the pharmacy.

Most everyone adored you. Baizhu’s gentle assistant, who doted on Qiqi, cared for patients equally, and seemed like an old friend to Baizhu from your very first day by his side.

Baizhu could rely on you for anything; no matter how difficult it was, you could do it. You were capable with medicines, swift with deliveries, and a source of comfort for those with the very worst of conditions.

You could even convince upset little children to take their medicine, and you never failed to have tea ready for Baizhu after one of his more intensive treatments.

It was obvious to anyone who saw you and him together, you doted on the doctor. Many whispered of your relationship, while others were satisfied to view you as another kind soul, perfectly matched to be by Baizhu’s side.

But Baizhu had noticed far more than your numerous charms. There were also your less-than-human traits.

Animals never fled your presence, and birds were known to flit over and sing along to your soft humming.

And then there was the way that you somehow knew numerous things about Baizhu from your first day at Bubu Pharmacy. 

Be it his favorite tea, the candied fruits he used to help him handle the bitterness of his medicines, or his relationship with Changsheng, he knew them all.

But Baizhu was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth or question his own luck. Sometimes good things happen, and you just accept them. It was something Baizhu viewed as a lucky little blessing. And it was easy to view you that way, with how you doted and cared for the doctor.

But as he looked your way, he found himself tilting his head with a quiet smile, “You know, my first patient was actually a bird.”

You blinked in quiet surprise at his words, before you glanced over at where Qiqi stood, watching the finches silently, before looking back his way.

Baizhu chuckled at your silent surprise, “It was a long time ago, back when I was still very young. It had gotten hurt when some kids caught it.”

He glanced back over at the little girl by the window, feeling his smile turn wistful, “It left me not long after it had fully recovered, but that little bird inspired me… It’s probably why I went on to become a doctor. I don’t actually know how much longer it lived after it left me though….”

He trailed off, shaking his head at his own nostalgic musing, somehow feeling you might not like to be compared to such a fragile creature as the bird was, even if both of you were important to him now, be it as a fond memory or current companion.

But then you smiled, drifting closer before speaking to him in a quiet whisper, “You saved me when I was dying. You gave me the meaning of life. You helped me not to lose faith in the kindness of people…”

You trailed off, your gaze dropping towards the floor as Baizhu’s eyes widened, a thought entering his mind. Ridiculous and seemingly impossible, but unshakeable.

Perhaps there was a reason you and that little bird seemed so intrinsically linked within his mind, as laughable as it seemed.

But all at once, Baizhu felt like he was that little boy who had mourned the loss of his friend that had flown off into the blue sky once more.

“You…” He hesitated as you shifted, slowly meeting his gaze once more with the slightest of smiles.

“In truth, I am a half-adepti and capable of transforming into a bird… I would not have made it through those days if it weren’t for you, and I’ve never forgotten how you saved me,” You shifted, tilting your head in a way that perfectly reminded him of the bird as he stared at you in silent awe. Hardly able to even find the words.

“Thank you, Doctor Baizhu, and I’m sorry I kept you waiting for so long,” Those words were all it took for his breath to catch slightly before he felt himself smile. Still stunned, but somehow finding the words as his hands found yours.

His fingers linked themselves carefully as he held your gaze, eternally grateful that you had started him on his path towards medicine and that you had returned to him, as he spoke in an impossible soft voice, “And for you, I would have continued waiting for eternity.”

[bingbongsupremacy]

Maybe Someday

Pairing: Joel Miller x older!Reader

Warnings: Idk anything about horses or how to prep them for rides.

Summary: You've been hardcore crushing on your neighbor Joel Miller since the day he, Tess and Ellie arrived in Jackson. Rumor has it he's in a relationship with Tess. Maybe someday he'll finally return your feelings.

*Not Proof Read* TLOU Masterlist

I did my best not to mention anything very descriptive in this. Nothing about looks, gender, race, etc. If I messed up on anything please let me know. Thank you!

*****

" Stop day dreaming about Joel and get back to work, will ya? I'm trying to be out of here before I turn 90. " Maria's tone is laced with amusement.

I snap my eyes away from the man across the street. A warm rush crawls up my cheeks and I quickly turn my attention to the horse in front of me. " I'm not staring at anyone. " I argue, making sure Maria's horse's stirrups are secured properly.

" Sure, Y/N. " Maria chuckles slightly before getting up on the horse.

A small gruff laughter snaps my attention right back to Joel. He pats Ellie on the head before hopping onto his horse. Our eyes don't meet as he walks past the stall, his attention fully on the kid walking besides him.

" You know, there someone new in town I think you'd get along with. " Maria hums. " He's one of the new ones we brought in last week. "

I shake my head. " I'm good Maria. "

" What? Why? " Maria asks while we walk out of the stalls.

My nose scrunches at the thought of the last blind date Maria set me up on . The man was anything but a charmer, insisting on asking uncomfortable questions the moment we met up at the bar. Todd still winks at me whenever we happen to run into each other. " You don't have the best record for blind dates. "

" That's not true. " Maria shakes her head. " Sure, a few of them were misses, sure. But what about Jimmy? He was definitely a looker. "

I roll my eyes. " Maria! "

" What? I'm married, not dead. " She chuckles. The early morning sun sends a small glow over Jackson, making the normally bustling town seem slightly abandoned. Most people aren't out of their homes yet.

" He's only about 10 years younger than me. He was attractive though, I'll give you that. " Maria's obsession with setting me up on blind dates is at times, irritating. I understand she wants me to feel the same happiness she feels with Tommy, I'd just rather find it on my time. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to date someone while my mind's stuck on Joel.

I shouldn't be this flustered at the thought of our past conversations. They've always been polite and...normal. No romance in sight. Nothing worthy of replaying in my head over and over.

Somehow my heart doesn't seem to understand. When I look at Joel I feel like a teenager with a strong crush on a kid in their class. It's...ridiculous. I'm not a teenager and I haven't been for years.

So why doesn't this stupid crush understand?

" Just give it a shot, will you? One last time. If this one ends badly, I'll let go of all this forever. "

Maria and I arrive at the gate where Joel, Tommy and one of the newer residents are waiting.

" Fine. One shot. " I sigh.

A grin breaks out on Maria's face. " I'll let him know. "

I really don't understand why I agreed. Every blind date I've ever gone on has ended up in either heartbreak or disappointment. I guess part of me hopes she's finally setting me up with the one man I really want her to.

He has a girlfriend.

Maybe. They haven't fully come out as a couple. The lingering touches are hard to ignore though.

It's never going to happen. I need to drop it.

" Safe trip guys. " I smile at the patrol groups around the gate.

I watch as the group disappears outside of the gates. With a sigh, I turn around and head back to the stables.

Maybe this date turn out okay.

+++++

I was wrong.

I'm going to kill Maria.

It's been half an hour and I'm already thinking of ways to lose this guy.

" I'd protect you. With me, you have nothing to worry about. " Ryan states confidently while taking a swig from his moonshine. " I've killed so many of those freaks, it's child's play now. "

This man has spent the last ten minutes raving about his excellent infected killing skills.

We're in a world surrounded with infected every day, what on earth makes him think I want to think about it more?

" Mhm. " I hum while taking a sip of my own drink.

I glance around the very busy bar. It's a Friday night after all, everyone and their mother is here. My eyes land on Joel's familiar form. He's seated a few feet away at the bar, his back completely to the table Ryan and I are at.

I was so preoccupied with drinking enough alcohol to help me tolerate the man across from me that I hadn't realized he'd sat down.

" I've had a really good time with you. " Ryan smiles widely.

Wish I could say the same. He spent the entire time talking. I could hardly get a word in. I've never seen a person with so much to say. Now that I think about it, I've never met someone with such a big ego either. You'd think this guy saved humanity or something.

Stop. Be polite.

I force a smile. " I completely agree. " I lie through clenched teeth. I'm counting down the minutes until it turns 10. I told Maria I'd stay an hour and I intend to follow through with that but man is this guy making it hard.

A short, gruff chuckle softly fills my ears. I glance over at Joel. He takes a swig of his drink, trying to hide the fact he was laughing.

He's listening.

" You know, when Maria said she was going to set me up with an older person, I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant at first. "

" Oh? " I raise an eyebrow at Ryan's remark. Where is he going with this?

Maria hadn't told me she was setting me up with another younger guy. She'd probably thought I would've immediately shot the idea down. She wasn't wrong.

Ryan nods. " Yeah, I've had my fair share of fucking old timers and I usually get stuck doing all the work but I have a feeling you're different. "

What the actual fuck.

I stare at the man across from me in shock. " Excuse me? " What the fuck am I supposed to say to that? Thank you?

" What I'm trying to say is, I think you're hot. We should go back to my place. Have a little fun, if you know what I mean. " Ryan smirks while making a gesture with his hand.

Well, that took a turn.

I shake my head, pushing myself away from the table. " I'm not interested. Thanks for the drink, but I should be going. " I grab my jacket and begin to pull it on.

So much for trying to make it to an hour. This guy is insane.

" Wait, you don't have to go. We could have fun. You look like the type to need a little more fun in your life. " Ryan stands up after me.

" Seriously, I'm ok. You have a good night. " I turn to leave.

Ryan quickly grabs my arm, trying to prevent me from leaving. " I literally gave you a fucking compliment a few minutes ago. You should be grateful I'm even willing to sleep with someone like you. I fucking lowered my standards for this. "

" Please let go of me. " I attempt to seem less shaken then I am.

Ryan doesn't listen. " You owe me. "

" Let go. " Joel's suddenly right next to Ryan. " Or I'll help you let go. "

Ryan glares at Joel. " What's your deal, man? This is a private conversation. Butt the fuck out. "

Joel ignores him, wrapping his hand over Ryan's. He yanks Ryan's arm off of me. " My 'deal' is you're a complete asshole who doesn't understand when someone is saying no. "

Ryan pulls his arm away from Joel, his face turning red from rage. " Fuck you, man. "

Joel's eyes darken. " Get the fuck out of this bar. If I see you around Y/N again you're a dead man. "

The threat sends a cold shiver down my spine. He's serious. There's no way he's not.

Ryan looks like he's about to say something else when Joel sends him a sharp look. Without another word, Ryan pushes past me, completely ignoring me in the process. "

The drama caused a few people to tune into the conversation.

Slightly embarrassed, I try to focus on Joel. " Thank you. " I mumble, rubbing my arm slightly. Even though his hand is gone, I can still feel how hard he was holding onto me.

This could've gone so badly tonight if Joel wasn't here. Thank god he was here.

" No need to thank me. That guy was a fucking asshole. Here, let me buy you a drink. I'm sure you're shaken up after that. " Joel gestures to the empty barstool near his abandoned seat.

I hesitate for a moment. Part of me wants to go back to the safety of my home. The other part is eager to have a chance to talk with Joel again. Deep down, I'm also slightly afraid Ryan might be waiting outside to get back at me.

" Sure. " I agree, taking a seat. The counter is sticky and cool under my arms.

Now that the drama is over, everyone's returned back to their previous conversations.

" Are you alright? " Joel asks.

I let out a sigh. " Just a little shaken up. And...confused. " let out a small uncomfortable laugh. " That was the most fucking confusing date of my life. I can't believe Maria tried to set me up with someone who talks like that. "

Joel grunts. " She's so invested in playing cupid that she's completely forgotten some people shouldn't be dating. "

" You've got that right. I'm pretty sure she's just setting me up with anyone who's available at this point. " I shake my head and gently swirl the alcohol the bartender handed to me. " I am never dating again. "

" That's a shame. " Joel takes a sip of his cup, his eyes trained in front of him. " I would've liked to take you out. "

What? My heart pounds.

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. " Aren't you dating Jess? "

Joel's eyes widen as he looks over at me. " Jess? "

I nod slowly. " Yeah, aren't you guys dating? "

Joel shakes his head. " No. We're...we're not dating. We used to for a brief while before we came to Jackson, but things didn't work out. She fell in love with another guy. "

Whoa. I really read that wrong.

" Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea. "

Joel shakes his head. " It's all good. We weren't right for each other. " Joel is silent for a moment. " I'm sorry he treated you like that tonight. "

I shrug. " It's alright. It's what it is. "

" No, it's not. Nobody should be treated like that, especially you. " Joel turns so he's slightly facing me. " Look, I know you're not interested in dating again right now, but if you ever change your mind I'd love to take you out. Show you how a date should really go. "

Butterflies begin to flutter in my stomach. This is like a dream come true.

" I'd love that. " I reply with a grin. " I might have to take you up on that offer. I think I'm just not interested in blind dates anymore. "

A small smile breaks onto Joel's face, a rare sight. " Sounds like a plan then. How does tomorrow night sound? "

" Perfect. "

[kalims]

˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "what are you willing to do? oh tell me what you're willing to do."

I would,

premise. in which it's the things he's willing to do.

parts. one , two

characters. rook, cater, ruggie, lilia, epel and kalim.

contents. scenario, fluff, crack, comfort, teaspoon of angst in lilia,

includes. gender neutral reader, sebek x gn!reader (platonic) in lilia's.

cw. mentions of nudity (not what you think it is I swear)

note. not proofread, but read clarifications please thank you!! it's to clear up general idea's of the scenarios

I know most of lilia's part is sebek but I hope you know the whole point of it

my unofficial 'I am back' post

rook hunt

I would be your number one fan.

who the hell thought it would be a good idea for you to be the main character in the play?

oh wait.

that's right it's freaking vil. the worst part? it's VIL and no matter how much you resent the idea, you can't exactly deny vil all in his glory when he asks you because either way he's gonna strike you down with one look alone.

well at the very least if vil insisted you be the main lead out of... over 300 students in the school he must really be striving for success. if he wasn't he wouldn't be so lenient.

now you get why epel is both terrified and irritated at vil.

you were getting starved! (which is in fact, not true but you swear your stomach is still empty and lonely after one meal full of vegetables) maybe you don't mind veggies, maybe you do. but heck.. you enjoy those delicious, savory food once in a while.

you huff, panting as you kneel over. this was absolute hell. if you knew your character liked to apparently 'test their speed with horses' literally everyday you wouldn't have taken the spot. really though who even enjoys that?!

the play took place in an older era, where high society and such was a thing. typical main lead is outcasted yadda yadda.

you wipe the sweat off your brow and sweatdrop. "bonjour! you look positively sparkling!" a bottle of water is promptly shoved in your face, but even with the sudden intrusion of space you pay it no heed. after all water had never looked so enticing before.

though sparkling? you'd rather use the word 'hot and sweaty'. if anyone was sparkling it'd be rook. "I'm more stinky than sparkling." you can't say you enjoy the feeling of sweat on your skin.

even at your little joke his smile doesn't falter, rather it widens through the crinkle of his eyes. "you are still beautiful in my eyes, trésor"

you raise a brow at his casual compliment.

"I don't see how you'd like me racing with horses." it is rather ungrateful, you'd expect a character like yours to be on the horse, not running alongside it! magically out of nowhere rook pulls out a handkerchief which you gratefully accept.

your nose catches a whiff of the scent. wow, it smells like rook. too bad it's getting sacrificed for the better good. you think, patting down your forehead in the way vil taught you.

cause apparently just dragging it across your skin wasn't as good as patting it. though you won't question the unusual languange.

rook seemed to find your comment humorous as he laughed. "whatever you'll do. I will always admire!" well gods. his smile was contagious cause you found yourself mirroring his look. rook looks pleased with the upturn of your lips.

he catches a hold on your shoulders. "perhaps this is merely stage fright. first time, no? do not fret! I will be cheering for you if it makes you feel better."

your face twists into that of doubt. "um.. rook I love you but that seems.." embarrassing? you'd got your own share of people yelling out your name in a cheer. especially your family at an event you were featured in.

the experience wasn't that nice. it's not that you hate it, but something about it is like a thorn in your mind.

rook tilts his head. "nonsense, trésor. I will show everyone how nice your performance is, they deserve to know!" he proclaims.

oh no no no—

you chant in your head, frantically running around rook and attempting to stop him from giving you an example. just the first shout attracted the attention of your other co-workers.. "ROOK—"

"let them hear the depths of my love!"

ㅤ

cater diamond

I would be present.

cater is observant.

his ability to sway nearly every conversation to his favor is partially due to his ability to pick out the opposing person, be it a nervous twitch when the conversation tilts to a subject. or the gleeful shine in their eyes.

he can tell, especially you.

sure. he might've known you less compared to his friends but it feels like he can tell everything about you.

it does feel like a crush at first, he's questioning himself whether his feelings are actually romantic or not. borderline gaslighting himself that it's not even when he tries everything to impress you.

'you're just a friend' he tells himself but he's testing out the tricks social media told him to. holding eye contact when he can't even contain his heart.. amongst other things it's his favorite.

cause he can see your eyes, and at times you look away. clearly embarrassed by the contact.

"how's my favorite person doing?" cater slides in. seemingly out of nowhere, slinging a casual arm around your shoulder while keeping you close.

seriously. the occurrence had happened to often you had grown to find the little shoulder sling present in your everyday.

technically you are his favorite person but no matter how much he says so you just don't believe it.

you roll your eyes but can't keep the smile off your face, despite the clear look of exhaustion on your face. "just peachy. don't you have class right now?"

as far as you were aware. the time period between classes were alternating. it was the students that had to move between rooms to attend their class.

cater shrugs. "we were excused for club practice. it just ended, so I thought; why not see how you're doing?" he explains. pinching your cheek out of the simple urge and grinning when you grunt and slap his hand away.

as far as he can tell. you are definitely not feeling peachy, the bags under your eyes. more prominent than ever, or the unkempt appearance that both vil and riddle would practically strangle you for speaks volume.

"I'm fine."

cater knows that look all too well.

he tightens his grip on your shoulder and practically pushes you to his side, not really forceful. his eyes soften the littlest bit.

whatever vulnerability cater had shown for a little quickly disappeared as he simply smiles, perhaps less bright than his usual but it was.. something.

closer than you've ever been cater leans in, in a voice you've never heard. it's quiet, and gentle. "well. if you ever aren't come talk to me, okay?"

you still at the sudden warmth that jolts in your heart. "okay.."

ruggie bucchi

I would give you the tastiest piece

"—can you believe it?" ruggie huffs. words coming out in mumbles due to the amount of donuts he'd eaten in a single minute. it seemed that a mouth full of his favorite treats isn't gonna stop him from telling you all about leona's recent orders for him.

you absent-mindedly swirl your drink with a straw. "totally."

it was like, it goes in one ear and out to another. it does feel a little horrible to ignore something someone's talking about, especially if that person is someone you like! the only reason you were listening is cause you liked his voice.

you did get the gist of it though. it seemed like leona was in a bad mood nowadays, which meant ruggie had to take most of it by the increasing amount of errands leona had him run.

leona in a bad mood = ruggie's now more broken sleep.

as the resident ruggie stan you didn’t really mind him leeching off the salary you'd gotten for crowley. a few madol isn't gonna hurt your savings, plus. it's not like you haven't bought a few treats for yourself previously in the past.

you leave out the part that you like seeing his delighted face.

you did sneak a few glances by the plate almost finished by ruggie in a mere few minutes. you, by no means spent cheap money on it. for the guy you liked you'd probably buy anything he'd like (within reason) and then 'fall short' if ace asks you to buy him food.

it looked scrumptious in all honesty but from the look of ruggie's face and the assumption that he won't stop any time soon prompted you to shut your mouth and just enjoy him enjoying the donuts.

"thanks a lot for this. you know just how to cheer up an exhausted hyena up." ruggie laughs under his breath. sending you a rare look of appreciation that has you cracking a smile.

proudly, you nod. "of course. anything for you."

you wince. maybe that was too bold, but then again. it didn't seem to faze ruggie in the slightest.

after a period of silence, not exactly awkward in the slightest but rather comforting. no words needed to be said, you liked that, ruggie liked it as well. he casts you a peek.

"I can see you ogling at it. you look like me when I look at the donuts."

you frown. "no I don't.. I am not, ogling at your food."

ruggie shakes his head but there is a trace of a smile in his face. "I might be eating a lot right now but I can't leave you out of it can I? you gave it to me." ruggie says, pausing to look at you before continuing, "it's our food,"

to seemingly show you that it's 'ours' ruggie takes out the final donut in the plate and hands it to you with a grin. "I saved the best for last, here. open your mouth." he urges, threatening to squash it right in your face if you didn't with fast motions.

you sigh. he's just taunting you at this point. and, as far as you can tell that's his favorite flavor.

"but that's your favorite." you point out but ruggie's grin only seemed to spread across his face wider.

he shakes a finger in your face. "nope. correction, you're my favorite now eat up!"

you were too flustered to rebel against it.

ㅤ

lilia vanrouge

I would love with you

"aren't they simply adorable?" lilia raises one finger to point at the duo that.. didn't really seem all to adorable to you.

you sweatdrop. "uh.. yeah.. totally cute." it's not like you were gonna say outright: those are two men who are battling each other, definitely doesn't look cute to me. more like horrifying. to lilia out of all people! if silver and sebek are anything to him it'd be babies.

he beams.

it's safe to say it positively breaks down your entire body to skip a beat of your heart.

earlier the afternoon lilia had graciously extended an invitation to his dorm. something about bonding and since you're incredibly down bad, of course you wasted no time fretting over yourself as you trudged towards the mirror with barely contained excitement.

while sebek did pick you up (courtesy of lilia) you're sure he knew why you were barely able to keep yourself on your toes, hence surprising why he didn't bother to comment in it.

most probably something about the audacity of humans and defending himself if you pointed it out.

you aren't sure of the details which is admittedly kind of idiotic but did you really care? no.

but did you expect to spend your afternoon quite literally babysitting two grown men with the man you can call your yearning? quite a suprise and one you can't say you welcome.

when you accepted the invitation you didn't spend hours picking out articles of clothing and practically thrashing your wardrobe trying to make a 'casual' outfit that would appease to his eyes just to waste it on.. watching two grown men live their own lives!

frankly it's frustrating. it's endearing that lilia had his family in mind every step of the way but all the more irritating. and you don't even mean the part where he had his family in mind.

you just wish he'd realize they aren't the boys he used to baby before.

after god knows when, you watch lilia enter mother hen mode when silver fell down from his sitting-sleeping position. lilia gently lowering himself to adjust silver's position.

you look down.

and god did you feel awful for invalidating his love for family (kind of) it was too presumptuous of you to assume that you'd ever fit in it anyways.

oh well. you shrug. at the very least you were able to bear witness to it.

call it a sixth sense but you can tell sebek is right beside you. he huffs. "you, are a pitiful human." he says casually. the words are awfully mean, but you sense no particular ill intent from the boy.

instead you find it quite amusing. so you laugh quietly under your breath. "so I've been told." you can't use your fingers to count the amount of times sebek had called you that.

you both just stay like that. in silence, surprisingly no quips from sebek's mouth.

till he turns to you.

"the way you look at fathe—master lilia. you are being a coward by not telling him."

"I'm fine with that, there are things better left unsaid."

sebek stares at you. as in, stares real hard. the kind of look you'd see with someone who was feeling a mixture of confusion and frustration.

he opens his mouth as if to say something.

your own gaze lands on a poorly wrapped bandage around his arm. you raise your brows and gesture, "enough talk about me. what is that?"

great seven.. sebek had hoped you wouldn't see that, even so. he didn't pick you out as someone to care anyways (not that he wanted you to) it's just bizarre in itself.

at the mentioned he grunts and looks away. "it is merely a scratch!" he huffs. looking forward aggressively as if to try and hide away the sweat in his forehead. you roll your eyes.

it is a scratch but also not one? sebek and only noticed the blood down his arm when he was in the restroom. it seemed like silver had managed to nick him.

"sit."

"human! you are not—"

"sit."

sebek grumbles but sits down anyways. once again surprising you with his obliged silence as he waits for you to return with a new roll of bandages. the boy can feel the searing embarassment of getting treated by a human by all things!

"my my, seems like silver did a number on you did he?"

lilia chuckles deeply. sending the boy a look which sets off a fire within. sebek immediately opens his mouth to defend himself, while you. busy yourself with wrapping it around tight, but loose enough not hurt.

"silver is lucky to have done it that's all!"

you laugh.

sebek snaps his gaze to you. "what are you laughing about, human?! your way is that of a parent and I don't appreciated you flocking me." he grits out. possibly not realizing the extent of his words till he spots the look of rare suprise in lilia's face.

his face mirrors yours, but yours is definitely coated with embarrassment.

lilia giggles, a fond glance he gives you sends thousand butterflies in your stomach. "parent eh? I didn't know you yearned for another parent my dear sebek. if you wanted two that can be arranged fufufu.."

arranged?!

ㅤ

epel felmier

I would do the craziest thing with you

while you did have your own fair share of being in trouble plenty of times (a good amount stems from being with ace and deuce) you aren't sure if the potential consequences of this one can top any of them.

you squat outside the window of vil's room, which could be considered a violation of privacy if your intention was to break in this room.

right. your eyes slide to your left. in a similar position, epel sits beside you. hugging his legs to his chest looking oddly innocent for someone whose idea was to do this in the first place.

in hindsight you can call it epel's master plan to get a week with vil off his back.

apparently his master plan included adding paint to vil's shampoo, an atrocious color of bright violet. and yes, you were both on the roof. probably looking creepy as fuck to anyone else but you merely prayed that no one would look up.

"are you sure this is safe?"

"it is."

one peek down there made you question his sincerity, either he wasn't worried about falling off or was just too into waiting for vil to get out the shower.

speaking of, "what if he comes out naked?! I don't wanna see that.." you groan. shivering by the mere thought and even epel grimaced when you mentioned it.

"uh.. I hope he won't..?" so we're basing the possibilities out of your hope? great. you think grimly. you really think this is a bad idea, horrible really. but if it's epel you'll do it.

now I know what the 'in the name of love' shit they were talking about. you deadpan.

the more you stare down the more it seems horrifying to just drop down. epel huffs at you, clearly noticing your frantic eyes. "don't look down." he says, and you do just that. the problem is now you can't stop thinking about it. there isn't even a railing to stop you if you slip.

"what if I fall?"

"I'll catch you."

oh shit.

your heart rate speeds up immediately as you lower your eyes, trying your hardest to act casual.

"... with what your tiny, noodle arms?"

epel's face scrunched up at that. he casts you a glare but you know there's no malice in it whatsoever. it's become normal at this point, picking at each other. (of which you thoroughly enjoy)

he crossed his arms. "it's not—! agh whatever!" epel fumes. smacking your arm playfully as you feign a groan of pain. "my arms are manly and strong!"

you looked at him then at his arm before grinning. epel makes a look of offense.

both of you burst into a fit of giggles right after and you never thought he could look any more beautiful with crinkled eyes and a wide smile on his face.

though the moment of felt joy was hushed upon the shrill scream that definitely belonged to vil. of course, it was manly but nevertheless unable to mask the terror in it.

that was like an omen for punishment and revenge. you cover your mouth and look at epel with wide eyes.

he looks at you as well but you can tell he's holding in the cackles.

in all fairness it wouldn't have been too bad if epel used the shade of purple vil had on the tips of his hair. but this one? it's literally a bright neon that will burn your eyes for life.

you can't give yourself the moment to feel warm at your shoulders bumping, too wrapped into muffling the giggles that would definitely wake up the entirety of pomefiore from their beauty sleep.

you and epel are practically gripping each other for life, shoulders shaking in wheezes. midst that, you both failed to hear the rustle over your heads.

"my my, my ears have not decieved me! I know two love birds singing when I hear it."

"OH MY F—"

the laughing immediately seizes as you both look up at rook hovering over the two of you, donning an amused smile.

you sigh. "oh shit."

ㅤ

kalim al asim

I would give it to you

kalim is by no means rich.

he's loaded.

since the day he was born even his room as a child cost more than the monthly expense of a citizen, toys handcrafted by the most talented, a blanket soft and crocheted with the most expensive of silk.

an entire vault filled with treasures, gems, things made entirely out of gold. at some point he leaves them untouched, swimming in it out of boredom.

even scarabia wasn't exempted from his touch of gold.

you could say he doesn't know how to live other than luxuriously.

it sounds bad. he knows, but for the entirety of his life it's all he's ever known. and kalim isn't really one to break out of a habit that's been going on for so long.

nor does he see any bad in it. out of the goodness of his heart he merely thinks he's rewarding you with the things you deserve.

last week a whole lot of tuna was sent to your dorm. it was definitely the work of grim, and you imagine the little feline brought up your name in a conversation with kalim. the boy didn't have a second thought before he took out the money that didn't make a scratch in his account.

while you would have wondered who sent the shit ton that would last grim a good year it was prominent that it was kalim from the exaggerated words of happiness in the gift card, filled with little doodles. (you assume he couldn't help himself)

you make a mental note to limit the interactions between kalim and grim.

the second time it was purely out of coincidence. a mistake on your part, if you'd like to say.

off handedly you'd mentioned to kalim that if someone were to ever give you something on valentines, you'd rather it be one that's beneficial to you. a practical gift. but since it was the day of expressing love you settled for the classic choice of flowers.

everyone loves flowers!

but you didn't expect to step into the cafeteria with your friends and immediately get slapped by a straw flower that apparently sprouted wings and flew (a joke of course) but you like to think that it had something out for you.

deuce's jaw drops at the amount of wildlife around the wide room. there's flowers everywhere and in the sole center was kalim sheepishly scratching his cheek.

"oops."

you just stared around, gobsmacked and flabbergasted. "what.. in the holy name of—" you trail off.

beside you. ace grimaces, slapping away a flower that fell in slow motion beside his face. then dragging a palm across his face. "all of this and he says.. oops?" he groans.

after picking up his jaw from the floor deuce nods hesitantly. "yeah, isn't this a bit much?"

as flattered you were. it really was.

on one, sunny, hot day you invited kalim for a walk around scarabia. beyond the dorm, away from all the glamorous things.

kalim didn't complain one bit and went along without much fuss, happily even if you might add.

the sun shines down at you harshly. the weather in the desert here sure is unrelenting. you wipe the sweat off your forehead. feeling the crunch of the sand beneath your feet.

the boy isn't too far behind you, taking animatedly as you nod along.

"that reminds me! your birthday is coming up." at that, your eyebrows raise. you still can't keep the heartwarming smile off your face at the mere fact that he knows, and remembers.

you smile at him kindly. kalim flushes at the beam. "where did you hear that from?" you question absent-mindedly enjoying the walk despite the great struggle the heat brought you.

because goddamn was it hot in here!

kalim falls into step beside you. "I asked the grandmaster for it."

more like basically forced. but he doesn't know that.

he continues, "what would you like? anything you want! I'll give it to you." kalim grins. there's no doubt whatever he's saying is nothing but the truth, he has the power to get anything you ask.

you feel embarrassed at the thought that clouds your mind. one word.

you.

at your silence kalim tilts his head. "what's the matter? if you need more time to think it's alright!" he reaches out and clasps your hands together, further flustering you.

you gulp. "I just... I really want you, you and your heart." you slap yourself on the head in your mind cause god did that sound cliche.

you tense at the frozen kalim. only staying still when he breaks into this, love struck, goofy grin and giggles. he all but practically throws himself onto you in a tight embrace.

"you already do!"

ㅤ

clarifications

I've been practically dead but don't blame me I've been stressed & sick fr

after this I'm probably gonna be dead again BYE HOMIES

anyways for cater's part it's him basically being there for mc, like not just present but there.. yknow... idk if you get what I'm saying LOL

so like picture this, you're going thru a hard time and there's a shoulder to lean on which is cater. WHICH I ALSO REALIZED OMG HE DID GAVE US A SHOULDER TO LEAN ON LITERALLY WKAJSKJA

B4 you say lilia's part didn't even include the whole romance thing I just thought it'd be sweet if I incorporated his lil' family in it

so while you might not think it's a lilia x reader it really is, I'm just showing the parts that'll get lilia to love you. especially if you're doting on his babies!!

ngl reader in lilia's... I lowkey thought they were a grandma when I was building their character

'I would love with you' is loosely based off two parents loving their children lmao idk what I'm saying. anyways j hope you spotted it, lilia taking care of silver + you taking care of sebek = loving them (platonically)

draft for epel's was actually like. since rook appeared out of nowhere I wanted reader to be startled and slip off, epel actually saving them just like he said. (with his noodle arms.) you're free to imagine it! but if you do wanna see me write that just hit me up in my inbox and I'll write an alternative scenario 🤫

[frozen-waters]

rewritten ask!! 🪻 eagle flies with a super kind, gentle, and patient gf. [maybe she's a doctor too, but that's up to you. 🤍] she's super easygoing and softspoken, not often saying much but her words radiate wisdom. she and eagle flies likely met through arthur ((who i'd like to imagine went to her and asked for help with tuberculosis due to her wisdom, but then again, she can't even do anything about it 'cause that's just not her thing)). the two hung out more often as she was quite eager to help the wapiti people get their land back. but peacefully. eagle flies liked this about her, and he confessed, now they're dating. woohoo! the thing is, even though she's usually good at convincing people out of dumb ideas, she couldn't convince eagle flies out of war with the united states army. when he gets injured ((killed? nope. that never happened)) after the battle, she's quick to aid him and she's apologizing a whole bunch, "i'm sorry i wasn't here to help you before," "i'm sorry you had to go through this pain," "i'm so sorry it took me so long to get here," etc. she takes care of him until full recovery ((whether doctor or not)). the end. everyone's happy. yippee!

thank u snookums 🤍

ofc ofc love you for this. also i haven't written an x reader in a bit so idk. I’m also not too sure that I wrote this the way you wanted but I tried and I’m also sorry that this took forever 💀

tw : some light gore, needles (mentioned), light angst (not really a tw but I figured I'd put it in), and definitely medical inaccuracies

Always Here (Eagle Flies x F!Reader)

Night set in on the Wapiti Reservation long ago. Some of the warriors who went off to fight at the oil fields had come back, others weren't so lucky. There still hasn't been any sign of Eagle Flies or Paytah yet, making the worry worse in everyone's stomachs. You and the other women have been helping the wounded men as best as any of you could, but with the sobbing of other people around the Reservation and the smell of metallic blood filling the air, it brought time to a crawl. There wasn't much on your mind as you dug bullets out of men, or stitched up their wounds, but when you'd leave them to rest with their wives, you feared for the state Eagle Flies would be found in.

You loved him dearly, you were afraid of him getting himself killed by going to fight the army. Of course you knew how important this was to him and you'd urge him to be as safe as he could but sometimes all you could do was hope he didn't get shot. You tended to his wounds when Charles had returned him from Fort Wallace, he hadn't spoken much, you understood why.

There was commotion outside the tent you were in as you sewed the gash on a man’s bicep back together, people had muttered things about Eagle Flies and your heart sank to your stomach, worry washing over you. You tied off the stitches and patted the man on the shoulder, offering him a smile before you wiped off your hands on your skirts and stood up, exiting the tent. There's a small gathering of people outside of Rains Fall's tent, you stand towards the back and wait for whoever was in their to come out and shed some light on what was happening.

It's another moment or two before Arthur and Charles come out of the tent, they turn and speak to each other for another minute before they hug, Arthur turns to leave. You glance at Charles before you follow Arthur.

"Arthur," You call to him. He stops in front of his horse and turns to face you. "What happened? Is Eagle Flies- is he-?"

"He's alive, don't worry." He takes a step closer to you and your shoulders relax. "Looks like you've been busy." He gestures loosely to your bloodied clothes, you hum in response and clasp your hands together in front of you, looking back at Rains Fall's tent, everyone had dispersed and began to pack the little belongings they had. "Charles says it's best if the Wapiti get outta here."

"What about you?" You turn to him again.

"Guess I'll just go back to doin' what I've always done."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, go help Eagle Flies." He waves towards the tent and turns to mount his horse. You had known since Arthur first came to you that there'd be no way for his tuberculosis to die down, but it hurt seeing him get sicker, even if you hadn't known him before he had gotten so bad.

"Goodbye, Arthur." You take a few steps back as he maneuvers his horse back onto the path.

"So long, miss." Arthur tips his hat to you and rides out of the Reservation. You turn and head to Rains Fall's tent, Eagle Flies is laying on a bedroll inside, his father kneeling next to him. You sit next to Rains Fall, Eagle Flies eyes are closed, but his chest moves up and down as he breathes, his breathing slightly labored. You place your hand on the nape of his neck and run it down his shoulder. Rains Fall doesn't speak to you, he only looks at his son as he waits for him to say something. You look at the bullet wound on his abdomen and sigh.

"I will stay." Rains Fall says to you, his voice hoarse.

"I wasn't going to ask you to leave." He looks at you for a moment before he slides over a little, you move into the spot he was in previously. Eagle Flies eyes open slightly when you place a hand on his stomach, he sits up a tiny bit only for his father to place his hand on his shoulder and push him back down.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there earlier to help you." You say to Eagle Flies, your voice breaking slightly. He looks at you, slightly confused, but still with that tiredness and hurt in his eyes.

"Do not apologize," He mutters as he watches you grab for the tweezers you had tied around your hip.

"I... this will hurt." You tell both him and Rains Fall. Another woman had let herself into the tent with whiskey and bandages, you watch her as she sets them on the ground next to you and mutter a small, "Thank you" to her, she looks to you for a second and nods before she leaves. Eagle Flies clenches his jaw as you start digging around in his wound for the bullet, his grunts are muffled by his mouth, tears prick at your eyes as you watch more blood spill from the wound. There’s a horrible squelching sound that you’ve heard before, Eagle Flies lifts his hand and grabs your wrist as you finally find the bullet and begin to pull it out.

“I know, I know.” You tried to soothe him, he hisses through his teeth, his grip only tightening. “I’m almost done, okay? You’ll be alright, just- I just…” You trailed off, blinking away the tears threatening to spill out of your eyes. You looked to Rains Fall, you’d never seen him so pined without being the one who’s hurt. You ripped your hand away from Eagle Flies, he winced as you tore the bullet out of his body, you covered his open wound with your hands and pressed down on it. He groaned and gripped at the fabric of your shirt, trying to push you off of him.

You take the bottle of whiskey and move your hands away from him as you pour the liquid into his wound, he squirms as it bubbles up and stings at the bullet hole.

"I'm almost done, it wont hurt too much more in a few seconds." You un-tuck your shirt and wipe away the blood and spilt whiskey. You poke at his wound slightly, trying to feel how deep it went, if the bullet had been any deeper, he would've needed stitches. "Can you sit up?"

Eagle Flies nods slightly in response, Rains Fall helps his son sit up and you move to sit behind Eagle Flies. Rains Fall watches you as you wrap the bandages tightly around his son's abdomen.

"The worst parts over." You tell them both. Eagle Flies leans back against your chest and sighs. "You were very lucky."

"I know. Thank you." Eagle Flies knocks his head against yours gently and you smile.

"I'm sorry about the pain."

"I can handle it."

"I know." It's silent between the three of you for a few moments as you and Rains Fall listen to Eagle Flies breathe.

-- -- --

The sun will rise in a few hours. Everyone left the Reservation not too long ago, now traveling in wagons and on horseback as you head south to avoid Fort Wallace and the oil fields.

Eagle Flies has been in-and-out of sleep since he got loaded into one of the wagons with you, whereas you've gotten no sleep at all, too keen on watching him and waiting for anymore signs of discomfort. But as Eagle Flies lies awake now, on his back and looking up at the stars, he shifts his body to face you slightly.

"I'm happy you were here tonight." He whispers, voice a little gruff. You lay on your side and tuck your hands under your head.

"Me too," Eagle Flies scans over your face before he takes one of your still bloody hands into his own, you squeeze his hand slightly and scoot closer to him. "You should be better in a few months."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"Well, you should be."

"I have no reason not to believe you when you tell me I'm going to be alright." You smile at him.

"Just don't get yourself hurt again somehow while you're still healing."

"I won't."

"Good." You and Eagle Flies stare at each other for a few more seconds before you move so that you're fully next to him, you wrap your arm under his ribs and around his back, careful not to hit his bullet wound, he chuckles softly and rests his head against your shoulder, wrapping a hand around your waist. The wood of the wagon is uncomfortable to sleep on even with a bedroll, but neither of you complain as you wrap yourselves around each other.

[frogwiththephatahh]

Ranking All Act 1 Songs in Epic: The Musical

Disclaimer: I like all the songs! I just like some more than others. The ones with low rankings are not at all bad! Furthermore this is a personal opinion so please don't be mad at me if we disagree about placing! (also rb with your own rankings I want to compare it'll be fun)

20. There Are other Ways- I just never really got into this one. It didn't stand out to me like the other songs in its saga did. I do love how it shows us just how dedicated Ody is to Penelope, though. It's sort of a light foreshadowing of just what he'll give up for her.

19. Storm- Love singing along with the crew, but it doesn't appeal to me as much as others.

18. Full Speed Ahead- A great introduction to the main crew members, showing their priorities and personalities. But there are better crew songs.

17. Polyphemus- I was holding my breath during this entire song. Great! And that final line at the end makes my heart sink every time. But not as striking as others in Cyclops.

16. Warrior Of The Mind- First heard this song on tiktok, like most people. It's great, but at this point it's overplayed.

15. My Goodbye- A step up from WotM for me. Not much to say about it though.

14. Remember Them- Heartfelt and shows just how clever Odysseus is. Well, up until he doxxed himself.

13. Puppeteer- The beginning cord is so moving. Otherwise it's a great introduction to Circe.

12. Luck Runs Out- The emotion in Armando's performances never ceases to amaze me. Every one of Eurylochus' songs have so much raw emotion poured into them.

11. The Horse And The Infant- An excellent introduction to our starting point. The duet between Zeus and Odysseus at the end is an ear worm.

10. Open Arms- A proper introduction to Polites, and one that made me shudder when The Cave was mentioned. It's such an uplifting song that sets a more hopeful tone, only for it to be ripped away in the next saga.

9. Survive- Impossible not to sing along with. And Polites' rasping "captain...?" as he dies? And Polyphemus twisting Odysseus' words at the end? Literally life changing. People died.

8. Wouldn't You Like- Ngl this one is only this high because Hermes is one of my fav greek gods (and one of my patrons) Also it's so catchy.

7. Done For- So good I started boarding an animation (I haven't animated in ten years)

6. The Underworld- Absolutely the best crew song! I tear up at Anticlea's part every time. Devastating.

5. Keep Your Friends Close- So catchy! I like to drum along to the beat. I wish Aeolus was in more than one song though...her voice is lovely.

4. Ruthlessness- First song I heard from the Ocean saga and what got me into Epic full swing. The animatics people make for this one are insanely good. And as an avid hater of Poseidon, this song made me adore him.

3. Just A Man- It's the song almost everyone knows this musical from because of tiktok. And there's a reason! It's a good ass song. Especially the ending.

2. Monster- Actually shudders! Omg this one is so good. And it's a huge turning point for the entire show. Which makes sense since it's the final song in the first act. The last part ESPECIALLY is an ear worm.

No Longer You- A WALTZ? WITH TIRESIAS? Actually brilliant. I always imagine souls in the underworld dancing around Tiresias and Odysseus to form a wall of blue fire trapping them together. Cannot help but sing along to it. So catchy, so good, so moving.

[juustozzi]

@thepinksky18 hello, and thank you sm!! <3 I hope it's okay to reply like this, I got kinda carried away with reference images..! I can try to share some things that help me with my art, hopefully they'll be of some help for you too!

when I do group pics like this, the thing I focus on the most is how everything looks and feels together! details and stuff can wait for later, first is to figure out that the overall picture works, and the characters are in balance with each other!

I'll use the Tenma horse pic you replied to as an example, will be continued under read more!

here's the sketches for the art! the very first sketch is very simple and blocky (I usually use a thick brush) to just settle everything in place and see how it all works out. the second sketch is more detailed and sometimes deviates from the first sketch a lot, if something seems to work better some other way.

depending on the complexity of the finished art, I do just these two sketches or add one more even detailed one, but the last sketch before lineart is the one I tweak the most! usually I draw characters on different layers so it's easy to select them separately and resize, fix proportions or positions, etc. to make the big picture look good to you!

here's the lineart (which could also be the 3rd sketch) compared to the previous layer. now I'm adding more details, but I still keep fixing the overall image - you can see how the lineart doesn't quite match the sketch in places: hikaru is shorter, the position of aoi's feet and tenma's hind legs are different, etc. some people like to do a very detailed sketch and practically trace their lineart over it, and if that's what feels good for you, go for it! I'm the kind to just throw lines over vague sketch and call it a day, especially with more simple drawings like this :,)

there's good tutorials and studies on bodies and proportions online already so I'm not going to even try to speak about those, but I got a few tips! I tend to do them in my mind nowadays, but I tried to draw them out for easier visualization!

I mentioned earlier how for me the main thing is that everything's balanced, right? that also inclues characters and their proportions. I think that in group pics it's more important the characters work out together, not so much if their insividual proportions are perfect. especially if there's notable differences between them - height, bulk, lenght of limbs, and so on! a few pixels here and there don't matter in the overall image, but for example with Shinsuke who is Tiny, it's important for me to really make him smaller than others.

my most used tool is a scale chart! it helps to visualize the proportions for the characters, even when they're piled up like in the example doodle, or otherwise not in a neat row on the horizon line. (again, separate layers help you tweak them individually if needed! there's no need to get them right on the first try, especially when drawing digitally when there's layers.)

if your drawing eye hasn't gotten used to proportions, the chart can also be used to make a neat little ruler to check your sketch! the rulers over the sketch are all same size, just moved around; tsurugi and shinsuke fit in pretty well, and while Tenma's torso is a little long (even when taking into accound he's a little bent from waist, which makes him even taller when straightened out), it's not by much and it wouldn't bother my eye.

and while I myself sometimes tend to be a slave for the references and get gray hair over minor details, or of some part of the anatomy is off and I can't fix it the way I want, the overall feeling and style mean a lot more! I think it's important to put some thought into the proportions especially if you feel like wanting to make progress with your art, but if it's getting too stressful or draining the joy of drawing out of you, then screw it and just have fun! (I say this as someone who has learned not from studying anatomy and stuff, but instead just. has drawn a shitton and had fun while at it. I think getting comfortable with just creating is the bigges step you can take!)

...oops, sorry if this got too long or off the rails! and yeah hopefully you (and anyone else reading all this) got something out of it!

[lucianinsanity]

My Epic: The Musicals thoughts, after listening to every song in repeat for days now:

The horse and The infant:

Odysseus calling his men "my brothers", this is important

"Slaaay~"

God let me fight too

Penelope part keeps killing me, Telemachus 😭, the feelings, the fact that he also responds with their names when they are talking about why they keep fighting

Fighting noises ☺️

Zeus you bitch

The first "I don't think you're ready" is said without context, but the second one is a response to Odysseus saying he is ready (he wasn't btw)

The fact that he says "The Gods will let him know" and "This is the will of The Gods", like, leave him alone 😭

Just a Man:

Evil to start saying the baby reminds him of his own son

He is so against this I swear

First few "I'm just a Man" he wants so bad to justify not doing it

Ugh

People already said it but the double meaning, asking when the baby would become someone who destroys his life, and asking if he becomes a monster if he kills the baby

I always thought the first line sounded like "please" and then two "forgive me" but it seems to be three "forgive me" instead, which is not bad, I'm just bad at hearing stuff

The high notes, leave me alone dude

The last "I'm just a Man", justifying his actions instead of his inaction

Full Speed Ahead:

"Six hundred man!" I'm so sorry

"Full speed ahead" sounds so sweet and hopeful

Eurylochus's name being chanted by the men and Polites only being mentioned by Odysseus, something about the men having their trust in the people they mention or whatever, I don't know, the fact that Polites name is much closer to Odysseus because he is the one that says it

He is so hopeful, Polites I'm so sorry

Odysseus is suspicious, but still hopeful

Open Arms:

I'm not the biggest fan of this one, sounds too happy, which is the point but I don't know, sorry Polites

He is trying so hard to make Odysseus feel better, man he just killed a baby 😭

Some of the voices of the Lotus Eaters are low, this is important to me for no reason (the lyrics in Spanish call them Lotófagos, I love that)

Odysseus common, this people are being so nice

Delayed "scary cave" ugh

His voice is so high

"there's so much guilt inside your heart" oh Polites, I wish he could relax, he has Six Hundred Men to feed 😔

Warrior of the mind:

Athena please

This song starts slower than in the middle, I like those parts better just because of the change of pace, she's so serious

"Let me remind you" with so much authority

That change with "Maybe one day he'll follow me" is weird to my brain

Back to slow with Odysseus

Someone mentioned that Athena could just be encouraging Odysseus and not actually falling for the bluff, which makes sense, she's The goddess of Wisdom

Odysseus little laugh, oh that's not something that we hear often

"Athena!" Choir

"Okay 😔"

Also Athena singing one way and then adopting the way Odysseus sings "mind" showing she's also learning from him and even keeps singing that way when is only her voice

They are "we" 🥺

"Don't disappoint me"

Also, in Spanish is Atenea, which makes it really difficult to only call her Athena, give her more letters

Polyphemus

Entering someone house leading with an arrow, always a good idea (sarcasm)

Odysseus being suspicious and being right again

"Hey there!" Baby no

Oh dang, I never understood the lines of the beginning of Polyphemus singing, there are so good, drinking their blood, man I love him

Odysseus singing in this one is so nice, I keep repeating that part "There's been a misunderstanding!" I love you dude

The drums 🥺

The "nobody" is so nice to my ears

Bad deal

Survive:

I have bad news, title of the song

Chanting of names, important

"My brothers" he trusts them so much, he knows this men, he knows how to talk to them

They are alone, the rest didn't know ☹️

"And when we kill him then our journey's over" ☹️ and all the lines after that

Solid strategy

"It's just one life to take" makes me a little sick

Oh the fucking build up

They didn't take that into consideration

Oh the fact that they ask him for instructions since he always led them to success and he is frozen in place, he doesn't sing, he doesn't talk, please why?

"then my pain is over" is so sad if you think about it for too long

Remember them:

The fact that it starts with the voice of Eurylochus sounding so far away like Odysseus is just now coming back to reality

He sounds so so sad and out of it

And yet he still tries to lead them and save them, he sounds like he is chocking a little bit and the words are hard

There's no proper burial, their souls are doomed

He is also so angry

Oh I hate eye stuff, less favorite part

They just start running out of there, poor things

"There are more of them?" With fear, and Odysseus just waits, he knows what's coming

"Don't go!" Is also so sad

Athena please, she's right but Odysseus is feeling so guilty and bad about this whole shit

Dumbass

My goodbye:

I love this one

They are both heartbroken about this, Athena in a different way

She was expecting better of "just a man"

Odysseus, arguing with a god, good job dude

They hurt each other, Athena is right, again, but bad moment to do all this

Right before going into the ocean too, good job, both of you

Storm

One of my favorites

It feels exactly how it should, stormy

"This storm's our final fight" ... First half of the first half of the story

Brace for a storm

STORM!

"Full speed ahead" this time with more authority, they are fighting now

Eurylochus you are not helping with that attitude 😔

Odysseus is so confident, or maybe too hopeful, he is not thinking too well either, probably

And then they did what he said

Luck runs out:

I always forget this one exist 🤦

"we don't know for sure" what do you mean? Really, what else could be in THE ISLANDS FLOATING ABOVE YOUR HEAD? The god of cheese?

Good plan, Odysseus 🤦

The show already went south baby

Do you, Odysseus? Or are you just sad?

Common he literally led you to victory so many times, have a little faith in the man

Again, the men are chanting what Eurylochus says, he is also a man they trust

Keep your friends close:

He is taking the "greet the world with open arms" way too far

Oh no Odysseus

The choir it's not making this easy for him

They just went behind his back spreading that it was treasure, like, why would he keep a treasure anyways?

Nine days keeping that damn bag closed ☹️

"Time for me to be the father I never was" 😔

"Just keep your eyes open" oh no Odysseus

Stoooorm!

Again, Eurylochus, just help the man

Oh no, Odysseus

Ruthlessness:

If you had doubts about who this was there's a choir singing his name in the first few seconds

He was being very gracious with them

"No" = I fucked up so bad right now

The "false righteousness" is a very sad line, because he thought so bad that he was doing the right thing so many times

He already sounds fake as fuck when asking Odysseus to apologize, knowing he wasn't going to actually do it because Odysseus doesn't feel bad about what he did

The men screaming "Captain!" Took me long to notice (again, bad ears) and it's so heartbreaking

43 ☹️

With the lines from Just a Man and Remember Them coming back to kick this man ass

Puppeteer:

No rest for this guy, his second in command is doubting him, his men get trapped for trusting some random woman, he just lost so many of them

Circe sounds so nice

She's so nice

"All the power" 🥰

Odysseus is going to save the man that just sent him away from his home

He has to try

Wouldn't you like:

Number 1 song

I'm already bisexual, man (I'm aroace)

I don't have a lot to say, I love this song

Why does he do that with his voice?

His laugh 🥺

Twice the voice for him

"Don't thank me friend, you very well may die" 🥰

Done for:

He is so silly in this one

He has the help of one (1) god and he is another person

Circe doesn't like him at all

They are both trying to protect their people

Baby don't be like that, he is so damn confident and Circe is not having it

Their voices are good together

I mean she's right on not trusting people, and Odysseus did just get there with the intention to fight

"I'm not sure I follow" ndksksksksksk

There are other ways:

This one is sad

She is immediately on control of this situation, she's repeating lines from Puppeteer, she is making him into a pig (metaphorically)

"Don't break when" sounds a little rougher

"I'm just a man" oh no Odysseus, followed by the "Forgive me" SHUT UP, it's so fucking sad

Her voice when she repeats "when there's no puppet here"

"I miss my wife, Tails, I miss her a lot"

He won, and now he's begin 😭

She's so silly

I mean, she could have meant she was going to kill him, but that way seems a lot worse ☺️

High notes 🥺

The men coming back

The Underworld:

Also on the favorite list

The "good" of Odysseus is low, he was betrayed by them before, he needs them to do what he says this time, fuck

"All I hear are screams" 😭

You think they are seeing different things?

Shut up, "just a man" coming back

558

"Captain!" ☹️

Stop, the baby

"This life is amazing" ☹️

🙂

"Waiting..." Why do you hurt me like this?

"ALL I HEAR ARE SCREAMS" Yours?

No longer you:

I don't know if saying this one is one of my favorites helps anyone understand my taste

Odysseus you are smart, please

The prophet sounds so sad

"A man who is haunting, a man with a trail of bodies" is a heartbreaking description

Ah, prophesies, they always have a twist, sad stuff in them

Monster:

To "I'm just a man" to "I'll become the monster" with this simple trick

The people he mentions are weird, monsters and gods don't think in the same way as people who are protecting their friends and family, but whatever you say

I don't think he knows what balance is

The fact that Telemachus fits in the songs so well

Well, enough, that's it for now

[its-vannah]

Midnight Rain | Jacaerys Velaryon x Reader

A/N: Y'all have no idea how happy I am to finally release this chapter. Although this series is a crossover between Jace x Reader one-shots and Midnights, this one adds in a classic fairytale spin, as it's based off of Sleeping Beauty (the Disney version, we don't condone the original). I hope you guys enjoy reading this one as much as I loved writing it.

Warnings: Mentions of death, fighting, violence

Midnights Masterlist

Just what we wanted, just what we wanted

Everything had gone to plan. You were tucked away in one of the far eastern towers in Asterthal, forever at rest while your palace was in shambles.

My town was a wasteland

Homes had been burned, the palace ransacked, bodies were left littering the ground.

Full of cages, full of fences

Sites that had once attracted outsiders were now unrecognizable, reduced to ashes. Those who had survived the attack were kept inside cells beneath the palace, waiting for their executions.

And the life I gave away

If you had been awake to see your people now, you would've been devastated. But after one of your friends, who had been working as a spy for the Queen, slipped you a sleeping concoction, you were unable to escape slumber.

But for some, it was paradise

But the Queen was delighted to hear of your capture. The alliance between the eldest Velaryon-Targaryen son, Jacaerys, and the House of Asterthal's eldest daughter would have been unstoppable.

I wanted that pain

She had ordered your execution, but been advised to put you to rest rather than death. Anything more and she'd be tried for treason against a noble house.

Chasing that fame

So, Queen Allicent sat beside the Iron Throne, a goblet of wine in her hand as she toasted to her recent victory. Long live the Queen.

-------------------------------

When the news reached Jacaerys that the House of Asterthal had been attacked, his heart dropped. He feared that it was too late, that your life had already been taken.

All of me changed

But when it was revealed that you were alive, he immediately sought out his mother, searching every hall to find her.

Once he spotted her in her chambers, he fell to his knees before her.

Rhanerya looked down at her soon, concern in her eyes, "I'm afraid you've heard?"

My boy was a montage

"She's alive," He managed to blurt out, clasping his hands together, "Mother, please, I must find her."

She hesitated, "Jacaerys, it could be far too dangerous for you to go to her aid. We must think this through."

"I love her, mother. I wish to marry her," He said between bated breaths, "She's everything I ever wanted—everything I needed."

Rhaenyra bowed her head, thinking back to when she lost the man she loved, "My son, do you understand the dangers you will face on your journey?"

Jace nodded, "I understand and accept the challenges I will face."

"Then you have my support," She said, pulling him into a hug, pressing a kiss to his temple, "I love you, my son, come back to me."

Picture perfect, shiny family

"I will," He promised, before pulling away, "And I'll return with her."

On the ride to Asterthal, memories plagued Jace's mind of when you had met. At the time, he had no idea that you were the woman he was supposed to wed. You were simply a girl taking a stroll through the forest.

"Are you alone?" Jace had asked, pulling his horse on a lead behind him, "It isn't safe out here."

But you merely smiled, "I've been living here my whole life, I understand the dangers."

"You live in the woods?"

Nodding, you continued walking, "My family lives in a cabin farther up the hill. It isn't too bad, really. Just farther away from the town."

'Cause he was sunshine

"Do you need a ride back? The sun is about to set."

Shaking your head, you turned back to face him. It was only then that your beauty struck him. You were gentle, steady, but he knew that there was a fire that lay inside you.

I broke his heart 'cause he was nice

"I was told to never trust a stranger," You replied, "But I thank you for your kindness."

"Then let us not be strangers," He bowed, "Prince Jacaerys Velaryon."

Shocked, you immediately curtsied, "I'm sorry, my prince. I didn't know—please accept my apologies. I hadn't known you were to be in Asterthal."

"It's to discuss arrangements between me and the princess."

He wanted a bride

You tilted your head, "The princess? Why, she's been locked away for years. Since she was a babe. Only when the time is right will she be able to wed."

He sighed, "I'm hoping the time is now. We need Asterthal's support now more than ever, with everything going on."

"Then, I wish you luck, my prince."

"I'll gladly accept it, if you allow me to escort you home. I don't feel right allowing a lady like yourself to go on alone," He said.

You hesitated, unsure, "I wouldn't want to impose upon you."

"It would be my pleasure," Jace said, a reassuring smile on his face, "The Prince's orders."

All of me changed like midnight

You returned his smile, "Then I'll gladly accept your offer."

"It's Y/N," You breathed, "My name, it's Y/N."

He walked beside you up the hill towards your cabin, leading his horse behind him. The two of you talked about everything: your upbringings, ability to relish in the peace and silence of the woods, and even shared stories of yourselves that no one had seen. It was refreshing. But then you arrived at your cottage, and your shoulders suddenly dropped.

"I suppose this is goodbye, my prince."

All the love we unravel

Jace sighed, bowing his head, "I look forward to meeting you again, Lady Y/N."

He was sunshine, I was midnight rain

Drowning, you shook your head, "I'm not sure that's a good idea, my prince. You're betrothed. It wouldn't be becoming of us to see one another again."

He paused for a moment, "I nearly forgot."

You reached out to grab his hand, giving it a small squeeze, "As did I. But there's a stark difference between the world's we're used to. I'm not sure it would be wise for this to continue. I apologize, my prince."

He wanted it comfortable

"It's I who should be apologizing, my Lady," Jace said, "I've become comforted by your presence in this short period of time. I bid you farewell."

With that, pain heavy in his chest, he pressed a kiss to your hand, walking away with a heavy heart.

"I was comfortable, too," You muttered, leaning against the doorframe.

Now, riding on his dragon to Asterthal, Jace couldn't help but smile. From the moment he met you, he knew you were going to have a big meaning in his life.

A slow-motion, love potion

But until he had spoken with the Lord and Lady of Asterthal, he hadn't known that their daughter, Y/N, had been hidden away in a nearby forest. As soon as he heard your name, his heart swelled. He had known it then, and he knew it now: you were the love of his life.

-------------------------------

Dismounting his dragon, Jacaerys fought his way through the knights guarding the entrance to your chambers, his sword impaling and beheading several men who came his way.

Their swords had been held high, but their skill was no match for the young prince and his dragon.

Finally reaching your chamber, he threw the doors open, panting.

Throwing his sword down beside him, Jace kneeled down beside your bed.

Pressing two fingers to the side of your neck, he felt a steady pulse.

Reaching into his satchel and removing an antidote, he held the vile firmly in his hands as he twisted the cork off.

Pressing a kiss to your forehead, he opened your lips and poured the liquid down your throat.

A deep portal, time travel

Waiting for a sign to show that you were awake, it took a few minutes before you stirred, groaning in your sleep.

Your body had to have been sore from the position you had been in the past few days. So when you opened your eyes, meeting Jace's gaze, it didn't take you long to lurch forward, grabbing his collar and pulling him towards you.

Lips moving against each other, you held him close to you until you were both so out of breath that you couldn't help but pull away.

Except on midnights like this (midnights like this)

Resting against your forehead, Jace smiled, "I knew it was you.

[grizzersmamma]

Hi I love your Nikto fic! Can you tell us what a zmei is though? I've never heard of one before

That is a most excellent question, anon!

Not too many people seem to know what a Zmei is, but that's understandable, it's a bit of a more niche legend. Obviously, if you don't want any details spoiled for the fic at all then you're more than welcome to skip this ask, but it'll be a while before it's fully explained in the main story. Honestly, it's not much of a spoiler since I've already touched on it a bit in some of the baby fics.

I'll be mentioning some concepts and characters from @ghouljams (obviously lol) so head up for that!

To begin, Nikto isn't a fae himself, despite this being the fae AU. I looked at different types of fae and faeries found in Russia and the surrounding areas, but nothing really jumped out at me until I came across the legend of the Zmei.

In Russian mythology, the Zmei is a three headed hydra who typically features as dangerous, malevolent creature, intent on tricking and killing humans. There's multiple stories that have the Zmei as the antagonist and stories vary about his exact appearance, but it's typically a large, black, three headed hydra - sometimes he can breathe fire, sometimes lightning - and can vary in size from a large horse to a mountain.

As mentioned by Ghoul in one of their asks, dragons and their kin were probably a thing in the past, but have since died off because of how difficult it would be for them to hide among humans. However! An important part of the Zmei legend, is that he can change his form from a hydra to a human accompanied by a black dog, a raven/crow, and a large black stallion.

In my version, the animals are extensions of Nikto himself. Each of the three heads are all Nikto, just different parts of his mind, which I found fitting given his potential DID. When in a human form, these animals are just those other parts of his mind. The human is Nikto, the dog is Nikto, the crow is Nikto and the horse is Nikto.

Since Zmei is capable of becoming human, the lack of other dragons/wyverns/hydras in the world doesn't prevent him from reproducing, hence how Nikto was born: his sire was Zmei and his dam a young Russian woman. Hence the title of the fic, Son of Zmei.

Their human forms aren't perfect - Nikto has some black scales on most of his body, including his face, which is why he prefers to wear a mask and clothes that cover every inch of his body. He's inherited the same ego and sense of superiority that most hydras have, along with a highly possessive and obsessive nature. He collects anything and everything that he finds interesting and, recently, he's found his attention drawn to the cute human running the antiques store.

The Zmei is actually the main inspiration for the design of King Ghidorah from Godzilla! So, just think of that bad boy and you'll get an idea of what Nikto looks like in his proper form.

Hope that answers some of your questions!

[flatbstanley]

Wednesday, 9:13 am - Office of Fr. Benedict Crane

Fr. Crane: Good to see you, Justin. And this must be the acquaintance you mentioned on the phone?

Justin: Yes, this is Claire Newton.

Fr. Crane: A pleasure, Miss Newton. Why don't you both have a seat.

Fr. Crane: I was sorry to hear that Taylor demanded a divorce from you. I'll never understand why people feel the need to leave a good partner and to break the sacred bond of marriage.

Justin: Yes indeed, Father. And on top of that, she wants to take my kids from me, and I'm hoping you can help me with that.

Fr. Crane: I did find your phone call rather confusing. Could you explain again what you need from me?

Justin: That leftist social worker appointed by the judge said that my kids couldn't be with me - not even just for the weekend - because my house wasn't big enough. Can you imagine?

Claire: Real estate is getting expensive in Chestnut Ridge, Father. It's hard to afford a big house unless you, um, well...

Justin: But Claire's house has a room with plenty of extra beds. If we did weekends at her place instead of mine, the social worker would be just fine with it.

Justin: I know what this might look like, Father, and that's why I wanted to talk it over with you. I don't want to lead Claire into the near occasion of sin, and I certainly don't want to make others think we aren't living a Christian life. But I take my responsibilities as a father very seriously, and if this gives me a way to make sure my children are trained properly in the Faith, isn't that the most important thing?

Claire: And I'm happy to help Justin out. As a friend, of course.

Fr. Crane: Ah, I understand. Yes, you were right to be concerned about how this might appear to others. But I agree with you, Justin, that upholding your duty to your children is paramount. Particularly when we consider the training they'll otherwise be receiving from their mother. I take it the two of you will sleep in separate rooms?

Justin: Of course, Father.

Fr. Crane: Well, that settles that. I would simply love to take more time to chat with you, but I do have another appointment coming up.

Fr. Crane: Before you leave, Miss Newton, I must say that your dress is simply lovely. Recently I've felt increasingly convicted that skirts are the only proper attire for a Catholic woman.

Claire: Really? I mean, I don't mind them when I'm doing stuff like this, but I've got a horse at home. I couldn't ride or take care of her if I had to wear skirts all the time.

Fr. Crane: Well. Something to think about, at any rate. Have a lovely day, and God bless you.

[catboymoments]

can I just say something, I know we're talking more about TOH lol but Izazel has to be my favourite TOT character. I was in a similar situation to him as he was with Alois, and I'm still trying to tell myself it wasn't my fault. I'm also a trans man like him, and I see him a lot as someone I wish I could look like if it was up to me lmao. not to mention my ex very much saw himself as straight despite me being trans and only saw me as "female", though I don't think that's an element in Izazel's story lmao. but regardless, thank you so much for writing a character like him who is flawed and has a temper yet deserves to heal and recover from what Alois did to him. sorry this is a mess lol but basically 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

GWAAAA THANK YOU SM!!!!!!!!! This ask kind of put an image in my brain so I went ahead and drew it- keep in mind that he’s in the trenches of being manipulated here so I hope it’s not too angsty- but the fact that he’s able to heal and grow and you are too is what’s important. I like writing characters that many people can relate to!!

My thoughts for the Therugy Regime’s faith magic is that since their beliefs are both self serving and destructive, it creates an incredibly powerful yet dangerous and painful flesh manipulation magic (think like parasyte or Tokyo ghoul??)

Alois is really able to worm his way into his brain but he can and will get out sooner rather than later- I don’t wanna prolong his agony or beat a dead horse when it comes to his trauma (ala owl house s3e1)