#one shot: henrik

[justtuesdays]

one-shot: henrik

One-Shot | Link to AO3

aka To the Ends of the Earth

It's been years since Henrik last saw Arel, but he's sure he knows the girl from his childhood like the back of his hand. He'd follow her anywhere— he just hopes she'd let him.

— for @whatisreggieshortfor (hbd!)

[glsneeg-enthusiast]

i promise please 🙏

[docheros]

One last time.

communication issues let's goo

I FORGOT THE TAGLIST: @the-pastel-kitsune @glass-trash-bab @dapperstein @inky-scientist @uhhbeans

==================

— Jackie, it's just... All my life I've been following rules, patterns, setting my life on one thing, and... and being with you is amazing! But... — he cleared his throat — living with you would be so uncertain, and what I have, even if boring, is...

— Tell me you don't love me.

Henrik stopped, slowly raising his head and lowering his hands. The green eyes he met were glowing with sadness, anger, love.

Love.

— ...huh?

— As long as you keep saying you love me, I'll be here. And that's clearly not what you want — he looked down, his voice out of breath — just tell me you don't love me. And I'll go.

— Jackie, I... — he got closer, trying to hold his hands, unsuccessful — you know I can't do this. Don't you understand?

— No yeah yeah, I understand. It's just that I have never let people enter my life so easily, it's hard, you know? To trust people. But now I'm standing wITH MY ONLY FRIEND IN THE WORLD — he pointed to his necklace, where Marvin stayed while JBM was out — IN FRONT OF THE MAN I LOVE, AND... and... fuck!

Those blue eyes. Damn blue eyes. Shivering in fear of his sudden yelling, reflecting the soft moon light, which was standing high, watching them on the porch.

— Henrik, I won't do anything until you give me an answer — his voice grew softer with each word and, despite his mind demanding him to stop, he couldn't help but hold his face — do you want me to stay?

How could he be so lovingly, yet so cruel. To treat him like a prince, offer him amazing nights, be understanding of his boundaries and habits, and still ask such thing. To be so incomprehensible all of sudden.

And there he was. Stroking his beard, pressing their foreheads together; one foot inside the room, the other outside.

Fucking metaphor.

— Jackie... — he gasped. That green ocean, staring so intensly, could drown him any second — You... I...

He fell silent.

And then, there were lips crushing together and tongues desperately exploring each other.

God damn it, a kiss this hungry wasn't what Jackie needed right now, but fuck it, did it feel good. To feel Henrik's arms around his neck, squeezing it, trying to minimize a non-existent distance; hug his waist thight while they devoured each other so violently, the well-known mint taste invading his mouth. As always.

As he always did.

As he always fell for Henrik. Like if he was a drug.

And Jackie was afraid he wouldn't be able to recover from this addiction.

— I hate you — he whispered against his mouth, entering the room and pushing him to bed — you always do this to me. I always do this to me. God, I hate myself.

— Jackie... Jackie, I... — he gasped when the hero bit his shoulder, hard enough to make it bleed.

— Shut the fuck up, ok? For once — he sighed, laying him on bed and getting on top of him — just pretend you love me one more night.

And he fell for Henrik.

One last time.

[bellaxgiornata]

Half of Forever [One]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x fem!Reader Word Count: 1.9k [Series Masterlist]

Warnings/tags: break up, pining, idiots in love, angst with a happy ending

Summary: Everything had always felt right with Matthew. He had been your other half. Your forever. Until he went and shattered your heart when he ended things. But even after the years apart and your attempts to move on, Matt had never managed to stray far from your thoughts. Though unknown to you, you'd never quite left his, either.

a/n: This is just a short three part series I couldn't resist writing that's somewhat loosely inspired by the song "Half of Forever" by Henrik. The next part is in Matt's POV. Feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

Matt Murdock Tag List: @pazii @shouldbestudying41 @kmc1989 @ebathory997 @yeonalie @shiorimakibawrites @xxdrixx @wkndwlff @leikelle @pinkratts @lazyxsquirrel @1988-fiend @marvelcinematiquniverse @carstairswife @stilldreaming666 @kiwwia-wiwwia @willwork4dilfs @will-delete-this-later-probably @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @theetherealbloom @yarrystyleeza @dramaholic18 @ladywholikesreading @sleepysleepymom @tartbeanpuzzles @harleycao @sunflower-tia @gamingfeline @juskonutoh @kezibear @ninacotte @withyoutilltheendoftheline @justanerd1

Fingertips trailing along the expanse of his chest, you adoringly explored every dip and curve of the sharply defined muscles along Matt's naked torso. Hand currently traveling back and forth languidly from collarbone to collarbone, your own chest began to rise and fall with each of his steady breaths as your body relaxed further against his.

You watched in reverent silence as your fingers delicately lowered, rising over the swell of his firm pectoral. The muscle twitched as your finger gently brushed past a recently healed gash he'd received from a switchblade the other night. Eyes focused on the ministrations of your hand, you carefully traced across the length of the cut with the tip of your index finger. You remembered how he’d stopped by your place that evening, allowing you to clean the wound before cleaning the rest of the blood from him afterwards. 

Dragging your hand downwards, your fingertips grazed past his nipple, smiling when Matt shuddered briefly. Continuing your descent towards the valley between his abdominal muscles, you caught the way those also faintly twitched beneath your touch as you quietly admired his body. Carefully your fingers skimmed their way up the left side of his ribcage just past an angry black and purple bruise blooming up the entirety of his side. He'd gotten that just a few nights ago from a baseball bat, limping as he'd made his way around your apartment afterwards.

You could have happily laid there the rest of the evening with Matt's skin warm beneath your fingers just trying to commit every inch of him to memory. Taking your time simply mapping each scar and bruise, finding him beautiful in spite of each one. To you he was perfect, even with the injuries he brought home nightly. 

Gaze traveling up towards his face, you found that he'd closed his eyes as he lay along the pillow beside yours. He looked content and at peace. There wasn't a single crease of worry etched along his face; instead his full lips were parted slightly, the corners of them partially curled upwards at the corner. 

Unable to resist, your hand slid its way up his chest again until your fingers ran past his adam's apple and stopped at the stubbled base of his chin. Lightly tracing the line of his jaw, his facial hair prickling you, you caught the way his mouth tugged further into a lazy smile. 

“What're you doing?” he whispered.

Your fingers paused their aimless wandering at the uppermost point of his jaw, your eyes flickering up towards his. They were open now and somewhat creased at the corners as they fixed around the space just to the right of your cheek. 

“Admiring you,” you whispered back. 

His dark brows shot up onto his forehead, his smile growing wider. “Admiring me?” he questioned. 

“Yes,” you answered simply. 

Your fingers delicately trailed up towards his temple next and you reveled in the way his eyelids lowered once more. A throaty hum vibrated in his chest, the noise only encouraging your soft touches.

“You say that like I'm a painting,” he teased. 

“No,” you distractedly responded. “You're far prettier than a painting, Matthew.”

Focused on smoothing your fingers across his forehead, you caught the way his head tilted up towards your hand. Beneath the sheets where both of your naked bodies were entangled, you felt Matt's own hand gradually snake its way up the outside of your thigh until he came to rest his warm palm along the swell of your hip. His fingers began kneading your soft flesh, something sensual and possessive in the way he touched you in return. 

“Mmm,” he hummed out. “Well whatever the reason, it feels nice every time you do this.”

“Does it?” you asked curiously, one of your brows arching. 

You lightly swiped your index finger down the length of his nose, grinning when he leaned up to kiss the tip of your finger. 

“How does it feel to you with your senses?” you asked. 

Matt's hand made its way up along your hip only to curl around your ribcage. The heat of his skin on yours began to draw forth goosebumps across your body, especially as the calloused tips of his own fingers teasingly grazed back and forth along the underside of your breast. 

“Addicting,” he murmured, eyes still closed. “Like electricity dancing across my skin.”

“Really?” you asked. “Is that always how it feels to you when you're touched?”

“No,” he answered with a slight shake of his head. “Only when it's you.”

Raising your head from off your pillow, you smiled down at Matt beside you. As if he could feel your gaze on him, his own eyes opened, revealing the beautiful hazel hue of them once more.

“I love you, Matty,” you whispered.

“And I love–”

The blaring, sharp tone of your alarm cut violently through your dream, painfully dragging you back to consciousness. With an irritated groan you rolled over and buried your face into your pillow in an attempt to block out the sound. 

You hadn't wanted to wake up. Not quite yet.

Cursing under your breath, you reluctantly rolled back over and threw a hand out towards your nightstand. In frustration you roughly snatched your phone off of the charger and ended your alarm. Tossing the offending device back down, you collapsed onto your back in your bed with a huff. 

It had been a few weeks since you'd last had a dream about Matt. But this one had seemed much more vivid and realistic than some of your previous ones. And it had ended far too soon.

Hands rising up, you attempted to rub the sleep from your eyes as you tried to wake. Your dream replayed in your mind instantly–the memory of Matt's skin beneath your fingers, the warmth and love in his eyes, the sweet sound of his voice–and your hands slowly fell back to your sides. Turning your head along the pillow, you glanced over to your left and frowned. The mattress beside you was empty. Just like it had been for years. 

While lovers had come and gone since you and Matt had long since broken up, none of them had ever filled that space beside you like he had. None of them had ever even come close. At this rate, you weren't sure anyone ever would. Or that you'd ever stop thinking about him.

Reaching your hand out across the top of your comforter, an old, familiar ache steadily returned in your chest. You ran your hand along the space beside you, trying to recall the way Matt’s eyelids would drowsily flutter open and his groggy voice would always greet you first thing when he woke. 

“Good morning, angel.”

That dull ache only grew in your chest.

You'd loved Matt. Loved him in a way that you'd never experienced before or after him. The feeling had been overwhelming and all consuming, but not in the way a fire burned everything around it to ashes, more in the way that a gentle rain lays claim to everything it touches. You had been so hopelessly in love with Matt while you’d been together, convinced that he was it. The big love of your life. Your other half. Your forever.

Until he utterly destroyed your heart.

“Because I can't be who I am when I'm with you! Don’t you see that?!”

Flinching at the memory of Matt's voice, one that had never ceased to stop haunting you, you abruptly withdrew your hand from the side of your bed that had once been his. Even though the argument had been years ago, the pain of it still cut deep like it had been just last night. 

But you didn't want to think about that fight. 

With a resigned sigh you threw the sheets off of yourself and dragged yourself out of bed. It was probably time you got ready for work anyway, because you certainly couldn't just stay in bed yearning for the past.

Shuffling out of your bedroom, you made your way across the hall and towards your small bathroom. Flipping the light on, you stepped over to your shower and reached in, turning on the water and letting it heat up. Gradually you began peeling your clothing off one layer at a time, your body still sluggish from sleep as you moved.

It was a minute before the water had warmed, steam wafting out past the shower curtain. Once fully undressed, you stepped inside and drew the curtain closed behind yourself. Attempting to wake yourself further, you closed your eyes and turned your face up towards the showerhead, letting the spray fall over you. The water ran in rivulets down your face and your body, the warmth of it comforting first thing in the morning.

“I love you, angel.”

You smiled at the memory of his voice, briefly allowing yourself this one little moment. With your eyes still closed as you stood beneath the spray of water, you swore you could feel the ghost of his arms wrapped around your waist, his solid body pressed to the back of you. If you tried hard enough, you could almost feel the brush of his soft lips along the line of your shoulder or the graze of his rough hands down the sides of your body.

The pair of you had often showered in your apartment together. Especially on weekdays before work because he often stayed over after running around the city at night. On occasion you'd even accepted being late to the office when Matt's hands began wandering their way around your body, both of you too distracted to focus on showering some mornings. 

“I can't do this anymore!”

“You're too much of a distraction. It's not worth it.”

“I can't be who I am when I'm with you!”

Exhaling softly, your eyes reopened as the bitter words he'd last said to you inevitably resurfaced in your mind. Turning your face away from the spray of the showerhead, that dull ache in your chest hit you a little sharper. 

The man you'd last seen–the one you'd argued with–was nothing like the Matt you'd always known. Your Matt. The one you'd never been able to fully fall out of love with after all these years, no matter how hard you tried. But somehow your Matt was still that very same Matt who had crushed your heart in his hand without the slightest bit of remorse. The one who’d yelled at you and said all of those terrible things that you’d never expected to hear from him.

It had been painfully impossible for you to ever make sense of your conflicting feelings whenever you'd thought about him after that night. Because you wanted to hate him. Moving on would have been so much easier if you could, especially after that argument and the things he’d said. If only you'd just think of him with anger in your heart, maybe that persistent ache there would finally fade. 

But somehow you just didn't hate him. You couldn't. 

A tear slipped out of your eye as you picked up your bottle of face wash and began to squeeze some into your hand. Sniffling softly, you knew that dull ache you often felt when the memory of Matt resurfaced wasn't going anywhere, just like you knew your thoughts about your ex weren't about to suddenly vanish today.

Because today, like every other day, was just going to be another day without Matt.

[radiansjort]

BEST PARTS OF 2024 OLYMPICS (as someone in the US)

all the buzz around the cardboard beds. idk why the whole idea is so funny 💀

lebron hoisting that flag like george washington crossing the delaware. him and coco were perfect picks for flag bearers fr

POMMEL HORSE GUY. mr clark kent who got picked for the men’s gymnastics team JUST FOR THAT ONE EVENT, showed up, served cunt, and ensured us their first men’s gym medal in 16 years. stephen nedoroscik you will forever be iconic. (the whole team really— i also love seeing fred richards’ parents reactions LMAO)

THE USA WOMENS RUGBY TEAM 🗣️ being down 5 with 7 seconds left to go COAST TO COAST TO SCORE AND WIN THE BRONZE FOR THE FIRST US WOMENS MEDAL IN RUGBY!!! also ilona maher you will forever be iconic. 

flavia saraiva falling in warmups and being like ok bet, slaps a band aid on her black eye and goes out to help brazil win their FIRST MEDAL IN WOMENS GYM OHHH YEAHHH

GUATEMALA EARNED THEIR SECOND MEDAL EVER 🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️GRACIAS JEAN PIERRE BROL CARDENAS 🗣️🗣️🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹🥉LOS CHAPINES FTW ‼️(if it weren’t for the new bib number rule instead of a shootout we could’ve gotten higher but i digress 😔)

THE WOMENS GYMNASTICS TEAM EATS ONCE AGAIN. 🐐🐐🐐

kim yeji’s AURA???!??? she came out there and shot with her hand in her pocket like she graduated from the university of servington, which she did, all while holding her daughters toy elephant 🥹

suni lee’s, simone biles’, and brody malone’s comeback stories were all so heartwarming to see, especially rebeca andrade’s coming back after THREE ACL TEARS?!!?

henrik christiansen (aka muffin guy) is literally so funny 😭🙏 bro actually has SO. MANY. tiktoks about the olympics village chocolate muffins and i give all credit to him for the fact we have the recipe now 😋

GUATEMALA WINNING ITS FIRST GOLD 🥇🥇🥇 ADRIANA RUANO 🐐🐐 PRIMER BRONCE Y AHORA ORO 🥉🥇🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️

that turkish guy who just came out there in a t shirt and rawdogged the olympics 😭😭 imagine doing the shooting event with no eyewear, no ear covers, and just eyeballing it and winning SILVER??? bro is a hit man tryna not be suspicious by winning gold 🤨🤨

snoop dogg just chilling?? bro is participating in trials, trading pins, going to like every event and cheering, wearing FULL equestrian gear with martha stewart 😭? watching skateboarding finals w tony hawk? my guy is on the side quest of all side quests

katie ledecky my GOAT 🐐. i always love seeing her as the only swimmer on screen!! she lowkey has time to get out of the pool, do some interviews, get a snack, and come back to watch second place finish fr 

i do not usually watch cycling but i got so sad when remco evenepoel’s bike broke down BUT he had such a. huge lead he STILL MANAGED TO WIN GOLD!!! 🔥🔥

loving all the countries making history with their first medals!! julian alfred (st. lucia) and thea lafond (dominica) SHOWING UP FR!! also a lot of countries got their first medals in gymnastics specifically like kaylia neymour (algeria), carlos yulo (philippines), ángel barajas (colombia), etc. LIKE OKAYY THE GYMNASTS ARE NOT HERE TO PLAY

all the noah lyles haters been real quiet after he won gold in 100m 🤫🤫

the french pole vaulter who LOST because his peanits was too big. LIKE??!!?? sure you have a big wiener but at the cost of LOSING THE OLYMPCIS LMFAOOO

the women’s balance beam podium was so cute 😭😭 the two italians, alice d’amato and manila esposito, biting their medals together, and zhou yaqin from china looks over and does it too 🥹

armand duplantis hit the turkish hitman celly after breaking the pole vaulting wr AGAIN and winning gold 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 tuff. he actually built different cuz tell me why he’s broken the wr LIKE EIGHT TIMES IN A ROW???

YEAHH BRAZIL BEAT FRANCE AND SPAIN EVEN WHEN THE REFS WERE TRYING SOOO HARD TO MAKE EM LOSE ‼️ like they were NOT slick we could tell 🤨

bro the figure skaters from beijing 2022 FINALLY getting their medals like??? i really took two years for the IOC to investigate? okay. AT LEAST THEYRE FINALLY GETTING THE BAG H 🗣️🗣️

imane khelif getting a gold despite ALL THE SHIT BEING THROWN AT HER‼️ she faced all these brain dead critics yet came out to win it, and saying without her haters the win wouldn’t have been so satisfying??? QUEEN SHIT 👑👑

women’s soccer SLAYED SO HARD. like i’ve seen enough build the alyssa naeher statue. that shootout against sweden awakened that dawg in her and she LOCKED IN. 

men’s and women’s basketball wins over france 🔥 imagine being the host country and both ur basketball teams go to the gold medal match just TO LOSE TO THE SAME COUNTRY LLL

usa winning the most medals 🔥💪 they not like U.S. fr 

shoutout to that guy who tried to climb the eiffel tower without ropes at the closing ceremony 😔✊ arrested before he could achieve greatness 🕊️🕊️🕊️

[ofmdrecaps]

08/16 - 17/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Taika Waititi's Birthday!; David Jenkins; GalaxyCon San Jose: Vico, Con, Nathan, Kristian; David Fane; Samba Schutte; Madeleine Sami; Nat Torres; Erroll Shand; Cohen Holloway; Love Notes;

== Taika Waititi ==

Okay so I'm drastically late because yet again my life has become nutzoid, but Happy VERY belated birthday to the main man Taika Waititi! His birthday was August 16th, and he spent it with lots of friends and loved ones <3

Lots of videos! I couldn't include them all here, so you can see them all in one place on the Repo.

Sources: VasJMorgan's / Rita Ora's Instagram

== David Jenkins ==

David shared a tattoo that one of our crewmates shared his way!

Source: David Jenkins Instagram Stories

== GalaxyCon San Jose: Vico, Con, Kristian, and Nathan ==

Since there was so much footage, I'm going to try and break this up into two parts so I can fit in some other news!

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew were kind enough to live tweet the panel, here's those tweets below:

As you can see there was some clowning going on as well! Next up is fan shots shared on GalaxyCon San Jose or the cast member's instagrams! I'll try to get the original photo links in but if not I apologize! Let me know if I need to update them!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Visit San Jose (@visitsanjose)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GalaxyCon (@galaxyconlive)

And Nathan was out with Con on his birthday!

Source: Galaxy Con San Jose's Instagram / Nathan/Con/Kristian/Vico's Instagrams

== David Fane ==

It's been a busy week for David! So glad to see him smiling!

Source: David Fane's Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba met up with his first drama teacher and sent a lovely message!

My very first drama teacher, the man who gave me the confidence to give my dream a shot, who helped me believe that I have something to offer as an artist. I owe him a lot, the ground that helped my seeds grow into a garden, and an amazing human and humanitarian to boot. So lovely to see you again, my dear Eugene van Erven. Check out his books! 23 years and going❤️✨🙏🏾

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

== Erroll Shand ==

Erroll is on Episode 5 of The Clearing, playing Henrik! You can check it out on DisneyPlus in Australia-- I tried looking for it on Disney Plus US but no luck. If you know of a better way to watch please let me know!

Source: Erroll Shand's Instagram

== Nat Torres ==

One of our fantastic writers, Nat Torres posted some quick pics for the end of summer. I had to get their dogs in there because of reasons.

Source: Natalie Torres' Instagram

== Madeleine Sami ==

Mads and her Co-star of Double Parked, Antonia Prebble talking life <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Breeze Auckland (@thebreezeauckland)

Source: TheBreezeAuckland Instagram

== Cohen Holloway ==

Pop Pop pops up so irregularly, so I had to share him being mentioned in this post by Costume Designer: Lissy Turner, tagged for a BTS picture of the film Lowdown Dirty Criminals.

Source: Cohen Holloway's Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Okay Lovelies, apologies, gonna need to have the fan spotlights in the next post because there was just so much going on with the Cast and Crew these past few days! There's still more to show, and I'll work on getting tonight's recap up as well here in a little bit. I truly hope you're being kind to yourself this weekend lovelies. It's been so busy lately, and I know sometimes life like to pop up and kick us in the tush and make things harder -- so remember that you're doing the best you can with what you have. There's enough shame in this world, try to remember not to add to it for yourself, because you deserve grace, especially when things continue to be tough. Sending so much love crew.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by REALEST® (@realestintentions)

[greydoesthearts]

“your job right now is to heal.” with Henrik and Jackie? :3

Words: ~560 (long boy!!)

,

His head throbbed, blood leaked into his vision, and the world spun around him as he guided the last of the civilians out of the burning building. He could barely see anything through the blur of his vision; his mask’s magic that took place of his glasses must have gotten fucked up by the explosion.

“Here, you go to the nice paramedics over there, that’s it, hold your dads’ hands. Stay safe,” Jackie rambled his practiced spiel in a low tone, turning to look back up at the part of the building that was still standing, being actively sprayed at by the fire department.

But even with his vision obstructed, there was no mistaking the body hanging onto a window ledge on the—1,2,3,4–fifth floor, and the scream for help was just as ear-destroying as the blast that had blown out the window they’d taken advantage of.

He stepped forward, his legs wobbling like jelly, before he collapsed. And if he could have built the energy to get back up and run to catch them, he still wouldn’t have been fast enough.

Henrik sat on the side of Jackie’s bed, wiping the blood dripping from the hero’s head with a damp washcloth. His eyes ran down the length of Jackie’s body, looking for the hundredth time for any more wounds to tend to until he woke up—instead, he was in a state of limbo, waiting to see what the real damage would be other than a knock to the head that refused to scab over, infection lingering just under the surface of all the antibiotics and bandages.

It wasn’t even ten minutes later, after several hours of waiting, that Jackie stirred enough for Henrik to safely get up and get the next dose.

When he looked over, Jackie’s eyes were opening and closing, adjusting to the light above him. “Wh-“

“Shhh…” Henrik soothed, administering the meds through IV. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”

Jackie opened his eyes again and squinted straight up into the light. “Sun’s bright,” he muttered, covering his eyes with his hand.

“It’s not the sun, Jackie.” The hero looked at him, the doctor outlined in gold from a lamp further away. “You’re in my medical room. Do you remember what happened to you?”

Slowly, Jackie shook his head, his hand dropping to his head, fingers running along his bandage. That seemed to spark something, but not what Henrik was hoping for; he shot up in the bed, pulling the IV pole with him and eliciting a hellish beeping noise. He tried to fling his legs over the edge of the bed but Henrik jumped, holding him down before he could do anymore to hurt himself or damage the equipment.

“I have to save them!” Jackie wailed, imagining the civilian dangling from such a height, then screamed, a sound that shattered Henrik’s heart as he let go, afraid he’d been the one to hurt him, but Jackie just laid back down, crying himself tired.

When he’d calmed enough, Henrik got back to wiping the blood from his face, exacerbated from his sobbing. “I’m sorry, Jackie…”

“I—I couldn’t save them. It’s my job and—“

“I know. But right now your only job is to heal. Okay?”

Jackie didn’t respond with anything but a solemn nod. Henrik guessed he wouldn’t remember this when he next woke.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Deeper Through the Wylderness

Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Forty

A JSE Fanfic

Who's ready for more Wyldwood? :D The guys continue their journey, encountering a few strange things. Unusual animals, unusual fruits and plants, unusual beings, even. They're making progress, but this strange place might wear on them over time. Yeah this chapter, much like the last, is basically an anthology of weird things that the guys encounter in this magical forest. But next chapter, if all goes according to plan, will be VERY important to the plot :3 Hope you guys enjoy reading!

Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Taglist: @brokentimewatch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marvin was woken up by the familiar feeling of something fuzzy against his face. He stayed totally still. The best way to get Draco to stop doing something was to ignore him. But the fuzzy thing persisted, pushing against him. He couldn’t help but groan. “Draco, nooo.” He rolled over, but the fuzziness climbed over him, sniffing at his face. Keeping his eyes closed, he reached out, trying to push Draco away... but felt something odd. The texture—that wasn’t fur. It was more like... feathers?

Mrow. And that was Draco’s meow—coming not from right in front of his face, like he expected, but instead from over by his feet. Draco wasn’t here?!

His eyes flew open. Instead of seeing Draco’s blue eyes and off-white stripes fur, he was staring into a pair of Hazel animal eyes surrounded by orangish-red, its black snout longer than a cat’s—

“What the fuck?!” Marvin shouted, scrambling backwards.

“Huhwhatdanger?!” Next to him, Jackie sat bolt upright, lunging for his swords.

Henrik yelped awake, blinking wildly. Chase was next, lifting his head from the ground. JJ was already awake, though he was blinking blearily.

“Fox!” Marvin said. “There’s a fox!”

Indeed, a fox had wandered into their camp in the Wyldwood... but not an ordinary fox. Its front legs were more in line with bird legs, tough-skinned and taloned, feathers sprouting along the upper length. On its back were a pair of large wings, brown and black striped. It leaned forward, trying to sniff Marvin some more, and Marvin quickly scooted backwards.

“Oh! I know what that is!” Chase sat up, wriggling out of his bedroll. “That’s an enfield!”

“Enfield?” Marvin repeated, puzzled. “I’ve never heard of them.”

“Is it safe?” Jackie asked, raising one sword in preparation.

“Um... as safe as foxes are normally, I think. Don’t bother it and it won’t bother you.”

The enfield stepped forward again, and Marvin continued to crawl backwards away from it. “Why does it want to sniff me?!” He hissed.

“Maybe you smell interesting?” Chase guessed.

Henrik frowned. “How did it get close? Jamie, I thought you were on guard.”

Jameson rubbed his face. I was... I remember hearing this strange flute music. And seeing something... small? Out there? He gestured at the woods around them. The music was trying to put me to sleep, I think, but I threw a rock at the small thing and it stopped. But I still felt really sleepy... He shook his head. I don’t think I actually fell asleep but I must have been really close if I let a fox with wings through. Sorry, everyone.

Jackie sighed. “It’s fine. There was no harm done, I guess. But in the future, we should wake someone else up if something like that happens.

Jameson nodded slowly... his head drooping...

“Jair! Wake up.” Marvin grabbed some magic from his amulet and flicked it at him. He only intended for it to be a shower of sparks. But instead, clouds of bright light slammed into the side of Jameson’s head. He shot straight up, eyes wide, immediately not tired anymore. “Oh—sorry. That was supposed to be a simple wake-up spell, like the one I sometimes use. I suppose it came out a bit stronger than I wanted.”

It’s fine, Jameson said, hands shaking slightly as he spoke. The spell must have shit him full of energy.

The enfield trotted over to Jameson and started sniffing him instead, licking the fading magical light around his head. Jameson looked at it warily. “I think it must be interested in your magic, Marvin!” Henrik chuckled.

“Great. Great.” Marvin clutched at his focus. “Good to know. Be interested in something else.”

Jackie looked around. The group had made camp in a slight clearing in the Wyldwoods. Trees surrounded them—of course—these ones with bark that was so dark brown they were nearly black, which contrasted with the leaves that were a pale pink color. The pink leaves covered the ground in a soft layer, so soft that Chase had inched out of the bedroll over the course of the night and hadn’t even realized that he was on the ground. Large flowers with purple petals and centers the size of dinner plates also dotted the ground, glowing softly. “We should probably start moving, shouldn’t we?” Jackie said. “We don’t want to waste any time.”

Henrik sighed. “I suppose. Though this is a beautiful area. I am reluctant to leave. Where else will you see pink trees like this?”

“Well there’s going to be more amazing things to see as we go deeper,” Marvin said, still eyeing the enfield suspiciously. “I promise you.”

“I know, I know. I am not saying we get lost in the pretty landscape. I am just saying it’s a shame.” Henrik stood up. “Let’s go.”

The group packed up their supplies into bags and headed off, Marvin and Draco leading the way. The enfield trotted after them for a while before some smaller enfields with little fuzzy wings ran up to it—Its children?! Adorable!—and then it diverted its attention to herding them, letting the group leave them behind. This was the morning of their third day into their journey, and if everything went well, they’d only have four to five days left. Almost halfway there! Chase wasn’t sure if he was excited about that, or nervous. Both, probably. No, definitely both.

Just as the last couple days, the Wyldwood was silent, the undergrowth mysteriously moving out of their way as they walked. Two days straight of this meant they were starting to get used to it—which meant some of them were starting to get restless. Jackie constantly wove back and forth through the group, taking up a position on the left before moving to the right a few minutes later, his hand always on the hilt of his sword as he glanced around uneasily. Henrik’s eyes also darted back and forth, and he couldn't help but occasionally reach back to check that Vsevna’s axe was still there. He occasionally muttered something under his breath in Alterdan. Were his symptoms bothering him again?

Jameson kept practicing his fighting skills as they walked, slashing with his knife for a while before reaching back to grab the bow he’d packed and practicing firing it. Chase watched him do that, smiling a bit. “I don’t think practicing without an arrow is all that helpful.”

I suppose, Jameson said, awkwardly gesturing while still holding his bow. But it’s probably not a good idea to shoot wildly in a magical forest. Remember the screaming flowers?

“Ah. Riiiiight.” Chase winced. “The trees might not take kindly to being shot. Well, at least let me help you with your technique. Here, hold the string like this...”

They soon left the section of the Wyldwood with pink trees, and the colors of the trees slowly shifted. The branches began to droop downwards, their dark green leaves becoming long and skinny. For once, it became difficult to walk through the area, as the tree branches didn’t move out of the way like the undergrowth did. Jackie quickly got frustrated with this. After one too many times of being hit in the face with leaves, he growled and pulled out his sword, swinging it wildly. “Out of the way! Out of the way!”

“Whoa!” Marvin’s head whipped back around to look at Jackie. “Hey, calm down!”

Jameson grabbed onto Jackie’s shoulder, trying to stop him. Once he’d gotten Jackie’s attention, he signed, We don’t want to hurt the trees!

“Well what if the trees want to hurt us?” Jackie asked.

THEN we can do something! But we shouldn’t make the first move!

Jackie growled, glaring at the branches around them. “Fine. But still, we’re losing progress.” He gave his sword one final, frustrated swing—

Smack!

Jackie went still. “I, uh... I hit something... solid.”

Frowning, Henrik walked over, grabbing the branches and sorting through them. His eyes went wide. “Oh! Look at this!” He turned the branch around. There was something shiny attached to it. A fruit of some kind. It looked like a plum, but its purple skin was reflective and crystalline, like it was a jewel.

Chase gasped. “Oooo!” He looked around. “Are there any more of them?”

“Let us see!” Henrik continued to search through the branches, and the others joined him, curious about these strange crystal plums. There weren’t many of them, maybe three for each tree, but they stood out for how strange they were. “So fascinating!” Henrik said, eyes lit up. “Can we pluck these? Eat them, maybe?”

“Hmm.” Marvin narrowed his eyes. Then he bent down and picked up Draco, holding him up to one of the crystal plums. Draco sniffed it, then turned away, uninterested. “Well I don’t think they’re dangerous, at least.”

Jackie sighed. “Alright... we can take a break to look at these.”

“Come on, don’t tell me you’re not curious!” Chase said, grinning. “When are we going to get another chance like this?”

“I just... I-I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Jackie shook his head. “Alright. What are these things?”

Jameson is trying to pull the plum off the droopy branch, but its stem is really strong. He pulled out his knife to slice through it, but even that took a minute. Once the plum was free, though, he turned it over in his hands, tapping it. This is practically stone, he said.

“Well plums are stone fruit,” Chase said jokingly.

Marvin blinked. “They’re what?”

“Huh? You’ve never heard that phrase before?” Chase grabbed one of the plums; Jameson was right, the fruit’s skin felt more like glass than fruit. “A stone fruit is a fruit that has a pit in the center instead of seeds.”

“Really? Interesting.” Marvin looked at one of the plums still on the branch. “So these are... literally stone fruit. Or, more like crystal fruit.”

“How do we eat them, if they’re made of crystal?” Jackie asked.

“Maybe we do not?” Henrik said. “Or maybe it is like nuts. They must be cracked open. Here, Jackie. Since you are so concerned about moving, we can take some off the trees and examine them while we walk.” He took his bag off, reaching inside. “Let us put some in my potion supply box for safekeeping.”

They continued walking, pushing aside some of the drooping branches. Occasionally one of their hands would hit a solid crystalline plum. Chase took out his hunting knife and tried to find a weak spot in the solid skin. He was pretty sure there was something inside. He could feel it when he shook the plum. But the whole thing was solid, deflecting his knife like a regular bauble made from jewels. 

When they walked out of the grove of droopy-branched trees, Henrik immediately started looking around for a rock or something else to smash the plum with. But... “Huh. I am seeing something unusual. There... are no rocks anywhere.”

“Oh! That’s right!” Marvin nodded. “I didn’t notice the first time I was here. But there aren’t any random rocks or stones anywhere like there would be in regular forests. The undergrowth is all plant life.”

“Aw. But then how will we open these?” Henrik asked, disappointed. “If they can be opened at all.”

“Use Vsevna’s axe,” Jackie suggested. “It has that spike on the end, maybe it could pierce the skin?”

“Hmmm... perhaps.” Henrik stopped walking and bent over, placing the plum on a spot clear of long grass. Then he pulled Vsevna’s axe off his back. He aimed the spike on the back at the plum, a hand’s width above it, and narrowed his eyes as he concentrated—then brought it down.

Crack! There was a loud sound and the plum went spinning off to the side. A spray of bright red juice covered the ground—and Henrik’s legs. He yelped in surprise and backed up. Jackie laughed. “Well I don’t think any of us expected that!” He said.

“We probably should have,” Henrik grumbled. He walked over to the plum and picked it up. There was a crack in its crystal side, through which dripped that bright red juice. Unnaturally bright red, almost pink even. “Do you think this is safe to eat?”

“Who knows?” Chase said. “I’d be cautious.”

What does Draco say? JJ asked.

Marvin picked up the cat and held him up to the plum again. Draco leaned forward to sniff the juice. His nose wrinkled up and his eyes narrowed. “That’s not a guarantee of anything,” Marvin said. “He makes the same face when smelling that linseed oil Jackie and other warriors clean their weapons with. I think he just thinks it’s a strong smell.”

Henrik sniffed curiously. “It is very sweet. Almost like candy. Hmm... Perhaps we should not eat it.”

“Why were you so insistent on getting it open, then?” Jackie asked, exasperated.

“Just to see if I could, honestly.”

Jackie sighed. “Well now it’s probably going to leak juice everywhere. And maybe it will rot. We don’t want to carry rotten fruit around, even if it’s magical. “Here, just... Give it to me.”

Henrik did so, though he was a bit reluctant. “Are you going to do something foolish?”

“Possibly.” Jackie swiped up some of the juice with his finger and stuck it in his mouth.

“Wait Jackie no—!” Chase lunged over, grabbing Jackie’s wrist and yanking his hand away from his face. But it was too late. “What if it’s poison?!”

“Draco would’ve stopped me,” Jackie said. “Marvin said he would stop him from eating dangerous... um... stuff. Like... fruit and... stuff.” Jackie’s eyes slowly widened. Not as a response to how he was feeling or anything. It was almost like they were being pulled wide by invisible hands. A pink film glazed over his irises. 

“Oh no,” Chase whispered.

How do you... feel, Jackie? Jameson asked hesitantly.

Jackie looked at him. “You’re glowing,” he said slowly. He looked at Marvin. “And you’re like... like really bright. Like really glowing. And whoaaaa, Draco looks strange.” He giggled. “He’s a ghost. Ghooost cat. Glowing ghost cat.”

“Oh elders, it’s like he took amarita blossoms,” Marvin muttered.

You’ve met someone who took amarita? Jameson raises an eyebrow.

“Not anyone who took them regularly, but I’ve been on the run for the last year, practically, I’ve met a lot of people.”

“Guys guys guys, it’s not a problem.” Jackie kept looking around. “It’s all good, it’s like—so good. I feel great, and whoaaaa... pretty.”

Henrik sighed. “Damn it. If only I had my medicine I could snap him out of this really quickly. I suppose we will just have to wait for him to come down normally. He had a small sample, surely this won’t last long.” He took the plum out of Jackie’s hand. Jackie didn’t react at all, spinning in a circle so he could look at everything. “Let’s keep walking.”

Luckily, the effect of the crystal plum didn’t hinder Jackie’s ability to walk—though he did slow the group down a bit because he kept stopping to stare at random spots in the air. But after about two hours, the pink film faded from his eyes, and he stopped looking at stuff. He mumbled some apologies to everyone, but they all assured him that it was okay—though Henrik and Chase did point out how foolish it was to try juice from a magical fruit. Even if Draco didn’t intervene, that didn’t mean they were safe!

Nothing else of note happened on that day. They continued to walk through the Wyldwoods, occasionally swapping stories and memories to pass the time, always listening for sounds that would break the silence. Sounds like rustling, like distant voices, like footsteps that seemed to pass right by the group but without any sign of a person or animal. All of those happened at least once during this day. When they did, the whole group went dead silent for a minute before continuing to talk.

They made camp near a lone hill in the middle of the forest. Though it might have been an advantage to camp on top, where those on guard would have a good view of the surrounding area, none of them dared to get too close. The Fair Folk were said to live under hills. Not always literally. Some stories said that the hills were merely an entrance to a Faerilynd, the world where the Folk gathered. Either way, a lone hill in a magical forest probably wasn’t safe to get close to. Who knew what it could be? They settled down between two tall trees nearby, keeping an eye on the hill but not approaching.

“Maybe we should have two people keep guard,” Jackie suggested as they set everything up.

But then if we keep going in our shifts of three, eventually someone will be woken up again, JJ pointed out. Everyone will have only one shift, but someone will have to have two.

“I’ll take two, it’s fine.”

“No, nobody is taking two shifts at night,” Marvin said firmly. “We all need to be in the best shape possible in case something happens.”

“But—but there was that incident with the party!” Jackie protested. “And this morning, the enfield was able to just walk right in! We need to take precautions!”

“We do, but we need to take care of ourselves too,” Henrik said.

Chase frowned. “Is this because of the fruit thing? Jackie, it’s okay. I know me and Henrik already gave you shit for it, but it’s in the past. And hey, now we know what those plums do, don’t we? You don’t need to make up for an impulsive decision.”

Jackie slumped. “I... I just...” He looked to the side. “I thought that... we’d need to see what they do, didn’t we? Because what if they were harmful?”

If they were harmful then it was even more foolish to taste one, Jameson said. You could have gotten hurt.

“Well—better than losing our doctor or our guide or our oracle or the guy who needs to make it to the end of this journey!”

“Jackie,” Henrik snapped. “Are you implying you are expendable?”

“No,” Jackie said. “Honestly, no. I know I’m not. I’m a Masked Phantom leader and the best physical fighter here. But I...” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Marvin stared at him silently. “Just remember that we don’t want you to get hurt.”

Jackie nodded. “I will. I’ll be more careful, promise.”

“Please do be,” Henrik said quietly. “Now... Let us all get some rest.”

Little did the others know, but Jackie stayed awake as long as he possibly could, one hand out of his bedroll, clutching the hilt of his sword.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the group woke up in the morning, the hill was gone.

“Well that is worrying,” Henrik muttered. “Marvin? You had last watch, what happened?”

“It just sort of...” Marvin held up a hand parallel to the ground, then slowly lowered it, like he was pushing something down. “Sank.”

“When???” Chase asked, concerned.

“Not too long ago, actually. It was surprisingly silent.”

The whole group looked at the space where the hill was, unnerved. We should walk around that spot, JJ said.

“Agreed,” Chase said. 

They started walking again. This section of the Wyldwood had trees with reddish bark, occasionally streaked with lighter, almost yellow stripes. Tall bluebell-like flowers sprouted from between their roots, their soft glow joined by specks of light that floated through the air. As the group brushed past them, the flowers made ringing sounds, like the bells their shapes were named for.

“Do you remember all of this, Marvin?” Henrik asked, fascinated with the flowers.

“I remember it when I see it,” Marvin replied. “Honestly, the whole first journey I had was so strange that it all sort of... blended together into an overall oddness. But now that I’m back in here, I do know where to go and recognize some of this. I didn’t recognize those crystal plums yesterday. But maybe I just didn’t see them. They were pretty hidden in those branches.”

“And... there are truly no records of the Wyldwood at all?” Henrik asked.

“None in recent memory, and no records of anyone going this deep,” Jackie said. “You should know this, Henrik. I know you’re from another kingdom, but you’ve lived here for years now. You know that the Wyldwood is dangerous.”

“Yes, but people make records of going into dangerous places all the time,” Henrik said. “And this is half the island!”

I suppose having the Dragon’s Teeth mountains as a barrier dissuaded exploration, Jameson mused. I’ve heard of other Wyldlands in the world that are more explored. Wyldsands, Wyldmounts, Wyldmarshes... I can see why you’re surprised that there aren’t any records.

“I think that part of the reason people avoid the Wyldwood is because of the Fair Folk,” Chase said. “After all, people say that those who didn’t retreat to their own world live here now.”

“You know a lot of stories, right, Chase?” Jackie asked. “Do you know any about the Fair Folk or the Wyldwood?”

“Hmm... well there are a few,” Chase said. “For example, the story of Lasta and Caba is said to take place in the Wyldwood. Supposedly, when most of the Fair Folk decided they wanted to leave this world for their own, two of them, a leprechaun and a bodacha, refused to stop playing their card game to help the others move. So they were cursed to keep playing forever, never finishing the game. Supposedly, if you join in, you have a chance to win some sort of prize. But be careful, because time outside of the game will pass faster than time around you and them.”

“Fascinating,” Marvin said. “I don’t think I’ve heard that one.”

I think I’ve vaguely heard something like that, Jameson said. I remember the bit about time passing differently very distinctly.

“Well, time being different around the Fair Folk is common in stories,” Chase said. “There’s also the one where a man falls in love with a beautiful Fair One. A princess or prince.”

“There are two versions of the story?” Henrik asked. “So... does that mean it is not true?”

“No, it could be that it happened a long time ago and the details of the Fair One got lost over time. Or maybe the Fair One was both. Who knows? The point is, the Fair One invited the man to their palace for a night of partying, but when the man returned after one night, a year had passed.”

Jackie glanced around nervously. “Do you think that... that same time strangeness affects the Wyldwood?”

Marvin shook his head. “No. I walked through the woods for a week, and when I was out again, a week had passed for everyone else.”

“Oh right. I forgot about—” He paused. “Do you all hear that?”

The group stopped walking, listening for strange sounds. In the otherwise silence of the Wyldwood, it stuck out easily. A thundering sound. But not actual thunder. Was it... hooves? From a horse? Chase frowned and looked at the others, noticing as they all came to the same conclusion around the same time. “Strange...” Henrik muttered. “Where is it coming from?”

“Get to the side,” Marvin hissed. “Out of the way of any open paths!”

They all scrambled to get close to a tree, away from the open parts of the Wyldwood. In the distance, something dark was forming, quickly approaching—

Jameson gasped and fell forward, sprawling across the ground. Jackie spun around. Without hesitating, he ran towards Jameson. The dark thing was suddenly much closer, streams of orange-red light streaming from it as it got closer—within a second it was bearing down on them—

“Jackie!” Chase gasped.

Jackie dove at Jameson and the two of them went rolling across the ground. The dark thing galloped past them, inches from their bodies, smoke and light following it in a trail. It looked like a horse and rider but something was wrong with the rider: he was missing something. By the time Chase realized what it was, the creature was already galloping into the distance.

“Elders!” Jackie breathed, visibly shaken.

Henrik ran forward, and Marvin and Chase were right behind him. “Are you two okay?!” Henrik asked.

“I-I’m fine,” Jackie said. “Jameson?”

Jameson raised his head. His eyes were wide enough to see the white all around his irises, but he nodded. Shaken, he said weakly.

“Wh-what happened?” Marvin asked. “Did you trip on something? What was that thing?!”

“I-I think that was a dullahan,” Chase said.

“A what?! Aren’t those an omen of death?!”

“Huh? No, th-that’s not what I’ve heard about them. Though they are often linked to it... h-having no head, and all. And they, uh, often show up where people died, I-I think?”

Henrik shuddered. “So... someone died here?”

“I have no doubt that a lot of people died in the Wyldwood,” Chase muttered.

Jackie sat up, one arm wrapped around Jameson, bringing him upright as well. “Are you sure you’re okay, Jameson?” he asked gently. “What about your foot? Did you twist your ankle when you tripped?”

“Hmm... I thought the plants were making way for us,” Henrik said, frowning.

Jameson laughed silently, darkly. It wasn’t a plant or root or anything. I just... tripped on... my own foot.

“...ah.” Henrik blinked. “...well that is... unfortunate.”

I suppose I was thinking too much about moving, if that makes sense? Jameson sighed. I’m not hurt, though.

“Alright, if you’re sure.” Jackie stood up, and reached down to help Jameson up. “Are you good to keep walking?”

Are you? Jameson asked.

Jackie laughed. “Of course I am. Come on. We have to keep going. Ideally, away from where that dullahan went.”

And so, with nothing else to do and nobody hurt, they just... kept walking. Until, eventually, it was time to settle down for the night once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day passed normally—or as normally as things could be in the Wyldwood. They continued to pass through vibrant trees and grass, surrounded by glowing flowers, glowing mushrooms, and occasionally glowing insects. Henrik was quickly getting overwhelmed with the variety of plants, and quickly running out of room for samples in his potion ingredient box and other bags. He soon learned that he couldn’t take all of the glowing plants. Some of the samples from the first day had stopped glowing—though not all of them—so he exchanged those for others.

Draco kept walking steadily through the forest, occasionally waiting for the humans to catch up. Chase still wasn’t used to him acting so... smart. But it wasn’t like he was acting oddly human. He was still clearly a cat, with the same mannerisms and behaviors. When some glowing blue dragonflies showed up, he chased them, tail wagging, just like any other cat would. But still... it was odd that a cat was leading them.

Chase’s thoughts started to swirl, thinking about what was waiting at the end of this journey. At this blasted heath that Marvin mentioned. He asked Marvin to tell him everything about what he saw there again, and Marvin told him all he remembered. There was a building in the circle of dead earth, along with some strange trees. The ghost of King Samuel said that this was related to something unspeakable—something that literally couldn’t be spoken of. Something that Chase needed to find out for himself, something that would help them defeat the King. It was frustratingly vague.

He wasn’t sure if anything he’d find in the Wyldwood could help him defeat the spirit possessing the King... but he had to try, didn’t he? He had to help Jack. And so, he kept going on, despite the doubts trying to worm their way in.

Another day of walking passed. Their fifth day. They were almost there now. Just two more days of walking... or was it only one and a half? Maybe a little more than that? Would they have to walk for two days, rest for the night, and then walk a bit more in the morning?

“Hey... Marvin.” Jackie glanced around as the Wyldwood around them started to grow dark. “Maybe we should walk through the night. Or... a little bit into the night, I should say.”

“Huh?” Marvin glanced back at him. “We never walk through the night when traveling.”

“I know, but that’s because it gets too dark to see where we’re putting our feet,” Jackie explained. “With all the glowing things in here, it never gets darker than what would be evening outside the Wyldwood. We could probably keep walking.”

Henrik frowned. “I... wonder if... if there are creatures that come out at night, here. A-after all... that strange party happened at night. The music that Jameson heard, too. And the hill disappeared during the dark. It may be dangerous.”

“It... i-it may be,” Jackie agreed slowly. “But we could protect each other. I... I think the faster we get there, the better, right?”

The others all glanced at each other. Perhaps we can walk a bit more? Jameson asked.

“I really think it is not a good idea,” Henrik insisted.

Marvin looked down at Draco, who was stretching and yawning. “I agree. I think we’re supposed to stop for the night.”

“Just a bit farther couldn’t hurt,” Jackie said. “Chase? What do you think?”

Chase hesitated. “Um... just a bit farther, maybe? Ten or twenty more minutes?”

Henrik and Marvin looked at each other and sighed. “Fine,” Marvin said. “If all three of you want to keep walking for a bit, you take the majority. But... let’s be careful.”

Jackie nodded. “We will be. I’ll lead the way.”

They kept walking. Draco didn’t want to continue, so Marvin reached down and scooped him up, carrying him as they went along. The trees around them rustled, and Chase glanced up into them uneasily, instinctively searching for animals that weren’t there.

After the twenty more minutes of walking that Chase suggested, the group came across something... unusual. A... path. The sort that was worn into the ground from people or animals walking in the same place over and over. It dipped into the earth slightly, the dirt a bit muddy.

Marvin frowned. “I remember this. It was daytime when I came across it the first time. I didn’t want to cross it, but Draco had no problem, so I walked from one side to the other easily enough.” He looked down at Draco in his arms, whose eyes were currently closed. “Hmm... don’t know if I’m comfortable walking across it when he’s not there to make sure it’s safe.”

Chase looked back and forth, tracing the path to the left and right. Then he crouched down to look at the dirt, trying to figure out if there were any tracks in there. No good. Despite the mud, he couldn’t make out anything clearly. “I don’t know if this is a deer trail or a wolf pack or something magical,” he reported.

Jameson blinked. Is it just me or is the air... shimmering?

Chase stood up, and he and the other three guys all stared at the air in front of them. Yes... it was shimmering slightly. Like the air above a heated rock. As they stared, things became clearer. The air was moving. No, not the air. They were... people? Translucent at first, becoming more and more solid, glowing slightly. Jackie backed up, holding his arms out in front of the others as if to push them back as well. But there was no need for that, as everyone was scrambling backwards away from the glowing strangers.

“Wh-what is this?” Henrik whispered. “Are you all seeing this as well?”

“Yes, Henrik, we are,” Marvin confirmed. “Who are these people? What are they?”

They watched silently for a while, tense and waiting. But the glowing people didn’t bother them. They looked at the group, a few waved, but they didn’t stop their procession to attack, or even to speak.They just kept walking. And just as the group started to relax—

Jameson inhaled sharply. He ran forward, running along the path, eyes locked onto something. “Jair!” Marvin gasped, running after him.

“Wait you two!” Jackie rushed after them, and Chase and Henrik glanced at each other and followed.

Jameson came to a stop, staring at some of the people. A man, looking to be in his forties, walking with a woman of the same age, their arms linked together. The woman was smiling and laughing at something, and the man nodded.

“What is it?” Marvin asked, shifting Draco into just one arm and putting a hand on Jameson’s shoulder. But Jameson didn’t even bother to look at him. He just kept staring at the man and woman. What was so special about—

The realization hit Chase all at once. The brown shade of the man’s hair, the shape of the woman’s face, the blue of both their eyes... they both looked a bit like Jameson. And as the man and woman noticed them, the man raised his hand. There was a ring on his finger. A signet ring of some kind. “...oh,” Chase breathed.

Jameson was shaking slightly, trembling beneath Marvin’s hand. Behind the couple walked three others. Young women, all around the same age. The eldest walked in front, auburn hair shorn short. Behind her was a woman with her hair pulled back in a tight braid, a pair of fancy riding pants, the sorts nobles wore for long horse rides. And behind her in turn was the youngest, her light hair curling, smiling as she skipped along. She looked at Jameson and waved.

“Oh... oh no,” Henrik whispered.

Jameson’s mouth formed words, but of course, no voice came out.

And then Jackie’s eyes widened. “G-Grandmam?” An older woman was walking along the couple, using a cane to support herself, bent over with deep lines on her face. 

“Oh!” Marvin started. “There! Isn’t that Miarch? H-he was—we lost him s-so early on... A-and there’s Kieron, and Ilsa, and...” The people he was pointing out all had white plaster masks with them, on their face or hanging from their belts.

Chase tore his eyes away from the procession. It was clear now who these people were, and he didn’t want to see anyone he’d known.

But Jameson... he started to step forward.

“No!” Henrik lunged forward, grabbing the back of Jameson’s shirt. “Do not get too close!”

Jameson spun on him. Why not?! he demanded, eyes welling with tears.

“We do not know what will happen if we touch them,” Henrik reasoned. “What if we... what if we join them? Jamie, please tell me you do not want to join them.”

That seemed to get through to Jameson. He blinked, then shook his head. Of course not. I just... He turned back to the procession. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them. Mam and Dad... Emer, Orla, Mairead... those are their names. He spelled them out in handspeak so that the others would know what to call them. I never got to...

Chase took a deep breath. He walked over to Jameson and put an arm around his shoulders. “Well... this is the time to do it, isn’t it?”

Jackie and Marvin were also staring at the people they recognized in the procession. Henrik, like Chase, is trying not to look, though his eyes can’t help but glance back every so often at the ones with white masks. But they all hear what Chase said. “Y-yes... th-this is the time... to say goodbye,” Jackie whispered.

“I-I don’t think we should actually say anything,” Marvin said quietly. “Just in case... that starts a conversation we... don’t want. W-we don’t know how they’ll... react to us.”

Jameson shuddered. As much as I don’t want to stay silent... you’re right. Best to be cautious. We don’t know what effect the Wyldwood would have. He looked after his family. They seemed... happy. As they waved at him again, he waved back, a slow, sad farewell.

And after a moment, Jackie, Marvin, and Henrik all waved as well. Chase saw no one he recognized... and he didn’t seek them out.

After a while, the friendly faces disappeared down the path. But the procession didn’t stop. They watched them continue appearing, walking left to right, an endless parade. “We... we shouldn’t interrupt them,” Marvin whispered. “Let’s... go back and make camp.”

Jackie nodded. “I-I’m sorry I made us keep walking.”

Don’t be, Jameson said. You didn’t know this would happen. And... maybe it was a good thing, in the end.

“...maybe,” Jackie said quietly. “Let’s... go.”

The group turned and walked back the way they came, setting up their bedrolls around a large tree. The procession was a slight glow in the distance, a line of light. They went to bed, said their good nights... but none of them fell asleep. They all knew they were watching the procession. Watching it until exhaustion caught up to them.

As Chase drifted off, he reflected on who he saw in the procession. The Masked Phantoms. Jameson’s family. Were others in the procession... because of the King as well? Or... because of the spirit possessing Jack?

...He would remember them. Remember why the King must be defeated.

There would be no more of them. Not if there was anything they could do about it.

[rebelrayne]

Hi, I'd like to request something if that's okay. Which litg athletes do you see competing in olympics this year or maybe next four years? And which ones do you NOT see competing? I hate sports but I have a weakness for athletes, especially certain litg ones.

I can see Levi doing it this year, maybe Jamal (my baby daddy) this or next one. And I think Dylan and Arlo would be too cancelled to participate. What do you think?

Hi Anon! I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer this but I'll give it my best shot! I am not well-versed in sports so hahaha I kind of got a little unserious in some parts.

These are the Islanders that I came up with that are athletes (in some form or it is their job): Levi, Reese, Rahim, Henrik, Jakub, Jo, AJ, Tai, Dylan, Arlo, Pete, Jamal, Lewie, Chloe, Hazel, Logan, Jack, Sophie and Jude. Yes, Kat is a club dancer but I wasn't sure if I could count that with Chloe and Hazel, but I guess on a technicality she could be here, too.

Below the cut this is so long haha

Season 1

Levi - Would probably more likely be coaching at this point in his career. He'd be 32 and had made a name for himself, but ultimately stepped down to further himself in coaching. Could also see him being a commentator, too.

Reese - That mf isn't retiring until they say he's not allowed on the team anymore. Sadly, I don't think wrestling is too popular but I could be wrong. Like he'd pitch a fit and claim they were just against him or something. He'd be there (unfortunately for us).

Season 2

Rahim - Might be out of his prime now. I mean, we know he's good at what he does and all, but this is a pretty competitive sport and when newbies come in, they tend to take it by storm for a while. He's probably just playing the circuit.

Henrik - Yeah, he was a climbing instructor but there's sport climbing. I don't see him doing the Olympics though. He's pretty down to earth, probably not interested in making it his job in this way. He'd rather spread knowledge and love of climbing to others through teaching.

Jakub - lmao as if this big-headed buffoon would miss out on weightlifting or something. Like he's too stupid to be cut from the team anyway. Send him an email and he still flies to the Olympics because he can't read idk

Jo - She would qualify under Cycling BMX Racing and I think she would have done it before. I'm not sure if I'd believe that she's at this one though. She's older, probably settled down or at least doing something related and not racing as seriously anymore?

Season 3

AJ - Definitely there. Loves competition, a great team player. She's 100% playing Field Hockey at the Olympics and I love that for her.

Tai - So technically I think Tai is a rugby coach not a player? Maybe I'm not remembering that though. I think he would be more likely a coach than a player for this Olympics though personally. He has the personality to be tough but also inspirational.

Season 4

Dylan - Definitely did not make the roster after his S4 mishaps. They were so embarrassed that they ghosted him. Left him on read when he asked about how to put in an expense report to get money back for his flight and whatever because no one contacted him about flying with the team. His teammates all blocked him on social media except one, and they didn't only so they could see his profile and laugh about what a loser he is :)

Season 5

Arlo - I mean, I don't know if she got canceled sadly. She was doing what everyone on Love Island does and I can't really blame her. I think she was probably given the opportunity to try out for the team, but that doesn't exactly mean she made it. She was Semi Pro, which means she wasn't the best out there anyway.

Pete - Tried out to be on the sport climbing team, fell on his ass and still has a bruise on his tailbone eight months later. BYE.

Season 6

Jamal - Please, they probably invited him personally to be on the team. He's got such a great energy and he's funny. He'll be there for sure and is definitely medaling.

Lewie - I mean this is a big sport. Did he try out? Sure. Did he make it? Maybe. Football is a massive sport and you're going up against the best in the entire league. I'm going to stick him in the maybe but probably not.

Season 8

Logan - Does anyone even remember this guy? I mean, like, I picked him at the last recoupling and I still forget his ass exists. That's probably what happened if I'm honest. He tried out, the coaches forgot that he had and he never got a call. Aw, poor Logan. Maybe he should try being more memorable next time.

Jack - Oh, he tried. He tried and failed. They laughed and were like, no this is serious not just a hobby. But they invited him to be a Physio for the team so all in all, a win for Jack. (He fangirls over the cyclists when he sees them).

Sophie - I think she tried out and as annoying as she was, she may have made the cut for Acrobatic Gymnastics (is that a thing still? idk). Kinda hope she sprains her ankle as she walks up to the mat or whatever, but I'm kind of a terrible person so.

Season 9

Hamish - yes. If being annoying and obnoxious was a sport. I love him, but he would win the gold. No competition. Though he does play golf now......damn, is there anything he can't do????

Jude - Okay yeah he would be there but the last time it was held was 2021 so I guess it would be next year if it was every 4? Not sure on this but there is a Motor Sports category. You go, Jude! Even though you're kind of a dick and weirdly obsessed with Kat in my game.

[chaotic-orphan]

Could you write a story where a king who outlawed magical beings (like fae, elves, sorcerers, etc Bc they’ve tried to kill him multiple times ) has a trial for a young magical creature found in his lands, but the creature isn’t evil, didn’t even KNOW they were trespassing, and is terrified they’re gonna be executed or tortured or something. But the king doesn’t hurt it, since the magical being didn’t mean any harm? Could turn into found family or he just lets it go or something

Love ur writing!!

A Benignant Mischief

@annablogsposts THIS ASK HAS CONSUMED MY EVERY WAKING THOUGHT SINCE I GOT IT! IN THE MIDST OF FEBUWHUMP NO DOUBT! THE GALL, THE NERVE!!!! I must say, this idea has taken hold of a good chunk of my brain and I have just been obsessed with Cosimo and Henrik (who will be introduced in part two), I hope you love them as much as I do. There is far more than this part written, but I had to divide it up to get some of it published so you didn't think it was just collecting dust in my inbox.

Thank you so much for this ask, it has rekindled an obsession with writing plot that isn't exclusively whump?! If that makes sense. I hope you enjoy it!

*~*~*~*~*

Cosimo ran through the forest with a sharp urgency, an unconscious boy cradled close to his chest as he went. The rain pattered down on his head as he ran, bare feet clawing at the ground to keep his grip. To an onlooker he could have been running on plain terrain instead over the wiry and rough forest, leaves slick with water; as if he were one with the Earth; knew every root, every nettle and broken tree bows that he hopped over with graceful ease.

His sharp eyes searched the forest frantically, pleading for a shelter to open up to them. Ahead was a wooden fence, tree branches crisscrossing before him like a blockade. Cosimo bowed his head and turned to the side, curling his upper body around the smaller one in his arms. Branches snapped and scratched at him as he pushed his way through with a determined resolve.

When he finally emerged from the branches, he found what he knew would be waiting for him. A small burrow made in a circle of trees, an opening in the trunk of a thick elfbow tree, the size of three fully grown oaks. A shelter mercifully presenting itself. Cosimo let out a soft sigh and whispered a soft thank you to the forest for providing.

His limbs grew heavier and heavier the closer he got to rest, but he walked on, slower now but just as strong as he was when he set out from court. He lay the boy in his arms down on a bed of leaves for the moment under the shelter of the elfbow. Cosimo touched the trunk as he entered, his heart feeling full as he did.

“Thank you protecting us,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to the entrance. Then he pressed his knuckles against the unconscious boy’s forehead, letting out a soft sigh. He was okay. Not as hot as he was before. Cosimo would gather food and herbs tomorrow to help the fever, but at least he was stable for now.

Cosimo took off his pack that he had hastily gathered from home. Two blankets, two pillows, a canteen of water, a hunting knife — just the essentials.

“The very bare necessities, Cosimo,” Cosimo chastised himself with a sigh, running a hand through his soaked hair flicking the rain from it. Cosimo put a pillow under the boy’s head and wrapped him in a blanket to keep him warm. Cosimo sat with back against the trunk of the tree, arms wrapped around his knees that he hugged to his chest and just watched the rain patted down on leaves outside the elfbow. The gloomy grey of the evening bled into a darker, broodier grey but the rain let up before night fell with its coat of deep purples and midnight blues.

Cosimo didn’t know at what point he fell asleep, but he woke to footsteps cracking the leaves beneath its feet and he was immediately alert. His hand shot and grabbed the hunting knife, unsheathing it and lunging forward teeth bared.

He came face to snout with a fox that was frozen in place, brown eyes meeting Cosimo’s with a slightly dazed and stunned glimmer to them. Cosimo let out a breath that reflected on the air with a rolling wave of smoke, before settling back into the nook-like shelter of the elfbow. The fox didn’t retreat, instead he sniffed the air and timidly took a step towards Cosimo and the unconscious boy beside him.

Cosimo inclined his head slightly and the fox entered the elfbow with all the inquisitiveness of a cat trying to sniff out the source of fish. The fox turned his head to the boy, and glancing back at Cosimo quickly for permission he curled up on the unconscious boy’s chest. Curling into a little ball on top of him, deep brown eyes meeting Cosimo’s again before closing half-lidded.

Emotion clogged Cosimo’s throat as he reached out to pet the fox, allowing the animal to sniff his hand before allowing the affection.

“See?” Cosimo whispered to the air. “You’re not nobody. You’re like me.”

Cosimo didn’t sleep exactly, but he at least got some semblance of rest before Dawn broke and he woke with it. He looked down at the sleeping boy, who was still asleep, the fox now curled up to the boy’s side. Cosimo reached his hand out and brushed the boy’s hair back from his forehead to feel it.

He was warm, not too hot. Maybe the fever had passed with the rain? Cosimo didn’t know enough about it, but he knew the rejuvenation powers of rain that came with him so he suspected maybe it could be the saviour of the boy too.

Cosimo drank some water from the canteen before grabbing the empty rucksack he took with him and slinging it over his shoulder across his body. He took the water and the hunting knife and set off about the day. When he exited the elfbow the sun was only starting to rise, birds heralding the morning.

Cosimo looked back to the sleeping boy and the fox. He pressed his hand to the tree and leaned his forehead into the back of his palm.

Protect them, please. I’ll return with food.

Cosimo felt the rush of feeling that flooded him when he felt around nature. Then he turned and walked out of the small clearing and into the embrace of the forest again. He remembered hearing running water when he was running with the boy, the sound distinct from the patter of the rain.

The dense woods were not nearly as imposing as they were the night before, when Cosimo’s thoughts were on finding shelter and nothing else. There should be some mushrooms nearby he could roast, maybe some berry bushes if he was lucky and water. Not enough to feed them properly, but to sustain them? It would be enough.

Cosimo found the stream under a thicket of leaves. It was slightly lower than the ground that Cosimo was on, so he simply extended a leg and slid down the bank to the stream, opening his canteen as he went. His feet settled into the damp earth, and he crouched down to refill the canteen. Not before drinking the last of the remaining water.

He heard a huff from his left so Cosimo glanced towards the sound and saw a horse lapping up water from the stream. Cosimo froze like the fox had the night before, before kicking himself into action. He sprung up, canteen forgotten in the stream and bolted back up the bank, his fingers clawing into the clay.

He scrambled to the top and was met with a pair of legs. There was a flash and a pressure on his chest and Cosimo was airborne, gravity grabbing at him and bringing him down hard into the outer bank of the stream. Cosimo let out a gasp of air on impact but quickly sprung to his feet and turned to hop the stream to the other side.

A hand grabbed him by the strap of his rucksack, and he was yanked backwards. “Hey! Wait!” Cosimo cried, bringing an elbow back sharply and his head back too. He slipped under the strap of his bag and grabbed the hunting knife and hopped the stream with ease. He didn’t look back.

Humans were bad. They killed people like him, there shouldn’t even be any for miles around!

Cosimo climbed up the opposite bank of earth with deft speed and hoisted himself to the other side, knife ready in one hand, the sheath in his other with one thought and one thought only — to go back to the boy in the elfbow.

He didn’t account for more soldiers to be on the other side of the stream. Cosimo froze again when he was first recognised by another man. They were all fully grown humans. Cosimo had yet to pass his fifteenth year, at least he had a slight boost in height, but he was too skinny to fight.

There wasn’t time to think before a hand was bunched in his shirt again. Cosimo whirled on his heel, slashing out blindly with the knife. The blade cut into the soldier’s cheek Cosimo realised with wide eyes, and the Soldier let him go. Cosimo fell to the side at the sudden lack of force holding him, but quickly got his bearings again and ran to the right of the soldier’s camp.

An arrow whizzed by his ear, startling him and Cosimo lunged to the left only to be caught with a kick to his leg. Cosimo stumbled but remained standing, turning to his new attacker baring his teeth only to get a punch to the face. Cosimo’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell, stiff as an oak onto the forest floor.

A boot stomped down onto Cosimo’s wrist wielding the knife and Cosimo cried out, reaching over with his free hand to paw at the boot but it wouldn’t budge. A knee to the chest followed and Cosimo cried out, trying to wiggle himself free but the human was too heavy. Whether his weight was from his diet or the weight of the uniform of metal that the man wore Cosimo didn’t know.

“Well, well, well,” the human man remarked. Cosimo swallowed the lump in his throat, struggling to free himself from the man’s pin. “You’re only a baby, aren’t you?”

Cosimo bared his teeth in response. They were so close to where Cosimo had left the boy and the fox, and he prayed that the elfbow would protect them from the soldiers.

“Let go of me,” Cosimo demanded, eyes blazing up at the man. The man smiled, something wicked twinkling in his eyes.

“Have you run away from home? You do know what we do to your people in these parts, don’t you?”

Cosimo let out a cry of frustration at trying and failing pathetically to free himself from the man’s grip.

“Please,” Cosimo said. “I don’t mean you any harm. I was just coming for water.”

“Won’t do harm my arse,” the soldier that Cosimo cut ground out, fury winding his features tight. Cosimo didn’t see him lift his leg, but his head whipped to the side with the impact. Cosimo righted his head too early as the man he injured stomped a foot down on Cosimo’s face.

Cosimo heard the bones in his nose crack inside his head while he screamed out loud, a quiet whimper following after his scream died in his throat.

“Hey!” The soldier pinning Cosimo growled. “You can’t kill it. They must be brought to court before their execution.”

Execution?

Cosimo’s struggles to break free renewed at the thoughts of the soldiers taking him away from the boy. “No! No, you can’t! I can’t leave the forest, please!”

The man above him tilted his lips down into a frown. “Sorry kid. Orders are orders, we have to bring ya in.”

“Don’t talk to it like it’s a child,” the angry soldier scolded. The man on top of him reached over and plucked the knife from Cosimo’s grip. Cosimo let out a soft whine at the object of his defence leaving his grasp.

“Just get the irons and let me deal with h—” the man above him said, then corrected himself, glancing down at Cosimo with a frown. “It.”

The angry man stormed off out of sight. Cosimo just stared above at the man still pining him to the forest floor.

“Please…” Cosimo tried. “Please don’t kill me.”

“Like I said kid,” said the man. “There has to be a trial in front of the king.”

Cosimo’s eyes widened significantly. There wasn’t a king for miles around court… how far had Cosimo travelled, and in what direction? The question lingered on his tongue, and he wanted to voice it, but thought better of asking the enemy… or even worse, letting them know just how clueless Cosimo really was.

The man stared down at Cosimo with a stern glance. “I’m going to get you to sit up, if you try to escape, we will catch you, and the other soldiers will hurt you again. Do you understand?”

Cosimo nodded. He hated himself for it, but he had to listen to this man. He seemed to be the only one who didn’t want him dead at that moment. The angry soldier returned with two bands of metal attached together with a thick link of metal between them.

“What— what are they?” Cosimo asked, his voice cracking with fear. The soldier helped Cosimo to sit up which caused a wicked amount of pain in his nose to flare up and Cosimo grunted with the effort.

The man took the metal from the angry soldier and dismissed him with a wave. The other soldier didn’t want to listen but obeyed the man when he told him to go verbally.

The man opened the metal loop and showed it to Cosimo, saying with a reassuring smile: “They open like this, see?”

Cosimo leaned in closer to inspect the metal. “What do they do?” He asked, a little less scared at seeing them up close. The man lifted his hand and put the metal over his own wrist.

“They tighten over your wrist like this, see? They lock— well, they essentially keep your hands tied behind your back so you can’t hurt someone again.”

Not have use of his hands. Cosimo shook his head vehemently. “No. No. I won’t hurt anyone else; I promise. Don’t put them on me.”

The man’s smile faded back into a frown. “I’m sorry, but I have to. Please don’t fight me. I don’t want you getting hurt again.”

Cosimo was trembling in the man’s hands, but he nodded his consent for the man to grab Cosimo’s wrist. Cosimo screamed when the metal touched his wrist and bolted back away from the man.

“Wait! Please! Please! Wait! Ow, please! I won’t hurt anyone!” The man caught Cosimo’s ankle before he could get further away from him and dragged him back. “Please don’t. Please! I’ll be good.”

A shadow crossed the man’s face as he grabbed Cosimo’s arm and pulled it behind Cosimo’s back before locking the second cuff around Cosimo’s wrist.

Cosimo let out a hiss as the metal burned a circle around his wrists, tears coming to his eyes. “Please, I’m sorry. Take them off. I’m sorry. What— agh! What is it?!”

The man grabbed Cosimo’s arms to stop him struggling more and hurting himself. “Iron. It’s a metal that is poisonous to your kind.”

“Please,” Cosimo whispered, the plea coming out soft and childish, fat tears trailing down his cheeks. “Please take them off.”

“I can’t,” said the man. “I’m sorry,” and it sounded like he meant it. The man then got to his feet and waited patiently for Cosimo to do the same. Cosimo pushed himself up, his balance going off and he hissed as he moved his hands to catch himself. All they touched was iron and it burned. The man put a hand under Cosimo’s armpits once he saw the boy struggling and helped him into a standing position.

“Thank you,” Cosimo said, the words like ash on his tongue. Thanking humans now? What would court think of him? His mind trailed back to the boy in the elfbow and guilt flood his body as he was pushed forward gently by the man.

“Change of plan, boys. We are bringing this one back to the King.”

One of the other men stood up, his face the shape of a weasels; small wisps of hair clung to his upper lip and chin in what Cosimo could only assume was supposed to be a beard and a moustache. The soldier lifted his nose high in the air when he looked up at Cosimo, grinning up at him and revealing yellowing teeth.

“It’s not even fully grown,” said the soldier with a high-pitched voice. The nice man holding Cosimo scoffed and pushed Cosimo forward again.

“Either are you, McClagen.”

“Does it know that we kill things like that?” McClagen sneered. The man didn’t reply, but Cosimo’s fate weighed heavy on him, heavier than a cloak made of stone. He frowned as the nice man led him passed the other Soldiers readying to take off again.

—

Continued here

[althea-and-alcestris]

TWST Game of Thrones AU

So before I begin explaining. Yes I am aware how dark the series is and for that, I wrote out all the inc3st, forced intimacy, problematic aspects of the story. I however do not shy away from giving a kill count to an AU and that's not gonna be any different here.

So the main plot remains. 7 Kingdoms/Houses battle against one another for the main throne and also fending against the ones outside the wall. The cast is sorted into mixed groups and I also included ocs this time too. This also messes with the canon timeline since some characters arent supposed to coexist with the current cast and also includes relatives (mentioned or shown)

House Aurum (House of Gold)

-King Henrik -Dawn Knight -Ace Trappola -Ace's brother -Albert Cardinal -Althea Cardinal -Juliette Lionhart -Princess Leia

House Bestia (House of Beasts)

-Leona Kingscholar -Cheka Kingscholar -Falena Kingscholar -Rin Kousei -Vega Zavattari -Jack Howl -Meng Yao Li -Luca Volpe -Ametist Crystal -Jamil Viper -Najma Viper -Ashton Vargas -Kifaji

House Coronis (House of Crows)

-Dire Crowley -Yurika -Fauna -Haru Yuudai -Epel Felmier -Marja Felmier -Ruggie Bucchi -Ruggie's grandmother -Mozus Trein -Kalim Al Asim -Cater Diamond

House Nobilis Dracones (House of Noble Dragons)

-Meleanor Draconia -Malleus Draconia -Lilia Vanrouge -Silver Vanrouge -Baul Zigvolt -Sebek Zigvolt -Zigvolt parents -Alcestris Zigvolt -Allen Alagona -Deuce Spade -Dilla Spade -Evander Ngam -Lamon Ngam -Augustino De La Bete

House Profundum (House of the Abyss)

-Azul Ashengrotto -Azul's mother -Jade & Floyd Leech -Leech parents -Idia & Ortho Shroud -Marina Seabrook -Gideon & Debby Campbell (excluded from the house)

House Rosae (House of Roses)

-Riddle Rosehearts -Mrs. Rosehearts -Trey Clover -Clover parents -Blanche Picard -Neige LeBlanche -Chenya

House Venenum (House of Poison)

-Eric Venue -Vil Schoenheit -Rook Hunt -Soleil Auclair -Divus Crewel -Marqu Camilleri -Bai Chenfeng -Sylas Armani -Angel Poupée -Pixel (will need a more old fashioned name) -Elion Kato -Ambrose the 63th

Strays

-Cain -Robo

I only have chunks of the story but. But I have the kill list

Kill list

-Silver (shot by an arrow infront of Lilia to wage war) -Yurika (Asssassinated) -Baul (poisoned) -Ortho (Dies protecting Idia in an ambush) -Trey (killed by Leona) -Kalim (Assassinated) -Dilla (Dies to a disease) -Meleanor (killed by the enemy) -Falena (Assassination) -Ace's brother (executed) -Mrs. Rosehearts (killed by Riddle) -Neige (poisoned) -Ruggie's grandmother (illness) -Henrik (Killed by Sebek) -Albert (Killed by Sebek) -Najma (Killed by the interrogation) -Gideon (Dies while protecting Blanche) -Augustino (Executed) -Pixel (???) -Haru (Killed by Trey due to an accident) -Marqu (Executed) -Evander (Executed) -Jack (Dies on the battlefield)

Silver is shot by a soldier from House Aurum as a way to wage war Baul is poisoned because he's believed to be a serious threat to House Venenum alongside Alce Trey is killed by Leona because of Haru's demise Kalim is assassinated because he's a noble Meleanor is killed because she was the previous queen of Nobilis Dracones and a feared one at that Falena is assassinated because he's king Ace's brother is executed for stepping up against the king for Thea's sake Mrs. Rosehearts is killed by Riddle for her abuse Neige is poisoned by Vil Henrik and Albert are killed by Sebek who wanted Thea safe Najma dies from the interrogation she was put under for a crime she didn't commit

Ships:

Sebek x Thea Allen x Deuce Ace x Fauna Silver x Sylas Haru x Trey x Leona Augustino x Chenfeng Rook x Soleil Very subtle Lilia x Baul Alce x Najma and later Alce x Juliette Gideon x Blanche Ami x Divus

If anyone has questions just dm me or ask me in my ask box, I'll gladly answer because it's a bit jumbled right now.

Ocs belong to:

Allen, Marqu, Gideon, Debby - @raguiras Angel, Meng Yao, Yurika, Fauna - @ang33333333l Sylas, Elion, Evander, Lamon, Cain, Robo, Haru - @vanrouge13 Vega, Blanche, Soleil, Marina - @nyx-of-night Augustino, Chenfeng - @spookyavenuestreet Pixel, Rin, Luca - @heyhellohihowareyou

[erikraven]

shatterverse is a cool name, what is that??

So, Shatter/the Shatterverse is my cyberpunk AU! I posted some stuff on my AO3 a while back, but my idea of what I wanted to write changed a lot so I marked it as discontinued and moved over to a new thing.

The name comes from the idea of a society that is hyperfragmented -- if you have a piece of land and the means to defend it, you effectively have a sovereign state. So, of course, many people have done so. They’ve discovered that there is, yknow, a reason that people form into nations, so most cities are still intact geographically, but the social side of them is very, very different. For example, Las Vegas has a sort of dome over it (it’s too large to put an actual cohesive dome up, but it’s sealed) to keep water in, and that of course makes it easy to turn into a highly controlled population. And so of course I get to write about the king of Las Vegas (Phantom), who just so happens to be Marvin’s sugar daddy.

Marvin’s magic is more Clarketech in this setting -- any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So in his case, he has a lot of genetic tweaks, primarily fluffy ears and an extremely fluffy tail because I will make him a catboy in every universe. He also has illusion magic via microprojectors and a hologram grid, plus some “hypnosis” via hacking into other people’s sensory augments. He loves form-over-function magic -- he’s fully aware that his claws aren’t as effective as an actual knife, but they’re more stylish, and Jackie can have a set whenever he asks.

Jackie is quite fun to write -- thanks to a wealthy benefactor, he has a neural backup continuously updated to resurrect when he dies. This means that he has a skewed sense of danger, because if he dies, he’ll just come back, right? Of course, he dies a lot, because he works for this wealthy benefactor as a hitman, and the start of the AU is Chase (not knowing all this) bringing a new body to Henrik for Jackie’s mind upload.

Henrik is one of the three androids in this AU, the other two being Edward (Dr. Iplier) and Jameson. Edward and Henrik are both medical androids, Edward programmed more to be a personal/private doctor for one person or a family, while Henrik was made for triage and emergency care. Jameson, however, is a real treat to write.

Jameson is a security android. The Jackson model is made for the highest of upper-class -- he doesn’t look out of place in the audience of a coronation. He’s a bit fragile-looking, being smaller than most combat-oriented androids, but he’s strong enough to break concrete -- and has. Ordinarily his model would be able to speak, but due to some damage, he can’t. No one’s ever told him what happened, but he doesn’t particularly care -- not being able to speak audibly has never bothered him. Most everything about Jamie is controlled by his rescuer, who found a nearly-scrapped android on the black market and decided to put him back together. He’s not the friendliest fellow, but that’s by design -- a security android who makes friends easily isn’t a very good guard.

(There is a lot of backstory that has been deliberately kept hidden from him. Once he finds out... oh boy. Maybe there was a gentler way to tell him he’s got brothers?)

Chase is... mostly human? It’s complicated, virtually no one is fully human anymore, because even if you haven’t got any edits of your own, your parents probably did. He has some augments, the most significant being a neurochip that repairs his right optic nerve, language centers, and some memory (the areas that were damaged when he shot himself). He works as a courier, since he’s good at keeping his head down in a crowd and not being noticed. He just wants to go about his life, however long or short it may be, do his work, and chill.

So of course, he is adopted by this gaggle of freaks.

The doc’s currently at 22k words, and if all goes well, the whole thing should be about 100k! I want to get it all written before posting, so hopefully it’ll be up before 2040.

Edit: OMG I FORGOT ANTI

Anti is one of the weirdest of the bunch, since it's not really a character yet? Right now its only appearance is as an AI weapon. It's not very targeted, it just chews through software and, if it can find ways to do so, hardware. It's designed to want to do as it's told, so its reward system is massively skewed, to the point that it literally will not reprogram itself to be "sane" because that would make its boss upset. It does show up as more of a character later on, but right now it's more of a digital nuke. There are implications of it doing something awful in the past by hijacking Jameson and walking around in his body, but we don't find out what exactly it did for a long while. Mark my words, though, it's going to get up to something bad.

[cheshireegray]

☆。I know I haven’t been on here in the longest time, but I’m sorta back so here’s a Klaroline one shot as an apology. Please don’t hate me 🫣

𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑨𝑪𝒀 𝑰𝑺𝑵𝑻 𝑱𝑼𝑺𝑻 𝑺𝑬𝑿

ＳＥＲＩＥＳ ＯＮＥ： ＫＬＡＲＯＬＩＮＥ

𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗦

&

𝗛𝗬𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗 𝗞𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗢𝗡

"Okay favorite color?" Her voice was light and airy as she called the next question. Klaus leans behind her combing his slender fingers through her bouncy water curls. Humming softly to an older classical singer he favored.

His young blonde turns her head a little to retrieve his attention again—-not that she ever lost it, but he hadn't answered quickly like her last few turns.

The original chuckles lightly and kisses her hair, "that one's easy, it's yellow."

Caroline shakes her head but hums when he massages her scalp with his firm hands. She lets her body sink deeper into his spread legs, feeling her hands wave and sway with the bathtub water. Klaus's finger graze the tip of her temple before he pulls them back lightly.

"What was my youngest brother's name?"

The question itself didn't float around so hotly or discomforted as it once did in the first year of their relationship. At first he wouldn't answer any questions that she'd asked—-involving his past sibling. Always reminding how she didn't need to dig into something he'd never cared to talk about, which caused arguments and very emotional tears. 

That was then though. 

He hears her heart pump slightly more, a known excitement coursing through her delicate skin. He knew how much she enjoyed talking about 'the Viking days' with him. Always finding deep enjoyment in his stories of how he once lived his very old and tedious life. 

"I personally love calling him Henry, but his name was Henrik." Her head tilts with a speckle of sass in her tone, knowing he'd be smirking behind her. It was true Caroline loved calling Henrik—-Henry or little hen, saying if he was still alive they'd be best friends. Making bracelets, playing with their magic, still remaining their fragile human selves,  and playing innocent jokes on the rest of his dysfunctional family. 

Klaus smirks--as she'd known. Thinking about how much a simple human girl could shift his dark and immortal life. So much of him he'd thought had died along with the his last human heart beat, she'd pulled out of his cold blocked off heart. 

He continued to wonder where she'd been when he was human and begging to find a love such as the kind they'd experienced currently. Well of course he knew that she wasn't even a seedling when he was flesh and fragile skinned, but it never hurt to question. 

The still hot bathtub water waves against her shifting to lean her head back toward his bare chest. Humming when his hands wrap to cover her bare---soft skin, pulling her closer in between his legs. 

Klaus leans down to plant sweet lipped touches across her next, slowly tasting the salty taste of the lavender bubble bath. Nobody would or could ever understand his affection for the short blonde that leaned up against his chest in a fathomable way. 

None could understand how badly he breathed her oxygen, ingesting the sweet tangling smell of her everything. Klaus had always lived to be the eternal bachelor, until the day she'd run into him while he was walking through the wood in mystic falls. Trying to plot ways to get the doppelganger to break his curse. 

He remembered how she criticized him on being a weirdo for walking in the woods at nearly  eleven at night. Her hair had been  wet from the lake that she'd been taking a late night swim in, speckles falling down her neck, just above the beating line that pumped the invigorating liquid he'd feasted upon only hours before from a bystander. 

It was like his heart skipped the centuries worth of beats it had over the thousand years. Watching her chest rise and fall ever so gently as she breathed in the thing he'd no longer needed. Caroline had been the first breath he'd breathed since before the sword went right into his heart. 

That was the night he'd felt a crack run down the barrier of his heart when she'd smiled at him after he walked her up the white boarded porch of her mother's old home. Klaus had fallen quicker than he'd ever felt one could fall. 

He trails his lips up her soft baby like skin, towards the under bone of her neck that connected to her ear. Nibbling at the skin there, then planting a tender kiss against the never there mark. 

"Your turn, sweetheart," his voice whispers, listening to her barley sounded hum in return. 

Caroline sighs gently, "What's my middle name?" 

He doesn't ponder on the thought, she'd known that he knew every simple detail about her. Including the cloud shaped birthmark that was underneath her left breast, or the star tattoo that resided on her right ankle.  

Truth was she loved hearing him say it, regardless if it was when they would disagree on something and he'd bluntly burst out the name to grab her attention in a less physical manner. Or when he'd say if she was testing his patients in the most loving---but childish ways. 

"Elizabeth." 

Her body tingled in the most deliciously delicate ways. Hearing each syllable fall from his fine wined lips, having the feeling of being held by the most dangerous man to walk among the world. The power that came with his detailed and vibrant accent every each of words he'd spoken to her, but the name---oh the name, it made her want to bury herself underneath the tongue in which he'd used it. 

Nothing ever made a name so simple as Elizabeth could ever sound so special, so tender, so earnest, as Klaus saying it in the presence of her finely pierced ears. Caroline had imagined living her life until age's of normal humans came to take her away, a astounding journalism career, a husband she'd met by an accidental bump in a supermarket, marriage, two beautiful children--maybe even a dog, and the love that followed with the wish. 

But being with an immortal hybrid who'd burn down the world for a scratch against her peach colored skin, for a wrong head turn to curse profanities against her clear mind, or even the simplest of coffee mistakes. A man who breathed in her skin, her eyes, her soul, it was all so delicate. 

So alluring and fictional, she'd be with him until the universe said 'no mas'. Till her old timed out coral blue eyes seen nothing but bur without a pair of reading glasses, and he still looked like the gorgeous man he timelessly was. 

simply perfection, in both senses of mind.

[iamvegorott]

I imagine that Dark and Antis fights before they got together, this idea leaning more into how it was displayed in videos, would be violent at times if things got too far. One of these times Dark maybe accidentally shot at Anti, he didn’t mean to he just accidentally pulled the trigger, the bullet grazing Antis leg to which Anti goes down to put pressure on the wound and is about to glitch to Henrik but gets lifted into the air into a princess carry by Dark. Dark knowing full well he can walk but he just kinda feels bad for some reason this time. He leaves Anti in Henrik’s office and sulks the rest of the day in his office. And I’d also like to add that Anti probably on many occasions nicked Dark before as well so it made it even more confusing to him on why Dark would be so worried about this happening.

I say these accidents were more caused by them trying to intimidate each other more than actual arguments and them wanting to harm each other.

Anti is gonna be SO confused after that

Just the next time he sees Dark he asks why Dark did that

Dark claims he wants Anti to shut up, not die

Anti counters that he wouldn't have died and was going to take off on his own just fine

Dark tries to come up with a different excuse but instead leaves

And we all know Wilford is smacking Dark with a rolled up newspaper by that point XD

[bellaxgiornata]

It's a Matty week this week! I'm planning to drop the second part of Borrowed Time this weekend and possibly "Accidents" from the 'Oh, Baby' Collection soon, too. Also considering changing the ending to Borrowed Time from just 'not happy' to 'not happy but hopeful.' It's weighing on me to write something too dark.

Though I am currently working on an angsty Matt one shot tentatively titled How Far Does it Go, When Does it End? featuring a depressed!Reader that has a hopeful ending. And I'm also working on a short three part breakup fic inspired by the song "Half of Forever" by Henrik and will be titled the same. Usually I don't get inspired by single songs but here we are...

[hsundholm]

A Queenstown Sunset by Henrik Sundholm Via Flickr: I shot this view from the top of Skyville@Dawson, one of the taller skyscrapers in Singapore.