#said nephew is not dead yet but they don't know that

[friedwizardwhispers]

He really is saying that to his brother who he knows is directly responsible for the death of his son, his brother in law and (allegedly) his nephew ? and is indirectly responsible for the death of his wife AND theirs sister ?

Like come on, how does he not have any braincells ?

[aziraphales-library]

Hi there! First off, thank you so much for y’all’s work here on Tumblr, def one of my main sources of fic recs.

I read Summer’s End by FeralTuxedo a while ago (lovely rec) and am definitely back in my TLOU-apocalyptic-setting-with-a-moody-but-calm/nature-esk-atmosphere-and-character-centred-plot era again. I just genuinely enjoyed the specific atmosphere that the apocalyptic setting gives works. Anyway, that being said, I would love any recs that would fit that kind of vibe (I would prefer less smut since I skip over it but honestly as long as it isn’t specifically plot-relevant its fine lol also not TOO much angst please, I cant deal with Az or Crow actually dying or something like that unless it is done in a comforting way).

ps: on a more specific request, if y’all know of any GO fics inspired by TLOU I would greatly appreciate recs (look, Bill and Frank’s episode in the tv adaptation is screaming to be written as a fic with Az and Crow instead- Bill and Frank’s deaths are wht I mean by deaths done in a comforting way I suppose, haha).

Wow, this is a long request, so sorry. Thank you so much for reading, have a great day and happy new year!

Hello! Pretty sure we've recommended almost all of these before, but there aren't loads of this kind of fic (and I could find no The Last of Us specific fics)...

Dead Genres by A_plus_platypus (T)

The end is nigh when a zombie virus ravages the world. Luckily, there is hope yet in the form of pharmaceutical scientist Anthony "Just Crowley" Crowley. With his adopted younger brother Adam, his other three kids The Them, and English teacher Aziraphale Fell, he searches for the fated military base in Tadfield. There, they — along with the rest of the world — have a chance at survival. And also Crowley is a disaster, and Aziraphale is a disaster, and everyone needs a hot cup of tea.

what's to come by PepperPrints, restlesslikeme (M)

Post-Apocalyptic AU. Even without the Antichrist, both Heaven and Hell insist on Armageddon. Aziraphale is missing and Crowley sets out to find him, driving through a scorched Earth with a witch in his passenger seat.

is there anybody out there? by theycallmeDernhelm (E)

Welcome to the zombie apocalypse. England has been overrun by walking corpses, everything's gone to hell, and the few survivors are scattered- among them, Crowley and his 11-year-old son Warlock. When Crowley's radio signal is unexpectedly picked up by another group of survivors, he finds himself falling, in a way he never thought he'd fall again, for the charming and kindly Aziraphale. Over three seasons and a tenuous radio connection, a romance develops between them, while a friendship grows between Warlock and Aziraphale's nephew Adam. Love isn't dead (or undead) after all.

Ouroboros Forever and One by iblankedonmyname (T)

An AU where the Apocalypse-Definitely-Did, Aziraphale is a cowboy and Crowley is on a mission from God to reboot the universe. “God gave you, a demon, a mission?” Aziraphale snaps his glass onto the table. “Millions of angels at Her disposal, and yet…” His eyes are sparkling again. It’s more refreshing than a glass of tequila in a waterless land. “You?” His eyes slip from Crowley’s toes up to the top of his head. “Well, I am certainly surprised.”

Zombie Apocalypse by AppleSeeds (T)

When a meteor strikes Earth carrying a virus that can 'turn people into zombies', Aziraphale finds himself responsible for a group of frightened teenagers at an airbase-turned-hospital in Tadfield. Aziraphale is terrified, but experiences some relief when the teens introduce him to Crowley, who has a plan to get them all to safety. When things don't exactly go according to plan and with the zombies closing in, Aziraphale must face his fears in order to protect the children from becoming infected.

My Favorite Ghost by cassieoh_draws, DiminishingReturns (T)

Decades after the world didn’t end, Heaven and Hell got their war — and nearly destroyed everything in the process. When Aziraphale finally manages to reacquire a corporation and return to Earth, he discovers he was gone longer than he thought and the planet has become unrecognizable. As he searches for Crowley and tries to figure out how he fits in a world that Heaven, Hell, and God have all wiped their hands of, nature works around him to reclaim the bones of an old civilization as the scraps of humanity build a new one. A lush and optimistic post-apocalypse story, told from the POV of an immortal who can't let go of the past.

And the one you mentioned...

Summer's End by FeralTuxedo (E)

2095. Britain is a post-apocalyptic wasteland ravaged by droughts, the collapse of civilisation, and hordes of the undead. Despite that, Aziraphale’s life is actually pretty good. He has his caravan, his books, and his work, offering his services to the men who stop by Tadfield on their arduous journey north. One day, a mysterious stranger knocks on his door. Crowley is charming and handsome and he appears to know his way around a vegetable garden. He comes with the tempting offer of a mutually beneficial arrangement. But it’s in Aziraphale’s best interest not to get too attached. A dystopian cottagecore sex worker AU.

- Mod D

[starberry-cupcake]

Things were happening too much. Gideon "Griddle" Nav, Chapter 30

I'm gonna have to split these up because there's so much going on.

previously, in gideon the ninth:

this happened

currently, having finished chapter 34:

well, I am exhausted and I'm just reading this

"gideon can't catch a break" should be the subtitle of this book

we literally can't finish a world-shattering disaster, we're onto the next one

the skeletons can't clean the blood fast enough

so, palmolive has a plan

palmolive's plans are like my cousin playing d&d, he talks as if the plan is bulletproof but then you hear him and it's some looney tunes shit

they work more frequently than not, which is infuriating but also moves things along

I feel like I'm constantly arguing with this guy in my head

palmolive's plan is to use the mind reading thingy harrow leveled up when they won against the first boss to show her mentally how dulcinea's key was so that they can break in that door

there are 2546 things that could go wrong with this, but he says he's super sure

he's not, in fact, super sure, but it works

camilla, my qp wife, has the poker face of the century

they look at the room and find some stuff, pins in a board, necromancer notes, the fact that the skeletons aren't constructs, you know, the usual

oh and that teacher and the other dudes are all super dead

which, we all kinda knew that

the fact that the old man didn't have a heart attack at this point is prove enough he doesn't have a beating heart to begin with

I'm gonna say, I love learning book lore and understanding how things work in said lore, but this book is making me feel terribly dumb

I don't know if it's a language barrier, the fact that Gideon doesn't understand the stuff herself and she's the narrator or what, but I feel so dumb sometimes reading their explanations

the gist of it, I believe, is that they don't know what's powering them to do what they do...or who

they can't really delve into it because a fire alarm goes off

I haven't blamed dulcinea for things yet but you know how I feel about her, they check on her and she's still alive, so she's still a threat in my book

they fix the alarm but they can't really delve into it because the Second has murdered Teacher (he wasn't alive but he kind of was, you know how it is) and ratted them out to the Emperor

but Teacher says "one of them" can't come back, which makes me think this isn't as simple as they think it is

the second is a goner btw

they were a goner the moment they thought they could take on Camilla The Everything, love of my life

but they can't really delve into it because mayonnaise uncle and duracell bunny nephew tell them the third have opened up abigail's body

they can't really delve into that either because palmolive figures out that abigail had a key inside her body and the third have gone through the door it opened

the third is like when you have a dog that's constantly making noise and then, for 10 straight minutes you don't hear them, so you just know they've done something bad

so gideon, harrowbean, palmolive, my qp wife, mayonnaise uncle and duracell bunny nephew all go to confront the third

yandere simulator twin is bloody and cryptic in the middle of the room

I could go on a tangent and talk about the madwoman archetype in victorian literature and how she's a representation of the 'lucia' archetype (no relation to me), dulcinea of the 'ophelia' and maybe regina george twin could be a closeted 'jane'

I'm not going to, though, you're welcome for that

so regina george twin is crying in a corner (gideon is emotionally doing the same, probably) and chad is dead on the ground

get wrecked, asshole

well, he's not dead-dead, nobody in this book is ever dead-dead, this is the hotel california of space

yandere twin has absorbed chad's ghost like piccolo and kami sama in dragon ball (rip akira toriyama)

she says she's figured it all out and the whole test was so a necro would soul-fuse with a cav, one flesh one blood one end one bed, I forgot how the oath went

I don't think she's figured it out because we're not ending this book yet

palmolive also doesn't think so

very important note: there's writing on the wall (literal and metaphorical) again saying "you lied to us" and it's the same writing that was featured before and we still don't know what that's about

so the eighth goes berserk and mayonnaise uncle wants to fight yandere twin for slurping chad's soul

duracell bunny nephew goes like "I'm not sure about this" and that was the moment I knew he was toast

I have already established I feel dumb reading the explanations but, for what I can understand, what the eighth does is that the necro detaches the soul of the cav and makes him astral project elsewhere for a time but there's always a tether to bring him back, if that is broken or he drifts too far he can't come back but other things could go into his body instead, or something like that

which is what happens

I thought that the recent dead had, because gideon says there were six people in him, and we've got 6 dead (protozoa, the unknown corpse, the 2 teens and the bride and groom), but idk

all this happens after yandere twin fights using chad's moves and some magic body jelly

this is body horror territory, there are tongues coming out of orifices that should not have tongues and goo flying all over the place

the eighth is dead at the end of it, yandere twin and her inner chad are gone and regina george twin is crying because she wanted to be the one absorbed, which I guess makes sense considering she was training with swords

you know, I had my suspicions that maybe she wasn't a necro after all, but harrow distracted me when she said she must have been a good one

so now we're down to: gideon, harrowbean, palmolive, my wife, regina george twin, yandere twin w/inner chad and dulcinea my mortal enemy

and whoever it is that's coming in after the second contacted whatever number there was in the space phone tree

also, protozoa was one of the two bodies that were cooked earlier on, we still don't know who the second is

there's more we don't know than what we do know

see you on the next one, if you're not yet tired of me

[wixxid]

IVORY  · PART ll

Fandom: Dune

Pairings: Feyd-Rautha x Atreides!Female OC

Words: 1,658

Warnings: dark themes, abuse, and arranged marriage

Summary: Deceit leaves you waiting in doubt, while also allowing you a glimpse into the violence that is house Harkonnen.

"It's been days."

Sitting at the metal dining table, you stare down at the meal sitting on your plate; a platter of strange meat and fruit. It's late evening and yet you've still to see the sky. The duke sits the table opposite of you, troubled with a face equally as displeased as you sound.

Three day's have passed since your arrival to Giedi Prime.

That's how long you've been waiting to hear from the Barron. That's how long he's been making the envoy wait, with little to no news other than the fact his nephew is nearing to the planets orbit.

Feyd-Rautha was never here.

We've travelled time and space only to be left in disillusion. Stranded and seething in what is only another insult. The Barron had denied all your fathers requests to speak. We're to simply wait the coming time for the ceremony to take place.

"Is he dead?"

The question slips from between your lips, more as a suggestion than a question. In these last few days you've been contemplating the delay in your marriage to the Harkonnen. Your mind couldn't help but wander to the faint possibility.

You're father glanced you and then to the female servants. He utters, "Don't say that?"

Turning your eyes to the women, you observe how still the three of them stand. Their bald heads are bowed lowly, their eyes everted as if it were forbidden to look upon us. Neither of them spoke, a noticeable trait amongst these walls. It's terribly quiet.

"Do you think they listen?"

The duke sighed with a gesture, "All of you, leave us."

Immediately, the three women scurried from your site and out of the dining room. It leaves only the two of you now. Taking your glass of drink, filled with a substance you could only describe as strong - alcoholic - you take a sip.

"Don't get comfortable," he counselled. "They all listen. The servants. The guards. The walls. There's nowhere here you can ever believe is secure."

"Then why do we stay?"

He paused, "You know why."

Getting up from your seat, you headed towards a decorative wall ornament. A silver plate, rippled and bent into an unusual disk. The shiny chrome reflects the jarred image of your pale face.

"I'd accepted my fate from the beginning," you started whilst refusing to look at him. You can feel the emotions bubbling within your chest. "I'd made peace and readied myself for our arrival - and for nothing - to be made a fool."

"If he didn't need our alliance, then we wouldn't be here."

"You think he'd kill us?"

"Yes, and yet we still breathe," replied your father. "Whatever it is that's happening, it's not without reason. I don't believe this is the Barron's doing."

"Then it's true."

"What is?"

Your turned around, "Feyd-Rautha."

The duke tensed at the mention, before looking away with a sigh of defeat. It haunts him. Your father never wanted to speak of the marriage. It was your mother who came to you after the fact, confessing the identity of your match.

Your father is too shamed. Surrendering to the enemy and going so far as to parlay with his only daughter. It had hurt the mans pride, not only as a duke but as a father. He wanted better for you, better than a monster.

"He can't hurt -."

"Don't lie to me," you interjected. "As soon as it's done and I'm alone, there's nothing he can't do to hurt me."

"He won’t kill you."

"No," you mutter bitterly. Pausing, you emptied your cup with a last mouthful. "That would mean mercy."

Pursing your lips, you flare at his poor attempt to reassure your welfare. There's paths worse than death, and murder is too clean. Striding across the dining hall, you exited hastily without properly bidding him goodnight.

It angers you.

This waiting game has brought you to the edge of sanity. As you said before, you'd made peace with the situation, but now you're unsure. You're stuck in a twisted purgatory; neither free from this place nor bound to it.

Navigating the abandoned hallways, the click of your heels echoes amongst the wide tunnel like space. The palace is endless and vast, and sometimes you wonder what you might discover if you were to steer from the trail.

There's much the other houses don't know about the Harkonnen's. They're a secretive and sly race, who don't take kindly to sharing their technology and resources; other than the exorbitant production of Spice.

"Why are you following me?"

Pausing in the middle of the hall, you waited for the hidden figure to emerge from the shadows. You had herd them trailing you from the moment you left the dining room. Their mind is far too active for you to ignore amidst the emptiness.

"It's only polite to mind one's guests. The palace walls can easily deceive the unfamiliar."

Piter appears the dank recesses of the hallway, still clothed in traditional black. The two of you have barely associated after your initial contact upon arrival, but you aren't at all surprised to find him lurking.

"And what might I find, if I were to stray?" you asked daringly. "Perhaps the truth?"

"The truth isn't always worth it's labour."

You're gaze narrows, "Tell me what you want."

"Answers," he simply responded. "It's my function to seek answers - even to questions still yet to come."

"Isn't it only inevitable."

"In a manner, but why not reach for the power of foresight?"

Stepping towards him, you inch closer to the mentat; until you're merely inches from one another. Although he doesn’t move, you can see the uncertainty in his face. He expects you be otherwise, but you react differently; a miscalculation.

“Tell me my future.”

He looks at you with hesitation, before answering. “Your future is your own creation. But,” he adds whilst looking you up and down. “I do expect it be bleak.”

You scoff beneath your breath. He’s blunt, but at the very least he shows honesty. It may not be on the most respectful of terms, but it's better than you expect. Eyeing him once more, you leave Piter alone in the darkened hallway.

Walking back to your room, you're quick to take notice of the servant standing idly outside of your doorway. This one’s different. You’ve not see her face before. There seems to be quite a few, following you like shadows.

“A bath,” you instruct, to which she obeys.

Opening the door to your room, you enter first while she trails afterwards. Swiftly she maneuvers herself to prepare the bath in the adjoining room. It’s gives you time to breath, and you do so deeply.

The weight on your shoulders is overbearing. A force to be reckoned. You’ve been on constant guard the moment you step foot on this rock, and although you know you shouldn’t allow yourself to slip, you bring yourself at ease.

If only for a moment.

The servant returns, helping you undress from the layers of clothing that've been shielding you from the many faces. They’re not to see you before the ceremony, but you’d rather they don’t see you at all.

It’s easier to hide.

Slipping into the hot bath, you submerge down into the milky white water. It smells subtle but flowery, not a smell you first expected to breath in a place like this. You'd expected something unpleasant and sterile.

They say the Barron himself bathes in vats of black oil. They dredge it from this very terrain. It's supposedly a mineral enriched concoction. A way to heal the mans fowl wounds and morbidly ill health.

Improbable.

Rotating your neck, you ease the taut ache within your muscles. The ceremony will be soon, if not tomorrow then surely the next. You’ve not seen their ways of marriage, but you imagine it to be cold and emotionless; savage.

It’ll more akin to a fete, than a true celebration.

Sponging along the length of your arms and shoulders, the servant carefully washes you as if you're made of precious material. Leaning over, you cant help but catch site of the bruised flesh at her collar.

“Stop.”

Immediately, the woman stills like a statue. Your damp fingertips running across her soft but marred skin; the color of deep purple. She flinches when you press the tender wound. It's recent enough.

“Who did this to you?”

Remaining quiet, her unmoving eyes stare into the distance. Fear or loyalty. Either way she refuses to reveal the abuser. The artery at her neck throbs with the increase of her heartrate.

“Speak.”

She stumbles at the sound of The Voice. It brings her to her knees, hand splashing against the waters surface as she tries to steady herself. The answer you compel comes unwillingly and to a surprise.

“Ne-Barron."

Frightful eyes gape up at you, body shaking as she tries to come to terms with the power that'd overcome her freewill. Disorientation. As much as her instincts beg for her to flee, she makes no move to runaway; to scream in horror and obscenity.

Instead, she collects herself as much as she can, before retrieving the sponge to continue bathing your flesh. There's no need to force for further elaboration. Her words came accompanied with a testament of emotions.

Torture.

Torment.

A common endurance on this planet. Resting in the bath, you only need to imagine as to why the brute would decide to leave the servant so obviously bruised and battered; only the reason hardly matters. Logic is for the sane.

Feyd-Rautha is psychotic.

Your only real concern is, if he's so willing to inflict pain and suffering to that of his own people, then what might he do to you; an outsider. An Atreides. Those bruises hold no shame or remorse. They stand as his representation.

Would he make you walk among them as another?

A symbol of his dominion.

[sunnyie-eve]

2. Bastards

Fandom: House of the Dragon

Series: Devious Opportunity

Pairing: Aegon II Targaryen x Cousin! OFC Targaryen!

Word Count: 1.3k

Notes: Aegon being nice to the boys, betroth offers, and Criston being ass

| MASTERLIST |

As the four trained in the yard, Celeste was petting one of the horses while watching the boys. Deep down she hated watching how Criston would only give points to the princes and not the other two boys. Then poor Luke being the youngest swinging his stick around with barely any control being flimsy. He should be given pointers to help him.

Walking away from the horse to watch them closer she sees Aemond and Jace shoulder check each other then when Luke and Aegon switch sides, she smiles a bit seeing Aegon pat him on the back.

Aegon catches Celeste watching them so he smiles over at her so she politely smiles back. "Aegon." Ser Criston says to get his attention back.

"I won my first bout, Ser Criston. My opponent sues for mercy." He says jokingly in a cocky tone making Celeste laugh at him.

"You'll have a new opponent then, My Lord of the Straw. Let's see if you can touch me." He tells him so Aegon stops smiling, "You and your brother."

While those two try the other two watch till Ser Harwin gives them some advice. Then he tells Criston he needs to give his attention to the younger two more. "Jacaerys, come here." He grabs him roughly telling him he'll go against Aegon.

Celeste gives Aegon a look before he walks over to his starting point. He gives her a wink telling her not to worry too much. She didn't trust him that much and he proved her right when he shoved him down. Jace gets back up rushing at Aegon not ready to lose yet.

As Harwin gives advice to Jace, Criston talks to Aegon but he doesn't entirely listen since he was seeing the way Celeste was looking at him and he hated it. "Jace," He calls him for them to go again.

Jace tried his best against Aegon but he just had the upper hand, "Use your feet!" Criston tells him but he doesn't do such a thing, "Use your feet!" He yells and Jace trips falling backwards. "Don't let him up. Keep attacking."

Aegon stops noticing Jace hurt his left wrist when he fell and Ser Criston Cole kept yelling for him to continue attacking. Aegon drops his arm not wanting to continue anymore. Not to mention Celeste was still watching him and he could tell she was already a little disappointed in him.

"That's cruel if I continue. He's already down and he landed on his wrist." He says as Jace gets up slowly moving the wrist he hurt so Celeste goes over to him to look at it.

"In an attack you keep going till your opponent is dead." Criston tells him.

"This is practice and my nephew, Ser Criston." He says looking over at the younger boy with Celeste.

Both Criston and Harwin start to talk about the teaching being cruel then how Harwin cares about the boys in a certain way only family members do. That struck a never in him so he attacked Criston. All the kids move back as Hawin straddles Criston punching him over and other till more guards come over to pull him off of him.

As Harwin is taken away, Celeste tells Jace that they need to go care for his wrist to make sure it can heal quickly. On the way leaving the yard, she gives Aegon a smile with a head nod. He does the same back knowing she was thanking him for stopping.

-

In the council meeting before it ended Rhaenyra said she wanted to speak. She brings up the strife between the families and wants to try to fix it. She suggests that Jace and Helaena could get betrothed when older and she would be Queen when Jace takes the throne after his mother.

"And with Daemon's wishes for his daughter living here, me watching over her and making decisions for her, she and Aegon could be betrothed as well. We can ally ourselves..." She adds, as Alicent just looks at her with no emotions as Viserys loves the idea, "Additionally, if Syrax brings forth another clutch of eggs, your son Aemond will have his choice of them... a symbol of our goodwill."

"Rhaenyra," Was all she had to say letting her know she was leaking through his dress.

"My dear... a dragon egg is a handsome gift." Viserys smiles at his daughter.

"The King and I thank you for your offer and we will consider it duly." Alicent tells her before telling Viserys he needs to rest. Once out and on their way up the staircase Alicent talks about hating the idea.

"The proposal is a good one, my Queen." He tells her, "We're a family. Not to mention, Aegon and Celeste are always together. They would be a perfect match."

"There would be good things with them wedded but I know there would be some problems as well." She says knowing how Celeste favors Rhaenyra and would not want Aegon to take the throne.

"Alicent, my niece would cause no trouble."

"You may do as you wish, husband... when I am cold in my grave." She walks off a head of him as he calls out to her.

Meanwhile Celeste and Aegon were together in her room, he was constantly talking while she tried to read her book. "Aegon, would a moment of silence be so much to ask from you?" She puts her book down on her lap.

"You have to have some say about what happened in the yard. Ser Harwin snapping because Ser Criston doesn't help his boys."

"Aegon!" She snaps now, "Yes, we know the truth but the boys do not. We don't speak about it. And I'm sure Ser Harwin was expelled as punishment." She wants to change the subject.

"Why does my father act so blind to the truth though? It's obvious that they are ba-," He stops seeing the look on her face.

"Why should it matter if they are? They still have our blood because of who their mother is. Hair color should not be the thing that changes opinions. They have Targaryen blood, their mother is the princess, and they have dragons." She says having their backs, "Aegon, did you know technically I'm a bastard child as well?"

"You are?"

"Yes, my mother and father never married. It was just a short love affair." She tells him what she knew, "Why do you think me and him are not close? Everyone says he cares for me that's why he leaves me here because it's better for me... But I don't believe that truly. He and Laena have daughters yet I'm still here. I don't know my half sisters. He tells Rhaenyra, by raven, he gives her rights to me since she basically has raised me."

"At least you are still cared for and loved. Your father still sends letters to you when he does have to if he didn't care about you, Rhaenyra being a mother figure who loves you, and Jace and Luke seeing you as a sister. You still have it better than me. If I wanted to talk to someone all I have you who would listen to me. You have Rhaenyra, Jace, Luke, Laenor, some maids, and my own father."

As she was about to say something back, Rhaenyra enters her room, "May I have a word with you?" She asks.

Aegon gets up leaving the room so the two could speak. "Yes?" Celeste asks her.

"Seeing how I look after you here and your father giving me his blessing... Laenor, the boys, and I are leaving to Dragonstone. I do not want to force you to leave with us but I would love for you to come. I see and love you as my own daughter and I would miss you. I know the boys as well." Rhaenyra gives her the news.

Celeste thought about everything and that would mean she had to leave Aegon behind, but she loved Rhaenyra and the boys. With them she felt safe, wanted, and loved. It was the family she didn't have.

[starsval]

request for Remus Lupin dating potter! reader. Maybe angsty after Halloween 1981?

i miss you, im sorry

remus lupin x potter!reader

summary: remus leaves when the war ends.

word count: 1k

warnings: mentions of scars, mentions of james' death, sad? idk

"you're just gonna leave?" remus eyes go to the scar on your face, made from the first war. much to your brother and boyfriend's displeasure.

not like it mattered anymore. one of them is gone and the other is leaving you right now. 

"i can't stay here, love, it's too much" he looks away, but he doesn't stand up yet, sinking in everything before he leaves your house forever. 

"you're not going to fight for harry? to keep him safe? you're not going to fight for sirius?" he closes his eyes when you mention his best friend, like you just stabbed him. 

"harry will be safe with petunia, away from the magic. and sirius is a traitor" he spits the last words, even after your efforts in trying to get him to believe that he's innocent. like you do. 

he says his name like it hurts. 

"remus" you sigh, trying to get him to look at you. "he's- he's your best friend, and you know that he'd never do that to james" 

this time you're the one who says someone's name like it hurts. not because you think he's a traitor, but because he's gone, he left without warning. your brother is dead and he will never come back. and with his death you also lost lily, sirius and harry. you don't even have your nephew to take care of. 

remus doesn't answer, instead, he just stares at a wall. 

"you're not gonna fight for me?" he looks at you, and presses his lips together. "i thought, that we'd go through this together" 

"i'm sorry" he closes his eyes. 

"you promised" although he can't see you, he can feel you walk closer to him. 

"i'm sorry"

"when this started, you said we'd go through this together, where did that go?" you're in front of him, but he doesn't open his eyes. 

"i don't know, i'm sorry" he whispers

"i- i know we weren't in the best moment of our relationship before this, but… i didn't think that'd matter"

he swears he doesn't mean to let it drop, but there's nothing he can do as he watches the cup break into pieces. 

"i thought you'd know better than that" he says, ignoring the glass on the floor. 

"better than what? i'm just supposed to stand back as everyone fights?" you can tell he's disappointed. 

"you could've stood with me" he turns around, not waiting for an answer. you can't do much but leave his old apartment. 

with an agreement that you're not talking. 

"it's not like that- i just, you bring me many memories. you remind me of your brother, of lily, of harry, and i can't deal with that" he cups your face in his hands "i'm sorry but i can't"

"you said forever and i almost bought it" this time you're the one who looks away. 

"i meant it"

"did you?" he let's go of your face. 

"i did" he almost swears it, but what's the point when he doesn't anymore. 

"do you remember? happy together?" you suddenly ask, trying to bring back your good memories. 

because maybe he'll regret doing this. 

"i do, don't you?" you talk again. and you think that he's going to agree but he just let's go of your face.

"i'm sorry" he looks like he's actually going to be sick when he stands up and leaves.

and you stay like that, staring at the door he just closed. alone in what feels like a haunted house. because everyone that used to live in it, is gone. 

except you.

    ᨳ      ׂ   𓈒  ⠀🌙 ㅤׂ  ✽    ੭

you were on your way home from petunias'. you tried to at least see harry. but there was no use.

it was already december, and after months of trying, you still hadn't seen your nephew. 

and you knew that it would be pointless. you know it's going to be pointless when you knock on the door of what used to be remus and sirius' house. 

remus opens it, not expecting you there. and he immediately closes it. 

ᨳ      ׂ   𓈒  ⠀🌙 ㅤׂ  ✽    ੭

you figured he hates you. that he'd want nothing to do with you. 

but instead he called. 

"remus?" you immediately call for him, trying with his name a few times, with no answer. 

"i- i thought you hated me? did something happen? is someone hurt?" he still doesn't answer, you can't hear anything. 

"are you making fun of me?" still no answer. 

"remus i have to-" you don't continue, because he says something.

"i miss you" he says, almost inaudible, but you caught it. 

he immediately hangs up. 

ᨳ      ׂ   𓈒  ⠀🌙 ㅤׂ  ✽    ੭

eventually you stop showing up at his house. while you wanted to fight for him, you were still mourning. so you just stopped trying. 

winter went by and spring was reaching it's end. 

maybe it was the breeze that lead remus to your door. 

neither of you talk, you just stare at him. and a minute passes when remus is finally able to meet your gaze. 

"i'm sorry" it's the first thing he says, and he's going to keep talking, but you stop him before he can. 

"that's not fair" you try to close the door, but he keeps it open. 

"i know, and i'm sorry, but i don't wanna go, think i'll make it worse. and everything i know brings me back to us" he's almost crying. 

"and i know that we've been here before, and i swear that i tried not to come here, i tried not to knock, but everywhere i go leads me back to you" he has come closer to you, and you let him. 

"remus-"

"i miss you, i'm sorry" he puts his forehead on yours. and you're both crying. 

"nothing happened in the way i wanted" you tell him, because it's true. you lost everything. 

"i know, i'm sorry, i'm so sorry" he puts his arms around you. 

"every corner in this house is haunted" you confess. "and i know you said we weren't talking, but you don't know how hard i had to fight the urge to go to your house every single day" he holds you as you cry. "but i missed you" 

"i still love you, i promise" he kisses your head. 

and you stay like that until you both calm down. then you just get inside, and try to rebuild what you lost months ago. 

[meowmeowriley]

Anybody else see that art on Twitter of Soap as an Animal Crossing villager, and then the other art of that Soap sitting on Doom Guy Ghost's shoulder? Anybody else feeling so incredibly normal about it? Anyway. Have this.

***

"C'mon uncle John, would it kill you to smile? Pretend you wanna be here?" Soap was doing his best, he really was. He loved his nephew, and when his sister Isla said he couldn't go to the convention because it was too far away and he didn't have an adult, well what are uncles for?! But he hadn't taken into account that 1) he's never been to a cosplay convention and 2) he's seriously out of his depth when it comes to the colorful characters around them. If anyone asked he'd be mortified to admit that he'd spent the better part of his leave following his nephew around, taking pictures of him with characters from various video games and anime. No, he'd be keeping this experience to himself.

"I'm not not enjoying myself." Andrew rolled his eyes. "I just don't know any of the characters. I haven't played a video game in ages, and I've never watched anime." Plenty of other soldiers did watch anime, and there was nothing wrong with that, he'd just never joined in.

Andy snorted. "What was the last game you played, old man?" Soap resented that. He wasn't even thirty yet.

"I dunno, Halo maybe?"

"The original?!"

"Think so." Soap said with a shrug.

"So the year I was born. Got it." Yikes.

Suddenly Andy was excitedly pointing at a large man in green and gray armor, in the middle of a crown. "Oh you have to recognize that guy!" And did he ever. How could anyone not recognize Doom Guy? And he was holding the BFG.

"Ohhhohohoho yeah. I know Doom Guy." John had nearly forgotten how much he'd loved the Doom games as a kid. "And before you say it, those games are old, even for me."

"They redid the games in 2016 and 2020. It's relevant again." Oh. And with that Soap was once again being dragged toward some random person in a costume.

Something this guy was getting right was that he wasn't speaking. He'd nod, wave, aim his gun, but he didn't utter a word. Soap couldn't see a thing through the helmet visor. I wonder if he can even see outta that?

The guy caught sight of them, evidently he could see, and tilted his head while looking down at Soap. "That things pure dead brilliant." He found himself marveling at the BFG in the man's armored hands.

It looked like it was actually made of metal. And it actually glowed! How the man had gotten the green lights to work, he was dying to know. Trying to configure it in his head, he nearly missed when the man held it out slightly for him. "Can I?" He asked, just making sure. Oh he'd kill for something like this in the field. Pure devastation. Doom Guy nodded and John took the gun. Holding it, it was a hell of a lot lighter than he'd imagined. The fuck is this thing made of?

Andy popped up beside him. "Can we get a picture with you mate?" To that, Doom Guy nodded. Maybe Soap would tell people he'd been here, he wanted a picture of him holding this gun hung up at his desk.

Andy backed up, people kindly stayed out of the way as the picture was taken. Doom Guy posed, crossing his arms over his massive chest. Soap held the gun as best he could like he would a rifle. Not aimed at anyone, but ready. "We're good." Andy called. Doom Guy  held up his hand to stop him, then stuck out one finger and swirled his hand around. "Huh?" Andy thought for a moment. "Another?" Doom Guy nodded and gave a thumbs up. Really taking his character seriously. Who were they to deny him, this was cool as fuck. Soap readied himself to take the next picture, giving the camera a feral grin, just like the first, when Doom Guy placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down.

"Enjoying the convention Johnny?" Startled at the use of his name that he knew he hadn't given the man, he whipped around, instinctively pointing the gun in his hands at the chest of the other man.

Then it dawned on him. "Ghost?!" He asked incredulously. There's no fucking way.

The man in question began laughing. He reached up and removed his helmet. Shaking his head, Ghost's messy, dark blonde hair flew in every direction.

Unlike Las Almas, he wasn't drenched in sweat, there was no grease paint, and light brown hair was longer and curled slightly. Shit he had freckles. Shit he was cute. Dangerous thoughts, John.

"I didn't think this was your kinda thing, Johnny." Ghost said with a crooked grin that perfectly framed his crooked teeth.

John was no saint. He'd been flirting with Ghost since they met. Secretly really wanted to have sex with him, but he'd only seen the man's face that one time, and now his mind was going a million kilometers an hour trying to take in every inch on display. Thoughts both pure and impure ran through his head, and the only thing that managed to make its way to his mouth was "Where'd you get this thing?" Normally he was a better flirt, but normally he was flirting with the visage of death. Not a pretty man with freckles. Well he was, but not really.

"I made it." Ghost shrugged, armor clacking as his shoulders rose and fell. "Same as the suit. It's all EVA foam and 3D printing."

"You made this?!"

"Yeah? I made my masks too. What, you think I bought those?" Ghost smirked.

Andy had jogged back over. "I took a video, so we could take screenshots." He handed the phone over to Ghost.

"I'm absolutely keeping this, Johnny." He said as he typed in his number and sent the video to himself. Damn, Andy got Ghost's number before he did.

"Johnny?"

"Shut it, Andy." He warned. "We work together. Never in a million years thought I'd see him out here though."

"I go to any convention I can make. It's fun. I have other suits. Isaac Clark from Deadspace, Master Chief from Halo. I like to wear them and make people smile. I don't get to do that often." He seemed lost in thought for a second, face darkening. Just as quickly as it had happened, the expression was gone. "You go to conventions often?"

"First one. But I could be persuaded to go to more." John smiled his best flirty smile. Andy snickered, and earned himself an elbow to the ribs.

***

Now I desperately wanna see Soap at a con dressed like Isabelle while holding the super shotgun.

[a-french-coconut]

Luke Castellan (Part 3)

He dreams of her constantly.

He sees her alive, confused, lost.

He sees her taking the news of his departure and burning a whole part of the forest in anger.

He sees her looking at Annabeth in disbelief, surely wondering where her little sister went.

And he wonders if he knows her like he used to.

He wonders if she has any memory about their conversations when she was a tree.

"CASTELLAN !" A voice bellows, shaking the ruins of the castle.

It's time, Luke, to release my nephew from his burden.

Yes, Master.

He makes his way through the ruins scattered on Mount Otrhys, ancient home of the Titans, currently residing on Mount Tamalpais.

"There you are, demigod !" Atlas groans, the weight of the sky driving him into the ground.

Luke looks at the gigantic sphere, sees the constellations moving through the stars, Orion and Sirius, Andromeda.

"Come on, boy !" The titan snarls, "you said it yourself, you must be the one under the sky."

"Indeed, General." He answers drily, a bit irritated by Atlas, "Eager to escape your burden, I see."

"You would want that too if you were stuck for thousands of years." Atlas sneers.

"I suppose so," he shrugs, "well then, let me take it off from you."

As he places himself underneath the sky, Atlas slowly gives him a part of his burden, waiting for him to settle in the most comfortable position he can find before fully letting go.

As soon as the whole weight of the sky settles on his shoulders, his muscles burn, strain, shake from the strength he has to muster.

Next to him, Atlas stretches, conjuring a spear and making elaborate movements with it.

"Free at last !" He roars, spinning his weapons masterfully, "free from the gods' shackles !"

Sweat drips from his front and black spots obscure his vision.

"Hold strong, demigod." Atlas says, "The manticore is already on his way, he has the girl."

He grunts, signalling the titan he understood, but otherwise, his whole mind is on holding the sky, its weight pressing on his shoulders and crushing him.

------------------------------------

He doesn't know how much time passed.

He's constantly on the verge of fainting, his whole body aches and his neck is killing him.

He is dimly aware someone brings him water, food. It must be Alabaster because he hears the person murmuring and suddenly, he feels a surge of strength. Though he is certain to have heard Chris too.

"Luke !"

That voice isn't familiar.

"Luke !"

No, wait, she is. Of course she is.

"Annie," he stutters, the only action of moving his head a painful one.

She's standing there, grey eyes wide open and there's some blood on her face.

"What- how-" She looks at the sky in disbelief, "how aren't you dead yet ?"

"Soon, very soon," he rasps, "take it from me."

"Take it from you ?" She takes a few steps back, looking around her with suspicion.

Of course, he hadn't expected her to accept directly. He knows she is smart, incredibly so, but Annabeth always had one weakness and he knows it very well.

"Please, Annie, only for a moment !" He begs her, seeping a note of despair in his voice.

She looks at him and he knows he won.

"Okay, okay." She says quietly, approaching him and putting herself under the sky.

"I'll drop it on the count of three, okay ?"

She nods, her whole body tensed up.

"One."

He lowers his arms, Annabeth being smaller than him, and the sky now rests on his shoulders and Annabeth's.

"Two."

He lowers himself even more, letting Annabeth take the full weight.

"Three."

He quickly darts from under the sky, Annabeth gasping next to him as the whole sky falls upon her shoulders.

"Thanks Annie." He says breathless, taking a good moment to stretch like Atlas did, "but really, you don't change."

"You're brilliant, Annie, really brilliant, but feelings," he shakes his head, "they always confused you."

He kneels to see her, gently pushing down the hair covering her face.

"Don't worry, okay ?" He grins, "she'll be here in few days, just hold on."

Her face is scrunched up because of the efforts she's doing, but the heartbroken, hatred, look in her eyes is clear, piercing his heart like the dagger he gifted her so long ago.

"I'm doing this for us !" He screams, because she needs to understand, "Thalia is going to save you, and when she arrives, we will be together again !"

"Isn't that nice ?" He grins, smile dropping when she's still glaring at him the same way.

"I'll talk to you later, got things to do," he mumbles, standing up and leaving Annabeth alone, struggling with the weight of the sky.

---------------------------------

"You left Annabeth under the sky ?" Chris asks, bewildered.

"For a few days only !" He defends himself, "She can do it, Chris. She's strong."

"And I'm going to help her like I helped Luke," Alabaster pipes up from the bed he's laying on, "she'll be fine, Rodriguez."

They are all in Luke's room, Chris, Alabaster and Lila.

Chris fidgets on his seat, clearly not okay with their decision, and it makes him angry.

"Do you think I wanted to do that ?" He snaps at him, "Of course not ! But it's the plan and we gotta stick to it. Something, "He gives his brother a cold look, "I'm beginning to think you can't do."

"Luke..." Lila says warningly.

"No, let him say what he thinks !" Chris stands up, putting himself right in front of Luke. "I already told you last summer that I would do what I need to." He spats, "why are you doubting me like that ?"

"Because you've been uneasy since Thalia's tree got poisoned !" Luke snarls back, "and don't think I haven't seen you with that picture of yours."

"What picture ?" Alabaster asks.

"Luke," Lila says with more force, "enough."

"No, what picture is he talking about ?" Alabaster presses on.

"Why the fuck do you care ?" Chris roars to the son of Hecate, Luke momently forgotten.

"Because it looks like it's making you doubt where your loyalty resides !"

"ENOUGH !" Lila yells, effectively silencing them.

"Enough." she repeats more quietly, "Luke, I can vouch for Chris when I say he's perfectly loyal to our cause and no," she gives a firm look, "I won't be saying why because it's none of your damn business, same goes for you Torrington."

His general scoffs, but doesn't comment further.

"Now," she continues, "Luke, I believe you had something to tell us ?"

"Erm, yeah. Atlas is on his way to capture Artemis as we speak, which means Annabeth will have to stay here."

"And it concerns us because..."

"Because, Alabaster, I want you three to survey her cell. I don't trust anyone else to guard her. You guys know her, how smart she is."

"Fine, we'll do it." Chris says curtly, eyes pointedly on the floor.

"Do I have to-"

"Yes."

"But I'm-"

"my general, I know, but you're still doing it."

"Fine !" Alabaster sighs.

"We got you Luke." Lila smiles at him.

"Thanks guys" he grins at them, except for Chris, "When we are all on Olympus, drinks are on me okay ?"

They all cheer, even his brother, and for moment, he's back at the Hermes Cabin, laughing at some trick Travis and Connor pulled.

Feeling nostalgic ?

Kronos' voice echoes in his mind, directly damping his good mood.

"Guys," he says with a strained voice, "why don't you go train new recruits or something like that ? I need some time alone."

He gestures his head and they all understand, quickly leaving his room.

Perhaps you even wish to go back to that pathetic camp of yours ?

Of course not.

Listen to me well, Luke Castellan. I must gain strength to prepare myself for the next part of our plan, which means I will be gone.

What is the next step ?

Don't worry, Kronos croons, you will know everything in due time.

Your brother, Chris is it ? He lacks conviction.

My Lord, he is loyal to you, Lila vouched for him.

Why, why, why, why ?

Why did he accuse Chris in front of Kronos ?

He can fix this, it's okay, he can fix this.

And do you ?

Yes, yes I do.

Kronos stays silent, his presence heavy in Luke's mind and making his heart pound quickly.

He has to believe him.

Come on, believe me.

I'm the son of the god of Liars, believe me !

When the time comes, he will be asked to prove his worth, and he must comply. As for the girl, she will pay the consequences of her claim, good and bad alike.

Very well, my Lord.

I will not contact you until my essence is complete, Castellan. My brother, Coeus, knows what must be done.

Do not forget our cause, and the wrongdoings of the gods.

It's been years since Luke was alone in his head.

It's quiet.

There is no longer the constant buzzing, the reminder that Kronos heard his every words, every thoughts.

It's his own again. ^^^^^^^^^

Someone knocks on the door.

"Luke ?" Lila's head appears, her voice wary, "everything's okay ?"

"Yeah, all great." He adds a smile for good measure, "where are the others ?"

"Alabaster went to train some new recruits Chris brought in a few days ago and Chris went to the training grounds, probably to blow some steam off." Lila chuckles awkwardly.

"Lila-" He wavers, should he tell her about Kronos ? "How are you so sure Chris is on our side ?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"But it does, Lila, it really does," he presses her on, "tell me."

"I can't, Luke."

"Lila," his voice turns serious, "he is doubting Chris and you are going to take the blame if my brother leaves the army."

"What ?" She fully steps in the room, eyes blown in panic, "No, please. Tell him I take it back !"

"I can't, he just left."

"What do you mean he just left !" She screams, whole body trembling, "You have to fix this !"

"Lila !" He grabs her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him, "why are you so nervous ! You just told me, and Alabaster, Chris was loyal !"

"I lied ! I lied okay !" She yells, her hands tearing out her hair, "He's been asking me questions about Clarisse for the whole week and when you mentioned the photo, I panicked."

"Hey, hey, stop hurting yourself." He grabs her hands and makes her sit on a chair nearby. "Does he know who the spy is ?"

"No," Lila sobs, "but he figured it's someone Clarisse knows well, well enough to share some personal informations like where she lives, her friends, stuff like that."

"Okay, it could be anyone of the year-rounders, we, hum, they are all pretty close. Why didn't tell me all of this ?"

"Because I was afraid you would kick him out or something."

"Lila, he's my brother !" He says exasperated, "I wouldn't do anything to him."

"I'm sorry !" She sobs even harder, "but you have to do something because I'm not sure he won't ever leave."

"He won't," He reassures her, "I'll make sure to keep him close to me, he'll stop going on recruiting missions and he'll stay with Alabaster here."

"I don't want to die, Luke," she whispers, "please, I don't want to die."

"You won't, I'll take of care of this. As long as Chris stays, you have nothing to fear."

"Thanks," she sniffs, "you're a good friend, Luke."

"Don't think everybody would agree." He mumbles, grey eyes burning his mind.

"Well, they're idiots then." She smiles, "I'm going to go talk to Alabaster, make him be nice to Chris."

"You go do that, I'll go talk to Chris and apologise."

He watchers her leave, disappearing around a corner.

They're idiots then.

"Unfortunately, Lila, I don't they are." He whispers to one, his hand automatically going to twirl the ring on his necklace.

It's a cheap ring, stolen from a shady store without doubt.

It's still the most valuable thing Luke owns to this day.

-------------------------------------

As Lila said, his brother is furiously slashing dummies' heads.

"What do you want ?" Chris asks him when he hears his footsteps.

"Nice posture, you're getting better." Luke notes, carefully staying out of the sword's reach.

"What do you want ?"

"To apologise," Luke sighs, "for the mess I got you into."

Chris stops killing dummies.

"What mess ?"

"Kronos heard me talking about you, he thinks you're not as loyal as you say you are."

"What ?" His brother's eyes widen, "but I followed you since the beginning ! I pledge myself to him !"

"And yet," Luke continues, oddly calm, "Lila tells me you asked her about Clarisse."

"I-" he falters, "I just want to know if she's okay."

Chris sheathes his sword and Luke takes it as a sign to get closer.

"Listen to me, Chris, it's been three years since you saw her. She won't be the same anymore."

"I know but maybe I can convince her to join us, if I can talk to her-"

"She'll kill you the moment she sees you." Luke argues, tentatively putting his hand on Chris' shoulder.

"We were friends" Chris says with a raspy voice, "we were best friends."

"She is violent," he softly says, "and I don't think you guys are friends right now. You can't go see her, you can't leave this place."

"I'm in charge of recruiting." Chris frowns.

"I'll get Brie to do it, I need you here."

"Brie can't do shit," Chris scoffs, pushing him away, "she's too hot-headed to recruit anybody. She's going to scare them away."

"Then Martin will, he's a son of Aphrodite."

"Why do you want me here ?" Chris asks with suspicion, "afraid I'll desert or what ?"

Yes, Luke thinks.

"No, of course not." He chuckles, "but the new recruits are a little frightened by all the monsters. They know you well, it'll be good for them to have you around."

"Oh, I see." Chris' defensive stance loosens up, "yeah, I can do that."

"Good," he grins, "you can even help Alabaster to train them."

"I don't think Torrington wants me anywhere near him," Chris scowls, "he made that clear."

"Lila went to talk to him, he'll be nice from now on."

"I don't think he's capable of that." His brother mumbles.

"I'm sure he is, why don't you present me the new recruits ?" He asks him, changing the sore subject of Alabaster Torrington.

"That wasn't subtle, Luke," Chris rolls his eyes, "but come on, it's this way."

"At least it works." He shrugs, bumping Chris.

-----------------------------

If he had known Chris had been taking fucking judo classes from Clarisse, he wouldn't have engaged in a combat.

Chris sends him crashing into the door, breaking it, and he lands right in front of three demigods, all looking at him bewildered.

"Hey guys, I'm Luke." He greets them, a little breathless.

"You're the leader ?" A boy asks.

"That's me !" He grins.

"Get up," Chris says, entering the room, "you're not making a very good first impression."

"Whose fault is that ?" Luke snaps, still accepting Chris' hand.

"Yours, you started it."

"I bumped into you !"

"Exactly."

"You guys are brothers ?" The second boy asks.

"Yeah," Luke answers, "that obvious ?"

"You fight like brothers." The same boy snorts, "I would know, right Gabriel ?"

"Yeah," Gabriel replies, still eyeing Luke warily.

"Ok guys," Chris claps, "Introduce yourself please, Gabriel you go first."

"Gabriel Hernandes, son of Deimos and this is my brother," He tilts his head toward the boy, "Mateo."

"And I'm the son of Phobos," Mateo says, "our mother didn't really see the difference between panic and terror."

"That's, hum, not common." Luke says looking with interest at the two brothers, "what are your powers ?"

"I can provoke fear." Mateo says proudly.

"And I can see your deepest terrors and turn them against you." Gabriel says.

"What do you mean by turning them against you ?" Luke frowns.

Gabriel smiles with a glint of what Luke sure is sadism, in his eyes. "Allow me to demonstrate."

He grabs Luke's arm and Luke only hears Chris ordering at Gabriel to back off before all his surroundings change.

He's back in his childhood house.

He's in the corridor leading to the kitchen, where he knows his mother is cooking those peanuts butter cookies that will end up burnt.

He has to leave, he has to get out of here.

He wills his feet to move, to get him to the entrance.

He's stuck, frozen in place.

There's a loud noise in the kitchen, which means his mother just dropped her newly burnt batch of cookies.

Which means she's in one of her crisis.

Wild, utter, fear runs through his nerves, urging him to leave, to run, to hide.

The closet in his room upstairs.

She never found him there.

Come on, move !

She's screaming now, screaming something about how terrible his fate is, how doomed he is.

"My poor boy, my poor little boy !"

It still breaks him to hear how horrified she sounds.

"Mom..." he calls out hesitantly and May's screams stops at once. "Mom ?"

"I changed my fate ! I'm going to make it !" He adds, "And I'll make sure you do too."

There's sigh to his left.

"You were supposed to run." Gabriel mumbles, "this is boring."

The son of Deimos snaps his fingers and both of them are back on mount Othrys.

"Luke, you're alright ?" Chris kneels next to him as he lays on the floor, gasping for air.

"You guys are cruel." The girl next to them mumbles.

"Relax Jo," Mateo rolls his eyes, "He's the leader of a monster army, it's nothing he can't handle."

"Yeah," Gabriel adds before whispering to his brother, "though his biggest fear is his mother."

"Really ?" Mateo snickers, "and he's our chief ?"

His hand reaches for Backbiter.

Chris presses his shoulder, the message clear.

Don't do it.

You're the bigger person.

"Yeah," Gabriel snorts, unbelievably unaware of Luke on the floor right next to him, "Like I'm going to obey someone who fears his mortal mother."

In one swift motion, Luke gets back on his feet and swings his sword.

Both scream when Gabriel's hands are severed from his body, Backbiter cutting through flesh and bone with ease.

The girl, Jo, staggers back with horror, taking refuge behind Chris who's looking at him bewildered.

"I think I must introduce myself properly." Luke grins, a sharp and cold smile, to the two brothers, "I am Luke Castellan, leader of the Titan Army and the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."

"I am the lightning thief, stealing the Thunderbolt right under the King's nose," he continues as Gabriel's pained cries echo in the room and Mateo looks at him, white as a ghost. "I'm the one Kronos chose to lead his army to Olympus and I will be the one to bring demigods the peace they deserve."

He grabs Mateo's by the shoulder and yanks him toward him.

"I am your leader which means you owe me respect." He says, swiping the blood of his sword on Mateo's shirt, "and invading my fears, manipulating them for your sick pleasure isn't respect."

He rests Backbiter under the boy's throat, "if either of you two even try to do that trick again, I'll cut off his head instead of his hands." he whispers.

"Yes, sir." Mateo gulps, "understood."

"Good." He claps him on the back, making him stumble, "now go find yourself a medic for your brother, he lost a lot of blood."

Mateo rushes to Gabriel and the two of them leaves the room, the door wide open thanks to Chris.

"Now," he turns to the girl with a wide smile, "who might you be ?"

"I'm Josephine, daughter of Tyche," the girl says, half hidden behind Chris.

"Let me guess, you're lucky ?"

"Yeah, that's it." Jo chuckles, "I'm lucky."

"No weird powers I need to know about ?" He presses on, "no mind-invading abilities."

Jo shakes her head, "Nothing."

"Well, always a good thing to have another demigod join the ranks."

He sheathes Backbiter and look at the pool of blood waiting the black marbled floor.

"Leave me."

"Go Jo, the dormitories are-"

"The both of you." He clarifies, "Now."

They usher out of the room quickly, Chris throwing him one undecipherable look before closing the door behind him.

Those new recruits...

Josephine won't cause any trouble, doesn't have the capacity to do so and he's pretty sure she is now terrified of him. But Mateo and Gabriel, those two might become a problem.

He can't have demigods wreaking havoc and he certainly cannot have demigods undermining his authority.

You cut off his hands, how is he going to fight now ?

Shut up, he asked for it.

Talking to yourself is not a good sign Luke.

Then shut it, he had it coming.

Remember why we started this ? To protect demigods

I know.

And you just damned one to certain death.

He forced my hand, if he hadn't used his stupid powers... I-I wouldn't done it.

It's not my fault, it's his.

It's his, not mine.

Mateo will have to look after his brother but isn't that what full brothers do ? Travis and Connor were always together and he doubts they changed much after he left.

War is messy, violent, chaotic.

Luke is not delusional, demigods are going to die, to suffer in his quest of justice.

He can only hope, selfishly, that those demigods are those like Mateo, Gabriel, Josephine or even Martin and not Annabeth and Thalia.

Annabeth, his little sister offering him a birthday gift.

Annabeth, the daughter of Athena dying under the sky because of him.

For now, he can only wait, wait for Atlas to bring back Artemis in chains and get her to save Annabeth. Then, he'll try to convince her, to make her see that he is on the right side of this war.

With Annabeth comes Thalia and they'll be together again, their little family, the only one they ever needed.

-----------------------------

What a glorious sight.

Artemis under the sky, muscles straining, sweat gleaming on her body, her neck flat against the weight of the sky.

She is as Luke met her, a young girl with startling silver eyes and auburn hair. At first glance, she might seem harmless.

But then, if you look closer, you’ll see the glow around her, an ethereal light surrounding the outline of her body, the sharpness of her eyes, the power radiating off her despite her position.

Artemis isn’t like Ares, can’t be convinced with sweet words, whispered promises of war and bloodshed. No, there’s only one way to contain the huntress and it is to block her, chain her to the ground and sky.

Next to him, Atlas laughs and boasts, the general gloating at the goddess.

“Look at her Castellan, look at the prideful goddess, reduced to carry my burden.” Atlas spits.

Luke isn’t looking at Artemis, no he doesn't care about her.

Annabeth is on the floor next to the goddess, panting on the ground. There’s a grey streak in her hair, he dimly notices. It suits her, matches with her eyes.

“Castellan !” Atlas barks, “What’s on your mind that you don’t answer me- ah, the girl.”

“Yes, we need to dispose of her.”

Atlas smiles at his words. “Ruthless, it’s a good quality to have Castellan.” He looks at Annabeth with contempt. “That girl is below me, I cannot engage in combat with her. I’ll let you do the honors.”

“She’s is exhausted and without strength to fight.” Artemis grunts.

“What a shame.” Atlas smirks. “Kill her Castellan.”

“NO !” Luke says, “We’re not killing her.”

It's the wrong thing to say, he knows it. Atlas frowns, and his hand tightens around the shaft of his spear.

“Careful Castellan,” The titan scowls, “One might think you care about the enemy.”

“Then that person would be deeply wrong,” Luke replies, “but she is still useful. She cares about her.”

“Very well,” He shrugs, “do as you see fit with her.”

Luke nods and goes to pick up Annabeth who has fallen unconscious. He carefully lifts her up, meeting Artemis’ burning eyes in the process.

If you touch her boy, I will skin you alive.

Luke recoils.

Get out of my head, he snarls, furious at the goddess. How dare she suggest… Annabeth is his sister for the gods’ sake!

He hastily gets away from the goddess in chains, Annabeth’s limp body in his arms. He needs to get her to the cells before she wakes up.

As he walks through the ruins, he observes closely Annabeth for it is the first time in three years she has been that close to him.

She looks peaceful when she sleeps, unbothered. It's a look she rarely has, her mind always churning, burning, stirring about plans and strategies.

There are new beads on her necklace, two precisely that Luke does not have.

One with a trident and the other with the golden fleece. Two beads for two exceptional demigods, Percy and Thalia.

It hits him that Annabeth has already seen Thalia, talked with her, hugged her, and told her all the things she missed.

What did she told her about him? Is he only a traitor, a defector that tried to kill Percy? Or is he the swordsman instructor, the big brother laughing fondly at her rantings, the one there to catch the spiders and put them away ?

What is he to Thalia, what does she picture when she thinks of him?

He has changed since she saw him, he isn't the fourteen year old boy she knew anymore.

He reaches the cells and opens the first one he sees. It's not much, a bed, toilets and a faucet. Well, it’s up to her how much time she will be staying here.

He lays her down on the bed, resting her head on the pillow. After making sure the faucet and the toilets are working, he leaves the cell and locks it.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you.” He says to Annabeth, who can’t hear him. “But you’ll see, you will all see that I’m doing the right thing.”

-----------------------------

With Artemis present, his army grows uneasy. The demigods stay away from the main place, choosing instead to travel the corridors.

Except for Alabaster who seems to have no fear and strolls every day in front of the sky, whistling a hearty tune about sunshine and something, Luke didn't catch all the lyrics.

With their general gone, and all of them crossing each other in the aisles, the soldiers talk.

They talk and while Luke doesn't recognize every voice, he knows some of them.

He hears Martin and Brie bicker about Martin’s new position, the daughter of Enyo complaining while the son of Aphrodite gloats.

He catches Mateo, Gabriel, and Josephine talking in ushered voices, their eyes darting everywhere and widening when they see him. He always gives them a lip-closed smile, more of a grimace really, because he can’t shake the feeling that they are up to something. He should make them the oath, even if they did not prove themselves yet, just as a mark of reassurance. While it doesn't actually do anything except give Kronos more strength, the older ones created the rumor that you’ll die if you break it.

Maybe he is just paranoid, the stress of leading an entire army getting to him. Doubt is to be expected in the younger recruits as they take in their new world. He can't expect them to become confident warriors in less than a week. He can’t let them leave either, a problem he hadn’t had to face before and he does not wish to.

He pleasantly hears Chris laughing with other demigods, his new status not bothering him that much. But it's Lila’s words that interest him.

Silena’s report is full of data, very valuable data.

Thalia and Percy fought each other, their rivalry hot and dangerous without Annabeth to calm them. It's good, because for his plan to work, Thalia must not feel any kind of link to Percy.

Their plan, and because of that the titans despise it, is fully based on Luke’s faith that Thalia will join them.

Thanks to the prophecy, Luke knows that five will come to save Artemis, hunters and campers alike. Thalia is part of them, and with her comes the bane of Olympus.

Kronos told him that the Ophioltaurus only appears when Olympus is in great danger. He who slays the beast is granted enough power to topple the gods, and what a better leader than the daughter of Zeus, the daughter overthrowing the father.

Thalia is one week shy of her sixteenth birthday, one week sky from completing the Great Prophecy. He’s sure of it, been sure of it since last summer, when they placed her on the chessboard, adding a new player to the game.

Kronos calls her a pawn, he calls her a queen. His black queen ready to lead them to victory against the white army of Olympus, the mount gleaming white and golden.

She will raze Olympus by his side as Kronos wished, brick by brick.

-----------------------------

“General !” Luke calls Atlas, “The questers are on their way.”

“Who are they ?” The titan asks, “How many ?”

“Five of them, three hunters and two campers. One is fated to die.”

“Is that so ?” Atlas muses, sitting on the side of the mountain and looking down.

“Thalia and a satyr from Camp, and three huntresses named Bianca, Phoene, and Zoe.” Luke adds, not missing the sharp breath Atlas drew. “Bianca is new but the other two might be a problem.”

“How do they die ?” Atlas snarls, “How is she fated to die ?”

“Hum,” Luke says, taken aback by Atlas’ ferocity, “It is said that her parent will kill her.”

The probability that Grover’s parents try to kill him is impossible so it's fair to assume the one to die is a she.

“Sir, do you think the King would kill his daughter ? To prevent her from accomplishing the prophecy ?”

Atlas curls his lips. “No, Thalia is not the one.”

“How are you so sure ?”

Instead of answering, Atlas sways his hand and the clouds move, revealing to Luke what the titan had been looking at.

“You are familiar with this place.” Atlas grins at the way he flinched when he sees Ladon sleeping around the tree. “The scar, it reeks of Ladon’s doing.”

Luke doesn't answer, feeling suddenly really aware of the scarred tissue on his face.

“The Garden of Hesperides only appears at dawn, you aren't supposed to see it now.” Atlas continues despite his lack of participation.

“Then why are you showing me it ?”

Atlas laughs, a rash sound. “It's not for you, it's for me Castellan, to remind me.”

“Remind you of what ?”

“The Hesperides are my daughters,” Atlas tells him, once again ignoring his question, “Their duty is to protect the tree, a gift by Gaia to Hera.”

“I'm quite aware of their duty.” Luke says drily, “I’ve met all your daughters before.”

“All of them, really ?” Atlas says, casting him an amused glance, “You wouldn't be alive if that was the case.”

Lule frowns. “Ladon is the danger, not your four daughters.”

Atlas bristles, maybe because hearing him say that his daughters are not much of a threat, but it’s true. All they did when Luke was there with his friends was to wake Ladon and watch him kill his comrades.

“You are sure she is to die at m- her parent’s hand ?” Atlas says brusquely. “Absolutely sure ?”

“One shall perish by a parent’s hand.” Luke recites. “It doesn’t leave place to interpretation.”

“No it does not.” Atlas grins, “what else does the prophecy say ?”

“That they will lose someone where it doesn’t rain and something with the bane of Olympus. They must be leaving Camp as we speak.”

“We must find the Ophioltaurus before them, I will warn Oceanus to look for him discreetly. Poseidon must not worry about him just yet. Once he found it, we will go capture it and the daughter of Zeus will slay it.”

Luke takes something out of his pocket, “We have this to track them.” He says, showing Altas a piece of silver tissue. “It’s Zoe’s, our spy took it and send it to us.”

“Good, once we have the dragon’s teeth, we will use it.” Atlas orders, satisfaction etched on his face. “I must say, Castellan, your plan is not as mediocre as I thought it would be.”

Luke huffs. “It got you of out of the sky you mean.”

Atlas gives him another amused glance. “You are not the most respectful soldier are you, Castellan?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“I am used to some impertinence, it comes with the warrior attitude I expect of my army but the others, such as Hyperion or Coeus, are not as forgiving.”

“Understood sir,” Luke says, the underlying warning clear as crystal.

Atlas doesn't answer, his head once again looking down the mountain.

Luke takes it as his cue to leave, his feet leading him to the cells holding only one prisoner.

Alabaster is the one guarding her, flicking his fingers and playing with magic.

“Torrington, you’re dismissed.” Luke says to him, “Tell Lila to come in fifteen minutes.”

Alabaster nods and leaves him, not so quite alone.

Gone is the peaceful look on her face, she’s sitting on her bed, looking at him with those grey eyes.

“How are you feeling ?” Luke asks, “Did you sleep well ?”

Annabeth doesn't respond and so he asks again.

“I knew you could survive the sky, you’re strong but even for you, it must have been hard. Do you need more food ?”

“Why ?”

He expected her to whisper, for her voice to be broken by the strength the sky took from her. But her voice is booming, sure, as piercing as those grey eyes of her.

“Why did you betray Camp ?” Annabeth adds, “Why did you start a war that is going to get most of us killed ?”

“Nobody died yet.” Luke refutes.

“Last summer was an exception, not the norm. When our two sides collide, they are going be casualties.” Annabeth stresses on, “Why would you do this ?”

“You don’t have to be part of them.” Luke insists because their conversation is not going the way he hoped it would. “You’ll live-“

“What about Percy ? Travis, Connor, Lee, Beckendorf, Silena, Clarisse, Pollux, Castor, Michael and so much more ? Do you not care about them ?” Annabeth stresses on, relentless. “Tell me Luke, I want to know why.”

“Because the gods wronged us Annie ! Because they made our life miserable !”

“I thought we were happy at Camp,” Annabeth says, “and Thalia-“

“THEY TOOK HER FROM ME !” Luke yells, instantly toning it down when Annabeth flinches. “The gods are why Thalia died Annie. The only reason she’s back is because Kronos gave me the solution. Don’t you think that Chiron, Mr.D, your mother knew about the Fleece ?”

“They-“ Annabeth wavers and Luke clings on the seeds of her doubt.

“They knew and did nothing. Because they feared her, they liked her better as a fucking tree because she was harmless.”

“And I know Thalia, I know her. She hates her father, hates the gods just like me.” Luke says, watching with glee Annabeth falter.

He’s going to make it, she will join him and then Thalia will too.

“Come with me Annie.” Luke says softly. “Come with me and Thalia and we can be together again. It’s all I want, for us to be our little family.”

He can the fight in her, her faith in her mother in the gods slowly crumbling. He just needs to land another blow.

“Remember this ?” Luke shows her the ring around his neck and Annabeth’s hitches. “You gave it to me-“

“September 4th.” Annabeth whispers.

“Yeah, and I’ve celebrating my birthdays on that day ever since.” Luke chuckles. “I’ve never stop wearing it since you gave it to me.”

He looks at her, at those raw, vulnerable grey eyes. Another push and she’ll come with him.

“Come with Annabeth.” Luke murmurs. “We don’t need anyone else.”

Her eyes harden, an imperceptible shift that Luke catches because of course he does, it’s Annabeth. He won, he convinced her.

Now he just needs to wait for Thalia, for her to kill the beast and together they will-

“No.”

It's a whispered word and yet it hangs in the air, its weight as heavy as the sky they both bore.

“What ?”

“No,” Annabeth repeats, stronger this time. “I will not join you, and neither will Thalia.”

She gets up and face him, only the door’s cell between them.

“ You’re on the wrong side of this war, Luke.” Annabeth tells him, her voice wistfully sad. “Maybe one day you’ll see it, I know you still can.”

She hesitates but eventually reach out for the ring around his neck, himself too insure to stop her.

“Yes.” She breathes, a hopeful sound that hurts to hear. “You can even come with us when Thalia-“

Hearing her name gets him out of whatever trance he was and he brusquely backs away.

“You’re good Annabeth.” He laughs, looking at her face, that deceptive face of hers. “Really good. But you are wrong, for once in your life, you are wrong.” He spits the word.

Annabeth sighs and returns to her bed, her body turned so that he can’t see her face.

“Is that it, then ?” He calls to her. “Your final word ?”

Annabeth doesn’t grace him with a vocal response, but her silence is answer enough.

“Fine !” He screams at her, her still figure turning her back on him. “Thalia will join me, you’ll see !”

He leaves the cells, crossing Lila but paying her no mind.

“Luke, our agent has-“

“I don’t care about whatever report she has !” He barks, uncaring that Annabeth might hear them, figure out the identity of their spy. “Go guard the prisoner and make sure you don’t listen to her.”

Why does he care about Silena has to say ? What does it matter now that Annabeth isn’t with him, that she will inevitably be on the battlefield, facing him ?

He has to find a solution, has to find a way. He can’t face her, he can’t possibly fight the little girl he trained, the little sister he gifted that dagger, the one who gave him another birthday.

Thalia, Thalia is the key.

He repeats it like a mantra, his lifeline as he stands on the brink of an ocean of madness. Thalia will convince Annabeth to come with them, Thalia will succeed where he failed.

He reaches for the ring around his neck, searching for the warmth it usually provides him.

It might be the first time he shivers as he touches the cold plastic.

-----------------------------

He doesn’t get to listen to Silena’s report before he leaves with Atlas to capture the Ophioltaurus.

Which means that Percy Jackson barging into his meeting with Atlas and the Manticore takes him by surprise and the son of Poseidon escape, taking with him the silver cloth the warrior skeletons were supposed to smell.

"Castellan." Atlas says, seating in the shadows where Luke can't exactly see him. "Perhaps you could explain why Jackson was here and why you didn't deem necessary to inform me of his presence."

"I- He wasn't supposed to be on the quest." Luke staggers, trying to find an explanation to Percy's actions. He isn't here for Artemis, Luke is positive about that, which means he's trying to save someone else. "He must have joined in order to rescue Annabeth Chase."

The next words leave an ash taste in his mouth. "My spy at Camp Half-Blood inform they are close friends."

Close friends, or is it more ?

To join a quest where two are fated to die, a quest on the other side of the country, is it really just friendship ?

Is that why Annabeth won't join him, because of Percy Jackson ?

She isn't supposed to like him, even less love him. Their godly blood, their parent's rivalry running in their veins should pit them against each other, make Annabeth side with Thalia against Percy.

If she likes Percy, then she hates him. Hates him for trying to kill the son of Poseidon for two times now, hates him for poisoning Thalia's tree even if he did it for them.

Annabeth hates him and will never join him, his family doomed to shatter once again.

"Percy Jackson will not cause any problem." Luke assures the titan. "Thalia and him are not friends and he will not influence his decision."

"He just took away our way to track the questers." Atlas' eyes gleam in the dark. "I qualify that as a problem."

"No, General, it is not." Luke says once again, straightening himself to face the titan. "Percy Jackson will join the group in their quest, and the skeletons warriors will follow him, he is their new prey."

"We should continue chasing the beast." He adds.

"No." Atlas replies, getting out of the shadows. "Let the questers find it and bring it to us, I doubt they even even know the power the Ophiotaurus hold."

Luke must have shown confusion about why would they bring the beast to them because Atlas clarifies.

"Children of the eldest gods can conjure the Ophiotaurus by calling him, merely thinking of him. All they need is a body of water to host the beast."

"And Thalia will conjure it when she arrives." Luke understands.

Atlas nods. "The best to do is to prepare ourselves for the upcoming fight, not that it will be much of a hassle." Atlas snorts. "How much time will they take before arriving ?"

"With monsters attacking them ? Three to four days."

"We need to rally our troops, get them ready to attack Olympus when the daughter of Zeus turns sixteen." The titan grabs him by the shoulder and flash them to Mount Tamalpais.

-----------------------------

"You look awful." Alabaster states when he enters Luke's room. "How much did you sleep in the last four days ?"

"Not nearly enough." He replies, running a hand through his hair. He knows he looks terrible, his eyes sunken and his whole body trembling from the unholy amount of caffeine he drank over the last hours. That is without mentioning his hair that turned from blond t white and grey, making him look older than he is.

He has spent the last four days coordinating demigods, monsters, deities to prepare the attack on Mount Olympus.

He can't believe it but tomorrow, on December 22th, Thalia will turn sixteen and accomplish the prophecy.

Olympus to preserve or raze

Does Thalia knows the fate awaiting her ? Or did Chiron hid the truth from her ? Annabeth would have told her, so she knows.

A single choice shall end his days

Prophecies are obscure, fulled of double meanings but that particular line...

Luke, Annabeth, Chiron, the gods, they all know.

The hero won't make it past sixteen, the prophecy dooming him to die.

But it will be different for Thalia, Kronos will make sure of it.

"Luke ?"

"What ?" He asks to Alabaster. "What's going on ?"

"You didn't hear ?" The son of Hecate lifts one eyebrow.

Luke shakes his head.

"Someone entered the Garden and woke up Ladon." Alabaster tells him.

"The questers, they're here."

Alabaster nods. "Three of them were seen, one hunter and Jackson and Thalia."

"It doesn't add up." Luke frowns. "They should be five of them."

"One hunter got stuck at Camp, a trick from your brothers. Only four left Camp and Jackson joined them later."

"I should have read that report." Luke sighs, "But it still doesn't explain why two are missing."

A hunter and Grover, one of them dead, probably.

"Who knows ?" Alabaster shrugs. "It just means less enemies, I'm okay with that."

"Of course you are." Luke mutters, too quiet for the other to hear. "Go fetch Annabeth, I want her to be there when Thalia joins me."

And maybe, Luke thinks, maybe it will be enough to entice her.

-----------------------------

He dreamt of that moment, that wishful fantasy.

To see her alive, standing in front of him with blue, vibrant, lively eyes.

And here she is, a dream turned reality.

"Thalia." Luke says breathless as he sees her appear on the top of the mountain, Percy Jackson and Zoe Nightshade by her sides.

The huntress hasn't changed a bit since Luke last saw her years ago but Percy looks older, way more older.

He's vaguely aware of Atlas boasting next to him, distantly surprised at hearing that Zoe is his daughter and roughly recall Atlas' eagerness for the prophecy's last line.

He's perfectly focused on Thalia, on the way she proudly stands, the way the air bends around her, fizzling and cracking.

She's alive.

She's flesh and bone, not a trace left of the tree she once was.

"Thalia." He calls louder and this time, she looks straight at him, her mouth whispering his name and watching him with avidity.

He's a far cry from what she remembered whereas she hasn't age too much.

He was fourteen and she twelve when she died.

He's twenty-one now and she remained fifteen, at the cusp of sixteen.

"It's nice to see you again Thalia." Luke tries a smile, one she doesn't return. It's fine, he doesn't expect her to trust him after months at Camp, where they certainly didn't paint him under the best light.

"Can't say the same Luke." She replies, straight-forward and blunt as ever. Her eyes dart behind him and her gaze hardens. "Let her go, Luke, now." She growls and grey clouds gather over them in the sky.

Alabaster as brought Annabeth as demanded, the daughter of Athena bound by a thick rope, preventing her from fighting.

"Come with me Thalia, join me and she will too."

"Join you ?" Thalia repeats, her mouth turned into a sneer. "Luke, do you not realise what you are doing ? This is not a game, it's-"

"Of course it's not a game Thalia !" He hisses. "It's a revolution, a rebellion against our parents that failed us, that failed you !" He snaps his fingers and a basin of water appears. "It's time for us to get our revenge."

"They were right." Thalia shakes her head. "You have gone mad."

"Mad ?" He snarls. "Mad for wanting a better world for demigods ? Mad for being angry at gods that don't care ? What happened to you, Thalia, to your dislike for your father ? You died because of a god !"

"Monsters don't obey gods, Luke." Thalia says, stricken. "They would have chased me either way."

"But a god interfered, and it killed you. He sent the Furies after you, for the only crime of being Zeus' daugther !" He bellows, scratching his throat dry.

"You can fix it." He adds more softly, gesturing to the water. "Call the Ophiotaurus, kill it and claim its powers."

Her eyes flits to the basin and Luke pushes.

"Imagine all the power you'll have, the ability to crush Olympus. All you need is to call the beast, it will answer."

"Come on Thals." He urges, a frenetic trepidation taking over him. "Call the Ophiotaurus and join me. It's me, Thalia, you know me."

It's like the world around does not matter. Not Annabeth begging Thalia not do it, not Percy telling her she was stronger than that, not Zoe tugging at Artemis' chains.

All he sees, all he feels, all he hears is Thalia's conflict, Thalia's doubt, Thalia's choice.

"You're not the Luke I knew." She says, conjuring her spear and Aegis, putting herself in an attacking stance.

White noise.

She won't join him.

Static and buzzing.

She leaves him, again.

A snake whispering in his ear, dripping its hateful poison from its fangs.

She's the enemy, they all are.

Luke draws out Backbiter and camps himself firmly on the ground, beckoning Thalia to attack.

"You're never been able to beat me."

"Well, Thalia." He spits her name, smiling mirthlessly. "I'm not the Luke you knew anymore."

Thalia glowers and she attacks.

On a normal day, Luke would have won.

After four days of not sleeping, body still aching from the sky's burden and his head fried because he cannot wrap his head around Thalia's decision, he is not a match for Thalia and her ferocity.

He ends up against the ground, laying very close to the cliff and a spear at his throat.

He defiantly meets Thalia's eyes. "What now ? Do you kill me ?"

Her grip on the spear tightens. "I should."

"Then do it." He spits. "DO IT !"

"Thalia, no !"

It's Annabeth who protests, trashing against Alabaster holding her.

"Don't kill him !" She yells.

"He's not our Luke anymore Annabeth." Thalia says back, looking at him coldly.

"We can- we can bring to Olympus, present him to the Council."

Luke turns his head to see Annabeth looking absolutely desperate.

"Yes, Thalia, why don't you do that ?" He barks. "Bring me in chains to the gods and appear like the triumphant hero to your father."

"Shut up !" She snarls, pressing the tip of her spear against his skin.

She turns to Annabeth and Luke takes his chance. He reaches for Backbiter and shove Thalia off him. He's on his knees when Thalia, startled, automatically shove him back, pushing him over the mountain's edge.

He falls.

First his upper body, his eyes wide open as they look into Thalia's and see horror.

Then his legs follow and two people scream, a boy and a girl.

He doesn't have time to think about the green light surrounding him before his body hits the ground, hard.

All his bones shatter.

His head cracks open.

Pain washes over his body, burning and blinding pain.

And yet, nothing hurts more than the realisation of knowing he was wrong.

He did it all for nothing, did it all just for Thalia to try to kill him, just for Annabeth to despise him.

He did it all and he got nothing back.

The last thing he hears before losing consciousness is a loud motor sound in the air, followed by a rapid successions of shots fired.

-----------------------------

"Are you sure he's okay ?"

"He fell off a fucking mountain Brie, of course he's not okay !"

"Calm down Chris, Alabaster's quick reflexes saved him, he'll live."

"Yeah, it was a close call. That Thalia really her father's daughter."

"The worst she can say is no, proceeds to attempted murder."

"What are talking about Martin ?"

"Oh, never mind Lila."

"All of you shut up ! He's waking up."

All the voices fall silent and Luke groans, opening his eyes to see a group of demigods around his bed.

"What- what happened ?" He winces as he tries to sit up, Chris immediately pushing him down.

"Don't move, Victoria hasn't been able to heal you entirely and you're basically covered in bruises."

"Fine." He bats aways Chris and asks again. "What happened."

"Long story short : the plan failed epically, we lost the Ophiotaurus, Atlas is back under the sky and Olympus has now officially began to look into a titan uprising." Lila tells him with a flat voice. "And Thalia became a huntress so now, unless another big three kid turns up, Percy Jackson is the hero of the prophecy."

"Thalia, a huntress ?" Luke says with disbelief. "She hates them."

Next to him, Alabaster scowls. "Of all the disastrous things Lila just told you, you care about Thalia becoming a huntress ? What about the fact that the prophecy's hero is Percy fucking Jackson and that he will rather die than betraying his beloved gods ?"

"We don't need Percy to win against Olympus." Luke says firmly. "When Kronos will have regain all his power, nothing will stop him."

"And when that might be ?" Brie enquires.

"Soon, but we need to recruit more, more people to pledge their allegiance. It's almost done, fifty to sixty recruits should do it."

"Easy to say, hard to find." Martin scoffs.

"You'll manage, I'm sure." Luke snarks back before addressing to everyone. "The situation is still under control, do not worry. Kronos has a plan and I will alert the other titans and minor gods to remain vigilant. Our informant at Camp is still undercover and giving us valuable informations about their plans and actions. Go back to your duties, reassure the others, don't let panic divide us. The new Golden Age is coming, and we will be a part of it. "

He shoos them out, wincing at every movement and only sinks in his bed when they are all gone.

Kronos is going to kill him for such a terrible debacle.

Even the Crooked one cannot have anticipated how badly Luke screwed up. He's going to be livid, furious that he fucked up.

"May I come in ?"

A man is standing in the frame of the opened door. He's tall, skin white as snow and has piercing silver eyes, cold and hard.

Without waiting for an answer, the man sits on a chair previously occupied by Chris, adjusting his suit as he does so.

"Who are you ?"

"Now, now, son of Hermes." The man smiles. "I am sure you are clever enough to guess. I have made it quite obvious."

He's a deity, obviously, and one Luke has never seen before.

"No ?" The divine being tilts his head, shaking with disappointment. "I must say I was expecting more of you, Luke Castellan. For my brother to chose you, you must be quite the demigod."

A Titan then.

"You're Coeus." Luke says, the titan lazily clapping at his good guess. "You're supposed to tell me the plan."

"And I will, or at least a part of it." Coeus grins, a glint in his eyes. "Tell me, Luke Castellan, are you familiar with Theseus' myth ?"

Oh my god, this way WAY longer than I thought it would be.

Trying to put in place reasons for why Luke would send his BROTHER into the Labyrinth, and you can say goodbye to Lila, guys, because when the titans learn that Chris is back at Camp...

Next step is the battle of the Labyrinth !

[theoldpersonliveshere]

“Eternal happiness clapped in irons // Eternal happiness, mighty strikes”

It was done. It was over. He'd done it. The bastard boy who took his eye was dead. And he had no idea whether to laugh or cry.

He didn't want to return home yet, his mother would yell and his grandfather would thank him. It didn't feel right, it felt cheap, like he cheated at a game. He hadn't meant for it to happen. He just wanted to scare the boy. He couldn't control his dragon, he was a failure.

He turned Vhagar away from King's Landing and headed towards the Riverlands. He needed to see Enith. She was his only friend since childhood and the only one who could comfort him. He had missed her greatly since she left King's Landing to go back to her family home, though he didn't admit it to anyone.

It was night when he arrived at Owl's Hold. The fortress was large with high stone walls that circled around the castle and it's grounds. Aemond landed Vhagar and made his way in. He was immediately let in, it was obvious they saw him coming. It was hard to be discreet when you rode the largest dragon in Westeros.

When he was brought into the castle Enith was already waiting for him. She was in her nightdress and her long red hair was in a braid.

“Prince Aemond, what brings you to Owl's Hold?” Enith was standing tall and straight, trying to convey the image of a proper lady.

“I need to speak to you in private about an urgent matter. Now.” He said sharply. Enith looked nervous but quickly nodded.

“Of course, my prince, follow me.” She led him to her quarters and upon entering he was immediately met with the sound of a wailing child. Enith rushed to a cradle by the fireplace and picked up a small bundle.

“Shh… don’t worry darling, I’m here.” Enith cooed lovingly. Aemond watched confused.

“Enith, whose child is that?” he asked

“She’s mine,” Enith said as if it was obvious. Aemonds fist clenched in anger. Had she had a lover this whole time? Her imbecile husband had no interest in her and had refused to consummate the marriage so it could not have been him.

“And who is the father?” He growled out. Enith gave a laugh and walked forward. Did she find this funny?

“Answer the question.” He ordered. She just smiled and pulled back the blanket from the child’s head revealing tufts of white hair. Aemond looked at the child in awe. She reminded him of his niece and nephew when they were born.

“She's mine?” he whispered.

Enith nodded, almost near tears.

“Does she have a name?”

“Not yet, I was thinking of something Valyrian, but I don't know any.”

The little girl was staring up at Aemond with large green eyes. His heart melted at the sight of her. He needed to be more careful now that he had a child, not as reckless as he was mere hours ago. He needed to protect his love and their daughter. He needed a reminder to control his wrath and his temper.

“Lucerya, her name is Lucerya.”

@hotd-bigbang

[kipperlillyforpresident]

I received an anon ask which I found to be... well, really interesting. I agree with a lot of the points they make. But I also disagree with the way that they've presented their argument in many aspects.

I considered not responding to it, but it's my policy to answer all asks which are sent in good faith (at the moment, at least). And I could just answer it as-is, but I didn't really want to do that either.

So, instead I'm answering it with this disclaimer. Opinions of anonymous users do not represent the beliefs of Kipperlillyforpresident.tumblr.com, etc etc. With that out of the way, here is the ask:

I want Gorgug to go to Artificer class and try to explain to Henry why his nephew wasn't worth saving, but Aelwyn was. Ragh was. I want Fabian to sit alone at his house because Mazey won't talk to him, and think about how his last words to Ivy just reflected his own thoughts about himself, because he'd never learnt anything about her. Fabian is a vindictive, vain, sex obsessed rich kid with no person in his life who wants to really listen to him. I want Fig to see Henry in the corridors on her way to Paladin class, not meeting his gaze because doing so she would have to explain to him that his nephew wasn't worth the justice her Goddess promises. I want Riz to go to a psychiatrist – not Jawbone – and I want him to talk about the fact that he hates a version of himself so much he couldn't possibly allow her to live, and he in fact relished in the idea that she'd never come back. I want Lucy to come back and hear what The Bad Kids did in her name, and I want her to absolutely tear them a new one. I want her eyes – that they all thought of as sorrowful and deep while never having paid attention to them before her death – to be cold and unwelcome as she looks them up and down and asks them to explain their actions. I want her voice to raise well above the level of what any of them had envisioned of her when they studied her desecrated and fragile body in the woods. I want her to ask them if they knew where Mary Ann lived, or if Reuben had any siblings that would miss him. I want her to hear the podcast episode written about her by a person having a wild guess based on her lifeless form and a handful of anecdotes from her now deceased friends. I probably won't get it, but it's nice to imagine.

So to start off with: I really do like the premise of this. Dealing with the consequences of rage is the part of the story - both in TRG and TBK - that I'm most interested in. And a part of my frustration with the narrative is that I don't think we'll be getting any consequences along this line, and that everything is going to be tied up in a neat bow for a happily ever after.

I do agree/find myself interested in almost all of the scenarios you present. Gorgug and Henry in particular - I think that really needs to come back and haunt the narrative. My personal headcanon is that Henry strongly recommends he take dual credit classes for Artificer at the local community college, because he knows he'll be unable to be fair to him.

And god, Fig and Ankarna! How is she going to justify redeeming the one who caused all of this conquest and rage, yet brutally and cruelly torturing people who were infected by it? It's really compelling. Although for the Riz thing - I don't think he'd willingly go to a psychiatrist at any point, lmao.

And Lucy, holy shit, Lucy, I hate so badly how TBK talk about Lucy. I always talk about her being "dead wife montage", because that really does feel like how she's been treated. Going into battle and murdering all of her friends and claiming its "for Lucy"??? It's really dark. I do NOT want Lucy to like TBK after everything is over.

All that said... I really don't enjoy the way anon has characterized Fabian here. I've been on the record as being deeply uncomfortable with how he treated Ivy. And I want him to face consequences for it. I want him to realize he never learned anything about her, and that the fact she rejected him is almost certainly a part of why he hates her so much. I want him to remember that we "don't talk about women like that"!

But to call him a "vindictive, vain, sex obsessed rich kid"...? It doesn't fully sit right with me. I suppose that it's not entirely wrong, but it's leaving out a lot of aspects of his character. It's painting him exclusively in the most negative light possible.

This ask is treating Fabian - and TBK in general, I suppose - in the exact same way that most of the fandom treats TRG. Exclusively focusing on their worst aspects and ignoring any extenuating circumstances.

And if I'm going to crusade for TRG to be treated with more respect in the narrative, then I suppose my natural inclination is to do the same for TBK. Not that anybody is mandated to do so. You're allowed to engage with media however you'd like, and if fully despising TBK is what brings you the most enjoyment, then go ahead. But it's not my own philosophy.

I appreciate anon for sending this ask, because it did make me think about a lot of stuff! I hope that everybody interacts with this post in a respectful manner, but if discourse happens, it happens ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[themotherofblood]

Did I Take It Too Far

Tywin Lannister x Reader

Tears of Gold - 27

The sun had found it’s way to the Red Keep this morning, allowing for some warmth in the chilled cold morning winds. You’d sat out in your gardens alone this morning since your sons had decided to sleep for longer. Your plants luckily hadn’t withered yet, many at court believed it was your good heart and some whispered rumours of greenseers and black magic.

You’d basked in the warmth of the sun as your uncle sat across from you, scribbling away at the many parchments of poetry he wrote for his daughters. He’d even written in for you, a slightly macabre one, it spoke of blood and lost time yet symbolically beautiful.

“Your husband has named me judge, for Tyrion Lannister’s trial.” Oberyn wiped the ink from his hands.

“So I’ve been told. I suppose you have earned your vengeance. Even though it is the wrong Lannister.” You shrugged, still packing soil in the clay pots.

“Would you rather I kill your husband?”

“Uncle…” You shook your head at his antics.

“Just giving you the option darling.” He smirked at his jokes.

The trial often scared you, you knew it in your heart and soul that Tyrion had not killed Joffrey, for one thing; he had nothing to gain from it, other than petty vengeance which brought you too the other fact; Tyrion was far too cunning to leave suspects if he truly murdered his nephew. Your husband however wanted to see none of said facts, he was biased and the seven hells know he wanted Tyrion dead.

“My lady, my lord, there has been summons for a council meeting.” Podrick bowed infrint if you and Oberyn.

At the behest of Tyrion, you had taken Podrick as a squire for Fredrick, he might finally teach the boy how to fight. However his loyalty made you want to command Fredrick in knighting him.

You walked with Oberyn to the council meeting, he helped you up the stairs of the tower, needing to take short breaks in between. Your husband much aware of your condition appeared to have no ill regard towards your tardy appearance. You sat onto your chair, letting if a sigh of relief as you rubbed your growing belly, Cersei as usually held a disapproving glare towards the members of the council.

“There is an urgent matter to be discussed, my lord.” Lord Varys spoke first. “The Targaryen girl in the East seems to have survived, she is also rumoured to be travelling with three baby dragons, and her last whereabouts are reported to be Qarth.”

“Then we hire better assains for the job, I'm sure the master of coun can facilitate for such an amount.” Cersei looked at you with a sneer on her face.

“Last I was told, she was a child? I don't she has grown in the past summer. What are the five and ten? A child!” You shook your head in disapproval.

“She has two advisors at her side and a small horde of Dothraki,” Varys informs the council,

“And Dragons.” Cersei added

“Baby Dragons,” You corrected her “It would be years before they’d be large enough for her to ride.” You claimed, highly irked by being asked to facilitate the murder of a child.

“What of Mormont? Was he not spying upon the girl for the crown.” Tywin questioned

“He seems to be loyal to her cause, my lord.” Varys informed your husband.

The subject of the murder of Daenerys Targaryen was dropped for your sake, you were sure they would try to sway you once more to hire assassins; from your knowledge the girl held her household in Qarth with no intentions of conquering Westeros.

Your husband’s head however, she would be just another name in the hordes of people that wanted Lord Tywin Lannister dead.

You had proclaimed for another lunch, much to discuss about Tommen’s ascension as the Tyrell’s fell into yours and Tywin’s scheme of increasing their support and dowry. Margerey would be set to wed the boy after an appropriate mourning for her unconsummated marriage.

In attendance were you and your husband sat at the heads of the tables, Cersei along with Tommen and your uncle Oberyn with Ellaria. An effort to dwindle the turmoil between the families. A smaller yet awkward conversation ensued with hard tried responses, you hoped no one would begin talks of politicking; the best way to begin yet another argument within the Martell’s and Lannister’s

“She was to sail to Essos, before…the wedding.” Oberyn snidely remarked, enjoying his third cup of wine. His tolerance to it was rather unmatched, he would put Tyrion to shame

“Essos is it?” Tywin looked to you, giving you a civil nod to elaborate further.

“We have a family manse there, Summer Shore. In fact, you should take Myrcella there. I’ve heard the waters there are glorious.” You smiled at your uncle.

“A whore’s city no doubt?” Cersei grumbled as she sipped on her goblet, looking at Oberyn unimpressed.

“Our ancestors had the palace and city built.” You defended, sounding offended at her remarks.

“A woman wasn’t she? A Targaryen courtesan?” Cersei sneered, clearly making attempts to undermine your blood

“Some believed she was a Queen, riding a three headed horse.” Oberyn glared at her.

“The histories are a fickle thing, my lady. Some believe the Mad King had bed every lady for the vassal house.” Ellaria japed, clearly making a remark about Joanna. That is where Tywin drew the line as his hand clenched into his goblet. Clearly the mistreatment of his late wife at court was a highly sensitive matter.

You had found yourself in your own chambers later in the evening, sipping onto a tea laced with minuscule amounts of milk of the poppy. You entire body had began to ache yet again, still battling the effects of your sixth month. Your handmaidens had been rather helpful with your sons, it hurt your surely about not being able to mother them yourself and yet your body would give out from the council meetings and the reports from the city watch.

“The aches have returned?” You husband’s voice boomed from behind you, the grimace on your face turned to a pained smile, shuffling your feet off the chaise of him to sit. He waved you off, letting your feet rest on his lap as he reached forward to rest his palm against your bum.

“I have called for advanced surgeons from Essos.” He looked over your pained state.

“We have Pycelle…?” You frowned and yet remained grateful at your husbands efforts to remedy your discomforts.

“That old stout seems to be incapable of determining your condition, he says you are well which any daft person could give you one look and know that you are suffering.” Tywin complained, as his other hand rubbed up and down your calf.

“My mother laboured for my birth too,” you reassured him, however you to feared the birthing bed this time. “I have enough fight in me to put King Jahereys’s seed to shame.” You japed

“Dear god, I have three that I can barely tolerate, two that insist in throwing food at one another and you want another eleven?” Tywin scoffed, the corners of his lips curling up.

“I apologise for what my aunt said at the lunch.” You face fell into an apologetic gleam, as your reached forward to rest your hands atop his palm.

“She had not mentioned something I haven’t heard a hundred times over.” Tywin dismissed you sympathy, fussing over a cushion and placing it behind your back.

“Which brings me to…” Tywin shakes his head in frustration “You are to remain abed during Joffrey’s tombing and Tommen’s nuptials.”

“What! I can’t- Tywin those responsibilities would fall to me considering Cersei ever works.” You huffed in annoyance.

“No- this is my final word Y/N, other than council meetings and if you wish to promenade. No further responsibilities other than looking after yourself.” He commanded, your pleading eyes unmoving of his decision.

“What of the trial? I am on the council.” You argued.

“You are unwell, other might foolishly drown in your pretences; I do not.” He shook his head, much of his frustrations radiating off of him.

“I know, it helps me to think otherwise,” you reasoned “For I know if I sat here toiling in pain my mind will begin to believe the tragedy bestowed upon me.”

“And what is that tragedy?”

You gave him a look of knowing annoyance, he was clearly aware of what your were insinuating and yet pretended to be deaf.

“If this babe should- if I would survive.”

After months of considering the possibilities you had finally voiced your fears, nipping at your lower lip ad Tywin’s frown deepened.

“Nothing is going to happen to you, or this babe.” He proclaimed like his word was gospel.

You spent that night curled in your own bed, shuffling and huffing unable to sleep, even Tywin read through nearly the end of Joanquil and her knights as you struggled to find slumber. Somewhere along the night, his body had caved to his exhaustion, you stared at his face as you mindlessly rubbed your belly, afraid of future possibilities.

You did not want to lose this child however you did not want to lose your life either. You’ve barely lived, barely fought for your ground, barely loved someone and mothered his children. You thought of your sons, wondering if the birthing bed did indeed take you. Would Tywin be cruel to them as well? Should the child that might rip through your womb survive, would he torment it too?

You had to live, for the sake of this child and your sons. You had to will strength into your body for the gods could only ponder on the question of what Tywin Lannister might become after losing yet another wife.

[bitchinfawkseh]

Love Like Ghosts - Chapter One

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Summary: It's the end of the world, and everyone is fighting to survive. When in close proximity, falling in love is bound to happen...

Word count: 4005

[A/N] Hehe, I'm so excited. There will be lots of OCs, btw, more to love for yall. I think Ruthie will be a fan favourite. This is posted weekly on Monday's.

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The leaves danced as a gust of wind cut through the trees, making a pleasant little scuffling sound. Everything was peaceful except for the odd growl that would come from an animal or walker. It was hardly noticeable, it's been about a year since the world went into the gutter, so those who weren't used to it by now were long dead.

The earth crunched beneath their feet as they wandered through the forest. They were trying to be a little fast – they had to find some water before dark, but Dottie being eight and a half months pregnant, she could only waddle.

Dottie panted and wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand. “Can we take a break?” She asked in her usual southern drawl. Estelle glanced back and smiled sweetly before nodding, being a pediatric surgeon and all, she knew Dottie was going through a tough time. “Sure,” she helped Dottie sit down on a fallen tree log and gestured for her younger sister Ruthie to give her the water bottle in her hand. Ruth unscrewed the cap on the bottle before handing it to Estelle who brought it up to Dottie's lips. She took a couple of tiny sips before exhaling heavily. “I swear this kid's gon’ be the death of me…” She sighed.

Estelle smiled faintly, “not on my watch, I'll make sure everything goes as smooth as possible.” She reassured her.

“Yeah,” Ruthie chimed in, “Estelle delivered our nephew a couple of years ago – plus tons of farm animals and other babies, she's got this covered.”

“I know, I trust ya. I've seen you in action and all.” Dorothea smirked.

Dottie and Estelle met during Estelle's fellowship, and Dottie was a scrub nurse. They were constantly in close proximity during long surgeries, so obviously they got talking and liked each other enough to become friends. Dottie had gotten pregnant about a month before the world went to crap – and she was so excited to be a mother, but that was all ripped from her away quite fast.

Dottie placed one hand on her swollen stomach and beamed when tiny little feet kicked at her palm from inside. “Baby is active today,” she announced, “keep kickin’ like they're a pro soccer player.” She joked.

“May I feel?” Estelle asked as she raised her hands. Dottie nodded and then Estelle set her hands on her stomach, grinning when she felt the baby kick. “It's a good sign that they are active, I'm sure they will be as healthy as they can be.” Estelle conceded.

“I freakin’ hope so.” She snorted in response. “Imagine if like, their organs are outside of their body in like some sack – that'd be awful.”

“Ew! Dottie! Don't say things like that!”

“Yeah – your baby will be fine.” Ruth added.

Dottie rolled her eyes and sighed deeply, “I know, I was just kidding.”

She pursed her lips together and exhaled heavily, they needed to find a safe place for the night – and some water. “All right, let's move on.” Dottie said before attempting to get up. When she failed, she reluctantly accepted Ruthie's offer of help and they set off deeper into the woods, hoping to come across some sort of cabin.

After what felt like hours of walking, the sun hung low in the sky and that's when they decided to set up camp for the night. They haven't been able to find a tent yet – but they had a couple of tarps that they'd hang on the branches above and lay down on the forest floor. It wasn't comfortable, but it was better than nothing.

Estelle tossed some dried up leaves onto the small fire that they had started to heat up some canned beans they had for dinner. Dottie refused to eat it cold, and they needed some warmth anyway as it was getting late. Estelle wiped her dirt covered hands on the skirt of her dress, it was white with little blue flowers, but she didn't care if it was stained anymore. She had no reason to care – nobody cared about their appearances anymore. She glanced back at Dottie who was cracking the cans open with a very broken can opener and her lips thinned. “We have to find a new one of those,” she said, “it isn't gonna last much longer.”

“I know,” Dottie huffed out, “but it works. So until we find another one, we're keepin’ it.” She blew a tuft of curly blonde hair from her eyes and tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Ya think Ruth will get any fish?”

Estelle nodded, “probably. Hopefully.”

“She better, this is our last few cans of food.”

“Worst comes to worst I'll hunt us something, my dad taught me and my brothers how.”

Dottie's brows shot up and her eyes widened, she didn't know that about Estelle. She thought she was just some sweet farmer's daughter kinda girl. But then again, they never really talked about that stuff. Most of the time they talked about boy's and work. “Oh, shit. For real?” Dottie asked.

“Mhm,” she nodded again, “I'm bad with rifles though, only good with my bow and arrow.”

“Thank fuck ya have that then.” Dottie said with a dramatic eye roll.

Estelle giggled softly and shook her head in playful disapproval at Dottie's swearing. “You have such a potty mouth!” She told her. Dottie grinned proudly and passed the now opened cans of beans to Estelle for her to warm over the fire. “Ya love me and my potty mouth.”

“Okay, sure.” She giggled again. Estelle tucked a long frizzy strand of platinum hair behind her ear and tucked the cans in between the little sticks before tossing more dry leaves onto the fire. “We should try to get some more diapers for the baby, we only have a couple of packs. It won't last long.” Estelle said, changing the topic.

Dottie sighed, “yeah, yeah, I know.” She appreciated all of Estelle and Ruthie's help, but she still had so much anxiety over having this baby that some nights she couldn't sleep. She didn't think that the world would fall apart when she got pregnant – and now she sort of wished that she had gotten an abortion. Dottie felt selfish for having a baby in this world, but it's not like she could change her mind now. She had to be a good mom for this baby, she had to protect them with her life and provide them with all she could. Dottie had to be a good mom.

Estelle sensed Dottie's growing anxiety and she smiled sadly, having wished she'd never brought that fact up. Maybe she could distract her with something a little better. “So… what's your mother's intuition telling you about the gender? Boy or girl?” Estelle asked gently. Dottie sighed and stared down at her pregnant belly, caressing it slowly as she thought. Her intuition wasn't telling her anything, she had no idea what sex the baby would be – it was a fifty fifty chance after all. “I dunno, but honestly? I don’ give a fuck what they are as long as they don't got extra toes or somethin’.” Dottie answered. Estelle let out a humorous snort before quickly setting her hand over her mouth, she didn't want to give Dottie the satisfaction of laughing at her bad joke. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before replying, “I am sure your baby will be just fine, Dottie. But they may come out swearing if you don't cut back.”

“A newborn who can swear? Epic.” She grinned.

“Dottie!” Estelle scolded.

Dottie chuckled before letting out a long sigh, she was sitting on the dirt with her back against a tree trunk and her bag at her thighs. Her backpack was heavy – but she was getting used to constant back pain anyway. She pursed her lips together before glancing down at the small fire and the three cans of beans that sat in the middle of the flames on a big rock. “Ya think it's done yet?” She asked hopefully.

“Couple more minutes, can you get the tongs out?” Estelle replied. Dottie nodded and dug through her bag for the little set of tongs that they used to get the hot cans away from the fire and passed them to her. “Do you want me to go check on Ruth? It's been a while…”

“No, she's okay. The river is just up ahead, she'll call out if she needs us.” Estelle answered.

They kept Ruth's can of beans over the fire to stay warm until she got back while they chowed down on their own cans. They hadn't eaten since breakfast as they had to space out their meals as resources grew scarce. They've only been in the forest for a couple of days, so Estelle couldn't hunt until now, but because she could hunt, they weren't worried about going hungry. Mostly, they were worried about Dottie and her baby and, well, dying. Everyone is worried about dying nowadays.

Ruthie eventually came back with a salmon that she caught with her bare hands, and they all gratefully ate it up once it was cooked. They got a few bones that they had to spit out, but it was to be expected. Then, they grabbed some water from the river and purified it before getting ready for some sleep. At least a couple of hours was all they needed, they took what they could get. Estelle took first watch so Ruth and Dottie could sleep, which was about four hours – and then Ruth and Estelle swapped out. Dottie needed her rest as she was about to give birth soon, doctors orders and all, so for now, she got to sleep through the night.

Ruth sat up against a tree trunk in front of the tarps that the two women slept under, her hand gripping a hunting knife tight. She was watching for walkers and people, whatever came first. Her brows furrowed and she blinked hard before forcing her eyes open. She was completely exhausted – but she couldn't fall asleep. She had to keep everyone safe. Ruth exhaled heavily and blinked hard again, but it was no use. Eventually, she succumbed to the wonderful land of sleep, accidentally putting herself, Dottie, and her sister in danger…

An ear piercing scream cut through the air, startling Ruthie awake just as Dottie took her arm in a bone crushing grip. “Ruth!” She yelled, “go!” Ruth blinked rapidly and glanced around frantically as her vision grew less blurry, revealing a giant herd of walkers coming right their way. They groaned and stumbled towards them, jaws snapping hungrily and hands reaching out for them. Ruthie's eyes widened and she staggered back, fear and guilt filling her to her core. If she hadn't fallen asleep… if she just stayed awake. Dottie looped her arm with Ruth's, “let's fuckin’ go!” She yelled again. An arrow flew through the head of a walker that staggered a little too close to the pair, and sure enough, her sister was responsible. Estelle loaded another arrow and waved them off, telling them to run. “I got it! Go!”

At least five or six walkers split Dottie and Ruth apart from Estelle, and they could no longer see her. Walkers kept dropping to the ground, dead, so she was alive thankfully – but the remaining walkers were closing in on them. They had to run, they had to leave. A walker swiped at Dottie and she narrowly avoided it, practically dragging Ruth away from the herd. She grit her teeth and dug her elbow into Ruth's side, “come on! Fuckin’ focus! We'll find her!” She hissed.

“We – we can't leave her!”

“She is okay! We have to go!”

“Please! We have to help her!” Ruth pleaded, tears brimming her eyes.

“We can't!” Dottie shouted.

“Please!” She sobbed. Dottie refused and dragged her away from the herd as best as she could until Ruth decided to run with her. It was no good to Estelle if she were dead, she had to stay alive.

Dottie panted heavily as she continued to run away from the walkers – a few stragglers had followed them – but now it was much easier to manage. She took Ruth's hand and dragged her to hide behind a tree with her and set her other hand on the handle of her knife that was in its holster. She glanced at Ruth, briefly meeting her petrified and guilt filled eyes before whispering: “you take the ones on the right, I'll get the ones on the left.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Daryl crouched between some thick bushes, and his eyes narrowed as soon as they landed on the rabbit he had been tracking all morning. The group had to eat something other than soup for once, and this damn rabbit was all he has been able to find for days now. It's like the animals knew to relocate as soon as walkers became a problem. Everyone had to survive somehow.

He swiped his tongue out across his bottom lip and loaded an arrow for his crossbow stealthily and silently. The rabbit was nibbling at some grass, this was his chance to shoot the damned thing. He had mouths to feed, he couldn't dilly-dally for much longer. Daryl peered through the sight bridge and his finger hovered over the trigger. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, another arrow – not his bolt – went flying through the hare's sternum and it dropped to the leafy floor, twitching and squeaking as it finally succumbed to its fate. Someone had stolen his game. Daryl clenched his jaw and his eyes thinned to slits as he watched a short blonde woman come to claim her kill from the bushes. She wore a simple white dress with little blue flowers and frills that were placed at the knees, hips, waist, ribs, and the bust. She was wearing a damn dress and she stole his kill. She also wore little brown combat boots that had frilly white socks poking out the top, and a very large faded leather coat that had sherpa along the collar. It was obviously a men's jacket, it engulfed the woman completely, but nobody could be picky about those sorts of things. A jacket is a jacket.

Her pale skin glistened in the sun, and she bent over to pluck the dead rabbit off of the ground by the ears. Daryl watched as she glanced around briefly before setting off down a clearing, and that's when he decided to follow her. Mostly to make sure that she didn't kill him, and she strayed far from their little camp for the day. They couldn't have her coming across them, but then again, she was one woman. They could easily take her down. Plus, he didn't think she'd eat the entire rabbit. She was quite thin and short, so whatever scraps she may leave, he'd take for himself.

Daryl followed her all the way down to a small stream that he didn't know existed, and he remained hidden behind some trees and bushes. He couldn't make his presence known to her unless he wanted something bad to happen. He didn't need her blood on his hands either. Daryl watched her with a careful eye as she skinned and gutted the animal with ease. She had shrugged off her jacket which revealed her bony arms that were now covered in ruby red blood all the way up to her elbows. No wonder she wanted to stick close to the stream. Skinning and gutting an animal got pretty messy. Her hair was put up into a fluffy low bun using a cut up sock to prevent it from getting any dirtier, and she tossed what looked like the stomach out into a little pile of other organs and skin. Daryl didn't exactly know how far away their small camp was from here, but he knew that it was close enough that this woman's presence posed a danger.

Daryl dragged his eyes away from the woman for a brief moment and scanned the area quickly, just to see if there was a walker or another animal close. He gripped his crossbow so tight that his dirt covered knuckles went white, and he reluctantly turned his gaze back to the woman, but she wasn't there anymore. Daryl bit down on the inside of his cheek and searched for her without moving from his spot. She had left the hare and its guts and fur, but she and her belongings were nowhere to be seen. Something about this felt weird though… he knew not to go and get the rabbit. Daryl knew she was somewhere close, and she knew he was here. Maybe she had simply run away when he wasn't looking.

The cold barrel of a handgun pressed into Daryl's temple, and the gun cocked, loading a bullet into the chamber. He stilled almost immediately and his eyes narrowed, he didn't even have to look up to know who had this gun pressed into his head. Daryl carefully set his crossbow onto the ground before raising his hands to show that he had no weapons. She pushed the gun further into his temple, “you got anything on you?” She asked.

“Nah,” Daryl grumbled out, “don’ got anythin’ ‘cept for my crossbow an’ a knife.”

“Give me the knife.” She ordered. Then, with slow and precise moves he reached for the hunting knife tucked into his back pocket and passed it to her. She snatched it away from him and shoved it into her own coat pocket, however she didn't move the gun away from his head. “Why were you following me?” She asked. Daryl didn't want to answer that, but he had no other choice – she had a loaded gun to his head. His best bet was to be as vague as possible.

“My groups close, had ta make sure ya got far enough away that ya wouldn’ find us. And ya stole my game, been trackin’ that hare all damn mornin’.” Daryl answered gruffly. Her brows raised and her plump lips parted, she didn't expect an answer like that. Quite honestly, she thought that he intended to hurt her or assault her. She couldn't think the best of people anymore… she had to think the worst. “I did?” She breathed. Her eyes flickered up to the hares corpse propped up on a rock by the stream and she swallowed hard. Well, now she feels bad. “Um… we can share it if you want… I'll hold onto your weapons for now.” She offered.

“I don’ need yer handouts. Can hunt myself.”

“I wasn't suggesting anything like that – I just thought it'd be better if we both got some of the rabbit… considering you've been tracking it all day and I killed it.”

“How do I know that ya won’ kill me?”

“Because I'm not licensed to kill.” She replied humorously. People like Daryl who weren't doctors wouldn't get a joke like that.

He raised his brows, nobody was licensed to kill. But, food was food. Maybe he'd be able to score a deer or something for everyone else if he had some food in him. So, reluctantly, Daryl accepted her offer with a curt nod.

They sat awkwardly on either end of a small crackling fire that they used to cook the rabbit meat and ate in silence for the most part. Estelle tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and picked at the meat around a piece of bone. Her grey eyes darted up to peek at the redneck before her, surprised to see that he was already staring at her while he ate. Estelle flushed with embarrassment before glancing back down, “ummm…” She trailed off, “I don't think I've told you my name, it's Estelle Hickey.” She added.

“Daryl.” The redneck replied shortly. At least he was willing to give her his name, that was something. Estelle smiled faintly and raised her brows, “that's a nice name.” She said. He didn't reply. Estelle tilted her head and crossed one of her legs over the other, “what did you do before the apocalypse?” She asked.

Nothing again.

She decided to tell him what she did before for work, maybe he'd feel more willing to open up if she did first. “I was a surgeon, worked all of the time… but I loved it, you know? It was a very rewarding job.” Estelle told him. Daryl's eyes flickered up to her, her being a surgeon piqued his interest. Healthcare was hard to come by nowadays. “Ya were a surgeon?” He asked. Estelle nodded fervently, glad that he was finally speaking to her. “Yes! I was, a pediatric surgeon.”

“Pediatric?” He questioned, “is tha’ like… when ya get to sick while drinkin’? And ya take care of ‘em?”

“No… I did surgery on kids, you know, removing tumours, the appendix… all that stuff.” She replied with a little snort. Estelle couldn't believe that Daryl didn't know what pediatric meant, but she found that it was pretty common here in Georgia. Daryl's eyes narrowed and he considered this fact carefully, Carl and Beth could use a doctor… and Lori too since she was pregnant and all. “Ya ever had ta deliver any kids?” He asked.

“I assisted on a few caesareans during my residency, and I've delivered maybe about a dozen babies throughout my entire career. Why?”

Daryl's lips pursed before they thinned into a straight line, she would be pretty damn useful to their group. She was a doctor for kids and she can hunt, he knew it'd be smart to bring her back. “We, uh,” Daryl swallowed hard before shrugging his shoulders, “we got a coupla kids and a pregnant lady in my group.” He said. Estelle raised her eyebrows and smiled a little bit, not picking up on what he was asking her. “Oh, that's nice.” She replied. “I got separated from my friend and my little sister, my friend is pregnant too… I've been trying to find them.” She added with a hint of sadness in her tone. This piqued Daryl's interest, maybe if he offered to help her find them, she would be more willing to join their group. Daryl swallowed hard and averted his eyes again, “I can help ya track ‘em if ya want, then… maybe ya know…”

“Maybe what?” She asked. He sighed and clenched his jaw, damn this chick was dense. “Y'all could join my group… we could use a doctor ‘n shit. Think ya guy's could use us too, fer protection and all.”

Estelle's lips parted, “really?” Then her eyes narrowed and she hesitated, you couldn't trust people too quickly nowadays. “What if you kill me?” She asked carefully.

“Be pre’ stupid to kill a doctor.” Daryl snorted.

Now that was true, but she was still cautious. Estelle bit her bottom lip hard and glanced down at the rabbit meat in her hands, she barely ate any of it. She wasn't that hungry to begin with honestly. “I guess… would you let my sister and friend join too? My friend was a nurse.” Estelle asked. A doctor and a nurse? What a score. Daryl nodded slowly, “yeah.” He grunted out, “wha’ ‘bout yer sister? What did she do?”

“She didn't do anything. She's sixteen.”

Daryl went silent and looked to the stream to their right, a doctor, a nurse, and a teenager. “Thas’ fine.” He said, “as long as she ain't a dead weight.” He added.

“She can fish if that helps.”

Daryl nodded, it did help. Fish was a good meal, anything was a good meal as long as it wasn't rotten or poisonous. Estelle hadn't outright said yes yet, but he assumed that she accepted with all of her questions. Now, he had to uphold his end of the deal. So, Daryl said: “Where did ya lose your sister and friend? We haveta start there…”

[normal-internet-user]

DAREDEVIL Pt: 3

◇~~◇~~◇~~◇~~◇

Pt: 1 Pt: 2

Summary: You reunite with your uncle Yoshi, and some catching up takes place.

Warnings: Nah

Requested: Nah

GN Reader!

(A/N): quick just so you know, nibling is the gender neutral term for neice or nephew!

....................................

You followed close behind the turtles, who turned out to technically be your cousins, doing your best to not let the overwhelming smell of the drainage stop you.

Mikey held tight to your hand the second to stepped off the ladder, claiming he didn't want you to trip on anything. You were going to explain to him that you were just fine on your own, but he sounded so happy to help, you just couldn't.

"We're here." Leo said, turning back to face you.

"Oh! Come on dude/tte, I can show you the pinball machine!"

Raph pulled you away from Mikey with a sigh, "Mikey, they need to see Sensei, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Mikey said sheepishly.

You laughed, shaking your head as you crossed your arms. You followed behind Leo, his heart beat was faster than before. He was nervous. How silly.

You pushed past Leo with a large smile on your face as you knocked three times on the dojo door, "Yoshi Ojisan?" You pushed open the door, peaking your head in, just like you used to do as a small child.

"(Name)? What- what are you doing here?" He sounded extremely surprised, and that alone made you even more excited.

You giggled, stepping into the room, "What? You don't see your (neice/nephew/nibling) for 15 years, and I don't even get a hug?"

You opened up your arms, and you heard his low chuckle, a noise that used to fill your old home in Japan. After the deaths of Tang Shen and Miwa, Yoshi came to your family for refuge.

Your father and Yoshi had been friends since childhood, and had always been close, but after Yoshi lost his family, the two bonded over that. You had lost your mother the day you were born, she tragically died during your birth, but your father never failed to take good care of you.

Then, Yoshi left for America, and you never saw him again. He kept in touch for afew months, sending letters, and calling every now and again, one day though, all communication stopped, and after your father left to search for Yoshi, and found no trace of him, you believed him dead.

You pulled the old man in for a hug, but what you felt, was not skin, it was fur. You furrowed your brows, confused as you touched his cheek, "You're all soft..." you murmered.

Your uncle nodded, slightly confused as to how you only noticed such when you hugged him, then he saw your eyes, they were not the bright (eye color) he'd known, they were milky white.

"Child what happend to your eyes?" he asked brushing away the hair that slightly blocked them from view.

You sighed, pulling away from your uncle, "Ryū. He blinded me while I slept, when I was 12. He no doubt intended to kill me, but papa saved me before I could befall a worse fate."

Yoshi hummed, "Ryū? I thought he'd return. Is that why you are here? In America?"

"Hai." you said, "Father and I were tailing The Fist, when they left for America, so did we. We didn't expect them to be working with The Foot, however."

You heard your uncles heart rate pick up, clearly this was news to him.

"What? The Shredder and Ryū are working together?"

You nodded grimly, crossing your arms, "Yes. They're working on something called "Project Merger". I don't yet know what it is, but it cannot be any good for this city."

You the hushed voices of your cousins as they hid around the corner, clearly eavsdropping, you began to chuckle, "What are you four blockheads hiding for? We know you're there."

Yoshi chuckled as his boys rounded the corner sheepishly, and you turned back to face him with a cheeky smile, "You never told me why you're all fluffy, Ojisan."

Your uncle sighed, though you could tell he was smiling, "Come my child, let me tell you the story of how my our family came to be."

....................................

Quick (A/N): Ok so, to answer some questions, no, this fic will not tie into any exsisting seasons, think of it as it's own season I suppose. I wanna say it takes place before the Kraang invasion, and the farmhouse era. Kinda think of it as it's own series of episodes.

Translations: Ojisan = Uncle

Let me know if I'm incorrect!

[starberry-cupcake]

I come here with further updates on my gideon the ninth read as per the favorable responses in my previous shares . You asked for it, so you're gonna have to hear it (@lady-harrowhark maybe you'll have fun with this one)

previously, in gideon the ninth:

this happened

currently, having just finished chapter 29:

gideon had tea with the eighth

actually no, scratch that, gideon sat in a chair while mayonnaise uncle's hair got braided, they never got to the tea part

false advertising

mayonnaise uncle gave half info, as people seem to like doing here

duracell bunny nephew stepped up and called him out

good for him, actually

you go, duracell bunny nephew!

it's gonna end terribly for him, but we stan

gideon left that Situation and found teacher saying ominous things

gideon left that Other Situation and found regina george twin being intense with swords

chad came in and she bit him

I see a trend alert with these third necromancers and the biting

gideon left that Yet Another Situation and went to the ninth room

gideon proceeded to open the closet

gideon got brad pitt-ed in the movie seven, but instead of gwyneth paltrow's head it was protesilaus'

it's not gideon's best day

now, hear me out

I know how this will sound, but hear me out

I haven't read past this scene, I haven't started chapter 30, all I know is she found the box

but hear me out here

just, just listen

hear me out

I still blame dulcinea

no, no, come back, I have a theory

I don't trust her, she's shady, she's too suspiciously fake kind, she's desperate and she has mentioned wanting gideon as a cavalier

I think it was back when gideon was turned into a blood sprinkler during the whole temple run key second trial thingy

or maybe later, after jeannemary left the mortal plain, but she said it at some point

and gideon has told harrow she wants her to free her to be dulcinea's cavalier

which, over my dead body

or maybe not, people here are dropping like flies, but anyway

dulcinea knows things others don't seem to know

she says things that gideon doesn't follow up on because she's horny and dense (affectionately)

I don't trust dulcinea

in case that wasn't clear

so what if

hear me out

seriously, I swear I have a point

what if harrow was set up?????

no, no, come back, listen, listen

gideon said something like the box wasn't well hidden

and I doubt very very very much that if harrowhark harrowldine harrowmina nonagesimus would have ended a bitch, she would have half-assed anything, much less the hiding

like, she'd either kill in plain sight and make a show of it or make it disappear and nobody would know

harrowhark harroweena harrowline nonagesimus pulled an edward and alphonse on her parents and only 3 people know she did

the entire system of these houses is unaware of that fact, as far as I know

so, if she wanted to hide a murder, I think, I hope, she would do better than this

also, keeping a head in a box doesn't seem her style, that's very haunted mansion and she's more halloween horror nights

so

what if she's been set up????

and gideon has like 3 brain cells working right now so she might fall for it??? hopefully not but maybe????

and side with my mortal enemy dulcinea instead?????

am I crazy????

am I too latina for this and seeing things???

is dulcinea the soraya montenegro of this story??? or is it me??? am I the drama???

this might all be absolute nonsense and in like 1 chapter I might be proven wrong but I don't trust dulcinea del toboso the seventh and I never will

if you pictured the always sunny meme while reading, that's the right energy I'm trying to share here

[torchwood-99]

Just thinking about Theoden's attitude towards Theodred and Eowyn. His total non-reaction to Theodred's death, and his near indifference to Eowyn that lasts almost until his dying moments.

I don't know if that is how Tolkien meant to portray him. Maybe we are meant to conclude for ourselves that there were moments between Theoden and Eowyn that actually supported Theoden as a loving figure towards her. Perhaps we are meant to infer that Theoden doesn't show any grief for Theodred's death because it hurts him too much. After all, the Red Book is a retelling written by in-universe characters, it makes sense they'd miss stuff and leave stuff out.

Basically, we're told Theoden was a kind old man, that he loved Eowyn, and he presumably loved Theodred, and using that knowledge we just have to fill in the gaps.

I expect that this is how we're meant to view Theoden, as a loving father, wracked by grief and guilt, and we just don't see much of it because we only see short glimpses of Theoden.

However, if we don't want to fill in the gaps, if we don't want to create content to redeem Theoden as a father to Theodred and Eowyn, we can probably find in-universe reasons that would explain why he would be so lacking in his affections towards them, when he is so kind and affectionate to other characters, especially Theodred.

We know that when Theodred died, he and Theoden were in major disagreement and seemed somewhat estranged, thanks in large to Grima's manipulations. However, this was also the case for Eomer and Theoden, and when Theoden is cured he and Eomer reconcile, yet nothing is said of Theoden losing his son and suffering, neither by Theoden or the narrative.

Now, in Anglo-Saxon cultures, "Mothers' brothers" and "sisters'-sons" had a special relationship, partly because the uncle knew for certain the nephew was his blood, which a father wasn't always sure of with his son. This would explain why Theoden seems to prefer Eomer over his own son.

Secondary, Theodred was Theoden's heir. If all went according to plan, Theodred was the one who would supplant Theoden and take his throne. However Theoden loved his son, his son was also a walking reminder of his own mortality.

As Theodred grew stronger and Theoden grew weaker, Theoden might have felt this all the more keenly. Theodred was the future, the one his people turned to more and more as a source of hope and strength.

For that, Theoden kept Theodred at arm's length, pushing him further away the closer Theodred got to assuming the kingship. Watching Theodred, seeing his strength, his prowess, Theoden couldn't help but be reminded

Eowyn Theoden needed a less active reason to not be entirely interested. She was just a girl after all. She had her place, she had her role. It was waiting on Theoden, serving Theoden, serving who Theoden told her to serve. She (seemingly) slotted neatly into place and wasn't expected to do anything else, be anything else. Whereas Theoden would have required a reason to push Theodred away, to feel less than total affection for him, with Eowyn it was the reverse. She was just Eowyn.

But just like Theodred would have reminded Theoden of his own infirmity, Eowyn most likely did so too. Eowyn was his nurse, his carer, she tended him during his dotage. She instinctively gives Theoden her arm when he struggles to walk. Once his strength is regained, he doesn't want to be reminded of his frailty, of his total physical dependence on a young girl. He sends her away, he puts her out of his mind.

When he arrives at Dunharrow, he seems marginally more interested in Eowyn, doing the small courtesy of asking how she is, and recognising what everyone else recognises, that she grieves for Aragorn riding to the Paths of the Dead. It's crumbs but it's more than what she got back in Edoras, when Theoden was first healed. Having won a battle, Theoden no longer needs to be quite so defensive about his strength and vitality, and Eowyn having been charged to lead the people means she has assumed the role other than that of dry nurse, so Theoden doesn't have to cringe at her presence.

Theodred meanwhile, who was a walking reminder of Theoden's mortality in life, becomes Theoden's shame and failure in death. As such, Theodred is never allowed back into Theoden's heart. Theodred has to remain forgotten.

[maple-the-awesome]

We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Chapter 31

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x GN Reader

Words: 2,745

Overview: Given your old-fashioned personality and obsession with all things 1940s to 1980s, it’s no wonder that most people refer to you as an ‘old soul’ who would’ve rather lived back then than in the modern era. Little do they know, you already did, but with your previous life as Hollie Stark cut short, you’ve been left with some…unfinished business, to say the least. Top of your list? Finally getting to marry your thought-to-be-lost fiancé.

Series Masterlist 🤎 Marvel Masterlist 🤎 Fandom Masterlist

CHAPTER THIRITY-ONE: READ THE ROOM

If you had known it would have resulted in you having to work with Bucky and Zemo, you would've never opened your door for Sam. Despite how civil you're trying your best to be, a part of you wants to slap them both for different reasons, although if thinking more rationally, Bucky's only crime against you is breaking your heart by turning his back and walking away without so much as a goodbye. Zemo, on the other hand, tried to frame Bucky for the UN Bombing, traumatized your nephew by showing him a recording of his own parents' brutal deaths, and ultimately tore the Avengers inside-out. Needless to say, you're having a really difficult time so much as glancing at Zemo's smug face without wanting to fulfill your previous promise to break his nose, and it's not like he's doing much to save himself from receiving that fate either.

"So, what's with the frosty air between you two, hmm?" He gestures between Bucky and you with the champagne glass his butler hands him, his eyes flashing with mischief as he takes a drink, "Now that I think about it, I don't believe I've seen you say a word to each other this entire time. It would be a shame if you've broken up. You were quite the 'couple' last we crossed paths."

You do your best not to give him the satisfaction of your attention, continuing to watch out the jet window instead while spinning your ring which is the only distraction you unfortunately have during this long flight. While you may hide it well, it does hurt to know Zemo's words hold truth. Bucky has barely said a damn word to you since the apartment, purposefully going out of his way to avoid even addressing your presence despite being on this whole mission together. Hell, so far he's been more willing to respond to the criminal who terrorized him than the person who used to be his fiancée...Did you really hurt him that bad to somehow be worse than Zemo?

"Where are you taking us?" Thank God for Sam who has proven himself to be the only person on this trip you can stand to be around. Reading the jet's rigid energy, he's quick to try changing the topic, yet Zemo refuses to address his question right away, taking his time setting down his drink in exchange for picking up the book that has been balancing on his lap.

"...Sorry -" He 'innocently' pretends to have only just heard Sam, "- I was just fascinated by this. A lot of it's scribbled out, although it seems to be an important letter; a heartfelt one, from what I can make out. 'Holiday Edwardine -"

By the time you zoned in to your name being mentioned, it was instantly cut off by two steps - two heavy footsteps before Zemo was suddenly pinned back against his chair, his neck trapped in Bucky's gloved hand which doesn't show much restraint with its iron grip.

"Touch that again and I kill you," Bucky's voice is a whispered threat, yet still heard throughout the dead silent jet as no one does or says anything about his unexpectedly aggressive behavior. Even Zemo only responds with a short nod and a quiet gasp for air once Bucky finally removes his hand, allowing him to breathe easy once again.

Ripping the small notebook from his hands, Bucky shares a quick glance at the shocked expressions Sam and you wear before returning to his seat wordlessly. You follow his movements, watching as he awkwardly pushes the notebook back into his coat pocket while shifting his head towards the window as if he can feel your burning stare.

Zemo clears his throat, giving off a tone that some might believe to be genuine, although it loses its effect on all of you, "I'm sorry. I understand that was the name of your late wife. As for the list of names on the other pages - people who you've wronged as the Winter Soldier."

"Don't push your luck," Bucky grumbles, again shifting in his seat as if doing so will somehow get him further away from this situation.

You want to ask - to reach your hand out for his and gently question what's wrong. You knew Bucky must still struggle with parts of his part, so you're not surprised that the Winter Soldier's victims would remain on his mind, but Hollie as well? He should realize by now that you don't blame him; you've insisted it enough times. He knows you're alive and well in this life, so he doesn't have to let any guilt about what happened weigh him down...but you keep your hands to yourself instead of saying a word of it aloud, looking down at your lap as you decide it isn't your place to press anymore, after all Bucky made himself quite clear earlier that he doesn't want you worrying about him.

"...I'veseen that book before. It was Steve's. When I told him about Trouble Man, he wrote it in that book. Have you listened to it? You like it?" Sam breaks the silence, once again trying to turn the conversation towards one he hopes won't start a fight. Little did he know that he'd be the one to partake in the next bickering session because of it, not convinced by Bucky's claims that he 'liked' the soundtrack. Even Zemo would agree with Sam that it's a masterpiece, yet that would be the extent of their common ground.

"You must have really looked up to Steve," Zemo takes the conversation away from movies and music, deciding to tip-toe over the line of what's acceptable to say and what will get him punched, "I realized something when I met him for myself - that the danger with people like him is the very way we put them on pedestals, idolizing them as storybook heroes and symbols of hope until we become blind to their flaws. From there, wars begin, cities fall, innocent people lose their lives...You remember that, right? As a young soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad 'icon'? Now, do we really want to live in a world full of people like Red Skull?"

"Steve was a pretty far cry from Red Skull, though," You point out, speaking for the first time since boarding this jet which brings Zemo's attention from Bucky to you, "Let's not forget that super soldiers aren't inherently corrupt. You can see it anywhere with shitty people being given power useful for their own benefit. It doesn't necessarily take super powers, just an escape from accountability that goes to your head. That's why Steve was so carefully chosen - Why Dr. Erskine didn't simply hand off the serum to the first fit soldier to cross his path. He picked the little guy from Brooklynn because he knew that's who would fight for what's right, not for his own interests."

"And I couldn't agree more. Steve Rogers was a unique exception, but how many people are you willingly to bet will follow in his footsteps? Certainly not those 'Flag-Smashers', I would think," He has a point you can't argue against. Steve and Bucky are good people who didn't let their superhuman abilities change that, and while you're sure there are more people like that out there, it isn't safe to just cross your fingers hoping they'll be the ones who come across any super soldier serum circling the globe unmanaged, "That's why we're going to Madripoor."

"Yeah, I have some questions about that. What's exactly the deal with Madripoor? You keep talking about it like it's Skull Island or something," Sam asks.

"It's an island in the Indonesian archipelago. In the 1800s, it was known as a pirate sanctuary," Bucky explains distantly.

"But it's kept its lawless ways since, which means we can't simply walk in as ourselves. Three people associated with the Avengers would only cause unwanted attention, perhaps a few bullets sent our way," Zemo swirls his champagne glass in hand as he eyes Sam and you, "You both will be easy enough to conceal, although I'm afraid James will have to become someone he claims to be gone."

You glance at Bucky who stiffens, only sparing a quick glare at Zemo then back out the window. You can't say the idea sits well with you either...

When Zemo said Madripoor is 'lawless', you expected something like Hell’s Kitchen or Detroit, but this is far, far worse. The streets are literally packed with crime, every corner having someone who casually stands around with a large gun in hand while every shop specializes in illegal goods. A few steps out of the car and you felt as if you had just walked straight into a GTA game on steroids except unlike a video game, none of you have extra lives to spare - Well, you might, but you're not quite willing to part with this one just yet.

To avoid looking suspicious and getting shot for doing so, you have to put full faith in Zemo's plan, something you never thought you'd have to do ever. Admittedly he seems to know what he’s doing, although you would complain that he's being a little too cheerful while doing it. Not once did he flinch when all eyes focused upon your group as you entered the Brass Monkey Saloon nor did he hesitate to introduce Sam to the bartender under his temporary identity as 'Smiling Tiger'.

You feel for Sam, especially when forced to choke down a drink made of the fresh insides of a snake, however your pity must wait until later because you have your own role to strictly stick to here. A humble and forgettable assistant, you're to remain silent yet observant while accomplishing whatever small tasks are ordered of you (not that you plan on doing any more for Zemo than required for this act). It’s annoying, but easier than drinking snake guts, so you're not about to complain.

You had noticed when entering the saloon that several patrons have taken special interest in Bucky, their whispers once again meeting your ear as you wait for Sam to gain the courage to finish his drink, however you try not to concern yourself with. In any other environment, you'd be ready to pick a fight with anyone bold enough to start gossiping about the 'infamous Winter Soldier's' presence, but here and for this mission, Bucky's past is exactly what you need people to pay attention to.

You can hear Sam gag quietly after the bartender finally walks away, hopefully to set up a meeting with this 'Selby' person Zemo says can provide you guys with information. In the meantime, you look up and manage to catch Bucky's eyes only briefly before they dart back to watch the other patrons. You roll your own eyes and find somewhere else to look since even undercover in a crowded bar, it seems he can still find time to be mad at you.

Suddenly, Bucky stands straighter and grabs your wrist, giving it a slight tug that moves you subtly in his direction. You would've wondered why if not for immediately feeling the presence of someone else walking up behind you. Turning around, you find a man has squeezed his way out of the crowd to where he now stands practically toe-to-toe with Zemo.

"Got word from higher up. You ain't welcome here," The man threatens, although despite his attempt at intimation, Zemo hardly does more than blink.

"I didn't come here for business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come to talk to me..." With a smug undertone to his voice, Zemo trails off while gesturing to Bucky who has already let go of your wrist, but only in exchange for having a hidden hand hovered over your hip to keep you close in front of him, "...Or bring Selby by for a chat."

The man seems to size Bucky up, and since you’re standing between them, it feels as if he’s also looking you over, however if he wonders who you might be or notices that the ‘Winter Soldier’ seems awfully protective over you, it goes unsaid. Sparing one last hostile look at Zemo, the man disappears back into the crowd, allowing you to let go of that breath you’ve been holding and for Bucky to remove his hand, "'Power Broker'? Really?"

"Every kingdom needs its king."

Surveyingthe crowd, you notice several men beginning to slowly surround your group. You keep your eyes trained on them, your hand cautiously lowering to your belt where you keep the taser you had stubbornly refused to part with earlier. Whether he saw the concern on your face or sensed the approaching goons for himself, Zemo pushes off the counter and locks eyes with Bucky, "Zimniy Soldat…Ataka."

Just as one of the men places a heavy hand upon Zemo’s shoulder, Bucky swiftly pushes you behind him before grabbing the man’s hand, twisting it until it snaps, but he doesn’t let go, instead forcing him to walk backwards until at the center of the room. There, Bucky goes head-to-head with him and all his little buddies who decide they might actually stand a chance against a super soldier.

If anyone hadn’t been paying attention to your group before, they’re definitely not missing the show now. The crowd watches in awe as Bucky easily beats every fool who swings a punch his way, doing so with little emotion written over his face; the complete opposite of how Sam and you observe the chaotic scene in front of you.

"Didn't take much for him to fall back into form, did it?" Zemo leans over to whisper to you, his comment being one that will boil your blood if you think back to it later, but for now, you’re too focused on Bucky.

You can hardly stand seeing him fight as the Winter Soldier like this, even if it’s just pretend. He can handle himself, you know that. He’s within control and doing this of his own volition, but that doesn't mean he should have to. You know this is hurting him inside, only serving as a cruel reminder for what he once was. It’s torture to see and recognize that hidden pain in his eyes as he slams one of the men onto the bar counter, keeping him trapped there all by the strength of a single hand crushing his throat. You might not be a mind reader, but you can guess what’s going through Bucky’s right now: how many people has he done this to without control or mercy? How many people has he actually killed using the same method?

Sam also shows his concern over how far this has suddenly gone, especially when the echo of guns’ cocking becomes impossible to dismiss. He places a hand on Bucky’s arm, however he’s called off by Zemo who’s quick to remind you both through whispered breath about the risks of losing character now.

“Molodets, soldat.”

Selby will finally see you. Your efforts of concealing your identities and that little ‘show’ Bucky put on has won you another step towards finding the super soldier serum. That should be a good thing that takes some stress off your shoulders, but it doesn’t.

Bucky’s expression is frozen in a blank stare, his movements almost automatic as he simply lets go of the man and lets him slide off the counter. Somehow his breath is louder in your ears than the mumbling of the captivated crowd - a crowd you almost completely forget about.

“...Hey, you okay -?” You whisper, reaching to touch his arm as has always been habit for you, however you instantly retract your hand when Bucky jerks away, his eyes once again only briefly meeting yours - this time with an emotion you can’t quite put a name to - before he roughly pushes by to follow Zemo.

Your hand feels stuck in the air until you awkwardly lower it and bite your frowned lip. There’s a burning in your eyes and an aching to your soul, one you fear might become too obvious if you let yourself dwell on it for too long, so you suck it up and trail after the others all while bitterly electing to ignore the way Sam watches you sympathetically in your peripheral vision. You're thankful he can’t ask with everyone else around. It’ll hurt less if you just don’t think about it.

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