#plot of the week
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wickedsrest-rp-archive · 4 months ago
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That's all, folks! Keep reading for a summary of our finale and a little look into what the future holds for Wicked's Rest! We are now officially CLOSED for this iteration of the rp, however current members are welcome to continue writing and posting anything that they want to wrap up before relaunch comes around. We're also still planning on hosting a final thread for those interested that didn't get to take part in the finale, or who just want to do another group writing activity! We look forward to seeing all the creative and exciting things you guys are going to do with our refreshed setting and lore!
With a loud boom, it was over. The townspeople that had taken up arms against the encroaching demonic threat watched as all their hard work paid off. Those destroying ritual sites saw the last of them burn away, leaving nary a trace of their existence. The brave people battling those man-sized bird monsters helped weaken the large one trying to escape, and as the final blow was delivered to the greater demon’s open maw, it all started to dissolve. Battles across town ended abruptly as the creatures in the greater demon’s service crumbled to dust and ooze, just like their master. Beneath the town, the powerful entity shuddered and sank into itself, its exposed limbs and beak breaking down into black sand, water, and ichor. On land, deep pits in the earth were left behind where the legs used to be. In the sea, the space the demon had carved out for itself collided with Storm's Eye Trench, making it even deeper and more dangerous and flooding a good portion of the massive cave system beneath the east side of town with seawater.
The mineral abnormality, lovingly known as Serpent’s Flat, also dissolved with the demons. This massive chunk of mystery mineral that had covered a part of the town for longer than most could remember fizzled away to reveal what lay beneath, and no one was expecting what was uncovered. Bleak Point, the neighborhood that’d been engulfed all those years ago, had sunken into the earth. Mysterious, unexplored underground caves had swallowed it all up, and it seemed that not all life had been wiped out when the Flat was formed. Creatures, both intelligent and not, had obviously been busy at work making the ruins of Bleak Point into a habitable place. Stone stairways proved that they’d tried to come topside, but had never been able to break through. But now with the way cleared, surface dwellers and cave folk are about to meet for the first time.
This chapter has ended, but there is more yet to come. As some people attuned to magic have sensed (and as others predicted), there has been a shift. The greater demon that slumbered beneath Wicked’s Rest for untold centuries is dead, and with it, the source of natural magic potent enough to keep this supernatural hub thriving with power. Decay is creeping in from the edges, and while it doesn’t seem so bad yet, it will undoubtedly start to cause problems the longer Wicked’s Rest goes without a power source.
FINALE THREADS:
Birds, Why Does it Have to be Birds? - Jade & Alistair
Demonic Bullshit - Owen
Night of the Living Leg - Emilio & Xóchitl
Bomb Voyage - Levi & Mateo
Call it Fate, Call it Karma - Rosemary
It's a bird! It's a plane! No.... it's a bird man! - Eden & Maggie
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literaryvein-reblogs · 8 months ago
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Writing References: Plot
Basics: Plot Structure & Narrative Arcs
Basics: Plot & Other Elements of Creative Writing
Plot Methods: Save the Cat! ⚜ The Story Circle
Plot Development: The Transformation Test
Plot-Driven Story ⚜ Plotting a Novel ⚜ Plot-Planning Worksheet
Plot Twists ⚜ Types of Plot Twists ⚜ Subplots
Ten Story Genres ⚜ Elements of the 10 Story Genres
The 3-Act Structure: History & Elements ⚜ A Guide
The Shape of Story ⚜ The Shapes of Stories by Kurt Vonnegut
Tips
From Margaret Atwood ⚜ From Rick Riordan
Before Writing your Novel ⚜ Burying Information
How to Get "Unstuck" when Writing your Novel
Editing
Chapter Maps ⚜ Editing your Own Novel
Plot Holes & Other Structural Issues ⚜ Structural Edit
Self-Editing ⚜ Novel Editing
For Inspiration
Archetypal Narrative Arcs ⚜ Character & Literary Tropes
Snowflake Method ⚜ Ways to Generate an Idea
More References: Character Development ⚜ World-building
Writing Resources PDFs
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sad-littletalker · 10 months ago
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If Bruce is covering as Nightwing right now, who's acting as Batman in Gotham?
Tim: ok so any takers for the cowl?
*everyone looks at Jason as he is the second oldest*
Jason: oh no way. Absolutely not. Tim?
Tim: after evil gun Batman? ha. Nope. Plus DC doesn't pay much attention to me to make a good story about that.
Damian: may I-
Everyone: no.
Stephanie: OH I COULD BE PURPLE BATMAN!
Cassandra: I want to be Batman if Steph is my Robin
*everyone considers it*
Tim: that... isn't a bad idea actually. I like it.
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technically-human · 8 months ago
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Bisexual crisis Crystal edition
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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 5 months ago
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Never underestimate the healing power of a good meal!
(For @nibbelraz!)
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coveredinsun · 1 year ago
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rewatching lotr, and rewatched the hobbit trilogy like 2 weeks ago, and i must say. i love this franchise for all its “i knew a guy who knew a guy” relations. like to give just one example, gimli presumes for a second, like the whole fellowship, that frodo got injured by the cave troll in moria. but he’s actually just fine! because frodo just happens to be gimli’s dad’s boss’s situationship’s nephew, and therefore has the mithril shirt that gimli’s dad’s boss gave to his situationship right before gimli’s dad’s boss led the company to battle against, among others, legolas’s dad. legolas’s old situationship from like last year (60 years ago) was also there and chose, get this, gimli’s dad’s boss’s nephew over him. i love yall
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myhyperfixationisiforgot · 2 years ago
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"If the Hargreeves had phones every season would end in two episodes!" Babe if there were cell phones in the Umbrella Academy it would be so much worse. Not a single person in that house is capable of conveying information in a coherent manner. Diego has them all blocked. Viktor only listens to his voicemail in bulk once a month. Five developed his own shorthand during the apocalypse that he truly thinks is coherent to other human beings (it is not). Luther, by nature of who he is, absolutely Does Not Text for any reason and keeps calling the others. Klaus is carrying at least four conversations in the same thread at any given point in time. Even if they all managed to remember that they owned phones (unlikely) and then proceeded to convey relevant information in a timely fashion (even less likely), not a single one of them would figure it out. Allison could probably muster the braincells necessary but would not under any circumstances manage to stay on task long enough to do anything about it. Phones would absolutely not help with anything at all.
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seaside-tropical-sun · 8 months ago
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I am CONVINCED that if sj had won 1 (one!) of their fights it would’ve permanently rearranged lqg’s few brain cells into mad puppy love
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morganbritton132 · 2 months ago
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Steve: *sleep deprived, slightly concussed, and still can’t get the taste of burnt Demogorgon flesh out of his mouth, following Nancy around the library*
Steve: *also late*
Steve: Oh, shit. Nance, I gotta go make up that test. I’ll see ya.
Steve: *kisses her on the cheek*
Steve: Love ya, baby. Bye. *leaves*
Eddie: *just trying to find a book about dragons when Steve Harrington leans over his shoulder and plants a big kisses on the side of his face*
Eddie:
Eddie: Maybe ‘83 will be my year
Nancy, at the end of the aisle:
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sasswonfp · 5 months ago
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Compare - PART 2 is DONE! (alt text provided)
Happy new year this one is just for me and 2 other freaks who will get me and go insane over this. I had a ton of fun doing this comic and I hope people enjoy it just as much! If you stuck around thank you!
PART 1 | PART 2 (here!)
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hello-eden · 1 year ago
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dead on main #3
destabilized Ellie and Dan are Jason and Danny's kids except Jason gives his permission to help stabilize the two when he's dead and when he's resurrected he has no memories of it.
 Danny and Jason met while he was dead and had a teenage puppy crush sort of thing. The two of them had a lot of things going on with one still being a vigilante in their town and one being recently murdered, So they never really were able to get together before Jason was resurrected. The two of them are from different dimensions and only meet due to the fact that the ghost zone is every Dimension afterlife. 
There is a bad reaction from Vlad finding out that Danny used someone else's DNA to stabilize the kids, Which leads to a very Reckless fight that leads to his parents finding out that the kids are halfas. The parents don't know that he is also halfa so they try to cure the kids. Danny flees To the ghost zone specifically to frostbite to make sure the kids are okay. While he's there Clockwork decides that was the best time to basically tell Danny that Jason's resurrected in his home dimension and that is probably best if he settles down there. Of course because Clockwork is still a menace before Danny goes through the portal he says that Jason does not have his memories of being dead and then pushes him through. Danny sets up his life there with Ellie and Dan.
Plot twist Danny ends up being neighbors to Roy in Star City. Danny is a trans single father of twins that appears to have run away from home due to bad situation. With all the Vigilante scars that Danny has it's a reasonable conclusion for him to suspect an abusive home.
Danny babysits Lian when Roy has missions and Roy babysits Ellie and Dan When Danny does work.  of course not always do their schedules so occasionally they have to call in another babysitter and when that fails we have the Red Hood himself. the unknown father of the twins( not really twins) and the Godfather of the other child( yes I made him The Godfather).
 Danny doesn't instantly recognize him due to the very obvious change. Two of them meet a couple of times through Roy. Danny usually just accidentally stopping in at a bad time before Roy introduces them together and Danny hears his name.
Danny does not tell him that he's the father of the children because one he was dead which means he's going to have to explain what he was doing while he was dead. and two because Clockwork told him he had his memories erased. Danny of course has a lot of feelings about this and Jason instantly gets a crush. Jason occasionally babysits the kids when the regular babysitter isn't working Nor can watch each other's kids because of schedules.
A situation happens with Ellie where she needs to go to the hospital and Jason brings her. this leads to an emergency blood transfusion. The transfusion goes badly and isn't working so Jason asks if his blood will work. It works perfectly. Jason questions for a little bit. Danny, whose phone was broken in  a villain attack two days ago and hasn't gotten replaced, shows up at the hospital after finally being contacted. Jason questioned him a little bit  Danny freaks out a lot which raises Jason's alarms quite High. When Danny's getting some food for Elle and talking to doctors Jason does a DNA test. Jason gets the results a week later when Ellie's finally back home which reveals he is the father. He has a lot of questions about this.
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wickedsrest-rp-archive · 7 months ago
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For a long time, it has felt like no one really knows what’s going on with the entity that seems trapped under the town. City officials have said one thing, the tourism board has said another, and every citizen of Wicked’s Rest seems to have their own opinion. “It’s obviously just some massive advertising campaign for the new movie coming out this December: Avian Aberration!” some have claimed. Others think it’s a mindbender of an art piece, though the meaning behind it is difficult to pin down. Even more are certain that it’s the end of days, that whatever is down there is going to get out and wipe all of New England right off the map before setting its sights on the rest of the world. Whatever the actual answer is, one thing is certain: people are talking. Many people are talking, and not always in the most private of places. There have been conversations overhead that were not meant for uninitiated ears — abnormality cultists, who seem in large supply here in Wicked’s Rest, discuss their doings more freely than they used to. And it seems that some of them might be having regrets. 
This has never been common knowledge, but the truth is starting to get out: Wicked’s Rest is one of a dozen or so magical ‘hubs’ in the world. This is why there is such a higher concentration of supernatural species in and around the town, and why strange things seem to occur every day. And that beast that’s starting to break through from its underground prison? Well, that’s the engine. Every hub needs one, but this engine is eager to spread its wings. Something needs to be done, right? The townsfolk can’t just let it rip apart their home, and they definitely can’t let it get out into the world where it could wreak untold havoc! But how to stop this? Some repentant cultists have some ideas, and scribes and demonologists are starting to realize what needs to be done. Now, they just need to get the word out. 
Killing the demons coming out of the beak will weaken the big demon. They’ll put up a good fight, but they seem more interested in capturing people than anything. They can be killed by mundane means, as long as enough damage is inflicted. Upon their death, they will turn to ooze not unlike what flooded the town over a year ago.
There are demonic symbols left across town, tied to the creature’s power. Characters can map out and discuss where these symbols are, and do their best to destroy them. However, the small demons might not be so happy about this if they’re nearby. Scrub fast.
If you try to touch the massive body parts sticking out of the ground and ocean, you might walk away with some temporary feathery features. Keep your hands away from that nasty black ichor seeping from the limbs.
Attacking the massive body parts might be key in bringing the creature down! [Note: Mod team will reach out to players who will be involved in this based on recent plot call]
Exorcizing and banishing lesser demons that have taken over townspeople will also help slow down the long-form ritual being performed to release this beast from its underground prison.
Some people are more afraid of what will happen if the beast dies. If it’s the engine for this supernatural hub, does that mean magic will leave this place? Will those that rely on magic lose their abilities to control or conjure it? Is that worth it to save the town? And what of all the missing people? If they’ve been taken by this creature, will they be returned? Or are they already dead? No one has any good answers, but most seem willing to take the risk of fighting back.
The weather has taken a strange turn, as a thick, dark fog spilled out of the giant beak. The fog lingers in the air but also seems to be sticking to people a little, making everything kind of hard to make out in the dark clouds. Every so often, lightning spreads and strikes down through the fog, striking buildings and people alike. It seems like something is angry. 
A new mineral abnormality has appeared?! It’s between the huge demon legs, located in the middle of the woods. It smells like putrid sulfur, and touching it might prove as dangerous as the last abnormality. A few people have touched it and walked away as new thralls of the giant demon beneath the town. 
Interestingly, some of the magic shops and other businesses reliant on magic (especially those on Amity) seem opposed to having anything to do with the demon. Rather, they seem content to leave it be, let things play out, even if the town itself might pay for it. Some older casters, or those from old families, caution that crossing or harming the demon could have even more dire consequences than learning to live with it there.
An unprecedented number of torples are out and about right now, feasting on all of the magic they can get their gross, slimy bodies around, like it’s the last thing they’ll eat. Some people have observed that once the torples get their fill, they seem to waddle out of the town completely, like they don’t plan on coming back.
With all the fog over town and even spreading inside of homes, will-o’-the-wisps are also in large numbers. Normally found around wetlands or at least near the woods, they’re now even in the heart of downtown and making their way into peoples’ homes, leading more people astray than ever. Mostly into the ocean, where they’re never seen again.
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stargirl230 · 5 months ago
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moonlighting 🌚✨
i’m so rusty from not drawing for a whole semester (sobs) but its ok now because kaito's here
(no reposts; reblogs appreciated!)
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mustasekittens · 5 months ago
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crackshipping spiderfist and i was genuinely tweaking out so bad i couldn't do my homework for like 7 hours. I've had rivals open doing NOTHING but staring at their models the entire time.
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thebctman · 6 months ago
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Love how they highlighted Mel’s power being a mirror in Maddie’s final moment. Mel knows what people are feeling and a glimpse of their true thoughts due to her powers.
So when Mel reflects the Maddie’s bullet, we see a physical manifestation of Maddie’s inner feelings in the moment before she is about to kill Caitlyn.
An evil grin in the face of violence.
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bunnwich · 5 months ago
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Devourer👑(Scar!Leona x Yuu) 01
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Leona got everything he wanted, except for one thing. After 7 long years of being king, Yuu comes back into his life. As Yuu finds themselves in his nightmare, will they be able to "find " Leona and wake him? Or will they both be devoured?
Characters: Leona Kingscholar x Yuu!Reader (GN. No physical description for Yuu. They/Them pronouns. Yuu majors in alchemy at NRC.)
Words: 5k, 3rd person Notes: A darker AU based on Leona’s Chapter 7 Dream. Part 1 of ??? Not sure if I will continue this AU but it was fun as an exercise to write a bit of more of a darker and sinister Leona for once. LMK if you like this sorta thing?
CW: Murder, Slight Dark themes??, Pushing of physical boundaries.
Tagging: I will be tagging in comments!
--
From the moment he took the throne after his brother’s death, whispers filled the kingdom, unease and ridicule trailing him like a shadow. He remained in the heart of the people as a scar of a prince on the divine oligarchy’s legacy. A black stain of spilled ink over the Sunset Savanna’s entire proud history. Once seen as a prince with little promise, he had sat as a king for seven long years now, ruling with an iron fist and a sharp tongue.
The “when” was foggy now, a few months, a year ago? Leona, as they used to know him, had personally recruited them to head an experimental “agricultural development program,” aimed at alleviating the famine gripping the kingdom. Yuu supposed he found out about their internship and majors sometime after they graduated. The years after Night Raven College had been hard and their old school life seemed almost idyllic compared to the world outside. After their friends scattered to the winds to start their own lives, Yuu had been left behind to pick up the pieces of a shattered life. Alchemy, the study of magical plants, was one of the only ways to make them feel competent in a world surrounded by people often more powerful than themself.  They had gotten quite good at it, but it felt surreal to be bestowed such an “honor” from a king after so many years. 
They hadn't seen Leona Kingscholar in nearly a decade after all. --
It was rounding the third hour of a meeting, and the afternoon heat was blistering. Yuu was slumped in their stone chair, mind starting to wander, eyes lulling dangerously closed. After a brief silence, a single voice broke the once-quiet discussion of the royal budget, and their trance.
“Your Highness! We cannot afford to execute this plan! This…aid program to provide outreach to the Outlands.” The council member never even bothered to look over at Yuu themselves. Even when he was implying their very existence at this council was an unwelcome one.
Seated around the oval table, each other council member avoided Leona’s piercing gaze. However, Yuu’s eyes flicked to the man seated next to them. The king was draped lazily across his chair, his expression one of equal parts calculation and boredom.
Oh? Their eyes widened, the elders rarely stood their ground with him.
“Hm? And why not?” Leona’s voice was low and menacing as his emerald eyes narrowed, deep voice cracking through the entire throne room. He was dressed in his standard black dashiki suit, its sleek fabric adorned with shimmering gold accents that seemed to catch the light with his every movement. The suit’s high collar stood proud, a dark canvas for the multiple beaded and gold necklaces that dripped over his chest.
"Your Majesty, diverting even more of our time and resources to the coastal neighborhoods is a mistake.” Councilman Griza, a giraffe beastman, braver than the rest, spoke again, his voice shaking only slightly. “Those…people have shown time and time again they are a threat to the capital. Offering aid will only embolden them, send mixed messages. Especially with how things have been as of late..." His malice made him braver it seemed, his resentment of the outlanders barely concealed.
“How convenient.” Leona sneered, slouching forward. His voice was a slow rumble, dangerous and intentional. “Of course, they’ve been aggressive. Anyone would be if they were historically treated like pests...starved, shunned, discarded.” He stood, palms slapping against the table, his claws scraping the stone discordantly. “They’ve been cornered, can't expect them not to bite.”
Each of his movements was a steady prowl as he circled the long table, his brown sash flowing across his shoulder. The councilman flinched as Leona suddenly stopped behind him, looming like a dark cloud over the man. “I think sometimes you all forget, I know what it’s like to be cast aside. And…to hunger for something denied.” His eyes scanned the table’s occupants and Yuu made sure to look down before he could make eye contact with them. 
They knew their place, as the youngest and arguably least qualified…they tended to keep their mouth shut unless their opinion was asked.
He went on. “...Starve someone long enough, treat them like the dirt beneath your feet, and then when they lash out, suddenly they’re the problem? How noble of you to twist the narrative, Griza.”
Another councilman, Lord Danga, a zebra beastman, cleared his throat nervously. “With all due respect, my King, our resources are already stretched so thin this year. The Sunrise City’s people must come first, our people. Surely you can see that?”
Leona leaned forward, his sharp green eyes locking onto the man, his claws still tapping rhythmically against the back of Griza’s stone chair. “ Oh? Our people?” His voice was low and venomous. “Tell me something…Lord Danga. When you hoarded grain last season for your own settlements and let three nearby jackal villages go hungry, were those not ‘our people’? Or did they suddenly stop counting?” He shrugged.
“I-”
Leona cut him off with a sharp glare. “...And now you all want to sit here and preach to me about where my mercy should begin and end?”
An elephant beastman, emboldened by frustration, stood up. "It’s not about your mercy, Your Majesty. It’s about strategy! Strength! If we appear weak to those in the Outlands, those people will take advantage of us and our generosity as they have been the past few dry seasons!” He slammed his fist on the table.
Leona scoffed, his voice dripping with contempt. “Do you know what really makes a kingdom weak?” He leaned more of his weight against Griza’s chair, the legs scraping loudly across the stone floor, as he suddenly pulled the old man and his seat backwards.
The giraffe beastman in question froze and nobody spoke, even breathed. Yuu found themself barely able to swallow.
“Fear.” Leona hissed.
“Short-sighted, foolish, hypocrites who think power means hoarding everything for themselves.” He spoke slowly, his voice lowering with menace. “You all aren’t protecting this kingdom. You’re choking it.”
Griza stiffened below him, hazel eyes downcasted. Beneath his breath, he muttered something Yuu couldn’t hear. 
“What was that?” Leona’s voice was sharp enough to cut.
“Hmph.” He tried to keep his lip stiff. “I... I only meant that... your father would have-”
“Go on. Finish that sentence…” Leona’s growling tone was dark, and dangerous, and his eyes glowed with a barely restrained fury.
The councilman’s lips quivered openly now, but he remained silent.
“...”
“I see. A lesson needs to be learned.” Leona exhaled sharply, his patience visibly thinning. “I don’t need comparisons, and I certainly don’t need your approval to do what’s right for my people, all of them.”
The room fell silent. Leona’s soft chuckle echoed through the room, cold and mocking. “Weak, huh?” He laid both hands on Griza’s shoulder, digging his claws into his white council member robes.
The man squealed like a stuck pig, trembling under Leona’s hand. There was no escape.
“Let me show you what real weakness looks like.”
Before any of the councilmen or Yuu could react, Leona’s fingers clenched and his knuckles turned white. He muttered a familiar incantation and the man stilled in his grip, before his body seized violently. Sand spilled from Leona’s fingertips, snaking around the old man’s face, frozen in fear as his panicked eyes darted to his peers. 
It was over in seconds, he didn’t even have time to scream. No one did.
“You see,” Leona said, his tone casual as “Griza” crumbled into a lifeless heap of sand in the pulled-out chair. “True weakness is being so afraid of the past that it gets in the way of the progress of the future.” His hand made an exaggerated flourish.
He turned to the remaining council members, clapping the sand from his palms. “You call yourselves leaders, yet you sit here staring at me with your mouths agape…like frightened prey.”
He cleared his throat, sliding his claws through his dark hair casually as he paced back toward his seat. “…The coastal neighborhoods will continue to be eligible in our restoration project through the dry season.”
No one dared speak, except to echo one word.
“Yes…”
Leona nodded with finality. “Good.” He moved toward the throne’s platform, the weight of his authority filling the room as he climbed the steps, taking his rightful seat. “You’re all dismissed.” He waved.
The council members scrambled to bow before filing out, leaving Yuu alone with their new king, too stupid to move. They always heard you shouldn’t run from a predator. 
While Leona stared satisfied at the pile of sand drifting from the empty chair, they forced their weak legs to work again, finally sliding from their seat at the table and retreating toward the throne’s steps. As Yuu stood rigid at the edge of the dais, their hands clasped tightly in front of them, palms sweating as they tried to still the faint tremor that betrayed their nerves. 
The room felt impossibly quiet now, the air heavy with humidity and the unspoken aftermath of what had just transpired. A few feet away lay the remains of what was once Councilman Griza. a man whose leering gaze and oily words had made Yuu’s skin crawl on more than one occasion.
Now, there was nothing left of him but dust.
Their time assisting in infirmaries for their college internship taught them that death usually smelled like something: decay, burning flesh, blood but...here a man lay, as if he had been ripped from existence.
Nothing. 
Yuu couldn’t bring themselves to look away from the dusty remains, though bile churned in their stomach anyway. They should have felt horror. Or grief. Anything other than this cold, detached emptiness and macabre curiosity. But Griza had been a contemptible man, a social-climbing parasite who had delighted in undermining Leona at every opportunity. Was it so wrong not to mourn him?
The silence stretched, broken only by the distant echo of footsteps as the council members continued to flee the room, their fear a tangible presence in the air. Yuu couldn’t blame them.
Their fingers tightened on the fabric of their own white robes, trembling creeping back into their hands. Drawing on every ounce of composure, they dipped into a shallow bow at the steps, the fabric of their clothing brushing against their knees. "Is there... anything else you require of me, Your Majesty?" Yuu finally asked, their voice soft but steady. Their gaze dropped to the floor as they clutched the folds of their robe like a lifeline. 
Heart pounding in their chest, each beat was a sobering reminder that they were still alive...still here, unlike Griza.
Seeing them still there, Leona’s low chuckle rippled through the room, smooth as silk yet sharp enough to cut their composure.
They straightened cautiously, their gaze lifting just in time to see the king rise from his throne. When he moved, it was slow and deliberate, his footsteps echoing against the polished stone floor as he approached them.
"Anything I require?" he drawled, amusement coloring his voice. "How polite of you."
Before Yuu could respond, his clawed fingers curled under their chin, tilting their face upward. The warmth of his touch seared against their skin, forcing them to meet his piercing green gaze. Yuu’s breath hitched, their composure slipping for the briefest moment as his smirk deepened.
"You saw what happened just now," he murmured, his voice deceptively soft, almost a purr. "And this is your response?" His sharp black nail tapped on their chin, thumbing the divot below their bottom lip.
Yuu swallowed hard, trying not to think that this was the same touch that just turned a man to ash. The weight of his scrutiny pressed down on them like a physical force. His eyes searched theirs, sharp and unrelenting, as though he could strip away every carefully constructed defense they’d built. He studied their face like a puzzle he intended to solve, his smirk deepening when his eyes flicked to their hands, still pulling at the fabric of their robes tight.
“Tell me.” he started, leaning closer, the warmth of his palm seeping into their skin, a stark contrast to the cold knot forming in their stomach. "What do you really think?"
Yuu’s pulse thundered in their ears, their mind racing as they searched his face for some trace of the man they once knew. Wishful thinking. His proximity was suffocating, his presence an overwhelming force that left them no room to breathe.
No, this wasn’t the Leona they remembered, the lazy boy who had once scoffed at the pomp and circumstance of royal life.
The man before them now was a king, his sharp edges honed to a deadly point by years of bitterness and isolation. He wore his title like impenetrable armor, his every movement, and word laced with the weight of his new authority.
“I-” They looked up at him.
His hair, once unkempt and free-falling, was slicked back from his forehead, threaded with faint spirals of grey that hadn’t been there in his youth. The heavy makeup around his eyes only deepened the shadows beneath them, giving him a look far older than even his thirty-three years. His gaze seemed to be shadowed with exhaustion that no amount of sleep could cure.
Yuu swallowed hard, their throat dry. They wanted to laugh, to make some cutting remark about personal space or his newly acquired dramatic flair. But those days were long gone. They were no one of consequence to him anymore, just another servant standing before a terrifying king. One who could crush them as easily as he had Griza.
Still, they couldn’t bring themselves to lie outright. They forced a weak, bitter laugh, the sound surprising even them. “Well…sir. I can’t say I ever shed any tears for Councilman Griza," they admitted, their voice quieter than they intended. "And I suppose I'm a little biased on the success of the restoration plan." They shrugged.
Leona’s chuckle was low and rich, sending a shiver down Yuu’s spine. His grip on their chin loosened, his hand falling away only to settle on their shoulder, still leaving char marks on their jaw. His claws lightly grazed the fabric of their clothing as he prodded them toward the throne.
"No one would," he said, his tone tinged with amusement. "The man was a perverted old bastard."
Yuu allowed themselves to be led further by their king, their steps measured as though they were walking a tightrope with him. The weight of his hand on their shoulder was impossible to ignore, a silent reminder of their wildly unbalanced power dynamic.
He stepped back, gesturing for Yuu to follow as he made his way to the throne. With a lazy grace, he dropped into the large seat, his arms draped languidly over one of the armrests as though the events of the day had taken no toll on him at all.
"C’mere." he said as casually as he might have back in school, motioning to the small space beside him. "Sit. I won't bite."
Yuu hesitated, their stomach twisting as their gaze flicked between him and the space left on the cushioned seat. 
Leona’s gaze never left them, the weight of his command impossible to ignore. Slowly, they moved over, beaded sandals echoing in the large empty room. They started to lower themselves onto the left side of the throne, their hands gripping the armrest as if anchoring themselves to reality.
There was barely room for the both of them. Yuu sat down cautiously, making sure to leave at least a few inches between both their legs. They looked down at the colorful beaded bangles on their wrists and adjusted them as they settled in.
Leona leaned forward slightly, his smirk sharp. "Now," he said, his voice low, "No bullshitting. Tell me what you truly think of what I did."
Yuu’s breath caught, their pulse pounding in their throat. They met his gaze, their own expression carefully guarded, They inhaled deeply, steeling themselves. They knew the wrong answer could cost them, and so could the truth. It was a dangerous game, and they were far from certain they could win against him. 
One thing was clear, there was no turning back now. He intended to play with them.
The answer was simple. He wanted them all to witness it. That’s why he did it.
"I think…" Yuu began, their voice measured, "You’re trying to prove something. To the council. To the kingdom. To yourself." The truth left their lips easier than they thought possible.
Leona’s eyes narrowed slightly, though his smirk didn’t falter. "And what, exactly, do you think I’m trying to prove?"
Yuu hesitated, the weight of his question pressing down on them. They chose their next words carefully, heart racing as they stared into his sharp green eyes.
"That you’re…strong enough to lead," they said finally. "That you deserve to be here."
For a moment, the air between them was charged with unspoken tension. Then, Leona leaned back, his smirk softening into something that almost resembled a genuine smile.
"Interesting theory," he said, his tone unreadable.
Yuu couldn’t tell if that was a good thing, or if they’d just sealed their fate. They took a steadying breath, relieved that Leona seemed somewhat satisfied with their response. His sharp gaze, however, told them the conversation was far from over.
“One more thing,” he said, his tone deceptively casual. “There’s something else I want to know your thoughts about.” One of his brows quirked upward.
Yuu straightened slightly in their corner of the throne, their posture still cautious. “Your Majesty?”
“You seem restless, little mouse. Tell me…what else is on your mind?” His voice was low, almost a purr, but the demand was razor-edged. “No sugarcoating it either. No filter. Honest thoughts about everything.” He held a palm in the air between them, but it felt like a trap.
Leona’s eyes tracked Yuu’s every move as they absorbed his words, seeming to just notice how they sat slightly off-center, leaving space between them and his leg.
 As if any physical distance could ever shield them from his intense scrutiny.
Yuu exhaled a breathy laugh, the sound strained. Their head spun from the abruptness of his request. In the time since their arrival at Leona’s behest, he had spoken to them so sparingly, and never this directly. It was almost as if they were strangers all over again.
“Everything?” they asked, stalling for time. “That’s a lot to cover.” They hesitated before adding, softly, “I mean-” They struggled on where to begin. “It’s… good to see you, Leona. I mean…Your Majesty.” The correction felt clumsy, a verbal stumble that reminded Yuu just how much had changed. The man sitting beside them was not the same person they’d once known. The thought tugged painfully at their chest.
“Not to be uh- rude but…you do look tired…” they ventured cautiously. “I heard the Sunrise City folk have been organizing more protests. Challenging the authority of the palace.” Their voice softened. “It can’t be easy to deal with.” They diverted his question slightly, bringing up recent events.
“I mean…” Yuu’s gaze drifted to the pile of sand that had once been Griza, then back to Leona. The question tumbled out before they could stop themselves. “H-how are you…feeling?”
Leona’s expression remained impassive as he studied them and their words. No doubt he noticed how their eyes lingered on him, searching for traces of the man they’d once known. 
A man he himself knew no longer existed.
He let out an irritated huff, his eyes flicking briefly to the pile of sand too. “It’s becoming more of an annoyance than an actual threat,” he said, his tone dismissive. Then his gaze returned to Yuu, sharp and unyielding. “...You really want to know how I’m feeling?” 
Yuu’s ears perked up at the question, hearing the doubt in his tone. It was the most candid he’d been since their arrival. His guardedness, the impenetrable walls he’d built around himself, seemed to crack, if only slightly.
“Oh.” Yuu blinked, startled. “Yes, Your Majesty. Of course! You can… talk to me about anything.” Their words were soft, formal, yet tinged with sincerity as they nodded.
Leona scoffed bitterly, the sound carrying a weight of frustration. “...Ever since I became king, everything I had before is gone. No more days of slacking off, no more carefree moments of not giving a damn. Now, it’s just this...” He gestured lazily around the grand but empty throne room. “...the kingdom and its endless turmoil.” He paused, his expression unchanged, but his emerald eyes burned with emotions left unspoken.
“And now, I don’t even have the one thing I truly wanted.”
Yuu’s breath hitched as they watched him watching them from the corner of their vision, their carefully maintained mask slipping. “But…Your Majesty, isn’t this what you wanted?” They gestured to the ornate throne room too, its vastness a testament to his new status. “To be king?” They relaxed slightly as they spoke, a whisper of the old melancholic Leona slipping through in his words. For a fleeting moment, he felt less distant.
Leona’s lips curled into a faint, sardonic smile, wrinkles creasing around his darkened eyes. “What I wanted? What I really want…” He leaned closer, his voice low but searing. “...is to go back to when I was free to do whatever the hell I wanted. When I wasn’t stuck in this…damn throne room, surrounded by…traitors and sycophants. No one I can trust or talk to, to…be by my side.”
The honesty in his tone made Yuu’s chest tighten. 
“You of all people should know that,” he said, his gaze piercing as a crooked smile tugged at his mouth.
They had wanted to keep their distance, but Leona's words landed heavy in the silence between them, the soft weight of his confession pulling their heartstrings. There was a rawness to his tone that unsettled them. As if their prior words had stirred something deep inside him, memories they had once shared, secrets only they both knew.
Leona’s broken smile felt like a ghost, haunting them both.   
“I’m sorry…” Yuu looked down, their voice barely above a whisper. They wanted to…to empathize with him, but the memory of Griza’s death still hung heavy in the air, a grim reminder of the man he had become. “I do know, Leo-” The name slipped from their lips again before they could stop themselves. “I mean…Your Majesty.”
Leona’s scoff was softer this time, almost wistful. 
"I guess...things were simpler back then, huh?" Yuu gave him a nostalgic smile as the coolness of the back of the throne soaked into their robes. The few inches between the two of them felt like a cavern now. “I…don’t envy you. Being king must be…” They struggled to find the word, a tightness in their own chest. “...lonely.” Their voice dropped. 
Yuu hesitated before speaking again, the silence between them like still, uncharted waters. “...What can I do to help, Your Majesty?” They dared to ask again, creating a ripple they weren’t sure if they wanted to cause. As they met his gaze, they knew they could no longer hide the sadness they felt for him, for both of them, at how things turned ended up.
He breathed out.
“I never asked for this. I never really wanted this, ya know.” Leona said, his voice flat yet laced with an unmistakable pain.  
“I know…”  Yuu felt the full weight of his gaze settle on them, searching, pressing his grief onto them. His eyes flicked over their face, taking in every subtle shift of their expression, the sadness they thought they had hidden beneath a veil of stoic composure. He saw them. And they knew he saw them, mourning for what both their lives once were.
It was a silent accusation, a subtle reminder that the walls they had worked so hard to erect were not as impenetrable as they thought. And yet, there was an unsettling tenderness in his eyes that made Yuu’s breath catch, slipping like a dagger under their ribs.
“But, there’s nothing you can do, even if I wanted ya to…” he said, his voice quiet but firm, the words weighted with resignation. The tension in the air only thickened, a heavy silence; screams muffled with years of unspoken words and unhealed wounds.  
Yuu’s eyes burned. They felt the sting of tears gathering, but they blinked and fought to keep them at bay, clawing at their bracelets on their wrist once more. They were unraveling at the edges, and for a fleeting moment, they feared the years of their trained professionalism would slip if they sat next to the miserable king any longer. 
They couldn't break character.  
"You're right, I’m sorry," Yuu confessed, wiping at their eyes with a hasty swipe of their arm. Their voice cracked as they spoke, an unintended tremor in the words. “I guess I should go, continue my work then, sir?” They stood, hoping to escape the suffocating intensity of this moment between them. “Your Majesty…” They bowed again, then stood there, waiting. 
But, Leona didn’t dismiss them.  
Before they could take another step, the king’s arm shot out like a whip, taking their wrist with surprising force. His touch was firm but desperate, pulling them back down onto the throne with him.  
Yuu’s breath was taken from them, and before they could even process what was happening, they found themselves falling and plummeting...straight into his lap. The impact left them breathless, their heart pounding wildly against their ribs. Leona shifted his body, catching them easily and wrapping his arms tightly around their waist, pulling them flush to him, their back pressed to his chest. His chin came to rest on their shoulder, his breath warm and shaky against their skin. Without words, he buried his face in the crook of their neck, nose tip tracing their pulse point. 
His smell was the same from all those years ago, cinnamon, citrus, star anise. Yuu could practically feel it, the tension and desperation pouring off him like an electric current. It was all they could do not to scream, for both of them.
“S-stay,” he murmured, his voice hoarse, crackling with emotion. “I don’t want cha to go.”  
Yuu’s body went rigid, heart hammering; a frantic rhythm in their ears. The warmth of his body, the weight of his arms around them. It was all so achingly familiar, yet the desperation in his grip felt foreign. This wasn’t the Leona they had once known. His loneliness clung like a heavy shroud, smothering them both in the savanna heat. There was something darker, more urgent beneath it all now, more intense than anything they remembered, a weight, a suffocating pressure. His loneliness seeped into them, and it clung to their chest like an immovable boulder. 
They couldn’t breathe. They couldn’t even move.  
“Your M-majesty?” Their voice trembled, a flicker of uncertainty breaking through the facade they had carefully crafted. They froze, unsure how to react, caged in the snare of his arms like a helpless animal. 
“I thought…” Yuu stuttered, still breathless, their voice barely a whisper. Their sweat caused their clothes to stick to multiple points on their body. “I thought there was nothing I could do t-to help?” Their body reacted to his touch against their neck, sending involuntary shivers down their spine. The tingles ran from their chest into their legs, and they couldn’t suppress the way their body burned under his invasive touch.  
Leona’s grip tightened, pulling them even closer to him. He inhaled deeply near their ear, his breath shaky against the curve of their neck. They knew he could feel how stiff they were in his arms, the way their body quivered with a mixture of confusion, fear, and something else. 
They knew he could feel their hesitance, but still, they stayed. 
And that seemed to be enough for him. 
“...You’re the only person in this fucking place that makes me feel like….myself,” he murmured, his voice soft, almost pleading. He whispered it as if it was the world’s most important secret. “That’s how you can help.”  
Yuu’s chest ached. They wanted to empathize with him, comfort him, and understand. But, there was another weight in the room that couldn’t be ignored. A man’s remains still lay near, a grim reminder of what Leona had become in their years apart. 
A king broken by his choices, a man who had spilled blood. Devoured his own remorse and morals long ago. And yet here he was, like a child clinging to their robes, desperate for the comfort of a bit of human touch. 
Yuu closed their eyes, torn. Every fiber of their being screamed to pull away, to remember the man he had killed with their own eyes. But the ache in their chest grew, the heaviness of his loneliness, clawing at them. It was too much to resist indulging in. They knew it was wrong, toxic even but-
The desperation he felt for them was...intoxicating. 
“Yes, Your Majesty,” they whispered, head light, their voice barely a breath. They closed their eyes, bracing for whatever would come next, but still, they waited, unsure if they had just stepped into a trap they would never escape from.
Leona’s body stiffened at their passive response, and a soft, almost satisfied hum escaped him. 
Oh? So, he hadn’t expected them to stay on his lap, to offer any kind of comfort, but here they were: allowing him to have what he apparently so desperately wanted.  
Slowly, Leona tilted his head, the outline of his lips grazing the skin of Yuu’s neck with the gentlest of touches. His grip remained tight, as though trying to anchor them both to this fleeting moment, afraid it would slip away if he didn’t. 
“Say my name,” he whispered, his voice low and full of something almost frantic.  
Yuu gasped, their body relaxing despite themselves. It somewhat disgusted them that they wanted to give in to him. The tension in their limbs began to loosen, and they instinctively pressed themselves closer to him, their body betraying all those emotional boundaries they had worked so hard to build.
"Leona," they murmured, their voice barely audible, a trembling whisper, just for him. 
"Leona..." They repeated it as if saying his name was the only thing that could ground them both in this chaotic and messy moment.  
They sensed his body react at the sound of his name, reverberating in the space around them. His chest shuddered behind their back, his grip on Yuu’s waist tightening. His claws gripped their robes to almost discomfort, trapping them even closer to him.  
As he exhaled shakily, it was as if a sense of relief washed over him. Yuu felt the tension in the rest of his body release beneath them. “Again,” he whispered, broad nose tracing the shell of their ear. His voice was croaky, almost pleading.  
Yuu’s heart raced, the warmth of his thighs soaking into theirs. Their breath quickened, caught somewhere between fear and longing, sweat beading on their forehead. They didn’t know how they had ended up here, sitting in the lap of the damn king after he murdered someone before their eyes. Then, offering him comfort with nothing but his name, and the weight of their body. 
But here they were, and there was no turning back.  
“...Leona,” they whispered a third time, sealing their fate. The name escaped their lips like a prayer, a desperate plea for the boy they once knew, the boy they had once admired, to come back. To claw his way through the cruel king he had become.
--
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